Understanding Hermeneutics: Unveiling the True Meaning of Scripture
In the quest to understand the Bible, one encounters a vast landscape of interpretation. From the obscure to the obvious, from the profound to the perplexing, each verse invites us to dive deeper into its meaning. Yet, amidst this complexity, lies the foundational discipline of hermeneutics—a guiding light illuminating the path to clarity and understanding.
The Quest for Truth:
The essence of hermeneutics lies in the pursuit of truth, not in the discovery of novel revelations. Its aim is not to conjure up new meanings but to unveil the plain and simple message encoded within the text. Through the proper application of interpretative guidelines, we discern between the right, the possible, and the erroneous interpretations.
Navigating Interpretative Waters:
Even with the aid of hermeneutical principles, disagreements persist among Christians. Why? Because, in some cases, difficult verses harbor multiple possible interpretations. These interpretations fall into the realm of the "possible," where the application of guidelines yields more than one conceivable meaning. However, this plurality of interpretations does not imply a free-for-all approach to biblical understanding. Instead, it underscores the necessity of discernment and adherence to proper interpretative methods.
Discerning the True Path:
To distinguish between interpretations, we must assess them against the backdrop of established hermeneutical guidelines and orthodox Christian doctrine. These guidelines serve as beacons, guiding us through the interpretative maze and safeguarding against erroneous conclusions. Yet, a significant obstacle hinders our journey: the lack of widespread education in interpretative methodologies.
Unlocking the Toolbox:
Before delving into the intricate terrain of biblical prophecy, let us first equip ourselves with the tools of hermeneutics. At its core, hermeneutics encompasses the science and practice of interpretation, offering a systematic approach to understanding texts. From the original author's intended meaning to its contemporary application, hermeneutics spans the entire spectrum of textual comprehension.
Exegesis: Unearthing the Original Intent
Central to hermeneutics is the process of exegesis—an excavation of the original meaning embedded within the text. By delving into historical and cultural contexts, we unravel the message intended for the original recipients. Exegesis serves as the bedrock of interpretation, grounding our understanding in the author's intended communication.
Cultural Contextual Hermeneutics: A Roadmap for Understanding
Embarking on a cultural contextual hermeneutic journey requires a meticulous approach. By studying historical, cultural, linguistic, and literary contexts, we unravel the layers of meaning within the text. From historical backgrounds to linguistic nuances, each facet enriches our understanding, bridging the chasm between ancient text and modern interpretation.
Exposition: Applying Ancient Truths to Modern Realities
With the lamp of exegesis guiding our path, we transition to exposition—the application of biblical truths to contemporary life. Through exposition, we bridge the chasm between ancient text and modern realities, deriving life lessons applicable to our daily walk. Yet, this transition hinges upon a solid foundation of exegesis, ensuring fidelity to the original message.
A Case Study: Deciphering Matthew 24
Applying hermeneutical principles to Matthew 24 unveils a tapestry of meaning deeply rooted in historical and cultural contexts. By examining Christ's prophetic discourse within its first-century milieu, we dispel misconceptions and unearth timeless truths relevant to both ancient audiences and contemporary readers. Let us look together.
For most Christians today Matthew chapter 24 is full of future events, which had no relevance at all to the first century audience to whom Christ addressed. Since this had nothing to with them, I wonder why he even bothered telling them all these things. Jesus told them these things because it did have a very real and relevant message to them at that time, a message many today no nothing about because of improper study methods, which we discussed earlier. Before we begin our brief exposition of Matthew 24, we must first set the context, without context all you have is a con, for that chapter(24) we need to go back to Chapter 21 and move forward as thats where this story/thought starts. Again the Bible was not written with chapter and verse, therefore reading the full thought is imperative to have the context correct.
In Chapter 21, we find Christ making His triumphant entry into Jerusalem during this highly festive season. He soon cleanses the temple and calls those working in their thieves. He cursed a fig tree that looked to be fruitful but was not, this was a prophetic act of judgment concerning Jerusalem. He tells them that the Kingdom would be taken away from them and given to another nation, gentiles. Chapter 22, Throughout His time in or around the temple during this week of celebration they continue to try and trick Him and trap Him with their manipulation of the law. This brings us into Chapter 23, were He has know silenced the religious Sadducees and Pharisees. He begins to talk to the multitude in which He pronounces a series of woes (pronouncement of judgment) 8 of them to be specific, upon the scribes and Pharisees. This was a pronouncement of judgment that was coming to the religious people and city of Jerusalem. Lets look at the end of this hard word:
Matthew 23: 34-39 - “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, t even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
Matthew 24:1-2 -“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
After His proclamation of judgment upon the city and temple He left and went out and his disciples followed Him as if in utter disbelief. Once outside he pointed out the buildings and the temple. He had been coming here since He was a child, He knew what the buildings looked like, he was not giving them a Holy Land tour.
