Mental Perception

Now let us consider more thoroughly Rev 7: 1 and Matt 24:30, which speak of all mankind seeing the returned Lord.

Are they literal or symbolic?

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”

“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

In both of these texts, the Greek word translated “see” is optomai. The following definition is from An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine:

OPTOMAI—to see; used a) objectively, with reference to person or thing seen, or b) subjectively, with reference to an inward impression or a spiritual experience or a mental occupation.

Thus we see optomai can mean either literal sight or mental perception.

The following are examples of how the Greek word optomai is used in Scripture to denote mental understanding.

Luke 3:6—”And all flesh shall see [optomai] the salvation of God.” One doesn’t literally see salvation, one understands it.

John 1:51—”And he [Jesus] saith unto him [Nathanael], Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see [optomai] heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” Nathanael never literally saw this. In an allusion to Jacob’s ladder, Jesus is saying that the Son of man would become the real ladder of communication between heaven and earth.

Three more examples of optomai are found in the following:

1 ) Rev 19:10—”And he said unto me, See [optomai] thou do it not.

2) Matt 27:4—”…And they said…see [optomai] thou to that.

3) Matt 27:24—”…I am innocent…see [optomai] ye to it.”

These scriptures reveal that the Bible does use optomai, translated “see” in Matt 24:30 and Rev 1:7, in a symbolic sense to denote mental understanding.

A thoughtful reading of Matt 24:30 and Rev 1:7 reveals terminology that leads itself to symbols, and in fact, are often used in the bible as symbols. For example, in the following quotation of Matt 24:30-31, words that frequently are used symbolically are here italicized.

“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see [optomai] the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

The scripture simply cannot be taken literally. Any concept with which it is harmonized requires a symbolic interpretation. For example, some apply this scripture to the living saints being caught up with Christ to heaven. But here in Matt 24:30-31 they are gathered “from one end of heaven to the other.” If understood liberally, the saints would already be in heaven when Christ returns, and this scripture would teach that the saints are taken at that time out of heaven and not to heaven. This alone rules out a literal interpretation of Matt 24:30-31. It also says that they are gathered from “the four winds.”

Are the saints gathered from four literal winds?

Even those who (erroneously) teach the rapture concept recognize this problem and symbolize the four winds and the word “heaven” in Verse 31 to mean that the church will be gathered from all parts of the earth.

However, this presents a greater problem.

By what rule can we arbitrarily symbolize the word “heaven” in Verse 31, yet insist that it is literal in Verse 30 where it mentions “the sign of the Son of man in heaven” and “coming in the clouds of heaven“?

Matt 24:30-31 is either literal or symbolic; it cannot be both. A literal application does not make sense; therefore, both verses must be consistently symbolic.

This is the same mistake which many make who insist on a literal interpretation of the Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, one cannot pick and choose what is to be taken literal and what is symbolic. The Lord alone sets the perimeters.

(Excerpts taken from the booklet, “I Will Come Again” edited)

Continued with next post.