The Tower Of Babel: History Or Prophecy?

The Tower of Babel: History or Prophecy?

By Biblical Researcher & Goodreads Author Eli Kittim 📖

The New World Order

For decades, atheists, anarchists, and irreligious organizations——such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation & the American Atheists——have tried to ban religious freedom and religious expression from society, culture, education, and the media. And, by and large, these secular humanists have won that fight. The Bible was removed from American classrooms in the 1960s, and shortly thereafter prayer and the Ten Commandments were also removed.

The current shift toward atheism in America and Europe is largely due to these political endeavours. And in the globalist agenda——as propounded by Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum, & António Guterres (the Secretary-General of the United Nations)——religion plays a subordinate role in the upcoming one-world government.

In fact, powerful leaders have been conspiring for decades. We’re talking about a global dictatorship that has been in the making since the founding of the Federal Reserve in the early part of the 20th century. It has been affectionately called by Henry Kissinger, George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, & Gordon Brown, among others, as “the new world order.” It’s not a conspiracy theory since many US presidents, British prime ministers, and high level officials——including Charles, Prince of Wales——have explicitly referred to it as an ideal future government that they’re all working towards as if “they are one people” (cf. Genesis 11.6)! This is no longer a conspiracy theory since this totalitarian world government——which has now reared its ugly head by censoring the masses through social media-driven panic, fake news, government lockdowns, and forced mask and passport mandates——is emerging before our very eyes. Surprisingly, the Bible foresaw this attack on religion, and especially on Christianity, and recorded it in Scripture. Psalm 2.1-3 (NRSV) reads:

Why do the nations conspire, and the

peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth

set themselves, and the rulers take counsel

together, against the Lord and his anointed,

saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,

and cast their cords from us.’

The Tower of Babel & the One-World Government

The modern discoveries & innovations in virology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, genetics, molecular biology, as well as the harnessing of nuclear energy are seemingly implied in the following Biblical excerpt from Genesis 11.6:

and this is only the beginning of what they

will do; nothing that they propose to do will

now be impossible for them.

Might the scheme to “confuse their language” be a form of electromagnetic pulse attack known as EMP? An EMP is a massive burst of electromagnetic energy that can be generated using nuclear weapons. It creates an enormous magnetic field that can cause widespread damage & disruption to electrical and power grids within range. According to Peter Pry, a defense analyst with the Congressional EMP Commission:

You can use a single weapon to collapse

the entire North American power grid. …

Once the electric grid goes down,

everything would collapse … Everything

depends on electricity: telecommunications,

transportation, even water.

This is certainly one way to “confuse” or disrupt all forms of communication.

Since the towers or ziggurats that ancient people built were no match for the modern skyscrapers, might the Tower-of-Babel narrative be a *prophecy* instead of an origin myth about why people speak different languages? Let’s look at the evidence. The Hebrew Bible (Gen. 11.4) says that the people built a tower (וּמִגְדָּל֙ ū·miḡ·dāl) whose top (וְרֹאשׁ֣וֹ wə·rō·šōw) is in the heavens, or will reach into heaven (בַשָּׁמַ֔יִם ḇaš·šā·ma·yim)! Have the ancients ever built a tower that soared above the clouds? Hardly! However, the Jeddah Tower (aka Kingdom Tower), currently built in Saudi Arabia, will be 1 km (3,281 ft) high, “whose top” will literally be “in the heavens.” And it is appropriately called: a “tower.”

Notice also that many of today’s highest skyscrapers are actually called “towers” and they do, in fact, reach the clouds: the Jin Mao Tower, in Shanghai, the Willis Tower, in Chicago, the Petronas Towers, in Kuala Lumpur, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, even the Empire State Building, in New York City. Here’s a shot of the Empire State Building peeking above the clouds!

The Prophecy Concerning Babylon the Great

Revelation 18.8-21

‘therefore her plagues will come in a single

day — pestilence and mourning and famine

— and she will be burned with fire; for

mighty is the Lord God who judges her.’ And

the kings of the earth, who committed

fornication and lived in luxury with her, will

weep and wail over her when they see the

smoke of her burning; they will stand far off,

in fear of her torment, and say, ‘Alas, alas,

the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For

in one hour your judgment has come.’ …

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a

great millstone and threw it into the sea,

saying, ‘With such violence Babylon the

great city will be thrown down, and will be

found no more.’

Conclusion

All of the evidence——including the language of the Hebrew Bible——supports an *apocalyptic* rather than a pseudo-historical Tower-of-Babel. The so-called “confusion” or disruption of communication may indicate the coming world Judgment in the form of EMP attacks & nuclear weapons, as alluded to in Daniel 12.1, Joel 2.31, Zechariah 14.12, Matthew 24.6-21, Luke 21.20-26, & Revelation 6.12-15 (i.e. the Great Tribulation). And the prophecy is set to take place when the whole world will be united as “one people” (Genesis 11.6), or one-world government!

