The Ram of God has been Provided

 

Connecting the Genesis 10 data with the Genesis 11 data.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The beliefs of the early Hebrew concerning the Son of God are reflected in their solar symbolism. They pictured the Son of God rising with the sun as a lamb and setting in the west as a ram. As they ascended Mount Moriah, Isaac asked his father "where is the lamb" for the sacrifice? Abraham replied that God would provide the lamb, but God provided a ram instead.

The Son of God often was shown riding with the Father on the celestial Sun boat. The boat of the morning hours was called Mandjet and the boat of the evening hours was called Mesektet. While the Son was on the Mandjet, he was depicted as a lamb. While on the Mesektet, he was a ram. Abraham would have understood the message of the ram provided by God on Mount Moriah, and he believed the promise, and believing, he was justified. We if don’t get hung up on chronological time, which does not pertain to God, we will see that the ground for justification is the same for all people throughout all human existence. 

The Son of God was called the “Lamb” in his weaker (kenotic) state, and he was called the “Ram” in his glorified state. The solar arc spoke of the Son’s death and resurrection. It spoke of a future Righteous Ruler who would overcome death and lead his people to immortality. This is what Jesus meant when he told the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it and was glad." (John 8:56)

The Genesis data shown in the diagram above reveals that Abraham was a descendant of both Ham and Shem because their lines intermarried. This is an example of caste endogamy. The Hebrew were a caste of ruler-priests. They were organized into 2 ritual groups (moieties): the Horite Hebrew and the Sethite Hebrew. A great deal is known about both groups from texts and prayers that they wrote on the walls of royal tombs in the Nile Valley. Those have been translated and collected in a volume titled “Ancient Pyramid Texts”. Some of the prayers date as early as 6200 years ago. Most date to around 4200 years ago, closer to the time of Abraham.

It is clear in The Ancient Pyramid Texts that the Horites and the Sethites maintained separate settlements. Utterance 308 addresses them as separate: "Hail to you, Horus in the Horite Mounds! Hail to you, Horus in the Sethite Mounds!"

Though separate groups or moieties, the Horite and Sethite Hebrew shared common religious practices and beliefs. They worshiped the same God whose symbol was the Sun, and they served the same king. However, the Horite temples and shrines were more prestigious. Utterance 470 strikes a contrast between the Horite and Sethite mounds and designates the Horite mounds as "the High Mounds."

Figures relating to both Seth and Horus have been found at Nekhen on the Nile, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship (4000 B.C.). This figurine of Seth as a red man with the head of a hippo was found at Nekhen. A gold figure of HR (Horus in Greek) as a falcon was also found at Nekhen. The hippo was the totem of the Sethite Hebrew, and the golden falcon was the totem of the Horite Hebrew.

Among the early Hebrew green malachite was associated with HR and represented new life and the hope of resurrection. The Egyptian Book of the Dead speaks of how the deceased will become a falcon "whose wings are of green stone" (chapter 77). The Ancient Pyramid Texts speak of Horus as the "Lord of the green stone" (Utterance 301) and the land of the blessed dead was described as the "field of malachite."

Note that these prayers are written in hope that the buried king might rise to new life. In his resurrection body he is to restore his settlements and cities, and open the door to the Westerners, Easterners, Northerners and Southerners (Pt Utterance 587). He is to rule over the peoples, restore the former state of blessedness, and unite heaven and earth. The early Messianic expectation was expressed in Utterance 388 of The Pyramid Texts: "Horus has shattered the mouth of the serpent with the sole of his foot". In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, HR is called the "advocate of his father" (cf. 1 John 2: 1).

When seen from this perspective, the early Hebrew religion appears to be the foundation of the Messianic hope that is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, a direct descendant of the Hebrew ruler-priests.

The New Testament speaks about Jesus as the firstborn from the grave and by his resurrection He delivers to the Father a "peculiar people." He leads us to the Father where we receive heavenly recognition because we belong to Him. Here we find the language of a royal procession: "When He ascended on high, He led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” 

Paul continues in Ephesians 4:8-10.

What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the depths of the earth? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.

A Horite Hebrew song found at the royal complex at Ugarit, speaks of the Son's descent to the place of the dead "to announce good tidings." The text reads: Hr ešeni timerri duri - "Horus below in the dark netherworld" and has the phrase Šanizzin ḫalukan ḫalzi - "to announce good tidings." (See Note 2 on page 2012.)

The early Hebrew expected the Righteous Ruler to rise on the third day. Utterance 667 says: "Oh Horus, this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the imperishable stars."

Heavenly recognition for the early Hebrew was never an individual prospect. Heavenly recognition came to the people through the righteousness of the ruler-priest. Some early Hebrew rulers took this seriously and the worst were so earthy minded that they shed much blood enlarging their territories. All failed to be the Ruler-Priest who rose from the dead. None had the power to deliver captives from the grave and to lead them to the Father in heaven (Ps. 68:18; Ps. 7:7; Eph. 4:8). That would be fulfilled by Jesus, the Son of God, and this was revealed to Abraham on Mount Moriah.

Related reading: The Hebrew Were a Caste; What Abraham Discovered on Mount Moriah; The Faith of the Early Hebrew Delivered to Us; The Religious Symbolism of Green Malachite; Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites

Even Baboons Praise the Creator

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The baboon appears on many monuments along the Nile and on the walls and columns of Nilotic temples. Baboons were not native to the Nile Valley. They were brought there and kept in enclosures with high walls which may explain the apparent lack of sunlight that contributed to skeletal abnormalities.

The skeletal remains of mummified baboons in Gabbanat el-Qurud indicate that they suffered from lack of sunlight and unsuitable food for most of their lives. The site is referred to as the "Valley of the Apes." animals were born and raised in captivity. The proportions of males and females, and the presence of infants, suggest that this was a local breeding population to meet demand. The baboon was sacred symbol for the ancient Egyptians.

Gabbanat el-Qurud in the Valley of the Apes. Credit: Henri Georg, 1909

In their natural habitats, baboon communities have adequate food and exposure to sun. They are known to chatter at the crack of dawn. For the Nilotic people, who regarded the sun as a symbol of the High God, this behavior held religious significance.

In the Nubian relief above, baboons announce the rising of the sun, the symbol of the High God and his son HR (Horus in Greek). 

Over the heads of the baboons is the Shen hieroglyph, the symbol for eternity. The baboons flank an "Imperishable Star," a symbol of immortality granted to the faithful. In the Pyramid Texts we find this reference to the imperishable stars: "Oh HR [Horus], this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the imperishable stars." (Utterance 667) Jesus said, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day..." (Lk 24:46) 

Between the baboons is a dung beetle. This creature navigates nocturnally by the light of the Milky Way. The Nilotes regarded the Milky Way as the path to the eternal Father Re. (Re in Ancient Egyptian means "Father.") That is why many were buried with scarabs over their hearts.

Above is the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. Though originally with a ceiling, the hall was aligned to the Milky Way. Karnak was one of many prestigious Sun Temple complexes. Among them was Heliopolis, called "On" in Genesis 41:45. Heliopolis is mentioned in Isaiah 19:18 as one of five Egyptian cities that swore allegiance to the Lord of Hosts.

The image below is of a baboon responding to the rising sun. The image appears on a wall at one of temples at Karnak.

Most of the images of baboons show a species known as Papio hamadryas. These were large monkeys with a dog-like muzzle.

Some baboons were mummified as early as 3500 BC. Researchers discovered the mummified remains of baboons buried in the sand which preserved the bodies due to the dry conditions.

Related reading: The Dung Beetle and Heavenly Lights; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Hebrew Ruler-Priests at the Ancient Sun Cities; The Prestige of Biblical On

Horus, King of the Universe

Many ancient monuments along the Nile were aligned with the solar arc or aligned to a symbol of the High God such as the obelisk at Heliopolis (Biblical On).

Alice C. Linsley

Horus and his father Ra ruled over the cosmos in ancient Nilotic mythology. Together their rule is symbolized by the sun and the solar arc. In ancient Egyptian Ra comes from the word re, meaning father and the Greek word Horus comes from the ancient Egyptian word HR, meaning Most High One.

HR was believed to rise in the morning as a lamb and to set in the evening as a ram. The ram was a Messianic symbol of the early Hebrew (4000-2000 BC). That sets the story of Abraham on Mount Moriah in context. 

HR is the only celestial figure portrayed as a Man in the ancient Egyptian pantheon and he was called the "son of God." His mother Hathor conceived by divine overshadowing (cf. Luke 1:35). This is why she is shown where the solar orb between the bull's horns.

The Horite and Sethite Hebrew were devotees of the High God, his Son, and Hathor. Wherever they dispersed, they shared their religious beliefs with the populations among whom they settled. 

Horus was believed to be with his father Ra from the beginning (cf. John 1). He is the one who set the boundaries of the winds, seas, and dry land. He fixed the cardinal points and the clock like movements of the constellations. This is reflected in the many words that pertain to boundaries and measurements which have the hr root - hour, horotely, horizon, horologion (a wind tower) and horoscope.

The axis of the Dendera temple on the Upper Nile aligns with the figure of a Horus falcon perched on a papyrus stem (sema sign) on the Dendera zodiac. While sky watching on the summer solstice in 1728 BC (July 7), the priests of Dendera observed that the Sun and Mercury were in Leo on opposite sides of the king star Regulus. This is a Trinitarian alignment – The Father (Sun) and Spirit (Mercury) surrounded the King in the constellation of Leo, the lion totem of the tribe of Judah. This was observed 728 years before the time of King David.

The Sun continues to be a significant symbol of the Creator in Judaism. The Birkat Hachama ("Blessing of the Sun") is recited every twenty-eight years when the vernal equinox, as calculated by tradition, falls on a Tuesday at sundown. Observant Jews recite a blessing to the Creator on the exact day every 28 years. Most recently, the blessing was recited on April 8, 2009. Before that, it was recited on April 8, 1981, and on April 8, 1953. The next date of the blessing of the Sun will be April 8, 2037.

We find the idea of the Sun as the symbol of the High God in Luke's Gospel. Here the priest Zechariah prophesies concerning the Forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist. He declares: “And you, little child, you shall be called Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare a way for Him, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins, because of the faithful love of our God in which the rising Sun has come from on high to visit us…” (Luke 1:76-78). 

The image is especially strong in Malachi’s description of the Day of the Lord, “glowing like a furnace”. On the day God will purify the priesthood, consume the wicked, and preserve and justify the righteous. These will be God’s “most prized possession” upon whom the “Sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his rays.” (Malachi 3:16-20) 

Temple of Dendera with the face of Hathor on the pillars

Dendera is on the west bank of the Nile River opposite the modern town of Qena. It was called Iunet or Tantere by the ancient Egyptians and was the capital of the 6th nome of Upper Egypt. In antiquity, the population of Dendera moved to Qena on the east bank of the Nile and the ancient temple now lies isolated on the edge of the Sahara.

Related reading: The Hebrew Were a Caste, Jesus Fulfills the Horus Myth; The Double Crown of Horus; The Christ in Nilotic Mythology; Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites; The Substance of Abraham's Faith