2254 Narragansett: The Place where First Bulgarian Church of God in America Began in 1995
2254 Narragansett: The Place where the First Bulgarian Church in America Began in 1995 after working on the new church plant since 1994. With a sequence of startup events including a July 4th block party and Bulgarian picnic, first official services in Bulgarian language was held on July 10, 1995. With over a dozen Bulgarians present at 1 PM that memorable Sunday, Rev. Dony K. Donev delivered a the first message for the newly established congregation from Genesis ch. 18.
Narraganset holds a significant place in Church of God (Cleveland, TN) history. Narraganset Church of God was started by a women-preacher with only 10 members. Rev. Amelia Shumaker started the church only 15 days before the Great Depression began in 1929. https://cupandcross.com/90-years-ago
Rev. James Slay of the Narragansett Church of God in Chicago was commissioned to write the 1948 Church of God Declaration of Faith – the most fundamental document in the history of the century-old denomination. https://cupandcross.com/chicagos-narragansett
A multitude of documents from Church of God and other publishers testify of the rich heritage of the Narragansett Church as following:
- Lighted Pathway (Nov 1953, p.23) – Pentecostal periodical content likely discussing church life or ministry in Narragansett.
- Christ’s Ambassadors Herald (July 1955, p.4) – Archive: Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center; Features youth or missions news where Narragansett likely appears in a report or story.
- Church of God Evangel (Aug 27, 1955, p.11) – Denominational publication with article or testimony likely involving Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1956, p.67) – Official minutes possibly documenting decisions or events relevant to Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (May 28, 1956, p.4) – Article, testimony, or news about Pentecostal life connected to Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Oct 7, 1957, p.15) – News item, story, or report referencing Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Oct 28, 1957, p.14) – Narragansett likely cited in context of a church event or individual achievement.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1958, p.72) – Official record referencing Narragansett activities or personnel.
- Church of God Evangel (Apr 21, 1958, p.15) – Article or news referencing Narragansett Pentecostal community.
- Lighted Pathway (Aug 1958, p.20) – Story or periodical piece potentially mentioning ministries in Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (July 1959, p.27) – Pentecostal news possibly about events in Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1960, p.82) – Minutes likely documenting decisions involving Narragansett churches or delegates.
- Church of God (Colored Work) Minutes (1960, p.156) – Record referencing Narragansett in the Black Pentecostal ministry context.
- Lighted Pathway (Mar 1961, p.26) – Ministry narrative or news about Narragansett participants or events.
- Lighted Pathway (June 1961, p.26) – Pentecostal update likely including Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (June 1962, p.27) – Mission or church report involving Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (June 4, 1962, p.8) – Periodical item with church news or testimony from Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (July 1962, pp.24, 26) – Periodical articles likely covering events or ministries involving Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Aug 1962, pp.25, 27) – Reports or features about Narragansett in church or ministry context.
- Lighted Pathway (Sept 1962, p.27) – Commentary or report on Pentecostal work in Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Sept 3, 1962, p.11) – Church publication news or testimony related to Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Dec 1962, p.25) – End-of-year feature or event report involving Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Jan 1963, pp.25, 27) – New Year ministry updates or personal narratives referencing Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Feb 1963, p.27) – Article tied to events or news about Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Apr 1963, p.27) – Ministry or personal story mentioning Narragansett’s Pentecostal activity.
- Lighted Pathway (May 1963, pp.24, 26) – Series of short reports or church updates involving Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (May 27, 1963, p.13) – Denominational article highlighting Narragansett members or events.
- Lighted Pathway (June 1963, pp.25, 26) – Monthly news or highlights referencing Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (June 3, 1963, p.2) – Ministry or event news from Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (July 1963, p.26) – Summer reporting on church activity in Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Aug 1963, p.26) – Monthly bulletin with Narragansett updates.
- Lighted Pathway (Oct 1963, p.26) – Late-year church life summary involving Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Nov 1963, p.26) – Ministry or church news referencing Narragansett Pentecostal community.
- Church of God Evangel (Nov 4, 1963, p.23) – Publication sharing revival or missionary updates connected to Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1964, p.98) – Official record documenting actions or ministers in Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Jan 1964, p.25) – Early-year article involving outreach efforts within Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (July 1964, p.25) – Summer feature mentioning ministry or youth activity from Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Oct 5, 1964, p.4) – Periodical covering sermon, testimony, or outreach from Narragansett.
