Triquetra PDF

The Triquetra
The NKJV carries a triquetra as part of its cover design. The publishers explain this
symbol on the copyright page of each edition as follows:
Cover Design: The triquetra (from a Latin word meaning "three cornered") is an
ancient symbol of the Trinity. It comprises three interwoven arcs, distinct yet
equal and inseparable, symbolizing that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
are three distinct yet equal Persons and indivisibly One God.
Concerning the triquetra, the logo used on the NKJV, Riplinger asserted:
The NKJV logo is the ancient symbol for the pagan trinity, not the
Christian Trinity. Use of number symbols (like this 666) can be traced back to
Pythagoras (582 B.C.), initiate into the Egyptian mysteries. The symbol was
popularized again by satanist Aleister Crowley (circa 1900) for the Royal Arch
(Lucifer) of the 3rd Degree of the York Order of Masonry. The symbol's shape is
duplicated as three initiates join arms and feet, while repeating the names of [the]
ancient pagan trinity. The NKJV's symbol can be seen on satanic rock group
albums like Led Zeppelin, as well as on New Age bestsellers like The Aquarian
Conspiracy.
This statement is false in several respects. It is false because it is in direct contradiction

with authorities on Christian symbolism. Thomas Albert Stafford declared that the triquetra is
…one of the most beautiful and most satisfying of the symbols of the Holy
Trinity. The three equal arcs of the circle denote equality of the three Persons of
the Godhead. The lines run continuously and therefore express their eternal exis-
tence. They are interwoven, which expresses their unity. The center forms an
equilateral triangle, itself a symbol of the Trinity. Each pair of arcs combines to
form a "vesica," previously explained as an aureole, indicative of glory. So, here
we have a complex expression of equality, eternity, unity and glory in what is
essentially a simple form.1
Heather Child and Dorothy Colles affirm the same details, indicating that the symbol is
early:
The Triquetra is an early symbol of the Trinity; the continuous interweaving of

indivisible but equal arcs may be taken to express Eternity; in the centre is the
triangle of the Trinity.2
1 Thomas Albert Stafford, Christian Symbols in the Evangelical Churches (New York: Abingdon-
Cokesbury Press, 1994), pp. 50-52.
2 Heather Child and Dorothy Colles, Christian Symbols, Ancient and Modern: A Handbook for Students
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971), p. 44.
Robert P. Wetzler and Helen Huntington also identify the triquetra as a symbol of the Holy
Trinity.3
Riplinger's statement is false because the symbol that appears on some albums of the rock
group Led Zeppelin has been modified with a superimposed circle. Furthermore, Riplinger
falsely identifies the triquetra with the symbol on the cover of Marilyn Ferguson's book The
Aquarian Conspiracy. However, that symbol is not a triquetra, as Riplinger rightly knows--she
has been informed.4 The symbols are similar but distinctly different as the following illustration
indicates. The triquetra has three distinct corners, as its name indicates; the symbol on Ferguson's
book has three rounded lobes which cannot be confused with corners.
Triquetra Ferguson's Symbol
From this false equating of the symbols, Riplinger imagines that the triquetra forms three sixes
which she then identifies with the number 666 of the antichrist. One could visualize sixes on a
Ferguson's symbol, but never on a triquetra. No one writes or prints a six with a pointed bottom!
The following illustration demonstrates how ridiculous the suggestion is:
Triquetra 6 (?) Mobius 6
The evidence indicates that Riplinger bore false witness. The triquetra is an ancient
symbol of the Holy Trinity and it remains so today. The fact that recent unbelievers have abused,
misused, and even desecrated this symbol does not deprive it of its ancient sacred significance.
--------------------------
Source: Email received 3/10/2008
Wayne: Attached is a file on the triquetra.
It is extracted from my defense of the NKJV against Ripplinger's false accusations of the NKJV.
You may use the material as you see fit.
Blessings,
Jim Price*
*Dr. James D. Price was the editor of the New King James version of the Bible.
3 Robert P. Wetzler and Helen Huntington, Seasons and Symbols: A Handbook on the Church Year
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1962), pp. 70, 71.
4 See her book New Age Bible Versions, p. 101. There she erroneously equated the triquetra with the
symbol on the cover of The Aquarian Conspiracy which she identified as a mobius symbol.

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The Triquetra

This statement is false in several respects. It is false because it is in direct contradiction

The Triquetra is an early symbol of the Trinity; the continuous interweaving of

Triquetra Ferguson's Symbol

Triquetra 6 (?) Mobius 6

Wayne: Attached is a file on the triquetra.

You may use the material as you see fit.

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