Previous Section: Structure of the Book of Revelation
A SIMPLE, FACE VALUE UNDERSTANDING OF PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES
The conclusions one reaches when studying the Word of God are based on the type of interpretive process employed. Because this study of Revelation uses a particular and consistent interpretive process, the following explanation of the method of Bible study is presented for the reader to consider.
To have validity, our method of interpretation (i.e., our hermeneutic) must be consistent and without contradiction, and it must never be governed by a preconceived theological school of thought. In other words, if our hermeneutic is controlled by our preconceived theology, then the Bible can be twisted to say whatever our theology would have it say - which, of course, is what often happens in the study of the end times.
One's method of interpretation will have a far-reaching effect on his theological conclusions. Thus, it is axiomatic that those who use differing methods of interpretation (i.e., a different hermeneutic) will end up with different theological conclusions. How important it is, then, that we be very clear about what our hermeneutic is and, even more importantly, that we are in fact using the right principles of interpretation in order to properly extract the truth of God's Word.
Before one attempts to apply the principles of biblical interpretation to the biblical text, he or she must decide his/her convictions about two important issues. First, one must form a conviction about scriptural contradictions. The very nature of Scripture precludes contradictions. The writers of Scripture declared it to be inspired of God (II Tim. 3:16, II Pet. 1:20), and to be true (Ps. 119:160). Therefore, contradictory conclusions must be pursued until a common denominator is found.
The second conviction the interpreter must have concerns the use of an English translation. In our discussion of biblical interpretation, we are limiting our discussion to the English translation of the Old and New Testament. In the New American Standard Translation, the translators worked very hard to give the reader a reliable translation of the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. We understand that each translation reflects the interpretive skills of the translators. The translators have already made all-important interpretive decisions. Therefore, we who are not able to work with the original languages must trust the translation. This also demands care when interpreting the Bible using an English text only. However, while having the skills necessary to work with the original Greek or Hebrew will give the interpreter depth in understanding the original meaning, much can be gained from using a good translation. We simply ask that you exercise caution and compare Scripture with Scripture to avoid careless error.
One last issue must be touched upon before we look at some of the actual principles of interpretation. A face value hermeneutic seeks the intended meaning of the text, not the simple sense. We must recognize that certain verses taken in a simple sense may convey a meaning foreign to the author's intended meaning. An excellent example of this is John 6:53 which states, "…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." It is clear that Jesus' audience thought they must literally eat of His flesh. That's the simple sense. In reality, Jesus intended his audience to understand their need for faith (John 6:47).
To help the interpreter achieve success in the process of interpreting the Bible, we offer the following overview. The following principles of interpretation, none of them unique to us, but all of them held by careful students of Scripture throughout history, have been and will be followed as honestly and consistently as possible.
(1) The first principle is that the interpreter must seek to discover the original author's intended meaning. We understand that Paul, Peter, James and John as well as other writers of Scripture determined the meaning of the text at the time it was written. Therefore, our job as modern interpreters is to discover that original meaning. To discover the original meaning, all Scripture must be understood in its most normal, natural, and customary (i.e., literal or face value) sense.
Biblical words and phrases had a particular meaning during biblical times. Thus, we must discover what those words and phrases meant and how they combine to communicate specific meanings. This allows, of course, for obvious figures of speech (which are frequently explained further in the same passage or elsewhere in Scripture, i.e., Gen. 3:1, cf. Rev. 12:9). Chances are that if the plain sense makes sense, you have the right sense.
Martin Luther called this principle of literal interpretation, sensus literalis. Many of the greatest advances in biblical scholarship during the Reformation resulted from the application of this single principle. In its simplest meaning and application, this principle means that we read and interpret Scripture with the same normal understanding of words that we read any other serious book or carry on any serious conversation.
This principle has special relevance in the study of prophecy, and in fact, finds strong confirmation in the way Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Christ. For example, the Old Testament contains several hundred prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ. Although many of those prophecies are virtual duplicates, at least fifty distinct facets of Christ's life and ministry were predicted, and without exception, were literally fulfilled, at face value. It is not only a matter of faith but of biblical principle to expect the many prophecies of Christ's Second Coming to be fulfilled with equal literalness and completeness.
Prophecy that is not fulfilled literally is not true prophecy at all, and it proves itself to be simply misguided human speculation. A biblical argument that speaks directly to how prophecy should be understood is found in Deuteronomy 18:20-22. Here the Israelites were told how to determine if what a prophet was telling them was truly prophecy from God or mere human speculation. The conclusion of this passage is that "when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken."
Earlier in verse 20, God told His people that when this man's prophecy does not come true, "that prophet shall die." Only a literal, face-value understanding of what is being prophesied could ever be put to that test, and the prophecies concerning Christ's first coming bear witness to this.
When we use this principle of taking Scripture at face value, the Bible suddenly comes alive in a new way. We have a renewed confidence in the reliability of God's Word - that it is literally true, that it is something anyone can understand. The events described in its pages really will happen according to God's sovereign time and plan. No longer do we approach the Bible looking for an obscure spiritualized meaning, but rather for the literal understanding of events that have actually occurred or will happen sometime in the future.
(2) The second principle has to do with the context in which a word, phrase, or larger passage is being presented. Sometimes that involves careful understanding of the complete biblical book being studied, meticulously interpreting a given idea or principle in light of the overall thrust and nature of the book as well as in light of its immediate context. The context involves the persons being addressed in the passage, the historical setting, and the situation in which the passage is given. A simple dictum is: "A text taken out of context is no more than a pretext."
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