Issued: 5/11/21    Updated 6/22/21 Revised 11/18/23

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh of hosts [Jesus] and Yahweh the Most High God [Father], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the One and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

REVIEW

In interpreting Scripture, it is always vital to recognize the correspondence between real [shadow] and divine [substance] things/persons.  Moses’ desert Tabernacle was modeled after the “pattern” shown him on Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:40; Acts 7:44), a Tabernacle that was “copy/shadow” of its heavenly counterpart (Hebrews 8:5).  While the uncircumcised Abraham is the mortal father of all the faithful regardless of nationality (Romans 4:11; Galatians 3:28), Jesus is his divine counterpart, both as Author of Abraham’s faith (Hebrews 12:2), and as the intended “seed” in whom all nations would be blessed (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16).

Similarly Jacob, the husband of two women who were sisters, prefigures Yahweh Son proxy God, “married” to “faithless” Israel [Judaism, but given a “certificate of divorce” (i.e., annulment of the Mosaic Covenant)]; and at loggerheads with her faithless sister Judah [Jesus’ “tribe,” Christendom (Hebrews 7:14)] for idolatrous adultery with alien gods (Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 3:8).¹    And finally Joseph, who most fully prefigures Jesus out of every man in Genesis, was sold by his brothers—out of envy—for pieces of silver (Genesis 37:11,28↔Matthew 26:15, 27:18); and chosen by Pharaoh to rule over Egypt while remaining Pharaoh’s inferior in relation to the throne (Genesis 41:40,55)—the exact synergy between Father and Son in worldly affairs. As to be expected, the Holy Spirit, through Joseph, told us Joseph’s co-ruling appointment was part of Father‘s redemptive plan (Genesis 45:7-9).

Thus when interpreting Genesis 1’s “Days”, things created in any one “Day” have either broad/specific meanings in relation to real/symbolic matters.  In First and Second Days we saw the ordering of heavenly things, both in terms of creating angels and a realm separate and distinct from its as yet un-ordered mortal counterpart.  Since Yahweh Son proxy God was to be Father‘s ‘speaking voice’ [i.e., “Word/Verb”↔1Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 13:8], Father made Son His only personal creation (Psalms 2:7↔Hebrews 1:5); for which reason Father is ultimately responsible for all of Son‘s subsequent actions as proxy Creator and proxy Ruler of the world.

   The descriptor “Verb of God” refers exclusively to Jesus Christ as Revelation 19:11-16 makes amply clear; John 1:1 makes the same point but using highly symbolic terms. Revelation 19:14 also identifies Jesus as the Commander of Father‘s heavenly host, which by extension identifies him as the Old Testament’s Yahweh of hosts, the Redeemer—not as Yahweh King, highest God (Isaiah 44:6). To which must be added the human host waging Jesus’ battles on earth (Ephesians 6:10-17; 1Thessalonians 5:8).² In the Isaiah quote, note how Son enumerates attributes which, though true of Father, also apply to His proxy God Son: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God” (↔Revelation 1:8, 22:13,16). And more significant still, while Yahweh Father denies gods higher than Himself (Deuteronomy 32:39↔Job 12:16-25; Psalms 33:10; Isaiah 45:7; Daniel 4:35, 5:21), Yahweh Son speaks of having being “formed” (Isaiah 43:10↔Psalms 2:7);³ with the understanding that after his Interim Godship ends and he has returned all power to Father, he too will be subject to his God (1Corinthians 15:24-28; Revelation 3:12).

In terms of Creator, we have Isaiah’s/Holy Spirit’s testimony: “Your Maker is your husband: Yahweh of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the [proxy] God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isaiah 54:5-6).  And who is husband/bridegroom?  Jesus (Matthew 9:15; John 3:28-29; Ephesians 5:22-23).  Ephesians 5:23 calls Jesus “Savior” of the Church because he ‘bought’ it with his blood (1Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 3:13; 1Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 7:14); hence his “Redeemer” status. And he will be called “God of the whole earth” during his post-resurrection, Interim reign [Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 1:2-3 (↔Colossians 1:15); Revelation 1:16-18, 2:26-27, 3:7 (↔Isaiah 22:22), 12:5 (↔Psalms 2:8-9), 19:15]. 