The disciples were coming up to him as if to say, “Lord not this city, not this temple, this is who we are”. The city of Jerusalem and the temple was the focus of everything, it was the center of the worship, the teaching of the Law, it was symbolic of the Old Covenant. It was and is a very important component to Judaism. However, this form or idea of judaism, this old covenant was ending and a New Covenant was being established.
Jesus confirmed His earlier prediction of Judgment (Matthew 23) by declaring, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Contrary to popular belief Jesus was not describing event’s that would happen to some future rebuilt temple thousands of years later. (There is not one scripture that prophesies a third rebuilt temple) He was speaking about the very temple that they were looking at, the very one he was just standing in pronouncing these woes. Overwhelmed by this prediction, which would no doubt paralyze their way of thinking, they ask Jesus a three part question all concerning his prophetic prediction.
Matthew 24:3 -“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
The disciples knew this judgment that would destroy the city and the temple would result in the “end of the age”. The "end of the age" was the end of the Mosaic age, the Old Testament age as there was now emerging a new age, the age of the Kingdom as proclaimed by Jesus.
The King James has the word “world” there and that is an incorrect translation. The word their correctly translated is “age” which refers to the specific period of time. This specific period was in fact the time of the Old Covenant that specifically applied to Israel. The Old Covenant age was coming to an end and a New Covenant age, the Kingdom age was coming in. The physical Jerusalem would be replaced by the true spiritual Jerusalem (Gal. 4: 21-31). The blood of bulls and goats would be replaced by the blood of Christ. The result of this Judgment would be the “age to come” (Matt. 12:32) which brings Jews and gentiles together making “one new man”.
Although the work was accomplished by Christ on the cross and when He said, “It is Finished”, It was All finished, the manifestation of that work (removal of the old) didn’t manifest until 40yrs later (a generation) when the temple and city was destroyed. This is where history helps also- Note the well respected Jewish historian Josephus, church historian Eusebius and reformer John Wesley.
Josephus -"In the very hour when the disciples exulted in the apparent permanency of their glorious temple, Jesus startled them by foretelling its utter destruction, which, within forty years, was fulfilled to the letter. The emperor Vespasian, and his son Titus, after a three years' siege, took Jerusalem and destroyed its temple, A. D. 70. Of the temple proper not a vestige was left standing, but the vast platform upon which it stood, composed partly of natural rock and partly of immense masonry, was for the most part left standing. The destruction of the city and temple, however, was so complete that those who visited it could hardly believe that it had ever been inhabited”—(Jos. Wars vii. 1. )
John Wesley - “This was most punctually fulfilled: for after the temple was burned, Titus, the Roman general, ordered the very foundations of it to be dug up; after which the ground on which stood was ploughed by Turnus Rufus…this generation of men now living shall not pass until all these things be done- the expression implies that a great part of that generation would pass away but not the whole. Just so it was; for the city and temple were destroyed thirty-nine or fourty years after.” (The Works of John Wesley, 1985)
Eusebius – “All occurred in this manner, in the second year of the reighn of Vespasian (70 A.D.), according to the predictions of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” (Ecclesiastical History, III:7)
When the foundation is laid and we can see and understand He was talking to them (disciple's) about something that was coming upon that generation and He is answering their questions concerning that. This makes the rest of the verses easier to understand and correctly interpret without magically removing them from their historical context and applying them to a day and time that’s actually in our past.
Matthew 24: 4-8 - “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
Again notice how Christ is addressing His disciples (first century audience). Take heed that no man deceive YOU. See that YOU are not frightened. Remember He is answering their question about His prophetic prediction of destruction to the capital city of Jerusalem.
False Messiahs- One of many in that era was Judas of Galilee (Acts 5:37) and also Simon in Acts chapter 8. So were there false messiahs in that day, yes. Again note the saint’s and historians of old.
Eusebius – “After the Lord was taken up into heaven the demons put forth a number of men who claimed to be gods.” – (The History of the Church, 1965)
Wesley- “And indeed, never did so many imposters appear in the world as a few years before the destruction of Jerusalem, undoubtedly because that was the time wherein the Jews in general expected the Messiah.” – (The Works of John Wesley, 1985)
Wars and Rumors of- In the “Annals of Tacticus” which covers the historical era between A.D. 14 until the death of Nero in A..D . 68 it describes it as a time of “disturbances in Germany”, “commotions in Africa”, “insurrections in Gaul”,and so forth. In other words, wars and rumors of them were all throughout the empire at this time, finding a first century fulfillment and a fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic prediction.
Famines- One of many instances of famine is found in Act’s 11:27-28- “And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.”
Earthquakes - There was one at the time of Christ crucifixion (Matt. 27:54) another at His resurrection (Matt 28:2). There was another “great one” that shook the prison house in Acts chapter 16 which loosed Paul and Silas.
Matthew 24:9 - “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.”
Again, Jesus clearly identified His audience, “hate You”, “kill You”. All one has to do is read the book of Acts to see that tribulation and persecution followed the inception of the church. After Pentecost, came power and persecution.
Matthew 24:10-12 - “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”
Because of the persecution and affliction many during this era turned away from the faith and each other (2 Timothy 1:5).
Matthew 24:14 - “ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
The word for “world” here in verse 14 is the Greek word “oikoumene” and not the common word “Kosmos”. This is the only place in the book of Matthew he uses this word and it is best translated as “inhabited earth,” “known world” or “Roman Empire”, in which it is used to refer to a lot. The same word is used in Luke 2:1
Jesus simply told the disciples that the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman empire before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Paul even wrote that the gospel “has come to you just as is in all the world also… Col. 1:6. - Romans 16:26
Matthew 24:15-16 - “ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:”
Parallel passage is Luke 21:20-21:
“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.”
By comparing these two together we can let scripture bring light to scripture and we can pinpoint when the abomination of desolation was to happen - “when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.”
Was Jerusalem ever surrounded by armies prior to AD 70? Yes. Did Christians flee the city? Yes. How then could anyone escape if the city if it was surrounded? The roman general Cestius Gallus who led the siege suddenly retreated and in doing so made a way of escape for all those who believed Christ’s prophecy to flee to the mountains.
There are at least two “abomination of desolation” theories which can be applied to AD 70. The first points to Jewish zealots who wanted to overthrow the Roman government by force. Josephus the historian writes that these zealots had control of the temple very early in the siege and they used the Holy of Holies as their garrison. Criminals and murders walked about freely in the Holy place and they even appointed a non-Levite as a high priest. They thought God would save them and vindicate their cause but He didn’t because this judgment was from Him. This particular abomination is connected to the “man of lawlessness,” which we will look at closer look at as we continue our study in Eschatology.
The second is that the Romans caused it when they walked about the outer courts with their pagan symbols lifted high. They burnt the place down while offering sacrifices to pagan gods. John prophesied by unction of the spirit in Revelation 11:2 that this would happen and it did exactly as he said for 3 ½ yrs.
Matthew 24: 17-20 – “Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:”
There is no doubt He was describing the living conditions of that day and not today. We do not sleep upon our housetops neither do we walk were we are going. I know that many still do in other countries but for most of the world this is not the case.
Matthew 24:21 - “ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
Jesus is not describing a worldwide tribulation in this verse. The geographical context is Judea, “let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains”. All one had to do to avoid this great tribulation was obey Christ and when you see these things, especially the armies surrounding the city, head for the hills.
This tribulation did not exceed the boundaries of Jerusalem and that immediate area of Judea. How people take this, twist it and make a world wide tribulation is at best “adding to or taking away from.”
This tribulation was great because of the sin that brought it on them was great, they killed the lord of glory, they rejected the Messiah himself. (Corinthians 2:8 -Luke 11:50,51 - Matt.27:24-26)
Charles H. Spurgeon – “It was before that generation had passed away that Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed. There was a sufficient interval for the full proclamation of the gospel by the apostles and evangelists of the early Christian church, and for the gathering out of those who recognize the crucified Christ as their true Messiah. Then came the awful end, which the saviour foresaw and foretold, and the prospect of which wrung from His lips and heart the sorrowful lament that followed his prophecy of the doom awaiting his guilty capital.” – (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 218)
Eusebius – “The Whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by divine revelation, entrusted to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella.” (Ecclesiastical History, III,5:86)
We will pick up with the Olivet Discourse starting with verse 22 next time and continue our look at Eschatology.
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