THE FACE BENEATH ZION

The Foundation Stone, the Image of God, and the War of Heaven and Earth

By Karin Anderson

(With scriptural, Qumranic, and celestial commentary)

Dedication

To the Stone the Builders Rejected —
who became the Head of the Corner.

To the Voice that speaks from beneath the dust,
whose word still resounds from Zion.

To those who search for the buried image,
who look beyond the ruin and see the pattern —
the Face that was from the beginning.

“For behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone,
a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
he that believeth shall not make haste.”
— Isaiah 28:16

Preface

Jacob’s Ladder Is the Key

Among the many anticipated questions that arise, there are two that must be addressed first:

What is Jacob’s Ladder?

What does it have to do with Qumran?

What Is Jacob’s Ladder?

Maimonides explained that Jacob’s vision was not a simple dream, but a prophetic parable—a symbolic revelation meant to be understood by carefully dividing and interpreting each word.

He cited Genesis 28:12:

“And behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”

Each word, Maimonides said, introduces a new idea: “ladder,” “set up on the earth,” “the top reached to heaven,” “angels of God,” “ascending,” “descending,” and finally, “the Lord stood above it.” Each phrase contains an element of the mystery.

Interpretation: Following Maimonides’ Counsel

Following his advice, we will examine Jacob’s words one by one. After each phrase, we draw conclusions using Masonic, historical, and Qumran definitions. By doing so, we build the foundation for understanding Jacob’s prophetic parable—one that ultimately harmonizes with the revelations preserved at Qumran.

1. The Word: “Ladder”

Albert Pike observed:

“The word translated ladder is Salam, from Salal—raised, exalted, heaped up. Salalah means a mound or rampart of stone, Salaa or Salo signifies a rock or cliff, and the name Petra. There is no ancient Hebrew word for pyramid.”

Conclusion: Jacob beheld a pyramid form—a celestial ladder expressed in architectural geometry.

2. The Words: “Set Up on the Earth”

The Dead Sea Scroll 4Q537, The Vision of Jacob, explains that Jacob recognized his vision as prophecy and saw that it must one day be built. Yet he was told that the place where he stood was not to be made a temple, for the structure he saw represented the heavenly Temple above.

Conclusion: Jacob saw the Heavenly Jerusalem—and sought to mirror it on earth. That work would later unfold in Egypt, where the Great Pyramid was constructed.

Who was the Builder?
Joseph, son of Jacob, known in Egypt as Imhotep, Aschopolos, or Pathotep.

Supporting Evidence: Joseph as Imhotep

Imhotep, the renowned vizier of Pharaoh Djoser, was credited with building the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, the Temple of Dendera, and the Temple at the base of the Great Pyramid.
Peter Tompkins, in Secrets of the Great Pyramid, demonstrated that the Great Pyramid follows the mathematical constant pi—a formula found only in the works of Imhotep, identifying him as its architect.

This suggests that Imhotep was Joseph, the biblical savior of Egypt.

Chronological Correlations

Dr. F. David Fry, in Hebrew Sages of Ancient Egypt, proposed a revised chronology:

Dynasty I – Abraham

Dynasty III – Joseph (Imhotep)

Dynasty VI – Moses

He argued that Egypt’s traditional chronology is off by nearly a thousand years, aligning the age of Imhotep with that of Joseph.

Imhotep’s seven-step pyramid perfectly mirrors Jacob’s “ladder reaching to heaven.” Both represent the same archetype—a stairway between worlds.

Both men share identical attributes:

Both were foreigners in Egypt.

Both became vizier to Pharaoh.

Both saved Egypt from a seven-year famine.

Both were venerated as healers and sages.

Thus, Fry concludes:

“Joseph, Imhotep, and Pathotep were one and the same man… the initiator of medical science and sacred architecture in Egypt.”

Archaeological Parallels

Bruce Alan Killian expands this identification:

The Famine Stele of Djoser records a seven-year famine, interpreted by Imhotep, paralleling Genesis 41.

The stele also describes Imhotep’s dream interpretation and his method for creating stone—echoing Joseph’s revelation of divine wisdom.

Later, a canal created to end the famine was called The River Joseph, memorializing the architect.

Imhotep, “the first man of science,” matches the biblical Joseph in role, intellect, and divine favor.

3. “The Top Reached to Heaven”

The Great Pyramid is a microcosm of the universe—a terrestrial reflection of a heavenly Temple. Its missing capstone represents the cornerstone in heaven, the Sun itself.

In the York Rite tradition:

“The dimensions of the Lodge are unlimited, its covering no less than the canopy of heaven. To that celestial object the Mason’s mind is continually directed, ascending by the theological ladder which Jacob saw in his vision.”

4. “The Angels of God”

In Hebrew, the word malakhim (angels) also denotes stars. Thus, Jacob’s angels symbolize the celestial hosts—the intelligences of the heavens.

“The stars were so many animated and intelligent beings, known as gods, angels, and genii.” (Morals and Dogma, p. 473)

5–6. “Ascending and Descending”

Pike further notes the division of the zodiac into ascending and descending series—representing the ascent and descent of souls.
From Taurus to Scorpio lay the upper kingdom of light; from Scorpio to Taurus, the lower kingdom of darkness—Ormuzd and Ahriman, Osiris and Typhon, the cosmic dualities of good and evil.

7. “The Lord Stood Above It”

The “Lord” (Adoni) was identified in Hebrew as the Sun.
In Jewish mystical tradition, two angels of the Lord stood as cherubim—Michael (Melchizedek), the angel of light, and Melchi-Resha (Belial), the angel of darkness.
Thus, Jacob’s vision reveals the cosmic hierarchy—light ruling above, darkness below.

What Does Jacob’s Ladder Have to Do with Qumran?

The Book of Secrets (1Q27; 4Q299–301)

The Book of Secrets of Qumran confirms that Jacob’s vision forms the very foundation of their prophetic teaching. The community viewed it as the proof of their revelation—the pattern upon which their eschatology rested.

“This is all ready to happen; it is a true oracle, and by this it shall be known to you that it cannot be averted.”

The Book of Secrets speaks as a time-capsule for a future generation—the “children of light”—warning that the uninitiated “did not know the secret of the way things are.” Only those who possess the secret of Jacob’s Vision can perceive “the mysteries of Light and the ways of Darkness.”

Five Clues to Illumination

The scroll offers five clues to receive illumination and become wise:

Lights of the stars—a memorial of His Name.

Hidden things of Light and Darkness—the cosmic duality.

Times of heat and cold—the celestial cycles.

Breaking of day and coming of night—the rhythm of time and revelation.

The origins of things—the mystery of the Face of Jacob, reflected in the Foundation Stone.

These clues lead back to Jacob’s Vision itself—the key to understanding creation, prophecy, and the ultimate union of heaven and earth. Introduction

The Book of Secrets (1Q27; 4Q299–301)

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, few texts rival The Book of Secrets for its enigmatic beauty and prophetic depth. Composed for “those who would understand parables and riddles,” this work addresses the hidden architecture of creation—the origins of knowledge, the mysteries of light and darkness, and the foundation of the world itself.

Like Jacob’s Ladder, it bridges heaven and earth: its language is symbolic, astronomical, and moral all at once. The scrolls urge their readers to unseal the vision—to rediscover the ancient wisdom that once bound the spiritual and physical cosmos into a single divine design.

The Call to Understanding (4Q301 Fragments 1–2)

The writer opens with an invitation:

“I shall speak out freely, and I shall express my various sayings among you… to those who would understand parables and riddles, who would penetrate the origins of knowledge, and who hold fast to the wonderful mysteries.”

These words distinguish two kinds of humanity—those who walk in simplicity and those “devious in every activity.” The author warns the proud and “stiff-necked” that true wisdom is not found in domination or argument but in illumination. He asks, “Who among you seeks the presence of Light?”—a question that sets the tone for all that follows.

The Mystery of Knowledge and Dominion (4Q301 Fragments 2–3)

A riddle is posed:

“What good is the riddle to you, who search for the origins of knowledge? Why is the heart honored—for it is the dominion of man?”

Here, the heart symbolizes divine consciousness—the seat of illumination. Yet, mankind, governed by pride, seeks to rule through external strength rather than inward understanding. The scroll warns that those “without the secret of the way things are” cannot rescue themselves from the approaching judgment.

The Secret of the Way Things Are (1Q27 Column 1)

The central revelation comes through the companion text 1Q27, which declares:

“They did not know the secret of the way things are, nor did they understand the things of old… so they did not rescue themselves without the secret of the way things are.”

The author then unveils a prophecy of cosmic restoration:

“When the sources of evil are shut up and wickedness banished in the presence of righteousness—as darkness before light—then wickedness shall vanish forever and righteousness be manifest like the sun.”

This, the text insists, is “a true oracle,” declaring that the triumph of righteousness cannot be averted.

The writer laments the moral blindness of the nations—who profess truth yet act unjustly, who esteem wisdom yet do not grasp it. This condemnation of hypocrisy echoes the same cosmic dualism that appears in the War Scroll: the division of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness.

The Hidden Wisdom of the Maker (4Q299–300)

Another fragment exhorts:

“Call no man on earth wise or righteous, for it is not a human possession… Wisdom is hidden, except for the wisdom of cunning evil and the schemes of Belial.”

True wisdom belongs only to the Creator. The author speaks to “those who hold fast to the wonderful secrets,” teaching that God alone “knows every secret and stands behind every thought.” From eternity He “opened up the origins” and “tests His son,” revealing the limits of every deed.

The Gentiles, too, have their purpose in His plan—for He created them and their works—but only those who receive illumination will perceive the divine design behind all nations and epochs.

The Sealed Vision (4Q300 Fragment 1)

A warning follows:

“Consider the soothsayers, the teachers of sin. Say the parable, declare the riddle—then you will know if you have understood. Your foolishness has blinded you, for the vision is sealed up from you, and you have not properly understood the eternal mysteries.”

The Teacher of Righteousness calls upon his disciples: “Hear now what wisdom is.” To unseal the vision is to restore the original light of creation—the same light hidden since the beginning, veiled in parable and symbol.

Five Clues of Illumination (4Q299 Fragment 5)

In a poetic sequence, the text outlines five clues for those who seek illumination:

“Lights of the stars for a memorial of His name.”
God called the stars by name; they are the living characters of a celestial drama—a cosmic memorial of His identity.

“Hidden things of the mysteries of Light and the ways of Darkness.”
As in Morals and Dogma, Light represents the good principle, Darkness the evil. The eternal conflict of Osiris and Typhon, of Ormuzd and Ahriman, mirrors the moral order of creation itself.

“The times of heat with the periods of cold.”
The solar year was the measure of divine order. When the Sun ruled, warmth prevailed—symbolizing righteousness. When darkness reigned at the solstice, evil dominated. Albert Pike wrote that ancient priests mourned when the Sun, symbol of life, was dragged down by Scorpio and Capricorn—his three-day death in winter followed by resurrection in the spring.

“The breaking of day and the coming of night.”
Day and night were not only daily events but annual cycles of divine drama. The ancients viewed the equinoxes as gates between light and shadow. As Pike explained, the precession of the equinoxes shifted the Sun’s position among the constellations, marking epochs in sacred architecture. During the third millennium B.C.—the time of Joseph/Imhotep—the Sun entered Taurus at the vernal equinox, and Scorpio at the autumnal. These alignments define the astronomical age in which the Great Pyramid, the House of the Sun, was built.

“The origins of things.”
Here the scroll points to the foundation stone—the cornerstone of creation itself.

Connecting Back to Jacob’s Ladder and “The Secret of the Way Things Are”

Now we can see how all these strands tie together:

Jacob’s Ladder – as reinterpreted by Maimonides, Pike, and Qumran, is not merely a dream-image but a prophetic parable of a pyramid-ladder set on the earth with its top in the heavens.

The Great Pyramid – built, we argue, under Joseph/Imhotep, becomes a terrestrial model of the cosmic Temple, aligned with the equinoxes and the very stars that tell the story of the Dragon, the Woman, and the promised Seed.

The Book of Secrets – reveals that salvation and understanding depend upon grasping “the secret of the way things are”: the moral and cosmic order embedded in creation, written in the heavens, and preserved in the scrolls.

The War Scroll – describes the final outworking of that order: Michael vs. Belial, Light vs. Darkness, Israel vs. the Nations, until wickedness is banished “as smoke vanishes” and righteousness shines like the sun.

Qumran’s “letter from the past” thus speaks directly to us:

It warns that without this secret, mankind cannot save itself.

It points us back to the origins of things—the foundation stone, the Ladder, the Pyramid, and the starry signs.

It insists that this is “a true oracle,” and that the outcome—the fall of Belial and the triumph of Michael—is irreversible.

In this sense, Jacob’s Pyramid-Ladder defines the secret of the way things are.
It is the geometry of God’s plan, the axis where heaven and earth meet, and the key to understanding both Qumran’s purpose and our own place in the unfolding prophetic drama.

The Foundation Stone and the Origin of the World

In the Book of Job, the Lord asks:

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth?… Who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Jewish tradition calls this stone Shethiyah, the foundation from which the world was created. The Talmud teaches that God cast this stone into the abyss, and from it the world spread in all directions. The Zohar expands the image:

“When the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to create the world, He detached one precious stone from beneath His Throne of Glory and plunged it into the abyss. One end remained fastened below while the other stood above, and this upper end became the nucleus of the world.”

Thus, the foundation stone—sh’thyiah, from shath (founded) and Yah (God)—signifies the divine nucleus around which creation coheres.

The Masonic Parallel: The Stone as Truth

Albert G. Mackey, in The Symbolism of Freemasonry, explained:

“The mystical stone of the ancients was a symbol of Deity. The Stone of Foundation was sanctified by the ineffable Name inscribed upon it—the symbol of the Grand Architect of the Universe.”

In Masonic tradition, God is the Builder, the Grand Architect (G.A.O.T.U.), and the foundation stone represents His creative power and His truth. The “search for the lost word” is the search for divine truth—the very essence of God Himself.

As Isaiah declares:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.”

When the witnesses come with the Servant, Israel shall answer:

“It is the Truth.”

Introduction:

Qumran: A Letter from the Past

The Book of Psalms foretells that “a generation shall write to a future generation.” The Dead Sea Scrolls may well be the fulfillment of that line—a packet of sealed letters delivered across millennia, opened only in our day.

If we picture Qumran as a faithful remnant writing forward in time, then many of their texts, and especially The Book of Secrets, read like a warning and a roadmap laid on our doorstep.

The Goal of This Study

The central questions are stark:

Did the Qumran community truly know the Scriptures—so accurately that they had the authority to interpret them?

Did they know the living God, not just intellectually, but covenantally?

Did they understand His plan and purpose for history?

How is that purpose linked to us today?

The scroll entitled “The Secret of the Way Things Are” seizes our attention when it declares:

“They did not rescue themselves without the secret of the way things are.”

If these texts are indeed addressed to us, logic demands that we listen. We long to be rescued from the coming upheavals. If “the secret of the way things are” is the key to survival and understanding, then we must learn that secret.

In the final analysis, this study proposes that Jacob’s Ladder—mirrored in the Great Pyramid—defines that secret. It becomes a message of illumination uniquely tailored for our generation. This chapter lays the foundation for that conclusion.

Qumran’s Purpose and God’s Purpose

One of the key Qumran texts declares in the context of the War Scroll:

“Blessed is the God of Israel for all His holy purpose and His works of truth. And blessed are those who serve Him righteously, who know Him by faith. And cursed is Belial for his contentious purpose, and accursed for his reprehensible rule.”

Here we see two competing purposes:

God’s Purpose

Qumran’s Purpose in Alignment with God

Scripture defines God’s overarching purpose in Isaiah 14:

“This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?”

In the same chapter, the prophet warns against rejoicing in the fall of one oppressor, because another will arise:

“Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina… for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.”

This fiery flying serpent is seen in the heavens as Draco, the great red dragon.

Draco: The Fiery Flying Serpent in the Heavens

Draco, winding around the northern celestial pole, is the ancient emblem of the serpent adversary:

He is fiery and flying, a serpent of the sky.

In Babylonian myth, his severed wings became Ursa Minor, suggesting that the poles themselves were split in the act of creation.

In the language of symbolism, these become the two poles of the Tree of Life—one good, one evil.

Isaiah calls this shining figure “Lucifer” (“light-bearer”), and declares:

“Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.”

The parallels are striking:

Lucifer means shining star.

Draco is a brilliant star-group in the far north.

Draco once held the pole star and was counted as one of the “two great lights” that ordered the heavens.

The Name and the Message

The name Draco carries a double meaning:

Draco – “see!”

Draco (Greek) – “the trodden.”

His star-names tell the story of his destiny. Ten principal stars in Draco are traditionally given these meanings:

Tir-Anna – “The life of heaven” or “light of paradise”

Dahrach – “To tread”

Rastaban – “The head of the subtle”

Ethanin – “The long, coiling serpent”

Al Waid – “Who is to be destroyed”

Giansar – “The punished enemy”

Athik – “The fraudulent”

Thuban – “Subtle”

Al Dib – “Reptile”

El Asieh – “Bowed down”

Arranged as a sentence, these names form a prophetic anagram:

“See the trodden! The life of heaven, the light of Paradise, tread the head of the subtle dragon-serpent who is to be destroyed—the punished enemy, the fraudulent reptile, bowed down.”

Here the heavens proclaim what Genesis, Isaiah, and Revelation all declare:

The old serpent,

The fiery flying dragon,

The enemy to be trodden under foot.

Lucifer’s Will vs. God’s Will (Isaiah 14)

Isaiah records the boast of Lucifer:

“I will ascend into heaven.”

“I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”

“I will sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north.”

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”

“I will make myself like the Most High.”

God’s reply is equally direct:

“I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant… I will kill thy root with famine… Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.”

In the sky, Draco coils around the pole, as though attempting to ascend the very axis mundi of the universe. Opposite him, Cepheus, the celestial King, sits upon his throne in the “uttermost parts of the north,” above Polaris.

Lucifer says, “I will make myself like the Most High.”
But Michael, whose name means “Who is like God?”, is the one truly “like the Most High.”

The message of the constellations is clear:
Lucifer seeks the Throne that has already been promised to the Messiah.

Isaiah 14:19 further identifies this fallen one as “the abominable branch… trodden under foot.” In the heavens, Draco’s head lies crushed beneath the foot of a hero—another image of the seed of the woman bruising the serpent’s head.

The Plan: Two Princes and a House Divided

The Kabbalistic tradition speaks of God as a single divine Unity who chooses to reveal Himself through a duality—a tension between two princes:

Michael – Melchi-Zedek, “Prince of Righteousness.”

Satan – Melchi-Rasha, “Prince of Wickedness.”

Thus, the heavens become a house divided: two poles, two princes, two armies. The celestial chariot of God rides upon the wings of the two Cherubim, yet Scripture says: “Upon a cherub He will fly”—prophetically indicating that one cherub will fall, and only one remain.

Two Princes at War in Qumran

The Qumran texts echo this cosmic conflict. In 1QM XIV we read:

“Today is his appointed time to lay low and to make fall the prince of the dominion of wickedness; and He will send eternal help to the lot He has redeemed by the power of the angel He has made glorious for rule, Michael, in eternal light, to give light in joy to all Israel… to exalt among the gods the rule of Michael and the dominion of Israel over all flesh.”

Here again are the two princes:

The Prince of the Dominion of Wickedness.

Michael, the glorious prince of Light.

The War Scroll describes the final confrontation:

“At the beginning of the undertaking of the Sons of Light, they shall set themselves against the lot of the Sons of Darkness, the army of Belial… that wickedness may be laid low without any remnant, and that there be no survivor of the Sons of Darkness.”

Who Is Michael? Who Is Belial?

Rabbinical and Christian sources recognize that Michael is more than a mere angel:

He is called “the great Prince”, the High Priest in Heaven, and a figure who typifies the Messiah.

Scripture presents him as the defender of Israel and commander of heavenly armies (Daniel 10–12; Jude 9; Revelation 12).

Belial, in turn, is identified in Second Temple literature as:

The accuser,

The father of idolatrous nations,

The leader of the Sons of Darkness.

The War Scroll states of God:

“You sent an angel of light from of old to assist us.”

“You made Belial for the pit.”

Qumran thus portrays a dual structure identical to the one seen in Isaiah and in the stars: Michael vs. the Dragon, Light vs. Darkness, Israel vs. the Nations under Belial.

Belial, Draco, and Lucifer: A Geometric Proposition

We can summarize the identity of Belial using a simple logical equation:

Since Draco = Lucifer (the shining serpent at the pole),

And Draco = Bel in Babylonian worship (the dragon-god),

And Belial/Beliar is etymologically linked with Bel, the great serpent,

Then:

Belial applies to Draco; Draco represents Satan in the heavens.

Albert Pike notes that the Greeks called Bel Beliar, and that the term was interpreted as a dragon or great serpent. The apocryphal “Bel and the Dragon” preserves the worship of a literal living serpent in Babylon. Pike further explains that:

The dragon was believed to assault the Sun and Moon, causing eclipses.

This dragon was the original Leviathan, the crooked serpent, suspended as a trophy in the sky yet forever seeking to devour the light.

In later Jewish and Persian expectation, this Dragon would be given a final season of impunity, followed by destruction in the great battle of Messiah.

This aligns exactly with Qumran:
The goal of the War Scroll is to cast Belial into the pit—the same destiny Isaiah pronounces on Lucifer and the heavens portray in Draco’s downfall.

The Genesis Story Written in the Heavens

On the other side of the sky, the Genesis narrative also appears in constellation form. The ancients saw Virgo as a heavenly Eve:

Virgo, the corn maiden, holds two sheaves of grain, one labeled The Branch.

Her decan Coma means “the Desired Son.”

Another decan, Boötes, means “the Husbandman.”

Thus, the words spoken to Eve—“Your desire shall be toward your husband”—are written visibly in the heavens:

Virgo (Eve),

Coma (the Desired Son),

Boötes (the Husbandman).

Nine months after the Sun passes through Virgo, it enters the Twins (Gemini), a further hint of the promised Seed and His dual role.

This celestial story stands opposite Draco—the serpent. On one side: the woman, her Seed, and the Husbandman. On the other: the dragon to be trodden under foot. Together they form a starry commentary on Genesis 3:15.

The enemy to be trodden under foot.

Lucifer’s Will vs. God’s Will (Isaiah 14)

Isaiah records the boast of Lucifer:

“I will ascend into heaven.”

“I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”

“I will sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north.”

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”

“I will make myself like the Most High.”

God’s reply is equally direct:

“I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant… I will kill thy root with famine… Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.”

In the sky, Draco coils around the pole, as though attempting to ascend the very axis mundi of the universe. Opposite him, Cepheus, the celestial King, sits upon his throne in the “uttermost parts of the north,” above Polaris.

Lucifer says, “I will make myself like the Most High.”
But Michael, whose name means “Who is like God?”, is the one truly “like the Most High.”

The message of the constellations is clear:
Lucifer seeks the Throne that has already been promised to the Messiah.

Isaiah 14:19 further identifies this fallen one as “the abominable branch… trodden under foot.” In the heavens, Draco’s head lies crushed beneath the foot of a hero—another image of the seed of the woman bruising the serpent’s head.

The Plan: Two Princes and a House Divided

The Kabbalistic tradition speaks of God as a single divine Unity who chooses to reveal Himself through a duality—a tension between two princes:

Michael – Melchi-Zedek, “Prince of Righteousness.”

Satan – Melchi-Rasha, “Prince of Wickedness.”

Thus, the heavens become a house divided: two poles, two princes, two armies. The celestial chariot of God rides upon the wings of the two Cherubim, yet Scripture says: “Upon a cherub He will fly”—prophetically indicating that one cherub will fall, and only one remain.

Two Princes at War in Qumran

The Qumran texts echo this cosmic conflict. In 1QM XIV we read:

“Today is his appointed time to lay low and to make fall the prince of the dominion of wickedness; and He will send eternal help to the lot He has redeemed by the power of the angel He has made glorious for rule, Michael, in eternal light, to give light in joy to all Israel… to exalt among the gods the rule of Michael and the dominion of Israel over all flesh.”

Here again are the two princes:

The Prince of the Dominion of Wickedness.

Michael, the glorious prince of Light.

The War Scroll describes the final confrontation:

“At the beginning of the undertaking of the Sons of Light, they shall set themselves against the lot of the Sons of Darkness, the army of Belial… that wickedness may be laid low without any remnant, and that there be no survivor of the Sons of Darkness.”

Who Is Michael? Who Is Belial?

Rabbinical and Christian sources recognize that Michael is more than a mere angel:

He is called “the great Prince”, the High Priest in Heaven, and a figure who typifies the Messiah.

Scripture presents him as the defender of Israel and commander of heavenly armies (Daniel 10–12; Jude 9; Revelation 12).

Belial, in turn, is identified in Second Temple literature as:

The accuser,

The father of idolatrous nations,

The leader of the Sons of Darkness.

The War Scroll states of God:

“You sent an angel of light from of old to assist us.”

“You made Belial for the pit.”

Qumran thus portrays a dual structure identical to the one seen in Isaiah and in the stars: Michael vs. the Dragon, Light vs. Darkness, Israel vs. the Nations under Belial.

Belial, Draco, and Lucifer: A Geometric Proposition

We can summarize the identity of Belial using a simple logical equation:

Since Draco = Lucifer (the shining serpent at the pole),

And Draco = Bel in Babylonian worship (the dragon-god),

And Belial/Beliar is etymologically linked with Bel, the great serpent,

Then:

Belial applies to Draco; Draco represents Satan in the heavens.

Albert Pike notes that the Greeks called Bel Beliar, and that the term was interpreted as a dragon or great serpent. The apocryphal “Bel and the Dragon” preserves the worship of a literal living serpent in Babylon. Pike further explains that:

The dragon was believed to assault the Sun and Moon, causing eclipses.

