Introduction to the Scriptures

The Scriptures are much more than meets the eye. By ‘Scripture’ I’m referring to the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. The books that make up the Old Testament. The ‘Inspirited’ words of God. That is where our teachings in the New Covenant originate from. This is not to dismiss the significance of the New Testament scriptures. That was the fulfillment of all of Gods promises. The good news of the Messiah. Without them we would never understand the Scriptures of old.

I came to faith in my later twenties. I knew nothing about the bible and had no clue what to expect coming into this Christian faith. As far as I knew God sat in the Heavens, watching over the world as we did our thing here on Earth, until we finally met up with him at the Pearly gates.

I was encouraged to read the Bible, so I did. I first read through the New Testament because that’s what was used from the pulpit aside from the occasional tales of Noah or David and Goliath. I kept hearing how the Old Covenant is no longer relevant. Now we’re in a covenant of faith and not the Law. Sounded logical enough for me.

Then I took on the “Read the Bible in a Year” challenge. It was a great accomplishment for me. The story of creation was challenging enough for me to accept, and once I got to the Prophetic books like Ezekiel and I was totally lost. I continued reading the Bible, more out of curiosity than anything. I bought a Bible Software package with various Bible versions, Commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and maps. And the internet provided treasures of information when it came to research. But the more I read, the more questions I found. 

I would soon find that the key to getting good information meant finding the right teachers. For the individual who’s simply seeking salvation and looking for the basics on faith, there are many great churches and denominations out there. You can always find a place to worship based on your needs and your comfort level.

But when it comes to studying the Bible, your understanding will be based on who you listen to. When it comes to interpreting the bible there are very obvious divisions. There’s always a far right, or far left take on scripture, among Bible Scholars, between the Jews and the Gentiles, the East to the West, or among the Church denominations. And ultimately its up to the individual to decipher the right answers. 

Our insight to the bible is limited by our openness to learn. When your brought up in a particular teaching, then while visiting another church you hear a differing take on scripture, you’re going to react one way or another. You’ll either be open minded or you will be dogmatic about your views. Even if what you already understand is true, you will never learn if you are not open to the idea that there is always someone who may have a better explanation of Scripture. The Bereans had the best approach. They verified a teaching by comparing it to the Scriptures. (Acts 17)

Think about how Nicodemus felt while talking with Jesus. Any time you hear a different teaching or concept, test the spirit, pray for discernment, compare them to the word of God. It might take time to process a new teaching. That’s Ok. Especially when it comes to Spiritual lessons. Hold on to the good and discard the rest. What you believe one day will change when you are open minded. That’s called growth.

This is about Worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth. This book is the result of my journey to understanding the bible as truth. God’s ways are so much higher than man can ever give him credit for. The more I learned, the more I realized how much I don’t know. It’s not about any teacher or denomination, it’s not about Jew or Gentile. It’s about correctly handling the word of God. (2 Tim 2:15)

When Paul talks about the Mystery of Scriptures, or as Jesus refers to the ‘secrets of the Kingdom,’ they are pointing out the fulfillment of prophecy. Prophesies that come from the Scriptures, From the book of Genesis to the book of Malachi. All point to the Messianic Kingdom, and redemption by God's grace, through his Messiah.

The Torah in itself, teaches from two different formats. The natural, and then the spiritual. For the first covenant for the Jews. Torah teaches mankind to live Holy to the Lord. In the first covenant the Torah was for the Jews, to deliver man from out of darkness, how to live as they journeyed through their wilderness experience, leading to the gates of the Promised land. It was Joshua, symbolic of the Messiah, that would lead man into the promised land.

Abraham’s descendants are first for the Jew, and then the Gentile, the Children of the promise. In the New Covenant, The Torah reveals the spiritual principles of the Covenant of Faith.

When you look at the Torah with Spiritual eyes, it paints a whole new picture. All of the law that had physical concepts, points to the spiritual promises of God. What was destined from the very beginning in Genesis, God sending the ultimate sacrifice for sin for those who seek him, he sent his firstborn son, the Messiah as the Passover Lamb. That was his love for his creation.

Genesis, as is the rest of Torah, a book of parables. Parables when defined by the Hebrew origin, refers to the metaphorical nature, from superior mental thinking. Gods’ ways are higher than the ways of man. This is why Nicodemus was unable to recognize the teaching of Jesus about being born again. He understood the Torah as the physical teachings of living Holy to the Lord, while Jesus understood the Spiritual significance of Torah.

The ‘Revelation’ of the Scriptures would not be revealed until the Messiah came and taught the mysteries of the scriptures to his disciples. The answers to the mysteries of the scriptures, are all found in the teachings throughout the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelations.

Scripture validates scripture. Connect the dots; The only way to understand the scriptures is to find the fulfillment in the New Testament. If it’s in the OT, you will find the corresponding fulfillment in the NT. The teachings in the NT, are rooted in the spiritual teachings of Torah. We should not think that we will get more from the scriptures by following man’s interpretation, unless it is backed up by New Testament scripture that validates Old Testament scripture.

It’s like a coloring book. What initially looks like white pages and lines, as you fill in the spaces with crayons, it ads life to the picture. Torah by itself is like the white pages with lines, until you combine the colors from New Testament fulfillment. It is like going from a Black and white TV to HDTV, High-Definition Television. 

Greek or Hebrew.

The scriptures all originate in Hebrew. All the names and locations in scripture are Hebrew words, transliterated rather than translated. Maybe it was a translation error when making the bible available to the nations, maybe it was inspired by God. The Greek is a copy of the Hebrew version, minus the definitions.

The Hebrew scriptures alone reveal the secrets of the Kingdom. The Greek or Latin translations do not have the same weight as the Hebrew simply because they do not have the Hebraic meaning behind their translation.