SIDE BAR NOTES
[1] To get the most out of this chapter, prereading the following Scriptures may be helpful: Ex 12:1-6, Nm 19:1-22, Jos 5:1-6:1, Est 3:8-13, Mt 5:1-18, Jn 11:1-12:19, Mark's Passion Nar-rative: Mk 14:1-15:4 sup-plemented by Lk 23:44-49.
[2] Scientists have been searching for a Grand Unifying Theory that can mathematically link all the known forces of the universe since Einstein first proposed it decades ago. And once found many further believe a Theory of Everything will be revealed that will eliminate, once and for all, our need to invent a god to explain things. The 2/3rds Rule, however, seems to have, maybe, beaten them to it with its own all-inclusive theory, and one that is not quite what atheistic science would have hoped for, or even imagined. [3] One such instance (from Lk 22:31) is Satan’s desire to sift the Apostles like wheat, which can be seen (and commonly is) as a prophecy foretelling the splintering of the Church. This would imply that the verse that follows (Lk 22:32) is a prophecy of subsequent reunification. [4] Mt 24:14. [5] Rv 21:5, Rom 8:28. [6] A prime example is found in the story of Joseph, the Patriarch (Gn 37:1-50:26).
[7] Mt 19:16-17. But the “by faith alone” advocates can also legitimately inter-pret it as the 1st Command-ment telling us to believe in God, and the other 9 simply defining what that means.
[8] They are listed in two Books of the Bible (in Ex 20:1-17 and again in Dt 5:6-21). [9] Prv 3.6.
[10] The Commandment stages are found to conform best to the Roman Catholic enumeration. [11]
The Shepherd, by Hermas (ca 110 AD) may be the first good example of the early Christians using Commandments in cate-chesis.
[12] Mt 19:21 alludes to Mt 5:1-16 kicking in after Mt 19:17. [13] … just as many Church Fathers observed. See, for instance, St. Augustine (393 AD), On the Sermon on the Mount, I, 1-5, or St. John Chrysostom (390 AD), Homily XV on Mat-thew. [14] Dt 11:26-28.
[15] Mt 19:17, among others.
[16] Jn 15:13, NLT.
[17] This is evident by the place of honor Scripture tells us they enjoy in heaven (Rv 6:9-11).
[18] Periodicity: the qual-ity, state, or fact of being regularly recurrent (as with the elements in chemistry’s periodic table).
[19] This seems to be the predominent theory today, anyway, of how stromato-lites (the fossilized struc-tures they created) were formed (Reid, et.al. 2000).
[20] Living microbialites can attain a size of several meters in girth.
[21] And the same is true of the development of multicellular life (plants and animals) that arose at the start of Day 4. [22] To give an idea of the increase in potential, biologists subdivide all living cells into two categories: pro-karyotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotes consist of nothing greater than simple bacteria while eukaryotes are the cells that constitute every other living organism on the planet.
[23] Mt 5:3, KJV.
[24] The typical explan-ation from numerology is that 12 is the number of wisdom or completeness, which tells us essentially nothing.
[25] ... as was described in chapter 4, See Hester 2004 and also Siegel 2020.
[26] Belan 2022. And this is calculated on a wet basis. If water retained is not counted, the concentration is reduced to 93%. [27] The literature seems split on where to put the cut off for the essential elements with many assigning Iron to the trace minerals list since its concentration is slightly less than 0.01% (on a wet basis). At 0.006% it does, however, round up to 0.01% and it is higher than 0.01% on a dry basis. That may be why others (like Helmenstine 2019) include Iron with the essential elements. Or it could be due to how important Iron is to the health of the body. But, whatever the reason, the 2/3rds Rule concurs. Iron belongs with the essentials. [28] See, for instance, Neilsen 1999 in con-junction with Helmenstine 2019. [29] Jn 1:35-40. [30] The logical and commonly held conclusion when merging the seem-ingly conflicting accounts given in Jn 1:35-41 and Lk 5:1-11. [31] This prefer-ential treatment is par-ticularly apparent in Mt 17:1, 26:36 and/or as reported in Mk 9:2, 14:33 and Lk 9:28. [32] Mk 3:17. [33] Gal 2:9. [34] Mk 13:3. [35] Eph 2:19-21.
[36] The percentages used in the table are taken from Helmenstine 2019 and adjusted for a dry basis, using 53% (by weight) as a rough estimate for the water content of an average human body.
[37] Some can also be found in Scripture, but the first known mention of all 7 Orders leading up to priestly ordination is found in a letter written by Pope Cornelius (251 AD), as ref-erenced by Eusebius (ca 313 AD) in Church History VI, 43.
[38] Mt 6:25-34.
[39] This was as prescribed by Christ, who told them early on, “... do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” Mt 6:31-33, NABRE. [40] Mt 5:4, KJV. [41] Although the Orders of Porter, Exorcist and Subdeacon were suppressed in 1972 by Pope Paul VI, the 2/3rds Rule seems to be advocating here that they be restored, bringing the stages that led to the Priesthood back to the traditional 7, Specifically, they consist of the 4 Minor Orders (Porter, Lector, Exorcist and Acolyte) fol-lowed by the 3 Major Orders (Subdeacon, Dea-con and Priest). [42] Mt 19:21-22, Mk 10:21-22. [43] … for they shall be comforted, Mt 5:4, KJV. [44] Mt 19:29, Mk 10:28-30. [45] Mt 16:19 (but see also Is 22:19-23). [46] In that capacity, he would also later receive the charism of Infallibility, which can be seen as having been given him with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (as per Acts 2:1-4, 14-36). [47] Ryan 1908. [48] CCC 1568 and 1582-1584 (on the Sac-rament of Holy Orders). [49] CCC 880 (on the Sac-rament of Holy Orders). [50] Mt 5:5 KJV.
[51] Having apparently now earned enrolment into the Minor Order of Lector at the start of this Period, it suggests that much of the prior Period was devoted to giving the Apostles a working knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, so as to ready them for the preaching aspect of their later ministries.
[52] Mt 5:6, KJV.
[53] Ex 15:1-18.
[54] Mt 10:1, Mk 6:7, Lk 9:1-2.
[55] … in accord with the 3rd Beatitude.
[56] Mt 10:39, NAB (slightly paraphrased for clarity).
[57] Nm 13:1-25.
[58] Mt 4:2, Mk 1:13, Lk 4:1-2.
[59] Mt 6:16-18.
[60] With Moses fasting for 40 days on 2 separate occasions (Dt 9:11-25), it contains a sense of pro-phetic foreshadowing. So with Jesus now being said to have also fasted twice for 40 days, it is nice to see this prophecy finally being fulfilled. [61] Mt 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful ..." [62] Mt 5:6, "... for the sake of righteousness." And within this fast is found a lesson for all who think it wiser to choose our battles rather than allow the Holy Spirit to choose them for us. It also tells us that simply because we think we know our efforts will be futile, when it comes to saving souls, this is no reason not to try. Justice in fact, demands that we try. [63] Jn 11:1-44. [64] In the 2 other resurrection stories prior to Christ’s resur-rection (Lk 7:11-17 and Mk 5:22-43) there's no indication of Jesus doing it for the publicity. And in one (the raising of Jairus's daughter) He strictly forbade anyone speaking about it. [65] Jn 11:4. [66] Jn 11:6. [67] Jesus delayed going there by 2 days and was told on finally arriving that Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. Lazarus must have, therefore, been dead for at least a day when Jesus got news. And you can tell that Jesus knew He was dead by what He told His disciples on hearing the news, that the miracle He was going to be performing would be earth shaking (Jn 11:4). [68] Many commen-tators have taken this position and are easy to find on the web, but they will not be cited here out of respect for the good work they’ve done otherwise.[69] ibid. [70] Jn 7:1-9, in particular, but see also Jn 2:4, Jn 7:30, Gal 4:4 and Lk 22:15. [71] This is the position put forth, for instance, in the Expositor’s Greek Testament commen-tary. [72] Being associated with cleanliness rituals involving corpses, as is evident from the Torah portion that is always read on this unusual Special Sabbath (Nm 19:1-22), it makes the raising of Lazarus a very strong candidate for connecting to this Sabbath. [73] Nm 19:1-22. [74] Mishna, Parah 1:1. [75] Richman 2005. [76] ibid.
[77] Nm 19:19.
[78] Nm 19:4-6.
[79] Jn 19:29. [80] Is 1:18. [81] Heb 9:13-14.
[82] Mt 23:2-3 shows that the anger of the religious authorities towards Christ's ministry was strictly their fault and not because Jesus was intentionally trying to provoke them.
[83] Ecc 7:23 is said in the Midrash to refer to this mystery (Bamidbar Rab-bah 19).
[84] Lk 19:41-44 may have something to do with it, too, but Jesus's tears here (Jn 11:35) are now maybe best understood in light of the situation He now, found Himself in. For He must have known that this wonderful miracle He was about to perform was the act that would bring about His own death sentence, And the subtle irony of it all would have gotten to anyone. [85] But Caia-phas's puzzling attitude is not unprecedented. It is also seen in Pharaoh’s reaction to the ten plagues of Exodus (Ex 9:12, 10:1, 10:20, 10:27 & 11:10). Their intent was to soften Pharaoh's heart, but Scripture tells us they, too, sadly, had the opposite effect. [86] Jn 11:50, NIV. [87] Mt 5:7. [88] It is also the eve of a very appropriate secular com-memoration, the Ides of March. [89] Mk 1:34, Lk 5:14, Mt 16:20. [90] Periodicity and the Beatitudes both suggest that this change in approach may have started with Jesus's intentionally high-profile raising of Lazarus. But the primary focus of the Beatitude seems more to ponder what might have been for Jerusalem (and the world) had the Sanhedrin chosen to show mercy over their misguided notion of jus-tice. [91] Mk 6:13, Jn 4:1-3. [92] Mt 11:5. [93] Is 35:5-6. [94] Is 1:2-20. [95] Mt 5:8, KJV.
[96] ... recalling that each new day of the Hebrew calendar began at dusk. [97] ... recalling also from chapter 1 that it is so named for the messianic Scriptures read on this day, Mal 3:23, in particular, which speaks of “the great and terrible day of the LORD.” [98] Ex 12:1-3. And the purpose of doing this as much as a week in advance is presumedly to allow the lamb to become part of the household. [99] Jn 12:1-9. [100] In the Temple Sacrifice system, red paint was used to mark animals selected for later sacrifice (Babylonian Tal-mud, Bekhorot 58b). Red paint would be inappro-priate for use with a human, however. So for Jesus perfumed oil can be said to have taken the role, with the effect being the same. [101] Christ (liter-ally: the anointed one) from Jn 12:1-4 in fulfillment of Dn 9:24. [102] 10 Nisan pulls double duty in the Old Testament. Along with marking the day the Jordan River was parted (Jos 4:19) it is also the original Pascal Lamb Procurement Day (Ex 12:1-3). But that day being, by tradition, also a Sabbath, lamb procurement was assigned to Shabbat HaGadol, the last Sabbath before Passover. [103] The Lion of Judah: a reference to the common Old Testa-ment understanding of the Christ as a conquering hero, as per Rv 5:5 and 1QSb 5.29 (from the Dead Sea Scrolls), and originally derived, perhaps, from messianic prophecies found in Gn 49:9 and Mi 5:1-7.[104] Zec 9:9-10. [105] Jn 12:16. [106] ibid.
[107] From Mk 14:1-9 (but also found in Mt 26:3-13). And there are admittedly a lot of similarities between this 13 Nisan anointing from Mark's Gospel and the scriptural description of the 9 Nisan anointing found in John's Gospel. They are so similar, in fact, that many believe they are simply two slightly contra-dictory accounts of the same anointing, which occurred on either 9 Nisan or 13 Nisan (not both). The 2/3rds Rule insists, however, that, although some of the details may have gotten jumbled together, they are still two separate anointings. [108] Mk 14:7-9, NAB. [109] It took place presumedly over a few days (Jos 5:1-9) after they arrived on 10 Nisan (Jos 4:19) and before their first Passover Seder meal on the evening of 14 Nisan (Jos 5:10-11). [110] This seems to be St. Paul’s opinion, anyway (Col 2:11-13, Rm 2:25-29, Phil 3:3), Jeremiah, too (Jer 4:4) and it is the opinion of the Church (CCC #527). [111] It is probably no coin-cidence, then, that Jesus referred to His own death as a form of baptism (Mk 10:38 and see also Rm 6:3). [112] Jos 5:9, NABRE.
[113] With the many wea-pons He gave us for conducting spiritual war-fare at Calvary, we (His Body) had all that was needed to finish the good work Jesus had put in motion (Jn 14:12).
[114] Mt 5:9, KJV.
[115] Jn 12:6.
[116] Mt 26:1-15, Mk 14:1-11.
[117] Along with Venus Verticorda, Veneralia is also the feast day of her companion deity, Fortuna Virilis, which loosely translates to Judas’s ultimate undoing (the fortunes of men). But in recognition of what they inspired, both deities are better understood to be demons. [118] Lk 22:3, Jn 13:2, 27. [119] Est 3:12-13. [120] Est 7:10 tells of Haman being impaled by being thrown onto a stake that was 50 cubits high, whereas Acts 1:18 tells of Judas's insides spilling out after he'd fallen headlong from a height. [121] John's Gospel does not make the distinction. But the other 3 clearly refer to the Last Supper as a Passover Seder (Mt 26:19-20, Mk 14:16-18, Lk 22:13-14).
[122] Jn 13:7-11, NABRE.
[123] 1 Cor 6:11, Eph 5:26, Ti 3:5, Heb 10:22.
[124] St. Augustine of Hippo (ca. 400 AD), Tractate # 56 on the Gospel of John. [125] Pope Benedict XVI 2011, 73-74.
[126] Ritual hand and foot washing as a fixture of worship predates Christ-ianity. But with Christ commanding His disciples to wash each other’s feet (together with St. Paul's exhortation in 1 Tm 2:8), the early Christian writings show it was recognized for its efficacy in the removal of sin and elevated to a sacramental level as a requirement for spiritual purification prior to certain liturgical undertakings (Thurston 1912). See, for instance, St. Augustine of Hippo (ca. 400 AD), Tractate # 55 on the Gospel of John. [127] Jn 20:19-23. [128] Mt 26:26-28, NABRE. [129] Jn 6:48-51. [130] Each day, that is, except on the Sabbath, as per Ex 16:4-35. [131] Jos 5:10-12.
[132] Jos 5:13-6:24.
[133] This would include the enactment of all 7 of the Sacraments at Calvary, the enlisted aid of His Blessed Mother and the instillment of hope for eventual Justice, Salvation and the Resurrection (not to mention the added aid provided by the Paraclete who would soon be arriving at Pentecost). [134] Jn 6:22-71. And that Jesus did not alter His message to assure the crowd He was only speaking metaphorically, even after they started deserting Him for saying it (Jn 6:66-68), makes it hard to deny that it was meant to be taken literally. [135] Mt 26:26-28, Mk 14:22-24, Lk 22:19-20, 1 Cor 11:23-30, along with the writings of the earliest Church Fathers, such as St. Ignatius of Anti-och, who were emphat-ically taught by the Apostles, themselves, that the Eucharist truly is Christ’s Body and Blood. See, in particular, St. Ignatius’s condemnation of those who reject the true presence in the farewell letters he wrote to the Smyrnaeans and to the Romans (ca. 117 AD) while awaiting his martyrdom. [136] 1 Cor 11:27-31. [137] Heb 9:4. [138] God spoke to Moses from the Ark, Ex 25:22. [139] 2 Sm 6:6-7, 1 Chr 13:9-10. [140] CCC 1415. [141] In the 2nd book in this series, miraculous bonds will be shown to manifest at the end of every 2nd Period of Creation. [142] Jn 10:30, 17:21. [143] Pope Paul VI 1968. [144] Jn 14:27. [145] Jn 17:20-21, 1 Cor 10:16. [146] Lk 22:19. And St. Paul says it, too, in 1 Cor 11:24, 25. [147] This specific belief was ratified in 1562 at the Council of Trent (Session XXII, Canon II) as part of the Counter-Reformation. But the tradition that Christ endowed His Church with the Sacrament of Holy Orders at the Last Supper dates back to the early days of Christendom (Ahaus 1911). [148] Broussard 2017. [149] Ex 29:36, 38, 39, 41 and Lv 9:7 (as translated in the Greek Septuagint). [150] It would be a fulfillment of Mal 1:11. [151] Ex 40:23-13, 30-32.
[152] Mt 5:10, KJV.
[153] The 5th century BC attempt by the archvillain, Haman (from the Book of Esther), to have all the Jews in the world killed off by decree of the Persian emperor, would count as one. [154] Mt 2:13-15, 19-23. [155] Jn 8:59, 10:31, 39, Lk 4:29-30.
[156] Lk 22:15.
[157] Sometimes translated sin offering (2 Cor 5:21, NLT). See also Gal 3:12. [158] He's known this day was coming from the beginning, but there is a marked change in Christ’s demeanor after He has departed for the Garden. He shows uncertainty and His stress levels seem to go through the roof (Lk 22:41-44), all signs of sin induced anxiety. [159] Col 2:13-14, 1 Pt 2:24. [160] That is, provided, of course, He remained faithful to the Father. [161] Jn 13:2, 21-30. [162] Through sin comes death (Rm 5:12). Conversely, where there is no sin, Satan has no power. [163] Rather than cite every reference, suffice it to say that the rest of this Level is a summary of the Passion narratives found in Mt 26:36-27:56, Mk 14:32-15:41, Lk 22:39-23:43, Jn 18:1-19:37. [164] Ryan 2017. And it breathes new life into a Bible verse, Mt 24:34, often cited by critics as erroneous. [165] This is admittedly speculative, but it’s based on countless personal testimonies of how sin clouds judgment, induces anxiety and alters perceptions of reality. [166] Mt 26:39, 42, Mk 14:36, Lk 22:42. [167] With the Sacrament of Matrimony being brought under the canopy of the New Covenant at Cana, together with the establish-ment of the Sacraments of Baptism, Extreme Unction, Communion, Holy Orders and now Confirmation in this and the previous Level, one Sacrament (Reconcil-iation) remains to be established. And we'll be given that one on the night of Christ's Resurrection (Jn 20:19-23). But all seven will be validated with the completion of His mission on the Cross.
[168] The time of day was 8:57 AM, according to the 2/3rds Rule, about 9 AM according to Mk 15:25. But Mark's Gospel lists that as the time of the Crucifixion. which is incompatible with the other Gospels, Jn 19:14, in particular (see note 170). So the literal translation of Mk 15:25 remedies the situation, somewhat, by sayimg that it occurred on the third hour (which ran from 9 AM to noon). Mark's timing by this solution is, thereby, understood to be a generalization with the prelim-inaries involving Pilate that led up to the Crucifixion running from around 9 AM to noon. [169] That story will be expanded upon in the next chapter. [170] Mt 5:11-12, KJV.
[171] This is a repudiation of the medieval Felix Culpa (Oh Happy Fault) belief (still popular today) that it was our fall from grace that forced Christ to come here. And in its thorough rejection of it, the 2/3rds Rule argues, instead, in accord with the 14th century counterargument offered by the Franciscan friar, Bl. John Duns Scotus. [172] … as prophe-sied in Gn 3:16.
[173] Also known as, the place of the skull and Calvary.
[174] Jn 3:14-15.
[175] As per Nm 21:4-9, Moses had a serpent made of bronze raised up on a pole to deal with a rash of snake bites that was plaguing the Israelites in the desert, so that all those bitten who looked at it would be healed. [176] Jn 3:15 supplemented by phraseology found in Nm 21:9 (NABRE). And this is an eternal truth, applicable for all who do this, then, now and forever. [177] In slight contrast to Mk 15:25 (see note 161), Jn 19:14 reports that Jesus began carrying His Cross to Calvary around noon. So, in accepting John's eyewit-ness testimony and allowing Jesus an hour to get there, it places the Crucifixion right around 1 PM, which is 1 minute after where the 2/3rds Rule might want to place it. [178] This would certainly have been true of John and the holy women, but likely not of the Blessed Virgin, who, having already braved death many times for love of her son, should have already been at that level. [179] Ps 22:2, Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34. [180] Is 53:10-12.
[181] Implied by and para-phrased from Jn 15:13
[182] In accord with Jn 3:13-14, Gal 3:13 and Dt 21:23. [183] That is how Is 52:13-14 describes it, any-way.
[184] Scripture tells of several conversions (the Roman Centurian and his companions in Mt 27:54 and the good thief of Lk 23:40-43) and suggests in Lk 23:48 of there being others. [185] ibid.
[186] Prophesied in Lk 2:35.
[187] Rv 8:1, NAB. And within this verse there seems to be a heavenly suggestion as to how we, too, should be observing, every year, those last 40 minutes of Christ's life on Good Friday.
[188] 1 Cor 8:6.
[189] 2 Cor 5:21.
[190] Gn 2:2-3, NABRE.
[191] And for those unfamiliar with Periodic Tables, it should be read one row (or one column) at a time, with the entire row (or column) being read before proceeding to the next row (or column). [192] The next book of this Series is highly recom-mended to anyone who may still be having trouble comprehending this chap-ter, because to really do justice to the final acts of the Creation saga they need to be viewed in context with the acts associated with all the preceding Levels.
[1]
To this point, the existence of the scriptural key proposed in chapter 1 has been pretty much proven. More proof will be provided here and further on. But what does it mean? Ultimately, this is left for every reader to decide. As for me, I’ve already stated my belief that we’ve clearly discovered a holy relic, the Word’s Creation timetable. But even that is inadequate to describe how powerful it is in discerning the earth’s secrets when all of this chapter’s enhancements are factored in. As will soon be shown, it really is nothing short of a theological theory of everything. [2]
And I believe this, not merely because of the statistics, or the wide range of complex theological issues it resolves, but primarily because the insights unveiled by this discovery do not provide the basis for a new religion, as have so many failed attempts of the past. In sharp contrast, every insight obtained through the 2/3rds Rule beautifully corroborates the long-held beliefs of a faith community that already exists. And for those few who might still be wondering which one that is, it is the Roman Catholic faith.
But it is not the bias of the discoverer that claims this. It is a simple mathematical formula that time and again seems to side with Catholic teaching whenever a controversial question on faith or morals is raised. It is as though the 2/3rds Rule was specifically designed to resolve this issue. There is no ambiguity about it. So my condolences to those who may have hoped for a different outcome (and my apologies to those who continue to reject these conjectures because of it), but I think any initial discord this might cause is more than offset by the 2/3rds Rule’s potential to bring unity.
And if it is any consolation, it needs to also be pointed out that where the Scriptures do allude to this future reunification, they don’t paint a picture of there being one winner in a field of also-rans. [3] In consideration of the many great traditions that have grown up independently in the separation, it is likened more to a merger where every faction is mutually enriched. And the resultant Church emerges as an unstoppable force. No longer paralyzed by infighting, it would be a body drawing strength from her Sacraments and the rich traditions of her Jewish roots, with no uncertainty in teaching, and so revitalized by the unchained spirit of the Reformation that the dream of worldwide evangelization (also prophesied) [4] might finally be realized.
And this separation and subsequent reunification theme is precisely the way one would expect God to accomplish this. [5] We see it used, not only in the Bible, [6] but also in the way the Word employs it as the central theme in the first Period of every Level of the Creation saga. This and many other insights that become emphasized through the 2/3rds Rule will be explored in the second book of this Series. And it cannot be overemphasized how spectacular the big picture becomes when natural and Salvation History are reviewed in their entirety, from the Big Bang to Calvary, through the lens of the 2/3rds Rule. From that vantage point every aspect of Creation is seen to give glory to God and all the many attributes of the 2/3rds Rule are exposed as well.
In this book, and this particular chapter, however, we will be focusing solely on the conclusion of that great saga where all the Word’s labor finally came to fruition. But this being at the heart of what Christianity is all about, we’ll need to make use of every tool the 2/3rds Rule has given us pertinent to this time, to ensure we obtain as clear an understanding as possible. Accordingly, two additional attributes, which do not become self-evident until the second book, will be invoked for this one. They are 1) the 2/3rds Rule’s relationship with the Beatitudes and 2) its Periodic nature.
The 2/3rds Rule and the Beatitudes
When reviewing Levels III and IV of Creation (described in the second book in the Series), it is hard not to notice and be impressed at how the themes of the Periods of those Levels seem to parallel those of the Ten Commandments. And this is understandable. Scripture tells us that one of the basic requirements of salvation is to keep the Commandments. [7] So after our fall from grace and a divine response was necessitated to bring us back from that deplorable state, it is logical the Word might have done so (in the 10 periods that stretch from Eden to the start of His earthly ministry) by teaching us to adhere to those Commandments, one Commandment at a time.
Those Commandment stages will not be discussed in detail here, nor do they need to be. Of much greater importance, is the simple recognition that, this being true, there must be a progression of holiness with regard to keeping the Commandments, [8] whether by a society or by the individual.
In a nutshell, since God must be the top priority of our lives, [9] the Decalogue starts out with Commandments instructing us on our proper relationship with Him. We must believe in Him, and no other. We must show him the proper respect. And we must set aside time for worship. The next Commandment after that pertains to showing the proper respect to those God has raised up to have authority over us (whether it be our parental, religious, or civil authorities). And this too is very important, for in failing to do it, the entire fabric of society may break down.
Once we’ve gotten those down, the next four Commands involve our personal interrelationships, and the progression is easily seen once again. First, and foremost, in this category, we must suppress our violent tendencies and especially not murder anyone. And that includes resisting the temptation to do violence against the family by rejecting any urges to commit adultery. Steering clear of those temptations, we’re told to show further respect for our neighbors by not stealing from them or testifying falsely against them. And ultimately, we need to change our hearts (the final Command) such that we are not predisposed (coveting) to commit those graver sins. [10]
The Church has made use of these Commandments from the dawn of Christendom as an invaluable teaching tool, [11] and so apparently did the Word to rehabilitate us. But as was mentioned, these Ten Commandments are expended right at the start of Jesus’s ministry indicating that at least one pocket of civilization (that of the Jewish tradition) has gotten through all the necessary hurdles and her people are finally ready to receive their promised Messiah.
And this is the point where the Beatitudes are introduced to further describe how the Church is being formed in each successive Period all the way to Calvary. It is identical to the way God forms us, if we allow it. We must first learn to abide by the Commandments. And, after we’ve gotten those under our belts, we are ready to receive the blessings for righteous living, the Beatitudes, as laid out by Jesus (in the Gospel of Matthew) at His Sermon on the Mount. [12]
And there is a definite progression in holiness to be found in the Beatitudes, as well. [13] The first simply tells us we are blessed by being poor in spirit (that is, by not putting much emphasis in our lives on temporal things). And that is basically the same thing as not coveting our neighbor’s goods (the 10th Commandment). So, what Jesus is telling us here is what the Book of Deuteronomy has already told us, [14] that if we adhere to all the Commandments (even unto the 10th) we will be blessed.
And what is the blessing? The 1st Beatitude tells us that too. It is the Kingdom of Heaven. Keeping the Commandments is our prescription for salvation. And this is not the only place in Scripture where we read this. [15]
Moving on, the next 3 blessings we receive are for making internal changes and after that the blessings are given out for our righteous interactions with others. And finally, once we’ve ascended to a certain level of righteousness, we see that the world has taken notice, and it begins to persecute us. For this achievement, God has reserved the greatest blessings.
And this implies that a final blessing be added to the 9 listed in Matthew's Gospel. It is, as Scripture tells us, the ultimate gesture any individual can make, for there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [16] And the blessing for this, the martyr’s crown, is also the highest found in Scripture. [17] So with Ten Beatitudes corresponding to the Ten Commandments we are taken all the way to the foot of the Cross where Christ, Himself, is the recipient of the greatest of all the blessings.
This relationship between the Beatitudes and the Church is very useful for discerning Christ’s underlying blueprint for its formation (and it will be demonstrated shortly), but the added light it provides is nothing compared to that of the 2/3rds Rule’s most powerful attribute.
The Periodic nature of Creation
In the last chapter, it was shown that the 1st Period of every Level is associated with three great Lights: the first occurring at the onset of the Period, the second (somehow begotten of the first) appearing 2/3rds of the way into the Period and the third appearing at the end and proceeding from the other two. And we just saw this being played out again in the 1st milli-Second of Level V. But it is not just the theme of the 1st Day of Creation that seems to repeat itself. When they are thoroughly examined, all the themes of the Days of Creation seem to repeat themselves throughout the Levels. And this Periodic aspect of Creation (its Periodicity) [18] provides us with an extraordinarily powerful means of unraveling mysteries throughout both natural and Salvation History.
Is there a particularly cloudy Period? Take a look at the events of the same Period in a different Level and suddenly, the veil is lifted to give us clues as to what may have transpired. In this fashion, we can get a very good understanding of the final fate of the Neanderthals, the whereabouts of Israel’s lost tribes and many other great questions from antiquity. But again, we are not going to get into that here. Those mysteries are also associated with Levels III and IV and are dealt with in the next installment. We can, however, use this tool to get a clearer picture of the events of Levels V and VI. To do that, we need to revisit chapter 2 and the Genesis Creation account (as science has fleshed it out for us) to find the central theme associated with each of the 6 Days.
As to the 1st Day, it was already determined in the last chapter to be all about Lights (3 in total). And the 3rd Light is life, arriving at the end of the Day and simultaneously with the ignition of the Sun in our primordial solar system. At this point, however, living cells are prokaryotic, meaning that they have no nucleus and are capable of being nothing more than simple bacteria.
