The Zodiac in LDS Theology

The masterpiece we refer to as the 88th. Section of the Doctrine and Covenants has some interesting connection to what I propose is the Zodiac. I know this makes some LDS folks recoil just a bit, but if we can free our minds and just see truth, truth will pour itself into us. I am not here supporting Astrology or any type of divination by looking at the cosmos. 

“Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand?” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:46)

Staring in verse 52 a parable is given to us, to help us understand these kingdoms and the people who reside in them.

The complete meaning of this parable is not completely understood by me, but a few points are observable and we can see some hints of the underlying truths. We see in the parable the Lord visits different people of different kingdoms in 12 different hours. This parable may raise more questions than it answers, and that may be it’s purpose.

We read in verse 47:

“Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power.”

The above must mean more than what someone could see with a telescope in their backyard. What a person can view from the backyard may whisper at God’s majesty, however, to really see God moving in His majesty a person needs to see this with spiritual eyes like Moses or Abraham did. In modern temples we receive a very short representation of this understanding of that we are to run with and expand, it should expand to where we understand that same thing, via a little different route, that Abraham and Moses received.

Even back to ancient Egypt the idea existed that man, in at least one stage is associated with the 12 part Zodiac, and passed through the Zodiac in his eternal journey. This association of the number 12 with the Tree of Life, and the many variation of the plan of salvation as found among the many peoples of the earth is distinct.

We see in the Sefer Yetzirah that a similar description of kingdoms is connected to the 12 stations of the Zodiac (At least in some versions). The Sepher Yetzirah is a commentary on the creation and the redemption. This commentary uses the Tree of Life as the backdrop for this explanation (like Solomon’s temple), and employs images of ten “Sephiroth” or number and twenty- two letters as the building blocks of creation.

(Ten are the numbers of the ineffable [or intangible] Sephiroth, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Learn this wisdom, and be wise in the understanding of it, investigate these numbers, and draw knowledge from them, fix the design in its purity, and pass from it to its Creator seated on his throne.” Sepher Yetzirah 1:4.)

The family used as the prototype of salvation is Israel. When a convert receives the gospel they are grafted into the Tree of Life - the House of Israel. Towards the end of the Book of Genesis we see that God set up the House of Israel to rule and reign on this earth. It is true that Israel has often struggled with it’s own periods of apostasy, yet between such periods it is Israel that has been the custodians of the rites of salvation and sanctification. A primary characteristic of the House of Israel is that it is divided into 12 tribes, the descendants of the 12 son’s of Jacob. But this employing of the number 12 did not start or end with Israel’s children. I would suggest that this usage was calling on a larger imagery less know to modern theologians. This larger imagery is the cosmos with all of it’s “worlds” and the people who inhabit them. The cosmos can be represented in shorthand with the Zodiac. The Zodiac can be thought of as a kind of Hypocephalus.

The visiting of the Lord to each kingdom is the millennial reign of Christ in each respective kingdom. Each earth or world receives it’s reign of Christ in it’s proper time. Joseph Fielding Smith spoke about this:

“During the millennium, the Savior will spend one thousand years here which is one day according to the Lord. In D&C, Section 88, it is written that the Savior will do the same thing in other worlds, visiting each in its turn.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 3:212.)

So, if this is speaking of other worlds or earths, are we to accept that there are a total of 12 of these earths, of which our earth is one? Abraham and Brigham Young taught us that there are millions of earths. So why the connection to the number 12? I suspect that it is using a related imagery in the macro; the cosmos (crated under the direction of the council of the gods). The next panning in towards the micro is the Tree of Life - the House of Israel (Jacob 5:3) with it’s 12 tribes. Further panning in is the 12 apostles that run the church, the custodians of salvation - the Tree of Life in our day and in the original church.

Just as the apostles have less to do with the actual number 12 than what that number represents, this holds true at each progressive level, micro or macro. We should not get stuck on 12 kingdoms, but embrace the understanding that we are part of a larger plan that includes many worlds, each of which will be visited in their time. This understanding will draw us to investigate the pre-earth life and the plan of all these kingdoms. It is likely this imagery of 12 apostles extends to each of these worlds, and that each world has it’s 12 custodians of salvation (at any given time).

