The Nature of Christ

Last night on Facebook, a facebook friend shared information pertaining to his views on the nature of Christ before the incarnation. He was espousing that Christ was 'begotten' by God prior to creation, and that in Proverbs 8, Wisdom is none other than the person of Jesus Christ.  Here are the verses from Proverbs 8 that he used to justify Christ being begotten by God before creation, and that Wisdom is here referring to Christ.  

Proverbs 8:22-36:

22The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

23I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
25Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
26While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
27When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
28When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
31Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
32Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
33Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
34Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
35For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
36But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Below is my response:

Now let me share with you what God has revealed to me about this matter. Now I do not claim to have ALL the answers, because that of itself is impossibility, but I do hope you would at least give some thought to what I am presenting, as I have given to what you presented.


Wisdom as represented in the book of Proverbs is referred to in the female gender (Proverbs 3:13-18; Proverbs 8:1-3; Proverbs 9:1-3; and so on). Wisdom is also represented as being with God from the beginning, and as being “brought forth” from God (Proverbs 8:22-24). Wisdom is therefore a feminine attribute of God, and something which comes from only Him.

God is the embodiment of Wisdom. He is the “only wise God” (Jude 25). All these attributes of God are also to be found in Jesus, who being the Son of God, is also God (John 1:1). Therefore Jesus is correctly described as “the wisdom of God”, because ALL the attributes of God, such as wisdom, are contained in Him (1 Corinthians 1:24; Hebrews 1:2-3; Philliipians 2:7). “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

God has revealed to us that He is one God with a triune nature – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). In the beginning, God said “let US make man in our image; after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). We have one God who exists as three different entities. Jesus says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).

Now here is what is revealed concerning the mystery of Christ. It is a little understood concept, but very important. It might be a little hard to grasp, and one will not get it by casual reading of the scriptures, but the author of the book of Hebrews made a very important point. Hebrews 2:5-9:

5For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
6But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?
7Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.


In verses 6 and 7 the author of Hebrews quoted Psalm 8:4-6 and applied that scripture as a prophecy about Christ. Did you notice that he referenced “son of man” in verse 6 of Hebrews 2 as being the same person as Jesus in verse 9 of Hebrews 2? Now this might seem a strange way to interpret Psalm 8, but for the first century Jews, this was not strange at all. In my study of Bible history, I have found that among the first century Jews, there was a sect called the Essenes. The Essenes believed in a coming Messiah who would be a Teacher of righteousness Essenes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Many of these Essenes were very accepting of Jesus as the Messiah, and many followed Him in His ministry. In the most famous Essenic document/scripture, the Book of Enoch, which by the way pre-dates the incarnation, that Messiah was called the Son of Man. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_Man#In_the_Apocrypha_and_Pseudepigrapha

Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Jesus, who was known as the Son of Man before His incarnation, by the first Century Essenic Jews, should be the Creator of man. We, mankind, were therefore created after, or patterned after the likeness of the Son of Man.


That’s all I have to say right now about the nature of Christ. There is more but this is basically the key element. The nature of Christ after the incarnation is another subject matter as well, and sometimes people confuse the nature of Christ before the incarnation with the nature of Christ after the incarnation. That’s for another time. Keep on searching the scriptures, for in them is life, and they testify of Christ (John 5:39). Blessings!

Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal - Part III

And here is Part III, and I hope, the final part of this VERY interesting discussion.

Catholic Sex Scandals - Another Prophecy Comes True

In light of the never-ending and escalating sex scandals plaguing the Roman Catholic Church, I would like to highlight a post a did last year, on October 24,  entitled Controlling Sexual Desire.  In the comment box of that post,  I predicted that the Catholic views on sexuality would lead to an INCREASE, not a decrease in sexual perversity.  Here is what I wrote in that comment box on November 1, 2009 to a Catholic commentator on my blog.

"Here is the consequence of your Catholic model. People would become so sexually repressed that they would start acting out in perverse ways. It would lead to an increase in sexual perversity and not a decrease, as people try to find an outlet for their sexual desires. I could give examples of men or women incarcerated in prisons....."( November 1, 2009: Controlling Sexual Desires, October 24, 2009)

How remarkable that I was able to predict an increase in sexual perversion several months before the scandals broke.  I pray that people who are following Catholic sexuality will take a hard and serious look at those teachings, and see whether such teachings are in accordance with scripture or not.  I am not against Catholics but what I am against is how they try to push their version of sexuality on the masses, without respecting the fact that there are those of us who hold to a more Biblical view of sexuality, which differs from the Catholic view.

ADDENDUM:  An interesting conversation is going on here on this blog with me and some Catholic women about the sexual abuse scandal.  For part I see here.

Re-inventing my Body

I am a person who believes in keeping my body healthy and strong.  I exercise a lot and I have a job where I am quite physical; however, I hate taking pictures of myself, because I am not pleased with the way my body looks.  For someone who exercises as much as I do, it is sure hard to shake the fat, especially truncal fat.  I know it has something to do with age and hormones, because since my unfortunate experience with run away female hormones (my body making too much estrogen), I've had trouble keeping my weight in check.

As of this week, I will be launching an all out battle to finally combat this weight issue.  Yes, I have nicely toned legs and arms, and a great upright posture, but there is just too much weight sitting in my mid section.  Yes, I am thankful that things could have been worse, because there is a familial tendency to be overweight, and I  am doing a good job of keeping overt obesity at bay, but I think I can do better.  I am now a size 14, which is down from my original size 16 two years ago.  I can even fit in size 12 at times, depending on the cut of the outfit.  My goal is to  get to that perfect 10!  That is only two dress sizes down!  I think I can do this.  I just need the discipline to stay the course, and God's help of course.  Without Him, I can do nothing!  Please pray for me as I embark on this journey.

The Truth About 2012/Mayan Calendar

Well, I finally bought and watched that 2012 movie by Roland Emmerich, and starring John Cusack and Danny Glover.  I tell you it was one fantastic movie!  The special effects were thrilling, and I was holding on to my couch all the way through.  Talk about exciting!  What made this movie really special was that some of the things we are experiencing now in 2010 such as the numerous earthquakes around the world, are depicted in this movie!  This movie is a must see for all people interested in the earth and astronomical phenomena.

Well, putting all the hype aside, let me say that this is still a work of fiction, because this is not the way the world is going to end, per the Bible.  The most important thing about this movie is that it highlights the Mayan calendar which in truth predicts two things.

1. The year 2012 marks the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which will end on December 21, 2012 during the winter solstice, or alternately December 23(Wikipedia), and
2. "On the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. This means that "whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time," Joseph writes."(USA Today)

So what does this all mean?  The Bible says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).  Therefore, anything which occurs in the heavens will tell us something about the glory of God.   Jesus says in Luke 21:25-28 (emphasis in caps supplied):

And there shall be signs in the SUN, and in the MOON, and in the STARS; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; THE SEA AND THE WAVES ROARING; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the POWERS OF HEAVEN SHALL BE SHAKEN. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. AND WHEN THESE THINGS BEGIN TO COME TO PASS, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

The signs and occurrences in the celestial heavens are therefore signs to us of God's impending return, and the end of the world.  Now, we have been hearing that the end of the world is near for over two thousand years now, and some people have even began to even doubt if that will ever happen.  People have even begun to scoff at the idea that the world as we know it will end, and that God will usher in a new era and world system.  God sends these signs therefore to REMIND us that the end is approaching, and that we should keep on being vigilant, and not fall asleep or get caught up in disbelief and complacency.

The year 2010 started with "earthquakes in divers places" such as Haiti, Chile, Indonesia, Turkey, and so on.  We even had volcanic eruption in Iceland.   Please see this post for a running record of natural earthquakes  for 2010 so far. Expect more natural phenomena from the celestial heavens  people!  As Christ's return draws closer and closer, we can surely expect more and more of these cataclysmic and apocalytic events happening.  God's kindgom is at hand.  WE WERE WARNED!

