The Grand Patchwork

In This Section

The Grand Drama and its Unveiling

A Phenomenological Comparison of the Books of Daniel and Revelations

The Unveiling of the Grand Drama

Apocalypse in Music Art and Literature

March 26, 2009

 The Grand Drama and its Unveiling

 

Foreword

            The Grand Drama and its Unveiling are two different works inspired by the secrets of the universe. One is a play or screenplay presented in the art section of this site called the Grand Drama and the other is the Unveiling which is a scholarly look at the influences in the play. These works both see the mysteries of the universe as a giant question mark looming over head that can be grabbed and pulled down into the material world in the form of words. One of these works (the Grand Drama) believes that this could only be done through metaphor and poetry and is therefore, one giant poem. It was found in the Unveiling that the mysteries of the universe could be unraveled by studying words from specific books or sources and drawing parallels between them. These sources include the Zohar, the Bible (New International Version & the New Jerusalem Bible), the Gnostic Gospels and the Apocrypha/Pseudepigrapha.If Jesus felt he had the keys to the mysteries of the universe, then these sources are potentially the best resources to answer the question that permeates us all - Why are we here?

The purpose of the Unveiling is not to debate what ancient scrolls or texts are credible, authenticated or written by so and so, but rather a new look at the texts as they are in themselves. It may not matter who wrote the texts and when, let's set that aside for now because that line of research may be missing the point. The point here, according to the Unveiling, is - what is the message? What do the texts tell us about the meaning of life or about why we are here? These particular texts "as they are" seem to be a more credible source regarding content then any other book written by any other person criticizing their authenticity. If we take the opinion or stance of these other books, we would be getting into hearsay and secondary sources.

Other scholarly opinions are taken into consideration in the paper the Unveiling, however, but they are then compared to the primary sources specified above. Therefore, the point of view of the Unveiling is not as much about whether these texts are written by a particular person but rather about the content it teaches. Parallels from these chosen sources can be made in almost every major religion on Earth. This is how the Kernels of Truth were gathered (see the homepage).

These texts, when analyzed, seem to reveal patterns in many areas of research and spirituality that unveil the world and its history. These patterns seem to lead to the answers of the world’s mysteries. It was found by the Unveiling that underlying everything, there is an unresolved struggle between male and female energies. To solve the mysteries of the universe or answer the question of the meaning of life, would involve an answer that strives to figure out how and why this male/female relationship began, and discover how to get Them back together again!

For the purpose of the site as a whole, male will represent the seen and the female will represent the unseen. 

The Grand Drama is the play or screenplay the Unveiling is analyzing (see the art section). It is written in prose because language is too limited, especially in the form of a paper read on-line. The Grand Drama is inspired by the Zohar’s concept of male and female energies (and many other stories like it form other cultures). It is essentially a love story between Tif’eret and Shekhinah (the names for the male and female Gods according to the Zohar) who meet again after many centuries and accidentally fall in love again, but in a modern day setting. Although these two main characters are not mentioned by name (as Tif’eret and Shekhinah), they are the stars of the Grand Drama and the Unveiling.  

The Unveiling of the Grand Drama

 

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the research that inspired the play the Grand Drama and this paper hypothesize that the reason the world is not perfect is because there is an unsolved struggle between male and female energies. If male and female energies can be brought back into balance, then the answer to the mysteries of the universe will be revealed or unveiled. Apocalypse literally translates into “an unveiling,” (Kermode, 1999). So, the play is also about the end of the world – as we know it today. The major sources of research behind the play that will be analyzed in this paper are the Bible (New International Version & the New Jerusalem Bible; the Gnostic Gospels (Charles, 1965), the Zohar (Matt, 1997). and the Apocrypha/Pseudepigrapha. Although it is greatly debated that these books are primary sources, this paper is not about authenticating the authors of these texts. It is more about studying the texts as they are to find connections and consistencies between them. Comparative evidence of these texts "as they are" were used to answer the age old question of the meaning of life and why we are here. It was concluded that these questions can be answered by recognizing all things can be boiled down to the relationship between male and female energies and could thus be healed with love. It is suggested for future research to find the ultimate balance between these energies and put it into practice in order create a more perfect world (Kroeker, 2008). The idea behind this work is to reveal the underlying secrets of life. This play recognizes that this world is not perfect and thus strives to solve the puzzle of the universe.

            The Grand Drama is a story about Lila. She is the female lead whose name is also a Hindu concept defined as the "Play of God" (Capra, 2000). According to Hindu tradition, God or Brahman is everything, and Atman is the individual’s connection to the Brahman. Thus, the goal of the individual according to the Hindu religion is to seek out union or reunification with the ultimate being (or of Brahman). This is just one example of a microcosm (individual) and macrocosm (world) distinction which in the end implies a unification of opposites. Kabbalah (whose treasured texts include the Zohar which is the Book of Splendor to a Jewish Mystiscism sect. The Kabbalists believe that life is divided into ten which represents the reunification of the nine back to the whole or the "Ogdoad" in this case (Hopper, 1969).

According to Hindu tradition, God is so unfathomable that Brahman had to be broken up into pieces for the normal person to understand it in its completion. This is why there are so many different gods in the Hindu tradition; each god represents a different part or characteristic of the whole God or Brahman (Capra, 2000). According to Hindu tradition, every now and then, when the energy of the earth reaches a certain level, the many different characteristics or gods that make up Brahman as a whole reunite and come back together again as One. 

This idea can also be found in the Kabbalah tradition because according to the Zohar, an entire being is too great or encompasses so much energy that when a being comes down to earth or is born, the being is split into many different individuals. If the being is split in two, they will be male and female soulmates that may or may not be reunited on earth. If the being is split into three, they may live out the Isis and Osiris drama that will be discussed in more detail later in the paper. The reunification or gathering together of a being is found in the Isis and Osiris story because when Osiris was murdered and scattered, she sought to collect all his parts to resurrect him. Since not all the parts were found, she desired to resurrect him in a new body, as their son Horus. This story resonates in the story of Jesus because when he has gathered back all the "sparks", it will be the Second Coming.   

The idea that God is so unfathomable and thus must be broken down into pieces can also be found in the Bible where God tells Moses that he could not show him his face, but only his back. The concept of God might be too complex for the human mind (or the material, linear world) to comprehend, so the idea of God may have to be broken up into tiny pieces for proper understanding. To look God in the face would be like swallowing the Earth whole (Grand Drama, p. 5) and therefore may need to be understood in tiny chunks.There is also a tale about a king whose rules stated that those who broke them were stoned. One day his own son broke the rules and was sentenced to be stoned. The king did not want to see this happen to his own son, so to resolve the problem the king commanded that the stones be broken into tiny pieces so that the pain would not be so unbearable that he might survive the stoning (Traditional).

The Play of God or Lila (as defined by the Hindu tradition) enters the stage here because the story of God or creation can be compared to the stone that is repeatedly thrown at the world that must be broken down into tiny pieces for better understanding. And each time the story comes around there is new information to be received or added in different ways. The basic story repeats, but in different set and setting and to different people who are willing to fill the roles of the play along the way, throughout history.

The two major roles according to the Hindu Tradition are played by Shiva who is the male aspect of God and Shakti, his wife who represents the feminine aspect of God (Capra, 2000). Just like how Tif’eret and Shekhinah are the male and female Gods according to the Kabbalah. Carl Jung (1974) agrees with the sacred union of these figures and refers to Shakti and Shiva in his chapter about mandalas. He reports that Shiva is mostly depicted in the centre of these mandala patterns and often in the arms of Shakti, his wife. There is a hidden reference to these characters on pages 10 and 11 in the Grand Drama in as BatShiva. Her name is actually Batsheva according to the Bible or the Hebrew tradition, but was spelled incorrectly in the screenplay on purpose. Bat is the prefix meaning female or woman in Hebrew and Shiva is the male representation of God according to the Hindu tradition revealing a reference to both the male and female representation of God in one name in the Grand Drama.   

The idea that the two major aspects of God are played by a male and a female entity is not uncommon among different religions. The Grand Drama proposes many different examples, using symbols. So, the first section of this paper will explore symbols that relate to the idea of soulmates and/or male-female aspects of God and the importance of their reunification. The paper will also discuss how the meaning of these symbols seem to switch or be reported in reverse. The paper will then explain why the union of male and female energies is important to the Apocalypse and to the message behind the Grand Drama by taking you through the research or the different stories re-enacted by the Grand Drama.

Symbols of Male-Female aspects of God

The Yin Yang which is the symbol used in Taoism, represents male and female attributes fused into one unifying symbol. The black side representing female and the passive while the white side represents the male and the active force. This is also why it is appropriate to associate the male with the seen and the female aspect as the unseen (see Figure 1 for examples of contemporary art using the symbol of the yin yang that also represents a male and female unification.

 

In further analysis of the symbology of male and female, the sun and moon are also symbols that can represent male and female (see Figure 2).

 

The male aspect is usually portrayed as the sun and the woman as the moon, especially in the Book of Enoch (Charles, 1965). <<The art in the top left corner of Figure 2 is reminiscent of the movie Ladyhawke (1985). This movie is also about a male and female soulmate relationship. One resides in their human form during the day while the other retains and animal form such as a hawk or a wolf. They can glimpse each other briefly at dusk and at dawn until the curse is broken, adding another story of the soulmates who cannot be together due to tragic circumstances to the list>>. This is relevant to the Grand Drama because it is about soulmates reuniting. The sun and moon could also be a religious symbol, providing another example of male female God aspect. The symbol for the Islamic religion is that of a moon and a star and what is the sun, but a star, so perhaps Islamic symbolism could also be seen as a male-female Godly union (see Figure 3 for more art).

 

Going deeper into the search of symbols that represent male and female, the oldest known symbols for male and female are the Ancient Egyptian symbols of the inverted triangle, which represents the male and the upright triangle that represents the female. These symbols were common from Ancient times through to the Middle Ages (see Figure 4; ref: Symbol Chart; Flicker retrieved 2008).

To continue the trend of male-female religious symbolism,when these triangles are brought together, it makes the symbol for the Star of David.

King David and Batsheva

The Star of David is an important Jewish symbol and is depicted on the flag of Israel. It is an important symbol to the Grand Drama because it is a play about soulmates and David too had a soulmate, Batsheva. The story is that he saw her bathing and it was love at first sight. He was so taken in by her that when he found out she was married, he sent that man into war on the first string and he was killed. This action tormented David as he felt very guilty about knowingly sending a man to his death for her. According to the Zohar, David's sins were forgiven because Batsheva was in fact his soul mate (Berg, 2002). It was according to this source that when souls are born on earth they are split into two (perhaps more, but if it split in two), then it would create a soulmate pair.

                              "When the Creator sends them [souls] into the world, all these souls include a  male and a female joined together. They are handed over to a governor, whose name is Lailah (Eng. 'Night'), who oversees human conception. When the souls descend into the world and are handed over to the governor, they are separated from one another. Sometimes one precedes the other in coming down and entering the body of a human being" (Zohar, as cited by Berg, 2002,p. 226).

Note the name of the governor, "Lailah" this is very close to Lila, which is (again) the Hindu term for the Play of God and is also the lead character in the Grand Drama. What is also interesting in this passage is that Lailah "oversees human conception." At conception, the fertilizing of the egg with the sperm creates a zygote that then grows exponentially. Keep this in mind because it is bound to show up later in the paper.

Finding your soul mate is not an easy task, it may take many lifetimes and the relationship may be rocky due to the similar personality. But, if a soulmate pair is reunited, there is rejoicing in heaven (Berg, 2002). This source goes as far to say that Batsheva's husband Uriah had to die in order to "clear the way for the reunification (Berg, 2002, p.227). Could this be the true purpose of life? Is this what God intends as our goal on this earth? Are the stories depicted in the Grand Drama a reflection of God hymnself!? Could it be true, what the Grand Drama suggests, that God too wishes to reunite with his lost love?

