UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES OF THE BIBLE!

in #bible7 years ago

The Bible is one of the most popular  books in the world, yet also one of the most misunderstood. But you can  unlock its mysteries with seven vital keys! 

The Bible can seem mysterious and difficult to understand.
Yet it contains the most exciting, mind-expanding information the world has ever known! If you will use these seven
keys, you can unlock the mysteries of the Bible for yourself!  You probably own a Bible. More than 100 million Bibles are sold  annually around the world. Yet, for most the book remains a mystery.  Does anyone really understand the Bible? Can you understand it? In this  article, we will discuss seven simple yet vital keys to help you unlock  the mysteries of this amazing book to your understanding. If you are a long-time reader of Tomorrow’s World, you  probably read the Bible often. But how many others do? The Barna  Research Group reported that, in 2017, nearly one-third of Americans  never interact with the Bible and only about 50 percent interact with it  at least three or four times over the course of a year. Yet the same  report says that more than half of adults wish they read the Bible more  often. Even among the religious, knowledge of the Bible is decreasing. A  2017 poll of self-declared members of the Church of England revealed  that 60 percent of them never read their Bibles. When a nation reads the word of God and practices its precepts, that  nation will prosper. But great neglect of the Bible and its teachings  will continue to produce moral decline—and eventual national  destruction. Daniel Webster, the great American statesman, gave this warning about  his nation’s future: “If there is anything in my thoughts or style to  commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early  love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the  Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and  our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell  how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in  profound obscurity” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 18). We in the Western world need to take Webster’s warning very  seriously. We need to study the Bible, and to live by it. As Jesus said,  “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word  of God’” (Luke 4:4). Only obedience to, and a love of, God’s word can lead to moral and national prosperity. Do you love the Bible? Ancient King David loved the scriptures that  were available to him. He said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a  light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). We all need that lamp and light! How can studying God’s word benefit you? First of all, we need to  understand that the Bible is the most important book in the world! It  reveals the true meaning and purpose of life. It gives principles for  true success, fulfillment and happiness. It explains why our world is in  such confusion and danger. Its prophecies reveal the future, including  the soon-coming Kingdom of God on this earth. It tells us how to prepare  for the great events to come. Scripture teaches us how to get along  with our neighbors in a godly way. And it reveals the way to life beyond  death—eternal life. We cannot afford to live without the incredible spiritual truths and benefits the Bible has to offer. Almost 20 years ago, scholar Gary M. Burge emphasized the vital role  Scripture plays in helping us discern truth from error. In a Christianity Today  article, he reminded us: “To disregard this resource—to neglect the  Bible—is to remove the chief authority on which our faith is built. We  are left vulnerable, unable to check the teachings of those who invite  us to follow” (“The Greatest Story Never Read,” August 9, 1999). We need to be grounded in sound, foundational truths! We do not dare  “remove the chief authority on which our faith is built.” The solution  to the problem is obvious. We must read the Bible! When was the last time you opened your Bible? If you are a frequent  reader of this magazine, it might have been just a few minutes ago. But  according to poll after poll, such habits are increasingly rare! Yet all  of us should read the Bible daily. Bible truths and Bible knowledge  contribute to sound-mindedness—and the world needs men, women, and  children of wholesome character and sound mental health! The Bible is a storehouse of valuable treasure. How can we reap the  treasures contained in this amazing book? Regarding true knowledge, the  Bible promises us, “If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for  hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:4–6). In this article, we will consider seven basic keys for unlocking the  Bible’s mysteries to your understanding! They will help you gain God’s  wisdom. You can grasp more clearly the amazing plan the Creator God has  for all humanity, if you use these keys to unlock vital truths of the  Bible, which relatively few understand. 

Key 1: The Bible Is a Complete Book

Many cannot truly understand the Bible because they throw out its  first 39 books—the Old Testament. Yet, when Jesus quoted Scripture, He  quoted the Old Testament. In the wilderness, during His tremendous  spiritual battle with Satan the devil, Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 when He said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God’” (Luke 4:4). That profound truth is absolutely foundational to people’s happiness—and their eternal life! The Apostle Paul, writing to the young Timothy, spoke of the genuine  faith that he saw in Timothy’s mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois.  These two virtuous women had taught Timothy the Scriptures from his  childhood. And what were those Scriptures? The first 39 books of the  Bible! The New Testament had not yet been written. As Paul reminded  Timothy, “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are  able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ  Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).  Timothy was able to understand salvation through the Old Testament  scriptures, and through accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior. The Bible is a complete book. It begins in the book of Genesis and  ends with the book of Revelation. In fact, God warns: “For I testify to  everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone  adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written  in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of  this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from  the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18–19).  Be wary of anyone who tells you that some other book is “a hidden part  of the Bible” or is “necessary for understanding the Bible.” Never forget that when Jesus taught us the two great commandments, He  quoted them from the Old Testament! The first great commandment, that  we must love God with all our heart, soul and strength, is written in Deuteronomy 6:5. The second great commandment, that you shall love your neighbor as yourself, is from Leviticus 19:18.  Jesus was not making up something new when He gave these commandments;  they are Old Testament precepts, and are commandments of God! Truly, we cannot understand God’s plan unless we study the whole  Bible as the word of God. To understand the Bible, we must read both the  Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible is God’s gift to all humanity. Do we really treasure it as  we should? If we do, we really need to study the Bible regularly. U.S.  President Abraham Lincoln made this statement about the Bible: “I  believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the  good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us through this  book” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 18). 

Key 2: The Bible Is Always Relevant

Some people believe that since the Bible was completed about 1,900  years ago, it cannot be relevant for us today. That belief is wrong! As  this magazine has demonstrated in dozens of articles over the years, not  only is the Bible relevant for us today, but its prophecies also reveal  humanity’s future and our amazing destiny. The good news is that human  beings will not completely destroy themselves. Jesus Christ will return  at the most dangerous point in human history to save us from ourselves.  Yes, we look forward to the end of this “present evil world”—the end of  this age and the beginning of a new age, which those of us behind this  magazine call “Tomorrow’s World.” Jesus said, “And this gospel of the  kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the  nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). The gospel of the Kingdom of God is always relevant! The Gallup organization discovered that 65 percent of Americans agree  that the Bible “answers all or most of the basic questions of life.”  Yes, the Bible is relevant—it does answer life’s most basic questions! In its 2017 “State of the Bible” analysis, the Barna organization  reported, “The vast majority of households [in America] own at least one  Bible (87 percent), a proportion that has stayed relatively consistent  since 2011.” In fact, even majorities of households skeptical about or  hostile to the Bible still owned one (67 percent and 62 percent,  respectively). If there are any atheists reading this article, I challenge you to  open your Bible, if you have one, and simply read it! I think you will  be amazed at the plain and solid precepts for successful living that you  will find. Do you doubt Jesus Christ? Just start reading the book of  Matthew, then read the other three accounts of His life on planet Earth  (Mark, Luke and John). Read their eyewitness testimony and evidence with  an open mind. And if you live in one of those households with three  Bibles or more, encourage every member of your family to read the Bible.  It can profoundly change your life for the better! 

Key 3: The Bible Interprets the Bible

We have discussed this key in previous articles, and it is vital.  Depending on how you count it, between one-fourth and one-third of your  Bible is prophecy. But how can you understand the symbolic language it  often uses? For example, the books of Daniel and Revelation are rich  with mysterious imagery that very few today understand. But if you  understand this vital principle, that the Bible interprets itself, you  can understand it! In previous articles, we have discussed examples of symbolism in the book of Revelation. Notice the stars mentioned in Revelation 1:20; these symbolize the angels of the seven churches. The seven lampstands symbolize the seven churches. In Revelation 17,  we read that the Apostle John saw, in vision, a beast ridden by a  harlot. John wrote, “And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which  was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” (v.  3). She is called, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS  AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (v. 5). Verse 6 declares that this  woman persecutes true Christians. How are we to understand all this? The verses that follow give us the  meaning of the symbols. Verse 12, for example, reveals the meaning of  the ten horns of the beast: “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings  who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one  hour as kings with the beast.” And verse 18 tells us: “And the woman  whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the  earth.” What city is that? To learn more about this amazing prophecy and  its relevance for our day, please request a free copy of our booklet, The Beast of Revelation: Myth, Metaphor, or Soon-Coming Reality? Write to the regional office nearest you (listed on page 4 of this magazine), or go online to TomorrowsWorld.org to read the booklet online or request that a free copy be mailed to you. Sometimes the Bible will use a symbolic word, but perhaps the  explanation is not right there in a following verse. When this occurs,  remember a fourth key: 

