The Bible is the most wonderful book in the world. Why? It is because the name itself means books or God's library, with a total of sixty-six books. Again, the Bible has about forty authors, who were used by God to write the Bible at different times, between 1500 and 1600 years, guided by God himself, thus making the Bible have only one author, namely God.
Another amazing thing, God used writers from different fields, environments and times, including prophets, kings, farmers, breeders, fishermen, tax collectors, doctors, builders, etc. k; However, the Bible has a wonderful unity, without contradictions that arise from circumstances or times. This unity proves to us that the author of the Bible is one, who has existed in all times of the world's history, namely God.
"For prophecy was not brought anywhere by the will of man; but men spoke what came from God, led by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 2:21).
God is the Alpha and the Omega, that is, the beginning and the end,(Uf. 1:17); "He who is and who was and who will come(Uf.4:4), "I Am Who I Am"Exodus 3:14; Yoh. 8:58. This is the one who gave writers the words to write in all generations. Another amazing thing about this book is that it is the only book that has spread all over the world and is read by many people. It is also a book that separated people and divided them more than any other book in the world; but at the same time it is a book with answers to more questions of people in the world than any other book.
In order to understand the Bible well, it is necessary to use principles that will protect the unity of the Bible and bring meanings that do not contradict each other. All the important subjects in the world such as science or mathematics and others, are taught using special principles to maintain their accuracy; otherwise everyone would have different answers. Since we know that the Bible is a very important subject than all subjects in the world, it must be read and interpreted according to specific principles to protect its unity, and avoid the effects of losing the real meaning of God intended; while using our human mind. There are many conflicts when we enter into matters of faith, caused by teachings that do not follow the principles of reading and interpreting the Bible. God is faithful to give revelation through the Spirit about His Word(Yoh.6:63; 1Kor.2:13,16). But since revelation is a spiritual and secret matter between man and his God, no other outsider can know what is going on. This has been the reason for many people to claim that they have been revealed by God when it is their own thoughts. To avoid these effects, God has given us his rules that can help anyone, even those who do not know the revelations of the Spirit; because rules are rules, it doesn't matter if you're saved or not! As with any other matter that needs to be implemented using principles, whether you believe it or not, principles will do their job!
Let me use a few examples of addition and multiplication calculations with two digits: 25+25, if you add from left to right, the answer will be 410; but if you add from right to left, his answer will be 50. Both answers are correct if there is no mathematical rule to add. Neither of these two will have the courage to criticize the other for being wrong if there is no principle that assures him that he is right. But since the principle of this calculation is addition from right to left, then he will be sure that the correct answer is 50. The certainty of this answer is based on the principle of addition calculations!
Another example: When you want to ensure the accuracy of the multiplication calculation, it is necessary to divide the answer with one of the two digits used to multiply, for example, 6 x 8= 48; and if you divide 48 by 8, the answer will be 6; then you are sure that your answer is correct. Therefore, without having a rule to ensure the correctness of your answer, you cannot know whether you are correct or not. From these two examples, we see how important it is to read and interpret the Bible using its principles, in order to be sure of what we read and teach, not to teach error. "Every Word of God is guaranteed; he is the shield of the believers. Do not add a word to his words; lest he blame you, you will be seen as a liar"(Prov. 30:5,6).
Where will we find the principles to enable us to read and interpret the Bible? The answer to this question is simple because these principles are found in this wonderful book, the Bible. Therefore, it is not appropriate for someone to stand up and give the meaning of the holy scriptures using his thoughts and intellect; or by saying, "I think, maybe, of course" or using the positions of a religion, or a certain leader in a religion, or the belief of a sect by saying, "our religion says this" instead of using the position of the main author of the Bible who is God. "If you know this word first, that there is no prophecy in the scriptures to be interpreted according to someone's will" (2Pet.1:2).
