In a comment on one of Joshua’s posts, Brian wrote something that gave me sudden insight into what is probably the most important symbol used in the Bible. It is a symbol that is hidden in plain sight: the Hebrew alphabet itself. He wrote:
“As a form of symbolic cipher, language can be amazingly efficient. In English, 26 letters combined into a few thousand words plus a few grammatical rules allow us to share a virtual infinity of ideas and subjective experiences. Unfortunately, the coding/decoding algorithms in language are yet to become as precise as in mathematics.”
Brian’s juxtaposition of mathematics and language can be likened to an esoteric juxtaposition of male and female. Consider mathematics as male (mind and spirit, essence), and language as female (creativity and possibilities of expression, art). You can create a world of ideas with it. However, you need a careful balance of both in order to achieve all that life has to offer, for essence without creation is no life, but creation without essence (without consciousness!) results in chaos, if possible at all.
The Hebrew alphabet reflects this truth because its characters represent both numbers and characters at the same time. As male and female they express both qualities. The Language creates a world of stories but the numbers show the essence, all in the same text. And that means that these characters are ONE and contain All that Is. It means they are holy. I had heard that before but I never really knew why until now.
The same is true for the Greek and probably the Arabic alphabet too, and, judging by the name, maybe for the Egyptian hieroglyphs as well (‘hieros’ means holy in Greek).
*****
Besides the Hebrew characters, there are many other symbols and patterns in the Bible. I will show these symbols in bold characters.
The Sacred Triangle
In my article The Generation of the Christ, I used the register of generations from Abraham to Jesus to describe the process of the generation and birth of the Christ Consciousness within us. Because the genealogy of Christ is divided into three sections of fourteen names each, I want to show you how we can apply the symbol of the triangle, with fourteen names on each side.
- Starting with the patriarchs, who symbolized the incarnation of man into matter, it was clear that this side stood for the descent of man.
- The last fourteen names, which featured the delivery from yet another exile and slavery – explained by the meanings of the names on it – represent the ascending phase into the realms of higher consciousness again, culminating in the birth of the Christ.
- This leaves the middle fourteen names, which stand for the journey of man in the world of matter (including the deepest point of descent and slavery). Active in this section was the principle of David, 4-6-4, and his son, Solomon, which worked towards balancing and integrating all contrasts and opposites of this fourth world of matter.
David ruled 40 years, exactly the same length of time the Israelites wandered the desert after their delivery from Mitsrajim (Egypt). Both stories represent the same process: learning to master the ego and emotions (represented by the number 40). Again, this comprises the base of the triangle.
As a side note, when we look at a cycle as a circle and symbolical history as a straight line, the combination of both shows a spiral moving upwards.
The sacred symbol of the triangle was used by the Ancient Egyptians to express the principle of the divine. In the Bible, the number three is also the number of the divine incarnating spirit, as symbolized by the patriarchs. The number four symbolizes the female side of creation expressed by the four matriarchs. The Egyptians combined the two principles in the pyramids, utilizing four triangular sides.
This symbol could also be used for the way Deepak Chopra, a Hindu, described the word GOD: G stands for Generation, the descending side, O for Organization, the base which is the world of matter, and the D for Disintegration/Regeneration, the ascending side which ends in the return to the Oneness. The result is a new creation pointing at the spiral again.
In each case it is the same symbol and process. The summit of the triangle is both the point of departure and return to Oneness (Christ Consciousness)!
The Inverted Triangle
Consider the inverted triangle with the base on top and a turning point from the descending side into the ascending side on the bottom. I am now going to show you how this symbol can be applied to the serpent and Adam and Eve. In my two former articles, A Deeper Revelation of the Serpent and the Messiah and The Importance of the Words not Written in the Bible, I describe how the serpent lay waiting for Man in order to inform Him/Her about the meaning of ego and emotions. It lay waiting in the branches of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or on top of the base of this triangle, as in this symbol.
The serpent, or ‘nachasj’ is able to convince Eve to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because she symbolically looks at it carefully and sees the possibilities of growth. Then she and Adam descend along the descending side, together with the ‘nachasj’ that pulls them down into the lower levels of consciousness and finally into the world of matter. In my article about The Exodus, the ‘nachasj’ itself symbolically turns into a pharaoh whose downward force finally drowns (in the Red Sea) in the waters of his own emotions and ego. This is the lowest point of descent, the inverted summit of the reversed triangle.
At this lowest point of descent, the ‘nachasj’ or serpent is put to sleep as the Kundalini serpent in 3½ coils. This turning point is the halfway point on the journey through the world of matter, the world of the seventh day. In order to start ascending again, and in order for the Kundalini to be able to start rising, the messiah has to stand up in order to start the process. First the messiah is anointed with oil, or ‘sjemen,’ in Hebrew (= ‘sjmona, 8).
