The four voices of God
From idontknownuthin
I mentioned the four voices of God in the Outline of the Bible.
Each person (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) speaks with four voices. Not only can we distinguish the person who wrote a passage, but we should be able to hear all four voices.
The basis of this comes from the nature of the number four. It is two two's. Since two is a heavenly and earthly something, two two's doubles this.
- Earthly language with an earthly message - King
- Earthly language with a divine message - Judge
- Heavenly language with an earthly message - Prophet
- Heavenly language with a divine message - Priest
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King
Earthly language with an earthly message
The king uses "horses" or earthly strength as the language. Show of force and the use of force communicate earthly messages. The message of the king relates to possession of the land or the earthly. The Jewish Pashat, or literal interpretation is the story of what happened "on earth".
Judge
Earthly language with a divine message
The judge uses force or earthly things to declare God's will concerning a matter. This view exposes the spiritual reality behind the physical happenings. This view may be used to ascertain the reasons people did what they did.
Prophet
Heavenly language with an earthly message
The prophet speaks in a strange language, sometimes living 'dinner theater' to make his point, sometimes using parables to confront sin. Though the language is strange, the content of the message is earthly, concerning earthly happenings.
Priest
Heavenly language with a divine message
The priest speaks in a strange language using symbols in dress, sacrifices, utensils, temple architecture, etc. The salvific gospel of Christ is always the heart of the priest's message.
Hearing God's voices
An individual in history may have served multiple roles. David was a king, a judge (when he slew Goliath), a priest (when he offered sacrifice), and a prophet (when he wrote the Psalms). These should not be confused with the voices of God.
Through the voice of the king we can see that Adam and Eve sinned, and their excuses for doing so. Through the voice of the judge we see the heart conditions of Adam and Eve as they sinned. Adam played lawyer as he reasoned that by eating the fruit "from" Eve, he was not violating the command to not eat "from" the tree. Eve was giving in to the temptation to live instinctively, like animals, rather than by the word of God. Through the voice of the prophet we see that men will try to justify themselves by the law, and that the temptation to live instinctively, will be what separates man from God throughout history. Through the voice of the priest we see that mankind will be deceived to follow the flesh, and that Christ will willingly die for his bride, taking her sin upon himself.
God speaks four times in one breath.
Thomas Aquinas?
I just found this and will have to read Thomas Aquinas now. [1]
- Together, Thomas Aquinas and Dante Alighieri give us a concise, if incomplete, account of the typological method. Aquinas says that there are four levels of meaning to be drawn from certain statements in the bible: These levels are:
- 1) the literal or historical level, which is simply the event itself. [identified as King above]
- 2) the allegorical level, which relates the literal event to events in the New Testament. [identified as Prophet]
- 3) the moral level, which explains the abstract moral lesson to be drawn from the literal event. [identified as Judge]
- 4) the anagogical level, which relates the literal event to heavenly things. [identified as Priest]
