Tips to Understand The Bible

Friends, here are some important tips to keep in mind as you read, study and meditate on Bible scriptures.

1. Two Broad Audiences: Keep in mind God’s promises and predictions in The Bible are, first, for His angels, the spiritual representation of His Spirit, to hear and to bring them into being in their designated timeframes (Psalm 103:20); and second, for mankind to hear, believe and embrace them, as appropriate.*

2. Three Human Categories: Keep in mind God’s audience categorical outline for organizing His Word and the world events that it predicts, and that His angels orchestrate. The three human categories are:

     A. The post flood Gentile Nations of the world, stemming from Noah’s three sons

     B. Israel, His chosen heritage through which His Word, in writing (The Bible) and in flesh (Jesus), are delivered into the world; and the small remnant of Israel that will be saved

     C. The Church, the small remnant of the Gentile Nations of the world that will be saved

3. Two Final Objectives: Keep in mind the penultimate and ultimate objectives of The Bible and all world events are the promised, namely, (a) the Millennial Reign of Christ on Earth and then (b) the subsequent two Eternity Experiences that will follow (Heaven on a new Earth, and hell, death, all devils and all unrepentant sinners cast into the eternal lake of fire, located somewhere on this new Earth). (Correlate Isaiah 66:24 and Revelation 20:14-15, keeping in mind folks in Isaiah's day had no concept of immortal folks spending eternity in an eternal lake of fire!!!)

4. Rightly Dividing: The concept of ‘rightly dividing the Word of Truth’ speaks to more than just understanding the differences between the major Old and New Covenants/Testaments, or other minor covenants mentioned in the Old Testament. It also speaks to understanding which and how these Truths relate to the categories above, especially the two, small remnant groups.It also speaks of recognizing the socio-cultural context of the contents, what applied only that that particular time, versus what is a general principle for Christian living. Other ways The Word of Truth can be divided are: linear historical, evolving (drip, drip) prophetic insights, unfolding ages foci, earthly versus eternal,  pre- versus post-Christ, religious versus spiritual, etc., etc.

5. Missed Church Age: Though God promised to extend His salvation to the Gentile nations of the world (to be accomplished during what we call The Church Age), the Old Testament Jews largely misunderstood, ignored and failed to integrate this into their thinking. They perceived themselves as ‘The’ chosen and favored people, to the exclusion of all others. Hence, much of the Jewish experiences recorded in the Old Testament have a large ‘blind spot’ on this promise.

6. Roles of Two Remnant Groups: God always knew there would only be two small remnant groups of peoples from Israel and the Gentile nations of the world (the Church) who would have saving faith toward Him through His Word promises. He also intended fairly distinct roles for these two remnant groups to play, as immortals, in facilitating His penultimate and ultimate objectives -- Christ’s Millennial Reign, and the subsequent two eternity experiences. Understanding these predicted roles, explained below, should greatly enhance your reading, studying and meditation of The Bible. It should also enable you to perceive God’s hand in driving current world events toward His two ultimate objectives. Finally, it could possibly help you to imagine and perceive how your life experiences might fit in during the Millennial Reign.

     Israel: From the start, Israel was intended to be a ‘nation of priests and a holy (separated) nation’ unto God, geographically based in The Promised Land until we're all (saints and sinners alike) are on the promised new, eternal Earth! (Exodus 19:6, Deuteronomy 26:19, 1 Peter 2:9. See: Earth's Next Versions (Series) ). The in-and-out yo-yo experiences the Jews have had with this land have never detracted God from His original plan – the Grace into which they have been called. His long promised and current day moves to re-gather them back into The Land is merely a set-up for achieving His two above-noted objectives. Thus, during the Millennial Reign of Christ, it is fairly safe to conclude the Jewish remnant group (both the immortal saints, and mortal survivors of the apocalypse) will be based in Jerusalem and throughout the huge expanse of the geographic Promised Land, serving as a holy (separated) nation’ of priests unto God. This ‘forever Grace’ to which this remnant is called, and that will extend throughout eternity, is intended to remind God and both remnant groups of the people (Jews and Gentiles) to which He extended His salvation, in Christ, to the world at large.

