The Great Pyramid: Ancient Wonder Modern Mystery

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

The Great Pyramid and the Universe 4

A Memorial Stone 12

Passages and Chambers Deciphered 15

Past, Present and Future 27

Conclusion 37

INTRODUCTION

Land of the pharaohs, gift of the Nile, ancient Egypt has fascinated people from all walks of life. From the discovery of the Rossetta Stone to the uncovering of the treasures of King Tut-ankh-amen, some of the richest archaeological finds of our modern era have been provided by ancient Egypt. Through these findings we catch a glimpse of those ancients, the way they lived, their culture, their religion, and even the way they died. They left behind countless monuments, memorializing themselves, their gods and their knowledge. But there stands one monument in Egypt which testifies of a far superior knowledge than any other monument of ancient Egypt. In fact, the knowledge displayed in the design of this edifice surpasses the capability of anyone known in ancient Egypt.

Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid is the only remaining one. It captures the curiosity and imagination of many scientific and religious disciplines. For over four millenia it has been standing on the Giza Plateau, silently embracing its mysteries.

It stands alone and unique, apart from all other pyramids in the world. It has been named the Great Pyramid because its superior workmanship is above and beyond any other pyramid. When completed, the Great Pyramid was 454 feet tall, 760 feet long at each base, covering an area of more than 13 acres of land. The Great Pyramid contains more masonry than all the cathedrals, churches and chapels built in England since the time of Christ.

The original outer casing stones were white limestone blocks polished and fitted to an angle of 51° 51’. Though most of these are missing today, the matchless workmanship displayed in the few remaining casing stones impresses even a casual observer. These blocks each average a massive sixteen tons. The fine joints are no thicker than a piece of paper; included in each is a fine film of cement. In its original glory the Great Pyramid must have looked like a star on the edge of the desert when reflecting the sun’s rays. The ancient Strabo said it was ‘like a building let down from heaven, untouched by human hands.’

The original entrance to the passage system is on the 17th course of masonry. The Caliph Al Mamoun forced his way in on the 7th course in AD 820.

The passage system of the Great Pyramid is uncommonly diversified. It is the only one of many pyramids on the Giza Plateau that contains ascending passages, chambers above ground, air channels in the upper chambers, a plugged passageway, a pit and a grotto. Trial passages still remain intact in the plateau off the east side of the pyramid, where workers practiced the passage design before building it into the Great Pyramid.

From the top of the Great Pyramid, the view is magnificent. On a clear day one can see northward into the Nile Delta, eastward to Cairo, southward up the Nile to other smaller pyramids and westward over the Sahara Desert.

This ancient wonder has survived for over 4000 years. Over a million and a half sunrises have cast its shadow on the Giza Plateau. It has survived wars, earthquakes, civilizations, conquerors, storms, and even pillagers who stripped it of its outer casing.

In our world of change, governments rise and fall, methods and machinery become obsolete, and buildings are erected only to be torn down for the new. However, the Great Pyramid, completed more than 2000 years before Christ, promises to remain for many centuries to come. Thus, this timeless monument, by its very nature, poses an enigma to us.

Many have studied the mysteries of the Great Pyramid. Many theories have been offered to explain its purpose. They assert its use as a tomb, a landing pad for space ships, an observatory, a temple of initiation, a refuge from a flood, a standard measure of corn, a memorial to the Martians who supposedly built it, etc. The overwhelming majority of evidence supports the conclusion that the Creator was the architect of the Great Pyramid and in its design. He displayed His ultimate plan for mankind.

This booklet will examine some of the evidence which demands a verdict.

CHAPTER 1 The Great Pyramid and the Universe

Throughout history, scholars have studied all that was available to them about the Great Pyramid. But not until our modern era has interest become so widespread and information so readily available that now, many thousands, perhaps millions, have studied this ancient wonder in one form or another.

Serious pyramid research may be said to have begun in 1765 with Nathanial Davison. Napoleon and his team of researchers led by Jomard and Coutelle followed in 1798. Colonel Howard Vyse conducted extensive research in the 1830s, followed by the English amateur astronomer and mathematician John Taylor in the 1850s. Astronomer-Royal for Scotland, Piazzi Smyth took careful measurements in the 1860s. Famed Egyptologist Professor William Flinders Petrie surveyed the area in the 1880s and Professor John Edgar and Morton Edgar, his brother, followed with their findings in the early l900s along with Adam Rutherford, David Davidson and Herbert Aldersmith.

From the discoveries of these and other investigators, the Great Pyramid’s dimensions have been found to teach principles of mathematics, geography and astronomy.

Mathematics

The Pi Proportion

One of man’s oldest mathematical quests has been to accurately determine the relationship between the circumference of a circle and its diameter. Mathematicians denote this ratio by the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, À (’pi’). This value, which we know today as 3.141592 +, was first accurately determined by Rudolph Van Ceulin in the sixteenth century. It is a ratio fundamental to the study of physical things, as it gives a mathematical link between straight and circular geometric figures. A proper ascertainment of this ratio is vital to mathematicians, astro-physicists, architects, and many others.

The pi ratio is one of the first mathematical features discovered in the Great Pyramid. In the 1850s John Taylor discovered that the original vertical height of the Great Pyramid was to its base perimeter as the radius of a circle is to its circumference. John Taylor noted that this pi proportion feature could only work with the unique Great Pyramid angle of 51° 51’. Thus no other pyramid contains this relationship.

According to both Smyth’s and Petrie’s measurements, the Great Pyramid demonstrates the pi proportion accurately to four decimal points. The significance of this demonstration is doubly impressive when one realizes that pi had not been worked out to this accuracy until the sixth century, more than 2700 years after the Great Pyramid’s completion.

[The pi portion works with no other pyramid.]

[Twice the height x pi = circuit of base]

[When the radius of a circle equals the height of the Great Pyramid. then the circumference of that circle equals the pyramid’s base circumference]

Geography

Orientation

Orientation, when applied to a building, means the direction of its sides with reference to the cardinal points of the compass. Orientation is an important part in the planning of almost every building, whether it be a solar home positioned to maximize sun exposure or an observatory set to get the best possible view of the heavens.

In the late 1800s, Piazzi Smyth took careful observations at the base of the Great Pyramid to test its orientation. He was astonished to find that the central meridian line north and south of the Great Pyramid deviates only 4’ of arc from astronomical true north. Later Professor Flinders Petrie’s observations confirmed those of Smyth. Petrie added that he felt the Pyramid builders accurately oriented the Great Pyramid to true north. From the data of his measurements, he says there is a strong indication that the north point itself has changed, probably by the moving of the earth’s crust.

What Smyth’s discovery actually revealed was that the builder of the Great Pyramid had a more accurate surveying mechanism that we thought possible of his ancient day.

Many architects and builders since have tried to orient their structures accurately to true north with little success. Even the casual observer will here notice that the architect’s purpose for such a precise orientation in the Great Pyramid was to monumentalize his knowledge of the four cardinal points.

Geographical Position

The Great Pyramid is probably in a more important geographical position than any other building in the world. Piazzi Smyth recorded an important discovery by Mr. William Petrie, father of Flinders Petrie. William Petrie found that there is more earth and less sea in the Great Pyramid’s meridian than in any other meridian on the earth. Therefore, the Great Pyramid’s meridian is the natural zero meridian of the earth, much more suitable than that of Greenwich or Paris. Also, Smyth claimed that there is more land surface in the Great Pyramid’s general parallel of 30° than in any other parallel on the earth. Additionally, the Great Pyramid’s nether meridian, (the meridian continuous with it on the other side of the globe) is found to pass almost entirely through water, making it the most suitable international dateline.

Piazzi Smyth also wrote that Egypt is in the geographical center of the dry habitable land mass of the whole earth. He demonstrated this with his chart: ‘Equal Surface Projection of the Earth’s Sphere.’ Smyth explained that the amount of land surface east of the Great Pyramid is equal to the amount of land surface west of the Great Pyramid. Further, the amount of land surface north of Egypt is equal to the amount of land surface south of Egypt.

Another incredible discovery relative to the Great Pyramid’s position was found in its location at the geometric focus of the Nile Delta sector. Acting as a geodetic compass, the Great Pyramid encloses the entire Nile Delta region within its extended northeast and northwest diagonals, forming a perfect quadrant.

There is another interesting fact to note: The Great Pyramid sits between the two major regions of our earth. The land east of the Mediterranean is called the Orient, while the land west of that point is called the Occident. This is why the eastern Mediterranean area is called the ‘Middle East.’ It lies in the middle, between East and West.

Unit of Measure

Throughout history each nation or region adopted a set of measures to its own needs, producing a great variety of measuring schemes. Scientists had discussed for many years the need for a standard system of measurement to replace the variations that made scientific communication troublesome, but not until after the French Revolution in the 1790s did the discussion solidify into a forthright attempt to establish what is now called the metric system. One of the major distinctions of the metric system is that it uses the earth’s measurement as the basis for a definition.

For the new unit of measure, the French Academy of Sciences decided it should be a one ten-millionth part of the length of the earth’s quadrant passing through Paris. The French arrived at what is now called the meter, equalling 39.3 British inches.

Later, in the l9th century, Sir John F. W. Herschel noted that the French meter was deficient as a standard because it was determined from a curved meridian of the earth, which changes in length with each meridian around the globe. Herschel suggested that the only dependable basis for a standard unit of measure was the polar axis of the earth.

Herschel calculated that one ten-millionth the polar radius of the earth equalled a little over 25 British inches. He felt this was a more earth-commensurate unit of measure, since the polar radius of the earth never changes. Herschel’s figuring was confirmed by orbiting satellites in the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 and was refined to 25.02614284 British inches.

In the mid 1800s John Taylor, a devoted student of the Great Pyramid, studied the measurements of the Great Pyramid and their relationship to one another. During his calculations he concluded that the ancient builders may have used a cubit of about 25 British inches in addition to the ‘royal’ cubit of 20.63 British inches. He was astonished to find that Sir Isaac Newton had earlier calculated the ancient Hebrew cubit, the sacred cubit, to be about 25 British inches. Piazzi Smyth suggested that the same cubit of 25.025 British inches was used in the construction of Noah’s Ark, Moses’ Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple and the Great Pyramid. Smyth then divided the sacred cubit into 25 parts which he called ‘pyramid inches’; each pyramid inch equals 1.001 British inches.

The measurement of a single sacred cubit is found three places in the Great Pyramid.

A) The distance between the center of the boss on the Granite Leaf to the easternmost edge of the Granite Leaf.

B) The distance between the centermost line of the Queen’s Chamber and the centerline of the niche.

C) The inclined distance from the beginning of the Grand Gallery to the beginning of the Well Shaft.

The 35th course of masonry on the exterior of the Great Pyramid displays the sacred cubit also. It is exactly two sacred cubits tall.

