Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the New International Version ( NIV ). Mark 8:22-26 read as follows: "They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 'Do you see anything?' He looked up and said, 'I see people; they look like trees walking around.' Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, 'Don't go into the village.'" What can we learn from this passage in the Holy Bible?
After Jesus spat on the blind man's eyes and initially touched them, He asked the man if he saw anything. The man said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." What is the spiritual meaning of this statement?
When we consider that the man was initially blind, such blindness spiritually represents unbelief. The apostle Paul ( see 2 Corinthians 1:1 ) recorded the following in 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4: "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." The phrase "the god of this age," in 2 Corinthians 4:4, is a reference to the devil ( see Ephesians 2:2; 6:11, 12, and Revelation 12:9, for example ). [ See also: HOLMAN BIBLE DICTIONARY, BUTLER, TRENT C., Ph.D., HOLMAN BIBLE PUBLISHERS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, Copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers, p. 359. ]
The devil blinds the minds of unbelievers. However, the spiritual meaning of the statement, made by the man who was initially blind, is that he was beginning to see something of a spiritual nature. Specifically, the statement made by this man would be a reference to animism.
The word "animism" is defined as follows: "The term 'animism' comes from the Latin word anima, which means 'soul' or 'breath.' As such, it refers to that which empowers or gives life to something. It follows, then, that animism is the religion that sees the physical world as interpenetrated by spiritual forces-both personal and impersonal-to the extent that objects carry spiritual significance and events have spiritual causes." [ See THE COMPACT GUIDE TO WORLD RELIGIONS, Halverson, Dean C., BETHANY HOUSE PUBLISHERS, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55438, Copyright 1996, International Students, Inc., p. 37. ]
Thus, without providing a detailed explanation of why animism is false religion at this point ( though that would be a good subject for a future posting to this weblog ), a basic consideration will show why. Namely, why would anyone attribute the characteristics of soul or breath to an inanimate object, like a tree? That is exactly what the man, who was initially blind, did.
One lesson we learn from this man's statement is that, when people leave their sinful state of unbelief ( see Mark 16:16, Hebrews 3:12, and 1 John 3:4 ( KJV, for example ), for example ), they may initially turn to animism, or some other false religion which involves some belief in gods or God ( though such false religions do not teach what the Holy Bible teaches concerning God, as the one, true God - see Jeremiah 10:10 and John 17:1-5 ( especially verse 3, for example ), for example ). A second observation, regarding this man's contact with Jesus, is that He had to touch the man's eyes a second time, in order for him to see clearly. The lesson to be learned here is that repeated contact with Jesus is necessary to escape the error of false religion ( cf. John 8:31, 32, Romans 3:25, 2 Timothy 2:24-26, James 1:27, and 1 John 1:1-2:2; 4:6, for example ) and, thus, the lack occurring in this situation is not to be associated with Jesus: it is to be associated with the man, who was initially blind.
How do we have contact with Jesus today, since He is now in heaven ( see Matthew 5:9, 16; 6:9, Acts 1:1-9 ( especially verse 9, for example ); 2:32, 33, for example )? Jesus' word is God, the Father's word ( the Holy Bible - see Psalm 119:65-72, 142, 151, Matthew 1:16; 16:16, John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:17, Romans 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, Titus 1:1, 2, and 1 John 5:6-8, for example ). In order to see Jesus ( the truth - recall John 14:6 ) clearly, we must repeatedly study the Holy Bible ( see Mark 16:20, John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Peter 1:10, 20, and 21, and recall 1 John 5:6, for example ). Therefore, we have contact with Jesus, in a figurative sense, when we study the Holy Bible.
If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
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