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SYMBOLISM 101

Most of us today think in literal, linear terms. We like things defined, measured, and clear-cut. A wall is just a wall. A city is just a city.

But John, in the book of Revelation, saw something more. He saw layers within layers. To him, a wall wasn’t just brick and mortar — it was a metaphor, a frequency, a state of being. The New Jerusalem, his climactic vision at the end of Revelation, is filled with that kind of multi-layered meaning.

Think of it this way: If you walk into a modern art gallery, the casual visitor might say, “It’s a painting of a tree.” But the artist may say, “No, it’s about family, memory, rootedness, and resilience.” Both are true, but one is literal and the other is layered. John was the kind of visionary who always saw the layered meaning in typical INFJ style. That’s why his gospel is so different from the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.