In June of 2024, a lady told me that the Father told her that the sun in Isaiah
60:19 means governments, and the moon means religions. Well, we had quite a back and forth on that one, but when
she repeatedly insisted that the Father gave her that interpretation, being fervent for an accurate understanding of the Scriptures and of the individual scriptures that make up the whole, and
being aware of the great devastation that a compounded error such as hers could lead to (1. the meaning of the sun and the moon in the passage and, even more serious, 2. that the Father is the author of confusion), I told her in no uncertain terms, "Don't tell me
that the Father gave you those interpretations. The Bible is not a ouija board, and you must not let your imagination run wild and then imagine that God gave you this interpretation or that. If
you do that you'll be deceiving yourself and will lead those you influence into error!" (She is a writer of books and blogs.) I explained to her that the context of the passage doesn't even hint
of that. I realized later that if she would have just compare Isaiah 60:19 with Revelation 21:23 in its context of the heavenly ages beyond the Millennium she would have seen
that the sun and the
moon in Isaiah 60:19 meant - how unspiritual! - the sun and the moon! I told her that she was in great need of a good course in hermeneutics, and I referred her to Dr. David L.
Cooper's series, the link to which you will now find at the bottom of this page. That, my friends, was the immediate inspiration for this major series on Hermeneutics on this website.
Yes, when we meditate on the Scriptures, the Spirit illuminates our understanding (1 Corinthians 2:11-13); but that doesn't mean we are to
check our brains at the door each time we open the Bible! God did give us intellects, that faculty which enables us to reason; and the Spirit's illumination of our understanding uses as its basis
the reasoning faculty of our intellects. It takes reason to even put together the letters that make up the Bible's words, let alone what the intended meaning of the passage was to its immediate
hearers or readers in their language as understood thousands of years ago, in the context of the passage, and in the unique culture of the day and time!
This hermeneutical series will begin with a series by the masterful Dr. David L. Cooper (link below) and, Lord willing, continue with similar teachings by other great teachers of hermeneutics.
May your understanding of the Scriptures multiply manifold as you soak in the great teachings of these masters of interpretation.
Sincerely yours,
Norm Manzon
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Rules of Interpretation by Dr. David L. Cooper