Traveling Upward Ascending Passage and Grand Gallery
All things are of God
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. David A. Stein The upward passage system makes the Great Pyramid of Giza unique among the Egyptian pyramids. No other Egyptian pyramid has an upward passage above the ground line. Consequently, the presence of the Ascending Passage in this grandest of Egyptian pyramids warrants close examination. Construction Details The upward passage was concealed at the time the pyramid was built. When moving down the Descending Passage, one passes the hidden place where the Ascending Passage begins. The designer clearly wanted to make its discovery difficult. Were it not for an event in 820 A.D. when Al-Mamun and his men were digging in the pyramid, its presence might not have been discovered until modern times. The vibrations from the diggers loosened the limestone cover in the yet-to-be-discovered Descending Passage. Because the workers heard the material fall, they immediately changed the direction of tunneling and emerged in the Descending Passage. They saw the face of a large granite block and dug out the softer limestone around it to gain access into the Ascending Passage. It was this event that opened up the entire passage system of the pyramid. The Ascending Passage is inclined upward at an angle of about twenty-six degrees from the horizontal. Although it intersects with the Descending Passage, the original builders hid its entry. The presence of this huge block of granite—actually three blocks stacked against each other—which is called the Granite Plug by scholars, is curious. It is not only part of the original design, it is a second effort to keep anyone from entering the Ascending Passage. The removal of such a “plug” would be nearly impossible. The size of the Ascending Passage is the same as the Descending Passage: about 4-feet wide, 3½-feet high. Because of the low ceiling, one must bow low to make the difficult climb. Although an ascent in this cramped passage is difficult, it is a bit easier than traveling down the Descending Passage because the upward inclination of the roof provides some advantage as one bends forward, something that does not happen in the Descending Passage. In 1872 explorers who were carefully measuring the Ascending Passage found that although most of the passage is made of individual stones placed carefully next to each other, there were three great transverse stone plates with the passage cut cleanly through them. At these junctions the stones formed the walls, ceiling, and floor of the passage. They came to be called the “girdles.” They are oriented vertically in the passage like gigantic “doughnuts.” The Ascending Passage floor line is over 125 feet long from its intersection with the floor of the Descending Passage to the start of what is called the Grand Gallery. The Grand Gallery is a dramatic change from the lower Ascending Passage because it is so lofty and roomy. The Grand Gallery is almost twice as wide and has a ceiling seven times higher than the Ascending Passage. The width of the Grand Gallery at floor level is the same as the Ascending Passage, but there are ramps on either side of the passage that produce a total width of about seven feet. Holes in the ramps provide places to hold to make that slippery ascent easier.
This intersection is also marked by another interesting feature. At the commencement of the Grand Gallery on the western wall, there is a disruption in the normal smooth masonry work of the floor and walls. About four feet of the western wall at that point appears as if it had been opened by an explosion. The limestone of the western ramp is fractured and a hole down into the pyramid is present. This hole has been called the “Well” and the tunnel down into the interior of the pyramid the “Well Shaft.” This Well Shaft snakes downward to the lower Descending Passage, well below the ground level of the Great Pyramid. The Grand Gallery floor line runs over 156 feet from the end of the Ascending Passage to a point above the great step at the top. The upper walls of this passage form a series of seven vertical corbels with each corbel making the width between the vertical walls a little narrower. It is an impressive sight! At the top of the Grand Gallery there is a great step some three feet high. Because of the inclination of the floor, it is difficult to get over it. The top of this step is on the same level as the floor of the King’s Chamber. Symbolic Meanings If the Descending Passage represents the downward, sinful course of mankind from the first rebellion in Eden, it is logical that an upward passage would indicate some change from that downward course. Bible history teaches that God selected a nation with which he would have a special relationship. That nation was ancient Israel. God’s choice of Israel was mandated by a covenant that he had made centuries earlier with his friend, Abraham (see 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23; Galatians 3). Because of the faith of Abraham and his trust and love of God, it was his seed that God selected to bless others. That seed became the nation of Israel. God selected Israel and gave that nation his law. The people clearly saw this as a favorable development and were perhaps motivated by the promise that the one who keeps the law will live (Leviticus 18:5). The entire nation enthusiastically accepted this Law Covenant and agreed to its terms (Exodus 24:7). To be sure, the Law Covenant did provide many blessings. It helped the people understand what God wanted. It helped them identify sin. It provided a way to expiate both national and individual sin through the sacrifices of the Law. But it did not provide life. All who labored under the Law continued to labor under sin and they died. Furthermore, the