Part One of this article can be found here: The Spiritual Meaning of Symbolism in the Bible: Part 1.
Introduction
Due to the information now available on the Internet, an increasing number of people have become aware of the fact that many of the stories in the Bible are not original. Instead, they are “old wine in new(er) bottles.” The names and locations have changed, but the stories are the same. Although this implies that the Biblical stories are factually untrue, it does not take away from the fact that the stories symbolize spiritual truths. Even people who are not religious can benefit from these stories as some of the most profound spiritual teachings are hidden within them.
David and Goliath
In this story, the Israelites and the Philistines are fighting each other. Goliath, a hero of the Philistines who is depicted as a giant, challenges the Israelites to send out a warrior to decide the outcome of the battle via single combat. Saul, the leader of the Israelites, refuses to fight. A young shepherd by the name of David, agrees to fight Goliath instead. Saul offers David his armor, but David refuses. Instead, David takes a sling with five stones, which he uses to kill the giant.
Spiritual Meaning
The shepherd is a symbol that is used often in the Bible to denote the messiah: a person who will “save his flock.” Thus, we know from the description of David as a shepherd that he will be victorious. The giant in this story represents the emotional body of an individual. Until a person is able to bring their emotional body under control, this giant is a tyrant who holds the body captive to its ever-changing desires. The hero of our story is the mind, who uses cunning (a sling) instead of brute strength (the armor) in order to defeat the giant.
Brute strength represents willpower, which alone is not enough to bring the emotional body under control. Instead, cunning (i.e. wisdom) is used to “defeat” the emotional body. Instead of using physical armor (willpower), David decided that “the Lord” would be his armor. In other words, a person must connect with their inner Divine self for support in bringing the emotional body under control.
Graven Images
One of the 10 Commandments that Moses introduced to the Israelites involved not making any “graven images.” This commandment – at a superficial level – was about not worshipping household idols, a common pagan practice at that time. From a practical standpoint, this commandment forbids the worship of false gods over the one, true God.
Spiritual Meaning
From a spiritual perspective, we all are a part of the Divine. However, we have a habit of denying who we are in order to be accepted by other people. By pretending to be who we aren’t, we create false images of ourselves. These false images are easily “smashed to pieces” by criticism and the conditional acceptance of others.
Alternatively, if we stop trying to win other people’s approval, we are free to be ourselves. This is the devotion and worship of the true Self, our Divine nature. When we connect with who we truly are, it is easier not to be bothered by the criticism of others because we are simply being who we are.
The Story of Job
This famous story is randomly placed in the Bible and reads like a common fable. According to the story, Job is a wealthy man who is also very righteous. In a conversation between God and Satan, the latter suggests that Job is only righteous because he has been “blessed” by God. Satan therefore decides to test Job (with God’s approval) to see if he is in fact a man of character. During the story, Satan takes away Job’s property, family, and health. Regardless of these successive tragedies, Job stays committed to God, although he curses the fact that he was born and wonders why bad things are happening to him. After all his trials, God rewards Job by giving him twice as wealth, and new family, and a long and prosperous life.
Spiritual Meaning
On a superficial level, this story is about the importance of staying true to God and not being tempted to sin. On a deeper level, this story concerns the 4th initiation (of ascension), also known as the initiation of renunciation. This is the initiation that occurs when an individual becomes disillusioned with the material world and starts to search for a higher purpose in life.
Searching for a higher purpose sets off a chain reaction. First of all, the individual engages in spiritual practices which raises their vibrations. However, the material things in that person’s life (whether relationships, employment, hobbies, etc.) have stayed at the same vibration. As a result, those things will no longer be attracted into that person’s life and they will potentially fall away. If the individual allows those things to be released, it will open up the door for new things to enter the individual’s life. So although this experience can seem traumatic (such as the loss of a job or relationship), ultimately this is an experience that results in a spiritual rebirth.
Jonah and the Whale
In this Biblical tale, Johan is a prophet who God commands to warn the citizens of Ninevah of the need to end their wicked ways. Jonah disobeys God by sailing away on a ship. In response, God sends a storm that nearly sinks the ship. When the crew of the ship realize that Jonah is to blame for the storm, they throw him overboard and the storm immediately dies down.
Jonah is then swallowed by a whale but remains alive. While in the whale, Jonah prays to God and commits to obey Him. After 3 days, God commands the whale to spit Jonah out. Jonan then goes to Nineveh to warn the people that it will be destroyed in 40 days if they don’t turn to God. The people listen to Jonah, and the king of the city declares a period of fasting, prayer, and repentance. As a result, the city is saved.
