Prophecy in the OT deals its understanding in the natural realm to convey a spiritual truth concerning God's plan of redemption as it progresses. Israel's history is thereby given to us as an example to show us God at work, externally, in true parabolic form, thru His people and in the events of their history. Every lesson in Israel conveys a type for a NT spiritual truth. Their wars were literal, the lesson however was spiritual. Thus the type is established for us in the temporal realm to show us a spiritual truth in the heavenly.
When we get to the NT, we find many references to these events in the OT from which the inspired writers drew upon for their teachings.
One example is in Daniel's prophecy which predicts wars that history bears out. Antiochus Epiphanes did in fact desecrate the temple by slaughtering a pig on the altar. This abomination becomes the picture of what is going to bring about Jerusalem's desolation and the destruction of the temple because of Israel's sins. So what we have is a prophecy given to Daniel and then an event to give us the type for a spiritual truth concerning a judgment that is yet to come upon Israel.
Israel did not desecrate the temple in the literal way that Antiochus did, but what they did do was actually worse and tho not visibly the same, certainly was spiritually. Israel's sin in rejecting their Messiah then killing Him and continuing to offer animal sacrifices was as if they had been the ones who had sacrificed the pig. This is the picture of abomination we are expected to see with spiritual eyes.
Therefore, as we read the symbolic language of Revelation, we must understand what the lesson of those symbols was about as the OT established their type - because the temporal events depict for us the spiritual truth we are to understand. My premise is that very little of Revelation should be taken literally as if it is yet to happen in a visible manner that we can see. I think we are supposed to understand what is happening in the spiritual realm even though we cannot see it - it is very real.
So many in Christendom seem to think that a political beast is on the rise who will deceive and rule the world and bring mass destruction upon us thru the power of the devil. I say hogwash. The language is religious and the problem concerns idolatry. We have plenty of examples of this in the OT. What does God care about wars in the earth per se? What He is concerned about is what men do with the truth they have been given which concerns Him.
Will they take that truth and create a golden calf as they proclaim their praise of YHWH? What do you suppose some are doing with the truth of Jesus if not creating a beast for themselves to worship? This is the subject of Revelation which can be seen in what was happening to the 7 churches to whom the Revelation was addressed.
contributed by robin
