Category: Going deeper – Israel

Israeli tour guides sometimes say:

Israel may be three hundred miles long, thirty miles wide, but it’s three thousand years deep.

They are simply referring to the fact that over three millennia of Bible history is sown in the land of Israel. Others say:

Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago.
[Charles Krauthammer – The Weekly Standard, May 11, 1998]

The biblical history of Israel started with Abraham

The history of Israel started some 4,000 years ago when God told Abram (later called Abraham) to go from his home in Ur of the Chaldeans (probably in southern Iraq) and travel to a land that God would give to him and his descendants. It was from there that God would make a people for Himself, a people to be a witness of Himself to the nations. As part of the deal they were given the land of Canaan for perpetuity. God said to Abram (Abraham):

I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you … I will give to you and your descendants … all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God
(Gen 17.7,8)

The “Promised Land”

Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Judah, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan …) and they inhabited the land God gave them, Fig.1. Note that this includes the area currently known as Israel and embraces the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights. Furthermore, it is important to realise that God’s covenant was unconditional (Gen 15.18), meaning that, even today, the nation of Israel owns the land we now call Israel. Present-day Israel is not occupying ‘Palestinian land’. More at Israel’s Borders.

Israel: God’s Special People

Note that in Genesis 17 God said: ‘I will be their God’. Here, God was claiming Israel to be His own; ‘You are Mine’ (Isa 43.1). So here we have God identifying Himself with a particular people. Here we have the God of Israel – they are God’s very own people, forever (2 Sam 7.24). It follows of course that those who contend with Israel are actually contending with God! God will fight on Israel’s behalf, as demonstrated in the 1967 6-day war, link. Hamas beware!

Why did God do this? God made a people for Himself for a very real purpose. Besides blessing all nations through Christ, God made Israel to be His witness to the nations (Isa 43.10) and to be His servant (Isa 49.3). Israel is unique since it is the one nation on earth that God uses to make a name for Himself. As King David exclaimed:

Who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make a name for Himself
(2 Sam 7.23).

The Scattering or Diaspora

The biblical history of Israel is dramatic. After the glorious Davidic Kingdom around 1,000 BC the tribes of Israel gradually fell away from their God and through their disobedience were uprooted from their land and scattered throughout the nations. Subsequently, in 70 AD the Romans committed genocide against the Jews, smashed the Temple in Jerusalem and declared the land of Israel would be no more. To this end the Romans renamed the land of Israel, principally Judea, as ‘Palaestina‘ (modern Palestine) which some believe was an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel.

Recent biblical history of Israel: The Ingathering or Aliyah

The scattering of Israel was fulfillment of Bible prophecy, but recent history has also seen the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the ingathering of Israel. FACT: despite the scattering, God did not destroy national Israel – He simply gave her a ‘writ of divorce’ (Jer 3.8), and there are many prophecies of the ingathering of national Israel and her ‘remarriage’ to her God. For instance, In the end-time context of the restoration of national Israel, God sets Israel as a ‘banner (or sign) to the nations’ and gathers Israel and Judah ‘from the four corners of the earth’ (Isa 11.12). The prophet Ezekiel saw this restoration of Israel in his vision of ‘the valley of dry bones’ (Ezek 37). Here, God says:

Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone … and bring them into their own land (Ezek 37.21)

Today’s term for this ingathering or immigration of Jews to Israel is aliyah (Heb ‘ascent’). Clearly, there have been dramatic changes in Israel/Palestine in little over 100 years, and not least in Israel’s demographics. During these years the ingathering from the nations into Israel has been remarkable, as shown by Jewish population statistics: 1882: 0.025m; 1918: 0.06m; 1948: 0.72m; 1965: 2.3m; 1985: 3.5m; 2005: 5.3m; 2014: 6.1m; link. So in just 100 years the Jewish population of Israel increased by an amazing 7400%.

GO DEEPER

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Solving the Olive Tree Mystery

So what did Paul mean by “the olive tree”? This mysterious biblical symbolism has generated much scholarly debate – but why? Consider the following. All trees begin from a root, and in Romans 11.16 we read of a holy root. This can be nothing less than a symbol for the one holy and eternal Creator God. Everything in creation begins and grows from this spiritual root. As Genesis says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. John 1.1 is more specific and identifies the holy Christ (the Word) with this root; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. So Christ is intimately associated with the root of the olive tree, link.

The Abrahamic Covenant: Man’s intimate knowledge of this Holy Root, and specifically man’s introduction to the mystery of Christ, was delivered by the Spirit through the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (renamed Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites). Subsequently more knowledge came through Moses, the prophets and the New Testament. So it is not surprising that the symbolic olive tree, even the root, is often likened to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12.2-3; 17.7-8), link, link. This covenant is God’s unconditional promise to Abraham and his descendants of a great nation and of land for that nation. The covenant also promised that through him all nations would be blessed. What was that blessing? Here is more symbolism. Few realize it can be seen in the lives and experiences of the three patriarchs. Put simply, the lives and experiences of the three patriarchs illustrate man’s relationship to God through Christ:

This deep teaching is emphasized in the New Testament, as in Matt 22.31-32 and Luke 13.28.

The Natural and Wild Branches

As stated, since the root is “holy” (Rom 11.16) then Christ must be intimately associated with the root. To expand on this and to accommodate Paul’s concept of “branches” in Romans 11, it can be helpful to see the tree root as the Holy Creator God, the trunk as the Messiah, Christ, and the branches as those who follow God through Christ. So any branches of this tree are holy since the root and the trunk are holy. The New Testament likens ancient Israel to the natural branches of a cultivated olive tree (Rom 11.24). God’s subsequent covenants with Israel (Mosaic, Sabbatical, Davidic, and New) were the ‘cultivation’. So we see that, starting from the Abrahamic Covenant, the Jewish nation was placed under a program governed by covenants. In contrast, Gentile believers are like wild branches in that they had no covenants (Ephesians 2.11-12).

Sadly, and to their hurt, the Jews in Jerusalem rejected Christ as their looked-for Messiah (their Moshiach) and so were symbolically ‘broken off’ from the tree, from Christ. The Jews have suffered ever since, and in their place branches were ‘grafted in’ from a wild olive tree. These were believing Gentiles (Rom 11:13,17,24). Prior to this, the northern kingdom, the so-called ‘ten lost tribes’ had rejected God’s laws and warnings given to them through the prophets. But, pushing the symbolism a little further, they were not totally ‘cutoff’ from the olive tree and a remnant were preserved (Rom 11:3-5).

Christ and the Olive Tree

Let’s pursue the concept of the Creator God as the tree root and Christ as the tree trunk. In Isaiah 11.1 the prophet saw a Shoot coming from the cut-down trunk of the olive tree:

And there shall come forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse [David’s father], and a Branch [Sprout] out of his roots shall grow and bear fruit.

This is a clear reference to the first coming of Christ. He is seen here as a Shoot from a stump. Historically, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, finally destroyed the southern kingdom of Judah in 586 BC and the family of David became like a tree cut down with only its stump left in the ground. But then, whilst in humiliation and obscurity, a descendant of David (a ‘Shoot’) comes out of the tree root (the Creator God). The Shoot which grew out of the stump represented Jesus the Messiah. Crucially then, it is only via the Root (the Creator God) and the re-grown Trunk (the Messiah, Christ) that the rest of the branches of the tree receive the sustenance of life. So all subsequent branches grow from and are sustained by Christ the Messiah. Conversely, the branch that breaks away from the tree (from the Messiah) dries up and dies! Jesus emphasized this point when He said:

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing (Jn 15.5)

One Tree: The Coming Unification of Israel and the Church

The olive tree, including its Hebraic association, represents the place of blessing in God’s plan for mankind. But due to unbelief (rebellion, stumbling, transgression) God broke off national Israel (the natural branches) from the tree and grafted Gentiles (the wild branches) into the place of blessing (Rom 11.17). In horticulture a lone wild olive tree is unfruitful, or its fruit is very imperfect and useless. So, as in horticulture, Gentile believers can only bear good fruit once they are grafted into the living tree, Christ.

The New Testament explains that one day saved (regenerate) natural Israel and the church (spiritual Israel) will be “one tree”. It refers to this one tree as “all Israel”. At that time we see God’s people, saved Jew and saved Gentile as “one tree”. Referring to Jewish Israel’s spiritual restoration and to her future ‘oneness’ with the true church, Paul wrote:

And so all Israel will be saved (Rom 11.26)

Jesus made the same point:

I have other sheep (Gentiles), too, that are not in this sheepfold (Jews). I must bring them also … and there will be one flock with one Shepherd (Jn 10.16, NLT)

This “oneness” of Israel and the true church is also seen in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21). Here this future symbolic city has all 12 tribes of Israel associated with the gates of the city, and all 12 apostles of the early church are associated with the city walls.

A Warning to the Western Church

Currently, Gentile believers occupy the place of blessing formerly held by national Israel. There the church should bear good fruit as she, as branches, feeds on and is sustained by the Trunk of the tree, Christ. But does this church recognize her Hebrew roots? Does she recognize that she is really like wild branches that have been grafted into a tree which first bore national Israel? And does she recognize that God will soon graft the remnant of national Israel (the broken branches) back into their own olive tree (Rom 11.5,23,24)?

Sadly, many in the institutionalized Western churches choose to ignore this point, become anti-Semitic, and ‘dry-up’, link. God discards them and they die spiritually. Is this a major reason why regular Church of England attendance in the UK is now less than 2% of the population, link? Historically, the lack of will to understand the olive tree perpetrated outrageous acts towards the “natural branches” (the Jewish people) during the Crusades, the Inquisition, the pogroms, and the holocaust.

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The Mysterious Israel-Eden Connection

According to Strong’s Concordance, Eden (ay’-den) means ‘delicate, delight, pleasure – the region of Adam’s home’. It is a Sumerian word indicating a plain (a flat area where cultivation would be easy). So, at the outset, Eden was a good place in which to live! Genesis states that mankind started in Eden and specifically in a garden in the east of Eden:

The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed … Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold (Gen 2.10,11)

Note that Genesis 2 implies that there was a land of Eden as well as a ‘garden of Eden’ planted toward the east of Eden. This distinction is also implied in the book of Isaiah:

And her wilderness He will make like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord (Isa 51.3)

Searching for the land of Eden and the Garden of Eden

The Fertile Crescent – the ‘Cradle of Civilization’: The so-called Fertile Crescent (shown in green, Fig.1) extends northeast from the Sinai Peninsula, bordered by the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan River, then curves to the southeast, following along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. It is characterized by unusually fertile soil, and so it is not surprising that humans first created agricultural settlements here over 8,000 years ago, link. For example, archaeological investigations in the Zagros Mountains of Iran reveal that people were grinding wheat and barley about 11,000 years ago, link. And the archaeological site of Gobekli Tepe (locally called ‘Potbelly Hill’) in southern Turkey (indicated in Fig.1) has been carbon dated at around 10,000 BC – older than any other known site, link, link. Bear in mind that the Fertile Crescent probably had a more agriculturally productive climate than today because of massive climatic and geological changes during Noah’s flood around 2300 BC.

