Judgment in the Bible and Egypt compared

Koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Visiting Professor

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

19 December 2011

            By the time we are ready to analyze the concept of Judgment among the Egyptians, the 18^th dynasty and later is our source. What does this mean for biblical studies? It means this: by 1450 BCE, when the Exodus took place, Israelites or Hebrews lived in Egypt by the millions, for 430 years, thus, since 1880 BCE. Inculturation is a anthropological-sociological term that means one culture fused with another culture and the culture does not remain virgin or pure but becomes hybrid. Evidence for inculturation may also be the many papyri of the Book of the Dead. Hebrew concepts of Judgment, as we find it in biblical theology as a whole, in a systematic theological sense from the content of the bible, is that phrases and functions and other ideas were borrowed, applied, conformed, adapted for Egyptian gods and their politics in the underworld.

           There is a difference though and that is that the Egyptian concept or theology of Judgment was cyclic whereas the biblical concept is linear. It was supposed to happen in chronological order as the future periods arrive. The investigative judgment in the Bible was not to start until Daniel 8:14 period 2300 years came to an end. If one has the starting point, one knows that date. Since 457 BCE in the days of Ezra is that starting point, therefore 1844 is the start of the investigative judgment in heaven with Christ our High-priest as advocate on our behalf (Daniel 7 with the Son of Man before the Ancient of Days).

           The investigative judgment is going to end and a Time of Trouble will start according to Daniel 12:1. The Second Coming will happen at the end of this period. Christ will give the rewards to the saints, namely resurrect whoever is dead by that time. They are going to heaven to reign as judges and kings for 1000 years confirming the correct and just decision of God in the investigative judgment. Then after this period there is an executive judgment or hell (Revelation 20:14). It is when Satan, the origin of all evil, is finally destroyed, that a new creation takes place and there is a new heaven and new earth. Eternity is then totally actualized (Revelation 21:1).

           Egyptian theology of the 18^th dynasty and since was also loaded with judgment concepts. Every day, at sunset the sun dies. Ra, the sun then goes over the red horizon, his blood, into the dark night through 12 gates. Every hour there is a gate. At 6pm is the first gate. Ra enters a boat and sails on the Tuat or “in-between” Nile. There is of course also a heavenly Nile of which this Tuat Nile is sandwiched between the earthly Nile and Heavenly Nile. Our source for the Egyptian theology is E. A. Wallis Budge, The gods of the Egyptians or studies in Egyptian mythology Volume 1 (London: Methuen & Co., 1904), 179-204. One has to be careful of the biblical concepts of E. Budge, since his methodology lacks the reality of Hebrew presence in Egypt over a very long period and secondly, the presence of Hebrews in Assyria and Babylon for nearly 250-300 years. We have found evidence of their presence at Warka or Erech and also at Elephantine in Egypt. We argue that there are more evidence, if we are willing to investigate properly. Denying this reality is not proper methodology since it makes the Hebrews always borrowing from Egypt or Babylon but never Egypt or Babylon borrowing from Hebrews. This is an anomaly in anthropological terms and does not match what we learn analogia entis from Jewish presence in New York.

           The valley where Ra and his boat enters every night has a valley on the left and a valley on the lift. There are all kinds of demons, gods, monsters, snakes which need to be controlled during the night in order to successfully arrives at the exit after the 12^th hour or 12^th gate at 5am.

           When Ra arrives at the 5^th gate or the 5^th hour of the night at 10pm, there are 12 men with cords in their hands that are asked to measure. On the other side of the boat on that valley are 12 other men with ladders in their hands and a long serpent that they hold in their hands. They are asked by Horus to measure with the ladders the souls of those appointed to destruction. This measuring represents investigative judgment.

           Ra then arrives at the 6^th hour or 6^th gate of the night which is probably 11pm. During this hour an investigative judgment with scales takes place before Osiris the judge.

“In the papyri of the XVIIIth Dynasty we have representations

of the weighing of the heart of the deceased in the Great

Balance, which takes place in the presence of the Great Company

of the gods, who act as judges, and who pass the sentence of doom,

that must be ratified by Osiris, according to the report of the god

Thothwho acts as scribe and secretary to the gods. The Egyptian

hoped that his heart would exactly counterbalance the feather,

symbolic of Maat or the Law, and neither wished nor expected it

to outweigh it, for he detested performing works of supererogation.

The act of weighing was carefully watched by Anubis the god of

the dead, whose duty was to cast to the Eater of the Dead the

hearts which failed to balance the feather exactly; and by the

guardian angel of the deceased, on behalf of the deceased; and by

a dog-headed ape, who was seated on the top of the pillar, and who

supported himself upon the bracket on which was balanced the

beam of the Great Scales. This ape was the associate and companion

of the god Thoth, and he was supposed to be skilled in the

art of computation, and in the science of numbers, and in the

measurement of time; his duty at the weighing of the heart was

to scrutinize the pointer of the scales, and, having made sure that

the beam of the scales was exactly level, i.e., that the heart and

the feather exactly counterbalanced each other, to report the fact

to Thoth, so that he in turn might make his report to the gods on

the case under consideration. The ape seated on the pillar of the

Scales belongs to a species which is now only found in the Sudan,

but which in late predynastic or in early dynastic times might

have been found all over Egypt” (Budge 1904: 20-21).

When 12pm arrives, the judgment is done and punishment is ready to be applied. When Ra goes through the 7^th gate at the 7^th hour of the night, he is exactly across the earthly Nile below, exactly over Egypt. We remember that the night of the Exodus event, the angel came to struck the firstborn of Egypt: “Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:29). It was also at 12pm that the judgment is in progress. It had a superstitious meaning for the Egyptians. They knew it was a serious event.

           Between the 8^th hour and 9^th hour, thus between 1am-2am, Ra witness the executive judgment. There is a big lake of fire with 16 humans in it. Four are taking a bath, four are floating, four are swimming and four are diving. On the bank of the river is an enormous serpent or snake Kheti, which blows fire in the faces of the enemies of Osiris. One of the four beings pulling the boat of Ra says: “let there be praise to the soul of Ra in heaven . . .the heaven is made new by his soul and the earth is made new by his body” (Budge 1904). The doctrine of recreation was to follow the extermination by fire.

           Between 2am-3am, the 9^th hour or gate of the night, Ra confronts his great enemy the snake Apep. All the gods and figures are involved in capturing the snakes and chain them or control them. The snakes walk on legs. From Genesis 3 we learned that the snake had wings and legs to walk originally since the punishment that the Lord gave the snake is that it will sail on its belly. That means, before this time it had legs. The logic also did not escape the Rabbis and Ellen White in Patriarchs and Prophets also saw it.

           It is especially between 3am and 4am at gates 10-11 that one can see the chained snakes. The gods are holding the snakes captive.

           When Ra arrives at the 12^th gate at the 12^th hour, he is held up by Nu the primeval water and is born anew or recreated.

Errata:

On the diagram the executive judgment is not between 12pm-1am but between 1am-2am. One should correct the handwritten entry by myself.