HERMENEUTICS 101: WHAT IS HERMENEUTICS?

George Offerman

Using proper hermeneutics when reading the Bible is as necessary as following a recipe of your favorite dish. Change one ingredient, and you have a whole different food and experience. Proper hermeneutics is a relatively straight forward process, and this process has been passed down for millennia and has been used for all of that time. This is a large undertaking, so let’s get started.

The Bible has 73 books (Catholic version) approximately 40 authors and was written over a time span of about 1600 years. The vast majority of Catholic theologians and many Protestant theologians state the Bible is the inspired word of God, which is reflected in the fact that the time span reflects differing philosophical and societal changes, which in turn reflect the writer’s personal influences as well. That being said, the Bible is the most consistent and intact Book on the planet concerning the Nature of God and the story of creation and our existence, as well as the most accurately written record of prophecy, and the fulfillment of that prophecy.

Because there are cultural and philosophical influences in the writings, it became imperative to come up with a way to read and interpret, as well as teach what the Bible says. This in turn, gives us an understanding of what God wants, how we are to behave, how we are to treat our fellow man, and ultimately what becomes of us after death. This in essence, is what hermeneutics is all about.

The proper definition of hermeneutics is the study of interpretation of written texts in the areas of literature, religion, law and prophecy. It also incorporates the times, history, context and language used, with emphasis on symbolic meanings. Hermeneutics looks for consistencies in texts, and applies these consistencies into contemporary life in order to guide and direct those who seek to know the truth. The central tenets of the Bible transcend time and society, and thus, are applicable to all peoples at all times.

Hermeneutics has evolved over the centuries, and the further removed from the Biblical times, the more the interpretations have changed and been influenced by our times. The main framework however is intact and the art of interpreting the Bible can be broken down into these four structures: literal, allegorical, moral, and eschatological/mystical. Literal interpretation would read the texts as straight forward as written. Allegorical interpretation would read the text as having symbolic meanings, as poetry, or as relating to secondary symbols, with the symbols being defined in other texts. Moral interpretation would read the text as teaching the faith, such as dogma, and are reflected in most of Jesus parables. Eschatological/mystical interpretations go into the ‘deep thoughts of God’ and involve the future and end of time, as well as salvation, condemnation, heaven and hell and the spiritual realm. (This is also the most dangerous of the four interpretation methods, as it has been the genesis of many of the heresies that will be covered in future postings)

Where many expositors get into trouble is when they use one of the interpretive methods on passages where it does not apply. For instance, the Beast rising out of the sea in Revelation is not a literal seven headed, ten horned monster, but is an allegorical description of a one world religiously lead government. Likewise, many of Jesus parables, that are clearly in the moral interpretation category, have been misinterpreted as literal, and end up causing problems among believers. A modern example of this point would be our colloquialism of “I feel Blue”. Anyone would understand that I am not literally the color blue, but the use of the word blue would be seen as symbolic of a mood that most everyone could relate to. Those who would take it literally would ultimately end up on a wild goose chase, and look very foolish.

The art of reading and interpreting the Bible needs to be understood in light of what passages and contexts are being addressed. When one knows which of the four interpretive methods to be used, the Bible reads fairly straight forward and clear. When this does not occur, it brings about confusion. We had a phrase in seminary for this called ‘fractured scripture”, and the funniest example I ever saw, was in a girls’ dorm room in which they printed up on a banner “Now, I will make you fishers of men”. On a more somber note, another example of fractured scripture is from the heretical “Gospel of prosperity” which misquotes 2 John 1-2 in wishing “for you to prosper as your soul prospers”. This is a personal greeting, standard for those times, and (intentionally) misinterpreted to be a theological reality and promise of prosperity to some believers. That would be analogous to taking the command from God to Moses to “strike the rock with your staff” and produce water, which was time specific and meant only for Moses. (I don’t see anyone striking rocks now a days believing water will flow from it.)

I will end this discussion today by going over one of the responses I received from the oil spill posting. This individual accused me of misinterpreting the oil spill, and insisted the burning platform did fulfill the burning mountain being cast into the ocean, that a third of the sea creatures will eventually die form the contaminated water, that also has a red hue which fulfills blood, and eventually, one third of the ships will be destroyed, by being dry docked or out of commission due to ocean conditions.

I will give this person the benefit of the doubt (despite the fact the first trumpet did not take place, and that it was not a cosmic event). John the evangelist had a vision and was told to write it down as he saw it. John saw a burning mountain being cast into the sea, the sea turned to blood, one third of the sea creatures died and one third of the ships were sunk. In order for this individual’s interpretation to be correct, there would be an interchange of both literal and allegorical interpretations going on at the same time. For instance, the burning platform being the mountain would be seen as a literal interpretation, but the platform sank, and was not cast down. The sea has many colors from the spill, one of which is red, but the dominant color is black. So the word ‘blood’ would have to be allegorical, as it would be symbolic and not literal. As of this time, there are not the massive deaths of sea creatures, and not one ship has sunk or has been destroyed. If one decides the sinking of the platform fulfills the word ‘cast down’, then the problem is what does one do with ships being sunk? Both the platform and ships float, and John would not have used different words to describe the same events. Casting down is different than sinking, and we have the literal interpretation method being used for the first part of the prophecy, and then switching to allegorical, back to literal with the sea creatures, then back to allegorical for the ‘destruction’ of the ships.

