Response to post #27
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Originally Posted by charly233
It is about transcending literal thinking, which is thinking with the flesh with symbolic thinking which is thinking with the Spirit.
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Thats a good one!
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Originally Posted by charly233
This passage, like the whole bible in fact, can be read metaphysically or symbolically. Your children could be your thoughts.
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That’s true, and there are teachers that teach it that way
There’s a book called Diagrams for Living by Emmet Fox for more of a symbolic understanding.
In Chapter 1 (pages 1–2), he writes:
“The Bible is written in symbol and allegory. Some people know that, yet they continue to read the Bible in a literal way and consequently miss its message of spiritual power. The veil is still over their hearts, as Paul remarked.”
The saying milk for babes and meat for men comes to mind, similar to 1 Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12–14. In the preface of Diagrams for Living, Emmet explains that the Bible is written to meet people at different stages of spiritual development. Those who are not yet spiritually mature still need milk (literal understanding), while those who are spiritually mature are ready for solid food (symbolic and spiritual understanding). Emmet and others say that the Bible is a biography of you, that you are on every page. He notes that many people have given up on the Bible because they only understood it literally, when it was meant to be understood spiritually.
Every location, Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Assyria, Babylon, the Mediterranean, as well as every river, mountain, lake, desert, character, and number has symbolic meaning. Every character’s name in the Bible carries significance. Colors represent our emotional state.
For example, in the story of Esau and Jacob, Esau means “red earth” and represents the material man. Red, in symbolic terms, points to the lower nature, physical sensuality, love of the world, the desire for power, domination over others, and love of money. These are the things that halt spiritual progress and union with God. Other uses of red include the red dragon and red horse, and in Revelation 17, Babylon is described as a woman clothed in purple and scarlet, riding a scarlet-colored beast.
Psalm 137 can be read symbolically as well. Babylon represents confusion and exile, what happens when we forget or turn away from God. The yearning for Jerusalem (God’s home), is the desire to return to union with God.
So the final verses may not be about literal revenge. Instead it could be about destroying delusion before it matures. The “infants” of Babylon represent new, forming thoughts, seeds of delusion or sinful thoughts (sin meaning “missing the mark” or falling short of God). To “dash them against the rock” is to eliminate delusion at the root, before the sinful thoughts can take hold and grow stronger, causing further separation from God. The rock symbolizes our spiritual foundation, as in Matthew 7:24–27, where the wise man builds his house upon rock rather than sand, able to withstand storms and floods. Psalm 18:2 God is my fortress and my rock, Psalm 132:13–14 Zion is God’s dwelling place.
Emmet teaches the Bible as both literal and symbolic, whereas someone like Neville Goddard reads it almost purely as symbolic and metaphysical. If and when I find authors who offer symbolic or metaphysical takes on Psalm 137, I’ll post them here.
I also agree with you that the Bible is about healing the separation between people and God, removing the blockages (sins) that prevent unity with God.
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