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How to Interpret the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy

How to Interpret the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Adapted from James Zackrison “How to use and Interpret the Bible and the Writings of Ellen White” Church Growth resource series. I. The Nature, Purpose, and Authority of the Bible. 1. The place of the Bible.

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How to Interpret the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy

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  1. How to Interpret the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy Adapted from James Zackrison “How to use and Interpret the Bible and the Writings of Ellen White” Church Growth resource series

  2. I. The Nature, Purpose, and Authority of the Bible

  3. 1. The place of the Bible • Christianity is a revealed religion. • God made it possible for us to “know him” in a personal way. • Ps 119:11

  4. 2. Revelation • “revelo” – to remove the veil, to manifest, to discover… • Definition: the auto-manifestation of God to the human being, without that we will never come to know Him. • Revelation is an act of God. • The word is used to describe special audible or visual interventions by God into human history.

  5. 2. Revelation There are two categories of revelation • General • Nature • Conscience • History • Special • Scriptures – John 5:39 • Jesus – Hebrews 1:1-3 • Miracles – John 5:36 • Others – Daniel 2:27-28

  6. 3. Inspiration • “Theopneustos” – breath of God, divine air in movement - 2Tim 3:16 • Is what happens to a Bible writer and is a major key to understanding how the Bible is put together and how it affects our personal lives. • How inspiration functions – Rev 1:1-3 • 2Peter 1:19-21

  7. 3. Inspiration Theories of Inspiration: • Natural • Partial • Verbal • Dynamic – SDA position

  8. 4. Illumination • Means that anyone who reads and studies the Scripture needs the help of the Holy Spirit in order to understand and interpret correctly what he or she is reading or studying. • John 14:26

  9. 5. Books of the Bible • Old Testament (39 Books) • Law – Pentateuch • History / Psalms • Prophecy • New Testament (27 Books) • Gospels • Acts / Epistles • Universal Epistles • Revelation

  10. 5. Books of the Bible • Approximately 44 authors • 1,500-year period • 1st: Job/Genesis – Moses (circa 1,450 BC) • Last: Revelation/Gospel of John – John (96 AD)

  11. 6. The authority of the Bible • In the Bible, God is not just making suggestions, He is telling us what to believe and how to behave. • 1Peter 1:25 “The word of the Lord stands forever”

  12. 6. The authority of the Bible • The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will.

  13. 6. The authority of the Bible • They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God’s acts in history.” Fundamental Beliefs, no 1

  14. II. Hermeneutics: How to Interpret the Bible

  15. II. How to Interpret the Bible • Basic Principles of interpretation • Some challenges to interpret the Bible

  16. II. How to Interpret the Bible • Basic Principles of interpretation • The Bible is its own interpreter. • Scriptures means just what it says unless there is obvious reason to think otherwise.

  17. II. How to Interpret the Bible • Basic Principles of interpretation • The Bible is a divine-human book. (what did it mean then, and what does it mean now?) • The difference between - interpretation: To find out what it actually says - application: to relate it to everyday Christian living

  18. II. How to Interpret the Bible • 2. Some challenges to interpret the Bible (home-made rules of interpretations) • Your own personal opinion • Your personal tradition • The authority you feel the church has • Your personal hobbyhorse

  19. III. Tools for Bible Study

  20. III. Tools for Bible Study • Bible • Concordance • Bible Dictionaries • Bible Encyclopedias • Bible Handbooks • Bible Commentaries

  21. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White

  22. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 1. The Gift of Prophecy and its role in the life of the Church • One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the gift of prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Fund. Belief no 17)

  23. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 2. The Gift of Prophecy in the Bible • A spokesperson for God • “prophet” means one who speaks forth God’s message (Deut 18:14-21) • The process is outlined in Rev 1:1-3

  24. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 2. The Gift of Prophecy in the Bible • God communicates generally through dreams and visions (Num 12:6) • The gift of prophecy is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to receive and communicate an immediate message from God to His people through a divinely-anointed utterance. (C. Peter Wagner)

  25. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 2. The Gift of Prophecy in the Bible • It is not be treated with contempt (1Thess 5:20) • It is to be tested (1Thess 5:21) • Whoever receives a prophet because they are a prophet gets a prophet’s reward (Matt 10:41) • Have faith in his prophets and you will be successful (2Chron 20:20)

  26. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 3. Principles of interpretation • Dealing with the authority • - The counsels provide an authoritative voice distinguishing between truth and error.

  27. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 3. Principles of interpretation • Dealing with the inspiration • - Keep in mind the nature of inspiration.

  28. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 3. Principles of interpretation • Dealing with the what not to do • There are no degrees of inspiration. • The counsels are not given to take place of faith, initiative, hard work, creativity, or Bible study. • Do not use to prove preconceived opinions. • Don’t use unauthenticated statements.

  29. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 3. Principles of interpretation • Dealing with interpretation • Study all available counsels on the subject. • Study specific counsels in their setting. • Take into account the time and place of specific counsels. • Find the underlying principles and seek to apply them today.

  30. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 3. Principles of interpretation • Dealing with interpretation • Time does not invalidate the principles revealed. • Recognize that the counsels are scientifically sound. • Recognize that some things are hard to understand.

  31. IV. How to use and interpret the writings of Ellen White • 3. Principles of interpretation • Dealing with worldwide application • The counsels are worldwide in scope.

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