Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Crying Fowl?”
Categories: NEW TESTAMENTAccording to Revelation 8:13, an eagle talked. Did the eagle really speak like the serpent of Eden and Balaam’s donkey?Sincerely,
Dr. Dolittle
Dear Dr. Dolittle,
The apostle John wrote the book of Revelation and said that it was a book of signs and symbols (Rev. 1:1). The context states over and over that things are not what they seem. Candlesticks representing churches (Rev 1:20), a lamb representing Jesus (Rev 5:5-6), white linen representing the righteous saints (Rev 19:8), and a dragon representing Satan (Rev 12:9) are just a few examples of how we would really miss the whole point of the book if we took it literally.
The eagle in Rev. 8:13 isn’t a literal eagle. It is part of the symbolic language that is used to describe the struggle between christians and Rome. Revelation dealt with the coming persecution that the church of the first century was about to face. It is a figurative and symbolic book (Rev 1:1 – notice the word ‘signified’, that means ‘symbolic’) that God used to prepare those saints for the trials they had ahead of them. If you would like to better understand the book of Revelation, we have a series of classes on the book. They can be found here.
