april 16, 2020 questions and answers...anger = ףַא aph (60a); from 599; a nostril, nose. to have...

APRIL 16, 2020

INCARNATION, FLAT EARTH, SABBATHS AND SHADOWS

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

It was a difficult task for the Prince of Life to carry out the plan which he had undertaken for

the salvation of man, in clothing his divinity with humanity. He had received honor in the

heavenly courts, and was familiar with absolute power. It was as difficult for him to keep the

level of humanity as it is for men to rise above the low level of their depraved natures, and

be partakers of the divine nature. (The Review and Herald, April 1, 1875, par. 2)

Christ was put to the closest test, requiring the strength of all his faculties to resist the

inclination when in danger, to use his power to deliver himself from peril, and triumph

over the power of the prince of darkness. Satan showed his knowledge of the weak points

of the human heart, and put forth his utmost power to take advantage of the weakness of

the humanity which Christ had assumed in order to overcome his temptations on man's

account. (The Review and Herald, April 1, 1875, par. 3)

INCARNATION

The angels of God are ever passing from earth to heaven, and from heaven to earth. The

miracles of Christ for the afflicted and suffering were wrought by the power of God through

the ministration of the angels. And it is through Christ, by the ministration of His heavenly

messengers, that every blessing comes from God to us. In taking upon Himself humanity,

our Saviour unites His interests with those of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, while

through His divinity He grasps the throne of God. And thus Christ is the medium of

communication of men with God, and of God with men. (The Desire of Ages, p. 143.1)

When Jesus was awakened to meet the storm, He was in perfect peace. There was no

trace of fear in word or look, for no fear was in His heart. But He rested not in the

possession of almighty power. It was not as the “Master of earth and sea and sky” that He

reposed in quiet. That power He had laid down, and He says, “I can of Mine own self do

nothing.” John 5:30. He trusted in the Father's might. It was in faith—faith in God's love and

care—that Jesus rested, and the power of that word which stilled the storm was the power

of God. (The Desire of Ages, p. 336.1)

As Jesus rested by faith in the Father's care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If

the disciples had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear in the

time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save themselves, they forgot

Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of self-dependence, they turned to Him that He

could give them help. (The Desire of Ages, p. 336.2)

John 5:19 (AV) — 19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them,

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself,

but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth,

these also doeth the Son likewise.

λεγω υµιν ου δυναται ο υιος ποιειν αφ εαυτου ουδεν

δύναµαι (dunamai) from δύναµις (dunamis)

FLAT EARTH?

Eratosthenes

1/50 of 360°

2 Peter 1:21 (AV) — 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy

men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

1 Peter 1:10–12 (AV) — 10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched

diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or

what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified

beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto whom it was

revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now

reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost

sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Isaiah 40:22 (AV) — 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants

thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth

them out as a tent to dwell in:

“circle” = from the root word חּוג

(chug) to draw around, make a circle.

Revelation 7:1 (AV) — 1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four

corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on

the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression. It is

that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression

is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the

Bible. The writers of the Bible were God’s penmen, not His pen. Look at the different writers.

It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration

acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the

influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words and thoughts receive

the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is

combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of

God. (Selected Messages, bk.1, p.21.par. 1, 2)

Psalm 1:3 (AV) — 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth

forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall

prosper.

Anger = אַף aph (60a); from 599; a nostril, nose. To have a hot noise. Hebrews thought of

anger in terms of heavy breathing and a flaring of the nostrils.

Numbers 25:4 (AV) — 4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people,

and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may

be turned away from Israel.

Psalm 103:8 (AV) — 8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in

mercy.

Love: אָהֵב (aheb) to desire, to breathe after anything — Gesenius.

Deuteronomy 6:5 (AV) — 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and

with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Genesis 28:14 (AV) — 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt

spread abroad to the west [yâm], and to the east [qedem], and to the north [tsâphôwn], and

to the south [negeb]: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be

blessed.

• yâm = Mediterranean sea (west)

• qedem = region of the rising sun (east)

• tsâphôwn = the unknow region (north)

• negeb = the desert region (south)

In fact, throughout the Greek Bible the phrase that is translated into “first day of the week” is

mia ton Sabbaton, which literally translates “first of the Sabbath.” Linguistic scholars point

out that this was the accepted way to name the weekdays. Essentially they were saying first

day after the Sabbath, second day after the Sabbath, third day after the Sabbath, and so

forth. They were using the Sabbath as a marker to name all the weekdays. Therefore, it

mandates to our logical minds that the first day after the Sabbath cannot be the Sabbath

day. Sunday is not the Sabbath. (Jac Colón, Revelation Now, p. 80)

Luke 24:1 (AV) — 1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they

came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others

with them.

