Beatitudes, statements of characteristics and blessing, are part of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus spoke and is recorded in Matthew. Each beatitude looks at different circumstances of life and how all Christians are blessed through their faith. Through these 8 Beatitudes, Jesus teaches of virtues and values in life that will result in blessings and rewards. These beatitudes are not singled out for specific people - they are blessings applicable to all Christians.
These Scriptures will encourage you and give you hope as you face each day knowing that you are called blessed! No matter your age, job, or family role, if you apply the beatitudes to your life you will experience a joyful, fulfilled life! You can read the full Bible passage below where the words of Jesus are recorded, however, here is a short summary of the beatitudes.
The 8 Beatitudes and Their Meaning 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven The poor in spirit are those who feel a deep sense of spiritual destitution and comprehend their nothingness before God. The kingdom of heaven is theirs, because they seek it, and therefore find and abide in it. To this virtue is opposed the pride of the Pharisee, which caused him to thank God that he was not as other men, and to despise and reject the kingdom of heaven. There must be emptiness before there can be fullness, and so poverty of spirit precedes riches and grace in the kingdom of God.
2. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. The blessing is not upon all that mourn but upon those who mourn in reference to sin. They shall be comforted by the discovery and appropriation of God's pardon. But all mourning is traced directly or indirectly to sin. We may take it, therefore, that in its widest sense the beatitude covers all those who are led by mourning to a discerning of sin, and who so deplore its effects and consequences in the world as to yearn for and seek the deliverance which is in Christ.
3. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth The humble would receive far greater than the arrogant and prideful. Not only do the meek enjoy more of life on earth because of their ability to be content, but they will possess and enjoy the earth after Jesus' return and triumphal entry.
4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Because of Christ, we can cling to the promise of everlasting righteousness in heaven. While we are called to live like Christ, we also have forgiveness of sin.
5. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Mercy is an active virtue that Christians can show to each other because we have been given mercy ourselves. Since God has forgiven our offenses, we should forgive others and show mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. The pure in heart are those who are free from evil desires and purposes. They can see and experience God's presence because they are free from self-righteousness and arrogance.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God. The term includes all who make peace between men, whether as individuals or as communities. It includes even those who worthily endeavor to make peace, though they fail of success. They shall be called God's children because he is the God of peace who sent His own Son as the Prince of Peace.
8. Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who suffer because of their loyalty to the kingdom of heaven are blessed by being bound more closely to that kingdom for which they suffer.
Most of us approached the Beatitudes as if there's some sort of platitude [inaudible 00:00:18] phraseology and principles on how to live life. I mean that's usually how they're approached, but that is very far removed from what they actually are.
Never was asked for money just to help find them a job. Canada needs migrant workers, trying to find how to go about it was the difficulty here as I was assured they had tried themselves with no result. I know that I would not be today where I am if so many people did not help me.
Matthew 5:3–12 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
“I served … as a military intelligence officer and Russian and German linguist in the U.S. Army. Through the experience of war, I now value more than ever the words of Jesus Christ: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Matthew 5:9). We are all God’s children, all brothers and sisters.” —Richard, economic developer
The Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount The Beatitudes help us better understand the blessings God has in store for us and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) This section of the “Beatitudes” is one of the most loved portions of the Gospel. It forms the beginning of what has come to be known as the “Sermon on the Mount” which is recorded in Matthew 5-7. The preaching of this sermon may have come a little later in the chronology of the life of Christ; but Matthew placed it here at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry because it forms such a grand proclamation of the kingdom. It is the first of the five major discourses that Matthew includes.
We first need to fill in what Matthew has included between this passage and the last one we studied. Matthew followed the account of the temptation of Jesus with a brief note that Jesus began to preach a message of repentance because the kingdom of heaven was near (4:12-17). In order to reach a wider audience, He moved from Nazareth to the city of Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, but more importantly, on the main highway through the land. His declaration of beatitudes would come, but not until He called for repentance.
Matthew then reported the calling of the first disciples, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, who were fishing (4:18-20). Jesus promised to make them fishers of men, for He was beginning to build His kingdom. He then called James and John, also fishermen, who were mending nets in their boat (4:21-22). The authority of the king to call people to follow Him is clearly portrayed by these events.
Then Matthew reports the popular success of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (4:23-25). He went throughout the region proclaiming the message of the kingdom, and authenticating His claims by healing people. Throngs of people responded to His ministry from as far away as Jerusalem.
So that brings us to the present lesson, from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus saw the crowds coming to Him, so He went up on a mountainside and sat down, the well-known posture of the teacher. The traditional location of this “mount” is the low hills behind the region of Capernaum and the other fishing villages on the shore. His disciples came to Him, and so Jesus began to teach them. And what follows is the material of Jesus’ teaching.1_ftn1
This is the first and longest message of Jesus that we have in the gospel. Jesus had been announcing that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, and He had been calling for people to repent. Now, in what has been described as the manifesto of His kingdom, Jesus unveils the foundations and character of life in that kingdom. Here He teaches the ethical guidelines for life in His kingdom; and the guidelines point to the quality of righteousness that characterizes life in the kingdom, now in part, but fully in the future.2_ftn2
The discourse was intended for the nation of Israel, the crowds who had been flocking to Jesus. But it was delivered immediately to the disciples. Jesus here considered His disciples the “true Israel” (the spiritual Israel) which is already present and beginning life in the kingdom; and He considered the crowds the “Israel” of the future, the Israel that is hoped for, who should repent and follow the king. Or to put it another way, Jesus spoke to all the people of the true will of God, the righteousness that they must all exhibit if they repent and enter His kingdom, but which the disciples had already begun to perform. So the entire sermon is directed to all. And its theme is the righteousness that is the standard of his kingdom.
So in some ways this sermon will tell people just how righteous they must be to enter the kingdom, and what that righteous life should look like for citizens of the kingdom. But it does not include the details of how this righteousness may be attained.
St. Nicholas (flourished 4th century, Myra, Lycia, Asia Minor [near modern Demre, Turkey]; Western feast day December 6; Eastern feast day December 19) one of the most popular minor saints commemorated in the Eastern and Western churches and now traditionally associated with the festival of Christmas. In many countries children receive gifts on December 6, St. Nicholas Day. He is one of the patron saints of children and of sailors.
Nicholas’s existence is not attested by any historical document, so nothing certain is known of his life except that he was probably bishop of Myra in the 4th century. According to tradition, he was born in the ancient Lycian seaport city of Patara, and, when young, traveled to Palestine and Egypt. He became bishop of Myra soon after returning to Lycia. He was imprisoned and likely tortured during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian but was released under the rule of Constantine the Great. He may have attended the first Council of Nicaea (325), where he allegedly struck the heretic Arius in the face. He was buried in his church at Myra, and by the 6th century his shrine there had become well known. In 1087 Italian sailors or merchants stole his alleged remains from Myra and took them to Bari, Italy; this removal greatly increased the saint’s popularity in Europe, and Bari became one of the most crowded of all pilgrimage centres. Nicholas’s relics remain enshrined in the 11th-century basilica of San Nicola at Bari, though fragments have been acquired by churches around the world. In 2017 researchers dated one such relic fragment, a piece of hip bone, from a church in the United States and confirmed it to be from the 4th century.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti: Saving Myra from Famine Saving Myra from Famine, detail of a panel from Four Stories from the Life of St. Nicholas, tempera on wood by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1330–32; in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Discern the real St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, from the gift-giving Santa Claus of yuletide Discern the real St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, from the gift-giving Santa Claus of yuletide Learn about the life of the historical St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra.
Nicholas’s reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy. He was reputed to have given marriage dowries of gold to three girls whom poverty would otherwise have forced into lives of prostitution and to have restored to life three children who had been chopped up by a butcher and put in a tub of brine. In the Middle Ages, devotion to Nicholas extended to all parts of Europe. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece; of charitable fraternities and guilds; of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, and pawnbrokers; and of such cities as Fribourg, in Switzerland, and Moscow. Thousands of European churches were dedicated to him—one, built by the Roman emperor Justinian I at Constantinople (now Istanbul), as early as the 6th century. Nicholas’s miracles were a favourite subject for medieval artists and liturgical plays, and his traditional feast day was the occasion for the ceremonies of the Boy Bishop, a widespread European custom in which a boy was elected bishop and reigned until Holy Innocents’ Day (December 28).
Growning up in Holland, (The Netherlands) the big day for us children was the 5th day of December when Saint Nicolaas would come and bring us gifts and goodies to eat. Coming from a non religious home Christmas was not a big day even though we later had a Christmas tree with real candles and a pail of water standing by no gifts were exchanged that day. The Dutch brought Saint Nicolaas to America were he became santa claus.
We know from the Talmud (rabbinic teachings) and Josephus (a reputable Roman-Jewish scholar and historian) that the Temple was destroyed by Titus on August 5th, 70 AD, and that the first course of priests had just taken office. Since the course of Abijah was the eighth course (1 Chronicles 24:10), it can be determined by counting backward that Zacharias would have ended his duties on July 13th, 3 BC. He returned to his home and soon after Elizabeth conceived
Luke 1:23-24 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months.
Elizabeth hid herself for five months, uncertain about how her pregnancy would be viewed. The Bible tells that in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her…
Luke 1:31 behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Soon thereafter, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth and stayed with her until Elizabeth’s ninth month. Mary departed just prior to John’s birth.
If John was born nine months after Zacharias completed his course (July 13, 3 BC), he would have been born in April, 2 BC. If his birth occurred 280 days from July 13, 3 BC, the date would have been April 19-20, 2 BC, which was Passover that year.
We know that Elizabeth was in her sixth month when Mary conceived and went with haste to visit her.
Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda
Because Elizabeth was in her sixth month, and Mary was already pregnant, John would have been five months older than Jesus, which would place Jesus’ birthdate in September, 2 BC at the time of the weeklong Feast of Tabernacles, fitting with the Scriptures that says Jesus came to tabernacle (dwell) with us.
Conclusion Of course, this reasoning is all very interesting, but remember that no one knows for certain the exact date of Jesus’ birth. The details the Bible does provide makes it likely that Jesus was born in September. But remember that the actual date on which we celebrate Jesus’ birth is not what is important. What really matters is that we remember and praise God for what He has clearly revealed to us, that which we know to be true — Jesus came to earth to live among us, fully God and fully man. He experienced everything that we experience and yet He lived a sinless life in obedience to the will of His Father. He lived to be our example and gave His life to be our Saviour. He paid for our sins so we can be forgiven and have eternal life with Him.
One Final Thought Assuming that Jesus was born at the Feast of Tabernacles (late September), there is still a very good reason to celebrate on December 25th, which would be nine months prior to a late September birth. Late December would be the time when the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and she conceived. Since we know that life begins at conception, late December would have been the time when Jesus entered into our world. Our December 25th celebration is really a time of celebrating the Lord’s incarnation, which began at conception, and it’s a reminder of the importance of fighting against abortion and upholding the sanctity of life of the pre-born. Life is sacred and must be protected. . . from the time it begins at conception.
Although December 25th is the day that we celebrate the birth of our Lord, most Bible students understand that it is not likely the date on which Jesus was born. We should not be surprised that the Bible doesn’t record the actual date, because nowhere in the Bible are we told to remember Jesus’ birth. We are clearly told to remember His death, burial, and resurrection, but not His birth. However, celebrating Jesus’ birth is a good thing. It brings to remembrance the first sacrifice that Jesus made when He humbled himself and came to earth, when the Lord of Glory took on human flesh, when the King of kings entered into poverty.
Whispers of the Time Although the Bible doesn’t specifically tell us when Jesus was born, it does provide some “whispers” of when He might have been born.
1) It was not likely to have occurred after October.
The weather in Israel turns very cold in the late fall, and it would have been too cold for the flocks to have been in the fields overnight.
Luke 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
2) It’s also unlikely that the Roman official, Caesar Augustus, would have issued a decree for a census in December (Luke 2:1).
The census required people to travel to the city of their birth (Luke 2:3) and the terrain of Judea would have been difficult, or even impassable, during winter months. Jesus expressed this when warning about fleeing during tribulation:
Matthew 24:20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter…
3) A clue that Jesus’ birth might have been in September is the He came to tabernacle (dwell) with us.
September is the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated in remembrance of the Israelite’s time of wandering in the desert This feast is a time of remembering when God dwelt among them and provided for them, and a time of looking forward in joy to the coming of the Messiah and the Messianic age.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
For these reasons and more, most Bible students believe Jesus’ birth was more likely in September during the Feast of Tabernacles than in December. In September, the sheep would have been in the fields overnight, travel in Judea would have been possible, and, significantly, God came to dwell with His people.
John the Baptist’s Birth Provides Insight Additionally, the timing of the birth of John the Baptist lends further support that Jesus was born in September. Luke tells us that John’s mother, Elizabeth, was Mary’s cousin and the wife of Zacharias, a priest of the course of Abijah (Luke 1:5, 8-13, 23-24).
Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah.
Determining the Time of John’s Birth To begin to understand when John was born, we start with the clue that his father was of the priestly course of Abijah. Priests were divided into 24 courses for their service in the Temple, and they served for one week, beginning on the Sabbath (1 Chronicles 24:7-19)
We know from the Talmud (rabbinic teachings) and Josephus (a reputable Roman-Jewish scholar and historian) that the Temple was destroyed by Titus on August 5th, 70 AD, and that the first course of priests had just taken office. Since the course of Abijah was the eighth course (1 Chronicles 24:10), it can be determined by counting backward that Zacharias would have ended his duties on July 13th, 3 BC.
Asmortica December 25th was picked as the date for Jesus's birthday because it aligned with the pagan festival of Yule. It made it easier for pagans to convert. Historians hypothesize he was most likely born in the summer because of the info we have. Easter eggs and the bunny are Ostara traditions.
It’s pretty common knowledge he was likely born sometime in September. Xmas is on 12/25 because it originated from the pagan holiday of Yule, which celebrates the winter solstice. When Christians took over pagan communities and essentially forced them to convert, they took their holidays to make the transition smoother. Yule was typically celebrated by decorating trees with red and green. They’d also burn “Yule logs.”
Easter is taken from the pagan holiday Ostara, which celebrates the spring equinox and was celebrated with symbols of rabbits and eggs to symbolize fertility.
Biblical Evidence Shows Jesus Christ Wasn't Born on Dec. 25 Posted on Dec 3, 2004 by Good News 106 comments Is it even possible that December 25 could be the day of Christ's birth? Shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:7-8). Shepherds were not in the fields during December. History convincingly shows that December 25 was popularized as the date for Christmas, not because Christ was born on that day but because it was already popular in pagan religious celebrations as the birthday of the sun.
The biblical accounts point to the fall of the year as the most likely time of Jesus' birth. But is it possible that December 25 could be the day of Christ's birth?
"Lacking any scriptural pointers to Jesus's birthday, early Christian teachers suggested dates all over the calendar. Clement. . . picked November 18. Hippolytus . . . figured Christ must have been born on a Wednesday . . . An anonymous document believed to have been written in North Africa around A.D.
