Why because I believe what scripture says in the plain, literal sense? Unlike many I have studied end-time events for over 40 years, so I know what I'm talking about.
You people who are applying symbolic meanings to information that is meant to be interpreted in its plain literal sense, are going to have to find out by seeing it first hand.
Bible interpretation is NOT about symbolism. Some things are meant to be taken literally. Jesus birth, death and resurrection, for example! Salvation by grace through faith. And so on!
But the Bible is so much MORE than a book of facts to be taken literally!
It is the history of how God planned for his Son to be the atonement for our sins!
Understanding the Bible depends on genre, that is, is it a poem, a parable, a prophecy or a literal account of something?
It is so important to remember the Bible was written to people who lived thousands of years ago, with different languages, culture and ways of living. It also was written to us, but secondarily. The Bible is universal, it transcends space and time, but we need to look at each passage to see what the ancients thought first! And, that is not easy, for anyone, including scholars.
Then, the pages of the Bible must be illuminated by the Holy Spirit, also within the framework of context. The first thing we should ask ourselves, is how did the original audience understand this passage before we start grabbing verses out of context and stringing them together with other out of context verses, to make doctrine.
And language is so important! I would go so far as to say, it is nearly impossible to take the "plain meaning" of the text without understanding the original languages, the time and culture. I have seen too many people in this forum make wrong conclusions based on the English text, where there are errors, or it simply is very difficult to be translated from the parent language into English, because of simple things like the word order being radically different in Greek than in English.
Finally, self study is wonderful! We should all do it! But we should be humble, and read many viewpoints about a passage or topic. Sometimes that kind of home study leads to arrogance and pride. I studied and read the Bible for 25 years. When I went to seminary, I learned more about rational and reasonable ways to study the Bible in a few months, as opposed to 25 years of misguided study. I'm grateful every day God gave me so many tools at seminary, to really dig deep, into his Word!
I'm not saying we will all agree on everything. But, your hermeneutical principles are simplistic at best, sketchy and don't work on the other hand! That is what is causing you to think your studying is more valuable and closer to the truth, than any one of the rest of us, including my 38 years of Bible study.
Eschatology is a very difficult topic, one we won't truly understand until Jesus returns and judges us all! To say we have all the answers, especially based on a poor hermeneutic, is arrogance and pride at its worst. We simply do not have all the answers, but God does!
I look forward to the parousia or second coming. But, not a third coming, an invisible coming, nor a temple that the book of Hebrews totally refutes! Jesus died once for all! No temple or sacrifices needed! Regardless of what the Jews think is needed for the coming of Christ. God is in control, not a group of people who have rejected Jesus!
The plain meaning of the text is that Jesus literally died on the cross for our sins, so that we might enter into a relationship with God, having been forgiven our sins!
(I could be mistaken though)
