Eckhard Schnabel, in his introduction to 40 Questions about the End Times, writes:
Some interpreters work with the principle that the language of prophecies should be interpreted literally as long as this can be reasonably followed.
This is an illegitimate demand because it leaves the decision when to interpret literally and when to interpret symbolically up to the modern interpreter. It is the original author and his cultural and linguistic context that determine whether an expression or a statement should be interpreted literally or not.
For example, in the statement “those who are victorious I will make pillars in the temple of my God” (Rev. 3:12 NIV), even so-called literalists would want to take the phrase “pillars in the temple of my God” symbolically—although one could argue that as God turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26), he can turn the believers from Philadelphia (who are addressed in Rev. 3:7-13) into literal pillars in a literal temple.
While this may sound strange, we need to remind ourselves that there are end-time “specialists” committed to a “literal” interpretation who argue that the two witnesses of Revelation 11, interpreted as two literal evangelists who are thought to appear in the second half of the last seven years of history, will literally destroy the people who oppose them with fire coming from their mouth (Rev. 11:5).
For those preaching on or studying the book of Revelation, here’s a new book you may want to consider: Jim Hamilton’s Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Church, in the Preaching the Word series edited by Kent Hughes.
If you want a little preview of Dr. Hamilton’s approach, here’s an interview he did with Crossway, where he answered these questions:
- Why should pastors preach on Revelation?
- What’s the best way to prepare to interpret apocalyptic literature in general and Revelation in particular?
- If a pastor knows that his congregation takes a very different view of Revelation than he does, how should he go about preaching the book? Should he be trying to convert them to or away from a dispensationalist perspective and why?
- What is the relationship between the judgments that accompany the seals, trumpets, and bowls? Are these sequential or recapitulatory?
- What’s with the exodus imagery in Revelation? Didn’t Jesus fulfill the new exodus and return from exile in his death and resurrection? Why are we getting that imagery again in Revelation?
And here are a couple of endorsements for the book:
—Michael Wittmer, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Cornerstone University
“In a day when most preachers appear to be terrified by the prospects of preaching any text beyond the third chapter of the Apocalypse, I find Dr. James Hamilton’s Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches to be an oasis in the wilderness. Though my own interpretation of the book is light years removed from that of Professor Hamilton, the purity of his love for Christ, for his church, and for the Word of God makes every page a delight to read regardless of his eschatological position.”
—Paige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary