The Gospel of John: Hebrew Perspective

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, PART 2, JOHN'S HEBREW PERSPECTIVE

By Dr. Stephen Jones:  Sep 10, 2019

Blog Post Date:  11-7-2019

John was from a priestly family, and “was known to the high priest and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest” (John 18:15). Later, he was also able to speak to “the slave-girl” acting as the doorkeeper to allow Peter into the courtyard where the trial was being held (John 18:16, 17).

Further, John was the only one of the twelve disciples who remained at the foot of the cross with the women while Jesus suffered and died (John 19:25, 26).

James and John were sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). The fact that they were fishing in the sea of Galilee when Jesus called them suggests that Zebedee himself was not a priest. However, his wife, “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” seemed to think that her sons were worthy of a higher place in the Kingdom (Matthew 20:20, 21) may reflect her earlier upbringing in a priestly family.

The point is that John had priestly connections, however obscure from a biblical standpoint. Yet Eusebius says that “he wore the petalon,” which was a high priest’s mitre, or headpiece, which seems to suggest that a priestly background, for such terminology was used of no other disciple, not even Peter or Paul.

It is always helpful to know the background of a book’s author, for even though the Holy Spirit inspires certain ones to write Scripture, the personality, education, and writing ability of the human author remains intact. In this case, by understanding John’s family connection to the temple priests in Jerusalem, we may deduce that he was more familiar than most with the temple rituals, rules, and procedures.

Because the temple in the first century was ruled by the Sadducee sect, which was heavily influenced by Greek thought, we can say with certainty that John was fluent in Greek long before he left Galilee to live in Ephesus. Yet John’s beliefs differed from the Sadducees—perhaps because of Jesus’ training—for shortly after Christ’s ascension we find him (with Peter) teaching the resurrection of the dead (Acts 3:1; 4:1, 2). The Sadducees arrested them for this. Years later, Paul was tried before the Sanhedrin, where we read in Acts 23:7, 8,

⁷ And as he said this, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

From a purely doctrinal point of view, Paul and John agreed with the Pharisees in these divisive issues. By extension, we may also say that their view contrasted with Greek theology as well. Therefore, in reading John’s Gospel, we must understand his Greek words through his Hebrew thought process, rather than through the Greek mindset.

The most important term to understand at the outset is the Logos, which is how John starts his gospel. “In the beginning was the Logos,” and understanding the Logos is the beginning of his revelation set forth in his gospel.

The Greek Logos

The Greek idea of the Logos began with the philosopher, Heraclitus, who lived from 535-475 B.C. He defined it as the organizing force behind an ever-changing universe. A century later, his successors, Plato and Aristotle, saw it as the principle that gave life to all creation, as well as the faculty of reason in men.

The Greeks did not distinguish between soul and spirit, as did the Hebrews, and so they believed the mind (i.e., soul) was spiritual and divine. To them, the soul was the seat of the Logos in men, which gave them the power of reason, and this formed the basis of their love of wisdom, i.e., philosophy.

Yet John did not come from a Greek background. His thought process was Hebrew. In those days the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language provided their Hebrew-Greek dictionary. The Septuagint standardized the way in which Hebrew words were translated into Greek.

These Hebrew-Greek equivalents did not mean that the Hebrew concepts ought to be changed to fit Greek thought or theology. For example, the Hebrew concept of sheol (the grave or the state of the dead) cannot be redefined according to the Greek equivalent, hades. Although the New Testament often uses the word hades, it must be thought of in terms of sheol. Otherwise, we will think of it in terms of immortal souls crossing the underground River Eridanus into the realm of the god named Hades, who was said to be the brother of Zeus and Poseidon.

Neither does sheol have a three-headed dog named Cerberus accompanying the god of the underworld.

The Perfect Man and Sonship

For our purpose, we must understand that the Greek Logos was not the same as the Hebrew Logos, even though there is certainly a limited similarity. The idea that the Logos was the Intelligent Cause of all things and that Divine Reason brought all things into being was indeed a biblical concept. Likewise, the Platonic idea that the Logos gave life to all creation is reflected in John 1:4, “In Him was life.”

The Greeks were concerned about describing “the perfect man” and how to attain such perfection through the acquisition of wisdom in the schools of philosophy. John presented Jesus Christ as being that ideal Man, and he showed also how the rest of us may attain the same perfection through Him, His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Christ is the “Door” (John 10:9) through which all men must pass.

The door was not mere philosophy, nor could any man reach perfection through the soulish study of wisdom, which characterize works-based religion based on the will of man. The Door of Christ depends fully upon the work of Christ and the fact that He fulfilled all of the laws that prophesied of Him—the most prominent being the laws of sacrifice. Hence, John leads the reader back into the word of God and into the Torah (law), which laid the foundations for Christ’s ministry and how to become the sons of God.

