Rebuttals against the Heresy of God the Mother of WMSOCG. (World Missionaries of Church of God).
The so called Christ and God the Mother of World Mission Society of Church of God.
By: Paulo Miguel Magisa KSM
Proof Read By: Rev. Fr. Benedict John Cervantes
WMSOCG claimed that there is another existing God that was hidden thousand of years ago. This is the so called God the Mother.
Lets look at the verses they used to support this heretic doctrine;
Gen 1:26 “Let US create man in OUR image.
This comes from a basic misunderstanding of the Hebrew “superior” vs the Hebrew “plural”, also known as the pluralis excellentiae which we can read in different dictionary translations from Greek to Latin or Hebrew to Greek etc.
The argument from supporters of polytheistic sects goes something like this:
Person At Your Door: We have an “Elohim God”.
You: What is that?
Person At Your Door: “Elohim” is the Hebrew word for God.. and it’s plural.
You: (Not knowing a thing about Hebrew) UHhhh…
Are you ready to learn how to respond to this argument? Don’t fret, there is only one God, and we’re about to demonstrate where these door-to-door polytheists (and poor Hebrew scholars) go wrong.
How Hebrew, Latin and Greek Work
In Hebrew (as in Latin and Greek), when the subject of a sentence is plural, the rest of the verbs that apply to that subject are also made plural. If a noun is plural, the adjectives that affect that noun are also made plural. English is different.
For example take these two lines in English and their singular/plural states:
(plural)they made it
(singular)he made it
In English, we would be unable to tell from just the verb “made” whether the subject was plural or singular–only the subject tells us that information. In Hebrew, however, we would be able to tell, because the verb would have plural or singular endings. For example, in Hebrew the sentence would look like:
(plural)they (plural)made it
(singular)he (singular)made it
In Hebrew, as in Latin and Greek, we can tell whether a subject is singular or plural based upon the rest of the sentence.
Superior vs Plural
So what happens when we read the book of Genesis in Hebrew? In Genesis, we find the word for God: אֱלהִים
In case you’re not up on your Hebrew, that’s translated in English as “Elohim”. Here is how you pronounce it: el-oh-HEEM. The emphasis is on the last syllable.
Elohim is the plural form of the word “El”. “El” is often used to refer to God, but can also be used to apply to other divine or important objects or persons such as angels or kings.
In Genesis, we find God (“El”) with plural endings (“Elohim”), but the verbs that affect it are singular.
In Hebrew (unlike English), when the subject is plural, but the words that apply to that subject are singular, it does not mean that the subject is plural, but rather superior. God is superior, but you already knew that didn’t you? In Hebrew this is called the pluralis excellentiae.
In other words, by giving something a “plural” ending, but making everything else in the sentence singular, we are saying how great it is. How cool is that? There’s nothing like that in English.
Basic Hebrew
To say that “Elohim” means there is more than one God can only come from a lack of knowledge about the Hebrew language. This could be easily explained to us by:
Any elementary student in Israel (where they speak Hebrew)
4000 years of Jewish understanding about God
Any Rabbi
The Wikipedia articles on Elohim and pluralis excellentiae
Other Uses of the Pluralis Excellentiae
As you may have already guessed dear reader, yes, we see this literary device of Hebrew used in many other parts of the Bible. For example:
The word used for “life” in Genesis 27:46 and Job 10:12
The word used for “virtue” or “righteousness” in Isaiah 33:15
The word used for “master” in Isaiah 19:4
More importantly though, we even see the word “Elohim” used to refer to other singular subjects.
Other Uses of Elohim
If “Elohim” (אֱלהִים) always means plural to the uneducated Hebrew scholar, then how does that poor scholar explain:
The word “Elohim” (plural) used to refer to Moses (singular) in Exodus 7:1? (Hebrew or English)
The word “Elohim” (plural) used to refer to the dead prophet Samuel (singular), raised by Saul in 1 Samuel 28:13 (Hebrew or English)
That’s right. The word “Elohim” used to refer to Moses. Was Moses plural? No, he was not. Moses was singular. There are many other places where the word “Elohim” refers to singular subjects.
The First Commandment in Exodus 20:2-5 (or Deut 5:6-9) (emphasis added) reads:
2
I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
3
You shall not have other gods besides me.
The Holy Trinity
The WMSCOG (and other groups) cite Genesis 1:26 to support the idea of multiple gods:
Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
However, here God uses the word us to refer to the Holy Trinity, not multiple gods. He is still one God, yet He has revealed himself to us in three Divine Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
The Heavenly Court
We know from Scripture that there are many angels in heaven. One thread of Christian tradition interprets verse 26 to refer to God deliberating with His heavenly court. This is also another interpretation that does not violate the rest of Scripture or the historical understanding that God is one.
The Next Verse Disproves Multiplicity
That God is one is also demonstrated by the very next line, Genesis 1:27:
27
God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.
How do you read that? Verse 27 says “in his image”, “he created them”. Both of which are singular. If verse 26 meant there were multiple gods, then verse 27 would read “in their imagine”, “they created him”, however, it does not. The text here is singular, because there is only one God.
History of Christianity
We have about 4000 years of Jewish understanding and 2000 years of Christian understanding about God. All of which have always understood God to be one God. Any attempt to twist Genesis 1:26 to refer to multiple gods violates the entire deposite of Jewish and Christian understanding about God, as well as the rest of Scripture.
One God in the First Commandment
The First Commandment is singular because there is only one God.
To say that Genesis 1:26 refers to multiple Gods rather than multiple persons in one God contradicts the First Commandment which says “before me” and not “before us“.
To believe in any other god besides God is a violation of the First Commandment.
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother” (Galatians 4:26).
According to my NIV Study Bible, the “Jerusalem that is above” in Rabbinical teaching is the heavenly archetype that will be let down to earth during the Messianic period. In Galatians it refers to the Heavenly city of God in which Christ reigns and of which Christians are citizens, as opposed to present day Jerusalem.
The WMSCOG erroneously believes that the city of Jerusalem described in Revelation 21 is a person. However, the “holy city Jerusalem” is a city–not a person as Hebrews 12:22 clearly explains when it says (emphasis added):
No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem
We can use Hebrews 12:22, or read the rest of chapter 21 in Revelation to dispense with any silly notions that “heavenly Jerusalem” refers to anything other than an actual city.
Revelation 21:9-10
The WMSCOG references many verses in the Bible which talk about “mothers”, one of which is Revelation 21:9-10 which reads:
9
One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
Here, are two interesting phrases used to refer to the same thing:
“the bride, the wife of the Lamb”
“the holy city Jerusalem”
Also, note again, that right there in Revelation 21:10, it says “holy city Jerusalem”.
One might assert “but it says, ‘coming down out of heaven from God’? How can a city do that?” Well, how do you think?
It’s a metaphor for the Church. Scripture is replete with explanation.
Literal or Figurative Bride?
The (figurative) bride of the Lamb (Christ) is the holy city Jerusalem (a metaphor for the church). The liner note on my Bible says:
“9 [21:9-22:5] Symbolic descriptions of the new Jerusalem, the church. Most of the images are borrowed from Ezekial 40-48. The bride, the wife of the Lamb: the church (Rev 21:2), the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:10); cf 2 Cor 11:2.”
Christ always referred to His relationship with His church in terms of a marriage.
Just for good measure, let’s check out 2 Cor 11:2 which was in the liner note there for Rev 21:10:
For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
That’s Paul, talking to the church at Corinth. And look, there’s even a liner note on this verse too. It says:
Paul gives us a sudden glimpse of the theological values that are at stake. The jealousy of God: the perspective is that of the covenant, described in imagery of love and marriage, as in the prophets; cf 1 Cor 10:22. I betrothed you: Paul, like a father (cf 2 Cor 12:14), betroths the community to Christ as his bride (cf Eph 5:21-33) and will present her to him at his second coming. Cf Matthew 25:1-13 and the nuptial imagery in Rev 21.
Ephesians 5:21-33 is quite clear. Paul even comes right out in verse 32 and says directly that the church is the bride of Christ:
… I speak in reference to Christ and the church.
The Confusion
Now, perhaps these liner notes aren’t in the Bibles the WMSCOG is using, and maybe they missed Ephesians 5:21-33, because they believe that the “bride” described in Revelation 21 is a literal bride and that the “holy city Jerusalem” is a human being named Zang Gil-Jah. They might point out here something like Galations 4:26 which reads:
But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.
Alright, so let us for a moment here pretend that there are not 2000 years of Christian understanding concerning the “heavenly Jerusalem”, and let us also forget about all of the evidence we have read in Holy Scripture in support of Jerusalem being a city. Now, the term “mother” can still be used to describe something other than a literal human being–especially when referring to a spiritual relationship. Moreover, here it is being used to describe something other than a literal person, which reading the rest of that same passage explains.
The Clarification Right After
By not finishing the chapter, I guess one might miss that the holy city Jerusalem is a city? When we read Scripture in its entirety instead of just a few select verses, it can be a real eye opener. Here, let us demonstrate that the holy city Jerusalem is indeed a city and not a person. Here is Revelation 21:10 and the verses after it that you didn’t get a chance to read. [Emphasis below is added]
9
One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
11
It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal.
12
It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, (the names) of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
13
There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west.
14
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15
12 The one who spoke to me held a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
16
The city was square, its length the same as (also) its width. He measured the city with the rod and found it fifteen hundred miles in length and width and height.
17
He also measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits according to the standard unit of measurement the angel used.
18
15 The wall was constructed of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass.
19
The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every precious stone; the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20
the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made from a single pearl; and the street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass.
22
16 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
23
17 The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.
24
The nations will walk by its light, 18 and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure.
25
During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there.
26
The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there,
27
but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
I’ve stopped emphasizing because there’s just too much. It’s plain as day that Revelation 21 is talking about a city, and not a human being.
Alright, so it’s overwhelmingly obvious that the “new Jerusalem” or the “heavenly Jerusalem” or the “holy city Jerusalem” or whatever other name the WMSCOG uses, refers to a literal city (the church in the Kingdom of Heaven), and not a person.
The reason I like this proof so much is that it’s easy for you to remember. If someone brings up Revelation 21:9-10. All you have to do is read the rest of this chapter in their own Bible to show them that Jerusalem refers to a real city. That’s why it’s so good.
You could also skip right to Hebrews 12:22 which clearly states “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”.
To conclude my rebuttal, I can clearly say that God the Mother is a TOTAL LIE AND MODERN HERESY. Let us defend our faith with deep understanding to what the arguments requires.
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ;”
2 Corinthians 10:5
Et fidei dignum!