I just finished reading an exciting book in the world of Biblical interpretation. It’s a truly comprehensive interpretation that I believe you guys would find a valuable storehouse to your reading shelf. In fact, It’s worth a short blog post all on its own.
The book is entitled, A Metaphysical Interpretation of the Bible, by Dr. Steven Hairfield. It’s quite long, around 800 pages, but such a subject demands an in-depth analysis. Besides providing great esoteric interpretations, the book provides a good historical analysis for how the Bible came to be what it is.
Being a student of history myself, I was fascinated about his personal journey and spiritual trek into Asia, where he has provided compelling arguments that an ancient revered individual named Issa was in fact Western Civilization’s Jesus, who traveled all the way to India before returning to preach his gospel. Most of my regular readers here know where I stand on the historicity of Jesus, but whoever he was or wasn’t, Dr. Hairfield has certainly gotten the esoteric interpretation behind the Jesus’ message correct.
I was particularly impressed with his interpretations in the book of Isaiah, and how this book must be understood first to truly unveil Christ’s message. Dr. Hairfield is skilled at giving you an overview of Isaiah’s metaphysical nature, as well as specific details that fill in many gaps that mainstream Christianity has missed. Many times I’ll read a book or an esoteric interpretation about portions of Isaiah that focus only on the intellectual nature of the self. But he effectively marries mind and emotion through his exegesis, which is so important in understanding the nature of the true Self. I have found that Isaiah often is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible, but Hairfield’s interpretations simplify it, giving us a springboard to delve deeper into much of the New Testament’s message. To take a quote from Hairfield:
“In essence, the Book of Isaiah describes the ego that resides in the human form. It is built-in within each of as our own creative principle, to complete the “image and likeness.” (Pg. 88).
Continuing with that idea, Hairfiled brilliantly decodes Isaiah’s deeper revelations about the human mind, how it is built and how it works. I learned quite a bit from this section of his book. Of course Hairfield decodes much of Genesis and the books that follow as well, but I had never tackled Isaiah in as great of depth so this is where I personally gleaned so much more esoteric knowledge and how it contributed to the Bible. To truly understand what Isaiah represents I have found that you have to go deep into Jewish mysticism, sifting through a myriad of different Jewish writings to piece together the puzzle, but Hairfield does that for you in one place.
Dr. Hairfield’s exegesis on the Gospels and the book of Revelation was also quite compelling. He covers everything from the ego to our chakra centers in great detail with the Master’s words and teachings, and I don’t think you’ll find a more detailed esoteric analysis of the letters to the seven churches with the kind of metaphysical insight he shares.
I have read through this book once, and plan to do another reading soon. It’s comprehensive nature reveals so much in one reference, and I’m glad to have this in addition to Gaskel’s works, and consider it on par with my most important esoteric interpretations of the Bible yet.
I highly recommend this book
You can visit Hairfield’s website at www.hairfield.com.
You can pick up a downloadable version of A Metaphysical Interpretation of the Bible through a simple download ($15.00), or learn more about getting a soft or hard copy.
I purchased this book and I am currently about half way through it. I too have found it to be one of the best books with detailing the metaphysical and esoteric aspects of the Bible. It has opened my eyes and my heart to a greater sense of The Master.
I am surprised that this was published over 10 years ago and I just recently stumbled across it. I too feel that once I am competed with the book, a definite second reading is in order to fully grasp the wealth of knowledge that Dr. Hairfield has presented.
Peace and Love,
Thanks Paul. It is definitely worth the purchase. I have been disappointed with many esoteric interpretations out there in books, but this one seems to get just about everything correct as it relates to symbolism and allegory that can be shown to have the same meanings through multiple ancient religious text, and he explores them in an original style.
Elizabeth Claire Prophet. Whom I believe is still alive and runs a well-known spiritual retreat, to which many ‘famous’ folk go; she and her husband (he transitioned year’s ago) wrote a series of books on this subject. And more. I knew Jesus had spent time in India which stands to reason, and is supported in detail by her works.
“The Lost Years of Jesus” is the name of one of the books. “The Summit Lighthouse” is the name of Elizabeth Claire Prophet’s organisation, and although she has transitioned I believe the ranch still runs. Ancient wisdom.
Roberta…
I have heard about Claire, but never read the work. Personally I believe Jesus is a universal myth of humanity’s journey, but the Gospel character was built upon wise men from the past. In other words, the story of Jesus was taken from more than one individual, and explains a universal condition.
I bought this book and reading it. If all bible stories are just allegories and pointing to the personal enlightenment, then seems like another famous book from China, The Monkey King (Journey to the west) also falls into the same category, where the Monkey King is a symbol for our heart and all stories of that books are all about hiw to find the truth of the world.
I should correct the mistake on comment above, Monkey King is the symbol for our consciousness, not heart.
Jim…
I am not familiar with the Monkey King, but what you describe, yes, it would be exactly that.
Books are great. The written word formed from language that arise from thought, that serve to communicate and put forth knowledge. All of life, existence are part of a fractal system. From the deep void of the mystics; science’s, the Sea of Dirac; or an atheist’s outlook on evolution. “IT”, everything begins with the process of genesis and ends with revelations, that which is revealed. In the beginning and the end.
“I AM” is a trinity. Triads are every-where to be seen. IT, is for the observer. IT is an effect and has an affect. IT has a cause and a purpose as evidenced by causality and teleology and rests with, the Culminating Purpose. Everything has 2 reasons for the whole, IT must Be this way.
As jewish mystics point out, the mother letters of the hebrew alphabet: aleph, mem, sheen (pronounced “seen”) are the “mothers” of creation.
As Source, God, Spirit, Aleph; breathed breath, which is sheen; into the waters of consciousness; which is mem; things, structures were created and the breath returned to Source.
