Bereansearching Bible Studies

Introduction: There is Much More to the Bible Than Meets the Physical Eye

This Post, which is a modified excerpt from a longer one, “Exalting the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ: The Key of Knowledge for Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible“, is intended to assist the reader (particularly the student of the Bible who is seeking truth from the Bible beyond just the historical and moral lessons) to understand a different hermeneutic than that commonly being taught in the majority of seminaries, educational institutions, and churches today. 

Today, the commonly taught principles of Bible study instruct us to read the Bible almost exclusively from a perspective that emphasizes:

1) the historical cultural context,

2) the literal meaning of the words and verses as they meant only to the people who were living when they were recorded,

3) the specific situation and setting (including geography) of the people to whom the verses were written at the time of the writings, and

4) how the specific passage being studied might relate to either the Old or New Testament Covenants. 

That methodology is generally referred to as the “Literal-Grammatical-Historical” method of Biblical interpretation. 

Moreover, additional rules have been created that stipulate that we are not to “read into” a verse any more understanding beyond that which the people at the time would have understood the verses to mean (when those verses were first written). 

And it should also be noted that two of the great Reformists, Martin Luther and John Calvin, are generally identified as having been entirely opposed to the typological/allegorical hermeneutic. This is because Martin Luther is quoted as having said, “To allegorize is to juggle the Scripture ”and “Allegorizing may degenerate into a mere monkey game.” and “Allegories are awkward, absurd, inventive, obsolete, loose rags.” According to that same report (see reference), “Calvin similarly rejected allegorical interpretations. He called them ‘frivolous games’ and accused Origen and other allegorists of ‘torturing scripture’, in every possible sense, from the true sense.” Calvin also wrote in the preface of his commentary on Romans “it is the first business of an interpreter to let the author say what he does say, instead of attributing to him what we think he ought to say.” (Reference:https://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/documents/articles/25/25.pdf)

It should be noted however, that despite the above attribution suggesting that Martin Luther was utterly opposed to allegorical and typological interpretation, there is also evidence for the opposite. I refer the reader to Martin Luther’s Sermon on the First Sunday in Advent, in which Martin Luther goes to great lengths to exposit the spiritual meaning of Matthew 21:1-9, which he described as “the lesson story and its hidden meaning.” Martin Luther could not have been any more clear regarding the typological/allegorical hermeneutic when he entitled the third, and last, heading of his sermon, “The Spiritual Interpretation of This Gospel.” There we read his use of words like “signifies“, “represent”, and “examples“. And in one example, Martin Luther equates Jesus’ riding on the ass and the colt (in the course of His final entry into Jerusalem) to Jesus’ riding upon the saints, as His “ministers who by the Gospel have loosed the consciences from the law and its works and led them to the works of grace.”

It has also been claimed that there is even a so called “Golden Rule of Interpretation” regarding “literalism” as follows: “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.” Furthering this argument, such advocates even state that the Bible should be read like a legal document much as one would read the United States Constitution!  

How utterly absurd is that!  

For anyone to claim that The Almighty Omniscient and Omnipotent God, through His Holy Spirit, would craft the Bible the same as some men would craft any legal document, such that there is no difference in reading for understanding, should be reason alone to doubt the validity of the “Literal-Grammatical-Historical” hermeneutic as a means for Biblical interpretation. The Bible is “Holy Scripture”, and is unlike any other book, and it focuses us entirely upon the Person and Redemptive/Atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Other “principles” being taught in seminaries today also state, “Don’t look for allegories in the Old Testament Narrative” and more dogmatically, “Only two percent of the Old Testament is Messianic.” 

The Problem With the Literal-Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutic 

The problem with such humanly crafted and taught rules of Biblical interpretation, and why such rules are so insidious, is that, for the most part, they actually place mental and “spiritual blinders” on the reader, by limiting the reader to see only the earthly historical and moral lessons of the Bible.  While the lessons thus drawn can certainly be valid and profitable (as they can be fine, proper, and useful just as we read in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”), the extra restrictions imposed by the “Literal-Grammatical-Historical” method are such that the reader will actually miss the most important key, or higher Heavenly spiritual, meaning from the Bible, and hence will not come to know and have a true understanding. That understanding shows how magnificently and perfectly the Bible was actually crafted by God to reveal the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Bible is always concerned with such spiritual issues such as:

1. Sin versus the Righteousness of God (Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” and Romans 3:10&11, “¶As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.“),
2. Judgment (John 12:48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” and Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:“),
3. Salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2 “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)”), sanctification (1Thessalonian 4:3 “¶For this is the will of God, [even] your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:”), and
4. Service (Romans 12:1&2, “¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.“

On the other hand, the Literal-Grammatical-Historical hermeneutic, which claims that the Bible is written plainly, and is easily understandable, such that anyone can understand…because it only follows the normal rules of human communication, will only lead to confusion, stumbling, and wrong doctrines when it comes to understanding things like election, predestination, the role and means of water baptism, dispensations, and the rapture and end time events, etc. Moreover, the reader who follows such man derived and taught methodology will NEVER gain a true understanding of the Books of Ruth, Esther, Judges 4&5, Jonah, Nahum, the Parables, etc., …and notably also the Book of Revelation (which is so relevant in our day, and which explains why God would loose the devil just prior to Judgment Day).

And it should also be noted that the Book of Revelation is not written in a serial fashion! The Book is NOT Chronological! While that may or may not be the case for “any other book”, the Book of Revelation rather reveals different aspects of the lead up to Judgment Day from multiple perspectives…which can never be understood if Revelation is only read “plainly”.

Humanly crafted and taught rules effectively set limits (boundaries) to what The Infinite Creator and Supreme Omnipotent God could be saying to us in the Bible.  

Such rules thus lower God to man’s earthly level, rather than exalting and glorifying God at the supernatural Heavenly/Spiritual level from which He Reigns.  

Those rules prevent us from seeing that Jesus Christ is the Key of Knowledge, supernaturally interwoven through every portion of the Bible!  Anyone who tells you otherwise is precisely like the blind lawyers of Jesus’s day that we read about in Luke 11:52, “¶Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” Moreover, in Matthew 15:14, we are admonished to “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” (and the ditch is an allegorical reference to Hell).

Whether or not that misdirection is a conscious or unconscious goal of those who teach and preach the Literal-Grammatical-Historical method of Bible interpretation does not matter, as the result will still be the same.  The reader thus taught will have become biased/prejudiced, such that it will prevent the reader (e.g., spiritually blind him or her) from ever understanding the Bible from a higher order perspective as was eternally ordained by The Author, Who perfectly crafted God’s Word, the Bible…and that Author is God Himself through the power of His Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost.  So now the question is, should we read and interpret the Bible as taught by men?… or as taught by God? 

Here’s what the Bible has to say on the subject…In 1 Corinthians 2:13-14, we read “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth: comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man (everyone in the unsaved state) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.” Key to this passage is “comparing spiritual things with spiritual things”…and given that the Bible is Holy, and entirely inspired by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, then that statement is telling us that that we should be comparing Biblical scripture with Biblical scripture to gain God’s Wisdom (which is actually coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ). The Bible is its own interpreter, its own dictionary, its own Wikipedia!  Anyone who claims to have knowledge from the Bible had better not be quoting men, they had better be quoting scripture alone…but even then, you, dear reader, had better be checking out what those preachers and teachers are quoting for yourself, from the Bible alone, as the Berean’s did in the first century in Acts 17:10&11, and earnestly search “the scriptures (the Bible) daily, whether those things were so.“

We must also be mindful of the fact that spiritual discernment is necessary to truly understand the Bible. The anointing of God The Holy Spirit is required to have Jesus revealed to us as is clearly stated in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“ The anointing is of the Holy Spirit Who God the Father sent to the believers to lead them into all truth, and that Truth Is Jesus. John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that]shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Note the consistency with John 14:26, “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” and 1 John 2:20, “¶But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” (“unction” means “anointing”)

God also commands us to both search and study the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments*) so that we might have eternal life.  In John 5:39, Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (Jesus Himself!).”  In 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.“

God provides some exemplar proofs for the validity of the typological/allegorical hermeneutic, which has been applied in the expositions found in these accompanying Bible studies in the Bereansearching Blog.  One proof can be found in the Book of Acts 8:26-35, “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.  And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,  Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.  And Philip ran thither to [him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:  In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.  And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”  

Philip’s focus, being led by God the Holy Spirit, was solely to preach Jesus!

Bear in mind that there are really only two religions in the world…

1. Man derived, or 
2. God revealed. 

The ONLY source of God’s revealed Wisdom and Understanding is the Bible!  All other “wisdom” is man derived and therefore a lie (sourced to the devil) that will only lead to spiritual death in Hell for eternity.

