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How to Study the Bible 1
By Norman E. Colby Copyright 2006 by Norman E. Colby. All rights reserved.
The author and copyright owner, Norman E. Colby, has given an exclusive right to Pastor Steve Anderson, at Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, to publish this article on the global Internet at www.kjvprophecy.com. This article may not be duplicated, whether in part or in whole, on any other website without prior, written permission from the author. This article may be downloaded for personal use, and for teaching or criticism, under the following conditions: (1) this article must be reproduced in its entirety, including this copyright/permissions notice, (2) this article may not be altered, modified, or appended in any way by addition, deletion, or change, whether by means of obliteration, notation, comments, footnotes, attachments, or any other means, (3) this article may not be bundled with any other material for subsequent republication, (4) this article may not be sold or traded under any circumstances, and (5) any distribution of this article must conform to all of the conditions stipulated above without any exceptions. Quotations taken from this article must be acknowledged, and must conform to accepted industry standards as well as to the conditions stipulated in 17 USC § 1.107. These limited grants must not be construed to permit any use incompatible with the author’s full rights and protections under 17 USC. ________________________________________________________________________________
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Tim 2:15)
PROLOGUE to study
In order to study the Bible, students must have some knowledge of how the Bible is put together. The Holy Bible is divided into two parts called “Testaments”. A Testament is a “covenant” with God. The first Testament is called the Old Testament, which defines God’s covenant with the children of Israel. The second Testament is called the New Testament, which defines God’s covenant with the whole human race including Jews and Gentiles alike. According to the ancient canon, the Bible contains a total of 66 “books”, 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.
The Old Testament (abbreviated “OT”) is subdivided into three parts: The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. The Law consists of two areas, the Pentateuch (meaning “Five books”) and the histories. The Pentateuch is also called the “Law of Moses”. It consists of the first five books of the OT: Genesis (the beginning), Exodus (coming out of Egypt), Leviticus (the priesthood), Numbers (the tribes of Israel), and the book of Deuteronomy (the second giving of the Law). The histories (Joshua through Esther, inclusive) narrate Israel’s experience under the Law as it applied to them. The Psalms collectively refers to the poetic books (Job through Song of Solomon, inclusive). The Prophets are further subdivided into two levels: the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets – not to indicate any relative importance between them, but rather to indicate the relative length of their books. The Major Prophets are Isaiah through Daniel, inclusive, and the Minor Prophets are Hosea through Malachi, inclusive.
The New Testament (abbreviated “NT”) is subdivided into four parts: The Gospels (or the “good news”), early Church history, the epistles, and the Revelation. The Gospels describe the personal ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ (or the Messiah), while He was here on earth. There are four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The first three Gospels are called the “synoptic” Gospels because they present Jesus from a similar point of view; namely, the point of view of various men. The last Gospel is significantly different because it presents Jesus from God's own point of view. However, all four Gospels reveal that Jesus is the long awaited Savior who was predicted to come throughout the OT. The Gospels describe Jesus’ human birth by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, His manner of living, His doctrines, His miracles, His rejection by the Jews, His trial & crucifixion, and His resurrection from the dead. Everything in the OT leads up to the NT Gospels, and everything after the Gospels in the NT expands upon and explains them.
A history of the early churches is given in the book of The Acts of the Apostles. The 21 NT epistles, beginning with the book of Romans and ending with the book of Jude, are short letters written mostly to churches but occasionally to specific individual Christians. Accordingly, they are named for the city in which a given church was located (Romans through Thessalonians, inclusive), or, in the case of individuals, either for the person to whom it was sent (Timothy through Philemon, inclusive) or for the apostle by whom it was written (James through Jude, inclusive). The epistle to the Hebrews was written specifically for Jewish Christians to explain the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments. The book of Revelation (singular, not plural), which is also called the “Apocalypse”, is a prophetic book that lays out God’s plan for the end of the world.
Normally, Bibles have a list of the names of all the books in the Bible along with the page number within the Bible where that book begins. The list may easily be found at the very front of the Bible. Thus, to locate a specific book within the Bible, it is not necessary to have the order of the books memorized. All that is necessary is to look up the name of the book in the list and then turn to the specified page number. (Frequent use will soon familiarize one with the order of the books.)
