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The Generation of Jesus Christ - What It Means

Anthony Pritchard

Anthony Pritchard

Active Member
kyredneck said:
"The Sea as a Figurative Symbol of Nations in the Bible

In the Bible, the sea is a recurring metaphor for peoples, nations, multitudes, and tongues, often used to convey the vastness, diversity, and sometimes the chaotic or destructive nature of human societies.

Old Testament Usage​

In the Old Testament, the sea is frequently linked to nations in prophetic imagery:
  • Isaiah 17:12–13 describes the nations as “roaring seas” and “great waters,” symbolizing their tumultuous and rebellious nature. When God rebukes them, they flee like chaff before the wind Bible Hub.
  • Jeremiah 47:2 uses “waters rising from the north” to depict invading nations as a flood, overwhelming the land and its inhabitants Bible Hub.
  • Other passages (e.g., Isaiah 57:20, Jeremiah 49:23, 51:42) liken the nations’ voices and actions to the sea’s roar, emphasizing their power and unpredictability Online Bible.

New Testament Usage​

In the New Testament, especially in Revelation, the sea’s symbolism is explicit:
  • Revelation 17:1, 15 identifies the “waters” where the “great prostitute” sits as “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues,” showing the sea as a representation of the diverse, widespread influence of nations Bible Hub+1.
  • Revelation 13:1 describes a beast “rising out of the sea,” symbolizing oppressive political or religious powers emerging from the chaotic realm of nations Bible Hub+1.

Theological Implications​

The sea as a symbol of nations underscores:
  • God’s sovereignty over human affairs — just as He controls the physical sea, He governs the nations Bible Hub.
  • The diversity and reach of human societies — the sea’s vastness mirrors the spread of peoples and cultures Bible Tools.
  • The potential for both blessing and judgment — the sea can be a source of life (e.g., sustenance, trade) or destruction (e.g., floods, invasions), reflecting how nations can serve God or oppose Him.

Summary​

In biblical thought, the sea is not just a body of water but a metaphor for the totality of human nations — their unity, diversity, and the often turbulent forces they represent. This imagery is used to teach about God’s authority, the consequences of human actions, and the ultimate destiny of nations in His plan."
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Ben1445 said:
Revelation 18:21
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,
Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Revelation 20:8
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Revelation 18:19
And they cast dust on their heads,
and cried, weeping and wailing, saying,
Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness!
for in one hour is she made desolate.

Revelation 18:17
For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.
And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships,
and sailors, and as many as trade by sea,
stood afar off,


Revelation 16:3
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

Revelation 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Revelation 7:3
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

Revelation 5:13
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

James 3:7
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

2 Corinthians 11:26
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;


It’s actually amazing how much it makes sense when you takes the word sea and understand that when it symbolizes water, it literally makes so much sense. Similes lose so much of what is supposed to be simile when you say that it is no longer a simile, rather, it really is the other thing.
You also create your own interpretation of it that is not in the plain text. Scripture is meant to reveal, not conceal. But if sea doesn’t mean water, are you sure that the Saviour actually saves? Is eternal life actually eternal or is it just hyperbole? Was Jacob a real person or a personification of whatever you want him to be.

I am satisfied to know that God tells us that sin is buried in the Sea, and that in eternity you will not be able to find the place where it was buried.

I find that to be a perfectly acceptable, literal interpretation.
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A literal interpretation does not rule out the use of pictorial speech, "behold the Lamb of God", or the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Literal interpretation means taking the text as it is written, including its metaphors, symbols, and figures of speech.

And I’m perfectly content to believe that God buries sin in the depths of the sea, both literally in the picture, and spiritually in the reality.
 
Ascetic X

Ascetic X

Well-Known Member
Anthony Pritchard said:
A literal interpretation does not rule out the use of pictorial speech, "behold the Lamb of God", or the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Literal interpretation means taking the text as it is written, including its metaphors, symbols, and figures of speech.

And I’m perfectly content to believe that God buries sin in the depths of the sea, both literally in the picture, and spiritually in the reality.
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I have never heard of literal interpretation as inclusive of non-literal metaphor, symbol, and figures of speech.

Technically there is literal vs. figurative interpretation. A text means exactly what it says (walked on the sea) or it refers to a symbol, which has similar attributes but is imaginatively conceptual (“lion” of Judah).
 
Anthony Pritchard

Anthony Pritchard

Active Member
Ascetic X said:
I have never heard of literal interpretation as inclusive of non-literal metaphor, symbol, and figures of speech.

Technically there is literal vs. figurative interpretation. A text means exactly what it says (walked on the sea) or it refers to a symbol, which has similar attributes but is imaginatively conceptual (“lion” of Judah).
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Literal interpretation has always included the recognition of figures of speech.

Cooper’s Golden Rule itself requires us to take words in their ordinary sense unless the context indicates a figure.

So when the text intends a literal event (Jesus walking on the sea), we take it literally. When the text intends a symbol (the Lion of Judah), we take it symbolically.

That’s not figurative interpretation, that’s literal interpretation applied consistently.

Every literalist, Scofield, Chafer, Ryrie, Walvoord, Pentecost, Cooper, from the old Princeton men to the Dallas Seminary giants, explicitly teaches that literal interpretation includes figures of speech.
 
kyredneck

kyredneck

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Ben1445 said:
Revelation 18:21
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,
Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Revelation 18:19
And they cast dust on their heads,
and cried, weeping and wailing, saying,
Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness!
for in one hour is she made desolate.
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Revelation Chapter 11

8​

And their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

"One eighth of the entire book of Revelation, some fifty verses, is devoted to the subject of judgement upon Babylon (14:8-10; 16:17- 19:5)." See post #55,

You like literal? Why don't you take these literally?:

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto his servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John;
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand. Rev 1
11 I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown. Rev 3
7 And behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.
12 Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is.
20 He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus. Rev 22

Ben1445 said:
I am satisfied to know that God tells us that sin is buried in the Sea, and that in eternity you will not be able to find the place where it was buried.
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Anthony Pritchard said:
And I’m perfectly content to believe that God buries sin in the depths of the sea, both literally in the picture, and spiritually in the reality.
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...and I'm also satisfied/content with 'my take' on the passage.
 
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