The prophet's dictionary guide to the supernatural

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Sabbath to Syria

1267. Sabbath—A) The seventh day. B) The day of God’s rest. C) The rest day the Creator imposed on humanity and its world systems. Explained in the law in Exodus 20:11, as well as the Ten Commandments. See also Exodus 31:15; 2 Chronicles 36:21. See Seven Days. 1268. Sacred—That which is holy and therefore devoted to a deity. Sacred objects are used as designated by the god to execute his or her religious service. The attendants of the service are included in the classification of the sacred. The state of sacredness is attained by a series of prayers, cleansing, and offerings in which the objects are sanctified. See Hebrews 9:18–22. In the King James Version, the word sacred is translated “holy” according to 1 Corinthians 9:13. The original word for it in the Greek is hieros. See the meanings of the term under Hierus. Refer to 1 Corinthians 9:13; 1 Timothy 3:15 (asv). 1269. Sacred Drink—Integral to all worship celebrations is the sacred liquid seen as containing divine life. Imbibing is part of every religious worship. Few rites are executed without some sort of drink consumed for its spiritual qualities. Even in today’s eucharist the sacrament of wine to go with the communion bread fits the description of a spiritual or sacred drink. More than a thirst quencher, the sacred drink was imbibed to take in the spirit of the god who revived and healed (if necessary). Often linked to the deity’s life and power, people believed sacred drinks to be transubstantiated to the very stuff of the god ingested by worshippers. Petitioning prayers and supplications that preceded their intake included the god’s taking the natural substance and transforming it into a supernatural one for the benefit of the communicant. All sacred drinks were essentially intoxicants consumed for various reasons, mostly to transcend mortality and mundanity to temporarily occupy the sphere as the god. The intoxication was to stimulate prophetic visions and revelations and facilitate the deity’s putting divining words into the priest or worshipper’s mouth. Intoxicants were used to induce trances and/or permit excursions from one world to the next. If these were not the goal, then empowerment for duty or