| The Covenantal Kingdom
by Ralph Allan Smith
Creation Symbolism:
The Biblical Paradigm
Considering the place of figurative language in the Bible allows us to study the whole debate from a different perspective. We are looking for the Bible's own guidelines for understanding the Bible's own language. The problem is not just with the prophetic Scriptures -- figures of speech also occur frequently in the historical and poetical books. We need an approach to figurative language that relates all the strands of Biblical literature, an approach that is clear, consistent, and grounded in the Bible itself...
In his manifesto on Biblical symbolism, James B. Jordan makes the following rather surprising statement:
"Symbolism is more important than anything else for the life of man"...
As Jordan points out, symbolism not only precedes man's interpretation of reality, it precedes the very existence of reality....
The true knowledge and proper covenantal use of symbols, therefore, is a vital concern for Christians. How can we understand the symbolism of creation, however, given the sinful tendency of the human mind? Reason and common sense are certainly inadequate to guide us in the right direction. But God has given us in Holy Scripture a standard to enable us to understand both the symbolism of creation and the symbolism of the Bible itself. The Bible's approach to symbolism must be systematically studied in order to understand the teaching of the Bible and the symbolism of the world around us. Systematic study of Biblical symbolism begins with an understanding of the symbolic themes in the creation narrative of the book of Genesis.
Jordan argues that symbolism is vital to our understanding of the Bible as a whole, since symbolism is essential to the entire Biblical worldview. Symbolism is especially important, however, for the exegesis of prophecy, because the basic symbolic themes of the book of Genesis continue all the way through Scripture and find their realization in Biblical eschatology. Though Jordan himself has not written extensively on eschatology, David Chilton's Paradise Restored and Days of Vengeance apply Jordan's creation symbolism to the doctrine of the millennium.
Creation Symbolism and Eschatology
Understanding Biblical symbolism in the doctrine of creation leads to a fresh approach to the interpretation of Daniel, Revelation, and other highly figurative passages. David Chilton follows Jordan's general outline of Biblical symbolism by interpreting prophecy according to the basic symbolic themes that arise from the Genesis creation narrative. When dealing with difficult figurative language, knowing the symbolic themes that run throughout the Bible, from creation to Revelation, helps us avoid the erratic, let's-decode-the-Bible approach. The book of Revelation is not interpreted by a speculative attempt to find prophetic fulfillments in the latest edition of the local newspaper, but by relating it to the whole of previous Biblical teaching.
In other words, the Bible itself is the "key" to understanding the Bible's use of figurative language -- not the cultural and linguistic orientation of the interpreter. As Vern Poythress points out, what may seem to a 20th-century American to be the "literal interpretation" of the text is not necessarily the most Biblical interpretation and may, in fact, be a speculative attempt to conform the teaching of the Bible to our cultural circumstances...
The ambiguity involved in figurative language does not inhibit communication. It is, rather, essential to the depth and breadth of poetic expression. Consider the words of Psalm 23:1, "The LORD is my Shepherd." No expositor can fully explain all that this passage means, because poetic expression is intended to be broader and deeper than literal language. But does the "ambiguity" of the figurative language inhibit communication? Not in the least. We meditate on the meaning of God's shepherd care in many different situations and enjoy Him in new and unexpected ways...
To see how David Chilton approaches a theme running all the way through the Scriptures, study the following extended quotation on the significance of mountains in Biblical symbolism:
Finally, a very important aspect of Eden's location is that it was on a mountain (Eden itself was probably a plateau on a mountaintop). This follows from the fact that the source of water for the world was in Eden: the river simply cascaded down the mountain, parting into four heads as it traveled. Furthermore, when God speaks to the king of Tyre (referring to him as if he were Adam, in terms of man's original calling), He says: "You were in Eden, the Garden of God. . . . You were on the holy mountain of God" (Ezek. 28:13-14).
That Eden was the original "holy mountain" explains the significance of God's choice of mountains as sites for His redemptive acts and revelations. The substitutionary atonement in place of Abraham's seed took place on Mount Moriah (Gn. 22:2). It was also on Mount Moriah that David saw the Angel of the Lord standing, sword in hand, ready to destroy Jerusalem, until David built an alter there and made atonement through sacrifice (1 Chron. 21:15-17). And on Mount Moriah Solomon built the Temple (2 Chron. 3:1). God's gracious revelation of His presence, His covenant, and His law was made on Mount Sinai. Just as Adam and Eve had been barred from the Garden, the people of Israel were forbidden to approach the holy mountain, on pain of death (Ex. 19:12; cf. Gn. 3:24). But Moses (the Mediator of the Old Covenant, Gal. 3:19), the priests, and the 70 elders of the people were allowed to meet God on the Mountain (after making an atoning sacrifice), and there they ate and drank communion before the Lord (Ex. 24:1-11). It was on Mount Carmel that God brought His straying people back to Himself through sacrifice in the days of Elijah, and from whence the ungodly intruders into His Garden were taken and destroyed (1 Kings 18; interestingly, carmel is a Hebrew term for garden-land, plantation, and orchard). Again on Mount Sinai (also called Horeb) God revealed His saving presence to Elijah, and recommissioned him as His messenger to the nation (1 Kings 19).
