Miraculous Intervention

Miraculous Intervention
by Tom Moniz

How many spirit beings are there?

Where does the idea of invisible spirit beings come from? Does it come from the Hebrew Torah, or does it come from the imaginations of mankind? This message is written in an attempt at explaining why my prayers to YHWH and my studies of the Hebrew Torah have caused me to no longer believe in the concept of supernatural spirit beings, usually referred to as "angels".

I am sure many, if not all of you, are familiar with the little story about the man on his roof as his town is being flooded. He asks God to save him, and first a boat comes by, and he says, no I am waiting for God to save me. Then a helicopter, etc, etc. When he finally drowns, he asks God why He didn't save him, and He says, but I did! I sent this and that, but you didn't let them help you.

What is it that causes men to expect "miraculous" intervention? There is example after example of YHWH working thru people and the rest of creation to guide us, but for some reason we desire the supposed "spirit beings" and miraculous events. Why is it that we can be so stubborn in this area?

Personally, I believe it has much to do with our childhood. Children are like sponges, and the things that we are exposed to in our youth have longsuffering consequences, even to the subconscious level. Many of us while very young were exposed to all kinds of foolishness concerning invisible beings and such. Santa clauses, easter bunnies, tooth fairies, demons, and the all powerful boogyman. Is it any wonder that this deep-rooted idea of invisible spirit beings and such is so prevalent in most of mankind? Is it partly due to it being deeply planted within our psyche whilst we were very young and impressionable?

What does the Hebrew Torah, the book of revealed Truth have to say?

Firstly, just what does the Hebrew term malak mean, and how is it used in the texts? This is the Strongs definition:

04397 $alm mal'ak {mal-awk'}

from an unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy; TWOT - 1068a; n m

AV - angel 111, messenger 98, ambassadors 4, variant 1; 214

1) messenger, representative
1a) messenger
1b) angel
1c) the theophanic angel
======

So, as we see, in the KJV, it is pretty equally translated either "angel" or "messenger/ambassador", and a simple search of the texts shows how often it is clearly a human being whom is being described as a malak.

What is a "theophanic angel"? According to Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry:    the·oph·a·ny
Pronunciation:    thE-'ä-f&-nE
Function:    noun
Inflected Form(s):    plural -nies
Etymology:    Medieval Latin theophania, from Late Greek theophaneia, from Greek the- + -phaneia (as in epiphaneia appearance) -- more at EPIPHANY
: a visible manifestation of a deity
- theo·phan·ic /"thE-&-'fa-nik/ adjective
====

Hmmm, a visible manifestation of a deity?

What is a deity? According to Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry:    de·i·ty
Pronunciation:    'dE-&-tE, 'dA-
Function:    noun
Inflected Form(s):    plural -ties
Etymology:    Middle English deitee, from Old French deité, from Late Latin deitat-, deitas, from Latin deus god; akin to Old English TIw, god of war, Latin divus god, dies day, Greek dios heavenly, Sanskrit deva heavenly, god
1 a : the rank or essential nature of a god : DIVINITY b capitalized : GOD 1, SUPREME BEING
2 : a god or goddess <the deities of ancient Greece>
3 : one exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful
=====

Hmmm, a god or goddess? This is getting interesting. How many gods are there? I thought Torah taught us that there is only One? Oh well, what is an angel? According to Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry:    an·gel
Pronunciation:    'An-j&l
Function:    noun
Etymology:    Middle English, from Old English engel & Old French angele; both from Late Latin angelus, from Greek angelos, literally, messenger
1 a : a spiritual being superior to man in power and intelligence; especially : one in the lowest rank in the celestial hierarchy b plural : an order of angels -- see CELESTIAL HIERARCHY
2 : an attendant spirit or guardian
3 : a white-robed winged figure of human form in fine art
4 : MESSENGER, HARBINGER <angel of death>
5 : a person like an angel (as in looks or behavior)
6 Christian Science : inspiration from God
7 : one (as a backer of a theatrical venture) who aids or supports with money or influence
8 : ANGELFISH
- an·gel·ic /an-'je-lik/ or an·gel·i·cal /-li-k&l/ adjective
- an·gel·i·cal·ly /-li-k(&-)lE/ adverb
=====

Hmmm, this is really starting to get strange to me. A spiritual being superior to man in power and intelligence, one in the lower rank in the celestial heirarchy? Lets not even get into arch-angels. If you notice though, "angel" is basically an English transliteration of the Greek and Latin terms which mean "messenger". Messenger is indeed the accurate English translation of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin terms though. This is simply a fact, is it not?

