In preceding posts, I have discussed in various places the role that exactitude plays in the theology of the scriptures. The telos of creation is the mutual interiority of God and cosmos- God’s life wholly suffuses the cosmos, which wholly flows through the life of God. Because God is the principle of the world’s existence, and because the existence of a thing is captured in the interrelation of its qualities and/or parts, the presence of God in all things brings about the integration of all multiplicity in creation such that each particular finds its home in its relation to the unity of which it is both a part and expression. This is what the tabernacle and temple is designed to express. The architecture of the tabernacle and temple emphasizes the diversity of its various parts. In Exodus, the duality of wealth of Egyptian origin being woven by hands of Israelite blood according to a design of heavenly craft runs through the whole of Exodus 25-31. Likewise, in the story of King Solomon, we read about how Solomon imported materials from the Temple from Hiram of Tyre. The temple is the center of the world because it is the knot which ties together the apparently disparate threads of God’s creation. The stone does not cease to be itself in its being placed in relation to sacred metals: rather, the brightness of the metals and the firmness of the stone is seen to be what they are precisely in their relation of contrast with the materials to which they are linked. This is the essence of sacred space, because the sign of true knowledge is a comprehensive purposefulness. One knows stone when one has a specific reason for each use of stone. Sacred space comes in the relation whereby multiple things are spatially joined together so that their interconnection expresses something of the life of God. The temple is thus the place of God’s knowing the world. God created the world by His word, and word expresses the knowledge inherent in mind.
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