Process of Writing "The End Times Passover" Included Bible-Based Confirmation as well as Figures of Speech and Etymology!

The two academic processes used to research and write The End Times Passover and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation included the grammatical science of Etymology and Figures of Speech!

     In order to best understand the two processes we used to examine deeply key words and phrases in the Bible, one has to know the precise meaning of “Etymology” and “Figures of Speech.”

     When we began the research needed to accurately write our two books, The End Times Passover and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation, we were neither content nor satisfied with just reading the Bible and hundreds of commentaries. Nor did we simply use just one or two versions of the Bible, but actually had a dozen or so available, even though we mostly wrote the verses contained in the King James and the New International Bible, which are probably the most quoted.

     Not resting solely on the understanding these versions conveyed to us, we undertook an expanded study approach to not only glean the meaning of key words and phrases found in the Bible (with such tools and Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and concordances) we sought out the wisdom of several great bible scholars who wrote many of these useful books as well as other academic processes to gain deeper insights to God’s word and the initial intent of scripture. These great scholars included hundreds of today’s contemporary writers and authors, but also much of the writings from the early fathers of the church to classical theologians such as Matthew Henry, W.E. Vine, Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs, Ungers & White, E.W. Bullinger and others from times gone by.

     One of these academic tools we used is the study of ‘Figures of Speech’ as presented by one of the greatest theologians of antiquity, E.W.Bullinger (December 15, 1837 – June 6, 1913). While Bullinger himself adopted the premillennialist dispensational doctrine, he is recognized by many scholars and students of theology as one of the most prolific theologians in recent history. In addition to his many books and articles (including his Commentary on Revelation), Bullinger also wrote two great books on the subjects of numbers and the astrology as it relates to scripture and their significance in the Bible, “Numbers in Scripture” and “Witness to the Stars.” Whether people believe or accepted his thesis on these matters, one could not question the accepted grammatical science he utilized to arrive at his conclusions.

     However, one of his most renowned and prolific works was his book  “Figures of Speech Used in the Bible,” which is a work based not on theory nor conjecture, but solely in the science of proper English grammar. This is a book that neither serious Bible scholar nor student should be without, for the wealth and breadth of academic acumen it contains as it relates to theological topics. It is ironic that albeit Bullinger was an avowed dispensationalist, his academic work actually refutes his premillennialist conclusions. Nevertheless, in his book, Bullinger examined carefully almost every phrase written in the Bible and provided deeper insights to the intent of the words and phrases used by the writers (the translators of the Bible into English from both Greek and Hebrew text) of that period of time. It is obvious that the English language used today has evolved from its contextual origins into a form that would appear not only odd to its inventors, but blasphemous in its usage. To best grasp the many conclusions we arrive at in my two books, having a better understanding of the English language of that period compared to what we use today is crucial in determining more specifically the true meaning of key words in the Bible. Please click on the Figure of Speech for the more concise insight to the process used throughout the writing of these two books.

     The other scientific approach we took in our extensive research, to best understand the true meaning of key words in the Bible, is Etymology.  Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.

     The word "etymology" (/ɛtɨˈmɒlədʒi/) derives from Greek ἐτυμολογία (etumologíā); from ἔτυμον (étumon), meaning "true sense", and -λογία (-logía), meaning "study"; from λόγος (lógos), meaning "speech, account, reason."

     While the majority of writers and authors of prophecy books have (as they claim) used a literal translation of the Bible (supposedly being in accordance with, conforming to, or upholding the exactness or primary meaning of a word or words), they have failed to arrive at a much deeper meaning of key words in the Bible due to interpreting the specific word that are contained solely in whatever Bible version they used to arrive at their “literal” translation.

     Whereas a Greek or Hebrew word can be found in their respective dictionaries to provide its literal interpretation, the science of Etymology and Figures of Speech provide the student with a more in depth meaning to words and phrases. For example The Greek word for mansions in John 14:2 is the Greek noun mone which is used only twice in the entire Bible, found in both John 14:2 and John 14:23, and it is a noun translated as a staying, an abiding, denoting an abode. It is strange that if (as Bible scholars and theorists interpret) our final destination is a mansion or an abode in the sky, implying it is a heavenly compartment of sorts, that it is mentioned only twice in the entire Bible.

     As we further examine the word mone, it is the Greek noun used here for mansions or abodes, as we read in W. E. Vine’s great book, An Expository Dictionary of Bible Words:  

     The Greek word for mansions or abode used in John 14:2 and 23, is a noun, and W. E. Vine states that it is: “primarily "a staying, abiding" (akin to meno, "to abide"), denotes an "abode" (Eng., "manor," "manse," etc.), translated "mansions" in John 14:2; "abode" in John 14:23.  There is nothing in the word to indicate separate compartments in heaven; neither does it suggest temporary resting places on the road.” (W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of Bible Words”, Thomas Nelson Publishers, pages 711, 712.) [Bold and underline is by the author solely for emphasis]

     The Greek word mone (remember, translated as mansions in John 14:2 in several versions) is the same word rendered abode in John 14:23.  An important question needs to be asked here. If Vine and other Greek translators interpret the Greek noun mone as “a staying, an abiding, an abode” in John 14:2, and translators believe that mone can be translated to mean a mansion (or many mansions), then surely we could view this Greek noun mone to also mean mansion in John 14:23. If this exegesis is correct, then in John 14:23 it appears that Jesus is telling us that He and the Father are planning to come to earth to make their heavenly abode with those who love and keep His word.       

     Obviously, having a greater understanding as to the etymology of a word can present an entirely different picture of what the Bible is trying to tell us, other than what we instantly interpret what other theorists contend.

     Therefore, whereas many critics of varying eschatological data have termed our work as “self-interpreting,” the information we present in The End Times Passover and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation is actually derived from what a myriad of scholars and academicians have presented for centuries based on their own empirical research rather than our own speculation, assumption, conjecture, inference and or our suggestion. 

     At its worst, what can be said about our presentation is that it’s a work of sheer plagiarism and nothing new or novel whatsoever. We just connected the dots.

To access the author's blog sites and more information about his two books, please click on Joe Ortiz.