Definition for Dead/Salt Sea (the deeper meaning of)
Glossary
The Dead/Salt Sea: The Biology of Fallen Man
From the story of Lot’s wife (i.e., possibly Idit[1A]), we learned that a covenant of salt is a covenant of the flesh meant to purify both the body and the heart of each man and woman. This fact is important because, before our Redemption, Sanctifying Grace was no longer available to fallen man.
This fact is so because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to disordered mankind (John 7:39). Thus, man could not be purified/sanctified through an indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the spiritual soul. Therefore, it was necessary for fallen man to be purified/sanctified from the outside in; through Actual / Gratuitous grace. This necessity is one of the reasons why God entered into a Covenant of Salt with man. A Covenant of Salt creates a familial bond — a sacred bonding — between the Trinity and each member of the human family. This bonding is prompted by love. As written by Fr. Michael Champagne, “On the Cross, God’s eros for us is made manifest. Eros is indeed – as Psuedo-Dionysius expresses it – that force ‘that does not allow the lover to remain in himself but moves him to become one with the beloved’ [De divinis nominibus, IV, 13:PG 3, 712].”[1B]
In Scripture, the Sea, in general, and the Dead/Salt Sea, in particular, are a type of the biology of fallen man. The two main components of a sea are water and salt. It so happens that those same two components are the primary materials of which man is composed. The water in the Sea represents our biological water. The salt in the Sea is a type of the salt of human DNA that produces the instructions that every cell in the body follows. The interplay between biological water, the salt of DNA, and physical/created light will determine whether or not that water can be classified as bio-living water or dead bio-water. Bio-living water can be a meta-sense-able instrument of Actual Grace. In Jesus’ case, both Actual and Sanctifying Grace. Let’s talk about biological water first.
The Science of Biological Water
Of all the molecules in the human body, 98-99% of them are water molecules.[2] The average adult body is approximately 77% water by weight;[3] about 66% of all the water in our body is contained within its cells.[4] That being the case, it is essential for us to understand a bit about biological water, or as I like to call it, bio-living water.
The discovery of structured water revolutionizes our understanding of how the body functions. It has opened our eyes to the profound interaction between bio-living water and photons of light. It seems that when God teaches us about Living Water and the light of Truth, he wasn’t only referring to the spiritual. Because of this new understanding, we now can suggest how the Holy Spirit, through a phenomenon known as Delayed Luminescence, uses bio-living water to stop, for example, the decaying process that should usually occur in deceased saints but are instead miraculously kept fully or partially incorrupt via this structured water. This discovery suggests the possibility of the instrumentality of water for purifying the physical bodies of those receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. At present, the Church has not officially ruled on the instrumentality of matter in the Sacraments.
The miracle at Lourdes is another example of instrumentality of water. Even though the waters from this fountain were not blessed, [Red Zambala, “Ninth Apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes,” Red Zambala, https://christianity.redzambala.com/lourdes-apparition/our-lady-of-lourdes-ninth-apparition.html, 2013 (accessed 05/05/2022)] many miraculous cures came about as a result of washing in, or drinking from, those waters. To be valid, every Sacrament consists of two required components. The first is form – i.e., the words. The second is matter, i.e., water for the Sacrament of Baptism. It seems to be instrumental (efficacious) in the washing, i.e., purification.
Dr. Gerald Pollack, University of Washington professor of bioengineering, has developed a new theory of water that has been called revolutionary. He has discovered the fourth phase of water consisting of bounded exclusion zones, uniquely structured via the natural incorporation of hydronium ions (H3O+). According to Pollack, these hydration shells coat every solid cellular surface in the body. Outside the tight confines of the cell, structured water can project from a nucleating surface by distances up to a full meter. However, it takes millions of layers of these molecules to create that depth of layering.[5] Within the small spaces of the cell, the hydration shell will reach about one hundred layers.[5-A]
The discovery of structured water revolutionizes our understanding of how the body functions. It has opened our eyes to the profound interaction between bio-living water and photons of light. It seems that when God teaches us about Living Water and the light of Truth, he wasn’t only referring to the spiritual. Because of this new understanding, we now can suggest how the Holy Spirit, through a phenomenon known as Delayed Luminescence, uses bio-living water to stop, for example, the decaying process that should usually occur in deceased saints but are instead miraculously kept fully or partially incorrupt via this structured water. This discovery suggests the possibility of the instrumentality of water for purifying the physical bodies of those receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. At present, the Church has not officially ruled on the instrumentality of matter in the Sacraments.
Brief Primer on Biological Water
Let us begin our exploration of the relationship between biological water and our salt/dust of DNA. So, what’s so different about water in and around the cell from any other type of water? First of all, we have to clarify the difference between biological water and other types of water. Water molecules can simultaneously exist in both a gaseous and solid-state. We will concentrate on the state (i.e., liquid) most pertinent to the discussion at hand. Water is given the molecular designation of H2O, i.e., two hydrogen atoms bound to one oxygen atom. The water you get from the faucet is called tap water (in cell physiology terms, it’s often called bulk water because its molecules exhibit little or no organized structure). Figure 1 provides an idealized (i.e., analogous to drawing a stick-man to represent an actual man) graphic representation of a single water molecule. Figure 2 provides an idealized graphic representation of what is known as bulk or tap water.
