“And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying,
Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount,
or touch the border of it:
whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death.”
Exodus 19:12

The Bible beats blood and water into us over and over again. Blood is death. Water is resurrection. Blood is the Bridegroom and water is the Bride.

Blood is the split rock, the Adam ripped open. Water is the river of life, the Eve that flows from inside Him into the world to glorify it.

Blood is circumcision, the cutting of the flesh before it is put on the Bronze Altar below. Water is baptism, the washing of the flesh before it is offered to God as smoke on the Golden Altar above.

Blood is the husband willing to die in the desert. Water is the wife suddenly discovered by a well.

Blood is the Man or Beast speared through at the bottom of Sinai, the Old Jerusalem who is in bondage, tied up like Isaac. Water is the Laver tipped over on the top of Sinai, the New Jerusalem, the Mother of all the living, the Mother of us all.

So, blood was shed at the door to the mountain of God. The blood goes up in the Ascension of Christ and, like Moses, the Spirit descends as purifying fire upon the people. The mountain of death becomes a mountain of life.

The prohibition against touching the border of Sinai reminded me of the Israelite woman who touched the border of Jesus’ garment. (See Healing in His… Tassels?) Jesus’ form as an Adam robed in seamless white was a picture of His completed ministry, the bloodied Lamb at the centre of a purifying, bridal outflow.

Touching the border of Zion does not bring purifying Covenant death but purifying Covenant life. [1] However, it remains a process of purifying. The difference is the blood that went before us. The flaming mountain of death is swallowed up in the victory of the Crystal Sea (Revelation 8:8). As the gospel flows out, Jesus extends the borders of His robe, of His tent, His firmament, and all the nations are healed.

The cherubim and the Aaronic priests guarded the sanctuary with a sword. KEEP OUT. The Temple and the church are guarded, but there are water chariots. The message is different. It is COME IN and then GO OUT. And keep going out until there are no bounds, no bondage, and no borders, no seams.

___________________________________
[1] The sharp rocks of the Law (cut out “without hands”) that execute the unfaithful Bride are now the five (bridal army) smooth stones from the brook that kill the false suitor.

Picture: Bridal Veil Falls by Ian Cameron.

“Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.” -  Jeremiah 9:26

Reading through the Old Testament as a young Christian, I always felt the Bible got bogged down when the Lord started pronouncing judgments upon nations other than Israel. For starters, I hadn’t paid enough attention earlier to remember who these sovereign states were. And more to the point, wasn’t God losing the plot a bit? I mean, there were plenty of other peoples during these times which aren’t even mentioned in the Bible at all.

Unfortunately, few commentators take the Bible seriously enough to understand what is actually going on. Older books will fill you in on the background, which is certainly helpful. But the big question is Why is God doing this now?, both now in history and now in the prophet I am reading?

As usual, when the structure and context of things is understood, seemingly boring “classic” texts suddenly come to life. In the case of the prophets it is a consuming fire.

At the centre of the book of Ezekiel are judgments upon seven nations. If you’ve read anything around here, that should immediately make you suspicious.

David Chilton’s Revelation commentary observes that Revelation and Ezekiel are “level-pegged.” Although they are wildly different, they contain similar themes in a similar order. This is because they are Covenant lawsuits that use the Law of God as a sword to bring death and resurrection. A New Covenant is a New Creation, and so they also follow the structure of the Creation week.

On old, worn out Covenant is a one that has been abused. God’s people, over time, have lost the faith that allowed Him to exalt them and turned to their own methods. This always makes His kingdom into a replica of Egypt, a fertile garden that has become a place of exploitation.

Ezekiel follows the pattern of the first seven books of the Bible, which also find their origin in the Creation week.

This gives us the key to understanding the judgments upon these seven nations. At the centre of the Creation week are the rulers of heaven. In the Revelation, we have the enthroned Christ (true Adam) at the end of chapter 11, and the Church (true Eve) and the dragon (the real beast) at the beginning of 12; rulers at the centre of the book. The centre of the Bible Matrix is always Testing. It is Adam versus the serpent, Cain versus the sin crouching at the door. Both were commanded to rule. Both failed.

