This page is a continuation of the page at Building a house on sand. That page looked at the parable of the house built on rock and the house built on sand.

One interesting idea from that page was that the modern world economy (from Greek word for "house") is built in computer technology which is based an silicon chips which are built using "sand".

This page continues with another idea based on the same parable. Note that, as in any parable of Jesus, it is possible for the parable to be true in many different ways, not just one (and only one) "correct" way.

Another page, at Exodus 18: Hierarchy as a man-made tree structure, looked an the (flat) hierarchy of Jesus and the (deep) hierarchy of man.

An organizational structure is the arrangement of command and control within an organization.

More: Exodus 18: Hierarchy as a man-made tree structure

Here is a depiction of the flat organizational structure of Jesus.

Here is a depiction of the deep organizational structure of human systems - the church, government, and the world in general.

Declaration of Independence: "All men are created equal". This is from Galatians (and other places) but always refers to "equal before God" and not "equal before humans". This distinction is often blurred by those wishing to promote worldly social change rather than or in addition to the change to which Jesus refers.

Sometimes this social change goes against rules establish by God. This almost requires that the distinction be blurred.

The world will create human hierarchical structures of power, etc.

All those in the human hierarchy are not equal in the world but are still "equal before God".

The "human hierarchy" is a deep worldly house built on or of "sand".

The "Jesus hierarchy" is a shallow house built on or of "rock"

Consider the parable of the sheep and the goats. Who is represented by the "least of these"?

How many chapters in the Old Testament? 929

How many chapters in the Old Testament Apocrypha? 183 (Most of them in the "Silent Years")

This comes to 1112 chapters. How many were written by non-Jews?

Is social change advocated by the GNT (Greek New Testament)? By Jesus? By others?

The rain, rivers and wind beat on the house, not the foundation of rock.

The house did not fall.

• The modern Greek word "ποταμοί" (po-ta-MEE) ≈ "rivers" from the modern Greek word "ποταμός" (po-ta-MOS) ≈ "river" which is the source of the English word "hippopotamus" as "river horse".
• The Latin word "flumen" ≈ "river" and is the source of the English word "flow".
• The Russian word "река" (re-ka) ≈ "river" and the Russian word "реки" (re-kee) ≈ "rivers" (same as OCS (Old Church Slavonic)).

For some reason, the KJV (King James Version) and many English versions translate "rivers" as "floods", possibly assuming that the corresponding word in the corresponding verse in Luke should be used as the word here.

Luke uses the Greek word for "floods" here.

In many "floods", many structures are destroyed and removed from their place.

In the above verse, Matthew uses "sand" while Luke uses "earth". Luke uses the Matthew word for "rivers" translated here as "stream".

The "without a foundation" is not in Matthew. This house is not on "sand". It is on "earth". Can you imagine a "stream" (a very small river) beating on a "house"?

How much rainfall and flooding were common to this arid area of Judea when Jesus spoke this parable?

Many English translators appear to have made assumptions that since the river destroyed the house, it must have risen as a flood, as if there is no other way for this to happen (symbolically, etc.).

That is a danger with making unnecessary assumptions in a translation.

This appears to be a place where theologians decided to deliberately translate a word in a way that is not the common definition of that word and that word thereupon gets placed in the Bible dictionary (e.g., Strongs) as a definition of that word. People then use that dictionary and say, see here, that is the definition of that word. This is a form of circular reasoning.

The rain, rivers and wind beat on the house, not the foundation of sand.

The house fell and the fall was great.

It is interesting in the verses in Matthew that the rain, floods and wind beat on the house and not on the foundation.

Whatever the foundation, any model for this parable should account for the rain, rivers and wind beating on the house and not on the foundation.

If the parable were, in fact, of a house built of rock and a house built of sand, would that make any difference in the interpretation of the parable?

There are two foundations.

• rock
• sand (earth in Luke)

The modern Greek word "οίκος" (EE-kos) ≈ "house" used in the parable of the houses built on rock and on sand is the root of the modern Greek word "οικοδομήσω" (ee-ko-tho-MEE-so) ≈ "build" used in the above verse.

The other foundation is sand.

The LXX (Septuagint) sometimes uses "sand" as "dust".

In Genesis 13:16 God make a promise to Abraham.

In many places in the LXX The modern Greek word "άμμος" (AM-mos) ≈ "sand, dust" is translated as "dust" which comes from the Hebrew word "עפר" (apar) ≈ "dust".

Jesus often refers to himself as the "son of man" which in Hebrew is also saying "son of Adam" or "son of dirt" (or dust or, in this case, sand) .

Is it possible to build a house, as in the "house of Israel" on "sand" or "dust" or human beings?

This happens all the times in human hierarchical organizations such as some (large organized) churches, governments, etc.

More: Exodus 18: Hierarchy as a man-made tree structure

A common type of rock is "granite" which comes from the Latin word "granum" ≈ "grain".

In the above parable, the grains (believers, small group churches) become a big tree (hierarchy, big organized church) such that the birds (evil ones, non-believers) come and nest (reside and live) in the shadow of it.

Great branches are the sign of a tree (empire with a leader) and not a vine (with small branches close to the main vine branch).

Sand consist of many tiny grains.

Sand is produced by breaking "granite" into very small pieces.

Just as (small) man is made in the image of (a big and great) God, so too, (small) sand particles are made in the image of (a big and large) granite rock.

A grain of sand is, so to speak, a "chip off the old block". In terms of silicon, that chip might be a microchip.

There are three elements.

• rain
• rivers (floods in KJV)
• wind

In John, we have the concept of "rivers" and living "water" from the "wind" of the Holy Spirit.

Such are beneficial to a house built on the "rock".

What type of "rivers" and "water" could cause a house built on "sand" to collapse?

Could such "rivers" and "water" that cause destruction from the "wind" of the Holy Spirit? How about the corresponding Avenger of Blood?

The Holy Spirit as often referred to in terms of "water" (rain from heaven) or "wind" (John 3 with Nicodemus) and, with a lot of water, it could be a flood (analogies to the flood of Noah and the end times cataclysms described in Revelation).

Any actions by the Holy Spirit on a house built on the Rock (Jesus) would not cause any issues as that house in united as three in one (the Trinity).

For more information, see the following: Addition: mathematical dimensions of the TrinityAny actions by the Holy Spirit on a house built on sand (people in general) could cause division (from the truth). Since Jesus says "a house divided cannot stand", a house (human government, economy, etc.) built on the people (as sand in the analogy) could not stand and the fall of that infrastructure and house could be great.

For more information on division and divide and conquer, see the following: Divide and conquer or be conquered

For more information on human systems rebelling, see the following: Psalms 2: Self-reference of robots and humans rebelling