Daniel 7:13-14, 22, 25-25 and Trinitarian Belief

The other day, I was reading With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology by James M. Hamilton Jr. and came across his suggestion that Daniel 7 identifies the Son of Man as the Most High. Hamilton seems to base this idea on the similar language found in Daniel 7:13-14, 27, but see Daniel 2:44-45; Revelation 11:15-17.

One question that crossed my mind when reading this claim is whether any ancient or medieval Jew ever read Daniel this way and does any Jewish scholar today? It seems like another Trinitarian leap of logic to me.

Excessive Guilt (Modified Talk)

Imagine walking around with a heavy load on your shoulders. Unless you were exceptionally strong, would you not become weighed down after awhile?

There is nothing necessarily wrong with feelings of guilt, but excessive guilt can be destructive: it could be just like carrying a heavy load around with us that ultimately weighs us down.

Please notice how King David described the excessive guilt he felt in Psalm 38:3-8.

(after reading)

Before Jehovah extended forgiveness to him, David felt sick and his guilt was like a heavy burden that he could not bear. Similarly, some today feel guilty because of sins they committed before becoming Witnesses or others feel discouraged because of sins committed after learning the truth. While not all guilt is bad and a healthy sense of guilt might help us to abandon a sinful course, the danger is excessive guilt. But just what do we mean by excessive guilt?

It means that the guilt one feels continues even after he/she has repented and Jehovah has extended forgiveness (compare Proverbs 28:13). This kind of guilt can be harmful and unbearably burdensome. Therefore, how can we avoid it?

Notice David's words in Psalm 39:4-5.

(after reading)

David emphasizes that life is short; it is like a quick breath or short exhalation. Consequently, instead of living in the past or reflecting on old mistakes, we need to look forward and make our future days count (Philippians 3:13). It is possible to concentrate on the future by putting spiritual goals first and obeying God's commands. Furthermore, it is imperative to use our time wisely (Ephesians 5:15-17).

However, despite our best efforts, feelings of excessive guilt might well up from time to time. One way to combat these feelings is found in Psalm 39:12.

(after reading)

Jehovah invites us to approach him in prayer and we should pray even if feelings of guilt make it difficult to pray. After all, Jehovah knows there are times when it's difficult for us to suppplicaste him. However, the holy spirit can plead in our behalf and we can use prayers recorded in the Bible like Psalm 51 or Psalm 65 when it''s difficult for us to articulate our thoughts. In the final analysis, Jehovah appreciates our sincere efforts and takes our whole life course into consideration.

May we take comfort in the words of Isaiah 55:7.

Philip Comfort on the Nomina Sacra

Anyone who reads the ancient manuscripts of the Greek New Testament is struck by the phenomenon: the names kurios (Lord), Iesous (Jesus), Christos (Christ), and theos (God) are written in this unique fashion. These four titles are the primary and most primitive divine names to be written in a special way; they can be seen in all the earliest Greek manuscripts.1 Another early divine name written in a special way is pneuma (Spirit); it may be as early as the other four or it could have been developed slightly later. These specially written names are called nomina sacra, meaning “sacred names” (the singular is nomen sacrum). The inventor of the term nomina sacra was L. Traube. After his study on the nomina sacra, the most thorough study was done by A. H. R. E. Paap.

Comfort, Phillip. Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography and Textual Criticism (Kindle Locations 4989-4995). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

The Triune God and the Scriptures

According to the Trinity:

1) God the Son has a "head" or someone who is over him (1 Corinthians 11:3), which means that a person of God has someone over him.

2) God the Son had all things submitted to him, but he will one day submit himself to the one who submitted all things to him in order that "God" may be all things to everyone (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). What does it mean for one divine person to submit himself to another, yet be the same God as that person?

3) God the Son has a God (Revelation 3:12).

4) There is more than one person who is the God over all, through all, and in all in contrast to what Ephesians 4:6 states.

Of course, Trinitarians will offer responses for each of these points, but their explanations fail to convince and sound forced and based on numerous presuppositions like the Incarnation.

Words of the Month (December 2024)

1) "Megillot" signifies the five scrolls read at various Jewish festivals (the Song of Solomon, Ruth, the Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther).

2) Zetetic-Oxford Languages says:

adjective

rare

proceeding by inquiry.

John 1:1c (Subject and Predicate Nouns)

Greek: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.

While reading a paper on John 1:1 today, I came across the claim that Θεὸς is the subject in John 1:1c and ὁ Λόγος is the predicate since the former noun comes before the latter. I'm here to say the writer is wrong, and he should read some Daniel Wallace or William Mounce.

Similarly, Alexander Smarius writes:

"There is little doubt that ὁ λόγος is the subject in all of its three occurrences in 1:1a–c, so that θεός in the phrase 'and the Word was theos' (1:1c) is a predicate noun.5 From a strictly grammatical viewpoint, this predicate noun can be interpreted in three different ways."

https://brill.com/view/journals/hbth/44/2/article-p141_2.xml#ref_FN000005

2 Timothy 4:13 ("especially the parchments")-Screenshot

Greek: τὸν φελόνην, ὃν ἀπέλειπον ἐν Τρῳάδι παρὰ Κάρπῳ, ἐρχόμενος φέρε, καὶ τὰ βιβλία, μάλιστα τὰς μεμβράνας

BDAG Entry for μεμβράνα: 

Everlasting Arms (Modified Talk)

[This was given some time ago-EF]

There is no time better than the present to seek Jehovah’s everlasting arms: we remain in a pandemic, we’re living in critical times, and Satan keeps challenging our faith. There is no better place than the loving arms of our heavenly Father. Please notice what Moses recorded in Deuteronomy 33:26 (Read).

Did you notice what Jehovah wants to do for his people? He wants to help us. Jehovah wills for us to be morally upright and he willingly imparts the strength that helps us to endure.

The Bible emphasizes this point in the next verse, Deuteronomy 33:27 (Read):

What a comforting thought to consider Jehovah as our refuge; he is like a place where we can hide when trouble arises. He is our strong tower. We also have Jehovah’s everlasting arms beneath us in order to support us and make sure that we never fall or totter. He sustains and empowers us to do his will: God lovingly uses his power in our behalf.

But what if we experience a spiritual slip? Maybe it’s temporary and requires discipline from Jehovah. Nevertheless, we can be confident that if we rely on God in times of distress or when we err, Jehovah will put his caring and everlasting arms beneath us. He will gently raise us up until we regain our spiritual balance and once again, stand firm.

In view of the spiritual resources that Jehovah has provided, we have reason to affirm the words of Deuteronomy 33:29 (read)

Who is there like Jehovah’s people today? We are spiritually fed, we enjoy God’s support and his salvation. Yes, we have good reason to trust in divine salvation just as Moses did.

[Picture and concluding words]

In the picture, the brother has likely lost his wife and he’s gotten older in Jehovah’s service, but he continues to study the Bible and meditate on it. The result is that our brother feels empowered to attend meetings and to give Jehovah his best, even during hard times. The picture also may depict the flood of Noah’s day.

Ezekiel 43:2-"I saw the glory of the God of Israel"

HCSB: "and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of mighty waters, and the earth shone with His glory."

Lisa Ward ("A Pentecostal Hearing of Ezekiel: Ezekiel’s Visions by the hwhy-dy and the xwr." Ph.D. Diss. Page 194):

"Ezekiel describes how YHWH’s glory caused the land to shine with radiance (43.2). The overpowering nature of the vision of YHWH’s glory affected Ezekiel’s physical and emotional
senses. Ezekiel’s eyes saw in color, his ears heard majestic sounds, and his emotions were
overwhelmed to the point of falling prostrate before the glory in worship. There is a sense that
YHWH’s previous commands to Ezekiel to see and hear prepared him to know and understand
the awesomeness of what he was now shown. The use of anthropomorphic and anthropopathic
terms with the language of analogy assisted and invited the hearers to participate through their
imaginations. Ezekiel repeatedly described the glory of YHWH as likened to sights and sounds
that his hearers would recognize in their environment. For example, the glory was likened to fire,
bright colors of gemstones, and a figure that looked like a human being. He also likened the
voice of the Almighty like the sound of rushing waters."

For more on the kebod elohe yisrael, see Ezekiel 8:4; 9:3; 10:19; 11:22. Cf. Petter, Donna Lee (2011). The Book of Ezekiel and Mesopotamian City Laments. Fribourg / Göttingen: Academic Press / Vandenhoeck Ruprecht.

Did God the Father Cause God the Son?

1) God is the uncaused cause of all things.
2) (According to numerous Trinitarians) God the Father is causally prior to God the Son.
3) However, nothing has caused or causes God.
4) Therefore, the Son is not God.

Judas Left His Place (Screenshot)-L. Scott Kellum

 

Recommended Book about the LXX by Natalio Marcos

 

Credo Ut Intelligam Versus Crede Ut Intelligas

 Feel free to fact check me here--this was written back in 2013:

I teach a course on human nature and once used a work by Leslie Stevenson and David Haberman entitled Ten Theories of Human Nature. It's now up to twelve theories, but here is one thing I've noted about the book (among others) which I hope the editors/authors change one day.

I have found a small technical error in Stevenson and Haberman's book. On page 130, Augustine of Hippo is quoted as saying, "I believe in order to understand" (The Latin is credo ut intelligam); yet that evidently is not what the bishop wrote. The expression credo ut intelligam was uttered or written by Anselm of Canterbury (the so-called father of Medieval theology). Augustine actually said or wrote the words "Crede, ut intelligas" (Believe, in order to understand). One form is indicative whereas the other is imperatival.
See Augustine's Sermon 43.7, 9 and the Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology, pages 85-86.
Maybe one day this change will be made in Stevenson/Haberman.

It may sound like I'm picking nits, but Augustine died in 430 CE; conversely, Anselm is a 11-12th century figure. While he certainly derived his saying from Augustine, technically, one speech act is indicative while the other is a command. Nevertheless, I would concede that the point remains the same.

Is It Possible to be Happy Now?

Is it possible to be happy prior to death? The ancient Greeks debated this question intensely. Some concluded that happiness in this life is not possible: that's why there's the famous saw, "Call no man [person] happy until he [she] dies," which we find discussed in some ancient writers. So is it possible to be happy in this life or should we postpone calling someone happy until death?

Consider two scriptures:

"O the happiness of the people that is thus, O the happiness of the people whose God is Jehovah!" (Psalm 144:15 Young's Literal Translation)

"After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years" (Job 42:16-17 NIV).

The ISV states that Job lived a "full life."  The point is that he was satisfied or fulfilled because he faithfully worshiped God even through adversity. One only has to read the book of Ecclesiates (Qoheleth) to realize that life apart from our Creator is vain. We can be happy--even now--if we keep integrity (Hebrew, tam) to God. We might suffer times of depression, loneliness, hardship or feelings of worthlessness, but those serving God can have a sense of deep fulfillment like the Savior did when he suffered and gave his life in order that we might live into perpetuity (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Can A Thing Be the Efficient Cause of Itself?

Efficient Cause Definition: "the immediate agent in the production of an effect"

An efficient cause brings something into being or sets it in motion (e.g., a sculptor is the efficient cause of a bronze statue). With this in mind, one might ask whether it's possible for the universe to be its own efficient cause. Thomas Aquinas' answer is below:

"There is no case known (neither is it, indeed, possible) in which a thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself; for then it would be prior to itself, which is impossible" (Aquinas).

Hence, it seems highly unlikely, to say the least, that the cosmos could be its own efficient cause. Just as a house needs a builder, so the universe needs an efficient cause outside itself. See Hebrews 3:4.

In this regard, Origen of Alexandria uses autotheos which means something like "Godself" or God Himself, a term that distinguishes the Father from other "gods" (theoi) and that includes the Logos. I guess Origen wants to say that while the Logos and other ontic deities are gods by participation in the Father's divinity, the Father is God by his very nature (John 17:3) and he is the source or fount of divinity. The Father also does not need an efficient cause.

Words of the Month (November 2024)-Terms from Logic

I could have put "soundness" instead or used "valid" and sound, but the point remains the same. Also, the argument in the example is neither valid nor sound since it commits the logical fallacy of affirming the consequent rather than affirming the antecedent.

This Blog's Future

Greetings all,

I've thought long and hard about whether I should keep blogging or not. Responsibilities in other areas of life have increased and I've now been blogging for almost twenty years. But as much as I love research, writing, and interacting with others about theology, the Bible, and biblical languages, I've made the decision to stop blogging after December 31, 2024.

For the near future, the contents of the blog will remain visible and there are some projects I want to finish here before stopping. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive and supplied links and research: thank you also for interacting with my thoughts or those of other authors.

Since I'm ceasing blog activity, I see no need to block Nincsnevem, but neither will Nincs have carte blanche to posting here either. Yet, the main reason that I will no longer blog is because other duties are calling me, duties that seem more important. Take care and I look forward to posting further thoughts later. All the best, Edgar.

The Ancient Rise of Koine Greek (Jellicoe)

"Already in the Anabasis of Xenophon the intrusion of elements foreign to Attic is discernible, and as time went on the Koine rather than its parent was adopted by such writers as Polybius, Strabo, Philo, Josephus, and Plutarch" (Sidney Jellicoe, The Septuagint and Modern Study, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968, p. 330).

Some Secondary Literature on the Kenosis Account (Philippians 2:5-11)-In Process

Some Secondary Literature on the Kenosis Account

Bloomquist, L. Gregory. The Function of Suffering in Philippians. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Hellerman, Joseph H. Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi: Carmen Christi as Cursus Pudorum. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph 132. New York: Cambridge University, 2005.

Hoover, Roy W. "The hARPAGMOS Enigma: A Philological Solution." HTR 64 (1971): 95-119.

Hurst, L.D. "Re-enter the Pre-existent Christ in Philippians 2.5-11?" NTS 32 (1986): 449-457.

Martin, Ralph P. and Brain J. Dodd. Where Christology Began: Essays on
Philippians 2. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1998.

O'Neill, J.C. "Hoover on hARPAGMOS Reviewed, with a Modest Proposal
Concerning Philippians 2:6." HTR 81:4 (1988): 445-449.

Osiek, Carolyn. Philippians, Philemon. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000.

Reumann, John. Philippians : A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

Wannamaker, C.A. "Philippians 2.6-11: Son of God or Adamic Christology." NTS 33 (1987): 179-193.

NA28 and Colossians 1:17-24 (Page 614, Including the Apparatus Criticus)