Speculation and Assumptions
- Jan 28
- 3 min read
One thing I have noticed over my years in ministry, is that a lot of theology has speculation and assumption to it. People will add to what is written with a spin that might not be exactly what is intended by the Lord. Take the Rapture of the Church for example. The Scriptures teach He is coming back but doesn’t give us a date, and Jesus said no one knows that date, not even Him. Then, the speculation takes over, and we have all kinds of assumptions taking place making predictions and concluding when it will happen. Recently, I wrote a Facebook post on this theme, and it illustrates how assumptions are perpetrated, and mislead.
Have you ever assumed something and it turned out you were wrong? We all have. I want to share with you three assumptions from the Bible that were dead wrong. The first was Israel’s assumption that the Ark of the Covenant was a lucky rabbit’s foot against enemies, until it was captured. (1 Samuel 4) The second assumption was the Temple was God’s security that protected against all enemies, then Jeremiah 7 debunks that assumption. Lastly, in John 5:39, Jesus corrected the assumption of the leaders who thought eternal life was found in the Scriptures, Jesus said, “All Scriptures point to Him.” Busted. My point is simple … we assume many things about God and much of it is incorrect. Assumptions and speculations are common in theology, but everything needs to be tested by Scripture to avoid any misunderstanding of assumptions. ~Larry Kutzler, Facebook Post
One of the issues I see in my last statement in my post, is that most assumptions use Scripture to make a case for misunderstanding. So, testing Scripture is the idea that you never just use one Verse to build an idea around … especially when God may have more to say that He furthers in other parts of the Scripture. The assumption was that God would protect His people and be with His people … that was the symbol found in the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple. That symbol was not a permanent condition … if the people refused to obey God, all bets were off, as they say. The religious leaders had so much trust in knowing the Law and following the Law that they thought that was where eternal life was found, an assumption Jesus corrected in one statement:
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
Last Thought
It is easy to speculate about Scripture. We come to conclusions that are human oriented, ideological in nature, and are often interpreted through a prophetic lens that just assumes things that are not in the Scriptures. Some of the Churches in the Book of Revelation Chapters 2 and 3, lived in assumption until Jesus brought correction. Just because it seems reasonable, doesn’t make it truth or pleasing to God.
So, what is the bottom line from keeping ourselves free from speculation and assumption? Don’t read the Scriptures with any bias, and don’t follow theological assumptions that you have learned. If it is written clearly in Scripture, Jesus or the Apostles said it, and whatever is said is tested by other patterns of Scripture, then you are probably not going to spin it in your own direction.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler