BIBLICAL SUPER NATURE:The Rebellions(w/"headmusik")

                

- [Michael] God gives us a new identity as His children. We belong with him as he intended.

The Bible says we will one day replace the rebellious sons of God in His Divine Council.

He also gives us a mission. We're here to grow God's family.

- We're gonna go on a fascinating journey. We'll explore some strange passages. We'll reexamine some familiar ones

with meanings hidden in plain sight. We'll look at the Bible through the supernatural

worldview of its writers. By the time we're done, you'll never be able to look at your Bible

the same way again. There's a lot to be seen when it comes to the unseen realm.

(etheric music)

- The Bible asks us to believe a lot of strange things about the spiritual world.

At first, we might be tempted to ignore them, but if we say we believe the Bible, we can't avoid these concepts.

Much of what we think we know about the spirit world isn't true. It's been filtered down through centuries

of church tradition. Angels do not have wings. Demons don't have horns or tails.

And for the biblical writers, the unseen realm was home to more than angels and demons.

There were other bigger players. So do you believe what's in your Bible? (mysterious music)

- The rock at Caesarea Philippi might be the most imposing rock face in Israel.

Imagine standing in front of the 500-foot wide face and hearing Jesus' words,

"Upon this rock, I will build my church." This is the place where Jesus and His disciple stood,

the scene of Peter's confession. And when Jesus added, "And the gates of hell

will not be able to withstand the church," he knew what he was talking about.

- Gates to hell, really? The authors of scripture believe the gods

of the nations were real. Look at Psalm 82 carefully.

- When you really look at Psalm 82:1, it's kind of shocking, but there it is plain as day.

God presides over an assembly of gods that he calls His sons.

We're just not used to thinking of the heavenly host in those terms, but that's what the Hebrew text says.

Psalm 89 says the same thing about God's council in the heavens.

- The Hebrew word translated Gods in Psalm 82 is Elohim. Now, most of the time it should be translated

as capital G God, but sometimes it's plural, and Psalm 82:1 has both.

The problem for us is that we think this is a problem for monotheism, but it's not.

We're taught to associate the letters G, O and D with a specific set of unique attributes.

That's why putting an S on the end makes us queasy. But the word Elohim is not about a set of unique attributes.

The Bible itself tells us that. (heavenly orchestral music)

- Elohim is simply a word used to describe a supernatural being.

It says nothing, nothing about attributes. That's why the biblical writers used Elohim

for other spirit beings besides God. It's used for the gods of the nations.

It's used for demons, it's used for angels, even the disembodied human dead.

However, Yahweh is one of those Elohim, and no other Elohim is like him.

I repeat, no other Elohim is like him. The Bible describes him in unique ways.

There is only one of Him, one of Him existing as three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

and he is the creator of all other Elohim. (soothing music)

- Psalm 82 places the heavenly host in a council. That term is appropriate because these beings participate

in God's rule of the world. Now, certainly God doesn't need their help, but he lets them participate.

Consider the strange story that the prophet Micaiah gave to the wicked Israel like king, Ahab.

- Did you catch where the Bible asked you to believe? God meets with His heavenly host to decide what happens on Earth?

These beings, the gods of the council are spirits, not people or idols.

(pensive music) - Remember, Yahweh, the God of Israel is an Elohim,

a spirit being, but no other Elohim is Him. He is one of a kind. He is the true God with a capital G.

He alone is the perfect Sovereign Creator. He is the Most High God.

Now, Psalm 82:6 says God has sons. "Sons of the Most High," is the phrase.

- Who are these sons of God? It sounds odd. What about Jesus? How can there be all these other sons of God?

The answer is found in verses like John 3:16, where Jesus is described as the unique Son of God.

Now, some translations say only begotten, but the word actually means unique, one of a kind.

How is Jesus unique? The New Testament says He is God, the one uncreated God in the flesh.

None of the other sons of God fit that description.

- The sons of God language made sense to ancient people. God was king, and kings assigned their sons

high-ranking jobs in their government. So it is in the unseen realm.

It's important because the sonship language reminds us that God wants a family.

His family extends to both the unseen world and to Earth, and those two families come together in Eden.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- God addressed His council when He created the first man and woman, the council was already there.

- God told His heavenly family he wanted to create humanity. Now, people often think God addressed

the other members of the Trinity, but that is not the case. The other members of the Trinity

are co-equal and co-omniscient. God wouldn't need to tell them anything.

God speaks to his heavenly host here. Job 38 tells us the sons of God were present

at the creation. (pensive music)

(etheric vocalization music)

- The image of God concept helps us to understand how humans and the heavenly host are both like God.

Both of God's families represent Him. The supernatural sons of God represent Him

in the unseen realm and we represent God on Earth.

- But how do we represent God? We saw how divine beings participate in God's rule.

God created humans to participate in His plan to make the earth all He envisioned

and to enjoy it with Him.

- Imaging God is a status we have on Earth, not a specific ability.

We bear that status from the moment of conception until death. To be human is to image God,

but God also shares His attributes with us. Beginning with Adam and Eve, we were supposed to take care of Creation and develop it.

God wanted the whole earth to be like Eden.

- The knowledge that all humans are representatives of God prompts us to see all human life as sacred.

It leaves no room for racism. Injustice has no place, and the abuse of power at home,

at work or in government cannot be justified. (ominous music)

- Obviously, the world isn't like Eden. People don't treat each other as equal imagers of God,

not even close. What happened? The answer lies in God's decision to share His attributes

with both His supernatural and human children. And one of those attributes is freedom or free will.

It is freedom, not mere intelligence, that allows for meaningful choices. God didn't program His children like robots.

If He did, we wouldn't truly be like Him. Having freedom meant God's children might choose to rebel.

That's what happened. (ominous music) - Remember, we don't have God's perfect nature,

even though both humans and the heavenly sons of God represent Him in their respective realm.

God tells us in Job 15 that He doesn't trust His holy ones.

He knows they can fail.

- Eden was the home and headquarters of God. His supernatural and earthly families resided there.

God wanted them to image him in their own ways, heaven and earth blended together into one family.

But, one family member didn't like that idea. (instrument hissing)

- We've all heard about the serpent in Eden, but why a serpent, what's that supposed to tell us?

Ancient people knew how to take this scene, but we don't. We assume the serpent is merely an animal.

His form is important, but the story is not about zoology. The story is about a supernatural rebellion.

Isaiah alludes to that rebellion.

- Isaiah is talking about the sons of God in the assembly. Just like Job, he refers to them as stars.

They were present before Eden. Ezekiel 28 mentions the rebellion in Eden as well.

In Ezekiel's case, a guardian cherub gets kicked out of Eden.

- Ancient Mesopotamian tablets talk about cherub throne guardians and describe them

as snakes and dragons. The serpent of Eden was actually a supernatural being

whose job was to guard God's throne. An ancient person would've known the scene

was about a rebel in the Divine Council.

- Like the supernatural rebel, Adam and Eve rebel too. Eden was lost, the rebel security guard was cast down.

He brought death to earth, and now everyone would die. He became Lord of the dead.

Since everyone would die, humanity would be his. (orchestral music rises)

Now most people know the basics of that story. Christians believe it's why the world is the way it is,

but that's actually incomplete. What happened in Eden was just the first of three reasons

why there's so much evil and death in the world. There were actually two more supernatural rebellions.

(ominous music)

- Genesis 6 describes the second supernatural rebellion. Some of the sons of God, members of the heavenly council,

transgressed the boundary between heaven and earth. (mystical flute music)

- Both Peter and Jude references story in the New Testament.

- Jude also tells us about the judgment of these angels.

- Both of these writers understood that Genesis 6 recorded the second supernatural rebellion.

The fallen sons of God were sent to Tartarus for their transgression.

Tartarus is a Greek word for the realm of the dead, what we think of as hell.

They'd stay there until the Day of the Lord at the end of days.

A term like fallen angels makes us think of demons, like the ones Jesus cast out,

but the rebels of Genesis 6 are imprisoned, so they can't be the demons Jesus encountered.

So where did they come from? The answer lies in the offspring produced

by the forbidden union between the sons of God and the women in Genesis 6.

Those offspring were known as the Nephilim. They were giants. Their descendants became the giant clans

Moses and Joshua battled.

- In the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, we learned about the giants Moses and Joshua ran into.

They not only descended from the Nephilim, but they are called by other names like Anakim

and the Rephaim. That last name stands out. Several Bible passages described the dead spirits

of the Rephaim in the realm of the dead, again, what we would think of as hell. (ominous music)

- Extra-biblical Jewish writers believe the demons, like those described in the gospels,

were disembodied spirits of the giants. They base this on the Bible's mention of dead Rephaim

in the underworld. Jewish books like 1 Enoch and the Book of the Giants from the Dead Sea Scrolls make that point explicitly.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- If demons come from dead giants, what happened to the giants?

Believe it or not, the answer comes from a very familiar story. (ominous, bassy music)

God told Joshua to destroy entire populations in the land of Cannon, but if you read the conquest account closely,

you'll also see places where God told Joshua only drive them out, not kill them.

Now this seems inconsistent. However, when you understand the supernatural rationale

for what God wanted Joshua to do, things become more clear.

- It's fascinating to discover that the conquest actually began with the giants.

Moses initially sent 12 spies into the land. They reported about the places they had visited

and where they saw the giant Anakim. 10 of the 12 spies convinced the rest of the people

they could not win against the Anakim. God judged Israel with 40 years of wandering.

Notice that the giants were a focal point from the very beginning of the conquest effort.

- At the end of the 40 years, God took Israel up through the east side of the Jordan.

He told them not to bother the people of Moab and Ammon, since the giant clans in those lands

had already been removed by the people of Esau, relatives of the Israelites.

(etheric music) God sent Moses and Joshua to Bashan, the realm of Og,

king of the Amorites. Og was a giant the last of the Rephaim.

The prophet Amos described them.

- The point is that once all the giants from the other side of the Jordan were removed, Joshua could take the people into Canaan.

Joshua took the Israelites into the land. It's important to notice that the places

that were designated for total destruction correspond to the places where the giants were seen.

The giant descendants of the Nephilim were the real targets of the killing. Many people died because the Anakim lived among them,

but the descendants of the Nephilim were the lethal threat. (uplifting drumming music)

- The Nephilim and their descendants were from the divine rebellion of Genesis 6.

They had been raised up by supernatural rebels to oppose God and destroy his people.

Now in this light, the conquest, the spiritual warfare laid out on earth,

either God's people Israel would survive or be annihilated.

The story is cast as an epic battle of good and evil, in both the spiritual and earthly sense.

Joshua could drive out people, but the descendants of the Nephilim had to be eliminated.

(triumphant music)

This is why when Joshua defined victory in the conquest, he said there are no more Anakim in the land.

The only ones left went to the Philistine cities. One of those cities was Gath,

the home of Goliath and his brothers. And eventually David would complete the task of eliminating

the descendants of the Nephilim. - The conquest is ultimately about God

protecting his own children against a cosmically empowered threat bent on stopping Yahweh

from reestablishing Eden. - God's original program was for Adam and Eve

to spread Eden throughout the Earth. All people were to be God's people.

The whole earth was to be God's domain, but that gets ruined and destroyed,

but God never gives up on his original plan, God called a people to himself, the nation of Israel.

Yahweh wanted a land to restart a new Eden, and the Anakim, descendants of rival gods,

would stop at nothing to prevent that. (ominous music)

- The first two spiritual rebellions produced Satan, the giants, and the demons who came from them.

But there was one more ancient rebellion looming ahead. This one would produce another set of bad guys

and change the entire landscape of God's relationship with humanity, but ultimately they would become

the catalyst of God's redemption plan. (uplifting music)

- Now this is a really familiar story. Less familiar is how the story is told in Deuteronomy.

(pensive digitized music)

- When was humanity divided into nations? That was at Babel. Got a lot of the nations to the members

of his Divine Council. The Bible says this is why the ancient nations worshiped other gods.

God decided to let the members of his Divine Council govern the other nations in response

to humanity's rebellion at Babel. - But the gods of the nations failed to rule justly.

God chastises them in Psalm 82.

- Then God pronounces a judgment on them. - [Announcer] "I have said you are gods and sons

of the Most High, all of you. However, you will die like men

and you will fall like one of the princes." - The gods will be judged, punished and will die.

