God's Hidden Language A Distant Revelation See this,
you scoffers, wonder, and begone; for I am doing a deed in your days, a deed
which you will never believe when you are told of it. —Acts 13:41 (New English) Todd Alexander God speaks to us in many different and powerful ways. However, he sometimes reveals himself and his intentions through obscure people and hidden languages. For example, God dealt exclusively with Noah during his age because of Noah’s faith. God asked him to do something very different in his time and Noah’s obedience to God saved his life, the life of his family, and even the entire human race in that it was regenerated afterward. God next worked with Abraham because of his obedient faith and even made an irrevocable pledge to him and his children after him. Today Abraham’s children—the nation of Israel—are experiencing the fruits of their father’s faith. Current events in that nation are the faint beginnings of the restitution blessings promised to their father almost four thousand years ago. Even though God’s promise to Abraham was hidden from the rest of the world, his faithfulness to fulfill it was sure. We see God’s divine plan of the ages progressing exactly as planned. Though hidden from the natural eye, through faith we see it acted out on the pages of human history. Jesus continued the pattern of communicating in a hidden language by using parables to teach his disciples. When asked why he did this, he said he spoke in parables to hide the intended meaning from the vast majority of people (see Matthew 13:10-13). Often what Jesus said was not what he meant. However, the word pictures he painted revealed eternal truths in a far more sublime way, and often resulted in a life-changing experience for those who listened. Today, being in the “Day of the Lord” and with the benefit of hindsight, we have the privilege of seeing the fulfillment of many Hebrew prophecies. Prominent passages in Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Zechariah are all easily recognizable in the headlines of today’s newspapers. While many of God’s people in the past have had to walk by faith, today we almost walk by sight because of what we see happening in the world. The Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt, stands as the fulfillment of one of God’s more obscure prophecies in the book of Isaiah. The prophecy reveals the Great Pyramid to be an ancient metaphor that God promised would speak to his people in modern times, a distant revelation. He also promised that it would reveal something about his character. The message of the Great Pyramid is now revealed to be both sublime and powerful and has had a profound effect on those who understand its sacred meaning. The prophet Isaiah put a time stamp on the fulfillment of this prophecy by saying its purpose will be revealed during the “Day of the Lord.” Many students of the Bible agree we are now in that final day when God will reveal himself through his mighty power, first to those who are watching, then to the whole world of mankind. In less than two verses Isaiah answered the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the prophecy:
“In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt.”— Isaiah 19:19,20 In his prophecy Isaiah does not speak about a sacrificial altar where animal sacrifices were made, but of a holy place where God would demonstrate something more powerful. A pillar (Hebrew: memorial stone) in the middle of Egypt yet also at its border (“Giza” in Egyptian means “border”). Isaiah says that this Memorial Stone will be a sign (Hebrew: signal) and a witness (Hebrew: recorder, testimony) validating the God of the Bible. It will be a physical device that will demonstrate God’s wisdom and power, recorded in ancient times and revealed in our day. As shown in the photograph to the right, the Great Pyramid is situated in the midst of the land of Egypt in that it is at the focal center of the fertile Nile Delta region. Peculiarly it is also at the border because it is at the ancient division between Upper and Lower Egypt. As the prophet Daniel predicted, the Time of the End in which we are now living has witnessed an explosion of knowledge and “running to and fro” (Daniel 12:1-4). The discoveries in Egypt have been almost as spectacular, giving us a detailed knowledge of their culture, religion, and aspirations. But there is one great problem most Egyptologists encounter when studying the knowledge of ancient Egypt: the uniqueness of the Great Pyramid. Although it is in Egypt, it is markedly different from any of the other thirty-five pyramids or monuments that are found in the Nile river basin. Its astronomical alignment, its precise construction, its upward passage system with air passages to the outside, its lack of hieroglyphics and wall paintings, its white polished exterior casing stones—all make the Great Pyramid different. There is no physical evidence that links its construction, purpose, and presence with the knowledge of ancient Egypt. The Great Pyramid is definitely in the middle and at the border of Egypt as Isaiah’s prophecy predicts, but it is not of Egypt; it never entombed a pharaoh or his treasure. In almost every respect it is unlike all the other pyramids and monuments of Egypt. In fact the Egyptian Book of the Dead describes its passages and chambers as a metaphorical tour of life, using language amazingly similar to that of the Bible!
