Kent Clark
Excuse me for assuming He had teeth in His mouth. My point is that we look to hard for symbolism in a context that might be more firmly and accurately associated with reality. I believe like you mintioned genre, the genre of the sword carries us away from the symbolic into a real and actual arrival of justice. The Word of God on a white horse.
If the sword of Christ has a symbolic meaning surely it is this, justice. Symbolism is not always the reality. Granted Revelation is highly symbolic but in searching for symbolism even in Revelation lets not overlook what may be plain, accurate, literal prophecy. Is the holy city symbolic? Should we go into that as well? When we search for symbolism shouldn’t we also conclude the obvious.
I am noting that this search for symbolism has resulted in some people referring to other peoples thoughts as silly and I don’t think any search for relevance should conclude this type of judgemental intone. It’s a sign of immaturity. Everyone is entitled to a thought even if it doesn’t agree with our concept. It’s how we learn. Symbolism is an important study that should not be bogged down with negative inuendos. Lets not look at the entire bible in the light of symbolism though. There’s more to it then that.