Archive -> October 23, 2004
The Bible’s Comforters
For years Christians have been teaching that the Comforter is the Holy Ghost, sometimes called the Holy Spirit. They make it seem as if the concept of the Holy Ghost originated with Jesus.
However, the fact is there are numerous places throughout the scriptures where the words “comfort” or “comforter” can be found. I have selected a few quotes to give you a better overstanding of the words “comforter” and “comfort.”
- Genesis 5:29, Noah was a comforter.
- Isaiah 51:12, Isaiah was a comforter.
- Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah’s mother comforted, which simply means she was a comforter (in the sense she consoled her son) also.
- 2 Samuel 10:3 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- 1 Chronicles 19:3 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- Job 16:2 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- Psalm 69:20 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- Ecclesiastes 4:1 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- Nahum 3:7 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- John 14:16, 26 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- John 15:26 speaks of a comforter as a person.
- John 16:7 speaks of a comforter as a person.
. . . Even after Jesus said, ‘I must go so that the Comforter can come.’ The Christians say that this Comforter is the Holy Ghost. Yes, the Holy Ghost was there before the birth of Jesus. The word in Syraic (Arabic) for “comforter” is mu'izz. It is found in the bible eight times in the singular form and five plurally. The word mu'izz stems from the root 'azza which means, “comfort, console, condole, condole with, take patience.” John the Baptist had the “Holy Ghost” before Jesus was even born. It was with him in Elisabeth’s (John the Baptist’s mother) womb. (Luke 1:15, 41)
Excerpted from 360 Questions To Ask A Christian by Dr. Malachi Z. York