Scriptural Evidence for the Spiritual Structure
The Holy Mountain: Mount Zion
The Cryptogram portrays pilgrims scaling a mountain toward its peak. In the process of deciphering this Code, supportive passages from the Scriptures have been cited. If this Code which depicts the Structure of God’s Kingdom as a Mountain is authentic, then, one would expect to find specific references to this Holy Mountain in the Scriptures. Several passages are identified and cited below. The first is from the Book of Isaiah:
It will come about in the last days, that the Mountain of the Lord’s house will be established on the top of the Mountain and will be raised above the hills; and all nations will stream toward it. And many people will go and say: ‘Come, let us climb the Lord’s Mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us of His ways, and we may ‘walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion will go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge among the nations and will rebuke many people. They will beat their spears into pruning hooks; nations will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:2-5; Micah 4:1-4).
Obviously, the mountain in reference in this passage is a mystical one. Not only has mention been made of the “Mountain of the Lord’s house“, but the description of this Mountain is also congruous with the decipherment of the Cryptogram, including specific references to “walk in His paths“, “walk in the light of the Lord” and the “presence of many nations“. All peoples have been invited to “climb the Lord’s Mountain“. In his day, Isaiah pointed to a future time, when the “Mountain of the Lord’s house will be established on the top of the Mountain . . .“. Thus, he prophesied the development of the Apparent Structure—the Kingdom of God—on top of the Potential Structure: The Holy Spirit. The excerpt: “And it will be raised above the hills” refers to the dynamic nature of the Apparent Structure, indicating that it will grow to higher heights, thus predicting the growth of God’s Kingdom. The Mountain is adjudged to be the seat of Divine Authority, and the Kingdom of Peace.
Further scriptural evidence gives credence to this Cryptic Code in the Scriptures:
O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your Holy Mountain, and to your Dwelling Place [the Heavenly Sanctuary]. Then will I go to the Altar of my God, to God: my supreme joy . . . (Psalm 43:3-4).
These passages bear witness to the Spirit of prophecy, which gave utterance to these visions of God’s Kingdom, through the Mystical Structure of the Holy Mountain.
The Spiritual Mountain is often referred to in various allegorical forms:
Thus says the Lord: ‘I shall return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called a City of Truth, and the Mountain of the Lord of hosts: the Holy Mountain‘ (Zechariah 8:3).
In this passage, Jerusalem and the Holy Mountain refer to the same Structure. Jerusalem is to the Holy Mountain (the Heavenly Mount Zion) as the Sanctuary (the Holy of Holies) is to the Temple, and as Judah is to Jacob (or Israel). The Following passages convey these relationships:
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah was His Sanctuary, and Israel His dominion (Psalm 114:2).
And I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and out of Judah inheritors of my Mountain; and mine elect [the sons of God] shall inherit it, and my servants [the complacent] shall dwell there (Isaiah 65:9).
The New Jerusalem
God chose Judah out of the children of Jacob; through his descendants He would raise an Anointed Seed (a Messiah) from the house of Israel. Regarding this Messiah the Scriptures prophesied: “There shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel . . .” (Numbers 24:17). God also chose David, a descendant of Judah, and a forebear of the Messiah, through whom He renewed His pledge to Judah:
I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn to David my servant: your Seed will I establish forever and build up your throne to all generation (Psalms 89:3-4).
This promise has been fulfilled in Jesus, who descended in a carnal sense from Judah and David. Hence, Jesus is the Apparent Star of David, and is portrayed as such through the members of His body, in the efficiency line of the Cryptogram. The Spirit testified:
I, Jesus, have sent my Angel to testify to you these things in the churches, I am the Root and Offspring of David, and the bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16).
As the city of David and the symbolic Dwelling of God, the Natural Jerusalem is often used in the Scriptures in a metaphorical sense to refer to both the Heavenly Sanctuary, the New Jerusalem, and the new chosen people: the sons of God. It is used to refer to both the occupants and/or the state. Jeremiah prophesied about this New City:
At that time, they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered in Jerusalem, to honor the name of the Lord; no more shall they follow the imaginations of their evil heart (Jeremiah 3:17).
This prophecy has been fulfilled mystically in the Spiritual Structure on which pilgrims are portrayed streaming toward the Throne of God, Zion, in the New Jerusalem, Asaba.
The identification of the sons of God in the Heavenly Sanctuary with the City, Jerusalem, offers insight into this passage from the Sermon on the Mount:
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill [Jerusalem] cannot be hidden. Nor does anyone light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).
Just as candles are mounted on candlesticks to provide light for members of a household, so the sons of God are perched on the highest points of the Spiritual Structure to provide light for members of God’s household. The Heavenly Jerusalem is positioned on the Ridgepole of the Spiritual Mountain just as the Natural Jerusalem is situated on top of an earthly hill.
Again, it was noted in Scriptures:
Jerusalem built as a city with compact unity: to it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, according to the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For in it are set thrones of Judgment, the thrones of the house of David (Psalms 122:3-5).
This passage, again, refers to a Mystical City, the Heavenly Sanctuary. Pilgrims of many nations are portrayed as heading to Her. It is in this Spiritual City that thrones will be set for the Final Judgment.
In the Book of Revelation, the apostle, John, described his vision of this Holy City, Jerusalem:
And He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high Mountain, and showed me that Great City, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God, having the glory of God, and Her light was like a stone most precious, even like jasper, clear as crystal. It had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve Angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; on the east, three gates; on the north, three gates; on the south, three gates; and on the west, three gates (Revelation 21:10-13).
This passage is further evidence of the Mountain being a mystical one, as opposed to a natural mountain. From his position on the Apparent Peak of the Mystical Mountain, John was able to see the unoccupied positions of the Son’s body descending with great luster from the Potential Peak of the Structure—the Throne of God the Father.
Another passage from the same Book affirms that this City is indeed a New Jerusalem:
And I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the Throne saying: ‘Behold, God’s Dwelling among men [the Heavenly Sanctuary], and he will dwell with them, and they will be His people; and God, Himself, will be with them, and be their God. And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there will be no more pains’ (Revelation 21:2-5).
The population of this Other Jerusalem is intimated by the apostle, John, following his vision:
And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads . . . These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as first fruit for God and the Lamb; and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless (Revelations 14:1-5).
Note that the Glorified Christ and members of His Body are associated with the Heavenly Mount Zion. The one hundred and forty-four thousand refer to the sons of God. They are divided into twelve groups, corresponding to the number of major dominions (Revelation 7:5-8). These figures attest to the scriptural passage: “Many are called but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).
Who Can Ascend God’s Mountain?
He who walks uprightly, and does justice, who thinks the truth in his heart. He that does not backbite another, nor does evil to his neighbor. He who despises the wicked, but honors those who fear the Lord. He who pledges his word and keeps it, who lends not his money at usury, nor accepts a bribe against the innocent (Psalms 15:1-5)
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who desires not what is vain, nor swears deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek the face of the God of Jacob (Psalms 24:3-6).
He that puts his trust in me will possess the land and will inherit my Holy Mountain (Isaiah 57:13).
Also, the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants . . . and hold to my Covenant: these I will bring to my Holy Mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted in my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (Isaiah 56:6-7).
These passages highlight the centrality of Mount Zion to salvation, and specify spiritual conditions for its ascent, lending credence to its mystical nature.
To be just under the Old Era, one was required only to observe prescribed procedures and behaviors (altogether known as the law of Moses), correctly. At that time, faith as presently defined was non-existent. Consequently, none of the Early Testament passages list faith explicitly as a requisite for ascending the Mountain. However, in the mid Testament Era, following the inauguration of the Apparent Mountain, the condition for Justice was improved upon: Not only was preliminary faith (the Apostles’ Creed) introduced—though without any reference to the Structure—its primacy over action was, thereafter, insisted upon for justice.
Who Will Survive on the Day of Visitation?
. . . Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, for on Mount Zion there will be a remnant, as the Lord has said, and in Jerusalem survivors whom the Lord will call (Joel 2:31-32).
