Scripture is silent on how or when the beast was put into the Abyss. All that is said is, "the beast who once was, now is not and yet will come." That he "once was" means that he was once not in the Abyss but out in the world. "now is not" refers to him not being in the world, but being in the Abyss. And of course "and yet will come" refers to him once again coming out of the Abyss. But as far when he was originally put in, scripture does not say. Obviously God had him put into the Abyss for this future fulfillment during that last seven years.
BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH
- Thread starter abcdef
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
I'm not so sure.
Rev 17:11, "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."
so which beast head is it that comes out of the abyss at the 5th trumpet?
Oh yes, isn't the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns Rome? city Rev 17:18.
Who is this beast that was once in the world? Roman Empire? beast #4 of Dan 7?
Roman Empire falls into the land of the dead.
1929, Rome is a nation again, same location, Caesar's image in control.
Rev 20:1-3.
Satan is identified as the dragon in v 2.
The dragon is identified as having 7 heads and 10 horns (nations) in Rev 12:3, which is Rome.
The Roman Empire is the nation that disappears from the land of the living and then returns to destroy Israel who is restored to Jerusalem.
The 7 times are not literal years.
The descriptions of the "times" are symbolic numbers.
The 7 times are the same time period as the statue in Dan 2.
No, the beast that comes up out of the Abyss, is just one of the seven heads, the one that receivers the fatal wound. The other kings are those previous seven, the five that had fallen, on is and the other has not yet come. The beast is a future king. He is one of the seven heads, not the entire beast. The heads and the horns represent different aspects of the beast system. The beast/dragon is also representing Satan as the orchestrator. That eighth king is the antichrist will be empowered by the beast who comes up out of the Abyss.
The beast represents several things in Revelation, as Satan, a kingdom, and the ruler of that kingdom. The heads and horns represent different aspects of the beast. The head that receives the fatal wound is that antichrist who will be controlled by that beast who comes up out of the Abyss. You are misapplying the word beast to the wrong meaning.
Simple! The information regarding end-time events, is written for those who will be here when those events take place. The great tribulation saints, the 144,000 and the woman/Israel will be here during those times, as well as all the unbelievers. The church however, will have been removed prior to God's wrath, which is described from Rev.6 thru 18. Current believers in Christ, are the ones who are warning people of God's coming wrath and all related events.
I find it interesting the way Polycarp in his epistle to the Philipians words this sentence: "For he boast of you in all those Churches who alone then knew the Lord:but we (of Smyrna) had not yet known him.". Chapter 11, Polycarps Epistle to the Philipians
So Polycarp is speaking about Paul boasting about the Philipians in his(Pauls) letter, and then he says "in all those Churches who (alone then) new the Lord,but we had not (yet known him)" so Smyrna according to Polycarp was not yet established as a "Church" until after the Churches that Paul established,went through ect. So Smyrna the Church did not hear the Gospel and have a Church established there until after the others (Ephesus,Laodica ect.).
Polycarp seems to be separating two set of things
ne set of Churches(e.g. who alone then) in opposition to the others who had come to know the Lord after the first group of Churches. Irenaeus in A.H. book 5.30.3 says the vision was seen (towards) the end of Domitians reign . So Smyrna the Church seems to be established after the ones Paul boasted to and before ad96(approx). In Revelation 2:9 they are told they(Smyrna) are "rich" and unlike the other of the 7 Churches they are not corrected as if they had been in existence for long enough to begin to fall short of correctness. This would make sense if they had just been established and the others had been established long enough to begin to do things incorrect.
So then Smyrna had to have already been established before John was at Patmos for them to be included in the Revelation and so if it was seen towards the end of Domitians reign and its believed Pauls last letter (2 Timothy) then between ad61-5 and ad96(?) is when Smyrna became a Church and knew the lord.
Now considering Smyrna is mentioned in the Revelation and it gives the warning of Revelation 13 as if something to be watched for and as if it should be avoided, it the number would not have been in the form of an unknown but instead it would have been revealed if it pertained to them.
Irenaeus mentions this in A.H. 5:30.3, "distinctly revealed in this present time it would have been...". So as far as Irenaeus knew of in about ad150-170 no one had yet figured it out,heard of anyone figuring it out and were all still looking for it to be fulfilled in the future.
