There are four longitudinal zones that comprise of the land of Israel. These zones run from North to South while each have an adjacent neighboring region. All four are distinct and unique from one another laterally and in elevation. Each has its own separate attributes in the composition of Israel overall. The climates among these zones range from temperate and fertile to arid, dry and barren. To highlight further differences, the topographical contour, environmental severity and scarcity of water beyond the Hill country are especially pronounced. Furthermore, among all zones within a relatively small area, Israel consists of forests, plains, valleys, mountains, hills, deserts, canyons and seacoasts. Including a large river running the length of the deep Rift Valley.
The Coastal Plain region is rich in agriculture and it provides merchants port access to the Mediterranean Sea. The Hill Country to the East of the Coastal zone serves as a watershed as it rises in elevation all the way to the edge of the Rift Valley. Still Eastward, the 10-mile wide Rift Valley below is a very large trench that extends up and down the full length of Israel. Finally, the rough and arid Transjordan Plateau is a desert high above the Rift Valley that runs contiguous with the Arabian Desert for hundreds of miles to the East.
Given the geographical variation within the area, together these zones represent a synergy of topography and natural resources. Such that their whole is greater than the sum of their parts. Largely because each together contributes to social suitability, sustenance, commerce and defense of the country in a way that suggests that the land is intentionally and providentially crafted. Each zone does not operate or exist as a free-standing entity all its own. The country as it is formed appears assembled and situated this way for a specific purpose (Ezekiel 5:5). The Holy Land is a region where Israel is strategically positioned on the world stage.
Modern and historical rationale about why the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is preferred over the Garden Tomb appears to rest upon the type of tomb Jesus’s body was placed. While the first-century era in which the Jewish dead were traditionally buried differs from those during the first temple period (1200-586 BC), there are clear structural distinctions between the two.
The Garden Tomb is dated within the first temple period as referenced between the 9th and 7th centuries BC. By historical photographic record and visual observation, the interior of this tomb consists of a small collection area reserved for bone collection of the Jewish dead. Whereas it is suggested that the Garden Tomb bed platform is reused by the deceased while the bones of prior corpses in decay become co-mingled in an adjacent container location. Moreover, this tomb is atypical of first-century tombs by the absence of burial niches (kukhin/kokim) or arch covered burial platforms (arcosolium) hewed into a tomb wall.
The tomb of the Holy Sepulcher is of a first-century burial tradition. That is, it consists of a number of burial niches and platforms within a cave environment. That after a period of one year of corpse decay, the bones of the dead became collected and placed into an ossuary or osteophagi for separation and portability of an individual’s remains.
As a comparison between the tomb descriptions of Lazarus and Joseph of Arimathea, there is a commonality in scripture from the root Greek language of biblical text. The personal tomb reference of risen Lazarus given in John 11:38 is mnēmeion or mnēmeiou to indicate a memorial chamber sense of meaning. That is, a burial chamber constructed and marked for a person’s remembrance. The tomb of Joseph of Arimathea is given the same term in scripture (Matt 27:60, John 19:41) to indicate the type of a new tomb he constructed in a garden. Matthew 27:60 explicitly reads among various English translations that Joseph made the tomb for himself.
In reference to Luke 23:55, the same account uses the term mnēmeion as ‘tomb’ to describe how Jesus’s body was laid. Two verses prior to that in Luke 23:53, the Greek term for tomb changes to mnēma having a burial chamber sense of meaning. Different than mnēmeion which is a memorial chamber sense of meaning. Where mnēma in scripture appears closer in meaning to a sepulcher in use as a gravesite.
The Babylonian Talmud (Baba Metsia 85b; Baba Batra 58a) references this type of tomb as either ‘rock-hewn’ or a ‘natural cave’ translated to the term ‘Mearta’. Mearta translated to English is grotto. The term grotto in English is defined as a small picturesque cave, especially an artificial one in a park or garden. Furthermore, by the first-century tradition, a kukhin (kokhim), or arcosolium hewed into the wall of a Mearta suggests a more plausible account of where Jesus was interred. It is, therefore, reasoned this type of structure found in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher adds further credibility and confidence about where Jesus was buried and rose from the dead.
To summarize, comparative scriptural references and historical records both point to the tomb of Jesus as a first-century sepulcher. As through the centuries, it is recognized why the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the preferred burial location of Jesus.
As one may conclude that Joseph of Arimathea constructed the tomb of Jesus according to first-century tradition or practices, the Garden Tomb is a wonderful and meaningful pilgrimage location for fellowship and remembrance of our LORD and King.
Jericho is among the oldest cities in the world and the first city conquered as referenced in the Old Testament. [1] As written in the book of Joshua (Joshua 6:1-27), the city was destroyed by fire with the slaughter of all its inhabitants. Jericho is referred to as the city of palm trees [2] and its place-name means “moon.” [3] In Genesis 13:10 the plains of Jericho within the south Jordan River valley are characterized as a well-watered garden. [4]
Old Testament Jericho The site of OT Jericho is largely today subdued by erosion. Through exposure to wind and rain over the years, its location is pitted and marred by abrasion and environmental wear. While the surface area of OT Jericho is worn at its exterior due to stresses, substantial historical records were buried for discovery to reveal details about the city’s construction and layout. Specifically, records pertaining to burn sites, pottery, dwellings, and wall construction.
Two key areas of interest with OT Jericho pertain to its destruction and the account of Joshua’s scouts involving Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute resident of Jericho. With extensive archaeological research, to verify the historical validity of these biblical accounts, Jericho’s historical background is buried beneath modern-day Tel es-Sultan. Whereas the specifics about timing and method of destruction are well documented and made public by John Garstang (1930-1936), Bryant G. Wood (1990) and others.
The biblical account of Jericho’s felled wall is clearly articulated in Joshua 6:20. To validate the biblical record, historical and archaeological evidence was collected and analyzed to recognize the ceramic type in that biblical era along with the erosion and fire damage that ceramic evidence underwent.
Long after the city was burned in a fire by Joshua’s men, there were jug containers excavated from within the city. Those jugs contained grain with further archaeological evidence of fire damage. With Garstang’s discovery of fallen mud bricks from inside of the city and the presence of scorched surfaces throughout the area, the historicity of the biblical account was verified. Decades later, Bryant Wood’s successful refutation of radiocarbon-14 dating of burned grain found within the containers at Jericho resolves questions, doubt, and controversy about the timeline of the attack in the historical record. [5] The inside-outward fallen brick wall of Jericho is not just legend, but historical fact as proven by archaeological evidence across various research studies. [6]
It appears that the capstone message associated with OT Jericho is the curse that is proclaimed upon it by Joshua. Specifically, that the one who again builds or fortifies Jericho shall experience the loss of his offspring. As thereafter confirmed and fulfilled in scripture (1 Kings 16:34), Hiel of Bethel in his defiance loses all his children while building Jericho several hundred years after its destruction. The subsequent curse that fell upon him revealed the oath proclaimed by Joshua and the Israelites before the LORD (Joshua 6:26).
New Testament Jericho A separate nearby Jericho site sometimes referred to as Herodian Jericho, underwent further development with the construction of palaces, complex buildings, swimming pools, a hippodrome, a theater and possibly a gymnasium. The area supported numerous residential dwellings during the second temple period. [7] Well after the events of OT Jericho, further biblical narratives are recorded with miracles performed by Jesus while He spent time traveling there during His ministry. [8]
While numerous New Testament Jericho locations remain in place, modern construction and dwellings prevent research or archaeological excavations.
Modern Jericho From post-biblical Jericho through the Crusader era up to about the 1940’s, Jericho was a village of less development and notoriety. Undeveloped through hundreds of years whereas at the turn of the 20th century it was sparsely populated with mud huts. A sort of Holy Land ghetto as described by Dr. Olin who says it was the “meanest and foulest of Palestine.” [9]
In contrast to earlier decades of mud huts, today the city is rich in produce as supported by a powerful spring in the area. Jericho is on the West Bank of the Jordan river within Israel and it is populated with Palestinian peoples and a few Jewish settlements at its outskirts. The area is 80-85% Sunni Muslim [10] occupied while the city is widely irrigated for agricultural purposes. There is significant trade and tourism in the area to support Holy Land visitors from among many nations throughout the globe.
[1] Collins Thesaurus of the Bible, A. Colin Day, Region, M Place Names Beginning J, M3a Jericho, the Place, 184 [2] Deuteronomy 34:3 [3] Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Jericho [4] The Holman Christian Standard Bible, Genesis 13:10 annotated [5] “Digging up Jericho”, Kathleen M., Kenyon (1952-1958) London: Ernest Benn, 1957 [6] Carbon 14 Dating at Jericho, Bryant G. Wood, Ph.D., “Conquest of Canaan”, 08/07/2008 https://biblearchaeology.org/research/conquest-of-canaan/4051-carbon-14-dating-at-jericho [7] Netzer, Ehud, “Jericho, Tulul Abu El-‘Alayiq, Excavation Until 1951.” New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land 2 (1993): 682–83 [8] Matthew 20:29, Mark 10:46, Luke 10:30-37, Luke 18:35, Luke 19:1 [9] Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Jericho, https://biblehub.com/topical/j/jericho.htm [10] CIA World Factbook, West Bank, Jericho. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html
Along Israel’s coastal plain, adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, there is an ancient geological route formation from Egypt to Mesopotamia. A route through the Fertile Crescent and into Iraq between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers far to the North East of Israel. Placed along this route is a road recognized and entitled the “Via Maris.” The etymology of the Via Maris name comes from Latin as the “way of the sea.” This interpretation appears in both the Old and New Testament rendering of the prophecy concerning the LORD’s arrival and ministry (Isaiah 9:1, Matthew 4:15).
But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
Isaiah 9:1-2
As the LORD has centered the nation of Israel upon the earth, one could surmise that He has shaped the land through natural processes over time. To position the arrival of His ministry from Galilee, where people become subject to His redemptive plan. From where “the light which will shine upon them” appears between the Mediterranean Sea and beyond the Jordan River. Through the entire length of the Israeli coast along the Via Maris, the King’s Highway, and the Ridge Route. Written in scripture, the LORD’s message and glory goes forward as the light that shines in the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2 NKJV).
What Israel gains in terms of wealth and power through the Via Maris route and topography, the LORD’s purposes prevail. While we recognize the Via Maris as having economic and defense advantages, Israel can collect tariffs, conduct trade, and accept tribute from its citizens and visitors. Routes are controlled to direct traffic and regulate supply for military campaigns in its defense along the Via Maris.
So, it would appear under the new covenant, the strategic placement of the Via Maris is outward going and not only a source for wealth and power Israel’s prosperity and security. It is for the LORD’s purposes in support of His redemptive mission.
The Via Maris is a strategic route of geocentric convergence among nations. For His chosen people within Israel, along the Way of the Sea and outward. Beyond the Jordan by the Via Maris to the gentiles. The coming and going of people centered around the gospel and the LORD’s mission, beginning in His ministry with His Apostles.
In terms of our LORD’s mission, there are highly essential outcomes as necessary for the kingdom of God’s arrival and His redemptive work on earth. The biblical worldview of the fall of man coincides with the presence of rebellion and evil as the enemies of Yahweh and the cause of Christ. Now and before the resurrection of Christ, there is a spiritual condition upon humanity that is hostile to our Creator and His interests. People are enslaved to their sin as they live out their lives in the presence of spiritual beings that seek or contribute to their eternal demise. Not only to destroy the human soul wherever it resides but to also maintain an affront to God and His purposes.
On Mount Hermon, Jesus, our LORD transformed into a glorified state of being as recorded in Matthew 17:1-8. In His full radiant glory, His Apostles Peter, James, and John witnessed His newly formed presence as a temporary transformation while in the company of Moses and Elijah, who returned from their place in the kingdom of heaven. Both were previously deceased yet returned before Jesus’ resurrection to appear with Him on Mount Hermon in the territory of Bashan.
Geography
According to Deuteronomy 3:9, Mount Hermon is also called Mount Sirion by the Sidonians, and Mount Senir by the Amorites also referred to as Baal-Hermon (Judges 3:3, 1 Chronicles 5:23). Topographically, it is 9,232 feet above sea level in altitude and 13 miles long.1 The mountain rests at satellite coordinates 35.86 longitude and 33.42 latitude (33° 24′ 58.182″ N 35° 51′ 25.294″ E). Its base and slopes range at approximately 38.6 square miles with a limestone, sandstone, volcanic rock, and alkali basalt composition. Populated with fir trees (Ezekiel 27:5) and oaks in the surrounding Bashan area (Ezekiel 27:6), Mount Hermon is sparsely forested. The vegetation and ecology of Mount Hermon mainly consist of emmer wheat as a food staple native to the Fertile Crescent. The physical shape and contour of the mountain are carved by natural processes including tectonic movement and erosion.
Climate & Seasonality
Mount Hermon gets as much as five feet of snow each year at its upper elevations. Overall precipitation from dew, rain, and snow, is a source of water at the foot of the mountain and to the Jordan river further South. Rainfall on Mount Hermon averages about 53 inches per year, with the highest precipitation in January and February with an average of about 119 rainy days throughout the year. Daily average temperatures range from a Winter seasonal low of about 28°F to a high of 71°F in the Summer.
Regional Significance
The history of Bashan and its upper reaches of Mount Hermon is replete with cultic paganism. Where for centuries, from just before the New Testament era, the number of shrines to pagan deities or false gods is many. Excavations carried out over decades in support of archaeological research have yielded evidence of pagan worship and service.2 Artifacts, temples, pottery, coinage, pillars, capitals, altars, idol figures, and inscriptions appear in both elaborate and primitive structures on Mount Hermon.
During the Old Testament era, the territory of Bashan had a cultural reputation as the “Gates of Hell” or unholy ground. It was where the deified and dead kings of Canaan were made to dwell.3 The linguistic root of the word the land of the Rephaim is from the Ugaritic language. Pronounced and spelled “Bathan.” As eventually recognized by direct inference, Bashan, or “place of the serpent.” 4
With the separation of Samaria and Judah, many people deserted Yahweh from Samaria and began to worship false gods at the high places. Recorded in numerous areas within the Old Testament and given by example with King Ahaz (2 Kings 16:4). There were numerous others among the divided kingdoms who participated in idol worship or who tolerated that activity from within the population in general. Over time and with the comingling of Roman deity worship of Zeus and Pan in the area, it became a cesspit of worship and service to false gods.
Spiritual Significance
Because the sons of God and their demonic offspring crave worship and service of the flesh, Israel sacrificed to the demons which inhabited the idols they formed.5 As written in Deut 32:17, the demons among the elohim were worshiped and served. They were understood and recognized as “gods”, as written in Hebrew “elohim.” They were spiritual entities that were demons or “sedim” / “shedim” who became the perverse objects of their worship, bargaining, and prayers. Idolatry was not the worship of other “gods” as often mistranslated but of elohim, which does refer to spiritual beings including demons or devils translated in Deut 32:17 and elsewhere. The mindset of the biblical idolaters recognized that the gods were shedim. Those placed over the nations as elaborated further along in this written work.
Methodology & Extra-Biblical Corroboration
This effort is to thread a fabric of spiritual meaning across both the Old and New Testaments. Broadly to bring together biblical confidence about the punctuated significance of the transfiguration on Mount Hermon. As a stitching of events, or linear sequence across time, to demonstrate that the LORD’s mission was to permanently reclaim the nations and overcome spiritual darkness in a way that was striking and epic.
Along with various layman, scholarly, and historical texts in support of research, the Apocryphal books of Enoch (Aramaic) were referenced to obtain further traditional and historical information. More specifically, the Enochian books were discovered among the Dead Sea scrolls (cave 4 fragments).6
Old Testament Sequence of Events
To outline a series of events to highlight biblical and extra-biblical support for what had occurred on Mount Hermon, the reader will begin to recognize the more profound spiritual significance of what took place. The biblical back story of events that led up to the transfiguration of Hermon further serves as a body of historical evidence and archaeological discoveries that match ancient written work.
The mission and purpose of Jesus’ ministry are both conquest and liberation. First, a conquest against spiritual forces of darkness, and second liberation from those forces, sin and its consequences. The long and wide view of scripture provides the context for what Christ accomplished on Mount Hermon. This walkthrough begins with a story familiar to first-century scripture readers and biblical writers. In 1 Enoch 6-16, the 200 sons of God, often referred to as the Watchers, meet on Mount Hermon to make a pact. A curse-laden pact about their desire to marry human women and produce offspring of their own. It was here that offspring became giants within the Canaanite region of the Old Testament era. These were an abomination upon the Earth, and they were of a defiled bloodline(1 Enoch 15:1-12). Eventually, because of their lineage as corrupted and fallen angels, offspring giants formed as demonic spirits as they were killed or died out.7
Referenced in historical Mesopotamian texts as the Apkallu,8 the sons of God became understood as Watchers (Gen 6:1-7, Daniel 4). Corrupted by their consummation of human women. They were condemned and destroyed in the flood that Noah and his sons were delivered from. As prescribed by God, the biblical flood wiped out the demonic bloodline to include mankind. Their presence intermingled with humanity posed a significant strain on those who were image bearers of Yahweh. The Nephilim, the Rephaim, the Amorites, and others were of the sons of God who chose flesh over heaven in the presence of the Most-High Elohim. The offspring of the sons of God (Watchers, Apkallu), eventually began to devour men in their effort to sustain themselves.9 In a profound way, these physical beings of spiritual darkness wronged mankind (1 Enoch 10:12-15).
Once humanity recovered from the flood that wiped out nearly all living beings as written in Genesis 7, Noah and his family began fresh to set about a new life and populate their area with new peoples and tribes. Eventually, these descendants built a high skyward tower within the town of Babel as recorded within scripture (Gen 11:7-9). A tower of insolence that became an object of destruction from God whereby He scattered the people of the land and distributed them elsewhere to distant regions with new languages and cultures. God disinherits the nations and allocates them to the “sons of God” (Deut 32:8-9). The judgment of the LORD to scatter people from Babel preceded His covenant declaration with Abraham and his descendants. Yahweh seals a covenant with Abraham for him to become the Father of Israel. The LORD promises to build a nation from Abraham as His portion among the nations (Gen 12:3) governed by the sons of God.
Wholly corrupted were the peoples as given to the nations and the “sons of God” who ruled over them. The spiritually false gods behind the idols, altars, and Asherim, the people would eventually come to worship them for millennia. With the population growth of Israel and their enslavement to Pharaoh, the plagues of Egypt became directed at the “gods of Egypt” (Ex 12:12, Num 33:4). Moreover, it was Moses who, in scripture, proclaimed that Yahweh is above all other gods (Ex 15:11).
As the LORD led Israel out of captivity from Egypt and the “son of God” who it was allocated to, Joshua, the benefactor of Moses, set out to decimate the nations corrupted mainly by the sons of God. To include Og, the king of Bashan and ruler over Mount Hermon, who was a Rephaim descendant as described in Joshua 12:4-5. The Rephaim were giants along with the Nephilim who were offspring of the “sons of God,” princes of old, or Watchers as the accursed and fallen angels written about in Daniel 4:13-18 and Genesis 6:1-7.
While Bashan was recognized as the gateway to the underworld, more specifically, Canaanite hell, the lands outside of Israel belonged to other “gods” (elohim). Israel as a whole is the LORD’s territory as holy ground just as Israel was the LORD’s inheritance (Deut 4:19-20, 1 Sam 26:17-19). To demonstrate this point, the commander of the Syrian Army (Naaman) asked Elijah for dirt from Israel to carry back to his home because he recognized the one and true holy ground. Naaman wanted the holy ground to take back with him to worship Yahweh. The ground by which his people worshiped the god Rimmon was not holy ground (2 Kings 5:15-19).
