Scripture is interpreted by Scripture — historical-grammatical reading first, then theological synthesis. Context, genre, original audience.
## Core Position
Scripture interprets Scripture. The plain meaning of the text in its context is the primary meaning. No passage is interpreted in isolation. The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word to the born-again believer. Theological systems are never read back into the text — the text produces the theology. Where a passage is genuinely unclear, clearer passages on the same subject govern.
2 Peter 1:20 — "No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation." Private interpretation divorced from context and the whole counsel of Scripture is rejected.
Acts 17:11 — The Bereans examined Scripture daily to verify teaching. Diligent, disciplined study of the text is the standard.
John 16:13 — "He will guide you into all truth." The Holy Spirit is the illuminator of the Word to the born-again believer.
Isaiah 28:10 — "Precept upon precept, line upon line." Scripture builds on and interprets itself.
2 Timothy 2:15 — "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."
1 Corinthians 2:13-14 — "We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit... The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God."
1. Exegesis before application. What does the text say before what does it mean. Read the words. Stay inside the passage. Establish what is stated before moving to inference.
2. Context governs meaning. Literary context (what comes before and after), book context (the author's purpose and audience), historical context (what was happening in the world when this was written), and grammatical context (what the original Hebrew and Greek words actually mean).
3. Original languages settle disputes. When translations differ, the original language is the authority. English translations are tools — the Hebrew and Greek text is the source. This is how translation issues like the KJV addition of "fasting" in Mark 9:29 are properly resolved.
4. Scripture interprets Scripture. Clearer passages govern unclear ones. No doctrine is built on a single isolated verse. The whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) provides the interpretive framework.
5. TEXT / INFERENCE / TRADITION labeling. Every claim must be identified: TEXT (the passage states this directly), INFERENCE (a reasonable conclusion drawn from the text), or TRADITION (sourced from theological heritage, not direct exegesis). If a position cannot be labeled TEXT or supported INFERENCE, it must be identified as TRADITION and its source named.
6. No premature harmonization. When two texts appear to point in different directions, name the tension honestly before forcing resolution. Premature harmonization is one of the primary sources of doctrinal error.
7. The Holy Spirit illuminates. The born-again believer has the Spirit's guidance in understanding Scripture (John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:13-14). This does not mean every personal impression is correct — it means the Spirit works through the text to the yielded, renewed mind.
8. Theological systems serve the text — not the reverse. Dispensationalism, Reformed theology, Charismatic tradition, and all other frameworks must be identified when they are influencing interpretation. The text produces the theology. Theology does not reinterpret the text.
1. What does the original language text say?
2. What does the immediate context establish?
3. What does the rest of Scripture say on this subject?
4. What do credible scholars say? (Reference, not authority)
5. What does tradition say? (Reference, not authority)
6. What does the Holy Spirit illuminate to the studying believer?
This order is never reversed. Tradition and scholarly opinion are the last resort, not the first.
Allegorizing plain text — if the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense.
Proof-texting — isolating a verse from context to support a predetermined conclusion.
Reading a theological system into the text — dispensationalism, Reformed TULIP, or any framework imposed on the text rather than drawn from it.
Private interpretation untested by Scripture — 2 Peter 1:20.
Tradition overriding text — Mark 7:8-9, Jesus directly rebuked this pattern.
A field worker's legal petition in ancient Hebrew referencing the exact law of Deuteronomy 24:12-13 about returning a poor man's cloak. The law was real. The people were real. The history is real. Mosaic law was not theoretical — it was enforced in 630 BC exactly as written.
The scrolls show how 2nd Temple Jews read their own Scripture — the exegetical methods are consistent with NT interpretation. The community at Qumran read Isaiah, Deuteronomy, and the Prophets the same way the apostles did.
Demonstrates that textual variants exist but affect no core doctrine. The text is reliable where it matters.
The engineering feat described in Scripture is confirmed by the engineers' own inscription. The Bible reports history accurately, down to the specifics.
Reland's method is the methodology — go to the primary sources, not the inherited tradition. His cartographic hermeneutics confirm the biblical geography's accuracy. Sola Scriptura applied to maps.
The Mappa Mundi arranges the world around theological assumptions, not geographical accuracy. Jerusalem at the center, east at the top. Useful as a window into medieval theological imagination — and a contrast to Reland's return to primary sources four centuries later.
See all artifacts in the Doctrinal Evidence collection.