photo credit: Daniel Jinsub Lee

“When your words came I ate them ….” (Jeremiah 15:16)

There are three levels of interpretation possible when reading the Bible.

They are:

1. the historical/literal translation. The Bible has historical relevance. It happened in time and space. It is also “his story” – meaning it is the story of mankind.

2. the symbolic interpretation. Every name of person or place, every number and event in the Bible has a symbolic meaning that applies to the psyche and is therefore relevant to each and every one of us.

3. the practical interpretation. This is the understanding of how the Bible relates to our personal lives so that we can apply its message directly.

Only when we read the Bible on all three levels can we fully comprehend its message to us. Such internalizing of the word allows us to see that every story in the Bible was chosen not only because it reflects a historical & literal truth but for its relevance to our inner life. When we digest and assimilate each passage completely then our understanding of ourselves and the world around us is transformed. We become the word. This is why I call the Bible an alchemical text. It provides instruction that allows us to refine our ego baseness into the gold of pure consciousness which leads to transformation on a cellular level.

Paul says,

“…he is a new creation, the old has gone.” (2 Corinthians, 5:17)