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 Table on God’s Mountain

“Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat
falls into the ground
and dies,
it remains alone;
but if it dies,
it produces much grain.”
John 12:24

Israel was given a “firstfruits” taste of the Promised Land in Numbers 13. As with all Covenants, it was bittersweet. There were grapes, but there were giants. It was the same challenge as the one given to Adam. They were called to be judges who made their decisions based not on sight, but on faith in God’s Words.

(Creation)
And Moses
…..called
……….Hoshea
…..the son of Nun, (“son of fecundity“)
Joshua.

(Division)
Then Moses
…..sent them
……….to spy out
…..the land
of Canaan, (“lowlands”)

(Ascension – Altar-Land)
and said to them, (Sabbath)
…..“Go up this [way] into the South, (Passover)
……….and go up to the mountains, (Firstfruits)
……………“and see what the land is like: (Pentecost)
……….whether the people who dwell in it
……….[are] strong or weak, few or many; (Trumpets)
…..“whether the land they dwell in
…..[is] good or bad; (Atonement)
whether the cities they inhabit
[are] like camps or strongholds; (Tabernacles)

(Ascension – Table of the Facebread)
“whether the land [is] rich or poor;
…..and whether there are forests there or not.
……….Be of good courage.
…..And bring some of the fruit of the land.”
Now the time [was] the season of the first ripe grapes.

(Numbers 13:6-20. Testing is the 12 spies as “Lamp-eyes” in the Land for 40 days.)

The Promised Land was the shelter, the rest, for that generation, but in Israel’s history it was only Day 3. God put the nation on the Altar-Land as a kind of firstfruits (the Kings followed as Day 4). Day 5 is about fruit, about clouds and swarms, plunder and/or plagues. It is the bridal “Body” harvest that results from the sacrifice, death and burial of the Bridegroom “Head.” Day 5 in Israel’s history was plagues. It was two Trumpets, the armies of Assyria and the armies of Babylon. Because Israel was bad fruit, her grapes would be left to rot on the vine, filled with scavenging worms (Deuteronomy 28:39).

from Isaiah 5

Creation
Now let me sing
…..to my Well-beloved
……….A song
…..of my Beloved
regarding His vineyard:

Division
My Well-beloved
…..has a vineyard
……….On a very fruitful hill.
……………He dug it up
……….and cleared out its stones,
…..And planted it
with the choicest vine.

Ascension – Tabernacle
He built a tower in its midst, (Ark)
…..And also made a winepress in it; (Veil)
……….So He expected to bring forth grapes, (Altar)
……….But it brought forth wild grapes. (Table)

……………(Lampstand – the Watchmen of the Table
……………called to Judge as Governing Lights)
……………And now,
………………..O inhabitants of Jerusalem (Transcendence)
…………………….and men of Judah, (Hierarchy – Facebread/Praiseworthy)
…………………………Judge, (Ethics)
…………………….please,
………………..between Me (Sanctions)
……………and My vineyard. (Continuity)

……….(Incense – the Covenant Body)
……….What more (Creation)
……………could have been done (Division)
………………..to My vineyard (Ascension)
…………………….That I have not done in it? (Testing)
………………..Why then, when I expected [it] (No Maturity)
……….to bring forth [good] grapes, (No Conquest)
…..Did it bring forth wild grapes? (No Glorification Wine)

Ascension is the Altar and the Table. The Altar is the Land, in this case the vineyard, built by God. But the “firstfruits” of Israel were toxic. In the next stanza, Day of Atonement (Coverings), the vineyard is dis-covered, smashed up, and the Laver (rain) is taken away from both the just and the unjust.

Concerning the fruitful hill in verse 1, things get weird. Peter Leithart writes:

Most translations say that the Beloved planted his vineyard on a “fertile hill,” but Isaiah wrote that He planted it on “a horn, a son of oil” (Heb. beqeren ben-shamen). Phrase might refer to a fertile hill, but that’s not what the words mean.

