L E A D E R’ S B O O K

Servant And Leadership Training

April, 2002

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 TABLE of CONTENTS

A Note to Readers........................................................................................................................... 3
I. Introduction to Studying the Bible .............................................................................................. 4
A. Authority of the Bible............................................................................................................. 5
B. Discovering the Original, Intended Meaning of Scripture...................................................... 6
C. Discovering the Meaning and Application of the Verses (to our Present Situation).............. 7
II. Revelation and Response ........................................................................................................... 7
III. The Preservation of the Bible ................................................................................................... 9
IV. The Story of the Bible – God’s Eternal Plan of Salvation........................................................ 9
V. Personal Quiet Time – Bible Reading and Prayer ................................................................... 12
VI. Types of Personal Bible Study ............................................................................................... 13
A. Devotional Bible Study......................................................................................................... 13
B. Study for Bible Knowledge .................................................................................................. 14
VII. The Chapter Study Method ................................................................................................... 19
VIII. Family Bible Study .............................................................................................................. 20
IX. Principles of Bible Interpretation............................................................................................ 22
X. Divisions of the Old and New Testaments............................................................................... 25
A. Old Testament Narratives ..................................................................................................... 25
B. Old Testament Law (please refer to “Believer’s Lifestyle” for more discussion on the Ten
Commandments, the Messiah’s relationship to the law, and our relationship to the law.) ....... 27
C. Hebrew Poetry ...................................................................................................................... 29
D. Wisdom Literature ................................................................................................................ 30
E. Old Testament Prophecy ....................................................................................................... 33
F. The Gospels........................................................................................................................... 36
G. The Acts of the Apostles....................................................................................................... 41
H. New Testament Letters ......................................................................................................... 42
I. The Revelation ....................................................................................................................... 45
XI. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 47
APPENDIX A – One Year Bible Reading Plan ........................................................................... 49
APPENDIX B – Three Year Chapter Study Plan......................................................................... 52
APPENDIX C – Questions about Context ................................................................................... 53
APPENDIX D – Special Problems in Interpretation .................................................................... 55
APPENDIX E – Prophets of Israel and Judah .............................................................................. 57
APPENDIX F – Important Dates in Old Testament History........................................................ 58

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 A Note to Readers

The word “hermeneutics” means the science and art of Bible interpretation. Or it could
be defined as the principles and methods used to interpret Scripture.

Correct Bible interpretation should answer the question “How can I understand what this
particular passage means?” Because there are rules that we use in Bible interpretation,
we call it a “science.” Because knowing the rules is not enough, it is also an “art.” There
must be practice in order to learn how to use the rules of interpretation.

The question of how to interpret the Bible is not a minor issue. Through study of
Scripture we learn who Jesus is and are enabled to become like Him. How can we
become like Him if we do not know what He is like? Devotional studies are important,
but they must result from a serious study of the Word. The apostle Paul prayed that the
Colossians might be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding” (Colossians 1:9).

Knowing Scripture as well as obeying it are the two foundations of a godly life. A godly
life produces the further desire to study God’s Word. If Bible interpretation is done
properly, then the student goes from study to application and then back to study. This is
like a continuing spiral toward the Lord.

One final word about this book should be said. Another definition of “hermeneutics” is
the following:

“The science of Bible interpretation which involves the establishment and recognition of
principles which govern the practice of exegesis. “Exegesis” is the study of the text of
Scripture in order to bring out the correct meaning. This is different from the error of
“eisegesis,” which is reading a meaning into the text.

Thus, as we study God’s precious Word, we want to learn what the Word is saying – to
“bring out” the correct meaning. We do not want to wrongly interpret the Holy Scriptures
by reading “into them” our own thoughts and ideas that may not be correct.

My prayer for you is that through the study of this book, you will be better equipped to
study God’s Word. As you diligently study the Scripture may the Lord richly bless your
life – as you truly become His disciple and His student.

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 BIBLE INTERPRETATION

I. Introduction to Studying the Bible

The Bible is the greatest book ever written. In it God Himself speaks to men. It is a book
of divine instruction. It offers comfort in sorrow, guidance in perplexity, advice for our
problems, rebuke for our sins and daily inspiration for our every need.

The Bible is not simply one book. It is an entire library of books covering the whole
range of literature. It includes history, poetry, drama, biography, prophecy, philosophy,
science and inspirational reading. Little wonder, then, that all or part of the Bible has
been translated into more than 1200 languages, and every year more copies of the
Bible are sold than any other single book.

The Bible alone truly answers the greatest questions that men of all ages have asked:
• “Where have I come from?”
• “Where am I going?”
• “Why am I here?”
• “How can I know the truth?”

The Bible reveals the truth about God, explains the origin of man, points out the only
way to salvation and eternal life, and explains the age-old problem of sin and suffering.

The great theme of the Bible is the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and His work of
redemption for mankind. The person and work of Jesus the Messiah are promised,
prophesied and pictured in the types and symbols of the Old Testament. In all of His
truth and beauty, the Lord Jesus is revealed in the Gospels. The full meanings of His
life, His death and His resurrection are explained in the Letters. His glorious coming
again to earth in the future is unmistakably foretold in the Book of Revelation. The great
purpose of the written Word of God, the Bible, is to reveal the living Word of God, Jesus
the Messiah (read John 1:1–18).

Here are seven great things that the study of the Bible will do for us:

1. The Bible discovers sin and convicts us.

2. The Bible helps cleanse us from the pollution of sin.
3. The Bible imparts strength.
4. The Bible instructs us in what we are to do.
5. The Bible provides us with a sword for victory over sin.
6. The Bible makes our lives fruitful.
7. The Bible gives us power to pray.

You do not need a whole library of books to study the Bible. The Bible is its own best
commentator and interpreter. All you will need is a willing heart and openness to the
leadership of the Holy Spirit. With the help of this study course, may this be the
beginning of a wonderful lifetime of the study of the Word of God for you.

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The benefits of the Bible are much greater than one could even imagine. Look at some
of the benefits that David, the writer of Psalm 19, lists:

• “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

• The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
• The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
• The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
• (Psalm 19:7-8)

Did you see the four benefits he mentioned? God uses His Word to revive us, to give us
wisdom, to make us joyful, and to open our eyes spiritually. However, for us to obtain
these benefits, we must read, study, understand and obey God's message.

The Bible is the Word of the Almighty, Creator God to each of us. He gave it for our
benefit. Our greatest need is to know God. In the Bible, God tells us about Himself. He
tells us what He is like. He tells us what we are like and why we need salvation. He tells
us how we can be saved. He tells us how He deals with people. He tells us His purpose
for our lives. He tells us how we can grow spiritually and know Him better and better. He
tells us His overarching plan for all of history.

Paul reminded Timothy of some benefits of scripture. He said that the scripture makes
us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus the Messiah. He continued with the words:

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-16)

Paul's words to Timothy tell us that the Bible comes from God. They tell us that He uses
scripture to make us into fully equipped ministers for Him. But, for that to happen, we
must become serious, disciplined students of the Bible. We must obey its teachings.
When we do that, God will use His living and active Word to speak to us, to judge us
and to transform us. He will use it to accomplish His purpose in and through our lives.

You have just read a number of answers to the question, "Why study the Bible?" There
are some things we must do to study the Bible effectively. Stop now and write two or
three reasons why you want to learn how to study the Bible.

We are studying this book to learn how to properly study and interpret God’s Word. We
shall learn some Bible study methods that will help us to systematically study God’s
Word and then be able to teach other believers to do the same thing.

A. Authority of the Bible

The authority of the Bible follows naturally from its inspiration. It is implied by its title,
“the Word of God.” It is the written record of the Word of God that came to prophets,
apostles and other spokesmen, and the Word of God “became flesh” in Jesus the
Messiah. Believers thus realize that the Messiah was the Word of God in a unique

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sense. Through Jesus, God communicated the perfect revelation of Himself to mankind
(Hebrews 1:1–3).

For believers, the authority of the Bible is related to the authority of Jesus. The Old
Testament was the Bible that Jesus used—the authority to which He made constant
appeal and whose teachings He followed and proclaimed. When Jesus was arrested in
the Garden of Gethsemane and led away to His execution, He submitted with the
words, “The Scriptures must be fulfilled” (Mark 14:49). He saw His mission in the world
as a fulfillment of the predictions of the Old Testament.

The New Testament presents the record of Jesus’ birth, life, teachings, death and
resurrection in the four gospels. Then follows Acts - a narrative of the beginning of the
Christian church. This tells of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the story of the
extension of the gospel and the planting of the church during the following generation.
Then the New Testament contains the letters and teachings of Jesus’ apostles and
other early disciples as they applied the principles of His teaching and redemptive work
to their lives. The New Testament ends with the prophecy of the glorious return of Jesus
as is written in the Revelation.

B. Discovering the Original, Intended Meaning of Scripture

Our first Bible study task is to discover the original meaning God intended when He
inspired the passage. That means we must understand what the Bible words meant to
the people who first wrote and first heard them.

God’s Word is eternally true. His truths never change. However, He gave His truths
through real people and to real people who lived over a 1500 year period in human
history. He spoke to them in their own language and culture about their own situations.
This assures us that His Word will speak to us in our own situation. It has done so
throughout the history of His people.

However, we do not always automatically understand the meaning of what God said to
the people who first wrote and read or heard the Bible. The language we speak, the
culture in which we live, the circumstances and customs of our daily lives are different
from theirs. Our history, geography and economics are not the same as theirs.

Because God spoke to and through real people, the Bible reflects their language,
culture, customs, history, geography and economics. Since our situation is different than
theirs was, it is sometimes hard for us to understand what God was saying to them. To
understand what He is saying to us, we must first understand what He was saying to
them. Therefore, we must carefully and systematically study the Scripture to discover
the meaning God intended for the people who first heard His Word. We should always
work to understand the original, intended meaning of every verse.

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 C. Discovering the Meaning and Application of the Verses (to our Present Situation)

A Bible passage cannot mean what it never meant. So we must understand what the
scripture passage meant to the people who wrote and who first read it in order to
understand what the Bible means for us today. When we understand the original,
intended meaning, we can understand how to apply the passage to our lives today. We
see how God deals with His people. His promises become real. We understand His
commands.

It is wrong to try to make the Bible say something that pleases us and then claim that is
what the Holy Spirit says. He inspired the original meaning and He will never contradict
Himself. Instead, He will help us discover the original meaning. Then He will guide us to
apply that meaning to our own situation.

The only exception to this basic rule is when we are interpreting certain prophecies.
Sometimes Old Testament prophecies had two meanings. One was for the writer's time;
one was a fuller meaning for a future time. We shall discuss this in more detail later.

No personal Bible study and no lesson we teach others is complete without applying the
verses to our present situation. We must always ask: "What do these Bible verses mean
to me, to my church or to my town or city? What does God want me to do because
these verses are in the Bible?"

II. Revelation and Response

According to the Bible, God has made Himself known in a variety of ways. “The
heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). “For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20). But while God is revealed in His
creation and through the inner voice of human conscience, the primary means by which
He has made Himself known is through the Bible.

God has revealed Himself through His mighty acts and in the words of His messengers,
or spokesmen. Either of these ways is incomplete without the other. In the Old
Testament record, none of the mighty acts of God is emphasized more than the
EXODUS—God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. As He delivered
His people, God repeatedly identified Himself as their redeemer God: “I am the LORD
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You
shall have no other gods before Me”(Exodus 20:2–3).

If they had been delivered with no explanation, the people of Israel would have learned
little about the God who redeemed His people. The Israelites might have guessed that
in such events as the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the waters of the Red Sea,
some supernatural power was at work on their behalf. But they would not have known
the nature of this power or God’s purpose for them as a people.

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God also communicated with His people, the nation of Israel, through Moses, to whom
He had already made Himself known in the vision of the burning bush. God instructed
Moses to tell his fellow Israelites what had been revealed to him. This was no
impersonal force at work, but the God of their ancestors - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In
fulfillment of His promises to them, God was acting now on behalf of their descendants.

In communicating with His people, God revealed both His identity and His purpose. His
purpose was to make the Israelites a nation dedicated to His service alone. This
message, conveyed to the Israelites through Moses, would have been ineffective if God
had not delivered them personally. On the other hand, His deliverance would have been
meaningless without the message. Together both constituted the Word of God to the
Israelites—the saving message of the God who both speaks and acts.

This pattern of God’s mighty acts and the prophetic word interacting with each other
continues throughout the course of biblical history. The Babylonian Captivity is a good
example of this process. A succession of prophets warned the people that if they did not
mend their ways, captivity would come on them as judgment. But even during the years
of the captivity the prophets continued to speak, encouraging the captives and
promising that God would deliver them from their plight.

The prophets were God’s primary spokesmen to the people of Israel in Old Testament
times. But they were not His only messengers. Priests and wise men were other agents
through whom God’s will was made known. The teachings of many of these
messengers are preserved in the Bible.

In addition to God’s revelation of Himself through the Bible, God’s Word also records
the response of those to whom the revelation was given. Too often the response was
unbelief and disobedience. But at other times, people responded in faith and obedience.
The Psalms, especially, proclaim the grateful response of people who experienced the
grace and righteousness of God. These faithful people sometimes voiced their
appreciation in words addressed directly to God. At other times they reported to others
what God had come to mean to them.

In the New Testament writings, revelation and response came together in the person
of Jesus the Messiah. On the one hand, Jesus was God’s perfect revelation of
Himself—He was the divine Word in human form (John 1:1, 14). His works of mercy and
power portrayed God in action, especially His supreme act of sacrifice to bring about
“the redemption that is in the Messiah Jesus” (Romans 3:24). His teaching expressed
the mind of God.

