- Topic
Yesterday, my friend asked me to study the bible in her church, WMSCOG.
It was my 2nd study at the WMSCOG. Actually, my first study subject was God the Mother.
One deaconess taught me about 'Eloim' God.
It was my first time to hear that.
She said that in the Hebrew language, the term for God is 'Eloim' which means Gods.
And it is written more than 2,500 times that God was 'Eloim'.
I was speechless.
Is here anyone who can teach me about this?
1. What is the true meaning of 'Eloim' in the Bible?
2. Why did God say himself 'Eloim' more than 2,500 times?
Is there anyone who can explain this to me?
Thank you.
Hahaha. I should have smelled you from a mile away.
This post reeks of WMS.
http://youtu.be/Fcs2COCuIoY this video might help you.
I don’t mean to insult or offend you anosunny89, but I find it extremely hard to believe that one your second visit to the church anyone would tell you the person directing the study is a deaconess. Where is the humility in that? And they usually don’t explain their point of view about Elohim being in the bible over 2,500 times on a first or second visit.
If you are sincere in trying to find out about this group I suggest you pray to God and allow the Holy Spirit to direct you on where to find the truth. If you are sincere God will lead you.
The word Elohim, when referring to the God of Israel, is grammatically singular and occurs more than 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible. The masculine suffix in Hebrew is “im”, while the female plural suffix is “oth”. Therefore, the word Elohim is a plural masculine form of the root word El or Eloah. When the plural Elohim is used in the Bible it refers to as the majestic plural form of the word meaning majestic or absolute. In Hebrew, this is known as the pluralis excellentiae.
Does The Majestic Plural Of Elohim Imply Anything Multiple About God?
In order to answer this question, we will take a look at the times that the word Elohim is used in the Bible to describe someone other than Jehovah or Yahweh.
- In Exodus 7:1, the Lord refers to Moses as Elohim.
- In Nehemiah 9:18, Nehemiah refers to the “molten calf” that was worshipped by some Israelites as Elohim.
- In 1Kings 11:33, the word Elohim is used to refer to Ashtoreth (pagan god of the Sidonians), Chemosh (pagan god of Moabites), and Milcom (pagan god of the Ammonites).
In the above examples, it is clear that there is nothing plural about Moses, the molten calf, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, or Milcom. Therefore the word Elohim, when referring to Jehovah or Yaweh, does NOT imply plurality either. To believe that the word Elohim implies that there is more than one God, one would have to ignore all of the verses that clearly state that God is only one.
The words El, Eloah, and Elohim are used interchangeably in the Bible.
“…Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God [Elohim] apart from me, a righteous God [El] and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God [El], and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:21-22
“Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?You are my witnesses. Is there any God [Eloah] besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” Isaiah 44:8
The Singular First Commandment
The first Commandment in Exodus 20:2-5 (or Deuteronomy 5:6-9) says “you shall not have other gods besides me“. It does not say “besides us“. This is an important point for anyone attempting to claim there are multiple gods.
Is God Plural In The New Testament?
The Greek word for God written throughout the New Testament is Theos. The word Theos is singular and appears in the New Testament 309 times. Here in an example:
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God [Theos], the Lord is one’”. Mark 12:29
The plural word for God, Theoi, only occurs 5 times in the New Testament and is used to refer to multiple pagan gods and never to the God of the Christians.
“For even if there are so-called gods [theoi], whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods”[theoi] and many “lords”)” 1 Corithians 8:5
Conclusion
In the sermon titled “Seek David In The Last Days” the WMSCOG explains that it was their founder Ahnsanghong who tried to claim that through the word Elohim it was understood that there are multiple “gods”, yet they do not cite any of his books. I’ve read many of his books, and in them he never once claims there are multiple Gods, so I’m not sure where they are getting this from. (Please leave a comment if you can cite a work by Ahnsanghong where he claims there is anything other than one God).
The word Elohim in the Bible does not determine that there is more than one God Amighty, nor does it imply that there are multiple gods (aka a “mother god”) as the WMSCOG claims for the following reasons.
- The Hebew word Elohim is used to refer to singular Moses and other singular gods.
- The Bible clearly states that there is only one God (Isaiah 45:21-22, 44:8, Mark 12:29).
- The Greek word Theos in the New Testament is NOT plural. If the plurality of God was to be established by the word Elohim then it would have remained constant throughout.
anosunny89 wrote:
Jesus of Nazareth wrote:
The word Elohim, when referring to the God of Israel, is grammatically singular and occurs more than 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible. The masculine suffix in Hebrew is “im”, while the female plural suffix is “oth”. Therefore, the word Elohim is a plural masculine form of the root word El or Eloah. When the plural Elohim is used in the Bible it refers to as the majestic plural form of the word meaning majestic or absolute. In Hebrew, this is known as the pluralis excellentiae.
Does The Majestic Plural Of Elohim Imply Anything Multiple About God?
In order to answer this question, we will take a look at the times that the word Elohim is used in the Bible to describe someone other than Jehovah or Yahweh.
- In Exodus 7:1, the Lord refers to Moses as Elohim.
- In Nehemiah 9:18, Nehemiah refers to the “molten calf” that was worshipped by some Israelites as Elohim.
- In 1Kings 11:33, the word Elohim is used to refer to Ashtoreth (pagan god of the Sidonians), Chemosh (pagan god of Moabites), and Milcom (pagan god of the Ammonites).
In the above examples, it is clear that there is nothing plural about Moses, the molten calf, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, or Milcom. Therefore the word Elohim, when referring to Jehovah or Yaweh, does NOT imply plurality either. To believe that the word Elohim implies that there is more than one God, one would have to ignore all of the verses that clearly state that God is only one.
The words El, Eloah, and Elohim are used interchangeably in the Bible.
“…Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God [Elohim] apart from me, a righteous God [El] and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God [El], and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:21-22
“Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?You are my witnesses. Is there any God [Eloah] besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” Isaiah 44:8
The Singular First Commandment
The first Commandment in Exodus 20:2-5 (or Deuteronomy 5:6-9) says “you shall not have other gods besides me“. It does not say “besides us“. This is an important point for anyone attempting to claim there are multiple gods.
Is God Plural In The New Testament?
The Greek word for God written throughout the New Testament is Theos. The word Theos is singular and appears in the New Testament 309 times. Here in an example:
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God [Theos], the Lord is one’”. Mark 12:29
The plural word for God, Theoi, only occurs 5 times in the New Testament and is used to refer to multiple pagan gods and never to the God of the Christians.
“For even if there are so-called gods [theoi], whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods”[theoi] and many “lords”)” 1 Corithians 8:5
Conclusion
In the sermon titled “Seek David In The Last Days” the WMSCOG explains that it was their founder Ahnsanghong who tried to claim that through the word Elohim it was understood that there are multiple “gods”, yet they do not cite any of his books. I’ve read many of his books, and in them he never once claims there are multiple Gods, so I’m not sure where they are getting this from. (Please leave a comment if you can cite a work by Ahnsanghong where he claims there is anything other than one God).
The word Elohim in the Bible does not determine that there is more than one God Amighty, nor does it imply that there are multiple gods (aka a “mother god”) as the WMSCOG claims for the following reasons.
- The Hebew word Elohim is used to refer to singular Moses and other singular gods.
- The Bible clearly states that there is only one God (Isaiah 45:21-22, 44:8, Mark 12:29).
- The Greek word Theos in the New Testament is NOT plural. If the plurality of God was to be established by the word Elohim then it would have remained constant throughout.
This is what I wanted. Great Job Jesus of Nazareth ๐
Impressive response J of N…..BUT I nominate a Stainey to Smurf/Fly lice for displaying "high emotional octane"
@Anosunny89, It happens around here once in awhile, it's not personal…..we are humans not God, Emil will generally give you a calm rational response stick with him@anosunny89…the Koreans always try to appear humble. The location I attended had an unspoken rule that we never introduced newcomers to titled members using their title. We would introduce them only by their first name. That’s why I questioned why anyone even mentioned to you that the person studying with you was a deaconess. That action didn’t show humility.
Anyhow, I hope you understand what Elohim truly means from the above posts. If there’s anything else you need to know you will find on this website and a few others.
Come on, people, you can't seriously buy this!? Look at all his vague, rather neutral posts. And he just happens to be around at the same time as the whole new WMS activity wave?
You all ought to be able to recognize the wms mold by now… and you, sunny are freshly backed :))
He's acting all naive …But wait till he comes back at @JN with a counter question.
Fly lice, your remark worries me, you mentioned a whole new WMS activity wave, can you please tell me more about this. Did they come up with something new?
No, I meant the 14400000 new video testimonies. Which is quite a lot if you compare it to previous years when the only testimonies were from ex members.
Fly lice, there is no harm asking questions, whether his/her intention is bona fide. The forum serves the truth only…
We, oppose WMS, are trying to help with our best intention to those who are in vain with their beliefs.
Call me naive, but I personally would like to believe <font face=”Trebuchet MS, Lucida Grande, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial”> @anosunny89 is asking to learn. Time will tell…</font>
Curious1, I hope that you are not discouraged with WMS activities, because I see that the more they try, the more they sink in. It is pathetic that in their recent videos, I see them struggling with comments. They either delete or vote down to silence.
@anosunny89 – ask away here. Try to understand those that are annoyed because they believe you are not sincere. Disturbed gave you a few reasons why she thought your questions were odd. Many members here are former members of the wmscog and are understandably upset with them for having robbed the members of time, money and most of all, messed with their heads costing them years of fellowship with the true God.Whether you are sincere with your questions or are throwing them around in the hope of erecting a trap, only time will tell. Meanwhile, I will assume you are sincere and try to respond. But even if it is a trap, I have nothing to be afraid of.
I'm in agreement with fly lice. If it is outside of the scope of how the group operates, then it is not a genuine member / 1st, 2nd visitor.
Questioninginla wrote:
I'm in agreement with fly lice. If it is outside of the scope of how the group operates, then it is not a genuine member / 1st, 2nd visitor.
You both are quite possibly right. Perhaps it is 90% or more probable that @anosunny89 is not sincere and is putting on an act. If so, we would be wasting our time responding. That is the worst that will happen.
But there is a chance, however small you may believe, that this person sincerely is who s/he claims to be. Can we be responsible for pushing this person into the bosom of the wmscog through lack of sensitivity? I would prefer to err on the side of sensitivity if there is even a 1% chance.
There is no waste of time in helping people, whether they are sincere or not in asking for your help. What is important is that it is YOU that is sincere in your helping.
Anosunny, I will pray that God would lead you out of wmscog. There is nothing good that will come out in being with them.
Disturbed wrote:
I don't mean to insult or offend you anosunny89, but I find it extremely hard to believe that one your second visit to the church anyone would tell you the person directing the study is a deaconess. Where is the humility in that? And they usually don't explain their point of view about Elohim being in the bible over 2,500 times on a first or second visit.
If you are sincere in trying to find out about this group I suggest you pray to God and allow the Holy Spirit to direct you on where to find the truth. If you are sincere God will lead you.
I was told who the deacon was first of everyone
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