Clearly The Christ

What do you think Old Testament people thought about Jesus? Depending on who we could be asking, we might get blank stares or quizzical looks. “Jesus isn't in the Old Testament” is an answer that many folks would put forth. Yes, and they would be 100 percent correct. Jesus is not a name found in the Old Testament. However there is Son (of God), Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, The Most High, and Elohim to name some of the familiar titles referring to Jesus Christ. Clearly, Christ can be addressed by or spoken of with many terms of endearments and authority.

The word “Elohim” or “Elokim” is the plural of El, or Eloah, meaning God as mentioned more than 70 times in the Jewish Tanakh. Jewish people refrain from speaking the names of God. In the traditional Jewish view, Elohim is the Name of God as the Creator and Judge of the universe. Even though I am familiar with that Elohim equates to God, I was surprised to find Elohim was not in our Old Testament, nor is Yahweh. Arguably, Elohim is the first all inclusive name, that God revealed, to include God, Jesus and Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew name for God “Yahweh” easily translates to LORD as a singular entity. Elohim is the plural form of the Hebrew word for force “el” and thus represents how God discloses or unveils Himself to us.

Elohim is the first given name for God: “In the beginning, Elohim (God) created the heavens and the earth” The Tanakh, also called the Hebrew Bible, is the canonical collection of Jewish texts, which are also the theological origins for our Biblical Old Testament. The Tanakh consists of the same books as the Old Testament, although in a slightly different order and with other minor differences.

The name Elohim is unique to Hebraic literature and occurs in no other ancient Semitic language. The masculine plural ending does not mean "gods" when referring to multiple gods as opposed to the true God of Israel. However, considering the Trinity, as Christian believers, the use of the name Elohim indeed allows for Godhead plurality.

Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” We know God is used as a plural here because when God created mankind, He said “Let Us make man in Our own image, according to Our likeness”. This certainly refers to God and Christ and possibly the Trinity for Elohim is used in plural form.

God said let “Us” make man in “Our” image. If there were only One God then He would surely have said, “Let Me make man in My image” or “in the image of Yahweh” but He did not. While God's proclamation was expressed with perfection, many non-believers twist this very same verse to mean there are more gods than the One True God, God Almighty as reflected in the Holy Trinity.

There few fleeting descriptions of the Holy Spirit in scripture… in the first lines of Genesis, we hear that the Spirit or “a wind from God” hovered over the waters. The Old Testament Book of Proverbs talks about a spirit of Holy Wisdom that sounds very much like the Holy Spirit. The New Testament gospel of John confirms that the Spirit is like the wind (John 3). In Acts, Luke describes the Spirit as being tongues of fire above everyone’s head. But because the Holy Spirit is just that – a spirit, often more like the wind than like a person, it’s hard to have a mindful, tangible, image of God as the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a tangible, intelligent being capable of independent thought and action. I believe, as the true entity of the Trinity, she can take on any shape, form or fashion desired. Now we can extrapolate we are made in the images of God and Christ but what image does our imagination conjure up of the Holy Spirit?

But lets get a little more specific as we trace just two dozen of the hundreds of prophetic messages and persuasive evidences of Christ in the Old Testament and New Testament.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (or Emmanuel).

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”