The words and acts of Jesus also proclaimed the meaning and purpose of His works.
For example, His act of casting out demons “with the finger of God” (Luke 11:20) was a
token that the kingdom of God had come upon them. He also declared that His death,
which he interpreted as the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture (Mark 14:49), was “a
ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

In his life and ministry, Jesus also illustrated the perfect human response of faith and
obedience to God. Jesus was “the Apostle [God’s Messenger to us] and High Priest [our

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Representative to God] of our confession” (Hebrews 3:1). Thus, Jesus performed the
mighty acts of God and He spoke authoritatively as God’s Messenger and Prophet.

III. The Preservation of the Bible

The Bible is a written, authoritative record by which any teaching or theory may be
judged. But behind the writing lay periods of time when these messages were circulated
in spoken form. The stories of the patriarchs were passed from generation to generation
by word of mouth before they were written. The messages of the prophets were
delivered orally before they were fixed in writing. Narratives of the life and ministry of
Jesus were repeated orally for two or three decades before they were given literary
form. But in part, the Bible owes its preservation to the fact that oral narratives were
eventually reduced to writing. Just as God originally inspired the Bible, He has used this
means to preserve His Word for future generations.

The first person in the Bible to write anything down was Moses. God instructed Moses
to write as a permanent memorial the divine vow that the name of Amalek would be
blotted out (Exodus 17:14). From that time until the end of the New Testament age, the
writing of the many books and parts of the Bible continued.

None of the original biblical documents—referred to by scholars as the “original

autographs”—has survived. No scrap of parchment or papyrus bearing the handwriting
of any of the biblical authors has been discovered. But before the original documents
disappeared, they were copied. Scribes used the utmost care as they laboriously and
lovingly copied the Scriptures and handed them down from generation to generation.
Their best copies are the texts on which current translations of the Bible are based.

IV. The Story of the Bible – God’s Eternal Plan of Salvation

How do we look at the Bible as a whole? How does it all tie together? All of the central
concepts of the Bible are related. But certainly one of the most helpful ways to study
God’s Word is through the idea of “salvation history.” This refers to the saving acts of
God in history. It is an ideal way to organize the principles for both Old and New
Testaments.

Many biblical theologians believe the most effective way to look at the Bible is in terms
of God’s special acts of salvation on behalf of His people Israel and the church. But they
see these various individual events as a unity, moving from promise to completion.
Thus, “salvation history” is a single great plan of salvation that finds its ultimate
fulfillment in the work of the Messiah. Following is a broad overview of the events in this
salvation history.

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 • The Old Testament as Promise: Israel

Two basic theological truths of the Old Testament are 1) God as Creator and 2) God as
Redeemer. The created order is God’s not only because He created it, but also because
He is in the process of redeeming it from its rebellion and sin. The Bible is the story of
God setting right what went wrong with His creation because of the fall of Adam.

The history of salvation begins with the call of Abraham and the covenant between
Abraham and God (Genesis 12:1–3). This story reaches its conclusion in the coming of
Jesus the Messiah. The election of the nation of Israel as God’s special people is not for
their sake alone, but for the sake of all the peoples of the world (“all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you” - Genesis 12:3). This blessing is ultimately experienced by
the church through faith in the Lord Jesus.

The great redemptive act of the Old Testament is the EXODUS, the deliverance of God’s
people from slavery in Egypt. This is the Old Testament counterpart to the deliverance
brought about by the Messiah through His death on the cross. Through the Exodus,
God revealed not only His sovereign power, but also his faithfulness and the depth of
His covenant love for Israel. This was followed immediately by the covenant between
God and His people renewed at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Law. God had already
entered into covenant relationship with His people and had miraculously delivered them.
This means that obedience to the Law cannot be understood as a requirement for
becoming the people of God and enjoying His favor. The Law was given because of
God’s grace.

From the perspective of the New Testament, the Law may be interpreted as having
several purposes. It was given to instruct the people about the absolute holiness of God
and the sinfulness of humanity. The Law also set Israel apart from the surrounding
nations in order that its people might be the pure channel by which the Messiah could
come and accomplish His saving work for all humanity.

Through the prophets of the Old Testament the work of the Messiah was anticipated
most clearly. They cautioned the people against presuming upon their relationship with
God, as though being a member of the chosen race were a virtue in itself (Amos 3:1–2).
And they tried to lift the people’s eyes from their national and political concerns to God’s
love for all nations. God’s intent was to transform the entire fallen creation. He was not
concerned only with the political sovereignty of the nation of Israel.

All along God was up to something far greater than Israel realized. He was planning to
do a new thing (Isaiah 42:10 and 65:17). The prophet Jeremiah expressed this truth by
referring to a “new covenant” that God would establish in the future (Jeremiah 31:31–
34). The old covenant, particularly the Law, could not accomplish the goal that God had
for His people and His creation. In the new covenant, His Law would be written on the
hearts of His people and they would enjoy the forgiveness of their sins.

God preserved His people through the experiences of the division of the kingdom, the
destruction of the nations of Israel and Judah, the Captivity and the resettlement of His
people in Jerusalem. He continued to reveal Himself and His purposes through the
prophets, who increasingly spoke of what God would do in the near future. In this spirit

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of anticipation His people entered the New Testament era with its great announcement
of fulfillment and hope in Jesus the Messiah.

• The New Testament as Fulfillment: the Church

The New Testament announced the ministry of Jesus as the turning point of the ages,
the beginning of the great fulfillment proclaimed by the prophets. It is impossible to
exaggerate the centrality of this theme of fulfillment in the New Testament. The use of
more than 300 quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament clearly
demonstrates this point.

According to the first three gospels, the message of Jesus was that the kingdom of God
had arrived. The kingdom was expressed in both the words and deeds of Jesus. The
presence of the kingdom depends directly on the presence of the Messianic King. With
His arrival, the fulfillment of the end time has already begun, although it is clear that the
final realization of God’s purpose remains yet in the future.

The death of Jesus was important as the basis of the kingdom. The rule of God in the
human heart cannot be experienced in any age, present or future, without the atoning
sacrifice that reconciles sinners with a holy God. Thus the death of Jesus became
central for the theology of the New Testament. But the resurrection was equally
important. In this event, the new order of the new creation broke directly into the present
age. The resurrection of the Messiah was assurance of the truths He had proclaimed,
as well as the resurrection of the dead at the end of time.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit at PENTECOST depended on the finished work of Jesus
in His death and resurrection. This was a certain sign of the new age brought by Jesus
and the mark of the new people of God, the church. The ministry of the Spirit
guarantees that the results of the Messiah’s work are experienced in the believer’s life
until Jesus returns to earth.

In the sermons preached by the first believers (in the first half of the Book of Acts), we
see the main points of the faith of the early church. In fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus was
born of the line of David, was crucified, died and was buried. But He arose from the
dead and will return some day as Judge. The possibility of repentance and salvation is
thus founded directly on these saving acts of God in His Son.

The letters of the New Testament contain interpretation and application of these events.
Many of the letters, or epistles, are divided into two main sections—doctrine and
practical living. In the doctrinal sections of these letters, the meaning of Jesus’ work is
described. The practical sections always build on the doctrinal foundations, instructing
believers on how to live.

In both the doctrinal and practical sections of the letters, the excitement of the fulfillment
experienced through Jesus is always foremost. The work of the Messiah, particularly in
the cross and the resurrection, is considered the saving act of God. These are
compared to the saving acts of God in the Old Testament. Thus, looking at the Bible as
a whole, the promises of God in the Old Testament are fulfilled in God’s great act of
redemption through His Son in the New Testament.

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 V. Personal Quiet Time – Bible Reading and Prayer

Before we begin to think about systematic Bible study and the proper methods of
interpretation, we need to first simply read and meditate upon God’s Word. Here we are
not talking about study, but simply reading the Bible as part of your quiet time each day
with the Lord.
First, you will want to pick a quiet time and place to be alone with the Lord and His
Word. For many people, the best and quietest time of the day is the early morning. After
you have chosen your time and place, you may want to prepare materials, such as
having a pen and small notebook with your Bible so that you may write down things the
Lord speaks to your heart. You will probably want to keep a prayer notebook also, to
record your prayer requests and answers.

You may desire to divide your time with the Lord into two periods – Bible reading and
prayer. In the Bible reading period, God is speaking to your heart as you listen to Him
through His Word. In the prayer period, you are pouring out your heart to God. First you
are listening, then you are speaking.

As you read God’s Word each day, set a goal to read through the entire Bible – Old and
New Testaments – once each year. In this way, you will be observing one of the best
principles for good Bible study and interpretation – seeing the whole Biblical picture as
you interpret individual passages. It is necessary for every good Bible teacher to have
knowledge of the whole Bible, not just parts of it. [In Appendix A, you will find a sample
one- year Bible reading plan.]

It cannot be over-emphasized that daily Bible reading and prayer is the foundation of
your walk with the Lord. Someone asked a great Shakespearean scholar years ago,
“How do you study Shakespeare?” His answer was very simple - “Read Shakespeare.”
And I would say to you: Read the Word of God. Do you want to know what the Bible has
to say? Read the Bible. Over and above what any teacher may give you, it is important
to read for yourself what the Bible has to say.

Years ago, a great Bible scholar wrote some very wonderful and helpful commentaries
on the Bible. In fact, he has a series of books on all sixty-six books of the Bible. It is said
that he would not begin writing until he had read a particular book of the Bible through
fifty times. So do not grow weary in your reading. Just read the Word of God! If you
don’t understand it the first time, read it the second time. If you don’t get it the second
time, read it the third time. Keep on reading it.

There is a very interesting incident in the Book of Nehemiah: “And all the people
gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water
gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which
the LORD had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the
congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon
the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before
the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and
those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book
of the law” (Nehemiah 8:1–3).

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This is a very remarkable passage of Scripture. The Jews had been in Babylonian
captivity seventy years. Many of them had never heard the Word of God. It did not
circulate much in that day. There were not many translations. Probably there were just
one or two copies in existence, and Ezra had one of those copies. He stood and read
before the water gate. “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave
the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). From the way
the account is given, it seems that men of the tribe of Levi were stationed in certain
areas among the people. After Ezra had read a certain portion, he would stop to give
the people who had listened an opportunity to ask questions of the men who were
stationed out there to explain the Bible to them. “… and the Levites, caused the people
to understand the law: and the people stood in their place” (Nehemiah 8:7). Not only did
they read the Word, but they caused the people to understand it. First of all, we need to
read the Bible.

After Bible reading, there should be a period of prayer. The Holy Spirit will indeed guide
your time of prayer. There normally should be four elements that are a part of your
prayer life. These four are:
• Adoration/praise
• Confession/repentance of sin
• Thanksgiving
• Supplication/requests

Again, it must be emphasized that each believer needs to have a daily quiet time with
the Lord. This is not a time to study or to prepare teachings or sermons. This is simply
your time to be with the Lord and to grow in His grace. May the Lord bless you as you
daily spend quality time alone with Him.

VI. Types of Personal Bible Study

A. Devotional Bible Study

The Bible is not an end in itself, but is a means to the end of knowing God and doing
His will. The apostle Paul said, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one
approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the
word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). God has given us the Bible in order that we might know
Him and that we might do His will here on earth.

Therefore, devotional Bible study is the most important kind of Bible study. Devotional
Bible study means reading and studying the Word of God in order that we may hear
God’s voice and that we may know how to do His will and to live a better life as a child
of God.

A great scientist and medical doctor once said: “The very best way to study the Bible is
simply to read it daily with close attention and with prayer to see the light that shines
from its pages, to meditate upon it, and to continue to read it until somehow it works
itself into the very depths of one’s being.”

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For your devotional reading and study of the Bible, here are several important, practical
suggestions:

• Begin your Bible reading with prayer (Psalm 119:18 and John 16:13–15).

• Take brief notes on what you read. Keep a small notebook for your Bible study
(see 4 below).
• Read slowly through one chapter, or perhaps two or three chapters, or perhaps
just one paragraph at a time. After reading, ask yourself what this passage
means. Then reread it.

• Keep a spiritual diary. Either in your Bible study notebook mentioned above, or in
a separate notebook entitled, “My Spiritual Diary,” write down daily what God
says to you through the Bible. Write down the sins that you confess or the
commands you should obey.

• Memorize passages of the Word of God. No one is ever too old to memorize the
Word of God. Write verses on cards with the reference on one side and the verse
on the other. Carry these cards with you and review them while you’re waiting for
a train, standing in a line, and so on.

Other persons prefer to memorize whole passages or chapters of the Bible. A small
pocket Bible will help you to review these passages when you have spare moments.
One of the best ways is to spend a few minutes every night before going to sleep, in
order that your subconscious mind may help you fix these passages of God’s Word in
your mind while you’re asleep (Psalm 119:11).

To meditate means “to reflect, to ponder, to consider, to dwell in thought.” Through

meditation the Word of God will become meaningful and real to you, and the Holy Spirit
will use this time to apply the Word of God to your own life and its problems.

• Obey the Word of God. As Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness.”

The Bible has been given to us that we may live a holy life, pleasing to God. Therefore
God says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it
says.” (James 1:22)

B. Study for Bible Knowledge

There are many valuable methods of Bible study. One may study the Bible, as if with a
telescope, to see the great truths that stand out in every book. Or one may study the
Bible as if with a microscope to find all of the marvelous details that are in this mine of
spiritual riches. In this section there are several proven methods with which a person
may conduct more intensive Bible study. The most important thing is to follow faithfully
some systematic method of Bible study.
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1.Bible Study by Chapters

In the Bible there are 1189 chapters in the Old and New Testaments. In a little over
three years, a person could make an intensive study of the whole Bible, taking a chapter
a day. It is usually a good practice to start your Bible study in the New Testament.

a. Read through the chapter carefully, seeking to find its main subject or subjects.

b. As you read each chapter, give it a title that suggests its main content. If you are
reading the Gospel of John, for example, you might title the chapters like this:

• chapter 1- “Jesus, the Word of God”

• chapter 2- “The Wedding at Cana”
• chapter 3 - “The New Birth”
• chapter 4 - “The Woman at the Well”
• chapter 5 - “The Healing of the Man at the Pool of Bethesda”

c. Reread the chapter again and make a simple outline, which will include its main
thoughts. For example in John 1, you might make an outline like this:

“Jesus the Messiah, the Word of God”:

• Jesus the Messiah was the eternal Word of God, 1–9.

• Jesus came into the world, 10–18.
• John witnesses that the Messiah is to come, 19–28.
• John says that Jesus is the Lamb of God, 29–37.
• Jesus calls His first disciples, 38–51.

Later, we will examine in detail a Bible study technique [called the “Chapter Study
Method”] that you may want to use daily in your personal Bible study time.

2. Bible Study by Verses

In studying the historical passages of the Bible, such as most of the Old Testament or
parts of the Gospels, each verse may have only one simple meaning. But many verses
in both the Old and New Testaments are rich with many great Bible truths that will
demand more detailed study. There are many ways that you can study a single Bible
verse.

a. Study it by the verbs in the verse. For example, if you were studying John 3:16 you
would find the following verbs: “loved … believes…gave … shall not perish … has…”

You could make a comparative list like this:

• God loved
• Man believes
• God gave
• Man shall not perish

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 • Man has everlasting life

b. Or, study it by taking the nouns in this wonderful verse: “God … world … only
begotten Son … whosoever … everlasting life.”

c. Study a verse through the personalities revealed. For example, once again taking
John 3:16, these very simple but significant points are brought to light: “God … only
begotten Son … whosoever … him.”

d. Study a verse by looking for the great ideas revealed in it. Let us look again at John
3:16 as our example. We might title this verse, “The greatest verse in the Bible.” The
following ideas are found in it:

• “God”—the greatest person

• “so loved”—the greatest devotion
• “the world”—the greatest number
• “he gave”—the greatest act
• “his one and only Son”—the greatest gift
• “that whoever believes”—the greatest condition
• “shall not perish”—the greatest mercy
• “have everlasting life”—the greatest result

3. Bible Study by Books

After you have begun to study the Bible by chapters or verses, later you may want to
study the Bible by complete books. These are much more complex and difficult methods
and will only be briefly discussed in this book. There are several methods of Bible study
by books.

a. One is called the “inductive” method. This is a method of studying in detail the
contents of a Bible book and then drawing from these details general conclusions
or principles concerning the contents and purpose of the book. [The Chapter
Study method to be presented later is an “inductive,” or also called “analytical,”
method of study.]

b. Another method of book study is called the “synthetic” method. By this method,
one reads the Bible book over several times to receive the general impressions
of the main ideas and purpose of the book without attention to the details.

c. In some cases the study of a Bible book becomes a “historical” study, if that book
relates the history of a nation or a man in a particular period of time. For
example, the Book of Exodus tells the history of the children of Israel from the
death of Joseph in Egypt until the erection of the tabernacle in the wilderness in
the time of Moses. This covers approximately 400 years.

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Here are some suggestions for Bible study by books:

• Read the book through to get the perspective and the general emphasis of
the book.

• Reread the book many times, each time asking yourself a relevant
question and writing down the answers you find as you read. Here are the
most important questions to ask:

‰ What is the central theme or emphasis of this book? What is the key
verse?

‰ Remembering the theme of the book, see how it is emphasized and

developed. Look for any special problems or applications.

‰ What does it tell me about the author and his circumstances when he
wrote this book?

‰ What does the book tell me about the people to whom the book was
written and their circumstances, needs, or problems?

‰ What are the main divisions of the book? Is there any outline apparent in
the logical organization and development of the book?

Look for other facts and information that your earlier readings have suggested. For
example, by now certain words will stand out in the book. See how often they recur.
(For example, as you read the Book of Philippians, you will soon find that the word joy
occurs many times. This is one of the key words of the book, so note its occurrences
and the circumstances surrounding it.) As you read and reread a book, you’ll find that
you begin to see its structure and its outline more clearly.

As an example of how you could study a Bible book, consider the following:

Get a notebook to write in. Begin reading Genesis for example. Read a chapter, then
write a very brief summary of the chapter in your study notebook. One or two sentences
are enough. Repeat the process with each chapter until you have read and summarized
all 50 chapters. When you finish, you will have the entire book of Genesis condensed
into a few pages in your notebook.

Next read what you have written and divide it into logical sections. Give each section a
short title (one, two or three words). For example, Genesis divides into five sections
entitled:

• Beginning Events (chapters 1 -11)

• Abraham (chapters 12-25)
• Isaac (chapters 25-26)
• Jacob (chapters 27-36)
• Joseph (chapters 37-50)

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Note: You may also want to read Exodus and the other books of the Bible in order.
When you finish the entire Bible, review your section titles. As you do, you will be able
to think through what the Bible says, book by book. Many people read their Bibles
through each year, but they quickly forget what they have read. They have no clear
overview. This method does not take much longer than it takes just to read the Bible
through. However, it will give you a much greater understanding of the Bible. If you read
three or four chapters every day, you can complete this survey within one year. Of
course, you will want to read the Bible through again and again.

4. Bible Study by Words.

There are two profitable and helpful ways of studying great words or subjects in the
Word of God.

a. Word study by Bible books

Certain words have special significance in certain Bible books. For example, after
studying the Gospel of John as a book and by chapters, you’ll find it instructive and
inspiring to trace the words “believe” and “belief.” They occur almost 100 times. By
reading the book hurriedly and underlining each passage where the words “believe” and
“belief” occur, you’ll understand why Bible scholars contend that the purpose of the
Gospel of John is expressed by the author in John 20:31.

b. General word study

Through the study of great Bible words, you can soon become familiar with the great
doctrines of the Bible and understand the great theological principles that the Bible
reveals.

For example, you might begin with the study of the word grace. By tracing the
occurrences of this word through the Old Testament and then into the New Testament,
you will come to see that God has always dealt with His people in grace, and you will
find in a concrete way the great truth of Ephesians 2:8.

5. Bible Study by Topics

Closely related to the method of study by words is the study according to great topics or
subjects such as –

• Bible prayers
• Bible promises
• Bible sermons
• Bible songs and Bible poems, etc.

Or one might study Bible geography by reading rapidly through and looking for rivers,
seas and mountains highlighted in Scripture. For example, the mountaintop experiences
in the life of Abraham are a thrilling study.

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Another challenging study is to read rapidly through the Gospels and Letters looking for
the commands of the Lord to us. The list of Bible topics is unlimited.

First, for an example, consider a topical study on prayer. You may want to look up
every form of words such as “pray,” “prayer,” “praying,” and then look up related words
such as “ask,” “petition” and “intercession.” After you have looked up these verses,
study them and bring together all the teaching on prayer that you find. You will find
many things about “prayer,” such as conditions of prayer, words to be used in prayer,
results to expect from prayer, when to pray, and where to pray.

6. Bible Study Through Biography

The Bible is a record of God’s revealing Himself to men and through men. The Old
Testament as well as the New Testament is rich in such biographical studies. Here are
just a few of the biographical studies that you might choose as you study Scripture:

The life of Noah: Genesis 5:32–10:32

The life of Abraham: Genesis 12–25
The life of Joseph: Genesis 37–50
The life of Deborah: Judges 4-5

Let us summarize various methods for studying the great Bible biographies:

• Read the Bible book and other passages in which this person’s life is prominent.
For example, Abraham in Genesis 12–25, plus references to Abraham in
Hebrews 11 and Romans 4.

• Be careful to note indirect references to the person in other portions of Scripture.

Conclusion - There are many other methods of studying the Bible: the psychological
method, the sociological method, the cultural method, the philosophical method and so
on. Use all the Bible study methods suggested above if you so desire. From time to
time, change your method so that you’ll not become too accustomed to any one method
or tired from delving too deeply into one type of study. But it is a good idea to develop
one good, systematic Bible study method that you like.

VII. The Chapter Study Method

The Bible should be studied regularly, thoroughly and systematically. A good Bible
student should be trying to ascertain exactly what the Word is saying – nothing more,
nothing less. To learn from the text is good, “inductive” Bible study. However, to read
my own thoughts and ideas into the text is “deductive” study. Every serious student of
God’s Word should, of course, desire to learn what the text is saying. We must put
aside our own pre-conceived thoughts and ideas.

Let’s consider an inductive method called “The Chapter Study Method.” This method
has also been called the “Ten Question Method” because it uses ten very simple and

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fundamental questions to study the text. In this method, one can systematically study
through God’s Word - one chapter every day. Using this method, in a little over three
years, the student could systematically study every chapter of the Bible quite
thoroughly.

Let’s now examine the Chapter Study method by looking at the ten questions to be
answered. All one needs to study the Word in this method is a Bible, a study notebook
and a pen.

First, the student will want to slowly read aloud the chapter to be studied. Then, after
praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as he studies, he writes down the question in
his notebook and begins to search the chapter for the correct answer. The following are
the ten questions:

1. What is the main subject?

2. Who is speaking in this chapter? To whom? About whom?
3. Who is acting in this chapter? (Look for actual, physical movement)
4. What is the key verse (key verses)?
5. What does this chapter teach me about the Lord Jesus? (or about God)
6. Are there any sins mentioned in this chapter, either general or specific? (Do I
need to confess and forsake any particular sin?)
7. Are there any commands for me to obey in this chapter? Are there other
commands?
8. Are there any promises to claim from the Lord in this chapter?
9. Are there any instructions to follow in this chapter?
10. Comments – ideas, thoughts, things the Lord showed you in His Word, further
questions or points that need more study later, etc.

Note that in some chapters of the Bible you may not be able to answer all ten questions.
And you may have different answers to some questions than your fellow Bible student
will have. For instance, you may choose a different key verse. As you begin a book of
the Bible, it is recommended that you continue with each chapter until the book is
completed. A sample three year plan is included in the back of this book, alternating
between Old and New Testament studies to give a broad range of study even in the first
year [see Appendix B].

VIII. Family Bible Study

Nothing is more important in a believer’s home than family prayer and Bible reading. At
a convenient time when all members of the family are home, the father or mother should
lead them in worship of God and in reading His Word. A simple program for family
worship includes singing a hymn, an opening prayer by a family member, a brief Bible
study, and a concluding period of prayer in which all members take part. Let each
member pray from his or her own heart.

The family prayer and Bible study will bind the family together, eliminate many problems
in the home, create deeper love, and enable each member to become a stronger, better

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disciple of the Lord. Since family Bible study usually includes small children, it is wise to
avoid difficult topics. Study something of interest and help to all. Such subjects might
be Bible biographies as outlined above, stories of miracles and deeds of Jesus as
revealed in the Gospels, miracles in the Old Testament, and other narrative portions of
the Bible. It is wise to keep the study brief and to concentrate on a short passage of
Scripture. For example, if the family is going to study the life of Moses, it could be
divided into units like this:

First day: The birth of Moses: Exodus 2:1–10

Second day: Moses’ great choice and great mistake: Hebrews 11:24–27;
Exodus 2:11–15
Third day: Moses’ wilderness training: Exodus 2:16–25
Fourth day: Moses’ call to serve God: Exodus 3:1–22
Fifth day: Moses’ argument with God: Exodus 4:1–17
Sixth day: Moses’ return to Egypt: Exodus 4:18–31

Here are some practical hints on how to make your family Bible study interesting and
profitable to all:

• Keep your family Bible study reasonably short: one brief chapter or several
paragraphs a day.
• Have each member read a verse.
• Appoint one family member to lead in worship each day and select the passage
to read. This one may appoint others to help in the family worship.
• Read through a Bible book, a chapter, or several paragraphs each day. As you
read, together decide on a name or a title for each chapter and memorize this.
• After reading the passage, have each member in the family explain the meaning
of one verse or one paragraph.
• Let the leader (or the father or mother) prepare five or ten questions on the Bible
passage. Then ask members of the family to answer these questions after the
passage has been read.
• Study the maps in your Bible together and trace, for example, Paul’s journeys or
the wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness.
• Study Bible topics together. Assign verses concerning a topic [or great word] to
each member of the family. Let each read a verse and tell what the verse
teaches about the topic or word.
• After the Bible reading, have each member tell how it can be applied to personal
life.
• Make up Bible games by having each family member make up questions for the
others.
• Study a Bible book together, using the hints given above. There are many
wonderful ways to make the Bible the heart of your home.

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 IX. Principles of Bible Interpretation

Since the Bible was written by many men over a period covering 1500 years, and since
the last author of the Bible has been dead 1900 years, there are definite problems in
understanding the exact meaning of certain passages of the Bible.

There is a need to interpret clearly certain passages of the Bible because there is a gap
between the way we think and the words we use today and the way of thinking and the
words that these Bible writers used thousands of years ago.

Bible scholars have pointed out that there are language gaps—differences in words that
we use; there are cultural gaps—different customs were practiced then. There are
geographical gaps—certain rivers that are spoken of in the Bible have long since dried
up. Some places that are spoken of frequently in the Bible are not on our modern maps.
And then there are historical gaps—the Bible speaks of kings and empires that existed
years ago.
Therefore, there is a need for Bible interpretation. This is a fascinating study in itself, but
here are just a few principles of interpretation of the Bible that will keep you from
error and help you understand the difficult passages of the Word of God. In this book on
Bible Interpretation we shall study eight specific principles for good Biblical
interpretation. Following are these eight principles:

‰ The first principle is simple - always remember that the Bible is God’s perfect,
inspired Word. There are no mistakes in the Bible. God has included everything
in the Bible that He wants you to know and is necessary for you to know
concerning salvation and your life as a believer.

Who wrote the Bible? God did, because everything in the Bible is spoken from God.
However, He used about 40 different men to write it down. How did people like Moses
and Matthew and Paul and Peter know what to write? The Holy Spirit inspired them. He
told them what to write. So the Bible is both a divine and a human book.

‰ The second principle of interpretation is to interpret the Bible in the light of its
historical background. There are three aspects of this:

a. Study the personal circumstances of the writer. For example, in studying the
Book of the Revelation, it is important to understand where John was and what
he was doing when God gave him this marvelous revelation. [See Revelation
1:1–10]

b. The second aspect of this principle is to study the culture and customs of the
country at the time that the writing or story was taking place. For example, to
understand the Book of Ruth, it is important to study the customs concerning
widows, redemption of property, and so on, as they are explained in Leviticus 25
and Deuteronomy 25.

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 c. A third aspect of this principle is to study and interpret the Bible in the light of the
actual historical situation and events that were taking place at the time of the
story. For example, in studying the Gospels it is important to realize that the
entire land of Palestine and all of the Jews were being governed and oppressed
by the Roman Empire at that time. For example, look at Matthew 5:41 and 22:17.

‰ The third principle of interpretation is to interpret the Bible according to the

purpose and plan of each book.

Every Bible book has its specific purpose intended by the Holy Spirit to bring some
special message to man. For example, it is important to remember that First John (see
1 John 5:13) was written to believers. Therefore the promise in 1 John 1:9 is specifically
applied to believers. Also, as you read John 20.31, you discover that the Gospel of John
was written to unbelievers, that they might believe.

‰ The fourth principle of interpretation, and one of the most important, is always to
interpret according to the context of a verse.

The “context” includes the verses immediately preceding and immediately following the
verse you are studying. This may also mean the preceding chapter as well as the
following chapter. If you do not take care to interpret the verse according to the context,
you could make the Bible teach something very wrong!! For example, the Bible says,
“There is no God” (Psalm 14:1). But the context makes very clear what this verse
means: The entire sentence says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
Thus, be very careful to know the context as you interpret Scripture.

Therefore, always study the passage immediately preceding and immediately following
any verse, word or topic to make sure that you see this truth in the setting that God
intended.

Note: For additional information on the question of “context,” please refer to Appendix C
– “Questions about Context (of a Passage).”

‰ The fifth principle of interpretation is to always interpret according to the correct

meaning of words.

You can find the correct meaning of a word in several ways. First of all, look up the
usage of the word in other parts of the Bible to find how it was used in that generation.
Another way is to look up the synonyms—words that are similar in meaning but slightly
different: for example: prayer, intercession, supplication and petition.

If you are still unsure after looking in a Bible dictionary and finding the word in other
Bible passages, then you may wish to consult another believer – such as a pastor or
leader in whom you trust.

‰ The sixth principle of interpretation is to interpret the Bible according to all of the
parallel passages that deal with the subject and according to the message of the
entire Bible.

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The more you read the Bible, the more you will understand that in it God is revealing His
way of salvation to men from beginning to end. And when you come to a difficult
passage, think of it in the light of the overall purpose of the Bible. For example, the
animal sacrifices of the Old Testament are meant to be a picture of the perfect sacrifice
of Jesus the Messiah on the cross. As another example, if you are studying the subject
of “baptism,” then look up and read all of the different passages in the New Testament
concerning the practice and meaning of baptism.

‰ The seventh principle of interpretation is: To whom is the Scripture

addressed?

For instance, God said to Joshua, “Arise, go over this Jordan” (Joshua 1:2). Now, if we
are in the country of Jordan, at the bridge crossing into Israel, do we cross the Jordan
River and then say that we have fulfilled that Scripture? Do we say, “At last I’ve obeyed
the Lord and have crossed over Jordan.” No, of course not. When we read that verse
we know the Lord is talking to Joshua—but we also believe there is a tremendous
lesson there for me. All Scripture is not to me, but all Scripture is for me. That is a good
rule to keep in mind.
‰ The eighth and final principle of interpretation that we shall discuss in this Bible
Interpretation book is to interpret the Bible literally.

Someone said very well that, “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common
sense, seek no other sense.” Therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual
and literal meaning. If the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related
passages and fundamental truths, indicate otherwise, then you may want to consider a
symbolic or poetic meaning, not a literal meaning. [For more concerning principles of
interpretation, read Appendix D - “Special Problems in Interpretation” at the back of this
book.]

Some Practical Guidelines as we interpret the Word of God

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” [Psalm 119:18].

There are certain practical guidelines that each of us should follow as we study the
Word of God. If we will follow these guidelines, blessings will come to our hearts and
lives. Certainly there should be some directions in the study of Scripture. Today, a bottle
of medicine, no matter how simple it might be, has directions for its use. If that is true of
the things of this world, certainly the Word of God should have a few directions and
instructions for its study. I want to mention seven very simple, yet practical, guidelines
that will help us as we study the Word of God in our homes.

1. Begin with prayer.

2. Read the Bible.
3. Study the Bible.
4. Meditate on the Bible.
5. If possible, read what others have written about the Bible.
6. Obey the Bible.
7. Pass it on to others. [Our SALT principle of re-teaching: 2 Timothy 2:2]

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If you will follow these simple rules, you will be kept from error and extremes, and you
will be helped to better understand the teachings of even the more difficult passages in
God’s Word.

X. Divisions of the Old and New Testaments

There is a great variety of literature in the Bible. God chose to use narratives, history,
genealogies, laws, poetry, proverbs, prophecies, riddles, drama, biographical sketches,
parables, letters, sermons, apocalypses and other forms of literature to speak to man.

Why is it important for us to understand these many kinds of literature? Because, we

read different kinds of literature in different ways. When we read poetry, we expect to
hear picture language, so we do not believe everything the poem says is a literal fact.
When we read history, we expect to read literal facts. The way we interpret the Bible
depends partly on the kind of literature we are reading. So we always ask: "What kind of
literature am I reading?"
The Bible is somewhat arranged according to kinds of literature. You may want to mark
the divisions within the Old and New Testaments in the table of contents in your Bible:

• Old Testament

Genesis through Deuteronomy - Torah/Law

Joshua through Esther - History
Job through Song of Songs – Poetry/Wisdom
Isaiah through Malachi – Prophecy

• New Testament

Matthew through John - Gospels

Acts - History
Romans through Philemon - Paul's Letters
Hebrews through Jude - General Letters
Revelation - Prophecy or the Apocalypse

As we read different types of literature in God’s Word, we want to pay careful attention
to the type of literature we are reading so that we might interpret it more accurately. In
these next few pages, let’s look at the different kinds of literature. As we look at each
type, let’s study some general principles that might help us in interpretation.

A. Old Testament Narratives

The word “narrative” means a true story or an actual historical event. Genesis and the
12 books (Joshua through Esther) consist almost entirely of narratives. Jonah is a
narrative. Many narratives are scattered throughout almost all of the books of the Old

25
Testament. The Old Testament narratives tell the story of God’s dealings with mankind.
Their purpose is to show how God works in creation and among His people. They glorify
God, help us to understand and appreciate Him, and picture His care and protection
over us. They illustrate many important spiritual lessons.

Old Testament narratives do not always state a direct teaching. Instead, when we read
the story, we live through the event and the experience of the Bible characters. As we
do, we see God’s nature and the truths He has revealed to different people. We learn
more this way than if we studied a list of teachings or a discussion of issues involved in
the event.

As believers, the Old Testament is our spiritual history. God’s promises to Israel are His
promises in history to us. His call to them (to repent, to be a blessing to all nations, etc.)
is His call to us.

The importance of any one narrative is only seen when we understand its part in the
whole story God tells us in the Bible. That is why we need to know the chronology of the
Bible. We must know where to place the stories about Moses or Samuel or Elisha,
because the place of the narrative is important to its meaning. We want to know how it
fits in God's unfolding revelation of Himself in scripture.

Seven Principles for Understanding and Applying Old Testament Narratives

• Usually, narratives illustrate doctrines taught elsewhere rather than giving direct
teaching.

• Narratives record what happened. They do not always tell what should have
happened or what ought to happen. Therefore, not every narrative tells an
identifiable moral.

• What people in narratives do is not necessarily a good example for us.

Frequently, it is just the opposite.

• A narrative does not always explain whether what happened was good or bad.
We make that judgment on the basis of God's direct teaching elsewhere in the
Bible.

• All narratives are incomplete in that they do not give all the details. However, the
narrative does tell us everything that is important for us to know.

• Narratives are not written to answer all our theological questions. They have
specific, limited purposes. They deal with particular issues. Other questions are
dealt with in other ways elsewhere in the Bible.

• Narratives may teach “explicitly” (by clearly stating something) or “implicitly” (by
clearly implying something without actually saying it).

Some questions to ask when reading narratives/history:

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 • What happened?
• What did man do?
• What did God do in this event?
• Is there a teaching about how God deals with His people?
• Where does this story fit in Bible chronology?

In short, summary form, here are the history books and their themes:

Books about the History of Israel

Book Theme

Joshua The conquest and division of the Promised Land

Judges The nation of Israel is rescued by a series of judges, or

military leaders

Ruth A beautiful story of God’s love and care

1 and 2 Samuel The early history of Israel, including the reigns of Saul and
David

1 and 2 Kings A political history of Israel, focusing on the reigns of

selected kings from the time of Solomon to the captivity of
the Jewish people by Babylon

1 and 2 Chronicles A religious history of Israel, covering the same period of

time as 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings

Ezra The return of the Jewish people from captivity in Babylon

Nehemiah The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the exiles

returned from Babylon

Esther God’s care for His people under Gentile rule

B. Old Testament Law (please refer to “Believer’s Lifestyle” for more discussion on the
Ten Commandments, the Messiah’s relationship to the law, and our relationship to the
law.)

Old Testament Law begins in Exodus 20. Most of it is found from there through
Deuteronomy. It is referred to throughout the Bible. A covenant is a binding contract
between two parties. In Exodus 19 we read about God offering a covenant relationship
to Israel. He promised to bless and protect them. To enter the covenant relationship,
Israel had to promise to obey God's law.

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So the Old Testament Law is a covenant between the Lord God and the people of
Israel. We must understand this in order to understand the Old Testament. The people
saw the Law as the basis of their relationship to God.

The Old Testament is not our Testament. It is not the covenant of our relationship with
God. We are under the New Covenant. The basis of our relationship with God is
forgiveness of sin through Jesus the Messiah (see Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke
22:20). Because of this, much Old Testament Law is no longer binding on us.

Some parts of the Old Covenant were renewed in the New Covenant. In Matthew
22:37-39, Jesus took two laws from the Old Covenant and laid them down as a basis for
how we are to live under the New Covenant:

• “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind.”(Deuteronomy 6:5)
• “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18)

The Old Testament ritual law was fulfilled in Jesus’ sacrifice. Its purpose had been to
teach certain truths about the need for the Messiah God would send. Much of it made
pictures of what He would be and do. When He died on the cross, God tore the curtain
separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. He was saying that we no
longer need the sacrificial system and all the Old Testament worship laws.

The commands to love God and neighbor are examples of the moral law that Jesus
renewed for us. The Ten Commandments are mentioned in the New Testament. (Jesus
says we are not to even break them in our hearts.) These laws are part of the "law of
the Messiah." We are to obey them.

Since we do not have to obey all of the Old Testament law, why should we read it? God
wants us to know His laws and commands. In Galatians 3:24, Paul says the law brought
us to the Messiah. How? By showing us how high God's standards of righteousness are
and how impossible it is for anyone to meet those standards apart from God’s help.

We need to know the Old Testament Law, because it teaches us many things about a
holy and acceptable life before God.

Here are some rules for understanding and applying the Old Testament law:

• Old Testament law is God’s fully inspired word that has many truths to teach us.
• Do not look at all Old Testament law as God's direct command to you.
• Recognize that Old Testament Law is the basis for the Old Covenant, and
therefore for Israel's history.
• Recognize that only what the Messiah renewed is binding on believers.
• Recognize God's justice, love and high standards as revealed in Old Testament
Law.
• Recognize that God's mercy is equal to the severity of the standards.
• Do not think of Old Testament Law as being complete,
• Do think of Old Testament Law as a model of expected behavior.

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 • Do not expect Old Testament law to be cited frequently by prophets or in the
New Testament.
• Do remember that the moral law is repeated in the prophets and renewed in the
New Testament.
• Look at Old Testament Law as a generous gift to Israel which brought blessing
when it was obeyed.
• Do not look at Old Testament Law as annoying regulations that limited people's
freedom.

Questions to ask when reading Old Testament Law:

1. What kind of law is this? It is a civil, ceremonial or moral law?

2. Does this law teach something about God's holiness? If so, what?
3. Does this law teach something about the Messiah who was to come? If so, what?
4. Was this law renewed in the New Covenant? Is it part of the law of Jesus for me to
obey?

In short, summary form, here are the books of the Law and their themes:

Books of the Law

Book Theme

Genesis Creation and the establishment of the covenant

relationship

Exodus Deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in

Egypt

Leviticus The ceremonial law

Numbers Wandering of God’s people in the wilderness

Deuteronomy The second giving of the law by Moses before the

people occupy the Promised Land

C. Hebrew Poetry

There are five books of poetry in the Old Testament: Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. Although they are all “poetry,” Job, Ecclesiastes, Song
of Songs and some of the Psalms are also another kind of literature called "Wisdom
Literature." Proverbs is written in the form of poetry, but it is a kind of wisdom literature
called "Proverbs." So Hebrew “poetry” includes several kinds of literature.

What are some characteristics of Hebrew poetry?

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 • Picture language is a characteristic of all poetry. In the Psalms, mountains skip
like rams. Enemies eject swords from their mouths. God is called a rock, a
shepherd, a fortress and a shield. Obviously, these pictures are not literally true.
So we look for the truth the picture expresses. We ask: "What do the picture
words help us to understand about God, His purpose, His activity and His
creation?"

• Poetry expresses emotions. It tells the cry of the human heart. For instance,
some Psalms express the poet's feeling about his enemies, but they do not
reflect New Testament teachings about how we are to deal with our enemies.

• The Psalms are musical poems intended to create feelings. They do not always
teach us facts. They often go beyond what we can understand with our minds.
The poet often uses exaggeration to make his point. Therefore, we do not use
poetry's exaggerated pictures as the basis of determining doctrine.

• There is one more characteristic of Hebrew poetry which we do not recognize

since we use Bibles translated into our own language. Sometimes the poet
began each verse or section of his poem with the successive letters of the
Hebrew alphabet. For instance, the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters. Psalm 119
has 22 sections. Each section begins with a Hebrew letter. Perhaps your Bible
has divided the Psalm into these sections and put the Hebrew letter at the
beginning of each one.

How we can use the Psalms

• Many psalms can be used to guide personal or group worship. We can use them
to express our feelings. Poetry is written to be spoken aloud, and psalms can
help us speak to God.

• The psalms teach us that we can be honest with God. Their words express joy,
disappointment, anger, sorrow, gratitude, love and other emotions.

• The psalms show us how important it is to meditate on the things that God has
done for us. They invite us to pray, to think on God’s Word and to experience
fellowship with other believers. (See the book “Psalms” for a complete study of
the book.)

D. Wisdom Literature

Some Psalms, and all of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are Wisdom Literature.
Wisdom Literature deals with how to live a responsible and godly life. Old Testament
wisdom is very practical. To be wise, a person must think and act in accord with the
truth he has learned. Old Testament writers speak of wisdom as coming from a person's
heart. To them, the heart included a person's will and his mind.

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The word "wisdom" in the Old Testament refers to how we live practical lives, godly
lives. So wisdom literature does not deal much with theological or historical issues that
are so important elsewhere in the Bible. Also, having wisdom does not guarantee that it
will be properly used. Jonadab's wise advice to Amnon (2 Samuel 13:3) was given in an
evil cause. Solomon's great wisdom helped him gain wealth and power. However, it did
not keep him from being unfaithful to the Lord in his later years. Learned wisdom must
be subordinated to obedience to God for it to achieve its true purpose.

How do we understand wisdom literature?

You cannot understand either Job or Ecclesiastes if you do not read the entire book.
Each book is a long presentation of one basic thought. Arguments for and against the
basic teaching are presented. Many verses express what people think is true, rather
than what God says is true. We must be careful to follow the line of argument in these
books to see what God is teaching us.

To understand wisdom literature we must always remember special meanings of words.

For example, in Proverbs the word "fool" means an infidel or an unbeliever who lives life
according to his own selfish desires. Most wisdom literature is written in poetry. It uses
picture language and has other characteristics of Hebrew poetry. So we must remember
what we have learned about Hebrew poetry.

Let’s briefly look at some of the important aspects of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

• Job is a conversation between Job and his friends. They had come to comfort
him because of his misfortunes. Jewish people believed that if a person was
living in accordance with God's will, God would protect him from misfortune. So,
they thought Job had sinned. They wanted Job to confess the sin that caused his
suffering. We know that sin was not the reason for Job's suffering. His friends did
not know that, so they gave him all sorts of wrong advice and incorrect
conclusions. We must be careful not to think Bildad's, Zophar's, Eliphaz's and
Elihu's wrong statements are truths the Bible teaches. The book of Job teaches
us that life is not always fair.

• The book of Proverbs is a rule book teaching how to live responsible and godly
lives. A proverb is a brief expression of truth that is usually easy to remember. It
emphasizes practical attitudes and basic values which will help a child to grow up
to be wise, prosperous, well-liked and morally good. However, Proverbs does not
guarantee that life will always go well. It does teach that there are basic attitudes
and patterns of behavior which will help us to be responsible and happy adults.

How to apply the Proverbs:

1. Remember that the Proverbs are not legal guarantees for success from God. It is
true that God will eventually right all the wrongs we see in this world. He will
reward the righteous and judge the proud, but it may not be in this lifetime.

2. Proverbs must be read as a collection. Each individual proverb must be balanced

against others. Each one must be understood alongside the rest of Scripture. We

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 must be careful that their practical concern with material things and this world do
not make us forget other Scripture which warns against our loving the world and
the things that are in the world (1 John 2:15).

3. Proverbs are worded to be easily remembered. Therefore, they are brief and they
use picture language. Principles stated in brief, figurative language must always
be interpreted and applied with Spirit-given common sense and good judgment.

4. Many proverbs express truths about practices and institutions that no longer
exist. When we understand their historical context, we can see how to apply
them to our own situation.

• Ecclesiastes often puzzles believers. Some parts of the book could have been
written by a Muslim, a Hindu or a materialistic, worldly person. Until the last
verses, it seems that the message of the book is that life has no ultimate value,
because all life ends in death.

So why is Ecclesiastes included in the Bible? It is there as a contrast to what the rest of
the Bible teaches. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 tells us the key message of the book:

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into
judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

The rest of the book is to show us how discouraging and unsatisfying life is if we do not
live according to Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. That verse points to the rest of scripture,
especially to obeying God’s commands.

In short, summary form, here are books of poetry and wisdom and their themes:

Books of Poetry and Wisdom

Book Theme

Job An examination of the problems of evil and human suffering

Psalms The song book or hymnal of ancient Israel

Proverbs Wise sayings and observations designed to develop proper

attitudes and behavior

Ecclesiastes A philosophical description of the emptiness of life without

God

Song of Solomon A love song portraying the beauty of a human love

relationship as a symbol of divine love

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 E. Old Testament Prophecy

The books from Isaiah through Malachi are called prophecy. They are given the names
of the prophets who spoke or wrote them. The one exception is Lamentations, which is
a book of poetry, written by the prophet Jeremiah. Of all Bible writings, prophecy is the
hardest to understand. To understand them, we must first understand two things about
prophecy:

• The function of prophecy

• The form of prophecy

1. The Function of Prophecy

Many believers think that prophecy is primarily predicting things that will happen in the
future. The only verses some believers know from the prophets are verses that predict
the coming of Jesus, things included in the New Covenant, or the end of the world.

Actually, less than two percent of Old Testament prophecy talks about the coming
Messiah. Less than five percent specifically describes the New Covenant age. Less
than one percent is about events which have not yet happened. It is true that the
prophets told about the future. But they usually predicted something that was going to
happen to ancient Israel or Judah or the other nations that were surrounding them.

So there are challenges as we attempt to properly interpret prophecy. First, let’s look at
three specific challenges that face us:

• Challenge number one: Is this a prediction or some other kind of message?

• Challenge number two: If it is a prediction - what event does this predict?
• Challenge number three: Knowing and recognizing that some prophecies have
two fulfillments: one for the time in which the prophet was writing and one for a
later time. [See Appendix D]

Since much of the prophets' writings are not prediction, what is a prophet? A prophet is
someone who speaks the message of God about the situation in which His people are
living. The primary function of the prophets was to speak from God to the Israelites. The
prophets were called by God. Their messages are filled with statements like: "Thus says
the Lord." They were like ambassadors from the court of heaven who gave the King’s
message to the people. They proclaimed the Word of the Lord. They delivered His
message in the manner in which the Lord directed.

The prophets spoke about the Old Covenant. Their message was basically the same
message God had given through Moses. In the law, God had already explained the
social reforms and religious thoughts by which He wanted His people to live. He had
already promised that the Messiah would come. (However, many additional truths about
Jesus' role and His life and death were revealed through the prophets.)

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The whole nation was blessed when the people were faithful to the covenant. Blessings
included life, health, prosperity, abundant harvests, respect and safety. Curses
(punishment) included death, disease, drought, famine, defeat, exile and disgrace. The
prophets often told the curses in figurative language. At other times they told literally
what would happen. These blessings and curses are for Israel as a nation. They do not
guarantee prosperity or calamity to specific individuals.

• The Historical Context of the Prophetic Books

To understand the prophets, we must understand their historical context. All sixteen Old
Testament prophetic books come from a period of about 425 years, from about 850
B.C. to 424 B.C. These years were characterized by political, military, economic and
social instability, unfaithfulness to God and disobedience to the Mosaic Covenant.
Populations were being forcibly moved to other places and national boundaries were
being changed. The prophets were speaking to people living in those kinds of situations.
For the most part, they were in very difficult situations.

We are far removed from the religious, historical and cultural life of ancient Israel.
Because of that, it is often difficult for us to see what particular verses are referring to
and why the prophet said what he did. Challenge number four is to put the words
spoken by the prophets into their proper historical context.

To understand the prophecy, we must understand what was happening to the prophet
and the people. When a king's name is mentioned, always go back to Kings or
Chronicles and read what the Bible tells about his reign as king. For further information
about the prophets, consult Appendix E – “Prophets of Israel and Judah.” Try to learn
about the approximate date the prophet spoke, the audience to whom he spoke and the
situation about which he was speaking.

2. The Form of Prophecy

Most of the longer prophetic books are collections of spoken messages. Sometimes
they are not written in the order in which they were spoken. Often it is hard to tell where
one message ends and another begins. Often we are not sure when, where or to whom
they were spoken. Thus, it is very helpful in interpreting prophecy to know the
chronology of the book.

It will help us understand prophetic books if we identify where each message begins
and ends, then deal with the message as a unit. One key to help identify a message is
to understand the forms in which the prophets gave their messages. Some common
forms of prophecy are:

• The War Message - announcing the judgment of God being carried out through
a battle. War messages usually have three elements:

1) a call to alarm
2) a description of the attack
3) the prediction of defeat. [Example: Hosea 5:8-10]

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 • The Lawsuit - in which God is pictured as the plaintiff, prosecuting attorney and
judge in a court case against the defendant, Israel. The complete lawsuit form
includes:

1) a summons
2) a charge
3) evidence
4) a verdict.

Sometimes these are explicit; sometimes they are implied. [Example: Isaiah
3:13-26]

• The Message of Doom in which God warns that disaster is coming soon. There
are usually three elements in a message of doom:

1) an announcement of distress (the word "woe" is often used -- "woe" is a word

which was cried out by a person facing disaster)
2) the reason for the distress
3) a prediction of doom. [Examples: Habakkuk 2:6- 8; Micah 2:1-5; Zephaniah
2:5-7]

• The Promise of Salvation message. This form refers to the future. It speaks of
radical change and also of blessing. [Examples: Amos 9:11-15; Hosea 2:16-20,
2:21-23; Isaiah 45:1-7 and Jeremiah 31:1-9]

‰ Applying the Prophet's Message

Once we understand what God said to Israel through the prophets, we need to try to
understand how we can apply that prophetic message to our own life. How does it apply
to my own family and to my church and city, and to our national circumstances?

In short, summary form, here are the books of the prophets and their themes:

Books of the Prophets

Book Theme

Isaiah The outstanding prophecy of condemnation and Messianic

consolation

Jeremiah A message of judgment against Judah’s moral and spiritual

decay

Lamentations Five poems of lament over fallen Jerusalem

Ezekiel A prophecy of judgment during the Babylonian Captivity

Daniel A book of prophecy about the end times

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Hosea A message of Israel’s condemnation followed by God’s
forgiveness

Joel A prediction of foreign invasion as a form of judgment by

God

Amos Pronouncements of judgment against the nations, especially

Israel

Obadiah A book prophesying the total destruction of Edom

Jonah A story about a reluctant prophet who led Nineveh to

repentance

Micah A prediction of judgment and a promise of Messianic

restoration

Nahum A prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh

Habakkuk A prophet who questioned God and praised His approaching

judgment against Judah

Zephaniah A prediction of destructive judgment followed by tremendous

blessing
Haggai After the return from Babylon, a call to rebuild the Temple

Zechariah A Messianic prophecy calling for the completion of

construction on the Temple

Malachi A prophecy of destruction followed by Messianic blessing

F. The Gospels

The first four books of the New Testament are called Gospels. The word "gospel"
means "good news." These are the books that tell us the good news about Jesus the
Messiah. They do more than tell facts about His life and record teachings He gave.
They are testimonies that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Savior of
the world.

Mark was probably the first Gospel to be written. Matthew and Luke were written later,
and John was written much later. Matthew, Mark and Luke have many similarities. They
are called synoptic" gospels. "Synoptic" is a Greek word which means seeing "through
the same eyes."

1. Understanding the Gospels

When we study the gospels we should be aware of two sets of historical contexts:

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 • Jesus' historical setting
• Author’s historical setting

‰ We need to know the historical setting of Jesus and the people to whom He
ministered. To see Jesus' historical context, we should learn everything we
can about New Testament history and culture. We can find this information in
the Bible and in other books. Examine the incidents that precede and follow
the verses we are studying. This helps us to see why He acted and said what
He did.

As we read the Gospels, we must pay close attention to whom Jesus was speaking.
Was Jesus' audience His close disciples, a large crowd or His opponents? He spoke
differently to different groups. Ask, "Why did He say these words to this particular
group?" Understanding all these things will help us to better understand Jesus' teaching
and apply it to our own circumstances.

‰ We also need to know the historical setting in which each author was writing.
Matthew and John were among Jesus' twelve disciples. But the situation in
which Matthew wrote and the people to whom he wrote were very different
from John. Matthew wrote primarily to Jews who lived in villages of Galilee
and Judea. John wrote many years later when most believers were
city-dwelling Gentiles. The world of the Gentile doctor Luke was different from
that of the 12 disciples. Knowing what was happening in the writer's world and
in the lives of the people to whom they wrote helps us understand their books.
We find many clues in each gospel about the historical context in which it was
written.

We must also pay attention to the literary context (the verses before and after those we
are reading). When the Holy Spirit inspired each of the writers, He put a purpose into
their minds. Then He inspired them to write down what fulfilled His purpose. We find His
purpose with literary context questions. We keep asking, "Why does the writer say this
right here?"

For example, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, John chose certain things for his
purpose, which was: "that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31). All of the writers
made choices about which miracles, teachings and incidents to include in their gospel.
They chose the ones that fit their purpose. To understand the special emphasis of each
gospel, we must notice what each writer chose to include.

Jesus repeated the same teachings more than one time, so the same sayings
sometimes had different historical contexts. The Holy Spirit guided each writer about
where to place Jesus' teachings in his book. Therefore, Gospel writers sometimes
placed identical sayings in different contexts. For example, in Matthew, the Lord’s
Prayer is given in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). In Luke 11, it
was given right after Jesus had been praying, and the disciples asked Him to teach
them to pray.

