Daniel’s spirituality was about meeting God through his imagination, and how God was dialoguing with and interpreting history. God’s conversation with him often occurred through symbolic language. If we think of the symbolic both as a metaphysical realm, and an aspect of communication–ie as part of what Reality is, as well as part of how God communicates; then we are comfortable with a God who wants to reveal Himself on every level of Reality, and in every aspect or level of communication. The symbolic realm is a part of how God represented Himself in Reality, and in us, for it is a part of who He is-and by extension what He created! And because of this, it is one of the “planes” in which He communicates Himself to us. If spirituality is indeed a relationship with a Living God, it is clear this is one aspect or dimension of this relationship. 

This is why I think we need to look at Daniel’s way as a model. For the church has largely lost contact with The God of the Imagination. In not being able to meet God in the symbolic, the imagination of the church has become impoverished, where it is no longer able to truly dialogue into culture in a dynamic way; no longer able to represent God in that conversation. As priests, the church is missing a huge part of her task, by ignoring or sublimating the imagination to the task of evangelism or decoration. The imagination of the church should be one of the most vibrant aspects of her communication out into the earth, and the heavens (if we believe Colossians, that part of her task is to bear witness into heaven!). Instead, she is most often silent  or not manifesting God in the realm of symbolic communications.

One reason for this is the lack of integration of the imagination into her leader’s spirituality or relationship with God. The intimacy with God of many leaders in the church is most often doctrinal or in the area of truth, and often also in genuine service to society; but what is missing is part of the way, and the life of Christ-the ministry from the imagination of God into the imaginations of people, cities and nations. 

For creativity is His Life pouring in with fresh and dynamic ways of seeing, beholding and hence perceiving accurately people, cities and nations. We are each meant to know this dimension of The Father. It is part of what we were given access to through the actions of Jesus on the cross. When that veil tore, it was to give us access to more of His Father, including His Imagination! And He did not die for a partial view. He wanted us to go further and know all the fullness!  The cross gives us permission to know The Father’s perception of things. And to not know how God sees is to miss a huge dimension of who He is!

The Bible itself could be said to be a symbolic communication from God. And then, even within this book, there are huge sections where the symbolic is foregrounded or highlighted-including the Psalms and of course the final book of the new testament. We are not without record of God’s symbolic communications into space and time. Still, so often the church does not truly value this aspect of who God is. God is symbolic, creative, and wants to be known and loved in this area of His Own being.

In our day, i believe God is restoring His Own imagination in the church and onto the earth, as a preparation for His Kingdom fully incarnating. And as the church,  we are becoming a living temple for His whole Presence (for He is undivided), and by nature a temple is symbolic; therefore many are coming to know Him, to encounter Him through the imagination. 

The church has tended to make the arts subservient to the gospel message-as if they were separate. But the arts are part of the gospel message, because God is one, and His Son is one, which means that His creativity is part of who He is, and so part of humankind meeting Him. 

There is a great delusion in the church around the arts. Often because it has borrowed the world’s understanding of the arts. For, in the world, art and science; imagination and mind are often separated and in opposition. But not so in God Himself. He is One, integrated-so His creativity informs and works in conjunction with His Thoughts and Mind. We are now without excuse as we live in and are called to bring the Kingdom into a global culture; we are without excuse to ignore this aspect of God’s Identity. And by extension to miss out on this part of our own!

How can we obey Christ in His command to disciple the nations, if we ignore their arts and culture. It is not as if God suddenly stops His Own Being when He approaches the symbolic dimension of humanity! He is One, and He wants to dialogue with the whole of His Creation, and to bring it into proper alignment with Himself through His Son. God does not draw back some part of Himself in this pursuit of knowing and being known,  So neither should we draw back when it comes to dialoguing with the cultural dimension of our cities and nations. For we are called to disciple the whole of each person, city, or nation, not just one aspect. To do this, we must know Him with the whole of ourselves.

The sublimation of the imagination in our relationships with God is actually a form of heresy. For it implies that God is not One. That He is somehow divided, and His Own Creativity is not an aspect of His Being. But, in addition, it divides or disintegrates our own image as well. For if we do not meet Him in and through our own creativity, then that whole dimension becomes dead or occupied by another force.

 For, because we are created in His Image, to not know Him in this aspect of who we are, leaves us prey to either atrophy in this area, or occupation or possession by rebellious forces or spirits. Here is why, so many in the church will need deliverance in the area of their imaginations. For either they are still babes in this area, or they are possessed by alien influences in this area. The whole person is to be in dialogue and relationship with God. In short, it is very dangerous to only have the truth, and not the way and life of Christ in us!

Daniel represents a way out of a poverty of the imagination. He met God in and through his imagination. He knew God in His Symbolic Nature. So, He was able to interpret and communicate symbolically. Hence, his book, is an amazing mixture of history and symbol. The church still stumbles over it, for it has not fully understood over half of Daniel’s spirituality. Let us press on, so that we know God as Daniel did–as the uninterrupted Most High!

how symbols work, using Jesus conversation with Peter has an example:

Upon the rock of the truth about Jesus’ identity, the church is built. This is one of the meanings of Jesus statement when talking to Peter. Who Jesus really is, is the foundation of The True Church. He is the Messiah, sent from God.

Who do you say the son of MAN is? Peter, “The son of God.”