It's startling to read these things. God is so angry with His corrupt heavenly sons

that He condemns them. Some passages in the prophets place the fulfillment of this punishment in the end times at the Day of the Lord.

- This situation is at the heart of what scholars call cosmic geography.

It's the idea that the nations around Israel were under the dominion of other hostile gods.

Those nations and their gods surrounded the holy ground of Israel, Yahweh's portion of the earth.

(pensive digitized music) The Book of Daniel picks up on that idea.

It discloses that supernatural beings govern individual nations. In other words, evil intelligences influence

the geopolitics of those nations.

- Each of these nations has a supernatural prince, a term that means 'ruler'.

- Michael is the guardian of Israel. The big picture reveals that there is an unseen

spiritual conflict behind the empires of the Earth.

- 2 Kings 5 illustrates the idea of holy ground well. In that story, Naaman, a military commander from Syria,

visits Israel in search of the prophet Elisha. To a surprise and joy, Elisha heals him of leprosy.

But afterward, he makes a really interesting request of Elisha.

- Naaman asked Elisha for dirt from Israel. Why? Because now he worshiped Yahweh.

He wanted holy ground to worship on. (pensive orchestral music)

Cosmic geography is something we see a lot of in the Bible. It's about holy ground, a place for Yahweh to dwell

with his people, just like Eden. Do we realize how dramatic the judgment at Babel really was?

When it was over, God had no relationship with humanity, but God still wanted a family,

and He already had a plan to fix that problem. He'd begin with one man named Abraham.

- The Bible recounts many stories of God speaking from heaven, but God did something more dramatic

when it came to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He appeared as a man. Both Genesis and Acts will tell us God came to Abraham

in a vision. Visions are things you see. The Old Testament often describes God in visible terms:

standing, sitting, walking. Invisible voices don't stand, sit and walk, do they?

God appears as a man in the Old Testament, most often as the angel of the Lord.

Jacob first encountered Yahweh at Bethel, a man who was more than what He appeared to be

wrestled Him there. That man was described by the prophet Hosea as an angel and an Elohim.

That's why the angel of the Lord could say, "I am the God of Bethel."

That's amazing. An angel refers to Himself as God. But even more startling is the quote in Genesis 48

where Jacob blesses Joseph's children before he dies.

- Jacob's prayer has three lines. "May the God before who my father's walked,

may the God who shepherded me," and in the third line where we expect him

to mention God again, he swaps in "May the angel who redeemed me from harm."

And then he asks, "May He bless the boys." Not may they bless the boys, but may He bless the boys.

That's what the Hebrew text says. Jacob identified the angel with God.

Genesis intentionally draws a parallel between the identity of the angel of the Lord and Yahweh,

but it goes even deeper. Two other concepts are associated with the angel.

They're the word and the name.

- When God tells Moses His name is in the angel, He's telling Moses that He is in the angel.

The angel here possesses the power to forgive sin, something only God can do.

When Yahweh says He put his name in the angel, He's referring to His own presence.

It sounds odd, but sometimes the name is actually described as a person.

(uplifting music)

- The Bible does that because the name can be a person. Even today, observant Jews who don't want to pronounce

God's name will refer to God himself as Hashem.

That's Hebrew for 'the Name'. This reminds us of the burning bush

where God reveals His name. Exodus 3 says both God and the angel were in that bush.

(uplifting music)

- Yahweh reveals His name to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus revealed it as well.

- Of course, the Jews already knew God's name. It was in their Bible. Jesus was saying He had manifested God to them.

If they had seen Him, they had seen God. God's appearance as a man in the Old Testament

prepared people to receive God as man in Jesus.

- On their way to the promised land, God gave Israel the law, but obedience to the law

wasn't how Israelites obtained salvation. It was how they showed loyalty to Yahweh.

It would help them to live in harmony with God and each other. Salvation in the Bible is the same in either testament.

Israelites had to believe God was the God of all Gods. He made them to be with Him as His family

because He loved them. They needed to refuse to worship any other God.

- Salvation today and in the New Testament makes the same demand in a different way.

We must believe that the God of all Gods came to earth as a man in Jesus Christ.

We must believe that He loved us enough to die on the cross so that we could be in God's family forever.

And we must put our faith in Christ alone and no other God.

(pensive music) - The law taught people how to approach God.

God is holy and the space He occupies is sacred. Sacred space is physical space,

set apart and dedicated to the use and service of God.

- [Announcer] The Mosaic Law comprises 613 laws. Many of them sound quite strange.

You couldn't eat shellfish or combine different kinds of material and clothing. There was an entire litany of clean

and unclean animals and behaviors. - These laws were about ritual purity.

They taught people the space occupied by God's presence was different than their living space.

Cosmic geography encompasses sacred space. The most holy part of the land was where God's presence was.

Certain laws alerted an Israelite to the idea that Yahweh's living space was special.

Sacrifices reminded the Israelites of this and also purified sacred space and objects

so God's people could worship Him. - Sacred space encompasses more than the purification

of physical things. It distinguishes between the 'holy' and the 'normal'.

It even marked the unholy territory outside of Yahweh's land. (ominous music)

- In Israel's world, sacred space reminded Israelites of Eden. It was the place where God lived

and where He desired humans to live. (pensive windpipe music) The design of the golden lampstand and the holy place

of the tabernacle was a reminder of the Tree of Life, God's throne room, the holy of holies,

where the Ark of the Covenant was marked off by a veil. The Ark's lid functioned as a throne for God.

This echoes God's presence in Eden. - Over the Ark, sat two cherubim,

just as cherubim guarded the entrance to Eden. Lush decorations of vegetation, flowers, palm trees,

lions and pomegranates filled the tabernacle. They reminded the Israelites of God's first abode on Earth,

the Garden of Eden. (etheric music)

- You might wonder how cosmic geography worked before Israel got into the land.

The Israelite camp was holy ground. Outside the camp was the domain

of the lesser gods from Babel. (slow, dramatic music)

- Think about it, while Israel was traveling to the promised land, they were not yet in Yahweh's portion of the Earth.

Laws about sacred space taught Israelites that Yahweh's people were sacred, their home was sacred

and that other nations were estranged from God.

- If the Israelite camp in the wilderness was considered holy, outside the camp was unholy ground.

The annual Day of Atonement ceremony illustrated this point.

- Two goats were involved in the ceremony. One goat was sacrificed but one was not.

The one sacrificed was for the Lord. The one left alive was for Azazel.

- The crucifixion of Jesus paralleled the Day of Atonement ceremony. His cross was placed outside the city,

away from the temple area which was holy ground.

Jesus bore the sins of the world outside holy ground. (dramatic music rises)

- Why didn't the powers of darkness understand what would happen at the cross? Well, Paul gives us some insight into the way

God shrouded His plan for redemption in mystery.

- Do you realize what Paul is saying here? If the forces of spiritual darkness had understood

Jesus was coming to give His life as a sacrifice for sin, they never would've had Him killed.

- Even the disciples didn't understand why Jesus had come. Consider how they responded to Jesus when He told them

He was going to Jerusalem to die. They were shocked. Peter even rebuked Jesus.

- Jesus would have none of it. Jesus was on a divine secret mission.

- The Old Testament leaves clues scattered throughout dozens of places about God's plan,

but it doesn't spell it all out in one place. God didn't want the powers of darkness to know the plan.

The intelligent, supernatural, evil beings knew that the prophesied son of David had arrived.

Matthew records an encounter.

- They recognize Jesus, but their words never indicate that they understood what Jesus was up to.

(heavenly vocalizing music) The forces of darkness were duped into conspiring

to kill Jesus. It was a divinely-designed misdirection.

- Intelligent evil, Satan, demons, the lesser gods do not know everything.

Only God is all knowing, and He is on our side.

- Why did Jesus have to die? Why would God plan such a thing?

So that His children would have eternal life. That's what Eden was supposed to be.

The first supernatural rebellion in Eden brought death into God's world.

Everyone was destined to end up in the realm of the dead where the serpent was cast down.

- Death had to be overcome. That means resurrection. But you can't have a resurrection without a death.

- Now, Jesus knew what had to be done. He volunteered for that role. He would die in our place, rise again and overcome death.

God wants us to believe in His plan. He never gave up on including humans in His family.

That's why Jesus came. There was no plan B.

(pensive music)

- It's easy to get the impression that Jesus's ministry leading up to the cross was somewhat random,

but there's an important subtext to what Jesus was doing. He was outwitting the evil one.

Jesus drew the battle lines when He declared.

- Satan is the ruler of this world. He's also very clever.

Satan knew that Jesus wanted as many people as possible to be part of God's family and kingdom,

so he offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. There was just one catch.

- There's no clearer example of cosmic conflict. Satan's offer to Jesus was real.

The thought of Jesus, Yahweh in the flesh, prostrate, worshiping at his feet is his dream.

He's the ultimate megalomaniac. Jesus told Satan to get lost.

He knew something Satan didn't, that He was going to die and then rise again to liberate

anyone who believes in Him from death. God and His son already had a plan

to bring people into God's family, one that didn't involve worshiping Satan.

- When Jesus had His confrontation with Satan, He didn't reveal God's plan.

That plan was to reclaim the nations of the world allotted to lesser gods at Babel.

Jesus didn't even tell His disciples until a very specific incident. You remember that huge rock we saw earlier?

It's time to talk about what happened there. (heavenly vocalizing music) - Jesus brought us disciples to a place

called Caesarea Philippi, named after Caesar and Herod Philip. That was the Roman name.

It's in an area known in the Old Testament as Bashan. Canaanites believe Bashan contained gateways

to the underworld, the gates of hell. But in New Testament times, it had been the city of Pan, Panias,

one of the Decapolis cities. And Pan's Cave was also known as a gateway

to the underworld, but why did Jesus bring them there? Because the implicit message when Peter confessed Jesus

to be the Messiah, the son of God was, Jesus is the real Messiah, the son of God,

and these statues and that emperor are so not the sons of God.

- Caesarea Philippi was also located at the base of Mount Hermon. In some of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Jesus' day,

Mount Hermon was the place where the fallen sons of God descended to earth before the flood.

Bashan and Hermon were ground zero for the cosmic evil powers.

Jesus was standing at Satan's front door when He announced the gates of hell

would not withstand the church. - In this place, Jesus asked Peter,

"Who do you say I am?" And Peter answered.

- Jesus commended Peter and declared.

- The identification of this rock has been debated for a very long time.

The area's geography is the key to understanding this passage. (ominous music)

- Eventually this place became known as Pan's Grotto. The god Pan was represented with horns, a goat's beard,

a crooked nose, pointed ears, a tail and goats feet. That's why the early church described the devil

in those ways. In a few days, Jesus would take three disciples with him

up into Mount Hermon and put the entire spiritual world on notice with the Transfiguration.

- Right after Jesus did these things at the gates of hell in Mount Hermon, He began to teach His disciples

that He needed to go to Jerusalem to die. The thought panicked them. They didn't understand.

But Jesus knew it was time to fulfill God's plan. (slow, heavenly music)

- A week later, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for His triumphal entry. Jesus's provocations of the supernatural powers

led to the devil striking back. Satan entered Judas whose betrayal in the garden led to Jesus' trial.

He stood accused before the high priest, Caiaphas, who demanded that He defend himself.

- Jesus' answer sounds evasive to us, even cryptic. He replied.

- Caiaphas burst into a rage. He tore his robe saying, "He has blasphemed."

But why did Caiaphas think the reply was blasphemy? Jesus had quoted an Old Testament passage

that Caiaphas knew very well.

- Why was it so shocking to hear Jesus claim that He was the one coming on the clouds?

Because everywhere else in the Old Testament, that expression was used only of God himself.

For instance in Psalm 104, Yahweh, the God of Israel,

makes the clouds His chariot. (pensive music continues)

But Daniel 7 is an exception. God was already in the scene. He's the Ancient of Days seated on His throne.

That means the one coming on the clouds was a different person.

The scene has God in human form twice. He is the seated Ancient of Days,

and you would also expect God to be the one coming on the clouds because that is a title for Him.

Because of this scene, ancient Jewish theology had a doctrine called the Two Powers in Heaven.

They actually identified two Yahweh figures in this scene. Jesus claimed to be one of them,

the son of man riding on the clouds.

- Jesus claimed to be God was enough for the priest to declare that He should die, and die He did.

Psalm 22 gives us a glimpse of the suffering Messiah on the cross.

(eerie vocalizing music) - The creepy part is the description

of the mighty bulls of Bashan. Remember that Bashan was known as ground zero

to demonic gods and the realm of the dead. The area was a leading center for the worship of Baal,

symbolized by bulls and cows. Mighty bulls of bichon refers to demons

and the powers of darkness. - C.S. Lewis captured the force of the psalm in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

No one can forget when Aslan surrenders his life to the hordes of the White Witch and dies on the stone table.

But just as Aslan outsmarted the White Witch, so too Jesus turned this apparent defeat

into the greatest triumph of all time. - Jesus triumphed over death.

He was granted authority over all things. Satan has no claim over God's people.

Jesus conquered death through His resurrection. (triumphant music)

(slow, pensive music) - In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit explodes under the scene

with His arrival at Pentecost. It's a familiar story to Christians. There's more there than you first realize.

(uplifting orchestral music)

- The Old Testament associates the rival of God with fire in a violent wind.

Ezekiel 1 is a good example.

- The spirit of God enabled the Jewish followers of Jesus to speak in the languages of the surrounding nations

enslaved by enemy gods. (etheric vocalizing music)

- God was reversing the judgment at Babel. Part of that judgment had been the confusion of languages

to divide nations. The Spirit was supernaturally overcoming that obstacle,

but there's more going on. Pentecost was a slap in the face to the gods of the nations.

Their authority had been nullified. God was going to take the nations back.

God gave the risen Jesus all the authority he had once given to them.

This is why the Great Commission begins the way it does.

- The nation's listed in Acts 2 cover all of the geography associated with the disinherited nations from Babel.

Pentecost sent the message that God was reclaiming those nations. They could once again be included in His family.

(ominous, bassy music)

- The Apostle Paul often talked about the evil entities whose domains he violated

in the wake of Pentecost. He understood the Old Testament's cosmic geography.

- Paul lists rulers and principalities, authorities, powers, dominions, lords and thrones.

All of these terms indicate geographical rulership. They reflect how the Old Testament depicts the relationship

of the unseen and the seen worlds. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.

He knew that he was up against the old gods of the nations allotted to people,

excluded from God's family back at Babel. - Paul says something in the book of Romans

that helps us see that what happened at Babel influenced the way he thought about His mission.

- Why did Paul care about getting to Spain? On the one hand, some think it's the only

disinherited nation not mentioned in the Book of Acts, the land of Tarshish.

Clement, the early church father from the end of the 1st century AD says that Paul went to the limits

of the West in order to reach the full scope of Gentiles in the Roman empire.

- In other words, Jonah went to Tarshish to get away from proclaiming to Gentiles in Nineveh.

Paul went to Spain to reach the Gentiles at the end of the earth called the Roman Empire.

(slow, pensive music) - God knew that the Great Commission was bigger

than just Paul could imagine. It falls to us to bring the gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth.

- Paul had a supernatural view of his own life. He viewed himself as set apart

as an instrument for God's use. We have the same task of invading the demonic strongholds

of this world with the message of the love of Jesus Christ. (pensive music)

- Remember our discussion of holy and unholy ground. You might wonder where God's presence is today.

And sure, the Bible teaches us God is everywhere, but it actually marks His presence more specifically.

- Paul writes that God is specifically present within each believer.

In other words, every believer is sacred space. (heavenly vocalizing music)

- God was present in the temple today. The same is true wherever believers gather as a group.

The Bible says the people of God are collectively God's temple.

- Together, we are God's temple, the special place where God's spirit resides.

Wherever believers gather, the spiritual ground we occupy is sanctified amid the powers of darkness.

- Believe it or not, baptism is a declaration of spiritual warfare.

Peter explains that idea in a perplexing passage. It's odd to us, but people in Peter's day

would've known just what to do with it.

- At first glance, Noah, a good conscience. Spirits in prison, baptism, angels, authorities,

and powers seem to have little to do with each other, and baptism can't save us.

Believing in Jesus saves us. What's going on here? (pensive music)

- To understand what Peter wants to say here, we have to understand that, like Paul used Adam

as an analogy for Jesus in some of His teaching, Peter uses Enoch.

- We don't learn much about Enoch in the Old Testament, just three verses. He walked with God after living 365 years,

and God took him to heaven. That makes it hard to see much of an analogy, but we have to remember that New Testament writers

read other books besides the Old Testament, and one of those books is called 1 Enoch.

1 Enoch isn't inspired, but biblical writers quote from some uninspired books they knew their readers were familiar with.

Those familiar books helped them make their points. That's what Peter is doing in 1 Peter 3.

- The book of 1 Enoch says the fallen sons of God were imprisoned after they rebelled.

Peter's Second Epistle mentions those rebels being held in chains of gloomy darkness.

In 1 Enoch, the fallen sons of God asked Enoch to see if God would forgive them.

Since Enoch had God's favor, they thought it was worth a try. In 1 Enoch, God rejects the plea of the fallen angels

after Enoch reports to him. He sends Enoch down into the abyss. He descends to the spirits in prison to announce their doom.

That's the point of analogy for Peter. Just as Enoch descended to the fallen spirits,

so Jesus descended into the same realm to proclaim something to them.

What did he proclaim? They thought that since Jesus was in the realm of the dead, they had won.

Jesus told them they were wrong, and he rose on the third day to prove it.

They were still doomed. - But how does this connect to baptism and a good conscience?

- An appeal to God for a good conscience in 1 Peter 3 means a sincere pledge.

In essence, baptism was a loyalty oath and repeated the message Enoch and then Jesus

gave to the demonic powers and anyone present of just whose side of the spiritual war you were on.

(water whooshes dramatically) (triumphant, heavenly music)

- That's why baptism is an instrument of spiritual warfare. Whether we realize it or not,

we're being watched by both sides of this supernatural war. (etheric, pensive music)

- Being partakers of the divine nature means we will be like God. We will have a body like Jesus did after the resurrection.

We will have eternal life, and with the loyal members of the heavenly host,

we will be in God's family and worship Him forever. God will succeed in uniting His divine

and human family for eternity. But the most amazing part of being in God's family

is how Jesus, the unique son of God, sees us.

When Jesus became a man, He was made, for a short time a little lower than the angels.

Listen to the writer to the Hebrews.

- Because God became man in Jesus, His mortal followers will become like Him

and members of God's family. We are Jesus' siblings and the fruit of His ministry.

- It's stunning that Jesus is not ashamed to call mere mortals His brothers and sisters.

In fact, in the presence of the Divine Council, He revels in introducing God to us and us to God.

- [Michael] Consider the reason that Paul gives for our glorification.

- The exultation of Jesus is the reason for our glorification. He is the firstborn or the head,

the One who receives the inheritance among many brothers. John puts this even more succinctly.

- That's our future, but what about now? Sometimes when we hear that we'll be like Jesus,

we process it only in terms of being less bad, but our eternal destiny doesn't hinge on merit.

That turns grace into duty. That's just bad theology. The Bible teaches salvation is not of works but of grace.

God loves us and wants to give us everlasting life, if we will only believe in it.

- Until that day, God wants us to tell the epic story of His war against supernatural rebellion

to help Him release those still held captive by unseen powers of darkness.

(uplifting orchestral music)

- Well, it's pretty obvious we're not living in Eden today. The world is full of darkness, but supernatural evil has no claim on us.

Jesus is ruling at the right hand of God. We are sacred space, since God's spirit dwells in us,

but we await the Lord's return to transform the Earth. As theologians like to say,

"The kingdom is here already, but not yet."

- The 'already-but-not-yet' paradox is an important biblical idea.

On the 'already' side of things, God gives us a new identity as His children.

We belong with Him as He intended. He also gives us a mission.

We're here to grow God's family.

The 'not yet' part of our mission is what we often miss. The Bible says we will one day replace

the rebellious sons of God in His Divine Council. Consider what Paul says.

- The book of Revelation promises believers a future where we will rule with Christ over the nations.

- Think about it. Believers will be granted authority over the nations.

Who rules the nations now? The fallen sons of God. We're going to replace them and rule with our father

in a new world. But what do we make of the gift of the morning star?

In the ancient, world stars were associated with divine beings. The morning star is symbolic of the reign of the Messiah.

- Jesus is the Morning Star. That's a title for the ruling Messiah.

- Incredibly, we share the Morning Star. We share the Messiah's rule in the New Earth.

Elsewhere in the book of Revelation, Jesus shares His throne with us.

(triumphant music) - God and man will be reunited in fellowship.

The dominion of the world will return to its proper sovereign.

Heaven will return to Earth. Eden will be restored.

[Michael] God gives us a new identity as His children. We belong with him as he intended. The Bible says we will one day replace the rebellious sons of God in His Divine Council. He also gives us a mission. We’re here to grow God’s family.

We’re gonna go on a fascinating journey. We’ll explore some strange passages. We’ll reexamine some familiar ones with meanings hidden in plain sight. We’ll look at the Bible through the supernatural worldview of its writers. By the time we’re done, you’ll never be able to look at your Bible the same way again. There’s a lot to be seen when it comes to the unseen realm. (etheric music)

The Bible asks us to believe a lot of strange things about the spiritual world. At first, we might be tempted to ignore them, but if we say we believe the Bible, we can’t avoid these concepts. Much of what we think we know about the spirit world isn’t true. It’s been filtered down through centuries of church tradition. Angels do not have wings. Demons don’t have horns or tails. And for the biblical writers, the unseen realm was home to more than angels and demons. There were other bigger players. So do you believe what’s in your Bible? (mysterious music)

The rock at Caesarea Philippi might be the most imposing rock face in Israel. Imagine standing in front of the 500-foot wide face and hearing Jesus’ words, “Upon this rock, I will build my church.” This is the place where Jesus and His disciple stood, the scene of Peter’s confession. And when Jesus added, “And the gates of hell will not be able to withstand the church,” he knew what he was talking about.

Gates to hell, really? The authors of scripture believe the gods of the nations were real. Look at Psalm 82 carefully.

When you really look at Psalm 82:1, it’s kind of shocking, but there it is plain as day. God presides over an assembly of gods that he calls His sons. We’re just not used to thinking of the heavenly host in those terms, but that’s what the Hebrew text says. Psalm 89 says the same thing about God’s council in the heavens.

The Hebrew word translated Gods in Psalm 82 is Elohim. Now, most of the time it should be translated as capital G God, but sometimes it’s plural, and Psalm 82:1 has both. The problem for us is that we think this is a problem for monotheism, but it’s not. We’re taught to associate the letters G, O and D with a specific set of unique attributes. That’s why putting an S on the end makes us queasy. But the word Elohim is not about a set of unique attributes. The Bible itself tells us that. (heavenly orchestral music)

Elohim is simply a word used to describe a supernatural being. It says nothing, nothing about attributes. That’s why the biblical writers used Elohim for other spirit beings besides God. It’s used for the gods of the nations. It’s used for demons, it’s used for angels, even the disembodied human dead. However, Yahweh is one of those Elohim, and no other Elohim is like him. I repeat, no other Elohim is like him. The Bible describes him in unique ways. There is only one of Him, one of Him existing as three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he is the creator of all other Elohim. (soothing music)

Psalm 82 places the heavenly host in a council. That term is appropriate because these beings participate in God’s rule of the world. Now, certainly God doesn’t need their help, but he lets them participate. Consider the strange story that the prophet Micaiah gave to the wicked Israel like king, Ahab.

Did you catch where the Bible asked you to believe? God meets with His heavenly host to decide what happens on Earth? These beings, the gods of the council are spirits, not people or idols. (pensive music) - Remember, Yahweh, the God of Israel is an Elohim, a spirit being, but no other Elohim is Him. He is one of a kind. He is the true God with a capital G. He alone is the perfect Sovereign Creator. He is the Most High God. Now, Psalm 82:6 says God has sons. “Sons of the Most High,” is the phrase.

Who are these sons of God? It sounds odd. What about Jesus? How can there be all these other sons of God? The answer is found in verses like John 3:16, where Jesus is described as the unique Son of God. Now, some translations say only begotten, but the word actually means unique, one of a kind. How is Jesus unique? The New Testament says He is God, the one uncreated God in the flesh. None of the other sons of God fit that description.

The sons of God language made sense to ancient people. God was king, and kings assigned their sons high-ranking jobs in their government. So it is in the unseen realm. It’s important because the sonship language reminds us that God wants a family. His family extends to both the unseen world and to Earth, and those two families come together in Eden. (dramatic orchestral music)

God addressed His council when He created the first man and woman, the council was already there.

