Not "What Are The Words?" but "What Do They Mean?"

How does the New Church view what some consider the “end times” prophesies in the Bible?

In the New Church we see the Bible as a Divine Allegory. Just like Jesus taught in parables while in the world (stories that held a deeper meaning which would show people how to live), in the New Church we see the Bible itself as one continuous parable. Its important to realize that this doesn’t mean it’s not true, just that it has “layers of meaning” – like us. The outer layer is more literal or historical. A deeper (or more internal) layer reflects our own inner spiritual journey. It describes how we struggle. It describes our ability to overcome with God’s help. It shows us how we can grow through what we face. Just like the stories Jesus told, every story in the Word at its core is concerned with how to love God and how to treat our neighbor. When this becomes the anchor for our study of the Word, the question changes. Instead of just saying: “What are the words?” we start to say, “What does this mean for my life?”

We start to see the whole Bible as a love story, written by God for His Children. Prophesies that seemed at first to talk only about the end of the world (the appearance) start to look more like they’re speaking to us when we’re “at the end of our rope” spiritually (the reality). We start to say: “Yes, I’ve felt like it’s the end of the world!” We think of times when we have little or no love or faith in our hearts, and how the Lord can reach even into the darkest places in our souls and open our eyes to see His presence with us and His work in the lives of all those around us.

This is when our perspective on the Bible starts to be transformed - as we grow spiritually and our awareness develops. But it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a lifetime of that kind of work that allows us to move from purely natural sight to spiritual insight. An important prayer when we begin again in our study of the Bible becomes: “Lord, open my eyes so that I can see what you’re trying to tell me about my life today.”

Then He can show us that “in itself the Word is nothing but teachings about love to the Lord, and of charity toward the neighbor.” (Heavenly Secrets # 7262)

Who are the 144,000 in Revelation?

Some have taken this statement literally, meaning that only 144,000 people will make it to heaven. Thinking from the principle that the Bible is a Divine Allegory, this wouldn’t make sense, would it? If God is love, then love by definition has to share itself. It can’t keep itself to itself! And only 144,000 people doesn’t seem like all the Love our Creator is capable of, does it? If we run on the assumption that everything we read in the Word is at some level about how to love God and treat our neighbor, we need to think about how that would be possible. What if the numbers in the Word too are also allegorical? What if they mean something about my state of love and faith?

And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand. (Rev. 7:4) This symbolizes all people who acknowledge the Lord God of heaven and earth and are governed by teachings about the goodness of love, received from God through the Word.
These are symbolized by the number 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel because the twelve tribes of Israel symbolize a church made up of people who possess all love and truth from God. …The number 144,000 means all of those people. For that number has the same symbolism as the number twelve, since it is the product of twelve times twelve, which is then multiplied by 1000; and any number multiplied by itself and then by 10, 100, or 1000, has the same symbolism as the original number. (Apocalypse Revealed # 348)

Ah…so there’s a spiritual numerology to the Word? Again, think about how that transforms our reading of it! The 7 Days of Creation become seven stages we go through in our spiritual development, until we reach the Sabbath (so “7” means “a heavenly state of being”). The 12 disciples mean our possessing “all things of love and faith” from God (just like the “12 tribes of Israel”, right?) As you start reading the Word through this lens of spiritual meaning, the stories literally come alive with application to your state of being.


How would you explain Psalm 137 to people?

O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us. Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks! (Psalm 137: 8-9)

As a father, this one always gets me. How could anyone literally believe that a loving God would advocate hurting innocent babies under any circumstance? Clearly there has to be something else going on here! We know that Israel suffered captivity under the Babylonians, and if we’ve just established that the 12 tribes of Israel mean something so good, Babylon can’t have an equally good representation, can it? If Babylon captured “all things of love and faith”, then the church would be destroyed, right?

Check this out – from a verse by verse “break down” of what’s being described:
7-9 “Those who have devastated the church will perish (spiritually).”
(Prophets and Psalms 387)

Wow! That’s a very different meaning. All of the innocence and love that’s possible for our lives could perish if we’re unwilling to take the guidance offered us in God’s Word? That makes sense!

A New Kind of Sight...

May your reading of the Word be illuminated by this kind of willingness to “look below the surface” for meaning. If we believe the Bible is God talking to us, why wouldn’t we do this? We should do the same thing with the other people in our lives. Imagine how conversations would go with your friends, family, or co-workers if you asked a different question. Not “what are the words?” but “what do they mean?”