Interpreting the Bible (FINAL EXAM)
Identify the 3 MAIN levels Revelation uses symbolic language. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
1. Text level: words written on the page 2. Vision level: the picture that the words paint 3. Referent level: what the vision refers to in real life
Identify the 3 MAIN parts of Song of Songs. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
1. The Courtship (1:2-3:5) 2. The Wedding (3:6-5:1) 3. The following Life of Love (5:2-8:14)
Identify the historical-cultural context of Hebrew poetry. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
A continuous story runs from Genesis 12 to 2 Kings 25. The themes of Deuteronomy are woven into the fabric of the prophetic books.
Which of the following is NOT part of a typical letter introduction? (GGW, Quiz #14) A. Provenance (place of writing) B. Prayer C. Greeting D. Addressee
A. Provenance (place of writing)
As Luke widens his angle from Jesus to the early church leaders, he moves from "____________ ____________" to "____________ ____________" (i.e. history with an agenda). (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
As Luke widens his angle from Jesus to the early church leaders, he moves from theological biography to theological history (i.e. history with an agenda).
Define "civil law." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
Civil laws were those describing aspects that we normally see in a country's legal system (i.e. courts, economics, land, crimes and punishment.) ***applied to ancient Israel
What was the purpose of Luke's speeches in Acts? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
In the speeches of Acts, Luke tells what really happened (history) for theological purposes.
How is Revelation a letter? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
Revelation is a letter (ie. it is, essentially, a single letter addressed to all seven churches; like other New Testament letters, Revelation is "situational").
What is the central interpretive question related to grasping the message of Acts? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
Should we take Acts as normative, so that the church in every age should imitate the experiences and practices of the early church? Or should we read Acts as merely descriptive of what was valuable and inspiring to the early church?
What is the primary focus of Old Testament poetry? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
The poetry of the Old Testament actually focuses on our emotional response to God, as well as our emotional response to those who are hostile to God and His people. In stark contrast, the genre of New Testament letters tends to focus on propositional truth.
Define "anthropomorphism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
The representation of God with human features or human characteristics.
The prophetic books are primarily "___________." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
"anthologies."
GGW describes the genre of the gospels as "__________________" biography. (GGW, Quiz #15)
"christological."
According to the authors of Grasping God's Word, the Gospels are a "____________ ____________." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
"Christological biography."
The word "gospel" is translated from the Greek word evangelion, meaning what? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
"Good news."
The power of poetry lies in its ability to affect the "____________" of the reader or listener. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
"emotions."
Revelation provides the prophetic word from God that people need in order to remain faithful in the midst of "____________." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
"opposition."
Identify the two MAIN categories Acts is identified as. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
1. Acts is a story. 2. Acts is theological history.
Identify the 3 MAIN literary genres shown in Revelation. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
1. Letters 2. Prophecy 3. Apocalyptic
Identify the two MAIN categories used to classify the New Testament letters. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. Pauline letters 2. General or catholic (universal) letters (i.e. this category uses all three names.)
What is a central feature of Old Testament narrative? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
A central feature of narrative is dialogue, and God is involved in over two hundred separate dialogues in the Old Testament.
Define "anthology." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
A collection of shorter units [of poetry], usually oral messages that the prophets have proclaimed publicly to the people. It is important to note the collection nature of the books.
Which listed genre do the canonical gospels have the most in common with? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
Ancient biography.
Define "developmental parallelism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
In developmental parallelism, the second line further develops the idea of the first line.
Define "illustrative parallelism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
In illustrative parallelism, line A of the poem conveys the idea and line B illustrates it with an example or symbol.
What is the Holy Spirit's role, according to Acts? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
In short, the Holy Spirit empowers the church (both Jewish and Gentile believers) to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world (Acts 1:8).
What should you do when you see parallelism in the canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
Poetic parallelism is an expression we use to describe a relationship between two or more lines of text. The use of parallelism in the canonical gospels reminds us to read the lines together as a unit of thought, never separating one line from another.
Explain the purpose of Job (in contrast to the other Wisdom books.) (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
Practically everyone in the world, including God's children, is touched at some point in life by inexplicable tragedy. The book of Job serves as a strong counter-balance to the book of Proverbs; he does all of the things Proverbs commands, but receives terrible and unjust hardship instead of blessings. Job challenges the way God runs the universe.
The "____________" give us inspired models of how to talk and sing to God. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
Psalms.
According to GGW, what is the most helpful guideline for grasping the theological truths of Acts? (GGW, Quiz #16)
The single most helpful guideline for grasping the theological truths of Acts is to look for repeated themes and patterns.
Why were Christians subject to persecution in the post-crucifixion era? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
Because Christians refused to confess "Caesar is Lord" in worship of the emperor, they were considered disloyal to the state and subjected to persecution.
Why are Matthew, Mark, and Luke commonly referred to as the "synoptic gospels?" (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
Because they can easily be seen "together" (i.e. they have a similar format that differs from the book of John.)
Define "personification." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
Figurative language that involves attributing human features or human characteristics to nonhuman entities
Scholars have traditionally distinguished between two types of letters in the New Testament: Pauline and "_____________." (GGW, Quiz #14)
General Epistles.
What are the two representations shown in the book of Song of Songs? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
In addition to representing Christ and the Church, Song of Songs also provides a model for how a husband and his wife are to feel toward one another and how they should express their feelings.
The Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) is comprised mostly of what? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
Laws.
Approximately what percentage of Old Testament prophecy concerns future events? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
Less than 1%.
Approximately what percentage of Old Testament prophecy is messianic? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
Less than 2%.
To which gospel is Acts a 'sequel'? (GGW, Quiz #16)
Luke.
in his First Apology, how does Justin Martyr characterize the four canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were viewed early on as stories of Jesus drawn from the personal experience of the apostles—Justin Martyr, in his First Apology, characterizes the Gospels as "memoirs" of the apostles.
Define "moral law." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
Moral laws were defined as those that dealt with timeless truths regarding God's intention for human behavior (i.e. "Love your neighbor as yourself.") ***universal and timeless
Approximately how much of the New Testament is comprised of narrative stories? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
Narrative (stories) comprise nearly half of the Old Testament.
Define "narrative." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
Narrative is a literary form characterized by sequential time action and involving plot, setting, and characters. It is the story form of literature.
What word describes the quality of NT letters that means they were written to address specific problems related to the author or readers? (GGW, Quiz #14)
New Testament letters were occasional or situational, meaning they were written to address specific situations or problems related to the author or (usually) to the readers.
Explain the role of the Old Testament prophet. (Class lecture)
OT Prophets are identified as: 1. A "spokesperson" for God (to the people) 2. An individual who spoke to kings (foreign and native), people, and nations 3. Truth-tellers (a stark contrast to mediums and fortune-tellers) 4. Prophets are NOT fortune-tellers or future tellers 5. Sometimes prophets are part of institutions (employed by kings, if you will), sometimes not 6. Sometimes prophets (and their messages) were unpopular with the people
Define the "near-view far-view" problem. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
One of the major problems surfaces when we attempt to interpret the predictive prophecies is the near view-far view problem. This near view-far view is similar to the image we encounter when we look at a mountain range from a distance. Often it is difficult to determine whether the picture the prophets paint is a literal prediction of the future or a figurative, symbolic one.
What is one of the most important things readers should remember when seeking to apply truths from the canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
One of the most important things to remember when seeking to apply truths from these stories is that we should always keep the larger context in view.
Define "parallelism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
One of the most obvious features of OT poetry is that the text is structured around poetic lines of verse rather than around sentences and paragraphs. Furthermore, the lines are usually grouped in units of two or three. This feature is called parallelism, and it is the dominant structural characteristic of OT poetry.
What is the dominant structural characteristic of Old Testament poetry? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
Parallelism.
How is Revelation a prophetic letter? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
Revelation also claims to be a prophetic letter (i.e. Biblical prophecy includes both predictions of the future and proclamation of God's truth for the present.) As a prophetic letter, Revelation stands in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets; it is filled with allusions to the powerful language and imagery used by Old Testament prophets.
What is the traditional distinction most scholars have made regarding the New Testament letters? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
Scholars have traditionally made a distinction between the Pauline letters and the general or catholic (universal) letters.
TRUE or FALSE: Luke intentionally links his gospel and Acts together as two parts of a single story. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
TRUE!
TRUE or FALSE: New Testament letters were more than just substitutes for personal presence; they were authoritative substitutes. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
TRUE!
TRUE or FALSE: Revelation contains more Old Testament references/images than any other New Testament book. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
TRUE!
TRUE or FALSE: The prophetic books take up as much space in the Bible as the New Testament does. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
TRUE!
TRUE or FALSE: The term gospel translates the Greek word evangelion, which means "good news." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
TRUE!
TRUE or FALSE: Our most direct witness to Jesus comes from four canonical Gospels. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
TRUE! (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.)
Why is Song of Songs viewed as one of the most shocking wisdom books? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
The Song of Songs is perhaps one of the most shocking books in the Bible because it speaks openly and joyfully of human sexuality.
How many New Testament books are classified as "letters?" (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
Twenty-one of the twenty-seven New Testament books are letters.
What is the other approach that the authors of GGW opt for as an interpretive approach to reading Revelation?(GGW, Quiz #17)
We should aim for an eclectic approach to reading Romans—an approach that seeks to combine the strengths of several of the above approaches.
Define "zoomorphism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
When animal imagery is used as an additional, nonhuman image of God.
According to the co-authors of Grasping God's Word, letters were often a substitute for the "___________ __________" of the author. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
"personal presence."
Because the law defined covenant relationship between God and Israel, the law, by nature, was "____________." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
"theological."
Identify the 4 MAIN characteristics of New Testament letters. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. New Testament letters are typically longer than their ancient [OT] counterparts. 2. New Testament letters are occasional or situational (i.e. they were written to address specific situations or problems related to the author or readers). 3. New Testament letters are carefully written and delivered. 4. New Testament letters are intended for the Christian community.
Define "contrastive parallelism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
This type of parallelism employs the use of contrast, and is common in the book of Proverbs (i.e. righteous vs. wicked.)
Identify the 3 MAIN categories scholars have organized Old Testament law into. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
1. Moral law 2. Civil law 3. Ceremonial law
Identify the 3 MAIN points used to summarize the message of the Old Testament prophets. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
1. "You have broken the covenant; you had better repent!" 2. "No repentance? Then judgement!" (i.e. The major judgements predicted by the prophets are the horrific invasion of the Assyrians and later Babylonians; the most serious aspect of this is the loss of the Promised Land.) 3. "Yet, there is hope beyond the judgement for a glorious, future restoration." (i.e. all the wonderful prophecies of Christ fall into this category.)
What kind of book is Acts? (i.e. there are two MAIN answers) (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
1. Acts is a story. 2. Acts is theological history.
Identify the three MAIN conclusions that emerge from the Teacher's "search" in Ecclesiastes. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
1. Apart from God, life is meaningless. Wisdom is not bad, but it does not provide meaning in life. 2. Wisdom does not explain the contradictions of life; it only points them out. Therefore, people should simply trust God (the same meaning as Job). 3. Life, therefore, is not a puzzle to be completely understood, but a gift to be enjoyed (similar to Songs of Solomon).
