Does the Bible Teach It's Own Hermeneutics? (1)
Every student of Scripture is an interpreter.
Whether we realize it or not, every time we open the Bible, we make decisions about language, context, history, symbolism, prophecy, and fulfillment. These decisions form what theologians call a hermeneutic—the principles by which we interpret God’s Word. The question, therefore, is not whether we have a hermeneutic. The question is where our hermeneutic comes from.
Too often, discussions about prophecy begin with theological systems. Some begin with dispensationalism. Others begin with covenant theology. Still others begin with amillennialism, postmillennialism, or preterism. Each system offers its own interpretive framework, and passages of Scripture are often read through the lens of that framework.
But should that be our starting point?
As Bible-believing Christians, a better question is this:
Does the Bible itself teach us how it is to be interpreted?
If God has revealed Himself through Scripture, has He also revealed the principles by which that revelation is to be understood? Can we discover, not merely from theologians or commentators, but from the Bible itself, how God intends His Word to be read?
This article argues that the answer is yes.
This does not mean that we approach Scripture without any principles of interpretation. We must consider language, grammar, context, history, genre, symbolism, and the relationship between earlier and later revelation. The question is whether those principles are imposed upon Scripture from outside or whether Scripture itself demonstrates how they are to be applied.
The issue, then, is not whether we use hermeneutical principles. We inevitably do. The issue is whether those principles are ultimately governed by human theological systems or by the testimony and interpretive patterns found within Scripture itself. In that sense, the Bible is not merely the object of our interpretation. It also provides the pattern by which we learn to interpret it.
Rather than allowing a theological system to determine our interpretation before we have examined what Scripture itself demonstrates, we should begin with Scripture. We should observe how Jesus interpreted the Old Testament. We should examine how the apostles handled prophecy. We should pay close attention to how inspired writers understood earlier revelation. In doing so, we allow Scripture to become its own guide to interpretation.
This approach does not reject the value of faithful students of the Bible. The writings of Bernard Ramm, Louis Berkhof, Paul Lee Tan, J. Edwin Hartill, A.T. Pearson, and many others have helped generations of Christians think more carefully about biblical interpretation. Their work deserves careful consideration and, at times, grateful appreciation.
Yet no human author, however gifted, stands above the authority of Scripture itself. The principles of interpretation must ultimately be tested by the inspired text, not the other way around. Our goal is not to discover what a particular theological tradition teaches about prophecy, but to discover what the Bible teaches about interpreting prophecy.
Throughout this study, we will repeatedly ask a simple question:
What interpretive patterns do we find in Scripture itself?
If Jesus, the apostles, and the biblical writers consistently handle God’s Word in a particular way, then those inspired examples should shape our own approach to interpretation.
This is especially important in the study of prophecy. Few areas of theology generate more disagreement than questions concerning Israel, the Church, the covenants, the kingdom, and the last days. Yet beneath each of these debates lies a more fundamental question:
How should the Bible be read?
Our conviction is straightforward: the safest hermeneutic is not the one that begins with a theological system, but the one that begins with the interpretive patterns demonstrated by Scripture itself. When the Bible is allowed to teach us how to read the Bible, our confidence rests not in human systems but in the wisdom of the God who inspired His Word.
That is where our study begins.
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Where We Go From Here?
If the Bible does indeed demonstrate its own principles of interpretation, then we should be able to observe those principles in action. In the studies that follow, we will examine how Scripture speaks about revelation, how Jesus treated the written Word, how the apostles handled earlier revelation, and how the biblical writers interpreted prophecy and fulfillment. Only after establishing those foundations will we turn to the larger questions surrounding Israel, the Church, the covenants, and biblical prophecy.
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