But on the 2nd Day, some of those life forms (cyanobacteria) have learned to extract energy from light via a rudimentary form of photosynthesis, and it is motivating them to migrate from the security of the ocean’s depths (where they may have originated) to the treacherous surface, where they are callously exterminated, as soon as they arrive, by the sun’s U/V light (but not all). The fortunate few that migrate to the seabeds of shallow lagoons also find themselves at an optimum depth where the waters above them provide the shielding they need but not so much that the sun's rays are entirely blocked.
Being so susceptible, however, in this new environment, to issues outside their control, like frequent dustings of sand from tidal forces, it was, nevertheless, a precarious existence. Entire colonies could be blocked from the sun and, thus, starved out of existence from such forces. But when that happened (and it happened a lot) new colonies would simply form atop the carcasses of those who'd just given their lives. And in so doing the new colony might find itself just a scrunch closer to the optimum location in the lagoon, until they too were wiped out to make way for the next colony to build upon them. [19]
It is not hard to imagine, then, that a few million years of this kind of microscopic layering might leave a mark. And it did. The fossilized remains of the structures that resulted, called stromatolites (or more generally, microbialites), are found through-out the globe. And such structures are still being created today. [20] As a whole they represent the first visible demonstration in our world of the heights that can be attained by living in community.
To be clear, however, these microbes have no consciousness of what they are doing. This is all happening simply by their attraction to the sun’s energy (and with the occasional subtle prodding of the Logos, of course). But, as was mentioned, it was not an easy time for them. And this was true in one other huge way, as well. The oxygen they are releasing in the process of photosynthesis is doing a real
a real number on the atmosphere, reducing its greenhouse gas levels to such an extent that it triggers a global ice age. And if that is not enough, life at this time was entirely anaerobic (meaning that in the presence of free oxygen they die). So being trapped under the ice with a deadly poison (the waste product of their metabolism) building up around them, there were, understandably, massive, localized extinction events popping up throughout the globe. A few cyanobacteria, however, soldier on somehow, even through that, and eventually, by the end of the Day their tenacity is rewarded. A bond is formed when, according to science, one of these communal bacteria ingests another in that community, and it, in turn, becomes its nucleus!
Now the science books do acknowledge that this was a watershed moment in evolutionary history. But they are also prone to downplay the mechanics behind it, so as to hide how truly miraculous it was that this should happen. These texts read, in that regard, like the proverbial cop at the site of an accident saying, “move along people, nothing to see here.” But don’t be fooled. That two individual life forms (in being and in purpose) would suddenly (or even gradually) abandon their individuality to morph into one common life form (in being and in purpose) is so bizarrely improbable by any conceivable natural mechanism that divine intervention is still the most logical way to explain it. [21] But it did happen. And the result is the first eukaryote cell, with life’s potential suddenly being increased a billion-fold. [22]
The way it works, the nucleus holds all the instructions (the DNA) and the various other structures within the cell, that developed as a result of this collaboration, carry those instructions out. This compartmentalizing of responsibilities allows the cell to grow more and more complex, with the interrelationships it forms with its various organelles eventually growing to include other cells. That, however, is the subject for another Day (the very next Day actually).
For this moment in time, the miracle of nucleation occurred alongside the arrival of another consequence of life’s utilization of the sun’s energy, the primordial ozone layer (and the beginnings of a U/V shield that will eventually allow life to thrive unscathed on the Earth’s surface). The eukaryotes, with their superior style of photosynthesis, begin producing oxygen (a byproduct of the process) at a much higher rate. And this may have had something to do with the world being plunged into two more global ice ages. So life continued to be in dire straits throughout the 3rd Day of Creation. But, being extremely versatile by comparison, it was not quite as bad for the eukaryotes as it had been for their prokaryote ancestors. And necessity being their mother, their first important adaptation was the innovation of sexual reproduction.
But this again was not just another mundane development, as science might like to describe it. In consideration of how comparatively simple the former method of reproduction (by cell division) is, it is again extremely difficult to explain, by natural processes alone, why such a convoluted system as sexual reproduction would have come about. Science may surely one day be able to tell us every coincidence that happened along the way to produce it. But it will likely remain impossible to explain why life on its own might have jumped over so many hurdles to create something so crucial to its evolutionary development without having had any foreknowledge of how vitally important it would be. Statistically speaking, it should not have happened.
But it did. And its importance cannot be understated, because it allowed for species diversification at previously unheard-of rates. Eukaryotes had learned to procreate as imitations of their Creator. And in so doing, by the end of the Day many of these eukaryotes had not only evolved to tolerate oxygen, they flourished in it. Life had learned to breathe, and the planet’s climate would soon be under the firm control of life, itself, with its newfound ability to produce CO2 (a biologically produced greenhouse gas) to balance things out. And with the simultaneous arrivals of recognizably multicellular plants and animals, life had also become, by comparison mostrously huge, with the newly dried land just sitting there waiting to be populated.
The world became life’s oyster throughout Day 4, with animals evolving from simple sponges, worms and jellyfish all the way to mammals. But of equal importance was the innovation of the five senses. And with the superior brain power of mammals, life could finally see (and recognize) the Light that had been the engine behind all the changes in the Level. Life could also now feel which led to the greatest development at the end of the Day, Love! With the advent of live births, and the need to nurture their young, that inextricable connection mother’s feel for their offspring was introduced, out of necessity, into our world. Maternal love originated here (the first of several new forms of selfless love that would arise and grow in the 4th Periods of all the subsequent Levels).
And this brings us to Day 5, which science is prone to label a huge mistake. It was 130 million years long and dominated by gigantic meat-eating reptiles. But they were completely wiped out at the end of the Day. And our ancestors, the mammals, didn’t develop much at all during this time. “So, what was the point?” is the common atheistic objection. To which the 2/3rds Rule chimes in with a ready response.
It wasn’t the mammals (or even the dinosaurs) that were the focal point of the Day. It was the earth itself that transformed. With the senses and feelings and love fully developed from the onset, the world became beautiful in response. Food became delicious. Animals became graceful and colorful. And plants became majestic. The birds, the social insects, the butterflies, the fireflies, the flowers, all the fruit bearing plants, and many modern trees originated here. Or as the Bible might put it, the earth was quite literally transformed into a land of milk and honey. And it was all due to natural selection brought on by life’s new sensibilities and a new-found appreciation for itself. It was not a waste. It was the culmination and reward for an eon of labor. The Word had taken a brief detour to beautify our world, as life patiently awaited the arrival of a new Light to herald the next Level of Creation.
And the theme for this Day, along with those just described for the other Creation Days are what we should be seeing in the 6 Periods of all the Levels (as shown in Figure 5.1).
So having now determined the recurring themes of each of the 6 Periods, those themes, when merged with the Beatitudes, should give us all that is needed to adequately decipher the higher Creation Levels, starting with the 5th. And for the sake of clarity, it will be better to start completely over than to try to pick up where we left off. Having already gone over, in detail, the first 4 Periods of Level V in chapter 4, however, to minimize redundancy their coverage here will primarily be a summary.
The completed coverage, in this chapter, of Levels V, VI and VII, should now, nevertheless, be understood as the equivalent of a Gospel narrative. But it does not really offer any new material. It is rather an enhancement constructed entirely of those events given us either directly (or implied) by the 4 New Testament Gospels, its primary distinction being its division into time Periods to emphasize the importance of each step in the creation of Christ's masterwork, the Church. And for clarity each Period will also commence with a heading and subheadings to remind readers of the themes they should expect to see playing out in the Period.
One final caveat needs to be issued, however, before diving into this, because the idea of a new Gospel narrative may make some readers uncomfortable. And that is understandable. So it needs to be repeated that it does not knowingly, or intentionally, stray from the accounts given in the 4 New Testament Gospels. Its intent is simply to put a spotlight on a message they've already given us. The ordering of events, or the emphasis placed on them, may be in conflict with how they’ve always been imagined (or taught to be). In some places, this narrative may also be diametrically opposed to the teachings of some non-Catholic Christian sects. And traditionalists, even among Catholics, may find some of the conclusions that are drawn difficult to accept.
Be that as it may, this narrative was not created to push any particular agenda. It is simply a retelling of the stories pertaining to the final 5 years of a 15-billion-year Creation epic from the perspective of a mathematical formula that now seems extremely likely to have been given us by God. There may be other ways to logically pull all the data together. But, for now, what follows is the author’s best guess as to what happened using all the tools the 2/3rds Rule has provided, while being always mindful that staying true to Sacred Scripture is the highest priority. The interpretation that results may, therefore, be novel, but the inspired Word of God is treated, throughout, as sacrosanct. That said, we begin, once again, at the start of Creation Level V.
The Ministerial Years (Creation Level V) – revisited
Period: milli-Second 1 of Creation Level V
Defining Dates: September 22, 28 AD to September 27, 30 AD to September 30, 31 AD
Span: 2 years, 5 days + 1 year, 2.5 days = 3 years, 7.5 days total (approx.)
Central Theme: Light / Initiation
Description: Three great Lights appear, the 1st at the start of the Period, the 2nd in the middle, and the 3rd (begotten of the 1st and 2nd) at the end to become the focus of the entire Level.
Beatitude: The 1st – “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [23]
And, as may be recalled from chapter 4, this 1st milli-Second of Creation is where the first physical manifestations of Christ's Church is seen on earth. It begins with the 1st Light (John the Baptist on the 1st day of Sukkot in 28 AD) and the 2nd Light (Jesus on Yom Kippur in 30 AD) beginning their respective ministries. And by their interaction, the Church's first Sacrament is brought under the umbrella of the New Covenant. It is Baptism, the Sacrament of Initiation.
Jesus and John are also attracting throngs to hear them speak with many being baptized into their movements. And at the very end of this 1st Period (which is also the start of the 2nd), on Simchat Torah in 31 AD, we see that 12 of these early followers are selected for special assignment. They are to be Christ's 12 Apostles and will one day constitute the clerical arm of the Church. They are also, therefore, the 3rd Light of this Level. And they will be elevated to a higher level of spiritual development as the Church’s first ministers with each subsequent Period.
So in their selection the Church can be said to have come alive at the end of this 1st Creation milli-Second, just as it has been determined that the very first organisms received the gift of life at the end of the 1st Day of Creation. But if this is supposed to be the Church at its most rudimentary a question arises, "why 12?" It is certainly understandable that Christ might want to model it after the 12 tribes of Israel. But wouldn't it have been more logical to start with one or two Apostles then build up to that number? That, after all, is how the 12 tribes came into being. So how did 12 come to be the minimum requirement to have a living Church?
This is a question no one has likely asked before. But some may have nevertheless thought it, as there has always been something very mysterious about the number 12 and the place of prominence its gotten in both the Old and the New Testaments. It hints at there being a lot more to it than the standard numerological explanation. [24] And the 2/3rds Rule would appear to agree simply by posing this question. Fortunately, the Rule never seems to pose a question without similarly providing the answer. And this time, as it turns out, is no exception.
For the answer, though, we need to go back some 5 billion years to the arrival of life on this planet, as therein we see that life, at its most rudimentary level, is also made up of basic constituents. There are, in fact, 12 elements considered absolutely essential for life. And this has remained true for all later life up to and including human life.
For starters there's Carbon (the elemental backbone of all terrestrial life and the reason we call it Carbon-based). But it is reduced Carbon, meaning that every unbound orbital of every Carbon atom is occupied by a Hydrogen atom. And Hydrogen, which might be called Carbon's brother in this fight (since it transforms inorganic Carbon atoms into organic hydrocarbons) is also the first element, and the only element, of the 12, that originated in the Big Bang. [25] All the others were created and released in the supernovae of stars produced by the Big Bang. So, as was alluded to earlier, that's 2 of the 3 Great Lights of Creation Level I involved in the manufacture of these 12 essential elements (one coming from the 1st Great Light, the others from the 2nd).
But the basic building blocks of all known life are the 20 amino acids. All of the proteins and the self-replicating molecules (DNA, RNA etc.) in a living cell are constructed of them, exclusively. And they are not made of Carbon and Hydrogen, alone. Oxygen and Nitrogen are also needed for their synthesis. That is why all 4 are commonly set apart as the Primary Essentials of life. And indeed, roughly 96% of the mass of every living cell is accounted for by those 4 elements. [26]
After that there are 8 more elements considered absolutely essential for survival. [27] They are the essential minerals, Calcium, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Potassium, Sodium, Chlorine, Magnesium and Iron. And, when added together with the 4 Primaries, they constitute about 99.98% of the mass of a living cell. But that doesn't complete the list. There is also a smattering of trace elements that, although not quite as essential, are nonetheless necessary and beneficial for the health of the body. They show up in the analysis of the remains of any human body, which will commonly indicate the presence of as many as 60 of these trace elements. But the science is still out on most as to the role they may play, with more than half thought to be contaminants. [28] Nevertheless, the reader should already be seeing how the top 12 elements might relate to the Apostles. So let's take a closer look.
Andrew, the Apostle traditionally honored as Protokletos (meaning first called), was originally a follower of John the Baptist. [29] So, like Hydrogen, his origin story begins with the 1st Great Light of the Level, too. All the other Apostles were, however, drawn to the movement directly through Christ, the 2nd Great Light of the Period. As to Peter, the rock upon which Christ said He would build His Church, his brother, Andrew was also involved in Peter's initial conversion to Christ. [30] So the parallel of Peter and Andrew to Carbon to Hydrogen is easily seen.
Rounding out Jesus's inner circle of followers are the brothers James and John, [31] whom Jesus dubbed the Sons of Thunder, [32] without ever explaining why. Christendom has, nevertheless, acknowledged this elevation in their status, calling them, with Peter, the 3 Pillars of the Church. But, again, no explanation is given. [33] If James and John can be recognized, however, as being as vital to the Church as Oxygen and Nitrogen are to life chemistry, some of the mystery behind Christ's attitude toward them is peeled back and we get a better understanding of their roles.
But the Bible suggests that a 4th member of Christ's inner circle be added. It is the other brother mentioned among the 12, Peter's brother, Andrew. His role does not appear from the Gospels to be as pronounced as those of Peter, James and John. Like Hydrogen, he looms more in the shadows. But we read in Scripture of Andrew being included with the other 3, on at least one important occasion. [34] And it suggests many more. So, in thus extending Christ's inner circle to the same number as the 4 primary essential elements (with the roles of all 4 being similar), the parallel is, once again, driven home.
