10/20/2026
THE THIRD HEAVEN
Message to the Family of Believers
THEOLOGY TESTED BY SCRIPTURE
Precept upon Precept • Line upon Line
Here a Little • There a Little
Search the Scriptures.
Examine the teaching.
Do not add to or take away from His Word.
Foundation Scriptures
Isaiah 28:9–13 • 2 Peter 1:19–21 • Acts 17:10–12
Deuteronomy 4:2 • Proverbs 30:5–6 • Revelation 22:18–19
Presented by
Elder/Disciple Anthony W. Yates
Where the truth is in Scripture—Shalawan/Shalom.
THEOLOGY TESTED BY SCRIPTURE
Precept upon Precept, Line upon Line
Welcome, Family of Believers
Shalawan, family. A message may sound powerful, carry an impressive title, and move people emotionally. Yet we must still ask: Does the teaching faithfully explain what Scripture says?
The teacher’s confidence does not establish truth. A tradition’s age does not establish truth. A sermon’s popularity does not establish truth. We must examine the message, read the passages in context, and remain willing to correct our understanding.
Theology is the study of God and beliefs concerning Him. Such study can help us organize our understanding, but our conclusions must remain accountable to Scripture. We must never treat a teacher’s explanation as equal in authority to the Word being explained.
Opening Prayer
Yahuah, open our understanding and give us teachable hearts. Through Your Ruach HaQodesh, help us recognize truth, examine what we hear, and turn away from error. Remove pride that prevents correction. Teach us to handle Your Word faithfully and walk in obedience through Yahusha HaMashiach. Amen.
BEGIN WITH WHAT SCRIPTURE ACTUALLY SAYS
Foundation: Nehemiah 8:8; 2 Timothy 2:15.
Nehemiah describes the reading of the law accompanied by explanation that helped the people understand. Paul instructs Timothy to handle the word of truth faithfully.
Reading and explaining belong together. However, the explanation must serve the passage’s meaning.
Before teaching, ask:
• Who is speaking?
• Who is being addressed?
• What situation is being discussed?
• What comes before and after these words?
• Is this a command, promise, warning, historical account, poem, parable, or prophecy?
• How does the passage support the conclusion being offered?
Example: A command given to a particular person for a particular task should not automatically become a command for every believer. We must first understand its original setting before deciding how it applies today.
Application: Read the whole passage before building a message around one sentence.
PRECEPT UPON PRECEPT—RECEIVE INSTRUCTION CAREFULLY
Foundation: Isaiah 28:9–13.
A precept is an instruction or rule. As a study practice, examining instruction alongside related instruction can help us understand a subject more fully.
However, Isaiah 28 must be read in its setting. The chapter confronts erring leaders, refusal to hear, and coming judgment. Verse 13 includes stumbling and being taken. We should not remove those warnings and present the passage only as a pleasant study formula.
The practical lesson is to receive the Most High’s instruction seriously and avoid using isolated phrases to support a conclusion already chosen.
Example: When studying love, examine passages that describe its conduct, including patience, kindness, truthfulness, and obedience. Love should not be defined only by personal feelings.
Application: Allow related passages to deepen understanding while respecting what each passage actually addresses.
LINE UPON LINE—FOLLOW THE PASSAGE’S THOUGHT
A sentence receives meaning from the words around it. Reading line upon line means patiently following the argument, instruction, or account instead of selecting only a convenient phrase.
Example: In Matthew 7:1–5, Yahusha warns against judgment and exposes hypocrisy. The passage also instructs the hearer to address the beam in their own eye before helping with another person’s difficulty.
The application is humble self-examination and clear-sighted correction. It does not justify hypocrisy, and it does not require pretending that wrongdoing is right.
Application: Read before the verse, read after the verse, and identify how the sentences belong together.
HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE—COMPARE WITHOUT FORCING CONNECTIONS
Comparing related passages can clarify a teaching. However, two verses sharing the same word do not automatically describe the same person, event, covenant setting, or prophetic fulfillment.
Example: To study forgiveness, consider Matthew 6:12–15, Ephesians 4:31–32, and Luke 17:3–4. These passages address forgiveness, kindness, rebuke, and repentance.
Together, they help us understand that a forgiving heart does not require calling evil good. We can reject bitterness while speaking truth and addressing wrongdoing.
Application: Let the subject and context establish the connection. Do not force unrelated passages together.
THE PROPHETIC WORD—2 PETER 1:19–21
Verse 19: Pay attention to the prophetic witness.
Peter describes the prophetic word as light shining in a dark place. The call is to attend carefully to that witness.
Explanation: Our confidence should rest in what the Most High has revealed. Excitement, speculation, and persuasive delivery cannot replace evidence from the text.
Example: A dramatic sermon about prophecy may attract attention. The listener must still ask which passages support its claims and whether those passages are being explained faithfully.
Verse 20: Read the warning about private interpretation with verse 21.
Peter’s statement about private interpretation belongs with his explanation of prophecy’s source.
Verse 21: Prophecy did not originate in human will.
People spoke from God as they were moved by His Spirit—the Ruach HaQodesh.