The next water state we are concerned with is called bound or structured water. Imagine a string of beads bound together in such a fashion to form a single-layered sheet of beads. After putting a very tiny dab of glue on the bottom of each bead, position the beads on a table, thus gluing the sheet to the table’s surface. In the case of bound water, it’s not glue that binds the beads to the table; it’s the positive and negative attraction of net ionic charges. That example would be roughly analogous to bound water. Each bead represents a single molecule of water. The glue represents the bonding of two opposite electrical charges between the water molecule and the surface to which it is bound. The table represents a macromolecule, such as a biological protein or a DNA molecule. Using the next Figure 3 for visualization, the first layer of that multi-layered structure would be the bound layer.
The last state of water we will discuss is vicinal water. A graphical representation of vicinal (aka structured) water can be seen in Figure 3. Vicinal water is similar to bound water with a few distinctions; vicinal water consists of one layer of bound water together with multiple layers of additional water molecules stacked on top of the bound layer.[6] Vicinal water can attain thicknesses of up to millions of layers of water molecules.[7][8] These layers are called exclusion zones, generating electrical currents that cause bio-living water to flow. Vicinal water produces greater hydrogen bonding, a lower density of water molecules, and greater viscosity (gel-like consistency).[9]
Biological Water and Protons
Our body is a liquid crystalline (stone/salt and water) organism (remember, our salt/dust of DNA is crystalline in structure). It is, in fact, quantum coherent.[10] Think about that. Our body consists of trillions upon trillions of living cells functioning with lightning speed as one cohesive and coherent organism — IF one lives in Truth and Love. James tells us, “If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the Truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice” (Jas 3:13-18).
According to researchers at the University of Washington, electronic devices, such as computers and iPads, work by sending information and receiving information using electrons (hence the description, electronic devices). Humans, all biological life for that matter, use protons or ions to accomplish the same thing. According to scientisist:
In the body, protons activate "on" and "off" switches and are key players in biological energy transfer. Ions open and close channels in the cell membrane to pump things in and out of the cell. Animals including humans use ions to flex their muscles and transmit brain signals. … Materials scientists at the University of Washington have built a novel transistor that uses protons, creating a key piece for devices that can communicate directly with living things. The study is published online this week in the interdisciplinary journal Nature Communications.[11]
It is also protons that interact with water molecules to create structured water Exclusion Zones, which in turn generate both electromagnetic energy and kinetic energy [Dr. Gerald Pollack, The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor, (Seattle, WA: Ebner and Sons, 2013), Kindle Edition]. The principle by which this process works is potentially capable of powering individual plants for each and every building in the world. The source of that power is infrared radiation — the most abundant source of energy in the cosmos [Ibid].
Through the formation of a glass-like structuring of water molecules, water coats the surface of a protein (thus creating a hydration shell) that affects the speed of protein (information-carrying proteins are what our genes produce) communication — even to the point of stopping it — with other cells in the body. The effect of structured water on communication occurs both within the cell (intracellular) and between cells in other parts of the body (extracellular).[12]
Research has shown that protons moving within and between cells are not traveling independently of the changing structure of the water molecules coating the cell, its contents (e.g., proteins), and even the cell structure itself. The ever-changing three-dimensional hydration shell coating all the surfaces within the cell, including proteins, are shaped by the environment present within the cell. This water molecule topography (‘topography’ is not a term normally used in cell physiology, but I think it helps visualize the described process) enslaves the migrating proton and guides it through the cell.[13] You may be asking yourself; what is the significance of protons within the body’s functioning? According to Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, research indicates that protons regulate the function of enzymes (a protein that significantly speeds up chemical reactions within the cell).[14] In other words, protons play a role in the speed (both increasing or decreasing — even to the point of stopping chemical reaction) with which proteins can do their job. Extrapolating from that, we can say that protons play a role in whether our biological water is fresh/pure or salty.
All living organisms are liquid crystal mineral/dust/stone matrices. Research now points to the belief that the primary purpose of this cellular connectedness is to facilitate ultra-fast communication (expression or sending out in the context of STOSS) within the body, thus enabling the many trillions of cells that comprise the human body to function as a cohesive and coherent whole. How fast does this communication occur? In a computer simulation of water molecules guiding protons through a nanotube tunnel, approximately seventeen water molecules traversed the nanotube every nanosecond (a nanosecond is one-billionth of a second). Ho and associates believe that every cell in the entire human organism is linked via proton channels through which water molecules escort the proton; thus, a single cell is connected locally and globally within the human body.[15]
Biological Water and Genetic (the Salt of DNA) Function
Now that we have examined how structured water enables mind-boggling communication speed between the cells of our body, let us now look at the effect that structured water plays on the function of our DNA in general and our genes in particular. The impact of structured water on our biological processes can produce either good or bad consequences, depending on the overflow of our spiritual/inner heart. From this point on, we will gradually realize more fully the link between the Dead/Salt Sea, our fallen nature, and our salt/dust of DNA.
