More, http://tinyurl.com/ellissko. Video, http://bit.ly/Ne5otl.

2. When an author wishes to
portray characters or events
in a hidden or symbolic way
he uses figurative language.

3. 1. Literal or figurative language is determined
by the Author, not the reader.
2. Interpreting literal language figuratively
results in false doctrine.
3. Interpreting figurative language literally
also results in false doctrine.
4. Figurative signposts
are key to recognizing a passage
as literal or figurative.

4. Examples of Figurative Signposts
“LIKE UNTO”
Mat 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto
treasure hid in a field.”
Mat 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto
a man that is an householder
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres.
“AS”
Mat 13:43 “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun.”
Luke 10:3 “Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”
Luke 17:6 “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed.”

5. “In The Spirit”
A figurative signpost showing the prophet is
having a vision.
Rev 1:10 “I was in the spirit on the Lord's day.”
Rev 4:2 “And immediately I was in the spirit.”
Rev 17:3 “So he carried me away in the spirit.”
Rev 21:10 “And he carried me away in the spirit.”
All show that the prophet is having vision
and all prophetic visions are figurative!

6. Example: Joseph’s Second Vision
Genesis 37:9­10 “And he (Joseph) dreamed yet another dream
(i.e., he was in the spirit), and told it his brethren, and said,
‘Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun
and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.’
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his
father (who understood the vision as figurative) rebuked
him, and said unto him, ‘What is this dream that thou hast
dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed
come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?’”
Joseph’s dream is obviously about Jacob
and the children of Israel.
So are there any prophetic visions in the Bible
that are not figurative?

7. The Same Figurative Language in Revelation.
Rev 12:1 “And there appeared a great wonder in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of twelve stars.”
The Bible has only one Author!
Since the figurative language in Revelation
is identical to the figurative language in Genesis,
who do you suppose Revelation 12:1
is actually identifying?

8. Why it’s . . .
ISRAEL
of course!

9. Figurative language appears all over Revelation!
Rev 4:6 “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like
unto crystal.”
Rev 9:10 “And they had tails like unto scorpions.”
Rev 11:1 “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod.”
Rev 13:11 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake
as a dragon.”
Rev 16:13 “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come
out of the mouth of the dragon.”
Rev 16:3 “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the
sea (of people, Rev 17:15); and it became as the blood
of a dead man; and every living soul died (spiritually)
in the sea.”

10. Much of Revelation’s figurative language
is defined for us in the book itself . . .
Rev 1:20 “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right
hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels
(Greek, —γγελοs, ang’­el­ose, a messenger) of the seven churches: and the
seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
Rev 11:3­4 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing
before the God of the earth.”
Rev 17:18 “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which
reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
Revelation has over 70 figurative signposts
so Revelation is basically figurative!

11. Other Biblical Principles of Interpretation
Understand the Cultural Setting of the Prophet
Hosea 7:8 “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people;
Ephraim is a cake not turned.”
Idioms Must Be Recognized As Nonliteral.
1Kings 21:21 “Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy
posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall.”
Scriptural Adjacency
Revelation 11:4 “These (two witnesses) are the two olive trees, and the
two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”
IMPORTANT RULE: For the definition of a scriptural figure, first try within the
passage, then the chapter, then the book, then the testament, then the whole Bible.
It’s faulty exegesis to use an Old Testament definition for a New Testament figure,
when there’s a New Testament definition that fits perfectly.

12. Having the Right Heart Attitude
1. Recognize the Bible as the true Living Word of God.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick (Greek: ζάω, dzah’­o, living), and
powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.”
2. The Lord will not open His Word
to us if we’re willing to compromise it.
3. The Lord will teach us nothing if we
hold our doctrines above His Word.
4. We learn the doctrines of men from books by men,
we learn to know God from His Word.