Words of Eternity

Words of Eternity

Published by Jason King at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Jason King

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for personal and formal educational purposes. If you share this eBook with another person or use within a group setting, please return to Smashwords.com and download a copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Formatting and layout designed to suit Smashwords acceptance requirements.

Table of Contents

Note: To minimize TOC size, only every second book is linked.

Introduction

Preparing to learn

Introducing the Old Testament

Genesis

Leviticus

Deuteronomy

Judges

Samuel

Chronicles

Nehemiah

Job

Proverbs

Song of Solomon

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Hosea

Amos

Jonah

Nahum

Zephaniah

Zechariah

Defining Scriptural and Non-scriptural Texts

Introducing the New Testament

Matthew

Luke

Acts

Corinthians

Ephesians

Colossians

Timothy

Philemon

James

John

Revelation

The Faces and Places of History

Defining Major Words and Phrases

Further Reading

Introduction

I would like to thank you for purchasing this study and I pray that your enthusiasm in searching the scriptures and studying the Word of God produces observable fruit in your life and does not just remain simply head knowledge.

I encourage you to lookup the identified scriptures and search the answers to the questions put forward. I firmly believe the best way to learn is to discover answers for yourself rather than have them presented to you.

I am a keen bible student but have not been gifted with a good memory, and as a result this study is predominantly a copy of my study notes. I would encourage you to do likewise and present your notes as I have done here for others to use and learn from. In this respect I recommend Smashwords.com as an excellent avenue of distributing your eBook material.

Discover other titles by Jason King at

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MrKing

Back to Table of Contents

Preparing to Learn

This study will look at each of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments separately and aims to enlighten the student with a general understanding of each book and how they all fit together to form the truly inspired word of God. I believe the entire Old and New Testaments must be understood, even in an overview, for the harmony and significance of each book to be fully appreciated. Each study may also include a very basic textual criticism of the biblical books, their origins, reliability and accuracy etc.

The traditional Christian believes in three basic concepts in relation to the scriptures:

1 - Infallibility. It is 100% accurate in truth and doctrine (John 17:17, Ps 19:7).

2 - Inerrancy or inherent. It is 100% accurate in detail such as historical and scientific statements (Isa 45:19, Prov 30:5 to 6).

3 - Authoritivness. It is 100% the word of God. Even though man created the written form and argued over its canonization, the words and books we ended up with are exactly what God wanted included (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Tim 3:16). The word used is inspiration, which in Greek theo-pneustos means God Breathed. I have heard it said that when we run out of text, we run out of authority.

As a result, we believe the word of God has authority in all aspects, is all sufficient and is the standard that all men should live by. If you wish to make further reading on this topic, a good read is the - Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978).

Protestant Christians in general believe that the scriptures are the final authority and the church is second, hence they are usually flexible in changing traditions and are very progressive in reaching the lost. The Roman Catholic and Eastern orthodox churches though place high importance on the Church with the need for scripture to be interpreted in light of tradition and Church authority. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) states As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the Holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence. This study will take the Protestant Christian viewpoint and treat the word of God as the final authority.

While studying this amazing compilation of books (written by many scribes over thousands of years) we will come to appreciate that they have a common revelation – Gods plan for us from eternity past to eternity future. It is a gradual revelation of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. This revelation is revealed in two basic ways:

1 - General or Natural, in nature and creation.

2 - Special, in his word and various other forms of communication such as vocally (Ex 19:19), via angels (Heb 2:2), through the scriptures (Rom 15:4), prophets (Jer 1:9), the Holy Spirit, dreams and visions, through Jesus (Rev 1:1), the apostles (Acts 1:2) and other individuals (Jude 3) even animals (Num 22:21 to 39)!

The truth and revelation contained in the Bible is only revealed to those who acknowledge there is another realm other than the physical, and seek to hear God speak to them through the printed text.

The Bible though is not solely concerned with the unseen realm of eternity. It also gives practical advice and guidance for everyday life (such as 2 Tim 3:16 to 17, Rom 12:12, Eph 6:10 to 18, Heb 4:12) understanding that human knowledge is formed from the accumulation of reason, experience and revelation. It never wanders though from the basic fact that the physical things that can be seen are temporary, while the things unseen are eternal (2 Cor 4:18).

We cannot possibly know the complete story of Gods plans, its just too big! (1 Cor. 13:12). This study makes no claim to be the last and final authority on the biblical message and interpretation. My hope is simply that it will bring you closer to a better understanding that will enhance your faith.

