thoughts on early morning earthquakes

1. Glorify God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit...everything happens for God's glory so make sure you give it to Him. Romans 11:36 says, For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."

2. Jesus said earthquakes would happen, so don't be surprised when they do. Mark 13:8 says, "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains."

3. Repent because you could have died and you might not have been ready. Read Luke 13.

4. Preach the Word. In season and out of season. Tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ and beware of pastors who say otherwise. Faith comes by hearing, not by doing or inviting. 2 Timothy 4:1-2 says, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. AND Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

How to soundly interpret the Bible part 4

How to soundly interpret the Bible part 4.

this is a 5 part series on how to soundly interpret the Bible. i learned these points in my hermeneutics class but this particular list comes from Bible teacher John MacArthur.

The Synthesis Principle.

The Reformers [the guys who started and worked through the protestant reformation] used the expression “scriptura scripturam interpretatur,” or “Scripture interprets Scripture.” By this they meant that obscure passages in Scripture must be understood in light of clearer ones. If the Bible is God’s Word, it must be consistent with itself. No part of the Bible can contradict any other part. One Divine Author—the Holy Sprit—inspired the whole Bible, so it has one marvelous, supernatural unity. The synthesis principle puts Scripture together with Scripture to arrive at a clear, consistent meaning. If we hold to an interpretation of one passages that does not square with something in another passage, one of the passages is being interpreted incorrectly—or possibly both of them. The Holy Spirit does not disagree with himself. And the passages with obvious meanings should interpret the more arcane ones. One should never build a doctrine on a single obscure or unclear text.

We I teach a passage of Scripture, I often guide the congregation to different parts of the Bible to show how the passage under study fits into the total context of Scripture. In his fine book, God Has Spoken, J.I. Packer said:

“The Bible appears like a symphony orchestra, with the Holy Ghost as its Tocanini; each instrumentalist has been brought willingly, spontaneously, creatively, to play his notes just as the great conductor desired, though none of them could ever hear the music as a whole…The point of each part only becomes fully clear when seen in relation to all the rest.”

Peter said much the same thing when he wrote, “As to salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you…made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating.” (1 Peter 1:10-11) Even the Bible writers did not always know the full meaning of what they wrote. Today, because the New Testament is complete, we see how the Bible connects into one glorious comprehensive whole.

How to soundly interpret the Bible part 3

how to soundly interpret the Bible part 3

this is a 5 part serious on how to soundly interpret the Bible. i learned these points in my hermeneutics class but this particular list comes from Bible teacher John MacArthur.

part 3: The Grammatical Principle

Often the syntactical construction of a passage is the key to its meaning. Sometimes, for example, the meaning of a sentence can hinge on something as simple as a preposition. It obviously matters a great deal whether a passage says "because of," "through," "into," "in," "by," or "with." And in some cases the original Greek word used can be translated by two or more different English words. It is important to know whether the word appearing in your English Bible has a possible alternative translation. Also, if a sentence refers to "this" or "it," it is important to know the antecedent of the pronoun.

Grammar may not be your favorite subject--it certainly isn’t mine--but we need to grasp the basics when interpreting the language of Scripture. We have to follow the sequence of the words and phrases to know precisely what the Word of God says. An accurate understanding of the passage may depend on it.

People sometimes ask me, "What is the first thing you do when you prepare a message?" I tell them that I study the biblical text in the original language--Greek or Hebrew. I note the proper order of the words and sentences. I go over the sentence structure and the grammar. I want to know exactly what is being said.

This can be done by anyone willing to invest a little time and effort. Even if one does not know Greek or Hebrew, an interlinear translation, which shows the Greek or Hebrew text with corresponding English words above the original language, can be used. At the very least, a good Bible commentary can be consulted. Take note of those writers and speakers who seem to pay attention to grammar--and watch out for those who do not. Learn to do inductive Bible study by breaking down the English verses into phrases, showing nouns, verbs, modifiers, and other parts of speech to see their meaning more clearly.

