The Advent of Dionysus / Dear David / 479 / 8.01

This chapter concerns the letter I wrote to David, one of the staff members at the Foundation of Human Understanding in Grants Pass (dated: 11/20/87), and concerns the number 479 and the badge I was given at work. I've transcribed most of the letter, while additional comments are given in brackets [*]. I follow up with a piece I wrote about the number 479 and the name Dennis (dated: 3/15/88), much of which is included in the accounts of Karen and Penelope. This is followed by some further ideas about the number 479, plus the final relation of the experience I had when rewriting this chapter. The letter to David begins as follows:

Dear David:

I have only one thing to relate to you now. When living in the Bay Area (in Santa Rosa), from May 1986 to April 1987, I worked at a company called National Controls Inc.—i.e., N.C.I.. I was a temporary employee, through a temporary agency (Liberty Temporary Services), from December 1986 to January 1987 (15 work days altogether). And while there, I was given a badge which read as follows:

3	There's a lot of significance to my working here, but I'm only going to relate the significance of this badge. [I later returned to work here and became "permanent" in September 1991.]

The Mind's Eye

4	It was some time later while meditating (during late March), together with a visualization technique I was working on, when I closed my eyes and received a vision of this badge, being strung up to the top third of a pyramid (which represents the "minds eye").

5	I immediately understood what it meant, with exception to the "479." It meant, "Not Christ Incarnate," but, that he does represent Christ—"Temporarily."

As for the number "479," I didn't surmise its meaning until September (1987). Now I can relate to you what it means: "None come to the father except through me" and that, "All works are sanctified through Christ." Thus in doing your works through Christ [i.e., The Ten Commandments], "the Sabbath" is fulfilled. As Christ said, "I've come to fulfill the law." [In looking back, it was correct for me to interpret this vision, for it occurred to me. Also, Dionysus was called "Lord of Souls" and, associated with the "soul's transcendence."]

The Three Centers

What this means is, Christ is the Sabbath, and that we find our "rest and worship" through Him; and that we need not necessarily set a day aside for this, for the Sabbath is indicative to the relationship a person should find in his or her heart [

Mark 2:23-28

Mark 3:1-5]. Let me show you a symbolic representation here:

Now the first triangle portrays the first four commandments of God: and here, the first three signify the "Holy Trinity"—believe it or not—while the fourth corresponds to worship (the Sabbath). All of which comprises the Mind of the Matter [i.e., it's through the mind, or "one's understanding," that suitable worship is implemented].

The second triangle comprises the Heart of the Matter, with respect to worship (the Sabbath or "7th day"), and depicts the 5th, 6th and 7th commandments, with respect to the first four—The Mind. [The fourth commandment says, Remember the Sabbath. Also, I'm suggesting Christ corresponds to the number seven.]

Tenth Commandment

The circle comprises the Soul of the Matter: here, the number "8" signifies "the body" of the Ten Commandments (or its flesh): "Thou shalt not steal" [i.e., "a theft" is committed when any commandment is broken]. The number "9" signifies the essence or soul (the infilling of the flesh): "Thou shalt not bear false witness." [Thus to lie, especially to one's self, is nearly always a prerequisite to doing something wrong—"as falsity and evil go hand in hand."] The number "10" signifies "what is objective," towards the body (8) and the essence (9)—"of the first nine commandments": "Thou shalt not covet what belongs to your neighbor." And here, the digit "1" next to the zero, serves as a point of reference:

11	The tenth commandment is the point of reference, and serves as the key to the first nine, for it deals with the Matter of the Heart: "He who has committed it in his heart has already committed it." [Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28].

Mind Heart and Soul

12	Now with respect to the first three symbols—i.e., "4-7-9"—when combined and "integrated," they become the symbol I've detailed below. [Also note, that the soles of one's feet correspond to "one's soul."]

"None come to the Father, except by me." [

John 14:6 ]

479 / Dennis

13	Now the number "11" is a key, and helps allude to the nature of the "two witnesses," as outlined in Revelation 11—i.e., the two candlesticks.

The number 11 is actually the number "10": when read frontwards (10), as well as backwards (01), and then "juxtaposed": "10 + 01 = 11." And it basically represents the "two hemispheres" of the human brain: the left side which is rational, and the right side which is intuitive, that come together as "one composite," to form the center of the psyche. It also portrays the two sides of the body, more specifically, the left and right sides of the bosom.

In Hebrew, a language based more on the "intuitive sense," which reads from right to left, the number 10 would read as, "01." In English, a language based more on the "rational understanding of things," which reads from left to right, the number 10 would read, "10." When juxtaposed, they come together as, "11."

This reference to the number 11, also concurs with Joseph, the 11th son of Israel.

Genesis 37-50 Joseph was Israel's favorite son, and was given the "coat of many colors." (I believe it signifies prophecy.) He was the first son of Rachel, Israel's second wife, but his first and true love: through the deceit of Laban, Rachel's father, Israel was tricked into marrying Leah on their wedding night instead.

Genesis 29:15-31 And through Reuben's default, Israel's firstborn (born of Leah), Joseph received Israel's inheritance.

Genesis 49 [I speak of this specifically in chapter 10.]

The "dreamer of dreams," Joseph was despised by his brethren, and was cast into the pit and sold into slavery in Egypt.

Genesis 37 And when speaking of the dream of Pharaoh, Joseph said: "And that the dream was doubled twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and it will shortly come to pass."

Genesis 41:32 Which takes on something similar when he speaks of his "two dreams" to his brothers; and as it was the same dream "dreamt twice," it became "witnessed twice": i.e., "the two witnesses."

Genesis 37:5-11 This is what the number 11 embodies, and what Joseph—"the seer"—was about. [It's what this second writing signified to me, for it helped substantiate the letter I wrote to David. And being a "second witnessing" or corroboration of that, it was essential, for I didn't begin work on this book until December 1989.]

Number 11 / The Key

Listed below, is a group of single digit numbers (square roots), which when multiplied by themselves, produce a "two digit" number. These are the numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. And note, these are the only six numbers that produce a two digit by-product: i.e., it doesn't work with "3" (3 x 3 = 9), and it doesn't work with "10" (10 x 10 = 100).

As you can see, I've inserted a zero between the two digits of the "by-product" numbers, and multiplied these by "11"—the key. For example, "16," which is "106 x 11 = 1166." Notice I inserted the square-root number (4) inside the zero initially, i.e., "1 4 6," and expressed the product as "1(16)6."

Now what's interesting, is this bears "express testimony" to what I just did with it. It expressly witnesses that 4 is the square-root of 16 (the "4" within the zero becomes "16" within the parenthesis), and that it's appropriate to insert the 4 between the digits 1 and 6, and generate the new expression "146." Like I said, there are only six numbers you can do this with, the numbers 4 through 9: i.e., "begins with 4 and ends with 9," or simply "49."

Now my reason for going through this exercise, is to see whether it would be suitable to insert the number 7 (square-root of 49) between the digits 4 and 9, and generate the new expression "479." As you can see this expression works, and in two distinct ways, the one verifying the other (as the table and indicator arrows show).

As I show in the letter to David, the number 479 is very symbolic. And what I'm about to present, is that it's essentially the same, or very similar to my name—Dennis. Which thus becomes a witnessing of the letter to David; and conversely, the letter to David becomes a witnessing of this: i.e., "the two witnesses."

When looking through a book of names, I found the name "Ennis" (something I wasn't looking for), which is Greek in origin and means "the ninth." I already knew the letter "D" was the same as the Greek letter delta, which means the fourth, and it was only a matter of putting the two together, before I could to see my name corresponded to the number "49": i.e., D (4) + Ennis (9), or Dennis (49).

