Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Does "the power of the Spirit" in Numbers 11:17 and Numbers 11:25 qualify as a higher creature?
In Genesis 16, an angel talks to Ishmael's mother, Hagar, about her relationship with Sarai. This is the first time the Bible uses the word, angel; but it must be the third time the Bible talks about angels because Cherubim and sons of God are also called angels. Maybe some of the various spirits could also be angels.
Which "spirits" would you be referring to?
Things like the Spirit of Jacob in Genesis 45:27. This is a common kind of spirit in the Bible such as the spirit of Sihon, the spirit of Zerubbabel, or the spirit of Marley.
Also, spirit of wisdom, familiar spirit, spirit of jealousy, evil spirit, evil spirit from the Lord, lying spirit, spirit within, free spirit, angel spirit, humble spirit, vexed spirit, sleep spirit, spirit of the kings of the Medes, new spirit, spirit of the holy gods, spirit of whoredomes, heaven spirit, devil spirit, unclean spirit, dumb spirit, infirm spirit, spirit of truth, spirit of divination, spirit of holiness, spirit of bondage, spirit of adoption, spirit of the prophets, quickening spirit, spirit of mind, spirit of the mouth, seducing spirit, spirit of fear, spirit of power, spirit of love, dwelling spirit, seven spirits of God, ...
I believe this is speaking of the spirit of the individual. We are soul, body, and spirit... our spirit I dead to God naturally, until we are born again by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. I admit to being unsure how this all worked itself out before Jesus.
Many of those refer to human's spirits as well, but some of them refer to higher beings like angels/fallen angels. Some would say that evil spirits of varying kinds are the spirits of dead Nephilim (the giants of Genesis 6 and other places), but I am unsure of that as well. I'm not going to go thru the list one by one... let's try a smaller group if that's what you want.
Spirits in Christianity remind me of Pagan gods.
I do not think that was the intent of the authors of Scripture, nor the Author. Isaiah 44:6 sums it up pretty clearly: "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. (Isa 44:6)
Which brings up the use of the word Elohim in the OT... it is complicated. It is used in a variety of ways, yet context must dictate to us which meaning is intended. In this case, it means God with a capitol G... the Supreme Deity, the Creator, YHWH.
Hope this helps;
Mike
Let me say it another way.
Christian spirits function like Pagan gods. Christianity has a spirit of wisdom and a spirit of war. Pagans have a god of wisdom and a god of war. Christians have angels. Pagan's have messenger gods. I understand about Christianity's monotheist theology, but I grew up in a polytheist culture, so I notice the similarity.
I understand what you are saying. Sorry if I was too preachy. I just wanted to be sure you understood the Christian perspective as well.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says that men should not cover their heads and that women should cover their heads. He says, " ... every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved."
I heard a sermon in which the preacher explained this idea about covered or uncovered heads. He said that in Antiquity, people had different ideas about human physiology. For example, they believed that the heart, instead of the brain, stored memory, wisdom, etc. They believed the brain and hair stored sperm. They believed that men with short hair had increased fertility because they had less sperm storage. They believed that women with long hair had increased fertility because they had greater sperm storage.
Paul also says, " ... a woman ought to have authority over her own head because of the angels."
I don't understand why angels should somehow influence hats or hairstyles, or do they influence fertility or what?
So, Paul may have meant, " ... a woman ought to have authority over her own head because of the angels" who "saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose."
That does suggest that Paul's concern about hair style must have related to fertility.
In Acts 23:8 the Sadducees appear to take a modern view of higher creatureswhen Paul tells the Sanhedrin that the Sadducees say ... that there are neither angels nor spirits ... .
That is correct. The Sadducees also did not believe in the resurrection, which is why they were sad u see lol. Handy way to remember the beliefs of the Sadducees.
Do we know what kind of spirits or angels Paul had in mind?
It's complicated... sometimes he was referring to the human spirit, sometimes the Holy Spirit, sometimes unclean spirits (?fallen angels?), and sometimes to good angels. A lot depends on the context of the passage, and sometimes you must infer which type of spirit he is referring to based upon what he is trying to say.
If there are some specific examples that are giving you trouble, post the reference and I'll see if I can help.
The angels and spirits of Acts 28:8.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?