01Bible as a Whole

This is the first in a series of 76 studies designed to provide a book by book survey of The Bible, God's Written Word. The 10 studies in excess of the 66 Bible books will deal with the following areas:

As we study each book, we will seek to find the controlling thought or the outstanding meaning and message of that book, and then relate it to the other books of the Bible. It would seem that this type of Bible study is a necessary basis for any other type because it will enable us to get a “bird’s eye view” of the entire Bible. The material which will be used throughout this course of study has been compiled from my personal library and files.

The Bible contains history, law, poetry, biography, drama, letters, prayers, speeches, prophecies, science, and philosophy. It is dogmatic, didactic, practical, predictive. It is a university of literature, an inspired bookshelf.

The Bible was written by at least forty authors representing every walk of life from the fisherman at his net (Peter) to the king on his throne (Solomon) and from the publican in his booth (Matthew) to the royal courtier in the palace (David). It also includes among its contributors, Moses, a political leader; Amos, a herdsman; Joshua, a general; Nehemiah, a cup bearer; Luke, a doctor; and Paul, a rabbi.

Some writing from the heights of joy and others writing from the depths of sorrow and despair.

(1) Hebrew was the language of the Old Testament. In 2 Kings 18:26-28 Hebrew is called “the language of Judah.” In Isaiah 19:18 it is called “the language of Canaan.”

(2) Aramaic was the “lingua franca” of the Near East until the time of Alexander the Great (6th century B.C. - 4th century B.C.)

(3) Greek was the New Testament language. In fact, it was the international language at the time of Christ.

It is a familiar story, but is worth repeating, that the late A J Gordon, of Boston, on one occasion was in his study with some of his children, and gave them a puzzle - one of those made of different size pieces of wood, which have to be properly fitted together. He went out and came back unexpectedly soon afterward, when to his surprise, he found the puzzle already completed. He asked his children how they had managed to do it so soon, and one of them replied: “We saw a picture of a man on the back. and this helped us to know where the pieces were to go.” And so, as it has often been pointed out, there is a picture of a man, the man Christ Jesus, anticipated in the Old Testament, and realized in the New, and this gives unity to the Book.

No more convincingly are the unity and progress of the Biblical revelation demonstrated than in the fact that Christ dominates the whole revelation. This is not imaginative, but real; it is not a wishful theory, but a satisfying fact. The evidence of the fact is manifold, and can be presented in various ways. For example, His Human Pedigree, His Redemptive Program, and His Divine Person which are revealed in the New Testament historically, are revealed in the Old Testament prophetically, not in any general or doubtful manner, but in great and exact detail.

In another way also may we see that Christ dominates the whole Biblical revelation, and see also how the presentation of Him, alike in prophecy and history, promises to meet, and does meet, man’s deepest needs. Man the sinner needs someone who will redemptively represent him; he needs someone who will reveal God to him; and he needs someone who, with authority and effect will rule over him. In other words, man needs a priest, prophet, and a king: a priest to represent him before God; a prophet to reveal God to him; and a king to take control of, and to rule in and over the whole kingdom of his life.

In vain will man find such a one among his fallen fellows, but in Christ the need is supplied in every respect. Three offices dominate the Old Testament: that of Priest, represented by Aaron; that of Prophet, represented by Moses; and that of King, represented by David. But these were mortal and sinful men, and therefore could not ideally fulfill these several functions, but it is made clear that each of them represented One to come, Who would perfectly fulfill the will of God for man which these three offices disclose. That Aaron pointed to Christ is plainly declared in Hebrews 5; that Moses pointed to Him is affirmed in Deuteronomy 18:18; and that David anticipated Him is revealed in various passages, notably Psalm 110:1. That which the Old Testament promises, the New Testament presents. That which is needed is supplied. He who was typified appears. What is longing in the Old Testament, is satisfaction in the New. “Oh that I knew where I might find Him!”, becomes “We have found Him” (Job 23:3; John 1:45).

In the Old Testament Christ is predicted; in the Gospels He is present; in the Acts He is proclaimed; in the Epistles He is possessed; and in the Revelation He is predominant. Christ is the focus of all history, prophecy, and type. Divine revelation converges in Him in the Old Testament, and emerges from Him in the New Testament. Both parts of the Revelation meet in Him; the one part as preparation, and the other, as realization. In this view all parts of the Bible, from books to verses, constitute a divine progressive revelation of redeeming love; God and man meet in the One who is the God-Man.

