The Bible and Life

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

A Little Bit About Jesus

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Here is a little about Jesus Christ. The Lord of lords and the King of kings.

Jesus was prophesied for thousands of years more than anyone else. The Bible is about Jesus.

He was born in a manger and poor. He can relate to poor people.

Jesus was born with sheep because He is the good shepherd. Sheep may be dumb, but they knew a good shepherd when they saw one.

Jesus was born poor in a barn, but kings came to give Him gifts.

Jesus was born in Israel, but kings traveled hundreds of miles by foot to gift Him.

Other kings tried to kill Him, but God took care of Him.

As a baby He lived in Egypt, but the world could not affect Him.

He moved to Nazareth to fulfill prophecy.

At 12 years old He instructed priests in the Temple.

He honored His mother and father. He created wine from water because His mother asked.

William James Roop

Saturday, January 29, 2022

What Happened To Pontius Pilate?

This Roman governor is one of the most hated figures in the Christian religion

Pontius Pilate was definitely a real historical figure. We know this because in 1961, an inscribed slab of limestone was found in Caesarea Maritima (modern-day Israel) and it stated that he was the Roman governor of Judaea under the reign of Emperor Tiberius and during the time when Jesus was alive. Documents relating to his governorship have also been found among ancient texts in Rome.

According to the Four Gospels of Christianity, Pilate oversaw the trial of Jesus after he had been accused of treason by the Sanhedrin Jewish council. The charges of treason existed because Jesus had called himself the “King of all Jews,” something that was illegal while Judaea was under Roman occupation. However, the council really wanted Jesus gone because he was gaining followers fast and they considered him a political threat.

Pilate had been the governor of that part of the Roman empire since 26 AD (and would continue to be until 36 AD). During that time, he hadn’t managed Judaea very well. He’d ordered the introduction of many pagan symbols in sacred Jewish institutions, thus angering the local populace. So by the time Jesus was brought before him, he wasn’t in a position to anger them any further.

He had a talk with Jesus and apparently, he initially found him innocent. But the crowd outside the courthouse shouted that they wanted him dead and Pilate eventually caved and gave them what they wanted. Jesus was whipped to the bone, made to wear a crown of thorns, and crucified. Then he rose again three days after his death, proving to his followers that he really was the son of God (again, according to scriptures).

And so Christianity continued to grow until it became the religion with the largest following in the world. But despite the important role Pontius Pilate played in its origin, the majority of people today don’t know anything about the rest of his life.

So What Became of Pilate After the Crucifixion?
According to most historical texts, Pilate and the Roman Empire as a whole were not particularly affected by the supposed miracle of Christ’s resurrection in 30 or 33 AD. The next few years were business as usual for them.

The Four Gospels may have maintained that Pilate was simply a ruler who could easily be swayed by public opinion — as outlined above — but other historical (non-religious) sources assert that he was quite heartless and brutal in general. There were numerous other accused rebels who subsequently met a similar fate to Jesus under his rule. You see, the Roman Empire had laws that outlined appropriate punishments for any crime, but those laws only applied to its citizens. And the people of Judaea were not citizens so Pilate could be as cruel as he wanted.

This narrative is supported by the writings of Philo of Alexandria — a Jewish philosopher — who summarized the governor’s reign in 50 AD as having been marked by “briberies, insults, robberies, outrages and wanton injuries, executions without trial, constantly repeated, ceaseless and supremely grievous cruelty.”

Other historical records also detail how at one point, Pilate stole funds from a Jewish temple and used them to build an aqueduct to Jerusalem. When the local populace found out, they protested outside Pilate’s town hall. So he had soldiers dressed as civilians infiltrate the unarmed crowd and then beat a bunch of the protesters to death using clubs.

As you can probably tell by now, Pilate was not really a benevolent or popular governor at all. But his crowning failure occurred when a bunch of Samaritans were looking for artifacts that were supposed to have been buried by the Prophet Moses near Mount Gerizim. Pilate mistook their gathering there as a potential insurrection so he sent his soldiers to massacre them — even though the Samaritans were unarmed.

Some of the survivors later complained about this to the Roman governor of Syria, Lucius Vitellius, and Pilate was soon recalled to Rome to be judged by Tiberius. That’s why his term as governor ended in 36 AD. However, while he was on his way, Tiberius died of old age and was replaced by Caligula. Most Roman emperors at the time were not in the habit of honoring all the appointments of their predecessors, and Caligula, in particular, was not too concerned with legal matters so the trial never happened.

Pilate just retired from politics and survived on a state pension and whatever money he stole from the people of Judaea. He died at an unknown date either in modern-day France or Switzerland.

After his death, a great amount of lore spread through Europe about Pilate. You see, the Roman Empire didn’t embrace Christianity until the rule of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century. So the early Christians constructed a new narrative about Christ’s crucifixion that didn't portray the corrupt former Roman governor in a bad light. They just wanted to avoid being persecuted any more than they already were.

But this had unintended consequences: the Jews were blamed for Jesus’ death instead. Fake letters that were supposedly written by Pilate began to be circulated among believers as early as the 2nd century. They portrayed him as a kind soul who also converted to Christianity. Other accounts such as the “Acts of Pilate” detailed how Pilate supposedly said, “I have found in [Christ] no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

But the Jewish crowd wanted him dead and argued against this by declaring, “His blood be on us and our children!” As in, they’ll take responsibility for killing the son of God. If this sounds ludicrous to you, that’s probably because it is. This quote was composed hundreds of years after Christ’s death and as already stated, its purpose was to shift the blame from Pilate to the Jews.

However, it was for this reason that during the subsequent millennia, Jews all over the world would often be persecuted by (some) Christians.

When the Roman Empire finally became Christian, the blame for Jesus’ death was reassigned to Pontius Pilate. Monks wrote new manuscripts which stated that he had been punished by God and was executed or committed suicide upon returning to Rome. But the damage — regarding the Gospels which blamed the Jews — was already done.

And in reality, for all the crimes he had committed, Pilate never suffered any punishment (except perhaps eternal damnation). This article was not written by me, but by an unknown author on the internet.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Hospice Care and Life

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Saturday, January 15, 2022

Soteriology

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Here is a subject often taught in Bible colleges around the world. Since most people cannot go to Bible college, I am sharing this teaching to everyone.

What Is Soteriology, and Why Should Every Christian Know This Term?
“Soteriology” isn’t the kind of word you see in a sermon title. It’s definitely not a word directly from Bible. But without the concepts this term describes, the Bible would be a far shorter book—and a far sadder story.

What Is the meaning of Soteriology? Soteriology is the doctrine of salvation. In short, it describes why we need saving, who saves us, how he saves us, and the purpose we’ve been saved for.

Topics such as redemption, propitiation, justification, and sanctification all fall under the umbrella of soteriology. Many heresies, such as the debate about the Trinity is soteriological.

That all sounds important, but it also sounds like a dictionary of theology definitions. Would the average Christian really benefit from studying soteriology? After all, everything comes down to Acts 2:38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV). Some would say that this is the plan of salvation. The real plan of Salvation is actually found in Acts 2:38, so yes we do need to learn about Soteriology!

If we know Christ, and we know about his sacrifice, do we really need to know why it works?

What Is the Difference between Christology and Soteriology?
Soteriology is about salvation. Christology is about the Savior. Each subject informs the other—but there is a reason they each have their own field of study.

Acts 2:38 is a powerful summary of Christ’s work on the cross, and it gets to the heart of God’s plan for salvation: the Savior. But what did the Savior save us from? Why couldn’t we save ourselves? What are we being saved for?

Salvation is the story of how God restored us to a right relationship with him. And that story isn’t limited to Acts 2:38, or even the New Testament—it fills the Bible cover to cover.

What Does the Bible Say about Soteriology?
Soteriology’s premise is that humanity needs salvation from sin. If we don’t understand what we’ve lost through sin, how can we understand what we gain through salvation?

Genesis 1-2 describes God’s perfect creation and humanity’s perfect relationship with God, creation, and each other. But in Genesis 3, humanity broke each of those relationships with sin. Instead of trusting God, we hid from him (Genesis 3:8). Our relationships with each other devolved into selfishness and conflict (Genesis 3:12, 16). Even creation itself groaned from the burdens of sin, suffering, and death our actions caused (Genesis 3:17-19, Romans 8:19-22). The rest of Scripture describes humanity’s attempts to restore these relationships—and God’s grand plan for a solution.

In the Old Testament, that solution appears to be the nation of Israel. Humanity had a terrible track record (Genesis 4-11), but there was still hope. After all, individual humans such as Abel, Enoch, Job, and Noah had lived righteous lives. Perhaps a select group of people could learn to follow God and set an example for the world. Perhaps someday, the world could be saved through them (Genesis 12:1-3).

In Exodus and Leviticus, God gave Israel detailed instructions on how to avoid sin and pursue righteousness—and even how to atone for sin through animal sacrifice. For centuries, God guided Israel through this Law and through sending leaders and prophets to hold them accountable. But time and again, Israel failed.

YHWH warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.” But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in YHWH their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although YHWH had ordered them, “Do not do as they do” (2 Kings 17:13-15, NIV).

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:30-32, NIV),

I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces—to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust (Hosea 6:5-7, NLT).

Even with clear instructions on how to live holy lives and a clear system to atone for sin, God’s chosen people followed Adam’s sinful footsteps. God pleaded with them and shouted at them through the prophets. He punished them (drought, plague, exile, etc.) to lead them to repentance. But even with prophets’ guidance, a beautiful temple, and sacrifice after sacrifice, something still wasn’t working.

Had God’s plan of salvation failed?

The truth was the Old Testament sacrificial system was never meant to be the solution. Instead, it was meant to prepare the way for something better. The sacrificial system reminded humanity of the gravity of sin. It helped humanity understand the need for propitiation, a payment for sin.

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4, ESV).

After hundreds of years of trying and failing to overcome sin through human struggle and imperfect animal sacrifice, humanity was shown how much they needed God’s help. And in their desperation, God pointed to the solution he’d planned all along—the Messiah.

Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and YHWH has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth (Isaiah 53:4-7).

Jesus came as a perfect sacrifice—the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29)! And it’s because of the Old Testament that we can understand what “Lamb of God” means and why a lamb was necessary. We needed someone who could carry “the punishment that brought us peace.”

Adam and Eve failed. The people before the flood failed. Israel failed. Their sacrifices failed. But by showing us time and again that humanity couldn’t overcome sin on our own, God prepared us to accept salvation as his free gift.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23, ESV).

That’s a glorious, life-changing truth! But soteriology doesn’t stop with the moment of salvation. After all, the Bible doesn’t stop with Resurrection Sunday. There’s still an important question soteriology seeks to answer: what have we been saved for?

Why Is the Doctrine of Salvation so Crucial to Christianity? The purpose of soteriology is to help us understand just how much God has done for us. And perhaps the most forgotten part about salvation is that God’s work in us doesn’t end at the cross.

Our guilt ends at the cross. Our sin’s condemnation ends at the cross. Our separation from God ends at the cross. But our journey with God has only begun.

After freeing us from sin’s punishment, God begins to free us from sin’s control. The Holy Spirit becomes our guide, leading us in the process of sanctification: becoming more like Christ. This is what we have been saved for. To live joyful lives of freedom, pursuing righteousness not out of fear, but out of a love for God and others (Mark 12:30-31; Galatians 5:13).

This is what God meant when his prophets said lavish sacrifice paled in comparison to love, justice, and humility (Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8). God isn’t content to simply free us from punishment through sacrifice. He wants us free from sin itself. He wants to give us a new life full of love and purpose.

That’s why soteriology is so important. If we start and stop with Acts 2:38, we miss the beauty and purpose of God’s greater plan—or worse, we fail to live it to its fullest.

