The Eternal Circle

Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

Isaiah 40:22

The Ancient of Days - William Blake -

The most striking characteristic of the Wheel is that it forms a perfect Circle which visually displays the full integrity of the Canon of Scripture. Beyond this most obvious point, there are numerous reasons God chose the Circle as the figure upon which he would engrave his everlasting Word.

Our Creator is the Author of reason, beauty, love and logic. It goes without saying that there is none more creative, intelligent or artistic than the God who made us! Indeed, the title of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Word, or Logos, of God signifies that in him dwells the sum total of all wisdom, understanding, science, and art, whether it be natural or divine. "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him." The Logos, then, is He Who articulates the Mind of God, and by Him all is created, as it is written, "In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."

Greek Icon of Christ

As the Divine Artist, God recognizes the Circle as the ideal symbol of "things eternal." In concert with this heavenly thought, mortal artists have throughout the ages used the Circle in religious art. It appears in the glorious rainbow roundabout God’s throne, in the radiant halos above the heads of his saints, and even as a symbol of the very act of creation when God "placed a compass upon the face of the depth." No other figure expresses with such simple elegance the ideas of wholeness, completion, and perfection.

The significance of the cirular form of the Bible Wheel is greatly amplified by the threefold cruciform symmetry discovered in the Canon Wheel which is essentially identical to the halo used in traditional Christian Iconography to indicated Deity. The correspondence is too simple and striking to think it anything but the product of Divine Inspiration. This is discussed at length in Art, Theology, and Prophecy.

As the Divine Mathematician, God delights in the form of the Circle because it possesses significant properties found in no other two-dimensional object. It is the most compact, meaning that the ratio of the perimeter to the area is less than any other figure. The Wheel, therefore, is the most compact two-dimensional representation conceivable in which the Bible may be geometrically integrated with the Hebrew alphabet. This follows the same principle God the Divine Physicist used when he designed the laws governing the motion of objects. Indeed, the profound dependence of Physics upon Symmetry is the basis of A. Zee's excellent book Fearful Symmetry which I discuss in the Research and Reviews section.

The Circle is unique amongst all two-dimensional objects in that it, and it alone, is infinitely symmetric. Any two-dimensional figure has a degree of symmetry that can be measured by its behavior under rotation. An equilateral triangle, when rotated about its center, returns to its original orientation only when the angle is a multiple of 120 degrees, or one third of the Circle. It has, therefore, a three-fold symmetry. Likewise, a square returns to its original orientation only when the angle is a multiple of 90 degrees, or one fourth of the Circle. It has a four-fold symmetry. In general, a regular polygon with "n" sides will have an n-fold symmetry. Here are three simple objects that exemplify these ideas, a circle, a square, and a rectangle:

Most objects are not symmetric at all, and of all that are symmetric, the degree of symmetry is always finite, except in the unique case of the Circle which can be rotated through any angle with no variation in form. It is, therefore, a natural analog of the relation between God, "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning", and everything else in his creation. It is He, and He alone that is infinite and unchanging, as it is written, "For I am the LORD, I change not," and again, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Thus, the spiritual significance of the Circle as the most excellent symbol of things divine is impossible to miss and to behold "the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" to be supernaturally structured on this eternal pattern strikes the mind that has faith to see as nothing less than an immutable miracle, endlessly ablaze.

See Chapter 3 of the Bible Wheel book for more details on this theme.

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