Anunnaki
This was brought to my attention and is typical of the sort of attacks that Christianity is under where the Old Testament is used in a “bait and switch” to cast doubt and confusion and drive a wedge between the testaments. The problem is that many Christians are ignorant of scriptures or only have a superficial knowledge of the texts and are easily swayed by those who are willing to conflate mythology and distort the texts for their own ends. There is a reason why they are trying so hard to destroy Christianity.
Anunnaki Ancient Mystery
This video refers to Zecharia Sitchin the author of several books proposing an explanation for human origins involving ancient astronauts. Sitchin attributed the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he stated was a race of extraterrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune called Nibiru. The Anunnaki are the Sumerian gods discovered on the clay tablets of libraries excavated at locations like Nineveh. The Bible story is said to depend on these older myths. Ironically, Nineveh and its prophesied Biblical destruction were thought to be exaggerated or fictitious until the ruins were discovered and subsequently excavated by Austin Henry Layard in 1846 and 1847. Now those very same texts are used to demonstrate Biblical dependence (sic). We might ask what the most likely direction of influence and/or corruption is? Myths always grow by accretion and become more epic in the telling, moreover they suffer from assimilation and syncretism. The further back in the past the historical event lies, the more likely that this has occurred.
Dating ancient flood narratives is often a complex and multidisciplinary task. The techniques employed are linguistic analysis (syntax language development), historical context, cultural references, archaeological evidence, comparative mythology, radiocarbon dating (papyrus), documentary evidence (cross-references), oral tradition and folklore and carbon dating of geological evidence (sediment layers). There are many flood myths even among the Greeks, Indians and Chinese but concentrating on the Mesopotamian myths we arrive at the following agreed upon dating.
The Sumerian Flood Story – c. 2100 BCE or earlier. One of the oldest known flood narratives, possibly dating back to around 2100 BCE or even earlier. Atrahasis Epic – c. 18th century BCE. This is an Akkadian text that is believed to have been composed in the 18th century BCE, although it draws on older Sumerian sources. Epic of Gilgamesh – c. 18th century BCE. The standard Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh that contains the flood story is dated to the 18th century BCE. Ziusudra (Sumerian) – c. 19th-17th century BCE. Ziusudra is the Sumerian equivalent of Noah. The story of Ziusudra is considered one of the earliest known flood narratives.
The multitude of cross-cultural myths is evidence that something catastrophic happened and the scientific evidence points to a Heinrich-Bond event with rapid changes to the jet stream and glacial melt probably occurring approximately 6,000 years ago which (if correct) is some 2,000 years before the oldest flood accounts appeared. This allows plenty of time for the account to be mythologised and to become an epic tale. The biblical account of the Great Flood is found in the book of Genesis, which is generally believed to have been written down during the Babylonian exile in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is thought to be the most recent but that is based on several false assumptions the first one being the early date assigned to Genesis. We know that Genesis predates the exile and was known to the prophets etc before 700 BC. Of course, that is nowhere near the 2000 BC date of the Mesopotamian accounts but the appearance of the other ANE myths occurred around the same time slot as the Exodus from Egypt which coincided with the development of the alphabet. Unlike clay, papyrus documents leave very little trace ,compounded by the Jewish custom to destroy old scrolls when new copies were made. The Genesis account has the least mythological elements giving us dimensions, time periods and the landing place of the ark on Ararat which happens to be located very near to the oldest vineyards in the world giving credence to the story that Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk (lolz). There is no reason (except academic bias) that the Genesis account cannot be earlier than the other myths. They probably developed independently from one another based on cultural memories and oral traditions.
The video makes the false equivalency that the Sumerian Anunnaki = Elohim and the basic error of employing the Book of Enoch (a late pseudepigrapha) to demonstrate that the offspring of the Anunnaki are the “sons of God”. Using the book of Enoch written at the very least a millennia after Genesis to explain the “sons of God” is like using one of Isaac Asimov’s books to interpret Scripture. (lolz). The video (@7.45) states that all the terms are translated as God (not true), as the KJV translates Yahweh as LORD and Elohim as GOD
Whatever explanation is offered, must consider that men and rulers are also referred to as Elohim in Scripture, so the delineation is at times ambiguous (Exodus 7:1; 21:6; 22:8,9,28; 23:20,21; Psalms 58:1(?); 97:7; 138:11; 1 Samuel 2:25; 28:13). I find myself in agreement with Michael Heiser [i]
Our Terminology IS NOT Adequate to Describe the God of the Bible (5 min)
Note the famous shema of Deut 6:4 (שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד)- Hear O Israel The LORD our God is one LORD (KJV) or, Literally: Hear O Israel, Yahweh our Elohim (’ĕ·lō·hê·nū) is one (echad) Yahweh and compare Zechariah 14:9; And the LORD (Yahweh) shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one (echad) LORD (Yahweh), and his name one (echad).