More surely than “all roads lead to Rome” do all the books of the Bible lead to Jesus Christ. Luke 24:27; John 5:39; Acts 10:43; Luke 24:44. The Old Testament leads to Christ just as the New Testament starts from Him; both meet in Christ; He is the unifier of the Bible. If Christ had not been coming the Old Testament would not have been written; if Christ had not come, the New Testament never would have been written. So, during our survey of the Bible, we need to guard against becoming so engrossed in the study of the SUBJECT that we lose sight of the OBJECT In every lesson, we want to see beyond the written word to Him who is the Living Word.

GOD’S ANSWER TO MAN’S CRY

Old Testament New Testament

Man’s Cry Job 23:3 God’s Answer John 1:45

Expectation Realization

Office Type Books Need Antitype Books

Priest Aaron Pentateuch Someone C Gospels

Represent H

Prophet Moses Prophetical Someone R Epistles

Reveal I

King David Historical Someone S Revelation

Rule T

One of the most thrilling aspects of viewing the Bible as a whole, is to see the way Jesus Christ is present and presented in every one of the Bible's 66 books. At several recent large conventions, the musical number entitled He Is has been performed - complete with the impressive display of appropriate banners.

Redemption is the great theme of the whole Bible. The scarlet thread of redemption by the blood of Christ is interwoven into the whole fabric of the Scriptures. Cut the sacred writings anywhere and they bleed.

It is said on good authority that every piece of rope in the British Navy has a red thread running through it, so that it may be safe- guarded against theft. Wherever that rope is cut the red thread can be seen. In the same way there is a “red thread” running through the Bible, and wherever we examine it, we see indication of that “thread” in the unity of theme running from Genesis to Revelation. The “red thread” is only another expression for the Cross of Christ. In the Old Testament that Cross is promised in prophecy and pictured in sacrifice and personal types (Acts 8:34,35). In the Gospels it appeared gradually in the teaching of Christ, and was at length provided in the event on Calvary (John 1:29). In the Acts the Cross is proclaimed in sermons and explanations (2:23; 3:11; 4:10; 5:30; 7:52; 1O:39,4O;23:29,30). In the Epistles it is proved in various ways, and shown in its theological and practical bearings (Ephesians 1:7). Then in Revelation it is praised as theme of the glorified saints whose one song is “Worthy the Lamb that was slain” (5:6; 13:8).

                         Genesis to Deuteronomy      —            Revelation
                         Joshua to Esther                    —            Preparation
                       Job to Song of Solomon       —            Aspiration
                          Isaiah to Malachi                   —            Expectation
                         Matthew to John                     —            Manifestation
                         Acts to Epistles                      —            Realization
                         Revelation                               —            Culmination

and in the Revelation, the achievement of it in the subjection of all kingdoms to the rule of God.

As running through all British Navy rope there is a thread of red, so running through all the Scriptures is the saving purpose, making the whole Bible an Unfolding Drama of Redemption. Into this Drama all the details fit at each stage of its unfolding, so that each and every part of the Bible, whether history, or literature, or type, or prophecy, or law, or grace, is part of the design of God to reconcile to Himself, by the sacrifice of Himself, a fallen and rebellious race.

In the thought of many, a Drama is simply a theatrical entertainment, but such an idea misses the essential meaning of the word, and may be destructive of it. What is common to the theatrical and the dramatic is action, but in the former the action is feigned, and in the latter it is real; it is actual, not artificial; it is a living scene, and not a mere semblance.

Human history, regarded as a whole, is a Drama setting forth the struggle of the human mind with life’s dark problems, and disclosing the development of alternating human passions and emotions; the conflict of faith and doubt, of joy and sorrow, of hope and despair. This is the theme of the Biblical Writings. They are a record of this struggle, but they are distinguishable from all other such records in that throughout there is clearly discernible a divine purpose and plan, and it is this which gives to history its unity and deepest significance. Viewing these Writings as a whole, it may be claimed that the historical unfolding of the redeeming purpose presents a dramatic unity. The stories make one Story, and the parts make one great Whole.