It would seem the translators enjoy using angel on occasion though, possibly due to their preconceived notions of these so called "spiritual beings", these "deities", who are NOT YHWH Himself. Is this what the Hebrew Torah teaches us though? Is this what the book of revealed Truth teaches us? Personally I would have to say no. What does the Hebrew Torah actually show? Lets look at some of the first and defining usages of the term found in the foundation, the beginning, ie, Bereshyt, Genesis.

The introduction to the term is in Bereshyt 16 concerning Hagar, after she ran away from Abraham and Sarah:

Ge 16:7 And the angel <04397> of YHWH found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
Ge 16:9 And the angel <04397> of YHWH said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
Ge 16:10 And the angel <04397> of YHWH said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
Ge 16:11 And the angel <04397> of YHWH said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Y'shmael; because YHWH hath heard thy affliction.

So we see the KJ translators choose the term angel which can influence our understanding, but the fact is there is nothing there that would cause me to believe this was a deity/spirit being. This may very well be a human being whom YHWH (the One and ONLY deity/spirit) used to speak to Hagar thru. Bottom line, nothing conclusive.

In the next usage we see it referring to 2 of the 3 men who met with Abraham:

Ge 19:1 And there came two angels <04397> to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

Again, the KJ translators choose the term angel, but we know the Hebrew term means messenger. Thru this account, and the previous chapter, these messengers are quite clearly defined as mortal human beings. This is the term used:

0582 vwna 'enowsh {en-oshe'}

from 0605; TWOT - 136a; n m

1) man, mortal man, person, mankind
1a) of an individual
1b) men (collective)
1c) man, mankind
======

0605 vna 'anash {aw-nash'}

a primitive root; TWOT - 135; v

1) to be weak, sick, frail
1a) (Qal)
   1a1) to be incurable
   1a2) to be sick
   1a3) desperate, incurable, desperately wicked, woeful,
        very sick (pass participle) (metaph.)
1b) (Niphal) to be sick
======

This word is used 11 times in this account describing both the men of Sodom and the 3 men who met with Abraham, which I will list but not read due to time constraints:

Ge 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men <0582> stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
Ge 18:16 And the men <0582> rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
Ge 18:22 And the men <0582> turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom : but Abraham stood yet before YHWH.
Ge 19:4 But before they lay down, the men <0582> of the city, even the men <0582> of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
Ge 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men <0582> which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
Ge 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men <0582> do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
Ge 19:10 But the men <0582> put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
Ge 19:11 And they smote the men <0582> that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Ge 19:12 And the men <0582> said unto Lot , Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
Ge 19:16 And while he lingered, the men <0582> laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; YHWH being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

As far as I can tell, there is absolutely nothing in the above text that would cause me to believe they were anything other than mere mortal humans. Actually, the Hebrew text of revealed Truth seems to be going out of its way to make sure we realise this. The only things that would cause me to believe they were not mere mortal humans is the usage of "angel" instead of the accurate translation of "messenger" for the word malakym, and of course the ideas implanted in my mind whilst very young.

One of the truly interesting things in this accounting is how one of these mortal human beings is recorded speaking in the first person for YHWH. How can that be? Well, what the text is telling me is that if YHWH speaks thru a human, it can be correct for the text to use first person for it is indeed YHWH Himself speaking. We know that this human who talked with Abraham was speaking for YHWH because Torah tells us:

Deut 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, AND WILL PUT MY WORDS IN HIS MOUTH; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which YHWH hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of YHWH, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which YHWH hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

So, if a prophet says something in the Name of YHWH and it does not come to pass, they are a false prophet. Well, what did this mortal man whom the text quite clearly shows us is speaking in the Name of YHWH say to Abraham?