     The Church: From the start, The Church (writ large) has been called out from, then sent back into The Gentile nations of the world as a forever testimony of God’s great Grace extended to, but largely rejected by those nations. Perhaps in some ways similar to the Jews, we, too, have had our own yo-yo experiences, walking in-and-out of the Graces to which we have been called. Thus, since we are called out from, and then sent back into (as witnesses to) The Gentile nations of the world, it is fairly safe to conclude, during the Millennial Reign of Christ, the Gentile remnant group (then as immortals) will be scattered throughout the Gentile nations, facilitating Christ’s worldwide kingship by serving as His sub-kings (i.e., vassal rulers over nations, regions, cities, communities, etc. -- across the full structure of civic governance on Earth). We will also serve as relevant kingdom administrators over mortals in nations who will have survived the tribulation period, and over their offspring who will re-populate the Earth over the thousand year period. After the Great White Throne judgment, the ‘forever Grace’ to which the Church is called, and which will extend throughout eternity, is to remind God and both remnant groups that His saving Grace was indeed extended to all mankind. (NB: I include in the term, Church, to include all pre-cross Gentile saints from the 1st and 2nd ages of history.)

Voila! With this, the notion of who will likely be ‘kings vs. priests unto our God’ should take on a much clearer signification. The Old Testament affirms these roles were always separate! (Revelation 1:6 and 5:10)

7. Prayer and Meditation: Prayer and meditation are crucial to understand Scripture. This helps to turn down the volume of our carnal minds and tune our spirit into God's frequencies, by His Spirit. As you pray and meditate the Scriptures, reflect on this:

--Though presently categorized into 66 distinct books with hundreds and thousands of ‘chapters and verses’, respectively, and penned through many writers, they are authored by one Mind and Spirit and to convey to us the synoptic message of The Lord's multi-millennial strategic plan for mankind, beginning with a 6 ages  sojourn on this, the first earth, and followed by an eternal presence on a brand new second earth. (See: Human History Ages (Series))

--They are to be read as God’s very intimate and personal message to you, Reader, not simply a historical or poetic record of days gone by. Reading Scriptures with this mindset, opens the floodgates for personal revelations and insights applicable to your specific, evolving contexts. With this, you will develop the ability to walk in your own John 5:19 experiences. (Look it up~)

Conclusions:

Born-again Christians, in light of the above, as you read, study and meditate various passages of The Bible, it is helpful to ask yourself:

1. To which category is this aspect (scripture passage you are reading) of God’s Truth addressed?

2.  How does it correlate to/with the other categories not directly addressed?

3.  What does it signify for me personally?

4.  What might it signify for our world today, especially in preparation for the worlds to come, namely, the Millennial Reign of Christ on Earth and the subsequent two eternity experiences that will follow (the glorified versus the damned zones of the new Earth)? (See: Earth's Next Versions (Series))

For readers who are not born-again Christians, through repentance of sins and faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, please note: The Bible is quintessentially a spiritual book, with a spiritual message that cannot be discerned by the carnal mind. It can only be understood as The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of your understanding, beginning with His re-birth experience. May this post spark your interest in Bible principles, patterns, promises and prophecies in a fresh light. Moreover, may The Spirit of God seed deeply within your spirit, a desire to know Him, and to be known by Him as His son, not just His creation. Sonship is what He desires of all mankind. Blessings as you ponder.

For all readers, The Bible is Heaven’s corporate, composite, cross-generational message to human beings, cutting across the evolution of human history -- His multi-millennial plan for humanity. As such, God uses a wide range of societal norms to convey His spiritual points (e.g., including slavery, inequity between the sexes, various forms of governments, financial, economic, scientific, medical, penal, matrimonial, etc. contexts). Thus it would be folly to read The Bible simply from the vantage point of our modern day views and perspectives on what we today hold as sensitive acceptable and non-acceptable topics. Such topics naturally morph over time.  

All comments are welcomed and appreciated. Please share this post widely. Thanks~

----------

* It is simplistic and erroneous to think all of God’s promises/predictions are for mankind ‘to obey’. Consider predictions concerning the fall of Babylon, the ruin of Damascus, the birth of Jesus, the merciless killing of Jewish babes by Pharaoh and King Herod, etc. Across the pages and ages of The Bible, the Lord makes clear promises to both the righteous and the un-righteous. He then gives us tailored EXAMPLES of both, making for a rather thick manuscript! Hahah