Literal or Allegory? What the Bible Really Says About the End Time

Dave Robbins: On today’s “Endtime Show” I’ll be
addressing some common claims that the book of Revelation is
just a collection of allegories or just spiritual realities.
And therefore, the Rapture and the great tribulation are just
myths and the Jewish age has already ended.
Some even suggest the church shouldn’t take a position on
end-times at all.
Well, we’ll look at what the Bible really says and why this
conversation is so important.
So, stay with us, this is one you won’t want to miss.
Dave: Good afternoon everybody.
I’m Dave Robbins with “Endtime Ministries,” and I do thank you
for joining me on this edition of “The Endtime Show.”
You know, we’ve been getting some callers and some different
emails and things in, and it’s just, you know, it’s kind of
interesting to hear some of the different ones call in that are
saying that the Bible is just an allegorical book or just a bunch
of allegories put together, but I want to answer that question
and speak to that because it’s becoming kind of a reoccurring
event here and I wanted to make sure that we–what does the
Bible say?
Because the Bible can speak for itself and so we want to go to
the Bible to make sure and see what it says.
Is that true?
Is it just a bunch of myths and fairy tales or just spiritual
realities and nothing that’s literal?
Well, I wanna talk about that today.
So, the question is, is the Bible an allegorical book?
Well, a biblical allegory is a–it’s a symbolic narrative in
the Bible where characters, events, objects, they represent
a deeper spiritual truths or moral lessons beyond their
literal meaning.
So, allegories are a way scripture communicates profound
theological ideas in story form and there are some allegories
in there.
And–but it allows readers to grasp a very complex truth
through familiar imagery and they’re very effective.
However, some people are claiming that the entire Bible
is an allegory and that you can’t settle on anything that’s
literal and this is a literal event and things like that.
And so, I wanted to talk to that–about that today.
Now, one example of this would be the Apostle Paul in Galatians
chapter 4 where he’s addressing the Galatian Christians who were
being pressured by some teachers to adopt the mosaic law or, you
know, with circumcisions and rituals and different,
you know, etc.
Well, in addition to their faith in Christ.
So, here comes Paul and he’s gonna talk against that.
And he, you know, he’s arguing that salvation is by a promise
and faith, not by works of the law.
And to make his point vivid here, he turns to a story
from Genesis.
Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael by Hagar and Isaac by Sarah.
And in Galatians chapter 4, verse 24, now this would be in
the King James Version, he says, “Which things are an allegory:
for these are the two covenants; the one from Mount Sinai, which
gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.”
So, Paul uses Hagar and Sarah as symbols of two covenants, law
and promise.
And Hagar represents slavery under the law.
Sarah represents freedom in Christ.
And so, Christians, as children of the Promise, belong to
Sarah’s line, not Hagar’s, okay?
And you understand that the promise all the way back
to Abraham.
I’ll give you the promise of the promised land and the
promised seed.
And so, we’re realizing all of this right now.
This was–this is an allegory here.
The Bible actually says and–that he’s referring to
an allegory.
However, some claim again that the entire Bible is just
a collection of allegories and that the church that you–we
can’t really take a position on certain things, especially
end-time Bible prophecy and events because a lot of people
have wondered why doesn’t my church talk about end-time
Bible prophecy?
And they’re–I’ve talked to a lot of people that they’re
really kind of starving and they, you know, the Bible
prophecy is about what, close to 30% of the entire Bible.
But I know of a lot of people.
I mean, I’ve had, of course, I’m–I deal with this every day,
but there have been people that have been emailing us and
saying, “Look, my church doesn’t even teach this.
What do I do here?”
Because, you know, a lot of people in there they don’t even
want to take a solid position on something.
And so, the entire Bible, stating that that’s
an allegorical book that is simply a false narrative.
And so, I wanted to speak to this today because the Bible
actually makes clear that prophecy, special end-time
prophecy, is often written in symbols.
And, you know, just as the book of Daniel and the book of
Revelation are full of symbolic language, so are many other
prophetic writings as well.
And if you look at, you know, Ezekiel chapter 37, the valley
of dry bones, well, that’s actually symbolic of the modern
day nation of Israel that will be brought back from all over
the world.
But it’s written in symbolism.
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 13, verse 13, “Therefore speak I
to them in parables: because they seeing–see not; hearing
they hear not, neither do they understand.”
So, parables are structured in such a way that people who are
seeking and want to understand, they’ll get it.
It’s revealed to them in this parable.
But the ones that want an excuse, they want an out,
they have one.
They were not gonna get it.
And so, this is why Jesus taught in parables many times.
He told his disciples, “It’s for you to understand, but it’s not
for them to understand because they’re not seeking, they’re not
hungry, they’re not really interested in the things of God.
So, I teach in parables so that those that are seeking, they’ll
get it and those that won’t–now they’re not gonna get
it anyway.”
And that’s the way prophecy is done as well.
God uses symbols for a purpose.
Not to deceive people or not to make it so it’s impossible to
understand, it’s just for those that are seeking and hungry,
they’re gonna get it and those that aren’t, they’re
just–they’ll keep on–pass right on by, right?
And, but the–so, prophecy is used for and, you know, symbols
are used for a purpose, but they’re not meant to remain
hidden for permanently.
Now, most are explained within the Scripture itself.
When a symbol is used, if you just keep on reading many times,
it’ll tell you what the symbol was.
And, you know, for example, in the same passages where parables
or symbols are given, their meaning is often provided many
times later on just a few verses down, but most times right there
in that chapter.
Now, this is why we always say that if you’re gonna study any
prophecy or any topic in the Bible, you’ve got to look at the
entire scope, all the verses that pertain to that topic
because there might be something, a prophecy given in
the book of Revelation chapter 6, but then to get the full
meaning of that, you’ve got to go to Zachariah chapter 6 to tie
everything together because Zachariah saw the same vision of
the horses that John saw in Revelation chapter 6.
And so, it’s very, very important, but the Bible, there
is a kind of like a–there’s a thread all the way through that
it never contradicts itself.
And if you can get to where you can tie all these things
together, it is a beautiful picture of this–of the–from
the beginning all the way to the end and what God was really
trying to do in the earth with his relationship with mankind
and their relationship with each other.
So, the connection between the book of Daniel and Revelation
13, very, very, very strong.
The very same symbols first introduced in Daniel, such as
the beast representing kingdoms or nations, they’re carried
forward by John into Revelation 13.
Now, these guys were not contemporaries, they lived 650
years apart.
They never knew each other.
And no, I’ve had some people say, “Well, John took the book
of Daniel with him out on the Isle of Patma so he could
correlate everything perfectly.
That’s not the way it worked.
Almighty God has only ever written one book.
And so, he was the–he was actually the author to Daniel
who wrote down the visions God give him, and then he was the
author to John as well.
And that’s why the book ties together so perfectly.
So, what this shows us here is kind of like a continuity and it
helps interpret prophecy across the entire Bible.
And ultimately, Bible prophecy uses symbolic language to
describe not just–not spiritual realities, but
physical realities.
And this is what some people are saying, “Oh no, it’s just
all allegory.”
And so, consider the beasts and the horns and other images that
represent real nations, kings, different powers and
institutions that will literally be here on the earth and
in power.
And by studying how the Bible itself interprets these symbols,
then believers can understand the prophetic message that
God intended.
Doesn’t the Bible in Revelation 19 say this, “The testimony of
Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy”?
Didn’t Jesus–look at how many parables–Jesus was constantly
teaching in parables, so much so that his disciples said, “Why
are you always teaching in parables?”
And he said, “Because it’s given to you guys to understand, but
it’s not given to them.”
And that’s what I was saying before is that to to people who
are seeking and hungry and they really wanna know and they
really wanna understand, God will reveal it to them in
a parable.
