Should Revelations be treated as a symbolic or literal book?
444532
Revelations is in a special category of literature called apocalypse.  Like biography, gothic, romance etc, it is a literature that has rules that describe it.  All apocalypses are symbolic purely.  They use symbolic language to communicate real world ideas, but are never literal accounts.  There is an entire body of literature called apocalypses.  They are prophetic literature in the sense the recorder is seeing the world through God's eyes.  They are not prophetic in the Isaiah sense, which is a different type of literature and communication.\n\nAnother example is Daniel.  Most Christians do not realize that Daniel has never been a part of the Jewish historical books.  But it, like Job or the Song of Solomon (which I think ended up outside their canon) are in the wisdom literature.  Wisdom literature is made up of non-historical stories that tell a message about God.
212256
Revelation is a dream that God gave to John.  Yes it is somewhat symbolic, but what real choice did John have to explain the things God was showing?  John was seeing the future, something that has not even happened yet in the 21st century, and he was in the first century.\n\nIn Daniel there were prophesies that came true hundreds of years later that were so accurate that historians try to prove the book of Daniel was written after the events.\n\nThe point is that that the language is symbolic, but the symbols are highly recognizable.
1089362
It is nowhere in the bible.  Up until about the 6th century a.d it was related by oral tradition.  One person telling the story and it getting passed down.  Case in point: Revelations was written in 96 a.d. The decision of which ones to put into the bible didn't happen till centuries after that by a bishop in Rome.  He picked and choosed what stories to put into the bible.  Any hopes of the testaments or the OT being accurate is as reliable as giving a crack addict 10 dollars to hold onto for a day.
683390
The writing in the bible is one-dimensional and often immorality is portrayed as moral.\n\nMost importantly, Mr. Brown lists his book as fiction.  The Bible claims it's ludicrous stories are absolutely true.
296673
For those who believe, the Bible is a living book.  Which means that the words today are as true as they were yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  When you find new understanding of the scripture it is a little of both going on.  God knows that no one can understand everything all at one time, and he knows that we all learn in different ways.  When scripture messages are "revealed" to you, that is a revelation that God sent to you in a way that you needed to understand it at a time you needed to understand it. Now if you interpret, and it is not God's will, he will find a way to "reveal" that too.  Because if you believe and are truly faithful, God will always provide you with the tools and the information you need.  So, even if you interpret (yourself) and it is a wrong interpretation because you got in the way of your own understanding, God will reveal it to you when you need it.  That is why being a Christian is a journey.  If we all had the ability to read, understand, and apply absolutely everything, then the journey would be over. So, sometimes you will be confused, sometimes you will stumble...but if you are a believer and you ask...he will pick you up when you fall. Just be open and accepting of your revelations as they come and keep studying. Good luck and God Bless.
726696
I would say a group of people the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I'm not a big believer in the Bible, but revelations is action packed and crazy. Plus theres an old Albrecht Durer woodcarving that depicts this scene and it is awesome. and if I ever see these guys I'll know the S**T has hit the fan
336796
If you have a book of prophecy that cannot be understood that's about as worthless as a prophecy that cannot be changed. Why would an all powerful all caring god do that? It would be sadistic. \n\nIf you accept that the christian god does not revel in torment, and that man has free will, then you will have to say that any prophecy in revelations can be changed. That is if you believe that revelations even contains prophecy.
608730
No, Revelation chapter 18 speak of Mystery Babylon.\n\n\nPat (ndbpsa)
1169648
As far as I've heard, yes!  I'm sure it will give great insight into what was actually meant by Revelation.  He's a great biblical scholar who writes pretty understandably.
649454
I just checked out the Gospel of Judas the other day @ the local B&N. Wow. It felt like a part of history jumping into my hands.\n\nKnowing what Judas was to become; reading what depictions he'd written of Jesus; the pieces of text felt so raw with emotion. They felt so real. Knowing the ending of the story of course, did make some of the pre-betrayal friendliness tough to swallow.\n\nThis brought me to the realization that these newer books need to be included, don't they? I haven't asked my priest at church, but a newer version has to be in the works.\n\nForget about red tape, just order the entries and publish the thing.\n\nWith the Da Vinci Code getting more publicity than the Dead Sea Scrolls, now'd be a pretty good time to release a newer, fuller edition of The Bible.\n\nThanks for answering my last question,\n\n-Justin
575026
The Bible is a mythological tale. Do you actually believe that the red seas parted or that stone became bread? Perhaps there was a saint and he had many followers, Also perhaps some of the incidents described did happen, but the truth has been exxagerated to become a description of a super-human. And therefore, take the Bible, or for that matter most of the Holy Books with a pinch of salt. It is meant to evoke faith and thankfulness that there is a superpower above us who can do things that we can't(simply translated to hope!) Again, many versions of The Bible exist. Popular ones do not refer to Mary or his descendents.
8411
Read the book of Revelations with a concordance. There's mentions of "the dragon of the East". And there's referrences of Assyrian armies attacking Israel. All in all, it's not a pretty picture for the future of our world.
1169395
I think Revelation, along with other apocalyptic literature, is full of figurative language meant to say "God will defeat our enemies and we will come out on top!"  The figurative language is used so the enemies may not know that the book is about them.  Revelation, for example, is meant as a way for early Christians to tell each other "God will destroy Rome one day!"  If they wrote that down, Rome would wipe them out, but if they write about God destroying beasts, monsters, and devils, then there's less of a chance of that.
865845
Dear ES,\n\nI agree with you and I enjoy reading it and giving away copies of the Bible.\n\nLong before I read the Bible from cover-to-cover I intended to re-write the Bible and take out all of the sexist language.  What a joke that was!  When I finally read it I didn't change it but it sure did change me!\n\nOne wonderful thing I noticed was that I had the feeling that it was written directly to me, even though I know it was written long before I was born.  It reminds me of looking at a photograph when it seems as though the subject is looking right back at you.\n\nEven though there have been several translations of the Bible they all say just about the same thing.  However I've seen a few that are not divinely inspired and there is no sense of the Living Word of God.\n\nYes, it is fascinating to look at the prophecies and realize that Jesus was the only person who ever had his biography written before He was born!
618147
Yu must understand this carefully : The book of Revelations is written symbolically. The 'horse with Death as a rider" means a certain time period  - which further means that when the horse begins to ride over the earth, there's going to be a lot of death occuring due to natural calamities, pestilences and what not - we are seeing cyclones, floods, tsunamis, terrorisms, famines, and so many many tragedies occuring - meaning that the death horse rider is busy riding over all the earth.  Where there is death, there is ofcourse Hell following.
358383
No, they come in the Tribulation, which occurs after every true Christian on Earth is taken up by Christ and Antichrist comes. Read the book of Revelation. As for symbolic, that depends. We cant say for sure until that time (which I hope you will be in heaven with Christ when that happens). Email me if you have questions or are a fellow believer in Christ at questinchrist@yahoo.com. God bless
1171562
I can't answer your question...However, I do feel sorry over the fact that you've had so many 'sarcastic' responses.\n\nI believe in time, the 'mystery' behind the Book of Revelations and the various symbolism,etc. will be revealed. God has not, however - given me insight into what this verse "EXACTLY" means...but like others, I have my suspicians.\n\nGood luck in finding a complete explanation on here.