Not every Christian needs to have a firm stance on the Oneness of God. Not every Christian needs to know the official names of every heresy. But every Christian should know why we need saving, who saves us, how he saves us, and the purpose we’ve been saved for .I found this article on the internet and thought I should share it. It was originally written by Tim Pietz, but I had to heavily edit it, to clean up the false doctrine, and poorly selected Scripture verses.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Volunteer Stories

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Swimming In The Mediterranean

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

I was up in Wisconsin with my wife and mother, visiting my mother's family, who still lives up there. We were staying with my Aunt and Uncle, Jerry and Nancy Mankowski, who are still living in the old farmhouse.

One afternoon we are sitting around the kitchen table telling stories. Jerry was telling about his old Navy days back in the fifties. He served on the destroyer USS Wadleigh, DD 689. Wild board that ship they went on a Mediterranean cruise.

They stopped in many ports throughout the Mediterranean when they were there. One of the places they went was off the coast of Israel and Lebanon. Country of Lebanon was having political issues. The USS Wadleigh was assigned to cruise, very slowly, at only five knots an hour, up and down the coast of Lebanon and Israel.

Those two countries are very small so going very slow is not a problem. While they're sailing up the coast, the captain ordered crew swimming! That means the crew can take turns jumping into the sea for a swim. Times of cruise swimming was very popular among the crew. It was also very rare for that captain to give that order.

Uncle Jerry has a lot of stories from his Navy days, it seems it was a good memory for him. I can understand that I spent four years in the United States Air Force in the eighties, and I have lots of good memories from those days as well.

William James Roop

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Volunteer Stories

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Ascension

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

I received this in a text from a friend. He found it on the net.

When will the church be taken up to heaven in the face of great tribulation?

The Answer:

The timing of the church's ascension to heaven is one of the most controversial issues among Christians today. There are basically three theories about this:

!. Before the tribulation (the ascension of the church to heaven will take place before the last tribulation)

2. In the midst of the tribulation Seeds.

3. After the tribulation (the ascension of the church will take place after the last tribulation).

4. The fourth doctrine is commonly known as "before the wrath" which is a slightly modified version of the second doctrine (the doctrine of the church being raised in the midst of trouble). First of all, it is very important to know the purpose of the last trouble. According to Daniel 9:27, there is still a period of seventy "weeks" (seven years) to come. And Daniel's Seventy Week Prophecy (Daniel 9: 20-27) speaks entirely of Israel. This will be the time when God will focus on Israel in particular. In the same way, the seventy weeks, the last tribulation, must be the time when God will deal with Israel in particular. Although this prophecy does not explicitly indicate that the church could not exist on earth at that time, it does raise the question of why the church needs to exist on earth at that time.

The most important Scriptural reference to the ascension of the church to heaven is 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18. This passage states that all living believers and with them all believers who will be resurrected will meet the Lord Jesus in the air and will be with him forever. God lifted his people from the earth

The term "church ascension" is used to refer to the English term rapture. After some verses, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 "For God hath not ordained us to wrath, but to be saved through our Lord Jesus Christ." The book of Revelation, which primarily deals with the last days of the tribulation, is a prophetic message about how God will send His wrath upon the earth in the last tribulation. It is contrary to the nature of God to promise believers that He will not fall into wrath and then leave them on earth to go through the wrath of the last tribulation. The fact that God first promises to save Christians from wrath seems to be linked to these two events and then promises to raise His people from the earth shortly thereafter.

Another very important reference to the time of the church's resurrection is Revelation 3:10 in which Christ promises to save believers in "the hour of trial" that is to come on earth. This could mean two things: either Christ will protect believers during trials or He will save believers from trials. Both meanings are correct according to the Greek word translated "from". However, it is important to know what believers are promised protection from. And this is not just a trial, but a "time" of trial. Christ promises to keep believers safe from the time of trials and tribulations. The purpose of the last tribulation, the purpose of the resurrection of the church, the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 and the interpretation of Revelation 3:10 all clearly support the doctrine of "the resurrection of the church before the great tribulation." If the Bible is interpreted literally and consistently, then the doctrine of 'before the tribulation' is more in tune with the teachings of the Bible than any other doctrine.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Monday, January 7, 2019

Gog and Magog

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Gog and Magog

“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth…”[1] All of the chess pieces of mankind will be set upon the table of the earth to play the last hand of man’s dramatic history. But it will be the hand of God that will be playing the pieces at the end. Mankind has had thousands of years to make his move, only to play the war, violence and rebellion against his God moves. It’s always been funny how man has the audacity to think that the earth is his and he is the only player. But in the “Last days,” God will “putting the hooks” and dragging human pieces into place to end our sinful and rebellious history His way. Understanding this endgame is very important for all of us, but especially among the saints of the Most High. I receive a great deal of comfort knowing that I am in God’s majestic hands. I feel safe knowing that my future is already planned out.

Magog, Meshech and Tubal are all in the present land of Turkey.[2] With Gog being their leader and these lands being mentioned first in the thirty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel, this leads me to believe that the leader of Turkey will form an alliance to attack Israel. Turkey currently has a half million man army that is a NATO member and is a first world military. Turkey currently has seven million military aged men that could be quickly drafted for a larger operation. With Russian allies (Gomer), they could form a formable Northern Alliance. Persia, which is currently in Syria, which also has a half million man military with eight million men that could be drafted. Both of these countries mentioned in the thirty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel would form a very powerful Northern Alliance. A million man army with potential millions behind them. Add a few more allies like the Russians, Syrians and maybe the Lebanese we have a potent force.

The Southern Alliance, controlled by Gog of Magog (Turkey) would consist of Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Palestine and Ethiopia, would form a much smaller and less powerful force than the Northern one. On its own it would form a definite threat to “land of unwalled villages (Ez 38:11), but not a fatal one. But combined with the Northern Alliance, this would be an overwhelming attack of the land of Israel.

This major military conflict would come before the unveiling of the anti-Christ and the beast. Satan will have us ignorant and prideful man to do his bidding and use them to try and destroy God’s people. The anti-Christ and the beast will be revealed just after this large military campaign that God will win for His people. Then we will have the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the two witnesses, the seven bowls. The anti-Christ and the beast will team up for the final battle at the end of the tribulation period. The final battle, the battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:16), will usher in the thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth.

Before God’s entire plan for the last days, God will catch away His saints upon the earth for the marriage supper of the Lamb. God’s people have suffered enough on this earth and in this life and He will see to it that His people are caught up to be with Him. Some have said that the rapture is mentioned in the fourth chapter of Revelation. “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”[3] But, this is a revelation of John’s vision; this does in no way refer to all saints on the earth. It would be nice if it was but I do not see it in the context. Just because John was caught up to heaven does not mean that we will be caught up at the same time as this vision is in the book of Revelation.

In Isaiah chapters eleven and twelve we read Isaiah’s prophecy about the eventual return of the Jewish captives back to Israel. This is actually a juxtaposition of the Jewish return to Israel and the return of Jesus Christ to Israel to save His people and return as their King. We can see this in the chapter. “…and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”[4] Also, “The wolf also shall dwell with the Lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”[5] This is clearly a scene in the future Millennium Kingdom, not during the Tribulation period. As Isaiah painted a hopeful future for the eventual returning Jews in Israel, he also was showing us our future in the distant Millennium Kingdom.

So, Satan will try to use man to destroy Israel in the beginning of the Tribulation period and will be defeated by our Lord. At the end of the Tribulation period Satan will try again to invade Israel and Jesus Christ will return in person to destroy the armies of Satan and the world and usher in the Millennium Kingdom.

[1]Bible; KJV EZ 38:1-4.

[2]Wikipedia.

[3]Bible, KJV; Revelation 4:1.

[4]Bible, KJV; Isaiah 11:4.

[5]Bible, KJV; Isaiah 11:6.

William J. Roop, M.A.B.S.

