Thursday, March 8, 2012

Seeking to Understand God's Word!



I am sure you have had the experience while listening to a sermon of a question popping into your mind. You think to yourself, "I wish I could just raise my hand and ask Pastor John (or whomever is preaching) my question." Soooooo if that describes you (or even if it doesn't) ... and you have a question about our studies in the book of Revelation, please ask. To do this, simply click HERE or on the word "comments" below. Once there ... anyone can post a question (or comment) by choosing "anonymous."  Even if you do not want to post a question or comment, you may benefit from viewing the questions/comments of others and my response to them.

Thanks so much! And thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

PS - Thanks, Adam Swift!
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9 comments:

  1. jsmith@gracewv.orgMarch 8, 2012 at 10:24 AM

    Looking forward to interacting with any and all who might have a question about my teaching from the book of Revelation! pj

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  2. AnonymousMarch 12, 2012 at 5:49 AM

    Your tie looked great on Sunday!

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  3. AnonymousMarch 17, 2012 at 9:49 AM

    Alright, here is my go at this...

    The doctrine of Biblical prophesy is a major one to understand, seeing that about one-fourth of the Bible is prophetic/was prophetic at the time it was written. However, when people go about interpretting the prophesies contained in Revelation there is a tendency to interpret them within the whole program of God from the OT to the NT in mind.

    How important is OT prophesy to our understanding of the book of Revelation's prophesy? Are there particular rules for interpretting NT prophesy from OT prophesy? Thanks!

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  4. jsmith@gracewv.orgMarch 28, 2012 at 7:06 AM

    Sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this excellent question. Being out of town last week kept me from getting back to post an answer!

    One of the primary rules of biblical interpretation is the analogy of faith. This simply states that the best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture itself. Makes sense when one considers that there is one ultimate author of the Bible and He never contradicts himself. So the other 65 books of the Bible can indeed (and should indeed) help us as we seek to understand the book of Revelation.

    You mention specifically OT prophesy. The book of Revelation contains many allusions to the Old Testatment. There are over 200 of these in the book of Revelation (most recently we saw two of these in Revelation 5 where Jesus Christ is referred to as "the Lion of Judah" and "the root of David.") Given the large number of these OT allusions, a solid understanding of the OT will prove quite helpful in understanding Revelation.

    As to "particular rules for interepreting NT prophecy from OT prophesy" - I suggest you check out the following link to the article, "New Testament Use of the Old Testament" at http://www.theopedia.com/New_Testament_use_of_the_Old_Testament.

    Thanks for your question!
    pj

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  5. AnonymousApril 1, 2012 at 11:17 AM

    So, Adam Swift was singing that song to live is Christ, to die is gain. Were you saying that we should never fear in the way that you are scared of something? Because I think that if we are facing tribulation, in all directions, we should neither be afraid of death and we should also not be afraid if we live because we know God is with us. This sounds confusing and I didn't exactly know how to put it but would my thinking be correct? By the way, your tie today was awesome!

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    1. jsmith@gracewv.orgApril 9, 2012 at 5:24 AM

      Glad you liked my tie!

      I am not quite sure I got your question ... but here's my answer. If I missed it ... please let me know!

      Fear is a human emotion that we all have. And it is not a bad thing ... at least all of the time. We should be fearful of a raging fire or an approaching tornado. Fear in these situations will cause us to take action that may very well save our lives. On the other hand, we can experience irrational fears (such as the many phobias that people succumb to). These can cause us to become dysfunctional in life.

      Of course, all of us need to learn what it means to FEAR GOD. This, however, is not an emotion but rather an attitude of respect and awe that we possess as we think of God.

      Trust these ramblings help ...

      Thanks for stopping by . . .
      pj

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  6. AnonymousApril 1, 2012 at 11:28 AM

    I have a question that kinda doesn't have to do with the sermon but it has being bugging me for some time. I watched this video in my Science class and they took a huge drill to a site in Antarctica and drilled down into the ground to see what the climate was like millions and millions of years ago. My dad has always told me that the Earth is very young-about 6000 years old. How can it be that they are drilling into the ground and finding fossils from that long ago if God only created the Earth such a short time ago? Are they really finding things from that long ago or is it just a misconception?

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  7. jsmith@gracewv.orgApril 9, 2012 at 5:20 AM

    Certainly a good question, especially in light of what is taught in mainstream academia and reported in the mainstream media. I agree with your dad. The evidence that is used to substantiate an earth that is millions or even billions of years old is shaky at best.

    I would suggest you check out the following link from the Institute of Creation Research: http://www.icr.org/age-of-the-earth/

    Thanks for stopping by . . .
    pj

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