BibleProject - Rivers Flowing Upward – Ancient Cosmology E5

Episode Date: June 14, 2021

What does it mean that the biblical authors expected the return of Eden? The prophets anticipated waters of life from God would do miraculous things like restore the barren Dead Sea region to its former lush state and unite all humanity. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they follow the waters of life from Genesis 1-2 throughout time, in anticipation of the coming Day of the Lord.View full show notes from this episode →Timestamps Part one (0-11:15)Part two (11:15-28:30)Part three (28:30-35:45)Part four (35:45-end)Referenced ResourcesInterested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.Eric Mack, “New Science Suggests Biblical City of Sodom Was Smote by an Exploding Meteor,” Forbes Magazine, December 2018Show Music “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS“Solar Cove” by Mama AiutoChillhop Essential Summer 2021 EP“Imagination” by Montell FishShow produced by Dan Gummel, Zack McKinley, and Cooper Peltz. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hey, this is Cooper at Bible Project. I produce the podcast in Classroom. We've been exploring a theme called the City, and it's a pretty big theme. So we decided to do two separate Q and R episodes about it. We're currently taking questions for the second Q and R and we'd love to hear from you. Just record your question by July 21st

and send it to us at infoatbiboproject.com. Let us know your name and where you're from, try to keep your question to about 20 seconds and please transcribe your question when you email it in, try to keep your question to about 20 seconds, and please transcribe your question when you email it in. That's a huge help to our team. We're excited to hear from you. Here's the episode.

Hey, this is John a Bible project. This is our fifth and last stop in our conversation on ancient cosmology. In the ancient imagination, water brings both destruction like the chaos waters of the sea flooding the earth but also bring life like spring waters flowing out of the earth to water a garden. In Genesis 1 God tames the chaos waters of the sea with his word and with his spirit. In Genesis 2 we see God use the subdued chaos waters that are now under the land to water the dry earth.

The idea is that once the chaos waters underneath the land are tamed and subdued, when they pop up through the spring, they've been made fresh, they've been sweetened. With these sweet waters, God creates a garden for humanity to live in and enjoy. This is Eden. And in Genesis 2, we get a long description of a river flowing out of Eden, which turns into four rivers and goes out to bring the water of life to all the nations. When people come across life-giving springs or wells in stories and Old Testament, we're meant to see this as a new little Eden spring popping up here.

So the life of Heaven breaking into the dead wilderness of the earthly realm. The people of Israel are meant to inhabit a new title of Eden, and they're meant to extend God's blessing to the nations. But instead, they find themselves exiled and Babylon. And it finds itself exactly where one of the rivers have even flowed long ago. And the prophets of Israel tell them not to fight Babylon, but to remain true to their calling, to seek the well-being of the nations. Become the waters of life for Babylon.

It's so cool. So today, we talk about Israel's continued calling. To be the waters of life for the nations, we look at Ezekiel's vision of a river flowing out of the temple bringing life to the Dead Sea, and we look at how God envisions a time when all the nations stream back to Jerusalem. This is wonderful depiction of a reverse Eden, instead of one river going out and splitting and becoming many. The many rivers that are humanity, so divided rivers will all become one and return to the new era.

Thanks for joining us. Here we go. And in my mind, there's two types of waters. There's saltwater and fresh water. Oh, yes, yes. Is that kind of distinction important to the ancients? Because if the abyss, I always imagined is like saltwater.

Yeah, it's ocean. Yeah, that might be part of what gives it its disordered character. It's like it looks like the stuff that could give you life, but it'll actually kill you. Right, you can't drink it. Then what's the distinction between that and what the land's on top of,

which can come up and that's fresh water? Yeah, that's right. land's on top of, which can come up in that fresh water. Yeah, that's right. It's very clear in this conception of the land supported by pillars suspended above the waters below and that you can call the waters down there the rivers because that's the source of all the rivers. The idea is that once the chaos waters underneath the land are tamed and subdued,

when they pop up through the spring they've been made fresh, they've been sweetened. Actually, when drinkable water isn't the term potable water? Potable? I never actually say it. I just read it. I read it. I really said it. It's got to be a dictionary that gives you the, here we go, potable.

Potable. All right, there you go. That's a weird word. It is weird. Okay, so we talked about this in the first part of this conversation, where through the rest of the Old Testament, especially when people come across life-giving springs or wells in stories in Old Testament

that were meant to see this as a new little Eden spring popping up here. So the life of heaven breaking into the dead wilderness of the earthly realm, so to speak. So there's a story right after the Exodus, where they passed through the waters in Exodus 15. The next story, like they finished the closing hymn of the song in Exodus 15.

And the next line is, and they journeyed on from there, three days in the wilderness, and they didn't find mayhem, the water. They didn't find waters. Because they're in the desert. Which is the neutral term, yeah. So they went to bitterness, which is mara,

but it's a place name, but the place name is bitterness. And they couldn't drink the water that is there because of its mara-ness. They went to mara, and they found water, but we can't drink the water. So bitter water, that's salt water? Well, did they find a salt water spring? No, that doesn't make sense.

Yeah, but it's non-drinkable water, the bitter waters. I think it's related to just non-potable. Okay. Yeah, something about it. I'm sure people have done research on this. So they grumbled. This is the first time they grumbled in the wilderness. And they say, what are we going to drink?

So Moses cried out to Yahweh and Yahweh instructed him about a tree and he cast the tree into the waters and the waters became sweet. So waters are healed. The waters of bitterness are transformed by a tree into sweet waters and then they drink. Through a tree in there.

There's so many things going on in this story. We can't talk about. But the point is, is that the word for undrinkable water is Mara, which isn't the Tahom, the chaos abyss, but it is waters that prevent the flourishing of life. They have to be changed in some way and they're changed. And when they're changed, here they become the word is sweet.

Literally, it's the word for sweet. Like honey is the same verb instead of honey. So, is there another way that in Hebrew you talk about salt versus fresh water? That's why this came to my mind. I think the more fundamental is, is it drinkable and a source of life or is it not drinkable and not a source of life? I think that's the distinction. So it can be bitter waters that prevent life, or to home saltwater. But the idea is that when God gives fresh water

coming up out of the ground, that's an Eden gift because he's tamed the to-home to make it into my- It's tamed water. Yeah, my-home is the neutral waters that are drinkable. So the to-home is transformed into my-m. It's like you were saying, humayam, it's just Mayam. The difference between Mayam and Humayam is that Ha, is the word the, I'm trying to say.

But think, in Genesis 1, the agent of transformation of the waters is the spirit. Here in this story, it's a tree. I always, I think maybe is it translated brand? It might be translated, stick. Yeah, because I never pictured a tree. I always pictured a stick. It's just the word, well, it's Genesis Exodus. It's a word good or Yeah, because I never pictured a tree. I always pictured a stick. It's just the word, well. It's Genesis, that's Exodus.

It's word, wood, or Exodus 15. 15, verse 25. It's an eights. It's the same word as the trees in the Garden of Eden. It's just the tree. And that's what you find in all of these well spring narratives is the vocabulary of Eden. Yeah, piece of wood.

Is how it gets translated and of you. Be a lot easier to throw a piece of wood in a water than a whole tree. Well, that's why it's... Think on how big the tree is. Yeah. It's a desert tree might be kind of scroney. When I was introduced to the history of allegorical or symbolic interpretation in church history, it was an example of Augustine, saying Augustine of hippo, but he had the sermon where he used

this sermon and he used this sermon and then used the word tree as a symbol for Calvary, the cross. And then he linked these two stories together. And then how our bitterness becomes sweetness through the death and resurrection of Jesus. You know, I got preachers great. That is preachers.

And for a long time I thought, what a, you know, it just seems like it's a great sermon illustration. Can I say that that's connected to what an author might have meant? But now I can see in a way it actually is not to connect the tree to the cross as such, but rather backwards that this is connecting to tree imagery from Eden and... And so is the cross. And then the cross is also developing tree imagery from Eden.

And so in a way, Augustine was reading the Bible as a unified story. We still need to get this. But sometimes that kind of symbolic reading, it can lose control and become more arbitrary anyway. So there you go. You asked a question about Saul versus sweet water. Yeah. I think it's meaningful in terms of his drinkable or not drinkable.

Because we talked about the two-sidedness of water and that it can Destroy life and it can bring life and so the to home is destructive waters or just chaotic Unruly waters where life can't develop and then just the my am is the my am which is that neutral waters and in Genesis 1 We have the to home. There's darkness over it and you're supposed to just get this picture of, I guess, we're out of luck. Yeah, if that was the end of the story, irony is that's the beginning of the story. That's the beginning of the story. But if the beginning was the end. But then Spirit of God shows up and the to-home becomes mine.

And so then we talked about Genesis 2, the spring spring the flow that comes up out of the desert and Waters all the land and and makes the mud makes the mud which makes the humans right right the Ed makes the no the Ed makes the Adama for the Adam to form the Adam and I remember as a younger person reading Genesis 2 getting to the rivers. Yeah, yeah. And really feeling like, why is this here? And the only thing that made sense of it was, you know, this must be here because it's trying to describe an actual place

that existed. So it's some sort of map of where Eden was, maybe. But it always just stuck out like a swarthum. So we talked about these four rivers that all come from the one river, which is the spring that comes from Eden. And how you have this whole paragraph and you follow these rivers and one goes to Egypt,

one goes towards Egypt kind of the same area, Kush. But the point is it's the name of the spring in Jerusalem. But it's the name of the spring in Jerusalem. The Gehon. Yeah. And then the Euphrates's the name of the spring in Jerusalem. But it's the name of the spring in Jerusalem. The Gihon. Yeah. And then the Euphrates and the Tigris, which are associated with. A Syria and Babylon. A Syrian Babylon.

So you've got the Garden of Eden from which God has tamed the home. And then he makes life-giving water come up out of the land. And now all of a sudden there's all this life and all this goodness. But it doesn't just stop there and stay in the land of the light. It continues to water all the earth, including some pretty epic places that we're going to run into later in the biblical narrative, Egypt, Babylon, and Syria, and that this gift of life is supposed to go out to all the earth, And it kind of sets you up for the biblical story. Yeah, it's about the waters that go out from Eden,

out into the biblical narrative world, so to speak, becomes a foundational image of God's desire to spread the goodness of Eden out to the nation. It was really interesting when he talked about how when Joseph and his brothers show up to Egypt, it's described as a garden. Totally. I was kind of tripping up on that because it would be weird for the biblical authors to describe Egypt as a garden because it's going to turn into the place of captivity.

But your point was that the river of life is supposed to water everywhere. And donations. And God wanted this family to be his... You called them the river of life is supposed to water everywhere. And God wanted this family to be his, you called them the river of life, but he wanted them to be the blessing to the nations. And they show up and when it's done right, Egypt becomes this beautiful place. And the same thing happens in Babylon.

When the nations recognize that God has chosen the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, as the source of blessing to the nations. When the nations see that and then they bless this family, they find the blessing of Eden unleashed in their land too. And that's exactly the portrait of the good Pharaoh at the end of Genesis. That Pharaoh recognizes and elevates the suffering seed of Abraham, Joseph. Elevates him to a place of rule and all of a sudden they're saved from the famine and it's through Joseph's wise royal leadership that he saves them and turns the Egypt into Eden in the middle of a famine.

It's so rich! How all these stories work together, but that's right. And so long behold, Eden becomes a little mini- and you're like oh yeah right this is like Genesis 2 prepared me for this that the life of Eden would reach out even to Egypt through the Pishon. To Havala which is near Egypt. Now why would in Genesis 2 I wouldn't just say Egypt then if it's the point is Egypt. I think we're here to the allusive nature of biblical narrative where they feed you breadcrumbs to keep you reading, to keep you reading and rereading. Because the next time Havala is mentioned in the story, it's somebody going on the way to Egypt. Who was it, Hagar? Yep, Hagar and then her son Ishmael.

Go through, find the spring in the land of Shur, which is on the way to Havala, which is where this family eventually settles. Or take it back to how to read the Bible series, places in the Bible aren't just listed for archival notice. They are listed to accumulate meanings and symbolism as you go throughout the story so that you can connect the threads with the overall Pauline. So you've got Eden from which water flows that blesses the earth. And then as you move forward in the narrative,

you've got Israel going into the Promised Land, which is described as a new Eden, and there's supposed to be the blessing that flows out to the nations. So you get there and it doesn't go well. Well, it goes the way it typically goes. Sometimes good. Yeah, sometimes good, sometimes bad. So I'm thinking here particularly about the stories of Solomon, who's the son of David, because David establishes Jerusalem, brings the tabernacle there, declares it's gonna be the site of the future temple. So all this is screaming Eden. Oh yeah, so many things in the book of Samuel are helping you see Jerusalem as the garden and Eden within the

land, promised Abraham. And so by the time you get to Solomon, he's presented as an atom, he's atom what, five pointo or something by that point. And he's described himself as a child, asking for divine wisdom about good and evil, so that he can rule. Yeah. And he loves animals. We didn't talk about this. There's that little line about how we just were super interested in animals.

