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Pi Day-March 14th, 2015 [3.14159]

Pi Day 2015 [3.14159]

To commemorate Pi Day, March 14th, 2015 we are recognizing the Creator’s usage of Pi in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple. 2015 holds a special Pi Day, since 3.14.15 is a once in a century event! We are happy to recognize this day by calling attention to the Creator’s application of the Pi ratio in some of the sacred furniture found within the inner and outer Temple/Tabernacle Courts. A portion of the material presented below is reprinted from my website study on “Pi in the Sky” @ try-god.com; [read more]. In a recent two Part Blog post, we discussed the Eastern Light through the Temple/Tabernacle, [read more] as an east-west axis line, where the people of Israel approached God in worship, a theme we will pick up in this study also. The first element on this line of access utilizing the Pi ratio is the round Brass Laver at the entrance to the inner court of the Tabernacle/ Temple. I Kings 7 below provides the descriptive details of this “molten sea.”

Figure 1. The Brasen Laver of Solomon’s Temple

The Molten Sea

The Brass Laver in the Outer Court I Kings 7:23-30 ²³And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. ²⁴And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. ²⁵It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. ²⁶And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. ²⁷And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. ²⁸And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: ²⁹And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. ³⁰And every base had four brazen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had under-setters: under the laver were under-setters molten, at the side of every addition.

Figure 2. The Tabernacle of Moses Layout

Hebrew Tabernacle layout — Tabernacle of Israel Layout

As we consider the Biblical usage of words related to how the pi ratio is revealed in Scripture, we will gain insight into the divine perspective of the Creator’s viewpoint on Pi, and His Intelligent Design of Creation. Anytime we can adopt the view of the Almighty through the truths He has shared with us in His matchless Word, it always speaks volumes to those of us who are paying attention. The Hebrew word for “line” of thirty cubits, in verse 23 is “qav” [*H6957]. The word carries the primary meaning of a measuring cord, a ruler, or standard of measure. We are also familiar with this concept by another term known as a “canon.” On the surface the Bible gives the basic mathematical value of pi here as 3, but the deeper truths of God’s Word lie below the surface, for those who have the heart and will to look for them. It is noteworthy that the first place where the pi ratio is applied by God in the Tabernacle and Hebrew Temple is in connection with the semi-circular Brass Laver in I Kings 7:23. Let’s take a look at some other places where this Hebrew word “qav” shows up. In the 38th chapter of Job, God is discussing the foundations of the Earth. The question in verse 5 asks: “Who hath laid the measures thereof, if you know? Or who hath stretched the line upon it?” The obvious Biblical answer to these questions is the Creator. In light of the usage of “qav” in I Kings 7:23, God’s exercise of Pi as a standard ruler or measure in laying and measuring the spherical dimensions and foundations of our planet, recorded in the book of Job, the oldest book of the Biblical Canon is enlightening. This is especially the case when we consider the context of Job 38, which deals with a series of questions about various elements of Creation, that only God Almighty could answer. The Intelligent Design specifications of the planet Earth would easily fall into this category, as to how the Earth’s spherical dimensions and temporal order fit into the celestial context of Creation. We can see the sense of this clarified even more in our next reference to the Hebrew word “qav.”

Figure 3. Planet Earth

earth creation

In Psalm 19, The heavens declare the glory of God… Verse 4 says, “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He hath set a tabernacle for the sun.” Once again the Hebrew word for “line” here is qav. Let me ask you, what is the heavenly or celestial line that is a tabernacle, or provides the houses of the sun? The only sensible answer is the ecliptic! This is quite logical when we consider that the Israelites, during their 40-year sojourn in the Sinai wilderness were led by God, seen as a pillar of cloud during the day, and one of fire by night. The pillars dwelt over the Holy of the Holies in their Tabernacle, signifying the Creator’s personal presence among His people. When they camped during the evenings, Numbers 2 tells us they camped in the order of the tribes as it matched the order of the course of the sun on the ecliptic, (east, south, west, north). Israel’s twelve tribes, as we are aware by now, also matched up with the twelve signs of the zodiac in their God-ordained significance, before they were corrupted in heathen Astrology and mythology. This tribal order is also found in the twelve jewels of the High Priest’s breastplate, [Ex. 28:15-21]. Thus the celestial gospel originally related the story of the coming redeemer of mankind, that God wrote in the stars before He ever committed it to His Written Word. These are the words of Ps. 19:4 that have gone out through all the earth, unto the end of the world. This application of the Pi (the mathematical relation of the diameter of a circle to its circumference) by God, in reference to the circular ecliptic is certainly intriguing in light of the Sun’s apparent 360-degree path through its 12 houses of the zodiac, as viewed from Earth. In this light we should also be aware of the earlier context of I Kings 7.

Figure 4. 12 Signs of the Zodiac on the Ecliptic

The next aspect of the Temple layout relating to the Pi ratio concerns the two huge Brass Pillars at the entrance to the Hebrew Temple. These are described also in I Kings 7:13-15 below. 1 Ki 7:13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. [14] He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. [15] For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. The word for “line” in verse 15 above is not qav, as it is in verse 23, but it does indicate a line for measuring, thus a closer look at these brass pillars is still called for. As we know, Pi has long been considered a transcendental number, or constant of mathematics (3.14159….), linking a straight diameter to a curved circumference. The French archaeologist and mathematician Charles Funk-Hellet points out that: “Solomon had Hiram contribute to building a temple whose brass columns were 18 cubits high, and 12 cubits around. In other words, one cubit equaled the twelfth part of the circumference of the arc of 30 degrees, or pi/6. By subtracting the circumference from the height, they obtained 6 cubits in a straight line, which was equal to 1/2 circumference, or the exact value of pi; so that 1000 years before Christ the Hebrews knew that a cubit was a mathematical entity dependent on the circumference, and were able to resolve pi to four points of decimal.” ²(emphasis mine)

Funk-Hellet’s observation that: “By subtracting the circumference from the height, they obtained 6 cubits in a straight line, which was equal to 1/2 circumference, or the exact value of pi/6.…“³ is worth remembering when we come to the subject of the celestial symbolism of the Menorah, and its application of pi, building on what we have found here. Funk-Hellet goes on to say that: “the Biblical cubit is equal to the Egyptian Royal cubit, which was incorporated into the Temple at Jerusalem as pi/6, or 523.6 millimeters. Using one unit of measure as the radius of a circle, the ancients found the trigonometric value of 30 degrees to be pi/6, (which divided the full circumference of the circle into 12 equal parts) and was the value of the royal cubit, or .5236 of the unit used: 3.1416/6 = .5236“⁴ (parenthesis & emphasis mine)

Figure 5. Solomon’s Temple with Brass Pillars at the Entrance

The Two Brass Pillars Jachin and Boaz — Brass Pillars at the Entrance of Solomon’s Temple

In effect, we have an architectural representation of the twelve-fold division of the heavens preserved in the dimensions of the Temple’s Brass columns, all based on the mathematical standard Pi, long before most modern scientists imagined the ancients knew anything about Pi at this level of accuracy. This provides more evidence showing the Creator’s perfect wisdom and Nature’s Great Geometer, at work in the dimensions of His Temple, as an illustration of heavenly realities [Heb. 8:5], which He gave to King David by revelation. Also symbolically contained in the dimensions of the Temple’s brass columns, is a figure of 12 calendar months of 30 days, totaling the 360 days of their year, a calendar also used going all the way back to Noah’s time, in the context of the 360-degrees of the ecliptic. This reveals the true origin of the 12 – 30° segments of the ecliptic, as a standard celestial measure, and also reveals the Pi ratio at the root of the Hebrew Calendar matching the 360 degrees of the circle with the 360 days of the year on the Calendar of the Biblical Patriarchs. And since Noah was already 600 years old when the Bible records the details of this luni-solar calendar in Genesis 7, it also implies that it was used by the earlier Biblical Patriarchs prior to the flood, and centuries before history and human science thought this level of sophisticated astronomical timekeeping was in use. For more information on Noah’s Calendar, [read more]. As we find in the above Biblical uses of the Hebrew word “qav,” God’s application of the Pi concept far exceeds any previous application in human history. Views based on scientific Materialism will never account fully for the realities of God’s Creation. Only from the Creator’s viewpoint in His Word, and the Works of His Hands, do these applications of pi make sense. Only He could apply pi to the ecliptic and the dimensions of our planet, a concept which is borne out in much greater detail, in how pi is symbolically and architecturally applied, not only in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, but also in the Great Pyramid. Since the pattern shown to Moses for the Tabernacle was by divine revelation, just as the pattern of the Temple was shown to King David, these men of God did not calculate the blueprints for these sacred edifices, or their related measurements, by scientific trial and error. Thus they didn’t need to wait on the Greeks, like Archimedes, generally considered the greatest of ancient scientists, to rediscover them or to apply them in divine architecture. Although Archimedes is to be commended for his application of the pi proportion, respectfully it pales in comparison to what we find in the Biblical uses of “qav” relating to pi. For example, the third piece of furniture utilizing pi in the Tabernacle is the Menorah. Since it is located in the Inner Court or Holy Place, it is closer to the Holiest of All, the throne-room and dwelling place of God. When we consider the Menorah or candlestick we are primarily concerned with the original model exhibited in the Tabernacle of Israel. Later, in the Temple there were 10 candlesticks utilized in a different manner than at first. In (Figure 6.) below we see the first candlestick, or Menorah in the form of what James Strong has called a “stylized tree.” Strong gives his own description of Exodus 25:33 quoted below:

Ex. 25:33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.”

Strong’s geometric synopsis of this verse states:

“It will be perceived that each section of the semicircles of which these lines are the radii is composed of two members: the shank (a plain tube) and the bulb (or swell), and that each has a third part or base (a circular double flange, as a means of connection, hence an actual joint) only where it is united to a different kind of piece; i.e., at the bottom and top of the central shaft and of the six arms, including the intersections of the shaft with the arms.”⁵ [emphasis mine]

Figure 6. The Hebrew Menorah 6

When we apply what we have already seen in the Biblical teaching of the Sun’s dual symbolism, to the Menorah, it takes on a new light, associating the Sun not only with the solar system, but also the circular zodiac. The Menorah structure shows its central shaft as the foundation of the candle, since it holds the main light as the candle centerpiece. All the branches of the candlestick are attached to the central shaft, even as they obtain their light from the main candle. This pattern is mirrored in the solar system as the planets and moons do not generate their own light, but reflect the light of the Sun, as they orbit around it. We find not only the solar system order reflected here but also that of the ecliptic with 12 Constellations. This is evident in the Menorah’s semi-circular pattern based on pi. By expanding on Strong’s analysis of the Menorah this comes to light. In Strong’s smaller geometric model of the Menorah, we note bulbs on the six branches of the candlestick that are projections of the central bulb, where all the radiating geometric lines of the central light emanate. These projections of the central light on the six branches, (five naked eye planets and the Moon) depict how these luminaries reflect the Sun’s light in their individual orbits upon the Earth. This system reflects the temporal periods and orbits of each planet in our solar system, in relation to the Sun’s light. This is revealed first in the context of the mathematics of the base 60 standard, a primary trait of the Creator’s celestial order. Strong’s emphasis above on the geometric design of the Menorah, exhibits the Hebrew zodiac as in Genesis 49, with Jacob’s prophesies over his twelve sons. We should see that these lines noted by Strong as “the radii of the semi-circle,” reflecting the symbolic light of the world, if extended into a complete circle, the radii would divide it into 12 equal parts of 360 degrees of the circle according to pi. We can be safe in making this conceptual leap in the implied design of the Menorah, because we have just seen this pattern in the Temple pillars: Jachin and Boaz. This marks the Menorah as a complete symbolic piece of furniture in the Temple and Tabernacle, acting as a celestial symbol of the structure of both our solar system and the zodiac. It is complete because it is the third aspect we have observed utilizing pi measures, following on the great Brazen Sea and the Temple pillars. These aspects of The Celestial Symbolism of the Temple and Tabernacle; [read more] utilize pi to depict the Hebrew Calendar of 12 months of 30 days in the sacred 360-day year utilized by Noah. But the Menorah goes beyond this, embracing the planets in a heliocentric model of the ancient solar system, long before the Greek Aristarchus of Samos proposed it in the second century BC. The Menorah’s [read more] implicit use of the pi ratio incorporates the previous usage of this principle in the Brasen Sea and the Temple pillars, while adding the symbolism of the heliocentric solar system to these previous applications, all incorporated into a single model. According to conventional history, the idea of a heliocentric “universe” or solar system, originated with the ancient Greeks, specifically Aristarchus of Samos as mentioned above. This idea however, did not catch on in a big way until Copernicus, who while reviewing some of Aristarchus’ ideas seized upon this concept and ran with it. He did this at his own peril due to the prevailing worldview of the time, especially that of the Roman Catholic Church, based on a geocentric view of the solar system espoused by Ptolemy, which held sway in intellectual and religious circles for over 1500 years. In the Figure 7. graphic below from Harmonica Macrocosmica [A. Cellarius, Amsterdam 1660] depicts a Sun-centered Copernican view of the cosmos.

Figure 7. Heliocentric Solar System 7

harmonica macrocosmica

This aspect of pi as it applies to Biblical cosmology will show the idea of a heliocentric “universe” predating the 2nd Century BC and Aristarchus, by at least 1300 years, and its genuine roots are found in the Old Testament Scriptures. Our present tour through the Hebrew Taberncale/Temple not only reveals this, but even deeper truths as the Menorah’s complete symbolic nature is revealed, leading to the holiest of all with the Ark of the Covenant, and the Holy Names of God. The pi ratio in I Kings 7, should also be considered with any practical application of pi in King Solomon’s day. On this subject there is information concerning a practical approximation of pi in the ancient world, based on septenary units of measure. In some ancient traditions, the relation of the Diameter to the Circumference, embodied in pi, symbolized the names of God; Elohim and Jehovah. With Elohim, the Creator representing the Circumference, of the curved line – the totality of His Creation, and in Jehovah, the straight line Diameter, or God in relationship to His Creation, thus pi embodies some geometrical expressions of the Almighty. We find the basic elements of the concept of “squaring the circle” in the Circle’s diameter inscribed in the circumference of a surrounding Sphere inside a Cube, in I Kings 7:30 above, contained in the square base containing the circular brasen sea. This principle has survived through the centuries in the domed sacred architecture of many temples and churches, where the circular dome is surrounded by a square building. We should take note that the Holy of the holies, containing the Ark of the Covenant, was a perfect cube, contained within a double-square ground-plan of the Hebrew Tabernacle. This provided the divine foundation of many practices in the “sacred geometry” of the secular world. The practical approximation of pi in the ancient world of sacred architecture, has preserved this concept of the Creator God in relation to His Creation, in a systematic application of principles of sacred geometry, based on septenary units of measure. According to Stechini, in this system the; “circumference was considered 22/7 of the diameter; this approximation of pi rendered (3 1/7, or 3.142857) is still in use today as an adequate approximation in many problems of engineering.” ⁸ As Beckmann points out, “Archimedes started with a hexagon and progressively doubling the number of sides he arrived at a polygon of 96 sides, which yielded pi as 3 1/7, or 3.142857.” ⁹

The importance of relating pi to septenary units is obvious in a Biblical light when we consider God’s abundant use of the number 7 in His ordering of Creation, including the Menorah. Some of this evidence is covered in our website essay on the Calendar of the Israel, [read more]. This ratio of 22/7 is also intriguing because it expresses the ratio between the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in relation to its seven vowels. This is a supporting factor in the idea that the roots of writing and the first alphabet originate in the Celestial Gospel. As the first “written” revelation to mankind, the stars in this gospel were named and numbered by God [Ps. 147:4]. The divine message of the coming redeemer and the means God chose to deliver it, thus provide the sacred foundation of all language and mathematics. As the divine original source of this wisdom, the witness of the stars was above reproach. The pi ratio expressed as 22/7, reflects this perfection of the celestial gospel, in at least the mathematical, geometrical and linguistic contexts. Let’s now consider a final point linked with septenary measuring units. This note from Keil and Delitzsch’ Commentary on I Kings 7:23 below, adds support to the application of pi relating to septenary units as seen in the brazen sea above, [3.142857] and the ancient knowledge of its use in Israel, via revelation from God, in the dimensions of the Tabernacle, Temple and its sacred furniture. “The brazen sea (cf. 2Ch. 4:2-5). – “He made the molten sea – a water-basin called יָם (mare) on account of its size – ten cubits from the one upper rim to the other,” i.e., in diameter measured from the upper rim to the one opposite to it, “rounded all round, and five cubits its (external) height, and a line of thirty cubits encircled it round about,” i.e., it was thirty cubits in circumference. The Chethib קוה is to be read קָוֶה here and in Zech. 1:16 and Jer. 31:39, for which the Keri has קָו in all these passages. קָוֶה or קָו means a line for measuring, which is expressed in 1Ki. 7:15 by חוּט. The relation of the diameter to the circumference is expressed in whole numbers which come very near to the mathematical proportions. The more exact proportions would be as 7 to 22, or 113 to 355.”¹⁰[emphasis mine]

Figure 8. The Ark of the Covenant

The septenary relation to pi uncovers the link between the pi and phi ratios, through the popular Fibonacci Series. This is interesting when we consider that the dimensions of Ark of the Covenant conform to the phi standard, in the holiest of all. Since the lid or “mercy seat” of the Ark represents the Creator’s Throne, we not only find the geometric application of the Names of God: Jehovah/Elohim in practice by the Nation of Israel, as they worship the Almighty according to the tenets of Scripture, but the measures of the Ark are based on a 1×2 rectangle [Ex. 25:10] that perfectly conforms the phi ratio as seen in the Coffer of the Kings Chamber in the Great Pyramid. This link between phi and pi makes it possible to obtain pi without the need for measuring! This is illustrated in the following quote from Livio Stechini: “It is possible to use the Fibonacci Series to obtain an accurate relation for the diameter of the circle to its circumference, without recourse to pi. In the Fibonnacci series of 21, 34, 55, if 21 is taken as the diameter of a circle, its circumference will be 55 x 6/5 = 66, accurate to the one thousandth part, giving the Great Pyramid value of pi as 22/7 = 3.142857. Higher numbers in the fibonacci series provide increasingly finer values in whole numbers accurate to one ten-thousandth part. Prolonging the series to 80, 144, 233, 377, 610… a diameter of 144 (4 x 576) gives a circumference of 377 x 6/5 or a pi value of 3.1415. A diameter of 233= a circumference of 610 x 6/5 or a pi value of 3.1416…”¹¹

Since the phi principle inherent in the Fibonacci Series is the basis of the precepts of geometric growth life throughout the plant and animal kingdoms of life evident in the Creator’s Four Kingdoms of Life, [read more] this principle of mathematics is elevated above that of pi. As the Creator and ultimate Source of Life, the Almighty has led us on this path of spiritual discovery paved with the principles of geometric and mathematical truth revealed in God’s Word. This is the geometric progression we have just witnessed in our pi journey through the Tabernacle/ Temple of Israel, on this day memorializing Pi.

Footnotes

1. Strong’s Concordance, James Strong, notes on [H6957]
2. Secrets of the Great Pyramid, Peter Thompkins, p. 263
3. IBID p. 16.
4. IBID
5. The Tabernacle of Israel, James Strong
6. IBID [picture credit]
7. Harmonica Macrocosmica, Amsterdam, 1660
8. Secrets of the Great Pyramid, Peter Thompkins,
9. A History of Pi, Petr Beckmann. p. 64
10. KEIL & DELITSCH Commentary on I Kings 7:23.
11. Secrets of the Great Pyramid, Peter Thompkins, p. 97 fn

The Four Kingdoms of Life

The golden section in God’s mathematical Design of the Natural Order

“Mathematical truth is not determined arbitrarily by the rules of some man-made formal system, but has an absolute nature…”

-Roger Penrose

“…mathematics is the loom upon which God weaves the fabric of the universe.”

-Clifford Pickover

While reviewing the question of the nature of reality from a mathematical viewpoint G.H. Hardy stated:

“A man who could give a convincing account of mathematical reality would have solved very many of the most difficult problems of meta-Physics. If he could include physical reality in his account, he would have solved them all. I should not wish to argue any of these questions here even if I were competent to do so, but I will state my own position dogmatically in order to avoid minor misapprehensions. I believe that mathematical reality lies outside us, that our function is to discover or observe it, and that the theorems which we prove, and which we describe grandiloquently as our “creations,” are simply our notes of our observations. This view has been held, in one form or another, from Plato onwards…”

Romans 1:19-22

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. 21 Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things…

Romans 1:19-20 [Amplified Bible]

19 For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness,
because God [Himself] has shown it to them. 20 For ever since the creation of the world His
invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So men are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification].¹
[Ps. 19:1-4]

Introduction

This section of the Try-God web-site focuses on some examples of the principles, tools and patterns God utilized in the order of His Creation. The Creator is The God of Order, and as some leading modern thinkers have stated above, the absolute nature of mathematical truth is a major area where we witness the Almighty Hand of God working in His Creation. Adhering to the themes expressed by these renown scientists, mathematicians, and the Apostle Paul above, we can identify and investigate the inherent Symmetry, which constitutes a primary element in the Creator’s Intelligent Design, as a witness and expression of His Omnipotent Hand. As God is perfect, so is His divine order inherent in His Word and His Works. Any honest study of these mathematical laws and principles must begin with man’s recognition of his true place under the ultimate sovereignty of the Creator, and the Omnipotent power that God wielded in His Acts of Creation. Those who take the view that these laws originate with man, or by “chance” will never pierce the veil of their own self-aggrandizing theories, or plumb the depths of truth that the Heavenly Father has set in the Natural Order. Science alone has already revealed in the laws of causality and Einstein’s Relativity Theory, that the answers to the First Cause are not found in doctrines of Materialism, but must be Supernatural in origin. [read more]

At its best, human science believes perhaps that its greatest and highest purpose is to search for Nature’s patterns of order–the deep mathematical regularities that can be found in natural forms. It is evident that Nature has a code deeply imprinted symmetrically at its core, but to understand it more fully, along with the Creator, we must look to God’s Word first, from which Natural Law itself emerged. If we are to more fully recognize the key patterns of symmetrical beauty and the arithmetical perfection of God’s created Works, we must rely on God’s Word first and foremost, as the exemplary pattern of created perfection. These patterns give us a blueprint to compare God’s Words with His Works, providing the greatest witness of His Omniscient power. In support of this view, Archbishop Trent profoundly states in his work, Notes on The Parables:

“Analogies from the natural world…are arguments, and may be called as witnesses, the world of Nature being throughout a witness of the world of spirit, proceeding from the same Hand, growing from the same root, and being constituted for the same end. All lovers of truth readily acknowledge these mysterious harmonies, and the force of arguments derived from them. To them the things on Earth are copies of the things in Heaven.”¹¹
As we investigate the realms of life in the Natural World, we find that they divide generally into four major kingdoms of terrestrial life: Plant, Animal and Human, with the Spiritual dimension as the basis of them all. Archbishop Trent’s reference above points out that biological life forms reflect the principles governing the Kingdoms of Life, which find their origin in the realm of the Spirit. This is a key to revealing God’s Intelligent Design of the Works of His Hands. This key is seen also applied in how both the golden section and Fibonacci Series govern the growth of life forms from the micro to the macro, an indication of Symmetry and beauty in God’s Creation [Rom. 1:19-20].

Our challenge is: if we identify and apprehend key elements of the perfect symmetrical design that God employed in His divine order of the four Kingdoms of Life, then we can expect to see these Symmetry principles of at work in other aspects of His Natural Order also. As we focus on the key numerical patterns which we find throughout the Natural Order, this can give us a broad panoramic view of the “mathematical exactness and scientific precision” inherent in other aspects of God’s Works. As we search for these corresponding perfect patterns, in related aspects of the Four Kingdoms of Life [Ps. 8:3-9], (Plant, Animal, Human, Spiritual) then we can gain Biblical insights into each of these kingdoms, under the overall sovereignty of the Kingdom of God, bearing the fingerprints of the Creator’s Perfect Hand, even as God’s Word “engraved in the Celestial order” does. The Kingdom of God depicts in its the various elements, categories and kingdoms of life in His creation, His eternal and omnipotent power, the visible revealing the invisible as a perfectly ordered manifestation of His divine wisdom.

The focus of this study emphasizes the Plant and Human kingdoms of Life, as they are revealed in God’s Word, while briefly touching on the Animal and Spiritual Kingdoms. These topics will be more fully developed in forthcoming published works, available in the near future. To begin to get a perspective on some important elements of the order of Creation from a mathematical viewpoint, we need to define some terms. At the outset, a distinction must be made in two categories of numerical order. The first is Cardinal Numbers and the second is Ordinal Numbers. To get a clearer idea of this distinction from a Biblical viewpoint let’s look at a discourse God had with Abraham. The record we will scrutinize is found in Genesis 15, [cp. Gen. 13:16, 22:17, 32:12]

Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord God what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.

When God told Abraham to “tell the stars, if thou be able to number them,” do you think He wanted him to get out his abacus and parchment and start counting the stars one by one? Or perhaps God was referring to the promise of the innumerable abundance of Abraham’s posterity, since he was to be the father of believers? Another possibility is God might have been referring to the inherent celestial order that He first revealed to Adam, who taught it to the rest of the Biblical Patriarchs that followed him. Or maybe God wanted Abram to pay attention to the timekeeping aspects of the stars as he numbered them. There is certainly much more to this record than what tradition holds, as we consider it thoughtfully, from its various aspects. The main key to unlocking the truth in this record lies in avoiding private interpretation and allowing God’s Word to speak for itself. In this process of allowing God to speak through His revealed Word in this record, we should take note of the figure of speech polysyndetyn, or many (12) and’s, which emphasizes each aspect of the verses above, separated by the connective “and’s.“²
Sometimes it helps to get our bearings in the study of Scripture by asking questions, as we have above, related to the usual list of: What, Where, Why, When, How and Who? In the final analysis, when we allow God’s Word to have preeminence, it will reveal its meaning in the details. We have outlined in a general sense, the principles of Biblical Interpretation in the “Research Principles” of our Reference Section here in the Try-God website. Let’s take a closer look at some of the words divinely utilized in this section of God’s Word.

The word for “tell” in verse 5, is the Bible’s first usage of the Hebrew word caphar [H5608], meaning to “inscribe, celebrate, narrate, tell, make known, or praise.” It also carries the meaning of “a scribe, or writer, when used in reference to a person.”³ This word is used in Psalm 19:1; rendered “declare” in the KJV; as The Heavens declare the glory of God… [Psalm 97:6]. God was telling Abram to look up at the heavens and recount, declare, or narrate the truth revealed in the celestial gospel, if he could. Abram not only did this accurately and well enough to please God, but he also realized that despite the physical impossibility of child-bearing at Abram and Sarah’s advanced ages, he saw that the promised seed, prophesied in the stars would come forth out of his own loins. For Abram’s acts of believing, “God counted [H2803] it to him as he was righteous.” This is the foundation for salvation by faith in the N.T. [Rom. 4:17-22], because God not only mercifully with held the wrathful judgement we deserve due to sin, but He also freely shares the Grace of His righteousness with us, which we do not deserve.

The Word for “counted” in verse 6 above is chashab in Hebrew meaning to reckon or esteem, meditate, combine or devise.⁴It is also an accounting term used in the context of the 7th Sabbath of years and the sacred 50-year Jubilee system of timekeeping in ancient Israel [Lev. 25:27, 50-52, 27:18, 23]. The Levitical Law shows us both cardinal and ordinal applications of “counting,” in this record, but it does not portray them as interchangeable terms. As we will see from its Biblical usage in this record, the ordinal meaning of a number includes much more than just the numerical sequence where a particular number occurs in a series. We will find numerous examples of this especially where God utilizes the phi ratio in His organization of Creation.

God’s statement to Abram builds on an earlier promise in Genesis 13:16, where God would make his “seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.” This earlier promise from God to Abram established a relationship between Abram’s seed, or offspring, in the earth, while this later promise in Gen. 15:5 connects Abram’s seed with the stars.

The Hebrew word for “number“-(ed), “manah” [*H4487], means to “divide into parts, arrange, allot or assign, appoint, or order.”⁵ Here we can begin to see the difference between what mathematics categorizes as the function of Ordinal Numbers, that specify the order and succession in the elements or hierarchy of a group, as opposed to Cardinal Numbers, that refer simply to counting individual parts. In our recognition of both mathematical categories here, related to the Bible’s first usage of the Hebrew words “caphar” and “manah,” we find on one level, that regarding the innumerable posterity of his seed, God was showing Abram, simple counting of parts with Cardinal numbers, compared with the organization of Abram’s seed in groups, specifically the 12 tribes of Israel as they relate to both the 12 signs of the celestial order, and Ordinal Numbers. As we consider the context of both promises to Abram in Genesis 13 and 15, we find God showing Abram, a base 60 numerical order applied to numbering the stars, would also be applied to ordering his seed! This is one basis of the relation between the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 celestial signs of the zodiac, recorded later in Genesis 49, [Num. 2] regarding the 12 sons of his grandson Jacob. This order is founded on the basis of the figurative Tree of Life, both in the Garden of Eden, in Original Paradise, in Genesis and in Final Paradise in the Book of Revelation [Rev. 22:2]. The celestial order reflected in the Tree of Life is only one level of truth reflected in the Human Kingdom of Life, whose number pattern reflecting God’s celestial order in Abraham’s seed, is also mirrored in the breastplate of the High Priest, as we have documented in our article on the Celestial Symbolism of Israel’s Temple and Tabernacle. The order in which the twelve tribes camped around the Tabernacle during the 40 years that Moses lead Israel through the wilderness, mirrors the same pattern found in the arrangement of the 12 jewels on the breastplate of the High Priest. As the high priest after the order of Melchisedek [Gen. 14:18], Jesus inherited his double square breast-plate of 12 precious stones, structured according to the phi ratio symbolizing the authority of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah as Priest-King over Israel’s twelve (4 x 3) tribes
[Ex. 28:15-30]. Below is an example of the 12 major signs of the zodiac as they are found on the ecliptic, relating to the 12 tribes of Israel, which is also a poster available in our bookstore.