Even keeping in mind my earlier discourses on Revelation 22:2 we see the correspondence between the number 12 and the 12 fruit and the Tree of Life in Revelation 22. A possible, at least partial explanation of the 12 different types of fruit people eat is that the 12 fruit are for the 12 divisions of the cosmos, which is consistent with Doctrine and Covenants section 88. If this is true, the symbol of the Tree of Life in the Book of Revelation is enriched to include a symbol of salvation not only for our world but as a shared source for all the cosmos. If we take that understanding and logically extend it to the rest of our Tree of Life images, all kinds of interesting possibilities begin to show themselves. For example, we could easily hang a Zodiac as a wreath on our Tree of Life.

(Notice that in Rev. 22:2 they eat 12 manner of fruit, one for each month. Months have to do with times or seasons. In Doctrine and Covenants 88:61 “...times, and in its season...” is used to describe the plan.)

Jacob’s Alligory of the Olive Tree does not include or end in the use of the number 12, but it does end in Jacob 6:13 with a reminder that we will meet again before the bar of Christ, which is a millennial setting, which is earth’s (one twelfth) turn for the presence of Christ. A rose by any other name...

In John 15, Jesus spoke to one branch of the 12 tribes, and to the 12 apostles, about the True Vine.

While no cosmic connection is recorded in John, the fact that He was explaining a Tree of Life image to the twelve was more than appropriate.

In short, the number 12 is associated with the work of redemption, be that that the keys of the mysteries of each dispensation are held by the 12 apostles, that the work of a separate unit of the church is lead by 12 disciples, that the work of this world is under the 12 that Jesus ordained, or that this world will have it’s part in the 12 part plan of the cosmos. In Solomon’s Temple and most authorized temples we find a baptismal font on the backs of 12 oxen. The abbreviated, but perhaps not the full explanation is that the oxen represent the tribes of Israel. The pattern of the 12 apostle is based upon the earlier imagery of the 12 tribes, which is based upon the cosmic plan of redemption, that can be represented by the Zodiac. Moving into the holy place of Solomon’s Temple we see the Menorah across from the Table of the Shewbread. Upon that table were 12 loaves of bread, these had a connection to the sacrament, which is a renewing of the lower ordinance of baptism, which in the temple is done on the backs of 12 oxen. The post-apocalyptic new Jerusalem is seen by John coming down out of heaven, and it had 12 gates and at each gate was an angel with his name upon him. The name of these angeles are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel (the son’s of Jacob). John’s vision goes on a little further connecting the 12 foundations of the holy city to the 12 apostles. The angel showing these things to John then measures the city, similar to how Ezekiel’s messenger did for Ezekiel. Carrying forth the imagery of the number 12, the city is 12 thousand furlongs (a furlong is 185.2 meters). This is clearly a symbolic measurement, like Ezekiel’s measurements were. Both employed the symbolic number 1,000 which has cosmic implications, as used from earliest times, [1] and right into Jewish and Christian imagery.

That's the way I see it - what say you?

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[1] See the Peril of Great Price, Book of Abraham, Facsimile 2, Explication 4. “Answers to the Hebrew word Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament of the heavens; also a numerical figure, in Egyptian signifying one thousand; answering to the measuring of the time of Oliblish, which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time.”

Whirlwind - The Stuff of Creation

I was listening to the Dennis Prager radio program this morning and he was interviewing an atheist scientist. The scientist described how he suggested that we do not look for life on certain planets because they were motionless, stagnant, and still. That for life to exist there needed to be movement. He contrasted the earth, in which things are moving and mixing. It appeared as though entropy had overtaken those planets.

This drew my mind to a few things. In the Sefer Yetzirah it described the motion of this physical existence as a whirlwind:

“These ten Sephiroth which are ineffable [intangible], whose appearance is like scintillating flames, have no end but are infinite. The word of God is in them as they burst forth, and as they return; they obey the divine command, rushing along as a whirlwind, returning to prostrate themselves at his throne.”[1]

In ancient Jewish thought the Sephiroth are the powers of God that create the differing kingdoms of existence. As they extend into the kingdoms they create the whirlwind, or the motion necessary for our life.

Perhaps Abraham saw the heavens and they appeared as a great whirlwind. This would be a macro application. Perhaps he saw into an atom and saw the microcosm of creation. These forces of creation play out in the souls of men.[2]

The whirlwind is thought of as another symbol of redemption like the Tree of Life.

Clearly this corresponds to the whirlwind of Ezekiel 1:4 which is a play on the same theme. The whirlwind is the outside force inserted into a closed system that creates and maintains life

Once this motion has completely went forth and completed the plan of salvation, then the returning beings.

We are told this whole process is like a coal of fire, both the coal and the flame are conjoined.[3] Existence is not being improvised as we go, this is one plan, the Plan of Salvation.
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[1] Sepher Yetzirah 1:6

[2] Sepher Yetzirah 2:4 “These [Mem, Shin, and Aleph] three mothers again represent in the Microcosm or Human form, male and female; the Head, the Belly, and the Chest; the head from the fire, the belly from water, and the chest from the air lieth between them.”

[3] Sepher Yetzirah 1:7

Angels Who Stand As Sentinels

President Brigham Young taught us that the temple is where we learn about eternity, and where we prepare to pass certain angels that are standing gard. What we don’t always get is that they are guarding against us, not for us. When The Father had a flaming sword (& Cherubim) placed in the Garden of Eden it was to stop Adam from returning unchecked. Symbolically is was teaching that all of mankind (ha-adam) can only pass when we are ready (sanctified). We often think of angels guarding us, but in this process they are guarding the way back, so we don’t attempt to enter glories what are not yet ready to inherit.

"Your endowment is to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell." (Brigham Young, J. D. 2:31.)

The Zohar is preoccupied with idea of gates we enter when we are ready, and at each gate is an armed guard. Egyptian initiation imagery is also loaded with example of stations (like rungs of a ladder) that the deceased must pass through to gain his full inheritance. Truth and fidelity are the initiates defenses against these destroying angels.

In Egyptian imagery, those who have not had fidelity to their covenants (“key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood”) in the mortal world, are slashed, cut, or otherwise destroyed if they try to pass. Perhaps this is the origin of the Tyler of Masonry?

Prof. Hugh Nibley discussed the Book of Breathings, and the Book of the Dead.

Here is an excerpt:

“it is permitted to wonder whether khrw-paw (faces-of-fire) with its Hebrew plural ending -im might be the source of the mysterious word Cherubim of the Bible. Or is the root the Egyptian Cherep, "to have control over," as in the long Book of Breathings: "Thrice welcome! say the Cherebneset-priests," i.e., "those who are in charge of the throne," they being the guardians of the gate (T 32, I, 22, O.M.R.O., 31:56)? Apophis is confronted by the Keepers of the Pylons standing with swords in their hands before a gate from which flames shoot forth, and is repelled by both sword and flame (Bremner-Rhind, 30:11-15). No one else can enter the place as yet either, excepting Re, since to enter it is to breathe the air of eternal life (Gr. Tb., 48-49), and man is not yet ready to live forever in his sins. The Jewish doctors, at least, made such a discrimination, telling us that when Adam was driven out of the place of delights, "the Watchers were placed there so that none could enter unless they had been first purified by the hand of the Cherubim" (B. Gorion, Sagen d. Juden, I, 118). From the earliest times, then, fire and the sword or the flaming sword prevent the serpent from returning to the garden. The serpent must remain in outer darkness (L. Kakosy, ZA, 97:104-105), being himself the mystery of non-being, the negation of all that is (E. Hornung, Ein.u. Viel., pp. 171-72). The Pistis Sophia gives the same explanation for the flaming sword: The time will come, it says, when the sword will be removed for Adam and he may reach forth his hand and partake of the fruit of the tree of life. But the serpent may never do so; in the end the flaming sword was for his benefit.” [Prof. Hugh Nibley, Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, Part IV, The Garden Story]

