I agree that there is a lot of symbolism and imagery in the book of Revelation, but whenever anyone says that the book is symbolic, I have to ask what do you mean by that?
That the meaning of stuff like bowls and seals and so forth is unclear, and the message more about living life and warnings against complacency in faith than specific messages about particular countries, organizations, or world events.
I've read enough books claiming to know The Answers about what all the symbols in Revelations mean to last me a lifetime. I found them uninspired and uninspiring, mostly with the effect of creating fear and escapism among their readership, neither of which is taught by Christ.
At some point, I stopped reading the Bible as a whole and Revelations in particular as having a universal message- a One Answer as to what these bowls and seals and whatnot mean and whether the whore is a church or a country or whatever... and lifted up my reading to the Spirit with a plea for understanding what the message was that day, for me. What would this teach me? How could I become more Christ-like through the message? How could I take the lessons into my daily life?
How we to take the symbols metaphorically? What application does it have in our own lives? What is God telling us exactly?
I think the value of symbolism is its capacity to meet each person where they are at- that is, the variety of what symbols
could mean allows such text to speak to each reader, inspired by the Spirit, in a direct and personal manner. The text becomes a "thin place" at which we meet God. The application comes not from other people telling us what something means and how we should believe, but rather through our own wrestling with the text, with our supplication to God for guidance by the Spirit, and our humility in admitting our struggles to ourself and to God. My experience is that in so doing, God reveals what we (individually) need to know from the text in order to grow closer to Him and to work in the world as the Body of Christ. It doesn't much matter if another person is given a different answer. If each were authentically focused on growing in Christ, I have faith that it would all work in accord with God's will, and there is no need for one single answer/meaning to every passage.
But if there is a message there from God, regardless of the difficulty of extracting it, we ought to give it a college try. Then there the promise of blessing for anyone who reads Revelation, confusion or not.
I completely agree. But I don't think there is a single meaning to Revelation. I don't think it's a history text of the future. To me, that would go against Christ's teachings to be focused on each day as it comes.
Is it not possible that the symbology is placed there to afford some protection on the mysteries of God until such a time as they will be revealed according to God's purpose and timing?
It's certainly possible, but then what is the point of speculating and having the conflicts about textual meaning rip Christianity apart? With various mega-churches claiming to have The One Answer and scoffing at the authenticity of other Christians, the danger in focusing too heavily on figuring everything out is clear. If the symbols are to protect a mystery, why try to unravel them? Why not just wait for the revelation of Revelation?
On the other hand, symbols can be powerful ways for individuals to meet God and to reflect on their own beliefs. So there is a usefulness to symbolic text even when it is unclear if it has a literal referent.
I'm going to post later my take. But one thing that I believe important is that any interpretation of Revelation must be studied in light of revelation that has become before and it must be in agreement. There are many parallels and hints that can be gleaned in the Old Testament books such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah, as well as the Gospels and the Epistles. I believe that the message is integrated throughout the whole Bible and it would be a worthy venture to attempt to extract what we can with the information we have available.
I agree. I also think it is helpful to study the OT books in light of the way Jewish scholars study them, given their heritage/origin. Further, I think the NT can be approached similarly. The question of what authentic early Christianity consisted of is a tough one, but I think important for these sorts of issues. Alternatively, one could forego that question and seek to be led by the Spirit directly. What is alarming to me is the large (and growing) population of Christians that seem to do neither, and rely on religious leaders to spoon-feed the meaning of text without any context or individual effort at all. I don't think that was ever the intent of early Christianity.
Having said that, I also agree that there has been abuse and attempts to control certain groups and sects using end-time prophecies. However, Scripture in general has been used that way, yet that ought not to take from away the message nor should we avoid it in light of those abuses.
I agree wholeheartedly. I do not advocate avoiding scripture. Quite the opposite, I adovocate disciplined personal study.