God Makes Extensive Use of Analogy: Earthly Things to Represent Heavenly Things

Today, many theologians dismiss the idea that the majority of the Bible was written in typological/allegorical form.  When confronted with that truth, these same theologians will say that any such interpretations are fancifully derived or even “fantastical”!  However, the fact that God uses temporal/earthly/carnal “allegory,” “figures,” “shadows, “patterns,” “similitudes,” and “ensamples” (“typos” in Greek meaning “examples” or “types“) to convey eternal/heavenly/ spiritual truth (albeit many times in a veiled, mysterious, or secretive manner) is, nonetheless, plainly stated in the Bible as we find in:

Galatians 4:22-31, concerning the typology of the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael (born of the bondwoman, Hagar (Agar in Greek), typifying the result of fleshly works under the law) and Isaac (born of the freewoman, Sarah, typifying the result of Heavenly promise under grace).  God is telling us “plainly” that this Old Testament historical account is in fact an “Historical Parable“. 

“For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he [who was] of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman [was] by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. ¶Now we, breth ren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was born] after the Spirit, even so [it is] now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”

Hosea 12:10, “I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.”

Romans 5:14, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude (ὁμοιότης (homoiotēs))^G3665of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him (Jesus Christ) that was to come.“

Hebrews 7:15, “And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude (ὁμοιότης (homoiotēs))^G3665 of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,“

Note that the Greek word (ὁμοιότης (homoiotēs))^G3665, which is translated as “similitude”, is the same word translated “like as” in Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as (ὁμοιότης (homoiotēs))^G3665 [we are, yet] without sin.” It means to “resemble”, in the “likeness of”, in the “form of”. It seems to be consistent with pointing to Melchizedek as a “Type” to represent Jesus, and most likely Jesus, pre-incarnate (given the attributes of Melchizedek). It should be noted, however, that God does refer to “similitudes” (דָּמָה (dāmâ))^H1819 in the Hebrew Old Testament as we read in Hosea 12:10, “I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.”

Hebrews 8:5, “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.“

Hebrews 9:8&9, “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:  Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;“

Hebrews 9:23, “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.“

Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:“

Hebrews 10:1, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.“

Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]:  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.“

In 1 Timothy 1:16 we see how Paul was used of God as a “pattern” for a sinner saved by grace, “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

1. 1 Corinthians 10:11, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (τύπος (typos))^G5179: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:6, “¶Now these things were our examples ( which in the original Greek is τύπος (typos)G5179, meaning ““examples” or “types“), to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” (These verses are excerpted from God’s warnings to avoid the errors of National Israel found in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13).
2. Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” 
3. 2 Timothy 3:16&17, “¶All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.“

Finally, we must all be fully cognizant of the fact that ALL of Holy Scripture is Holy Spirit breathed as we read in 2 Peter 1:21, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost.“

A “Bible Study Guide” is available that expands on the above and elaborates on only a portion of what God, the Author of the Bible, provides for those whom He graciously blesses with the “eyes to see”, and “the ears to hear” such that they might testify of Jesus and worship God in the spirit of prophesy. See also: the-hearing-ear-and-the-seeing-eye/  Please remember that in Revelation 19:10, we are told where John records: “…the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” 

The Book of Revelation Uses Graphic Imagery to Convey Important Spiritual Truths (Which Are Completely Lost to the Literalist)

How can a literalist understand Revelation 1:14, where we are provided with a vision of Jesus described thusly, “His head and [his] hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.“

The literalist would say this is just a vision and nothing more…Jesus had white hair and brass feet. Is that what God is conveying to us? NO! The vision, using earthly imagery, conveys to us the spiritual truth that Jesus is the Lamb of God, Who was sacrificed to atone for the sins of God’s elect (the true church), and that Jesus had to endure the wrath of God to pay the full price in that atonement which required Jesus to die and endure the fires of Hell’s furnace for the equivalent of eternity. 

And what about the “twoedged sword” that we read about in the next verse in Revelation 1:16? There we read, “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.” If we simply compare scripture with scripture we will immediately realize that it cannot possibly be a literal sword, but, rather, according to Hebrews 4:12, it is the “Word of God” that is coming out of the mouth of Jesus, “For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Please dear reader, search the scriptures, and you will see that this is the true meaning of such textual imagery. And if you still do not see this, then pray that God would give you the spiritual eyes to see and to understand.

Dispensationalism Is Based Heavily on the Literal-Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutic, Leading to Misinterpretation of the End Times

According to Wikipedia, “Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or “dispensations” in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationalists generally maintain a belief in premillennialism, a future restoration of Israel and in a rapture that will happen before the second coming, generally seen as happening before the tribulation.”

Moreover, “Premillennial dispensationalists affirm a future, literal 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ” (which is based on Revelation 20:2-7). Because the “1000 year reign” is rigidly perceived to be literal, the adherents have no choice but to conclude that anything contrary to the dispensational viewpoint is incorrect. As a result, they have permanently placed blinders on themselves, which make it impossible for them to see beyond the literal, even when there is so much more to see and know. The Truth will remain only hidden to them!

There are NOT multiple dispensations!, but rather there are “types” and “shadows”. Old Testament National Israel was created by God as an allegorical “Type” for the Eternal Israel of God, the church made up of both Gentiles and the remnant of national Israel chosen by Grace, and made effectual through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Who is also the literal promised descendent of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David). Jesus is the One and Only Messiah who could meet all of the demands of the Mosaic Law. For more details and proof that God is finished with National Israel, for anything other than an end-times time marker, (Israel is represented by the fig tree in “the parable of the fig tree “), please review the typological/allegorical role of Queen Vashti in the study of the Book of Esther study, and the study on the Holy Temple of God.

Moreover, the historical events recorded in the Bible are not myths or legends upon which the gospel message is derived.  All of the historical events recorded in the Bible (including all of the Old Testament narratives) are literal, and can be trusted as true and factual.  From those historical facts we can derive moral lessons that are plainly understood even to the casual reader.  The Bible also contains specific laws and codes of conduct that provide the best means to govern and benefit human society.  The framers of the United States Constitution wisely drew heavily on those lessons and laws. The proverbs teach us valuable moral lessons.  While such lessons will certainly benefit anyone in this temporal earthly life, neither a knowledge of biblical historical facts, or biblical morality through obedience to God’s laws, will bring that person to salvation. 

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of the historical events, moral lessons, and Levitical laws and ordinances, which are all only temporal/earthly “types” and “shadows,” and therefore have no lasting substance in themselves. The historical events, which are precisely recorded in the Bible, were precisely inscribed in the Bible to convey Spiritual Truth, and are all, in effect, therefore historical parables. And that Spiritual Truth is that Eternal salvation is only a gift of grace by God obtainable through the hearing of, and responding repentant faith in, the Gospel of Jesus Christ; which is the true purpose and lasting substance of the Bible.

It is interesting to note that “dispensationalists”, who claim to take the Bible at its face value, will readily denounce as being “fantastical” those who can show how God uses allegory, but then they have no problem is publicizing the view that the Believers will be suddenly raptured just prior to the Final Tribulation as found in various storylines around the concept of “Left Behind” or “the Great Disappearance“. That is a pretty “fantastical” idea in itself, if anyone really stops to think about it (in light of the entire Bible when it is viewed as one cohesive whole). The dispensationalist concept is that God would rapture away His Eternal Church and leave this sin cursed earth to the devil, as though the human world could possibly continue to function after such a supernatural event as the rapture? This is pure fantasy and it is only possible in fiction novels and Hollywood movies! The rapture will only occur when Jesus returns on Judgment Day!

The fact is, that God will indeed loose the devil on the whole world just prior to the end of time, for a “little season“, as a judgment against the world for its apostasy, both in the churches and in the civil societies at large. Moreover, it may well be that we are already be in that “Great Tribulation”, which Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:21. There are several historical precedents that God provides in the Bible to show how this would be the case (and Esther is one), but perhaps the best is found in Judges 4 & 5, where the end of the world, Judgment Day, also known as the Battle of Armageddon, is clearly pre-figured. May God grant that your spiritual eyes and spiritual ears be opened.

Conclusion

While this Post may give the reader the impression that this author dogmatically believes that there is only one method or level to Bible interpretation, that is neither the case nor the intention of this study.  The point intended is to instruct the reader regarding the most important level, the spiritual, which involves allegories, types, and shadows consistently pointing to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ to build up the Church, the Kingdom of God. And that spiritual level, which is crafted by God the Holy Spirit, cannot be perceived with carnal eyes.

The events recorded in the Bible are not myths or legends upon which the gospel message is derived.  All of the historical events recorded (including all of the Old Testament narratives) are literal, and can be trusted as true facts.  From those historical facts we can derive moral lessons.  The Bible also contains specific laws and codes of conduct that provide the best means to govern and benefit human society.  The framers of the United States Constitution wisely drew heavily on those lessons and laws. The proverbs teach us valuable moral lessons.  While such lessons will certainly benefit anyone in this temporal earthly life, neither a knowledge of biblical historical facts, or biblical morality through obedience to God’s laws, will bring that person to salvation.  Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of the historical events, moral lessons, and Levitical laws and ordinances, which are all only temporal/earthly “types” and “shadows,” and therefore have no lasting substance in themselves. The historical events, which are precisely recorded in the Bible, both happened and were precisely recorded/inscribed within the Bible to convey spiritual truth, and are all, in effect, therefore historical parables.

The majority of the Bible consists of these historical parables, which all point to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ and we know from Proverbs 1:5-7 that, “A wise [man] will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.” And in Psalm 49:3&4 we read, “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and  the meditation of my heart [shall be] of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.”

Jesus Deliberately Spoke Only in Parables…and He Explained Why!

Jesus made it very clear that it was His intent to restrict the understanding of those for whom He did not intend to save. We see this stated openly in Mark 4:10-12, “¶And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.”

And Jesus spoke in parables so that those who only had carnal eyes, would see and not perceive, and moreover, in John 3:12, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?”

Therefore, only if we are being guided by God the Holy Spirit, as a Gift, according to God’s Sovereign Will and Good Pleasure and by God’s Grace Alone, using the process of prayerfully searching and comparing scripture with scripture (comparing spiritual with spiritual) within the context of the whole Bible, can the veil be removed, such that we can begin to see Jesus Christ and His work of salvation for His people that God has inextricably interwoven throughout all His word, the Bible.  Jesus really is the Child of Promise and The Way, The Truth, and The Life.  May all who read this be as the Greeks in John 12:20&21 that came up to the feast to worship and say, “we would see Jesus.”  

Eternal salvation is only a gift of grace by God obtainable through the hearing of, and responding repentant faith in, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Bible student must understand that, in all cases, a “True” understanding of Biblical “parables”, whether historical or illustrative, is entirely dependent on God Alone, through His Holy Spirit.

And be forewarned, just because someone is familiar with the scriptures, does not mean they understand what the scriptures are really saying. When someone tells you that when reading the scriptures… “If the plain sense makes sense, then do not seek any other sense”, then they might just be like the ones described in Proverbs 26:7, “The legs of the lame are not equal: so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools.” and Proverbs 26:9, “[As] a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools.”

May the reader be blessed with hearing ears and seeing eyes.

APPENDIX I: Arguments against the Typological/Allegorical Interpretive Hermeneutic by the literal-Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutic Advocates (with Rebuttals)

The following Question and Answer Dialogue is drawn from an actual discussion with an adherent to the the Literal-Grammatical- Historical method of interpretation

(NOTE to the reader: another dialogue, with a different interlocutor, can be found here: Dialogue)

#1. The Bible treated allegorically becomes putty in the hands of the interpreter. Its charm lies in its flexibility. The interpreter can change the literal and grammatical sense of Scripture to make it coincide with his own system of interpretation. The text becomes swallowed up in the personal theology of the interpreter, rather than allowing the one’s theology to be built from the text.

Rebuttal: The typological/allegorical method is only subjective if the interpreter makes an unsupportable claim from scripture, then yes, “anything” in the Bible “can refer to virtually anything”, and then that sin is upon that person’s head.  The Bible is its own interpreter and any interpretation must be entirely supportable by the Bible alone, by itself, and not from any human’s carnal intellect or bias. To claim that there is nothing more to scripture than that which is found only on the surface is to set limits upon God and such a claim effectively brings God down to humankind’s level. 1 Corinthians 2:13 explicitly states, “¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.“

#2. With the Allegorical method, the Scripture itself is not being interpreted. The issue becomes not what God has spoken, but what the interpreter thinks. In other words, the text becomes servant to the interpreter, rather than the interpreter being subservient to the text. Such interpretations will only lead to “all manner of fanciful speculation”. It does not draw out the legitimate meaning of an author’s language, but rather foists into it whatever the whim or fancy the interpreter may desire.

Rebuttal: The presumption would seem to be that God never crafts history into historical parables that point to God the Father’s Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, but are merely texts with surficial meanings as they appear only in the literal typeface, nothing more.  Without realizing it, those who make such claims undercut, and belie, Jesus’s own exposition of Old Testament Scriptures as we find in the account on the Road to Emmaus.  (Luke 24:27, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.) Please see this exposition: The-Road-To-Emmaus

#3. The Allegorical Interpretive method does not provide any means by which conclusions of the interpreter may be tested. In such an environment, there is no way to determine whose interpretation is correct because there is no longer an objective standard that personal interpretations can be compared to. 

Rebuttal: This statement is completely false, because all one has to do is review the examples set forth in the expositional Bible Studies provided on the https://bereansearching.com website, such as that provided in Jonah, Esther, Ruth, Judges 4 & 5 to see that they are all self-validating using the Bible alone as the ONLY cross-reference. The studies are consistent and academically reproducible, if one only trusts that God Is The Author, and that the consistent theme is to glorify God by pointing to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The expositions found there are both objective and irrefutable, as they were derived solely by searching out and comparing scripture with scripture (“spiritual things with spiritual” or scripture with scripture 1 Corinthians 2:13). Please search them out for yourself, as a Berean, to see if this is a valid claim or not. “Come let us reason together.” Remember what Jesus said in John 5:39, where He was admonishing the Jews said, “Search the scriptures (only the Old Testament in that day); for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”(The “me” being Jesus Christ Himself!), 

#4 This allegorical method of interpretation, which involves “spiritualizing”, is to open the door to almost uncontrolled speculation and imagination, while literal interpretation properly constrains the dictates of the carnal imagination by allowing it to roam only so far. 

Rebuttal: IF the person doing the interpretation of the Bible is using his own carnal mind to derive meaning, then, yes, there would be no limit to the falsehoods that would ensue.  However, the Bible provides us with the necessary constraints, as was mentioned earlier above. In 1 Corinthians 2:13-14, we read “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth:comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man (the carnal man, everyone in the unsaved state) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.” We must compare scripture with scripture and use the Bible is its own interpreter, its own dictionary, its own Wikipedia, but we must also prayerfully rely entirely on God the Holy Spirit to lead us in our searches as we are instructed in Psalm 119:18! The Bible (which is all about Jesus) is God’s Wisdom, not man’s. May God be Glorified!

APPENDIX II: The Revelation of the Spiritual Level is God’s Work Alone!

In 2 Peter 1:20&21, we are told, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost.“, and in 2 Peter 2:1&2, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”  These verses are saying that if anyone gives forth an interpretation out of their own intellect or from the carnal minds of others that have taught them, they are false teachers and the truth is not in them.  (Even more ominous, they will receive the greater condemnation from God for that sin.)  But how are we to know which interpretation is out of a man’s mind as opposed to what God is really saying?  God provides us the answer, out of His Word, the Bible, as follows:

The Bible is a spiritual book!  Referring again back to I Corinthians 2:13, we read, “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.“  And we know from II Samuel 23:2, “The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word [was] in my tongue.”  Clearly the word of God, the Bible, is spiritual, as it was written under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  So if we want to learn the true meaning of any verse, then we need to compare scripture with scripture (spiritual things with spiritual).  Furthermore, any revelation of truth from God’s word (which can only come through the use of this methodology) is solely the work of the Holy Spirit.  That is why in I John 2:27 we read, “But the anointing (of the Holy Spirit) which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of allthings, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”  This is entirely consistent with what we read in John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” See also John 15:26–27, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. 

Note that in John 14:17 that we also read, “[Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” and in 1 John 4:6, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”)

The Gift of the Holy Spirit is Required

The Bible requires Spiritual insight to understand it.  That faculty is only obtained as a gift from God, through the indwelling (or anointing) of His Holy Spirit, The “Spirit of Truth*“.  That action is God’s alone, and is synonymous with the gift of salvation (Acts 5:32, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and [so is] also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.“).  Just as salvation is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:“) so too are our spiritual eyes and ears a gift of God (because we have His Spirit in us witnessing to our spirit as we read in Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:“).  That is why we read in Proverbs 20:12, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.” 