Astronomy

Distance to the Sun

William Petrie, father of Professor Flinders Petrie, was the first to discover how the Great Pyramid reveals the distance to the sun. William Petrie found that by climbing a corner of the Great Pyramid, for every ten feet he traveled toward its center, he rose a vertical nine feet. This suggested to him the factor of ten to the ninth power (10"). William Petrie found that the height of the Great Pyramid multiplied by 10" equalled the distance to the sun. Today, from the measurements taken by his son, Flinders Petrie, we can confirm his discovery.

The vertical height of the Great Pyramid from the mean socket level to the apex is 5807.05" +7 British inches, according to Flinders Petrie. This height, multiplied by the 10" factor, renders an earth-to-sun distance of 91,651,673 + 110,480 miles.

This distance, even with its plus or minus factor, falls nicely between the perihelion and aphelion of the earth, the closest and farthest distances of the earth’s oblong orbit around the sun. The perihelion occurs in early January when the earth is 91,341,000 miles from the sun. The aphelion occurs in early July when the earth is 94,448,000 miles from the sun.

[Height x 10^9 = 91,651,673 miles]

Duration of Our Solar Year

The solar year is the length of time it takes our Earth to complete one revolution around the sun.

John Taylor was the first to suggest that the base length of the Great Pyramid measured as many sacred cubits as there are days in one solar year. By his persual of this suggestion he unwittingly began what in retrospect was probably the most bitter debate about the Great Pyramid.

John Taylor was hampered in his research by conflicting measurements of the base. The bases were heaped over with sand, so every time an explorer would measure the base, another level of masonry was covered or exposed by the shifting sands of the Giza Plateau.

Before his death, John Taylor was fortunate enough to keep his theories alive in the mind of the respected and earnest astronomer and mathematician, Piazzi Smyth. Taylor’s theories were valid enough to convince Smyth to go to Egypt in 1864 and perform the most thorough measurements of the Great Pyramid up to his time.

While in Egypt Smyth confirmed much of what Taylor had theorized, including the base-year length measurement. Smyth claimed that the southside socket base length was 9140.18 British inches equalling 9131.05 pyramid inches or 365.242 sacred cubits, the exact number of days in our solar year. Thus the perimeter of 4 times this base side length is 36,524.2 pyramid inches which equals the number of days in one century.

[Base Side = 365. 242 Sacred Cubits

Base Circuit = 36.524.2 Pyramid inches]

Smyth returned to Scotland with his measurements and theories. After presenting his thoughts in his books, he was scoffed at by his fellow mathematicians who could not admit that perhaps the ancients were more learned than they.

The next serious explorer to perform measurements on the Great Pyramid was Sir William Flinders Petrie, son of William Petrie. As a young boy, Flinders Petrie was intrigued by Piazzi Smyth’s empirical doctrine. Petrie, a surveyor and archaeologist, decided to go to Egypt himself and see if these things were true. Petrie returned to Scotland and gained much praise for his refutation of Smyth’s work.

In particular, Petrie claimed that the south-side base length measured 9069.5 British inches, much less than Smyth’s 9140.18 British inches. Many academicians were perfectly content with Petrie’s much desired refutation and sought no further explanation on the matter. However, the 70.68" difference between the two measurements was not due to error on the part of either surveyor. Both men were very accurate in their measurements but each had measured the length of a different base level. Smyth measured the socket base length reasoning it to be the foundation level of the Great Pyramid. Petrie measured the length of the casing base on the top of the 20" platform. Petrie found that the core masonry was at least four times more accurate in true square than were the socket corners, therefore he felt the sockets ‘only show the size of the pyramid, where it was started.’ Petrie stated that the true base of the Great Pyramid is defined by the lowest level of casing which rests upon the platform. Later on in the same book, Petrie calmly confirmed Smyth’s socket base length in a footnote. Petrie’s measure showed Smyth accurate to within 0.18".

[Petrie measured the platform level. Smyth measured the socket level.]

Much argument filled the corridors of the scientific community following Petrie’s assertions. However, the basic facts still remain: Petrie’s base measures were at the platform level, while Smyth’s were at the socket level.

The scientific theories about the Great Pyramid were further developed and much of Smyth’s doctrine was vindicated by pyramid investigators such as John and Morton Edgar, Adam Rutherford, David Davidson and Herbert Aldersmith. Discoveries made by these and other Great Pyramid explorers have uncovered an enormous amount of scientific data hermetically detailed in the measures and proportions of this ancient wonder. So many facts and figures of our earth and universe are displayed by this modern mystery that it evokes serious doubt that uninspired man could have originated the blueprints for the Great Pyramid.

CHAPTER 2 A Memorial Stone

Few who have studied the Great Pyramid realize it is mentioned in the Bible. Yes, both the pyramidal shape and the structure itself are mentioned in man’s oldest book, the Holy Bible.

The Bible speaks of the pyramidal shape using the topstone of a pyramid as a picture or analogy of Jesus Christ.

Scriptures on the Subject

Ps 118:22: ‘The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the comer.’ Here, the psalmist prophesies the rejection of the Messiah by the Jews and his subsequent leadership in the Kingdom of God.

Isa 28:16: ‘...Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation...’ Isaiah refers to the Messiah as a precious comer stone.

Eph 2:20: ‘...Jesus Christ himself being the chief comer stone...’ The apostle Paul calls Jesus Christ the ‘chief comer stone.’ A chief corner stone is peculiar to a pyramidal shape which has five corners. Only the chief corner stone, the top stone, determines the shape of the whole building, just as Jesus Christ set the pattern for His disciples to follow.

1Pe 2:5-6 also speaks of Jesus Christ as the ‘chief comer stone,’ while Jer 32:20 and Zec 4:7 suggest the Great Pyramid itself.

Isa 19:19-20 is of prime significance because it speaks of the Great Pyramid specifically.

Isa 19:19-20: ‘In that day there shall 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’s curious prophecy has been a source of confusion to those who have studied the Bible in ages past. Not until the last 150 years has this prophecy been properly understood. Upon examining these two verses of scripture the reader finds that the Great Pyramid fulfills the prophecy in every detail.

The Three Prophetic Conditions

There are three requirements of prophecy set forth in Isa 19:19-20, all of which are fulfilled by the Great Pyramid. They are:

l) It must be in the midst (middle) of the land of Egypt.

2) It must be at the border of the land of Egypt.

3) It must be a sign and a witness unto the LORD in the day of the LORD.

The first and second requirements are geographically proven. The Great Pyramid is in the middle of Egypt. It is also located at the border of Egypt. In any other country these two requirements would be self-contradictory, but not so in Egypt. From early history, Egypt has been divided into two sections, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt is the southern portion of that nation which stretches from the Sudanese border northward to the Giza Plateau. At the Giza Plateau the land elevation abruptly drops. Lower Egypt begins here and covers the rest of Egypt northward to the Mediteranean Sea including the entire Nile Delta region.

The Great Pyramid stands on the Giza Plateau in the middle of Egypt, between upper and lower Egypt. Thus, it also stands at the border of Egypt, at the natural boundary separating Upper and Lower Egypt. The word Giza in the Arabic language means ‘border.’ The semantics of the title, The Great Pyramid of Giza, acknowledges its location at the border of Egypt.

The third requirement of Isaiah’s prophecy states that it must be a sign and a witness unto the LORD in the day of the LORD. It is generally accepted by students of the Bible that we are now living in THAT day. The time that will witness the ushering in of God’s Kingdom as well as see the destruction of Satan’s contrary devices. Therefore, now is the time for the pillar of Isaiah’s prophecy to be a sign and a witness unto the LORD.

The word sign in the original Hebrew is the word owth, (oth) and it simply means a signal. The word witness in the original Hebrew is the word ed, (ayd) which means a testimony or a recorder. Simply stated, the pillar of Isa 19:19-20 is prophesied to be a signal bearing testimony, or bearing record of the LORD, the God of the Bible, the Creator of the universe.

The word pillar in Isaiah’s prophecy in the original Hebrew is the word matstsebah, which means a memorial stone, a stone commemorating something specific, whether it be a person as in Ge 35:20 or a covenant as in Ge 31:44-48. The pillar of Isaiah’s prophecy is a memorial stone unto God.

Careful study finds that the Great Pyramid is found to be that memorial stone. It monumentalizes two aspects of God’s knowledge.

l) It bears testimony of God’s knowledge of the universe.

2) It bears record of God’s plan for the salvation of man as He has explained it to us in the Holy Bible.

CHAPTER 3 Passages and Chambers Deciphered

If the Great Pyramid is indeed the sign and witness unto the God of the Bible, how does it present a witness of Him? The definition of the word witness is ‘anything that serves as evidence, a sign.’ Therefore, the Great Pyramid should be able to give evidence of the God of the Bible:

l) that He exists, is real, and

2) that what He says is true. The Great Pyramid must corroborate the teachings of the Bible.

How does the Great Pyramid give evidence of God? Chapter 1 explains how the Great Pyramid gives evidence of supernatural intelligence. Uninspired man could not have known the tremendous amount of scientific data hidden within the measures and proportions of the Great Pyramid. Even if uninspired man did know these things, the chances that he could have consolidated them into the single expression of the Great Pyramid are beyond human imagination. Thus, the Great Pyramid, as a scientific harbinger, declares the Creator of the universe, which the God of the Bible claims to be.

How does the Great Pyramid corroborate the teachings of the Bible? As already noted, there were never any hieroglyphics on the walls of the passages and chambers to explain this relationship. In the past century, however, Pyramid students have discovered a far more sublime expression of Biblical teachings in the passages and chambers of this magnificent structure. The entire passage system has been found to corroborate, symbolically, the teachings of the Bible! The Great Pyramid was discovered truly to be that sign, that symbolic witness, unto God.

The Bible in Stone

The Bible speaks of three ultimate destinies of men. The Great Pyramid has three chambers, three ultimate destinations. Each of the chambers is reached through a passage. Each of the destinations of the Bible is reached through a way. The three ways of the Bible are:

(l) the broad road that leads to destruction, Mt 7:13,

(2) the narrow way that leads to life, Mt 7:14, and

(3) the highway that leads to holiness, Isa 35:8. The Great Pyramid’s whole passage and chamber system symbolizes God’s plan for mankind as presented in the Bible.

Descending Passage and Pit Room

The Bible speaks of man’s general passage and common destiny as an hereditary descent to destruction. It says that all mankind were plunged into a downward course of suffering because of father Adam’s disobedience. {Ro 5:12} Jesus calls it a broad road to destruction—broad because everybody must walk it; all of Adam’s children must die. {Mt 7:13 Ec 3:19-20 Ge 3:17-20} .

The Bible describes man’s life-descent. The Great Pyramid depicts this in the Descending Passage system. The Descending Passage is the long, low and steep passage that leads from the entrance straight to the Pit Room. In the picture, the Descending Passage represents the broad road that men descend on their way to the grave. The Descending Passage is a fitting picture of the struggles and difficulties of man’s life because it is low and cramped. Man cannot stand upright before God. He is condemned before God because of Adamic sin. The Descending Passage is steep and long. Man has no sure footing in this passage just as he lacks stability in his life without God. He cannot change his course by himself. If he were to slip in the passage, he would tumble all the way down to its end, entering the Pit Room that much sooner than normal. Man often accelerates his own natural descent into the grave by his lack of wisdom in his life.

