Bible Design
Get
to know your Bible. It is a well-designed book. Some give up reading or
studying the Bible because they don’t know its design. There has been a
conspiracy for centuries to destroy the Bible. The war is still on. Today,
instead of burning the book, scholars discredit it. The progenitors of higher
Bible criticism teach that the Bible is the written record of wandering desert
dwellers struggling to come up with a concept of God. Just the opposite is
true.
“The Holy Bible covers three main categories:
history, prophecy and instruction from God.
“Through
history and prophecy, the Bible covers all God intended to cover of Earth and
world events from the creation on into the future and the eternity beyond. But,
in a sense, this Book of God—His revealed knowledge for His people—leaves a
most conspicuous gap in the progress of world events.
Why?
The
Bible is a sweeping—highly successful—project of God. It has preserved key
ancient historical records that would have been lost to mankind. For example,
Genesis 10 is an ancient genealogical record preserving for us the roots of
modern nations. David Noss, co-author of the book, A History of the World’s
Religions, states: “[T]he Hebrews were historical-minded, and not in any casual
or intermittent way, but steadily.”
In
its prophecies, the Bible shows us clearly that an all-powerful God is directly
carrying out a plan on Earth. That plan reveals the awesome future of man. It
is an afterlife far exceeding any expectation of a heaven. And the Bible
contains the deep spiritual wisdom and instruction that produces the wonderful
happiness that all men want.
Understand
the uniqueness of the Bible. For example, its history is not like any other. There
are gaps in the history. Not understanding why, scholars criticize the book.
Remember, the Bible is sacred history—God’s intervention in human affairs.
Discussing the gap in Bible history, for example, the Bible gives no history of
anything concerning such populous nations as China, India and Japan. None
regarding Russia except in yet future prophecy. History is concerned to the one
nation Israel, and the few other nations only as they were involved in contact
with Israel.
Why?”
(ibid.). Realize that just because major nations are not mentioned in the Bible
does not mean those nations are not important to God. The Bible is clear on
this matter. God loves the whole world (John 3:16). In terms of history, the
Bible focuses on Israel only because God’s history with that nation is an
example of what God plans to do with all nations—within His time frame.
The
Bible’s New Testament Church history is also scanty. There are four whole
books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, devoted to the biographical sketch of the
human life of Jesus, and a history of the first early years of the Church.
That’s all—except the symbolic prophecy of Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3 of the
seven eras of the Church. But even here, many shout and scream that these two
chapters are not a history of successive eras of the Church, but an account of
the seven phases of the Church as a whole, without regard to the time sequence
of periods or eras. Actually, these two chapters are depicting both. … But
otherwise, there is nothing in the Bible revealing conditions in the Church
from the first century to now.
Why?”
(ibid). Even though Church history may not be what we would like it to be, God
has provided what we need. Instead of whining about the supposed lack of
history, we should work to fully understand what God has provided. Concerning
Bible history, Mr. Armstrong concluded, “One simply cannot understand this—nor
the Bible message—unless one knows the great purpose of God and His master plan
for its accomplishment” (ibid.). Every human must come to accept how miraculous
and wonderful the Bible truly is. God purposely designed it according to His
wishes. The Bible is as a coded book. God wants to decode it for every man,
woman and child. That process can only take place for those people willing to
look into the Bible with an open, unprejudiced mind. see Part 4
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