As to the other 8 Apostles, like the 8 lesser, but still essential, minerals of life, they played an important role, too. Scripture includes them with the inner circle Apostles, as the Church's foundation stones. [35] But the Church is not complete without also including all those who've built their lives on that foundation. It is a subset comprised of all of later Christendom. And just like the trace elements, many in that category are beneficial to the health of the body. But many more are sadly contaminants (some inert, and some, like Judas Iscariot, toxic). All in all, though, it is a remarkable analogy that works for every component of all three entities (the first living cell, the human body, in general, and the Church, Christ's Mystical Body). And for those who prefer a more succinct summary of these parallels, a table, Figure 5.2, is provided. [36]
Cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet dyed wool was to also be burned with the carcass. And blood from the slaughtered heifer was to be sprinkled in the direction of the Temple 7 times. [78] This imagery (the wood, the hyssop and the blood), being so emblematic of Christ's execution just outside the city, the early Christians had no difficulty seeing Jesus as the embodiment of the red heifer, [79] with the scarlet wool representing the sins [80] that His blood washes away. [81]
There is a lot, therefore, that favors the Father aligning the miracle with Shabbat Parah. And one side benefit is that it largely obliterates any further thought of Jesus delaying for a self-serving political gain. In fact, the Sabbath would have been the most politically incorrect day He could have chosen back then, making it more a detriment to His cause than an advantage. And although He did often anger the religious authorities, it could never have been intentional. [82] Justice demanded that He play by God's rules. So the idea that He might have waited until the Sabbath for some countercultural advantage can be ruled out, as well.
It is an elegant solution, but the argument for Shabbat Parah is still largely circumstantial. It would be very nice, therefore, if there was just one piece of hard evidence to really tie together the miracle with the Sabbath. And as it turns out there is. It involves an ancient mystery surrounding the ashes of the red heifer, that Christ's death on the Cross only partially makes sense of. It is also a mystery that, according to Jewish tradition, King Solomon, in all his wisdom, could not explain. [83]
The mystery lies in the fact that although the water of lustration was used to cleanse the defiled of impurity, Scripture also reports that it caused the priests involved in making it to become impure. So the problem that stumped the rabbis (and Solomon, too, supposedly) was how one substance could both purify and defile. And it does have to be considered the height of irony that the person involved in removing an affliction from someone should gain the affliction for their efforts.
Jesus, of course, made sense of that conundrum by taking our iniquities onto Himself at the Cross. But as a prelude to Calvary, isn’t that same wondrous irony also on display in His raising Lazarus from the dead? Jesus had fasted for 40 days to change the hearts of the Sanhedrin. He had shown them every imaginable sign to help them repent and accept Him. But in the end, it would only make Him weep, [84] as their hearts got even harder. [85] This raising of Lazarus would provoke, at the very end of this Period, Caiaphas’s famous reply.
It is better [he said] that one man die … than that a whole nation perish. [86]
The life He'd restored would come at the expense of His own. And Jesus knew the cost before He even did it.
Period: milli-Second 5 of Creation Level V
Defining Dates: March 14, 33 AD – March 27, 33 AD
Span: 13.6 days
Central Theme: Preparation
Description: The world is made more beautiful in response to the display of love.
Beatitude: The 5th - “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” [87]
Holy Order: Acolyte
It is the start of milli-Second 5. Jesus’s greatest miracle has now made Him a marked man and the date is March 14, 33 AD. [88] It is also a Special Sabbath, Shabbat HaChodesh, which is a second call to the Jewish people to prepare themselves for the month of Nisan and the Passover.
And the Gospels assert for the bulk of His ministry, Jesus did all He could to stay out of the limelight. To that end, He tried to keep His identity and even His healings a secret. [89] The timing just hadn't been right. With two weeks to go before Holy Week, however, Jesus has thrown all that aside. Having entered the "blessed are the merciful" phase of His ministry, Jesus is performing incredible acts of mercy for the people just outside of Jerusalem. [90] And the Apostles, having been schooled in the art of miracles in the last Period are joining in, performing great acts of mercy on their own. [91]
They are leaving no doubt (to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, anyway) that Jesus truly is the promised Messiah. For the people of Judea, the world has suddenly become filled with hope and beauty. The blind see, the deaf hear and the lame walk, [92] just as Isaiah had foretold, [93] but the Sanhedrin and the Temple authorities are having none of it. They are showing no mercy whatsoever, so neither will they (or their city) receive it. [94] And they were absolutely clueless, in that spring of 33 AD, of the calamities they were bringing down on themselves.
Holy Week (Creation Level VI)
Period: micro-Second 1 of Creation Level VI
Defining Dates: 7:40 PM, March 27 to 7:58 AM, March 29 to 8:33 AM, April 1, 33 AD
Span: 1.5 days + 3 days = 4.5 days total (approx.)
Central Theme: Light / Initiation
Description: Three great Lights appear, the 1st at the start of the Period, the 2nd in the middle, and the 3rd (begotten of the 1st and 2nd) at the end to become the focus of the entire Level.
Beatitude: The 6th - “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” [95]
Holy Order: Subdeacon
And this 6th Level of Creation begins with the logical onset of Holy Week. It is Friday, 7:40 in the evening of March 27, 33 AD, making it Shabbat HaGadol (the Great Sabbath), [96] the third and final Special Sabbath leading up to Passover. [97] This is the day the Jewish people were to procure their sacrificial lamb for the upcoming holiday. [98] And, according to John’s Gospel, Jesus was anointed on this night. [99]
He was the honored dinner guest in the home of Lazarus (whom He'd just raised from the dead) and his sisters, Martha and Mary, when Mary knelt down in front of Him, poured perfumed oil on His feet and dried them with her hair. For this He praised her and asked that she reserve some of the oil for His burial. And (in keeping with the messianic implications of this Sabbath) it is not difficult to decipher the higher meaning.
In those days when the time came each year to determine which unblemished, clean animals in your possession would be allocated for sacrifice, those selected would be marked with a blotch of red paint. [100] And by this anointing Jesus had just been similarly marked. It occurred in a slightly different manner than with sacrificial animals. But the use of perfume rather than paint served the same purpose in setting Him apart. The result was the same. He was now officially consecrated the world's Paschal sacrifice, the Lamb of God. [101] That was the 1st Light of Holy Week.
And one-third of the way into this 1st Creation micro-Second, on 10 Nisan (which was a Sunday that year), Jesus entered Jerusalem, in humble procession, offering Himself to the people as their Lamb. For Christians the day has been commemorated every year since as Palm Sunday. But, to the people of the city, it was the holiday of Yom HaAliyah, [102] the day they commemorated Joshua miraculously parting the Jordan River to allow the Israelites triumphant entry into the Promised Land. And the significance of Jesus entering their city on this particular day was likely not lost on the people, either. He was their liberator, the Lion of Judah, [103] the warrior-king sent from heaven who was going to set everything right. And they received Him on His entry, accordingly. That was the 2nd Light.
And by coming into the city on the colt of an ass, to align His entrances with an ancient prophecy foretold of the promised Messiah, [104] Jesus had actually orchestrated it that way. He wasn’t doing it, however, for those who honored Him that day. They mostly missed that connection, and Scripture says as much. [105] He did it rather, for all the later Christians, that we might look back on this day and see this prophecy fulfilled. [106] The Scribes and the Pharisees didn't miss it, though. They knew the Scriptures forward and backward and would have had no difficulty understanding who Jesus was claiming to be by coming into their city this way.
And the Beatitude associated with this Period perfectly describes the situation. The people, having heard of all His wondrous deeds outside the city, were ecstatic on finally seeing His arrival. It was the fullness of time; everyone could feel it. And in their hearts, made pure through their desire for baptism into His Church, He was the Son of God, in fulfilment of a thousand prophecies, come to save them from their oppressors. To the Temple officials, however, whose hearts were anything but pure, He was a charlatan, a common lowlife grifter, and a dangerous grifter at that. And He needed to be dispatched as soon as possible. They also saw, though, that doing it with the people being so fired up about Him was going to be a challenge. Little did they realize that Jesus would soon be removing that barrier, Himself.
He did this simply by telling the people the truth. He tried to do it gently, intermixing it with miraculous healings. But His main message was that He had not come there to overthrow the Romans as they'd hoped. His purpose was to show the people the proper attitude toward them: that they should pay their taxes, love their enemies and turn the other cheek when struck. He'd come for Jew and gentile. And it had to have been a hard message to hear, too hard for many.
Nevertheless, at the end of this 1st micro-Second of Creation, the 3rd Light of the Period was shining brightly. And it shone forth from a second anointing performed on Him just two days before Passover. But this one, He said, was in preparation for His death (implying that it was now imminent). [107] It was a woman again who did the anointing. And she did it by breaking open a jar of expensive perfume and pouring it on His head this time (not His feet). This provoked Judas to complain over the extravagance. And to that Jesus scolded …
Let her alone. Why do you criticize her? She has done me a kindness.
… by perfuming my body she has anticipated its preparation for burial.
I assure you, wherever the good news is proclaimed throughout world,
what she has done will be told in her memory. [108]
from the Temple, the red heifer became, to the Jewish mind, the scapegoat equivalent for Passover. [76] And that may explain how and why this Special Sabbath came into existence as a call to purification, in anticipation of Passover. Its location on the calendar being 1-week prior to Shabbat HaChodesh (the second call to purifi-cation) makes sense, too, since the purifi-cation ritual took place over 7 days. [77]
So we finally have a logical explanation for there being 12 Apostles. And all the other 12's in the Bible are explained by that answer, as well. Who would have thought that a little knowledge of biochemistry might eventually be the key? Or that having a familiarity with the field of chemistry might come in handy, too, when trying to decipher the written Word? The Mind of God is a marvelous thing to behold. And a better example cannot be imagined to introduce us to how effortlessly Periodicity pulls back the curtain on things always there but never before seen.
Moving on then to our next example, we come to the priestly formation program the Apostles now find themselves in, as there, too, a potential for higher understanding is found. It comes, this time, by aligning it to the 7 Orders the Church has designated for this path. This first one, into which they have just been symbolically enrolled, is the minor Order of Porter [37] (or, as the Franciscans refer to it, the Novitiate). And, yes, fitting their career paths into this framework may seem, at first, a little forced. But bear with it. As the Apostles progress further on this path, into the later Periods, Church intuition on this matter will be shown, once again, to be spot on.
And as a bridge to the next Creation milli-Second, Periodicity also informs us that, in their induction into Christ's formation program, the Apostles have been called to enter the seemingly treacherous waters of Faith. In their lives prior they had always been self-sufficient, believing that they, alone, were responsible for their own livelihoods. But they are now being taught to rely solely on God for their needs. [38] Having stripped themselves of their possessions (like Jesus and John before them) they have become, quite literally, poor [and not just] in spirit. And they do all this willingly out of their fascination for what Jesus and John have been preaching: the Kingdom of God. [39] They don’t yet know what that means. They know only that they want to be part of it. And that, for now, is sufficient.
Period: milli-Second 2 of Creation Level V
Defining Dates: September 30, 31 AD to October 1, 32 AD
Span: 367.5 days (which is approx. 1 year & 1 day, given that 32 AD was a leap year)
Central Theme: Communion
Description: Drawn into dangerous waters, the subjects of the Level work together and are miraculously bound at the end.
Beatitude: The 2nd - “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” [40]
Holy Order: Porter [41]
So within this Period we see, from the Beatitudes, that the Apostles should be grieving. And there may be some literal meaning behind this grief, too, with John the Baptist’s implied imprisonment at the start of the Period and his death at the end. But in a more universal context, it is maybe better understood as the grief we all feel for our former lives when we embark upon such a journey. It is not easy to abandon everything. [42] But Scripture also promises us consolation for the effort, [43] as did Christ for His Apostles. [44] Periodicity says this, as well, in suggesting that the Apostles got through the ordeal by supporting each other. And at the end of this Period when one in their number, Peter, was given the keys to the kingdom and the power to bind and loose, [45] it likens them all to organelles within the first eukaryote, with Peter becoming, in effect, the nucleus of that fledgling clerical body. [46]
Periodicity suggests further that there is an even greater sacramental aspect to all this. And in looking closer at the Sacrament that applies (the Sacrament of Holy Orders) we find in Catholic teaching that it confers on the priest an indelible special character, [47] that binds him to Christ, to the Church’s mission and to his brother priests. [48] The Catechism summarizes it this way.
When Christ instituted the Twelve, "He constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them." Just as "by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another." [49]
Thus, the Apostles were miraculously bound that day, to each other, to Peter and to Christ (in accord with Church teaching). And by drawing strength from this bond, they would not merely subsist in the impossible environment they were immersed in, like the first eukaryotes who foreshadowed them, they would eventually flourish in it. They are not there yet. And they are not yet priests either. But this bond has gotten them one step closer to both goals.
Period: milli-Second 3 of Creation Level V
Defining Dates: October 1, 32 AD to February 1, 33 AD
Span: 122.5 days
Central Theme: Transformation
Description: The subjects still in desperate waters are transformed by the miraculous bond
Beatitude: The 3rd - “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” [50]
Holy Order: Lector [51]
And as the Apostles continued their journey, we can see the Beatitude that defines this 3rd milli-Second of Creation suggesting that the difficulties involved in trying to live without all the trappings they used to identify themselves by have made this a humbling experience for them. But it tells us, too, that they have a lot to look forward to in staying the course. Their destiny, after Christ, their teacher, departs their company, is to one day lead the Pilgrim Church on earth. And humility will be for them a vitally important character trait if they are to be successful in that role.
They are still not yet aware of these things. But they will be by the end of the next Period. For here, however, they are still in the difficult "wax on, wax off," stage of their formation, knowing only that things continue to be hard, just not quite as hard as they’d been. When this all started for them, though, they were 12 pride-filled individuals all engaged in seeking their own end. As the Beatitude suggests, however, the bond that was formed is stripping them of their egos and teaching them to work together as a team.
And we can assume, therefore, by the way things went in Day 3, that by the end of the Period they have not merely learned to swim in these dangerous waters of faith, they have tamed them. They are virtually walking on water (as imitations of their master). And like their forebears at the start of the 4th Creation Day, the first multi-celled creatures, they are more than they’d ever been before and far more than just the sum of their parts. They are one in purpose and in mission. And as new creations (brothers in Christ) they were poised and ready at the start of milli-Second 4 to take on new challenges, with Christ being more than happy to oblige.
Period: milli-Second 4 of Creation Level V
Defining Dates: February 1, 33 AD to March 14, 33 AD
Span: 40.8 days
Central Theme: Retrospection
Description: Having tamed the deadly waters they’ve been thrust into, the subjects of this Level eventually “see the light” that invited them into it, with a new manifestation of God’s love also emerging in their hearts at the end of the Period.
Beatitude: The 4th - “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” [52]
Holy Order: Exorcist
This Period began on Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot. But the day prior (January 31, 33 AD) is a Special Sabbath. It is Shabbat Shirah (the Sabbath of Song), which commemorates the song sung by the Israelites as they crossed the parted Red Sea to escape Pharaoh’s army. [53] This seems a fitting occasion to describe the Apostles who have also just emerged unscathed from dangerous waters, and are primed, like the Israelites, to attain a higher level of responsibility in the Promised Land. In their faith walks with Christ, they have crossed over the boundary that separates them from the bondage of their former codependent lives and are now reliant solely on God as fully functional missionaries.