Both the ‘nachasj’ (serpent) and the ‘masjiach’ (messiah) have the numerical value 358, which means they are different phases of one and the same principle.
- The descending side of the triangle is the side of the ‘nachasj’, who is connected to the number six and the metal bronze. ‘Nechosjet’ is the sixth metal in the system of metals, as it is the sixth day. Remember that Moses lifts a bronze serpent up on the pole!
- The ascending side is associated with the messiah and is connected to the number eight; the first phase of it is called the eighth day, which will be followed by a ninth day, which is connected with perfection of the three lower planes so the initiate can go on to return to Oneness on the tenth day.
- The point where these sides meet is the seventh day, as was already mentioned before, and the halfway point of that is the 3½ or 350. When Kundalini lies sleeping at this point (350), he needs another 8 in order to turn into the messiah who can start the process of ascending and the rising of the Kundalini.
It is interesting to note that when David is anointed as king by Samuel, Samuel anoints him with oil (‘sjemen’, 8) which he has brought with him in a horn (‘keren’, 350), which together make up the number 358. So David, the anointed one, (and the process he stands for) is symbolically the first messiah.
Saul, his predecessor ( Sjaoel, the one that the people had asked for) had also been anointed as king by Samuel, but in his case he had brought the oil in a ‘kad’, a can, and the anointment led to nothing.
The eight is the ‘sjemen’, as we saw above, the olive oil, which is produced by crushing the olives – called the sixth fruit in the system of fruits, or the fruit of the sixth day – between the heavy stones of an oil press (‘gat sjemen’, Gethsemane). So here we see that the process of the symbolic number seven (in order to get from the six to the eight), the process of Gethsemane and Golgotha is. This process represents the unbearable pressure and the crucifixion of the ego. It is in this turning point of the seven, at the lowest point also symbolized by the cross (400), that this process takes place.
When the process is finished and the oil has been produced, then the messiah can be anointed and start ascending, the rise of the Kundalini.
The metaphorical process of the crucifixion of the ego can be difficult at times, but is not meant to scare people. In this day and age, as humanity starts to wake up, the emphasis might well lie on processing all emotions we pushed down into our subconscious in the past. We have to let go of them, but it is also important to deal with everything that happens in our life in the NOW with a willingness to see the possibilities of growth in everything.
When, in the light of all this, I look again at the ‘nachasj’, the serpent, I ask myself: What or who is it really? Could it possibly be the Life force itself that descends into the world of matter in us and makes us rise with the Kundalini again, provided that we undertake this process of producing the oil for its anointment to messiah? Joshua seems to think so.
The Star of David
Both these triangles describe the process of the growth of consciousness, but there is also the possibility to combine them and then you get the Star of David, a completely new but well-known symbol.
With the name David we are talking about balancing and integrating. Both triangles have to be in exactly the right position or they will not be totally in balance.
In this symbol the upward pointing triangle symbolizes the female principle (uterus) and matter and the downward pointing triangle symbolizes the male principle and spirit. It shows spirit descending into matter and matter rising up to meet spirit. To achieve true balance requires careful attention to conscious living.
When we look at the birth register again, we see the birth of Jesus (or the Christ) at the top level of consciousness in the world of matter. At the same time he spearheads the descending spirit as he voluntarily descends to the very deepest point of descent, the cross (400; the last character of the Hebrew alphabet) after having gone through the oil press of Gethsemane first in order to produce the oil that is needed to anoint the messiah, who will take up this cross, and also to start the eight day of the resurrection.
So Jesus (the Christ) is both at the top and at the bottom of this Star of David and this creates a certain tension which must be helpful to the balancing. Again we see two levels at the same ‘time’ in the same symbol: the birth of Jesus (the Christ Consciousness) at the top and the completion of his task at the bottom, which enables the Resurrection and Ascension, sort of like a quantum leap.
Such quantum leaps are shown in one of the Mayan Calendars, which shows nine levels of creation, each figuring seven days and six nights, where during the latter half of each seventh day there is a leap of consciousness towards the next level, whereas the development on the lower level also continues. Hence the searching for missing links that might not be there by science.
I will address more on hidden symbols in the Bible in part 2 of this series, coming soon.
Anny, another insightful article. I really enjoyed your opening about the Hebrew characters. This also depends my appreciation for why they are called Holy characters.
I don’t know if you are aware of this, but the genealogy of Christ has also been symbolized in the Christmas tree, which of course is an isosceles triangle. But you have taken it to an entirely new level. I also enjoyed your explanation of the Star of David at it has given me more insight into the totality of this symbol. At first glance some might found it improper to associate this symbol with Christianity, but to do so would be short-sighted. The first mention of the Star of David is in the 12th century, well after the Gospels were written. This symbol was certainly used before, and it transcends religious affiliation. Thanks for this contribution!
