AS ABOVE,
SO BELOW
(Last updated 1/27/01)
As we have seen earlier in this study, both the Scriptures and extra-Biblical
Hebrew texts show that the earthly Tabernacle and its elements were designed by Moses,
from the pattern of their heavenly counterparts.
In our study on the spiritual elements, we showed a relationship between spiritual
time and space, particularly with regard to the physical Tabernacle/Temple.
In this section we will continue to examine the idea that the physical elements on
earth have heavenly counterparts in that the heavenly realms and angels correspond to
nations and kings. We will also look at the principle that events taking place on earth in
physical time, are preceded by corresponding events in the heavenly realms.
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 197a - Observe that
God has made the earthly kingdom after the pattern of the heavenly kingdom, and whatever
is done on earth has been preceded by its prototype in heaven.
THE REALM OF "DARKNESS"
As we have seen throughout previous studies, God is revealed through His emanations as
observed through creation, including man, who is made in his image. God's will is carried
out through the Sephirot, as well as the work of the angels, the Shekinah and Messiah. All
of this heavenly realm, (which is represented by the Temple, as well as Ezekiel's chariot)
is working toward the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
Scripture shows us that there is also an evil spiritual realm that is opposed to this
plan, in fact attempting to subvert God's Kingdom with an unholy kingdom. Much of
Scripture is concerned with this ongoing "battle," and the book of Revelation is
the climactic "final scenes" of this saga.
It is often hard for people to understand things such as, "why is there a demonic
realm?" or "where evil comes from?" or "why does God allow Satan to do
the things he does?" Although the full answers may only come to us when we are one
day with the Lord, both Scriptures and other writings shed light on this subject.
Isaiah makes a very blunt statement regarding this:
- Isaiah 45:6-7 - That they may know from the rising of the sun, and
from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form
the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these
things.
The Zohar supports this idea and goes into even greater detail, saying that there is a
symmetry between the holy sephirot (also called "crowns") and an unholy sephirot
(created by God), also made up of ten "crowns." The latter is known as Sitra
Ahra, "the other side.":
Soncino Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3 Page 41b - R. Simeon said:
‘As there are ten Crowns of Faith above, so there are ten crowns of unclean sorcery
below. All things on earth are attached either to one side or to the other.
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 95a - The reason is, as
we have learnt, that God has made lower crowns which are not holy, and which, in fact,
pollute, and with these are marked all who are not circumcised.
The Zohar (in a commentary on the Egyptian demonic connection) states that realm of
angels (both "good" and "bad" ones), is also known as "the
sea." The region of demons (the "unholy order" below), is closely
associated with the "left side" of the Tree of Life (the ten sephirot), which is
known as the side of "judgment."
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2,Page 56b - PHARAOH'S CHARIOTS
AND MIGHT HE CAST INTO THE SEA. R. Isaac referred to the verse: “When he uttereth his
voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens” (Jer. X, 13), and said:
‘According to tradition, the Holy One created seven heavens, and in each heaven stars
and planets are fixed. Arabot (also called Asiyyah,
the realm of the Shekinah) is above them all. The length of each heaven is such that
it would take two hundred years to traverse, and the distance between each heaven and the
next would take five hundred years to traverse. As for Arabot, one would need one thousand
five hundred years to cover its whole length, and the selfsame number for traversing its
breadth. All the heavens are lighted from the radiance of Arabot. Above Arabot is the
heaven of the Hayoth, and above this latter sphere another heaven, brighter than all, as
it is written: “And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the Hayoth”
(Ezek. I, 22). And below there are many chariots at the right hand and at the left, of
many grades, each with its own name. And beneath them are others, smaller and yet more
varied, which are the smallest ranks of this celestial but unholy order; as it is written:
“The sea is great... small beasts and great are there” (Ps. CIV, 25), as we have
affirmed, that on the left side below there is a ruler, the “other side”,
attached to those above, but they are crushed by the great holy power, according to our
interpretation of the words, “Pharaoh's chariots and his might he cast into the
sea”.’
