Who or what is God?

One of the most astounding things that I heard when I began to really study the Bible was that there were many gods. Not in the sense of the ancient Greeks and Romans looking towards Olympus, although that could hold some answers as well, but in the sense that God-God, the highest one, needs other beings to implement his intentions.

Take for instance the first verse in the bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” which in Hebrew goes like this, “Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’arets.” Who is this Elohim character? The Hebrews considered Jehovah or YHVH to be their God but they also had other gods as described in Wikipedia: El Elyon (“Most High God”), El Shaddai (“God Almighty”), El `Olam (“Everlasting God”), El Hai (“Living God”), El Ro’i (“God of Seeing”), El Elohe Israel (“God, the God of Israel”), El Gibbor (“God of Strength”) – it will be no accident that there are seven. Then there is Moses’ famous conversation with God when Moses asks God what his name is (Exodus 3:14) and the response is Ehyeh asher ehyeh I am that I am.

When I hear people say, “I don’t believe in God” I can perfectly understand that. They have the courage to admit that, so far, no one has given them an understanding of God and each time they come across ideas about God there is no inner confirmation within them that what is said makes sense. When I first heard that about the Elohim-God I felt liberated. These Elohim are one level of the nine levels of spiritual beings that put God-God’s intentions into action. These nine levels of spiritual beings were described by Dionysius the Areopagite and using his list we can find them identified throughout the Bible, specifically when the words, power, authority, might, principalities, among others, are used.

The Greek word for Elohim is exousiai and is rightly translated as power – the power to create. I was also told that the Elohim were plural and feminine. Since then I have come to understand why that is. They are the creators of form, like a pregnant woman, and we see their work in every form on this earth. It is also like seeing the finished house from the architects plan. We will explore these gods some more in the future.