There was much in the design of the tabernacle, revealed to Moses,
and in
the details of the temple service, that was typical of things in the
gospel. Some of this is explained in the book of Hebrews in the New
Testament; besides, there are many scholarly books on the subject, such
as Patrick Fairbairn's Typology of Scripture.
Animals that are symbolic in scripture include sheep, goat, horse, mule, ass, camel, ox, lion, bear, leopard, snake, locust, fish, eagle, dove, scorpion, gnat. They are discussed in more detail below. Plants mentioned in prophecy are the olive tree, grape vine, fig, cedar, thorn, fir, myrtle trees, and wheat. Trees are said to clap their hands. [Isa. 55:12] Food such as bread, wine, and milk are types; incense is a type.
Heavenly bodies are also symbolic in prophecy; the sun, moon, stars are types. [Rev. 12:4] Day and night, and the seasons are also typical. [Zech. 14:8] Jesus said the harvest pictures the resurrection of the saints at the end of the world. [Matt. 13:39] The annual holy days of the law of Moses are related to the spring and fall harvest seasons. Clouds, rain, hail, snow, wind, light and dark, lamps, candles, oil, water, and gold, silver, brass, iron, clay, wood, rock, earth, pearls, precious stones, clothes, armour, weapons, such as swords, bows and arrows, spears, and shields, are all types and symbols in the scriptures.
To this list we can add chariots [Zech. 6:1]; highways [Isa. 40:3]; wings of eagles, fowl, and locusts [Dan. 7:4, 6; Rev. 9:9; 12:14]; tails [Isa. 9:15]; and human behaviour also provides many types: love, jealousy, marriage, conception, birth, motherhood, nursing infants, eating, sleep, death, whoredom, occupations, such as farmer, merchant, athlete, soldier, etc. Burying corpses is described symbolically in Ezek. 39:11-16.
Individuals were significant in prophecy too; Abraham and Sarah [Rom. 4:16, Gal. 4:26], Hagar [Gal. 4:24], Isaac [Gal. 4:28], Jacob and his family [Rev. 7:5-8], Joseph [Heb. 11:22], Moses [John 1:17], Pharoah, Joshua [Heb. 4:8], David, [Ezek. 34:23, Ezek. 37:24; Hos. 3:5; Amos 9:11 Zech. 12:8], Elijah [Mal. 4:5], Jonah [Matt. 16:4], Cyrus [Isa. 44:28], Zerubbabel [Zech. 4:9].
Scripture shows that major events in Israel's history are significant in prophecy, providing types and figures for the church, including Israel's bondage in Egypt [Jude 1:5; Rev. 11:8], the exodus [Acts 7:36]; their sojourn in the wilderness [1 Cor. 10:11]; wars, including the battles of the Israelites against the Canaanite nations under Joshua and others; the reign of David [1 Chr. 18:14], the apostasy of Israel under Ahab and Jezebel; the drought in the days of Elijah [Jam. 5:17]; a locust plague, [Joel 1-2]; earthquakes, [Zech. 14:5]; the exile in Babylon [Jer. 29:10]; the Jews' return from exile [Zech. 1:16]; the construction of the temple [Hag. 1:8]; the hellenization implemented by Antiochus IV, outlined in the prophecies of Daniel. All the above were the subjects of various prophecies.
Races of men are mentioned in a symbolic way in Scripture, such as
Jew
and Greek, circumcision and uncircumcision. [Col. 3:11] Zech. 14:21
refers to the Canaanite symbolically; one of the disciples of Jesus was
a
Canaanite [Mark 3:18].
Poverty, nakedness, and blindness are symbolic [Isa. 42:16; 1 John 2:11; Rev. 3:17]; Zechariah describes a symbolic plague, [Zech. 14:12] and diseases such as gangrine are symbolic [2 Tim. 2:17, Jam. 5:3].
