T H E   E N D - T I M E S   T I M E S            August 31st, 1999
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Dear friends,

  Welcome to this issue of The End-Times Times.  I hope it
will be of interest to you.  This newsletter is being sent
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Regards,

David M. Williams

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T H E   T R I N I T Y   F R O M   A   J E W I S H
S T A N D P O I N T

                Trinitarian Theology in the Tenach
                        By Hezekiah Yitzak
  Congregation Beth Yeshua Messianic Synagogue, Westminster, CA

Preface

   There is some controversy among believers in the Messiah
today as to whether the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is
G-D or simply the power of G-D. The Trinitarian concept
is, stated simply, the Ruach HaKodesh is the third person
of the Triunity of G-D. The Trinitarian concept that I have
always accepted with little question. I had asked and been
given the standard answers of, look in the books of Acts
and the Gospels. These are good answers but... "There is
nothing new in the Brit Hadashah (New Testament) in relation
of the Triunity of G-D that is not in the Tenach (Old
Testament)." Again, a simple statement that I always took
for granted. But is the Triunity of G-d in the Tenach? And
is the Ruach HaKodesh G-D in the Tenach or merely a power of
G-d or perhaps the mere presence of G-d? My wife asked this
question of me one night, I thought, "No problem this will
be quick, five maybe ten minutes at the most" the ensuing
three plus hours would prove to be a more difficult answer
than I had anticipated. By sometime well after midnight and
falling asleep from exhaustion, I had no answer. So, I
continued for the next several days looking for some
answers. I had asked several people but I received answers
like, of course the Ruach is G-d, I know it is there, and so
on and so forth. With answers like this I did not feel
comfortable. There had to be a good answer to this question
and I was determined to find the answer. The ensuing
Document is the results of my wife's and my research on this
subject.

                TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY IN THE TENACH

Is The New Testament Totally New?

    How new is the Brit Hadashah? Most would say that Y-shua
(J-sus) was very radical and made all kinds of "new"
statements. For one example the 'Golden Rule' was said in
principal by R. Hillel a hundred years earlier. All the
great things in the Brit Hadashah are in the Tenach such as
grace, repentance, G-D's mercy and others are all in the
Tenach Messianic Rabbi Daniel Juster in his book Jewish
Roots makes the following case:

        The Jewish tradition has venerated the Torah above all
        other revelation. The reason is clear: Torah is
        foundational; all other revelation is to be tested
        by its consistency to Torah. Therefore, although all
        Scriptures are inspired by G-D, Torah is clearly
        foundational. This has great implications for our
        understanding of the New Testament. Any interpretation
        of the New Covenant Scriptures which is inconsistent
        with the revelation of Torah cannot be true.

   Such interruptions lend credence to the Jewish rejection of
the New Testament, for their is no revelation that can be
accepted if it is inconstant with Torah; this is the clear
implication of Deuteronomy 13. Therefore, Jewish heritage
venerates Torah - Genesis through Deuteronomy - as the
foundational Scriptural revelation.

   At this point I must say the primary difference between
the Tenach and the Brit Hadashah is the way G-d deals with
people: from the corporate and through a few prophets and
righteous men- to indwelling all who would accept H-s
Moshiach. With this as the premise for this paper we move
on.

More Than One G-D?

   G-D exists as the Father. There is only ONE G-D and He said
"I AM" with this there no doubt that there is only one G-D.
However, in the Shema Duet 6:4-9 it says:

        "Hear O Israel. The L-rd is your G-D. The L-rd is
        one."

   There are two words that are translated as "one" into
English from Hebrew. These two words are Echad (`gc), a
composite unity, and the word Yachid (igic). Yachid is a
word that describes an absolute one. An example of Yachid
from Torah is Gen 22:2:

        Then G-d said, "Take your son, your only (Yachid) son,
        Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.
        Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one
        of the mountains I will tell you about."

   Yachid is used here to define one person. The word to focus
on here is Echad. Echad is a word of composite unity a
oneness that is made of many. The word Echad is found in
Genesis 2:24 a man and his wife will become one (echad)
flesh. Additionally, in the book of Genesis G-d said:

        Then G-d said, "Let us make man in Our image, in our
        likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea
        and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all
        the earth, and over all the creatures that move along
        the ground."