Ancient temple initiations contained feathers of truth (Ma’at), swords of judgement, and angels guarding the way. Today we have an abbreviated version of what was Adam's ascension, which is our inheritance (endowment). Traces of a longer version, a deeper teaching, and fuller laws, give us hints of the path back. This is why the endowment can only truly be understood by revelation. The profane waste their time trying to understand it, only by revelation can we “get it.”

 “Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.” [D&C 84:20]

“If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” [D&C 42:60

Tying The Knot

Jacob saw the plan of ascension, one kingdom to another, as a ladder. Moses experienced it in the form of a mountain. Some ancients thought of the plan of salvation as three worlds or kingdoms stacked one above the other. Spanning these three worlds was a rope descending from the highest kingdom bringing connection to the lower worlds. Each of the three worlds is tied to the rope by a knot, and the knot is fastened with a nail (Vav). The temple is a knot symbolizing the connecting place between the worlds. Each level of temple worship has an altar which represents the Vav or nail in that world.
 
“The temple is thus thought of as the ‘bond of heaven and earth,’ as the ‘navel of the earth,’ and as the ‘pillar of the earth,’ that is, the central axis around which the world revolves. The temple represents ‘the Pole of the heavens, around which all heavenly motions revolve, the knot that ties earth and heaven together, the seat of universal dominion.’” [1 or LINK]

The rope is the center line of the temple, or the path to Lehi’s tree, or the straight and narrow path.  The knot alludes to covenants. When people are married, the have tied the knot, they have made promises that bind them. In the case of the temple the knot or covenant is made binding by the nail or Vav, which represents the atonement.

“We stand in the middle position. This earth is the Old English middan-(g)eard, the middle-earth. The markas & scheckecirc; u er .s ti of the Babylonians means the knot that ties heaven to earth, the knot that ties all horizontal distances together (cf. fig. 37H, p. 151), and all up and down, the meeting point of the heavens and the earth. It is the middle point at which the worlds above and the worlds below join. This scale model of the universe is the temple. Of course, the word for temple in Latin, templum, means the same thing as template” [2 or LINK]

Sometimes this connection between the higher and lower worlds is a rope, trunk of a tree, vine, ladder, river, or even a spinal column. It is always the same template, showing the way back to God.
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[1] Prof. Hugh Nibley, What Is a Temple? Chapter 8.

[2] Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Hugh Nibley, Don E. Norton, Deseret Book, The Meaning of the Temple.

Also see: Water, Air, & Fire

Tetragrammaton

The word “Jehovah” is a complicated word. In ancient Hebrew you would not pronounce it, but would substitute the word “Adoni,” or “Lord” in English (sharing similar vowel points in Hebrew).

In Hebrew the name YHVH is known as the Tetragrammaton. The flow between Hebrew and English, as it has to do with the word YHVH is a little hard at first. There is no “J” in Hebrew, a “Yod” is the first letter (in Hebrew reading right to left) in the Tetragrammaton, and symbolizes creation. And since “J” was not known in any language until the 14th century, an “I” was sometimes used to approximate the Yod. So you have to be a little fluid in this study.

JAH … These are component letters of the name “Jehovah” or YH, or YHVH (יהוה), or Lord of Hosts. This is the name of the pre-earth Jesus. The attached illustration shows the name of Jehovah in different truncated forms.

The "Yod" symbolizes creation, The "heh" is what was added to Abram's name when he received the covenant, and the "Vav" represents reconciliation, mediation, tying down, sealing, the nail, or Tiferet.

The is a topic touched upon in the Book of Creation, the Zohar, and the Bible.

Shin, Aleph, and Mem - 3 Mothers

In the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation) which is attributed to Abraham, the creation of the world is described in several ways. Creation is described with the ingredients of ten numbers (Sephiroth), and the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. How these numbers and letters play out in different combinations against other combinations is the whirlwind of creation, or the tree of life.