The passage closest to Isaiah’s usage is in Zechariah 4, where the two olive trees are called “sons of oil” (v. 14). In Zechariah, the phrase refers to Zerubbabel and Joshua, the two anointed ones who lead the post-exilic community. Zechariah doesn’t use the word “horn,” but it fits the context, since the anointed ones are anointed from horns filled with oil, and become the horns of Israel, the victorious wild ox.

What would it mean to say that Yahweh had a vineyard on a “horn, a son of oil”? Verse 7 says that vineyard is “the house of Israel” and the men of Judah are the “delightful plant” within the vineyard.  That vineyard was planted “on” the anointed one, David and his descendants. The links are complex but fairly clear: David is anointed, hence a “son of oil”; Yahweh regularly raises David’s horn on high; David is also mountain “horn” on which Israel rests.

Maybe. But that doesn’t satisfy.

I like a challenge. Here’s my attempt.

Could the vineyard have been planted in the horn? Horns and anointing are Altar and Table, Land and Firstfruits: the Tabernacle, the “nearbringing” ascension offering. In the Revelation, this Firstfruits Lamb (Table) is the Lamb with seven eyes (Lampstand) and seven horns (Trumpets/Incense Altar). Through death, he becomes the Holy Place, good soil, and the Spirit fills it with bridal fruit.

As in marriage, the “living sacrifice” of the head is the life of the body: like the kingdom honey (Gentile swarm) comes from inside the Jewish lion king’s carcass. The emptied, bloodied horn is followed by the Spirit, and the buried head brings a harvest.

That’s also what we see in Zechariah. The cherubim that exiled Judah from the Garden-Land have hammered their flaming swords into flaming plowshares, and the result is a new, multiplied Lampstand with 49 lights. The Davidic Israel became a dead lion. The Restoration era was a spiritual Cornucopia, whatever the blind scholars may say, and when Jesus came to inspect it, it was ready for harvest.

And of course, taking one further step out, we see Totus Christus. Judah (the horn) died for the life of the world (plenty).

_______________________________________________
Wikipedia on Cornucopia:

The cornucopia (Latin: Cornu Copiae) is a symbol of food and abundance dating back to the 5th century BC, also referred to as the food of worship and holiness, Horn of Amalthea, harvest cone, and horn of plenty.

In Greek mythology, Amalthea was a goat who raised Zeus on her breast milk, in a cave, on Mount Ida of Crete. Her horn was accidentally broken off by Zeus while playing together. The god Zeus, in remorse, gave her back her horn with supernatural powers, which would give whoever possessed it whatever they wished for. The original depictions were of the goat’s horn filled with fruits and flowers: deities, especially Fortuna, were depicted with the horn of plenty. The cornucopia was also a symbol for a woman’s fertility. The story is said [by whom?] to be a predecessor of the Unicorn and the Holy Grail stories.

Daniel was taken to Babylon before the destruction of Jerusalem. As the ruler over the king’s advisors, it is highly likely he was involved in the razing of Jerusalem.

The Lord sent Joseph into Egypt as a forerunner, established his house and integrated the old house of Jacob into it. Pharaoh was converted under the ministry of Joseph, humbled himself before Jacob and requested a blessing.

The Lord did the same thing with Daniel. A new house was being established in Babylon before the final demolition of the old Temple. Daniel ascended as “firstfruits”. He stood on the mountain of God as Abraham, as Moses. At the right hand of the power he would bring the curses of the Law raining down upon the Covenant breakers. As Abraham bargained with God, perhaps the mercy shown to Judah’s poor was the work of Daniel.

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

Join now for a year for $15!

Isaiah’s visions of Israel’s restoration have nothing to do with a future millennial golden age for the Jews, or even directly with the first century, except by the events of  the Restoration era prefiguring later history. His words were for his hearers, for both their condemnation and their hope in the near future. Why do we get him wrong?

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

Join now for a year for $15!