Concluding Thoughts

From Dispensational Publishing House; used by permission. Read the series.

Dispensationalism & the Literal Interpretation of the Bible, Part 7

We have been considering four essential principles that are necessary to holding a proper understanding of literal interpretation. These are the univocal nature of language, the jurisdiction of authorial intent, the unitary authorship of Scripture and the textually-based locus of meaning.

Here are some concluding thoughts about the entire subject we have been studying.

Conclusion

What do these factors of literal interpretation mean for certain aspects of current dispensational interpretation? They rule out double fulfillment, near and far fulfillment, some prophecies that are considered “generic,”* “typological-prophetical” interpretation, “patterns” of fulfillment and certain forms of indirect “linkage” (including “complementary fulfillment”) between Old Testament prophecies and the present age. Despite the denials and nuances to the contrary, this all comes perilously near to simple resignification of a text. These all violate one or more of the above principles of literal interpretation, and result in the confusion of Israel and the church and other distinctions to one degree or another.

Without elaboration, some of the implications of the above four factors of literal interpretation are seen in the following chart:

The New Testament use of the Old Testament is a complicated field of study, but it would be better hermeneutics to say that the self-contained, textually-based meaning of the Old Testament is never violated or given resignification in the New Testament. It would be more prudent to look for an application or an adaptation by the New Testament of the textually-based Old Testament meaning. This could be in an analogical or a principial fashion, such as that in Acts 13:46-47 (cf. Isa. 49:6), or in 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 (cf. Isa. 28:11), or in Matthew 2:15 (cf. Hos. 11:1), to name a few. In this way, the integrity of the text of both testaments is upheld. Also, the integrity of human language—along with the truth intentions of the Biblical authorship—is maintained.

* As an example, the “prophet … like” Moses in Deut. 18:18 is a series of individuals that culminated in Jesus Christ, “the Prophet” (John 1:21). This is made clear in Deut. 18:9-22, especially vv. 21-22.