An asteroid fulfills the prophecy in totality. It is cast into the ocean from the heavens, burning as it enters the atmosphere, vaporizes trillions of gallons of water instantly, sending a massive tsunami in all directions that washes out coastal areas, killing most of the sea creatures in the ocean it hits, and sinking all the ships in the vicinity. The water would turn red from the blood of the dead sea creatures, as well as possible red algae plumes due to de oxygenated waters. This interpretation is using the literal method, due to the fact that there is neither allegorical language used, no moral teachings involved in this verse, or eschatological principles. It describes a deliberate event sent from God, and therefore, qualifies as a literal event in its totality and should be read as such.

I hope this was not too long, and hope this made sense. See you next week for the next addition.

RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK FROM THE OIL SPILL POSTING

George Offerman

I have a lot of ground to cover in this posting, so please excuse the ‘choppiness’ of the topic changes. First, I would like to thank those who took the time to respond in any of the fashions that you have. The majority were very positive and heartfelt, while some were on the other side, and condemning. Frankly, that’s ok with me, as it actually stirs up what needs to be stirred up, and in some senses, exposes how one really operates.

However, for those who have insisted the interpretation I presented is patently false, I am going to do something that most likely you have not experienced before: I will hold you accountable for your interpretation, and when it does not come true, I will request you at least have the integrity to admit your error and make a retraction. It is this behavior that does the most damage to Christianity, and I have found over the past 30 + years of doing this, these characters are the most ‘slippery” and absolutely resist admitting they are wrong. Pride commeth before the fall.

Also, I want to make it clear that I NEVER SAID there cannot be man made crises that are not instigated by evil, or do not have spiritual ramifications. What I DID SAY was the oil spill DOES NOT FULFILL REVELATION AND THE TRUMPETS. Sometimes I have to wonder if people read what I write, because I, more than most, do see evil in many arenas, and have written extensively about legalized child killing, the dereliction of duty by most of the Bishops, vaccines, population control, genetic modifications, the evils of the Federal Reserve and money powers, the formation of Babylon right in front of us, and other matters that most likely are related to the Revelation timeframe. These are all man made, and most definitely are spiritually lead by the evil one.

It is heartbreaking to me to see the hunger and need for proper education and instruction on such rudimentary issues such as reading the Bible. I spent 4 years in the Seminary, and have to admit that a lot of what I learned is not preached or taught by most of the priests. It is a great injustice to the laity, as the Catholic Church, IMHO, does hold the vast majority of answers to most of the contemporary issues and where we are concerning the time frame of history. And it is extremely bothersome that the Church hides behind its 501 C 3 tax exempt status, as well as being tied to political correctness in not correcting very basic violations of its main tenets such as chastising or ex communicating those receiving Holy Communion while advocating or actively participating in child killing, homosexual scandals and subsequent cover ups and blatantly advocating the violation of other areas of legitimate law, while punishing those who dare to speak up.

To this end, with the prompting of some folks, I will utilize the training I received, and do a several part series on proper hermeneutics. This should have been obvious to me some time back, as I was called out on my own behavior, by complaining about the Church not teaching this, and having this knowledge, and not doing anything with it. So, I stand guilty of that charge, and thus will go ahead and do this.

Also, I want any potential critic of this to note my site does not have a pay pal function, so I don’t take donations. I also have not stated, or intimated that ‘babies will die” or ‘the world will come to an end’ if you do not ‘support’ this ‘ministry’. I have a successful career as a psychotherapist and self fund all of my pro life endeavors, as well as this site. If anyone feels the need to donate, there are several pro life organizations that are really hurting for funding, and at some point I will put that information on the site.

So, starting next Wednesday, and following through on a weekly basis on Wednesday, I will post about hermeneutics and address the purpose and methods of hermeneutics, starting with the Broad overview of the Bible, and end with specifics of Revelation. The goal will be to teach this methodology, so that you are able to apply rules of interpretation and come to conclusions that are consistent and accurate.

In the mean time, I went through the site and have listed some postings that utilized hermeneutics and it may be of some assistance to the reader. I do apologize for the archives section, and hope to upgrade this site to make it more user friendly.

Oct. 1 The enemy in the Dark
Oct. 15 The wonderful book of Revelation
Oct. 19 The first four trumpets
Oct. 21 Babylon
Oct. 22 More thoughts on Babylon
Oct. 23 A call to arms
Oct. 28 The fifth trumpet
Nov. 24 Faulty prophecy
Dec. 1 Dec. 21, 2012 the safest day in the future
Dec. 14 the sixth trumpet: war
Dec. 16 Mark of the beast
Dec. 18 More thoughts on the Mark of the Beast

MARK OF THE BEAST

George Offerman

"He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666." (Revelation 13:15-18)


By this time, the survivors, in Babylon and elsewhere, are in “shock and awe” over what they just witnessed, and again, dead are everywhere, but this time through the orders of this lamb like beast and executed by what appeared to be angels of light. Babylon again, is earning its name ‘confusion’ as the surviving inhabitants are trying to figure out what was just done. Some are beginning to have doubts about the nature of their ‘god’ and may begin to question the powers that be about this.

The lamb like beast begins a rather rapid transformation into the dragon, and man of lawlessness, and begins to make outrageous demands of the remaining survivors, which are now mainly in Babylon. With all of his enemies either destroyed, or imprisoned and waiting execution, there is no more resistance to Satan, and he now shows his true nature. Since those that have participated in Babylon have not lived by faith and trusted the message of the 144,000, their hearts have grown cold, and their ability to now trust in the word of God is greatly compromised.

Satan is now preparing for the ultimate test of mankind. Satan sets up a test nearly identical to that of King Nebuchadnezzar in that he builds a very large image of himself and will require all to submit to it. Unlike, Nebuchadnezzar though, Satan is allowed to breathe life into this image and this very unnerving event will scare nearly all of the inhabitants into obedience to Satan and his desires.

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." (Revelations 14:9-11)

The action now centers in the Middle East, as this area is now the centerpiece for the rest of Revelation. Instead of sacrificing animals for the ‘atonement of sin’ Satan will now require human blood, and will finish off the 144,000 and most of the believers with the seal of the Living God. The method used in execution will be beheading, and this method will effectively terrorize the inhabitants of Babylon into submission. The amount of blood shed at this event is considerable and it very well may be that there are several rows of guillotines going at break neck speed. Take the mark and be spared execution, or be beheaded with those that have the mark of the Living God and the remnant of the 144,000.

"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4)

Cowardice will reign supreme as the vast majority will submit to the demands of the dragon and take his mark. During this time, there is ample evidence that God literally sends angels, who will be visible in the heavens, warning the inhabitants to not take the mark of the beast, at the same time they seen massive numbers of executions and amounts of blood unimaginable. God has such love for his creation, that when the time comes for this ultimate test, he will allow for very supernatural events to take place, and those willing to walk in faith will be given the ability, and peace to submit to death for their witness.

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!” “Yes,” Says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them” Rev. 14:13

The mark of the beast is translated as 666, and Scripture states it is literally a tattoo. Why this seems to be a more literal interpretation is possibly twofold: 1) Satan, despite being fallen, is still an angel, and angels are messengers and ministers of God. Satan is still under obedience from God, and has to obey his commands. God has mandated that 666 be used, and it seems one could make a case that it will be done literally as it is written. 2) Technology will primarily be wiped out, and there may be no other way but an ugly tattoo, which is also humiliating, and is reminiscent of slavery, going back millennia.

Unlike what many current commentators are saying and presenting about the mark of the beast, it cannot be an event outside of the trumpets, it must require the presence of Satan, lamb like beast, anti Christ or whatever term one wants to use for the devil, and there has to be the penalty of death, which is immediate, after refusal to take it. Scripture cannot be clearer concerning this event and God would never allow for people to be tricked into an event with the eternal consequences such as this.

For prophesy to be fulfilled, it must meet ALL the criteria of the prophesy, or it is not fulfilled. The mark is an eternal decision, and never in the history of the universe has there ever been one event that has brought about instant judgment for such a large number of beings. Therefore, to attribute the mark to some sort of chip, universal bar code or whatever the going story of the month is is to trivialize the story of Revelation.

I have been asked too many times about the mark and the attempts to microchip us. I am in agreement with most of the commentators that we as Christians must RESIST this. The primary reason is that I and others who see prophesy this way is it is ‘mark like’ meaning, the more one can be conditioned to a certain thought pattern and behavior, the easier it is to introduce the ‘real thing’. If a Christian can justify being micro chipped, for whatever reason, they will be more susceptible to taking this mark when it comes along. It is no different than any other sinful behavior; once one conditions themselves to breaking a rule, or behavior; it is only a matter of time when the same person will give in to larger and more harmful behaviors. Satan will trivialize this act, but will have a great show of murder for the non compliant. Fear will rule, and many will justify doing this without understanding the ‘permanence’ of it. Obviously, Satan gets the significance of this, and will force this onto whomever he can.

Again, cowardice will rule the day. The mark of the beast is so well known by virtually every religion and society on the planet. There will be no one who can plead ignorance on this matter, and it will be no secret when it happens. People will succumb to the mark mainly through lack of preparation, which is in essence lack of faith. Saving oneself by taking the mark will carry a penalty that will not be evident until after taking it, and this will result in the greatest anguish ever experienced by living humans up to this point.. This is the sin of the spirit, the unpardonable sin, and any semblance of the Holy Spirit residing within these individuals will vanish at the moment they take the mark. And the sad part is, they will be aware of this moment, as God abandons them to their master FOREVER.