What does the name hosts mean? Meaning translation. The meaning of the word hosts

• Bible Encyclopedia

hosts(Hebrew “tzevaot” literally “(Lord) of Armies”, plural from “tsava” - army) - one of the, emphasizing His property of omnipotence, as well as the fact that He is the Ruler of the world.

In the Bible, armies are called armies (for example, in ; ), stars and planets, angels (; ; ; ; cf.).

The name of God, Lord of Hosts, reflects Divine power over all the powers of earth and heaven. The name of God of Hosts is applied to all the Persons of the Holy Trinity, as the prophet Isaiah secretly points out: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts! the whole earth is full of His glory ().

If the Lord is the Almighty God of armies, then why do the armies of the wicked so often defeat His servants and saints (the righteous, the saints)?

In relation to the created world, the Omnipotence of God is manifested in the fact that no creation individually, nor all of it collectively, is able to oppose His holy will (), and the creation cannot not only prevent God from carrying out whatever he wants, but even how much make it difficult for Him in any way.

Armies of the wicked, as well as individual enemies of God, can overcome believers only to the extent that the Lord allows. The degree of this always depends on the general and particular goals of the Most High, known in full only to the Lord.

For example, sometimes God allows enemies to overcome believers when they, for various reasons, deviate from observing the requirements of His moral law. In this case, the wicked can be used as instruments of the Just God. At the same time, they can serve to enlighten, educate, and return believers to the mainstream of normal religious and moral life.

Let's say, during the Old Testament, during the period of the Judges, God allowed the pagans to oppress and overcome their sons. Experiencing disasters and misfortunes, and not having the strength to protect themselves from them on their own, the Jews began to seek help and protection from the Lord and again turned to the true faith. Then God, in His mercy, raised up for them special rulers, judges, through whom He established their social life.

Orthodoxy. Dictionary-reference book

Lord of Hosts

(Heb. "Lord of hosts")

one of the names of God in Holy Scripture. By “armies” were meant the troops of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 17:45), heavenly beings (for example, 1 Kings 22:19-23; Ps. 102:19-22; 148:1-5; Dan. 8 , 10-13), the council (“host”) of saints surrounding God (cf. Ps. 81:1; 88:8), or the stars and other luminaries (cf. Deut. 4:19; 2 Kings 23 , 4-5), as well as all earthly and heavenly creatures (cf. Gen. 2, 1) (see Heavenly Host).

Unlike other names for God, the name Hosts emphasizes the property of omnipotence, borrowed from the army. This name is not found in the oldest books of the Bible, but it is often used by the prophets and in the psalms. The Lord of Hosts is called “living on Mount Zion” (see Is. 8:18; cf. Zech. 8:3), and Jerusalem is called His city (see Is. 47:9), “sitting on cherubim” (see 1 Kings 4:4; 2 Kings 6:2; 1 Chronicles 13:6; Isaiah 37:16). Such a throne of cherubim was in the temple of Solomon (see 1 Kings 6:23-28), and the ark of the covenant served as a footstool for God, invisibly seated on this throne (see 1 Chron. 28:2; cf. Ps. 98, 5; 131, 7). This image is associated with the name of the Lord of Hosts as King (for example, Ps. 23, 10; Jer. 46, 18; 48, 15; 51, 57). In addition to omnipotence and royal power, this name is associated with the creation of the world (see Am. 4:13; Jer. 10:16) and eschatological war (see Isa. 13:4; 31:4). The prophecy of Isaiah says that the Lord of Hosts will reign in Zion (Is. 24:23) and will make a table there for all nations (see Is. 25:6). All nations will come to Him for the Feast of Tabernacles (see Zech. 14:16-17) and bring gifts (see Isa. 18:7).

