Life Walk Bible Lesson 68 — Ancient Wisdom, Mythology, and Angelic Visitations
Mankind had chosen sinful ways during the Pre-flood millennia, for which God wiped out His creation, saving Noah and his family, and a representation of the animal and plant kingdoms, to carry on a righteous seed in all kingdoms. The human, animal, and plant kingdoms had been utterly defiled, corrupted, and compromised, by the Watchers who had been sent to teach God’s ways, but who followed the fallen angels instead. [1Enoch 1-16]
These, who were thrown out of heaven, cohabited with humans, birthing giants, cross-bred animal species, and created other cross-species creatures, to defile God’s creation and destroy it, according to 1Enoch and Genesis 6.
There are skeletal remains of giant humans, and animals, all over the earth, so we have ample secular, scientific, and physical evidence of a time when giant humans and giant animals existed. We even have evidence in Scripture, both Canonized and Uncanonized, of giant vegetation, like the fruit the ancient nation of Israel found while searching out the land God had promised to give them.
We still have giant trees in parts of the world, which grow up to 50-85 meters [164-279 feet], the oldest known of which is 3,500 years old, with a three-foot thick bark.
We see also from Joshua’s accounts of the destruction of Jericho, and from the Book of Wisdom, from the Catholic Canon, that this included giant plants which still existed in the days of Joshua, in the land of Jericho.
King David removed the last of the giants in his day, beginning with Goliath, who taunted Israel’s armies and continued to defy God, just as they had done in the time before the Flood.
Ancient Mythology
Ancient stories, whether written by Gilgamesh or Homer, or some other writer of ancient stories, perhaps somewhat imagined, or embellished, from oral or written traditions, hearsay, Greek or Roman Myths, about gods and goddess — these all carry with them a measure of truth of what actually occurred during the pre-flood millennia, when the angels rebelled against God, Who had desired to send them to watch over mankind, teach them God’s ways, and how to live on the earth.
A brief glance at the lists of the names of the various gods and goddesses will grant the Bible student the revelation that all these cultures were given relatively the same information — some of which was recorded in a variety of ways, languages, and cultural viewpoints, however, the result being the same point: there were an innumerable amount of angels, a full third of the ranks of heaven at the time, who rebelled against God Almighty, were thrown out of heaven, and in further rebellion, set out to destroy God’s creation, by violating it in every respect, by violent crime, and genocide, and by defiling the very genetics of humans, animals and plants. Some of the names will be familiar, because we have read them in Scripture, as the gods the ancient nations worshiped — the descendants of Noah who did not follow God’s teachings.
Just A Couple of Lists: Mesopotamian Deities and Greek Mythology
The Truth these Watchers Should have Taught
According to the Gospels, by Jesus’ own word, we were destined to cohabit with, and be inhabited by, the Holy Spirit, Who lives inside a born-again believer in Christ.
The Holy Spirit instructs us, from within our own heart and mind. The believer in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, hears from God directly, as different from being instructed by angels, as the ancient nations, before Christ’s first coming, were.
The King of Peace now lives in us, and does His exquisite work through us, according to the Apostle Paul, who was instructed by Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, in Arabia for three years prior to his public ministry.
With this backdrop in mind, of a coming One, a Heavenly Leader made visible to humans, Who would instruct them, and live among them, I introduce the Fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls so that we are aware of what has been spoken prior to the coming of Jesus Christ to earth, born of the Virgin Mary, and the One Who died for our sins so that we might be forgiven and set free from the debt of sin, and its end…death for our own sins. Jesus is our High Priest, and He ever lives to make intercession for us, as High Priest, in the Order of Melchizedek.
God With Us
We have ample evidence, both in and out of the Canonized Scriptures, to back up the words of Jesus Himself, as it is written in John 1:45 “…we have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
There is much evidence from the uncanonized ancient writings, which verify the Scriptures with regard to Jesus Christ, and to Melchizedek, who were both sent by God to humans, just as the Watchers were in the beginning before the Flood in the time of Noah, to teach and to watch over all mankind, whom God had created for His glory.
Heavenly representatives were always sent to care for, teach, and help, humans. We find this again in the Book of Revelation, where Jesus, represented by the Angel of the Lord, speaks to John by vision, and declares that which was, is, and is to come, and asks John to write to the angels of the churches set over the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, just as Enoch wrote to the Watchers, describing God’s original intent for mankind. [The Greek word for “angels” — “angelos” is also translated “pastor”]
We see in Paul’s writings the evidence of principalities and powers and thrones in heavenly places, which influence earthly matters, and how part of the Church’s function is to let these angelic powers and principalities know about God’s Kingdom and His reign, about which they have longed to know, but it was kept hidden from them until the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. So these things are not new to us either.
There is a very real spirit realm reigning over humans, and we are given two choices — to listen to the evil realm or to the Holy Realm — and to choose the Holy Spirit, and to be led by, and instructed by, the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Ancient Insights
There is evidence in a fragment, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, of a teaching, prior to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, that Melchizedek will come again as Deliverer.
It seems that some, in ancient times, expected the coming of the Messiah, but attributed it to Melchizedek, whom they believed to be the same as Michael, the Archangel and Prince over Israel.
Previously we saw in The Ancient Book of Jasher where the identity of Melchizedek was said to be synonymous with Shem. So over time, the understanding, of who Melchizedek was, had changed. In the Book of the Cave of Treasures, it says that Shem brought Melchizedek with him to Jerusalem. So, since there are various records of history, some of which agree, all claiming to be authentic, we find two or three “witnesses” to find the common ground on which we find truth when possible.
In the times of Adam, Noah, and Abraham, the Lord God made Himself visible to humans, in order to discuss matters of earth, according to that which had been planned in heaven. Prior to negotiating with Abraham, for example, and the utter destruction of the cities of Sodom, and its surrounding cities, God did not come alone, but was accompanied by other angelic beings, made visible also. These angels were usually named as Archangels, and specifically Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel, the Holy Angels who accompanied God, or humans on behalf of God.
Genesis 18-19 — God speaks to Abraham
A Little Recap of History
A sixth Century Christian Sacred History of events, called, The Book of the Cave of Treasures, written some time in the 4th Century A.D., by Ap[h]rêm Suryâyâ, i.e. Ephrem Syrus, or Ephraim the Syrian, known to us as St. Ephraim, recounts the time between the Creation of heaven and earth to the death of Christ, in order to trace the descent of Christ back to Adam, and is a comprehensive account of life, and genealogies, and events, where God stepped into the human condition to help His creation.
Title Page: The Book of the Cave of Treasures
St. Ephraim, Father and Doctor of the Church
From the Book of the Cave of Treasures:
[Abraham and Melchisedek.]
“And at that time Abraham had no son, because Sârâ was barren. And when he returned from the battle of the kings, the agency of God called him, and he crossed the mountain of Yâbhôs (Jebus ?), and Melchisedek, the king of Shâlîm, the priest of the Most High God, went forth to meet him. And when Abraham saw Melchisedek, he made haste and fell upon his face, and did homage to him, and he rose up from the ground and embraced him, and kissed him, and was blessed by him; and Melchisedek blessed Abraham.
“And Abraham gave Melchisedek tithes of everything which he had with him, and Melchisedek made him to participate in the Holy Mysteries, [of] the bread of the Offering and the wine of redemption.
“And after [Fol. 25b, col. 1] Melchisedek had blessed him, and made him to participate in the Holy Mysteries, God spake unto Abraham, and said unto him, ‘Thy reward is exceedingly great. Since Melchisedek hath blessed thee, and hath made thee to partake of bread and wine [with him], I also will assuredly bless thee, and I will assuredly multiply thy seed.’
“And when Abraham was eighty-six years old Ishmael was born to him by Hâghâr, the Egyptian woman, whom Pharaoh had given to Sârâ as a handmaiden. Now Sârâ was the sister of Abraham on the father's side, because Terah took two women to wife. When Yâwnû, the mother of Abraham, died, Terah took to wife a woman whose name was "Naharyath" (or Shalmath, or Tona, or Tahdif), and of her Sârâ was born. It was because of this [fact] that Abraham said, ‘She is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother’ (Gen. xx. 2, 5).”
[The founding of Jerusalem.]
“And in that same year in which Abraham offered up his son as an offering, in that same year [I say] Jerusalem was built; and the beginning of the building thereof was in this wise.
“Melchisedek having appeared and shown himself to men, the kings of the nations heard his history, and they gathered together and came unto him.
[The names of the kings who built Jerusalem.]
Abimelech, king of Gâdhâr.
Âmarphîl, (Amraphel), king of Sen`âr.
Arioch, king of Dâlâsâr (sic).
Kardla`mar (Chedorlaomer), king of Elam.
Tar`îl (Tidal), king of the Gîlâyê.
Bârâ (Bera), king of Sodom.
Barshâ (Birsha), king of Gomorrah.
Shênâbh (Shinab), king of Adhâmâh.
Shamâ`ir (Shemeber), king of Zeboim.
Salâkh, king of Bâlâ`.
Tâbhîk, king of Damascus.
Baktôr, king of the desert.
[Just to clarify: “Amraphel”, according the The Ancient Book of Jasher, is the name given to Nimrod, by his people, after the destruction of Babel. He continued to reign in Shinar, but under this new name.]
Continuing from the Book of the Cave of Treasures:
“These twelve kings gathered together and came to Melchisedek, king of Shâlim [Fol. 26b, col. 1], the priest of the Most High God. And when they saw his appearance, and heard his words, they entreated him to go with them. And he said unto them, ‘I am not able to go from this place to any other’; and they took counsel together about building him a city, and said to each other, ‘Verily, he is the king of the whole earth, and the father of all kings.’ And they built him a city and made Melchisedek to live in it; and Melchisedek called the name thereof ‘Jerusalem.’
“And when Mâghôgh, the king of the south, heard [of this], he came to him, and saw his appearance, and spake unto him, and gave him offerings and gifts. And Melchisedek was held in honour by all, and he was called the ‘Father of Kings.’”
[Melchisedek.]
“Now, as concerning what the Apostle said, ‘there was no beginning to his days, and no end to his life’ (Heb. vii. 3) [Fol. 26b, col. 2], it has been thought by simple folk that he was not a man at all, and in their error they have said concerning him that he was God. God forbid that there should have been no beginning to his days or end to his life. [The Apostle spake thus] because when Shem, the son of Noah, took away Melchisedek from his parents, no word is said as to how old he was when he went up from the East, and it is not said how old he was at the time of his departure from this world. Now, he was the son of Mâlâkh, the son of Arpakhshar, the son of Shem, and he was not the son of one of the Patriarchs. And the Apostle said that none of his father's family had ever ministered at the altar (Heb. vii. 6). The name of his father is not written in the genealogies, because Matthew and Luke, the Evangelists [only] wrote down the [names of the] Fathers [in chief, i.e. Patriarchs]; and for this reason neither the name of his father [Fol. 27a, col. 1], nor the name of his mother, is known. The Apostle did not say that he had no parents, but [only] that they were not written down in Matthew and Luke.”
From Moses to David
In the time of Moses and Joshua, we find in the Torah, that the Angel of the Lord went before the people of Israel to search out the best places to camp, and to defend Israel against their enemies.
And the un-named Captain of the Lord’s Hosts became visible to Joshua prior to entering the promised land, to give him instructions from God about how to proceed. The Book of Enoch makes clear that each angel was named for their function. These functions are listed in detail in Chapter XX (20) of 1Enoch.
The promised land still had giants living in it which God was about to destroy because of their evil which had penetrated the land once more. Even the fruit was giant-sized, in order to feed them, as evidenced by the report of the spies sent to Jericho, recorded for us also in the Book of Wisdom, in the Catholic Canon, where God makes clear that it is not the size of the fruit which brought blessing, but the mercy and generosity of God who could bless what they sowed of the seed God gave them. [See also 2 Corinthians 9:10-12]
Stephen, in his sermon prior to his martyrdom, declares that it was angels who gave Moses the Law on God’s behalf on Mount Sinai, and it is so verified by The Book of Jubilees that it was the Archangel Michael, the Chief of the Archangels, and Prince over Israel who did so.
So, these things were already in Israel’s experience, or knowledge, with ample evidence of their existence, or possibility. A heavenly deliverer was prophesied by Isaiah, and to be expected. And so some were expecting Melchizedek, the High Priest, and Michael the Prince of Israel, to whom the previous generations went to inquire of the Lord at the Mountain of the Lord. This is where Abraham obeyed the Lord in regard to sacrificing Isaac and was spared, and where Rebekah prayed to the Lord when she was barren, asking advice from Melchizedek, Priest of the Most High God. [Priest of El Elyon]
From the Book of the Cave of Treasures:
[Isaac and Rebecca.]
“And when Isaac was forty years old, Eliezer, a son of the house of Abraham, went down and brought Rabkâ (Rebecca) from the east, and Isaac took her to wife. And when Abraham died Isaac buried him by the side of Sârâ.
“ [NOTE.--According to the Book of Adam (iv. 4), Abraham was 175 years old when he died, and Isaac and Ishmael buried him. Rebecca was the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean, a native of the town of Arâch (Erech ?).]”
“And when Isaac was sixty years old Rebecca became with child of Esau and Jacob. And being sorely afflicted, she went to Melchisedek, and he prayed over her and said unto her, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be removed from thy loins, that is to say, shall go forth from thy womb. One nation shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall be in subjection to the younger, that is to say, Esau [Fol. 27b, col. 1] shall be in subjection to Jacob."
[The founding of Jericho.]
“And in the sixty-seventh year of [the life of] Isaac, Jericho was built by seven kings, namely, the king of the Hittites, and the king of the Amorites, and the king of the Girgantes, and the king of the Jebusites, and the king of the Canaanites, and the king of the Hivites, and the king of the Perizites; and each of them surrounded it with a wall. Now the son of Mesrîn (Mizraim), the king of the Egyptians, had founded Jericho in olden time. And Ishmael made a mill of the hands (i.e. a handmill) in the desert, a mill of slavery (i.e. a mill to be worked by slaves).”
[Jacob's Ladder.]
“And in the one hundred and third year of his life Isaac blessed Jacob, who was forty years old, and having received the blessing from his father, he went down into the desert [Fol. 27b, col. 2] of Beersheba, and lay down to sleep there; and when he was lying down he took a p. 156 stone and made a pillow of it. And he saw in his dream, and behold, a ladder was set upon the earth. And the top of it was in the heavens. And the angels of God were going up and coming down, and the Lord stood at the top of it. And Jacob woke up from his sleep, and said, "This is truly the house of God"; and he took the stone of his pillow, and made it an altar, and he anointed it with oil. And he vowed a vow and said, "Of everything which I have will I tithe for this stone." Now, it is manifest to those who possess understanding that the ladder which Jacob saw symbolizeth the Cross of our Redeemer. And the angels who were going up and down were the ministers of Zechariah and Mary, and the Magi, and the shepherds. And the Lord Who was standing at [Fol. 28a, col. 1] the top of the ladder symbolized Christ, Who stood on the Cross that He might go down to redeem us.
“[NOTES.--The Power of God which was upon the top of the ladder was [a type of] the manifestation of God the Word in pure flesh of the formation of Adam. The place in which it appeared was a type of the Church; the stone under his head, which he set up for an altar, was a type of the altar; and the oil which he poured out upon it was like the holy oil wherewith they anoint the altar. Book of the Bee (chapter xxvii).]"
