The problem with NOT interpreting the text literally: no reliable guide to the text's meaning

<p>If the literal sense of a passage is rejected, who is to determine what the nonliteral or spiritual sense is, since the normal rules of interpretation do not apply? Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., poses the dilemma:</p>

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<p>Who or what will arbitrate among the various [nonliteral] meanings suggested and decide which are to be accepted as authoritative and which are spurious? Short of saying that every person's fancy is his or her own rule, there does not appear to be any final court of appeal... There simply are no justifiable criteria for setting boundaries once the interpreter departs from the normal usage of language. (<i>Back Toward the Future</i> [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989], 129-30)</p>

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MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Revelation 12-22.</p>