This is one track from an entire CD we did last Christmas 2015. It is very unusual in that it consists of poetry-rap set to cool jazzy grooves! My friend Michael Mark is the poet, and I did all the music grooves. This one is all on the Prodigal Son and the coolest version you ever will hear!
Monday, November 7, 2016
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Giantology - The Study of Giants in the Bible
Giantology
John
Boda
The study of Giants in the Bible and
their possible true purpose to serve Satan in a master scheme to directly
attack and stop God’s master plan and purpose through Jesus Christ
Why embark upon this study? What
practical application could any of this possibly have on us here and now
today?!
Firstly, I want to cover this topic
because it is written about in the Bible! God put it there, and every word and
topic placed there is important to read and understand how it fits within the
big picture of the kingdom of God. Although it is written about, most people,
and sadly even most Christ followers, have little to no understanding and
concept of this history and reality. (There are actually at least 75 verses on
this subject in the Bible.)
Secondly, I believe that upon
gaining an understanding of this truth, it can, and will, have practical
application to all of our lives today!
Understanding the subject of giants
in the Bible will offer us a possible, and very likely, explanation for two of
the most puzzling mysteries of the Old Testament, which are often stumbling
blocks for would be believers, and are also used as ammunition to refute the
Bible by unbelievers, and portray God as a tyrant rather than a loving father.
(These two mysteries will be discussed upon conclusion) Once we accept the
possibility of this explanation, our vision can become enlarged, our faith can
grow deeper, and our love and trust in a loving Sovereign God will move to a
higher level! All this will affect our daily lives here and now as we live as
modern day Christ followers thousands of years after these events occurred.
“The Nephilim were on the
earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the
daughters of man and they bore children unto them. These were the mighty men of
old, the men of renown."
Gen. 6:4
Two verses before we are given
insight into the possible source of these Nephilim;
“The sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were beautiful, and they took women for themselves
of all whom they choose.”
(Genesis 6:2)
Who were the sons of God, and who
were these Nephilim that they possibly produced?
The words, "Sons of God"
in Genesis 6:1-4 is"Ben-Elohim" in Hebrew, all other occasions
it is used refers to angels. Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7/ Dan. 3:25. Basic Bible
interpretation is that if other places use the word in one way, most often, the
place in question will most likely be the same. (Some people think the sons of
God were offspring of Seth)
Another reason to believe these were
fallen evil angels is because of Jude 6 - It speaks of the angels that sinned
and left their "habitation"-Hebrew - Oiketerion - which
means - house or body. They left their previous spiritual house and body
to appear and become flesh and blood. This has happened before with good angels
- see Gen. 18:1-22, 28:10-19/ Heb. 13:2
One of the main reasons many people
don't believe these were fallen angels is because of Matthew 22:30, where it
states that angels do not get married and seemingly don't have sexual
relations. But those that hold this view always overlook one important fact in
this verse:
Jesus stated that Angels, in
heaven, do not marry! The fallen ones we are speaking of have come to earth
and have taken on human form!
Also, many believe that angels are
either sex-less of female, but the fact is ALL THE ANGELS IN THE BIBLE WERE
ADULT MEN IN APPEARANCE. There is not one mention of a female, or child
angel anywhere in the Bible! (Plus they are all male)
The Nephilim were a species of
giants that lived all through Canaan, which is now modern Israel. This is a
generic term, which is also translated "giants" in many
Bibles. There were at least six nations of these giants:
1.
Rephaim
2.
Anakim
3.
Zamzummim
4.
Emim
5.
Avim
6.
Horim
It is really amazing that even
within many churches, the official explanation for many of these verses and
names are that they were simply tall people as we all know, giants
didn’t really exist except in old fables like Jack & the Beanstalk! However
we totally miss the plain truth of these scriptures if we fall for that!
All these were an evil giant
species! These were not just tall people, like today's NBA players, they were
the product of the breeding of......please stay with me......fallen
angels and human women! This is not some new, weird teaching! This has
been established with solid Bible interpretations by many scholars, and has
been the most reasonable conclusion to this text, along with others, for
hundreds of years. It is the most accepted view by the most respected teachers
today.
(Part of the problem lies in two
ways to interpret the Bible, a science called “Hermeneutics”; Those who
interpret it literally, believe in the literal meaning of the words, in other
words, Jonah got swallowed by a big fish, Balaam’s donkey spoke to him, and
there were an evil giant species in ancient times! Those who interpret
figuratively, believe that these verses, and others, are only metaphors for
something else, in other words, Jonah got overwhelmed and swallowed up by fear,
Balaam’s donkey was just really just a way of saying he heard a voice calling
him a dumb____, and all these mentions of giants were either tall people or
just a way of saying “big problems”!)
As you may suspect, although there
are some scriptures which must be seen figuratively, I believe in the literal
interpretation of the Bible, as most students do who believe that the Bible is
the Word of God.
Let me be up front about my belief
right away:
Giants were the early attempt of
Satan to corrupt the human family, thereby preventing the coming of Jesus, the
promised seed of the woman!
Rather than type out several pages
of my explanations and reasons for this, I will simply give a very brief, but
detailed list of my notes with plenty of scriptures for you to look up, also,
please know that I will not spend the time to get into the detailed study of
why all these names mean what they do, but know that others have, others who
are scholars, and the name meanings are a matter of fact. (If you do want a
more in depth word study on these, I can get it to you!)
Giant
Fact List
1. The most dominant race of giants
in the Bible were the Rephaim. They controlled a large valley near
Jerusalem. Joshua 15; 8, 18:16
"The Valley of Rephaim"(Giants)
is mentioned 7 times: II Sam 5; 18, 23:13/ I Chron. 11:15, 14:9/
Isaiah 17:5/ Joshua 15:8, 18:16
"Og" was a famous Rephaim giant recorded in 22 verses! Key ones -
Numbers 21:33-35/ Deut. 3:1-11
(He slept in a bed approx 13-18 feet
long, later the Ammonites were so amazed at his size, and they made his bed a
museum piece!
Many centuries after Og's defeat by
Israel, they still sang praise to God for the victory. Ps. 135:10-11, 136:17-20
Og was the last enemy Israel had to
overcome before entering the Promised Land.
"Bashan" is near Jerusalem and the place where Og lived, it was
commonly part of what was called, The Land of Giants. Duet 3:13/Josh
15:8
2. Anakim - were another race
of giants who lived here: Num. 13:22, 28/Duet.1:28, 2:10, 11:20-
21/Josh 11:21 Under Joshua's command
these giants were almost completely wiped out except for in Gaza, Gath and
Ashdod. Josh.11:22/Zech 9:6
The most famous giant in the Bible,
Goliath, was of the Anakim species from Gath, he was approx 10-13 feet tall.
One of his brothers had 24 fingers and toes and was killed by David's nephew
Jonathon. II Sam 21:15-22/I Chron. 20:4-8
3. Other giant races were:
The Zamzummin- who lived after the flood, but were supernaturally
wiped out by God! Duet 2:19-20
The Emim - another giant race,
Duet. 2:10-11
Avim & Horim - yet more giant races, Duet. 2:1, 2, 22-23
4. The Nephilim - All these
giant races came under the same generic name of Nephilim - which literally
means to "fall" "throw down" or "attack"
The root Hebrew word in "Naphal" which also means "bully"
or "Tyrant"
(Rephaim was also a generic
characterization name for all giants)
5. This word - "Rephaim"
is often translated "dead" in many English Bibles, but there are
other words used for dead and death, and the best translation is literal
giants.
They will never be resurrected:
Ps.88:10/Is 26:14
Most were drowned in the flood and
doomed to hell: Job 26:5
All giants were evil, immoral and
wicked: Prov. 2:18, 9:18
Giants had no understanding of God
and his ways! Prov. 21:16
6. There is a special place,
different from hell and the lake of fire, reserved for all giants:
Tartarus - used in II Peter 2:4, the only place in the Bible this
word is used, and in context, Peter is speaking of the angels that sinned. Most
believe referring to these angels and their gross mixture with women. Many
scholars have linked these giants as being the root historic truth beneath all
the Greek Mythology stories of mighty men like Zeus, Hercules, Apollo and
others! One of the reasons many make this connection is that the only other place "Tartarus" is used
is in Greek Mythology when speaking of the prison for deposed gods! In
Mythology, Tartarus is the subterranean prison of the giants who rebelled
against Zeus. (Also see Jude 6 which is considered a parallel passage) Another
reason is that one of the chief fallen destroying angels who is released from
the bottomless pit during the tribulation will be “Apollyon”, which has the
exact same root name as Apollo, and both mean “Destroy” and many believe are
one and the same. (Revelation 9: 11)
The
Flood
In order to understand more of this
text, we must look at the context and will focus on Genesis 6:5-13
Wickedness, violence, evil
continually, all flesh corrupt....this
is the description we are given in these few verses of the world just before
the flood. God is about to do an incredible and terrible act of judgment and
destroy, not only nearly all people, but all land animals and birds as well!
Many people, even serious Bible students, have difficulty with understanding
how a loving God could send a horrific flood over the entire earth, and destroy
ALL land bearing life except Noah, his family, and the animals with him!
(Because of this seemingly difficult problem, and to “help God out”,
some believe once again in the figurative sense that the “entire earth”
didn’t really mean that, but the entire populated earth at that time,
which would mean a flood only in a small portion of the world) (I have serious
problems with that view!)
Once again, there is more here than
meets the eye in a surface reading! As evil and wicked as people can get today,
this seemed to be something far worse. It seems like every human being was
actively pursing evil and violence! Today, although there are plenty of evil
people, most people are decent, moral and have consciences which
steer them to a sense of right and wrong.
To understand what the underlying
horrific evil and wickedness was here that caused God to act like he did, all
you have to do is extrapolate on what has been presented so far.
1. Evil, fallen angels descend to
earth in human form and begin a widespread program of rape and violence
creating a new species of half human-half fallen angel giants.
2. According to the book of Enoch,
these giants and the fallen angels also proceed to teach and instruct mankind
in every possible way to rebel against God and commit unspeakable evil.
3. These giants keep raping and
attempt to produce more and more part-human children, until eventually after
hundreds of years; the entire earth was populated by this evil, gross mixture
of genetic cross-breeding! This was Satan’s master plan, to so contaminate
the human race with this breeding program that the seed of the woman - Jesus -
could never be born into the human race and redeem mankind!
It is almost perfect logic,
and it almost worked!
However God IS perfect, and cannot
be out smarted and nothing can possibly alter or stop his plans! Noah and his
family were somehow the only ones who were, uncontaminated, and also righteous
God-seekers. (Possibly only Noah, but his family may have been saved through
him)
How do I know this? Is this just a
wild guess? No! Again, we must dig deeper into the text to find deeper answers.
Genesis 6:9 states that Noah was
both, "just and perfect"
The original Hebrew word for perfect
is Tamiyn - which means perfect, sound, free from blemishes in
sacrificial victims.
Instead of saying he was perfect, it
would be acceptable to also say, he was unblemished! Tamiyn is the very
word used later to describe the required animal sacrifice brought unto the
Lord, which had to be unblemished, and free from contamination in every way!
Noah was chosen by God because he
was righteous AND because he was unblemished by this evil satanic
cross-breeding program.
Also notice verse twelve, that
"all flesh had corrupted their way". All flesh, except
Noah and his family were the only ones saved.
The
Second Time Around
Question: If this interpretation is
true, and God wiped out all the corrupt flesh of sub-human giants and
their children by the flood, then why do we find giants again in Canaan when
Joshua enters it?! (And also even later when young David encounters Goliath?)