The star of David is a very powerful symbol and its representation can also be found in the beautiful Fractal equation (see Physics/Math  section, to see the fractal in action click here ).

 Figure 5.2: The Star of David seen through fractalization.

The Fractal equation or Mandelbrot set, is a very interesting equation because it acts as though it's alive. It's unique properties allow it to be seemingly infinite because its equal sign is more like a back and forth breath motion <<AC/DC man>>. 

 Figure 5.5: the Mandelbrot set or fractal equation narrowed to simplest form (Clarke, 2007)

When the equation is on the one side or inhaling, it reveals the phi or Golden Section (which will be discussed shortly in more detail). When the Fractal equation expands to the other side or "exhales", it reverses direction. (Keep this idea of reversing of direction in mind as it will come up again throughout this paper). The Golden Section is therefore, only half of the story of the Fractal equation. This exchange or "breath" goes back and forth, for what seems like forever.

The perimeter limit seen in Figure 5.2 above does say that equation is infinite, but according to Clark (2007) is not quite infinite. If this equation were to be set in motion and free to expand forever, it could expand to reach the Sirius star system. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and the topic of the Sirius system that will be important later when discussing the story of Isis and Osiris.   

<<On an interesting side note,if one drew out the atom and its path, the Star of David can be found there too>>

Figure 5.8:The Star of David hiding in the symbol for the atom (Kroeker, 1998).

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

Following the trail of symbols, from the Star of David, to his son, Solomon, Solomon's symbol was none other than the pentagram. Like the Atom (and Adam as we shall see later), the pentagram is not explicitly male or female, but rather a perfect balance of both, and/or androgynous. Solomon used this symbol to exorcise demons, and the pentagram was also engraved on his ring (Pike, 1954; Crowley, 1995). Within Solomon's five sided star can be found the Golden Section (see Figure 6). The Golden Section or Golden ratio, as discussed earlier, is an equation of Divine proportions (also see Physics/Math). 

 

 

 

The Golden section or phi is called the Divine Proportion because using symmetry, it can be found in many things in nature that are considered beautiful. For example, the space between the eyes is equal to the size of the eye in a proportionate face. Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man was a study of this divine proportion, which was also used as a blueprint for a church (see Figure 6.5; Baigent & Leigh, 1997).

 

 

Exotic beauty is what Solomon was captured by when he met the Queen of Sheba according to the Grand Drama. It is said that King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba had children and their lineage can be traced to Halisalasi, who was the main figure in the Rastafarian religion. The symbol of the Rastafari can be seen in Figure 5 above, (in the top right hand corner). The story of these two in the Grand Drama is loosely based on the idea that Solomon and the Queen of Sheba had a romantic relationship. How they actually met, in the Grand Drama is admittedly somewhat fabricated. Scholars have researched this theory and admit that they did have a relationship. Other evidence can be found in the Bible in the book that Solomon was thought to have written, Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon. This book is a juicy poem about lovers. Perhaps Solomon was thinking about the Queen of Sheba when he wrote it! The male and female soulmate story can thus also be found in the story of Solomon.

In regard to the symbol of the Pentagram, it has been widely misunderstood to be an evil symbol, or a symbol used in devil worship. This is not the case, but it was used to lift or produce spells against evil spirits. The circle around the five-pointed star is usually a ring of salt that was said to protect people from evil spirits (it was not originally used to evoke them). 

The misunderstanding can be traced to the Romans a the time of the Dark Ages when people were killed for not believing what the church believed. Anything pagan (the worshiping or respecting of the earth through rituals) was considered heresy against the church, so the Green Man, for example, who was the protector and helper of growing crops was turned into the devil.

Many feminine symbols were also turned into being evil (see the documentary The Burning Times).The Pentagram was unfortunately one of them. The Pentagram can be seen as a feminist power symbol because it is actually represents the path Venus tracks through the sky, and Venus represents divine feminine energy. 

Jesus can also be linked to the Pentagram as he stated that "he was the bright and morning star." The morning star can be considered to be Venus, as it is the brightest body seen in the sky first thing in the morning and again at dusk. An interesting connection to the Pentagram and Jesus can be found in Handel's Messiah. This masterpiece evokes the Pentagram when listening to it (Knight, 2008). The song was recently played through metal plates and thousands of metal shards were placed randomly on the plate. As the song played, the shards formed the Pentagram, thus also affecting the magnetic field of the listener's brain (Knight, 2008).   

Tif'eret and Shekhinah

The Star of David and the pentagram are not commonly recognized as a symbol unifying male and female aspects, but according to the Kabbalistic tradition (which is Jewish Mysticism), the female God (or side of God) is referred to as Shekhinah, or Shechinah, and represents the earth and the male side of God is Tif’eret who symbolizes heaven. A scholar of The Zohar, says this about Tif’eret and Shekhinah “According to Kabbalah, every human action here on earth affects the divine realm, either promoting or hindering the union of Shekhinah and her partner – The Holy One” (Matt, 1995). Also according to The Zohar, (which is the key book to the Kabbalah, or Book of Splendor), in the beginning their union became so strong that the energy could not hold them together anymore and in a big burst or orgasm, Tif’eret and Shekhinah were separated from one another (Matt, 1995). <<I love the idea that they were separated by a Grand Orgasm, that's just awesome!!!>> This idea can be seen too in science or physics in the idea of the Big Bang and also seen in biology as mitosis (when a cell’s energy gets too much for its structure, it splits). Perhaps the Big Bang could be compared to a "Grand Mitosis" (or Meiosis?) that resulted in a split between the heavens and the earth. As mentioned before, when the sperm and the ovum of a human fertilize, it creates a zygote that then grows exponentially and this idea of growing and expanding can also be likened to that of an "expanding universe."

The idea of the great opposing forces of the universe, or heaven and earth as being male and female can also be found as a metaphor in Revelations (21:2) that portrays the “New Jerusalem as an entity that comes down out of heaven from God, [to the Earth] prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Biblegateway.com). This metaphor is also a reference to a male/female God-like relationship as it was from the beginning. It could represent the Big Crunch, that is the reverse or the answer to the Big Bang. <<Typical boy loses girl (Big Bang), and wins girl back (Big Crunch)scenario  >> The idea of a reversal is also reminiscent of the Fractal equation mentioned above that, when the equation "exhales," it reverses motion or direction. Perhaps this is how life on earth can be perpetual, the universe expands, then gathers itself back; an explosion that leads to an implosion, setting the universe back in motion. Much like how the Hindu tradition (as mentioned in the Abstract section of this paper) believes that the different gods or characteristics of Brahman will one day reunite. (Also keep this reversal of direction in mind as it will come up again in the section of Isis and Osiris).

 

Figure 6.8: My understanding of the perpetual motion of the universe, (2009/2010).

Elohim and Eden

The idea that God may have a male and a female aspect or relationship is just what the Grand Drama is all about. It is inspired by the story of soulmates (as influenced by the Gnostic Gospels' Book of Baruch by Justin). Like the reference to Revelations mentioned earlier, this Gospel too tells a story of soulmates and how the male and female aspects or roles of God interact, or what their soap opera-ish story was. According to this Gospel, there are three faces or beings that make up God. One (a male) has foresight and can see the future, and the other two (male and female) cannot.These latter two, (Elohim and Eden), ended up falling in love and creating the earth out of their commitment to each other. Elohim is said to have supplied the spirit to mankind and Eden, the soul.

He (Elohim), after creation, went up to heaven to see what was lacking in it. In the process, he had to leave her (Eden) on earth because she is the Earth. <<Here we see another story about the separation and hopefully reunion of heaven and earth>> According to the story He never returned to her again and a power struggle began (see the Grand Drama, pp. 18 &19 for more information regarding the story of Elohim and Eden). She was so distraught, that she sought to punish Elohim so he would feel the same anguish. This is probably why most marriages come to a power struggle, because our world is repeating the behaviour seen as child growing up. Perhaps most marriages end in divorce because we are all children born into a family that also ended in divorce.

In regard the the story of Elohim and Eden, we don't really know what happened because the account is very vague and written in parable style. But we do know that according to the story, Elohim provided the spirit that is in each person and Eden provided the soul (Meyer, 2004). When Elohim went up to heaven to see what was lacking in creation. While up there he saw a light that was brighter than his own. He thought he was God, so was curious about this other entity that was brighter or higher than he. He was invited into the presence of the other Lord who has foresight. Upon seeing creation and what he had made, he then wished to destroy the earth because his spirit was trapped inside it, within humankind. The Lord that he met when he ascended told him that he could not do anything evil while with him (come sit on my right). It was because of this other entity that Elohim never returned to his wife Eden (Meyer, 2004).

It is hard to piece together the details of this account because the Gnostic Gospels in general are very fragmented and it is quite hard to fill in the blanks (like the Dialogue of the Saviour, for example). The story of Elohim and Eden did not have an ending that seemed to have a resolution. This could suggest that the the story of Elohim and Eden may be THE story, the "Root Story" that has been cycling throughout history and therefore, it could be the Hindu's Lila or the grand drama that could reveal the truth about our past, our true roots. Perhaps if we were one with our roots we could produce a perpetual motion, thus achieving immortality. <<What if the Hindu idea is also correct that we are all different personalities of God and that we will one day reunite and shine as One God again>>

The infection is trying to work its way out, and there is a hole that Elohim left in Eden's heart for going back on their vows. And, as said in the Gospel, if she would have known that he ascended and was with the good, she would have never reigned such terror on the spirit within humanity (Meyer, 2005; Berg, 2002).

The story of Elohim and Eden is important to solving the mysteries of the universe because perhaps it is this story that led to mortality and is the reason we die. Mortality could be due to not having the proper roots. Perhaps we have forgotten or have been mislead from our true source and this is why we die. We must then reunite or reconnect with our past or our true origins.Perhaps if we were in tune with our true roots, we would not be mortal.

The divorce between the male and female creators of earth could be the soil bed for the "thrones" that began to grow in the Garden (that must be weeded out). So, the idea that heaven and Earth came together or reunited may be an apt metaphor for the end, or to the Apocalypse. This is because, if it all began from a separation, the a reunification may signal the end of the dilemma and signal the confirmation of the end. This idea can be backed up by other Gnostic Gospels because according to the Gospel of Philip, "If the female had not seperated from the male, the female and the fmale would not have died. The speration of male and female was the beginning of death. Christ came to heal the separtation that was from the beginning and re4unite the two, in order to give life to those who died through the separtation and unite them" (Meyer, 2005, p. 70).Here is a quote from the Gospel of Thomas in regard to this idea "Jesus said to them, 'When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female,...then you will enter [the kingdom]'" (Meyer, 2005, p. 12).

The Apocalypse is about a revealing of the truth, that will be uncovered in the end of days. Thus, bringing us back to the idea of uncovering the truth and the truth shall be revealed. The Grand Drama takes the story of Elohim and Eden to the next level by postulating what would happen in Elohim and Eden ever met again, on Earth now, in 2010. <<or perhaps 2012?>> 

From what is gathered from the Gospel is that Elohim was to represent heaven and Eden the earth. What is also interesting about the symbolism of heaven and earth representing the male and female sides of God is that the symbol of the cross also represents the union of heaven and earth (Burstein, 2006). The horizontal line of the cross represents the earth and the vertical line represents heaven (see Figure 7).

 

 

 <<St. Paul insisted to be buried upside down or in reverse position of Jesus or Y'shwah>>

Looking at the symbolism of the cross more closely, In Indian Buddhism, the vertical line is that of the yogi who is inward and passive and the Commassar who is aggressively active and represents the horizontal line (Personal communication, W. Chan, April 6, 2009). In society, the stereotypes for male and female indicate that the female is generally passive and the male is more aggressive. Thus, male and female classifications are portrayed here as opposing forces <<or are they just reversed?>>

Other interpretations from Ancient times to the Middle Ages, have this reversed because it is the horizontal line that represents “The symbol of the passive female element,” that divides water from the sky. The vertical line is “The symbol of the active male element” that divides the light from the dark (Symbol Chart).

