4/9/12

Know the solution?

Today is an odd day indeed!  I woke up and said to myself: I am taking a day off from the blog; I am not even going to post anything.  So, I set myself to watching TV.  One of the first things that interested me was this Palindrome (something that could be read forwards or backward) found at Pompeii.  I have known for years of the persecution and suffering of Christians in the first century and their use of the fish symbol to proclaim their faith secretly.  What has bothered me for a long time is that is so simple that the Romans could spot it readily and eradicate the followers of The Christ with little effort.  They didn't, so why not?  Could the Sator-rotas palindrome (written in Latin) may be the answer?  So, instead of writing the blog, I thought I would investigate this puzzle.  To my surprise, there are huge amounts of information on the Internet about it; many with varying solutions.  After several hours (phew) of research, I finally found one that seemed the best to me.  Here it is...

Taken from …. http://windsorsheepdog.blogspot.com/2012/02/sheepdogs-round-up.html

The Sator Square

What is it? A Sator square and a Rotas square are actually Latin Palindromes, which are Latin word puzzles in the shape of a square. The words are the same whether they are read top to bottom, or left to right, or right to left, or bottom to top. There are five words, and each word has five letters making a total of twenty-five letters. The difference between a Sator square and a Rotas square is simply that the first word in a Sator square is SATOR and a Rotas square is ROTAS. A few of these ancient squares have survived history. They've been found carved into stone or clay, and appear to be linked to Christianity, although many people rebuke this claim. Here is what I found on these mysterious squares when I did a bit of internet research. *I also had some personal revelations of the squares' hidden depths:

The words mirror each other:
       SATOR = ROTAS  
   AREPO = OPERA
   TENET = TENET
    OPERA = AREPO
    ROTAS = SATOR

Read them up and down
SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS

* * * * *
Ancient History: The earliest examples of these squares can be found in Pompeii. After being buried in the ashes of Vesuvius in 79A.D., two of these squares survived. One of the squares, a Rotus Square, can be found on the wall of a Pompeii bakery once owned by P. Paquius Proculus, who may have been a retired Roman soldier, although at his death in 79A.D. he was a bakery owner and a prominent citizen of Pompeii. There are later examples of Sator Squares located in France and in England, as well as in Syria and Portugal. One found in Manchester, England, dates to the 2nd century, and another, found in Cirencester, England is a Rotas square. All seem to be located in areas that were once occupied by Roman soldiers.




 
Unlocking the five words – Latin into English (I double checked these translations; the interpretations are mostly from the internet)1. (verb) Sator – sower; planter; founder; progenitor (usually Divine); creator2. (verb) Arepo – (from Arrepo) move; creep stealthily towards; feel one’s way3. (verb) Tenet – he holds; he keeps; comprehends; *possesses; preserves4. (noun) Opera – works; *the word an effort; cares; aid; effort/trouble5. (noun) Rotas – wheel; rotation; *a circle?
    
*indicates my interpretation or understanding
Below are three interpretations I found on different websites. The first two have used Arepo as if it were a man’s name, although it doesn’t seem to be a name ever used. I prefer to think that it is the word arrepo with one of the r's dropped - to make the word fit.
1. The sower, Arepo, leads with is hand (work) the plough (wheels.2. The Sower, Arepo, holds the wheels with effort.3. God (the Father) says, “I move stealthily in an effort to preserve my creations.”  This translation is from Neil Steede. Steede also sees a possible connection to Mayan iconology: the four letter T’s of the intersecting Pater Noster form what is called a quincunx, “which in Myan iconography is used to depict the Law of Centre, which states that the universe was created for the perfection of man.” – Neil Steede
    
I am going to stick to a sole Christian message.

* * * * *

Unlocking The Sator Square’s Christian Message: My interpretation of the five words – Latin into English: Whenever I read the five words of the Sator square, they make me think of The Parable of the Sower, which is found in the New Testament.
1. Sator = The Sower (God) says, “I sow seed (the word) into man.” 2. Arepo = It grows stealthily inside him. (like a vine)3. Tenet = He (the man) keeps it (the word), possesses it, and comprehends it.4. Opera = The word of God (His work)5. Rotas = As a wheel is a continuous circle, so seed sown into good soil is ever fruitful.

