{"id":1860,"date":"2016-04-25T05:49:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T10:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/?page_id=1860"},"modified":"2023-04-08T16:02:11","modified_gmt":"2023-04-08T21:02:11","slug":"literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-3","title":{"rendered":"Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 3 of 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\">STUDY NOTE: This series of pages must be considered along with these pages:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\">Mystery<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\">Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 1<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-2\">Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 2<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD<\/strong><br \/>\nSome religious leaders like to say &#8220;hear the word of God&#8221; when they read and teach from the Bible. Their inspiration for this exhortation comes from scriptures that say &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?s=bibles&amp;q=hear+the+word+lord&amp;t=nas&amp;c=all\">hear the word of the Lord&#8221;<\/a>. They piously represent to their congregations that whatever they say with their natural mouths is the equivalent of words spoken by the mouth of God. Both they and their congregations are deceived.<\/p>\n<p>The deception arises from the common practice of interpreting the Hebrew word &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/nas\/dabar-2.html\">dabar&#8221;, which primarily means speech, saying or utterance,<\/a> to mean the written, literal word of God (i.e. the Bible) and rarely as the spoken word or speech of God. Thus for Jews and Christians alike, righteousness hinges on literal interpretation of the Bible &#8212; not on hearing God&#8217;s spoken voice.<\/p>\n<p>This wrong understanding of &#8220;word&#8221; as the written word of God is the reason why, throughout this website, we have introduced scriptures that clearly communicate <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=exodus+15:22-26;+exodus+23:20-25;+exodus+19:1-5;+jeremiah+7:23-26;+jeremiah+11:1-4;+matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+job+22:21-23;+psalm+119:9-13;+psalm+138:4;+isaiah+28:23;+jeremiah+11:1-7;+jeremiah+22:21;+psalm+106:25;+nehemiah+9:29;+jeremiah+11:10;+jeremiah+13:11;+zechariah+7:11;+isaiah+46:12;+matthew+13:15;genesis+22:18;+exodus+23:21-22;+numbers+7:89;+numbers+14:22;+deuteronomy+4:12;+deuteronomy+4:30;+deuteronomy+4:36;+deuteronomy+5:22-26;+deuteronomy+8:20;+deuteronomy+9:23;+deuteronomy+13:4;+deuteronomy+13:18;+deuteronomy+15:5;+deuteronomy+26:14;+deuteronomy+26:17;+deuteronomy+30:20;+joshua+5:6;+joshua+10:14;+joshua+22:2;+joshua+24:24;+psalm+81:11;+psalm+95:7;+psalm+106:25;+jeremiah+3:13;+jeremiah+3:25;+jeremiah+7:23;+jeremiah+7:28;+jeremiah+9:13;+jeremiah+11:4;+jeremiah+11:7;+jeremiah+18:10;+jeremiah+22:20-21;+jeremiah+26:13;+jeremiah+32:23;+jeremiah+40:3;+jeremiah+42:6;+jeremiah+42:13-14;+jeremiah+43:1-7;+jeremiah+44:23;+isaiah+28:23;+isaiah+32:9;+isaiah+55:1-3;daniel+9:9-11\">God&#8217;s commandments to listen to his voice<\/a> and contrast them with what religionists think he wants them to do based on their literal interpretations of the Bible. Those literal interpretations lead people to<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+29:1-14;+matthew+15:1-9;+mark+7:1-9\"> establish religious doctrines with various rules of things that people should and should not do<\/a>.\u00a0 Indeed God does instruct his people to do all the ceremonies and laws mentioned in the law of Moses. But he also says in many other places that those ceremonies and laws that call for physical (i.e. fleshly) activity are only <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\">symbols, parables and shadows<\/a> of the spiritual works he really wants.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 120px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice<\/a> for understanding of the difference between fleshly, religious activity based on a literal interpretation of the Bible and spiritual worship based on hearing God&#8217;s voice. Also see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/flesh\">Religion is Flesh in Motion<\/a> for understanding of flesh.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 120px;\">It is critical to understand the characteristics of flesh because God says that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/parallel-bible\/passage\/?q=isaiah+64:6&amp;t=nas&amp;t2=kjv\">all the works of the flesh are like filthy garments in his eyes.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Distinguishing between what God says he wants in one place and what he really wants is difficult but not impossible. People who begin and end their study of who God is and what he wants his people to do with literal interpretations of the Bible have stumbled over <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/the-law-is-a-stumbling-block\">The Law: A Stumbling Block.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>One of the key stumbling blocks found in religion is the common belief that only trained, gifted religious leaders have the ability to hear God&#8217;s voice. Maybe these leaders really believe that they have that ability and maybe they don&#8217;t. But the important reality is that they represent to the religious world that they can and do understand the Bible. And since they claim to understand God&#8217;s word, people assume that those leaders who make such claims also know and understand God. This is a wrong assumption. Religious leaders know only a very little about God but they do not know God himself because they are not able to read and interpret God&#8217;s spiritual qualities from what they read. They have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+1:18-27;+1-corinthians+3:18-21;+2-corinthians+1:12;+james+3:13-18;+1-corinthians+2:1-14;+jeremiah+4:19-22;+isaiah+5:20-21;+isaiah+29:14;+isaiah+47:10;+jeremiah+8:9;+proverbs+3:1-7;+romans+1:22\">worldly knowledge of God but they do not have spiritual knowledge. <\/a>They have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\/5\">superficial knowledge of God but not deep, intimate knowledge<\/a> of God.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\/5\">TWO KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE <\/a>for more about intimacy with God.<\/p>\n<p>A second critical reality is that religious followers believe that religious leaders have knowledge of God and that they can reliably communicate what God says to the masses who do not have the same kind of knowledge of either God or the Bible. And so we find that whenever a leader can convince followers that they can trust that he or she hears from God and correctly interprets God&#8217;s written word, we have the ingredients of an Institutional Religion that will practice <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-commerce\">Commercial Religion <\/a>and most aspects of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/5\">Defiled Religion<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In God&#8217;s eyes, what effectively happens is that the followers make <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-sin\/religion-is-idolatry\/10\">religious leaders to be gods and idols<\/a>. Of course they are not <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/wood-gold-silver-stone\">wood <\/a>or stone idols, but they are idols nonetheless because they insert themselves as mediators between God and men. Since there is only one mediator between God and men, leaders and followers both stumble over the mistaken belief that listening to the voice of a human is the same as listening to the voice of God. The way we see it, people who believe this and apply it in their religion are Old\/First Covenant religionists because they do not possess the New Covenant ability to hear God&#8217;s voice that informs them about the symbolic meanings found in the literal Bible.<\/p>\n<p>New Covenant disciples reject this Old\/First Covenant belief and replaced it with faith that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+1+john+2:27;+john+14:26;+1+corinthians+2:12;+1+thessalonians+4:9\">God has written the law on their hearts and that they no longer need anyone to teach them. <\/a>Having such faith the key to understanding the difference between the literal, written words of the Bible and their symbolic meanings.<\/p>\n<p>This difference points us to the difference between faith and flesh:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/hebrews\/passage\/?q=hebrews+11:1-3\">Faith focuses on matters of the heart that cannot be seen<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+6:1-6;+matthew+6:16-18;+matthew+23:1-12;+luke+20:46-47;+luke+21:1;+john+5:41-44;+john+12:37-43;+romans+2:29;+john+7:18\">Flesh focuses on physical activities that can be seen.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>DISCIPLES LEARN FROM GOD&#8217;S SPIRIT<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is a point worth repeating: God uses natural, familiar, worldly things to represent spiritual truths. This fact presents several challenges to people who say they love God and trust him.<\/p>\n<table class=\" aligncenter\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Do they love him enough to study the complexities of the written law until spiritual understanding comes?<\/li>\n<li>Do they trust that God will really reveal the spiritual nuances of the law to their hearts so that they can avoid <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage.aspx?q=isaiah+3:8;jeremiah+18:15;jeremiah+46:12-16;lamentations+5:13;hosea+5:5;hosea+14:1;romans+9:22-33\">stumbling<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li>Will they settle for a literal, one dimensional view of a multidimensional God taught to them by human mediators? Or<\/li>\n<li>Will they trust God to teach them directly through his Spirit?