What Is A Parable?
The English dictionary defines a parable:
- a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
- a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.
The Spanish dictionary goes deeper, defining a parábola:
- Narración de un suceso inventado de la que se saca una enseñanza moral:
parábola del hijo pródigo. (Narration of an invented event from which a moral teaching is taken out: parable of the prodigal son.) - Curva abierta simétrica respecto de un eje, con un solo foco y que resulta de cortar un cono circular recto por un plano paralelo a una de sus generatrices. (Symmetric open curve with respect to an axis, with a single focus and that results from cutting a straight circular cone by a plane parallel to one of its generatrices.)
In the aerospace business where I worked in the 1970s, we used parabolic radar antenna dishes to bring the reflected radiation transmitted by our radar systems to a focal point for maximum-gain signal strength. Our aircraft radar systems enabled us to ‘hear’ and ‘see’ what was miles ahead of our aircraft, even on the darkest night.
The Purpose of the Parables
10 The disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered them, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For to him who has, will more be given, and he will have abundance. But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables:
‘Because they look, but do not see.
And they listen, but they do not hear, neither do they understand.’[Dt 29:4; Isa 42:19–20; Jer 5:21; Eze 12:2.]
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says:
‘By hearing, you will hear and shall not understand,
and seeing, you will see and shall not perceive;[Isa 6:9]
15 for this people’s heart has grown dull.
Their ears have become hard of hearing,
and they have closed their eyes,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts,
and turn, and I should heal them.’[Isa 6:10; Ps 119:70; Zec 7:11]
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.
Historical Backdrop
Israel was birthed in Gerar, Gaza in 2066 BC. Over the centuries, the Hebrew people had their spiritual ups and downs, behaviors that resulted in dispersions to distant lands and spiritual revivals that brought them home to the promised land. Learn important dates from History of Jews in the Middle East.
Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, was renamed Israel by God.
The Hebrew people were dispersed to distant places, but in 1948, the nation of Israel was reborn as a sovereign state. The Hebrew people adopted the languages of their resident countries, but today, ancient Hebrew is the official language of the citizens of Israel.
Looking Up?
It was said that the Arecibo telescope was built to study the ionosphere. Evidence indicates its purpose was to connect with alien civilizations. Many people have long desired to discover “intelligent life” in the universe. The TV shows My Favorite Martian, Mork & Mindy, Lost In Space, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek preserved this desire. Likewise, movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Armageddon, and WALL-E enticed many people to believe there is life in the far reaches of the Milky Way galaxy and beyond.
RELATED: NASA Is Taking a New Look at Searching for Life Beyond Earth
Good News
Good news for those wanting to contact intelligent life beyond the edge of the known universe: It’s actually there, and you can connect with it in your native language. In August 1974, without technology, I had a personal encounter with extraterrestrial intelligent life.
Was I dreaming? Was my mind playing tricks on me? No, the encounter was real, and it changed me forever. Has any other person had such a DOCUMENTED experience?
Three thousand Jews from various countries and other languages were changed in a moment of time, as documented in Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 40. A Christ-hating Pharisee’s supernatural experience is well documented in Acts chapter 9, verses 1-19. Not least of all, there was a hard-working, sea-going fisherman to whom God revealed himself. Paul’s story about his personal, supernatural revelation that Jesus was the Son of God is documented in Matthew, chapter 16, verses 13-20.
Jesus spoke the above scripture in 28 AD.
Most people are either disinterested in spiritual matters or enamored by unholy spiritual attractions. This is true of all people groups and nations on all continents of the Earth.
Folks of my advanced age may remember record producer, recording artist, and Grammy and Dove Award-winning songwriter Gary S. Paxton. He wrote a song to share his personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
This is not the end of times. Jesus is patient with us because He does not want any to perish but all to repent.
Are you prepared for the war to end all wars on Earth? The whole world is in turmoil, and the imminent threat of a nuclear holocaust appears to be ever more real to us.
Join us at Lakepointe Church. There are convenient satellite facilities around the country. My campus is in Rockwall, Texas, the “mother ship” I call it. My family and I attend worship and Bible study on Saturday evenings at the Rockwall Campus.
Lakepointe Church engages in making disciples of Jesus Christ, as commanded in Matthew 28:16-20.
The first step in the Great Commission is worship. That is our first step. We start each Saturday evening and Sunday morning congregations with worship.
Current Events
Jesus’ parables, his stories, were for the people eager to hear from God.
Jesus spoke the above scripture in 28 AD.
In 2024 AD, are your ears open to hearing, eyes open to seeing, and heart understanding the signs of the times?
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 