EVF, you say you are interested in truth and yet you dismiss the Bible without ever having even read it. It is impossible for you to be scientific and logical about something you know absolutely nothing about. You can't review or even offer any real discussion about The Lord Of The Rings if you haven't read it and more importantly - studied it closely.
As far as how to interpret the Bible as either metaphorically or literally - that is a complaint I have heard from a few atheists and I don't understand what could be difficult about it.
Revelation 20:14 - And death and Hades were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8 - But as for the cowards and those without faith and those who are disgusting in their filth and murderers and fornicators and those practicing spiritism and idolaters and all the liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This means the second death.
Here the Bible uses fire as a symbol of everlasting punishment, the Bible tells you what it means when it points out that it is the second death. Now if you read these scriptures without careful study of the overall harmony in the scripture, especially if you have been taught the pagan hellfire doctrine by false religion you might think it is a symbol of hell. And you might miss the fact that the Bible points out that some will die twice. There is a resurrection of the righteous once, for they have had the opportunity to get to know Jehovah God and to approve of his Kingdom and King, Christ Jesus. They want to be a part of it and live accordingly.
However, there are also those who haven't had the opportunity to do so. Primitive peoples all over the world, for example etc. They are not righteous but they haven't had the chance to be, to know if they want to live forever in paradise on earth. They will be given a 1000 year or so period of time to get to know their position and if they choose not to be a part of that they will die a second death. This one is final as fire represents total destruction in the Bible.
How do I know how to interpret either metaphorical or literal? Well it is usually obvious if you know a little about the Bible, and then you can investigate further when in doubt. Once you get to know it it is pretty easy.
As far as how to interpret the Bible as either metaphorically or literally - that is a complaint I have heard from a few atheists and I don't understand what could be difficult about it.
Revelation 20:14 - And death and Hades were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8 - But as for the cowards and those without faith and those who are disgusting in their filth and murderers and fornicators and those practicing spiritism and idolaters and all the liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This means the second death.
Here the Bible uses fire as a symbol of everlasting punishment, the Bible tells you what it means when it points out that it is the second death. Now if you read these scriptures without careful study of the overall harmony in the scripture, especially if you have been taught the pagan hellfire doctrine by false religion you might think it is a symbol of hell. And you might miss the fact that the Bible points out that some will die twice. There is a resurrection of the righteous once, for they have had the opportunity to get to know Jehovah God and to approve of his Kingdom and King, Christ Jesus. They want to be a part of it and live accordingly.
However, there are also those who haven't had the opportunity to do so. Primitive peoples all over the world, for example etc. They are not righteous but they haven't had the chance to be, to know if they want to live forever in paradise on earth. They will be given a 1000 year or so period of time to get to know their position and if they choose not to be a part of that they will die a second death. This one is final as fire represents total destruction in the Bible.
How do I know how to interpret either metaphorical or literal? Well it is usually obvious if you know a little about the Bible, and then you can investigate further when in doubt. Once you get to know it it is pretty easy.
