davidpetersonharvey

[davidpetersonharvey]

The Lamb of God

One of the things I love about learning to study the book of John in koine Greek is the way John creates his narrative. Everything goes together like pieces of a puzzle that is not immediately apparent to me in English but stands out sharply in the original Greek.

In the early verses, John has made a clear statement that Jesus is the Word that existed with God in the beginning, was God and was the method by which all things were created. He has stated that the Word became flesh and pitched his tent with us, living among us. He has said that life was in HIm and that life was the light of men. He has clearly concluded that, to those who believe, he has given the right, authority, power to become children of God.

In verse 29, he introduces a new concept. "The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, "Behold, the lamb of God that lifts away the sins of the world." The words "τοῦ κόσμου" that we translate "the world" refer to God's created order, suggesting that Jesus lifts the sins away from His creation, restoring order. Although τοῦ κόσμου may be metaphorically describing people collectively, this deeper suggestion is carried in the language, that by lifting the sins of humankind, God is restoring order to His creation.

Τῇ ἐπαύριον βλέπει τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐρχόμενον πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ λέγει, Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου.

By verse 34, John states, "I have seen and witnessed that this is the Son of God."

κἀγὼ ἑώρακα, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκα ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ.

Then, in 35 and 36, we read, "The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples and said, "This is the Lamb of God." He restates for emphasis that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

Τῇ ἐπαύριον πάλιν εἱστήκει ὁ Ἰωάννης καὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο, καὶ ἐμβλέψας τῷ Ἰησοῦ περιπατοῦντι λέγει, Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ.

John has already clearly stated in earlier verses that Jesus is God, that Jesus is the unique (there's only one) son who is in the bosom of the father, that no one has ever seen God, and that the unique Son of God who is in the bosom of the Father has fully revealed Him.

Now, He is pivoting completely, referring to Jesus as The Lamb of God one day, explaining that He is God immediately afterwards and, one day later, referring to Him as the Lamb of God again.

John is making a connection for the minds of his Jewish readers to follow. One of the most important Jewish holidays to date is the Passover, where the blood of a sacrificial lamb was spread on the doorposts of the Jews in Egypt so the angel of death would pass over their houses when taking the lives of the firstborn children of Egypt. John is connecting the sacrificial lamb to God in a different way.

By verse 36, John has strongly laid the argument down that God came down in the flesh and lived among us, all the reveal God's plan to humankind and the execute that plan. The message was, and is, that God desires reconciliation with humankind. God desires a restoration of humans to their true purpose, an end to our rebellion that leads ultimately to our death and destruction.

To that end, God came down in the flesh and became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of humankind that plagued the world. It's the ultimate get out of jail free card to humans, an invitation to believe, turn away from sin and live out our true purpose. That purpose is to love God, love our fellow humans and take care of the world that God created.

It is the primal simplicity that Lao Tzu wrote about, the taming of the chaos, the restoration of the hearts and minds of humankind so that we may live as children of God and be the likeness of God in His created order.

All is takes is for you and I to believe, to receive and walk the path, spending our lives learning and becoming children of God.

Peace.

[davidpetersonharvey]

One thing I don't see discussed about trinitarian views is how the trinity is expressed in the first chapter of Genesis.

God's breath, which quickens all things, is His Spirit, without which nothing would live. The Hebrew word for breath also means Spirit. "God breathed His Spirit into man and man became a living soul."

God spoke the universe into being. "God's Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have beheld His glory, the glory of the unique Son of the Father," as John wrote.

In both cases, God emanated from Himself the power through which all things are created, His Word, and breathed His Spirit into all living things from His Spirit, through which all life exists.

From the very beginning, the full nature of God is expressed clearly. It is cohesive throughout the Old Testament and New Testament writings. Though there is no word such as "trinity" used in the Bible, three powers or "persons" as we like to say, emanate from and are part of the one, true Elohim, Yahweh, through whom all things were created and throughout whom nothing would exist.

This is why John talks about Jesus saying, "No one has seen God, not even one, but the unique Son who is in the bosom of the Father has made Him fully known." Some translations say "at the right hand" but the connection is more intimate. κόλπον means the bosom, the center of God's being.

This begs the question, when men of the Old Testament talked with God in the person, wrestled with God in the flesh, were they talking to a spiritual manifestation, the Unique Son or a messenger who came in the likeness of God as we are all created to be? I'll leave that to your further study and opinion.

[davidpetersonharvey]

I'm creating a video introduction to music theory for music students and producers right now, starting with talk of shine waves and the overtone series, leading to our musical scales and how fundamental things and overtones impact our perception of sins as either consonant or dissonant. I'm thinking of posting related information here for students. I'm just testing with this post to see what I can do from my phone but stay tuned for more as this series goes live.

[davidpetersonharvey]

#disagree #bodyshaming

I mean, I can see what you're saying and I understand why you might want to not allow commentary. While I'm a large person and enjoyed creating myself in a wrestling video game while my skinny friend created himself and we delighted our friends with it, I'm not sure my fat ass running around in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is going to work with the whole military aesthetic.

[davidpetersonharvey]

"I built my hope upon your love

And on this solid rock I stand

And by the power of your blood

When I am lost you lead me by the hand"

https://youtu.be/2qQdJmuontI?si=ziUAB3tes592RVRV

[davidpetersonharvey]

Available for purchase on MP3

[davidpetersonharvey]

My new synthwave track just dropped. Produced on Ardour in Linux using Vital, Surge-XT and Yoshimi. Please listen and share some love.

[davidpetersonharvey]

Our lives are beautiful and fragile, like fine china. Remember to cherish the time you have with the people you love. In my experience, it is all too brief. I made this tribute song using the Vitalium compilation of Vital and Surge-XT on Linux using Ardour. OBS and Kdenlive are my goto choice on Linux for video capture and editing. I hope you enjoy it. Peace.

[davidpetersonharvey]

Home from work sick, listening to chill synthwave and tinkering with code while the ladies shop. How is your Saturday going?

[davidpetersonharvey]

Things Are About to Change

I haven't been active on here but that's about to change. With my fledgling program on YouTube and Odysee called "David Peterson Harvey's Strange World" in production, I realize that it's not sufficient given the length of time it takes to plan, shoot and edit the reels. As a result, I"ll be using this platform to share thoughts that just can't wait for video.

You may agree or disagree with the things I share. That's okay. I'll disagree with you but always from a place of love. Feel free to respectfully engage as I find my focus and bring my Strange World to this platform.

Keep it strange and I'll post more soon.

[davidpetersonharvey]

Just saying!

[davidpetersonharvey]

In my latest video, I explore creating the beginnings of an ambient track using multiple instances of the Odin 2 synth plugin. I'm using it on a Linux system in Ardour 7.

[davidpetersonharvey]

Oh, Academy, you and I have very different ideas of fun.

[davidpetersonharvey]

I'm working on an special, upcoming episode of "David Peterson Harvey's Strange World" wherein I answer a producer's challenge to create a track using analog instruments while he uses their evil, digital counterparts in the form of soft synths. It's mad scientist v mad scientist where our two audio labs fight in a veritable "War of the Gargantua." What will be the outcome? Cheesy fun and synthy goodness lies ahead.

[davidpetersonharvey]

I started working on a new book yesterday. It will be a compendium of exercises and songs for classical guitar students, drawing from works by master composers and performers of the past. It should be a ready for print in a year or two if all goes well. I'm doing a little work on it today. 

[davidpetersonharvey]

In my latest "Strange World" video, I experiment for the first time with the awesome, free and open source Odin 2 synthesizer plugin.

[davidpetersonharvey]

This is my day. How is yours?