Sometimes we run into people who are selfless in their devotion to God and His work. Elsie Read was one of those. She learned of and embraced the Israel message from listening to Professor Edward Odlum’s radio broadcasts. Intrigued, she began to visit the Association offices and this led to her volunteering her spare hours for everything from clerical duties to writing for the magazine. In later years, she met and married Reverend Herbert W. Aitchison and began volunteering full time to the work. Her organizational skills enabled the Association offices to run smoothly. She served as Secretary of the Board for many years until her retirement in 2000.

THE GREAT PYRAMID

For our study this month let us choose one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, in Egypt. There are several other pyramids in Egypt, but they are simply imitations of the original, which was built before the flood of Noah's day.

The Great Pyramid is the biggest building ever built (having the most material in it) and covers 13½ acres. If you were to walk around its four sides, you would have gone almost two thirds of a mile. It has passageways built inside it one going downwards and ending in a pit; and the other going up into an ante chamber and then on into a large rectangular room which is called the King's Chamber.

The whole structure is built to scale, and the remarkable thing about it is that all the measurements are British measurements. For instance, up in the ante chamber there is a big slab of granite with a little knob on it, which projects just one inch from the slab. This is known as the Pyramid inch, because it is 1/1000 part of an inch shorter than our present inch (a small variation indeed after over 4,000 years). There are exactly 500 million Pyramid inches in the axis of the earth from the North to the South poles.

The cubic capacity of a container the same size as the granite slab would be exactly the British "quarter", used in measuring wheat. Of what is it a quarter? Four of these quarters equal the old Anglo Saxon caldron.

Now, in the King's Chamber, to which we referred above, there is an open tomb or "coffer", as it is called, the capacity of which is exactly this caldron.

Our year is also accurately measured by the Pyramid. Taking the four sides and adding them together (around the base), you get exactly 36524.2 Pyramid inches, which is the same as the number of days in 100 years (100 x 365.24).

These measures, and many others that could be given, are not merely approximate; they are exact, as determined by qualified engineers with the latest surveying equipment.

The Great Pyramid is truly "a sign and a witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt" (Isaiah 19: 20). It is in the midst of the land, and yet it is on the border between Upper and Lower Egypt, thus fulfilling the requirements of Isaiah 19:19.

Editor’s Note:
1. If you would like to hear more about this Wonder, just e-mail or write us. There are also books of interest in “The Bookstore” section of this website.
2. Ms. Read’s articles are so good and still so current that from time to time, one will appear in our monthly magazine.