How to soundly interpret the Bible part 2

how to soundly interpret the Bible part 2

this is a 5 part series on how to interpret the Bible. i learned these principles in my hermeneutics class. this particular list comes from the Bible teacher John MacArthur.

part 2: The Historical Principle

As we have noted, one of the crucial steps in understanding what a text means is to have some grasp of the cultural, geographical, and political setting in which the passage was written. If one understands the historical context, the passage often will practically interpret itself.

As we come to any book of the Bible, we have to understand the history involved. If it is an epistle to one of the churches, what were some of the characteristics of the city in which those believers lived? What were the political and cultural conditions at the time? Who was ruling where? What social pressures were involved and to what degree? What were the tensions, problems and crises of the community? What was the culture of the day really like? What were the customs of the people?

For example, it is virtually impossible for the modern reader to make sense of Peter’s admonition in 1 Peter 1:13: "Gird up the loins of your mind." But when you realize that soldiers in New Testament times wore long flowing tunics, and they had to tie them up around their waists so that they wouldn’t trip over them when they went into battle, Peter’s meaning becomes immediately clear. He is saying, "Prepare your minds for battle. Trim up whatever is holding you back or slowing you down."

To answer the cultural and historical questions we can use Bible dictionaries, Bible handbooks, commentaries, history books, and books about Bible customs. They enable us to reconstruct the setting of a Bible passage, and from the historical context will usually flow the clear meaning.

How to soundly interpret the Bible part 1

how to soundly interpret the Bible part one

this is part one of a five part series. if you read it, take your time and think about what is being said and how you can apply it to your bible reading. i learned these things in my hermeneutics class but this particular list comes from Bible teacher John MacArthur.
bp

1. the literal principle
When we speak of interpreting Scripture literally, we are not talking about a slavish, rigid literalism. Literal interpretation means we understand Scripture in its normal sense, including figures of speech like the parables, hyperbole, simile, metaphor and symbolism.

Scripture is to be read naturally. In years past theologians spoke of the usus loquendi, meaning that the words of Scripture are to be interpreted in the same way words are understood in ordinary daily use. God has communicated His Word to us through human language, and there is every reason to assume he has done it in the most obvious and simple fashion possible. His words are to be understood just as we would interpret the language of normal writing. Although there is occasional figurative language and symbolism in Scripture, those things are quite evident in the places they are used. The first thing a careful interpreter looks for is the literal meaning, not some mystical, deeper, hidden, secret, or spiritualized interpretation.

Some of the apocalyptic passages, such as those in Zechariah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah or Revelation, contain obvious figures and symbols that must be studied carefully to see the literal truth they are conveying. That kind of symbolic language, however, is not the norm in Scripture and it is obvious where employed. Sometimes the symbolism is hard to interpret, but by studying the historical setting, one can usually discern a clear meaning. Even the figurative language conveys clear, literal truth. Scripture is not the kind of puzzle some people seem to want to make it.

Parables are another form of figurative language sometimes used in Scripture. Parables are stories that illustrate a spiritual truth but whose details may not be actually historical. The details-people, events, times, and places-may be hypothetical, metaphorical, or simply unidentified. But the spiritual truths illustrated by parables are always literal and real.

Those who have abandoned literal interpretation in favor of mystical or allegorical interpretation discard all hope of achieving accuracy and coherence. Instead, they have a free-for-all, where only the imagination rules. When they deny the literal meaning, they are not serving Scripture by trying to understand it but make it their slave by molding it to say what they want it to say.

Some rabbis in the inter-testamental period (the period between the old and new testaments) interpreted scripture by numerology. That is, they would use the numerical equivalent of each letter in the Hebrew alphabet to glean mystical meanings out of words. Their brand of interpretation led to some bizarre explanations of certain passages. For example, in the Hebrew alphabet the numerical value of the letters in Abraham’s name adds up to 318. This was supposed to mean that Abraham had 318 servants! It is easy to see that when we violate the simple purpose of language, ANY interpretation is possible.