A careful analysis of Scripture, however, clearly indicates that December 25 is an unlikely date for Christ's birth. Here are two primary reasons:
1. We know that shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:7-8). Shepherds were not in the fields during December. According to Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays, Luke's account "suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night"
Similarly, The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary says this passage argues "against the birth [of Christ] occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted" shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields at night.
2. Jesus' parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census (Luke 2:1-4). Such censuses were not taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition. Taking a census under such conditions would have been self-defeating.
Given the difficulties and the desire to bring pagans into Christianity, "the important fact then . . . to get clearly into your head is that the fixing of the date as December 25th was a compromise with paganism" (William Walsh, The Story of Santa Klaus, 1970, p. 62).
Did Jesus Christ birth occur on December 25th? Can we even know when Christ was born? Should we really be celebrating His birth? Watch the video "When Was Jesus Born?" If Jesus Christ wasn't born on December 25, does the Bible indicate when He was born? The biblical accounts point to the fall of the year as the most likely time of Jesus' birth, based on the conception and birth of John the Baptist.
Since Elizabeth (John's mother) was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:24-36), we can determine the approximate time of year Jesus was born if we know when John was born. John's father, Zacharias, was a priest serving in the Jerusalem temple during the course of Abijah (Luke 1:5). Historical calculations indicate this course of service corresponded to June 13-19 in that year.
It was during this time of temple service that Zacharias learned that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child (Luke 1:8-13). After he completed his service and traveled home, Elizabeth conceived (Luke 1:23-24). Assuming John's conception took place near the end of June, adding nine months brings us to the end of March as the most likely time for John's birth. Adding another six months (the difference in ages between John and Jesus) brings us to the end of September as the likely time of Jesus' birth.
This state of things continued during the reign of Cheops and his successor, but when Mycerius, or Mencheres, began to reign, he re-opened the temples, and restored the worship of the gods. Manetho styled these kings, "HYKSOS" or "Shepherd Kings," who were reputed to be Arabians, that afterward left Egypt in large numbers and went up to Judea and built a city named Jerusalem.
Herodotus tells us that they called the pyramids after "PHILITION," a shepherd who at that time fed his flocks about the place. This "PHILITION," or "PHILITIS," appears to have been the Architect of the Great Pyramid. He was an Arabian, but went up to Philistia in Judea with those who went up, and was known in Manetho's time as "PHILITION," the Philistine. Who then was "PHILITION"? Some have identified him with Shem, others with Melchisedec, but the writer believes he was "JOB." Job was the greatest man in the East, or Arabia. Job 1:3. His age (he lived to be nearly 250 years old) places him back before the days of Abraham (B.C. 2000), who lived to the age of 175 years, and locates him as living at the time when the Great Pyramid was built. And in the 38th chapter of Job, the Almighty speaks to Job as if he was the identical person who built the Great Pyramid, laying its foundations, and placing its "Capstone" in position, while the people shouted for joy. That Job had great meteorological and astronomical knowledge is clear from the way God spoke to him about the snow (vs. 22), and the rain vs. 25-28). and the ice (vs. 29:30). and the heavenly bodies (vs. 31-32), and the weather probabilities (vs. 33-34), and electricity (vs. 35), and there can be no question but what God would impart to such a man as Job, who was so God-fearing and spiritual, that he was both a prince and a priest, all the Scriptural and prophetical knowledge that is embodied in the arrangement of the passageways and chambers of the Great Pyramid. It does not follow. however, that Job knew the symbolic meaning of the construction of the Great Pyramid any more than the Prophets understood their prophecies. 1 Pet. 1:10-12. The Almighty may have given to Job the plan of the Great Pyramid, as Moses was given the plan of the Tabernacle and its furnishings on Mount Sinai.
There is no question but what the people of Job's day were well versed in the mechanic arts. It was not long after the Flood, and the skill of the artizans of Noah's day, and of the Babel builders had not been lost. This is evident from the Temples and Palaces of Egypt that were built in those days. But the Great Pyramid was unlike any of them. It was a new kind of Architecture, the first of its kind, and such as the world had never seen before. The plainness of its outlines, and the slope and smoothness of its sides. and the absence of all ornamentation, was a striking contrast to the Egyptian style of Architecture. Whence came it? It must have come from some source not Egyptian. Why? Because there was a purpose in its building. It was built to record mathematical, astronomical, and Scriptural knowledge, that should bear witness to the inspiration of the Scriptures in these last days. That accounts for its peculiar architectural shape, and the character of its inferior construction. To that end it was sealed up that in the closing days of this Dispensation it might disclose its message to an unbelieving world.
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Says Dr. Seiss, "If the Pyramid was built to symbolize spiritual things, we would naturally, look for some chamber or room representing the 'NEW JERUSALEM'." No such chamber has as yet been found, though there is evidence of the existence of an as yet undiscovered chamber. Among the debris of building material fragments of a green and white "DIORITE" stone have been found, and no stone of that kind has as yet been found anywhere in the Pyramid. If such a chamber exists it will probably be found on the 100th layer of masonry, on the vertical line of the Pyramid, and cubical in form with 3 entrances on a side.
From the mouth of the well a horizontal passageway leads to the chamber, called the "Queen's Chamber." One-seventh of the way from the "Queen's Chamber" it drops to a lower level and forms the unfinished floor of the "Queen's Chamber." This horizontal passageway is supposed to represent the Jews in their present dispersed condition. and the beginning of the passageway about 70 inches from the commencement of the "Grand Gallery," the date of their dispersion, A.D. 70. The fact that this low horizontal passageway terminates in the "Queen's Chamber" seems to confirm the teaching of Scripture that the Jews will again become a great and leading nation.
Paul tells us in Rom. 11:25, that "BLINDNESS IN PART is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in," and a remarkable thing, connected with the "Queen's Chamber," is that it was noted for its foul air and noisome smell for lack of ventilation, but in the year 1872 a visitor to the Pyramid noticed in the south wall of the Queen's Chamber a crack, into which he inserted a piece of wire that met no obstruction. A workman was sent for who, with a hammer and chisel, cut into the wall and disclosed an air tube, evidently purposely made, and extending back about 7 feet, and then turning upward. The mouth of this tube, for 5 inches back from the side of the chamber, for some mysterious reason, had been tilled up, and the existence of the tube left unknown. At the same location, on the opposite wall of the Chamber, a similar tube was discovered hidden behind the surface of the wall. Why were these tubes thus hidden if it were not with some symbolic intent? How beautifully then do they symbolize the blindness of the Jews that is to remain as Scales upon their eyes until they are converted, and as their conversion is not to be until after they have been restored to their land, symbolized by the "Queen's Chamber," we see how the removal of the scales from the mouth of the tubes beautifully symbolizes the removal of Israel's blindness. The "Queen's Chamber" might therefore well be called the "JEWS' CHAMBER."
The position of the "Queen's Chamber," almost directly under the ending of the "Grand Gallery," would seem to teach that the gathering back of the Jews would begin about the time of the ending of this Present Dispensation, which harmonizes with the teaching of the Scriptures.
The strange thing about the "Great Pyramid" is, that, if it were simply built for the sepulchre of a king and his wife, why does it record so many mathematical and astronomical facts, and why were the interior passageways and chambers so constructed and arranged as to harmonize with the prophetic teachings of the Scriptures?