Genesis 11.4-9:

Then they said, ‘Come, let us build

ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in

the heavens, and let us make a name for

ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered

abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’

The Lord came down to see the city and the

tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord

said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they

have all one language; and this is only the

beginning of what they will do; nothing that

they propose to do will now be impossible

for them. Come, let us go down, and

confuse their language there, so that they

will not understand one another's speech.’

So the Lord scattered them abroad from

there over the face of all the earth, and they

left off building the city. Therefore it was

called Babel, because there the Lord

confused the language of all the earth; and

from there the Lord scattered them abroad

over the face of all the earth.

—

Are the Four Living Creatures of Revelation Alien, Human, or Angelic?

By Author Eli Kittim

——-

Ezekiel’s Account

In the Old Testament (OT), Ezekiel’s book describes the prophet’s “visions of God” (1.1), especially those of four living creatures. Ezekiel recounts it as follows (1.4-5 NRSV):

As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the

north: a great cloud with brightness around

it and fire flashing forth continually, and in

the middle of the fire, something like

gleaming amber. In the middle of it was

something like four living creatures. This

was their appearance: they were of human

form.

What Ezekiel saw were not actual creatures or beasts but rather figures that resembled them. He describes seeing the “likeness” or “similitude” (דְּמ֖וּת də·mūṯ) that resembled four (Heb. חַיּוֹת ḥayyōṯ) living creatures or beasts. Then, the prophet begins to describe their appearance (מַרְאֵֽיהֶ֔ן mar·’ê·hen). Ezekiel 1.5 says that they had the likeness of ’ā·ḏām (i.e. of a man or a human being). Ezekiel 1.6-7 further describes them as follows:

Each had four faces, and each of them had

four wings. Their legs were straight, and the

soles of their feet were like the sole of a

calf's foot; and they sparkled like burnished

bronze.

Ezekiel’s narrative doesn't appear to describe human beings but rather some kind of extraterrestrial (or transhuman) creatures or beasts (1.5). Furthermore, no human being has straight legs or “the sole of a calf’s foot” (v. 7). However, with regard to these physical descriptions, including their feet that “sparkled like burnished bronze,” I have tried to show elsewhere that this imagery may be associated with Jesus Christ (cf. Rev. 1.13-15). See my article, “Christ The Terminator: Half Man Half Machine”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/653464965934661632/christ-the-terminator-half-man-half-machine

Eli of Kittim

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Ezekiel also mentions that “they had human hands” (v. 8). Then, in vv. 10-11 he says:

As for the appearance of their faces: the

four had the face of a human being, the

face of a lion on the right side, the face of

an ox on the left side, and the face of an

eagle; such were their faces.

This symbolism is reiterated in Revelation 4.6-7. As we will see, Ezekiel’s “creatures” of the tetramorph, which are depicted in animal forms, appear to be different portraits of the Messiah, even though in the Book of Revelation they seem to be completely separate from him.

The 4 living creatures are depicted as winged figures, which are archaic symbols of divinity. The lion seemingly represents Christ (Rev. 5.5), alluding to his royal stature as conqueror! The ox appears to illustrate Christ’s sacrifice. In Mt 11.28-30, Christ wants us to heed his warning so as to be equally yoked:

Come to me, all you that are weary and are

carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you

rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from

me; for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls. For my

yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The wooden yoke or beam that is typically used between a pair of oxen seems to represent the cross of Christ as well as the injunction to take up our cross and follow him, and to unite ourselves to him (Mt. 16.24). Finally, the eagle depicts the divinity of Christ (cf. Rev. 8.13).

An alternative but Christ-based model of the tetramorph is the patristic interpretation, which depicts the four living creatures as symbols of the 4 evangelists’ accounts of Christ. There are different versions but most follow the description of Epiphanius’ (310-403) account:

Matthew’s gospel portrays the man.

Mark’s gospel depicts the lion.

Luke’s gospel represents the ox.

John’s gospel symbolizes the eagle.

Notice the OT description of the four living creatures in which “all four were full of eyes all around” (Ezek. 1.18). Compare this verse with that from the New Testament (NT) concerning the Lamb of God “standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes” (Rev. 5.6). In fact, Ezek. 1.28 clarifies and summarizes the aforesaid vision by making the following declaration:

This was the appearance of the likeness of

the glory of the Lord.

So, from a Christian perspective, this sounds very much like Christ the Lord!

