Aliens, Armageddon, and The End Times by Ferrier Andrew

Author:Ferrier, Andrew [Ferrier, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

How to Interpret the Bible

One of the first problems in

understanding the prophecies given in the Bible is the fact that two people can read the same prophecy in the Bible and come up with two different interpretations of what is being said.

For example, Jewish scholars interpret Isaiah chapter 53 differently than Christian scholars. Let’s look at just a few of the verses in this chapter of Isaiah.

Isaiah 53:3-10

Many Jewish scholars say these verses are talking about the nation of Israel. Christian scholars on the other hand, say these verses are talking about the suffering of Jesus. Both of these interpretations cannot be correct. The way to determine which is correct is to understand how to properly interpret the Bible.

Using a few simple rules to interpret the Bible correctly opens the prophetic passages and the seemingly difficult text. Yes, there are some very difficult passages in the Bible, but for the most part, the Bible is understandable. Here are three simple rules:

Rule #1

Interpret the Bible literally, unless it

is clear that a literal interpretation is not

intended. For example, when the Bible says

that God parted the waters of the Red Sea

and the children of Israel walked through on

dry land, this should be taken literally.

When it says, the Egyptian army was

drowned when God made the waters return,

there is nothing in the text that would

indicate this should not be taken literally. It

really happened. It is not a fairy tale or an

allegory. Explorers have recently found the remains of Pharaoh’s chariots on the bottom of the Red Sea, confirming this miracle. A literal interpretation is taking the text at face value. Another example, this time from the area of prophecy, can be found in:

Zechariah 9:9.

This prophecy was fulfilled literally

when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back

of a donkey (Matthew 21:1-9).

For one final example, let’s look at a

prophecy fulfilled after thousands of years.

In Amos 9: 14, 15 God spoke of the return

of the Jewish people back to their homeland.

In 1948, Israel became a nation for the first

time in almost 2,000 years. Each year more

and more Jewish people are returning back

to their ancient homeland. This is what

Amos and other Jewish prophets said would

happen. It is exciting to see it happening

before our very eyes. In fact, I had the

wonderful experience of living in Israel for

3 years during the mid-80’s.

I witnessed thousands of Jewish

people returning back to their land just as

the prophets said would happen.

Many other examples could be

given, but the method of literal

interpretation of Scripture will be of value as

we work our way through the prophecies. (There are many times throughout

Scripture when figures of speech are used

and a literal interpretation is not intended.

For example: Rev. 1:4 “His eyes were as a flame of fire.” Or, in Luke 13:32, Jesus said of Herod, “Tell that fox.” In John 10:7 Jesus said, “I am the door.” The text is not saying that eyes are on fire, a man is a fox or that Jesus is a door.)

Rule #2

Interpret the Bible in context. My

first year of Bible College I attended Word

of Life Bible Institute in upstate New York.

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