Key 4: Study All the Scriptures on a Topic

Bible students—and teachers—who fail to use this key often end up  believing false and misleading doctrines. Take, for example, the  controversy often described as “law or grace.” Does God’s grace mean  that a Christian can live a life of rampant sin and blatantly disobey  his Savior? Of course not! As Jesus said, “But if you want to enter into  life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Jesus then went on to mention several of the Ten Commandments. Remember, the Bible does not contradict itself. Jesus said, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).  God’s grace does not give us permission to transgress God’s law. The  Apostle Jude warned about false teachers who would “pervert the grace of  our God into a license for immorality” (Jude 4, NIV). As the Anchor Bible Dictionary  states, “Paul clarified that God’s grace brings liberty from sin and  not liberty to sin” (“Antinomianism,” Vol. 1, p. 263). You can read this  for yourself in Romans 6:1–2. Some careless Bible students wrongly take Ephesians 2:15  to mean that God’s Ten Commandments and His moral law are done away for  Christians. That verse reads: “having abolished in His flesh the  enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” But  if we look closely at that verse, we see that the word translated as  “ordinances”—which is dogma, in the Greek—refers to the  man-made laws which many Jews of Jesus’ day had used to cause division  between themselves and Gentiles. The principle is to study all the  Bible’s references on a topic, so we can be sure we understand it.  Notice what the authors of the NIV Study Bible have written about that verse. “Since Mt. 5:17 and Ro. 3:31  teach that God’s moral standard expressed in the Old Testament law is  not changed by the coming of Christ, what is abolished here is probably  the effect of the specific ‘commandments and regulations’ in separating  Jews from Gentiles, whose nonobservance of the Jewish law renders them  ritually unclean.” Remember our first key to unlocking your Bible: “The Bible Is a Complete Book.” The NIV Study Bible  comment is consistent with this principle, recognizing that Christ  fulfilled—rather than abolished—the same law that He, as the God of the  Old Testament, had proclaimed (Exodus 20; 1 Corinthians 10:1–5). Study the scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments of your  Bible. Then, to be sure you have a clear grasp of Bible truths, be sure  you have understood all the scriptures on the topic you are studying.  When you do that diligently and honestly, you will often find that the  “mainstream” teaching on a topic does not match what the Bible actually  says. 

Key 5: Understand the Context

When you study all the scriptures on a topic, go a little further.  Read all the scriptures around a verse you are studying. For example,  some mistakenly believe that the Jerusalem Conference in Acts 15  abolished the Ten Commandments for the Gentiles. But notice the Apostle  James’ decision: “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those  from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to  them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality,  from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:19-20). When the Apostles specified these four prohibitions, did that free  the Gentiles to sin in other ways? Could they transgress the commandment  that says, “You shall not kill”? Or that, “You shall not have other  gods before the true God”? Of course not! The Apostles in no way  repealed the moral law of God. To understand this, we need to read and  understand the context of these verses. What was the main question in  dispute? “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren,  ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot  be saved’” (Acts 15:1). The issue in Acts 15 was circumcision. The Jerusalem Conference  decided that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised in order to be  saved. The Apostle Paul later wrote to the Corinthian Gentiles,  “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the  commandments of God is what matters” (1 Corinthians 7:19). Does this challenge your preconceived ideas about this verse and its  meaning? Too often, preachers avoid sound explanation of Scripture in  order to focus on emotional and devotional perspectives that are  incomplete. As commentator Burge wrote in his above-mentioned Christianity Today  article, “Historical exegesis is fast becoming a lost art in the  pulpit. Rather than explaining the historical setting of the passage,  texts become springboards for devotional reflection. Biblical passages  are taken out of context as the preacher searches for those stories that  evoke the responses or attitudes desired.” Be sure to understand the context by reading all the scriptures  around whatever verses you are studying. Use this key to understanding  the Bible, and you can avoid the pitfall Burge describes. 

Key 6: Prove All Things

We often challenge our readers to open their Bibles and check up on  what we write. Do not take for granted what we publish in this magazine.  Read it in your own Bible. Christians are admonished: “Test all things;  hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Or: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (KJV). Notice the attitude of the Bereans, who are commended for their  positive, investigative attitude in reading the Scriptures. “These were  more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the  word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out  whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). One way of testing, or proving, is to practice the principles and  precepts of the Bible. Jesus emphasized that we must live by the Bible,  by “every word of God.” He said, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’  and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).  You can prove and test the Bible by practicing its instructions. That  is how you can have a good understanding. We read: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments” (Psalm 111:10). Perhaps you have heard teachers talk about “learning by doing”? This principle also applies in your Christian life. 

Key 7: Pray for Understanding

This key is the foundation on which the first six keys rest. The  Bible emphasizes that we need a teachable attitude. Ancient King David  was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Notice David’s teachable attitude in praying for understanding. “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:4–5). Remember to pray for understanding as you read and study your Bible.  Pray for guidance. God blesses those who respect the Scriptures and  reverence His holy word. Almighty God states, “But on this one will I  look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at  My word” (Isaiah 66:2). The Bible is the most important book in the world. If you have  neglected reading the Bible, now is the time to change. Read it daily.  If your attitude is right, you will be greatly blessed and your life  will be changed. As Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are  spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). The Bible is not only a book for today, but it is also the book of  the future! As Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My  words will by no means pass away” (Luke 21:33). Thank God that He has shared with us His awesome spiritual truth, and the very purpose of life.