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>These are only a small sample of the kinds of issues with which serious disciples must wrestle. They are among the great matters of faith with which people must wrestle in order to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/hebrews\/passage.aspx?q=hebrews+11:1-6\">please God<\/a>. It is absolutely necessary for religious people to ask such questions because the answers determine their covenant status. New Covenant disciples have already begun to ask these questions and have found some answers that will inspire them to keep searching. They are entering the Promised Land. Old\/First Covenant religionists, on the other hand, choose to enter the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/matthew\/passage.aspx?q=matthew+7:7-29\">wide gate that leads to destruction<\/a>. They will settle for a grossly simplified, literal view of God and trust others to teach them about him. They are wandering in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice-part-2\/6#wilderness\">wilderness of religion<\/a>. They think they are on the way to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/land-and-earth\">Promised Land<\/a> but they will never get there until they cease practicing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/5\">Defiled Religion and begin practicing Pure Religion<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Few religionists would like to be told that they are wandering in the wilderness or that they have not entered the Promised Land. That is because they are very secure and comfortable in their religious beliefs and practices. The problem is that those who do read the Bible strive to understand it in its literal terms. They think they understand God and his ways because they can extract the literal meaning from parts of it. That creates a false confidence (i.e. deception) that they know the truth. They do not search for the symbolic meanings sown in the literal language. They read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage.aspx?q=romans+7:1-6;romans+8:1-7;1+corinthians+15:51-56;romans+6;galatians+2:11-21\">the law leads to death<\/a> and from that devise and practice <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/galatians\/passage.aspx?q=galatians+3:16-25;galatians+2:11-21\">religious laws that are not able to impart life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This shocks us at first but it makes sense when we remember that God says we shall <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage.aspx?q=exodus+20:3;deuteronomy+5:7\">have no other gods before him.<\/a> But we must keep in mind that always listening to human mediators who presume to speak for God (e.g.\u00a0 prophets, pastors, rabbis, etc.) elevates those human mediators to the status of gods. Neither Jews nor Christians will easily accept that getting instruction on spiritual matters from other humans is wrong, much less evil, because doing so is part of the long-standing tradition of religion that they follow. But tradition does not validate religious practice. Rather, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+29:1-13;+matthew+15:1-9;+mark+7:1-13;+colossians+2:1-8;+ezekiel+33:31\">traditions that are created and practiced by religious people actually transgress and invalidate God&#8217;s spoken word.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Occasional learning from reliable teachers is good and is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/proverbs\/passage.aspx?q=proverbs+15:21-23;proverbs+24:5-6\">encourage by God<\/a>. But if they are false prophets and if we look to them as our only or primary source of information about God and his ways, we effectively give them godly status. That may seem like a radical view, but it makes sense when we consider that God&#8217;s ideal is that we listen to his spirit &#8212; not to religious leaders. That is why he says<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage.aspx?q=psalm+146:1-4;psalm+118:8-9;psalm+40:4;psalm+108:12;isaiah+31:1;isaiah+31:3;isaiah+57:13;jeremiah+17:5;isaiah+30:3;psalm+146:3\"> we should not put our trust in man. <\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See Religion is Idolatry and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">Religion is the Kingdom of False Prophets<\/a> for more about trusting people for instruction instead of trusting God. Also see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/3\">this link for guidance on how to identify false prophets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/#disciple\">True disciples<\/a> do not put their trust for learning about God in other humans. True disciples do not fit the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/disciple\">common definition of a disciple as someone who trusts and follows a leader.<\/a>\u00a0 New Covenant disciples will trust other New Covenant disciples for teaching, however, because New Covenant disciples will not set themselves up as<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\"> false prophets<\/a> (i.e. idols) to be served or followed by immature religionists who are willing to pay for instruction.