God told His heavenly family he wanted to create humanity. Now, people often think God addressed the other members of the Trinity, but that is not the case. The other members of the Trinity are co-equal and co-omniscient. God wouldn’t need to tell them anything. God speaks to his heavenly host here. Job 38 tells us the sons of God were present at the creation. (pensive music) (etheric vocalization music)

The image of God concept helps us to understand how humans and the heavenly host are both like God. Both of God’s families represent Him. The supernatural sons of God represent Him in the unseen realm and we represent God on Earth.

But how do we represent God? We saw how divine beings participate in God’s rule. God created humans to participate in His plan to make the earth all He envisioned and to enjoy it with Him.

Imaging God is a status we have on Earth, not a specific ability. We bear that status from the moment of conception until death. To be human is to image God, but God also shares His attributes with us. Beginning with Adam and Eve, we were supposed to take care of Creation and develop it. God wanted the whole earth to be like Eden.

The knowledge that all humans are representatives of God prompts us to see all human life as sacred. It leaves no room for racism. Injustice has no place, and the abuse of power at home, at work or in government cannot be justified. (ominous music)

Obviously, the world isn’t like Eden. People don’t treat each other as equal imagers of God, not even close. What happened? The answer lies in God’s decision to share His attributes with both His supernatural and human children. And one of those attributes is freedom or free will. It is freedom, not mere intelligence, that allows for meaningful choices. God didn’t program His children like robots. If He did, we wouldn’t truly be like Him. Having freedom meant God’s children might choose to rebel. That’s what happened. (ominous music) - Remember, we don’t have God’s perfect nature, even though both humans and the heavenly sons of God represent Him in their respective realm. God tells us in Job 15 that He doesn’t trust His holy ones. He knows they can fail.

Eden was the home and headquarters of God. His supernatural and earthly families resided there. God wanted them to image him in their own ways, heaven and earth blended together into one family. But, one family member didn’t like that idea. (instrument hissing)

We’ve all heard about the serpent in Eden, but why a serpent, what’s that supposed to tell us? Ancient people knew how to take this scene, but we don’t. We assume the serpent is merely an animal. His form is important, but the story is not about zoology. The story is about a supernatural rebellion. Isaiah alludes to that rebellion.

Isaiah is talking about the sons of God in the assembly. Just like Job, he refers to them as stars. They were present before Eden. Ezekiel 28 mentions the rebellion in Eden as well. In Ezekiel’s case, a guardian cherub gets kicked out of Eden.

Ancient Mesopotamian tablets talk about cherub throne guardians and describe them as snakes and dragons. The serpent of Eden was actually a supernatural being whose job was to guard God’s throne. An ancient person would’ve known the scene was about a rebel in the Divine Council.

Like the supernatural rebel, Adam and Eve rebel too. Eden was lost, the rebel security guard was cast down. He brought death to earth, and now everyone would die. He became Lord of the dead. Since everyone would die, humanity would be his. (orchestral music rises) Now most people know the basics of that story. Christians believe it’s why the world is the way it is, but that’s actually incomplete. What happened in Eden was just the first of three reasons why there’s so much evil and death in the world. There were actually two more supernatural rebellions. (ominous music)

Genesis 6 describes the second supernatural rebellion. Some of the sons of God, members of the heavenly council, transgressed the boundary between heaven and earth. (mystical flute music)

Both Peter and Jude references story in the New Testament.

Jude also tells us about the judgment of these angels.

Both of these writers understood that Genesis 6 recorded the second supernatural rebellion. The fallen sons of God were sent to Tartarus for their transgression. Tartarus is a Greek word for the realm of the dead, what we think of as hell. They’d stay there until the Day of the Lord at the end of days. A term like fallen angels makes us think of demons, like the ones Jesus cast out, but the rebels of Genesis 6 are imprisoned, so they can’t be the demons Jesus encountered. So where did they come from? The answer lies in the offspring produced by the forbidden union between the sons of God and the women in Genesis 6. Those offspring were known as the Nephilim. They were giants. Their descendants became the giant clans Moses and Joshua battled.

In the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, we learned about the giants Moses and Joshua ran into. They not only descended from the Nephilim, but they are called by other names like Anakim and the Rephaim. That last name stands out. Several Bible passages described the dead spirits of the Rephaim in the realm of the dead, again, what we would think of as hell. (ominous music)

Extra-biblical Jewish writers believe the demons, like those described in the gospels, were disembodied spirits of the giants. They base this on the Bible’s mention of dead Rephaim in the underworld. Jewish books like 1 Enoch and the Book of the Giants from the Dead Sea Scrolls make that point explicitly. (dramatic orchestral music)

If demons come from dead giants, what happened to the giants? Believe it or not, the answer comes from a very familiar story. (ominous, bassy music) God told Joshua to destroy entire populations in the land of Cannon, but if you read the conquest account closely, you’ll also see places where God told Joshua only drive them out, not kill them. Now this seems inconsistent. However, when you understand the supernatural rationale for what God wanted Joshua to do, things become more clear.

It’s fascinating to discover that the conquest actually began with the giants. Moses initially sent 12 spies into the land. They reported about the places they had visited and where they saw the giant Anakim. 10 of the 12 spies convinced the rest of the people they could not win against the Anakim. God judged Israel with 40 years of wandering. Notice that the giants were a focal point from the very beginning of the conquest effort.

At the end of the 40 years, God took Israel up through the east side of the Jordan. He told them not to bother the people of Moab and Ammon, since the giant clans in those lands had already been removed by the people of Esau, relatives of the Israelites. (etheric music) God sent Moses and Joshua to Bashan, the realm of Og, king of the Amorites. Og was a giant the last of the Rephaim. The prophet Amos described them.

The point is that once all the giants from the other side of the Jordan were removed, Joshua could take the people into Canaan. Joshua took the Israelites into the land. It’s important to notice that the places that were designated for total destruction correspond to the places where the giants were seen. The giant descendants of the Nephilim were the real targets of the killing. Many people died because the Anakim lived among them, but the descendants of the Nephilim were the lethal threat. (uplifting drumming music)

The Nephilim and their descendants were from the divine rebellion of Genesis 6. They had been raised up by supernatural rebels to oppose God and destroy his people. Now in this light, the conquest, the spiritual warfare laid out on earth, either God’s people Israel would survive or be annihilated. The story is cast as an epic battle of good and evil, in both the spiritual and earthly sense. Joshua could drive out people, but the descendants of the Nephilim had to be eliminated. (triumphant music) This is why when Joshua defined victory in the conquest, he said there are no more Anakim in the land. The only ones left went to the Philistine cities. One of those cities was Gath, the home of Goliath and his brothers. And eventually David would complete the task of eliminating the descendants of the Nephilim. - The conquest is ultimately about God protecting his own children against a cosmically empowered threat bent on stopping Yahweh from reestablishing Eden. - God’s original program was for Adam and Eve to spread Eden throughout the Earth. All people were to be God’s people. The whole earth was to be God’s domain, but that gets ruined and destroyed, but God never gives up on his original plan, God called a people to himself, the nation of Israel. Yahweh wanted a land to restart a new Eden, and the Anakim, descendants of rival gods, would stop at nothing to prevent that. (ominous music)

The first two spiritual rebellions produced Satan, the giants, and the demons who came from them. But there was one more ancient rebellion looming ahead. This one would produce another set of bad guys and change the entire landscape of God’s relationship with humanity, but ultimately they would become the catalyst of God’s redemption plan. (uplifting music)

Now this is a really familiar story. Less familiar is how the story is told in Deuteronomy. (pensive digitized music)

When was humanity divided into nations? That was at Babel. Got a lot of the nations to the members of his Divine Council. The Bible says this is why the ancient nations worshiped other gods. God decided to let the members of his Divine Council govern the other nations in response to humanity’s rebellion at Babel. - But the gods of the nations failed to rule justly. God chastises them in Psalm 82.

Then God pronounces a judgment on them. - [Announcer] “I have said you are gods and sons of the Most High, all of you. However, you will die like men and you will fall like one of the princes.” - The gods will be judged, punished and will die. It’s startling to read these things. God is so angry with His corrupt heavenly sons that He condemns them. Some passages in the prophets place the fulfillment of this punishment in the end times at the Day of the Lord.

This situation is at the heart of what scholars call cosmic geography. It’s the idea that the nations around Israel were under the dominion of other hostile gods. Those nations and their gods surrounded the holy ground of Israel, Yahweh’s portion of the earth. (pensive digitized music) The Book of Daniel picks up on that idea. It discloses that supernatural beings govern individual nations. In other words, evil intelligences influence the geopolitics of those nations.

Each of these nations has a supernatural prince, a term that means ‘ruler’.

Michael is the guardian of Israel. The big picture reveals that there is an unseen spiritual conflict behind the empires of the Earth.

2 Kings 5 illustrates the idea of holy ground well. In that story, Naaman, a military commander from Syria, visits Israel in search of the prophet Elisha. To a surprise and joy, Elisha heals him of leprosy. But afterward, he makes a really interesting request of Elisha.

Naaman asked Elisha for dirt from Israel. Why? Because now he worshiped Yahweh. He wanted holy ground to worship on. (pensive orchestral music) Cosmic geography is something we see a lot of in the Bible. It’s about holy ground, a place for Yahweh to dwell with his people, just like Eden. Do we realize how dramatic the judgment at Babel really was? When it was over, God had no relationship with humanity, but God still wanted a family, and He already had a plan to fix that problem. He’d begin with one man named Abraham.

The Bible recounts many stories of God speaking from heaven, but God did something more dramatic when it came to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He appeared as a man. Both Genesis and Acts will tell us God came to Abraham in a vision. Visions are things you see. The Old Testament often describes God in visible terms: standing, sitting, walking. Invisible voices don’t stand, sit and walk, do they? God appears as a man in the Old Testament, most often as the angel of the Lord. Jacob first encountered Yahweh at Bethel, a man who was more than what He appeared to be wrestled Him there. That man was described by the prophet Hosea as an angel and an Elohim. That’s why the angel of the Lord could say, “I am the God of Bethel.” That’s amazing. An angel refers to Himself as God. But even more startling is the quote in Genesis 48 where Jacob blesses Joseph’s children before he dies.

Jacob’s prayer has three lines. “May the God before who my father’s walked, may the God who shepherded me,” and in the third line where we expect him to mention God again, he swaps in “May the angel who redeemed me from harm.” And then he asks, “May He bless the boys.” Not may they bless the boys, but may He bless the boys. That’s what the Hebrew text says. Jacob identified the angel with God. Genesis intentionally draws a parallel between the identity of the angel of the Lord and Yahweh, but it goes even deeper. Two other concepts are associated with the angel. They’re the word and the name.

When God tells Moses His name is in the angel, He’s telling Moses that He is in the angel. The angel here possesses the power to forgive sin, something only God can do. When Yahweh says He put his name in the angel, He’s referring to His own presence. It sounds odd, but sometimes the name is actually described as a person. (uplifting music)

The Bible does that because the name can be a person. Even today, observant Jews who don’t want to pronounce God’s name will refer to God himself as Hashem. That’s Hebrew for ‘the Name’. This reminds us of the burning bush where God reveals His name. Exodus 3 says both God and the angel were in that bush. (uplifting music)

Yahweh reveals His name to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus revealed it as well.

Of course, the Jews already knew God’s name. It was in their Bible. Jesus was saying He had manifested God to them. If they had seen Him, they had seen God. God’s appearance as a man in the Old Testament prepared people to receive God as man in Jesus.

On their way to the promised land, God gave Israel the law, but obedience to the law wasn’t how Israelites obtained salvation. It was how they showed loyalty to Yahweh. It would help them to live in harmony with God and each other. Salvation in the Bible is the same in either testament. Israelites had to believe God was the God of all Gods. He made them to be with Him as His family because He loved them. They needed to refuse to worship any other God.

Salvation today and in the New Testament makes the same demand in a different way. We must believe that the God of all Gods came to earth as a man in Jesus Christ. We must believe that He loved us enough to die on the cross so that we could be in God’s family forever. And we must put our faith in Christ alone and no other God. (pensive music) - The law taught people how to approach God. God is holy and the space He occupies is sacred. Sacred space is physical space, set apart and dedicated to the use and service of God.

