Hermeneutics Part Four

Today we consider the fourth major principle of biblical hermeneutics.
Scripture must be interpreted in light of its historical context: This means that the first things that must be determined with respect to a passage of Scripture is what did it mean in the historical context in which it was written and to the people it was written to. In other words, what did Paul's letter to the Romans mean to the Roman congregations when he wrote it to them? This does not negate the fact that general principles contained in Scripture apply to the whole church at all times, but it helps to weed out those portions that do not. To use a blatant case, it would be similar to only reading Romans if there were someone named Priscilla around to greet. That part does not apply to the larger church, only to those congregations to whom it was written. On the contrary, when Paul wrote that all had "turned aside," that "they have together become unprofitable" (Romans 3:12), he was making a general, categorical statement about the human race. By the same token, are we to assume that the material after the 4th chapter of Revelation had no meaning whatsoever to the first century hearers? The likelihood of that being affirmed is slim. What meaning did it have then. In light of other Scriptural writings and historical writings it is clear that the material after the seven letters deals with the divine judgment of God on Israel (chs. 4-11) and Rome (chs. 12-29) as a vindication of His people and the final presentation of the future hope of judgment on the world (chs. 20-22).