As we see throughout the Scriptures, the Lord does not always speak in our native language, but most of the time He uses a spiritual language through dreams and visions, which includes symbolism. Why? Because His language is about much more than just conveying concepts—His language speaks to the heart and soul, not just the mind. This is stated by Jesus in John 6:63, “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” It is basic to prophetic ministry to discern the spiritual purpose and nature of a message. Words can mean more than just what they are saying in human language.
For example, in Galatians 4 we are told that the two women, Sarah and Hagar, represent the Old and New Covenants. These are important figures in Scripture, but who would have thought that the account of their lives could mean so much? However, we have to see this in order to derive the purpose of their stories being in Scripture. The Lord is not just trying to entertain us with their life stories, but rather to convey a message. If the lives of these two women can mean something so expansive, should we not wonder if the other accounts in Scripture mean much more than may be obvious at first? Of course we should.
It is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Jon Amos Comenius was the first to use illustrations in books for this purpose. This is one reason why the Lord uses so many pictures in His language—the language of the Spirit. Because of this, we see Him using all of the symbolism of the Tabernacle of Moses to convey the spiritual truths about the nature of the church—His dwelling place. We see in the high priest’s garments amazing symbolism prophesying of Jesus, the true High Priest of God. Once you begin to understand the language of the Spirit, the Scriptures open up like never before, and the statement of Jesus makes sense when He said, “The law prophesied until John” (see Matthew 11:13).
The Law of Moses is full of prophesies about the coming Messiah, Jesus, and even about the church and the church age, which have been fulfilled with remarkable accuracy. Most of these prophecies were not in the words of the law, but in the symbolism of its habitation for God, the tabernacle, and its rituals. There is a reason why the Lord specified to Moses even the measurements of the articles of furniture in the tabernacle—they are all prophecies.
There is an even deeper layer to the revelation in the written Word than this. When we look at the meaning of the names of people or places where events took place, it is stunning how even these are a part of the message. For example, when we understand the meaning of the names of the sons of Jacob, who are the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel, and then relate them to the sequence in which they were born, and then the prophecies that were given over them by Jacob and Moses, we can see a remarkable and accurate outline of church history. We are told in I Corinthians 10, everything that was written about Israel was written for our benefit upon whom the ends of the ages have come. To understand this and the full purpose of the Lord in this age, we need to understand both spiritual and natural Israel.
In I Corinthians 2:10 we are told, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” No one who is truly led by the Spirit is going to be shallow, and the most important thing of all is that we should want to go deeper in our relationship with God. However, it is not just hearing the words of the Lord that should be our goal, but hearing the Word Himself. It is more than us just knowing about Him; He wants a relationship with us.
Next week we will briefly discuss another major media that He is speaking to us through. Then we will go back and begin to fill in some of the blanks.