WHO BUILT THE GREAT PYRAMID? The "Great Pyramid" was built during the reign of Cheops, and Herodotus tells us that it took the labor of 100,000 men 20 years to build it, and that during its building the idol temples of Egypt were closed. Manetho, an Egyptian priest, records how at that time-"the Deity was displeased with us; and there came up from the East in a strange manner, men of an ignoble race, who had the confidence to invade our country and easily subdued it by their power without a battle. And when they had our rulers in their hands they demolished the temples of the gods."
The "Grand Gallery" is supposed to represent the Dispensation from the Birth of Christ to the Rapture of the Church. Measured in Pyramid inches the length of the Grand Gallery is 1882 inches, and if each inch stood for a year, that would make this Dispensation 1882 years long. But it is already 1920+ years long, and this shows us that we have not yet discovered the unit of measurement if we are going to use the measurements of the interior passageways and chambers to set dates. There are, however, several striking things connected with the "Grand Gallery." If the commencement of the "Grand Gallery" indicates the Birth of Christ, we have to measure but about 30 inches before we come to the mouth of an open well, that leads downward by a serpentine passage to the chamber "H." At "S" this well opens into a wide cavern.
The edges of the mouth of the well are ragged, as if its cover had been violently forced upward from below. The well then may represent the grave, and the open and ragged month the Resurrection of Christ, who could not be "holden of death," and the cavern ("S") the "UNDERWORLD," where His soul and spirit went to meet the penitent thief in its Paradise compartment. See the chapter on "The Spirit World." The seven overhanging courses of stone that form the sides of the "Grand Gallery" may represent the "Seven Church Periods." If the "Grand Gallery" represents the present Dispensation, and the low horizontal passageway ("T"), in which it ends, represents the "Tribulation," then we would naturally expect some outlet from the "Grand Gallery" for the "Rapture of the Church." Upon investigation, such an opening was found in a corner of the ceiling leading into the open spaces over the ceiling of the "King's Chamber." See ("R"). This opening was tilled with the remains of bats, showing that only winged beings could find an exit there.
The end wall of the "Grand Gallery" at this point leans inward as if to indicate that the Rapture of the Church will precede by some years the "Tribulation Period." That the "Grand Gallery" was constructed with such grand proportions, out of all harmony with the '"Tomb Theory." seems to indicate that it was constructed with special reference to the Present Dispensation.
If the low passageway ("T") represents the "Tribulation," and the "Ante-Room" the "Millennium," the low passageway represents the Apostasy of Gog and Magog at the close of the Millennium, and the "King's C hamber" ("K") the New Heavens and the New Earth, or the Eternal State.
The "King's Chamber" is so called because it was supposed to have been built to contain the body of the King, and the "Queen's Chamber" to hold the body of the Queen. But as we have seen the Great Pyramid was not constructed for a tomb. In the "King's Chamber" we find the only article of furniture in the Pyramid, a "COFFER." It is a lidless, empty box, cut from a solid block of red granite, and polished within and without, but without ornamentation or inscription. Its inside length and width is large enough to receive the Sarcophagus of a man 6 feet tall, but there is no indication of its ever being used for that purpose. The remarkable thing about it is, that its interior capacity is exactly equal to that of the Ark of the Covenant of the Tabernacle, or one-fiftieth of Solomon's molten sea. Here again we note an agreement between the Pyramid and the Scriptures, as if the "Coffer" and the "Ark of the Covenant" were designed by the same Divine Architect.
Now we know that the earth has no foundations, for it is a sphere and hung upon nothing, as Job well knew. Job 26:7. The building referred to in the above passage must therefore be one with which Job was familiar. And to what can it better refer than to the Great Pyramid of which, as we shall see, Job was the probable builder, for what other form of building is there that has FOUR FOUNDATION STONES, and a CAPSTONE, or HEAD CORNER-STONE, but a pyramid? In the above passage the "Foundations" are distinct from the "Corner-Stone," and it was not until the building was completed by the laying of the chief "CORNER" or "CAPSTONE," that the "SONS OF GOD," the angels, shouted for joy, as doubtless did the builders of the "Great Pyramid" when it was finished and dedicated.
The Great Pyramid is the only form of building that conforms to the symbolic description of the "SPIRITUAL BUILDING," spoken of in Scripture, of which Christ is said to be the "CHIEF CORNER-STONE."
"Ye are built upon the FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, Jesus Christ Himself being the 'CHIEF CORNER-STONE' in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an 'HOLY TEMPLE' in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together, for an 'HABITATION OF GOD' through the Spirit." Eph. 2:21-22. There is no "CHIEF CORNER-STONE" in architectural construction but in a building of Pyramidal form, and in shape it is exactly like the building it tops out. To its angles is "ALL THE BUILDING FITLY FRAMED TOGETHER." Being five-sided there is no place for it in the building until the finishing touch is given, and therefore the builders rejected it until needed. So we read of Christ-"The stone, which the builders DISALLOWED (REFUSED Psa. 118:22), the same is made the HEAD OF THE CORNER ("Chief Corner-Stone" Verse 6), and a 'STONE OF STUMBLING,' and a 'ROCK OF 'OFFENCE.'" 1 Pet. 2:7-8. Rom. 9:32-33. The "Capstone" of a pyramid until needed would be in the way, and a "Stone of Stumbling," and "Rock of Offence" to the workmen. So with Christ. Paul says-"We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a 'STUMBLING BLOCK,' and unto the Greeks 'FOOLISHNESS,'" or a "Rock of Offence." 1 Cor. 1:23.
The "Capstone" of a pyramid is 5 sided and 5 pointed, with one sharp point always sticking up. Anyone falling on it would be "broken" or injured, and when on its way to its lofty position, were it to fall on anyone, it would "GRIND HIM TO POWDER." Matt. 21:42-44. From what has been said we see that the Great Pyramid is symbolic of the Spiritual Building of which Christ is the "Chief Capstone." THE GREAT PYRAMID AND DISPENSATIONAL TRUTH Here we must tread softly lest we be charged with "Time Setting" and subject ourselves and our subject to ridicule. The interior measurements, while carefully and accurately made, can only be used approximately, for there are other things to be taken into account in drawing conclusions from them. All we shall essay to do is in broad outlines to suggest what the interior arrangement of passageways and chambers may be intended to teach Dispensationally, leaving to others who may come after to verify them.
As the polished descending passageway pointed in B.C. 2170, the date of the building of the Pyramid, to "ALPHA DRACONIS," the "chief star" in the Constellation of the "DRAGON" or "GREAT SERPENT," we see that the Pyramid reveals the existence of the "DEVIL," and as the passageway continues downward to an unfinished Chamber (H), which may, be intended to represent "Hell," we see that mankind, marching down that passage, would be under the sign and dominion of the Dragon with "Hell" as their destination.
About quarter way down the descending passageway we come to an ascending passage. This seems to indicate an upward trend of a part of the human race, and is believed by many to represent the period from the Exodus to the Birth of Christ.
It will not do to say that it had not reached the stage in its construction for ornamentation, for it was completely finished on the outside, and then sealed up and left, the purpose of its construction evidently having been completed. Could it be that the Great Pyramid was built for the purpose of embodying in its construction not only mathematical and astronomical knowledge, but also chronological and Scriptural knowledge? Let us see:
In Isaiah 19:19-20 there is a remarkable prophecy that most commentators fail to notice
"In THAT DAY shall there be an ALTAR to the Lord in the MIDST of the Land of Egypt, and a PILLAR at the BORDER thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a SIGN and for a WITNESS unto the Lord of Hosts in the Land of Egypt." That this prophecy has not as yet been fulfilled is clear from the date mentioned-"THAT DAY," which is 3 times repeated in the context (verses 21, 23, 24), and which refers to the "Day of Lord" which is still future.
