Tag Archives: Bible interpretation

Bonus Post: Extra-Biblical Sources in Jude

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Don Merritt

Jude does an interesting thing in his letter, he uses a non-Biblical source as though it were from Scripture, and he does so not once, but twice in a 25 verse letter.  Why does he do that?  Should that place … Continue reading →

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Bonus Post: The Significance of Numbers in Revelation

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Don Merritt

We’ve already seen that the number seven is especially significant in Revelation. You may be assured that it is not the only significant number we will come across. Thus I thought it might be helpful to run through some of … Continue reading →

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Bonus Post: The Hellenistic Letter Format of the First Century

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Don Merritt

When we write a letter, we normally follow a certain culturally accepted format; we first write the name and address of the sender and recipient, then there is a greeting such as “Dear John”, followed by the body of the … Continue reading →

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A Note About Descriptive Language

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Don Merritt

If Revelation isn’t to be understood literally, then how is it to be understood? As I said in the last post, it is “Apocalyptic” literature; it reveals something in word pictures. This kind of descriptive language shouldn’t be all that … Continue reading →

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Our Approach to Revelation

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Don Merritt

To begin a study of a book like Revelation, we must address some fundamental questions. In this case, the most fundamental of questions is whether or not it is intended to be understood literally. If we decide it should be … Continue reading →

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A Pause to Regroup

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Don Merritt

We have now completed the second main section of the book of Romans, and I thought this would be an opportune moment to pause and regroup. The purpose for writing this section was to demonstrate that while humanity, both Jew … Continue reading →

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There is a Problem Here!

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Don Merritt

Earlier, we took a look at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, and ended up with a couple of ideas, and a bunch of questions. The next step is to have a closer look at the text itself. Since the ideas we came … Continue reading →

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Discussing Spiritual Warfare

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Don Merritt

One of the great challenges of discussing matters that relate to spiritual warfare is how to describe it; how do you do that? Most of the people who read these posts are writers, so I think I’m posing the question … Continue reading →

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Song of Songs and the use of Erotic Images

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Don Merritt

Who can argue with the assertion that Song of Songs contains strong erotic imagery? For this reason, many have considered this book to be “too hot to handle” in churches over the years, while others see it as a book … Continue reading →

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Biblical Hierarchy and New Testament Thinking

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Don Merritt

Ephesians 5:22-33 There is a definite hierarchy in the Scriptures; there just isn’t any way to get away from this fact. Yet while this is a theological reality, it isn’t always popular today. In the very simplest of terms, here’s … Continue reading →

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