So Polycarp is speaking about Paul boasting about the Philipians in his(Pauls) letter, and then he says "in all those Churches who (alone then) new the Lord,but we had not (yet known him)" so Smyrna according to Polycarp was not yet established as a "Church" until after the Churches that Paul established,went through ect. So Smyrna the Church did not hear the Gospel and have a Church established there until after the others (Ephesus,Laodica ect.).
Polycarp seems to be separating two set of things
ne set of Churches(e.g. who alone then) in opposition to the others who had come to know the Lord after the first group of Churches. Irenaeus in A.H. book 5.30.3 says the vision was seen (towards) the end of Domitians reign . So Smyrna the Church seems to be established after the ones Paul boasted to and before ad96(approx). In Revelation 2:9 they are told they(Smyrna) are "rich" and unlike the other of the 7 Churches they are not corrected as if they had been in existence for long enough to begin to fall short of correctness. This would make sense if they had just been established and the others had been established long enough to begin to do things incorrect. So then Smyrna had to have already been established before John was at Patmos for them to be included in the Revelation and so if it was seen towards the end of Domitians reign and its believed Pauls last letter (2 Timothy) then between ad61-5 and ad96(?) is when Smyrna became a Church and knew the lord.
Now considering Smyrna is mentioned in the Revelation and it gives the warning of Revelation 13 as if something to be watched for and as if it should be avoided, it the number would not have been in the form of an unknown but instead it would have been revealed if it pertained to them.
Irenaeus mentions this in A.H. 5:30.3, "distinctly revealed in this present time it would have been...". So as far as Irenaeus knew of in about ad150-170 no one had yet figured it out,heard of anyone figuring it out and were all still looking for it to be fulfilled in the future.
Last edited:
The 7 heads of the beast Rome, (4th beast Dan 7, iron legs Dan 2, Nations, Rev chs 12,13,17,)
The one that "is", ..........Johns time,
Then the 7th,
You say, that the 8th head is future from now, yet he is ONE OF THE 7. ROMAN, ROMAN, ROMAN!
THEN WHO IS THE 7TH HEAD? ROME?
He must exist between the 6th head of John's time and our future,
WHO is the 7th head/nation?
Not a person, a nation, ( 4th, iron legs)
The 7th head receives the fatal wound and returns as the eighth head,
The Roman Empire fell when the 7th head died,
But then came back as the RCC, the 8th head, who is the image of the Empire and Caesar worship (worship the creation, man is God, Babylon).
The 7 heads represent the lifetime of the Roman Empire.
The five that had fallen are previous to John writing after 70 ad.
The 6th "is" at John's time,
Who (nation) is the 7th head, that follows the one of John's time?
Between the 6th and 8th head?
Remember that when the 7th dies, the 8th must take over (nations)
The 7th and 8th were future for John.
The beast is Rome, the horns are kings (that rule over nations, implied), Roman nations, still part of the beast nation Rome.
They rule after the Roman Empire fell in 476 ad.
Rome has the spirit of Satan, and the flesh of Satan in this world is symbolized as Rome.
You and I agree that the rider on the white horse at the 1st seal is the Antichrist.
So we see the Antichrist from the 1st seal, who is the 8th head,
Meeting up with the beast, who is the 7th head (previously stated by you in this post),
The beast coming out of the abyss 7th, meets the 8th Antichrist,
But you have the 8th head before the 7th head !
How can this be?
GUESS WHAT, I AGREE WITH THIS !
BUT IT IS OUR PAST....(2017)....NOT OUR FUTURE !
The Roman Empire, the beast of 7 heads,
Crawled out of the abyss, and became a nation again in 1929.
When he did that, he reunited with the Bishop of Rome, who is the 8th head.
(The seven seals are the time between the rejection of the Pentecost Kingdom and the destruction of Jerusalem.)
So Caesar of the Roman Empire, who is the Antichrist, and seen at the first seal,
Reunites with the image of Caesar, BoR, at the 5th trumpet and becomes the flesh of the Roman Empire again, Vatican, 1929.
They are ALL ONE ENTITY, ROME. Iron legs, 4th beast.
666, the number of power,
The number of Satan 600,
The number of Rome 60,
The number of a man, 6
666 the number of Caesar.
The horns are kings (of nations, assumed)
10 symbolizes complete division, see how the toes remain divided and do not come together as one nation again, Dan 2.
The beast is a nation,
The Antichrist controls the nation.
