Logos ReBible University with: Bishop Dr. H.D. Haywood, Sr.

There are four levels of Biblical understanding are actually dimensions of meaning or interpretation. These dimensions as seen in the New Testament are the measurements of BREADTH, LENGTH, DEPTH, and HEIGHT

- literal, simple - BREADTH 

- parable, allegory - LENGTH

- seek, search - DEPTH 

- inner, mystical - HEIGHT

 Ephesians 3:17-19 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. In verse 18, the word comprehend [G2638/ G2596/ G2983] means to find, obtain, or perceive " down " in opposition, position or intensity. It's to seek, search out, look at, and obtain what is beneath the surface of the scriptures, as in the iceberg. The apostle Paul was encouraging every one of us to come to know by seeking out for our own possession, what is the breadth, length, depth, and height. He was encouraging us to take the journey into Pardes! We see these four dimensions being used by Jesus Christ during his Ministry. In Pshat (literal), it's interesting that he never used this level to teach the masses. He only expressed literal interpretation of the scriptures when addressing the Pharisees. In Remez (parable, allegory), this is the level he used to begin teaching the masses. In Derasha (seek, search), from among the masses, he chose his 12 apostles to reveal to them the deeper understanding of the parable or allegory. In Sod (inner mystical), he chose 3 from among his apostles, and revealed to them the inner mystical truth of himself on the Mount of Transfiguration. Likewise, to this day, the Holy Spirit is teaching us and leading us in the same manner! THE JOURNEY Each letter in the acronym is a new dimension of Biblical understanding of the scriptures, however, exploration into all four dimensions leads to direct, face to face communion with the presence of God, Himself  

 as was experienced in the first Paradise, the Garden of Eden! Old Testament and New Testament Champions of the Quest (seekers) understand from the beginning this journey is much, much more than just a journey into knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Anyone can get knowledge........ It is, in fact, a journey into a relationship , or should it be said, return to a relationship. After the fall and before Jesus Christ, God our Father introduced the Tabernacle and the Temple to his people as the center, or meeting place for their relationship. However, only one person, the High Priest, was allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies, and that only once per year for the sins of the people. This artificial relationship was very imperfect and did not please God at all. What he wanted was not sacrifice for sin, but rather a personal relationship with every single individual, as in Paradise, the Garden of Eden! In Jesus Christ, his son, this relationship has been restored as it originally existed in the Garden (see our article on The Garden , with evidence that the Temple was indeed the prototype of the Garden of Eden!). The experience of that relationship is the treasure, the prize of the high calling..... Phillipians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The ultimate of that relationship is also what is called the "face to face" relationship..... I Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. There are many religious even today, as the Pharisees in Jesus' day, who object to the seeking of a deeper understanding of truth in the scriptures. They perceive there is only one understanding, therefore, hindering the progression of others. Obviously,  

 which is the definition of the Greek word for LENGTH (G3372/G3173), in Ephesians 3:18. The word parable in the New Testament is a symbol, or fictitious narrative to be used as a comparison. The purpose of speaking in parables, or symbols, was to get the people to think ! It is the first step into the journey beneath what is literal. Parables are our first lessons in symbolism, and teaches us to make comparisons! These comparisons exercise the mind to think. What it does is take something spiritual, and frames it in a literal story. What the people must do is think about what is literal, then convert it to its spiritual counterpart. This comparison thinking then opens up the mind to allegory, which is the next step on this level of understanding. Allegory is a little different than parable. Where parable takes what is spiritual and makes it literal, allegory takes what is literal and makes it spiritual! We see allegory at work where the apostle Paul said..... Galatians 4:22-26 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. In the above allegory, God took literal events and characters such as Abraham and Agar, and used those literal persons and literal events to represent a spiritual understanding that is not literal! Therefore, would it then be wrong to say that the literal Isaac and Ishmael actually represent two covenants, and that the literal Jerusalem represents the mother of us all?  

 Which interpretation is correct? The answer is that both are correct, the one story, although different, does not cancel out the other, but rather expands the other! And, the greatest of all allegories to understand are these........ Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: What this is saying is that absolutely everything that is physical (literal) can be used to understand what is spiritual, even God's eternal power and Godhead!!! That is a very big statement, because everything physical would include the study of Mathematics, Science, Physics, Biology, Psychology, Sociology, Geography, Astronomy, Architecture, Art, Engineering, and on, and on, and on...... The study of all of these different aspects of what is "literal" and using them to understand what is spiritual is a great, great task, and brings balance to both mind and spirit! When one begins to look at a sunset, or a painting, or a mathematical equation, or the human mind, and understand its spiritual implication, it deepens the relationship one has with 3 the Father, and all of a sudden, everything becomes filled with the expression of God! This truth deepens one's relationship with God by expanding one's vision, and to expand one's vision regarding comparisons is also to learn spiritual discernment. Thus far, we have comprehended the Breadth, and now the Length, but the end of it is not yet. We are encouraged to move on even further into comprehension of what is the Depth......... D Derasha ~ Depth to seek, to search, to explore Now that one has matured and expanded one's mind (in Remez) to understand the principles of parable and allegory, and is able to discern what is literal, what is spiritual, what is parable, and what is  

 allegory, he is now mature enough to further expand his horizons. The purpose of this level is to..... seek and search out the deep and profound mysteries which is the definition of the Greek word for DEPTH (G899/G901/G939), in Ephesians 3:18, and whose numeric value is 282, this Ministry's most favorite mystical number! This level of understanding of the scriptures is where most people who are unschooled start to get nervous, because it ventures into realms that are not literal, not parable, and not allegory. It goes even deeper than that. It's peering into the very core and nature of the individual words of the Bible by going back into the original languages, and other texts for the purpose of discovering and understanding intent and ideas. It is not enough to read the Bible literally (first dimension) or allegorically (second dimension). We are challenged to search out the fullest intent of the divine Word of God. (Does the word "intent" sound familiar? Think of Florida and chads!). In addition to seeking and searching out intent, we are also seeking and searching out ideas ! One example of many examples is the study of Jewish Mysticism, which starts out by teaching us that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are not just letters, but actually living, creative powers ! (Read the Jewish Book of Formation, Sefer Yetzirah and the...... 32 Paths of Wisdom, ), which also opens the door to the numeric cyphering of Biblical words. This level of study is not limited to just Jewish Mysticism, there are many, many other tools, texts, and disciplines we have at our disposal as well. Many Christians are afraid to look at other texts other than the Bible, because they have been taught it is wrong, and taught that no other text is inspired. While it is true that this level of understanding is only  

 for the spiritually mature (in Judaism it's only for those over 40 years of age), it is a great error in discernment to suggest that one should "never" study other avenues of thought. Because of the statement in Romans 1:20, above (in Remez), all texts are inspired if what you are looking for in them, is God ! We are not to be afraid of reading or studying other texts. We are supposed to have developed in Pshat and Remez, the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to look at any text, and perceive what is or isn't! That is the freedom that comes with maturity. Many do not attain to this level, because the study is very intense, and many just do not have the desire, focus, or stamina to do it. They would rather "keep it simple," which is perfectly okay to do, if that is what satisfies. However, for Champions of the Quest, keeping it simple is just not in the vocabulary! Many may say to themselves, "Why does anyone want to look so deeply into the scriptures?" Only a Derasha level seeker could answer that question - Why? because we have to. It's a love and passion! It's like the old question, "Why does anyone want to climb a mountain or go into outer space?" The answer always comes back, "Because it's there!" It's in our nature to explore. Likewise, many of us are seekers and Champions of the Quest. It is more than just wanting to know, it is wanting to experience that relationship. There are some who have added yet another, separate level of understanding between this one and Sod, called GEMATRIA, but this Ministry feels that numeric cyphering is also a part of this level in Derasha. You can judge for yourself! As was said in the beginning, within each level are many levels that melt and blend into one another as they move from one level to the next. There are no set boundaries that say, this understanding belongs here in this level, or that understanding  

 belongs there in that level. This now leads us to the final level of understanding the scriptures. Thus far, we've comprehended the Breadth, the Length, and the Depth. Now it's time to move on to the Height........ S Sod ~ Height inner, mystical This level of understanding is what this Ministry calls the Eighth Day Assembly, our namesake (see article on the, Eighth Day Sabbath ), which incorporates internalization of scripture! The purpose of this level is to........ cross over, lift up, elevate to the sky which is the definition of the Greek word for HEIGHT (G5311/G5228), in Ephesians 3:18. There are many who believe that the Eighth Day speaks of a future time in the millennium. This Ministry does not. We believe this level of understanding can be experienced today, in the here and now, on a daily basis! It is a day that began at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and will continue until the final consummation . Please read the following text taken from our article on the Eighth Day Sabbath ........ "Thus, the enclosure of the Eighth Day speaks of the revelation revealed only through intimacy and usually of a private nature. In this intimacy, what is revealed is not the revelation of the natural world, but rather the revelation of the world to come. Therefore, the Eighth Day is very special unto God. It symbolizes one's removal from the ways, struggles, and doctrines of the material world, and encloses one into the intimacy and protection of the bride chamber prepared by Christ Himself where the Bride and the Bridegroom experience the 'face-to-face' relationship, above the earthly realm.