Hi there,
So, just to throw in a hard ball, there is a way to envisage the beginning, that makes sense of what we now come to believe is the "moment" (the moment we are in). It's not so much a claim about Heaven on its own or Earth on its own (as they are in Genesis), as it is a claim about Heaven and Earth together. In fact its more about principalities and their context, than anything else. You see, what we now know as the Gospel, was once before Creation, in the Heart of the LORD. This meant two things: one, it meant no one had heard the Lord; two, it meant that no one could proclaim His Gospel (that would be without Him). This is what the Bible is saying, when it says "hearing comes by the Word of God".
The thing is, what we learn from the Gospel is that Jesus was conceived, but that John the Baptist was also conceived. Between the two of them, the power of the Gospel kept them strong, kept them focused. It was the power of God that caused John the Baptist to leap inside his mother's womb; it was the power of Wisdom, to keep the Lord from revealing Himself before it was time. This is important, because it means that Jesus and John were in a sense brought together, by the Gospel - one revealing, the other proclaiming. What you might not realize, is that this was a picture of the time that was, before everything was Created. At the beginning of Time, the Message and the Messenger were One.
Now you say "How? How could there be no distinction between message and messenger"? But you are forgetting the image that has already been set out in the Gospels. Jesus was conceived in the womb, John was conceived at around the same time. Both were to become the Message and the messenger. If you say "but that's true of any baby, born at that time!", you are forgetting that though they may be conceived in the womb, none have so complimentary destiny as the One who reveals the Gospel and Him whom the Gospel is Of. We didn't see dozens of Messiahs and Servants? "Ok," you say "But how does that have any effect on the Beginning?" The answer is that God uses familiar symbols, throughout Time, to bring about Winds of Change - the Wind behind the Gospel, being His Greatest Work.
"Alright," you say, "Then when was the beginning?" Which is a fair question, for which there is a simple answer and a complex answer. The simple answer is that Message and Messenger were One, when everything that was to be Created on Earth were ready, that is, when the Spirit of God was "hovering over the waters" - where exactly being a matter for the Holy Spirit. The complex answer is that the Message and Messenger were One, whereever the Gospel would later be needed: universally, on many worlds, in many Ages (this is a spiritually hard saying). This also speaks of the relationship between Message and Messenger changing, where the need of the Gospel changes: In Heaven, in Hell, in Poverty and in Wealth and so on and so forth. All these things require a particular kind of Gospel: in Heaven we are given instructions on how to praise, in Hell we are given example of how to repent of our sins and so on and so forth. The point is that the bond between Message and Messenger makes us strong through the Power of the Gospel, to deliver us and uphold us.
Hearts that understand this message, realise that the relationship the Gospel gives us, strengthens our relationship with God, and that is the point! You can even point to scripture to point this link out, when it says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God" In other words "in the beginning the message of the word - the meaning - and the messenger of the Word - the sound, were the same thing: a Word, that Word was known to God and God knew the Gospel by that Word, God made space and time and charge for that Word, in Himself, giving Life to that Word. The One who God created the Word was given the Power of that Word, the Gospel (which is the revealing of the Message and Messenger in One), from the beginning". So you see, the Bible sets it out plainly, that we are never to try to separate the Message from the Messenger! They are One!
I hope this gives you some encouragement, as to the unity of the Message and the Messenger that is to come!
God bless!
So, just to throw in a hard ball, there is a way to envisage the beginning, that makes sense of what we now come to believe is the "moment" (the moment we are in). It's not so much a claim about Heaven on its own or Earth on its own (as they are in Genesis), as it is a claim about Heaven and Earth together. In fact its more about principalities and their context, than anything else. You see, what we now know as the Gospel, was once before Creation, in the Heart of the LORD. This meant two things: one, it meant no one had heard the Lord; two, it meant that no one could proclaim His Gospel (that would be without Him). This is what the Bible is saying, when it says "hearing comes by the Word of God".
The thing is, what we learn from the Gospel is that Jesus was conceived, but that John the Baptist was also conceived. Between the two of them, the power of the Gospel kept them strong, kept them focused. It was the power of God that caused John the Baptist to leap inside his mother's womb; it was the power of Wisdom, to keep the Lord from revealing Himself before it was time. This is important, because it means that Jesus and John were in a sense brought together, by the Gospel - one revealing, the other proclaiming. What you might not realize, is that this was a picture of the time that was, before everything was Created. At the beginning of Time, the Message and the Messenger were One.
Now you say "How? How could there be no distinction between message and messenger"? But you are forgetting the image that has already been set out in the Gospels. Jesus was conceived in the womb, John was conceived at around the same time. Both were to become the Message and the messenger. If you say "but that's true of any baby, born at that time!", you are forgetting that though they may be conceived in the womb, none have so complimentary destiny as the One who reveals the Gospel and Him whom the Gospel is Of. We didn't see dozens of Messiahs and Servants? "Ok," you say "But how does that have any effect on the Beginning?" The answer is that God uses familiar symbols, throughout Time, to bring about Winds of Change - the Wind behind the Gospel, being His Greatest Work.
"Alright," you say, "Then when was the beginning?" Which is a fair question, for which there is a simple answer and a complex answer. The simple answer is that Message and Messenger were One, when everything that was to be Created on Earth were ready, that is, when the Spirit of God was "hovering over the waters" - where exactly being a matter for the Holy Spirit. The complex answer is that the Message and Messenger were One, whereever the Gospel would later be needed: universally, on many worlds, in many Ages (this is a spiritually hard saying). This also speaks of the relationship between Message and Messenger changing, where the need of the Gospel changes: In Heaven, in Hell, in Poverty and in Wealth and so on and so forth. All these things require a particular kind of Gospel: in Heaven we are given instructions on how to praise, in Hell we are given example of how to repent of our sins and so on and so forth. The point is that the bond between Message and Messenger makes us strong through the Power of the Gospel, to deliver us and uphold us.
Hearts that understand this message, realise that the relationship the Gospel gives us, strengthens our relationship with God, and that is the point! You can even point to scripture to point this link out, when it says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God" In other words "in the beginning the message of the word - the meaning - and the messenger of the Word - the sound, were the same thing: a Word, that Word was known to God and God knew the Gospel by that Word, God made space and time and charge for that Word, in Himself, giving Life to that Word. The One who God created the Word was given the Power of that Word, the Gospel (which is the revealing of the Message and Messenger in One), from the beginning". So you see, the Bible sets it out plainly, that we are never to try to separate the Message from the Messenger! They are One!
I hope this gives you some encouragement, as to the unity of the Message and the Messenger that is to come!
God bless!