And it wasn't long before I began to wonder how the number 49 corresponded to 479. It was a relatively easy next step though—how I usually make "my discoveries"—for the number 7 was the square-root of 49; and I subsequently developed the number table and multiplication equation. Thus as the indicator arrow points to 7, the "number range" is defined, when 7 is multiplied by itself, i.e., "49." Hence the three indicator arrows point to 4, 7 and 9, which is "479." Also, by putting the expression of my name another way you get: D-(49)-Ennis, or D-(Dennis)-Ennis. Which can be viewed as 4(49)9, the same exact expression I'vealready detailed: "409 x 11 = 4(49)9."

479 Futher

There are a still few things about the number 479 that I would like to relate. The first and obvious being it's relation to the Star of David, and hence title of the chapter—Dear David / 479. And being a six-sided star, suggesting the name David corresponds to the number 6, it brings up what

Revelation 3:7 says about the Church of Philadelphia, the 6th church: "he that hath the key to David." Which gives more meaning to the symbolism above and suggests a close affinity between the names David and Dennis. This is elaborated on further in chapter 13.

The second is that it's a "priestly number," which corresponds to the number 3—as does "409"—as I've detailed in Karen: with the number 3 corresponding to Levi, the priest, and 3rd son of Israel. Which brings up the Church of Pergamos, the "3rd church" in the book of

Revelation (2:12-17). And in The Apocalypse Revealed, Swedenborg says it corresponds to the "celestial kingdom, or "3rd heaven." Hence as he calls it the "priestly kingdom" (regarding

Revelation 20:6), it's a good indication the number 3 is "priestly."

The number 479 also corresponds to Cindy (of Gerarai), who I've also ascribed the celestial kingdom. And having worked with my sister Cindy a lot (and the goddess Artemis), it seems significant that she's been instrumental in my recovery over the past few years. While in some accounts of Greek mythology, Artemis played an integral role in Dionysus' upbringing.

As I show in Karen, the number 49 corresponds to the colors white (4) and black (9)—"and the number 7"—and depicts their contrast: "between good and evil." And it's essentially what the name Dennis (49) implies, a state of being "torn to pieces," from the conflict. Indeed it reflects what's happened in my life; as well as in Dionysus' life: who was "driven mad" as a youth and, was called the "mad god." (He was later purified of this, with a latter aspect of it associated with a "full and healthy life.") I'm also referring to my experience along the Smith River, the month after my rebirth experience, where I was "torn to pieces" by the Titans. (See chapter 5.)

Thus when

Revelation 3:14-22 speaks of the Church of Laodicea, the 7th or "lukewarm church," it implies a state of "wretchedness"—or, "being torn to pieces." A state remedied by, "purchasing gold tried in the fire."

Revelation 3:18 Hence "gold," corresponds to the color yellow, or number 3. And as the number 49 (Dennis) corresponds to "the 7th" (7th church), it becomes refined in a "priestly sense," through the number 479: i.e., the number 3, "or gold." (While Swedenborg says gold signifies the celestial kingdom.) Thus it's interesting how the gold rush to California—The Golden State—began in 1849: drawing a reference to verse 18 above, and the name Dennis, 49. And as California is the "31st state," it corresponds to the number 3—"or gold." There was also a gold rush to Alaska, the "49th state." Go 49ers!

This brings up a story I saw on TV about the gold in Fort Knox(?), which aired in May 1993. I was standing in front of the TV at the time, when on the right side of the screen it showed some bars of gold. I glanced at the numbers stamped on them, but nothing was signified. But when the camera panned to the left, there were three more bars of gold. Guess what? They were all stamped with the prefix 479! Hence it seems to corroborate this, as well as the next experience, that occurred when I rewrote this chapter.

The number 479 also corresponds to one's "ruling love": the alignment of one's mind (4), heart (7) and soul (9). What Swedenborg addresses in his work, Heaven and Hell, and portrays as one's disposition or inclination: "more so after death." Thus it's interesting how he breaks his work up "into numbers," and addresses ruling love, "specifically," under the number "479" (of all places). Beginning with the preface: "Man after death is his own love or his own will."

While it's funny how in the only thesaurus that I've ever owned, the word which is listed under the number 479 is "confutation," and hence the process of reproof or proving something wrong, "convincingly." Which certainly applies to the following, "None come to the Father, except by me."

