Like, for Real?
John was in exile on the isle of Patmos for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:9) when he heard a great voice behind him, like a trumpet. He turned to see who was speaking.
“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”REVELATION 1:12–16 · KJV
Golden candlesticks. Hair as white as snow. Eyes like a flame of fire. A sharp twoedged sword coming out of a mouth. Is John describing what the risen Lord literally looks like? Is there really a sword in His mouth? Like, for real?
Scripture uses a variety of literary devices, including figurative and symbolic language, to communicate deep truth, so we must be diligent in rightly interpreting the text. We already have three tools in our belt: comparing Scripture with Scripture, authorial intent, and genre. Now we add a fourth: telling literal language from figurative and symbolic language.
Is that a metaphor or a mountain? Before you decide, slow down and let the text tell you.
The passage that raises the question also answers it. Before the vision ends, the Lord Himself explains two of the symbols:
“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”REVELATION 1:20 · KJV
The stars and the candlesticks are symbols, and they stand for real things: real messengers and real churches in seven real cities (Revelation 1:11). Figures and symbols are not a fog over the text. They are one of the ways God tells the truth.
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For Deeper Study
- Basic Bible InterpretationAmazon Roy B. ZuckIts chapters on figures of speech, types and symbols, and parables and allegories are clear, careful, and practical.
- Figures of Speech Used in the BibleAmazon E. W. BullingerFirst published in 1898, the standard catalog of more than two hundred biblical figures, with thousands of examples. Bullinger held ultradispensational views and taught soul sleep, which this platform rejects; use it as a reference for the figures.
- Things to ComeAmazon J. Dwight PentecostIts opening section on interpreting prophecy explains literal interpretation and how to handle figurative language in the prophets. First published in 1958.
- Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical CommentaryAmazon Robert L. ThomasA careful futurist commentary that lets the text explain its own symbols; a companion volume covers chapters 8 to 22.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Genre Matters
All Scripture is inspired, but God spoke in narrative, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, epistle, and apocalyptic, and each kind of writing must be read as what it is.
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