PROPER BIBLE INTERPRETATION (HERMENEUTICS)
If you have done any outside research in your Bible, you will find that some people are right on track in their Bible interpretation while others are not. Because of improper Bible interpretation we have anything from simple misunderstandings about certain Bible doctrines to cultic confusion. I want to make a resource available to you to help you in your personal Bible study. I suggest printing these things out and using them as a guide whenever you study your Bible. Especially take a look at them if you come up with some new doctrine that no one has ever "received from God" but now you have. Sometimes when people are seeking fresh revelation from God, their zeal can lead them into the temptation to make the Bible agree with their beliefs instead of allowing the Bible create their believes. We must put the Word first and set aside our own religious teachings or prejudices. This is not always easy but if we are truly seeking the Truth above what we want to hear, then God will reveal His Word and we will rejoice in the things of God and stay on the path of Truth.
2Ti 3:16, 17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
2Pe 1:20, 21Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2Ti 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The Bible is God speaking to us. It was written exactly word for word the way God intended and there are no mistakes. All Scriptures are God-breathed and there is no private interpretation of a Scripture. It means only what God intended for it to mean and does not mean something different because you interpreted it different than another. Truth is not relative, it is absolute!
Questions to Ask Yourself About the Interpretation of a Passage
Rules of Bible Interpretation
RULE #1: Context. Context. Context. A Scripture does not ever stand alone. All Scriptures must be read within the context of the passage they are found, keeping the whole Bible in mind. This is the most violated rule and the most important one. There are six areas of context to consider:
RULE #2: Comparison with other Scriptures. It is best to interpret Scriptures with other Scriptures. For a Biblical doctrine to be established, at least two Scriptures must be present. However, for a stronger doctrine, the more Scriptures the better.
RULE #3: Interpret the Bible Literally. Unless a passage is obviously symbolic, interpret every passage literally. God meant what He said exactly the way He said it. If there is symbolism, there will often be an accompanied interpretation within the same passage. Truth is not subjective. Men have made most of the Bible symbolic, thus, they can interpret the meanings of the symbols to say whatever they want. This is a major cause of cults.
RULE #4: History and Grammar. Find the original intention of the author when he wrote the passage. Do not read into it something other than what the author was saying at the time he wrote it. Sometimes we read the Bible from a 21st century mind-set but we can go astray if we are not careful. However, with this rule we must keep in mind that God is the main author and the writter, a man, may not have understood the very things God inspired him to write.
RULE #5: First Mention. The first place a subject is mentioned in the Bible is a key to understanding it.
RULE #6: Progressive Revelation. Keep in mind that God has revealed Himself more with the passage of time. Therefore, the farther back you go historically in the Bible, the less light the writers had. For example they did not know exactly who the messiah was in the Old Testament or the particulars of the New Covenant. The writers of the New Testament had the greatest insight into who God is and what His plan is.
RULE #7: Christ is the Center. Jesus Christ is the main focus of the entire Bible. All interpretation must be in the light of Him and His purposes.
RULE #8: Proper Emphasis. We must realize the emphasis God is making at a particular time. Much error has occurred because men added more emphasis to a passage than God intended. Any Truth can become a lie by taking it to an extreme.
I only have eight rules here but there are more. I only wanted to include some of the basics and the ones that help me the most. The above principle are not to stand alone but are to be used together to come to the Truth. They are interdependent. No rule should be taken to an extreme.
*Much of the above content was compiled from notes I gathered from lectures and handouts by the Reverend Marvin Yoder.
The Gaps Which Hinder Our Bible Interpretation
The good news is there are many books out there to help us overcome each gap. With the help of concordances, lexicons, dictionaries, atlases, history books, cultural books, and many other books we can learn to overcome and see things the way the writers originally intended them.
Other Things to Help in Proper Bible Interpretation
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
2Co 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
1Ti 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Heb 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Act 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Mat 18:15 - 17 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.