Figure 7.2: The Chart of Symbols: Symbols from Ancient Times to the Middle Ages (nd).

These symbols however, are placed inside a circle and according to this same chart, the symbol for creation is a cross inside a circle. If these ancient symbols point to a creation then do they also point to a way to reconcile male and female counterparts in the end?

The symbol for the cross can have many different interpretations. For example, it could be considered a graph <<or perhaps a graft>> or a compass. The graph having four sides can house the Golden Section equation. The cross can also resemble the compass as was the reference in the Grand Drama. The letters of the compass in the play were brought together to create the word “sewn.” This is important in regard to male and female counterparts because according to the Zohar, Adam (both male and female together- more on that later) was made when East and West united  (Matt, 2004).

 

    

Figure 7.5: The compass shown as spelling sewn, (Kroeker, 2009).

Coming back to the idea of reversals in symbols, north and south can also reverse polarity. It has happened before in the past. It is said by earth scientists that we may be in the middle of a polar reversal right now (p.c. R. Cheel, 2008, current date June 2010). Polar reversals have happened before in the past, and it can be verified by measuring the magnetic field around rocks buried deep beneath the surface of the earth. The magnetic fields of the rocks reflect or mirror the magnetic field in the earth and this is how they can determine the location of continents etc. and where glaciers covered the earth. The magnetic field of the earth protects us from the harmful rays of the sun. As the poles shift, the field reduces to zero or neutral (this could be why the sun burns our skin more so now, then in the past). When the reversal continues and continues through, our compasses will read south instead of north, reversing the directions given to airplanes etc. <<This is perhaps why I drew Figure 7.5 that way!>>

Another type of reversal similar to a reversal in polarity, is the idea of polar shift. In 2012 November, something astronomical is predicted to occur (p.c, R. Ccheel, 2008). A comet has been spotted heading our way but is not close enough to crash into us. It will come closer to Earth than any other comet  since <<<T- something look up this reference???!!!>>>. The comet is not predicted to hit the earth, but its size might affect our atmosphere or balance by throwing our planet off kilter and into the gravitational pull of the next major star. That would be Vega. Vega could be our new North Star according to (National Geographic: Our Universe, 1979).But, more on reversals later.

Bringing the line of thought back to the symbolism of the cross, which represents heaven and earth united, and according to the symbol chart also represents a male/female union, this isn't generally what one thinks of when presented with the symbol of the cross. The figure most associated with the cross would be that of Jesus. 

Jesus and Mary of Magdala

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One of the most suppressed and scandalous relationships ever talked (or not talked about) has to be that of the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ. The story of the relationship between these two characters is not new to this website (see the New Age/Orthodox section). But, they too shared a soulmate love story relationship that resembled many other stories throughout history. For example, the story of Sophia, the Goddess of Wisdom, who represents the psyche is an important mythical figure in both Pagan and Jewish Gnostic sources (Burstein, 2006).     

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According to the Bible, the last words of Jesus on the cross can be translated to “it is finished” or “it is done.” The passage from Revelations mentioned above about heaven coming down to a bride goes on to say "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (21:6). Perhaps the symbols for alpha and omega could also represent a male-female relationship (see Figure 8) << The symbol of the fish happens to be similar to the Greek symbol for alpha, thus providing more interesting parallels to Jesus>>. 

 

***Note the rearrangement of the male and female triangular symbols to the right!***

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Alpha and the Omega: The Reaping of the Ages

The Grand Drama suggests that the apocalypse is about the reaping of the ages (p.8). The end of each age is supposed to bring about an End of Days (Lorie, 1994). Jesus was born at the merging of the end of the age of Capricorn and the beginning of the age of Pisces which was said to have started in 50 AD (Lorie, 1994). ***Note how Ages move backward and regular time and their horoscopes move in the "clockwise direction." Pisces --> Aries (which is the first sign representing the bridge between first and last). This source states that each age lasts 2000 years (Lorie, 1994) and thus the end of the Pisces era would be around 2050. However, this source contradicts itself because it says that the beginning of the Age of Aquarius has already begun. The Grand Drama’s interpretation regarding the reaping of the ages places Jesus as the authority that will come and reap the benefits or energy of the Pisces era, and this would be the Second Coming.

The symbol for Pisces is that of two fish. The fish are usually depicted as swimming away from one another in different directions (Russel, 1997). 

 

The task for the one who is born under this sign is to get the two fish to swim together in the same direction or line, a metaphor for finding balance between the two opposites (Russel, 1997).Pisces is a sign that is considered to be a "central pillar" (Matt, 1994) when it comes down to Jewish Mysticism and the cosmos. 

The concept of balancing opposites, may be very important for the End Times scenario. To keep consistent with symbology, perhaps Ayden and Lila should both be Pisces. A horoscope book reflecting on a relationship between two Pisces says that a “Piscean mate is like a reflected map of your own soul” (Russel, 1997), which, of course links back to the idea of mates of the soul.

The idea behind the Grand Drama is that a particular story repeats itself throughout history (The Hindu Lila) and is about the relationship between the male and female aspects of God. As the story repeats, it lends itself out to different interpretations, situations or stages, that the story wishes to unravel into their dreams. Part of this idea is that there is a big prize to the one who can stop this story from skipping or repeating itself again in the future (the one who can put Humpty Dumpty back together again; see pages 8 & 25). The prize in this story is 1000 years of peace and the chance to play Jesus in the Second Coming (perhaps similar to a journey together after tapping into Jesus’ path of release).

According to the Grand Drama, many people have taken on the roles in this story and have failed to prevent it from skipping. If they fail, it means the “bad guy” or Yaldabaoth wins and the story and it continues to repeat its horrors again by lending out roles to others who wish to take on the challenge. It could, however, be argued that these characters continue to be reincarnated throughout history and perhaps always live out the same story until new levels can be achieved <<like a New Age video game>>. But, regardless of whether these roles can be filled by anyone, or only by those from the beginning, the particular story that continues to repeat itself according to the Grand Drama is that of the Fall which is the story about the beginning.

Since this story is about the beginning, it must therefore also be about the End. This is because the beginning is the end as mentioned in Isaiah (46:10) “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.” Perhaps these references imply that the story of the beginning is also the story of the end. Perhaps the apocalypse is about the dividing line between the two, one that ends in reunion. Therefore, the concept of the End in the Grand Drama is operationally defined as Frank Kermode’s (1999) definition of the apocalypse, which describes the Second Coming as the remedy to the Fall. If the Fall created mortal sorrow or death, then the Second Coming is a resurrection, but, what kind of resurrection? Could the Second Coming symbolize a reincarnation?

Pope Sylvester’s quote from his last mass in 999AD said that Christ was to “emerge in the Eucharist to be seen by the faithful, but to emerge on Earth from Heaven in his Second Coming” (PBS, 1999). Not only is the unification of heaven and earth mentioned again here, but the Eucharist too was mentioned in relation to the Second Coming and Jesus. The Eucharist is important because it was said to be an old Pagan ritual, “based on the ancient rites of the mystical marriage” (Burstein, 2006, p. 101). The Book The Gospel of the Beloved Disciple suggests Mary was in Jesus’ lap during the Last Supper (Burstein, 2006). This is why the idea of marriage and the unification of opposites are important to the apocalypse, especially if the main roles in the story are that of the male and female aspects of God. Could the story of Jesus and Mary remedy to the Fall through a mystical symbolic reunion or marriage ( see the Orthodox vs New Age page for more information regarding this matter).

The idea of Shiva and Shakti, T’iferet and Shekhinah, Adam and “Eve”, Isis and Osiris, David and Batshiva, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Elohim and Eden, Jesus and Mary (to name a few) have taken on these major roles in the story of the Fall and thus symbolize or represent the story of the male and female halves of God. If the apocalypse can be defined as the remedy to the Fall, then perhaps this story can be remedied by reuniting the male and female aspects of God. Repeating the quote found in the Gospel of Phillip, (which is one of the Books in the Gnostic Gospels found at Nag Hammadi in 1945) backs up this hypothesis.

"If the female had not separated from the male, the female and the male would not have died. The separation of male and female was the beginning of death. Christ came to heal the separation that was from the beginning and reunite the two, in order to give life to those who died through separation and unite them" (Meyer, 2005, p. 70).

Perhaps Jesus did have a relationship with Mary and perhaps they were married (Biagent, Leigh & Lincoln, 1995/96; Burstein, 2006). Perhaps he tried to reunite the male and female aspects of God by teaching about egalitarianism and equality for all (Meyer, 2005; Burstein, 2006). He did teach about androgyny too. To repeat the quote from the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven the must become no longer male, and the female must become no longer female (Meyer, 2005).  If the Fall was about the separation of the male and female, then the remedy to the Fall must be the reunion or marriage of these two powers (whether it necessitates reincarnation or not is not yet known).

Ayden and Lila

The Grand Drama starts out with the story of the contemporary lovers (Ayden and Lila). A character sketch for these characters would be that they are new friends, ones who just met, but are inexplicably attracted to one another. They are like two peas in a pod and get along so well that it is almost like they have met before, perhaps in a past life. They have so much in common and are so attuned that odd things like telepathy start happening (see p. 26 Grand Drama to see an example of telepathy). Unfortunately, Ayden and Lila are both married to other people, but they recognize each other as soulmates. This is why the potential kiss at the beginning for them is dangerous and could turn their worlds upside down. What they did not realize was that this scenario has consequences on many different levels. Ayden and Lila therefore, have unknowingly taken on the roles of the male and female aspects of God, who through them happen to have met again by chance and accidentally fall in love.  

When the term soulmate is used, it usually implies that these characters have achieved true love of some kind. One major characteristic associated with soul mates is that they are generally forbidden or unable to be together for some reason (Romeo and Juliet for example). Due to their pure, deep love and their inability to be together, these stories usually end in tragedy. But, is there any remedy? Is there even any justification for idea of soulmates in the first place? Do they really exist? This is what the Essential Zohar has to say about soul mates.

“Souls that are destined to come into the world appear before [God] as pairs, each soul divided into male and female halves…When souls descend into the world…they are separated from one another. Sometimes one precedes the other in coming down and entering the body of a human being. …the Light brought into the world by reunited soul mates hugely benefits all [but] the relationship may not be a smooth one in conventional terms” (Berg, 2002).

It is very romantic to believe in the idea of soulmates, but when it comes down to it, personal opinion states that most people do not, however a Facebook pole has found eleven people believe and seven do not. But, if the beginning is truly the end, then perhaps in order to remedy the Fall, it may be necessary to first understand what went on at the creation, or in the true beginning.

The Creation

The conventional story of the beginning, according to the Bible is that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Heavens and the earth maintain a popular theme so far in this paper. In light of what was mentioned previously, perhaps there is a hidden layer of meaning, referring to the first (non-corporeal) male and female being. Especially because the creation story goes on to say…  

“God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse “sky” (Genesis 1:6).

God thus separated the water from the sky (very much like the ancient symbol for woman mentioned earlier). The next event in the creation at the beginning according to the Bible is that “God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night” (Genesis 1:16). God separated day and night or light and dark which is much like the ancient symbol for man. The sun and the moon have also been previously mentioned in regard to a reference of male and female aspects. Could all of these creation references hint at the creation of male and female energies? Ontology would wonder which came first, the male or the female.

From here, the story of the creation goes on to the creation of “man.” Genesis (1:27) states that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). The pronoun him was used in reference to what was created, implying a male creation. The next part is confusing however, because it states (in potentially the same breath), that “male and female he created them.” But, then again it also states that God created man in his own image. This could imply the ontological significance of the male being. The pronoun in this passage however, is not capitalized as it is in the first appearance of a pronoun referring to God in Genesis, 1:4, which is a capitalized “He.” Does this creation story imply God was creating himself, or a mirror image of himself with male and female counter parts? If so, then Sartre was correct, that 1 + 1 equals 1 (SVC, 2004) because God was One, then made Adam in his image, then they were two, one male entity and one female entity (1 + 1 = One). That is the Bible’s interpretation of the creation, what are some others?  

Further research into creation stories revealed the interpretation in of Kabbalah to be almost the same, except for an interesting addition. The Zohar reads “On the day that God created Adam, in the likeness of God He created him, male and female He created them. He blessed them and called their name Adam” (Matt, 2002). The pronouns referring to God are capitalized in this version and it is interesting that the name Adam is mentioned.

The Biblical account does not mention Adam until Genesis (2:20) and the name is used abruptly, yet in passing, without any introduction (according to Biblegateway’s New International Version). The Zohar account is very similar, to the Biblical account, except for the addition of “He blessed them and called their name Adam” (Matt, 2004, p. 21). This passage may imply that the male and female were created equal because it states that God called their name Adam. The passage adds yet another line that is missing from the New International Version account. The Zohar reads “blessings are found only where male and female are found” (Matt, 2004, p.23). This may confirm that male and female were created equal. This implies they must have been unified in a perfect balance. Regardless, the female is equal to the male and the male equal to the female and together represent the image of God as an androgynous whole. If they were two separate beings, they are considered as one because “A human being is only called Adam when male and female are as one” (Matt, 2004, p. 23).

This passage implies that the perfect balance between male and female energies or androgyny is like the image of God. If Adam was made in the image of God then it could be said that God is thus the image of Adam (math as opposed to algebra). This necessitates the need for more research about God. Perhaps if we knew more about God, then we could know Adam. The Zohar again provides interesting information regarding this God “The Divine Realm is androgynous, comprising of Tif’eret and Shekhinah. From the union of this divine couple, all souls are born, and are too androgynous” (Matt, 2004). Therefore, it could be that Adam was an androgynous union at the beginning.

The story of Tif’eret and Shekhinah runs very deep, their representations actually reside within something called the “Tree of Life” which is the sacred symbol of the Kabbalah (this symbol would be too hard to draw in the sand, see Figure 10). Looking at the “Tree of Life,” if you were sitting on His right, who would you be? Also see the bottom left corner of Figure 10, this is another representation or symbol used to depict or describe this tree. Notice how it is the Star of David, displayed a little differently (and as said previously, the triangles represent a male and female unity). “The union of Shekhinah and Tif’eret is the goal of spiritual life” and the righteous person “can bring about the union of the divine couple” (Matt, 2004, p. xxvii)

The remedy to the Fall may be to once again reach the perfect androgyny or marriage between male and female energies. But, this idea could also be interpreted as an intrapersonal adventure as much as an interpersonal one. Thus the remedy to the Fall could be a polarization of the sexes between two people in a relationship, or could imply a polarization within the self. It could even be interpreted as both, the polarization within two people that later form a relationship. One cannot truly know and love another person until he or she can truly know and love the self (author’ interpretation, agreeing with Maslow and Erickson; Santrok & Mitterer, 2004). But, if their name was called Adam, how would that work? This would imply a single being consisting of both male and female aspects, or was Adam two separate beings (one male and one female) representing God as a whole? And if they were one, is it a true contortion or a metaphor? Further research might therefore be necessary to investigate these questions by looking into other stories of the creation suggested in the Grand Drama. Perhaps they could shed some light on the subject.

Adam and Lilith

The legend of Lilith states that she has wings and long-hair who was also Adam’s first wife, the one that was truly equal with him and both were made from the Dust of the Earth (Rappoport, n.d). She is mostly described as a demoness who, from the union with Adam spawned Asmodeus, who is the guardian of secrets (Graves & Patai, 1964) and many other demons (Rappoport, n.d).

According to the legend of Lilith, she and Adam argued a lot regarding equality, Adam wanted her to obey him but she maintained her equal position because she too was made of the Dust of the Earth. Some say their arguing was about while making love he wanted her to be on the bottom because he thought she should be below him and be subservient (Graves and Patai, 1964; Rappoport, n.d). During this argument she called out for God and disappeared. "And thus they quarrelled and none would give in. And when Lilith saw this she spoke the Ineffable Name of the Creator and soared up into the air (Rappoport, n.d). Another source states “Because Adam tried to compel her into obedience by force, Lilith, in a rage, uttered the magic name of God, rose into the air and left him” (Graves and Patai, 1964).

Some say that if you were to speak the true name of God, he or she would acquire omnipotent powers of eternal life (Baigent & Leigh, 1997). But, since Lilith was angry because Adam had banished her (Matt, 2004) when she spoke the name of God, perhaps this victimized or negative position caused her to remain forever in a fallen state (author’s interpretation). This may have given her powers of a demon (hence reputation of a demoness), rather than a Christ or Adam (author’s interpretation).  In order to remedy her fallen condition, she may have been allowed to take certain children for her own (author’s interpretation). But, just before Lilith cries out the true name of God, she calls Adam (or the spirit who has taken over Adam the Grand Drama p. 4), a daemon which is a reference to Socrates’ inner voice that never says anything positive to him (Hadot, 2002). Nevertheless, the true name of God remains a mystery.

There is some mention of her new powers because Lilith was given power over children who would die at a young age (up to eight days for a circumcised boy and up to twenty days for a girl. Rappoport, n.d). Sometimes adult men could also succumb to her power while asleep in their dreams (Rappoport, n.d).

There is much debate over whether Adam was a conjoined entity with Lilith, or two separate entities. Hoeller’s (1997) interpretation states instead that Adam was a creation of two beings. He created one, the female was attached to the male in a backward facing position and the male was attached to her in a forward facing position. Hoeller (1997) goes on to say that that God then changed his mind and separated them into two beings. This passage also suggests Adam and Lilith (or Eve) may have been a conjoined twin at one point. Another account agrees with this conjoined twin idea and also believes Adam was an androgynous whole who’s male and female parts were conjoined back to back (Graves and Patai, 1964). Since this was impractical, God “split the Adam” (author’s wording, 1997). Then perhaps placed them in Eden and forbade them to mate (Heoller, 1997).

Another Kabbalistic interpretation found in The Greater Holy Assembly is consistent with this passage regarding Adam. Under the heading “Concerning the Separation of the Masculine and the Feminine, and Concerning their Conjunction it states “And when He wisheth to separate them He causeth an ecstasy (or trance) to fall upon Microprosopus, and separateth the Woman from His back” (Mathers, 1912, v. 1028). The idea in this passage was that they were to be separated and perhaps forbidden to couple until the time was right; or until “Her day, on which She is ready to be brought before the Male” (v. 1029). Why would they have forbidden them to couple? Would their union make them too powerful? Thus, threatening? Why can they not meet face to face yet?

More references about Adam can be found in the Zohar.

“When the three letters had come down below (alef, dalet & mem), there was perceived in their form, complete, the name Adam, to comprehend male and female. The female was fastened to the side of the male, and God cast the male into a deep slumber, and he lay on the site of the Temple. God then cut the female from him and decked her as a bride and led her to him, as it is written, “And he took one of his sides, and closed up the place with flesh” (Gen. 2:20). In the ancient books, I have seen it said that here the word “one” means “one woman,” that is, the original Lilith, who lay with him and from him conceived… Adam and Eve, as we have said, were created side by side. Why not face to face? For the reason that heaven and earth were not yet in complete harmony…When the lower union was rendered perfect, and Adam and Eve turned face to face, then was the upper union perfected” (Scholem, 1977, bold added).

This passage implies that when Adam and “Eve” meet face to face the heaven and the earth can become as one again in peaceful harmony. After all, as mentioned above the relationship between the heaven and the earth at creation was good and in perfect balance. This passage is actually quite immaculate because it says everything. To unpack it would be a great task, but may also be necessary. First of all, there are three letters, thus three androgynous entities (male + female = God which equals 3). The female was fastened to his side, in this case, decked as a bride (thus implying a relationship or a marriage of some kind). This is different from the other passages because they say she was fastened to his back, not his side.

The idea of Adam and Lilith meeting face to face might be the most useful aspect of these aforementioned passages because it may suggest a remedy to the Fall. Therefore, this passage implies that Adam was one being consisting of a male and female part, but was separated into two beings, that may be still waiting to meet each other face to face. This could be how the remedy to the Fall could happen because this passage goes on to say “When She could sit before Him, He ceased from those creatures, and they were not completed because the Mother sat before the King, and they were associated together face to face” (Mathers, v. 1036). When these two meet face to face (Mircroprosopus, and Macroprosopus, according to this source), it seems as though everything stops or gets put on hold because they are once again associated together. Perhaps the unveiling or the apocalypse will occur when these two major characters meet again face to face, as soulmates (author’s interpretation). This is why the union of Ayden and Lila in the Grand Drama is dangerous and could end the world; because it may be the key to the remedy of the Fall.

The story of Adam and Lilith does not end smoothly and has yet to be resolved because the story results in her disappearance and they do not meet again. But then again perhaps they do because Lilith was also said to have gone to Solomon’s judgement seat many generations later disguised as a harlot and was said to have ruled as “a queen in Sheba” (Graves & Patai, 1964). This has interesting implications to the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, but that story comes later in the Grand Drama, so it may have to be reincarnated again later. Thus, the remedy to the Fall may lie with the story of Lilith and Adam, but who has heard of this story? It is not very popular and some consider it propaganda for women’s lib (Hoeller, 1997). The traditional story according to the Bible is about Adam and Eve, not about Adam and Lilith. The passage above from the Zohar seems to mention Lilith and Eve interchangeably, which is very intriguing. So, who was Eve and how does she fit into the picture?

Adam and Eve

Soon after Lilith’s death or disappearance, Adam asked God for a subservient wife, one that would do his bidding and this is where Eve comes into the picture. Eve was not made from the Dust of the Earth as Lilith was with Adam, and Eve was therefore not his True equal or soul mate. According to these stories, Lilith came from his back and Eve from his side.

God did apparently attempt to create another helpmate for Adam after Lilith had left him; according to one interpretation he let him watch as he made her body and upon her completion was repulsed by her because he had seen her bones, muscles and glandular discharge as she was made (Graves and Patai, 1964). This was the first Eve. God realized he had failed again and took her away. In another attempt God made an Eve from Adam’s rib as he slept, Adam was entranced by her when he awoke (Graves and Patai, 1964). This is more like the traditional account from the Bible. The Bible says that Adam was put to sleep and Eve was made out of his rib (Gen 2:22).

It is interesting that this interpretation states that Adam was in awe of her when he awoke He even said “this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh (Gen 2:23). This has interesting parallels to Hoeller’s (1997) interpretation which states that Eve was the daughter of Sophia who was sent to awaken Adam, but upon seeing him was struck by how similar he was and pitied his fallen condition. She then said

“Adam, live! Rise up upon the earth!" Immediately her words produced a result for when Adam rose up, right away he opened his eyes” (Hoeller, 1997).

The idea that Eve is likened to Sophia is interesting because the story of Sophia tells about a reconciliation of the psyche and the spirit. Sophia is said to have a dual nature, that of Sophia and Helen. Sophia was said to be a Goddess of Wisdom and represents the Psyche. She is an important mythical figure in both Pagan and Jewish Gnostic sources (Burstein, 2006). There is an exalted and pure Sophia or psyche and there is the abducted or a fallen psyche attached to the legend. The fallen psyche is represented by the myth of Helen, the other side of Sophia. For example in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, Helen is captured and must be rescued. Her abduction symbolizes the “fall of the psyche into incarnation” (Burstein, 2006). This theme is also very similar to Steven King’s Drawing of the Three, where the woman in the story has a split personality and the book is an adventure on how to unite her personalities (who happen to also be displaced in space and time).