   
*God is the original sower because the word is God, but a believer sows the word (seed) into him/herself every time they read scripture and meditate on it.
     
Like seed is sown in to good, fertile soil, the word is sown into man, but man is also like seed in that he himself might not be "good, fertile soil". Jesus explained it to his disciples below.
The Parable of the Sower: in Mark 4:14-20 Jesus explains, “14.The farmer sows the word. 15.Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16.Others, like seed sown on rocky places hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17.But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18.Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19.but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke out the word, making it unfruitful. 20.Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.”


 
The Sator Square Read Backwards: Because the Sator Square has at times been written in reverse (Rotas Square), let’s try it in reverse and see if it still makes any sense to the reader:

- Rotas + Sator = As a wheel is a continuous circle, so seed sown into good soil is ever fruitful. The Sower (God) says, “I sow the word into man.
- Tenet = He keeps it (the word), possesses it, and comprehends it.
- Opera + Arepo = The word  grows stealthily in him. (like a vine)

* * * * *

Connecting the A and O to Jesus – New Covenant: In Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, Jesus speaks to the apostle John:
Revelation 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:17 “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”
Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
* * * * *

Unlocking the Our Father: If you take all the twenty-five letters of the square (using the N twice), they spell out Pater Noster, which is Latin for the first words of the Lord’s Prayer – Our Father. The letters form a cross, or a plus sign. There are four letters left over: two A’s and two O’s. Instead of Latin, could it be that they are Greek? In the Greek Alphabet the letter A is Alpha, which translates as “the first”, or “the beginning”, and the letter O is Omega, which translates as “the last”, or “the end”. In other words, the left over A’s and O’s might mean: the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. If so, then we can connect the words Pater Noster to Christianity, because as you have just read in Revelation, Jesus identified himself as being just that. 

Take all the 25 letters and they spell:
                                                        
                                                         P
                                                         A
                                                         T
                                              A        E          O (Omega)
                                                         R
                                             PATERNOSTER
                                                         O
                                              O        S          A (Alpha)
                                                         T
                                                         E
                                                         R

The English translation of the Latin words pater noster is Our Father. Notice the words form a cross, and there are 25 letters - all letters in the Sator square are used.

There is a second cross within Pater Noster. There are the four T's, and the letter T is in itself representative of the cross. See below:   
         
          P
          A
          T
          E
          R
           PATERNOSTER
          O
          S
          T
          E
          R

A Third Cross: Look at the Sator square again. The two words TENET intersect.

SATOR    This is a third cross, and the meaning of tenet in English
AREPO    is: he/she/it holds, possesses, keeps etc.
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS

Put the words together from two of the crosses and you get "Our Father holds, keeps, possesses".

Jesus at the Centre and on the Cross: I did check the Hebrew myself. Whether you look at the tablet of the Sator square or the interesting Pater Nosters, you will find that there is only one letter N and it is always dead centre. It sits there like a hub or an anchor.
     The fish symbol is associated with Jesus, and Christians are well aware of this. The "en" sound of the letter N is representative of the Hebrew word Nun when pronounced, which means fish. How perfect the Latin of Paster Noster is, in that Jesus is in the centre AND that he is on the cross. The fish symbol became widely used (in secrecy) where Christianity spread in the first century. It sounds convenient, but relating the N to the Hebrew word for fish adds more points in its favour that the Sator square is a secret puzzle/book for Christians. If so, the fact that the N (fish) is central is very important – it puts Jesus, and the New covenant of Grace he brought, at the dead centre of the puzzle, which makes the puzzle Christian and new covenant. Why? Because Jesus brought us the New Covenant, meaning the first covenant, the laws (Ten Commandments) given to Moses, are no longer valid. Grace is in and Law is out.

The Old Covenant, the Laws, are represented:

SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS

Torot is a Hebrew word and is a plural for Torah. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible and is known as the Books of Law, or the Laws. God gave these laws, or instructions, to Moses to write down for the people of Israel. Seeing the Old Covenant represented in the Sator square, but not by being central but by being on the outside corners, shows (to me) how it has been replaced. 

Another hidden word is ORO: Look at the word TOROT and you see ORO, which is a Latin word that means speaks, orates, says. I am going to apply it twice to the hidden meanings of the Sator square, so bear with me. So, take the word TOROT and see the letters oro in it. Then go back and look at the intersecting words TENET, which means holds, keeps, possesses, and don't forget "Our Father". String them into a sentence and one can get "Our Father proclaims (says) he holds or he keeps the Laws" or Our Father proclaims, "I hold," or "I keep the laws." Is the message here that God is keeping the Laws, taking them back? If you understand why the Messiah (Jesus) came, then this makes sense because Jesus has something better to offer us, and that is eternal life - the kingdom of heaven. Next I will show you how to find eternity represented in the Sator square.

The Circle = Eternity (Everlasting Life): We have to go back to the Sator square tablet and read just the outside words. Imagine them as a circle and not a square. There are only two of them: SATOR and ROTAS.

SATOR
A       O
T        T
O       A
ROTAS

They continually join into each other: they have no beginning and no end (sound familiar?) You can read them forwards or backwards. Both are the first and the last (familiar?).

SATOROTASATOROTASATOROTAS 

They go on together forever, eternally. They very easily represent Eternity, or Eternal Life:  ROTAS means "a wheel", but I see a wheel as a circle. SATOR means "sower", or as I prefer, God (who is the original sower of all). So, "The sower (God) and the circle are one = Eternity. 

Now bring back the intersecting words TENET.

SATOR
E   O
TENET                                             
E   A
ROTAS
We have God the Father (PATER NOSTER), and we have Jesus (N = fish) who is central, and we have a circle that never ends = Eternity or Eternal Life (Everlasting Life/Kingdom of Heaven), and we have the cross created by the words TENET (holds, keeps, possesses) and we have the Latin word ORO (speaks, says, proclaims), and there is a reference to the Law (TOROT). What message do I see in all this?

"God, Our Father, keeps the law (Old Covenant), and Jesus, our Saviour, brings us (is the way) to eternal life (the New Convenant)." As well, there is a reminder of the parable of the Sower, which is about how a good believer will follow the path of righteousness (the seed grows and bears fruit), but a poor believer, for various reasons mentioned by Jesus, will stray from that path and will wither and die.

If one has any doubts about God and Jesus being represented - remember the O and the A? In Greek they mean Alpha and Omega = the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and remember what Jesus said in Revelation? - that he is all these things.

I know that the non-believer will be scoffing at all this. It's what can be expected. Fair enough. However, take away all the Christian ideas and what do you have left? What is the purpose of this palindrome? Then, how would the anagram Pater Noster relate to anyone who spoke and read Latin, except to refer to the family's father and that 'he' keeps his family together? It then would just boil down to a coincidence that the only letters remaining after finding Pater Noster are the letter O and the letter A, and that they could be interpreted as the Greek alpha and omega, and that the meanings of the five Latin words have something to do with a sower and his wheel. Is it all just a coincidence?

Somebody went to a lot of trouble to find those five particular words that can be read up and down and backwards and forwards, and they even dropped a letter out of AREPO to make it fit (arrepo). Why go to all that trouble for something that has very little meaning?

* * * * *


Can the Sator Square be a book? Imagine yourself back in the first century when, after Jesus' death at the cross, Christianity was preached about in secret; Stephen had been stoned to death. The Bible didn't exist then as it does today. The New Testament had not been written and put together as a book like we have today, so converts to Christianity, especially new converts, would have had nothing as a reminder of what Jesus' message was. I think someone put a lot of thought into the Sator Square, in that there are a few truths from the one God that one can find and be ever reminded about.
     The twenty-five letters, or five words, are both the front cover and the back cover. Try to imagine it in your head - it can be done as a form of meditation. After the cover, the first page perhaps contains the basic meaning of the five words and the reminder of the parable of The Sower; the next page may contain Pater Noster (Our Father), with Jesus central (N), and the message that Jesus and God are the Alpha and Omega; the next page perhaps contains the intersecting Tenet, with Jesus (N) on the cross, central again. Then there is the message which is that the Law is no more and there is now a New Covenant between God and his people, and that the way to Everlasting Life is through Jesus; then you close the book and meditate on the back cover, and work backwards to the front.


Closing Thoughts:
If I had been living in those first years/decades after Jesus' death, and I had been a prisoner living in a foul jail cell for years, and if I had heard about Jesus, from say a convert, or even the Apostle Paul himself, who spent years imprisoned, but during that time converted some of his guards, a Sator Square scratched into the cell's stone wall would have been a lifeline to me. These are my personal thoughts. If you disagree, that's fine; you might want to seek other meanings that the square might represent.


WEB: Revelation of John Chapter 2

[8] “To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write:

“The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:

[9] “I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. [10] Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life. [11] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He who overcomes won’t be harmed by the second death.
 
If you were in danger of being killed for your beliefs, wouldn't you do something to protect yourself?  I think its entirely POSSIBLE that early Christians MAY have used this, but I can't prove it.  When I thought about this, Smyrna came to mind and the parallel is obvious.  The application is as obvious as the parallel: Do what you need to do, but be careful!!!! We are already seeing persecution of Christians throughout the world and the beginnings of it here in the good old USA, so, should the future bring danger, remember both Smyrna and this palindrome and have faith in God that you will be able to endure the end.  God will give us the strength to endure anything..... believe it!!!!!

ps  I know this a long post, but I think its worth reading... you be the judge!!!

Apr. 9 Numbers 9, 10


Apr. 9
Numbers 9, 10

Num 9:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
Num 9:2 "Moreover let the children of Israel keep the Passover in its appointed season.
Num 9:3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you shall keep it in its appointed season--according to all its statutes, and according to all its ordinances, you shall keep it."
Num 9:4 Moses spoke to the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover.
Num 9:5 They kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.
Num 9:6 There were certain men, who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
Num 9:7 Those men said to him, "We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back, that we may not offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season among the children of Israel?"
Num 9:8 Moses answered them, "Wait, that I may hear what Yahweh will command concerning you."
Num 9:9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 9:10 "Say to the children of Israel, 'If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, he shall still keep the Passover to Yahweh.
Num 9:11 In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Num 9:12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break a bone of it. According to all the statute of the Passover they shall keep it.
Num 9:13 But the man who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Because he didn't offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
Num 9:14 If a foreigner lives among you, and desires to keep the Passover to Yahweh; according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its ordinance, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the foreigner, and for him who is born in the land.' "
Num 9:15 On the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the Tent of the Testimony: and at evening it was over the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until morning.
Num 9:16 So it was continually. The cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night.
Num 9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after that the children of Israel traveled; and in the place where the cloud remained, there the children of Israel encamped.
Num 9:18 At the commandment of Yahweh, the children of Israel traveled, and at the commandment of Yahweh they encamped. As long as the cloud remained on the tabernacle they remained encamped.
Num 9:19 When the cloud stayed on the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept Yahweh's command, and didn't travel.
Num 9:20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days on the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of Yahweh they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of Yahweh they traveled.
Num 9:21 Sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they traveled: or by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they traveled.
Num 9:22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, remaining on it, the children of Israel remained encamped, and didn't travel; but when it was taken up, they traveled.
Num 9:23 At the commandment of Yahweh they encamped, and at the commandment of Yahweh they traveled. They kept Yahweh's command, at the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
Num 10:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 10:2 "Make two trumpets of silver. You shall make them of beaten work. You shall use them for the calling of the congregation, and for the journeying of the camps.
Num 10:3 When they blow them, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Num 10:4 If they blow just one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves to you.
Num 10:5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall go forward.
Num 10:6 When you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall go forward. They shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
Num 10:7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm.
Num 10:8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. This shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your generations.
Num 10:9 When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets. Then you will be remembered before Yahweh your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.
Num 10:10 "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God. I am Yahweh your God."
Num 10:11 It happened in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the testimony.
Num 10:12 The children of Israel went forward according to their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran.
Num 10:13 They first went forward according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
Num 10:14 First, the standard of the camp of the children of Judah went forward according to their armies. Nahshon the son of Amminadab was over his army.
Num 10:15 Nethanel the son of Zuar was over the army of the tribe of the children of Issachar.
Num 10:16 Eliab the son of Helon was over the army of the tribe of the children of Zebulun.
Num 10:17 The tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tabernacle, went forward.
Num 10:18 The standard of the camp of Reuben went forward according to their armies. Elizur the son of Shedeur was over his army.
Num 10:19 Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon.
Num 10:20 Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad.
Num 10:21 The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary. The others set up the tabernacle before they arrived.
Num 10:22 The standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies. Elishama the son of Ammihud was over his army.
Num 10:23 Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur was over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh.
Num 10:24 Abidan the son of Gideoni was over the army of the tribe of the children of Benjamin.
Num 10:25 The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which was the rearward of all the camps, set forward according to their armies. Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai was over his army.
Num 10:26 Pagiel the son of Ochran was over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher.
Num 10:27 Ahira the son of Enan was over the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali.
Num 10:28 Thus were the travels of the children of Israel according to their armies; and they went forward.
Num 10:29 Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are journeying to the place of which Yahweh said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will treat you well; for Yahweh has spoken good concerning Israel."
Num 10:30 He said to him, "I will not go; but I will depart to my own land, and to my relatives."
Num 10:31 He said, "Don't leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.
Num 10:32 It shall be, if you go with us, yes, it shall be, that whatever good Yahweh does to us, we will do the same to you."
Num 10:33 They set forward from the Mount of Yahweh three days' journey. The ark of the covenant of Yahweh went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them.
Num 10:34 The cloud of Yahweh was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp.
Num 10:35 It happened, when the ark went forward, that Moses said, "Rise up, Yahweh, and let your enemies be scattered! Let those who hate you flee before you!"
Num 10:36 When it rested, he said, "Return, Yahweh, to the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel."

"THE BOOK OF DANIEL" Chapter Four by Mark Copeland

 "THE BOOK OF DANIEL"

                             Chapter Four

Nebuchadnezzar has another dream, this one of a great tree that fills the
earth and then is cut down but its trunk left intact, followed by a man
whose heart is changed and becomes like an animal (1-18).  Daniel
interprets the dream as applying to the king, that he might know that God
rules in the kingdoms of men (19-27).  A year later the dream is
fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar praises, blesses and honors the Most High
God, King of heaven (28-37).

POINTS TO PONDER

   *  The Most High rules in the kingdoms of men

   *  He sets over the kingdoms of men the lowest of men, or whomever He
      chooses 

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - Nebuchadnezzar's second dream - Dan 4:1-18
   - Daniel interprets the dream - Dan 4:19-27
   - Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation and praise of God - Dan 4:28-37

2) List three key elements of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. (10-17)
   - A large tree that fills the earth, but is cut down leaving only the
     trunk
   - A watcher from heaven, who makes pronouncements
   - A man whose heart is changed and becomes like a beast until "seven
     times" pass over

3) Who does Daniel say the dream applies to?  (22)
   - King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon

4) What statements reveal the lesson of the dream and its fulfillment? 
   (17,25,35)  
   - "That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to
     whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men."
   - "The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever
     He chooses."
   - "He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the
     inhabitants of the earth."

5) What was Nebuchadnezzar doing when the dream's fulfillment occurred?
   (28-31)
   - Walking about his palace, boasting of his mighty power and majestic
     honor

6) Describe the king's behavior and appearance when he lost his
   kingdom. (33)
   - Ate grass like oxen, body wet with dew, hair like eagles' feathers,
     nails like birds' claws

7) What did the king do when his understanding returned? (34)
   - Blessed, praised, and honored Him who lives forever, for His
     everlasting kingdom  

8) What was restored to the king when his reason returned to him? (36)
   - The glory of his kingdom, his honor and splendor