What this means is that the careful interpreter first looks for the literal meaning of the Bible passage, not some mystical, deeper, hidden, secret, or spiritualized interpretation. Of course, there is the apocalyptic or symbolic language used in the Bible. You can find this kind of language in Zechariah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Revelation. But, when this language is used, it is clearly identifiable as being symbolic. Nevertheless, and this is very important, the symbolic language is always used to convey some literal truth.
Parables are another form of figurative language sometimes used in Scripture.
Parables are stories that illustrate some spiritual truth but whose details may not be actually historical. The historical principle . A crucial step in understanding what a passage means is to have some grasp of the cultural, geographical, and political setting in which the passage was written. If one understands these things, the passage will often interpret itself. On a map, the city of Samaria is north of Jerusalem.