Hi Josh,
Thanks for your comment. I was also surprised and very happy about this sudden insight in the character of the Hebrew alphabet and others. I am sure there are others in other parts of the world too but I just do not know anything about them.
I did not know that there was any sort of connection between the genealogy of Christ and the Christmas tree. The only thing I heard about that is that that tree symbolizes life in the midst of death as it does not shed its needles in winter, or if they do at least not all of them. I have never given it much thought however.
I think that most of the well-known symbols that by now are being associated with a certain religion in fact are all universal symbols.
Anny
This is truly enlightening Anny, as your articles always are. One thing I find quite interesting is that in college I join a Fraternity and one of our Identifying signals is the Holy tetractys , an equal lateral triangle used by Pythagoras to represent Divinity. The triangle is made up of 10 dots in 4 rows. the top dot (Row 1) represents a Point , Row 2 consist of 2 dots representing a line (or two points and the space between), Row 3 consist of 3 dots and represents a plane, while Row 4 contains 4 dots and represents a Solid. Together these create 10, the number of Divinity.
I remember learning about the meaning of this symbol during our rituals and how it felt like so much more than just a symbol (so much so that I have it tattooed on my body). I mention all of this because I find it amazing how the God (we) are constantly showing ourselves the truth in hopes that one day it all falls into place and we realize what we truly are.
Hi Justin,
Thanks for your comment. I did not know about this triangle used by Pythagoras. I may have heard about it when it did not mean anything to me though.
It is very interesting and meaningful and indeed has connections to the Hebrew as well, as in four representing a solid (matter) and then the ten of divinity (JHWH). The J (10) is often used as a symbol for that Name.
I totally agree with your last sentence. I think that that is why there are memory triggers everywhere so we can find them and follow the trail, which is what we are doing here also.
Love,
Anny
Hi Anny!
Wonderful work here, very understandable and written with clarity and immense knowledge.
With myself, as with many others here I have picked up symbols, numbers and words along the path/journey, sometimes they were in my face and sometimes hidden in plain sight, but none the less, they seemed perfect for the answer I was presently searching for!
Small miracles occurring all of the time, which is happening everywhere, with everyone.
I do see an encouraging sign in the younger generations, as they have not been as religiously programmed as older generations, which gives them an open mind to discover hidden truths with more ease of mind and spirit.
Sometimes, when I am in a creative essence I like to pen symbols and numbers, and also write poetry, one of the symbols that came to me for myself was a V with 2 waves (water) running through the V. I liked it and used it frequently as a signature on writings, etc.
Like you have said, there are triggers everywhere, as we explore the unknown trail of ourselves and Love!
You Anny, are a Blessing here!
Sparks
Hi Sparks,
As always, thanks for your comment and the wonderful way you phrase it.
You do have a creative gift that I totally lack but do like! I wish I could write poetry as you do, but then again, I have my own talents to be grateful for.
Love,
Anny
Anni,
I don’t know that much about numerology, but you are helping me appreciate it. I understand that Hebrew consonants have numerical values, aleph =1, bet=2, etc up 9, then it gets a little complicated. The first cycle stops at 400, then multipliers are included to cycle from there to the higher numbers. So 400, which is the numerical value of the last consonant Tav, which you mentioned represents the cross, and in an earlier form of paleo-Hebrew, the letter is actually shaped like a tilted cross. The sound of the Tav is like our English “t” which is also a cross shape. The repeated cycle drawn in three dimensions is a spiral that gets larger and larger with the lowest cycle representing numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300,400, The spiral is symbolic in other esoteric spiritual systems. Our DNA is a type of spiral called a double helix. Now I have totally lost track of where I was going with this. But I had a question about your use of the j as a Hebrew letter, which totally confuses me. Is that a yud?
Hi Robert,
You are completely right about the number values. Now, that you say it, yes, another spiral. I had not realized that. There are so many spirals around. It seems to be one of the basic principles. It is exciting to discover them when they are not obvious at first sight.
Yes, I said j because in our alphabet it is a j (JHWH), but of course it is a yod.
Hello Anny,
Great article! The wonderful clarification here (including Josh’s most recent article on a similar subject) is the esoteric or, symbolism value, of the Christmas Crib or, Manger (natural man).
Rather than the Manger signifying the physical birth place of an actual/literal baby, the Crib/Manger represents the lowest decent (of experience) in a person’s life. It represents, as you expound, the downward force (of seven) reaching its lowest point whereby the Christ seed germinates thus, awakening the Kundalini force: the inner-birth triggering process of the “experienced” or, maturating soul’s Ascension journey back to Eden/Unity, to conscious Christ Nature!
Blessings/love!
