Eisegesis

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Eisegesis literally means “reading meaning into,” respectively. Eisegesis is generally used to refer to the practice of imposing a preconceived or foreign meaning onto a text, even if that meaning could not have been originally intended at the time of its writing.

Exegesis, on the other hand, means “drawing meaning out of” and is the process of seeking to understand what a text means or communicates on its own.

There are two basic steps in the interpretation of scripture. One must ask:

(1) What did the passage mean for the person who first spoke these words or wrote them and for the people who first heard or read them?

(2) What should the passage mean to a reader today?

The first task is to enter into the circumstances of the person who first wrote or heard or read the passage and then try to understand the meaning in the light of the whole Bible. The second is to try to make the meaning of the passage clear in the circumstances of the present day. Interpreters in every age have struggled to be faithful in these two steps.

Virtually all of William Branham's revelations are examples of eisegesis

Based on a close examination of William Branham's theology and scriptural interpretation, his major points of differentiation all appear to be based on eisegesis.

The Seven Church Ages

Some early dispensationalists, including Clarence Larkin, have interpreted the seven churches of Asia (Rev. 1:4) symbolically as seven “church ages,” or stages of church history, though few hold this view today. It is obvious that William Branham had been taught this and believed it early in his ministry, as indicated in his comment in 1951:

There's seven perfect colors representing the seven church ages.

For the following reasons, this line of interpretation adopted by William Branham is clearly eisegesis and no more feasible than allegorizing the churches addressed in Paul’s letters.

1. Abundant evidence suggests that Revelation addresses seven literal church communities, including items of local color that fit each of the seven letters.
2. A map shows that Revelation addresses the seven churches in the very sequence that a messenger from John, arriving first in Ephesus near the sea, would travel to each of the cities listed, presumably along the main roads of Asia (see the Introduction). The average distance between each city was about thirty to forty-five miles.
3. Only a forced reading of church history (regularly revised with the passing of time) has allowed this interpretation.
4. Finally, if Revelation requires the completion of seven church ages before Jesus’ return, then in most centuries of church history Christians had no right to expect the imminent return of the Lord! This would be a curious conclusion for advocates of the seven church ages view, most of whom vehemently emphasize the imminence of Christ’s return.

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