The Origin Series: A Bible Study About the Bible
Have you ever picked up your Bible and looked at it in wonder? After all, what you are holding in your hands is a product of the supernatural—a book inspired by the living God, written thousands of years ago by specifically chosen men, and printed or reproduced on any number of different mediums.
We are going to make a comprehensive study of the book. Ironically enough, we’re making a comprehensive study of the Bible itself. This series is not designed to be a teaching of what is in the Bible, for the most part anyway, but rather a study of how the Bible came to be and how it speaks to each person individually.
Of course, scripture is fundamentally essential and at the core of Bible study, and we do address that here. However, it is the book itself that we are going to focus on. There are excellent Bible scholars, pastors, and ministries out there that will be able to fulfill that need much better than we can. That is their mission: to teach what is in the Bible.
Here, we are going to talk about how you can best understand the book—or more correctly, a collection of books—and apply their message to your life.
Understanding the Bible’s Multifaceted Nature
This may sound a bit confusing. Aren’t they all one and the same? But when you look deeper, you will discover that the Bible is a wondrous book that reaches us in many different ways. We think it is important for you to know the how and why. The Bible is the living word of God and has the ability to reach so many people from every walk of life all across the planet.
In keeping with our overall mission—that of eschatology—we feel that before any intellectually sound discussion about the end times, Second Coming, or Armageddon (or whatever else one might wish to call it) can begin, we need to understand where all of our information originated. What is our source material? The obvious answer is, of course, the Bible: God’s authoritative word to us, His children.
Chances are very good that you have, at some point, read or been exposed to the Bible. It is, after all, the very foundation of God’s message to us as Christians. But when you think about it, it’s also a message for the nonbeliever. When taken in its totality, we find that the Bible quite intentionally serves many different purposes.
The Many Purposes of Scripture
The Bible is a history lesson. It’s prophetic in nature and word. It provides life examples for healthy living and loving relationships. It’s a non-fiction mystery. It comforts us in times of need, and most importantly, it is the ultimate textbook—a teaching beyond the natural.
The Bible speaks to each person in a very direct and unique way. God’s message is part roadmap and part final destination guide. It is a book for the earthly and from the supernatural. At times, it confounds us. At others, it grips our hearts with sadness or fear and can invoke anger and outrage. Thankfully, the Bible can also bring tears of joy, peace in the spirit, and instill in us a sense of hope. It is an embodiment of the human experience.
With that in mind, no discussion of eschatology—the study of last things—can be had about the end times without a solid grasp on the Bible. First, we all need to be on the same page, both literally and to one degree or another, theologically.
The Supremacy and Mystery of God’s Word
The Bible reigns supreme amongst all books ever written, and most probably ever to be written in the future. Sure, God could surprise us at some point. Look what He did between the Old and New Testaments: He gave to us the Son in the flesh to proclaim the good news from His very lips.
What’s relevant to us now is the Bible as we know it. And this then begs the question: what do we really know about the Bible?
One of the things I could never really wrap my head around was how or why, if we are all reading the same Bible, there is such contrast in what we believe. As Christians, I would think this would be an easy get. It’s all right there, written down in English or whatever language you are fluent in, and yet there is much disagreement and interpretation, debate on context, and in most cases, the controversy can often be attributed to nothing more than denominational dogma.
The Core of Christian Faith
As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament prophets, that He lived and died on the cross, was risen, and is the blood sacrifice for our redemption. He is our Lord and Savior.
We will talk extensively about all of the doctrinal beliefs for Christianity, but that one is the biggie. Everything boils down to Jesus and His role in our salvation to stand before God, redeemed and worthy of His love.
Today in America and around the world, there are literally thousands of different Christian churches, all seeming to compete for which version and what gospel is the true word of God. Amongst a multitude of denominations, various Bibles, and segregated belief systems, the Christian church is quite literally a smorgasbord, catering to individual tastes for what one person or another wants their brand of faith to look like.
And while all of this branding of religion goes on, there are a number of churches that aren’t really Christian at all. They teach a false doctrine under the guise of Christianity. We’ll take a look at some of these churches, and you may be surprised to learn just what they are preaching. We’re going to talk about that too. I can pretty much guarantee you’re going to learn a thing or two as we go down that path.
What We’ll Explore Together
Throughout our talks on the Bible and in our fiction series Blood Moons and The Crown, we most certainly will devote attention to the scriptural applications of God’s message. We will take an in-depth theological look at how this book, God’s Holy Word, written and presented over a considerably long period of time, came to be.
We will look at the language—or languages—of the Bible, not only when it was written, but how those languages have been interpreted over millennia and what has changed. Discussion will be necessary when it comes to the various historical accounts of what we know versus what we think we know, or what can be extrapolated based on things like archeological evidence and associated writings of the time.
There will be the question of who actually wrote the books we are so familiar with today. What about the various councils, made up of what are often referred to as the early church fathers? Did they truly decide what books to include in the canon, which were apocryphal, and which were hearsay or heresy, or had dubious authorship or were downright fraudulent?
You may be surprised by the answer. I’ll give you a teaser: many of the books we find in the Bible were long in use and accepted as teachings before—long before—councils were formed to decide canon.
The Transformative Power of Scripture
And then we will have some fun and enter into a discussion on theological supposition: how the Bible’s mysteries or supernatural qualities manifest themselves in ways that really are not apparent until you either see them happening over time or in some dramatic way experience them for yourself. This is where testimony comes into play, where the Bible has changed lives overnight or perhaps after years. It’s transformative in nature.
Here’s something about the Bible that you may not have heard before: The Bible is different for everyone who reads it. Find that shocking? How about this? We believe that it is different every time you read it.
Our Approach and Methodology
Before we go any further, we want to see the stage set for pretty much everything we have to say in this work. When it comes to the who, what, how, when, and where questions about the Bible, all of those are addressed without bias. Our views are based on a variety of measured Biblical criticisms—factually, or as close to factual as we can get—based on evidence of record or some sort of physical documentation and/or archeological finding. We have worked hard to present a direct accounting free from any one particular or collective Christian belief system. In other words, we are not supporting or challenging any denominational practices or beliefs.
At times, we will offer some thoughts about the Bible that are not a part of the research. Don’t worry, there will be a clear line when we reach any of these crossovers. These are our personal thoughts, opinions, and ultimately the beliefs at the time we put this together. One of the greatest things about the Bible is that we are always learning something new, and in so doing, we may discover a deeper understanding or perspective.
An Honest Disclaimer
We tell you freely and without reservation that we don’t know all the answers to some of the questions that might be asked—those questions that are not spelled out in the Bible because God wanted it that way, the mystery of the Bible. We do not know all the answers, and if anyone tells you they do, that they are somehow privy to God’s understanding of the universe, timelines, plans, and mysteries—run.
We will talk about the things we believe. Our thoughts are based on our perceptions, perspective, experiences, and steadfast faith in the Christ Jesus, and of course, the Bible. Critical thinking allows us to question everything, and when paired with our perspective, this serves as the catalyst for seeking understanding. In time, that experience formulates our beliefs.
Join Us on This Journey
Thanks for joining us, and hopefully you have found something here that has provided you with spiritual food for thought. We invite you to search these topics further and come to your own conclusions. Get into your Bible and pray for wisdom, and while you’re doing that, we will pray for you.