March 15, 2003 © Homer Kizer
Commentary — From the Margins
An Open Letter to The Lewiston Berean Fellowship
Dear Dennis & Other Bereans,
I received your set of study papers in today's mail, and I was struck by an assumption present in your arguments, an assumption about which I want to query you: what ancient manuscript have you accessed that causes you to believe disciples of the Son of Man wrote in Hebrew? I do not know of any such manuscript. I do not know of any copy of Paul's epistles, or of John's gospel and epistles in any language other than Greek or Aramaic, with Aramaic being a language into which the canonical gospels and epistles were translated. In what manuscript is the Logos said to be Elohim, and to be with Elohim? John begins his gospel saying that the Logos was Theos, and was with Theon. Linguistic distinction between the Father and the Son is made through gender case endings. Hebrew doesn't allow that distinction to be revealed, as seen in Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 and 27. If John's gospel can be believed, Theos was the only deity circumcised Israel knew. It was Theos' Breath that David received, that Abram received when his name was changed to Abraham, that is the open "H" of the tetragrammaton YHWH. The existence of Theon was revealed to the Son of Man's disciples with the beginning of the second creation of humanity, the creation of the spiritual man who is an
heir of Theon. Until Theos came as the second Adam, humanity didn't need to know about Theon, whom the Son of Man called His Father (Pater). Until this time of the end, it wasn't revealed to even the Son of Man's disciples that the tetragrammaton YHWHconceals the Father and His Breath while revealing the Son and His Breath. The tetragrammaton linguistically works differently than does the plural of El (i.e., Elohim), which also reveals the two deities and their Breath, which, again, is the Holy Spirit. The revelation of the Breath (the vocalized exhalation of breath) of Theos and Theon, and of Their unity being contained within the names by which the patriarchs and circumcised Israel worshiped their Creator wasn't necessary until it became time to end the assigning of personhood to the Breath of both Father and Son. So the Father wasn't missing in action throughout ancient Israel's history. He was with the Son of Man even when the Son of Man was acting as a sole entity: when Elohim takes singular verbs and pronouns and is linguistically singular, such as when the patriarch Jacob wrestles with Elohim, the Father is also present in the plural construction of the name. Likewise, when the YHWH visits Abraham, or Moses, and appears as a singular individual, the Father was also present through the name by which YHWH identifies Himself. For this reason, "I AM" was introduced into the concept of deity. Only one entity would actually free Israel; for in the
spiritual creation, the Son of Man will fulfill the reality of the role Moses shadowed in the liberation of physical Israel, and as the mediator of the Sinai covenant (the Son of Man is now the Mediator of the New Covenant). The Father will, in the liberation of spiritual Israel, be the reality of the position "I AM" shadowed in the liberation of ancient Israel. The juxtaposition that has physical Israel being the shadow of spiritual Israel also has Moses corresponding to the glorified Son of Man, and "I AM" corresponding to the Father. This is why YHWH didn't tell Moses to identify Him by the tetragrammaton to Pharaoh, or to the elders of captive Israel.
When the Son of Man said those who have seen Him have seen the Father, He wasn't expressing either the concept of a triune godhead, nor was He voicing an ephemeral notion of deity. He was expressing a reality that has been hidden from both ancient and spiritual Israel. The Apostle John tells us that ancient, or circumcised Israel never knew the Father. Today, spiritual Israel, divided into a spiritual house of Israel and a spiritual house of Judah, still doesn't know the Father, because of the sin or lawlessness of both houses. The spiritual house of Israel holds the error of Bishop Arius, which has the Son of Man being created by the Father. The spiritual house of Judah holds the error
of the Father, the Son, and Their Breath forming a closed triune deity. Traditionally, the remnant of spiritual Israel that has been journeying back to spiritual Jerusalem (i.e., Church of God and its splinters) has known that the Father and the Son are separate entities, but has believed that the Holy Spirit/Pneuma was a single entity, which the tetragrammaton YHWH reveals is not true—the Holy Spirit which King David asked not to be taken from him was the Breath of YHWH, not of the Father even though the Father and the Son were one within the tetragrammaton. A confusing concept? One entity as deity interacted with the patriarchs and with ancient Israel even though this one entity was working in unity with a second entity who would become His Father. All creation of the physical universe and all interaction with the physical creation was actually done by the entity who identified Himself as "I AM," and whom the Apostle John identifies as Theos. But this entity is linguistically attached to the entity who will become His Father in such a manner that the two of Them with Their Breath occupies the same signifier in two separate signifiers. The case for a triune deity would have merit if Elohim were the only signifier by which this deity was known to circumcised Israel and to spiritual Israel. But the tetragrammaton YHWH reveals that each deity has His own vocalized Breath, making the Holy Spirit a characteristic of the Elohim kind, a characteristic which each heir will
receive as his or her own upon glorification. Presently, the children of Theon have within them the Breath of Theon, and are able to use this Breath as children can use the possessions of their parents. At some point, a teenage son or daughter is permitted todrive the family car; at some point, maturing disciples will use the Holy Spirit as the Son of Man used it when He was flesh.
For you and those who meet with you to begin using poorly pronounced Hebrew icons or signifiers for the name of the Father and the Son is to insert greater piety into your worship than the Son of Man revealed about His own worship of the Father. It is displaying a fundamental distrust of the canonical Scriptures as we have received them. It is also revealing your lack of understanding of who the Father and the Son are. YHWH was born as the Son of Man; He no longer exists. The relationship that the two entities had when bound together in that tetragrammaton changed with the death and
resurrection of the Son of Man to become Father and Son. I cannot say this too strongly: YHWH is no more! You mock the Father and the Son when you identify either the Father or the Son by the signifier YHWH.
Your desire to worship the Father and the Son in truth and in purity is laudable. But the way to do that is not through inserting Hebrew names into your worship. It isthrough bringing many disciples to fullness in the Way known as Christianity. Today, spiritual Israel is in bondage as its teachers preach a theology of lawlessness. Help liberate individual Israelites now, so that the harvesters are in place when all of Israel is liberated.
You are also to be commended for doing what you can with the few resources you have available. Keep striving for understanding. My prayer for you is that the Son of Man will give you that understanding.
Respectfully,
Homer Kizer