ILLUMINATION - :Lecture 3
MAN’S SIDE IN UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD

A GENERALITY
•	The concept of illumination is related to the work of the ______________________
•	who makes clear the _______________ of the written Word.
•	In review: ____________________ refers to the material given by the Lord
•	and ____________________  refers to the method of recording the revelation
•	while ____________________ focuses on the meaning of the revealed record. 

A Gnomic Truth
•	1 Corinthians 2: 14 says:
•	“a natural man does not accept the things of the __________, and he cannot understand the things of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
The Believer and the Spirit
•	God promised the believer that the Holy Spirit would illumine his mind and help him to understand the things of God.
•	John 16:13-15 bears record: 
•	“When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. . . He will disclose it to you.”
The ________________
•	has but one purpose -
•	To glorify Christ
•	will gift individuals with the teaching gift to carry out His ministry
•	Romans 12:7 -
•	1 John 2:27 -
The ______________
•	can understand the deep things of God:
•	1 Corinthians 2:10 - 

•	“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all tings, event he depths of God.”
A Note to consider
•	The experience of illumination is not by “___________________”.  
•	The canon is closed!
•	The Spirit _________________ the meaning of that _______________ CANON
•	He ILLUMINATES through the work of _____________ and ___________________
•	Study uses all the proper tools to ascertain the meaning of the text
•	Meditation thinks about the true facts and then puts them into a harmonious whole and applies to life.

Hindrances to Illumination
•	1. _______________ - 1 Corinthians 3: 1-3 
•	“And I, brethren, could not talk to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able. For you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy an strife among you, are you not fleshly and are you not walking like mere men?”

Some Interpretation Principles
•	The technical term is “________________________”
•	This is the study of the principles of interpretation.
•	____________________ is the actual interpretation of the bible, 
•	by bringing out its meaning,
•	while hermeneutics establishes the principles by which exegesis is practised

An Acknowledgement
•	every reader or interpreter of the Bible has a system of hermeneutics
•	whether conscious of it or not
•	As you practice your exegesis, you reveal your hermeneutics
•	our goal today is help you to evaluate your system of hermeneutics and exegesis

A survey of several systems

•	NON-LITERAL SYSTEMS

•	1. ___________________ hermeneutics -
•	2. Semi-allegorical or _________________ hermeneutics -
•	3. _______________________ hermeneutics

•	LITERAL SYSTEMS
NON-LITERAL HERMENEUTICS
•	1. ___________________________ - 
•	an allegory is a symbolic representation.  
•	This is normally used when the _________________ meaning doesn’t make sense to the reader
•	the actual words are not understood in their normal sense but in a symbolic sense which results in a different meaning of the text.
•	This is, in a strict sense, a meaning the text never ________________ to convey.

Allegorical hermeneutics
•	if used consistently in the Bible 
•	would __________________ the Bible to near fiction and
•	leaves the meaning up to the fancies of the interpreter
•	usually used in the areas of _________________ and ___________________
•	Paul uses allegory in Galatians

Semi-allegorical or semi-literal
•	this normally appears with the interpretation of ________________ or _________________
•	for example, Robert Mounce, in The Book of Revelation says that the Battle of Armageddon should be taken seriously, but not literally. 
•	He says The book of Revelation, “portrays the eschatological defeat of Antichrist . . . But does not require that we accept in a literal fashion the specific imagery with which the event is descried.”

3

Theological Interpretations
•	
•	In a sense _______________________ may be viewed as an illustration of theological hermeneutics or semi-allegorical heremeneutics.

Literal Hermeneutics
•	this term is often misunderstood or misapplied
•	more precise labels would include:
•	normal or plain hermeneutics

The Rationale for Literal Hermeneutics
•	1. The ____________________ of language
•	God gave men the ability to communicate and therefore the most normative use of language is the literal use
•	2. The Need for ________________________ -
•	this aids in consistent interpretations and
•	limits the use of allegory etc. in interpretation

Principles of Literal Hermeneutics
•	1. Interpret _______________________________
–	words studies,  grammatical structures,  word order
•	2. Interpret ___________________________
–	words and sentences do not normally stand alone and without contextual meaning
–	context aids interpretation by what precedes and what follows
•	3. Compare ________________ with ______________________
–	God is not a God of contradictions 
Interpret according to literary _______________
•	Are the Gospels the same kind of literature as the ___________? ________________?
•	Would you interpret the parables like the Epistles of Paul?
•	Would you interpret Daniel like Hebrews?
•	Is there any difference between Revelation and Ruth or Ecclesiastes?

Books Recommended for further reading and study
•	Aune, David. The New Testament in its Literary Environment. Philadelphia: Westminister, 1987.
•	Bailey, James L., and Lyle D. Vander Broek. Literary Forms in the New Testament. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox, 1992/
•	Fee, Gordon D. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. Rev. ed. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox, 1993.
•	Robert H. Stein, Playing by the Rules: A basic guide to Interpreting the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994.