ELLEN G. WHITE ON BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS By P. Gerard ...

ELLEN G. WHITE ON BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS

By P. Gerard Damsteegt Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter

I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON INTERPRETING THE BIBLE . . . . . . . 5 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Quest to Understand the Biblical Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Discover and Understand the Biblical Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Examine Teachings, Beliefs and Practices of Seventh-day Adventists . . 11 Limitations on the Interpretation of the Scriptures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Human Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 God's Infinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Warnings against the Use of Higher or Historical Criticism . . . . . 15

II. FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Inspiration and Authorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The Accuracy of the Bible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Perfect Concepts in Imperfect Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Translation and Copyist Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Divine Preservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Presence of Contradictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The Authority of the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 The Basis of Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Authority in Faith and Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Authority in History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Authority over Human Wisdom, Judgment, and Experience . . . . . 26 Authority over the Spirit of Prophecy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Unity of the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Basis of Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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Divine authorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Divine illumination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Bible study, research and unity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The Nature of Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The diversity of Bible writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Progressive revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Harmony between the Old Testament and the New Testament . . 33 Unity, not uniformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

III. PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Principle of the Bible Only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

All Sufficiency of the Biblical Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Place of the Spirit of Prophecy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 The Bible is Its Own Interpreter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Analogy of Scripture Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Understand obscure texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Understand the deeper meaning of the text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Correct misinterpretations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Solve controversies and disagreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Typological Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 General Principles of Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Aim for the Obvious Meaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Understand the Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Understanding Words and Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Understanding Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Understanding Books and Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Understanding the Scriptures as a Whole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 The Target Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Adventism's Important Rule of Bible Interpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 New Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

IV. CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AA BC (7 vols.) BE CE COL CM CSW CT CW DA Ed Ev EW FE GC GCB GW HL HP MB MH MR (21 vols.) PK PP RH SAT (2 vols.) SC SM (3 vols.) SP ST T (9 vols.) TM UL 1888

Acts of the Apostles Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Bible Echo Christian Education Christ's Object lessons Colporteur Ministry Counsels on Sabbath School Work Counsels to Parents, Teachers,and Students Counsels to Writers and Editors The Desire of Ages Education Evangelism Early Writings Fundamentals of Christian Education The Great Controversy General Conference Bulletin Gospel Workers Healthful Living In Heavenly Places Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing The Ministry of Healing Manuscript Releases Prophets and Kings Patriarchs and Prophets Advent Review and Sabbath Herald Sermons and Talks Steps to Christ Selected Messages Spirit of Prophecy Signs of the Times Testimonies for the Church Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers The Upward Look The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials

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ELLEN G. WHITE ON BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS INTRODUCTION

Most of Ellen G. White's life was spent in the nineteenth century as the foundation of the modern historical-critical method of Bible interpretation was being laid. She frequently commented on the importance of the Bible to our lives and how to interpret it. When the church was faced with difficult issues she successfully guided it, always appealing to Bible principles. This paper attempts to bring together Ellen G. White's views on the objectives, principles, and methods for interpreting Scripture in order to discover the truth about God's teachings and practices in the Bible.

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CHAPTER I GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

Introduction Studying and interpreting the Bible is a sacred occupation. Ellen White points out, "all who handle the word of God are engaged in a most solemn and sacred work."1 The work is not an end in itself, but the insights obtained are to be shared with those who are in darkness so that they may walk in the path leading to salvation.2 Only through careful research in the Bible can an understanding of the principles and methods governing its interpretation be obtained. Concepts such as the unity of Scripture and the analogy of Scripture principle become self-evident as a result of investigating Biblical literature. Ellen White writes that "the searching of the Scriptures" will "reveal the harmony existing between the various parts of the Bible, and the bearing of one passage upon another."3 The interpretation of the Scriptures requires sound wisdom, which only comes through much prayerful personal effort. Ellen White writes, "We cannot obtain wisdom

1 Manuscript 4, 1896 in 3MR 430. 2 Cf. ibid. 3 "Imperative Necessity of Searching for Truth" in RH (November 15, 1892), 706.

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without earnest attention and prayerful study."1 It is the study of Scripture that generates the quality of wisdom necessary for successful discovery of truth.

The Quest to Understand the Biblical Text The objective of the interpreter of the Bible is to obtain a clear understanding of what God is saying to us in the text. However, Ellen White notes, there are Scriptural passages that are not clear: "While some portions of the Word are easily understood, the true meaning of other parts is not so readily discerned."2 Behind the words of Scripture there lies an additional significance that must be discovered. In reflecting on Christ as "the truth" she says that "His words are truth, and they have a deeper significance than appears on the surface."3 In fact, "all the sayings of Christ have a value beyond their unpretending appearance." Some will discover the value of these statements by Christ and "discern the precious gems of truth, though these may be buried treasures."4 Ellen White warns against an insufficient or superficial grasp of the truth. She strongly encourages striving for a full understanding of truth. "We must not be satisfied with superficial knowledge," but "seek to learn the full meaning of the words of truth, and to drink deep of the spirit of the holy oracles."5 This enterprise demands "careful thought as to the meaning of the sacred text."6

1 CE 58. 2 TM 107. 3 COL 110. See also SC 90, 91. 4 COL 110. 5 "Search the Scriptures" in RH (October 9, 1883), 625. 6 Ibid.

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Much searching of the Bible, therefore, is an indispensable requirement for its understanding. "We do not perceive the meaning of the Word of God without much study."1 She says, "Every page of the New Testament Scriptures shines with His [Christ's] light. Every text is a diamond, touched and irradiated by the divine rays."2 It is only through diligent research in the Bible that persons gain this eye-opening experience of an increasing appreciation of the text. "In order to understand the truth of God, there is need of deep research."3

A realistic picture of the historical cultural context of the biblical episodes can lead to an improved understanding of their significance in the past as well as their current relevance. To achieve this she suggests the following: "Let us in imagination go back to that scene [at the Mount of Blessing], and, as we sit with the disciples on the mountainside, enter into the thoughts and feelings that filled their hearts. Understanding what the words of Jesus meant to those who heard them, we may discern in them a new vividness and beauty, and may also gather for ourselves their deeper lessons."4

Discover and Understand God's Truth Personally Ellen White considers carefully studying and understanding the truth for oneself to be a vital object of any study of the Bible. "The truths of the Bible are as pearls hidden." Therefore, "They must be searched, dug out by painstaking effort."5 She warns

1 "Imperative Necessity of Searching for Truth" in RH (November 15, 1892), 706. 2 Manuscript 44, 1898 (7BC, 907). 3 "Imperative Necessity of Searching for Truth" in RH (November 15, 1892), 706. 4 MB 1. 5 1SM 20.

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