Great post, thanks.
Are there a couple of archetypes from Genesis that you could elaborate on? (you probably already have earlier) Post#?
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There are too many to list, but all should be considered or you simply won't get much out of it. It would be like reading any parable and considering only one aspect, when two are meant.
There is a duality for everything-- the spiritual reality and the physical representation, which is never exact, rather it is "a likeness."
The heavens above speak of the divine, the spiritual realm, while the earth below is a reflection of that reality above. Think of it like this-- as I've said a few times-- to get a glimpse of what is unseen, look at the reflection and you can surmise a few things about the object that "creates" the image you are examining.
When you step in front of a mirror you see an image, or likeness of the physical you. When you smile, the image smiles right back at you and when you frown, it does the same-- but the image itself is a mere (mirror) reflection of the real you and the image doesn't really have any true emotions of its own... it simply acts in accordance with the physical you and reflects back in the form of an image.
Yet, we both know that the physical you that stands in front of that mirror and that creates the image --isn't
the real you at all. It's just the container of you. The real you is inside that container and it's your thoughts and impulses that motivate and move that outer shell that we call "you" and that is a part of 'who you are,' but that is certainly not
all of you.
Now relate all of that to all things. There is the visible, physical object and for each of these, there is spiritual equivalence however-- whatever it is in the heavenly realm that has created that image, --that image will never depict the fullness of the spiritual in the same way that neither your reflection (your image) nor even your physical presence can match the spirit within you that drives your intellect, formulates your ideas, motivates your actions and moves your muscles to perform tasks. One-- though a likeness, is no substitute for the other. The physical copy cannot do justice to the spiritual reality.
This is why whenever Jesus taught about the kingdom of heaven he would say ---"It is like....." and he would offer something familiar as an example of a heavenly concept he was trying to explain. He would use a likeness to give us some idea about something invisible that we could never comprehend without the use of a familiar example.
In terms of examples from Genesis that I could point to? Perhaps the most important is the most overlooked. Jesus taught (from Genesis) about the seed, and he said of that particular parable that if you don't understand that concept of the seed, you are not going to understand any of his parables or what they mean, because that one is foundational concerning the kingdom of heaven. We have the benefit of having had Jesus explain the seed meaning to us--- so apply what he taught to the Genesis account concerning seed and you will begin a new journey of discovery and set your feet upon a new path, for the seed is an archetype.
There are many more. You introduced this thread speaking about that Hillsdale segment which focuses on the serpent talking. It makes no sense unless you recognize 'the serpent' or the snake, as a spiritual attribute--- or the spiritual nature that
manifested itself as a man who seduced and tempted Eve (in the physical sense) but in (spiritual) reality- it was a silver-tongued spirit who tempted her in spirit and it's this spiritual encounter that scripture records in Genesis. Fun fact-- physical snakes don't talk.