[Announcer] The Mosaic Law comprises 613 laws. Many of them sound quite strange. You couldn’t eat shellfish or combine different kinds of material and clothing. There was an entire litany of clean and unclean animals and behaviors. - These laws were about ritual purity. They taught people the space occupied by God’s presence was different than their living space.

[Announcer] Cosmic geography encompasses sacred space. The most holy part of the land was where God’s presence was. Certain laws alerted an Israelite to the idea that Yahweh’s living space was special. Sacrifices reminded the Israelites of this and also purified sacred space and objects so God’s people could worship Him. - Sacred space encompasses more than the purification of physical things. It distinguishes between the ‘holy’ and the ‘normal’. It even marked the unholy territory outside of Yahweh’s land. (ominous music)

In Israel’s world, sacred space reminded Israelites of Eden. It was the place where God lived and where He desired humans to live. (pensive windpipe music) The design of the golden lampstand and the holy place of the tabernacle was a reminder of the Tree of Life, God’s throne room, the holy of holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was marked off by a veil. The Ark’s lid functioned as a throne for God. This echoes God’s presence in Eden. - Over the Ark, sat two cherubim, just as cherubim guarded the entrance to Eden. Lush decorations of vegetation, flowers, palm trees, lions and pomegranates filled the tabernacle. They reminded the Israelites of God’s first abode on Earth, the Garden of Eden. (etheric music)

You might wonder how cosmic geography worked before Israel got into the land. The Israelite camp was holy ground. Outside the camp was the domain of the lesser gods from Babel. (slow, dramatic music)

Think about it, while Israel was traveling to the promised land, they were not yet in Yahweh’s portion of the Earth. Laws about sacred space taught Israelites that Yahweh’s people were sacred, their home was sacred and that other nations were estranged from God.

If the Israelite camp in the wilderness was considered holy, outside the camp was unholy ground. The annual Day of Atonement ceremony illustrated this point.

Two goats were involved in the ceremony. One goat was sacrificed but one was not. The one sacrificed was for the Lord. The one left alive was for Azazel.

The crucifixion of Jesus paralleled the Day of Atonement ceremony. His cross was placed outside the city, away from the temple area which was holy ground. Jesus bore the sins of the world outside holy ground. (dramatic music rises)

Why didn’t the powers of darkness understand what would happen at the cross? Well, Paul gives us some insight into the way God shrouded His plan for redemption in mystery.

Do you realize what Paul is saying here? If the forces of spiritual darkness had understood Jesus was coming to give His life as a sacrifice for sin, they never would’ve had Him killed.

Even the disciples didn’t understand why Jesus had come. Consider how they responded to Jesus when He told them He was going to Jerusalem to die. They were shocked. Peter even rebuked Jesus.

Jesus would have none of it. Jesus was on a divine secret mission.

The Old Testament leaves clues scattered throughout dozens of places about God’s plan, but it doesn’t spell it all out in one place. God didn’t want the powers of darkness to know the plan. The intelligent, supernatural, evil beings knew that the prophesied son of David had arrived. Matthew records an encounter.

They recognize Jesus, but their words never indicate that they understood what Jesus was up to. (heavenly vocalizing music) The forces of darkness were duped into conspiring to kill Jesus. It was a divinely-designed misdirection.

Intelligent evil, Satan, demons, the lesser gods do not know everything. Only God is all knowing, and He is on our side.

Why did Jesus have to die? Why would God plan such a thing? So that His children would have eternal life. That’s what Eden was supposed to be. The first supernatural rebellion in Eden brought death into God’s world. Everyone was destined to end up in the realm of the dead where the serpent was cast down.

Death had to be overcome. That means resurrection. But you can’t have a resurrection without a death.

Now, Jesus knew what had to be done. He volunteered for that role. He would die in our place, rise again and overcome death. God wants us to believe in His plan. He never gave up on including humans in His family. That’s why Jesus came. There was no plan B. (pensive music)

It’s easy to get the impression that Jesus’s ministry leading up to the cross was somewhat random, but there’s an important subtext to what Jesus was doing. He was outwitting the evil one. Jesus drew the battle lines when He declared.

Satan is the ruler of this world. He’s also very clever. Satan knew that Jesus wanted as many people as possible to be part of God’s family and kingdom, so he offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. There was just one catch.

There’s no clearer example of cosmic conflict. Satan’s offer to Jesus was real. The thought of Jesus, Yahweh in the flesh, prostrate, worshiping at his feet is his dream. He’s the ultimate megalomaniac. Jesus told Satan to get lost. He knew something Satan didn’t, that He was going to die and then rise again to liberate anyone who believes in Him from death. God and His son already had a plan to bring people into God’s family, one that didn’t involve worshiping Satan.

When Jesus had His confrontation with Satan, He didn’t reveal God’s plan. That plan was to reclaim the nations of the world allotted to lesser gods at Babel. Jesus didn’t even tell His disciples until a very specific incident. You remember that huge rock we saw earlier? It’s time to talk about what happened there. (heavenly vocalizing music) - Jesus brought us disciples to a place called Caesarea Philippi, named after Caesar and Herod Philip. That was the Roman name. It’s in an area known in the Old Testament as Bashan. Canaanites believe Bashan contained gateways to the underworld, the gates of hell. But in New Testament times, it had been the city of Pan, Panias, one of the Decapolis cities. And Pan’s Cave was also known as a gateway to the underworld, but why did Jesus bring them there? Because the implicit message when Peter confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, the son of God was, Jesus is the real Messiah, the son of God, and these statues and that emperor are so not the sons of God.

Caesarea Philippi was also located at the base of Mount Hermon. In some of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Jesus’ day, Mount Hermon was the place where the fallen sons of God descended to earth before the flood. Bashan and Hermon were ground zero for the cosmic evil powers. Jesus was standing at Satan’s front door when He announced the gates of hell would not withstand the church. - In this place, Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” And Peter answered.

Jesus commended Peter and declared.

The identification of this rock has been debated for a very long time. The area’s geography is the key to understanding this passage. (ominous music)

Eventually this place became known as Pan’s Grotto. The god Pan was represented with horns, a goat’s beard, a crooked nose, pointed ears, a tail and goats feet. That’s why the early church described the devil in those ways. In a few days, Jesus would take three disciples with him up into Mount Hermon and put the entire spiritual world on notice with the Transfiguration.

Right after Jesus did these things at the gates of hell in Mount Hermon, He began to teach His disciples that He needed to go to Jerusalem to die. The thought panicked them. They didn’t understand. But Jesus knew it was time to fulfill God’s plan. (slow, heavenly music)

A week later, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for His triumphal entry. Jesus’s provocations of the supernatural powers led to the devil striking back. Satan entered Judas whose betrayal in the garden led to Jesus’ trial. He stood accused before the high priest, Caiaphas, who demanded that He defend himself.

Jesus’ answer sounds evasive to us, even cryptic. He replied.

Caiaphas burst into a rage. He tore his robe saying, “He has blasphemed.” But why did Caiaphas think the reply was blasphemy? Jesus had quoted an Old Testament passage that Caiaphas knew very well.

Why was it so shocking to hear Jesus claim that He was the one coming on the clouds? Because everywhere else in the Old Testament, that expression was used only of God himself. For instance in Psalm 104, Yahweh, the God of Israel, makes the clouds His chariot. (pensive music continues) But Daniel 7 is an exception. God was already in the scene. He’s the Ancient of Days seated on His throne. That means the one coming on the clouds was a different person. The scene has God in human form twice. He is the seated Ancient of Days, and you would also expect God to be the one coming on the clouds because that is a title for Him. Because of this scene, ancient Jewish theology had a doctrine called the Two Powers in Heaven. They actually identified two Yahweh figures in this scene. Jesus claimed to be one of them, the son of man riding on the clouds.

Jesus claimed to be God was enough for the priest to declare that He should die, and die He did. Psalm 22 gives us a glimpse of the suffering Messiah on the cross. (eerie vocalizing music) - The creepy part is the description of the mighty bulls of Bashan. Remember that Bashan was known as ground zero to demonic gods and the realm of the dead. The area was a leading center for the worship of Baal, symbolized by bulls and cows. Mighty bulls of bichon refers to demons and the powers of darkness. - C.S. Lewis captured the force of the psalm in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” No one can forget when Aslan surrenders his life to the hordes of the White Witch and dies on the stone table. But just as Aslan outsmarted the White Witch, so too Jesus turned this apparent defeat into the greatest triumph of all time. - Jesus triumphed over death. He was granted authority over all things. Satan has no claim over God’s people. Jesus conquered death through His resurrection. (triumphant music) (slow, pensive music) - In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit explodes under the scene with His arrival at Pentecost. It’s a familiar story to Christians. There’s more there than you first realize. (uplifting orchestral music)

The Old Testament associates the rival of God with fire in a violent wind. Ezekiel 1 is a good example.

The spirit of God enabled the Jewish followers of Jesus to speak in the languages of the surrounding nations enslaved by enemy gods. (etheric vocalizing music)

God was reversing the judgment at Babel. Part of that judgment had been the confusion of languages to divide nations. The Spirit was supernaturally overcoming that obstacle, but there’s more going on. Pentecost was a slap in the face to the gods of the nations. Their authority had been nullified. God was going to take the nations back. God gave the risen Jesus all the authority he had once given to them. This is why the Great Commission begins the way it does.

The nation’s listed in Acts 2 cover all of the geography associated with the disinherited nations from Babel. Pentecost sent the message that God was reclaiming those nations. They could once again be included in His family. (ominous, bassy music)

The Apostle Paul often talked about the evil entities whose domains he violated in the wake of Pentecost. He understood the Old Testament’s cosmic geography.

Paul lists rulers and principalities, authorities, powers, dominions, lords and thrones. All of these terms indicate geographical rulership. They reflect how the Old Testament depicts the relationship of the unseen and the seen worlds. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. He knew that he was up against the old gods of the nations allotted to people, excluded from God’s family back at Babel. - Paul says something in the book of Romans that helps us see that what happened at Babel influenced the way he thought about His mission.

Why did Paul care about getting to Spain? On the one hand, some think it’s the only disinherited nation not mentioned in the Book of Acts, the land of Tarshish. Clement, the early church father from the end of the 1st century AD says that Paul went to the limits of the West in order to reach the full scope of Gentiles in the Roman empire.

In other words, Jonah went to Tarshish to get away from proclaiming to Gentiles in Nineveh. Paul went to Spain to reach the Gentiles at the end of the earth called the Roman Empire. (slow, pensive music) - God knew that the Great Commission was bigger than just Paul could imagine. It falls to us to bring the gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth.

Paul had a supernatural view of his own life. He viewed himself as set apart as an instrument for God’s use. We have the same task of invading the demonic strongholds of this world with the message of the love of Jesus Christ. (pensive music)

Remember our discussion of holy and unholy ground. You might wonder where God’s presence is today. And sure, the Bible teaches us God is everywhere, but it actually marks His presence more specifically.

Paul writes that God is specifically present within each believer. In other words, every believer is sacred space. (heavenly vocalizing music)

God was present in the temple today. The same is true wherever believers gather as a group. The Bible says the people of God are collectively God’s temple.

Together, we are God’s temple, the special place where God’s spirit resides. Wherever believers gather, the spiritual ground we occupy is sanctified amid the powers of darkness.

Believe it or not, baptism is a declaration of spiritual warfare. Peter explains that idea in a perplexing passage. It’s odd to us, but people in Peter’s day would’ve known just what to do with it.

At first glance, Noah, a good conscience. Spirits in prison, baptism, angels, authorities, and powers seem to have little to do with each other, and baptism can’t save us. Believing in Jesus saves us. What’s going on here? (pensive music)

To understand what Peter wants to say here, we have to understand that, like Paul used Adam as an analogy for Jesus in some of His teaching, Peter uses Enoch.

We don’t learn much about Enoch in the Old Testament, just three verses. He walked with God after living 365 years, and God took him to heaven. That makes it hard to see much of an analogy, but we have to remember that New Testament writers read other books besides the Old Testament, and one of those books is called 1 Enoch. 1 Enoch isn’t inspired, but biblical writers quote from some uninspired books they knew their readers were familiar with. Those familiar books helped them make their points. That’s what Peter is doing in 1 Peter 3.

The book of 1 Enoch says the fallen sons of God were imprisoned after they rebelled. Peter’s Second Epistle mentions those rebels being held in chains of gloomy darkness. In 1 Enoch, the fallen sons of God asked Enoch to see if God would forgive them. Since Enoch had God’s favor, they thought it was worth a try. In 1 Enoch, God rejects the plea of the fallen angels after Enoch reports to him. He sends Enoch down into the abyss. He descends to the spirits in prison to announce their doom. That’s the point of analogy for Peter. Just as Enoch descended to the fallen spirits, so Jesus descended into the same realm to proclaim something to them. What did he proclaim? They thought that since Jesus was in the realm of the dead, they had won. Jesus told them they were wrong, and he rose on the third day to prove it. They were still doomed. - But how does this connect to baptism and a good conscience?

An appeal to God for a good conscience in 1 Peter 3 means a sincere pledge. In essence, baptism was a loyalty oath and repeated the message Enoch and then Jesus gave to the demonic powers and anyone present of just whose side of the spiritual war you were on. (water whooshes dramatically) (triumphant, heavenly music)

That’s why baptism is an instrument of spiritual warfare. Whether we realize it or not, we’re being watched by both sides of this supernatural war. (etheric, pensive music)

Being partakers of the divine nature means we will be like God. We will have a body like Jesus did after the resurrection. We will have eternal life, and with the loyal members of the heavenly host, we will be in God’s family and worship Him forever. God will succeed in uniting His divine and human family for eternity. But the most amazing part of being in God’s family is how Jesus, the unique son of God, sees us. When Jesus became a man, He was made, for a short time a little lower than the angels. Listen to the writer to the Hebrews.

Because God became man in Jesus, His mortal followers will become like Him and members of God’s family. We are Jesus’ siblings and the fruit of His ministry.

It’s stunning that Jesus is not ashamed to call mere mortals His brothers and sisters. In fact, in the presence of the Divine Council, He revels in introducing God to us and us to God.

[Michael] Consider the reason that Paul gives for our glorification.

The exultation of Jesus is the reason for our glorification. He is the firstborn or the head, the One who receives the inheritance among many brothers. John puts this even more succinctly.

That’s our future, but what about now? Sometimes when we hear that we’ll be like Jesus, we process it only in terms of being less bad, but our eternal destiny doesn’t hinge on merit. That turns grace into duty. That’s just bad theology. The Bible teaches salvation is not of works but of grace. God loves us and wants to give us everlasting life, if we will only believe in it.

Until that day, God wants us to tell the epic story of His war against supernatural rebellion to help Him release those still held captive by unseen powers of darkness. (uplifting orchestral music)

Well, it’s pretty obvious we’re not living in Eden today. The world is full of darkness, but supernatural evil has no claim on us. Jesus is ruling at the right hand of God. We are sacred space, since God’s spirit dwells in us, but we await the Lord’s return to transform the Earth. As theologians like to say, “The kingdom is here already, but not yet.”

The ‘already-but-not-yet’ paradox is an important biblical idea. On the ‘already’ side of things, God gives us a new identity as His children. We belong with Him as He intended. He also gives us a mission. We’re here to grow God’s family. The ‘not yet’ part of our mission is what we often miss. The Bible says we will one day replace the rebellious sons of God in His Divine Council. Consider what Paul says.

The book of Revelation promises believers a future where we will rule with Christ over the nations.

Think about it. Believers will be granted authority over the nations. Who rules the nations now? The fallen sons of God. We’re going to replace them and rule with our father in a new world. But what do we make of the gift of the morning star? In the ancient, world stars were associated with divine beings. The morning star is symbolic of the reign of the Messiah.

Jesus is the Morning Star. That’s a title for the ruling Messiah.

Incredibly, we share the Morning Star. We share the Messiah’s rule in the New Earth. Elsewhere in the book of Revelation, Jesus shares His throne with us. (triumphant music) - God and man will be reunited in fellowship. The dominion of the world will return to its proper sovereign. Heaven will return to Earth. Eden will be restored.

Anthony Jeselnik: Comedy's Dark Magician

A.I. Revolution | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

thanks to T. Howard

 