Ge 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

Did that come to pass? Yes indeed it did! Not only that, this man also told Abraham about what was going to happen to Sodom before it happened.

So, the question then becomes, just who was this man? Personally I believe it was most likely Shem. Why? Well, he survived the flood, received the blessing from Noach, his name Shem means "name", and he is identified as the "father" of all the children of Eber. The Hebrew word translated "Hebrew" is derived from the Hebrew name translated Eber.

Ge 10:21 Unto Shem also, THE FATHER OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF EBER, the brother of YaphetH the elder, even to him were children born.

Why does the text call Shem the "father" of the children of Eber when Eber was his grandson? Father of all the Hebrews? Could it be that father is being used in much the same manner as when Yoseph is described as the "father" of Pharoah?

Ge 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me A FATHER TO PHARAOH, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt .

"Father", in respect to a teacher, a "fatherfigure", not a literal father? This is what I believe is being conveyed concerning Shem's role as head of the family, especially when I take into consideration that some of the children of Ham went off and "made a name for themselves" in Babel. Had they rejected Shem's headship? Did they set Nimrod as their "Shem"?

Who were the other 2 mortals? Could they have been Eber and Shelah, or maybe Arphaxad? Certainly this is at least possible. This would also explain why both Abraham and Lot recognized and treated them with such respect. I can also see the possibility that they were mortal humans "beamed down" from a spaceship dressed in strange clothes or something of that nature, but the text says nothing of that. Either way, both the mortal man who is recorded as speaking in the first person for YHWH and the other 2 were mortal men, just as the text says. Personaly, I cannot come to any other conclusion if I believe what the Hebrew text says.

This also helps me understand why this verse is written in this manner:

Ge 19:24 Then YHWH rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from YHWH out of heaven;

These mortal men, witnesses to the evil in Sodom, called upon the One and Only Deity, YHWH in Heaven, to destroy the city.

So, lets look at the next usages:

Ge 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel <04397> of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Ge 22:11 And the angel <04397> of YHWH called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Ge 22:15 And the angel <04397> of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

Notice in each case it is "out of heaven". What is that? Am I to believe there was a deity/spirit other than YHWH Himself flying around in the sky calling out to Hagar and Abraham? Or, is it more likely YHWH Himself audibly manifesting His Voice in the thunder of the clouds? Personally I believe the latter. If YHWH can audibly manifest His voice thru a mortal human being, certainly He could manifest His voice thru the clouds. The Hebrew word for voice is:

06963 lwq qowl {kole} or qol {kole}

from an unused root meaning to call aloud; TWOT - 1998a,2028b; n m

1) voice, sound, noise
1a) voice
1b) sound (of instrument)
2) lightness, frivolity
====

It seems to literally be used to describe a sound which comes forth from something, whether it be a mouth, a horn, or the clouds. Notice how it is used in the accounting of the visitation at Mount Sinai:

Ex 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders <06963> and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice <06963> of the shophar exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
Ex 19:19 And when the voice <06963> of the shophar sounded <06963> long, and waxed louder and louder, Moshe spake, and God answered him by a voice <06963>.
Ex 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings <06963>, and the lightnings, and the noise <06963> of the shophar, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

So, isn't it is at least possible that it isn't referring to a deity/spiritual being other than YHWH flying around in the sky calling out to Hagar and Abraham? Isn't it at least possible He manifested His voice thru the clouds?

The next usage of malak is most interesting and defining, imo. Lets see what the accounting in the book of revealed Truth actually shows.

When Abraham told Eleazar to go and find a wife for Yitzchaq he stated:

Ge 24:7 YHWH, God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; HE SHALL SEND HIS ANGEL BEFORE THEE, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Again, we see KJ translators use "angel" but as we will see, there is NO deity/spiritual being other than YHWH Himself shown in this accounting. This, imo, is a foundational account in Torah which should help us to understand just what a messenger of YHWH is, but few seem to recognize it. The account shows Eleazar knew what Abraham meant by "His messenger", for when he gets to the area he prays to YHWH:

Ge 24:12 And he said, O YHWH, God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; AND SHE SHALL SAY, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Yitzchaq; AND THEREBY SHALL I KNOW THAT THOU HAST SHEWED KINDNESS UNTO MY MASTER.

