"That which has been is what will be... that which is done is what will be done..." (Ecc. 1:9).

God reveals Himself, His character and even His plans in parallels.  Always the same pattern of parallels.  Let me assert that a surface reading of the scriptures will provide all the knowledge you may need or desire, but don't you want to explore deeper?  The idea of studying the scriptures and looking for parallels is not new at all.  It just isn't taught much in the modern Christian church.

 

The Jews understood parallels.  They composed their poetry using parallels.  Psalm 119: "...Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  God's nature is revealed by better understanding that the Holy Spirit is named the Paraclete.  The Greek word paraclete is often translated as "Comforter."  But the literal translation is "One who is called along side... or walks beside (or parallel).  Our Lord Jesus taught in parables which are stories with parallel meanings.  In other words you have the surface text of the story, but it has a subsurface parallel that has a deeper, richer import.

 

When we consider bible parallels, some come instantly to mind.

First Adam / Second Adam

Creation / New Creation

Born / Born again

First coming of Christ / Second coming of Christ

Jerusalem / New Jerusalem (and on and on)

Some parallels are readily apparent.  Some have to be searched out.  Some can't even be found until you translate the original language.  Let me illustrate.  KJV Genesis 6:14  says..."Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."  The Hebrew word for pitch used the first time in that verse is kaphar which literally translated means to cover, or make atonement.  The second time the word pitch is used it is kopher which literally means price of a life, or ransom.  Both words are related to kapporeth which means lid of the ark, or mercy seat.  I learned that by listening to Adrian Rogers who was president of the Southern Baptist Convention years ago.

Nearly every book in the Old Testament has God's imprint on the New Testament by way of a parallel... like hidden seams of gold that can be dug out.  These parallels foretell of future people and events.  The Genesis story of Joseph parallels the life of Christ.  The book of Ruth gives us a foretaste of the kinsman redeemer.  You'll no doubt see other parallels in the Song of Solomon, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and in many other places.

Allow me to speculate on the book of Esther with the expectation of discovering a parallel that didn't come to light until the last seventy years, or so.  I'm not the first one to see this by a long shot.  This is the parallel between Haman's ten sons in the Purim story and the Nuremberg trials following World War II.  In 1946, ten Nazi war criminals were hung for their horrific crimes.  In the Purim story, the Talmud claims that Haman's daughter committed suicide rather than being dragged off to be hung with her brothers.  Herman Goring also committed suicide rather than being hung before his scheduled execution.  Thus the number of Nazis who were actually hung was ten... the same number as Haman's sons.  One of the Nazi defendants even proclaimed these words... "Purim fest 1946."

The uncanny parallel to the story of Esther doesn't end there.  Since the trial was conducted by a military tribunal, the sentence should have been by firing squad, or the electric chair as practiced in the U.S.  However, the court prescribed hanging, exactly as in Esther's request.  While I am purposely skimming over some other parallel events, let me relate this next one.

If you read the Purim story in the Megillat Hebrew version, you will find that 4 Hebrew letters are different from the way they should appear.  This is in the Megillat Esther story where the ten sons of Haman are mentioned.  Jewish sages have taught that whenever there is a variation of a letter, or spelling of a word in the text, then God must have a specific meaning.  Thus the four Hebrew letters were examined and made to represent numbers (which is common in Hebrew).  The four letters became 5-7-0-7.  Incidentally, on the Jewish callendar the year 5707 was the year 10 Nazi war criminals were hung.  The year 5707 was 1946.  "That which has been is what will be." (source unitedwithisrael.org)

Now lets take a look at the Hebrew word for parallel.  It is "moshel."  Strangely, moshel is related to empire and dominion according to Strong's Concordance.  On a personal note, I first became fascinated by bible parallels (and antiparallels a term used in geometry to decribe parallel lines that run in opposite directions) by examining the statue in Daniel.  You know the one.  Head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly of brass, legs of iron, feet of clay mixed with iron.  Each successive component represents a different empire.  The antiparallel to the evil empires represented by the statue in Daniel would have to have its reverse image in the New Testament by my way of thinking.  I find it in the body of Christ with Christ as the head which is followed in succession by the other parts in the same order as a baby is born into the world.  The last part to be born is the feet.  I thus concluded that the end-time church was the feet of the body of Christ.

Having arrived at the personal conclusion that the end-time church was also the feet of the body of Christ, I looked at the first time a foot appeared in the bible.  I wrote my observation in "The Two Feet of the Body of Christ."

Genesis 3:15 says that Satan will bruise the heel of the woman's seed.  Bible commentators have always said this refers to the crucifixion.  I agree.  But I also assert that the bible doesn't make mistakes and the term used in Genesis is singular not plural.  Whereas Jesus's feet were pierced, my perception was that Satan would only bruise one heel.  One heel.  I pondered that.  Might this be a veiled reference to Satan persecuting one of the two feet ...which is a representation of the end-time church?  One foot having been taken away in the rapture, leaving another foot or part of the church to be persecuted?  Well, that's certainly the conclusion I arrived at. 

However, doesn't the bible also say in 1 Thessalonians that we are not appointed to (God's) wrath?  I can see where part of the church would have to endure Satan's persecution, but not God's wrath when He pours out the bowls of His wrath beginning somewhere around the middle of the tribulation.  Would that mean that there is a second rapture?  Only if there are two pictures or parallels depicting two raptures in the bible. And there are!  We have the Old Testament rapture of Enoch who was taken on an ordinary day.  We also have Elijah who was taken after about three years of persecution.

I explain this more fully in The Two Feet of the Body of Christ.  You can choose to throw out all of my conclusions.  You can believe there is only one rapture and I won't be offended.  But I can't be shaken.  God over and over again uses parallels to reveal Himself, His character and His plans.  We see the patterns... His patterns... in the parallel lines drawn in dozens, perhaps hundreds of places. I conclude by again repeating Ecclesiastes 1:9... "That which has been is what will be... that which is done is what will be done."

YBIC

Bruce Baber