LISTEN WHILE READING
Religion is the result of reading the Bible without listening to God’s voice. This happens because scripture is interpreted literally instead of symbolically. The ability to hear God’s voice is the spiritual skill that guards readers creating religion and from participating in religion.

STUDY TIP: SEE LISTEN FOR GOD’S VOICE WHILE READING.

But it is impossible to teach anyone how to know which scriptures are to be taken symbolically and which are to be taken literally. Knowing, or not knowing, depends on God alone who gives us spiritual eyes to see what we read and spiritual ears to hear his voice tell us how to interpret what we read. Thus, as we read, God tells us in our hearts which parts are to be interpreted literally and which parts are to be interpreted symbolically. It is God’s voice that guards us from the temptation to adopt rigid literal interpretations of the Bible that will lead us into religion (i.e. evil).

STUDY TIP: See the temptations of christ.

Before we learn how to hear God’s voice, we practice religion where our tendency is to interpret all scripture literally. This is the tendency of Old/First Covenant religion in which we follow religious laws based on those literal interpretations.  After we become New Covenant disciples, God writes his spiritual laws on our hearts and we understand religion the way God does. Then he instructs us on which parts are to be interpreted literally and which are to be interpreted symbolically in his unique spiritual language.

When God speaks, he provides the spiritual interpretation of the written word. This is the art of hearing God’s voice. When we hear these interpretations, we are amazed that we could have interpreted scripture so wrongly for so long. The words are the same, but the understanding/meaning is very different.

When we hear God’s voice, we are humbled to acknowledge that we were previously proud of the shallowness of our understanding. We are thus forced to admit that we really knew nothing about God until he revealed himself to us through his spoken word. At that point we are very grateful for the precious gift his spoken word is, and we strongly desire that others who do not know how to hear his voice should be able to hear it.

As we mature, we will understand that most scriptures are to be interpreted symbolically as God gives understanding of those scriptures. Until we mature, however, we will recognize that many scriptures require symbolic interpretation but God does not give that interpretation immediately. When this happens, it is critical to humbly admit that we do not understand, admit that only God can give understanding, and ask God or a True Prophet for wisdom and spiritual understanding. Then, what we need to do is ask, seek and knock with sincere desire to understand the wisdom of God that is hidden in the mysteries of the Bible.

Until that spiritual understanding/knowledge comes, readers will have intellectual knowledge of the Bible but not spiritual knowledge of what it means. Epignosko knowledge is the kind of full knowledge for which we seek and listen, and which God’s voice reveals.

The main condition/requirement that prepares us to hear God’s voice is that we stop listening to the voices of false prophets. When God says “listen to my voice” and “hear the word of the lord” he doesn’t mean just listen, he also means listen to his voice and hear his spoken word exclusively. People who aspire to spiritual holiness would do well to regard these statements from God as commandments on a par with the Ten Commandments that make the way for seeing and hearing with spiritual eyes and ears.

STUDY TIP: See STUDY and Listen for God’s Voice While Reading for more insights on how to hear God’s spoken voice.