The prophecy declares that in "That Day" there shall be an "ALTAR" and a "PILLAR" in the MIDST of the LAND OF EGYPT (not Palestine), and at the BORDER thereof, and "IT" shall be for a SIGN and a WITNESS. The word "IT" conveys the idea that the "ALTAR" and "PILLAR" are not two different objects but are one and the same. While the word "Altar" in the Hebrew means the "Lion of God," and could refer to the "Sphinx," which is nearby, the "Great Pyramid" is pre-eminently the "lion" in massiveness and strength among buildings, and its shape also answers to the description of a "PILLAR," or mammoth pyramidal obelisk.
Then the position of the "Great Pyramid" harmonizes with the location of the "Altar and Pillar," which was to be in the MIDST of Egypt and at the BORDER thereof. In 1868 Professor H. Mitchell, of the United States Survey, was sent by the Government to report on the progress of the Suez Canal. Struck with the peculiar curvature of the shore line of the Delta of the Nile, he took a good map and drew a curved line touching all the prominent points of the coast, and found that it formed an arc of a sector whose centre was located at the site of the Great Pyramid. Thus, without any knowledge of the Biblical prophecy, he confirmed the fact that the Great Pyramid was located at the centre or in the MIDST of Egypt, and as the Delta, or Lower Egypt, comprised the section of Egypt included in the sector, and the Great Pyramid stands 'on the BORDER between Upper and Lower Egypt. therefore the Great Pramid is both in the MIDST of Egypt, and on its BORDER. It would seem then that beyond question the Great Pyramid is the "Altar and Pillar" that the Prophet Isaiah declared should in the last days of this Dispensation be a "SIGN" and a "WITNESS" unto the Lord. If this be true then it becomes us to prayerfully, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, who spake through the Prophet, try to discover what the Great Pyramid as a "WITNESS" has to reveal to us.
THE GREAT PYRAMID AND CHRIST In a remarkable passage in Job the earth is compared to a building. The question is asked Job
"Where wast thou when I laid the FOUNDATIONS of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the MEASURES thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the LINE upon it? Whereupon are the FOUNDATIONS thereof fastened? Or who laid the 'CORNER-STONE' thereof; when the 'Morning Stars' sang together, and all the 'SONS OF GOD' SHOUTED FOR JOY?" Job 38:4-7.
Entering the Pyramid we find that the descending entrance passage leads in a straight line down to a chamber marked "H" (Diagram "C"), which has been cut out of the solid rock, and is about 100 feet below the base of the Pyramid. This chamber appears to be unfinished, as it has a passageway leading out from the opposite side that stops short, and the bottom of the chamber is rough and unfinished.
The entrance passage is not quite 4 feet high, and a trifle over 3 feet 5 inches wide.
Descending this entrance passage, about 985 inches from the entrance an upward passage of the same size (D), leads upward at about the same angle as the descending passage, a distance of 1542 inches, when it opens out into a Grand Gallery 1882 inches long, that is 28 feet high, 6 feet wide at the bottom and narrows toward the top, the narrowing above the base sides being produced by 7 courses of stones, each course overhanging the one below.
About 3 feet from the entrance to the "Grand Gallery," on the West side, is a torn and ragged opening that leads into a well (W), that passes through the masonry of the Pyramid and solid rock in a serpentine manner, down to the chamber marked "H." Midway of this well is a cavern-shaped opening (S) made in the solid rock. Just above the mouth of this well a horizontal passageway (J) leads to a chamber (Q) called the Queen's Chamber. This chamber is 205 inches wide, 226 inches long, and has a triangular-shaped ceiling, and a vertical line let fall from the apex of the Pyramid passes through its centre.
At the top of the sloping floor of the "Grand Gallery" there is a vertical step (E) 3 feet high, the top of which leads to a low passageway (T) that opens into an "Ante-Chamber" (M), from which, by another low passageway (P), entrance is had into a large chamber (K), twice the size of the "Queen's Chamber." This chamber, called the "King's Chamber," is constructed of polished red granite, and is 412 inches long, 206 inches wide, and 230 inches high. It contains the only piece of furniture in the Pyramid, a stone "Coffer" (C), lidless and empty and cut from a solid block of red granite, polished within and without. It is an oblong rectangular trough, without inscription or ornament, and of a size that it could not possibly have been taken in or out of its place since the Pyramid was built. The King's Chamber has two ventilating tubes (VV), that connect with openings on the outside of the Pyramid, and keep the Chamber at the standard temperature of 68° Fahrenheit all the year round. The roof of the King's Chamber is composed of 9 heavy blocks of granite supported on the side walls, and above the roof are 5 hollow spaces (G), covered with massive stones, and so arranged as to carry the weight of the superincumbent mass of masonry. The "King's Chamber" is on the 50th layer of masonry, and the "Queen's Chamber" on the 25th. That the so-called King's and Queen's Chambers were not intended as Mortuary Chambers is seen when we, examine the Second and Third Pyramids (Diagram "C"), for in those pyramids, built for tombs, the Mortuary Chambers are built in the foundation of the Pyramid, as if those who built them knew nothing about the chambers and passageways in the centre of the Great Pyramid.
Now why all this interior arrangement of passageways and chambers? There was no architectural need for them unless the Great Pyramid was intended for a storehouse of historical or material treasure, or a mausoleum of the dead, of which it gives no evidence, for there are no interior decorations or hieroglyphics upon its walls or passageways, which are to be found in all the other pyramids that were built for tombs.
DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID; The Great Pyramid is built on the solid rock. The rock was leveled around the base lines, and cornerstones, sunk 8 inches in the rock, were placed in position. The cubit of measurement is the Hebrew cubit of 25 ? 025 inches. The length of each side of the base is 365 ? 2422 cubits, the exact number of days in the SOLAR year, including the extra day every 4 years, and also allowing for the periodical dropping of a leap year at intervals. The slope of the sides of the Pyramid is of such an angle that they meet at the apex at the predetermined height of 232 ? 52 cubits. Why this fraction of a cubit? So that if twice the length of a side at the base, be divided by the height of the Pyramid, we shall have the figures 3 ? 14159, (365 ? 242 × 2 ÷ 232 ? 52 = 3 ? 14159), which, when multiplied by the diameter of a circle, gives its circumference. Now the perimeter of the base of the Pyramid (365 ? 242 × 4 = 14009 ? 68) is exactly equal to the circumference of a circle whose diameter is twice the height of the Pyramid (232 ? 52 × 2 × 3 ? 1416 = 14609 ? 68). So we see in the equality of these figures the solution of the mathematical problem of how to SQUARE THE CIRCLE.
The angle of the slope of the sides is as 10 to 9. That is, for every 10 feet you ascend up the slope of the Pyramid you rise in altitude 9 feet, and if you multiply the altitude of the Pyramid by 10 raised to the 9th power, you have 91,840,000, which in miles, gives the exact distance of the sun from the earth.
There is a twofold year, the "Sidereal," or year of the stars, and the "Equinoctial," or year of the seasons. They differ by about 50 seconds each year. That is, the stars in their rising and setting are retarded about 50 seconds a year, so that for the "Sidereal" and "Equinoctial" years to come around and again coincide, will take 25,827 years, which is known as a "CYCLE," and when we add together the diagonals of the Pyramid's base, in Pyramid inches, we have 25,827 inches, or as many inches as the Cycle has years.
