Hello Mr. Smith,
>
> My name is Jeremy ...... Before my father passed away he was studying some
> pretty interesting things, not the least of which were if we went to sleep when
> we died and how hell is really a grave. He was studying Hebrew and got pretty
> far in his studies, just before he died he was studying Greek as well. He
> wanted to understand the Bible in its original context. I have known about your
> site for some time now but have never sat down to read some of your teachings.
> I started reading the lucifer hoax section and I had a question. I personally
> believe that Satan is not one person since in Hebrew satan is always translated
> as The Satan, and is not a proper noun but simply a common noun since Ha
> (meaning the) is at the beginning of the word. I was wondering if you agree
> with this or have ever heard of this before. I am intrigued by your tea ching
> since a few things that I glanced over seem to fall in line with what my dad
> taught me and was learning for himself that, needless to say, was not taken too
> well by some of the leaders of the churches he used to speak at (he was a
> preacher for 22 years before he sat down and started his journey into Hebrew and
> really studying the old testament for four years). Thank you for your time and
> if you could get back to me at your earliest convenience it would be greatly
> appreciated.
> -Jeremy
Dear Jeremy:
While it is true that often (not always, especially in the Greek Scriptures) the article is found before the noun, that does not of itself prove that it is a common noun. Sometimes we find the article in front of the word "God."--The God. I will not argue that there are times that "adversary" may not deserve a capital letter, but then again, not always.
Just who was "the" Adversary/Accuser who came before God in the book of Job? Was it just a generic common noun that came and SPOKE to God regarding Job. Did Jesus tell a common noun to "Get thee behind Me?" Is God going to symbolically chain a common noun for a thousand years in Rev. 20:1-3? Etc.
God be with you,
Ray