The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will withdraw their shining. The Lord also will roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the Heavens and the Earth will shake; but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So will you know that I am the Lord your God who Dwell in Zion, my Holy Mountain; then will Jerusalem be holy, and strangers will never again pass through her (Joel 3:15-17).
The preceding passage certifies that on Judgment Day, Mount Zion will roar and shake to separate the just from the unjust, much as wheat is sifted from chaff. Following this Event, there will be a prohibition against trespassing on the Mountain—a prohibition against apostasy—since all opportunities for spiritual advancements will cease.
For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this (Isaiah 37:32).
And it will come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem (Isaiah 4:3; Obadiah 1:17).
But you who forsake the Lord, forgetting my Holy Mountain, who prepare a table for that troop, and who furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore, will I remember you to the sword, and you will all go down in slaughter, because when I called you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear; but did evil before my eyes, and chose that wherein I did not delight. Therefore, thus says the Lord, behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty . . . (Isaiah 65:11-15).
As these passages prophesied, only a remnant will be saved, in the wake of the Cataclysm: those who do not forsake the Lord’s Holy Mountain. Consequently, the apostates on surface-a of the Spiritual Structure who have fallen away, and the unbelievers on the earthly plane who do not ascend, will not be saved. (See 4 Ezra 8:1-3; 9:15-16; 21-22. These citations are from the Revised Standard version.)
Divine Providence
And on this Mountain, the Lord of hosts will provide for all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy on this Mountain the veil that veils all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory. And the Lord will wipe away tears from off all faces. And the reproach of His people He will take away from the whole Earth; for the Lord has spoken it. And it will be said on that Day ‘Behold, this is the Lord; we have waited for Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation’. For on this Mountain will the hand of the Lord rest . . . (Isaiah 25:6-10).
And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flame fire by night; for upon all the glory will be a defense. And there will be a Tabernacle [Sanctuary] for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a cover from storm and from rain (Isaiah 4:5-6).
There will be no harm or destruction on all my Holy Mountain; for the Earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).
Then the moon will be confounded, and the sun ashamed when the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem and before His elders gloriously (Isaiah 24:23).
You will sing, as in the night when a feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a pipe toward the Mountain of the Lord; to the Rock of Israel (Isaiah 30:29).
The foregoing passages spoke of Mount Zion as the Redemptive Station, and testified, further, to the mystical nature of this Mountain.
Evidence For the Structural Shape
The Scriptures offer evidence that the Spiritual Structure has a definite shape: In the interpretation of the king’s dream in the Book of Daniel, it was pointed out that the Structure was hewn from a mountain:
And in the days of these kings, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom [the Messianic Kingdom] which will never be left to other people, but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand for ever. That is the meaning of the stone you saw hewn from the mountain without hands being put to it, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold; the Great God has made known to the king what will come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure (Daniel 2:44-45).
Through the spirit of prophecy, Daniel, in no-uncertain terms, linked this Mystical Mountain with the Kingdom of God. The fact that the stone was hewn from another piece—a mountain—tallies with the purposeful shape of the Cryptogram, which gives the impression of a chiseled figure. It was indicated: “the stone [itself] became a great mountain and filled the whole Earth” (Daniel 2:35), alluding to the growth of the Spiritual Structure. The point is, thus, made that while the stone-structure—-hewn from a mountain—remains a mountain, it is a uniquely shaped mountain. It becomes clear that the Stone and the Mountain referred to in the Scriptures in connection with the Kingdom of God—the Messianic Kingdom—are one and the same Structure: Zion.
Isaiah prophesied about an important feature of this Structure: Its Cornerstone:
Therefore, thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am laying a Stone in Zion, a Stone that has been tested, a precious Cornerstone, as a sure foundation; he that believes in It will not be moved’ (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6).
Indeed, Jesus testified that He, Himself, is the Cornerstone of this Structure:
And He looked at them and said: “What is this that is written: ‘the Stone which the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone’ (Luke 20:17; Matthew 21:42; Psalms 118:22).
