Many Americans and visitors from overseas have visited the Lincoln Memorial in Washington and been inspired by it. The strength of line of the building and the huge statue symbolize the integrity of the man it honors. The visitor will not be tempted to confuse the perishable symbol with the eternal truth to which such integrity points.
The pineapple placed on many a church dome is a symbol of immortality and of hospitality, inviting the passer-by to find rest in the sanctuary.
Each of us can think of symbols encountered in daily life—for a further example, the numerals one through nine. Even a word is only a symbol pointing beyond itself to some object or concept or idea. A symbol, then, elucidates, often rendering intelligible through sign or image something that would otherwise seem merely abstract. Since the sign or image is only symbol, we should not confuse the symbol with the substance, but must always look beyond it. Part of one dictionary definition of "symbol" reads: "Something that stands for or suggests something else . . .; a visible sign of something invisible."
The Bible abounds in rich Oriental symbolism. Found in both Old and New Testaments, symbolism was used by the prophets, by Jesus, and by the apostles. Mrs. Eddy tells us, "Spiritual teaching must always be by symbols." Science and Health, p. 575; Some of the biblically derived symbols, such as the cross, the wine, the bread, are more familiar to us than are others, such as the fish, the olive tree, the dove.
Biblical symbols are sometimes difficult to understand for the people of the West, who are used to different ways of expressing or describing ideas. Hence the importance of getting to know these symbols, since ideas and relationships are made more understandable through their use. The prophets and the writers of Israel's wisdom literature thrived on them, as can be seen from the frequent use in their writings of the shepherd/flock metaphor standing for the king/nation or leader/led relationship.
An interesting way of studying scriptural symbols is to start with those used for God, which are found throughout the Bible. Take, for example, the Psalmist's well-loved description, "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." Ps. 91:2; Here we have the symbol of the fortress describing or standing for an aspect of the divine character. Think of the fortresses constructed in various parts of the world throughout history. Some of these have been besieged at one time or another but could not be taken. They were invincible. The enemy had to abandon the siege and withdraw its troops. What a magnificent symbol to describe the invincibility of God!
Next we might carry the symbolism a bit further and ask ourselves, "Where are we in relation to the fortress?" Paul gave the answer to this question when he told the Athenians, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28; We are right in the center of the fortress, protected by an impenetrable wall of divine qualities. The enemy cannot even reach us. The arrows shot at us cannot hurt us. We are safe and protected within the fortress, God. What a powerful symbol the Psalmist has given us, and what richness and inspiration can be gained from it!
Further, while it is fine to know that man dwells in God, the fortress, we have to see that man is never absorbed by God and that the ideal fortress was built so that it could not be captured. The spiritual fact is that since God, Spirit, is the only power, no opposing power exists in reality.
We have to remain aware that no matter how descriptive symbols are, they are only attempts to express a spiritual truth or reality through the language of human analogy. What Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health about the difficulty of expressing spiritual truths through material terms applies also to the Bible: "The chief difficulty in conveying the teachings of divine Science accurately to human thought lies in this, that like all other languages, English is inadequate to the expression of spiritual conceptions and propositions, because one is obliged to use material terms in dealing with spiritual ideas." Science and Health, p. 349;
This point is important to understand when we consider other symbols of God, such as Father, governor, Ruler, King. These are all symbols pointing to some truth of the divine character. Christian Science does not bring God down to a corporeal level or equip Him with corporeal characteristics or present Him as a corporeal being. Mrs. Eddy declares that "God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love." ibid., p. 465;
Not only the general culture and idiom of the ancient Near East but the Israelites' own cultural history is very much reflected in the Old Testament symbolism of God. For men like Moses and Elijah the imagery of the desert must have been very important. In Exodus the vultures living in the wilderness are used to portray the saving action of God, who carried Israel out of Egypt as if "on eagles' wings" (see 19:4). With the crossing of the mountains and the Jordan River the divine concept would be enriched with other images. God is described as existing before the foundation of the mountains (see Ps. 90:2). The mountains melt before God (see Mic. 1:4). With the advent of the monarchy, the symbol of the royal ruler and all that is associated with kingship or rulership is naturally employed. "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." Ps. 103:19; This symbol is carried over into the prophetic teaching. And while during the wilderness period the ark was an important symbol of God's presence, the temple in Jerusalem is now the all-important symbol of God's presence for the Israelites. This symbol is prominently displayed by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, all three inhabitants of Jerusalem. The richness of the nature of God is dimly discerned through these symbols.
One of the symbols not used for God is that of the wilderness itself. In Canaanite mythology it was the god Mot (death) who reduced everything to barrenness on the earth, and one of his habitations was thought to be the desert. Biblical writers may well have avoided associating the symbol of the desert with God because of the negative association the wilderness had with the Canaanite god. Speaking of God, the prophet Jeremiah asks pointedly: "Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness?" Jer. 2:31;
The importance of looking beyond the symbol to the substance can be seen from the following story. The ark was one of the symbols connected with God. It symbolized His presence. The Israelites felt that wherever the ark was, there was God. The material structure was important to them. Mrs. Eddy says: "The Israelites centred their thoughts on the material in their attempted worship of the spiritual. To them matter was substance, and Spirit was shadow." Science and Health, p. 351; Naturally, then, great consternation befell the Israelites when the ark on one occasion was captured by the Philistines. To them, one might almost say, God had disappeared out of the midst of Israel. "The glory is departed from Israel."I Sam. 4:21; The Israelites were tempted to believe that with the disappearance of the symbol the truth to which it pointed—the presence of God—had also gone.
How important it is to understand that while the symbol can be destroyed, the spiritual truth it represents is indestructible! The prophet Jeremiah must have seen beyond the symbol of the ark to the idea it represented, for he told the Israelites that the time was coming when the ark would no longer be required: "In those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more." Jer. 3:16;
There are many other symbols of God found in the Scriptures. Students have the privilege of studying the passages, understanding the symbol, and penetrating beyond the material connotation to the spiritual reality to which it points. The result will be increased spirituality and a lessening of material consciousness, verifying Christ Jesus' statement: "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Matt. 25:29.
