Okay, so most apocalyptic scripture is allegory. Remember that “free speech” is a rather new concept, and the vast majority of human history, you said the wrong thing about people in power and you wind up dead- or worse.
So speaking in symbolism and in “prophetic” guise was an easy way to hide the criticism. It didn’t always work, mind, but usually sub cultures could speak in a way that everyone inside it knew exactly who you were talking about while the people in power overlooked it.
The antichrist in the book of revelation was Nero. The book of Daniel was some Persian douche. Isaiah… well that would definitely depend on which “Isaiah” we’re talking about. (It was written by several different authors in distinct time periods.)
Regardless of if you believe the scriptures are the absolute word of god or not, it’s important to remember that it was written by humans, fixed in a time and place. They had deeply flawed understandings of the world around them and ascribed many things that have boring explanations to angry gods or the movements of stars or some such.
More to the point, they each held a cultural context and were writing for a contemporary audience who shared that context and absolutely understood what was being said, and we simply don’t have most of that context.
So, the short answer is “no, it’s not about trump” (or any other modern person.)
That said, these figures… they all share certain traits and characteristics. Authoritarian douchebergers, The lot of them. trump certainly fits that mold.
Side note… Revelation was probably written by a guy named John of Patmos. He was exiled on an island that was famous for its psychedelic shrooms. Things to keep in mind.
Okay, so most apocalyptic scripture is allegory. Remember that “free speech” is a rather new concept, and the vast majority of human history, you said the wrong thing about people in power and you wind up dead- or worse.
So speaking in symbolism and in “prophetic” guise was an easy way to hide the criticism. It didn’t always work, mind, but usually sub cultures could speak in a way that everyone inside it knew exactly who you were talking about while the people in power overlooked it.
The antichrist in the book of revelation was Nero. The book of Daniel was some Persian douche. Isaiah… well that would definitely depend on which “Isaiah” we’re talking about. (It was written by several different authors in distinct time periods.)
Regardless of if you believe the scriptures are the absolute word of god or not, it’s important to remember that it was written by humans, fixed in a time and place. They had deeply flawed understandings of the world around them and ascribed many things that have boring explanations to angry gods or the movements of stars or some such.
More to the point, they each held a cultural context and were writing for a contemporary audience who shared that context and absolutely understood what was being said, and we simply don’t have most of that context.
So, the short answer is “no, it’s not about trump” (or any other modern person.)
That said, these figures… they all share certain traits and characteristics. Authoritarian douchebergers, The lot of them. trump certainly fits that mold.
Side note… Revelation was probably written by a guy named John of Patmos. He was exiled on an island that was famous for its psychedelic shrooms. Things to keep in mind.
Well said.