BIBLICAL IMAGES-SYMBOLS IN FRANK PERETTI’S MYSTICAL THRILLERS: LINGUAL REPRESENTATION AND PRAGMATIC VALUE

The paper aims to clarify the biblical image-symbols in Frank Peretti’s mystical thrillers. The problem of the detailed analysis of the lingual representation of the biblical image-symbols and their pragmatic value is solved in the article by applying a complex of methods of linguistic poetics, cognitive linguistics, stylistics and methodological tools of discourse analysis. The paper considers the biblical images-symbols, used in American mystical thrillers written by the protestant author Frank Peretti, as biblical intertexts depicting not only biblical knowledge but also author’s intentions and beliefs in conveying the most profound ideas and principles of the literary texts. Executed in the written works by lexical means, biblical image-symbols become the heart of biblically-marked contexts, which are differentiated according to their addressee orientation into author`s and character`s biblically-marked contexts and their scope – into propositional, composite, and complex biblically-marked contexts. The lingual representation of the biblical image-symbols is differentiated according to their structure into one-component (anthroponyms, toponyms, artifact, animalistic, anthropomorphic) and multi-component, (two-component, three-component and four-component).

Thriller discourse is considered as a genre of Postmodern literature.The genre of thriller includes a number of subgenres like crime thriller, legal thriller, action thriller, psychological thriller, political thriller, spy thriller, and mystical thriller.
The genre of mystical thriller is represented by the works of modern American novelist Frank Peretti who is characterized by the New York Times and Charisma Magazine as follows: "The Phenomenon of Publishing", "The Hottest American Christian Novelist", "Over 15 Million Printed Books".
Based on the experience of researchers in the field of philosophy, psychology, linguistic culturology, literary studies, and linguistics, the ontological essence of the notion of "imagesymbol" has been revealed in the humanitarian paradigm in the chain of related notions of "image" and "symbol".Combining symbolic and figurative principles, the image-symbol is characterized by complexity in terms of content: in the image-symbol, the symbol contains an image, but it is not reduced to it; the symbol indicates the presence of a figurative meaning, which is inseparably fused with the image, but not identical to it.Biblical image-symbols (hereafter BIS) are fixed in world culture; they are well-known cognitive-semantic structures that are elements of the text of the Bible, or the Holy Scriptures.A biblical image-symbol is a word in the literal meaning that denotes an object that symbolizes something and refers to a certain intertext.
In the Christian religious picture of the world, biblical image-symbols realize biblical plots, each of them being manifested by a certain set of biblical image-symbols verbalized in the text of the Bible.For example, the plot 'Crucifixion and Resurrection' is represented by such biblical image-symbols as: 'cross', 'blood', 'thirty pieces of silver', 'Calvary', etc.
The study of the linguistic embodiment of biblical image-symbols is based on five mystical thrillers written by Frank Peretti This Present Darkness, 1986, Piercing the Darkness, 1988, Prophet, 1992, The Oath, 1995, The Visitation, 1999.The study of linguistic embodiment of biblical image-symbol in mystical thrillers written by Frank Peretti presupposes a complex multiparadigmatic approach based on methods, techniques, and procedures used in discourse analysis, linguistic poetics, cognitive linguistics, and stylistics.The implementation of this multiparadigmatic approach involves four logical stages of research.
In the first stage, general scientific methods of induction and deduction, empiricaltheoretical methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as discourse analysis of texts of the Holy Bible, encyclopedic dictionaries, reference books of religious symbols and theological papers were used to clarify the foundations of Christianity.The Old and New Testaments (Hebrew: ‫תירב‬ 'agreement, covenant'), into which the Bible is divided, reflect the covenant between God and mankind.The Old Testament tells the story of the world's creation, the fall, and God`s covenant with the people of Israel; "Paradise Lost" in Genesis becomes "Paradise Returned" in the Book of Revelation.If access to the Tree of Life in the Book of Genesis is closed, then in the Book of Revelation a human returns to it.Systematization of the main biblical plots made it possible to identify biblical image-symbols conceived in the novels by Peretti and to reveal their cognitive basis, which contributed to the understanding of their symbolic meaning in fictional texts.
In the second stage, the methods of linguistic poetics were used including philological, cultural-historical, comparative, and biographical analysis, as well as general scientific methods of observation, description, systematization, and comparison to analyze the genre of mystical thriller in general and the creative style of the American novelist in particular.Thrillers by Peretti are seemingly entertaining but with complex intricate plots [Gribben, 2009;Howard 1994;O'Neil 1989;Saliba, 2004].These novels can be attributed to the genre of horror literature [Christian, 2018;Hexham, 1992;Zipes 1993]; they are a good example of the use of the technique of increasing tension in the plot, which unfolds on two levels: real (relationship between characters) and mystical (interaction between angels and demons).Frank Peretti`s ideas about the spiritual battle between good and evil are partly related to his belonging to the Church of the Assembly of God (the largest Pentecostal community in the United States) and the modern Pentecostal doctrine of demonology.His conception of the territorial spirits that dominate each city is consistent with the theological teachings of many Pentecostal theologians and missionaries [Anderson, 2000;Anderson, Warner, 2016;Murphy, 2003;Wagner, 2012].
In the third stage, applying the methodology of linguistic poetics, notably text interpretation and contextual analysis of mystical thrillers by Frank Peretti, we identified biblically-marked contexts (hereinafter BMCs) -text fragments in which BISs are linguistically represented by direct or indirect nominations involved in the disclosure of one topic.The analysis of such text fragments provided an opportunity to determine how BISs contributed to the realization of the writer`s creative idea, aesthetically influencing participants of communication in the literary text.
The nature of the contextual embodiment of BISs determines the typology of BMCs, which differ in addressee-addressee orientation and scope: 1) author`s BMC -the context in which BIS is used in the author's speech e.g.: they made it exciting whenever he brought up the cross of Christ and the message of salvation [Peretti, 1986, p. 23]; 2) character's BMC -the context in which BIS is used in the characters' speech, e.g.: "Redemption.It will never cease to thrill me" [Peretti, 1989, p. 441].
The scope of BMCs, which is sufficient to disclose the content of BISs, determines the following types of BMCs: 1) propositional BMC, which is equal to one sentence, e.g.: God was testing me just as he tested Abraham, to see if I would obey [Peretti, 2003, p. 167]; 2) composite BMC, which covers several sentences that create one paragraph, e.g.: Mrs. Kenyon continued, <…> Drink of my Spirit, and I shall grant you a mighty increase on this island" [Peretti, 2003, p. 103]; 3) complex BMC, scope of which goes beyond one paragraph to implement the communicative orientation of BIS, e.g.: There is nothing hidden from the eyes of Him with whom we have to do! [Peretti, 1986, p. 10].
The fourth stage involved general scientific methods of induction and deduction, empiricaltheoretical methods of analysis and synthesis, and special methods of linguistics, in particular semantic, component, descriptive, and semantic and stylistic analysis.We differentiated lingual representatives of biblical image-symbols (hereafter LRBISs) according to their structural and semantic component composition and by semantic and stylistic features depending on the type of semantic transposition of their meaning.For example, the two-component metaphorical LRBIS encounter the Cross represents the BIS "cross", which symbolizes the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross for the salvation of mankind, in the character's propositional BMC: Before she encountered the Cross, she saw no reason to live but feared death [Peretti, 1989, p. 322].The LRBIS encounter the Cross signifies repentance, the decision to dedicate life to Jesus Christ.
We attempted to suggest the classification of the linguistic embodiment of biblical imagesymbols according to their componential structure and the degree of figurativeness.
Structural classification of LRBIS took into account their componential parameters, which determined the appropriate categorization.Taking into consideration the number of word components in the composition of LRBISs, one-component (e.g.: coat, dove, heart) and multicomponent (e.g.: crying voices, sin is crouching at the door) LRBISs were determined.
According to linguistic features of one-component LRBISs, we distinguish proper names and common nouns.Proper names are represented by anthroponyms, e.g.: Messiah, Moses, Pilate, Antichrist, Nebuchadnezzar and others, and toponyms, e.g.: Antioch, Jerusalem, etc.
For example, in the character's propositional BMC, the BIS "Nebuchadnezzar" is used: Like Nebuchadnezzar of old, you have set up an image of yourself for all men to follow, a towering image, a mighty image, an image far greater than yourself [Peretti, 1986, p. 10].The anthroponym Nebuchadnezzar, one-component LRBIS, is associated with pride, grandeur, and wealth.Nebuchadnezzar is the name of the ruler of ancient Babylon, who was known for his military campaigns, greatness, and arrogance at the same time.The Bible says he rebuilt the temple, strengthened the city walls and built a palace, on the roof of which he smashed the hanging gardens of Semiramis.For the pride of Nebuchadnezzar, God`s Judgment befell him and he lost his mind for a while, but God showed him his mercy and the mind returned to him.The governor, one of the characters of "Prophet", has the same qualities as Nebuchadnezzar.Thus, the anthroponym Nebuchadnezzar is artistically embodied in the novel by Peretti to create the image of a haughty and powerful man who will inevitably be punished if he does not repent before the Almighty.
BIS "Abraham", expressed by the anthroponym Abraham, is associated with trusting God and following His will.Abraham ('father of many') is the name of the ancestor of many nations, whose faith the Lord tested by ordering him to sacrifice his son Isaac.The murder of the son was not mentioned, because there was a ram at the place of sacrifice: the question was to trust God and follow His will.The author`s propositional BMC: God was testing me just as he tested Abraham, to see if I would obey [Peretti, 2003, p. 167] describes that the hero survived the test of his faith, as Abraham did.Thus, the BIS "Abraham", expressed by the anthroponym Abraham, is artistically embodied by Peretti to create the image of a man who trusts God and follows His will in all circumstances.
Anthroponyms also include the names of demons, e.g.: Destroyer, Prince of Omega, Strongman and others.For example, Sally Rose, the main character in the novel Piercing the Darkness, received Salvation and got rid of her demon tormentors, which is described in the author`s composite BMC: As for her old friends, her tormentors… Outside that hedge, thrown there like garbage into a dumpster, Despair, Death, Insanity, Suicide and Fear sulked in the bushes, unable to return [Peretti, 1989, p. 323].The BIS "snake" is linguistically represented by the names of the demons who embody their essence Despair, Death, Insanity, Suicide, and Fear.
Anthroponym the Strongman is used in the author`s propositional BMC: The Strongman straightened, and his fists thundered down on the hearthstones [Peretti, 1989, p. 35] to linguistically represent BIS "snake".The anthropomorphic LRBIS the Strongman creates the image of a strong demon.
The BIS "Antioch", expressed by the toponym Antioch in the author`s propositional BMC, is associated with the beginning of something new: <...> most everyone growing up in Antioch heard a call from elsewhereanywheresooner or later [Peretti, 2003, p. 2].Antioch (Greek: Ἀντίοχος 'one who opposes') is the city where Jesus` followers first came to be called Christians, as well as the city from which the Apostle Paul began his missionary journeys.In the thriller by Peretti, Antioch is the town where the false messiah Brandon Nichols appeared, but the locals managed to resist him and win.Thus, BIS "Antioch", expressed by the toponym Antioch symbolizes confrontation in the artistic embodiment.
BIS "mantle" is presented by the artifact noun coat.From ancient times the outer garments were passed from father to son as a sign of maturity and courage.Scripture tells how Elisha inherited the mantle of Elijah and passed on to him the anointing of the prophet [KJV]1 .In the artistic embodiment, the symbol of succession is Dad's old overcoat, i.e. the father passes on his blessing and the prophet's vocation to his son, which is expressed in the author's composite BMC from the novel "The Prophet" written by F. Peretti: John looked a second time at his son and at the fit of Dad`s old overcoat.<...> "Don't worry about the coat, son.You'll grow into it" [Peretti, 1986, p. 45].
BIS "snake", expressed by the animalistic noun lizard, belongs to the class of reptiles and is associated with everything unclean (KJV): "Levi shook his head"."That old lizard`s got nothing on me" [Peretti, 1995, pp. 158-159].LRBS the old lizard represents BIS "snake" and is related to sin and devil himself.
In the author`s propositional BMC from the novel "Piercing the Darkness" written by F. Peretti, BIS "Jesus Christ" is represented by the anthropomorphic noun friend: Now she had a Friend closer than any other [Peretti, 1989, p. 323].Friendship means close and warm relations between people.To befriend God, you must believe in Him.In the Scriptures, Jesus calls his disciples friends.When a person believes in Jesus Christ, he automatically becomes friends with Him [KJV].In the thriller's context, the main character Sally Rose receives salvation and gains the best friend -Jesus Christ.Thus, LRBIS represented with the anthropomorphic noun Friend artistically embodies BIS "Jesus Christ".
The BIS "fire" is embodied through the anthropomorphic noun warrior and is associated with a spiritually strong Christian who fights the devil and demons through prayer and the Word of God (the Bible): "The little warrior", said the dark-haired one.They stood over the kneeling warrior, on either side [Peretti, 1986, pp. 11-13].Thus, the anthropomorphic noun warrior is used to create the image of a Christian who has spiritual power and wages a spiritual battle with evil forces on his knees praying to God.
One-component LRBISs are implemented not only in propositional and composite BMCs, as in the examples above, but also in complex BMCs, the scope of which goes beyond one paragraph in disclosing the meaning of BIS, its communicative orientation.
For example, the biblical plot of King David`s sin describes the nature of sin, succumbing to it and results of committing the sin.One evening, while everyone was at the war campaign, David was walking on the roof of his palace and saw a beautiful woman having a bath.He found out her name was Bathsheba and she was the wife of a warrior.But this did not stop King David in his desire to have an intimate relationship with her.He spent time with her after which the woman became pregnant.David contributed to the death of Bathsheba's husband and took her to his home as his wife.She gave birth to their son, but he soon died.David committed several sins before God, which affected not only him but also his descendants and the whole country of Israel [KJV].This plot is artistically embodied in the author`s complex BMC: "Then he saw Tracy <…> swimming in the lake <…> Around her, the water sparkled like diamonds in the sun, <…> He quickly scanned the shore and spotted her clothes, hung on the dead branches of the fallen snag <…> For an instant, he thought she looked his way, that their eyes met as she paused to push back the wet hair from her face <…> He was pleased to find that his initial guess had been less than correct.He`d figured she would be nearly perfect.Now he knew she was quite perfect" [Peretti, 1995, pp. 246-247].The main character finds Tracy, another character from the thriller, attractive and wants her despite the fact she is a married lady.The theme of temptation in this context evokes associations with the biblical story of King David`s sin.The idea of sin in "The Oath" is represented via the animalistic noun the dragon, which everyone must overcome.
In the same novel, the biblical story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross is artistically embodied in the author`s complex BMC: The hammer rank against the nail, piercing skin, cutting vessels.It ranks against the nail, piercing muscle, chipping bone.<...>He could not shift his weight, flex his knees, or even turn his head without feeling the fire of the nails.<…> [Peretti, 1995, pp. V-VI].The theme of suffering in this complex BMC evokes associations with the biblical plot of crucifixion, represented by the BIS "cross", which is expressed by the artifact noun cross.However, in the individual author's interpretation, these sufferings were not for the salvation of mankind.Here is the story of how a father, a religious fanatic with sadistic tendencies, tortured his son because of his superstitions.The boy, suffering under the hot sun, begged for help, and at that moment he signed a contract with demonic forces.Later, as the plot progresses, it becomes clear that this guy will turn into a fake messiah of Brandon Nicholas.
Thus, one-component LRBISs expressed by proper names and common nouns in American mystical thrillers by Frank Peretti, create a tense atmosphere of spiritual battle between good and evil as in the battle between angels and demons in the biblical picture of the world.
Multicomponent LRBISs, which are expressed by phrases with two or more component words, are formed according to 8 structural patterns, including: Two-component LRBIS: N + N (noun + noun), e.g.: Mary Magdalene; V + N (verb + noun), e.g.: encounter the Cross; Adj + N (adjective + noun), e.g.: cardinal sin.The two-component LRBIS God's judgment expresses the BIS "throne", associated with power and judgment.In the artistic embodiment of the character's compositional BMC, God's judgment characterizes God`s punishment of mankind, e.g.: "The Oath" -Okay, "said Steve", so you`re saying the dragon is God`s judgment on a sinful town?" [Peretti, 1995, p. 405].