The Greek search for “the perfect man” is answered in John’s gospel in terms of becoming the sons of God (John 1:12, 13). By structuring his gospel according to the eight days of the feast of Tabernacles, John also shows how that feast prophesies of sonship from birth to the presentation of the sons on the eighth day, according to the law (Exodus 22:29, 30). For this reason, the first miracle-sign is the wedding feast of Cana, which, when calculated into modern measures, tells how Jesus turned 153 gallons of water into wine. The eighth sign, which is its parallel, presents 153 mature fish (John 21:11), because 153 is the biblical number representing the sons of God. The Hebrew phrase, beni h' elohim, "sons of God," has a numeric value of 153.

The transformation from water to wine speaks of the atomic change that will occur in our bodies through the fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52). What was thus begun on the first day of Tabernacles (i.e., the first miracle-sign) is to be completed on the eighth day when the sons of God are presented to the Father, so that they may be manifested to the world.

John was not adopting the Greek view of things but was instead appealing to His Greek readers to adopt the truth of the Hebrew scriptures. What the Greeks were seeking could never be attained through philosophy or through the will of their souls. It could be attained not by classroom study but only by being begotten by the Spirit. It is a matter of becoming part of the family of God, where all recognize the Fatherhood of God (Ephesians 3:14, 15).

The Hebrew Logos

The Septuagint uses the word logos as the equivalent of the Hebrew dabar, “the word.” For example, in Numbers 11:23 God says, “Now you will see whether My dabar will come true for you or not.” The Septuagint reads, “Now shalt thou know whether My logos will come to pass to thee or not.”

Again, speaking in the plural, Deuteronomy 1:1 begins with “These are the dabarim” (NASB), and the Septuagint reads, “These are the logoi.”

The Hebrews went beyond the surface meaning of dabar by applying it to the concept of the Memra. The Memra was the creative word of God and was also used in the Targum as a substitute for “the Lord.” In other words, God Himself was also His word, because His word expresses who He is. God will always be true to His word because He must always be true to Himself. Hence, the Memra was said to be the manifestation of God.

The Memra, when used to describe God’s rule over the destiny of man (i.e., predestination), was “the agent of God.” The Targum states also, “My Memra shall be unto you for a redeeming deity” (The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. III, pp. 464-465, 1904 ed.). We are also told that the Greek equivalent of Memra was Logos.

The concept of the Memra was surely well known to John himself, and through John the church too came to understand it. In fact, because the early church used the term logos to apply to Christ, the Jews themselves nearly abandoned the term. The Jewish Encyclopedia says,

“In the ancient Church liturgy, adopted from the Synagogue, it is especially interesting to notice how often the term ‘Logos’…. was changed into ‘Christ’…. Possibly on account of Christian dogma, rabbinic theology, outside of Targum literature, made little use of the term ‘Memra’.” (p. 465)

There was only a slight comparison between the Logos of the Greek mindset and the Memra in Hebrew thought. The Greeks had little or no knowledge of biblical law, and they sought worldly wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:20, 24) rather than the wisdom of God contained in the law (Deuteronomy 4:5, 6).

In fact, neither Jews nor Greeks sought perfection through spiritual begetting. Both sought perfection by the will of the flesh and the will of man in their own ways. John, however, presents another way, another path, through the only Door, Jesus Christ. That Door is understood by the revelation in the word of God (including the Torah).

When John begins His gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Logos,” he was explaining Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created.” He was also presenting Christ as the Memra of God, the One so filled with the word that He became the living word, the embodiment of the word, the word made flesh. In so doing, Christ was the perfect image of God and “the exact representation of His nature” (Hebrews 1:3).

This was what Adam was supposed to be. He failed, because he had been created (Genesis 1:27) in the image of God and formed (or shaped) from the earth (adamah) in Genesis 2:7. So Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:45-47 says,

⁴⁵ So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit… ⁴⁷ The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.”

It would take a begotten Son to succeed where a created son had failed. Adam thus was not the Memra; only Christ is the Memra.

New Impeach Rules - Babylon Finished

NEW IMPEACHMENT RULES PASSED BY THE HOUSE

By Dr. Stephen Jones:  Nov 01, 2019

Blog Post Date:  11-3-2019

Democrats have been talking about impeaching President Trump since the day he was elected in 2016. At first they pursued this on the grounds that he had colluded with the Russians. They finally set up a Special Council headed by Deep State employee, Robert Mueller.

That attempt failed, even though the investigation continued for nearly two years. Adam Schiff claimed that he had seen solid evidence that there was such a “collusion,” but perhaps he was actually viewing Hillary’s collusion with the Russians instead. Or perhaps he was looking at all the times when the US State Department and CIA influenced foreign elections throughout the years and even assassinated their rival candidates. The US has set up more foreign puppet dictators than any other nation in history with the possible exception of the UK.

The latest attempt began with a so-called whistleblower (actually, a CIA leaker) a few months ago, one apparently hired by former CIA director John Brennan. Brennan voted for the Communist presidential candidate years ago (1976, if I recall).

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, then changed the House Rules to allow the testimony of the whistleblower. Previously, the rule was that a whistleblower had to have first-hand knowledge, but now the rule is that a whistleblower is allowed to testify with hearsay. He heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend.

