How to Separate the Symbol from the Literal in Bible Prophecy.

One of the things that are standing in the way of a sound understanding of end time Bible prophecy is the practice of treating as a symbol something that is not intended to be taken as a symbol in the scriptures. Much of the things we consider to be prophetic symbols are not really symbols. When you think of symbols you are actually thinking of something that requires an interpretation. According to the prophet Joseph interpretation belongs only to God (Gen. 40:8).

Why does God use symbols in His forecast on last-day events? There are two reasons that I can identify:

1.      Symbols are given to excite curiosity and inquiry. You will recall how Nebuchadnezzar was very anxious for an interpretation of his dream even when he did not remember it. God gave the king a dream in symbols because he wanted to send a message that pertains not only to that time but to those who are living in the last days.

2.      God uses symbols to camouflage His messages from the enemies of truth. If the enemies of the true gospel from the early centuries knew that the books of Daniel and Revelation were prophesying of them and thereby exposing their activities they would not only have suppressed the Bible but destroy it. This would have ensured that their atrocities are covered up from later generations. Thus their descendants would be able to feed us with a false version of how things went and how events will transpire in the future.

For every element in Bible prophecy that we treat as a symbol the Bible alone should provide the interpretation. I have sat in many prophecy discussions and from these discourses I detect a common problem. You know what that problem is? It is the inability to differentiate what the Bible treat as a symbol from what it intends to take literally. Unfortunately, many students of the prophetic word are trying to solve their problems with the end time prophecies of Daniel and Revelation by arbitrarily determining what must be a symbol from what must be literal.   

The two most glaring examples of how we symbolize the literal elements in Bible prophecy are:

1.      The mark of the beast

2.      The image of the beast

The fact is, we have no indication in the scriptures that these two elements in Bible prophecy must be treated as symbols. When we symbolize the things the Bible does not interpret our only alternative is to provide our own interpretation and that is what the Bible calls private interpretation (2Pet. 1:20). When it comes to discriminating the literal from the symbolic, my advice is to follow this rule: Let everything be taken for their obvious meaning unless a symbol is employed. Where a symbol is introduced, the Bible must be allowed to interpret the symbol. 

You may watch the video below to get a little more insight on this topic.