John 14:6 Whereas my dictionary gives the example of "Elijah confuting the prophets of Baal ... with bitter mockery." Thus it is through the Spirit of Dionysus and Jesus Christ (479) that our "ruling love" is determined, and ultimately determines what our state will be like in the hereafter.

The number 479 also signifies victory, in accord with ruling love, and it's the date the Greeks conquered Persia (479 BC), in their struggle to retain their independent state and, maintain their ruling love. It was during this period, more than any other, that they were in danger of losing their freedom! It also corresponds to the period Dionysus was given official cult status in Greece. Hence it seems appropriate that the name Dennis—49 or, 479—have its Greek origins. Whereas the year 479 BC was also year Confucius died, and seems to coincide with the death of Buddha in 543 BC.

Final Relation

I'd now like to relate the experience that occurred when I was rewriting this chapter. It occurred in April 1993, during Easter Week (from April 4th to the 11th), in conjunction with the company I was working for. Another temporary job, at one of the better companies I've worked for, it lasted about two months. And while I was originally told not to expect it to last more than two weeks, and not to get my hopes up—which seemed acceptable enough—I hoped it would become long-term. I had been out of work for over two months.

After the first week I began to work the swing-shift, instead of days, to show I was flexible. And over the weeks, I clearly demonstrated my capabilities, and began to feel more comfortable. While the general consensus of the other people there was it would be long-term. My supervisors said they liked my work, and said they had plenty to keep me busy. There seemed to be enough work, if not, it was rescheduled to keep everyone busy. Hence I was led to believe I'd be there awhile.

But on March 23rd I had a premonition: where I dreamt of having an altercation with my supervisor (a misunderstanding); and I woke-up very concerned, for this was the day I quit my job in Southern Oregon (in 1990), because of the "problems" with my supervisor: primarily because the company moved. (See chapter 12.) And for nearly three years I was mindful of "its anniversary" but, completely forgot about it by now—until I had this dream. And the funniest thing happened when I got to work. They decided it was time to move everything around in the company! They'd been planning it for awhile, but didn't start until the moment I walked in the door! (around 2:30 p.m.). And I thought surely something was going to happen.

I managed to stick it out for the next two weeks, though they let some of the other temporaries go that week, and I started getting comfortable again. They also transferred one of the employees from our department—he was on my team—to another department, so I assumed there was still an opening. But they finally let me go, and the ultimate reason they gave me, was production had slowed because of the move. In fact they were still moving things around at this time.

Thus on Tuesday, April 6th, my supervisor informed me that Friday would be my last day. Being a temporary job, it seemed fair enough, but I still felt betrayed: I had put so much time and energy in there and felt I was making a contribution. Then it occurred to me that Friday was Good Friday, the day they crucified Christ. It probably wouldn't have if this hadn't happened, for I even forgot Sunday was Easter. I also felt I was drawing too much attention to myself, and tried not to make a big deal about it, but it was hard to forget. I felt I was the one being sacrificed.

And there were other elements involved. For someone betrayed me on my last day. After loaning him my compact disc two weeks earlier, he seemed "two-faced" about it. (And there was something specifically about his "political motivations," which I won't go into; though it led to me getting the job in the first place.) After a few days I began reminding him about it, saying, "Well, did you get a chance to listen to it yet?" I wasn't making a big deal about it though, for I figured I'd get it back if I continued to work there. I even considered giving it to him at first, but, that was my right. (It wasn't a big loss.) After finding out Friday was my last day, I asked him on Wednesday to return it, and asked him again on Thursday. But come Friday I didn't bother to say anything, and consequently it wasn't returned. So he essentially put his personal gain above his responsibility towards me—like Judas—and had sold-out. He kept telling me how busy he was, but most people would have made the effort to return it. I know I would have!