   This verse is normally explained that the "Our" is the royal
plural. This, as I show under a different light, will not
make logical sense.

   The next item to consider is the word G-D (Hebrew El-him).
This is a plural word or more than one. So of what
significance is a plural word for G-D? Consider the Shema
and keep in mind your basic algebra. The transitive
property states that A=B, B=C, therefore A=C.

        The L-RD is your El-him (B(L-RD)=A(El-him)), The L-RD
        is one (B(Lord)=C(Echad). Therefore El-him is Echad
        (A(El-him) = C(Echad)).

   The word for G-d is El-him is a plural, we saw earlier that
Echad is a multiple or composite unity. With G-D being echad
and El-him G-d is composite unity made up of more than one.
So now having established that G-D is a composite unity
being we shall now look at G-d the Father.

G-D The Father (Ha Av)

   There is a G-D he is the Almighty Father. The prophet
Malachi addresses this very issue:

        "Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create
        us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by
        breaking faith with one another?"

   Additionally Isaiah in giving one of his great prophecies
delivers a discourse on the future King of Israel and that
of G-d the Father. Here Isaiah calls the L-rd G-d, "Mighty
God" and the "Everlasting Father." With having established
G-d as the Father (Avinu) we now move to the second part of
the Triunity of G-d.

G-D The Son (Ha Ben)

   Is Yeshua (Jesus) the Son of G-D also making Himself part of
and equal with G-D? Let us examine some scriptures that may
be of help. First to Proverbs 30:2-4:

        "I am the most ignorant of men; I do not have a man's
        understanding I have not learned wisdom nor have I
        knowledge of the Holy One. Who has gone up to heaven
        and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the
        hallow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in
        his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the
        earth? What is his name and the name of his son? Tell
        me if you know!"

   The scripture here first questions the wisdom of man and a
man's understanding of G-D. The writer then goes on to ask
who has gone up to heaven and who has come down from heaven.
Who but G-D can even hope to wrap the waters in his cloak?
Who put G-D can gather the wind in their hand? The
conclusion here must be Lord G-D of Israel. The next portion
is the major question: "What is his name and the name of his
son." The answer must be that there is a "Son of G-D."
How about Isaiah 9:6-7:

        "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given and
        the government will be on his shoulders. And he will
        be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G-D, Everlasting
        Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of the
        government and peace there will be no end. He will
        reign on David's throne and over his kingdom,
        establishing and upholding it with justice and
        righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal
        of the L-RD Almighty will accomplish this."

   Isaiah called this person "mighty G-D" and "Everlasting
Father." The person here in this verse must be G-D. But it
mentions that G-D would be born. Also later on in Isaiah
(63:8) the redeemer of Israel is said to be G-D himself.
With these things I believe we can conclude that the Son is
G-D. But this leaves the largest question open that is: is
the Ruach HaKodesh G-D or just the power or breath of G-D.

Is The Ruach G-D?

   So now we come to the crux of this paper attempting to
answer is the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) G-D. Either we
can prove this through the Tenach (Old Testament) and
confirm the Brit Hadashah or find that the teachings are
heretical. Most people will quickly point out that such and
such a verse say:

        "The Spirit of the L-rd", or perhaps, "the Spirit
        lifted me up."

   These references do not give the Ruach HaKodesh the status
of G-d the father. This afore mentioned verses relegate the
Ruach to such a place of servant or a power, similar to "The
Force." G-d the Spirit is more then a force, the breath if
G-d, or an object for supernatural strength. This question
demands careful study and thought. Let us look and see:

        "He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put
        in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD
        and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of
        the temple of God and for the treasuries for the
        dedicated things.

   This verse in the closing chapter if 1 Chronicles relates
that the Ruach is the third person of the Triunity of G-d.
If the Ruach HaKodesh was not equal with G-d the Father how
could King David, given the plans of the temple to a force
type object. This verse clearly shows that G-d the Spirit is
G-d. Also to consider: can a person offend a force? To be
offended or show emotion does that not require a
personality? G-d mentioned many times that he was angry and
showing other emotions. Could the third person of the
Triunity also show emotions? If so, the Ruach HaKodesh would
have a personality and be a distinct person and that of the
trinity.

        "Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he
        turned and became their enemy and he himself fought
        against them."

