An ancient Christian Prophecy of the Wheel?

[Richard Amiel McGough]

The Odes of Solomon are dated roughly between 100 - 200 AD. Though scholars dispute their meaning and origin (since that is what scholars do), it seems pretty obvious that they are best described as an "early Christian hymn book."

The 23rd Ode is extremely intriguing, because it speaks of God's "thought" being sent forth like a "letter" that was received by an invincible "wheel" that had the "sign" (recall Aleph Tav = sign) and a "seal" that they could not loosen.

1. Joy is for the holy ones. And who shall put it on but they alone?
2. Grace is for the elect ones. And who shall receive it but they who trusted in it from the beginning?
3. Love is for the elect ones. And who shall put it on but they who possessed it from the beginning?
4. Walk in the knowledge of the Lord, and you will know the grace of the Lord generously; both for His exultation and for the perfection of His knowledge.
5. And His thought was like a letter, and His will descended from on high.
6. And it was sent like an arrow which from a bow has been forcibly shot.
7. And many hands rushed to the letter, in order to catch it, then take and read it.
8. But it escaped from their fingers; and they were afraid of it and of the seal which was upon it.
9. Because they were not allowed to loosen its seal; for the power which was over the seal was greater than they.
10. But those who saw the letter went after it; that they might learn where it would land, and who should read it, and who should hear it.
11. But a wheel received it, and it came over it.
12. And a sign was with it, of the kingdom and of providence.
13. And everything which was disturbing the wheel, it mowed and cut down.
14. And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.
15. And it crossed over and uprooted many forests, and made an open way.
16. The head went down to the feet, because unto the feet ran the wheel, and whatever had come upon it.
17. The letter was one of command, and hence all regions were gathered together.
18. And there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed, even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father.
19. And He inherited and possessed everything, and then the scheming of the many ceased.
20. Then all the seducers became headstrong and fled, and the persecutors became extinct and were blotted out.
21. And the letter became a large volume, which was entirely written by the finger of God.
22. And the name of the Father was upon it; and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to rule for ever and ever.
    Hallelujah.

Comments?

Richard

[Abigail]

14. And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.

Didnt Moses use the staff to part the waters of the Red Sea. Wasnt the staff like the authority of God - Job 22:22 'Please receive instruction from His mouth, And establish His words in your heart'

16. The head went down to the feet, because unto the feet ran the wheel, and whatever had come upon it.

This reminds me of the Alpha and Omega being next to each other

[Richard Amiel McGough]

And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.

Didnt Moses use the staff to part the waters of the Red Sea. Wasnt the staff like the authority of God - Job 22:22 'Please receive instruction from His mouth, And establish His words in your heart'

Yep. The "echo" of Moses with his rod is strong. Not only did he part the waters with it, he also "restrained a multitude of adversaries" when Amalek attacked:

Exodus 17:9-12 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

The head went down to the feet, because unto the feet ran the wheel, and whatever had come upon it.

This reminds me of the Alpha and Omega being next to each other

Yes, the "head and feet" kinda echoes "first and last." It also evokes a sense of Ezekiel's vision of the wheels somehow.

The 13 verse of the ode is interesting:

13: And everything which was disturbing the wheel, it mowed and cut down.

That reminds me of what Jesus said in Luke:

Luke 20:17-19 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 19 ¶ And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

And most interesting is verse 18:

And there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed, even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father.

This reminds me of the fact that the Canon Wheel is seen in the tri-radiant cruciform halo in the ancient icons of Christ Pantocrator, as discussed at length in that thread.

Richard

[Victor]

The Odes of Solomon are appreciated by many who have read it. It is one of those books that people familiar with ancient Christian writings would love to see in the NT Canon: it is really old and it is beatiful. Since they see the Bible with natural eyes, they can't see that God included in the Canon the books he wanted, not the books that people think are important.

The reference to the "wheel" is very interesting. It seems to draw from different older writings, like Ezekiel. I wish I had a scholar's commentary on Odes 23.

Victor

[Richard Amiel McGough]

The Odes of Solomon are appreciated by many who have read it. It is one of those books that people familiar with ancient Christian writings would love to see in the NT Canon: it is really old and it is beatiful. Since they see the Bible with natural eyes, they can't see that God included in the Canon the books he wanted, not the books that people think are important.

Being "in the canon" is a very special status. It means not only that the book was inspired by God, but that it was designed to play an integral role in the structure of the whole Bible. So this raises the question: We know a book is inspired in its in the Bible, and we know the Bible is complete as a unified book. But does that mean that there are no writings outside the Bible that are inspired of God?

This is a difficult question because we need to discuss what we mean by "inspiration" before we can answer it. And I think there are "levels" of inspiration. For example, there have been times when I was sharing the Gospel and it seemed like "golden words" were "put in my mouth" by God. I certainly couldn't take "credit" for them. So I really do believe they were inspired. But not like the Bible. The words God gave me were "inspired for that particular occasion" whereas the words in the Bible were "inspired for all people at all times" and so were included in the Bible.

Obviously, we would need a new thread in the Hermeneutics section to discuss this.

The reference to the "wheel" is very interesting. It seems to draw from different older writings, like Ezekiel. I wish I had a scholar's commentary on Odes 23.

Victor

Yes, I see Ezekiel's vision prominently, as well as many diverse Biblical references throughout Ode 23. If anyone can find a commentary on it, please let us know.

Richard

[White]

Hi Richard and Victor,

Today is a great day because I am holding in my hands the
finished and beautiful Biblewheel-Jewel-Medallion with the
22 Hebrew Letters and the 66 books in precious Sapphires
and Rubies - Aw - it is beautiful and it weighs

22.55 grams = (I did not plan that)
with 6.00 ct in Gems (I did not plan that) -

Richard - like the letter M closed (Mayim) for my name "M" in Hebrew (M=Monique as per the bible code book and software) has a value of 600, on the 13th Spoke. I just learned today that "M" (Mem) in Hebrew not only stands for "water" but also for "building blocks of the Universe" (www.aish.com...age of the universe) - pretty good article - I thought you might want to start a thread on the age of the Universe, unless you already did -)

But coming to your thread "Odes of Solomon" - what an inspiration especially for this first day of Summer and first day of the existence of a completed precious Biblewheel - The LORD could not be more inviting to pursue and stand strong on HIS WORD and to proclaim the TRUTH to all people without fear because of the "power which was over the seal" (v9) and "a wheel received it and it came over it" (v11) -

Remember Richard, how I thought we have to add those Hebrew letters to the Wheel because then it will make perfect sense - 22 letters, 22 books for each wheel x 3 = 66 books - and it's very intriguing to people "How did you do that?"

The Odes of Solomon (v19) is especially encouraging : "And He inherited and possessed everything, and then the scheming of the many ceased" - because maybe now their eyes will be opened and they see GOD'S TRUTH revealed in beauty of its symmetry 5 - 12 - 5 - - 22 - 5 12 5 22 + 22 + 22
And the Odes of Solomon ends with verse 22 - "And the name of the Father was upon it' and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to rule forever and ever" The "22" may stand for the Hebrew alphabet and then SONG OF SOLOMON is on the 22 spoke of the Wheel. So many 22's...
The Lord is good and worthy of our praise - Joy, Grace, Love, Knowledge, Thought - are just a few of the words used from verse 1 - 5.
Shalom,
White

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Hi Richard and Victor,

Today is a great day because I am holding in my hands the
finished and beautiful Biblewheel-Jewel-Medallion with the
22 Hebrew Letters and the 66 books in precious Sapphires
and Rubies - Aw - it is beautiful and it weighs

22.55 grams = (I did not plan that)
with 6.00 ct in Gems (I did not plan that) -

Wow, that is soooo cool!

So when am I gonna get to see it, so I can post a photo? (and like, uh, wear it?)

Its "funny" how those numbers worked out. My wife finished the stained glass Canon Wheel that she made for me for Christmas on 12 - 5- 2002, so we see all three numbers in the Canon Wheel design, 5, 12, and 22. Its like God loves to confirm things with a "ding" of a bell here and there.

Richard - like the letter M closed (Mayim) for my name "M" in Hebrew (M=Monique as per the bible code book and software) has a value of 600, on the 13th Spoke. I just learned today that "M" (Mem) in Hebrew not only stands for "water" but also for "building blocks of the Universe" (www.aish.com...age of the universe) - pretty good article - I thought you might want to start a thread on the age of the Universe, unless you already did -)

No, I haven't read that article. BTW - the link you posted was broken, so here is the correct link:

http://www.aish.com/societyWork/scie...e_Universe.asp

The article is a little too long for me to review right now. I'll take a look at it and get back to you. But you are correct about the Mem sofit having a value of 600. This is one of the amazing "coincidences" in the Bible. The two numbers explicitly associated with the flood are 40 (days of rain) and 600 (the age of Noah when the flood happened). These numbers are the standard (40) and sofit (600) values of Mem, which means water, the element associate with the flood, of course. I talk about this in my article called An Ancient Witness.

But coming to your thread "Odes of Solomon" - what an inspiration especially for this first day of Summer

A slight correction is needed here. The first day of summer is the summer solstice which this year will occur at June 21 2007 18:06 GMT. [Ooops! I'm the one who needed "correction"! I thought it was still June 19th! Ha! I think I must be overworked.]

and first day of the existence of a completed precious Biblewheel - The LORD could not be more inviting to pursue and stand strong on HIS WORD and to proclaim the TRUTH to all people without fear because of the "power which was over the seal" (v9) and "a wheel received it and it came over it" (v11) -

Amen! So you finished the professional Bible Wheel medallion on the summer solstice, just as my wife finished the stained glass Bible Wheel near the winter solstice. These occurrences near the solstice are intriguing because Jesus is the True Light of the World who is contrasted in the Bible with the natural light of the world, the physical sun, which is a Shin KeyWord shemesh that occurs most frequently (by far) in Ecclesiastes which aligns on Spoke 21 with the Gospel of the Word, John, that is the only Gospel where God refused to use the word "sun" in favor of the round-about phrase "light of this world" so that the parallel with Jesus, the True Light of the World would be absolutely unmistakable. The connection with John is particularly exciting because the Bible Wheel is the revelation of the Divine Unity of the Holy Bible, "In the beginning was the Word ..." and it is only in John that Jesus declares "I am the light of the world."

Remember Richard, how I thought we have to add those Hebrew letters to the Wheel because then it will make perfect sense - 22 letters, 22 books for each wheel x 3 = 66 books - and it's very intriguing to people "How did you do that?"

Yes, I remember our discussion about whether or not to include the Hebrew letters on the outer rim of the new medallion, and that we both were concerned that they might not be readable. I am really glad you pressed forward with it and that it worked out. Thanks!

A note of correction so others won't get confused: When Monique wrote "22 books for each wheel x 3 = 66 books" she was referring to the three wheels within the wheel that I call "cycles."

The Odes of Solomon (v19) is especially encouraging : "And He inherited and possessed everything, and then the scheming of the many ceased" - because maybe now their eyes will be opened and they see GOD'S TRUTH revealed in beauty of its symmetry 5 - 12 - 5 - - 22 - 5 12 5 22 + 22 + 22

And the Odes of Solomon ends with verse 22 - "And the name of the Father was upon it' and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to rule forever and ever" The "22" may stand for the Hebrew alphabet and then SONG OF SOLOMON is on the 22 spoke of the Wheel. So many 22's...
The Lord is good and worthy of our praise - Joy, Grace, Love, Knowledge, Thought - are just a few of the words used from verse 1 - 5.
Shalom,
White

Well there you go! I didn't even notice that there are 22 verses in the 23rd Ode! So I had to check if there were any obvious correlations with the letters and the Bible Wheel. The first one I checked was verse 12:

Ode 23:12 And a sign was with it, of the kingdom and of providence.

Book 12 = 2 Kings! And look at this graph of the distribution of the word melek (king) on Cycle 1 of the Bible Wheel:



Its maximized in 2 Kings on Spoke 12, smack dab in the middle of the letters MLK which spell "melek"! I talk about this in the article called Alphabetic Integration with the Rise and Fall of the Kingdom (reproduced from pages 104-5 of the Bible Wheel book). I have always considered this to be one of the most amazing signs of the design of the actual content of the Bible on the pattern of the Hebrew alphabet. The fact that it links directly to the one and only occurrence of "kingdom" in the 23rd Ode is stunning.

A quick glance through the 22 verses of Ode 23 with the Wheel in mind suggests to me there may be a complete correlation between the 22 verses and the Bible Wheel is likely to be found. I don't have time to post what I see right now. I hope others will post any links they find.

Thanks for all your work Monique! May God continue to bless you richly!

Richard

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Here are some very interesting comments from David Aune in his massive (and fairly authoritative) commentary on Revelation that he wrote for the Word Biblical Commentary (Vol. 52A page 329). Highlights added:

One of the closer parallels to this dramatic sequence is found in a rather strange text in Odes Sol. [Odes of Solomon] 23:5–22. As in Rev 5:1–14, the focus of the brief drama is the revelation of the Son of Truth who vanquishes all the enemies of God. The primary dramatic features are the following: (1) The thought of the Lord is compared to a heavenly letter (the Syriac term ˒rt˒ occurs five times in Odes Sol. 23:5, 7, 10, 17, 21), Odes Sol. 23:5–6. (2) When the letter descended, many tried to catch it and read it, but it escaped their fingers (23:7–8a). (3) They feared the seal (Syriac ḥtm˓; cf. Dan 12:4) on the letter, for it was more powerful than they (23:8b–9); i.e., they did not think they were capable of breaking it. (4) Nevertheless, those who had seen the letter pursued it (23:10). (5) However, a wheel (Syriac gyg˒; cf. Hebrew אופן ˒wpn) received the letter and overcame all opposition (23:11–16). (6) The letter (now apparently open) was one of great authority, and the head of all regions was the Son of Truth from the Most High Father, who inherited everything (23:17–19). (7) All seducers fled, and all persecutors were obliterated (23:20). (8) The narrative concludes with these lines (23:21–22; tr. J. H. Charlesworth, The Odes of Solomon [Oxford: Clarendon, 1973]):

21And the letter became a large volume [Syriac pnqyt˒],

Which was entirely written by the finger of God.

22And the name of the Father was upon it;

And of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

To rule for ever and ever.

Hallelujah.

In Rev 5:1–14 and Odes Sol. 23:5–22, the elements-in each short drama are remarkably similar, and the symbolism is also close. Nevertheless, there can be no direct connection between the two texts because of the unique features that each exhibits. In Odes Sol. 23:11–16, it is apparent that the 'wheel' is connected with Merkavah ('chariot') mysticism based on Ezek 1. This feature ties the two texts even closer together, since the 'wheel' in Ezek 1 (which is essentially a throne vision) is closely connected to the four cherubim, and the four cherubim are also prominent in the throne vision of Rev 4–5 (Charlesworth, Odes, 95–96 n. 8). A comparison of similar dramatic features found in both Rev 5:1–14 and Odes Sol. 23:5–22 yields this result: A heavenly document that is sealed cannot be opened by anyone. Only one had the power to take the document and reveal its significance. In both scenarios, the sovereignty of a major heavenly figure is revealed, the Lamb in Rev 5:1–14 and the Son of Truth in Odes Sol. 23:5–22. While the conquest of the enemies of God is narrated in Odes Sol. 23:13–15, 19–20, that feature is not found in Rev 5 but is narrated later in Rev 6:1–8:1.

There are also some differences that must be noticed: (1) In Revelation the drama takes place within the heavenly throne room, while in Odes of Solomon the drama is set on the earth. (2) In Revelation the Lamb is the only one able to open the sealed scroll, while in Odes of Solomon the Wheel plays that role, though the act of unsealing the letter is implied, even if not specifically mentioned. (3) In Odes of Solomon it appears that the letter = large volume is the Son of Truth, while in Revelation the sealed scroll represents the eschatological events determined by the sovereign will of God.

Aune, D. E. 2002. Word Biblical Commentary : Revelation 1-5:14. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 52A (329). Word, Incorporated: Dallas

And this comment from page 805 where Aune discusses the "mark" on the forhead of all Believers (Rev 14:4) and its relation to the Syriac 't' which means "sign" and corresponds directly to the Hebrew "ot" spelt "Aleph Tav" as discussed in the Capstone Signature of God's Word article

A parallel to Rev 14:1 is found in Odes Sol. 42:20 (J. H. Charlesworth, tr. and ed., The Odes of Solomon: The Syriac Texts [Missoula, MT: Scholars, 1977]), 'And I placed my name upon their head, / Because they are free and they are mine.' Cf. Odes Sol. 39:7 (tr. Charlesworth, Odes Sol.), 'Because the sign [Syriac ˒t˒] on them is the Lord, / And the sign [Syriac ˒t˒] is the Way for those who cross in the name of the Lord.' Here ˒t˒ means 'sign, mark, pledge, token' (R. P. Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary [Oxford: Clarendon, 1903] 31). Aune, D. E. 2002. Word Biblical Commentary : Revelation 6-16. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 52B (805). Word, Incorporated: Dallas

The "Wheel" in Ode 23 is marked with the sign of Aleph Tav, exactly as the Bible Wheel. This is an extraordinary prophecy.

Praise God who reveals His Word to us His creatures!

[Victor]

A couple of things I should say: the number of verses is really surprising! I've found another numeration of Ode 23, from 1 to 20. (Charlesworth's translation has 22, The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden, Collins-World Publishers, has 20. Check: http://www.goodnewsinc.net/othbooks/odesolmn.html, http://www.carm.org/lost/solomonodes.htm) Of course the former is much more elegant.

Ode 23. 23 = 1 (Aleph) + 22 (Tav). What a coincidence!


Here's a quick verse review:

1. Joy is for the holy ones. And who shall put it on but they alone?

Spoke 1 KeyLink: (joy, in the Holy)
Isa 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

2. Grace is for the elect ones. And who shall receive it but they who trusted in it from the beginning?

The only joint mention of "grace" and "elect" in Scripture is in the second verse of 1 Peter:
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Also recall the mention of trusting (Batach) IN (Bet verse in Psa 25:2).

3. Love is for the elect ones. And who shall put it on but they who possessed it from the beginning?

The only joint mention of "put on" and "elect" is in the third chapter of Colossians:
Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Col 3:14 And above all these things put on charity (= love), which is the bond of perfectness.

"To put on" is linked to the theme of Clothes and Nudity on Spoke 3, relating to the Holy Spirit, Genesis 3, Leviticus, 2 Corinthians, and on and on.

Perhaps "possessing" is linked to the wealth of Guimel.

4. Walk in the knowledge of the Lord, and you will know the grace of the Lord generously; both for His exultation and for the perfection of His knowledge.

Knowledge is a Dalet KeyWord, Da'at! It occurs twice in a single verse.

5. And His thought was like a letter, and His will descended from on high.

The letter comes from Heaven, like a Window (Hey) open in the heavens with a Revelation from God. Heaven is linked to Spoke 5: the heavenly places mentioned five times exclusively in Book 49, Ephesians, on Spoke 5. The fifth ocurrence is literally "high places", in Eph 6.12, which in turn, is keylinked to Isaiah 49:
KeyLink: (Darkness, In, "High Places") Isa 49.9 - Eph 6.12
KeyLink: ("High Places" w/i 2 Rulers) Isa 49.6 - Eph 6.12
KeyLink: ("High Places" w/i 5 Salvation) Isa 49.6 - Eph 6.12

This verse about a letter coming from heaven is strongly linked to Zechariah 5 and the vision of the flying roll!

Zec 5:1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
Zec 5:2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
Zec 5:3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
Zec 5:4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

6. And it was sent like an arrow which from a bow has been forcibly shot.

An arrow reminds me of two similar pointed objects, the nail and the hook, which are the meanings of the sixth letter Vav. The arrow comes from heaven to earth. The Sixth Word in Scripture (Veth, a Vav KeyWord) links Heaven and Earth (Gen 1.1).

7. And many hands rushed to the letter, in order to catch it, then take and read it.

Rush reminds of the "busy-buzzing" nature of the letter Zayin, as you say, Richard. The first occurence of "rush" is in the seventh book (Judges 9.44). The Hebrew word is Pashat, an anagram of Shaphat (Judge), the root name of the book.

The effort of trying to read the book makes me think of Isaiah 29 (Spoke 7, Cycle 2):
Isa 29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
Isa 29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

8. But it escaped from their fingers; and they were afraid of it and of the seal which was upon it.

Seal is the Chet KeyWord Chatam, as in Esther 8:8. This a completely obvious link.

9. Because they were not allowed to loosen its seal; for the power which was over the seal was greater than they.

No insight. There is a link to Daniel 12:9, though:
Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

10. But those who saw the letter went after it; that they might learn where it would land, and who should read it, and who should hear it.

What I can see is that there's a lot of action implied in the verse.

11. But a wheel received it, and it came over it.
12. And a sign was with it, of the kingdom and of providence.

The first occurrence of Wheel is in the middle of the Ode. This relates to the Eth-Kol idea, based upon the letters Aleph, Tav, Kaph and Lamed.

The letter came over the Wheel. This links to the Kaph theme of covering (khopher, khaphar).

13. And everything which was disturbing the wheel, it mowed and cut down.

Like the threshing wheel in Isaiah 28:17,18. A Hebrew word with this threshing function is the Mem word Morag (threshing instrument, 1 Chronicles 21:23)

14. And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.

River is Nun word: Nachal and Nahar.

15. And it crossed over and uprooted many forests, and made an open way.

Uprooting reminds me of Samek, support. The concept of "forest being destroyed" is last found in James 3:5 (where the word "matter" could be translated as "forest").

16. The head went down to the feet, because unto the feet ran the wheel, and whatever had come upon it.

Can't find much, except that the old Ayin script was an O, the shape of spinning wheel.

17. The letter was one of command, and hence all regions were gathered together.

They were gathered together because they are dispersed (Peh KeyWord Pazar, Esther 3.8)

18. And there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed, even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father.

This reminds me of the fact that the Canon Wheel is seen in the tri-radiant cruciform halo in the ancient icons of Christ Pantocrator

Great insight Richard! The only thought that crosses my mind is that the Son of Truth is first explicitly revealed on Spoke 18 with the proclamation of the Gospel in Matthew.

19. And He inherited and possessed everything, and then the scheming of the many ceased.

Book 19:
Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

20. Then all the seducers became headstrong and fled, and the persecutors became extinct and were blotted out.

Headstrong maybe linked to Resh (head). In the alliterative Resh verse Psalm 119:157, we have the Keyword Radaph (translated "persecutors"). I took notes on this word long ago. In 1 Kings, it occurs only in verse 20:20. The distribution of persecut* in the NT has the hightest peaks in Matthew and Acts, centered around the Gospel of Luke on Spoke 20.

21. And the letter became a large volume, which was entirely written by the finger of God.

Spoke 21 and large volume: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (Joh 21:25) In the 21st century much will be written on this great Book. It will become a "large volume".

The Finger of God is the Spirit of God. Compare Mat 12.28 and Luk 11:20. We have then:
Shin = 300 = The Spirit of God

22. And the name of the Father was upon it; and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to rule for ever and ever.
Hallelujah.

Hallelujah! This will be the Final Praise, as prophesied in Revelation on Spoke 22:

Rev 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Rev 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Rev 19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Rev 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
Rev 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Hey Victor!

Great work. The real joy is that you noted many of the same things I would commented on. And that's because the truth is the truth! And the fact that you are looking at these exciting results with a sharp, critical eye is a real blessing!

A couple of things I should say: the number of verses is really surprising! I've found another numeration of Ode 23, from 1 to 20. (Charlesworth's translation has 22, The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden, Collins-World Publishers, has 20. Check: http://www.goodnewsinc.net/othbooks/odesolmn.html, http://www.carm.org/lost/solomonodes.htm) Of course the former is much more elegant.

Excellent point. This is the big question: Does the versification reflect an intrinsic alphabetic structure, or was it just a "coincidence"? A proper analysis would require the Syriac version, but we can get a pretty good idea of the natural breaks in the English translation. The important thing to remember is that the Ode is poetry, like the Psalms, so it is definitely structured.

The variations are found at two points. Here they are in the Collins-World versification:

5 And His thought was like a letter; His will descended from on high, and it was sent like an arrow which is violently from the bow:

13 And it gathered the multitude of adversaries, and bridged the rivers and crossed over and rooted up many forests and made a broad path.

These are the first and third longest verses found in the Collins-World English translation, which may have given motivation for their division (though I don't know how the Syriac compares). They are divided at seemingly natural conjunctives in the Charlesworth translation:

5 And His thought was like a letter, and His will descended from on high.
6 And it was sent like an arrow which from a bow has been forcibly shot.

13 And everything which was disturbing the wheel, it mowed and cut down.
14 And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.

I don't see any a priori way to determine with certainty which of these possibilities is to be preferred, though the shorter verses do seem correct. The existence of a strong correlation with the Wheel would pretty much settle it since the ambiguous division seems like it could go either way. The important thing is that nothing fundamental rests on the versification. It played its role by causing us to sit up and take note that there might be a correlation between the intrinsic structure of the Ode and the Wheel. The fact that there is an ambiguity in how the versification might be done by someone ignorant of the wheel does not impact the question of whether a correlation does or does not exist between the Wheel and the intrinsic structure of the Ode.

Ode 23. 23 = 1 (Aleph) + 22 (Tav). What a coincidence!

Yep, that was one of the first things I noticed. Its significance was amplified by the fact that Isaiah is Book 23 and has 22 x 3 = 66 chapters, and so forms a complete wheel within the Wheel, from Aleph to Tav.

Here's a quick verse review:

1. Joy is for the holy ones. And who shall put it on but they alone?

Spoke 1 KeyLink: (joy, in the Holy)

Isa 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Good find. I see you also noted the correlation between "alone" and the idea of the Number 1.

2. Grace is for the elect ones. And who shall receive it but they who trusted in it from the beginning?

The only joint mention of "grace" and "elect" in Scripture is in the second verse of 1 Peter:
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Also recall the mention of trusting IN (Bet verse in Psa 25:2).

The correlation with the Bet verse of Ps 25:2 looks like the fundamental connection to me. It actually forms the alliterative Hebrew phrase "batach bah" and this exemplifies the grammatical function of Bet, as explained on page 138 of the Bible Wheel book and reproduced here online.

3. Love is for the elect ones. And who shall put it on but they who possessed it from the beginning?

The only joint mention of "put on" and "elect" is in the third chapter of Colossians:

Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Col 3:14 And above all these things put on charity (= love), which is the bond of perfectness.

"To put on" is linked to the theme of Clothes and Nudity on Spoke 3, relating to the Holy Spirit, Genesis 3, Leviticus, 2 Corinthians, and on and on.

"Possessing" is maybe linked to the wealth of Guimel.

The theme of Clothing and Nudity is extremely strong on Spoke 3, and manifests on many Inner Cycles, most notably Genesis 3 and Isaiah 3. The other links seem to tenuous to build much on, but its good to toss them out their for us to think about. Who knows what other idea they may spark?

4. Walk in the knowledge of the Lord, and you will know the grace of the Lord generously; both for His exultation and for the perfection of His knowledge.

Knowledge is a Dalet KeyWord, Da'at! It occurs twice in a single verse.

Yep! I felt that to be very significant. The links are also seen on the Inner Cycles, most notably Genesis 4 which opens with "And Adam knew Eve his wife ..." Furthermore, the idea of "walking in the knowledge of the Lord" recalls the primary theme of following God in the Fourth Book, Numbers, as discussed in The Door to the Way of God, (note Dalet KeyWord way = derek).

5. And His thought was like a letter, and His will descended from on high.

The letter comes from Heaven, like a Window (Hey) open in the heavens with a Revelation from God. Heaven is linked to Spoke 5: the heavenly places mentioned five times exclusively in Book 49, Ephesians, on Spoke 5. The fifth ocurrence is literally "high places", in Eph 6.12, which in turn, is keylinked to Isaiah 49:

KeyLink: (Darkness, In, "High Places") Isa 49.9 - Eph 6.12
KeyLink: ("High Places" w/i 2 Rulers) Isa 49.6 - Eph 6.12
KeyLink: ("High Places" w/i 5 Salvation) Isa 49.6 - Eph 6.12

This verse about a letter coming from heaven is strongly linked to Zechariah 5 and the vision of the flying roll!

Zec 5:1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
Zec 5:2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
Zec 5:3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
Zec 5:4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Wow - those are strong links! I also am very impressed with the idea of "God's Will" being expressed here in verse 5, because that links directly to the grammatical function of the letter Hey as discussed at length on pages 183-4 of the Bible Wheel book, reproduced online here. Here is a quote:

The Hey Prefix also signifies the grammatical conjugation called the Hiphil imperative, which indicates causation. God used it this way in most of the Alphabetic Verses, such as these three consecutive verses from AV Psalm 119 ...

6. And it was sent like an arrow which from a bow has been forcibly shot.

An arrow reminds me of two similar pointed objects, the nail and the hook, which are the meanings of the sixth letter Vav. The arrow comes from heaven to earth. The Sixth Word in Scripture (Veth, a Vav KeyWord) links Heaven and Earth (Gen 1.1).

Yes, and there seems to be an echo of the primary theme of the conquest of the Promised Land in Joshua.

7. And many hands rushed to the letter, in order to catch it, then take and read it.

Rush reminds of the "busy-buzzing" nature of the letter Zayin, as you say, Richard. The first occurence of "rush" is in the seventh book (Judges 9.44). The Hebrew word is Pashat, an anagram of Shaphat (Judge), the root name of the book.

The effort of trying to read the book makes me think of Isaiah 29 (Spoke 7, Cycle 2):

Isa 29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
Isa 29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

I had the same thought about the "buzzing" but hadn't made the connection with reading the book in Isa 29. It seems like there may be something to that. Thanks!

8. But it escaped from their fingers; and they were afraid of it and of the seal which was upon it.

Seal is the Chet KeyWord Chatam, as in Esther 8:8. This a completely obvious link.

Yep! I already had that written down in my own outline of the correlations.

9. Because they were not allowed to loosen its seal; for the power which was over the seal was greater than they.

No insight. There is a link to Daniel 12:9, though:
Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

10. But those who saw the letter went after it; that they might learn where it would land, and who should read it, and who should hear it.

I can't see much, except that there's a lot of action implied in the verse.

I don't have a lot to say about verses 9 and 10 right now either.

11. But a wheel received it, and it came over it.
12. And a sign was with it, of the kingdom and of providence.

The occurrence of Wheel is in the middle of the Ode. This relates to the Eth-Kol idea.

I hadn't thought of the et-kol aspect. And we have the correlation with the Kingdom and Spoke 12 as discussed in a previous post. I also note that the Wheel is received in verse 11. This corresponds to Kaph, the open hand, the sign of "thee and thine" or "you and yours." Kaph is the sign of "giving" as opposed to Yod which is the sign of "taking" (personal possession). See Yod vs. Kaph. And now I see that this same contrast fits will with verses 10 & 11.

13. And everything which was disturbing the wheel, it mowed and cut down.

Like the threshing wheel in Isaiah 28:17,18. A Hebrew word with this threshing function is the Mem word Morag (threshing instrument, 1 Chronicles 21:23)

I have a feeling there is more to this one.

14. And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.

River is Nun word: Nachal and Nahar.

Its actaully a fundamental Nun KeyWord that links to the primary themes of Hebrews on Spoke 14.

15. And it crossed over and uprooted many forests, and made an open way.

Uprooting reminds me of Samek, support. The concept of "forest being destroyed" is last found in James 3:5 (where the word "matter" could be translated as "forest").

I'll need to think about this one.

16. The head went down to the feet, because unto the feet ran the wheel, and whatever had come upon it.

Can't find much, except that the old Ayin script was an O, the shape of spinning wheel.

It reminds me of Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth

17. The letter was one of command, and hence all regions were gathered together.

They were gathered together because they are dispersed (Peh KeyWord Pazar, Esther 3.8)

I would have expected the "command" idea to correspond to Spoke 18 and Tzaddi because of tzavah = command. But the idea of a broad expanse of "all regions" is very consonant with Pey, as seen in many KeyWords such as paratz (spread abroad) which is a near anagram of pazar which you mentioned (tzaddi <--> zayin).

18. And there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed, even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father.

The only thought that crosses my mind is that the Son of Truth is first explicitly revealed on Spoke 18 with the proclamation of the Gospel in Matthew.

That's actually a very big insight. The "going forth" of the Gospel from Spoke 18 is manifested on many levels in the Bible Wheel such as Isaiah 40 which links to Matthew, and even in world history in the 18th century.

19. And He inherited and possessed everything, and then the scheming of the many ceased.

Book 19:
Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Good hits. Note also qanah (possession) is a Quph KeyWord.

20. Then all the seducers became headstrong and fled, and the persecutors became extinct and were blotted out.

Headstrong maybe linked to Resh (head). In the alliterative Resh verse Psalm 119:157, we have the Keyword Radaph (translated "persecutors"). I took notes on this word long ago. In 1 Kings, it occurs only in verse 20:20. The distribution of persecut* in the NT has the hightest peaks in Matthew and Acts, centered around the Gospel of Luke on Spoke 20.

Yeah, I thought about the headstrong - resh link, but felt that it was a little swamped out by the two previous occurrences of the word head. Still, there could be a deeper meaning in the Syriac that we are not aware of. It seems like there probably is link to between the "persecutors" and Resh. I just don't know what it is yet, though the idea of "trampling under foot" comes to mind.

21. And the letter became a large volume, which was entirely written by the finger of God.

Spoke 21 and large volume: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (Joh 21:25) In the 21st century much will be written on this great Book. It will become a "large volume".

The Finger of God is the Spirit of God. Compare Mat 12.28 and Luk 11:20. We have then:
Shin = 300 = The Spirit of God

The "many books" also links to Ecclesiastes 12:12 on Cycle 1 of Spoke 21:
"And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh."

22. And the name of the Father was upon it; and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to rule for ever and ever.
Hallelujah.

Hallelujah! This will be the Final Praise, as prophesied in Revelation on Spoke 22:

Rev 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Rev 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Rev 19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Rev 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
Rev 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Amen and Amen! The final verse speaks of Spoke 22 with perfect clarity.

It looks like the evidence is pretty strong. A good project now would be to collect into a very condensed form so it is easy to see the "big picture." If this really does pan out, we will have a most extraordinary prophecy of the wheel that is itself patterned on the Wheel!

Think about the implications of them apples for a while ....

Praise God for His most excellent Word!

Richard