Have you ever heard a skeptic say you can make the Bible say whatever you want the Bible to say. Well, that’s true, but the operative phrase is “you can make.” That’s just the problem. Too often people go to the scriptures trying to make the Bible say something that the Holy Spirit never intended. The Bible teaches in 2 Peter 3:15-16 “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”

Let’s note several important truths in 2 Peter 3:15-16

• First, the writer says that some of the material covered in the apostle Paul’s epistles is hard to understand. He does not say that it’s impossible to understand, but hard to understand.
• Second, Peter says nothing about an infallible interpreter. For this reason, we should approach the scriptures with great caution as well as respect.
• Third, the apostle Peter refers to the apostle Paul’s epistles as scriptures. When one reads the context surrounding 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” the Old Testament is clearly referenced. Some erroneously conclude that the term scripture does not include the New Testament at all. This passage in 2 Peter proves otherwise.
• Fourth, the apostle tells us that untaught and unstabled people twist, distort, or pervert the scriptures to their destruction. The untaught individual would include the novice or others who are unaware of important Bible facts and perhaps because they’ve not been properly mentored by a more mature Christian stumble and miss a proper understanding of scripture.
• Fifth, when I read about unstable people, twisting, distorting, and perverting the scriptures, I think of those in Ephesians 4:14 who were tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. I’m also reminded of those described in 2 Timothy 3:7 who are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Albert Barnes describes the unstable as those who have no stability in their character and of course nothing he says can be regarded as settled in their methods of interpreting the Bible. They are under the control of feeling and emotion and are liable to embrace one opinion today and another directly opposite tomorrow. Despite the views of some, this is not an accusation that merely the uneducated are the ones who rest the scripture. The truth being that some of the most tortured wresting of the scriptures ever seen on earth has been by men of the highest academic training.

Thus, the unteachable are persons whose passions blind their understanding and make them adverse to truth. All believers must diligently avoid this path because Peter says it leads to destruction. Additionally, division results when one twist the scriptures, even if he has the best of intentions.

Consider an extreme example of an unlearned and unstable person twisting the scriptures. Jesus teaches in Mark 9:43-45, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.”

June 4th, 2018, Houston Chronicle article tells of convicted murderer, Andre Thomas, who memorized scripture in his youth gouging out his right eye while he was awaiting trial. After being sentenced to death, he pulled out his remaining eye. As disturbing as that is even, more gruesome examples of self mutilation have been performed in response to this passage. One must interpret the passage figuratively when we go to the Bible. As tempting as it may be, our objective must never be to make the Bible say anything. The fancy word for that dangerous process is isegesis or reading into scripture.

Proper Bible study involves exegesis, where one lets the Bible speak for itself by applying appropriate and consistent interpretation methods. Division and confusion result when Bible students come to a certain passage and arbitrarily assign a literal or a figurative meaning to the word or passage. Other confusion results when one imposes presupposed ideas onto scripture.

We hope to get a better handle on how to rightly divide the word of truth. We intend and become better equipped to comply with the admonition of 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

In general, when we let the Bible speak for itself, we first seek to understand it literally whenever possible. In his book titled, “Hermeneutics,” David R Dungan articulates fundamental rules in the science of interpretation. By establishing rules to determine the meaning of words and sentences, we avoid a haphazardly and indiscriminately choosing literal and figurative meanings simply to support a predetermined outcome.

Dungan’s rule number one regarding interpretation, “All words are to be understood in their literal sense unless the evident meaning of the context
forbids.–Figures are the exception, literal language the rule; hence we are not to regard anything as figurative until we feel compelled to do so by the evident import of the passage.” Great caution should be observed, according to Dungan, “We are very apt to regard contexts as teaching some theory which we have in our minds. And having so determined, anything to the contrary will be regarded as a mistaken interpretation; hence, if the literal meaning of the words shall be found to oppose our speculations, we are ready to give to the words in question some figurative import that will better agree with our
preconceived opinions.”

Many fanciful interpretations of scripture have been taught because things which are to be understood literally have had figurative interpretations applied to them. Popular author Hal Lindsey misinterprets Ezekial 38 by applying figurative interpretation to literal descriptions. Ezekial talks of an ancient war, with horses, arrows and chariots. Lindsey, trying to fit this into modern times claims the arrows represent missiles and the chariots represent tanks. Certainly the original recipients of Ezekial’s prophecy of an upcoming event would not have made that leap in thinking. And no reader today would think it either, unless they have read the writings of dispensationalists like Lindsey and Scofield who try to fit Ezekial into their system of eschatology. To get a modern war out of Ezekial, one must impose their belief onto scripture rather than letting scripture form their belief.

When interpreting scripture, we must also determine who the original audience was and the purpose of the passage. In the New Testament, we have several letters. These letters were sritten to specific churches, people or individuals to address certain things happening in their lives. To understand the scripture, we must find how the original hearer would have uderstood it. Any interpretation of scripture that would be foreign to the original audience is foreign to the Bible and must be rejected.

An excellent example of how the Bible is misunderstood is the Book of Revelation and particularly, the “Mark of the Beast.” Many people today believe that the “Mark of the Beast” is a microchip. This idea was popularized 20 years ago and is still taught and believed by many today. Yet, the Book of Revelation was written to the seven churches in first century Asia. It was addressing the persecutions they were experiencing and things which “must shortly come to pass,” Revelation 1:1.

It is absurd to think those first century Christians read about the “Mark of the Beast,” and thought, “Wow! Two thousand years from now the Beast will be putting microchips in people. Don’t know what microchips are, but that is obviously what John wants us to know.” No, their thought would have instantly gone to other places in the Bible where people received a mark in their hand or forehead. For example, Ezekial 9:4, “And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, a put a mark on the foreheads of men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are down within it.”
I’m pretty sure Ezekial did not have microchip technology.

To understand scripture, we must interpret as the original hearer would. We must understand it as it was meant to be understood. We must not impose our idea onto scripture, but search for the meaning and let the Bible interpret itself.

Certain groups like the Seventh Day Adventists have twisted scripture into doctrines never imagined. They have made the “Mark of the Beast” to be Sunday worship, they have made Saturday Sabath-keeping imperitive to salvation and have made the Pope to be the Beast of Revelation. Their prophetess Ellen White invented new doctrine, such as the “investigative judgement,” to explain away false predictions of the return of Christ. Their false gospel from imposing new ideas onto scripture have lead many away from the truth and into the abyss.

Remember, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation,” 2 Peter 1:20.

Let us not be named among those who twist scripture to their own destruction.