שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם
Shalom aleichem
Welcome and Peace!
Free Will and the Global Flood
Humans were granted free will by Adonai. Time after time they chose to walk negative paths rather than embrace the Way of HaShem. That was their God granted freedom as it is ours today. Whether one even believes in God or not changes nothing on this score because, believe it not, even the freedom to disbelieve is a gift of God's free will! Without God we would be nothing. Literally.
So people often ask, why the flood? If God gave us free will why didn't He allow the world to continue without intervening with the global flood? Some people argue that Adonai's freedom only applies to those who do what He says! That is not the case as we will see. Adonai is the protector of our free will and we need to correctly understand why that is! Its not about us; its about something far more important!
As we follow the early accounts of Genesis we note that human free will was subverted not by Adonai but by others. This outside subversion of human free will is what lead to the flood.
Etz haDaat tov V'ra: The Tree of Conscience
Consider that in the Garden of Eden the serpent approached Eve, tempting her. Eve ("Khava": Life Bringer), and later Adam ("aw-dawm": man), did not seek this knowledge on their own. They were seduced by an outside source who took advantage of the free will Echad Elohiym (the One God) had granted them.
According to the Written Torah Adonai gave a single command to the first couple, they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). People have long debated the exact nature of this tree and/or its symbolism. As I mentioned in the last section Jewish and Christian understandings of what happened with this tree are different. This difference is largely based on the Nicene Christian acceptance of Augustine's non-biblical theory of original sin.
Since in this study we are examining how to walk the Nazarene Way understanding what happened in the Garden of Eden with this free will choice is essential.
If one asks most doctrinally knowledgeable Nicene Christians what we are "saved" from they will tell you we are saved from the repercussions of this "original sin": i.e. Adam and Eve eating this forbidden fruit. Jews see no such teaching in these verses. Let's take a closer look and determine what is being taught here.
Tikun
Jews often refer to the tree as Etz haDaat tov V'ra ("the Tree of Conscience") because through it humans became consciously responsible for the exercise of their free will. Had Adam and Eve not partaken of this dualistic consciousness they would have achieved perfection and immortality as a free gift of God through choosing the path of obedience. Because of their choice to partake in the breadth of knowledge they (hence the world) became unbalanced and were forced to toil to restore this lost harmony. Harmony was going to exist in either case. This belief is expressed in this well known verse:
KJV: Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.Devout Jews accept this responsibility to bless the earth as tikun: "repairing" or "rectifying" the earth. Tikun is the central responsibility of Jewish life. To submit to God by Free Will and to invest ones life in restoring what was lost in Eden to bring the world to the state of Gan Eden.
For Judaism the choice to eat the fruit, and even the temptations of the serpent do not constitute "evils" in the Christian sense. They reflect free will choices made by humans that produced unwanted consequences, and yet those consequences are the very things that give meaning to our lives. Without Etz haDaat tov V'ra we would not be blessed to take part in tikun and as Adon Y'shua said:
CJB: John 15:13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends.Nothing in the text suggests the fruit was an apple and nothing suggests the fruit had anything to do with sex. These are Pagan overshadowings of the biblical teachings that should be rejected.
Let's consider the key phrase: ... the tree [ets: wood, tree] of knowledge [da'ath: knowledge, cunning, awareness,consciousness] -- [the word of is not in the Hebrew text] good [tob: anything good or sweet] and evil [ra ra-ah: naturally or morally negative, evil, badness].
From this we can see that the symbolic partaking of the "fruit of this tree" was reflecting the human acceptance of personal conscious responsibility for the natural and moral consequences of their free will choices. They already possessed free will (else they could not have ignored God's instructions). We might think of this as their acceptance of the covering of an overarching tree or house. They entered a new environment. Their knowledge being their responsibility for the "Good and evil" they would choose throughout their lives. "Good and Evil" are used here as a merism (a synecdoche in which totality is expressed by contrasting parts -- as from high to low, from young to old and so on). Hence for good or ill humankind would thenceforward be held responsible for their free will choices, both for the positive and the negative. We have free will and we are responsible for the choices we make. To be clear, this does not mean the event did not literally happen, only what it portended, its results.
Just as a child is under the full protection of the parents but eventually grows up and leaves home to seek an independent life, so too Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden just as a mother bird expels her young from the nest.
This view is in basic agreement with standard Jewish interpretation.
However there is more to it. The context makes it clear that this choice was not made in the best interests of the human race. Adonai's displeasure with their choice is clear as Adonai chides the foolish decision:
CJB: Genesis 3:22 ADONAI, God, said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever -"
23 therefore ADONAI, God, sent him out of the garden of 'Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.Who is Adonai speaking with here and what does He mean that the humans have "become like one of us?"
