The Allegorical View of The End Times
When interpreters excessively allegorize the Bible’s text, they risk distorting its intended meaning and making the Bible say things it was never meant to say.
Following in the footsteps of legendary dispensational scholars like John Walvoord and Charles Ryrie, The Pre-Trib Rapture: Key to the End of the World, addresses the confusion and the common objections people have to the rapture.
I have known of Dr. James DeYoung since the early years of my ministry. In our video he takes a look at Enoch, who’s departure from Earth was a perfect picture of the rapture. He examines the Day of the Lord and the purpose of the Tribulation. He explains the role of Israel in the end times, then takes us forward into the future to the 1,000-year millennium kingdom and the New Heaven and Earth. He also addresses the dangers of the modern-day allegorical view of the End Times, populated by our writers and readers today.
THE DANGERS OF AN ALLEGORICAL VIEW
While allegorical writing can be a legitimate literary device, as I conduct with my “Johnny, The Day After” series, it’s essential to recognize its potential pitfalls when applied to the Bible. For example, in my series and other writings, I use allegory to communicate immovable doctrines found in the Word of God. If I deviated from this modality, I, too, would be in grave danger of distorting Truth.
Distortion of Intended Meaning:
When interpreters excessively allegorize the Bible’s text, they risk distorting its intended meaning and making the Bible say things it was never meant to say.
This can lead to theological errors and misunderstandings. And worse, it promotes what is called “spiritual passivity.” When people read allegories, it is for the pure purpose of entertainment. It’s like watching a scripted movie. The primary reason writers use allegory is to avoid offense. Conviction Nonfiction is the style of writing that tends to offend the readers the most.
Loss of Literal Understanding:
First, allegorical interpretation of the Word of God seeks to find deeper symbolic meanings behind the text while avoiding the literal. While God is known for using symbolic communications, there is always a literal, real Truth being revealed in His storyline. A perfect example is the vision that God gave Daniel with the statue Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. Each of the elements of this statue represented the primary empires that would dominate the world. This is a healthy blend of allegory, which I call pictorial, to communicate absolute Truth.
Keep in mind that allegory is a literary or artistic form in which characters, places, or events represent deeper meanings with spiritual, social, cultural, or political significance. It goes beyond the literal narrative to convey hidden messages or truths. When kept with Conviction Nonfiction, it becomes appropriate.
However, when every passage is allegorized as fictitious, the literal understanding of Scripture WILL be lost. Every word becomes up for interpretation by the reader, making it what they want. In the end, the literal meaning remains lost.
All passages are meant to be taken literally, and God uses allegory at times to engage the reader IN His literal message. Allegory should not take the front seat of His communications. When it does, God’s message is deluded. The sting of conviction dissipates.
Potential for Creative License:
Interpreters who allegorize can be very creative, often with no control based on the text itself. Creative license is exactly that - like a movie, writers add or delete content to make the storyline of the movie or publication more interesting. It is the norm of our entertainment industry. This modality has poured over into the world of Biblical interpretation. On a personal level, I never read publications that do not blend allegory and Conviction Nonfiction modalities.
When people ask me what I believe is the primary reason for the cultural norm of viewing the Bible allegorically, I always blame the entertainment industry. Personally, I believe the world today lives and functions in an allegorical mindset. Thus, most people cannot discern between what is real and what is fake. This obviously extends to our views of what God has written in His Holy Word.
For the most part, creativity has become one of the most dangerous mediums today. Since the world functions on the illusions of allegory, creativity can lead to unsubstantiated claims and fanciful interpretations of what God means by what God says. Worse yet, the average view of the Bible’s prophecies.
It’s crucial to balance allegory with a commitment to the plain meaning of Scripture and the Lord’s unmovable Truth thereof.
Distorted views of Eschatology:
The allegorical interpretation of the Bible’s prophecies has been used to oppress and marginalize those who maintain the absolutes of God’s Word. If you haven’t watch our video with Dr. DeYoung, please do so - he addresses this issue.
Within today’s culture, allegory can sometimes be wielded as a tool of power and control, leading to harmful consequences - as in displacing the immovability of the coming Rapture. The gathering up of the Saints is the most climatical prophecy in the Bible. Everything, for the believer that is, leads up to this moment. Satan would like nothing more than to have droves of humans miss this one single event by camouflaging it under the banner of allegory. Honestly, I believe this is the enemy’s primary reason for the grand deception found in our delusional society today.
Remember that while allegory has its place, a balanced approach that considers both literal and pictorial meanings is essential for understanding God’s Word, particularly His prophecies. Please watch the interview with Dr. DeYoung.
Thanks for the "hearts" folks.