The feet of the great statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream cannot be interpreted as a prediction of the states of modern Europe, but the lessons from their failure can certainly be applied.

The statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream spoke of God’s ordaining of four empires which would rule in succession throughout Israel’s “latter days,” the half millennium from the exile to the Messiah. Like the Tabernacle, the metals of its construction progressed from the finest to the strongest, from the gold of the Sanctuary (Exodus 25:17-21; Psalm 19:10) to the iron of the unconverted nations (1 Samuel 13:19; 1 Chronicles 22:3).¹For more discussion, see James B. Jordan, The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel, 174-175.

The image was also humaniform like the Tabernacle, but being kingly rather than priestly it was not cruciform. The anatomical progression follows the threefold process of the foundation of mankind in Eden, where Adam was to image God physically (Genesis 1: being), socially (Genesis 2: knowing) and ethically (Genesis 3: doing). The Lord breathed into Adam’s nostrils (above) and cut into his flesh (beside). It was up to Adam to place his foot upon the neck of the serpent (below). As an effigy of glorified man, the description of this image also works from head to foot, from confession to dominion, from word (divine command) via sacrament (priestly obedience) to government (kingly authority).

Continue reading at Theopolis Institute.

or Where Kenneth Gentry Is Wrong on the Revelation

Part 1 here.

I’ve been meaning to write this post since I wrote Part 1 (over two years ago). A friend’s recent question concerning Kenneth Gentry’s lectures on the Revelation encouraged me to bite the bullet and bust a gut and get it done. The question is this: Is the Revelation to be interpreted in the light of Josephus’ Jewish War, or in the light of the Bible itself?

Just as the Tabernacle rebuilt by David included Gentile worshipers, the reinstitution of worship in Israel after the exile likewise required the inclusion of Gentile sponsors. We saw in Esther in Ezekiel’s Temple that the oikoumene was a Jew-Gentile social architecture, with the city of Jerusalem itself serving as a kind of holy altar within a larger temple. [1] Just as the four-horned altar served as an image of the (symbolically) four-cornered Land (not earth; see The Earth Is Flat), so now the entire city was referred to as “holy,” and the genealogy of every Jew was considered “priestly.” This upgrade in holiness of what was once common was the result of Israel’s exile, a death-and-resurrection which purged her of idol worship. So, what could go wrong?

Of course, these new blessings could and would be twisted into curses. The holy city itself and the genealogy of every Jew would become Israel’s new gods.

This is the situation into which the Messiah was born. The outcome of this idolatry was the requirement for a new death-and-resurrection. In Israel’s place, Christ initiated it, and Israel followed Him through the process over the next generation. Like the bronze altar outside the Tabernacle, the entire city itself would be considered “outside the camp,” and even its sides would be splashed with the blood of the atoning sacrifices. As the law decreed, the crimes of the murderers would be atoned for with their own blood.

Consequently, it would be no surprise that the deep structure of the Revelation recapitulates the order of sacrifice. The Revelation is not a description of the Jewish war, though it is part of the outcome. It is a liturgy describing the sacrifice of the priesthood of Israel for the sake of the nations. Herod’s Jerusalem would be offered up in a spectacle of blood, fire and smoke. Any other reading of the final book of the Bible, using, for instance, uninspired second Temple literature, the works of Josephus, or the latest news headlines, to interpret it, is a gross misunderstanding of the purpose of the text.

Ordo Sacrificii sub Apocalypsis

In the book of Leviticus, the simple process of the whole burnt offering (“the ascension” [3]) blooms like a flower, revealing myriad parts with different purposes. Yet each of these remains a process of transformation, one whose pattern can be traced back to Genesis 1.

Creation – Day 1 – Called (Sabbath – “on the Lord’s Day”)

What is the correspondence between the choosing of the blameless animal and Day 1? The baptism of Jesus is a great help. The dove hovers over the water and identifies the Lamb from hundreds of His repentant brothers. We see a similar process at the anointing of David, the shepherd. In the Revelation, it is the vision of the glorified Jesus, the one who has already ascended.