Evidence of human beings as shadows to heavenly substances is elucidated from the creation of “Day” and “Night” in this rather obvious metaphor:  “You [the righteous] are all children of Light [Jesus], and children of the Day [Jesus’ domain↔Genesis 1:16; Malachi 4:2; Revelation 22:16].  We do not belong to the Night [Satan’s domain↔Genesis 1:16] or to darkness [his unrighteous children]” (1Thessalonians 5:5). Consequently, while the former live in a state of ready-alert sobriety, clad with  “the breastplate of faith and love, and… a helmet…the hope of salvation” (1Thessalonians 5:8), the children of Night revel in the temporal delights of sin—perennially at war with the righteous for not toeing Satan’s line (Isaiah 22:13; Romans 6:11-13; 1Peter 4:1-5). 

   Thus we see that First and Second Days were about differentiating between righteous and unrighteous beings; and defining battlegrounds—whether heavenly or earthly—where armies of either side would engage in combat.  It was now time to put bring order into the “void, empty earth.”

THE THIRD DAY

“Then God [Yahweh Son proxy Creator] said: ‘Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters he called seas; and God saw that it was good.  Then God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants…and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them’; and it was so.  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed… and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.”

Genesis 1:9-13

   The very first thing to note here is that cosmology—the astronomical variant—is getting a trashing.  Science, the antithesis of faith and so Satan’s gospel, posits that volcanic activity in a young Earth created a cloud cover that over ±500 million years cooled off and precipitated the water that filled the oceans.  As we can see from Genesis 1:9, the seas preceded land masses; volcanoes are missing from the picture; ditto ‘seeding’ comets; and Genesis 2:5 brings into question the existence of rain at this point.  That being said, let us not become mired in unprofitable discussions of the “falsely called science” (1Timothy 6:20-21).

  What then are we being told?  We know that “seas” are a symbol for humanity at large, into which all “rivers” [i.e., peoples, tongues, and nations] flow (↔Revelation 13:1, 17:15).  The fact that “seas” give way to land masses is Scripture’s way of telling us that what once had been a homogeneous race of people differentiated itself into nations/ethnicities/races⁴ speaking different tongues, events that in the human realm took place after the Flood (Genesis 10:5) and the Tower of Babel incident (Genesis 11:6-9), respectively.  That divine beings were directly involved in these events is clear from Genesis 6:17, 7:16, 8:1, and 11:7.  Thus the emergence of “lands” from “seas” allegorizes the emergence of human civilizations/cultures/nations.

   Now the Old Testament is not an archaeological treatise, and only focuses on Middle East events impacting the nation of Israel.  The findings of paleontology, worldwide hominid remains, and dazzling prehistoric art [some of them now in caves under sea—Cosquer Cave], have no bearing on the Bible’s primary goal:  Tracing the trajectory of the Judeo-Christian family from one human couple [Adam and Eve] to a mystical one [Jesus and his Church].  It is a spiritual lineage threaded through the panoply of history—specifically Father‘s His-story.  Thus whatever the various scientific disciplines have told us was happening around the world before and during Biblical events should be incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial to us.

In Ussher’s timeline Noah’s Flood took place around 2687 BC, after which the world we know took shape; for the entire globe then lay de-populated of terrestrial, air-breathing animal life (Genesis 6:17, 7:3-4,21-23)—excepting the Ark’s animal cargo plus all external, surviving plant and aquatic life.  From Noah’s grandchildren, “the nations spread over the earth after the Flood… [becoming] the seafaring peoples that spread out to various lands, each identified by its own language, clan, and national identity” (Genesis 10:32,5).  We run here into that confusing [intended?] habit of Scripture of presenting facts not in their proper sequence.⁵ It would seem that Genesis 10:5 is out of chronological order given that language had not yet become differentiated.  That happened with the Tower of Babel incident, when the goal of reaching heaven by men speaking a common tongue had to be torpedoed by “confusing tongues” (Genesis 11:4,6,8).

That divine beings again intervened is obvious from Genesis 11:7-8, implicating Yahweh Son proxy God in the deed.⁶  The putsch to cast off Father’s sovereignty (Psalms 2:1-3, 74:8) will soon again gain steam (Psalms 2:1-3, 74:8; Revelation 17:13-14) when rulers fail to deliver on their promises of peace and security and all hell breaks loose the world over (Matthew 24:21; Luke 21:25-26; 1Thessalonians 5:3).⁷  The creation of one god requires the death of another; so for men to empower the ‘dragon/god’ behind nations [Isaiah 14:16-17 (↔Luke 4:6); 2Corinthians 4:4 (↔John 14:30); Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 13:2,12, 17:13, 20:2 (↔Ezekiel 29:3)], attempts to dethrone Father will be undertaken—Satan’s sought after goal (Isaiah 14:14).

  Consequently, Ussher’s estimate of 2687 BC for the Flood after a creation date of 4004 BC brings us within range of Genesis’ Third Day:   4004 to 3004 BC [First Day]; 3004 to 2004 BC [Second Day]; 2004 to 1004 BC [Third Day]; and 1004 to 4 AD [Fourth Day].⁸  Do not get bogged down by exact time reckonings:  Keep in mind that Genesis “Days” are not fully equivalent to 1,000-year periods of midnight to midnight calendar days; so the missing gaps in Creation “Days”—from morning to evening beginning the following day—moves Genesis’ Third Day back from 2004 BC within the 3004-2004 BC range.⁹

   What came next?  Plant life; but plants are not in need of redemption, are they?  So they must stand for something else:  Men.  Our first indication—graphically obvious—comes from Mark 8:22-25.  Jesus, having spat on his hands, put them over a blind man eyes’, making him see what? “I see people, but they look like trees walking.” Whereupon Jesus again put his hands over the blind man eyes’ and normal sight was restored.

   What do we have here?  First, not the usual way Jesus effected cures, which were by word (John 5:8) or by touch (Matthew 8:2-3).  Secondly, although Jesus used a mixture of saliva and earth to cure another man blind since birth, that man does not see right away but only after washing his face in the pool of Siloam (John 9:6-7).  This latter case is reminiscent of Naaman’s healing, who cured his leprosy after bathing in the River Jordan (2Kings 5:10-14).  In both these cases, the lesson is the wedding of belief to action in order to bring about the desired result:  The deed only confirms that the promise was thought to be possible.  Or as Jesus put it, “All things whatever you pray and ask for [1] believe that you have received them, and [2] you shall have them” (Mark 11:24).

   Mark 8:22-25 implies something different.  Why the distorted sense of vision?  In order to catch our attention due to its ‘weirdness’.  Not that this was the only time ‘tree’ analogies appear in the Gospels.  On Jesus’ way to the cross, “If they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry [tree]?” (Luke 23:31); and earlier, “By their fruits you shall know them…every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit…Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:16-17,19).  And Paul followed suit by calling Jews “the good olive tree” and Christians “the wild olive tree”, whose branches had been grafted onto the trunk of Judaism to feed on the “rich sap” produced by the “holy root” of the Patriarchs (Romans 11:16-17).

   Prior to Christianity, John the Baptist had affirmed the symbolism:  “Even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:10).  Which fire?  “The fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42), which Paul later described as “a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:27)—Armageddon.

