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The Obama Deception Video, Deceiver Or Saviour?

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Not since the days of the Gladston Holder columns in the Barbados media have Barbadians been kept abreast of the occurrences which involve the Council for Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission or even the Bilderberg family influence on world politics. Barbadians, including the media appear to be very comfortable ferreting world news from CNN and the BBC.

BU like millions around the world have been enthralled by the new entrant to the White House. President Barack Obama is without question a departure from the old guard. Some say any perceive change should only be taken as token. Many of the appointments in the Obama government represent prominent individuals who have worked in Washington in the recent past and are regarded as part of the status quo. For example, there is the influential position of Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, the former head of the Federal Reserve of New York. How can Geithner be responsible for changing Wall Street when he is a product of the system?

The video above is one hour and 53 minutes long and paints an intriguing picture of Obama and the shadow government which runs the US government. While BU is inclined to ask questions we are not sure we fully buy in to the positions expressed in the video.

What do you think?

Thanks to BU family member Hopi!

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725 responses to “The Obama Deception Video, Deceiver Or Saviour?”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    HOW TO INTERPRET THE HOLY BIBLE (CONTINUED)”
    The third step is to study the passage itself. After getting the historical, cultural, geographical, political, and religious background of the writer and the recipients of a book of the Holy Bible, it is time to look at the verse itself. Again, we must emphasize that context is important. You have already studied the historical and cultural context, and now the words themselves must be studied and put into their written context.

    Study Tip: In order to understand a passage, first:1. Read the whole book of the Holy Bible several times. Read the entire book through at one time if possible.2. Get an idea of the course of thought in the book. Follow the line of reasoning, the organization of the thought of the writer.3. Study the individual words themselves.4. Put all the information together so that you can restate the passage in your own words, using all the information from historical and cultural context and the written context. Rewrite the passage so that it tells you exactly what it told the original hearers.

    “MEANING OF THE WORDS”
    Let us discuss first of all the matter of the study of the words. Do not assume that you know the full meaning of any word in the passage. Even very little words may carry very important meaning. For instance, when you read in John 14:16 that God will send “another” comforter, do not assume you know what “another” means. In the Greek language there were two words for “another.” One of them meant “one of a different kind” and one of them meant “another of the same kind.” If I hand you a mango and then you ask for “another fruit,” I will hand you a banana if I think you mean “one of a different kind” but will give you another mango if I think you mean “another of the same kind.” When Jesus promised that God would send “another” comforter, did He mean that He would send one of a different kind or another of the same kind? He meant that He would send another comforter of the very same kind. You see, it is important for you to know the meaning of every word. Study Tip: When studying a verse, I take a notebook and write each word of the verse, putting only three words on a page, putting them along the left side of the page with lots of space between them. This gives me the room to write information I collect about each word next to the word itself. Finding the meaning of a word is not as easy as it sounds. You cannot simply go to the dictionary. In any language you will see that some ideas can be expressed by different words. Each of the words has the same meaning. And yet, it is also true that in such a case each word has a slightly different meaning. The main meaning may be the same, but there are slight but important differences. In the Greek language there were two words for “new.” One of them meant something new and different. One of them meant something that might have been old but had not been used before. In John 13:34, which of these two uses of “new” is intended? It makes a difference, doesn’t it? I will tell you which it was. Jesus was not saying that He was giving them a new commandment that they had never before been given. He was saying that He was giving them new understanding and new meaning of a commandment that they already had been given but that they had never used or applied before. It is also true that any one word may have many meanings, depending on how it is used. Even though a word has many meanings, it has only one meaning when used in a particular verse. In the Greek language there is a word “sarx.” That word had no fewer than eight meanings to the original writers and recipients of the New Testament. The original recipients knew exactly which meaning was intended because of the way in which it was used. It is important to understand, though, that in any one use of the word, the recipients understood only one of the eight meanings. Let us state this as a rule:

    Rule: Even though a word had more than one meaning, each time it is used it has only one meaning. Perhaps a word might be used twice in one verse. It is not impossible that the two uses of the word had two different meanings—but each of the uses had only one meaning.

    In Colossians 2:12 through 3:5 the words “die” and “dead” have at least four different meanings. If you are to understand the passage, you must apply the proper single meaning to each use of the word. The job of the student is to find which meaning was intended in that particular place.

    There is a tendency on the part of the supernaturalist to try and find meanings to words that are not there. They try to find magical or mystic or hidden meanings.

    Let us state another rule:
    Rule: Seek only the normal, literal meaning of the word. The Holy Bible was written to be understood. God was not purposely trying to tease us by giving us a revelation that we cannot understand.

    It is true that there may be figurative meanings, but even those figurative meanings depend on the literal. It may be that the word “lion” has a figurative meaning in some places in the Holy Bible. But even the figurative meaning will depend on your understanding that the word has a literal meaning.

    The figurative meaning of lion comes from some known characteristic of a real lion and not from the known characteristic of a mouse. You must give the ordinary, usual, literal sense to words. In the study of an individual word, you must first find its basic meaning or meanings.

    This will require the study of how the word is used elsewhere in the Holy Bible. More especially, how is the word used elsewhere in the Holy Bible by the same writer? Two different people may mean different things by the use of one word, but one person usually has a consistent use of a given word.

  2. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    HOW TO INTERPRET THE HOLY BIBLE- “MEANING OF THE WORDS”
    (CONTINUED)”

    In order to study this matter, you may need to use a book called a “concordance.” A concordance is a book which lists every word used in a particular translation of the Holy Bible and tells you exactly where every use of the word is to be found. It also tells you which Hebrew or Greek word was used in the original language. Then, it gives a definition of the meaning of the original word.

    . There are several types of concordance in the English language. One of them is called “Cruden’s Concordance.” This is the least helpful of all. It lists most of the words in the English Holy Bible and gives you the reference where the words are used. However, it does not give any definitions of the words. Equally as important, it does not let you know if one Greek or Hebrew word is translated several ways. For instance, in John 21:15-19 the word “love” appears several times. Cruden’s Concordance will list all of them, but you will not be told that there are actually two words in the Greek, both of which are used in these verses and both of which are translated “love.” I would recommend the use of Cruden’s Concordance only if you have heard a verse quoted in English and can remember one or more important words from the verse and want to find where that verse is. It is not a good one to use for ordinary study of the Holy Bible.

    Another concordance is called “Young’s Concordance.” This is definitely better than Cruden’s. It lists each use of every word in the Holy Bible and gives the reference. It groups the words according to their original Greek or Hebrew word and gives the definition of the original word. Because of the way the book is organized it takes a little longer to find the reference you want. Further, the definitions that are given are very short and rather incomplete. It does not list all the uses of a given Greek or Hebrew word in one place. For instance, if you are looking up the English word “flesh” you will find nearly a page and a half of references. Those will be divided into seven different sections, since there are five different Hebrew words and two different Greek words which are translated as “flesh” in the Holy Bible. While it lists every use of the English word “flesh” it will not list Romans 8:7 where the same Greek word is translated “carnal.” A very short definition of the particular Hebrew or Greek word is given, but the definitions are not at all complete.

    The best concordance is Strong’s Concordance. It will tell you where the words are found, what Greek or Hebrew word is being translated in each place and what the words mean. The words are more quickly found than in Young’s Concordance and the definitions are much better. It also tells you all the other ways that a given Greek or Hebrew word is expressed in the English Holy Bible

    Let us summarize the study of the individual words. You must discover all the meanings of the individual word. Then you must discover how that word is usually used by the writer of the book you are studying. Then you must discover what one, literal meaning that word has in that one particular use.
    “USE OF THE WORDS”
    Once you know what the words mean, you must see how they are used. Some languages carry exact meaning by the use of word order and others by word endings. For instance, in English we can use the same five words to form both of these sentences. “The man ate the fish.” “The fish ate the man.” The words are the same, but the meanings are quite different. The difference depends entirely upon the order of the words in the sentences. The Hebrew language is one in which the order of the words is quite important, somewhat like English. In the Greek language the endings of the words are more important. The scholars who prepared the translation of the Holy Bible from which you study were aware of the importance of word order, and when they prepared a translation, they translated using all the information that was contained in either word order or word endings. Most of the information that can be learned by a study of word order or word ending is already available to you in the study of the translation in your own language.

    It is important to study the sentence carefully in which the word appears. You must see if the word being studied represents a person or thing. If it is a person or thing, is it the doer of the action of the sentence or is it the receiver of the action? Is the word being studied a verb? What is the tense of the verb? When did its action take place? What kind of action was it (just once, repeated, etc.)? Is the word a pronoun? Be very careful of pronouns. To whom is the pronoun referring? It is not always easy to tell.

    Is the word being studied a preposition? Be very careful of prepositions. In the Greek language the prepositions were very important. Is the word being studied an adverb? What verb does it modify? Is the word being studied an adjective? What word does it modify? Is the word being studied a conjunction? What thoughts does it connect? In Romans 12:1 the verse starts with the word “therefore.” What does that mean? It says that because something has happened, something else is now true. But what is it that happened in the past that will now give rise to the new statement? You must understand clearly the grammar of the sentence in which the words appear if you are to understand the meaning. Knowing the meaning of the word by itself is not enough. Quite clearly, the most important part of studying the Holy Bible is the study of the words in their context. If you do not know what the words say, you will not know what they mean and how they are used.
    “RESTATE THE TEXT”
    After discovering the historical and cultural background of the text under study and after discovering the meaning and use of the individual words, it is time to rewrite the text in your own words. Rewrite it in such a way that it includes all the information you have gotten. Your goal is to have your rewritten text mean the same thing to you that the original text meant to the one who wrote it and those who heard it.

  3. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Anonymous

    Why don’t you get your facts right? It is disputed that Josephus wrote anything about Christ. You know very well that this was a fabrication and was put to rest since the 16th Century.

    You can have your god’s message but we know very well that your god is an alien and is no true almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth. We know HE is not. That is why it is a “HE”.

  4. Nietzsche? Avatar
    Nietzsche?

    ‘Simpleton enough’ wrote “so must we also listen carefully to those who have spent a life time in study of the Bible, in order to make proper sense of God’s message”. So how we know who is a genuine Bible scholar truly of God from the charlatans?

    Oh I know, the minute they say they say “listen to me, I’m a Christian, I’ve studied the Bible!”

  5. Straight talk Avatar
    Straight talk

    Can we just accept that some people need a “father” figure to make their existence worthwhile, and good luck to them.

    Let the rest of us carry on with our own beliefs, whatever sails the boat we are travelling on.

    I’m sure Jesus would like it that way, I’ve got him down as a free thinker, a 60’s all you need is love type.

    Would he be appalled at the vitriol expressed by his modern day disciples?

    “Forgive them father for they know not what they do” pretty much sums up the bastardisation of his core message into the hatred expressed above to the unchosen majority.

  6. Not Saved Avatar
    Not Saved

    Georgie you are a christian apologist to the core (and yes we know anon is you georgie)

    ST, yes the religion of jesus and the religion about jesus, quite two different things

  7. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @GP
    “HOW TO INTERPRET THE HOLY BIBLE- “MEANING OF THE WORDS”.”

    I have never seen so many people with the same writing style. Look how you professing God and can’t reveal yourself. If ever there was a charlatan. it has to be you. What do you fear? If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

    By no measure of the imagination would your own Christ be proud of you or your God for that matter… but then again, it is about deception.

    What bothers me is that here is a man who is professing a god that he can’t show his face behind. I certainly remember your words. The messenger is important, but only if the messenger exist. What are your qualifications? I question them, and on the basis of truth I deem you to be a stranger to the truth because the first truth is identity. You put up a fake one. I expect that a fake identity will put up a false god.

    I worship the Creator every millisecond of the day. I have no fear of no man or anything. If I die, I die. I am ready, are you? People that know the truth do not fear death and when you don’t fear death, you don’t fear Prime Ministers, Presidents, Lords, Kings or Gods.

    If the Creator gave me no reason to fear the Creator or the Creation, I would be foolish, ignorant, irrational and spiritually void to be god-fearing.

    To know the Creator is to know the Creation. To love the Creator is to love the Creation.

    To despise the creation; to insult the Creation; to scoff at the Creation is to hate the Creator that gave you life. If you don’t love it, you hate it… and if you tell lies in the name of a god, you disrespect the Creator and insult the intelligence of the Creator.

    Your god is on earth all now. HE has returned but you notice that he ain’t contact you? And when HE ready to halve the population of this earth, he will not care about the righteous or the criminal. It shall rain on the rich and the poor; the strong and the weak; the mighty and the insignificant.

    So what is the purpose? You got another Moses to save you from this god?

  8. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    LITERARY FORM AND FIGURES OF SPEECH (SMILE & METAPHOR)

    “The trees waved their arms.” If you were to read those words in a poem, you would understand that it was a poetic way of saying that the wind caused the branches of the tree to move. And so it is in any piece of literature. Without even thinking about the matter, we prepare our minds for the job of interpreting a piece of literature by first of all stating what kind of literature it is. Poems are interpreted differently than scientific writing. History is interpreted differently than stories. Words of advice are interpreted differently than prophecy. Each literary type has certain characteristics that we automatically use in interpreting the literature.

    The literature of the Holy Bible falls into several main groups. There will be historical narrative (such as most of the writings of Paul), poetry (such as the Psalms), “wisdom” literature (such as Job and Proverbs), and apocalyptic-prophetic (such as several parts of Daniel and all of the Revelation), and ordinary prophetic (such as most of the prophetic books of the Old Testament). It is important that you understand what type of literature it is that you are studying. The method of interpretation varies according to type of literature.

    We interpret poetry very loosely, allowing the poet to give arms to a tree. We interpret scientific writing very strictly, giving literal value to facts that are given and numbers that are used. If we are reading words of advice from a father to a son, we do not think it strange if the father says, “I have told you this 1,000 times.” We know it has not been exactly 1,000 times. All the father means is that he has told the son repeatedly. On the other hand, if a historian says that it was exactly three days between two events, we expect it to be three days between two events, we expect it to be three days—not two—not four. The historian would not say “three days” if he only meant “a short while.”

    It makes a great deal of difference in our understanding of a piece of literature what the type of literature is. And it is also true with the Holy Bible. In Psalm 90:6 the psalmist says that man is like grass which sprouts up in the morning and withers by night time. We know very well that he is not claiming that man is born in the morning and has lived his lifetime by night. He is using poetic language to say that in comparison to the infinite time in which God lives, the lifetime of man is very short. However, if we met that same statement in Genesis, chapter 5, we would think it quite odd, because as we said before, we must always understand the literal meaning of the words of the Holy Bible. And now I am telling you that there are many non-literal ways in which the Holy Bible presents information, but even the non-literal methods depend upon literal meaning. You would not understand the illustration about the trees waving their arms if you did not know what a literal arm looked like and what it looked like for a literal arm to literally wave. You would not understand the reference in Psalm 4 to life being like grass if you did not know what literal grass was like. It is only the literal understanding of each word which will help you to understand whatever other meaning there might be. In understanding the Holy Bible it is very important to know what some of these literary methods are and how they are used.

    “SIMILE”
    A simile is a special way of making a comparison. It usually uses words such as “like” or “as.” The two things being compared have some point of similarity but are still quite separate. Hosea 6:4 says that Israel’s love for God is “like the dew that goes away early.” The two things being compared are love and dew. They are quite different and separate. But they do have a similarity. There are many similes in the Holy Bible. Be on the look for them constantly.

    In interpreting similes, identify clearly what the two things are that are being compared. What is it that is “like” or “as” something else? What is it to which it is being compared? Then, you must identify the similarity that is intended. Sometimes the point of similarity will be obvious. In Job 41:24 it talks about a heart that is as hard as stone. Here the two things being compared are a man’s spiritual heart and a stone. The similarity is clearly stated. Both are hard. Sometimes, however, the writer leaves you to decide what the point of similarity might be. In our illustration about love being like dew, what do you think the point of similarity is? Is it that both love and dew are wet? That they both come in the morning? That they both come only when the night is cool? That they are made of water? That they come in drops? No, of course not. The intended comparison here is that the dew does not last very long. As soon as the sun comes up, the dew disappears. In just that way, the love of man for God comes and goes and is not steady and lasting.

    In the interpretation of similes it is important to not make the simile say more that the author intended. As a general rule you can state that:

    Rule: In similes there is only one intended point of similarity.

    Though you might see several possible points of similarity, try to find the one main point of similarity that the writer had in mind when he used the simile. For you to find more is to add to the meaning of scripture.

    In Psalm 92:12 we read that “the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” The two things being compared are “the righteous man” and “a palm tree.” In what way are they alike? We might make quite a list of comparisons.

    THE PALM TREE Grows in desert THE RIGHTEOUS Grows in a sinful world
    THE PALM TREE Has no visible means of getting water
    THE RIGHTEOUS Has no visible means of getting life from God
    THE PALM TREE Has one long root which reaches the hidden water THE RIGHTEOUS Has a spiritual life which reaches into the Word of God
    THE PALM TREE Offers shade to the traveler
    THE RIGHTEOUS Offers help to sinners
    THE PALM TREE Bears a useful fruit
    THE RIGHTEOUS Bears the “fruit of the Spirit”

    There are all these similarities that are possible, and there are probably more. You may be very capable of finding many similarities, but that is not what we are trying to find. We are trying to find the one similarity that the writer intended and that the original people understood.

    In this verse we are given some help because it says that the righteous flourish like a palm tree. What did that mean to the writer? First of all, we must remember the geographical background of the writer. This was written by one who lived mostly in a desert. In Palestine, , the palms grew in the desert. How could something grow there? That was really amazing? Perhaps, then, the point of comparison was this: the righteous man, like a palm tree, has spiritual growth and spiritual health in the midst of circumstances that are not conducive to spiritual growth and health. From that we learn that even though we are in a world which is actually an enemy to spiritual things, the believer still has spiritual growth and spiritual health. This is probably the main teaching of the simile. That being the case, we are not justified in emphasizing the other points of similarity that we noted above except as they tend to support this one main point.

    “METAPHOR”
    Metaphor is very like simile except that the point of similarity is only implied but not stated. If we say “God is like a rock,” we have given a simile. If we say “God is a rock,” we have given a metaphor. They are very similar. In both cases God is being compared to a rock. In both cases there is one point of similarity intended. The only difference between the two forms is the presence of the word “like” or “as” in the simile. Without those words to signal that you are reading a simile, you might miss the metaphor. You must be alert for them. By the way, what is the point of similarity between God and a rock? Is it that they are both hard? In order to understand this metaphor, you must know something of the geography of Palestine and something of the way David and the other Old Testament characters lived. In Palestine if there was trouble or if a man needed protection, he fled to a part of the country in which there were many, many rocks and hills and caves. In that part of the country there was safety and stability. Maybe that is why God is like a rock. Whenever we have trouble we can always go to Him. He is always available, always ready to protect us.

  9. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    LITERARY FORM AND FIGURES OF SPEECH (PARABLES)”

    A parable is often described as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” That is, a parable is a story taken from things that are commonly known to mankind, used to teach some spiritual truth that we might not otherwise know. The earthly story that is told will be “true-to-life.” It will be a story that obviously could have happened. It will not be like a fairy-tale. In common literature there are two types of story often told to illustrate a point. One type of story will be obviously make-believe. “Once upon a time a mother and father jackal and their baby jackal were walking in the jungle when it started to rain. The father then said to . . .” You know the kind of story. You have heard them since childhood. That kind of story is not the sort that is used in parable. But there is another kind of story that is told. “There was a greedy king who wanted to gain more land, and so he. . . .” You know that kind of story that could really have happened. It is from that sort of story that parables are made.

    Because parables are taken from “real life” stories and because the lesson from the story is not always stated by the writer, it is sometimes difficult to tell a parable from the narration of an actual historical event. It is important, however, to make the differentiation. If you are reading a parable, then there is only one main lesson to be learned from it. If you are reading a historical narrative, there may be something to be learned from each detail. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 is one which scholars are divided on as to whether it is a parable or a historical narrative. If it is a parable, it teaches only a lesson about earthly wealth being inadequate preparation for heaven. If it is a historical narrative, it teaches us something about whether the dead have feelings and are conscious of other persons and a number of other things.

    In the case of the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, it is argued that it is actual history, because it is not identified by the writer as a parable (as most parables are), and it names an actual person (Lazarus) which is more likely to be a historical character than an imaginary one. Of course, if a parable is called a parable, the issue is settled.

    The interpretation of parables must be done cautiously. It is a common fault to try and find too much teaching in a parable. There are several rules that will help you.

    Rule: In a parable, just as in similes and metaphors, do not look for more points of similarity than are really there.

    There are some teachers who will say that you should seek only one point of similarity in the parable between the story and the truth being taught. I am not sure that this is right. Perhaps there are several things being taught. However, I do think it is true that there is one main lesson being taught. For instance, the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is a parable that seems to me to have one main point. That main point is that God is a loving and forgiving God who eagerly waits to receive sinners. There are other points that might be made, however. It might be teaching that God gives all men certain blessings (as the father gave the son his inheritance) but that sinners tend to use the blessings of God for their own selfish interests (as the prodigal son squandered the money given him by his father). There might be other things taught as well. However, all of these other teachings, if they, indeed, are really there, tend to point to the main lesson. The lesson about misusing the blessings God gives us only points up how loving God is in being ready to receive us. There is far more danger in trying to derive too many teachings from a parable than there is in missing some important teaching.

    There will be parts of the parable that are not intended to teach a lesson. They have no part in giving light to the main point. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, it is of no teaching value at all to note that when the father went out to meet the son, there was apparently a servant along with the father. To try and make some teaching out of that is obviously beyond what the parable intended to teach. In interpreting parables, seek the one main lesson. Other lessons within the parable are recognized only if they seem to illuminate and further explain the main point.

    Rule: Seek the identity of the main lesson from the context.

    Parables were not given by themselves without there being some reason why they were given. There was some event or attitude or ignorance being displayed which caused the Lord to give the parable. If you look at the context, you will often find a clue as to what the parable was intended to teach. For instance, the parable of the Prodigal Son was given to Pharisees and Scribes (Luke 15:2) who were quite unhappy that Jesus was preaching to “publicans and sinners” (Luke 15:1). The parables that follow (there are two of them in that chapter) are clearly given to the Pharisees and Scribes, not the sinners and publicans. We might expect the Lord, under the circumstances, to explain to the Pharisees and Scribes why He talks with sinners and publicans. He then gives the parable of the lost sheep in which it would seem that the main teaching is that God sees value in and loves each person. This is followed by the parable of the Prodigal Son which seems to teach that God is loving and forgiving of sinners even when the sinners are misusing the blessings God has given them. The clear understanding of whom it is that the parable is addressed to and the circumstances that occasioned the telling of the parable will give the clue as to the main meaning.

    Rule: Look for an explanation of the parable in the context of the parable itself.

    There were occasions when the disciples did not understand the parables being given. They would then ask the Lord and He would give them the proper understanding. It is foolish to try and figure out a parable’s meaning if the Lord has clearly given it.

    Rule: Parables should not be used as the only basis on which to establish a doctrine.

    Doctrinal teachings should come from parts of the Holy Bible where the teaching is clearly given. In parables, the hearer is often left to understand the meaning of the parable himself. To establish doctrine on the basis of something as unsure as our own understanding is foolish. Of course, if the Lord has given a clear explanation of the parable, we can base doctrine on it. In such an instance, it is not the parable itself but the Lord’s teaching that supports the doctrine. Parables may be used to illustrate doctrine, and they may be part of the total picture that the Holy Bible gives on any one doctrine, but a doctrine should never be firmly stated if it rests only on parable.

  10. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    “ALLEGORY”
    An allegory is like a metaphor except that it is much extended. A metaphor might make one simple comparison, such as “God is a rock.” An allegory will make several such statements together, as in John 15 where Jesus says, “I am the true vine…my father is the gardener.” “You are the branches.” There are three metaphors all stated together. It is, then, an allegory.

    An allegory differs from a parable in that a parable is stated in such a way that it might be mistaken for actual history. There is nothing “make believe” about a parable. As stated, a parable might actually have happened. An allegory, however, is obviously using non-factual material to teach a truth. Jesus is obviously not a grapevine. The believer is obviously not a branch of a grapevine. There is no mistaking an allegory for either parable or history. This is important to know.

    In times past there were some teachers who tried to make an allegory of just about everything in the Holy Bible. They went to rather ridiculous extremes in their allegories. For instance, in the book of Song of Solomon there is reference to the “navel of the beloved” in the original Hebrew,. The ancient scholars allegorized the whole of the book of Song of Solomon and made the navel represent the city of Jerusalem. The navel is the center of the body, and Jerusalem is the center of the world (or so they thought). The ancient scholars could have been spared the error of allegorizing the book if they had realized that the language, even though poetic, was speaking of people who might be real people.

    In a parable, there is only one main point being taught. In an allegory there may be several. It is possible to have several things taught by an allegory, but even then, they tend to cluster around one main point. Be careful not to make an allegory teach more than it really intended to.

    As in parables, it is important to look in the context to find clues as to the teaching of the allegory. In many allegories the teaching will be included right along with the allegory itself. The writer gives the allegory and also gives a running commentary along with it to tell you quite plainly what the allegory is teaching.

    And, as with parables, it is not safe to establish doctrine on allegory. If the writer gives an interpretation of the allegory, then we may safely use his interpretation for the founding of doctrine, but the allegory which is not interpreted should never be used that way.

    “SYMBOLS”
    There are many places in the Holy Bible where symbols are used. What is a symbol? A symbol is a sign used to represent something else. The thing which it represents may be something in the past or the present or the future. Every nation in the world has a flag. That flag is a symbol. You know that an eagle represents America. You know that a maple leaf represents Canada. You know that a pair of kukhris represents Nepal. These are all symbols that stand for something else. The symbols may be objects (like salt) or actions (baptizing) or numbers or colors or metals or animals or other things.

    There is usually an association of some kind between the symbol and the thing symbolized. There is a recognizable connection. The crossed kukhries are a logical symbol of Nepal, because Nepal is the home of the Gurkah soldier who carries the kukhri as a weapon. The maple leaf is a logical symbol of Canada, because Canada has so many maple trees. It would make a very poor symbol for Bangladesh which has no maple trees.

    Symbols and similes are often used together. I Peter 5:8 gives us a simile in describing Satan as a roaring lion. There is a sense also in which this is a symbol. The lion is a symbol of Satan.

    Some symbols have more than one meaning. You must be careful to know which meaning to use. We mentioned that a lion may be a symbol for Satan. The lion is used as a symbol for Satan because of the fierceness of the lion. Revelation 5:5 talks about a lion also, but it is most definitely not Satan. It is referring to Jesus Christ. In this case the lion is used as a symbol because of the kingly look of the lion which is often called “the king of animals.” There will be some symbols that seem to be consistent (an ox always seems to stand for obedient service), but many have multiple meanings.

    In interpreting symbols, be cautious. Do not overdo it. Study the way the Holy Bible itself interprets the symbols. Study carefully the situation in which the symbol is used to discover its meaning. In the I Peter 5:8 reference, it tells us clearly that the lion is Satan. When a symbol is used, there is usually only one point of comparison. Do not make symbols mean more than they should. We certainly never establish doctrine on the basis of only a symbol. That would be very wrong, indeed.

  11. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    I fear for the sanity of Anonymous.

  12. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    LITERARY FORMS AND FIGURES OF SPEECH (TYPES)”

    There is another literary method used in the Holy Bible which is called a “type.” A type is something like a symbol with some very important differences. A symbol may refer to something either past, present or future. A type always refers only to something in the future. A type is a special sort of prophecy. A type is rather like a picture in the Old Testament that is intended to tell us about something which will happen in the New Testament. It is like a shadow of something not yet seen.

    The object or event or person used in the Old Testament as a picture of what is to come is called the “type,” and the object or event or person in the New Testament that is being foretold is called the “antitype.” There must be some easily identified similarity between the type and the antitype. Many feel that the Old Testament type (be it person, event or object) was actually appointed by God to have the particular similarity to the antitype.

    Types may be of several kinds. They may be people (Moses, Adam) or events (lifting up the brazen serpent) or objects (the lamb) or places (Canaan) and others.

    Types are terribly abused by students of the Holy Bible. If you have a vivid imagination you can find what you might think are types on practically every page of the Old Testament. The only limits are the limits of our imaginations. But that is not the proper use of types. There are two extremes in the use of types. There are those who see types everywhere they turn in the Old Testament, and there are those who say that you may properly call something a type only if it is identified as a type in so many words in the New Testament. There is also an approach between the two which says that things are properly called types if so identified in the New Testament is so clear that it could not have occurred by chance. I personally hold to this latter view but readily warn the student that he must be very cautious or he will be calling things types that are really not. If you are going to err, err on the side of leaving out things that might legitimately be types rather than seeing too many types.

    How, then, are we to interpret types? Often the types had symbolic meaning to the people of the Old Testament themselves. Their understanding of the symbol often gives some clue as to the New Testament meaning of the type. What was the moral or spiritual truth that came to the mind of the old Testament person when he thought of the person or event or object that is later (in the New Testament) identified as a type? The point of similarity that the type is trying to foreshadow will not be contrary to its symbolism.

    Usually types had only one major teaching. There may be some secondary teachings as well, but there is one main lesson to be learned in each type. When studying a type, it is easy to look back from our point in time and fill the Old Testament type with meaning that it did not have. Of course, the antitype will always be clearer than the type. But we should not start with the antitype and go back to the type, inserting meanings the type did not have. If a type is a “shadow” of something to come, it is not right to look back at the shadow, once the real object is seen, and imagine that you can see all the detail of the real object in the shadow.

    We must always realize also that the antitype is always a much higher form of truth than the type. The sacrificial lamb was the type of Christ. But there is really no comparison between a lamb and Christ. Even though the lamb was a shadow of His obedient death, Christ is much higher than the lamb. The types were earthly pictures that were foretelling heavenly, spiritual, wonderful, much higher truths yet to come.

    As in the use of allegory, simile, etc., we should never base a doctrine solely on a type. The information given by the type may be part of the overall information used to form the doctrine, but there must be more than just the type on which to base the doctrine. If the type is clearly explained in the New Testament, then, of course, the explanation may be depended upon and used with more confidence in the forming of doctrine.

    In all these special literary forms we have discussed we have stated repeatedly that they must be used with caution and care. That does not mean that generous use may not be made of the Old Testament in making application and in illustrating truth. Let me explain the difference. The Old Testament tabernacle is clearly stated to be a type in Hebrews 8:5. A student with a fertile imagination can find many, many things in the tabernacle that he might want to include in the typology of the tabernacle. But remember, there is probably only one main teaching to be gleaned from the typology of the tabernacle. The main teaching probably relates to the fact that the people of God were separated from the presence of God until Christ “tore the veil” and opened up the way to the Holy of Holies. Does that mean we are to ignore other interesting parallels that we see in the tabernacle? No, I think we need not ignore them, but let us not call them “types.” Remember that a type is a God-appointed similarity through which he wants to teach a specific truth. These other similarities that we see may not be part of God’s intended type but may still be used as illustrations of truths taught elsewhere. So let us call these other parallels “illustrations.”

    For instance, you will find that the boards that make up the walls of the tabernacle were held together by a silver rod that went through the boards but was invisible from the outside. Let us not call that a type, but when teaching about the fact that it is the Holy Spirit who indwells each believer and who binds all believers into the “building” of God (Ephesians 2:21), we can certainly use the rods and boards of the tabernacle as an illustration. There are some who would feel that the similarity is so striking that it must be a type. It seems to me that we can refrain from calling it a type and still use it as an illustration.

  13. Not Saved Avatar
    Not Saved

    You would think if a god wrote a book, even the most simple of his “creation” would be able to understand it.

    Apparently not.

  14. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    DISPENSATIONS”
    Within the history of God’s dealings with mankind in the Holy Bible we find that there are periods of time in which God deals with mankind in a somewhat different manner than He does in other times. These periods of time are called “dispensations. God does not change. His love never changes. His holiness never changes. His character never changes. God does not change His way of dealing with mankind because of some change within God Himself. Why, then, does God change the way He deals with mankind?

    Imagine that you are the father of a boy. As that boy grows up, your relationship to that boy as his loving father never changes, but the way you treat the boy and govern the boy’s life may change from time to time. At times, when the boy is small and obedient, you may treat him one way. When he gets older and more independent, you treat him another way. You try to guide your boy in such a way that at the end of his life he cannot say, “My life was not good…and it was my father’s fault. If only my father had been more loving…if only he had been more stern..” And so it is with God. When mankind comes to the end of history, man will not be able to say that sinfulness is God’s fault. God will have treated mankind in several different ways, and in each case mankind will have failed to respond properly to God. Mankind will not be able to do right and avoid evil. Mankind will never be able to earn his own salvation. Mankind will have to confess that salvation comes from God as a gift of grace and is not earned by man. Let us look at the different periods of time in which God treated man differently.

    There are seven of these basic periods of time (dispensations) which are told of in the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible can be properly understood only if you keep these in mind. There are things in the Holy Bible which would seem to be contradictions but which are easily understood if you keep the dispensational view in mind. For instance, Genesis 4:15 says that God protected Cain so that no one would kill him after he had killed Abel. In Genesis 9:5,6 it says that if a person kills his brother, his life is to be taken. Had God changed? Is there a contradiction in the Holy Bible? The answer to both of these questions is no. The solution is found in the fact that the first verse mentioned is taken from a different dispensation than the second verse given. God had not changed, but He was dealing with in a different way for a period or time so that He might teach man that there was no way man could save himself. Perhaps you will understand this better if we look at the various dispensations.

    “the first dispensation” called: The Dispensation of Innocence.
    duration: It lasted from the creation of man to the sin of Adam and Eve.
    man’s condition: During this dispensation, man was innocent. He had just been created and did not know the difference between good and evil. Adam and Eve had never seen evil or experienced it. They were without sin.
    God’s requirement: God required of man that he abstain from eating a certain fruit. It was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God was saying to mankind that He wanted total obedience.
    man’s conduct: There was only one way in which Adam and Eve could displease God. There were many, many things they could do and not displease God. There was only one thing that would break their fellowship with God. That one thing was to eat of the fruit of that particular tree. And Adam and Eve did eat of that tree. There was only one chance for sin…and they sinned.
    God’s retribution: God judged Adam and Eve. They immediately died spiritually, which means that they were now separated from God and could not have fellowship with Him. They could not have eternal life. Also, physical death became the goal toward which all mankind would move. There had been no such thing as physical death prior to this.

    “the second dispensation” called: The dispensation of Conscience.
    duration: It lasted from the sin of Adam and Eve until the great flood.
    man’s condition: During this time, man was no longer innocent. He had something within himself called “conscience.” He had the knowledge of what was right and wrong that had come as a result of eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
    God’s requirement: Mankind was now responsible to follow his conscience and to do good and keep from evil. He had the internal knowledge of what would please God, and he was supposed to do it.
    man’s conduct: Mankind failed to do good. They sinned terrible. Evil and wickedness were everywhere.
    God’s retribution: God judged mankind by bringing the great flood in which He destroyed every man and woman except the family of Noah.

    “the third dispensation” called: The Dispensation of Human Government.
    duration: It lasted from the great flood until the Tower of Babel.
    man’s condition: During this dispensation, man was to set up a governmental system. Since man had not properly controlled himself when controlled by his conscience, now men would try to govern each other through governmental systems in which everyone agreed as to what was right and wrong.
    God’s requirement: God required that they follow government. He gave mankind the permission to use capital punishment (to put to death certain criminals) in that dispensation since that would represent the maximum pressure that men could bring on each other to force each other to behave properly.
    man’s conduct: But man continued to sin. One of the things that God had asked of man was that he scatter out in the earth and not all stay in one place. Man refused to do his and, instead, tried to build a tower that would reach to heaven. This tower symbolized the fact that man was trying to be independent of God and disobedient to Him.
    God’s retribution: God judged mankind. He confused their language so that only a few people could understand each other. This caused them to be scattered out ass God wanted them to be. Can you imagine what it would be like if you were to go to the market and find that there were only two other people in the whole market that could speak your language and that all the rest were speaking many other languages? Some might be speaking Tamil, some Tagalog, some English, some French. If that were to happen, you would find the few that could speak your language and you would live near them. Those that spoke some other language would live by themselves. Probably the various language groups would move farther and farther away from each other. You can easily understand how the confusion of languages caused mankind to scatter.

    “the fourth dispensation” called: The Dispensation of Promise.
    duration: It lasted from the time of Abraham (which was fairly soon after the Tower of Babel) until the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai.
    man’s condition: In this dispensation, God chose one man, Abraham, and made a number of promises to him. Some of these promises were unconditional, which means that would keep the promise no matter what mankind did. Some of the promises were conditional, which means that God promised to do certain things IF the people were obedient to Him.
    God’s requirement: The people were responsible to love God and to obey Him since He had called them to a very special and close relationship.
    man’s conduct: The Israelites broke the covenant made with God. They refused to love and serve Him. They turned to other gods.
    God’s retribution: God judged them. He sent the Israelites nation into bondage in Egypt for many years. Yet God continued to show His love and grace even though they were sinning. He sent Moses to bring them out of Egypt eventually. God’s judgment is always mixed with grace.

    “the fifth dispensation” called: The Dispensation of Law.
    duration: It lasted from the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai until the day of Pentecost.
    man’s condition: During this dispensation, Israel was favored of God. He gave them very special guidance and very special provisions. It is in this time that we find the story of the pillar of fire, the dividing of the Red Sea, the Manna from heaven and others. The Israelites were living in a very special relationship to God.
    God’s requirement: God gave the Israelites detailed laws to let them know exactly what He expected of them. He gave them special guidance. There could be no excuse for not knowing what God expected of them.
    man’s conduct: But Israel sinned. They broke every one of the laws that God had give them.
    God’s retribution: God judged Israel. He scattered them all over the earth, taking away from them the promised land of Canaan. And they are scattered to this very day.