——-

The Apocalyptic Vision of Revelation 4 through 6

In the NT, the four figures of Rev. 4.6 that are “full of eyes in front and behind” (cf. Ezek. 1.18) are called animals or creatures (τέσσαρα ζῷα), not angelic beings. As for the “twenty-four elders” of Rev. 4.4, they are discussed at length in my article “Who Are the Twenty-Four Elders of Revelation Chapter 4?”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/117722359047/who-are-the-twenty-four-elders-of-revelation

The Book of Revelation gives us additional information about the function of these four “creatures” and what they actually do. Apparently, they act as models and influencers of worship (Rev. 4.8-11), while crying a triple invocation of holiness:

Day and night without ceasing they sing,

‘Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty,

who was and is and is to come.’ And

whenever the living creatures give glory and

honor and thanks to the one who is seated

on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

the twenty-four elders fall before the one

who is seated on the throne and worship

the one who lives forever and ever; they

cast their crowns before the throne, singing,

‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to

receive glory and honor and power, for you

created all things, and by your will they

existed and were created.’

A major difference between the Ezekiel account and the one in Revelation 4 is that, in the latter, the living creatures are completely separated and distinct from Christ!

The similarities can be explained by the principle of “expositional constancy.” This principle is based on the notion that an image or idiom is employed in the same way (consistently) throughout the Bible. The fact that the same symbols are used both for the Messiah and the living creatures suggests an intimate connection between them. Thus, the images of messianic typology in the OT seem to be related to those in the NT.

Moreover, notice that the living creatures are explicitly described as “animals” (Gk. ζῷα), not as part of the angelic host. Any inference on our part to associate them with the cherubim or any of the other orders of angels is unbiblical because it cannot be substantiated. In point of fact, no angel has ever been described as an animal (Gk. ζῷον) in the Bible! However, a living being, such as a human being, can also be defined as a creature. In fact, in his work entitled “Politics,” Aristotle says that “man is, by nature, a political animal.” Thus, the NT references to ζῷα or creatures may be allusions to human beings, and especially to the humanity of Jesus.

In the Abrahamic religions, the seraphim are considered to be heavenly beings with either two or three pairs of wings and functioning as throne guardians of God. They’re traditionally known as the burning ones who praise God night and day by means of the Trisagion liturgical hymn (i.e. Thrice Holy): “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). In Christian angelology, the seraphim are considered among the highest-ranking heavenly beings, comprising pure light, who seem to have direct communication with God. Some think that they’re an exalted order of angels aka cherubim. But despite the cherubim’s proximity to the throne of God, there are notable differences. For example, the cherubim have 4 wings whereas the seraphim have 6 wings, and the latter fly overhead whereas the former do not. Therefore, these disparate Biblical passages do not seem to depict the same phenomena or the same living creatures. For instance, in Isaiah 6.2 these celestial beings are called śə·rā·p̄îm (Seraphim), not beasts. Similarly, the cherubim are called hak·kə·ru·ḇîm (Gen. 3.24), not creatures (cf. Rev. 19.4 where the 4 living creatures are called ζῷα or “animals”). So, even though the 4 living creatures are, in some respects, reminiscent of the seraph in Isa. 6.2-3, they have vastly different depictions.

Are the Four Living Creatures UFOs?

Given that Ezekiel’s account has sometimes been interpreted as a UFO sighting, the animal-like “creatures” that are neither fully human nor decidedly angelic could therefore qualify as “aliens,” according to the Ancient astronaut theorists. This is the pseudoscientific hypothesis that intelligent, extraterrestrial beings from other planets visited the earth in prehistoric times using technologically advanced spaceships. In this instance, they’re basing their theory on various Biblical accounts, such as the one in Genesis 6.2 in which “the sons of God” made contact with human beings who gave birth to giants (called “Nephilim”). These events occurred “when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them” (Gen. 6.4).

But the Ancient astronaut theorists are especially interested in the extraordinary account of Ezekiel chapter 1. Ezekiel 1.13 seems to be suggesting some type of spacecraft propulsion, including “something like a wheel within a wheel” (v. 16), not to mention various other references to “wheels” and to *flight* (vv. 19-20), as well as “something like a dome” or a sphere on top of them (v. 22). These descriptions seem to indicate some kind of advanced alien spacecraft. Not only are the images reminiscent of a UFO but also the “creatures” themselves appear to be alien in that they’re neither human nor angelic in nature. So, the question of their origin deserves a legitimate biblical investigation.

However, Ezekiel clearly states that he had a vision (1.1), not a close encounter of the third kind. Ezekiel’s account, therefore, comprises a spiritual experience, not a physical contact with aliens. In fact, Ezekiel heard audible voices from heaven and describes the experience as “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord (1.28). As for the “creatures” themselves (based on the imagery that is used), they seem to be identified with Christ to such an extent that it is difficult to separate the two. That’s because the living creatures are the royal emissaries of Christ! As you will see, they’re part of the exclusive elite group that governs heaven. And they’re part of the glorious throne room of God. Here’s an example. In the midst of the throne——between the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders (the inner circle of God)——is Christ (5.6). Revelation 5.8-10 reads:

When he [Christ] had taken the scroll, the

four living creatures and the twenty-four

elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a

harp and golden bowls full of incense,

which are the prayers of the saints. They

sing a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the

scroll and to open its seals, for you were

slaughtered and by your blood you

ransomed for God saints from every tribe

and language and people and nation; you

have made them to be a kingdom and

priests serving our God, and they will reign

on earth.’

Notice, the text doesn’t say that by his blood Christ ransomed for God extraterrestrials from the multiverse, from every solar system, planet, and alien life form. On the contrary, it says that those that Christ redeemed “will reign on earth.”

The 4 Living Creatures Have a Surpassing Knowledge of God Which Raises Them to Divine Status

And when Christ took the book, the 4 creatures and the 24 elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb and sang a new song of praise and thanksgiving. It appears as if these holy congregations are presided over by these high-level government officials, as it were, who appear to be the highest-ranking officers or high priests in God’s inner circle. They have direct access to God. They seem to be next in rank to Christ and are, perhaps, empowered to serve as ecclesiastical authorities in his absence. The 4 living creatures are God’s elite group who lead the myriads of angels in prayer (5.14), who preside over the dissemination of prophecy, including the dispensation of judgment, as in the breaking of the 7 seals in Revelation 6.

Notice the chain of command. Christ opens the seals and the 4 living creatures, in turn, make the official proclamations. For example, during the breaking of the first seal, the first living creature summons forth, “as with a voice of thunder, ‘come’ “ (6.1). The second creature also commands “come,” in relation to the 2nd seal, the red horse (6.3). The same thing occurs with the 3rd seal (6.5). Then, in Rev. 6.6, the 4 living creatures pronounce the judgment! And, once again, the 4th seal is announced by the 4th creature (6.7). Based on their function and position, the four living creatures appear to be the highest order of celestial beings in the upper echelons of God’s government.

But it remains enigmatic why they are referred to as creatures. Given that they are the highest form of life, they might appear to us as strange and, perhaps, even terrifying creatures. Let’s not forget what God says in Exod. 33.20:

you cannot see my face; for no one shall

see me and live.

After all, God, the Son of God, and the four living creatures are all extraterrestrials. They are not human. Christ is the only extraterrestrial who becomes human in order to redeem humanity. But he, too, like Superman, “is not from this world” (Jn 18.36). The Matthew Henry Commentary on Revelation 4 says that by mentioning the many eyes of the living creatures, scripture is denoting their “sagacity, vigilance, and circumspection.” In other words, they seem to possess powers that are close to those of God!

As to the identity of the 4 creatures, John Gill’s exposition of the Bible (Rev. 4.6) mistakenly says:

the angels cannot be intended, because

these four living creatures are said to be

redeemed by the blood of Christ, and are

distinguished from angels in (Revelation

5:8-11).

Although the angels are certainly not intended to describe them, nowhere is there any evidence that the four living creatures were redeemed by the blood of Christ! But Gill’s commentary is correct in refuting the notion that the 4 creatures represent the evangelists, because “it makes John to be one of the four creatures which he saw.” John Gill’s commentary also understands the important administrative functions of the 4 living creatures with regard to Judgment. It says:

and one of them is said to give to the seven

angels the vials of wrath to pour out …

(Revelation 15:7).

John Gill’s exposition of the Bible (Rev. 4.6) correctly states that the four living creatures cannot possibly be the tribulation saints:

these four living creatures are distinguished

from the hundred and forty four thousand

on Mount Zion, in ( Revelation 14:1

Revelation 14:3).

Thus, the four living creatures are neither angels nor men.

——-

Conclusion

According to the Genesis 1 creation account, God’s focus is predominantly on the earth, not on other planets, solar systems, or galaxies. What is more, in Colossians 1.16, the author——most likely Paul, since the letter’s authenticity is still staunchly defended by many credible scholars——gives us a short briefing on “all things in heaven and on earth [that] were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers.” The only other classes of beings that are mentioned, other than humans, are the spiritual beings which have been traditionally grouped into three celestial orders (from highest to lowest): the Seraphim/Cherubim & Thrones; the Dominions/Powers; and the Principalities/Archangels & Angels. No other life forms are mentioned.

In fact, Revelation 21 shows that the destruction of the universe is associated with a recreation of “a new heaven and a new earth” (v. 1). But this is all done with humanity in mind (v. 3):

And I heard a loud voice from the throne

saying, ‘See, the home of God is among

mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be

his peoples, and God himself will be with

them.’

The text doesn’t say that all life forms will eventually unite and live on earth. It only mentions mortals (Gk. ἀνθρώπων). In fact, there’s no Biblical evidence that God created any other alien life-forms. Those who claim that Hebrews 1.2 refers to many worlds are in error because the Greek term αἰῶνας refers to ages or cycles of time, not to physical worlds. It’s a mistranslation. Moreover, Christ redeemed humans, not aliens. He himself became man (Jn 1.14; Phil. 2.7) and will one day resurrect *humans* (not extraterrestrials). God's plan of redemption (Eph. 1.7-14) is exclusively for human beings. In fact, the entire universe will be destroyed and remade so that redeemed humans (not aliens) can inhabit it, according to the text.

