The most dangerous teaching growing high in numbers

[kingdomwitness]

Preterism could be an error. But I also interpret bible prophecies as symbolic and I discovered that for the future to be clearer, one must sometimes refer to the past.

[Qnts2]

Preterism could be an error. But I also interpret bible prophecies as symbolic and I discovered that for the future to be clearer, one must sometimes refer to the past.

 

It depends on what you mean as 'symbolic'.

 

For example, there were many prophesies that the children of Israel would be scattered from the land of Israel and live among the gentiles. These prophesies were told to the Jewish people before the scattering, and later they were literally scattered. Among the prophesies of the scattering, the prophets also told the Jewish people before the scattering, that a time would come when the Jewish people would be brought back into the land of Israel. Since the prophesy given to the children of Israel said they would be scattered, and that happened to the children of Israel, it is very simple to believe that God will literally re-gather the children of Israel into the land, and the Messiah will come and defeat Israels enemies. But, many see the regathering and the Messiah coming to Israel as symbolic, in that they believe God did not really mean literal, physical Israel, but now means the 'Church', mostly Gentiles. Of course, Jewish people see that kind of teaching as telling them that God lied to them. The first part, the bad part literally happened, but the regathering won't literally happen to the Jewish people.  

 

If symbolism, or spiritualized interpretation contradicts the literal or plain meaning of the text, then it is problematic.

[kingdomwitness]

Not all prophecies in the bible are symbolic. For example The war of Gog and Magog and a gathering of a faithful remnant of Israelites. These are literal to me.