Practical application of Pentecostal theology in politics, economy and social issues
Pastor Shane Brown gives a Bible-based teaching about the next event on God’s end-time table – the rapture of the church.
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This is a long and sometimes rambling account of my investigation into the creation account, specifically with regard to the word “Boker” or morning. It is one of the most fascinating concepts I have ever discovered with regard to the Torah and the Hebrew language. The question is, do the ideas contained within hold up to scrutiny?
I happened upon this thought whilst researching the creation account. I don’t know if it’s original or has been discussed before, but if anyone is familiar with this idea, can you point me towards an analysis (if such a thing exists)?
After researching their etymology, the words Erev and Boker (or Voker) seem to have dual meanings, and thus could be used to gain further insight into the text. The commonly accepted literal translation of the phrase “Vayehi erev vayehi voker yom echad” reads “And it was evening and it was morning, one day”.
I was initially interested in the word “boker” and why it has the same root as “bakar” or cattle. This led to me discovering that “boker” fundamentally means “splitting” or “cleaving”.
I was excited but not surprised to find that upon researching the word “Erev” that it held the opposite connotations, ideas of mixture or gathering.
Leaving aside discussion over the word “Yom“, literally meaning day for the moment (I have other theories about that), it is highly interesting to then read the verses in this new light (if you’ll pardon the pun).
“And it was unified, and it was split, day one” obviously makes perfect sense with regard to day one and holds interesting implications for the subsequent days.
The idea that the creation can be reconciled scientifically by a series of “splitting of states” is highly fascinating for me. This also resonates with the idea (as stated in the Shema) of God being “One” – perhaps this reality is just the result of the splitting of that “one” into smaller discrete parts?
Edit: I have recently found an independent version of a similar theory in the book “The Science of God” by Dr. Gerald Schroeder. He describes the same ideas (which he attributes to Nachmanides), but instead relates ‘erev’ to mixture as in disorder or chaos. And to ‘boker’ he ascribes the idea of order (from bikoret-orderly, able to be observed). However he still seems to have missed the fundamental idea of ‘splitting’ which in my opinion is the key to unlocking the whole thing.
So to clarify the question: Has anyone written an analysis of Genesis 1 through the lens of these alternate meanings of ‘erev’ and ‘boker’? Is mine a plausible theory? Why or why not?
Edit 2: I just thought of another key argument which (again very simply but elegantly) supports my claims. In conversation with AbuMunirIbnIbrahim he challenged me on the meaning of בָּקָר, saying there is no evidence of linkage with the idea of splitting or division. I answered him thusly:
“In the case of בָּקַע and בָּקָר, however there is a clear linkage, which is discernible from one key translation of the root word:”בְּקַר: to plough, to break forth, to inspect. The Gesenius Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon translated by Friedrich Wilhelm states that the word בָּקָר is named for its purpose: of ploughing. This shows an undeniable link. Additionally there is also a second link which is that of the cloven hoof, which is one of the fundamental aspects of Kashrut.”
Coincidentally the other defining feature of a Kosher animal is that it is ruminant, ie. It has a divided or split stomach relative to other mammals. So both aspects of Kashrut involve the idea of splitting or division.
However, his reference to Ezekiel 34:12 really got me thinking…
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are separated, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness.
Look at this verse closely. “his sheep that are separated”. It hit me that this a fundamental characteristic of “בָּקָר” or cattle:- to flock or herd. A single animal from a flock represents the division of a whole into smaller discrete parts. Again this consistent use of language resonates perfectly and works with everything in its context. Sheep separating from the flock. The flock separating from the shepherd. Man separating from God. This verse (intentionally or not) uses the three letter root בקר twice and is directly concerned with the idea of unification (the flock) and divison (the scattering) and the subsequent reunification.
Edit 3: After some more research I am convinced that the two letter root “בק” literally means divide or split. Further, I am starting to think that the two letter root forms a fundamental part of the 3 letter root (which I have now subsequently learned is also a major part of Kabalistic thought). http://www.2letterlookup.com/ is a very useful tool in efficiently searching for patterns in the letter combinations and in the brief time I’ve been using it, I’ve seen some remarkable results.
In addition to the words listed above, I started looking for 3 letter root words with בק at the end (letters 2 and 3). Again I found multiple references to the idea of splitting, but one in particular stood out:
-Abaq (אָבַק or אָבָק) according to Gesenius means “fine dust” or “light particles” His conjecture as to the etymology reads:
“אָבַק a root not used in Kal, which I suppose to have had the force of to pound, to make small, from the onomatopoetic syllable בק, בך, פג, פק, which, as well as דך, דק (see דָּקַק, דָּכַךְ ), had the force of pounding; comp. בָּכָה to drop, to distil;”
The feminine form of the word also means powder. Clearly the idea of dust or powder as small particles removed from a larger whole again demonstrate exactly the same concept.