In 1839 Sir John Herschel, assuming that the long, narrow, polished, descending passage, marked B B on Diagram "C," was meant to be levelled at the "Polar Star" of the date of the construction of the Pyramid, made a calculation and found that such was the case. That star has since been proven to be "ALPHA DRACONIS," the Polar Star of the year B.C. 2170. But "Alpha Draconis" by itself does not fix the date, but its combination with another star does. For a long time it was supposed that the sun of our Solar System was stationary, and that the planets and comets circled around it. But now we know that it is not stationary, but that it is circling, with all the members of our Solar System, around some central point in the Universe. This central point is now believed to be the Star "ALCYONE," the central star of the Pleiades. And it was to this star that the apex of the Pyramid pointed on the meridian at midnight of the year B.C. 2170. This combination of these two stars ("Alpha Draconis" and "Alcyone") will not occur again until the "PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES," or until 25827 years have rolled around,
But as at the time of the date of the building of the Pyramid (B.C. 2170) the "Polar Star" was a trifle to the East of the centre of the North side of the Pyramid, it was necessary to put the entrance passage at that point, and that accounts for why the tunnel driven in from the centre of the North side by the workmen of Ali Mamoun failed to hit the descending passage.
Entering the Pyramid we find that the descending entrance passage leads in a straight line down to a chamber marked "H" (Diagram "C"), which has been cut out of the solid rock, and is about 100 feet below the base of the Pyramid. This chamber appears to be unfinished, as it has a passageway leading out from the opposite side that stops short, and the bottom of the chamber is rough and unfinished.
In the midst of Egypt, on the west side of the River Nile, almost opposite Cairo, and a short distance north of ancient Memphis, stands the only remaining one of the "Seven Wonders of the World"- "THE GREAT PYRAMID." Of the many pyramids of Egypt it was the first built, and the largest of them all, and served as a pattern for the others. It was not built for a Tomb, as were the others, but embodies in its construction such a wonderful knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and Scriptural information as to clearly show that the Architect and Builder was especially endowed with Divine wisdom.
The Great Pyramid, as originally constructed, was built of granite overlaid with white limestone, and its exterior surface was smooth and unmountable, and it appeared like a building let down from Heaven. But it has been robbed of its white casing stones for building material, and you can mount on the layers of stone, as on steps, to the summit, from which the top stone is missing. Up to the year A.D. 825 its interior was a mystery, its entrance being closed by an accurately-fitted, pivot-working stone whose location was unknown.
At that time the Mohammedan Caliph, Ali Mamoun, came to Cairo to reside. He was so wrought upon by the stories that reached his ears of the fabulous wealth that was locked up in the Pyramid that he decided to break into its interior. According to tradition the entrance was on the North side, and naturally supposing that it was in the centre of the North side, Ali Mamoun set his laborers to work at that point; but it was afterward discovered that for Astronomical reasons the entrance was 24 feet to the Fast of the centre line. Ali Mamoun's workmen started in about 30 feet above the ground. The tunnel was driven in about 100 feet with no signs of a hollow interior, when, as the workmen, discouraged, were about to give up the undertaking, a sound was heard in the interior, and not far away, as of a stone falling. This fired them with new zeal, and shortly they came to a passageway on the floor of which they found a beautifully-chiseled prismatic stone, which evidently had fallen from above and disclosed an upward passage, whose entrance, however, was closed by an immense granite "Port-cullis," with a hole bored through it, but the hole was filled with wedge-shaped granite blocks impossible to remove. To overcome this obstacle the workmen tunneled around the granite "Port-cullis" in the softer stone, only to find another stone filling the passageway. After this was removed, and several others that came sliding down, the passageway was clear for an upward ascent, which let them into the passageways and chambers of the interior of the Pyramid. But to the disgust of Ali Mamoun the interior contained no riches, no furniture of any kind, except an empty "Coffer," and there were no inscriptions or hieroglyphics on the walls to bear witness to its being a tomb.
For over 10 centuries the Great Pyramid remained as to its construction comparatively unknown. In A.D. 1865, Prof. Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal of Scotland, with his wife, encamped on the site of the Great Pyramid and began to make exterior and interior measurements. He found that the Pyramid was located on the 30th degree of North Latitude, and that its triangular sides faced exactly the four points of the compass. The Pyramid covers 13 acres of ground, equal to about 4 city squares, and is located in about the land centre of the earth.
For several years I listened on the radio to Noah Hutchings of the South West Radio Church, in Seatle. I was very intrigued by his telling about the Great Pyramid. I am now only able to find what he found in his book called; "The Great Pyramid Prophecy in Stone" The proplhecies are truly fascinating.
The Great Pyramid was built around 2560 B.C.E. under Khufu, a pharaoh of Egypt’s Old Kingdom. Mysteries and intrigue have always surrounded his life and death. The Greek historian Herodotus’ portrait of an oppressive and cruel ruler clashes with Egyptian beliefs about his wisdom. Myths persist about Khufu’s funding and motivation for the creation of the Great Pyramid.
As Mike Dash wrote for Smithsonian magazine in 2011, the reasons for the elaborate system of chambers and passageways, the most complex of any pyramid, remain unknown. The structure is the only one of its time built with tunnels high above ground level.
In 2017, researchers discovered another mysterious void in the pyramid. That chamber measures 98 feet long, and many questions about its purpose remain. Narrowing down what it wasn’t used for may be an easier task. For example, Mohamed Ismail, a spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, dismissed the idea that it could be any sort of hidden or forgotten burial chamber. “If there is another burial chamber, there would have been an entrance to it,” Ismail told Cassandra Santiago and Sarah El Sirgany of CNN in 2017.
Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, thinks that the newly discovered corridor likely helped distribute weight within the massive structure, per Reuters’ Aidan Lewis. After all, the pyramid was made with 2.3 million stone blocks, each weighing an average of more than two tons.
There is growing evidence that the ancient Egyptians could not build this pyramid. It’s true! Attempts have been made to prove that the pyramid could be constructed using known ancient Egyptian tools and methods. Egyptologist Dr. Mark Lehner made an attempt with a large group of people, but when the structure that he and his team built reached twenty feet high (six meters), they had to use a truck with a winch to get even the downsized stone blocks out of the quarry. They only attempted to cut and stack small blocks, so keep in mind that many of the stones in the Great Pyramid weigh from 2.5 to 70 tons and had to be hoisted to heights over four hundred feet! In the late seventies a Japanese team, funded by auto manufacturer Nissan, made another attempt to create a scaled-down model of the pyramid 59 feet high (18 meters) using the same primitive ancient Egyptian tools archaeologists assume were used, such as chisels and hammers. The highly skilled and technically savvy Japanese team could not cut the Aswan granite. They ended up using jackhammers. They were also unable to move the stones and ended up using bulldozers, a truck, and even a helicopter to get the blocks stacked in a pile that remotely resembled a pyramid. Again, like Dr. Lehner and his team, the Japanese used only small blocks, nothing close to the size and weight of those in the Great Pyramid. This situation is perplexing, leading us to no answers as to how this pyramid was built by these people. But even today we may not be able to build a structure like this because we have only two cranes on the planet that could possibly lift some of the stones in the pyramid to the heights necessary to place them on the levels they are found in that structure. Clearly we are dealing with a people and a monument that is more than it appears to be. Excerpted from 2038: The Great Pyramid Timeline Prophecy.