We need to understand the role of the serpent in these events as well as the rulings of the Heavenly Court. For this knowledge we do well to turn to the ancient Book of Iyov (or Job in English Bibles). Iyov was a very wealthy and powerful man who loved the Echad Elohiym and placed all of his trust in Him.
According to many scholars the Book of Iyov is the oldest book in the Bible. Its date can not be determined however some scholars believe it may well predate the global flood placing it far before the times of Moshe (Moses). In its pages we read a powerful account of a truly righteous man, however there is something more significant to this book. It reveals insight into the intergalactic rebellion revealed in Genesis. We read:
CJB: Job 1:6 It happened one day that the sons of God came to serve ADONAI, and among them came the Adversary [Hebrew: Satan].
7 ADONAI asked the Adversary, "Where are you coming from?" The Adversary answered ADONAI, "From roaming through the earth, wandering here and there."
8 ADONAI asked the Adversary, "Did you notice my servant Iyov, that there's no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil?"
9 The Adversary answered ADONAI, "Is it for nothing that Iyov fears God?
10 You've put a protective hedge around him, his house and everything he has. You've prospered his work, and his livestock are spread out all over the land.
11 But if you reach out your hand and touch whatever he has, without doubt he'll curse you to your face!"
12 ADONAI said to the Adversary, "Here! Everything he has is in your hands, except that you are not to lay a finger on his person." Then the Adversary went out from the presence of ADONAI....There is a lot in these verses!
Recall that prior to partaking of the fruit Adam and Eve were in the same position. They were "hedged about" by the Garden of Eden, the works of their hands were blessed and they lacked nothing.
One day the serpent (a naw-khawsh: a "hisser" in the Hebrew) challenged that God was withholding something desirable from the humans. Here Satan (Saw-tawn) challenges that God gives too much!
Satan is diabolos, a traducer, one who speaks falsely, who uses deception to accuse the innocent. In the Book of Iyov (Job) we find the nature of the rebellion. The one called Satan tries to draw people away from Adonai. We find more on this in Yesha'Yahu (Prophet Isaiah):
HNB: Isaiah 14;12 How you are fallen from heaven, Heylel, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit on the mountain of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like Ha`Elyon.
15 Yet you shall be brought down to She'ol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.Heylel's Rebellion
Here through the prophet Isaiah the Ruach HaKodesh (God's Spirit Presence among His people) reveals more about this. The name Heylel (in the Hebrew of this passage) is from a root meaning "to be clear." This clarity is in both sound and color/light. We discussed the importance of words/sounds previously as God "spoke" the creation into being through Torah.
Heylel was once a clear channel of Adonai's Sound and Light. He was hailed as the Son of the Morning (shachar). As a senior angel in Adonai's Courts he was an honored messenger (angel) who revealed the Sound and Light -- the revelations and messages -- of HaShem to others. As an Angel of Light his glory was a reflection of the "clear radiant Light" of the Torah of the Echad Elohiym. He regularly basked in the Light of God's Glory and was doubtless in fellowship with the Son prior to the onset of his abominations.
But Heylel also had free will and he failed to glorify the One from whom all glory emanates. The word shachar or morning references the light of dawn and testifies that Heylel was present from the very dawn of creation. He was one of the first beings formed by HaShem through the Son.
As a free agent however Heylel began to contemplate his own glory rather than the glory of Adonai. In this growing Self deception he was overcome by his own magnificence and began to entertain dark thoughts. As he pondered, comparing himself with Adonai, his light began to fade as sin began to take hold of him.
His primal glory made Heylel arrogant and foolish. In the absence of the glory of God the fallen angels manifest darkness as their Light fades and Heylel soon became the Father of Darkness. This transition occurred at some point prior to Adam and Eve's initial sin but we have no way of knowing how long before.
You will recall from part two of this study that darkness, in this context, is the absence of Adonai's Presence (Light). Heylel, who had once reflected the One Light of Creation was now reflecting the darkness of doom. Hence Heylel is also known by the Latin name Lucifer, a name used only once in the 66 books of the King James Bible translation but that has entered into common usage as his most popular personal name ("devil" is title).
The name Lucifer is from the Latin lucem ferre, meaning "light-bearer." In Latin it signifies the appearance of the planet Venus that heralds the morning dawn. "Son of the morning" and "Light-bearer" are therefore synonymous with הלל: Heylel (his Hebrew name). The name "Lucius" (taken from Lucifer) is popular among his Merovingian Illuminati devotees.
Merovech, Oannes and Atargati
Interestingly enough, according to some Occult Traditions -- accepted as fact by the Merovingians and many of their supporters -- Merovech (the Nephilim hybrid founder of the Merovingian dynasty: AKA Meroveus or Merovius in Latin and Mérovée in French), the founder the Salian Frankish Merovingian dynasty, was born of a sea god (his mother was raped by a "bestea Neptuni Quinotauri similis;") who "fell to earth" (or who was cast out to the Earth from Ouranos: Heaven) from the vicinity of Venus.
