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Monotremes: Bird-mammal hybrids?

One strong clue that platypuses may be bird-mammal hybrids is the fact that in research appearing in the journal Nature Grützner et al. (2004) reported that platypuses, despite being classified as mammals, lack the gene SRY, which determines sex in mammals, and instead have a gene similar to DMRT1, which determines sex in birds (see also: Veyrunes et al. 2008). They demonstrated that the platypus genome contains sex chromosomes of both bird and mammal origin (read an article about this research >>). As Grützner, specifically stated in an interview: “The platypus actually links the bird sex chromosomes system with the mammalian sex chromosome systems.”

A draft version of the platypus genome (Warren et al. 2008) identified at least two genes otherwise known only in birds (see also Rens et al. 2007). Indeed, some of the sex chromosomes of monotremes share homology with bird sex chromosomes rather than those of mammals, report Veyrunes et al. (2008), who state that there is no homology between the platypus and therian X chromosomes…the platypus X chromosomes have substantial homology with the bird Z chromosome (including DMRT1) and to segments syntenic with this region in the human genome. Thus, platypus sex chromosomes have strong homology with bird, but not to therian† sex chromosomes.

Dohm et al. (2007) and Rens et al. (2007) have also identified regions of homology with the chicken Z sex chromosome on the platypus sex chromosomes X2p and X1p. And yet, Veyrunes et al. (2008, p. 966) found that "not a single BAC identified on the platypus sex chromosomes represented scaffolds that shared homology with the human X chromosome." In other words, researchers have found large regions of the platypus sex chromosomes that are very similar to regions on the chicken sex chromosome Z, and yet no similarity whatsoever to the sex chromosome of a mammal, i.e., the human X chromosome. And Veyrunes et al. (2008, p. 970) specifically state that "Platypus sex chromosomes are more bird-like than mammal-like."

The foregoing genetic evidence, then, is clearly consistent with the idea that platypuses are anciently derived from a cross between a mammal and a bird. So is the fact that they both lay eggs and produce milk. Their strange morphology, too, combines birdlike traits with those of a mammal. Obvious and well-known features of this sort are the presence of both a duckbill and a hair coat. But they also have a variety of lesser-known traits that seem to connect them with birds despite their classification as mammals.

If platypuses are not bird-mammal hybrids, then why should this be the case? It seems that only an extreme bias against the idea that such distant hybrids might be possible can account for the failure of scientists to recognize this obvious implication.

Available evidence for echidnas, the other type of monotreme, points in the same direction as what's available for platypuses. Like platypuses, echidnas lay eggs and produce milk. They also have a birdlike beak, but lack the feathers of a bird, and instead have a coat of spines like a hedgehog or porcupine. And they have many other avian characteristics.

The name monotreme, meaning “single orifice,” refers to the presence in both platypuses and echidnas of a cloaca, a common chamber into which the intestines, as well as the reproductive and urinary ducts, vent (Vaughan et al. 2011, p. 120). Though monotremes of both sexes do have a cloaca (as do birds, reptiles and amphibians), other mammals don't—with the exception of certain Malagasy insectivores known as tenrecs (Vaughan et al. 2011). In fact, the great French anatomist Georges Cuvier stated that the reproductive tracts of monotremes are “infinitely closer to those of oviparous animals than to those of mammals” (Recherches sur les ossemens fossile, vol. 5, p. 68).

It is because platypuses and echidnas have many features that are typical of birds, and not of mammals, that they are classified as separate from all other mammals. Since their genomes both contain genes otherwise found only in birds, and since they have so many other traits that connect them with birds, is it not, perhaps, reasonable to consider the possibility that they are not merely birdlike mammals, but that they are actually rare examples of hybrids descended from ancient, unusual matings between mammals and birds?

One might suppose that such distant crosses would be absolutely impossible, which is the big sticking point for some people. Indeed, there are those who are quite vehement on this point, though it's hard to see why, since little experimentation has been carried out to test the question. Commercial investigations using artificial insemination demonstrate beyond doubt that in some fairly distant crosses among birds (e.g., turkey × chicken or quail × chicken), a small percentage of fertilized eggs actually develop into mature hybrids (McCarthy 2006). And extensive experiments involving the hybridization of distantly related fish, Newman (1915, 1917 and 1918) found that many such crosses did produce hybrids, even in the case of inter-ordinal crosses.

And such findings do not go entirely against expectation. After all, it's not as if a mammal spermatozoon that suddenly found itself in the cloaca of a bird would clasp its blushing cheeks and cry, “Oh my ears and whiskers! I should not be here! Whatever shall I do?” On the contrary, one might reasonably suppose that, at least in certain instances, any such mislaid gamete might swim merrily on, and that one or more of them might at last reach an ovum, and that sometimes, perhaps very rarely, fertilization might occur. And over geological time, among the many such zygotes formed, some few might well have reached maturity and produced offspring.

So it may well be that even in very distant crosses, such as one between a bird and a mammal, after many thousands of matings, a few hybrids would be produced. Indeed, by following the links in the sidebar at right, you will find that there is a great deal of evidence supporting the idea that such hybrids actually do occur. Of course, without experimentation the frequency and ease with which such hybrids are produced must remain a matter of speculation.

If platypuses and echidnas were bird-mammal hybrids it would explain why they, unlike other mammals have so many avian traits. As has already been mentioned, such traits are enumerated on a separate page of this website. As to the specific type of mammal and bird proposed as parents, for a platypus a likely choice would seem to be some sort of duck mated with an otter- or perhaps beaver-like mammal. In the case of the echidna, a reasonable combination would be a hedgehog mated with a kiwi (an echidna actually looks much like a hedgehog body with a kiwi head attached). Such crosses would, of course, be far outside what conventional biological thought would accept as possible. But, then again, perhaps convention is mistaken.

Eukaryotic Cell Biology vs. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness

At the Organelle Scale of the Kingdom of God Within, we find ourselves at the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

The Tabernacle (Mishkan) was the first dwelling place for God in Scripture...

John 1:14
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth"

See that?

The Word was made flesh and became the Tabernacle.

When we studied the Word of God at the Molecular Scale, we saw that the Words...

Adenine
Cytosine
Guanine
Thymine

...became DNA.

DNA eventually forms our Temples, that is to say... our Bodies...

1 Corinthians 6:19
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

That's right.

Tabernacles and Temples in Scripture, represent Human Bodies.

In fact, when studying the descriptions given to Moses on how to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, we find that they truly do describe a Body.

Oh, but not the kind of Body we generally think of when we hear that word.

No.

Remember...

Scripture is a book of Mysteries Revealed.

The kind of Body Scripture has revealed to us is only the size of a Biological Cell!

A Eukaryote Cell to be exact...

"A eukaryote is any organism whose cells contain a nucleus and other organelles enclosed within membranes"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eukaryote

A Eukaryote Cell is what we Humans start of as, after the Moment of Conception.

This first cell is called a Zygote ("joined" or "yoked") formed by a fertilization event between two gametes...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zygote

The Zygote eventually splits and multiplies to form specific types of Cells...

Acts 12:24
"But the word of God grew and multiplied"

By some estimates, there are approximately 216 different types of Cells in the Human Body such as Nerve Cells, Muscle Cells, Blood Cells, Organ Cells, etc.

Remember...

6 * 6 * 6 = 216

So who's body does the Tabernacle belong to?

Hebrews 10:20
"By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh"

Jesus Christ of course.

Thus, we see that the Messiah was conceived by God and the Israelites in the desert and nurtured as they wandered for forty years.

Note that forty weeks is how long a typical pregnancy is...

Numbers 11:12
"Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?"

Lol.

You kinda sorta did there Moses! (Metaphorically speaking of course).

So think about this for a moment. If we use a bit of logic we come to the realization that the Tabernacle is also a picture of Mary's pregnancy!

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Now...

Because there are so many types of Cells to study, we will use this generic version found on Wikipedia...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organelle

...in order to focus on the various components or Organelles.

In the proceeding chapters, we will see how these molecules have combined to become what Biologists call "Organelles".

These Organelles match up precisely with the components of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness...

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The Ark of the Covenant represents the Nucleolus. This is where the story of DNA begins.

The Most Holy Place represents the Nucleus and Chromatin, where the Chromosomes are.

The Covering of 23 Skins represents the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum.

The Veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place represents the Nuclear Membrane.

The Cherubim sewn onto the Veil represent Chromatin and Chromosomes.

The Parting of the Veil represents Nuclear Pores.

The Sprinkling of Blood represents Ribosomes.

The Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum represents the Brazen Altar.

The Mitochondrion represents the Candlestick, sometimes called the Menorah.

The Table of Shewbread represents the Golgi Apparatus.

The Altar of Incense represents Vesicles.

The Brazen Laver represents Cytoplasm.

The Twin Corner Pillars (on West Wall) represent Centrosomes.

The Various Frames, Bars, Ropes, etc. represent the Cytoskeleton.

The Food Offerings represent Vacuoles.

The Pans, Shovels, Waste, etc. represent Lysosomes.

The Courtyard Fence represents the Outer Cell Membrane.

Etc.

Again, we will cover these in more detail as we go along.

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We begin our Organelle journey within the Heart of it all... the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant can be found inside the Most Holy Place and represents the Nucleolus.

The Nucleolus is found inside the Cell Nucleus (the round purple area in our Generic Cell Diagram).

Something important worth mentioning here is that the Ark really consists of two parts...

The square 'box' where Holy Items are stored, and the Mercy Seat or 'lid' so to speak (where the Two Cherubim are).

We will get to the Mercy Seat in a bit.

Inside the Ark, we find three items...

Two Tables of the Testimony (AKA Ten Commandments)
The Golden Pot of Manna
Aaron's Rod that Budded

How these compare with a Nucleolus is so spot-on, it quickly becomes apparent that this is not just mere coincidence.

In fact, all of the Tabernacle Furniture matches up with Cell Organelles in ways that are so obvious (even to a Fourth Grader) one has to wonder why this isn't a mainstream teaching in Church Sermons all across the globe.

Is there a 'cover-up' to hide this information?

You be the judge.

Let's start with this slide of the Ark Contents...

image

Hebrews 9:4
"Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant"

In the slide we see that the Two Tables of the Testimony, or Ten Commandments matches up with Nucleobases.

The Golden Pot of Manna matches up with Deoxyribose.

Aaron's Rod that Budded matches up with the Phosphorus Backbone or the 'Serpent' strands we see in a typical representation of DNA.

We will study each of these components in more detail in order to have good understanding of what they are and how they relate to one another.

Just about everyone has heard of Moses and the Ten Commandments, and so the first item on our list is one of the most easily recognizable...

image

Exodus 31:18
"And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God"

The Two Tables were written on by God himself.

They literally are the Word of God.

Every single living Cell contains something similar called 'Nucleobases'.

As we learned in a previous chapter, Nucleobases are the 'Words' that form all life as we know it...

John 1:14
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth"

They are also called 'Nitrogenous Bases' because Nitrogen is the primary Element they are made of.

Thus, the "Stone with Seven Eyes" or Seven Electrons (mentioned in Zechariah 3:9), is the Chemical Element Nitrogen...

image

Zechariah 3:9
"For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day"

Nitrogen is Element Seven in the Periodic Table of Elements...

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Now we see why Seven is God's favorite number!

Notice the Stone with Seven Eyes has an engraving on it?

The engraving would be the Word of God...

A = Adenine
C = Cytosine
G = Guanine
T = Thymine

Once the Stone with Seven Eyes has been engraved, it now become a Nucleobase.

Note that Zerubbabel, who is mentioned in Zechariah, may be one of God's Top Bioengineers as he is privy to much of this highly advanced information...

Zechariah 4:10
"For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth"

These Words/Nucleobases eventually combine to form something called RNA.

That brings us to Aaron's Rod that Budded...