Originally Posted by TF49
Originally Posted by mauserand9mm
Originally Posted by TF49
Originally Posted by mauserand9mm
Does something get relabelled as allegory if it doesn't come true?




There is quite bit to this question.

Note that in the Book of Jonah, he laments that he was in the belly of the great fish “forever.” He was not. But, as I recall, the term ”forever” is used over 50 times with regard to events that were clearly not “for all time.” Like an impatient person might complain that they have been “waiting forever” to be picked up at the mall.

Also note that in Matthew 12….. “Jesus spoke of Jonah’s ordeal as a real historical event. He used it as a typological metaphor for His own crucifixion and resurrection: ‘As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth…’....” In this case some would hold that it is purely metaphor and others would hold that it was also a real event.

Also, Jude 1:7 describes the destruction of Sodom and uses the term “… punishment of eternal fire.” Well, Sodom is not burning today so what does this mean? The term “eternal fire” can be seen in reference to God Himself as an eternal fire. This raises another interpretation topic…. There is a difference between the action of “punishing for eternity” and the term “eternal punishment.”

Some hold to the idea that there may be a one time “punishment” but that punishment lasts for “eternity.” This is very different from the ongoing action of “punishing” for eternity.


Then there is the problem of understanding. Jesus spoke in parables for a number of reasons, one was to conceal a meaning to some and reveal a meaning to others. But that may be a subject for another time.






If the meaning is not clear and no one can agree to what it might be, it's pretty much meaningless.


I would not share that view but I can understand how you may find it “meaningless.”


So do you believe Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of a fish, or not?


You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.

You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell