“Do you remember the day that foretells all that, the ending of the present order and the beginning of eternity?”
“Shemini Atzeret.”
“That’s right,” said the teacher. “And do you remember what it means?”
“The Gathering of the Eighth Day,” I answered.
“The word for Gathering is Atzeret. But Atzeret is a mystery word. It can be used to speak of gatherings, but it’s especially joined to this particular and mysterious last day of the Hebrew year. The word Atzeret comes from the Hebrew verb atzar. Atzar means to keep, to maintain, to hold back, to recover, and to retain. So Atzeret literally means the Keeping, the Maintaining, the Holding Back, the Recovery, and the Retaining. So the day that foreshadows the passing away of heaven and earth and the dawning of eternity could be called ‘the Keeping.’ The day that speaks of the last day of earthly existence is called ‘Atzeret,’ ‘the Retaining.’
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Heaven and earth will pass away. The sorrows of this world, its pains and its evils will all pass away. But there will be an Atzeret. There will be a Keeping, a Retaining. All the good of this life that came from Him will be kept. All the good that was done for Him and for His purposes will be preserved. Every work of faith, of love, of purity, of redemption, of salvation . . . these will be kept. All that was birthed of God, all that was sacrificed and given up for God, these will be restored. All the labors of the righteous, all the prayers of the holy, and all the praises of His children, all that which was of born of His love, all this will be retained and brought across the Jordan as a treasure to be kept forever. The old will pass away. There will be no more darkness or tears or mourning or death. But the good . . . the good will be kept in the keeping of heaven’s Atzeret.”
The Mission: In heaven, the good of this life will be retained. Do not retain anything of this day that is not good. Retain only what is.
Matthew 6:20; 19:21; Revelation 7:9–17; 21:12–14
The Mystery of the Eighth Day I–III
DAY 339
THE INVISIBLE HARP
THE TEACHER WAS sitting in one of the gardens as I approached him. Cushioned between his legs and abdomen was a harp on which he was playing soft, gentle, beautiful music. I waited until the piece was finished before I spoke.
“I had no idea you knew how to play,” I said.
“It’s very scriptural,” he said. “The Bible’s praises are called psalms. The word psalm is a translation of the Hebrew word mizmor. A mizmor is a musical piece, in this case, a praise to God played with an instrument.”
“A piece played with any instrument?”
“The word is specifically linked to the music of a harp. It was when the ancient Jewish scholars translated the Scriptures into Greek that mizmor became psalmos, from which we get the word psalm. Psalmos comes from the word psallo. And psallo specifically speaks of making music on the strings of a harp. So if you want to praise God, you must play a musical instrument.”
“But I don’t play a musical instrument . . . I’ve never even owned one.”
“But you do own one,” he said. “There is an instrument that makes music to the Lord . . . and you own it.”
“What instrument?”
“It is written in the Scriptures, ‘Make melody in your heart to the Lord.’ The instrument that produces music to the Lord . . . is the heart. So your heart is a musical instrument. And what is the heart? It’s the center of your being, the deepest part of your existence. That’s what makes the music of God’s praise, the deepest part of your being. Your heart was never made to produce bitterness, hatred, anxiety, or gloom. It was made to be an instrument that makes melody to the One who created it, the melody of praise and thanksgiving, the music of love, worship, and joy. And when the Scriptures say, ‘Make melody in your heart,’ do you know what’s behind it? The word is psallo, which literally means to pluck the strings. You see, you have always had a secret harp. And as a harp has highs and lows, so too does your life and your heart. And you’re to praise Him in all of it and with all of it. The very center of your being was made as an instrument to praise God. Therefore, praise Him in all things, at all times, and from your heart, and your life itself will become a psalm . . . a song of praise to God.”
The Mission: Today, learn to make music from the instrument of your heart—from the deepest part of your being—the melody of praise, joy, and worship.
Psalm 33:1–5; Ephesians 5:19–20
Melody in Your Heart
DAY 340
THE SHABBAT MYSTERY CODE
THE TEACHER AND I were returning to the school after a long journey. Before we arrived, the sun began to set. It was the Sabbath. The teacher sat down on the sand and motioned for me to join him.
“Do you remember what I shared about the Sabbath of ages?” he asked.
“That the Sabbath is a shadow of the age to come? Yes.”
“A shadow of the kingdom, the millennium. There’s more to that mystery,” he said. “Who was it that was commanded to keep the Sabbath?”
“The Jewish people,” I replied, “the children of Israel.”
“And so each week, as the Jewish people keep the Sabbath, we have a prophetic shadow of the Sabbath age. So could it be that what they do on that day, in the liturgy of their Sabbath observance, holds the mystery of what will happen in the age to come, the age of the Sabbath? As the Sabbath liturgy begins, proclamations are made of the Lord’s coming: ‘The Lord is coming . . . to judge the earth,’ ‘The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice,’ ‘In His Temple all cry out “Glory!”’ In the same way, the age to come will begin with the coming of the Lord to earth, to judge and reign from the Temple of Jerusalem. The Sabbath liturgy then speaks of the coming of the bride. So too does the Book of Revelation. Then it is proclaimed that ‘the Word of God shall go forth from Jerusalem.’ So too, in the age to come, the Word of God will go forth from Jerusalem to all the earth. The liturgy continues with the speaking of ancient blessings, one of which blesses God ‘who revives the dead.’ Thus, the age to come will see the resurrection of the dead. Then comes the proclamation that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that the kingdom belongs to the Lord, ‘the King of kings.’”
