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 Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 9:03 pm
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For accuracy's sake, keeping to what the text of the Bible fully reveals and what words mean:
omniscient adjective
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om·ni·scient | äm-ˈni-shənt
Definition of omniscient
1 : having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight
an omniscient author
the narrator seems an omniscient person who tells us about the characters and their relations
— Ira Konigsberg
[...]
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omniscient
Omniscience (/ɒmˈnɪʃəns/)[1] is the capacity to know everything.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omniscience
Knowing that, no:
[1] anything going by the title Son of God (be it YHWH-incarnate Himself as Jesus, uniquely begotten incarnation through a woman's womb, begotten by the Holy Spirit, or a lesser "son of God": an angel, the angels / benei elohim / sons of God, or even lesser: a human, be it a king or one of us born-again in Christ) is not fully omniscient; only the Father is.
Mark 13:32 (NIV)
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
[2] Sin present: the Command is not merely to avoid bowing before idols, but not make any of Him—YHWH Himself, Most High God—at all with our hands; if we'd didn't see Him, by definition we'll be making up His appearance from our own imagination, lying about His appearance:
Deuteronomy 4:15-18 (NIV)
15 You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.
However, even when prophets like Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-5) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:26-28) saw visions of YHWH, obedient Israel still did not start making images of Him to show people what YHWH looked like; in contrast to the nations, we don't make idols of God Himself:
Psalm 115:2-4 (NIV)
2 Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
4 But their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
Making images of God Himself with our hands is the example of disobedient Samaria who adopted the idolatrous practices of the nations. YHWH had no problem with the bronze calves under the bronze basin in the first temple built by Solomon (which are not illustrations of YHWH Himself). But YHWH does have a problem with the golden calf made to illustrate Him (be it the one made by Aaron when the Israelites came out of Egypt (i.e. Exodus 32, emphasis on verse 5, the Hebrew says YHWH - יהוה - God's personal name; it was not done in honor of any other God. The image was made of Him/in honor of Him and so was the festival. That still aroused YHWH's wrath)...
Exodus 32:2-5 (WEB)
2 Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.”
Exodus 32:35 (KJV)
35 And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
...or be it the ones made by Jeroboam son of Nebat who set one up in Bethel and another in Dan (i.e. 1 Kings 12:25-33]); Bethel and Dan are in the northern kingdom of Israel; its capital city being Samaria (in contrast to the southern kingdom of Judah; its capital city being Jerusalem). At this time, after Solomon's reign, Judah—in the southern kingdom—remained faithful; Israel—in the northern kingdom, which contained the majority of the tribes at this time—did not; they became idolatrous. Here too however, they made the golden calves in honor of YHWH, not any other God, even copied legitimate appointed times divinely set by YHWH in His Law, but changed the date; that still aroused His wrath. By definition, if YHWH says not to make images of Him, and we proceed to do so, we're no longer worshiping YHWH, but whatever image/semblance of Him we would like to imagine Him as, whatever we wish to form Him into—because it's no longer what He commanded but what a mere man says:
1 Kings 12:25-33 (NIV)
Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan
25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.[a]
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 29 One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.[b]
31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Kings 12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
b. 1 Kings 12:30 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text people went to the one as far as Dan
2 Kings 10:29 (NIV)
29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
If YHWH said not to make images of Him, and we make one or value one of Him anyway, we're flat out worshiping the beauty of the image, not holding Him and His Word in highest esteem which told us not to make images of Him in the first place. We haven't seen Him. And that's not the image He made of Himself through the Holy Spirit (not a man-made picture of the image He made of Himself, but Jesus in the flesh is His image).
In contrast, what's Biblically legitimate and obedient: we're to allow the Holy Spirit to mold us into His image, conform our nature to His, not make images of Him with our hands.
Romans 8:29 (NIV)
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Colossians 1:15 (NIV)
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Footnotes:
a. 2 Corinthians 3:18 Or reflect
Colossians 3:9-10 (NIV)
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
And surely, we shouldn't lie about what God looks like (logically-speaking, someone is lying; because they all draw God differently: be it skin color, eye color, hair texture, they're not in agreement with each other, nor in agreement with the Commands to not make images of Him in the first place, even if its in the shape of a man, let alone a calf).
Ultimately, YHWH Commanded us not to adopt the spiritual practices of the nations because they're worthless and fail to show how YHWH is holy (set-apart) not the same lesser being, lifeless thing, nor ideas getting worshiped by the nations. He's not a lifeless idol that can do no evil nor good (like their idols), and He's not a demon (the spirits worshiped by the nations). We're commanded not to adopt the practices that make it look like we worship as they do (nor who they do)—considering the worldly season we're entering, take note: that the nations not only make images of their gods, but worship them under trees as well (and YHWH did not Command us to do this of Him, but commands that we don't do as they do):
Deuteronomy 12:2 (NIV)
2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.
Deuteronomy 12:30-31 (NIV)
30 and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” 31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
Jeremiah 16:19 (NIV)
19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge in time of distress,
to you the nations will come
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,
worthless idols that did them no good.
So let's not adopt the spiritual practices of the nations. They're worthless, not what YHWH Commanded, but what He Commanded against.
All that to say, whether it's a popular, self-imposed tradition / a practice customarily done in the church, or an interpretation popularly taught in the church, beware: make sure it actually adheres to the totality of what the Bible reveals. We need to defend what is written, not necessarily a popular interpretation often repeated as if it were sound doctrine, but is not sound according to the fullness of the text.
There do exist demonic practices (if not harmful then they are worthless, unreliable, good for nothing, even lying, traditions that don't preserve the truth as it is written and as He Commanded; And practices that make YHWH look as if He's one and the same as them, when Scripturally, the practice and idea itself is forbidden). Likewise, demonic doctrine (teaching/interpretations of the text that would have us second guessing—not trusting—what the Father instructed us to do or not do, has us denying both the Father and Son).
For the record, I'm not nitpicking or straining at gnats: I'm making a big deal about this because Jesus Himself taught us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (the teaching puffed up by their own ideas above what is written).
Matthew 15:1-3 (NIV)
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
Matthew 16:11-12 (NIV)
11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 22:23-29 (NIV)
23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”
29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
The power of God includes His ability to limit His own omniscience when manifesting (simultaneously alongside Himself) as "Son" (a visible, bodily form).
Jesus said it. He doesn't know everything.
Aside from those two things, I didn't detect anything else that was off; I think it's sound. But I couldn't rest until I pointed it out.
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