It may seem odd to include the angels who are in
opposition to God (demons) within the Tree of Life, however, they are created
spiritual beings and are in fact serving the will of God.
For example:
Judges 9:22-23 - When Abimelech had reigned three years over
Israel, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of
Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.
Revelation 17:17 - For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his
will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled.
In addition to the existence of ten holy and ten unholy sephirot, there is further
parallelism between the angels who serving to establish God's Kingdom, and those who are
working (according to God's will) in opposition to it. We have seen already that there
exists a special group of seventy angels who serve to protect Israel from the
"seventy nations" of the earth. (Recall also, that at Succot there were
sacrifices offered for these seventy nations.)
Here, the Zohar says that the gentile nations also have angels assigned to them:
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 95b - All the lands of the Gentiles
have been committed to great chieftains who are appointed over them.
At the time of the unification of the Name of God, this
left side (of judgment) will be brought into harmony by the right side (of mercy), and
these angels (demons) and the pain and suffering associated with the left side, will be no
more.
Soncino
Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 133b - The Lord is one above; and His Name is
One below. We say this response silently, although it is a triumphant expression of the
Oneness, because of the "evil eye", which still has power under the present
dispensation; but in the future (Messianic Age) when the "evil eye" will have
ceased to exist and will have no dominion whatsoever over this world, then we shall
proclaim the Divine Unity and its full accomplishment openly and in a loud voice. At
present, as the "other side" still cleaves to the Shekinah ...
... ‘In
the prayer before the entrance of the Sabbath the Throne of Glory is prepared for the Holy
Heavenly King. And when the Sabbath arrives the Shekinah is in perfect union with Him and
is separated from the "other side", and all the potencies of severe judgement
are severed from Her, She being in closest union with the Holy Light and crowned with many
crowns by the Holy King, and all the principalities of severity and all the lords of
judgement flee from Her, and no other domination reigns in any of the worlds, and her
countenance is illumined by the supernal light, and she is crowned here below by the Holy
People, all of whom are invested with new souls.
...
"And He being merciful, forgiveth iniquity and destroyeth not", because the
Shekinah is then entirely severed from the mystery of the "other side" and all
the lords of judgement have separated themselves and passed away from Her,
As mentioned, the book of Revelation is the climax
of the "battle" between the forces of the Kingdom of God and those who attempt
to usurp this with an ungodly kingdom. The being who may be said to be in direct
opposition to God, is an angel commonly known as haSatan (literally: the
adversary, commonly called "Satan"). The One who inevitably ushers in this
Kingdom of God is Messiah, whom we have seen in our section on Tipheret, is the direct
opponent to haSatan.
Much has been written about the "fall of
Satan" (also called Lucifer), and his rebellious group of angels. It is beyond the
scope of this study to provide a comprehensive study of this event, however the following
is helpful in understanding the material we are analyzing. Before attending to this, we
will briefly discuss the idea of how "evil" came into being.
Jewish mysticism offers a very "logical"
explanation as to how evil originated. Before creation, there was only the infinite Eyn
Sof. The first act of creation was for the Eyn Sof to "contract back," in order
to create a realm that was not part of the Eyn Sof. (This explanation is necessary
otherwise you have pantheism, which states that "everything is God.")
God then emanated a "finite" part of
"Himself" into this realm, which was the Torah, also called the "word"
or the "Light." As soon as the aspect of "Light" entered the universe,
there also entered "darkness," as you cannot have something defined as
"Light," without its inverse. That which was not the Light (within the universe
God created) took on the existence of darkness. Thus, whatever God (Eyn Sof) commanded was
Torah/Light, and what he did not command (darkness/evil) was also created by implication.