Water’s role in cell architecture and function
The structuring of water depends upon the environment within the cell, i.e., the energy state and ionic content of the cell.[16] The entire DNA molecule within every cell has a hydration shell of varying numbers of layers – up to around millions of layers thick.[17A][17B] Furthermore, the number of layers can be affected by electromagnetic radiation (photons of light) generated by the body itself.[18] This phenomenon is significant. The thickness of the hydration shell itself will cause the DNA molecule to change its shape — bending or straightening it.
The living cell is in a state of continuous fluctuation of the structure of water molecules. These fluctuations maintain balance within the cell. Without this balance, the organism cannot function properly.[19] According to biologist Vladimir Voeikov, there are increasing amounts of scientific evidence indicating that biological water, working together with the solid surfaces of the cell (e.g., proteins, DNA, and cell membranes), determines the organization of living organisms at all levels.[20A] It is worth noting that within the science of cell physiology, cells are described as:
The high (negative) energy, low entropy-state with ATP adsorption on the appropriate cardinal site constitutes what is known as the resting living state. The alternative low-(negative)-energy, high-entropy state is either the active living state (as in all reversible transitions) or dead state (in an irreversible transition).[20B][20C]
What does this mean? A protein surrounded by a stabilized structure of water (high hydrogen bonding) will be less likely to unfold (protein unfolding or failing to fold properly, which results in either the cessation of the function of the protein or it causes the protein to malfunction[21]). In contrast, a less stable water structure would allow more protein flexibility and an increased possibility of unfolding. Scientific research is increasingly pointing to the notion that even major conversions of the shape of proteins are the result of structured water within the protein’s environment.[22][23]
Why is protein shape important? When the genes within one cell make a protein, it is most often intended to deliver its instructions to a different cell. Depending on what type of cell it is, each cell in the body has ‘receptors’ outside the cell wall. A protein and a receptor have a sort of lock and key relationship. The key is the protein, and the lock is the receptor. If the shape of the key does not correspond with the shape of the lock, the door will not open.
Consequently, the instructions the protein carries will not be delivered to the cell. So when a protein is made, it folds into a particular shape so that it can fit into the receptor of the target cell, at which point the key is inserted into the lock; the door is opened, and the instructions carried by the protein are delivered and followed.
Monoamine oxidase is one example of a protein that can profoundly impact the bodies’ sanctification — or lack thereof. What makes this protein important? It is a protein that degrades amine neurotransmitters. Examples of amine neurotransmitters are: 1) dopamine — a primary hormone involved in addictions, i.e., lusts; 2) norepinephrine — a stress hormone that is also involved in the fight-or-flight response and has a severe effect on the entire body; and serotonin — affects the function of most of our forty-million brain cells, including those associated with mood, sexual desire and function, appetite, sleep, and more.[24][25] Studies have shown that conversions (shape changes) of minor populations of proteins can serve as the seed for shape changes of the entire population of the same kind of protein — creating a domino effect.[26A] I could go on, but I think this is sufficient to understand the significance of the symbolism of the Dead Sea — salt [of DNA] and [fresh versus deadly salt] biological water.
We can begin to see water as really “alive” and “moving.” Nobel Laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi characterizes life as “water dancing [SML] to the tune of macromolecules.”[26B] Incidentally, the salt of DNA and many of the proteins it produces are macromolecules. Another researcher characterizes this watery dance, as Szent-Gyorgyi referred to it, as a sort of quantum “jazz” that is both always improvised in response to its environment and coherent beyond our wildest imaginings. Our body is a liquid crystalline (liquid stone) organism that is, in fact, quantum coherent.[26C]
Original Sin and Our Salt of DNA
While Cardinal Ratzinger was Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he gave an interview to Italian journalist Vittorio Messori. During this interview, he said, “The inability to understand original sin and make it comprehensible is really one of the most serious problems of current theology and pastoring [emphasis SML].”[27] Never has this statement rang more true than it does in today’s world. The Knowledge of Good & Evil is leading us to 1) confuse chemical love with spiritual love; 2) to confuse chemical compassion with spiritual compassion; 3) to confuse what is beautiful with what is ugly, and; 4) to confuse apparent good with that which is actual good.
Let us begin by citing the Bible passage that informs us of the temptation of Eve to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is written in Genesis:
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked (Genesis 3:4-7).
When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost supernatural grace. Therefore, they forfeit the perfect subjection of the body to the soul. Consequently, human DNA started to function in the same way it does in any other animal — sensual appetites and all. The bodies of sensual animals operate under the same guiding principle that is now at work in our fallen bodies, i.e., what pleases the senses is judged as being good and what displeases the senses is bad. The salt of DNA of fallen man functions in such a way as to reward and encourage behaviors/experiences that feel good and to punish behavior/experiences that feel bad. Were it not for this fact of nature, all animals would die out.
This sensual design is perfect — for animals, but not for man who is a composite of body and rational/spiritual soul. The sensual appetites of animals and the actions that proceed from those appetites are morally neutral. They are good for animals with sensual souls and, in some cases, good for man. A lion that kills his offspring is not ‘bad,’ he is just following the natural biological impulses of his animal nature. Contrary to what nonsense modern society tries to impose upon us, man is not simply an animal.
In response to concupiscent[27-B] stimuli received through the body’s five senses, the salt of DNA produces hormones (hormones are only one of very many types of proteins produced by DNA). For example, we know that Adam and Eve experienced shame because of the self–realization (brought on by the unmitigated expression of hormones) that they were naked[28] (arguably, lust and stress were probably at play at the same time). Likely, they were also afraid.[29] Most, if not all, of the physical consequences of concupiscence, are directly or indirectly attributable to the production of hormones. As opposed to the spirit, the body seeks a type of happiness that translates into that which is pleasing to the senses; when satisfied, our DNA produces sensual rewards so powerful they can be accurately described as addictive. The body tries to bring the soul over to its way of thinking, so to speak, by offering hormonal rewards that can be very persuasive.
Let us take a closer look at the role of hormones in concupiscence. Can we show a direct link between original sin and hormones? I believe we can. The biological sciences tell us that, unlike most other proteins, hormones are carried to their target cells via the bloodstream. Informed by God, Hildegard tells us that after Adam’s sin, man’s blood carried within itself: 1) sweet, but deadly, poison, i.e., hormones;[30] 2) shameful and turbulent acts, thus increasing the body’s appetite for those very crimes carried in the blood, i.e., slavery to sin;[31] and, 3) impure filth which changed Adam’s blood into a liquid of pollution.[32]
All hormones are produced and secreted in response to sensual stimuli resulting from their eyes being opened. Both shame (the first sign of their eyes opening) and stress are associated with, among others, the production of the hormone cortisol.[33][34] Lust of the flesh and, what I refer to as biological (so-called) love, are completely different from spiritual love (a distinction greatly misunderstood in today’s godless culture). Both are associated with multiple hormones, e.g., dopamine,[35] testosterone,[36] oxytocin,[37] and vasopressin.[38] Fear is associated with the “fight or flight” hormone, adrenalin. Other physical consequences of concupiscence are pain in childbirth, hunger,[39A] greed, avarice, etc. At this point, we should be making a conscious connection between the deadly salt water of the Dead/Salt Sea and the spiritually contaminated blood/water carrying deadly and addictive hormones within the salted-water coursing through our blood-carrying veins.
The Sea in Scripture
Let’s examine what Scripture scholars say about the sea in Scripture. First, the Dead/Salt Sea is an apparent reference to the biology of fallen man. So, what does the sea of glass mean in Rev 15: 2-3.
“The Church is also that very Sea that John the Evangelist saw as a sea of glass mingled with fire, as he says in the Apocalypse: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had overcome the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing on the Sea of glass with harps of God and singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb [Rev 15:2-3]. This [vision of the Sea of glass should be interpreted] … thus: I [St. Hildegard, a Doctor of the Church], to whom the secrets of God were revealed, saw with inner eyes the Church that God called forth from the common people of Jews and pagans, pure in faith yet shaken by many tribulations, where the faithful, kindled by the Holy Spirit, were acknowledging and looking upon the living God in true faith.”
“This Church is also called the Sea, [Cf. Ambrose, Hexaemeron 3.1, trans. John J. Savage, FOTC 42 (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1961), 67–70] gathered together by the waters — the apostles; for with grave dangers, the Church is inundated by the devil’s treacherous battles against souls and the storms of evil against bodies [emphasis SML] of Christians and pagans, all wanting to oppress her—but God will deliver them, for he is ever their sailor and oarsman. [For a contemporary iteration of this common patristic trope, cf. Honorius Augustodunensis’s sermon for Septuagesima Sunday, invoking the tale of Ulysses (Odysseus) and the Sirens (Speculum Ecclesiae, PL 172: 844–57)]. The Sea represents “the world churned continuously by the storms of tribulation”; while the Sirens represent three alluring vices: avarice, boastfulness, and lustfulness. But Ulysses “sailed through unharmed, because the Christian people—the truly wise—floats upon the Sea of the world within the ship of the Church. With the fear of the Lord they bind themselves to the ship’s mast—the Cross of Christ; together with their comrades, they seal up their hearing with wax—Christ’s Incarnation—to turn their hearts away from vices and lustful desires and to seek for heaven alone.”[39B]
In Rev 4:5-7 it reads, “From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God; and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.” The addition of the words, “like crystal” makes it even more evident that Scripture is referring to resurrected and glorified man. After all, man is composed entirely of crystal/mineral salt of DNA.
