When we do not take them literally. We take away from the purpose and meaning of why he told us those things to begin with.
When we do not take them literally…you say.
There is the literal like circumcision made with hands…and the circumcision made without hands. If we are only focused on one …the literal all we push is a circumcision made with hands. There is also the circumcision made without hands in the removal of the foreskin of the heart.
Same with the temple…there is that temple made with hands…literal. And that temple made without hands. Just like when Jesus healed the one tossed between Fire and Water, this one in torment caught between both, thrown in and out of the Fire into the Water into the fire into the water…if we only see that as literal …we miss the magnitude of one in torment tossed between the two. And what Jesus was revealing in God whom is Spirit will save the man out of torment caught going back and forth between the water and the fire. Same with the man whose hand was withered and Jesus restored the withered hand
whole same as the other. Think of the parable of the seed and that which is withered. Countless times Jesus fed with the baskets the multitude which were hungry or even when Christ walked upon the water…if all we see is the literal in it
must and has to remain literal …the other is rejected. Like how God restored the withered hand…or why the man was pulled from the torment of the fire and the water going back and forth between the two, or why baskets with fragments were left over and why Jesus walked upon the water, with all things put under His feet…all of that is rejected as unnecessary for the sake of the literal interpretation being the better and preferred interpretation.
Example.
God said messiah would come 69 weeks of years after the command to restore Jerusalem. (Dan 9) fulfilled literally
Open to interpretation which will be debated over and over and over…yet I assume you are certain your interpretation is correct. So it must be literal. Because you say it has to be. Are you afraid if it’s not literal? Will you be disappointed if it’s spiritual?
God said Jesus would be born of a virgin (is 7: 14) fulfilled literally
Jesus born of Spirit? Define virgin? Forget that because I’ve heard the literal interpretation of a virgin. She hasn’t had sex with any other. Not like an adulterous woman…
God said Jesus would be called out of egypt (hos 11:1) Fulfilled literally
Yet Egypt is literal? You’ll take it all the way back to Egypt in the OT and make it current for today but in doing so you’ll have to make Egypt not literal while mixing it with “it has to be literal”
God said Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5: 2) fulfilled literally
I’m not against any literal interpretation. I’m not against that the temple was destroyed as God said it would be. I’m only saying if that is all we see is the teaching of a literal birth…and neglect then the Spirit teaching of “born of God” “born of Spirit” …then everything has to always mean literal, and that which is first which is flesh. Take “it has to be literal” unto The Revelation of Jesus Christ and you’ll have a hard time with it must be literal.
God said he would teach in parables (Ps 78: 1-2) Fulfilled literally
So you say the parables are literal yet He said the literal interpretation would confuse those who desire those literal earthly things so they do not understand that which is Spirit…the parables teach of heavenly things? If the parables are literal …why is the Spirit of God needed to hear what the parable teaches or else it’s unseen?…as in I’ll speak to you no more in parables but speak plainly and show you the Father. Why did the disciples struggle so much between the literal and the Spiritual? You don’t see this struggle between misunderstanding what Jesus Christ was saying to them countless times? I can’t understand not recognizing this and why we still shout “speak to us in literal terms and images…tell us of earthly things!” Do we not see the angst of confusion when the disciples struggled with what He was telling them …they’re forcing literal interpretations…until the Spirit showed them what He was telling them in the Spirit of God.
God said he would begin his ministry in Galilee (Is 9: 1-2) fulfilled literally
Ok. He was lead by the Spirit …He was not lead around by the literal. He even said “You are from beneath and earthly. You speak of earthly things. I am from heaven, come down from above. And I speak of heavenly things.”
His only doing what He sees the Father doing. His only saying what He hears the Father saying. God is Spirit. Does God say and do literal or does God the Father do and say Spirit, which is Life?
God said he would be preceded by a forrunner (Is 40: 3-4) fulfilled literally
Ok. Fulfilled By the Spirit? We have a forerunner…and where He entered in before us…going beyond the second vail, He entered into the holiest of Holy…
make that literal.
God said he would be despised and rejected (Is %3: 3) Literally fulfilled
Ok. But there’s a bigger picture happening of not of flesh and blood but spiritual wickedness in high places.
God said he would be betrayed for 30 Peices of silver (Zech 11: 12- 13) Fulfilled literally)
Which was used to purchase the potters field…the field of blood. Make the potters field literal . I get you may say “I can.” But the purchase goes beyond the literal (Imo)
God said that babylon would take Jerusalem it was literally fulfilled
Define Babylon literally.
when people tell you something God said will not happen the way God said it. Run from them.. because they do not understand God.
So you say… is it safe to assume you want to continue to be taught and spoken to of literal things? If this is the desire then hold tight to those literal things …that is your choice. I missed somehow quoting “God said the blind would see, the deaf will hear and the lame will walk (Is 35: 5-6) Fulfilled literally” no denying Jesus Christ healed the blind, the deaf, and the lame …but you are missing the point I’m trying to make where those literal things taught of God healing the blind and opening the ears of the deaf and the lame walk in Spirit. I don’t see how you can ignore that those things were temporary revealing the things which are not temporary. Do we prefer the symbol that points to that which is true? Do we prefer a circumcision made with hands over the circumcision made of God of the foreskin of the heart? Have you ever been literally blind or literally deaf or literally lame? Do you claim God has healed your blindness to see(see what? Literally it Spiritually?) (literally then you were literally blind?) , has your deaf ears been opened to hearing His Voice and has He caused your legs once lame to walk? Then you (Imo) are claiming it as the Spiritual healing of blindness, and the Spiritual healing of the deaf ears, and the Spiritual healing of the lame. Yet you say it has to be literal and remain so…rejecting anything beyond “literal” …see its so confusing to me that you’ll claim spiritual things for yourself but continue to push remaining strictly literal for the sake of keeping literal doctrines.