Chapter 3e

HIGHER THAN THE HEAVENS

If any person is going to have a comprehensive understanding of the message of Angelfall and the facts related to it, it is going to be imperative to have a clear understanding of both the essence and the nature of God. If we do not truly know or comprehend who God is, and also how God thinks, then our understanding and overall vision will be severely impaired. For that reason this chapter is going to be most fundamental and important. Here is where a solid foundation must be laid.

The One Important Fact

Humanly speaking, God's thought realm—the way God thinks—is over, above, and beyond anything and everything related to man and the way man understands and comprehends virtually everything. God does not see things the way we see them at all. God's intellectual thinking mechanism will refuse to fit inside of anyone's theological box. His way of evaluating and understand—in all respects—is light years different than those who are confined to planet earth and linear time.

Look now at these spectacular Bible verses.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa 55:9).

"Canst thou by searching find out God? Can you find the limits of the Almighty unto perfection? They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?" (Job 11:7,8).

"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see" (1 Tim 6:16).

"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13).

"No man hath seen God at any time" (1 John 4:12).

"For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?" (Rom 11:34,35).

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Rom 11:33).

A Different Realm Completely

Verse after verse in the Bible clearly paints the picture that God—who inhabits eternity—knows everything (is omniscient), He is all powerful (omnipotent), and He exists outside the realm of time and can be everywhere at once (omnipresent).

The Bible says that God's throne is ABOVE the heavens, which means He can look down and observe all of it from His own perspective and vantage point, a position and perspective that we simply do not possess. And He is also in CONTROL of everything in the universe simultaneously. Most amazingly, He does this for the most part undetected and out of sight.

Because God created everything, He is the only one that can understand His own creation and whatever the meaning and purpose is behind it. Simply because He made it, obviously. Therefore we cannot trust in our own wits, or our own knowledge and understanding if we want to know the true facts concerning reality. We must go to the Source and learn from the very Author of life Himself. We did not create ourselves nor the environment that we are presently living in.

Because we have a sinful nature, our understanding in all departments is flawed and has strict limits. What this means is that we must come to the place of utter helplessness and total dependence upon the One and Only True Source—the very Creator Himself—which invariably brings us into the realm of faith. The Bible clearly teaches that the only way one can ever see or know God, is through faith.

"Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is (exists), and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb 11:6).

No Person is Exclusive

People in today's society, particularly those who arbitrarily submit to a specific religious persuasion or system of belief, or theological/exegetical method of interpreting the Bible—they must invariable rely on others for their understanding of God. Yet no one person has the exclusive right to speak for God, or the right to claim that they have a complete understanding of scripture or know precisely how God thinks in all instances.

No human being, no one religious organization or church, no apologetic ministry that defends historical Christianity—absolutely no one has that kind of authority. Many Christian preachers will tell you the Bible means "such and such," or that you must submit to some sort of religious order, i.e. denominational/sectarian structure, or apologetic belief system. This is a delusion. It is man wanting to be in control of a reality he does not possess. Or to influence and manipulate others as to what they are supposed to believe and how they are supposed to think (create a following). And this mentality invariably does two things: It breeds spiritual pride. And it can only lead to exclusiveness, sectarianism, and eventual cultism. God has no personal favorites. The vital truth that all of us must understand is the following fundamental principle.

No one, by their own wits or effort can ever understand or know God (or accurately interpret the Bible). No creature can know anything about God, unless God sovereignly steps through the veil and takes the initiative HIMSELF to reveal HIMSELF to that individual. And that can happen and will only happen if the person humbly accepts truth on God's terms and on the basis of unequivocal faith. And if God does indeed reveal Himself to that person in an appropriate or unusual manner, then the proper reaction will be that they are completely humbled by it. And being in that humble state of mind, they will seek to do nothing and/or attain nothing that glorifies their own flesh or ego. Nor will they try to convince or seek the admiration of others.

If we rebel against this eternal principle, then our understanding is immediately cut off. We will exists in the strength of our own flesh instead of the life of God becoming our source. The end result will be that we will see everything according to our own world view. One of two things will happen—either man invents his own religious order and concept of God, or he goes in complete opposite direction where he reverts to secular humanism, eventually becomes even an agnostic or atheist—man's thinking will invariably evolve into an evolutionary world view that is completely devoid of the Creator's mind and thoughts. There is no way around that fact. It boils down to either God or us.

Someone once made a profound statement. There are ultimately only two classes of people on the face of the earth. You will be: (1) either an atheist, (2) or a worshipper.

Babes in Innocence

On the home page of this website the following concluding remark was made along with the following words of Jesus.

Humility is the key that unlocks the door. Without humility and faith, there can be no understanding. As one Person eloquently stated two thousand years ago, "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein" (Luk 18:17).

What is the one characteristic of a child that is of such great value to God? It is the fact that a child does not know anything. A child contains within its spirit the essence of innocence. In an earthly practical sense, a child has not had time to think too much or harden its position on issues. Or become too dogmatic. The Bible teaches us that this is the only kind of person that can possibly enter into God's eternal kingdom—Yes! God puts a premium on ignorance and lack of understanding—THOSE INDIVIDUALS WITH SIMPLE CHILD LIKE FAITH AND WHO ARE WILLING TO LEARN, ARE THE ONLY ONES THE CREATOR CAN POSSIBLY WORK WITH. A glass of water that is full of its own goodness has no room to be filled by Another. Only clay that is soft is moldable.

Look at the implications in the following Bible passage.

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that He may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal (natural), even as unto babes in Christ" (1 Cor 2:14-16; 3:1).

Yes, the Bible refers to Christians as "babes in Christ" who must be nurtured and grow up gradually. Look now at this amazing verse in reference to babes and milk.

"For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb 5:13,14).

When God created our first human parents in the garden of Eden, they were created in innocence. They were 100% ignorant and devoid of any understanding whatsoever. The angels fell because being in innocence, they were not mature enough to decipher the difference between good and evil—they rebelled against the Word of God not to eat of the forbidden tree thus taking it upon themselves to be the determiners—that is why Adam fell and was cut off from having access to the tree of life.

However, Jesus in the book of Revelation promised that to those who overcome, they will actually be given the legal right to eat from the tree of life in the middle of the paradise of heaven (Rev 2:7). Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross the veil of separation between God and sinners has been torn in half—we are now provided access into the most holy of holies—as redeemed saints we will actually be able to ultimately "discern both good and evil"—the exact opposite of what Adam was forbidden to do (Heb 5:14). The saints in heaven will be able to reach the highest level of maturity and discernment, for they will know all things and be able to determine all things according to the will of God.

This fact is earth shattering in its significance.

The Hidden Face of God

Now let us discuss all of this from the vantage point of the fallen angels and how all of that relates to man who dwells upon planet earth.

Throughout past ages God's ultimate presence and eternal knowledge was evidently hidden from view. Look now at this verse.

"Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! And thou sayest, How doth God know? Can he judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he [the created being or creature himself] SEETH NOT; and he [the created being] walketh in the circuit of heaven" (Job 22:12-14).

The circuit of heaven is evidently different than the height of heaven? The angels were confined to the circuit and they could not see what was in the height where God dwelled above dark clouds. Interestingly, the word "circuit" has a value theomatically same as the "far country" that the prodigal son wandered in (the two brothers in Luke 15 are symbolic of the faithful vs. rebellious angels—see chapter 5g). In Jude the angels are called "wandering stars," and the word circuit implies wandering in a circle. That is also what the children of Israel did for 40 years in the wilderness, they went round and round in circles and were not allowed to enter the promised land (only through the waters of death and baptism could they enter—the word "Jordan" means "death").

Throughout the Old Testament no one was allowed to get near Jehovah God. God's entire dealing with Israel bears this fact out. God gave them the law through Moses and spoke to them through the prophets. God's presence was hidden in the cloud by day, and in the pillar of fire by night. When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai the mountain was literally on fire and shook violently. The people were commanded to stand clear back and away. Anyone who touched the mountain would die, even a beast would die that got too close. It was a terrifying sight to behold.

"And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish" (Exo 19:17-21).

Even when Moses went up into the mountain, he was not allowed to see God's face and had to put a veil over his own face (Exo 3:6).

Comment: Interestingly, the phrase in Hebrew, "lest they break through unto the lord to gaze" has all the theomatics of the fall and rebellion from heaven. The key numbers are present to do with the angels themselves in reference to the people (141), and the actual warfare in heaven (976 and 122), and eating the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree (456), coupled with man's wisdom (340)—all of these numbers are clearly present within just four or five Hebrew words to do with breaking through the forbidden barrier and gazing at Jehovah.