But this isn’t where it ends- it gets far more interesting. Genesis Chap. 32 recounts the story of Yaakov wrestling with the angel. The story often seems to be making cryptic allusions. First, Yaakov and his family crossed the ford of Yabok (יבק) – a name which appears to be highly symbolic. Then they wrestled (וַיֵּאָבֵק) the etymology again goes back to dust.
However, Rashi has a different interpretation attributing the word to an Aramaic expression found in the Talmud: דָּאִבִיקוּ. This is derivative of the 3 letter root דבק, meaning adhere, glue or impinge. Again the word references the concept of unification and division, since glue binds two discrete objects together.
I realise that this is moving away somewhat from a hermeneutic question, but I think it needs to be discussed. Either way I have realised that the Hebrew language is so much more complex and ingenious than I ever realised.
Michael Hofer
Definitely not the next event.
Varnel Watson
coming soon to a city near you
Michael Hofer
Dosn’t change the fact that it’s not the next event.
Varnel Watson
Michael Hofer a fact? got any proof ?
Jason P Sage
?????☹️
Linda Woo Rorabaugh
please
Varnel Watson
please stay rapture ready
Gareth Williams
No pre trib in the bible.
Varnel Watson
comes straight from the BIBLE thank you
Gareth Williams
Troy Day post trib yes, pre trib straight from JN Darby.
Varnel Watson
Gareth Williams post trib is a well known heresy None of the Church Fathers were post trib Virtually ALL were pre-mil pre-Trib Read on Straight from Church Fathers way way before Darby #sorry http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/the-early-church-fathers-and-their-views-of-rapture-eschatology/
Gareth Williams
Troy Day
We must be careful not to impose our modern understanding of rapture on the church fathers: they believed that 1 Thessalonians 4 refers to a rapture in which living Christians will meet Christ in the sky and be transformed. They saw this visible event as closely associated with at least the end of the tribulation and the defeat of the Antichrist, and often the final judgment itself.
Varnel Watson
Gareth Williams Nope Just read what they are saying first before making such uninformed comments
Gareth Williams
Troy Day I have read the early father’s in depth, the Didache also eludes to post trib.
Gareth Williams
Troy Day This bible study shows that the church fathers, closest to the apostles, believed that the church would go through the tribulation.
Didache (AD 100) “then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, …but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an out-spreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.” (Didache – Chapter 16)
Justin Martyr (AD 100-168) “O unreasoning men! understanding not what has been proved by all these passages, that two advents of Christ have been announced: the one, in which He is set forth as suffering, inglorious, dishonoured, and crucified; but the other, in which He shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us the Christians, who, having learned the true worship of God from the law, and the word which went forth from Jerusalem by means of the apostles of Jesus, have fled for safety to the God of Jacob and God of Israel;” (First Apology of Justin, Chapter 110)
Irenaeus (AD 140-202) “he who is to come shall slay three, and subject the remainder to his power, and that he shall be himself the eighth among them. And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Lord.” (Against Heresies V, XXVI, 1)
Tertullian (AD 150-220) “that the city of fornication may receive from the ten kings its deserved doom, Revelation xviii and that the beast Antichrist with his false prophet may wage war on the Church of God; (On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Chapter 25)
Hippolytus (AD 160-240) “That refers to the one thousand two hundred and threescore days (the half of the week) during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church, which flees from city to city, and seeks concealment in the wilderness among the mountains,” (Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 61)
Cyprian (AD 200-258) “For you ought to know and to believe, and hold it for certain, that the day of affliction has begun to hang over our heads, and the end of the world and the time of Antichrist to draw near, so that we must all stand prepared for the battle … “The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service…” Nor let any one wonder that we are harassed with increasing afflictions, when the Lord before predicted that these things would happen in the last times,” (Epistles of Cyprian, LV, 1,2)
Nor let any one of you, beloved brethren, be so terrified by the fear of future persecution, or the coming of the threatening Antichrist, as not to be found armed for all things by the evangelical exhortations and precepts, and by the heavenly warnings. Antichrist is coming… but immediately the Lord follows to avenge our sufferings and our wounds. (Epistles of Cyprian, LIII, p.722)
Victorinus (AD 269-271) “He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the temple at Jerusalem, and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles… The Lord, admonishing His churches concerning the last times and their dangers, … three years and six months, in which with all his power the devil will avenge himself under Antichrist against the Church.” (Commentary on the Apocalypse, 20:1-3)
Note: What is the point of this non scriptural evidence from the church fathers? It is very simple. We have seen the evidence of what the church fathers said about the tribulation and the persecution under the antichrist. If these people, who were the ones who very closely followed after the apostles, all believed that that the church would go through the tribulation and persecution from the antichrist, then it must be obvious that the Apostles never taught a pre-tribulation rapture. God bless you.
Gareth Williams
The pre trib rapture is very misleading and dangerous and I believe will lead many into apostasy when the mega tribulation kicks in, that’s when that saying will come true “where is his coming we’ve been waiting for” there will be a lot of discombobulation amongst believers who’ve been fed this myth of pre trib rapture. It teaches it no where in scripture.
Jordan Day
No rapture
Varnel Watson
no rapture for the ones left behind is what you actually meant to say Got any proof or this is all you got
Jordan Day
Wasn’t until Charles Nelson Darby in the 1800s it came about.
I’ve heard upon meeting Jesus in the air, it’s not a 180 back to Heaven, rather “escorting” Jesus to Earth. And there will be nothing silent/secret about it.
Was said the Second Coming was like the days of Noah. What happened? The bad ones were taken away and the good were “left behind”.
Also, persecution has occurred in the past, in some places and forms happening today. So why is the last generation exempt?
Caol T Lucky
All Darby did was gather several extant beliefs in the existing church and package them together. He didn’t invent the pre-trib rapture. Indeed, that particular belief has been traced to some of the Chiliasts in the Early Church.
Varnel Watson
Caol T Lucky you are right but fools would say No to what you said and will be left way behind
Tim Spangler
It’s apt to have a rapture app. If you agree…clap
Varnel Watson
seems like you need the most among us
Joseph Gunter
Did Jesus Promise A Rapture? No!!!
Waste of time as GOD, never uses apps and all that rely upon them are deceived!!! All Christians, rely upon, Luke 4:4!! There is no rapture as Jesus, referenced, The Days of Noah, Luke 17:26 and GOD, used the Ark, as A Place of Safety, to protect Noah and his entire family!!! The rest of the world, perished, Genesis 6:5 and ! Peter 3:20!!! The same applies in this End Time, GOD, provides, A Place of Safety, for HIS Faithful, Remnant Church, the Spirit, Empowered and Led, body of Christ!!!
Revelations 12:14 And to the woman/church were given two wings of a great eagle,(jet airplane) that she might fly into the wilderness, into her Place, of Safety, where she is nourished for a time, (1 year) and times, ( 2 years ) and half a time, 9 6 months ) from the face of the serpent/devil.!!!”
GOD, generously, provides, A Place of Safety, for HIS, faithful, remnant, church for a total of 3 1/2 years!! the first 2 1/2 years the GREAT TRIBULATION, takes place and the final year, The DAY Of The LORD, takes place!!!! All that reject these Bible Truths, as backed by the posted scriptures, will not, be their and will perish as John 16:2, & Matthew 24:9-13!!! The word, rapture and the doctrine is not, from Jesus Christ, who warned us repeatedly, that many, Christians, would be persecuted, prosecuted, and killed!! Hebrews 11, the Faith chapter documents how GOD, saves, recuses and preserves, HIS Faithful people, and their, is not, one example, of any person being raptured, nor will there ever be!!! Jesus, our perfect example, and ultimate authority, referenced, The Days of Noah, so we would know,what to expect and how to prepare and GOD, never, raptured Noah, is fact!!! GOD, protected, faithful Noah, who obeyed, HIM, in the Ark and the Ark, served as, A Place of Safety, and the same applies to GOD’S, faithful, remnant Church, GOD, kindly, and generously, provides, A Place of Safety, as the written scriptures, document and proves, and all that reject the scriptures, as millions do, will not, be there and shall perish is fact!!! The scriptures in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, occurs after the GREAT TRIBULATION, is fact, yet many, blindly following, men, are deceived, and shall Perish, is fact!!!!!:
Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because … of these things comes the Wrath of GOD, upon The Children of Disobedience. …”
2 Thessalonians 2:3 … Let no man, deceive you, by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come the falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…..”
Matthew 24:4 Jesus answered: “Be careful, not to let anyone, deceive you. …”
Jesus said, it is written, in the Holy Scriptures, is the place where, it is written, sadly, people trust in men, and are under a curse, Jeremiah 17:9 , and will perish!!! GOD, has told us, what HE will do, and when the GREAT TRIBULATION, is here, it is too late, to realize there is, no rapture, then again, the same happened in Noah’s Day, and they all perished, is fact!!! Amen!!! So be it!!!
Varnel Watson
are YOU ready?
Varnel Watson
The Greek word for “caught up” is “harpazō” and means “to seize, to carry off by force” or “to snatch away.” Someone who was kidnapped could be said to be caught up or snatched away by force and so this is the Lord’s doing however it is not done against our will because those who have repented and put their trust in Christ have by their own freewill chosen to believe in Him (John 3:16). I think Paul wrote this to the Thessalonians to reassure them about those who had already died and they feared that they would miss the Lord’s return or miss out on the kingdom. Paul expressly wrote this to reassure them that the Lord wouldn’t miss any of His when He returns; therefore Paul wanted them to “encourage one another with these words” that he wrote.
First Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
This will be hard to miss because when Christ returns again, He “will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel” so this won’t be something that believers will have to worry about missing. His voice will be accompanied with “the trumpet of God” and those who are departed in the faith “will rise first” and then we’ll join them into the entrance of the eternal kingdom of God and that joy will be unparalleled in all of our lives and in human history.
Titus 2:13 “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Varnel Watson
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