Raymond
Hello Raymond,
Thank you for your comment and for giving a whole other take on it again. I love it to see so many viewpoints and every new one enriches the whole again.
Thank you!
Love,
Anny
Hi Anny,
Thanks for this article, I really enjoyed how you explained the rich symbolism in the Star of David. It really makes a lot of sense and I think I have a new appreciation for symbols I haven’t had before!
Christine
Hello Christine,
How nice to see you back on the blog again. Thank you for commenting.
Yes, these symbols have so much more meaning than we are normally aware of. It is not this or that but usually both and much more. I love it every time when I discover a new aspect of them again.
Love,
Anny
Anny, isn’t is absolutely incredible how you can have these “WOW” moments when you are in reflection? This is just another great article that you have written, and I love your metaphors you use. I have literally gone to school with your articles. I have an affinity for numbers, but the way you tie them together leaves me fascinated.
In addition, as I read this article and the many contributions by the different writers, I can’t help but reflect on the power of mediation, as the information contained herein is the cumulative result of this incredible practice.
Josh, you are doing an incredible work here. I believe it is only a matter of time before it gains national notoriety.
Anny, thanks again for another incredible article.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your comment.
Yes, sometimes I have these WOW moments too, when everything suddenly falls into place and I end up with the most unexpected results. But formulas and geometrical designs, discovered in the Bible by probably the world’s worst math student I see also as some kind of heavenly joke! It shows that really nothing is impossible!
Love,
Anny
Funny thing about your comment here Anny, is how well if reflects the Matthew 11:25.
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”
Justin,
How right you are! Don’t you just love it?
Anny
Anny, Paul
I did get a chuckle and some encouragement out of the heavenly joke. Is this like Moses the stutterer becoming the spoke person for YHVH? Everything is possible.
Robert,
You make the joke even better! I can imagine myself in that position too! I would hate it, just like Moses.
The main these of this however is: everthing is possible.
Love,
Anny
Anny, I have no idea where in the world you get the idea that you are “the world’s worst math student.” There is just no way anyone as good at numbers as you are could in any way, shape or form resemble the world’s worst math student. On the contrary, you HAVE TO BE incredibly astute when it comes to numbers, and you certainly are! I’m sure your math teachers had no clue who they were dealing with when they were teaching you. I would erase that phrase from my vocabulary if I were you. I’d like to think I am pretty good with numbers, but your approach to them has fascinated me beyond words. 😉
Hi Paul,
Don’t take everything so seriously. I was exaggerating but it does express my feeling about math and related subjects after my experience with my math teacher. I suddenly saw the humour in it all. Getting this gift while I have such an attitude towards the subject.
Thank your for caring,
Anny
Anny, question for you:
Are you at all familiar with the book of Numbers, and what the numbers expressed therein symbolize? I have attempted in the past to study it, but am no closer to understanding it now than I was 20 years ago. You seem to be the perfect person to tackle it, if you haven’t done so already.
Hi Paul,
As I grew up in an orthodox Christian family, of course I have heard the book of Numeri read countless times, but I do not feel any affinity with it at all, so I never looked at it myself in this respect.
I can only do something with a subject that speaks to me as it were. Then I can look at the numbers and maybe see what they mean to me, but I cannot look at just any number in any text that does not mean anything to me and then find a meaning.
I have no scientific approach whatsoever and no need to prove anything because what I find is my truth and does not necessarily have to be someone else’s truth as well. Of course I do love it when my truth also proves to be the truth of someone else who has reached it in a different way, but I do not need it in order to prove that I am right.
I am afraid that I am not the right person to study this material because it does not appeal to me at all. I am sorry I cannot help you there.
Love,
Anny
No problem, Anny. I was just curious. I believe there is great meaning there and I hope to uncover it in the course of time. I am very intrigued by it, as I am by YOUR use of numbers, and I just thought there might be a connection. On the surface, the book of Numbers appears very mundane and boring, but underneath, I think there are some huge gold nuggets in there (of course, it’s the Bible).
Thanks, my dear.
Paul,
I think the number of fighting men in Israel when they went into the desert, about 600,000, means something, and the fact that about the same number were counted in Israel 40 years later when they were about to come out of the desert, The number of Levites, 23,000, also means something, But I think why Numbers is not appealing is not just because the boring listings of the census, but because YHVH is depicted as a wrathful God in the desert, striking down dissension in the ranks, punishing all Israel for the “lack of faith” to obey commands that don’t make sense to them, forbidding Moses to enter the land because of a problem with temper. and mercilessly destroying the Canaanites. One explanation is that Numbers, as well as many other portions of the Torah, was revised in the 5th century BC to prepare Israel to return to the land from Babylonian exile, and so it is geared to use the fear of God to maintain a military-like unity and loyalty among the the returning exiles, and obedience to the priesthood and king. It was a strategy to prevent the Jews from assimilating into or being conquered by the culture that had overgrown their homeland while in exile.