    “the Sixth dispensation” called: The Dispensation of Grace.
    duration: It lasted from the day of Pentecost until the second coming of Christ.
    man’s condition: During the fourth and fifth dispensations God was dealing primarily with Abraham and his descendants, the Israelite nation. Now, in the dispensation of Grace, in which we are now living, God has changed His primary emphasis from Israel back to mankind in general. The dispensation of Grace is often spoken of as a parenthesis. If you have a sentence with a parenthesis in the middle of it, you can remove the part of the sentence in parenthesis without changing the main meaning of the sentence. The dispensation of Grace is like a parenthesis into the age of Law. If we were to be very exact about it, we would have to say that the age of Law does not extend from the giving of the Law to the day of Pentecost, but to the second coming of Christ at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. The dispensation of Grace is inserted into the dispensation of Law like parenthesis near the very end. It looks almost like this next sentence. The dispensation of Law lasts from the giving of the Law until (except for the dispensation of Grace) the return of the Lord. It is as if the age of Law is split apart near it’s end and the two parts are pushed apart and the dispensation of Grace is dropped in between. During the dispensation of Grace there is really no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile in that both groups have proven themselves sinful and neither group has been able to provide its own salvation.
    God’s requirement: At the beginning of this dispensation of Grace God made provision for the salvation of all men living in all ages. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for sin. The matter of keeping laws, whether written in our conscience or in a book is not the question. The only question is, “Will you put your faith in Jesus Christ?” He is the ONLY one who can save us. We cannot please God by doing good but by admitting that we can NOT do good and turning to Jesus for salvation. Once we do this, He puts new spiritual life within us so that we CAN do right.
    man’s conduct: Man can only respond in one of two ways. He can either accept or reject Christ.
    God’s retribution: If man accepts Jesus as Savior, he receives salvation. If he rejects Christ, he will receive eternal judgment.

    “the seventh dispensation” called: The Dispensation of the Kingdom.
    duration: It lasts from the second coming of Christ until the Great White Throne Judgment, a period of 1000 years.
    man’s condition: During this dispensation the Lord Jesus Christ will actually, physically reign as king over all the earth. The people living at that time will be those who were saved following the rapture of the Church. It will be, in effect, a converted world. Further, Satan and his angels will be chained up during this period so that they cannot interfere. There will be ideal conditions, since the ruler will be Christ. There will be peace and justice.
    God’s requirement: During the Kingdom Age God will demand of every person that they obey Christ. Anyone who sins openly will be immediately punished.
    man’s conduct: In spite of all the advantages of that age, when the Millennial Kingdom comes to an end and Satan is released, there will be many who will follow Satan. This is because those who were born during the millennium may ACT properly outwardly but still not be changed in heart. There may be some who will DO all the right things but still not love God. They will follow Satan if given the chance.
    God’s retribution: Those who follow Satan will be judged along with Satan.
    “some final thoughts about salvation”

    There are several things that are important to understand about the dispensations.
    Dispensations are not periods of time in which the way of salvation is different. All men in all ages have always been saved only by faith alone in the grace of God through Christ (Acts 26:22-23; I Peter 1:10-12).
    Dispensations are times of progressive revelation. More about God, more about man, more about salvation is added to preceding revelation to give a clearer and clearer picture. They are times of giving to believers new information about godly living. God does not change. He is still the same. Right and wrong do not change because God does not change. The only changes are changes in the way God deals with mankind. At the end of time, mankind will not be able to say: “If only I could have a fresh start, I could be good,” because Adam and Eve had a fresh start…and sinned. “If only I weren’t pressured by the ideas of others and could live by my own conscience, I could be good, “because from Adam to Noah they lived by conscience…and sinned. “If only we had good government, I could be good,” because from Noah to Abraham man tried government…and sinned. “If only I had a special relationship with God in which I KNEW God personally, I could be good,” because Abraham and his children had a special relationship with God…and sinned. “If only I had a detailed list of the things God wants of me, I could do good,” because the Israelites had a detailed law from God…and sinned. “If only Satan were bound up and if only everyone around me were doing good, I could be good too,” because in the Millennial Kingdom Satan will be bound and everyone will do what is right…but man will still have a sinful nature. At the end of time mankind can only say, “I am totally sinful and there is no way I can save myself. Oh God, I am thankful that you provided a new nature and salvation through Jesus.”

  15. Hopi Avatar
    Hopi

    @Annonymouus…….”THE RIGHTEOUS Grows in a sinful world” Didn’t your same bible say that there is none righteous among you, no not one and that all your righteousness is but filthy rags. Does that apply to you or to those of the biblical era?

  16. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Yes the Bible says that ALL HAVE SINNED or that NONE ARE RIGHTEOUS and that EVERYONES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AS FILTHY RAGS.

    This also applies to believers or Chrisians who have NO RIGHTEOUS OF THIER OWN.

    Believers or Chrisians are imputed with Christ’s righteousness. (Ask Zoe or GP for the Biblical references)

  17. Hopi Avatar
    Hopi

    @Anon…After all those long ‘cut & paste’ I still have to go to Zoe or GP for biblical references? So you really don’t know/believe what you are pasting here, do you? I thought you too were a well-informed christian?

  18. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Hopi
    Is that all you can say? I dont know as much as they do, and I am willing to admit it. Whats wrong with that?
    Clearly some folk have the references on thier finger tips, and know the word better than others. Is that too hard to understand?

  19. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Hopi,

    You letting GP dupe you?

  20. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    God’s Accuracy*

    God’s accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.

    For example:
    -the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
    -those of the canary in 14 days;
    -those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
    -The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
    -those of the mallard in 35 days;
    -The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
    (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in
    a week!)

    The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a
    beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your
    life. If you try to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and
    a failure. Only the One Who made the brain and the heart can
    successfully guide them to a profitable end.

    God’s wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.. The four
    legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No
    other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a
    huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it
    four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

    The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A
    cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the
    Lord is in all His works of creation!

    God’s wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and
    segments, as well as in the number of grains.

    -Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind.
    -Each orange has an even number of segments.
    -Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
    -Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
    -Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of
    bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even
    number and the next row an odd number.

    -The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute
    in all kinds of weather.

    All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord
    specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundredfold – all even numbers.

    God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times
    during the day, so that Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if
    he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and
    temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that
    were open and those that were closed!

    Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that
    is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His
    purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence.

    Only the God-planned safe life is successful. Only the life
    given over to the care of the Lord is fulfilled.

  21. Truthseeker Avatar
    Truthseeker

    Fascinting!

  22. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    LITERARY FORMS AND FIGURES OF SPEECH (CONTINUED)”

    There are many other figures of speech used in the Holy Bible. What is a figure of speech? A figure of speech is the use of a word in which its ordinary meaning is not the intended meaning. It is using a word to mean something other than what it usually means. The Holy Bible talks about the palm of the hand of God (Isaiah 49:16). But we know that God is spirit and does not have a body at all. This is only a word-picture that speaks of the place of security. It pictures the believer as protected in the hand of God. In Mark 1:33 the Greek says that the “whole city” was gathered at the door. Obviously, a “whole city” cannot come to the door of a building. It was not the city but the people of the city who came. Even then, it probably was not every person that came. This is a figure of speech which means that a huge crowd came and that it included the majority of the population. We use this sort of figure of speech often. Don’t we?

    There are many types of figures of speech. We will mention some of them so that you will recognize them when you see them. We must emphasize how important it is to recognize figures of speech. There are people who mock the Holy Bible. They do not believe the Holy Bible. In speaking against the Holy Bible they will often try to make you believe that the Holy Bible contains errors. Many of the “errors” to which they point are not errors at all but are instances in which the writer used a figure of speech. The skeptic might say, “First the Holy Bible says that God has a hand and then it says He has no body. The Bible is in error.” You can easily see how foolish such an argument is only if you realize that figures of speech are in the Holy Bible and are a perfectly legitimate way of expressing truth. You and I use such figures of speech all the time. We might say that a man is “a true son of the village.” Obviously a village cannot give birth to a son. What we mean is that this man is from this village and is loyal to the village and loves the village.

    We will discuss some of the types of figure of speech. It is not important to learn the technical names of these, but it is important to be able to recognize them when you are reading the Holy Bible.