The book in the centre of Genesis to Judges is Numbers, and it is the key to Ezekiel 25-32. Numbers is the Law applied to Israel. It is a whole book of Pentecostal fire. Israel dies under the Law and is “resurrected” in Deuteronomy. God used Canaanite nations to test Israel.

Judgment begins at the house of God

Now, Ezekiel begins with a vision of the Lord’s chariot (Transcendence) and He delegates His authority to the prophet (Hierarchy). Ezekiel symbolically dies and is resurrected, as all prophets are before they can carry out the same pattern on God’s people.

So, from the throne, the Word moves out into the people of God. The Temple and the city are judged in a horrific, ironic Passover rite. Then, the Lord turns to the nations around Israel.

It is extremely interesting that even this list of seven nations is sort of genealogical. It begins with those who were the closest relatives to Israel and works its way outward, like a seismic shock. Not only does the list seem to follow the Creation/Tabernacle pattern, it is also chronological:

Ammon: Son of Lot – Israel was not to take their Land [1]
…..Moab: Son of Lot – Balaam caused Israel to
…..sin with Moabite women (false bride)
……….Edom: Line of Esau – false priest. Refused to feed
……….Israel in the wilderness (and Doeg the Edomite slew the
……….priests who fed David the facebread)
……………Philistia: Sons of Egypt – serpent/ruler at
……………the centre (David/Goliath)
……….Tyre: City of King Hiram – riches (Solomon)
…..Sidon: Sister of Tyre – false bride (Jezebel)
Egypt: A false rest, a false hope.

These are all Canaanite nations, although the first three became Canaanites by choice. They were false brothers, false Adams. The next three were false Eves, Gentile bride-cities that were to be brought under Covenant. Philistia, at the centre and picturing the serpent, is noticeably a different story. Philistia was iron sharpening iron, always revolving around the sword.

Historically it seems to work from the situation in the book of Judges to the end state of Solomon’s kings. The nation of the wise judge was in the same predicament.

One of the curses in Deuteronomy was that the Lord would take Israel back to Egypt in ships. This did not occur under Babylon. It did occur under Rome, when General Titus took the brightest and best of the survivors of the siege and sold them as slaves. They were transported to Egypt in ships.

It did happen figuratively here, I guess. Hiram’s city, like Solomon’s, was a “Jeru-Salem,” a city of peace. Tyre was a port of trade, never at war. Hiram, King of Tyre, was a believer who helped Solomon to build his Temple. Notice that Tyre is number 5 in the list, the place where we find plunder and/or believing Gentiles. Here, the plunder has become a plague. The precious metals and stones have corrupted the kingdom. Instead of living water flowing from Solomon’s Eden, the Garden was opened to false gods by unfaithful Adams. It was now Wormwood that flowed out into the nations. Solomon’s lust for gold indeed carried his people to Egypt in ships.

Next comes Sidon, home of Jezebel. She imported Baalism into Israel and slew God’s prophets. Her husband Ahab was Solomon’s evil twin, a temple builder. The Adam builds the house and the Eve fills it. Jezebel certainly filled those temples, but it was not with the Spirit of God.

But we have a Prince of Tyre and a King of Tyre. And the destruction pronounced upon Tyre didn’t actually come to pass. Ezekiel even notes this a few chapters later. Nebuchadnezzar beseiged Tyre but could not plunder it. So what’s the deal?

Sticks and Stones

James Jordan notes that the king, the Adam in the paradise of God, is making a mockery of the High Priest. So the Prince of Tyre is the corrupted kingdom of Israel and the King of Tyre is the corrupt priesthood. Queen Sidon is the religious system. These three people are institutions. We have the same setup in Revelation, but it is the Land Beast (666) who is the Jewish king, the False Prophet the High Priest, and the Harlot the religious system.

The deal is that the prophet is name-calling. His message is for the rulers of Israel who have imaged these Gentile nations instead of imaging the Lord of the Covenant to them. The only reason these nations are judged is because they are under the Covenant. Like the mighty men in Genesis 6, intermarriage with the sons of God has not only corrupted the true worship, it has parasitically preserved these nations from the early fruits of their sins. [2] (If you have read Bible Matrix, you will know that these mighty men were the ungodly rulers, the den of vipers, at the centre of the Adam-to-Noah pattern.)

Finally comes Egypt. Step seven is about rest, about partying with Gentiles and new rivers flowing out into the world from a faithful mountain in Eden. Ezekiel is referring to Pharaoh in an obvious sense, because Judah’s kings were looking to Egypt for shelter — a Tabernacle — from the invasions of Nebuchadnezzar.

But you might keep on saying, “We won’t stay here in Judah, and we won’t obey the LORD our God. We are going to Egypt, where there is plenty of food and no danger of war.” People of Judah, you survived when the Babylonian army attacked. Now you are planning to move to Egypt, and if you do go, this is what will happen. You are afraid of war, starvation, and disease here in Judah, but they will follow you to Egypt and kill you there. None of you will survive the disasters I will send. (Jeremiah 42:13-17 CEV)

But God would take this serpent from his river and throw him onto the Land — with all his parasitic fish. So Zeke is really calling the Davidic King a snake. He is just as bad as Pharaoh, a “king like the Gentiles.” The Covenant people would go to the pit, die the death of the uncircumcised, and the serpent’s body would be under the Covenant curse — food for the birds and the beasts.

He is like Nathan, telling a story about a “third party” sinner and then saying “Thou are the man.” The slavery and oppressive taxation would come to an end, and the Land would indeed be given Sabbath rest.

Desertward Ho

Now, the big theme of Numbers is harlotry. Numbers 5 has the (possibly) unfaithful bride drinking a cup full of sword-water. God’s Word is to be put inside her to bring judgment, to arbitrate in this matter. What is really interesting is that all these nations (and a few more) are mentioned in Jeremiah 25. God was going to make them all drink the wine of His wrath, with Nebuchadnezzar as His cupbearer. And then, of course, He would make Babylon herself drink the cup. They would all stagger and fall.

So, who was the harlot, Jezebel, in the first century? The system of Herodian worship centred in, and flowing from, Jerusalem. Jesus calls her filthy names: Egypt, Sodom, Babylon. She too would drink the cup. To back up this hypothesis, the structure of Ezekiel is exactly the same as the pattern in Jude. In Jude, it is the Judaisers who are the “intermarriers” with idolatry. They are of their father the devil, a murderer from the beginning. Their church is a false Eve. The “rulers of the earth” are more correctly the “kings of the Land.” Their carcasses, like those of their ancestors, would fall in the wilderness.

So the literary structure of Ezekiel looks like this:

Old Creation:
1 – Genesis: Vision of God
…..2 – Exodus: Jerusalem Passover
……….3 – Leviticus: Priesthood torn down
……………4 – Numbers:
……………….1 – Ammon
………………….2 – Moab
……………0……….3 – Edom
……………0………….:4 – Philistia
……………0……….5 – Tyre
………………….6 – Sidon
………………7 – Egypt (serpent killed)

New Creation:
……….5 – Deuteronomy: Israel-army next generation
…..6 – Joshua: Land reconquered (Mordecai and Esther)
7 – Judges: Restoration Temple: mediatorial nation

Just like the New Testament, God’s work is Jew – Gentile – Jew. His judgment begins at His house, works outward, then back in again. It builds a new house out of both Jew and Gentile. In the case of Ezekiel, it was a Temple that covered the entire empire, a building made of living stones.

_______________________________________________
[1] Ammon at the start might also be significant because it was the “seed” of Solomon’s destruction. David was supposed to be fighting Ammon when he committed harlotry with Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. He later did go out and fight and came back wearing the crown of Ammon. So, in this list, it is possibly Ammon as the “head of gold.” And the harlotry theme is continued in Balaam’s Moabite women. Ezekiel is Phinehas!
[2] See James Jordan’s The Nephilim Factor.