Oh, it's interesting. And would study them and build up huge lists of notes and observations. We didn't talk about this. There's that little line about how we just were super interested in animals And would study them and built up huge lists of notes and observations about them and he knew all about animals But then he blows it Gimulates born wives builds a What wives that are connected to political marriages that are connected to honoring other deities other gods it just screams Genesis 3 That does yeah in terms of a wife. Oh, point some of the other.

Is connected to, or somehow it becomes connected to another evil divine figure that will lead God's people astray. So they're back in Eden. You're supposed to see it as like kind of a replaying of the Eden story. Yeah, yep. Or you're supposed to see Eden as kind of this mini little packed story of what Israel is. Correct. Because what happens if happening is Israel then is exiled. Psalm, they build a temple which is a full-on symbolic eaten cherubim and gold and jewels,

the whole bit, and then his downfall which leads the nation on inevitable past back to Babylon. The next aisle. Which is exactly what happens to humanity when they leave the garden. They end up in Babylon. Definitely supposed to see this as dual stories. Yes. So we left off with Israel, now in exile in Babylon.

Yeah. And now going, well, isn't the point that we're supposed to be in God's presence and Eden as his chosen people to like bring blessing to the whole world and now we're in Babylon. But now we're in Babylon and we're back to that letter of Jeremiah that Jeremiah wrote to the people. Plant some gardens here.

Yeah, come now. This is Jeremiah chapter 29. So this is the letter. This is what God of Israel says to the exiles in Babylon. Build houses, plant gardens, eat fruit, marry, be fruitful and multiply, right? Become fathers of sons and daughters, take wives for your sons,

give your daughters for husbands. They may multiply. Oh, well, use the word multiply. It's all the language of Eden. Wow. Seek the Shalom of the city where I have sent you into exile. Seeking Shalom is kind of like ruling.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Or here, remember, we talked about this. This is the wisdom warrior. This is choosing not to revolt against your captors, but the upside down kingdom. It's the life of Eden. So now of sudden, here's a little family

that's been cast out of Eden, or the river that's flowed out of Eden, ironically, into exile. And it finds itself exactly where one of the river that's flowed out of Eden, ironically, into exile. And it finds itself exactly where one of the rivers of Eden flowed long ago. Yeah. And it's so cool. Become the waters of life for Babylon. Yeah.

It can make Babylon a beautiful place. Yeah. Yeah, and it's very counterintuitive, you would think, Babylon, you know, hunker down, make the best of it. Yeah, that's right. You know, don't get corrupted into it, and maybe even plan a rebellion. But instead, it's get in there,

and plant gardens, and seek the Shalom. And when I think of seeking the Shalom, I think of Daniel and his buddies, they're in the King's Court, and they're helping rule. Yes. We're using right now the Hebrew Bible symbolism, which is good. That's what we should do.

But let's just pause and extend this forward. This is exactly the ethic of the apostles and Jesus when they talk about the kingdom of God being here now. Even though all nations don't recognize it, it's here. And with the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit, and the Spirit is often depicted with imagery of water. Pour out, filled up with it. That's Eden, water, imagery. And so in the same way, the life of a community living by the Spirit

will become a little Eden in the midst of the many Babylon's where it finds itself. It's the same paradigm. Yeah. Just Jesus and Spirit imagery in the New Testament. It's cool. Yeah, it is cool. Okay, so that's one place This goes is even though the water is as I've even aren't mentioned here, but the idea of the family of Abraham Being in Babylon and Experiencing the blessing of Eden here in Babylon that ideas been anticipated

With waters flowing for me. Yeah, so however God's people in Babylon Ideas been anticipated with water flowing from eating to Babylon. However, God's people in Babylon isn't the ideal, because Babylon screwed up. Even if you are blessing to it, not everybody will appreciate that blessing. Like Nebuchadnezzar didn't always. And his son, Belichrasar, definitely didn't. Yeah, there's still the sense of eatin' needs to be recreated.

Yeah, so there's two ways this imagery works. One is we've already talked about in the metaphor series where Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 2 begins with saying it will come about at the end of days in Hebrew, the Biachehite Hameem, at the end of days, the mountain of the house of Yawa, at the end of days, the mountain of the house of Yahweh, which the mountain is Jerusalem, and then the house, the new temple. So in the new Jerusalem, in the establishment of the new temple, it will be the head of all mountains. We've made this observation. Yeah, you brought this up the other day.

It's obviously not the tallest mountain. I was thinking of the time we were standing there, looking up and just, so the amount of olives. Oh, it's taller. It's taller, yeah. Yeah. It's very clearly not the tallest mountain. Right, so ideas, it will be elevated

in cosmic significance, so to speak. Raised above the hills, now, you know, if you have water and you have a mountain, or if you have water in the hillside, obviously water is going to flow or gravity pulls it. But here gravity will be reversed, so to speak, and there will be streams going up to the new temple, the new Jerusalem, but what are the streams? They are the nations.

The nations will stream to it. Into it. So it's this wonderful depiction of a reverse Eden, instead of one river going out and splitting and becoming many. The many rivers that are humanity, humans are rivers in this metaphor. So divided rivers will all become one and return to the new Eden. And you've pointed out that this word is actually the same word river. The word river is a verb. Yes, the word stream.

It's stream in NIV. And yes, it's the nations will flow, NIV is the nations will stream. Yeah, in Hebrew, it's the same three letters as the noun river, Nihar. So Nihar is a river, a noun. And then what a river does is a Nahaar Nahaar's for us to river flows. A river rivers, the nation's river back into the new Eden. Yep.

So again, that assumes that the poet here has reflected a lot on that river in the Genesis narrative and sees that there's more than just somebody trying to tell me ancient geography. For me, this is important. This is a biblical author reflecting back on that river of Eden, and he sees it in terms of its symbolic significance

as the image of the blessing of Eden to the nations. And you're sure of that because it would be clear that Eden is a temple in the way that, on a mountain in the way that, on a mountain in the way that the temple is on Mount Zion. Yeah, that's right. Well, specifically, that the river of Eden flows to areas of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,

and then one of the rivers is also the name of the spring in Jerusalem, which is where everybody's coming back. And who are the major imperial powers in the Bible? There's just only three. And there are three that are gonna feature, big in the book of Isaiah, Egypt, Aceria, and Babylon are like the most significant

baptizing in the book of Isaiah. So this one, this is the river metaphorically returning in the people, Ezekiel, famously, in chapter 47. Like Daniel, he's also in Babylon, the prophet Ezekiel. He had a vision of the divine Eden throne, the Garden of Eden glory, mobile, appearing to him in the first pages. All these animals are the cherubim, bearing, and so on.

At the end of the book, he sees a vision of a new Jerusalem, actually here. It begins in chapter 40. So he says in the 25th year of our exile, exactly halfway through a 50-year Jubilee cycle. At the beginning of the year, on the 10th of the month, in the 14th year after the city was taken. Jerusalem was taken. Jerusalem. The mention of Jerusalem. Halfway through Jubilee cycle, after the capture of Jerusalem, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there. Where is there? Jerusalem. It's just like a vision. Yeah. In other places, it's a spirit of the Lord seized me or took me. He's having a dream vision. And he's being taken, clearly, to Jerusalem. In visions of Elohim, he brought me into the land of Israel

and set me on a really high mountain. Okay. Why wouldn't he specify which mountain if this is supposed to be the Jerusalem mountain? Oh, I think he's intentionally not using the name Jerusalem because he's trying to paint this portrait on top of the Eden mountain. It's Genesis 2. Oh.

Yep, for sure. Okay. So, he's using the language that the prophets use to talk about Eden and the new Eden, which is a new Jerusalem. And there was a structure like lo and behold, a city. So a city, on a very high lo and behold, a city. So a city on a very high mountain that's connected to Jerusalem. This is the south side. What's that?

And have you said the south side of the mountain? And on it to the south. Yes, that's important, but I forget why. I have to top my head. It's okay. So many details. The whole context is he's brought up to a new Jerusalem mountain. And he sees a structure like a city.

Yeah, and then we're not on top on one of the sides. Oh, I see. Well, I guess when it says south side, but side is not in Hebrew. It's just to the south in Hebrew, huh? Yeah, from the south. I'm not sure why that significant off the top of my head. I know that it is, but I don't remember. But yes, up there's a structure of a city. Then he's gonna get a tour in verse five and behold, there was a wall outside of a house, which is the temple. He gets a tour of a new temple in a new Jerusalem

on a high exalted mountain. And so that is the framework. This is actually one of the most boring sections I was eager to read. It's straight up reads the most boring sections of Zekiel to read. It's straight up reads like an architectural tour. It's all these measurements. He's going into gates and looking at windows and altars and so on. So once the tour finishes in Zekiel 47.

Oh, wow, it's that long. Seven chapter tour of a visionary temple. Yep. Then he, verse one of chapter 47, he brought me back to the door of the house, the temple, and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house of the temple to the east, because the entrance of the house faced the east, like the temple, and like Eden.