Blessed are you. Why? Because God The Father revealed it to Peter, not men.

The church  being a people who get things revealed from The Father, and who know the true Identity of Jesus.

In this passage, Jesus is revealing both His Own identity, and the church’s.

And the church’s identity is based on His Own.

There is a danger of worshiping “authority” itself rather than Jesus. Jesus is, it seems saying, all authority rest on who I am-the Son of God and the son of man together. So you see later in her history, the church ends up sort of worshiping the relic of even the physical seat of Peter, or his chair of authority. Seems like Jesus was sort of warning against this in this dialogue.

“and the Rock was Christ.”

This of course, is the Rock upon which people will stumble (ie, your view or vision of who Jesus is the unavoidable factor in life, because of the nature of Reality).  Paul also engages in symbolic interpretation.

This Jesus identity dialogue requires some symbolic interpretation. There are several layers of meaning going on. Was Jesus actually conferring His authority to Peter? He was clearly blessing him in specific ways, but was He saying that Peter was the foundation of the Church. I think not.

jonah is sinking into dark hued entanglement, with his God

forced to scope the base of subaquadic mountains, trapped beneath the sea, cloaked in gloom…and then there is this springing  prayer of Jesus, which erupts, as lava in the depths of the sea. In neonic blossoms unseen, this conducting of the infinite,  Jonah , with Jesus, dreams of the cross saying, though you slay me, I will trust.. This  prayer, enters every area of the water, forever.

That wet cool air which comes over mountain stones-as Gideon gazes over the fields
Of the enemy,
Was it as this Irish hillside in rain
in these forgotten spaces where G-d calls a man into
Threshing. This one was the self proclaimed least-from the lowest clan on earth.
Or so it seemed. As was Jeremiah; as was David; as was Benjamin-but this one
Gideon,
A man who needed a sign to know, so
Here appears the Angel of The Lord to bring fire from stone
And fire comes as on the ones scattered in the sun
Even their bones in disbelief
To which Ezekiel saw and spoke
Words of life to no one.

I am the son of no one
And we are marching to Zion
(a mountain, not unlike this)
The place where He is-any place where He is-
The celts call sacred.
But we have come to know that only He
Is Holy-that Pure is where He is.
And we worship after
the placement of His Foot-we remember that
Where He is moving we are

And I was named before my birth, called
Like this cool passing Irish hillside
Where once a man like Gideon stood
And believed.

The fleece went wet then dry
He wanted to be sure it was God
chasing off the marauders
Of His promised spaces.

So He asked, and blew his trumpet
And unified his people, and broke jars
With the stones of this hillside.
A great man not mentioned in faith’s list of fame
A thresher from the start
Who couldn’t believe
God had forgotten
What He said.
Nearby
Was it Patrick who, placing on his bejeweled belt
Leaned out over this valley as if
Over the mouth of a great dragon, saying
“I felt His Presence in these stones.”

And so we trace each twig back to Him
Each face becomes a friend
Each hillside a recollection
Each conversation turns towards Him
As each stone inherits a name
Which waits like this hillside to be
Spoken

This day, I will not stop tracing each thing
To its core, until I hear it-until the enemy scatters
And we know
Who is faithful to sustain.
Jesus, already the rocks tremble
And this hillside remembers
Whose it is.

God tells Solomon–the place where I put my Name-or Identity, i will also put My Eyes, and Heart; for I am One.

God’s Thought life, His Emotional life, and His Imagination all flow from His Identity, as the Great I am. They are not separate in Him.

“For, behold oh, Israel, the Lord your God is one”. The Shema, repeated daily, echoes this fact about God. That how He thinks, feels and sees are all connected and integrated in Him.

Isaiah in a rare autobiographical moment, identifies his own calling from the womb, with the nation of Israel in this 49th chapter. He basically says, my life symbolizes the nation’s life–you can read my life story as a map of Israel. Powerful that the prophet’s whole life would be a sign or symbol, of a symbolic people-in short, a symbol of a symbol; a sign of a sign.

The priestly could be said to be the part which gets the initial revelation; the prophet, then interprets or translates this revelation; the king, then applies or implements it on earth in practical ways. 

Samuel was priest and prophet.

David did all three.

Daniel also moved in elements of all three. Confessing the sins of his people, then having intense visions, and then helping implement based on the wisdom from these visions.

When we pray for people, neighborhoods or cites and nations, we are with Christ as Priest. We are going in between God and humanity with Him. From this place, we are able to see more of the picture surrounding a particular situation. We may then be given a task of translating this vision in practical ways so that it may be implemented on earth through the kings. That is the role of the prophet-to express things of the Spirit, in a way which people can then choose to implement. The art of prophecy requires one to desire to communicate God’s Mind and Heart in the exact way that God is desiring to communicate into that situation. So there is a vision aspect, and a communication aspect.

Priest, prophet, and king–the essential symbolic triad in spiritual understanding. If we look at Christ as The Ultimate expression of each aspect, we then come to join Him in each of these three functions. The priest is the highest-who confesses, offers prayers, worships etc; then comes, the prophet who brings the message of the priestly encounter, back down the mountain, or out from the Holy of Holies, and, then, counsels the King–which is the part meant to implement from spiritual vision, down here on earth. Each of us,  tends to function in one of these roles of Christ, more than the others. But each of us can know all three aspects of the activity, and Being of Christ.