Moreover, just like Elohim the phrase “Sons of God” is also used to describe humans (and angels) adding to the ambiguity. The nation of Israel is described as God’s son (Hos.11:1). In fact, Solomon is called the “Son of God” and the account has intertextual parallels pointing back to the apostacy in Genesis 6:4 which I demonstrate in this article Solomon as the Son of God . Moreover, the reference to “giants” in Genesis is literally “mortals of the name” or as some translations render it “men of renown” which are the “demi-gods” legendary hero figures of antiquity like Nimrod who established the city-states and hunted before Yahweh and is called a “mighty (גִּבֹּ֖ר gibbor) one.” For example, although the Egyptians recognized that the pharaoh was human and subject to human weakness, they simultaneously viewed him as a god, because the divine power of kingship was incarnated in him. He therefore acted as intermediary between Egypt’s people and the gods. Many ancient Mesopotamian kings viewed themselves as living gods.
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:8-10)
Another classic error (@ @8.45) is a failure to distinguish between names and titles. El Elyon (Most High God) is not a name it is a title or epithet. Like calling someone a CEO or King of Kings. They are not names. in contrast with Yahweh (YHWH) which is a NAME. And the situation is further complicated by the concept of agency in which Yahweh places his name and authority in an angel (Exod 23:21) or in a human (cf. the king). The nation of Israel was told at Sinai that collectively they were meant to bear the Yahweh name and not take it in vain. The Hebrew word for “take,” nasa, means to bear or carry. God’s name had been placed upon the Israelites (Num 6:27), enter Jesus, whose name means Yahweh saves. He is one who fulfills the name bearing at which Israel (chosen to be a holy nation) so miserably failed. In fact, Jesus is able to use the name shown to Moses in Exodus 3:14 expressed in the Greek Septuagint as I AM [ii] when Jesus declares, Before Abraham was I AM” (John 8:58) this is a reference to manifesting the Yahweh name (not a reference to pre-existent equivalence) as the blind man is also able to manifest the I AM through being a recipient of healing power: Jesus answered, Neither hath this [blind] man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest (phaneroo) in him (John 9:3)….Some said, This is he [the blind man]: others said, He is like him: but he [the blind man] said, I AM (John 9:9). So, Jesus bears the Yahweh name and manifests him, which is why he can say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:9). Jesus becomes the name bearer:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name (Philippians 2:9).
The assertion that either Jesus or the NT is somehow confused about “which of the gods (plural) is his Father (lolz) is utter nonsense. As to the other assertion (@ 15 mins) that Abraham only knew God under the title El Shaddy but not under the Yahweh name, it is also based on a fundamental misunderstanding of Exodus 6:3: “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH (Yahweh) was I not known to them. ” The context as demonstrated in my article El Shaddy is that the epithet is linked to blessing and fecundity [iii] and the irony is that it was the very fulfillment (Exodus 1:7) of the promise inherit in the title that caused the Egyptian genocide. The crux interpretum is the word “known” which is about revelation. It is about experiencing the full implication and meaning of the name and character. Abraham had a glimpse at the place he called Yahweh-Yireh (יהוה יראה) or Yahweh will be seen when he “saw the place afar off” [iv]– “Your father Abraham rejoiced [v] to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). However, the full implications of Yahweh manifesting himself as saviour was the Passover Exodus (Gen 15:13-14) and then later in history the Passover crucifixion of Jesus (Yah saves) when the full revelation of the name is made known.