By the time Friday arrived, I had worked out most of the karma, and given up my "ill-feelings" about leaving, and I was looking forward to doing something else. I even dismissed my earlier reference to Good Friday. And yet there was another element to be played out. It involved another employee named Pete, who I wasn't formally introduced to until Thursday, the day before I left. This is when I brought up an issue about some "defective parts" and some electronic circuit boards. The person I spoke to told me to go see Pete, for he was the one who handled it. When I did, Pete said he'd look into it, and said he'd get back to me when he found something out. But I said he probably shouldn't bother, because Friday was my last day, and said he should get back to the other person I spoke to. He said he'd get back to me anyway, and then left me there, "perplexed." Well on Friday (afternoon), he came up to me and started telling me how the issue was being resolved. And I said, "Man, today's my last day! What's the point?" and got a little irritated. He then left and I figured that was the end of it.

Well it was getting close to quitting time, and I had finished a little early. I was anxious to go home—and, get on with my life. It's funny because I had to wait for everyone else to finish, when it was usually the other way around. There were only two minutes to go when I looked over at a table with some rejected parts on top (not the previous parts). And there were three rejection slips, and in big letters each had the word, "REJECT." And stamped in red letters next to it the number, "479" (i.e., 4793, 4794, 4795). And each slip was signed, "PETER" (how "Pete" signed his name). When I saw this I was aghast, for it appeared to be a formal rejection: i.e., REJECT—479, or who's affiliated with it—i.e., me! And I doubted myself, and thought surely I must have done something wrong. That Peter, Dionysus and Jesus' witness (in heaven) had rejected me. And I was very alarmed, and felt God had forsaken me! (I thought it was because of the "undue" attention I'd given myself earlier—"it wasn't the first time"—plus the fact that I was "slouching off" before quitting time.)

Then on Saturday it occurred to me that the same thing happened to Jesus when He died on the cross: when He says, "Father, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Matthew 27:46 And of course, Jesus said Peter would deny him "three times" before the cock crows!

Matthew 26:31-35 And Peter responded "twice," saying he wouldn't deny him (verses 33 and 35). Thus Jesus was telling Peter it's time to pass on and fulfill "God's plan" (or go on to something else?); and Peter, by "holding on," was denying Him. It's funny because this person Pete wouldn't acknowledge that I had to leave—twice! And, had rejected me (my number) three times in the last hour. Even as Peter denied Jesus thrice in the last hour.

Matthew 26:69-75

It also occurred to me that it's the "witness of Peter," which is typically missing when I enter a relationship at work. Thus I'm referring to the quality he represents, which needs to be developed in myself—and in others—if I'm to sustain anything worthwhile. But it's nearly always lacking, and rarely becomes substantial (explaining why I have few close friends). Its quality is explained in

Matthew 16, when Jesus queries the disciples about his identity: and Peter answers, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (vs 16). And Jesus says, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock [what the name Peter means] I will build my church..." (vs 17-18). And so it means we're all responsible for what we believe which, is foundation for The Church. So where is my witness?

And yet another thing happened on Saturday which gives more credence to the number 479. I went to the store to buy a circle and ellipse template, for redrawing the symbols in this chapter—"specifically." It was the funniest thing, for the circle template cost $4.79, while the ID of the ellipse template was 479! (And though they were too expensive, and I hesitated to spend the money, I bought them because of this.) Now it didn't occur to me until later, but here were the "two witnesses" again! Hence it brings up what happened six months earlier, when I considered buying a new word processor for $479. When I finally decided to buy it, in late March (1993), the price was reduced to $429, but when I got to the store it was reduced again, to $399. (It was being discontinued.) I still wanted to buy it, but there was only one left (a return) and, as I didn't care for the service, I decided to go to another store. I finally bought a word processor that day but, was talked into buying something different by the salesman—for $479! (Again the duplication of this number.) Because of this I decided to rewrite this chapter first on my new word processor, which seemed rather arbitrary at the time, but it's interesting how it all worked out. Also, this same model was available at the other store, and its price has since been reduced to $479! (as of August 1993).

45	As all of this was closely linked with Easter, it's occurred to me that the number 479 portrays the resurrection—or, "the ascension." Which is the badge ascending to the top third of the pyramid.