Post by tomdurst on May 5, 2015 19:44:35 GMT -5
THE SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
And he answered, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.”—Luke 8:10 Good News Translation
From beginning to the end of the Bible we find metaphors (images), parables, apocalyptic language, symbols, and poetry used to help us understand truth. Jesus met people right where they were and so he used parables and metaphors to reach the multitudes but spoke much more plainly at times to His disciples. However, they mostly “didn’t get it.” We often read of “things above” and “things below” in the Bible. So do we conclude that heaven is a literal, physical location somewhere way off in the universe and that hell is a location somewhere down in the bowels of the earth? Some folks do indeed visualize both heaven and hell in this very literal way and get quite offended if a suggestion is made that metaphorical language is being used to denote states of consciousness which we have now and will carry with us when we leave this life (see Revelation 22:11). Jesus spoke of many mansions (dwelling places) in His Father’s house (see John 14:1-3). So was He speaking of large material buildings somewhere up in the sky with many literal rooms in them for the redeemed to occupy? I have read many books on Near Death Experiences and not all of these experiences are “heavenly” but some are very “hellish.” Is it possible that Heaven and hell may be other dimensions that we enter when we leave this life instead of physical locations millions of miles up in the sky or thousands of feet down into the earth somewhere? The OT writers used apocalyptic and highly symbolic language to describe God’s judgments on nations that opposed His people or events that were to occur in connection with the return of Christ in the future. Metaphors (often very vivid images) are used to describe the scope and reality of God’s work of judgment and deliverance of His true followers.
I invite you to read THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES on the link below. It will greatly assist you in interpreting Bible prophecy, especially those prophecies relating to the return of Jesus.
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES