| The Bible Literal, Symbolic, or Figurative? Answer, the Bible is eternal! Our Bible, all 66 books, is the Word of God. Our Bible is the spoken Word of God. Jesus is the Word and He is eternal. (John 1:1, 14). So again the answer is, the Bible is eternal. But yes our Bible does contain figurative language. And yes our Bible does use language containing many symbols and prophecy uses many symbolic metaphors. But I believe that man sometimes overlooks the fact that God meant what He said and said what He Meant. And hears lies our problem interpreting what God said and not what man meant. Because God is infinite and man in his fallen state is finite what God said and what man meant most of the times will not agree. God has said what He wants us to know. Many times man is not satisfied with what God has said and we believe that we must help God explain himself. This many times is the problem with interpretation. Our Bible is not two-dimensional but it is multi-dimensional. I honestly believe that our Bible is seven-dimensional, if not more. The average person could not imagine five or six dimensions of space let alone seven or more. God is not two-dimensional nor is He three-dimensional which is the world we are most familiar with. So what is my point? The point is that because our Bible is multi-dimensional and there are levels of understanding that given eternity we will never reach, the surface is never going to be all that God is saying. There are levels of understanding contained in Scripture. Should we then not take the Bible literal? We can take the Bible literal most of the time. The Holy Spirit will "Illuminate" any deeper meaning in Scripture. The key to interpreting our Bible and especially Bible prophecy is in discerning what is literal and what is symbolic. This is very important!!! Where God intends for us to interpret symbolically, He makes it obvious. But to interpret Scripture with symbolism or figuratively when the literal interpretation is sufficient for the purpose of the Scripture is just as bad as interpreting figurative and symbolic language literally. We must discern the difference between that which is literal and that which is figurative and symbolic. Let the literal remain literal and maybe the Church will begin to reach the unity of faith. Wrong interpretation creates division! God is not happy that His Church is divided and not working towards the goal of reaching a unity of faith. The Bible is the literal Word of God, inerrant in every aspect, but it was written so that human beings could understand it. Paul tells us that we must, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15). This exhortation is not just to Timothy but to every believer in Jesus who is Christ. If God did not want us to understand His Word or if His Word is to complex for the average person to comprehend what God wants us to know, then in God's inspired Word there would not be any encouragement for everyone to study His Word. Why waste your time studying something you will never understand? We can all reach levels of understanding and comprehension in the study of God's Word given the right motivation, determination, and quality/quantity of time invested in our pursuit of the Truth and to show ourselves approved unto God. When you seek to interpret the Word of God, you must handle the text properly, recognizing and respecting the figures of speech used in each book studied. A figure of speech is a word, a phrase, or an expression used in a figurative rather than a literal sense. There are guidelines for interpreting figurative language that must be used. You must first identify the fact that the author is using figurative language. Then identify the type of figurative language in use: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, metonymy, synecdoche, personification, or irony, and so on. More similes and metaphors are used in the poetical and prophetic literature than in the historical or biographical books. All these figures of speech help us "figure out" what God is saying to us. You also need to be aware of parables, allegories, types, and symbols and how to handle them so you don't distort the author's purpose in using them. God has spoken to us through His Word that we might know His truth. Interpretation of a particular section of Scripture must be consistent with the theme, purpose, and structure of the book in which it is found. It is vital to perform cross-reference of Scripture for the Scripture your are studying. Only when symbols or figures of speech make absolutely no literal sense, should anything but a literal interpretation be sought. God Bless. Peace! Maranatha! |