Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
In this case it is the Lord Jesus who is allegorizing Jonah, and there are definite limits to that allegory. Even though the Lord said he was a "greater Jonah," that only refers to his time spent in the heart of the earth, and we should not allegorize that Jesus was crucified "running away from Jehovah" as Jonah had done.
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Hello again dear ones, beloved of God,
Dear brother Nigel’s
Magnum Opus has brought me back from my “self-imposed retirement”. I have a lot to say about what has taken place during the time since I last posted here, but that is a topic for another thread, probably my personal blog.
This latest work by Nigel definitely cuts much deeper into the heart of Living Stream Ministry’s false claims to superiority than any of his previous works. After reading this article and all of the footnotes, all I can say is: “Well done, dear brother Nigel, well done indeed.”
I believe it is
extremely important to read and fully understand the portion of Nigel’s article entitled “Some Caveats” (this portion can be found right after the portions which discuss the Reformers' rejection of allegorizing). Nigel is being very careful and precise in his analysis of the use of allegorizing by Witness Lee and the Blended Brothers. Nigel is not saying that portions of the Scripture which were written as allegories (such as Song of Songs) should not be interpreted allegorically. And he is not saying that the New Testament fulfillment of Old Testament types should not be taught. What Nigel objects to is the many cases of unwarranted, and at times very arbitrary, usage of allegory employed by Witness Lee and the Blending Brothers, a usage of allegory which led the many to be dependent upon the one “Allegorizer of the Age”, and which tragically led to fleshly, unscriptural, and abusive treatment of fellow Christians.
Having said that, dear brother Ohio, I think we need to see Jonah’s three days and three nights in the belly of the big fish as a
type of Jesus Christ’s three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. To keep things clear, it would be best to say that Jesus was applying the
type of Jonah’s three days and three nights in the belly of the big fish to His upcoming three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, rather than saying that Jesus was “allegorizing Jonah”. Jesus was taking a literal Old Testament event and pointing toward this event’s New Testament fulfillment. This is
exactly what typology is all about. This was not a case of Jesus allegorizing. I hope you do not see this as “nit-picking”, dear brother in Christ. I do believe this is an important distinction to make.
I hope this helps make things clearer to you, dear brother Leomon. We want to be fair in our critique of Witness Lee, Living Stream Ministry, and the Local Churches. The speaking you heard about Jonah was actually a very valid example of applying typology. (By the way - if the term “type” or “typology” are confusing to you, use the words “symbol” or “symbolism” or "foreshadowing" instead. It may help you to think of Jonah’s three days and three nights in the belly of the big fish as a "symbol" or a "foreshadowing" of Jesus’ three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. That may help you. Of course, if you hang out around here long enough, you will get used to our language!)
Finding Old Testament types and applying them to their New Testament fulfillment is not that hard. Bible Teachers from all branches of Christianity include examples of typology in their teaching. When an Old Testament type fits, it fits perfectly. Invalid uses of typology can easily be spotted because at least one important aspect of the original literal object or event does not fit the New Testament fulfillment. As dear brother Ohio pointed out, we can say that Jonah’s time in the belly of the big fish is a type of Jesus’ time in the heart of the earth, but we cannot say that Jonah’s ministry is a type of Jesus’ ministry because at least two details of Jonah’s ministry were not fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry. First of all, Jesus did not run away when God sent Him; rather, Jesus was always obedient to the Father. Secondly, Jesus did not get angry when the people he preached to actually repented! I hope this helps, dear brother Leomon.
Much grace to you all.