UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE

Introduction

The Holy Bible is a culturally complex, ancient literary masterpiece. Our intent here is to convey a very simple, basic summary of the Bible's history and how to understand its message.

The Bible Is God’s Written Message to Humanity

The Holy Bible is no ordinary book. It's a book about history, and it is history. It’s a poetic book full of romance and drama. It’s a book full of metaphorical language and figures of speech, and yet its message is completely literal. The Bible is a book about God, and it is the very Word of God. It's God's written Word, the Words He’s spoken, the record of the things He’s done, the revelation of who He is. It’s His living and life-giving message to humanity, and it’s completely personified in His only Son, Jesus Christ. In its written form, the Bible is literally "The Book" given us by the one true God and Creator of all things. The Bible is unique in comparison to all other books, because it’s the only book authored by God. It predates all other writings about the one true God. The Bible was not the conception of one person as other religious writings, but was written by forty chosen and inspired persons, over thousands of years, starting more than 1400 years before Christ (BC). God Himself instructed and supervised faithful, chosen persons to write out the narrative of history and theology, telling His story, the story of time and eternity, the story of the beginning and ending of all things, the story of love and judgment, the story of salvation and damnation, the story that reaches endlessly to the hearts of wayward humanity.

The Bible Is a Collection of Books

The Holy Bible is a collection of ancient writings or books that were written between approximately 1400 BC and 95 AD. These books are divided into two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The books of the Old Testament were completed approximately 400 years before Christ, and basically make up the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible is the holy book of the Jewish religion. The books of the New Testament were written after Christ (AD) and pertain to the ministry of Jesus and the first century Church. Though the New Testament books were completed around 95 AD, they were not canonized or collected as the New Testament until around the 4th century AD. The Jewish religion accepts the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, but rejects the New Testament; the Christian religion accepts both Old and New Testaments as the Word and message of God.

The Old and New Testaments

The Holy Bible consists of two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Basically, the Old Testament or Old Covenant God made with humanity was to temporarily atone for the sins of the people through the sacrificial death of certain innocent animals. The New Testament or New Covenant God made with humanity was to permanently atone for the sin of people through the sacrificial death and resurrection of the innocent, sinless, Jesus. (Heb. 8-10) Think of it this way, the word "testament" is associated with what we know today as a "last will and testament." (Heb. 9:16-17) The New Testament was not a change to God’s original plan for the redemption of humanity, it was the original plan, predetermined from the very beginning. The Bible tells us Jesus was foreordained to be a sacrificial lamb before the foundation of the world. (1 Pet.1:19-20) Throughout ancient history, the Old Testament books foretold and pointed to the coming Messiah or Christ, and to the changing of the covenant. (Jer. 31:31-34, Heb. 8-9) Therefore, the Old Testament is a type or representation of the New Testament to come. The Old Testament’s foretelling of the Messiah was fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Basically, the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.

The Bible is Unstoppable (Isaiah 40:8)

The Holy Bible has survived thousands of years of translation and interpretation through relentlessly changing cultures and empires. Copied thousands of times by ancient scribes, the original writings in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek have long been lost, but the copies, though fragmented have endured. From these copies, pieced together over the centuries, under the supervision of God by the grueling scrutiny of ancient scholars, the Hebrew Bible emerged in the 5th century BC. By the 3rd century BC Greek had become the predominant language of the culture, therefore, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek; from these, all other subsequent translations of the Old Testament portion of the Bible have come. By the 4th century AD the books of the New Testament portion of the Bible are canonized by the early Church Fathers, thus completing The Holy Bible. This was not the end of the amazing legacy of The Holy Bible, it endured numerous translations into various languages, including English in the 14th century AD. Some early English Bible translators were persecuted and killed for their work; yet with the invention of the printing press literary works flourished, and the Bible excelled above them all.

The Bible Has Endured

From that time forth, because of its lasting effect on humanity and numbers printed, the Holy Bible remains the undisputed champion over all literary works. The Bible has endued kings and philosophers, scientist and scholars, they have come and gone, but it remains. It has endured false religions, wars, and natural disasters; though numerous generations have tried to destroy or diminish it, its message continues. The Holy Bible is by far, the greatest literary work of all time. It has literally changed the world!

Modern English Bible Translations

Although the Holy Bible is inerrant in its original manuscripts, some modern translations are superior to others. The best translations are those translated from the oldest and most original manuscript copies. Those translated word for word are also superior to those translated thought for thought or those paraphrased by a single person. Some of the most popular translations are the King James Version, New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, and New Living Translation.

Why Believe the Bible?

Believing the Bible is believing God, the God who judges the living and the dead, who imparts forgiveness or condemnation, who punishes or shows mercy, and who assigns the souls of humanity to eternal death in hell or to eternal life in heaven. To disbelieve the Bible, is to disbelieve God; to have faith in any other, is to reject Him, and to reject Him is to forfeit the forgiveness and eternal life He provides. The Bible is a book of faith, and must be accepted by faith. To have faith in the Bible, is to have faith in God, and to have faith in God, is to have faith in the forgiveness and brand-new life He promises.

Understanding the basic message of the Bible

Before we can understand the basic message of the Bible, we must first establish what the Bible is and what it is not. The Bible is not some old book full of fictional stories about a mythical God and fictitious people. The Old Testament is the literal history of the Nation of Israel, God's chosen people before Christ; the New Testament is the literal history of the true Christian Church, God's chosen people after Christ. In its entirety, the Bible tells us about the past, it tells us about the future, it tells us about the eternal, and most of all it gives us a glimpse into the transcendent nature of the one true God. It does this by conveying a parallel literal and spiritual message, and though the Bible’s full of figurative language, its message is always, both literal and spiritual.

Interpreting the Bible

When trying to understand the message of the Bible, there are several things that must be taken into consideration.

(1) The Bible was written thousands of years ago to constantly changing cultures, using figures of speech, and metaphoric language that we, understandably, may not always relate to.

(2) One of the most important underlying themes of the Bible has to do with typology, which is basically the study of types and symbols in the Bible. From beginning to end the Bible conveys a singular message using various parallel subjects that consist of types and antitypes. A type is a symbol or representation of a future antitype, which is like the type, but opposes or takes the place of it. For example, the Promised Land is a type or representation of the antitype, Heaven; the sacrificial lamb is a type or representation of Jesus the Lamb of God; Jesus as a type has an antitype called the antichrist, meaning one who opposes or tries to take the place of Christ. The idea of something or someone taking the place of Christ is very intriguing, especially in the sense that people may deify religion or religious individuals that are essentially taking Christ’s place as mediator between God and man. In this sense, religious organizations or those who govern them, that glorify or deify themselves, should be considered a manifestation of antichrist.

(3) We must realize we all have some preconceived ideas about God, that influence or taint our thoughts as we approach the Bible, because of inaccurate things we’ve heard about God all our lives.

(4) When trying to understand the message of the Bible, it is critical that we apply the first rule of Biblical interpretation, which is to allow scripture to interpret scripture. This means we must approach every Biblical passage in the context in which it is written and all passages in the context of the entire Bible. Passages taken out of context may appear contradictory, but passages in context will never be contradictory.

(5) When we approach the Bible, we must always endeavor to find the intended message of the Author. What was the author or writer trying to convey to their readers, and how does it apply to readers today.

(6) The Bible reader must study diligently, praying and believing it’s God’s promise to give understanding to all who seek Him.

Who Is the Author of the Bible?

The undisputed Author of the Bible is ultimately God. God inspired chosen people to write the Bible, much like an executive today would dictate a letter to his administrative assistant. God spoke directly to some, to some He spoke through dreams and visions, to others He placed His words in their heart and they wrote out the message He gave them, but in every case, through every generation, and by every chosen individual, the message is unchanging, because ultimately the Author is unchanging.

God Inspired Chosen Individuals

When God inspired individuals to write, they wrote in the context of the culture in which they lived; for this reason, the intent of the human writer is also very important. For example, most of the New Testament books are actual letters written to specific individuals or congregations. Therefore, when reading the New Testament book of Romans, we must endeavor to understand what the Apostle Paul was trying to convey to the Roman congregation when God inspired him to write his letter to them. Furthermore, we should endeavor to understand what God was trying to convey to the Roman congregation. Ultimately, God used chosen people to write out His story and message, and God uses chosen people to convey that same written message today. The Bible is God’s standard! It’s God’s standard, because its message never changes, and its message never changes, because God never changes. On the contrary, people change all the time, and their message changes from generation to generation. What people think and say about God is often unreliable, but what God says about Himself, in the Holy Bible, is always reliable.

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