- Church of God in Christ Women’s Int’l Convention Souvenir Journal (1966, p.33) – Biographical or feature mention related to Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Nov 1966, p.22) – Article focusing on community or youth ministry involving Narragansett.
- Lighted Pathway (Mar 1968, p.22) – Church life feature reporting mission or revival activity linked to Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Oct 28, 1968, p.19) – Denominational story referencing Narragansett churches or workers.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1970, p.118) – Entry documenting leadership appointments involving Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1974, p.266) – Proceedings referencing Narragansett ministry or district data.
- Church of God Evangel (Nov 11, 1974, p.11) – Report detailing Pentecostal efforts or individuals from Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Feb 24, 1975, pp.20–22) – Consecutive articles covering regional or missionary stories with Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Apr 14, 1975, pp.18–21) – Cluster of related news items mentioning Narragansett connections.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1976, p.282) – Record noting organizational recognition involving Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1978, p.291) – Summary documentation listing Narragansett pastors or resolutions.
- Church of God Evangel (June 12, 1978, p.9) – News article or event centered on Pentecostal ministry in Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Dec 24, 1979, p.8) – Story or holiday report connected to Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1980, p.308) – Record documenting proceedings or appointments involving Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1982, p.327) – Assembly notes on activities or delegates linked to Narragansett.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1984, p.320) – Reference to ministry developments affecting Narragansett.
- Mission America Newsletter (Jan 1984, p.3) – Mission-focused newsletter item covering Narragansett outreach.
- Church of God General Assembly Minutes (1988, p.387) – Record of ongoing ministry and leadership from Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (June 1995, p.33) – Summer news or ministry highlights connected to Narragansett.
- Lee Review (2009, p.6) – Academic or reflective article mentioning Narragansett in theological context.
- Lee Review (2009, p.163) – Further academic commentary referencing Narragansett history.
- Church of God Evangel (Jan 2009, p.29) – Article or testimony on 21st-century Pentecostal activity in Narragansett.
- Church of God Evangel (Dec 2011, p.19) – Year-end church reporting or testimony tied to Narragansett ministries.
- Living the Word: 125 Years of Church of God Ministry (2012, p.19) – Book excerpt referencing significant Narragansett milestones.
- Unto the Least of These: A History of Church of God Benevolence Ministries (2022, p.17) – Benevolence ministry history featuring Narragansett outreach.
- Unto the Least of These (2022, p.18) – Continuation highlighting Narragansett’s benevolence role.
- Unto the Least of These (2022, p.20) – Most current publication focusing on Pentecostal service and impact in Narragansett.
9/11 REVERSAL: Prophetic Restoration of a Nation and the Glory of God
In 1994, as a prophetic warning to the nation some seven years before the 9/11 attacks, Dr. David Franklin wrote “A Call to Righteousness: Impending Judgment.” Drawing conclusions from Ezekiel’s chapter 12 desolation, destruction, dispersion, despair and prophetic hope in chapter 14, he warns that:
(1) When a nation persists in violence, the Sovereign Lord confronts and holds responsible
(2) When a nation forgets God, He allows for times of repentance
(3) If repentance is ignored, God will expose and execute judgment on an unfaithful nation.
The book continues with a call for international righteousness (p. 10) and a critique of the debt-free myth proclaiming a time of economic shift (p. 11-12). Remember, this warning was written two decades before anyone in America had mentioned foreclosure, crises or global economic crises. But my favorite chapter still is the interpretation of Ezekiel’s vision of the departure of the Glory of God (p. 20-21).
I read this book back in 1999 and frankly had forgotten about it until 2011 when, at a young ministers training camp in the mountains of Bulgaria, we experienced what we consider the most genuine appearance of the Glory of God in our whole ministry. We wrote about it then and presented our observation at the 2012 Missions Conference at the Good Shepherd Church of God inPahokee,FL. The four points of our observation carry a tremendous prophetic resemblance to what Dr. David Franklin had proclaimed in his book 18 years ago:
(1) Every time God renews His covenant with His people, He shows His presence.
(2) We know that God is present in the covenant, because He shows His glory. It happened to Moses and his generation. And it also happened to Solomon several hundred years later.