Explanation: The passage grounds the prophetic message in divine initiative. It warns us against treating prophecy as a human invention that we may reshape to suit our preferences.
Application: Do not announce a personal theory as though the Most High has declared it. Distinguish what the passage states from what you infer.
Example: “I believe this event may relate to this prophecy” identifies a proposed interpretation. “The Most High has certainly identified this event” requires evidence that personal conviction alone cannot supply.
These verses do not make any preacher or institution immune from examination. Every claim about Scripture must still be tested.
DO NOT ADD TO OR TAKE AWAY FROM HIS WORD
Foundation: Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:5–6; Revelation 22:18–19.
These warnings should be understood in their respective settings.
Deuteronomy 4:2 concerns the commandments given to Israel.
Proverbs 30:5–6 warns against adding to God’s words.
Revelation 22:18–19 specifically concerns the prophecy of that book.
Together, they reinforce a serious responsibility: We must not alter the message or present our own requirements as commands from the Most High.
Explanation is not automatically an addition. Nehemiah 8:8 shows the value of helping people understand. The problem arises when an explanation changes the teaching or claims divine authority for something the passage does not say.
Example: “A morning study routine may help you” is practical advice.
“The Most High commands every believer to study at exactly six o’clock each morning” claims a requirement without scriptural support.
Application: Identify clearly whether you are giving a quotation, a paraphrase, an interpretation, an illustration, or a recommendation.
THE BEREAN EXAMPLE—RECEIVE AND EXAMINE
Foundation: Acts 17:10–12.
The Bereans received the message with readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to determine whether the things they heard were so. Many believed.
They demonstrated both willingness to listen and diligence in examination.
Explanation: A teachable heart does not accept every claim without testing. Neither does it reject a message simply because it challenges a familiar belief.
Example: If a respected teacher offers a new interpretation, write down the passages, read them in context, and examine whether they support the teaching.
Application: Respect people while testing their claims. Be willing to correct your own conclusions as readily as you examine someone else’s.
The Berean question remains useful: Does the scriptural evidence support what we have been told?
WHAT IS RIGHT ABOUT THE SERMON-PREPARATION CHART?
The chart offers several useful practices:
• Begin with a biblical passage.
• Study its context.
• Identify its central message.
• Explain the teaching clearly.
• Use illustrations responsibly.
• Show how the teaching applies.
• Review the message for accuracy.
• Encourage an appropriate response.
These practices can help a teacher communicate faithfully.
However, a title, introduction, fixed number of points, or particular sermon category is a method of organization. Scripture does not require every message to follow that exact fourteen-step arrangement.
Example: A message with three polished points may distort its passage. A simple explanation may faithfully communicate the truth.
Application: Use structure to make the meaning clear. Do not let the chosen structure control what the passage is permitted to say.
TESTING SHOULD PRODUCE HUMILITY AND OBEDIENCE
Foundation: James 1:22; Galatians 5:22–23.
Studying Scripture should affect how we live. Accurate references do not excuse pride, cruelty, dishonesty, or refusal to receive correction.
The fruit of the Spirit includes love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
Example: When someone identifies an error in our teaching, humility allows us to examine it and make a correction. Pride makes us defend the statement merely because it was ours.
Application: Seek both faithful understanding and faithful conduct. Teach truth with patience, and receive correction with humility.
ZAKAR—REMEMBER
Begin with the passage.
Read the surrounding context.
Compare related Scriptures carefully.
Distinguish the text from your explanation.
Do not claim divine authority for personal opinion.
Examine teachings with a willing heart.
Practice what you learn.
A Warning to Teachers and Hearers
Teachers must not use spiritual authority to discourage honest examination. Hearers must not use “testing” as an excuse to reject every correction.
James 3:1 reminds us of the seriousness of teaching. Acts 17:11 shows the value of examining what is taught.
We all remain responsible for handling the Word faithfully.
Teaching Note
The explanations in this message are paraphrases and applications, not verbatim quotations from the 1611 King James Bible. Read the cited passages in full and test the explanations against their context.
A Call to Response
Before accepting or sharing a message, ask:
Have I read the passage for myself?
Does the context support the teaching?
Are the supporting passages genuinely relevant?
Has someone’s opinion been presented as a command?
Am I willing to change my understanding when the evidence requires it?
How should this truth change my conduct?
Closing Prayer
Yahuah, give us hearts that love truth more than recognition and correction more than the appearance of being right. Through Your Ruach HaQodesh, teach us to search diligently, understand faithfully, and obey sincerely.
Keep us from adding our preferences to Your commands or removing teachings that challenge us. Help us become patient teachers, careful hearers, and faithful doers of Your Word.
May our study produce humility, our understanding produce obedience, and our conduct reflect love, through Yahusha HaMashiach. Amen.
Final Word of Wisdom
A faithful teacher welcomes examination. A wise disciple receives instruction with humility. Let every explanation remain accountable to Scripture, and let what we learn be seen in how we live.
All Praise to the Most High—HalluYah.
Anthony W. Yates
The Third Heaven
Where the truth is in Scripture—Shalawan.