   What is being burned there?  Not trees but unrighteous men.  Real trees do not transgress Father’s morality, nor can be held accountable for failing to produce fruit contrary to their natural capabilities.  And regardless of the fuzzy-woozy pantheistic belief that trees have souls, they do not because the breath of life was put into Adam through his nostrils (Genesis 2:7).  Which is the reason why trees were not destroyed during the Flood but were preserved underwater:  Their lack of nostrils excluded them from Yahweh Son proxy God‘s criterion for destruction (Genesis 7:22), also true of aquatic life.  And that trees survived the Flood is suggested by the olive leaf the dove brought back to Noah, through which “Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth” (Genesis 8:11), because tree tops had become exposed again.

   Where are we going with all this?  Simply put, the plant life created on the Third Day corresponds to the formation of Israel in the context of time, beginning with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—producers of the “rich sap” of faith  One has only to read the Old Testament to find innumerable references to plant life symbolizing real people/events related to Israel’s history.  Since we cannot quote them all here, a short list must suffice, but readers are exhorted to do their own homework.

   A very graphic, comprehensive example occurs in Judges 9:8-15, where lots of plant life are alluded to:  An olive tree, a fig tree, a vine, a thornbush, and the cedars of Lebanon.  The setting is this:  Following Gideon’s death, his bastard son, Abimelech, appealed to the lowest of the low [to this day politics’ preeminent MO] in order to be made king over Israel (Judges 8:31, 9:1-6).  Jotham, Gideon’s younger son, denounced the foul deed in no uncertain terms (Judges 9:16-20).  The question to ask here is this:  Why the elaborate symbolism of Judges 9:8-15 prefacing his accusation? It serves no other purpose than to call our attention to the symbolism of plants.

   The “thornbush” is Abimelech, very aptly characterized by the ‘thorny’ epithet tagging all evildoers (↔Genesis 3:19; Isaiah 27:4; Jeremiah 4:3; Ezekiel 2:6; Matthew 13:38; Luke 8:14).  His arrogance is highlighted by a pretense of might [“shade”] comparable to that of ‘lusher’ trees [mightier nations↔Judges 9:15; Ezekiel 31:6].  After a reign of three years, Yahweh Son proxy God allowed “an evil spirit” [probably Satan] to sow dissension [his trump card still in play today] between Abimelech and his confederates, resulting in the “fires” of war that ended with Abimelech’s death (Judges 9:20-57). Jotham’s “olive tree” is Israel, as Paul corroborates; but also the “vine” that produced grapes as its fruit in “the vineyard of [Yahweh Son proxy God (↔Isaiah 5:1-2; Matthew 3:17) which] is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah [Christians], his pleasant plant” (Isaiah 5:7).  Note how Israel [Judaism] is contrasted with Judah [Christendom], together comprising Father‘s Judeo-Christian family, and collectively called “trees of righteousness, the planting of [Yahweh Son proxy God↔(Luke 20:13)], that [Yahweh Father] may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3)].

   By defaulting the terms of the Mosaic Covenant, Israel yielded “bitter grapes” instead of the expected “good ones” (Isaiah 5:4); thus liable for destruction and fit to be overrun with “briars and thorns” (Isaiah 5:6)—the nations that beset them.  But just as good grapes are trampled in vats to release their juices and begin the fermentation process that produces wine, so will Yahweh Son Interim God tread the world-wide “bad grapes…in the winepress of the wrath and the anger of [Father] the Almighty” (Isaiah 63:1-6; Revelation 14:18-20, 19:15) in fulfillment of the promise Father made to Son:  “Yahweh [Father] to my [David’s] Lord [Son], ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet’” (Psalms 110:1).  Do not miss the connection between grape juices and the volume of blood staining robes and horses reins (Isaiah 63:2-3; Revelation 14:20, 19:13-15). This is not the only symbolic example of wine substituting for blood (Matthew 26:27-29).

      What about the cedars?  “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel…like aloes planted by Yahweh, like cedars beside the waters” (Numbers 24:5-6).  Mindful that Assyria played a major role in Israel’s misfortunes, “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade and of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs” (Ezekiel 31:3).  In terms of Sennacherib’s boastful conquests, “You have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains, to the remotest parts of Lebanon; and I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses.  And I entered its farthest lodging place, its thickest forest’”(2Kings 19:23).  In talking about Satan’s downfall, “Even the cypresses rejoice over you, as do the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Now that you’ve been laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us’” (Isaiah 14:8).  And in terms of Father‘s wrath, “Open your doors, Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars.  Wail, cypress tree, for the cedar has fallen while the stately trees are destroyed.  Wail, oak trees of Bashan, for the old growth forest has been cut down” (Zechariah 11:1-2); “the vine dries up and the fig tree fails; the pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field [the world—Matthew 13:38] dry up.” Indeed, rejoicing dries up at end times (Joel 1:12; Ecclesiastes 12:1-7).

   On a more optimistic tone, we have intimations of enduring love:  “I’m a flower from Sharon, a lily of the valleys.  Like a lily among thorns so is my darling among the young women.  Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men.  In his shade I take delight and sit down, and his fruit is sweet to my taste” (Songs 2:1-3).  In terms of the birth of the Messiah, “then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:11).  In terms of the man who puts his trust in Yahweh, “He will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought” (Jeremiah 17:8).

   In terms of the non-Jew obedient to Yahweh but fearful of rejection, the assurance of inclusion:  “[Do not let] the foreigner, who has joined himself to Yahweh, [say], ‘Yahweh will surely separate me from His people’; neither let the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree’…[To those who] hold fast to My covenant… I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer for all peoples…[and give them] an everlasting name better than sons and daughters” (Isaiah 56:3-7).¹⁰

   And finally in terms of Zion’s future glory, “I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness. I will set fir trees, pine, and box trees together in the desert…(Isaiah 41:19); “the glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary [the Heavenly City]; and I will make the [Temple-less] place of My feet glorious (Isaiah 60:13; Revelation 21:22). “Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.  This will be for Yahweh’s renown, for an everlasting sign that will endure forever” (Isaiah 55:13); “for you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12).

   One last point:  The plants created on Third Day were capable of bearing seed. In human terms, we know that ‘seed’ refers to offspring; in Abraham’s case, “seed” meant the Isaac foreshadowing Jesus (Galatians 3:16).  In similar fashion, a plant’s seed is symbolic not only of Father’s word (Luke 8:11) but of men of faith engendered by Jesus, the “seed” of prophecy (Matthew 13:38).  Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a tiny, mustard grain growing into a tree capable of sheltering living things (Matthew 13:31-32); claiming that if men had faith as big as that mustard grain, natural objects could be shifted from their places (Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6).  But faith does not act in a vacuum:  It requires people to implement it; so in a sense, seeds are ultimately emblematic of men (Matthew 13:23) dying literally (John 12:24) or figuratively (Romans 6:11) to engender spiritual “trees.”  Men dying for the Gospel inspire others to follow their path (Revelation 14:13).

   Still seeds are also emblematic of unrighteous men (Matthew 13:19-22).  Evil men are “tares”, an unfruitful form of wheat sometimes called ‘bastard’ wheat—which fits nicely with Paul’s argument that those who do not submit to Father’s discipline are “bastard” sons (Hebrews 12:8).  Like good wheat, tares also bear seed; and unless we choose to believe that Jesus’ angels will be doing farming at end times, the “bundles”  of worthless chaff to be collected and burned are men (Matthew 13:30).  So as far as plants and trees with seed are concerned, these symbolic plants are substance to their corresponding Genesis 1:11’s natural shadows—not to be confused with those constituting food to eat (Genesis 1:29).

  We must not overlook the aptness of using plant life to allegorize Israel:  Like plants in the real world, Jews are bound to a soil [i.e., homeland] where progeny can be raised in optimal conditions. The Jewish ethos is about rootedness and faithfulness to the religious worship of their forebears in a God-given territory.  Historically, Israel has not been known to leave national boundaries with dreams of empire-building, unleashing the genocide usually associated with it—as they are now doing in Palestinian lands. As Scripture amply tells us, such behavior is not conducive to reconciliation with the Deity Who to this day they have never truly worshipped (Hosea 11:7); and with the Son who having interacted with them throughout their history, to their shame they continue to reject.

There is another meaningful reason why plants are emblematic of Israel, but we will go into that in our discussion of Fifth Day.

¹ Let us not overlook the fact that it was the best-loved, second wife, Rachel (Genesis 29:30), who had an idolatrous bent (Genesis 31:19,34).

² Let us not forget Revelation 1:16,18, regarding the resurrected Jesus, he who lives but was dead [obviously not the Eternal God] and out of whose mouth protrudes “a sharp two-edged sword”, “the sword of the Spirit… the word of God…” (Ephesians 6:17), “living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).  Now, who sends the Holy Spirit speaking only what He has heard from God to his mortal host of faith?  Jesus (John 16:13).

³ But read entire passage from verses 1-25 to gauge the scope of his empowerment by Father.

⁴ Though truth be told, Scripture does not explain why there are different races in the world if humanity as we know it sprang from Noah’s sons (Genesis 10:5,20,31-32). Evolution makes a case over millions of years of breeding and cross-breeding, but evolution’s timetable has no place in Genesis’. As to the black race, there is a despicable argument referencing Noah’s son, Ham (Genesis 9:22-27), which evildoers concocted to suit their agendas.

⁵ We have seen this in Genesis 4:17, where we are told Cain met his wife.  It has been suggested that Cain was married prior to his exile, but there is no written evidence proving that besides Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, there was another human being then existing.  We must assume that the woman Cain met after however many years of wandering the earth alone must have been one of Adam’s daughters (Genesis 5:4); and the extraordinary longevity enjoyed then supports this idea.  In Seth’s case too, the engendering of Enos (Genesis 4:26) precedes the verse where we are told more women had become available (Genesis 5:4); but Genesis 5:6 puts things in perspective by telling us Seth became a father at 105 years of age.  [Why the wait if women were plentiful all along?  Perhaps because marrying a direct sibling was far too disagreeable to God; and blood lines had to be ‘watered-down’ over years of inter-marriages in order to render technically incestuous relationships less objectionable [like Abraham’s and Sarah’s (Genesis 20:12)?].

⁶ These events foreshadow the proliferation of different gospels in modern-day Babylon—not exclusively the whorish Church of Revelation 17:1-5, but the world at large. Do not miss the correspondence between Babel’s tower as a human replacement for the true Tower (Proverbs 18:10; Psalms 18:2, 27:5, 61:2-3; Acts 5:40-41, 9:16). 

⁷ Luke is not talking about rising seas due to climate change, but of “sea” in Scripture’s symbolic meaning: Nations at large. The “roaring and tossing” refer to strife and the collapse of social orders.

⁸ Reliable historical sources put Jesus’ birth at between 6 BC and 4 BC.  Ussher chose 5 BC because Josephus, the Jewish historian, indicated that Herod had died in 4 BC.  It was Herod who ordered the killing of every male child under two years of age in his desire to eliminate the newly-born Jesus (Matthew 3:13-23).

⁹ As to be expected, archaeology has a different timeline.  Estimates for the oldest civilizations are as follows:  Sumeria, around 4000 BC; Egypt, 3200 BC; Indus Valley Culture, 2600 BC; Maya, 4600 BC; China, 2700 BC; Minoan, 3000 BC; Phoenician, 3200 BC.  As usual it all boils down to believing the Holy Spirit‘s version versus the empirical evidence of men.

¹⁰ Those alluded to in Acts 10:34-35 and Romans 2:12-15.