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Does Exodus 33:20 CONTRADICT Matthew 5:8?
***What Does Exodus 33:20 TRULY mean?
Here is Exodus 33:20 from the KJV. “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”
Does Exodus 33:20 CONTRADICT Matthew 5:8?
In other words, HOW is it POSSIBLE the PURE in heart to SEE God and LIVE, when the WAY Exodus 33:20 is TRANSLATED in the King James Version says, NO MAN shall SEE God and LIVE?
So then, HOW do we HARMONIZE Exodus 33:20 to be in PERFECT AGREEMENT with Matthew 5:8?
Also, does the Bible ITSELF teach us that God is INVISIBLE and it is NOT possible to SEE God?
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How God HARMONIZED Exodus 33:20 with Matthew 5:8!
In the Verse Study called “Psalm 16:8 What Does This Verse TRULY MEAN?”, we learned that the throne of the Lamb POSITIONED BACKWARD in relation to the throne of Almighty God, the Father.
Thus, the throne of the Lamb is FACING the 24 seats of the elders with the RIGHT hand of Jesus being at the RIGHT hand of the Father.
Therefore, the 24 seats will also be facing the BACKSIDE of Yahweh the Father’s throne.
And thus, they are NOT able to see the face of Yahweh HIMSELF sitting on the throne.
Therefore, the FACE that they shall see will be the Son of MAN whom God MADE in His OWN IMAGE, the IMAGE of Almighty God the Father.
With this in mind, let us read Revelation 22:15 again from that Verse study on Psalm 17:8.
For, some of my readers may not have read that study as yet. Plus, it is always good to review what you have already learned to keep it fresh in your mind.
Revelation 22:1-5.
“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the THRONE of God AND of the Lamb. (Here we see TWO different persons of beings on the THRONE or in the throne ROOM of Almighty God, the Creator.
We see TWO thrones side by side, the Almighty God sits on one throne and the Lamb sits at his RIGHT hand BESIDE Him)
Revelation 22:2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bore twelve manners of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:3. And there shall be no more curse: but the THRONE of God AND of the Lamb shall be in it; (Or the throne of the Lamb shall be POSITIONED BACKWARD in relation to the throne of Yahwwh, the Father) and His servants shall serve him: (Or Yahweh’s servants shall serve and honor the Lamb even as they honor Yahweh, the Father)
Revelation 22:4. And they shall see His FACE; and His name shall be in their foreheads. (In other words, the now GLORIFIED Son of MAN, Jesus, is the FACE of Yahweh, who MADE the Captain of our salvation PERFECT through sufferings, according to Hebrews 2:10)
Revelation 22:5. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God GIVES them LIGHT: (Or Almighty God the Father GIVES His Lord and God all power and authority to GIVE his good and faithful servants the SAME GLORY that his God and Father GAVE him, according to John 17:22) and THEY shall reign for ever and ever.”
So then, what does Moses talking with God FACE to FACE truly mean in the LIGHT of the HUMAN Son of God being the FACE of Yahweh, the Creator?
I will BRIEFLY explain Exodus 33:18-23 again as an introduction to this Verse Study on Exodus 33:20b, which says, for there shall no man see God and LIVE.
Now, to me, in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, the way in which verse 20b, is TRANSLATED does not AGREE with the rest of God’s word.
Exodus 33:18-23.
“And he said, (Or and Moses said to Yahweh) I beseech You, shew me Your GLORY.
Exodus 33:19. And He said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, (Or I will make ENOUGH of my goodness cross over above you) and I will proclaim the NAME of the LORD before you; (Or I will proclaim the NAME of the FACE of Yahweh to you) and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Exodus 33:20. And He said, you can not see My FACE: (WHY? Why did Yahweh NOT ALLOW Moses to see the FACE of Yahweh, the GLORY that Moses SPECIFICALLY asked God to show him?
The short answer for now is that the NAME of Yahweh’s FACE needed to be kept a SECRET from Yahweh’s ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels) for there shall no man see me, and live. (Or more correctly translated, otherwise, when humans DISCERN me, they shall LIVE.
And God does not want man to live eternally in a FALLEN world of SIN.
In other words, it was not yet TIME for God’s Messiah to be revealed.
To say this another way, Moses, it is not yet TIME for my ARM to REVEAL my SALVATION to man, according to John 12:38-40 and 1 Corinthians 2:8)
Exodus 33:21. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand upon a rock: (Or “prophetically” speaking, understand that I have a place with me appointed for you to stand upon a ROCK)
Exodus 33:22. And it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a clift of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by:
Exodus 33:23. And I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back parts: but My FACE shall not be seen.”
Again, Yahweh is talking to Moses, saying, at this TIME My FACE shall NOT be discerned by you or the children of Israel UNTIL the TIME I will reveal My Messiah.
This is like God telling Daniel in Daniel 12:4 to SHUT up seal the prophecies God gave to him, because they are for the END of days in the future.
This is like Jesus telling his disciples in Acts 1:6-9 that it is NOT for THEM to know the times and the seasons of his coming.
WHY? Why would Almighty God and His Son NOT plainly tell THAT GENERATION the exact time of the coming of Jesus.
Well, for one thing, Jesus is coming with ARMIES to fight against his ENEMIES.
And thus, it is NOT WISE to let the ENEMY know the exact day and hour you are going to come to destroy them, giving them thousands of years of advanced notice.
Again, in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, the WAY in which verse 20b, is TRANSLATED, it does not AGREE with the rest of God’s word.
To understand WHY I say that the WAY in which Exodus 33:20 is “translated”, it does NOT AGREE with the rest of God’s word, please continue reading.
CLEARLY, there are several verses that teach us in SIMPLICITY that the RIGHTEOUS saved believers will indeed SEE God.
Please read the following passages of Scripture.
Matthew 5:8.
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for THEY shall SEE God.”
Hebrews 12:14.
“Follow peace with all men, and HOLINESS, WITHOUT WHICH which no man shall SEE the Lord:”
In other words, those of us, who are found to be Holy and pure in heart in Jesus, shall INDEED SEE Almighty God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have heard Oneness Pentecostal Christians argue that Almighty God Himself BECAME flesh so that He could be SEEN.
And they quote the five verses in the KJV that say God is INVISIBLE.
And thus, to THEM, that means that it is IMPOSSIBLE to ever SEE God.
However, Jesus himself says that the angels ALWAYS behold the face of God.
Matthew 18:10.
“Take HEED that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their ANGELS do ALWAYS behold the FACE of my Father, which is in heaven.”
Here are some prophecies that clearly teach us that the righteous saved in Jesus shall SEE God.
Job 19:26,27.
“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I SEE God:
Job 19:27. Whom I shall SEE for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and NOT another; though my reins be consumed within me.”
Job 33:26.
“He shall pray unto God, and He will be favorable unto him: and he shall SEE His face with joy: for He will render unto man His righteousness.”
Here is a prophecy of Jesus beholding the FACE of Yahweh when God raised him from the dead.
Psalm 17:15.
“As for me, I will BEHOLD YOUR FACE in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with YOUR likeness.”
Also, we all know and understand that Jesus is the Son of MAN and that the God of Jesus is NOT a MAN that he should LIE and NEITHER is God the Son of MAN that he should repent, according to Numbers 23:19.
Let us go ahead and read that verse of Scripture.
Numbers 23:19.
“God is NOT a MAN, that He should LIE; NEITHER (Is God) the Son of MAN, that He should REPENT: has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?”
Now, this parable is a prophecy directed toward Satan, the WASTER.
How do we know this? Simply look up the meaning of the name Balak, to whom Yahweh told Balaam to take up this parable.
Numbers 23:18.
“And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. (The name Balak means WASTER)
Numbers 23:17. And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What has the LORD SPOKEN?
Numbers 23:18. And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, you son of Zippor: (Or rise and CONFIRM you Satan, you son a goat speaking lies DECREE what I have prophesied concerning you doctrines of devils that I became flesh. Make it CLEAR in this court that)
Numbers 23:19. God is NOT a MAN, that He should LIE; NEITHER (Is God) the Son of MAN, that He should REPENT: has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?”
Here is a quote from another website of the meaning of the name ZIPPOR, which also pictures Satan.
The emphasis is mine.
“The most fundamental meaning of the unused verb צפר (sapar) appears to be to skewer or pierce through, whether by fear, a shrieking sound or a sharp point.
From this verb comes the often used noun צפור (sippor), which is a common word for bird and appears to refer to birds' signature piercing shrieks.
Then there is the noun צפירה (sepira), which apparently denoted a kind of headgear, like a crown or diadem, but which also served as a symbol for looming doom. Noun צפרן (sipporen) means fingernail or stylus point.
However, there is another verb in cognate languages, which is identical to the previous and which means to leap.
From it stem the noun צפיר (sapir), which describes a kind of goat, and צפרדע (separdea'), which means frog.”
When I saw that the name of Zippor carries the meaning of goat and frog, I thought of the goats being separated from the sheep and the evil or unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the DRAGON in Revelation 16:13,14.
So, to me, Numbers 23:19 is a PROPHECY being spoken to Satan on the Day of Judgment when Satan FALSELY ACCUSES God as BECOMING the Son of MAN.
Now, if God did become the Son of MAN, then God would be found a LIAR and God would have to REPENT.
Well, I got a little offtrack, but Christians need to understand the TRUTH that God DWELT in the flesh of His HUMAN Son whom He CREATED a little LOWER than the gods for the very purpose of JUDGING the FALLEN angels.
Now, getting back on track, the Greek word that is TRANSLATED as no man has SEEN God, literally means that no man has DISCERNED God fully as the Son of Man, Jesus, has DISCERNED or SEEN God.
John 1:18.
“No man has SEEN God at any time; (Or more correctly translated, no man has PERCEIVED, DISCERNED, and UNDERSTOOD God at any time from Adam to Jesus. BUT) the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has DECLARED Him”
To declare means to reveal CLEARLY! And Jesus came to SHOW us that the Father is the only TRUTHFUL God and that Satan is the LYING god.
Now, 1 Timothy 6:16 is used by Oneness Pentecostal Christians to try to prove that God can NEVER be seen, because He is SPIRIT and Spirit is INVISIBLE.
But those same Oneness Christians argue that the angels are spirits.
So then, HOW can the angels fight against each other if they cannot SEE each other?
Again, Jesus said the angels BEHOLD the face of the FATHER always.
Matthew 18:10.
“Take HEED that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their ANGELS do ALWAYS behold the FACE of my Father, which is in heaven.”
So, in conclusion, I am seeing that while MORTAL MAN may not be able to see God with our physical eyes, I believe that AFTER we are GLORIFIED to become the ETERNAL sons and daughters of God, we SHALL SEE of heavenly Father with our OWN EYES.
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
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Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
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