This dragon was the original Leviathan, the crooked serpent, suspended as a trophy in the sky yet forever seeking to devour the light.

In later Jewish and Persian expectation, this Dragon would be given a final season of impunity, followed by destruction in the great battle of Messiah.

This aligns exactly with Qumran:
The goal of the War Scroll is to cast Belial into the pit—the same destiny Isaiah pronounces on Lucifer and the heavens portray in Draco’s downfall.

The Genesis Story Written in the Heavens

On the other side of the sky, the Genesis narrative also appears in constellation form. The ancients saw Virgo as a heavenly Eve:

Virgo, the corn maiden, holds two sheaves of grain, one labeled The Branch.

Her decan Coma means “the Desired Son.”

Another decan, Boötes, means “the Husbandman.”

Thus, the words spoken to Eve—“Your desire shall be toward your husband”—are written visibly in the heavens:

Virgo (Eve),

Coma (the Desired Son),

Boötes (the Husbandman).

Nine months after the Sun passes through Virgo, it enters the Twins (Gemini), a further hint of the promised Seed and His dual role.

This celestial story stands opposite Draco—the serpent. On one side: the woman, her Seed, and the Husbandman. On the other: the dragon to be trodden under foot. Together they form a starry commentary on Genesis 3:15.

Connecting Back to Jacob’s Ladder and “The Secret of the Way Things Are”

Now we can see how all these strands tie together:

Jacob’s Ladder – as reinterpreted by Maimonides, Pike, and Qumran, is not merely a dream-image but a prophetic parable of a pyramid-ladder set on the earth with its top in the heavens.

The Great Pyramid – built, we argue, under Joseph/Imhotep, becomes a terrestrial model of the cosmic Temple, aligned with the equinoxes and the very stars that tell the story of the Dragon, the Woman, and the promised Seed.

The Book of Secrets – reveals that salvation and understanding depend upon grasping “the secret of the way things are”: the moral and cosmic order embedded in creation, written in the heavens, and preserved in the scrolls.

The War Scroll – describes the final outworking of that order: Michael vs. Belial, Light vs. Darkness, Israel vs. the Nations, until wickedness is banished “as smoke vanishes” and righteousness shines like the sun.

Qumran’s “letter from the past” thus speaks directly to us:

It warns that without this secret, mankind cannot save itself.

It points us back to the origins of things—the foundation stone, the Ladder, the Pyramid, and the starry signs.

It insists that this is “a true oracle,” and that the outcome—the fall of Belial and the triumph of Michael—is irreversible.

In this sense, 

Jacob’s Pyramid-Ladder defines the secret of the way things are.
It is the geometry of God’s plan, the axis where heaven and earth meet, and the key to understanding both Qumran’s purpose and our own place in the unfolding prophetic drama.

This chapter has now set the stage.
From here, we can begin to trace in detail how the face of Jacob, the Foundation Stone, and the Great Pyramid converge into a single revelation for the final generation.

Let us examine the problem based on rules in simple Geometry which states if a=b and a=c then b=c.

Proposition:

Since Draco=Lucifer

Then if Draco=Belial.

Belial will=Lucifer

In this case (*since we have already explained that Draco is a celestial picture of Lucifer) we will then see that Qumran was restating the theme of God in the Bible, and in the stars

Since this connection is so relevant  to understanding the Purpose of Qumran, a little background will help.

The Jewish encyclopedia connects the word Belial to Beliar but does not make the necessary connection of bringing the word back to the root of Bel. Stating as follows;

—In Rabbinical and Apocryphal Literature: 

In the Hasidic circles from which the apocalyptic literature emanated and where all angelologic and demonologic lore was faithfully preserved, Belial held a very prominent position, being identified altogether with Satan. In the Book of Jubilees (i. 20), Belial is, like Satan, the accuser and father of all idolatrous nations: “Let not the spirit of Belial [“Beliar” corrupted into “Belhor”] rule over them to accuse them before thee.”

Masonic handbook 499-500Albert Pike connected the name  Beliar to Bel;

The Greeks called Bel  Beliar; and Hesychius interprets that word to mean a dragon or great serpent. We learn from the book of Bel and the Dragon, that in Babylon was kept a great, live serpent, which the people worshipped. The recognition of a moral and physical dualism in nature was adverse to the doctrine of Divine Unity… The simpler, and probably the older, notion, treated the one only God as the Author of all things. “I form the light,” says Jehovah, “and create darkness; I cause prosperity and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things.

Albert Pike also connected Draco the celestial dragon to Satan, as part of the final Battle theme.The highlighted portion below confirms that Belial was Draco. the Masonic handbook 499-500

“ And according to the Jewish and Persian belief, the Dragon would, in the latter days, the Winter of time, enjoy a short period of licensed impunity, which would be a season of the greatest suffering to the people of the earth; but he would finally be bound or destroyed in the great battle of Messiah. The term Belial applies to the celestial dragon. The Satan, negative element is pictured in the heavens as the constellation Draco who was supposed to swallow the Sun and moon,. The eclipses of the sun and moon were believed by the orientals to be caused by the assaults of a dæmon in dragon-form…This was the original Leviathan or Crooked Serpent of old, transfixed in the olden time by the power of Jehovah, and suspended as a glittering trophy in the sky; yet also the Power of Darkness supposed to be ever in pursuit of the Sun and Moon. … The northern constellation Draco, ..was made the astronomical cincture of the Universe

Conclusion ; The  Belial applies to Draco. Draco represents Satan in the heavens

PROPOSITION; This war in heaven  lines up with the theme of Qumran   to cast Belial in the pit! But only if we can show that Belial is Lucifer .

Genesis Story

On the other side of the heavens, the Genesis story continues, here mystics saw Virgo as a representative figure of Eve in the heavens.Virgo  is positioned next to her deacon Coma, which means “ the desired son .”Towards this heavenly position is another deacon belonging to Virgo, which is called Bootes meaning “husbandman.” Here we can actually see the words in Genesis, being portrayed. For God could just as easily say of Virgo, what was said to Eve.

“Your desire (Coma) is shall be towards your husband (Bootes)”.  

Virgo is the corn daughter . She is holding two ears of corn one being labled the BRANCH.  Virgo has two branches for when the son was in Virgo nine months later it was in the twins.Virgo’s decan is called  Coma,  which means “ the desired son.”  In the Dendurah Zodiac we see his picture

This constellation is next to Bootes, Meaning  the husbandman. 

SON Of MAN

The name of Adam means man and of course, he was the first “husbandman!” 

 It follows that Eves desired son would come through the lineage of Adam, that is to say he would be “the son of man”; as apposed the son of the serpent which it seems from historical records was Cain.

SON OF SERPENT

When Cain was born Eve said, “ I have gotten a man from the Lord” which the older texts said meant the serpent. God said to the serpent, “ I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed you will bruise his heal and he will bruise his head.”We can readily understand that through that the lineage mankind was to come the true “desired son of man” (lineage of Adam) who would be the seed of a woman that would crush the serpents head.

From the Jewish Zohar we get this quote; 

 “ the first-born was the son of the serpents slime. For two beings had intercourse with Eve and she conceived of both and bore two children. Each followed after the male parent and their spirits parted one on this side and one on the other, and similarly their characters.” 

Now just as the Zohar said, this can be seen celestially. On the other side of Virgo, we see Hydra the serpent that has a star meaning, “the deceiver.” Much like Draco, the Hydra serpent was again a picture of the same serpent this time shown cast down

Early in the Jewish month of Tishri, the time of the original sin, the deceiving serpent and the woman stand straight up together. As time progresses the woman is seen lying down with the serpent. At the same time Hydra means water which in Hebrew means seed. 

Moses 

Here we see Moses looking as he recorded the words of God’s Torah in heavens. We can see the words God said to the serpent,

 “ I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed “

We read this to mean God will put the ship Argo which represents Argo between Hydra which represents the serpents seed. And Coma which represents her seed.

Enmity-Argo

 The Zohar says; “whenever you see a ship with a serpent as its banner its name is enmity. “

Argo which carries the serpent as its banner so Argo represents enmity. Hydra is being pierced through with the mast of the ship. Therefore enmity is positioned heavenly between the serpents seed Hydra and the woman’s seed Coma. The ship is called Argo / It means a company of travelers. The mast or banner of there ship tells their purpose is related to the flying serpent

Isaiah

We remember that Isaiah stated the out of serpents root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. It is important to not the word KJV  translated as  cockatrice; should be “a viper thrusting his tongue out.”

   |8328| from the root of

   |5175| a snake

   |3318| comes forth

   |6848| a viper.(KJV translated as cockatrice)

Strong’s Ref. # 6848Romanized  tsepha`from an unused root meaning to extrude; a viper (as thrusting out the tongue, i.e. hissing): Celestially Hydra fits the description. It is the picture of a hissing serpent with his tongue out. We have already noted that Hydra means water which in Hebrew the word for water also means seed .

