Six-story statue of Jesus destroyed by fire in Ohio—prophetic sign?
Does this event have any significance beyond the physical facts? Come see. First, here are the basic facts of the story which I have compiled from several news sources on the web.
MONROE, Ohio – A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said.
The “King of Kings” statue, one of southwest Ohio’s most familiar landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.
According to 911 callers, the lightning struck the right hand of the statue, setting the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m.
The sculpture, 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed “Touchdown Jesus” because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a touchdown. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained early Tuesday.
Fire chief Mark Neu says the fire caused $700,000 in damage to the statue and amphitheater.
Travelers on Interstate 75 often were startled to come upon the huge statue by the roadside, but many said America needs more symbols like it. So many people stopped at the church campus that church officials had to build a walkway to accommodate them.
The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by former horse trader Lawrence Bishop and his wife. Bishop said in 2004 he was trying to help people, not impress them, with the statue. He said his wife proposed the Jesus figure as a beacon of hope and salvation and they spent about $250,000 to finance it.
Spiritually seen, the incident signifies a mix of both judgment and blessing for America. Our nation being in disobedience to the laws of God, we can expect the judgment to come first.
Isaiah 26: 9 … for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Our Father’s judgment begins with God’s people.
1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:
The fiery judgment fell on the statue of the body of Christ. It completely destroyed it. Hmm. Must be that the image represented a church which is totally corrupt, full of leaven (false doctrine). That does not bode well for the church today. (We are not speaking here of that particular Solid Rock church outside Cincinnati, but of the church in general.) The church of the age of Pentecost (A.D. 33-1993, and still lingering) must be tried by fire, just as the leavened pentecost offering was baked in fire.
When we are in rebellion to God, the fire comes in judgment to consume that which is not godly, the “wood, hay and stubble” (and plastic foam and fiberglass). The church is in rebellion to God in that they constantly teach that His laws are “nailed to the cross,” etc. Is it any wonder, then, that we have a nation degenerating into lawlessness?
The lightning struck the image just before midnight—which is reminiscent of the parable of the Ten Virgins. The bridegroom comes at midnight (Matthew 25). Our Lord’s return is very near. When God’s people are in rebellion, God then becomes our enemy. Our current plight is similar to that of the people of Judah in the days of Jeremiah the prophet. Observe his lamentation:
Lamentations 2: 3 He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob
like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.
4 He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire.
5 The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.
6 And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
Indeed, the solemn feasts and sabbaths have been forgotten here in Zion. Even the most common sabbath, the weekly day of rest, is now largely forgotten in North America, as a large percentage of commercial establishments remain open for business. In my childhood in the 1950s, it was not so in America.
And that is to say nothing of the 7th year sabbath and the 49-40th year jubilee, which have never been observed as a whole in our nation. The judgment comes “in the indignation of his anger” against both “king and the priest,” (state and church). And the people suffer the consequences, as we so justly deserve.
Yet, the blessing remains on the far side of this era of judgment. The statue had stood for six years. Six is the number of man and of imperfection. That is now destroyed and points to the rising of the New Man. Hence, the fire chief is the “mark” (sign) of the Neu (New Man). Tabernacles Man.
The statue was 62 feet high. Those who have followed Ron Oja’s teachings, or ours concerning the sacred number of the phi ratio [See my album From Inner Space to Outer Space] (link is no longer valid) understand that it signifies the entrance into the age of Tabernacles, and entering into the Holy of Holies within the spiritual Tabernacle. It represents the entrance into incorruptible immortality for those (prospective overcomers) who are leaving the Pentecost (leavened church) realm behind, seeking to move on into Tabernacles.
The width of the base of the structure was 40 feet. Forty is the number of probation and testing. That period has now been completed. The weight of the structure was given as 16,000 pounds. Sixteen symbolizes God’s covenant(s) with his people Israel—no, not the impostor-Israel over in the Mideast—but the true descendants of Israel here in Zion-America, blinded Christianized Israel.
Sixteen is multiplied by 1,000 which signifies glory. Thus, the 16,000 represents the covenant God made with Israel which eventuates in the firstfruits company being transformed into a glorious people, fit for service in administering His law to the world—righteous global government under the headship of Jesus Christ. [Order the latest lecture in my series Mystery Babylon and the Stone Kingdom, Lecture #2: “We’re In Trouble; First, the Prophet.” Send $6 postal, or check for downloadable version in a week or two.]
The Solid Rock Church at the scene of the fire is a 4,000 member church. Four represents the material world, all creation, which exists in a framework of four dimensions: three spatial and one time dimension. 4 (all creation) times 1,000 (glory). It bespeaks of the time when all creation will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God (cf. Romans 8:21).
$700,000 in damage: 7 = perfection or completion; multiplied by 100 = fullness, multiplied by 1,000 = glory. 700,000 = the impending commencement of Tabernacles which will bring about the completion of the fulness of the glory covering all (the complete) earth.
Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
As for the nickname, “Touchdown Jesus,” please see the two previous posts in this Journal by our friendly “anonymous reporter” (link is no longer valid). That will bless you indeed!