We began a fundamental study of the Bible in the last lesson, and
we will be laying foundation in this lesson.
The twenty-four books of the Hebrew Canon are actually the same
as the thirty-nine that we recognize. They just group many of the
prophets into one book.
The early Christians did not accept the Apocrypha (the books
written between Malachi and Matthew) as part of the inspired Scripture
and most Bibles today do not include them.
The authorized King James Version of the Bible which we will use
for our text book was translated over 350 years ago. We will not go
into the technicalities of the translating of the literal point of
view as much as the spiritual.
Many religious people of the world today do not recognize any of
the Bible except the first five books, (The Pentateuch or Torah).
For our study here. I will explain from the very beginning that I
believe that the entire 66 books of the Bible, Old and New Testament,
are the inspired (God breathed) Word of God.
The Old Testament is pointing forward to the birth of Jesus
Christ. The Old Testament "prophetic books" and the New Testament is
speaking of the second coming of Christ and the culmination of the
ages.
Galatians 3:24 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring
us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Galatians 3:25
"But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."
You see the Old Testament was given so we would realize our
need for a Saviour.
We will get into more of the historical things as we progress
with the lessons.
"Genesis" means beginnings. This book was believed to have been
written by Moses. Genesis is the first book of the Pentateuch or law.
The word Pentateuch means five books.
These five books of Moses are really a collection of books of the
Old Testament. The history of a nation (Hebrew) is traced throughout
the Old Testament, until the prophetic writers and the history of the
followers of Jesus Christ, are briefly presented in the Acts of the
Apostles. The Old Testament ends with the prophetic books, and the New
Testament also ends with a book of prophecy. You see, God believes in
order, and His Book is a very good example of that order.
The first statement in Genesis "In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth" tells so much. We realize from this statement
that there was nothing before God. He is the Eternal One. It tells us
that God is all powerful.
The statement "In the beginning" lets us know for sure that
nothing existed before God. He is the great "I Am".
This statement denies the belief of many gods. It denies
the theory of ultimately becoming God. It denies the evolution where
things just evolve.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" lets us
know that we must not worship nature because it was created. We must
worship the Creator not His creation.
In John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God." John 1:2 "The same was in the beginning
with God." John 1:3 "All things were made by him; and without him was
not any thing made that was made."
You see by this that God the Father's plans were carried out by
God the Word (Jesus).
Now, if you will look with me, we will see that there is, was,
and always will be three. I John 5:7 "For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these
three are one."
You see in St. John 4:24 We read in Jesus' own words, because it
is written in red in the Bible. "God [is] a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth."
You see the Spirit is one, but there are three manifestations
(embodiments) of that Spirit.
The very purpose of this particular study is to try to understand
the spiritual message that is in the Bible. We have a tendency to
confuse the physical with the spiritual, but we must train ourselves
to look beyond the literal and into the spiritual. If God is Spirit,
as His word says, then He wrote His Bible from a spiritual standpoint.
Time is of no essence in the spiritual world. That is why this
Bible lives on and is current to everyone of us today. In II Peter 3:8
We read "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day
[is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day."
You see God is not so concerned with the literal as He is in
getting His point understood.
We, too, are a spirit and our spirit and the Spirit of God are
what makes us like God.
Let's go back now and look again at Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth."
You see by this one statement that God is the Creator. Satan is a
destroyer, God is the Creator.
So many people today are concerned about the earth, and how it is
being destroyed. this is the work of Satan.
The earth and the heaven did not just evolve. They were a creation
of God. God created both from nothing. The carnal mind cannot accept
this statement. but if you have trouble believing this, you should not
continue this Bible study, because this one statement is the
foundational rock for the entire study.
This sentence "In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth" is the greatest miracle ever performed. If we believe this one
statement, we should have no difficulty in believing the rest. Our
carnal minds believe only the things we can see, but our spirits cry
out for the supernatural.
In Hebrews 11:1-3 We read about the difference between the
literal and the spiritual. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:2 "For
by it the elders obtained a good report." Hebrews 11:3 "Through faith
we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that
things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
You see, the Bible itself explains to us that this did not just
appear, but God spoke them into existence.
Scientist can go back so far, but no further with their findings.
They, too, like us, are the created and must look to the Creator as
the source of everything.
In Acts 17:28 "For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his
offspring."
In the Words "In the beginning" there is quite a play of words.
You see it does not say at the beginning, which is more specific. The
word "In" means surrounded by, so you see this, too, is a Spiritual
word. Surrounded by the beginning God created.
It is difficult for the carnal mind to understand something or
someone who has no beginning and no end. This very God that we are
speaking of has no end. He created us on a time table here on this
earth. But when we leave this earth, time will not be important any
longer for us either, for we shall slip into eternity with God.
In Revelation 10:6 "And sware by him that liveth for ever and
ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the
earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things
which are therein, that there should be time no longer:"
As we go into this study, please take note of the following
numbers and their meaning. I am not a numerologist and do not intend
to bring that teaching, but a spiritual message lies in some of the
numbers. The following are some I would like to take some special note
of:
1 - the unity of God 2 - agreement
3 - the plurality of God or God 4 - universal
5 - grace 6 - man
7 - spiritually complete 8 - new beginnings
10 - world government
12 - representative of the whole
40 - time of testing
There are many other numbers and all have a spiritual
significance. but these will be used several times in this study, and
I think it wise for us to be familiar with their spiritual meaning.
Also there are several metals which will be predominate in them.
Silver - redemption
gold - purity of God
brass or bronze - judgement
The three colors that are known as Godly colors are:
red - blood or life
blue - heavenly
purple - royalty
Also:
white speaks of purity or cleanliness or righteousness
wood speaks of worldly
seas are sometimes symbolic of peoples
As we go on, I will try to bring out through the guidance of the
Holy Spirit of God many more of the spiritual meanings.
My experience, in studying the word, has been that the more I
study and read the Scriptures, the more God reveals to me. Don't feel
badly if you need to read a particular Scripture eight or ten times
before you really grasp the meaning. God, the Holy Spirit, is our
teacher and will bring us to the knowledge of God if we do not faint.
St. John 14:26 tells us that our teacher is the Holy Ghost, "But
the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in
my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
So you can easily see the three in the above Scripture. Father,
Holy Ghost, and the He, (in the Scripture above) is Jesus Christ (the
Word), because the Scripture again is written in red.