Identify the 4 MAIN parts associated with reading "individual" gospel stories (i.e. Step 1 of Gospel interpretation). ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
1. Ask the standard questions that you should ask of any story: Who? What? Where?When? Why? And how? 2. Look for interpretive instructions from the author himself. 3. Take special note of anything that is repeated in the story (i.e. Stories often use repetition to convey theological truth.) 4. Be alert for places where the story shifts to direct discourse.
Identify the 4 MAIN guidelines for interpreting narrative episodes. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
1. Be aware of the overall story of the Old Testament. Explore how the character or episode that you are studying fits into the big picture. 2. Study the overall themes and message of the Bible that your episode is in. 3. Read the larger episode, not just the smaller ones. 4. As a minimum, read three chapters: the entire chapter in which your episode takes place, the chapter that precedes it, and the chapter that follows it.
Identify the 4 MAIN types of figurative language that involve substitution. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
1. Causes and effects 2. Representation (I.e. often the poets will substitute a representative part of an entity instead of the entity itself.) 3. Miscellaneous figures of speech (I.e. unable to be categorized in the other sections, the figures of apostrophe and irony are identified as miscellaneous.) 4. Wordplays (i.e. Many Hebrew wordplays in OT poetry follow the patterns of English examples, and either playoff variant possible meanings of a word or playoff sound similarities.)
Identify the three MAIN reasons New Testament letters were written. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. Clarify an issue (i.e. Thessalonians) 2. Address a doctrinal problem (i.e. Colossians) 3. Confront readers about their behavior (i.e. James)
Identify the 3 MAIN indications that Luke intended his two works to be one volume. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
1. Compare the opening verses of the books. 2. There are thematic and structural parallels between the two books. 3. There is a definite overlap between the ending of Luke and the beginning of Acts.
Identify the 3 MAIN guidelines for interpreting Old Testament prophecy. ***IMPORTANT! (Class lecture)
1. Do not overlook the poetic aspect of prophecy. 2. Focus more on translating and applying the broader theological principles than on trying to fit all the details into the system. 3. Do not forget the way in which the prophets use the near view-far view.
Identify the 3 MAIN guidelines suggested for interpreting prophetic passages. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
1. Do not overlook the poetic aspect of prophecy. 2. Focus more on translating and applying the broader theological principles than on trying to fit all the details into the system. 3. Do not forget the way in which the prophets use the near view-far view.
Identify the 6 MAIN literary forms found in the canonical gospels. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
1. Exaggeration (i.e. also called hyperbole) 2. Metaphor and Simile 3. Narrative Irony 4. Rhetorical Questions 5. Parallelism 6. Parables
Identify the 3 BASIC components most narratives have. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
1. Exposition 2. Conflict 3. Resolution
Identify the 2 MAIN categories the figures of speech in the Old Testament can be placed into. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
1. Figures involving analogy 2. Figures involving substitution
Identify the 7 MAIN purposes/sub-purposes (i.e. themes) Luke's writings show in Acts. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
1. Holy Spirit (i.e. the whole operation starts with the Spirit of God; the Spirit empowers believers for witness, guides them, breaks down barriers, and sets believers apart for the mission.) 2. God's Sovereignty (i.e. God's sovereign work is for the sake of the gospel message, not always for the comfort and convenience of its messengers.) 3. The Church (i.e. the Spirit works chiefly through the Church to accomplish His will.) 4. Prayer (i.e. the early Christians were marked as people of prayer, and you will find them praying in almost every chapter of Acts.) 5. Suffering (i.e. in spite of the many hardships faced by the early church, the gospel of God continues to advance.) 6. Gentiles (i.e. the narrative movement in Acts is from Jerusalem to Rome, from Peter to Paul, from Jew to Gentile.) 7. Witness (i.e. the apostles focus their witness on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.)
List the 12 MINOR prophetic books of the Old Testament. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
1. Hosea 2. Joel 3. Amos 4. Obadiah 5. Jonah 6. Micah 7. Nahum 8. Habakkuk 9. Zephaniah 10. Haggai 11. Zechariah 12. Malachi
Identify the 3 MAIN charges the Old Testament prophets indict Israel of. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
1. Idolatry (i.e. perhaps the most flagrant violation of the covenant, the prophets continuously preach against the people's practice of idolatry.) 2. Social injustice (i.e. a proper relationship with God requires a proper relationship with people.) 3. Religious ritualism (i.e. the people have forgotten that ritual is the means to the relationship, not a substitute for it.)
Explain the form of a New Testament letter. (HINT: 3 MAIN parts) (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. Introduction 2. Body 3. Conclusion
List the four MAJOR prophetic books of the Old Testament. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
1. Isaiah 2. Jeremiah 3. Ezekiel 4. Daniel
Identify the 6 MAIN characteristics of Old Testament narrative. (Class lecture)
1. It is historical 2. It is artistic story-telling 3. It is selective 4. It is unified (i.e. the stories were put together with intention; the biblical metanarrative) 5. It is realistic 6. It is theological
What isn't a gospel? (Class lecture)
1. It's not a set of laws 2. It's not poetry 3. It's not an airtight apologetic 4. It's not future-oriented 5. "Just the facts, ma'am" (it is not solely facts) ***Dawkins' version of "history" 6. A modern biography (they aren't chronological or verbatim)
Identify the three MAIN reasons New Testament letters were read aloud to their audiences. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. Letters were too valuable to be loaned out to specific individuals. 2. Jewish Christians were accustomed to hearing Scriptures read aloud in services of worship. 3. Some Christians, quite simply, could not read.