The Pit Room represents the death state, oblivion, described in Ec 9:10. The Bible calls death the pit of destruction. {Ps 55:23 Isa 38:18} The Pit Room is an appropriate picture of the death state. It is large, there is no way around it, and in its original condition the entire floor gravitated toward the Pit Shaft. The Pit Room symbolizes the natural end of man’s downward course—death, destruction. ‘The wages of sin is death.’ {Ro 6:23}

Ascending Passage and Granite Plug

In the Bible, the first opportunity man had to escape death was through the Law God gave to the nation of Israel. God told Israel that if they kept the Law they could live, but if they disobeyed it they would die. They soon discovered the Law was God’s perfect standard, and they as imperfect people were unable to keep it.

The First Ascending Passage branches upward from the Descending Passage. It represents the opportunity God gave to Israel to escape from their downward course into death and have full access to Him and His gift of life. This passage is low and very uncomfortable to ascend. One must stoop over to walk it, picturing Israel’s bondage under the perfect Law of God. However, the passage is completely blocked at its entrance by a large piece of red granite. Red granite is only used in two places in the construction of the Great Pyramid. Being a superior type of stone, it symbolizes in each location a superior form of life or principal—that of heavenly or divine com pared to the human life or principal shown by limestone. Here, in the First Ascending Passage, the red granite plug pictures the divine standard of God, the Law. Thus, the plug, denying entrance to the First Ascending Passage, represents the Law’s power to deny imperfect men full access and reconciliation to God. The Apostle Paul states that the Law which he thought to be unto life, he found to be unto death. {Ro 7:10} Israel could not keep God’s perfect standard.

The Well Shaft

After some sixteen and a half centuries from the giving of the Law, there was a man who was able to obey it. In fact, it was by his obedience to the Law that he proved to be both the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the entire human race. The Bible teaches that the only real hope of salvation from death is through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, by his death and resurrection, is said to have abolished death and opened up a new and living way. That whosoever believeth on him should not die but have everlasting life. (11Ti 1:10; Heb 10:19-20; Joh 3:16-17, 36; 6:47)

Jesus Christ has provided the only real hope of rescue. It is this hope of rescue that is pictured in the Well Shaft. The Well Shaft is the only original means by which one may leave the Descending Passage and gain access to the upper chambers of life. Jesus Christ is the only means by which man may have access to and obtain life. {Ac 4:12}

Jesus has provided this hope to two groups, l) His followers, disciples, and 2) the remainder of mankind. To the first group Jesus invites them to share his life, death and the glory of his resurrection. {Mt 5:10 11Ti 2:12 Ro 6:3-5???} His invitation was to a very privileged life of sacrifice and a special salvation. {Ro 12:1 2Pe 1:4} The second group includes all other members of the human family. God’s promise to them is to be a full restoration to life that they would have enjoyed if they were perfect and could obey God’s commandments. {Ac 3:20-21 Isa 65:17-25} The Apostle Paul explains: ‘For since by man (Adam) came death, by man (Christ Jesus) came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ {50 15:21-22???} By the single act of Jesus’ sacrificial love, his death, he has opened up the way of salvation to all men. The two upper chambers picture the Bible’s two salvations provided ultimately for all men.

The King’s Chamber, made all of red granite, pictures the divine nature that is promised to those faithful to the teachings of Jesus in this present life. But before one may obtain the divine nature, there are steps that must be taken to prove their faithfulness. These are pictured by the Grand Gallery and Ante-Chamber.

The Grand Gallery

The Ante-Chamber

Total dedication to do the will of God is basically a three step process. Jesus states that if any one will follow Him in doing the will of God, he must first deny himself, put off self will, secondly take up his cross, take on the will of God, and thirdly, follow Him, Jesus, in doing the will of God. {Mt 16:24}

Walking the 3.5 foot high passage leading to the King’s Chamber, one has to stoop three times and is able to stand up only twice. The first stooping represents the first of the three steps—self-denial. All earthly hopes and ambitions must be voluntarily put aside before one can take on the will of God. After the first stoop one may stand up in a short space of 21 inches in the Ante-Chamber between the south wall of the Grand Gallery and the Granite Leaf. Stooping under the Granite Leaf represents the second step, the taking up of one’s cross, the taking of the will of God, the presenting of one’s body as a living sacrifice. {Ro 12:1} The red Granite Leaf pictures the divine will of God to which one must abjectly yield and bend and subsequently take as his own if he is to be a follower of Jesus. After stooping under the Granite Leaf, one can stand straight in the larger portion of the Ante-Chamber. This area represents the life of a Christian-who is totally devoted to the.will of God. Here the Christian is instructed by God, that he may obey the third step, follow Jesus. He is to follow Jesus’ example, to follow His teachings, and eventually to follow Him faithfully into His death. This transition of physical death is represented by the third stooping in the path leading to the King’s Chamber. Continuing on into the King’s Chamber one stands up straight to see the red granite glory of the King’s Chamber, picturing heaven itself.

The King’s Chamber

The King’s Chamber is the highest of the three chambers, or destinations. It represents the highest level of existence offered to man by God. Made entirely of red granite, the King’s Chamber fitly represents the heavenly salvation, the divine nature promised to all those who are faithful in following the footsteps of Jesus. {Re 2:10 2Pe 1:4} Immortality, a death proof condition, will be given to those who receive the divine nature. {Ro 2:7 1Co 15:53-54 Joh 5:26}

The King’s Chamber contains the only article of furniture in the Great Pyramid, the Coffer. The lidless Coffer gives the King’s Chamber the ancient name, The Open Tomb of Resurrection. The Coffer, as the ancient name implies, never had a lid. This unique fact pictures Christ’s victory over death itself, opening up the prison house of death, just as the Garden Tomb stone was removed at Jesus’ resurrection in Jerusalem.

The Horizontal Passage

Returning to the beginning of the Grand Gallery, the traveler meets the entrance to the Horizontal Passage. The Horizontal Passage leads from the bottom of the Grand Gallery to the Queen’s Chamber. The Horizontal Passage is separated into two parts by a 20 inch drop, or step, in the floor near the Queen’s Chamber. Sir Flinders Petrie recorded the length of this passage and found the last part of it measured exactly one-seventh the length of the entire passage. This peculiar design proves to be very meaningful in the symbolic picture.

The Horizontal Passage represents the length of the entire plan of God, from the fall of Adam, to the end of the millennial age. The Bible tells us this period is seven thousand years long. The seven thousand years is divided into two parts. The first six thousand years from the fall of Adam to the second advent of Jesus Christ is a period of mankind’s educational turmoil under the reign of sin. During this period, all people learn the oppression of sickness, suffering and finally death incurred as a result of Adam’s sin. This oppression is represented by the 46.5 inch height of the first six-sevenths of the Horizontal Passage. The feeling of walking here is very similar to that experienced when walking in the Descending Passage.

The last thousand years is called the ‘Kingdom of Christ.’ {Eph 5:5} During this period, Jesus Christ and his church will restore all things on earth back to the perfection that existed in the Garden of Eden. {Ac 3:19-21} In that last thousand years, all peoples will learn by experience the joy of obeying God’s law. All will have the opportunity of knowing, understanding and loving their Creator, God. As a result, they will be able to walk uprightly before God.

This last one-thousand years is represented by the 66.5 inch height of the last one-seventh of the Horizontal Passage. The traveler is able to stand upright and walk into the Queen’s Chamber. Thus, the two heights of the Horizontal Passage symbolically contrast mankind’s oppression under the reign of sin in the first 6,000 years, to their liberation from this bondage by Christ and His Church in the following 1,000 years. The reign of Christ and His Church will fulfill God’s promise to Abraham to bless all the families of the earth. {Ge 22:15-18} At the end of the thousand year reign, the Horizontal Passage ends and mankind enters into the condition of perfect human life for all eternity. This is the time in the scriptures when Christ will have put all things under his feet, when He will have accomplished his redemptive work on the behalf of all mankind and will deliver up His rulership unto God. {1Co 15:24-28}

The Queen’s Chamber At the end of the Horizontal Passage the traveler enters the Queen’s Chamber, the third of the passage system’s destinations. Whereas the Pit Room represents Adamic death inherited as a result of Adam’s disobedience and the King’s Chamber represents the Christian’s hope for a heavenly resurrection, the Queen’s Chamber represents perfect human life on earth. It will be the life which Christ will restore to the human race by His reign.

This earthly salvation is commonly referred to in the Bible as the Kingdom of God and is variously described as a paradise on earth. {Isa 2:4 35:1-10 65:17-25 Mic 4:3-5 2Pe 3:13 Re 21:4}

The fact that the Queen’s Chamber is made entirely of white limestone pictures the unique standing mankind will have before God. By virtue of Jesus’ sacrificial death and a successful probationary trial in Christ’s Kingdom, each faithful of mankind will stand unblemished before God. {Isa 1:8} No longer will man die a hereditary death. Man will be judged by his own actions only. {Jer 31:29 30} He will now possess perfect human life with the opportunity to live forever.

Summary

The parallel between the Bible’s description of God’s plan for man and the Great Pyramid’s passages and chambers is both profound and sublime. The harmony between God’s justice and love revealed in the Bible and confirmed in the Pyramid is deep-reaching. God created mankind to live happily on earth according to the laws of His creation. If he had obeyed, mankind would have lived in harmony with his Creator. But sin began man’s descent into death, (Descending Passage and Pit Room). However, God provided two opportunities of escape from man’s descent. The first opportunity was by perfect obedience to God’s perfect Law (The First Ascending Passage and the Granite Plug), but no one could keep that Law. Thus far the upper chambers of life were unattainable.

The second opportunity of escape is found through Jesus’ ransom sacrifice and one’s faith in Him to provide rescue, (Well Shaft and Grotto). Through His ransom sacrifice we see two possible destinations of salvation: a heavenly and an earthly resurrection.

The heavenly resurrection is open to those who now see and appreciate the grandeur and magnificence of the Divine promises, (Grand Gallery), and who go on to become Jesus’ disciples, (The Great Step and the Ante-Chamber). As these are faithful to God’s will in their life, they will be rewarded by God with a heavenly resurrection of immortal life, (the King’s Chamber and its lidless Coffer).

The second destination of salvation is the earthly resurrection. This salvation, also secured for Adam’s family by Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, will be attained by two phases of a person’s life, (Horizontal Passage). The first phase occurs between his birth and death, during the 6000 years of sin, sickness, suffering and death since Adam’s disobedience, (the first six-sevenths of the Horizontal Passage). The second phase occurs between the awakening from the dead of all peoples during Christ’s Kingdom of training and blessing, and the end of His Kingdom, (the last one-seventh of the Horizontal Passage). By learning the lessons of the Kingdom, mankind will know how to obey God perfectly and may enter into perfect eternal life on earth, (the Queen’s Chamber).

The gracious simplicity of God’s plan, explained in the Bible and embodied in the Great Pyramid, is both brilliant and inspiring. Such a message is beautiful in itself. Its confirmation in the Great Pyramid strikes awe into the heart and mind of the thoughtful observer. It stimulates a reverence for such a mighty Creator, Savior and Architect, which strains the powers of the human soul.

CHAPTER 4 Past, Present and Future

Sir Robert Menzies was the first to discover that the passage system of the Great Pyramid is a diagram of Biblical history. He first theorized what has now been very well established, i.e., Biblical history was charted out in the Great Pyramid’s passage system before most of the events ever occurred. From the development of Menzie’s theory we also find that the beginnings, intersections and endings of the passages distinguish the order of the dispensations and ages of Bible history. Thus, the passage system not only symbolizes important events of Biblical history, it likewise organizes them in sequence as they occurred.

The sequence of Bible events displayed by the Great Pyramid is truly remarkable, for it agrees with the Bible’s historical record. This agreement is perfectly logical because the Bible claims that the Great Pyramid is its stone-witness. However, before one can see and appreciate the sequence of Bible history shown forth in the Great Pyramid, Bible history must first be understood from the source, the Bible. The next part of this chapter will condense and outline the sequence of Bible history.

The Bible’s Historical Record

The past, present and future of Biblical history is divided into three major epochs, or dispensations.

The first dispensation lasted from the fall of Adam to the flood. {2Pe 3:6}

The second dispensation started with the flood and ends with the world-wide replacement of human society by the Kingdom of Christ at the time of Christ’s second advent. {Mt 13:30,36-40 2Pe 3:7 Ga 1:4}

The third dispensation begins with Christ’s Kingdom. The scriptures indicate that the third dispensation continues forever. {2Pe 3:13}

The second of these dispensations is divided into minor time periods called ages which characterize the method with which God dealt with man during that particular time period.

The Patriarchal Age

The first age is the Patriarchal Age. During this age, God dealt with the patriarchs of the Old Testament as individuals. God covenanted with Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob based on their trust in Him. {Ge 9:9-17 22:16-18 26:24 35:9-15} He gave them the status of ‘Friend of God’ based upon their works of faith. {Jas 2:21-26 Heb 11:8-9} This age started at the flood and ended at the death of Jacob when the nation of Israel was born. {De 26:5}

The Jewish Age

The second age is the Jewish Age. This age began with the birth of the nation of Israel at he death of Jacob. During this age God dealt with the Jewish people as a group and called them the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel was God’s chosen people, chosen because of the faith of their fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. {1Ch 16:13 Isa 44:1} God told Israel that if they kept the Law they would receive eternal life, but if they disobeyed they would die. {Ro 10:5,Le 18:5 Ne 9:29} The nation of Israel soon found that they could not receive life because they were unable to keep the Law. The Apostle Paul recognized this and wrote, ‘...by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified....’ {Ro 3:20} None of the children of Israel was able to obtain life through the Law because it represented God’s perfect standard.

After some eighteen centuries, there was a perfect man, (God’s son) who was able to obey God’s perfect standard. Jesus Christ was born a Jew, under the Law. He obeyed every requirement of that Law. Therefore, He was entitled to the eternal life promised for such obedience. Rather than keep the eternal life to which He was entitled, He sacrificed it. By His sacrificial death, He brought an end to the Law and opened up a new and living way. {Col 2:14 15 Heb 10:19-20} By Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law, He brought an end to it’s requirements. {Mt 5:17-18} The Jewish Age ended shortly after Jesus’ death when God ended dealing exclusively with Israel.

The Gospel Age

The third age is the Gospel Age. This age began when God started dealing with all mankind based on their faith in Jesus as God’s means of salvation from sin, rather than on obedience to the Jewish Law. The special privilege of this age of the Good News, the Gospel, is the invitation offered to each believer to be one of Jesus’ disciples, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. {Mt 16:24} Each disciple, if faithful to the commitment of discipleship, will receive a heavenly reward of eternal life and will reign with Christ as part of His Church in Christ’s Kingdom. {Ro 8:17 Re 20:4 11Ti 2:12 Joh 10:27-28 Ro 2:7}

The Gospel Age with its special privilege of discipleship, and its reward of heavenly life with Christ, is the last age of the second dispensation. Both the Gospel Age and the second dispensation end with the violent termination of mans’ centuries-old social structure. Brought about and ruled over by Satan, mans’ corrupt social system must fall apart when Satan is bound during the 1,000 years of Christ’s righteous government. {Joh 14:30 12:31 Eph 2:2} This termination is required in order for the world to receive the blessings God has promised for the next dispensation and its ages.

The Third Dispensation

The third dispensation begins with Christ’s second advent. The Bible does not suggest an end to this dispensation. {Isa 45:17 Lu 1:33} We can infer that it is the dispensation of eternal life and therefore has no end.

The Millennial Age

The first age of the third dispensation is the last age described in the Bible. It is the Millennial Age. {Re 20:6} The Millennial Age begins with the second advent of Christ. The work of the Millennial Age is the restoration of the human family to the life, privileges and responsibilities once enjoyed by Adam and Eve before they sinned. {Ac 3:21} Jesus and His faithful disciples will do this work. They will restore all people who wish to obey God’s commands to perfect human life and reconciliation to God.