Having become well versed in the Scriptures in the last two Periods (as the Minor Order they attained in the 3rd Creation milli-Second suggests) they are also now deserving of graduation into the next Minor Order, that of Exorcist. And enrolling them in that Order is precisely what Christ, in essence, apparently did, as the various clues suggest that this is where He gave them authority over unclean spirits and then sent them out in twos on their first missions. [54]
Periodicity suggests further that the Apostles should have also obtained a new sense through their missionary activities. And having emptied themselves of their egos in the previous Period, [55] and now being engaged in selfless works of charity in this one, it is to be expected that they might gain some insights. It would be just as Jesus prophesied when he told them that all those who bring themselves to nought for [My sake], find out who they are. [56]
They didn’t know it at first, but they’d been on a journey of self-discovery. And in returning from their missions, they can now clearly see the Light that started them on this path. It is the Church and their own roles in it. And through their missionary work they have also discovered a feeling that they’d never experienced before. It is their newfound love for the laity. They are fathers now, spiritual fathers, with Periodicity suggesting that the inspiration for all the hospitals and charitable organizations that so typify the Church today originated in the hearts of the Apostles as they were being formed by Christ in that hope filled spring of 33 AD.
So how long were they away? One week? Two? The Gospels do not say. But an Old Testament foreshadowing of their mission, the story of the 12 spies sent by Moses into Canaan, may provide the missing information. That mission was one of 40 days. [57] And as might have been expected, that is also the exact number of days that make up this 4th Period. The Apostles don’t all leave on the same day, though, as is commonly portrayed. Scripture says rather that they were sent out sporadically. And the length of time each pair was gone is also likely only approximately 40 days. But the Apostles are not the only ones to whom these 40 days pertain in this Period. They apply to Jesus, as well. And, in that application, they tell us a great deal more.
For we are getting very close to Calvary now and Christ’s crucial role at the culmination of the Creation saga is taking more and more precedence. The Apostles are nearly trained and the holiday that marked the start of this Period, Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot (discussed at the end of chapter 4), has made it very clear Jesus has to prepare Himself for what is coming. The Beatitude associated with this 4th Creation milli-Second, which speaks of hungering and thirsting for righteousness is also very telling of what He does in response. Could this be the 2/3rds Rule’s way of telling us that Jesus has just commenced another 40-day fast?
Scripture has already informed us that He embarked on such a fast at the onset of His ministry. [58] And the Rule has confirmed (in chapter 4) that this happened, dating it to just prior to the start of this Level. In consideration of what He is about to face in Creation Level VI (Passion Week), is it not logical and even more appropriate that He would do the same just prior to the start of that Level, too? He would also be fasting while many of the Apostles are away on their missions that He might do it in a fashion He’d always told them to follow – in secret. [59]
Its not conclusive, but he math makes this fast more than mere speculation. So once again we are seeing that Church intuition (this time regarding Lent) may have had a New Testament basis. The very early Church did, incidentally, observe two fast periods in her Liturgical calendar (the other being Advent). And so, we are now being told, did Christ. [60]
And the Beatitudes, this one and the one that follows, give us some insight into the focus of this hypothetical second fast. He would have been fasting for mercy, [61] but not for Himself. His hope was to soften the hearts of those who despised Him, the Sanhedrin. He knew the terrible calamities that were to befall His chosen people for choosing the wrong path. And He also sadly knew that His fasting would be for nought. But justice still demanded He do everything humanly possible to try to stop it. It was just the right thing to do. [62]
And in one final attempt to win them over, John’s Gospel tells us that, just prior to coming to Jerusalem, Jesus performed a great miracle to prove who He was and make it seemingly impossible for the world to reject Him. He raised the man, Lazarus, who was four days in the tomb, back to life. [63] This was not the first time He’d raised someone from the dead. [64] But it is the only time, we’re told, that He did it specifically for the purpose of people knowing of it. [65] So it merits a closer look.
And one of the more intriguing aspects of it is that after receiving the news that Lazarus was sick, we’re told Jesus delayed going to him for two days. [66] Why should He have done this? That question has become the subject of controversy, with many of the opinions it has spawned displaying how woefully ignorant many modern Christian commentators are in the study of mathematics.
To begin with, when you do the math you realize very quickly that Lazarus would have already been dead when Jesus was informed of his illness. [67] So He wasn’t being callous about it and allowing His friend to die in order to make a spectacle out of his resurrection, as some have ridiculously suggested. [68] Delaying the miracle to when Lazarus was four days dead, rather than two, would definitely increase the dramatic effect of Lazarus being raised. But that also seems insensitive toward the feelings of Lazarus’s family.
It may be tempting, nevertheless, to adopt this milder solution arguing that the pain inflicted was justified to greater glorify God. And some are of that opinion. [69] But putting it in more modern terms, how might we react to a politician who delayed bringing aid to victims of a catastrophe to maximize the dramatic effect for his (or her) self? The politician might try to rationalize that it was for the greater good (their good, that is). But the charge of showboating would still be justified. And it is certainly not the sort of thing you’d expect of an all-loving God.
To seemingly stress this point, John 11:6 specifically adds when speaking of Jesus delaying his trip that He loved Lazarus and his sisters. So there should be no confusion as to the purity of Christ's motivation. In light of this many would argue (and in the author's opinion, correctly) that Jesus needed to delay to ensure there was also no confusion as to the gravity of the miracle. Lazarus being only two days dead when raised could have welcomed charges of a misdiagnosed death. But a resurrection after four days should have presumedly removed all doubt.
In line with this, Scripture also clearly shows that Jesus was always working off of a schedule set by His Father. [70] Many have, therefore, also logically concluded that it was ultimately the Father's schedule that called for the 2-day delay, [71] which suggests there may have been a set day for the miracle. In consideration then of all that has been discovered in this book, thus far, it gives cause to wonder whether there may have also been an observance linked to this day. If so, the 2/3rds Rule offers one highly plausible possibility. It is a Special Sabbath that would have occurred 1-week prior to the end of this Period. And it has a rather odd yet very appropriate theme. It is Shabbat Parah (a Sabbath created to commemorate the ashes of the red heifer). [72]
It is the first of 3 Special Sabbaths leading up to Passover. And this particular Sabbath is a call to purification. It comes from the Book of Numbers, whose prescription for ritual purification for anyone coming into contact with a dead body was to wash in water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer slaughtered outside of the encampment and burnt to ash for that purpose. [73] The mixture was called the water of lustration.
The Talmud adds that the red heifer was to be at least 3 years old. [74] And in the Second Temple Period it was to be taken across a special bridge built from the Temple to the Mount of Anointing where it was slain. [75] There being only two animal sacrifices required to be made outside the Temple (the red heifer and the Yom Kippur scapegoat), and this bridge being used to escort both from
This implies something much more than a simple anointing. And in looking to the Israelites again for a foreshadowing the timing is found to correspond exactly with a mass circumcision that occurred right after they’d entered the Promised Land. [109] Circumcision being also a fore-shadowing of Baptism (the Christian Sacrament of Initiation), [110] we should expect that there may be something similar happening here. But this was called the Second Circumcision (not the first) and it is also being applied to a second anointing implying that Jesus is giving us a new Sacrament here, an initiation Sacrament.
But it is not Baptism. He gave us that Sacrament 2½ years earlier at His own Baptism when He took our sins from the baptismal waters so that we mi
might be cleansed from them. In keeping, then, with all the clues this new initiation Sacrament should also be one that prepares us for entering a Promised Land. And in Jesus’s reference to His own death here that Promised Land would obviously be the hereafter. [111]
The Book of Joshua also tells us that this Second Circumcision was needed to remove from the Israelites, the reproach of Egypt. [112] So this Second Baptism should be expected to remove from our souls, the reproach of this world before we die. Why is this necessary? And how exactly does it do that? The answers will likely have to wait until after we get to that far shore.
But for here it is no wonder that this woman should forever be praised for what she did. In her great act of love the Sacrament of Extreme Unction was given us, with the chrism used in this Sacrament being presumedly sanctified that day in the same basic way that Christ sanctified the waters of Baptism by His Baptism. More than that, though, He was also telling us in this anointing that He was not merely the savior of Israel. He was to be the savior of the entire world, by becoming the Lion in union with the Lamb. And it would be by His dying for our sins in that capacity that He would overthrow Satan’s kingdom, through Love, not force. [113]
That was the 3rd Light of this Period, making it the defining Light of this Level. And it had to have been an especially difficult message for the Apostles who found themselves facing treacherous waters once again. The way the crowds were turning on Jesus, and after what He had just said, it could no longer be ignored that He had come to Jerusalem to be slain. And those who continued with Him would very likely reap the same reward. But they’d been through something like this once before (in the last Level) and they’d survived those waters. So to a man, they would endeavor to stay by His side. All, that is, save one.
Period: micro-Second 2 of Creation Level VI
Defining Dates: 8:33 AM, April 1, 33 AD to 8:51 PM, April 2, 33 AD
Span: 1.5 days
Central Theme: Communion
Description: Drawn into dangerous waters, the subjects of the Level work together and are miraculously bound at the end.
Beatitude: The 7th - “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." [114]
Holy Order: Transitional Deacon
As the holder of the common purse, Judas had always been able to find excuses to cheat while the others were emptying themselves and going through their Level V transformations. [115] And so, since he never fully committed, he never really experienced what they had, and he never obtained their level of insight. From his perspective, he was suddenly in the jaws of a suicide cult that he needed to extricate himself from as quickly as possible. They had all gone crazy, but he alone had the brains to make the best of a bad situation. Accordingly, on that Wednesday morning (which was at the onset of the 2nd Creation micro-Second), Scriptures tell us Judas, incited by the anointing, deserted the others and made his deal with the Sanhedrin. [116]
There is no Jewish holiday to commemorate this event, nor should there be, for what is there to celebrate? Today it is often referred to as Spy Wednesday because Judas, from this point on, had become a spy for the enemy camp. But back then, the Romans were observing a very telling holiday on that day. It was called Veneralia in honor of their pagan goddess, Venus Verticordia (the changer of hearts). [117] But demon goddess is perhaps a better descriptor in consideration of what was motivating Judas that day. [118] Today, in the west, however, we observe another very appropriate commemoration every year on this date. It was, after all, April 1 in 33 AD, April Fools’ Day, the day that Judas bet against God.
The Bible, too, is not to be silenced on the foolishness of Judas’s actions, for it was also 13 Nisan: the same day that Haman (the archfiend of the Old Testament) hatched his plot with the king of Persia to kill all the Jews in the world. [119] That Judas would soon after be driven to suicide in a manner quite similar to Haman's gruesome demise, is maybe to be expected. [120]
Judas and the Sanhedrin aside, there is a lot more to this Period than their plotting and scheming, as Jesus had a few plans of His own. And several would come to fruition by its end. So it is understandable that the 2/3rds Rule would make note of its finale. It all culminated on Holy Thursday evening, April 2, 33 AD, making it the last evening Jesus would see before His execution. And the time predicted, 8:51 PM, aligns it, very fittingly, with the Passover Seder He and the Apostles would have been observing. [121] It will come to be known as the Last Supper. And before it is over Jesus will have given us two new Sacraments and introduced ua to a third.
As it is described in John’s Gospel, after they had already reclined to eat, Jesus arose, grabbed a towel and a basin and began washing each of the Apostles’s feet. They objected at first, thinking it undignified that their master should do this for them. But He insisted, assuring them …
“What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.” [122]
So this was no ordinary foot washing. And in spite of how some might like to limit its meaning, there was much more to it than a lesson in humility. The last line of the above excerpt tells us clearly that the foot washing was just an outward sign, that while their feet were being cleansed of dirt, inwardly Jesus was cleansing their souls of sin. This is why He said that not all were cleaned. And, in consideration of the two Sacraments He was about to bestow on them at the dinner, it is understandable that Jesus would prepare them for it by doing this (the reason to be made clear shortly in the discussion on those other Sacraments).
But these verses also mention bathing as a means of having one's sins removed. And the reference to Baptism is not lost, as Scripture employs bathing phraseology several times to describe that Sacrament. [123] So Jesus is obviously introducing a new Sacrament in this act, one that cleanses us of the sins we’ve committed since our Baptisms. That is how the early Church saw it, [124] and still sees it today. [125] It is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is seen here in an unusual form. Acknowledging that, Jesus told His Apostles they would later understand. [126] And they presumedly did understand three days later (at His first appearance to them after the Resurrection) when He passed onto them His same power to forgive sins. [127] So this foot washing was just a glimpse of what was coming.
And since the only requirement of the penitent for having their sins removed through this Sacrament is a contrite heart, that would explain why Judas (who was anything but sorry for the grave sin he was about to commit) remained unclean. The question remains, however, as to why Jesus chose this particular form. And the answer lies with the two other Sacraments that were introduced that night, as both had need of this preliminary cleansing. They also show up, almost simultaneously, right after Jesus and the Apostles return to the meal. The first of the two is well known. It is the Sacrament of Communion. And the Gospel of Matthew describes it thusly ...
When they were seated again, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it,
and giving it to his disciples He said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." [128]
And within these words of invocation, the Holy Eucharist was born. It is the Bread from Heaven God told us of in a foreshadowing by sustaining the Israelites on manna each day during their time in the wilderness. [129] This manna appeared to them on the ground each morning like dew throughout those 40 years. [130] And Scripture tells us further that this miracle did not end immediately after they entered the Promised Land. To presumedly make sure everyone got the connection, God continued to provide them with manna until the day of Passover. [131] This means their first Seder meal in the Promised Land would have also been the last time they would partake of that heavenly food. And it would not be seen in the world again until Jesus presented it to us in its true and final form on this very same night in 33 AD.
This evening also marks a point of divergence, of sorts, between Jesus and the Israelites. We saw in chapter 1 that His life was on a parallel trajectory with their travails after they fled Egypt in the Exodus. The parallel started with Jesus being born into our world on the anniversary of the Israelites crossing the miraculously parted Red Sea to begin their long sojourn in the wilderness. And it continued for 40 years, with Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the same day the Israelites parted the Jordan River to finally enter the Promised Land, occuring near the end. But here, 5 days later on Holy Thursday, is where we see a baton being seemingly passed.
For their part, the Israelites seem to have seen the cessation of the manna that night as a sign of a right of passage. Or perhaps it was more a clarion call, because from this point on the Bible tells of them changing their focus to their campaign to reclaim the Holy Land from the Canaanites. [132] And some 1,500 years later a similar campaign began on this night, too. But it is no longer Jesus alone who will be fighting this battle. Through Communion it will be Jesus, together with us, His Body, that will be engaged in this spiritual warfare, with our goal being the reclamation of the entire world from Satan's stranglehold. And with all that Jesus will have given us over the next three days, [133] we will finally have the weapons needed to actually win.
