Resources on how to do Bible study will typically teach the importance of context. Reading a Bible passage in context means considering the text that comes before and after the passage, as well as the book of the Bible in which the passage is found. It also means taking into account historical, cultural, and literary factors. For the proper interpretation of Scripture, context is obviously crucial. But in some settings, such as a short personal devotional or group Bible study, a thorough review of the context of a passage might not be practically feasible. Thus it is common to study individual passages in isolation. This is advantageous for its simplicity and practicality, but it does increase the risk of interpretive error as well as interpretive shallowness.
There is, however, one particular context that provides background for an overwhelming number of Bible passages, which, if understood and applied, can help significantly with contextual study, especially where there might be practical difficulties such as time limitations or unfamiliarity with the Bible. We can call this context—take a breath—Jewish apocalyptic expectation. This is a technical term for what Jews believed about what would happen at the end of history. They looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, who would establish the kingdom of God, resurrect the dead, and execute judgment. They also believed in a future regathering, redemption, and restoration of the nation of Israel, followed by the administration of blessing from Israel to the nations, culminating in the restoration of creation to a new heavens and new earth. These ideas were developed over Israel’s history and form the grand conclusion to the Bible’s “big picture” narrative.
Because of its contextual relevance to significant portions of the Bible, this is the most important context for the study of Scripture. Jewish apocalyptic expectation is thus “need-to-know” for consistent Bible reading. In the following posts, I will give several examples that show how this one context can be applied to different passages to help bring out their meaning and contribute interpretive accuracy and depth.