This is not a problem to this
interpretation at all! Please carefully read Genesis 6:4 once again for a solid
clue; It says that “there were Nephilim on the earth in those days”, “and
also afterwards”. The most basic answer is that Satan thought that this was
such a great plan, and that he came so close to success, that he tried it
again! After all, he knows God’s word even much better than any of us or anyone
at that time, and what did God promise to Noah right after the flood? God
promised to never flood the earth again, and even sent a rainbow to seal
his promise and new covenant to Noah and mankind. Satan knows that God CANNOT
break his word! So there was no way the earth would be flooded again to stop
this evil plan by Satan, so why not try again?!
However this second time, the plan
was slightly altered and more focused on one area due to the new information
that was given by God. (This proves that Satan does not know all things as God
does, and he must wait for new intelligence and information to alter and adapt
his strategy).
The new information was found in
Genesis 12:1-3 when God called Abraham and informed him that he was the one who
would head a new family and nation by which the coming Messiah would be born
through. Furthermore, God revealed that a specific land was also tied into this
plan, the land of Canaan.
So before, all Satan had was a
general idea that the Messiah would be born through a human woman of the human
race somewhere on earth at some time in the future. But now, with this new
information, he had it greatly narrowed down into specifics as to which nation,
and what specific area!
Does this all sound like a little
too far fetched? Was there really any giants found later in Canaan?
“All the region of Argob, with all
Bashan, was called the land of giants.” (Deuteronomy 3:13) This verse is speaking of the land of
Canaan just before Joshua was commanded to go in and wipe them out! It
was so full of giants; they called it “The Land of Giants”!
Even more specifically close to
Jerusalem, there was a valley which was controlled by giants called “The Valley
of Rephaim” or “The Valley of Giants”. (Joshua 15:8, 18:16)
What seems clear by these verses is
that after the flood, Satan sent the Elohim again to cross breed with human
women producing the evil Nephilim giants, but concentrated all his efforts in
one area – Canaan – because this is the specific area which God sent Abraham to
begin a new family and nation.
But God was clearly protecting
Abraham and blessed him in every way! However, the plan continued until the
entire area was infested with giants waiting for the conquest of Israel later
with Joshua. Once again, it almost worked! Moses first sent out spies into the
land to gather information before they entered to battle, and the spies came
back in great fear, why?
“We came to the land where you sent
us. It truly flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the
people who dwell in the land are strong, the cities are fortified and very
large, and we saw the descendants of Anak there.” (Giants)
“…all the people we saw in it are
men of great stature.”
“…there we saw the giants and we
were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Numbers 13: 27, 28, 32, 33
There were twelve spies sent out,
and ten came back with this bad report of great fear, only two, Joshua and
Caleb were full of faith and hope and believed that God would be true to his
word and give them the land.
This story is often preached and
even told in Sunday school, and I remember it often when I was a little kid,
but not once do I remember being told the specific reason WHY the ten spies
came back with such a bad report of great fear! (The most common answer is they
were afraid of the strong armies there, because giants are only fables and must
be a metaphor for giant armies)
But I cannot accept that view in
light of all the verses stating that giants infested this land!
If you keep reading this text in
Numbers, because of the fear of giants these ten brought back, the whole
congregation of people complained and God tells Moses that they have “Rejected
Me” – and God comes very close to wiping them all out right there! In other
words, Satan’s plan almost worked again! (God didn’t destroy them
because of Moses’ interceding for the people, but destroyed only the ten
fearful spies instead – Numbers 14: 11- 38.)
But even Joshua’s conquest didn’t
seem to wipe them all out because much later, we still find at least one family
of giants still there, taunting Israel and God! It took the young David’s
divinely empowered sling shot to kill their champion – Goliath! (As stated
before, it seems that this time, God finally put an end to this plot himself
and supernaturally destroyed the remaining evil races of giants. (Duet.
2:19-20) and seems to have helped and assisted any nation who went against the
giants, no matter how evil the nation was themselves.
Book
of Enoch
Once again, I stress that although
the evidence is extensive in scripture, I still would not be dogmatic on this
issue 100%. However, it is the very best explanation and most solid
interpretation of these verses, and should be considered as a possible and even
most likely interpretation.