The names of the books of the Bible are commonly abbreviated, usually by the first 3 or 4 letters of the book’s name. For example, Genesis would be “Gen” and Matthew would be “Matt”, etc. However, there are a few exceptions. Mark, Luke, & John are either written out or abbreviated “Mk”, “Lk”, & “Jn”, respectively. Philippians and Philemon, which have the same first 4 letters, are usually extended to 6 and 5 letters, respectively. In cases where more than one book was written to a church or individual, the name of the first book in the series is preceded by a Roman numeral “I” (called “First”), and the name of the second book in the set is preceded by a Roman numeral “II” (called “Second”), etc. For example, II Thessalonians would refer to the “second” book written to the church at Thessalonica.
The books of the Bible are divided into chapters, and each chapter is further subdivided into verses. Those divisions make it easy to locate a specific passage of scripture within the Bible. Within each book, each chapter is headed by a chapter number starting with “1”, which sequentially increments up from there for as many chapters as there are in that particular book. Each chapter is divided into verses, which are demarked by little numerals in the left margin of the verses. A specific verse, within a specific chapter, within a specific book is designated as follows: book name, chapter number within that book, a colon, and the verse number within that chapter. For example, the first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible would be “Gen 1:1”, and the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible would be “Rev 22:21”. A reference to “John 3:16” would be to the 16th verse within the 3rd chapter of the Gospel of John.
If more than one consecutive verse within a single chapter is referenced, then the starting and ending verses will be separated by a dash. For example, “Eph 2:8-10” refers to verses 8, 9, & 10 in the 2nd chapter of Ephesians. Sometimes a string of references is given, all within the same book. In that case, the book name is only given once and the string of chapter and verse references follows the specified book. For example, John 1:34, 4:25-26, 6:66-69, 9:35-37, 11:25-27, 13:13, & 20:30-31 all refer to verses within the gospel of John. Occasionally, it may be desirable to draw attention to a particular part of a single verse, in which case a small letter “a, b, or c” will be attached to the end of the verse number, where “a” refers to the first part of the verse, “b” refers to the middle of a long verse or the end of a short verse, and “c” refers to the end of a long verse. For example, “Rom 2:4b” would refer to the last phrase of the text in Romans chapter 2, verse 4. Scripture references are commonly scattered throughout any discussion of the Bible’s doctrines to pinpoint the Biblical basis for any propositions being set forth.
Publications for Study
The only English language book commonly available today that can legitimately be called “The Holy Bible” is:
The Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible
first published in 1611, and reprinted thousands of times since then. That book is THE BOOK to study. It is variously referred to as the AV 1611, AV, KJV, or KJ. A copy of the AV without any pre-printed notes by man is preferable to one that includes notes written by men, since the student is thereby forced to rely on God’s own words for understanding rather than leaning on some notable man’s opinions. (Please note at the outset that reading scholarly books and commentaries written by mere men is not Bible study!)A good student must embrace these three fundamental axioms that undergird any useful study of the Bible: (1) the words of God, as given in the AV, are the exact English equivalent of what God originally said, word by word, and those words say in English exactly what He meant to say and mean exactly what He, in fact, did say at the time they were first transcribed by the ancient prophets and Apostles, (2) contained within the body of God’s written words are all the definitions and explanations necessary to comprehend God’s truth, and no extra-Biblical supplements or word-twisting logic are necessary for its correct interpretation, and (3) God gave us His written words in the AV so that we can know the thoughts of His mind, and He expects us to study those words in order to understand them. Moreover, we can understand His words and thoughts correctly if we will take the time and make the effort to thoroughly study them (II Cor 3:12).
There are two other books that may be helpful when studying the Bible: (1) a good English language dictionary, preferably one such as Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, and (2) a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.2Those three books are all the publications you’ll need to effectively do your own independent Bible study.
Process of Studying
The first requirement for genuine Bible study is to be willing to believe exactly what the Holy Bible actually says, whether you like it or not (Rom 10:17 & Heb 11:6). Any failure at this point dooms one to failure entirely. As a note of caution, be forewarned that you must not study to forever be “learning” without ever coming to the knowledge of the truth (II Tim 2:16-18, 2:23, & 3:7-8). Moreover, do not study to “prove” that any falsehoods you may already hold are somehow true (I Tim 6:3-5 & II Tim 3:13). Instead, set aside your prejudice and just believe what God said the way He said it. You’ll find it’s a whole lot easier to understand the Bible when you accept what God says just the way He said it, without trying to force His words to fit into the preconceived notions of your own biased mind. One cannot overstress the fact that The Holy Bible simply cannot be understood unless you believe it first and foremost. If you want to understand the Bible, then what God’s written words say must take precedence over all your own personal thoughts about anything, regardless of how knowledgeable you think you already are on any given subject (Isa 55:8-9, Rom 1:22, I Cor 2:5, II Cor 10:5 & Gal 6:3).
The second requirement is personal prayer (John 16:24 & I Thess 5:17). You must ask God to help you believe His words (Matt 7:7 & Mark 9:23-24), and then to give you a true and correct understanding of those words (I Cor 2:9-12 & James 1:5-8).
The third requirement is meditation on God’s words (Psa 119:97, 63:6, & 1:2). God does not cast His pearls before swine, so do not expect the pearls of His word to be laying around where they can be trampled on by pigs (Matt 7:6). If you want to know what God has to say about something, then you must “search the scriptures” to find all His words on that subject (John 5:39, & Acts 17:11). Then you must “meditate” on those words, meaning you must think about them. The process of thoroughly thinking through all aspects of the scriptures you are studying can be very time consuming, but you cannot obtain a complete understanding of God’s words and mind unless you’re persistently willing to invest the required time and effort (Gal 6:9). Be prepared to spend the rest of your life working on your Bible studies.
Principles for Studying
The most important technique for Bible study is to look at the Words! Bible study is word study. The student must look at each word and believe every word in order to understand the truths of God embedded in those words.
It is important to read out of God's words everything that He said (exegesis), but it is equally important not to read into God's words anything that He did not say (eisegesis).
There are five basic principles that must be applied when studying words in the Bible; namely, the principles of the Christ-centeredness of the words, the literal meaning of a word, the contextual setting of the word, the sequential order of the words, and the overall harmony of the words when they are all put together as a whole.
Christ-centeredness of the words: This means we must give preeminence to Jesus Christ in all things – including the correct interpretation of both the Bible’s OT & NT (Col 1:18c). Everything in the Bible before Jesus’ words in the NT Gospels leaves many questions unanswered. Everything in the Bible after Jesus’ words in the NT Gospels is merely follow-up commentary on His life, work, and words as recorded in the Gospels. Consequently, there are some things that will be impossible to discern in both Testaments were it not for Jesus’ own personal explanation of those things in the Gospels! The Apostle Paul indicated this throughout his epistles (II Cor 3:14, I Thess 4:15a, et.al.). So, if we want to study a particular topic throughout the Bible, whatever that topic may be, our first question should always be: ‘What did Jesus personally say about that topic?’ His personal explanation is always essential for understanding any related topic from Genesis to Revelation.
If we exalt the ingenuity of our own biased minds over Jesus’ personal explanations, then we will fail to correctly understand God's words, mind, and will. Remember that the central focus of God’s words is not on man, but on Jesus Christ. Mankind comes into focus only as the object of the work of Jesus Christ, who is the real subject of the whole Bible. When we study we are not looking for our own personal benefit and glory; instead, we are looking for the benefit and glory of Jesus Christ.
EXAMPLE: The Olivet discourse (Matt 24, Mark 13, & Luke 21) is the only place in the entire Bible which chronologically ties together the events described in the OT at Dan 9:27, Joel 2:30-31 & Isaiah 26:19-21. Without Jesus’ Gospel explanation of how those events fit together, a correct understanding of His second coming as described in the NT cannot be obtained (and this is especially true when attempting to analyze the book of Revelation).
Literal meaning of the words: This means that the words of the Bible literally mean just exactly what they normally mean in plain, ordinary, everyday conversation. Words must be taken literally in order to ensure the objectivity of their interpretation, thereby eliminating any “subjective” opinions based on some man’s speculative imagination.
