TheSublime

This Sabbath's reading portion is called CHOL HA MO'ED SUKKOT. In English this title would translate as "the interim days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)". The Sabbath reading portion comes during the middle of the feast, which lasts seven days, plus an eighth day called Simchat Torah, which is a celebration of the Torah, the Word of God. Briefly described, the Feast of Tabernacles is observed by the Jewish people by building a small shelter, called a sukkah, traditionally made from tree branches, in which they take their meals. It is a joyful feast celebrating the abundance provided by God, especially when His people dwelt in tents in the wilderness after their exit from Egypt. The word "tabernacles", refers to a dwelling, shelter or tent. This feast also celebrates the fall harvest of dates, pomegranates and grapes for wine. The Feast of Tabernacles, though, has great spiritual importance apart from this. Zechariah wrote: "And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left by the LORD (meaning the survivors of the LORD's plague brought against those who fought Jerusalem (see Zech 14:12-13) of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles." (Zech. 14:16). Another interesting thing happens in this prophecy of Zechariah's. A transformation has taken place in which even the most commonplace things will have become "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" (see v. 20-21). There is a change that takes place. In the Book of Revelation, as God's heavenly tabernacle, the New Jerusalem, descends from heaven to the earth, "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband", all things have been made new, including the heavens and earth, because the former things have passed away. (Rev. 21:1-5). As we saw in the prophet Zechariah, a complete transformation has been accomplished. Here the change is again connected to "the King": "...the Alpha and the Omega (the Aleph-Tav in Hebrew) the Beginning and the End". This King is the Son of David, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as He identified Himself in Revelation (see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13). This kind of miraculous transformation mentioned in these verses from Revelation and Zechariah and connected to "Tabernacles" is what we will be looking at in this Sabbath reading. From the first portion of this Sabbath's reading, we discover that the Feast of Tabernacles is first called "the Feast of Ingathering (asip/asap - harvest [of fruit]/together, assemble, gather, collect, take [away, into, up], remove, fetch) at the end of the year (sana - year, change of season, whole age, second time, alter, to be changed, transmute, to be other, transfer to another place, return, repeat), when you have gathered in the fruit of your (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega in Greek: title of Jesus Christ in Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13)) labors from the field (sage - country, soil, meadow, land, spread out, empire of a king)." (Ex. 23:16). This is one of the three feasts at which all of the men of Israel must gather together before the LORD every year (v. 14, 17). Looking at the Hebrew words used in the verse above regarding the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles), we can see a direct relationship with the end of the age harvest of souls, or fruit, from our aleph-tav labor for the kingdom of the King, the return or second time of Christ, and the "change", or transmutation, and "taking away" that will accompany it. The apostle Paul wrote about this change, in connection to what has been called the Rapture, from the Latin word rapturo/rapio, which means "snatch, seize, caught up, being carried away" to describe the removal of God's people in Christ from earth to heaven: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:16-17). These verses mention a trumpet (of God). Trumpets, or shofars, were used during the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles and other feasts to call the people of Israel to assemble together. For the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles, the priest would blow the shofar with all his might from a mountain top for the seven-eight days of the feast. Paul was not finished writing about this "catching away" event, also called harpazo in Greek, that he spoke of in Thessalonians. He also wrote: "...flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality...then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor. 15:50-54). Not only are we "caught up" to the Lord, but we must be changed in order for this to happen. the commonplace must become "HOLINESS TO THE LORD", as Zechariah wrote in connection to the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles. I call this change as going from the commonplace to the sublime. This is one of the definitions of sublime: "to elevate to a high degree of spiritual purity or excellence; of such excellence, grandeur or beauty as to inspire awe". What institutes this miraculous change in our physical form and spiritual substance? We will see an answer as we contnue in our Sabbath portion for this week. In the next reading, as Moses and the people were told by the LORD to leave Mt. Sinai and continue onward through the wilderness, Moses requested a change to the sublime through grace from the LORD. Moses said to the LORD: "Now, therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I might find grace in your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.' And He (the LORD) said, 'My presence (panim - face, faces, presence, in the face of) will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Ex. 