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Teaching Truth Through Parables
by Carol Balizet
If we review how Jesus taught, we find He almost never spelled out His thoughts like we would. He made no numbered outlines, no diagrams. Often His answers, even to direct questions, seem to us to be unresponsive or inappropriate. However, there was one method of teaching He favored above all others, and that was through parables. |
Contents:
- The world around us
- Jesus taught in parables
- Israel and the Church are parables
- More examples
- Still more examples
- How I started thinking the way I do
- A bit of summary
- A personal testimony
The world around us
Does the Holy Spirit compensate for their lack by becoming more vocal with them? How did the Church survive the multiplied centuries when only a priestly caste had Scripture available? When illiteracy was the rule and not the exception? What was the loss when Welhausen opened a wide door of heresy when he denied the totality, inerrancy and perfection of the Bible?
Well, of course God is never without Plan B. Or Plans C, D, E, F, G, etc. for that matter. His ability to speak to us is far greater than our ability not to hear. Literate or not, Bible or not, fellowship with others or not, we can learn about Him. He can - and He will - reveal Himself to every seeking heart. If we "receive; the love of the truth" (II Thessalonians 2:10) and if we really seek Him with our whole hearts, we shall surely find Him. He says so.
Because He has made a whole universe of Word which proclaims Him.
Here's one Scripture which will validate this idea.
"The; heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. [There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world..." (Psalms 19:2-4).
If we don't have a Bible, we have nature. It "declares;" His glory; it "shows;" His handiwork. Every day it "speaks;" every night it "shows; knowledge".; The voice of nature is heard everywhere on earth, to the end of the world, and it - this natural creation - tells man about God.
God tells us clearly in Romans 1 that all men are without excuse. If all they have is nature, that's enough. "Because; that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse..." (Romans 1:19,20).
This what-we-see-in-the-natural-realm-tells-us-about-the-spirit-realm is consistent with what we read about Jesus. Let me give just a few examples.
David says that the Lord is his shepherd (Psalm 23). Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd and that we are His sheep (John 10). The Bible is full of references to the occupation of sheep-keeping, the relationship of shepherds to sheep, what happens when the shepherd is killed, how sheep respond to shearing and such - also possibly some insight about the fact that sheep skins are the favorite disguise of wolves.
John the Baptist told us to behold the Lamb of God (John 1), and he was referring to Jesus. Jesus is obviously not a natural lamb; He is fully human, He is fully God, but He never was and never shall be any kind of a sheep. What John said was a reference to Jesus's role as sacrifice. It pointed back to the Passover; it was an allusion to Isaiah 53; it pointed forward to the fulfillment of the Old Covenant rituals; it told us, "The; more you know about lambs, the better you can know Him".; So we look at natural lambs to learn about the spiritual Lamb. Because all this talk about sheep is absolutely pointless unless we know something about sheep and shepherds. And how do we learn about sheep and shepherds? We can learn by observing sheep and shepherds in this natural realm.
Jesus tells that He is the Vine, and we are the branches. This is meaningless unless we know what the word "vine;" means. How do they grow? What is the relationship between vine and branch? And we can go from that to the subjects of vineyards, pruning, burning, planting, fruit production. We increase knowledge and understanding of natural vines and we have more insight into spiritual truths.
In the sermon on the mount (Matthew 6), Jesus tells us to behold the fowls of the air, the lilies of the field, the grass. He says that looking at them will show us the Father's faithfulness and love; but that works only if we have some information about how He does care for them. How are fowls fed? What does clothe a lily? How long does grass last?
Another Scriptural passage which makes this point - that we can learn about God from the natural realm - is:
"While; we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal." (II Corinthians 4:18). The things which are behind that veil, the things of the spirit realm, which are hidden from natural sight, can be grasped, comprehended, perceived by examining what we can see. Nature (the natural realm) can illuminate and explain the spirit realm. God made natural sheep to teach us about Jesus. He created vines, fowls, lilies, grass: all to demonstrate something real in the spirit realm.
This natural realm is a temporary, transitory parable of the eternal reality which is behind the veil. Like the Bible itself, like the illumination by the Holy Spirit, we also have a panorama of information about spiritual truths available to us through "things; which are seen".; (It isn't necessarily going to be easy. Remember, He tells us in Proverbs 25:2: "[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.")
Jesus taught in parables
If we review how Jesus taught, we find He almost never spelled out His thoughts like we would. He made no numbered outlines, no diagrams. Often His answers, even to direct questions, seem to us to be unresponsive or inappropriate. However, there was one method of teaching He favored above all others, and that was through parables. We can actually make the case that it's the only method He used: "All; these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them..." (Matthew 13:34) [Emphasis mine].
He constantly told little stories which explain His points and solutions; he used illustrations. Here's one.
"Do; we pay taxes to Caesar?"
"Give; me a penny."
That is His method in a nutshell: He didn't give a rule; He painted a picture. We ask a question and He tells us to look at some natural thing - even an artifact - to illustrate spiritual principles. He held up that penny, showed whose it was, and spoke a truth which still shines through for us today: "Render; to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Mark 12:17).
Jesus covered not just money, but the whole subject of our reaction to secular claims. If it belongs to civil authority, give it to him; if it's God's, give it to Him. And we are left with an explicit word, and also with the responsibility of determining whose "image; and superscription" are there. Whose is it?
Jesus taught principles, guidelines, patterns and policies, far more than He dwelt in the particulars. He was, after all, speaking to all the ages, to hundreds of different cultures, different societies, different points of view. He needed a method which would transcend all these differences and still clearly reveal His will.
And this incident is a case in point: no matter when or where we live, in any nation at any time, we will have a "Caesar;" of some sort, and Jesus has told us how to relate to his claims on our assets.
The Strong's definition of "parable;" is: "a placing of one thing by the side of another, juxtaposition... a comparing, comparison of one thing with another, a similitude... an example by which doctrine or precept is illustrated... a narrative, fictitious but agreeable to the laws and usage of human life, by which either the duties of men or the things of God, particularly the nature and history of God's kingdom, are figuratively portrayed... an earthly story with a heavenly meaning..."
Other words used as synonyms for "parable;" in the Bible are: figure, shadow, ensample and example. They all carry the meaning of a truth which is communicated by means of a story or illustration; an example which is sometimes devised, sometimes lived-out; a parallel.
We can make the case that since the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever, He still teaches, by the same methods, daily, in the tabernacles - and now we are His tabernacles, His temples (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). He allows us to see in this natural realm, in narrative form, the parallels between natural and spiritual.
It is a very Scriptural way of learning, this technique. This means, method, system of gaining insight into the reality behind the veil is all through the Bible. God used natural things to teach about spiritual things.
Israel and the Church are parallels
One of the commonest natural realm parables for spirit realm reality is the nation of Israel. If we observe and understand the conditions, dealings, activities and problems of God's natural children Israel, we can gain knowledge of the conditions, dealings, activities and problems of God's spiritual children, the Church. The Jews are God's sons "as; the sand of the seashore" we Christians are His sons "as; the stars of the sky".; The natural, which we can see, will tell us about the spiritual, which we can not see. Look at the natural, understand the spiritual.
What do we see? They are fighting for their Promised Land against powerful enemies who hate them; so are we. Both our "land;" and our "promises;" are spiritual, but still a parable to theirs. It requires some battling to take our Land of Promises. The Israelis will one day - soon - stand alone against the whole world; so will we. More and more we see the world closing in on them, hating them, treating them unjustly, betraying them. So it is with the Church.
Even Israel's history is a parallel. Like the church, the Jews spent years scattered, separated from each other and from the land God gave them. The Church has had a parallel "Diaspora;" a chronic state of separation from each other in the "tribes;" of denominationalism, and separation from God in the waste land of tradition and religiosity. Then at the turn of this century, there was a movement back to their Promised Land - their natural land heritage. Paralleling the nation of Israel, the Church also began a movement back to her heritage - our spiritual land heritage, the Land of Promises. Their Zionist movement paralleled the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Pentecostal movement, in the Church.
Then about twenty years later, Jerusalem was liberated and in 1917 the Balfour Declaration pledged England to support the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine; it allowed Jews to return to their homeland. At the same time in the Church, there was a growth of Spirit-filled, miraculous ministries: God used these to bring His spiritual children "home;" as well.
In 1948, the Jewish state was founded, and at the same time, the Church exploded with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on mainstream, denominational Christianity. In 1967, the Six-day War brought victory and an increase in territory for the Jewish nation, and at the same time, the church watched with astonishment as the Holy Spirit moved with ecumenical grace to fill even Roman Catholics with His power. (And I praise God - I was one of them!)
The examples continue till now. On a more current note, the only Israeli soldier to die during the raid on Entebbi was Jonathan Netanyahu, brother of Benjamin, who at this writing is Prime Minister of Israel. One Brother died to rescue captives from the enemy's hand; the other reigns in Israel. Do we see a parallel?
There's the contrast between our two covenants: law and grace. The summation of that is the comparison of God's natural children coming into the chaos of "tohu; and bohu", the condition of being "...; without form, and void; and darkness..." (Genesis 1:2a) and the situation of those upon whom "...the; Spirit of God moved..." (Genesis 1:2b).
Without Him, all is anarchy, turmoil, striving, vanity. For those who dwell within Him, there is rest. "For; we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said... There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." (Hebrews 4:3,9).
I saw another corollary when I was in Jerusalem. One of the sights we visited was the Wailing Wall, the surviving western wall of the last temple. Religious Jews come there to pray; it's as close as they can get to what they consider hallowed ground.
I saw that their approach to God is blocked by an ancient, immovable stone wall. That natural stone wall, for all its history and its beauty, is a physical symbol of the real barrier the Jews face in the spirit as they try to approach God. How sad! They are so beloved of God, so sincere, so fervent. But they stand outside, still in the courtyard spiritually. No amount of effort or sincerity can breach that stone wall.
On the other hand, we Christians have a rent veil through which we can come into God's throne room. Without applying the work that Jesus did on the Cross, the Jews (like everybody else) are unable to enter the presence of God. We are no more sincere, no more beloved, but we are more effective. I compared their stone wall to our rent veil, and I was both sad (for them) and grateful (for our own open door).
Looking at Israel is an historical way to gain a bit of insight about the Church. It's a constant, on-the-news-every night parable of the Church.
More examples
More Scripture: "Now; faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:1-3).
The visible realm is not self-made, not self-sustaining, not eternal, not substantial. If we can see it with our eyes, we know that it will pass away, vanish, cease to be. God says so. This realm of the senses, and all the things that occupy it, shall all disappear. What need will we have for types and shadows when the reality has come? But until then, "...; now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Paul has been talking about the future, and he says that only charity will not fail when the change comes. Prophesies shall fail; tongues shall cease; knowledge shall vanish away. He describes this realm as "in; part" our knowledge and our prophesies are fragmentary, incomplete.
But not for always. At some point we shall hear clearly: "These; things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father." (John 16:25).
As Paul says, when that which is perfect comes, then all that is "in; part", all which is "childish;", is put away.
But for now, in this partial, childish realm, we are separated from full reality by a glass. There is a barrier between the natural, fleshly, sight realm and the eternal, unseen, spiritual realm. The word translated here as "glass;" is defined in Strong's as "mirror;".; "Darkly;" is "obscure;, enigma, riddle".; It doesn't mean the glass is cloudy, and it doesn't say that we see dimly; it says that we see through a reflective substance, which is enigmatic, cryptic, camouflaged. Could this mean that we see by way of a parable, a reflection?
Another place wherein the Bible contrasts natural and spiritual, and uses one realm to clarify and explain the other, is Galatians 4. The last few verses of that chapter are: "...it; is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he [who was] of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman [was] by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all... But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was born] after the Spirit, even so [it is] now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free."
Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac were all real people; they are not the figment of an author's imagination. But this story is also an allegory. God tells us this story is also, not exclusively but also, a parable to teach us additional things. It is a narrative about specific people and circumstances, which teaches us principles and truths which can be applied to other people and circumstances.
Sarah's "good; idea", Abraham's submission to her, the fleshly activity which took the initiative from God - all these are a parable to teach us about the results of self-reliance. Ishmael was produced, also beloved, but not the son of promise. Not God's provision. Who of us has not received a promise from God, become impatient, and worked out our own fulfillment of that promise? And what we got was Ishmael, not Isaac.
The result of taking the initiative from God is Ishmael. Not God's best. Not His answer. There is a powerful message available to us about impatience and fleshly striving, if we know and understand how these people behaved, and what the results were. What the results still are, actually. We still have conflict between Jews and Arabs because of this incident.
On the same note, we can see another of the Lord's acted-out parables in the story of Malthus. Of course it's a perfectly true story, but that's not all it is.
This account is told in all four gospels, with the usual few differences. For example, two gospels say he lost "his; ear" and two say "his; right ear".; Matthew, Mark and Luke are very discreet, saying only that one of the disciples cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest. John boldly gives names: Peter cut off the ear of Malthus.
We all know the story; Peter was probably beside himself with grief, distress and fear; and it was quite in line with Peter's personality to show a little hostility. He chopped off this man's ear and Jesus restored it. Jesus added a little teaching; again, a bit different in each book. He pointed out: the danger of taking up a sword; the lack of logic in his captors' behavior; His desire to heal and not destroy; His unwillingness to fight against the men or against circumstances; and His willingness to drink the Father's cup. Much to learn from this episode.
But what else can we learn by looking at this story with an eye to its being a parable with a symbolic message?
Consider this possibility: the instrument through whom God was revealing a new covenant - Peter, first to have the revelation of Jesus as Messiah, always first among the first of His disciples - took away the ear, the instrument of hearing, from one who served the high priest of the old covenant. There would now be no "hearing;" through that old way. Those who serve the old covenant won't be able to hear unless and until Jesus does a work of restoration.
This loss of hearing was a corollary to the veil over the eyes which came upon the Jews because of their rejection of Jesus. A new day was dawning: the temple would be destroyed by Titus and his Roman hoards; the old types and shadows and rituals were being replaced by a living relationship; the Irenic priesthood - all these things and more were passe after the Cross. Their role of foreshadowing was gone in the blaze of God's glorious light in the face of Christ Jesus. They rejected Him, they cried for His death, they chose Barnabas, and they "held; not the love of the truth" as they embraced the dead letter, and one result was deafness. Anyone who stands as a servant of that old "high; priest" shall forfeit the blessing of "...ears; to hear".; But here is the glory of our God! Jesus healed that ear! They can hear! They shall see "Him; whom they have pierced..." (Zachariah 12:10). There is that incredible word that "All; Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26).
For the marvelous truth is this: we of the Church, represented by Peter, with all our anger, hypocrisy, disapproval, pride, Parseeism, fear and violence cannot work so much destruction on the unbeliever that he is helpless. God can always restore the damage we inflict; such is His spectacular mercy.
It is not His will that any perish.
Still more examples
In Mark 2, Jesus heals a man sick of "the; palsy".; There were so many people there, his four friends had to "uncover; the roof" to get him to Jesus (and that in itself has a serious spiritual meaning). They wanted physical healing, but Jesus knew their real need.
He saw their faith, and said to the sick man, "Your; sins are forgiven".; The man came to be healed of his physical problems, but Jesus did a greater work - He forgave his sins.
Of course the religious leaders got mad at that, and Jesus used this man's situation to deal with them. He said, "Whether; is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, [Thy] sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." (Mark 2:11).
They didn't believe that Jesus had done (or should do - even could do) the spiritual work of forgiving sin, so He offered them proof. To demonstrate, certify, confirm and prove that the spiritual work - forgiveness of sins - was done, He did the physical work and healed the man's body. And Jesus told them - and us - "...that; you may know that I have power on earth to forgive sins" watch this fellow walk away! See the natural, understand and believe the spiritual! If we don't believe what we see with our eyes, how can we believe for what we can't see? If God can't do the easy stuff like healing, how can we trust Him to get us to Heaven?
In another passage, Jesus said: "Now; learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh; So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors." (Matthew 24:32,33). He tells us clearly that this is a parable; there is a spiritual truth hidden within this commentary. He tells us to learn it, not just read about the incident but also learn the spiritual truth behind the natural events. We see certain signs, we know they mean something. We see end times signs and we know it - the end - is near.
What else about a fig tree? He used one before, three chapters earlier, to teach a spiritual lesson. "And; when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away." (Matthew 21:19).
This fig tree had the same problem Adam and Eve had in the garden after the fall: leaves only. Jesus was (and He still is) looking for fruit. Jesus was showing that leaves won't suffice to cover our sin.
Often the fig tree is used in scripture as a symbol for Israel. In this case, was Jesus speaking specifically to them? Leaves won't do it, friends; it's the Blood of Lamb or nothing. And Israel will remain without fruit until the "root;" problem is addressed. (A little play on words there; Mark 11:20 says: "And; in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots".;) The root problem was rejection of Jesus. It always is, still today.
"...; he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:18,19). There is much more here than a natural tree which annoyed the Lord when He was hungry.
How I started thinking this way
I read many different versions of the Bible, but the old King James Version, with all its archaic language and out-dated words, is my favorite. (And not because I'm old enough to remember that form of English!) My reason is: I wanted a Bible which was not easy to understand; I wanted one which I could not fully grasp without the Holy Spirit. It was from that version that I first began to understand this "parallel; realms" thing. And one of the very first passages that illustrated this to me is from that version. It's from Chapter 30 of Proverbs, which is a chronicle of "maxims; and observations".; These concepts, these truths were left for us via Solomon, who was the wisest man who ever lived. And I found some of them in this chapter nonsense - literally "without; sense".; What is he saying that is so important to God?
Here's the specific one which opened my mind: "There; be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: the way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent on a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid".; (Proverbs 30:18,19). Now what is the world is He talking about??! How can this possibly be my daily bread, the very Word of God which will give me life, and renew my mind, and divide my soul and spirit; the only perfectly trustworthy, unmixed thing on this side of the veil? It's almost silly! Then He showed me; light burst on my understanding and I got it.
The writer begins by saying he doesn't understand; but God opens a way for him to learn, and for us, too. All those natural things He mentions are parables, symbols, reflections, of reality. He says: the eagle is a representation of the overcomer, the air is the Holy Spirit. If we observe, study, learn about the way natural eagles fly, we will know how the spiritual eagles move, and therefor how we can relate to the Holy Spirit. So we learn that eagles don't flap their wings - they soar! They rise on thermals, and the air supports them. It goes on and on and it's delightful. The perfect parallel; because the Lord created eagles to show us what overcomers should be like! And in our highly literate and learned society, we can find tons of information about eagles. The writer says these things are too wonderful for him, he doesn't know, but God shows him - and us - how to learn! Look at the natural, understand the spirit.
The serpent on a rock is Satan trying to dominate the Lord and His Church; that age-old antagonist who hates and envies us, lying somnolent, waiting to strike. Did you know that snakes can see even while they're asleep? The have some kind of transparent eyelid, so they're never unaware of what's going on around them. How much there is to learn about our enemy by studying serpents. The way of a ship in the sea refers to the church's relationship with the world. We are "in; it but not of it", we are on a higher plane, we are in an Arc. And finally the Man with a maid is Jesus with His bride. So what do we know about marriage, intimacy, devotion, commitment? About having children together?
Of course this is just a hint of everything that's contained in these two verses; they are very deep and could be studied for years, but this shows the concept. Look at the natural, understand the spirit.
A bit of summary
Another Scriptural parallel between the two realms is the subject of weather. "Signs; and wonders in the heavens" began early when God told Noah that a rainbow in the heavens would remind Him - remind God! - not to flood the earth again. (Genesis 9:11-17). God says that He Himself will look at natural phenomenon and receive a spiritual message!
In Matthew 16:1-4, Jesus was asked by some Pharisees and Sadducees for a "sign; from heaven", and He rebuked them. He told them they already had enough evidence and information to form an opinion or draw a conclusion. He said this with an allusion to natural forces. They wanted a "sign; from Heaven", and He told them about "signs; in the sky" - an acceptable parallel. Apparently they had no problem is reading these natural signs; they could predict fair or foul weather. He implied that this ability was evidence that they should be able to predict spiritual things.
So should we. We have the full canon of Scripture, the indwelling Holy Spirit, a better covenant, and we should be able to look at the seen world and extrapolate from it a comprehension of the spirit. To clarify my point, let me repeat that all these Scriptures allude to "things; which are seen" and imply strongly that they do not reflect the truest reality. The lambs, lilies, fowl, grass, vines, doors, bread, mountains, wolves, snakes, swords, altars, horses, hearts, pennies, thrones, shoes, rivers, battles, births, deaths, journeys, all these natural things represent more authentic, more lasting, more important things which are eternal. The sight realm is merely a reflection of that true reality which is unseen. We have the realm of sight to teach us about the reality which is beyond the veil. Unseen, eternal, awaiting us.
Romans 1 expounds this truth and give its essence in verse 20. I repeat: "For; the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
We look at what is made and we understand the things which have been here since the beginning: all the things of the spirit. The invisible world can be "clearly; seen" by our "understanding;" of the visible world. What we see with our natural eyes is a sort of meter, a measuring rod, of its spiritual equivalent: a physical counterpart to serve as thermometer, speedometer, barometer and such, so that we may know something of the reality behind the veil.
The two realms will always parallel, and what we experience through our five senses in this fleshly, natural, physical, temporary realm is always connecting to - and resulting from - a reality which we cannot see, hear, taste, touch or smell.
Of course the goal of all this should be an increase of wisdom, knowledge and understanding about the spirit realm. This is reality; it's where we'll live forever, and as I said before, it's where the action is. But there is also a more pragmatic result possible from looking at life this way. We can use the information we glean from "look; at the natural, understand the spirit" to impact the natural circumstances surrounding us, to take action and make choices which increase the kingdom of God in and for us. If we have problems, dilemmas, illnesses, defeats, decisions - anything which brings us to then end of ourselves - we need a clear word from God about what's going on. And this approach is one way to increase our understanding. We can see a parallel. If we have a physical, natural, fleshly predicament, it's quite likely that the root - and the solution - are in the spirit.
A personal testimony
Now, I could have gone to an emergency room, had somebody remove what they would call a foreign body, give me some medication for pain and maybe for possible infection, and charge me a fortune. It would have taken hours and ruined my day. And, the most important thing: the sin of being judgmental would still have been in my heart and mind. That was the real problem, that was God's goal, and He and I both had a victory! It took less than thirty minutes in all and cost nothing. I saw the natural and understood the spiritual. (I don't say I've never judged anybody since then, but I'm getting better!) We can see a parallel. If we have a physical, natural, fleshly predicament, it's quite likely that the root - and the solution - are in the spirit. So we look at, examine, pray about, study and learn the evidence of the natural, and we understand more clearly the reality behind the veil, within the spirit. We see through a parable in life!
(Some additional Scriptures which touch this subject are: Job 38:22; Isaiah 24:17-23, 29:6, 30:30, 42:15; Jeremiah 3:3, 23:19-20, 24:30; Ezekiel 38:19-23; Amos 4:7-8; Nahum 1:2-6; Zephaniah 1:14-18; Matthew 47:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Revelation 6:12.)
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