The Book of Creation says that the alphabet has three mothers, or foundation letters. These are; Shin, Aleph, and Mem. This is a macro description of creation. We are taught:

“The three mothers are A, M, SH; and in the beginning as to the Macrocosm the Heavens were created from Fire; the Earth from primeval Water; and the Air was formed from the Spirit, which stands alone in the midst, and is the Mediator between them.” (Sefer Yetzirah 3:3)

Aleph the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is thought to correspond to Tiferet (like vav ties them together) as the mediator, of not only mem (water), and shin (fire), but of all the Sephiroth.

What does this all mean? It is a description in ancient Hebrew thought, of the creation, the three degrees of glory – both in the macro and how they apply to man in the micro or in his soul.

Shin corresponds to the Celestial Kingdom (everlasting burnings), to the mind of man. Aleph corresponds to the Terrestrial Kingdom, to the heart of man. And Mem corresponds to the Telestial Kingdom, to man’s belly. Where we make our decisions from, the belly, heart, or mind, largely will determine which kingdom we inherit.

“These three mothers again represent in the Microcosm or Human form, male and female; the Head, the Belly, and the Chest; the head from the fire, the belly from water, and the chest from the air lieth between them.” (Sefer Yetzirah 3:4)

Now, what does this have to do with mysticism? A description of the creation, and the Plan of Salvation with the differing kingdoms is a description of the temple, the center of mysticism.

The universe testifies of Christ, which is the macro, and the sanctification of the individual testifies of Christ in the micro.
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The Nail and The Tree

The Tree of Life imagery began in Eden and has become a universal symbol. This symbol has become highly adjustable to convey certain truths.

In Eden, and the Book of Revelation, it represented the healing and resurrection of mankind. In Alma 32 it was a seed planted in the heart of the faithful that would bring forth the fruit of Eternal Life.

The prophet Zenos adjusted the Tree of Life imagery into, or applied its symbolism to an Olive Tree, which can represent an individual, family, tribe, or nation, as in the case of the parable of the Olive Tree found in Jacob 5 & 6.

In the Book of Creation (Sefer Yetzirah) Abraham described the Tree of Life as having ten emanations (fruit) known as Sephiroth. Jewish Mysticism teaches that some of the Sephiroth are on one side of the tree (branches), and some are on the other, and they are in fact opposing forces (for example, Justice and Mercy). That between them on the trunk of the tree are certain sephiroth that reconcile the opposing forces.

The center and primary reconciling sefira is “Tiferet” which is Hebrew for “Beauty.“ But it means more than beauty, it means reconciliation, atonement, balance, and peace. Tiferet is the stalk or the trunk of the tree. It is the symbol Christ.

In Hebrew the letter “vav” is thought of as a nail that ties things together (it is shaped like a nail). Tiferet is symbolized by the letter vav. It is the nail in the tree, that is associated with Christ, that reconciles things, to bring about salvation and exaltation.

With this learning of the Jews in mind, what must have went on in the minds of the Disciples when Jesus said He was the True Vine? He was saying that He was Tiferet.

If it is an Olive Tree, a Vine, a Sycamore, or a Cross, because they are all the same thing, Jesus the Messiah can today show you the token of the Vav in His hands.

We will get to the Tetragrammaton another day.

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The Great Returning

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In Moses 4:30 is says:

“For as I, the Lord God, liveth, even so my words cannot return void, for as they go forth out of my mouth they must be fulfilled.” [Also see Isaiah 55:11]

In the scriptures, and even more prominently in Jewish Mysticism, there is a principle about this “returning” of God’s words. But, what does this mean? How does a word return? And, what is the purpose of this returning?

First, God’s words are commands.

Second, to understand this, we need to understand the Plan of Salvation [Alma 42:5] and the creation. The Book of Creation gives us some good information (from Chapter 1):

“These ten Sephiroth which are ineffable…” Which describes creation, “whose appearance is like scintillating flames…”(Flames… Or lightning. This imagery reminds us of “everlasting burnings.” Joseph Smith, King Follett Sermon, 7-DHC 6:302-317. See Ezekiel 1:13-14.), “have no end but are infinite.[1] The word of God is in them as they burst forth,” [2] This bursting forth is the creation. “and as they return; they obey the divine command, rushing along as a whirlwind, returning to prostrate themselves at his throne.”

This “returning” is part of a whole theological understanding of things. The cabalistic thinking is that God set into motion the Sefirot, or laws, or powers, and they cause the “whirlwind” (from the opposing forces) or motion necessary to bring about Gods work and glory. When the creation is finished, and every man and woman has come to earth, there is a great “returning” to God at which time they (Sefirot) bow before the throne to report. This returning begins with Adam-ondi-Ahman and ends up with Christ presenting the worlds to the Father before His throne.

“Then cometh the end, when he [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." [1 Corinthians 15:24 & 25]

“At this great gathering, the modern prophets will return their priesthood keys to the apostles and prophets from whom they received the keys. The ancient prophets, in turn, will return the keys to their predecessors until all keys are delivered to Adam himself. Adam, as the Ancient of Days, will then restore the keys to Christ, who will use them to personally establish his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.” [Victor L. Ludlow, Principles and Practices of the Restored Gospel, Deseret, Chapter 37]

“…before the Son of Man can present His kingdom to His Father. This work has got to be accomplished before the Son of Man can come and receive His kingdom to present it to His Father. Every son and daughter of God will have the opportunity necessary for exaltation and glory, either by themselves or by their friends. ...These and other ordinances are absolutely necessary for exaltation and glory…” [Lorenzo Snow, April 6, 1895, Gen. Conference]

Inanimate mater does what it must, but man has agency. We come to this life to see if we will do whatsoever the Lords commands us to do.

This prostrating themselves before the throne is the final reporting, and the final returning. We will all give a report. While there is a great returning, individually we begin our personal returns one at a time.
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[1] Infinite… They, the Sefirot, come from God who dwells outside of time, in the infinite, or in another dimension where time is not a restrictive force. The Sefirot were with God, or Ein-sof , the infinite, before the creation of our current habitation. Part of the creation was the inserting of the power of God into this universe and splitting His power into the Sefirot.

[2] The word of God is in them… As the powers or emanations of God are sent forth from heaven they created this physical existence in which we live. “... [T]he spirit of the living creature was in the wheels [sefirot].” Ezekiel 1:20. They are the laws. Christ is the center (Tef’eret) of this power of creation and sanctification. “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” Ephesians 3:9, “ In the beginning [pre-existence] was the Word [Jesus, see verse 14], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life ; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4.

The Word, Twenty-Two Letters of Creation

In the last couple posts (Circumcision & Wind, Water, and Fie) I wrote about how, in the Book Of Creation (The Sepher Yetzirah) the creation is typified in the “Macrocosm” by the “Universe”, and the “Seasons.” It goes on to describe a “Microcosm” being illustrated in the soul of man.

There is another element to this creation; the very letters of the Hebrew alphabet are described as being used to create the heavens and earth.

“Ten are the numbers, as are the Sephiroth, and twenty-two the letters, these are the Foundation of all things…” [1]

The “Ten are numbers” is referring to the Sephiroth or the power and emanations of God, we discussed previously.

These “letters” are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The Hebrew alphabet is a hieroglyphic account of the creation of the heavens and earth, and the salvation of man. They represent the states that man and things exist in as they are enticed, influenced, or acted upon.

Again, in John chapter one, Christ is written of as being 'in the beginning with God", that all things "were made by Him," and that He is the “Word.”

The first time our ears hear this, it usually makes no sense. But, to a learned Jew it made perfect sense.

In Ancient Jewish thought, the creation was brought about by the ten numbers of God’s emanations, and combining Twenty-Two states of things (letters). In Jewish mysticism words are things, and things are words (In Hebrew things are called davar and word are called dibur).