The three-component animalistic LRBIS Indians' snake god, in the character's BMC, represents the BIS "idol": You never heard about the Indians` snake god, or this being sacred ground and all that?[Peretti, 1995, p. 216].The serpent, the most cunning of all beasts, seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden [KJV].Thus, the biblical plot of paganism is artistically embodied in the thriller by Peretti by the three-component LRBIS Indian's snake god, formed according to the pattern N + N + N, symbolizes the idol worshiped by people.
The four-component LRBIS blood on someone's hands in the character's propositional BMC, formed according to the pattern N + Prep + Prn + N, is associated with breaking the rule and represents the BIS "blood": "How can we claim to be good when there`s blood on our hands?We need to do some real cleanup" [Peretti, 1986, p. 148].
Thus, the multicomponent lingual representation of biblical image-symbols is realized in two-component, three-component and four-component patterns.
The semantic and stylistic characteristics of LRBISs made it possible to determine their metaphoric and metonymic classification.
Means of metaphoric nomination of BIS are classified according to their structural features, stylistic characteristics, and thematic principle.One-component and multicomponent metaphoric LRBISs were determined by structural features, among which multicomponent ones formed according to patterns: V + N + Prep + N, N + V + Prep + V.For example, the motif of sin associated with the biblical story of Cain and Abel, when Cain killed his younger brother Abel because of envy, is artistically embodied by the multicomponent metaphoric LRBIS Sin is crouching at the door (N + V + Prep + N pattern), in the character's propositional BMC: Sin is crouching at the door, wanting to devour you [Peretti, 1995, p. 407].
According to the stylistic characteristics, taking into account the stability degree of figurativeness, metaphoric LRBISs create linguistic images expressed by biblical phraseology and speech images expressed by free phrases.For example, Biblicism be a wolf in sheep`s clothing, representing the BIS "wolf", creates the image of a false prophet who called himself the Messiah in the character's composite BMC: He pointed his finger in my face and spoke like a preacher."He`s a wolf in sheep's clothing and he's snatching my sheep!I'm not going to stand aside and let him do that" [Peretti, 2003, p. 225].This Biblical LRBIS to be a wolf in sheep's clothing expresses a hypocritical man who hides evil intentions under the guise of benevolence.For predation, the wild howl of the wolf was considered a particularly vile animal in Palestine.The sheep by nature is extremely submissive and gentle.Preaching the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, Jesus warned against false prophets who were among the followers of His teaching: "Beware of false prophets that come to you in sheep`s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" [KJV, Matthew 7:15].False prophets preached God`s Word only in words, not obeying them in deeds, thus bringing division of the community.
The Biblicism "Ten Commandments" expresses the rules of life that God has given to people.Moses received the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai [KJV].Artistically embodied in the character's composite BMC: I`m willing to accept Your existence and the rightness of Your commandments, Your truth, the Ten Commandments, and whatever else there is [Peretti, 1995, pp. 512-517], BIS "scroll", expressed by the Biblicism the Ten Commandments, symbolizes the moral and ethical code of humankind.
The Biblicism Voice Crying in the Wilderness expresses vain calls that go unanswered, e.g.: And saying, Repent ye:<...> spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight [KJV, Matthew 3:2].The one Isaiah speaks of as a cryer in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus was John the Baptist.He was to preach and prepare the people for the Kingdom of God, which was approaching with the coming of Christ [KJV].In the author`s propositional BMC: <...> Voice in the Wilderness, now wearing a fluorescent orange vest and waving orange traffic batons [Peretti, 2003, p. 179], the Biblicism Voice in the Wilderness 'the voice of one crying in the desert' is associated with John the Baptist.
According to the thematic characteristics, metaphoric LIBSs are divided into four groups: anthropomorphic, naturalmorphic, zoomorphic, and phytomorphic LRBISs.Anthropomorphic LRBISs.For example, in the character's propositional BMC Harrison Bly, having married into the Hyde family, has followed them in contracting with the devil himself [Peretti, 1995, p. 381], the motif of the Fall is artistically embodied with the multicomponent anthropomorphic metaphoric LRBIS contracting with the devil, formed according to the V + Prep + N pattern.One of the main negative characters, adjusting his life to the town of Hyde River, joined the agreement of the locals with the devil, that is, began to sin.
BIS "water", associated with repentance, symbolizes purification; it is expressed by such LRBISs as: confess sin to the Lord [Peretti, 1986, p. 323], [Peretti, 1986, p. 233]; to become a child of God [Peretti, 1989, p. 323].In the character's composite BMC: He would not remember <...>, that he had made a covenant with the Creator when only a young boy -"Jesus, come into my heart and take away my sins.God, I give You my life.Use me, Lord.I'm Yours" [Peretti, 1986, p. 9], the anthropomorphic metaphoric LRBIS of a religious nature to make a covenant with the Creator represents BIS "water", which symbolizes repentance and the beginning of a new life with Jesus.Naturalmorphic LRBISs.For example, LRBIS to open someone's Red Sea expresses overcoming obstacles.It is associated with the story of Exodus from Egypt and symbolizes God's help, e.g.: Of course, it was not unlike God to test our faith, <...> before he opened our Red Sea and saw us through safe [Peretti, 1986, p. 9].
The natural morphological metaphoric LRBIS the prayers reached to Heaven, artistically embodied in the author`s propositional BMC: The prayers reached to Heaven from Ashton, from Bacon`s Corner, and everywhere in between, <...> just this particular cry from His people [Peretti, 1989, p. 317], expresses BIS "incense" and symbolizes that God heard the prayers of people.Zoomorphic LRBISs.For example, Biblicism the Lamb of God expresses Jesus, which is associated with humility and sacrifice.The lamb was the main sacrificial animal.The book of Isaiah portrays the Messiah, the Savior sent by God to destroy evil on earth and establish the Kingdom of Heaven, as the Lamb to be sacrificed, e.g.: He was oppressed and humbled, but he did not open his mouth.As a lamb was led to the slaughter, so as a lamb is silent before its shearing, so He did not open His mouth [KJV,Isaiah 53:7].John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God as immaculate, pure sacrifice, e.g.: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world [KJV, John 1:29].In the author`s propositional BMC: The Lamb of God, like Pastor Thompson said.It was so real then, so long ago.It was a moment that truly stirred his soul [Peretti, 1986, p. 9], Biblicism "the Lamb of God" linguistically represents BIS "Jesus Christ", associated with Jesus Christ, who became a sacrifice for sin instead of people to bring them salvation from sin and death.In the author`s composite BMC: John was ready to receive the Lamb, he was ready to find Jesus, and as he called on the name of the Lord [Peretti, 1986, p. 1], the zoomorphic metaphoric LRBIS to receive the Lamb is associated with the invitation for Jesus to "enter the heart" symbolizing repentance of the main positive character.
Phytomorphic LRBISs.The BIS "tree" is associated with righteous people, e.g.: Blessed is the man that <...> is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper [KJV, Psalm 1:1-3].In the Holy Scriptures, righteous people are compared to a blossoming green tree, and wicked sinners are compared to a dry tree, with fallen leaves that turn to ashes.In the character's propositional BMC: "Broken Birch he" he continued to muse… [Peretti, 1986, p. 33], the phytomorphic metaphoric LRBIS broken birch denotes the name of one of the New Age groups engaged in occult practices and is a symbol of wicked sinners.In the artistic embodiment of the character's composite BMC, the phytomorphic metaphoric LIBS branch cut from a tree is associated with apostasy and symbolizes a person who has departed from God: You've cut yourself off from life, John.You're like a branch cut from a tree, and you're going to wither up and die if you don't get reconnected [Peretti, 1986, p. 156].
The phytomorphic metaphoric LRBIS set out a fleece is associated with Hedon when he was seeking the answer from God and symbolizes the trial of God (KJV).In an artistic embodiment of the character's propositional BMC: Perhaps we should set out a fleece as Gideon did in the Book of Judges, a way for God to indicate his will in a tangible way [Peretti, 2003, p. 162], phytomorphic metaphoric LRBIS set out a fleece symbolizes receiving an answer from God.
Means of metonymic nomination of BIS are classified into four groups according to the type of metonymic transfer.Metonymy of belonging.In the artistic embodiment of the character's propositional BMC, the metonymy of belonging 'the blood of the Lamb' is related to such BISs as 'cross', 'blood' and 'lamb'.It is associated with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary and symbolizes redemption, i.e. the Lamb shed His blood on the cross to redeem humankind from the bondage of sin.When the main character, Sally Rose, reconciled to God, the angels quoted a passage from Scripture: "The word of her testimony, the blood of the Lamb, and she does not love her life so much as to shrink from death", said Nathan."That's three", said Armoth [Peretti, 1989, p. 349].
The metonymy of belonging mandate from the throne of God, in the character's composite BMC, expresses the BIS "throne", which is associated with the spiritual power that God gives to believers: "Now I did stand up, too upset to hold still.You come cruising into this town throwing that big, glorious claim around as if it were some kind of mandate from the throne of God, but who's going to do all the work in the real world?"[Peretti, 2003, p. 38].
Metonymy of place.The metonymy of place the carpenter from Nazareth serves as LRBIS, symbolizing the earthly life of Jesus, who was a carpenter and lived in the city of Nazareth (KJV).In the character's propositional BMC, it is associated with Jesus Christ and creates the image of a hard-working man: To some, I am not.To some, I am.The same was true for the carpenter from Nazareth [Peretti, 2003, p. 207].
Metonymy of sign.The metonymy of sign remnant of saints, which is associated with the faithfulness of the Christians, is artistically realized in the personal composite BMC from the thriller "This Present Darkness": There's still a Remnant of saints somewhere in this town.There's always a Remnant [Peretti, 1986, pp. 46-47].
Metonymy of phenomenon.The metonymy of phenomenon Evil represents BIS "snake", because everything that violates God's order and hinders His plans is evil [KJV].In the artistic embodiment of the author`s composite BMC, the metonymic LRBIS evil symbolizes demons and the devil: Evil was a catch-all created for anything the majority did not like.Well, if he couldn't nail down what Evil was, why fight it?Whatever was evil today could be voted, legislated, or judged good tomorrow [Peretti, 1986, pp. 146-147].
Thus, Biblical image-symbols are well-known complex cognitive-linguistic constructs of human consciousness.Linguistically represented in the mystical thrillers written by the American Christian novelist Frank Peretti, biblical image-symbols embody biblical ideas and at the same time express author's individual associations with the most significant ideas.
The linguistic representation of biblical image-symbols in mystical thrillers by Frank Peretti can be considered a vivid example of postmodern literature and demonstrates the uniqueness of the writer's individual style.
The semantic analysis of biblical images-symbols realized in biblically marked contexts made it possible to describe and group them according to structural features (by the number of component words in their structure) and according to semantic features (by the type of figurative meaning).The means of one-component lexical classification of biblical imagesymbols are divided into two groups: proper names and common nouns, with common nouns having a higher frequency of representation than proper names.Proper names are divided into two groups according to their subject matter: anthroponyms (proper names of people) and toponyms (names of geographical objects).Common nouns are divided into three thematic groups according to their denotative meanings: artifactual, animalistic, and anthropomorphic.The means of multicomponent lexical and semantic nomination, which are expressed by word combinations with two or more component words, are grouped into two-component, threecomponent, and four-component lingual representatives of biblical images-symbols.
The metaphorical representation of biblical images-symbols is classified according to structural features, stylistic characteristics, and thematic principle.The analysis by structural features made it possible to divide them into two groups: one-component and multicomponent metaphorical lingual representatives of biblical images-symbols.The stylistic characterization led to the distinction of two types: linguistic (expressed by established phraseological phrases, namely biblical phraseologisms) and speech (expressed by free phrases in figurative, metaphorical, meanings).The means of metonymic representation of biblical images-symbols are classified according to the type of metonymic transfer into four groups: metonymy of belonging, metonymy of place, metonymy of feature, and metonymy of phenomenon.Figurativeness, which is predominantly metaphoric nomination (anthropomorphic, naturalmorphic, zoomorphic and phytomorphic metaphors), not only conveys denotative, factual information, but also objectifies an additional, implicit meaning that embodies certain thoughts, ideas, and experiences of the author.