Caesar controls Rome.
The beast has 7 heads, the woman sits on the beast of 7 hills.
If you are talking about the head of the beast, the Antichrist, then that would be Caesar.
Maybe I missed something?
Where is it specified in Daniel?
If you are talking about ch 4,
It never says 7 years,
It says 7 times, which is a complete period of time,
Not a literal 7 years, that must be assumed, (cannot be confirmed), in this case.
Can you show me a scripture that specifically says that, "the 7 times are 7 years", in Daniel?
Good day John,
"Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place"
Coming to the conclusion that the "seventy 'sevens'" are seventy sets of seven year periods, is based on the events that are mentioned within Dan.9:24-27. Below are the events:
Seven 'sevens' = restore and rebuild Jerusalem
Sixty-two 'sevens' = Messiah cut off (Christ crucified)
So far we have seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens' which equal sixty-nine 'sevens.' Now we have two events "the restoring and rebuilding of Jerusalem" and "the Messiah being cut off" that help us to establish what the "sevens" represent, whether they are weeks, months or years. And whatever the 'sevens' are, there are sixty-nine of them mentioned above.
If we use the event of the Messiah being cut off/crucified and work backwards to the restoring and rebuilding of Jerusalem using the 'sevens' as representing weeks or months, there would be no fulfillment, for there was no rebuilding and restoring of Jerusalem sixty-nine weeks or months looking back from the time that the Messiah was cut off.
However, if we look back from the Messiah being cut off as being sixty-nine sets of seven years, it brings us to 445-446 BC, which is when Nehemiah went to king Artaxerxes and got letters (decrees) to pass through the area of the Trans-Euphrates and letters for the kings forest to cut down trees for timber to rebuild Jerusalem.
7 x 7 yrs = 49 Yrs = Restore and rebuild Jerusalem
62 x 7 yrs = 434 years Messiah cut off
49 yrs = 434 yrs = 483 yrs
483 yrs minus 446 BC = 37 AD
From the time of the restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem to the Messiah being cut off, brings us to 37 AD, which without taking into consideration the calendar changes, this puts the date of the Messiah being cut off right around the time that Jesus was crucified. So you see, using the events mentioned, which is exactly why they are in scripture, it allows to figure out what the seven sets of 'seven' represent, which are years.
Well, seventy 'sevens' were decree and so far we only have sixty-nine accounted for. Here is the seventieth seven or last seven of that prophecy.
"He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
The above is the last seven years, but there has been no fulfillment of a seven year covenant, no abomination being set up, no desolation and the end that is decreed to be poured out on that ruler who sets up the abomination has not taken place.
From the time that the Messiah was cut off, God put a hold on that last seven years and began building His church, which is still in the process of being built. Once the church has been completed, then the Lord will descend from heaven and gather the entire church, dead and living. Following that, God will pick up where he left off with Israel fulfilling that last seven years in fulfillment of the seventy 'sevens' complete with a rebuilt temple and sacrifices, just as they were performing at the time the Messiah was cut off.
The setting up of the abomination will result in the woman/Israel fleeing into the wilderness where she will be cared for by God for 1260 days, which is the last 3 1/2 of that last seven year period and which is recorded in Matt.24:15-21 and Rev.12:6,14.
The other event of "until the end that is decreed is poured out on him" is referring to when that ruler, the beast, is thrown alive into the lake of fire when Christ returns to the earth to end the age as demonstrated in Rev.19:20.
Therefore, that is how we come to the conclusion that the seventy 'sevens' are seventy sets of seven year periods and that by using proper exegeses of the events mentioned in the scripture.
"Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place"
Coming to the conclusion that the "seventy 'sevens'" are seventy sets of seven year periods, is based on the events that are mentioned within Dan.9:24-27. Below are the events:
Seven 'sevens' = restore and rebuild Jerusalem
Sixty-two 'sevens' = Messiah cut off (Christ crucified)
So far we have seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens' which equal sixty-nine 'sevens.' Now we have two events "the restoring and rebuilding of Jerusalem" and "the Messiah being cut off" that help us to establish what the "sevens" represent, whether they are weeks, months or years. And whatever the 'sevens' are, there are sixty-nine of them mentioned above.
If we use the event of the Messiah being cut off/crucified and work backwards to the restoring and rebuilding of Jerusalem using the 'sevens' as representing weeks or months, there would be no fulfillment, for there was no rebuilding and restoring of Jerusalem sixty-nine weeks or months looking back from the time that the Messiah was cut off.
However, if we look back from the Messiah being cut off as being sixty-nine sets of seven years, it brings us to 445-446 BC, which is when Nehemiah went to king Artaxerxes and got letters (decrees) to pass through the area of the Trans-Euphrates and letters for the kings forest to cut down trees for timber to rebuild Jerusalem.
7 x 7 yrs = 49 Yrs = Restore and rebuild Jerusalem
62 x 7 yrs = 434 years Messiah cut off
49 yrs = 434 yrs = 483 yrs
483 yrs minus 446 BC = 37 AD
From the time of the restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem to the Messiah being cut off, brings us to 37 AD, which without taking into consideration the calendar changes, this puts the date of the Messiah being cut off right around the time that Jesus was crucified. So you see, using the events mentioned, which is exactly why they are in scripture, it allows to figure out what the seven sets of 'seven' represent, which are years.
Well, seventy 'sevens' were decree and so far we only have sixty-nine accounted for. Here is the seventieth seven or last seven of that prophecy.
"He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
The above is the last seven years, but there has been no fulfillment of a seven year covenant, no abomination being set up, no desolation and the end that is decreed to be poured out on that ruler who sets up the abomination has not taken place.
From the time that the Messiah was cut off, God put a hold on that last seven years and began building His church, which is still in the process of being built. Once the church has been completed, then the Lord will descend from heaven and gather the entire church, dead and living. Following that, God will pick up where he left off with Israel fulfilling that last seven years in fulfillment of the seventy 'sevens' complete with a rebuilt temple and sacrifices, just as they were performing at the time the Messiah was cut off.
The setting up of the abomination will result in the woman/Israel fleeing into the wilderness where she will be cared for by God for 1260 days, which is the last 3 1/2 of that last seven year period and which is recorded in Matt.24:15-21 and Rev.12:6,14.
The other event of "until the end that is decreed is poured out on him" is referring to when that ruler, the beast, is thrown alive into the lake of fire when Christ returns to the earth to end the age as demonstrated in Rev.19:20.
Therefore, that is how we come to the conclusion that the seventy 'sevens' are seventy sets of seven year periods and that by using proper exegeses of the events mentioned in the scripture.
Doesn't it say in Dan 9:25, that Jesus comes at the beginning of the 69th week?
Implying that His ministry began at the beginning of the 69th week?
That would put His death after the 69th week had started, half way through the week.
Leaving 3 1/2 years not 7.
The last 3 1/2 years were confirmed by the Pentecost Kingdom, until the natural branches were cut off.
Then Jesus destroyed Jerusalem, by using Rome, for rejecting the kingdom..
------
The 7 times are not 7 years.
This is seen in Dan 7:25,, where the 4th beast nation, Rome, is given power over Israel for 3 1/2 times.
Rome has had power over Israel for 1900 years, 70 ad until Israel was restored to Jerusalem in 1967.
That's the 3 1/2 times.
Rev shows it shows as the time of the 2 witnesses outside the city, and the woman in the wilderness Rev 12,
Which are both the same time period,
The times of the gentiles, Lk 21:20-24, 24.
With all due respect. How would we know whether to spiritualize or not? Remember without parables (comparing that seen the temporal, to that unseen the eternal ,the faith principle ....Christ spoke not to the multitude (everyone that heard)
Has He left us in the dark or does he gives us the understanding of dark saying of the parables by the light of His word?
The word proverb is the same as the word parable. He hides the mysteries from those he does not know.
Proverbs 1:6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
The woman in Revelation 12 (the bride of Christ the church is the same woman found in Genesis 3. It the goal of the scriptures Christ creating a bride to live with eternally.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly "multiply thy sorrow and thy conception"; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.Gen 3:15
The bride of Christ made of of Jew and gentile alike is shown coming down from the city of Christ the new Jerusalem .She Christ virgin bride is pictured as the segregate mother of us all .As we hold out the incorruptible word of God as the the seed of our husband Christ .He forms Christ, the holy Spirit of God in us.