μια των σαββατων (mia ton sabbaton)

First day of the week

2 Timothy 3:16 (AV) — 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for

doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Regardless of the way the thoughts were received, the biblical writers emphasize that their

words are words from God. Moses quotes God as saying that He will put His words in the

mouth of the prophets (Deut. 18:18; cf. Jer. 1:9). Referring to Scripture, Jesus declared,

quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3, that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word

that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).

The words written by the biblical authors are distinctly human words. For that reason they

can introduce their books with such expressions as “the words of Jeremiah” (Jer. 1:1) or “the

proverbs of Solomon” (Prov. 1:1). The thoughts, and at times the words, are given by

revelation of God to be expressed by the human authors in words familiar to them and their

immediate readers.

(Handbook of Seventh-Day Adventist Theology, p. 40)

Truly the Scriptures are fully human and fully divine. Any idea that some parts of the Bible

are merely human while other parts are divinely inspired contradicts the way the biblical

writers present the matter. Paul’s words, that “all Scripture is God-breathed,” do not allow for

any concept of partial inspiration. Neither are there any hints in Scripture suggesting

degrees of inspiration. Some portions of Scripture may be more important than other

portions (Jesus speaks in Matthew 23:23 about “the weightier matters of the law”), but that

does not mean that they are more inspired. Every Christian would do well to receive the

words of Holy Scripture in the manner in which the believers in Thessalonica accepted the

words of Paul, “not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God” (1 Thess.

2:13). (Handbook of Seventh-Day Adventist Theology, p. 40)


Genesis 1:16–19 (AV) — 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the

day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in

the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and

over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19

And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Jeremiah 31:35 (AV) — 35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and

the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when

the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

Psalm 104:19 (AV) — 19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going

down.

Psalm 19:4–6 (AV) — 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the

end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom

coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is

from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from

the heat thereof.

On one occasion God intervened in the course of nature to give additional daylight while

Israel was pursuing its enemies (Jos 10:12–14). Whether the rotation of the earth was halted,

or light refracted, or some other means was used to perform the miracle, we do not know.

(The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, p. 1074)

Recognize that the accepted conventions for writing history were different in the first

century. There was often a use of . . . “observational” language, illustrated by such terms of

ordinary language as “the sun set,” or “the four corners” or “the ends” of the earth, without

implying a geocentric cosmology or a flat earth. Often approximate numbers were used,

such as the number who died at Mount Sinai (1 Cor. 10:8; cf. Num. 25:1–18). We must not

expect greater levels of precision for measuring than were customary in biblical times.


Hebrew Cosmography. It is often said that the OT sets forth a primitive cosmography that

envisioned a flat earth, resting on pillars, with the heavens forming a blue dome above. That

concept is allegedly present in Job 26:9–11; 38:4–6; and Isaiah 40:22, 23, for example.

(Astronomy. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 1, pp. 226–227)

Job 26:9–11 (AV) — 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon

it. 10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

In Job 26:9–11 the circle on the face of the waters may refer to the horizon that one

observes on the ocean out of sight of land. The language used is probably metaphorical

and need not indicate that the writer of Job had a primitive conception of the position of the

earth with reference to the heavens. It is especially important to note that verse 7 speaks of

the earth as being “hung on nothing,” a concept quite at variance with the primitive

concepts alleged to occur in the chapter.


Job 38:4–6 (AV) — 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if

thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who

hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who

laid the corner stone thereof;

In Job 38:4–6 God is pictured as creating the earth as one would erect a building. The

picture of a builder measuring the structure (v 5) is a metaphor and is certainly not to be

taken literally. The reference to foundations is also part of the metaphor. It seems unwise to

assert that this highly literary depiction of creation represents the Hebrew cosmography.

One must look back to Genesis 1 to see the Hebrew understanding of the nature of the

universe.


Isaiah 40:22–23 (AV) — 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the

inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and

spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh

the judges of the earth as vanity.

In Isaiah 40:22, 23 God is pictured as sitting above the horizon of the earth. The metaphor

connotes a theological truth important for God’s people going into exile—that is, that God is

observing all that is transpiring in the sphere of history (40:27–31). (Astronomy. In Baker

encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 1, pp. 226–227)


Language about a flat earth. This is indeed unscientific, but so is our ordinary

language—like “sunrise.” When we say the sun “rose,” we do not mean we

subscribe to the pre-Copernican view that the sun revolves around the earth.

