“A great wonder in the heavens”.
What is the great wonder the Apostle John wrote about in Revelation chapter twelve?
Revelation 12:1
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:”
A bold claim does not mean prophecy was fulfilled
(recently updated to reflect newer claims.)
Many Bible prophecy teachers lately are making bold claims. (here) (And more recently here and here.) On September 23rd, 2017 the world did not see prophecy fulfilled as so many claimed was inevitable. April 2018 has seen another uptick of mild to crazed hysteria about the end of the world.
I’m a Bible prophecy student, teacher, and strong proponent of this biblical field of study. One would think I would be excited about all this attention. Well, I’m not because the few billion people who aren’t interested in this subject think it’s dominated by mostly unthinking and rash individuals.
The Bible is factual
The Bible is not a secret code book that only a few specially anointed people can decipher. Nor is it a book that requires a special star-gazing program that will help the readers find hidden messages that God buried in the galaxies far out in space. The Bible is written for the common man, woman, or child as well as the scholars.
Children can read it to understand the simple truth about God’s love for them. Adults can meet in groups or in churches to explore a deeper truth and see how God directed his followers to live better lives and to love and help one’s neighbors.
Deeper Meaning
Scholars can explore the deeper meanings found when they research verb forms and original words from ancient languages.
But we should not use it to grab verses out of context and use them to “prove” the world is about to end. The typical, ‘buy this book now so you can know how the world will end,’ storyline is turning off scores of Christians and hardening skeptics around the world.
We’re not drawing people to Christ, we’re making Bible study look like a fool’s game.
You don’t need Stellarium to understand the great wonder
As an example; several teachers refer to a “woman clothed with the sun.” They reference the passage in Revelation 12 which I quoted above. This woman is the wonder of heaven. This isn’t typology at all, they claim, but a picture of a woman in the star charts of the constellations. They point to an alignment of some stars and planets along with the sun and moon. They are certain this alignment is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Revelation twelve. Their strong assertion comes from what some have seen on a star-gazing app called Stellarium.
There’s an app for that wonder you heard about.
An application on their computers or phones led them to believe God will fulfill the prophecy in September of 2017.
(Note: the prophecy failed miserably which was predictable. But they doubled down on their teaching. They said if you doubt the significance of the sign then you’re likely not even a Christian. They say that we can’t always see why God didn’t do what he should have so stay tuned. The faithful followers continue to stay glued and now there is more “proof” the world will end perhaps this April of 2018.)
They didn’t use a Bible dictionary, Strong’s Concordance, topical study bible, Old, and New Testament comparative study, or a word studies volume. They based their findings on a star constellation app. I must admit I never start my Bible study with a quick glance at a star chart. Maybe I’ve been doing my Bible studies wrong all these years. (sarcasm intended) (see here)
Find the Wonder in the scriptures without the star chart
We should never try to prove biblical truth by directing our readers or listeners to a configuration in the stars. It can be used as support material but never as proof. An experienced Bible teacher or preacher needs to start with chapter and verse and lead eager students through a comparative study of supporting passages.
The pictures are great but…
Pictures, graphics, charts, and the like are extremely helpful additions to good Bible teaching. We should always look for ways to include those to increase what listeners retain from lessons. Now, to be clear, I’m not negating the power of great stories or personal insights. Those are often the best lead-in to an effective lesson. Interjecting those into our sermons is very important. A star chart can add insight to a point we are making But, to lay the whole weight of a prophecy argument on what someone found on an app on their computer is not good hermeneutics. (Must watch)
Big Fancy Bible Word
I know what some of you are thinking…what the heck is that? Hermeneutics is what I like to call a “big fancy bible word”. When we use good hermeneutics in our bible study we have a better chance of finding the true meaning of scripture passages.
Read the following excerpt to better understand how important this big fancy word is.
Question: “What is biblical hermeneutics?”
Answer: Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible. Second Timothy 2:15 commands believers to be involved in hermeneutics: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who . . . correctly handles the word of truth.” The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to help us to know how to properly interpret, understand, and apply the Bible.
The Bible is literal
The most important law of biblical hermeneutics is that the Bible should be interpreted literally. We are to understand the Bible in its normal or plain meaning, unless the passage is obviously intended to be symbolic or if figures of speech are employed. The Bible says what it means and means what it says. For example, when Jesus speaks of having fed “the five thousand” in Mark 8:19, the law of hermeneutics says we should understand five thousand literally—there was a crowd of hungry people who numbered five thousand who were fed with real bread and fish by a miracle-working Savior.
Don’t over-spiritualize
Any attempt to “spiritualize” the number or to deny a literal miracle is to do injustice to the text and ignore the purpose of language, which is to communicate. Some interpreters make the mistake of trying to read between the lines of Scripture to come up with esoteric meanings that are not truly in the text as if every passage has a hidden spiritual truth that we should seek to decrypt. Biblical hermeneutics keeps us faithful to the intended meaning of Scripture and away from allegorizing Bible verses that should be understood literally.
Consider history, grammar, and context
A second crucial law of biblical hermeneutics is that passages must be interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually. Interpreting a passage historically means we must seek to understand the culture, background, and situation that prompted the text. For example, in order to fully understand Jonah’s flight in Jonah 1:1–3, we should research the history of the Assyrians as related to Israel. Interpreting a passage grammatically requires one to follow the rules of grammar and recognize the nuances of Hebrew and Greek.
Is Jesus God and Savior?
For example, when Paul writes of “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” in Titus 2:13, the rules of grammar state that God and Savior are parallel terms and they are both in opposition to Jesus Christ—in other words, Paul clearly calls Jesus “our great God.” Interpreting a passage contextually involves considering the context of a verse or passage when trying to determine the meaning. The context includes the verses immediately preceding and following, the chapter, the book, and, most broadly, the entire Bible. For example, many puzzling statements in Ecclesiastes become clearer when kept in context—the book of Ecclesiastes is written from the earthly perspective “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). In fact, the phrase under the sun is repeated about thirty times in the book, establishing the context for all that is “vanity” in this world.
Use Scripture to interpret Scripture
The third law of biblical hermeneutics is that Scripture is always the best interpreter of Scripture. For this reason, we always compare Scripture with Scripture when trying to determine the meaning of a passage. For example, let’s consider Isaiah’s condemnation of Judah. They desired to seek Egypt’s help and to rely on their strong cavalry. (Isaiah 31:1) Well, that desire was motivated, in part, because of God’s explicit command that His people not go to Egypt to seek horses (Deuteronomy 17:16).
Look for the correct answer, not the sensational one
Some people avoid studying the Bible while using sound hermeneutics. That’s because they mistakenly believe it will limit their ability to learn new truths from God’s Word or stifle the Holy Spirit’s illumination of Scripture. Biblical hermeneutics is all about finding the correct interpretation of the inspired text. The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to protect us from miss-applying Scripture or allowing bias to color our understanding of truth. God’s Word is the truth (John 17:17). We want to see the truth, know the truth, and live the truth as best we can, and that’s why biblical hermeneutics is vital.
Find the correct meaning in scripture. Do your homework. Don’t trust everyone who has a good video presentation or impressive graphics.
Good hermeneutics will lead you to a clear and better understanding of God’s Word. Try it. You’ll like it.
The Antichrist is not who you thought.
See what the Church Fathers believed. Get it here.
Let me know what you think.