Who was “the LORD”
of the Old Testament?
Part 8
John Plunkett
In part 7, we looked at scriptures in the books of Exodus, Kings and espcially Ezekiel – scriptures that deal with the LORD and with His special angelic beings – scripture that are relative to the cloud and fire, the multiple eyes, multiple wings, the four faces, the wheels, rings and associated firmament.
Israelite Banners?
In
a recent discussion about the four fearsome faces of the living creatures/cherubim,
one church member mentioned that the four banners of the four sections of the ancient
tribes of Israel (to the north, south east and west of the central tent-tabernacle)
bore pictures of the lion, man, ox and eagle.
I’d
never heard of this before; so I promised to look into
it and to mention it in today’s sermon.
Hre is the introduction to the relevant
scriptures about these banners – or “standards” as the KJV calls them:
Numbers
1:
52: “And the children
of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by
his own standard, throughout their
hosts.
53: But the Levites shall pitch round about the
tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the
children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of
testimony.”
54: And the children of Israel did according to
all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
Numbers 2:
1: And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron,
saying,
2: “Every man of the
children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard,
with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the
congregation shall they pitch.”
I
searched the scriptures; but I couldn’t fnd any mention
of any pictures on these standards/banners.
So I looked these scriptures up in a couple of Bible
commenatries and here’s what I found:
Albert
Barnes
Standard and
ensign.
The “standard” marked the division, or camp.
The “ensign” marked the family.
There would thus be four “standards” only, one for each “camp” of three tribes.
The
“standard” was probably a solid
figure or emblem mounted on a pole, such as the Egyptians used.
Tradition appropriates the four cherubic lion, man, ox and
eagle to the camps of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan respectively (Ref: Ezekiel
1:5-and 12 and Revelation 4:7).
John
Gill
Verse
2: “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard” or “banner,” of which there were four, under each of which were placed
three tribes.
And
so, every man of each tribe was to pitch his tent in the tribe he belonged to,
and by the standard under which his
tribe was marshalled, and in the rank that he was placed: with the ensigns of their father’s house.
Ensigns were
either lesser standards or banners, somewhat different from the
great standard or banner, which belonged to the camp consisting
of three tribes, and which were peculiar to their several families and houses,
and distinguished one from another, like flags
in different regiments.
Or
these were signs, as the word may be
rendered, or marks in the standards or banners, which, distinguished one from another.
The Targum
of Jonathan {a 2nd
century compilation of spoken paraphrases,
explanations and expansions of the Old Testament} mentions “the signs which were marked in their
standards”; but what they {the signs} were is not easy
to say.
Aben-ezra {a 12th century Spanish-Jewish commentator) observes, and Aben-dana
{a Spanish/British/Jewish rabbi} from him, that their ancients used to say
that there was:
·
In the standard of
Reuben the form of a man on account of the mandrakes
of Genesis 30:14.
{JHP: But mandrakes weren’t men! They were plants!}
·
And in the
standard of Judah the form of a lion, because Jacob compared him to one in Genesis
49:9.
{JHP: OK.
But other Israelite tribes – including Gaf and
Dan – were also likened to lions in the scriptures; and a couple of times, the whole
nation of Israel!}
·
And in the
standard of Ephraim the form of an ox, from the sense of those words “the
firstling of his bullock” in Deuteronomy 33:17.
{JHP:
Deuteronomy refers to all of Joseph including Manasseh
– and not just to Ephraim!}
· And in the standard of Dan the form of an eagle.
{JHP: Why? Nowhere in the scriptures is Dan ever likened
to an eagle!}
… so that they might be like the cherubim the
prophet Ezekiel
saw in Ezek
1:10) …
{JHP: This looks
to me to be “circular reasoning” or “the tail wagging the dog”! }
… which is not very likely because such images and representations not being very agreeable, yea, even detestable to the people of the Jews in
later times, and can hardly be thought to be in use with their early ancestors:
Others,
as Jarchi {a 12th
century French/Jewish rabbi} fancy that those standards were distinguished by their colours, as our flags
or ensigns are.
But
others say that the letters of the names of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
were on those standards;
But
rather, one would think, the names of the three tribes under every standard
were embroidered on them, which would sufficiently distinguish one from
another, and direct where tribe was to pitch;
But
of those things there is no certainty!
Please
beware of an old error – so common in Church of God circles – of misidentifying
Jewish traditions with true scriptural facts!
In one of Daniel’s Visions
Let’s
go now, from Jewish tradition to scriptural fact! And let’s look now at a somewhat similar vision
as Ezekiel’s in the book of Daniel.
As
some aspects of what Daniel saw in this vision of his is very similar to those
of Ezekiel and John, please bear with me if I repeatedly point the similarties out to you:
Daniel
10:1:
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing
was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed
was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
All
three appearances of the word “thing”
here are transalted from a Hebrew word that we’ve
seen before – the word “dabar” (Strong’s
1697), which is elswhere translated in the KJV as: word, matter, acts, chronicles, saying and commandment.
Many
modern translations of this verse use the term “message”, which makes good sense. Let’s substitute then:
1a: In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed unto Daniel, whose
name was called Belteshazzar; and the message
was true, but the time appointed was long…
Please
note that this was a prophetic vision
that was revealed to Daniel – a revelation in a similar way as Ezekiel’s and John’s.
Later,
Daniel explains more about “the time appointed” being “long” and, as we’ll see
later, this is actually an end-time prophecy.
1b:
… and he understood the message,
and had understanding of the vision.
Daniel’s
understanding of the meaning of the vision must be very important, because it is
mentioned anther four times in this same chapter.
2: In
those days I Daniel was mourning {or lamenting} three full weeks.
It
is interesting that, in verse 1, this account starts in the third person singular
– “he”; but then, here in verse 2, the
narrative changes to the first person singular –“I”:
3: I ate
no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint
myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Wow! A three-week semi-fast! And without “anointing” himself – apparently without
taking a shower!
4: And in the four and twentieth day of the
first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel.
The
twenty-fourth day of the first month is three days after the Last Day of
Unleavened Bread. If he’d eaten no “flesh”
for three whole weeks, I wonder if he ate the Passover lamb meal that year? Or not?
But actually, I’m not sure whether or
not their Babylonian captors even allowed their Jewish captives to keep the
Passover – or any of the Holy Days.
As
the River Hiddekel (Strong’s 2313 – means “Rapid”) mentioned
here is also mentioned in Genesis 2:14, along with the River Euphrates, most Bible
scholars opine that the Hiddekel is the Tigris.
5: Then I lifted up my
eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man
{Hebrew “iysh”:
a male being or person} clothed in linen,
whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
We
were introduced to a “man clothed in linen” in Ezekiel 9 and 10. He was a very special one of the six angelic
beings. He was the one who had an inkhorn
in his hand.
This “certain man clothed in lnen” here in Daniel is probably the same one as in Ezekiel’s visions.
But even if he was a different “certain
man,” we can be pretty sure that he was not LORD/YHVH either – as we’ll see as
we go along.
Still,
he was probably more “man-like” than the four-faced cherbim/living
creatures of their prophetic visions of Ezekiel and John.
There
are good reasons to believe that this “certain man” might have been the archangel
Gabriel, who had appeared twice before to Daniel, as recorded in chapters 8 and
9.
Anyway,
he was obviously not a mortal man, as we see in the following verses:
6a: His body also
was like the beryl …
The
same colour as the wheels in Ezekiel’s prophecies.
6b: … and his face as the appearance of lightning
and his eyes as lamps of fire…
Just
like the appearance of living creatures in Ezekiel 1 and the seven spirits of God
mentioned in Revelation 4.
6c: … and his arms and his feet like in colour to
polished brass…
The
same colour as the feet of the living creatures of Ezekiel 1 and of the feet of
the Son of man in Revelation chapters 1 and 2.
Please
note that, just as Ezekiel did, Daniel attached imprtance
to the colours of the thngs
that he saw.
6d: … and the voice of his words like the voice
of a multitude.
Just
like the voices , noises and sounds in Ezekiel’s prophecies
and like the voice from the heavenly throne mentioned in Revelation 19.
7: And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the
men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them,
so that they fled to hide themselves.
Although
Daniel’s companions didn’t see the vision, perhaps they did hear the voice.
This
is reminiscent of those who were with Saul at the time of his conversion (Acts
9:3-7).
8: Therefore, I was left alone, and saw this
great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness {i.e. any good
looks I might have possessed} was turned in me
into corruption {rottenness},
and I retained no strength.
Wouldn’t
we be the same?
9: Yet heard I the voice of his words {which were like the sound of a multitude per verse 6}: and when I heard the
voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face
toward the ground.
This
verse reads like Daniel either received this vision in a dream while asleep, or
maybe he might have fainted with fright!
And who could blame him?
10a: And, behold, a hand touched me …
Similar to Ezekiel, who frequently
mentioned the LORD’s hand being upon him.
But
this hand that touched Daniel was the hand of the angelic “man”
in linen.
10b: … which set me upon my knees and upon the
palms of my hands.
What
we commonly refer to as “on all fours.”
11a: And he {the
“man” in linen} said unto me, “O Daniel,
a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto you, and stand upright: for unto you am I now
sent” …
This
phrase “am I now snt” strongly implies that this “man
in linen” was not the LORD/YHVH.
Rather,
he was an angel – likely an arch-angel – possibly a very special messenger archangel
– perhaps Gabriel, whom the LORD/YHVH sent to Daniel once again.
11b:
… and when he {the “man” in linen} had
spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
Again,
who wouldn’t?
Daniel
obeyed the angel and got up off “all-fours” and stood upright.
12: Then said he unto me, “Fear not, Daniel {who was noticably trembling}: for from the first day that you did set your heart
to understand {N.B.} and to chasten yourself before your God {by means of his 21-day semi-fast}, your words were heard, and I am come for your words.
“I
am come for your words”? For Daniel’s
words!
This could mean “I am come because of
your words.” Or it could mean “I am come
for more of your words.” i.e. “To hear what you’ll say in answer to the
words I have already spoken to you and others that the LORD wants me to tell
you”
13a: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia
withstood me one and twenty days…
It’s
like this angelic being is saying, “I would have liked to have come to you much
earlier and to shoretn your long semi-fast; but I was
a bit busy with this other ‘project’!”
Most
Bible scholars agree that this “prince of the kingdom of Persia was not the human
king of Persia who was mentioned back in verse 1. In fact, he was not a human being at all! But rather, a very powerful spirit being – possibly
– even probably, Satan himself, as we’ll see.
13b:
… but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained
there with the {human} kings of Persia.
This
“man in linen” was unable to quickly get away from that “project” – evidently helping
protect the kings of Persia – protecting them from the angelic – but evidently
evil “prince of Persia.”
This
verse gives credence to the idea that this “man clothed in linen” was the archangel
Gabriel. Why? Because, the scriptures tell us of only three
archngls. Two righteous
ones: Micha-el and Gabri-el and and one
sinful, rebellious one: Heyl-el (N.B. not “Lucifer” in Isuiah 14:12), who became
Satan.
If
I assume correctly that all three archangels are equally powerful, if one archangel
is in a fight with one other archangel (as was the case here, as we’ll soon read
in verse 20), a stalemate would likely result.
So, a third archangel would be needed to break that stalemate and to tip
the balance of power in favour of the righteous angels and the kings of Persia,
who were evidently being preserved to enable the Jews’ release from captivity.