The Great Pyramid is positioned so exactly due north that it is more accurate than the modern attempt at the Paris Observatory, which is within 6 minutes of a degree of exact north. The ancient Great Pyramid is within 3 minutes of exact north and this after roughly four thousand years of settling (subsidence) and earthquakes! This is an astonishing achievement by ancient builders. It also appears to be positioned in alignment with specific stars above it! In an early announcement of this fact by Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert in their popular book The Orion Mystery, it was proposed to be in alignment with the star Alnitak in the Belt of Orion, and the other two Giza Plateau pyramids (Khafre and Menkaure) aligning with the other two stars in the Belt (Alnilam and Mintaka). Even the offset star Mintaka matched the offset Menkaure pyramid. (Note that two of the three pyramids are inline with one another, but the third is slightly off-line. See illustration 1.) But after further investigation, it was found that this alignment was more of a mirror image, not a directly overhead match. Then another researcher, Andrew Collins in his book The Cygnus Mystery, revealed that many of the structures on the Giza Plateau, including the Great Pyramid, aligned precisely with Cygnus, the Swan Constellation. (See illustration 2.) How could these ancient people align their work with stars? And why would they attempt such a difficult feat? We have already read a bit about the precision with which the stones were cut and put together, but the cement used to hold these stones in place is unknown to scientifically oriented researchers. Even when our modern labs discovered the elements of the chemical composition of the cement, they were unable to duplicate it! How is this possible? From where did the ancient ones get this cement? How did they produce it, given their primitive conditions in comparison to ours? But wait, there’s more! In 1986 a French research team found sand in a hidden chamber behind the wall of the passageway to the Queen’s Chamber, and when they examined the sand, it was found not to be indigenous to Giza! From where did the ancient ones get this sand? And why would they hide it in a secret chamber? Are they trying to convey some strange message to us? Aren’t we the high point of evolution and science? These two discoveries add to the mystery and wonder of the Great Pyramid and the intentions of its ancient designers and builders. The red granite coffin (or sarcophagus) in the King’s Chamber is too large to fit through the entrance to this chamber! Did these builders actually build this magnificent chamber around the coffin? If so, why? What purpose could justify adding so much difficulty to building the chamber? One might consider that they wanted to prevent the sarcophagus from ever being taken out of that chamber—but what a feat of engineering and manpower to build the massive chamber around the coffin. And what were they doing with this coffin that never contained a mummy and did not require a lid?
There is growing evidence that the ancient Egyptians could not build this pyramid. It’s true! Attempts have been made to prove that the pyramid could be constructed using known ancient Egyptian tools and methods. Egyptologist Dr. Mark Lehner made an attempt with a large group of people, but when the structure that he and his team built reached twenty feet high (six meters), they had to use a truck with a winch to get even the downsized stone blocks out of the quarry.
The Great Pyramid Timeline Prophecy FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2018 John Van Auken Ancient Mysteries The Great Pyramid in Egypt is the only surviving member of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” The other six wonders were the Colossus of Rhodes, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus, and the Lighthouse at Alexandria.
Even in the modern world of today, the Great Pyramid on the Giza Plateau is a marvel of design and engineering. Sir Flinders Petrie (1853-1942), an English archaeologist known as the “father of modern Egyptology” wrote: “The pavement, lower casing and entrance passage are exquisitely wrought; in fact, the means employed for placing and cementing the blocks of soft limestone, weighing a dozen or twenty tons each, with such hair-like joints, are almost inconceivable at present; and the accuracy of the leveling is marvelous. How in the casing of the Great Pyramid, they could fill with cement a vertical joint about 5 feet by 7 feet in area, and only an average one-fiftieth (1/50) part of an inch thick is a mystery. Yet this was the usual work over 13 acres of surface, with tens of thousands of casing stones, none less than a ton in weight.” (30, p. 213) W. Marsham Adams (1838-death date unknown), a British Egyptologist, fellow of Oxford’s New College, wrote: “It is absolutely unique. No other building, it may be safely averred, contains any structure bearing the least resemblance to the upper chambers.”(1, p. 34) Architect James Fergusson (1808-1886), the 1871 recipient of the gold medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, wrote in his book The History of Architecture (published in 1855) that the Great Pyramid is “the most perfect and gigantic specimen of masonry that the world has yet seen. No one can possibly examine the interior of the Great Pyramid without being struck with astonishment at the wonderful mechanical skill displayed in its construction. The immense blocks of granite brought from Syene [Aswan, in southern Egypt], a distance of 500 miles, polished like glass, are so fitted that the joints can scarcely be detected. Nothing can be more wonderful than the extraordinary amount of knowledge displayed in the construction of the discharging chambers over the roof of the principal apartment, in the alignment of the sloping galleries, in the provision of the ventilating shafts, and in all the wonderful contrivances of the structure. Nothing more perfect, mechanically, has ever been erected since that time.” (18, p. 85)
There is no way to give all of the amazing features, mathematical wonders, and marvelous engineering feats of this pyramid without becoming overwhelmed. And there are plenty of books and Web sites that do this for you. But some of the more mysterious features should be noted here for they lend greater credence to the pyramid prophecy. First among the mind-stretching facts about this wonder is the extraordinary degree of precision found throughout it. The architects and builders were more than the theory of evolution would tolerate, given that everything old is primitive and we today are the apex of evolution. How could ancient primitives conceive of such a structure and then execute the building of it within tolerances that would be very difficult, if not impossible, to recreate today? We have already read the comments and the astonishment of some the experts who studied the edifice in the 1800s. Here are some of the most perplexing and mysterious features:
“The Gold & Ivory Tablecloth” is one of 38 uplifting tales in the Reader’s Digest Treasury of Joy and Inspiration. This collector’s item features editors’ selections of our most powerful true stories, miracles, and dramas in real life, including works by Christopher Reeve, James Michener, and Billy Crystal. To learn more or buy a copy, go to readersdigest.com/joy.
Originally Published: November 13, 2012 Reader's Digest Originally Published in Reader's Digest
The woman sat down in a pew and chafed her hands and rested. After a while, she dropped her head and prayed. She looked up as the pastor began to adjust the great gold-and-ivory lace cloth across the hole. She rose suddenly and walked up the steps of the chancel. She looked at the tablecloth. The pastor smiled and started to tell her about the storm damage, but she didn’t seem to listen. She took up a fold of the cloth and rubbed it between her fingers.
“It is mine!” she said. “It is my banquet cloth!” She lifted up a corner and showed the surprised pastor that there were initials monogrammed on it. “My husband had the cloth made especially for me in Brussels! There could not be another like it!”
For the next few minutes, the woman and the pastor talked excitedly together. She explained that she was Viennese, that she and her husband had opposed the Nazis and decided to leave the country. They were advised to go separately. Her husband put her on a train for Switzerland. They planned that he would join her as soon as he could arrange to ship their household goods across the border.
She never saw him again. Later she heard that he had died in a concentration camp.
“I have always felt that it was my fault—to leave without him,” she said. “Perhaps these years of wandering have been my punishment!”
The pastor tried to comfort her, urged her to take the cloth with her. She refused. Then she went away.
As the church began to fill on Christmas Eve, it was clear that the cloth was going to be a great success. It had been skillfully designed to look its best by candlelight.
After the service, the pastor stood at the doorway; many people told him that the church looked beautiful. One gentle-faced, middle-aged man—he was the local clock-and-watch repairman—looked rather puzzled.
“It is strange,” he said in his soft accent. “Many years ago, my wife—God rest her—and I owned such a cloth. In our home in Vienna, my wife put it on the table”—and here he smiled—“only when the bishop came to dinner!”
The pastor suddenly became very excited. He told the jeweler about the woman who had been in church earlier in the day.
The startled jeweler clutched the pastor’s arm. “Can it be? Does she live?”
Together the two got in touch with the family who had interviewed her. Then, in the pastor’s car, they started for the city. And as Christmas Day was born, this man and his wife—who had been separated through so many saddened Yuletides—were reunited.