There is an angelic connection to all of this. These events in the book of Exodus are a cross-over and relate to events in the heavens and the subject of angelic law, and God setting lines of demarcation—boundaries and barriers that could not be crossed over. Here in a verse in Deuteronomy showing Mount Sinai incident relates to very HEAVEN ITSELF (see paragraph below on Heb 12:18-22 showing the symbolic connection between Sinai and angels).

"And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire UNTO THE MIDDLE OF HEAVEN, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness" (Deu 4:11).

Throughout scripture there are many passages that speak of clouds and how God's visible presence is hidden behind clouds or in the clouds. This is highly significant. The Bible says that when Jesus returns, we will meet him in the clouds (no, that is not just talking about puffy white cirrus or cumulus clouds floating in the sky—clouds obviously have a spiritually symbolic meaning). What all of that is really talking about, for those who are redeemed—they will then come into a more full relationship and understanding, which from past ages was HIDDEN from view.

When the Bible says that Jesus is coming with clouds, that is all symbolic of the concept that His presence will be veiled, and the "every eye" that will see Him will be only those who are able to enter into the cloud with Him (see Chapter 16 of Theomatics II entitled "Is Jesus Coming Back to Planet Earth?")

The Major Turning Point

When Jesus was transfigured on the mount of transfiguration, His disciples were only allowed to see Him or understand Who He really was "in the cloud" (Mat 17:5). The transfiguration of Jesus was really THE turning point in all of history. It was there on that mountain that Moses and Elijah appeared, who were symbolic and representative of two things—the law and the prophets. The apostle Peter (who always had a habit of saying dumb things), wanted to build three tabernacles, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and the third one for Jesus. But Christ would have none of it, for the Bible says that when Jesus came, He Himself FULFILLED the law and the prophets (Mat 5:17). He essentially wiped them out and did away with them forever as a necessary basis of relationship between God and man.

Immediately after Peter uttered those words, the Bible says that all the disciples were overshadowed and TAKEN INTO A CLOUD and a voice spoke from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, HEAR YE HIM."

Moses and Elijah had now vanished away, and the disciples were left standing with "Jesus only" (Luke 9:33). A complete change had now taken place in the relationship between God and man, for Christ had opened up a new and "living way" (Heb 10:20). The law and prophets were no longer the means that God would communicate His will to His creation. His revealed and spoken Word would now be communicated solely through His only begotten Son. And the revelation of all that Christ was happened "in a cloud" which in past ages veiled the sight of those outside the cloud. The symbolic significance and meaning of clouds in the Bible is exceedingly important!

There are eternal implications behind all of this. The law speaks of following rules and regulations and commands. The prophets speak of God communicating through agents instead of by direct means. Again, both of these aspects were wiped out during the transfiguration on the mount. Now God can talk to us directly as created beings, and His laws reside on our hearts instead of being written on rocks—all because of what Jesus accomplished for us. We have direct access to God through His very own Holy Spirit that now dwells within our hearts. Glory be to God!

Rejecting God's Voice

In the book of Hebrews it connects Mt. Sinai and the events that happened around Mt. Sinai, to things actually in heaven and TO THE ANGELS. Here it refers to Old Testament Israel who rebelled and no longer wanted to hear God's voice. This is most likely a reflection of the angelic rebellion. The following is incredibly significant.

"For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that THE WORD SHOULD NOT BE SPOKEN TO THEM ANY MORE: For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake: But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an INNUMERABLE COMPANY OF ANGELS" (Heb 12:18-22).

The context of this whole passage has to do with God's relationship to the rebellious "sons of God," who no longer wanted to hear God's voice. This relates to the angels as in the book of Job. Here now is the more complete passage in Job that we looked at previously. The theomatics/angel connection in all of these passages is just outstanding. Please compare the words in capital letters from the previous verses in Hebrews. The "old way which wicked men have trodden" is in reference to the human angelic pre-existence (which the theomatics numbers positively confirm).

"Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. Hast thou marked the OLD WAY WHICH WICKED MEN have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: WHICH SAID UNTO GOD, DEPART FROM US: AND WHAT CAN THE ALMIGHTY DO TO US? Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me" (Job 22:14-18).

Now compare to this verse in the New Testament book of Jude.

"And the angels which kept not their first dwelling place, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 1:6).

Here in Jude it says that the angels left their habitation (or house), and the above talks about God "filling their houses with good things." The prodigal son also left his Father's house. He was not only cast from heaven, but in a certain sense also left voluntarily. This whole thing would require a much enlarged presentation and in depth discussion because there are many things alluded to in these passages—some of these matters are discussed extensively throughout Angelfall (see Chapter 5g and 6h on the prodigal son/angel connection).

The major point that is being made here is that God's ultimate presence and essence in past ages was clearly hidden from view and fallen/rebellious man RESENTED that fact. This obviously includes both His divine supernatural knowledge and the fact that He was the only one inhabiting eternity. Look at this pointed verse.

"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen" (1 Tim 6:16).

That is why the Book of Job mentions "the Almighty" more times than anywhere else in the Bible. The resentment of the Sons of God and Job's test involved the eternal quarrel between created beings and the Almighty.

The Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life

Now we come to the garden of Eden itself which is a type of the heavenly paradise. In the center of the garden of Eden God placed two trees—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. God clearly commanded Adam and Eve that if anyone even touched the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die.

"But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Gen 3:3).

The knowledge of good and evil is the door to eternal life, and Eden itself is the gate of heaven (see Chapter 10a on entering heaven's gate). When man ate the forbidden fruit he short-circuited that process against the command of God and the whole thing backfired. At that juncture God had no choice but to do two things. (1) Kick man out of the garden and then (2) protect the tree of life at all costs.

"And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he DROVE OUT the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen 3:22-24).

Everything in this passage to do with God driving out the man, has the same identical theomatics of the angels being cast from heaven (see sections 5 and 6 of Angelfall).

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil surrounded and shielded the tree of life. There is a complete theomatic study showing that the garden of Eden was the first or original temple (see http://members.cox.net/8thday/124.html), and the ark of the covenant is symbolic of God's throne in heaven—see Rev 11:19), which is also representative of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Protected inside the ark was the almond tree rod that budded. Throughout Jewish history, the almond tree has always been universally recognized as the tree of life.

Anyone who touched God's ark or throne died instantly (the same as the forbidden tree). In fact, the ark was always behind the veil interwoven with cherubim, that guarded the Holy of Holies. When the ark traveled outside the tabernacle it was not allowed to be seen or even looked upon and was covered by the veil itself (Exo 14:21 and Num 4:5). All of this is highly symbolic of eternal things in the heavens which were likewise hidden from view.

So in summary, the above examples of Mt. Sinai and the tree of knowledge and the ark of the covenant—they are just three from the Bible showing how sacred and hidden from view God's true presence and eternal knowledge was. AND THE BOTTOME LINE TO ALL OF THIS IS THE FACT THAT GOD HIMSELF IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM EVIL.

Let us now discuss one more example relative to God's hidden knowledge.

The Heaven of Heavens

The Bible states that God exists "above the heavens." The term used to describe that in the Bible is the "heaven of heavens," or the highest heavenly realm—which is ABOVE the actual heavens themselves.

"The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory ABOVE THE HEAVENS. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high" (Psa 113:4,5).

"Behold, the heaven and the HEAVEN OF HEAVENS is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is" Deu 10:14).

"But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and HEAVEN OF HEAVENS cannot contain him?" (2 Chr 2:6).

Interestingly, in the book of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul speaks concerning a certain man he knew (which many people believe was Paul himself).

"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the THIRD HEAVEN. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into PARADISE, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor 12:2-4).

Traditionally Christians have interpreted the three heavens as follows. The first heaven is the earth's atmosphere. The second heaven is the visible universe of stars and galaxies. Somewhere above all of that is the third or highest heaven where God Himself dwells in the epitome heavenly paradise (this interpretation may be correct).

Comments on paradise: The expression "paradise" may also be a generic term and not confined to just the third heaven as an astrological location in the universe. Paradise may also have a symbolic and spiritual interpretation—it is the realm of truth in which God dwells with His creatures in peace and companionship, irregardless of location. This term "paradise" has also been applied to a place the Jews called "Abraham's bosom," an interim "holding area" for Old Testament saints somewhere down in the center of the earth. That may not be the correct interpretation—2 Cor 12:4 seems to debunk that idea, i.e. there is no possibility the tree of life was in Abraham's bosom down in Sheol).

The Tree of Life in Heaven

Here now are some profound words of Jesus.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Rev 2:7).

What the above verse absolutely, positively, and unequivocally proves, is that the earthly garden of Eden is symbolic of heaven and the real meaning of the tree of life is heavenly and not of this earth. The tree of eternal life is in middle of this heavenly paradise, and the Bible teaches that sin actually began in heaven. So the "tree" is a spiritual concept—not just a horticultural object 6000 years ago in an earthly garden. This is further confirmed by the fact that the temple itself and the ark of the covenant were also seen in heaven—(see Rev 11:19).

It has always been God's intent that man dwell with Him in the paradise of heaven. Jesus told the thief on the cross that on that very day, he himself would be in paradise. Jesus also talked about his Father's house.

"In my Father's house are MANY mansions (or dwelling places): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2,3).

The key point with all of this, is the fact that when Adam tried to get to the middle of it all, and make his own intellect equal to that of his Creator, and in doing so by illegitimate means, he was thrown out the heavenly paradise.

The Waters Above the Heavens

Now comes the most significant part of this whole discussion relative to God's knowledge vs. man's understanding of things. This has to do with the waters above the heavens vs. the waters below the heavens. Throughout Angelfall the subject of God separating the waters in Genesis is discussed (see Chapter 12a on the actual meaning of the 153 fishes). Notice the words in bold type from the following.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters… And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:1,2,6-10).

Waters in the Bible speak of two things. Life and thoughts (this is discussed in many places throughout Angelfall). Let's talk about this for a minute.

In recent years, NASA space scientists have spent a considerable effort in sending probes and robots to the planet Mars. They are spending millions searching for anything that would indicate possible life on Mars. The reason they are excited about the prospect of finding life, is that there are indications that Mars has polar caps of ice and that there is some perhaps some water beneath the surface. It is a well known and established fact that in order for there to be any chance at all of finding life—anywhere—there must be the existence of two things, i.e. water and light.

It is very interesting that in Genesis, the two MAJOR THINGS that Genesis 1 talks about—right at the very beginning when God created all things, is that first, the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters (verse 2), and second, He then created light (verse 3). The creation of everything else followed that.

Important Comment: Some Christian/creationists have proposed the idea that the waters in the heavens mentioned in Genesis, represent clouds of hydrogen from which the stars and ultimately all chemical elements eventually evolved (this physiological interpretation may have some validity to it). Yet when one looks at Genesis and reads all the statements concerning the waters, all of it cannot possibly fit perfectly from a physical standpoint—it must invariably contain some sort of hidden spiritual/esoteric meaning.

What the Separation of Waters Mean

In Genesis, God separated the waters with a firmament or vast expanse called "heaven." The word "firmament" means a solid arch or vault. It is a zone that separates two entities, one from the other, and keeps them from co-mingle ling. Here I will simply make a brief as to what conclusion can be drawn from this.

Waters speak primarily of thoughts and life. When the Bible says that God separated the waters, what this is really talking about is God separating His own thoughts from all other thoughts, i.e. God's higher thoughts from the lower thoughts of created beings, i.e. man's thoughts. The waters above are heavenly thoughts. The waters below is everything else, both good and bad.

In fact, in Proverbs 20:5 it states that "the purposes in the heart of man are deep waters."

In Genesis the waters below the firmament were all gathered into seas. Throughout the Bible, there are numerous passages showing that all of man's wickedness, all the turmoil among the nations, all false religions and philosophies, everything that is bad comes out of the sea. The first beast in the book of Revelation rises out of the sea (Rev 13:1).

There is also a definite connection between waters and spirit. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters in Genesis, and when Jesus came out of the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. Water and spirit and life and thoughts all go together and are inextricably connected.

