Imagery and Reality... Part two

Figuratively Literal

Eagles, seeds, and mysteries

Prophecies, Parables and Apocalyptic literature aren't supposed to be taken literally. That is, they're not supposed to be taken quite at face value. Ezekiel spoke of an eagle picking up the top branch of a cedar tree- and I hope no one has looked for scientific evidence that one did. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like unto a mustard seed. John saw visions of angels pouring vials onto the earth, horses, riders, and other mysterious elements.

Speaking, seeing, and recording are real in and of themselves, but any regular reader of Scripture knows that the meaning, the actual ideas behind the text require some interpretation.

II Peter 1:20-21- Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

What is He saying?

Now, we're not just talking any old interpretation, but the true interpretation, what God actually is communicating to man through His Word.

Words are real, but the meanings behind the words are real too, perhaps even more so. Stories are really long words that house really big meanings. And when you dig deeper, the big meaning may turn out to be just another storage container for Divine Truth.

Jesus is The Word. All meanings spring from Him.

Of pencils and nonsense...

So back to prophecies, parables and apocalyptic literature. If a movie, word, or pencil has no point, we say it's pointless. Meaningless nonsense is so prevalent in our times that you start to wonder if maybe there is some rhyme or reason to it. Maybe, like anything could be, it's pointless simply because we missed the point. If you can't see the meaning, then to you it's meaningless, but that doesn't mean that the meaning isn't there.

Adam was real, he was also a figure. The priests in the old Testament were real, but they were figures too. Even the temple which was totally, rock-solidly real was a figure. These things, or people, had more locked inside of them than you'd expect for the average Joe. They were literally real people, and their figure was also literally real.

A Glimpse of God

There's this little thing called the Physical Realm. We are part of it and know that it is real. Then, to distinguish from the Physical Realm which we can see and feel, we call the world that we can't see the Spiritual Realm. God is spirit and he gave man a spirit. So, in a sense, even though the Spiritual world is not visible, we can still see it and get a handle, however big or small it may be, on what the Spiritual is.

God, in order to show Himself to us (and that's a pretty tall order) gives meaning to every splash of rain, every blade of grass, every drop of blood. If we were to go through life and miss it, what a sad thing that would be. Imagine, never to get a glimpse of God.

Conclusion

The practical application of these ramblings is simple: worldview. How you view people, sin, and God determines how you will react and relate to them. You can't just take the Bible figuratively because it was written by real people in real circumstance about a real world created by a real God. Inversely, you can't just take it literally because that would be absurd in many instances. Indeed, taking anything anyone says only literally would be impossible because our speech is replete with sarcasm, images, and other plays on meaning.

Rabbit trails aside, :) this isn't my compilation of information concerning the interpretation of scripture; this is my description of how vast and wonderful and messy the world can be when you look at it through the glasses of God's Word.

Complications. It's looking for meaning in a butterfly, trying to see the beauty in mathematical equations, or hearing the poetry of dust, dirt, and tent flaps.

~Jordan Elizabeth