Common sense should tell us not to interpret ordinary language as a claim to

scientific accuracy. (Handbook of Christian Apologetics, p. 218)

. . . for we were anxious to be on the ground, and to do all we could to encourage

and help our brethren to prepare for the first Seventh-day Adventist camp-meeting

ever held in the southern hemisphere. (Ellen White, Review and Herald, June 6,

1893, par. 1)

While on a visit to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1846, I became acquainted with

Elder Joseph Bates. He had early embraced the advent faith, and was an active

laborer in the cause. I found him to be a true Christian gentleman, courteous and

kind. (Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, p. 85.1)

Passing from the northern into the southern hemisphere, one is struck with the remarkable change in the

starry heavens. Before reaching the equator, the well-known north star is apparently setting in the

northern horizon, and a great portion of the well-known stars in the northern hemisphere are receding

from the mariner’s view. But this loss is supplied by the splendid, new and varied scenery in the southern

heavens, as he sails onward toward the southern polar regions. (Autobiography of Joseph Bates, p. 151.2)

SABBATHS AND FEASTS DAYS

Colossians 2:16 (AV) — 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or

in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

η σαββατων

manuscript: σάββατον sabbaton Lemma and Root: σαββάτων· sabbaton NGPN Noun, Genitive, Plural, Neuter Genitive = Possessive case

Colossians 2:16–17 — 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or

in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbaths: Which are a

shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

SEVENTH-DAY SABBATH

Exodus 16:23 (AV) — 23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath

said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye

will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay

up for you to be kept until the morning.

Exodus 20:8–11 (AV) — 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days

shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of

the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy

daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger

that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the

sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD

blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

SEVENTH-DAY SABBATH

Leviticus 23:1–4 (AV) — 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto

the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD,

which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. 3 Six

days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy

convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your

dwellings. 4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye

shall proclaim in their seasons.

VARIOUS DAYS CALLED SABBATHS OR FEASTS

Leviticus 23:5–8 (AV) — 5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the

LORD’S passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of

unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7

In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work

therein. 8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in

the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

Passover and Unleavened Bread

Leviticus 23:9–12 (AV) — 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak

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: 11 And he shall wave the

sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath

[Unleavened bread] the priest shall wave it. 12 And ye shall offer that day when

ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering

unto the LORD.

Firstfruits

Leviticus 23:13–16 (AV) — 13 And the meat [meal] offering* thereof shall be

two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the

LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the

fourth part of an hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor

green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your

God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your

dwellings. 15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath,

from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths

shall be complete: 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath [seven

weeks] shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto

the LORD. * (מִנְחָה – minchah: meal. A non blood offering)

Firstfruits

Leviticus 23:17–20 (AV) — 17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave

loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with

leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. 18 And ye shall offer with the bread

seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two

rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering,

and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the

LORD. 19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two

lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 And the priest shall

wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD,

with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.

*Wave Offering of the Firstfruits

Exodus 34:22 (AV) — 22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the

firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

Acts 2:1 (AV) — 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all

with one accord in one place.

Pentecost

Leviticus 23:21–23 (AV) — 21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it

may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it

shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of

the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning

of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the

LORD your God. 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying

Pentecost

Leviticus 23:24–28 (AV) — 24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the

seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a

memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 25 Ye shall do no

servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 26

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 27 Also on the tenth day of this

seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation

unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls [fast]*, and offer an offering made by

fire unto the LORD. 28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of

atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.

* Ezra 8:21; Isaiah 58:3, 5

Trumpets and Day of Atonement

Leviticus 23:29–32 (AV) — 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted

in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 And whatsoever

soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy

from among his people. 31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute

for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be unto you

a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at

even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

Day of Atonement

Leviticus 23:33–36 (AV) — 33 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 34 Speak

unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall

be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. 35 On the first day

shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 36 Seven days

ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be

an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the

LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

Tabernacles

Leviticus 23:37–40 (AV) — 37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall

proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD,

a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing

upon his day: 38 Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and

beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the

LORD. 39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered

in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first

day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. 40 And ye

shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees,

and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice

before the LORD your God seven days.

Tabernacles

Hebrews 8:4–5 (AV) — 4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing

that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 5 Who serve unto the

example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God

when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all

things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

1 Corinthians 14:21 (AV) — 21 In the law it is written, With men of other

tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they

not hear me, saith the Lord. (See Isaiah 28:11)

Hebrews 10:1–4 (AV) — 1 For the law having a shadow of good things to

come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which

they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For

then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers

once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those

sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not

possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

This ordinance does not speak so largely to man's intellectual capacity as to his

heart. His moral and spiritual nature needs it. If his disciples had not needed this,

it would not have been left for them as Christ's last established ordinance in

connection with, and including, the last supper. It was Christ’s desire to leave to

his disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed,—

that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they

had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel

made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to

Jehovah. Eating of the body, and drinking of the blood, of Christ, not merely at

the sacramental service, but daily partaking of the bread of life to satisfy the soul's

hunger, would be in receiving his word and doing his will. (The Review and

Herald, June 14, 1898, par. 16)

april 16, 2020 questions and answers...anger = ףַא aph (60a); from 599; a nostril, nose. to have...

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