Infinitely One)

Here at the end of this series I must acknowledge that I haven’t even scratched the surface of symbols in the Bible. There are so many different symbols, found in the parables, in the actions of everyday people, in the dreams, in the prophecies, in the patterns, and in the static images. I’ve known all along that this study would never be complete, that I could not cover all of the relevant material, that at some point I would just have to call it good enough and bring it to an end. It would be impossible to ever make a full assessment of what all the symbols are and what they stand for.

Yet for all this infinite variety of symbolism, it is at the same time entirely singular as well. Every basic symbol points to something higher, and every higher symbol points to something higher still. Together they form a great upward rising column, narrowing and converging as they ascend, until they point to the one: God, Himself. All of the symbolism in the Bible is meant to funnel our attention to Him.

As another book of scripture states:

The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.
-Alma 30:44

Throughout this series I have been trying to identify the key qualities of good symbols in the scriptures. I have mentioned that they connect to something fundamental in the human experience, that they repeated play out in our collective lives, and that they can stand for multiple things at once, even polar opposites. All of these are good hallmarks, but the most important of them all is this quality that was identified just above: that they point us upwards, ultimately leading us back to the Creator. We know that we are recognizing a good symbol when it is bringing us to our Father.

One Last Symbol)

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge one final great trick in all this symbolism. Remember what I said: that all of these infinite symbols point upward, ascending together as a column, combining in one that is God. Thus, God is the INFINITE…ONE. And once we start talking cosmic paradoxes like that, we should immediately realize that we are talking, once again, about a symbol.

God is Himself…a symbol.

He is the condensed, singular representation of the infinity that is also Him. He is the circle that is one, finite line, which circumscribes infinite angles. He is the recursive loop that is both self-terminating and also never-ending. He is the word that is used to define all other words and thus requires all other words to define itself.

It is God who shows us symbols, and those symbols are there to show us God, and that cyclical pattern is itself a symbol that God is showing us and that is also showing us God.

Symbols are much, much more than amusing, little mysteries. They are nuggets of eternity. They are part of a system that defies our capability to fully comprehend. We may extract from them what we can, and as we do, they in turn extract from us our spiritual transcendence.