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. Furthermore, it is written in 22 stanzas, corresponding to the 22 Hebrew letters and the 22 Spokes of the Wheel.
- Joy is for the holy ones. And who shall put it on but they alone?
- Grace is for the elect ones. And who shall receive it but they who trusted in it from the beginning?
- Love is for the elect ones. And who shall put it on but they who possessed it from the beginning?
- 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.
- And His thought was like a letter, and His will descended from on high.
- And it was sent like an arrow which from a bow has been forcibly shot.
- And many hands rushed to the letter, in order to catch it, then take and read it.
- But it escaped from their fingers; and they were afraid of it and of the seal which was upon it.
- Because they were not allowed to loosen its seal; for the power which was over the seal was greater than they.
- 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.
- But a wheel received it, and it came over it.
- And a sign was with it, of the kingdom and of providence.
- And everything which was disturbing the wheel, it mowed and cut down.
- And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.
- And it crossed over and uprooted many forests, and made an open way.
- The head went down to the feet, because unto the feet ran the wheel, and whatever had come upon it.
- The letter was one of command, and hence all regions were gathered together.
- And there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed, even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father.
- And He inherited and possessed everything, and then the scheming of the many ceased.
- Then all the seducers became headstrong and fled, and the persecutors became extinct and were blotted out.
- And the letter became a large volume, which was entirely written by the finger of God.
- 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.
This ancient prophecy is being discussed on the Bible Wheel forum here.
bravo..good article.perhaps these prophecies are authentic.
Hi Richard:
And in spite of all this undeniable intriquing interwoven facts which point to the hand of Providence in the midst of all things – a person can reject the notion of a Supreme Intelligence! Ok….
“The fool has said in his heart there is no God.”
Hey there Mystykal,
Are you calling me a fool because I use my intelligence and admit the truth? What’s up with that? As you know, for many years I thought that those “intriguing interwoven facts” proved the Bible to be the Word of God. But there are problems with that idea. On the one hand, the patterns do indeed point in that direction, whereas on the other hand the absurd and immoral crap the Bible attributes to God makes that idea an absolute impossibility.
The true fools are those who believe the Bible (or any religious text) without evidence, and worse, when it directly contradicts all evidence. There is no end to the evidence that shows how such beliefs destroy the minds and morals of believers. I’ve never seen a greater collection of fools than those aggregated by fundamentalist religions. The idea of “God” is not even well defined. To call someone a “fool” for not believing absurdities is itself absurd, as well as being rather rude.
Regards,
Richard
Hi Richard:
Wow! I figured you knew me better than that by now! 🙂 I am NOT calling you anything! I merely agree with your view of the “. I’ve never seen a greater collection of fools than those aggregated by fundamentalist religions.” No doubt there are human problems with the Biblical writings as GOD did not “write” down anything outside of the ten commandments – and that is a maybe. (folowing Rabiinic Tradition).
In quoting the “fool” text from Proverbs I merely was trying to show that the Bible contends that the Absolute view of “no GOD” is foolish in the Biblical perspective. But since you and I agree that the Bible was written down by human “fools” you should not be offended…
But I do wonder if perhaps the issue that needs to be addressed is one of “faith” and “Spirit”. These two concepts have real implications in a real world. Occult wisdom – the realm of the “unknown” does exist. So that “spiritual things are spiritually accessed.”
“You will find me when you search for me – with all of your heart!”
Namaste
Mystykal
Hey there Mystykal,
You are right – I should have known you better than that. Your post seemed out of character, I should have realized I was misunderstanding what you meant. Sorry!
I think faith plays a very important role in life – but it’s been ruined by religious credulity and superstition masquerading as “faith.” This is where a lot of the atheists go wrong. In their effort to clean out the crap from the mind, they sometimes throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Richard
Hi Richard:
Your comments were very much appreciated. I too sometimes tend to judge a book by its cover!…
Namaste
Mystykal