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vague or difficult-to-be-understood
scripture.
Too many people assume that the
vision which Peter had regarding the
unclean beasts lowered to him on a
sheet affirms that God "cleansed"
unclean meat. Because they take out
of context a verse, unclear of itself,
that says, "What God hath cleansed,
that call not thou common" (Acts
10:15). However , all they need todo
is read on two more verses and verse
17 very plainly says that Peter him–
self doubted what the vision meant
when he saw it. He didn't jump to
any conclusions. Further reading in
the same chapter will explain what
Peter finally carne to understand
about the vision. Read verse 28:
"God hath showed me [by means of
this vision] that
1should not cal/ any
MAN
common or unclean."
.
When studying any one particular
biblical subject or doctrine, begin
with the plainer scriptures. Reserve
the more obscure ones until you have
more knowledge. Realize that ·sorne
scriptures- if taken by themselves
and out of context--can be made to
say more than one thing. This is why
it is important to observe a previous
rule: Study
al/
the scriptures on any
one subject to get at the truth. But,
always begin with plain, clear scrip–
tures.
When studying the law and the
Ten Commandments, keep these
clear and plain scriptures in mind: I
J ohn 3:4; 2:4; 5:2, 3; Matthew 5: 17;
19:17. These scri ptures cannot be
twisted to say that God's law and
coinmandments are abolished and no
longer need to be obeyed.
If
heaven and hell is the subject,
begin with such scriptures as John
3:13 and Acts 2:34. Then understand
John 14:2 and Luke 16 in the light of
John 3:13 and Acts 2:34. About the
soul: Genesis 2:7, Psalms 146:4 and
Ecclesiastes 9:5 are clear and plain.
Matthew 10:28, on the other hand, is
vague and obscure. Any such scrip–
ture must be understood in the Jight
of the p1ainer ones.
Use Severa! Translatlons
In Matthew 27:46 Jesus Christ,
while hanging on the cross before He
died, used the Aramaic translation of
the first verse of Psalms 22. Even
February 1980
though the original Word of God was
inspired in the Hebrew or the Greek
(sorne portions of the books of Daniel
and Ezra were inspired in Aramaic),
God has allowed it to be translated
into nearly every language spoken by
mankind.
If
we were going to be
particular about which language we
used or which translation, then we
would all have to Jearn Hebrew and
Greek and study the Bible in its
original languages.
The King James Version was
translated about 370 years ago. In
the time since, the English language
has undergone many changes. Sorne–
times those texts which are vague
and unclear in the King James can be
~~
Al/ you have to do
is
be
patient and search God's
Word and you will come
up with God's clear
answers to the muddled
questions of mankind.
' '
cleared up very easily by just reading
a more modern translation such as
the Revised Standard Version.
There is one thing to note about
the King James translation, and that
is l'egarding italics. This word
italic
is written in italics. Words that look
like this in your King James Version
are not in the original languages but
are supplied by the translators. So
everywhere in the King James Ver–
sion where you notice words in italics
they are supplied to help you under–
stand the meaning of the sentence.
However, the translators did not
always supply the wofds correctly. So
sorne few of these words in italics are
incorrect and do not help, but rather
hinder, your understanding.
On the other hand, not all of the
words which are supplied by the
translators are in italics. Take I John
5:7 for instance, where the reference
to three who bear witness in heaven is
a completely erroneous reference
inserted by a monk-copyist in the
Middle Ages. The fact is, this partic–
ular verse appears only in the King
James Version.
Often these difficulties will be
cleared up by merely reading more
than one translation. Any questions
arising after a thorough reading
through severa! translations of any
one verse will be relatively few, and
can usually be handled by studying
further in Bible helps.
lf there are words that you have
difficulty in understanding, remem–
ber not only to look them up in an
English dictionary such as Web–
ster's, but if possible in a Bible
dictionary orina concordance so that
you can see what the meaning of the
word in the original is. Sometimes
people will look up a word in a
modern dictionary and find a defini–
tion that is not at all the
sense
of the
word as used in the King J ames
Version. Take for example the word
"conversation" in 1 Peter 3. Conver–
sation for us today means talking
between two people. A dictionary
will give this definition. However, in
the time of King James, this particu–
lar word meant
the entire conduct
of
a person, and that is the usual mean–
ing in the Bible of this word.
Another good example is the word
"prevent." Its usual biblical meaning
is to
precede
or
go before,
but it
means to
hinder
in modern-day
English. Therefore 1 Thessalonians
4:15 should be corrected to read:
" ... We which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not
precede
[prevcmt] them which are
asleep."
Often a more modern translation
such as the Revised Standard Ver–
sion will also clear up many of these
word problems. In order to under–
stand certain biblical expressions,
then, you need to understand the
meaning in a modern dictionary.
But this leads to our next rule.
Don't Establish Doctrine Wlth
"Bible Helps"
No Bible help is the final authority
on doctrine. They are, at best ,
helps- nothing more.
A good Bible handbook-Halley's,
for example- can be helpful for
charts and tables. King lists, chrono–
logical data, and miscellaneous infor-
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