Principles of Biblical Interpretation that we see in the study of Genesis

Principles of Biblical Interpretation that we see in the study of Genesis:

Some Principles of Biblical Interpetation:

Sub-divided Context/Mention Principles:

· The First Mention Principle: "God indicates in the first mention of a subject the truth with which that subject stands connected in the mind of God."

· The Progressive Mention Principle: "God makes the revelation of any given truth increasingly clear as the word proceeds to its consummation."

· The Comparative Mention Principle

· The Full Mention Principle or The Complete Mention Principle: "God declares his full mind upon any subject vital to our spiritual life."

· The Agreement Principle: "The truthfulness and faithfulness of God become the guarantee that he will not set forth any passage in his word that contradicts any other passage."

· The Direct Statement Principle: "God says what he means and means what he says."

· The Gap Principle: "God, in the Jewish Scriptures, ignores certain periods of time, leaping over them without comment."

· The Threefold Principle:"The word of God sets forth the truths of salvation in a three-fold way: past - justification; present - sanctification/transformation; future - glorification/consummation."

· The Repetition Principle:"God repeats some truth or subject already given, generally with the addition of details not before given."

· The Synthetic Principle

· The Principle of Illustrative Mention

· The Double Reference Principle

Figures of Speech Group of Principles:

· The Numerical Principle

· The Symbolic Principle

· The Typical Principle: "Certain people, events, objects and rituals found in the Old Testament may serve as object lessons and pictures by which God teaches us of his grace and saving power."

· The Parabolic Principle

· The Allegorical Principle

Notes on The Numeric Principle

Introduction:

* Bible Numerology is could be described as “Spiritual Arithmetic.”

* Many people put too much significance on “Biblical numerology,” trying to find a special meaning behind every number in the Bible.

* Two of the most commonly repeated numbers in the Bible are 7 and 40.

* The number 7 signifies completion or perfection (Genesis 7:2-4; Revelation 1:20). It is often called “God’s number” since He is the only One who is perfect and complete (Revelation 4:5; 5:1, 5-6).

* The number one is God’s number. The number of the first commandment.

* The number 2 is Satan’s number. A number of division and confusion.

* The number 3 is frequently used as the number that represents “witness” or “Testimony” Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Before two or three witnesses. The things that bear witness:

* Another number repeated in the Bible is 4, which is the number of creation: North, South, East, West; four seasons.

* Five is the number of Grace.

* Six is the number of Man.

* Seven is the number of completeness or perfection.

* The number 6 is thought to be the number of man: Man was created on the 6th day; man labors 6 days only. Another example of the Bible using a number to signify something is the number 666, the number of the Antichrist in Revelation chapter 13.

* The number 40 is often understood as the “number of probation or trial.” For example: the Israelites wandered for 40 years (Deuteronomy 8:2-5); Moses was on the mount for 40 days (Exodus 24:18); 40 days were involved in the story of Jonah and Nineveh (Jonah 3:4); Jesus was tempted for 40 days (Matthew 4:2); there were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:3).

Notes from Bullengers “Numbers in Scripture:

1

THE NUMBER OF UNITY. Father. Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Ephesians 4:5 "one Lord, one faith, one baptism."

2

THE NUMBER OF DIVISION. The Son who has two natures: human and divine. There are 2 Testaments: the Old and New. Man is Male and Female. Rom. 9 speaks of two vessels: one for honorable use and the other for dishonorable use. Two types of people: Sheep and Goats. There are two ages, this age and the age to come: Matt. 12:32; 13:39,40,49; Mark 10:30.

3

THE NUMBER OF DIVINE PERFECTION. The Trinity consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are three qualities of the universe: Time, Space, and Matter. To exist (except for God), all three are required. Each quality consists of three elements. Therefore, we live in a trinity of trinities.

- The three qualities of universe are each three:

Time is one yet three

Space is one yet three

Matter is one yet three

Past Present Future

Height Width Depth

Solid Liquid Gas

We live in a Trinity of Trinities: Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made..."

If you are a trichotomist then man is made of three parts:

Body

Soul

Spirit

Human abilities are three

Thought

Word

Deed

The divine attributes are three fold:

God is:

Omniscient Omnipresent Omnipotent

Love Light Spirit

Holy Righteous Just

Three bear witness (1 John 5:8):

Spirit

Water

Blood

Christ is Three Shepherds

The Good Shepherd (John 10:14-15) - speaking of His death The Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20) - speaking of His resurrection The Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4) - speaking of His glory

The Three appearances of Christ:

Past: Present: Future:

Has appeared (Heb. 9:26) to put away sin Is appearing (Heb. 9:24) in the presence of God Will appear (Heb. 9:28) to those who await Him

The Father spoke from Heaven three times:

- Matt. 3:17, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." - Matt. 17:5, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him." - John 12:28, "I have both glorified it [the Father's name], and will glorify it again."

Both the Tabernacle and the Temple consisted of three parts:

The Court

The Holy place

The Sanctuary

Regarding the Tabernacle:

The Holy of Holies was a cube (10 cubits x 10 cubits x 10 cubits)

Regarding the Temple:

The Holy of Holies was a cube (20 cubits x 20 cubits x 20 cubits)

4

THE NUMBER OF CREATION - North, South, East, West; 4 Seasons. The 4th commandment is the first that refers to the earth. The 4th clause of the Lord's Prayer is the first that mentions the earth. The materials of the tabernacle were four and so were the coverings and the ornamentations.

5

THE NUMBER OF GRACE. Redemption. Israel came out of Egypt 5 in rank (Ex 13:18). David picked up 5 smooth stones to fight Goliath (1 Sam. 17:40). The Holy Anointing Oil was pure and composed of 5 parts (Ex. 30:23-25).

6

THE NUMBER OF MAN: Man was created on the 6th day. Man labors 6 days only. The Serpent was created on the 6th day. The 6th commandment is "Thou shalt not murder." Six words are used for man: Adam, ish, Enosh, gehver, anthropos, anar. Also, 6 x 6 = 36. 36 + 35 + 34 + 33 + 32 . . . 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 666. 666 is the number of the antichrist. This means that the name of the antichrist in Greek adds up to 666. This is a mockery of the Trinity.

7

THE NUMBER OF SPIRITUAL PERFECTION. Seven days in a week. Seven colors in the spectrum. Seven of the 10 commandments begin with the word "not." There are 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 parables in Matthew, and 7 promises to the churches. There are 7 "eternals" in Hebrews which are: A priest for ever (1:6); Eternal salvation (1:9); Eternal judgment (6:2); eternal redemption (9:12); eternal spirit (9:14); eternal inheritance (9:15); and everlasting covenant (13:20). Jesus said 7 things on the cross: 1) Luke 23:34 "Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots; 2) Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise"; 3) Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" -- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"; 4) John 19:26 "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son"; 5) John 19:28 "Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 6) John 19:30 "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit"; and 7) Luke 23:46 "Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last." "Hallelujah" occurs 28 times or 4 x 7. "Hosanna" occurs 7 times. "Milk" occurs 49 times or 7 x 7. "Abaddon" occurs 7 times. "After the order of Melchizedek" occurs 7 times.

8

THE NUMBER OF NEW BEGINNINGS. 8 people on Noah's Ark (2 Pet. 2:5); circumcision on 8th day (Gen. 17:12); God made 8 covenants with Abraham

9

THE NUMBER OF JUDGMENT. There are 9 greek words derived from the root word meaning judgment = dikay. The following words each occur 9 times in the Bible: abussos (bottomless pit); asebee (ungodly); aselgeia (lasciviousness); and astrapee (lightning). The gifts of the spirit are 9 in number (1 Cor. 12:8-10): the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

10

THE NUMBER OF DIVINE PERFECTION. There are 10 commandments (Ex. 20); 1/10 of your income is a tithe; the were 10 plagues on Egypt (Ex. 9:14ff); 10 x 10 silver sockets formed the foundation of the Tabernacle (Ex 38:27); There are 10 "I AM"'s spoken by Jesus in John: 1) I am the Bread of Life (6:35); 2) I am the Bread of Life which came down from heaven (6:41); 3) I am the Living Bread (6:51); 4) I am the Light of the world (8:12); 5) I am One that bears witness of Myself (8:18); 6) I am the Door of the sheep (10:7,9); 7) I am the Good Shepherd (10:14); 8) I am the Resurrection and the Life (14:6); 9) I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (11:25); and 10) I am the True Vine (15:1,5).

12

THE NUMBER OF GOVERNMENTAL PERFECTION. There were 12 tribes of Israel; 12 Apostles, 12 foundations in the heavenly Jerusalem; 12 gates; 12 pearls; 12 angels. The measurements of New Jerusalem are 12,000 furlongs or stadia, while the wall will be 144 (12 x 12) cubits (Rev. 21:16-17).

40

THE NUMBER OF PROBATION OR TRIAL. The Israelites wandered for 40 years (Deut. 8:2-5). Moses was on the mount for 40 days (Exodus 24:18); 40 days of Jonah and Nineveh (Jonah 3:4). Jesus was tempted for 40 days (Matt. 4:2).

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