Identify the 2 MAIN principles necessary for interpreting Jesus' parables. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
1. Look for one main point for each character or group of characters; the remaining details simply add to the story as a whole. 2. In addition, the main points you discover must be ones that Jesus' original audience would have understood (i.e. principlizing bridge)
Identify the 5 MAIN guidelines for a normative interpretation of Acts. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
1. Look for what Luke intended to communicate to his readers (i.e. authorial intent). 2. Look for positive and negative examples in the characters of the story. 3. Read individual passages in light of the overall story of acts and the rest of the New Testament. 4. Look for other parts of Acts to clarify what is normative (i.e. occasionally the context of acts will clarify what is normative and what is descriptive.) 5. Look for repeated patterns and themes.
Identify the two contributing personas Luke wrote under. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
1. Luke is a historian who composes a reliable record of what happened in the outreach of the gospel. 2. Luke is also a theologian who tells his story for the purpose of advancing the Christian faith.
Identify the two extremes [styles] ancient letters tended to lean towards. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. Many were informal, private letters—business contracts, civic records, family letters, etc. 2. Others were formal, artistic, literary letters—designed for public presentation.
List the four "canonical gospels." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
1. Matthew 2. Mark 3. Luke 4. John
Identify the 4 MAIN interpretive guidelines for Old Testament narrative. ***IMPORTANT! (Class lecture)
1. OT narrative does not teach doctrine; it usually demonstrates doctrine taught elsewhere (i.e. It was not meant to give the people of Israel a system of belief; rather, it was a description of how a system or belief in the world is being lived out, for good and bad. ) 2. OT narrative can teach implicitly (rather than explicitly) 3. OT narrative is descriptive (i.e. real people with real problems) NOT prescriptive (i.e. role models to mimic) 4. OT narratives are selective and incomplete When reading OT narrative, we must be willing to read c l o s e l y.
Identify the 3 MAIN interpretive guidelines for Old Testament law. ***IMPORTANT! (Class lecture)
1. Pay attention to the context 2. Recognize different functions of the law (i.e. sociological, covenantal, sanctifying) 3. What does this legal material tell us about God?
Identify the 6 MAIN literary features of the narrative. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
1. Plot (i.e. the organizing structure that ties narrative together.) 2. Setting (i.e. Setting deals with the questions When? And Where?) 3. Character (i.e. Characters are the answer to the Who? Question, and they are critical to narrative.) 4. Viewpoint of the narrator (i.e. the narrator often seems to stay neutral when readers would really like for him to express his opinions.) 5. Comparison/contrast (i.e. This literary technique is a major device used in Old Testament narrative to develop plot and move the story forward.) 6. Irony (i.e. Irony is the literary term used to describe situations where the literal or surface meaning of an event or episode is quite different—indeed, sometimes opposite—of the narrator's intended meaning.
Lament psalms are also referred to as what? (i.e. List 3 MAIN labels.) (Class lecture)
1. Protest psalms 2. Complaint psalms 3. Imprecatory psalms
Identify the four MAIN "wisdom books" and their purposes. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
1. Proverbs (The Basic Approach to Life) 2. Job (Exception 1: The Suffering of the Righteous) 3. Ecclesiastes (Exception 2: The Failure of the Rational, Ordered Approach to Provide Ultimate Meaning to Life) 4. Songs of Solomon (Exception 3: The Irrationality of Romantic Love Between a Husband and a Wife)
List the 5 MAIN "poetry" books of the Old Testament. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
1. Psalms 2. Job 3. Proverbs 4. Song of Songs 5. Lamentations
List three of the seven guidelines given in GGW for interpreting Revelation. (GGW, Quiz #17)
1. Read Revelation with humility. 2. Try to discover the message to the original readers. 3. Don't try to discover a strict, chronological map of future events.
Identify the 7 MAIN suggestions for reading Revelation. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
1. Read Revelation with humility. 2. Try to discover the message to the original readers. 3. Don't try to discover a strict, chronological map of future events. 4. Take Revelation seriously, but don't always take it literally. 5. Pay attention when John identifies an image. 6. Look to the Old Testament and historical context when interpreting images and symbols. Revelation uses language at several different levels. 7. Above all, focus on the main idea and don't press all the details.
Identify the 4 MAIN issues readers face when interpreting New Testament letters. ***IMPORTANT! (Class lecture)
1. Read holistically (i.e. read all the way through; don't rely on the chapters or pre-established divisions.) 2. Think in paragraphs. 3. Mirror-reading (i.e. the idea that we are trying to discern the situation behind the author's purpose in writing; using the physical text to mirror the historical-cultural situation.) 4. Application? (i.e. the idea of taking an occasional letter and trying to apply it over 2,000 years later—its not impossible, but its extremely difficult.)
Explain how the 3 MAIN literary genres (i.e. letter, prophetic, and apocalyptic) correspond with the message of Revelation. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
1. Revelation is a letter (ie. it is, essentially, a single letter addressed to all seven churches; like other New Testament letters, Revelation is "situational"). 2. Revelation also claims to be a prophetic letter (i.e. Biblical prophecy includes both predictions of the future and proclamation of God's truth for the present.) 3. Revelation is a prophetic-apocalyptic letter (i.e. apocalyptic represents an intensified form of prophecy.)
Identify the 5 MAIN types of figurative language that involve analogy. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
1. Simile (i.e. a direct comparison that uses the words like and as.) 2. Metaphor (I.e. a direct comparison that does not use the words like or as.) 3. Indirect analogy (I.e. a literary device that uses the analogous item without directly stating the comparison.) 4. Hyperbole (I.e. a "conscious exaggeration for the sake of effect.") 5. Personification/anthropomorphism/zoomorphism
Identify the 5 MAIN types of parallelism. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
1. Synonymous (I.e. a close similarity between lines using words with similar meaning.) 2. Developmental (I.e. in developmental parallelism, the second line further develops the idea of the first line.) 3. Illustrative (i.e. in illustrative parallelism, line A conveys the idea and line B illustrates it with an example or symbol.) 4. Contrastive (i.e. this type of parallelism employs the use of contrast, and is common in the book of Proverbs.) 5. Formal (I.e. the formal category is simply a "miscellaneous" category to catch the remaining types of parallelism that do not fall into any of the other categories. In this type of parallelism, two lines or phrases are joined by metric considerations.)
Identify the 3 MAIN types of parallelism. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
1. Synonymous parallelism—the lines say basically the same thing in a similar way. 2. Contrastive parallelism—the second line contrasts the first line. 3. Developmental parallelism—the second line repeats part of the first line, then advances the thought of the first line to a climax.
Identify the 5 MAIN interpretive guidelines for Old Testament poetry. ***IMPORTANT! (Class lecture)
1. Take poetry for what it is (i.e. don't try to turn it into what it isn't.) 2. Don't try to reduce poetry to doctrine (i.e. trying to pull doctrine out of poetry.) 3. Seek to understand the given imagery as much as possible. 4. Let poetry have its intended effect (i.e. it is meant to evoke emotions and feelings; we should sit with it long enough to have this effect.) 5. Some authors say that the Psalms (in particular) are "Inspired models of how to talk and sing to God."
Identify the 2 MAIN elements of Old Testament poetry. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
1. Terseness (i.e. this simply means poetry uses a limited number of words; the words are chosen carefully for their impact and power.) 2. Structure (i.e. parallelism)
Explain how Old Testament law is tightly intertwined with the Mosaic Covenant. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
1. The Mosaic Covenant is closely associated with Israel's conquest and occupation of the land. 2. The blessings from the Mosaic Covenant are conditional. 3. The Mosaic Covenant is no longer a functional covenant. 4. The Old Testament laws (as part of the Mosaic Covenant) are no longer applicable over us as law. 5. We must interpret the law through the grid of New Testament teaching.
Identify the 3 central features that appear consistently in Acts. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
1. The message is constantly spreading. 2. The gospel of Jesus Christ remains constant. 3. The message is shaped to specific audiences.
Identify the 4 MAIN parts of the "introduction" portion of a New Testament letter. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. The name of the writer 2. The name of the recipients 3. A greeting 4. An introductory prayer
What are the two MAIN approaches used to interpret Old Testament law? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
1. The narrative approach 2. The covenant context
Identify the 4 MAIN ways interpreters have approached the book of Revelation. ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
1. The preterist approach (i.e. takes the historical context of Revelation seriously and attempts to understand the book the way John's audience would have understood it.) 2. The historicist approach (i.e. views Revelation as a map or outline of what has happened or will happen throughout church history until Christ's return.) 3. The futurist approach (i.e. views most of the book as related to future events immediately preceding the end of history.) 4. The idealist approach (i.e. does not understand Revelation in reference to time, but relates it to the ongoing struggle between good and evil.)
Identify the 5 MAIN problems with studying gospels. ***IMPORTANT! (Class lecture)
1. The problem of authorship. 2. The problem of "the many" (i.e. having many gospels in existence, not just Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) 3. The problem of "the four" (i.e. four different accounts with four different perspectives and written with distinct personalities) 4. The problem of "the three" (i.e. the relationship between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, also known as the synoptic gospels.) 5. The problem of "the one" (i.e. the distinct differences of John's gospel and how it differs from the other three)
Identify the 3 MAIN things the prophets can be referring to when they paint images of the events related to future hope and restoration. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
1. The return of the Jewish exiles to Israel under Ezra and Nehemiah 2. The first coming of Christ 3. The second coming of Christ
The conclusion of a New Testament letter often consists of what MAIN elements? (List up to 10!) (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
1. Travel plans 2. Commendation of coworkers 3. Prayer 4. Prayer requests 5. Greetings 6. Final instructions and exhortations 7. Holy kiss 8. Autograph 9. Benediction 10. Doxology
Identify the two MAIN questions readers should have when reading the canonical gospels. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
1. What is taught in each episode? 2. What is taught by the way the episodes are linked together to form the larger story?
According to GGW (and many other scholars), how many letters in the New Testament were written by Paul? (GGW, Quiz #14)
13!
What percentage of the New Testament is comprised of letters? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
About 35% of the entire New Testament.
What is a major theme of Revelation? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
A major theme of Revelation is overcoming.
What should you do when you see parables in the canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
A parable is a short story with two levels of meaning, where certain details in the story represent something else. By ignoring the original context, interpreters can read into almost any parable a meaning that has nothing to do with what Jesus intended for his original audience.
Define "synonymous parallelism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
A type of parallelism that shows a close similarity between lines of poetry using words with similar meaning.
According to GGW, what is the primary historical-context reason why Revelation needed to be written? (GGW, Quiz #17) A. First-century churches were being persecuted. B. First-century believers needed to know the future. C. The apostle John had one final message to send to his churches. D. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins needed to write a series of bestselling books.
A. First-century churches were being persecuted.
Which of the following is NOT one of the primary themes of Acts mentioned in GGW? (GGW, Quiz #16) A. Jewish witness B. Prayer C. God's Sovereignty D. Holy Spirit
A. Jewish witness
Define "acrostics." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
Acrostics are another interesting structural feature of OT poetry. An acrostic is a poem in which each successive line of poetry starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Which verse in Acts is credited with understanding the purpose of the entire book? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
Acts 1:8 holds the key to understanding how the entire book unfolds.
Identify the primary teaching principle of Acts. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
Acts teaches us to hold fast to the core message of the Gospel, but that we must also be willing to tailor our presentation depending on the nature of our audiences.
Which book is credited with being the bridge between the canonical gospels and other New Testament letters? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
Acts.
What is the prevailing method used to explain Song of Songs? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
Allegory.
Which of the following is NOT one of the special literary forms within the gospels outlined in GGW? (GGW, Quiz #15) A. Parables B. Miracles C. Narrative irony D. Parallelism
B. Miracles
Which of the following is NOT one of the guidelines given in GGW for reading individual stories in the gospels? (GGW, Quiz #15) A. Take note of repetition in the story. B. Take not of shifts to direct discourse. C. Take note of differences between gospel accounts of the story. D. Take note of instructions from the author.
C. Take note of differences between gospel accounts of the story.
Define "ceremonial law." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
Ceremonial laws were defined as those that dealt with sacrifices, festivals, and priestly activities. ***applied solely to ancient Israel
Which of the following is NOT one of the important elements of narrative discussed in GGW Ch. 18? (GGW, Quiz #18) A. The viewpoint of the narrator B. The plot. C. The characters. D. The identity of the narrator
D. The identity of narrator
Who was the person responsible for initiating the mass persecution of Christians when Revelation was being written? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
Domitian (reigned AD 81-96).
What two interchangeable terms do the co-authors of Grasping God's Word use to refer to this literary genre? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
Duvall and Hays use the terms narrative and story interchangeably to refer to the genre of this narrative literature.
How do the Pauline letters differ from the general letters? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
Each of Paul's thirteen letters takes its name from the individual or group to whom the letter is addressed. The general letters, on the other hand, take their names from their authors, not addressees.
TRUE or FALSE: The closing of NT letters are always the same. (GGW, Quiz #14)
FALSE!
TRUE or FALSE: The writings of the canonical gospel have been verified and approved as "word-for-word" translations. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
FALSE! As ancient biographers, the Gospel writers felt free to paraphrase or summarize what Jesus said and to arrange the events according to a particular theme rather than according to strict chronological sequence.
TRUE or FALSE: Poetic books are easy to outline. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
FALSE! Because of their anthology feature, most prophetic books are impossible to outline; essentially, outlines are entirely useless.
TRUE or FALSE: Most parables found in the gospels essentially have one main teaching point. (GGW, Quiz #15)
FALSE! In GGW, Hays and Duvall say that a parable is "a story with two levels of meaning, where certain details in the story represent something else. "
TRUE or FALSE: New Testament letters are categorized into two extreme categories—informal and formal. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
FALSE! New Testament letters do not fall into either of these two categories; rather, they fall somewhere in between the two.
TRUE or FALSE: The canonical gospel writers tend to arrange Jesus' actions chronologically. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
FALSE! Often the writers arrange Jesus' actions topically and report what Jesus says in a variety of ways.
TRUE or FALSE: The prophetic books focus mainly on futuristic events. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
FALSE! Only a small percentage of the Old Testament prophetic literature deals with future events. According to Fee and Stuart: "Less than 2% of OT prophecy is messianic. Less than 5% specifically describes new covenant age. Less than 1% concerns events yet to come in our time."
TRUE or FALSE: Paul, Peter, and John mainly write to their audiences as friends/acquaintances. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
FALSE! Paul, Peter, and John write as more than just friends/acquaintances; they write as apostles, witnesses of the resurrected Christ. Their letters of instruction, warning, and encouragement carry authority because they write as Christ's authentic representatives.
TRUE or FALSE: "Picture language," being figurative, is incapable of conveying literal truth. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
FALSE! Picture language with its symbols, images, and figures is quite capable of conveying literal truth and describing literal events.
TRUE or FALSE: Old Testament law appears by itself in a separate, isolated context. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
FALSE! The Old Testament legal material does not appear by itself in isolation; rather, it is firmly embedded into the story of Israel's exodus, wandering, and conquest.
TRUE or FALSE: There are explicit distinctions that separate the categories of moral, civil, and ceremonial law. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
FALSE! The distinctions between moral, civil, and ceremonial laws appear to be arbitrary.
TRUE or FALSE: The leading figure in all of Acts is the apostle Paul. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
FALSE! The leading figure in all of Acts is the Spirit of God, who works in both Peter and Paul.
TRUE or FALSE: The terms "major" and "minor" refers to the importance of the prophetic books. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
FALSE! The terms major and minor have nothing to do with significance; rather, they refer to the length of the books. The first four prophetic books are much longer than the twelve that follow.
TRUE or FALSE: Like the introduction portion, the body portion of a New Testament letter follows a distinct format. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
FALSE! There is no set format; however, you can find instruction, persuasion, rebuke, exhortation, and much more.
What are the 2 MAIN levels of gospel-based historical context? (Class lecture)
Historical context—2 MAIN levels: 1. Jesus' own context (i.e. before the gospels were written) 2. The author's context (i.e. post-resurrection period)
How do the canonical gospels differ from other standard biographies? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
In contrast to many typical biographies, the Gospels devote a large amount of time to the last week of Jesus' life. Despite this, it doesn't mean that the Gospels are not biographies; they are simply not modern biographies.
What is God's main intention with the book of Revelation? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
In this "final chapter" of the story of salvation, God pulls back the curtain to give his people a glimpse of His plans for human history, plans that center around Jesus Christ.
Approximately how many commandments are listed in the Pentateuch? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
Indeed, there are over 600 commandments in these books alone; we find this legal material throughout most of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Also, about half of Exodus, along with a portion of Numbers, presents various laws that God gave Israel.
What should you do when you see narrative irony in the canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
Irony is grounded in the principle of contrast—contrast between what is expected and what actually happens. The primary interpretive goal in the case of irony is to notice it in the first place.
Approximately what percentage of Old Testament describes the new covenant age? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
Less than 5%.
What is the crucial point necessary for properly interpreting Old Testament narrative? ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
Let God be God (i.e. don't try to fit Him into a neat, theological box.)
What are the 2 MAIN directions of gospel-based literary context? (Class lecture)
Literary context—2 MAIN directions: 1. Think horizontally (i.e. reading according to category; synopsis-style) 3. Think vertically (i.e. reading "chronologically," or numerically; namely how the translators have organized chapters and sections)
According to GGW, what is the key to reading a series of stories in the gospels? (GGW, Quiz #15)
Look for connections.
How many different times does Luke "pause" his recollection of the book's overall story? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
Luke pauses throughout his story at five different intervals to summarize the progress of the gospel and the growth of the Christian community.
Which New Testament author is widely credited with writing both Luke and Acts? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
Luke.
Define "amanuensis." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
Most New Testament authors relied on the use of an amanuensis, a scribe or secretary used to aid in the formation of New Testament letters. Because letters were expensive endeavors, authors such as Paul relied heavily on friends and acquaintances to successfully deliver them to their intended destination.
Explain the purpose of Ecclesiastes (in contrast to the other Wisdom books.) (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
Of all the books of the Bible, Ecclesiastes is, perhaps, the least straight-forward. As such, it must be interpreted as a whole, not individual parts. The autobiographical character in Ecclesisastes who embarks on this search is called "the Teacher" (NIV) or "the Preacher" (NASB). Using the symbols of wisdom (serious, rational, logical reflection), he attempts to analyze life itself and grasp the meaning of his existence. Over the course of the book, the Teacher discovers that if one attempts to understand life from a strictly rational approach, the meaning of life becomes like the mist, an illusion of a reality that does not exist.
What is the main problem modern-day readers face when trying to interpret Old Testament poetry? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
One of the problems many Christians today encounter when they tackle OT poetry is that they attempt to interpret these texts with methods geared towards New Testament fashion.
Approximately how much of the Bible is comprised of poetry? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
Over ⅓ of the Bible is comprised of poetry.
According to most evangelical scholars, who is primarily responsible for the 21 New Testament letters? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 14: New Testament—Letters)
Paul, James, Peter, John, and the author of Hebrews (who chose to remain anonymous).
TRUE or FALSE: The New Testament presents suffering as a normal feature of a godly life, not an aberration. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
TRUE! (i.e. Job)
How is Revelation a prophetic-apocalyptic letter? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
Revelation is a prophetic-apocalyptic letter (i.e. apocalyptic represents an intensified form of prophecy.) The term apocalyptic refers to a group of writings that include a divine revelation, usually through a heavenly intermediary, to some well-known figure, in which God promises to intervene in human history, overthrow evil empires, and establish His kingdom. The chief characteristic that makes apocalyptic so unfamiliar is its use of images.
What are the two essential pieces of information involved in the setting of a narrative? (GGW, Quiz #18)
Setting deals with the questions When? And Where? Essentially, it takes note of both the place setting and the time setting.
What percentage of Acts is comprised of speeches? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
Speeches make up approximately ¼ to ⅓ of the entire book.
What is the genre term that GGW uses interchangeably with the term 'narrative'? (GGW, Quiz #18)
Story.
TRUE or FALSE: Acts is a kind of discipleship manual, designed to reinforce the Christian faith for new believers. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
TRUE!
TRUE or FALSE: According to GGW, the two main interpretive questions we should ask of Gospel passages should also be asked of passages in Acts. (GGW, Quiz #16)
TRUE! GGW says that we should ask (1) What is the central message (2) What is Luke telling his readers by the way he puts the individual stories and speeches together to form the larger narrative?
TRUE or FALSE: As with the Epistles, the primary meaning of the Revelation is what John intended it to mean. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
TRUE! In turn, it must also have been something his readers could have understood it to mean.
TRUE or FALSE: The episodes in the Old Testament are usually longer than those found in the New Testament. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
TRUE! Moreover, the literary context being explored can take even longer.
TRUE or FALSE: Acts is believed to have been written as part of a single work. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
TRUE! Most scholars believe that the author of the Gospel of Luke also wrote Acts with the intention to produce a single-work in two parts: Luke-Acts.
TRUE or FALSE: The theological history of the Old Testament comes in narrative form. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
TRUE! Similarly, the terms author and narrator can be interchanged.
Define "terseness." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
Terseness simply means poetry uses a limited number of words; the words are chosen carefully for their impact and power.
Approximately, where does Old Testament law start and end in the Bible? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
The Old Testament law is firmly embedded into the story of Israel's theological history. It is part of the narrative that runs from Genesis 12 to Kings 25.
Define "normative interpretation." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
The interpretation involving the belief that the church in every age should imitate the experiences and practices of the early church.
According to the co-authors of Grasping God's Word, what is the best method for interpreting Old Testament law? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 19: Old Testament—Law)
The best method of interpreting the law, according to Duvall and Hays, is one that can be used consistently with all legal texts. It should be one that does not make arbitrary nontextual distinctions between verses and their applicability.
Explain the purpose of Proverbs (in contrast to the other Wisdom books.) (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
The book of Proverbs is perhaps the easiest to understand because it speaks to such common, everyday aspects of life: work, friendship, marriages, speech, money, and integrity. Perhaps the most critical thing to remember when interpreting and applying the book of Proverbs is that the individual proverbs reflect general pieces of wisdom, not universal truths. Daniel Estes even suggests that the primary role of the entire book of Proverbs was to educate the youth.
What is the fifth approach scholars believe is the BEST for interpreting Revelation? ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The eclectic approach (i.e. an approach that seeks to combine the strengths of several of the four other approaches).
Identify the two MAIN reasons evangelists wrote the canonical gospels. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
The evangelists wrote 1) to tell individual stories about Jesus, and 2) to send a message to their readers (e.g. trust rather than fear) by the way they put these individual stories together into a larger story.
Define "formal parallelism." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
The formal category is simply a "miscellaneous" category to catch the remaining types of parallelism that do not fall into any of the other categories. In this type of parallelism, two lines or phrases are often joined by metric considerations.
Define the "futurist approach." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The futurist approach views most of the book as related to future events immediately preceding the end of history.
What is the general rule for interpreting imagery-based books (such as Revelation)? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The general rule is as such: interpret symbolically unless the context calls for a literal reading. With Revelation, we should start with the big picture and work toward an understanding of the details.
What is the main historical context of Revelation? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The historical context is one in which false religion has formed partnership with pagan political powers (i.e. The messages to the seven churches are filled with warnings for those tempted to turn away from Christ and to compromise with the world system.)
Define the "historicist approach." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The historicist approach views Revelation as a map or outline of what has happened or will happen throughout church history until Christ's return.
Define the "idealist approach." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The idealist approach does not understand Revelation in reference to time, but relates it to the ongoing struggle between good and evil.
What is the MAIN purpose of the wisdom books in the Old Testament? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 22: Old Testament—Wisdom)
The imperatives of the wisdom literature—listen, look, think, reflect—combine to focus on the overarching purpose of these books: to develop character in the reader.
Define "descriptive interpretation." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
The interpretation involving the belief that the church should read Acts as merely descriptive of what was valuable and inspiring to the early church.
What is the main message of Revelation? (i.e. different from purpose) ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The main message of Revelation is "God will win!"
What is the major medium used by Old Testament poets? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
The major medium through which the Old Testament poets communicate is figurative imagery. They do not write essays, they paint pictures. The authors are conveying real thoughts, events, and emotions to us—that is, literal truth, but they express it figuratively.
Where does the meaning of narrative derive from? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 18: Old Testament—Narrative)
The meaning of narrative derives primarily from the actions of its characters. Rather than telling us how to live or not live, the narrative shows us how to live or not live by the actions of the characters.
Identify the MAIN practice associated with reading a series of gospel stories (i.e. Step 2 of Gospel interpretation). ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
The most important thing to do when reading a series of stories is to look for connections.
Define the "preterist approach." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The preterist approach takes the historical context of Revelation seriously and attempts to understand the book the way John's audience would have understood it.
The authors of GGW make a clear point that God is very often a character in the OT narratives. What is the principle they recommend we have with regard to God as a character? (GGW, Quiz #18)
The principle Duvall and Hays heavily emphasize when viewing God's character in the Old Testament narratives is this: Let God Be God. Don't try to fit Him into a neat little box or systemize Him; rather, seek to understand how He has chosen to reveal Himself through narrative.
What is the ultimate purpose for the book of Revelation? ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The real purpose of Revelation is to show us that Jesus, rather than Caesar, is Lord. As such, Revelation provides Christians with a set of "prophetic counter-images" to purge their imagination of the pagan view of the world and restore it with a view of what is real and how the world will one day be under God's rule.
What is the single most helpful guideline for grasping the theological truths of Acts? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 16: New Testament—Acts)
The single most helpful guideline for grasping the theological truths of Acts is to look for repeated themes and patterns.
What does the term revelation suggest to its readers? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
The term revelation suggests that something once hidden is now being unveiled or displayed openly (i.e. from John's generation onward).
What was been deemed the ultimate goal of the canonical gospel writers? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
The ultimate goal of the gospel writers was to tell the story of Jesus in a faithful yet relevant and persuasive manner for their readers. Rather than viewing the differences between their accounts as errors in reporting, we should see them as illustrations of different theological purposes and emphases.
What is the primary focus of Old Testament prophecy? ***IMPORTANT! (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
The vast majority of Old Testament prophecy addresses the disobedience of Israel/Judah and the consequential impending judgment. The prophets express the deep, deep love of the Lord toward His people and the intense pain He feels as a result of their rejection of Him.
According to GGW, what is the literary genre of Acts? (GGW, Quiz #16)
Theological history.
Identify the theological context of Hebrew poetry. (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 21: Old Testament—Prophets)
Theologically, the prophets proclaim their message from the context of the Mosaic covenant, primarily as defined in Deuteronomy. They tell the people to repent, to turn from idols, and to return to the covenant they agreed to keep in Deuteronomy.
What percentage of the New Testament is comprised of the four canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
These four books comprise almost half of the New Testament (in terms of percentage.)
When interpreting Old Testament poetry, we must do what? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 20: Old Testament—Poetry)
We must try to enter the emotional world that imagery of the poetry portrays.
Define "eclectic approach." (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 17: Revelation)
We should aim for an eclectic approach to reading Revelation—an approach that seeks to combine the strengths of several of the above approaches.
What should you do when you see rhetorical questions in the canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
When Jesus asks a rhetorical question, you don't get the feeling that he is looking for an answer. Rather, Jesus' action in asking a question is really a statement in disguise.
What should you do when you see metaphors or similes in the canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
When interpreting metaphors and similes, locate the intended point of the comparison. Be careful not to press the details of the comparison too far; whether implicit in metaphor or explicit in simile, the comparison is usually made between things that are different and compared to make a point.
What should you do when you see exaggeration in the canonical gospels? (Grasping God's Word, Chapter 15: New Testament—Gospels)
When you see an exaggeration in the Gospels, do not force a literal interpretation or you'll risk missing the real meaning of the passage. Scripture should be taken seriously, not always literally. To interpret exaggeration literally is to miss the point.
