Blog Archives
8 principles of Biblical interpretation
Copyright by Bob Rogers, Th.D.
CONTEXT – How does this verse fit with the verses before and after, and the whole chapter?
LITERARY STYLE – What kind of writing is this? Is it poetry, history, a letter, law, prophecy, etc.?
GRAMMAR – What does the subject and verb of the sentence indicate is the writer’s main point? Note figures of speech, etc.
PARALLEL PASSAGES – The Bible is its own best interpreter, so compare what the rest of scripture says on the subject.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND – When, where and why was this written? What was going on at the time in history? What was the writer saying to people in his day and time?
TRANSLATION – Compare translations, to discern the best English word or phrase.
SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT – What has the Holy Spirit told you here, as you read and prayed over it?
CHURCH TRADITION – How have Christians around the world and throughout history interpreted this?
When is a believer’s name written in the Book of Life?
Article copyright by Bob Rogers.
Revelation 20:15 says that everyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. From this passage, Christians conclude that God has a record of followers of Jesus Christ– the Book of Life– and that we do not have to fear Judgment Day, because if our names are written in the Book of Life, we will receive the gift of eternal life in heaven by God’s grace.
But exactly when is a believer’s name written in the Book of Life– at birth, or at the time we believe? I have always thought of it as written at the time that we believe in Christ, since it is a record of those who believe. However, I recently learned I was wrong.
We were discussing this in my Bible class recently. My friend Allen Steele pointed out Revelation 13:8 and 17:8. Both passages refer to unbelievers as “everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb…” If unbelievers names were not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life, then it would follow logically that the names of believers were written from the foundation of the world in the book of life.
If we think this through, it makes perfect sense. After all, God speaks of our salvation as being “chosen in Him, before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4), and that “those He foreknew He also predestined” (Romans 8:29), since we are “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:1-2). In other words, God in His omniscience already foreknows what we will do, so He can speak of us as “chosen,” and He already has our names in the book even before we were born.
Does this mean our salvation is predetermined, without any choice on our parts? No, we “sealed” that entry in the book when we believed. As Ephesians 1:13 says, “When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Thus Revelation 7:4 refers to believers as those “sealed.” So God foreknew who would believe, and already has their names in His book, but when we believe, we “seal” the deal.
Three reasons why I believe the Bible
Article copyright by Bob Rogers.
In the runaway bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown claims that Emperor Constantine “commissioned and financed a new Bible” and he “outlawed, gathered up, and burned” the existing gospels (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, p. 234).
While reputable historians have rejected the claims of The Da Vinci Code as having no basis in fact, many people wonder, why should I believe the Bible?
The Bible itself claims to be the Word of God. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) that “all scripture is God-breathed…” I believe the Bible is the Word of God? Why? Not only does it claim to be the Word of God, but it passes three important tests:
1. It passes the test of corroboration.
In a trial, one of the things a judge or jury look for is corroborating testimony. If one witness sees something, and another witness agrees and says he saw the same thing, it gives extra credence to the truth of his words.
The Bible passes the test of corroboration, because so many other witnesses verify what the Bible says. Here are just a few examples:
Genesis 36:20 says the Horites were descendants of Esau, but some historians doubted they existed. In 1995 Giorgio Buccellati discovered the Horite capital city beneath modern Syrian city of Tell Mozan.
According to 1 Kings 9:28, King Solomon brought back 16 tons of gold from Ophir. But nobody knew that Ophir existed. In 1956 broken pottery found at Tell Qasile in Israel was inscribed, “gold of Ophir for Beth-Horon.”
The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Nero persecuted the Christians, and then explained that “Christus” was crucified under Pontius Pilate, just as the Gospels record.
In 1990 a bone chest was discovered in Jerusalem that was inscribed “Caiaphas” and “Joseph, son of Caiaphas.” John 11 says Caiaphas was the high priest at Jesus’ trial, and Jewish historian Joseph says his full name was “Joseph, called Caiaphas.”
There are literally thousands of these kinds of historical and archaeological discoveries that identify people and places named in the Bible.
2. It passes the test of endurance.
The manuscript evidence of the Bible is an amazing story.
The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew and some in Aramaic, and copied down by hand. So how trustworthy is the text that has been copied and recopied for several thousand years? We got our answer when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. The Dead Sea Scrolls were a thousand years older than any other manuscripts available at the time! Scholars eagerly studied them to see what errors would have been made in all those years of copying. To their amazement, there were almost no differences. For example, when they studied the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah, which is about 100 pages in English translation, they only found three minor spelling differences, similar to the difference in spelling Savior or Saviour.
The New Testament has by far the best manuscript evidence of any other ancient document. There are 5,400 ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament that scholars can study to figure out what the original text said. Compare that with the classical works of Plato, Herodotus, and Aristophanes, that have anywhere from one to 20 manuscripts.
At one time, liberal scholars claimed that the Gospel of John must have been written long after John’s life, in the late second century. But then a papyrus was discovered in Southern Egypt of the Gospel of John carbon dated to A.D. 125. Since John was probably written at Ephesus, it had to have been written long before A.D. 125 to have time to travel to Southern Egypt.
The Bible has outlasted the empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece and Rome. It survived the invasions of the Goths and Vikings and the neglect of the Dark Ages. It survived the skepticism of the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason. Over the centuries, people have attacked the people, banned the Bible and even burned the Bible, but the Bible continues to endure as the number one bestselling book of all time.
3. It passes the test of experience.
Millions of people have read the Bible and found that it spoke to their hearts.
Lewis Wallace was a Union general in the Civil War, and then became governor of the territory of New Mexico. He met the atheist scholar Robert Ingersoll and was unable
to refute Ingersoll’s arguments against the Bible. So he studied everything he could about the life of Jesus, and became convinced that Jesus was everything the Bible says he was. In the process, Wallace wrote a novel, called Ben Hur about a man who meets Jesus and gives his life to Christ.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Russian who was sent to the Soviet labor camps for eight years for writing disparaging comments about the Soviet leader, Stalin. There he became convinced that only the message of the Bible explained the human condition of sin and gave the solution for changing the human heart. Solzhenitsyn’s writings about the Soviet prisons and Russian history are considered some of the greatest writings about communism in the USSR.
I grew up the son of a U.S. Army chaplain. In the seventh grade, I began to read about ten chapters of the Bible every day. I could not get enough of it, I was so thirsty to read more and know more about the scripture. And the more I read the Bible, the more my life changed. Finally, in the tenth grade, I sensed that God was calling me to preach His Word.
Why do I believe the Bible? It passes the test of corroboration and test of endurance, but most of all, I have experienced it’s life-changing message, and so have millions of others. How about you?
You can get into spiritual shape
Article Copyright 2017 by Bob Rogers
Once I met a guy in the gym who had muscles of steel. I was amazed when he told me that he used to be fat, until he decided to get into shape.
First Timothy 4:7-8 says, “Train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Many of us are spiritually fat. But just as my friend got physically fit, you can get into spiritual shape. Here’s how:
I. Put your heart into it.
Dotsie Bausch was riding a mountain bike one day when a group of competitive road cyclists flew past her. Dotsie chased them and stayed on their heels for two miles. That night, she told a friend, “This cycling thing, I’m actually pretty decent at it.” Four years later she was on the U.S. national cycling team. Her heart was all in. (Evan Miller, “Dotsie Bausch: Cycling,” Guideposts, July 2012, p. 47-49.)
Ezekiel 18:31. “Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” You must put your heart into it.
II. Remove hindrances.
In football, the offense has a big obstacle. It’s called the defense.
In the spiritual life, sinful obstacles block us, too.
Hebrews 12:1: “… let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.”
Choose to remove the hindrances to your spiritual life, especially sinful lifestyles that have been dragging you down. Do it!
III. Exercise your spirit daily.
There are two major types of exercise: cardiovascular exercise, also known as aerobic exercise, and strength training, which is usually by lifting weights. Healthy athletes have a balance of both. Likewise, you need a balance of spiritual exercises, often called the “spiritual disciplines.” These include Bible reading and prayer, but they also include meditation and memorization of scripture, service and stewardship, worship and witness. A healthy spiritual life develops from regular practice of these spiritual disciplines.
As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27: “Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
IV. Keep your eyes on the prize.
Hebrews 12:2 says, “Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith…”
In 2008, I was about 35 pounds overweight. I was breathing hard just walking to the second floor. My pants were too tight. I didn’t like how I looked. I made a decision to change, and put my heart into it. It was a lifestyle change, as I got serious about exercise, eating right, and sticking with it. Over a year, I took off the weight. Today, nine years later, I have maintained my lower weight and healthier lifestyle.
I had tried fad diets before, but I finally had success when I kept my focus on a goal and stuck with it.
In a much greater way, the same principle applies to your spiritual life.
How about you? Are you getting into spiritual shape? It’s got to start with a change of heart. Are you ready to begin the journey?
The Voice translation and The Compass Study Bible
Compass: The Study Bible for Navigating Your Life, is a study Bible edition of The Voice translation, a new translation released in 2012.
I received an advance copy of The Compass Bible to review. It will not be released until February 2014, but The Voice translation itself is available in other editions now.
First, let me discuss the translation itself. Second, I will comment on the distinctions in this study edition.
The Voice translation takes a unique approach in Bible translation, which makes it difficult to classify this as a translation or a paraphrase. Perhaps it’s best to say that it is a translation that is amplified with paraphrase. That is, the text has a fairly accurate translation, but then it inserts additional words into the text in italics for clarity and explanation. For example, Romans 10:9 is translated and amplified like this: “So if you believe deep in your heart that God raised Jesus from the pit of death and if you voice your allegiance by confessing the truth that ‘Jesus is Lord,’ then you will be saved!” Here’s another example that includes even more amplification, Psalm 23:5: “You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies; You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace.” In both of these verses, the text without italics is an accurate translation, but the text added in italics amplifies and explains the meaning of the verse. The advantage of this over other paraphrases is that the reader knows which part is translation, and which part is commentary.
But there is more. On nearly every page, there is bracketed, bold text, giving background explanation of the history, culture and meaning of words and events in the passage.
As its name implies, The Voice is written to be heard. It appears in screenplay format, whenever there is dialogue, giving the name of the speaker in bold, followed by a colon. For instance, in Luke 1:60-61, the text is laid out like this:
Elizabeth (disagreeing): No, We will name him John.
Her Relatives (protesting): That name is found nowhere in your family.
The translation pays close attention to alliteration and other devices of sound, such as Genesis 1:16: “the Divine needled night with the stars.” Or another example, when the angels rejoice over Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:14: “To the highest heights of the universe, glory to God! And on earth, peace among all people who bring pleasure to God!”
All of these features make The Voice a Bible that is well-suited to be heard, whether read aloud or heard in the reader’s mind.
The Compass Bible is an edition of The Voice translation that adds some appropriate Bible-reading aids, primarily in the back, which include a 40-day reading retreat plan with suggestions for meditation and prayer, a 365-day reading plan through the whole Bible, an index of notes by topic, and maps. Other than a few Bible-reading aids, there is no difference between the text in the Compass Bible and other editions of The Voice translation, as they all include the topical notes in the text. The Compass Bible is printed on a less expensive paper, and retails for less than the regular edition.
Taken together, the Compass edition of The Voice translation should make the Bible come alive to people who are not familiar with the Bible, and it should bring new insights to those who are familiar with the Bible.
In the interest of full disclosure, let me state that I received a free copy of the Compass Bible for review, without any obligation to give a favorable review, and I did not receive any other compensation for writing this review.
If you see a video ad below this post, I do not necessarily endorse the product.
Bob Rogers 