by Brian Godawa
You might remember those victory feasts we mentioned earlier of eating Leviathan in the desert of Sinai (Psalm 74:14), birds consuming the enemies of Jesus in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelations 19:17-18), and Jeremiah’s slaughter (Jeremiah 7:33). Ezekiel’s prophecy has such a feast as well.
Ezekiel 39:17–18:
Thus says the Lord God: “Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan.’”
The birds would feast on Gog as a memorial of God’s destruction of his enemies. The valley would be a valley of death—in Israel. But notice that last word. The beasts being eaten would be “fat beasts of Bashan.” Bashan was a deeply significant spiritual location to the Canaanites and the Hebrews. As the DDD puts it, biblical geographical tradition agrees with the mythological and cultic data of the Canaanites of Ugarit that “the Bashan region, or a part of it, clearly represented ‘Hell’, the celestial and infernal abode of their deified dead kings,” i.e., the Rephaim.[144]
Mount Hermon was in Bashan, and Mount Hermon was a location in the Bible linked to the Rephaim and ruled over by Og (Joshua 12:1–5). But it was also the legendary location where the heavenly Sons of God were considered to have come to earth in rebellion before the Flood.[145]
The underworld connections just keep growing. But we’ll stop there and jump into the abyss of that underworld, which is the next cosmic geographical location: Sheol.
Sheol
Sheol was the Hebrew word for the underworld.[146] Though the Bible doesn’t contain any narratives of experiences in Sheol, it was nevertheless described as the abode of the dead that was below the earth. Sheol was sometimes used interchangeably with Abaddon as the place of destruction of the body (Proverbs 15:11; 27:20),[147] and the grave as a reference to the state of being dead and buried in the earth (Psalm 88:11; Isaiah 14:9-11). But it was also considered to be physically located beneath the earth.
When the sons of Korah were swallowed up by the earth for their rebellion against God, Numbers chapter 16 says that “they went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly” (v. 33). People would not “fall alive” into death or the grave and then perish if Sheol wasn’t a location. But they would die after they fell down into a location (Sheol) and the earth closed over them in that order.
The divine being (elohim), known as the departed spirit of Samuel, “came up out of the earth” for the witch of Endor’s necromancy with Saul (1 Samuel 28:13). This wasn’t a reference to a body coming out of a grave, but a spirit of the dead coming from the underworld beneath the earth.
When Isaiah writes about Sheol in Isaiah 14, he combines the notion of the physical location of the dead body in the earth (v. 11) with the location beneath the earth of the spirits of the dead (v. 9). It’s really a both/and proposition.
Isaiah 14:9, 11:
Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you…Your pomp is brought down to Sheol.
Here is a list of some verses that speak of Sheol geographically as an underworld habitation for spirits in contrast with heaven as an overworld habitation for spirits.
Amos 9:2:
“If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
Job 11:8 :
It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
Psalm 139:8:
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
Isaiah 7:11:
Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”
These are not mere references to the body in the grave but to locations of the spiritual soul as well. Sheol and heaven are a dichotomous totality of geographical opposites. As the above verses attest, they are shown in the Bible to be opposing locations. Sheol is a combined term that describes both the grave for the body and the underworld location of the departed souls of the dead.
In the New Testament, the word Hades is used for the underworld, which was the Greek equivalent of Sheol.[148] Jesus himself used the term Hades as the location of damned spirits in contrast with heaven as the location of redeemed spirits when he talked of Capernaum at the judgment, “And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades” (Matthew 11:23).
Hades/Sheol was also the location of all departed spirits in his parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Hades (Luke 16:19-31).
In the novel Jezebel: Harlot Queen of Israel, I tell the story of Anat going into Sheol to find her brother Baal, held hostage by Mot in his city of Death. There is no detailed depiction of Sheol in the Old Testament, and while the picture of the Greek Hades is commonly used in fiction, I chose instead to use the only Jewish picture of the underworld that I could find because it would be the closest Hebrew understanding to the Bible. Granted, it isn’t canonical but only an imaginative construction of a spiritual reality.