Why do we need to study the Bible? (Heb 5:12, 2 Peter 2:2, Matt 18:20, John 12:48, 2 Tim 2:15)

The Bible is not a simple book. Its core message is simple but the complexities behind the scenes require further study to expand our understanding. This statement is a reasonable one considering the mind of its author is much greater than ours!

Because of the immense scope, this study will not cover any particular topic in detail. I have done much research in producing this workbook and have come across books hundreds of pages in length covering single specific subjects such as Pentecost! I hope my material is sufficient for a basic introduction and understanding.

How do we read the Bible? Do we use a figurative or literal interpretation? I firmly believe we must interpret the Bible accordingly. For example, Joshua 10:13 says the sun stood still. Did it? Or did the earth stand still? We all know that it is the earth that rotates around the sun and not the other way around. The sun is stationary anyway. But from the observers viewpoint it would have indeed appeared to be the sun standing still. Does it really matter? No. The miracle is still there and God is still in control. Some other figurative texts …

- I am the door (knock knock).

- Jesus the lamb (baaaaa).

- Keys of the Kingdom (does he fit on your key-ring?!)

Some terms simply need to be taken figuratively. Some though, such as the scientific difficulties of the flood or Jonah in the whale should not be automatically explained away as figurative story telling. Caution is needed. The best approach is to take the Bible as literal as possible. The Bible (including each and every word and sentence) is inspired by God (Matt 5:18). If he inspired the writers who put pen to paper, how much more does he want to inspire his target audience the reader!

Jesus believed in the Jonah story (Matt 12:40) and so should we! In fact, I have read reports of a man that was swallowed by a whale in 1931 and survived after 2 days inside! (Search for the article on the internet if you are interested).

So how should we interpret and read confusing scripture?

- Look first for the obvious common sense answer.

- Pay attention to context (surrounding text).

- Find correct meaning of words. What language was it originally written in?

- Recognize the form of writing (historic, poetry, letter etc).

- Apply appropriate historical timeframes (traditions of the time, culture etc).

- Look for cross-references.

- Humble your spirit. It is the WORD of God after all!

- Pray.

Jesus told us to listen and understand (Matt 15:10). In other words don't just listen/read the word of God, but seek to understand it. It's not THAT hard to understand. God gave it to us in human language for our benefit; he didn't write it just for the fun of it and to make us look stupid!

To help us in our study we can use ….

- Books and other aids, ensuring you examine them for scriptural truth (Acts 17:10 to 11). By all means use study guides and books in your pursuit of knowledge, but don't read them as Gospel! Question and test the things you read and learn. It is only Gods words you can fully trust as 100% truth!

- Other people, such as home groups, mentors, friends and family (Acts 8:30).

- Teachers/Pastors/Elders (Rom 12:7, 1 Cor. 12:28 to 29, Eph 4:11 to 16, Heb 5:11 to 14). Don't rely on others I THINK opinions. Use a real knowledgeable teacher! Scripture cannot mean something different to different people. It must mean what God intended it to mean. Gods own interpretation. The what does it mean to me can be used in the application to your life, not to the INTENT of the scripture.

- Prayer, because the word of God is received through the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14).

How do you handle difficulties and accusations pointed at the Bible? Many so called discrepancies and difficulties are superficial and simple explanations are available but some may require a little research. You cannot be expected to be an expert on all aspects of scripture.

For example, where did Cain get his wife? Most assume that Cain and Abel were the only two children of Adam and Eve. Not so! They had another son Seth and some daughters (Gen 5:4). As another example, Matt 20:30 says that Jesus healed 2 blind men while Mark 10:46 to 47 says Jesus healed a blind man named Bartinaeus. So which is it? One or two blind men? No problem, Mark only mentions one of them and Mathew mentions both occurrences.

Misunderstanding of the context can also be a big problem. For example – I will be 33 next year but I am 31 years old at the moment. Am I a liar? No! It is now October. My 32nd birthday is in November. During the course of next year I will have my 33rd birthday. Learn to understand the context!

Incorrect information is another barrier to correct understanding. Some people say Gods word is a myth and that the story of Genesis is in error because science explains evolution. Maybe it is science that is in error and is focusing on the wrong THEORY.

In 1861 the French academy of science issued 51 scientific truths that proved the Bible incorrect. All these 51 points have since been found to be incorrect, with the Bible standing firm in truth. Can you find what these 51 points were? (Optional research project)

Some scripture can also create controversy amongst believers and non-believers. Take the following topics for example … (Note: verses quoted from the New Testament as well as the Old!)

- Homosexuals (Gen 1:27 to 31, Rom 1:21 to 32).

- Capital punishment (Gen 9:5 to 6, Exe 21:12, Rom 13:1 to 4).

- Women preachers (Tim 2:12 to 15).

Do we take these verses as they are or do we view them through our interpretation glasses and make exceptions?! If you are studying this in a group, there may even be different opinions within your group already! Everybody I am sure will have their own interpretation, supporting verses, examples and the like to support their argument.

RULE – Study and ponder Gods word, don't just browse over it.

Some basic suggestions:

- Remember the Bible is the word of God and not just a story book.

- Pray before reading.

- Don't just read but Study with intent and purpose (Psalm 1:1 to 2).

- Enjoy studying Gods word (Psalm 119:97 to 104).

- Take notes and read the Bible strategically (John 5:39), possibly using one of the many study plans available.

- There is only one interpretation for scripture – but there may be more than one application!

- Pay attention to the context, language, style, author, audience, theme, location, time etc.

- Read consistently (Acts 2:41 to 42).

Reliability of the Scriptures

When studying the scriptures, it should be understood that the Bible is not a hard-core science or history book. It is predominately a story of Gods interaction with mankind. Its scribes were acting more like theologians rather than historians, making it an incomplete historical record. The questioning of its historical accuracy is really an attack on it divine inspiration. You either believe it to be truth or to be lies. There are at least five angles to argue its authenticity:

1 - Unity and Consistency. The Bible is unique in its writing style and format. It was written over thousands of years by a great variety of men who were inspired by God. Kings, prophets, judge (Samuel), doctors (Luke), shepherd (Amos), statesman (Nehemiah), priest (Ezra), tax collector, farmer, musician, tent maker, carpenter, slave, fisherman, the educated and uneducated, the rich and the poor just to name a few. It's not humanly possible for all these diverse people speaking many different languages over thousands of years to produce such a lengthy volume that is in complete harmony, much less dealing with a topic as controversial as religion. Most of them were not aware of the details of the writings of others and some did not even fully understand what they themselves were writing! (1 Peter 1:10 to 12).

The Bible claims to be the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:16 to 21) as does the main character of Jesus. All the independently written books of the Bible proclaim this same truth. The orderly and progressive manner in which Gods plans are revealed through the successive writings in the sixty-six books over such a long period, is one of the strongest arguments for the Divine origin of the Bible. Although it was written by many different men, they all put pen to paper (so to speak) under the inspiration of God (2 Peter 1:21).

2 - Preservation. The Bible is not simply a novel! A novel tells a story and then ends. The Bible is a living word and the story never ends! Its history is accurate and its future is assured. Its accurate preservation is obviously the work of God but natural means have also had an impact. The book of Genesis for example charts a history of 2369 years between Adam and Joseph with many generations in between but with as few as 6 directly overlapping generations., making the propagation of the story easier.

Canon means measuring Rod. Canonization of the Old Testament was done during the days of Nehemiah, Haggai and Malachi. After Israel's captivity in Babylon a team of 120 men headed by Ezra were responsible for reconstruction of worship practices. It is believed it was this group of men who also performed the canonization task.

The Old Testament was written between 1446 B.C and 400 B.C and copies were reproduced by Jewish scribes using very strict reproduction rules, methods and verification process. Jesus noted how these people were so obsessed with the accuracy and preservation of the scriptures that they had forgotten the message within! (Matt 23:43). Between 280 B.C and 180 B.C the canonized Hebrew Old Testament (Masoretic text) was painstakingly translated to Greek by a team of 70 scholars in Egypt. It was called the Septuagint or LXX which means 70. A comparison of ancient Hebrew texts, the Septuagint and modern translations reveal near perfection in translation accuracy.

The Old Testament of Jesus time was complete and consisted of 22 books. Can we rely on the accurate canonization of these Old Testament books? Yes! Jesus himself accepted them as inspired scripture and quoted them many times. It is believed the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible) is Moses' accounts of early history. This belief was held by the New Testament writers as indicated by their references to the books of Moses (e.g. Mark 12:26, Luke 2:22, Acts 13:38, Acts 3:22, Romans 10:5).

Ezra is believed to have sealed the canonization of the Old Testament in 400 B.C. A lot of other texts were written but Jesus himself never questioned Ezra’s compilation.

Crucial to the preservation of the scriptures was the method by which it was recorded and passed down throughout the ages. Recording methods progressed in this basic way:

- Oral tradition. Songs, stories etc.

- Clay tablets.

- Stone. First mention of writing in the Bible is the stone 10 commandments!

- Waxed board

- Papyrus. Made from Nile papyrus reeds

- Leather. Otherwise known as parchment

- Paper, made from wood.

- Printing press, invented by Gutenberg who printed the first Bible in Latin in the 1450's.

- Electronic

Physical forms of communication recording progressed in this basic process:

- Pictorial representation, attempting to describe the intent. i.e. cave drawings

- Hieroglyphs. Very sophisticated pictorial representation. i.e. Egyptian hieroglyphics

- Cuneiform. Words formed by simple shapes instead of pictures.

- Alphabet. Invented in Canaan about 1500 B.C. Instead of 1000's of shapes representing words, they developed 25 shapes to represent sound. A spoken word was therefore represented by the different sounds it consisted of.

The spoken language of the Biblical authors also changed and progressed over time:

- Hebrew. Used 22 constantans but no vowels. Read right to left.

- Aramaic. Developed about 550 B.C. By the time of Jesus Aramaic had become the common everyday language with Hebrew used for formal occasions such as prayer and worship.

- Greek. The educational language. It has 24 letters including vowels. Read left to right.

Four major manuscripts still in existence today include the Vatican manuscript (keep at the Vatican Rome), the Sinaitic manuscript (so called because it was found at Mount Sinai and is currently housed in the British museum), the Alexandrian manuscript (also kept at the British museum) and the Ephraem manuscript (located in Paris). Do a little research into these manuscripts if you wish.

3 - Scientific Accuracy. There are many statements in the Bible which are only now being scientifically and medically proven. For many years people thought (and some still do) that the earth was flat. Isaiah 40:21 to 22 informs us that it is in fact round (hundreds of years before Columbus!).

Jeremiah 33:22 and Genesis 15:5 claim that the number of stars in the sky is uncountable. Hippocrates once estimated 1,022 stars, and Kepler later sat there one night and revised that number to a higher figure. The famous astronomer, Ptolemy, declared dogmatically that the number of stars to be exactly 1,056! Ask any scientist today and they will agree with Jeremiah – they are so numerous that they are uncountable!

Psalms 103:12 say that God has removed the sins of those who have been forgiven as far as the East is from the West. Why not from the North to the South? Because God knew that you can go east/west forever but not north or south!

Ezekiel 5:5 and 38:12 make the bold claim that Jerusalem is the centre of the world! An article posted at www.icr.org/pubs/imp/imp-002.htm describes a computer analysis of the earth’s land-masses which found the geographic centre of the world to be in Palestine, near the Holy city. Coincidence?

What is more important though – the study of God or the study of science? (Ecc 12:13).

4 - Prophetic accuracy. Successful fulfilment of prophecy is a testament to truth! (Isa 48:3 to 5, John 13:19). Gods' word never fails (John 10:35) and only fools would deny this! (2 Peter 3:5). A very large percent of the Bible consists of prophecy; in fact estimates put it at about 25%.

5 - Historical accuracy. The historical accuracy of the Old Testament is predominately based on the readers' belief in its divine inspiration; although archaeologists and historians are continuing to independently confirm its historical accuracy. For example, the excavation of Jericho has found that the walls appear to have fallen outward, which is odd considering it was invaded by the enemy from the outside!

As another example, people once accused Daniel to be incorrect when he states that Belshazzar had ruling authority in Babylon. All historical records indicated that the authority actually belonged to Nabonidus. A pie in the Christians face? Not quite so! It was recently found that Nabonidus was indeed the ruling authority but Belshazzar was the deputized ruler when the frequently travelled Nabonidus was out of town!

The Bible does not shy away from specifics of time and is full of phrases such as in the times of, after this, before that etc.

6 - Influence. The word of God has influenced culture, time, art, music, thought, government structure, morality, law, politics, education, philosophy, literature and history in general throughout the ages and continues to do so today. It has a vast testimony of lives that have changed because of it (Heb 4:12).

Contextualizing the Scriptures

It is very obvious to anybody that we are all unique individuals but at the same time we fundamentally conform to the culture around us. For example, we speak the language of our people group which to a large degree influences our way of thinking. The Bible was predominantly written in Semitic languages (such as Aramaic and Hebrew) with Greek also present in the New Testament. These languages use words differently. Westerners for example generally associate the word Heart with the symbolic location of feelings, whereas the Hebrew idea of Heart is where you think or reason. So if we notice the use of the word Heart in scripture, we should interpret its meaning in the context of the language and culture that God originally presented the message!

We are certain that God loves us and we also know that he understands us intimately. What else would the created expect from its creator! He understands all aspects of our lives and communicates to us in a way that is relevant to us and that we understand. What this means though is that when we read the scriptures we have to read it in context of the situation the people his message was given.

This contextualization should take into account factors such as:

- Science. The ancient world did not have as deep knowledge of science as we do now. Their known world was very small, yet at the same time it had no boundaries.

- Religion. Superstition and religion was a part of everyday secular life. Today we tend to separate the religious element from the routine secular life.

- Literature. We place emphasis on recording events and what happened in ordered detail. In ancient times the emphasis was on why things happened and how they related to the listener.

- Family. Ancient family ties were a lot closer than the 'individualization' of today. Because of this, Ancient people placed high importance on genealogy (with the tendency to omit unsavoury family records!)

- Change. Society changed very slowly in ancient times and stories were culturally relevant for long periods. Change occurs very rapidly now and things loose their relevancy very quickly.

- Civilization. Ancient civilizations were generally agriculturally based with emphasis on family, hospitality, elderly and the community. Our modern civilization is based on industrialism.

- Thought. Western thought is very linear with one point progressing to another. Eastern thought though can be circular in that the same point is covered many times with ever expanded detail. Western thought processes can also be very abstract with logic images existing in the head only. Eastern though is more concrete, where thought exists only when expressed in real world actions. Also, Eastern logic tends to view the world as made of discrete contrasts such as Good/Evil, Yes/No, Friend/Foe. Western logic is much more analogous with room for middle ground viewpoints such as Good/fair/neutral/bad/evil.

Saying all this though, it should be noted that all humans are basically the same, with the same core needs and desires, same bondage of sin on our lives and the same need to have a relationship with our creator. The message of love and redemption contained within the scriptures is as relevant to us today as it was thousands of years ago.

Biblical narrative (story telling) is the recounting of a series of facts involving 3 core ingredients of Setting, Characters and Events, and the establishment of some connection between them. Most of the Bible is simple narrative and is presented in 4 basic techniques/styles:

- Direct. Simple factual event recital.

- Dramatic. Putting emotion into the story.

- Descriptive. Detailed explanation of the scene, characters or events.

- Commentary. Extra explanatory information. E.g. Matt 27:33

These four styles stated above are documented with one or more of the following characteristics:

Realism - This technique involves painting an accurate picture for the reader of the setting, characters and events. An effective method of achieving this is by ensuring the story is open, honest and descriptive about details, whether they are nice, ugly, violent, embarrassing etc. Biblical stories usually focus on a range of characters with varying degrees of social standing and personalities, helping the story in relating to a broader audience. Why the element of realism? Because the stories are true and real and show God reaching down to mankind in our everyday life!

Romance/Poetry - As with all scripture, this style has the factual base of Realism, but emphasizes the feel good aspect of story telling such as adventure, love, heroes, bravery and happy endings. Romantic narrative usually involves the occurrence of miracles or the supernatural.

Dualism/Parallelism - A story of more than one message. They usually involve a simple surface message involving looking at WHAT happened. The true intention of the story, or moral of the story, though can only be fully appreciated by paying attention to WHY something happened. The parables that Jesus taught are a classic example of stories with dualism characteristics to them.

Concise - The majority of biblical stories are very brief, leaning on the usual practice of omitting insignificant detail and packing a great deal of intensity into the documented text. With some details assumed or omitted, research may be required by the reader to contextualize the story. John 19:18 is an example of concise narration. It says they crucified Christ but it gives no detail as to the process of crucifixion.

The repeating of the content of the story is a common convention of biblical narration. The use of repetition (such as the denial of Jesus 3 times by Peter) is used for various purposes such as to enhance the narration characteristics as mentioned above.

The use of archetypes (stereotypical characters and plots) such as heroes/villains, quests/journeys, tragedy/triumphs and births/deaths etc, is also used to reinforce the impact of the narration characteristic and to help the reader relate to the story.

The Bible holds deep treasures that are not easily recognizable with superficial reading. To have a revelation of the true mission of God of reclaiming humanity into a loving, caring relationship with himself, the Bible student must be capable of understanding the written content, context and literary genre.

With these tools, the Bible student will have successful further studies of the Old and New Testaments and enable you to effectively apply Gods mission in today's world.

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