Aph (Etherean God)

In Oahspe: A New Bible, Aph is a prominent Etherean God, a high-ranking divine being from the etherean realms, the purest spiritual planes in Oahspe’s cosmology.

As a faithful servant of Jehovih, the Creator, Aph is sent to oversee Earth and its heavens in an early cycle. He is best known for the submersion of the continent of Whaga, afterward called Pan, which Oahspe calls the Deluge, or Flood of Waters.

His role is told in the Book of Aph, Son of Jehovih. This page describes Aph: his role, the key events, his character and his significance. It ends with a comparison to figures from other traditions. It also looks at Noe and at Atavia’s statement about Aph.

Role and authority

Divine appointment

Aph comes to Earth 24,000 years before the kosmon era (B.K.). Oahspe counts the kosmon era from 1848 CE, which puts Aph’s cycle at about 22,000 BCE. At that time the solar phalanx was in the arc of Noe.

IN the time of the world twenty-four thousand years before the kosmon era, the great serpent (solar phalanx) being in the arc of Noe, in the etherean heavens, and of the Sum of Howt and ji'ya eighty-seven, the earth and her heavens were in great darkness.

Book of Aph, Son of Jehovih 1:1

As a “Son of Jehovih”, Aph holds great authority. His task is to manage the spiritual and material realms in a time of human growth and rising spiritual trouble.

The heavenly realms

In the Book of Aph, Jehovih laments that Hored, “once the place of the wisdom of My Son, Sethantes”, has gone down (chapter V). The heavens of the earth are full of drujas, spirits of darkness, and of false Gods and Goddesses.

Under Aph a new heavenly kingdom is founded over the land of Jaffeth (Chine’ya), with wings that reach over Shem and Ham, India and Egypt (chapter VIII). Its officers include asaphs, who receive the spirits of the dead; ashars, the guardian angels of mortals; and loo’is, who guide I’hin marriages. The I’hins are Jehovih’s chosen people.

The flood

Aph’s most important act is the submersion of Whaga (Pan), a continent in the Pacific, because its people and heavens had fallen into darkness. Jehovih tells Aph to set a wall of pillars of fire around Whaga, so that the false Gods of its heaven cannot escape to Jud and Vohu (chapter IV). Aph’s fleets of ships break the crust of the earth and sink the continent (chapters III and VI).

The goddess Atavia remembers the flood

Atavia, a Goddess, recalls how Aph changed the earth in the arc of Noe.

O, I remember the earth! Her side was crushed, and the form of her lands changed by Aph, in the Arc of Noe, twenty four thousand years ago.

Book of Es, Daughter of Jehovih 3:9

Resurrection and deliverance

Aph oversees the resurrection of souls, raising angels from the earth’s lower heavens to the etherean realms. At the end of his mission he leaves in an otevan, a fire-ship, with his hosts of ten millions (chapter IX). The I’hins of Whaga are saved from the flood and brought to new lands, among them Zha’Pan (Japan), Jaffeth, Shem, Ham and Guatama (The Lords’ First Book).

Interaction with mortals

Aph’s influence reaches the earth, where the I’hins keep up their worship of Jehovih, the Great Spirit, free of idols. Ashars protect mortals and work against the drujas, and the Faithist communities grow.

Key events

• Submersion of Whaga (Pan): the central event of Aph’s cycle. By Jehovih’s command, Aph sinks Whaga because of the spiritual decline of its people and its heavens. It reshapes the earth’s lands and gives a fresh start. Atavia’s statement in the Book of Es refers to this event.
• Rescue of the I’hins: the I’hin race survives, carried to new lands such as Jaffeth (Chine’ya), Shem (India), Ham (Egypt) and Guatama. They go on teaching Faithist principles.
• Reorganization of the heavens: a new heavenly kingdom is founded over Jaffeth, with Lords for the divisions of the earth (chapter VIII).
• Confrontation with false Gods: the false Gods and Goddesses of Whaga’s heaven are fenced in by pillars of fire and go down with it (chapter IV). Their later rebellion, under false Gods such as Anuhasaj, comes in later cycles.
• Handing over: Aph surrenders his commission to Neph, God of heaven and earth (chapter VII), and departs.

Character

• Wisdom and resolve: Aph is a wise and resolute leader, able to make hard decisions such as sinking a continent to restore spiritual order.
• Compassion and justice: despite the severity of the flood, Aph acts out of care for the I’hins. He balances justice, the cleansing of corruption, with mercy, the rescue of the righteous.
• Spiritual power: as an Etherean God, Aph has great power, shown in his fleets of ships and his otevan.
• Foresight: Aph prepares systems to protect mortals and angels from drujas and false Gods, and hands his work to a successor.

Significance

Aph’s cycle, 24,000 years before kosmon, is a pivotal moment in Oahspe’s cosmology: a great divine intervention against spiritual decline. The submersion of Whaga resets the earth’s course and preserves the I’hins and their Faithist teachings. Aph builds on the work of Sethantes and prepares the way for later Etherean Gods such as Thor and Osire. His devotion to Jehovih contrasts with false Gods such as Anuhasaj.

Noe and Atavia’s statement

Atavia speaks of Aph’s flood “in the Arc of Noe, twenty four thousand years ago”. This matches the Book of Aph exactly. Noe is the name of the arc, the region of the etherean heavens that the solar phalanx was passing through when Aph came. So Atavia’s words are not a mix-up between two floods: Aph’s flood is the flood in the arc of Noe. See also Noe (I’hin prophet).

Comparison with other traditions

Aph can be compared with figures from other traditions, based on his role as a God who brings a great flood and guides humanity’s renewal.

Poseidon (Greek mythology)

• Similarities: Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, earthquakes and storms, is linked with floods and with reshaping the earth. Like Aph, he wields great power over natural forces. He is also a protector of seafarers, which recalls Aph’s ships carrying the I’hins to new lands.
• Differences: Poseidon is a polytheistic god with human traits, often driven by anger or rivalry. Aph is a purely spiritual Etherean God in a monotheistic framework, acting only in service to Jehovih. Aph’s role also includes heavenly administration and resurrection, which Poseidon lacks.

Other comparisons

• Enki (Mesopotamian mythology): Enki (Ea), god of water and wisdom, warns Utnapishtim of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh. He shares Aph’s role as a protector of humanity during a deluge, but his polytheistic and rebellious nature contrasts with Aph’s devotion to one God.
• Noah (biblical tradition): Noah is a flood survivor, like the I’hins guided by Aph, but he is a mortal, not a divine figure like Aph.
• Vishnu (Hindu mythology): Vishnu, as the fish avatar Matsya, guides Manu through a flood, much as Aph saves the I’hins. Vishnu’s setting, however, is polytheistic and cyclical.

Poseidon is the closest match for the flood and the reshaping of the earth, but the comparison is thematic rather than exact, since Aph’s role is monotheistic and administrative.

Conclusion

Aph, an Etherean God in Oahspe, comes to Earth 24,000 years before kosmon in the arc of Noe. He sinks Whaga (Pan) to cleanse the earth of spiritual corruption, renews the heavens and sees the I’hins brought to new lands.

His wisdom, compassion and power contrast with false Gods such as Anuhasaj, and his work prepares the later cycles. Atavia’s memory of “Aph, in the Arc of Noe” fits the Book of Aph exactly.