Since we are discussing the Creator’s ordained structural categories providing the foundation of a Bible based approach to the Philosophy of Knowledge, as it is laid out in God’s Covenants with Man through Abraham, it would be remiss if we did not recognize the significance of the phi ratio as it relates to this very significant and instructive subject matter. In the context of our conversation, the phi ratio would be classified as a type of ordinal group-an infinite mathematical series. By their very nature, infinite mathematical series are abstract and theoretical because we do not find them progressing to infinity in the concrete physical world of our five senses “reality.” This is not to say that the phi ratio does not occur in Nature. We will see more evidence how God has chosen to pattern the growth of all Four Kingdoms of Life in Creation, after the numerical dictates of the phi ratio series. This is a profound lesson in itself, because God is telling us that: The Only Infinite God is the Source of All Life, ordering His Kingdoms of Life by an infinite mathematical series, [John. 1:3-4, Jas. 1:17-18]. This also sets up the “physical reality” as opposed to the “mathematical reality,” referred to in G.H. Hardy’s quote at the opening of this study. The Almighty is certainly “competent” to discuss the parameters of these matters, where Hardy, in his humility did not feel himself up to the task. As we have found, the growth patterns of the Plant, Animal and Human Kingdoms of Life progress through their preordained stages of growth, via the mathematical dictates of the phi ratio, we witness the Creator’s Intelligent design in application. There are also examples in God’s Word where Spiritual growth follows the dictates of this phi pattern.

When we are born into this world, our physical body grows as it passes through its ordained finite life stages. But with our Spiritual New Birth, we are set on an everlasting path of an infinite living and loving relationship with our Heavenly Father, through His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Here we find a life that begins as a representation of a finite series, but never ends like its physical counterpart. Our physical body becomes a Holy Temple that houses our sacred everlasting spirit, until we inherit our new bodies at the Lord’s Return. Thus, as we follow the path of light into way of holiness that God sets before us, we embody the infinite series that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ still lives, as an example for us to follow. His perfect example shows us how his authority not only includes the original power of the fallen Morning Star, who presided over ten categories of precious stones, or angels, in the First Heavens and Earth [Ezek. 28:13], but also that of the Risen Morning Star, presiding over 12 categories of precious stones, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, in the breastplate of Israel’s High Priest, the 12 signs of the zodiac, and later also the 12 apostles at the foundations of the Grace Administration, along with the 12 foundations of the New Jerusalem.

In keeping with the celestial symbolism theme, the High Priest’s breastplate, was divinely designed with a compartment which held the Urim and Thummim, or lights and perfections; representing the two great lights, the Sun and Moon. As oracles of the High Priest, these two stones revealed the wisdom and glory of the Creator by lot, even as the heavens declare the glory of God in their numerical order [Ps. 19:1], whose glory is revealed in the cycles of the Sun, Moon and Stars of the zodiac. This was a primary means whereby the High Priest could get revelation from God by using the precious stones of his “ephod,” relating to the celestial cycles of the Sun and Moon. Any question posed by the man of God, would be answered either in the affirmative or negative by one of these two stones. Another method God could talk to the High Priest involved the use of the 12 precious stones, corresponding to the Stars, which were interpreted and understood Biblically, according to the 12 signs of the zodiac. As the Priest “cast lots” utilizing one of these methods, the Wisdom and Will of the Heavenly Father was revealed. A detailed study of the principles governing the rule of these two great lights, over day and night [Gen. 1:14-17], preserved in Israel’s luni-solar Calendar, is seen in The Calendar of the Biblical Patriarchs article of our website. As Israel’s calendar shows the perfect correlation of the sacred cycles of the Sabbatical and Jubilee, harmonizing with the secular aspects of the celestial cycles governing the Rhythms of a myriad terrestrial and cosmic cycles, we find more evidence of both the cardinal and ordinal use of number in Scripture, regarding the timekeeping practices of the Biblical Patriarchs. In these practices we see the dominion of God’s light reflected in the heavens and ruling over all the kingdoms of terrestrial life [Gen. 1:14-17]. These fundamental life cycles reflected in the celestial order, depict the divine Canon of Creation and the Science of the Creator, which was symbolized in the architecture of the Temple and Tabernacle of Israel, and the Great Pyramid. This dual standard of sacred and secular order is unified in Jesus Christ as the High Priest-King of Israel. We find more references to the 12 stones and their variants in the “living stones” of I Pet. 2:4-7, and the 12 foundations of the New Jerusalem; [Rev. 21:19-20]. Here we find a unified witness of the 12 tribes of Israel bringing forth the promised seed unto the New Jerusalem, in unity with the “heavens declaring the glory of God,” the witness of the 12 signs of the zodiac. We will see more aspects of this Tree of Life as our study progresses.