Venus, Dagon and the Mer People
Venus is of special interest because historically that planet has been identified as both the Morning Star (Eosphorus) and the Evening Star (Hesperus). Morning Star is also identified with Lucifer and Evening Star casts light on the End of All Things (i.e. with Lucifer as well). Hence the Bavarian Illuminati of the House of Merovech believe this establishes Lucius (Lucifer) as Alpha and Omega (in contradiction to the true Echad Elohiym). As the believed origin (home world) of Merovech the connection between Venus and his Mer People is clearly significant to consider when looking at this topic.
The Mer People, known in myth as Mer-maids and Mer-men (mer being a shortened form of Merovingian) are often regarded as denizens of Venus (hence the potency of their siren songs by which they lure their prey. Goddess Venus of course having this power of seduction. Like other Nephilim (half humans from beyond the Earth), the Mer people are directly associated with the global Elite: the Merovingians, through whom Rex Mundi (Antichrist) will soon arise.
Very briefly, the Babylonian god Oannes was widely worshiped around 5000 B.C.E. in many different geographic areas. The renown Jewish scholar Rashi confirmed that Oannes is the same god as Dagon who was worshiped by the Philistines of the Middle East. Dagon was the head god of the Philistine 200 plus regional pantheon. Recall that the Philistine Goliath (killed by David) and his three brothers are described as Nephilim (also known as Rapha or giants in the Tanakh) at II Samuel 21:22. Rashi points out that the Hebrew word dāg/dâg or 'fish' is the same root as Dagon and he draws a direct connection between Dagon and Oannes.
Images of Oannes (and Dagon) often show him wrapped about in a fish scale cloak (identifying him as a both a moon god -- like the Arab god Hubal who became the allah of Islam, chief god of the 360 Arab gods of the Mecca Kaaba -- and a god of the seas).
Oannes' consort was Atargatis -- known to the Greeks as Derketo). Atargatis was a Semetic moon goddess and the first known Mer-maid. She had a fish's tail rather than than legs and fish were sacred to her. Atargatis and Oannes were the parents of Queen Semiramis, the Assyrian queen of Babylon for whom the famous hanging gardens were built. Babylon, you will recall, was the first of the four world empires discussed by Prophet Daniel in chapter two of his book as I discuss Here.
The connections are not coincidental. The Jewish people are fighting the exact same people who were their chief rivals in the Tanakh!
The Rebellion
As Prophet Isaiah explains, Heylel/Lucifer pursued an open rebellion against the Throne of Adonai, as we see demonstrated in the Book of Iyov (Job). Note however that Heylel never challenges Adonai's might and power. His rebellion is based in the freedom offered by Adonai.
Here we have another distinction between biblical religion and Nicean Christian theology. While we use the term "rebellion" to describe what Lucifer/Heylel is doing/leading, it is vital to note that he carries this revolt out in complete compliance with the directives of HaShem.
Unlike in Zoroastrianism, Adonai has no equal and He has no opposites. HaShem is One without a second.
There is NO struggle between God and Lucifer! How could there be? Adonai is allowing Lucifer to contrast his ideal society with that of the Son (Adon Y'shua the Nazarene) and allowing us to choose between them. This is why free will is so important.
Lucifer supports chaos and the "law of jungle" while the Son supports harmony and peace.
Lucifer utilizes the Merovingians, the New World Order, and false gods like Hubal and Oannes/Dagon while the Son utilizes Am Israel and others who seek the Light of God. As Noahide Nazarenes we have been "grafted onto the Tree of Israel" (Romans 11) to assist them in this struggle.
Hence the prophet says:
CJB: Joshua 24:14 "Therefore fear ADONAI, and serve him truly and sincerely. Put away the gods your ancestors served beyond the [Euphrates] River and in Egypt, and serve ADONAI!
15 If it seems bad to you to serve ADONAI, then choose today whom you are going to serve! Will it be the gods your ancestors served beyond the River? or the gods of the Emori, in whose land you are living? As for me and my household, we will serve ADONAI!"As the Jews usually note, even Heylel is a servant of and subservient to Adonai. So its up to us to choose.
Nature of the Rebellion
The central issue in the ongoing Rebellion is whether humanity will choose harmony with Adonai or independence without/in opposition to Him.
Remember the discussion in part two of this study, the nature of Ein-Soph and the ultimate Oneness of Echad Elohiym. This is another reason accepting this Oneness is so absolutely essential. The resolution of this issue includes the return to Oneness:
KJV: I Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.From absolute Oneness to absolute Oneness.
The Rebellion then is allowing the created beings of all orders to determine whether they will voluntarily embrace Oneness with Adonai or pursue their own paths. This is the central teaching of the Book of Job.