Though 1 Enoch is not Scripture, I have argued elsewhere for the high regard that the New Testament gives the ancient text as a source for some of its own theological concepts and language.[149] The revered ancient Jewish book consists of several “books” that recount an expanded version of the Genesis 6 story of the Watchers and Nephilim giants as well as visions the prophet Enoch allegedly experienced. In these visions, angels take Enoch around the earth, up into the heights of heaven, and down into the depths of Hades (which are actually arrived at by going to the “ends of the earth” rather than descending down into the earth). Unfortunately, these visions are obscure, overlapping, and at times contradictory, so scholars have disagreed over their interpretation as well as their actual cosmic geography. I have attempted to use my own reading of the text and to integrate it with several of these scholarly viewpoints that can be found analyzed in the book A Study of the Geography of 1 Enoch 17-19 by Kelley Coblentz Bautch.[150] Imagination is required!
Since Enoch’s “map” is cosmic, it includes Sheol/Hades as well as the heavens and the earth. But some scholars have argued that Enoch’s entire journey is to the realm of the dead.[151] So I decided to use the ancient Near Eastern (and Jewish) notion of “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) or “as above, so below,” to apply to the underworld as well. In this way, the geography of Hades is a reflection of the sacred geography of the earth above (“sacred geography” means that it doesn’t so much follow physical geography as it does theological meaning).
Since the underworld was believed by the Jews to be under the earth[152] and accessed by the waters of the Abyss,[153] which was the source of the waters above,[154] I have those waters work as a kind of sky in the dome of the underworld (though not in all places). The mountains below rise up from Hades to the earth above. So Mount Zion in Hades rises up and penetrates the ceiling of Hades and becomes Mount Zion on earth above them. This fulfills the ancient Near Eastern notion of the cosmic mountains being an axis mundi, a connection between the heavens, the earth and the underworld.[155]
The circle of Hades matches the circle of the earth above it and likewise has an ocean/river (the Great Sea or Abyss) at its outer reaches that extends beyond the “Four Winds” or “Four Corners” of the earth where the pillars of the earth support the heavens and the earth (1 Enoch 17:5; Proverbs 8:27, 29; 1 Samuel 2:8; Mark 13:27).[156]
In this conceptual map, Jerusalem, or Mount Zion, is at the center of the earth, and has “the accursed valley” (Gehenna) right next to it (Ezekiel 5:5, 38:12; 1 Enoch 26:1-2; 27:2).
North from that center resides Mount Hermon, the “rock” (mountain) upon which Jesus said God
would build his new kingdom church.[157] This mountain is described as “reaching to the heavens” and as being the celestial storehouse of the luminaries and storms (1 Enoch 17:3). Many rivers flow from it, including a river of fire and a river of “living waters” (17:4-8), and it is guarded by fiery beings who take human shape (17:1). This “source of the waters” is a reflection of the cosmic Mountain of Eden and its source of living waters (Ezekiel 28:13-14).[158]
In the south are seven mountains of precious stones arranged in a perpendicular layout. The central mountain burns with fire day and night and is called the “throne of God,” where God will come down at the final judgment. These elements suggest it is Mount Sinai (1 Enoch 24-25).
In the west are “wintery winds” and the “great darkness,” where another mountain hosts “hollow places” for the souls of all the dead. The righteous are separated from the sinners, much like the chasm separates the righteous in Abraham’s Bosom from the sinners in the parable of Lazarus. (Luke 16:19-26; 1 Enoch 17:6; 22:1-14).
