tulsa 2011
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- Dec 18, 2010
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Revelation 11 As Metaphor
On Revelation 11
"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." Revelation 11: 7-10
This is heavy metaphor. If you can get out of the literal mindset created by dispensationalism, and still not go into the type of broad sweeping allegory introduced by Origen, 185-254 A.D., and taken up by Augustine, the Catholic Church and much of Calvinism, and have some knowledge of other end time Bible prophecy, you mighty begin to understand this type of metaphoric language.
Now note that Revelation 11: 11 says "And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them."
The literalist interpretation would say that they died physically at the hands of the beast who came out of the bottomless pit, and that they were resurrected after three and a half days. But since this is giving us knowledge about events that happen at the end of the age, at the time that Paul in II Timothy 3: 1, says are the last days when perilous times shall come, we should step back from the literalist interpretation and try to see the what this means as metaphor. In addition, the beast who comes up out of the bottomless pit is supernatural and would not likely physically kill them, whoever they are. It is much more likely that this supernatural beast would inspire men to either kill them or to "kill" their spiritual nature and return them to the condition of the natural man of I Corinthians 2: 14, who cannot receive the things of the Spirit.
There are verses earlier in Revelation 11 which can be interpreted as being a brief review of the Body of Christ in its early period, when it had some spiritual power. Remember that Daniel 12: 7, as prophecy, says that when the power of the holy people is scattered, then "all these things shall be finished." The spiritual power of the holy people is to be diminished in the last days.
Revelation 11: 3-6 says:."And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will."
This is metaphoric too, but it is about the spiritual power of the very early Body of Christ, not of themselves, but of Christ in them.
The two olive trees and two candlesticks are found in Zechariah 4: 1-14. This is metaphoric also and is about the rebuilding of the temple and walls of Jerusalem by Zerubbabel, Jeshua and others (Ezra 2: 3). Then in Zechariah 6: 12, "Behold the man whose name is The Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord."
The rebuilding of the temple and walls of Jerusalem can be seen to symbolize the rebuilding, change or transformation of Old Covenant Israel to New Covenant Israel in Jesus Christ, called the Branch in Zechariah 6: 12.
The early Body of Christ, the elect, the saints, had some spiritual power, which was Christ in them, symbolized by their having power to shut heaven, so it does not rain, etc, in Revelation 11: 5-6.
But as the story of the Body of Christ goes on over time, the beast who comes out of the bottomless pit inspires its human minions to spiritually "kill" them.
But they are brought back to spiritual life in Revelation 11: 11. The Spirit of life from God entered into them. Remember that Christ said in John 10: 10, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
Revelation 11 is not literally about the bringing back to physical life of two Old Testament characters. It is a brief overview of the history of the Body of Christ, and of what happens to that Body at the end of the age. This prophecy does not, like many other end time Bible prophecies, fit the man made system of abstract categorization into that which is historic, fururist, millennial, amillennial or whatever. The prophecy of Revelation 11 is past, present and part of it is still future.
On Revelation 11
"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." Revelation 11: 7-10
This is heavy metaphor. If you can get out of the literal mindset created by dispensationalism, and still not go into the type of broad sweeping allegory introduced by Origen, 185-254 A.D., and taken up by Augustine, the Catholic Church and much of Calvinism, and have some knowledge of other end time Bible prophecy, you mighty begin to understand this type of metaphoric language.
Now note that Revelation 11: 11 says "And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them."
The literalist interpretation would say that they died physically at the hands of the beast who came out of the bottomless pit, and that they were resurrected after three and a half days. But since this is giving us knowledge about events that happen at the end of the age, at the time that Paul in II Timothy 3: 1, says are the last days when perilous times shall come, we should step back from the literalist interpretation and try to see the what this means as metaphor. In addition, the beast who comes up out of the bottomless pit is supernatural and would not likely physically kill them, whoever they are. It is much more likely that this supernatural beast would inspire men to either kill them or to "kill" their spiritual nature and return them to the condition of the natural man of I Corinthians 2: 14, who cannot receive the things of the Spirit.
There are verses earlier in Revelation 11 which can be interpreted as being a brief review of the Body of Christ in its early period, when it had some spiritual power. Remember that Daniel 12: 7, as prophecy, says that when the power of the holy people is scattered, then "all these things shall be finished." The spiritual power of the holy people is to be diminished in the last days.
Revelation 11: 3-6 says:."And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will."
This is metaphoric too, but it is about the spiritual power of the very early Body of Christ, not of themselves, but of Christ in them.
The two olive trees and two candlesticks are found in Zechariah 4: 1-14. This is metaphoric also and is about the rebuilding of the temple and walls of Jerusalem by Zerubbabel, Jeshua and others (Ezra 2: 3). Then in Zechariah 6: 12, "Behold the man whose name is The Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord."
The rebuilding of the temple and walls of Jerusalem can be seen to symbolize the rebuilding, change or transformation of Old Covenant Israel to New Covenant Israel in Jesus Christ, called the Branch in Zechariah 6: 12.
The early Body of Christ, the elect, the saints, had some spiritual power, which was Christ in them, symbolized by their having power to shut heaven, so it does not rain, etc, in Revelation 11: 5-6.
But as the story of the Body of Christ goes on over time, the beast who comes out of the bottomless pit inspires its human minions to spiritually "kill" them.
But they are brought back to spiritual life in Revelation 11: 11. The Spirit of life from God entered into them. Remember that Christ said in John 10: 10, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
Revelation 11 is not literally about the bringing back to physical life of two Old Testament characters. It is a brief overview of the history of the Body of Christ, and of what happens to that Body at the end of the age. This prophecy does not, like many other end time Bible prophecies, fit the man made system of abstract categorization into that which is historic, fururist, millennial, amillennial or whatever. The prophecy of Revelation 11 is past, present and part of it is still future.
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