Babylonia: After the Flood mankind still lived in the Fertile Crescent. In Genesis 11 and 12 we read that around 1900 BC God called Abram (Abraham) to leave the family home in the Babylonian city of Ur (Fig. 2) and go to the land of Canaan. Abram’s journey took him along the Fertile Crescent via Nineveh and Haran (and probably very close to the archaeological site of Gobekli Tepe). Note that the city of Ur was close to the Persian Gulf.

Oil and Gas in the Fertile Crescent: At this point it is interesting to ask ourselves; ‘Why are there giant oil and gas reserves in the northern Persian Gulf region?’ – see map. For example, Kuwait is less than one-tenth the size of Syria, but its oil reserves far exceed Syria’s reserves, link. The traditional understanding is that these reserves began as microscopic plants and animals living in oceans. During their life they absorbed energy from the sun which was stored as carbon molecules in their bodies. When they died, they sank to the bottom and over millions of years layer upon layer generated pressure and heat and eventually oil (or gas). Geological and sea-level changes then resulted in the land reserves seen today.

But does this process have to take millions of years? Are there quicker ways of generating oil? In particular, can the chemistry of oil be explained by flood geology and a high sedimentation rate – see Oil and the Flood. This idea is based on the observation that a high sedimentation rate preserves organic material [Tissot and Welte, 1984, Petroleum Formation and Occurrence, Springer-Verlag]. So a catastrophic sedimentation rate, as would occur in Noah’s flood would uproot, kill, and bury organic material very rapidly and avid oxidizing agents. (On the same theme, we note that polystrate fossils sometimes span many coal seams, providing strong evidence that the coal did not take millions of years to form!)

So do the large oil and gas reserves around the northern end of the Persian Gulf suggest vigorous vegetation and animal life in that region before the Flood? Are the oil and gas reserves the result of the sudden destruction of the garden of Eden?

Eden found? Given these facts, it’s not surprising that the Fertile Crescent has been labelled “the cradle of civilization”. Was this region the biblical Eden? Scholars identify Eden with the Sumerian term ‘edin’, which means “uncultivated steppe or plain” and usually associated with the area today called Mesopotamia (see Fig.2), link.

The Rivers of Eden

Given that some of the world’s earliest complex societies developed in the Fertile Crescent it is tempting to think Eden is associated with the Canaan-Southern Turkey-Babylonia-Persian Gulf region. Descriptions of the four rivers in Genesis 2 may help us to be more specific. But in attempting this we must bear in mind that ancient world catastrophes like the Flood had the potential to dramatically change the original land forms and river systems, Setterfield. Not surprisingly, two of these rivers, the Pishon and the Gihon, are no longer visible, probably due to geological changes incurred during Noah’s flood.

The Pishon River

We note that “a river (the Pishon) went out of Eden to water the garden (of Eden)” and flowed past or skirted the land of Havilah. Where was Havilah? Some argue that the land of Havilah has long since disappeared due to massive geological changes, so searching for it is futile, Setterfield. That said, we note that, post Flood, the descendants of Ishmael “dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur” (Gen 25.18), so the land of Havilah was still recognized post-Flood. It was probably one of those regions in the North Eastern area of the Arabian Peninsula, link, as indicated in Fig.3.

As stated, the Pishon is not visible today, although it must have been a large river in order to “water the garden”. In fact, satellite images and space Shuttle Imaging Radar suggest the river was once up to three miles wide, link. Analysis of these space images shows that, in Kuwait, a dry riverbed (Wadi Al-Batin) cuts through limestone and disappears into the desert of Saudi Arabia. The river ran underground along a fault line under the sand. From the Hyaz (Hejaz) Mountains in Saudi Arabia, link, this river ran northeast to its delta in Kuwait near the Persian Gulf. It is interesting to note that Pishon literally means “to disperse”, or “to spread”, suggesting the parting into some form of delta or ‘riverheads’ as in Gen 2.10. Given these recent discoveries, some claim this lost river corresponds to the biblical Pishon River associated with the garden of Eden.

The fact that the Pishon “went out of Eden”, “skirted the whole land of Havilah” and “parted into four riverheads” suggests that Eden was a large area of land to the north of Havilah.

The Gihon River (the river of Cush)

The word Gihon means “stream’. This ‘stream’ is said to have flowed “around the whole land of Cush” (Gen 2.13). In early biblical history, Cush (pronounced Kush) was the name of a district near the head of the Persian Gulf, link. More specifically, it could be the country still known as Khuzi-stan, on the east side of the Lower Tigris, link. This agrees with the claim that Cush was is in Mesopotamia (rather than in Ethiopia), link. The Amplified Bible also places Cush in Mesopotamia. It is interesting to note that, today, two major rivers flow from the Iranian mountains in the east down to the southern part of the Mesopotamian flood-plain, viz. the Kerkha and the Karun, link. So the Gihon River could have flowed in Iran and the Zagros Mountains, link, as indicated in Fig.3.

The Tigris (Heb: Hiddekel) and Euphrates

In Genesis 2 these two rivers are associated with the “four riverheads” (river delta?) coming from the Pishon. The Tigris or Hiddekel flowed “towards the east of Assyria (Heb: Asshur)”. Hiddekel means “flowing rapidly”, indicating it either went through land with a high gradient or had a large quantity of water flowing in it, or both. Maps show the ancient Tigris River flowing through a fertile alluvial plain, link (consistent with the concept of ‘Eden’). The Hebrew word translated ‘Euphrates’ is Perath, which literally means “to break forth”.

Are these two rivers of Genesis the two rivers we see today? Today, the mountains of Turkey collect water that becomes the observed Tigris and Euphrates rivers. But today’s Tigris and Euphrates may not be the original rivers! As already mentioned, we must bear in mind that the massive geological changes of the ancient world (as occurred for example in the Flood) could have changed the rivers of Genesis 2, Setterfield. Today’s Tigris and Euphrates could be running on top of flood-deposited layers of rock. That said, many still assume that the approximate location of the ancient Tigris and Euphrates rivers was as seen today, again as indicated Fig.3. It has been suggested that, viewed from the Persian Gulf region, all four rivers could be seen as “riverheads”.

The Edenic Environment

Little is known about the climate of Eden and its garden and there is much speculation! Artistic impressions paint an idyllic sub-tropical environment for Adam. But what do we know with reasonable certainty?

At the outset, Adam’s environment must have been conducive to plant growth – many different trees grew and fruited (and it seems that before the Fall there were no weeds!) Also, there is no record of Adam being too cold or too hot or buffeted by storms. Some argue that there was no rain before the Flood and instead “a mist went up from the earth to water the ground” (Gen 2.5,6). Either way, it seems things were environmentally quiet and peaceful. Everything God had created was “very good” (Gen 1.31). How can a severe storm be ‘good’? In addition, we note Adam and his immediate descendants lived approximately ten times longer than present generations. Why?

Adam’s world: A universally warm and pleasant Earth?

Some maintain that before the Flood the earth’s axial tilt was perhaps only 5 degrees (or less), resulting in virtually no seasonal changes and one large stable Hadley Cell of circulating air currents, link, link. The deductions are based on measurements from ancient ‘gnomons’. It is conjectured that the earth was probably universally warm, with no deserts, ice caps or major mountains. There was probably less sea and more land. Lush vegetation grew worldwide, so providing for the coal and oil deposits we now find near the poles. It has also been conjectured that rapid radioactive decay heated the earth’s mantle below the crust, driving out the water locked in the minerals. This water seeped through the earth’s thin granite crust and appeared as a mist, watering the ground (Gen 2.6).

As stated, with this early-earth low-tilt model there would be virtually no seasons, and we note that the first mention of seasons and the associated ‘cold’ and ‘heat’ is after Noah’s Flood (Gen 8.22). And it is argued that a sudden change leading to the present 23.4 degree tilt arose around 2300 BC, possibly due to asteroid/meteor impact. Another sudden change in axial tilt at the end of this age is suggested in Isaiah 24.19-20. More at young earth model.

A Protective Canopy?

Genesis 1.6 mentions a “firmament” (Heb: raqiya, ‘an extended surface’) that divided the created waters. What was this? And did it provide an idyllic environment for Adam and his immediate descendants? Moreover, did it protect them from damaging solar radiation?

Some have proposed that a protective ‘water vapor canopy’ existed before the Flood, but this is not strongly supported, link. What about the Crystalline Canopy Theory? This conjectures that, before the Flood, the ‘firmament’ extended throughout space as a universal macrocosm expanse of lattice structure consisting of charged subatomic particles. Simultaneously, in order to focus the benefit of universal radiation, the firmament is held to be localized as a thin microcosm complex of crystalline structure suspended directly above Earth. To quote:

This (localized) structure consisted of strong magnetic flux lines holding silicate sugilite, hydrogen, water molecules and possibly various metallic colloids in its force field. Water in Earth’s spherical mass was utilized in its solid form in making the localized crystalline firmament, and was simultaneously distributed throughout space in its various molecular forms in the establishing of the firmament as a universal expanse. Earth’s local crystalline canopy in its physical design would uniquely absorb and transfer the radiation of the stellar bodies that were later placed in the universal expanse. These stellar bodies were made to be an orchestrated symphony of mass, energy and radiation, specifically designed to benefit planet Earth and its inhabitants, link

So in this theory the Hebrew word ‘raqiya’ refers to both the universal expanse and the localized crystalline structure suspended above the Earth as one seamless whole.

Man’s Aging: It is claimed that the crystalline canopy suspended perhaps ten miles above Earth’s surface had the benefit that it filtered out most of the damaging UV radiation i.e. DNA damage at the molecular level. It is conjectured that, at the judgement of the Flood, the localized microcosm – the ‘canopy’ suspended over Earth – was disrupted as ‘windows were opened’ in the crystalline lattice. This could have been done by jets of steam from hydrothermal vents in the earth’s crust. Consequently, man was subjected to increased radiation. It is scientifically plausible that a significant increase in radioisotopes in the atmosphere after the Flood could cause the observed progressive reduction in the age of man after the Flood, see human aging.

 

The Israel-Eden Connection

When man was driven out of the garden of Eden after the Fall (Gen 3.23,24), and the Flood came to destroy evil mankind, was this the end of Eden and its garden for all time? Was God’s beautiful creation to be lost forever just because man sinned? Studies of Israel’s history and prophesied future suggest not. There appears to be a close relationship between the land of Israel (past and future) and Eden and its garden.

It is widely claimed that the earliest civilizations lived along the Fertile Crescent, giving the region the name ‘the Cradle of Civilization’. As discussed, some scholars associate this region with the biblical Eden, and some associate the Persian Gulf area with the garden of Eden. So since the Crescent spans from the Persian Gulf across into southern Israel, we might tentatively associate the land of Israel with Eden (and even the garden of Eden)! Is there any justification for this claim?

Jerusalem-Eden

Pangea: Geological theory holds that civilized man once lived on a super-continent called ‘Pangea’ surrounded by a super-ocean called ‘Panthalassa’, link. Scientists attribute the break-up of Pangea (a process supposedly lasting hundreds of millions of years) to plate techtonics. The concept of a single landmass and a single ocean is supported by Genesis:

Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so (Gen 1.9, emphasis added)

Now consider the following rather intriguing biblical claims:

For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth (Ps 74.12)
Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her’ (Ezek 5.5)

Jewish tradition does indeed place Jerusalem at the center or midst of the earth, and some see the temple mount in Jerusalem as the true ‘ground Zero’ of the world, link, link. Is this concept figurative, or can we take it literally? If Jerusalem really is the geographic center of the world then maybe Jerusalem is closely associated with the Eden of Genesis?

