Throughout the Bible, God met peopleat mountaintops

From Abraham to Moses to Elijah to Jesus. How come? Because according to the ancient worldview, which was the worldview of our Biblical authors, a mountain was the meeting point between Heaven and Earth.

Perhaps you’re scratching your head now– not because you haven’t shampooed— but because you wonder why a mountain
was a meeting point.

This has got to do with the Biblical writer’s cosmology, which is very different from ours. Cosmology means how you understand the universe.

Using a Hubble (right), the largest space telescope we have for getting pictures of deep space, scientists were able to take a photo of our modern cosmology today.

Here is the famous photo. Our Planet is really this tiny speck revolving around our own star, called the Sun, which is only one of 100 billion solar systems in our galaxy alone.

Here’s a second, more colorful photo of our Milky Way galaxy.

This is our modern cosmology.

But the ancient authors of the Bible, written 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, had a very different cosmology. To explain it, think of a snow globe…Now throw it into a bucket of water.

In Genesis, God created the universe out of chaos, which was symbolized by dark raging waters. When God was finished creating, there were three tiers: Water below the dome, water above the dome, and flat land in the middle. That was their cosmology. And you find this cosmology again and again in Genesis as well as all in the other Books of the Bible. By understanding their cosmology, you’ll understand their language— and, more important, their spiritual message.

Here is the famous photo. Our Planet is really this tiny speck revolving around our own star, called the Sun, which is only one of 100 billion solar systems in our galaxy alone.

Here’s a second, more colorful photo of our Milky Way galaxy.

This is our modern cosmology.

But the ancient authors of the Bible, written 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, had a very different cosmology. To explain it, think of a snow globe…Now throw it into a bucket of water.

In Genesis, God created the universe out of chaos, which was symbolized by dark raging waters. When God was finished creating, there were three tiers: Water below the dome, water above the dome, and flat land in the middle. That was their cosmology. And you find this cosmology again and again in Genesis as well as all in the other Books of the Bible. By understanding their cosmology, you’ll understand their language— and, more important, their spiritual message.

You Have a Lambo!

People still ask, “Did God really create the world in seven days? Is there really a dome above us? Is the Earth flat? Are Adam and Eve real people?”

When the author of Genesis wrote Genesis, he didn’t write a Science book.

He wrote a Theology book. He was sharing His own experience with God, writing this amazing book during the Babylonian Exile. Note that this was one of the most horrible times in their national history. Imagine seeing a foreign army march into Jerusalem, reduce it to rubble, and all your friends shackled as slaves. And yet during this darkest place, Genesis was written.

If you’re reading Genesis looking for science, you’re doing it a great disservice. You’re disrespecting the original intention of theauthor. Genesis is like, for me, a brand-new $25-million Lamborghini, and you’re using it for Grab express! Don’t do that!

Respect Its Strangeness
When you read the Bible, you’re riding both an airplane and a time machine.

When you go to France, you don’t go to a resto and order,
“Isang Tapsilog nga!”

Of course not. You’re in France! You’ll say instead, “Coq Au Vin, please…”

It will be disrespectful to order Sinigang. In the same way, the Bible is a totally different culture. Respect its strangeness.

And you’re also traveling back thousands of years. Their cosmology will be very different. You need to understand their worldview so you can better
understand their message. Hey, I know it’s difficult.

But when you understand more what the Biblical author is saying, God’s message will change your life forever.