   Now that the Ruach HaKodesh has personality how can we say
that there is not a third distinct person of the trinity.
The final item for consideration is the indwelling of the
Ruach HaKodesh in people as compared to a strength or force
such as Samson felt. This item is found in the book of the
Prophet Ezekiel 36:26-27:

        "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in
        you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and
        give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in
        you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful
        to keep my laws."

   This verse shows that the Spirit even indwells the people in
the times of the Tenach in specific times and places.

                        CONCLUSIONS

   I have clearly shown here that The G-d of Israel is a
composite unity because of the use of echad and El-him.
The creation verse shown earlier when G-d says "Let us
make man in our image" was not a royal we but the
composite unity of G-D. G-d is known as Ha Av, Ha Ben,
and Ha Ruach at different times. Blessed be the L-rd
G-d of Israel.

Glossary

Y-shua = Jesus
Ruach = Spirit
El-him = G-D
Ha Av = The Father
Ha Ben = The Son
Ha Ruach = The Spirit

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W H O   R E P R E S E N T S   T H E   B I B L E ?

         "Every Scripture passage is inspired by God.
          All of them are useful for teaching, pointing
          out errors, correcting people, and training
          them for a life that has God's approval.
          They equip God's servants so that they are
          completely prepared to do good things."
          (2 Timothy 3:16-17, _God's Word_ Translation)

MARTIN LUTHER: "As a young man I accustomed myself to using the
    Bible.  By frequent reading I came to know where a given
    passage is to be found.  Thereafter I directed my attention
    to the commentators.  But finally I had to disregard all of
    them and drown myself in the Bible, for it is better to see
    with your own eyes than with foreign eyes...I shall and must
    be convinced by Scripture, not by the unreliable life and
    teachings of men, no matter how holy they may be...Of the
    letters of princes it has been said that they should be read
    three times.  But the letters of God (for so St. Gregory
    calls Scripture) are to be read three times, seven times,
    yes, seventy times seven times, or to say even more, an
    infinite number of times, because they are divine wisdom,
    which cannot so easily be comprehended at first glance.  If,
    therefore, anyone reads Scripture casually, as well-known
    and easy material, he is deceiving himself...After all, no
    book, teaching, or word is able to comfort in troubles,
    fear, misery, death, yea, in the midst of devils and in
    hell, except this book, which teaches us God's Word and in
    which God Himself speaks with us as a man speaks with his
    friend...Let the man who would hear *God* speak read Holy
    Scripture..."  (composite quote)

POPE JOHN PAUL II: "Every Christian must refer always and
    everywhere to the Scriptures for all his choices, becoming
    like a child before it, seeking in it the most effective
    remedy against all his various weaknesses, and not daring
    to take a step without being illuminated by the divine rays
    of those words."

WOODROW WILSON: "Give the Bible to the people, unadulterated,
    pure, unaltered, unexplained, uncheapened, and then see it
    work through the whole nature...I am sorry for men who do
    not read the Bible every day.  I wonder why they deprive
    themselves of the strength and the pleasure."  (composite
    quote)

WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY:  "Of course, Bible reading
    should not replace your use of the excellent study material
    that has been made available through "the faithful and
    discreet slave.  That too is a part of Jehovah's provision
    - a very precious one...If at all possible, Read God's Word
    the Holy Bible daily."  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Your verdict?

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F O R S A K E N

Forsaken on that cruel tree
Christ died alone to set me free
Forsaken by the world that day
God saw my sins and turned away

Forsaken by the cruel throng
Although He died to right our wrong
We laughed, and mocked the Savior's name
But still He bore our sin and shame

His head was pierced by cruel thorns
"There stands the king!" We jeered with scorn
I pierced his hands, His feet, His side
Forsaken there my Saviour died

We laid Him in a borrowed grave
The One who came our souls to save
Then rolled a stone across the door
In vain to keep Him evermore

But death and sin could not prevail
Hell's gates of fire proved to frail
Our Saviour conquered sin and death
Removed our seal with mighty breath

Now He, in glory, sits on high
Forgiving those who to Him cry
His peace is ours, if we but pray
Please don't forsake our Lord today

Jerry Hoffman

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T H E   E N D - T I M E S   T I M E S            August 31st, 1999

davidmwilliams@geocities.com