<\/p>\n<p>The ideal spiritual model for learning about God that we see in the New Covenant does allow for teachers, but genuine New Covenant teachers will always deflect people away from themselves toward God. Like John the Baptist, they are always <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/john\/passage\/?q=john+3:22-30\">decreasing in visibility while the invisible spirit in them (i.e. the New Covenant) increases.<\/a> They will teach others to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\">study and learn<\/a> about God while trusting that God will teach new disciples directly by his spirit. And they will not engage in any form of Defiled Religion,\u00a0Institutional Religion or Commercial Religion. Furthermore, they will encourage others to stop serving all other gods.<\/p>\n<p>In God&#8217;s way of thinking, those who trust that God will teach directly by his spirit have faith. This applies to both teacher and student. And those who prefer to receive instruction through a human mediator do not have faith. The proposition is that simple.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice<\/a> for learning from God&#8217;s spirit. Also see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/how-to-hear-gods-spoken-voice\">How to Hear God&#8217;s Spoken Voice.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Those who elect to learn directly from God&#8217;s spirit make the right choice, but they also set themselves up for difficult, but not impossible challenges. It is work, but it is good and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/2-timothy\/2-15.html\">acceptable work in God&#8217;s eyes<\/a>. They must not just read for literal content but must study to show that they are qualified to receive spiritual content. God calls these kinds of learners\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/mathetes.html\">disciples<\/a>, and his plan is to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage.aspx?q=matthew+28:16-20;acts+14:21-22;isaiah+49:6;mark+16:15-16;luke+24:42-49;acts+1:6-8\">populate the world with them<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We know that God wants disciples. But a disciple is not just a follower, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/mathetes.html\">disciple is a learner<\/a>. In the Old Testament <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/nas\/limmuwd.html\">a disciple is one who is taught<\/a>. But a true disciple is one who is taught by the spirit of God and not just by a human teacher. While <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/hebrews\/passage.aspx?q=hebrews+5:12-14\">there is a place for human teachers,<\/a> Godly disciples must be careful that they do not listen to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage.aspx?q=2+peter+2:1;2+corinthians+11:10-15\">false teachers and false prophets<\/a> who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage.aspx?q=psalm+73:1-12;proverbs+18:11-15;jeremiah+23:16-17;jeremiah+14:14;ezekiel+13:3;ezekiel+13:6;psalm+28:3;jeremiah+6:14;jeremiah+8:11\">prophecy lies, speak of false peace <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?q=imagination*&amp;c=&amp;t=kjv&amp;ps=20&amp;s=Bibles\">teach out of the imaginations of their own evil hearts.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>True disciples, being able to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage.aspx?q=hebrews+5:14;1+timothy+4:6-7;1+timothy+1:1-4;2+timothy+4:1-4;titus+1:10-16\">discern good from evil, are wise enough to avoid learning from false teachers<\/a>. True disciples rely, for the most part, on the spirit of God to teach them. Beginning with the Bible, they are more self-taught through intense study that includes questions about the difficult, mysterious parts. They understand that God speaks through symbolism and listen for him to explain those hard-to-understand parts rather than seeking out understanding from a human teacher who is not a true disciple. In other words, it is accurate to say that they are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage.aspx?q=psalm+32:8;john+14:25-26;john+16:13;1+john+2:20;1+john+2:27;1+corinthians+2:12;1+thessalonians+4:9\">taught by the spirit of God speaking to their hearts<\/a> while reading the Bible. In effect, they are listening while they are reading. Their natural, intellectual mind is reading words on a page and trying to make sense out of those words while their spirit is listening to God&#8217;s voice for the truth found in the symbolism of those words.<\/p>\n<p>The best way to explain the differences between the written Bible and God&#8217;s voice spoken to our hearts is to point out the obvious fact that humans have always had a hand in what the Bible says. Going back to the original Hebrew and Greek texts, Bible authors were challenged to give verbal, human expression to messages of truth that came to them by the voice of God speaking to their spirits. That challenge still exists for contemporary New Covenant disciples who are compelled to teach what they think God is saying to them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: Anyone who has ever listened to the voice of God knows the difficulty of converting spiritual concepts to human language. It is like the miracle of making something out of nothing. It is also like speaking in an unknown language. You know what you know, but the words necessary to communicate what you know to someone else come hard. It often feels like babbling in Tongues that others (especially Old\/First Covenant religionists) cannot understand.