“That’s exactly what it says of the age to come in the Book of Revelation. It’s amazing how it all lines up. The age of the Sabbath, the Messianic age, would correspond to the millennium. At the end of the Book of Revelation, the millennium ends with the beginning of eternity. Is there anything in the Sabbath observance that speaks of that . . . perhaps at the end of the liturgy?”
“There is,” said the teacher, “and it comes at the end. “It’s called Adon Olam, which is translated as ‘the Lord of eternity.’ And these words are then proclaimed: ‘After all has ceased to be, He alone will reign, the Awesome One . . . without beginning and without end.’ And so,” said the teacher, “as the Jewish people look forward to the Sabbath day and prepare to enter it . . . so live your life looking forward to and in preparation . . . for the Sabbath of ages.”
The Mission: In God, the best comes at the end. Live this day in full confidence of that fact, looking forward, and preparing in hope for that day.
Exodus 31:16–17; Isaiah 2:1–5; 66:22–23; Matthew 12:8
The Shabbat Mystery Code I–II
DAY 341
THE OTHER THROUGH THE ONE
THE DAY WAS sunny with a cool afternoon breeze. We were walking through a garden of olive trees, the leaves of which were rustling in the wind.
“A mystery,” said the teacher. “Listen to these words written by the apostle: ‘For as woman came from man, even so man comes through woman.’ What does it mean?”
“‘As woman came from man’ . . . So from Adam came Eve. But after that, every man comes into the world through a woman . . . ‘so man comes through woman.’”
“It’s a circle of love,” he said, “a circle of being. The one comes from the other and the other comes through th
e one. They each come through the other. And yet it contains an even deeper mystery. Adam was created in the image of God, the visible reflection of the invisible realities of God. So if from Adam came Eve, if from the man came the woman, then what is this a reflection of? What then came from God?”
“The creation came from God,” I replied.
“So the one came from the other,” said the teacher, “but the mystery, then the other must come through the one. So if the creation came from God, then . . . ”
“Then God . . . must come through the creation.” “Yes,” said the teacher. “As man comes through woman who came from man, so God must come through the creation that came from Him . . . And so God is born among us. And the circle is complete.”
“Israel,” I said. “Israel also came from God. So as the man comes through the woman, so the God of Israel must come through Israel . . . God must be born of Israel.”
He paused, looked into my eyes, and said, “And what else comes from God?”
“We do,” I said. “We came into existence from God.”
“The one from the other and the other from the one. So what about you?”
“I came into existence from God. Therefore, it’s only complete if God is born through me.”
“You exist from Him . . . that He might exist through you. And what is salvation? It is exactly that. It is this mystery. It is God come through you who came from Him . . . His life now born through your life. And that is the purpose of your life. So make this your aim: Let God come through you. Let His love, His goodness, His nature, His presence, let His life come through your life . . . the one from the other and the other through the one. And then the circle . . . is complete.”
The Mission: Take part in the mystery today. Let the life, the love, the goodness, the power, and the presence of God, through your life, be born.
Genesis 2:21–23; 1 Corinthians 11:11–12; Ephesians 5:25–32
Male and Female
DAY 342
THE RESURRECTION LAND
IWAS SITTING IN his study by his desk when he showed me an ancient coin.
“What do you see on it?” asked the teacher.
“A man standing by a palm tree,” I said. “And under the tree is a woman sitting down.”
“The man is a Roman soldier,” he said. “And the woman represents Israel weeping. It’s called Judaea Capta, a commemorative coin issued by the Romans to celebrate their destruction of Israel. Now look at this.”
He handed me another coin, silver and not ancient but modern.
“What do you see?”
“The palm tree, the woman, and a man . . . but it’s different. The woman is standing up and holding a baby, and the man is planting a tree.”
“It’s called Israel Liberata. It’s the coin issued by Israel after it came back into the world. It’s based on the Roman coin, but the image of death and sorrow has turned into one of resurrection and joy. Nations are born and grow. But Israel is different. Israel is a resurrection. And what is a resurrection? It’s a restoring of what once was. So the coins of Israel are the resurrections of its ancient coins. Its language is the resurrection of its ancient language; its cities, the resurrections of its ancient cities. Even its trees and forests, are the resurrections of its ancient trees and forests. And much of these resurrections came through translating what was in the Bible into reality. Through the Word came the nation. The resurrection of Israel is a sign, a picture of salvation. You see, our salvation is not only a new birth. It’s a resurrection. It’s a restoration.”
“But we’ve never been anything else but fallen,” I said. “How can we be restored or resurrected to whatever we’ve never been?”
