November 26, 2014
http://www.christianscienceneworleans.org/ArchiveWedReadings.html
In the readings from Isaiah 22, there is a reference to the “waters of the lower pool.” This pool of Siloam is familiar to us from the story of Jesus’ healing of the blind man’s eyes when he told him to wash in this pool. We also learned about the Gihon Spring feeding this pool when we were exploring the rivers in Science and Health’s Glossary this summer. (I love the correlations of these symbolic places in the Bible.) The link has some Bible notes on Isaiah 22.
There is also a link to a Jewish timeline. Last year, our Book Club studied the Book of Revelation in the Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s Apocalypse chapter, and I was curious why Mrs. Eddy used the number of “six thousand years since Adam” (SH 560:3) with the 19th century. The paragraph preceding this one discusses the “Israelites of old,” so it occurred to me to look at a Jewish calendar (which begins with Adam) instead of our Christian calendar. The 19th century (such as 1866 CE) would be the 6th millennium on the Jewish timeline (or the year 5626).
I couldn’t find any article about Mrs. Eddy’s use of 6,000 years on jsh-online, so I suppose I’ve gone way out on a limb. However, I am always amazed at Mrs. Eddy’s grasp of Bible history (especially before the internet and its handy calendar converters!). I also appreciate her definition of millennium in Miscellany as “a state and stage of mental advancement, going on since ever time was.” (Miscellany 239:27) If anyone else has a better explanation (or further insights) for the 6,000 years in Mrs. Eddy’s paragraph, please feel free to share.
CMoore-Reflections 