The Millennial Age ends 1000 years after it begins. At its end, Christ and His Church will return the perfected human family to God. {50 15:25,28???} Following the end of the Millennial Age the scriptures tell of a little season during which all people will be tested by God one last time before He awards each person everlasting perfect human life. {Re 20:3,7-9} After the little season the scriptures indicate mankind will live in a utopia-type condition for eternity. {Isa 11:6-9 65:25}

Corroboration in the Great Pyramid

The corroboration of Bible history is seen in an overview of the entire passage system. The passage system symbology begins with the fall of Adam and ends in any one of the three destinations: death, life or immortality. The passage system, when segmented into its different parts, neatly arranges the dispensations and ages of Bible history.

First Dispensation

The first dispensation lasts from the fall of Adam to the flood. Symbolically, this dispensation begins at the foot of the Great Pyramid’s outer casing and ends at the original entrance. Second Dispensation

The second dispensation begins at the flood and ends at the second advent of Jesus Christ. Symbolically, this dispensation begins at the entrance of the passage system and ends at both the Great Step and the entrance to the Subterranean Chamber.

Patriarchal Age

The Patriarchal Age lasted from the flood to the death of Jacob. At the death of Jacob, God began dealing with the nation of Israel rather than with the individual patriarchs. Symbolically it is fitting that the beginning of this age be marked by the entrance of the passage system, (the Noachian flood), and its end by the Granite Plug, (God’s Law with Israel).

Jewish Age

The Jewish Age is when God dealt exclusively with the nation of Israel. Symbolically, this age began with their Law Covenant with God, (the Granite Plug), and ended at the death of Jesus Christ, (Grand Gallery).

Gospel Age

The Gospel Age begins with the death of Christ and ends at His Second Advent. This age is exclusively represented by the Grand Gallery. The Grand Gallery represents Jesus’ call for discipleship which is held open only in the Gospel Age.

Third Dispensation

The Third Dispensation is shown in each one of the chambers. The Third Dispensation is everlasting, the three chambers picture everlasting conditions:

King’s Chamber immortality,

Queen’s Chamber eternal human life,

Subterranean Chamber eternal death.

The Millennial Age

The Millennial Age is the first age of the Third Dispensation. This 1000 year period will witness the restitution of mankind. Symbolically, the Millennial Age is represented as part of the Horizontal Passage. The Horizontal Passage is found to be a separate picture; apart from the passage system as a whole. This does not take away from the Bible-Pyramid corroboration. In fact, the Horizontal Passage sums-up the entire plan of God.

The Horizontal Passage, divided into its two parts, pictures the two parts of God’s plan of the ages. The last part of the passage pictures the 1000 year recovery program of the Millennial Age. The length of the last part agrees proportionately with the length of the first part which pictures the six thousand years from the fall of Adam to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

In the last part of this passage the average man can stand up straight, while the same man must stoop over for the first part of the passage. This feature contrasts man’s freedom in the Millennial Age under Christ’s righteous government with man’s bondage in the first six thousand years under the curse of death.

Thus we see the past, present and future, as detailed in the Holy Bible, is symbolically outlined in the passages and chambers of this colossal edifice. If one were to stop here in his study of the passage system’s witness of Bible history, he would surely have drawn closer to its full intended meaning. However, just as a well written play comes alive when we see ourselves portrayed in one of the actors, God’s plan of the ages takes on greater significance when we consider our individual standing before our Creator.

[A man must bend over in the first 6/7ths of the Horizontal Passage.

The same man may stand up in the last 7th.]

Man’s Standing Before God

Mankind’s standing before God as a group and as individuals has played an important role in the shaping of Biblical events and is integral in the Bible-Pyramid relationship. Our understanding of this feature of Bible history will help us see where we stand before God as individuals, and what opportunities He has provided for us.

There are three basic planes (levels) of being described in the scriptures. These three planes are as follows:

a) Plane of Human Depravity b) Plane of Human Perfection c) Plane of Spirit Birth

Plane of Human Depravity

Adam, created perfect, was banished from the perfect conditions of the Garden of Eden and assigned to this plane because of his disobedience {Ge 3:17-19 2:17} The entire human race is born onto this plane through their inheritance of the curse put on father Adam. {Ro 5:12} However, all was not lost for the human race. God promised Adam He would send a savior. {Ge 4:15} That Savior was revealed to be Jesus Christ. {Lu 2:10-11}

Plane of Human Perfection

Adam and Jesus are the only two men who were perfect human beings. Adam was created perfect, Jesus was born perfect. {Ge 1:26 Heb 3:7,9,10 5:9}

Jesus enjoyed the same close relationship with God that Adam had and lost in the Garden of Eden. {Mt 3:17} Through Jesus’ perfect capacities, He was capable of perfect obedience to God under the Jewish Law. Jesus did keep the Law and proved to be worthy of everlasting life, but He willingly gave His life at His crucifixion.

Adam lost perfect human life for himself and the entire human race by his disobedience to God. Jesus earned perfect human life for himself and the entire human race by His obedience to God. By Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, mankind’s standing with God will be changed from Human Depravity to Human Perfection. This is how Jesus is the Savior of the world.

Jesus had the ability to redeem all humanity from the depraved plane after His resurrection. However, He is waiting (the length of the Gospel Age) so He can develop a special class and award them a special reward.

During the Gospel Age, Jesus has extended a special invitation to all who appreciate Him as the Savior. This invitation is given to His followers to do much the same with their lives that He did with His, to lay down their lives just as He did, (including their justified human lives purchased for them by Jesus). Jesus promises immortality to those who are ‘...faithful unto death.’ {Re 2:10 1Co 15:53-54}

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