So, how does one decide what is a parable, what is literal or metaphorical? The answer is exists within the very book itself. I have found that the Bible is a book written for our “spiritual nature”, the non-physical self and has been provided for that purpose to bridge the gap between God, by God and us. A book written in a style to enlighten us to a more spiritually centered life away from a more natural, materialistic centered life; a style using historical events, allegories, parables, imagery and literal statements to convey to us a spiritually centered life. 2 Cor 3:6 “as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (NIV) That is i.e. Spiritual Life as opposed to spiritual death. A book of “uses” applied to us first and foremost. As we look into the deeper meanings of the Bible, we also look deeper into our hearts. Who and what do we love, have affection for? Live for? The sharp two-edged sword that divides the thoughts and intents within our heart.

The Bible’s literal printed pages are full of types and shadows of spiritual things. Parables, allegories, comparisons and proverbs are some of the vehicles as types and shadows. These vehicles have been and are problematic for the literalists in their understanding of scripture since the beginning of scriptural exegesis and hermeneutics. For me not “brain surgery” but “heart surgery” is the crux of the problem to the understanding of scripture. God wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. To share His Glory or mind with us in a manner that compels not only our minds but also more importantly our hearts towards reciprocal love with Him. To this intent, the Bible was produced for man by the Spirit in a form compatible to our nature of comprehension; speaking to our “spirit” and waiting for our spirit to respond back to His.

God is a Spirit and to approach Him must be through the “spirit” contained within the literal printed word. Much like viewing a home and wondering who lives inside from the outside. One must open the door, go inside, to see and hear. That requires the individual’s choice from the heart (will, affections and desires) and the revelation in and from the Spirit, who, judges or knows the heart.

“Within the printed Word is a ‘wellspring of life’ to those who hunger and thirst after His righteousness, whose source is the Spirit of God. To those who do not seek His righteousness within the printed Word, it is a ‘well of opinion’ from which they are the source”. © 2004 rdlb


“Although the style of the Word seems simple in the sense of the letter, it is such that nothing can ever be compared to it in excellence, since Divine wisdom lies concealed not only in the meaning as a whole but also in each word; and that in heaven this wisdom shines forth.”
E. Swedenborg


Paul often pointed to deeper meanings in the Old Testament. For example, he took Adam as a symbol of Christ, (Romans 5:14) and his marriage with Eve as a symbol of Christ's marriage with the Church. (Ephesians 5:31, 32) He saw the story of Noah and the Flood as an antitype of baptism and regeneration. (1 Peter 3:20, 21) The Tabernacle of Israel with its furnishings and all the rituals and sacrifices performed in it pictured Jesus' work of salvation. These earthly things were the "copy and shadow of heavenly things...symbolic for the present time.” (Hebrews 8:5, 9:9, Colossians 2:16, 17) The story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar and their sons is also an allegory, in which Hagar's son represented the Lord's covenant with the Jews and Sarah's son symbolized the New Covenant in Christ. (Galations 4:22-31)

The Exodus story tells how the children of Israel escaped from Egypt, trekked through the wilderness for forty years, and finally made their home in the Promised Land. Many have seen this as symbolic of our spiritual journey out of slavery to sin, through trials and temptations and into heaven. However, does the Bible itself suggest that this is a parable, or a story with an inner meaning? In fact, it does. Psalm 78 opens with the words, "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.” The "parable" that follows is the story of the plagues on Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, bringing water from the rock, receiving manna from heaven, and other stories of the Exodus. Thus, the whole story of Exodus is a parable.

Jesus explained that the commandment about murder should not be taken just on a literal level. On a deeper level, it prohibits hatred and contempt. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, `You shall not murder,'...But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:21, 22) Likewise, the deeper meaning of the commandment against adultery prohibits lust. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, `You shall not commit adultery,' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27, 28)

Jesus frequently showed that the Old Testament contained deeper meanings than were first apparent. For example, He told His disciples that the Old Testament contained many prophecies about His own life that they had not understood. "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27) "He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)

Jesus showed that stories in the Old Testament were symbolic of His own life, even when the symbolism was not apparent in the literal meaning. For example, the story of the manna is symbolic of Jesus as the bread of life: "Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.” (John 6:32) Another story with an inner meaning referring to Jesus is the brass serpent: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (John 3:14) It is similar with the story of Jonah and the whale: "As Jonah was three days in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt 12:40) The temple in Jerusalem, which was the scene of many stories in the Old Testament, was also a symbol of Jesus. (John 2:19-22)

Paul also encourages us to go beyond the literal meaning of the Old Testament. He asks us to obey the spirit of the law, not just the letter. "He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter.” (Romans 2:29) "We should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6) "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6) This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:13-14)

The Bible is an imaginative book

“Nowadays we have highly developed philosophical and theological languages for conveying this message in abstract terms. We have a mistrust of imagery because, by comparison with the languages of science or even of formal theology, it seems undisciplined. It makes suggestions; it invites the mind to imagine and seems to exert little control over the imagination that it has let loose. Yet, I would insist, the Bible is an imaginative book. There are very few "abstract" terms in biblical Hebrew; and while Greek had developed a philosophical vocabulary by the time of Christ, the Gospels make little use of it. Jesus told stories, used imagery. (Parables) For him, the concrete was the vessel of the intangible. He did not define "the neighbor" but told a story of a man who fell among thieves. He did not write an essay on justice but told stories about stewards and landlords. He did not draw up a job description for the Messiah but talked about sheep and shepherds. In good Eastern fashion, he paid his disciples the profound compliment of provoking their minds rather than satisfying them. He turned them loose to figure things out for themselves. If literalists were as literal about pastoral responsibility as they are about hellfire, there would be a lot more people out on the hills with their sheep than there actually are. We would be big into vineyards and olive groves, lamps on lamp stands, and cups of cold water. There would surely be some who had cut off an offending hand or plucked out an offending eye.”
George F. Dole, Freedom and evil: A pilgrim’s guide to hell, 2001