Alternate Reality- a different point of view

[Mr E]

Hello from the other side….

When viewed from different perspectives, a Diamond reflects many hues— a spectrum only seen by examining individual facets.

-- This is a contrarian view of everything. Well, almost everything that folks may already have their hearts set upon. If you are one of those folks who- once they have their heart set upon something, they can't ever let go of it, then this thread probably isn't for you. To get much of anything out of it, you'll have to set aside some of your previously held beliefs at least momentarily to consider this alternative perspective. If you can't do that, or simply won't agree to do that, then please-- do us both a favor and pass on by this one. Or stay and listen if you like... You might find it at least interesting, or mildly amusing-- if so, stay awhile.... lean in. --But if it just upsets you... riles you up? Please take your case up somewhere else. I'm open to questions or comments, but if you want to argue a point, please start a separate thread in which to do so and that side discussion can take place there, where you can present your ideas or your displeasure with mine. Clear enough?

So what exactly is this thread about? It's a contrarian perspective to be sure-- you won't find these ideas somewhere else on the forum and I've never encountered similar thoughts at a church, or from any teacher, or anywhere on the Internet. It's just what is given to me to share with whosoever will lend me an ear. One can never have too many ears. Every doorpost can use one in the service of the Great King. So Friends... Romans... Countrymen.....

I'll likely spin out a separate thread for one specific topic that might otherwise be contained within this overarching theme, -and that would be devoted specifically to "what it all means." "What it's all for... or about." We'll get to it when we get to it, but it will be dedicated to a contrarian view of the gospel.... the good news at the end of the rainbow. But that will come later.

First we have to start closer to the start and also deal with this whole Moses issue that hangs like a cloud around a tent. -And it's this history of histories that Moses gave us that we will start with. This thread is built around one single premise. You either believe it, or you don't. You either accept it.... or you don't. There is no middle ground. If you believe it and can accept it- wonderful. Let's go forward from there. If you don't.... if you can't.... if you won't.... then there is no basis (notice I didn't say axiom) for understanding from which to begin and this conversation will be futile, so again.... please continue on your way and take your reasons for not accepting the premise elsewhere.

The premise:

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

So that is right where we're going to start. Understanding that. --To be fair, it's more about what precedes that statement in John, but you have to understand this truth before you can begin to consider what precedes it-- which is:

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

We'll get to that.

This, more than anything else is the telling of a story. The never-ending story. If you will consider it, it's the story of man... and his fall, -and all that has become of us and where we are now and what happens next. Revisiting that premise above, if no one (no man) has seen God at any time, what can be said of Moses? Where did he get his ideas and instruction?

Do you like stories? This is a story. Pay close attention to the introduction…. Catch a new angle on the fall of man.

 

[Adam]

No one has seen God at any time

Exodus 33
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

Here is a good question: why does anyone who sees God's face die? Did Jesus see God's face? If you can imagine the two of them standing face to face, who do you suppose Jesus saw looking back at him?

 

[Mr E]

Back to the premise.... and what precedes it there in John 1

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He (the only begotten God) has explained Him (the Father).


--Do you see that? The Word became flesh and dwelt among us... BUT no one (no man, no flesh) has seen God at any time. The begotten (son) has explained Him (the Father). What we know of the Father we know from the son. This is expounded elsewhere concerning the word of the Father that came to dwell in man... the begotten son of God dwelling within the son of man.

“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.


But to the point.... The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus the Christ.

Grace and truth through Moses? Nope. Sin and death were realized through Moses and the Law. Romans 7 is the definitive passage in the New Testament concerning the Law where it says:

-You also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

Joined to another.... so first you were joined to one father through the Law, tying you to punishment and death, but through him who was raised from the dead you realized grace and truth and are joined to another Father through Christ- the Word begotten of the Father.

Paul says there in Romans 7-- that sin became alive when the commandment came and though it was given by God to result in life, in reality it resulted in death. Paul writes-- Sin -which takes an opportunity through the commandment deceived him, and through it killed him.

I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

We could spend a day and highlight everything Paul says regarding the Law and what it produced, but what Satan intended for evil, God intended for good, and it wasn't the first time, as was seen in the story of Joseph...

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

—Then 430 years later it was a different scene…

 

[Mr E]

Exodus 33
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

Here is a good question: why does anyone who sees God's face die? Did Jesus see God's face? If you can imagine the two of them standing face to face, who do you suppose Jesus saw looking back at him?

