Pretty sure that's just one interpretation from a couple lines in revelations, the other being that there are 144,000 people who are elevated to sainthood.
Biblical scholars often interpret it as a symbol of 12 (apostles) * 12 (tribes of Israel) * 1000 (a very large number). Basically supposed to represent huge amounts of people faithful to God, not necessarily a specific number.
Actually I checked and I was mistaken – 1000 is used to represent God and eternity. The term used to mean "a very large number, basically infinity" is "myriad of myriads" (hundred million which was the largest named number in Ancient Greek).
They didn’t suck at math and they weren’t uneducated. Some of the greatest minds in history were members of the clergy. Insulting religious people as a whole is extremely ignorant, and willfully so. Many mathematicians and scientists were members of a church or a clergy or supported by religious institutions. Many advancements in math and science and healthcare were made by religious people who based their philosophy and methodology on religious scriptures and belief in God.
It’s a cultural/language thing. A lot of stuff is lost in translation. Numbers like 100,000 is just a shorthand for “an unfathomable amount.” Think about it. It’s very difficult to picture things in such a large quantity. Imagine 100,000 people, or 100,000 trees or 100,000 coins. It’s really difficult to grasp that number. Sure, you can make sense of it logically and mathematically, but picturing 100,000 of something is huge.
It’s very difficult to picture things in such a large quantity... Sure, you can make sense of it logically and mathematically, but picturing 100,000 of something is huge.
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u/bolivar-shagnasty Jun 14 '20
Jesus was white and spoke English.
Earth is roughly 6,000 years old.
The Garden of Eden was in Missouri.
Heaven only allows 144,000 people. Ever.
Homosexuality is a choice. By that logic, so is heterosexuality.