Gary begins a short course on hermeneutics—the art and practice of interpretation—on today’s podcast.
The Bible can be an intimidating book, but it doesn’t have to be. We must be like the Bereans who examined “the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
Too often, Christians rely on so-called Bible experts and complicated charts that include gaps in time, outrageous literal interpretations, and numerous claims that current events are prime indicators that the end is near. Many Christians are unaware that the same Bible passages have been used in nearly every generation as proof that the end or some aspect of the end would take place “soon.”
For nearly 2000 years Christians have attempted to read and interpret Scripture through the lens of current events without paying close attention to audience relevance, specific time indicators, the literal translation and comparison of specific words found in prophetic texts, and the transition between the Old and New Testaments.
A Beginner's Guide to Interpreting Bible Prophecy
With so much prophetic material in the Bible—somewhere around 25% of the total makeup of Scripture—it seems difficult to argue that an expert is needed to understand such a large portion of God’s Word and so many ‘experts’ could be wrong generation after generation. A Beginner’s Guide to Interpreting Bible Prophecy has been designed to help Christians of all ages and levels of experience to study Bible prophecy with confidence.
Buy NowHermeneutics is the art and practice of interpretation. We use hermeneutics every day whether we realize it or not. We interpret not only the words people say, but how they say them and in what context. Understanding the Bible requires the same carefulness and deliberateness that we apply to the words and actions we encounter and interpret in our everyday lives.