We should also note where the serpents seed will fly from. He comes out of his grave. His garment shows that he was thrust through with a sword. So we read here that the serpents seed shall fly upon Philistia. To be enemies of those who are the travelers to come.  All this will lend to the story.

As is above so is Below.

19.  But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.  

*Star Lores and name “ The Uranaic Pillar B.C. states that Hydra represents a water tunnel that comes from the fount of the Earth. Ezekial lets us know the fount of the Earth come from Jerusalem. It comes out from under the Temple and splits to the former and hinder Sea. Before going to the Dead Sea, there is a double tunnel underpass under the Tabernacle location that has been identified in the Copper Scroll. To fit the celestial description the body must be in the cave of the

Chapter 1: The Face Beneath Zion

(Illustration: The Bedrock Foundation of the Temple Mount — City of David Orientation)

We are looking upon the bedrock foundation of the Temple Mount—specifically the original contours of the City of David, oriented with South at the top. The faint parallel lines known as isobars mark contours of equal elevation.

Over many millennia, the natural and cultural accretion of soil, debris, and rebuilding has buried the ancient landscape—sometimes by depths of 30 to 40 meters or more. Yet beneath these layers lies a mystery long hidden: a Face.

With the advent of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and multi-spectral imaging, researchers can now visualize subterranean structures once invisible to the naked eye. When these technologies are applied to the Temple Mount’s substructure, a distinct anatomical pattern emerges—a visage formed in the very rock: the Face of God.

Isaiah’s Challenge: “To Whom Will You Liken the Image of God?”

“To whom then will ye liken God? … Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.”
— Isaiah 40:18, 21–22

Isaiah asks what could possibly embody the image of God—and then speaks of the One enthroned above the circle of the earth. The prophetic riddle invites the beholder to look for a cosmic and earthly reflection of the divine face—a pattern visible only to those whom God grants understanding.

The prophets, sages, and mystics of Israel allude to this hidden image repeatedly:

Isaiah spoke of the “likeness” of God seen from the beginning.

The Oral Tradition (Zohar, Midrash, and Talmud) speaks of the Face of Jacob engraved upon the Throne of Glory.

The literal narrative of Genesis describes Adam, the image of God, as the creature of clay.

The same image reappears in Jacob, patriarch of Israel.

Ultimately, it culminates in the Messiah, the express image of the invisible God (Hebrews 1:3).

The Letter Shin upon the Forehead of Jerusalem

Viewed from above with North upward, the three valleys of Jerusalem—the Hinnom, Tyropoeon, and Kidron—form the Hebrew letter Shin (ש).
According to Jewish tradition, this Shin—the emblem of Shaddai, the Almighty—is inscribed upon the forehead of the city.

“And His name shall be upon their foreheads.”
— Revelation 22:4

Just as the High Priest bore the golden plate upon his forehead inscribed “Holiness to the LORD,” so Jerusalem bears the divine Shin upon hers.
This celestial mark corresponds to the Face—the divine countenance embedded in the foundation of Zion, the image beneath the Temple that reflects the Name of the Almighty.

Thus, the Face of God and the Name of God meet in stone:
Jerusalem’s topography itself becomes a living icon—a reflection of the heavenly pattern seen by Isaiah, the mystics of Israel, and the Maskil of Qumran.

The face lies on the foundation stone to commemorate the day that Jacob laid upon a stone and beheld a vision. The Zohar discusses this subject and is repeated in Morels and dogmas (the Masonic handbook)

When Jacob put a stone under his head he said, “and this stone I have set up as a pillar shall be God’s house That stone he said was to be the foundation stone out of which the whole world evolved” Rabbi Judah began to expand on the verse   And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house. “That stone “, he said was the foundation stone out of which the world revolved, and on which the temple was built.

The Judean said how is that possible? This foundation stone was created before the world , to be the point which the world evolved, and yet you say that it is referred to in the verse, “this stone I have set up as a pillar” which indicates that Jacob put it there, this being the same stone of which it is said, and he took a stone and put it underneath his head.(ibid. 18) A further difficulty is that Jacob was in Bethel and the stone was in Jerusalem. The Judean the said, Regarding your remark that Jacob’s stone was the foundation stone , I have asked you,  first , how can that be, seeing that the foundation stone preceded the creation of the world and was the one from which the world evolved, whereas Jacobs stone was put by him in its place, as it is written this stone have I put”, also And he took a stone and put it under his head. And secondly, how can the two be identified, seeing that Jacob was in Bethel and the stone was in Jerusalem. Judah then answered it is as though the whole earth was folded up underneath him.” The Judean repeated his question, quoting again the expression ‘that he put’ Said R. Judah to him, ‘If you know of a better answer, say it. The Judean then discoursed as follows. It is written. As for me I shall be satisfied when I wake up in thy likeness (Ps 17; 150)

Jacob woke up in God’s likeness when he woke up with his head on the stone in Zion. The book of Isaiah speaks of this face as originally being called the image of God noting it sits on the circle of the Earth.

Isaiah 40; 18-22 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?   man melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. …: Heb. is poor of oblation} Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath I t not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. the earth. 

The context of the message is that we were told from the beginning This face lies on the Shetiyah stone (discussed and the introduction and in Isaiah 28) According to the Zohar the stone had three circles under it. The third circle which connected 365 rivers of the world was called the circle of the earth.

Chapter II: 

The Thanksgiving Hymns: The Maskil and the Creature of Clay

“I thank Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast made known to me Thy mysteries,
and shown me the counsel of Thy truth.”
— 1QH, Thanksgiving Hymn of the Maskil

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, few writings are more intimate or apocalyptic than the Hodayot—the Thanksgiving Hymns. They are addressed to the Maskil, the “Instructor,” the viewer of the vision and teacher of its meaning.

In Israel’s story, this Maskil is Jacob in type. Jacob sang these psalms, and later the Face of Jacob sang them again in symbol, when the Levites stood on the porch of the Temple to chant. The Hebrew word for porch, Ulam, means tongue. The Temple itself thus becomes a great Face: the porch as tongue, giving voice to the hidden stone.

In the Thanksgiving Hymns this Maskil is:

a Creature of clay — the Face of Jacob

a Servant — Jacob, the covenant bearer

a Voice to lead the people in the Way — Jacob’s testimony sounded through the Levites

The Hymns are both prayer and apocalypse: the inner song of one who has seen the heavenly temple, descended into the pit of flesh, and risen to proclaim the mysteries of creation and redemption.

1. Identifying the Face: The Riddle of the Foundation Stone

The Hymns, together with the Zoharic tradition, give us the identifying marks of the mystery:

The Face lies upon the Foundation Stone.

Under that stone, says the Zohar, the four rivers cross.

This point is in the mouth of the Face of the waters—the Face of Jacob in Genesis 1.

The Thanksgiving Hymns describe this Face and Stone in their own language:

“In the mystery of Thy wisdom, Thou hast opened knowledge to me,
and in Thy mercies Thou hast unlocked for me the fountain of Thy might.
For Thou, O my God, didst open a fountain in the mouth of Thy Servant.
Thou hast placed me beside a fountain of streams in an arid land,
and close to a spring of waters in a dry land,
and beside a watered garden in a wilderness…
its stem might be open to the living waters
and be one with the everlasting spring…
the disease-bringing plague is no more.”

The Servant stands at the mouth of the fountain—the Face at the meeting of the rivers beneath the Stone. This is the Face of the waters, the Face of Jacob, whose mouth becomes the gate of the springs.

2. The Anatomical Face in Stone

The Temple topography and the Qumran language together present the bedrock beneath Zion as an anatomical Face:

Gate of the Guard = Mouth

The mouth is the city gate; the tongue is the rudder of the whole body.

Men guarded their speech and diet at this gate.

Altar = Teeth

The altar “chews” the offerings.

Horns of ivory and the consumption of meat signify the teeth of the Face.

Laver = Saliva

The water of washing corresponds to the mouth’s salivary cleansing.

Porch (Ulam) = Tongue

The Levites stood on the porch; Ulam means “tongue.”

When they sang, the Face spoke through their psalms.

The Hymns themselves give the voice of this clay-formed Face:

“Behold, I was taken from dust and fashioned out of clay.”

The Face of Jacob is laid upon the Foundation Stone as a molded image in the Old City, behind a wall. The Hymns identify this very form:

“Thou hast made me like a strong tower, a high wall,
and hast established my edifice upon rock;
eternal foundations serve for my ground,
and all my ramparts are a tried wall which shall not sway.”

Here the Servant is a tower on rock, a wall upon eternal foundations—an unmistakable description of the stone-Face set within the fortified Old City.