EXAMPLE of literal word meaning: An important example of applying a literal meaning to words concerns the words “Israel” and “church”. Catholics, and certain Protestant denominations, often confuse the two, and reach the erroneous theological conclusion that NT churches have subsumed the OT’s national Israel in God’s scheme of things. If that were true, then God’s OT promises to Abraham, Moses, David, & Israel cannot be taken literally, which violates one of the very first principles of correctly interpreting the scriptures!
Interpreting the literal meaning of a word also requires us to check the number of the noun and the tense of the verb. For example, in Luke 17:37 the word “body” is singular, not plural. How does the difference between singular and plural affect the literal interpretation of that verse? Again, in John 3:13 the word “is” is in the present tense, even though Jesus was physically present here on earth while speaking. Could that have a bearing on any Biblical doctrines? In Rom 8:30 the word “glorified” is in the past tense, even though we have not yet actually been glorified. How can that be?
(One can learn a lot by meditating on little things, which are the very things that have made studying God's every literal word so compelling to Bible believers for the past 3,500 years. Too often we read right over what God actually said, thereby missing important knowledge.)
However, not every word in the Bible was intended to be taken in its most literal sense, as defined in a dictionary. Just as figures of speech are used in ordinary conversation, the Bible likewise uses figures of speech. In order to distinguish between a word’s literal, dictionary-style meaning and its interpretation as a figure of speech, all that is necessary is a little common sense: can the word be scripturally understood when taken in its absolute, literal sense? If so, then take it literally; if not, then search the scriptures further to determine how God is using that particular figure of speech. In no case may a legitimate figure of speech be freely interpreted in whatever way one may desire to justify some preconceived notion. Any interpretation of a figure of speech must always fit its context, and its interpretation must always harmonize with all the rest of the Bible.
EXAMPLES of figure of speech: John 10:7 (one of the seven “I am’s”) is an example of an obvious figure of speech requiring no explanation here. A less obvious example is John 6:52. From its overall context, we see that Jesus was not actually advocating cannibalism, since His subsequent words in verse 6:63 specifically state that He intends for us to take His words in a “spiritual” sense, not a “physical” sense. If Jesus had intended those words to be taken literally (as in “transubstantiation”), then He would have been contradicting God’s prohibition in Lev 17:10. Thus, it can be seen that the correct interpretation of a difficult figure of speech requires a harmonious reconciliation of the figure with its immediate context as well as with all the rest of the Bible.
Sometimes a figure of speech may not seem to be a figure of speech at first glance, and a literal interpretation of it may produce a false idea. An example of resolving this problem will be examined in detail in a later section.
Contextual setting of the words: The context of a word, phrase, or sentence refers to its surrounding higher orders of literal construction. Thus, the context of a word is the phrase or sentence in which it appears. The context of a sentence is the verse or paragraph in which it appears. The context of a paragraph is the entire chapter in which it occurs. The context of a chapter is the particular book of the Bible in which it occurs. The context of each book in the Bible is, of course, the entire Bible as a whole. Contextual meaning refers to keeping all thought construction in a word, sentence, paragraph, and chapter compatible with the sense of all their higher orders as they expand Bible-wide.
EXAMPLES: The Bible says that Judas went out and hung himself (Matt 27:5). Luke 10:37 says, “Go, and do thou likewise.” Is there a valid connection between those scripture references? No, of course not, because the verse in Luke was applied “out-of-context”. When the Bible says something in one place, it cannot be applied to an unrelated passage in a different place! Another example of taking a verse out of context is the common error of applying Matt 24:36, in the Olivet discourse, to a pre-tribulational interpretation of I Thess 4:17. (Unfortunately, the requirement to maintain contextual integrity is frequently violated by many expositors when interpreting scriptures, and that error leads them into many false doctrines.)
A correct application of context to the interpretation of God’s words also requires us to bear in mind who is talking to who, when, and about what. For example, in I John 1:9, the Apostle John, when speaking about confessing our sins to have them forgiven, was not writing to unbelievers who were still lost, but to believers who were already saved.