But
this “man in linen” (Gabriel?) had to break off from the struggle – perhaps not
according to his own choice; but probably because he was commanded to do so – probably
by the LORD/YHVH – in order to take these messages to Daniel.
It seems that Michael may have been sent
to “hold the fort” until the “man in lnen” (Gabriel?)
had finished taking his messges to Daniel.
14a: Now I am come…
“Sorry
about the delay, Daniel! But I’m here
now at long last!”
Why? For what purpose?
14b: … to make you understand {N.B.} what shall befall your people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.”
Again,
“Now I am come.”
But
why then? Why did he come just then?...
Why
couldn’t the archangel’s “vision-meeting” with Daniel have waited until the angelic
“fight” was over – especially considering that, apparently, there was no real rush,
because the message was a prophecy for “the latter days” – “for many days” – way
off in the future?
So
again, why then?
And
the answer is – I don’t know! Again, when
it comes to some things in the spiritual realm, “Y is a crooked letter”!
Some
of these things are just too wonderful for our human understanding. But one day we will know!
Back
in verse 12, the angel said to Daniel, “I
am come for your words.”
Here
in verse 14, he says “Now I am come to
make you understand… etc…”
Yes,
he had come to give an end-tme prophecy about what will
befall Daniel’s “people” in the latter days.
But the actual prophecy itself is not detailed until chapters 11 and 12.
The
angel said “your people.”
What
people? Just the Jews? Just the people of the southern house of
Judah? Or the people of all Israel? Or all God-fearing people?
We
find the answer to that question in the details of chapters 11 and 12;
but that is another sermon for another time.
15a: And when he had spoken such words unto me…
What
were these “words” that the angel spoke to Daniel?
Up
to this point, the angel is not recorded as having said very much at all. Rather, the greater part of what he said to Daniel
is recorded in chapters 11 and 12.
15b: … I set my face toward the ground, and I became
dumb.
Poor
Daniel! He was probably still standing
upright; but with his head down. He had
also lost his power of speech; but it was soon restored:
16a: And, behold, one like the similitude of the
sons of men touched my lips…
This
spirit being who touched Daniel’s lips, was he the same one as “the man in linen”
who had just been talking to Daniel?
It
reads like this might have been a different angelic being. Why?
Because
the first one was introduced to us earlier as a “man” (the Hebrew “iysh” is a male person
or being) clothed in linen.
But
this one is introduced to us as “one like the similitude of the sons of men.” The Hebrew is not simply “iysh”; but is “ki–d’mut–b’ney–adam.”
16b: … Then I opened my mouth, and spoke, and said
unto him that stood before me, “O my lord
{N.B. lower-case “adown” – not upper-case “YHVH”}, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have
retained no strength.
17a: For how can the servant of
this my lord {adown} talk
with this my lord {adown}?...
Daniel
seems to be asking here: “How can such a puny mortal lke
me even begin to converse with such a powerful spirit being as you?”
17b:
… for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there
breath left in me.”
Even
though it was a vision, the exprience seem’d very real to Daniel.
Actually, it was real; but in a
spiritual, “dream-like” reality rather than in a wide-awake, physical reality.
But
even in vision, the arrival and appearance of these spirit beings was too much
for Daniel. Earlier (verse 9), he may
have even collapsed in a heap on ground and passed out!
There’s
an implication in Daniel’s words here that this angelic being was expecting some kind of answer from Daniel.
Daniel
was saying to this angelic being (paraphrasing), “How can I talk to someone like
you? Your very presence and appearance have
taken all my strength, breath and power of speech away from me!”
But
then, in the next verse, Daniel’s strength is restored to him – by the first angel
(if there were, in fact, two):
18: Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he
strengthened me,
The
word “again” (Hebrew: yasaph) implies
that the angelic being mentioned perviously is the one
who returned, touched Daniel and restored his strength.
19a: And said, “O man greatly beloved…
The
“man clothed in linen” used this same encouraging phrase back in verse 11.
