Revelation 3:14 And to the angel of the church of the Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of God
For the past few days, we’ve been delving into the multiple meanings of “Amen”. While “Amen” is most commonly found at the end of prayers, the Lord Yeshua (Jesus) often used it at the beginning of a statement: “Truly, truly, I say unto you …” more accurately translated, “Amen, Amen, I say unto you…”
Risto Santala, in his book “The Messiah in the New Testament in the light of Rabbinical writings” shares this insight, “Critics have long considered the words of Jesus, “Truly, truly, I tell you”, to be rather strange. In the Greek original the Hebrew words amen, amen are used, in a way which is not found in either the Old Testament or the Rabbinic literature. ‘Amen’ there is found at the end of prayers and speeches, whereas Jesus used it to introduce what he had to say. In the early 1960’s a fragment from a deed of transaction was found in which a contemporary of Jesus solemnly states “Amen, amen, ani lô ashem”, ‘Truly, truly, I am innocent’. Jesus seems to have borrowed this grave formula of his from a juridical oath. In Hebrew the words for ‘faith’ and ‘amen’ are derivatives of the same root. The word ‘amen’ is indeed the only permissible affirmation: ‘You can believe this; it is true!’”
Santala understands by this historical usage that Yeshua (Jesus) used “amen” in a legally binding way to convey his authentic spiritual authority, the reliability of His revelation, and the deep spiritual truths He carried based on who He is. For example, in John 8:58, Yeshua said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am”, binding himself by an oath to testify to His identity.
Writing to the Church of Laodicea [Revelation 3:14] the John the apostle, by the Holy Spirit identifies Yeshua as “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of God…”. The use of “Amen” as a name for the Lord Yeshua further amplifies the profundity of this one expression.
“Amen” thus may be a word we have taken too lightly. Think about the fact that it is one of the many Names of God’s Son and a word with literally endless usages in scripture; then use it with joy, faith, and confidence!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This story is such a powerful illustration of testing and faith that I can’t help but speak about it over and over again. How the Lord could sleep in a boat in a violent storm speaks volumes about His own self-confidence and His natural capacity to disappear from the scene so He can check how well His disciples have apprehended His miraculous power, and really trust Him. He doesn’t spare them one tiny bit from the sense of real and imminent danger. The storm is ferocious, the waves gigantic, the boat really is being overwhelmed with water, nearly swamped, the situation truly is life-threatening, and He’s out, quietly refreshing Himself in dreamland.
During the past two weeks, I’ve received numerous emails responding to our understanding of Israel in the Bible, clearly indicating a need for a more comprehensive explanation of my point of view. This will require a bit more space than …
Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [; ], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [; ; ], equal with God before Creation [; ], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [].
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