NOTE: From the Introduction to The Book of the Bee: “The Book of the Bee is a Nestorian Christian sacred history. According to (Sir E.A.W.) Budge it was written ca. A.D. 1222 by a Syrian bishop named Solomon (Shelêmôn). There is very little about the work itself in the Preface to this edition, it being concerned primarily with the manuscript sources. In the Introduction to the Book of the Cave of Treasures, Budge says that Solomon's object in writing the Book of the Bee was to present "a full history of the Christian Dispensation according to the Nestorians." (p. 27)."
[Jacob and Baptism.]
“And when God had shown the blessed Jacob the Cross of Christ by means of the Ladder of the Angels, and the coming down of Christ for our redemption, and the Church, the House of God, and the altar by means of the stone, and the offerings by means of the tithes, and the anointing by means of the oil, Jacob again went down to the East that there God might show him baptism. And Jacob looked, and saw, and beheld three flocks of sheep lying down by a well; and there was a great stone placed over the mouth of the well. And Jacob drew nigh, and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of his mother's brother. And having watered the flocks, he took Rachel and kissed her.
“Now by "Well" [Fol. 28a, col. 2] the blessed Jacob indicated (or, depicted) baptism, which was covered over (i.e. hidden) from the races of men, and generations and tribes. And the three flocks of sheep which were lying down by the well are a type of the three divisions and three groups [who come] for baptism, namely, men and women and children. And that Jacob saw Rachel coming with the flocks, and that he neither embraced her nor kissed her until he had rolled away the stone from the well, and she had watered the flocks, is in accordance with p. 158 the law of the sons of the Church, who neither embrace nor kiss the Lamb of Christ until baptism hath opened [the way]; they go down into the waters and put on strength from them and then the sons of the Church embrace and kiss. And as Jacob served with Laban for seven years, and the woman he loved was not given to him, so also was it with the Jews, who served Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in slavery, and went forth. [Fol. 28b, col. 1.]
“For the Covenant of the Church, the Bride of Christ, was not given unto them, but that Covenant which was old, and worn out, and of no effect. Now the eyes of [Leah], the first woman whom Jacob took to wife, were hateful, whilst the eyes of Rachel were beautiful, and her countenance was radiant. A covering (i.e. veil) was laid over the face of the first Covenant, so that the children of Israel might not see the beauty thereof; as for the second Covenant, it is wholly light.”
And finally:
[Jacob's sons. The Death of Isaac.]
“Jacob was seventy-seven years old when he received the blessing of Isaac, his father, and he was eighty-nine years old when he begot Reuben, his firstborn, by Leah. The sons of Jacob are these:--
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulon; these are the sons of Leah. Joseph and Benjamin were the sons of Rachel.
Gad and Asher were the sons of Zilpah, the handmaiden of Leah [Fol. 28b, col. 2].
Dan and Naphtali were the sons of Bilhah, the handmaiden of Rachel.
“And after twenty years Jacob returned to Isaac his father. And all the days of the life of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years--until the thirty-first year of the life of Levi--and he died in the one hundred and twentieth year of the life of Jacob.
"Twenty-three years after Jacob went up from Harrân, Joseph was sold to the Midianites; he was sold during the lifetime of Isaac, and they mourned for him. When Isaac died Jacob and Esau, his sons, buried him with Abraham and Sârâ. Seven years later Rebecca died, and was buried with Abraham, and Isaac, and Sârâ; and Rachel died and was buried with them.”
Galatians 1:3-5
Galatians 6:9-10 [Acts 10:38; Hebrews 13:2]
Entertaining the Angel of the Lord
Genesis 18:1-8 [Romans 9:9-18] -- The Lord appears to Abraham and Sarah
Genesis 19:1-3 -- Angels visit Lot, who offers them wine and bread
Judges 6:11-24 -- Gideon is visited by the Angel of the Lord
Judges 13:6-20 -- The Angel of the Lord visits Manoah and his wife [Samson's parents]
Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, Paul admonishes us to do good to all people, and especially in case we encounter visiting angels as did some in ancient times. It is as important to feed others the fruit of the Holy Spirit [Galatians 5:22-23] for their spiritual well-being, as it is to nourish their physical health and well-being.