Sophia's male counterpart is Consciousness (Burstein, 2006). The male connection to consciousness is consistent with Jung (1974), as he believes the father archetype controls the walls of consciousness that surround the individual and pressure him or her to conform to the traditions and values of the outside world. The anima (female energy) “shows the way that begins in ‘children’s land’ …at a time when rational present-day consciousness was not yet separated from the historical psyche” (pg 124). Here, consciousness is also separated from the psyche. Jung (1974) then explains that the separation led to “instinctual atrophy” (p. 133).

In Genesis, Adam resembles the Consciousness and Eve who is the other side (or anima) of Adam represents the Psyche (Burstein, 2006). Both Eve and Mary have both been compared to the psyche and to the Goddess Sophia. Mary the “Virgin” represents the exalted Sophia and Mary Magdalene symbolizes the fallen Sophia or Helen (Burtein, 2006). Since the Fall, the psyche must be rejoined with its true lover, who is consciousness (Burstein, 2006; Baigent, et al., 1996). Thus, the story of Sophia may help understand how to balance opposites within the self, especially if it is about the psyche (ego) and consciousness. It could even point to a microcosm-macrocosm solution because consciousness is a broad term, with many different definitions, but psyche refers to an individual’s immediate awareness. Therefore, like the Atman and the Brahman, the psyche is to the collective consciousness, or collective spirit.

The story of Sophia is relevant to the story of Adam and Eve because Adam was said to represent the psyche and Eve the spirit (Hoeller,1997). The symbolism however is switched because in the story of Sophia, she is the psyche, but according to the Gnostic Gospels, Adam represents the psyche. There is evidence in the Gospel of Philip that male and female aspects are symbolized by the psyche and the spirit, not psyche and consciousness.

“Adam’s soul came from a breath. The soul’s companion is spirit and the spirit given to him his mother. His soul was [taken] from him and replaced with [spirit]. When he was united with spirit [he] he uttered words superior to the powers…the powers envied him. They [separated him from his] spiritual companion…hidden…bridal chamber…” (Meyer, 2005, p. 70 ).

Perhaps all of these examples may provide a key to the meaning of Eve and how she fits into the picture. Perhaps Lilith was the true soul mate that is a separate physical entity, so the story of Adam and Lilith may represent the need for balance or unification in an interpersonal relationship and the story of Adam and Eve may represent the intrapolarization of the sexes within the self. Could it be that Adam and Eve represent different aspects or parts of the brain? Does the rational part of the brain need to learn how to get along with its emotional part? The male and female principles can have a hard time getting along according to the legend of Lilith, so how is it possible to achieve polarization or androgyny? Can consciousness and the psyche rejoin?

Heoller, (1997) interprets the relationship between Adam and Eve to be a metaphor for “two intrapsychic principles within every human being.” And claim that the female is the spirit and the male is the psyche. Could these two “intrapsychic principles” be like that of Jung’s (1960) anima (feminine side) and masculine animus within a person? Perhaps intrapsychic could refer to that of the conscious and the unconscious, as Freud (1856-1939) would define. Freud’s (1856-1939) id, ego and superego may help in the unifying of these opposites because the id represents the motivations and the drives (active male principle) and the superego emotional or moral feminine qualities. The ego (Freud, 1856-1939) which is in charge of cognition rises up out of them to act as a mediator or translator between the two (Benjafield, 2005). Therefore, perhaps there needs to be a balance between our drives and our morals.

Freud (1856-1939) would stress that the most important balance is between love and work. Love could be considered a female aspect and work could be more of a male aspect.  Our drives may distract us in toiling on the earth trying to survive. If one spends too much time at work, their home or love life suffers and if one spends too much time at home with the family, the work life suffers. The dichotomy of love and work could be paralleled to the symbols mentioned earlier. Work could represent the horizontal line that is concerned with the material plane and love (and morals) could represent the vertical line. Therefore, it may be possible to unite these opposites by finding a balance between love and work. This could have influence on both an interpersonal and intrapersonal level.

Symbol Switching

There seems to be a discrepancy or an inconstancy in regard to the symbols in some of the sources mentioned in this paper. For example, the passage above in regard to the horizontal and vertical lines, suggests that it would be logical for the vertical line to represent the female aspect and the horizontal line, the male. But, in the symbolism mentioned earlier (p. 5) states that the horizontal line was the female element and the vertical line is the male element. The quote in the Bible also had heaven and earth switched because in Revelations, heaven comes down as a bride (p. 4). This particular discrepancy could be ignored because it is conceivable that it would be both depending on the reference. For example, the world itself is female (Shekhinah). But, to focus on worldly issues and the outside world is where the waking conscious lies (not the psyche), which is the masculine or father attribute. So the symbols could conceived to be switched (one is a Macrocosm or the world herself and the other is on a Microcosmic level regarding survival or dealings on Earth).

This makes two discrepancies or examples of symbol switching because the story of Sophia, (p. 19) suggests that the woman represents the psyche, and the Gnostic Gospels suggest it was Adam or man represents the psyche. This could point to a necessity to distinguish between Adam and Lilith and Adam and Eve. It could represent an interpersonal or intrapersonal interpretation, thus again pointing to a Microcosm-Macrocosm distinction. 

The idea or reference to a Microcosm-Macrocosm distinction also brings up another example of symbol switching. For example, the term Microprosopus used on page 14 (in reference to Mathers, 1912), was in reference to the male entity or part. A search was conducted for further understanding of the term and it was found to refer to Mary (and not the male aspect) in this other source (Sande, 1958). The term Macroprosopus was thus said to refer to the Christ (instead of the Microprosopus, which would make more sense in light of this research). The passage from Mathers (1912) however, implies that Microprosopus was put to sleep and the woman was taken from his side. It is generally assumed or accepted that it was the male entity that was put to sleep. Therefore, it would make sense that the male entity would be referred to as Microprosopus and the female entity would be Macroprosopus: Unless, of course, it was really the woman who was put to sleep.

Upon further reflection in this matter it would make more sense for the man to be Micro and the woman to be Macro because the man contains the smallest cell in the human body, which is the sperm cell, whereas the woman’s ovum is the largest cell in the human body. Micro generally is referred to the smaller and Macro to the larger. What is also interesting is that when these two cells are brought together they create a zygote, which means to yoke, or to be joined. It is also a term used in biology used to describe the smallest new species of an organism contained within a single cell (Dodds et al., 2000; Wikipedia; Dictionary.com).

This is very much like the Biblical description of God in the beginning. When a cell begins to grow after fertilization, it divides or splits thus resurrecting the idea of the Grand Mitosis (or Grand Meiosis) mentioned earlier (p. 4). Therefore, this cell analogy could lead one to believe that Macroprosopus must refer to Mary and Microprosopus must refer to the Christ (author’s interpretation). Were these terms switched on purpose, or was it just a misunderstanding?

Some believe there is a conspiracy to switch the symbols of woman and man to make the man superior, rather than equal (Kroeker, 2009, in press). Others believe that the symbolism has been switched to cover up the idea that women are superior (Heoller, 1997). It does say in Sande (1958) that the Macroprosopus overshadows, which could be seen as a reference to the superiority of the one over the other. Hoeller (1997) also believes that according to symbolism, Eve is superior to Adam

“Adam was the dramatic embodiment of psyche, or soul, while Eve stood for… spirit. Soul, to the Gnostics, meant the embodiment of the emotional and thinking functions of the personality, while spirit represented the human capacity for spiritual consciousness…The former was the lesser self (the ego of depth psychology), the latter the transcendental function, or the "higher self," as it is sometimes known. Obviously, Eve, then, is by nature superior to Adam, rather than inferior as implied by orthodoxy” (Heoller, 1997).

Hoeller (1997) boldly suggests in this source that the story of Eve coming from Adam’s rib was used as propaganda to maintain an orthodox interpretation of the superiority of man. This is ironic because seen from the orthodox point of view; the story of Lilith was used as feminist propaganda (Graves & Patai, 1964). The symbols are switched again, however because the man is referred to as the psyche (and/or soul in this case) and the woman is referred to as the spirit. This is inconsistent with Jung (1974) and the Gnostic Gospels that state the woman or the mother is the way to the psyche and the man is the guardian of consciousness. But, spirit and consciousness are two very different concepts. This makes the quest for correct symbol placement even more confusing.   

Heoller’s (1997) interpretation of Eve’s superiority and that orthodox influences may have tampered with the pronouns in the Bible is interesting because it may have revealed a potential patriarchal conspiracy. Pronouns, especially in the Bible are superfluous because God is androgynous, but nonetheless male pronouns have been used. Upon further investigation, the Zohar’s pronouns are usually missing because this source understands the importance of understanding the androgyny of God.

"When speaking about God, it is increasingly common to employ inclusive language and avoid the generic use of masculine pronouns. However, to apply this principle invariable to the Zohar would violate its nature. Readers soon discover that for the Zohar, God is both He and She. The goal is to unite the two (Matt, 2004, p. xxxii)."

A potential motivation to switch pronouns and perpetuate gender stereotypes may be to keep the male from reconciling or uniting with the woman as it was like in the beginning.

Social norms and mores are taught to us growing up and can influence or bias the way we treat the opposite sex. Could there be a patriarchal conspiracy through the perpetuation of gender stereotypes to promote the primacy of man and suppress the woman? If one wanted to control humanity, they would not want the perfect union of male and female counterparts to occur (lest their control break and their empire collapse). Patriarchal dominance is therefore a good way of maintaining control and of perpetuating the lavish lifestyles promoted by greed and affluence. A union of Immaculate Proportions would abolish all control by introducing equality and an egalitarian lifestyle.  The biggest enemy to power and profit is a prophet claiming the power or the sacred union of woman and man (as Jesus did in the Gnostic Gospels).

Perhaps it is the case that some powers have struggled to keep this sacred union from happening by promoting gender stereotypes. Could this be the Concealed Mystery that the Apocalypse is to unveil? Further investigation into this hypothesis revealed a quote about “the rulers” in the Gospel of Philip.

“The rulers wanted to fool people…They took the names of the good and assigned them to what is not good; to fool people with names and link the names to what is not good. So, as if they were doing people a favour, they took names from what is not good and transferred them to the good, in their own way of thinking. For, they wished to take free people and enslave them forever (Meyer, 2005, p. 52)”

This passage points to a deliberate cover up and to symbol switching. It is interesting that the motive is to enslave the people. The Book of Enoch (104:10) also reveals that the word of God has been written down untruthfully.

 “I know this mystery, that sinners will alter and pervert the words of righteousness in many ways, and will speak wicked words, and lie and practice great deceits, and write books concerning their words” (Charles, 1965, p. 276).

The Gospel of Thomas also says something similar, thus providing more evidence for a cover up. “The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the key of knowledge and have hidden them, they have not entered, nor have they allowed those who want to enter to do so” (Meyer, 2005, p. 14). This quote suggests that the keys to the mysteries are hidden and they do not allow anyone else to know. It is very interesting because this passage implies that those who have these mysteries do not even want or care to know about the meaning of life, they just guard the answers to keep others from finding out. What a great way to control the masses. This passage also mentions something about keys or keys to the kingdoms that have been hidden by Pharisees and scholars. This begs the question “what are the keys and where are they hidden?” Why they were hidden will not be discussed here, for this paper will focus more on the what are the keys (for why they were hidden click here and for where click here).  

The answer to what the mystery is may lie in the reunification of the male and female energies. Evidence to this hypothesis was found in the Gospel of Thomas because it goes on to say how we can enter the kingdom of heaven. The Gospel of Thomas states “when you make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male is no longer male and the female is no longer female…then you shall enter the kingdom” (Meyer, 2005, p.12). This passage deliberately points to the importance of androgyny. Therefore the key again appears to be about a union of male and female energies. Is this the secret the powers of the material world have been hiding? Is the world waiting for the unveiling of a male conspiracy for the suppression of women? But who would do something like that? Who would prevent the perfect union of male and female energies?

