Horror-Scopes - January

Interpretation is explaining the meaning of what we hear or see. Interpreting correctly is crucial; even in our daily lives. If we interpet a "Do Not Enter" sign as a "Welcome" sign, we'll get into trouble. If we read "101" on a road-sign and take it for the speed limit, we'll be in for a surprise! In fact, some of the biggest mistakes in history have come from bad interpretations. One horrible example happened at the end of World War II. The Americans had just used a atomic bomb on Hiroshima and the Japanese sent a very formal letter accepting defeat. Unfortunately, the American translators were not able to grasp the language of the letter, and didn't understand that it was in fact, a surrender. As a result of their misinterpretation, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. How much death and pain could have been spared if the letter was only interpreted correctly!

Without a doubt, the most important area of interpretation is the Word of God. After all, it tells us about the God of all creation and instructs us how to live for eternity. A misinterpretation in the spiritual world is very serious. In fact, for centuries some churches have tried to stop their members from interpreting the Bible on their own. The leaders either took it away from the people completely or warned them to only understand it according to the "official church interpretation". Unfortunately, good intentions aside, actions like these have tended to produce immature Christians who don't know how to feed themselves spiritually. It also poses the danger of false prophets infectiously spreading incorrect teaching without being questioned. This was not Christ's intention for His Church!

In this column we will look at one verse every issue and see if we can discover its correct interpretation. For the next issue we will take a look at Matthew 11:12 and the command for us to be “forceful”. Can you grasp what this verse really means? Email us at wordworkers@gmail.com and your answer might get published in next month's column! Until then, “Let it be your care to get the approval of God, as a workman who has no cause for shame, giving the true word in the right way.” (2 Tim 2:15, BBE)