Fernand Crombette took these biblical claims seriously and set about finding a single ancient landmass. He noticed that the current continents fitted much better when another biblical text is taken into account:

Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so (Gen 1.6-7)

Crombette assumed that, initially (i.e. in the days of Eden), the waters were equally divided and that at the Flood the waters above the firmament ‘collapsed’ to fill the oceans below the firmament. This concept is similar to the ‘water-canopy theory’. So Crombette assumed that in the time of Eden the mean ocean depths were only half as deep (c2,000 m) as the current depths (c4,000 m). Today’s continental shelves would then be above the water line. The interesting fact is that at 2,000 meters bathymetric maps show that the current continents fit almost perfectly when they are moved into place.

So, by adhering to the biblical text, Crombette showed that when the present continents are repositioned, they fit almost perfectly at a depth of 2,000 meters. Moreover, it is claimed that the center of the single continent is Jerusalem, link, link. Staying with biblical concepts, Noah’s Flood has been conjectured as the mechanism and timing for the division of this single continent, link.

Modern Calculations: Today, the geographical center of all current land-areas can be computed using satellite data and great-circle distances on the sphere of the earth, link. Using this approach, Holger Isenberg computed the geographic center at 37.7°N 35.4°E, corresponding to a location in southern Turkey, link. The discrepancy between this location and Crombette’s location (Jerusalem) must be partly due to the fact that Isenberg’s calculation is based upon current sea levels. So they do not apply to Adam’s pre-Flood world, although they do provide some confirmation of Corbette’s calculations in that the ‘midst’ of the earth is around the Eastern Mediterranean.

Conclusion: It is reasonable to conjecture that God would have placed Adam near the center of this single continent rather than at its periphery. In other words, Adam could have been placed near to the location of the future Jerusalem. The implication then is that Jerusalem could be closely associated with Eden, even the garden of Eden itself!

Israel-Eden in the Past

Canaan – where was it?: God promised Abram (Abraham) and all his descendants “all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession” (Gen 17.8). Why Canaan? What was special about Canaan? Moreover – where was Canaan?

On the day of God’s covenant with Abram, God defined Canaan as running from the river of Egypt (traditionally identified as the Nile, link) to the River Euphrates (Gen 15.18). The same boundaries are found in Exod 23.31. The tribes of Israel occupied most of this area, link, and there are indications that the kingdoms of David and Solomon c1000 BC did indeed stretch from the river of Egypt on the Sinai peninsula, across the Syrian Desert to Tiphsah on the northern parts of the Euphrates. So the biblical Canaan closely followed the Fertile Crescent northwards and eastwards.

Prior to these kingdoms, God gave Moses the boundaries of Canaan as the children of Israel entered the land (Num 34.1-12). The southern border went through the Wilderness of Zin to the river of Egypt, the western border was the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern border ran north from the dead sea along the Jordan up to Zedad (modern-day Sadad in Syria) in the north east. Virtually identical boundaries to those given to Moses are given in the future boundaries of Israel (Ezek 47.13-21).

Canaan – a ‘Good Land’: Recall that Eden means ‘delicate, delight, pleasure’ – a good place in which to live and where cultivation would be easy. Can this be said of the land of Canaan? Certainly! We might describe Canaan as an ‘Eden-like land’. Let’s summarize the characteristics of Canaan as described by Moses to the nation of Israel (Deut 8.7-9):

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper (Deut 8.7-9)

This is confirmed by Sinhue, an Egyptian living in the 20th century BC. Here’s his description of Canaan:

It was a good land named Yaa. Figs were in it, and grapes. It had more wine than water. Plentiful was its honey; abundant its olives. Every [kind of] fruit was on its trees. Barley there was and emmer. There was no limit to any [kind of] cattle. [Thompson, J.A. Handbook of Life in Bible Times, Leicester: IVP, 1986, p125]

Canaan – a land of God’s blessing: Recall, when Abram (Abraham) was called out of Ur to the land of Canaan (Gen 11.31) he was being sent to “a good and large land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod 3.8, Deut 26.9). The phrase “flowing with milk and honey” is understood to be hyperbolically descriptive of the land’s richness; it is generally taken as a metaphor meaning ‘all good things — God’s blessings’. Again, when Abram and Lot needed to separate their livestock (because their flocks and herds were so large), Lot chose to go to a good place:

Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere … like the garden of the Lord … (Gen 13.10, emphasis added)

So, even thousands of years after the Fall, the actual land of Israel was still ‘a delight and a pleasure’ in which to live. And this was still true hundreds of years later when the prophet Jeremiah was preaching to the rebellious stiff-necked people of Judah. Through Jeremiah the LORD said to Judah:

I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day (Jer 11.5)

So even as late as c600 BC it appears that, at least parts of the land of Israel reflected the blessings of Eden! That said, man gradually had a detrimental effect on the environment in Canaan e.g. deforestation and the loss of many species of mammal and birds due to hunting, link.

Israel-Eden in the Future

Here is where we see an even stronger Israel-Eden connection. Even now, the land of Israel is blossoming in terms of agriculture compared with the desolate land of 100 years ago. But in the future it appears that the land of Israel will have a strong Eden-like appearance. Let’s compare Adam’s Eden with the land of Israel during the Millennium:

God walks with Man: Before the Fall, God walked in the garden in which He had placed Adam (Gen 3.8). He wanted fellowship with man. Likewise, in the Millennium, prophecy indicates that God in the form of Christ the King will again walk this earth alongside man. The book of Ezekiel describes the Millennial temple and the future earthly dwelling place of the LORD:

Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever (Ezek 43.7)

This concept is mind-blowing! But is it any more than when Christ the Son of God walked this earth 2,000 years ago?

A Garden: In Adam’s day God planted a perfect garden eastward in the land of Eden. The trees of the garden were beautiful to look at and provided Adam with food (Gen 2.9). The garden was so perfect it became a legend to this day. In the Millennium, prophecy says that God will again plant ‘a garden of renown’ for food in the land of Israel:

I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land … (Ezek 34.29 NKJV)

It seems that at least parts of the land of Israel will become like Adam’s Eden. The area around Zion or God’s ‘Holy Mountain (Isa 56.7)’ i.e. around Jerusalem will receive a special blessing:

I will make the places all around My hill (Zion) a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase (Ezek 34.26,27)
For the Lord will comfort Zion … He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord (Isa 51.3)

In fact, it will be so beautiful they will say:

This land that was deserted and desolate has become like the garden of Eden … (Ezek 36.35)

Beautiful Trees: In Adam’s day this garden had “every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Gen 2.9). What sort of trees were they? Apart from fruit trees (Gen 1.11), the prophet Ezekiel describes a few of them – ceders, firs and chestnut trees (Ezek 31.8). Likewise, in the Millennium God will plant many beautiful trees:

I will put the cedar in the wilderness, the acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert together with the box tree and the cypress (Isa 41.19)

As to be expected, when it comes to fruit trees the future land will be blessed with fig trees and vineyards (Joel 2.22). Why does God do this? All this is done to make Christ’s future dwelling place on earth, His sanctuary, ‘glorious’ (Isa 60.13). Even now the land of Israel has seen significant aforestation. Since 1900 some 250 million sub-tropical trees have been planted in all regions of Israel, from the Golan and Galilee in the north to the Negev in the south, link.

Well Watered: Adam’s Eden had the great river (probably the Pishon) that flowed east to water the garden of Eden. Similarly, in the Millennium water will flow east from the (new) temple to replenish the Dead Sea:

Then he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah (the Jordan Valley); then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the Dead Sea shall be healed and become fresh (Ezek 47.8 amplified)

Has this already started? Researchers have discovered huge craters on the floor of the Dead Sea. Fresh water is flowing from these craters and fish are now swimming in fresh water sink holes, link. Also, in the Millennium Israel’s deserts will have pools and fountains of water and crops will be well-watered from traditional rains:

I will open rivers on the bare heights and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land fountains of water (Isa 41.18)
So rejoice, O sons of Zion … for He has poured down for you the rain … the early and latter rain as before
(Joel 2.23)

With the passing of time, when the people of Israel forgot their God, the “early” (Autumn) and “latter” (Spring) rains were delayed or did not fall. But when the Jewish people acknowledge their true Messiah (Christ) it seems that God will bless the nation with the required rains (Jer 31.11-12).

A Peaceful Land: Before the Fall, Adam’s world was at peace; there was no hurt and no killing. So Animals and birds ate green herbs (Gen 1.30). Likewise, in the Millennium, the land of Israel will be at peace and Jerusalem will be “a quiet home” (Isa 33.20). There will be no hurt and animals will not devour one another:

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together. And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox … They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain (Isa 11.6-9)

Here, the term ‘holy mountain’ is usually taken to mean ‘the mountain of the LORD’S house’ (Isa 2.2, Ezek 40.2) – a reference to the preeminence of Zion (Jerusalem) above the other ‘mountains’ or nations, and in particular the area surrounding the new temple (see a new temple in Jerusalem). In fact, the whole world will be at peace during the Millennial age and “nation will not lift up sword against nation” (Isa 2.4).

A Vegetarian Diet? Before the Fall, Adam was given herbs and fruit to eat and the beasts of the field ate herbs (Gen 1.29,30). There was no killing and so animal meat was ‘off the menu’! Will this be true in Millennial Israel, given that “there shall be no hurt” in Christ’s ‘holy mountain’? Certainly it seems true in the Jerusalem area since the river flowing east from the temple seems to bless the surrounding land:

Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine (Ezek 47.12)

It seems that in this ‘new Eden’ around Zion, meat could again be ‘off the menu’. Where prophecy speaks of future flocks of sheep and cattle (Isa 30.23, 61.5) this may be in other parts of Israel, or for temple sacrifices (Ezek 43.18,19 Zech 14.21).

A Healthy Environment: Ezekiel 47.12 refers to the healing benefits of Israel’s trees. Is this a reference to the future widespread use of herbal medicine? Note that the future inhabitants of Zion will not say “I am sick” (Isa 33.24) and people will live long lives (Isa 65.20). Will this future Eden-like environment reflect the healthy environment of Adam’s world?

A Protected Environment: Besides geographic changes, meteorological changes and changes in the animal kingdom, the area around Zion will be specially protected from extreme weather:

The Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain (Isa 4.5-6)

Note that this protective ‘canopy’ echoes the atmospheric protection Adam appears to have benefited from, albeit on a much smaller scale.

The Sanctuary-Eden Connection

There is a deep spiritual connection between the garden of Eden and the Hebrew temples. Consider the first ‘temple’. As the Israelites were travelling through the wilderness towards Canaan, God asked them to make a place where He could “dwell amongst men” – a sanctuary or tabernacle (Exod 25.8). Clearly, this had to be portable and so it became known as ‘the tent of meeting’ (Exod 29.11, 33.7 NASB). After the Israelites were established in Canaan, the sanctuary became a permanent structure, as in Solomon’s Temple (2 Chron 3), only later to be destroyed and replaced by Herod’s temple. The basic structure of Solomon’s Temple is shown in Fig.5, link. Fast-forward to the Millennial age, and we find details of a new temple in the Jerusalem area in chapters 40-48 of the prophet Ezekiel.