(3) When a generation looses the vision of the Glory of God, God begins renewing His covenant again with a new generation.
(4) God is not satisfied with a people who know the signs and the blessings of the covenant. He rests not until He is revealed as the God of the covenant.
30 Years of the Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago
July 10, 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the first service of the Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago in 1995.
We have told the Story of the first Bulgarian Church of God in the Untied States (read it here) on numerous occasions and it was a substantial part of our 2005 dissertation (published in 2012, see it here).
From my personal memories, the exact beginning was after Brave Heart opened in the summer of 1995 and the Narragansett Church of God closed the street for a 4th of July block party with BBQ, Chicago PD horsemen, a moonwalk and much more.
The first service in the Bulgarian vernacular was held Sunday afternoon, July 10th 1995 being the true anniversary of the Bulgarian Church in Chicago. Only about a dozen were present and the sermon I preached was from Hebrews 13:5. Unfortunately, to this day 20 years later, we cannot locate the pictures taken that day to identify those present. And some have already passed away.
Using a ministry model that later became a paradigm for starting Bulgarian churches in North America (see it in detail) the church grew to over 65 members in just a few weeks by the end of July. This was around the time the movie Judge Dread had opened and the first edition of Windows 95 was scheduled for release in Chicago. I saw them both at the mall on upper Harlem Boulevard.
The Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago followed a rich century-long tradition, which began with the establishing of Bulgarian churches and missions in 1907. (read the history) Consecutively, our 1995 Church Starting Paradigm was successfully used in various studies and models in 2003. The program was continuously improved in the following decade, proposing an effective model for leading and managing growing Bulgarian churches.
Based on the Gateway cities in North America and their relations to the Bulgarian communities across the continent, it proposed a prognosis toward establishing Bulgarian churches (see it here) and outlined the perimeters of their processes and dynamics in the near future (read in detail).
After a personal xlibris, the said prognosis were revisited in 2009 in relation to preliminary groundbreaking church work on the West Coast and then evaluated against the state of Bulgarian Churches in America at the 2014 Annual Conference in Minneapolis.
We’re yet to observe the factors and dynamics determining if Bulgarian churches across North America will follow their early 20th century predecessors to become absorbed in the local context or alike many other ethnic groups survive to form their own subculture in North America. We will know the answer for sure in another 30 years…
Church of God Holds Two Parallel National Assemblies in Bulgaria
Above Dr. David Kemp speaking on National Assembly in Sliven, Bulgaria (March 29, 2025)
Below Dr. Tom Rosson speaking on National Assembly in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria (March 29, 2025)
The Bulgarian Church of God has split in no less than 10 since the early 2000s as following:
- Bulgarian Church of God (27.12.1990)
- Church of God in Bulgaria (23.01.2006)
- God’s Church (13938/2006: 07.02.2007)
- Church of God-12 (Sofia, Rodostono)
- New Generation Church of God (05.04.2000)
- Bethesda Church of God (27.12.2010)
- BulLiv Church of God (15.01.2000)
- New Life Church of God (06.11.2000)
- Bulgarian Church of God – Sofia (4996/2003 Sredetz, E.Georgiev Bul. 2, apt. 4)
- Bridge Church of God (50/2013)
7 Redemptive Names of God in Psalm 23
Psalm 23
- The Lord is my shepherd (Jehovah-Raha) ; I shall not want (Jehovah-Jireh).
- He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (Jehovah-Shalom): he leadeth me beside the still waters (Jehovah-Raha).
- He restoreth my soul (Jehovah-Rapha): he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake (Jehovah-Tsidkenu).
- Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil (Jehovah-Nissi) : for thou art with me (Jehovah Shammah) ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Jehovah Raha).
- Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies (Jehovah Nissi): thou anointest my head with oil (Jehovah-Rapha); my cup runneth over (Jehovah-Jireh).
