UNDERSTANDING THE WHOLE BIBLE
Exegesis means approaching the Bible by pulling from what it says. We are trying to learn what it says and what it means, and we are trying to draw something out of the Bible that is actually there. By contrast, eisegesis is when we approach the Bible and insert what we think is there, what we think it means. For example, exegesis of Matthew 24 involves reading the preceding chapters. In these chapters we find Jesus declaring unfolding judgment against Jerusalem. With this backdrop, it is easy to understand what the disciples meant when they asked Him, in Matthew 24, when these things will happen. It is clear they were referencing the judgments Jesus talked about in the preceding chapters. This is what it means to draw meaning out of Scripture based on the actual content and context of the Scripture, not on our preconceived ideas. By contrast, many modern views of Revelation are a good example of eisegesis. For example, when people read about the eagle in Revelation that is flying and declaring woe (see Rev. 8: 13), they assume the eagle must refer to the United States of America, because the eagle is the national symbol. This is eisegesis, because it clearly is not what John meant. The United States did not exist in John’s day, so he could not have been referring to it. The root issue here is how we interpret Scripture.
Dr. Jonathan Welton, Ph.D.
Understanding the Whole Bible