Let’s consider some common features between the garden of Eden and these Hebrew Temples:

Conclusion: The garden of Eden and the earthly temples reflect the heavenly temple (Rev 11.19, 15.5-8). They speak of human access to the presence and glory and power and blessing of the Creator God – the God of Israel. Recall that when Moses and Aaron came out of the tent of meeting to bless the people, the “glory of the LORD appeared to all the people” (Lev 9.23). Put another way, although the original Eden and its garden appears to be lost, the concept lives on in the spiritual symbolism of the Hebrew temples. Like the garden of Eden, the temples demonstrate that redeemed man can walk eternally with his Creator in abundant blessing.

 

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Key 1: Israel’s Feasts – a Coded Message for Mankind

Please take time to understand this key. It is fundamental to the rest of this post.

God’s seven annual feasts described in Leviticus 23 are relevant to both Jew and Gentile today. They show, prophetically, God’s complete plan concerning the coming of the Messiah, the redemption of mankind, the judgement of mankind and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on this earth. In other words, they all point to Christ, link, link.

The first four feasts, the Spring Feasts, have been fulfilled: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. They are prophetically related to the death, resurrection and ascension of Yeshua (Jesus), and the sending of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.

The last three feasts, the Fall Feasts, (Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles) relate to the future and to the second coming of the Messiah, link. So today we are between Pentecost, the birth of the Church, and the Feast of Trumpets described in Leviticus 23 verse 24:

In the seventh month, on the first day of the month [Tishri 1], you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

Note that the Feast of Trumpets is a time of “rest” and of “blowing of trumpets”. What does this mean? For ancient Israel the priest would sound the trumpet to call field workers to stop harvesting i.e. to “rest” and to come and worship in the Temple. Prophetically, the trumpets point the children of Israel to a future momentous and victorious event when they will see the coming of their expected Messiah, their “Mashiach”. In reality, this is of course the Second Coming of Christ – Israel’s true Messiah. But note what follows this feast – the Day of Atonement [Tishri 10], when Israel looks to a time of their reconciliation with God. Prophetically this comes via the Great Tribulation of Israel (Dan 12:1, Mat 24:21), or Jacob’s trouble (Jer 30:7).

So the blowing of trumpets is not the prophetic end of this age. But it could denote the end of the so-called Church Age. For the church the trumpets appear to point to nothing less than the end of the harvesting of souls. It is a time of “rest”, when the church door “shuts” (Mat 25:10) and Christ comes for His saints. Some refer to this as the rapture, as in 1 Corinthians 15:52, link, link.

Key 2: Daniel’s 70-Week Prophecy

This key puts events into some broad timeline. It is logical to adopt prophetic interpretations that agree closely with reality i.e. with what we observe in the world today. In this respect, the Futurist view of Bible prophecy appears particularly relevant and so we adopt that here. This view sees Christ’s return as tied to what happens to Israel at the end of the age. Here’s Daniel’s key prophecy:

Seventy weeks [1 week = seven 360-day years] have been decreed for your people [Israel] and your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place (Dan 9:24, annotated)

Futurists see the 70th week as still future, and so this week is of particular significance here. After all, if Week 70 elapsed around the time of Christ (Historicist view) there is no framework within which to fit many end-time prophecies, such as Jer 30:4-7; Dan 7:23-28; Dan 11:21-45; Dan 12:11-12; Mat 24; 2 Thes 2:3-4; Rev 7:3-8; Rev 12:6 and Rev 13. So here we assume that at the end of Week 70, Jesus returns to earth to establish Himself as “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19:11-21). He comes to “bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place” (Dan 9:24). To summarize, let’s identify some milestones in Week 70 (with no specific timeline):

The Certainty of Christ’s Return

Christ’s return to this earth is largely undisputed, even by institutionalized churches. Jesus said:

The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven … and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory … therefore … be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Mat 24.30,44)

The angels verified His statement. As the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven, two men (angels) clothed in white appeared and said:

Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus … will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven (Acts 1.11)

These are just two of some 1500 prophecies relating to the Second Coming of Christ. Contrast this with over 300 Old Testament prophecies that relate to Christ’s first coming, all of which were fulfilled, link. Surely, on these figures alone, the Second Coming of Christ is absolutely certain.

The Pretribulation View

Clearly, the whole of the final seven years appears to be a time of enhanced tribulation because the beast of Revelation 13:1 and the Antichrist of Revelation 13:11 will have just been revealed. Observation of today’s world suggests this short and traumatic period of earth’s history is imminent. So where do we place the rapture? Theologically, the rapture is usually described from the so-called Pretribulation, Midtribulation and Postribulation viewpoints, depending upon whether it is placed at the start, midway, or end of Daniel’s Week 70, respectively. The Postribulation view has many unresolved problems, link.

Although controversial, there is strong scriptural justification for placing the rapture at the start of Week 70 (Pretribulation view) – whenever that is. Consider the prophecy in Daniel 9:27. Here, the beast or “lawless one” (2 Thes 2:8) or world dictator signs a seven year (one “prophetic week”) covenant with Israel. But Israel’s rulers fail to see they are making a “covenant with Hell” (Isa 28:15), and the dictator breaks it “in the middle of the week” (Dan 9:27). Clearly, at some point just prior to the signing this despicable person must be revealed to the world. But that cannot happen until the Holy Spirit (and by implication the true church) has been “taken out of the way” (2 Thes 2:7).

Looked at another way, if believers see this revealing they would know that the return of Christ will be seven years from that revelation! But the “day or hour” of Christ’s return is not revealed. Clearly, this scenario aligns best with the Pretribulation viewpoint. Go deeper at “Timing of the Rapture”, link.

The Rapture

A key text used to support the rapture was written by Paul:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thes 4:16-17)

This doesn’t sound like a “secret coming”, as some claim. At least true believers, either alive or sleeping, will suddenly be aware of it! That said, it doesn’t sound as though Christ returns to the earth at this time either!

Life Before the Rapture

Normality: In Matthew 24:36-41 and Luke 17:26-37, Jesus implies that believers are working within a normal social environment alongside unbelievers when they are suddenly “taken”. As Jesus puts it, life in the world will be like Noah’s day, with pleasure seeking, marrying, buying and selling, and so on. And, as in Noah’s day, people today will be oblivious to, or skeptical of, the impending judgement of God. Also, it seems that up to the end of the so-called “Church age”, or “Age of grace”, believers will still be able to preach the gospel, albeit with increasing persecution (Mat 24:9-14) and a falling away from faith (2 Thes 2:3). And some believers will be “watching” the signs (Lk 21:34-36) whilst other believers, like foolish virgins (Mat 25:8-13), will be ignoring the signs.

Personal ID: In today’s hi-tech world each worker usually has an ID on some computer system. In China an 18 digit ID card is mandatory for all adults. If you work in Germany you need an 11 digit tax identification number (TIN). In Australia worker ID is via a person’s Tax File Number (TFN), and in the UK its via the National Insurance number and Government Gateway. In the last few years of this age no one will not be able to work without the ultimate ID – the mark of Revelation 13:17. But in Jesus example of Noah and workers in the field or at the mill, there is no suggestion of such a working restriction.

This pre-rapture scenario is not compatible with severe persecution under the Antichrist. So the Pretribulation view fits well here since, as discussed, it seems the rapture must occur before the revealing of the two beasts of Revelation 13 and their imposition of the mark. Either way, a totally cashless society would seem to be necessary before the introduction of the mark.

Life at the point of the Rapture – the ‘Taking Out’

By definition this is an essentially instantaneous event. Nevertheless, much happens at the instant of rapture:

Life after the Rapture: the Last Seven years of this Age

Here the Bible paints two distinct pictures, one good, one bad. Consider first the resurrected saints.

Rewards and the Marriage of the Lamb

What happens to the raptured and resurrected saints during Daniel’s 70th Week (2,520 days)? Is this the time of rewards for believers and then their marriage to the Lamb? Paul describes an often ignored but extremely important event:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or bad [that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives—the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities] (2 Cor 5:10, amplified)

Paul says a Christian’s service for the LORD will be judged to be like gold, silver, precious stones … OR, like wood, hay or straw (which can be “burnt up” (1 Cor 3:12-15). This is a time of reckoning for how a believer has spent their life (Rev 22:12). A believer should live remembering that what they have done will be judged. It is possible to have a saved soul and a wasted life!

The Lamb’s Wife: After their judgment the saints are clothed in fine linen, clean and bright, which denotes their “righteous acts” (Rev 19:7-8). According to these two verses the rewarded saints are now ready to be the Lamb’s wife, and it is these same saints, arrayed in fine white linen, who form the armies of heaven with Christ when He physically returns to earth (Rev 19:14). But who exactly are these saints? The Lamb’s wife is often taken to be the church and only the church, link. To quote James Dwight Pentecost:

The marriage of the Lamb is an event which evidently involves only Christ and the church … the resurrection of Israel and the Old Testament saints will not take place until the second advent of Christ. Revelation 20:4-6 makes it equally clear that the tribulation saints will not be resurrected until that time also.

The Supper: Dwight Pentecost distinguished between the marriage of the Lamb (which involves only the church and takes place in heaven), and the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is claimed the supper probably involves Old Testament saints, tribulation saints (Rev 20:4-6) and Israel and that it takes place on earth after Christ’s return, Dr J. Dwight Pentecost. Others see the marriage and the marriage supper both taking place in heaven, link, link.

What about those Left Behind?

As some secular books suggest, a Pretribulation view of the return of Christ for His church will probably result in a strange scenario on earth. As John Wesley commented, at the rapture some are left on earth ‘to share the common calamities’. In contrast, remember that Jesus promises the true Philadelphia-like church that she will be protected from the coming calamities:

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth (Rev 3:10)

This “hour of trial” occurs during the last seven years of the age and involves the whole earth. Some of the main features of this brief but terrible period are as follows:

Christ Returns to Earth

The most important event in Daniel’s Week 70 is the return of Christ to this earth at the very end of the seven years, after all the tribulations on earth:

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war (Rev 19:11)

Unlike the prior meeting of the saints in the clouds before these tribulations, Christ’s return to earth is dramatic and very public. All will see it, just as lightening flashes from east to west (Mat 24:27). Sun and moon will grow dark and there will be signs in the heavens (Mat 24:29). And, as promised in Acts 1:9-11, Christ’s return will be on clouds with great power and glory (Mat 24:30).

Prior to Christ’s return to earth, a trumpet sounds and the saints are gathered “from one end of heaven to the other” (Mat 24:31). This implies the raptured, immortalized, rewarded and ‘married’ saints (His bride) are called from their heavenly mansions (Jn 14:2) in order to return with Christ:

And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses (Rev 19:14). See also Jude 14-15 and 1 Thes 3:13.

As Paul puts it, “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col 3:4).

Note that Christ returns to “make war” on the beast and his armies. But in this strange and unique ‘man-God’ war victory is assured. The armies of the world are defeated and the beast and the false prophet (taken here as the Antichrist) are cast alive into the “lake of fire” (Rev 19:20). At the same time, after the seventh trumpet, Satan is bound for 1,000 years and earth commences her seventh millennium, this time under a theocracy not secular government. Jesus (Yeshua) reigns as King over the earth from Jerusalem (Zech 14:9). More at the Millennium.

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