While Jesus, as God the Son, is the Apparent Cornerstone, the Holy Spirit constitutes the entire Structure—the Consummate Rock of Salvation. Observe from the Cryptogram (Figure 4) that the efficiency line, which represents God the Son, is indeed, the Cornerstone of the Structure. As the Apparent Cornerstone, Jesus defines the boundary between polar opposites:
- Good and Evil.
- Truth and Falsehood.
- Grace and Sin.
- Light and Darkness.
- Spiritual and Natural.
- Life and Death.
- Wisdom and Folly.
- Peace and Turmoil.
- Just and Unjust.
- Pro and Con.
In this capacity, Jesus is the Apparent Edge of a Wedge—the Knife Edge—that divides opposite parts; thus, the Structure is also a Mystical Sword; hence Jesus said:
Do not think that I have come to bring peace on Earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s foe will be those of his own household (Matthew 10:34-36; Luke 12:51-53; Revelation 19:11-21).
Indeed, the righteous pilgrims and the apostates—surfaces a-and-b—are foes in the One Spiritual “Household”. Thus, the foregoing passage is comprehensible, only by virtue of the Architecture of the Spiritual Structure. Otherwise, one is hard-pressed to reconcile it with Jesus’s Mission of initiating the Kingdom of God on Earth, the Kingdom of Peace.
As a wedge, the Stone-Structure is at once a Rock of Refuge to believers and a Stumbling Stone to unbelievers:
To you, therefore, who believe, the Stone is [a refuge, and as such] precious; but to unbelievers, it is rather . . . a Stumbling Stone and a Rock that will make them fall. Those who stumble are the disbelievers in the Word of God; it is their appointed fate to do so (1 Peter 2:7-8).
Why? Because they sought justice not by faith, but as it were, by the works of the [natural] law. For they stumbled on that Stumbling Stone, as it is written: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion, a Stumbling Stone, and a Rock to make them fall; whosoever believes in Him will not be put to shame’ (Romans 9:32-33).
Taken together, the preceding observations affirm a subtle point: The distinctive form of this empirical evidence—the wedge shape of the Cryptogram—follows the foreknown function of this hitherto hidden, Spiritual Structure in the Scriptures—thus, further authenticating the Pictogram.
Since Jesus is the apparent, Central Beam—the Ridgepole which supports the Structure—members of His body are said to be the pillars in the Spiritual Temple of God:
‘He that overcomes will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he will never leave it. I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the City of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name’ (Revelation 3:12).
Evidence For the Gradation of Divine Grace
As illustrated by the shading of light in the Cryptogram, the gradation of Numinous Power in the Spiritual Structure gives the impression of water cascading from a rock-source like a fountain. The Scriptures attested to this portraiture of the Structure: “For with you is the Fountain of Life [divine grace]; in your [Flame] shall we see light” (Psalms 36:9).
While in the desert, on their journey to the promised land, the Israelite community became exceedingly thirsty, and clamored for water from Moses and Aaron. They provided them with water from the rock-fountain, as the Lord had commanded them. However, in the process, Moses and Aaron sinned against God:
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Because you did not believe me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore, you will not lead this community into the land I will give them (Number 20:12).
Moses and Aaron were denied entry into the promised land because of their disbelief (in connection with the rock-fountain), signifying that faith (in the Holy Spirit) is the primary requisite for entry into the Heavenly Kingdom. The water flowing out of the rock symbolized God’s refreshing grace—the Holy Spirit—emanating from the source of life in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
This event in the history of Natural Israel portended events in the Messianic Kingdom, the Spiritual Israel. It is in this regard that Paul observed:
All drank the same spiritual drink; they drank from the Spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).
It has been shown how in the Blessed Trinity, God the Father is structured in the Son (the Apparent Cornerstone) to become the Holy Spirit (the consummate Rock of Salvation). Hence, the Rock is said to represent Jesus, also.
The spiritual water from this Rock is what Jesus alluded to when He said:
If any man thirsts let him come to me and drink. He that believes in me let him drink. Scripture says: ‘Out of Him [i.e., the Rock] will flow rivers of living water’ (John 7:37-38).