The Interference
The freedom for the human race to make their own decisions is essential for this "court hearing" however as discussed above human free will was interfered with. Adam and Eve accepted responsibility for eating of the tree however they did not instigate it, Heylel did. Iyov was determined to stand but the hardships that came upon him were not of his own doing; Heylel interfered in both cases with Adonai's consent.
As time passed the diabolos (tempters) or proponents of the Rebellion continually seduced humankind in various ways. That was allowed because as free moral agents early humans had taken upon themselves responsibly for their choices. Without temptations their free will would have largely been irrelevant. The diabolos or "demons" therefore serve the One God in this fashion. They are not really the "enemies" of Adonai. Adonai has no enemies (if one can not be negatively influenced by another how are they ones "enemies"?). Adonai is Echad Elohiym. The demons and other rebellious spirits are tools HaShem uses and their service is based upon their free will to rebel. Everything and everyone serves the Echad Elohiym.
Temptations are therefore not only acceptable but desirable as they strengthen us and allow us to exercise our free will, however something happened that skewed the trial and compromised our ability to choose!
The Nephilim Before the Global Flood
We read of the coming of the Nephilim and of God's reaction to them in Genesis:
CJB: Genesis 6:1 In time, when men began to multiply on earth, and daughters were born to them,
2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
3 ADONAI said, "My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years."
4 The N'filim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these were the ancient heroes, men of renown.
5 ADONAI saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only.
6 ADONAI regretted that he had made humankind on the earth; it grieved his heart.
7 ADONAI said, "I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them."
8 But Noach found grace in the sight of ADONAI.The Star Children
The Nephilim are hybrid beings, part human and part alien (non-human). They are referenced in the Bible both as Nephilim and as the Rapha (descendants of the Anakim). In both cases they are styled as "giants" in most English translations of the Bible (compare Genesis 6:4, Numbers 13:33: "Giants": nef-eel or nephilim (plural) and Deuteronomy 2:11: "Giants like the Anakim": rapha) and countless other historic references to "giants" etc. The name Anakim comes from the Anak (aw-nawk) or the early Canaanites, a racial group descended from the Nephilim. That the Nephilim and the Rapha are the same beings is clear from Numbers 13:33 (quoted below) which states that there were Nephilim (giants in the KJV) like the Anakim (aw-nawk) living in the area. There are different "races" of Nephilim including the Mer people discussed above.
Through inbreeding and the God-ordered genocide of their people recorded in the Torah most of the Nephilim Anakim were destroyed. Many people wonder why Adonai was so vehement in the Torah that these people be utterly destroyed, this is the reason. This race of hybrid beings pose a fundamental threat to the human race.
Many ancient texts and cave paintings show these humanoids of greater stature oppressing the human race. Their existence among early humankind is certain.
Due to the often knee-jerk reaction to talk about extraterritorial life and visitations from the stars one may prefer to speak of these beings as "fallen angels" if that is easier on the intellect, however the texts do not call them that. These "seed planters" (like those that gave birth to Merovech and the Mer people discussed above) were from elsewhere beyond our planet regardless of how we choose to define that.
Through interbreeding and the passage of time most Nephilim today are physically indistinguishable from full humans (indeed they sometimes appear weaker than full humans due to inbreeding), but their main surviving lineages continue to carefully interbreed in order to preserve their "star seed." These beings consider themselves the Elite of the planet and the kin of those beyond it. Concealed among their Elite bloodline is the most Elite lineage of all, the San Grael (Holy Blood) through which their King and god will soon arise and rule the earth as Rex Mundi.
The non-Terran progenitors of the Elite had no right to so intimately interfere in the affairs of the earth nor to interbred with humankind like they did. By polluting the human genome they altered our independence and violated the conditions established for the "trial."
The fact that these beings crossed this line infuriated Adonai and led Him to destroy the population of the planet in the global flood! This too is the part of the symbolic message written within the Rainbow Adonai placed in the skies of the Earth after the flood.
HaShem had granted free will to earthlings but by mixing human seed with the seed of these extraterrestrial beings that free will was co-opted!
Note however that despite what most people believe the text says "The N'filim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards..." Those days were the days of Noach avinu (father Noah) when Adonai destroyed all life not in the ark, but note that at least some the Nephilim survived "after those days." We find a few references to their continued existence in Scripture. For example:
KJV: Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants [literally nef-eel: Nephilim], the sons of Anak, which come of the giants [literally nef-eel in the text]: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.Nef-eel is from the root naw-fal (נפיל), the same as Nephilim, which is simply the plural form. Note that these Nephilim "come from the Nephilim." In other words, despite the literal reading of the Genesis text that says all flesh not on the ark perished, the Nephilim did not die. Why? Because they are of a different flesh, a hybrid flesh and they continue to spawn descendants to our day.
Our Study Continues! Keep reading!
Our Study of the Way of Y'shua Continues in Part Four
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