This is Different than You've Heard It

There is no shortage of websites, books, preachers, teachers, groups and other types of resources that offer information on how to interpret the Bible. There are many so-called "Christian" groups and leaders who fervently believe that the Bible is the ONLY source for guidance on how to know and please God, and for information on the history of mankind and earth, and what will happen in the future. Many groups and teachers are super-familiar with the words and stories in the Bible, able to quote the verses quite readily.

At Pioneer Place Ministries we do not like to shy away from hard questions. And one of the key questions is: How do I know if I am interpreting the message of the Bible correctly? Many teachers will tell you: "The Bible is clear...it says this or that (about any particular subject)."

The issue is that for any Bible verse or story, you can probably find several theologians and commentators who will give directly opposing interpretations of the verse or story. So clearly, taking the words at what appears to be face value, or listening to this or that teacher's interpretation doesn't guarantee you know the truth. 

There is no requirement to be a "theologian" or Bible "scholar" to know and please God! There is no office of "scholar" or "theologian" mentioned anywhere in the Bible! And the only person qualified to interpret the Book is the Author of it!

Many, many times throughout the Bible we read statements similar to "The Lord said unto Noah," "God said to Abraham," "the word of the Lord came to so-and-so," etc. Well, can you tell me, HOW, EXACTLY did God "speak" or "say" things to Abraham, Noah and others since at that time there were no Bibles, seminaries, or churches?! It certainly didn't happen through dreams or burning bushes every time.

The point here is that the Voice of God COMES TO THE INDIVIDUAL, inside them...and they knew it was God speaking. The Scripture speaks about the "still, small voice "(1 Kings 19:12) and Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice" (John 10:27).

Many churches don't want to encourage you to cultivate an inner ear to hear the voice of God within. They say that leaves things too much up to personal interpretation and biases and error. They want you to "simply do what the scripture is telling you," but what they REALLY mean is, "Agree with my interpretation of the Scriptures." But teachers themselves, trained as scholars or theologians, ALSO are subject to biases or error! So why would you put your trust in them, even if a lot of them agree about a subject? Does the number of people espousing a belief have anything at all to do with the correctness of it? Isn't it better for each person to hear from God for himself?

There is an Inner Voice inside every person that can lead and guide in every situation. Some call it the intuition. Sometimes a thought or word or phrase will pop into your consciousness. God can speak this way to you. But it's a growth process, learning how to distinguish the Voice of God from so many other voices that we can hear.

What it takes is SOLITUDE, every day getting alone from all other distractions, asking to be led and to grow in hearing the Guiding Voice Inside. Then trust that God will fulfill his promises to guide and teach you. You may make some errors as you continue in your learning process, and clearly you don't want to do obviously stupid things, but we're told to "Grow in the knowledge of God." 

Many churches will say, "Don't ask to hear from God this way. Just read the Bible. Don't you know that the devil can deceive you?!"

Well, people need to learn what the "devil" actually is! Hint: the devil isn't what you were told. We talk about what the devil is elsewhere in our website. And if you're worried about being "deceived," guess what? You're already deceived! Didn't the Scripture say He would keep us from evil (2 Thessalonians 3:3)? Isn't deception evil?

KEY TO INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

The book is designed to be "spiritually" interpreted. There is an inner, spiritual message in every story that is the primary purpose for the story. 

The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 4:24 that the story of Abraham's two sons IS an "allegory." And Revelation 11:8 says Jerusalem is "spiritually called Sodom and Eqypt." And 1 Corinthians 2:14 says that the things of the Spirit of God must be "spiritually discerned." The spiritual, true work of God is an INNER work, and hence the stories in the Bible tell spiritual, inner lessons.

An example is where the children of Israel were commanded to go and "possess the land" that was promised to them. They were to conquer the "giants" in the land. This refers to possessing the Mind of Christ, to live in this "land," and the "giants in the land" are the daunting ideas of error that must be vanquished in our mind so we may operate in the mind of God. Surely the "promised land" is not some geographical piece of dirt in the middle east that is somehow more "holy" than any other peace of dirt here on earth. God is everywhere-present, so how could any piece of the physical planet earth be more holy than any other?! And guess what? Knowing this solves the long-standing conflict in the middle east that centers on the place where Jews and Palestinians live.

BE SENSITIVE TO NUDGES

Always be sensitive to "nudges" or "gut leadings" about some of the text in the Bible. There are errors in translation in the book, and passages have been edited or deleted in some cases. But this is again the reason to learn to recognize the leading of the Spirit of God, so you can be told when an error has incorrectly made its way into the Book. Sometimes you may be inspired to look up the Greek or Hebrew words in certain verses, and you'll see in books like Strong's concordance that there are shades of meaning that are better to understand.

THE BOTTOM LINE

God did not inspire the Bible's writings for people to never understand the meaning of them! Remember that the Book tells ONE message in all of the stories, characters, places and events you read about in it! That message is that we are to become one-with our Heavenly Father/Source, by leaving behind the dictates of our senses (described in the Bible as "sin"). Your senses will deceive you, as they give a PARTIAL picture that appears to show a divided universe...when in fact God is everywhere-present and IN GOD we are living and existing and having our being. Break this code, and you will have not just knowledge, not just wisdom, but UNDERSTANDING. 

Remember that to "worship God" means to "acknowledge Truth" (which is to acknowledge Reality).  In this way we become one-with God, becoming "like Him" (1 John 3:2),  which is the goal and purpose of our journey here on earth!