Yaldabaoth

The idea of Yaldabaoth came from one of the Gnostic Gospels called The Secret Book of John. According to this work, Yaldabaoth was a mutant, bastard child of Sophia, who was mentioned earlier (p, 19) in regard to Eve and the psyche. Sophia is generally known as wisdom and according to this source resides in the fourth realm or “luminary” of creation (Meyer, 2005). In this case she desired to conceive of a child of herself, but did not have the consent of the father (the invisible spirit). Personal interpretation believes the creation of Yaldabaoth was an accident and was something that just happened. This is because Yaldabaoth was conceived by a thought from herself (Meyer, 2005). Since it was created without the consent of the One (the invisible spirit or father), it was mutated. When Sophia looked at what she had made, she was taken aback by its appearance (Meyer, 2005). When this happened, the image of her creation changed into a snake with a head of a lion! She was ashamed of her creation and banished it into its own world, so no one would see or hear it except for the Holy Spirit, who is the Mother Lord (Meyer, 2005). The reference to the leviathan pulling out of Lake Ontario in the Grand Drama (p. 27) was due to this description of Yaldabaoth, like the Kraken from the movie Clash of the Titans (Davis, 1981). He also changed form like a character from that movie.

Yaldabaoth’s transformation into a snake made him the perfect candidate to play the part of what is conventionally known as Satan; but in the Grand Drama, the snake is his confidante and Yaldabaoth is the entity within the tree. According to the Book of Baruch by Justin, the angels that constitute paradise are referred to as trees (Meyer, 2005) and according to this source; it is only paradise when all of these angels (or trees) are together (Meyer, 2005). Satan is the sixth tree in the list of angels, which happens to be in the centre of the list of angels. Is this what it is meant by the tree in the centre of the garden? The Bible places these events in the Garden of Eden and according to the Book of Baruch these angels were conceived through the relationship between Elohim and Eden (Meyer, 2005).

The idea that paradise is only comprised when all of these angels are together is reminiscent of the idea that “blessings are found only where male and female found” (Meyer, 2005, p. 23) or “A human being is only called Adam when male and female are as one” (Matt, 2004, p. 23). The Zohar states that “YHVH Elohim expelled him [Adam] from the Garden of Eden…Because Adam drove out Et [Shekhinah]” (Matt, 2004, p. 19). Perhaps Adam’s failed relationship with Lilith/Eve/Et caused his relationship with God to collapse and was thus expelled from the garden. Driving out Shekhinah is referred to as “Adam sin” in the Zohar and is the event that led to the Fall. The commentary for this source explains that driving out Et resulted in the loss of “awareness of God’s presence… On a psychological level, he separates consciousness from the unconscious” (Matt, 2004, p. 19). This brings us back to the story of Sophia representing the psyche. It is suggested by Matt (2004) that to drive out Et he did so by only partaking from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Matt, 2004). This could mean that the rational capacities or worldly desires were given supremacy and the emotional or spiritual forces were suppressed (author’s interpretation after having taken symbol switching into consideration). Perhaps Adam picked the material world over the spiritual world. The result was said to have also divorced Shekhinah from her husband Tif’eret (Matt, 2004). This brings the paper full circle to the necessity of the reunification or marriage of the male and female aspects of God. But, how is this even possible?

The remedy to Fall in a sense may lie within Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep (Mathew 18:12; LukeLuke 15:11-31) who returns home is the most celebrated. Even the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10) is about the rejoicing over the sinner who repents or the one who was dead or lost who was found alive again. 15:4) because the shepherd left the whole flock of sheep to search for the lost one. Why? This all of a sudden makes the lost sheep more important (a Gestalt switch). This is why even in the parable about the lost son (

The idea of paradise only being paradise when all of those particular angels were together, perhaps there is a lost sheep that will cause celebration upon his return. Satan is an angel on the list of trees of paradise. Perhaps after Satan was “thrown to the earth” (Luke 10:18) or banished, paradise went with him. In this sense Satan may be this missing piece that must be found. This could also be likened to the parable of the cornerstone because the cornerstone is one that if missing, the whole building will collapse, also resembling the statue of different precious metals, but whose feet is made of a mixture of clay. Once the feet are smashed, the whole statue comes down (Daniel 2:31-35).

The Secret Book of John goes on to say that after Yaldabaoth was secluded as an abomination, he broke free from this prison and took control. He decided to create some realms of his own (Meyer, 2005). They have different names from those of paradise, for example the sixth realm is referred to as Cain, who the people call the sun (Meyer, 2005). These realms were created when Yaldabaoth mated with mindlessness. He appointed 12 authorities under him to guard over each realm (including Athoth who is also known as the reaper). He stationed seven kings over each sphere of heaven that in turn created angels of their own, totalling 365 angels altogether (Meyer, 2005). These numbers seem to jumped out or hit home because there are 12 months in the year, seven days of the week, and 365 days in a year. Yaldabaoth then tells them “I am a jealous god and there is no other god besides me” (p.162). This is similar to what the Bible says the Hebrew God said to his people (Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; 5:9; 6:15; JoshuaThe Secret Book of John seems to imply that Yaldabaoth was the one who created the Earth or is the ruler of the material world. Yaldabaoth is referred to as the world ruler in the Second Discourse of Great Seth (Meyer, 2005).  24:19) Yaldabaoth said this due to his mindlessness because he did not know where his true power had come from (from Sophia), or what made him exist. But, this statement made the angels curious because if there were no other gods, then of whom would he be jealous? (Meyer, 2005). Therefore,

The story of Sophia and Yaldabaoth goes on to say that she repented upon realizing what had happened and upon seeing the atrocities Yaldabaoth had committed through his arrogance. When the invisible spirit (the father, her partner) consented she was filled again with the Holy Spirit, “For her partner did not come to her on his own, but he came to her through the realm of fullness, so that he might restore what she lacked” (Meyer, 2005, p. 163). This is consistent with the story of Sophia and of the Fall and the resurrection because she was then taken away from her home and placed above her son in the ninth realm of heaven where “She was to remain…until she restored what was lacking in herself” (Meyer, 2005, p. 164). This brings the conversation back to the story of the creation and of Adam. It is also what is meant in the Grand Drama when Lilith disappears and is dispersed, and when Isis attempts to bring back together the parts of Osiris and is also in reference to the idea that Jesus must gather back his parts. The parable of the yeast in the bread (Mathew 13:33) is also mentioned in reference to the resurrection of Jesus in the Grand Drama because bread that is leavened with yeast leavens the whole batch of dough, not just one portion. Perhaps when Jesus died he died for us in the sense that he would disperse his energy out to raise the frequency or to leaven the world with righteousness. Thus his energy may have been scattered across the world upon his death in order to bring it back together again at his resurrection (author’s interpretation).

In regard to Yaldaboath, what happens next in this story is that the invisible spirit (Father) creates humankind and the child of human kind and declares it so loudly that the full realm hears it (Meyer, 2005). Yaldabaoth, thinking it came from his mother did not understand where the voice had come from; also desired to make a human being after his image so he too could receive this light (Meyer, 2005, p. 164/65). Each of Yaldabaoth’s authorities contributed a part of the body according to their likeness and thus, “They created a being like the perfect first human, and said, ‘Let us call it Adam, that its name may give us power of light” (Meyer, 2005, p. 165). Apparently this too could be heard through the realms because entities governing other realms heard his plans. The Second Discourse of Great Seth comments on Yaldabaoth’s creation

“Then the voice of the world ruler announced to the angel, ‘I am God, and there is no other beside me.’ I laughed heartily when I reflected upon how conceited he was. He kept saying, over and over, “Who is the human being?” The whole host of his angels, who had seen Adam and his dwelling place, laughed at its insignificance.”

However, the author of this Book (Seth) is no less conceited than the “world ruler” because he claims that he was the incarnation of Jesus and Jesus was not even his first incarnation. The story in The Secret Book of John goes on to say that the life breathed into Adam was from Yaldabaoth’s mother, he immediately began to move and was already enlightened. It then states that

“At once the rest of…the powers became jealous. Although Adam came into being through all of them, and they gave their power to this human, Adam was more intelligent than the creators and the first ruler. When they realized that Adam was enlightened, and could think more clearly than they, and was stripped of evil, they took and threw Adam into the lowest part of the whole material realm.” (Meyer, 2005).

Yaldabaoth did not merely throw him (them together) into the lowest part of the material world, but was said to have blinded or to have “cloaked them in thick darkness” (Meyer, 2005, p. 176) and placed on him (them) the “fetter of forgetfulness” (Meyer, 1995, p. 174). He also separated him from the spirit (Matt, 2004). According the Secret Book of John, Yaldabaoth and those whom he appointed rulers “brought Adam into the shadow of death so that they might produce a figure again…from matter…[and from] the ignorance of darkness, and desire, and their own phoney spirit” (Meyer, 2005, p. 174). This is how Adam became mortal. He was then placed in paradise amongst their bitter and perverse trees and was instructed to eat. According to this source, it was the tree of the knowledge of the difference between good and evil that Adam was forbidden to eat from because then he may become aware again and the fetter of forgetfulness would be lifted (Meyer, 2005).

The idea that the characters and the trees in the Garden of Eden may have been switched is consistent with Hoeller’s (1997) interpretation because he states something similar in regard to the creation of Adam and the jealousy of the world ruler:

“The motive of the creator in punishing Adam was envy, for the creator envied Adam, who by eating the fruit would acquire knowledge (gnosis). Neither did the creator seem quite omniscient when he asked of Adam: "Where are you?" The creator has shown himself repeatedly to be "an envious slanderer," a jealous God, who inflicts cruel punishments on those who transgress his capricious orders and commandments” (Hoeller, 1997).

            The story of Yaldaboath does not end there; in the Secret Book of John, John asks Jesus about this interpretation because he thought (like most of the world) that it was the snake who instructed Adam to eat from the tree of the knowledge of the difference between good and evil. Jesus laughed at this and said

“The snake instructed them to eat of the wickedness of sexual desire and destruction so that Adam might be of use to the snake [because…] He wanted to recover the power that he himself had passed on to Adam. So he brought deep sleep upon Adam” (Meyer, 2005, p. 175).

John then asked about this deep sleep and the saviour replied that it was not like how Moses said, but was rather a “loss of sense [that made..] their minds sluggish, that they may neither understand nor discern” (Meyer, 2005, p. 175). Yaldaboath then noticed that enlightenment and insight had hidden herself inside Adam and desired to extract her from his side.

“The first ruler removed part of Adam’s power and created another figure in the form of a female…Adam saw the woman beside him. At once enlightened insight appeared and removed the veil that covered his mind. He sobered up from the drunkenness of darkness. He recognized her as his counterpart and said, ‘This is now bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh’” (Meyer, 2005, p. 175&176).

This passage and the passages found in the Secret Book of John, the Book of Baruch, and the Second Discourse of Great Seth seem to imply that the ruler of the world may not be a perfect God, but a jealous, ignorant, conceited mutant, bastard son of Sophia and that Adam (and Eve) was created or recreated in Yaldabaoth’s image (Meyer, 2005). Of course to say this may seem extremely offensive, but offensive or not, this viewpoint may help answer some philosophical questions regarding the perfection and/or deceitfulness of God. Yaldabaoth is deceitful, but the Invisible Spirit is Perfect. Perhaps the world ruler may not be the top of the Hierarchy and may not be the One True God as is generally assumed. It may be interpreted as an idea that we may be more insignificant in the Grand scheme of things if this is where sin resides. Jesus does state, according to John (14:2) “In my Father's house are many rooms.”