Paul,
It just occurred to me that there may be some interesting similarities between the Greek legend of the Odyssey written by Homer no later than the 6th century BC and portions of the Torah which are believed by scholars to have bee revised later in the 5th century BC in preparation for the retrun from Babylonian exile.. Odysseus, like Israel, is God’s elect. He wanders for 10 years at sea (instead of 40 years in the desert) after winning a mighty battle in the Trojan War (instead of defeating Pharaoh), trying to return to the homeland (instead of the promised land), enduring many trials and tribulations at the hand of Poseidon (YHVH) to humble him and mold virtue, wisdom, and moral strength into his character. When Poseidon finally guides him home, he must wisely access the dangers there and act boldly and skillfully to rescue his family from the hands of corrupt men who have taken over his household (land), and kill them or drive them out.
Hello Robert and Paul,
What these numbers of 600.000 and 23.000 mean I do not know but I do not think that they should be taken literally and neither should the rest of this story.
Already prof. Weinreb taught me that the ‘peoples’, ‘ammim’ in Hebrew, were in this case a symbol for the forces of ego. ‘Am’ is written as 70-40, which means multiplicity and ego. The symbol of war for the crucifixion of this ego is not used in the Bible alone. In the Baghavad Gita, you see the war between two factions of one family and Shiva tells Arjuna to fight and conquer his cousins, which also were the forces of ego. And I have been told that the esoteric meaning of the Jihad in Islam is the same.
In this case the Canaanites are especially mentioned as they were the ‘merchants’ who would buy or sell anything anywhere. Another example of this is when Jesus chases the merchants out of the Temple, I think.
Of course this does not mean that there were no wars between the Israelites and the other peoples in the country but that had nothing to do with a command from God I believe.
As you probably know, I do not believe that Moses was forbidden to enter the Promised Land either but that he did not have to. He ascended from the Nebo after having seen a view of what would happen to the people in the Land. I do not believe in a wrathful God and what Moses had done, hitting on a rock with a stick in order to cause water to flow from it, was something God had commanded him to do once earlier on, even not in this case. I have not been able to figure out what it all meant but very often what seemed to be a punishment in fact proved to be a promise or a blessing, so why not in this case where the name of the mountain bears it out.
Love,
Anny
Hi Robert.
That would be one way of looking at it. Another way would be to see the stories as allegorical stories designed to teach us great spiritual truths. For example, what if the Canaanites simply represented giants in our “land” (fear, doubt, unbelief, etc.) that keep us in bondage and captivity, and that must be mercilessly destroyed, root and branch, without survivor, if we are to inhabit our land and enjoy the fruit (Christ, the vine that produces the wine of fermented grapes) thereof?
Hello Paul,
Your suggestions about the Odyssee does bring back memories as it was one of the books I had to study in Greek in school. I was quite enchanted by the story.
As far as a connection with the story of the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert, I really do not know but it would not at all surprise me if you were right. Maybe every culture has a story of this kind. I find that a fascinating idea and very probable as this task of learning to balance and integrate everything and to crucify the ego is not a task for Jews and Christians alone.
Love,
Anny
Hello Robert,
The comment above is of course meant for you but as I was writing to you both previously I obviously got mixed up. I did check the text but not the name! Sorry.
Love,
Anny
Anny, Paul
I know its cliche, but seems to apply here: “I am you and you are me and we are all together”
Robert,
aha!! vintage Beatles…you must be a fan to remember those lyrics!!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you know you should be glad!!
Beatles fan here as well!!
watched their first US appearance on Ed Sullivan, oh my, how fun was that
was quite a big deal at the time…
Love,
Sparks
So true, Robert.
I love it!! Ain’t it the truth, ain’t it the truth!!
Sparks,
It took me 45 years to fully appreciate what John Lennon meant:
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Me too Robert!
that song is still so amazing and beautiful…
thanks for reminding me
keep dreaming!!
Sparks
Hi Robert and Sparks,
It took me 45 years, if not more, to learn to appreciate the Beatles. I must have heard the song at the time it was brought out but I think that already the first phrase “Imagine there is no heaven” put me off right away and I did not really listen to the rest.
Even though I was kind of a freethinker already at that age, the idea of there being no heaven did not appeal to me at all, nor did their way of living. And then you do not look any farther (or is it further?). Maybe it takes the wisdom of being older to do that. Then again, some people never grow wise and others are already when they are still young. Every life has its own path and probably its own goal of what to learn in that life.
Right now I appreciate this song of John lennon’s as one of the most beautiful I have heard.
