How to Interpret the Bible Lesson #9 - Figurative Language
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Introduction. Even with Jesus’ prayer for unity and Paul’s command that we all speak the same thing, the religious world is still hopelessly divided today. Few seem to care that we have the exact opposite of what Jesus sought. In the past few articles, we have been exploring the causes for and seeking solutions to this problem. Since God gave us a method to deal with divided opinions over doctrine (Acts 15), if we don’t use them to seek the truth, how can we defend ourselves before Him? With Peter’s example, the critical thinking skills (logic, deduction, and inference) of Paul and Barnabas, and James’ use of direct statements in Scripture we can resolve problems just as they did. Divisions over baptism, the Lord’s Supper, or the keeping of the Sabbath could all be set aside if we used God’s tools. Today we will look at another solution God has given to help us resolve the great chasm that has been created in the hearts of many who call themselves Jesus’ disciples.
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Unity has been destroyed for multitudes over doctrines like Premillennialism, the rapture ("Left Behind" novels), and the 144,000 of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Passages used to prove them come primarily from the figurative and symbolic language of Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Revelation, and Matthew 24. Because of these passages' highly figurative nature, these doctrines are difficult to refute.
John offered God’s solution to such divisions with a solemn affirmation: “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book ...” God knew Revelation was written in highly symbolic figurative language and was therefore prone to abuse and error. So John testified:
What principles can be used to guide those who love the truth in such circumstances? The only safe path is to first search for all the other Scriptures on the specific subject or doctrine being drawn from the figurative language. Once all truth is gleaned, we can then consider the figurative passages to see if doctrines drawn from them stay within these boundaries. If something taught from figurative language contradicts the plain teaching of other Scriptures, then it “takes away from.” If something new, found nowhere else in Scripture, is found in figurative language, then we have “added to.” Figurative language must not be used to create new doctrine!
The symbolism of Revelation and other books in Scripture were not written to change our view of the rest of the Scriptures, but exactly the opposite! They were written TO BE interpreted BY the rest of the Scripture. This is a subtle, but critical distinction. When we think we learn a new doctrine found nowhere else except Revelation, Daniel, or Matthew 24, it is too dangerous to believe or teach! If it adds one thing not found elsewhere, the plagues will be added to us, and if it removes a single thing from the rest of the Scriptures, we will face the dire situation of standing before Jesus to find that we have no access to the tree of life or any residence in the holy city.
The rapture and a thousand-year reign are both clear examples of what can occur when these principles are violated. If we first look at the simple and easy to understand Scriptures, we will find that these doctrines do “add to” the figurative language, creating a new and therefore false doctrine. The verses allegedly teaching the rapture are only found in Revelation, Jesus’ highly figurative words regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, and other passages of figurative symbolism. The clear passages on Jesus’ second coming do not teach these things (Jn. 5:28-29; 1Cor.15:51-52; and 1Th. 4:15-17).
Jesus said, “for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth. — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29) What logical conclusions must be drawn from this clear statement? At “His voice,” “ALL who are in the graves will hear and come forth. This includes both “those who have done good” and “those who have done evil.” There is only one resurrection! Everyone in every grave will comes out “in that hour.” There will be no distinction in this resurrection. All who have ever lived, good and evil, will come forth in that hour.
Paul said “we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep". Only AFTER “all in the graves” have heard His voice and come forth will those who are alive be changed. Those “who are alive” CANNOT “precede (go before)” those who are dead. This begins at the moment when “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” What Jesus called His voice, Paul called His shout. With the shout of His voice, all (good and evil) in the graves will hear and come forth. Paul spoke of the “dead in Christ,” and Jesus of all (good and evil). They are not in contradiction. Paul focused on the good and Jesus on both. Only after all come from the graves will “we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
Paul told the Corinthians, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.” If we are all to be changed in the twinkling of an eye, there can be no one changed prior to or after that time. Every Christian whether alive or dead at the Lord’s return will all be changed in an instant. “The dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The dead first, and the living second, all changed in the same instant. There can’t be a thousand years between resurrections! There can’t be any lapse in time for all Christians to be changed. It will ALL occur, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet".
When we add all these things together, we see that it all occurs instantaneously. The voice, the trumpet, all who are in the graves hearing His voice and coming forth, the dead in Christ rising first, then we that are alive and remain being changed.
Conclusion. God has revealed that symbolic language is very dangerous to us. It is always tempting to use our imaginations and devise our own conclusions. We must resist that temptation. If we succumb and add to or take from we will lose everything we have struggled so hard to attain.
For additional study material from our archives, see the following:
John offered God’s solution to such divisions with a solemn affirmation: “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book ...” God knew Revelation was written in highly symbolic figurative language and was therefore prone to abuse and error. So John testified:
- ... if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. (Rev. 22:18-19)
What principles can be used to guide those who love the truth in such circumstances? The only safe path is to first search for all the other Scriptures on the specific subject or doctrine being drawn from the figurative language. Once all truth is gleaned, we can then consider the figurative passages to see if doctrines drawn from them stay within these boundaries. If something taught from figurative language contradicts the plain teaching of other Scriptures, then it “takes away from.” If something new, found nowhere else in Scripture, is found in figurative language, then we have “added to.” Figurative language must not be used to create new doctrine!
The symbolism of Revelation and other books in Scripture were not written to change our view of the rest of the Scriptures, but exactly the opposite! They were written TO BE interpreted BY the rest of the Scripture. This is a subtle, but critical distinction. When we think we learn a new doctrine found nowhere else except Revelation, Daniel, or Matthew 24, it is too dangerous to believe or teach! If it adds one thing not found elsewhere, the plagues will be added to us, and if it removes a single thing from the rest of the Scriptures, we will face the dire situation of standing before Jesus to find that we have no access to the tree of life or any residence in the holy city.
The rapture and a thousand-year reign are both clear examples of what can occur when these principles are violated. If we first look at the simple and easy to understand Scriptures, we will find that these doctrines do “add to” the figurative language, creating a new and therefore false doctrine. The verses allegedly teaching the rapture are only found in Revelation, Jesus’ highly figurative words regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, and other passages of figurative symbolism. The clear passages on Jesus’ second coming do not teach these things (Jn. 5:28-29; 1Cor.15:51-52; and 1Th. 4:15-17).
Jesus said, “for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth. — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29) What logical conclusions must be drawn from this clear statement? At “His voice,” “ALL who are in the graves will hear and come forth. This includes both “those who have done good” and “those who have done evil.” There is only one resurrection! Everyone in every grave will comes out “in that hour.” There will be no distinction in this resurrection. All who have ever lived, good and evil, will come forth in that hour.
Paul said “we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep". Only AFTER “all in the graves” have heard His voice and come forth will those who are alive be changed. Those “who are alive” CANNOT “precede (go before)” those who are dead. This begins at the moment when “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” What Jesus called His voice, Paul called His shout. With the shout of His voice, all (good and evil) in the graves will hear and come forth. Paul spoke of the “dead in Christ,” and Jesus of all (good and evil). They are not in contradiction. Paul focused on the good and Jesus on both. Only after all come from the graves will “we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
Paul told the Corinthians, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.” If we are all to be changed in the twinkling of an eye, there can be no one changed prior to or after that time. Every Christian whether alive or dead at the Lord’s return will all be changed in an instant. “The dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The dead first, and the living second, all changed in the same instant. There can’t be a thousand years between resurrections! There can’t be any lapse in time for all Christians to be changed. It will ALL occur, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet".
When we add all these things together, we see that it all occurs instantaneously. The voice, the trumpet, all who are in the graves hearing His voice and coming forth, the dead in Christ rising first, then we that are alive and remain being changed.
- In that hour “ALL (good and evil) who are in the graves will hear and come forth.
- Those who are alive will not precede or go before those who are dead.
- Only after all in the tombs come forth will those who are alive be caught up with them.
- All shall be changed in an instant.
- "Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Rev. 20:4-6)
- Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left." (Mt. 24:40-42)
Conclusion. God has revealed that symbolic language is very dangerous to us. It is always tempting to use our imaginations and devise our own conclusions. We must resist that temptation. If we succumb and add to or take from we will lose everything we have struggled so hard to attain.
For additional study material from our archives, see the following:
- "P" for "Premillennialism"
- "R" for "Rapture" and "Revelation, Book of"
- "S" for "Second Coming"