The Word of God

Recently, in our church, we had a visiting minister who pointed out that the burning bush was not really burning but appeared so because it was framed by the setting sun. I regarded this as one more example of the clergy trying to destroy the faith of the congregation by removing one more of the faith’s foundations. In discussing it with a fellow parishioner, she tended to agree with me but added that she could not abide those people who accepted and believed every word written in the scriptures!! I confess that I am one of those; I think we are called fundamentalists, although there may be many other adjectives to describe me (us)!

I presume that these non-fundamentalist persons regard the Word of God as a smorgasbord from which they can choose according to their personal beliefs or desires. But how would one know what to believe and embrace and what to reject and discard? Even in the days of old, the same problem existed. Consider Isaiah 30: 8-11, “Now go, write it before them in a table and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy NOT unto RIGHT things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy DECEITS: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” Doesn’t that sound so modern? Tell us what we want to hear!

Then, there are those who call themselves, “New Testament Christians” They have rejected the whole of the Old Testament. They forget that on those occasions where Jesus referred to the scriptures, He was referring to the Old Testament. There is the wonderful passage in Luke 24:25-27, “Then He said unto them, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ have suffered these things and entered into His glory? And beginning at Moses and ALL the prophets, He expounded unto them in ALL the scriptures (Old Testament) the things concerning Himself.” Even Peter makes reference to Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: He that believeth shall not make haste.” Peter 2: 6, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.” In fact, the epistles of Peter are full of references to the Old Testament.

But are Old Testament stories myths or legends? Stories like, the voice from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”; the casting out of heaven the sinning angels; Noah: Sodom and Gomorrah: Baalam being rebuked by the dumb ass speaking with a man’s voice: Peter makes reference to these in his second epistle. In his first epistle, He sums up the Old Testament in these words, I Peter 1:19-21, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy: whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the daystar arise in your hearts; Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

Still, some might say, you are using the Bible to prove the Bible. Well, there are other fascinating proofs available; I refer to the works of Ivan Panin who demonstrated in his books a mathematical structure so complex that it could only have been written by one author! And the structure was totally beyond the scope of man. Also, there is the study of gematria, which is the science of assigning the numerical values of the Hebrew and Greek alphabets to the text revealing hidden messages expressed in numbers. Author Bonnie Gaunt has fascinated me with her several books summarizing years of study. For example, she shows that the name, “Lord Jesus Christ” in Greek has a numeric value of 3168. Then, she proceeds to demonstrate how that number is found expressed in the Great Pyramid, Stone henge, Solomon’s Temple, and the geometry of our solar system. People tend to ignore this work, but it demonstrates the mathematical genius of the Creator, reflected in all his works, including the Bible.

I think it is generally accepted that the Bible remains a mystery to those reading it with a closed mind, but for those seeking the truth with an open mind, it leaps to life and rewards us greatly. Let Paul sum it all up, II Timothy 3:15-17, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ALL scripture is given by INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, or instruction in righteousness: That the men of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”