Comment: There is a major theomatic study showing conclusively that the waters above the firmament clearly has to do with God's thoughts and the eternal knowledge of heaven. Virtually everything to do with this has the 570 theomatic pattern in it, and primarily multiples of the number 1140 (or 570 x 2) and also 456, or 57 x 8 (see Chapter 10b). In heaven, a river of water of life pure as crystal flows out from the throne of God, and this water provides nourishment to the tree of life. All of this is incredible in its significance and highly symbolical. Jesus who came down from heaven, is the very SOURCE for the water of life. Again, this has to do with thoughts and concepts, i.e. God's own truth.

Again, I have written an entire chapters on this subject which are quite lengthy (see Sections 10 and 12). It is an amazing truth that is right at the foundation and bedrock of the Bible. All of this relates to water in the Bible, and also the subjects of cleansing, baptism, Jesus changing the water into wine, etc.

A Battle of the Minds

As human beings we live in bodies made of clay, which came from the dead dry dust. When God created man, he added water to the dust and made clay, and then he gave it life by breathing His own Spirit into the nostrils of Adam. The Creator broke off a piece of Himself and gave it independent will and consciousness. In that sense our life and very existence is a gift from the Almighty. But the dust had to have H2O moisture added to it. There can be no life without water.

Yet when you get right down to the basic essence of our existence and essence as individual persons—all we really are is thoughts—our spirit and our life is contained in our thoughts, and water represents life and thoughts. Our physical being is made of dust. Our essential life and spirit and ultimate existence is our thoughts (a dead corpse ceases to think and returns to the dust).

It states in Proverbs 23:7, that as a man "thinketh in his heart, so is he." In other words, our thoughts IS US. The way a person thinks and what they believe is their real essence, and this is going to have everything to do with whether or not a person spends eternity in heaven or hell.

The greatest mistake any creature can make, is to believe and live out his/her life upon earth believing that their own thoughts are superior (or completely adequate and self sufficient). That is the ultimate blasphemy. The heart of the true Christian is one who realizes two things: (1) He did not create Himself and is therefore accountable to Someone else, and (2) in lieu of his own righteousness, he must be totally dependent upon the righteousness of his Creator for all things pertaining to life and truth and understanding. That may destroy his individuality, but it will not harm his personality. In fact, it will bring out all the beauty and characteristics of his "individual" personality.

It all has to do with whose thoughts are superior—the creature's or the Creator's. If one sees himself as supreme, that is the sure path to eternal destruction. The one great characteristic between the Christian and everybody else out there, is that the Christian recognizes his inferiority and is willing to listen and learn and submit . The unsaved individual is righteous in his own eyes and has need of nothing (Luk 15:7). When you try to witness to him or explain God's wonderful plan of salvation, THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE RESISTANCE DUE TO THE INHERENT (and subconscious) NATURE OF THE FALL WITHIN THE HUMAN SOUL.

Yet that is what repentance and being born again is all about—turning from one's own point of view to God's point of view.

Many people want to believe in God and even "worship" on Sunday in order to convince themselves that everything is O.K. But they also want this "god" to be something they themselves can define and serve according to their own terms and understandings of things, and personal benefit (actually, they want God to serve them so they can have His "entitlements" and temporal blessings). But they are unwilling to "lose" their life for the sake of the Gospel (Joh 12:25). God will not accept anything less than 100%, nor will He play the game—the same as He refused Cain's offering of what he himself grew in Genesis. Only through a blood sacrifice such as Abel offered, can there be life. And to shed one's blood means to give up one's life and one's own exclusive right to exist (in the individuals own strength and power).

We must surrender out thoughts to God. The water (or thoughts) had to first be changed to wine. And then the blood (which is the individual's very life and disposition), had to be sacrificed back to God. No other sacrifice is acceptable. That is the great eternal object lesson that Jesus taught when He shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary—only Christ's blood can save and remove sin (Rom 3:25). Our own righteousness will NEVER be acceptable to God (see Chapter 7f on the meaning of the blood of Jesus).

There are matters, issues, and truths related to all this that are absolutely profound and far reaching. Much analysis and discussion would be necessary.

Final Comments

This chapter has been brief. We have touched on many subjects. At this point it is only necessary that you get a basic grasp of these issues from a spiritual perspective. We must comprehend how incomplete and inadequate our own thoughts are—vs. how great and all sufficient God's knowledge is.

The next chapter entitled "Some Thoughts on God," will compliment this one and provide a little more information related to the theme of this discussion.