Eph 1:17, 18 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened
1Co 2:4 - 7, 10 -13 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory... But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Scripture Twisting
The following are 20 ways in which cults twist Scriptures for their purposes. Be sure not to follow in their path. All material below is found in the book by James W. Sire called "20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible."
1. INACCURATE QUOTATION: A biblical text is referred to but is either not quoted in the way the text appears in any standard translation or is wrongly attributed. Example: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says, "Christ said, 'Be still and know that I am God.'" Whereas this text is found ONLY in Psalms.
2. TWISTED TRANSLATION: The biblical text is retranslated, not in accordance with sound Greek scholarship, to fit a preconceived teaching of a cult. Example: the Jehovah's Witnesses translate John 1:1 as "In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the word was a god."
3. BIBLICAL HOOK: A text of Scripture is quoted primarily as a device to grasp the attention of readers or listeners and then followed by a teaching which is so nonbiblical that it would appear far more dubious to most people had it not been preceded by a reference to Scripture. Example: Mormon missionaries quote James 1:5 which promises God's wisdom to those who ask him and, then, follow this by explaining that when Joseph Smith did this he was given a revelation from which he concluded that God the Father has a body.
4. IGNORING THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT: A text of Scripture is quoted but removed from the surrounding verses which form the immediate framework for its meaning. Example: Alan Watts quotes the first half of John 5:39 ("You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life"), claiming that Jesus was challenging His listeners' over emphasis of the Old Testament, but the remainder of the immediate context reads, "and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life" (verses 39-40), which shows that Jesus was upholding the value of the Old Testament as a testimony to Himself.
5. COLLAPSING CONTEXTS: Two or more verses which have little or nothing to do with each other are put together as if one were a commentary of the other(s). Example: The Mormons associate Jeremiah 1:5 with John 1:2,14 and thus imply that both verses talk about the premortal existence of all human beings; Jeremiah 1:5, however, speaks of God's foreknowledge of Jeremiah (Not his premortal existence) and John 1:2 refers to the pre-existence of God the Son and not to human beings in general.
6. OVERSPECIFICATION: A more detailed or specific conclusion than is legitimate is drawn from a biblical text. Example: The Mormon missionary manual quotes the parable of the virgins from Matthew 25:1-13 to document the concept that "mortality is a probationary period during which we prepare to meet God." But the parable of the virgins could, and most probably does, mean something far less specific, for example, that human beings should be prepared at any time to meet God or to witness the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
7. WORD PLAY: A word or phrase from a biblical translation is examined and interpreted as if the revelation had been given in that language. Example: mary Bake Eddy says the name Adam consist of two syllables, A DAM, which means an obstruction, in which case, Adam signifies "the obstacle which the serpent, sin, would impose between man and his Creator."
8. THE FIGURATIVE FALLACY: Either (1) mistaking literal language for figurative language or (2)mistaking figurative language for literal language. Example of (1): Mary Baker Eddy interprets EVENING as "mistiness of mortal thought; weariness of mortal mind; obscured views; peace and rest." Example of (2): The Mormon theologian james Talmage interprets the prophesy that "thou shalt be brought down and speak out of the ground" to mean that God's Word would come to people from the Book of Mormon which was taken out of the ground at the hill of Cumorah.
9. SPECULATIVE READINGS OF PREDICTIVE PROPHESY: A predictive prophesy is too readily explained by the occurance of specific events, despite the fact that equally committed biblical scholars consider the interpretation highly dubious. Example: The stick of Judah and the Stick of Joseph in Ezekiel 37:15- 23 are interpreted by the Mormons to mean the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
10. SAYING BUT NOT CITING: A writer says that the Bible says such and such but does not cite the specific text (which often indicates that there may be no such text at all). Example: A common phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is not found in the Bible.