The obvious answer might not follow your logic.

God is spirit. God is not flesh.

So Moses, or any other man alive didn’t and doesn’t see God in the flesh, but always and only in spirit. When Moses talked with God, face to face it was only because Moses was present in spirit, not that God was present in the flesh.

When you look in a mirror — who do you see?

You don’t see your “self” rather you only see your image. You see a reflection of yourself and nothing of what makes you your self.

In spirit, as he taught…. Jesus saw God as his Father.

 

[Mr E]

I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter. The more I know, the less I understand. All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again.

I think it's about... forgiveness


These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
And people filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us,
You know it doesn't keep me warm

I've been trying to get down to the Heart of the Matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinking about forgiveness

 

[Mr E]

Is it then, a contradiction? We read elsewhere in scripture that Moses met 'face to face' with God in the tent, on the mountain.... How can both be true? How did they meet face to face and yet 'no man can see God and live' and 'no man has ever seen God?'

I won't labor the point. Moses didn't see God "in the tent," "on the mountain, or "in the flesh." The Father is invisible and no man has seen Him. What we know of Him is through what we are told of Him by His begotten son who proceeds from the Father-- the word, or son of God, made flesh within a son of man. So Moses doesn't sit down with God-- God is revealed to him when the word from the Father comes to him.

How does it come to him? Only one way through out all of scripture. The invisible Father is revealed by the word made flesh... Immanuel, God with us.

The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

A seed conceived in soil. Once established, it grows, but then there's a story of an enemy who plants bad seed in that same soil and weed and seed grow alongside one another to maturity. One is from our Father in heaven and it is good. One is from the enemy and it is not good. It's fruit is thorns and thistles that choke out the good. One springs forth Life and produces good fruit from the law our Father has written on our hearts, and one leads to death and is fed by commandments of the Law that produce sin. So there is the good law that is spiritual from our Father above, and there is another Law that through Moses produced sin, line by line, statute upon statute. One law from above for the inner man that sets him free apart from that other law which was for the flesh that imprisons that inner man.

For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Romans 7

 

[Mr E]

So I do cut Moses some slack….

He meets God in spirit. As in a dream. It's an inner voice. And there are competing inner voices, the Father above, and a deceiver. The father of lies.

And he has to make sense of it all. He has to figure it out and choose. No man can serve two masters, and these voices? They aren't in his head. They aren't imaginary. They are imaged

 

[Mr E]

No man can serve two masters.
So you either serve the law that came through Moses or you serve grace and truth that came through Jesus.
One brings forth death, the other brings forth life.

You either serve the law that came through Moses, or you serve the law that came directly from the Father through His word. --his only begotten. One came from Life and the other leads to death.

 

[Mr E]

When the word of God came to Jesus in spirit he immediately was taken out into the desert wilderness, to the highest point on the temple and to the top of a mountain where he was tempted by Satan. Offered all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his service to a false father.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,
SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.


Do you think Moses may have been tempted by such a Deceiver? Do you think he wasn't?

-There are two fathers, one from above, one fallen below. Two sets of laws, one says no copies, no other gods and the other says... make a copy of everything and I'll make you as God before Pharaoh, before Aaron and before the people of Israel.

 

[St. SteVen]

... devoted specifically to "what it all means." "What it's all for... or about."

What if the Hokey Pokey - IS - what it's all about?

 

[Mr E]

What does it mean to be fallen? What does that even mean-- to fall into sin?

People speak about it, but I'm not sure that they really think about it. They speak of human nature and/or our sinful nature and they use these terms almost interchangeably. Through out scripture as well.

You have a perfect Father (spirit) and his begotten offspring is also spirit, as is his mother-- spirit, if you can accept that concept... if there is anything resembling a trinity- that's it. Spirit, spirit, spirit. The image (reflection) of this relationship from a human standpoint is a Father, a Mother and their offspring-- the physical, a representation of the spiritual reality. Human, human, human.

When the spiritual "falls" into sin the perfect is made imperfect "by nature." The spiritual nature 'descends' to the lower realm and takes on physical flesh- the human/sinful nature. You might think of this in a way similar to how you 'dwell' in a house and that's how scripture paints it. You- are a (physical) house, a tent, a temple, a container, a vessel--- for the spiritual (inner) nature and as Jesus emphasized-- there is a whole realm-- the kingdom of heaven- within us.

