Part 3. MAINLY ABOUT NUMBERS
In Part Two I mentioned in passing that the final tally of the Elements was 118, and that this number was important. Now is the time to say why. But before doing so, I should like to point out that some scientists suggest the (as yet, theoretical) possibility of a FOURTH slab of Elements, after number 118, and as this would contain the square of TEN, it would amount to another HUNDRED elements. I have a study book to hand, entitled “Heavy Nuclei, Superheavy Nuclei, and Neutron Stars” by J.M.Irvive (1975) in which this theory is postulated. However, it is but a scientist’s theory, and no credibility can be attached to it, save following the pattern of the existing Elements. It is my own studied belief that there were originally 118 Elements which God created for all living and non-living matter. As I showed in Part Two, quite a number of these Elements, in the higher echelons, are radioactive, and cannot last for long before spontaneously disintegrating.
But was it always like that? I believe not. If I heard correctly, the Lord spoke to me back in 1972, saying that before the Flood ALL the Elements were stable, and this accounted for the much greater longevity of man’s life. Something happened at the Flood, other than the destruction by water, which caused our present world to be the way it is. Although I have an understanding of how this came about, I must refrain from delving into the scientific world too deeply in this paper, which would detract from its intended purpose. Let me rather state the Biblical reason for assuming that 118 is a final number. Where do we first find mention of the CHIEF CORNER STONE in the Bible? Is it not in the Psalms? And which number? It is 118! Can this be coincidental? I think not. I believe that God’s ways and works are all harmoniously linked together, whether it be in the realms of Atomic Physics, Astronomy, Biology, or Theology. All are ONE in His sight, and all are woven together.
To the man who has no scientific background, but is interested only in Theology, the 118th Psalm may have little if any magic in its serial number. He might very well say, “Who collected together the Psalms? Surely there can be no magic in the order in which they are presented?” But I believe there was a Divine Mind working, even in the ORDER and ARRANGEMENT of the Psalms. And 118 is truly a magic number, showing that there are just THREE layers of Elements in the Periodic Table, just as there are just THREE cities which will comprise the New Jerusalem. The one is a figure of the other. And both are pictures of a spiritual truth yet to be understood in its fullness.
Psalm 118 has other connections. It is the last of the “Hallel Psalms” (Nos 113-118) sung at Tabernacles. On the “last day, the great day of the feast” the High Priest used to take water from the Pool of Siloam, that flowed under the Temple mount. He collected it in a golden goblet, and poured it into one of two silver basins, and wine in the other. And this was poured out unto the Lord on the western side of the altar. Immediately there was a great chorus of praise as the choirs sang Isaiah 12:3“Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Bishop Lightfoot once wrote, “So ecstatic was the joy with which the ceremony was performed, accompanied by the sound of trumpets, that it used to be said, whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all.” The Bishop was quoting from the Jewish writings known as Sukkah 5:1. Then the choirs sang Psalm 118, and palm branches were waved at verses 1, 25 and 29. Notice that in verse 25 where the A.V. has “save I beseech Thee” the Hebrew word is Hosanna, and this reminds us of the joyful scene when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna. Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord.” They knew what they were doing, and they were witnessing to their belief in Jesus as the King.
Now this Psalm has very strong connections with the Millennium, the Day of God’s Rest, and the 1,000 year reign of Christ with His Bride. See verse 17. “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord has chastened me sore, but He has not given me over unto death.” Was Paul thinking of this verse when he spoke about “Those of us who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord – -.”? The symbolism of the Living Water speaks wholly of the Millennial Kingdom, but all those who put their trust in Jesus are able to partake even now, before the fullness has come.“Jesus said, whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst again, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) “On the last day, the great day of the feast [of Tabernacles] Jesus stood up and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He who believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his innermost parts shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-39)
“Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1) “The Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.” (Isaiah 58:11) Such are the great and precious promises given to all who “hunger and thirst after righteousness.”
Another interesting conclusion may be drawn from the Pyramid by calculating its Volume. The books on geometry tell us that the volume of a Pyramid is one third base area multiplied by the height. Now in the present case, the height is equal to the base length, and this simplifies things. Without presenting too much detail, a little observation will show that the volume of our Pyramid is one third the volume of a cube of the same dimensions. A further calculation may be made, in which the volume of the Capstone is found first of all, and then the volume of this together with the slab of stones adjacent to it. Subtracting the one from the other produces an important result. The volume of both together is 8 units, whereas the volume of the Capstone alone is 1 unit. Therefore the volume of the “city” is 7 units. Spiritually interpreted, we see that the members of the city first of all reach “spiritual perfection” (the meaning of 7) by the “sore chastening” mentioned in Psalm 118. And then, when they are taken up to be joined to their Head in resurrection, the volume becomes 8 units, and 8 is the number of resurrection and new beginning.
On this earth one can never get beyond the perfection of 7, and this may be seen in the fact that God gave man seven days to the week. One must await the 8th day to reach full maturity, just as on the piano seven notes are needed to define a scale, but finality is only reached by playing the eighth note, hence an octave. Doh, Re, Me, Fa, Soh, La, Te – – but you cannot stop there on the seventh, you have to complete it with Doh‘, the eighth note. So it is with all of God’s work. The Lord God spoke to John the Apostle saying “Behold, I make all things new.” That newness can only come in resurrection. But it presupposes that “all things” have first of all to go through the painful processes of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, in order to be ready for the 8th day of resurrection. No man can by-pass the divine ingredients that are used to bring humanity to the perfection God desires. This is God’s great work, and He will not be frustrated until He achieves His desired end.
We now move on to another mathematical factor, not so much with the Pyramid, but with the Hebrew words that are found in Psalm 118.Our interest must be focussed on the two words “Head of the Corner”, pronounced L’Rosh Pinnah. We can then add up the numerical values of the Hebrew letters contained in these two words. The process is known as GEMATRIA. The Hebrew language uses the same symbols for numerals as for the letters of the alphabet, so ALEPH = 1, BETH = 2, GIMEL = 3 and so on until YOD = 10, and then each succeeding letter rises by 10, until QOPH = 100, and then each letter rises by a further 100 until the end of the alphabet. This analysis applied to L’Rosh Pinnah shows that it adds up to 666.
I am sure this comes as a great surprise to my readers, especially after the exposition of the glories attached to our Lord’s position as the PRECIOUS CORNER STONE, the HEAD-STONE. How can we accommodate such a dreadful number attaching itself to the Lord? It seems almost monstrous! When I first found this number, I repeated the arithmetic THREE TIMES, in the hope that I had made a mistake, but not so. I sought the Lord in prayer about this, thinking that a dark cloud had passed across the brilliantly coloured landscape, and created a feeling of chill. After all, John the Apostle, in Revelation 13, tells us that 666 is “the number of man” related to the Beast of that chapter. No way can we possibly equate our Lord with such. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long, because the Lord put a verse in my mind, and clarity emerged. The sun came out again. Let me share this with you.
The verse was from the 14th chapter of Isaiah, where Lucifer says, “I will be like the Most High.” It appears that Satan knew about the promise of the Headstone from the very beginning. He knew that God had promised a Messiah, someone who would come from heaven to earth and be King. He inwardly craved this position, and set himself up as the Contender for the Throne. He wanted to gain control of the whole world, not appreciating the end and purpose of God. And as L’RoshPinnah was 666, this became his cherished number. He set himself the target of “being like the Most High” and ruling amongst the nations of men. So we mustn’t assign the number 666 to the Devil, except in his desire to achieve his goal. ALL numbers were originally GOOD. Certain numbers have been appropriated by dark powers to further their purposes. Take 13 as an example. It is the number of REBELLION. But the sacred name of God, JEHOVAH adds up to 26, which is twice 13. And so, care must be taken when trying to interpret numerical data from the Bible. Sometimes it is necessary to ask what numbers meant ORIGINALLY, before the fall.
Another angle on this is expressed in Revelation, when men call out and say “Who is like unto the Beast?” Now why should they say that? Is there some cryptic meaning to it? I think so, because it is a parody on the name of the Archangel Michael, whose name means “Who is like unto God?” Only in this way can certain mysteries be understood and explained. The Book of Revelation is crammed full of such cryptic messages, and I suppose none of us have yet learned to “crack the code” of any save just a few. A “nuts and bolts” interpretation, insisting on “literalism”, only produces fanciful results, which sound quite incredible to the average student of the Word of God. For further study on 666 I would refer my readers to P.T.34, “MONEY LOVERS”, in which I presented a number of results of gematrial research. And so, rather than ending on a bad note, we have seen even more of the glories of the Lord expressed in a variety of ways, and can only conclude with that same prayer – “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” May the Lord prepare each one of us for His Great Day – “This is the Day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”(Psalm 118:24)