This allegory may imply that there may be One God over all, who is referred to as the Invisible Spirit or the Androgynous father according to the Kabbalist Matt, (2004), but other angels appointed over the many different realms of creation. Therefore there may be a God that oversees everything, including the spiritual aspects or courage and bravery among mankind and different gods or angels and archangels to oversee the other realms, including the materialistic toiling or the ways of man upon the earth. We may be an ant or a tiny grain of sand after all. The story of Yaldaboath seems to imply that Earth may reside somewhere far down in the cellar of the many rooms of God’s mansion, specifically in the fourth luminary or realm. Yaldaboath made12 realms of his own, in his image and perhaps the material realm where Earth resides is one of them.

The idea of many overseers of many realms in God’s kingdom could also explain the difference between the Gods of the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament there was a jealous God who punishes or disciplines his people and in the New Testament God is Love. One could argue that Yahweh of the Old Testament could be Yaldaboath playing with its creation and Jesus could be said to have been the one who came down to teach that there was a One true God overall and to teach his ways of love. The message of love seems to be taught and followed by the good son, in many examples (Abel, or Jesus for example) and these advocates of love always seem to be killed out of jealousy. Even John Lennon could be an example of this pattern. Perhaps the Christ (in what ever Age) is trying to teach Yaldaboath that there is more to the full realm and that there are other gods (or at least other angels and Archangels) and to show him how small and insignificant he really is in the grand scheme of things.

This interpretation can also help shed light on the Philosophical question of whether God is Perfect, or a deceiver and if He is Perfect, then how could He allow deception? Some philosophers agree with Heidegger (Richardson,1963), that there must be a God; otherwise there would be no motive for people to be good. There are, of course those that produce atheist theories without a God, but one of their most popular representatives, Sartre, ironically asked for a priest on his death bed (SVC, 2004). But, if there was no God, there would be no motivation to be ethical or to “make the world a better place.” There would be no reward for those who have endured and suffered to maintain a righteous state. There is also a movement within Psychology about the belief in a just world.

If there truly was a place for the righteous as the Bible, the Apocrypha and the Gnostic Gospels believe, this would imply that there may be a record kept of all the deeds of Mankind. If there are a lot of angels and archangels appointed to look after the many different realms of creation, then there may be the opportunity for those entities to record some of our history (which actually turns out to be similar to the “aliens are watching us” scenario).

There is a lot of talk about a sealed or concealed book regarding the apocalypse. One in which those saved appear on a list. In the Book of Enoch, there was a list of all those who have died in the name of the Lord of Sheep who were sacrificed (Charles, 1965) and in Revelations there is also a list of those who will be saved from the 12 tribes of Israel (Jones ed. 1966). If these things are recorded and are made known to the angels of heaven (Enoch: Charles, 1965), is a Book of Death the same thing as the Book of Life?

Isis and Osiris  ********UNDER CONSTRUCTION , (see construction page for details on Isis and Osiris, Akhenaten (and his sister???), Tutankhamen/Ankhesanamun, David & Batsheva, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Jesus and Mary - their relationship is also researched here , and to find out exactly what the keys are...stay tuned. I shall probably post each section upon completion)******************

(for both the Grand Drama and the Unveiling of)

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A Phenomenological Comparison of the Books of Daniel and Revelations

Abstract

The Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelations will be analyzed as texts in themselves, but the interpretations of the Books will be approached both objectively and subjectively. To truly represent Scripture as texts in themselves it may be necessary to approach the topic respectfully with subjective interpretation, but also ends up resulting in a biased opinion. But, in order to present a truly scientific analysis or report, one needs to be objective. Since religious scripture can often bring about a sense of flow or engagement and subjective interpretation, the subjective/objective dichotomy can be resolved by reporting the comparison itself as it is presented to the interpreter. Thus a phenomenological approach was conducted to report the experience of the Books of Daniel and Revelations according to the author’s personal understanding and engagement with the material. Before the materials were analyzed, a meditative altered state was achieved to allow for a flow of ideas. The topics presented in the paper reflect the flow of ideas as a result of the comparison between them. It was found that a subjective/objective union was possible in reporting a comparison of weighted material thus the paper was successful in resolving the subjective/objective dichotomy through phenomenology.

 

Daniel and Revelations: The Inside Story

The Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelations are generally considered to be the Books of the Bible about the Apocalypse. The Apocalypse or “End of Days” normally comes with the idea of a battle between heaven and earth, or a time when the people of the earth will be judged by God. Apocalypse however, literally means an unveiling or a revelation (the Gage Canadian Dictionary, 2000), but there are references to a judgement in both Books as will be seen later in the paper. The fear or curiosity of this event has led many people to study the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelations to uncover the secrets regarding who, where and when the End of Days will occur. Although these questions are important, this paper will focus more on studying the texts as texts themselves by analyzing similarities and differences between the two and reporting some discoveries made (by others and the author) that might shed new light on the symbolism used in the Books.

In order to study the texts as texts in themselves, an understanding of the Hebrew language may be necessary. The Hebrew alphabet is threefold in that one letter helps create a word or a message (like in any language), but also represents a number and a tone on the musical scale. This paper will analyze the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelations as texts in themselves by exploring the similarities and differences between them on the levels of words/phrases, numbers and musical references. Since the difference in length of Revelations compared to Daniel is significant, the similarities and differences of the texts will be determined through the shorter Book; the Book of Daniel.

Words and Phrases

            Similarities: Gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. There are many words and phrases similar to each Book (see Figure 1 for diagram of similarities in words or phrases). One similarity between the two Books is the reference to gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone mentioned in both Daniel and Revelations (Biblegateway.com, New International Version).  In Revelations, it was said that those who were not killed by the plagues still did not repent nor stop “worshiping idols of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Rev 9:20). In Daniel they were drinking wine around the king’s table as they “praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Dan 5:4). Immediately after, fingers appeared and wrote on the wall of the palace frightening them. The words translated to God having numbered their days of reign, weighed them on the scales and found them wanting (Daniel 5:25-27). The Book of Enoch (99:6/7) also mentions that ill fate will befall those who worship “stones, and grave images of gold and silver and wood [and stone] and clay” (Charles, 1965).

Both references to gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone imply that the people were worshipping or praising items made of these substances and considered them as higher in value to God. One of the words written on the wall in Daniel 5: 26 (Tekel meaning you have been weighed), could refer to the ancient Egyptian concept of weighing a person’ soul after death to determine his or her course in the afterlife An example of this procedure from the Egyptian Book of the Dead states “The heart of Osiris hath in very truth been weighed, and his Heart-soul hath borne testimony on his behalf; his heart hath been found right by the trial in the Great Balance. There hath not been found any wickedness in him; he hath not wasted the offerings which have been made in the temples; he hath not committed any evil act; and he hath not set his mouth in motion with words of evil whilst he was upon earth” (Ani, 1240 B.C, parts translated by Budge & Faulkner, 1996). The idea of judgement and weighing of hearts or souls is important to the theme of the apocalypse because those who worship these things do not bear the fruit worthy of the Lord and they will be found wanting.

The apocalypse is very much about the concept of judgment and God weighing the hearts of the people and this concept can be found in the words and symbolism of both Revelations and Daniel. For example, in Revelations one like the son of man brandishes a sickle as if going out into the fields of the Earth to reap them. "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe, [s]o he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested" (Rev 14:15-16). The concept of mankind on Earth as God’s orchard or vineyard that is reaped on occasion can also be found in the Book of Mormon “…this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand…and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit…” (Jacob 5:71, p. 131). The vineyard is a good description because in Revelations 13:10 those who will be found wanting “will drink of the wine of God's fury.” Also, there was “another angel” that was told to “Take [a] sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe, [t]he angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath, [t]hey were trampled in the winepress (Rev 18:21). These passages could refer to the reaping of the harvest of mankind and those who do not bear fruit worthy of God will be destroyed and lay like “chaff on a threshing floor in the summer” (Dan 2:35). Therefore these passages about like about gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone could be a warning against idol worship.

Differences: Gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. In Daniel, king Nebuchadnezzar erected an image of gold, 90 feet high and nine feet wide that the people worshipped (Dan 3:1). There is also a reference in both Books of the worship of the beast’s statue (Dan 3:5-7, 15; Rev 13:15). There was also a statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream (Daniel 2:31-35). The head is made of gold, the chest and arms, pure silver, the belly and thighs are bronze, the legs are iron and the feet are part iron and part baked clay (no mention of wood and stone here, nor is there a statue made of different metals mentioned in Revelations). According to the New International Version interpretation, God translated through Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold, and the other metals represent kingdoms that will rise up after his (Dan 2:31-45). These kingdoms will be inferior in value to the kingdom of king Nebuchadnezzar, but the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron (Daniel 2 39-43).

Phenomenological Sidebar. I just went to the bookshelf to get my copy of the Divine Comedy. I did this because I was thinking about the course and how my Final paper is an essay reflecting on a piece of art that was similar to that of said book. And opened it to page 60 spontaneously and it contained this passage:

“An ancient form there stands, and huge, that turns

His shoulders toward Damiata; and at Rome,

As in his mirror, looks. Of finest gold

His head is shaped, pure silver are the breast

And arms, thence to the middle is of brass,

And downward all beneath well-temper’d steel,

Save the right foot of potter’s clay…” (Alighieri, 1947, p.60).

 

I put a bookmark in it right away for the next day when I would put it into the essay because it was very similar to the statue of different metals in Daniel 2:31-35 and may come in handy (this I thought might be interesting, or might be an example of flow, synchronicity or the universe telling something, but I need at least three instances to make me shrug an eyebrow).  

The statue of different metals is worth mentioning because of the symbolism attached to the metals may be a clue to what kingdoms these are that will rise up after Nebuchadnezzar. The symbolism of the metals and the reference to their strength is important because “the Pagan view of time was a cyclic event …characterized by a succession of metals from gold to iron” (retrieved February 4, 2009 from http://www.teachinghearts.org/dre17hdan02.html). This implies that as the kingdoms grow up and make way for each other, they become more debased and Godless (thus less precious or valuable). As the preciousness of these metals decreases, the strength of these metals increase.

The most popular interpretation of the symbolism on the internet implies Rome is the strong, iron kingdom (http://www.teachinghearts.org/dre17hdan02.html). According to this source, the "Iron Monarchy" was a term used to describe Rome between 168 BC- 476 AD. Not only does Rome translate to “strength” in Latin and iron happens to be the strongest metal, but Rome is also mentioned in the passage above taken from the Divine Comedy. Perhaps Christianity could be the iron/clay mixture because Christianity has its roots in the Roman Catholic idea that Jesus is equivalent to God (author’s interpretation). As stated before this paper is mostly an analysis of the similarities and differences between the two Books, but the idea that kingdoms will rise up and be less valuable suggests an atmosphere of Godlessness and power may be accommodating to an End of Days scenario.  

Similarities and Differences: The Fourth Beast & the Beast from the Sea

The four great beasts in Daniel and the beast from the sea in Revelations are similar enough to make mention. These animals are common to both Books, but are presented in a different manner. For example, In Daniel 7:2-7, the four winds of heaven churn up the great sea and four great beasts came out of it. The first beast was that of a lion with wings of an eagle, the second, a bear, the third a leopard and the fourth is described as a beast). In Revelations 13:2 there is a reference to the beast of the sea, but it has the all characteristics of all Daniel’s great beasts. For example, the beast from the sea in Revelations resembles “a leopard, [with] feet …of a bear and a mouth like …a lion.” (Biblegateway.com)

Another similarity is that the beast has ten horns, like the fourth beast in Daniel, making the description of Revelation’s beast quite similar to Daniel’s fourth great beast, especially because the beasts both come out of the sea. Perhaps instead of four great beasts, there is one beast with all four characteristics (and these comparisons do not even exhaust the list of similar words and phrases surrounding the beasts of Daniel and Revelations).

First Great Beast & the Phrase “Like a Man”

Similarities. The first great beast of Daniel was that of a lion with wings of an eagle whose wings were torn off to stand “like a man” on two feet (7:4). This first beast containing these three particular animals deserves further consideration because these three animals happen to comprise the Sphinx (author’s observation). The Sphinx, also known as Phix in ancient Greek mythology was said to be a “female monster with the body of a lion, the breast and head of a woman, [and] eagle's wings” (retrieved February 17, 2009 from http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Sphinx.html). Another quote from this source states “Sphinxes were popular in ancient art, especially as sculptural grave stele set upon the tombs of men who died in youth. Decorative sphinxes also appear in animal processions on archaic Greek vases, often alongside lions and bird-bodied sirens” (retrieved February 17, 2009 from http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Sphinx.html).

The Sphinx could point to a name of a particular ruler over Egypt or perhaps it refers to a woman. In the example of Daniel’s first beast, the phrase “like a man” is used in reference to a beast also known as a female creature. So, it is proposed that the phrase “like a man” may refer to a woman. To test this hypothesis, all phrases containing variations of “like a man” will be compared and analyzed for further references to female characteristics.

If the phrase “like a man” is taken to mean “similar to” or “resembling,” then there is a good example in Revelations that uses the phrase when describing the locusts. “On their heads … they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.” (9:7). Here is a reference to women and the lion again which represent the first beast).

Another reference to a woman surrounding the symbolism of the first beast of Daniel is in Revelations 12:14. The woman clothed with the sun was given wings of an eagle. Both the woman clothed with the sun and Daniel’s first beast had wings of an eagle. Another example is the reference of the woman harlot sitting on the scarlet beast (see Figure 2). The beast she rides has seven heads and ten horns. The beast she sits on in Revelations has the ten horns, as does the fourth great beast of Daniel 7:7, out of which a little horn came up that had eyes “like a man.” These passages seem to refer to a woman and seem to place her in the position of a destroyer (also see Hindu female god Kali as she was also a destroyer of the earth). Therefore the phrase “like a man” could refer to a woman. Contemporary art regarding the apocalypse seems to have more women (see Figure 3) and the messenger angels also seem to look feminine (see Figure 4).  

Like most references to women in the Bible, the woman is the lesser, inferior beast, or the destroyer: Or is she? A variation of the phrase “like a man” found in both Books, extending to read “then I saw one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven” appears in reference to the Lamb, Jesus or the son of man (Daniel 7:13 & Rev 14:14 - also see Rev 1:7). This variation of the phrase is also found in Rev 1:13, “and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.” What is most interesting about this passage is that the phrase under examination appears in quotations in the Scripture too. Also, the clothing described is more like what a woman would wear due to the band around the chest. Thus the phrase “like a man” was used in reference to a destroyer and a saviour (also see morning star). But, in overall conclusion it could be apt to say that the phrase “like a man” may refer to a woman.                                  

Differences. The phrase “like a man” also appears in Revelations 4:6 in reference to the four living creatures (much like the four great beasts of Daniel 7:4-6). In Revelations however, it is the third creature instead of the first that has a face “like a man”, but with six wings instead of two, and it was the fourth beast in Revelations that resembled a six winged flying eagle. The four great beasts of Daniel are different from the four living creatures mentioned in Revelations even though the descriptions of the animals are similar. In Daniel the beasts are destroyers of the earth whereas in Revelations they are God’s pets or guardians that sit on all four sides and sing praises all day long. This raises the question of the true meaning of the animals, are the animals guardians of God (saviours) or destroyers of the Earth?

In situations like this, the answer is usually both yes and no. These animals can represent both saviours and destroyers because one tends to cheer for the team they are on or for their own leader. For example, depending on what side one chooses, you may see the animals as saviours sent out in response to the judgement of mankind to cleanse the Earth, or they are those beasts who come to destroy your world made of “gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.”

Numbers: Ten, Three and Seven

The realm of numbers is vast in that what is meant by numbers or numerology must be operationally defined. To report on numbers one could focus merely on the root number (numbers), or may add them up to reveal different interpretations or outcomes (numerology).  Isaac Newton and contemporary mathematicians have also explored the realm of mathematical equations such as codes and skip sequences within the Book of Daniel and Revelations (Drosnin, 1997). But, probably the most common way to use numbers of the Books of Daniel and Revelations is to use them to try and predict a particular day in which the Apocalypse will occur. This paper will explore the root numbers common to both Books and touch on how to predict a day or time in which the Apocalypse will occur.  

There are certain root numbers common to both the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelations. For example, the numbers ten and seven come up in reference to Revelations’ scarlet beast, the beast from the sea, woman and dragon and in reference to Daniel’s fourth great beast. These beasts all have ten horns, and have seven heads (except Daniel’s beast does not have seven heads). Horns appear to speak in both Books. In Daniel (7:8) the little horn spoke boastfully and in Revelations (9:13) a voice heard coming from the horns. Also in Revelations, the beast from the sea was given a mouth to utter proud words (Rev 13:5). This was also the beast that was given a mouth like a lion (Rev 13:2).

The symbolism of the ten horns as interpreted by Daniel (7:24) as ten kings who will rise up after Nebuchadnezzar, and in Revelations (17:14) these kings make war against the Lamb. Other interpretations see the ten horns as representing the Nuclear Nations or powers of the earth that also went from ten to seven (retrieved February 17, 2009 from http://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/mystic.htm).

The idea of the horns may be hard to interpret because it is said that the seven heads also represent kings (Rev 17:10). So is it ten kings or seven kings? This is perhaps why it was mentioned that the little horn came up; taking three horns out (10-3 = 7) and ten becomes seven. A similar passage appears in relation to the dragon of Revelations’ tail sweeping a third of the stars out of the sky and flinging them to earth (Rev 12:4). Thus, perhaps the seven heads may refer to the seven remaining kings after the little horn comes up.

The seven heads are also interpreted as the “seven hills on which the woman sits” (Rev 17:9). This interpretation may help narrow down the possibilities to a particular place or kingdom because according to one source, the seven heads could represent the seven hills Rome sits on (Retrieved February 17, 2009 from http://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/mystic.htm.). Therefore, Rome comes up again in interpretation of where these events may take place.

Another reference to seven is mentioned regarding the one "like a son of man” in Rev 1:12 because in “his” hand were seven stars (Rev 1:16). The seven stars were interpreted as the seven angels of the seven churches (Rev 1:20), but if we just consider them as stars it may help reveal information about the day and time the apocalypse may occur. For example, the celestial bodies may be the most stable and historically accurate way of keeping time. Because there have been so many revisions of the calendar over the years, calendar sources may not be reliable when coming to a conclusion of a date the End of Days will occur, whereas celestial patterns remain somewhat consistent. A contemporary example of predicting the End of Days would be how the Mayan calendar seems to end in 2012. This calendar is heavily influenced by the positioning of the stars and the end of eras (Coe, 1999), much like how an apocalypse is said to occur at the end of an era or at the end of each era (Lorie, 1994). Could this be the most accurate prediction yet?

As far as the phenomenological sidebar goes, I realized the day I plucked The Divine Comedy off the self (first time in about a decade) was March 7 (3 + 7 = 10).

Music

The reference to the seven stars and the direct interpretation of them as stars also relates well to Pythagoras’ theory. Pythagoras’ theory was about uniting opposites in order to become one with or resonate with the Music of the Spheres and the spheres in this case referred to the then seven recognized planets (Benjafield, 2005). He thought the seven planets resonated sound or music (Porphyry, 1965) and the path of enlightenment for humankind was to find their own frequency to resonate with the Music of the Spheres (author’s interpretation of Pythagoras, see the Grand Patchwork, 2008).

Pythagoras also believed the “Word was Number manifested by Form” and that “God is the Supreme Music, the nature of which is harmony” (Pike, 1954, p. 97), thus linking numbers to music and to Hebrew as a language because letter in Hebrew is also a number and a musical tone. The number seven is thus very significant since it makes up the musical scale (the eighth being a repeat of the first tone). The connection to Pythagoras is also significant because he believed the song sung by the sirens (also mentioned on page 7) to be a mystical or magical tune in harmony with the Music of the Spheres (Porphyry, 1965). This could be why it states in Revelations that “…they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth” (Rev 14:3), because it is perhaps God’s song; a song that resonates with the Supreme Music and the Music of the Spheres (author’s interpretation).

To tie up the phenomenological sidebar from earlier, the bookmark I used was a piece of paper from a notepad advertising a real estate agent whose name was Carol Devine. Not only is her last name Devine (like in The Divine Comedy she was nestled in and in French means the vine, like the reference to a vineyard), but her first name is Carol, which is also a song sung at Christmas time. Since that makes three instances, perhaps the universe is trying to tell me something.

Selah

References

Alighieri, D. (1947). The Divine Comedy. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.

Atsma, A. J. (2008). Sphinx. New Zealand: Theoi Project. Retrieved February 17, 2009 from

http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Sphinx.html.

Benjafield, J. G. (2005). A history of psychology. Second edition. Toronto: Oxford

University Press.

Biblegateway (n.d). New International Version Retrieved February 4, 2009 from

http://www.biblegateway.com/

Budge, W. & Faulkner, A. (1996). The Egyptian book of the dead 1240 B.C: The papyrus of

Ani. Retrieved February 27, 2009 from http://www.touregypt.net/bkofdead.htm.

Charles, R. H. (1965). The apocrypha and pseudepigrapha of the old testament. Volumes

1 & 2. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.

Coe, M. D. (1999). The Maya, sixth edition. London: Thames and Hudson.

Dodds de Wolf, G.,Gregg, R. J., Harris, B. P., Scargill, M. H. (2000). Gage Canadian

Dictionary. Vancouver: Gage Educational Publishing Company.

Drosnin, M. (1997). The Bible Code. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Johnson, H. D. (2005). 21^st century apocalyptic art. (n.l): The Apocalyptic Art Gallery.

Retrieved February 17, 2009 from http://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/mystic.htm

Lorie, P. (1994). Revelation: St. John the divine’s prophecies for the apocalypse and beyond.

New York: Simon & Schuster.

Patterson, L. (2008). King Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue. (n.l): Teachinghearts. Retrieved February 4,

2009 from http://www.teachinghearts.org/dre17hdan02.html

Pike, A. (1954). Morals and Dogma. Charleston: A. . M. . 5632.

Porphyry, (1965), The Life of Pythagoras, in Heroes and Gods, Moses Hadas and Morton

Smith (eds.), New York: Harper and Row, 105-128.

Smith, J. (trs), (2006). The Book of Mormon: Another testament of Jesus Christ. (n.l): Intellectual

Reserve Inc.

 

Figure 1: Parallels between the visions of the Book of Revelation, Daniel and other (Kroeker, 2009).

 

Word/Phrase	Daniel	Revelations	Book of Mormon	Divine Comedy	Book of Enoch
gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone	5:4	9:20			99:6/7
Harvest/Reaping examples	2:35	14:15-16; 18:21	Jacob 5:71; entire chapter 5
Statue of metals	2:31-35			Page 60
Beasts from the sea	7:2-7	13:2
“like a man”	7:4; 7:7; 8:15; 10:16	4:7; 9:7
“one like the son of man”	7:13	1:12; 14:14 (1:7)
Wings of an eagle	7:4	12:14
Ten horns	7:7; 7:20; 7:24	12:13; 13:2; 17:3; 17:7; 17:12; 17:16
Speaking horns	7:8	9:13; 13:5
Ten kings	7:24	17:14
The worship of the Beast's statue	3:5-7, 15	13:15

 

Figure 2: The woman and the scarlet beast (Johnson, 2005).

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Figure 3: Art depicting women and the apocalypse (Johnson, 2005).

 

                                               

 

                  

Figure 4: Angels and Archangels depicted with feminine or androgynous qualities (Johnson, 2005).