A bit about priests and altars…and sacrifices

Some background information to get us started— In Old Testament times, God set up a priesthood through Aaron and his sons. Their assistants, so-to-speak, were all the rest of the tribe of Levi. When the priests and the Levites came into the promised land, they weren’t given any inheritance like the other tribes, except for a few towns and some surrounding pasturelands. God had no intention for them to become farmers— their primary duty was to serve the tabernacle, so He arranged that they should live by the work they would do.

All of the Israelites were required to make various offerings— grain offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, burnt offerings, fellowship offerings, freewill offerings. But a very large part of these offerings became the property of the priests. For instance, with the grain offering, the priest was to “take a handful of fine flour and oil…and burn the memorial portion on the altar.” “Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it.” Lev.6:16.

The same was true when the sin offering was slaughtered—“the priest who offers it shall eat it.” Lev.6:26. God’s gift to the priests is extended even further in Numbers 18:8—“all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share.” And it doesn’t stop there— God says, “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain.” Num.18:12. In fact, “the first offspring of every womb, both man and animal, that is offered to the LORD is yours.” Num.18:14.

One of the worst examples of abuse in this department was Eli’s sons. 1 Sam.2:12-29. They took what they were allowed but then extorted far more.

But leaving all that behind, look at the Apostle Paul’s comments. He says, “Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?” 1 Cor.9:13. “Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?” 1 Cor.10:18.

All this preamble finally brings us up to the key New Testament verse on the subject: “We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.” Heb.13:10. In other words, those priests who were still just doing their duty at the time the book of Hebrews was written had no right to the better Altar and greater Sacrifice, which is Christ.

And so the wonderful conclusion is this: As we “break the bread” and “drink the wine”, we portray the spiritual benefit we get as a spiritual priesthood, as we eat of that Sacrifice which, as believers, we now have a right to.

Amazing the Lord!

A great deal of our understanding of the Godhead comes not from direct doctrinal statements in the Bible but from piecing together small details and passing comments in many diverse scriptures. For instance, the word “trinity” is nowhere found in the Bible but we know, as one example, that God the Father was involved in creation, the Holy Spirit brooded over it, and Jesus was the creative Agent but “there is one God.”

Two scriptures forced themselves upon me recently. In Mark chapter six, Jesus returns to His hometown, teaches in the synagogue, and heals a few sick people. As He leaves Nazareth, the end result is “he was amazed at their lack of faith.”

Another time (Luke 7:9 NIV) a centurion sent to Jesus, asking for healing for his servant. The soldier didn’t want to impose on Jesus so he just asked the Lord to heal from a distance— and Jesus did. “He was amazed at him” and said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

Apparently Jesus can be amazed. Two things amazed Him: (1) His fellow Nazarenes knew Him and still rejected Him, and (2) a foreigner, who wouldn’t be expected to know Him, had absolute faith in Him.

Logic seems to lead to one conclusion— God had not predestined some Nazarenes or foreign soldiers to either believe or not believe. They had an absolutely free choice. This is why the Lord could say in John 3:17, that God sent His Son into the world, “that the world through him might be saved.” The gospel is available to everyone, but only valuable to those who believe.

Bible Cosmology (8, and last!)

Review

This series has gone on long enough and I want to finish it off, but there are still a few loose ends to tie up. There are odd subjects and questions that need answers so I’ll tackle a few in this final blog:

What about figurative language?

The automatic answer that comes when you ask the meaning of these descriptions is “figurative language”. The obvious retort is “figurative of what?” I would be the last one to say that all the references I’ve given were intended to be literal. There is obviously some complex imagery in use. And don’t leave out truly figurative geographical and cosmological language like Psalm 98: rivers clap hands, mountains sing, or Isaiah 49, where the sun can “smite”. Without going over every detail, let’s look at a few examples:

(i) “The skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze”. (Job 37:18) Job did not think the skies were a “mirror of cast bronze”, but he didn’t know what they really were. A simile.

(ii) “The water jars of heaven”. (Job 38:37) The water is held up there somehow, but Job didn’t really know how. He refers to water jars; other places refer to storehouses and floodgates. These are metaphors, without the actuality ever being defined.

(iii) “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?” (Job 38:22) Another great metaphor for what is above the firmament. It reminds me of the little glass villages that, when shaken, sprinkle snow on the scene.

(iv) “He has pitched a tent for the sun”. (Psa.19:4) Another metaphor for the place the sun goes at night.

(v) “The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up.” (Rev.6:14) Yet another simile, apparently showing a view from earth directly into heaven. The opening of the Skydome in Toronto might be a good comparison.

What is accommodation?

The ancient writers described the cosmos as they understood it (again, flat earth, domed sky, pillars holding up the earth and the heavens, and so on). This is called “phenomenological” language. “Accommodation” describes God’s attitude to those writers—in His own revelation of Himself, He gave spiritual teaching that they could never have learned without Him. On the other hand, they had their own understanding of daily life and the visible cosmos. The Bible is not a scientific book and so God didn’t give them twenty-first century science—or any other century than their own.

Who put all the “phenomenological language” into the Bible?

Most of the phenomenological language is from the original writers, e.g., sunrise, sunset, ends of the earth, floodgates of the heavens, storehouses of the snow. Many of these words are so embedded in our language that we hardly know any other way to talk about the event. No daily weather report mentions “the moment when the sun first becomes visible in the morning”— that is “sunrise”.

What is the significance of silence?

Silence in some ways confirms the premise of this whole blog. For instance, there is no mention of North and South America or Australia in the Bible. The obvious reason is that the writers didn’t know about them and being non-spiritual pieces of geographical information, God didn’t clue them in. This is in exact parallel to the fact that He didn’t tell them any new science either.

What about semantics?

Do we have to be so particular about classifications? A star was simply a light in the sky or even a constellation or a conjunction of planets—it could still be a planet or a comet or a meteor. In the animal world a bat was listed with birds (see Lev.11:19) simply because it was an animal that flew. Jonah was swallowed by a great fish (Jonah 1:17), never mind that generations of readers have called it a whale.

Can we cite a few extra-Biblical references that “accommodate”?

Here are five examples from different eras. Some of the writers believe their statements literally, some “accommodate”, some are just harking back to the old way of thinking for poetic effect.

(i) Bernard of Cluny (12th century), Jerusalem the Golden [The Celestial Country]. “That worms should seek for dwellings Beyond the starry sky!”

(ii) Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Merchant of Venice. “Sit, Jessica: look, how the floor of heaven Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold:”

(iii) Shakespeare, Sonnet When in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes. “…The lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate.”

(iv) Donne, John (1572-1631). Divine Meditations, 7. At the round earth’s imagined corners, blow Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise From death, you numberless infinities Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go…

(v) Quine, E.C. (1857-1942), BHB Hymn #386, verse 1. “Glory to Thee, enthroned above the sky…”

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning, I have over 200 Biblical references to cosmology and geography. This entire series has touched on only half of them. A belief in Biblical inerrancy has difficulty with this “accommodation” position and so often falls back on the “figurative language” explanation. We have to leave the whole matter of Biblical cosmology in the hands of the ancient writers, themselves. God, of course, knows the ultimate truth about cosmology and He won’t deceive us.

