“For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert…” Is.35.6 ESV
Are these words above to be taken as a poetic description of a spiritual reality or should we understand that when Christ returns waters will literally spring forth in the wilderness. These words of Isaiah’s prophecy were certainly applied to the first coming of Jesus by the writers of the New Testament. I guess in that sense, we should take them to be metaphors of spiritual realities. Isn’t it true that everyone who has experienced the peace of Christ in the midst of sorrow and suffering, has tasted something of what these words are attempting to describe? And, what would we prefer, the metaphor or what the metaphor is describing? If you think about it, what good is a perfect world with streams flowing in the desert with an imperfect soul that cannot enjoy them? Of course our hope as Christians is that the healing of our souls will one day culminate in the complete healing of creation and that in His second coming, we will at last sit by real streams in the desert having livings streams in our heart—a perfected soul living in a perfected world. 1/5/2009 ts
Just me trying to be honest with God.
