Hey blogger, you will love this one!
As I mature, it becomes more apparent that I have just began to scratch the surface of intra-biblical data. There is a wealth of knowledge and revelation within the confines of Scriptures. I also realized our approach to the Biblical text was cultural and that many of our great fathers and present day theologians’ level of revelation knowledge was influenced by their cultural background and hemisphere in which they lived.
North America and the Caribbean
Preachers in this region are well known for their sound hermeneutics and charisma, accompanied by pneumatic Epistemology, birthed primarily out of the great 1904-1906 revival and the charismatic movement of the 1950-60s. They saw deeper insight into Scriptures purely through pneumatic guidance. This has limited revelation to the idea that teachings of Scripture remain ambiguous until the Holy Spirit illuminates human understanding to the mysteries of God.
There is a great degree of truth to this, along with Scriptural relevance and support (2 Cor. 2:10), but there is imminent danger in relying solely on pneumatic interpretation in the hermeneutical process. This danger lies in the potential that the interpreter has not confused His own spirit and some other with the Holy Spirit. Because of the claim to divine guidance, the result of the interpretation is beyond questioning and has taken a position equal to Scripture itself. This poses two great challenges. (1) The church in the next generation struggles with doctrine and other information passed down as God-given with no Scriptural validity and relevance. (2) Preaching is often marked by the ability to quote Scripture and charisma while sermonizing is either, historical, textual, or expository in nature, often missing the true depth of revelatory knowledge still hidden within the text.
The African Region
Little was known by the West of the African approach to Scripture until recently, through the emerging of great African apostles onto the international stage. They have accurately mastered the balance between pneumatic guidance and Scriptural principles, giving rise to metaphoric dimension of Biblical interpretation far superior to that of the western hemisphere, where places and individuals in the Bible are location and people. They are now systems and counter systems, cultures and counter cultures. For example, the Lebanic system re-cultured Jacob from a generation of self-made millionaires through divine favour, to become a person that works for a paycheck. Meanwhile, only the worldly demonic Lebanic system benefited, Jacob’s calling and anointing suffered, and his destiny was delayed. The same principle can be applied to places and people through the Bible, releasing greater insight into the narrative within the text.
Maybe the answer is found in what one great African Apostle, Bishop Bismark, calls the transferring of continental keys. When in Biblical preaching, the approach of the West and of the African region merges to release a season of the greatest revelatory period in human history.
Hey bloggers, I am tired now. See you next time.
From: The desk of Pastor Paul Edwards.
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