I was thinking of the study that Ray did on the word “lake” in the lake of fire which I found so inspiring when I first read it. (which can be found here:
http://bible-truths.com/lake12.html)
In meditating and contemplating that nugget of truth I was inspired to do a search on the internet about the Sea of Galilee which is also called the Lake of Gennesaret. Here are some interesting tidbits I found:
- It's Israel's largest freshwater lake (Fresh water contains low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. It is an important renewable resource, necessary for the survival of most terrestrial organisms, and required by humans for drinking )
- The name may originate from the Hebrew word kinnor ("harp" or "lyre") in view of the shape of the lake
- The Kinneret is fed by underground springs, but its main source is the Jordan River, (baptism?)which flows through it from north to south
- The lake is situated deep in the Jordan Great Rift Valley, the valley caused by the separation of the African and Arabian Plates (though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalms 23:4)
- Consequently the area is subject to earthquakes and, in the past, volcanic activity (Does this sound like Revelation?)
- Due to its low-lying position in the rift valley, surrounded by hills, the sea is prone to sudden violent storms
- It is still noted, as in New Testament times, for its rich fish stocks
- Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee
- The Synoptic gospels of Mark (1:14-20), Matthew (4:18-22), and Luke (5:1-11) describe how Jesus recruited four of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee: the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James
- One of Jesus' famous teaching episodes, the Sermon on the Mount, was given on a hill overlooking the lake
- Many of his miracles were also recorded to occur here: his walking on water, calming a storm, feeding five thousand people (in Tabgha), and many others
- In the time of the Byzantine Empire, the lake's significance in Jesus' life made it a major destination for Christian pilgrims
- A key attraction is the site where the Kinneret's water flows into the Jordan River. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to be (re-)baptized there every year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_GalileeIt really is just so amazing how every detail of the scriptures holds more treasures, truths and pieces of the puzzle.
The Sea of Galilee is the physical type and shadow of the spiritual lake of fire. Notice “many of Jesus' miracles were also recorded here”. Try telling that to a eternal hell believer...that Jesus performs miracles at the “Lake of Fire”...that He can indeed calm that sea! That it is full of fish (humanity) and Jesus calls his Chosen to be “fishers of men”! And it's not a saltwater body of sea, but a freshwater lake which is “an important renewable resource necessary for survival”. How cool is that!
And it's shaped like a “harp” which King David was famous for playing!
Psalms 33:2
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!1 Samuel 16:16
Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.
I thought this was so cool and just wanted to share.
Below is a beautiful synopsis by Ray of this link between the Sea of Galilee and The Lake of Fire:
From Ray's paper:
http://bible-truths.com/lake12.htmlONLY GOD IS THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA
Various nations in the past were called "the sovereignty of the sea" because of their great naval domination. But there is only one which is truly the Sovereignty of the sea, and that is God. Forty years ago I cut from a book and pasted into the inside cover of my Bible the following:
"O God, Thy sea is so great and my boat is so small."
This is really a parable of the salvation of the world. The "sea" in Scripture is a symbol for mankind, humanity—the sinning human race. Scripture often speaks of (1) the sea, (2) the earth, and (3) the heaven—the sea being the lowest, and the heaven being the highest.
Remember the Scriptural principle that first comes the physical and then the spiritual. There are many physical types in the Bible that represent spiritual realities.
God saved Noah and his family from the raging waves of the sea in an ark. When we come to understanding spiritual things, we will clearly see that the ark represents Christ. We also have examples of Jesus saving His disciples from the raging waves of the Sea [lake] of Galilee.
"And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was COVERED WITH THE WAVES [‘and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was already filling, Mk 4:37]: but He was asleep. And His disciple came to Him, and awoke Him, saying Lord, save us: WE PERISH. And He said unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea: and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!" (Matt. 8:23-27).
Does anyone have the slightest doubt that Jesus possesses the power to calm the sea? Is any man or group of men more powerful than the sea? Then why, oh why, do we allow theologians, clergymen, pastors, preachers, teachers and authors to tell us that Jesus Christ is POWERLESS TO CALM THE SEA OF HUMANITY? That man possesses a raging power of "free will" that even God Himself cannot and will not penetrate or calm? No, my friends, "…the winds and the sea OBEY HIM!"
On another occasion we read this:
"And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away… But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, TOSSED WITH WAVES" (Matt. 14:22-24).
In both cases Jesus SAVED His disciples from the raging waves of the sea.
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR COVERING
We just read where the Apostles were on a boat on the sea of Galilee and were, "…COVERED with waves…" I see another type here. What do the "raging waves of the sea" symbolize?
Jude tells us that, "filthy dreamers," who "defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities," "brute beasts," those who have "gone the way of Can," and are after "the error of Balaam," and those who "perished in the gainsaying of core," these are "spots in your feasts of charity … RAGING WAVES OF THE SEA…" (Jude 8-13).
Say, did you notice where these "filthy dreamers, brute beasts, raging waves of the sea" are located. That’s right—IN THE CHURCH. These evil people are eating right along with the rest in the Church’s "feasts of charity." These are those who, "say they are apostles [of Christ], and are not," and those who, "say they are Jews [spiritual Jews -- converted Christians], and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."
The disciples were literally "covered with waves" of the sea, but they were also covered with the "raging waves of the sea" spoken of in Jude, because they were, as yet, unconverted.
Actually, the Sea of Galilee is really a lake, also called, The Lake of Gennesar [et] and Lake Tiberias. Jesus Himself called Galilee a "lake" (Luke 8:22). Notice that the carnality of man symbolized in "covered with waves" (raging waves of the sea) needed salvation—"Lord save us, WE PERISH." What did Jesus become to His disciples at that very instant? Answer: "a covering shelter." Whereas they were covered by the raging waves of the sea, Jesus now became their "covering."
Jesus SAVED His disciples from the "raging waves of the sea that covered them," in the middle of the Sea [lake] of Galilee. But this was a literal physical event. They were not spiritually converted as yet, but this event pointed to just such a conversion of the spirit. Will not Jesus also become a "covering shelter" for others? If so, for whom, and for how many?
JESUS CHRIST IS THE COVERING SHELTER
OF THE WHOLE WORLD
"And He [Jesus] is the propitiation [Greek: hilasmos, signifies "an expiation, a means whereby sin is COVERED and remitted" Strong’, p. 121] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD" (John 2:2).
It may come as a surprise to realize that Jesus started His work of propitiation in a "lake"—the Lake of Galilee, and He will finish His work of propitiation in another lake, "the Lake of Fire."
In Romans 3:25 we read:
"Whom God has set forth to be a PROPITIATION through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission [passing over of] sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."
In Heb. 9:5 this same word hilcsterion (propitiatory) is used for the COVERING LID OF THE ARK. Jesus Christ IS the ark. When the disciples were "covered by the raging waves of the sea" Jesus Christ became their "covering," and (physically) SAVED THEM!
In Hebrew, "haven" comes from cowph, and it means "to COVER; a cove (as a sheltered bay, Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary p. 32).
Jesus not only "propitiates—COVERS," He IS the Covering, "…IS the Propitiation…" (I John 2:2). Likewise, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever," does not just "cover" IN the lake of fire: HE IS THE LAKE OF FIRE! Jesus Christ IS the Judge of the world, and the world is Judged not only BY Jesus Christ, but IN Jesus Christ.
These words and their meanings that God chooses for our understanding are not accidental coincidences. Every word of God is purified to perfectly fit its application:
"The WORDS of the Lord are PURE WORDS: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Psalm 12:6).
Do any really believe that God wants to play just one more insane cruel joke on the majority of humanity which are supposedly destined to an eternity of torture in fire, by telling us that this insane pit of torture is going to take place in a SHELTERED PLACE OF SAFETY? Is God Almighty going to torture the majority of humanity in a place He jeeringly calls: a pond, a lake, a "SHELTERED PLACE OF SAFETY?"
It is true that, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God" (Heb. 10:31), but that does not negate the fact that there is also "safety, shelter, and covering" in God’s Divine Pond of Spiritual purifying FIRE.
Peace,
Diana[/list]