Should you take time in the bible literally?

[Devonmcknight68]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

 

[JesusIsAll]

"When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise."

It's called the Golden Rule of Interpretation. In my experience, the only people who can show the Bible is harmonious and makes complete sense are those who are of the school the Bible means just what it says, unless, clearly, symbology is intended. There isn't all this symbology many claim. Roman Catholics were great at injecting themselves into scripture, by perverted symbology. Making something a symbol and assigning it one's own meaning is the last refuge of those who don't understand scripture, or wish to pervert scripture.

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Only people are the authors of confusion. Maybe God intended the message board be a wilderness?

 

[JesusIsAll]

Would like to add that, when there are things in scripture of quite literal character of detail, there is no reason, in the first place, to symbolize it. God does not intend we make of His word whatever we wish to make of it, rather to seek and find what is real, truth. Bogus interpretations are, after all, just fantasy, worthless fictions, and worthless fictions are not God's message to creation, our God who is a God of truth, and a God of nothing but the truth.

 

[resurrection33]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

Psalms makes references to “waters,” which I believe is figurative language describing out thoughts. Revelation refers to New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, which I believe is figurative language describing the peace that “descends” on us when we repent of our sin. Revelation’s “lake of fire,” I believe, is figurative language describing the pain we experience when we sin.

 

[KJV1611]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

This is what I've found in my study of the bible.

Forty represents the time of testing and tribulation. 2 represents the time of Christ... first coming second coming. Forty and two months represents the last 2 thousand years.

Time, times and the dividing of times is the same as forty and two months. One time is the fulfillment of Passoever, times is the fulfillment of unleavened bread and firstfruits. Dividing of time is the not yet completed fulfillment of Pentecost.

 

[InSpiritInTruth]

You have to rightly divide between the natural things from the spiritual things in scripture by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The book of Revelation is very, very symbolic, but many take the time of 42 months in it at face value which is a mistake. When you have put all the pieces together using scripture to confirm scripture you will see the 42 months cannot possibly be taken at face value, it is a sign of time.

Here is a post I wrote on it.......http://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/106986-42-months-sign-time.html

 

[KJV1611]

Jerusalem has been trodden by the Gentiles for 2000 years... that's paints a pretty good picture of the time frame.

Revelation 11:2 KJV
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

 

[CS1]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

Context is important , application and interpretation in it proper useage. authorial intent has to be studied and supported with other scriptures to determined if it is a normative or descriptive.

 

[Dino246]

The only place I can think of (off the top of my head) where time is used with a non-literal meaning is in Daniel 9, where "weeks" is used to represent groups of seven years. There may be others, but I'd hold to the literal sense unless there is a clear and compelling reason to do otherwise.

 

[Grace777x70]

The first thing to do when reading any letters in the NT is to see who the writer was writing to in their historical - social setting. When we find out what the original intent of the letter is to these people and factor in the historical narrative then we can find the central truth that the Lord wants us to know now. Failure to do that leads to all kinds of legalism.

We would still have slavery in place if we didn't take the historical/social setting in the scriptures as slavery is in both the OT and NT. We can see the progressive heart of the Father being revealed.

 

[Persuaded]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

The Scripture should always be understood as it is written. There is some symbolism, but most is very plain and clear.
42 weeks means 42 weeks. 1260 days means 1260 days. Three and a half years means three ans a half years.
When you try to make these clear times to mean something else, you have many wrong "interpretations" as already presented in this thread.
I am amaized at how some think they are so smart and can "interpret" Scripture and tells us dummies what it really means.

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

Jerusalem has been trodden by the Gentiles for 2000 years... that's paints a pretty good picture of the time frame.

Revelation 11:2 KJV
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

That's assuming the holy city refers to a physical city.

 

[KJV1611]

That's assuming the holy city refers to a physical city.

Do you think heavenly Jerusalem is being trodden under foot?

 

[GodIsSalvation]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

Yes.........

 

[crossnote]

Psalms makes references to “waters,” which I believe is figurative language describing out thoughts. Revelation refers to New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, which I believe is figurative language describing the peace that “descends” on us when we repent of our sin. Revelation’s “lake of fire,” I believe, is figurative language describing the pain we experience when we sin.

Then perhaps the Creation story is figuartive? How about that talking snake in the garden? Must be figuative. Then of course, Jesus didn't literally rise bodily from the dead it was just a 'rising of hope' in our hearts!
See what happens when you go down that path?

 

[BeyondET]

"When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise."

It's called the Golden Rule of Interpretation. In my experience, the only people who can show the Bible is harmonious and makes complete sense are those who are of the school the Bible means just what it says, unless, clearly, symbology is intended. There isn't all this symbology many claim. Roman Catholics were great at injecting themselves into scripture, by perverted symbology. Making something a symbol and assigning it one's own meaning is the last refuge of those who don't understand scripture, or wish to pervert scripture.

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Only people are the authors of confusion. Maybe God intended the message board be a wilderness?

when I ponder I wonder if the message could be beyond yonder.

 

[JaumeJ]

In response to the title of the OP.....

Until one has read and studied enough to be accustomed to the usage of weeks, hours etc. in the written Word, perhaps it should be kept in abeyance, however one will become accustomed to the usage of weeks, days etc.

At times a day is a year, and other times a thousand years. Weeks may be years. An hour may be a moment. I believe if a person continually reads the Word, these units will become plain talk for all.

Time will tell, right? God bless all in Jesus Christ......

 

[TMS]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

2Pe_1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
If God wants us to understand the future without study or without any spiritual interpretation He tells us plainly and simply, and probly literally. But sometimes He wanted to hide things for a time or from certain people so He used symbols and types, and the Spirit revealed it in Gods time.
The problem is everyone claims to have the spiritual interpretation of prophesy..
"Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous." ~ H.A. Ironside

i suggest you look up the three main ways that prophesy has been interpreted?
[h=2]Preterism, Historicism and Futurism.[/h]

 

[TMS]

[h=2]Preterism, Historicism and Futurism[/h]When we try to understand prophecy we immediately run in to the problem of how it should be interpreted. In the first century the Christians interpreted the Apocalypse to be already beginning to be fulfilled. During the middle ages the prophecies of the Apocalypse were understood to be in the process of fulfilment in their day and this interpretation is today called Historicism because those fulfilments are now in our past. Another two methods were developed during the counterreformation to counteract Historicism called Pretersm and Futurism. Both of these attempted to remove the immediacy and relevance of prophecy to those living at that time by interpreting their fulfilments to having taken place way in the past (Preterism) or sometime way in the future (Futurism). It was basically a way of saying to people “don’t worry about prophecy – It doesn’t concern you – go back to sleep.” Both of these methods had little acceptance for two hundred years until dispensationalism gained popularity and was combined with futurism to come up with what have been become popular interpretations of prophecy.
Be very careful with dispensationalism.

 

[valiant]

I'm not just talking about in Genesis but in a lot of prophecy we see 42 months, 1260 days 3 and a half years repeated a lot. Is this something you take literal? Or would you look at it as having some other meaning maybe? Thoughts? Revelation 8 and Daniel 12 both are where I found these and genesis of course

You didn't find 42 months or 1260 days or three and a half years in Daniel because they aren't there. The only such period in Scripture is Elijah's three and a half years. The three and a half years in Revelation had Elijah's time in mind as an example of persecution.

The three and a half years of revelation refers to different timee periods as careful examination will demonstrate,