The Advent of Dionysus / 230 Years / 2.01

The New Church

It seems like only a short period of time for the establishment of a new church to occur [only 230 years], especially when considering the thousands of years that were required to establish the first five churches, and bring them to fruition. But one only need consider what's happened over the past 230 years.

First consider how large the world's population has grown and multiplied. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say there are ten times as many people today as there were 230 years ago, and perhaps a lot more. In no period of history has the world's population skyrocketed and grown, in such a monumental way.

Much of this can be attributed to the advances of the Industrial Age, which began in the 1800's, even more so to the advances of technology, which have occurred since the early 1950's. Being more complex in its intricacies and number of people, society is drastically different now, so much so that a referendum is called for: with today's form of religious practices being outdated and lukewarm in character.

What we need today is a church more streamlined and reflective of today's world. As we live in the Age of Information, the New Church needs to maintain its relevancy amongst the informed individual and, hold up to the stringencies of modern science as well. The writing of this book is an attempt to achieve that.

Number 230 Theory

This prompts my theory about the number 230, which I believe correlates with the number of chapters in the book of Revelation—22. For instance,

Revelation 21 deals with the Marriage of Heaven and Earth or, the instituting of the New Church: "And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (vs 2). Hence the number 21 signifies the marriage or, the ceremony itself. While

Revelation 22 deals with the exploration of this new church: "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb." (vs 1). Here, the river signifying an abundance of truths—divine truths—to which John is led into through his understanding (what a river signifies in spiritual terms). And, as it regards this heavenly marriage, I see the number 22 corresponding to the honeymoon or, wedding night.

Beyond that, the number 23—hence the correlation to 230—signifies the "new life," as it unfolds beyond the new church: a state of true intercourse, within the state of marriage. Thus when multiplied by 10, the number 23 becomes 230, which doesn't suggest much, except when viewed in terms of a pattern. For when multiplying 230 by 10, you come up with 2,300 which, when subtracted from the number 1757—as corresponds to the Last Judgment and the role Emanuel Swedenborg played—you come up with 543 BC.

The Year 543 BC

That which is significant about the year 543 BC, is that it occurred shortly after the period the kingdom of Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians (between 605 and 560 BC). Thus in effect a last judgment was performed on the third or Israelite Church at this time. The siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple signified this, as well as the recommission to have the temple rebuilt, by Cyrus the Great of Persia: and so signifies raising a new church. Cyrus reigned from 550 to 529 BC, and conquered Babylon in 539 BC, before giving this proclamation a year later. Hence at this time, the Jews, were allowed to return to their homeland.

This also corresponds to the period when Dionysus was given official cult status in Greece, towards the end of the 6th century BC. Which becomes integral, because Dionysus and Christ were a parallel of each other, in enough ways to suggest the Christian Era began at the institution of Dionysus' cult. Therefore he and Christ can be viewed correspondently as, The Two Witnesses (detailed in chapter 6). Consider what it says in

Revelation 22:13: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last," which, can only suggest one thing, Jesus. Yet it was borrowed specifically from Dionysus. Or what of

Revelation 19:16: "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." This too was borrowed from Dionysus. And so gives more meaning to the prior verse: "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."

Revelation 19:15

While according to the Greeks, three spiritual hierarchies had transpired by this time, with its apparent relation to the Three Ages of Man—or, Church of Man. The first was the reign of Uranus, or Father Sky; the second was the reign of Cronus, the son of Uranus, who castrated Uranus; the third was the reign of Zeus, the son of Cronus, who dethroned Cronus. And, when taken a step further, Dionysus, the son of Zeus, was successor to Zeus' throne. This was the contention of Orpheus, the famous Greek oracle who, may have been premature by calling him the sixth ruler (his version included Eros and Night), but I'm speaking of the sixth church now! Similarly, Jesus was the successor to Jehovah's throne. This also happens to be the period Confucianism and Buddhism had their origins—with a myriad of connections between Christ and Buddha as well—suggesting something occurring worldwide, hence the dawning of a new age. And guess what? Come to find out (several years after the initial draft of this chapter), the year 543 BC was the year Buddha died, according to modern Theravada Buddhism. Really? Wow! And, just as our whole modern chronology (Cronus?) revolves around the death and ressurection of Christ (AD), the idea is reflected much earlier when the Buddha dies and attains Nirvana (salvation).