In the east are “great beasts and birds” at the ends of the earth (1 Enoch 33:1). Tartarus is further “beyond the edge of the earth,” where the earth meets to uphold the vault of heaven (1 Enoch 18:10).[159] This is where the angels who sinned in Genesis 6 were kept imprisoned in gloomy darkness (2 Peter 2:4; 1 Peter 3:18-20). They were in deep pits or chasms that are like fiery pillars. (1 Enoch 18:10-16).
There is much more detail that can be quite confusing to follow, so I have included an illustrated map with some of the major elements adapted from Bautch and my own reading of 1Enoch.
Cosmic Mountains
In the novel Jezebel: Harlot Queen of Israel, several mountains become significant locations of divinity and play heavily into the spiritual storyline. They incarnate the notion of a cosmic mountain, or holy mountain, a location where heaven and earth are connected, where deities reside in temples or tents, and where the source waters of life often pour forth. This symbolic imagery has been carried through from the two series Chronicles of the Nephilim and Chronicles of the Apocalypse (paid links) because it is a key feature of the ancient worldview of cosmic geography.
The confrontation between Elijah and Jezebel’s prophets of Baal takes place on Mount Carmel, a holy mountain that Baalists had taken as booty from Israel earlier in history. They had torn down an altar of Yahweh that was originally there and replaced it with an altar to Baal. Yahweh took it back with fire from heaven.
Baal has his own cosmic Mount Saphon in the north where, according to the Baal epic, he built his palace after achieving priority among the gods. This actual mountain is in Syria, 180 miles north of Tyre.
Mount Hermon is known as the location where the Watchers fell to earth before the Flood, and it remained the location of their divine council or assembly of rebels to that day. In its foothills was the infamous “Gates of Hades” in the cave of Panias that led into the Abyss. Yes, those “Gates of Hades” that Jesus referred to.
When Elijah became bereft and lost his way spiritually, he journeyed to Mount Sinai, the holy mountain of Yahweh, where the Torah was delivered amidst the divine council of heavenly host. Jerusalem, the location of Yahweh’s temple, is referred to as Mount Zion, the new holy mountain that ultimately replaced Sinai as Yahweh’s abode.
Biblical scholar Richard Clifford explains the concept of holy mountains or cosmic mountains playing an important role in the religious thought of the ancient Near East, including Israel: “In this view, heaven and earth united were seen as a mountain. The base of the mountain was the earth and the peak was the top of the heavens. Thus the mountain was the central axis of the universe and was the connecting point between the different spheres.”[160]
The connections run deep between Canaanite and Israelite cosmic mountains. In Ugaritic mythology, the high god El lived in a tent on his holy mountain and counseled with his heavenly host, the seventy Sons of God.[161] At Sinai, Yahweh dwelt in a tent (tabernacle) at the foot of his holy mountain, where he counseled with his heavenly host and gave his decrees to the people (Deuteronomy 33:1-2; Psalm 68:15-17). In Hebrew, one of God’s names is El Shaddai, whose translation most likely means “God of the mountain.”[162] By the time of Solomon’s temple, the new location for Yahweh’s dwelling, Jerusalem, had become designated Mount Zion, the holy mountain “in the heights of the north” (Psalm 48:1-2). I’ll explain what “heights of the north” (sapon) means below. But for now, notice that this new holy mountain of Zion is poetically linked to Eden, described as “the holy mountain” in Ezekiel 28:13-16. God’s presence is linked to mountains from Eden to Sinai to Zion, just as pagan deities claimed mountains as their own.
In fact, one could say that the Bible records a battle of cosmic mountains between Yahweh and others like Baal. Certain scriptures point toward God taking over the enemy’s mountain as his own and building his city of victory upon it.
One element of Baal’s reign was his mountain abode of Mount Saphon (various spellings include Zaphon, Sapan, Sapon). A plethora of Ugaritic texts link Baal with his “divine mountain, Saphon/Sapan.”[163] He is said to be buried there[164] in his sanctuary[165] on the mountain of victory.[166]
In Isaiah 14:13, Isaiah mocks the arrogance of the king of Babylon by likening him to another mythological figure, Athtar, who sought to take Baal’s throne and failed “on the mountain of assembly on the summit of Zaphon [Sapan].”[167]
In the Bible, this Mount Zaphon of Baal is subverted by Israel’s holy Mount Zion.
Psalm 48:1–2:
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north [zaphon], the city of the great King.
In this scripture the holy Mount Zion is described as being in “the far north,” the very location of Baal’s Mount Saphon (Zaphon), but not in fact the actual location of Israel’s Mount Zion. So “the far north” is a theological, not a geographical designation of Zion replacing Saphon as the divine mountain par excellence.[168]
But God’s battle over mountains is far from complete. He also speaks about Mount Hermon, known as “mountain of Bashan,” as being a target for conquering. The region of Bashan was translated as “place of the serpent,” the area where Og of Bashan ruled, the last of the Rephaim, those warriors connected to the underworld.[169] Mount Hermon of Bashan was the location where the Watchers came to earth and made their evil covenant in their diabolical divine assembly.
The origin story of the Watchers is partially revealed in Genesis 6:1-4, where the angelic Sons of God came to earth before the Flood. They mated with humans in violation of God’s heavenly and earthly divide. This is one of the reasons why God sent the Flood and imprisoned those beings in Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4-5; Jude 6).
Genesis 6:1–3
1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
I’ve given extensive biblical and historical evidence for this supernatural angelic incursion and its evil results in my book When Giants Were Upon the Earth (paid link), so I will save room here. What I want to point out is that Genesis doesn’t tell us where these Sons of God (aka Watchers) came down to earth. But there is an ancient book that does. This is the writings of 1 Enoch, a non-canonical Jewish text that expands on Genesis 6.
I also argued in my Giants book that 1 Enoch is not Scripture, but it was quoted and paraphrased in the New Testament books of 1 John, Jude, 2 Peter, and others,[170] so it certainly deserves the respect that the historic Christian church had given it until the modern era.
In it, we read of the Genesis 6 “sons of God,” called “sons of heaven” in 1 Enoch, making a covenant with one another to come to earth and “choose wives for themselves from among the daughters of men” to beget children, just like Genesis 6 says. Here’s how it happens.
1 Enoch 6:3-6:
3
And Semyaz, being their leader, said unto them, “I fear that perhaps you will not consent that this deed should be done, and I alone will become (responsible) for this great sin.” 4 But they all responded to him, “Let us all swear an oath and bind everyone among us by a curse not to abandon this suggestion but to do the deed.” 5 Then they all swore together and bound one another by (the curse). 6 And they were altogether two hundred; and they descended into ʾArdos, which is the summit of Hermon. And they called the mount Armon, for they swore and bound one another by a curse.[171]
1 Enoch is called the Book of the Watchers, and these “angels” in this passage are elsewhere called “Watchers of heaven who have abandoned the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women” (1 Enoch 12:4).[172] Of course there are many aspects to discuss about this story. But for our purposes here, notice that these fallen Watchers swear an oath of covenant in their assembly on the mountain, like a diabolical inversion of Yahweh’s sworn covenant with Israel on Mount Sinai. Hermon became their “mount of assembly,” from which they invaded the earth (1 Enoch 13:7).
An enigmatic Greek inscription from the third century A.D. found at the peak of Mount Hermon coincides quite eerily with this Watcher oath. It reads, “According to the command of the greatest and holy God, those who take an oath proceed from here.”[173]
From primeval days, Mount Hermon was Ground Zero, the headquarters of rebellion against Yahweh, the original evil cosmic mountain. And that mountain was located in Bashan, “land of the serpent,” residence of the last of the Rephaim monsters who defied Yahweh as well. That cosmic mountain of Bashan, known as Mount Hermon, would become the symbolic mountain of power that Yahweh would ultimately defeat and own. He said so in Psalm 68.
Psalm 68:15–22:
15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
