121

On my way to work this morning, I thought, "I should stop for a cup of almond tea -- my prophetic drink." So I did.

Why is almond tea "my prophetic drink"? I can't exactly say, but I've thought of it that way for a long time. I believe the ultimate source of the idea is the story in Jeremiah 1:4-12 of the calling of that prophet.

[4] Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [5] "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

[6] Then said I, "Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child."

[7] But the Lord said unto me, "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. [8] Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord."

[9] Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, "Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. [10] See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant."

[11] Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "Jeremiah, what seest thou?"

And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree."

[12] Then said the Lord unto me, "Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it."

It would be hard to explain why that rod of an almond tree has always stuck in my mind, or how I came to associate it with drinking almond tea, but there it is.

There was an LED advertising board behind the counter at the shop. I looked up at it and saw the Tricolor and the words "Made in France" -- Maid in France -- which got my attention. Then the screen changed, and I saw what it was advertising: a brand of glassware called Cristal d'Arques. "Made in France" notwithstanding, I'm pretty sure d'Arques isn't real French; but if it were, it would be a homophone of d'Arc. (Incidentally, my post on Joan of Arc was illustrated with a portrait of that saint by my sister Kat, whose given name is actually Crystal.)

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Checking my email, I saw a message with the subject line "so what did happen on Jan 8 - ideas?" -- about my (apparently failed) prediction that something pivotal would happen on that date. I started thinking how my focus on the date itself was probably a mistake all along, that it had just been meant to draw my attention to the Battle of New Orleans and thus to the Maid, and how I should have known better than to attempt a dated prophecy, since those always fail.

And then, stubbornly determined not to learn from experience, my brain said: 121.

Some 16 or 17 years ago, I spent a lot of time playing around with what I called Simple English Gematria (S:E:G:). Basically, you read A as 1 and Z as 26, add up the values of words, and (my specialty!) notice coincidences.

A few numbers quickly established themselves as specially significant, the most important being 74. Each of the three words Simple English Gematria adds up to 74, for a total of 222 for the phrase. Jesus adds up to 74, as do Messiah, cross, and gospel. So do many other significant words, such as Tarot, the USA (74 = 7/4), and, I notice now, Pucelle.

Then there's 121, the value of revelation, apocalyptic, second coming, seven seals, and antichrist. Today, I realized for the first time that it could also be read as a date: 1/21 -- January 21, or January '21, or both.

The number 121 is 11 squared. I remembered that yesterday I had happened to read a reference to a record company called eleveneleven. Then I remembered a vivid dream I had once had, in which I saw the prophet Jeremiah composing the Book of Lamentations by contemplating an 11-by-11 magic square. This dream had greatly impressed, appropriately enough, a Frenchman.

As much as I should know better by now than to speculate about specific dates, I can't help but wonder. January 21 is the day after inauguration, which fits well with the prophecy that, even though Trump wins in the end, he will also "invite Joe Camel [i.e. Biden and Harris] to the White House."