To all who heard this story, the joyful purpose of the storm that had knocked a hole in the wall of the church was now quite clear. Of course, people said it was a miracle, but I think you will agree it was the season for it!
The miracle of the table cloth; At Christmas time men and women everywhere gather in their churches to wonder anew at the greatest miracle the world has ever known. But the story I like best to recall was not a miracle — not exactly. It happened to a pastor who was very young but his church was very old.
Once long ago it had flourished. Famous men had preached from its pulpit and prayed before its altar. Rich and poor alike had worshipped there and built it beautifully. Now the good days had passed from the section of town where it stood. But the pastor and his young wife believed in their run-down church. They felt that with paint, hammer, and faith they could get it in shape. Together they went to work.
However late in December a severe storm whipped through the river valley and the worst blow fell on the little church — a huge chunk of rain-soaked plaster fell out of the inside wall just behind the altar. Sorrowfully the pastor and his wife swept away the mess but they couldn’t hide the ragged hole. The pastor looked at it and had to remind himself quickly, “Thy will be done!” But his wife wept, “Christmas is only two days away!”
That afternoon the dispirited couple attended an auction held for the benefit of a youth group. The auctioneer opened a box and shook out of its folds a handsome gold and ivory lace tablecloth. It was a magnificent item, nearly 15 feet long; but it, too, dated from a long vanished era. Who, today, had any use for such a thing?
There were a few halfhearted bids. Then the pastor was seized with what he thought was a great idea. He bid it in for $6.50. He carried the cloth back to the church and tacked it up on the wall behind the altar. It completely hid the hole! And the extraordinary beauty of its shimmering handwork cast a fine, holiday glow over the chancel. It was a great triumph. Happily he went back to preparing his Christmas sermon.
Just before noon on the day of Christmas Eve as the pastor was opening the church, he noticed a woman standing in the cold at the bus stop. “The bus won’t be here for 40 minutes!” he called and invited her into the church to get warm. She told him that she had come from the city that morning to be interviewed for a job as governess to the children of one of the wealthy families in town but she had been turned down. A war refugee, her English was imperfect.
Another 45 days will be taken up by the marriage feast of the Lamb, the restoration of the throne of David and the judgement of the nations (Rev. 19:7-9, Acts 15:16-17, Mt. 25:31-32). By then, 1 335 very dramatic days will have elapsed since that very evil day when the false messiah declared himself as God in the temple and instituted his satanic reign of terror. After 1 335 days, the Son of the living God will have crushed the evil powers and established His kingdom of peace. Jews who survive this terrible onslaught will, after 1 260 days of great tribulation, see the Messiah return. After 1 290 days they will be spiritually restored, and after 1 335 days they will enter the promised kingdom of the Messiah. Everlasting righteousness will prevail while the Messiah rules the world from Jerusalem (Jer. 3:17; Is. 2:2-4; Zech. 8:21-22).
Sources Hutchings, N.W. 1983 : Petra in History and Prophecy. Oklahoma City: The Southwest Radio Church.
In Isaiah 63 we read the following about the second coming of the Messiah, when He will save the remnant of His people and take revenge on the enemies of His kingdom: “Who is this who comes from Edom, with died garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? – I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red, and your garments like one who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the people no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me. I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury, and brought down their strength to the earth.”
The remnant of Israel will be hated and utterly forsaken by all their former friends and allies, with the result that nobody will come to their rescue when the false messiah and his world powers will set out to destroy them. Their Messiah, Jesus Christ, will come to their salvation on the critical moment, and destroy their enemies. The southern vanguard of the enemy forces will be stopped only 40 kilometres from Petra. The enemies of God and of Israel will be killed with the sword that proceeds from the mouth of Him who sits on the horse. And all the birds will be filled with their flesh (Rev. 19:21). The Mount of Olives, where Jesus will first set foot, will cleave into two halves. This mountain will also offer a place of refuge to Jews who are pursued by their enemies: “Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, the king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You” (Zech. 14:5).
Immediately after the coming of the Messiah there will be a period of extended mourning in Israel, in which they will confess and forsake their sins with tears of true repentance. “In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem… And the land shall mourn, every family by itself… In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. It shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered” (Zech. 12:11–13:2). The period of national mourning will probably last for 30 days, as was customary in Israel after the death of great leaders such Moses and Aaron (Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8).
In his schedule of end-time events, Daniel also made provision for Israel’s mourning of 30 days after the coming of the Messiah at the end of the great tribulation, by adding it to the 1260 days of the second half of the tribulation period: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1290 days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to 1335 days” (Dan. 12:11-12).
The following sequence of events is evident from this scripture: From the time when the false messiah abolishes the sacrificial service and profanes the sanctuary by placing an image of himself in the Holy of holies, 1 260 days will elapse until the coming of the Messiah on the Mount of Olives (Dan. 9:27; Rev 13:5). During this time, a remnant in Israel will have fled to Petra. After a further thirty days of mourning, the spiritual reconciliation between the Messiah and the remnant of Israel will be completed. By then, 1 290 days will have elapsed since the false messiah’s self-deification in the temple.
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Beatitudes, statements of characteristics and blessing, are part of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus spoke and is recorded in Matthew.Each beatitude looks at different circumstances of life and how all Christians are blessed through their faith. Through these 8 Beatitudes, Jesus teaches of virtues and values in life that will result in blessings and rewards. These beatitudes are not singled out for specific people - they are blessings applicable to all Christians.
These Scriptures will encourage you and give you hope as you face each day knowing that you are called blessed! No matter your age, job, or family role, if you apply the beatitudes to your life you will experience a joyful, fulfilled life! You can read the full Bible passage below where the words of Jesus are recorded, however, here is a short summary of the beatitudes.
The 8 Beatitudes and Their Meaning
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
The poor in spirit are those who feel a deep sense of spiritual destitution and comprehend their nothingness before God. The kingdom of heaven is theirs, because they seek it, and therefore find and abide in it. To this virtue is opposed the pride of the Pharisee, which caused him to thank God that he was not as other men, and to despise and reject the kingdom of heaven. There must be emptiness before there can be fullness, and so poverty of spirit precedes riches and grace in the kingdom of God.
2. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
The blessing is not upon all that mourn but upon those who mourn in reference to sin. They shall be comforted by the discovery and appropriation of God's pardon. But all mourning is traced directly or indirectly to sin. We may take it, therefore, that in its widest sense the beatitude covers all those who are led by mourning to a discerning of sin, and who so deplore its effects and consequences in the world as to yearn for and seek the deliverance which is in Christ.
3. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth
The humble would receive far greater than the arrogant and prideful. Not only do the meek enjoy more of life on earth because of their ability to be content, but they will possess and enjoy the earth after Jesus' return and triumphal entry.
4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Because of Christ, we can cling to the promise of everlasting righteousness in heaven. While we are called to live like Christ, we also have forgiveness of sin.
5. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mercy is an active virtue that Christians can show to each other because we have been given mercy ourselves. Since God has forgiven our offenses, we should forgive others and show mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
The pure in heart are those who are free from evil desires and purposes. They can see and experience God's presence because they are free from self-righteousness and arrogance.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
The term includes all who make peace between men, whether as individuals or as communities. It includes even those who worthily endeavor to make peace, though they fail of success. They shall be called God's children because he is the God of peace who sent His own Son as the Prince of Peace.
8. Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Those who suffer because of their loyalty to the kingdom of heaven are blessed by being bound more closely to that kingdom for which they suffer.
Most of us approached the Beatitudes as if there's some sort of platitude [inaudible 00:00:18] phraseology and principles on how to live life. I mean that's usually how they're approached, but that is very far removed from what they actually are.