The mathematical constant Pi has long been the subject of inquiry and fascination, since the days of ancient Egypt and Babylonia because of it's unique properties. Pi, usually written shorthand as 3.14, represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to it's diameter. Said differently, the distance around a circle is 3.14 x the length across it. That seems insignificant until one learns Pi is actually an irrational number with a never ending sequence of integers, 3.14159.... The decimal representation never ends, nor is it permanently repeating like how 1/3 is 0.33333. It is infinite.
From a scientific perspective, this is of course intriguing, but from a philosophical or theological perspective this is affirming. A circle is used in many cultures to represent the infinite. Think of the Buddhist Wheel or the Zen Buddhist symbol Enso. Think of the Taoist Yin Yang. The Hindu representation of Samsara. The Celtic Cross. What is the message of Pi? Read literally: The distance around an object without any points, straight lines or angles, is infinitely proportionate to the distance across that object. Read metaphorically: Universal Unity / God / Ultimate Reality, without traditionally measurable qualities such as points, angles or straight lines, is infinite in its proportion to that which is measurable, definable and visible. In mathematics, Pi is referred to as a Transcendental Number. In theology, God and all things associated with the divine are known as Transcendent. Coincidence or Transcendence?
I began seeing 3:14 years ago during chaotic and tumultuous times. I saw it on clocks, on time stamps for videos and music, on gas station price charts, and everywhere in which number sequences existed. This is not an uncommon phenomenon, for someone to report a special number that is reoccurring in their life. However, the incidence of my seeing this number began during a very specific time of uncertainty, anxiety, misfortune and deep resentment. A time where it would have been relevant to question the nature of reality, of suffering, and of life. That period has since passed, but nowadays, at times that resemble that period of anxiety and uncertainty, the 3:14 sightings become particularly frequent. Years ago I began looking for explanations. And the most clear explanation came during a story I've told many times around the climax of my internal strife. I had pulled off to the side of the road during a fit of frustration incited by a plethora of culminating variables, on my drive to the graves of my grandparents during Christmas 2017. It was a very Job-esque moment. Once my rage subsided and I returned to the car, I saw my exit was 314 and in that moment I felt a calm come over me, as if God himself was telling me to focus on the infinite and not on the suffering I was facing.
In the years since, during my study of the Bible, I have come across various lines from xx book, line 3:14, that signal a certain infinite divinity that corresponds to the infinite nature of the number itself. In fact, I believe the most important lines in the Bible, show up in 3:14 passages. In a way, the whole story of Jesus can be explained through seven 3:14 passages, which I believe to be transcendent in nature, divinely inspired.
[1] Genesis 3:14
"Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life"
-- The banishing of Satan as the serpent after the fall. This leads into Genesis 3:15, called the Protoevangelium, or the first indication of the coming of Jesus Christ.
[2] Exodus 3:14
"God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you'"
-- Arguably the most significant event in the Old Testament, when God reveals himself to Moses. God tells man he is ultimate unity, ultimate reality, and being itself.
[3] Psalms 3:14
"The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God"
-- God desires those who seek him. It does not say, those who have full faith and confidence, those who believe with no reservations. It says understand and seek. This is a foreshadowing of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ.
[4] Matthew 3:14
"But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'"
-- Jesus is baptized, showing that he is absolved of original sin, and foreshadowing how he will later absolve all of us from sin.
[5] Mark 3:14
"Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles. They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach"
-- Jesus finds those 'who seek' and gives them understanding. An ode to Psalms.
[6] John 3:14
"And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life"
-- The most important event in the New Testament, God connects the Old Testament to the New and foreshadows how he will save humanity from Sin. The baptism of all humanity.
[7] Revelation 3:14
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation."
-- Jesus is the "Amen," the ultimate affirmation of God's promises.
Summary
[1] The story of reality, the fall of man in the garden, original sin and the eternal battle between good and evil, between God and Satan, man and the serpent.
[2] God revealing to man once again, his identity and divinity. Showing us that he will save humanity once again.
[3] The chosen people have been saved but a fall has happened again (Context: Babylon, destruction of Jerusalem) and society knows not of God anymore. God is yearning for those who might follow him, who might seek him.
[4] God renews the covenant through Baptism in the form of the human Jesus Christ. Beginning a saga which repeat the story of Exodus.
[5] God finds "those who seek" and appoints them to change the world. Closing the loop on Psalms.
[6] God shows us how he will solve the problem of original sin for all and how he connects the Old Testament to the New Testament, revealing once more his divinity.
[7] God makes one final promise that the words of the Bible are of the same divine source as all six lines above. He closes the loop on God's promise from the Old Testament and references back to creation in Genesis.
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