    ANTROPOPATHISM
    Ascribing to God human emotions and feelings is called anthropopathism. Genesis 6:6; Deuteronomy 13:17; Ephesians 4:30. Of course, God does love the sinner and God does hate sin. God does have emotion and feeling. However, we must remember that God is infinite. He is so high above us that we can not really understand exactly how He feels. In Genesis 6:6 it says that God “repented” of having made man and that He was “grieved” that He had made man. We know from other very clear parts of the Holy Bible that God never changes. God does not change His mind. He knows before anything happens that it will happen. God knew before He ever created man what man would do. Why, then, does it say God repented and was grieved that He had made man? In communicating with man, God had to use language that we can understand. When God saw the sinfulness of man, it caused Him sadness. The kind of sadness and the degree of sadness is something that we cannot fully understand. God used language that is common to us to let us know that He was very grieved at the sin of man. He was not sorry He had made man and He did not change His mind. We know that clearly from other parts of the Holy Bible. This is a figure of speech used by God to let us know of His hatred of sin.

    “ANTHROPOMORPHISM”
    Ascribing to God a human body or body parts or human physical action is called anthropomorphism. Exodus 15:16; Psalm 34:16; Lamentations 3:56; Zechariah 14:4; James 5:4. The Holy Bible tells us clearly that God does not have a body. He is spirit. But the Holy Bible talks about the “arm” of God and the “eye” of God. God does not have arms and eyes. These figures of speech are used to let us know that God has power (arm) or that He sees everything (eye).

    “METONYMY”
    Using a related word rather than the actual word is called metonymy. Proverbs 20:28; Isaiah 22:22. In Luke 16:29 it is said that “they have Moses and the Prophets.” This was written hundreds of years after Moses and the Prophets were dead. These people did not actually have Moses and the Prophets. They had the writings of Moses and the Prophets. There is an intellectual connection between Moses and his writings. Metonymy uses one of them to mean the other.

    “SYNEDHOCHE”
    Synecdoche is like metonymy except that the words have a more physical relationship than an intellectual one. Isaiah 2:2; Acts 27:37. In Acts 27 it is stated that there were 276 “souls” on the boat. Obviously there were 276 people. They were not just souls. The word “soul” is used to represent a whole person in this verse. This usage is common even today. It is a custom that when an airplane pilot is getting ready to leave an airport with his airplane that he gives a radio message to the airport telling how many “souls” are on the airplane.

    Synecdoche also uses words such as “all” and “never” and “no” to mean “most” or “rarely” or “few.” Genesis 24:10; II Kings 8:9; Matthew 8:34. We do the same everyday.

    “ELLIPSIS”
    Sometimes a word or two will be deliberately omitted from a sentence. 1 Corinthians 6:13; Exodus 32:32; Genesis 3:22. The purpose of leaving out the word is to emphasize the feeling of the sentence. The hearer is expected to mentally supply the missing word. Exodus 32:32 says, “If you will forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me out of thy book.” The writer wants to emphasize how strongly he feels about the necessity of God forgiving Israel. It is left for the reader to supply the missing thought. “If you will forgive their sins, then I beg of you to forgive them.”

    “EUPHEMISM”
    The use of a less offensive word in place of the word that more accurately expresses the situation is called euphemism. Daniel 12:2. In the New Testament unbelievers are said to “die,” but believers are said to “fall asleep” (Acts 7:60). Believers die like anyone else, but the word “sleep” is a gentler term. It also carries the idea that death is not permanent for the believer, because people who sleep will wake up again.

    “LITOTES”
    Saying a thing is true by stating that its opposite is not true is to use “litotes.” Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 42:3. The reference in Psalm 51 is a good example. It says, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” In order to understand this, you must ask yourself what is the opposite of “despise?” To not despise is to love or accept. Thus, you can rewrite the verse this way. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will love and accept.”

    “IRONY”
    To ridicule a person by giving them a compliment is irony. Job 12:2; 1 Kings 22:15-17; 1 Samuel 26:15; 1 Kings 18:27; 1 Corinthians 4:8. You and I use irony in our own speech. If we see someone do something particularly stupid or foolish, we might say to him, “You are so intelligent.” In fact, we are saying to him that he is quite unintelligent. In I Corinthians 4:8 Paul tells the people of the church in Corinth that they are full and rich and have behaved like kings. In fact, they have behaved very poorly. Paul is using irony to let them know how displeased he is.

    “HYPERBOLE”
    Greatly overstating a matter is to use hyperbole. Genesis 22:17; Deuteronomy 1:28; 2 Chronicles 28:4. You may have said to your child, “I have told you a thousand times to take your shoes off before coming into the house.” Actually, you have probably only told the child ten or twenty times. You do not really expect anyone to take you literally. You are really telling the child that you have told him often enough that he ought to remember to take his shoes off.

  23. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Anonymous

    You don’t have any better observations. Does a man lose his hair in sevens too until he gets bald? How many sevens have to pass before he starts losing his hair?

    Every observation you attribute to a god that has no control over creation. HE is as much the Creation as you and I.

  24. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    – INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY”

    Throughout the Holy Bible are hundreds of prophecies. They form a very special feature of the Holy Bible. Many holy books might claim to make prophecies, but the unique feature of the Holy Bible is that its prophecies have been wonderfully fulfilled. However, having seen how careful God has been to fulfill His other prophecies, we can have absolute confidence that He will fulfill the rest as well.

    The remarkable fulfillments of prophecy in the Holy Bible are God’s mark, showing that the Holy Bible is really His book. It is one of the things that separates the Holy Bible from other books that claim to be holy.

    In the Holy Bible, the people of God were asked to investigate those who claimed to be prophets. God gave them a clear standard of whether the prophet was from God or not. If the prophecy was fulfilled, the man was from God. If the prophecy was not fulfilled, the prophet was not from God and was to be killed (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Fulfilled prophecy is definitely the mark of the authentic message from God. The Holy Bible is full of fulfilled prophecy. Of course, there is much prophecy that is not yet fulfilled. God’s clock has not yet come to the right time for some of the prophecies, but His clock continues to run and the prophecies will be fulfilled.

    There are problems with the proper interpretation of prophecy. The language used in prophecy is often (not always) figurative language. This is especially true in the books of Daniel and Revelation, which are a special type of prophecy that uses many symbols and much figurative language. Those two books are a special type of prophecy called “apocalyptic.” Using figurative language sometimes makes the interpretation less sure. Some figurative language is easy to understand, but there are definitely some uses which are hard to understand.

    Because the language is often figurative, there have been some who seem to abandon literal interpretation entirely and use almost entirely an allegorical approach. There are others who demand a strictly literal interpretation. The proper method probably lies somewhere between those two extremes. The Holy Bible says rather clearly, using non-figurative language, that God is going to someday restore the nation of Israel. The non-literalist says that it must be interpreted non-literally. He will make the fulfillment of the prophecy refer to the church instead of to Israel. On the other hand is the strict literalist who says that when John saw a vision (Revelation 13) of some sort of beast (using highly symbolic language) the fulfillment will also have an actual beast such as John saw. In fact, there are passages that the strict literalist can not interpret literally (will the moon really turn into actual blood or is it figurative language in Acts 2:20?), and there are passages that the non-literalist can not interpret any way other than literally (as, for instance, the prediction in Micah 5:2 of the birthplace of Jesus).

    In our interpretation of prophetic Scripture, we must be careful and thoughtful. There are those who have let their imaginations control them and they have made very strange interpretations of prophecies that have arisen entirely from their own minds and not from the Holy Bible. Others realize that the interpretation of prophecy must come from the Holy Bible itself. If it comes from the mind of the interpreter, it is not from the Holy Bible but from man. In order to avoid the error of inventing their own interpretation, some have demanded such a literal interpretation that they also fall into error. The problem is that some, in a praiseworthy attempt to be true to the Holy Bible, assume that any non-literal interpretation is non-biblical. But the Holy Bible does use figurative and symbolic language. These scholars forget that it is possible to interpret figurative language literally.

