Continuing the Seven Last Plagues Study--
I'm reading through this study and not for the first time
either, but several times and I have to say that it truly isn't a flowing, easy
to comprehend study. This is meat, not milk and not meant for anyone looking to
study without truly studying. Being given milk to drink is easy, but being
given tough, chewy meat is something that takes a lot more skill. Babies don't
start out with meat, they'd choke to death, and spiritual babies don't start
out with spiritual meat either. If you're looking for a simple answer to the
seven last plagues I could give you this--
The first plague is awful sores upon people who have the mark
of the beast and worship the beasts image.
The second plague is the sea becoming dead man's blood and
every living soul dies in the sea of blood.
The third plague is the fountains and waters turning to blood
and this is for those who have killed saints and prophets of God.
The fourth plague is the sun scorching those who blaspheme
God, not giving God the glory that is His.
The fifth plague is darkness and pain so great they gnaw on
their own tongues and this on those who are at the seat of the beast.
The sixth plague is over the river Euphrates- drying up the
water of the river to prepare the way for kings coming out of the east. There
will also be spirits like frog coming from the mouth of the dragon, the beast,
and false prophet. Spirits working miracle going to the kings of the earth and
the whole world to gather them up for the battle of that great day of God
Almighty.
The seventh plague is put in the air, and creates voices, and
thunder, and lightening, earthquakes. This plagues causes islands and mountains
to disappear. Hail also will fall, huge hail.
So there you have it- the seven last plagues, now you can
drink up that milk I just gave you and ask no questions, seek no further
understanding. You can sum things up just like movies on television -
Plague 1- sores
Plague 2 - bloody sea
Plague 3- bloody fountains and rivers
Plague 4- burning sun
Plague 5- darkness and pain
Plague 6- river drying up
Plague 7- thunder, lightning, earthquake and hail.
But what do you know about those plagues? Do you really want
to believe that you aren't supposed to know more about them? They are crouched
in symbolism, in prophetic language and you can study deeply and you may find
some answers, but you may find more questions. The study we're doing is a
deeper study and it requires the desire to delve deeply into facts where you
may have to go all over the Bible in order to piece things together. We are
told this--
2Ti_2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Rightly
DIVIDING the world of truth.
Luk_24:27
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself.
Here,
Jesus starts at the book of Moses and goes through all the books of the
prophets and picks out all the scriptures that were about Him. Jesus did not
simply go to one book and say - "Here is all you need to know of me." Jesus expounded unto them ALL the scriptures
about Himself! Such an amazing example from our Savior Himself. We need to
study and often that means going to several books of the Bible, not just a
single one.
Today I was told that everyone has their own interpretation of the Bible, basically that no one has the whole truth of the Bible as God intended, just everyone with lots of different truths taken in the ways they want to see them. Is this true? God said this--
Today I was told that everyone has their own interpretation of the Bible, basically that no one has the whole truth of the Bible as God intended, just everyone with lots of different truths taken in the ways they want to see them. Is this true? God said this--
2Pe 1:19 We
have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day
star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
No private
interpretation. The Bible isn't
something that we interpret privately. You take the entire Bible and LET it
speak for itself! You let the Bible give you the meaning, you don't insert your
own ideas. You let undeniable history that is set in factual accounts confirm
prophecies.
This is truth-1Co
2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with
spiritual.
Heb 5:12 For
when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you
again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such
as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For
every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is
a babe.
Heb 5:14 But
strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of
use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
How can ANY of us be
taught, if there are teachers with hundreds, thousands of different teachings
for a single concept? If I went to one teacher and they told me the history of
a war, and then another comes and tells me the history of the same war only totally
differently, and yet another and another all of them with facts skewed to suit
their own desires, am I getting the truth? No, I'd have no way of knowing the
truth unless perhaps a majority ruled what was true, and even then how could I
know?
God's word DOES not
contradict itself. God's prophecies are not privately interpreted. The book of
Daniel was SHUT up until the time of the end.
And suddenly in the 1800's various men around the world were able to comprehend
the prophecy in connection with history's fulfillments. The book was OPENED.
Yet, I'm supposed to believe that NO ONE has the truth? That it's every man for
himself and whatever he wants to believe? How madly confusing that would be.
God did not mean for His truth to be like the Tower of Babel- the place where
He confounded mankind's languages separating people into those who would
comprehend each other, but otherwise there was total confusion among the
people. His word is not total confusing and it's not something to shrug off as
if it doesn’t matter what we believe as long as we believe in Jesus. God's
word, Jesus' word tells us to STUDY, we are told to WATCH and pray. We are
given prophecies by JESUS Himself to what end if NO ONE is supposed to
comprehend the truth of them, the reality of them? Jesus says this--
Luk 21:28 And
when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads;
for your redemption draweth nigh.
What things? The
things HE'S prophesized! So if we can't know what we are looking to come to
pass because there are several (hundred) different interpretations, then how
can we look up, lift our heads knowing our redemption is nigh? How?
We need to use
exegesis not eisegesis-
While exegesis is the process of drawing out the meaning from a text in
accordance with the context and discoverable meaning of its author, eisegesis occurs when a reader imposes his or her interpretation into and onto
the text.
We need to let the
Bible speak for itself! Not put our own interpretations on it and if people
think that it is all about people putting their own interpretations on things,
then they will NEVER have truth, how can they?
Satan is the master
of confusion and those who wish to remain blind, will. God allows people to be
blind when they don’t want truth. No one can force another person to desire
truth, to desire the light of God's word. We can only pray that they are willing
to escape from the darkness into the light of God's truth before it's too
late. If I'm wrong, and my particular
truth condemns me, I'll have no one to blame but myself for refusing light.
Often I say, who's to say I'm right? I can only pray I'm in the truth in
Christ.
Yes, I've gone off
on my own extreme tangent here, but it needed to be said. In our study of the
seven last plagues there is a lot to comprehend, so much that unless you are
willing to study it you may sip the milk of a babe and pray you aren't meant to
eat the meat God has out there to be eaten. The meat needs to be chewed and
chewed and chewed thoroughly, not popped in your mouth and swallowed like above
where I gave a simple numbered list on what the plagues are. That's what they
are, but why are they what they are, how does it relate to us and others, why
is there so much prophetic symbolism if we aren't supposed to chew and chew on
this spiritual meat?
More tomorrow….
But first… (Elder
Grotheer used Exegesis in all his Bible Studies, in all His thought papers. He
wasn't a lay person with limited Biblical knowledge but a Bible Scholar who
went to school to learn Biblical knowledge, and spent his entire adult life in
the pursuit of truth. He had to give up cherished beliefs of an organization, a
church he'd poured his heart and soul into. Was he perfect, not by a long shot,
none of us are. Satan works harder than ever to attack those defending the
truth using every single weakness they possess to damage them visibly and
invisibly. He sinned, we all sinned, and continue to sin and we are all in need
of forgiveness. Our sins don't mean our truth is any less the truth, but Satan
would have it seem that way. Elder Grotheer sought truth as he fought his
spiritual war, I seek truth as I fight my spiritual war, and YOU whoever you
may be, are seeking truth as you fight your spiritual war. In our search for
truth let us lay aside all our preconceived ideas and only search out truth.
God guiding us always through the Holy Spirit!
'First, what is Biblical Exegesis anyway!?!? From <http://library.bu.edu/libraryresearchsth/writingexegesis>
Good question! Most simply put, exegesis is an exposition or an
explanation of a text. You are assigned
to present a critical
interpretation of a passage from Scripture.
The root of the word is from the Greek exēgeisthai to
explain (via Merriam-Webster). Exegesis involves a process of examination by
which one comes to understand a particular passage of the text. A passage
from the Bible that captures a full event or narrative is called a pericope. Your professor’s specific instructions and
your own research interests will of course dictate what pericope you choose to
perform exegesis on or the specific materials needed for your work. You can always ask a librarian to
assist you in finding the perfect resource, too!
First, you will want to explore the context of the passage. This involves imagining yourself as
part of the story. What is the date? What is going on in history? What are the
societal forces at work?
Second, you will dive into the text. Explore the word
choice, grammar, and perceived intent of the author, and engage with others who
have written on the subject before you.
Finally, analyze the text theologically. What do you
believe is the point of the pericope you analyzed, and how do you apply it to
your daily life?
After you have chosen a pericope
from scripture (or one has been assigned to you by your Professor), the first
goal is to explore the context of the passage. Read the
text using several
translations of the Bible, while noting variations (some of our selection is below, but do note we
have many bible translations in many languages, including Greek
and Hebrew), and scan your chosen passage for any hint of date, time,
historical events, social roles of characters, key phrases, and important
theological concepts (for example, in the story of Jesus's birth in the Gospel
of Luke, Luke 2:2 mentions the census when "Quirinius was governor of
Syria"). Think of all the interesting historical and cultural things of
note here! Who was Quirinius? What was the Jewish people's reaction to the census?
How did this exhibit the place of the Jewish people in that society? How does
Luke use the Census to make a point in his story? How does this timeline of
Jesus's birth compare to the other Gospels?
Bible
dictionaries and encyclopedias are great ways to explore context.
Listed below is a couple of great
bible dictionary and encyclopedia resources available at the School of Theology
Library. Look around these call numbers for similar titles, and use
bibliographies in what you find to extend your search! The School of Theology Library also
has access to BibleWorks and Accordance, computer programs that are great for
comparing translations, learning about the geography of areas in the bible,
exploring and learning the original languages, and more!
Finally, search our library's online catalog. Biblical
commentaries are usually listed under the subject heading "Bible.
Criticism, interpretation, etc." It is usually better to search for the
entire book your passage is from ("Bible Criticism Interpretation
Luke" for the above example).
After exploring
the context of the text, next up is to go line by line, verse by verse, through
your pericope, exploring its terms,
idioms, and structures. Read the passage as deliberately as possible, and
highlight things that stand out to you, whether it be use of words, repetition,
argument, or the like. Have dictionaries near by and consult them to discover
the original meaning (for example, the meaning of New Testament Greek may have
a slight nuance that is missing in English). Make note of words and start to
formulate what you think the text is saying.
The School of
Theology Library has many resources to consult during this process, including Interlinear Bibles (bibles that show the original language with an English translation
below), concordances (an index that shows you where particular words show
up in the Bible), and Commentaries.
Information on available Biblical
Commentaries can be found on the left hand side of this guide. Remember, along with Interlinear
Bibles and Concordances, we have access to BibleWorks and Accordance software
inside the library!
Note, when searching the ATLA
Religion Database, you can search by scripture citation as well, for find the
perfect resource within the database for your paper!
The final step in writing
exegesis is to sum up your findings of what the text is trying to say, and
offer modern-day application.
Consult biblical
commentaries like the ones on the left and books in our catalog to see what
other scholars have said about your chosen pericope. Delve into essays by once
again consulting journal articles and essays, like those in the ATLA Religion Database. Consult bibliographies in
the dictionary and encyclopedia
articles you consult. Search subject
headings of books you find useful, or search the area around that call number
in our open stacks.