This is what is being address when we hear that God spoke the world into existence.

As we look for the building blocks of existence, we find energy from another dimension vibrating to create our physical world. How our world looks is based upon the differing states or combinations of this energy.

Science now describes many, if not endless dimensions of space. These dimensions are calculated and described by String Theories. Again, as we search for the building blocks of matter, we go way beyond atoms to things called strings . Unbelievably small strings that exist in another dimension, energy or light that act in another dimension of space, that vibrate to bring about matter in our three-dimensional existence.

The vibrations of these other-dimensional strings determine all the laws of the known universe. Law is the power of creation. Is this not exactly how scriptures says this world was created? This world was created first spiritually, and that that spiritual creation is the mold or template for temporal creation? How these laws or powers (ten Sephiroth and Twenty-Two letters) interact in different combinations creates the dimensions in which we live.

Both Abraham and Nephi relate all of this to Christ.

[1] The Sepher Yetzirah 1:2

Circumcision

In my most recent post Wind, Water, and Fire I described the “microcosm” of creation, man himself. The Sefer Yetzirah describes the center of man; his head corresponding to the fire of the universe (Shin). Man’s belly corresponding to the primeval waters (Mem). And between them man’s chest, corresponding to air (Aleph). These represent the manifestation of creation in their three degrees of glory.

But that’s not the end of the story. Father Abraham adds another dimension. He describes the fingers of the body, five on each side:

“…the ten fingers (and toes) of the human body, five parallel to five, and in the centre of which is the covenant with the only One, by the word of the tongue and the rite of Abraham.”[1]

These fingers are an illustration of the Sephiroth, or emanations of God (His Powers). These are mediated by the tongue (mouth, speech, air), representing the Word, or Christ. The Sefer Yetzirah describes that this speech (represented by the tongue) corresponds to the “covenant.” What Covenant? The Covenant of the “Plan of Happiness” from the pre-existence. Understanding this explains why when Nephi spoke of Christ he spent so much time on the opposition in all things, and the Mediator.

But, the Book of Creation also mentions “toes.” And that they are mediated by the member of circumcision. Circumcision is the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, which is the Plan of Salvation. When a person is circumcised they renew their covenant, when we go to the temple we renew this same covenant. Christ is both Creator and Mediator.

[1] SEPHER YEZIRAH 2:2, Kalisch

Wind, Water, and Fire

In The Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation), the author, believed by many to be Abraham, tells us that four things correspond to each other: These are:


The Creation (and I submit it is referring to the spiritual creation) – The Pattern.

The Universe (physical creation) – being a Macrocosm.

The Year (the seasons of earth) – another Macrocosm.

Man – (his body) – Being a Microcosm.

What this great book is teaching us is that the creation was done in a certain way, and an illustration, or example of that pattern can be seen in the universe.

We read regarding the physical creation how dimension was added, and the elements were inserted and divided:

“These are the ten spheres of existence out of nothing. From the spirit of the living God emanated air, from the air, water, from the water, fire or ether, from the ether, the height and the depth, the East and West, the North and South.” [1]

This is the creation of the “Universe” or the “macrocosm.” Created first as air, the air divided-off water (mud), which created fire. Fire and mud, with air mediating between them. Just like the seasons, hot and cold with medium between them.

In the Microcosm:

“…in the Soul are fire, water, and breath. The head is created from fire, the belly is created from water, and the chest, created from breath, decides between them.” [2]

These three regions of the body can be thought of as corresponding to the three degrees of glory. People live their lives from the belly, their hearts, or their minds.

“We have learned that when the blessed Holy One created the world, He formed the lower world on the pattern of the upper world, corresponding entirely to one another, and this is His glory above and below.”[3]

Don’t our very lives correspond to water, air, or fire? Or, a Telestial law, a Terrestrial law, or a Celestial law?

[1] Kalisch, Chapter 1:9
[2] Scholem, Chapter 3:5
[3] The Zohar, Daniel C. Matt, Standford University Press, Vol. III, Pg. 261.

What Science Should Have Known

In an earlier post entitled Space, Time, Dimension, and Law I wrote this:

“I find there is a gap between the language of the scientist and the language of the theologian. I believe Jewish Mysticism can work as a bridge to provide a scientific answer to the theologian in terms he can apply, and perhaps theological descriptions that a scientist can use.”

Which some may disagree with, and I understand why. What I am suggesting is that if science wishes to take some leaps forward they may need to seek answers from unexpected place, then, subject the results to scientific scrutiny.

Jewish Mysticism has long taught us that there are ten worlds, dimensions, or glories. Dr. Sanford L. Drob tells us:

“The Kabbalists hold the total number of sefirot to be ten. Like the "super-string" theorists of contemporary physics, they view the world as being comprised not of four, but of ten dimensions, and they regard each thing in the world, whether spiritual, psychical, or material to be composed of varying combinations of these ten dimensions or structures.”[1]


String theorist now tell us the same thing. They could have gotten that information four thousand years ago.

In Cabalistic terms these ten dimensions are called Sephiroth. Abraham told us in the Book of Creation:

“Ten are the numbers (of the Sephiroth) out of Nothing, ten--not nine; ten--not eleven. Comprehend this great, wisdom, understand this knowledge and be wise. Inquire into the mystery and ponder it. Examine all things by means of the ten Sephiroth.” [2]

What if we “examined” the world in this way?

The world was made by these ten Sephiroth and balancing them, resolving the conflict between them, is the “covenant” or the “Plan of Salvation” that was instituted from the pre-existence.

“The ten numbers (Sephiroth) out of Nothing are analogous to the ten fingers and the ten toes: five over against five. In the center between them is the covenant with the Only One God.”[3]

Which exactly what Nephi was speaking about in 2 Nephi 2: 11.

The truth of science will only be fully understood through this understanding.

-David


[1] Dr. Sanford L. Drob, Cross Currents, Spring 1997, Vol. 47 Issue 1.
[2] Sefer Yetzirah (MPH).
[3] Sefer Yetzirah (MPH).

The Sepher Yetzirah

The Sepher Yetzirah is also known as the Book of Creation, or The Book of Formation. Its authorship is most widely attributed to Abraham, but there is some disagreement and speculation as to who the true author is.

This much we do know, it is very old. Comparing it to the bible, whose first book was authored by Moses, The Book of Creation is generations older. This short book speaks of the creation of heaven and earth, by God, using His powers and emanations. It is the basis of Jewish Mysticism; its teachings to one degree or another have influenced most of the world, even to our modern day. It may not be too much to say that it is one of the taproots of our religious and cultural heritage.

The Zohar commonly thought to be the basis of Jewish mysticism is a much later (medieval), expanded, and allegorical commentary on The Sefer Yetzirah, the books of Moses, and the oral traditions of the Jews.

Becoming accustomed to the imagery used in the Sefer Yetzirah, the very way of thinking, can help Latter-Day Saints grasp concepts that may otherwise evade them. But trying to read this great book without some training can be overwhelming. On the other hand only a well-trained saint can read the book for all it’s worth.

This book goes right to the “great and terrible questions.” It describes the pre-existence, spiritual creation, physical creation, the powers God uses to bring about His purposes, the degrees of glory, and the final state of things. What more could you want?

It tells how the letters of the Hebrew language correspond to the powers or emanations of God, and that by combining these powers in different combinations all things are brought into existence.

The concept taught in the Book of Mormon of “opposition in all things” is at the heart of the book.

There are a number of variations of the book, and translations floating around. Of course, to get a good variation and commentary, you need to download Mormon Mysticism, by yours truly.

Here are a few others:

4 compared - IEE
W.W. Wescott
Original Hebrew
Short Version (Kaplin)
The Work of the Chariot
Saadia ben Joseph
Leo Baeck
Scott J. Thompson
Manley P.Hall

Still seeking the best books? I highly recommend The Sepher Yetzirah.