19b: … Fear not: peace be unto you. Be strong.
Yes, be
strong.” And when he had spoken unto me,
I was strengthened, and said, “Let my
lord {lower-case
“adown”} speak; for you have strengthened me.”
This
reads like, for some reason, the “second” angelic being drained Daniel of any
strength he had left; but the “first” one came back and restored it again.
Please
note, in verses 16 to 19, the repeated accent on the words strength, strong and strengthened,
which are used seven times in total.
20a: Then said he, “Know you wherefore {why} I come unto you?
This
is puzzling! Because He had already told
Daniel:
·
In
verse 12: “I am come for your words”
·
In
verse 14: “I am come to make you understand what will befall your people in the
latter days”
Now
he asks Daniel if he knew why he’d come!
Maybe
the angel was just making sure that Daniel was recovred
from the understandable shock of seeing and hearing him (the angel) so that Daniel
was able to understand the important reason for their “meeting.”
20b:
… And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia…
It’s
like the angel was saying here: “Okay Daniel,
if you’re okay with this – if you know why I came to visit you – as soon as I’ve
given you the detailed end-time prophecy which I just promised to give you, I
have to take off back to finish the job I was doing before I was interrupted.”
This
refers, of course, back to the angelic struggle mentioned in verse 13 and
proves that this angel is the same “man clothed in linen.”
As
soon as he’d fnished with Daniel (see chapter 12), he
had to return to the fray!
But
look what the angel adds in the conclusion to this chapter 10 section of his discourse
to Daniel:
20c:
… And when I am gone forth {back to the fight}, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
If
true that the prince of Persia is Satan, who could this prince of Grecia be?
I
see two possibilities:
1.
Maybe
it is Satan again – once silenced, weakened and deactivated by Gabriel and Michael
in his attacks on the royal court of Persia, maybe he shifted his evil power and
influence over to the royal court of Greece.
2.
Another
powerful fallen angel – perhaps a high-ranking one was at work in the royal
court of Greece, as Satan had been active in the royal court of Persia.
You
might recall from other prophecies (e.g. in Daniel chapters 2 and 7 and Revelation
13) that Persia and Greece were the second and third of the four prophesied powerful
Gentile kingdoms/empires.
But
during the Jews’ exile, Babylon itslf was defeated and
its empire went to Darius-the-Mede, and then to Cyrus of Persia.
So,
the Jews – including Daniel – were likely under Persian rule at the time of this
vision.
Also,
as implied by this angel, the Persians didn’t hold onto the empire for very long. Cyrus of Persia would free the Jews from
their exile in 538 BC. Maybe that’s why the
two archangels were sent to protect Cyrus.
Because
shortly after Cyrus died in 530 BC, Greece defeated Persia in the Greco-Persian
wars.
This
indicates that, once the Jews were freed, God’s protective angels “left the stage”
and allowed Cyrus (who had served his purpose) to be kllled
and allowed the demonic prince of Grecia to come in and have his way.
21: But I will show you that which is noted in
the scriptur of truth: and there is none that holds
with me in these things, but Michael your prince.”
Not
that the LORD/YHVH and other angels wern’t with him (Gabriel?)
in the struggle; but the only other archangel powerful enough to give the help
he needed was Michael – the prince of the Jews – maybe of all Israel.
~~~
Although
the angel’s discourse with Daniel continues on, chapter
10 ends here. So
this is a good place to close off this series.
Just
to recap, the main reason that I led you through all these “angel” scriptures in
the books of Revelation, Exodus, Ezekiel and Daniel is because the question came
up suggesting that the “Angel” (capital A) was Jesus/YHVH. Also that some people
believe that Michael was/is Jesus. To
the best of my ability, I have tried to identify these amazing spirit beings.
The
main reason for the whole series was to attempt to clarify who was the “LORD”
of the Old Testament!
JHP/jhp