We must have been given the wisdom of God, by God. (James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.“)  This will come when we are truly seeking Him (because He first sought us, see John 6:44) and fear (have reverential awe of) Him.  We are told in Psalms 111:10 that, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom:“, and in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  The more we study God’s word, the Bible, the more, by God’s grace, our faith grows and the spiritually wiser we can become.  In Romans 10:17 we find that, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Furthermore, in Isaiah 50:4, we read, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to [him that is] weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” (This is also consistent with Psalm 40:5&6, “Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.”…and immediately following in verses 7-9, the messianic verses talk about Jesus coming in the volume of the book (the Bible) and His fulfilling work and finishing sacrifice as the sole means by which only we can hope to obtain God’s Salvation.)

Since Proverbs 1:20-23, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.“  For more on “who” this is, please see the Proverbs Chapter 8 study.

The key here is the Spirit that makes God’s Words known to us, which is entirely in accordance with 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“

We must also be mindful of the fact that spiritual discernment is necessary to understand the Bible. The anointing of God The Holy Spirit is required to have Jesus clearly revealed to us as is clearly stated in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“ The anointing is of the Holy Spirit Who God the Father sent to the believers to lead them into all truth, and that Truth Is Jesus. John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that]shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Note the consistency with John 14:26, “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” and 1 John 2:20, “¶But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” (“unction” means “anointing”)

Side Note:  It is quite interesting to find in Exodus chapter 31, when God looked for a man of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, that God told Moses the following starting in verses 2-5:“See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.”

God called the man, and God filled the man (Uri) with His Holy Spirit in order for that man to have “wisdom” and “understanding” and “knowledge” to do the service of the Lord in the building of God’s Holy Habitation (represented by the earthly tabernacle).  It is a parable that we must heed, because, just as we are told in Psalms 127, verse 1: “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it, except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” That house (and city) represents the Church, as Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 , “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

BTW…Bezaleel (which means “in the shadow of God“; e.g., “under his protection”), the son of Uri (which means “my light”), the son of Hur (no known definition, but from the Bible (Exodus 17:10-12) we know that Hur was the only other person to accompany Moses and Aaron up the hill and helped Aaron in supporting Moses’ arms), of the tribe of Judah (meaning “Praised” and Jesus was from the tribe of Judah ).  We see therefore that Bezaleel ultimately represents the Lord Jesus Christ.

Plain Sense?

As was mentioned earlier, the adherents to the Literal-Grammatical-Historical method of interpretation claim that if the plain sense makes sense then we are to seek no other sense. So one would have to question how such a person would deal with 1 Coritnthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” The plain sense is simple…in Adam “everyone” dies under the curse of sin brought into the world by Adam, and in Jesus Christ “everyone” goes to Heaven. Is that correct?

NO, Absolutely NOT! We have to compare scripture with scripture to see that the “all” in Jesus Christ refers only to the “all” who God “predestinated” to be saved Ephesians 1:11. Moreover, in Matthew 7:13&14, Jesus explicitly states that “many” go to destruction, but a “few” find the gate that leads to eternal life (and the Gate (“Door”) is Jesus John 10:9).

So, therefore, interpreting scripture using “the plain sense” will only lead to error and confusion.

Some additional thoughts:

It is clear from Hebrews 10:7 that Psalm 40:7&8 is referring to Jesus as we find, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” because Psalm 40:7, tells us, “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book [it is] written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law [is] within my heart.” The “volume of book” is the Bible, and therefore we must see Jesus because the Bible is Spiritually written of Him!

*The Spirit of Truth

John 14:16&17, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

1 John 4:6, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

1 John 5:6, “This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.“

POSTSCRIPT: Do you only hear “thunder” or God’s voice from Heaven?

Interestingly enough there are several times in the Bible where God spoke and most people only heard thunder, while others heard a “voice” (from Heaven). Why was that? It is because actual literal thunder that comes immediately after lightning is an earthly metaphor for God’s voice. The problem is that few hear God’s voice speaking to them. Let us look at a few passages to see how this is the case:

Job 37:2-5, “Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound [that] goeth out of his mouth. He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.” No one can understand or comprehend the voice of God unless He first makes it possible.

Job 40:9, “Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?“

Psalm 77:18, “The voice of thy thunder [was] in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.“

Psalm 104:7, “At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.“

Revelation 14:2, “And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:“

In John 12:28&29, Jesus said, “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, [saying], I have both glorified [it], and will glorify [it] again.¶The people therefore, that stood by, and heard [it], said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.”

And what about “Hearing His Voice”?

Hebrews 3:7, “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in [their] heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)“

Hebrews 3:15, “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.“

Hebrews 4:7, “Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.“

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