(My text in red)
Rule 3: No Prophecy of Scripture is of Any Private
Interpretation
We have pictured the seven rules as
seven links in a chain, the first of which is anchored firmly to the Word. Then we came to the two sides of the second
rule, and found them interlinked in value, coupling the first and third
links. But now, as we come to the third
link, we have a serious problem. Who is
to say what is “private interpretation”
or what is not? We quote directly from
Dr. Lowe’s classroom notes.
This rule is of vital importance, no
matter what passage is being considered.
The right of private
interpretation is to be distinguished from the rule of private interpretation.
2 Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no
prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”
What is, theologically considered, PRIVATE
INTERPRETATION?
When Peter wrote these words he had a different thought from what the theologians
of this era have in mind. Nevertheless,
both ideas have there place. Consider:
Dr. W. E. Vine gives the
explanation in his highly respected EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT
WORDS:
(Interpretation) 2.
EPILUSIS, from epiluō, to loose, solve, explain, denotes a solution, explanation, literally
a release (epi, up; luō, to loose),
II Peter 1:20, “(of private)interpretation;”
i.e., the writers of Scripture did not put their own construction upon the ‘God-breathed’
words they wrote.
Now the important point here is the summary: “the writers of Scripture did not put their
own construction upon the ‘God-breathed’ words they wrote.” The forty or more writers of the Bible books
did not inject their own ideas into the writing given to them by the Holy
Spirit. But, at this end, the concern is
not about the writings (that is already settled—we have the books as the Holy
Spirit dictated, and without inflections of the “stenographers,” for they wrote
exactly as they were dictated to.) Our
problem is with our ideas
infiltrating into what God has already clearly given.
How can we simply identify this trend, and make it clear in our own
minds? Consider:
The Bible is one complete unity of thought, plan, purpose, and
teaching. It is not a conglomerate of
ideas about God or religion! The Bible
does not contradict itself!
Moreover, it is to be remembered that our Lord will never reveal anything which is contrary
to His Word! In the First Epistle of
John we have the key:
1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth
in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing
teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath
taught you, ye shall abide in him.”
The Holy Spirit Himself teaches the believer (the truly born-again
child of God, not the mere professing church member) and the same Holy Spirit
will never teach anything contrary to the mind and will of God! What this MIND and WILL of God is, is clearly
given in the Word. Now some sincere
people, claiming this anointing, have a tendency to put their own, “The Lord told me” against the facts
revealed within the Bible. The believer
can identify that which is of the Holy Spirit and that which is of the will of
man (even the man may claim this
anointing and stand on the phrase “and ye
need not that any man teach you”) by a simple comparison of what the Word
says.
A TRAGIC
ILLUSTRATION:
An earnest Christian woman fell in love with a man who very obviously
was not saved. She insisted on marrying
him, declaring that the Lord had told her to do so. Those who were concerned had to stand
sorrowfully on the sidelines and witness this tragic union, powerless to
convince her of the “unequal yoke” of
2 Corinthians 6:14. She had determined
that the Lord had given her a special revelation which was contrary to, but not
superceded His Written Word! Such
tragedy is repeated again and again.
It is one thing for a
person who is married—both of them unsaved at the time of marriage—to be saved,
and eventually lead the mate to the Lord (and, just as often, to not lead that
mate to the Lord) and it is another matter to deliberately step out of the Lord’s
direct will by making such an unwarranted alliance! Oh, that Christian young people would heed
the admonitions to avoid even casually dating unsaved persons! Why can’t they see tragedies that are already
within the church assembly? Every reader
of this page knows of the binding circumstances which follow casual
affiliations with unsaved persons. 2
Corinthians 6:14 applies to business agreements…to social contacts…to dating…and
to mating! For every case where an
unsaved mate was finally won to the Lord, there are a hundred which didn’t end
that way---and you know it!
But, back to our main question: How can we protect ourselves from the
vanity of giving some passage of the Scripture our own private
interpretation? Is there a danger that
we shall “jump to a conclusion” about some interpretation of a passage? Probably in no other sphere of Christian
teaching is this temptation more rampant than in the matter of Bible
prophecy. The following illustration has
had it duplicates on many prophecies:
TOO HASTY
DEDUCTIONS:
During World War II, the writer was pastor of a small country church,
and in the congregation was a man who assumed that he himself was quite a
student of prophecy. On reading the book
of the REVELATION (he always insisted that the name was in the plural) he read
about the three unclean spirits like frogs…and immediately propounded that this
unholy trio was Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin! However, time has proven him to be somewhat
erroneous in his deductions and his “private
interpretations” (made public to
anyone who would stand still and listen) came to naught!
In John 17 our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for us—even for us, who live
at this far end of the Age of Grace! In
verse 17, He prayed that we might be
sanctified by His Word—that we might
be set apart to his glory through His Word!
Our Lord was concerned that the Word might “have free course, and be glorified” within each of us. The Lord Jesus prayed for us in the matter of “private interpretation.” (He
is even now also interceding for us
at the right hand of the Father!)
Paul had a concern for those whom he had the privilege of leading to
the Lord in the church established through his ministry. We have a clear example of this in his letter
to the Ephesian believers. Concerning
this, Dr. Lowe continued his dictation:
In Ephesians 1:17 and 19, and in chapter 3: 16-19, we find Paul’s
prayer that the saints might have a knowledge of God’s Word. The Apostle John speaks of the anointing of
the Holy Spirit (I John 2:27), by which Spirit we are taught.
Eph. 1:17-19 “That the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what
the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to
us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,”
Eph. 3:16 “That he would grant you…to be strengthened with might by
His Spirit…”
17 “That Christ ma dwell in your hearts by faith: that ye, being
rooted and grounded in love,”
18 “May be able to comprehend…”
19 “And to know…”
Paul prayed that the believers at Ephesus (and by extension, we who
are believers at this end of the Age of Grace) might have three vital gifts
from the Lord: (1) WISDOM; (2)
REVELATION; and (3) KNOWLEDGE OF
HIM! With this comes, “the exceeding
greatness of His power to us,” and from
chapter three, “strengthened with might by His Spirit” that “Christ might dwell
in our hearts by faith,” that we might be “rooted and grounded…and able to comprehend!”
When it comes to the matter of discernment, perhaps we should make
this our prayer also.
This lesson will be
continued in my next post.
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