“For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;” (2 Corinthians 1:13)

We all struggle at times to understand the Scriptures. The area of prophecy is often especially difficult to understand due to its apocalyptic nature, with dragons, beasts, imagery, etc. this difficulty has resulted in score of various views of what the Bible teaches about the future. We have premillennialism, amillennialism and postmillennialism. Within each of these camps, there are many different opinions on the details. Many of these disagreements are a result of how we interpret the Bible.

As we read the Scriptures, we all must be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11. The residents of Berea were commended for searching the Scriptures to “whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Searching the Scriptures involves not only reading the text, but interpreting what is written there as well.

Hermeneutics has been defined as the science and art of Biblical interpretation. There have been huge writings on hermeneutics, but we want to boil it down to the essence of interpreting the Bible. What method should we use? What are some principles that should guide our interpretation of the Bible?

Historically, there have been 3 basic methods of Biblical interpretation espoused by scholars. These are the spiritual method, the allegorical method and the literal (or face value) method. We will look at each of these briefly to determine the correct method of interpretation.

SPIRITUAL METHOD

It is the practice of interpretation in which the interpreter finds a broader, or figurative, or typical meaning given to the passage by the Holy Spirit.. this method of interpretation looks for multiple meanings in the text, going beyond the literal meaning, to what have been called the literal, allegorical, topological (moral) and anagogical sense of the passage. These are the deeper meanings that the Holy Spirit has “hidden” beneath the literal text, and it is the job of the interpreter to draw them out. The problem inherent with this method of interpretation is that the interpreter becomes the judge of the meaning of the text. There is no objective standard to measure the accuracy of the interpretation. Ten people can interpret the text in ten different ways as they are led either by the Holy Spirit or something else, and we would be unable to say that one is right and the other nine are incorrect.

ALLEGORICAL METHOD

The method of interpreting a text that regards the literal sense as the vehicle for a secondary, more spiritual and more profound sense, hidden beneath the text. A common theme of allegorical interpretation is to assign definitions to common terms. For example, water represents the Holy Spirit, tree represents new life, rainbow represents promise, valley represents sin and so on. For allegorical interpreters, every biblical story, no matter how seemingly mundane or boring, is meant to convey spiritual, deeper truth. The literal understanding is ignored and seen as merely a vehicle for the deeper spiritual meaning. Once again, the problem with this understanding of the Scripture is that each person can define terms as they see fit and see whatever deeper truths they want to see. There is no objective “dictionary of allegories” that we consult to understand Scripture. Each person can have their own interpretation and there is no way of saying who is right and who is wrong.

FACE VALUE (LITERAL) METHOD

The method of interpreting a text that interprets terms in their normal, customary designation. Each word is given the basic meaning it would have in normal, ordinary usage, whether employed in writing, speaking or thinking. This method has also been called the historical-grammatical method of interpretation.. In this method, the primary goal is to understand the original intent of the author when he wrote. The underlying assumption of the face value method is that God intended to communicate His word to man so that we could understand it. God did not try and hide truths in Scriptures; His intent is not to make it as difficult as possible to understand. Rather, he want us to read and understand His word. The Apostle Paul says the same thing to the Corinthians when he writes “For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;” (2 Corinthians 1:13)