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The Underworld (The Grave, Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Hell)

The third component of this three-decker universe is the Underworld. It seems, in fact, to be a physical place as much as a spiritual one. The first mention of Sheol is in Genesis, where Jacob says that he will go down to the grave (Gen.37:35) to his son, Joseph. The direction he states is important because obviously, when he died, he would not visibly go up. It is the “realm of death below”, and in the “depths”. People can go down alive into the pit— this has to be more than just dying. In Numbers 16, Korah, Dathan and Abiram went down alive (Num.16:30-33). In Deuteronomy, God refers to a fire “that burns to the realm of death below.” (Deut.32:22) And Samuel’s spirit came up out of the ground. (1 Sam.28:13) The mysteries of God are “deeper than the depths of the grave,” Job 11:8,9) and Job speaks of those who “go down to the grave in peace.” (Job 21:13) On a less happy note, another Psalmist says, “I am counted among those who go down to the pit…You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.” (Psa.88:4,6) Happily, the Psalmist tells us that “from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up” (Psa.71:20) and “You have delivered me from the depths of the grave.” (Psa.86:13)

There is life (or at least conscious existence) in the Underworld because Isaiah says about a recently dead celebrity, “The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming.” (Isa.14:9) “You are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” (Isa.14:13,14) Amos speaks of a physical underworld that could, at least theoretically, be accessed with a shovel: “Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, from there my hand will take them.” (Amos 9:2) Jonah himself felt that he had been alive in the underworld because he said, “from the depths of the grave I called for help,” (Jonah 2:2) and, “You brought my life up from the pit.” (Jonah 2:6) The Lord takes up the same picture and asks Capernaum, “Will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.” (Luke 10:15)

There is a good deal more that could be said about the Underworld. For instance, part of it was a place of torment and, across a great gulf, was a region of peace and contentment. (Luke 16) And the Bible gives instructions about how to go to one place or the other.

Endings

The end of this earth (and the entire cosmos) as the Bible describes it, is an awesome sight. The Apostle John tells us that there will be “a great earthquake”, so tremendous that “every mountain and island was removed from its place.” (Rev.6:12-14) This same passage tells us that the sun will turn black, the moon blood red and the stars in the sky will fall to earth. Isaiah tells us that “all the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll.” (Isa.34:4) Peter indicates that “the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” (2 Pet.3:10,12) Finally, Jesus Himself assures us that “Heaven and earth will pass away…” (Mat.24:35)

How to explain all this in terms of the science of today? For starters, the study of tectonics has defined plates on the earth’s crust that are surrounded by intense volcanic and earthquake zones. By comparison, the February 2010 earthquake in Chile moved the entire city of Concepcion 10 feet westward.

A series of super-volcanoes could put thousands of cubic kilometers of dust into the sky— enough to darken the sun and turn the moon blood red. Earlier in this series we saw the sky compared to a dome or a scroll or a tent. If the ancient writers had this picture of the sky, it was only a step to viewing that dome destroyed or that scroll rolled up. And if that firmament gave way, who knew what would happen to the earth?

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Earth

Dropping down to earth, the picture is very different from the modern view. Earth is set on foundations (1 Sam.2:8; 2 Sam.22:16; Job 38:4,6; Psa.82:5; Psa.104:5); the sun, moon, and stars are all in “the expanse of the sky” but below the firmament that holds up heaven. There is water above that firmament and water below it. The waters below are the oceans we are familiar with. Isaiah talks about the “ends of the earth” (Isa.41:5) and the Psalmist says “their words [go] to the ends of the world” (Psa.19:46; Psa.22:27; Psa.72:8; Isa.13:5) —something that a globe doesn’t have but a flat earth does. Again, a globe hardly fits the picture when Zophar talks about the mysteries of God, that “their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.” (Job 11:8,9) In fact, the Lord suggests that the dawn “might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it.” (Job 38:12,13) In the same vein, the Psalmist talks about the sun, when “it rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other” (Psa.19:4-6) —or the whole span of the earth “from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting” (Isa.45:6; Mal.1:11) — again, not unique places on a globe, but well-defined on a flat earth. And when the same prophet refers to God, Who “sits enthroned above the circle of the earth” (Isa.40:22), there is really no question of a spherical shape because all other references are to a flat earth. The “circle” is the horizon, which stretches in equal distances in all directions and so constitutes a circle, with the viewer at the centre. Job and the Psalms mention how the pillars of the earth can tremble. (Job 9:6; Psa.82:5) At the same time, the Lord questions, “on what were its footings set?”(Job 38:6), and Job even goes so far as to say that “he suspends the earth over nothing.” (Job 26:7) It seems that these pillars hold the earth out of the sea. (Psa.24:1,2) If these pillars fail, the earth will give way and fall into the sea. (Psa.46:2) Along this line, Psalm 136 talks about God, “who spread out the earth upon the waters.” (Psa.136:6) Peter talks about how “long ago by God’s word…the earth was formed out of water and by water.” (2 Pet.3:5)