He is asking for a sign, he is asking for YHWH to intervene and make it clear to him who is the chosen one for Yitzchaq by speaking thru the girl. If such and such happens, and she says such and such, then he will know that it is from the One and ONLY Deity YHWH.

Well, we know the story, Rebekah does and says exactly what Eleazar prayed, and it makes it clear to him that she is the chosen one. All he now needs to hear is whether or not she is a daughter of Abraham's relatives, and we see Eleazar's reaction to the events:

Ge 24:21 AND THE MAN WONDERING AT HER HELD HIS PEACE (he didn't want to jump to a conclusion yet), TO WIT WHETHER YHWH HAD MADE HIS JOURNEY PROSPEROUS OR NOT.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?
24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
26 AND THE MAN BOWED DOWN HIS HEAD, AND WORSHIPPED YHWH.
27 AND HE SAID, BLESSED BE YHWH GOD OF MY MASTER ABRAHAM, WHO HATH NOT LEFT DESTITUTE MY MASTER OF HIS MERCY AND HIS TRUTH: I BEING IN THE WAY, YHWH LED ME TO THE HOUSE OF MY MASTER'S BRETHREN.

Eleazar CLEARLY sees the hand of YHWH in the events that took place, and thanks Him for guiding his way. There is no separate invisible spirit being here, NONE WHATSOVER. Only YHWH Ahlalym Himself influencing the words and actions of Rebekah, who was seemingly very easily influenced and not rebellious to the promptings from the ONE and ONLY Ahlahym.

Not only that, Eleazar repeats the whole story to her father and brother. Why? Why does Torah seemingly waste so many words on this account? Torah does not waste words, so why does it go on and on concerning this matter? Could it be so that WE get it, so that WE TOO do not end up like the man on the roof waiting for miraculous intervention? So that WE can clearly see how YHWH works thru the creation and not the supposed invisible spirit beings found in the imaginations of men and the religions of the world? These supposed "hosts" of good and evil deities/spiritual beings who fly around influencing men?

What is the difference between monotheism and polytheism? Polythiestic people believe in a heirarchy of god beings, usually with one more powerful than the rest. Shouldn't monothiestic people believe in ONLY ONE? Catholics are taught of the "godhead" and arch-angels and sub-angels and evil-angels and demons, etc etc, ad nauseum, but they do also teach there is One above them all. Isn't this what polythiesm is? Do we believe such things? Is that any different than the heirarchies of deities/spiritual beings found in the Babylonian and Egyptian religions?

Getting back to the account, after repeating the whole story to her father and brother, how did they react?

Ge 24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, THE THING PROCEEDETH FROM YHWH: WE CANNOT SPEAK UNTO THEE BAD OR GOOD.

Bethuel and Laban also quite clearly recognized the hand of the ONE and ONLY YHWH Ahlayhm in the event! They too, like Eleazar, did not need to hear of a separate deity/spiritual being doing miraculous things to convince them. They too knew what Abraham meant when he said YHWH would send His messenger before him.

The question is, what about us?

As YHWH tells us thru Y'shayahu (who just happens to be another mortal man whom YHWH spoke thru):

Is 45:4 For Yaqob my servant's sake, and Y'shral mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.
5 I am YHWH, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me:
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me. I am YHWH, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I YHWH do all these things.

Questions:

1.) The next usage of malak is where Yaqob dreams and envisions malakym ascending and descending upon a ladder. My question is, if malakym are "deities/spiritual beings", then why would they need a ladder?

2.) If malakym are spiritual beings, but not deities, then what is the difference between a spiritual being and a deity?

3.) What is the difference between monotheism and polytheism?

4.) How many spiritual beings can one believe in and still claim to be monotheistic?

5.) With all the accountings of YHWH being recorded in the first person speaking to people such as Abraham, Aaron, Gideon and others, how can Torah also state in Numbers 12:6-8 that only Moshe spoke mouth to mouth with YHWH? Why is it only Moshe's face shown?

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