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Fire Breathing Dragon?
- Thread starter HAMel
- Start date
Clearly the last chapters of Job in which God is going through a litany of various creatures he's created is meant to be taken literally. I have never encountered a commentary by anyone that the passage is symbolic or prophetic. If there is such a commentary please produce it (whoever's espousing this). Google "Job animals symbolic" or whatever. Or just lay it out for us in detail, why you think this.
Convicted1 it just occurred to me - God is glorying in his own creation in those chapters in Job. He's saying that it all is reflective of his glory. In many other places in scripture beasts of various kinds clearly represent menace and evil, but not at all there in Job. Seriously, you just need to read those chapters 38-41 and then come back and say if you still think its talking about Satan.
Christos doulos
New Member
My friend. I am talking about the book of Job
Possibly the Re-Publicans.
The statement by PreachinJesus was, "there are many things in the Bible we shouldn't take literally". I saw no qualifier in the phrase "in the Bible" restricting the subject matter to the book of Job.
This particular chapter is the only place in the Bible where you will find a dialog between the Lord and a man, to the extent as is recorded.
The Lord challenged Job by asking him many questions which ultimately put him in his place. Where were you when I created this? ...and where were you when I created that? Consider the dragon.... (Leviathan).
Suffering as he did I'm quite sure Job actually became very angry and frustrated over the entire situation seeing as how he didn't have a clue as to what was going on and his condition had lingered for many months. I would have been.
Chapter 42,
1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
The dragon is/was real. Whether a picture of Satan or not, the dragon is/was real.
The Lord challenged Job by asking him many questions which ultimately put him in his place. Where were you when I created this? ...and where were you when I created that? Consider the dragon.... (Leviathan).
Suffering as he did I'm quite sure Job actually became very angry and frustrated over the entire situation seeing as how he didn't have a clue as to what was going on and his condition had lingered for many months. I would have been.
Chapter 42,
1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
The dragon is/was real. Whether a picture of Satan or not, the dragon is/was real.
Christos doulos
New Member
My friend. This thread is referring to the book of Job. PreachinJesus made his statement in this thread.
Well you'll first want to note that I said "Bible" in my post. That includes the book of Job but isn't limited to the book of Job.
Basically I'm saying there are plenty of things in the Bible we don't take literally. For instance the 70th week in Daniel. How is it that evangelicals and fundamentalists everywhere take the first 69 weeks "literally" and the 70th week suddenly becomes metaphorical?
Other issues, include the two witnesses in Revelation walking with fire coming out of their mouths. Is it literal fire?
Along these lines, since Revelation is full of this stuff, do we really believe that a dragon, harlot, and lamb are leading the world during/or when this stuff happens?
Also, do you have one or two eyes? How do you interpret Mark 9:47?
When you go to church, do the women there wear headcoverings per 1 Cor 11:2-16?
Since we're in Job how about this one: Job 39:9-10 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
My point isn't that the Bible lacks fidelity or inspiration...but that we all have parts of the biblical teaching we don't take literally. That's perfectly okay. You don't have to read the Bible literally across all 66 books. Frankly, because of genric diversity, you can't.
Perhaps this, the OP, is another example of a mythic element being communicated in the text of Scripture. Job is a really, really, really difficult book to translate. The Hebrew is old, perhaps the oldest, and the poetic devices (just because its poetry doesn't mean it isn't true) cause difficulty.
Christos doulos
New Member
Well you'll first want to note that I said "Bible" in my post. That includes the book of Job but isn't limited to the book of Job.
Basically I'm saying there are plenty of things in the Bible we don't take literally. For instance the 70th week in Daniel. How is it that evangelicals and fundamentalists everywhere take the first 69 weeks "literally" and the 70th week suddenly becomes metaphorical?
Other issues............
Perhaps this, the OP, is another example of a mythic element being communicated in the text of Scripture. Job is a really, really, really difficult book to translate. The Hebrew is old, perhaps the oldest, and the poetic devices (just because its poetry doesn't mean it isn't true) cause difficulty.
My friend. I am the one who asked the question, and I meant the book of Job
That's fine, and I've provided an answer that includes the book of Job.
I agree completely. I believe there was a dinosaur which could literally breathe fire. Both the Europeans and Asians have legends of such. In Emei China there is a "Fire Dragon" martial art, and in the White Dragon style of kung fu in which I trained (originally from Fukien), the fire dragon figures prominently.
Historians also have wriyyen down encountering 'fly Dragons" in Asia and in ancient greece...
Wonder if Dragons and other"myths" around world just might be lingering memories of dinosaurs that existed with ancient civilizations, that some survived into modern age with Humans?
Christos doulos
New Member
I don't see why not. The fire breathing part may be an embellishment
Since Dinosaurs just might have lived up until the Great Flood...
is there any reason why what we call sea monsters/loch ness etc just might be a remnant surviving group?
Christos doulos
New Member
It has always been one of my theories. Reptiles never stop growing. Dinosaurs were reptilian and if dinosaurs were at the beginning of creation then they just like the other animals lived longer.
Again just a theory
Wouldn't large alligators/crocidiles be modern dinosaurs so to speak?
I think there was/is a real animal that did breathe fire. God has no reason to "embellish" his word. God created some really amazing animals that can do amazing things. You might want to check out the Answers In Genesis website. They have all kinds of great info about this sort of thing.
Yep. Maybe they were that huge because they were OLD. There have been many bones of small dinos found that were the size of dogs and cats.