Jesus helped us a lot to give us guidance to understand the Bible and its purposes when he said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the prophets, I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill." Because, amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one dot of the Torah will pass away, until all is fulfilled"(Math.5:17,18).
"....These are my words that I told you when I was with you, that all that was written to me in the law of Moses, and in the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:44,45).
"You examine the scriptures, because you think that you have eternal life in them; and that is what testifies to me. Because if you believed in Moses, you would believe in me; because he wrote about me. But if you don't believe his scriptures, where will you believe my words?" (John 5:39, 46, 47).
"....Warning them about Jesus, with the words of the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning until evening. Some believed what was said, others did not" (Acts 28:23, 24).
In all the scriptures above, we find the following truth:
1. The Torah, the Psalms and the Prophets, were written for Jesus.
2. Jesus came to fulfill all that was written to him in the Torah, Psalms and Prophets.
3. All that is written will continue to be fulfilled until the heavens and the earth depart (the second coming of Jesus)
4. His disciples did not know this secret until their minds were revealed by Jesus, after his resurrection.
Here we see that, the Old Testament has been like a map of a drawn house; The new testament builds God's plan by following the blueprint drawn by God himself in the old testament, like a master craftsman. A washi craftsman needs to know how to read the map well, in order to build the house as intended by the painter without losing the dimensions or shape of the house. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, they are all builders of God's church. "Because no other foundation can be laid, except the one that has already been laid, that is, Jesus Christ"(1Kor.3:11). We cannot build using the teachings that Jesus did not leave to us, being his church; and he is the fulfiller of the Torah, the Psalms and the Prophets; we will be like the washi craftsman who stops reading the map given to him and starts drawing his own map. It should also be noted that, even in our environment, there are many builders of ordinary houses, who are unable to read a drawn map, although they can build without using a map.
Jesus said,"The Torah and the prophets existed until John; from that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone enters with strength" (Luke 16:16).
He said again, "For all the Prophets and the Torah prophesied until the time of John"(Math. 11:13). In these two scriptures we see that all the Torah and all the Prophets, their message was aimed at reaching the time of John the Baptist, which was also the time of Jesus himself on earth; but after that time has passed, what remains is the time for the implementation of all that was written in the Old Testament. Jesus carried out what concerned him in his time; the rest was carried out by the apostles; after that, the church has continued to implement all that is left and about it, it will continue with that work until the time of Jesus' second coming, that is, the end of the world. John was the end of prophecy; no other prophecies were given after John the Baptist, except the Gospels of Jesus, the letters of the apostles and revelation, in which we find an explanation or read the map of the Old Testament, drawn to the end of the age, that is, the second coming of Jesus, or the end of the world. In other words, it is to say that no other map has been drawn or will be drawn after John the Baptist, but it is a construction that will continue. Moreover, it is to say that, even the book of John's revelation does not bring anything new, which was not spoken by the Torah, Psalms, Prophets, Jesus and apostles. “…..And on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Mat.16:18).
The Old Testament has three main parts which are Torah, Psalms and Prophets; Also, the New Testament has three main parts that explain the Old Testament, and they are the Gospel, the Epistles and the Revelation. These parts must agree in the sense of what we are looking for. Because of the unity of the Bible, it should not be separated into pieces, even losing its meaning. By making that mistake, we will cause one scripture to be interpreted in many different meanings, and build weak teachings in the church of Jesus Christ, and make it fail by being attacked by the gates of hell. Jesus had mercy on his church!
When the reader knows the secret of the unity of the Bible, and how it cannot differ from text to text; or author and writer; or centuries and centuries; because the main author is the same. Knowing this will help the reader not to misunderstand the Bible, or to find a meaning that will contradict other scriptures. If you take the cork of a bottle and put it in the bottle by mistake, you will fail to close even if you think it is not the cork. If you force it to close without knowing that you have made a mistake in setting it as required, eventually even when opening it may fail, and you will have to break it. The problem is not with the cork, the problem is with the installer who did not know how to make it sit as needed. Likewise, it is in the Word of God! Many readers think that the Bible is very difficult to understand; although there is truth in this matter, because it will be recognized in the way of the spirit; but the big problem is that a person reads the Bible with personal thoughts and religious traditions in mind, thus failing to connect it to find the correct meaning.
The Jews knew a lot about the scriptures and boasted about it; but when Jesus came, they failed to connect the words of the Torah with those of Jesus, making them two different things, and completely failing to understand who Jesus is. They claimed to know Jesus, but they rejected Jesus when he called himself God. Examples:Which. 8:3 alreadyMath.4:4; Isa.6:9,10 alreadyMath.13:14,15; Deuteronomy 18:15 and John 5:47; Psalm 82:6 and John 10:34; Joel 2:28,29 and Acts 2:16-21; Psalm 16:8-11 andActs 2:25-28; Psalm 110:1 alreadyLuke 20:41-44; Luke 24:44-46. These are some of the few scriptures that Jesus reminded the Jews that, what they were reading in the Torah, Psalms and Prophets, were about him and they could not separate him from those scriptures. Therefore, those who read the old testament without seeing Jesus, and those who saw and heard him, and we who are reading now, there is no difference. Paul in his epistle says, "Even so, from now on we do not know anyone according to the flesh. Although we have recognized Christ in the form of the body, but we do not recognize him like this anymore"(2Cor. 5:16).
The apostle John also says in his document, "That which was from the beginning, which we heard, which we saw with our eyes, which we looked at, and which our hands touched, concerning the Word of life; and that life was manifested, and we have seen, and we testify, and preach to you that eternal life, which was with the Father, was manifested to us. What we saw and heard, we preach to you; so that you too can cooperate with us; and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ"(1Yoh.1:1-3).
The apostle Peter also says, "And you loved him, even though you did not see him; whom although you do not see now, you believe; and rejoiced greatly, with unspeakable, glorious joy.... They were revealed that it was not for themselves, but for you that they ministered in those things, which have now been preached to you by those who preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look at those things."(1Pet.1:8,12).
The author of the book of Hebrews writes by saying, "God who spoke in the past to our fathers through the prophets in many places and in many ways, at the end of these days has spoken to us in a son, whom he made the heir of all things, and through him he made the world."(Ebr.1:1).
"And when all those people were witnessed because of their faith, they did not receive the promise; because God had already prepared something better for us, so that they would not be completed without us"(Ebr.11:39,40).
All these authors admit the same thing, that there is no difference between the people who heard the Torah of Moses, the psalms, the prophets and those who heard Jesus in person and saw him; and we who believed in him without seeing him in the flesh. We have all received the same word through faith in Christ Jesus. Our God cannot change in His words; he is the same, yesterday and today and forever. This is the unity of the Bible that is strong and cannot be shaken by any human being. The apostle Paul warned the Christians of Colossae about this combination of teachings that are introduced by the cunning of people by saying, "See that no one takes you captive with his empty knowledge and empty deceptions, according to the traditions of men, according to the previous teachings of the world, nor not in the manner of Christ"(Col. 2:8).
God has been revealing himself to his people in different ways according to season and time; but if he is the same. He revealed himself to the ancients as God the Father, Almighty, Jehovah, I am that I am, Creator of heaven and earth, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Eternal Father, and many others; but recently he has revealed himself as the Son, and all those names are also his, showing that he is the same God. He made the old covenant, nowadays he has made a new covenant, but God is the same. Therefore, these two covenants do not contradict each other, but each brings a good interpretation to the other. To understand the old covenant well, you need to understand the new covenant; Likewise, in order to understand the new covenant well, it is necessary to understand the old covenant well, since the author of these covenants is the same.
Our lesson will continue another time.
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Source: Mwalusambo International Ministry
I am your brother: Counselor Nicholaus Simon.
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