In view of the use of symbolic language in prophecy, what merit is there in saying that promises referring to the land must be taken as literal? Dispensationalists, and Zionists insist on it! But the prophets found spiritual significance in many aspects of the land that Israel was promised as a possession.
Among the geographical features that the prophets used symbolically in their messages are rivers, both real and imaginary; they include the Jordan River [Psa. 114:3], the Euphrates [Rev. 9:14, Rev. 16:12], and the Nile [Gen. 15:18]; an imaginary river is the stream of living water that flows from Jerusalem in Zech. 14:8, and from the temple in Ezek. 47:7-9, and Joel 3:18. Christians have traditionally understood this to represent the Spirit of God and the Gospel going to the world from the church.
Also symbolic in scripture are valleys, such as Gehenna, Meddigo, [Rev. 16:16] and the figurative valley formed in the Mount of Olives, when it is cleaved in the midst [Zech. 14:4]; seas, including the Red Sea, [1 Cor. 10:2] the Dead Sea which becomes healed by the water from the temple [Ezek 47:8]; cities; Jerusalem [Heb. 12:22], Sodom, [Rev. 11:8] Jericho [Heb. 11:30], Babylon [Isa. 48:20; Jer. 51:6; Rev. 14:8; Rev. 16:19; Rev. 17:2; Rev. 18:2, 10, 21]; even neighbouring countries are significant symbols, such as Egypt [Rev. 11:8], and Edom [Ezek. 25:12-14; Joel 3:19], which represents enemies of the church [Isa. 34:5], as do the hordes of Gog and Magog [Ezek. 38:2].
Also symbolic in prophecy are mountains, such as Sinai [Gal. 4:24]; the Mount of Olives [Zech. 14:4], Zion [Heb. 12:22; Rev. 14:1]; hills [Ezek. 6:3; 36:4], and singing hills [Isa. 55:12]; deserts [Isa. 35:1; 43:19-20], the wilderness, where the Israelites wandered for 40 years, was typical of the church's experience in the world [1 Cor. 10:11; Rev. 12:6, 14].
It seems virtually everything in the life of the ancient Israelites
was
seen by the prophets as providing meaning for the gospel. Of course the
land promise is symbolic too; it represents the eternal "rest" of a
Christian [Heb. 4:9].
The message of the prophets is explained and
revealed much more completely in the New Testament.
Sheep, goats, horses, cattle, locusts, wolves, lions, dogs, swine,
snakes, fish, and birds all are figures of various kinds of people in
the Bible. Trees, and grass also represent people.
God's people are compared to sheep, and Christ is their shepherd.
Psalm 23:1-2
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters.
Psalm 79:13
So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for
ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.
Isaiah 40:11
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with
his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that
are with young.
Ezekiel 34:23
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even
my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
Ezekiel 34:31
And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God,
saith the Lord GOD.
The word 'pastor' is derived from the Latin
Jeremiah 23:1-4
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my
pasture! saith the LORD.
Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that
feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and
have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your
doings, saith the LORD.
And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither
I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they
shall be fruitful and increase.
And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they
shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking,
saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:10
Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles
afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep
him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
Joel
1:18
How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because
they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Zechariah
9:16
And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his
people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an
ensign upon his land.
Zechariah
11:17
Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock!
the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall
be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
Matthew
26:31
Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this
night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of
the flock shall be scattered abroad.
John 10:3
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth
his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
John 10:16
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must
bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and
one shepherd.
John 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 21:15-17
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord;
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He
saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou
me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest
that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
1 Peter 5:1-2
The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a
witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory
that shall be revealed:
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready
mind;
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the
flock.
The saints are all former lost sheep that have been found.
Psalm
119:176
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not
forget thy commandments.
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own
way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Jeremiah 50:6
My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go
astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone
from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
Ezekiel 34:6
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill:
yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none
did search or seek after them.
Ezekiel
34:16
I will seek that which was lost,
and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which
was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy
the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Matthew 10:5-6
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into
the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye
not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
During his ministry, Jesus told his disciples not to
go to the Gentiles, and not to go to the Samaritans. Yet he had a
discussion with a Samaritan woman, during which he said, "Woman,
believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain,
nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." [John 4:21] This shows that
the Mosaic system of worship based in Jerusalem was about to be
abolished. And the New Testament explains that now there is no longer
any need of sacrifices, or a priesthood, and no requirement to observe
any Jewish rituals, to become God's children, as Christ himself is our
shepherd. When Jesus told his disciples not go to Gentiles, that was a
very reasonable commandment, because the fundamental truths about the
Gentiles being included in Israel's promises by faith in Christ had not
yet been revealed. Those things were revealed later, after the Spirit
was given to the disciples. If the disciples of Jesus had preached to
Gentiles before these things were revealed, those Gentiles would have
heard the wrong message; it could potentially result in a class of
Gentile believers who had converted to Judaism, who would then have to
unlearn it, which would be confusing. Not only that, but it would be
painful, for those who were circumcised needlessly. Only later, when
the basic doctrine of the church concerning the salvation of Gentile
believers was established by the apostles, was the way open for
Gentiles to come into the faith, as Jesus had said to the Samaritan
woman. And foremost in this ministry was the apostle Paul.
Luke 15:4
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that
which is lost, until he find it?
Luke
19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
1 Peter 2:25
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the
Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Christ will separate His sheep from the goats.
Matthew 25:31-34
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the
left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world:
False teachers are pictured as wolves and predators.
Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Luke 10:3
Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
Acts 20:29
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in
among you, not sparing the flock.
Serpents are viewed as wise; wolves are predators, often
representing false teachers. Doves picture gentleness, and a harmless
quality. Doves also represent the Spirit of God.
Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Israel is the lion's prey, but eventually becomes the lion.
Jeremiah 50:17
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the
king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon hath broken his bones.
Amos 3:12
Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the
lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be
taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus
in a couch.
Micah 5:8
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of
many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion
among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down,
and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
Jesus is the sacrificial lamb.
Genesis 22:6-8
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac
his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went
both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he
said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but
where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
offering: so they went both of them together.
Exodus 12:3-5
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day
of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to
the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his
neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the
souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the
lamb.
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall
take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he
is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Revelation 5:11-13
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of
their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
There are many other references to Christ as the Lamb in Revelation.
The scapegoat in the atonement ceremony.
Leviticus 16:9-10
And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and
offer him for a sin offering.
But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be
presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to
let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
The goat and the ram represent the Greek and Persian kingdoms in Daniel's prophecy.
Daniel 8:3-7
3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before
the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but
one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that
no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could
deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became
great.
5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on
the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat
had a notable horn between his eyes.
6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing
before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler
against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was
no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the
ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the
ram out of his hand.
In several prophecies, horses represent people with no
understanding. Also, carnally minded people.
Psalm 32:9
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding:
whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near
unto thee.
Ezekiel 38:14-16
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou
not know it?
And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and
many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company,
and a mighty army:
And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover
the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against
my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in
thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
Jeremiah 5:8
They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his
neighbour's wife.
Habakkuk 1:8
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce
than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves,
and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle
that hasteth to eat.
The ghastly plague described by Zechariah that affects the enemies
of God also affects horses and other animals. How could horses fight
against God? These horses are people without understanding. The plague
pictures their spiritual condition.
Zechariah 14:15
And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and
of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this
plague.
Camels were very numerous in the Midianite invasion of Israel in the
days of Gideon.
Judges
6:5
For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as
grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without
number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
Judges
7:12
Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were
lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were
without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
Camels suffer the plague in Zech. 14.
Zechariah 14:15
And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and
of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this
plague.
A camel may represent a rich person. They are often laden with goods.
Matthew
23:24
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Mark
10:25
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Cattle seem to represent people who are among the flock of God.
Ezekiel 34:20-22
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will
judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the
diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I
will judge between cattle and cattle.
They muddy the waters with their feet.
Ezekiel 34:18
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture,
but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and
to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with
your feet?
Zechariah
2:4
And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and
cattle therein:
Gentiles were referred to as dogs by Jesus!
Exodus 22:31
And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that
is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
Psalm 22:16
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed
me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Isaiah 56:10-11
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs,
they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are
shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every
one for his gain, from his quarter.
Jeremiah 15:3
And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to
slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts
of the earth, to devour and destroy.
Matthew 15:26-28
But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread,
and to cast it to dogs.
And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
from their masters' table.
Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be
it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from
that very hour.
Matthew 7:6
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls
before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again
and rend you.
2 Peter 2:22
But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is
turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her
wallowing in the mire.
In Numbers 13, the 12 spies Moses sent to survey the promised land reported that they felt like grasshoppers, compared to the big people they saw dwelling in the land.
In Judges 6 & 7, the enemies of Israel were compared to locusts
because they were so numerous, and innumerable.
Joel's prophecy in chapters 1 & 2 is based on a locust plague
that devastates the land. These locusts picture people who are exhorted
by the prophet to turn to Christ with all their heart; [Joel
2:12] and have evidently not yet received the Spirit that will be
poured out on all flesh. [Joel
2:28]
Fire burns before them, and behind
them: God's word is compared to a fire. The locusts
The land before them is like a garden of Eden: the promises of God, and God's rest for his saints, are represented by paradise.
Behind them is a desolate
wilderness: the woman in Revelation flees towards the
wilderness, and escapes the bondage of sin and the world; but the
locusts have the wilderness behind them. And, false interpretations
have changed the Gospel into a message of gloom.
They look like horses: Locusts have long heads like horses. The comparison to horses suggests they lack understanding.
They run like horsemen: They are guided by men rather than God.
They leap on mountains: They make claim of being God's people and claim the promises that pertain to the saints.
They make a noise like chariots, (a loud clattering sound). Because they don't understand the truth their arguments about the Bible are just noise.
They run on the wall: the wall separating those who are included in the holy city from those who are not.
They enter in at the windows like a thief: they need to enter through the door into the sheepfold, John 10:1.
They are not wounded by the sword:
the sword is the word of God. They resist it.
In Revelation 9, they wear crowns like gold; they look like horses;
they have tails like scorpions.
Locusts have long heads, that have a remarkable resemblance to the heads of horses.
Joel 2:4
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen,
so shall they run.
Revelation 9:7
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto
battle;
Scorpions represent cruel chastisement.
1 Kings 12:13-14
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's
counsel that they gave him;
And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father
made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also
chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
A gnat represents something small, or trivial.
Matthew
23:24
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Wolves represent predators, who destroy the sheep.
Ezekiel 22:27
Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to
shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
Zephaniah 3:3
Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening
wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
Lions are solitary hunters, with large teeth.
The apostle Peter compared the devil to a roaring lion.
The symbolism is as a predator.
Lions also represent majesty and power.
Proverbs 19:12
The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew
upon the grass.
Psalm 17:8-12
Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me
about.
They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes
bowing down to the earth;
Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion
lurking in secret places.
Zephaniah 3:3
Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening
wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the
tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and
to loose the seven seals thereof.
Isaiah 59:11
We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for
judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
Cleverness is attributed to snakes. Satan is identified with the
"old serpent."
Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Psalm 140:3
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is
under their lips. Selah.
The snake appears as a creature that is almost all tail!
Isaiah 9:15
The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that
teacheth lies, he is the tail.
Matthew 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his
baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you
to flee from the wrath to come?
Matthew 12:34
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 23:33
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation
of hell?
2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is
in Christ.
Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,
and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Ezekiel 13:4
O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
Herod was compared to a fox by Jesus.
Luke 13:32
And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out
devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall
be perfected.
People who are caught in the net, and come out of the world, and
believe the gospel, are represented by fish. There are good and bad.
Matthew 4:19
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Matthew 13:47-48
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the
sea, and gathered of every kind:
Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered
the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
Birds, like fish, may represent people who are "snared in an evil
time." They seem to be associated with chatter, or noise. In the
parable of the sower they represent the devil.
Proverbs
26:2
As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse
causeless shall not come.
Ecclesiastes
9:12
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an
evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the
sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Ecclesiastes
10:20
Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in
thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that
which hath wings shall tell the matter.
Jeremiah 15:3
And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to
slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts
of the earth, to devour and destroy.
Matthew 13:3-4,19
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower
went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up: ...When any one heareth the
word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not,
then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in
his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
In the flood story in Genesis, the two birds released by Noah, after the ark had became grounded on a mountain, become the focus of several verses. [Gen. 8:6-12]
Ravens are large black birds, and they are inquisitive, cunning, and bold. They form societies. Pliny noted their ability to learn to speak. They feature in many myths; one says that England will fall, if ever the ravens abandon the Tower of London. They were declared unfit to eat in Lev. 11:15.
Gene Stratton-Porter wrote:
Almost all Biblical mention of the raven was made in the shape of simile and metaphor, but these allusions served to drive home a point and make a thing well remembered, which was the reason they were used. They also grounded a feeling against the bird, just as similar things have prejudiced the unthinking against the owl and hawk. The raven is a curious bird, and at different epochs in the world has figured in much interesting history.
[Birds of the Bible, by Gene Stratton-Porter. New York, Eaton and
Mains. 1909. p. 406.]
http://www.archive.org/stream/birdso...stra00strarich
The raven was sent out from the ark by Noah, when the waters of the flood were retreating from the earth, and it "went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth." [Gen. 8:7]
Later, Noah sent out a dove.
Genesis 8:8-9
Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the
waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned
unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole
earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto
him into the ark.
The above verse mentions "rest," and other scriptures associate doves with "rest." Seven days later, Noah sent the dove out again:
Genesis 8:11
And
the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an
olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from
off the earth.
A dove with an olive branch in its mouth is a well-known symbol of peace.
The third time Noah sent out the dove, it did not return to him. [Gen. 8:12] Probably, Noah
expected it would.
In later scriptures ravens brought food for Elijah, to sustain him
during the three and a half years of famine in Israel.
1 Kings 17:4-6
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the
brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went
and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread
and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
Job asked, who provides food for ravens? [Job 38:41] The Psalmist
answered that it is God. [Psa. 147:9] Jesus also
mentioned that God feeds the ravens. [Luke 12:24]
Doves are connected with "rest" by David, who longed for "the wings of
a dove."
Psalm 55:6
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then
would I fly away, and be at rest.
Because of the sound of their call, doves are connected with mourning. [Isa. 59:11; Ezek. 7:16]
Species of the dove or pigeon family (Columbidae) are widely distributed in the earth, including oceanic islands. Isaiah pictured the saints as doves. Referring to the scripture below, Gene Stratton-Porter suggested that Isaiah referred to semi-domesticated pigeons, which were housed in cotes of clay with openings that appeared like small windows, to which the birds flocked like clouds, as they brought food for their young. [Ibid., p. 428]
Isaiah 60:8
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves
to their windows?
Hosea referred to doves as "silly," and "without heart." [Hos. 7:11-13]
When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he saw the holy Spirit descending on him "like a dove." [Mat. 3:16] Is this an allusion to the flood story? Perhaps the Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove is connected with the third release of the dove by Noah in the flood story.
Jesus told his disciples to be "harmless as doves." [Mat. 10:16]
Doves and pigeons produce "crop milk," which is a highly nutritious substance that they feed to their young.
Since the Holy Spirit is pictured by a dove, which contrasts with the raven in the flood story, perhaps the ravens represent other spirits. The three and a half years of famine in the days of Elijah, when he was fed by the ravens, is typical of the entire church age. Elijah's ministry pictures God's Spirit in the church age, when there is no further revelation, or "rain." The Holy Spirit is present with the church, but often remains hidden, as Elijah hid from Ahab and Jezebel.
I suggest the ravens may represent spirits other than the Holy Spirit, or in other words, delusions. One very common delusion says unbelievers suffer unending infernal torment, which is inconsistent with the harmless nature of a dove. Isaiah said God chooses the delusions of men.
Isaiah 66:4
I
also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them;
because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not
hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I
delighted not.
Eagles are noted for their powerful wings.
Exodus 19:4
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on
eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of
the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou
shalt not understand;
Deuteronomy 32:9-12
9 For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his
inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness;
he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his
eye.
11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young,
spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with
him.
Ornithologists say the statement in verse 11 is technically incorrect. If eagles carry their young, they bear them in their talons, not their wings. The scripture probably alludes to the metaphor of God bearing Israel on the wings of eagles.
2 Samuel 1:23
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their
death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were
stronger than lions.
Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk, and not faint.
Lamentations 4:19
Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued
us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
Matthew 24:28
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together.
Does Jesus mean that the 'carcase' represents his
saints, and the eagles that gather around it are those who
persecute His saints, as suggested by Lamentations 4:19?
The wings of eagles are symbolic of prophecy.
Revelation 12:14
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might
fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a
time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Isaiah 38:14
Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove:
mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake
for me.
Jeremiah 5:27
As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit:
therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
Ezekiel 39:4
Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,
and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous
birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Revelation 19:21
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the
horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were
filled with their flesh.
The righteous man is likened to a tree.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth
away.
Jeremiah 17:7-9
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD
is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth
out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her
leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it?
Trees planted by a river represent those who trust in God.
John the Baptist warned that trees bearing no fruit will be cut down.
Luke 3:9
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree
therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast
into the fire.
Luke 6:43
For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a
corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Jude 1:12
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you,
feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried
about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead,
plucked up by the roots;
Trees represent nations here; the twigs and branches are
individuals.
Ezekiel 17:1-6
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of
Israel;
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings,
longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto
Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land
of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful
field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose
branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it
became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
Daniel 4:20-26
20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height
reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was
meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose
branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy
greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the
end of the earth.
23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from
heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the
stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and
brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew
of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till
seven times pass over him;
24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the
most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
25That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with
the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen,
and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall
pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy
kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that
the heavens do rule.
Israel is called a vine.
Joel 1:7
He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it
clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
Joel 1:12
The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate
tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the
field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
John 15:1
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing.
Luke 21
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the
trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that
summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that
the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all
be fulfilled.
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Jeremiah 11:16
The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly
fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it,
and the branches of it are broken.
Hosea 14:5-6
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast
forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree,
and his smell as Lebanon.
Zechariah 4:10-14
10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall
rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those
seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the
whole earth.
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees
upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive
branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of
themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I
said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the
LORD of the whole earth.
Romans 11:16-25
16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the
root be holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild
olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the
root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not
the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be
grafted in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by
faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also
spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which
fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his
goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted
in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature,
and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much
more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their
own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in
part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in.
Revelation 11:4
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before
the God of the earth.
The wicked are likened to the "green bay tree."
Psalms 37:35
Ezekiel 17:24
And all the trees of
the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree,
have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made
the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
Ezekiel 31:14
14 To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves
for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs,
neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for
they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in
the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
Grass represents the masses of humanity. "The grass withers, the flower fades...surely the people is grass." Isaiah 40:7
Matthew 9:37,38
The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his
harvest.
Matthew
13:38-40
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the
world; and the reapers are the angels.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it
be in the end of this world.
http://www.revelation-today.com/A1Bible%20Symbols.htm
Birds
of the Bible by Gene Stratton-Porter
Copyright © 2001 by Douglas E. Cox
All Rights Reserved.