Love,
Anny
Anny,
You must have noticed I skipped the first verse about no heaven. I have the same response to it you have. I liked the part about no hell, though. Could be Lennon was challenging the conservative concept of “pie in the sky when we die” and trying to inspire factions of the next generation who had “had it” with manipulative religious rhetoric like “turn or burn” “send your tithes and offerings ahead (to us) for your reward in the afterlife. He might have been trying to present the new generation with a vision of heaven on earth, the Kingdom within. He was familiar with Eastern spirituality.
Hi Robert,
Yes I did but I suddenly remembered. I guess I liked the no hell part too but I never believed in that anyway. I knew God is Love and a loving God just does not create such a thing. I had not tumbled to the fact though that we do.
I must admit that I was never raised with such phrases as turn or burn or by laying a connection between tithes and afterlife. I think I would have revolted much sooner if I had.
I love John Lennon’s vision though and this song makes me emotional when I hear it. I think it is quite popular again because I have heard it several times lately.
I myself have become much closer to Eastern spirituality too, not in the least because of our daughters-in-law of course, but it started much earlier already.
Love,
Anny
Anny,
Our percep[tion of divinity is different than the historical and exoteric one in the OT. The angelic “Commander of the Lord” instructed Joshua to topple Jericho using the power of God, and YHVW guided Israel to displace one native tribe after another and often not to leave prisoners and limited what spoils could be taken, counseled against making peace treaties with certain tribes, whose descendents then became a thorn in Israel’s side as a remembrance of Israel’s disobedience to YHVH. Gideon, who many bibles are named after, was a warrior, and was aided by Deborah who YHVH raised up. The Lord favored David who felled Goliath and carried the Ark of the covenant into battle to obtain victory, and drove the Philistines off the land. So exoterically speaking, the Israel was a warrior nation led by YHVH on the offensive until the time of Solomon. This is what is taught in Sunday school. It also prepared the Jews returning from Babylon to retake Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple with the a sword in one hand and building tools in the other. Your explanation of the esoteric meaning, Canaanites representing the Ego, makes a lot of sense now, to explain our current concept of God. On the other hand, historical evidence confirms the aggressive warlike nature of the Hebrews, even if it does not verify all the events that took place in the bible. They were eventually kept at bay by invading international giants like Greece and Rome who ruled over them, a fulfillment of the prophecies of Hosiah. They were waiting for the warrior Messiah to ride in on a horse with a conquering army to liberate them from political bondage. All this changed when Jesus came in on a donkey and the Temple was destroyed. Jews in the Diaspora learned humility. They helped spread a standard of law, justice and compassion recorded in the bible by their sages. Christians taught the Gospel about a God who conquered personal sin instead of Philistines and Romans, who joined Jews and Non-Jews together, who emphasized faith and a changed heart being superior to compulsory obedience. The compassion of God in the OT does show through in spots, including God’s loyalty as a promise keeper, but a large part of the OT is about a Master who wips his slaves and vanquishes his enemies. The destruction of the last Temple was a global turning point in the right direction. But there is a lot of disparity between the OT and NT on an exoteric level.
Robert,
On history level there was a lot of fighting in the area but that does not necessarily mean that the Israelites always were the aggressors. When you look at the map, you can see that their country is right at the crossroads of the ancient empires that were almost always at each other’s throats and had to pass through Canaan/Palestine to reach each other. And also their plains (you can see part of it on the picture Joshua put next to my article A History) were more fertile than the mountainous regions surrounding it so they were often attacked for that reason alone. I do not mean to say that the Israelites were a blameless people, they were not, but they were not to blame for every war that happened either.
And as I already wrote before more than once, I want to keep interpretation of the Bible separate from actual history.
As far as the superiority of the New Testament is concerned, I believe that both Old and New Testaments are telling the same story at core level. And the superiority of the New Testament certainly did not become apparent in the way a part of the Christians behaved, toward Jews, but also toward almost everyone who was different or believed different during the ages. Your country and mine certainly do not have a happy history in that respect. Fortunately there were always individuals too who did know what it is all about and who acted on that.
I believe that only people who have discovered what is the real Truth in and startingpoint from every religion – and that is unconditional love, which also happens to be the basic energy of the Universe I have been told – will in the end be able to reach the goal of our stay in this world of illusion and make-believe. Because let us not forget that that is what it is.
So it is time for us to wake up and no longer to keep questioning who is to blame for what. We are all entangled aspects of the One Who is playing a game of duality. The way things go I believe the game will come to an end soon.
Love,
Anny
Robert, if you take a look at history and compare it to scriptural revelations, it does indeed appear that the two line up. This, however, is how the spiritual writers are able to make fools out of the wise among us (Rom. 1:22), “concealing the great spiritual truths from the wise and prudent, and revealing them to babes” (Matt. 11:25). This is also how the “false Christs and false prophets” shall arise and “shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matt. 24:24). The paradigm of the Bible as literal history takes us down many blind alleys, and as you astutely observe in your comments, makes absolutely no sense, especially when trying to view God as a God of love. The contradiction is amazing to me.
Paul and Anny,
Thank you for your deep individual insights, which seem so similar but from different angles. I’m taking it all in. I don’t want to seem like I am picking on my ancestors. I am simply reacting to changing paradigms. My wife and I have a lot of history with Messianic Judaism, and I am still becoming aware of, and reacting to, some of its fundamentalist flaws. I think your insights have helped me to sort some of this out.
Robert,
By no means do I want to judge our ancestors. As I believe in reincarnation, we ourselves might have contributed to all this big time. This is not about judging but about finally understanding what it is all about.
Love,
Anny
Hello Anny,
Great article! You have brought much intriguing information to my attention. There are so many wonderful points, I cannot help but share some of the things I have come across that you may benefit from, as I have from what you’ve written.
“The same is true for the Greek and probably the Arabic alphabet too”
If you are still only relatively new to ‘gematria’, it is well worth investigating. It is quite likely that this feature also exists in Arabic: As you may recall, Christ performed precisely 37 miracles according to the gospels. Through gematria we find that 37 is one of the values of the Hebrew word Chokmah, Wisdom; the other value is 73 (ordinal vs standard systems, 1-22 vs 1-400). If we multiply these two, we get 2,701 – the value of Genesis 1:1 as well as many Greek phrases (such as ‘Apostle of Christ’, ‘Work of Faith,’ and ‘Eternal Perfection’). Returning to 37, the name for Allah – in Arabic – has precisely seven parts. In it’s Hebrew “full form,” it has a gematria of 37 (Alaha). Hebrew is very interesting in that way, take for instance the first word of Genesis: Bereisheet (brasyt). It may be read as “In the beginning,” bereisheet, or “(He) Created (the) Six,” bera sheet. It’s like a fractal, a part is representative of the whole.
“In my two former articles, A Deeper Revelation of the Serpent and the Messiah and The Importance of the Words not Written in the Bible, I describe how the serpent lay waiting for Man in order to inform Him/Her about the meaning of ego and emotions. It lay waiting in the branches of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or on top of the base of this triangle, as in this symbol.”
This part struck me: the association with the triangle was very compelling. Through the triangle as representative of Spirit or its realm, we may deduce that it represents ‘the heavens’ above, or the realm of the Zodiac. The serpent lying at wait in the tree of knowledge may be Scorpio, lying just beyond the seventh sign (Libra, the Scales; perhaps symbolic of the completion and balance of Creation). Scorpio is October, the Fall: The Egyptian Serpent of Wisdom, it is the time of the Grape Harvest (wine) and the ‘death of all flesh’ (the Autumn Equinox, or birth of winter in Virgo/Libra, begins to reveal itself). This is the counterpart to the paradisical Creation of the Garden of Eden in the opposite hemisphere (Vernal Equinox, The Crucifixion and rebirth of all life). I am inclined to believe that Eve is Venus, the Morning Star that tempted Adam – the Sun – to rise at dawn and enter into Scorpio. I am inclined to think the same of The Virgin Mary during the Winter Solstice, the planting of the seed of Spring (the birth of Christ, culminating in the Crucifixion in Aries, the Lamb).
“the world of the seventh day.”
This also stood out to me, and I thought I’d share this with you: assuming that you are aware of the Golden Section or Fibonacci Spiral (revealed in Noah’s Ark and the Ark of the Covenant), there is a very definite relation between ‘the world of the seventh day’ and the death of the 33-year old Christ. The world was created in seven days; Christ died after 33 years; the sum of the first seven Fibonacci numbers (1+1+2+3+5+8+13) add up to 33. Therefore Christ is the culmination or pinnacle of Creation. 13 is the gematria value of Unity (Achd) and Love (Ahbh; 13×2=26=YHVH). He is also fully awakened: the Kundalini serpent travels up the spine, 33 discs, to finally reach the head, or Crown – the peak of perception, with 7 orifices.
“The ascending side is associated with the messiah and is connected to the number eight;”
This is remarkably significant, considering the gematria of Jesus. In Greek, Iesous=888! Jesus + Christ = 888 + 1,480 = The Lord = 2,368. The Holy Spirit = 1,080; Fountain of Wisdom = 1,080; “The Holy Spirit, Fountain of Wisdom” = 2,160 = diameter of the Moon in miles!
“When, in the light of all this, I look again at the ‘nachasj’, the serpent, I ask myself: What or who is it really? Could it possibly be the Life force itself that descends into the world of matter in us and makes us rise with the Kundalini again, provided that we undertake this process of producing the oil for its anointment to messiah? Joshua seems to think so.”