Matthew tells of how the devil took the Lord ‘to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.” (Mat.4:8) Once again, this is not something you could show from any mountain on a globe, but it would be theoretically possible on a flat earth.

Isaiah says that “all the starry host will fall,” (Isa.34:4) and this would only be possible on the view that they are attached to a dome above the earth and are small but powerful lights. Obviously, one star as we know it, falling to earth, would destroy it instantly. In Mark, even Jesus uses this language of accommodation when He quotes Isaiah: “The stars will fall from the sky.” (Mark 13:25)

Terminology has gotten much more specific in 2000 years. At one time “stars” could mean “stars”, but also “planets” (wandering stars) and meteors and comets, as well as conjunctions of planets. We shouldn’t fault the ancients for semantics.

Martin Luther’s Lectures on Genesis give a similar picture: “Scripture simply says that the moon, the sun, and the stars were placed in the firmament of the heaven, below and above which heaven are the waters…It is likely that the stars are fastened to the firmament like globes of fire, to shed light at night.”

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More about Heaven

Now that we’ve established that the firmament up there is solid, what is above it? For one thing, water. “God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.” (Gen.1:7,8) The word “expanse” in NIV and NASB really is a bit of a cop-out; Genesis 1:7 in the KJV says “God made the firmament.’ The water is held back in the heavens by some type of dam, with “floodgates”. (Gen.7:11) In times of blessing, “The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season.” (Deut.28:12) But then, “He waters the mountains from his upper chambers.” (Psa.104:13) At times there can be no rain, “when the heavens are shut up.” (1 Kings 8:35) The Lord tells Job, too, that there are “storehouses of the snow” and “storehouses of the hail”. (Job 38:22) Manna was up there too. (Psa.78:23-25) To be sure, the psalmist calls forth praise from the “waters above the skies.” (Psa.148:4) Amos refers to him “who builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth.” (Amos 9:6)

This hard sky holds up God’s bounty in water jars (Job 38:37) that can be tipped over; and, when the floodgates of heaven in this hard sky are opened, rain falls on the earth. Storehouses of snow and hail can also use these “windows” or “doors”. Even here, we can’t get away from imagery. God’s dwelling place in the heavens is termed His “pavilion”, His “tent”, His “palace”, so that when He comes down below the sky, He “parts” the heavens, He “rends” the heavens, He “opens the doors of heaven.” It seems that those ancient writers liked best the idea of a solid sky, partly because how else would the “waters above the firmament” be held up there? [Firmament: Strong’s #7549] They also spoke of pillars holding it up, presumably out beyond the circle of the horizon, at the region referred to as “the ends of the heavens.” And God’s power can make those pillars quake, and those foundations shake.

To the writer of Genesis, heaven was just “up there”, but fairly close, because, when the Babylonians tried to build “a tower that reaches to the heavens” (Gen.11:4), it was not unreasonable to him or to them. They were going to build their tower right up against the hard sky, the solid “floor of heaven”, break their way through, and so physically enter heaven. This idea of physically reaching heaven comes up in several other places as well: perhaps Jacob’s dream in Gen. 28:12; certainly the spies of Joshua’s day described Canaanite cities ‘with walls up to the sky.” (Deut.1:28) Jeremiah says that “even if Babylon reaches the sky” (Jer.51:53), God will “send destroyers against her.” Daniel describes a tree whose “top touched the sky” (Dan.4:10,11) —a really big tree but still with that solid dome of sky up there. And Amos says “though they climb up to the heavens, from there I will bring them down.” (Amos 9:2) And again, the Apostle John talks about the sins of Babylon “piled up to heaven.” (Rev.18:5)

Bible Cosmology (4)

Heaven

To expand on the previous blog, let’s look at one aspect of the Bible picture of heaven, as described by Moses, Samuel, Job, Isaiah, Malachi, Mark, and various Psalmists. The Apostle John and Jesus Himself have passing comments as well, so the picture isn’t isolated to one or two writers.

The previous blog mentioned the “firmament”. Now, how would God separate water from water? Could oceans, lakes, and rivers on the earth, be separated by a bit of air, from clouds holding the waters above the firmament? Not a very satisfactory division. Something more solid was needed. How about “something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself?” (Ex. 24:9,10) This is an outstanding event because Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up the mountain and saw the God of Israel. Since God is Spirit, they obviously didn’t see Him in all His glory, they must have seen a dimmed down representation. But the point is that they saw an image representing the sky, in a clear, hard, blue form, with God above it.

Or, how about “skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze?” (Job 37:18) The speaker is Elihu, who has just gone through a magnificent list of God’s works, from His communication with man through dreams, visions of the night, or even pain; His knowledge of their every step; His power in nature in, for example, the water cycle or in fierce storms and driving wind. Then the imagery becomes personal—the breath of God produces ice, He directs the clouds over the whole earth to punish or reward. At last, Elihu addresses Job directly: “Can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze?” Elihu didn’t really know what the skies were made of but the thought of hard and polished bronze was the best simile he could come up with.

Or even “an expanse, sparkling like ice?” (Ezek.1:22-26) Ezekiel was among the Jewish exiles by the Kebar River in Babylonia when, he says, “the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” Ezekiel’s visions are tough ones to understand but here and there we may be able to pick up some details of his world view. A gigantic windstorm came out of the north, and four living creatures appeared to him. We don’t really know what or who those creatures were but we do know that, “Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome…Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.” This is another simile for the sky overhead, still hard and still bright.

And what is the shape of the sky? Job calls it a vault or arch (Job 22:12-14) and likens it to a mirror. The idea of a vault or dome would be the first picture that would come from simply observing the sun, moon and stars. These rise from the horizon, arc upward, then drop to the horizon again, e.g., “the sun knows when to go down,” (Psa.104:19) and “the sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.” (Ecc.1:5) Other metaphors for the firmament are tent (Psa.19:04-06; Isa.40:22), pavilion (Job 36:29) and scroll (Rev.6:14). Isaiah says that one day “all the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll.” (Isa.34:04) These are the metaphors that allow the Psalmist to say, “Part your heavens, O Lord, and come down,” (2 Sam.22:10; Psa.18:9; Psa.144:5) or, “rend the heavens and come down.” (Isa.64:1)

Isaiah quotes “the king of Babylon” when he says, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God…I will ascend above the tops of the clouds.” (Isa.14:13, 14) Heaven is thus “above the stars”, and “above the tops of the clouds.” What can hold such a firmament up? Obviously, pillars—Job knew that God could make “the pillars of the heavens quake.” (Job 26:11) Isaiah talks about the heavens trembling. (Isa.13:13) And David knew that “the foundations of the heavens shook.” (2 Sam.22:8) In fact, God is the One “who builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth.” (Amos 9:6) Where is that foundation, where are those pillars? Well, remember that the heavens are “vaulted” (Job 22:12-14), they are “arched”, so according to Isaiah, they must be far away, at “the ends of the heavens,” (Isa.13:05) where they come down to earth. The vaulted ceiling of a cathedral (Exeter in this image) was a perfect picture on a scale the ordinary man could understand.