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">We have constantly struggled with this challenge while writing content for this website. In our studies, we read scriptures that have one meaning in their literal sense and then try to report the symbolic, spiritual interpretations of those scriptures as we receive them from God&#8217;s spirit. It often takes many trials to reduce the truth to words that make sense on a page.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">Sometimes these symbolic meanings come relatively easily, but mostly they come hard. Having received Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding about a spiritual concept from the spirit, the truth of a scripture circulates, sometimes races, through our mind as we experience joy and excitement over the fact that God has chosen to favor us with truth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">But then comes the challenge of trying to convert that truth to human words in a way that captures the truth accurately. At times the process is excruciatingly painful. We try to say it one way and then another. Sometimes we must leave what we know and come back to it a later time trusting that the human words will come. When they do come we write them down best we can and often we come back several times to reword them so that they make human sense without distorting the spiritual content.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">We go through this process with confidence that what we have received is from God. The way we see it, God has given us to understanding because we have humbled ourselves with the admission that we do not understand either the literal words of the Bible or the symbolic meanings they represent. We do this by honestly telling God\u00a0 that we do not understand what he is trying to say.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">We ask &#8220;what does this mean,&#8221; and then we try to relate one scripture to another that contains similar words or concepts. We don&#8217;t just tell God that we don&#8217;t understand and then wait for him to give revelation. Rather, we search and keep on searching elsewhere in scripture for clues that will explain the spiritual meanings of difficult scriptures. Sometimes the meanings come right away, but most often they come much later. But they do not come unless we continue searching for the meaning.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\">STUDY<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\/study-for-discipline\">Study for Discipline, <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\/study-tips\">Study Tips <\/a>more on how to learn the symbolic meanings of scripture. Also see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/bible-history\">Bible History<\/a> for understanding of how the Bible was written.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>HEALED FROM BLINDNESS<\/strong><br \/>\nThe process of revelation of truth begins when religious people decide to stop interpreting the Bible literally, stop listening to the voices of false prophets, and start listening to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God&#8217;s spoken voice<\/a>. Healing from spiritual blindness comes to those for whom God has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?s=bibles&amp;q=eyes+see+ears+hear&amp;t=kjv&amp;c=all\">opened their eyes and ears<\/a>. But he does not do this until they <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/ezekiel\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+14:1-11\">stop listening to false prophets<\/a> and choose to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=exodus+15:22-26;+exodus+23:20-25;+exodus+19:1-5;+jeremiah+7:23-26;+jeremiah+11:1-4;+matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+job+22:21-23;+psalm+119:9-13;+psalm+138:4;+isaiah+28:23;+jeremiah+11:1-7;+jeremiah+22:21;+psalm+106:25;+nehemiah+9:29;+jeremiah+11:10;+jeremiah+13:11;+zechariah+7:11;+isaiah+46:12;+matthew+13:15\">listen to his spoken voice.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sickeness-disease-blindness-and-deafness\">Sickness, Disease, Blindness, and Deafness.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Healing is also conditional on the following:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Confession and repentance by religious people that they have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-sin\">sinned by being religious<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Quitting idolatrous religious practices.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/god-is-calling-people-out-of-religion\">Quit religion.