In the last several weeks, the ladies of the church have been navigating a complex study on the book of Revelation. As the world seems more and more out of control, the desire to understand Bible prophecy grows among the saints who seek to know God's plan in it all, but it is a study fraught with pitfalls and distractions. Any study of the book of Revelation must be done with great care and respect for Scriptures. As such, I feel the need to address an issue that this study has highlighted. The issue is whether to take a literal approach to this book.

Of all the books in the New Testament, Revelation uses more symbolism than any other. That makes the study of the book difficult because so much of the truth is masked in symbols. That said, it is a mistake to assume that everything in the book is a symbol. Many a cult or heresy has arisen from making the plain meaning of Scripture into an allegory. For example, the Seventh Day Adventist church interprets the location of the "mark of the beast" on the forehead and right hand to mean that it is something that you either believe (forehead) or accept and do as an action (right hand). They deny a literal mark in favor of a symbolic interpretation and then apply it to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday. Many such examples exist of symbolic interpretations that evade the literal meaning of a text. In her exploration of Revelation, Jen Wilkins crosses into this territory on several occasions. 

When studying Revelation, we need to take the text literally unless it is clear that a portion is intended symbolically. Often those points are marked with the language of metaphors and similes (eg. using the words "like" or "as"). Obviously, Jesus is not literally a door, and we intuitively understand that. In other places, we accept that the text means what it says. The two witnesses who testify for three and a half years, are literally two witnesses. There is no language there to lead us to make them symbolic of anything else, so attempting to do so can take us into error. In fact, the desire to make the Bible into an allegory is a common heresy that occurs time and again throughout history. It allows the proponents to change the plain meaning of the text into whatever symbolic interpretation suits their needs at the moment, and while I don't believe Jen Wilkins has entered that territory, she certainly has opened the door.

The truth is that prophecy is notoriously difficult to interpret from the unfulfilled side of things. It is why the first-century Jewish people failed to recognize Jesus for who He was and is. Many have tried to match current events with Bible prophecy in order to bring clarity to the subject and have created much error in doing so. We must approach it with humility and an understanding that when Scripture itself is unclear, we should allow it to remain unclear until God Himself clarifies it. Our thoughts are definitely not His thoughts, and we do well to remember that as we approach the subject of prophecy.