The Bible and Atlantis

Certain themes and descriptions in the biblical verses, particularly those concerning the downfall of powerful cities or nations, can be symbolically linked to Plato’s account of Atlantis. Below are some parallels between specific biblical verses and Plato’s descriptions of Atlantis:

1. Ezekiel 26:19-21

• Verse: “For thus says the Lord GOD: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living. I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord GOD.”
• Connection to Atlantis: This passage speaks of a city being overwhelmed by “great waters” and becoming a place of desolation, never to be inhabited again. This mirrors Plato’s description of Atlantis, which was swallowed by the sea in a single day and night of misfortune, leaving it lost and unreachable beneath the ocean.

2. Ezekiel 27:26-27

• Verse: “Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas. But the east wind will break you to pieces far out at sea. Your wealth, merchandise and wares, your mariners, sailors and shipwrights, your merchants and all your soldiers, and everyone else on board will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck.”
• Connection to Atlantis: Plato describes Atlantis as a powerful maritime empire. The image of a great seafaring nation being broken apart by forces of nature, its riches and people sinking into the sea, is reminiscent of the destruction of Atlantis. The metaphor of shipwreck could symbolize the sudden and total collapse of a once-great civilization.

3. Isaiah 47:11

• Verse: “Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.”
• Connection to Atlantis: This verse speaks of a sudden, unforeseen catastrophe that cannot be avoided or mitigated, which parallels the fate of Atlantis. Atlantis, according to Plato, was destroyed in a single day and night by catastrophic events, a fate that even its great wealth and power could not prevent.

4. Jeremiah 51:42-43

• Verse: “The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become a desolation, a dry land and a desert, a land in which no one dwells, and through which no son of man passes.”
• Connection to Atlantis: The imagery of the sea overwhelming a powerful city, leading to its complete desolation, is closely related to the myth of Atlantis, which was submerged by the ocean and left as a barren, unreachable place.

5. Isaiah 14:12-15

• Verse: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.”
• Connection to Atlantis: The fall from great heights due to pride and hubris is a common theme both in this passage and in the story of Atlantis. Atlantis was said to have fallen because its people became greedy, corrupt, and overreached in their power, leading to their ultimate destruction.

6. Isaiah 23:11

• Verse: “The LORD has stretched out his hand over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble. He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed.”
• Connection to Atlantis: This verse describes divine intervention over the sea, causing the downfall of kingdoms associated with maritime power, similar to how Atlantis was destroyed as a result of divine punishment for its hubris and corruption.

7. Zephaniah 2:13-15

• Verse: “He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert. Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will be in the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed. This is the city of revelry that lived in safety. She said to herself, ‘I am the one! And there is none besides me.’ What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.”
• Connection to Atlantis: This passage speaks of Nineveh, a great and powerful city, being utterly destroyed and left desolate. The pride of the city (“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”) mirrors the hubris of Atlantis, which according to Plato, led to its downfall. The desolation and transformation into a place inhabited by wild creatures reflect the fate of Atlantis, which was said to have vanished under the sea, leaving no trace of its former glory.

8. Isaiah 14:23

• Verse: “I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD Almighty.”
• Connection to Atlantis: The imagery of a powerful city being swept away and turned into a desolate place, such as a swampland, parallels the story of Atlantis being submerged and lost beneath the sea. The “broom of destruction” symbolizes a thorough and irreversible judgment, similar to the fate that befell Atlantis due to its corruption.

9. Amos 9:5-6

• Verse: “The Lord, the LORD Almighty, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn—the whole land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt; he builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the LORD is his name.”
• Connection to Atlantis: The imagery of the earth melting, rising, and then sinking, along with the waters of the sea being poured out over the land, can be symbolically linked to the destruction of Atlantis. Plato described Atlantis as being swallowed by the sea, a sudden cataclysm that wiped out an entire civilization.

10. Isaiah 5:14-15

• Verse: “Therefore Death expands its jaws, opening wide its mouth; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revelers. So people will be brought low and everyone humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled.”
• Connection to Atlantis: The image of Death swallowing the nobles and masses, leading to the humbling of the arrogant, parallels the fall of Atlantis, a society that Plato described as having become arrogant and corrupt, leading to its destruction.

11. Revelation 18:21

• Verse: “Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: ‘With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.'”
• Connection to Atlantis: The imagery of a great city being thrown into the sea, never to be found again, is strikingly similar to the fate of Atlantis. Atlantis was described by Plato as being swallowed by the sea and disappearing without a trace, much like the fate of Babylon in this apocalyptic vision.

Summary:

The parallels between these biblical passages and Plato’s account of Atlantis are primarily thematic, revolving around the sudden downfall of powerful cities or civilizations, often due to divine judgment, natural catastrophe, or moral failure. The recurring imagery of the sea as an agent of destruction, the fear and awe of surrounding nations, and the irreversible nature of these events are motifs that resonate with the legend of Atlantis. While the Bible does not explicitly reference Atlantis, these themes are shared across many ancient texts and myths, reflecting a universal concern with the fragility of human power and the consequences of hubris.