Law placed great requirements on the nation and governed most of the details of their lives. In this sense it became a burden for them since it revealed their own sinful state. Thus it had the dual characteristic of both blessing and cursing. The Ascending Passage represents the time of Israel under the Law Covenant. It points upward in contrast to the downward course of everyone else. It was to have lifted the nation to a purer and holier existence. But no one could keep this law perfectly. There were continual sacrifices of animals to cleanse the sin that never disappeared. The Law never lifted anyone out of sin. The low ceiling of the Ascending Passage shows this burden of the law. The great granite rock blocking the entrance to the Ascending Passage represents God’s divine law. Granite is much harder than limestone and corresponds to things divine, things much more enduring (hard) than earthy things. This law is forever condemning imperfect people since no one can perfectly obey it. Consequently none can extricate themselves from the condemnation of sin (Psalm 49:7,8). If help were to come, its source could not be among the progeny of Adam. Eventually help did arrive. The long Jewish Age during which the Law Covenant was in control (the lower Ascending Passage) brings us to the time of Jesus Christ, a man who was not from Adamic stock and so did not inherit Adamic sin. He and he alone possessed what was required to redeem humanity. The death of Jesus opened a door to blessings that could scarcely be believed. Thus began the Gospel age symbolized by the Grand Gallery. The Grand Gallery has a high and beautiful ceiling, one that is seven times higher than the ceiling of the Ascending Passage! The number seven is frequently symbolic of things divine. The Gospel age calling is indeed a divine calling (2 Peter 1:4). The upward climb in the Grand Gallery is still difficult (Matthew 7:14), but one may stand erect while negotiating the ascent. The loftiness and greater width of the Grand Gallery may well depict the blessings of the yoke of Christ (Matthew 11:29). Under that yoke there is greater liberty and divine hope. The handholds of the passage suggest the many helps available to a Christian in his walk. Since the Grand Gallery represents the Gospel age, the beginning of the Grand Gallery marks the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Scriptures teach that Jesus died and went to “hell,” the common grave of mankind (Acts 2:27,31). Precisely at this point we have a shaft to the lower parts of the pyramid. The symbolism shows how Jesus’ death brought him low into the grave. But he was resurrected by the heavenly father and burst forth to a new existence on the divine plane of immortality. Thus the “Well“ symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. The Grand Gallery, representative of the Gospel age high calling, terminates at the level of the King’s Chamber. The ultimate hope of the church is to be “kings and priests” with Christ Jesus (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). How appropriate that this wonderful passage should lead directly to the level of the king.
The
Rectification Factor The
entire passageway system is off-center. The builders chose to not place it in
the precise north-south centerline of the pyramid. All of the passages are
offset to the east exactly fourteen royal cubits, the exact distance that the
Grand Gallery rises above the height of the Ascending Passage (see p. 30). What
does this mean? In Pyramidology
(book 2, chap. 2) Adam Rutherford offers an appealing explanation. As man fell
into sin, he lost the perfection he had when he was created and began to die.
One might say he became off-center. The position of the entire pyramid
passageway system off-center suggests this condition of imperfection. The
distance away from center was called the Displacement Factor. Consequently the
goal of Atonement is to recover man to the perfection he originally enjoyed. The
Grand Gallery, marking the commencement of the Gospel age and the sacrificial
death of Jesus, is the beginning of correcting the problem of sin. How
appropriate that the expansion in the height of the Grand Gallery is precisely
this off-set distance. In this case it no longer represents the displacement of
man from perfection, but rather the rectification of sin and death. Thus the
bringing of things back in line is an undoing of the evil that was done.
This same distance, when symbolizing the correction of things, is called the
Rectification Factor. In harmony with this we find that the King’s Chamber is
oriented such that one part of it is under the north-south centerline of the
pyramid. The distance from the center of the entrance into the King’s Chamber
to the center of the coffer is exactly 286 inches—the Rectification
Factor! Bringing mankind back to the center line means they will be ultimately
blessed by a restoration to all that God intended for them. The measurements
are wonderfully in harmony with the general symbolism and are another indicator
that the Great Pyramid is another revelation of God’s Plan. Summary The construction of the upward-pointing passages clearly parallels many of the important themes of the Bible. Most significantly do we see the death and resurrection of Jesus and the call of the church. This witness of the Plan of God sits quietly in Egypt until the kingdom is fully set up. Then mankind will clearly see that God has had their eternal blessing in mind since the earliest of times. |
The commencement of the Grand Gallery also
marks the intersection with the Horizontal Passage leading to the Queen’s
Chamber. The start of the floor of the Grand Gallery is some seven feet above
the floor of the Horizontal Passage, so to get up into the Grand Gallery, one
must climb one of the ramps.