Q. I have some friends that do not believe in the Trinity or they say that the Father and the Son are God but not the Holy Spirit. Part 2

This week I want to continue with the question that was raised about the Holy Spirit and whether He is God or just a “force” or “power.” The Father ,the Son and the Holy Spirit are divine and unique beings, coequal and co-eternal. The Lord has chosen to reveal this doctrine carefully and gradually. It is a guarded revelation due to our limitations. Wrong ideas have produced heresies and threatened the faith at times. There are many examples of this concept. For instance the mind is made up of the intellect, emotions and conscience. In nature, a tree has branches, a root and a trunk. In fact the tree has been used in scripture to illustrate the union of the Lord with his people as one entity. An egg has whites, yolk and shell. Light is one, yet has distinct colors. Time is past, present and future and to the Lord there is no distinction, He transcends it. Space has length, breadth, height. Matter has the atom with its parts, and so on. I think you get the idea. In other words, the Lord has put within nature examples of His essence to illustrate it for us. Titles for the Lord like “elohim” (gods, judges) is a collective title and plural. YHVH ( made up of the Hebrew letters “yod, heh, vav, heh “) is singular, but it can be used for the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit individually. The Father (Deut 32.6), the Son (Rom 8.14) and the Holy Spirit (Jn 3.1-8) represent their individual roles for us in order to help us understand the relationship and functions of the three divine beings. These roles should not be pushed beyond their clear and intended “relationships.” For instance, “son” does not mean subordinate in essence to the Father. The “spirit” is not an inanimate wind or force. Father is a position of authority, the Son is the intercessor and the Holy Spirit is a comforter, or helper. These terms are used to help us understand the Lord and what their roles are in relation to the redemption and should not be pushed beyond that. I hope this helps you reconcile your question somewhat. Remember, there are certain things we will never understand fully in this life and trying to explain the essence of the Godhead is one of them, but the Bible is very clear about what the Lord says about Himself and this should always be where we find out the answers to our questions. This, of course, is only my opinion on the subject but I hope it helps.

Q. I have some friends that do not believe in the Trinity or they say that the Father and the Son are God but not the Holy Spirit, who is just a source of power. Is there any scripture that proves that the Holy Spirit is God?

A. There are many verses that prove it but let’s start with Acts 5.3. Of course the story is about Ananias and Sapphira and how they lied about some land that they gave. Peter says to Ananias in verse 3 “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.” Now, you can’t lie to a “force” or be baptized in the name of a “force” (Mt 28.19). The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Eph 4.30) and he speaks (Acts 13.2). He intercedes for us (Rom 8.26). He is called God in the next verse(Acts 5.4). There is a concept in the Bible called the “overlapping of Deity” in that the Father is associated with the Son in deified terms. Many epistles talk about grace and mercy coming from the Father and the Son ( Phil 1.2, Eph 1.2).  Then the Son is associated with the Holy Spirit (Jn 16.7-15)  So, if A equals B and B equals C, then A equals C.  The Father is a God of truth (Isa 65.16), so is the Son (Jn 14.6) and so is the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 5.7). He is included when the Lord says “us” and “our” (Gen 1.26). All three are mentioned in Isa 48.16. God is one in essence (being), distinct in persons and not a multi-faceted manifestation of one person, as the “Oneness” movement teaches and many denominations. The Father is unique (Dan 7.13),  the Son is unique (Psa 40.7-8) and the Holy Spirit is unique (Rom 8.26). They possess a full, equal share of the status of deity (Mt 28.19-20, Gen 1.26, 2 Cor 13.14). All three are uniquely revealed as God. For example, the Father (Deut 4.35), the Son (Titus 2.13) and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5.4, 1 Jn 5.7). The Holy Spirit has the same nature or composition of essence of the other two in that He is infinite, spirit, immeasurable, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. The character traits of essence of the Holy Spirit are the same as the other two also in that He is perfect, good, holy, truthful, sovereign ,loving, righteous and just. The Bible clearly teaches that the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, that the Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Next week I will continue this thought and hopefully give some insight into your question on this very important subject.