How very insightful! And a very valid question, that, if I may point out, is remarkably accurate so far as I can discern. The Serpent, or Living Spiral if you will, is not only a word with a gematria value 7 shy of one year (Serpent 358+7-Day Creation=365 Days of the year), but it is also the symbol of a letter: The Hebrew letter tet is ‘the serpent’, and it is the ninth letter. The Fibonacci Spiral mentioned earlier -of course- resembles a serpent, but not only that, every 12th Fib. number reduces to nine! The twelfth, for instance, is 144 (1+4+4=9). If you align the first with the 13th, second with the 14th, etc, they ALL reduce to 9! Therefore the serpent, 9, is indeed the material blueprint for nearly all life! I’d love to know what you think of these correspondences if you get a chance.
Sincerely,
Jakob
Hello Jakob,
Thank you for your comment on my article. Only today I got a notice in my mailbox that it is there.
I am very glad that you got such a lot out of it, as you obviously know very much about these things yourself. In what you wrote was a lot of new information for me as well. Thank you.
I like the way how you include Greek and Arabic into the gematria as well. I do not really know anything about the Greek version. Somehow I only learned fairly recently that Greek letters are numbers as well and I studied Greek in school for five years and Hebrew for only two years. However, most of my Hebrew I learned in Israel.
As far as gematria itself is concerned, I have read a lot about it during the years but never studied it extensively. Nor do I intend to as it is not a goal in itself for me. I only discovered that I was able to do something with it accidentally, after reading some of the books by prof. Weinreb. Somehow I started to discover a pattern in some Bible texts that was based on both this knowledge and intuitive knowledge. I know there are a lot of ways to use gematria but personally I use only the most simple one.
I am not intending to become an expert in the field but only to increase my understanding of some of the Bible texts and share what I find with others. Of course I am delighted when they share their views with me and show me another angle as well. I do not want to branch out into too many fields myself though.
I find it indeed fascinating to see in how many ways you can read for instance Gen. 1:1. I have also seen it explained as: With a beginning, or, with a point, Elohim created heaven and earth, but also as: … It created Elohim, heaven and earth. Your version I had not yet seen before but is a whole new angle. I like the explanation about the fractal; in fact I have learned that we are fractals as well; fractals of God with everything that God represents in us as a potential.
It is very interesting how you include the Zodiac. I do not know much about it or about astrology as such; I have read about it and acknowledge it as one of the hidden pointers which we have hidden before we entered this world of the deep sleep (tardema) and put on the blindfold (or, animal skin = iwer, blind) in order to find our way back once we started to wake up again. Somehow the Zodiac does not speak to me but I love to hear what it says to others.
I believe this Fibonacci Spiral (are we not also patterned on it, as well as flowers, shells etc.?) is another such pointer. I did not really follow up on how it develops but I do know how it works. All these things are fascinating and I love to hear or read about them occasionally but not really to delve into it all. First of all I have a bad memory, which I recognized as a blessing later on because it forced me to focus on essence. Secondly, I do not have that much time for it as I have a large family and even though my children are long since grown up they somehow seem to keep us pretty busy with everything that is going on in their lives. And I love being a grandmother, it keeps your feet on the ground so to speak.
I had never seen that there was a relation between the Fibonacci Spiral and the number 33. Apart from knowing that it is a master number in other traditions – and I do not know exactly what that entails – I learned from prof. Weinreb that it figures as the root of many words [gl, gimmel and lamed, 3 and 30] as in Gulgolet [Golgotha / skull], Galil, Gilgal, galut [exile], geula [redemption] and others. Of course the link between Galilee and Golgotha and Jesus is obvious, but in his time mankind had reached the deepest point of their descent, the exile, again, and the fact that Spirit [1] in the form of Jesus / Christ descended into this exile with them [geula, 3-1-30-5] meant their redemption. And what to think about the crown of the thorns [kots] in his life that had woken him up [hakets, to wake someone up] which makes it a crown of honour? All these things added together make the symbolism even more beautiful.
I had not realized that 13 is part of 33 in the Fibonacci Spiral, even though I have done the math more than once, but I like it. Thirteen is my most favourite number, precisely for the reason you mention; it shows that Unity/Oneness and Love are one and the same. Ahava you can recognize in the Greek agapè as well, I believe. It is basically the same word. I also share your vision of JHWH, 26 as 2×13. I see it as God as known in duality. I think prof. Weinreb explained this Name as the Name God is known by in the fourth world, which is the world of duality.
The serpent as the number 9 being the material blueprint for life makes sense. I see the number 9 also as a symbol of birth and birth is the entry into physical life. The serpent as the life force and later on the rising kundalini build on this through the whole process till the finish. It all adds up.
Thanks for adding so much knowledge!
Anny
Waw what anazing teaching and insight.