Study (Discovery) Guides
A Simple Approach To Discovering Truth
Page 4
How do we make sense of the Bible?
A. Understand why it was written.
B. Understand the combination of its parts (or books).
C. Understand the individual parts (or books).
D. Understand the intrabook and interbook themes.
E. Understand symbolism and parables.
F. Understand duality and multiple applications.
G. Understand the human fingerprints on the Bible.
H. Understand divine inspiration.
We should keep in mind that coming to a perfect understanding is almost always a process and not a one-time event.
A. Why was the Bible written?
1. History (people being blessed or cursed, choosing life or death).
The Bible is the history of God's creation of all things and his offer of a relationship with mankind. It is a record of the highlights of man's first 4,100 years of rejecting that offer, with a few notable exceptions. The rejection by the majority and the few exceptions are all recorded as examples to influence us to make the choices that result in blessings and life.
2. Prophecy (people being blessed or cursed, choosing life or death).
The Bible contains God's prophecies (guaranteed predictions) of the results of either accepting or rejecting his offer of a relationship with mankind. Some prophecies were fulfilled and the results were recorded in later chapters or books of the Bible. Some were fulfilled once, but will also have a second fulfillment in the future. Fulfilled prophecies are one of the proofs of God's existence and of the Bible as his word. These are recorded to show the certainty of God's promises and of the results, whether good or bad.
3. God's offer of blessings or curses and our freedom to choose life or death.
The Bible contains God's offer of a relationship with mankind, both individually and collectively. He created the parent/child relationship to illustrate our relationship with him and the potential for growth and maturity within that relationship. He created the marriage relationship to illustrate the ultimate relationship he desires to have with us individually and collectively. It is a relationship of love, trust, faithfulness, joy, peace and equality. (The equality will have insignificant limitations.)
[See "The Prospective Marriage Between Man and God".]
B. Understand the combination of its parts (or books).
A pile of loose bricks has limited value until an architect ("master builder"), an engineer and a contractor make something more useful and beautiful out of them such as a home. God referred to Christ as the "cornerstone" of his project, the "church" (Isa. 28:16), which is a group of people, (but not a building).
Every part has value. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2Ti 3:16).
Every part is related to other parts through supporting or being supported. "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:" (Isa 28:9-10).
C. Understand the individual parts (or books).
Each of the Bible's "books" contains instruction, history, prophecy or all three, with examples of blessing and cursing depending upon the reaction to God's offer of a relationship.
One of the principles given in scripture is that truth, in matters of "life or death", is to be determined by the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deu. 17:6, 19:15; Mat. 18:6, 2 Cor. 13:1).
All of the writers who recorded the Biblical events are witnesses to God's truth.
D. Understand the intrabook and interbook themes.
Some books have a unique primary theme which could stand alone (even though supported by material in the other books of the Bible). (Job, Esther, Song of Songs, Ecc., Jonah)
Some share the same theme, with each making a significant contribution to the whole account. (Exodus, Lev., Num., Deu.; or Samuel, Kings, Chrn.; or Mat., Mark, Luke, John; or Dan., Eze., Rev.)
All of the books of the Bible share the theme of God's offer of a relationship with mankind. Some show man's past experience. Some explain the future. And all of the books have relevance for us today.
E. Understand symbolism and parables.
Symbolism: God's prophets, as late as the 1st cent. AD, had the task of describing things never yet imagined (e.g. helicopter gun ships, Rev. 9:3-10), which would not be named for another 1,860 years in a language not yet created (English). To do this in such a way that future copyists and translators could keep the message repeatable until such things were an understandable reality, required that they use comparative descriptions of things known in their own time.
Some symbolism is understandable from the context or from other books of the Bible (Isa. 8:14-15; 1 Pet. 2:5-8). Some symbolism is plainly defined within the same text (Mat. 13:18-43). So why bother with symbolism? Why not just state what is meant? Christ explained that some people do not want to hear or understand the truth (Mat. 13:10-16; Isa. 30:9-11) even though "many" want to appear to be "religious" (Mat. 7:21-22; Lk. 6:46; 13:23-27; 2 Tim. 3:1-7).
Parable: a "comparison or example"; "a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle".
http://www.m-w.com/
The easiest way to understand something is to compare or contrast it to something already understood. (For example, a zebra is like a horse only with black and white stripes.) Christ explained the "kingdom of heaven" with numerous parables (Mat. 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47, 52).
Type and Anti-type: Adam was a "type" of Christ (Rom. 5:14). So was Moses (Acts 3:22, 7:37).
The anti-type of Christ is called the "antichrist" (1 Jn. 2:18-22; 4:3; 2 Jn. 1:7).
