Secrets of Scripture | Esoteric vs Exoteric
Unlocking Spiritual Vision
The Bible Operates On 2 Levels:
1. The Exoteric
—what’s seen on the surface—and…
2. The Esoteric
…the deeper inner meaning.
THIS IMPLIES DUALITY.
DUALITY INTERFERES WITH OUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION.
Jesus:
“If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.
– Gospel of Thomas
That statement alone invites us to read Scripture as more than just historical narrative or morality anecdotes.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS WITHIN
An esoteric reading of the Bible treats it as a psychological and spiritual map.
The Bible is a manual for how the human mind operates and how the soul evolves.
Every character, event, and place represents an aspect of the human experience.
The Bible isn’t just about people in other eras and lands; it’s about you.
What Esoteric Doesn’t Mean
“Esoteric” doesn’t mean abstract or mystical for the sake of being mysterious.
Esoteric Does Mean:
It means looking beyond the literal to uncover the spiritual truth within.
Esoteric Parables
Jesus often taught using parables—stories layered with symbolic meaning.
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear”
These weren’t just teaching tools.
…they were keys, designed to open deeper levels of understanding.
He told his disciples directly:
“It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
That distinction matters.
The outer story speaks to the crowd.
The inner story speaks to the seeker.
The prodigal son:
On the surface, it’s a touching story of forgiveness—a father welcoming back his wayward son.
But if that’s all you see, you’ve only read the first layer, the exoteric.
On an esoteric level, it’s about the human psyche (soul) drifting away from spiritual truth—squandering its inheritance.
We trade our Soul’s Divine essence for the outer worlds fake luxury.
The Return of the Son
When the “son” returns, it’s a symbol of returning to higher consciousness, to alignment with the Divine source, our Father in Heaven.
The “father’s house” isn’t a physical home.
The Fathers house is the original state of spiritual awareness we’re meant to live from.
You can find beautiful wisdom in the Bible at the surface level, but if you never look for the second upper-story, you’re missing its true power.
The real spiritual meaning isn’t obvious.
It’s concealed in plain sight.
Most theologians don’t teach this—
I don’t think they’ve ever learned to read it this way or they’ve become so indoctrinated that they avoid it in fear of becoming a “heretic”.
RESOURCES
How biblical dualism can help us to gain a better understanding of God’s perspective
