Eric W. King ~ TSW, "The Shepherds Way": "God and dimensions." ~ TSW

Ancient Antiochene

Mysteries

Part Twenty-seven

“God and dimensions.”

By presbyter Eric William King (September 2^nd 2024)

God does in fact speak through math and numbers. The Ancient Antiochene Church had discovered this long ago. Nothing, including numbers, is put into God’s word arbitrarily. God speaks in every part of His Word. We are under the New Covenant. The Old Covenant had a literal Sabbath Day, Saturday – the Seventh Day, in which they kept as a sacred day of rest. Under the New Covenant, the Person of Jesus Christ becomes our entire and complete rest (Hebrews 4:3).

Counting from Sunday to Sunday we have eight days. The Ancient Church began to understand that the number eight pointed to a New Beginning. The early Patristic Fathers have pointed this out for us. Eight becomes the figurative number of New Beginnings and its shape denotes the symbol of eternity. New Covenant – 8. Traditionally, Christians have chosen Sunday, the Eighth Day to remember our Lord and the New Covenant. The Church comes together and worships the Lord on this blessed day – the Lord’s Day.

Abraham pointed to the coming of the Messiah, he was told to circumcise every male child on the “eighth day”. Noah and his family comprised “eight people” who were saved from the flood, starting a New Dispensation. King David was the “eighth son” of Jesse introducing a New Order to Israel. The “First Fruit” offering was waved on the Eighth Day. We could go on.

One number we wish to talk about here is the number 40. Forty is a number of spiritual probation in the Bible. It also points to travel and location, movement in the life of God’s people. Struggling through new environments. During Noah’s flood it rained 40 days and 40 nights. Moses was 40 years in Egypt. He brought Israel into the desert for another 40 years. The reign of David and Soloman lasted 40 years. We have the giant Goliath picking on Israel for 40 days. Ancient Nineveh was given 40 days to repent of their sins. It is a number of movement and trial.

Prophet Elijah fasted for 40 days and nights. Rome punished Christians with 40 stripes (whippings) save one. Jesus Christ was “pushed” into the desert where He was tempted by the Devil for 40 days and then He appeared eleven times during a 40-day period after His resurrection. One last important truth that we hold to, yet like many other things that we teach, cannot be proven is the idea that there are exactly 40 space-time dimensions that connect through all Seven Heavens. Angels and spirit beings can travel through these dimensions according to God’s Sacred Laws. We believe that Apostle Paul was taken through one or more of these dimensions on his journey into the Third Heaven. Whether in his body or out of the body, he knew not.

The Ancient Church taught such radical beliefs. Today more people are contemplating such realities due to continued growth in modern science. The earliest Johannite Church understood many of these kinds of “secrets” – truths not known to the basic public.

The Fallen Angels and rulers (Archons) are in our heavens, Earth’s atmosphere and Outer Space, which consists of inner-dimensional space that we cannot perceive with our fleshly eyes. They can see us but we cannot see them with our normal perception. All the Heavenly Aeons are connected by these dimensions. Modern science is learning more about such dimensions. There may even be more than 40 dimensions but we believe in at least 40. We live in a huge universe which contains spaces within spaces.

The Ancient Antiochene Church refers to the dimensions by the Greek word; Bythus. The Greek word Bythus can mean “profundity” or “depth”. The Bythus reaches out and into all Seven Aeons. The paradox of the Bythus (dimensions) is that it is uncontainable, invisible, and eternal – the metaphoric hands of God.

“The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.” (Psalms 95:5)

This is most certainly true.

Eric William King (September 2^nd 2024)