Learning To "See" Spiritual Realities (In Search Of Truth, Hebrews 12:18-24)

(Hebrews 12:18-24, ESV)

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.


Why should we push forward in our pursuit of life with Jesus? The author has previously given us instruction on how to view the suffering we encounter, but why willingly engage in a pursuit of maturity and faithfulness at all if we know it will bring discomfort or suffering to begin with? The author provides one answer in these verses, and it once again has to do with recognizing what's really real, rather than only fixating on what we can see in the here and now.

v.18-21

Believers have entered into a connection with Yahweh that is completely different from what was once offered. These verses refer to the formative experience Israel had with Yahweh at Mount Sinai, when they committed to being governed by Yahweh and to being in relationship with him. The time spent interacting with Yahweh at Sinai involved staying at a distance from him, while also being terrified at signs of his presence, which included fire, darkness, gloom, intense wind and the blasting sound of a horn. The experience was so frightening that the people actually begged not to hear the voice of God anymore! (Exodus 19-20, Deuteronomy 4) Even Moses, the man closest to Yahweh, trembled with fear.

Personally, I'd LOVE to hear the audible voice of God and witness unmistakable signs of his presence. I can't imagine begging NOT to hear his voice! Which tells me that this kind of interaction with Yahweh must have been terrifying beyond what I can truly appreciate. The grass may look greener sometimes as we comfortably look thousands of years back to ancient Israel and their unique interactions with Yahweh. But the truth is that it was far from an ideal situation, given the difficulties that sin caused in relationship with a holy and just God.

v. 22-24

In contrast, we as believers in Jesus have an entirely different (and far better) situation. "Mount Zion" (on which Jerusalem stands), "the city of the living God" and "the heavenly Jerusalem" seem to be synonymous expressions of the place believers have come to. Like moving to a foreign land, we have relocated to the Kingdom of Yahweh, which is seen in foreshadow now and will be revealed and displayed fully in the future.

In this new "place" there are angels actually celebrating Yahweh and his kingdom right now. And we have entered into a multi-dimensional yet unified community of those enrolled in that Kingdom. We have come to Yahweh, the Judge of all beings in existence and we are somehow side-by-side with believers who have passed away and are now made perfect by that same Judge. We have come to Jesus, who facilitates a new and far superior relationship between us and God. All accomplished by his blood, which reveals the good news of God's loving rescue, rather than the blood of Abel which only highlighted the need for God's judgment and wrath.


SO WHAT'S IN THIS FOR GEEKS?

In looking at these verses I felt a "yes, but" interfering with my thoughts. The situation described here for believers sounds amazing, but I can't SEE any of it! I can't touch it or even hear it! Isn't it all just a collection of nice flowery thoughts that can't be literally, truly real?

My mind wandered to the distance I feel right now between me and Jesus. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus told his followers, "it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you."(John 16:7) But how could the presence of this intangible "Helper" make any sense? How is the Holy Spirit, God himself, truly "with us" in any logical way? Don't we have to resort to a sort of childish "imaginary friend" mentality to accept the presence of God and the truth of the invisible Kingdom realities being described here?

Then I thought of Christian astronomer Hugh Ross's book "Beyond The Cosmos". In that book he suggests that our discovery of multiple dimensions above the 4 we operate in should dramatically change how we view some of the mysteries of scripture. And this is where it comes in handy to be a geek with some familiarity with scientific speculation.

I imagine Batman as a living being for a moment. Not in a 3 dimensional sense as we're meant to imagine him as we read, but as a strictly 2-dimensional being that lives only in the comic book panels.

In two dimensions, he is flat on a comic book page with no physical depth. Bruce has no concept of three dimensions, only the two he operates in. If we assume time as the 4th dimension and add that to Batman's experience, then he can think successive thoughts and perform actions, but he still can't fathom three dimensions. If we were to poke two fingers through the page, right in front of him, he would theoretically only perceive two circles that suddenly appear and grow larger as we push into the frame. He wouldn't even know that those two circles are actually part of a single being! And trying to explain three dimensions to him in a way he could mentally picture would be futile, since all he's ever known is a 2-dimensional existence.

In this way I began imagining God, whom scripture tells us is "spirit", and therefore without a physical (3-dimensional) body. From our perspective this can make him seem less real or present. But then I imagine myself as the "frozen in time", two-dimensional Batman, and God as someone close to the panel I live in, maybe even touching my image in a way only detectable when measured in three dimensions. He is right there, all the time, closer even than other objects that exist in the panel with me.

I come out of that thought and look at my office around me with a new awareness. The reality of Yahweh, his angels and perfected believers, celebrating his victory and his advancing Kingdom right now, suddenly seems on the edge of my senses. Somehow just around a corner of some kind. Frustratingly elusive, yet more recognizable, the truths of this hidden reality become almost detectable as I consider them in this light.

And then it all fades away again. The tasks and people in my every day routines cause me to forget and lose sight of the reality of God's presence and his Kingdom. So how do we stay in that mindset?

How do we recognize the reality of the Holy Spirit and Yahweh's kingdom in a way that isn't so fleeting and that actually changes our perspective and gives us life and encouragement to push onward in the race we've been given to run?

Sorry to be a broken record, but it all comes back to seeking truth. Not just as an intellectual pursuit. That will help us give good answers in conversations and win social status (or so we think). But the author of Hebrews is calling us to a self-inundation of truth that is so pervasive that it changes how we perceive everyday life and then actually causes us to RESPOND to truth(which we'll get into more next time).

If you and I are not increasingly seeing and trusting in the reality of Yahweh and his Kingdom in our day to day lives, we need to take a look at our approach to life and relationship with God and shake things up. There are numerous spiritual disciplines that can develop our faith and perspective. But a habit of some kind in scripture is the most foundational place to start, if you haven't developed one already. And if you have, but it has become stale, it may be time to re-evaluate HOW you spend that time. Maybe less time in prayer and more time in the word. Maybe less reading and more praying. Maybe more time for quiet self-examination and repentance. Maybe more in-depth study and questioning of the Bible. Maybe less study and more broad reading for general familiarity with scripture and the heart of God.

Part of that shift in thinking is also dependent on who we spend time with and what kind of teaching we're under. If the teaching at our church is coming only loosely and fleetingly from the Bible, spending more time on anecdotes or well-intentioned advice, it may be time to talk to our church leaders about having more scripture focused teaching on Sundays. Or maybe we need to add involvement in a small Bible study group in our church. Meeting regularly, in person, with other truth-seeking believers is a vital part of how we learn to see reality as it is.

(Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV) And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Especially as we engage with entertainment, we are constantly being fed a set of values and subtle truth claims that are counter to scripture and reality itself. This makes it difficult to see the realities around us that God is revealing unless we give God the bigger voice in our lives, allowing HIS words to shape our perspective instead of media.

God and his Kingdom are present, right now. They are closer to us than anything else, and we can find comfort and confidence in that, if we're willing to train our eyes to see.