It’s clearly defined and easily treated: nearsightedness (myopia) is a common vision condition in which near objects appear clear, but objects farther away look blurry. It occurs when the shape of the eye, or the shape of certain parts of the eye, causes light rays to bend (refract) inaccurately. (1)
My eyes have gone through several modes of correcting myopia: glasses, then contact lenses, then Lasik surgery and back to glasses. In a figurative sense: one may see, which is to understand or perceive, present situations – “near objects appear clear” and not understand the near or distant future because “objects farther away look blurry. Light, the photomagnetic energy that allows the eye to function, is symbolic of Truth in the Scriptures. Without light there is no vision, and the eye remains a brilliant idea only!
Light is the first thing God expressed when He said, “Let there be light”and there was light” (ref Genesis 1:3). He made the sun, moon, and stars on day four (ref Genesis 1:14). So, what was the nature of the Light on day one? Humm!
If the Bible is seen only as a history book, or culture literature, that’s all that it will be to the reader. But, if one can see (emphasis supplied) with the eyes of faith, not based on the reflections of photons, but on the symbolic meaning of the image, then one will begin to see with the eyes that Moses, the prophets, Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church Fathers saw with. This is the same understanding that Apostle Michael Petro teaches with, referred to as the apostolic language. It is the symbolic way in which all of Scripture must be seen. The Apostle Paul describes his Jewish pedigree (ref Philippians 3:5) prior to getting his spiritual myopia healed. Meaning, he had a different way of interpreting the Scriptures, which is how it was meant to be.
Prior to his awakening, Paul’s myopia was clearly diagnosed by Moses, the Prophet Isaiah and Jesus. The intention of God was that the entire nation of Israel would be a “Kingdom of priests and a Holy nation” (ref Exodus 19:6). It was Moses and the priest who had the ability to understand the deeper things of the Scriptures. Even with all the amazing ways in which God demonstrated His power, they (the nation) did not get their myopia fixed.
“Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day”
Deuteronomy 29:4
Their hearing was off as well! Isaiah, one of the major prophets of the Bible, had to re-learn how to understand or see the Scriptures. Isaiah had the same diagnosis – myopia! After he had his vision fixed, he was given instructions to give to the people.
“And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”
Isaiah 6:9 [emphasis added]
This ‘eye problem’ extended all the way into the time of Jesus. His apostles asked Him one day why He only spoke in parables (figurative or symbolic speech) and Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah (the prophets understand God’s language of symbolism):
“FOR THE HEARTS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE GROWN DULL. THEIR EARS ARE HARD OF HEARING, AND THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED, LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, LEST THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN, SO THAT I SHOULD HEAL THEM”
Matthew 13:15
It appears that the collective eyesight has worsened. It was far beyond blurry because of the distance. From the time of Moses to Jesus (1,500 years) they had closed their eyes, which was beyond myopia; they were/are spiritually blind! And if that blindness and deafness remains, their hearts cannot be healed according to the “great Physician” Jesus (ref Matthew 13:15).
He just doesn’t make the diagnosis, Jesus is the ultimate Ophthalmologist! He offers the medicine for the spiritual myopia and says, “Anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see” (Revelation 3:18). The question is what is this eye salve? How does it work? Where can one find this medicine? Who is licensed to dispense it?
Answer: only a ‘true apostle’ (ref Revelation 2:5); those who understand and teach the deeper things of Scripture! The Apostle Paul teaches that the nature of God can be clearly seen, symbolically, “being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20); that is, if we “anoint our eyes with eye salve.”
Here is a glimpse at what the Early Church understood on interpreting the Scriptures:
“Then it was not suitable for all to understand, so that they might not receive harm in consequence of taking in another sense the things declared for salvation by the Holy Spirit. Wherefore the holy mysteries of the prophecies are veiled in the parables-preserved for chosen men, selected to knowledge in consequence of their faith; for the style of the Scriptures is parabolic”. (2)
Clement, Stromata Book 6 Ch. XV, Vol. 7
God said, “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old” (Psalm 78:2). That is exactly what Jesus did: “But without a parable He did not speak to them” (Mark 4:34), for those who are dying to understand or see the myopia can be healed, and He will explain “all things to His disciples” (Mark 4:34).
If you have physical myopia the fix is easy: glasses, contacts or even surgery. If you have spiritual myopia the only cure is to “anoint your eyes with eye salve” from the Great Physician. The Early Church Father Ignatius, disciple of John the Apostle of Jesus, said,
“The ointment is His name. The name is His doctrine. So, to do anything in His name it’s to do it according to His doctrine, the Mysteries of the Kingdom” (3).
Ignatius – Epistle to the Ephesians
It’s the only way to see what is coming! Until next time, blessings!
Dr Roni.
References:
- Myopia: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiQ37_7juz9AhXnJUQIHXKHCrUQFnoECBEQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mayoclinic.org%2Fdiseases-conditions%2Fnearsightedness%2Fsymptoms-causes%2Fsyc-20375556&usg=AOvVaw0ImWP7IGs8KWbVFqk1aqlJ
- Clement, Stromata Book 6 Ch. XV, Vol. 7
- Ignatius – Epistle to the Ephesians
- All Scripture references: New King James Version