The Year of our Lord 2004>
Proverbs 8:22-31
Proverbs refers here
to the pre-human existence of Jesus, prior to the creation
of the universe.
Verse 30 identifies wisdom as the master worker who helped Jehovah create all
things.
This master worker is `female' in the original Hebrew, and is wisdom
personified according to the context of chapter 8. So we see that wisdom was
created as the first of Jehovah's creations, was female in character, and
assisted in the creation of all other things. Colossians 1:15 says ``he is
the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation'', referring
to Jesus Christ. The scripture continues: ``by means of him all things were
created in the heavens and on the earth''.
Angels are generally considered to be female in nature, in the sense
that they are creations rather than creators. So wisdom, as the first and
greatest angel, is referred to as female. When the angels sinned and took
human form in order to marry earthly women (Genesis 6:1-4), they thus committed
a disgraceful folly, in the sense that they were female by their very nature.
Since angels are not referred to generally as having any gender (other
than in the spiritual sense just discussed), it is clear that both men and women
may go to heaven to rule as angelic kings with Christ. Because they recognize
Christ as Lord and Master, they also become female in this sense. They are
the bride of Christ.
WG
|