Studley Royal's Obelisk

A peculiar stone obelisk sits in the grounds of Studley Royal in North Yorkshire, not far from St Mary’s Church and the grounds of Fountains Abbey. Built by the gentry Aislabie family to commemorate themselves in the early nineteenth century, it is one of many such objects up and down the land. A great many are found in Rome and throughout the world, generally as tall and imposing as the prestige of their respective host cities. They originated in ancient Egypt, the earliest one known being the red granite Obelisk of Senusret I, which the patriarch Abraham may have observed. The meaning of its shape and height is unclear, though their tops were not unlike the upper end of a pyramid. They rather look like needles pricking the heavens, or dim recollections of Babel’s Tower, a wasted effort of Man to force his way into heaven. It seems odd that this feature of Egyptian architecture and religion should find itself so popular and common on various continents and different times. Babel may have fallen, but its spirit surely lives on. Whereas God refuses all who enter by towers, He graciously provided a ladder down that we might go up. 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

A D