So far, we have stayed with the
Biblical record, as the Bible is the Word of God and completely true and
factual. But there also exists much extra-biblical support through other
accounts, which, although we cannot completely trust them, yet, many are
historical and can shed light and support to the Bible. (However, if we find
contradictions and opposing facts, we must always disregard the extra-biblical
first)
You should recall the amazing
character named Enoch, who was the seventh from Adam, and one of only two
people who never died, but were taken alive up to God’s presence. (Elijah was
the other one) There is a very old book supposedly written by him that contains
specific details of the Elohim, Nephilim, and even lists names of the fallen
Angels!
(I say supposedly written by
Enoch because no one knows for sure, and there were many others who wrote books
and used ancient Biblical names to gain support.)
However, two things about this book
cause us to give it serious attention;
1.
Fragments of it were discovered
among the Dead Sea Scrolls dating back to 300 BC. – meaning that the scribes
who copied it considered it very special, and included it among their copies of
Old Testament books.
2.
Many early church leaders greatly
respected it, read it, and believed it! One in particular was Jude – who most
believe was actually Jesus’ half brother. He quotes from the book of Enoch in
Jude 14-15. Every time you read this Biblical passage, you are actually reading
a direct quote from the book of Enoch! (So we know at least two verses of this
mysterious book are the divine Word of God)
I don’t encourage everyone to
purchase this book, (I have a copy), as you can get easily sidetracked and go
off the deep end! But within context of this thesis, it does fill in much of
the missing pieces of the puzzle, and gives validation to this possible
interpretation. (The book of Enoch, in addition to giving great detail to the evil
actions of the fallen angels and the Nephilim, also links them to Mythology.)
Two
Difficult Passages Solved
As I stated earlier, if you can
accept this interpretation of fallen angels cross breeding with human women and
producing an evil half-breed mix of giants (Nephilim), then it greatly sheds
light into solving two difficult Bible passages, and furthermore, re-enforces
our understanding of God’s holy and loving character.
If this interpretation is true, (I
believe it is), then it reveals a very serious deeply planned attempt by Satan
to overthrow God’s revealed plan to bring Christ to the earth by being born of
a human woman.
As we have seen, both times the
enemy tried this tactic; it came very close to succeeding! Satan is extremely
brilliant and far from the bumbling Devil with a pitchfork that we usually see
in pictures.
Here are the two difficult Bible
passages which many people, believers and un-believers, struggle with;
1. The world-wide flood that
wiped out all land based life on earth as an incredible act of judgment by God.
Even though the Bible states that there was intense evil at that time, it still
seems very harsh and extreme that God would send a flood to destroy “all
flesh”, including millions of animal species, and every man, woman and child
expect for Noah and his family on the ark! Of course, this could have simply
happened because of basic evil, but we also have increased evil around the
world, and there have been occasions in history when it seemed it was even more
intense. The serious Bible student suspects that there is more here than meets
the eye! If this interpretation of Genesis six is correct, then the missing
pieces of the puzzle are filled in! In essence; God sent the terrible
judgment of a world-wide flood to wipe out Satan’s brilliant plan of cross
breeding and infecting the human race with a gross hybrid mix of fallen angels,
which would have corrupted the human race completely, and prevent Christ from
being born of a woman’s seed, which God promised would happen!
(The support for this has already been stated earlier, of how Noah was
the only one left “uncontaminated” and “un-infected”) This also answers why God
had to destroy “all flesh on the earth”, as it appears that possibly these
fallen angels and giant offspring were also corrupting the animal world also!
(It states in Genesis 6:7 specifically that God pronounced judgment against
“the beasts, the creeping things and the fowls of the air.”) While the Bible
doesn’t reveal it, the book of Enoch states that these fallen angels “began
to sin against birds, beasts, reptiles and fish, and to devour one another’s
flesh and drink the blood.” (Book of Enoch VII 1-6)
If this is true, then it gives us
more insight into why God had to send a devastating flood to wipe them all out!
(After the flood when God promised Noah to never flood the earth like that
again, I believe it was because God knew that he would never allow Satan to get
that far in that scheme again, although he would try) This possible explanation
is important and offers us more insight into God’s character, because it shows
him to be extremely diligent to accomplish his word and promise, and also shows
him to be loving and merciful to Noah and his family who somehow resisted
infection. God’s judgment and destruction of the animals and all other people
at that time could have been based more on the motivation of saving the
world than destroying it!
2. Joshua’s conquest to wipe out all
the people of Canaan with God’s protection and blessing! When you read through Joshua, it becomes clear that Joshua
was in clear obedience and blessing of God when he killed man, woman, child and
animals in every town they conquered. In fact, they got in trouble from God
whenever they didn’t, by overlooking some, or becoming tricked by some cities!
This seems more than harsh, and many Bible students, even scholars have great
difficulty with this passage, so much so, that many people have explained this
by believing that the God of the Old Testament was more severe and harsh, while
in the New Testament he sees us through his son Christ, so he displays grace,
almost as if we have two different Gods! But we know that this cannot be, as
Jesus said that he and the father God were one, and if you see Jesus, you were
looking at God. Once again, if this interpretation is true concerning fallen
angels infecting the human race, then this difficult passage is also seen in a
new light. Remember that it says that “there were giants in the land in
those days, and afterwards.” (Genesis 6:4) We also know that
the land of Canaan was called “The land of giants”. In essence;, it
seems that Satan possibly focused his new plan of corruption in this area to
welcome Joshua and Israel’s attempted conquest, and hoped to destroy all of
Israel, in doing so, would prevent Christ from coming because God had already
said that he would bring Christ into the world through Abraham and his seed.
Once again, this sheds new light on this difficult passage and ultimately on
God’s character! If this is true, God was completely justified in blessing
Joshua and causing him and Israel to kill ALL the people of those lands, as
they must have been infected and a gross mixture of hybrid fallen angels and
human/animals! Also, once again, it seems that this conquest and bloodbath of
Canaan was more about God saving the world than destroying it!
Conclusion
I realize that this possible
interpretation may seem far fetched, and a stretch, but I remind you that it is
the interpretation believed by many respected Bible scholars, not all, but I
would have to say probably most. Of course this doesn’t make it right, they
could all be wrong! But I believe that we have let the Bible lead the way into
this thesis without trying to make it say something it doesn’t. In other words,
if I believed this idea, but in my study discovered some verses which seem to
contradict this and say otherwise, I would have to discard my ideas and let the
Bible lead the way into that new direction.
This is really the most basic way in
which science works also! Scientists cling to the best theory they have which
best describes things the way things are, that is until some new discovery is
made which contradicts it, and then they must follow that pathway. (This is
exactly what Einstein did to come up with his new theories, in spite of 200 +
years of rigid old school thinking which greatly resisted his findings at
first)
I am not dogmatic and 100% convinced
of this yet, but the Biblical evidence, and extra-biblical evidence is very
solid in favor of this view, and if pressed, I would have to say I’m about 99%
convinced at this time!
But what I am 100% convinced of is
that God is faithful, God is true to his word and promises, and that God is
completely void of any evil! God is love, God is merciful, God is holy, God is
wrathful and punishes sin and evil. These things are not at odds with each
other, and God is not part holy, part love ….he is completely loving and
completely holy, merciful and wrathful. We cannot have a God of love and
somehow separate his holiness and justice and wrath, they all make up his
character.
This interpretation of these
difficult passages best explains some of his actions that can be hard to grasp.
The final summary could also be
this; God is bigger than any of us can possibly imagine! We need to grow in
trust and faith in him, and if there are Bible passages we don’t understand,
that’s ok for now. In the mean time, we must trust him and grow in that
direction, and as we grow and learn, some of those passages may be made clear
to us. It is the principle of “As you go” as discussed before in our series, as
we put one foot forward in faith and walk on this journey, God enlarges our
light just a bit, that is, until our next step, let’s keep walking!
8. The Perfect Kingdom
The Perfect Kingdom!
By John Boda
(I have, after much thought, decided to re-name this final chapter, "The Perfect Kingdom", instead of, "The Perfected Kingdom", which had been used until now. Because you cannot perfect that which is perfect!
The Millennium, (Rev 20:1-6) could be the actual time of the perfected kingdom on earth. But, even though life spans are greatly increased, people still die, Satan will again be released, and the full realization of God's kingdom on earth is still yet to come!
Since I fully want to keep consistent with our big panoramic picture, I must fast forward all the way to the end, when God completely brings his kingdom to earth and actually dwells with us in it!
We are currently living in the beginning of the end, and soon we will see the end of the beginning!
(The moment God sets up his kingdom on earth permanently with The New Jerusalem, it will be a new beginning, but also, the end of the beginning as our current concept and reality of space-time will cease to exist! It will be both the beginning and the end - something totally new and impossible to fathom now!)
The New Jerusalem
There is an earthly Jerusalem, and a spiritual Jerusalem, also there is an earthly Babylon and a spiritual Babylon! Focusing on the spiritual for now, these two cities are the complete antithesis of one another! To help clarify what I mean, here is a more detailed look into both cities:
The New Jerusalem:
The Holy City (Rev 21:2)
A beautiful bride (Rev 21:2)
God himself lives there (Rev 22:3)
Eternal home of the redeemed made pure by Jesus (Rev 21:27)
Babylon:
The Great Harlot, mother of prostitutes (Rev 17:1,5)
Full of demons and wickedness
(Rev 18:2)
Doomed and sealed for destruction and judgment by God (Rev 18:8-10, 19, 21)
Babylon could be viewed as the great counterfeit project, the great copy to what God is building! It is very interesting that before the New Jerusalem is lowered to earth, and God's kingdom is fully realized, Babylon must first be judged and destroyed!
The very first "Hallelujah" in the entire New Testament waits until Babylon is finally destroyed! Then when it comes, all heaven and earth erupt into an incredible contagious Hallelujah chorus!
(Rev 19:1-8)
There actually is one thing that both these cities have in common. (Although Babylon is of course a fake and counterfeit) Both cities have the exact three elements in their structure: Gold - Pearl - & Precious Stones
New Jerusalem: Rev 21:18-21
Babylon: Rev 17:4
Hopefully, you recall our first session, The Pattern of the Kingdom, where we looked at Genesis 2 & 3 in detail. See Gen 2:12, almost written as a passing footnote! But all three elements were there in the Garden of Eden! This could be viewed as "The Blueprint" of The New Jerusalem!
Or, the initial photograph of God's complete and beautiful city, but also completely undeveloped. But go from the second chapter of the Bible to the second to last chapter of the Bible, and we have the photograph developed. It is developed in full detailed color!
We get a detailed description of the walls, the gates, the stones, and even it's precise measurements! (Rev 21: 10-21)
The Shape of Things to Come
The New Jerusalem. What you will find, overwhelmingly, is also what most people and books promote, which is the idea that The New Jerusalem will be a huge square cube. If you have ever watched "Star Trek", you will remember the popular episodes on "The Borg". - An alien species who desire to assimilate other worlds and cultures, and they all live and travel in a huge square cube. As much as I love the episodes, I am also more and more convinced that this is NOT what the New Jerusalem will look like!
All we know of the dimensions come from Rev 21:15-18, and upon only a surface reading, it is possible, even easy, to come away with a huge square cube.
This subject actually begs for a detailed study of its own, which I may just do soon! But, briefly, here are the reasons that I believe the New Jerusalem will actually be shaped as a huge
Pyramid as opposed to a cube.
1. There are only two possible shapes allowed by the dimensions given in Rev 21:15-17:
One is a square cube, and the other is a pyramid. The reason is these are the only two shapes which qualify of having an equal "length, breadth and height". Other translations say it different, but they all mean it had the same length, width and height. So our possible shapes are narrowed down to two, and only two!
It is 12,000 furlongs long, wide and high - many scholars believe a furlong is 660 feet, or 1/8 of a mile. 12,000 furlongs = 1,500 miles - this is 1,500 miles long, wide and high!
2. God's throne is up on a high mountain. (Much more like a pyramid than a cube!)
Isaiah 6:1 / Isaiah 14:13 / Ezekiel 28:14 /
3. Jesus is called the Chief Cornerstone - Eph 2:19,20
This is not an ordinary cornerstone set in the bottom corner of a building, but many translations use the word, "head" cornerstone. Meaning "The Top", in fact Jesus is called the "Head of the Church" - Eph 5:23 In a pyramid, the cornerstone is always the last stone at the very top!
4. The pyramid is the only structure in which the entire building is completely identical in shape with the shape of the top cornerstone. (Capstone)
The Church is being formed into Christ's image - Rom 8:29
We are all being fit together within the building - Eph 2:21
We are to grow up into the head, who is Christ - Eph 4:15
5. In Isaiah 2: 1 - 5 it speaks of God's City as "The Mountain of the Lord". I will only ask this question: What better depicts a mountain, a cube or a pyramid shape?
6. Finally, as stated earlier, BOTH cities (New Jerusalem and Babylon) are made of Gold, Pearl & Precious Stones! How can this be?! The answer is that God is the originator, and Satan is a mimic! The enemy always copies God because he knows that anything God does HAS to be THE most effective, brilliant, and powerful way to do it. Since God is building a massive eternal city shaped like a pyramid of Gold, Pearl & Precious Stones, Satan also is doing the same to decieve everyone! Only his city is called Babylon, and it is not REAL Gold, Pearl & Precious Stones, but looks the same. I believe the many pyramids in Egypt, South America and other places from thousands of years ago are also Satan's attempt at his copy plan to mimic God, and deceive mankind, and he is still at it today.
Further notes on the Cornerstone:
This is from a common story that his listeners were probably well aware of:
When Solomon's temple was being built, all the stones had first been planned and cut by the workmen beforehand. When the workers were putting it together, there was one stone, of peculiar shape, that seemed odd and out of place, so one of the workers tossed it over a hill into the valley as it was in the way. When the building was almost done, the all important stone needed to finish, the head cornerstone, couldn’t be found! Finally, the one man remembered the odd stone he threw away and went and got it. It was that stone which perfectly fit, and finished the building!
Jesus said that he was that stone!
That stone, which went in last, not first, like all other cornerstones at the bottom foundation, but last and on top! Even though it is referring to the temple, it must have been designed and built in a similar fashion to re-enforce the idea of a pyramid shaped structure.
Practical Summary
Why is this big deal? What difference does it make if it is a cube or a pyramid? Why should we believe in a real heavenly city? Maybe it is all symbolic and written in metaphors.
Knowing that the New Jerusalem is probably a pyramid rather than a cube IS important because it more clearly shows, and reminds us, that God is at the top!
He always was, he is now, and always will be! If we can grasp this idea, really grasp it, we will be able to mature and grow spiritually without the continual setbacks brought on by ego, pride, selfishness and everything that goes with it!
It also shows that, as in most cases, if you only read the Bible on a surface level, you will miss many things, at times, even the main meaning of the text. Whenever we read or study the Bible, we must always try to compare scripture with scripture to really get a more complete and accurate meaning of what is written.
To make this last session practical, here is how we can apply this to our lives:
Ask God to open your mind and hearts to reveal more of the big picture! This is how God views everything, and when we can begin to see in a larger perspective, we will be blessed and our faith will grow.
More specifically, pray on a constant basis, the way Jesus taught us to pray saying, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". Really think about those words! Also, they don't have to just be prayed within "The Lord's Prayer", but in every type of prayer to God, and in our daily awareness of his presence!
Ask God to make real to you the sure reality of the New Jerusalem, a real city, which will be our eternal home! Try to personalize eternity - it is not somewhere out there in heaven - but within a real, measured city on earth, with a real, living, God who will live there as well, at the very top.
I hope and pray this series has been a blessing to you and if so, please copy, paste, preach and teach whatever you want of it to help advance the Kingdom also! This is not MY message, and I have no copyright on it. If it is a blessing and has helped the Kingdom, my reward is waiting in the New Jerusalem where we will rejoice together!
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