11. SELECTIVE CITING: To substantiate a given argument, only a limited number of text is quoted: the total teaching of Scripture on that subject would lead to a conclusion different from that of the writer. Example: The Jehovah's Witnesses critique the traditional Christian notion of the Trinity without considering the full text which scholars use to substantiate the concept.
12. INADEQUATE EVIDENCE: A hasty generalization is drawn from too little evidence. Example: The Jehovah's Witnesses teach that blood transfusion is nonbiblical, but the biblical data that they cite fails either to speak directly to the issue or to adequately substantiate their teaching.
13. CONFUSED DEFINITION: A biblical term is misunderstood in such a way that an essential biblical doctrine is distorted or rejected. Example: one of Edgar Cayce's followers confuses the eastern doctrine of reincarnation with the biblical doctrine of being born again.
14. IGNORING ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS: A specific interpretation given to a biblical text or set of text which could well be, and often have been, interpreted in quite a different fashion, but these alternatives are not considered. Example: Erich von Daniken asks why in Genesis 1:26 God speaks in the plural ("us"), suggesting that this is an oblique reference to God's being one of many astronauts and failing to consider alternative explanations that either God was speaking as "Heaven's king accompanied by His heavenly host" or that the plural prefigures the doctrine of the Trinity expressed more explicitly in the New Testament.
15. THE OBVIOUS FALLACY: Words like OBVIOUSLY, UNDOUBTEDLY, CERTAINLY, ALL REASONABLE PEOPLE HOLD THAT and so forth are substituted for logical reasons. Example: Erich von daniken says, "Undoubtedly the Ark [of the Covenent] was electrically charged!"
16. VIRTUE BY ASSOCIATION: Either (1) a cult writer a ssociates his or her teaching with those of figures accepted as authoritative by traditional Christians; (2) cult writings are likened to the Bible; or (3) cult literature imitates the form of the Bible writing such that it sounds like the Bible. Example of (1): Rick Chapman list 21 gurus, including Jesus Christ, St. Francis and St. Theresa, that "you can't go wrong with." Example of (2): Juan Mascaro in his introduction to the Upanishads cites the New Testament, the Gospels, Ecclesiastes and the Psalms, from which he quotes passages supposedly paralleling the Upanishads. Example of (3): The Mormon DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS interweaves phrases from the Gospel of John and maintains a superficial similarity to the Gospel such that it seems to be like the Bible.
17. ESOTERIC INTERPRETATION: Under the assumption that the Bible contains hidden, esoteric, meaning which is open only to those who are initiated into its secrets, the interpreter declares the significance of biblical passages without giving much, if any, explanation for his or her interpretation. Example: Mary Baker Eddy gives the meaning of the first phrase in the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father which art in heaven," as "Our Father-Mother God, all harmonious."
18. SUPPLEMENTING BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: New revelation from post biblical prophets either replaces or is added to the Bible as authority. Example: The Mormons supplement the Bible with the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.
19. REJECTING BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: Either the Bible as a whole or texts from the Bible are examined and rejected because they do not square with other authorities - such as reason or revelation = do not appear to agree with them. Example:Archie Matson holds that the Bible contains contradictions and that Jesus himself rejected the authority of the Old Testament when he contrasted His own views with it on the Sermon on the Mount.
20. WORLD-VIEW CONFUSION: Scriptural statements, stories, commands or symbols which have a particular meaning or set of meanings when taken within the intellectual and broadly cultural framework of the Bible itself are lifted out of that context, placed within the frame of reference of another system and thus given a meaning that markedly differs from their intended meaning. Example: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi interprets "Be still, and know that I am God" as meaning that each person should meditate and come to the realization that he is essentially Godhood itself.
Studying God's Word can be a wonderful lifetime of learning. I am passionate about the Word of God. I love studying and I hope you will grow in your love for it as well. Keep in mind that it is really all about knowing Jesus and falling more in love with Him as you study. The best way to overcome any problem is to listen to the author who is ever-present with you as you study. The Holy Spirit is there and will always lead in line with the Truth of God's Word.
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