anagogical

Anagogical refers to an approach in interpretation, especially of religious texts, that seeks to uncover the ultimate or heavenly meanings that lie beyond the literal sense. The term derives from the Greek ana- “up” and agoge “leading,” and is often grouped within biblical exegesis as one of the four traditional senses of Scripture: literal, moral (tropological), allegorical, and anagogical.

Historically, the concept is prominent in patristic and medieval exegesis. Early Christian writers such as Origen sometimes used multiple levels of meaning; later scholastics—Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, and others—systematized the fourfold method, reserving the anagogical sense for realities beyond the earthly life, such as salvation, heaven, and the ultimate destiny of humanity. Anagogical readings are intended to illuminate heavenly realities by reading events, persons, or institutions as signs of eternal truths.

In practice, anagogical interpretation is often linked with typology, though the two are distinct: typology identifies a representative figure or event in the text as prefiguring a later reality, while the anagogical sense emphasizes the final things and the destiny of the soul.

In modern biblical scholarship, the use of the anagogical sense varies. Some scholars treat it as legitimate for devotional or spiritual reflection, whereas others critique it as speculative when divorced from historical and literary context.

Outside religious studies, the term can also be used more generally to describe anything that leads upward toward higher or ultimate meanings.