Again, while Jesus is identified, superficially, with this Rock-Source, the subsequent passage makes clear, however, that it is the Holy Spirit who actually embodies this Rock-Fountain:
But He said this in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been received, because Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:39),
The Snow-capped Mountain
With its shading of light, the Cryptogram resembles, also, a snow-capped mountain: an apt metaphor for the Spiritual Structure. The same attributes needed for mountaineering are required also for the spiritual pilgrimage: courage, fortitude, discipline, and training. The chief difference is that the former is in the realm of nature, and concerned with overcoming physical elements, while the latter is in the spiritual domain.
The body which, ordinarily, functions under conditions of plentiful oxygen supply becomes increasingly exerted during mountaineering due to hypoxia: this condition intensifies toward the summit of a mountain. Similarly, to reach and maintain a position at the relative or true Peak of the Spiritual Structure (i.e., at the efficiency line), the human soul experiences stress from operating constantly at the critical level of faith. To operate under this mode entails a willingness to accept the (unique) dangers presented in life by fate, and persevering through them in accordance with Justice.
Only a few hardy climbers overcome the harsh elemental conditions—low pressure, high wind, freezing temperatures, and hypoxia—to reach the peak of a high mountain, signifying that the true Abode of the Divine—the Heavenly Sanctuary—is inaccessible to all, but a few: a remnant.
Ironically, the higher one climbs up the Spiritual Mountain the harsher the conditions a pilgrim encounters; yet the ultimate aim of the pilgrimage is the attainment of eternal peace in God the Father. Obviously, the nature of the final reward is of the other-worldly.
The foregoing discussion affirms that Divine Nature and human nature are diametrical opposites, and only by transfiguration from primarily a natural being to essentially a spiritual one can a pilgrim gain access to the Divine, at the relative or True Peak.
To achieve this objective, one should be able to shed fear, and acquire confidence in God under trial, reject vice, and affirm virtue.
Thus, the teachings of the Spiritual Structure contrast with the doctrine of the mean (as some advocate with the Taijitu symbol, and by Aristotle’s golden mean): Rather, than espousing compromises between opposite qualities, it advocates optimizing the pro and rejecting the con with regard to ethics. Without the vector attributes of the Structure, the Ridge (the efficiency line) would, indeed, present a facade of a median between opposites. The danger remains that the Ridge may be perceived, superficially, as merely the foci of numinous forces in flux; the Infinite Peak being the ultimate Focal Point. The vector arrows make clear, however, that the Ridge is more: It is the optimum loci of the positive forces, the Spearhead for Righteousness. As such, it is the Citadel of Justice, Goodness, and Truth. Thus, the Ridge, though “unique” is not a neutral zone.
Evidence for its Combustion Origin
Since the Cryptogram was revealed through an experiment in combustion, and in light of the evidence in the Scriptures in support of the Structure as the symbol of God’s Kingdom, one would expect to find specific references to combustion in connection with the Kingdom of God in the Scriptures. There are, in fact, many passages where Combustion—Fire—was associated with the Presence and Authority of God, beginning with the Lord’s covenant with Abram:
And it came to pass that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram . . . (Genesis 15:17-18).
God appeared to Moses in a burning bush:
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a Fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with Fire, and the bush was not consumed (Exodus 3:2).
God revealed His Glory by Fire:
Moses and Aaron went into the meeting tent. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then Fire came out from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering, and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw this, they cried out and fell on their faces (Leviticus 9:23-24).
Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed by Fire:
Then the Lord’s Fire came down and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said: ‘The Lord He is The God: The Lord He is The God [literally, Elijah] (1 Kings 18:38-39).
Elijah was taken up into Heaven, in flaming chariots and horses:
It came to pass as they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire between them, and Elijah went up to Heaven (2 Kings 2:11).
Gideon’s sacrifice was also consumed by Fire:
The Angel of the Lord said to him, take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the Angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat, and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up Fire out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight (Judges 6:20-21).
Notice in this passage, that the Rock and the Fire were involved in the same event. Both signify the Presence and Authority of God. This same connection was made in another passage, when the Angel of God ascended amidst Manoah’s sacrificial flame:
So, Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock to the Lord. And the Angel did wonders as Manoah and his wife looked on: For when the Flame went up toward Heaven from off the altar, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the Flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on and fell on their faces to the ground (Judges 13:19-20).
God approved of David’s sacrifice by Fire:
David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings, and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and He answered him from Heaven by Fire upon the altar of burnt offering (1 Chronicles 21:26).
Solomon’s sacrifice was also consumed by Fire:
When Solomon had made an end of praying, the Fire came down from Heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. The priests could not enter the house of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the Fire came down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they felled down upon the pavement with their faces to the ground and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord . . . (2 Chronicles 7:1-3).
Fire was associated with the Presence of God in Daniel’s vision:
As I watched, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days did sit whose garment was white as snow, and the hair on His head like pure wool; His Throne was like the Fiery Flame, and His wheels as Burning Fire. A Fiery Stream issued forth from where He sat; thousands ministered to Him, the judgment was set, and the books were opened (Daniel 7:9-10).
The Throne of God spouted Flames also, in Enoch’s vision:
From underneath this Mighty Throne, rivers of Flaming Fire issued. To look upon it was impossible. One Great in Glory sat upon it: Whose robe was brighter than the sun, and whiter than snow. No Angel was capable of penetrating to view the face of Him . . . A Fire was flaming around Him. A Fire of great extent continued to rise up before Him, so that not one of those who surrounded Him was capable of approaching Him, among the myriads who were before Him . . . (1 Enoch 14:19-24)
Before Isaiah began prophesying about the Spiritual Mountain, he was purged of his sins first with a live coal taken from the altar which was before God:
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, behold, this has touched your lips and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged (Isaiah 6:6-7).
Ezekiel described the vision he saw by the river Chebar:
As I looked, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a Fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the Fire. Within it there were figures resembling living beings . . . their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures: and the Fire was bright, and out of the Fire came forth lightning (Ezekiel 1:4-13).
Ezekiel witnessed, in another vision, the instruction given to the Angel of God:
And He spoke to the man clothed in linen, and said: ‘go in between the wheels, under the cherub, and fill your hands with Coals of Fire between the Cherub and scatter them over the city.’ And he entered as I watched (Ezekiel 10:2).
It is written in the Book of Psalms, also:
From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, hailstones and Coals of Fire. The Lord also thundered in the Heavens, and the Highest uttered His voice, hailstones and Coals of Fire (Psalms 18:12-13).
The last four scriptural references highlight coal—a combustible rock—as the fuel for the Fire symbolizing God’s Presence and Authority. The mention of coal, a carbon compound, is noteworthy. Carbon monoxide, which is polar, arises during coal combustion and exhibits unique characteristics that set it apart from non-polar fuels like hydrogen. This polarity causes an inhibitory effect in the presence of excess carbon monoxide, an effect not observed with excess oxygen. Thus, in the combustion of coal, or organic matter, one can distinguish between conditions of surplus fuel and surplus air. This distinction mirrors the religious differentiation between the unjust (surface-a) and the just (surface-b), indicating that the Kingdom of God is modeled after coal (i.e., organic) combustion.
The most important Early Testament evidence associating combustion with God’s presence is the episode on Mount Sinai, when God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, through Moses. On that occasion, Fire was seen billowing from the top of the mountain like a volcano:
And Mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in Fire; and the smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly (Exodus 19:18; 24:17).
In this passage, combustion, the symbol of Giod’s presence, was associated with a mountain, another Divine Emblem. Notice that the smoke of the Fire was compared to that of a furnace, indicating that the combustion was controlled and purposeful.
The scriptural evidence of combustion provided, thus far, has been limited to the Early Testament. However, there were also events in the Mid Testament where combustion was associated with the Presence and Authority of God, including the one at Pentecost when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was witnessed by Fire:
When the Day finally came, they were gathered in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of rushing mighty wind, and it was heard all through the house where they were sitting. There appeared tongues as of Fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . . (Acts 2:1-4).
On Mount Sinai, one remote ball of Fire was reported on top of the mountain accompanied by smoke. The presence of the smoke indicated inefficient combustion, signifying that the Covenant, which was witnessed on that occasion, was incomplete and inefficient. In the later Pentecostal Event, however, there was no smoke reported with the Fire, symbolizing the efficiency of this New Covenant. Instead of one distant Fire (signaling the transcendence of God) as in the Old Order, parted tongues of Fire rested on each individual present (symbolizing the immanence of God, in the New Order). Contrast the proximity of the Fire on Pentecost Day with the remoteness of the lone Fire on top of Mount Sinai, and the terror which accompanied the latter Event. While the Fire on top of Mount Sinai witnessed the ratification of the Old (and transitory) Covenant on a natural mountain, that of the Pentecost glorified the dawn of the New (and lasting) Covenant, and the institution of the Apparent Mountain.
The Fire which attended the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day was the Fire Jesus was referring to when He said: “I have come to light a Fire on Earth. How I wish the Flame were ignited” (Luke 12:49).
Scriptural evidence has, thus, been cited linking combustion with the Three Persons of the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—giving credence to the Cryptogram (the Combustion Wedge) as the model of the Heavenly Kingdom.
In the Mid Testament, Fire was identified both as the instrument of salvation for the just, and the means of destruction of the unjust:
John answered by saying to them all, I, indeed, baptized you with water, but one mightier than I will come, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire; His fan is in His hand: to clear His threshing floor, and He will gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff, He will burn in unquenchable Fire (Luke 3:16-17; Matthew 3:11-12).
Whereas the baptism of fire is the source of life for the just, the unquenchable fire is identified as the means of destruction of the unjust. God’s pattern of benefiting the just by the same means He uses to punish the unjust is seen throughout the Scriptures; for example, the ten plagues caused the Egyptians considerable distress and lamentation, while it resulted in the freedom of the Israelites, and their esteem among the nations. Also, Goliath’s death at the hand of David brought shame and defeat to the Philistines, while it earned the Israelites glory and honor. Indeed, these examples mirror the Spiritual Mountain—the Divine Nature—whose ways lead both to salvation (surface-b) as well as to damnation (surface-a).
Isaiah prophesied that the destruction of the unjust shall be by Fire:
For, behold, the Lord will come in Fire, and His chariots like wind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with Flames of Fire. For by Fire and by His Sword will the Lord judge all flesh; and many shall be slain by the Lord (Isaiah 66:15-16).
The Scriptures indicated also that this devouring Fire is, nevertheless, the home of the just:
The house of Jacob will be a Fire and the house of Joseph a Flame, and the house of Esau will be stubble and they will kindle in them and devour them; and there will not be any remaining of the house of Esau (Obadiah 1:18).
Hitherto, fire has been used to represent either God’s Presence, Abode or Authority. Moreover, in other passages, God was, actually, described as a Consuming Fire:
Wherefore, we who are receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, should hold to God’s grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and glory; for our God is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:28-29; Deuteronomy 4:24).
Even in the physical sciences (Cosmology), it is now a generally accepted fact that all matter in the cosmos derives from a Primordial fire—the Big Bang.
The preponderance of the foregoing evidence affirms that Fire—the Cryptogram—is indeed the Divine Signature.
The Natural Mountain Versus the Spiritual One
It was stated in Scriptures that the natural came first and was followed by the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:46). And earlier, it was intimated here that the natural mountain of the Old Covenant is Mount Sinai, while the spiritual one of the New Covenant is Mount Zion. In view of the Cryptogram, the analogy made in the following scriptural passage between events related to these two mountains would be better appreciated:
For you have not come to an untouchable mountain burning with Fire, nor to blackness, and darkness and whirlwind; nor the voice speaking words such that those who heard entreated that the words should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure that which was commanded, and if even a beast touch the mountain, it should be stoned or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said: ‘I exceedingly fear and quake.’) No, you have come to Mount Zion, and to the City of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of Angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first born, which are written in Heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. And to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant . . . (Hebrews 12:18-24).
Two types of mountains have been used in the above reference to distinguish between two stages in a common evolutionary process. Though the mystical objects identified with both stages are inherently the same, mountains, the differences in the nature of the mountains reflect important distinctions in the stages of the evolution. Mount Sinai is earth-bound and temporal; it, thus, represents the early, transitory stages of the process, while the Mount Zion in reference is arcane and ethereal depicting the more advanced spiritual stages. The events connected with the former portended activities associated with the latter.
Moses made repeated trips between God (whose presence was indicated by Fire at the top of the natural mountain) and his compatriots at the foot of the mountain: interceding for them and bringing back God’s commands (see Exodus Chapters 19 and 24). Moses’s role as a mediator on Mount Sinai was temporary. Jesus, on the other hand, maintains an eternal link, through the Holy Spirit, between God the Father and His children on the Spiritual Mountain.
(Note that the Structure is inherently One System. Jesus’s role as a Mediator is best understood in terms of the Architecture of the Spiritual Structure. By virtue of this Architecture, the transcendent Standard Spirit—God the Father, at the Infinite Peak—becomes immanent. Each immanent spirit, depicted by the parted tongues of fire on Pentecost Day, is an approximate replica of the Father’s Spirit. When viewed in this sense, there is no intermediary between God and humanity. However, the aggregate of these immanent replicas, and the process by which the immanency was made possible, through the Son, and ultimately through the Holy Spirit, is the sense in which Jesus was referred to as a Mediator.)
In the natural event, a select few—Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders—were permitted to ascend the natural mountain, although only Moses was allowed near the top. The rest of the people were forbidden to even approach the mountain, thus evidencing the transcendence of God in this later stage.
However, in the later Spiritual Event—following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus into Heaven—all just people have been invited to ascend the Spiritual Mountain. This was attested to by the Fire which parted and rested on each of the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. In contrast to the earlier event when the people went up to the Fire at the peak of Mount Sinai, in this later stage, the Fire came to the people instead, attesting to the immanency of the Spirit at this time.
In another scriptural passage, Paul also differentiated the [Old] Jerusalem of the natural Mount Sinai from the [New] Jerusalem of the spiritual Mount Zion:
For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to [the Old] Jerusalem which is now in bondage with her children. But the [New] Jerusalem [Mount Zion] which is above is free, and it is She who is our Mother (Galatians 4:25-26; cf., Hebrews 12:22, see preceding citation).
The evidence cited thus far certifies that the Cryptogram is the Blueprint of the Heavenly Mount Zion. It addresses all of the symbols by which the Heavenly Kingdom is associated with in the Scriptures—the Holy Mountain, the Stone Structure, and the Spiritual Fire. Ezekiel called attention to these various identities of the symbol, while remarking on the two-faced nature of apostates, as exemplified by the king of Tyre (cf., Isaiah 14):
You were marked with the Seal of Perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the Garden of God; every precious stone was your covering . . . I placed you with the Cherub; you were on the Holy Mountain of God, walking up and down in the midst of the Stones of Fire. Blameless were you in your conduct from the day you were created (Ezekiel 28:12-15)
Until iniquity was found in you . . . Then I cast you out of the Mountain of God, the Cherub drove you from among the Stones of Fire (Ezekiel 28:15-16).
The Cryptogram sheds new light on these scriptural passages:
Whoever is near me [that is, Jesus] is near the Fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the Kingdom (Gospel of Thomas 82).
. . . the Lord whose Fire is in Zion, and His Furnace in Jerusalem [that is, the Heavenly Sanctuary] (Isaiah 31:9).
Summary of the Evidence
Evidence, thus, abounds in the Scriptures, albeit in cryptic form, affirming the reality of the Spiritual Structure. The evidence detailing features of this Structure corroborates the identity of the Pictogram as the foreordained Cryptogram in the Scriptures: Its tapered mountain-like visage and chiseled wedge shape—characteristically named the Cornerstone—are frequently alluded to; the dynamism of the Potential Structure illustrated by the cascade from a rock fountainhead is evident in the Cryptogram; the subtle interplay of polar opposite forces, a scriptural motif, is also reflected; the, hitherto, mysterious concept of the Trinity is uniquely illustrated; and Fire, which gave birth to the Cryptogram, is shown to be a constant mystical witness to several theophanies in the Scriptures, an affirmation of the correlation between this Spiritual Structure and its provenance.