At any rate, God “is not from this world” (Jn 18.36), and neither are the 4 living creatures. So, although there is no evidence of physical extraterrestrials roaming around on other planets, the invisible kingdom of God is itself of extraterrestrial origin. And since the four living creatures are deeply identified with Christ, and are neither angels nor men, they might be the highest form of life ever created by God, ranking above the angelic host, second only to the Trinity!

——-

Is Open Theism Biblical?

By Bible researcher Eli Kittim

Open Theism

“Open theism” (aka openness theology) is a theological movement which holds that God doesn’t exercise complete sovereignty over the universe but allows it to be “open” to the contribution of human free will. Put differently, because God cannot possibly know the future in an exhaustive sense, the future is not predetermined by him. Paradoxically, even though open theists seem to affirm God’s omniscience, they nevertheless deny God’s foreknowledge and claim that he doesn’t know everything that will occur. In his book “The Grace of God, The Will of Man,” Clark Pinnock, a Christian theologian and proponent of open theism, writes:

Decisions not yet made do not exist

anywhere to be known even by God. They

are potential— yet to be realized but not yet

actual. God can predict a great deal of

what we will choose to do, but not all of it,

because some of it remains hidden in the

mystery of human freedom … God too faces

possibilities in the future, and not only

certainties. God too moves into a future not

wholly known …

Similarly, in his book “Letters from a Skeptic,” author Greg Boyd, a leading advocate of open theism, explains it thusly:

In the Christian view God knows all of reality

—everything there is to know. But to assume

He knows ahead of time how every person

is going to freely act assumes that each

person’s free activity is already there to

know—even before he freely does it! But it’s

not. If we have been given freedom, we

create the reality of our decisions by

making them. And until we make them, they

don’t exist. Thus, in my view at least, there

simply isn’t anything to know until we make

it there to know. So God can’t foreknow the

good or bad decisions of the people He

creates until He creates these people and

they, in turn, create their decisions.

Open theism is basically a new model through which scholars have tried to explain the relation of God’s foreknowledge to the free will of human beings. Their argument runs as follows: humankind could not really be free if God knew absolutely everything pertaining to the future. And since open theists believe that human beings are completely free, it follows that God cannot absolutely know all there is to know about the future. This argument would carry over to our understanding of Biblical eschatology and would suggest not only that the future is unknowable, but also that God doesn’t know the future.

Invalid Arguments

However, it seems to me that open theists are committing a logical fallacy, namely, equating the foreknowledge of God with determinism. If that were the case, their conclusion would be correct, to wit, that a deterministic foreknowledge of God would necessarily be incompatible with human free will. But the premise is misconceived. Foreknowledge in and of itself doesn’t necessarily presuppose determinism. Just because God can foresee the future doesn’t mean that he causes it. Calvinism, of course, is the other extreme which maintains that God is the cause of all events, thereby postulating hard determinism without apologies. However, If we, as free agents, were to act in whichever way we chose, and God could foresee our decision, God’s foreknowledge and human free will would be perfectly compatible!

What is more, Open Theism asserts that although God knows all truths, there are certain possibilities which cannot yet be established about the “open” and undetermined future, and thus even God himself doesn’t know their outcome. But this, too, seems to be a logical fallacy. They create a strawman argument in which they falsely equate foreknowledge with logical impossibilities. Once again, the premise is invalid. Just because the “truth” of what will happen is based on many complex, contingent factors, and is unknowable to human beings, doesn’t necessarily imply that it’s equally impossible for God to know it. On the contrary, it wouldn’t be considered illogical for God to know the outcome of any given event. Yet Open theists claim that it’s as logically impossible for God to create squared circles or make 2 + 2 = 5 as it is for him to know the future. But foreknowledge is not a logical impossibility like a squared circle or a married bachelor.

This, of course, can take the form of a very deep and protracted philosophical discussion about the nature of free will and the essence of God’s sovereignty, namely, to what extent are we free agents, and so on. According to open theism, instead of God exhaustively knowing the course of history in toto, God gradually gains knowledge of events as they occur. This is viewed as the “open view of God” since it considers God as open and receptive to new realities. Thus, in contradistinction to classical theism, open theism suggests that God is, in some sense, dependent on the material world to enhance his knowledge.

There is, however, a contradiction in this premise. How could one compare God’s learning curve from the point of view of time if God is said to be timeless? And how could a transcendent God possibly be dependent upon an “inferior reality” (as both Paul and Plato put it) to gain knowledge?

Bible Proofs of God’s Immutability

Opponents of open theism accuse the latter of employing anthropopathisms (i.e. the practice of ascribing human emotions to God). Moreover, Open theist interpretations of the Bible comprise anthropomorphic characterizations of God as “changing His mind” or “seeming to gain knowledge” or even “being surprised” (see Gen. 6.6; 22.12; Exod. 32.14; Jon. 3.10). But these passages should not be read out of context. God is simply trying to describe himself in ways that we can relate to. God’s language of being disappointed with humanity doesn’t mean their actions caught him by surprise. The idea that he “changes His mind” is to illustrate in human terms that he responds to human behavior and allows our free will to make an impact, especially through prayer, not that he literally is unaware of future events. In fact, the immutability of God can be demonstrated Biblically. For example, in Malachi 3.6 (NRSV), God declares “For I the Lord do not change.” In Numbers 23.19, Scripture reads:

God is not a human being, that he should

lie, or a mortal, that he should change his

mind. Has he promised, and will he not do

it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it.

1 Samuel 15.29 says:

the Glory of Israel will not recant or change

his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he

should change his mind.

Bible Proofs of Future Prophecies

Not a few scholars think that in dismissing classical theism’s doctrine of God’s exhaustive foreknowledge, open theism is dangerously reinterpreting the God of the Bible. In this radical re-envisioning of the God of Scripture, how can a clueless God, concerning the future, guarantee the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies? Yet contrary to this position, Psalm 139 verses 4 & 16 read:

Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord,

you know it completely … Your eyes beheld

my unformed substance. In your book were

written all the days that were formed for

me, when none of them as yet existed.

How could God predict explicit details about Jesus Christ in the Hebrew Bible if he doesn’t even know what the future holds? And, more importantly, how could God possibly guarantee our salvation if he doesn’t have the slightest clue about the future? Furthermore, did God lie in Isaiah 46.9-10 where he declared that he can see the future?:

I am God, and there is no one like me,

declaring the end from the beginning and

from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ‘My purpose shall stand, and I will

fulfil my intention.’

Conclusion

Open Theism is an attempt to balance God’s foreknowledge and humanity’s free will. Open theism’s conclusion is that God doesn’t possess an infallible knowledge of the future. But just as Calvinism is an extreme form of “theological determinism,” turning humans into pre-programmed robots, so open theism goes to the opposite extreme by turning God into a human being who hasn’t the foggiest idea of what the future looks like. Besides rejecting the credible evidence of eschatology and Bible prophecy, on which our faith and hope depend, open theism ultimately fails to demonstrate its key points both scripturally and philosophically!

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A Critique of Form Criticism

By Bible Researcher & Award-Winning Goodreads Author Eli Kittim 🎓

What is Form Criticism?

Form criticism is a discipline of Bible studies that views the Bible as an anthology of conventional stories that were originally transmitted orally and later codified in writing. Therefore, form criticism tries to identify scriptural literary patterns and trace them back to their particular oral tradition. Hermann Gunkel (1862–1932), a German Old Testament Bible scholar, was the founder of form criticism. He was also one of the leading proponents of the “history of religions school,” which employed the methods of historical criticism. While the methods used in *comparative religion* studies were certainly important, these liberal theologians nevertheless began their formal inquiry with the theoretical presupposition that Christianity was equal to all other religions and they, therefore, rejected its claims to absolute truth. However, this underlying presumption involves circular thinking and confirmation bias, which is the habit of interpreting new evidence as confirmation of one's preexisting beliefs or theories. Despite the usefulness of the approach, form criticism involves a great deal of speculation and conjecture, not to mention blatant unbelief. One of its biggest proponents in the twentieth century was German scholar Rudolf Bultmann (1884—1976). Similar to other form-critics who had a bias against supernaturalism, he too believed that the Bible needed to be “demythologized,” that is, divested of its miraculous narratives and mythical elements.

Form criticism is valuable in identifying a text's genre or conventional literary form, such as narrative, poetry, wisdom, or prophecy. It further seeks to find the “Sitz im Leben,” namely, the context in which a text was created, as well as its function and purpose at that time. Recently, form criticism's insistence on oral tradition has gradually lost support in Old Testament studies, even though it’s still widely used in New Testament studies.

Oral Tradition Versus Biblical Inspiration

Advocates of form criticism have suggested that the Evangelists drew upon oral traditions when they composed the New Testament gospels. Thus, form criticism presupposes the existence of earlier oral traditions that influenced later literary writings. Generally speaking, the importance of historical continuity in the way traditions from the past influenced later generations is certainly applicable to literary studies. But in the case of the New Testament, searching for a preexisting oral tradition would obviously contradict its claim of biblical inspiration, namely, that “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3.16). It would further imply that the evangelists——as well as the epistolary authors, including Paul——were not inspired. Rather, they were simply informed by earlier oral traditions. But this hypothesis would directly contradict an authentic Pauline epistle which claims direct inspiration from God rather than historical continuity or an accumulation of preexisting oral sources. Paul writes in Galatians 1.11-12 (NRSV):

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters,

that the gospel that was proclaimed by me

is not of human origin; for I did not receive it

from a human source, nor was I taught it,

but I received it through a revelation of

Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the gospels were written in Greek. The writers are almost certainly non-Jews who are copying and quoting extensively from the Greek Old Testament, not the Jewish Bible, in order to confirm their revelations. They obviously don’t seem to have a command of the Hebrew language, otherwise they would have written their gospels in Hebrew. And all of them are writing from outside Palestine.

By contrast, the presuppositions of Bible scholarship do not square well with the available evidence. Scholars contend that the oral traditions or the first stories about Jesus began to circulate shortly after his purported death, and that these oral traditions were obviously in Aramaic. But here’s the question. If a real historical figure named Jesus existed in a particular geographical location, which has its own unique language and culture, how did the story about him suddenly get transformed and disseminated in an entirely different language within less than 20 years after his purported death? Furthermore, who are these sophisticated Greek writers who own the rights to the story, as it were, and who pop out of nowhere, circulating the story as if it’s their own, and what is their particular relationship to this Aramaic community? Where did they come from? And what happened to the Aramaic community and their oral traditions? It suddenly disappeared? It sounds like a non sequitur! Given these inconsistencies, why should we even accept that there were Aramaic oral traditions? Given that none of the books of the New Testament were ever written in Palestine, it seems well-nigh impossible that the Aramaic community ever existed.

Besides, if Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews who studied at the feet of Gamaliel, surely we would expect him to be steeped in the Hebrew language. Yet, even Paul is writing in sophisticated Greek and is trying to confirm his revelations by quoting extensively not from the Hebrew Bible (which we would expect) but from the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament. Now that doesn’t make any sense at all! Since Paul’s community represents the earliest Christian community that we know of, and since his letters are the earliest known writings about Jesus, we can safely say that the earliest dissemination of the Jesus story comes not from Aramaic oral traditions but from Greek literary sources!

Conclusion

It doesn’t really matter how many sayings of Jesus Paul, or anyone else, reiterates because it’s irrelevant in proving the impact of oral tradition. The point is that all the sayings of Jesus may have come by way of revelation (cf. Gal. 1.11-12; 2 Tim. 3.16)!

And why are the earliest New Testament writings in Greek? That certainly would challenge the Aramaic hypothesis. How did the Aramaic oral tradition suddenly become a Greek literary tradition within less than 20 years after Jesus’ supposed death? That kind of thing just doesn’t happen over night. It’s inexplicable, to say the least.

Moreover, who are these Greek authors who took over the story from the earliest days? And what happened to the alleged Aramaic community? Did it suddenly vanish, leaving no traces behind? It might be akin to the Johannine community that never existed, according to Dr. Hugo Mendez. It therefore sounds like a conspiracy of sorts.

And why aren’t Paul’s letters in Aramaic or Hebrew? By the way, these are the earliest writings on Christianity that we have. They’re written roughly two decades or less after Christ’s alleged death. Which Aramaic oral sources are the Pauline epistles based on? And if so, why the need to quote the Greek Septuagint in order to demonstrate the fulfillment of New Testament Scripture? And why does Paul record his letters in Greek? The Aramaic hypothesis just doesn’t hold up. Nor do the so-called “oral traditions.”

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How Old Was Abraham When He Left Haran?

By Bible Researcher Eli Kittim 🎓

The Apparent Contradiction

There’s a seeming contradiction in the Bible concerning Abraham’s age when he left Haran. The apparent contradiction is as follows. If Terah died when he was 205 years old, but fathered Abram when he was 70, then Abram must have been 135 years old when his father Terah died (as Gen. 11.26, 32 suggest), not 75, as Gen. 12.4 indicates. For the story to work without any discrepancies, Terah would literally have to be 130 years old when he fathered Abram. But it seemed as if he were only 70 years old. Hence the apparent contradiction. Below are the relevant citations that appear to contradict each other.

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Genesis 12.4 (ESV):

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him,

and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-

five years old when he departed from

Haran.

Acts 7.2:

And Stephen said: ‘Brothers and fathers,

hear me. The God of glory appeared to our

father Abraham when he was in

Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.’

Acts 7.4:

Then he went out from the land of the

Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his

father died, God removed him from there

into this land in which you are now living.

Genesis 11.26:

When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered

Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Genesis 11.32:

The days of Terah were 205 years, and

Terah died in Haran.

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Apologetic Exegesis

The key passage is Gen. 11.26. The Hebrew text doesn’t explicitly say that *when* Terah was 70 years old he begat Abram. Rather, it puts it thusly (Gen. 11.26 KJV):

And Terah lived seventy years, and begat

Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Nowhere is it explicitly mentioned that Terah had all 3 children when he was 70 years old. Nor is there any direct evidence that these children were triplets, or that they were born on the exact same date, month, or year. The verse in Gen. 11.26 merely indicates that after Terah reached a certain age——namely, 70 years old——he began to father children. But exactly when these children were actually born is unknown. The only thing that’s clear from Gen. 11.26 is that they were born after Terah had reached a certain age.

It’s quite possible, for example, that some of his children could have been born when Terah was 130 years old. Nothing in the text would contradict the timing of such a birth. As long as Terah fathered at least one child after he was 70, the rest could have been born anytime between Terah’s 70th and 205th birthday.

The order in which the names of Terah’s sons are listed may not reflect the precise chronological order in which the children were actually born. The text is simply indicating their order of importance. Given that Abram is a key figure in the Old Testament and the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, he’s obviously mentioned first:

there is yet a question whether Abram was

born first as listed, or perhaps he is listed

first because he was the wisest similar to

Shem, Ham, and Jafeth where Shem was

not the oldest, but was the wisest. … the

Talmud leaves the above question open.

(Wikipedia)

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Conclusion

Actually, Abram could have been 75 years old when he left Haran, as the text indicates (Gen. 12.4). And maybe he did leave Haran “after his father died” (Acts 7.4) at the age of 205 (Gen. 11.32). There is no contradiction with regard to the dates. The assumed contradiction is actually based on fallacious reasoning and speculation. It’s based on an eisegesis, that is, a misinterpretation of the text. Readers often assume that the text is telling us that Abram was born *when* Terah was 70 years old. But that’s a conjecture. The text doesn’t say that at all. All the text says is that once Terah reached a certain age, he began fathering sons. But exactly when each and every son was born is unknown.

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If the Bible Warns Against Future False Christs, then How Is the End-Times Earthly Messiah Not a Deception?

By Author Eli Kittim 🔎

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False Christs & False Prophets

The New Testament warns that the end of days will be characterized by great deception. Matthew 24 tells us that many false christs will appear, saying “I am the Christ” (v. 5), and will deceive many. And many false prophets will also appear (v. 11). If they tell you “here is the Christ,” don’t believe them, for many false Christs & false prophets will perform great signs so as to deceive even the elect (vv. 23-24). In the text, Christ says (Mt 24.25-26 NRSV):

Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if

they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the

wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, ‘Look!

He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.

But one may raise the question, “if the Bible warns against future false Christs, then how is the end-times earthly messiah not a deception?”

I will try to answer this question using an excerpt from my book, “The Little Book of Revelation,” chapter 11, the section entitled “THE CORPSE: A MISSING LINK IN BIBLICAL EXEGESIS,” pp. 237-238:

// However, we must challenge the reader to go further. Because if you do not understand the specific timeline of these end-time events, the biblical script will become very confusing. For example, Matthew 24:23 reads, “if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him.” Some argue that this verse exhorts us to distrust any earthly Messiah that might appear in the last days. But this is simply not true. For one thing, Christ himself appears for the first time in the last days! (Heb. 1:2, 9:26; Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:9-10; Acts 3:20-21; Rev. 12:5). Not to mention that the Jews themselves are still awaiting the Messiah. Furthermore, Matthew’s gospel sets up the context of this exhortation in its proper chronological order. For instance, notice that Matthew first introduces Daniel’s prophecy of “the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION . . . standing in the holy place” (Matt. 24:15) as the backdrop for this exhortation. This event is set to take place when the antichrist will take “his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess. 2:4).

Next, we are warned that when this event transpires, we should “flee to the mountains; . . . for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall” (Matt. 24:16-21). But we must remember that Christ will most certainly die before the antichrist could reveal himself to the world (Matt. 24:28). Paul writes, “He [Christ] who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed” (2 Thess. 2:7-8). That Christ’s arrival precedes that of the antichrist is further demonstrated in John’s gospel, Jesus says, “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (14:30, cf. Dan. 9:26). Hence, “the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION” serves as the context in which the previous exhortation was made. So during this particular time period, we are rightly urged to distrust any physical being that claims to be the Messiah.\\

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The Day of Christ

Here’s another excerpt from “The Little Book of Revelation,” ch. 3, the section entitled “FIRST COMES CHRIST; THEN COMES THE ANTICHRIST,” p. 101:

// Christ, then, must be the first horseman of “Revelation,” whose “robe” (body) was “dipped in blood” (Rev. 19:11-13, cf. Rev. 6:2). This episode marks the first of several incidents that lead up to the cosmic apocalypse. We already know that the anticipated child born during the end-times is clearly the Messiah (Rev. 12:1-5). And more than that, we are now in a better position to understand the preceding events leading up to his foretold ascension: being “caught up” into heaven (Rev. 12:5). These include his incarnation, death and resurrection, when he “will arise” from the dead (Dan. 12:1) “to make the earth tremble” (Isa. 2:19). We are also told that the antichrist “will be revealed” during the interim in which Christ will be “taken out of the way” (2 Thess. 2:7-8). Hence, it was very much the scriptural intention to instill insight in its advocates so that they might firmly distrust those who claim “that the day of the Lord has come” (2 Thess. 2:2).\\

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