I previously wrote a post on Multi-Dimensional Scripture and thought I would update my thoughts with a part 2.
Scripture is Multi-Dimensional. It may have more than one meaning. It may be literal AND symbolic. It may have predicted past events AND future events. It may have applied to Israel AND the Church. I was pleased to find the Bill Johnson agrees with this in his book “Dreaming with God”.
“The Word of God is living and active. It contains divine energy, always moving and accomplishing His purposes. It is the surgeon's knife that cuts in order to heal. It is balm that brings comfort and healing. But the point I wish to stress is that it is multidimensional and unfolding in nature. For example, when Isaiah spoke a word, it applied to the people he spoke to - his contemporaries. Yet because it is alive, much of what he said then has its ultimate fulfillment in another day and time. Living words do that.”
We must take this multi-dimensionality into account when interpreting Scripture. I believe there are three main methods of interpretation which I refer to as: Prophetic, Personal and Contextual.
Prophetic Interpretation
There are actually two levels of prophetic interpretation: Basic and Hidden.
For example:
Isaiah 7:14-16
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat butter and honey when he knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken.
When this was written, two kings were plotting to destroy Jerusalem during the days of the prophet Isaiah but God said that by the time a virgin becomes married, has a son, and that son knows right and wrong, those two kings would be destroyed. That is the Basic Level. The Hidden Level is a reference to the Virgin Mary and the birth of Christ.
Again:
Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
At the Basic Level, "out of Egypt" refers to Israel's exodus out of Egypt, but at the hidden level it refers to when Jesus returned from Egypt to Galilee.
And again:
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought our peace was on him;
and by his wounds we are healed.
To this day Jewish Rabbis argue that the “servant” in Isaiah 53 refers to the nation of Israel and not Jesus.
I happen to agree with the Jewish Rabbis that it does refer to the nation of Israel – at the Basic Level. But at the Hidden Level, it is a reference to Jesus Christ.
As you can see, the Hidden Level may seem obvious when dealing with many Old Testament Scriptures but it was not that way when originally written. Furthermore, there may be meanings still undiscovered, especially in the New Testament. Biblical scholars tend to shy away from this type of interpretation because there is no real way to verify it if there are no other Scriptures that confirm it.
However, the Hidden Level is a prominent characteristic of prophetic writings and is a feature of sacred texts. It is important to note that not just Scripture of the prophetic genre (such as Daniel and Revelation) can have hidden meanings but that all of Scripture has the potential to have a Hidden Level.
Personal Interpretation
Let’s say you’re a woman and you are having a hard time deciding whether to get your hair cut or let it grow out long (a common dilemma with my wife). And let’s say you take it to the Lord in prayer. Then, in your daily Scripture reading, you come to this verse:
1 Corinthians 11:15
“But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering.”
And when you read this, the Holy Spirit speaks through it and applies it to your situation and you have assurance to grow your hair long. Now, obviously, you would not be taking into account the cultural or historic context of this verse but are using it out of context for your specific situation. It would not mean it is morally wrong to cut your hair but that it was simply used to encourage you to grow it longer. It does not apply to anyone else but only to you personally. The Holy Spirit could have spoken to you the same way through a billboard or a television commercial but He instead chose that verse. I would not advise making major life decisions using such Biblical interpretation, at least, not without further confirmation from the Lord.
Contextual Interpretation
The final method of interpretation is contextual interpretation and it will be the main method of interpretation used in this book. It takes a look at the context of when, where, and why it was written. It looks at historical context as well as cultural context. It looks at how it fits in with the surrounding text within the book of the Bible it was written as well as the Bible in its entirety. The theologian F.F. Bruce once said that reading the letters of Paul is like hearing one side of a telephone conversation. We need to reconstruct “the other side.” It’s important to realize that the words used in the New Testament are not abstract or flowery rhetoric but every sentence is tied into the “story”.
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