The same Servant confesses:

“Thou shalt lay hymns of thanksgiving within my mouth
and praise upon my tongue…
Thou hast [made me] a banner, and a discerning interpreter of wonderful mysteries,
to try those who practice truth and to test those who love correction.”

The War Scroll echoes this vocation: the war is “fought by mysteries of old.” The Maskil, as creature of clay, bears a heart of stone:

“And I, a creature of clay kneaded with water,
a heap of dust and a heart of stone—
for what am I reckoned to be worthy of this?”

That heart of stone is the Foundation Stone itself.

Isaiah asks, “Shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not?” To this, the Face responds in the Hymns:

“Thou hast set hymns of praise within the mouth of Thy servant,
and hast established for me a response of the tongue.”

The work (the stone-Face) speaks back to its Maker; the carved Face answers the prophetic challenge.

3. The Fountain Gate and the Eye of the Landscape

The ancient Fountain Gate is not only a city gate but an anatomical clue.

Fountain Gate means “Eye of the Landscape.”

Its true position aligns with the eye of the stone Face.

It was rebuilt by Colhozeh, whose name means to peer at a distance, to see something remarkable—and also, to see oneself.

So the eye of the Face is the Fountain Gate, where water, sight, and self-recognition meet.

In the Hymns, the same God who shaped this landscape orders the whole cosmos:

“Thou hast spread the heavens for Thy glory
and hast appointed all their hosts according to Thy will;
the mighty winds according to their laws before they became angels of holiness…
the heavenly lights to their mysteries, the stars to their paths…
Thou hast created all the spirits and hast established a statute and law for all their works.
Thou hast created the earth by Thy power, and the seas and deeps by Thy might.
Thou hast fashioned all their inhabitants according to Thy wisdom
and hast appointed all that is in them according to Thy will.”

The Face in Zion is therefore not a local curiosity but the stone mirror of a cosmic order.

4. The Vision of Knowledge and the Way of the Heart

The subject of the Hymns is summarized in one striking line:

“Of the Vision of Knowledge they say, ‘It is unsure,’
and of the way of Thy heart, ‘It is not the way.’”

Here:

The Vision of Knowledge = Jacob’s Vision, the ladder and the Face.

The way of Thy heart = the path of the Stone, the course of the Foundation from head to pit.

The Vision provides knowledge; the Way charts a path. The conclusion of this vision-knowledge is that, when obeyed, it will allow the Foundation Stone to descend and win the war.

This is also the purpose of Qumran: “to make straight the crooked paths of the LORD.” The Foundation Stone is:

the heart of Israel,

the rock cut out of the mountain without hands (Dan. 2:45),

the rock against which the gates of hell shall not prevail,

the stone that comes against the Kittim in the last war.

5. The Tongue That Fell Silent — and Will Sing Again

Once, the Stone spoke whenever the Levites sang the Psalms on the porch. Now, the Hymns tell us, it has fallen silent:

“The tongue has gone back which Thou didst make marvelously mighty within my mouth;
it can no longer give voice.
I have no word for my disciples to revive the spirit of those who stumble
and to speak words of support to the weary.
My circumcised lips are dumb.”

But the War Scroll promises:

“The dumb will sing, to teach feeble hands for war.”

The same Hymns say:

“Thou hast placed me, O my God, among the branches of the Council of Holiness;
Thou hast established my mouth in Thy Covenant.”

Within the mouth lies the Holy of Holies as oracle. On Yom Kippur, the High Priest sprinkled the altar seven times—sheba, meaning both seven and covenant. So the inner oracle of the mouth corresponds to the Holy of Holies upon the Stone.

The salvation is universal:

“All the nations shall acknowledge Thy truth,
and all the peoples Thy glory.
For Thou wilt bring Thy glorious salvation to all the men of Thy Council,
to those who share a common lot with the Angels of the Face.
And among them shall be no mediator to invoke Thee,
and no messenger to make reply;
for they shall reply according to Thy glorious word
and shall be Thy princes in the company of the Angels.”

The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifices expand this further, speaking of:

Seven Princes, also called Spirits,

the stars as angels,

the War Scroll’s line, “gods and men, our steps with their steps,”

and the Royal Psalms: “The Seven Spirits—if you do not know about them, listen.”

The celestial hierarchy and the earthly Maskil share one council and one song.

6. The Breath for the Tongue

We must picture the words it once sang now returning to the tongue. The Hymns describe God as architect of language itself:

“It is Thou who hast created breath for the tongue and Thou knowest its words;
Thou didst establish the fruit of the lips before ever they were.
Thou laid words on a measuring-line
and the flow of breath from the lips on a rule.
Thou bringest forth sounds according to their mysteries,
and the flow of breath from the lips according to its reckoning,
that they may tell of Thy glory
and recount Thy wonders in all Thy works of truth
and in all Thy righteous judgments;
that Thy Name may be praised by the mouth of all men,
and that they may know Thee according to their understanding
and bless Thee for ever.”

The Levites, singing on the Ulam (tongue) of the Temple, fulfilled this design. One hymn continues:

“Upon my lips Thou hast laid a reply.
Thou hast upheld my soul, strengthening my loins and restoring my power;
my foot has stood in the realm of ungodliness.
I have been a snare to those who rebel, but healing to those who repent,
prudence to the simple, and steadfastness to the fearful of heart.
…The assembly of the wicked has raged against me;
they have roared like turbulent seas and their towering waves have spat out mud and slime.”

Isaiah warns: “I warn you, lest you be mockers.” The same mocking spirit rages against the Servant whose tongue will yet be restored for war and instruction.

7. The Celestial War and the Star Out of Jacob

Isaiah 29 declares a war “like a dream, like a night vision”—the Vision of Jacob itself.

Manly P. Hall noted that the Great Pyramid rises to the head of a man. In the heavens a star out of Jacob descends. The star in that head is Ras Alhague, “the head of him that holds,” the star of Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Holder.

He stands wrestling a serpent at the equinox, the dark turn of the year.

Jacob likewise wrestled by night, alone, until dawn.

At dawn, Jacob prevailed and received the Name.

This is also the story of Horus of the Two Horizons: the combat at the boundary of night and day.

On earth, the Foundation Stone follows the same pattern. It descends from the forehead of Jacob—the Microprosopus, the lesser countenance—to the pit below.

8. The Path of the Foundation Stone: From Kether to Malkuth

The path of the Stone is the path from Kether (crown of the head) to Malkuth (the kingdom, the pit). It is the “straightening of the crooked paths of the LORD,” the very work hinted at in the Sefer Yetzirah and declared at Qumran.

The Maskil marvels at his own smallness:

“And yet I, a creature of clay—what am I?
Kneaded with water, what is my worth and my might?
For I have stood in the realm of wickedness
and my lot was with the damned;
the soul of the poor one was carried away in the midst of great tribulation.”

Here we may read:

“Soul of the poor one” as the soul-body of the Holy One upon the rock,

“great tribulation” as the sealed time of Jacob’s trouble,
like Job’s question, “Am I a sea or a whale?” beside the Dead Sea.

The path of the Stone is walked through judgment:

“Miseries of torment dogged my steps
while all the snares of the Pit were opened
and the lures of wickedness were set up,
and the nets of the damned were spread upon the waters;
while all the arrows of the Pit flew out without cease
and, striking, left no hope;
while the rope beat down in judgement
and a destiny of wrath fell upon the abandoned
and a venting of fury upon the cunning.

It was a time of the wrath of all Satan,
and the bonds of death tightened without any escape.
The torrents of Satan shall reach to all sides of the world.
In all their channels a consuming fire shall destroy every tree,
green and barren, on their banks…
it shall scourge with flames of fire
and shall consume the foundations of the earth…

The torrents of Satan shall break into Abaddon,
and the deeps of the Abyss shall groan amid the roar of heaving mud.
The land shall cry out because of the calamity fallen upon the world…
For God shall sound His mighty voice,
and His holy abode shall thunder with the truth of His glory.
The heavenly hosts shall cry out
and the world’s foundations shall stagger and sway.
The war of the heavenly warriors shall scourge the earth;
and it shall not end before the appointed destruction
which shall be for ever and without compare.”

The heavenly hosts cry out—this is the liturgy of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifices, also addressed to the Maskil.

The war of the heavenly warriors is the equinox war, fought by Seven-Star men above. It is the model for the war on earth, which must be fought in the same pattern.

9. The Face of the Waters and the Fortified City

The Maskil laments:

“[There is no] calm in the whirlwind that I may restore my soul,
no path that I may straighten my way on the face of the water.”

The Zohar, in the Book of Concealed Mystery, calls the Face of Jacob the “Face of the waters” of Genesis 1. The rock with the soul-body of the Holy One goes to the gates of death to burst the gates of hell.

Yet the Maskil takes refuge:

“But I shall be as one who enters a fortified city,
as one who seeks refuge behind a high wall until deliverance comes;
I will lean on Thy truth, O my God.”

The Face of Jacob is in the fortified city of Old Jerusalem, behind a wall. The Hymns promise:

“For Thou wilt set the foundation on rock
and the framework by the measuring-cord of justice;
and the tried stones Thou wilt lay by the plumb-line of truth,
to build a mighty wall which shall not sway;
and no man entering there shall stagger.”

Here again is the line to the plummet, the descent from Kether to Malkuth, the straightened path of the LORD.

10. The Stone in the Holy of Holies

The Face lies on the Foundation Stone to commemorate the night Jacob laid his head upon a stone and beheld the vision. The Zohar, echoed later in Morals and Dogma, unfolds the riddle:

When Jacob put a stone under his head he said,

“This stone which I have set up as a pillar shall be God’s house.”

Rabbi Judah explained:

“That stone was the Foundation Stone out of which the world evolved,
and on which the Temple was built.”

A Judean objected:

The Foundation Stone, he said, preceded the world,

yet Jacob’s stone was one he “set up” and placed under his head,

and Jacob was in Bethel, whereas the Foundation Stone stood in Jerusalem.

Judah answered:

“It is as though the whole earth was folded up beneath him.”

Thus Jacob, resting on the stone, lay upon the center of creation, the point from which the world unfolded and to which it will return.

Conclusion: The Maskil, the Stone, and the Final Song

The Thanksgiving Hymns are the inner revelation of the Vision of Jacob.

Jacob’s ladder becomes the Maskil’s ascent in spirit.

The creature of clay becomes the Temple of light.

The pyramid of stone becomes the body of man filled with divine fire.

The celestial choir becomes the song of the redeemed.

The Foundation Stone traces its path from forehead to pit, from Kether to Malkuth, making straight the crooked paths of the LORD.

The Face of Jacob once sang when the Levites stood on the tongue of the Temple; now it is dumb, awaiting the hour when the dumb will sing and teach feeble hands for war. When the Vision of Knowledge is received, and the Way of God’s heart is walked, the Foundation Stone will descend, the gates of hell will break, and the war will be won.

Then the Maskil’s final thanksgiving will be fulfilled:

“For Thou hast illumined my face with the light of everlasting glory,
and the children of men shall know
that Thou hast made me for Thyself.”
— 1QH (Hodayot)

Chapter III:

The Vision of Jacob (4Q537): The Pattern of Heaven and Earth

The Qumran fragment 4QAj(a) / 4Q537, The Vision of Jacob, expands upon the patriarch’s dream in Genesis 28. In this remarkable text, Jacob is shown the blueprint of heaven and earth: his life, the Temple, and the descent of the angel of the LORD. When we read the fragment carefully, five distinct revelations appear, each corresponding to both a heavenly and earthly pattern:

The Days of His Life

The Building

An Angel Descending

The Priests at the Altar

The Land in Two Squares

Together, these describe the celestial Temple—the “House of the Sun”—which Jacob beheld in his night vision.

 In this Chapter we begin to see.

1. The Days of His Life

“There were written all my sufferings, troubles, and everything that would happen to me during the one hundred and forty-seven years of my life.” (4Q537 frag. 1)

Jacob’s entire life was inscribed upon heavenly tablets. In the celestial mirror, this record is written in the Zodiac, for the twelve signs correspond to the twelve tribes, and the path of the Sun through them measures the course of time.

Jacob’s Birth:
When the Sun breaks forth through Virgo, nine months later it enters Gemini, the Twins—Jacob and Esau. His nativity, therefore, is seen in the passage from Virgo to Gemini.

Jacob’s Apex:
At the height of his life, Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the LORD. The ancients taught that there were two such angels—one good, one evil. In the sky, Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder, wrestles with the serpent at the apex of the celestial pyramid. This is Jacob contending with Sam’el, the angel of darkness, at dawn when darkness is weakest. The star Ras al-Hagis (“Head of him who holds”) marks this struggle, and the War Scroll echoes it: “A star shall descend from Jacob.”

Jacob’s Death:
The patriarch’s transformation into Israel, “He shall rule as God,” is seen in the constellation Cepheus, the enthroned King encircled by the twelve signs. Morals and Dogma observes the same harmony—Reuben as Aquarius, Judah as Leo, Ephraim as Taurus, Dan as Scorpio/Eagle. Jacob’s final blessing thus corresponds to the heavens: his twelve sons, the twelve constellations; his life, the circuit of the Sun.

2. The Building

“I saw how the building would be built.” (4Q537 frag. 2)

The building Jacob saw is the celestial Temple, mirrored on earth by the Great Pyramid—the House for the Sun. Ancient Egyptian papyri join the triangle (pyramid) with the ankh (key), teaching, “The key of life is hidden in the pyramid.”

This mystery is both architectural and astronomical:

The Great Pyramid’s height multiplied by 10⁹ gives the mean radius of Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

Its base perimeter (36,525 inches) equals the number of days in one hundred solar years.

The square base symbolizes the Earth; the apex the Sun at its greatest height—the Equinox in Scorpio, when the Pyramid was built.

Thus the Pyramid records in stone the Day of the LORD, the same “day” of which David sang: “This is the day that the LORD has made.” The heavens were His table of glory, and the Pyramid its earthly reflection.

This geometry is not coincidence—it is the language of creation, the mathematical key by which the ancients expressed divine order. It is the “building” Jacob saw: a Temple uniting time (the Sun’s circuit) and space (its distance), revealing God’s handiwork in number and proportion.

3. An Angel Descending

“An angel of God came down from heaven with seven tablets in his hand.” (4Q537 frag. 1)

The descending angel is seen in the sky as Orion/Ophiuchus, the strong one and serpent-holder. The Book of Revelation describes this same descent:

“I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.” (Rev. 20:1)

In the Pyramid’s symbolism:

The descending passage is the angel’s chain,

It leads toward Cetus, the Sea Monster, whose stars tell the story:

Menkar – “The Chained Enemy”

Deneb Kaitos – “Overthrown / Thrust Down”

The seal upon the dragon is Deneb Kaitos; the thousand years correspond to Alef, the Ox—Taurus, the sign of the year.

This is the celestial counterpart of Jacob’s ladder: the descent and ascent of the angel, the chain and the pit, the casting down of Belial. The War Scroll and Revelation alike portray this moment when the angel descends to bind the serpent beneath the altar.

4. The Priests at the Altar

“I saw how the priests would be dressed, and their hands purified, and how they would offer sacrifices on the altar.” (4Q537 frag. 2)

This vision bridges heaven and earth. The priests represent both angels at the heavenly altar and men at the earthly one. Their garments symbolize the changing of the soul’s vestment—the transformation through purification.

The Qumran priests, like the heavenly hosts, prepared for battle and for worship. On earth, this pattern was reflected in the ritual of the red heifer on the Mount of Olives, where the priest stood beside a pyramid-shaped pyre.

The word Pyramid derives from pyre (fire): a pyramid of fire, imitating the House of the Sun Jacob saw. The priest’s actions reenacted the celestial covenant:

The priest (Orion) immerses himself fully (descending into Cetus).

He faces west toward Taurus, the red heifer, symbol of Ephraim.

He stands in the east toward Leo, the Lion—Judah.

Between them, the altar-pyramid burns, a union of Heaven and Earth.

Here the earthly ceremony mirrors the celestial war and resurrection: light descending into darkness, then rising in glory.

5. The Land in Two Squares

“Before me was a land divided into two squares.” (4Q537 frag. 2)

This final detail is the most profound. The “two squares” represent the union of the celestial and terrestrial Temples—heaven mirrored upon earth, as Ezekiel’s and Revelation’s New Jerusalem are both described in square measures.

One square is above: the celestial Temple, mapped by the stars.

One square is below: the earthly Temple, measured by cubits and stone.

Their joining forms the cube, the Holy of Holies—the completed union of Heaven and Earth.

Jacob thus saw the entire redemptive plan:
his life inscribed in the stars,
the Temple constructed as a heavenly pyramid,
the angel descending to bind the serpent,
the priests serving in both realms,
and the land itself measured in divine geometry—two squares joined as one.

Conclusion

The Vision of Jacob is more than an ancient dream; it is a cosmic revelation. It shows that:

Time, space, and salvation are one design.

The Great Pyramid and the Zodiac are reflections of the same heavenly Temple.

The war between light and darkness is played out through both stars and souls.

When Israel understands this vision—when the “two squares” are united and the “angel descends”—then, as the War Scroll declares, the Table of Glory will be spread across the pit, and the Lord of Hosts will reveal His covenant of Heaven and Earth. The Great Pyramid is a micrrocoem of the heavenly Temple Jacob saw, It is also a copy of the mound of creation, Mount Zion.

Chapter 4: The Will of God Against Lucifer — The Shining Star of Draco

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
— Isaiah 14:12

1. The Counterfeit Throne and the Star of Rebellion

As the Gospel of the Kingdom advances across the world, it comes face to face with its ancient adversary — Lucifer, the false morning star.
In celestial symbolism, this fallen light corresponds to Draco, the serpent of the northern sky that coils around the polar axis — the very throne of heaven.

Isaiah saw him enthroned above the “stars of God,” aspiring to sit on “the mount of congregation, in the sides of the north” — the same northern region where the constellation Draco guards the pole of the world.
There, at the cosmic center, the rebellion began: a counterfeit “kingdom dome,” a false heaven encircling the throne of God.

Lucifer’s will was to invert the divine order — to establish heaven’s symmetry on his own terms, enthroning self as god.
But the true Thy Will Be Done stands in eternal opposition to “I will ascend.”

Lucifer said: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”
God answered: “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
— Isaiah 14:13–15

The “pit” of Isaiah is the same Abyss into which the Thanksgiving Hymns and War Scroll cast the forces of Belial — the deep of judgment, the place of broken foundations.

2. The Emblem of Belial — The Dragon of the North

In the War Scroll (1QM), Belial is called the “Prince of the Dominion of Wickedness,” and his emblem is that of the Dragon, the twisting serpent of heaven who leads the sons of darkness in their war against the sons of light.

“The torrents of Satan shall reach to all sides of the world…
the foundations of the earth shall stagger and sway…
the war of the heavenly warriors shall scourge the earth.”
— Thanksgiving Hymns

This is not metaphor but a celestial chronicle.
In the heavens, the constellation Draco encircles the pole like a serpent chained to the circle of the earth — its brightest star, Thuban, was once the pole star itself.
It was this “shining one”, the light-bearer, who fell — displaced by new light, cast down from the throne of the North.

Thus, the Zohar calls Belial the fallen crown of the North, the draconian head that sought to devour the child of the Woman in Revelation 12 — the Messiah, born under Virgo.
But Michael and his hosts fought, and the Dragon was cast down to the earth.

“And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.”
— Revelation 12:4

The fallen stars — the spirits of rebellion — became the earthly nations that rage against Zion.
Their leader is the same ancient serpent, the adversary whose sigil still coils in the heavens, marking the line of his descent.

3. The Will of God: As Above, So Below — In Opposition

The prayer “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is more than devotion; it is a declaration of war.
It pits the divine will against Lucifer’s counterfeit order — the heavenly hierarchy of Michael and the sons of light against the draconian host of Belial.

The War Scroll declares:

“The Sons of Light shall fight against the Sons of Darkness in the battle of God;
the mighty hand of the Lord shall strike Belial and all the host of his dominion.”

The cosmic diagram reflects this:

The circle of the earth (Isaiah 40:22) is the perimeter of God’s order.

The circle of Draco twists around it in rebellion.

The Foundation Stone beneath Zion — the “heart of Israel” — becomes the pivot where heaven’s order descends to cast down the false crown.

When the true Kingdom comes, the Will of God replaces the counterfeit will that began in heaven.
Lucifer’s “I will” gives way to Christ’s “Thy will.”

4. The Descent of the Stone and the Casting Down of the Star

Daniel foresaw this moment when he wrote:

“A stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet…
and became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.”
— Daniel 2:34–35

The stone cut without hands is the same Foundation Stone of Zion, the stone of Jacob, now awakened. It descends to strike the kingdoms of men — the earthly embodiment of the draconic powers — until they crumble like dust in the wind.

In the celestial mirror, the star of Draco falls; in the earthly mirror, the stone descends.
The two events are one — the fulfillment of the cosmic pattern “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Lucifer’s star fades; Zion’s foundation rises.
The “morning star” of rebellion is replaced by the Morning Star of Christ, who declares in Revelation 22:

“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

Thus the counterfeit light of Draco is extinguished by the true radiance of the Lamb.

5. The End of the War and the Triumph of the Kingdom

When the Gospel of the Kingdom has gone forth to the ends of the earth, and the battle of the heavenly heroes reaches its conclusion, the prophecy will be fulfilled:

“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ;
and He shall reign forever and ever.”
— Revelation 11:15

The will of God — long resisted — becomes the order of creation once again.
The shining serpent of the North is bound, his constellation fading into darkness, while the Dome of Heaven gleams above the restored Zion.

Below it, the Face of Jacob — the creature of clay — reflects the glory of the Creator.
The divine image lost through rebellion becomes visible again in the world.

And as heaven rejoices, the Foundation Stone sings once more:

“Thou hast illumined my face with the light of everlasting glory,
and the children of men shall know
that Thou hast made me for Thyself.”
— Thanksgiving Hymn of the Maskil

I. Sacred Scripture

The Holy Bible.
King James Version (KJV). London: Oxford University Press.

The Dead Sea Scrolls.
Discovered at Qumran, 1947–1956. Translations and critical editions used:

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition, ed. Florentino García Martínez and Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar. Leiden: Brill, 1997–1998.

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, trans. Geza Vermes. London: Penguin, 2011.

Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphal Texts.

The Book of Enoch, trans. R.H. Charles. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912.

The Book of Jubilees, trans. James C. VanderKam. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989.

The War Scroll (1QM) and Thanksgiving Hymns (1QH), in The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition.

Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q400–407).

II. Jewish and Rabbinic Sources

The Talmud and Midrashim.

Babylonian Talmud, trans. I. Epstein. London: Soncino Press, 1935–1952.

Midrash Rabbah, ed. and trans. H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939.

The Zohar.

The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, trans. Daniel C. Matt. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004–2017.

Soncino Zohar, trans. Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1931–1934.

Kabbalistic Commentaries.

Luria, Isaac (Ari). Etz Chaim (The Tree of Life). Safed, ca. 1570.

Cordovero, Moses. Pardes Rimonim (The Orchard of Pomegranates). Venice, 1548.

Scholem, Gershom. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Schocken Books, 1941.

III. Classical and Historical Sources

Josephus, Flavius.

Antiquities of the Jews, trans. William Whiston. London: 1737.

Against Apion.
(Referenced for accounts of Manetho, the Sethite builders, and the Great Pyramid.)

Manetho.

Aegyptiaca, fragments preserved in Josephus and Eusebius.
(Referenced concerning Suphis/Khufu and the “race that conquered Egypt without war.”)

Herodotus.

Histories, Book II. (Earliest classical description of Egypt’s sacred architecture.)

Plato.

Timaeus and Critias. (Used for comparative cosmology and temple archetypes.)

IV. Archaeology and Pyramid Studies

Edwards, I.E.S. The Pyramids of Egypt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1949.

Petrie, W.M. Flinders. The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh. London: Field & Tuer, 1883.

Davidson, D., and A. Aldersmith. The Great Pyramid: Its Divine Message. London: Williams & Norgate, 1924.

Smyth, Piazzi. Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid. London: Isbister, 1874.

Josephus’ description of “Suphis” identified with Y’suph / Joseph and Imhotep, vizier of Zoser.

Maspero, Gaston. History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria. London: 1903.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson, 2000.

V. Mystical and Masonic References

Pike, Albert. Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Charleston: Supreme Council, 1871.

Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of All Ages. Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society, 1928.

Waite, Arthur Edward. The Holy Kabbalah. London: William Rider & Son, 1929.

Leadbeater, C.W. The Hidden Life in Freemasonry. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1926.

(Referenced for the symbolic interpretation of the Foundation Stone, Jacob’s pillar, and the letter Shin upon the forehead of Jerusalem.)

VI. Modern Scholarship and Comparative Studies

Bullinger, E.W. The Witness of the Stars. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1893.

Goodenough, Erwin R. Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period. New York: Pantheon Books, 1953.

Vermes, Geza. The Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran in Perspective. London: SCM Press, 1977.

Cross, Frank Moore. The Ancient Library of Qumran. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1961.

Eisenman, Robert, and Michael Wise. The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered. New York: Element Books, 1992.

VanderKam, James C. The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.

Kramer, Samuel Noah. History Begins at Sumer. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981.

VII. Celestial, Prophetic, and Eschatological Works

Seiss, Joseph A. The Gospel in the Stars. Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, 1882.

Frances Rolleston. Mazzaroth: or, The Constellations as Signs of Prophecy. London: Rivington, 1862.

Ridpath, Ian. Star Tales. London: Lutterworth Press, 1988.

Allen, Richard Hinckley. Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning. New York: Dover, 1963.

Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels. New York: Free Press, 1967.

Freedman, David Noel. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

VIII. Primary Interpretative Sources (By the Author)

Anderson, Karin.

Josephus and the Messiah: How the Zadokite-Essene Tradition Recognized Jesus.

The Vision of Jacob: The Foundation Stone, the Face, and the Heavenly Temple.

The War Scroll and the Kingdom Dome: Qumran, Isaiah, and the Celestial Rebellion.