"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters." Genesis:1:2
The great inspired Creation Epic of the Scripture begins in a world of confusion and darkness. Winds blowing unobstructed over the earth which was in shrouded by thick cloud cover and complete night.
All ancient cultures have a "creation epic" which they have formulated to help them understand the world that they inhabit and informs their understanding regarding that worlds' "Cosmological Order" , where it came from and why is it the way that it is.
Genesis
A reading of Genesis reveals that Moses, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, understood that pagan cultures saw the world in particular ways and that their views stood as a barrier from seeing Who the Creator was, and is.
Moses' main goal in Genesis is to establish Who is and who is not God. He is more concerned about revealing God as God and that He alone is God above all that is called god, the Creator Who rules over all things with the power to order things as He will. Genesis is more about Who created rather than how He created.
The Deep
"And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters." Genesis:1:2
Through out the Bible the image of water is often spoken of and here in Genesis we see the Spirit moving or hovering above the dark and chaos "primordial waters" ., that is "The Deep" . In Hebrew the word here is Tehom,
it's Greek equivalent is Abysos
it's Greek equivalent is Abysos
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| Tiamat, Babylonia sea goddess,brings chaos |
In the ancient world "Tehom" is the enemy of the Creator God who brings desolation and breeds the darkness and chaos that we see in Genesis:1:2. "Tehom"was the power of the world.
Closely associated with "Tehom" is the Babylonian sea goddess "Tiamat" , this goddess was thought to bring chaos and disorder. "Tiamat" was symbolized by a serpent or dragon and was considered the embodiment of evil."Tiamat" is spoken of in the Babylonian myths of the Enuma Elish as bringing forth sea serpents.
Cosmology of the Ancient World
In many of the ancient cultures it was believed that the power of evil was found in the sea(s) or within bodies of water.That is if a person was to encounter demonic powers it would be in or by bodies of water. This belief was passed down through the ages and spurred many of the myths and legends regarding encounters upon the sea with sea monsters and malevolent spirits.
Understanding this cosmology reveals much about events found in the Holy Bible which took place near water(s) the sea its self became a symbol of the evil. These themes reemerge throughout Scripture from Genesis even to Revelation with the Beast which arises out of the Abyss, in Greek Abysos which means "the deep" Revelation:13.
God Rules Over the Deep
Even at the onset of the inspired creation epic of Genesis:1, we see God bringing order to the darkness and chaos of "Tehom", showing His sovereignty and power not just over the material creation but even the unseen powers. It is God Who brings order and light and sets thing right.
God is God and there is no other He has power over "Tehom" we see this in Genesis:7:11 and 8:2
In the Book of Job the suffering Patriarch speaks of God's power to subdue the sea and the power behind it.
"He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea" Job:9:8
“Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’? Job:38:8-11
River and Sea
The plagues result in the freeing of the people of Israel and their journey to the shore of the Red Sea. Why would God lead His people to the impasse of the Red Sea?
"Tehom", the power of the world , was associated with the Red Sea (Yam), and it was now the Red Sea (Yam) which stood in Israel's way preventing them from moving forward. Yet God demonstrates His power over it parting it so the people of Israel were delivered. The Lord God is showing that not even the power of this world can stop Him from delivering us.
"By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea(Tehom) into jars
; he puts the deep(Yam) into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him" .Psalms:33:6-8
Calming the Sea
" You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them."
Even in spite of His Disciples not recognize Jesus as He approaches them in upon the sea, their cosmological view comes out believing that Jesus is a "ghost" they instinctively perceive this due to the idea that "evil" could be encounters on bodies of water.Yet, we see the power of God exerted over the powers of this world in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus orders the storm to calm in Matthew:8 and then Matthew:14 as Jesus walks upon the water of the sea , He is showing that He is above it and that He rules over the deep, it has no power over Him. Jesus is not just putting on a spectacle, to show His mastery over the powers of nature but He is proclaiming His rightful place as above all powers seen and unseen.Jesus is showing that He is God. Jesus' command over the waters bring peace and order and leads the Apostles to worship Him.It is Jesus Who rules not "Tehom" or "Tiamat"or any other.
"Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” Matthew:8:22-27
"Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,
and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew:14:22-33
Out of the Sea
We see this system again taking shape and rising again at the end of human civilization, symbolized by the "Beast" we are told receives his power from the dragon. This system again will, as it did at the beginning arise and bring chaos and darkness.
"The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”Revelation:13:1-4
In the culture in which Scripture was written these symbols would have spoken to themes that people were familiar with.
Defeat
This system again will, as it did at the beginning , arise and bring chaos and darkness but God will do as He did at the dawn of creation He will set things right. The system of the world and the unseen powers which move it will ultimately be removed forever. God will send Jesus, the One Who walks above and beyond the reach of the powers of this world He will put an end to the troubles of the Earth and bring peace.
"I
saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose
rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”
He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords." Revelation:19:11-16
"But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur." (20)
In the end, the very sources of all the troubles from the beginning unto the end will be dealt with , satan the great dragon as he has been from beginning Revelation:12:7-10 will be, like the system he birthed , cast into the lake of fire forever.
"And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation:20:10
No More Sea
John the Apostle writes that as God's purpose upon the Earth concludes and the Kingdom of God, which was there in the Person of Jesus as He calmed the sea, is fully brought to pass and human history as we have lived it now is behind us , John tells us that there is " no longer any sea" .
"Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea." Revelation:21:1
This is not just there will be no body of water called the sea, but it tells us that the powers of "Tehom" and "Tiamat" which were believed to be found there, the same power which we see symbolized by the "Beast" , will be gone forever. There will never again be chose and darkness but peace and order.
The chaos, "Tehom" and "Tiamat" of this world will brought to a conclusion and the spiritual powers that caused it all will be gone for ever , because our Lord Jesus has power and victory over the deep. Amen
Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor
The
Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike
Washington,
Pennsylvania.
www.gcfountainoflife.org
The
Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in
Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area
of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela,
Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com
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