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Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up now thy loins like a man;
for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Job 38.1
This page is both a challenge and a guide. It is a challenge to all who would assert that the Bible
is not the Word of God and a guide to
those who just can not quite get what the Bible Wheel is really all about.
The question is simply this:
Is it possible to improve on the Bible Wheel?
The answer should be a resounding "yes" if the Wheel were nothing but a happenstance
of history with no overriding intelligent design. If that were the case,
it should be exceedingly simple to find many
improvements, no?
And again, if the Wheel were
not the product of a single superintending Mind - which for historical reasons could only be the
Mind of God if any mind at all -
then how did it acquire such depth of beauty, symmetry, and elegance, let alone the
mathematically correlated
word distributions and
KeyLinks? These are but a few of the
many profound questions that must be pondered as we review just what the Lord God
Almighty has done in His Holy Word, and this
is the insurmountable challenge faced by all who would dare darken God's Counsel with words
lacking knowledge.
Large-scale structure: Sevenfold Symmetric Perfection
The high-level patterns of the Bible Wheel integrate with various Christian symbols
derived directly from the text of Scripture. This is one of the most
compelling aspects of the Wheel - the appearance of these symbols in the geometric structure of the
Holy Word should be as ten thousand bells ringing in the hearts and minds of all who behold God's
Work! The patterns are very deep, extending well below the sevenfold symmetric perfection of
the Canon Wheel (cf.
Symmetries of the Bible Wheel). Here are a few of the most obvious
high-level patterns:
- A Perfect Circle:
Amongst all possible two-dimensional figures, the Circle alone exhibits infinite
symmetry. It is therefore uniquely qualified to
express God's everlasting and unchanging Word. It is hard to imagine anyone
failing to appreciate this point, let alone trying to argue against it
(cf. The Eternal Circle and
Fearful Symmetry).
- 22 Spokes: The natural integration of the 66 Books with the 22 Hebrew letters has endless
implications.
The many hundreds of articles on this site testify to its abundant fruitfulness. The fact that the ancient
Jews attempted to force fit the Old Testament into this pattern is a standing witness to its intellectual
appeal. The fact that it was discovered in rather than imposed on the Bible testifies to its divine origin.
Could we improve on the Number of Spokes? How about 24 to correspond to the Greek alphabet?
Not a good idea -
God didn't write any alphabetic verses in Greek, whereas we have 22
Alphabetic Verses for each of the 22 Hebrew letters! Besides,
this wouldn't work with the circle for geometric reasons. In fact, the only other possibilities would be
2, 3, 6, 11, or 33 Spokes, since the number of Spokes must be a divisor of 66. None of these possibilities
offer any improvement to the 22 Spokes.
- Seven Canonical Divisions: The Biblical use and meaning of the Number Seven is universally recognized
(cf. Seven and Scripture). To find
this number as part of the intrinsic geometric structure of the Canon Wheel - the very Capstone of
Scripture - can not be improved upon. Simply stated, there could be no better choice. There is also an
intriguing relation between the Numbers 7 and 22 which form the best approximation to
Pi (about 22/7) using integers less than 100. Or stated another way, 22/7 is the first convergent of the
continued fraction
 expansion
of Pi.
These numbers also integrate with the structure of the Hebrew alphabet, composed of 3 Mother,
7 Double, and 12 Elemental letters. Of course, 12 also figures prominently in both the text and the
geometric structure of Scripture.
- Bilateral Symmetry: The line of Bilateral Symmetry divides between the Hebrew Aleph and Tav,
corresponding
to the Greek Alpha and Omega, the sign and seal of the Creator designed by the Almighty Himself
(cf. GR 801).
If this is not "rightly dividing the word of truth" then nothing is. What could improve this perfection?
- Radial Symmetry: What could improve this beauty?
Detailed Structure - Linked Books
The great themes linking the books on each Spoke manifest in Thematic Links,
KeyLinks, and mathematically correlated
word distributions, which often
exhibit a cc near unity.
Below are just a few examples of what must be surpassed by
anyone who would think to improve upon the supernatural design of God's
Word. I can't give an exhaustive list since that would simply be a site index
that would require a download of nearly a megabyte of data.
- Spoke 1 - Three Primary Initial Books: The first Spoke is composed of the three primary
initial books of the Bible:
| Genesis |
The first book of the Law |
| Isaiah |
The first book of the Prophets |
| Romans |
The first book of the NT Epistles |
The OT spans the first two Cycles on Spoke 1, which means that the first two books on Spoke 1 must come
from the OT. There are no other books with the premier significance of Genesis and Isaiah, so this
section can not be improved.
In the NT, there is one other book that should be addressed. Matthew, the first book of the NT, could be
considered for the spot on Spoke 1 - but of course that would destroy the overwhelming thematic
integration that
links Genesis, Isaiah, and Romans, as documented in many articles on this site (cf.
A Great Cloud of Witnesses and
Spoke 1 Link Index). Also, the Book of
Matthew is nothing like Romans, which has been called the Cathedral of the Christian Faith, which surpasses
the significance and weight of every book in all the Bible. It must also be remembered that Isaiah has
been called the "Romans" of the Old Testament.
There is absolutely no question - Spoke 1 is perfect beyond description.
It is the Work of God Almighty which no man will ever improve upon.
- Spoke 4: Numbers, Ezekiel, Galatians: The greatest density of the Number 4 in the text of
Scripture is found in the first chapter of Ezekiel with the vision of the
Four Living Creatures
which is reproduced with many KeyLinks in Revelation 4. The ordinal position of Ezekiel as the
26th Book links it to the Name of Four Letters, the Tetragrammaton
(YHVH = 26) and the phrase know that I
am YHVH uniquely characteristic of Ezekiel.
The temporal phrase each day for a year forms a
KeyLink between Numbers and Ezekiel and links to the theme of the Fourth Day of Creation
which is explicitly referenced in Galatians (cf.
Weak and Beggarly Elements), and forms the basis
of the 40 days in the Wilderness of Matthew 4. The alphabetic integration
is completed in the first appearance of Door in Genesis 4, the maximization of
the distribution of Door/Gate on Spoke 4, and the KeyLink between Ezekiel and Revelation 4 based on the phrase Behold a Door! And this is just a tiny sampling of the
infinite perfection
of Spoke 4 of God's Wheel. The integration is complete, wondrous, and overwhelming. This locks down
these three books on Spoke 4 - there is simply no way to improve this structure.
- Spokes 15, 16, 17: Linked Triplets -
Post-Exilic History and Minor Prophets: Two eminent scholars (H. Ironside and J. Baxter) have
independently observed
that Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther should be read together with Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi because
they are the Historic and Prophetic Books corresponding to the same post-exilic period.
This is true, and it means that any proposed redesign of God's Word
must necessarily leave the links
between these six books intact.
The substructure - including many KeyLinks - within
these six books also demands
that we keep their order amongst themselves unaltered (cf.
Haggai and
Zerubbabel and the Foundation of the Temple).
This locks down both the relative position and order
of these six books. The relation between the books and the Hebrew letters then locks down all six books
to their exact position on the Wheel, as seen for example in these three representative articles:
This means we have locked down the exact position of 12 books of the Bible, 3 on Spoke 1, 3 on Spoke 4,
and six on Spokes 15, 16, and 17. There is no way to improve on their position on the Wheel.
- Spoke 22 - Consummation:
| Song of Songs |
The Marriage Song, A King receives His Bride |
| Acts |
Pentecost - The Bride is Born |
| Revelation |
Christ - the Eternal King - Receives His Bride |
What choices would anyone have to improve on the Spoke 22?
The idea of consummation perfectly
coheres with the last Spoke, so there is no better place for the Book of Revelation, which
seals the Bible. But what about Cells 22 and 44? Cell 22 must
be filled with a book from the OT since 22 < 39. So what books in the
OT could match the theme of Consummation? There are really only two possiblitilies as I see it:
- Joel - this book's great prophecy about the pouring out of God's Spirit is quoted in Acts
on Spoke 22, so it is a natural candidate.
- Song of Songs - This book is the Marriage book. It coheres perfectly with both the theme of
Consummation and the reception of Christ's Bride in Revelation. This also integrates
with its interpretation by both Jews and the Church throughout history.
The problem now is that Joel is from the Minor Prophets, and the Song from the Wisdom books, so
if we were to place Joel in Cell 22 we would ruin the sevenfold symmetric perfection of the Canon Wheel.
We also would destroy the links between the Marriage Song and Matthew 22,
Joel and 0, and the many links between the Marriage Song and Revelation (which must certainly
remain on Spoke 22). This is the power of the multiplied witnesses to God's perfect Word given in
the Inner Wheels and Cycles. Everything is interlocked - and I do mean locked.
We don't just have a Threefold Cord here - that's just an outline of the
basic structure. In truth and reality, we have a coherent weaving of infinite depth - an endless
revelation of the Wisdom of Almighty God!
Finally, what about Cell 44? Is there a New Testament book that would fit better here, and is there also
a better Cell for Acts? What are the choices? Consideration of the Canon Wheel presents an immediate
problem - Acts is a book of History, like the Gospels. It simply would not fit on
Cycle 3 which consists of exactly 22 Epistles. This leaves a very limited region where we could
place it without ruining the Canon Wheel. But tremendously powerful links between
the Gospels and their associated Spokes locks them into their own positions, as shown in
these representative articles:
This leaves no
choice whatsoever for the Book of Acts except Cell 44, precisely where God Himself placed it. And besides
all this, it is in Acts that God sealed His newborn Church with the Holy Spirit, an event which
integrates with the meaning of Tav as the Seal of God and the maximization of the word "seal" on Spoke
22.
The entire structure of the 66 books - the exact order
from beginning to end - is locked down with the very Seal of Almighty God. This means that the
combinatoric calculations are absolutely valid, and the probability of
this structure arising by
chance is less than one in 66 factorial, that is, less than one in 1094. This is scientifically
equivalent to zero, and we have received therefore the greatest gift from Almighty God -
something infinitely greater than a mere proof of His Word. We have received
the Key that opens the Door unto the infinite Treasure House of His Glorious Wisdom, which
is nothing more nor less than the Living Word of Almighty God, the LORD JESUS CHRIST!
Praise His Holy Name!
Rejoice, O Daughters of Zion!
Declare the wonders of thy Lord! Proclaim His Holy Word! Publish with a voice of joy what God has done
for His People!
The Conclusion of the Matter
And now, as we stand in utter awe before the mighty Work of the Lord, let us return to the question
God posed to Job, lest we be "exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations"
(II Corinthians 12.7):
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like
a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
The Lord God Almighty continued through two whole chapters declaring His power in questions no man can
answer, until finally he challenged Job again with these words (Job 40.1):
Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer
it.
Job - canonized as Saint Job the Righteous in the Eastern
Orthodox Church - had only this to say of himself:
Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I
answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer:
yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Immediately after this, the Lord challenged Job yet again:
Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.
Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.
Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.
Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.
What is this question if not the very essence of the Gospel, that we are utterly dependent upon
God's Grace for salvation, here in one of the oldest books of the Bible? It also impinges
strongly on many of today's popular "arguments" used against God, that usually begin with
the words "I couldn't believe in a God who ..."
Finally, we have Job's full realization of who he is in relation to God (Job 42.1f)
Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing,
and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I
understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
And this brings us one and all to the same point of utter dependence upon the Lord,
recongnition of our sin and repentence at the foot of the Cross. There is no other way,
we are nothing but dust and ashes! As it is written (Mark 8.34f):
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he
said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but
whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of
me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of
man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Though it is very hard to say, I must admit that I am the man who
"darkens counsel without knowledge" - for all the glory revealed in the Bible belongs to God,
to God alone!
Sola Dei Gloria!
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An Ancient Witness
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