“If this is the fallen version, then there has to be another version, the person God made you to be. That is the resurrection of salvation. It is that you become the you that you were always meant to become . . . God’s holy creation . . . the you as you would be if you were never fallen. And how do you take part in that resurrection? You do as in the resurrection of Israel. You translate the Word of God into your life, in every area and realm. Make your goal resurrection . . . that you might become that which, in Him, you are . . . and are to be.”
The Mission: Your life is a resurrection. Follow, in the Word of God, the pattern for life and become the person you were created to become.
Jeremiah 30–31; Hosea 6:2; Amos 9:14–15; Ephesians 2:6
The Resurrection of Zion
DAY 343
THE END OF THE STORY
WHAT IS IT,” asked the teacher, “that makes a story good or bad, happy or sad? What if I told you the story of a man hated by his own family, sold into slavery, taken to a foreign land, thrown into a prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and forgotten by man and, it seems, by God. What kind of story would you say it is?”
“A sad story. A story of injustice and oppression . . . a tragedy.”
“But the story is from the Book of Genesis. And the man is Joseph. And He will end up being released from prison, given a position of great honor, saving Egypt from famine, and being reconciled to his family.
“Now would you still say the story is sad and tragic?”
“No. I would say the story is one of triumph.”
“And you would be right,” he said. “The parts of a story are not all of equal weight. A happy story with a tragic end is not a happy story, but a tragic one. A tragic story with a triumphant ending is not a tragic story, but a triumphant one. You can never judge a story by its beginning or middle, or by any of its parts before its ending. It is the ending of the story that determines everything that went before it. Always remember that. The nature of the story is determined by its end . . . so too the story of your life. You can never judge your story by your current circumstances or problems. And as long as you’re on earth, you haven’t seen the end of the story.”
“So then one can never know what kind of story you’re in.”
“Not so,” said the teacher. “If you’re a child of God, the end of the story is revealed.”
“Which is . . . ”
“Victory, restoration, triumph, blessing, joy, and glory. And it is that end that makes your life a good story, a wonderful story. Therefore, when you look at your life, see everything in the light of that ending . . . every problem, every defeat, every sorrow, every failure, every evil . . . they’re only the components of a story of triumph and glory. Fix your eyes on the end of the story. And press on to that end. For it is that end that makes your story and your life . . . a great one.”
The Mission: No matter what you’re going through today or in your life, believe, look to, and live in confidence to the end of the story.
Job 42:10–17; Luke 24:46–53; 2 Corinthians 2:14; Hebrews 12:1–2
The End of the Story
DAY 344
THE RUNNER’S RIDDLE
ARIDDLE,” SAID THE teacher. “Two men in a race. The first is a perfect runner, fast, strong, skilled, and confident, one who only runs perfect races. The second is slow, clumsy, weak, and unsteady. He’s never been in a race where he didn’t stumble and fall multiple times before the race was over. The two compete in a marathon of widely varying and, at times, dangerous terrain. The second runner finds himself far behind and falling continuously for the entire length of the race. The first runner performs with great speed and skill. In the most treacherous of terrain he falls only once and, apart from that, runs perfectly. So who wins the race?”
“The first runner,” I answered, “From everything you told me, he has to win.”
“But he loses,” said the teacher, “It is the second runner who wins.”
“But how?”
“The first runner runs only perfect races. Once he falls, it’s no longer a perfect race. His race is over. He’s finished. But the second runner isn’t running a perfect race. So when he falls, the race isn’t over.”
“But how do we know he wins?”
“If he keeps falling for the length of the ra
ce, it means he also keeps getting up for the length of the race, until he crosses the finish line. So the winner is not the best runner, but the one who crosses the finish line. Never forget that. For you too are in a race. Do everything you can to avoid falling. But you won’t win this race by running it perfectly. No one does. But when you fall, remember the runner’s riddle. Get up and get on with it. No matter how great your fall, get up and keep going. And if you fall again, get up again. And if you keep falling, keep getting up again. And if you keep falling and getting up again, you’ll end up crossing the finish line, and you’ll win the race. For this race and this faith are not to those who run perfectly or never fall. Rather, those who win are those who get up after having fallen, and those who fall and get up…are those who win.”
The Mission: Commit today that no matter what, even if you fall, you’ll keep running until you cross the finish line. And if you’ve fallen, make today the day you get up and get going.
Proverbs 24:16; 1 Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:1
To Finish the Race
DAY 345
THE MACCABEAN BLUEPRINT
THE TEACHER LED me through the darkness to the golden menorah, which stood in the center of its chamber. He lit the first of its seven lights.
“We’ve spoken of Chanukah,” said the teacher, “the Festival of Lights, how it commemorates the victory of God’s people over evil . . . But there’s more to it. Chanukah contains a mystery. It’s not only a commemoration but a prophetic shadow. It begins when an evil king sets up an idol in the holy place, the desecration of the Temple, the ‘Abomination Desolation.’ And yet Messiah speaks of an Abomination Desolation yet to come in the last days. So Chanukah contains a template, a prophetic blueprint of that which will take place at the end of the age.”
The Book of Mysteries Page 49
