 All right. Good morning to BC 106 on interpreting scripture. We're going to take a moment just to pray together and then we will get started. Could somebody please lead us together in prayer as a class? Could somebody pray with us, please? Father, we come to the throne of grace. Thank you for today. You have given us a lot. As we are going to learn from the interpretation of your word, Lord, Lord, give us wisdom. Lord, give us guidance. Lord, give us fear so that we can understand each and every word spoken by the teacher. Lord, we need your wisdom. Lord, guide us and provide us the knowledge to understand these words. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. All right. Good morning once again. Thank you for being in the class today. I'm going to quickly review a few things that we started talking about last week. And then we move forward in our learning of the guidelines with which we interpret scripture. So, okay, let me go ahead and share the PDF. So, last week, we talked about grammar, how we look into the grammar of the text. That means we study the words, we study this, look at the sentence, we look at the tense, you know, and we look at the meanings of the words in Hebrew or Greek. And so we take all of that into account into interpreting that verse and so on. And we looked at some examples. We also look at how the writer uses that word or phrase in other parts of his writing. So we keep that also in mind because it's very likely that, you know, he's being consistent in his thought in why he chooses certain words. So all of these factors we take into account as we talk about the grammar of the text. Then we moved into talking about figures of speech, which, you know, we understand this in English language because even in English we use figures of speech. We know that the figure is not to be taken literally, but the figure conveys a certain meaning. And that the meaning is what we should be using in understanding what is being spoken or what is being written. And so we went through a few examples. And then we started talking about this part on some guidance here on, you know, how do we go about interpreting figures of speech. So that's where we were last week. So just to, just to quickly review the first few points. You know, so as we're reading the text, we understand how we recognize that a figure of speech is involved. You know, I've just given a few examples. There's so many, many in the scriptures. So when Paul writes, he talks about a soldier, an athlete, a farmer, and he's comparing soldier, athlete, farmer to a believer. So it's a figure of speech. He's just using that picture or metaphor or that figure to communicate a certain meaning that he has in mind for the believer. So you recognize, yeah, he's using a figure of speech. And then you look at the two objects that are being compared. There is the image. There is a non-image. So there is, for example, in Psalm one, it says about the person who delights in the word of God, he will be like a tree planted by rivers of water. So the image is a tree that is planted by the reverse of water. That's the image. The non-image is the person, the person who delights in the word of God. So there is the image and the non-image. So there are these two things that are being compared and certain ideas from the image or the picture, which in this case is a tree that is planted by rivers of water, is being transferred to the actual person that is being spoken of. So you understand what's the image, what's the non-image. Then, so that's where we start, then we pick up, okay, what is the point of comparison? That means there are certain attributes of the image that are being transferred to the non-image. Those are the points of comparison. So when you talk about a tree planted by rivers of water, you know, you think about a tree that is well nourished, which has no lack because there is rivers of water and therefore the tree itself is very fruitful, it's flourishing. So those are the points of comparison that is being transferred to the non-image, the person. So that's what we must keep in mind. Now, the tree, so the rule is only transfer those points of comparison. So don't go beyond that because beyond that was not intended by the writer and will lead us into, of course, wrong ideas. It will lead us into error. And I'll come to that in point number five. Now, the other thing that you must also keep in mind is in point number four that in the Bible, the same figure could mean different things. It doesn't always mean the same thing. And we are familiar with this. For instance, the lion is used both for the Lord Jesus Christ and is also used for Satan. So Satan is like a roaring lion. But Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. So the lion, which is the image is used both for Jesus and for Satan. But depending on the context, you will know whom it's referring to. And the same image is used to convey a different point of comparison. So when we talk about Jesus being the lion, the tribe of Judah, we're talking about the lion as the king of the jungle. The lion has been very powerful and that sense of dominion. So that's what's being spoken about. That's the point of comparison. But when you talk about the lion in terms of the Satan that he comes like a roaring lion, then we talk about points of comparison like intimidation, putting fear or coming very stealthily. So as the lion goes to catch its prey, it goes about very stealthily. Also the lion causes fear in its, and the animals it's trying to prey upon. So those are the points of comparison. So the same figure could mean different things at different times. And we need to keep that in mind. So water, water could represent the Holy Spirit. Now water could also represent eternal life, spring up into life. Water could also represent the word of God, washing by the word of God. Because the word of God sanctifies water, of course, can also be taken literally. So water could be used in, even as a figure, it could be in different things. So depending on the context, we know what that figure is representing in a given situation. Water, I just remember that water also talks about the nations of people, as you see in Revelation. So water could also be used to represent multitudes of people, nations of people. So water is the same figure, same image can be used to mean different things. And from the context, we will be able to pick up the meaning. And number five, as we're working with figures and so on, we have to put limits on doing the comparison between the image and the non-image, between the figure and what it's speaking of. We put limits on it. That means you can't take everything about the image and try to make it a point to be applied to the non-image. There are so example, tree. Well, tree by the rivers of water. It's a picture of being prosperous, fruitful, flourishing, strong, etc. But we can't say, well, a tree doesn't move. So it's planted in one place. So therefore, as the person should not be moving, he should stay in one place forever and ever. We can't say that because that's not what the point of comparison is. Or, you know, we say, well, the tree needs sunlight. It needs nutrients. The tree needs, you know, we could talk about other things. And then we can't start, you know, using all those points of comparison to the person because those were not intended in the statement. In Psalm 1-3, he'll be like a tree planted by rivers of water. Just simply saying, like a tree that is flourishing, very fruitful, it has its nourishment. That's the point of comparison. He's not talking about the sun. He's not talking about the soil. He's not talking about the nutrients. He's not talking about roots. He's not talking about any of that. So we should not bring all those things into our interpretation of the scripture because that was not intended in the scripture. Although he's using the figure of a tree, we have to stay within the limits of what was intended in the text. Otherwise, you know, we will go on to all kinds of things and, you know, may not always be wrong, but it's unnecessary and it was not intended by God in that text. So we need to place legitimate limits or controls when we are interpreting figures, right? So at the end of the many examples, just put some here. For example, Revelation 3-3, he says, Jesus says, you know, I will come like a thief. Well, the obvious comparison is he becomes suddenly. So what is not intended is he's coming to take away from us. So if we don't stop within that limit, then you see the Lord said he'll come like a thief. So God is also a thief. There are times he'll take away from you. He will rob from you and because he is a thief. No, no, no. That's not what the scripture means. When the Lord says I'll come like a thief, it simply means he will come unexpectedly. And here again, the image of a thief is also used for Satan. So the thief is used for the Lord, but the point of comparison is coming at a time when it is which is unexpected. The thief is also used for Satan, but here the point of comparison is coming to steal, kill and destroy. So same image, same figure of speech used for two different persons or non-images. But the point of comparison, the attributes are different and we must stay within the limit. Otherwise, you know, we will get into error. Or for example, when Job says, you know, the pillars of the earth trembled. Some people can say, well, look, the Bible has errors in it because the Bible is saying there are pillars of the earth and the earth is round. And the earth is in space. It's not resting on any pillars. So the Bible is wrong. No, it's not wrong. The pillars of the earth is just a figure of speech. Just as we use, you know, in English language, we use figures of speech in English language. And the pillars is just talking about the very foundations of the very, the core of the earth, you know, and it talks about the foundations of the earth or the mountains of the earth. So we have to understand that figure of speech as to what it means, depending on where it's being used. And the literal, we cannot take that literally. It's a figure of speech. So we have to place limits and controls on the figures of speech that we find in scripture. Okay, so this is an interesting aspect of understanding the Bible that you recognize where there are figures of speech, how to interpret the figures of speech correctly, and how to stay within the limits of the point of comparison. Because if we go beyond the limits, we will, you know, create all kinds of ideas and notions which were not intended in scripture. Okay, so before we go into the next chapter where we're going to talk about types and shadows and illustrations and allegories. I would just like to see if there are any questions amongst anyone on this so far. So we talked about grammar, and we talked about figures of speech. Any questions on these two aspects of studying the scriptures? First, one question. Go ahead, please. First, when we study Sam's, especially as it is written as a poem, is there a way to understand it? Let's say Sam's 19 talks about sun coming out from a place as a bridegroom. So is there a way to approach Sam's in general as it is different from other type of writing? Yeah, so yeah, so there are, you know, in the Bible, there are historical books, there are prophetic books, and then there are poetry books. So while the nature of the text, which is, you know, sometimes you use the word style of the text, the literary style of the text, would differ. So whether it's a historical, prophetic poetry. I think all of these rules that we are learning can be used for all of these different literary styles. And so I would, so my response to your question would be that all of the rules that we are looking at can or should be applied, even to the Sam's, to the poetic books, as we read through them. Perhaps certain elements more so. So for example, when you're reading historical books, then definitely what we spoke earlier about culture and those matters become more important. When you talk about poetry books, then what we just spoke about of the figures of speech. And I guess even in the prophetic scriptures, the figures of speech become very important because there is a lot of that. That's the literary style. They tend to use more of that. Like the example you gave, you know, the sun rising up as a bright room, it's a lot of figures of speech and so on. Then there may be in certain cases, most specific to the poetic books is, you know, the style of poetry where the same part is repeated twice in a sentence or in two immediate sentences, which is unique to poetic books, or even to problems, the wisdom book. So for instance, a certain thought will be said in one way, and the same thought is repeated in a different way. It's the same thought, but it's repeated in different way. And you will find it either part of the same verse or the immediate verse after. So that's a style of the poetic or the wisdom book. So that perhaps is unique. I would say that's unique to the poetic books or the wisdom book. But other than that, you know, just the same rules that we've been talking about, I think it's good that we focus on, you know, when we're reading the poetic books, using the figures of speech and so on. Thank you. So, yeah. Any other questions? Okay. So now we're going to go to another important rule. Perhaps very important because this particular area that we're going to get into is, I would say, widely misused. And because it is, you know, when it's a misuse means it's not followed, it's violated. And because it is violated, we get a lot of problems in the preaching and the teaching of scripture. So this one is quite important. I want us to, you know, pay a little bit closer attention to it. It has, let me go ahead and share my screen. So it has to do with types and shadows. So let's understand types and shadows. And then there are some, there are two other kinds of related ideas that we must understand, which is illustrations and allegories. Okay. So basically we are going to, we need to understand the difference between types, illustrations and allegories that we find in scripture. Okay. But let's talk about a type. What is a type? So just to explain this, imagine there's a literal, there's an actual tree. Okay. A tree. And the sun is shining from one side. And imagine we are walking from the other side. The first thing we encountered is the shadow, right? The shadow, which, you know, in our, which is also referred to as a pre figure or a type, right? We see the shadow. Now the shadow has certain resemblance to the actual. So the anti type or the reality or the fulfillment is the actual. Okay. So the tree itself, the tree itself is referred to as the anti type or the reality or the fulfillment. So when you see the shadow, it has some resemblance. Oh, you can, you can make out, oh, this looks like a tree. Oh, I can, it has a stem. It has branches. It has leaves. But of course, from the shadow, you cannot tell the color of the leaves. You cannot tell the color of the trunk. The shadow sometimes could be, it may not give us the exact size of the tree, the height of the tree, because all depends on the angle of the sun. So, you know, it, the shadow might look very short, whereas a tree might be long or so on. So the shadow doesn't give us all the details of the reality. But it gives us some resemblance, some idea, right? So that is a type or a shadow or a prefigure. So in the Old Testament, we see types and shadows or prefigures. And then when we come into the New Testament, we meet the literal. We meet the, the anti type or the reality, the fulfillment, the actual. When you meet with the actual, you get to know all the detail, a lot more details. Yeah, much, much more than what is seen in the shadow. So when you meet with the shadow, when you see the shadow in the Old Testament is very important to keep in mind that if you're speaking from the shadow, in mind that you only say some of the things that are clearly identifiable, which resemble with the reality or the type, the anti type or the fulfillment, the literal. And we should not try to speak and say things from the shadow that are not part of the reality. For example, that would not intend, you know, example, suppose you see the shadow of this tree. And then you begin to start describing the nature of the soil in which this tree is standing. You say, well, because this tree, you know, is looks so tall. It must be in this kind of a soil. Well, that is not intended by the shadow. That is not asking us to do that. And then we would just be getting into speculation, be getting into some things that were not intended by the shadow that we see. All that we can say very clearly is when you see the shadow. Okay, this is a tree. This resembles a tree. It has, you know, these kinds of leaves. It has one big stem and it has small branches. Okay, fine. That's all you can say for sure. But if you start talking about things that were not intended in the shadow, we will get into error. Okay. And the other thing is, as a rule, as a rule in the Bible, shadows and realities are specifically identified. That means the Bible calls them such the Bible calls refers to this and to this. Okay, so you will find the anti-type, the reality in the New Testament, and you'll find the shadow in the Old Testament, the type of shadow in the Old Testament. It's specifically mentioned. Okay, so let's go through some rules and then we will look at the examples. So put down for some examples later on. So what are some rules? So a type of course has some resemblance, like we said. There are certain parts, certain things you see in the type or the shadow that resembles the reality. Right. Secondly, the, what we refer to the shadow, the type, is actually something in the Old. It's a historical reality. So it's not just an imagination. Right. It is there. It could be a person. It could be an event. It could be something in the Old Testament. Okay, it is there. Which is pointing to, again, another literal thing that happened in the New Testament. The third thing is, it's a prefiguring. That means it is actually pointing ahead to what is yet to come. Right. So it itself is not as important as what it is pointing to. What it is pointing to is more important than it. So the shadow of the tree is more important. I mean, the tree itself is more important than the shadow that you see. It's pointing us to, when you see the shadow of the tree, it's telling you, there is a tree there. Okay. It is coming up. That's why there is the shadow here. Okay. So it's pointing to its prefiguring. Then there is a heightening. So the anti-type that is a tree is always greater than the type, which is the shadow of the tree that we see. Right. That is much more important. Fifthly, it's divine design. That means in the Bible, in the Bible, type and shadow is something God points out. As opposed to illustrations or allegories. Okay. So God points out, okay. Melchizedek was a type of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. So Melchizedek was a real person who existed in the Old Testament. But he is pointing to Jesus Christ, who is the reality. He is the great type priest. Right. So there's a type. There's the reality. Jesus. And it is specifically mentioned for us in Hebrews. I'm giving one example like this. There are many examples. Or 1 Corinthians 5 will say Christ, our Passover lamb is sacrificed for us. Oh, now what is being specifically mentioned, the Passover lamb that we read about in Exodus 12 was actually a type of Christ. The Passover lamb was pointing to Christ. How do we know it? Because 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 7 specifically states Christ, our Passover lamb. Right. So we're not making it up that all the Passover lamb is pointing to Christ. We're not making it up. It is specifically stated that Christ, our Passover lamb was sacrificed for us. And then we look in the Old Testament. Oh, what is it that we see in the Passover lamb that resembles Christ? We know that not everything but Christ can be seen in the Passover lamb, but there'll be certain things. So the Passover lamb was supposed to be a lamb without blemish. So that's pointing to Christ. The blood of the lamb was applied. So that's pointing to the blood of the lamb of Jesus Christ and it brought protection. So that's what the blood of Jesus Christ will bring. So like that, there are the resemblance. Those are the things we take away. But it is pointed out. It's divine design. The Bible is pointing it out that something in the Old Testament, which actually happened or actually took place, was a type in a shadow and was pointing to the reality that would come in the New Testament. And so God designed it, that means God planned it, and God designated it and the scripture is saying. So these six things are rules before we say something is a type in a shadow. There's a resemblance. There's historical reality. There's a prefiguring. There's a heightening or a fulfillment in the New. It was divinely designed and also designated by God. So we see many things like this. For example, Jesus said, But as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. Oh, now suddenly what happened in the Old Testament, we realize. You see, when Moses lifted up the bronze serpent or the brass serpent in the wilderness. Oh, that is a type of Christ. That was a shadow. That was a type. And it was actually pointing to the reality was Jesus Christ. But then again, remember, there's only a resemblance. Now this is a very strange resemblance because in the Old Testament, a serpent was being raised up. In the New Testament, Christ, the son of God is being raised up. Serpent is talking about Satan, but Christ here is talking about, you know, Christ is the son of God. So how could this be? Well, it's the brass serpent. Brass represents judgment. So it's saying that serpent was charged. And so we say, okay, on the cross and Jesus raised up, Satan was defeated, which is a true statement. But because it can be substantiated by other texts. But now because Jesus said, as Moses raised up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the son of man, that means he is designating it. So sorry, he is designating it because he said it. Then we can look back and say that is that that brass serpent that Moses raised up was a type and a shadow. And it is pointing to Jesus Christ. Okay, so now having understood that, we must now think about as we study the text of scripture. And as we understand it for ourselves and of course, use it to preach and help other people. We must understand the difference between types, illustrations and allegories or allegorizing. We'll talk more about allegorizing a little later, but types, illustrations and allegories. So this is important. So what's the difference between a type, an illustration and an allegory. So firstly, the type and the anti type have a natural correspondence and resemblance. There's something resembling. So you take the serpent lifted up. What is, what is the resemblance? Oh, son of man was lifted up. He was raised upon a wooden cross. Serpent was put upon a wooden pole. There is some resemblance. So that's one, that's one important part. Secondly, in the case of an illustration to there is, there is a correspondence and resemblance. But the, this is an illustration. Okay, so example would be you're using a certain text to illustrate the thing. But it has not been designated as such by God. Okay, so a type is something where it is designated as such in the scripture and illustration is something where there's a necessarily, it isn't necessarily designated by scripture, but you're using it, which is fine. An allegory is something that was not, it is not designated in scripture. And it is actually a forced meaning. It is a superimposed meaning on the text. And many times there may be no natural correspondence between the image that is being used and you know what is being referenced refer to. So take for example, Jesus gave the story of the Good Samaritan, right? He said there was a man who was going from, I forget now, I think from Jericho to Jerusalem. And then some thieves, the Samaritan was going from Jerusalem and thieves came beat him up to cover his possessions left him lying on the road. Or Jerusalem to Jericho, the other way. He was lying on the road. So I might get the story wrong, it's been a long time since I read it. Then, you know, a priest passed by, a Levite passed by, and then a Samaritan passed by. And he helped this man, right? The Samaritan helped this man who was beaten up by the thieves. And he took him to an inn and he, you know, he bound him up, he bound him up, he bandaged him, poured in the oil, the wine, etc. Took him to the inn, took care of him. So Jesus gave the story. Now suppose we take this story and we say, well, a man was beaten up and put on the road, represents people in this world. The thieves represent Satan. That's what Satan has done to people. He's beaten up and he's taken it away, their possessions. And the priest, you know, represent all the religious people who are not doing anything. Then the Levite are maybe all the others who don't care or maybe very busy with life, whatever. They also don't do anything. And the Samaritan is you, the believer. The believer must go and help the people in the world who are suffering and pour in the oil, the wine and bring them to the inn. The inn represents the local church. So you have to go and bring the people and bring them to the local church so that the local church can take care of them. And just as the Samaritan gave money to the inn, you have to give your tithes and offerings to the local church so that the church can take care of all the wounded and hurt and dying in the world. Now, you know, somebody may read the passage from the scriptures and they may preach a message like this. Now, in terms of what is being said, there's nothing wrong. You can't fault it, right? The message itself is you go help the people who are dying in the world and do what you can to take care of them. They may be ignored by other people, but you as a believer, you go and help them. Okay, so the message itself is not wrong. You can't fault that. But the use of the scripture text to