It was these sons of the Most-High in His congregation who came under judgment for their injustice among nations as written in Psalm 82. They were the bulls of Bashan in the unseen realm, which, as prophesied, surrounded the messiah during his crucifixion (Ps 22:12). They were of the 200 corrupted sons of God on Bashan. The watchers, or the same stock and origin as described in Daniel 4:23.
Biblically, the dead Rephaim are understood to live in the underworld (Job 26:5-6, Ps 88:10, Prov. 21:16, Is. 14:9-15). These spirits of the dead are referred to as “repaim” in the Hebrew language or “rpum” in Ugaritic. Where both are the root of the Rephaim spirits of dead giants. 10,11 The same giants that Joshua conquered from Bashan and outward throughout Canaan. Where Yahweh conquers the demonic stronghold among nations starting in Bashan at Mount Hermon (“from on high”; Ps 68:18, Eph 4:8). A reference caparison to Jesus’ ascent to “a high mountain” in Matthew 17:1.
New Testament Sequence of Events
In numerous places throughout the gospels, Jesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man” (Mt 8:20, Mk 13:26, Lk 17:30, Jn 3:13). To call attention to the fact He wasn’t of those who were born of mixed blood from a corrupted and hybrid lineage. More specifically, through His virgin birth, He was not of a corrupted bloodline from what the sons of God did long before His arrival.
Along the course of Jesus’ ministry, He arrives at the foot of Mount Hermon within Bashan. It is there that Jesus informs Peter that the “Gates of Hell” shall not prevail against him. He was the rock on which the LORD will build His church (Mt 16:17-18). The literal sense of “Gates of Hell” was spoken here because they were in Caesarea Philippi of Northern Bashan. Both Mount Hermon and Bashan had a reputation for being an exceptionally evil place.
Upon Mount Hermon, Jesus takes His apostles Peter, James, and John into the wilderness. Before them, He becomes transformed in appearance to His glorified state. His transformation on Mount Hermon right at the heart of enemy territory was no longer of purely His flesh, but of this glorified body. It was there that in the presence of the Apostles, while with Moses and Elijah, He plunges an eternal stake into the domain of the corrupted. He has reclaimed the nations, and the Kingdom of God has arrived right on Mount Hermon. To press into Gentile areas and eventually flood the Earth with His Spirit.
East of the Jordan, into Gentile territory, Jesus and His apostles make further incursions into enemy territory (Matt 17:14, Mk 5:1). Only this time within the physical space that the LORD commands and now wholly owns according to His divine and sovereign plan. Specifically, in East Galilee, they encounter a Demoniac who was dwelling in Bashan, the abode of the dead and territory of evil spirits. It was there that the Legion of demons who possessed the ravaged man specifically said, “What have you do with us, Son of the Most-High God” (Mk 5:7)? His presence within enemy territory (the unholy ground), brought the Demoniac to Him. Whereby Legion was cast out into a herd of swine upon their appeal.
In contrast and by geological relevance, the man in the Capernaum synagogue possessed by multiple demons addressed the Messiah as “Jesus of Nazareth (Mk 1:24).” A distinction from the “Son of the Most-High God” (Mark 5:7) as compared to the demoniac from Gerasene in Gentile territory. That was a location “governed” by an entity now on notice that it has lost its territory. It was the difference between holy ground and unholy ground, or by who in the spiritual realm-controlled areas around Israel. Both locations in near proximity having this activity further suggest the area was demonically loaded, or more active with evil spiritual beings.
In due course, the LORD makes His way to Jerusalem, where He knows He will die to fulfill His mission. One could speculate that it was from the transfiguration on Mount Herman that the meeting with Moses and Elijah confirmed His mission and what was about to occur. In the presence of Father Yahweh on Mount Hermon, Jesus had just removed the sons of God’s control and ownership of nations outside Israel.