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2. The Kingdom of God in the Gospels

It is impossible to properly interpret the Gospels if we do not understand what Jesus

meant by "the Kingdom of God."

The Jews had their own idea of the Kingdom of God. They knew that when Adam and
Eve sinned, satan gained great power in this world. They saw that they lived in an age
of sin, sickness, demon possession and the rule of evil men. They also knew God had
promised to judge satan and to establish His own kingdom. They knew prophecies from
Isaiah, Joel, Jeremiah, Zechariah and others that God’s kingdom would be
characterized by the presence of the Spirit, righteousness, health and peace. They
looked forward to a new age when these prophecies would be fulfilled. At that time, the
old age would end. They thought the Messiah, as king of Israel, would rule the world in
the new age after the end of time.

When John the Baptist began to preach and baptize, he proclaimed that:

‰ The Kingdom of God was near

‰ The Messiah was at hand
‰ The new age of the Spirit would soon be inaugurated

Then Jesus appeared on the scene. He also announced that the Kingdom of God was
at hand. In His ministry He cast out demons, worked miracles and freely accepted
outcasts and sinners. All these were signs of the end of the old age. Everyone was
watching to see if Jesus was really the Messiah, the Promised One from God. Would
He bring in the new messianic age in all its glory? Then Jesus was crucified -- and hope
died.

But on the third day Jesus was raised from the dead. He was victorious over sin, satan
and death. He appeared to many of His followers. However, even Jesus' disciples still
had their old ideas about the Kingdom of God. Just before He ascended to heaven, they
asked if He would "now restore the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6). Instead, Jesus
returned to the Father and poured out the promised Spirit. The Holy Spirit came in
fullness and power, with signs and wonders, with the New Covenant. These were signs
that the new age had arrived. Yet the end of this present age had not yet taken place.
How were they to understand this?

In Peter's sermon in Acts 2, we see they had begun to realize that Jesus had not come
to usher in the "final" end, but the "beginning" of the end. Because of Jesus' death,
resurrection, ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the blessings of the new age
had arrived. But the old, evil age was still present. Thus in one sense, the Kingdom of
Heaven had already arrived but in another sense it had not yet arrived.

The early believers learned to truly be "end time" people. They knew that they lived
between the "beginning of the end" and the "conclusion of the end". At the Lord's
Supper they celebrated their faith by remembering the beginning of the end (Jesus'
death), and looking forward to the final end (Jesus’ second coming). They already knew
God’s free, full forgiveness, but they were not yet perfect (Philippians 3:7-14). Victory
over death was already theirs (1 Corinthians 3:22), but they would still die (Philippians

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3:20-22). They already lived in the Spirit, but they still lived in the world where satan
could attack (Galatians 5:16- 21). They had already been justified and faced no
condemnation (Romans 8:1), but there would still be a future judgment (2 Corinthians
5:10).

Recognizing the meaning of the Kingdom of God is the key to understanding much of
the New Testament, including much of Jesus' ministry and teachings. He called his
disciples to become citizens of the Kingdom of God. He calls us to live our lives by the
power of the Holy Spirit under the Lordship of the Jesus. We are to follow the ethics of
the new age, although we live among a wicked and sinful people who are ruled by
satan.

3. Applying the Gospel

The Gospels contain many commands and teachings of Jesus. They describe what a
believer’s life should be. We are God's children. We have received His Holy Spirit. By
the power of that Spirit we are called to be like our Father.

Much of the Gospel material is narratives (true stories). Different narratives have
different purposes. For instance, the miracle stories illustrate the power of the Kingdom
in Jesus' ministry. They are not necessarily precedents for us to follow. Other stories are
placed in a teaching context. The story of the rich young ruler (Mark 10: 17-22) comes
in the middle of some of Jesus' teachings about entering the Kingdom of Heaven. He
used two disciples' request to sit at His right hand (Mark 10:35-45) to teach them about
true greatness and servanthood. These narratives should be applied the way Jesus
applied them. When we understand the teaching the story is illustrating, we can apply
the illustration to our own lives.

• Understanding and Applying the Parables

We must see the difference between parables and other types of Jesus’ teachings. A
parable is a special kind of story. It has a beginning, an ending and some plot. Parables
are different from illustrations taken from everyday life that Jesus used to explain
various teachings - illustrations such as leaven in the meal, mustard seed faith and the
sower.

A parable is not just an illustration - it is a message in itself. It makes one point. Jesus
used parables to capture the attention of His hearers and call for a response from them.
As He told the parable His listeners identified with the characters and incidents in the
story. Because the story was like the hearers' own lives and experiences, they thought
they understood the story. As they listened, they expected the story to end a certain
way. But then Jesus might turn the story in an unexpected direction. When they
understood the true point of the story they were convicted about their own actions. They
were challenged to respond in some way to Jesus.

An example is the parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:16-20. The listeners identified
with the rich man. They believed that he was blessed by God and they thought about
how they also would like to have abundant crops and sit back and enjoy their wealth.

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Then the story suddenly takes an unexpected turn. When God says, "You fool!" the
listeners hear God speaking those same words of judgment to themselves.

What is the point of the parable of the Rich Fool? It was spoken to a crowd of people
who were following Jesus. They had heard a man request Jesus to settle a disputed
inheritance. The parable illustrates Jesus' teaching in verse 15: "a man's life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions." The parable warns those in the crowd
about God’s judgment on people who think only about this world and its riches. It calls
for each of them to seek first the Kingdom of God.

In order to understand a parable we must:

• Sit at Jesus' feet and listen to the parable (usually more than once).
• Try to understand how the first listeners identified with the characters and actions
in the story.
• Understand how the original hearers expected the story to end.
• Decide what Jesus wanted them to learn when He ended the story differently
from the way they expected.

The key is to identify with the original hearers and to hear the story as they heard it.

In short, summary form, here are the gospels and their themes (how they portray
Jesus), audiences, key words, key verses and number of Old Testament quotations:

The Gospels

Book Theme

Matthew Jesus presented as the fulfillment of Old Testament Messianic

prophecy

Mark Probably the earliest of the gospels, focusing on Jesus’ ministry

Luke Fullest biography of Jesus, focusing on His perfection and ministry

of salvation

John The most symbolic gospel, which presents Jesus as the divine Son
of God

Gospel Audience Portrait of Jesus

Matthew Jews Jesus is the Messiah/King who fulfills Old Testament

prophecy and expectations

Mark Romans Jesus is the authoritative Son of God

Luke Gentiles Jesus is the perfect Son of Man who came to save and

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 minister to all people through the power of the Holy Spirit
and prayer

John Greeks Jesus is the fully divine Son of God in whom we should
believe to receive eternal life (the “I AM” of God)

Key Verses Key Words Old Testament Quotations

Matthew 1:1, 16:16, 20:28 Fulfilled 53 times

Mark 1:1, 8:27, 10:45,15:34 Immediately

Luke 19:10 Son of Man

John 20:31 Believe, eternal life

G. The Acts of the Apostles

Acts is a book of history, so Luke wrote it in narrative form. What history does Acts tell
about? It begins when the Messiah went back to heaven and tells how the church
began in Jerusalem and spread throughout the Roman Empire. The gospel crossed
racial and cultural boundaries. The theme of Acts is simply the history of the expansion
of the early church. The church began with only Jewish believers, but at the end of Acts
most believers were Gentiles.

Knowing the book of Acts will help us to better understand the letters in the New
Testament, because we will know something about the background of many of the
churches to which they are written.

As we read Acts, we should continually ask: "What was Luke's purpose in writing this?”
We will discover that Luke emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit's work
to direct the spread of the Gospel. He empowers the messengers of the gospel.

We will also discover that Luke writes about a great diversity of events in how the
Gospel spread. The Holy Spirit intended that the church should be like the first century
church in some important ways. Luke repeatedly tells about the joyful spread of the
Gospel. This expansion was empowered by the Holy Spirit. It resulted in changed lives
and changed communities. This is God's intent for the church of every age. And
because it is God’s intent for the church, nothing can stop it.

‰ Applying Acts

Basic Christian teaching can be divided into three categories:

• Theology: what we believe.

41
 • Ethics: how we should behave.
• Practices: what we do in different areas such as worship.

We believe the direct teachings of the Bible about each of these things. We have
additional ideas about them that we base on examples or precedents found in scripture.
We also have additional ideas based on the traditions of our particular culture.

Many of our church practices come from the examples we see in scripture, rather than
from its direct teaching. For example, because the church in Jerusalem did something,
we also do it. Or we may go one step further and say that it can only be done this way.

There are some general principles to help us decide whether narrative descriptions of
what happened are also rules that tell us what our church must do now. When does
Acts say, "You must do this," and when does it say, "You may do this? " As a general
rule, we may say the following:

• Do not make a Biblical precedent (an event or action told about in a narrative) the
standard for today if there is no direct teaching about it in the Bible.

• Biblical precedents do have value to illustrate what we should and should not do.
However, they are not necessarily rules of what we should or should not do. For
it to be binding on us, the principle of the action must be directly taught
elsewhere in the Bible.

H. New Testament Letters

Twenty-one of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament are letters. Most of the
New Testament letters follow the form used by people of that time when they wrote
letters:

‰ The name of the writer

‰ The name of the person or the group who received it
‰ A greeting - writers usually used a phrase like, "Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah.”
‰ A wish for the receiver's good fortune - writers usually wrote a prayer or
thanksgiving.
‰ Message - this is the purpose for which the letter was written
‰ The final greeting and farewell

Some Challenges in Interpreting New Testament Letters

The first challenge comes from the historical context of the letters. Most of the New
Testament letters were written to deal with a problem or special circumstances the
receivers were facing. The person who wrote the letter knew what the problems were.
The people who received the letter knew what the problems were. So the writer usually

42
did not specifically state the problems. Our challenge is to figure out what caused the
letter to be written.

Circumstances that caused New Testament letters to be written included:

• Behavior that needed to be corrected.

• Wrong teaching that needed to be refuted.
• A misunderstanding that needed to be clarified.

New Testament letters have much teaching about God and His purposes. However
(except for Romans), the letters are not complete, organized theological explanations of
truth. Instead, the writer picks truths that apply to the specific problems or situation the
readers are facing. He only gives as much teaching or explanation as the readers need.

Because the letters were written to help churches solve their problems, they are very
practical for today. Human nature has not changed and churches still have the same
kind of problems.

The second challenge is determining the difference between ethical commands that are
binding on believers today and cultural customs that are not. God's truths remain the
same. Like people of Bible times we too are lost in sin. We need a Savior. Salvation
comes to us by grace through faith. We are each called to live a godly life and to share
His truth with others. But should all godly people "Greet the brethren with a holy kiss"
(which is mentioned five times in the New Testament)? What does a “kiss” mean?

How do we decide which behaviors in the New Testament are binding for us?

• The letters themselves identify some matters as unimportant. Examples are food,
drink and observance of certain days.

• Non-binding behavior is not moral in nature. We are always to do what is right

and shun what is wrong. Non-binding behavior is usually that which varies from
culture to culture among genuine believers who live by Biblical principles. An
example would be a woman braiding her hair (which Peter mentions negatively
when he is teaching a wife's beauty is from the inside, not the outside. 1 Peter
3:3).

The attitudes and actions mentioned in the “sin lists” of the letters are always wrong.
Examples are Romans 1:29-31, 1 Corinthians 5:11, 6:9- 10, Galatians 5:19-21 and 2
Timothy 3:2-4. The lists of moral commands must always be obeyed. Examples are
Romans 12, Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3.

The third challenge is interpreting passages that are difficult to understand. Three things
will help us interpret these passages.

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 • Remember that the passage was originally written to people who knew things we
do not know. They shared the same culture, language and often a particular
experience with the writer. For example, in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul talks about
the "man of lawlessness." In verse 5, he tells the Thessalonian believers to
remember what he used to say to them. We did not hear what Paul said to them,
so we have trouble knowing "what is holding him (the man of lawlessness) back"
in verse 6. However, God clearly tells us everything that is important for us to
know. We must be content with not knowing about some things.

• Usually, the main teaching of the passage is clear to us, even if we don't
understand some of the details in the passage. For example, Paul mentions
"those who are baptized for the dead" in 1 Corinthians 15:29. We do not
understand what they were doing or why they were doing it. But we do
understand Paul used this as an illustration to strengthen his argument against
any doubt about the future resurrection of believers. We understand Paul's
teaching (those who have died will be resurrected) without understanding about
baptism for the dead.

• Differentiate between what the passage says for certain and what it possibly (but
not certainly) says. Many believers use 1 Peter 3:19 to say that, after his death,
Jesus descended into hell. That is one possible interpretation of the passage.
However, all it says for certain is that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison who
had been disobedient in the time Noah was building the ark.

In short, summary form, here are Paul’s letters, their themes and dates and places
written:

Paul’s Letters

Book Theme Place Written Date Written Recipients

Romans- The Righteousness of God Corinth 57 The Beloved
1 Corinthians - Divisions and Disorders Ephesus 56-57 The Church
2 Corinthians- The Ministry of Reconciliation Macedonia 56–57 The Church
Galatians- Freedom in Jesus Antioch (?) 48–49 Churches of
(or 55-57) Galatia
Ephesians - The Church: The Body of Jesus Rome 60-63 The Saints
Philippians - Joyful Living as a Believer Rome 60–63 The Saints
Colossians - The Supremacy of Jesus Rome 60–63 The Saints
1 Thessalonians- The Coming of Jesus Corinth 51–52 The Church
2 Thessalonians- The Day of the Lord Corinth 51–52 The Church
1 Timothy Pastoral Advice Macedonia (?) 62–66 Timothy
2 Timothy Farewell/Encouragement Rome 66–67 Timothy
44
Titus A Christian Conduct Manual Macedonia (?)63–66 Titus
Philemon Receiving a slave as a Brother Rome 60–63 Philemon

In short, summary form, here are the general letters (and Revelation) and their themes:

General Letters

Book Theme

Hebrews A presentation of Jesus as High Priest, addressed to Jewish

believers

James Practical instructions for daily life as a believer

1 Peter Encouragement and comfort from Peter to suffering believers

2 Peter Peter’s warning against false teachers

1 John John’s reminder of the full humanity of the Messiah

2 John John’s letter of encouragement and approval

3 John John’s personal note of appreciation to Gaius

Jude A strong warning against false teachers

Revelation An encouraging prophecy of the final days and God’s ultimate

triumph

I. The Revelation

We should study the book of Revelation with an attitude of humility and with much
prayer. It is not an easy book to understand. As with all books of the Bible, we must
carefully study it with the goal of understanding the original message that Jesus was
giving to the first readers of the book.

Revelation is a kind of literature called "apocalyptic" literature. This type of literature was
concerned with the last days of world history. This literature was usually filled with
mysterious signs and events about the last days. Much apocalyptic literature was
written in Judea between 200 BC and 200 AD. The characteristics of this kind of
literature are:

• Its focus is God's activity to bring history to a violent end. At that time, good will
triumph and evil will be eternally judged.
45
 • The language is symbolic and has hidden meanings.

• It usually contains visions and dreams.

• The pictures in it are often fantastic. Examples: a beast with seven heads and ten
horns, a woman clothed with the sun, locusts with scorpion's tails and human
heads.

• Numbers are used symbolically.

• Events are not arranged chronologically. Instead they are put together to teach
something. For instance, numbered sets of visions are put together to make a
point (such as judgment). This does not mean the visions happened one after the
other.

The Revelation written by John follows these characteristics. There is another

characteristic of apocalyptic literature that he did not follow. Other writers of apocalypse
tried to make it seem that their books were written in the distant past. Usually, the book
said it was written by a well known Israelite who was told "to seal it up" for a later day.
The “later day" would be the age in which the book was actually written. In contrast,
John states clearly who he is. He also says that he was told not to seal up the word of
the prophecy of this book (Revelation 22:10).

John uses the literary characteristics listed above. But his apocalypse is different from
other apocalypse because it contains real prophecy. He wrote during a time of
persecution. His purpose was to comfort and strengthen believers by assuring them of
the final triumph of Jesus and His church.

He also gave a prophetic word from the Lord for the day in which he lived. His book was
not to be sealed for the future. It tells God’s word of judgment and salvation for the
churches to whom it was written. This prophetic intent of the book is especially evident
in the seven letters to the churches and in the final chapters.

This combination of apocalypse and prophecy is written in the form of a letter. In 1:4-7
and 22:21 we see the letter form used in New Testament times. John speaks directly to
his readers (I ... you). This letter was sent to seven churches in Asia Minor (present day
Turkey). It is speaking to the situation and needs of those churches. To interpret it
correctly we need to understand their historical context.

To understand Revelation we must first understand what it meant to John, who wrote it,
and to the members of the seven churches who read or heard it. So we should begin
our study by learning as much about John and his situation as possible. We should also
learn about the churches and their situations.

Since Revelation is prophecy, we recognize that it may have a double fulfillment -- one
for its time and one for a future time. John and his readers may not have fully
understood the second fulfillment. But our first task is to understand what John intended
his original readers to hear and understand.
46
You know that one Bible study principle is to compare the teaching of a passage with
what the rest of the Bible teaches. However, we must be careful not to interpret
Revelation in such a way that other Scriptures are required as keys to unlock
Revelation's meaning. This letter had a meaning for the original readers. They may not
have had opportunity to read Matthew or First and Second Thessalonians. Gentile
believers in Asia Minor may have been weak in their understanding of Old Testament
prophecy. Therefore, any ideas we need to "unlock" the meanings in Revelation must
be found within the text of Revelation itself, or must be available to those who first
received this letter.

In the first verse, John tells us that this book is the revelation of Jesus the Messiah.
Jesus is the central character of Revelation. He has all power and is victorious over
satan and all evil.

The fact that we do not read much apocalyptic literature makes many of the scenes in
Revelation strange to us. However, it is not hard for us to understand the point of
Revelation. The readers were facing persecution. The Messiah strengthened them by
giving a revelation to John. The revelation was that the one, true God does rule. Those
who had been martyred for Jesus were now in heaven praising him. The Messiah will
return. This world will be judged. Satan and his followers will be sent to eternal
punishment. God will reign forever.

The verse which best sums up the message of Revelation is 11: 15:

“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which
said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Messiah, and He will reign for ever and ever.’ "

When we study revelation, this is the triumphant emphasis that we must always
remember.

XI. Conclusion

The Bible is God's Word to us. It is called a treasure, a light, a sword, a fire, a seed, and
many, many more things. One reason it was given was to equip you to do whatever
ministry God intends for you to do. But it will not be effective in our lives if we do not:

1) faithfully read it
2) study it
3) listen to what God says to us through it
4) obey it.

Who understands everything in the Bible? The Holy Spirit does - He inspired it. Where
is the Holy Spirit now? He came to live in us at the moment we believed in Jesus as
Lord and Savior. If you have been born again, He is in you! One of His tasks is to help
you in Bible study.

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In I Corinthians 2:9-16, Paul explains how important the Holy Spirit is to Bible study. It is
impossible to understand spiritual truth with human intelligence. Only the Holy Spirit can
give understanding. God has given us His Spirit as our special teacher. The Holy Spirit
enables us to understand spiritual truth.

In John 14:26, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will teach us and remind us of Jesus'
words. Any teacher will tell you that he can only teach pupils who are willing to learn.
The Holy Spirit will not do what it is our duty to do. In order to learn we must read, study
and meditate on God’s Word. We must discipline ourselves daily to think seriously
about God’s Word and we must obey God’s Word. The Holy Spirit teaches us as we
prayerfully study the Bible with His help. My prayer is that this book will help you to
study, understand and apply God's Word.

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 APPENDIX A – One Year Bible Reading Plan

Old Testament New Testament

Ge Genesis Ecc Ecclesiastes Mt Matthew 1Ti 1 Timothy
Ex Exodus SS Song Songs Mk Mark 2Ti 2 Timothy
Lev Leviticus Isa Isaiah Lk Luke Tit Titus
Nu Numbers Jer Jeremiah Jn John Phm Philemon
Dt Deuteronomy La Lamentations Ac Acts Heb Hebrews
Jos Joshua Eze Ezekiel Ro Romans Jas James
Jdg Judges Da Daniel 1Co 1 Corinthians 1Pe 1 Peter
Ru Ruth Hos Hosea 2Co 2 Corinthians 2Pe 2 Peter
1Sa 1 Samuel Joel Joel Gal Galatians 1Jn 1 John
2Sa 2 Samuel Am Amos Eph Ephesians 2Jn 2 John
1Ki 1 Kings Ob Obadiah Php Philippians 3Jn 3 John
2Ki 2 Kings Jnh Jonah Col Colossians Jude Jude
1Ch 1 Chronicles Mic Micah 1Th 1 Thess. Rev Revelation
2Ch 2 Chronicles Na Nahum 2Th 2 Thess.
Ezr Ezra Hab Habakkuk
Ne Nehemiah Zep Zephaniah …………………
Est Esther Hag Haggai
Job Job Zec Zechariah
Ps Psalms Mal Malachi
Pr Proverbs
Week SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
Ge 5- Ge Ge 21-
1 Ge 1-4 Ge 9-12 Ge 18-20 Ge 24-25
8 13-17 23
Ge Ge Ge 42-
2 Ge 26-28 Ge 32-35 Ge 39-41 Ge 44-46
29-31 36-38 43
Ex 8- Ex 14-
3 Ge 47-50 Ex 1-4 Ex 5-7 Ex 11-13 Ex 17-20
10 16
Ex 24- Ex 31- Ex 38-
4 Ex 21-23 Ex 28-30 Ex 35-37 Lev 1-4
27 34 40
Lev 8- Lev Lev Lev 22-
5 Lev 5-7 Lev 11-13 Lev 16-18
10 14-15 19-21 23
Lev Nu 3-
6 Lev 24-25 Nu 1-2 Nu 5-6 Nu 7 Nu 8-10
26-27 4
Nu Nu Nu 25-
7 Nu 11-13 Nu 16-18 Nu 22-24 Nu 27-29
14-15 19-21 26
Nu
8 Nu 30-32 Dt 1-2 Dt 3-4 Dt 5-8 Dt 9-11 Dt 12-15
33-36
Dt 20- Dt 28- Dt 33-
9 Dt 16-19 Dt 24-27 Dt 30-32 Jos 1-4
23 29 34
Jos 8- Jos Jos 21- Jos 23-
10 Jos 5-7 Jos 11-13 Jos 18-20
10 14-17 22 24
Jdg 4- Jdg 9- Jdg Jdg 17-
11 Jdg 1-3 Jdg 6-8 Jdg 11-13
5 10 14-16 19
Ru 1- 1Sa 1Sa 1Sa 15-
12 Jdg 20-21 1Sa 1-3 1Sa 8-12
4 4-7 13-14 16
1Sa 1Sa 2Sa 1-
13 1Sa 17-18 1Sa 22-24 1Sa 28-31 2Sa 4-7
19-21 25-27 3
14 2Sa 8-11 2Sa 2Sa 14-16 2Sa 2Sa 20-22 2Sa 1Ki 1-2

49
 12-13 17-19 23-24

1Ki 6- 1Ki 1Ki 16-

15 1Ki 3-5 1Ki 8-9 1Ki 13-15 1Ki 19-20
7 10-12 18
2Ki 1- 2Ki 6- 2Ki 11-
16 1Ki 21-22 2Ki 4-5 2Ki 9-10 2Ki 14-16
3 8 13
2Ki 2Ki 1Ch 3-
17 2Ki 17-18 2Ki 22-23 1Ch 1-2 1Ch 5-6
19-21 24-25 4
1Ch 1Ch 1Ch 1Ch 27-
18 1Ch 7-9 1Ch 13-16 1Ch 20-23
10-12 17-19 24-26 29
2Ch 2Ch 2Ch 2Ch 25-
19 2Ch 1-4 2Ch 8-11 2Ch 17-20
5-7 12-16 21-24 28
2Ch Ezr 1- Ezr 8-
20 2Ch 29-31 2Ch 35-36 Ezr 5-7 Ne 1-3
32-34 4 10
Ne 8- Ne
21 Ne 4-7 Ne 10-11 Est 1-3 Est 4-7 Est 8-10
9 12-13
Job 5- Job Job Job 25-
22 Job 1-4 Job 9-12 Job 17-20
8 13-16 21-24 30
Job Ps 18-
23 Job 31-34 Job 39-42 Ps 1-8 Ps 9-17 Ps 22-27
35-38 21
Ps 34- Ps 43- Ps 56-
24 Ps 28-33 Ps 38-42 Ps 50-55 Ps 62-68
37 49 61
Ps 73- Ps 81- Ps 95- Ps 104-
25 Ps 69-72 Ps 78-80 Ps 89-94
77 88 103 106
Ps Ps Ps
26 Ps 107-111 112- Ps 119 120- Ps 134-140 141- Pr 1-3
118 133 150
Pr 8- Pr 15- Pr 21-
27 Pr 4-7 Pr 12-14 Pr 18-20 Pr 24-26
11 17 23
Pr 30- Ecc 5-
28 Pr 27-29 Ecc 1-4 Ecc 9-12 SS 1-4 SS 5-8
31 8
Isa 4- Isa Isa 20-
29 Isa 1-3 Isa 9-11 Isa 15-19 Isa 25-28
8 12-14 24
Isa Isa Isa 44-
30 Isa 29-31 Isa 35-37 Isa 41-43 Isa 47-49
32-34 38-40 46
Isa Isa
31 Isa 50-52 Isa 57-59 Isa 64-66 Jer 1-3 Jer 4-5
53-56 60-63
Jer 9- Jer Jer 22-
32 Jer 6-8 Jer 12-14 Jer 18-21 Jer 25-27
11 15-17 24
Jer Jer Jer 44-
33 Jer 28-30 Jer 33-36 Jer 40-43 Jer 47-48
31-32 37-39 46
Eze 1-
34 Jer 49 Jer 50 Jer 51-52 La 1-2 La 3-5 Eze 5-8
4
Eze Eze Eze Eze 25-
35 Eze 9-12 Eze 16-17 Eze 21-22
13-15 18-20 23-24 27

50
 Eze Eze Eze Eze 44-
36 Eze 28-30 Eze 33-35 Eze 39-40
31-32 36-38 41-43 46
Da 1- Da 6- Hos 1-
37 Eze 47-48 Da 4-5 Da 9-12 Hos 5-9
3 8 4
Joel Am 5-
38 Hos 10-14 Am 1-4 Ob and Jnh Mic 1-4 Mic 5-7
1-3 9
Hab Zec 6- Zec 11-
39 Na 1-3 Zep 1-3 Hag Zec 1-5
1-3 10 14
Mt 12-
40 Mal 1-4 Mt 1-4 Mt 5-6 Mt 6-9 Mt 10-11 Mt 14-17
13
Mt 21- Mt 25-
41 Mt 18-20 Mt 23-24 Mt 27-28 Mk 1-3 Mk 4-5
22 26
Mk 8- Mk Mk 15-
42 Mk 6-7 Mk 10-11 Mk 14 Lk 1-2
9 12-13 16
Lk 9- Lk 13-
43 Lk 3-4 Lk 5-6 Lk 7-8 Lk 11-12 Lk 16-18
10 15
Lk 21-
44 Lk 19-20 Lk 23-24 Jn 1-2 Jn 3-4 Jn 5-6 Jn 7-8
22
Jn 11- Jn 16- Jn 20-
45 Jn 9-10 Jn 13-15 Jn 18-19 Ac 1-3
12 17 21
Ac 10- Ac 14-
46 Ac 4-5 Ac 6-7 Ac 8-9 Ac 12-13 Ac 16-17
11 15
Ac 20- Ac 24-
47 Ac 18-19 Ac 22-23 Ac 27-28 Ro 1-3 Ro 4-7
21 26
Ro 1Co 1Co 1Co 14-
48 Ro 8-10 Ro 15-16 1Co 5-9
11-14 1-4 10-13 16
2Co Gal 1- Eph 1-
49 2Co 1-4 2Co 10-13 Gal 4-6 Php 1-4
5-9 3 6
1Th 1- 1Ti 1- Tit and
50 Col 1-4 2Th 1-3 2Ti 1-4 Heb 1-4
5 6 Phm
Heb Jas 1- 2Pe 1-
51 Heb 5-8 Heb 11-13 1Pe 1-5 1Jn 1-5
9-10 5 3
2Jn, 3Jn, Rev Rev Rev Rev 18-
52 Rev 4-7 Rev 12-14
Jude 1-3 8-11 15-17 19
53 Rev 20-22

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 APPENDIX B – Three Year Chapter Study Plan

Month First Year Second Year Third Year

January Mark, Hosea, Jude Ezekiel 1-31 Isaiah 1-31
February Genesis 1-28 Ezekiel 32 –48, Isaiah 32 – 59
Romans 1-11
March Genesis 29 – 50, Romans 12 – 16, Isaiah 60 – 66,
1 Timothy, Titus Deuteronomy 1-26 1,2 Peter,
1 Chronicles 1 – 16
April Exodus 1 – 30 Deuteronomy 27 – 1 Chronicles 17 –
34, 29,
Hebrews, 2 Chronicles 1 – 17
1 Samuel 1 – 9
May Exodus 31 – 40, 1 Samuel 10 – 31, 2 Chronicles 18 –
John 2 Samuel 1 – 9 36,
Micah, 1 John
June Leviticus, Joel 2 Samuel 10 – 24, 2 John, 3 John,
Revelation 1 –15 Jeremiah 1 –28
July Acts, Amos 1 –3 Revelation 16 –22, Jeremiah 29 –52,
Joshua Lamentations,
James 1 –2
August Amos 4 –9, Judges, Obadiah, James 3 –5, Nahum,
Numbers 1 – 25 1 Corinthians 1 –9 Habakkuk, Job 1- 22
September Numbers 26- 36, 1 Corinthians 10-16, Job 23 – 42,
Matthew 1 – 19 2 Corinthians, Zephaniah,
1 kings 1 - 10 Haggai, Ezra 1 –5
October Matthew 20 – 28, 1 Kings 11 –22, Ezra 6-10,
Proverbs 1 –22 2 Kings 1 –1 9 Nehemiah,
Philemon,
Zechariah 1- 12
November Proverbs 23 –31, 2 Kings 20-25, Zechariah 13-14,
Luke 1 –21 Galatians, Malachi,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs,
Ephesians 2 Timothy, Daniel
December Luke 22-24, 1,2 Thessalonians, Philippians,
Esther, Jonah, Colossians,
Psalms 1- 50 Psalms 51 - 100 Ruth, Psalms 101 -
150

Notes:

1) This plan is designed to allow you to study the Bible in three years.
2) You should study one chapter each day – 1 January to 12 December.
3) From 13 – 31 December each year, read the section of Psalms at least three
times.

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 APPENDIX C – Questions about Context
There are three kinds of context: historical, literary and chronological.

Historical context questions

Historical context questions are necessary because the Bible was written to real people
who lived at their time in history. To understand what the author was saying, we should
ask historical context questions: who, what, when, where and why? Historical context
questions are:
• Who wrote this book of the Bible? Who first read this book?
• What was happening in the world and specifically to the readers at that time?
• When did the events in the book take place?
• Where was the book written? Where did the readers live? What do we know
about that place?
• Why was the book written?

If we understand why the book was written, we understand the purpose for which it was
written. Understanding the purpose that the Holy Spirit put into the author's mind helps
us to understand the book.

Where can you find the answer to historical context questions?

You can find many answers by reading the Bible itself. Many of the New Testament
books begin by stating the author and to whom the book was written. As you read a
book of the Bible, look for what it says about the writer, the readers, the setting and the
book's purpose.

Literary context questions

Literary context questions are those we use to try to follow the Bible writer's thinking. To
understand what a word means, we must pay attention to the whole sentence. To
understand what a sentence means, we must pay attention to the other sentences
around it. When we read a verse in the Bible, we must pay attention to the verses that
come before and after it.

The most important literary context questions are:

• What did the author mean? Why does he say this right here?

When we understand what the author means in one sentence, and why he is saying it, it
helps us to understand what he means in the next sentence. We must continually ask
these two questions. Answering those two questions helps us to understand the way the
author is thinking. We can identify the subject he is writing about. We will recognize
when he changes the subject. Then we will understand how his ideas fit together.

To understand what the author meant, we must also ask questions about content of the
verses. We ask about the meaning of words. Many common words have more than one
meaning. We ask ourselves what the word means in the context of the sentence we are
reading. Often content questions are related to historical context. For example, we must
53
know something about the writer's culture to understand the meaning of such terms as
"a Sabbath day's journey" or "high places.”

Chronological context questions

Chronological context questions are about the time in Bible history the passage we are
reading happened. It is easier to answer both historical and literary context questions if
we keep an overview of the entire Bible in our minds. So we ask:

1) What has happened before this in the history of God’s people?

2) How does this relate to what is going to happen later?

The chronology of the Old Testament is basically found in Genesis through Nehemiah.
Look at a broad outline of Old Testament chronology below.

Genesis 1: 1 - The history of our world begins.

Genesis 12: 1- The history of God's special people begins.
Genesis 12 – 50 - We learn about the forefathers of the Israelite nation, God's promised
land to them, and how they left that land to live in Egypt.

Exodus through Deuteronomy is a mixture of law and history. They tell about the
Israelites leaving Egypt to return to the Promised Land, and their wanderings in the
desert for 40 years. God gave them His law during that time, so it is recorded in these
books.

Joshua tells about their conquest of the Promised Land. Judges tells about the years
the Israelites lived in the Promised Land before they had kings. 1 Samuel 10:1 - the first
king is anointed. 1 and 2 Samuel through chapter 11 of 1 Kings tell the history of the
United Kingdom.

The rest of 1 and 2 Kings tell what happened when the Israelites divided into two
Kingdoms. 1 and 2 Chronicles repeat what the books of Samuel and Kings tell us, but
they tell more about the Southern Kingdom. At the end of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, we
read about the Israelites being taken away as captives.

Ezra and Nehemiah tell about their return to the Promised Land and the rebuilding of
Jerusalem. The poetry and prophecies of the Old Testament fit into the chronology of
the events listed above. To understand many of the Psalms, it helps to know which
historical event the Psalmist is speaking about. To understand the prophecies, it helps
to know which historical event they are describing or predicting.

The chronology of the New Testament after Jesus' death and resurrection is basically
found in Acts. Understanding how the gospel spread and churches were begun from
Jerusalem throughout the Roman Empire helps us to understand the letters of the New
Testament. So we always ask where the passage we are reading fits into the
chronology of the Bible.

[For further information concerning Old Testament chronology, see also Appendix F –
“Important Dates in Old Testament History.”]

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 APPENDIX D – Special Problems in Interpretation

Scripture, like any other book, uses figures of speech and different types of literature
that can be difficult to understand. These call for special rules for the Bible interpreter.

• Hyperbole—A hyperbole is an exaggeration used for effect—an overstatement.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse” obviously is not literally true. It is an
exaggeration used to convey the idea of extreme hunger. Most hyperboles are
easily recognized because we use them all the time. But sometimes they are not.
For example, the apostle John made a statement something like this in his
gospel: If everything Jesus ever did were written down, the world could not hold
all the books that would be written (John 21:25). Surely John expected us to see
that he was overstating his point. It is a graphic picture of how much Jesus did,
but one painted in hyperbolic fashion.

• Metaphor—A simile makes a comparison by using a word such as “like”: “Life is

like a circus.” A metaphor is a similar comparison, except that it omits the word
“like”: “The world is a stage.” Metaphors such as “I am the door” (John 10:9) are
easily recognized. But what about Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: “This is My
body” (Luke 22:19)? Jesus probably intended this statement to be understood
metaphorically rather than literally or physically.

• Describing nonhuman objects as though they have human characteristics -

Do rivers have hands to clap (Psalm 98:8)? Does God have eyes (Psalm 33:18),
although He is spirit (John 4:24)? But how do we understand those verses that
say God “repents” (Exodus 32:12, Jeremiah 18:8 - relents, regrets)? Does God
change His mind? Or do these verses describe God from a human point of view?

• Parable—“Once upon a time in a far-away land there lived a fairy princess.” We

do not understand this sentence in a scientific or literal sense. We recognize that
it comes from a certain type of literature, and thus we do not interpret it
historically. Different types of literature fall into different categories, each of which
has its own rules of interpretation.

Parables are one type of literature in the Bible. We interpret them properly by picturing
the story in our minds as if we lived in Jesus’ day, finding the one main point, and not
giving meaning to all the details. The difference between allegory and parable is
important to understand. An allegory is a totally made-up story. Even the details of an
allegory may be significant. But a parable is a story taken from everyday life. In a
parable the speaker may not treat the details as important. They may be given to help
the reader picture the situation more clearly.

Although a few parables have allegorical elements, most parables teach only one main
point. The parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3–23) is part allegory because the sower,
seed, ground, birds, sun and weeds all stand for something else: Jesus, the Word,
Jesus’ audience, satan, persecution and the cares of the world.

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But what about the parable of the judge (Luke 18:1–14)? If the woman represents the
disciple, is God the unjust judge? Is the purpose of the parable of the rich man and
Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31) to teach that you cannot travel between heaven and hell? The
standard procedure for interpreting parables is to find the one main point and to view
the details of the story simply as illustrations, but not as the direct teaching of the
parable.

• Prophecy—There are two points to remember when interpreting prophecy. The

first is that what the prophet foresaw as one event may actually be two or more.
The Old Testament thought of the “Day of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:12) as one event.
But the last days actually began at Pentecost (Acts 2:20) and will conclude at the
Messiah’s return (2 Thessalonians 2:2).

The second point to remember is that although much Old Testament prophecy is
fulfilled in the New Testament, much was fulfilled in the Old Testament and then again
in the New. Isaiah’s prophecy in 7:14 was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day (Isaiah 8:8), and again
by Jesus’ birth (Matthew 1:23). Isaiah’s prophecy had a more complete meaning in that
it was to be fulfilled again at a more distant time in the future.

• Apocalyptic—This type of literature in the Bible is the most misunderstood by

interpreters today because it is no longer used. It has specific rules of
interpretation. Its most noticeable characteristic is its use of strange, symbolic
figures, such as those in the Book of Revelation.

The key to interpreting these figures lies in the Book of Revelation itself. In 1:20 the
seven stars are interpreted as representing the seven angels, and the seven
lampstands stand for the seven churches. In 17:9–10, the seven-headed beast stands
for the seven hills, and in 17:18, the woman is identified as the city that rules the earth.
Therefore, to understand APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE, and Revelation in particular, we
must interpret the imagery as very figurative. The images are describing things and
spiritual realities in figurative language.

• Wisdom—Old Testament wisdom literature is found mainly in Job, Proverbs and

Ecclesiastes. Since wisdom gives practical hints on how to cope with life and its
problems, it often consists of general principles rather than universally applicable
promises. For example, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is
old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6) is not a categorical command that
works in every situation. Biblical wisdom sayings must therefore be used with
due caution and great discernment (Proverbs 1:1–6).

In interpreting the Bible, we must remember from Whom it comes. We are handling the
Lord’s message. This demands an attitude of respect and our willingness to subject
ourselves to its authority.

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 APPENDIX E – Prophets of Israel and Judah

Name of Prophet Dates of Ministry (BC) Audience

Elijah 875 – 848 Israel

Obadiah 853 – 841 Edom

Elisha 848 – 797 Israel

Joel 835 – 796 Judah

Jonah 793 – 753 Assyria (Nineveh)

Amos 760 – 750 Israel

Hosea 753 – 715 Israel

Micah 742 – 687 Judah

Isaiah 740 – 681 Judah

Nahum 663 – 612 Assyria (Nineveh)

Zephaniah 640 – 621 Judah

Jeremiah 627 – 586 Judah

Habakkuk 612 – 588 Judah

Daniel 605 – 535 Jews in Babylon

Ezekiel 593 – 571 Jews in Babylon

Haggai 520 – 480 Jews in Jerusalem

Zechariah 520 – 480 Jews in Jerusalem

Malachi 440 – 430 Jews in Jerusalem

Note that “Israel” means the northern ten tribes (or, the “northern kingdom”) while
“Judah” means the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin (or, the “southern kingdom”).
For more information on the dates of the division of the kingdom, please see Appendix
F – “Important Dates in Old Testament History.”

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APPENDIX F – Important Dates in Old Testament History

DATE (BC) EVENT

2166 Birth of Abraham
2066 Birth of Isaac
2006 Birth of Jacob
1991 Death of Abraham
1915 Birth of Joseph
1886 Death of Isaac
1859 Death of Jacob
1805 Death of Joseph
1526 Birth of Moses
1446 The Exodus
1406 Death of Moses
1375 – 1050 Period of the Judges
1050 – 1010 Reign of King Saul
1010 – 970 Reign of King David
970 – 930 Reign of King Solomon
930 Division of the Kingdom (Israel and Judah)
722 Fall of Israel to Assyria
605 1st Deportation of Jews to Babylon (included Daniel)
597 2nd Deportation of Jews to Babylon (included Ezekiel)
586 Fall of Judah (Jerusalem) to Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon)
538 1st Return of Jews to Jerusalem (under Zerubbabel)
536 – 516 Temple re-built
458 2nd Return of Jews to Jerusalem (under Ezra)
450 Book of Ezra written
445 3rd Return of Jews to Jerusalem (under Nehemiah)
440 – 430 Books of Nehemiah and Malachi written

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