Yesterday the Democrats in the House voted to change the rules of procedure in regard to the impeachment process. The previous rules were much more conducive to reaching the truth of a matter, allowing the accused to see the evidence and to question those giving testimony. The new rules allow the committee chairman (in this case, Adam Schiff) dictatorial powers and to refuse whatever questions he wishes.

In fact, up to now, Schiff has been following these new rules for months already, even though those rules had not been passed by congressional vote. The partisanship has never been more obvious. Worse yet, the short-sighted rule change could well backfire on them, because if there is ever a Democrat in the future who becomes president, the same rules will certainly apply. Does anyone doubt that the Republican Party would use those partisan rules against the Democrats?

We have entered into a new era of uncivil behavior that will not end until one part or the other will be destroyed. This really is a political civil war. Gone are the days of working together in a bipartisan manner for the good of the country.

As I watched the news last night, I was struck by the fact that the newscasters gave the impression that the House had voted to impeach Trump. That did not happen. They only voted to change the rules of procedure.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/29/politics/house-impeachment-resolution-doc/index.html

If they had voted for impeachment, the senate would now be preparing to conduct the actual trial, headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. But that is not happening, at least not yet. But the media has treated this as if the House voted to impeach the president.

Kim Clement, who prophesied about Trump over the past 15 years or so, said many years ago that they would say “Impeach, Impeach,” but that he would NOT be impeached. Clement died two weeks after Trump was elected in 2016. His prophecies of no impeachment are somewhat unclear. Did he mean that the House would fail to impeach him? Or did he mean that the Senate would not convict him and remove him from office?

https://welovetrump.com/2019/09/30/flashback-prophet-kim-clement-they-will-shout-impeach-impeach-but-it-will-not-happen/

More of these prophecies can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE0T_QR_20Q

There is room for either interpretation, since Clement himself never distinguished between the two. Most people think that impeachment means conviction and removal from office, but actually it just means that the House has voted to refer the case to the Senate for trial. It’s really the difference between indictment and conviction.

So we have to observe events to see how things turn out.

If we give credence to the prophecy from November 14, 2018 that a prominent person calling for Trump’s impeachment would die soon, and if that prophecy was fulfilled in the recent death of Elijah Cummings, we might take this as an indication of God’s intervention in the House. If that is the case, then it is quite possible that the House will fail to impeach the president and that the Senate will not need to convene for a trial.

But if the Senate does hold hearings (as with Bill Clinton twenty years ago), it is not likely that Trump will be convicted and removed from office. In fact, such a trial would allow testimony against Hillary, Joe Biden, John Brennan, and even Obama, which could result in their convictions for treason, human trafficking, and many forms of corruption.

The Inspector General’s report is due within the next two weeks as well, and this is expected to begin a series of indictments of well-known political figures. In fact, it is being reported that Attorney General William Barr has already begun to convene Grand Juries to prosecute these cases. But so far, the actual cases are being kept secret, and there have been no leaks.

The main reason that these people show symptoms of Trump Derangement Syndrome is that they are motivated by FEAR. They know that the DOJ has proof of their criminality. Until 2016 both parties were controlled by the Deep State, and criminal acts were protected by the classification of all evidence that might convict them. That changed when an independent president was elected, and this fact alone has caused all the fear and turmoil in our political system. The criminal Babylonians are now vulnerable to prosecution.

As I have written many times before, 2014-2017 was the end of the mandate that God gave to the beast empires, and when the authority was transferred to the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:22, 27). By recognizing this, we have exercised that new-found authority, and this is the true cause of the present civil war within the US government.

Yes, it is true. We are among those who have caused this war. Our time came, and we dared to take dominion. Babylon is fighting back, not wanting to lose control of the world. As with ancient Babylon, “they have refused to let them go” (Jeremiah 50:33), and so we appealed our case to the divine court. Our Redeemer has taken up our cause, because we were patient enough to wait until the dominion mandate had been fully transferred to the saints of the Most High. Jeremiah 50:34 looks ahead and says of us,

³⁴ Their Redeemer is strong, Yahweh of hosts [heaven’s army] is His name; He will vigorously plead their case, so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

We are the ones at rest; the Babylonians are in “turmoil,” knowing that they cannot win. Although the fall of Babylon takes time, it is happening very quickly when viewed in the long term. Keep in mind that the beast system ruled for “seven times” (2,520 years). It is deeply entrenched in the earth. Its oppression of the nations has been near universal for a very long time. For its power to collapse in just a few years is an astonishing turnabout in a very short period of time, historically speaking.

But we are privileged not only to live in such a time but also to participate actively in the spiritual warfare against Babylon and the more positive work of preparing to rebuild a better world for the Age to come. The same authority that we were given to overthrow the beast system is the authority to declare Jesus Christ as the rightful Heir of the world, the King of kings.

Many generations in the past have wanted to see this day. We are privileged to see it firsthand.