Clement of Alexandria - not surprisingly - says the exact same thing - when we see that he writes that in his Alexandrian tradition of St. Mark "six is reckoned in the order of numbers, but the succession of the letters acknowledges the character which is not written. In this case, in the numbers themselves, each unit is preserved in its order up to seven and eight. But in the number of the characters, Zeta becomes six and Eta seven. And the character having somehow slipped into writing, should we follow it out thus, the seven became six, and the eight seven." [Stromata 6:16]
It should be apparent now after the last forty nine posts that in fact Irenaeus is accurately reporting on the beliefs of a group of messianic followers of Mark, it only turns out now that 'Mark' is clearly St. Mark, the evangelist who everyone acknowledges wrote the original gospel but somehow ends up getting subordinated in the Catholic histories to other non-existent saints, apostles and evangelists.
But Philo of Alexandria testifies that already by the middle of the first century there were messianists developing THIS PARTICULAR kabbalistic formula AS THE BASIS TO AN APOCALYPTIC DOCTRINE and apparently throwing Alexandria - and undoubtedly the rest of the world - into complete chaos.
Philo of Alexandria writes (c. 50 CE) that "some of those persons who have (in the past) fancied that the world is everlasting, inventing a variety of new arguments, employ also such a system of reasoning as this to establish their point: they affirm that there are four principal manners in which corruption is brought about, addition, taking away, transposition, and alteration; accordingly, the number two is by the addition of the unit corrupted so as to become the number three, and no longer remains the number two; and the number four by the taking away of the unit is corrupted so as to become the number three; again, by transposition the letter Zeta becomes the letter Eta when the parallel lines which were previously horizontal (3/43/4) are placed perpendicularly (1/2 1/2), and when the line which did before pass upwards, so as to connect the two is now made horizontal, and still extended between them so as to join them. And by alteration the word oinos, wine, becomes oxos, vinegar.
But of the manner of corruption thus mentioned there is not one which is in the least degree whatever applicable to the world, since otherwise what could we say? Could we affirm that anything is added to the world so as to cause its destruction? But there is nothing whatever outside of the world which is not a portion of it as the whole, for everything is surrounded, and contained, and mastered by it. Again, can we say that anything is taken from the world so as to have that effect? In the first place that which would be taken away would again be a world of smaller dimensions than the existing one, and in the second place it is impossible that any body could be separated from the composite fabric of the whole world so as to be completely dispersed. Again, are we to say that the constituent parts of the world are transposed? But at all events they remain in their original positions without any change of place, for never at any time shall the whole earth be raised up above the water, nor the water above the air, nor the air above the fire. But those things which are by nature heavy, namely the earth and the water, will have the middle place, the earth supporting everything like a solid foundation, and the water being above it; and the air and the fire, which are by nature light, will have the higher position, but not equally, for the air is the vehicle of the fire; and that which is carried by anything is of necessity above that which carries it. Once more: we must not imagine that the world is destroyed by alteration, for the change of any elements is equipollent, and that which is equipollent is the cause of unvarying steadiness, and of untroubled durability, inasmuch as it neither seeks any advantage itself, and is not subject to the inroads of other things which seek advantages at its expense; so that this retribution and compensation of these powers is equalized by the rules of proportion, being the produce of health and endless preservation, by all which considerations the world is demonstrated to be eternal." [On the Eternity of the World XXII]
I can't tell you how significant this discovery is. I don't know if the world is ready for the real revelation of this truth - i.e. the psychic structure behind the gospel.
As I said time and time again in my post my 'experts' in the field of early Christianity haven't the foggiest idea what Judaism REALLY is. How then can they understand the development of a tradition - even 'Christianity' - AWAY from this 'mother religion'?
It's simply laughable (all though it can make one go mad witnessing the 'certainty' they display with regards to the ignorance of their ancestors).