33:12-14, see also Ex. 34:8-9). Moses continued: "...So we shall be separate (pala - sever, separated, set apart, be distinguished, wonderfully, marvellously), Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.' So the LORD said to Moses, 'I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name." (v. 15-17). From his position of having found grace with the LORD, Moses had persuaded God to be present among His people, who had just sinned grievously by worshipping the golden calf idol, and to cause Moses and the people to be separated and distinguished from all of the other people on earth. They would become "different". However, Moses wasn't done seeking the sublime from God through His grace. Moses said to the LORD: "Please, show me Your glory." (v. 18). The LORD granted the request of Moses, but it would only be possible to accomplish as God pronounced His grace and mercy to and upon (aleph-tav) whom He chose (v. 19), and as Moses (aleph-tav) stood on a rock and sheltered in a cleft in a rock, with God's (aleph-tav) hand (v. 23) covering him. Then Moses would be able to see the glory of God's (aleph-tav) back (v. 20-23). This shelter in the rock's cleft became a kind of tabernacle or tent in a way. As we will see, the tabernacle becomes a touching place between heaven and earth, between God and man. It is a place where the commonplace becomes the sublime. In another reading selection for this week's Sabbath, King Solomon, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, used all of His wisdom and knowledge to contemplate what under heaven may exist that rose above the commonplace, or vanity, into the sublime. In Hebrew, this book is called Qoheleth from the root word qahal, which means "assembly, congregation, gathering". The Greek title of the book, Ecclesiastes, comes from the root word ekklesia, meaning "called out assembly, congregation, church". So Solomon's words are for a gathered people, which is appropriate for the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles. This is how Solomon described his search through his gift of wisdom: "I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set (aleph-tav) my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised (ana - humble, afflict, troubled, become low, bow down, be humbled, chasten oneself). I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed all is vanity, and grasping for wind." (Eccl. 1:12-14). Solomon wrote that men knew that there was a difference between the commonplace and the seemingly unattainable sublime: "All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied, nor the ear filled with hearing." (Eccl. 1:8). Men knew that there was something more that was needed. Solomon acknowledged how he had been gifted in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, more than all others in Jerusalem. He acknowledged that he had accomplished great works, great riches and great pleasure - all that he had set his hands to do, yet, all of these things had not lifted him from the commonplace into the sublime. All of these things would disappear or just pass to someone else when he died. It was all therefore vanity (v. 16-17, 2:4-11). Solomon in his gift of wisdom considered the dark days that were to come, a description that matches the prophesied tribulation of the end times (Eccl. 12:1-8). All he could say was "Remember now (aleph-tav) your Creator...before the difficult days come" (v. 1). He said, "The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright - words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars (meaning masters of assemblies) are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd...Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: "Fear (aleph-tav) God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." (v. 10-14). The wisest man on earth could not find a way in his own strength to change the commonplace into the sublime, except to "Fear (aleph-tav) God". There is no method, including philosophies, or various religious practices of the world, by which man can attain the sublime under heaven. However, it is possible and already accomplished though our (aleph-tav) Lord, who joined heaven and earth in Himself. (see Col. 1:19-20, 2 Cor. 5:16-19). In another Sabbath reading portion for this week, a younger King Solomon called a gathering or assembly of all of the (aleph-tav) elders and people of Israel for the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles (see 1 Kings 8:65-66), where the (aleph-tav) Ark (aron/ara - chest/pluck [grapes from the vine], to collect, gather, a manger, a lamb) of the LORD would be brought up (ala - ascend, to meet, to be made to go up, be brought up, be taken away, draw up, train, be carried away, be taken up into, to lift oneself, exalt, excel, go from a lower region to a higher, to be made to depart, go up to the sanctuary) from the city of David, Zion, and placed in the newly constructed temple in Jerusalem. (1 Kings 8:1-6). As the priests set the Ark, the glory cloud of God filled the Temple, so that the anointed, set-apart priests could not continue ministering (v. 10-13). According to the prayer of Solomon, the Temple became a house of prayer where all people could come, seek the LORD, and God would hear and answer. As a result of prayer in this Temple/Tabernacle, repentance would be received, sins could be forgiven, plagues and judgments could be stopped, and lands could be healed. The sublime became accessible, and change manifested in the earth and people. We are not talking about a religious building, however, when we speak of Tabernacles. We are talking about a spiritual place where the commonplace becomes the sublime, where heaven touches earth, and God shares His presence with men. Some examples of this kind of tabernacle: the sojourner in a strange land, Abraham, sat before his tent, where God visited him, and prophesied the miraculous birth of a son of promise to elderly Abraham and his wife, childless Sarah; the fugitive on the run for his life, Jacob, laid on the ground with his head on a rock, and saw a ladder that reached between heaven and earth. He saw angels ascending and descending the ladder. Jacob called the place, Bethel, the House of God, because the commonplace faded away into the sublime; the miracle son of promise, Isaac, brought his new bride, who was a sign and an answer to prayer, into his tent, and their descendants became the nation of Israel; in a common stable near Bethlehem, a Savior was born, and the heavens opened and the angels declared the glory and good will of God to all the people of the earth. The commonplace became the sublime. There is another tabernacle of God's dwelling where heaven and earth touch and the commonplace becomes the sublime. It is in the hearts and bodies of believers in Christ (1 Cor. 3:16-17, 1 Cor. 6:19-20). There is one more definition of sublime that would be interesting to look at, and that definition comes from science! True science, unlike false science, never contradicts the Word of God, but confirms and bears witness to it. What can science tell us about the sublime? Here is the scientific definition from chemistry and physics: "of a solid changing directly into a vapor, skipping the liquid state". The example of solid carbon dioxide, or dry ice, is given, as the solid that seems to "disappear" as it turns to carbon dioxide gas. However, sublimation is considered a rare phenomenon. It only takes place in solids that have a very different kind of molecular structure. The change from solid to vapor is not achieved by heat, but by the solid's vapor pressure being equal to applied atmospheric pressure. These sublime solids have a much higher vapor pressure than most other solids. Their internal molecular structure is different from other solids. We will see how the creation mirrors the truths of its Creator in this case. When Paul wrote about our change into the sublime, as it is with these rare solids, it involves a change in the atmosphere. In his verses regarding the raising of the dead in Christ, and the catching away of the living saints, this occurs when Jesus descends into the atmosphere, into the clouds. We are then instantly changed in form and nature. This is very similar to the atmospheric pressure's effect upon the internal vapor pressure of the sublime solids. Sublimation among solids is rare. Jesus told us that salvation is also rare: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way which leads to life, there are few who find it." (Mt. 7:13-14). Although God desires all to repent and be saved (2 Pet. 3:9), not all do. Sublime solids are also created differently from the start. Their rare and different molecular structure allows them to skip liquid form, and transition directly to gas. Scripture indicates that believers in Christ are also created differently: "But as many as received Him (Jesus as Savior), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (Jn. 1:12-13). Jesus also said regarding a believer's different creative substance: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born (gennao/genos/ginome - begat, born, fathered, bring forth/kindred, offspring, individuals of the same nature/come into existence, arise, appear, of miracles, wrought, be fulfilled, be married to) again (anothen/ano - from above, from a higher place, of things which come from heaven or God,from the beginning, again/up, above, on high, of heaven), he cannot see (herao - see, perceive, know by experience) the kingdom of God...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (Jn. 3:3, 5-8). Notice that the meaning of the phrase "born again" is very deep, and perhaps differs from our usual understanding. These verses of Christ speak to our very origin and structure. The scientific definition of sublime solids, which we saw earlier, creates an interesting picture for us as we consider these words of Jesus. Jesus also added that He knew these things because, as One who both ascended to heaven, and came down from heaven, He is a witness to this Himself (v. 11-13). The Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles has a great deal of meaning to us, as do all the feasts of the LORD. It is the covering, the dwelling, and the Presence/Face of the LORD, and the transformation from old to new, and from the commonplace into the sublime. It is the joining of heaven and earth, and God and man. There is also more information on the Feast of Tabernacles, if you are interested, in the Featured Post column on the right side of this page, in a post titled "Culmination". If you would like to learn more about this very special time for God's people, you can join me in my prayer: "Heavenly Father, You sent Your own Son, Jesus, to earth so that I can become one of Your children, and through Him, to reconcile all things to Yourself. Through Your Son and Holy Spirit, You have made me Your tabernacle where heaven and earth touch, and all things, including myself, are transformed. Teach me more about what it means to be born from the Water of Your Word, Jesus, and Your Spirit, so that I may walk in that knowledge of You, especially as we grow nearer to the harvest of souls and that great ingathering into Your heavenly kingdom from the four corners of the earth. Write Your Words in my heart and upon my mind. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN."