THE SCRIPTURES (Listen or Read)
The Bible has been translated from ancient tongues and cultures by men who carry their own ideas into their translations. They cannot help reading the ancient manuscripts through the lens of their personal theology. They are only human. Since most of our translators have held the doctrine of eternal torment, they unwittingly filtered all they translated from that mindset. That is why we must constantly be on our guard, like the Bereans (Ac. 17:11), comparing Scripture with Scripture based on the original Greek and Hebrew words. “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures…” (Mt. 22:29 KJV).
Unless God gives us ears to hear, the Bible will remain a mystery (Pr. 20:12; Lu. 8:8). For unless He opens our minds and hearts, we toil in vain. “For our sufficiency is from God and not of the letter…for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2Co. 3:5, 6). The Ku Klux Klan is known to have based its evil actions on the “letter” of Scripture, but did the Klan know its Spirit?5 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Ti. 2:15).
To help you rightly divide the word of truth, I submit to you the following five principles of interpretation for your consideration:
¨ Pray for understanding.
¨ Trust Scripture to interpret Scripture, not man.
¨ Base your beliefs on the total forest of Scripture, not a few trees.
¨ Put aside what your spirit reveals is not right or good until the Lord resolves the issue in your heart (1Th. 5:21; Lu. 12:57).
¨ Remember that the ancient eastern custom was to use language in the most vivid possible way.6 (Appendix V, #18)
“Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mk. 12:24)? I encourage you to meditate on the Scriptures presented in this study, for they focus strongly on God’s power. Follow the example of the Bereans, who were “more noble” than the rest, for they did not just take someone’s word for it, but searched it out for themselves (Ac. 17:11). You may find The Word Study Concordance, by George Wigram and Ralph Winter helpful as it lists words according to Greek usage, not English. You do not need to know Greek to use it. Winter explained:
The Word Study Concordance traces not English but Greek words. You can find listed every passage where a given Greek word occurs regardless of how many different ways it may be translated into English. Even the best lexicons are basically some scholar’s reflections on the data drawn from a concordance. Once you have read these Bible passages yourself, you have acquired something no dictionary can easily give you—a certain instinctive feel for the word. You have become conditioned by the actual use of the word (which is the most normal and reliable way to learn any word in any language), not to equate it to some other word. Students often try to short-circuit this process and go directly to a lexicon.7
Since this book has no index, we invite you to download the book free from our website. Use the “find” feature on your computer to look up words, topics, and Scriptures.
With a humble spirit and prayerful attitude, let us look intently into God’s written revelation seeking to understand His character and purpose in His judgments. We will start by critically examining the key points (pillars) on which belief in everlasting punishment is based.
References: See Bibliography page.
