How to interpret the Bible: You don’t
- How do you interpret the Bible? Read Luke 10:26 as the foundational scripture for this study.
- Jesus refers all questions about the Word to the Word
(Luke 4: “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written…”)
- Jesus then tests YOU: how do YOU interpret, understand, gather or ascertain God’s meaning.
- What does interpret mean?
- Do you think if you read the original Greek and Hebrew Bible texts any ambiguity about passage meanings and what God is trying to say will be cleared up on things not already written in English?
- What do you do with apparent contradictions in the Bible?
- If you find your understanding of scripture to conflict with another Christian do you
- Convince him to side with you
- Ignore or ridicule them
- Study to see if you were, in fact, in error, and correct your thinking
- What does it mean by “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)? Study what?
- How does 2 Tim 2:15 relate to these:
(Mat 21:16, Mk 2:25, Mat 21:42, John 5:39)
- When Jesus was repeatedly saying “have ye never read”, what was he trying to point out?
“Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” Matt 22:29
- When God says something in the Bible once, is it enough?
- Is God Himself bound by the clause “by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word is established”?
(Deut 17:6, Deut 19:15, Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1, Heb 6:13)
(Yes, He is bound by His own Word because:
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name – Ps 138:2
- What are these NT scriptures referring to, and are they related?
(Luke 10:20, Phil 4:3, Rev 13:8, Gal 3:10, Rev 21:27, Rev 17:8, Rev 20:12, Rev 20:15)
- Are these OT scriptures referring to this same book?
(Ex 32:31, Ps 69:27-28, Dan 12:21, Mal 3:16-1)
- Whose names are in the Book of Life?
- How do you get your name written in the Book of Life?
Acts 4:12
Interpretation Test 1:
- Is it possible to get your name blotted out?
- Yes, God himself personally said it is possible to fall away in Rev 3:5
- In Heb 10:26, the writer was NOT talking to unsaved Jews here because of 1) context and 2) the Jews were not saved anyways, and 3) the writer was not evangelizing or writing to them, attested to further in Chapter 11 when he gives believers examples to emulate in order to remain saved.
- In Matt 7:21-22: saved, preaching, healing, miracle-working believers were cast out by God.
From this we see that only the saved have God’s power to cast out and heal.
Non believers don’t/can’t do these things: (Mat 12:28, Acts 8:9-24, Acts 19:13-16)
Therefore, only the saved can cast out Satan, but then both the saved and unsaved CAN be cast out themselves by God; supposedly, at the end of their lives.
How to actually do that (to yourself) is another matter (blaspheme the H.S. – Mark 3:29)
- In Heb 10:29 only believers can trod on Jesus’ blood, after being sanctified by it
- In Heb 10:29 “wherewith he was sanctified” means born again
- In Heb 10:32 only believers endure afflictions for the cross
- In Heb 10:32 only believers are enlightened
- In Heb 10:33 only believers are made fun of for their faith
- In Heb 10:35 only believers are exhorted to not cast away their confidence
- In Heb 10:36 once-saved always-saveds don’t need to worry about patience to endure
- In Heb 10:38 God has no pleasure in those who draw back. Believers had to have to drawn forward in order to be fearful of drawing back.
- In Heb 10:39 perdition is the destination for drawing back.
- In other words, salvation is not a free ticket to sin, then forget totally about God and glide into heaven on a single choice made possibly a hundred years before physical death.
- Rev 3:15 God spits out the cold and lukewarm together as a group. What person is lukewarm?
- Do you think God is lying when He says “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” in Rev 3:5? We have given other supporting scriptures concerning the false teaching of “once- saved always-saved”, God does say more than once that you can fall away. So He passes the “by the mouth of two or three witnesses” test on this subject.
(Rev 3:16, Jn 8:31, Matt 10:22, Heb 3:6-19, Heb 4:11, Luke 4, Rev 3:15)
- If you subscribe to the teaching “once saved, always saved”, what do the above scriptures mean when they say your name can be blotted out? Do you believe that
- God cant keep his story straight and the saved are truly always in danger, or
- You are wrongly believing a teaching a man invented about the Bible, instead of what the Bible actually says? Remember, people interpret because they cant or wont believe the face value.
- More directly: who is wrong when it comes to quoting scripture, God or man?
- Is there a contradiction between these two scriptures?
- “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” Mat 7:22-23
- “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” John 10:29
(No, you can pluck yourself out of His hand)
- Was Judas saved?
- Where is he now?
- Why didn’t Jesus try to “save” Judas?
- Was Adam saved?
- Where is he now?
- Was anyone in the Old Testament saved?
- How could someone from the Old Covenant get to heaven?
- What covenant was in effect while Jesus was alive for 33 years?
- Under which covenant was the robber on the cross saved?
- Why did God accept the robber’s plea for forgiveness before Jesus died and the new testament began?
- What falling away is Paul referring to in 1 Thes 2: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” and how does it relate to “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66) God was asking for a commitment in 6:66. Same as the lukewarm group above?
- Falling away from what?
- What do these scriptures have in common?
