Examine the Context
Back to The Bible's Difficult Scriptures Explained!
Context simply means “with text.” Checking the context involves reading the text before and after the issue in question. In order to answer the questions pertaining to Luke 17:21, it must be determined to whom Christ was speaking.
Lk 17:20: “And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God comes not with observation:”
Christ was speaking to the Pharisees. Obviously, the kingdom of God did not reside within these carnal, hostile pretentious “leaders.” This, together with the fact that only the KJV used the word “within” in this verse, tells us that “within” is not the correct translation. Most translations use the term “among.” Christ was telling the Pharisees that He was the Representative of the kingdom of God that was temporarily “among” them.
Understanding the context is vital to understanding the meaning of scriptures. Context points to the intent of the scripture in question. It answers who, what, when, where, why and how.
It is careless to read scriptures out of context, because there are statements in the Bible such as “You shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). In order to determine whether this is true, the context must be read. In this case, Satan the devil is deceiving Eve. Checking the entire context of this verse takes us back to Genesis 2:17, where God told Adam, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.”
False teachers deceive people who do not investigate such deceptive practices, like taking verses out of context and misapplying their meaning. One of the many benefits of taking verses in proper context is building up resistance against deception.
Rule #7: “Here a little, there a little”