The Problem of Pentecostal and Charismatic Hermeneutics

To bridge gaps between Pentecostal and Charismatic hermeneutics, I will use two examples to propose a method, namely prophetic reenactment. First, the Azusa Street revival dramatically represented Acts 2, reflecting an interpretation of that chapter. Although the revival most explicitly interpreted one chapter, we can discern a more thoroughgoing hermeneutic of Scripture through actions that flowed out of the revival. Specifically, I will argue that the prophetic reenactment of Acts 2 also interpreted Acts 4:33-37. Attendants came from various racial, economic, and ecclesiological backgrounds in a culture that disapproved of such intermingling. Through racial integration and actions against poverty, they implicitly interpreted Acts 4:33-37. That hermeneutic directed their newly formed spiritual community. Secondly, Revelation 14:1-5 shows a prophetic reenactment of the defiled angel myth prominent in Second Temple apocalypticism. John introduces characters who act out a reversal of 1 Enoch 12:4. Nevertheless, John shows a wider interpretive schema that extends beyond noncanonical apocalyptic hermeneutics. John never alludes to Acts 4:33-37. As a result of the prophecy and drama involved, however, John writes about a community of "144,000 virgins" that embodies Acts 4:33-37, thus including an implicit interpretation of the Acts pericope via 1 Enoch 12:4

Art · Charisma · Drama · Epistemology · Hermeneutics · Literature · Mythology · Revelation · Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Christian Theology and Mission · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Philosophy · Religious studies

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