Shortly thereafter in Jerusalem, Jesus was tried and crucified. A King not of this world, He was tortured and put to death. With the oblivious, evil, and unseen bulls of Bashan surrounding Him, His mission was finished. In their bloodthirst, they had no idea what had occurred and what was shortly to befall them. The spotless lamb was crucified to provide a path for humanity to become reconciled to Yahweh. The old covenant was abolished, the law was fulfilled, and a new covenant was set in place.
Upon the death of Jesus, He descends into Hades (1 Peter 3:19) to proclaim to the non-human spirits in prison12 that He was alive and that now all of heaven and the underworld were subjected to Him. He had overcome death and the kingdom of God was reclaimed. Death in the underworld could not hold Him.
Jesus, the long-awaited messiah, resurrected from the dead.
So that all nations of men made of one blood (Acts 17:26-27) would seek the LORD and that they would find Him. As it is written in scripture, had the princes of this world, rulers of this age or the sons of God understood the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice and the wisdom of God, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:1-8). The powers of darkness, those of the corrupt sons of God, were put to open shame (Col 2:15 ESV).
The gentiles who were in captivity are now eligible and ushered into the Kingdom of God through repentance and faith. Until their fullness has come (Rm 11:25), the Holy Spirit moves among us as the wind blows where it wishes (Jn 3:8). Beginning at the transfiguration on Mount Hermon in Bashan, within enemy territory, the sons of God were overthrown and no longer had dominion over the gentiles. The kingdom of God has come with the great commission of Jesus, our LORD. With Jesus’ mission to overcome darkness and humanity’s enslavement to sin, the table is now set. The field was now cultivated for harvest. Without any fitting claim coming from the corrupt sons of God. The bulls of Bashan, their demonic offspring, the Apkallu, or the so-called Watchers have no further place among people and, more specifically, within the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Conclusion
The whole area of Bashan, which hosts the upper reaches of Mount Hermon, is symbolic of this world that dwells in darkness. Amid the daily lives of biblical figures, there were profoundly evil entities that were spiritually active toward the deception and destruction of people and the nations in which they reside. While according to Paul, there are spiritual forces of darkness present even today (Eph 6:12), we have the triumph of Christ over these rulers and powers as the Kingdom of God is now upon us. The nations have been reclaimed for the LORD’s kingdom. Beginning with the transfiguration on Mount Hermon that took place leading to the death, burial, resurrection, and coronation of the Lord and King, Jesus our Messiah.
Citations
___________________________________ 1 Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, Walter Elwell, Anson F. Rainey 2 Settlements and Cult Sites on Mount Hermon, Israel: Ituraean Culture in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, Shimon Dar, Israel Exploration Journal Vol. 47, No. ¾ (1997), Zvi Uri Ma’oz, pp. 279-283 3 Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Eerdmans, G. Del Olmo Lete, 161 4 The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, Lexham Press, Michael Heiser, 200 5 Ibid., Unseen Realm, Heiser, 35 6 Reversing Hermon: Enoch, The Watchers & the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ, Defender Publishing, Michael Heiser, 112-113 7 1 Enoch: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Minneapolis Fortress Press, George W.E. Nickelsburg, 267 8 Reversing Hermon: Enoch, The Watchers & the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ, Defender Publishing, Michael Heiser, 38-43 9 Ibid, Reversing Hermon, Heiser, 29 10 The Origin of Evil Spirits, Wright; The Waters Traditions in Enoch 6-16: “The Fall of Angels and the Rise of Demons”, The Watchers in Jewish and Christian Traditions, Kevin Sullivan (ed. Angela Harkins, Kelly Bautch, John Endres, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2014), 91-103 11]Dreamy Angels and Demonic Giants: The Watchers Traditions and the Origin of Evil in Early Christian Demonology”, The Watchers in Jewish and Christian Traditions, Silviu N. Bunta, (ed. Angela Harkins, Kelly Bautch, John Endres, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2014), 116-138 12 Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Eerdmans, G. Del Olmo Lete, 161-162