Great Pyramid from Outer Space |
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The scientific discoveries at the Great Pyramid over the past 150 years are almost unbelievable. The quality and amount of scientific information found to be concealed in the lines, measurements, and proportions of the Great Pyramid point to a supernatural architect. The pi proportion1, the golden section ratio2 the distance to the sun, the length of the solar year, and the length of the pre-cession of the equinoxes3 all prove that the architect of the Great Pyramid had scientific knowledge and wisdom we didn’t know existed four thousand years ago! This amazing demonstration of terrestrial and celestial knowledge in the Great Pyramid confirms the prophetic claim that it would bear testimony of the Creator of the Universe, the Lord of Hosts. The orientation of the Great Pyramid is amazingly precise: it is aligned to true north within four minutes of a degree. Dr. Richard Lepsius, a renowned Egyptologist, puts the Great Pyramid in a unique category of construction. He says all the other pyramids of Egypt are built from the inside out, while the Great Pyramid was built using a method of construction characterized by building from the outside perimeter inward. “Previous wise and providential thought” was also associated with this method of pyramid construction according to Dr. Lepsius.
The Passages and Rooms The
passage system of the Great Pyramid is actually two passage systems joined by a
blocked passage. The Descending Passage drops at a twenty-six degree angle from
horizontal, is about 345-feet long, and ends in a forty-six-square-foot room
commonly called the Pit. Though there is a vertical downward shaft in the
middle of the Pit’s floor and a fifty-three-foot long dead-end passage off its
south wall, both lead nowhere and look unfinished. The Ascending Passage, a
feature not found in any other Egyptian pyramid, branches upward from the
Descending Passage at the same twenty-six degree angle from horizontal, but its
entrance is blocked by a three-piece granite plug. As originally constructed there
would be no access to the Great Pyramid’s upper passages and chambers except
for the hard-to-find Well Shaft near the bottom of the Descending Passage. The
Well Shaft is an almost vertical tunnel roughly-cut through bedrock; it
continues through the Great Pyramid’s core stone all the way to the beginning
of the Grand Gallery. The Well Shaft’s opening into the Grand Gallery is also
roughly cut, being out of character with the surrounding polished stone. It
actually looks as if the opening occurred through a kind of controlled
explosion. The
two upper rooms in the Great Pyramid are the focus of the Ascending Passage
system. What is commonly called the Queen’s Chamber is at the end of a
horizontal passage. The Queen’s Chamber has a gabled ceiling and is constructed
of beautiful white limestone, a building material found nowhere else inside the
Great Pyramid. It is finished and polished on all sides except for the floor,
which remains rough. The King’s Chamber, the highest room inside the Great
Pyramid, is constructed of exactly one hundred red granite stones, beautifully
polished and set with a precision not found anywhere else in Egypt. Its flat
ceiling is made of nine huge slabs of granite each weighing approximately
one hundred tons. Above the King’s Chamber, five construction chambers serve to
displace the weight of the upper mass of the Great Pyramid from off the flat
ceiling of the King’s Chamber. These construction chambers also feature flat
ceilings except for the top chamber which is gabled like the ceiling in the
Queen’s Chamber. England’s Sir Robert Menzies was the first explorer to connect the meaning of the Great Pyramid’s passage system with the Bible (1865). He theorized that the passages in the Great Pyramid were an allegory of the ages of Bible history while its three chambers represented the three destinations of man found in the Bible. Professor Piazzi Smyth and Joseph A. Seiss, D.D., continued the discovery process and put together excellent written works showing a beautiful unfolding of God’s plan encoded in the angles and measurements of the Great Pyramid’s passage system. This metaphorical system of understanding the interior passages and chambers of the Great Pyramid closely aligns with the prophet Isaiah’s prediction that the knowledge and wisdom of the God of the Bible will be demonstrated in a memorial stone in the middle of the land of Egypt in the Day of the Lord. The three destinations of man described in the Bible are found in Matthew 7:13,14 and Isaiah 35:8. They are the Broad Road which leads to destruction, the Narrow Way which leads to life, and the Highway which leads to holiness. The Broad Road leading to destruction is the metaphorical road upon which all mankind is walking. There is no way to escape death, the inevitable destination of that road. The Descending Passage is a natural representation of this Broad Road. First, one is forced to stoop within it, which shows that mankind cannot stand upright before God. With its twenty-six-degree downward descent, it is not easy to move within it and if one fell and there were no handrails added in modern times, it would be difficult to stop before hitting bottom. The room at the end of the Descending Passage is the Pit which pictures death itself. It comes complete with a “bottomless pit” in the middle of the floor and a small continuation passage representing the second death of Revelation. The Pit represents the hereditary death we all die because of father Adam’s disobedience. The only way out of the Descending Passage and Pit is via the Well Shaft. Correspondingly, the apostle Paul tells us the only way to life is through Jesus Christ (Romans 5). Interestingly enough, the Well Shaft passes through a natural cave called the Grotto found at ground level. This natural cave has a rock formation in its north wall that looks amazingly like the head of a lamb and it existed well before the Great Pyramid was constructed. In one sense the Great Pyramid could be said to have been built around the Grotto. The language used to describe Jesus Christ and his work in the Scriptures is wonderfully similar. Jesus is said to be the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world. How nicely this beautiful symbol of Jesus Christ is placed: within the foundation of the Great Pyramid but also in the center of the earth’s land mass! Surely, the Descending Passage, Pit, Well, and Grotto encapsulate the biblical message of sin, atoning death, and redemption outlined in God’s holy word the Bible. The Granite Plug blocked the way for anyone to enter the Ascending Passage from the Descending Passage. Similarly the Law given to the Jewish nation blocked their ascent toward the ultimate destination of life. The apostle Paul says that the Law, which he thought to be unto life, he found to be unto death (Romans 7:10). The Granite Plug is made of red granite, a material only found in the plug and in the King’s Chamber. Granite pictures things divine; the Granite Plug pictures the divine law of God that imperfect man could not keep. The transition between the Hebrew age and the Christian age is recognized by the entire world as such a momentous event that it is the division between B.C. and A.D. dating. The apostle Paul uses the wonderful allegory of Abraham and his two wives to demonstrate God’s relationship with two groups of people, the Hebrews and the Christians (Romans 4; Galatians 3). Hagar, the bondmaid, represents the Hebrews who were cast off in favor of Sarah, the free woman, who represents Christians. Paul uses the allegory of a well-known biblical story to detail the important philosophical concept of the bondage of the Law Covenant contrasted with the tremendous liberty now available through faith in Jesus Christ. The Great Pyramid’s demonstration of this transition is similarly profound. The Grand Gallery lies at the end of the Ascending Passage and continues upward at the same twenty-six-degree ascent angle. The Grand Gallery represents the invitation to a life in Jesus Christ, the one who through his voluntary sacrificial death opened up a new and a living way for all mankind to be justified before God, to stand upright before him, and to have an opportunity to escape hereditary death. Although the Ascending Passage is low and difficult to ascend, the Grand Gallery is twenty-eight-feet high and, if one uses the hand-holds on either side of the passage, is easy to ascend. This spacious Grand Gallery represents the new liberty offered through faith in Jesus Christ using the precious promises to help us along the way (2 Peter 1:4). There is a great step at the end of the Grand Gallery. It corresponds to the decision point in our life when God extends an invitation to suffer and die with Jesus as part of the body of Christ. It is the point of consecration to do the will of God which Paul describes in Romans 12:1,2. The Great Step acts as a perch where we can look backward and see the faithfulness and drawing power of God who led us through some difficult experiences to get us to this point of decision. The