And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand (Luke 21:29-31).

Easter Celebrations

At this time of year many Christians are conflicted as to whether they should celebrate Easter or not, as the holiday itself has some pagan roots, and many churches have opted to rename Easter Sunday to Resurrection Sunday.  Let me level with you.  It is not a sin to celebrate the season of Easter.

Easter, is a spring festival that celebrates the arrival of spring.   In many cultures, this is observed by various spring festivals.  About two weeks ago I attended a Japenese spring festival, and last week I welcomed spring by enjoying Brazilian samba percussion on the beach, under the moonlit spring sky.  There is absolutely nothing wrong or pagan about celebrating spring.  God is the one who created the seasons, and if we choose to give honor to Him for the seasons, then He is even more glorified as Creator. 

Every year, the Jews celebrate a spring festival called Passover.  Passover celebrations are not just about eating a passover seder of lamb, unleavened bread, and wine.  Historically speaking, under the temple era, Jews were required to bring in a wave sheaf offering of the firstfruits (of early spring crops) before the Lord on the first Sunday following Passover.

Leviticus 23:9-11(emphasis in caps supplied):

9And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

10Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the MORROW AFTER THE SABBATH the priest shall wave it.

It was a time for the Jews to give thanks to God for providing food in the spring, after the winter.

Because as Christians we believe that Christ had become the passover lamb, we no longer celebrate the Jewish passover.  We have replaced Jewish passover celebrations with Good Friday, as a day to remember Christ's suffering on the cross as our passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7).  Easter Sunday celebrations, or Resurrection Sunday, as it is now popularly called, have replaced the wave sheaf first fruit offering.  The resurrection of Christ from the dead has fulfilled the requirement of the wave sheaf offering of firstfruits.   We read,  "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20).

So Good Friday/Easter celebrations have become the new Christian spring festival, and yes, we are not required to keep them yearly, but those who do are only excercising their God-given right to worship God, according to the dictates of their conscience.  I join with Christians worldwide in celebration of our risen Lord during this spring season, which is a time of God's renewal of the earth from the darkness and death of winter.  Our Lord Jesus' life was renewed/resurrected in the spring too.

So today, instead of attending a sunrise service, I will be celebrating spring by going horseback riding through some nature trails, to enjoy the beauty of God's re-creation and re-newing of the earth this resurrection Sunday, and spring.

Happy Easter!  Happy Resurrection Sunday!  Happy Spring!

P.S  Okay, so Easter has a name derived from paganism.  Well, so does our days of the week and months of the year.  It is not the name we celebrate, but the season, and the God who created this season.

The Passion of the Christ Day Eight: Sunday

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!!!

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 

And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

~Mark 16:1-6

The Passion of the Christ Day Seven: Saturday

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

 ~Revelation 14:13

...And rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

~Luke 23:56

Now ... the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying,  

"Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first."

Pilate said unto them, "Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can."

So they went, and made the sepulchre sure sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

~Matthew 27:62-66

The Passion of the Christ Day Six: Friday

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY!

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

 ~Isaiah 53:7-8

And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

 ~Matthew 27:35

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, "This man calleth for Elias."

And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, :Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him."

 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.

 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."

 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.  

When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. 

And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

 ~Matthew 27:45-51, 54-61

The Passion of the Christ Day Six: Thursday Night

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.  And he said unto them, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God."

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come."

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me."

Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.  But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.  And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!"

And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

~Luke 22:14-23

And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;  Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;   He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.     After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

~John 13:2-5

And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, "Sit ye here, while I shall pray."

 ~Mark 14:32

Saying, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."

    And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

 ~Luke 22: 20-23

The Passion of the Christ Day Five: Thursday

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

And [before] the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, "Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?"

And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, "Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him."

"And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?  And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us."

And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.  

~Mark 14:12-16, amplification supplied for clarity