The name change for Twitter to “X” has confused and alarmed a lot of people. I don’t particularly care because for the most part, I do not participate in social media. Perhaps, I should; it could grow my outreach – if I were interested in such.
I am only commenting on this subject because the alarmists among us see some kind of occult conspiracy in the works and allege that the use of the letter “X” in various signs and symbols is satanic. Let me enlighten you.
The letter “X” comes from the last letter of the paleo-Hebrew, which is represented by two crossed sticks. It is the letter Tav and means “mark.”
When the angel is commanded by God in the book of Ezekiel to “mark” the holy people in their foreheads to protect them from selective judgment, they are marked with an “X.” We should infer, therefore, that the devil’s people are marked with “666,” while God’s people are marked with an “X.”
Furthermore, in the Book of Revelation, when Jesus says in the Greek that “I am the Alpha and Omega” – the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet – in the Aramaic (which was probably the language of composition for the book), Jesus would have said, “I am the Aleph and the Tav.” Or for us, “A and Z.” The ancient Christian symbol called the “Chi-Rho” is formed with the letter “X.”
In the Grail Church, in a custom evidently derived from the Knights Templar, we cross our arms to form an “X” across our breasts in a self-maledictory oath: “Cross my heart and hope to die.” Various organizations influenced by the Templars do the same, such as the Freemasons, the Mormons, and so on. I do not know necessarily what they might mean when they assume the gesture. Nor do I know what various malcontents might mean when they do it today. I do not know what Elon Musk meant to accomplish by changing the name of Twitter to X. And I don’t care.
I know what I mean by it and what it means in the Holy Scriptures. All I can say is that if people appropriate holy symbols in an unholy way; they better watch out. God might take your symbol of a self-maledictory oath seriously. He might consider it a sin of presumption. You might get toasted for the sacrilege.
When those of us in our abbey close our sacraments, we make the sign of the Cross and then cross our arms with the words: “For we are under the sign of the Cross and the blood of Jesus.”
Go and do thou likewise.
JWS, 9/17/23
Postscript: For the benefit of the layman, there is no “X” in the Hebrew. The tav is a “t” sound. At first it was written as + then later as x. Finally, it is written with something that looks like a tree stump. The samek was originally drawn like an electric pole with multiple horizontals and in Latin became an “X” but with an “s” sound. It never meant to “mark” something.
I’m a Mormon and have been all my life. I honestly don’t know what you mean when you say Mormons cross their arms to form an “X.” I’ve been to the temple many times. I have never encountered this “X” thing. Regardless, I love your articles–especially the Newton ones. I always appreciate your viewpoints.
Hi, Ellma, thank you for sharing. If you go to “Uncle” Google and type in something like “Why do Mormons cross their arms when they pray?”, you will find out what I am talking about. Evidently, your bishops do not teach you where the custom comes from, or they obfuscate with other myths as to its origins. It comes from the time Joseph Smith spent with the Masons. I hope this helps. God bless you.