There are a number of reasons why this last book of the Bible is so hard to understand. This series of posts will center on each of these issues in turn. This discussion is on the nature of the language employed in the book.
“(Augustine suggested) a two-fold principle of interpretation of Scripture, namely, a literal interpretation of Scripture as a whole, but a spiritual or nonliteral interpretation of prophetic Scripture....The premillennial system of interpretation of Scripture interprets prophecy in the same way as other Scripture...Though recognizing that some Scriptures are contextually indicated as containing figures of speech and not intended for literal interpretation, premillennial interpretation finds no need for spiritualizing prophecy any more than any other portion of Scripture.” John Walvoord, The Millennial Kingdom
Walvoord faults Augustine and the churches who followed his lead in departing from a literal reading. But in reality Augustine was more literal than many earlier and later commentators.
He states that non-premillennials divide the Bible into only two classes of literature. That is not true, as we will see in a minute.
He says that all premillennials view prophecy in the same way—literally. This is only true for his type of premillennialism called dispensationalism or pre-tribulation prmillennialism.
Finally, he brands other views as spiritualizing, a derogatory term usually reserved for those who deny the literal meaning of historical events such as the Virgin Birth or the Resurrection.That is a false characterization.
Walvoord does have one good point, however. There are figures of speech in the Bible that were never intended to be understood literally. So first of all, let's look at a few guidelines for identifying when figurative, rather than literal, language might be present.
Take the language as literal unless:
It is stated otherwise in the text—it is clearly labeled as a metaphor, a parable, etc.
Figurative language would be expected from the context—as in poetry, for example.
It would result in a logical fallacy or absurdity—such as Jesus saying “This is my body.”
It would contradict known facts—such as references in the Bible to the four corners of the earth.
It would contradict statements found elsewhere in Scripture—will give an example in a bit.
Let's deal next with Walvoord's assertion that many Christians wrongly consider prophecy in the Bible to be interpreted using different rules than are applied to the rest of the Bible. Actually, each different type of literature in the Bible needs to be accepted on its own terms. Understanding this was the thrust of the Bible Interpretation Class given by my pastor and myself several years ago.
The Nature of Biblical Language
History, Law Literal
Epistles Literal, Figurative
Poetry Figurative, Use of Parallelism
Prophecy Poetic, Events Telescoped, Fulfillment is Conditional (from OT) and Ambiguous (from NT)
Apocalyptic Veiled, Symbolic, Cyclic
Let's make sure that we understand some of these types of language:
If I say, “Your behavior is entirely inappropriate,” that is using literal language.
If I say, “You are acting like a beast,” that is figurative language (specifically a simile).
If I say, “You are beastly” or “You are a beast,” that is also figurative language (metaphors).
But what if I say, “Numerous beasts with heads like leopards will arise from the waters. And the ruler of the beasts will stop up the waters for two of seven times causing tribulation among all mankind?” This symbolic, veiled, apocalyptic language is the most ambiguous type to decipher unless I actually follow it up with an explanation or you know the context.
You can see that the question of language and genre are closely related, but we will save the discussion of genre for next time.
There are three major options for the language in Revelation: literal, veiled, or symbolic.
Understanding the Visions Literally
The simplest and most logical view would seem to be that since they are visions, John was allowed to
actually see future events unfolding as on a TV screen—and therefore we can view it as history, but
history of the future.
Example:Read Revelation 9:4-5, 7-11. Now if you do a Google Images search on this passage, you
can see attempts by various artists to picture this composite monster.
Now to many of us, this literal explanation flunks the test by resulting in an absurdity. But there is a
way of salvaging the literal approach and that is the tack taken by Hal Lindsey in The Late Great
Planet Earth. He explains that the events John saw are taking place in our modern age and John
couldn't comprehend what he was seeing the way we can today. John just did the best job he could of
describing his vision in terms of things he was familiar with. What he was actually seeing was an
attack helicopter where the crowns of gold on their head = pilot's helmets, woman's hair = helicopter
blades, etc. This interpretation may seem a bit little far-fetched to some. A more important issue is that
it doesn't seem to fit with the stated purpose of these locust; they are not intended to kill people but
only torture them. Not something that you generally use an attack helicopter for. We will see other
examples where a so-called literal understanding of one aspect of a text actually leads to a major
departure from other literal details in the text.
The Use of Veiled Language
Most of you have probably noted that the book seems to be almost purposely obscure. There could be
two good reasons for this.
A. First consider the situation of the original audience. It is obvious that John is addressing Christians
of his day who were experiencing persecution from the Roman authorities, as John himself was,
writing from exile. Therefore, if many of the visions he was told to share involved advice to the church
as to how to prepare for further persecution from Rome, it would be dangerous for him and his
audience if these writings should fall into unfriendly hands. So he employed a sort of code that they
could understand, but non-Christians couldn't. This may also explain the extensive use of Old
Testament allusions in Revelation.
As one possible example of this phenomenon, read Revelation 17:3,6,9-12.It describes a woman seated
on a beast with seven heads and 10 horns. Then it explains the heads as both seven hills (the hills of
Rome seem to be the obvious reference) and 7 rulers. The eighth ruler belongs to the first seven The 10
horns are described as 10 future rulers. There are historians who fit all the rulers of the Roman Empire
into this passage, even the mysterious 8th ruler (There was a current legend of Nero coming back to
life as one of the future emperors.) Notice the total of 17 rulers: a number that has symbolic
significance for the Apostle John.
Another reason for veiled language:
“I personally believe that one reason for the use of cryptic symbols was to keep the reader from
giving the future fulfillment too great a place in the message of the book. The writer wanted to
turn the reader toward God, not just toward future events.” Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical
Spiral, p. 287. We should keep in mind that any interpretation that doesn't center in on the book as
The Revelation Concerning Jesus Christ is suspect.
Symbolic Understanding of the Visions
One argument for seeing the visions in Revelation in symbolic terms rather than something to be
interpreted literally is to look at visions given to the OT prophets as a guide. A few examples will
suffice to demonstrate this point.
This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a
plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb
line.” Then the LORD said, See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will
never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate...” Amos 7:8-9 Israel's
sanctuaries were going to be laid waste because they did not measure up to God's standards, they were
skewed. The meaning is in the symbolic function of the object in the vision; it is not a prophecy that
God will actually come to earth in the future with a plumb line in his hand to measure the walls of
Israel.
“This is what the LORD showed me—a basket of summer fruit. He said, “Amos, what do you
see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit (qayits).” Then the LORD said to me, “The end
(qets) has come upon my people Israel.” Amos 8:2 Explanation here is all in the similar sounds of
two Hebrew words -- not in the physical appearance of the vision or even in the function of the item.
Again, a literal vision concerning future events has a very non-literal explanation.
Or we could consider the various visions that Daniel is given. These include a statue made of various
materials which is shattered by a rock rolling down a hill, bizarre beasts with iron teeth and multiple
heads, rams and male goats fighting, goats with multiple horns, etc. In each case, the explanation of the
vision is clearly given and is said to refer to various world kingdoms and their leaders. The meaning of
none of these visions is in the least on the literal, physical level—they are all highly symbolic.
But you could argue that the visions John was given don't fall into the same category as the visions
given to the Old Testament prophets. However, (1) as we will see, almost all of the imagery in the
visions of Revelation come directly from these same OT books, and (2) we have sure guides right
within the Book of Revelation itself to explain how the visions are to be viewed. In eight passages in
the book, the meaning of the vision is actually explained.
Revelation 1:20
7 lampstands = 7 churches function as bearers of light
7 stars = 7 angels/messengers
Revelation 5:8
incense = prayers of the saints both are pleasing and rise upward
Revelation 11:3-4
2 olive trees + 2 lampstands = 2 witnesses two different visions stand for one concept
Revelation 12:9
dragon = Devil / Satan
Revelation 17:9
7 heads of the scarlet beast = 7 mountains + 7 kings one vision stands for two concepts
Revelation 17:12
10 horns = 10 kings
Revelation 17:15
waters = groups of people
Revelation 21:9-10
a bride = city of Jerusalem
These are the only places in Revelation where an explanation of a vision is actually given. Note that in
none of these cases does the meaning of the vision have anything to do with its physical appearance.
Instead they are uniformly explained as having thematic, symbolic, or spiritual similarities.
Let's go to a test case and see how these three approaches to language in Revelation play out in practice.
Revelation 13:18 “This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of
the beast, for it is the number of a person (a human number). Its number is 666.”
Literal approach Look around for any occurrences of this number as a tip-off of who the beast is. You
don't have to look far since there are popular books written on the subject; and the internet is filled with
fanciful examples, some with tongue-in-cheek but most are deadly serious. Two of the most popular
understandings of 666 arose at the end of the last century.
The first one dates from the 1970's and is still around: It involves the inauguration of the NCR
computer with 6-core memory, 60 bytes/word and 6 bits/character. Advertised as 6.60.6 With this
powerful computer, (we are told) evil forces in the government can track the activities of everyone in
America, especially coupled with the government-mandated Social Security numbers for all newborns
beginning in 1989. This interpretative approach has been updated periodically to refer to other
computer hardware or software.
Another popular interpretation beginning in the 1980's involves the fact that all bar codes have three
numbers hidden in them: 666. Technically they are not the numbers 666 or any numbers at all but
guard bars to separate the manufacturing code from the product code. However, they closely resemble
number six. We are told by some that we will soon have a bar code tattooed on our body or as a
computer chip implanted in us, and won't be able to buy or sell without it. A 60th anniversary UN
picture has appeared on the internet with flags in front blocking the view of the zeros and leading to
666. Therefore the UN is the beast of Revelation according to some.
Note that all these “literal” approaches seem to ignore the clear statement given in the text that it is the
number of an individual, not a technology or organization.
A second possibility is the use of purposely veiled language
The Jews had developed the concept of gematria. Every letter in their alphabet was equivalent to a
particular number. Thus, the letters of any word could be added up to reach its identifying number.
Conversely, any number could be broken down into possible combinations of letters that would add up
to it. Some possibilities for 666 based on this hidden code method:
Neron Caesar
Caligula
lateinos (Roman State or the Pope)
Josephus
Martin Luther
Ku Klux Klan
Henry Kissinger
Ronald Wilson Reagan
“Beast”
Additional possibilities are endless. The first three above are strong possibilities as to why the name of
the beast had to be coded for the original audience. Nero is the best bet since Rev. 13:3 says that the
beast had been healed of a mortal wound. There was the belief in the Roman Empire that Nero either
didn't really die by suicide or had died but would come back again in a resurrected form. Another piece
of evidence is that use of the Latin form “Nero” in place of Neron adds up to 616, which is the reading
in a number of ancient NT manuscripts in place of 666.
Symbolic Even those who recognize that much of the language in Revelation is figurative tend to draw
the line with numbers. I think it has something to do with our modern scientific approach. Words are
loose concepts that can mean about anything, but numbers belong to mathematics and are sacred in
today's world. This was certainly not the view of the ancient Jews or Christians, who were not very
mathematically inclined.
I am going to go the long way around to explain 666 in symbolic terms because it also helps us in
understanding the many numbers that are in the Book of Revelation.
Symbolic Numbers in the Bible
3 = God (Trinity)
4 = the earth or universe
four points of the compass (Zechariah 6:1-7)
four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11:12 )
1000 = a large number
A day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 4:10)
Actually, one-half the references in the Bible to 1,000 are obviously symbolic rather than literal.
The Number 12
12 = 3 x 4 = the people of God
Twelve Judges
Minor Prophets
Tribes of Israel
Jesus' Apostles
24
elders (Revelation 4-5) = 12 + 12, representing the chosen people of the OT and NT
144,000 (Rev. 7--Those who are sealed) = 12 x 12 x 1000 (Many Old and New Testament
saints. They are said to be from the 12 Tribes, but this may refer to the New Israel since the
listing of tribes is unlike any found in the OT – Ephraim and Dan are missing, Joseph and
Mannasseh are listed, and Judah is listed first)
The Number 7 in the Bible
7 = 4 + 3 completeness, perfection, fullness (God completed the creation in 7 days)
a. If they (thieves) are caught, they will pay seven-fold;
they will forfeit all the goods of their house. Proverbs 6:30
This flunks two of the tests for literalness -- in poetry one expects figurative language. Also, in poetry
one needs to go to second line to help explain the meaning of the first line.In addition, a literal meaning
would lead to a contradiction between the first and second line -- is the thief to pay seven-fold or all his
goods?
b. Matthew 18:21-22: Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of
the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus
said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven (or seventy times seven)
times.” Here the main test showing that 7 is used literally by Peter but figuratively by Jesus is
that a literal meaning would result in an absurdity. Jesus is teaching that we should forgive
completely.
The Number 7 in Revelation
Besides the obvious series of seven churches, bowls, trumpets, etc., certain words and phrases appear
exactly seven times or in multiples of seven. Examples of seven-fold usage include: “the Spirit
says,” “prophecy,” “candlestick,” “cloud,” “worthy,” “bottomless pit,” seven lists including four
related elements such as “kindred, tongue, people, tribe, etc.,” “kingdom,” “wonder/miracle,”
“earthquake,” “reign,” “(God's) wrath,” “Almighty God,” “Jesus Christ,” seven blessings, and
seven references to Jesus coming “quickly,” etc.
Emphasis on the number 7 in Revelation is probably to symbolically stress the fact that the biblical
story is now complete.
3 ½ years (Rev. 11-13) = 7/2 = a woeful or incomplete time period, a time of testing.
I Kings 18:1: “The word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying,
“Go and present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth.”;
This literal time period is less than 3 years However, when this event is referred to in the NT, it is
given as 3 ½ figurative years of drought in Luke 4:25 and James 5:17. These last references should
be taken as figurative to eliminate any contradiction with the OT historical account. We will go into
more detail on this symbolic number later.
7-1 is another way to express less than perfection. For example, man was created on the 6th day a little
lower than the angels.
666 (Rev. 13:18) Which brings us back to a third general way of understanding 666: as a symbolic
number-- a trinity of incompleteness or imperfection, “a human number.” In other words, any
created being who tries to usurp the place of God. By contrast, it has been noted since the earliest days
of Christianity that the number for Jesus = 888.
Literal use of the numbers in Revelation is not necessarily excluded in all cases (after all there were
exactly 12 original Apostles and Jewish tribes even if one was added to each group later), but if the
symbolism of the numbers is not recognized, you are missing out on most of the underlying meaning
.
Concluding Remarks on Language
It is hard to be consistently literal
Most people who try this approach tend to selectively choose which details to interpret symbolically.
One example, many of the commentators who take the number 144,000 as figurative treat 1,000 years
for the millennium as a literal time period. It is much easier to be consistent utilizing a
symbolic/figurative approach to interpreting the visions rather than attempting to use a literal
interpretation throughout the book and then have to constantly make exceptions.
Veiled language that is present is not as well understood by us today as the original audience.
Thus, we should not be dogmatic in our interpretations.
All the visions that are actually explained in the book are done so symbolically so the burden of
proof is really upto the literalists to show why the other visions in the book shouldn't be understood in
exactly the same way.
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