Do Not Use Bible Helps to Establish Doctrine
Back to The Bible's Difficult Scriptures Explained!
Some of the more well-known and helpful reference works include Clarke’s Commentary, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary and Halley’s Bible Handbook. These and other Bible helps can be of value in increasing one’s understanding.
Other useful helps are the margin references in some bibles and helps at the end of certain other bibles. Be cautious in using these aids, however, because much of the information they contain is misleading. The scholars who wrote them were generally not true Christians and therefore lacked God’s Spirit. As a result, error is inevitable.
These works can help to supplement our understanding of historical background and grammatical details. But they should never be relied upon to establish doctrine. We are not to lean upon their interpretation of the Bible.
Most of these scholars echo the doctrines of false Christianity. An example is their distorted interpretation of the meaning of the Lord’s day, referenced in Revelation 1:10: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.”
These scholars almost unanimously believe that the Lord’s day means Sunday. Those with any knowledge of the truth recognize that this could only mean the coming prophesied Day of God’s wrath, the Day of the Lord (sometimes also referred to as the “Year of the Lord”), covered in detail in Revelation. Other references to this unmistakable term are found in Joel 2:31, Amos 5:18 and Zephaniah 1:14-16.
Remember, reference works are ideal for filling in technical details of Scripture, but never for interpreting the meaning or to establish doctrine.
Rule #12: Make Notes in Your Bible