Some signs are so efficient they help us to understand the deeper meaning of other signs. Salt is one of those signs. For example, our understanding of the scriptural use of transparent stone, gem, gold, glass, etc., used as instrumental signs, helps us understand another efficient scriptural sign, i.e., salt. Sodium is an ordinary organic (part of our biological makeup) and inorganic (geological) salt. According to Professor Dr. Artem Oganov, all materials under sufficiently high pressure must turn into an elemental metal. Even hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, will undergo metallization under such extreme pressures.[Stony Brook University. “Metal Discovered To Become Transparent Under High Pressure.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312180838.htm (accessed March 21, 2014)] Here’s what’s particularly interesting: the element sodium (part of our salt of DNA), which is an elemental metal, does just the opposite. Under sufficiently high pressure (2 million atmospheres[Ibid.]), the metallic structure of sodium (usually a white metal) collapses and is replaced by a new non-metallic molecular structure. Furthermore, the new sodium becomes transparent, just like glass.[Ibid.] This chemical phenomenon was experimentally proven by Mikhail Eremets and published in the March 12, 2014, edition of the journal Nature.[Ibid.]
The biblical uses of the terms crystal, transparent, glass-like, etc., are meant as partial symbols (man, resurrected into eternal Life, will still have a purified liquid-crystal body — glorified, but physical, nevertheless) of man in a transformed state. The catalyst for this transformation is symbolized by a sort of crushing yet salvific pressure. What biblical symbol is used to signify this intense and transforming pressure? The answer is the winepress. Jesus uses it in the parable of the landlord and his tenants (Mt. 21:33, Mk. 12:1). Origen interprets the winepress as referring to the altar [upon which is offered to the Father the Passion and bodily death of our Savior on the cross (SML)].[39C]
St. Jerome agrees, identifying the winepress as a symbol of a place of offering (i.e., the altar).[39D] Is this an accurate interpretation? St. Hildegard writes, “[Jesus] was placed on the winepress, where wine was to be pressed out without the dregs of fermentation, because He the cornerstone fell upon the press and made such wine that it gave forth the greatest odor of sweetness.”[39E] Jerome equates the winepress with Jesus’ passion and death on the cross in this text. What happens at Mass? We are united with Jesus on his cross – the winepress (see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10006a.htm).
Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mayence writes, “The sea is the turmoil of the world; the boat in which Christ is embarked is to be understood [as] the tree of the cross [see https://www.stossbooks.com/the-cross,-significance-of-nails-and-wood.html#Cross], by the aid of which the faithful having passed the waves of the world, arrive in their heavenly country, as on a safe shore, whither Christ goes with His own.”[39F]
We must not believe that the tumultuous seas refer to the cosmos and not man. After all, it was man’s fall that produced the chaos. It was solely man who led to the decay and chaos of the universe. Paul wrote, “because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies [emphasis SML]” (Rom 8:21-23). St. Hildegard of Bingen was given a vision of the creation and fall of our first parents. She wrote:
Since man rose up against God, creation which used to be submitted to him, now resisted him. And so all the elements, that had been resting in equilibrium up to then, rose up and became a terrible sight: Creation, which had been created to serve man, had felt no resistance whatsoever; but when man arrogantly fell into disobedience and refused to obey God, [creation] too lost its equilibrium and fell into unrest. It has brought mankind many and great disadvantages.[39G]
Man, and physical creation, are intimately joined together. Hildegard wrote that man’s creation “Is most profound, made in a wondrous way with great glory from the dust [and salt] of the earth and so entangled with the strengths of the rest of creation that he can never be separated from them” [St. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, 98]. This entanglement is why it is accurate to include in the Glory Be prayer the words: “world without end.” The dust of the earth will always exist because man’s physical body will always exist.
Since we are talking about the deeper biblical meaning of the sea in Scripture, some might hasten to point out that the Sea of Galilee (aka Lake Kinneret), about which Matthew earlier comments, is a freshwater sea/lake. However, they would be wrong. Why is that fact important? If the Sea of Galilee contained no salt, then a problem occurs. The early Church Fathers indicate that the turbulence in the storm symbolizes the chaos of sinful man, which I equate with the functioning salt of the DNA of fallen man. As a result, the typological link between salt and the salt of DNA would be broken. Consequently, my hermeneutical approach and subsequent exegesis remain sound.
The waters of the Sea of Galilee do contain salt — and a sizeable quantity of it. The very definition of the sea requires the presence of salt in its waters. Here’s the key consideration — the salt does not have to come solely from a tributary consisting of saltwater from an ocean. In the case of the Sea of Galilee, the salt comes from the lake’s groundwater supply. The salinity of the Sea of Galilee is so high that it is experiencing major environmental problems [Written as an introduction for a webinar by Dr. Alon Rimmer titled, “Salinity in the Sea of Galilee: Its History, Environmental Challenges, and Management,” 03/31/2015, https://wrrc.arizona.edu/events/brown-bag/salinity-sea-galilee-its-history-environmental-challenges-and-management].
Consequently, while it is correct to identify the Sea of Galilee as a lake because it is fully enclosed, lacking navigable tributaries, it is correctly and properly classified as a sea. This fact is why Rabanus’ use of the Sea of Galilee as a type (as in typology) of fallen man’s biology is appropriate, even though, I am sure, he was unaware as to the extent to which it was a type.
According to Dr. Alon Rimmer, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Center, Lake Kinneret Limnological Laboratory:
The Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) supplies 30% of Israel’s drinking water. The salinity of the lake, which fluctuates between 190 and 280 mg Cl- /L, is significantly higher than the salinity of surface streams that flow to the lake. The high salinity is mainly derived from saline groundwater that emerges through off-shore and on-shore springs along the coast of the lake. Since the operation of the “National Water Carrier” (canal and pipes diverting Sea of Galilee water to the entire country) began in 1964, the Sea of Galilee’s salinity has been causing major environmental problems [Ibid].
What is the Church? It is the Mystical Body of Christ in which each baptized human person becomes a member — is built into that spiritual house to make offerings pleasing to the Father through the Son (cf. 1 Pt. 2:4-5). Therefore, it becomes clear that references to the Sea in Scripture specifically refer to man — man still struggling with avarice, lust, pride, and all other vices. With this understanding, we can begin to see what the pre-glass/crystal sea truly represents. But, first, let us look at the Dead/Salt Sea and of what it is a type.
Rev. Mitch Pacwa is a well-known and well-respected Scripture scholar. On March 20, 2007, EWTN radio broadcast a Mass celebrated by Fr. Pacwa. During Mass, he gave a sermon centered around Ezekiel’s prophetic dream (Ez. 47:1-12) of the restoration of the Temple.
In the dream, Ezekiel describes an interesting feature of the rebuilt Temple. He describes a freshwater river that flows out from the altar within the Temple and down through the desert. It transforms everything in its path into a paradise rich in vegetation and life as it flows. Then, it continues to flow outward to the Dead/Salt Sea, which, as Pacwa describes it, is nine times saltier than the oceans. It is so salty, if you drink its water, you will die. The high concentration of salt prevents life from surviving in or around it. It is utterly fruitless.
Other rivers, such as the Jordan, flow into the Dead/Salt Sea, but their waters immediately become salty — the Saltwater overcomes the freshwater. In Ezekiel’s vision, however, the waters flowing from the New Covenant of Salt Temple turn the salty water of the Salt/Dead Sea into sweet/pure/freshwater.
In Scripture, dew and other forms of water (but not saltwater) are associated with heaven (Gen. 27:39), freshness (Num. 19:17), newness (Deut. 32:2), life (Is. 26:19), and fruitfulness (Ez. 47:7-10). All of which suggests (through appropriation) a correlation between the Holy Spirit and water. As a result of this living water flowing from the rebuilt Temple, the waters of the Dead Sea become fruitful and teeming with life, as does the land surrounding it.
On the day of Pacwa’s homily, the Gospel reading was about a man paralyzed for thirty-eight years who couldn’t make it to the healing waters of Bethesda, or Beth-zatha, as it is written in some manuscripts (Jn. 5:1-16). Explaining how the two readings complement each other, Pacwa equated the Temple in Ezekiel’s vision with the resurrected and glorified body of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, from Him would flow Living Water that heals the sick and transforms death into fruit-bearing life.[40]
The Temple is the key to unlocking a deeper understanding of Ezekiel’s dream. It is the outer structure in which God dwells. Jesus is making the connection between the Temple and Himself (“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me” – Jn. 14:11. Where one is — all Three are[41]). In Scripture, we read, “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he spoke of the temple of his body [SML]” (Jn. 2:19-21). Our salt of DNA will be healed, purified, and given a new life in the final and Everlasting Covenant of Salt. Through a one-flesh union with the Temple of Jesus’ resurrected, glorified body and blood, hypostatically united with His Divinity.
I want to take Pacwa’s conclusions a step further. In Ezekiel’s dream, the Salt/Dead Sea represents man’s fallen and disordered salt of DNA, which works hand-in-hand with man’s structured biological water to inflame the desire for evil pleasures and acts to accomplish those desires. So, what Ezekiel’s dream of the New Covenant of Salt is telling us is this: When we become living stones (salt/dust of DNA) built into that rebuilt Temple (cf. 1 Pt. 2:4-5), the Living Water flowing out from Jesus’ Sacred Heart will purify our spirit (inner heart) and our flesh. Thus, our humanity returns to life and fruitfulness.
This cooperation between the elements of Ezekiel’s dream (dust/salt of DNA, biological water, and grace), or lack thereof, will result in an increase in order between body and soul — when grace is cooperated with, or an increase of disorder between the body and soul — when grace is rejected. The Dead Sea is a type of fallen man’s biology. Additional information about the theology of the Covenant of Salt relative to the Dead/Salt Sea can be accessed by following the link in this endnote.[42]
Ezekiel received a vision showing us God’s plan to redeem the inner heart (the higher powers of the spiritual soul) and the body (cf. Rom. 8:23), controlled by the lower powers of fallen man, i.e., the soul. Jesus’ body is the Temple from which Living Water flows. This purification is the reason He took upon himself our human nature. He lifts us up to a one-flesh union with his crucified and glorified body through his resurrected salt of DNA.[43]
The Sea in Eschatology
The final destruction of all evil is closely linked to sea and serpent imagery. Isaiah 27:1 says that Yahweh will ultimately defeat Leviathan. In the book of Daniel, the evil world powers are symbolized by hybrid monsters rising up from the Sea (Dan 7:1–13). The story culminates with the slaughter of these beasts and the establishment of everlasting divine order on earth.
This notion of the final destruction of evil—and the taming of the primordial Sea — is emphasized in the New Testament, especially in the book of Revelation, but foreshadowed by Jesus’ walking on the water and calming of the storm in the Gospels. Revelation envisions the day when the serpent will be imprisoned in the “abyss” (ἄβυσσος, abyssos; Rev 20:3) — the equivalent of “deep” (תְּהוֹם, tehom) in Hebrew — and ultimately destroyed (Rev 20:10). The result is a world without chaos: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the Sea [fallen man — SML] was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev 21:1–2 NRSV). Here, chaos is such an overwhelming force that the entire universe must be destroyed in order for a new one to be created (Smith, The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1, 22).[44]
I have written a three-part blog series that goes into some detail about the why and the how of the time we are now living. About the Beast of Revelation that comes out of the Sea. Part One is located here: https://www.stossbooks.com/blog/index.php?id=000000019.
ENDNOTES:
[1A] Tamar Kadari, “Lot’s Wife: Midrash and Aggadah.” Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. February 27, 2009. Jewish Women’s Archive. (accessed July 12, 2019) https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/lots-wife-midrash-and-aggadah].
[1B] Champagne, Fr. Michael, “Priestly Dispositions of Jesus Crucified,” Retreat held at Lumen Christi Retreat Center, Community of Jesus Crucified, October 21-25, 2019.
[2] Ventura, “DNA and Cell Reprogramming Via Epigenetic Information Delivered By Magnetic Fields, Sound Vibration and Coherent Water,” Webinar transcript. Transcript can be downloaded at https://www.scribd.com/document/161598761/Dna-and-Cell-Reprogramming-Transcript.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., “How Much of Your Body Is Water,” ThoughtCo, https://www.thoughtco.com/how-much-of-your-body-is-water-609406: March 29, 2017 (accessed 4/21/2017).
[5] Dr. Gerald Pollack, The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor, (Seattle, WA: Ebner and Sons, 2013), Kindle Edition, pp. 15, 25, 40, 67.
[5-A] W. Drost-Hanson, “Vicinal Hydration of Biopolymers: Cell Biological Consequences,” eds. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, and Denys N. Wheatley, Water and the Cell (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 210-211.
[6] V.A. Shepherd, “Coherent Domains in the Streaming Cytoplasm of a Giant Algal Cell,” Water and the Cell, ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 81-82).
[7] Dr. Gerald Pollack, The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor, p. 79.
[8] W. Drost-Hansen, “Vicinal Hydration of Biopolymers: Cell Biological Consequences,” Water and the Cell, ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 81-82.
[9] Shepherd, Water and the Cell, 81-82.
[10] Mae-Wan Ho, Zhou Yu-Ming, Julian Haffegee and others, “The Liquid Cyrstalline Organism and Biological Water,” Water and the Cell, eds. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 220-221.
[11] University of Washington, “Proton-based transistor could let machines communicate with living things,” PhysOrg.com, http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-proton-based-transistor-machines.html: PhysOrg.com, September 20, 2011 (accessed 01/10/2012).
[12] S.E. Pagnotta, F. Bruni, “The Glassy State of Water: A Stop and Go Device for Biological Processes,” Water and the Cell, ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 93-112.
[13] Pagnotta et al., Water and the Cell, 103, 106, and 109.
[14] Mae-Wan Ho et al., Water and the Cell, 231;
Cited by authors: Welch GR; Berry MN, “Long-Range Energy Continua and the Coordination of Multienzyme Sequences in Vivo,” In: GR Welch (ed.), Organized Multienzyme Systems, (Academic Press, New York, 1985).
[15] Mae-Wan Ho et al., Water and the Cell, 231.
[16] Martin F. Chaplin, “Information Exchange within Intracellular Water,” ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatley, Water and the Cell, (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 114-117.
[17A] Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (2011, April 26), “Water molecules characterize the structure of DNA genetic material”, ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110426091122.htm.
Journal Reference: Hassan Khesbak, Olesya Savchuk, Satoru Tsushima, Karim Fahmy. “The Role of Water H-Bond Imbalances in B-DNA Substate Transitions and Peptide Recognition Revealed by Time-Resolved FTIR Spectroscopy.” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2011; 133 (15): 5834 DOI: 10.1021/ja108863v. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja108863v.
[17B] Dr. Gerald Pollack, The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor, p. 79.
[18] Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (2011, April 26), “Water molecules characterize the structure of DNA genetic material”, ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110426091122.htm.
[19] Frank Mayer, Denys Wheatley, and Michael Hoppert, “Some Properties of Interfacial Water: Determinants for Cell Architecture and Function,” in Water and the Cell, ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 254.
[20A] Vladimir L. Voeikov, “Biological Significance of Active Oxygen-Dependent Processes in Aqueous Systems,” Water and the Cell, ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 286.
[20B] Gerald H. Pollack;Ivan L. Cameron;Denys N. Wheatley. Water and the Cell (p. 17). Kindle Edition.
[20C] Entropy is often loosely associated with the amount of order or disorder, or of chaos, in a thermodynamic system. The traditional qualitative description of entropy is that it refers to changes in the status quo of the system and is a measure of "molecular disorder" and the amount of wasted energy in a dynamical energy transformation from one state or form to another [Wikipedia contributors, "Entropy," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Entropy&oldid=1073881098, (accessed February 25, 2022).
[21] Vladimir L. Voeikov, “Biological Significance of Active Oxygen-Dependent Processes in Aqueous Systems,” Water and the Cell, ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), 286.
[22] Ibid., 259.
[23] Ibid., 268.
[24] cf. Rockefeller University. “By tracking water molecules, physicists hope to unlock secrets of life.” ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100227215943.htm (accessed June 5, 2016).
Journal Source: Kumar et al., “A tetrahedral entropy for water.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009; 106 (52): 22130 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0911094106.
[25] Colett Bouchez, “Recognizing the Symptoms of Depression,” WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/serotonin#1, (accessed 01/23/2012).
[26A] Mayer et al., Water and the Cell, 267.
[26B] Gerald H. Pollack; Ivan L. Cameron; Denys N. Wheatley, Water and the Cell (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), viii.
[26C] Mae-Wan Ho et al., Water and the Cell, 220-221.
[27] Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Ratzinger Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1985), p. 79-80.
[27-B] Before going any further, let us define concupiscence. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, concupiscence is:
In its strict and specific acceptation, a desire [all emphasis SML] of the lower appetite contrary to reason. To understand how the sensuous and the rational appetite can be opposed, it should be borne in mind that their natural objects are altogether different. The object of the former is the gratification of the senses; the object of the latter is the good of the entire human nature and consists in the subordination of reason to God, its supreme good and ultimate end. But the lower appetite is of itself unrestrained, so as to pursue sensuous gratifications independently of the understanding and without regard to the good of the higher faculties [John Ming, “Concupiscence,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908), (accessed July 24, 2020) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04208a.htm].
[28] Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 95, a. 1.
[29] Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, trans. Columba Hart and Jane Bishop (New York: Paulist Press, 1990), 113.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid., 417.
[32] Ibid., 257-258.
[33] Lewis, Michael, and Douglas Ramsay. “Cortisol response to embarrassment and shame.” Child development vol. 73,4 (2002): 1034-45. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00455.
[34] Wendy Zukerman, “Stress Gives Reef Fish Wonky Ears,” http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/04/27/2553465.htm: ABC Science, April 27, 2009 (accessed 04/27/2009).
[35] Dr. Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself, (New York, NY, Penguin Books, 2007), 114.
[36] Hormone Health Network, “Hormones and Health,” Endocrine Society, http://www.hormone.org/hormones-and-health/what-do-hormones-do, January 1, 2008 (accessed May 29, 2008).
[37] Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself, 119.
[38] Ibid.
[39A] Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, III, Q. 1, Art. 4.
[39B] St. Hildegard of Bingen, The Book of Divine Works, ed. Gregory F. LaNave, trans. Nathaniel M. Campbell, vol. 18, The Fathers of the Church Medieval Continuations (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2018), 307-308.
[39C] Aquinas, Thomas. Catena Aurea: Volume 1-4, (Original publisher: London, England: Oxford, 1841; published in electronic form by Primedia E-Launch). Kindle Location 12253.
[39D] Ibid., Kindle Location 12253.
[39E] Hildegard, Scivias, 105.
[39F] Thomas Aquinas. (1841). Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Matthew. (J. H. Newman, Ed.) (Vol. 1, pp. 323–324). Oxford: John Henry Parker.
[39G] St. Hildegard of Bingen, quoted in an unpublished translation of Helmut Posch,Das wahre Weltbild nach Hildegard von Bingen (The Creation of the World According to Hildegard of Bingen) Deutsche Bibliothek (CIP – Einheitsaufnahme, Aufl. – A-4880 St. Georgen, 1998), translated by Gina O’Brien for the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation (Mt. Jackson, VA: 2009), p. 40/55.
[40] Rev. Pacwa’s homily can no longer be streamed or downloaded from EWTN’s website. Fortunately, I saved the audio file in both RM (Real Player) and MP3 formats.
[41] God informed St. Hildegard, “But the Father is not without the Son, or the Son without the Father, or the Father and the Son without the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit without Them; for these Three Persons are inseparable in the Unity of the Divinity” [Scivias, trans. Mother Columba Hart and Jane Bishop, (New York: Paulist Press, 1990) 165].
[43] Brant James Pitre PhD, Jesus the Bridegroom, (pp. 82-83, 146). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
[44] Daniel Sarlo, “Sea,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).