In the Christian tradition, the name of the Lord of Hosts is used in the New Testament (Old Testament quotations in James 5:4 and Rom. 9:29) and in liturgical texts. The understanding of this naming may coincide with the epithet Lord Almighty (Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Almighty... - Am. 5:16) and refer to the Holy Trinity, and to God the Father, and to Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament traditions, Yahweh (Yama) is represented as the king and leader of Israel, and his name was usually accompanied by the qualification “tzevaot,” which means “Yahweh of Armies.” Subsequently, through the Greek reproduction of the Hebrew “tsevaot”, the expression “Lord of Hosts” arose, which has come down to our times.

In the apocrypha of John, Jesus Christ explains in great detail the demonic origin of this Jewish tribal god of hosts, accepted by modern Jewish Christians as the Creator: “Sophia Epinoia, being an aeon... wanted to discover in herself the image without the will of the Spirit - he did not approve - and without his consent, without his thoughts. And although the face of her masculinity did not approve and she did not find her consent and conceived without the will of the Spirit and the knowledge of her consent, she brought it out. And because of the invincible power that is in her, her thought did not remain fruitless, and an IMPERFECT WORK was revealed in her and different from her kind, for she created it without the consent of her companion. And it was unlike the image of his mother, for it was of a different form. When she saw her will, it took on an INCORPORATE APPEARANCE - a SNAKE WITH THE MOUTH OF A LION. His eyes were like the sparkling lights of lightning. She threw him away from her, beyond these places, so that none of the immortals would see him, FOR SHE CREATED HIM IN IGNORANCE. And she surrounded him with a bright cloud and placed the throne in the middle of the cloud, so that no one would see him except the Holy Spirit, who is called the mother of the living. And she named him Ialtabaoth. This is the first archon who took great power from his mother. And he moved away from her and moved away from the places where he was born. He became strong and created for himself other eons in the flame of bright fire, (where) he remains to this day. AND HE CONNECTED WITH HIS MADNESS THAT IS IN HIM AND GENERATED POWERS FOR HIMSELF. The first is her name Afof, which is called by generations. ...The second is Harmas, which means the eye of jealousy. The third is Kalila-Umbri. The fourth is Jabel. The fifth is Adonai, WHO IS CALLED SABAOTH... WITH THE CHAMBER OF A DRAGON.”

Coptic Gnostic texts “On the Origin of the World” claim that Sabaoth, who is called the “CHILD OF CHAOS,” is the son of Samael - the evil demiug, planetary demon, lord of the lower part of the underworld and chaos. According to the Jewish “Midrash Rabba” to “Deuteronomy” (11.10), Samael himself is considered the head of all satan-archons, authorities. The Slavic "Book of Baruch" calls Samael "Sataniel".

The Old Testament says that Yahweh-Adonai-Jehovah-Savaoth is the Angel of the Lord, and, moreover, clearly a FALLEN Angel. For: firstly, he separates his chosen people, the Israelites, that is, the God-fighters (in Hebrew the word “Israel” is a God-fighter), from all other peoples; secondly, he promises his godless people land belonging to the Slavic-Aryans; thirdly, he teaches his people how to rob the Egyptians with the help of fraud: “And I will give this people (i.e. the Israelites - author's note) mercy in the eyes of the Egyptians; and when you go (i.e., run away from the Egyptians), you will not go empty-handed. Each woman (Israelite) will ask from her neighbor and from those living in her house (i.e., from the Egyptians) silver and gold items and clothing; and you will dress your sons and your daughters with them, and YOU WILL WISH the Egyptians.” Will a bright Angel, and especially God, teach such things to anyone?

In addition to meanness and deceit, Hosts, as is clear from the texts of the Old Testament, also have extraordinary cruelty, bloodthirstiness, vindictiveness and injustice, which permeate the commands of Hosts-Adonai-Yahweh-Jehovah to his people. To the son of Abraham and Sarah, this Israeli god, who, by the way, fights with people in the darkness and is afraid of the light of dawn, says: “... from now on your name will not be Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God, and you will overcome men.” The true reason that prompted Hosts to intervene in the spiritual development of people is clearly indicated by him in Genesis (3.22): “Behold, Man became like one of us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he stretch out his hand and also take from the Tree of Life, and begin to live forever!” So Yahweh-Jehovah-Sabaoth, having become jealous of people in his pride for the Most High and Eternal Life, began to tempt them in his personal image - the image of a dragon-serpent in order to deprive people of immortality, that is, to make them subject to himself. In his aspirations, he went against the will of the Almighty and for this was cast down from heaven to earth, thus becoming the god of death and the prince of this world. In the Vedas this world is called “Mrityu-loka”, that is, the world of the god of Death Yama. It is no coincidence that the Jewish exclamation-praise “maranatha” - “Our Lord is coming!” is consonant with the name of the Slavic-Aryan goddess of death - Marana (hence - madder, insanity, marat, frost, morgue, pestilence, etc.) Therefore That’s why Sa-baoth declares: “I am a great King, and My name is terrible among the nations.”

Therefore, the feeling that arises when communicating with this human-hating entity is defined in the Jewish concept by the word “norah” - translated from Hebrew: “Fear of the Lord,” in which horror, awe and admiration are simultaneously present. This feeling can only be experienced in front of the face of a deadly dragon. In the face of the Almighty God, the Progenitor of the whole world, the Heavenly Father who endlessly loves us, such feelings are unnatural.

As Yu.P. writes Mirolyubov in “Russian Mythology”, our ancestors believed that “Slavic-Russians should not tremble before God the Father, for He is their GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER. GRANDFATHERS AND GREAT-GRANDFATHERS, SHCHURS AND GREAT-GRANDFATHERS COME TO THE HELP OF THEIR GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN.”

The Most High God, the Father of all things, will not single out any “chosen” people, “for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”

Hosts say to his people: “Listen, O Israel: you are now going beyond the Jordan to go and take possession of nations that are greater and stronger than you... Know now that the Lord your God goes before you like a consuming fire; He will destroy them before you, and you will drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord told you.” “... follow him through the city and strike him; Let not your eye spare, and have no mercy; beat the old man, the young man, the maiden, the child, and the wives to death...” “And Joshua smote all the land of the hills, and the desert, and the low places, and the land that lies by the mountains, and all their kings; He left no one who would survive, and he consigned everything that breathed to a curse, as the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded” - “The Lord is the Punisher.”

This god of death says to his first servant, Moses: “From this day on, I will begin to spread fear and horror of you to the nations under the whole sky; those who hear about you will tremble and be horrified by you.” “...At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt... there was not a house where there was not a dead man.” “...When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are going to take possession of it, and drives out from before you many nations... which are more numerous and stronger than you, and the Lord your God gives them to you, and you will defeat them: then put them to the curse, do not enter into an alliance with them and do not spare them... And you will destroy all the nations that the Lord your God is giving you; let not your eye spare them.”

The text of both the Old Testament and all other Jewish “holy” scriptures is saturated with the same misanthropic spirit of Yahweh-Jehovah-Sabaoth. Nevertheless, the Jewish Christians still imposed this exclusively Jewish tribal god on many peoples as the only true God, the Creator of heaven and earth - the God of all gods and all peoples. But no matter how hard the Judeo-Christian “theologians” tried to distance themselves from the tribal limitations of Judaism and raise the Biblical God to the idea of ​​universality, they could not obscure what in the Bible constitutes its fundamental essence - the Judeo-tribal character aimed at isolation and opposition of the sons of Israel to other peoples, primarily the Slavs and Aryans. Hosts-Yahweh-Jehovah, in his efforts to preserve the advantages of his “God-chosen” people, shows his true essence, for a conscientious study of his deeds leads to the conclusion that this god suffers from necrophilia - an attraction to destruction and death.

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The experience of mankind clearly shows that the fate of any people who accepted the power of such a god has always been terrible, for his power inevitably leads the people to self-destruction. After all, when a person, during prayer, pronounces out loud or in his mind any name of the Most High God, characterizing one of His qualities, for example: “God” - Rich; “Alpan” - Supreme Lord; "Allah" - Supreme Spirit; “Vishnu” - Supreme; “Brahmo” - Supreme; “Sventovit” - Light-Winner; “Trimurti” - Triune; or - “All-Merciful”, “All-Loving”, “All-Good”, “Fair”, etc., then such a prayer, of course, goes to the Almighty - the Progenitor of all gods and people. But when a person in prayer pronounces a specific name of a demon, for example: “Satan” - the opposing one, “Lucifer” - the sparkling one, “Savaoth” - the rejected one from glory, the child of chaos; the name of a god, for example: “Buddha” - the Awakened One, “Christ” - the Savior, “Dazhbog” - the Giving God (Sun), “Perun” - the First (the closest of the tribal gods); "Beloyar" - White Light; “Kupala” - Uniting (hence: totality, together), “Lado” - Loving, “Ko-lyada” - Ring (meaning “kolo” - wheel, circle, i.e. orbit of the planet), etc. .d. - even if, in his ignorance, he thinks that he is turning to the Almighty God - the Progenitor of all gods, then still the spiritual power of such a prayer and the life force of the person praying goes to the so-called demon or god, and not to the Almighty.

If this were not so, then both pagans and obvious Satanists, worshiping idols, idols and demons, and at the same time sincerely not believing that they are worshiping the REAL Most High God, would really turn to the Most High. However, the Vedas emphasize that he who worships demons goes to demons; whoever worships the gods will be born among the gods; and whoever worships the Most High will live with Him.

Judeo-Christians, perfectly understanding this pattern, will clearly define both their god and their lord: “Although there are so-called gods, either in heaven or on earth (messiah avatars), since there are many gods and many lords, but we are one God the Father (of Hosts), from whom are all (the Jews), and we are unto Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ.”

Having seen the image “Lord of Hosts” in our gallery, I decided to find out in more detail what this name means.
The name "Lord of Hosts" is mentioned many times in the Bible. And this name means something. The name “Lord of Hosts” did not disappear with the departure of the Old Testament and the advent of the New Testament. Just as in the Old Testament people believed in this great one Lord, so it is in the New Testament. The Lord does not change, and the Bible says that He will remain the same yesterday, today, and forever.

We cannot say that in the Old Testament people believed in the Lord Jehovah and believed that He was the Lord of Hosts (which in Hebrew means “Lord of Hosts”), but today we believe in a different Lord. No! We believe in the same God that the people of the Old Testament believed in, and we live by the same commandments.

But today you and I have more than them. Today we have mercy from the Lord, mercy to receive forgiveness when we sin. They didn't have it. For every sin there was a certain punishment.

How is the Old Testament different from the New? The New Testament is a covenant of mercy, but none of the commandments, none of the names of God that we read about in the Old Testament are crossed out. The truth is not crossed out, but even more is revealed. From faith to faith and from glory to glory. The New Testament has revealed to us the greater glory of truth. He showed that the Lord is also merciful. As the Bible says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This is what the New Testament is made of.

“For God so loved the world...” What kind of God loved the world? - The same one that people believed in during the Old Testament. Another quality of His was revealed - mercy. And now it is not necessary to endure punishment for sins if you repent of them. If you confess, if you accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He offered with His body on the cross. He paid with His blood. And if you believe in this today, then you receive mercy from God.

According to the Old Testament, if you have sinned, then nothing can save you, no matter whether you believe or not. As it is written: “The soul that sins shall die.” This is the Old Testament.

Today we are talking about such a name of the Lord as the Lord of hosts (Hebrew “tsevaot” from the word “tsava” - army). And I would like to start with the fact that today many Christians do not understand what the Church is. Many Christians may mistakenly think that the Church is a safe haven, a peaceful and calm life day after day. They think that the Church is when you should be in a state of “inhibited dullness.”

This is not Christianity, this is Buddhism, this is some kind of nirvana. If you take Hinduism, it is a tangle of problems; If you take Buddhism, then this is complete nirvana. Those. when you become a Buddhist, you become a slowdown. And you believe that the more inhibited you are, the better off you are.

How is Christianity different from Islam? Islam is a perverted, extreme form of Judaism: if you are an infidel, then you must be destroyed, you cannot live on earth.

What is Christianity? Christianity is a religion that makes a person a person, makes a king a king who puts everything in its place. This is Christianity.

If a person is an alcoholic, then Hinduism tells him that this is his karma. Save him, don’t save him - he is an alcoholic and will die as an alcoholic. Christianity says: no, everything needs to be put in its place. You were born a human, so receive forgiveness from the Lord, become free and be a Human. Islam says that if you are an alcoholic, you should be killed. Christianity puts everything in its place.

If the king is a Christian, then this is the wisest king. If an official is a Christian, then this is the wisest official. If a businessman is a Christian, then he is the most successful businessman. If a person is a Christian, then he is the most humane person. Christianity gives you the opportunity to be who you were born to be.

It happens that a person, coming to Church, calms down and begins to be in something like nirvana. And when the Church of God is faced with war, they are unable to fight because they have a wrong idea of ​​Christianity.

Buddhism is incapable of war because it is a religion of nirvana. Muslims, on the contrary, can only fight. Christians, when they need to be in peace, can be in peace, but when it comes to war, they are the best warriors. Amen.

Today we will talk about what the Church is and who the Lord of Hosts is in our lives.

When the Lord Jesus Christ said: “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” He spoke in the future tense. What does it mean? Nothing less than the fact that the Church must constantly be ready for war. Church is not a place of nirvana. There are days when the Church must defend the “Holy Ground” on which it stands.

We must not only believe in heaven, in the commandments, in the truth, in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must also be able to defend these beliefs. You need to be able to defend your family, your friends, your God and your Church. Those. there are sacred laws that should not be broken. If you get married, you cannot get a divorce. If you have friends, then you cannot break off relations with them if they do not leave you. If you have believed in the Lord, then you cannot suddenly say that you no longer believe in Him. And in the same way, if you are in some church, then you cannot say: “Today I no longer want to be in this church.”

We must uphold these four laws. It takes courage, zeal, wisdom and strength to stand up for what we believe in.

You know that the name of the Lord of hosts is not mentioned until the books of Kings. Let's open the First Book of Samuel and read about David. David knew better than many of us what the Church was. While he was a shepherd, he could suddenly become a warrior at the right time. When he was in the world, he was the greatest poet. When he was king, he was the greatest king there could be.

He did not limit the Lord to being just a good poet. When the Philistines attacked, he put down his harp, took his sword, equipped his army and won. When it was necessary to conduct political affairs, he conducted them like no one else. When it was necessary to herd sheep, he herded them like the best, like the most professional shepherd.

And Samuel said to Saul, The LORD hath sent me to anoint thee king over his people over Israel; now listen to the voice of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: I remembered what Amalek did to Israel, how he opposed him on the way when he came from Egypt; now go and smite Amalek [and Jerim] and destroy all that he has; [do not take anything from them, but destroy and consign to destruction everything that he has;] and do not give him mercy, but put to death from man to wife, from child to suckling, from ox to sheep, from camel to donkey ( 1 Samuel 15:1-3).

When a prophet on behalf of the Lord of hosts appeared to the man who was to lead Israel, he went and said: “I have come to you in the name of the Lord of war, and I want you to deal with the enemies of Israel.” We know that Israel is the Old Testament image of today's Church. Various things happened in Israel, and sometimes it was necessary to wage war.

We remember the story when Israel was at war with the Philistines: Goliath came out and reviled the holy people, terrifying the entire Israeli army. At that time, the little shepherd boy David came to the camp to deliver food to his relatives. Seeing how this uncircumcised pagan, or as it would sound today - this sinful man, who is not a Christian, who is not a holy man, reviled God's people, came out and said a very amazing thing: "You come against me with a sword, a spear and shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel."

Who told this little shepherd boy that the Lord is the God of hosts? Love for the Lord gave him certain knowledge. David lived a spiritual life. If we live a spiritual life, then we have knowledge from the Lord, we cannot be deceived, we cannot be deceived, we cannot be confused. If you pray every day, if you read the Bible every day, then the Lord puts the right thoughts through all this.