Spiritual Meaning
In this story, two of our numerical symbols are present: 3 and 40. As mentioned previously, 40 represents a period of spiritual purification which leads to “salvation” (i.e. spiritual enlightenment). The number 3 represents a “spiritual death.” This is a death of the material pursuits, which results in a spiritual rebirth and is the meaning of the phrase “to be born again.”
Putting everything together: the story explains that the pursuit of the material world leads to discontent and even chaos (the storm). However, by committing to the spiritual path (leading to a spiritual death), a person is subsequently reborn. This reborn individual now pursues a life that results in purification of the soul, and thus to the soul’s salvation.
I use the term salvation, I am describing the soul who is saved from the cycle of reincarnation. In every incarnation, a soul is born into a physical body, which in ancient Egypt was represented by the symbol of the cross. Thus, in each life, the soul is “nailed to the cross,” and the process of purification ends the cycle from reincarnation and raises the soul from the cross.
Animal Sacrifices
In Biblical times, animal sacrifices were a ritual practiced by members of all beliefs systems. For example, the Greeks and Romans offered animal sacrifices to their gods in order receive favors from them (such as assistance with gaining victory in battles). Meanwhile, the Jews offered sacrifices as a way of atoning for their actions that broke the commandments of their god. For the Jews this practice came to an abrupt halt when their temple at Jerusalem was destroyed and there was no longer a sacred place where such a ritual could be conducted. Meanwhile, the Romans gradually stopped the practice of animal sacrifice as the population converted to Christianity.
Spiritual Meaning
Animal sacrifices relate to the spilling of innocent blood for the salvation of humanity. The story of Jesus represents the same concept: the sacrifice of innocent blood for salvation. While Christianity turned Jesus into the only son of God, Jesus own words made it clear that we are all divine: “Know ye not that ye are Gods?”
The meaning of the blood sacrifice relates to karma. During every lifetime (from the onset of puberty onwards), the karmic images of previous deeds are slowly released into an individual’s bloodstream. These images must be purified via a person’s good thoughts and deeds. It is the sacrifice of unconditional love and forgiveness that leads to the purification of the blood. This sacrifice of cultivating unconditional love is what sets a person free, and which is the ultimate salvation of humanity.
Passover
The celebration of the Passover relates to a specific event that resulted in Moses convincing the Pharaoh to release the Israelites from captivity. This event involved God killing the firstborn child of every house in Egypt that did not have the blood of a lamb marked on the doorway. The Israelites marked their thresholds with the blood of the sacrificed lamb, and as a result their firstborn children were spared (saved).
Spiritual Meaning
It is worth noting that an omnipotent God would not need to have anyone mark doorways in order to determine who to kill and who to spare. As noted previously, the blood sacrifice symbolizes the purification of blood which is necessary for personal salvation. The actual microcosmic Passover occurs when the kundalini energy passes over the threshold at the base of the neck, which results in freedom from spiritual bondage (the cycle of reincarnation).
Parting of the Red Sea
Once the Israelites were released by the pharaoh, he had a change of mind and pursued the Israelites in order to recapture them. To escape, Moses parted the Red Sea, which allowed the Israelites to pass over on dry ground. Once safely across, the waters of the Red Sea were reunited and the pursuing Egyptians were drowned.
Spiritual Meaning
The Red Sea symbolizes blood. It is via “parting the red sea” (i.e. the purification of one’s blood) that allows individuals to save themselves from bondage and enter the promised land (which symbolizes spiritual illumination.
The Holy of Holies
Located inside the temple behind the veil was the most sacred room known as the “Holy of Holies.” This is where the innocent blood of the animal sacrifices was “passed over” to the priest to be poured onto the altar.
Spiritual Meaning
Continuing the previous topic about the sacrifice of innocent blood, the holy of holies is the “kingdom of God within” which Jesus explained in his teachings. Through the process of spiritual purification (which – from the ego’s standpoint – is a sacrifice), the creative energy (aka kundalini) that fell during the “fall of man” will eventually be resurrected as it “passes over” the “straight and narrow” (spinal column) and enters a holy chamber in the brain.
The two main components in the brain are the cerebrum and cerebellum. The cerebrum, which is the upper brain, is the kingdom of God (“the kingdom of God lies within”) and the lord of the kingdom is the pineal gland. Surrounding the lord of the kingdom are twelve convolutions of the brain (the 12 disciples/12 tribes of Egypt/12 knights of the “round table” AKA head, etc.). The king, who is unable to act alone, instead must act in coordination with the queen (the pituitary gland).
The throne room of the king and queen comprises the third and fourth ventricles of the brain. This area is the “temple of the Most High” where the King and Queen will unite in a mystical marriage as a result of the resurrection of the kundalini. This mystical marriage will then result in the opening of the third eye which produces spiritual illumination. (“If thine eye be single, thy whole body will be full of light.”