Seven Steps to Doing Your Own Bible Studies

Seven Steps to Doing Your Own Bible Studies

Step Number ONE

Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Step Number TWO

Identify a text you want to study. This works great for parables which are the easiest to recognize. Often times parables are easily identified in the Bible.

KJV Matthew 13:33-35
33. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 34. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Another way to recognize a text to study is to ask yourself if the text is defying any natural laws. Following are a few examples.

KJV Daniel 2:45
45. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

KJV Luke 10:19
19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

KJV Luke 11:33
33. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

KJV Matthew 8:22
22. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Daniel 2:45 is a very good example. We know that the symbols used in Daniel 2 are symbolic. They are explained in the same chapter. This prophesy was placed in the Bible for a reason. This is a guide to show that the interpretations for symbols will be found within the Bible. Often times, like in the book of Daniel, the symbols are explained within the same book of the Bible. Other symbols may be explained in other books of the Bible.

When we look at the physical aspects of the three other text we can see, most people do not walk on serpents and scorpions. Nor do they light a candle inside of a closet and dead people do not bury other dead people. Since these do not lend themselves to physical explanation they must be spiritual. Here is where you will be shown how to interpret the spiritual meanings for the key words in just about any text in the Bible.

Step Number THREE

Write out the physical aspects of the text in your own words.

As an example we will use Luke 10:19.

KJV Luke 10:19
19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

If there is a word you do not understand, look up the meaning in a Concordance and substitute a word that is easier to relate to.

Tread: Strong’s Ref. # 3961 pateo Pronounced pat-eh’-o
from a derivative probably of GSN3817 (meaning a “path”); to trample (literally or figuratively):

Paraphrase:
I (Jesus) will give you power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you.

We can see by the paraphrase that this verse is talking about walking (trample or tread) upon these creatures that are known to cause harm because they are known to be poisonous.

As you can see by the example the paraphs needs to agree with the original text. You will also need to write out the reasoning you understand about the text. Answer the question, “why isn’t this physically possible or why does this sound strange?” This is where the Holy Spirit will work with you.

Step FOUR

Identify the KEY words in the text. These will most likely be nouns. The names of people, places or things. Most likely things.

The key words I Luke 10:19 are serpents and scorpions. (Tread would also be spiritual word but would take much more text to find an answer.)

Step FIVE

Look up the key words in a concordance or on a computer Bible search and copy the text.

Serpent

KJV Genesis 3:13
13. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

KJV Psalms 58:3-4
3. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;

KJV Revelation 12:9
9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

These text show that the serpent is Satan and his followers.

Scorpion

KJV 1 Kings 12:11
11. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

KJV Revelation 9:5
5. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

We can clearly see that the word scorpion is associated with torment which can be a trial. Ask yourself what a trial is. Who causes these trials? Who will torment you? Will it be God’s followers or those that oppose God? You know you are on the right track when you see a spiritual link forming between the key words.

Step SIX

Substitute the spiritual meaning of the key words in for the physical.

Serpent = Satan and the wicked people that follow him
Scorpion = torment from sinful people

Step SEVEN

Paraphrase the text using the spiritual meanings for the key words.

KJV Luke 10:19
19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Paraphrase:
I (Jesus) will give you power to walk (tread or trample) upon Satan and the wicked people that follow him (serpents) and the torments they will send (scorpions) and nothing can hurt you.

It is as easy as that. But it takes a lot of practice to be able to identify the verses that contain key words and the verses that identify the spiritual meaning to key words. Practicing about once a week should get you up to speed in a couple of months. Keep records of the key words that you collect. These will help you to understand other text. I will be adding a list of text to study. Many of the text you can interpret as a beginner can be found in Psalms and Proverbs along with many of the spiritual meanings for the key words.

Revelation 4:10, 5:6 Throne, Lamb, Bride

I have been receiving a number of questions.  Some of these are studies I have seen and others are from studies I have conducted.  Here are a few I have just received.  If you have a question feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer it using only the Bible.