Division – Day 2 – Sanctified (Passover)

In biblical terms, sanctification is not a growth in holiness but a setting apart. In sacrificial terms, it is the delegation of a purpose, much as one might set apart food for a special event. Thus, sanctification has more to do with election than the kind of practical holiness which the word brings to mind today. In Genesis 1, this is the parting of the waters. In Exodus, it is the parting of the Red Sea to set Israel apart from Egypt. In Galatians, Paul combines these two images in his use of Hagar and Sarah as symbols of Egypt’s river and Canaan’s rain, the waters below and the waters above (see The Shape of Galatians, pp. 155-165). In the Revelation, it is the Division of the New Israel, represented by the seven churches, from the Old Israel, the city of Jerusalem who now embodies the worst traits of Egypt, Sodom and Babylon, and worse, flaunts these in God’s face through her continued sacrifices, following the murder of Christ and most of His apostles. Jesus calls these new “sons of God” out of Egypt and “passes over” them, “trimming the wick” on each lampstand. He cuts off the leaven of the Pharisees in each church before He cuts off “Egypt” altogether (see The Eighth Letter and Living Menora).

Ascension – Day 3 – Presented (Firstfruits)

The Passover sacrifice could be a lamb or a kid, but the Firstfruits animal offering was a lamb. Revelation 4-5 reveal the Lamb, ascended to heaven as the firstfruits from the dead, representing all who believe. Since the work of Day 3 was twofold, Land and fruits, Altar and Table, Christ is the connection between the earth (His grave in Israel) and the heavens. Instead of grain and fruit plants, Christ is flesh and blood, bread and wine, offered upon the Table.

Christ opens the scroll, which ends His ministry in the Garden, and sends the four Gospel witnesses into the Land (or, in Tabernacle terms, moves the action from the Most Holy into the Holy Place). The seven seals follow the same sevenfold pattern in microcosm.

Testing – Day 4 – Purified (Pentecost)

Just as Christ is the Head of the sacrifice (offered without being washed), chapter 7 reveals the firstfruits Body: 144,000 believing Jews. Note that the Body is washed (v. 14). These are the sheep which Peter was to feed for the slaughter. The process of “counting” alludes to the book of Numbers. Only the men were counted, because men are sacrificial “heads,” hence circumcision for Israelite males. But there are Gentiles as well, yet these are not counted. They are numberless. Peter’s haul of fish was counted, an offering from the sea presented upon the “altar” on the beach (a fire of burning coals). The fact that these Gentile “human sacrifices” are not counted means the Covenant is moving from earth to heaven, from the Cainite ground to the “Abel” (hebel) clouds of heaven. This is a new heavens and earth, a new creation, and the description of the end of their suffering aptly follows the order of the Creation week (see Saved From The Green Horse). The centre of this promise concerns the striking and scorching heat of the sun, which leads into chapter 8. This is a description of the holy fire from heaven, the Spirit of God descending upon both Jews and Gentiles from the Day of Pentecost onward. From heaven’s point of view, salvation was a call to become a human sacrifice, since Christ has made us “acceptable” to God (in sacrificial terms). We no longer need animal substitutes.

Maturity – Day 5 – Transformed (Trumpets)

This is where our concept of “sanctification” comes in. It is spiritual maturity, so in biblical terms a better word for it might be transformation. The flesh has been consumed and is now fragrant clouds, able to pass through locked doors (as we see in John and Acts), following the High Priest who entered through the torn veil in clouds of incense on the Day of Atonement.

New Israel – Good Trumpets

Maturity corresponds to the Feast of Trumpets (see above), describing in “Mosaic” terminology the witness of the Apostles leading up to the destruction of the  Temple and its now obsolete – and corrupted – worship. The seven trumpets follow the same sevenfold “creation-through-sacrifice” pattern. As the Feast of Trumpets, they muster the troops of Israel. However, as is described by Paul in Romans, there were now two Israels. The Judiastic Israelites are described as Egyptian/Babylonian locusts, and the saints are described as human Tabernacles, temples of the Spirit.

In chapter 10, a part of the New Covenant authority is delegated to John, a son of thunder, who, as the Last Apostle, will speak the final words of judgment upon the rulers of the Land (“kings of the earth”). For a description of the angel, see The Church As Colossus and The Last Trumpet.

The two witnesses are the Law of Moses and the Testimony of the Prophets embodied in the Apostolic Witness as the testimony of Jesus, hence Moses and Elijah deferring to Christ at His transfiguration, and the Father vindicating Christ as He did at His baptism. Just as that act ended Christ’s personal testimony to Israel, so these two witnesses end the Apostolic testimony to Israel. Both Head and Body have now spoken and been slain.

What is interesting here is that the Word began in the Garden, worked its way out through the Land to the World. Here we have three pictures of the testimony of the Firstfruits Church, which reverse the order: A great army crossing the Euphrates into the Land (World), the witness of John as seven “Sinaitic” thunders (Land), and the Law and Prophets as two cherubim (Garden). These symbols follow the High Priest as He makes His way from the court, through the Holy Place and into the Most Holy, just as He does in Leviticus. So the final verse of this section referring to the Ark of God in His temple should be no surprise if we have a handle on sacred architecture. The blood of the human sacrifices is being offered by Christ as the “washed Body” (Leviticus 1:9 – supporting baptism by full immersion of the body). However, this brings a new fire from heaven, one which will be administered by the Roman armies.

Old Israel – Bad Trumpets

Following the pattern of Psalm 1, Maturity has both blessings (the Apostolic witness) and curses (the response of the rulers of the Land). This dual witness is the “Deuteronomy” of the book of Revelation (read Deuteronomy 28). In their warnings, the Firstfruits Church not only “filled up” (multiplied into an abundance, as Brides do) the sufferings of Christ, but also provoked unbelieving Israelites to harden their hearts like Pharaoh did, and to “fill up” their sins. Paul describes this Jew-Gentile ministry and the imminent judgement of Jerusalem:

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God’s wrath has come upon them at last! (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)

I hope it is becoming plain how erroneous is most exposition of the Revelation, including that by many preterists. Throwing proof texts at each other is like arguing about jigsaw pieces without reference to the picture on the box, which is found in the Torah.

Anyhow, from Revelation 12, the pattern of the Trumpets (Maturity) is repeated. It begins with a negative Pentecost. Just as David received the Spirit and Saul received an evil spirit from the Lord, so false Israel became demonic after the “enlightening” of Pentecost (Hebrews 6:4). Satan was kicked out of his “legal” role in heaven and took up residence on the earth, or more specifically, on the Land, in the Temple of the Herods (the source of the Edenic “springs” described in the final chapters of Ezekiel). So, that’s the Herodian Garden corrupted. Notice it begins with the Woman and the Herodian Dragon, a clear reference to Genesis as the beginning of this legal pattern.

Next, he spewed this corrupted (“bitter” Wormwood) river into the Land, and the false Church sucked it right up. This was the false doctrine which the apostles had to battle against, referred to over and over again in the epistles (so much for the attempts over the centuries to identify this false doctrine as anything but anti-Christian Judaism).

Satan’s final attempt to kill the Bride was to turn to the World for aid, so he called upon the Sea Beast, Rome (see Three Strikes, Binding and Loosing, and Serpents and Dragons). AD64 saw not only the completion of Herod’s Temple (proving Jesus to be a false prophet) but also the burning of Rome, the first time Roman authorities recognised Christianity as separate from Judaism. Satan’s ploy was to attack this strange new Jew-Gentile Body with a Jew-Gentile counterfeit, just as Herod and Pilate became “friends” after the trial of Christ.

After a description of this false worship and its false kingdom (presented as an Aaronic golden calf, the image of a beast), the “transformed” sacrifices are seen as “holy smoke” on the mountain with Christ, Head and Body now united. Their flesh and blood was “harvested” as bread and wine. Like the blood of Abel, it cried from the ground and calls upon God for vindication and vengeance. However, unlike the first murder, this vengeance would not be delayed. The blood of all the prophets from Abel onwards would be avenged upon that generation. The Land is described as an altar overflowing with blood “as high as a horse’s bridle.”

Conquest – Day 6 – Vindicated (Atonement)

Jerusalem had been surrounded by saints with Gospel “Trumpets”, but the final day had come. As it was with Jericho, the firstfruits of the Land, “all flesh” would be cut off in Jerusalem, as the firstfruits of the World. The entire city would be cut around, or circumcised. This brings us to the seven bowls of wrath, which correspond to the seven sprinklings of blood from the hand of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. However, on this day, the Roman general Titus would step over the Body of the apostate High Priest (see End of the Abrahamic Rift and Jesus’ Caesars).

