To Christians?

Question

Why do some people feel that all parts of the bible must be taken literally EXCEPT Revelations? Whenever you change the literal meaning of a word in, say, Genisis, they jump on you. But when they look at Revelations, they give huge importance and obscure metaphorical significance to every phrase.

Doesn't this seem strange?

I really am not out to offend, I just think that Christians should have an open mind about their religion. It's strange to me to see Christians who think that they're the only ones who know how to understand the Bible.

Thank you Father K, I do make that mistake a lot. Revelation.

Answer 1

All religions cherry pick the texts they follow. The Bible is so inherently flawed and self contradictory that you have to cherry pick which parts to follow, if you're going to follow it.

Religious leaders use lots of rationalization, sometimes called apologetics, to give reasons for their cherry picking. This is usually enough to satisfy the converts who 1) don't really want to know about flaws in their belief and 2) don't really want to think too hard about religion.

Answer 2

The Bible is made up of many different genres of writing--history, (1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, for example) myth, parable, poetry, narrative, correspondence, sermon, prophesy.

Most people recognize these differences and recognize that each genre should be read differently. Revelation is described, by the author himself, as a dream or vision. We all know how much sense our own dreams make on a literal level, right? Although there are people who do take the book literally--those who claim that only 144,000 people will make it through the end of the world, those who refuse to have anything to do with the number 666 ("the number of the beast"), etc.

The error comes when people see Genesis or Job or Jonah as fact-filled history rather than myth. Jonah, for example, is pretty comedic, if you read it. It's a funny story meant to teach, not meant to describe actual events (sorry, literalists). Recognizing this doesn't make these books any less valuable, but opens readers up to digging deeper and finding meanings and teachings they otherwise might not.

I have yet to find anyone who takes Song of Songs literally. Hoo boy! Everyone's in a rush to find obscure metaphorical meanings for that book, because the surface meaning makes people blush. Ya know--there was someone over in Books & Authors looking for books about sex. I should have recommended this one.

Answer 3

Actually, I believe that the book of Revelation is quite real. Those things that can be taken literally should be taken literally, and those things which are obviously symbolic have within the text the meaning of the symbolism. There is no private interpretation of Scripture, and even though we might not fully understand what something means, that doesn't make it any less real.

For example, King David, in prophecying the death of the Messiah, described a death by crucifixion 1500 or so years before there was ever such a thing. The people of his day didn't understand it, but that didn't make it any less true. Perhaps THEY thought it was symbolic. Only time and prophecy fulfillment showed it to be quite literal.

We need to remember that John saw things "in the spirit" realm, and that would be like putting an aboriginese into a room full of electronic equipment and asking him to describe what he saw. There would be no mutual reference to base his descriptions.

Answer 4

One of the first concepts that children learn in Elementary school is the ability to tell if literature is written literally or figuratively.

All human languages have two types of speech: literal and figurative. Literal language is the type which is found in the historical books of the Bible such as Genesis and Exodus, the book of Acts, etc. It is fact. Literal words must be understood to have their actual meaning. In literal language, if a sheep is mentioned, it means a four legged animal which has wool on its back.
Figurative language is different. Words are used to represent ideas or thoughts which are different from the actual meaning of the word. For example: a sheep or lamb may be spoken of, but an animal is not meant. It is being used to represent something else which has some of the qualities of a sheep or lamb. Jesus was a man. He is the Son of God. But in figurative language in the Bible, He is sometimes spoken of as a lamb. John the Baptist said of Jesus: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)! Lambs were used for sin offerings under the Law of Moses. John did not mean that Jesus was an actual lamb. But he meant that Jesus would be the offering for our sins.

The Bible Was Written To Be Understood

* Deut. 30:11-14 the word is not out of reach.
* 31:9-13 to be read to men, women, children every seven years, an enduring process
* It was to all Israel: smart, dumb, conservatives, liberals
* those who didn't know it were expected to learn it Luke 1:1-4 Luke carefully investigated the life of Jesus that you might know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
* 2 Cor. 1:13 Paul wrote no other thing but what you can understand.
* Eph. 3:3-4 Paul wrote so that "you can understand when you read."
* 1 John 2:21 John said Christians can know the truth and can distinguish a lie.

Here is the point: let the Bible speak for itself and when you see it in the Book believe it for what it says. Paul said of Timothy, "From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures . . ." (II Timothy 3:15). If a child can understand it, can’t you?

Answer 5

The Bible says that it cannot be completely understood by nonbelievers, it says that the Holy Spirit provides "illumination" of the meaning of the scriptures to those who have accepted Christ. Also some parts of the Bible are obviously supposed to be taken literallly and some are more symbolic. The story of Jesus is supposed to be taken literally for example, while the story of the beast with multiple heads from Revelation is probably more symbolic.

Answer 6

We do not believe that ALL of the bible must be taken literally. Any bible study has to include background information about the author of that scripture, the time it was written in, the style it was written in as well as the original language and the meanings of words and how translation affects them.

I have studied other faiths, Mormonism, even Islam, while there are things in them that I have no problem with, I could never accept Muhammad or Joseph Smith as true Prophets or deny the divinity of Jesus. So I became Catholic.

Peace be with you.

Answer 7

I believe that the book of Revelations uses metaphorical writings to explain future events. I do believe that Revelations is a literal book, understanding the book, however, is challenging.

Answer 8

If by "literally" you mean word for word without interpretation then I don't think any part of the bible "must" be taken literally. The term literal in this context suggests that the bible communicated the entire story and that was written entirely without the use of metaphors. That seems inconsistent with human nature and with the nature of God as described in the bible...his own son Jesus often spoke to people using parables to discuss complex concepts in a way his audience could understand (or at least relate to).

If you mean "literally" as in true, then I think all Christians should take the entire bible literally including Revelation. The bible makes in clear on numerous occasions that we can't possibly comprehend the scope of the mind of God (e.g., the wisdom of man is foolishness in the eyes of God). This concept is illustrated perhaps no where else as vividly as it is illustrated in Revelation. Throughout Revelation, John used the phrase "I saw something like" to describe things he was seeing. The consistent use of simile indicates that he was struggling to comprehend the things he was seeing by comparing them to things he could visualize. Perhaps the real lesson of Revelation (and the other metaphors and similes used in the bible) is that we need to constantly seek God's understanding instead of relying on our own...that if we accept what we read as the truth and seek to understand it, that God will reveal it to us in a way we can understand.

Personally, I think it is a huge mistake to think that John's picture of the end times is an accurate representation of what we will actually see and experience if we live through it...it is necessarily clouded by his own understanding (his ability to describe what he was seeing). People that are convinced that they will be "raptured" before the tribulation begins, that are convinced that the number of the beast is 666, or that think Revelation reveals a specific time for the events to begin (or end) are putting themselves at risk to be deceived by people or events that appear to mimic the events described by John and/or failing the recognize a sign because it doesn't appear to be consistent with our incomplete picture of what happens (e.g., Christians deceived by the anti-christ because they don't think he'll come around until after the rapture takes them out of the picture)!!!.

Instead, we should take Revelation as the truth about the inevitability of a final battle between God and the forces of evil (whatever that means) and that it won't be a happy or peaceful time for anyone that lives through it. We should use that to seek other "truths" in the story to help us prepare for whatever God has in mind for us when the end times arrive but leave the actual timing AND the details of the plan in his capable hands! As Christians, we should trust God and follow his instructions to be constantly alert and to seek his wisdom in all things...reading Revelation and coming to any definitive conclusions about what's to come isn't trusting God, it is trusting your own understanding of what he revealed to another man. Each of us should seek our own revelation every day!

Answer 9

I know where you are coming from. 'If you don't take Revelation literally, why take Genesis literally', right? Doesn't work, my friend.

Revelation is a vision of the FUTURE that was given to John, its writer, and visions can have different interpretations. Genesis, on the other hand, is a narrative of what happened in the PAST.

Answer 10

Don't worry because with prayer, you too can come to an accurate knowledge of God's word, the Bible.

Pray incessantly and God will hear your prayers. Pray for wisdom and to attain accurate knowledge of the Bible and you too will acquire this knowledge.

There are false Christians you know? Many false Christians do exist and blow the integrity of the Bible, but at least there are 10% of the world's population who are true Christians and do possess accurate knowledge.

Trust..

Answer 11

It seems strange only to those who are not properly educated on what the Bible actually says. I was one of those people until recently. Now I realize that I do not know nearly as much about what the Bible says as I thought I did and I used to think I was pretty smart.