preach this message is wrong. Because that is not what the original text was intended. So this is the example of allegorizing, allegory. That means you are forcing a meaning into the text. It was not intended when it was given. Now, nobody is going to shout at you for preaching that kind of a message. People may even clap and say hallelujah and amen, but actually you're misinterpreting scripture. You're misusing scripture because what was intended? Jesus would ask the question, who is my brother? And he gave this message. He was not talking about the church. He was not talking about any of that. He was just saying, look, the essence of what he was saying was you help somebody who is in need, even if they don't belong to your cultural background. You help somebody in need. That's your brother. The person is helping you. He's talking about that. Who is my brother? Help somebody in need. So that's the essence of what Jesus was trying to convey. He was not specifically referring to a believer. He was not specifically referring to the church. If somebody goes further, say oil and the wine. So oil represents the Holy Spirit. Wine represents the word of God because it brings us joy. And people can say all of those things. Jesus never meant all those things. So that is an example of allegorizing. You're taking something and putting a meaning into it. What may be preached may not necessarily be wrong, but it is a wrong use of scripture. So we must avoid allegorizing. And when it's a type, learn how to handle the type correctly. When there is an illustration, handle the illustration the way the illustration was supposed to be. But stay away from allegorizing. Or if you are going allegorizing, tell the people you are doing it. So they know that you're just so that they only listen to the mess, the mean message, they don't take that interpretation of scripture as that's what it meant. So you tell them, look, I'm just using this as a picture, as an allegory. I'm not giving you the literal meaning. I'm just saying imagine this, playing with the imagination. So that means you're acknowledging that you're not interpreting scripture correctly, but you're trying to get the certain message across. But I would definitely say avoid doing that. Let's just go forward and try to understand type and illustration, how to work with it. So the type, secondly, and then we will understand the difference between type and illustration. The type has historical reality. So example, the Passover lamb, Moses lifting up the rod in the wilderness. The mercy seat, the rock that was struck from which water came. So these are, these actually happened. They were there. Similarly with the illustration, in an illustration or a truth, the relationship depends on the historical reality. Now, the difference between, okay, maybe the next point will give us a difference. In the allegory, the literal meaning is unimportant. They don't even bother about it. So let's take, for example, another allegory, which you know, you may have also heard. So David went to fight Goliath. And before he went to fight Goliath, he went to the river or the stream and he took five smooth stones, put it in his pocket. Then he went to fight. So now that is actually what happened. But now suppose somebody is preaching a message or you try to interpret like this saying, David represents Christ. And Christ went to the river. He was, you know, he was anointed the river as a water of the Holy Spirit. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. And God gave him five weapons. One was the word. One was second one was anointing and you can just make up another three. And then he went to face Goliath. Goliath represents Satan. The nation of Israel represents all of us believers. So Christ went on behalf of us to fight against Satan. And with one stone, that means with one sacrifice on the cross, he killed Satan or he defeated Satan and he gave us the victory. Now that is allegorizing. There is nothing wrong. In a sense, there's nothing wrong with what was said. But the text that was used and what was spoken is not what was intended. What happened literally was David did go and fight Goliath. And yes, he took five stones and he went and used a sling and he killed but that's a literal, but the literal meaning is completely ignored. You know, it's rendered unimportant and you're superimposing or you're bringing some new meaning, which is not intended in the text for that. So that is an allegory. You're disregarding the actual literal meaning and instead bringing out something else. Okay, so let's pause you. It's time for a break. We will come back and I will explain this further and and and this, you know, this whole anti type illustration allegory may be a little difficult to understand, but let's go through it. We will go through some examples and then we will take up questions as well. But I feel this is very important for us to understand because it's going to make sure that we don't do silly things with the Bible. Okay, so this is very, very important. We will go for a break and come back and I will explain for this fully and then definitely we will take questions to make sure all of us have understood this. Okay, so 10 minutes break will be back and we'll continue. Thanks.