MIF 3:2 (Mar-Apr 1971)
Editorial
This editorial by the pen, now stilled, of esteemed and beloved George M. Landis, reminds us of the sure Word of Prophecy we have received, and indicates the solid foundation for our faith, God’s Word.
There is a striking contrast between the beginning of John’s Gospel and the Gospels of the other evangelists. Matthew and Luke begin with Bethlehem. John begins with the Bosom of God the Father. Luke establishes the date of the writing by mentioning the reigning Roman emperor and the Jewish high priest. John gives as his date the dateless “in the beginning.”
Some interesting comparisons and contrasts are seen between the first verse of Genesis and of John’s Gospel. Both begin without salutation or signature. Moses writes: “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth.” John declares in his opening line: “In the beginning was the Word.” Though both writers stand at “the beginning,” they are looking in opposite directions, as though standing back to back. Both find God “in the beginning,” as the Source of all things. Moses uses the Hebrew word “Elohim,” the uniplural name of God, which suggests the plurality of the Godhead. John begins with “the Word,” the second Person of the Trinity.
Standing at the beginning, Moses looks down the stream of time and records the creative acts of God. John stands at the same beginning, first looking out into the measureless and dateless eternity. Moses’ “begining” was historic, John’s was prehistoric. Moses records the beginning of the old creation, John tells of the birth of the new creation. Both see God “in the beginning,” whenever that beginning was. Moses tells us of the first Adam, the parent of us all. John tells of Him who, in resurrection, became the Last Adam, the only Saviour of the descendants of the first Adam.
Neither writer attempts to prove his assertions. Remember that the Bible never seeks to prove but assumes the existence of God; and declares that man a “fool” who says “there is no God.”