[Destro]

12 tribes in Revelations does not mean 12 DNA linked tribes nor does the number actually refer to a numerical value as such. It's all code.

[Quix]

Oh, really?

What Mt Sinai did you get this revelation from?

I consider it a no-brainer that people from the same father have very clear DNA markings to that effect.

I think that's pretty basic--A, B, C level DNA architecture stuff.

I suppose you or anyone can come along and claim it isn't so. You could probably come up with a list of conjectures, hypotheses and rationalizations that leave you feeling comfortable with your rather brash assertions.

But I feel pretty comfortable understanding that individuals with the same ancestor--e.g. one of Jacob's 12 sons--those offspring are going to have some VERY VERY CLEAR IDENTICAL DNA markers.

Of course, you can pretend it isn't so.

Such a pretense wouldn't even equal the pretense that the earth is flat. And there are folks who do that with a straight face. So, help yourself. But I consider it a rather strange, convoluted and off the wall construction on reality.

[Quix]

In my experience with The Word of Almighty God--Written for sure but often otherwise as well . . .

HE HAS CONSISTENTLY MEANT WHAT HE SAID AND SAID WHAT HE MEANT--AND HE HAS TENDED, IN MY EXPERIENCE OF HIM AND HIS WORD

TO BE VERY LITERAL OVERWHELMINGLY BY FAR MOST OF THE TIME--WHAT 99.9%? He may be literal AND symbolic--but VERY, VERY RARELY ONLY symbolic.

Of course you can declare otherwise.

You can even believe otherwise.

God seems to have never been bothered for the last 100 years of archeological research by those who claimed this or that title or event or location or place name etc. was symbolic only to be proven wrong over and over and over and over again by later archeological finds.

Of course you can claim to have a hotline to God's secret map of symbolic vs literal. You can claim to have the secret code decrypting ring from your Cheerios box into God's secrets on such scores.

For my money, I think I'll stick to expecting prophecies to be fulfilled AT LEAST LITERALLY first and foremost. History has shown that to be the far safer assumption.

But hey--you don't have to believe history. You can believe your decoder ring.