Bully's Blog

or the Covenanto-Architecturo-Historico-Grammatico-Muso Method

“A seal is meant to be broken.”

During the first of his recent lectures in London, James Jordan tore a page out of his Bible. It was the page announcing the New Testament as a separate book with its own pagination. It is one thing to interpret the New Testament in the light of contemporary literature and history, but their importance pales in comparison to the texts being recognized as a continuation of the Scriptures.

The break between Malachi and Matthew (whom Jordan and others believe was indeed the first to pen a gospel) was not the first period of silence. The New Testament is, in fact, the “fourth testament.” But there is another equally important factor, and that is the continuation of the practice of woven, or fractalline, literary structure based on Covenant history.

The fact that the literary structure of all the Old Covenant Scriptures proceeds in an identical fashion in the New is not something commonly discussed, especially in the kind of detail which follows below. Such an application might be an imposition on the text, but the degree to which it does work indicates a strong possibility that it is actually the key to the structure of the text and thus the author’s “Covenantal” intent.

If the case is the latter, then the position of every phrase within the literary structure reveals it as a powerful allusion as the author recapitulates the  histories of the Covenant people over and over again. If this literary convention is indeed the lens through which we must view the text, all the commentaries so far are wanting. There is a hidden dimension waiting to be explored and discussed and enjoyed and admired.

As we will see, this practice not only enables the author to pull these allusions out of the grave but also to give them some surprising “resurrection” (New Covenant) meanings without saying a word. The structure itself speaks volumes. (I could write about this for decades, so if anyone rich feels like becoming a patron of the arts, drop me a line.)

Identification and “parsing” of such an interpretive grid demonstrates the unbreakable ties between the New Covenant texts to the Old. It also exposes the embarrassing flatness of the historico-grammatical method. When I spout arrogant fire like “there’s so much more going in the text but it goes right over our heads,” I’m not blowing smoke. Thousands of scholars have pored over the text looking for rhyme and reason and not noticed that it is written in a three dimensional architectural-literary code.

If you are coming to this without a reasonable familiarity with the interpretive process described here, you won’t understand what is going on. See the Bible Matrix videos in the link at the top of the page for some basics. But to those familiar with the tune, you can sing along and enjoy Paul’s New Covenant lyrics written to an Old Covenant tune, a tune begun in Genesis 1.

Perhaps we should call this hermeneutical science the “Genetic” method, seeing as it is a combination of history, liturgy and poetry (unimaginable!). The modernist New Testament experts had better learn to whistle along.

Needless to say, if this thesis is correct, the beauty of these precious texts far surpasses anything we could have possibly written — or even imagined. (See The Eye of Sound)

CREATION (TRANSCENDENCE)

The structure of the first stanza not only asserts Paul’s authority from God (his name is the inspired source), it makes his apostleship a new exodus (Hierarchy). The will of God makes him an altar, the symbolic four-cornered Land, and the Gentile saints are his firstfruits, which is surprising because that role under Moses was limited to Levites, the pure of the pure, the Jews’ Jews. This is mindblowing — until we remember Jesus’ words about giving the kingdom to those who would bring forth the fruit God desires. The stanza ends with both Jesus and the New Covenant believers as spiritual offspring of the Father (Succession). Can you see what I mean now, about this “two-coordinate” method? Paul’s letters are “woven” in the same way as the Torah.

DIVISION (HIERARCHY)

Notice the heavenly places at the centre. This stanza reminds me of the structure of the Revelation, which puts the seven churches, beginning with Ephesus, in the heavenly places as a “de-centralized” lampstand, a new hierarchy in the firmament.

Notice that the “choosing” before the foundation of the world in the structure is “bridal,” a summoning at Trumpets, and us being holy and blameless is set at Atonement.

It is interesting that the ESV puts “in love” at the beginning of the next sentence. Yet the structure requires a final line in the second stanza. Who needs punctuation when you have the Bible Matrix?

ASCENSION (ETHICS 1)

This one kind of speaks for itself, but we must remember that this stanza is Ascension. This blessed adoption puts us on the Altar with Christ. Notice the “bridal song” at step 5.

TESTING (ETHICS 2)

The centre of this stanza, and thus of the entire structure, is “the forgiveness of our trespasses.” Here, the bridal result of Jesus’ faithful offering is plunder rather than plagues, the “riches” of His grace. Notice also that “lavished” appears at the Day of Coverings. When the Sanctions are applied to the saints, the Lord only has blessing for His new Creation, and no cursing. Wisdom and insight refers to our position as wise judges, joint-heirs, co-regents, elohim who shall discern between the angels.

MATURITY (ETHICS 3)

The “Tabernacle” thread appears to shine the most brightly in this stanza. At Maturity, it refers to the New Covenant house, the bridal body, the Jew-Gentile Church, eyes opened, unveiled and mediating for the nations, face to face with God in Christ. The use of “fullness” at step 5 in stanza five is “fragrant,” the Springtime of the resurrection.

CONQUEST (SANCTIONS/OATH)

Stanza 6 corresponds to Joshua (inheritance) and coverings (investiture with glory). The Church, covered by Christ, is now His covering, His glory. Notice that the structure places Christ as the firstfruits head and the first century saints as the firstfruits body, the harvest. The structure of the book of Revelation does the same thing. The “counsel of His will” is the Spirit, appearing in this stanza at Pentecost, the “holy fire.” As always, the underlying process not only refers to harvest but also the process of the rite of sacrifice. Revelation is a giant sacrificial rite. Israel is put on the altar as a whole burnt offering (an “ascension”) and divided into harlot and bride, the ashes of mourning swallowed by the Land and fragrant, pleasing smoke rising to God as a witness to her judgment (1 Kings 13:5; Revelation 19:3).

GLORIFICATION (SUCCESSION)

I can see the exact structure of the book of Revelation in this final cycle, which is not surprising. Commentators will rattle on about how precious and wonderful it is that we as saints have been sealed. But what does it mean to be “sealed”?

These last two stanzas are talking about the events in Revelation 7, where the firstfruits saints are sealed (“Numbered” Jews and numberless Gentiles, all in white robes) for the purpose of being martyred. The seals on the saints are not a pretty mark from God but replicas of the seals on the New Covenant scroll, the one the Lamb has opened to claim His inheritance (the nations).

A seal is meant to be broken. These saints were not to simply sit in pietistic wonder at their precious Jesus. Their mission, as the sacrificial body, was to die as an army of firstfruits lambs, a bridal multiplication of Jesus. These blessed were sealed as living epistles, sent out as horsemen to have their seals broken (yet remain Covenant virgins, see Tokens of Virginity) through death and resurrection, filling up the sufferings of Jesus, bringing down the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy upon Israel for the last time. (See The Secret and Images of God.) They would fulfill the book of Leviticus not in animal blood but in their own blood. Now that Jesus had ascended, God could accept human sacrifices “in Him.” These were the sheep Peter was entrusted to feed for the slaughter.

This brings us to the end of the first cycle, so the matrix structure is working at three fractal levels: stanzas, cycles and epistle (and of course the epistle is part of even greater literary and historical structures). But it does not bring us to the end of the chapter, so the remainder must begin the second cycle.

It is passing strange that the modern mind is open to fractals in nature and technology, but modern theology so far seems resistant to the idea that the entire Bible is structured in such a way. Unraveled as it is above, it resembles DNA. Lined up in columns it resembles a woven cloth. The Word itself was knitted together in the womb of Israel, and the birth pangs of the Jewish war — the blood and the water — gave a new body to the people of God in the world. Totus Christus.