When is a Wolf Not a Wolf?
How to know when to take the Bible literally and when to take it figuratively All of us use figures of speech: “She’s the black sheep of the family” or “He had to eat crow” or “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Mt. 10:16). Sometimes the word wolf really means “wolf,” a four-legged animal that destroys and feeds on other four-legged animals; and sometimeGet More Articles—Subscribe Today!
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Thank you for the beautiful explanation on eschatalogy. It is a good way to begin the new year, with an emphasis of the future. While history is important, prophecy is vital, too. As Mordecai said to Queen Esther, “It may be that you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.” It is imperative to get the word out to Israel and all Jews what shall befall them or what pertains to their people in the latter days. What. When. Where. Why. Who. The clock is ticking. Remember the handwriting on the wall, “…MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN…”
A literal interpretation–unless the context demands a nonliteral one—is also crucial to upholding Biblical authority. As your wolf illustration affirms, “If the plain sense of a text makes good sense, seek no other sense.” We give other books that due: why not the Bible? Especially when related Bible passages demand a literal interpretation.
Case in point: Jesus said, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6) That plainly denies speculations about billions/millions of years, evolutionary chance processes, suffering and/or death before Adam’s sin. Mark 10:6 makes sense ONLY if the genealogies of Genesis chapters 5, 10 and 11 are also literal and accurate. Added, the years in Genesis’ lock-stitched genealogies, which span from Adam to Abraham, amount to ~2000. Which suggests that the heaven and the earth were created about 6000 years ago.
I do not know if J Dwight Pentecost or Lewis Sperry Chafer accepted Mark 10:6 or the Genesis genealogies as literal history. C.I. Scofield sought to incorporate long ages in Genesis 1, as if human speculation about an “ancient” universe are more reliable than Christ’s declarations. But if God did not get His history right, who will believe what His word says about morality? Or salvation? Furthermore, if He needed/used “evolutionary processes” (long ages, death and suffering) to make the first heaven and earth, will He need/use long ages, death and suffering to make the new heaven and new earth?
AMEN!!! From the very first time I picked up a Bible and actually read it, I’ve taken it literally. I praise God for the Holy Spirit opening my eyes to receive His Holy Word. I don’t always understand everything from the first reading or maybe even never, but I wasn’t asked to understand but to trust. I love “Israel My Glory” and I’m a long time subscriber. Thank you for all you do for God’s Kingdom and Glory.