There are some questions you should be asking when studying your Bible. Most can be answered with the five w's and one h....who, what, where, when, why, and how.
WHO is being talked to and WHO is doing the talking.
WHAT is taking place at the time.
WHERE is the event taking place, and WHERE is the prophecy supposed to take place.
WHEN is the conversation taking place, and WHEN is prophecy (if that is what's being discussed) supposed to take place.
WHY is the conversation taking place at all? What are God's reasons for the event happening?
HOW is all of this supposed to be accomplished?
The mistake MANY of us make is mistaking the Bible to include all of us today. If you ask the above questions of EVERYTHING you read in Scripture, you will realize that this is not the case. Take Mark 9:1 for instance. (Copied from site posted here) And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
In this Scripture, if you ask yourself WHO is being talked to, you can see that Jesus (another Who) is talking to those standing around Him. WHAT is being talked about is the coming Kingdom. WHERE is in Israel. Obviously, the prophecy is supposed to come true soon (WHEN) as He plainly stated that some there would actually SEE this taking place. WHY it's taking place is to show those around Him that the prophecies were soon to be fulfilled and to offer comfort to them. HOW it all is to be accomplished can be answered with other Scriptures.
This is why, as a Preterist, I look at the Bible a different way than most people. Another thing to remember is the speech of the people back then. Things change in the way people talk! Just in my time, one word stands out as changing in meaning, and that word is "gay." When I was young, it meant "happy." Now, it means homosexual and is rarely used to mean happy anymore. If this has happened in less than fifty years, how much more can meanings change with many words in more than 2000 years?
Do this with EVERY SCRIPTURE you read, and you will quickly understand that what I am saying is true. God can and WILL reveal the answers to you if you ask with a sincere heart. He's still VERY MUCH involved in our lives today if we ask Him to be. I'm living proof of this in more ways than one. I've had two miracle healings, once as a kid, and once as an adult. God spared my life in a horrible car crash that took the life of my mother when I was eight years old. I could go on and on and on, but I'm sure you can look over YOUR life and see where God has had a direct Hand in yours as well. He is no respecter of persons and will be there if we invite Him to be.
Thank you for sharing this. I feel as though it's important to look at things from different points of view no matter what it is. Looking at something from just one point of view is too one sided and can be confusing, and of course asking all the right questions is important in understanding anything.
friend needs prayer
- rhope4
on May. 6, 2012 at 3:01 PM