The Sabbath is a type of "kingdom of God" and a type of "life" (Ex. 16:23, 23:12; Ex. 35:2, Heb. 3:11, 4:9).
"type: . . . a person or thing (as in the Old Testament) believed to foreshadow another (as in the New Testament)"
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
An "image", "model" or a shadow of the reality (Col. 2:17; Heb. 8:5, 10:1).The Genesis Flood, Israel's crossing the Red Sea, and Israel's (the next generation) crossing the Jordan River are all types of baptism (Gen. 6-8; 1 Cor. 10:1-2).
The ark of Noah (Gen 6-8), the ark of the infant Moses (Ex. 2:1-10), and the ark of the covenant (Ex. 25, Num. 10:33, Josh. 4:7) are all types or symbols of salvation.
The anti-type is a false substitute, or imitation, or counterfeit in place of what is true, or real, or right. For every aspect of God, Christ and God's plan of salvation, there exists an anti-type including: false gods (Gal. 4:8), false prophets (Mat. 7:15; 24:11, 24), false doctrines (Mat. 15:9, Mk. 7:7), false brethren (2 Cor. 11:26, Gal. 2:4), any of which would constitute a false church (Rev. 17:1-18), offering a false salvation (Mat. 4:8-9).
F. Understand duality, parallels and multiple applications.
Some prophecies have a dual or repeated fulfillment, such as the repeated destruction and rebuilding of Jerusalem (Jer. 7:29-34, Lam. 1:1-22, Mat. 23:37-38, Mat. 24:1-2, Rev. 3:12).
The prophecies of the coming of Christ are dual. One reason the Jews of Christ's time didn't recognize him is that they confused the description of his second coming (as King) with his first coming (as the Lamb).
Parallels: There are parallels between Israel coming out of Egypt (Ex.) and our "coming out of sin", including: the captivity, the difficulty, the reluctance, the lack of faith, the disobedience, the obedience, the pursuit by Pharoah, the fear, the miracles, the deliverance, the protection, the rejoicing, the way back is a way of death, the need for faith, the promises, the example to others, and the rewards.
There are parallels between the pre-flood world of Noah and the world at the time of "the end" (Mat. 24:1-51).
Multiple applications: The Bible is a book of finite words but infinite wisdom and understanding.Some scriptures can have more than one application (see Proverbs for examples).
Progressive understanding: "Then said he [Christ] unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old." (Mat 13:52).
In other words, Christ said that any teacher who has a right understanding of the things of God, will not only be able to review things previously explained but also be able to present an additional or a better understanding of God's truth.To be led into "all truth" (Jn. 16:13) requires continual learning. To continually progress in learning using a book of finite words, requires the help of God's spirit (Jn. 16:13). Repetition for review can be profitable, but without new or better understanding it can easily become a boring and mindless exercise.
Paul spoke of those who are "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2Ti 3:7).
Paul praised the Bereans for "proving" the truth by comparing everything they heard to the "scriptures" (which at that time was the Old Testament and the Gospels) (Acts 17:11).God inspired Isaiah to explain how to get more knowledge out of the scriptures:
"Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. [See also Heb. 5:12 regarding those who still need "milk" or spiritual baby food.]
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people." (Isa 28:9-11).
[The "stammering lips" can apply to the King James English of the KJV. The reference to "another tongue" can be a reference to the difference between the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic of the Old and New Testaments and the modern languages spoken in the world today.]The Bible does not contain all knowledge but it does contain all the principles necessary to make the right choice in any situation. As with any subject, a superficial knowledge may not lead to making wise choices. The complexity of human relationships and experiences creates situations which cannot always be addressed by a single scripture or two. This brings us back to the "precept upon precept, line upon line and here a little, there a little" (Isa. 28:9). And a related principle, "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Pro 11:14). The more we know about what the Bible actually says, the safer we can be.
G. Understand the human fingerprints on the Bible.The Old Testament was written by various authors, mostly in ancient Hebrew, a "Canaanitish" language. [See "Significance of Multiple Languages" from "What is His (God's) Name".] The two exceptions are parts of Daniel and Ezra, which were written in Aramaic. The Old Testament was completed by 500 BC.
The New Testament was originally written in Greek during the 1st cent. AD.
In 390 AD Jerome produced a Latin version of the Bible. For the next 1200-1300 years the Catholic Church would not allow any other translation under pain of death, usually by burning at the stake. Their control ended with the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the printing press. Today, their services are still conducted in Latin and they still accept apocryphal books as scripture, particularly those that support the "adoration" of Mary as "the Mother of God".In 995 AD, copies of the New Testament were translated into Anglo-Saxon (forerunner of English).
In the 1384, Wycliffe produced a handwritten copy of the entire Bible in "Middle English".
In 1455, Gutenberg's first printing press printed the Bible in Latin.
In 1525, Tyndale's New Testament is the first to be printed in English. [Since some discount the Old Testament, Tyndale is often credited as being the first to publish the "Bible" into English when what they mean is the "New Testament" only.]
1535 AD: Myles Coverdale's Bible; The First Complete Bible to be printed in the Modern English Language (80 Books: O.T. & N.T. & Apocrypha). [Based on Luther's German text and the Latin text, it contained more than a few errors.]1537 AD: Matthews Bible; The Second Complete Bible to be Printed in English. Done by John "Thomas Matthew" Rogers (80 Books).
1539 AD: The "Great Bible" Printed; The First English Language Bible to be Authorized for Public Use (80 Books).
1560 AD: The Geneva Bible Printed; The First English Language Bible to Add Numbered Verses to Each Chapter (80 Books). [Thanks to William Tyndale and others, who worked from the Hebrew and Greek texts.]
In 1611, the King James Version is printed.
1885 AD: The "Revised Version" Bible; The First Major English Revision of the King James Bible.1901 AD: The "American Standard Version"; The First Major American Revision of the King James Bible.
1971 AD: The "New American Standard Bible" (NASB) is Published as a "Modern and Accurate Word for Word English Translation" of the Bible.
1973 AD: The "New International Version" (NIV) is Published as a "Modern and Accurate Phrase for Phrase English Translation" of the Bible.
1982 AD: The "New King James Version" (NKJV) is Published as a "Modern English Version Maintaining the Original Style of the King James."
The History of the English Bible http://www.greatsite.com/engbibhis/
The History of the English Bible http://www.williamtyndale.com/0biblehistory.htm
http://www.tyndale.org/
Because of the different language routes (Hebrew - Latin - English, Hebrew - English, Greek - Latin - English and several others), not all versions of the Bible are identical. A few scriptures and words appear to have been added, deleted, or edited to reflect the opinion of the publisher or authorizing power (king or church).
Today, anyone with a computer and a word processing program can produce their own version in a very short time, with all the additions, deletions or rewording they choose to make. For example there are several "sacred names" versions being published with more on the way.
[After 40 years of Bible studies and comparing versions, we recommend the King James Version (KJV) or the New King James Version (NKJV). Whenever there is a question about the accuracy of any scripture, it should be compared to all other relevant scriptures ("line upon line", etc. Isa. 28:9-11). Anytime we are trying to find answers, we should be silently asking God to show us the truth. If there is still a question, then it can be compared to as many other versions as possible, keeping in mind who published each version and the publisher's prejudices.]
Verbal fingerprint traditions: This includes some concepts which are so widespread that they are assumed to be based upon scripture. One is that observing Sunday as "Sabbath" is based on a scriptural instruction. This practice, begun by the Catholic Church, is based, according to the Catholic Church itself, on the authority of the Catholic Church and not on scripture. According the Catholic Church, if one observes Sunday, one is acknowledging the authority of the Catholic Church. If one denies such authority, then, according to the Catholic Church, there is no basis for observing Sunday and one would be better advised to observe the original Saturday Sabbath.
Source: Rome's Challenge:Why do Protestants keep Sunday?
http://www.tagnet.org/llt/challenge.htm
H. Understand divine inspiration.
The presence of "human fingerprints" on the Bible immediately makes us question whether we can believe any part of the Bible?
If we were dependent solely upon the words in the Book, then we could be in trouble. But truth does not come solely from the words on the pages."Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." (Jhn 16:13).
God's spirit works with our mind to give us understanding. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" (Phl 2:5).
"For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phl 2:13).
"At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." (Jhn 14:20).
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (Jhn 14:26).
"The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple." (Psa 119:130).
"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding." (Job 32:8).
"For the Lord gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding." (Pro 2:6).
"And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:" (Dan 2:21).
How do we make sense of the Bible?
Ask God for the correct understanding of his words (Jer. 29:13, Mat. 7:7, Lk. 11:9).
"Study " or read to discover what the Bible says (2 Tim. 2:15, 2 Tim. 3:16).
Compare each concept with other scriptures to allow the Bible to explain itself and to determine the truth (Isa. 28:9-10).
Accept every proven truth. This is the only way to grow in truth.
"For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has." (Mat 13:12).
"For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
And he said unto them, Take heed what you hear: with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
For he that has, to him shall be given: and he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has." (Mar 4:22-25).
"But the anointing which you have received of him [the Holy Spirit] abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in him." (1Jo 2:27).
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (Jhn 8:32).
Copyright M.H. and G.H. 2002 All rights reserved.
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