From the time that the Bible first became available, there has been plenty of discussion about what it means. This comes from a normal human desire to know and understand. It is our nature to inquire into the meaning of things, and one of the highest expressions of this quest for meaning is when it is directed towards the Bible.
Coming from different people living under a variety of circumstances, our inquiry naturally leads to different perspectives. Which perspective is correct? It is difficult to say, because the Bible doesn’t specify exactly how Scripture is to be interpreted and understood. Thus people have taken a number of different approaches to understanding the Bible over the years.
Each approach has its merits and can help us in our search for meaning, but the only guide with divine authority to illumine and reveal the deepest meaning in Scripture is Christ Himself, when He returns in His full glory.
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.” (Revelation 21:23-24)