Apostolic Theological Seminary

My hospice blog

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Monday, April 15, 2013

Biblical Hermeneutics

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Biblical Hermeneutics

Google commons

Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation. Therefore, Biblical hermeneutics is the science of Biblical interpretation. Most people think that all they need to do is to read the Bible and they will fully understand it. As with all literature, this is simply not true. We must know the author, understand why he is writing on this subject, and understand his style of writing to understand the work. With the Bible this is even more complicated since the Bible is a compilation of sixty-six books written by forty different authors, writing in different styles and in different time periods. Also, the Bible has within it history, poetry, personnel letters, a book of advice, a song book, and much prophecy.

“In its technical meaning, hermeneutics is often defined as the science and art of biblical interpretation. Hermeneutics is considered a science because it has rules and these rules can be classified into an orderly system. It is considered an art because communication is flexible, and therefore a mechanical and rigid application of rules will sometimes distort the true meaning of a communication.” “To be a good interpreter one must learn the rules of hermeneutics as well as the art of applying those rules.”

Google commons

If we do not interpret the Bible correctly, we will misinterpret God’s Word. Then, it will no longer be God’s Word, but only our own words. Nobody cares about our words because they are not important, but God’s Words are everything. Nobody likes to have his or her words taken out of context. This is especially the fact with God. People who intentionally misinterpret the Word of God are involuntary agents for the dark side. The Bible is God’s Truth and Light but only if it is handled correctly and with skill. In Jesus’ day the Pharisees did just that and were rebuked for being ignorant (Matthew 22:29). Let us not fall into the same trap!

Every morning I like to drink a cup of coffee and read the newspaper. I think that is how most people start off their day. Well, anyone who reads the newspaper every day will understand that a paper will always have a political slant. Some papers in the United States are conservative but most tend to be liberal. This affects how the news is interpreted and written in the paper. A reader must consider the editor of the paper, the owner, the journalist, and of what country they are from. All of this affects the outlook of the paper and the writing which goes into it. All of this must be understood by the reader or he shall be led astray by others political viewpoint. The same could be made by books. Shakespeare was a fine author, but if you understood the man and how he wrote, you can understand his writing in a much fuller manner, and his work will come alive for us. That is called Shakespearean hermeneutics.

God’s Word is even more important. We must understand all of the principles involved to fully understand what God is telling us. The Bible student will discover that if they will follow these basic hermetical principles that the Scripture will literally interpret itself. God has written His Word so that even the most simple among us can easily read and understand for himself. Once we read and understand, then it is our responsibility to apply the knowledge to our lives for our edification. When we edify ourselves then we will edify the Church.

There may be many applications of Scripture but there is only one interpretation. That is the interpretation that God intended it to have. While reading the Bible we interpret it using the literal method unless the text implies otherwise. The literal method means to understand using everyday normal language that has the everyday straight forward meaning. If I said that there is a cow in the field eating that is exactly what I mean. Because the inspired writers of the New Testament quoted hundreds of verses using the literal method, it could even be said that it is the approved method of the Holy Spirit. When ever Jesus or the church leaders used the Old Testament they always used the literal sense. There is figurative language, poetry and even a few allegories used in Scripture. But these literary tools are only used to enhance the literal true. These figures of speech must be located, understood why they are being used, and interpret them correctly.

For example, symbols, if the verse is not clearly symbolic, no symbolism should be forced upon it. If it is clearly symbolic, the symbols must be interpreted literally. Sometimes angels are symbolized as stars. But we understand that angels are a literal entity. Here in the United States we live in a Jesus saturated culture that is biblical illiterate! There is a church on every street corner filled with Bibles. Most private homes have at least one Bible inside. Yet, only a small minority of people have actually read the book in it’s entirely. In our soup opera culture and with so little biblical knowledge is a recipe for wild stories and false doctrines preached by spiritual snake oil salesmen in the world and even within the church.

When the children of Israel returned from captivity they were ignorant of God’s Law. They had been living in bondage in Babylon and were now speaking another language Aramaic. Ezra, the priest had to read the Law to the people and give the proper interpretation. “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). Ezra and the Priests did not just leave the reading of the law to chance; they “distinctly gave the sense” and “caused them to understand.” That is what Biblical Hermeneutics can do for us today. It can give us the sense and cause us to understand God’s Word.

William James Roop

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying