NT Framework - God is not a Chicken

Although He may gather us like a hen would her chicks, this doesn't mean He is a female chicken! And yet, this is the accusation made against the literal interpretation of the Bible. What a weak and misguided attack. We read the Bible naturally, taking it as it is presented and not enforcing our perceptions.

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

Transcript

Welcome And Series Context

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Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy

What Literal Interpretation Prioritizes

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it.

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All right, dispensational theology. Let's look at what this is. Don't worry about the word dispensation right now. I know it's like a big word. Don't worry about it. Um we'll we'll kind of get to that, but just don't worry about it for now. First of all, in dispense, the first point is in dispensational theology, the literal interpretation of the Bible is paramount. This is what we are interested in, the literal interpretation of the Bible. So we want to define what we mean by literal because this has often been confusing for people. The meaning of literal can be confusing since many people think that literal means not recognizing that there are figures of speech in the Bible. However, if one does not recognize figures of speech in the Bible, that is known as wooden literalism. And that is not what we hold to as people who hold to literal interpretation. No one that I know of in the entire world holds to wooden literal interpretation of the Bible. Everybody recognizes that all languages in the world contain figures of speech. So it is a straw man

Wooden Literalism And Bad Examples

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to say that, well, if you interpret the Bible literally, then passages that say when Jesus said things like, I am the door, that means that we think that Jesus is a piece of poplar. No, we do not think that Jesus is a piece of oak or pine or whatever. And other passages, like the ones in the Psalms, which say that he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. That does not mean that we don't think he owns the cattle on the 1,000 and first hill. So taking it like Jesus would be a piece of wood, or he only owns the cattle on a thousand hills and not anymore or less. That would be wooden literalism. And that's not what is meant by literal interpretation at all. So what does it here's a good example from the Song of Solomon. In the Song of Solomon, he portrays his beauty of his wife. Oh, how beautiful you are, my darling. And it's, you know, if you take literally, wooden literal, this is what the lady looks like. Your neck is like the tower of David. I mean, how romantic is that, ladies? Uh your lips, my bride, they drip honey.

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You see uh Winnie the Pooh there with his honey jar?

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Milk is under your tongue. Do you see the glass of milk right under the tongue there? Maybe not, maybe. It is there. Oh, I love, you know, your hair is like a flock of goats. It's exactly what my wife was wanting me to tell her today. Uh now that's uh if we were to interpret this description of his beautiful wife uh with a in a wooden literal sense. And that's obviously not what we mean. Uh but that's set up as a straw man because it's easy to knock down and uh think that you've accomplished some great thing. Uh the literal interpretation means there's a literal referent.

Literal Referent And Everyday Idioms

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Okay.

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A referent is the thing the word or phrase refers to. So it's very clear. In the case where Jesus said, I am the door, uh, the referent is to the passageway, the entryway. He's saying, I am the passageway, I am the way to enter. Um, in the case where he said, God owns the cattle on a thousand heels, of course, the referent is to God owning all the cattle. Um in other words, even though there's a figure of speech being used, like a door or cattle on a thousand year heels, um, there's a literal meaning. And and that's not, it shouldn't be that complicated because we have these in our own life. My favorite one that I always use, probably worn out now, is it's raining cats and dogs. And uh if you tell that to a little child, they may go outside very concerned to see the splattering. But uh of course, that that has a literal referent, we mean it's raining hard. And um, it's not really that difficult in our own language as we grow and learn our our um figures of speech to know what's being said.

Ordinary Versus Figurative Literal Language

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So when we talk about the meaning of something being literal, what we can do to help communicate what we're saying is that we can divide it into two ideas. We've got the ordinary, literal way that we speak. This is when we state something in just the normal, ordinary way. And a lot of letters or uh books in the Bible are primarily um in the ordinary literal way of speaking, uh, specifically like narratives, you know, the stories in the Bible, like Jonah is basically a story. Ruth is basically a story, Esther's a story. Uh but also the epistles uh where Paul is giving, you know, saying Romans or 1 Corinthians or 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 Peter's book, they're just giving detailed theological truths, but it's usually speaking in the ordinary literal sense. Not a lot of poetic things. But there's another way that the Bible in all languages speak, and that's in a figurative literal way. So this is when we state something in an unusual or colorful way. And a lot of the poetic books do this, like the Psalms. They're very poetic. And uh of course, some of the apocalyptic literature like like Daniel or Ezekiel or Revelation, where you have uh symbols that are used.

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Four beasts that represent four kingdoms in the book of Daniel, chapter seven.

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So then what we'd want to do is say, well, if these kingdoms are likened to beasts, what does that mean about these kingdoms? Well, it means they're beastly, it means they're ferocious. And of course, that's what we live in now. We have to live in these types of kingdoms. But there's another kingdom coming, it says it's like the Son of Man. So it's actually humane. It's a good kingdom. So we have to find a corollary between the symbol used and and what it's trying to communicate to us. But in both cases, ordinary literal, figurative literal, there's a literal reference, and that's why we tag the word literal onto each of those two different ways of speaking or communicating. And of course, these are the normal rules for all languages. You know, this should not be that complicated.

Reading Bible Genres With Common Sense

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Um, we read the Bible like we would read the newspaper, as one of my seminary professors used to say. Um, if you're reading, you know, the front page, you're probably reading a news story about some important events. But if you're reading the funnies, you know, you read them like they're the funnies. You don't take it seriously. It's supposed to be a joke, supposed to make you laugh. So we read, you know, the Bible, whether it's narrative or poetry or epistle or apocalyptic a certain way, with these types of ideas in our mind, and we expect that.

Visuals Online And Final Requests

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Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spoke and Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.