cautionary note or guidance for us all I encourage you not to become frightened but brace yourselves because the things being discussed within the pages of this book will shake the very Foundation of our understanding of the world everything that you think you know about what you know will be called into question a tidal wave of refreshing truth is being released upon this dark and muddied world you are about to Embark upon a journey into a forbidden subject one that tackles a question in mathematics that has never been asked publicly it is a subject considered so taboo that not one paper or book has been written upon this topic in modernity if the information in this book is is heated then this species called mankind will have the keys necessary for an eternally sustainable existence if not this species will suffer the same fate as the trilobites that crawled across the ocean floor some 500 million years ago Extinction our species will pass away and be remembered only for our ignorance that is of course if our fossils survive L enough for a more advanced race to find them the truth is that everyone is just afraid of this to IPC because of the potential consequences associated with disclosing the true value of the number one also the fears associated with exposing the inconsistencies that govern the current practices of multiplication division and how these are applied to science unfortunately every country in the Civilized world has their economy rooted in the value that has been placed upon the number one and from its valuation the world calculates interest rates salaries tariffs taxes Etc all of these calculations are based upon how the number one is Multiplied and divided as a result the world’s Math Makes dollars but it doesn’t make sense and I think it’s time to start right at the very beginning and walk through walk through this thing so the question for the Church of Truth love and Consciousness and all those listening does a dollar time a dollar equal $1 or does a dollar time a dollar equal $2 I have never seen anywhere in the universe where an action times an action doesn’t have a reaction so now that that’s why we need to discuss this and examine it and how they came up with this strange number that which is illogical because an area a length times a length has to have an area so you can’t have an 1 time one having equaling one one because now what happened to the length times the length it’s the area is no longer in existence Taren starts by posing an intriguing question money can’t be multiplied or can it a penny time a penny equals what since the penny is no longer based upon the hard asset of gold and is now based upon an imaginary value that is equal to a virtual value of the integers or numbers then if follows 1 Penny * 1 Penny equal 1 penny according to the rules of current mathematics and multiplication 1 Penny * 1 Penny equals 2 pennies according to the laws of universal mathematics 1 Penny * 1 Penny equal 0.001 according to a calculator a penny * a penny 0.01 * 0.01 = 0.001 does a penny * a penny equal 1 Penny based upon the rules of multiplication or does a penny * a penny equal 0.001 based upon our current Decimal System a value so small that there isn’t even a currency circulated for that amount by the US Department of Treasury all calculations shown here are reasonable forms of multiplication but which one remains consistent with observed Universal phenomena how would you like your money calculated a nickel time a nickel equals what a nickel is equivalent to 5 pennies then a nickel time a nickel should also equal a quarter a nickel * a nickel according to the calculator is 05 * 05 equal .25 again a value so small that there is not a currency circulated to represent it how would you like your money calculated a dime time a dime equals what a dime is equivalent to 10 pennies a dime time a dime should be equivalent to 10 pennies * 10 pennies 10 pennies * 10 pennies is equivalent to 100 pennies which is equal to a do but a dime time a dime equals a penny according to a calculator 0.10 * 0.10 = 0.01 how would you like your money calculated what is a quarter * a quarter a quarter is equal to 25 pennies therefore a quar * A4 equal 25 pennies * 25 pennies which equal 6 25 pennies which is $6.25 yet A4 time a quarter according to the calculator is 0625 .25 * .25 = 0625 how would you like your money calculated allow me to Enlighten you if 4 over2 is the inverse operation of 2 * 2 equaling 4 then it would naturally follow that 2 / 1 or 2 over one is the inverse operation of 1 * 1 equaling 2 so let’s talk about this what does your common sense tell you about these two scenarios what do they have in common and what are their differences division the number four is divided by two twice and the truth is the number two is divided by one twice the proof of that if you had2 dolls and split it between two people you would have to give each person in $1 in order for it to be even in addition 2 + 2 = 4 and 1 + 1 = 2 subtraction 4 - 2 = 2 and 2 - 1 = 1 multiplication 2 * 2 = 4 and 1 * 1 = 1 does that make sense to anybody there does that seem like it’s following any similar line of of congruency I mean and you see where the mistake has occurred both of these scenarios are identical in every way the only difference exists in dimension alone if they add subtract and divide according to the same ratio then they must also multiply according to the same ratio plain and simple if 2 over 1 is inconsistent with 1 * 1 equaling 1 although 4 over two is consistent with 2 * 2 equaling 4 then it should follow that 22 = 4 which it does and 1^2 = 2 yet the math and scientific Community tells us that common sense and logic are wrong in this case because of a product of an arbitrary convention called the identity property let’s discuss in mathematics an identity element or neutral element is a special elements such as zero in the set of all integers under addition or one in the set of positive integers under multiplication with a special set of powers that enables it the ability to defy the laws of physics on two of its primary founding assumptions first of all concerning the number one in the case of one times itself or any other number or variable the end product is that same number or variable and that any number multiplied by a zero equals a z as a result of this arbitrary rule we are left with two false statements two unnatural scenarios that makes it necessary for the fundamental laws of physics concerning action and necessary reaction and the laws concerning the conservation of energy to be suspended in order for this identity rule to exist 1 * 1 equaling 1 is Paramount to an action time action without a reaction in mathematics an identity element or neutral element is a special type of element of a set with with respect to a binary operation on the set which leaves other elements unchanged when combined with them like a ghost or a shadowy influence upon nothing at all yet it Alters the natural course of any number it supposedly encounters therefore in the case of one it is left without a mate an equal and oppositely balanced condition because it remains unchanged when other ones are combined or attempt to Simply multiply a state of existence that is impossible in this Universe of equilibrium because the rule of nature is to First divide accumulated matter by the process of radiation and expansion which is the work of magnetism and then to multiply that which has been divided through the process of centripetal gravitative contraction which is the office of electricity secondly on the identity of zero in multiplication any number multiplied by zero will become a zero product first thing in order to multiply something by something else they must be dimensionally equal then how do you make something dimensionally equal to nothing the laws of conservation of energy might as well pack up and move away because how can a something multiplied by nothing cause the something to disappear remember energy cannot be created or destroyed yet in the case of multiplication a process by which all things continue to exist and propagate their existence zero behaves as a black hole of the number system that gobbles down anything that comes near it a concept that doesn’t exist except in outdated science fiction novels how in the world have these two false statements been positioned as the unquestionable god rules of mathematics for the last 6,000 years How Deeply has this lie been interwoven into the very DNA of our approach to mathematics a false Axiom presented by an individual whose thoughts and ideologies have crafted our misinterpretation of the universe which makes that person possibly the most influential person throughout all of history we will now allow nature and the testimony of universal phenomenon to answer these questions as we put this concept of the identity element to the test with 1 * 1 equaling 1 and the future of mathematics weighing in the balance 1 * 1 equals 1 or so we’ve been taught we were taught around this very impressionable time that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were also real yet over the next few years we ultimately came to terms with the fact that our trimes were far too narrow for a jolly old fellow to climb down the assertion that 1 * 1 equals 1 was implanted in our minds at a young impressionable age a time when questioning the accuracy of what we’re taught is and typical as adults however our beliefs need to be grounded in strong convincing arguments backed by natural phenomena concrete evidence and irrefutable facts every adult holds responsibility for their beliefs and the ideas they spread into the world especially those that significantly impact our understanding of the universe therefore Terence boldly challenges the long-held belief that 1 * 1 equals 1 proposing instead that 1 * 1 = 2 this assertion is based on the premise the multiplication inherently means an increase in number or quantity if the result doesn’t show an increase it defies the fundamental concept of multiplication this is the Undisputed definition of the word to multiply Terren Howard suggests that merely redefining multiplication or questioning the identity element in mathematics might not be enough to sway deeply rooted beliefs he recognizes the challenge in altering a philosophy so integral to our world economy pondering what it would take to Enlighten this generation and steer them away from a path potentially misguided for over 6,000 years Terrence points out that multiplication governed by the commutative and associative laws essentially involves adding a number to itself as indicated by another number he argues that by these laws 1 * 1 should logically equal two challenging the conventional identity property which he sees as suspending fundamental Laws of Motion he invites us to consider what’s more plausible questioning observable physical phenomena or an arbitrary mathematical rule intriguingly Terren notes that throughout history no great thinker or Observer of natural phenomena has ever reported 1 Time 1 equating to one so suggesting that nature doesn’t conform to human mathematics he finds it surprising that no one has publicly challenged this notion before as it seems to have been ingrained in our minds from an early age before we could discern truth from fiction Terrence Howard prompts us to question the fundamental principle of mathematics how did we come to believe that an action times an action equals a non-reaction he speculates on the potential repercussions in the mathematical and scientific community if the identity element were proven false questioning the stability of Institutions built upon this foundational belief the number one is the very first quantity of any measurable space the lowest Cardinal number because half of two is one also it encompasses all of the total potential energy within the entirety of what we call Visible matter in astrophysics this is expressed in the notion of The Singularity where everything is compressed and represented within the quantity of the number one singular now there are many within the scientific community that would say you cannot equate numerical values to physical occurrences this is what doctor Neil degrass Tyson told me they assert that the use of mathematics is more of a tool for measurement and not the measurement itself the assertation is that the term Singularity is not a literal term but more of a concept and cannot be viewed as a quantity to be perfectly honest the entire notion of a singularity where all matter collapses upon itself and all the laws of physics breaks down is inconsistent with natural phenomena and lives more in the realm of Science Fiction than reality yet many within the field of astrophysics firmly ascribe to this imaginative mathematical impossibility what is this thing called one and how can it or the concept of it be shrouded in so much mystery and controversy the number one actually has the same foundational and patriarchal relationship with all other numbers that are descended from it just as the element hydrogen has with all other elements that occur after it it just so happens to be the most abundant element within the known universe in view of this relationship let’s compare our number sequence to the periodic table and the elements that make it up in his insightful discussion on the periodic table of elements Taran how delves into the foundational similarities between the structure of the universe and our mathematical systems he begins with a profound statement in our number system all the numbers have something in common every number following the number one is a product of the number one this assertion sets the stage for a compelling analogy between the Simplicity and complexity of the universe’s building blocks and the fundamental principles of mathematics look at what teren says here about the human body and cells as an analogy for understanding complex systems from simple Origins this perspective is crucial because it encapsulates the essence of how complex forms emerge from simple Beginnings just as the human body a complex organism is composed of trillions of cells each serving different functions yet originating from a common cellular structure the universe’s elements share a similar pattern of complexity from Simplicity Terren takes us further into the atomic level explaining that atoms the basic units of chemical elements consist of protons electrons and neutrons he highlights a crucial point every single element within the visible Universe has a common ancestry with the element hydrogen this statement is pivotal because it echoes his earlier point about the number one’s role in mathematics just as all numbers derive from one all elements can trace their lineage back to hydrogen the simplest element the periodic table teren explained ples is not just a static chart of elements but a dynamic predictor of atomic structures based on conditions such as motion and pressure he uses the formation of ice as a metaphor to elucidate how conditions affect the state of matter much like how environmental factors determine the state and behavior of elements like hydrogen terrence’s exploration of hydrogen’s behavior under various conditions across the solar system serves as a master class in the adaptability and transformation of elements he says Under The Limited influence of lower pressures from the Sun in a more vacuous environment hydrogen atoms expand and become more tenuous in their configurations this adaptability is a testament to the universal principle of change based on environmental conditions a principle that applies both to the cosmos and to the foundational rules of mathematics now consider terrence’s critique of the identity property in mathematics which posits that high hydrogen multiplied by hydrogen would only yield hydrogen contradicting the observable universe where elements combine and transform this according to Terren illustrates a fundamental disconnect between mathematical principles and natural phenomena challenging the notion that 1 * 1 equal 1 when in fact nature demonstrates that combining elements or numbers can yield new complex outcomes terence’s discussions on diatomic hydrogen H2 being the product of two hydrogen atoms H * H = H2 not merely adding but combining to form a new entity is particularly enlightening it underscores his argument that the Universe operates on principles of combination and transformation principles that are mathematical systems should reflect to accurately describe the natural world in essence Terrence Howard invites us to reconsider our understanding of the universe’s Fabric and the mathematical laws we used to describe it he argues for a model that Embraces the complexity and dynamism of nature suggesting that just as elements like hydrogen can combine and transform under varying conditions our mathematical principles must also be adaptable and reflective of the universe’s inherent complexity this journey towards understanding the true nature of things as teren suggests is not just a scientific or mathematical Endeavor but a profound EXP ation of the fundamental truths that govern our existence in this intriguing exploration teren delves into the fascinating realm of light and perception challenging our understanding of the universe and the mathematical principles we hold as truths let’s break down his thought-provoking insights and see how they align with our agreement on his perspective teren starts with the simple question posed about the equation 1 * 1 = 1 drawing an analogy with a mirror to elucidate his point he says my second grade teacher told our class that we should imagine that you looking at the number one in the mirror this analogy sets the stage for a deeper discussion on the nature of light and perception urging us to question our fundamental understanding of multiplication and reflection look at what tan says about light light is an effect of electromagnetic radiation that falls within a particular portion of the electr magnetic Spectrum he simplifies this complex phenomenon to its Essence light enables us to see yet our perception of it is incredibly limited covering only about 0.35% of the electromagnetic spectrum this Revelation is startling as it metaphorically renders Humanity almost blind in the Universal context depending heavily on a minuscule fraction of the spectrum for our understanding of the world around us terrence’s discussion extends to the limitations of human perception and the implications for our comprehension of the universe consequently how much can we trust her view of her world and of the universe as a whole based upon this limited Vision he asks challenging the reliability of conclusions drawn from our constrained sensory experiences this skepticism extends to the mathematical equations we use to define and understand our reality including the fundamental equation eal MC 2 which he interprets as illustrating that all things are light everything just happens to be light existing under different motion and pressure conditions mass and energy are both are different manifestations of the same thing a somewhat unfamiliar conception for the average mind furthermore the equation E is equal m c² in which energy is put equal to mass multiplied with the square of the velocity of light show that very small amount of mass may be converted into a very large amount of energy and with the Earth the mass and energy were in fact equivalent according to the formula mentioned before this was demonstrated by KRA and walon in 1932 experimentally one of the most compelling points Terrence makes is about the crystallization of matter from light under varying conditions of pressure and motion he explains this occurs because light waves exert enormous pressure waves upon everything it encounters which ultimately freeze and crystallize into every form of visible matter depending upon the pressure and motion conditions of that system this perspective fascinatingly parallels the behavior of water under different temperatures and states underscoring the transformative power of environmental conditions on matter perhaps the most revolutionary idea Terren presents is the notion that light which many organisms consume directly or indirectly for energy might itself be alive therefore it is reasonable to conclude that since so many organisms feed directly from light then perhaps light itself is also alive this thought invites us to Ponder the intrinsic nature of light and its role in the universe challenging the boundaries between living and non-living entities when discussing how light interacts with mirrors teren provides a compelling argument for re-evaluating our understanding of multiplication in order for us to see the number one in front of a mirror we need to employ the use of light well how does light interact with a mirror if we were to place a candle in front of a mirror and used a light sensor the measurement of light observed will be more than the light produced by one candle this observation that a mirror reflecting light creates an effect greater than the single Source serves as a metaphor for rethinking 1 * 1 equals 1 through this lens teren suggests that 1 * 1 indeed equals more than just one urging a reconsideration of how we perceive and calculate the fundamental principles of our universe Terence Howard’s exploration into the nature of light and perception is not just an academic exercise but a profound invitation to rethink the way we understand the universe and the mathematical laws we assume to govern it his insights challenge us to expand our perspective beyond the limitations of our sensory experiences and the traditional Frameworks of Science and Mathematics in his exploration of sound and its wave Dynamics teren Howard delves into the profound interconnectedness of sound light and the fabric of the universe he challenges conventional scientific perspectives with compelling arguments inviting us to reconsider how we perceive and understand the natural world Terrence introduces the concept with a powerful quote attributed to Pythagoras a rock is nothing but Frozen music this idea that a rock is essentially compressed sound waves with mass weight and dimension sets a tone of Wonder and curiosity it suggests that every everything around us no matter how solid or innert it appears is imbued with a kind of vibrational energy or music reflect on what Taren says about the nature of sound if we say aloud 1 time one we have created two separate and distinct waveforms he posits that these frequencies Traverse the universe touching everything in their path and altering every structure within both the visible and invisible Realms this perspective underscores the idea of universal connectivity how a single vibration can resonate and adjust the balance across the cosmos requiring potentially eons for the universe to equalize to new conditions terrence’s analogy of dropping a pebble into a lake to illustrate Soundwave Dynamics vividly captures the essence of vibrational impact just as ripples in a lake interact with their environment soundwaves or our voices in the Lake of the universe perpetuate endlessly influencing and being infu infuenced by The Cosmic fabric challenging a statement by Dr Neil degrass Tyson Terren argues against the notion that sound cannot travel through the vacuum of space He suggests that space is not a vacuum but is filled with the most wonderful vibrating pre-atomic geometry this assertion is crucial for understanding terence’s Viewpoint that all things in the universe are interconnected contradicting the idea of isolated systems Terren intriguingly proposes that sound and and light are fundamentally similar differing only in their wave frequencies this concept is beautifully illustrated by his explanation of converting sound frequencies to reveal their color within the visible light spectrum like Einstein said everything is relative teren notes emphasizing the interconnectedness and relativity of all phenomena in discussing the propagation of sound through space Terence critiques The Limited vision of modern science which fails to recognize the field nature of what is perceived as a vacuum he uses the example of a Geer counter to illustrate that space far from being empty teams with subatomic particles and radiation thereby facilitating the transmission of sound as variations in electromagnetic fields terence’s exploration culminates in the assertion that by simply uttering 1 Time 1 we generate two distinct waveforms that will resonate through the universe for billions of years this idea not only challenges our understanding of sound and light but also invites us to contemplate the lasting impact of our actions and words on the cosmos then again it could be argued that we are only thinking or imagining 1 time one if so let us now consider how thoughts are formed in the mind and let’s examine the hidden processes by which our brains do this thing called thinking as information is funneled into the brain through various receptors located on the human body and are analyzed as thoughts they are reborn as newly formatted electrical impulses these impulses are different from the state by which they entered your sensory organs because now they have been transmuted by your brain’s narcissistic editorial process it interprets all things according to its own image thoughts are generated inside a neuron As Told by modern science as an electrical impulse a frequency that travels along the Axion where it encounters a neural transmission fluid after which it is converted into Electro SL chemical energy afterwards it is carried through that fluid on a wave in its chemical State until it reaches the dendrites of a neighboring neuron where it converts again into electrical energy within this process of electrical energy being converted into chemical energy and Back Again into electrical energy a measurable wave field is generated and with each conversion that wave field intensifies the simple Act of thinking or imagining 1 Time 1 creates a large enough impulse that it can be measured through eegs electroencephalograms eegs are measurements of voltage fluctuations from Electric wave motions within the neurons of the brain brain wave frequency is measured in Hertz in the same manner that musical tones are measured therefore if you think 1 Time 1 you have created two separate wave forms two separate songs of continually converting energy that travels from the brain through the skull and out into the universe where it can be interpreted by simple electronic measuring and monitoring devices those two thoughts about the multiplication of those two numbers creates two separate wave fields that will transfer their wave amplitude upon everything in existence until time indefinite therefore even the act of thinking 1 * 1 creates at least two equal and opposite consequences each of them will have both a positive charge and a negative discharge which in turn will have at the very least two separate and distinct consequences that will double into four and then 8 16 32 64 Etc do you see my point everything is affected by everything else there aren’t any isolated states of being where anything exists within a vacuum without the consequence of multi-dimensional chain reactions likewise even the act of thinking 1 Time 1 the consequence is equal at least two if we were to take into consideration Newton’s third law of motion which states for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction for if 1 * 1 ever equaled just one then two forces or substances will have interacted without any reaction therefore either Newton’s third law is fundamentally flawed or 1 * 1 must equal at the very least two I’d like for you to take partic particular interest in Newton’s ideas concerning mass and its attraction to other objects of mass Within These Concepts rest another obvious proof of 1 * 1 equal 2 in nature gravity which directly correlates to the mass of an object as taught by modern science is represented through values in our current number system examine for instance the tedious process of collecting data and the arduous task of processing that data do you recall how the human mind collects widths of information from multiple forms of stimuli it is initially routed from the sensory organ to the thalamus where it is converted into electrical impulses those impulses are then converted into chemical structures that represent the data remember that a chemical is composed of elements and each element has a particular mass and mass is determined through a consideration of force in Newtonian terms f is equal to ma nevertheless if one mass time 1 Mass equals only one mass then there wouldn’t be any such thing as the electrical effects that have been labeled as gravity to initially accumulate the matter into a mass in fact it would create the opposite effect of gravity for every Mass would effectively repel every other Mass our universe would never come into fruition therefore in order for there to be the effect of gravity 1 * 1 must equal at least two finally I believe it is important that we drive the point home that there is a deliberate untruth woven throughout the fabric of our mathematics and is embedded within the programs that run our calculators computers and our smartphones if you were to input the number two into your calculator and ask for its square root you will receive the answer that we’ve mentioned numerous times before 1.414 213 562 37395 5 if you square that number x s the calculator will tell you the answer is 2 but if you add that number to itself or multiply it by two the result is 1.41 421 356 237 3095 plus 1.414 213 562 37395 equals 2.82 1842 7124 474 6190 surprisingly if you Cube this result of the square < TK of 2 1.414 213 562 37395 cubed according to the calculator you’ll get 2.82 8427 1247 4619 now wait a minute that’s the same number that you get by adding the number to itself 1.4 41421 3562 37395 plus 1.414 213 562 37395 equal 2.82 8427 1247 46190 how is it possible for a number whether rational or irrational to have the same exact value when being added to itself or being multiplied by two as it does when that number is cubed the only other number in like manner is zero because it is a non-number can this be a mistake the truth is 1 * 1 = 2 and 1 * 1al Ling one isn’t multiplication it’s a fabrication which is also known as a mathematical fallacy Howard identifies irrationality a condition where numbers cannot be expressed as simple fractions as a significant flaw within mathematics this flaw as highlighted by wildberger suggests a dissonance in mathematics that many practitioners choose to ignore despite its profound implications Howard’s discussion extends Beyond a mere acknowledgement of this issue venturing into the consequences of irrational numbers like pi and the square < TK of two especially when applied to Natural phenomena these numbers essential to the Pythagorean theorem and the Cal calculation of a circle circumference exemplify the clash between mathematical constructs and the observable universe’s realities at the heart of Howard’s critique is the contention that ukian geometry and its derivatives rooted in the concept of straight lines and perfect shapes like the platonic solids failed to capture the universe’s inherently curved nature he argues that Reliance on these linear models has led to a stalemate of reasoning where the tools we use to describe the universe no longer align with its true structure the universe Howard posits is a living and breathing entity characterized by cycles of expansion and contraction that cannot be accurately represented by Static linear mathematical models Howard advocates for a paradigm shift in how we approach mathematics and its application to the physical sciences He suggests that the natural world with its regular and predictable Cycles should dictate our mathematical models rather than abstract constructs that fail to mirror reality this approach necessitates abandoning the notion of straight lines and embracing the curvature that define space and time the all shape and tetr Terian wave state as introduced by Howard offer alternative models that better reflect the universe’s curved and dynamic nature the call to redefine our mathematical understanding of the universe has far-reaching implications it challenges centuries of scientific thought and practice re requiring a re-evaluation of everything from the fundamental laws of physics to the Technologies we develop and rely on Howard’s critique extends to the educational system which perpetuates these outdated models and the broader scientific Community which has been slow to recognize and address these foundational issues Howard’s analysis grounded in the discrepancies between ukan geometry and the universe’s true nature invites us to reconsider our approach to understanding the C MOS by embracing a model of the universe that accounts for its inherent curvature and dynamism we can unlock a more accurate and holistic understanding of reality this shift while challenging holds the promise of aligning our scientific Pursuits with the natural laws that govern the universe leading to new discoveries and advancements in our quests to comprehend the cosmos in the condition of one Terrence Howard embarks on a philosophical and scientific exploration of the concept of one delving into its structure and significance in the universe he intertwines Concepts from physics mathematics and metaphysics to present a nuanced understanding of one as both the cumulative product of all things and the smallest reflection of the whole Terren Begins by referencing Albert Einstein’s concept of a quanta or Quantum situating his discussion within the realm of multi-dimensional space/time he asserts that to perceive or measure the three known Dimensions height width and depth a separate and distinct dimensional plane of observation is necessary thus Terren argues there are at the very least four necessary dimensions for anything to exist within the visible Universe this perspective challenges the traditional three-dimensional Viewpoint and suggests a more complex structure of existence consider what Taren says about the nature of light light was the fastest known substance within the visible Universe until Berkland currents indicated that information in the electric currents traveled at speeds far superior to light he uses this to segue into a discussion on how light due to the curvature of space/time ultimately curves back onto its original position completing a circuit this understanding of light leads to the concept of the all shape which Terren believes is the proper geometric representation of the reflection of one terrence’s concept of the all shape is particularly intriguing he describes it as the system created where four expanding spheres intersect forming a structure he calls a tetran wave state this structure according to teren represents the interconnected nature of all things within the universe furthermore teren discusses how all visible matter in the universe occurs within the confines of the vesap piscus of interacting and intersecting planes he emphasizes all things are one this statement encapsulates the essence of his argument that at the core of all things the laws governing the simplest element hydrogen dictate the geometry of its byproducts and shapes which are all interconnected in his examination of matter Terren notes that all matter is both expanding and Contracting as per a universal prime directive of existence he elaborates all matter must be congruent with all other matter meaning everything has a common denominator and can be reduced to its lowest term this idea of congruence and commonality leads to his assertion that the common factor or Quant of our universe is the structure of one understanding this structure He suggests unifies all things through his unique lens Terence invites us to view the universe not as a collection of disperate parts but as a cohesive whole where every element every wave and every particle is intrinsically connected to form the singular reality of one this exploration is not just a scientific or mathematical analysis it’s a philosophical reflection on the unity and interconnectedness of all existence one we know the definition alone that to multiply means to make many or manifold to actually in increased in number or quantity therefore it must increase in size and quantity or it is not multiplication consequently 1 * 1 = 1 could never be a part of the multiplication table because it fails to satisfy the definition of the term to multiply so by definition alone we have clear and rational proof that 1 * 1 can never equal just 1 we also know that 1 * 1 equaling 1 is a false answer because the associative and commutative laws were not properly followed which left an unfinished and unbalanced equation also the identity property has thus been shown to be based upon an uninformed biased and arbitrary preconception that has no relative value in light of observed natural phenomena two although it is an acceptable phenomenon in the mathematic Community for the square root of a number less than one when added to itself to be greater than the initial number squared we are discussing the number two and its square root when added to itself should never exceed the initial number for that would be highly irregular and completely unacceptable even in the loosefitting constraints of the laws of our current system of mathematics this anomal is not acceptable for anything that exists within the physical universe beyond our flawed system of mathematics meaning that no other system or organism within our known universe behaves as our numeric system where one is massless weightless without Spin and lacking of any measurable effects when it interacts with itself or any other number that is derived from it this ultimately prevents the square root of two from having the natural and logical answer of one remember an object must be equal to the sum of its parts it cannot be greater than nor less than itself this is just simple Common Sense therefore the square root of Any Given number when added to itself should should never exceed the initial number if it does then we have overreached and the true square root of that number has failed to be satisfied three Newton’s uncontested third law states every action has an equal and opposite reaction therefore 1 * 1 equaling 1 is a violation of every natural law regarding cause and effect within the known universe consequently 1 * 1 must equal at the very least two for four the Pythagorean theorem postulates that a^ 2 + b^2 = c^2 this unfortunately Corners mathematics into a stalemate of short-sighted reasoning because the side and the diagonal of The Square become incommensurable if both sides are positive integers five ukian geometry gave birth to the platonic solids which were constructed with straight intersecting lines that do not exist in our universe of curved space/time attempting to describe our world and the underlying structure of the universe by straight lines seems as feudal an attempt as someone trying to capture the complexities of the entire human anatomy with stick figures it produces only a crude depiction of the true reality remember all energy in the universe is expressed in motion and all motion is expressed in waves and all waves are a function of a Vortex a spinning whirlpool and all Vortex functions are curved there are no straight lines in the Universe therefore there aren’t any straight lines in Universal mathematics so there you have it five logic provoking reliable witnesses that testify to the unreasonable and illogically flawed basis that governs man’s thinking upon these matters and is also the foundation of our system of multiplication money can’t be multiplied or can it money can be multiplied by a number but can it be multiplied by its self Terrence Howard critically examines the transition from a gold-based monetary system to a Fiat system exploring its implications on the nature of money and its multiplication his analysis touches on both the mathematical and conceptual aspects of currency challenging the traditional Notions of value and multiplication in the context of modern economics Taran starts by posing an intriguing question money can’t be multiplied or can it he then delves into the foundational principles of mathematics reminding us that everything has a common denominator and can be reduced to its lowest terms this approach He suggests should apply to money as well arguing that if the monetary value can be made equal to the number it’s being multiplied by then theoretically money can be multiplied look at what teren says about the nature of money in the modern economy our paper money isn’t a convenient representation of anything except that of a very vivid imagination because our currency is no more valuable than the paper that it is printed upon this statement highlights the Crux of his argument about the Fiat system the US dollar once anchored to the gold standard offered a tangible value however Post Its Detachment from gold it became a virtual entity susceptible to manipulation and devoid of a solid backing Terren explains the historical context of the shift citing President Franklin D Roosevelt’s 1933 mandate and President Nixon’s 197 1 decision to officially take the US off the gold standard he illustrates how these actions led to a global shift towards fak currencies essentially transforming them into digital markers in a binary system devoid of intrinsic value this transformation according to teren has profound implications when the world governments ceased to base their currencies upon hard assets at that moment all currency became nothing more than virtual digital markers he argued that in such a system money becomes an abstract concept easily manipulated and multiplied within the confines of a computer program much like imaginary numbers in mathematics Terren also touches on the concept of fractionalization in currency highlighting how the value of a dollar can vary based on its subdivision into smaller units like quarters or pennies this variability He suggests further complicates the notion of a stable unified value for money this is a call to reexamine our understanding of value currency and the principles of multiplication in the context of a global economy that has moved away from tangible assets through this exploration Terence challenges us to rethink the nature of money and its role in our society highlighting the complexities and potential pitfalls of a system increasingly detached from physical reality now that I’ve explained one way that money can be multiplied and some historical examples would you like like to see what could be possibly taking place behind the hidden walls of the financial World a penny time a penny equals what since the penny is no longer based upon the hard asset of gold and is now based upon an imaginary value that is equal to a virtual value of the integers or numbers then it follows 1 Penny * 1 Penny equal 1 penny according to the rules of current mathematics and multiplication 1 Penny * 1 Penny equals 2 pennies according to the laws of universal mathematics 1 Penny * 1 Penny equal 0.00001 according to a calculator a penny * a penny 0.01 * 0.01 equal 0.00001 does a penny * a penny equal one penny based upon the rules of multiplication or does a penny * a penny equal 0.00001 based upon our current Decimal System a value so small that there isn’t even a currency circulated for that amount by the US Department of Treasury all calculation shown here are reasonable forms of multiplication but which one remains consistent with observed Universal phenomena how would you like your money calculated a nickel time a nickel equals what a nickel is equivalent to 5 pennies then a nickel time a nickel should also equal a quarter a nickel times a nickel according to the calculator is 0 5 * 05 = .25 again a value so small that there is not a currency circulated to represent it how would you like your money calculated a dime time a dime equals what a dime is the equivalent to 10 pennies a dime time a dime should be equivalent to 10 pennies * 10 pennies 10 pennies * 10 pennies is equivalent to 100 pennies which is equal to a do but a dime times a dime equals a penny according to a calculator 0.10 * 0.10 = 0.01 how would you like your money calculated what is a quarter * a quarter a quarter is equal to 25 pennies therefore A4 * A4 equal 25 pennies * 25 pennies which equals 625 pennies which is $6.25 yet a quarter * a quarter according to the calculator is 0625 .25 * .25 = 0625 how would you like your money calculated as you can clearly see for all of our unfortunate lives and for most of Mankind’s chaotic existence upon this planet under the false Banner of a civilized society we’ve been if I may borrow a phrase or two from the legendary civil rights leader Malcolm X we’ve been misled bamboozled we’ve been had Hoodwinked conned taken advantage of Taken for a ride around the proverbial block taken to the cleaners and we’ve been taken to the bank literally the British just so happen to have a phrase that they used to describe someone who is short-sighted and a tad bit slow when it comes to finances they call it being Pennywise and pound foolish unfortunately that describes 99.9% of the past and present populations of the world nevertheless the proverbial buck stops here all pun intended