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Decoding Biblical Parables: The Hidden Truth About Water Imagery in Scripture

What Rain, Dew, and Water Symbolize in the Bible

The Teaching of Moses speaks in terms of parabolic imagery related to rain, dew, and water, where biblical drought represents spiritual famine, and rain symbolizes the Truth of The Teaching of Moses.

You need to understand that all the Prophets used this imagery to conceal incredibly important Truths about The Teaching. First of all, you need to know the origin of the parabolic imagery in which The Teaching is water that “drips” from Heaven.

Moses succinctly defines this parabolic imagery when he says:

“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As the droplets on the fresh grass
And as the showers on the herb.
For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
Ascribe greatness to our God!”
(Deuteronomy 32:1–3) —NASB

In that passage, Moses certainly implies that The Teaching he taught came down to Earth like rain or dew when he, the Prophet of God, spoke.

What you also need to understand is how this parabolic imagery connects to the manna God provided in the wilderness. Moses tells us:

“And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.”
(Deuteronomy 8:3) —NASB

The Bible’s symbolism of dew from Heaven is illustrated in how the manna came mixed with morning dew—representing how The Teaching of Moses comes in various forms.

When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.
(Exodus 16:14) —NASB

The Prophets understood quite well that The Teaching was mixed with the “rain” or “dew” that “drips” from the mouth of anyone who has insight into the Truth. We see this in how they used the Hebrew verb nataph, which means “drip” or “drop.” When Deborah sang about God’s deliverance, she said, “The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped, even the clouds dripped water” (Judg. 5:4b). The same verb describes how the Prophets “dripped on” Israel with The Teaching.

That’s why Jesus said this about those who believe:

And then Jesus was standing around on the last day—the most important {day}—of the feast; and He shouted, saying: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! The one who believes God’s promise [editor note: faith] about Me? Just as the Scripture said, ‘Rivers of living water will flow out of his belly.’”

But He said this about the Spirit that those who believed God’s promise [editor note: faith] about Him were going to receive—for there was not yet a Spirit, because Jesus was not, as yet, glorified.
(John 7:37–39) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

Earlier, He had told the Samaritan woman:

Jesus responded and told her, “Anyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever it might be who drinks some of the water that I give him will definitely not be thirsty in the current age, but the water that I give him will become a spring of water that springs up into eternal life in him.”
(John 4:13–14) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

You would do well to remember that Jesus, using the symbolism of living water, said a person must first drink the parabolic water of The Teaching before it can become a well of water springing up within him. Fools tend to forget that.

They ignorantly assume they can store The Teaching in a cistern rather than letting it flow freely within them. That’s exactly what Jeremiah warned against when he said:

“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns,
That can hold no water.”
(Jeremiah 2:13) —NASB

Rivers and springs are nothing more than conduits for rain that has fallen from Heaven at some earlier time. The Prophet Micah contrasts:

• The water of life which “dripped” like rain from the mouth of God’s Prophets with the parabolic wine and strong drink that “dripped” like rain from the lips of false prophets.
• The Prophets’ explanation of The Teaching of Moses with the lies taught by all those who were ignorant of that Truth.

The Meaning and Significance of “Early and Latter Rain” in Biblical Prophecy

The remarkable thing about the parabolic imagery related to rain is how intricately it has been tied to events that will occur at the End of the Age. The biblical meaning of rain is revealed through Palestine’s climate, where the early rain in October/November and latter rain of April/May weren’t just agricultural necessities—their meaning represented God’s Teaching coming at their appointed times. Without both rains, crops cannot survive. Moses mentioned this when he said God would give “the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain” (Deut. 11:14).

Elijah’s Challenge to Baal’s Prophets: More Than Just a Showdown

The Prophets used this parabolic imagery to mock the ancient Canaanites who believed their god Baal came riding on the clouds to bring the early rain after his resurrection. According to their mythology, Baal could only be resurrected after the supreme god El decreed that his “house” could be “built.” That’s why the Prophet Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal in an incredible parabolic pantomime.

“Jesus, using the symbolism of living water, said a person must first drink the parabolic water of The Teaching before it can become a well of water springing up within him.”

As an example of the Prophets using rain symbolism, on Mount Carmel, Elijah had them pour water on his sacrifice three times until “the water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water” (1 Kin. 18:35). When God’s fire consumed not only the sacrifice but also “the water that was in the trench” (1 Kin. 18:38), it proved the Lord was the true God of resurrection. Then came the rain that ended the drought—but only after Elijah’s servant saw “a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea” (1 Kin. 18:44).

Now here’s something you need to understand:

• Jesus Christ, the One Who is, in Himself, the Word of God—that is, The Teaching—demonstrated how rain is connected to the Resurrection when He brought the “early rain” down on Earth shortly after He arose from the dead.
• Then, after He had securely “planted” God’s Seed in the Earth, He came down again as the “latter rain” to ensure God’s “plants” would have sufficient “water” to attain full maturity.

The Prophet Elijah’s Role in End-Time Events

The Early Church Fathers tell us that shortly before the Antichrist appears pretending to be Jesus Christ, a man whom the Prophet Malachi and Jesus Christ called “Elijah” will appear—reflecting the same symbolism found in the Book of Revelation. Could it be that he—like the Prophet Elijah—will disclose the folly of all those in our own time who ignorantly believe in a false god just because they have been told he is the god of the resurrection?

Jesus Himself used this parabolic imagery when He spoke about the wise man and the fool who built houses. The parabolic “rain” would destroy the “house” of the one who didn’t act on His words. He said:

“And the rain came down, and the rivers came up, and the winds blew. Then they stumbled in that house, and it fell, and its fall was tremendous.”
(Matthew 7:27) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

You do know that Christ is the One Who will come riding on the clouds, bringing a torrential “rain,” just as the prophets of Baal claimed their fake god Baal did, don’t you? That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said they will see the “the Son of The Man coming on the clouds of Heaven with supernatural power and a lot of glory.” (Matt. 24:30).

The Prophet Isaiah described it this way:

“Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud, and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence.”
(Isaiah 19:1b) —NASB

The time that the Prophets described is rapidly approaching, folks. You can believe that if you care to; disbelieve it if you dare to. But you stand about the same chance as a gnat in a hurricane if you don’t understand The Teaching. That’s why Zechariah said to “Ask rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain” (Zech. 10:1a). He contrasts this with those who “comfort in vain” saying, “For the teraphim speak iniquity, and the diviners see lying visions” (Zech. 10:2a).

Why Most Believers Still Haven’t Received the “Early Rain”

If reading this does not evoke a pronounced surge of rejoicing within you, it may well be that you have not yet received the “early rain” of the Gospel so that God’s Seed could be planted in you. In that case, heed what Hosea said:

Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
(Hosea 10:12) —NASB

Consider this:

• It has been eighteen hundred years since the Church turned away from the parabolic imagery of The Teaching and took up Origen’s goofy allegorical method of interpreting the Scriptures.
• Then, over the past 170 years, the conservative wing of the Church has fixated on the equally goofy literal method of interpretation.

All the while, people have been starving to death, wanting to hear a Truth that false teachers claimed to understand yet could never provide.

The Truth is, those who understand will rise to the occasion, just as the Prophet Micah promised when he said “The Remnant” of Jacob will be:

“Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on vegetation
Which do not wait for man
Or delay for the sons of men.”
(Micah 5:7b) —NASB

That is a parabolic description of what it will be like for those who are resurrected in the Resurrection of the Righteous. They will be exactly like the One Who is, was, and always has been the Word of God.

As the Apostle John said:

(2) Beloved brothers, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been made visible.

(a) We are aware that when He becomes visible, we will be just like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

(1 John 3:2) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

Don’t be dense! He is talking about Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the One you can “see” only if the eyes of your heart have been enlightened.

And where has God been all this time? As Isaiah tells us:

“I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
{Now} like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.”
(Isaiah 42:14) —NASB

So get ready. You may not understand everything in The Teaching on this side of that Great Divide, but He has promised it will be one wild ride on the other side.

Conclusion

The parabolic imagery of rain and water runs like a river through Scripture, from Moses to the Prophets to Christ Himself. This parabolic imagery speaks of The Teaching:

• coming down from Heaven like rain,
• being mixed with dew like manna in the wilderness,
• flowing through God’s true Teachers like springs and rivers,
• and culminating in Christ’s Return on the clouds with a torrential outpouring that will separate True Believers from those who have built their houses on sand.
• Those who understand and believe The Teaching will themselves become like the dew from Heaven, transformed into the very image of the Word of God.

This blog provides just a glimpse into the profound Truths contained in the complete ebook. The full text delves into the parabolic imagery, providing meaningful insight into how The Teaching was concealed by Moses and the Prophets. For those seeking to understand more about The Teaching and its parabolic imagery, we invite you to explore the wealth of free resources available in the Online Library.