Remember when they were expelled from Eden, they went east to the east. And the water was flowing down from under from the right, that is the east side of the house, from the south of the altar. No, from the right, that is from the south of the house, that is from south of the altar. So he led me out by a way of the Northgate

and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces east and look water was trickling out from the south side. It's trickling out from the south side but it was heading east. That's right. Yeah. So it's coming out south. I mean it's trickling out from under the threshold of the south gate but then as it trickles

out it starts to head east. Head east. Which means it's heading down the hills towards the Dead Sea. If this isn't Jerusalem. Correct. Well, whatever it is. I mean, people debate these things. Okay.

So then there's this man who is an angel, but he's never called an angel. He's just called a man. Went out and he measured the water, a thousand qubits, and he led me in and it reached up to my ankles. He led me another thousand qubits up to my knees. Another thousand qubits he led me in up to my waist. Another thousand and I can't cross this thing. He says it's like flooding the land. The point is is within a short distance, it becomes a wide, wide, deep river. I think that's the emphasis of all these steps. I see.

A thousand qubits, a qubit's, I think, a foot and a half, something like that. So, the point is, is from a trickle within a few thousand qubits. It just chooses into a super deep, wide river. And then he goes back to the bank of the river, and there's all these trees on one side, on the other, and they says, look, these trees are going to go down into the Aravah and then into the Dead Sea.

And guess what? The most desolate place on planet Earth is going to become, oh wait, does he say it? Healed. Yes, it will be healed. The water becomes fresh. And the word fresh is a paraphrase, literally that says it will be healed. Yeah, here we go. It says salty water there becomes fresh. And the word fresh is a paraphrase. Literally, it says it will be healed. Yeah, here we go. It says salty water there becomes fresh.

What's that in Hebrew? Healed. About salty. We look. And then it down, went down to the sea, and the waters which were found, and the waters were healed.

The mayum? Were healed. Yeah, they're healed. I mean, it goes down to the sea. It's one of the salty-ass bodies water on the planet. Whoa, okay. Hey, that's cool. Yeah. It's like the Tahum. Yeah, they're waters of death. Yeah. We can like drive a car from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea now. I think it takes 45 minutes an hour. Okay.

Do you go down steep hills? Uh-huh. I mean, they had to dynamite through mountains to make this road. Yeah, desert hills to make this road. But before that highway, it was days to go down, down, down to this desolate hot place where nothing, virtually nothing lives. It was like a place of death down there. That's the Dead Sea region and that place is turned into Eden. The Abyss. Yeah, the Abyss.

Yeah. So the Dead Sea, yeah, it's just kind of this landlocked. But does the Jordan River go through it? The Jordan River, yep, finally goes into the Dead Sea region. Dude, you know what? This is a new discovery from the last year, archaeological discovery. Yeah, this isn't like Waco conspiracy theory. This is like, I'm looking at Forbes, magazine, New York Times, the Atlantic, the times of Israel.

They're all reporting on the series of geologists and archaeologists that were conducting this massive survey of the Dead Sea region, which is where Sodom and Gomorrah used to be. There was a network of cities that used to live down there, and even member of Wendlot chose to go live down there. It said, explicitly, because it was like the Garden of God. So the Dead Sea wasn't always dead. No, within human memory, it wasn't always dead. Yeah, this is crazy, dude. It used to be like a lake. It used to be a lake and a flushing garden land down there.

New research has found, I'm reading from the Forbes magazine summary, that a powerful air burst from a meteor colliding with the atmosphere is the most likely explanation for the destruction of the Bronze Age civilization that lived on the north of the Dead Sea 3700 years ago. Findings come from the excavation of Tel El Hamam, archaeological site in Jordan. Many believe this place once known as Sodom. Archaeologists Philip Silva of Trinity Southwest University has been working at the site for 13 years and presented their report at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research. I just learned about this in December. What does it even mean? An air burst? So samples from the site show that an

extremely hot, explosive event leveled the area of almost 200 square miles of the circular plane, wiping out 100% of the middle bronze age sites in the area. In other words, what they're saying is they've surveyed 200 square miles and each settlement that was in the area has a destruction date of burned remains. All at the same time. All at the same time.