    Does that sound strange to you? Let me explain. If you see in the book of Daniel a prophetic passage which refers to a strange beast, you may safely say that it is using figurative or symbolic language. If you are extremely literalistic in your interpretation, you would say that such an actual, literal beast will one day appear. If you are extremely non-literalistic in your interpretation, you might say, perhaps, that this beast refers to some spiritual or moral change that will occur in the nation of Israel. The proper interpretation is to say that this figurative beast is foretelling a literal kingdom whose character is foretold by knowing something of the characteristics of the beast being used in the figure. A figurative or symbolic picture is given to tell something about a literal event which will occur. Of course, in Daniel we have the further assurance of this interpretation because we are told clearly in the book of Daniel itself the interpretation. The point I make is this: it is possible to interpret literally without ignoring the use of figurative language. We must be cautious in our interpretation, lest we let our imaginations rule us. We must be balanced in our interpretation lest we assume an attitude ahead of time that does not allow consistent interpretation. We must neither insist that the symbol and the thing symbolized are actually the same, nor allow our imaginations to say what is being symbolized.

    There are some features of prophecy that you must understand. If you do not understand these points, you will not be able to successfully understand prophetic parts of the Holy Bible.

    Prophecy has a strong historical connection. Those who wrote the prophecies did so because some particular historical situation made the prophecy necessary. The prophecy to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) about his future was made at the time when God was telling Abraham to move from his own homeland to another land. There was a historical situation involving a historical person. From that historical setting came the prophecy. The prophecy not only came from a historical setting, it tells of yet another historical event yet to come. Prophecy is not just a magic phrase given to men. It is the bridge between two historical events. It arises from one and leads to the other.

    Because of the historical events that caused a prophecy to be given, it should be clear to the student that a study of the events is necessary if you wish to understand the prophecy. The historical context is very important. If you know nothing of the captivity of the Jews, you will not understand Jeremiah or Ezekiel. Jonah cannot be clearly understood without a knowledge of the history of Nineveh.

    The terms used in prophecy are terms that are common to the period of time in which the prophecy was given. However, the fulfillment of the prophecy may be seen in different terms. Let me explain what I mean. In the days when the prophecies were made, there had not yet been invented guns or cars or airplanes. There was no word in the language of that time for these modern instruments of war. If God had invented a word and used it, the people of that day would not have understood it. They cannot understand what they have never seen or even dreamed of. The prophecies of that time talked about armies on horseback, the use of swords, the use of sticks. If the interpreter demands a totally literal interpretation, he will tell you that in the years ahead when the great battles will be fought that are spoken of by the prophets, the armies will actually ride horses and use sticks and swords. That could happen, but it is really quite unlikely. It is more likely that the horses refer only to some means of transportation (which may be a modern battle tank) and that swords refer only to some sort of offensive weapon (such as cannons and machine guns). The prophecy was given to the people of the times when the prophecy was made. They are the ones who had to understand the prophecy. Thus, terms had to be used that they could understand. That does not necessarily mean that the prophecy will be fulfilled in exactly those terms.

    The difference between the language of the original prophecy and the way things will actually be fulfilled (for instance, the difference between horses and modern military tanks) might actually come about in two ways. It may be that God showed the prophet a vision in which horses were used, knowing that the prophet would not know how to describe a modern military tank. Thus, God changed the vision to allow the prophet to see something he could understand. It might also have been that God showed the prophet a vision of the actual military tank. In that case, the prophet, never having seen a tank and having no word for it, would have to describe what he was seeing in terms that he could understand. Thus, he might think of a tank as a strong thing that carried a person—and thus called it a horse. In this case it is the prophet who has to use language that differs from what will ultimately happen. In either case, whether God accommodates to the prophet or the prophet accommodates his language to what he already knows, the words used by the prophet may not exactly express what the fulfillment will actually be.

  25. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    ” DOCTRINE”

    We have talked much about how to interpret the Holy Bible. As you interpret various parts of the Holy Bible, you are impressed with the fact that the various parts must fit together. We have said earlier that there is one system of truth in the Holy Bible. Your interpretations of various parts of the Holy Bible, when collected and put together, should blend together into a system of truth. You will find various passages that deal with the subject of salvation. Taking the teaching of All of those passages will let you finally understand the overall biblical teaching on the subject. You will have an understanding of the “doctrine” of salvation. Taking the teaching of all the passages having to do with man will let you understand the biblical doctrine of man. Taking the biblical doctrine of salvation and man and God and Christ and the Holy Spirit and the church and future events and sin and angels and several other doctrines, you will be able to blend them all together into the one system of truth that the Holy Bible teaches.

    Each of us wants to understand things in a complete and systematic manner. We are usually not content to understand only part of a subject. You would not be content to know only about Christ and still not know about angels and not know about salvation. You want to have a clear knowledge of the whole range of biblical truth or doctrine.

    God wants us to have such an understanding of doctrine. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that “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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” There are several things for which the Holy Bible is profitable. The First in the list is “doctrine.” God gave us the Holy Bible so that we can know is system of truth.

    Doctrine is very important. The Apostle Paul wrote two letters to Timothy. Timothy was a young pastor who needed advice from the elderly, experienced Paul. Twelve times in First and Second Timothy Paul mentions “doctrine” to the young pastor. A study of the teaching of the Holy Bible is very important for us all.

    As you study the writings of Paul, you will notice that there is a similar pattern in most of his writings. In his writings he spends the first half of the letter giving doctrinal teaching. In the second half he talks about the practical aspects of the Christian life. He seems to be saying that we must establish biblical teaching first and than apply it to our lives. Too often we establish a pattern of living and then try to find some Scripture to excuse our life style. We are doing it wrongly. We are to first of all see what the Holy Bible says and then pattern our lives after the biblical teaching. Doctrine comes first. Practical application comes last.

    Even though it comes last, practical application of the biblical doctrine is very important. In fact, it is useless to only study the Holy Bible and know all its teachings if we do not change our lives according to the teaching we find. Look again at 2 Timothy 3:16. It tells us that the Scripture that is given by inspiration and that is profitable for so many things is given for a purpose. It is given so that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. It is given so that we may have mature, responsible Christian lives. If your study of the Holy Bible does not change your life, the study has not been at all successful.

    Romans 6:17-18 tells us that people are either the servants of sin or they are the servants of righteousness. It tells us very clearly that the thing that changes a person from being a servant of sin to being a servant of righteousness is “obeying from the heart that doctrine which was delivered to you.” Obedience from the heart makes the difference. Knowing doctrine in the mind is not sufficient.

    1 John 3:1-3 gives some wonderful teaching about what believers will one day be like. It is wonderful to know that one day we will be like Jesus. Verse three tells us that knowing this teaching should change our lives now. This doctrine should not just satisfy our minds. It should change our lives. That is what doctrine is supposed to do.

    The person who wants to study the doctrine of the Holy Bible should not do so only out of curiosity. The Christian who studies the biblical doctrines has placed saving faith in Jesus Christ. He comes to the Holy Bible in order to more fully understand God who has done so much for him. He does not study the Holy Bible as he would study ordinary literature. Ordinary literature is of interest, but it cannot change our final destiny from hell to heaven. He does not study the Holy Bible as he would study science. Science explains the world we see, but it cannot explain the unseen world in which we will one day live. He does not study the Holy Bible as he would study philosophy. Philosophy explains how men think and react to each other, but it cannot explain how God thinks and how man and God react to each other. The person who is a believer in Christ comes to the Holy Bible to learn all he can about who God is, what God has done for mankind, how to live pleasing to God.

    As we learn in this chapter how to discover doctrine, it is my prayer that it will not just be an activity of your mind. I pray that the study of doctrine will be accompanied by prayer, a humble mind, and obedience to the teaching of the Holy Bible.

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