We can see Paul being used as a surrogate mother as he held out the gospel to Timothy who as a bride was considered a chaste virgin that does not fornicate with other gods.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
One husband Christ one bride the church.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.......(faith)
Strongs lexicon...238 allegoreo {al-lay-gor-eh'-o}rom 243 and agoreo (to harangue, cf 58); TDNT - 1:260,42; v
AV - be an allegory 1; 11) to speak allegorically or in a figure/parable
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.Gal 4:19-26
Has He left us in the dark or does he gives us the understanding of dark saying of the parables by the light of His word?
The word proverb is the same as the word parable. He hides the mysteries from those he does not know.
Proverbs 1:6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
The woman in Revelation 12 (the bride of Christ the church is the same woman found in Genesis 3. It the goal of the scriptures Christ creating a bride to live with eternally.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly "multiply thy sorrow and thy conception"; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.Gen 3:15
The bride of Christ made of of Jew and gentile alike is shown coming down from the city of Christ the new Jerusalem .She Christ virgin bride is pictured as the segregate mother of us all .As we hold out the incorruptible word of God as the the seed of our husband Christ .He forms Christ, the holy Spirit of God in us.
We can see Paul being used as a surrogate mother as he held out the gospel to Timothy who as a bride was considered a chaste virgin that does not fornicate with other gods.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
One husband Christ one bride the church.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.......(faith)
Strongs lexicon...238 allegoreo {al-lay-gor-eh'-o}rom 243 and agoreo (to harangue, cf 58); TDNT - 1:260,42; v
AV - be an allegory 1; 11) to speak allegorically or in a figure/parable
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.Gal 4:19-26
Last edited:
You read the word of God in the literal sense, until a symbolic interpretation is obvious or required. You don't just apply symbolism because someone said so.
And I wish that you guys would stop using that scripture regarding Christ speaking in parables, as the scripture makes it clear that when his disciples asked him why he spoke to the people in parables, he said the following:
==========================================
The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
=====================================
As you can see from the scripture above, Jesus spoke parables to that generation of Israel in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah. But he told his disciples, which represent the church, that the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to all believers. He only spoke parables to that generation of Israel. Whenever confronted with the truth of scripture, people attempt to use this "Jesus speaking only in parables" as means of proving that we can't know what the word of God is saying. If you read the scripture that I provided above, it should be very obvious of who he spoke parables to.
And I wish that you guys would stop using that scripture regarding Christ speaking in parables, as the scripture makes it clear that when his disciples asked him why he spoke to the people in parables, he said the following:
==========================================
The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
=====================================
As you can see from the scripture above, Jesus spoke parables to that generation of Israel in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah. But he told his disciples, which represent the church, that the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to all believers. He only spoke parables to that generation of Israel. Whenever confronted with the truth of scripture, people attempt to use this "Jesus speaking only in parables" as means of proving that we can't know what the word of God is saying. If you read the scripture that I provided above, it should be very obvious of who he spoke parables to.
Last edited:
Yes we read the literal word as it give us the spiritual understanding hid from the lost ,who must walk by sight. .
When do we know when it is obviously required?.Ask the dispensationalist when to apply symbolism because they said so?
My Home church of twenty five years where I was saved under the preaching of the gospel practiced it.
Has he left us in the dark or given a way, seeing without parables he spoke not?
How do we understand a parable . Is it by applying his prescriptions like below?
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
To understand the symbolism,
Begin with the understanding that the Bible is many literal events that have symbolic meanings,
and many symbols that have literal meaning.
----
Literal events that have symbolic meaning:
The sacrifice of animals (lamb), symbolizes Jesus's sacrifice.
Noah and the flood, baptism 1 Pet 3:20-21.
The Ark of the Covenant, Jesus and the gospel.
----
Symbols that are literal events:
2 Kings 13:14-19, 19, Hitting the arrows
Ezek ch 5, Hair divided. This chapter tells about the destruction of Jerusalem.
It is majorly important to read and understand the prophecy in this chapter, symbols and fulfillment, to understand Matt 24, Mk 13, Lk 21, and the Rev.
----
The symbols in Matt 24, Mk 13, Lk 21, and the Rev represent real events and entities.
To find out what the symbols mean, just look and study in the OT. concordance
Or, do some investigating on the net about what symbols/numbers mean, in a general way.
Just get the information, and do your evaluation.
----
fig tree...Israel, The Pentecost Kingdom, Matt 24:32-33.
----
Changing the meaning of the symbols is where the problem lies, gererally