So these researchers also theorize that the intense shock waves of an exploding meteorite blast. Shock waves of an exploding meteorite blast. So the meteorite hits the atmosphere, but then there's a shock wave from the atmosphere that hits that region. Oh, I think what I understand from it is that a big meteor splits apart in the atmosphere, and now it's like a shotgun meteor headed towards the localized area,

and then it struck this place in many places but all at once, and researchers theorize that shock waves from this kind of blast. What does that mean the shock waves of the blast? Oh, the explosion in the sky or the explosion on the ground. Is that the shock waves from the explosion in the sky? I don't know the answer. Okay. But it would have covered the area with a super heated brine

similar to the anhydride salts found in the Dead Sea. Oh, that's what made it salty. Team also says archaeological evidence shows that it took 600 years for the region to recover its plant life because of the contamination of the soil. Evidence paints a picture similar to the Tunguska incident in 1908. Oh, the Tunguska. Where? I have no idea what that is.

A fireball in the sky was followed by many explosions and a large swath of the Siberian forest was leveled and decimated. Flank space rocks. Holy cow. Just to clarify, I think within a robust, theistic worldview, this isn't saying, ah, see, God really didn't destroy his atom in Gamrah. Oh, it was meteors. Correct. Like that either a meteor or like that's a false dichotomy. It makes, to me, this makes perfect sense.

Wait, because Sodom and Gomorrah in the biblical narrative, there's salt in the narrative, right? Like someone turns into a pillar of salt or something. Correct. Yeah, that's right. In other words, the idea is there's a memory preserved throughout the region and the memory of it in the Bible, that there was a flourishing civilization down there. Yeah, we're a lot wanted to go.

It's where lots settled and that it was destroyed. Yeah. And that God spared some of the family of Abraham from that event. That's the memory preserved in these stories. And then that story is given, placed within the theological drama, that that was an anticipation of God's justice

on the whole region for Ezekiel that was in justice towards the poor. That's what he pins on Sodom and Gomorrah. It's a city where people coming looking for shelter or gang raped. That's Genesis 19. Anyway, I just thought you'd find that interesting. That's interesting. Yeah. Well, what's interesting is you got all these archaeologists and stuff finding this.

And then they're figuring it must be a meteor because what else could it be? Yeah. It's like a super detective case. Yeah. You have all these destruction layers. You have certain chemicals. Yeah. In the salt, in the water, you have the destruction record of plant life.

Yeah. And they're piecing together. This looks like the result of other events that have happened. Oh, I see. Namely, meter showers of the worst kind. Yeah. Anyhow. So that's the region that becomes a new Eden in Ezekiel's vision.

The divine life of the new Jerusalem Eden will even restore the region of Sodom and Gomorrah. A place that in their memory was the result of God judging human evil. Yep, totally. And even there in the... Even there, God. Salt evil human evil. Yep totally and even there in the even there gods salty abyss life will reach out and Transform it into a new heal the waters. Yep. It's so powerful 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh

1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh 1 tbh Two other Old Testament prophets that we don't have to focus on in terms of talking about them for a long time.

But the Prophet Joel in chapter 3 also has a whole set of images where he says it's framed in the opening sentence of Joel three in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem that's the setting of the poem and then there's a whole line in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine. Hills will flow with milk, the brooks of Judah will flow with water and a spring. A fountain will go out from the house of Yahweh to water the valley of Shiteim. So similar image as a spring coming from a place that we recognize as an Eden type place. Watering. What's the valley of Shiteim? Yeah, I was going to look that up.

Yeah, watering. What's the value of Shateem? Yeah, I was gonna look that up. Anchor Bible Dictionary. The encampment site of Israel in the plains of Moab, oh, on the northeast of the Dead Sea. There we go. It's the same as the Ezekiel. It goes out to the Dead Sea region, that's right. Ah, and Shateem is the place where the Israelites

fell into the idolatrous and sexually immoral practices at all poor. That's where they start worshipping bail and having ritual sex with more by women. That place is healed by the river of life. I hadn't noticed that detail before. One was that during their... Before they enter the land. Right before they enter the land, yep. Right, because that's where they're kind of staged before they can enter.

Correct, yep. Zechariah chapter 14, this is awesome. Zechariah 12 through 14 are a bunch of oracles depicting the day of the Lord. There's a lot of judgment imagery, like the nations and the Israelites who have been violent and faithless. They're going to be excluded or judged or destroyed.

But verse 6, in that day, there will be no light. There will be no light. So like it's like really bad. Yeah, we're back to Genesis 1 imagery. Yeah, we're back to, yeah, Tuxtile love of it. So there will not- And frosty darkness.

Yeah, that's right. There will neither be sunlight or darkness. In that day, there will not be light. It's a Hebrew, that's what it says. What was it say after that? Oh, and then it's says, literally in Hebrew, the precious ones will coagulate. What?

Yeah. Is that the word from the Dead Sea walling up? That day, there will be, oh man. Yeah, I forgot, this is a difficult passage. The Hebrew is really difficult here. I can see our English translations are going all over the map here. Are they? Yes.

I was just looking at, I'm switching to ESV here. That's right, that's right, I remember. Okay, here we go. ESV gives us a good note. ESV says that they translate on that day, there will be no light, no cold, and no frost. And then they have a footnote saying, this is based on the Septuagint, Greek translation, the Syriac, the Latin Volgate, and the Aramaic Targams. The meaning of the Hebrew text is uncertain. Yeah, I see that. Yeah.

So, yes, that's right. I actually think no light, cold or frost, makes sense here. Okay. Anyways. Okay. No light. Yep. And it will be day one. That's what it says in Hebrew.

It's the same phrase from Genesis one. Oh my goodness. And it will be Yomachad. Right? And you're just like, oh yeah. Day one. We're going back to day one. Here it is.

It, that day, is alone known to Yahweh. Remember when Jesus is asked, when's the day? And he's like, I don't know, it's known alone to the Father. Oh, this is for sure the sentence in his mind. There won't be day or night. And of course, if there's no night,

there's no sequence of day or night. Yeah, there's no time yet. Yeah. But it will come about, that right at the evening time, when you think it's going to be eternal darkness, light, there will be light. So look at the two little lines here

that are all ripping off of Genesis 1, 1 through 3. There will be no light, we'll wear there's no light. There's nothingness. We're just back to day one. Yeah. Pre-day one. Yeah, right. Yeah. Good point. Yeah. The nothingness of Tohuvalvo. The darkness over the deep. That's right. And it will be at the time of evening, which is weird, which is weird. I guess it's saying within our frame of

reference, when towards the end of the day, towards the end of the, but there is no day or night. There is no day or night. There will be light. I think we're recalling the imagery of the light coming into the darkness. Okay. In Genesis 1. Yeah, here comes a day one. Yeah.

And it will be on that day, that waters of life will go out from Jerusalem. Half to the Eastern Sea, that's the Dead Sea, and half to the western sea, that's the Mediterranean, in summer and in winter. You're around. You know, some, a lot of the streams out there, if they're water fed, they dry up In the summer. But this is eternal water of life going out from Jerusalem. Not just to the Dead Sea, but also now. Both ways. Both ways. Yeah.

And then, what's the imagery here? This thing is so hyperlinked. And Yahweh will be king over all the land. And in that day, Yahweh will be one, and his name won. It's the Shma. It's so good. And the whole land will be changed into a plane. It goes on, the imagery gets a lot more bizarre.

But this is enough to make the point. You can see what he's doing here. He full on, he's reading Genesis one and two together as symbols of cosmic dissolution and recreation. Yeah, and the waters of life. They're there again, giving life to the new creation. And so all of these, all of these are Israel's prophets who are seeing that here we are, we're not in Eden, we're not in the land, the temple is gone, something needs to change, and the way they think of that is the day of the Lord, God coming in. Yeah, human history and Just like the flood, reducing, handing the world over to its chaos because of human

violence, that's the flood. It's a de-creation, like the flood was, and then a new creation, emerging out of the old one. And one of the ways they talk about that new creation is water's flowing for me. Correct. Which is the image we get in Genesis 2. There you go. And in Zachariah, he's even using Genesis 1 imagery.

Yeah, totally. Drive home to the point. Yeah. Thanks for listening to the series on ancient cosmologies in the Bible. We're going to have two scholar interviews. And then we're going to finish up with a question and response episode.

So if you'd like to submit a question for that upcoming Q&R, we'd love to hear from you. The deadline for submissions is June 18th. You can record yourself asking a question, try to keep it around 20 or 30 seconds. Let us know your name, or you're from, send us your questions by June 18th. Email that to infoatbipopProject.com. Today's show is

produced by Zach McKinley and Dan Gummel. A show notes are done by Lindsay Ponder and the theme music is from the band Tents. Bible Project is a nonprofit. Our mission is to experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. So that's why we do this podcast. We've got videos, we've got study notes, we've got graduate level classes, and it's all free because of the generous support of thousands of people just like you. So thank you so much for being a part of this with us. Hi, this is Matt, and I'm from Great Britain.

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