In His first major sermon, the Mediator of the New Covenant delivered the law again, from a mountain (Matt. 5:1ff.). His official appointment of His apostles was made on a mountain (Mark 3:1-13). On a mountain He was transfigured before His disciples in a blinding revelation of His glory (recalling associations with Sinai, Peter calls this the "holy mountain," in 2 Pet. 1:16-18). On a mountain He gave his final announcement of judgment upon the faithless covenant people (Matt. 24). After the Last Supper, He ascended a mountain with His disciples, and proceeded from there to a Garden where, as the Last Adam, He prevailed over temptation (Matt. 26:30; cf. Matt. 4:8-11, at the beginning of His ministry). Finally, He commanded His disciples to meet Him on a mountain, where He commissioned them to conquer the nations with the Gospel, and promised to send them the Holy Spirit; and from there He ascended in the cloud (Matt. 28:16-20; Acts 1:19; . . . )
I have by no means exhausted the list that might be given of Biblical references to God's redemptive activities on mountains; but those which have been cited are sufficient to demonstrate the fact that in redemption God is calling us to return to Eden; we have access to the Holy Mountain of God through the shed blood of Christ. We have come to Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22), and may boldly approach the Holy Place (Heb. 10:19), granted by God's grace to partake again of the Tree of Life (Rev. 2:7). Christ has built His Church as a City on a Hill, to give light to the world (Matt. 5:14), and has promised that the nations will come to that light (Isa. 60:3). The prophets are full of this mountain-imagery, testifying that the world itself will be transformed into Eden: "in the last days, the mountain of the House of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it" (Isa. 2:2; cf. Isa. 2:2-4; 11:9; 25:6-9; 56:3-8; 65:25; Mic. 4:1-4). Thus the day will come when God's kingdom, His Holy Mountain, will "fill the whole earth" (see Dn. 2:34-35; 44-45), as God's original dominion mandate is fulfilled by the Last Adam.
This excerpt illustrates both the immense practical value and the exegetical importance of recognizing basic creation themes in Biblical symbolism. Following such themes as the garden, the harlot, the wilderness, the serpent-dragon, the cloud of glory, and the Biblical imagery of trees, minerals, water, and so forth, Chilton interprets the book of Revelation in the context of the whole Scripture by applying the vivid and powerful imagery of the Old Testament. The imagery of Revelation flows from the stream of Biblical symbolism beginning in Genesis; it is an organic part of the Biblical story.
Creation Symbolism and the Coming of Christ
...This assertion is based on the Old Testament symbolic language of judgment, which is itself grounded in the creation narrative....
The proper interpretation of the New Testament references to Christ's coming, therefore, must take into account the Old Testament prophetic language of judgment. The prophecies in Matthew 24, for example, follow Jesus' scathing denunciation of Israel's leaders in chapter 23. Matthew 23 includes Jesus' prophetic judgment that "this generation" shall persecute prophets and wise men sent by Christ and so be held guilty for "all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zechariah, son of Barachiah" (Mt. 23:35). That one generation should be held accountable for the crimes against God's righteous prophets of all generations suggests unparalleled judgment...
Essentially, Jordan and Chilton, in line with the preterist interpreters of the past, call for a re-thinking of the New Testament references to the coming of Christ...
Notes of Special Interest:
17. Jordan explains that the early chapters of Genesis provide basic symbolic themes that are developed through the rest of the Scriptures. To name just a few: Light and Darkness, the Spirit-Cloud of Glory, the Holy Mountain, the Garden-Sanctuary of the Lord, Trees, Rivers, Paradise, the Serpent, the Seed, the Mother, the Younger Brother, etc. See Jordan's series on Genesis One in the Geneva Review, starting from July 1985; his article "Rebellion, Tyranny, and Dominion in the Book of Genesis," Christianity and Civilization No. 3 (Tyler, Texas, Geneva Divinity School Press, 1983), pp. 38-80; and also David Chilton's exposition of these themes in Paradise Restored (Tyler, Texas: Dominion Press, 1985). Jordan refers frequently to Meredith G. Kline, Images of the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980).
18 Chilton suggests the following rules for studying imagery:
1. Read visually; try to picture what the Bible is saying.
2. Read Biblically; don't speculate or become abstract, but pay close attention to what the Bible itself says about its own symbols.
3. Read the Story; try to think about how each element in the Bible contributes to its message of salvation as a whole.
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