Those who are sent to descend by the Father, do so in service to those who have already fallen. They go in love. In obedience-- and at great cost and great risk to themselves because many who descend are imprisoned, beaten, abused, ignored, mocked, ill-treated, and are otherwise unwelcome 'in your house' finding no room, no hospitality and no tolerance for another 'voice' (word from the Father) inside of you because there is already someone living there and that one has set themselves up as Lord of you- Lord of the house, that is you.

A person (human) is born. The seed of the Father is breathed into him/her and they become alive and so begins their human journey, their human experience-- their living soul which becomes the record of that existence. When they physically die-- those spirits sent to minister (bond-servants who pinned their ears to a human doorpost) return to the Father where those record (human soul/experience) books are opened and that spirit gives account. These stories are told in parable form in the gospel accounts and elsewhere:

Gen 28
He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

John 1
Jesus said- “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Rev 20
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

 

[Adam]

When the word of God came to Jesus in spirit he immediately was taken out into the desert wilderness, to the highest point on the temple and to the top of a mountain where he was tempted by Satan. Offered all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his service to a false father.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,
SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.


Do you think Moses may have been tempted by such a Deceiver? Do you think he wasn't?

-There are two fathers, one from above, one fallen below. Two sets of laws, one says no copies, no other gods and the other says... make a copy of everything and I'll make you as God before Pharaoh, before Aaron and before the people of Israel.

I have wondered, since Jesus was a man, did he physically see Satan and speak directly to him? Or did he feel temptation first, and thereby recognize Satan's implicit but unseen presence?

If Satan is the lord of the flesh, the lord of worldliness, and if your assertion is true, that Moses mistook spiritual things for physical things, then it would seem that Moses had indeed been deceived. Enough, at least, for the devil to attempt to make a case against him.

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

 

[Mr E]

I have wondered, since Jesus was a man, did he physically see Satan and speak directly to him? Or did he feel temptation first, and thereby recognize Satan's implicit but unseen presence?

If Satan is the lord of the flesh, the lord of worldliness, and if your assertion is true, that Moses mistook spiritual things for physical things, then it would seem that Moses had indeed been deceived. Enough, at least, for the devil to attempt to make a case against him.

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

If you want to understand the voice of the deceiver- look for the reflection and the fruit of it. No- Moses (a man) saw what he saw (in spirit) and tried his best to make sense of it. But his 'go-to-guy' was not the Father, but the father-in-law who Moses listened to, doing everything he suggested.

Consider this... you have a dream/vision/spiritual encounter-- I don't care what you want to call it. Do you immediately understand what you saw/experienced? Maybe you think you did. Maybe you don't really, or don't quite... maybe it's confusing to you.... certainly it's at least that. So you go to someone you trust or respect-- to someone you think has wisdom and insight and that can help you understand what it is you saw. So you tell them. You tell them everything that the Father above communicated to you through the spirit (messenger) sent to you-- And this other voice-- in this case the voice of the Midianite Priest- your father-in-law interprets everything you tell him, for you and his advice is directly contradictory to what you were previously told by the Father above... the father-in-law says-- I'm going to help you son... every step of the way. Here's what God is telling you.... You will be like Him. You will be as God. Everything you saw (in spirit) we will duplicate on earth and it will be on earth as it is in heaven and you will stand as the image of Him

Have you ever heard a promise like that made in scripture? Only right from the beginning. Moses is deceived, simply by the fact that he doesn't know he is being deceived.... lead astray. You don't think so? He was given 40 years to think about it.

 

[Mr E]

There is a very important principle to understand. It's actually a key to understanding in that once employed it unlocks what otherwise is seen only in shadow. It brings to light things long hidden.

It's simple by nature and that is actually part of the key.

When you read in scripture of spiritual things (seen in spirit) you have to consider them for what they are... that is, what they represent by association because that is how your human mind renders spiritual things. It is the way we understand "invisible" things (spiritual concepts) by associating those invisible things as qualities, or attributes of what is seen in spirit with physical things that are more familiar to us. The most common example of this is to render those spiritual concepts as animal forms. You can accept this truth or not, but if you can accept it you will take hold of this key.

In spirit Jesus (the man) is depicted as a lamb. He is not a lamb, but a man-- yet the attributes associated with a sacrificial lamb are then associated with him. We see a snake in the garden. We don't have to wonder if the scene is descriptive of something spiritual- it's the only way it makes sense is to consider it in this light... the attributes of a snake are universally accepted to be slinky, sneaky, deceptive, dangerous, poisonous, silver-tongued and so on. These physical attributes are used descriptively to describe not something that is physical, but something spiritual.

So let's go back a minute to Moses.

The things he sees in spirit he now is trying to duplicate exactly in a physical sense, because that is what he's being told he should do. So in spirit he sees such as that sacrificial lamb, or bull or goat or dove and he doesn't consider the spiritual attributes of such things at all, rather what does he do? He actually builds an altar to sacrifice lambs and bulls and goats, and doves. It isn't that he was deceived in what he saw... it's that he was deceived in trying to copy what he saw in the heavens.... the very thing that God told him never to do. But that's what Moses did. And that's how they ended up with this entire sacrificial system of physical burnt offerings and blood soaked rituals that God says He never, ever desired-- they violate His simple instructions. It was error and the fruit of that error became evident when Christ came and it was carefully explained that what had happened through Moses and the Law was never the Father's intent.

 

[Wrangler]

No man can serve two masters.
So you either serve the law that came through Moses or you serve grace and truth that came through Jesus.
One brings forth death, the other brings forth life.

You either serve the law that came through Moses, or you serve the law that came directly from the Father through His word. --his only begotten. One came from Life and the other leads to death.

Hmmm. The law is not the master; it serves the master. And the master changed the law, replacing the old with a new and better covenant.

My church began a new series on this 2 weeks ago. People who believe the law is still in place are misguided. Love them anyway.

 

[Wrangler]

So let's go back a minute to Moses.

The things he sees in spirit he now is trying to duplicate exactly in a physical sense, because that is what he's being told he should do. So in spirit he sees such as that sacrificial lamb, or bull or goat or dove and he doesn't consider the spiritual attributes of such things at all

Ouch! While one is going through the ritual, they are supposed to be considering the spiritual attributes of such things. This explains why Moses wrote the Sh'ma, leading into the final 2 verses of chapter 6:

And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. 25 For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.’​

So, only when we consider the spiritual attributes of such things, only when we have an emotion-based personal relationship with him of love and awe (fear) will we:
1. Continue to be blessed
2. Life be preserved.

Powerful stuff.

 

[Mr E]

Ouch! While one is going through the ritual, they are supposed to be considering the spiritual attributes of such things. This explains why Moses wrote the Sh'ma, leading into the final 2 verses of chapter 6:

And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. 25 For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.’​

So, only when we consider the spiritual attributes of such things, only when we have an emotion-based personal relationship with him of love and awe (fear) will we:
1. Continue to be blessed
2. Life be preserved.

Powerful stuff.

David began to understand.... Ps 40

Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

Hosea 6

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Explained clearly in Hebrews 10- as the understanding came into better focus over time, as Jesus taught what he knew of the Father.

 

[Adam]

Here's what God is telling you.... You will be like Him. You will be as God. Everything you saw (in spirit) we will duplicate on earth and it will be on earth as it is in heaven and you will stand as the image of Him

Have you ever heard a promise like that made in scripture? Only right from the beginning.

Oddly enough, there is another place

John 10:34
“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”

 

[Mr E]

Oddly enough, there is another place

John 10:34
“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”

Interesting, isn't it?

Did they understand what he was saying to them?

If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken), do you say about the one whom the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform the deeds of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may come to know and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

 

[Mr E]

Can you imagine seeing something in a vision, -in spirit, -in a dream and then determining that what you saw should be literally interpreted? Things seen in these ways must be understood in proper context or they will not be understood at all, rather they will be misunderstood as was the case with Moses that produced forty years of wilderness wandering, the book of Moses' laws that serve as an example of what not to do and how not to do it, and ultimately left Moses and an entire generation (save two) short of the goal line. Much worse than that, it produced an entire religious system called Judaism that rejected their very own messiah in exchange for that book of laws which over centuries in turn produced a multitude of additional laws spawned from experts in laws- among them our lowest class of miscreants-- lawyers, politicians and religious leaders.

Well, you don't have to imagine such a scenario. You can read about it. Here is the dream-

“You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. “The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. “You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

And Daniel interpreted it for the King- but listen closely to how Daniel describes and acknowledges that King-- Daniel says that the King was made ruler and Lord over all the earthly kingdom...

“You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.

That interpretation led to his promotion in that kingdom... but what then did the King do? Even after acknowledging that Daniel's God was the God of gods and the Lord of kings... “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.