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In the Beginning: Building the Temple of Zion

by David S. Bradford

336 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #08-0170; ISBN 1-4251-7071-4; US$27.39, C$27.39, EUR18.71, £14.14

Through the ages, the Bible's best-kept secret has been repeatedly discovered, then lost again. Finally, Truth and its chequered history prepare to greet the light of endless day.

About the Book

The creation account that begins the Old Testament exhibits conspicuous structures that have intrigued scholars, theologians and casual readers alike. A typical response is to merely acknowledge the author’s clever use of poetic devices. But is this an adequate explanation and response? Or could the mystifying surface text be an invitation to seek a deeper message hiding in plain-sight? In fact, the start of Genesis contains enough clues to help us de-code its hidden content. And that same content is, among other things, a tiny seed which has determined the blossoming of the whole Bible.

Finding the cryptic content in the Hebrew Torah is like bringing a magic-lantern into proper focus. Suddenly, it becomes obvious why widely separated biblical episodes came about. All at once, hitherto obscure passages are brought into the limelight. Mysterious prophesies and apparent contradictions in books like Ezekiel and Revelation, Ezra and Nehemiah finally make perfect sense, but in surprising ways. And all this from one strategically-placed, incredibly compact literary artefact.

The prophets are not alone in having found the key to the hidden mysteries. The same phenomenon also illuminates both the rise and final demise of the enigmatic Knights Templar. In due course, the same seed became misrepresented in popular myths and legends, as well as shaping the symbolism of particular secret societies.

Perhaps the most surprising attribute of the creation account is that it does, after all, conceal descriptions of the way our physical universe works, even from its remotest beginning.

Includes over 80 original illustrations.

About the Author

David Stanley Bradford was born 3rd May 1947 into an austere post-war England, in the city of Lancaster. According to the Jewish calendar, that date was a Sabbath designated Acharei Mot (after death) and, by a strange fate, was only days after ancient Hebrew scrolls came to light at Qumran near the Dead Sea.

The Bradford family considered themselves Church of England, and David's early religious education was supported by a state system that still valued its Christian heritage. Sunday school and regular church attendance up to his mid-teen years completed the foundation.

In adult life, David spent almost 30 years working for British Telecom, where he acquired an understanding of communication theory, and project management principles. A late career change led to twelve more years in computer programming and data analysis, in a Higher Education setting.

David and his Portuguese wife, Ana (married 1972) have one daughter, Natalia. When asked how he came to discover the material for In the Beginning, David points to his liking for puzzles and for dabbling in relevant academic subjects like mathematics, the physical sciences and languages. He insists it is his eclectic interests and unfettered outlook that ensured his progress. But the initial impetus arose in late 2002, in the wake of an academic debate concerning something called a Bible Code. With a little lateral thinking, David realised that even a genuine Bible Code would not convince a passionately sceptical audience unless it had been backed up with something more persuasive.

Excerpts