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Jehovah-Shalom – the Lord is our Peace
Jehovah-Raha – the Lord is my Shepherd
Jehovah-Jireh – the Lord will provide
Jehovah-Nissi – the Lord our Banner or Victor
Jehovah-Tsidkenu – the Lord our Righteousness
Jehovah-Rapha – the Lord that healeth
Jehovah-Shammah – the Lord with us or is present
90 Years Ago, Narraganset Church of God Led in Benevolence
Narraganset Church of God was started by a women-preacher with only 10 members. Rev. Amelia Shumaker started the church only 15 days before the Great Depression began in 1929. She became a widow five years prior to moving to Chicago. Passing through the Great Depression by 1934, only five years after its establishment, the Narraganset Church of God was already a leader among the state benevolence ministries.
Located at 2254 N. Narraganset Avenue, the church officially took the name of its location in 1955. Early issues of the Church of God Evangel describe it as a South Side church, later corrected to the only Chicago Church of God. By 1994, the congregation has become one of only three Church of God locations in Chicago Metro. It was also where the first and only Bulgarian Church of God congregation in North America was founded also with only 10 members. (More from this timely research soon…)
Frank Bartleman: God Was in the Earthquake
Frank Bartleman was greatly used as a vessel of the Lord in intercession, and as a writer both before and during the Azusa Street Revival which began in 1906. The very same month and year that the revival began, the great San Francisco earthquake occurred. Frank Bartleman saw this as being the hand of God and quickly wrote a tract which was widely distributed.
By Frank Bartleman
“I found the earthquake had opened many hearts. I was distributing especially my last tract, The Last Call. It seemed very appropriate after the earthquake. Sunday, April 22, I took 10,000 of these to the New Testament Church. The workers seized them eagerly and scattered them quickly throughout the city.
Nearly every pulpit in the land was working overtime to prove that God had nothing to do with earthquakes and thus allay the fears of the people. The Spirit was striving to knock at hearts with conviction, through this judgment. I felt indignation that the preachers should be used of Satan to drown out His voice. Just as he later used them to stir up hatred and murder, during the great war. Even the teachers in the schools labored hard to convince the children that God was not in earthquakes. The devil put on a big propaganda on this line.
I had been much in prayer since the earthquake, and had slept little. After the shock in Los Angeles the Lord told me definitely He had a message for me for the people. On the Saturday after, He gave me a part of it. On Monday the rest was given. I finished writing it at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, ready for the printer. I kneeled before the Lord and He met me in a powerful way, a powerful witness that the message was from Him. I was to have it printed in the morning. From that time until 4 a.m., I was wonderfully taken up in the spirit of intercession. I seemed to feel the wrath of God against the people and to withstand it in prayer. He showed me He was terribly grieved at their obstinacy in the face of His judgment on sin. San Francisco was a terribly wicked city.
He showed me all hell was being moved to drown out His voice in the earthquake, if possible. The message He had given me was to counteract this influence. Men had been denying His presence in the earthquake. Now He would speak. It was a terrific message He had given me. I was to argue the question with no man, but simply give them the message. They would answer to Him. I felt all hell against me in this, and so it proved. I went to bed at 4 o’clock, arose at 7, and hurried with the message to the printer.
The question in almost every heart was, Did God do that? But instinct taught men on the spot that He had. Even the wicked were conscious of the fact. The tract was set up quickly. The same day it was on the press, and the next noon I had my first consignment of the tract. I was impressed I must hasten and get them to the people as quickly as possible. I was reminded that the ten days I was called by the Lord to prayer was up the very day I received the first of the tracts. I understood it all now, clearly.
I distributed the message speedily in the missions, churches, saloons, business houses, and in fact everywhere, both in Los Angeles and Pasadena. Besides I mailed thousands to workers in nearby towns for distribution.
Many raved at the message. A man followed me on the street raving like a maniac. He followed me into a business house, to do me violence. But the Lord protected. He then tore my tract up publicly at the curb, to show his hate. Many threw the message down in a rage, only to pick it up again and read it. It seemed God held them to it.
Everyone was curious for the tract, though it burned the most of them like fire. Sometimes they would get so excited on the street cars they would get off before they reached their street. My very presence seemed to convict many. The message struck consternation to thousands of souls. I have never written a tract that had so much influence.
