Seals, Scrolls, and Wrath
Excursus on the Three Senses of Scripture
- Literal – Straightforward reading of the text.
- Ex: The outside writing on the scroll, the man Jesus
- Allegorical – Heavenly meaning veiled in the literal
- Ex: The inside writing of the scroll, the God-Man the (contains both the physical (literal) and the unseen (spiritual)
- Moral – What are we to do with this revelation?
- Ex: Paul's obedience to the revelation of Jesus Christ to be an Apostle - "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26.19); contrast with Jonah
Tools of Interpretation: Scripture and Tradition
- Analogia Fidei (or "Analogy of Faith"): Scripture interprets Scripture
- New is Old revealed; Old is New concealed
- "This grace hid itself under a veil in the Old Testament, but it has been revealed in the New Testament according to the most perfectly ordered dispensation of the ages, forasmuch as God knew how to dispose all things." - Saint Augustine
- Working Principle: Scripture is not divided. One part illumines other parts since all parts have God as its source; contrast to a mere academic approach that divides book based on different authors
- Scripture testifies to Tradition: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." – 2 Peter 1.20-21
- "Holy men" (literally ἁγίου ἄνθρωποι) can be interpreted simply as "saints"
- ἅγιος – adjective often used as a noun that can be translated "holy ones" or "saints"
- God is Holy and the source of all holiness; people considered holy, or of God, have a place of authority and deference in the Church in terms of practice and teaching
