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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

(9-29-2000)

When we dwell as pedestrians in a land, we behold the scenery from the
most intimate detail and perspective, but that very closeness and intimacy
in perspective prevents us from seeing symmetry, intention and design
on a grander scale, bearing profounder implications. If we ascend to a
mountain peak, we lose discernment of much of the finer details, but we
can begin to recognize the "lay of the land" and its geography. From an
orbiting space station, we can perceive global structure. And from vantage
point of another galaxy, we may comprehend cosmic design.

When we seek Divine intention, design, laws, and principles in Nature, we
consider NUMBER to be the highest authority of truth. We seek
mathematical certainty. Mathematical proof is the hallmark of modern
science.

The Bible also associated "wisdom" with "number". We find "wisdom" and
"number" mentioned together in three verses of the King James Bible:

Job 38:37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the
bottles of heaven,

Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom.

Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count
the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is
Six hundred threescore and six.

In Job, it is our inability to number and measure creation which exhorts us
to humility and surrender to the Divine Will.

In the Psalms, it is the measure of our temporal finitude which gives us
pause for the reflection which leads to wisdom.

In the Book of Revelation, it is a precise number which reveals to us that
person who is an embodiment of evil.

We never find "wisdom" and "measure" mentioned in the same verse in
the Bible, not even in the Books of Apocrypha. Measure is a human
activity and not a Divine activity.

We first encounter the word "measure" conjunction with "cubit" in Exodus
26:2 "The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the
breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall
have one measure." When King Solomon is in the act of consecrating the
newly finished Temple, he suddenly exclaims: 1 Kings 8:27 "But will God
indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens
cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? "

A "cubit" is the length of a man's forearm, which is subjective and
variable, not objective, absolute and unchanging.

In Hebrew, cubit is 'ammah; i.e., "mother of the arm," the fore-arm, is a
word derived from the Latin cubitus, the lower arm. It is difficult to
determine the exact length of this measure, from the uncertainty whether
it included the entire length from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger,
or only from the elbow to the root of the hand at the wrist. The
probability is that the longer was the original cubit. The common
computation as to the length of the cubit makes it 20.24 inches for the
ordinary cubit, and 21.888 inches for the sacred one. This is the same as
the Egyptian measurements. A rod or staff the measure of a cubit is called
in Judg. 3:16 _gomed_, which literally means a "cut," something "cut off."
The lxx. and Vulgate render it "span."

The earliest mention of "measure" is in conjunction with the precise
instructions for building the Tabernacle: Exodus 26:2 The length of one
curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain
four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.

The third mention of "measure" occurs together with the first appearance
of the word "unrighteousness" in relation to dishonesty in trade: leviticus
19:35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight,
or in measure.

Mathematicians consider "Number Theory" to be the Queen of all
Mathematics. Number Theory deals with such properties of number as
Odd or Even, Perfect numbers (which are the sum of their prime factors),
and with such properties as "excess" and "deficiency" in multiplication.

The number Nine is a number with several very interesting properties.
Nine is a Trinity of Trinities, in the sense that it contains the number three
thrice times. In a Greek Orthodox liturgy, the priest or deacon will incense
a Bishop NINE times, but the icon of Christ only three times because the
Bishop, when vested and serving in his sacerdotal capacity, is considered
to be the "Living Icon" of Christ.

Hindus consider NINE to be a divine number, because it may interact with
any other number in multiplication, and yet somehow, retain its identity.
Two times Nine equals 18, and 1 + 8 = 9. Three times Nine equals 27, and
2+7 = 9. Four times Nine equals 36, and 3 + 6 = 9. So Nine is perfect in
this respect, whereas the other numbers are sometimes "excessive" in
this respect and other times "deficient". Two times Seven equals 14, and
1+4=5. Three times Seven equals 21, and 2+1=3. Therefore Seven is
deficient in these equations. Three times Five equals 15, and 1+5 = 6.
Five times Five equals 25, and 2+5=8. Number Five is excessive in these
equations.

If you look at all the sacred scriptures of all the Religions, you will
discover that there are only certain sentences or phrases in which is a
WHOLE WORLD OF THEOLOGY.

For example, Mother Theresa put Christ's final words from the Cross, "I
thirst", on her convent wall.

John 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now
accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, "I thirst".

How many times in our lives might we read this verse, and pass it by, not
seeing the entire world hidden in two words?

A world hidden in a word is a pearl hidden in a field.

Hidden, amidst all the other verses of the Gospels, "out of context", is
something which opens up a whole world in the mind.

In a certain way, the very nature of our thought processes, is a
non-sequitur. Hence, structure and form in writing is, in a sense, illusion,
or maya. But we come to think of that ordered "structure" as the nature of
reality.

Regarding the "I Thirst" of Mother Theresa, Jallaladin Rumi once said, "Do
not seek water, for water is EVERYWHERE! Seek THIRST!" For without the
THIRST the water is of no value to you.

In the Psalms, "O Lord, I have thirsted after Thee like a deer in a
waterless land."

I have written the preceding as a prelude to the consideration of the motif
of "hunger" and "thirst" in the Scriptures.

It is most curious that there are a total of NINE verses in the entire King
James Version which mention "hunger" and "thirst" in the same verse. The
word "hunger" always appears first, followed by the word "thirst".

It is significant that the word hunger should always appear first in these
verses. We know that thirst will afflict us much sooner than hunger, and
the pangs of thirst are far more intense and severe than hunger pangs.
We can endure a much longer period of time without food than we can
without fluids. Why is it that Hunger is always mentioned first, and not
Thirst? Perhaps "thirst and hunger" is the human order, whereas "hunger
and thirst" is the Divine order.

The word "hunger" makes its first appearance in Scriptures (Exodus 16:3)
PRIOR TO the first appearance of the word "thirst" (Exodus 17:3 ).

This same consistent word order may be observed in the Apocrypha as
well; "hunger" always precedes "thirst". In the Apocrypha, we also find
this most unusual verse: 2 esdras 15:58 "They that be in the mountains
shall die of hunger, and eat their own flesh, and drink their own blood, for
very hunger of bread, and thirst of water." We may see in this verse the
beginnings of the imagery of the Eucharist.

Because NINE is an ODD number (rather than an EVEN number), there is
a mid-most verse, the FIFTH of the verses: 5.) John 6:35 And Jesus said
unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Indeed, this is a most central verse, portraying Jesus as the Bread of Life
and the Living Waters.

The first occurance of hunger, (which appears BEFORE the first occurance
of THIRST), Exodus 16:3 "And the children of israel said unto them, Would
to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when
we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye
have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with
hunger.

The first occurance of thirst, which inspires murmuring against Moses and
God: Exodus 17:3 "And the people thirsted there for water; and the
people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou
hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle
with thirst? "

We see here the totally Human aspect of hunger and thirst, the fallen
nature of humanity, driven by appetites and desires.

The second occurance of "hunger and thirst" is 2.) Nehemiah 9:15 "And
gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth
water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that
they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give
them."

This is the totally Divine aspect of God, who provides food and drink, and
sustains all creatures.

The third occurance of "hunger and thirst" is 3.) Isaiah 49:10 "They shall
not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he
that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water
shall he guide them."

Here we see a prefiguring of the Book of Revelation, the New Heaven and
New Earth, where there are no more tears, no more hunger or thirst or
desire.

The fourth occurance is 4.) matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

We see a UNIFICATION of hunger and thirst as ONE, no longer two, and
the object of the desire is no longer physical food and water, but
Righteousness. But what or Who is that Righteousness?

The fifth occurance is 5.) John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the
bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that
believeth on me shall never thirst."

Remember that this is the MIDDLE-MOST of the nine verses, about which
the other eight verses are symmetrically balanced. This verse answers
our previous question "Who is that righteousness for which the blessed
hunger and thirst."

We may note that at the Last Supper, or Mystical Supper, the Institution of
the Eucharist, Christ offers the broken bread FIRST, and afterwards the
Cup. It is logical that the Bread or Body must be broken first, before there
is Blood.

The sixth occurance of "hunger and thirst" is 6.) Romans 12:20 "Therefore
if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so
doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."

This is the fulfillment of seeing the Divine Image of God in all others, even
enemies. And it is We, the Mother Theresa, who now assume the role of
the God-Man Christ, as we minister unto our enemies and are perhaps
rent asunder, bleeding. St. athanasius said "God became man, so that
Man might become God".

The seventh occurance of "hunger and thirst" is 7.) 1 Corinthians 4:11
"Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked,
and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place", which is the
Disciples/Apostles in "imitation of Christ", taking up their cross.

The eight occurance is 8.) 2 Corinthians 11:27 In weariness and
painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in
cold and nakedness.

The ninth occurance is 9.) Revelation 7:16 "They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat.". Here we see that time and space, heaven and earth, pass away,
and all souls dwell in the very fabric of God, which now becomes their
space, light, raiment, sustenance and all things. These souls dwell in "the
bosom of Abraham".

The verses 'The Kingdom of God is WITHIN' and 'in my Father's house are
many mansions' are thought provoking verses. I recently learned that it
may also be translated "the kingdom of heaven is AMONG you" , which
has very different implications.

If we look at the Book of Revelation, in the chapters surrounding ch. 10....
(where it says...'God shall wipe away every tear').... we see that THERE
SHALL BE TIME NO LONGER (CH 10, verse 6), and "heavens and earth
shall be rolled up as a scroll" (no more SPACE).

So, time and space ceases, and God becomes raiment, light, air, food,
etc. An image which is faithful to St. Paul's words, "..in HIM we live and
move and have our being--Acts 17:28" and, Acts 17: 27 "That they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he
be not far from every one of us."

This passage, Ch. 10:6 in Revelation, depicts time and space itself passing
away, and all dwell WITHIN God, within the "fabric of God" so to speak.

We do see in the parable of lazarus and the rich man that Lazarus is "in
the bosom of Abraham", which is metaphorical, but supports the notion of
what is described in Revelation

What is interesting is that Christianity condemns notions of Pantheism,
that God IS the universe; yet in the final analysis, based on what the
Book of Revelation describes, God literally BECOMES the Universe, once
the Universe passes away.

In light of the above understanding of Revelation, it would seem that the
"many mansions" are WITHIN God Himself.

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(a reader's reply):

Interesting study! Indeed

John 4,10

10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knowest the gift of God,
and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have
asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

11. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and
the well is deep; from whence then hast thou that living water?

12. Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and
drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

13. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water
shall thirst again:

14. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life. (!)

I have come across a nine pointed form of star. It could be called a
master blueprint.

The Seal of Solomon (six pointed star) is said to be all time and space.

Is not the manifest universe a great cycle arising out of the Source? Is not
this cycle eternal? Who could count the number of mansions within Gods
creation?

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