Q. Jer 19.6 mentions a place called “Tophet” or the valley of Ben-hinnom. Where is this and what does it mean?

A. This is a very prophetic place in Jerusalem and it plays a very significant role in the Tribulation and the judgment that follows. The word “tophet” means “spitting” and it is a burial place of the ashes of the children killed in the worship of Molech. The place is at the south end of Jerusalem and at the base of the Hebrew letter “Shin” where the three valleys meet. It was a valley known for idolatry and it will be the place where idolatry will be judged. The Hinnom valley is on the west of Jerusalem and it winds around the southern end of Jerusalem. Now, “valley of Hinnom” in Hebrew is “gay Hinnom” and it is where the word “Gehenna” comes from. This word became synonymous with “hell” because it was the opposite of heaven, or paradise and it was also called the “valley of the shadow of death” for obvious reasons. It was also known as the “valley of Jehoshaphat” in the book of Joel. After the idolatry stopped and the images and carnage ended, this area became a burial place for unbelievers, who were not buried with Jewish believers. This is a picture of the judgment that falls on people who have rejected the Lord (Rev 19.21, Ezek 32.2, 17-34, Rev 14.14,Isa 14.9-22, Joel 3.9-16. Lk 19.27, Mt 24. 29-31, Jer 7.27-34, Lk 17 33.37). This place was associated with Ba’al and considered unclean (Jer 32.35). In the first century it was the garbage dump of the city of Jerusalem and the smoke of the trash burning was constant and the Lord used it as an example of Hell in several of his teachings. It is not possible to give an in-depth teaching on this but this area was the setting for the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man found in Lk 16 and in Matt 25 with the judgment of the sheep and goats. He says to the righteous on his right to enter into the kingdom. The holiest site of earth was the Temple. Then he sends the wicked on his left into “eternal fire” (tophet) and their bodies are thrown into Tophet or the valley of Hinnom for all mankind to see (Isa 66.23-24) and  considered the most cursed place on earth. If the righteous are on his right (the Temple) and the wicked to his left (valley of Tophet) then Yeshua is sitting on the Mount of Olives during this judgment. Also, Yeshua’s betrayal was directly related to this area in one of the most ironical stories of the Bible. We know that Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver for his work, and after he repented for what he had done, he threw the money into the Temple. Judas hung himself and the priests took the money and bought a burial place south of the city, in the valley of Hinnom (gehenna) and called it “akeldama” which means field of blood (Acts 1.19). It was cheap land and it was a place where the poor, the transient and those considered “cursed” were buried. Later, this field came up for sale and the family of Annas and Caiphas bought it. Recent excavations have found their actual tombs in the valley of Tophet. The two High Priests who presided over the murder of the Messiah were buried in Tophet, the most cursed place on earth. So, this area has a very dark history and symbolic but it is also prophetic and it will play a role in the future and is directly related to the judgment of the nations.

Q. Does Mt 17.24-27 teach that believers are exempt from paying taxes?

A. These verses have been misinterpreted by many to bolster some anti-government agenda, but that is a stretch. We already know that Yeshua said that we were to render to Caesar the things that were Caesar’s and that tax was a civil tax, so that settles the tax issue. What is going here is this. Exodus 30.12 talks about the half-shekel that was given when Israel took a census for war. This shekel was paid  as an atonement because a soldier was a potential life-taker. If this wasn’t done, then there could be a plague among the people. The word “plague” in Hebrew means slaughter, defeat or fall. David did not do this in 1Chr 21.14-17 and 2 Sam 24.25 and a plague resulted in many deaths until it was stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah, the future site of the Temple altar. This is very symbolic because the plague of sin was covered at that altar, and ultimately sin was dealt with at the altar called Golgotha. The word Golgotha is related to Gilgal” where Joshua circumcised Israel after crossing the Jordan and entering the land, thus rolling back their reproach. Gilgal means “to roll away.” Another Joshua (Yeshua) came along and ratified a New Covenant that circumcised our hearts at Golgotha. Now, after the half-shekel was paid by the males who were being mustered for the army, the money was used for the Tabernacle, its services and worship, upkeep and needs. It was seen as a contribution to the Lord to make “atonement for yourselves.” Later, this “tax” was used for the Temple for the same reason. This was a religious tax, not civil, and in the first century it was collected right before Passover. Now, in the narrative in Matthew, Peter is approached by collectors of this tax and they ask him if the Lord paid the half-shekel tax. Peter answers yes, and goes into the house there. Knowing this dialogue happened, Yeshua uses the opportunity to reveal to Peter who he was. He asks for his opinion and then asks “from who do the kings of the earth collect taxes, from their sons or from strangers (regular subjects).” Peters answers “from regular subjects.” Then Yeshua says “so, the sons are exempt. But, lest we offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook and the first fish (a tilapia by the way!) that comes up, when you open its mouth you will find a stater. Take that and give it to them for you and me.”  There are some who say that this is a Hebrew idiom meaning that the first fish he caught was worth a stater when sold and Peter was to use that to pay the tax, but others say this was literal. Whatever the case, here is what happened. Yeshua doesn’t need to pay the tax because he is the son of God, the King of the Temple. Since this was for the Temple service and worship, and he was Lord of the Temple, he didn’t owe it. But, rather than cause an offense and exert his right not to do so, he tells Peter to go fishing. And notice , he doesn’t say pay the tax for “us” but for “you and me” because he was paying “not to cause offense”(because he didn’t owe it), but Peter was paying because owed it. Far from being a mandate to refrain from paying  civil taxes, this was saying that Yeshua was God and Lord of the Temple.