We are the conquerors who follow Jesus Christ and have the seal of God in our foreheads.
Revelation 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
We have gained victory(conquered) over the beast and his mark.
The mark of the beast is on Adamic man or earth man, them that are earth dwellers and not heaven dwellers these have the mark(mindset) of the beast.
We have overcome the beast and his mark by the blood of Jesus Christ and the word affirmed in our testimony.
Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
The temple is a symbol of our spiritual perfect place where we commune with God, the holy of holies in our being.
The seven last judgments are to be a spiritual practice of keeping our being free of the Adamic man we no longer adhere to.
Each judgment is a spiritual reality that must be dealt with to continue in and as the Trmple of God.
The conquerors, those governed only by the Holy Spirit renew their minds to the perfection of spiritual reality in Jesus as the perfect man in Ephesians 4:12-13
Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Dont be confused. Any interpretive method other than "spiritual or or idealist interpretive method" (which is what SovereignSon is using) will elicit a more sensible understanding of the Biblical text.
Spiritual or or idealist interpretive method = Make the text mean whatever you want
That would be dishonest. One of the principles of following the Holy Spirit is honesty.
It also helps to believe that the Holy Spirit is actively teaching you truth.
I appreciate your input in my threads. I mean that, we learn together.
This I can agree with. But the Spirit doesn't teach you grammar, or the rules of interpretation, or how to understand the historical context of a passage or epistle, etc....These things you have to learn on your own. He doesn't just open up your cranium and dump the correct interpretation of a certain passage or chapter into your Mind. He might bring up certain other passages that may relate to what you may be studying at any given moment, but even that is in conjunction with your own effort of reading and studying the Scriptures and memorizing them, storing them up in your heart.
This is all part of the command to "rightly divide the Word of Truth" (which, oddly enough, assumes there is a wrong way).
It is the Glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search a matter out.
Consider 2 Peter 3:15-16:
It's interesting to note how the early Apostles interpreted Old Testament passages when trying to understand the events they lived through. You'll notice that they didn't use the Spiritual or or idealist interpretive method, they used the authorial intent or historical-grammatical approach to interpretation. This method aims to uncover the original meaning and message intended by the authors of the biblical texts. This is actually the method that even you use when discoursing with me here (or others) on this platform and in life. I have specific meanings and intent with the words I am using. It is my job to communicate those meanings and intent in a clear manner. It is your job to parse out those meanings and intents correctly. This is how communication works. If we were to utilize your method of biblical interpretation with each other, then we would get no where, since we would simply be allegorizing (spiritualizing) everything into some other meaning. If you don't use this method when trying to figure out what people mean or say on a regular basis, then why do you approach the Bible with this method?
The Bible consists of various literary genres and types that serve different purposes and convey different forms of expression. For example:
Historical Narrative: This genre includes accounts of historical events, such as the books of Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, and Acts, which recount the history of God's people and the early church.
Poetry: The Bible contains poetic passages found in books like Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and parts of the prophetic books. Poetry often utilizes figurative language, parallelism, and imagery to convey emotions, wisdom, and worship.
Wisdom Literature: Books like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job fall into this category. They provide wisdom teachings, philosophical reflections on life, and discussions about human suffering and the nature of God.
Prophecy: This genre includes prophetic books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, which contain messages of divine revelation, warnings, and predictions concerning future events.
Law/Commandments: The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy contain legal codes and commandments given by God to the people of Israel, including instructions for worship, moral conduct, and civil matters.
Epistles/Letters: These are letters written by apostles like Paul, Peter, James, and John to various early Christian communities or individuals, offering teachings, guidance, and encouragement.
7.Apocalyptic Literature: The books of Daniel and Revelation are examples of apocalyptic literature, which use highly symbolic and visionary language to reveal heavenly mysteries, eschatological events, and the ultimate triumph of God. It is important to note, almost all of the symbols and images used in Revelation are decoded by the OT (since the OT was what John was most familiar with in Patmos). In other words, almost all of the symbols used in Revelation have specific meanings attached to specific OT references, and are not left up to our own imaginative interpretation.
These are just a few of the literary types found in the Bible, and often a single book may contain a combination of different genres. Understanding the specific genre and literary conventions within each biblical text helps in interpreting and appreciating the intended message and style of the respective authors.
To simply spiritualize or allegorize everything one wants (or what you think the Holy Spirit tells you to) does a disservice to both the biblical texts and the authors of those texts.
Very nice, thank you for taking the time to give a great answer.
I don't pretend to be a Bible scholar, but I know some. I've been a disciple of Jesus Christ since the 1980s, I've read my Bible and know my scriptures. I've been influenced by many Bible teachers. That being said I'm not all that smart, I've grabbed onto what works in that time and am quite settled in where the Lord has me.
In 35 of those years as a Christian working the scriptures, I ignored the book of Revelation because it did not make sense to me. The book did not agree with the Spirit of Christ that I endeavored to walk in.
I found a spiritual interpretation that was in depth and agreed with the Spirit of Christ in me. It took me about two years to read through the whole study.
I don't agree with everything in that study because I don't follow men or their ministries, I follow Jesus Christ.
So I approve the spiritual method from my study of scripture. I vow to be honest in giving that interpretation and I value opposition. If you see my saying unscripural things I will consider your correction. If you disagree because you have chosen a different doctrine I will attemp to show the two doctrines, how they differ, and people can make up their own minds.
Thank you for taking the time.
I believe Revelation stands alone in scripture type. It agrees with the Body of scripture and the best interpretive method for the book is spiritual.