Stephen
Terry, Director
Heaven, Education, and Eternal Learning
Commentary
for the December 26, 2020 Sabbath School Lesson
"However, as it is written:
'What no eye has seen,
--'what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind
has conceived--
the things God has
prepared for those who love him--
these are the things
God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches
all things, even the deep things of God." 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, NIV
(As appropriate
to this week's lesson, I am sharing an expanded version of an earlier
article I have written, "Space, Time, and God.")
In our understanding of the universe we have defined space and time within the
first four dimensions. The first dimension is linear space, the second is
planar space, and the third is tri-dimensional space. The fourth dimension, which
might also be called the first dimension of time, could be considered linear
time. If the parallels are consistent, then the fifth dimension, which would
also be the second dimension of time, would be planar time. Logically, the
third dimension of time would be tri-dimensional time.
If we were to
construct a religious symbology meaningful to hypothetical inhabitants of these
dimensions, we would perhaps do so using imagery native to the dimension in
question. For the first dimension, we might create a sacred line or point. The
second might have a holy parallel. The third might have a sacred, three-dimensional ,structure.
The fourth might have a sacred object constructed of linear time. This could be
a day set aside as sacred. Naturally, the possibilities would extend with
appropriateness across each dimension. We might even be able to define the
possibility that the substitution of a symbol for a particular dimension with
one from a lower dimension might be regression or heresy. For example,
replacing veneration of a holy day in the linear time dimension with veneration
of a holy object from the third dimension. The same might be true from all
perspectives. For instance, a holy day arising from a linear perception of time
might be viewed as a failure to recognize non-linear aspects of time. Aspects of
time such as these would be manifest in a deity capable of omnipresence geographically
and chronologically but would be exceedingly difficult to conceive of mentally
or artistically in the mind of those only capable of viewing time as a linear
manifestation.
Even our understanding
of dimensions is shaped by how we perceive things in our own dimension. We most
likely see dimensions, as I outlined in the first paragraph, as linear,
extending ad infinitum away from our own, just as we perceive time as
linear extending beyond sight into an infinite future. However, these dimensions
rather than being linear in nature are quite possibly co-existent and are
simply to be understood as each lower dimension simply being a subset of and
therefore contained within all the higher ones. First and second dimensional space
are both subsets of third dimensional space. All exist simultaneously but are
not congruent. The subset is within the superset, but not equivalent to it.
This means elements of the subset may appear within the superset, but the
superset cannot produce any elements within the subset that are not already normally
present there. This is theologically exemplified by the necessity of a messiah
appearing as human due to the limitations of the dimensional subset he is appearing
within. Appeals to his nature outside of that subset would be subject to gross misinterpretation
if they could even be experienced at all. It would also be necessary to appear
in a non-threatening manner. There are few things less threatening than a human
baby. The patriarchal society that the child was born into would demand also that
the child be born male to lessen the threat to societal norms.
Just as I who exist in
the linear time dimension can create in the second dimension, so those in the
higher dimensions might not lose their ability to manipulate the lower ones.
Although, the more remote the relationship between dimensions, the less might
be the motivation for such interaction. It may be a primitive and useless
exercise to the more comprehensively constructed dimension, while being
absolutely terrifying to those within the simpler ones. This would be because
the lower would be less likely to understand any interaction with the greater
due to the limitations of their subset. For instance, two dimensional
inhabitants might consider my ability to enter their realm and create objects
as "god like." I in turn might feel the same about individuals from other dimensions
who could enter my dimension and manipulate time. For the greater dimensions,
self-interest may be the only reason for remote, lower subset interaction.
Perhaps illustrative of this would be the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
This idea which I call
the Remoteness Principle might be visualized as a hierarchy by beings in our
dimension with our linear thinking. Lower in the hierarchy and less remote
might be those who are most often involved in interactions with our dimension
(angels?) while the hierarchy progresses in remoteness infinitely to that which,
we would call God, although we could not actually define God since the
definition both practically and stemming from this multi-dimensional construct
(construct in the sense that I do not have the tools to portray or recreate
those dimension) requires ineffability. Such a definition would also require
God, for the purposes of interdimensional communication and travel to use those
tools and beings closest to the target dimension that would ensure the highest
level of comprehension. Heaven, then, may be the superset that holds an
infinite number of dimensional subsets. This would make heaven itself infinite
by definition and omnipresence a necessary attribute of the being, or beings
dwelling there and having omniscience, or full awareness of all subsets within
the superset. Such a being would also have at their disposal all the tools of every
subset, allowing such things as the incarnate presence of that which is spirit.
To us, Jesus, is an
enigma. He is an interjection into our linear dimension of all that such a
being could reveal of itself to us. We speak often of God willingly limiting
Himself to human form, yet this is not adequately descriptive. Perhaps it would
be more correct to speak of a being who can no more fully interject Himself
into our dimension than we can fully be integrated into the limitations of the
second dimension. At most, we could only succeed in fully integrating a
two-dimensional representation of our being into that dimension. In short,
Jesus is the face of God we see and understand but that revelation is veiled by
our own limitations. We do not have the ability to approach God where he lives.
The only knowledge we may have is from his ability to reveal dimensionally
compatible elements of his being to us, which fall far short of reality. This
is not because of any lack of desire on his part. If we can imagine trying to
teach a cricket how to bake a cake, we can just barely, perhaps understand the
problem.
If we turn now to the
concepts of creation and creator, higher dimensions should be able to spawn
subsets of themselves as a property of their being a superset of those subsets.
An example might be Walt Disney producing two-dimensional images of Mickey
Mouse on a screen. That two-dimensional fantasy world was spawned as a subset
within a dimension capable of things beyond that cinematic portrayal. Perhaps the
existence of such subsets might also be considered proof of the supersets'
existence, with each superior set of course being a subset itself of the
infinite set. While there may be little or no linearity involved, a
creator/creation model might be a singularly adequate means to describe the
indescribable to the linear beings of the fourth dimension.
Salvation might also
be defined in this cosmology as a fully integrated restoration of a subset to
its proper superset. Such restoration if infinitely applied across all subsets
could easily mean immortality, although what that truly means could not be adequately
understood within the confines of any subset short of infinity. Instead, trying
to visualize it would be like seeing "through a glass, darkly." (1 Corinthians
13:12) Perhaps therefore our futile attempts to understand any revelations from
these higher dimensional subsets must continually be constructed on a
foundation of faith as opposed to substance. The tools of this dimension are simply
inadequate to the task. Instead, we rely heavily on inadequate manifestations perpetrated
by sources beyond our comprehension, sources severely constrained when working
within our dimension.
The Bible may hint at
an ability to transcend the limitations I have illustrated. Per the early
chapters of Genesis, prior to the temptation and fall, God apparently was able
to appear to and walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Was this a limited
manifestation, like Jesus' incarnation, or have we lost some ability to see and
understand what happens outside our subset? Paul hints of this with his first
letter to the Corinthians. In chapter fifteen, he writes of a change that we
must undergo that will allow us to transcend our current experience. But the
limitations of his language and my ability to understand do not allow me to
penetrate that barrier between then and now. For the moment, as a denizen of
linear time, I must wait for the revelation that is promised. Fortunately, I am
not alone in looking for that day, and I hope you are among that number.