Spiritual Questioning
1. "But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" Hebrews 1:13i) Are the enemies of Christ literally a footstool under his feet or is this symbolic?
ii) If symbolic then is Jesus literally sitting at the right hand of someone else?
2. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son where was the Holy Spirit mentioned? (please supply verse)
3. According to the last mention in scripture which person is sitting on the throne?
Add Your Comment(3)
Spiritual QuestioningPosted by Correy Thursday, March 23, 2006
After reading many creeds and belief statements
I decided to stick to my own
3 Comments:
Good questions, PB. I will take a stab at them in my weak way.
1. I believe the reference to the "footstool" is symbolic. In the mid-Eastern culture, having one's enemies under one's foot is a reference to having dominion over them. I have read that in some cases, a defeated king must bow before his conqueror and allow him to place his foot upon his neck as a symbol of dominance. Even today, it is considered an insult to show the bottom of your foot to someone from that region.
While I have heard it argued that the phrase, "right hand of the throne of God", is symbolic, I know that the Bible does make several references to the throne of God. In Revelation 20:11, it even gives us a physical description of it.
In that the "right hand of the throne" is the position of influence, it really doesn't matter whether the throne is real or if it is just a figure of speech. The fact remains that Jesus has influence with the Father.
2. The parable of the prodigal son does not specifically mention the Holy Spirit. The closest thing I can find is the phrase, "he came to himself". In that I believe that the prodigal son illustrates a backslidden believer, this could indicate a moment of illumination by the Spirit, but that would only be theoretical.
3. As for the third question, by last mention, are you referring to Revelation 22? It describes both the throne of God and the throne of the Lamb. This seems to indicate that both Father and Son have seats of power in the new creation.
You certainly dug deep on these questions, my brother! :)
Here's my thoughts.
1. The footstool line is a metaphor from Psalm 110 where God tells David that he will conquer his enemies. The author of Hebrews reinterprets the statement to apply to Jesus as the son of David. So it refers to Jesus' victory over his enemies.
The right-hand bit is also probably a reference to Jesus' God-given authority and sovereignty over the universe. It probably shouldn't be understood too literally.
2. I don't think it mentions the Holy Spirit. If we look back at v. 1-2 of the chapter, it gives us a better idea of what Jesus is illustrating with these parables.
3. That verse doesn't mention a throne, but v. 8 mentions Jesus' throne.
Dear P.B.,
I'm afraid I'm stumped.
Love in Christ,
Jeff
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