What was created from the interaction of sheen by the willful desire of God to breathe into mem, were all-things, and as “seen” by God; and IT was good. (Gen 1:1-31)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) mathematician and astronomer gave us the first “scientific” model of the soul. He perceived the soul as a central point that radiated outwards into the spheres. He believed, that which radiated outwardly into the spheres reacted harmoniously to it’s origin and to all of its entity. He also saw things as fractal, realms, dimensions fitting within structures he believed God created and ordered through all of the cosmos.
His vision, a trinity, The Holy Trinity; beginning with God, pouring it-self into Jesus; the image in the surface of the sphere and the Holy Spirit as the relationship between the center and surface. Though it is movement or reflection that represented creation. Just as sheen into mem allowed a reflection that God saw as good. That reflection that arises from the sacred breath is soul.
The Great Spirit reflected as God’s breath from the deep void into mem along with the creation of time becomes the potentially consciousness Soul.
Given the creation of space and boundaries which is the action of separation as “seen” in Genesis by God, and was called “good”, is the manifestation of matter.
Matter it is only a reflection, therefore an image and more precisely an illusion like a gossamer.
It is the reflection of that which has been poured out from source. Leaving in it’s wake, it’s anti-matter, it’s duality, it’s 2nd reason to exist at any given moment in space AND time.
Here, “belief” becomes the most important feature of the human existence outside the Garden of Eden, from where the soul fell. It is the act of belief, the action of believing that is the foundation of any building, any structure any form that is “created” with in the dimension of man and the realm of humanity.
Any and all beliefs are thoughts we continue to think. Thinking is a form. The continuation, the persistence of thought through successive moments, gains inertia, momentum, strength. Given importance, given our attention these thoughts become our beliefs. The more attention we give them in our moments the more co-hesive they become, the more familiar they become. These thoughts become opinion and our convictions.
Books entertain, occupy us and always provide some-sort of knowledge, as well as a means for the writer, the author to experience validation, justification and the sense of author-ship; the Self.
Freud through his endeavors coined the terms; “id”, “ego” and “super-ego”.
The id; being all that potentially-is, chaotic, indeterminate and innocent.
The ego; the managed self, the sense of an embodied-self. The ego learns that it exists as an entity from the id. Thereby, giving us our “id-entity”, reason and common sense It is also the seat allowing us to name and label things (Gen. 2:19).
The super-ego; our conscience, that part of us that shames and finds guilt towards ourself in sin.
I do appreciate this blog-site. It brings my attention, my quest towards; foundation.
Foundation; it’s meaning and it’s purpose. Every moment of every day each of us are worshiping some-thing. We all worship, all religions as well as atheists, It is our choice what to worship.
Worship is a way to give us a sense of co-hesion in “this world” (2 Sam. 22-16) amidst the “id”, the scattered, chaotic and in-determinate. Worship guides us in a world which we are incapable of total under-standing.
IT never ceases to amaze me how words come into play. That which is under our stand, is our foundation.
Our foundation is where we are found, and it is here we begin to build on top of that found-ness that brings us to the light of higher-consciousness.
To gain order, there must be an inter-face. The ego serves that purpose. Every foundation is built on belief (Mark 16:16). We may say; Jesus serves that purpose. Literally, He is the inter-face, the bridge amongst the gap to connect all-things and to overcome the sin, the shame, the guilt.
Yes, books are great, reading makes for a great activity though it also allows us to vacate. Which we often do. It provides us with an activity to become embodied with and is a subtle-trap like the ego.
In native american folk-medicine, mouse provides a clue towards becoming well. That is; chewing things into small pieces in order to under-stand them we are left with nothing.
So it is in-living, with every experience, possibly the goal; to not-endlessly repeat itself.
So it is with faith, we are able to allow our thoughts to pass. Faith vanquishes images, illusions, beliefs. Knowing, by experience entwined with sacred-knowledge, we are given Soul.
We can and shall learn to allow thoughts to pass, as all things do in this material world.
As Jesus promises, leaving the id and super-ego we come to the Culminative Purpose…. Peace with-in.
Michael…
Thank you for the kind words about the blog site.
And thank you for that bit of info about Johannes Kepler. I never knew that. Now I should like to read his biography!
I wonder, in addition to the 7 energy center in the human body, will the 7 seals in the book of revelation also related to the 7 classical planets?
http://www.esotericquarterly.com/issues/EQ06/EQ0602/EQ060210-Graham.pdf
If they are all related, that means our inner body and the universe around us kind of falls into the same kind of arrangement. Thus we, a being in the universe, will eventually unify.
Jim…
I have read through the link you provided in the comment above. Very interesting, and I suspect we can also include the rainbow as mentioned in the scripture, as well as Joseph’s coat of many colors that I have already written about.
The author from Trinity college seemed to have quite a bit of knowledge on the subject. We do know that the story of Jesus follows the signs of the zodiac from as well, and I know astrology played a big part in writing the Gospels as a whole as the son / sun travels through the zodiac.
With this blog, I feel that it opens out a lot of ways to understand the inner meanings of the bible. And as a Christian myself, it leads me to this:
https://www.truthunity.net/
Thanks for sharing the link, Jim!
I have a copy of Gaskells and am quite fond of it, as it assists me in writing articles similar to yours, Joshua.
This book seems like a great addition to my metaphysical library. Thank you putiting this out there!
Matt…
Gaskell’s book has been one of the most enlightening pieces I have ever read, and is up there with spiritual giants like Joseph Campbell!
If you ever want to contribute an article here and share your knowledge, please check out the new guest post submission requirements at the top menu of this site. We can always learn from each other, and of course I would be happy to provide a link back to your site or any other online publications you might have!
Thanks.