Most scholars won't 'get' what I am showing here - even though it's all from the writings of Irenaeus, Clement and Philo. I am not making any of this up. There is no subjectivity involved in any of this. There really was a kabbalistic form of Christianity based in Alexandria and associated with St. Mark. It's all in black and white, 'hiding in plain sight' on the printed words of Irenaeus of Lyons original report from 180 CE.
All this will be explained in due course but for the moment let's stop ourselves from getting too involved in the explanation and instead take thing one step at a time.The Marcosians - and thus Clement of Alexandria - were saying that the fingerprints of Mark's authorship of the original gospel are found all over the narrative.
One has to be 'clued into' the kabbalistic clues of the strange numbers being cited throughout - i.e. the consistent reference to the number six (i.e. sixth hour, sixth day, six six six etc.), the number twelve, the number thirty, forty nine, the number seventy two, the number ninety nine and one hundred which are all products of a unique kabbalistic cipher developed from the disappearance of the letter vav (the number 6) from the universe.
1
1 + 2 = 3
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 = 22
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 = 30
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 + 9 = 39
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 = 49
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 = 60
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 = 72
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 = 85
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 = 99
'Those of Mark' identify Mark as 'encoding' his gospel with these numbers in the following place (I only cite from the Diatessaron because I don't believe in the fourfold revelation of Irenaeus)
1 - the unknowable principle of 'oneness' or the ehad
3 - the triad of gods in heaven
10 - "And what woman having ten drachmas would lose one of them, and not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek it with care till she found it; and when she found it, call her friends and neighbours, and say unto them, Rejoice with me, as I have found my drachma that was lost?" [Diatessaron xxvi.9; AH i.14.1]
Ten is the value of the letter yod or iota which appears in the saying"one Iota, or one tittle, shall by no means pass away until all be fulfilled." [AH i.3.2]
the number of disciples to whom Christ appeared after being raised from the dead [Diatessaron LIV.17; AH i.18.3]
15 - the numerical value of Yah the principal divinity in heaven (i.e. yod + he).
22 - the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
30 - the age of Jesus when crucified [Diatessaron iv.24; AH i.14.1]
the number of days from Jesus baptism of his disciple to his crucifixion (i.e. 'the redemption').
the parable of the labourers sent into the vineyard. For some are sent about the first hour, others about the third hour, others about the sixth hour, others about the ninth hour, and others about the eleventh hour. Now, if we add up the numbers of the hours here mentioned, the sum total will be thirty: for one, three, six, nine, and eleven, when added together, form thirty [Diatessaron xix.27f].
symbol of the first level of 'fruitfulness' in the parable 'and some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it; and it yielded no fruit. And other fell into excellent and good ground; and it came up, and grew, and brought forth fruit, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred.' [Diatessaron xvi.24]
the amount of money needed for the redemption of a slave/Judas returns to the high priest [Diatessaron xliv.8]
49 - the number of times Jesus demands forgiveness from our brothers [Diatessaron xxvii.24]
the impending destruction of the temple [Daniel 9:24 - 27 cited in Diatessaron xlii.4 - 6]
60 - symbol of the second level of 'fruitfulness' in the parable 'and some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it; and it yielded no fruit. And other fell into excellent and good ground; and it came up, and grew, and brought forth fruit, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred.' [Diatessaron xvi.24]
72 - the number of apostles sent out to announce the messianic jubilee [Diatessaron xv.15]
99 - the ninety nine sheep and the one who was lost and restored to the 'right hand' [Diatessaron xxvi.1 - 9]
100 - the number of perfection (i.e. one the ehad is restored to the ninety nine).
symbol of the last and greatest level of 'fruitfulness' in the parable 'and some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it; and it yielded no fruit. And other fell into excellent and good ground; and it came up, and grew, and brought forth fruit, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred.' [Diatessaron xvi.24]
It is also worth noting that 'right hand' - yamin in Hebrew - has a numerical value of one hundred - y (10) + m (40) + (50).
being 'seated at the right hand' of God is not surprisingly the conclusion of the gospel narrative
It is worth noting that the numerological value of Mark's own name is revealed in this cipher:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 + 26 = 345
Mark is spelled m (40) + r (200) + q (100) + h (5) and equals the value of the name of Moses i.e. the person of the messiah to come.
So before scholars close their minds and go back to the same nonsense that their ancestors taught them LET'S COME TO TERMS WITH WHAT Irenaeus, Clement and Philo are telling us about the original Alexandrian 'apocalyptic' kabbalah.
At least as an introduction.
Irenaeus and Clement at least are saying that 'those associated with Mark' identified Mark as EMBEDDING A CODE within the gospel THAT EVEN THE FALSIFICATIONS EFFORTS OF LATER ORTHODOX CHURCH FATHERS could not erase.
All the strange 'groups of things' in the gospel - references to numbers 30, 49, 60, 72, 99 and 100 ALL COME FROM A KABBALAH - a tradition - where Jesus' crucifixion as the vav, the number six MEANS THE INEVITABLE CATACLYSM AND END TO THE WORLD ORDER as people living up to destruction of the Jewish temple had come to know.
As we shall demonstrate it also means that ONLY AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWISH TEMPLE, and the revelation of the 'real messiah' the messianic age actually began.
As the earliest Jewish and Christian exegetes all agree the seventy sevens only came to be fulfilled with this historical event.
The earliest Christians must have perpetuated a belief that FROM THAT POINT IN HISTORY ONWARD the kingdom of heaven had already come down to earth - viz. the now almost entirely expunged history of the rule of King Marcus (Mark) Julius Agrippa in Israel.
I hope you will stick around for my development of the kabbalah that proves that he was the originator of the gospel, Christianity and the basic forms of all monotheistic traditions that have survived down to our time.
Oh and by the way - look at where the 'vav' is on the diagram and then think of the physical consequence of the 'removal' or 'destruction of vav' on a person created after the image of truth - as Irenaeus says those of Mark speak of it.
When you look at his description of the manner in which the letters correspond to the parts of the human body there is one letter - episemon (i.e. vav) - and one part of the human anatomy - the pudenda - that are missing.
This is not accidental.
We read in Irenaeus' report that the Marcosians hold that "the Tetrad, explaining these things to him more fully, said:--I wish to show thee Aletheia (Truth) herself; for I have brought her down from the dwellings above, that thou mayest see her without a veil, and understand her beauty--that thou mayest also hear her speaking, and admire her wisdom. Behold, then, her head on high, Alpha and Omega; her neck, Beta and Psi; her shoulders with her hands, Gamma and Chi; her breast, Delta and Phi; her diaphragm, Epsilon and Upsilon; her back, Zeta and Tau; her belly, Eta and Sigma; her thighs, Theta and Rho; her knees, Iota and Pi; her legs, Kappa and Omicron; her ancles, Lambda and Xi; her feet, Mu and Nu. Such is the body of Truth, according to this magician, such the figure of the element, such the character of the letter. And he calls this element Anthropos (Man), and says that is the fountain of all speech, and the beginning of all sound, and the expression of all that is unspeakable, and the mouth of the silent Sige. This indeed is the body of Truth. But do thou, elevating the thoughts of thy mind on high, listen from the mouth of Truth to the self-begotten Word, who is also the dispenser of the bounty of the Father." [Irenaeus AH i.14.3]
Let me break it down for my readers one last time. Jesus is the self-begotten word, the dispenser of the bounty of the Father. Tertullian says that he was a eunuch. Clement repeatedly says that it is our job to recreate ourselves after his image BEFORE we enter the waters.
Do the math ...
dating back to conversations with his grandfather, Gaston Frank. "He said we represent one of the last descendants of the Frankist Jewish faith in the world," he muses. "I grew up thinking that our family was something like the Last of the Mohicans."