- “For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another“ Heb 8:7
- “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” Heb 10:4
- What is your reading of these scriptures:
- “But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him”. John 6:64
- “And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father” John 6:64
- “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:” 2 Thes 2:13
Do these scriptures mean that you have no choice about salvation specifically because God pre-choose His believers from the beginning of time; therefore one cannot be “un-saved” for this same reason? If so, that would match the Mormon cult’s teaching that only 144,000 people could ever be in heaven. Aka, their misinterpretation of scripture turned from a false teaching into a false religion.
- What are these examples of?
- “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness”. 2 Peter 3:17
- “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Matt 5:13
People losing their salvation.
- Bottom line
- The unsaved cant fall away from anything because they never were renewed to begin with
- Only believers can fall away, and they do
- Otherwise all the scriptures that warn against growing cold, letting your light burn out, your salt losing its flavor etc, are for nothing
- Where is the five-fold ministry found?
- What is its purpose?
- Where are the Gifts of the Spirit found?
- What are their purpose?
- Name the three categories of Gifts of the Spirit.
- Power (Miracles, Healings, Faith)
- Prophecy (Prophecy, Tongues, Interpret of Tongues)
- Knowledge (Discerning of Spirits, Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom)
- How do public gifts and private gifts operate?
- How are they different?
- What does this scripture mean to you?
”But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” 1 Cor 13:10
- Does it mean tongues are done away with? If so, then that must mean we now see face-to-face with God, and don’t need tongues, prophesies or words of knowledge, but Paul says here in verse 12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly”, meaning that which is perfect has not come yet, so since we still see darkly, aka the gifts are still in operation.
- What are the fruit of the spirit? Gal 5:22
- Are believers supposed to have both the Gifts and the Fruit because God saved the best for last?
- Where in the Old Testament are the Gifts and the Fruit mentioned together?
- The priest’s robe’s hem has pomegranates and bells (Fruit and Attention)
- “And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not. “ Exodus 28:33-35
- How do the Gifts (1 Cor 12) and the Fruit (Gal 5:22) of the NT compare to the OT operation of God’s priests?
- ALL NT believers are eligible for what only a few OT priests and prophets had
- Specifically because Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant
- Specifically because Jesus said He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh
- Specifically because Jesus is the law and the prophets in One, and we are to be like Him.
- “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things” Rom 8:32
- Can you explain these two verses?
- “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” Gal 6:2
- “For every man shall bear his own burden” Gal 6:5
- What is the most famous misinterpretation or deliberate omission-quotation of scripture?
- Isaiah 2:4
- Why?
- Because the U.N cornerstone has only “and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
- What part of scripture did they omit? “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people”
- The full verse is “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” Isa 2:4
- What does God say about omitting things from His Word?
- “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Rev 22:19
- What are the three types of Sin?
- Lust of the flesh – eating, sex, possessions (Feel Something)
- Lust of the eyes – control, power, influence (Have Something)
- Pride of life – to live forever, avoid death (Be something)
- Where are the three sins found
- 1 John 2:16
- Where was Jesus tempted by them?
- Luke 4
- How did Satan tempt Jesus with the three types of sin?
- By quoting scripture
- What does this tell you about quoting scripture?
- You need to know it for yourself.
- You need to examine who is doing the quoting.
- If Satan knows it….and is bold enough to use it (incorrectly) in God’s face….then…
- What do these two scriptures have in common?
- Matt 4:6
- Genesis 3:1
- What is wrong with Satan quoting God’s Word in Gen 3:5? (or anytime, for that matter)
- What was the deception in Gen 3:5?
- Adam was already like God, he didn’t need to eat the fruit.
- “Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods”
- John 10:34 was referring back to Ps 82:6
- The fruit was the knowledge of good and evil
- Satan “sold” the tree as something else, something Adam already had.
- He sold it as “God is keeping something from you, possibly intentionally”
- Since Satan elevated his attack on God via man, God promised to destroy Satan back through Adam, in the person of Jesus (payback time)
- God defeating Satan as a man (Jesus) is more insulting to Satan than God doing it as God
- How are the two trees in Genesis and Revelation related?
- They are the same trees
- What else about them?
- In Adam, man was originally given only everlasting life, not the knowledge of evil.
- Adam gained the knowledge of evil and lost everlasting life through the sin of disobedience
- He “traded” trees
- Why did God separate the knowledge from the immortality?
- God doesn’t want evil people living forever
- To teach man the value of both (life and sin)
- Since Satan didn’t value either, he became God’s whipping boy to train man
- Isaiah 54:16
- How does God redeem man?
- Through Jesus, man is allowed to have both knowledge and everlasting life!
- But only under God’s constant presence and supervision.
- Else how could Satan return from his 1000-year lockup and deceive people one last time?
- What are the “things the angels desire to look into.” in 1 Pet 1:12?
- Explain “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” in 2 Pet 3:10 and “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever” Eccles 1:4
- How are these scriptures related:
- “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:17
- “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Matt 10:34
- “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against” John 2:34