From James B. Jordan’s fascinating Thoughts on Jachin and Boaz [1]

“The Tabernacle and Temple were not only pictures of the kingdom of God. They were also pictures of the human person (John 2:21). We have noted that the High Priest had a chain around his neck, and pomegranates and bells encircling the ephod. Without any difficulty we can see the 1-cubit collar of the pillar as a neckband, the lily as the head, and the bronze shaft as the trunk. The size and proportions are roughly equivalent to those of a 5’ man.
This suggestion is strengthened by the fact that legs and feet are symbolized as bronze in Scripture (Rev. 1:15; 2:18; 10:1). In Daniel 10:6, both arms and legs are bronze. Ezekiel’s man with the measuring rod was bronze-like in total appearance (Ezk. 40:3). It may be noteworthy that Goliath is described as armored from head to food in bronze (1 Sam. 17:5-6), since Goliath is surely an archetypical strong man in the Bible, and the pillars speak of strength (Boaz = Strength). Could the pillars in part be pictures of God’s people as true giants, true Goliaths? It was David, of the house of Boaz, who defeated Goliath and showed himself the true giant in the situation.

In terms of design, I stated above that it is simplest to see the lily as the head, the collar as the neck, and the shaft as the trunk. In terms of analogies to the High Priest, though the proportions will be different, it might be more accurate to say that the lily corresponds to the turban and golden plate, the collar to the ephod as a whole, and the shaft to his bare feet. (The Tabernacle/Temple was holy ground, and shoes were not worn.) Thus, the ephod as a whole corresponded to the collar and the Holy Place. We note that the ephod had a ring of alternating pomegranates and bells at the bottom, a breastpiece of jewels in the middle, and a chain of gold around the top. The Holy Place was also decorated with chains and jewels, and with palm trees and gourds, visually equivalent to pomegranates (1 Kings 6:18; 2 Chron. 3:5-6) .As we have seen, the collar corresponds to this.

The fact that the golden plate on the High Priest’s turban is called a crown (Ex. 29:6) certainly indicates that this was the highest point of his attire, and creates an immediate association with the Holy of Holies and the pillar lily. Beyond this, we have to point out that the pouch in the center of the ephod also corresponded to the Ark in the Holy of Holies, being in the center, its shape square, and its contents two tablets of stone. We see from this that the Ark and the Holy of Holies speak of both the head and the heart. The lily of love at the top of the pillar also speaks of both head (topmost, leadership) and heart (love).

Since the pillars represent persons, we ask if they represent just any Israelite citizen, or someone in particular? The answer is a simple yes. The pillars do represent every Godly citizen, but they also represent two persons in particular, as we should expect…

[Get the paper for this bit!]

…Since the imagery on the pillars was that of love and marriage, we see that true leaders love their people, and regard themselves as married to them, bound to them, and obligated to them.”

*       *       *       *       *

“…We must also take note of the fact that many scholars today believe that Jachin and Boaz may have functioned as incense altars. This is what the bowl on top was supposedly for. This suggestion easily squares with the facts and meaning of the pillars, as we shall see. It does leave unexplained how the priests got up the pillars to burn the incense. It also does not explain how often and when such burnings took place.

To see the rationale for this suggestion, we have to bring together several things. First, the shape of the pillars, 23 x 4 x 4, is that of a column, but a fat one. It is similar to the shape of the incense altar in the Temple, which was 2 x I x 1, and contrasts with the bronze altar of the courtyard, which was much wider than it was tall (Tabernacle, 3 x 5 x 5; Temple, 10 x 20 x 20).

Second, God manifested Himself to Israel as a pillar of cloud and fire. This is occasionally thought to be two pillars, like the legs of God, but almost certainly it was one pillar. The vision of God in Ezekiel 1 is that of a cloud having fire within. At night the fire would be visible, while in the daytime the cloud would be seen. At the same time, each of these bronze pillars might represent God’s presence, since they were to reveal the interior of the Temple to the people. God’s glory was enthroned there, in the cloud. Perhaps these pillars were also cloudy on occasion. As Albright wrote, “At night the burning wicks of the gullah [bowl] and in the day the smoking incense might well be associated” with the pillar of cloud and fire.

Third, in that the pillars signified holy mountains, it is perhaps significant to note that Mount Sinai was covered in smoke when God was there (Ex. 19:18).”

_____________________________________________

[1] Occasional paper, available from www.biblicalhorizons.com See also Landing Gear.
Art: Firmament by Seve, Galerie d’Art.

Adam, as Covenant head, also took on a “body.” A Divine Handful of flesh and bone, dead or dying by any human measure, organised into a being more palatial and lavish than any male eye is worthy to behold.

You must be logged in to see the rest of this post.

Join now for a year for $15!

How smart is this Book?

As discussed, if we begin with Saul’s anointing by Samuel, subsequent events follow the Feasts outline. Saul’s failure to kill Amalek is at Pentecost and his failure to defeat Goliath is at Atonement.

BUT… if we begin with David’s secret anointing by Samuel, subsequent events also follow the Feasts. This time, however, David’s slaying of Goliath is at Pentecost (the serpent/beast in the wilderness). Guess what’s at Atonement?

You must be logged in to see the rest of this post.

Join now for a year for $15!

“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground…” (Genesis 3:19)

The book of Judges continually uses the imagery of the crushing of the heads of the Lord’s enemies, whether this is literal skulls or heads of state. The Bible makes a big deal of heads and bodies, whether this is the sacrifices picturing the totus Christus, or His rival, Gog and Magog.

You must be logged in to see the rest of this post.

Join now for a year for $15!

In Judges and 1 Samuel, the weapons used to defeat the enemy reflect the ordinary people who used them: a tent peg, an ox goad, a millstone, an ass’s jawbone, a slingshot. It was Saul who started throwing spears like a Gentile, like Goliath.

Our weapons are not of this world, but many of them are still physical weapons: bread, wine, water, oil, bended knees, soundwaves, books, gifts, open ears, hospitality, open or closed church doors. These physical things capture people’s thoughts and make them obey Christ.

We live in this world, but we don’t act like its people or fight our battles with the weapons of this world. Instead, we use God’s power that can destroy fortresses. We destroy arguments and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people’s thoughts and make them obey Christ. And when you completely obey him, we will punish anyone who refuses to obey.” 2 Cor 10:3-6 [CEV]

WEPOW

Peter Leithart observes that both Esther and Herodias’ daughter are promised up to “half the kingdom.”

There are echoes in the story of the book of Esther, at least in Mark’s version of John’s execution. Matthew tells us that when the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod, he promised with an oath to give whatever she asked. Mark records Herod’s words somewhat differently: He promises not just to give what she asks, but promises to give up to half his kingdom (Mark 6:22-23). This is the same promise that Ahasuerus gives to Esther when she says she has a request for him (5:3, 6).

In both passages, we have a woman, a queen, requesting something from a king. In both stories, we have a king promising half his kingdom. We could even say that both Esther and Herodias are asking for someone’s head. Esther knows that Haman is plotting to kill all the Jews, and she is asking for his life in order to protect the Jews.

But there the similarities end. Esther appeals to the king to save the faithful in Israel, while the daughter of Herodias is instructed instead to ask for the head of a faithful man, albeit a troubler of Herod’s kingdom, a prophet who has made life difficult for Herod because of his faithfulness. Instead of being like the protective Ahasuerus in Esther, Herod is more like Haman, seeking to wipe out the true Israel.

http://www.leithart.com/2008/06/21/herodias-and-esther/

Esther, like Deborah, and Jael, typifies Mary, the warrior bride whose offspring would crush the head of the serpent. A Nazirite growing his hair during a ‘holy war’ vow identified him with submission and purity. John uses Nazirite symbols to describe the bad Nazirites, the Judaising “locusts” troubling the church.

“And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.” Revelation 9:8 (and Joel 1:6)

They were negative-Nazirites, men who had taken vows to destroy the apostles (Acts 21:23). With the charm (and hair) of an army of Absaloms, their holy war was stamping out the Son of David. They were the false warrior bride, Herodias, seeking the head of the true Nazirite, Christ, in revenge for the victory over Goliath at the cross. This Herodias-Jezebel-Babylon of superseded Judaism would wipe out the true Israel at any cost.