But to those who really don’t care, they’re nonchalant about
their walk with God, they’re nonchalant about a lot of
different things, they really don’t care about Bible prophecy,
they’re not gonna get it.
They’re gonna say, “Well, you know, nobody can really
understand this, so I’m, you know.”
They may have a great walk with God and as far as, you know,
biblical foundational truths and things like that, but when it
comes to prophecy, they’re simply–they’re just like,
“Well, nobody can really come to a conclusion on this stuff, so
I’m just not going to take a position on it.”
And what I have found is that’s why a lot of pastors really
don’t want to even want to talk about it because a lot of them
simply don’t understand themselves.
It’s not because they’re bad men or they’re not spiritual and
things like that, some of them simply don’t understand.
But I wanted to talk today about this narrative that’s going
around that the Bible is all just one big allegory.
That is simply a false narrative and that’s what I’m speaking
to today.
male announcer: Gain peace and understanding about what the
Bible says concerning end-time prophecy.
Attend a prophecy conference hosted by the “Endtime Show’s”
Dave Robbins.
Call 1-800-ENDTIME or go to end-time.com/events to see when
Dave will be in a location near you.
Dave Robbins: The books of Daniel and Revelation.
Of course we all know if you follow this at all, that they
are full of symbolism.
Daniel chapter 7, just this is really quick example.
Daniel 7, he sees four beasts coming up out of the sea.
Lion with eagle’s wings, a bear, a four-headed leopard, and
a ten-horned beast.
If you read on down in the chapter, Revelation–Daniel 7:17
reveals that these beasts symbolize kings.
These ten horns, they symbolize kings and verse 23 tells us that
they are kingdoms or moderate terminology, nations.
So, the entire chapter reveals that these physical nations will
exist at the time when the ancient of days comes to
establish his kingdom here on the earth, or this is the second
coming of Jesus Christ, when he will establish his kingdom on
the earth.
The Bible says, “The kingdom will be given to the saints.”
This is at the time of the Second Coming.
These are physical events that will transpire.
And, you know, this is not a spiritual reality.
These physical nations already exist in the earth.
And so, it moves away from any kind of an–a teaching of this
is an allegory, to hey, yes, this–the great–the lion is
Great Britain, the eagle’s wings is the United States that came
out of Great Britain, the bears is the modern day nation of
Russia, the four-headed leopard is Germany, and the ten-horned
beast is the current European Union or the reborn
Holy Roman Empire.
These are–this is–there is–these are physical
realities, not just some kind of a spiritualistic imaginatory
type situation, okay.
Now, there are many other fulfilled prophecies that have
already been fulfilled that were very real events.
Obviously, there are people that say everything’s an allegory, so
even the Messiah was an allegory.
But no, Jesus came.
He was born in about 5 or 6 B.C.
because Herod the Great passed away in about 4 B.C.
So, Jesus was born before then and that he physically was here.
It goes along with the history books, it goes along, of course,
with the Bible, you can prove it in a million ways.
Jesus Christ was here and the Bible says he was cut off in
between 33 and 40 A.D., nobody knows for sure.
The Bible doesn’t tell us for sure, but he did–Jesus did come
and he was crucified.
And then of course, Jerusalem and–was in the second temple
was destroyed in 70 A.D.
That’s historic record that was told and prophesied about
in the Bible.
The first trumpet, World War I from 1914 to 1918.
That’s a prophesied event that prophesied 2000 years ago,
but has already come to pass.
A physical event.
It’s the second trumpet, World War 2, 1939 to 1945.
Another physical event.
And these are not things that we’re looking for in the future
for some kind of mystical spiritual revelation.
No, these are physical events.
The world government being established right now started in
1945 with the United Nations, the signing of the charter that
was 19–back in 1945, and wow, have we seen the realization of
that physical event.
The rebirth of the nation of Israel, certainly one of the
most recognizable prophecies since Jesus was here on
the earth.
In May 14th, 1948, the rebirth of the nation of Israel,
a fulfillment of Bible prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 37.
The third trumpet, the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April
26, 1986.
That would be the third trumpet.
The fourth trumpet, the tearing down of the *Bloom wall, the
speeding up of the process of globalization, and the, of
course, the healing of the deadly wound that happened
in 1989.
That’s Revelation chapter 13 and in Revelation chapter 8, the
fourth trumpet.
And also the fifth trumpet in Revelation chapter 9 that in
1991, the Iraq war with Saddam Hussein.
And then the rebirth of the Holy Roman Empire in November
of 2009.
That’s a fulfillment all the way back to Daniel chapter 2, 2500
years ago.
And we’re seeing the establishment, the rebirth right
now of the Holy Roman Empire.
That’s the current European Union.
And then also one that I thought I would bring up here today is
the woman and the dragon.
A lot of people look at that and say, “Oh no, that’s a complete
allegory,” but I wanted to talk to you about the physicality of
that because it spans from the–from 2000 years ago.
The prophecy goes all the way to the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ when Satan will be bound to the earth.
But the woman and the dragon in Revelation chapter 12, it says
this, and this would be, man, this would be what, verses 1
through, I think down through about 3 is where I’m gonna go.
But the Bible says, “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: And she being
with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to
be delivered.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a
great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven
crowns upon his heads.”
Now, some people would say, “That’s–this is just
an allegory.
You can’t–there’s no physical fulfillment to any of this.
It’s just all allegorical.”
However, if you really understand Scripture here, the
woman with the twelve stars around her head is the nation
of Israel, and the twelve stars symbolize the twelve
tribes of Israel.
There’s another picture that uses the same symbolism
about Israel.
It’s found all the way back in the Old Testament.
Go back to what, Genesis chapter–we’re gonna go all the
way back to Genesis chapter 37, verse 9.
And it says, “And he dreamed
yet another dream, and told it to his brethren,” now,
we’re talking about Joseph here, “and said, Behold, I have
dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun, the moon, and
the elven stars made obeisance to me.”
Now, obviously, this got Joseph in some hot water, didn’t it?
But in Joseph’s dream, the sun and the moon represent his
father and mother, and the eleven stars were his brothers.
And adding Joseph himself equals the twelve tribes of
Israel, right?
So, from this Scripture, we know for certain that the woman with
the sun and the moon and the twelve stars in Revelation 12 is
symbolic of the nation of Israel at which I’m talking about
physical realities here.
In Revelation chapter 12, verse 2, Israel is travailing to have
a child.
Well, John reveals what happens next, “And there appeared
another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon
his heads.
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast
them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman,”
now, the woman’s Israel, remember, “which was ready to be
delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
That would be Revelation 12.
I’m gonna go–let be down for through about verses 3
through 4.
So, I won’t go into the story in detail here, but you
understand the dragon, which was the devil and Satan himself,
that was when he wanted to kill Jesus when he was born.
And so, the dragon with the seven heads and ten horns that
Satan himself, it tells us plainly later in verse 9,
that–it’s Daniel–Revelation 12:9, “And the dragon stood
before the woman,” Israel, “to devour the child that was about
to be born.”
So, it’s clearly an example of John using–you understand that
Herod tried to kill Jesus when he was born, right?
Most of you would know that story.
And so, this is a prophecy where they’re talking about that.
And then at the–it goes on to talk about the war in heaven and
a lot of different things that end up right there with the
great tribulation and the United States protecting Israel on down
through the chapter.
But there’s a lot of symbolism there, but it’s talking about
literal events that have happened in the past and that
will happen in the future.
So, it’s a clear example of John using symbols to represent
physical realities.
The woman with twelve stars around her head, that’s Israel.
Now, the book of Revelation and other prophecy books, they are
absolutely chock full of these types of prophecies.
And there are other times when the Bible is literal pertaining
to prophecy.
And so, these are some of the things that I wanted to address
because Doug Norvelle sent me a very detailed email of a lady
who was going through this type of situation and this scenario
where she lives and that they were saying that, well, you
know, the Bible’s all allegorical and that, you know,
there’s no physical realities to any of this.
It’s all kind of spiritual.
And so, as a result, she wasn’t getting taught any biblical
prophecy in her church.
And so, she was saying that she had talked to the pastor, and
I’m not gonna mention any names.
This could be anywhere in the world, okay.
So you don’t know who this is, but her pastor was saying that
they didn’t believe that–as a result of it being allegorical,
they didn’t believe that there was a physical rapture that was
going to take place.
And so, wanted us to talk about it today, hence my program.
So, the allegorical view would be that the Rapture is a
symbolic promise of hope and union with Christ, but it’s
fulfilled spiritually now that we’re all kind of in a state
of a rapture.
And ultimately at the final resurrection, at the great white
throne that there’s not going to be a rapture in just the very
near future and then a 1000 year millennial reign.
And so, I wanted to speak to that today because we’re bumping
up against this physical rapture that will take place.
This is absolutely not allegorical.
It is literal.
So, let’s go to the Bible for this.
In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 15 through 17, it says,
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent them which they’re asleep,” or those that have
passed on, those that have been born again and have passed on
before us.
My father-in-law Irvine Baxter would be a great example
of that.
Now there’s–I know there’s millions of others, but this is
one that many of you would recognize.
So, the Bible says that the Lord shall not prevent them when
you’re asleep.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ, they shall rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds.”
This is gonna be a physical event that will happen in the
very near future.
The Bible says that, “We’re gonna meet the Lord in the air,
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
This is–it’s a physical event.
It’s gonna happen in the very near future.
In verse 17, the term “caught up” in the original Greek is
“harpazo,” which means to seize or to snatch out or away.
The Lord’s coming back to gather the saints onto him.
He’s coming back to fight–if you understand the entire scope
of Bible prophecy, he’s coming back, and this is what–this is
one of the things that really helped me to understand the
chronology of events, how this is all going to take place
because a lot of people teach the Rapture and the Second
Coming are two separate events, but once you understand what I’m
going to tell you, it will really help you with the
chronology of events here.
The Lord is coming back to fight on behalf of Israel at the
Battle of Armageddon.
On the way back, he gathers the saints to him for the marriage
supper of the lamb.
On the way to fight at the–on behalf of Israel at the Battle
of Armageddon, we have the marriage supper of the Lamb in
the sky, and then we go with him.
We’re gathered from all around the earth.
The dead in Christ and those who are alive will go with him to
fight on behalf of Israel at the Battle of Armageddon.
The Bible says in the book of Jude that he comes with 10,000
of his saints.
That is the event.
If you can get that picture in your mind, it will really help
you, number one, to get it yourself and then to explain it
to others that the Rapture, the marriage supper of the Lamb in
the sky, and the Second Coming is one continuous event
that occurs.
It’s not two events that are separated by seven years, okay.
And I wanna make sure you get that because these are physical
events that are going to take place in the near future.
1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 51 through 53, the Bible says,
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,” we’re
not all gonna pass away, “but we shall all be changed.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trump shall sound, the dead shall rise uncorruptible, and we
shall be changed.
For this incorruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality.”
This rapture, very physical event that’s gonna happen in the
near future.
Aren’t you looking forward to that day?
I know I am, and I want to get as many people to go with me to
that event as I can.
I know we all do.
male announcer: Satan and the elites of this world don’t want
you to understand the timeline leading to the Second Coming
of Jesus.
You can pinpoint where we are in the end-time.
Understand how you fit in and be filled with hope in God’s plan
by watching “The Future According To Bible Prophecy.”
Go to endtime.com/future or call 800-ENDTIME.
That’s 800-363-8463.
♪♪♪