Who sits on the thrown?

KJV Revelation 4:10
10.  The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

The answer for, “who sits on the throne is found in KJV Revelation 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

KJV Genesis 1:1
1.  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

This is a good example of choosing a few key words from the text and looking up other text they are used in to find an answer from the Bible.  We can look up the word throne.

KJV Revelation 1:4-5
4.  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5.  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

John makes it clear that God the Father is sitting on the throne based on the fact he begins verse 5 with, “And Jesus.”

KJV Revelation 3:20-21
20.  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21.  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

This verse brings out a very important point.  Jesus sits on the throne with His Father and He is inviting us to join Him.

KJV Revelation 5:6
6.  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Who is the lamb?  Once again we will search the key word lamb in the Bible.

KJV 1 Peter 1:19
19.  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

KJV John 1:29
29.  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Jesus is the lamb of God.

What or who is the bride?

KJV Revelation 21:2
2.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

KJV Revelation 21:9-10
9.  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10.  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

The bride of Revelation is the New city of Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven from God.

Mark 7:27 Dogs and Bread

KJV Mark 7:25-28
25.  For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
26.  The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
27.  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
28.  And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.

What did Jesus mean?  We will first look at the physical.   A woman with a daughter that is possessed by an evil spirit meets Jesus and asks Him for help.  We are shown the woman is Greek.  We know this makes no difference to Jesus.  Jesus answers this woman by talking about  casting the children’s bread to the dogs.  This is a strange answer.  When we see something strange in the Bible it is usually a clue that the words are spiritual and they need to be interpreted by using other text to reveal their spiritual meaning.

The key words used in this text are dog and bread.

We begin by looking up other text that contains the word dog.

KJV Psalms 22:16
16.  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

KJV Isaiah 56:10-11
10.  His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.  11.  Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

KJV Matthew 7:6
6.  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Psalms 22:16 is a prophesy about Jesus.  This verse is telling about those that crucified Jesus.  Isaiah 56:10-11 tells us they are “greedy dogs which can never have enough.”  Matthew 7:6 uses a different word for bread, it uses the word “holy”.  The dogs are those that put Jesus to death.  They are greedy, always looking after their own interest.

Dogs = Greedy Pharisees

Now we can look up the word bread.

KJV Amos 8:11
11.  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

KJV Matthew 4:4
4.  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jesus and the Word of God (Jesus the author of the Bible) are the bread.

Bread = Jesus, the word of God

We can now paraphrase the original verse.

KJV Mark 7:27.  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Paraphrase:
It is not meant to take the teachings of Jesus, the word of God (the children’s bread) and give it to those that do not believe, the Pharisees (dogs).

The Pharisees are the ones that reject the word of Jesus.

In this parable, is Jesus telling of His own death?

There is yet another interpretation to this parable.  The woman who is speaking may well have considered herself to be the dog that Jesus was referring to.  If that was the case, may I submit another meaning to this parable.

When people become new Christians, even the smallest of words of truth hold great and deep meanings. Where just a few words may enter their hearts, a seed is planted, and begins to grow.  This is a deeply spiritual and personal process.  Some grow fast.  Some grow slow.  Maybe that is determined upon the amount of light they receive.

More then a year after I wrote this original piece I noticed where the Lord had placed it.  Just before the miracle of feeding the thousands.  You remember the story.  Jesus takes some small lunch, raises it to heaven and blesses it.  What comes down is a meal for thousands.

Now with that in mind look back at what the woman (a Greek) says to Jesus.  She refers to crumbs from the table.  We know that she had faith in Jesus as a healer.  And even more after He saved her child.  Now why could not those crumbs that Jesus had referred to, fall her way, and become a feast to thousands.

We never hear about that woman again.  But maybe, just maybe, she took what she had learned, returned home, and fed thousands.