Ante-Chamber is a short passage and tiny room that connects the Grand Gallery with the King’s Chamber. The room and its entrance represent the consecrated life of a Christian. Jesus said that those who would follow him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. The Ante-Chamber beautifully shows these three stages of a Christian’s life. To enter the Ante-Chamber, one must stoop under a red granite overhanging block commonly called the Granite Leaf. The Granite Leaf represents the point of decision, the first stage, where we deny ourselves, give up our own wills, and take on the will of God through Christ which is our sanctification. At this point God separates us from the world, gives us the holy spirit (the earnest of our inheritance), and begins to teach us his truths. This is followed by taking up our cross and following Jesus, doing what he would do, suffering the injustices he suffered, and filling up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24). Through our acceptance of this invitation, we become a member of the body of Christ, a glorious body which together with Jesus its head will be the great mediator between God and mankind in the kingdom. If we are faithful, we will receive immortality shown by entering the King’s Chamber, a room made of polished red granite. The red granite represents the divine, immortal life promised to faithful Christians. Jesus Christ, head and his body the church, will not be idle in their heavenly home. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ and the church will have the specific job of helping all mankind—called the ransomed of the LORD —walk the Highway of Holiness described in Isaiah 35:8-10. This is the way leading to the third ultimate destination, earthly perfection. This third way is illustrated in the Horizontal Passage with its destination the Queen’s Chamber which represents the perfect earth spoken of in 2 Peter 3:13 wherein dwelleth righteousness. The ransomed of the Lord include all who have ever lived and died the hereditary death of father Adam. They will be ransomed by the corresponding sacrificial death of Jesus Christ who tasted death for every human being (1 Timothy 2:6). All mankind will be brought to an understanding of the truth, not just through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus but by the sympathetic attendance and leadership of the Body of Christ who will act as the world’s teacher. The Queen’s Chamber represents the ultimate destination of everlasting life on a perfect earth. Everlasting life will be given to all those who reach the end of the Highway of Holiness just as the Queen’s Chamber is entered by all who walk the full length of the Horizontal Passage. We see the wonderful plan of God outlined in the passages and rooms of this timeless monument. Consistent with God’s method of teaching through obscure people and hidden languages, the Great Pyramid houses a body of knowledge written in the silent but universally recognized language of symbol, line, and measure. Invisible to the world, but powerful to those who through faith are watching, God is revealing himself to mankind as a wise master builder. He is powerful enough to encapsulate so much terrestrial and celestial knowledge into a single structure, loving enough to guide the entire human race through the experience of disobedience and sin into the salvation provided through his son, just enough to demand and then provide the legal means for such a great plan of salvation, and, finally, wise enough to reveal this plan to those he will use to perfect the world of mankind during the kingdom. _______________________________ 1. "A transcendtal number, approximately 3.14159, represented by the symbol p, that represents the relationship of the circumference to the diameter of a circle and appears as a constant in many mathematical expressions." -- American Heritage Dictionary, third ed. 2. A "ratio" observed especially in the fine arts, between the two dimensions of a plane figure of a line such that the smaller is to the larger as the larger is to the sum of the two a ratio of roughly three to five." -- American Heritage Dictionary, third ed. 3. A slow westward shift of the equinoxes along the plane of the ecliptic. resulting from the precession of Earth's axis of rotation, and causing the earth's equinoxes to occur earlier each sidereal year. The precession of the equinoxes occurs at a rate of 50.27 seconds of arc a year; a complete precession requires 25,800 years." -- American Heritage Dictionary, third ed.
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