The embodiment of these opposites (light and darkness)
is found in Messiah and haSatan. Messiah is light (John 1:9; 9:5), haSatan is
darkness (Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 16:10). Messiah is the word (John 1:1), haSatan
opposes the word and says to man, "did God really say ..." (Genesis
3:1). Messiah is the truth (John 14:6), haSatan is the father of all lies (John 8:44).
Messiah came as the Torah in the flesh (John 1:14), haSatan will come as a man opposed to
Torah (2 Thessalonians 2:3).1
LABAN AND BALAAM
The Zohar has an interesting section regarding both Laban (Jacob's father-in-law)
and Balaam, the evil prophet who attempted to curse the children of Israel. It states that
both had expertise in tapping into the "spiritual sea," for the purpose of
gaining supernatural power. The passage below makes specific reference to Laban's use of
the ten unholy sephirot (crowns).
Balaam realized that he could not make use of the same to curse Israel, as their power
is also given to them by God. When God issues His protection (as in this case and also
with Pharaoh in the time of the Egyptian captivity - see subsequent section below), then
those who call upon the unholy powers will experience a divine "power shortage":
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 167a - It is written
in regard to Balaam: “And God came unto Balaam at night” (Num. XXII, 20).
Similarly in regard to Laban it is written: “And God, came to Laban the Aramean in a
dream of the night, and said unto him: Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob
either good or bad” (Gen. XXXI, 24). Instead of the words “that thou speak
not”, we should have expected here “that thou do no evil to Jacob” But the
truth is that Laban in his pursuit after Jacob did not intend to contend against him with
armed force, as he was well aware that Jacob and his sons were more than a match for him,
but he designed to kill him with the power of his mouth. Hence: “that thou speak
not”, and not “that thou do not”. It is also written: “It is in the
power of my hand to do you hurt” (Gen. XXXI, 29). Laban knew this from the warning
given him, as he himself continued: “But the God of your father spoke to me,
etc.” (Ibid.). And this is the very testimony which God commanded the Israelites to
pronounce, as it is written: “And thou shalt testify and say before the Lord thy God:
An Aramean intended to destroy my father, etc.” (Deut. XXVI, 5). Of Balaam it is
further written: “and he went not as at other times, to meet enchantments” (Num.
XXIV, 1), this being his wont, since he was an adept in divinations. Laban also said:
“I have observed the signs” (Gen. XXX, 27), that is to say, he tested Jacob's
fortune by means of his divinations, and when he set out to destroy him he also intended
to accomplish his end by the same power of magic and sorcery, but God did not permit him.
And it was in allusion to this that Balaam his grandson said: “For there is no
enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel” (Num. XXIII,
23), as much as to say: “Who can prevail against them, seeing that when my
grandfather sought to destroy their ancestor by means of enchantments and sorceries, he
did not succeed, as he was not permitted to curse him?” Laban, indeed,
employed against Jacob all the ten kinds of magic and divination of the flashing of the
underworld crowns, but could do him no hurt, as it is written: “and he
changed my wages ten times, but God suffered him not to hurt me” (Gen. XXXI, 7),
where the term monim (times) is akin to the term minim, signifying “kinds”.
These ten kinds of witchcraft are alluded to in the verse saying: “There shall not be
found among you... one that useth divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a
sorcerer, or a charmer, or one that consulteth a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a
necromancer” (Deut. XVIII, 10-11). R. Jose said: ‘Divination and enchantment are
two different arts of the same potency. Balaam made use of divination against Israel, as
it says: “with divinations in their hand” (Num. XXII, 7). Laban, on the other
hand, used enchantments against Jacob, but neither of them succeeded. Hence Balaam said:
“For there is no enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with
Israel” (Ibid. XXIII, 23), the first half of the verse alluding to the days of Laban,
the other half to the time of Balaam himself. Balaam said in effect to Balak: “How
can anyone prevail against them, seeing that all the divinations and sorceries residing in
our crowns derive their potency from the flashing of the supernal sovereignty, which is
attached to them, as it is written: ‘The Lord his God is with them, and the shouting
for the King is among them” (Ibid. 21).’
