Stereogram of Jesus on the Cross

There is a certain mindset a person must adopt in order to appreciate a stereogram. It is only then that they can see beyond the surface and the picture that lies beneath is revealed.

Literally or initially, the picture looks like nothing more than the nonsensical repeating of a series of colors, geometric designs and the occasional recognizable object.

Figuratively, you understand that deep beyond the mundane surface of the obvious, there is said to be an actual striking revelation purposefully designed just waiting for you to discover. However, you find yourself struggling to see what others are so excited about. This is because you do not know the mindset you must have that will give you the ability to see the secret within. You could still enjoy the surface value of the picture as simply modern art. Or instead, commit to the time, focus and patience necessary to learn how to look through the clutter and deep into the heart of the work. Only then can its real intent and impact be realized. To do this, you must first make the choice as to whether or not you really want to know this deeper understanding. You must make a blind faith decision that the time spent will pay off with hopefully a wow revelation.

Prophetically speaking, it will take time before the picture comes fully into focus. But you learn that with time and concentration, the picture will ultimately and always reveal itself to you. At first you will begin to see recognizable figures only in the foreground. As you continue to focus you suddenly see even more figures and objects filling  in the center ground. And finally, you can now see all the way into the distant background. The 3 dimensional revelation you now clearly see is at once exciting, astonishing and well worth the effort. You could have stop at the surface or with the initial emergence of the figures and been satisfied. But instead, you made a conscious decision to continue. And for that decision you were rewarded with the picture opening up and revealing itself to you with each passing second. You find yourself being drawn into the realized picture and can now fully understand and appreciate its meaning.

People around you may take a quick look but cannot see beyond the surface. So, they quickly lose interest and move on. They could freely have this mystery revealed to them but they have no interest, time or faith that the effort spent on their part would be worth the reward. They would rather spend their time and efforts on actions that are guaranteed to bring monetary or entertaining results. You try to explain to them how worthwhile the revelation is but, they only shrug their shoulders and walk away. What you see and what they see are two completely different images. They see only a one dimensional mish mash of images. You see a beautiful, well considered and executed work from the creative unseen mind and hand of a master artist. It is a dynamic and exciting 3 dimensional picture in vivid colors that literally jump off the page as it draws you into the scene. Yes, it did take time out of your daily schedule, patience and concentration but the end result was more than worth the effort made on your part.

Understanding the Bible in some ways parallels this type of art. There is a certain mind set a person should adopt in order to fully unlock and appreciate what the Bible can offer to the reader. A person should read the Bible with the expectation that at any time, a verse may convey many ideas simultaneously. A verse, sentence or a word that can and should be taken literally, figuratively and prophetically.

For example, Jesus cursed a barren fig tree (Mark 11:12-14, 20-21). Literally, He cursed the tree because it did not achieve its purpose which was to produce fruit. Figuratively, the fig tree represented Israel’s religious system which would never achieve its purpose of creating a kingdom of priests to protolyze the world concerning God as its creator. And prophetically, the Temple and nation of Israel would be completely destroyed 37 years later by Rome. Understanding this concept of how to interpret the Bible in this way is the key to unlocking the hidden messages that scripture has to offer.

Literally or on a surface level, the Bible may appear to be an out of date document written by ancient men recounting stories that were passed down from generation to generations like fables. The events are somewhat entertaining with an occasional moral truth, but not historical nor relatable to a modern world. Many readers only understand the Bible at this level.

Figuratively, most people generally understand that for  Christians, the Bible is their spiritual belief system and the foundation of their philosophy of life. Therefore, many will study the Bible if only to try and understand why believers are so fascinated with it. They will learn that the moral and communal ties of laws and customs that have bound societies together for thousands of years come from Biblical sources. That interpersonal relationships with their cause and effects were exactly the same in ancient times as they are today. And, be startled to learn that modern archeological evidence supports many of the people, places and events cited in the Bible. Finally, they will learn that the Bible is the only major religious document that contains prophecies. In fact, it gives a total of 1,817 prophecies with approximately two thirds having been fulfilled. These prophecies occupy 26.8% of total Bible volume. The fact that a majority of prophecies have come to fruition lends credence to the idea that those prophecies not fulfilled will eventually come to pass. Therefore, while the Bible was written by 44 stenographers inspired by the Holy Spirit, all the dictation came from a single intelligent source. And this source has revealed by todays standards, accepted theories concerning the exact chronological order of creation, the rise of modern man from the lineage of Adam, a prophesied exact chronological order of the 4 greatest empires of the earth. And lastly, the prophesied 5th and final great empire of the Antichrist complete with an exact detailed 7 year timeline concerning its rise, its fall and the Second Coming of Christ.

This intrigue is what causes many people to want to study the Bible. But, if they do not know how to take a deep dive into scripture, they become frozen at the surface and the deeper meaning is kept just out of their reach. To fully appreciate scripture does not usually come quickly, but instead over time. However, the understandings will come and the revelations will be revealed at an ever increasing rate. At some point it will become hard to put the Book down. And a really good book is seldom read only once.

So, in order to have Bible Mysteries Revealed, a person needs to take the time to sit down with the Bible, open their minds and focus on what it has to say using the key as previously described. They need to read the text literally for the stories it tells. They need to read it figuratively as it relates to the people and societies of the world both then and now. And they need to read it prophetically as it was created by the unseen hand of God who, as a loving father, is concerned about the future wellbeing of His children. And because He knows time from the end to the beginning, He has included information concerning the meaning of life, advice for how to live a full happy life, what happens at death, and the opportunity to freely accept His offer of eternal life through Christ. But you cannot fully accept the offer until you can fully hear it, understand it, appreciate its value and accept it. In doing so, you become a part of God’s incredibly exciting and ever unfolding eternal plans for you. And all this has happened because you freely made the choice to give some of your time, focus and faith to God.