Biblical Interpretation
1. There is only one correct interpretation of a passage.
It was only given once, and only one revelation was given (2 Pet. 1:20, 21). Thus we should avoid subjective interpretations (or interpreting the Bible as we want it to read, not as it is). We are never to believe a doctrine then run to Scripture to prove it. Quite the opposite. We are to first run to Scripture, then develop our doctrine.
A passage may have many applications, but only one interpretation. First find out what it means, then apply it.
Example: 1 Pet. 1:15, 16. God is holy. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). The context (v. 14) speaks of our personal holiness. Mary works her way through Christian college as a phone solicitor. She does not check it out carefully. One of the people she calls convinces her that her information is inaccurate. She thinks of this verse, "You shall be holy for I am holy." She acknowledges the misinformation to her caller. She informs her superiors of the falsity of their sales pitch, knowing she may well suffer consequences for her actions. Mary has correctly applied a passage of Scripture.
Example 2: Misapplication. A Christian in the military awoke to read his morning verse. He figured he needed guidance for the day. He read Gen. 31:13, ". . .Now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth." He promptly goes A. W. O. L.
Where did he make his mistake? The command was to Jacob specifically.
What would be a valid application of the verse? We should listen to God by reading and obeying His Word. Jacob obeyed, and we should obey God's commands for us. Another application would be we can trust in God's guidance for our lives.
Example 3: Acts 18:9, 10. True or false, "God will protect His servants from harm." False. The promise was to Paul at a particular time. Later, he would be martyred at Rome, as Stephen was. But see Heb. 13:5. Can we say that God was with Paul, as well as any believer, regardless of whether he delivers us from harm? Yes!
2. Read the Bible normally, like any other book.
Of course, the Bible will mean something different to a believer than an unbeliever. The believer, though reading it normally, will readily grasp and receive spiritual principles from the passage, but the unbeliever cannot. Strictly speaking, an unbeliever really cannot read the Bible as a book because they cannot understand it as a believer. We should try to know something about the grammar, culture, and history of the Bible.
3. Canvass the context carefully.
a. near context.
b. wide context.
c. wider context (whole Bible).
4. Follow the grammatical/historical method of interpretation.
Under the Holy Spirit, a verb is still a verb, a noun a noun. We have no right to change its plain meaning. Also, we should know the historical contexts out of which the Scriptures were written (including the settings and situations).
5. Scripture interprets Scripture (cross-reference).
One passage of Scripture may shed light on another and contain similar content or ideas. There are several types of cross-reference:
a. verbal (where the actual words are used in both texts).
Example: "flesh," in Ro. 8:4-9 compared with "flesh" in Gal. 5:16-21.
b. Conceptual (where the concept or idea, if not the actual words, is the same).
Example: The resurrection in 1 Cor. 15 and Revelation 20.
c. Book (where two or more books of the Bible cover the same events).
Example: the synoptic gospels, or Kings and Chronicles. The life of Paul is described in the Book of Acts, but also in some of his epistles (e.g. Gal. 1 & 2; 2 Tim.; 2 Cor.).
How do I find a cross-reference?
A good concordance. Look up the word in a standard concordance.
Marginal cross-references in good Bibles.
Verse memorization (a previous knowledge of where parallel verses are).
Commentaries or other helpful reference works.
The best way is to be so familiar with the text of Scripture that you are able to draw truths together yourself.
Value of cross-reference:
- supplies extra detail
- keeps us from jumping to wrong conclusions (e.g., Ro. 4:4, 5, "Paul is opposed to good works." But cf. Eph. 2:10; Tit. 3:8).
6. Understand the different types of Bible literature.
a. historical narratives (O.T. historical books; gospels & Acts).
b. discourses (these are teaching portions such as the O.T. law and N.T. epistles, and some of Christ's longer discourses).
c. prophecy (revelatory & predictive).
d. poetry (Job, dramatic epic, Psalter poetry, wisdom sayings of Proverbs, etc.).
7. Analogy of faith principle (one doctrine cannot contradict another).
Do not formulate doctrine from isolated passages.
Example: Compare the contexts of James 2 and Romans 4. Note both passages prevent us from drawing false conclusions about the relationship between faith and works. Placing faith in Jesus Christ does not require us to perform certain works in order to be saved. The faith that we place in Christ, however, is never alone.
8. Progressive revelation.
The New Testament explains the Old Testament. The Book of Acts helps our study of the gospels. Example: We know more about the significance of the Passover than the children of Israel; the resurrection than David in Ps. 16.
9. Comparing your conclusions with others.
Check your reasoning with others, e.g., commentaries or other scholars. You may have missed something they can alert you to. We can only lament self-styled "prophets" today who come up with their own unique teaching then blame their conclusions on the Holy Spirit ("God led me"). Careless Bible interpreters have always managed to lead astray part of the flock by a flawed method of interpretation.
10. Interpret the unclear by the clear; the implicit by explicit. E.g., 1 Cor. 11:5, but cf. 1 Tim. 2.
Biblical Prophecy
Why is prophecy important? Because of the space devoted to it in the Bible. It unfolds the purposes of God. Prophecy also stimulates us to godly living (1 John 3:2, 3).
Preparation for the study of prophecy
1. Humility.
2. Wide knowledge of the Bible (there should be no such thing as a "prophecy teacher." All Bible teachers are to be expositors of the whole Bible. To do otherwise risks imbalance).
Along these lines, we should avoid shallowness and dogmatism.
3. Proper motives. (We should avoid a mere satisfaction of curiosity in prophetic studies.)
Mere curiosity does not satisfy the human soul. Just witness the number of studies on the Book of Revelation that tank (in a hurry) because they were promoted in just that way ("know the future").
We should not believe teachings simply because we want them to come to pass.
Some principles of prophetic interpretation:
1. Study the terms in the passage. (Example: Isa. 7:14, The Heb. word "Almah" could mean virgin or young woman? But Matt. 1:23 uses "parthenos", virgin only. See also the LXX, Greek translation of the Old Testament, which uses "parthenos" for "almah" often for young women who are virgins).
2. Determine historical background.
3. Cross-reference.
4. Seek for the normal sense (does the normal make sense?).
5. Determine whether the prophecy is conditional or unconditional. Example: Jer. 18:8; Jonah 3:4 (conditional); Isa. 7:14 (unconditional).
6. Look for clues as to the time fulfillment.
7. Does the passage have both a near and far fulfillment. Example: Isa. 13:1ff. speaks of a judgment upon Babylon (cf. v. 17 where the Medes are mentioned as God's instrument in judging Babylon). Yet, other verses seem to be descriptive of judgment on a wider scale (cf. vv. 9-11 with Matt. 24:29 and Rev. 6:12-14).
8. Check to see if the N.T. gives the fulfillment of the O.T. prophecy. Example: Isa. 61:1, 2 compared with Lu. 4:18-21. Not always easy (cf. Joel 2:28-32 with Acts 2:16-21).
9. Is it literal or figurative? Example: Ps. 22:12, did literal bulls and dogs (v. 16) surround Christ at the cross? Rev. 20:1, 2, literal chain?
10. Be objective. Do not force a passage into meaning something it doesn't just because it fits your views. Avoid sensationalism (identifying prophecies with current political personalities). Example: During the Gulf War I heard a popular televangelist identify the prophecies of the destruction of Babylon in Jer. 51 with Sadamm Hussein, and the "destroyer" (v. 1) with the United States. Problem: Iraq was not destroyed, Babylon was (v. 8, cf. Dan. 5).
The Practice of Prophecy: Workshop
Example 1: Ezk. 37:15-17.
Mormons say this prophecy is a prediction of the admission of the Book of Mormon into the canon of Scripture. They say that ancient Israel (known also as Ephraim, or Joseph) became the Nephites spoken of in the Book of Mormon. They believe that the two "sticks" in the Ezekiel passage are the Bible and Book of Mormon.
Refutation: Simply look at the context (vv. 18-23). The prophecy clearly is of Israel and Judah becoming one nation.
Example 2: Ezk. 26:3-16 and the fall of Tyre.
Note the specific prophecies:
1) Nebuchadnezzar shall attack Tyre, v. 7.
2) Other nations will participate, v. 3.
3) The city is to be made flat like the top of a rock, v. 4.
4) It will be a place for fishing, 5.
5) Its stones and timbers will be laid in the sea, 12.
6) Other cities will fear greatly at the fall of Tyre, vv. 15, 16.
7. The old city of Tyre will never be rebuilt, 14.
This prophecy was partly fulfilled in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar took the mainland city of Tyre after a siege of thirteen years. He was unable to take its nearby island to which most of the inhabitants had fled. In 322 B.C. however, Alexander did take the city. How? By scraping up the stones and timber of the mainland city, casting them into the sea, and making a causeway to the heavily-guarded island, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Today Tyre has enough fresh water to accommodate a large city, but it has not been occupied for over Centuries. Fishermen, however, do frequent its shores!
Example 3: Joshua 6:26, the rebuilding of Jericho.
No one shall rebuild the city. Problem. Some did later occupy Jericho without the judgment mentioned here (cf. 18:21).
Solution: What exactly was the prophecy? It could not be fortified as a city with walls and gates again (6:26). This does not mean people could not occupy it and live there. See 1 Kings 16:34 for a fulfillment of this prophecy.
Final Considerations in Prophecy
1. God stakes His integrity on its fulfillment (Isa. 46:9-11; John 14:2, ". . .if it were not so. . .").
2. We can never know what has not been revealed (Deut. 29:29, thus do not speculate).
Parables
Etymology: "A placing alongside of" (See Ramm, Principles of Interpretation, 276). Thus it is a placing alongside of for the purpose of comparison. "The kingdom of heaven is like. . ." Thus the speaker of the parable (usually the Lord Jesus Christ) uses language from the world the hearers know in order to convey spiritual truth.
Definition: A parable is a figurative narrative, true to life, designed to teach some specific spiritual truth. It is a commonly known earthly thing, event, custom, or possible occurrence. The hearers would immediately know the figures employed (farming, planting, marriages, feasts, etc.).
It differs from an allegory in that a parable uses things which are true to life: things are what they profess to be (trees are trees, lamps are lamps, etc.), whereas an allegory may or may not be true to life. It could be fantasy where eagles are planting vines (cf. Ezk. 17). In a parable the speaker is usually trying to get across one spiritual truth, and not every detail is intended to convey a definite truth. There is often just one central point, with the details merely filling in the story and not standing for anything. In an allegory, the details do convey specific points.
Purpose of parables:
1. To fulfill prophecy (Isa. 6:9, 10).
2. To conceal truth from those who are unresponsive to truth (Matt. 13:10-15).
3. To reveal truth to those who are responsive to truth (Matt. 13:11, 16).
Rules governing the interpretation of parables:
1. Study the context for clues. Examples: Luke 19:11, and the delay of the coming kingdom, or, Matt. 9:4, where Christ compares His message with Old Testament Judaism in the parable of the wineskins. Here He calls for joy in His presence, and for a complete replacement of Judaism with His program. In Luke 15:1, 2, the Pharisees and scribes murmur at Christ for receiving sinners. The parables that follow are a justification for eating with sinners: God loves and forgives sinners, and thus receives them.
2. Study the cultural background (customs, settings, such as the use of leaven in Hebrew cooking, or marriage ceremonies).
3. Determine the main point, or central idea. (This will anchor us to the text, and not set us off on wild tangents or blind alleys.) Though there are accessories in a parable, there is but one central idea. These details serve this idea, and are not disconnected from that thrust. For example, in Luke 18:1ff. we have a parable about prayer. We are to persevere like the widow in prayer to God, but is God like the unjust judge? No.
4. Check to see if the parable is already interpreted in the context (by our Lord, for example, cf. Matt. 13:18 ff.; or in Matt. 25:13, where He emphasizes preparedness in light of His second coming).
5. Analogy of faith principle (the Bible does not contradict itself, so avoid contradictory conclusions).
Example: Matthew 25:6 the bridegroom returned at midnight. Will Christ therefore return at midnight (perhaps Palestinian time)? We are told that we do not know the day not hour (Matt. 24:36).
Some more examples of figurative language:
Allegory and metaphor
A metaphor expresses something by direct comparison or similarity (e.g., Hos. 7:8, "Ephraim has become a cake"). Thus a metaphor "is a figure of speech in which one object is likened to another by asserting it to be that other, or by speaking of it as it were that other" (Berkhof, Principles of Biblical Interpretation, 83).
The allegory is an extended metaphor. Note the following examples:
1. Ps. 80:8-15. Here the vine is Israel (v. 8). Can we say in Scripture that a vine represents Israel? No. Here it does, not necessarily in other places. This is not typology.
2. John 10:1-18.
3. Gal. 4:21-31 (where Paul says he is using allegory, v. 24; Sarah and Hagar here represent two ways of salvation by way of allegory).
An allegory may or may not be true to life (whereas a parable is true to life).
Hyperbole
People of the Middle East used exaggerated expressions to covey a thought with more force. Thus it is a rhetorical over-statement. Example: John 21:25; Gen. 22:17; Deut. 1:28; Matt. 5:29, 30; Matt. 7:3; Ps. 6:6. We ourselves use these to day. What if 500 years from now in some futuristic society some archeologist discovered ancient voicemail which, when played, said "Come meet me for lunch, "I'm starving to death." If they did not use hyperboles in that society they might think the person who is speaking was really dying of hunger. Or, your boss tells you to finish a job with "lightening speed."
Another example: Dan 1:20 says Daniel and the three Hebrew children were 10 times smarter than the magicians of the land. Did they have I Q's of over 1000?
General rules for interpreting figurative language:
1. Understand that the Bible contains figurative language, just like us. Note expressions, "Kick the bucket," "he's flipped his lid," "I'll go to bat for you," and "I hate people who cut in line."
2. Examine context to see if a whole passage may be predominantly loaded with figurative language (cf. Ps. 22: 6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21).
3. Distinguish between the spirit and letter of a statement before you apply it. (Example: Rev. 16:15, is Christ really a thief?
4. Discover the principle idea, without placing too much importance on the details. Example: Ro. 8:17, "heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ." Principle: God grants some blessings to believers with Christ. But if too much stress is placed upon the details we would conclude before these blessings come, God the Father will have to die.
5. Restrict the figures to the passage at hand, without making them represent the same things elsewhere in the Bible (unless we have evidence to the contrary). Example: Lion in Dan. 7 is Babylon; this is also true in Jer. 4:6, 7. But is it true in Rev. 5:5 that the lion of the tribe of Judah is Babylon?
6. Don't read figures of speech into passages where none exist. Example: what does the lion stand for in 1 Kings 13:24? It stands for a literal lion only.
7. Allow for anthropomorphic expressions (an expression used about God in terms we can understand).
God is not a man (Nu. 23:19), and is spirit (John 4:24), but is spoken of as though He has eyes (Pro. 15:3, "behold the eyes of the Lord"), and hands (John 10:28, 29, "No one is able to pluck them out of my hands"). These are anthropomorphic expressions.
8. Allow for the language of observation. Example: Joel 2:31, the moon turned into blood, or red color, not literal liquid blood.
Why study the Bible?
2 Tim. 3:14-17; Deut. 6:6-9.
The Bible is our only source of faith & practice. Today is a world of pragmatism, or "truth is anything that works." Or, it is a sensuous age we live in, meaning we will do only what feels good.
We are commanded to study the Bible (cf. passages above).
We are not to live by either pragmatism or feelings (Matt. 4:4).
Workshop
Text: 1 Cor. 7:7: "Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. . ."
Conclusion: God wants men to be single. This seems to be reasonable. The text says "I wish," and Paul is an apostle; we are to believe what he says. Who does he desire to be unmarried? All men.
What is wrong with this conclusion? The remaining text solves the problem: "However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that." The unmarried state is a gift from God, just as the married state is.
Who should marry? Any clues from context? Cf. v. 2. V. 9 commands certain ones to be married.
Who to marry? V. 39, in the Lord.
Rule: Consult immediate context & wider context (explain). Then check all the Bible has to say on the topic of marriage.
Text: Eph. 5:18: "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation (indulging in intemperance), but be filled with the Spirit."
Conclusion: God forbids alcohol to the Christian.
What does this text say?
What does it not say?
Are we commanded to be filled with the Spirit? What would be a hindrance to that? (According to the text.) Can we be filled with the Spirit and yet be drunk with wine? Is drunkenness forbidden.
Conclusion: Eph. 5:18 teaches that Christians may drink in moderation. False! We are not told that here! We must examine all of Scripture before we arrive at such a conclusion.
Text: Psalm 3 (read).
What is the Psalmist's life situation as depicted in the Psalm? (Vv. 1, 2).
Where are his thoughts drawn? (Vv. 3-8: God).
What did he do? Described God (v. 3); cried with his voice (4a).
What was the result? God answered (4b); sleep (5). May we infer that he wasn't sleeping well because of anxiety, or fear of enemies? Certainly.
What changes occurred in the Psalmist's thinking and attitude toward enemies? (V. 6).
New confidence in prayer (v. 7); praise (v. 8).
Preparing to Understand the Bible
In order to properly understand the Bible we must be prepared. This would include both mental preparation and spiritual preparation.
Mental Preparation
(cf. Jerry Bridges, Practice of Godliness, 41-56.)
1. Attitude. Pro. 2:1-5.
Pay close attention to the verbs in this passage. What do they say about the kind of attitude we should have when approaching the Bible?
Are we lazy or slothful in our study of the Scripture?
2. Consistency. Acts 17:11.
How often did the Bereans study the Scriptures? Daily. You say, "It's hard to find the time." Answer: You always will find the time for things you want to do. Watch that attitude.
3. Reverence. 1 Thess. 2:13.
We are reverent when we treat the Bible for what it is: the Word of God.
Contrary attitudes:
1. The prejudiced attitude: we bring our own ideas and read them into the text.
2. The selective attitude: we only study certain subjects (such as prophecy). Thus we may only read from certain parts of the Bible (e.g. Psalms), or avoid completely books and themes we deem unpleasant (e.g., those on judgment, such as the major and minor prophets).
3. The "heady" attitude: we study for the sake of the mind only, not the heart. The Bible is not real to us, just a textbook. There is no devotional application of what we read. We study it as a technical manual, rather than God's love letter to us.
Spiritual Preparation
1. A clean heart. Pro. 1:7.
Holiness of heart and life and true understanding go together. Sin and ignorance of God's Word go hand in hand, Hos. 4:1, 2, 6; Ps. 119:36 (sin and knowing God's Word incompatible).
2. Prayerful attitude. Ps. 119:33, 34.
3. Obedient attitude. Ja. 1:22-25.
We should seek to find immediate application of God's Word when we hear or read it.
4. Worshipful attitude. Neh. 9:3.
Including both worship and repentance.