Sunday, May 11, I had finished my Earthquake tract distribution. Then the burden suddenly left me. My work was done, Seventy-five thousand had been published and distributed in Los Angeles and Southern California, in less than three weeks time. At Oakland, Brother Manley, of his own volition, had printed and distributed 50,000 more, in the Bay Cities and ’round about, in about the same space of time. The following are some extracts from the Earthquake tract:
But what had God to do with earthquakes? When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). Which removeth the mountains, when He overturneth them in His anger, which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble (Job 9:5-6). The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by Him (Nahum 1:5-6). And I will punish the world for their evil. Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken our of her place, in the day of His fierce anger (Isaiah 13:11, 13).
Then the earth shook and trembled, the foundations also of the mountains moved, and were shaken because He was wroth. There went up a smoke in His wrath, and fire out of His mouth devoured. The Lord thundered from Heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice. Then the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare, by the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of His anger (Psalm 18).
Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and turneth it upside down (perverteth the face thereof), and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. The foundations of the earth do shake, the earth is utterly broken, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall be moved to and fro. The transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it. (Isaiah 24:1, 18, 20). Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with earthquakes, and great noise, and the flame of a devouring fire. (Isaiah 29:6). Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, from before the terror of the Lord, when he arises to shake terribly the earth (Isaiah 2:19). And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air and there was a great earthquake (Revelation 16:17,18).
And will you claim there is no God in earthquakes? John Wesley has said, Of all the judgments which the righteous God inflicts on sinners here, the most dreadful and destructive is an earthquake. From Earthquake Tract, April 1906.
Another denomination splits from the Bulgarian Church of God
One more denomination has split from the Bulgarian Church of God. After a year of struggles and dilemmas, the annual report indexing the state of the church shows a new denomination registered with the municipality court in the capital Sofia. The new Philadelphia church has emerged from an association of Romani pastors with a similar name that has existed and operated for almost 15 years. This is the 11th officially registered fraction leaving the denomination since the split of 2005. Two more churches, Mostar and Rebirth, too seem to have ceased meetings within the last year after the sale of the Bulgarian Ministry Center in the capital Sofia. The Center which broke ground in 2001 and was dedicated in 2011, hosted a number of strategic Church of God congregations during its decade of operation. Since 2005, most older Romani congregations exist with dual registration alongside the national alliance of Church of God-United (unitarian). With the current split, the total number of fractions separating from the original denomination now exceeds 13 (if not 14):
- Bulgarian Church of God (27.12.1990)
- Church of God in Bulgaria (23.01.2006)
- God’s Church (13938/2006: 07.02.2007)
- Church of God-12 (Sofia, Rodostono)
- New Generation Church of God (05.04.2000)
- Bethesda Church of God (27.12.2010)
- BulLiv Church of God (15.01.2000)
- New Life Church of God (06.11.2000)
- Bulgarian Church of God – Sofia (4996/2003 Sredetz, E.Georgiev Bul. 2, apt. 4)
- Bridge Church of God (50/2013)
God as to Water: The Musing Continues
June 1, 2023 by Cup&Cross
Filed under 365, News, Publication, Research
by Kathryn Donev, LPC-MHSP, NCC
and His voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory – Ezek 43:1-7
In the beginning of 2011, thoughts began flooding my awareness about “God as to Water”. Scripture after the next along with revelation came in one instant supported by many questions from loved ones during this period while on the territory of Eastern Europe. Overwhelmed by the ruminations, on July 5, 2011 the topic was dismissed along with written works. In 2022 on July 5, while in North America, the ponderings proceeded. I begin looking for the article which I convinced myself was written over a decade ago, but to no avail. Only disjointed insights were jotted down on paper. The following attempts to expand on something that is far beyond comprehension.
If in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, then God or the Word was always in existence and all things came from this. Everything was made from Him. He, God, giving of Himself, created the Heavens and the Earth. But this “Earth” was formless, but deep, empty and dark. All while God’s Spirit hovered over the waters, plural. One could imagine this as an omnipresent being floating ever connectedly to the essence of wholeness. Then, division came, but it came only from that which was in the beginning – the Word, God.
Separation of entities occurred; light from darkness for us to see the vault that separated water from water? Splitting water from itself? Electrolysis that happen with an energy input so great that perhaps came with a sound of a mighty rushing wind or sonic boom? With this endothermic reaction, hydrogen stands alone.
Everything in the Universe is made up of matter and energy. Einstein said that “Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another.” The world depends on energy to provide for all humankind activities. Hydrogen is the base element of our physical universe. All elements and matter can be created from or broken down to hydrogen. That which came from water. The atom in water that is surrounded by hydrogen is oxygen; the element of breath needed to support all flesh on the earth just as God supports all life by His Spirit. The water on our Earth today is the same water that it has always been. No new water has been created. Water is the only element that exists on our planet in a solid, liquid and gaseous aggregate state reminding of the Trinity. The molecules of water are self-attractive. They are drawn to each other to support things. This characteristic of water assists in capillary action.
If it was only God in the beginning then could God perhaps be energetic water; formless, but with infinite depth. Being ever presents in everything. There are over 700 references to water in the Bible and many of these refer to God, in some way as that water. At times He is even referred to a cloud or mist attempting to label His Glory.
and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. – Ezek 10:4
In Genesis chapter six, God chose to use water as the means of destroying a sin-cursed world. Thus water became a “dividing line” between the cleansed and the uncleansed. When God delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, he led them to the Red Sea. They were immersed in cloud and sea and there was freedom (1 Cor. 10:1-f). When Jesus healed the man born blind (John:1-f) he used water in the form of saliva as the “dividing line” between blindness and sight. Water is a universal solvent having the ability to cleanse. It can dissolve even gas and can recycle chemicals. There is life in water, without is death. It is mention in every chapter of the 4th Gospel.
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
-John 4:13-14
And the musings continue….
God as to Water: The Musing Continues
October 15, 2022 by Cup&Cross
Filed under News, Publication, Research
by Kathryn Donev, LPC-MHSP, NCC
and His voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory – Ezek 43:1-7
In the beginning of 2011, thoughts began flooding my awareness about “God as to Water”. Scripture after the next along with revelation came in one instant supported by many questions from loved ones during this period while on the territory of Eastern Europe. Overwhelmed by the ruminations, on July 5, 2011 the topic was dismissed along with written works. In 2022 on July 5, while in North America, the ponderings proceeded. I begin looking for the article which I convinced myself was written over a decade ago, but to no avail. Only disjointed insights were jotted down on paper. The following attempts to expand on something that is far beyond comprehension.
If in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, then God or the Word was always in existence and all things came from this. Everything was made from Him. He, God, giving of Himself, created the Heavens and the Earth. But this “Earth” was formless, but deep, empty and dark. All while God’s Spirit hovered over the waters, plural. One could imagine this as an omnipresent being floating ever connectedly to the essence of wholeness. Then, division came, but it came only from that which was in the beginning – the Word, God.
Separation of entities occurred; light from darkness for us to see the vault that separated water from water? Splitting water from itself? Electrolysis that happen with an energy input so great that perhaps came with a sound of a mighty rushing wind or sonic boom? With this endothermic reaction, hydrogen stands alone.
Everything in the Universe is made up of matter and energy. Einstein said that “Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another.” The world depends on energy to provide for all humankind activities. Hydrogen is the base element of our physical universe. All elements and matter can be created from or broken down to hydrogen. That which came from water. The atom in water that is surrounded by hydrogen is oxygen; the element of breath needed to support all flesh on the earth just as God supports all life by His Spirit. The water on our Earth today is the same water that it has always been. No new water has been created. Water is the only element that exists on our planet in a solid, liquid and gaseous aggregate state reminding of the Trinity. The molecules of water are self-attractive. They are drawn to each other to support things. This characteristic of water assists in capillary action.
If it was only God in the beginning then could God perhaps be energetic water; formless, but with infinite depth. Being ever presents in everything. There are over 700 references to water in the Bible and many of these refer to God, in some way as that water. At times He is even referred to a cloud or mist attempting to label His Glory.
and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. – Ezek 10:4
In Genesis chapter six, God chose to use water as the means of destroying a sin-cursed world. Thus water became a “dividing line” between the cleansed and the uncleansed. When God delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, he led them to the Red Sea. They were immersed in cloud and sea and there was freedom (1 Cor. 10:1-f). When Jesus healed the man born blind (John:1-f) he used water in the form of saliva as the “dividing line” between blindness and sight. Water is a universal solvent having the ability to cleanse. It can dissolve even gas and can recycle chemicals. There is life in water, without is death. It is mention in every chapter of the 4th Gospel.
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
-John 4:13-14
And the musings continue….
