Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 04 03 2025 Figurative or Literal

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04 03 2025 Figurative or Literal · Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris

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  Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too much,
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  Speaker 1: because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy for
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  Speaker 1: today's needs. Why then, do some of us expect yesterday's
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  Speaker 1: portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to keep
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  Speaker 1: us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going
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  Speaker 1: to change all of that. Let's experience God's words today
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  Speaker 1: and receive the power we need to live healthy, vibrant lives.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker,
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  Speaker 1: Elle David Harris.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Thursday, April three,
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty five. Hello, my name is Elle David Harris.
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  Speaker 2: I am your host, and this is your Daily Portion
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  Speaker 2: where we give you God's Word every single day, and
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  Speaker 2: today is no exception. We are continuing in our new
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  Speaker 2: lesson study series how to study Bible Prophecy, and our
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  Speaker 2: caption for today is figurative or literal or literal. We'll
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  Speaker 2: get into that in just a moment, but first I'd
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  Speaker 2: like to say welcome to you and ask you to
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  Speaker 2: go over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please join
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  Speaker 2: our online community. Please please go and click the number
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  Speaker 2: seven on the screen when you get to your Daily
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  Speaker 2: Portion dot Com. And join and subscribe there as well,
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  Speaker 2: and let us know where you are in the world
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  Speaker 2: at your Daily Portion dot com. This is one of
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  Speaker 2: the ways that we continue to build faith and fellowship.
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  Speaker 2: Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will get underway.
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  Speaker 2: Bather and Heaven, thank you for giving us this new
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  Speaker 2: day and for the privilege that you have entrusted to
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  Speaker 2: us to open your word again. And I'm asking you
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  Speaker 2: to please give us unusual understanding, teach us how to
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  Speaker 2: apply these truths to our lives. In Jesus' name, I pray,
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  Speaker 2: Amen and Amen again, figurative or literal. Now, we don't
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  Speaker 2: have an hour to invest together, and so I'm going
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  Speaker 2: to do my best with the time by applying some principles. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: So I'm going to give you a few principles, beginning
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  Speaker 2: with let the Bible define its symbols. Let the Bible
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  Speaker 2: define its symbols. And the Bible reads in First Corinthians,
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  Speaker 2: chapter two and verse thirteen, which things also we speak
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  Speaker 2: not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
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  Speaker 2: the Holy Ghost teacheth. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual You see,
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  Speaker 2: sometimes human beings have a tendency to make up stuff
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  Speaker 2: as we go along. Even people who speak what I say,
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  Speaker 2: what I call Christianese, like human beings, have a tendency
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  Speaker 2: of making things up, comparing all sorts of things that
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  Speaker 2: seem to be related to what God is saying in
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  Speaker 2: the scriptures. But the Bible is teaching us very plainly
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  Speaker 2: that we are by the Holy Ghost not to rely
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  Speaker 2: on human wisdom, but to compare spiritual things with spiritual
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  Speaker 2: Number two, there is consistent Bible usage that we need
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  Speaker 2: to observe when God is showing us a symbol as
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  Speaker 2: an example of horns in symbolic Bible prophecy Daniel chapter
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  Speaker 2: seven and verse twenty four, and the ten horns out
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  Speaker 2: of this kingdom are ten kings. Now we know what
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  Speaker 2: the symbol actually means, kings? Got it consistent use the
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  Speaker 2: one that we often reference of a woman in the
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  Speaker 2: Bible Book of Jeremiah chapter six and verse two. I
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  Speaker 2: have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and
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  Speaker 2: delicate woman in this case that is a holy woman.
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  Speaker 2: But this woman in Bible prophecy is a daughter of Zion. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: symbolic Bible prophecy, I need to keep saying that, And
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  Speaker 2: then there are a few reasons for symbolic language. Number
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  Speaker 2: one is for protection. In Matthew, chapter ten and verse sixteen,
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  Speaker 2: the Bible reads, behold, I send you forth as sheep
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  Speaker 2: in the midst of wolves. Be Ye therefore wise as serpents.
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  Speaker 2: So God is giving us protection in these symbols. And
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  Speaker 2: here are some principles. Number one, avoid contemporary interpretations. Sometimes
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  Speaker 2: we try to make it fit into today's language, in
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  Speaker 2: today's concepts, so to the degree that we lose what
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  Speaker 2: God is saying. So don't use modern symbols. Stick to
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  Speaker 2: the Bible meetings, and follow the scripture's usage. Number two,
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  Speaker 2: study Bible wide context, so that means, don't squeeze our
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  Speaker 2: understanding into one passage, don't squeeze it into one or
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  Speaker 2: two books. But see what the Bible says in the
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  Speaker 2: entire scripture, and see where we can compare scripture with scripture.
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  Speaker 2: Look for consistent language in those scriptures, and then follow
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  Speaker 2: the patterns. Don't make up stuff, don't become weary, don't choose,
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  Speaker 2: and I'm saying don't a lot, because these are things
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  Speaker 2: that we do like. Don't choose to just drag it
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  Speaker 2: into our time. In twenty twenty five, before we observe
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  Speaker 2: what God is actually saying. Number three, we had to
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  Speaker 2: understand the purpose protection and persecution, deeper spiritual truth, universal application,
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  Speaker 2: and then of course there are timeless meanings and then
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  Speaker 2: guidelines for interpretation. Check the Bible usage. First, Let's see
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  Speaker 2: what the Bible actually says in its use, and then
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  Speaker 2: look for internal definitions. It's just another way of saying
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  Speaker 2: what I've said already. See what the Bible says about it,
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  Speaker 2: follow consistent patterns, and then consider what was going on
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  Speaker 2: in history, the historic historical context, and then finally, trust
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  Speaker 2: God's divine purpose. The Bible reads in two Timothy, chapter
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  Speaker 2: three and verse sixteen. All scripture is given by inspiration
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  Speaker 2: of God. That means God breathed in the same way
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  Speaker 2: that He breathed his life into us. He breathed his
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  Speaker 2: breath into their nostrils, Adam and Eve, and they became
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  Speaker 2: a living soul in the same way that you are
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  Speaker 2: living today borrowing God's breath. He breathed the truth upon
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  Speaker 2: those humans that He used as as pen men of
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  Speaker 2: what we now call the scripture. So God wants us
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  Speaker 2: to understand the symbols do have meaning, and truth can
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  Speaker 2: be known and wisdom is available. I know I've said
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  Speaker 2: a lot. I've said a lot because this lesson wasn't
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  Speaker 2: designed to be handled in just ten minutes. But you
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  Speaker 2: can rewind and then play it over, okay. And so
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  Speaker 2: the lesson writer wanted us to look for the meanings
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  Speaker 2: of some specific symbols in this listing. In the middle
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  Speaker 2: of the lesson, look up the following texts, allowing the
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  Speaker 2: Bible to be its own interpreter. What is the prophetic
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  Speaker 2: symbol common in the texts in each case, and what
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  Speaker 2: does the Bible say that it represents? Okay? And so
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  Speaker 2: the first symbol that is in Daniel seven and verse seven,
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  Speaker 2: Daniel eight and verse three, Daniel seven and verse twenty four,
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  Speaker 2: beasts and horns. Beasts and horns, what do they represent?
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  Speaker 2: Kingdoms or political powers? Okay? The second one the sword
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  Speaker 2: in Revelation chapter one, verse sixteen, Ephijians six and verse seventeen,
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  Speaker 2: and Hebrews chapter four and verse two. And I'll read
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  Speaker 2: this one, for the Word of God is quick and
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  Speaker 2: powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. And so
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  Speaker 2: here the sword represents what the Word of God. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: let's keep going. Let's keep going. And then number three,
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  Speaker 2: a pure woman, a pure woman Revelation chapter twelve and
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  Speaker 2: verse one. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven,
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  Speaker 2: a woman clothed in the sun, Revelation twenty one and
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  Speaker 2: verse two. The Bible says, and I John saw the
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  Speaker 2: Holy city New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
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  Speaker 2: prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And so
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  Speaker 2: the city with God's people in it. And then in
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  Speaker 2: Ephiesians chapter five, verses thirty one and thirty two, it's
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  Speaker 2: a long story. These all all represent pure woman, pure woman,
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  Speaker 2: God's faithful and true people, the people of God, while
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  Speaker 2: we are faithful. And of course there is another kind
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  Speaker 2: of woman that is unfaithful, and that would be the
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  Speaker 2: harlot okay. And so this shows how Scripture does four things.
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  Speaker 2: One defines its own symbols, two maintains consistent meaning, Three
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  Speaker 2: provides internal interpretation. And then for and final builds systematic understanding.
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  Speaker 2: We said a lot in just a few minutes, but
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  Speaker 2: these are foundational to our understanding of symbolic Bible prophecy. Peace.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us listening. Friends. Always remember we cannot
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  Speaker 1: live by bread alone, but by every word that comes
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  Speaker 1: from the mouth of God. This has been your daily
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  Speaker 1: portion with El David Harris. Make it a great day. Yeah,