reply to post by Shane
Thank you for taking the time to discuss this.
I think ultimately both of us may have the same goals, which is to get people to actually read their Bible.
The reason I mention Paradise Lost is that many Gap theorists proclaim the importance of a primoridal "War in Heaven" by the Satan of the Book of
Job. This is exactly what Milton's Paradise Lost is about, but Biblical support for such a primordial conflict can't be found.
Isaiah 14 for instance is used to try to support this hypothesis, but Isaiah 14:1-4
For the L-RD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose
Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the L-RD for servants and
handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
And it shall come to pass in the day that the L-RD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou
wast made to serve,
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased
This clearly places Isaiah 14 in the area of prophecy. Personally the prophecy appears to be "Apocalyptic" in nature. I don't think Helel Ben
Shachar is an ancient king of Babylon but a future king.
Isaiah 14:21-23
Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the
face of the world with cities.
For I will rise up against them, saith the L-RD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the L-RD.
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the L-RD of
hosts
Here his heirs are slaughtered and then Babylon is destroyed. Compare this to the destruction of Babylon in Revelations 18
After this I saw
another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.
With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
Also compare the King of Babylon, Helel ben-Shachar, to the abominable King of Daniel 11: 36-37
And the king shall do according to his will;
and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the G-d of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Neither shall he regard the G-d of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
Ezekiel 28 also was written as prophecy against the King of Tyre. The difference with Ezekiel is that it mentions the King of Tyre being a guardian
cherub in Eden. The Cherubim guardians are placed in Eden in Genesis 3. If this is literal this is referencing not the serpent, a creature of the
soil, but one of the Cherubim that prevented the humans from getting back in.
Now how would one of the Cherubim that were guardians of Eden become King of Tyre? First lets look at the Hebrew here. The King isn't a king, but
refered to in the Hebrew as a leader or ruler. More often than not it is then translated into Prince.
In Daniel 10 we find the angel Gabriel sent to Daniel. He says something very interesting. Daniel 10:12-14
Then he continued, "Do not be
afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your G-d, your words were heard, and I
have come in response to them.
But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained
there with the king of Persia.
Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."
Gabriel was not held by a human prince of Persia and Michael isn't a human prince either.
In Daniel 10:20-21 Gabriel elaborates further.
So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince
of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;
but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.
Gabriel here is telling Daniel that only Michael, prince of Israel, supports Gabriel in the conflict against these other princes. Compare this to
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Also look at the Dead Sea Scrolls version of Deuteronomy 32:8-9
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all
mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of G-d. (Instead of sons of Israel)
For the L-RD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.
This would help explain how the 70 nations after the Great Flood were appointed princes like the princes of Persia, Greece, Tyre, Magog, etc. It would
also help explain how one of the cherubim, who was one of the guardians of Eden, became the prince of Tyre.
Now look at Job 2:1
Again there was a day when the sons of G-d came to present themselves before the L-RD, and Satan also came among them to
present himself before the L-RD.
Not only does this show that Satan had not fallen, it also shows him in the company of the sons of G-d. We could easily infer that these same sons of
G-d are the same principalities of Ephesians and princes from Daniel. In Jewish lore, Satan is often said to be the Prince of Rome or the most
powerful of the princes of the earth. Compare to John 12:31
Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast
out.
Also compare to Ephesians 2:2
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Note "power of the air" would be better translated as
"authorities of the aer" Aer in this sense would mean the lesser heaven beneath the aether.
Taken altogether this really throws cold water on the idea of a primordial war in heaven.
Now for Revelations 12, where does the idea of mini reaccount come from? The fall of "The Dragon" from the heavens precedes the rising of the Beast
of the Sea.
Like the Beast of the Sea or the Scarlett Beast, the Dragon has many heads, many horns and many crowns.
And there appeared another wonder in
heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
These heads, horns, and crowns must
symbolize rulers just like the head, horns, and crowns of the Beast. One could easily infer that these heads and horns are the principalities of
Ephesians and the princes of Daniel.
By ignoring all of this we end up things like Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. Its very clear that Satan has not been cast out, that he
is ruler of the authorities of the Aer. They are not operating out Tartaros (Abyss) or Gehenna. These authorities are ἐπουράνιος or
epouranios, meaning in the heavens. Which also explains the use of Aer.
What gap theory is asking people to do is doubt scripture. Basically this doesn't mean this. Then it asks the Church to incorporate primordial
theomachy and chaoskampf, ideas that are alien to Judaism. These are the ideas of other religions. For gap theory to work, people need the theomachy
and chaoskampf.
Why do people feel the need for Gap Theory? The early proponents of it felt they needed to answer modern geology. In other words their foundation of
faith was shaken by scientific theory and they needed something to reaffirm their beliefs.
There is no need for the Gap theory. It has people doubting scripture, misunderstanding Hebrew, and proof texting. It has only served to create
confusion.
There are many mysteries in the Bible and many of them will remain mysteries. Many we will never be able to fully understand or explain. As ancient
man created myths to explain the natural world, modern man has created myths to explain the Bible.
Shalom
[edit on 1/1/10 by MikeboydUS]