EGYPT
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 38a - Now, as there
are ten crowns above, so likewise there are ten such below; and all are concealed in the
three grades symbolized by “the firstborn of Pharaoh”
God's judgment against Egypt, for their enslavement and cruelty of the children of
Israel is well documented in the Torah's book of Exodus. If you examine the Zohar
references in this section of our study, you may find it is interesting to note that most
of its commentaries concerning the role of the demonic realm and the final unification of
the name of God, come from the book of Exodus. As we will see, the judgments against Egypt
and the redemption of Israel serve as a preview of what one day will played out on an even
grander scale at the end of the age.
The following section of the Zohar deals with the relationship between the heavenly and
earthly realms and their corresponding "leaders."
As you read this, note the following insights that are given:Again, the realm which the spiritual entities exist is called "the sea."
This sheds light on the Revelation passage that depicts the "dragon" coming from
the sea.
Both the "good" and "bad" angels come from the sea, which is
created from the waters of the "Supernal Sea" (the realm of the Eyn Sof, rivers
of Eden), thus showing that all angelic beings (including haSatan), even in their
opposition to God, are serving the will of God. He is in control of all that happens.
Foolish men associate themselves with those elements of the spiritual sea that are
working in opposition to God.
The sorcerers of Egypt made use of "ten species of sorcery," which are
related to the ten unholy "sephirot." (Hence the ten plagues sent by God.)
God first established a victory over the Egyptian's heavenly chieftains, which rendered
their earthly sorcerers ineffective.
Scripture thus declares a "double victory," with both "heavenly
Egypt" and "earthly Egypt" being defeated (see Isaiah 19:2).
Both the heavenly and earthly realms are divided into seven "zones," which
in turn is divided into ten divisions, giving a total of seventy. (These are the seventy
nations that Israel offered sacrifices for each Succot.) Each of these seventy divisions
has a "chieftain" ruling over it.
The same punishment given to the Egyptians, is one day destined for Rome. Keep in mind
these texts were written long after the collapse of the Roman empire. As we will see, the
Zohar is referring to a future "Rome" that will be defeated at the time of
Messiah.
This fascinating text reads as follows:
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 30b - Observe that ever
so many streams and rivers rise out of the Supernal Sea, which in their courses divide and
subdivide again into many other rivers and streams: and the portion that fell to the side
of Egypt were waters swarming with such creatures. For all waters issuing from that sea
breed various kinds of fishes, to wit, messengers sent into the world to carry out the
will of their Master through the spirit of Wisdom. In regard to this a traditional text
tells us that there are waters that breed wise men and other waters that breed foolish
men, according to the various rivers that branch off into all sides. Now the Egyptian
rivers breed masters of sorcery of various kinds, and of ten degrees, as enumerated in the
verse, "one that useth divination, a soothsayer, or a charmer, or one that consulteth
a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer" (Deut. XVIII, 10-11). Here we have
ten species of sorcery. And at that time the Holy One, blessed be He, stretched forth His
finger and disturbed the brooks and rivers of Egypt so that their fishes of wisdom were
confounded: some waters turned into blood, others threw up small fishes of no account upon
whom the spirit of sorcery never rested. Then there came upon them the plague called
’arob (lit. mixture, i.e. mixture of various beasts) which allegorically indicates
that the Almighty confounded their magical arts so that their practitioners were not able
to piece them together. Moreover, that confusion produced a mingling of a perverse and
hybrid kind similar to those referred to in the words of Scripture, "thou shalt not
sow thy field with two kinds of seed; neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two
kinds of stuff mingled together" (Lev. XIX, 19).
Many were then the legions that bestirred
themselves above, but the Holy One, blessed be He, confounded them altogether; these
mighty deeds which the Almighty performed in Egypt were accomplished by the raising of one
of his hands against them, both on high and below. It was then that the wisdom of Egypt
perished, as Scripture says: "and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the
understanding of their prudent men shall be hid" (Isa. XXIX, 14). Note further the
pronouncement: "And I will confuse Egypt with Egypt" (Ibid. XIX, 2),
that is to say, celestial Egypt with terrestrial Egypt. For the celestial legions
are in charge of the terrestrial ones, and they both were altogether thrown in disorder.
They were confused on high so that the Egyptians could not derive inspiration from the
celestial sources as formerly.
It was with this object that the Almighty brought on them the
’arob, or mixture and confusion, manifested in a mixed horde of beasts that assailed
them; as well as the plague of vermin, engendered from the dust of the earth. Observe that
whatever is engendered on earth grows through the stimulus of a celestial Chieftain who
has charge over it, and that all on earth is shaped after a celestial pattern. There are
on high seven firmaments, and seven zones of earth. Correspondingly, in the lower world
there are seven graded firmaments and seven zones of earth. These, as the Companions have
expounded, are arranged like the rungs of a ladder, rising one above the other, and each
zone has ten divisions, so that there are seventy in all. Each one of these is presided
over by a Chieftain, and these seventy Chieftains have under their charge the seventy
nations of the earth.
These seventy earth-divisions, again, border on and surround
the Holy Land, as Scripture says: "Behold, it is the couch of Solomon; threescore
mighty men are about, of the mighty men of Israel" (S.S. III, 7), there being, in
addition to the threescore mentioned, ten concealed among their number. All these surround
the Holy Land. This alludes to the upper world, and the same is reproduced in the lower
world. Now at that time the Holy One, blessed be He, stretched forth His finger over the
zone that was allotted to the Egyptians, and a fiery flame passed through the whole tract
and dried up all the alluvial soil, with the result that the dust of the earth generated
vermin. It was Aaron that smote the dust, in order to show that the right hand of the Holy
One, blessed be He, breaks His enemies, as we read: "Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth
in pieces the enemy" (Ex. xv, 6). The same punishment is destined to be meted out by
the Holy One, blessed be He, to Rome the great Metropolis, as it is written: "And the
streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone"
(Isa. XXXIV, 9). Thus "all the dust of the earth became vermin throughout all the
land of Egypt".
A similar text closely links the holy and
unholy Sephirot and events in ancient Egypt:
Soncino Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3, Page
70b- The Holy One, blessed be He, has produced ten holy crowns above
wherewith He crowns and invests Himself, and He is they and they are He, being linked
together like the flame and the coal. Corresponding to these are ten crowns beneath, which
are not holy, and which cling to the uncleanness of the nails of a certain holy Crown
called Wisdom, wherefore they are called “wisdoms”. We have learnt that these
ten species of wisdom came down to this world, and all were concentrated in Egypt, save
one which spread through the rest of the world. [Tr. note: v. T.B. Kiddushin, 49b.] They
are all species of sorcery, and through them the Egyptians were more skilled in sorcery
than all other men. When the Egyptians desired to consort with the demons, they used to go
out to certain high mountains and offer sacrifices and make trenches in the ground and
pour some of the blood around the trenches and the rest into them and put flesh over it,
and bring offerings to the demons. Then the demons used to collect and consort with them
on the mountain. Israel, being subject to the Egyptians, learnt their ways and went astray
after them; hence God said to them: “After the doings of the land of Egypt in which
ye have dwelt shall ye not do”, and also, “And they shall no more sacrifice
their sacrifices unto the satyrs after whom they go a-whoring”, since, as we have
learnt, the demons used to appear to them in the form of he-goats. R. Hiya said:
‘This is the last of the unholy crowns, as we have learnt.’ R. Isaac said, in
the name of R. Judah, that the souls of the wicked are the demons of this world. Said R.
Jose: ‘If so, the wicked are well off; where is their punishment in Gehinnom? Where
is the evil in store for them in the other world?’ R. Hiya replied: ‘We have
learnt and laid down that when the souls of the wicked leave this world many executioners
of judgement await them and take them to Gehinnom, and subject them there to three
tortures every day. Afterwards they go about the world in company with them and mislead
the wicked, from whom repentance is withheld, and then return to Gehinnom and punish them
there, and so every day’.
These next two texts supports the idea of seventy heavenly chieftains who oversee the
nations.
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 16b - ‘As soon as
Joseph died, the celestial representative of Egypt was given domination over all the other
nations, as it says: “And Joseph died... and a new king arose”, like one who
rose to power from a lowly position. R. Tanhum said: ‘Every nation has its own
representative above, and when God elevates one He degrades another, and when He gives
power to this one it is only on account of Israel, as it says: “Her adversaries have
become chiefs” (Lam. 1, 5).’ R. Isaac said: ‘Israel singly is equivalent to
all the other nations together; as seventy is the number of the nations, so seventy was
the number of the children of Israel when they came into Egypt, and whoever rules over
Israel rules over the whole world.’ R. Huna said: ‘Why is Israel subjected to
all nations? In order that the world may be preserved through them, since they are on a
par with the whole world. As God is One, so is Israel one, as it says: “And who is
like thy people, one people on earth?” (2 Sam. Vll, 23). And as His name is one and
yet has seventy ramifications, so is Israel one, and yet divided into seventy.’
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 17a - AND HE SAID UNTO HIS PEOPLE.
Said R. Simeon: ‘This refers to Egypt's principality in heaven. Note that this
passage mostly speaks of “the king of Egypt”, which refers to the celestial
chieftain of Egypt; but where it says, “Pharaoh king of Egypt” the actual king
is meant. “He said” means he put the idea into their minds that the
representative in heaven of the children of Israel was mightier than theirs.’ R.
Isaac said: ‘All the nations of the world derive their power from their celestial
prototypes, but Israel only from God, therefore she is called “the people of the
Lord”.’
The Tenakh supports this concept as well. The book of Daniel shows one of God's angels
fighting against such "demonic" beings:
- Daniel 10:12-13 - Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from
the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before
thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom
of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Daniel 10:20 - Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto
thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth,
lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
The following text combines several of the ideas mentioned above, and attests that this
divine judgment will one day be carried out against (a renewed) "Rome":
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2,Page 56b - linked to one
another, all are chariots one to another, manifold grades, diverse and yet united! From
the left side the chariots of the unholy principalities rise up. They also are linked one
with the other, grade to grade, the greatest of them being, as we have already pointed
out, “the firstborn of Pharaoh”, whom the Holy One killed. All of these unholy
powers are delivered unto the judgement of the Kingdom, the which is called “the
great sea”, in order that they may be uprooted each in his own grade, and be utterly
cast down, and when they are broken above, all their counterparts below are also broken
and lost in the “lower sea”. As to the “captains” (shalishim) who were
drowned in the Red Sea, it has already been made clear that all these grades consist of
three (shalosh) attributes each (two and one, the triad, corresponding to the holy triad
above). They were all delivered unto Her (the Shekinah's) hand, that their power might be
broken. All the ten punishments which the Holy One brought on Egypt were achieved by the
power of one “hand”, for the “left hand” is included in the right, the
ten fingers forming one entity in correspondence to the Ten expressions by which the Holy
One is designated. Then came a punishment which was equal to all the rest, that of the
sea: “The last one was the hardest” (Isa. VIII, 23). And in the future the Holy
One will deal similarly with all the hosts, princes and chieftains of Edom (Rome), as it
is written: “Who is he who cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? I that
speak in righteousness, mighty to save” (Isa. LXIII, 1).’
BABYLON/BABYLON
As mentioned above (in comments on Zohar, Shemoth,
Section 2, Page 30b), the Zohar interprets Isaiah 19:2 as meaning that God set
Egypt's heavenly chieftains against the Egyptians themselves. (Most texts read, "And
I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians," however the word for
"Egyptians" here is Miztrayim, which has the primary meaning
"Egypt" [Strongs #4714], and in fact is translated as "Egypt"
throughout the rest of that chapter and elsewhere.)
