Yes—comparing Scripture with Scripture is essential because Scripture itself warns against private interpretation and doctrine must fit the whole Bible.
Les Feldick teaches that the best way to study the Bible is to compare Scripture with Scripture, and he refuses to lift a verse out of the text. He says no prophecy comes by private interpretation, so no verse stands alone. A doctrine is only true when it fits from Genesis to Revelation.
2 Peter 1:20 — This verse directly states that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, showing why a single verse must be interpreted in light of all Scripture.
2 Peter 1:21 — This reinforces that Scripture did not originate from human will, so understanding it requires letting the whole Bible speak rather than private opinion.
Second Peter 1:20 declares that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. Second Peter 1:21 explains that prophecy was not produced by human will; holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Together these verses show that no individual verse was designed to be read in isolation. Scripture itself is the standard by which each passage is understood.
Les says the best way to study the Bible is to compare Scripture with Scripture because Peter wrote that no Scripture is a private interpretation. He refuses to lift a verse out of the text and comment on it alone; if he cannot leave everything together, he leaves it alone. He teaches that there are no contradictions—only changes in operation, such as what God told Israel under Law versus what He tells the church under Grace. When Israel and the church are kept separate, the contradictions and major questions disappear. Les explains that nothing God has sent forth is wrapped up in just one verse. God expects adults to search the Scriptures, and the way to search is by comparing Scripture with Scripture. A doctrine must fit from cover to cover; believers cannot pick and choose verses to build a teaching. He encourages people to search the Scriptures and see what the Bible really says rather than follow denominational tradition; if a teaching cannot be found in the Bible, run from it. Comparing Scripture from Genesis to Revelation puts a person on solid rock, and Les warns people not to build their eternal destiny on one verse but on a series of doctrines that fit together. He also urges people to study the Book themselves because many assume things are in Scripture that are not.
Les says private means something that pertains to one person. No Scripture that God has sent forth is wrapped up in just one verse. God knows we have the ability to search the Scriptures, and the way to search is by comparing Scripture with Scripture. This is why people get hung up on the Bible—they expect one verse or one place to answer everything instead of letting the whole Bible speak.
Les says there are no contradictions in Scripture. What appears to be a contradiction is often a change in operation—what God told Israel under Law can sound different from what He tells the church under Grace, but it is not a contradiction. When you separate the nation of Israel from the church, which is His body, the contradictions and major questions disappear and the Bible becomes sensible.
Doctrine must fit all of Scripture from cover to cover. You cannot take a verse here and a verse there and build a doctrine on isolated pieces. Les says to search the Scriptures and test everything by what the Word of God actually says. If you cannot find something in your Bible, you had better run from it. Build your eternal destiny not on one verse, but on a series of doctrines and teachings that fit together from Genesis to Revelation.
Best way to study: compare Scripture with Scripture
Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
No lifting verses from their context; no contradictions
So anyway, for those of you in television, again, this is just the informal Bible study, and we just trust that you're taking your Bibles and following the references, and I trust you all understand that by now I don't ever lift a verse out of the text and just comment on one verse. If I can't leave everything together, I'll leave it alone.
Separate Israel and church; contradictions disappear
And so this is immediately where I want people to recognize that as you study your Bible, you have to separate these two entities in God's dealing. The Jew, the nation of Israel, from the church, which is His body. And when you separate those, all the contradictions disappear, all of the major questions disappear, and everything becomes so sensible.
No Scripture of private interpretation; compare passages
Now he says that no giving forth of the Word, of the Scripture, is of any private, is of any private, and that's the interpretation. Now I know this is a little hard to understand. When you speak of something private, what do you speak of? That which pertains to one person, that which is yours, that's your privacy. All right, carry it over into the Scriptures.
Doctrine must fit all Scripture from cover to cover
Does it fit all of Scripture, or are you just taking a verse here and a verse there and then building doctrine on it? Because if you're going to have a doctrine that is true to the Word of God, it has to fit from cover to cover. We have absolutely no options that we can pick and choose.
Search the Scriptures; test everything by the Word
And as we just mentioned in our prayer here in the studio, that we can just get people to understand what the book really says, not what we think it says, not when someone else says it says, but to be able to search the Scriptures and see if these things are so.
Build eternal destiny on doctrines that fit Genesis to Revelation
And when you compare Scripture with Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, you're on as solid a rock as you can get. And that's all I beg people to do. Search the Scriptures. Don't go by what I say. And so Peter is making it so plain. Don't build your eternal destiny on one verse. You're going to end up in the wrong place.
Study the Book yourself; not everything claimed is in it
We always like to emphasize we are just an informal Bible study, we have no axe to grind, we don't condemn others who may not agree with us, and neither do we twist arms and say you have to see things the way we see it. We just like to teach the Word, and encourage people to get into the Book and study it on their own.
2 Peter 1:20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
This verse directly answers the question by showing that no single verse was meant to be interpreted privately.
2 Peter 1:21: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
This verse confirms that Scripture has a divine origin, which is why comparing passages helps reveal the true meaning.
Les says there are none. What looks like a contradiction is really a change in operation, such as what God told Israel under Law versus what He tells the church under Grace. Once you recognize those different programs, the apparent contradictions disappear.
It means that no passage of Scripture is wrapped up in just one verse or meant to be understood by one person's private view. A verse must be searched and compared with other Scripture so the whole Bible gives the interpretation.
Use the whole Bible, compare Scripture with Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, and refuse to build doctrine on isolated verses. Search the Scriptures to see what the Book really says, and test everything by the Word of God.
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