/lit/ - Literature

Books that will destroy my old self metaphysically speaking so out of the old I can rise anew and transform into a phoenix?

>inb4 the bible

Honestly, I have read 4 books from the bible already (genesis, exodus, mark and matthew), and I have come across passages that are so fucking hard to understand what the fuck they are actually talking about that I have to research it and then I come across millions of explanations for the same passage.
Is the metaphorical, poetical language actually a legit attempt to make a beautiful book or is it only mechanism for the church to interpret the bible as they see fit (in a way that serves their interests)?

For instance, in the book of Mark we have:
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it[b] is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened."

Any normal person, using common sense and basic human logic, would realize that jesus predicted the end of the world within the time of his generation (which didn't happen).
Then christians come up with all sorts of explanations to justify this. They say that the "coming of christ" that jesus said was actually the destruction of jerusalem, or the collapse of the jewish economy or whatever the fuck...
Is the bible just a meme book?