Context also requires us to distinguish between God’s perspective and man’s perspective. This will help us to understand why God said “glorified” in Rom 8:30. When a man says he will do something, he may or may not do it. But when God says He will do something, then it’s as good as if it were already done (Rom 4:21); hence, God’s use of the past tense for a future event. Perspective also helps us to reconcile our emotional feelings to the mind of God as expressed in verses like Psa 116:15 & Eze 33:11a.
A subset of context involves the use of what is called a “type” in the Bible. A type is something in the OT that symbolizes something that is fulfilled in the NT. Some expositors get carried away with explaining types in infinite detail. But a good student must recognize that types have limits. Just because something is a type not mean that every little detail within that thing is a ‘sub-type’.
Two outstanding examples of types are the Passover lamb and the OT tabernacle. Thus, when John the Baptist referred to Jesus as “the Lamb of God” in John 1:36, he did not mean that Jesus was an animal; rather, he meant that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the “Passover Lamb” typified long before in Exodus 12:3-13. This is also an example of correctly interpreting a “figure of speech” by referencing the OT for an appropriate background to understand how the figure is being used in the NT. The OT tabernacle in Exodus & Leviticus bristles with many types whose ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ is explained in the NT book of Hebrews. Applying the blueprint of the OT tabernacle type to the heavenlies, as described in Hebrews, also helps us to understand what’s going on in the NT book of Revelation – enabling us to more thoroughly study that book with profit.
Sequential order of the words: Context, in its turn, is dependent upon sequence. Sequence refers to the chronological order in which the words are expressed. Since sequence indicates the ancestral relationships between the various parts of a topic that is being developed over the course of the Bible, contextual background is necessarily generated by the order in which the words were given. Thus, to correctly trace the development of a doctrine through the Bible, it is necessary to start at its point of first mention in the scriptures, and to follow its progress through the scriptures in the order of its sequential unfolding.
There are several aspects to “sequence” in the Bible. One important aspect is called “first mention”. First mention refers to the first time something is mentioned in the Bible, chronologically speaking. A principle developed at a point of first mention becomes a foundation stone that all subsequent doctrinal development of that point will harmonize with.
EXAMPLES: Gen 2:16-17 is the first mention of God communicating with man. Among its many important ramifications is the knowledge of how to determine God’s will for our lives. The principle developed here will hold true for that topic throughout all the rest of the Bible. Gen 3:1 is the first mention of “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan”. (as per Rev 12:9), illustrating one of his basic characteristics: lies & deceit (as per John 8:44b), characteristics that will follow him all the way through to the end of the Bible. Gen 3:15 is the first mention of God’s intent to provide us a Savior from the curse of sin, a Savior born of woman (i.e., without a man); a virgin-born Savior, which in due time came to fruition (Isa 7:14, Luke 1:35, Gal 4:3, et.al.).
Note that the location of a first mention within the Bible may vary by the word, book, or topic selected, or even by the speaker. For example, just because the Gospel of Matthew is the first NT Gospel by the order in which they are physically printed in the Bible does not mean that Matthew 24 is the first exposition of Jesus’ second coming in the NT, since Luke 17 chronologically precedes the Olivet discourse, even though the Gospel of Luke is physically printed after Matthew. (For purposes of Bible study, this would mean that, contextually speaking, a correct interpretation of the Olivet discourse depends on first obtaining a correct interpretation of Jesus’ sequentially prior discourse on His second coming in Luke 17.)
A related aspect of sequence is called “progressive revelation”. What this means is that God’s truths are not revealed all at once, but gradually over time (see again, Matt 7:6). This is precisely why one must “search” (John 5:39) and “study”. (II Tim 2:15) God’s words in order to determine the whole truth of a matter. The whole truth of any matter cannot be determined until every reference pertaining to that matter, in both the OT & NT, has been thoroughly studied. Failure to successfully accomplish the required search and study will certainly result in a misunderstanding, if not an outright false doctrine. That, in turn, usually results in unjust criticism of Jesus and the Bible from unbelievers who don’t know what they’re talking about any more than false teachers do. (This is especially true of perversions of Bible prophecy.)
EXAMPLES: One example of progressive revelation is our previous observation on the relationship between Luke 17 and the Olivet discourse, which many expositors fail to take into account. Another example of progressive revelation can be traced from Gen 3:21 (a point of first mention concerning the shed blood of a substitute to cover our sins) through Gen 4:4, & 22:8 to Ex 12:5-7, Lev 17:11, Isa 53:7, and on to John 1:36 & 19:34, I Cor 5:7b, Col 1:14, & Rev 5:6-9, et.al. (A study on the latter example’s topic is vital to the doctrine of Salvation.)
A third aspect of sequence is called “repetition”. Repetition occurs when a statement is made first in one place without much detail, and then later the statement will be repeated in similar terms but with more explanatory information added. (Keep in mind the principle of “first mention” when following the progress of a doctrine’s revelation through repetition.)
EXAMPLE: A good example of “repetition” may be seen by comparing Luke 17:24 & 37 with Matt 24:27-28, which in turn is elaborated upon more fully in the subsequent verses at Matt 24:29-31, and so on through later NT prophetic scriptures (such as Matt 24:29 receiving additional explanatory information in Rev 6:12-17, et.al.). This example aptly illustrates the effect that sequence has on context as doctrinal revelation progresses through scripture from its point of first mention.
The last aspect of sequence that will be examined is called “double reference”. A double reference is a Biblical passage that pertains to an immediate matter at hand and at the same time serves as a prophetic precursor of something still to come in the future. An example of this is found in Isa 61:1-3, where Isaiah declares that he has been appointed by God to declare certain things to Israel. Yet, in Luke 4:17-21, Jesus declares that this OT scripture was fulfilled in Him. So the passage had two applications: first to Isaiah, and later to Jesus – a double reference. Another example of a double reference is Luke 21:20-24, which foretells of Jerusalem’s desolation under Titus, AD 70, and yet portends another desolation at some still future time (Rev 11:2). [Note: For study purposes, the student should know that the prediction in the book of Revelation was written about AD 96, or 25 years after Jerusalem was destroyed. The chronological significance of that sequence is that the application of Luke 21:24 to the prior event, AD 70, cannot be the “fulfillment” of the subsequent event in Rev 11:2. That fact, coupled with the necessary harmony of Luke 21, Matthew 24, & Mark 13, is what requires Luke 21 to be considered a “double reference”.] Failure to recognize the principle of double reference, when applicable, may easily result in a false division of the word and a false doctrine.
Harmony of all the words when put together as a whole: The effort of comparing words, lines, verses, and passages with other words, lines, verses, and passages according to their literal word meanings, contexts, and sequences is generally called “comparing scripture with scripture”. When all elements of grammatical construction (literal words, within their appropriate context, as sequentially revealed) have been correctly related to one another by analyzing all the relevant scripture, such that there are no inconsistencies of sense between any of the parts composing the whole, then the result is a harmony of the scriptures pertaining to that topic.
An essential tool for determining harmony between various passages of scripture is the principle of comparison & contrast, which enables us to reconcile things that are the same, and to differentiate things that are different. Comparison looks for similarities within two or more passages, whereas contrast looks for differences between two or more passages. The student should compare & contrast the literal words and their contexts as well as the times, peoples, places, & actions present in the passages up for study. The strength or weakness of the relationship between the passages can be determined from how well they match, versus how significantly they differ. The degree of correlation both ways will determine how they should be interpreted. A good match indicates a close relationship, whereas significant differences indicate little relationship.
EXAMPLE: Will a comparison and contrast of Matt 24:29-31 & Rev 6:12-17 tend to reconcile or differentiate those passages? [Hints for analysis: Do the exact words of Matt 24:29 & Rev 6:12-13 suggest any possibilities? Exactly what happens in Matt 24:30? Would that have any bearing on the meaning of the literal words “the heaven departed” in Rev 6:14? (Would you like to check that word out in Strong’s?) Does that throw any light on what people are evidently seeing in Rev 6:16? What specific words determine the relationship of the people’s responses in Matt 24:30 & Rev 6:16-17? What is the significance of the difference between the actions taken in Matt 24:31 & Rev 6:15-16? Could that difference be explained by Matt 24:40-42?]
One good rule for determining the fitness of a harmony is known as Ockham's Razor. This rule states that the best explanation for anything is the simplest explanation that has the least assumptions. The more complicated an explanation is, the more likely it is to be wrong. The student should keep this rule in mind when evaluating the Biblical harmony of any interpretation of the scriptures, regardless of the topic.
EXAMPLES: Does it require a more complicated explanation to differentiate Matt 24:30-31 from I Thess 4:13-17, or a simpler explanation to reconcile them? Compare and contrast those passages, then draw a tentative conclusion concerning this pair. Also, does it require a more complicated explanation to reconcile Matt 24:30-31 with Rev 19:11-21, or is there a simpler explanation that differentiates them? Compare and contrast those passages, then draw a tentative conclusion concerning this pair. Which conclusions tend to a greater harmony of the scriptures? Can you employ comparison and contrast to harmonize potential relationships between all of the following passages: Luke 17:22-37, Matthew 24:27-31, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 6:12-17, & Revelation 19:11-21? What might be your preliminary conclusion? What additional information would you need to finalize your conclusion?
In a previous section, notice was made of figures of speech that are not readily apparent. An example would be Luke 17:37. An examination of its immediate context will show that Jesus’ disciples were concerned about “Where” a multiple number of people were being taken (Luke 17:34-36). Does the singular number of the noun “body”, in Jesus’ response (Luke 17:37), satisfy the disciples’ concern for a plural number of people? Or, would the plural number of the noun “eagles” be a better fit for purposes of interpreting this verse? In order to control the scriptural interpretation of this figure, the student would do well to trace the expression in Luke 17:37 back to an OT type, specifically back to Ex 19:4 (which, in turn, must be considered within its own context – Ex 19:1-4). You might like to use Strong’s to trace the use of the word “eagles” in the OT. When checking out the first-person, singular pronoun “I” in Ex 19:4, you might also like to check out John 10:30. Who was carried on “eagles wings” in Ex 19:4? Given the validity of the relationship of the OT reference to Jesus words in Luke 17:37, and after comparing & contrasting Ex 19:4 & Luke 17:37, who would you say the word “body” in Luke 17:37 best refers to? How, then, would you interpret the action in Luke 17:34-37? How would your interpretation of Jesus prior discourse in Luke 17:34-37affect the interpretation of Jesus’ subsequent discourse on the Mount of Olives (note Matt 24:25)? Once again, this illustrates the principle that the interpretation of a figure of speech must always fit its context, and harmonize with the all rest of the Bible (including both prior & subsequent scriptures, as applicable).
Are you beginning to understand the harmony of words, context, & sequence?
NOTE: The previous examples are designed to illustrate how various study principles must be combined to analyze the extent of harmony and discord between different passages of scripture. The student’s conclusions may or may not be valid, depending on the neutrality and quality of work performed.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of Bible study is to derive a Bible-wide harmony of scripture on a given topic of interest. A harmony of scripture derived from Bible study is known as a “doctrine”. Any so-called ‘doctrine’ that fails to harmonize with all of the relevant scripture cannot possibly be a true doctrine, because a lack of perfect harmony leaves contradictions between the so-called ‘doctrine’ and the remaining un-harmonized scriptures. On the other hand, an irrefutable and definitely true doctrine is produced when all the relevant scriptures are correctly and perfectly harmonized with one another. Accordingly, due to the unity of scripture, all true doctrines will always harmonize with one another as well.
Remember, there are no contradictions in the Bible. If something in your study seems to be out of sync with everything else, then it is because insufficient study was applied to reconcile the apparent discrepancy. A good workman studying the scriptures must consistently and thoroughly apply the rules outlined herein, as applicable in any given scripture problem, in order to “rightly divide” the word of truth so as to achieve a correct understanding of the Bible’s true doctrines.
Prompt to Study
There are many different ways to approach a Bible study. One may study a specific person, subject, name, word, or doctrine. One may compare and contrast specific words and how they are used throughout a Testament, examine chronological relationships, analyze a specific book in the Bible, or determine the relationships between various books within the Bible. One may study anything in the Bible that compels study for whatever reason. However, the student should always select a topic of personal interest, yet one with a useful purpose for the cause of Christ. Don’t start with the most difficult topic imaginable. Start with something that you can successfully accomplish, and work your way up to more complicated areas as your analytical skills develop. But whatever you do, do not study to be “ever learning” without ever coming to a knowledge of the truth (I Tim 4:15).3
Serious Bible study is not an "option" for Christians; it is an obligation. We are commanded directly from the mouth of our Savior to “search” the scriptures (John 5:39); we are instructed by His faithful disciple Paul to “study” the scriptures (II Tim 2:15); and, we have the example of Berean church members who engaged in both daily (Acts 17:11). So God expects His people to take His words very seriously (Psa 138:2c).
Given your personal responsibility to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, do you think it is important to become a serious student of the scriptures? If so, then how will you get started on a study of the Bible? Your Bible study can start by asking yourself this question: “What does the Bible say about ______________? (You fill in the blank.)
Now all you have to do is STUDY to find the answer!
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AUTHOR’s NOTES
1 Portions of this article have been extracted from another book entitled The True Resurrection (copyright 1989, 2006), by the same author. However, for simplicities sake, direct quotations from that work have not been noted herein.
2 How to use Strong's Concordance: Strong's concordance is alphabetically organized like a dictionary of words in which every word in the AV is listed. However, instead of word definitions, the accompanying information under each word consists of a list of scripture references containing that particular word. Every scripture reference under that word has a short phrase from the verse containing the word. The scripture references are listed in the same order as the books, chapters, and verses in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. This makes it easy to find any verse in the Bible containing a specific word. If one remembers a short phrase containing that word somewhere in the Bible, but can't recall just exactly where it was located, the Concordance will help locate it.
All one needs to do is look up the word in the Concordance and scan down the list of phrases under that word until the appropriate phrase is recognized. The attached scripture reference will usually identify the verse you're looking for. (If one at least remembers the book in which the word occurs, then just scan the phrases under that book only.)
Along the right hand margin of each word-phrase is a number (or a ditto mark repeating the previous number). Those numbers form "Strong's numbering system". The numbers refer to entries in one of two "dictionaries" at the back of the Concordance. One dictionary is for OT Hebrew words and the other is for NT Greek words. If a single English word has multiple meanings, and its context in scripture does not clarify the ambiguity, then one may look up the meaning of its corresponding Hebrew or Greek word in the appropriate dictionary at the back of the Concordance to see if that definition might clear up the confusion. First, find the appropriate scripture reference in the Concordance for the English word in question (using the procedure just outlined in the preceding paragraph), then find the corresponding Strong's number in the right hand margin at that particular scripture reference, and, finally, find the same number in the Hebrew or Greek dictionary (as appropriate) at the back of the Concordance. Under that number will be found the applicable Hebrew or Greek root word along with its dictionary definition printed in English. Compare that definition to the one in your standard English dictionary to select the specific English meaning that is most appropriate for context of the verse in question.
Note: For practice, you may want to look up the word 'took' in Matt 24:39. But first, read the verse in your Bible. Can you tell just exactly who was taken away in Matt 24:39? Now find the word 'took' in your Strong's Concordance, and scan down the column to the book of Matthew (abbreviated "M't"), and then under that book continue scanning on down the column until reaching the applicable chapter & verse ('24:39'). The corresponding Stong's number in the right-hand margin at that point is '142'. Since the verse we're working with is in the NT, flip to the Greek dictionary at the back of the Concordance, and look up the number '142'. Read the definition of the word under that number. Now do you know who was taken away?
3 The notions of dispensationalism and covenantism are not valid hermeneutical principles. In order for either of those two notions to qualify as anything worthwhile, they must first have been derived from a study of scripture independently of their own built-in bias, using neutral objective criteria such as those described herein. If either of the two notions mentioned above could be established using valid hermeneutical techniques, then they would become Bible doctrines, but they could not become additional hermeneutical principles! Consequently, since those two notions do not qualify as legitimate hermeneutical principles for analyzing the scriptures, they have been deliberately excluded from discussion in this article concerning the proper hermeneutical methods for Bible study.
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