The Jewish State

And, while it may not signify the beginning of the Christian Era, as it might suggest, it does draw to a close the dynasty of kings with sovereign reign over the kingdoms of Israel and Judea: to be replaced by the priestly, Jewish State. Instituted by the prophet Ezekiel, who's aptly called The Father of Judaism, the high priest was given to rule, except under the auspices of Persian, Greek and Roman authorities. While throughout the book of

Ezekiel he's called The Son of Man, a title rarely given to the other prophets—except Jesus Himself! Indeed if the third church had come to a close, which was also Swedenborg's claim, where does the fourth church begin?

If you refer to the letter to David in chapter 8, I delineate the difference between an equilateral triangle and a hexagram (Star of David). And here, the triangle portrays the Greek letter delta, which means the fourth: hence the region within the triangle or fourth component, what I believe this symbol draws its designation from. And so depicts the kingdom of Judah, which sprang from the tribe of Judah, the patriarch and 4th son of Jacob (Israel), taken captive by the Babylonians. This was the period known as The Captivity, and the symbol illustrates it well.

From the triangle I proceed to the inverted triangle, to form the hexagram. And here, the number designation within the first triangle is nullified, and allocated to the fourth point of the star, which culminates into six points; while a seventh component is allocated to the star's center. Thus showing the Jewish Church proceeding into the Christian Church—i.e., Christ was of Jewish decent—as the fourth point of the star is formed. The star also depicts the six days of creation, which has God resting on the Sabbath or seventh day, in the star's center. Hence the fourth commandment says, Honor the Sabbath, and depicts both the center of the triangle (4) and the center of the star (7).

As for the Christian Church, which was central or most universal, Jesus has been called God in the flesh, as Swedenborg contends. Therefore we're speaking of God Himself, as opposed to the Church of Man. Which becomes academic though, for He's the closest thing there is, and may just as well be. As Jesus says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

John 14:6 He also says, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father ..."

John 14:9 Hence it seems fitting that the fourth church begin at some other point than the birth of Christ.

Extended 230 Theory

As for extending my 230 theory back further, from 2,300 to 23,000 years (by another multiple of ten), it wouldn't seem to pan out. For you would have go back another 230,000 years, just to approach the end of the first church, and another 2,300,000 years to approach its beginning. The date you come up with is 2,553,543 BC, which I honestly don't believe is correct. Perhaps this number has something specifically to do with the Christian Era, "up to and beyond it?"

The reason I say this is because it incorporates the transition from the third church (Israelite), to the fourth church (Christian), to the fifth church (Swedenborg), and to the sixth church of today. And, when taken to the next step, it proceeds to the seventh church in the year 2010: i.e., 23 years, "230 divided by 10," after the year 1987. I have several reasons to believe this is a correct date, one is that it occurs in the 21st century, as corresponds to

Revelation 21 (as referred to in chapter 6, regarding a chapter for a century), the rest of which is detailed in the next two chapters (specifically in chapter 4).

I did consider the possibility of the first three churches occurring within three periods of 2,300 years, like the fourth church, which would account for 9,453 years of civilization by the year 2010 (the instituting of the seventh church). Which fits in well with the Advent of Modern Man about 10,000 years ago, with the development of agriculture in Asia Minor; while also fitting in with the six elements of marriage in the next chapter. It becomes invalid though, for the Israelite Church wasn't instituted until around 1,300 to 1,200 BC, at the most 757 years before the fourth church.

An Overlapping Effect

Yet there may have been an overlapping effect, like what occurred between the third and fourth churches, as well as the second and third: i.e., the Israelite Church was named after Israel (Jacob), but wasn't instituted until Moses' time! So at what point does it really occur? (See below.) It also seems significant that Dionysus, in accord with the fourth church—and sixth—was equated with Noah, who planted the first vineyard (first biblical account). If in fact there is anything here, it places the Advent of Adam at 7443 BC, the Advent of Noah at 5143 BC, the dawn of the Israelite Church at 2843 BC, and the dawn of the Christian Church at 543 BC, with some obvious discrepancies of course.

And yet if modern man was to appear around 8,000 BC, give or take let's say 500 years, that isn't too far from 7443 BC. Can they pinpoint an exact date? And how is it such an intelligent creature as man appear so late and in a short period have dominion over everything? Isn't this what it says in the Bible?: "And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good ... And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

Genesis 1:25-26

Which doesn't necessarily dispel the idea of evolution, for I believe this is the most plausible theory for what has occurred in the natural world. Yet why does man who, for all intents and purposes should be living as "one with nature," have the ability to do the exact opposite? Shouldn't this be inherent with who we are? Why are we only capable of throwing the entire ecosystem out of whack and destroying the planet? Has nature gone mad? Perhaps not—if, we view it in terms of the fall, rather than the ascent. In which case nature is seen as evolving towards that which is about to descend (or, transplanted) from a higher realm. The earth has been called "God's footstool" (where His labors find rest) and, as mentioned above, man was "created in God's image," therefore it seems fitting that this marriage of heaven and earth occur with the dawn of man.

And what of the differences between man and the apes? If in fact this is our origin, where are all the missing links? There's a whole variety of difference between lemurs, monkeys and gorillas, so why such a vast difference between a man and a chimp? It would be like walking up to the edge of the Grand Canyon, only to discover a huge drop off below and a great expanse to the other side. There should be a whole list of classifications here. And yet mankind is pretty much one and the same, except for one thing, the difference in the races. And when you think about it, given the 9,453 years above, that would be ample enough time for just this, the evolution of the races. While if you consider it took less time than that for man to breed every manner of dog possible from the wolf, the idea of Adam becomes very plausible.

Recorded History

Whereas like the Church of Adam, we don't have much of a record of the Church of Noah either. So what of recorded history? Why doesn't it go beyond 4,000 BC? Is it possible there was some great deluge prior to this, say around 5,143 BC that wiped everything out? thus putting it on the same time line as Noah? That's an interesting thought? While it's curious how the earliest known cities in Mesopotamia, called the cradle of civilization, were carbon-test dated between 4,000 and 5,000 BC. So where's the rest of our history?

And what of the Israelite Church which came later? Now there's quite a discrepancy between 2,843 BC and 1,200 BC. Yet Abraham, the father of Isaac and Jacob (Israel) left Babylonia (Sumeria) around 2,100 BC, which is getting closer. Could it be because he was from Babylonia that it might involve events occurring before his arrival in Canaan? After all, the Jews were taken captive by the Babylonians between 605 and 560 BC, and released just five years after 543 BC, at the dawn of the Christian Age, suggesting the Israelite Church begins and ends with, Babylonia. Had they gone back to live with their parents?

And what of the city of Babylon, with its infamous Tower of Babel, which was founded between 3,000 and 2,800 BC? Where according to the Bible, the peoples of the earth all spoke the same language, before they were confounded and scattered abroad?

Genesis 11:1-9 Suggesting this was a common point of departure from that which many assert was native to Adam and Noah, the Hebrew Tongue. Thus in effect a Last Judgment had been performed at this time. Similar to the Jewish Diaspora after the Babylonian exile? And indeed the lineage of Abraham, together with the lineage of Hebrew, begins in the very next verse following the dispersion at Babel.

Genesis 11:10-32

While another thing occurring during this period was the beginning of the dynastic periods of Mesopotamia (Sumeria) and Egypt, with both sharing a similar pictograph style of writing with the early Hebrews. Suggesting a common ancestor? Is this what the Tower of Babel represented? And so it is the Israelites' sojourn to Egypt began only 276 years after Abraham arrived in Canaan, and ended with their

Exodus 430 years later, suggesting all three should have a common origin. And, where the Tower of Babel symbolizes the end of the second church, with its construction halted before its completion, the great pyramids in Egypt began construction towards the beginning of the third church—which, is the triangle completing itself at its apex. Perhaps there's some other scheme involved here?