What is the source of the seven bowls? Only the structure of the text reveals this (which means exegetes with little or no poetic sense will write this observation off as speculation). Interestingly, it is the Lampstand, the light of the Law now available by the Spirit (see Seven Bowls of Wrath). The Spirit would no longer strive with old Israel. For a sample of the beauty of the “de-Creation” described under the image of these Temple bowls, see #41 in 50 Failed Predictions part 9. For a complete rundown, see James B. Jordan’s The Vindication of Jesus Christ.

Chapters 17-19 describe the separation of the harlot and the bride, corresponding to Hagar and Sarah (Israel as Egypt versus Abraham’s “heavenly Canaan”), and also the two prostitutes whose hearts were discerned by Solomon. Since this entire pattern recapitulates the Testing of Adam in the Garden, the Father is discerning the heart of the Bride (Numbers 5) whom Christ has presented to Him as a chaste virgin. Not only are her eyes open (Luke 24:31; Acts 9:8,18), but she is liberated by the obedience of her Adam.

Glorification – Day 7 – Sent (Booths)

The final section of the Revelation is also sevenfold. It describes the ministry of the now-enthroned Firstfruits Church in heaven during this current period (see For A Thousand Years and Altar of the Abyss – 7). The sacrificial process enacted in the Garden and re-enacted in the Land would now be recapitulated throughout the World through the testimony of saints from every nation.

I hope to write a complete “Shape of the Revelation” some time soon, but will wait for Peter Leithart’s 2015 commentary because he will no doubt present many insights I can rip off include! In the mean time, get a hold of James B. Jordan’s Revelation lecture series.

But I hope you can see that the Revelation is not a symbolic account of the Jewish War, as important as understanding that history might be. Of course, I do recommend Kenneth Gentry’s Before Jerusalem Fell, which is extremely helpful when it comes to dating the book and establishing its purpose in the biblical canon.

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[1] For an introduction to this subject, see Peter J. Leithart’s The Four: A Survey of the Gospels. For a more in-depth study, see James B. Jordan’s The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel. And you can search for “oikoumene” here on the blog.
[2] See Peter J. Leithart, Skinned and Cut, Biblical Horizons No. 35 (March 1992)

ART: A souped up version of the original cover artwork for David Chilton’s The Days of Vengeance. Chilton makes a similar error to Gentry, but is still well worth a read for his many insights.

or Semina Divina

And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” (Mark 5:30)

We aren’t told in Genesis 9 what Ham’s intention was when he “uncovered” his father, Noah. Peter Leithart and James Jordan both present some fascinating insights (which differ from each other), but perhaps there is a solution elsewhere in Genesis, which, combined with both these possibilities, offers something new.

This post has been slain and resurrected for inclusion in Praxeme: Journal of Systematic Typology.

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We have reached the sixth cycle of Numbers, which seems to include chapters 30-34. Seeing as it has been a while since we looked at Numbers, here’s the overview again, with this next cycle in red.

Overview of Numbers

The first step towards identifying what this cycle consists of is its “liturgical” significance in the book. We should be looking for Atonement motifs, purging of sin and a claiming of the promised inheritance. We might also find “Covenant vows” as Conquest in the Bible Matrix corresponds to Sanctions in the Covenant pattern.

Two observations to close:

The first concerns the process of maturity inherent in the Covenant process. At Passover, and in the wilderness, Israel was under the angelic sword. Angels were “tutors” until Israel was qualified to bear the sword as worthy representatives of their God. At Atonement, the veil is opened and it is the “firstborn,” the Man who bears the sword. But he is all grown up now. Angels slew the unfaithful in Egypt, but it was Israelite soldiers who would slay the unfaithful in Jericho. This originated in Eden, where Adam was “cut” by an angelic hand (graven?) for the purpose of building Eve, but Adam was expected to bear the sword-word of the Covenant against the serpent. That is the background, and here is the observation (finally). It was an angelic sword that “passed over” Balaam, but it was an Israelite sword that passed through him. [2] After the sin with the Midianites, God instructed the Israelites to wear robes with “wings.” Israel was now the fiery Spirit-messenger of God. Of course, all this prefigures the New Covenant, and explains the references to Balaam and the false prophet in the Revelation.

