Broad meadows

In the last installment we looked at a handful of symbols that are introduced in Genesis 15 which I believe are a symbolic (and prophetic) telling of God’s plan of redemption and judgment. The symbols that were present in that account that we looked at were the heifer, the goat, the ram, the dove and the pigeon. The sun is also introduced as a symbol in this account.

The one symbol that we have the clearest definition of biblically is the dove. The Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove landing on Jesus at his baptism. The question then would be, of the remaining symbols, which would then be referring to Jesus? The definition of a heifer is a cow that has not calved, or one who is without descendants. This sentiment is captured is Isaiah 53:8 when the prophet says, “and who can speak of his descendants?” So, as the largest of this grouping, the heifer would be Jesus. But what about the goat, the ram, the pigeon and the sun?

One of the guidelines that I employ in this methodology of prophetic symbology is that the first and the last places that a symbol appears in the Bible are very important. By looking ahead in the Bible we can see that the last appearance of the goat is in Revelation 6:12, “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, . . . , placing the sun and the goat as the most likely to have merged.

The next place that the sun or the goat appears in the Bible is in Genesis 19, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Verses 23-26 says, “By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah —from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

A few things about this account stand out. One is that the men visiting are actually angels. Why this may be important is that in defining the pigeon in the last installment as a lesser spiritual being than the Holy Spirit, perhaps an angel, seems to be confirmed here. Secondly, the destruction of the wicked in this account is likened to the destruction of the wicked during the tribulation in Jude 7, “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” This perhaps connects these two angels as being the two witnesses of Revelation 11, that perhaps they are not just men.

One of the last things I look for in each account is when new symbols appear with the ones that I am following. What each appears to do when followed is to add nuance to the overall story when following symbols horizontally through the Bible. In this case, we have added both pillar and salt to the mix by their first appearance in scripture. In the next installment we see the pillar and the sun team up in Genesis 28 and we will discuss what that may mean at that time.