But there are Christians who reject these foreshadowings and deny the Eucharist's transcendency. They claim, rather, that it is just some sort of metaphorical representation. And they take this position in spite of Jesus spelling it out pretty plainly throughout the 6th chapter of John’s Gospel that it truly is His Body and Blood. [134] The added testimony of the early Church Fathers on the matter (not to mention several other Scriptures) [135] does not phase them either.
They are not even moved by St. Paul's warning that taking Communion unworthily would bring down judgment and may even lead to sickness or death. [136] And he was not alone in saying it. The Old Testament symbolically warned of this, as well, in its description of the Ark, in which was kept a jar of manna. [137] And it was understood to be a transmitter for communicating with God, Himself, [138] making it a structure so holy, in fact, that merely touching it, regardless of the reason, would result in instant death. [139] The Sacrament being so precious and yet so dangerous, it is no wonder, then, that Jesus prepared the Apostles for it beforehand by cleansing them of their sins. And it is a practice required by the Church for licit reception to this day. [140]
But again, all these arguments are seemingly lost on those who deny the true presence. And this contraposition, being so entrenched that it can so easily ignore so much evidence, it is doubtful its adherents can be moved by further arguments, especially any coming from outside of Scripture. The 2/3rds Rule will, nevertheless, make an effort. And the argument it puts forth is a good one, because in telling us that this Sacrament was given to us as the last act of the 2nd micro-Second of Creation it aligns it with the last act of the 2nd Period of every other Level. And Periodicity informs us that this is the moment that the Word was to bestow upon the subjects of each Level a miraculous bond to help them cope with the challenges they are facing!
So just as it was at the end of the 2nd Day of Creation, when a simple one-celled organism was ingested by another to become its nucleus, and again at the end of the 2nd milli-Second of Creation when Christ’s Church was given its nucleus in the selection of Peter, [141] here on this 2nd micro-Second of Creation, God is giving us the ultimate gift, Himself, that, by our ingesting Him in the great Sacrament of the Altar, He can become our nucleus, that we can become one with Jesus, just as Jesus is one with the Father. [142] The Eucharist is not, therefore, just a metaphor. It truly is Christ, our Lord, in the flesh.
And in keeping with the Beatitude for this Period, those who partake of this Sacrament of Peace. [143] Christ’s peace, [144] become, as was said, one with the Son and thus sons and daughters (or children) of God the Father. [145] This is God’s prescription for world peace, if the world would only heed it.
But we are not yet done with all that transpired at that meal, for immediately after Christ said the words of invocation, “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood,” Luke's Gospel tells us He also tacked on the words, “Do this in remembrance of Me." [146] And the Church has held for millennia that in those words the Apostles were ordained into the priesthood so that they might provide the Sacrament of Communion for the laity. [147] Does this sound like maybe a stretch? It's not. But it's one of those arguments where it is helpful to know a little about the original language of the text. And some knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures is useful, too. [148]
As to the language, in modern English the word, "do", can mean many things which has led to a lot of ambiguity as to what Jesus was saying. And a common Calvinist interpretation might be that it means to partake of. In the Greek source text for Luke’s Gospel, however, the Greek verb for, "do" (poieo) is synonymous with "offer." And it is, in fact, translated that way in several verses of the Old Testament in the context of Levitical priests offering sacrifices. [149] Another (and maybe better) translation of that verse in Luke's Gospel, therefore, is “Offer this in remembrance of Me,” which sounds very much like a command to offer sacrifice: the primary function of a priest. [150]
But that is not the Bible's only argument in favor of this teaching. And maybe the most compelling is seen when comparing Christ's actions this night with the consecration rituals laid out in Scripture for the Levitical priesthood. Most notably, we read that candidates were required to be washed just prior to ordination, with specific attention being placed on washing their hands and their feet. [151] So the mystery of the earlier foot washing is resolved. Yes, Christ did it, first and foremost, to make it clear that spiritual cleanliness was a requirement for safe and proper reception of the Eucharist. But He chose to do this via the unusual mode of foot washing so as to also tell us that this was a night of ordination.
And as has been the custom, the 2/3rds Rule, once again, concurs, adding only that it wasn’t all accomplished in one night. The Apostles had been on a trajectory to the priesthood from the day they were selected, And in conjunction with the 7-stage pathway laid out by Catholic tradition on priestly formation, the heading of each Period since that day has noted their progress. Having been inducted symbolically into the Church's 4 Minor Orders in the last Level, and progressed through 2 more Major Orders in this Level, by the end of this 2nd micro-Second of Creation they had finally made it to the ultimate goal of their formations, the sacred Order of the Priesthood. Christ's work on them completed, His greatest task, saving the world, is still to come.
Period: micro-Second 3 of Creation Level VI
Defining Dates: 8:51 PM, April 2, 33 AD to 8:57 AM, April 3, 33 AD
Span: 12 hours, 6 minutes
Central Theme: Transformation
Description: The subjects still in desperate waters are transformed by the miraculous bond.
Beatitude: The 8th - “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." [152]
Holy Order: Priest
Looking back on Jesus's time among us, we see that He had to contend with many attempts on His life, with some coming even before He was born. [153] But from His perspective they would have likely never been more than a temporary annoyance. As a child it just meant that He had to live in Egypt for a while. [154] And as an adult, whenever angry mobs picked up stones to kill Him, for whatever reason, we read that He would just walk right through them, as though they weren't even there. [155] He knew that they had no power over Him so long as He was without sin. And He also knew that the Father alone has the power over life and death. So if the Father is allowing it, there is nothing for the true person of faith to object to, anyway. Even more than that, though, Jesus knew that in all those other incursions, His hour had not yet come.
But sitting with the Apostles that evening, after having given them the ultimate gift, His very self in the Eucharist, this was all about to change. He told them when He gave it to them how much He'd longed for them to have it, [156] It had been part of the plan, apparently, from the start. But He withheld it from them until the very end of His ministry. Why?
Reading a little between the lines, Scripture provides an answer by informing us that Jesua actually became sin for our transgressions. [157] This is a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is made. And His abrupt change in demeanor after the institution of the Sacrament, highly suggests that this is when and where it happened, [158] that in giving of Himself so unselfishly in the Sacrament to allow us to become one with Him, it also required that He become one with us. And that unfortunately included becoming one with our sins. It was also not in the manner of the Yom Kippur Scapegoat where they were just laid upon his shoulders. They had to become part of Him, so that our sins could be nailed to the Cross, just as He would be. [159]
Becoming one with us in the Sacrament had to have, therefore, been the hardest thing Jesus had to do in His ministry, because it cost Him His protection, His shield of sinlessness. So from that moment on everything else that was to happen to Him, every horrible thing, was set in motion, and there was no longer anything He could do to stop it. [160] His hour, in other words, had come, and Judas, Satan’s spy, was dispatched immediately to spread the news. [161] The Son of Man had just become vulnerable. [162] The Night of Shadows had begun. [163]
After Judas's departure, Jesus gave a short talk, and then departed the meal, as well, retiring to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray. It is also known as the Mount of Anointing, the Mount where the red heifer is slaughtered and immolated. But it is a stunningly picturesque area. And the olive trees that grow there are some of the oldest living things on the planet, with some that witnessed Jesus’s prayers that night, thought to still be alive today. [164] For Jesus, however, the beauty of that setting was likely the furthest thing from His mind.
Our sins were something He would have never before experienced, and it seems to have unnerved Him terribly. We can guess, from the text, that it brought a fog of uncertainty down on Him, just as sin does for all of us. No longer knowing, therefore, exactly what was going happen, all He may have now known with certainty was how He felt. And those feelings would have been telling Him that He had become a magnet attracting every evil thought and intention in Jerusalem. [165] And so He knew that it was coming. And He knew that it was going to be horrible. And He knew, from conversing with the Father in the Garden that night, [166] that there was nothing He could (or should) do to stop it, if everything was to go according to plan.
So when they did come to arrest Him, around midnight, as He knew they would, He put up no fight. And He also knew full well what the verdict would be at the mock trial they subjected Him to, regardless of what He might say. So He accepted all their abuse and opened not His mouth. [167] And by the end of the Period He was standing before Pilate, a man condemned to death by the Temple authorities, awaiting the next act of this horrible play.
For the Apostles, who found themselves still emersed in rough waters, the feeling of impending doom was with them, too. But it was becoming too much for them this time. The miraculous bond they’d just received could have helped immensely had they made proper use of it. But most didn't and it is a situation reminiscent of the 3rd Day of Creation. After those first procaryotes received their gift of a nucleus, most also did nothing more with it. They’d become eucaryotes at the start of that Day. And they remain simple one-celled eucaryotes to this day. Some, however, made use of the gift to become more than they had ever been or could have ever conceived of being. And by the start of Creation Day 4 they had evolved, by joining with other such creatures, into multi-celled lifeforms with real hearts that would one day be capable of knowing and expressing the same selfless love their Creator expressed in creating them.
And with the Apostles that night we see much the same behavior. Only a few hours earlier, they had all sworn to stay by Jesus’s side to the bitter end. But the moment He was arrested they all scattered with the exception of Peter and John. And by morning even Peter had faltered leaving John, as the sole representative of the Apostles to see things through. He was not alone, however. The holy women, which included Jesus’s aunt Mary (the wife of Clopas), the mother of James and John and Mary Magdalene, had also found the courage to stay by Christ's side. And by midmorning all (having been confirmed in their faith) were more than they had ever been before. [168] Together with Jesus’s Blessed Mother (who’d been confirmed in her faith many years prior) [169] they were the first that could rightly be called soldiers in Christ.
And when we, too, make use of that great gift of Communion to become what we were always meant to be (as did John, and the holy women) we have the promise that that tiny nucleus we’ve been given at the altar will evolve into a true heart (just as it did on the 3rd Day) capable of expressing that same wondrous love John and Mary and their companions witnessed on that great and terrible final day of Creation. It was a love that all of Jesus’s Apostles would eventually have to learn if His Church was going to survive what lay ahead. And John, through his bravery that day, would be the first.
Period: micro-Second 4 of Creation Level VI
Defining Dates: 8:57 AM to 12:59 PM, April 3, 33 AD
Span: 4 hours, 2 minutes
Central Theme: Retrospection
Description: Having tamed the deadly waters they’ve been thrust into, the subjects of this Level eventually “see the light” that invited them into it, with a new manifestation of God’s love also emerging in their hearts at the end of the Period.
Beatitude: The 9th - “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." [170]
The Beatitudes for the previous Period, and this one, are both applied to those being persecuted. In Creation micro-Second 3 it was a blessing applicable to those persecuted for the sake of righteousness, which fit well with what Jesus and His followers were going through. But in this 4th Creation micro-Second, the tense of the Beatitude is shifted from 3rd to 2nd person and the persecution is no longer for a nonspecific reason. It is a persecution for Christ’s sake. suggesting that it applies in this Period solely to Christ. But in a larger, more general, sense it could also be applied to any Christian since who has gotten so close to Christ in their faith walk that they’ve been granted the privilege of knowing firsthand a little of what Jesus went through this day. And He went through a lot!
He'd already suffered physical and verbal abuse in His arrest and trial. But upon being handed over to the Romans for execution, which is where this Period starts, the pain inflicted went into high gear. It began with the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate (reluctant to execute a man he thought innocent), having Jesus horribly scourged, thinking it would appease the crowd. Jesus was also donned after the scourging in a scarlet cloak and a crown of thorns to mock His claims of kingship. But none of it had any effect toward softening the mood of a crowd that was quickly turning into a mob. They'd already suspected Jesus to be a blasphemer and a fraud by His lack of animus toward the Romans. But what sort of Messiah allows Himself to be treated this way?! Certainly none they could imagine. So they screamed all the louder, "Crucify Him!"
Still seeking to spare Christ's life, Pilate made one last ditch effort to assuage the mob's rage through reason, by offering to release a condemned prisoner in honor of the Passover holiday. And he did so in the form a choice designed to be seemingly impossible to get wrong. By their vote he would return to the general population either Jesus or a convicted murderer. And the result was sadly not much different from the way we vote today. They fittingly chose the one they identified with most, calling for Jesus once more to die. So in the end Pilate simply threw up his hands (or rather, very publicly washed them) and let the people have what they desired.
But let's be realistic about this. Pilate never had any hope of changing the outcome of the situation. This was Satan's show, now. And he'd been planning it from the day he first tricked us in the Garden. His primary goal, however, was not simply to kill the Son of Man this day. If that had been the case he would have done it already (or, at least, tried). Killing Jesus was merely Satan's contingency plan. But what he really wanted, his Plan A, was to break Him. And prior to this day the tactic he used was temptation. It was also the only tactic he was allowed. But now that the chains were off his tactic of choice was torture. And it was one in which he is a master.
But let us also be clear on one other very important point. That plan was always doomed to fail, because God had His own Plan A. It was the arrival of His Sacramental Church on earth at precisely 3:00 PM that day. He’d put it into motion some 15 billion years earlier. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, Satan could have ever done to stop it. This is because sin's only lasting effect is on the souls of those who commit it and on the souls of those who allow it to infect them. So it mattered not to Creation that Satan had incited Adam and Eve to sin. Neither Caiaphas’s treachery, nor Judas’s betrayal had any effect, either. And although it has become popular to think otherwise, [171] in the end sin's only effect on this birth was again, predictably temporary. It simply made it a great deal more painful than it should have been. [172]
And so, with Satan's primary goal seemingly failing, we see Christ near the end of this Period, condemned by the crowd, and now also by Pilate, being forced to carry a heavy wooden cross through the streets of Jerusalem and out of the city to the place of His impending execution. It is standard Roman practice with condemned criminals, intended to shame them further for their crimes by making them play an active role in their own demise. But to the amazement of the bystanders who'd seen this many times, there was no crying, or cursing, or carrying on, as they were accustomed to. Jesus does not fight against the cross He'd been given (any more than He did the crown of thorns). He accepted our gifts (just as He'd done throughout His earthly life), embraced them actually, made them His own, and in this fashion, He returned the shame of the cross (and that of the crown) back to those that subjected Him to it.
And when He arrived at His destination (that hill called Golgotha) [173] and He stretched out His hands, allowing His executioners to strip Him of His vestments and nail His body to that cross in the most vulnerable position imaginable, He was telling us all the proper attitude to take to the world. Let it do as it will. It has no power over the truly righteous soul.
And indeed, through it all, in His humble, and perfect, acceptance of the Father's will for His life, Christ had not relinquished one modicum of power. In fact, He was being exalted in it, just as He'd prophesied early on in His ministry. [174] He was now the living embodiment of the bronze serpent Moses raised in the desert, [175] so that everyone who [looks on Him and] believes in Him may have eternal life. [176] The time, by John’s Gospel, was somewhere around 1 PM when they lifted Him up. [177] His 4th Period transformation completed, that would seem to mark the end of this Creation micro-Second, but not quite exactly.
To discern the precise moment the Period transitioned we need to also consider those who were observing the day's events, for they were transforming, too. Having conquered the last barrier to spiritual freedom, the fear of physical death, John and the holy women came into this Period with an outlook on the world unlike any they'd had before. They could see all the madness happening around them, but it was as if they were watching a play that they were no longer a part of. They had somehow transcended it. Like the Israelites in Egypt at the dawning of the first day of Passover, by their courage they, too, had been set free. [178]
So while the rest of the world had lost its mind, Jesus’s tiny Church of four was gaining a new understanding. In witnessing all the events unfold, with a clear vision uncluttered by fear, things were starting to make sense. What they saw was tragic and sorrowful. But it was also somehow inspiring, And all were beyond words trying to express it. And the love, the wondrous love that was emanating out of every atom that bore witness that day: the love of the Father who was allowing His Son to die in such a horrible fashion, the love of the Son who was taking it all for reasons they, as yet, could not fathom, and the love that the Holy Spirit was flooding their hearts with and continues to pour out for all who contemplate this scene, ever after.
They had never seen or felt anything close to any of this, yet it was also somehow familiar. They couldn’t put their finger on it, but it was if they'd heard tell of it somewhere before. And then shortly after His cross had been raised, and at the very end of the Period, they heard Christ cry ...
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani!" [179]
And it was like being struck by a bolt of lightning. He was quoting Scripture, one of the Psalms of David. And not just any Psalm. It was the first verse from a Psalm of lament that they all knew well, and one that perfectly described what they were witnessing. It harkened also to Isaiah’s suffering servant, dying for the sins of humanity just as he’d foretold! [180] Until now these Scriptures had been largely ignored, (or misunderstood) even by the Apostles. No one could decipher them. But now Christ’s full vision for the Church was being recognized. It was not being destroyed this day. It was being born!!
The defining Light of this Level is Christ, the perfect merger of the Lion with the Lamb. Christ had always known it. And now they could see it, too. The time, by the 2/3rds Rule’s estimate, is 12:59 PM. The 4th Creation micro-Second is over and the 5th has just begun.
Period: micro-Second 5 of Creation Level VI
Defining Dates: 12:59 PM to 2:20 PM, April 3, 33 AD
Span: 81 minutes
Central Theme: Preparation
Description: The world is made more beautiful in response to the display of love.
Beatitude: The 10th - Blessed are they who lay down [their] lives for their friends, for there is no greater love than this. [181]
Looking for the beauty on this 5th micro-Second of Creation, is a little difficult at first to find. We know from Periodicity that it must exist, but the sun has been darkened by the amount of oppression weighing down on our Lord as He hung on that Cross we’d given Him, and from His perspective it is opposite day. At its start, where He should have been seeing water, He saw only desert as He stood before the Sanhedrin to be judged by them. Oh, He transformed all right in the following Period, but not into something most any of us would have wanted, He was accursed now, [182] and His body was so badly beaten by Pilate’s torturers it was no longer recognizable. [183] But Jesus soldiered through it all. His love for us so strong that it was turning everything back around to where it was supposed to be.
And John and the holy women were not the only ones who were seeing it. Scripture suggests that most continued to be oblivious to it all. To them it was just another Roman execution of someone deserving what He got. A few, however, were deeply moved by what they saw, some converting on the spot. [184] And maybe the most heartening, from Jesus’s point of view, was the conversion of the thief who’d been crucified beside Him. [185] Jesus could see it all from His perch that great and terrible day. The tiny Church He’d planted had taken root and was growing. And given the desert He was in, it must have been for Him like a cool sip of water to quench His powerful thirst.
But with the 7 Sacraments all in place, and ready to be activated upon His death, there remained but one final embellishment to bestow on Christ’s beloved Bride. So here, on this 5th and final Period of Level VI, the Period where God steps back to bring something beautiful into our world, we see Christ entrusting to the care of John, the sole remaining representative of the Church’s hierarchy, His Blessed Mother.
She’d been in training with Him from the day she was conceived and knew intimately well what it meant to be Christ’s mother. But seeing Him suffer so greatly this day, her immaculate heart so conjoined to His, she could feel every lash that He took and every pain that He endured for the sake of mankind. [186] His beloved Bride became her daughter that day, too. And she was now ready to live out her eternal destiny, together with the Church’s spiritual fathers, as the spiritual Mother of Christ’s Body, the Church. The time is 2:20 PM and Creation Level VI is ready to transition into micro-Second 6. The sky remains darkened. The moon has started to go into eclipse (although it cannot yet be seen). And it is in these final 40 minutes of Jesus’s life, where Level VII will bring this great saga home.
Christ’s death on the Cross (Creation Level VII)
And what can be said of this, the highest Level of Creation? We have no more tools to decipher the events of the Level. The Beatitudes have all been used up. We’ve even added a 10th to get to the end of Level VI. We could maybe look at the last 7 statements Jesus made from the Cross for our guide. But several of those statements have already been said in the previous Period. It would appear instead to be more appropriate to simply honor the silence and end our discussion here in awe and reverence. Those last 40 minutes appear to be reserved for Jesus alone and we have no business prying. It is as Scripture proclaims.
When the Lamb broke open the seventh seal …
there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. [187]
Before concluding, however, there is a discrepancy to clear up. It may have been noticed that Palm Sunday occurred 1/3rd of the way into the 1st micro-Second rather than 2/3rds as it is with all the other Levels. This may be a reference to Christ finding Himself in opposite day at the end of the Level. But a better resolution to this issue lies, I think, in finding the meaning of the 2/3rds Rule; for what reason would God choose to create in 2/3rds increments if not to emphasize the Father and the Son (the two members of the Trinity that Scripture tells us were integrally involved)? [188] That would appear to be the most obvious explanation.
And by that understanding, it means that here on this crucial last week of Creation where 15 billion years of labor finally all came together, the Son was forced to go it alone. It is not because the Father didn't want to be involved. It is rather that the Son was about to go to a place the Father could not go. Because of our failures in Eden and thereafter, He is about to become sin, our sin, personified, that we might all be saved. [189] And as was already noted, He apparently did this by connecting to us (and thus our sin) at the Last Supper.
In that great act on that fateful night as our Lord was giving us the means to be set free, He became the red heifer. Our freedom was bought for the price of His captivity, our life given back to us at the cost of His death and one that He knew in advance would be inhumanly severe. Yet He did it anyway. His love for us was so great it trumped every other emotion He may have had. And that takes us to the very end of the Creation saga. It is the 6th nano-Second of the 6th micro-Second of the 6th milli-Second of the 6th Second of the 6th Minute of the 6th Hour of the 6th Day of Creation. One final click as Christ utters tetelestai (it is finished) with His final breath and gives up His spirit. The 7th Day has finally arrived. Or as the Bible puts it …
“On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing;
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation." [190]
And it remains the 7th Day to this day. The work of the Father in tandem with the Son is done. The work of the Holy Spirit in tandem with Christ’s Body continues. In other words, Creation now belongs to us. What shall we do with it? This is a fitting question to end this chapter on. What more can be said? This discussion has come to an end.
Graphics displaying how Levels V and VI relate to the Beatitudes and Periodicity, respectively (Figures 5.3 and 5.4), are provided at the end of the chapter. The second of the two, Figure 5.4, [191] is incomplete, however. It doesn’t show, for instance, the significant events defining Levels II, III and IV. That information is reserved for the next installment in this Series (as is the completed version of this table). [192] In simply reviewing the abbreviated table found here, however, it should still be easy to see how Periodicity works and how effective it might be in unravelling those other great mysteries of history that have already been alluded to.
And even though those ancient mysteries will not be revealed here, there are still a few questions in the life of Christ left to resolve. Chief among them is how exactly can someone's death atone for someone else's sins. That will be explored in chapter 7. But first, the 2/3rds Rule has another little surprise in store. And it has to do with Mary.
And for those having trouble reading Figure 5.4 (either because the print is too small or your device is truncating the graphic) an interactive, zoomable version is available by clicking on the button below. But this being an important graphic, and the viewer provided is so much better at portraying it, it is highly recommended that all avail themselves of it, regardless of how easy they may find it to read here.
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ENDNOTES
[1] To get the most out of this chapter, prereading the following Scriptures may be helpful: Ex
12:1-6, Nm 19:1-22, Jos 5:1-6:1, Est 3:8-13, Mt 5:1-18, Jn 11:1-12:19, Mark's Passion
Narrative: Mk 14:1-15:41 supplemented by Lk 23:44-49.
[2] Scientists have been searching for a Grand Unifying Theory that can mathematically link
all the known forces of the universe since Einstein first proposed it decades ago. And once
found many further believe a Theory of Everything will be revealed that will eliminate, once
and for all, our need to invent a god to explain things. The 2/3rds Rule, however, seems to
have, maybe, beaten them to it with its own all-inclusive theory, and one that is not quite what
atheistic science would have hoped for, or even imagined.
[3] One such instance (from Lk 22:31) is Satan’s desire to sift the Apostles like wheat, which
can be seen (and commonly is) as a prophecy foretelling the splintering of the Church. This
would imply that the verse that follows (Lk 22:32) is a prophecy of subsequent reunification.
[4] Mt 24:14.
[5] Rv 21:5, Rom 8:28.
[6] A prime example is found in the story of Joseph, the Patriarch (Gn 37:1-50:26).
[7] Mt 19:16-17. But the “by faith alone” advocates can also legitimately interpret it as the
1st Commandment telling us to believe in God, and the other 9 simply defining what that
means.
[8] They are listed in two Books of the Bible (in Ex 20:1-17 and again in Dt 5:6-21).
[9] Prv 3.6.
[10] The Commandment stages are found to conform best to the Roman Catholic
enumeration.
[11] The Shepherd, by Hermas (ca 110 AD) may be the first good example of the early
Christians using Commandments in catechesis.
[12] Mt 19:21 alludes to Mt 5:1-16 kicking in after Mt 19:17.
[13] … just as many Church Fathers observed. See, for instance, St. Augustine (393 AD), On
the Sermon on the Mount, I, 1-5, or St. John Chrysostom (390 AD), Homily XV on Matthew.
[14] Dt 11:26-28.
[15] Mt 19:17, among others.
[16] Jn 15:13, NLT.
[17] This is evident by the place of honor Scripture tells us they enjoy in heaven (Rv 6:9-11).
[18] Periodicity: the quality, state, or fact of being regularly recurrent (as with the elements in
chemistry’s periodic table).
[19] This seems to be the predominent theory today, anyway, of how stromatolites (the
fossilized structures they created) were formed (Reid, et.al. 2000).
[20] Living microbialites can attain a size of several meters in girth.
[21] And the same is true of the development of multicellular life (plants and animals) that
arose at the start of Day 4.
[22] To give an idea of the increase in potential, biologists subdivide all living cells into two
categories: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotes consist of nothing greater than simple
bacteria while eukaryotes are the cells that constitute every other living organism on the
planet.
[23] Mt 5:3, KJV.
[24] The typical explan-ation from numerology is that 12 is the number of wisdom or
completeness, which tells us essentially nothing.
[25] ... as was described in chapter 4, See Hester 2004 and also Siegel 2020.
[26] Belan 2022. And this is calculated on a wet basis. If water retained is not counted, the
concentration is reduced to 93%.
[27] The literature seems split on where to put the cut off for the essential elements with many
assigning Iron to the trace minerals list since its concentration is slightly less than 0.01% (on a
wet basis). At 0.006% it does, however, round up to 0.01% and it is higher than 0.01% on a
dry basis. That may be why others (like Helmenstine 2019) include Iron with the essential
elements. Or it could be due to how important Iron is to the health of the body. But, whatever
the reason, the 2/3rds Rule concurs. Iron belongs with the essentials.
[28] See, for instance, Neilsen 1999 in conjunction with Helmenstine 2019.
[29] Jn 1:35-40.
[30] The logical and commonly held conclusion when merging the seemingly conflicting
accounts given in Jn 1:35-41 and Lk 5:1-11.
[31] This preferential treatment is particularly apparent in Mt 17:1, 26:36 and/or as reported
in Mk 9:2, 14:33 and Lk 9:28.
[32] Mk 3:17.
[33] Gal 2:9.
[34] Mk 13:3
[35] Eph 2:19-21.
[36] The percentages used in the table are taken from Helmenstine 2019 and adjusted for a
dry basis, using 53% (by weight) as a rough estimate for the water content of an average
human body.
[37] Some can also be found in Scripture, but the first known mention of all 7 Orders leading
up to priestly ordination is found in a letter written by Pope Cornelius (251 AD), as referenced
by Eusebius (ca 313 AD) in Church History VI, 43.
[38] Mt 6:25-34.
[39] This was as prescribed by Christ, who told them early on, “... do not worry and say,
‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things
the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the
kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” Mt
6:31-33, NABRE.
[40] Mt 5:4, KJV.
[41] Although the Orders of Porter, Exorcist and Subdeacon were suppressed in 1972 by Pope
Paul VI, the 2/3rds Rule seems to be advocating here that they be restored, bringing the stages
that led to the Priesthood back to the traditional 7, Specifically, they consist of the 4 Minor
Orders (Porter, Lector, Exorcist and Acolyte) followed by the 3 Major Orders (Subdeacon,
Deacon and Priest).
[42] Mt 19:21-22, Mk 10:21-22.
[43] … for they shall be comforted, Mt 5:4, KJV.
[44] Mt 19:29, Mk 10:28-30.
[45] Mt 16:19 (but see also Is 22:19-23).
[46] In that capacity, he would also later receive the charism of Infallibility, which can be seen
as having been given him with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (as per Acts 2:1-4,
14-36).
[47] Ryan 1908.
[48] CCC 1568 and 1582-1584 (on the Sacrament of Holy Orders).
[49] CCC 880 (on the Sacrament of Holy Orders).
[50] Mt 5:5, KJV.
[51] Having apparently now earned enrolment into the Minor Order of Lector at the start of
this Period, it suggests that much of the prior Period was devoted to giving the Apostles a
working knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, so as to ready them for the preaching aspect of
their later ministries.
[52] Mt 5:6, KJV.
[53] Ex 15:1-18.
[54] Mt 10:1, Mk 6:7, Lk 9:1-2.
[55] … in accord with the 3rd Beatitude.
[56] Mt 10:39, NAB (slightly paraphrased for clarity).
[57] Nm 13:1-25.
[58] Mt 4:2, Mk 1:13, Lk 4:1-2.
[59] Mt 6:16-18.
[60] With Moses fasting for 40 days on 2 separate occasions (Dt 9:11-25), it contains a sense
of prophetic foreshadowing. So with Jesus now being said to have also fasted twice for 40
days, it is nice to see this prophecy finally being fulfilled.
[61] Mt 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful ..."
[62] Mt 5:6, "... for the sake of righteousness." And within this fast is found a lesson for all
who think it wiser to choose our battles rather than allow the Holy Spirit to choose them for
us. It also tells us that simply because we think we know our efforts will be futile, when it
comes to saving souls, this is no reason not to try. Justice in fact, demands that we try.
[63] Jn 11:1-44.
[64] In the 2 other resurrection stories prior to Christ’s resurrection (Lk 7:11-17 and Mk
5:22-43) there's no indication of Jesus doing it for the publicity. And in one (the raising of
Jairus's daughter) He strictly forbade anyone speaking about it.
[65] Jn 11:4.
[66] Jn 11:6.
[67] Jesus delayed going there by 2 days and was told on finally arriving that Lazarus had
been dead for 4 days. Lazarus must have, therefore, been dead for at least a day when Jesus
got news. And you can tell that Jesus knew He was dead by what He told His disciples on
hearing the news, that the miracle He was going to be performing would be earth shaking (Jn
11:4).
[68] Many commentators have taken this position and are easy to find on the web, but they
will not be cited here out of respect for the good work they’ve done in other areas.
[69] ibid.
[70] Jn 7:1-9, in particular, but see also Jn 2:4, Jn 7:30, Gal 4:4 and Lk 22:15.
[71] This is the position put forth, for instance, in the Expositor’s Greek Testament
commentary.
[72] Being associated with cleanliness rituals involving corpses, as is evident from the Torah
portion that is always read on this unusual Special Sabbath (Nm 19:1-22), it makes the raising
of Lazarus a very strong candidate for connecting to this Sabbath.
[73] Nm 19:1-22.
[74] Mishna, Parah 1:1.
[75] Richman 2005.
[76] ibid.
[77] Nm 19:19.
[78] Nm 19:4-6.
[79] Jn 19:29.
[80] Is 1:18.
[81] Heb 9:13-14.
[82] Mt 23:2-3 shows that the anger of the religious authorities towards Christ's ministry was
strictly their fault and not because Jesus was intentionally trying to provoke them.
[83] Ecc 7:23 is said in the Midrash to refer to this mystery (Bamidbar Rabbah 19).
[84] Lk 19:41-44 may have something to do with it, too, but Jesus's tears here (Jn 11:35) are
now maybe best understood in light of the situation He now, found Himself in. For He must
have known that this wonderful miracle He was about to perform was the act that would
bring about His own death sentence, And the subtle irony of it all would have gotten to
anyone.
[85] But Caiaphas's puzzling attitude is not unprecedented. It is also seen in Pharaoh’s
reaction to the ten plagues of Exodus (Ex 9:12, 10:1, 10:20, 10:27 & 11:10). Their intent was
to soften Pharaoh's heart, but Scripture tells us they, too, sadly, had the opposite effect.
[86] Jn 11:50, NIV.
[87] Mt 5:7.
[88] It is also the eve of a very appropriate secular commemoration, the Ides of March.
[89] Mk 1:34, Lk 5:14, Mt 16:20.
[90] Periodicity and the Beatitudes both suggest that this change in approach may have started
with Jesus's intentionally high-profile raising of Lazarus. But the primary focus of the
Beatitude seems more to ponder what might have been for Jerusalem (and the world) had the
Sanhedrin chosen to show mercy over their misguided notion of justice.
[91] Mk 6:13, Jn 4:1-3.
[92] Mt 11:5.
[93] Is 35:5-6.
[94] Is 1:2-20.
[95] Mt 5:8, KJV.
[96] ... recalling that each new day of the Hebrew calendar began at dusk.
[97] ... recalling also from chapter 1 that it is so named for the messianic Scriptures read on
this day, Mal 3:23, in particular, which speaks of “the great and terrible day of the LORD.”
[98] Ex 12:1-3. And the purpose of doing this as much as a week in advance is presumedly to
allow the lamb to become part of the household.
[99] Jn 12:1-9.
[100] In the Temple Sacrifice system, red paint was used to mark animals selected for later
sacrifice (Babylonian Talmud, Bekhorot 58b). Red paint would be inappropriate for use with a
human, however. So for Jesus perfumed oil can be said to have taken the role, with the effect
being the same.
[101] Christ (literally: the anointed one) from Jn 12:1-4 in fulfillment of Dn 9:24.
[102] 10 Nisan pulls double duty in the Old Testament. Along with marking the day the
Jordan River was parted (Jos 4:19) it is also the original Pascal Lamb Procurement Day (Ex
12:1-3). But that day being, by tradition, also a Sabbath, lamb procurement was assigned to
Shabbat HaGadol, the last Sabbath before Passover.
[103] The Lion of Judah: a reference to the common Old Testament understanding of the
Christ as a conquering hero, as per Rv 5:5 and 1QSb 5.29 (from the Dead Sea Scrolls), and
originally derived, perhaps, from messianic prophecies found in Gn 49:9 and Mi 5:1-7.
[104] Zec 9:9-10.
[105] Jn 12:16.
[106] ibid.
[107] From Mk 14:1-9 (but also found in Mt 26:3-13). And there are admittedly a lot of
similarities between this 13 Nisan anointing from Mark's Gospel and the scriptural description
of the 9 Nisan anointing found in John's Gospel. They are so similar, in fact, that many
believe they are simply two slightly contradictory accounts of the same anointing, which
occurred on either 9 Nisan or 13 Nisan (not both). The 2/3rds Rule insists, however, that,
although some of the details may have gotten jumbled together, they are still two separate
anointings.
[108] Mk 14:7-9, NAB.
[109] It took place presumedly over a few days (Jos 5:1-9) after they arrived on 10 Nisan (Jos
4:19) and before their first Passover Seder meal on the evening of 14 Nisan (Jos 5:10-11).
[110] This seems to be St. Paul’s opinion, anyway (Col 2:11-13, Rm 2:25-29, Phil 3:3),
Jeremiah, too (Jer 4:4) and it is the opinion of the Church (CCC #527).
[111] It is probably no coincidence, then, that Jesus referred to His own death as a form of
baptism (Mk 10:38 and see also Rm 6:3).
[112] Jos 5:9, NABRE.
[113] With the many weapons He gave us for conducting spiritual warfare at Calvary, we (His
Body) had all that was needed to finish the good work Jesus had put in motion (Jn 14:12).
[114] Mt 5:9, KJV.
[115] Jn 12:6.
[116] Mt 26:1-15, Mk 14:1-11.
[117] Along with Venus Verticorda, Veneralia is also the feast day of her companion deity,
Fortuna Virilis, which loosely translates to Judas’s ultimate undoing (the fortunes of men).
But in recognition of what they inspired, both deities are better understood to be demons.
[118] Lk 22:3, Jn 13:2, 27.
[119] Est 3:12-13.
[120] Est 7:10 tells of Haman being impaled by being thrown onto a stake that was 50 cubits
high, whereas Acts 1:18 tells of Judas's insides spilling out after he'd fallen headlong from a
height.
[121] John's Gospel does not make the distinction. But the other 3 clearly refer to the Last
Supper as a Passover Seder (Mt 26:19-20, Mk 14:16-18, Lk 22:13-14).
[122] Jn 13:7-11, NABRE.
[123] 1 Cor 6:11, Eph 5:26, Ti 3:5, Heb 10:22.
[124] St. Augustine of Hippo (ca. 400 AD), Tractate # 56 on the Gospel of John.
[125] Pope Benedict XVI 2011, 73-74.
[126] Ritual hand and foot washing as a fixture of worship predates Christianity. But with
Christ commanding His disciples to wash each other’s feet (together with St. Paul's
exhortation in 1 Tm 2:8), the early Christian writings show it was recognized for its efficacy
in the removal of sin and elevated to a sacramental level as a requirement for spiritual
purification prior to certain liturgical undertakings (Thurston 1912). See, for instance, St.
Augustine of Hippo (ca. 400 AD), Tractate # 55 on the Gospel of John.
[127] Jn 20:19-23.
[128] Mt 26:26-28, NABRE.
[129] Jn 6:48-51.
[130] Each day, that is, except on the Sabbath, as per Ex 16:4-35.
[131] Jos 5:10-12.
[132] Jos 5:13-6:24.
[133] This would include the enactment of all 7 of the Sacraments at Calvary, the enlisted aid
of His Blessed Mother and the instillment of hope for eventual Justice, Salvation and the
Resurrection (not to mention the added aid provided by the Paraclete who would soon be
arriving at Pentecost).
[134] Jn 6:22-71. And that Jesus did not alter His message to help the crowd understand He
was only speaking metaphorically, even after they started deserting Him for saying it (Jn
6:66-68), makes it hard to deny that it was meant to be taken literally.
[135] Mt 26:26-28, Mk 14:22-24, Lk 22:19-20, 1 Cor 11:23-30, along with the writings of the
earliest Church Fathers, such as St. Ignatius of Antioch, who were emphatically taught by the
Apostles, themselves, that the Eucharist truly is Christ’s Body and Blood. See, in particular,
St. Ignatius’s condemnation of those who reject the true presence in the farewell letters he
wrote to the Smyrnaeans and to the Romans (ca. 117 AD) while awaiting his martyrdom.
[136] 1 Cor 11:27-31.
[137] Heb 9:4.
[138] God spoke to Moses from the Ark, Ex 25:22.
[139] 2 Sm 6:6-7, 1 Chr 13:9-10.
[140] CCC 1415.
[141] In the 2nd book in this series, miraculous bonds will be shown to manifest at the end of
every 2nd Period of Creation.
[142] Jn 10:30, 17:21.
[143] Pope Paul VI 1968.
[144] Jn 14:27.
[145] Jn 17:20-21, 1 Cor 10:16.
[146] Lk 22:19. And St. Paul says it, too, in 1 Cor 11:24-25.
[147] This specific belief was ratified in 1562 at the Council of Trent (Session XXII, Canon
II) as part of the Counter-Reformation. But the tradition that Christ endowed His Church with
the Sacrament of Holy Orders at the Last Supper dates back to the early days of Christendom
(Ahaus 1911).
[148] Broussard 2017.
[149] Ex 29:36, 38, 39, 41 and Lv 9:7 (as translated in the Greek Septuagint).
[150] It would be a fulfillment of Mal 1:11.
[151] Ex 40:23-13, 30-32.
[152] Mt 5:10, KJV.
[153] The 5th century BC attempt by the archvillain, Haman (from the Book of Esther), to
have all the Jews in the world killed off by decree of the Persian emperor, would count as one.
[154] Mt 2:13-15, 19-23.
[155] Jn 8:59, 10:31, 39, Lk 4:29-30.
[156] Lk 22:15.
[157] Sometimes translated sin offering (2 Cor 5:21, NLT). See also Gal 3:12.
[158] He's known this day was coming from the beginning, but there is a marked change in
Christ’s demeanor after He has departed for the Garden. He shows uncertainty and His stress
levels seem to go through the roof (Lk 22:41-44), all signs of sin induced anxiety.
[159] Col 2:13-14, 1 Pt 2:24.
[160] That is, provided, of course, He remained faithful to the Father.
[161] Jn 13:2, 21-30.
[162] Through sin comes death (Rm 5:12). Conversely, where there is no sin, Satan has no
power.
[163] Rather than cite every reference, suffice it to say that the rest of this Level is a summary
of the Passion narratives found in Mt 26:36-27:56, Mk 14:32-15:41, Lk 22:39-23:43, Jn 18:1-
19:37.
[164] Ryan 2017. And it breathes new life into a Bible verse, Mt 24:34, often cited by critics
as erroneous.
[165] This is admittedly speculative, but it’s based on countless personal testimonies of how
sin clouds judgment, induces anxiety and alters perceptions of reality.
[166] Mt 26:39, 42, Mk 14:36, Lk 22:42.
[167] With the Sacrament of Matrimony being brought under the canopy of the New
Covenant at Cana, together with the establishment of the Sacraments of Baptism, Extreme
Unction, Communion, Holy Orders and now Confirmation in this and the previous Level, one
Sacrament (Reconciliation) remains to be established. And we'll be given that one on the
night of Christ's Resurrection (Jn 20:19-23). But all seven will be validated with the
completion of His mission on the Cross.
[168] The time of day was 8:57 AM, according to the 2/3rds Rule, about 9 AM according to
Mk 15:25. But Mark's Gospel lists that as the time of the Crucifixion. which is incompatible
with the other Gospels, Jn 19:14, in particular (see note 170). So the literal translation of Mk
15:25 remedies the situation, somewhat, by sayimg that it occurred on the third hour (which
ran from 9 AM to noon). Mark's timing by this solution is, thereby, understood to be a
generalization with the preliminaries involving Pilate that led up to the Crucifixion running
from around 9 AM to noon.
[169] That story will be expanded upon in the next chapter.
[170] Mt 5:11-12, KJV.
[171] This is a repudiation of the medieval Felix Culpa (Oh Happy Fault) belief (still popular
today) that it was our fall from grace that forced Christ to come here. And in its thorough
rejection of it, the 2/3rds Rule argues, instead, in accord with the 14th century
counterargument offered by the Franciscan friar, Bl. John Duns Scotus.
[172] … as prophesied in Gn 3:16.
[173] Also known as, the place of the skull and Calvary.
[174] Jn 3:14-15.
[175] As per Nm 21:4-9, Moses had a serpent made of bronze raised up on a pole to deal with
a rash of snake bites that was plaguing the Israelites in the desert, so that all those bitten who
looked at it would be healed.
[176] Jn 3:15 supplemented by phraseology found in Nm 21:9 (NABRE). And this is an
eternal truth, applicable for all who do this, then, now and forever.
[177] In slight contrast to Mk 15:25 (see note 161), Jn 19:14 reports that Jesus began carrying
His Cross to Calvary around noon. So, in accepting John's eyewitness testimony and allowing
Jesus an hour to get there, it places the Crucifixion right around 1 PM, which is 1 minute after
where the 2/3rds Rule might want to place it.
[178] This would certainly have been true of John and the holy women, but likely not of the
Blessed Virgin, who, having already braved death many times for love of her son, should have
already been at that level.
[179] Ps 22:2, Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34.
[180] Is 53:10-12.
[181] Implied and paraphrased from Jn 15:13.
[182] In accord with Jn 3:13-14, Gal 3:13 and Dt 21:23.
[183] That is how Is 52:14 describes it, anyway.
[184] Scripture tells of several conversions (the Roman Centurian and his companions in Mt
27:54 and the good thief of Lk 23:40-43) and suggests in Lk 23:48 of there being others.
[185] ibid.
[186] Prophesied in Lk 2:35.
[187] Rv 8:1, NAB. And within this verse there seems to be a heavenly suggestion as to how
we, too, should be observing, every year, those last 40 minutes of Christ's life on Good
Friday.
[188] 1 Cor 8:6.
[189] 2 Cor 5:21.
[190] Gn 2:2-3, NABRE.
[191] And for those unfamiliar with Periodic Tables, it should be read one row (or one
column) at a time, with the entire row (or column) being read before proceeding to the next
row (or column).
[192] The next book of this Series is highly recommended to anyone who may still be having
trouble comprehending this chapter, because to really do justice to the final acts of the
Creation saga they need to be viewed in context with the acts associated with all the
preceding Levels.
Published: March 31, 2024
Last Update: January 26, 2025