The second is from James Jordan’s “Sand Trek” lectures on Numbers. Balaam is frustrated three times by the angel and the donkey, until finally the donkey speaks for God. Balaam is behaving just like his boss, Balak, who is forcing Balaam, as his faithful donkey, to disobey the Lord. Balaam attempts to curse Israel three times, and finally prophesies concerning all Israel’s future. You can purchase these lectures in the complete set in the column at right (scroll down if necessary).

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[1] See Bible Matrix II: The Covenant Key, for the way in which the Ten Commandments follow the Covenant Matrix in two columns, one for Adam (odd numbers) and one for Eve (even (!) numbers).
[2] See Pass-over and Pass-through and The Angels of Death Are We. As you will see, this has great import for the change from circumcision (under the sword) to credobaptism (bearing the sword as a mature, qualified vow-keeper).

Excerpt from James B. Jordan, Babylon and the Babel Project, Biblical Horizons Occasional Paper No. 39. Available from www.biblicalhorizons.com

In the Latter Days [the Restoration era], Babylon is anti-Jerusalem, apostate Judaism. A careful reading of Zechariah will uncover this fact. Zechariah 2:7 tells Zion to escape from living with Daughter Babylon, but in fact Babylon had been conquered and the people were literally living in the Persian empire. Moreover, there was no need for most of the Jews to return to Jerusalem; God’s missionary purpose involved having them spread out all over the world. Indeed, in context, “Jerusalem” is spoken of as a non-geographical entity (2:2-5). It is clear that the geographical language used here is symbolic of spiritual realities. The righteous were to separate themselves from living in terms of Babylonian principle…

In Zechariah 5:5-11, the prophet is shown a counterfeit of the Ark of the Covenant. The actual Ark had been lost, and so only a “spiritual Ark” was located in the Temple, in the midst of the Temple-People. Similarly, this anti-Ark is located in “Shinar,” which is also Jerusalem and the people of God. The anti-Ark is round instead of rectangular; it has a lead cover instead of a golden one; it is flanked by storks instead of by cherubim; it contains Wickedness instead of the tables of the Covenant; and it has a temple built for it in Shinar instead of Jerusalem.

In the vision, the anti-Ark is removed from Jerusalem and the land of God. We are being told that the exodus of God’s people back to Him will mean the removal of idolatry and apostasy from her midst. Wickedness will make an “exodus” back to Shinar, back to Babel, back to Ur.

This exodus of Wickedness is not, however, to be understood geographically or even socially. Rather, the thought, clearly in view of the preceding history of Israel, is that the new Temple that Zerubbabel was building could be a house of God or a house for Wickedness. Both are at the same location. Which one the Temple will be depends on the people. Indeed, the Temple will be both. For faithful worshipers (like the publican), it will be the Temple of God, but for the proud (like the Pharisee), it will be a Temple of Wickedness.

Thus, the new Babel is not located some place other than Jerusalem. It is a false Jerusalem superimposed on the true one. It is a shadow Temple and City, next to the true ones.

The third stanza of Matthew 28.

TRANSCENDENCE
Creation – Ark (true testimony)
While the women were on their way,

HIERARCHY
Division – false delegation
some of the guards went into the city

ETHICS
Ascension – seal broken on the mystery
and reported to the chief priests (Land)
everything that had happened. (Fruits)

Testing
When the chief priests (Covenant authority)
…..had met with the elders (Covenant hierarchy)
……….and devised a plan, (counterfeit Covenant)
……………a large sum of money (the serpent’s offer)
……..they gave to the soldiers, [1] (Deutero-autonomy-money)
…..telling them, (Notice there’s no rest for the wicked in this stanza)

Maturity – five points means the tomb-scroll testimony is sealed shut
“You are to say, (False light)
…..‘His disciples came (False firmament)
……….during the night (Ethics remain closed – no stars)
…..and stole him away (Atonement repressed)
while we were asleep.’ (False rest)

SANCTIONS
Conquest
If this report
…..gets to the governor,
……….we will satisfy him
……………and keep you out of trouble.” (deliver you from evil)
……….So [they] took the money
…..and did as they were instructed.

SUCCESSION (False inheritance in history)
And this story (Darkness – false testimony)
…..has been widely circulated (Firmament/Hierarchy)
……….among the Jews (The Land)
……………to this very day. (No Sun, Moon or Stars for Jews)

Denial of Christ’s resurrection brought about the end of the Herods. Psalm 110 would be fulfilled. (See Heads Will Roll). Our culture is no different. History belongs to those who believe the testimony of Jesus.

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[1] I usually use the NKJV because it tends to keep the Greek word order, but here it’s the NIV because some of this was for a sermon (that’s the version that sits in our pews). The NIV swaps the order of the money and the soldiers. It didn’t fit the matrix and I noticed it in the English. How’s that? Perhaps this method may be helpful in ironing out some textual difficulties in the future. Turns out there’s a self-correcting mechanism built into the text, just like DNA.

“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Cor 11:2

Women are Complex

In Eden, as priest to Eve, Adam’s role was to continually bring her to the Father. She was put “below” Adam in the hierarchy. As the first approach of the High Priest on the Day of Covering — with the blood of a bull — Adam would present himself, standing before God as Mediator (head):

F A T H E R  > <  S O N  +  B R I D E

Adam’s job was to bring Eve “between” as the fruit, the evidence, of Covenant relationship. By being faithful to the law, he would open and maintain a clean, safe, Holy Place — a firmament — a house for the bride. The second approach of the High Priest was to cover the body, the nation. In this, he presented the blood of the first goat as the faithful bride (goat hair, symbolising the Lord’s cloud of “bridal” glory, covered the Tabernacle). Like the glory between the Father and the Son in heaven, a glorious Eve was both the fruit of Adam’s obedience, and her future fruitfulness a gift from Father to Son:

F A T H E R  >  B R I D E  < S O N

We see this imaged in the search for and presentation of godly Covenant brides in Genesis. Eliezar and Jacob seek brides for presentation to the Covenant fathers.

Adam’s obedience to the Covenant law would have filled the world with godly offspring as a New Creation. Adam’s commission was to keep the Garden and to be fruitful and multiply, to maintain the “field of Covenant fruitfulness” through to and fro with God. The test in the Garden was to image the faithfulness within the Trinity. Maintaining the “creative equation” of the Covenant would eventually fulfill the commission.

Chaos

When the angelic minister distorted the message, the Covenant law, Adam would have recognised this false spirit.

F A L S E   F A T H E R  >  B R I D E  < S O N

But he failed to restore the image of the Father for the sake of Eve. He did not step in as guardian:

F A L S E   F A T H E R   ||   S O N  +  B R I D E

Like Esau, Adam despised the Covenant and the inheritance. Instead of being brought into the Covenant, Eve became a “foreign wife” with her own gods. Like the wives of Esau, she became a bitter spring in the eyes of Adam’s Father.

F A L S E   F A T H E R  >  F A L S E   B R I D E  <  F A L S E   S O N

At Conquest, the Holy Ones, God’s governing elders, rejoice over the destruction of the Covenant breakers. Later, this is the song of the various Covenant women. In the Revelation it is the song of the firstfruits church, the chaste bride, and army of virgins presented to the Father by Christ. But in Eden there were only the angels, and one in particular. Following the pattern, Satan’s joy was the presentation of a harlotrous bride, a corrupt “church,” to the Father for destruction. This is exactly what we see in Numbers 5, the “jealous inspection.” And of course, this is the exact plan we see in the “presentation” to Jesus of the woman caught in adultery. [1] The answer here was the same: substitutionary blood.

Instead of making the first couple “the meat on the table,” God provided substitutes. Due to this intervention — a covering of blood — the “fractal equation” of humanity did not die, and the corrupt “Holy One” did not get to rejoice for long.

Instead of sinners, innocents (animals) were put in the place of the Adam as head and Eve as body: the first Day of Covering. The blood was evidence of the satisfaction of the fulfilment of the demands (ethics) of the Covenant, just as Adam’s blood on the ground would have been evidence of the origin of Eve. This maintained the “creative equation” but only in an imperfect, temporary and pedagogical way. This imperfect Covenant required frequent renewal by blood.

A Flaming Sword, To and Fro

The process from Adam’s anointing to his expulsion follows the Creation week. It also follows the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. In his deep sleep, Adam was under the sword (Passover – Circumcision). At the Lord’s assessment of his captaincy, he was to be given the sword — as Israel was — to enter the Land as vindicated conqueror (Atonement – Pass-Through). Baptism is about presenting oneself to be a mediator, a sword-bearer. [2] But, of course, Adam hid.

An Eve filled with light was the host of Israel, the flaming sword, entering the Promised Land and wiping out — to and fro — the cursed children of the Canaanites. But instead of wielding the sword (baptism), Adam was still under it (circumcision), and Eve would be the mother of the cursed children. (In this case it was the potential for cursed children that needed wiping out, obviously.) This, too, is the scenario that plays out in the Revelation. Herodian worship hid behind circumcision and the bride was not tranfigured. This false bride was destroyed.

Like Saul, Adam had submitted to a different spirit, a counterfeit Covenant. He stepped outside the fruitful field of Covenant with God — the infinite equation — and became barren. Instead of imaging the Father, this son of God imaged the father of lies. [3] As Covenant head, barrenness was symbolised by the sweat on Adam’s brow. As Covenant body, multiplier, Eve’s barrenness was symbolised by difficulty in childbirth. And the to and fro between them, between Covenant head and Covenant body, was also accursed. Covenant marriage disintegrated into bitter subjection: exploitation by the head and insubordination from the body.

Fruitfulness, like resurrection, is an instantaneous act of God, as it was on Day 5. Neither Jesus nor Adam came out of the earth bit by bit over millions of years. Chaos is not the source of fruitfulness. Chaos is fruitfulness gone awry. It is previous order suddenly devoid of the integrating Spirit, the faithful to and fro. There is scattering instead of gathering. Following faithfulness to the Covenant, the Ark of that Covenant gathered Israel in ranks around it, and when in battle it scattered the ordered ranks of their enemies. This is true bride versus false bride.

Two faithful cherubim were deployed as substitute guardians, but there was only one flaming sword between them, flashing to and fro. Back to simple binary. No complex rainbow. Adam was expelled from the fruitful field, the Holy Place, the infinite room.

Next: Infinite Room – 4, Smoke and Mirrors.

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[1] See Emancipation of Eve.
[2] See Pass-over and Pass-through and The Angels of Death Are We.
[3] See Fighting Over the Children.

Infinite Room series links here.
INFROOM

As I’ve mentioned here before, and in Totus Christus, the reference to the “man of sin” in Revelation is the sixth stanza of what is usually a seven stanza format. Only, in the case of this “Adam,” his seventh stanza is missing. [1] There is no Shekinah, no rest, no transfiguration, no bestowed glory. He crowned himself, so for him there would be no true crown.

I noticed recently that Paul does exactly the same thing with the Jewish super-apostles, those who were basically Herodian leaven (whether they were aware of this or not) that required cutting off. This supports Jordan’s premise that the “Adam of sin” was a Jew or Jewish king. [2] Those readers who are not familiar with how the five-point Covenant model is expanded into the seven-point dominion pattern can catch up here.

For such are false apostles, (Transcendence)
…..deceitful workers,
……….transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 
……….And no wonder! (Hierarchy)
……………For Satan himself transforms himself
……………into an angel of light. (Ethics)
……….Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also
……….transform themselves into ministers of righteousness,
…..whose end will be according to their works. (Sanctions)

Paul begins with the super-apostles in the first line. Seating themselves on the throne of God, a false Ark, they usurp the Transcendence that belongs to God. They are not true “delegates” at all, but come on their own authority.

As in the Garden of Eden, Satan is the false Lampstand (Ethics), a light that actually obscures and shadows the true path.

Glorification (Succession) is missing, which means these men were under the Covenant curse, a victim of its negative Sanctions. Spiritually, their generations would be cut off like last year’s leaven. [3]

The Herodian king was antichrist, and those who swallowed his doctrine were John’s “many antichrists.” This shapeshifting institution was the firstfruits church’s satanic nemesis. Jesus destroyed it when He came for His own.

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[1] See the footnote in The Church as Colossus.
[2] See The Man of Sin. This has a cool video at the end.
[3] See Is Jesus Leavened or Unleavened?

“Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the Land.” (Matthew 5:5)

Some more thoughts related to Walking on Water. Please read Joshua 3 before proceeding.

If the New Jerusalem is the fulfilment of the “wall of water” at the Jordan crossing, the Lamb at the centre of the city is the Ark in the middle of the riverbed, surrounded by a human government. [1] If you know your James Jordan, the Ark of the Covenant was an image of the Light that shone on Day 1. The Lamb remains at the centre of the city, surrounded by the firstfruits saints, until the last saint is redeemed and Christ hands the kingdom to the Father.

There are many historical events in the Joshua narrative that relate to this church age typologically. Besides the saints carving up the world as Promised Land, probably the most striking for me is the defeat of the Amorites in Joshua 10. King of Jerusalem, Adoni-Zedek (Melchi-Zedek’s evil twin, later in history), gathered local kings against the people of God. [2] James Jordan relates the sun and moon standing still in Joshua to the extension of the day of battle in the book of Esther. [3] Once again, the Promised Land was being conquered, and once again, they needed more time to finish off the enemies of God! Both events fall on their respective “Day 6s,” the time of Conquest, the Day of Atonement. The sun and moon have been replaced by the Bridegroom Who shines and the Bride who reflects His glory.

“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21:23 [4]

Adam and Eve, new sun and new moon, stand before God, exalted over the kingdom of beasts. The firstfruits church martyrs stood—liturgically—upon the beastly necks of the kings of another corrupted Jerusalem. In this age, as the body of Christ, we stand—liturgically—on the neck of the beast in the abyss. He will stay there as long as there are yet saints to cross over. In our worship, every week, we place our “corporate” foot on his neck once again in Communion. The church’s government under Christ is a big chain of heavy metal.

Day 6 is the Laver, resurrection, and the Day of Atonement. The church age began in earnest at the first resurrection and will not end until the second. [5] As the first century extended the power of Christ’s resurrection from Garden to Land, so this age extends it from Land to World, until all His enemies are under His feet. AD70 brought the Day of the Lord to Israel. The age of the church will end in the Day of the Lord for the whole world.

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[1] For more on this “architecture,” see Bloody Throne, Bloody Frontiers.
[2] Jabin gathered the nations against Israel in Joshua 11. On gathering the nations, for good and evil, see A Conspiracy of Nations, Counterfeit Kingdom Come and Greater Amalek.
[3] I would probably also relate it to the sign God gave to Hezekiah that his “mediatorial” life would be extended in Isaiah 38.
[4] For how this New Jerusalem “architecture” was  symbolised by every Israelite, see Healing in His…Tassels?
[5] See The First Resurrection, The Second Death, The Rest of the Dead, For A Thousand Years and Jesus’ New Broom.

Michael Stead (The Intertextuality of Zechariah 1-8 (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies)) points to a number of intertexual connections between Ezekiel 1-11 and the vision of Zechariah 5:5-11.  He concludes that the vision of Zechariah is an inversion of the Ezekiel’s vision of Yahweh’s departing glory: “Ezekiel 1-11 describes the departure of Yahweh from Jerusalem because of the idolatry (Ezek 8), iniquity (Ezek 4) and wickedness (Ezek 5) of his people, and his departure is attended by winged creatures riding on the wind.  But, now that Yahweh is returning to dwell in Jerusalem, idolatry/iniquity/wickedness is being forced to depart, in a parody of Yahweh’s earlier departure.”

This link is strengthened by the fact that the ephah that contains the wickedness that is removed to Shinar is a parody of the ark, borne by two parodic cherubim.  In addition to the visual similarity, Stead finds a pun between the word for ark cover (kapporet) and the phrase for “cover-disk of the ephah” (kikkar ‘oferet, Zechariah 5:7).

All this seems just right to me, but it does raise some interesting questions.

Zechariah’s vision confirms what earlier prophets had said.  Ezekiel promised not only that Israel would return and would receive the Spirit and hearts of flesh, but also that the Lord would purge Israel of sins.  Zechariah shows that this is happening: As the temple construction resumes, Wickedness is purged from the land.

But why should that be?  Why did wickedness drive Yahweh from the land before the exile, but is driven out of the land after the exile?  Why couldn’t Yahweh simply purge the temple in the time of Ezekiel?  There are deep questions of atonement theology here, but at least we can say this: Yahweh purges sin only after Israel’s destruction and restoration, only after Israel has been dismantled and re-mantled.  Israel’s death and resurrection is the mechanism for purging sin.

“Did not the Christ have to suffer and enter into His glory?”