It is possible for everybody to be wrong. Mass misinterpretation is real, and so is progressive revelation.
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The Gospel of Matthew makes frequent reference to Christ’s use of the phrase “Ye have heard that it was said“, e.g.:
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not kill;
— KJV, Matt 5:21
This is invariably followed by Christ providing a new and deeper interpretation.
Actual Meaning vs Interpretation
There are Divine Messages and there is how we humans interpret them:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled.
— Matt 5:17-18
This indicates that the primary problem was not the law, but its interpretation, as further highlighted by:
Did not Moses give you the law,
and yet none of you keepeth the law?
— John 7:19
Time Doesn’t Heal Misinterpretation
One thousand five hundred years after Moses, Christ established that the Ten Commandments (the core of the law and the prophets) had been misinterpreted by the Jewish people.
So, two thousand years after Christ, we should be open to the possibility that many things handed down to us might be misinterpretations.
Through the Gospels, we have heard that Christ said. That does not mean we have understood Him.
These things have I spoken unto you,
being yet present with you.
But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you
— John 14:25-26
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How Will These Misinterpretations Be Rectified?
Let’s examine these statements:
These things I have spoken unto you
In “What Is Spiritual Knowledge? Part 1: Experience“, we shall explore the idea that true spiritual knowledge is gained through experiencing, not learning.
In “The Word Is Not a Name” we shall establish that in the sense of The Word has little to do with specific human names e.g. “Jesus”.
In “God’s Will vs God’s Love, Part 1: No Disconnect” we discuss how, for certain reasons, the Jews were bound to misinterpret the Ten Commandments.
…he shall teach you all things
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
— John 16:12
Christ did not say everything that He could have said. So there is knowledge of The Word (and therefore the world) that is gained by experiencing and there is additional knowledge that is received through progressive revelation by the Holy Spirit.
Exactly how these revelations are, have been, or will be given is a topic for another essay. The point here is that we must remain open to new revelations that are in sync with The Word.
We must avoid the mistake of those Jews who told Christ: “We need no new revelations. We have Abraham as our father and we have the law and the prophets. That is good enough for us!”
There are many indications that Christ expected His Word to be misunderstood, even partly lost, after His departure e.g.,:
…and bring all things to your remembrance
In light of the foregoing, we should welcome opportunities to revisit existing interpretations of The Word.
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