From the physical side, nothing was in store for David except defeat. But there was no desire in his heart to leave. Because he knew that it was not the Israelites who started the war, but the Philistines; It was not Israel that took the young men and women of the Philistine villages as slaves, but the Philistines. In that battle, everything had to be decided, the enemy had to be stopped.

What happened? David set out, and the Lord was with him. He went and won. Not because he was super great, but because he was under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts.

Elijah is one of the great prophets in Israel. At that time there was a man reigning over Israel who took a pagan woman as his wife. She began to influence the king and, literally, forced all of Israel to worship pagan gods.

It was a war. This was spiritual warfare.

Hearing this, Elijah covered his face with his mantle, and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. And a voice came to him and said to him: Why are you here, Elijah? He said, “I have been jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, destroyed Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am left alone, but they are also looking for my soul in order to take it away (1 Kings 19:13,14).

Look, Elijah began to talk with the Lord as with the God of armies when this spiritual war happened in Israel.

The Church also today has a physical war against slander, against dirt, against scammers, etc. The Church also has a spiritual part of the war, and each of these areas must be led by a certain person.

The king cannot wage spiritual war; he does not quite understand how this is done. Likewise, a prophet cannot wage physical war.

Look what Elijah said: “When Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his mantle, and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice came to him and said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He said, “I was jealous for the Lord God.” Sabaoth..." That is It’s time to start a war, it’s time to free the spiritual field of Israel from these pagan temples.

“For the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, broken down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword...” It’s time for the man who has spiritual authority to enter the arena.

How did Elijah win this war? He gathered all the people of Israel and addressed them with a speech: “You have believed all your life in the Lord Jehovah, but now you have become slaves of paganism.” As Elijah spoke, the spirit awakened in their hearts, which had been lulled by pagan errors. His final word was: “Listen: if Baal is a god, then let us serve him. But if our Lord is God, then let us return to Him.”

We know that the priests of Baal made an altar to their god, and Elijah made an altar to the Lord from twelve rough stones. The priests of Baal laid a sacrifice and danced, went wild, stabbed themselves with knives, begging their god to set this altar on fire. But nothing happened.

Then Elijah began to laugh at them. This holy man of God began, in the literal sense of the word, to mock. All methods are justified when the Lord is with you. If we literally translate what he said, it doesn’t fit into any framework: “Perhaps your god went to the toilet?” Well, that's putting it mildly.

And people watched, perhaps thinking, "Who is this disrespectful person?" But Elijah knew what he was doing. His methods were justified.

Finally he said: “Okay, finish,” he ordered the altar of the Lord to be filled with water, he prayed to God, fire came down from heaven, and the sacrifice was burned. At that moment the spirit in people was resurrected. This was a spiritual victory of God's spiritual authority. Exactly the same as the victory of the little shepherd David over Goliath.

During Elisha's time, Israel was also experiencing a spiritual crisis. Jehoshaphat, who was king over Israel at that time, had to defeat one of the strongest pagan armies. He was a very wise man and therefore turned to the prophet of God, sending people to him with the question of whether to wage war on the king or not.

And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand! If I had not respected Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not have looked at you or seen you; now call me the guslist. And when the harpist played the harp, then the hand of the Lord touched Elisha, and he said: Thus says the Lord: Make in this valley ditches after ditches... (2 Kings 3:14-16)

The prophet of God gave the king specific instructions on how to win. And after Jehoshaphat and his army did as Elisha said, the pagan army was defeated. God was with them.

For the day of the Lord of hosts is coming on everything that is proud and arrogant and on everything that is exalted, and it will be brought low (Isa. 2:12).

When the “proud”, “arrogant” and “exalted” rise up against the Church, then in order to humiliate this, the Church must fight. This will be the fulfillment of God's will. And we, as spiritual people, must desire with all our hearts that the will of God be fulfilled.

Therefore, when the “proud”, “arrogant” and “exalted” things rise up against the Church, and the Church does not resist this, this is a violation of the commandment of God. Why were Israel afraid when Goliath came out and reviled them? Yes, because the soldiers who were supposed to fight did not fulfill their task.

Why was Israel consumed by pagan religion during the time of Elijah? Because the people who were supposed to wage spiritual warfare, overcome deception, did not lift a finger to do it. It is a sin.

What is behind the name of the Lord of hosts?

For the day of the Lord of hosts is coming on all that is proud and haughty, and on all that is exalted, and it will be humbled, and on all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and exalted, and on all the oaks of Bashan, and on all the high mountains, and on all the high hills, and on every high tower, and on every strong wall, and on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all their desirable ornaments. And human greatness will fall, and human loftiness will be humbled; and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day (Isa. 2:12-17).

This is the aura that surrounds the name of the Lord of hosts, in whom we believe. We must remember this title of God when we are in the stage of war. Whether it’s a spiritual war, when seduction creeps into the Church, or a physical war, when there are terrorist attacks against churches or some kind of trials...

At this moment we must believe in our Lord as the God of war. We can't just stand by like those soldiers and watch Goliath revile God's people.

We must know the character of our God.

The Bible says, "Do not avenge yourself." If you were offended, then you should not take revenge for yourself. But when it comes to the “Holy Land”, if you are silent, you are sinning.

You deal mercifully with the merciful, sincerely with the sincere, purely with the pure, and with the evil one according to his wickedness (Ps. 17:26,27).

This is the character of the Lord. If you are sincere, if you are pure, then the Lord does the same with you. But if you begin to deceive yourself against the Lord, against God’s Church, then get ready for such deceit that you cannot even invent.

If you are a son of your Father, you must take the character of God into your spirit. You must love the sincere, you must be sincere with the sincere, and be pure with the pure. But with the evil one you should not be pure, with the evil one you should not be sincere. You must deal with the evil one “according to his wickedness.”

The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and Jesus came to Jerusalem and found that oxen, sheep and doves were being sold in the temple, and money changers were sitting. And, making a scourge of ropes, he drove everyone out of the temple, including the sheep and oxen; and he scattered the money from the money changers and overturned their tables. And he said to those who sold doves: Take this from here, and do not make My Father’s house a house of trade. At this, His disciples remembered that it was written: Zeal for Your house consumes Me (John 2:13-17).

In this episode, no one offended the Lord Jesus personally. He simply entered the Temple, the Holy Land. But what He saw there shocked Him. He did not remain alone, but made a whip out of ropes, drove everyone out, overturned the tables, and scattered the money from the money changers.

It looked unsightly. The Lord's disciples reacted correctly to this. This is what distinguishes students from those who are simply nearby. The Lord's disciples understand His character. Someone asked Jesus: “What sign will you show us that you have the authority to do this? That you are acting like a bandit?” None of the students asked this. But they remembered the words of Scripture that spoke of Jesus: “Zeal for Your house consumes Me.”

What did the apostles do?

I teach you, my son Timothy, in accordance with the prophecies that were about you, such a testament that you fight in accordance with them, like a good warrior (1 Tim. 1:18).

The Apostle Paul commanded Timothy to be a warrior.

Having faith and a good conscience, which some rejected, suffered shipwreck in faith; such are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan, so that they would learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:19,20).

What does it mean? This is both defense and attack. The word "Satan" means "adversary." In other words, the Apostle Paul warned them: “If you do not calm down, then you will be dealt with by people who will resist you so much that you will not think it’s enough.”

I ask that when I come, I will not resort to that strong boldness that I think I will use against some who think about us that we walk according to the flesh (2 Cor. 10:2).

The apostles were accused of walking according to the flesh. Maybe this is connected with Hymenaeus and Alexander?

For we, although we walk in the flesh, do not fight according to the flesh (2 Cor. 10:3).

He says: “We are not defending ourselves.”

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to pull down strongholds: with them we cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and we take into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ, and are ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Cor. 10:4- 6).

“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,” i.e. not like the bandits. But God has power - this is His law. And secular law is also the power of God.

Lord Hosts - our God has such a name. If you need to fight, Jehovah suddenly becomes Hosts. If it is necessary to forgive, Hosts becomes an all-merciful God and gives His Son Jesus Christ to the cross for each of us. God cannot be limited.

The only thing that stops Him is when division comes to His people, when there is ignorance among His people. Ignorance is destructive. And we must know what we are doing, we must know. And we get knowledge from the Bible.
Perm wooden sculpture - Lord of Hosts:

The icon of the God of Hosts is considered very ancient and unique. His images in iconography can be traced back to ancient times. God the Father was depicted as a wise, gray-haired old man, his face was placed on a triangle, which symbolizes the Holy Trinity.

A little history

According to Orthodox tradition, the name of the Lord of Hosts is translated as “Lord of Hosts.” Therefore, unlike other names of the Most High that are found in the Bible, the word Hosts emphasized his strength and power. The Moscow Council put a ban on any images of God the Father, citing the fact that God is a spirit that no one has seen, unlike Jesus Christ. But, despite the ban, images of the God of Hosts continued to be painted on the walls of the temple. Therefore, in both ancient and modern churches you can see icons of Hosts .

Famous lists of icons of Hosts

In the modern world, many experts consider the ancient icon of Hosts to be the most ancient and mysterious type of Orthodox icon painting.

There are two known lists of this ancient icon of Hosts:

• Our Lady of the Sign is an icon depicting God, the father of Hosts, seated on the Heavenly Throne, in the form of a sage with an eight-pointed halo on his head and hands raised to the sky. On his knees is depicted Christ Emmanuel. There is a dove in the circle as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. At the bottom of the icon of Hosts is the image of the Mother of God of the Sign.

• Fatherland - presented as a religious image of the New Testament Trinity, but without the image of the Mother of God. In this icon, the Lord of Hosts is also depicted as a sage. He was depicted in snow-white robes, sitting or walking on the clouds. There is another image of the icon of the Fatherland of the Lord of Hosts, where he is depicted with the saints, on the right is Daniel, on the left is Simeon. To the right at the foot of the throne stands the Apostle Thomas.

What they ask for and how they pray before the icon of the Lord of Hosts

The icon of the God of Hosts is considered a confessional icon. They pray before her, asking for forgiveness of sins. It is worth turning to God in a form of repentance, asking Him for strength not to succumb to sinful thoughts and not to commit immoral acts.

Next to her you can ask for the most intimate, fateful things for a person.

The icon of the Lord of Hosts, which is located in the Vladimir region in the St. Nicholas Convent, became famous for many miracles.

Over the years, more than a hundred cases of cure for infertility have been known. Many married couples who have been waiting for years and asking the Lord of Hosts for continuation of their family have received what they wanted.

Prayer to God the Father Lord of Hosts

O Almighty Sovereign King! Sit on the clouds, resting in the Highest, who is Blessed in the firmament of heaven. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts, fill heaven and earth with Your glory! Hosanna in the Highest! Fulfill, O God Almighty, this humble prayer and request of Thy servants, may Thy ears be attentive to the voice of our prayers, O holy Lord! Mercifully look and hear us, Your servants from earth to heaven crying out to You: save, preserve and have mercy on us, deliver us from all troubles and misfortunes and all evil, protect with the Holy Spirit day and night and at every hour grant us victory and to everyone, You to those who pray, Thy Divine power, miraculous grace, filled with strength and strength. By the power of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of the Lord, defeat all our enemies, visible and invisible, create them like sheep, and scatter them like dust before the wind, so that they may know Your name, Lord, let them be ashamed forever, for You are the Most High throughout all the earth and there will be no cold for those who trust in Thee forever and ever. Amen.

In order for God to hear, there is no need to travel to holy places, make pilgrimages, the main thing is to be a truly believer.

And even despite the endless church debates that continue to this day, icons of the God of Hosts remain an integral part of Orthodox churches.