Page 13 - Through New Eyes

Introduction 5
Bible. Some of the illustrations may be debatable; that is, some
scholars may think I should use this verse and not that one to
make my point. That is all well and good, but I have elected not
to debate the point extensively in this book.
In the third and fourth parts of this book we shall look at the
succession of worlds as the Bible sets them out: the worlds of the
Garden, of the Flood, of Abraham, of Moses, and so forth. Each
of these worlds has its own symbolic structure, its own mode of
existence, its own peculiar laws, and so forth. Moreover, each
world takes up the preceding world and transforms it, so that
each new world builds on the one that comes before it. Again, in
order to make this point, I shall be giving lots of illustrations,
particularly from the symbolic world-models that were in use in
each age (the Garden, Noah’s Ark, Tabernacle, Temple, Jeru-
salem, etc. ). Scholars may (yea, doubtless will) take issue with
some of my particular interpretations. The point, though, is the
overall Biblical worldview framework that I am setting out. Spe-
cifics can be debated.
Of course, if I have not done my homework, then this book
is nothing but a lot of speculation and hot air. So, there are refer-
ence notes at the back of the book. Students and critics can put a
bookmark in the End Note section, and follow along. The end
notes accomplish three things. Some of them refer to other books
and essays that substantiate what I have written in the text, or
that at least give further arguments. Other end notes provide the
arguments themselves. My third kind of end note gives addi-
tionzd information that may be of interest to the Bible student.
Those who consult the end notes will find references to some
specific background studies that I have written, that support the
findings presented in this book, and that are available from Bib-
lical Horizons, P.O. Box 132011, Tyler, TX 75713. I invite the in-
terested reader to write for more information on these.
Additionally, I have supplied a somewhat annotated bibliog-
raphy. I have listed here a number of books that have been of
help to me. Some are written from liberal perspectives, and
must be used with care by evangelical Christians. I have tried to
give guidance, so that those who want to pursue the themes of
this book can do so.