Addendum: Some Interesting Comments on Genesis

God's objective with the book of Genesis–it is NOT a manual on scientific creationism. While all statements in the Bible of a scientific nature must certainly be true (God's Word cannot lie), the primary purpose of everything mentioned is not a scientific explanation, but instead is designed to contain SPIRITUAL symbolism and meaning. One good example is the following.

On the third day of creation in Genesis, God created all the seeds and vegetation and commanded the earth to bring forth and things to grow (Gen 1:11-13). Yet on the fourth day following—that is when God supposedly created the sun (Gen 1:14-19). It should be immediately obvious that for anything to grow there must FIRST be sunlight. How could the seeds of the earth sprout on the third day before the sun was created? (I'm sure the creation pundits have elaborate explanations for this reversal). The key point here, is that God mentioning this fact in a logically reversed order from a natural standpoint—it must certainly have a spiritualized/symbolic interpretation rather than a scientific one.

The Problem With Waters in Genesis

The reason I mentioned the above was to introduce the next series of quotations taken off the web. These will show how scientifically ridiculous it is to try and understand the waters in Genesis from a strictly physiological or creationist point of view. The waters are speaking primarily of SPIRITUAL concepts and meaning.

The identification of the firmament with all of [outer] space has been proposed by some modern creationists, but the waters above the heaven remain a problem. Harold Armstrong, former physics professor at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, and editor of the Creation Research Society Quarterly, suggested that when the earth was created, it included a great quantity of water, and so was much larger than at present. Much of this water was then raised, and the firmament consists of the space between these waters elevated a great distance above the earth, and the oceans. One could hardly imagine a more literal approach to the first chapter of Genesis as it is found in present Bibles, or one more difficult to comprehend, from a practical point of view. Armstrong wrote: 

The thoughts to be offered here are not at all put forward dogmatically; they are intended more as a starting-point for further consideration and discussion. Many wise and devout men have considered these matters; it would be presumption to suppose that my thoughts are better than their's, but there may be, I hope, something helpful in these remarks... So at this stage there was the earth, still in a formless state, although likely spherical in outline. It likely included much more water than there is now, and was much larger than the present earth... Next God raised a large part of the water, leaving a space between it and the water which remained on the Earth. This space was the firmament-the heavens. In a number of places in Scripture it is said that God stretched out the heavens; I suggest that this is the way in which they were stretched out. Moreover, the root idea behind the Hebrew word which is commonly translated "firmament" seems to be stretching or spreading out. In the spreading out some air was provided for the lower part of the heavens... On the fourth day the heavenly bodies were created. Genesis 1,4 says that they were in the firmament; while the waters which were raised were above the firmament. Thus it would seem, if Genesis is taken at all seriously, the waters above the firmament are not the clouds, nor are they the water vapor normally present in the atmosphere, nor are they a canopy of water in some state no more than a few hundred miles above the surface of the Earth. They are at a great distance, beyond the stars. The water there may not necessarily be in the liquid state now. 

As with the other canopy theories, there are immense problems with this interpretation, since the transport of water from the vicinity of the earth to the boundary of the universe or of space seems incredibly inefficient, when God could have just created matter anywhere he wished. The reality of these waters is beyond any possibility of detection, unless the expanding shell of upper waters can be detected in transit - but then, how could light from stars more than a few thousand light years distant still be visible? The remoteness of these upper waters raises the question why any mention of them would be included in the first chapter of Genesis. Then there is the difficulty posed by the vast distance these waters would have to be transported in a single day. 

How could the space of the entire universe, along with the earth's atmosphere, have been formed "in the midst of the waters?" It is even more difficult, if that is possible, to comprehend how a layer of water or ice could exist beyond the stars, at the boundaries of the universe, and for what purpose. Paul's statement, "the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead," in Romans 1:18-20 seems to indicate the things God created were intended to reveal God's nature and power to mankind, which would include the firmament along with the waters both above and below. The firmament is something which can be seen clearly, and its existence has been made known to men. The firmament, according to Psalm 19:1, continues to rank, along with the heavens, as a means for revealing God's handiwork. It cannot be identified with space or the atmosphere. 

References: Armstrong, Harold L. 1979. The Expanding Universe and Creation, in: Repossess the Land. Bible Science Association, Minneapolis, MN. p. 22-27.