In a similar fashion, Scripture and Jewish commentaries contain the idea of both an
"earthly" man and a "heavenly" man. Although our bodies are firmly set
in the physical world, our soul does have a "heavenly connection."
Paul alludes to this in one of his letters:
- Colossians 3:1-3 - If ye then be risen with Messiah, seek those
things which are above, where Messiah sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection
on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with
Messiah in God.
We can see this idea in the Torah as well, as the names of several great men are
mention in sequence:
Genesis 22:11 - And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of
heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Genesis 46:2 - And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the
night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
Exodus 3:4 - And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see,
God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here am I.
Each person is said to have a "root" (Hebrew: mazal) that remains
connected to its origins. In the verses above, the first mention of each name is related
to the heavenly root of the man, and the second mention is to the physical man.2
This duality of both men and nations having heavenly and earthly aspects, and their
being addressed in sequence (either in the form of instruction or punishment), sheds great
light on what we will be studying in the textual analysis of Revelation, i.e.,
Revelation 14:8 - And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon
is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Revelation 18:2 - And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,
Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
The repetition of, "is fallen, is fallen," in the verses above is
consistent with what was told to the King of Babylon of old:
- Daniel 5:25-26 - And this is the writing that was written, MENE,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath
numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
Thus, both heavenly Babylon and earthly Babylon will be judged.
ROME/BABYLON
The events that occurred with Pharaoh and Egypt several thousand years ago, serve as a
forerunner for that which will occur against Rome (which is in the spirit of Babylon) at
the end of the age. Following the principle of "as above, so below," this verse
from the Zohar (a Genesis commentary), shows that Messiah's final victory is both (first)
against His heavenly enemies, and also against the earthly ones:
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 239b, 240a - “He
hath washed his garments in wine”, even from the time of the Creation the reference
being to the coming of the Messiah on earth. “Wine” indicates
the left side, and “the blood of grapes” the left side below. The
Messiah is destined to rule above over all the forces of the idolatrous nations and to
break their power above and below. We may also explain that as wine brings
joyfulness and yet typifies judgement, so the Messiah will bring gladness to Israel, but
judgement to the Gentiles. The “spirit of God which hovered over the face of the
waters” (Gen. I, 2) is the spirit of the Messiah, and from the time of the Creation
he “washed his garments in celestial wine.”
Midrash states that the final enemy will again be "Rome," which is the
earthly kingdom of haSatan, and is compared to Esau's descendants (also called Edom). The
reference to 10 horns is from the book of Daniel and is an allusion to the unholy
sephirot:
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXVI:6 - And, behold, in this horn were
eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things (ib.): this alludes to the
wicked State [Rome] which imposes levies on all the nations of the world. R. Johanan said:
It is written, And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise (ib.
24): in these Scripture refers to Esau's descendants. ‘I considered the horns, and,
behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one’- this alludes to the
wicked State [Rome]; ’
Midrash Rabbah - Lamentations II:6 - And concerning the ten horns
that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell (Dan.
VII, 20), after which it is written, And so for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall
ten kings arise; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the
former, and he shall put down three kings (ib. 24). When Israel repents, the Holy One,
blessed be He, will restore the horns to their place, as it is stated, All the horns of
the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up (PS.
LXXV, 11), i.e. the horns which the Righteous One of the Universe had cut off. When will
He restore them to their place? When the Holy One, blessed be He, raises aloft the horn of
His Messiah, as it is written, ’And He will give strength unto His king, and exalt
the horn of His anointed.’
1. Credit to James Trimm of the Society for the Advancement of Nazarene Judaism,
www.nazarene.net
2. Meditation and the Bible, Aryeh Kaplan, Samuel Weiser, Inc., York
Maine, 1978, p.48
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