Most problems in interpreting Bible passages arise from neglecting a passage’s context. The guiding principle of sound interpretation is to take a passage literally. Not maintaining this discipline, interpreting Scripture becomes made up, man’s idea, fantasy, and the passage can mean almost anything. The result is erroneous and ridiculous interpretations.

Another important principle to sound Bible interpretation is to read the Scripture “in time”. In other words, we have to read and study the Bible as a progressive revelation. Not getting ahead of God’s revelation. 

God’s plan of redemption for mankind wasn’t revealed all at once to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, or any of the other Old Testament prophets. Not even Peter and the eleven were given the full counsel of God. The Lord revealed to each of the aforementioned what they needed at their particular time in Biblical history. A hermeneutical method that does not approach Scripture as a progressive revelation leads to erroneous interpretations.

To be a good bible student one must maintain a literal, grammatical, and historical (in-time) hermeneutic. There has been much too much of man’s theology governing Scripture when it is God’s Word alone that reigns over theology.

The Millennial Reign of Christ on Earth

A good example of interpretive confusion is the millennial (1000 years) reign of Christ. Many in Christendom reject it while others maintain we are in the kingdom now and there are others that believe the Church will be the driving force to usher in the kingdom. Horrors upon horrors!

The coming kingdom promised to Israel is first mentioned in Exodus 19:6 and it is a promise God makes to His chosen people, the Jewish people, the nation of Israel. NOT GENTILES.

‘In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”’

Exodus 19:1-6

The “literal or normal reading of Exodus 19:1-6 is that God who just saved His people from the wicked Gentile Egyptians is making the Israelites a promise. If they obey Him they will be a special treasure to God above all the other nations and peoples of the earth. God promised the Jewish people that they would be a “kingdom” of priests and a holy nation. 

The context clearly indicates Gentiles or the Church which is His body are not in view (it couldn’t have been because it wasn’t revealed yet). An interpretation that denies this is emphatically erroneous. 

Not reading Exodus 19:1-6, or any passage “in-time” makes identifying context impossible. This leads to the alternative of mixing all of Scripture together. Then lifting a handful of verses and twisting them to fit man’s idea. Which makes God a liar and has led to false teachings and erroneous theology. And of course antisemitism. 

The context of Exodus 19 & 20 is self-evident for anyone who maintains a literal, grammatical, and historical (in-time) hermeneutic.

If it wasn’t for Gentiles then it isn’t for Gentiles Today

Just a cursory read of Exodus 19 leaves no possibility for an interpretation that God is dealing with any other people or nation but Israel, the Jews. 

To inject a message of salvation or doctrine for the Gentile world at this moment in time (Exodus 19; 1500 BC) is a grave error. The promise of a King and a kingdom is explicitly for the Jewish people. To say that the Church today was or is the ecclesia in the wilderness is hogwash and a lie from hell. It is a clear attempt to usurp Scripture to get what you want from God. 

NOTE: The apostle Paul makes it clear that all Scripture is for our learning (Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16). But Paul also makes it crystal clear that we are to rightly divide the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15; Ephesians 3:1-11, Titus 1:9). 

Exodus 19:1-6, like ALL of the Old Testament, are foundational to the Christian faith and building blocks to the revealing of the mystery (secret) of the gospel of grace (Romans 16:25-26).

Examine What Occurred Before & After Exodus 19

One only needs to study what came before and after Exodus 19, to validate with certainty that God is dealing with Jew only. And the promises of a geographical area of land, a King, and a kingdom were made to Israel alone (NOT GENTILES) and God’s promises to Israel can not be broken, changed, or usurped by mankind. No matter how much they twist Scripture. God can not lie. He is faithful. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It shall come to pass… 

‘The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord , to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.’

Isaiah 2:1-3

In the next post, we will examine what came before Exodus 19:6.

In the meantime here are more passages that explicitly speak of a literal 1000-year earthly kingdom earth.

In Revelation 20:2-7, it is crystal clear that the earthly millennial reign will last 1000 years. The 1000 years is so explicitly clear that the Lord tells us six times that it will last 1000 years. After a thousand years, heaven and earth are destroyed, and the new heaven and earth are created.

Amillennialists attempt to support their belief with 2 Peter 3:10 which says, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” They say the earth will be destroyed immediately after the rapture in one day. Horrors! Again, they fail to capture the context of the passage. Just two verses before, Peter said, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). So it is clear that Peter does not contradict Revelation’s description of the thousand-year kingdom or Isaiah’s prophecies.