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+2:23-25;+exodus+6:5;+acts+7:34;+matthew+14:25-31;+matthew+20:30;+mark+9:24;+luke+4:33;+matthew+9:27\">Desperately cry out for deliverance<\/a> from religion because they are unable to gain <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/forums\/topic\/freedom-from-the-sin-of-religion\">freedom from religion<\/a> through their own <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=zechariah+4:1-6;+exodus+19:18-25;+isaiah+11:1-3\">will, intellect and strength<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/2-timothy\/2-15.html\">Study<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+19:1-5;+2-kings+18:7-12;+judges+2:11-23;+daniel+9:1-10;+exodus+23:21-22;+psalm+81:11;+deuteronomy+8:20\">listen (i.e. hear and obey)<\/a> to show that they are serious about learning from his voice only.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>God opens our spiritual eyes and ears to understand <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/numbers\/12-8.html\">parables<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/numbers\/12-8.html\">dark sayings,<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/hebrews\/passage\/?q=hebrews+9:1-9\">symbols<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=romans+5:14;+hebrews+11:19\">types and patterns<\/a>, <span class=\"verse-12\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/john\/passage\/?q=john+16:23-25#\">figurative language<\/a><\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=colossians+2:13-22;+hebrews+8:1-10;+hebrews+10:1-18\">shadows <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=proverbs+25:2;+deuteronomy+29:29;+matthew+11:25;+psalm+78:1-7;+john+16:17-33;+daniel+2;+romans+11:25;+romans+16:25;+1-corinthians+13:2;+ephesians+1:9;+ephesians+3:1-9;+ephesians+6:19;+colossians+1:25-26\">deep mysteries<\/a> that are hidden in throughout the Bible. He effectively reinterprets that which was impossible for us to understand by using our natural, human resources (e.g. eyes, ears, intellect, reasoning, etc.). When we are healed from blindness, we can see the symbolic meaning of scripture with clarity that makes perfect sense.<\/p>\n<p>Connections between related scriptures that we could never see are made in ways that we could not anticipate. All of a sudden we see meanings and nuances in the literal text that we never saw before. And it all happens in a way that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/john\/3-8.html\">cannot be managed or anticipated because it is controlled by the spirit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These revelations are not available to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religionists. They are only available to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#newcovenant\">New Covenant<\/a> disciples.<\/p>\n<p>As much as we want to understand, we can never anticipate when the spirit will open our spiritual eyes to understanding<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/john\/3-8.html\">. <\/a>All of a sudden, we have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+6:1-10;+isaiah+11:1-3;+isaiah+29:17-21;+isaiah+32:1-6;+acts+28:24-31;+matthew+13:1-17\">eyes to see as ears to hear that we never had before<\/a>. It is such a new way of studying the Bible that we might say that it is just like being born again in terms of our ability to understand spiritual meanings. But, we hasten to add, it does not come all at once. It comes little by little with respect to one scripture or concept at a time. Thus we must keep on digging if we hope to acquire more understanding. And indeed, if we keep on studying, the truth of the scripture that says &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+13:10-17\">to those who have, much more will be given&#8221;<\/a> will be fulfilled.<\/p>\n<p>When we hear God explain truth to our hearts, we know that we have received a remarkable gift from God. We have made the transition from literal interpretation to spiritual understanding. In other words, God has given us the symbolic meaning of the literal words written in the Bible. Whereas we were spiritually blind when we interpreted the Bible literally, we received sight that allow us to interpret it symbolically where the spiritual truth lies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>STUDY NOTE: This series of pages must be considered along with these pages: Mystery God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 1 Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 2 HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD Some <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-3\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1863,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1860","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1860"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11773,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1860\/revisions\/11773"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}