The video is full of errors suggesting that the Elohistic (E) and Yahwistic (J) accounts of the flood denote different gods such as the Mesopotamian gods Enlil (destroyer) and Enki (the saviour). Not only is the Wellhausen Documentary hypothesis of differing sources (E, J and P) increasingly being rejected by many scholars (in favour of a holistic approach) but the theology of the Old Testament (and New) rejects the notion of dualism found in much of of the ANE mythology and religions (such as Zoroastrian). As the prophet says; “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7 ). There is not a God who brings good and a different God who brings evil circumstances. God both kills and makes alive; “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39). This was even recognized by Job in all his misery: ” And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).
Furthermore, syncretism of proto-Indo-European “father gods” such as Dyauspitar the Ṛigvedic sky deity which is cognate with the Greek Διας – Zeus Patēr and the Latin Jupiter and the Proto-Italic djous “day, sky” and patēr “father”, thus “sky father” Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove of ancient Rome is an expected cross cultural evolution but the Semetic tetragmaton (YHWH) is semantically a verb that is treated as a noun. Unlike the cosmogony of the pagan gods the Hebrew has a unique existential meaning and teleological projection and is therefore not derivative.
Conclusion
At one point the video states; Actually it is necessary to highlight here a great confusion is Jesus the Messiah or not is Jesus’ Father Yahweh or not? We can have different interpretations and different readings as well as different theological explanations for this. But invariably, the truth is only one, even though we may not be able to fully grasp it…. the fact that we do not have access to the truth…
The only person who is confused is the producer of the video. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Cor 14:33). Moreover, we have direct access to the truth, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:16) and a promise to guide us into all truth and show us things to come (John 16:13). The video states that such knowledge is unobtainable, it is too far too high that it cannot be reached, which is contrary to the apostle Paul who says the opposite in Romans 10:6-8 that it is not too high or unobtainable. The video producer then levels the petulant accusation that “They (the gods???) blame our humanity for terrible and sinful acts” (Really? Time for you to wake up and smell the coffee boyo. Take a look around). Man rebelled against God and is still in opposition to him with the Homo Deus transhumanist project. He continues by lamenting that “God is all powerful and we should fear him” (however the transhumanist and neo-Bolsheviks use fear as a programming tool). I would rather fear the Lord than fear man. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom (Psalm 111:10, Prov 1:7) but not the end of Wisdom for perfect love rules out fear; There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us (1 John 4:18-19). He ends the video by saying that he thinks we are divine, and he talks about “illumination of the darkness of ignorance” a sure sign that he is a gnostic (one with hidden knowledge that we do not have). No, you are not illuminated, you walk in darkness (like the blind man in John 9//darkness Ps 82) and although you are gods in your own mind, you will die like Adam (Jesus quoting Ps 82 at the Sanhedrin “gods” in John 10).
Notes
[i] Although I disagree with Michael Heiser on his interpretation of Psalm 82:5-8:
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men (adam), and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. (Psalm 82:5-8)
The question is whether Psalm 82 is talking about gods or men. Michael Heiser would argue for the Elohim here being gods, but gods are immortal and these elohim are threatened to die like men or more specifically to die like Adam, having failed the test as he did. Or — more precisely — having sought for higher position than God permitted. The reference to “arise” is to the resurrection because Hezekiah recovered from his mortal illness on the third day and addressed the council (the Sanhedrin or 70 Elohim). They had rebelled and attempted to usurp power during his illness and the Assyrian siege. They attempted to betray him and cut a deal with Sennacherib. The prince Shebna was cast out (cf. Isaiah 22). The parallels between the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 (King Hezekiah) and Christ are obvious. Christ quotes this Psalm when challenged about his status by the Sanhedrin refer to my article Psalm 82 in the Fourth Gospel. And further reading, see my analysis of Heiser’s critiques in the article Sons of God
[ii] Ego eimi (Ἐγώ εἰμι) is the transliteration of the LXX Greek in Exodus 3:14. The name of God expresses a past, present, and future tense. As such God is the ground of all being (I AM) but Yahweh is also constantly manifesting who he will be (WILL BE) the one who was, is and will be. On this see God Manifestation
[iii] The Stark Trek greeting “Live Long and Prosper” is based on making the Shin sign (the letter- Sh ש in Hebrew) with the hand the first syllable of Sh-addy in the El Shaddy rabbinical blessing.
[iv] Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off (Genesis 22:4).
[v] The name of his son Isaac (that he was told to sacrifice) means laughter or rejoicing.