It is when we view the Biblical Writings in this way that we are able to apprehend their incomparable value, and to appreciate the wonder of their congruity and comprehensiveness. Only in these Writings taken together have we a true perspective of history, and a rational philosophy of life. The Bible so viewed is a divine progressive revelation made in life, and fixed in literature.

This Literature records the progressive fulfillment of a divine design which reaches ‘from everlasting to everlasting’, and all true analysis will fit perfectly into this synthesis.

Of this Drama of Redemption the Earth is the Stage, Man and Nations are the Dramatis personae, and Christ let it be said most reverently, is the Hero. Then, there is the developing Plot, the unfolding of an end which is not discernible from the beginning; and that end is the ‘salvation’ of which ‘the prophets inquired and searched diligently.., searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ Who was in them did point to, when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow’ (1 Peter 1:10,11).

It is this which makes the Bible the most fascinating book in the world, from whatever standpoint it be viewed, literary, historical, or religious. In what follows, the Drama is outlined in such portions and proportions as to make the mastery of it a comparatively easy task. As already said, the method is from the general to the particular, from the whole to the parts, from synthesis to analysis. Each division with its parts should be mastered in such a way as to prevent a sense of confusion with multiplying details. There will be constant repetition, a doubling back upon outlines to fill in details, which however is not ‘vain repetition’, but an illustration of the apostolic dicta: ‘to write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe’; ‘I have said before’; ‘I told you before’; ‘as we said before, so say I now again’ (Philippians 3:1; 2 Corinthians 7:3; 13:2; Galatians 1:9); and so by ‘line upon line; here a little, there a little’, the Redemptive Drama unfolds from its mystical beginning to its majestic end.

The Plot of the Drama being Redemption, we are shown first of all, the Revelation of the Redeeming Purpose; then, the Progression of , and finally the Consummation of it. This embraces everything from Genesis to Revelation. The Revelation of the Redeeming Purpose is in Genesis 1:1 - 11:9; The Progression of it is in Genesis 11:10 - Jude 25; and the Consummation of it is in Revelation 1 - 22.

This survey should be definitely fixed in the mind and contemplated, under whatever figure you please. It indicates clearly that the 66 Books are not a miscellany of unrelated Writings, but are the parts of a sublime Whole. We must now proceed to give dramatic form to these dominating ideas. The Revelation of the Redeeming Purpose is the Drama’s Prologue; the Consummation of it is the Drama’s Epilogue; and the Progression of it is unfolded in the Two Acts, with an Interlude between them. Act I is presented in Genesis 11:10- Malachi 4:6; the Interlude is what lies between the end of Act I, and the beginning of Act II; and Act II is presented in Matthew 1:1 - Jude 25.

THE UNFOLDING DRAMA OF REDEMPTION No. 1

Prologue Act I Interlude Act II Epilogue

THE REDEEMING PURPOSE

Revelation Progression Consummation

Genesis Genesis 11:10 Malachi to Matthew to The
1:1 - 11:9 to Mal 4:6 Matthew Jude Revelation

This outline should be mastered before proceeding further, as it is the foundation of everything that follows.

We should now see that the Two Acts which constitute, with the Interlude, the Progression of the Redeeming Purpose, represent Two Covenants, which, in the Bible, are called The Old, and The New; and, as in every Drama, these Acts are vitally related to one another. The Second is an advance upon the First, and carries the developing Plot forward to its realization.

The First of these Covenants is preparative, and the Second is effective. The First is a Covenant of Law, and the Second is a Covenant of Grace. The First is embodied in the history and literature of a Semitic Race, and the Second is embodied in the history and literature of the Christian Church.

Between these two covenants (that is, between the records of them) is the Interlude, in the history and literature of which we are shown that events, both in Judaism and Heathenism, constituted the transition from the Old to the New Economy.

THE UNFOLDING DRAMA OF REDEMPTION, No. 2

Prologue Act I Interlude Act II Epilogue

Preparative Between Effective

Malachi

Covenant of and Covenant of
Matthew

                                                        Law                                                            Grace
                                                                                        Judaism
                                                                                        and
                                                      Embodied in         Heathenism                Embodied in
                                                        the History                                                   the History
                                                        and Literature         Preparing                   and Literature
                                                        of                              the World                    of
                                                        a Semitic                 for the                         The Christian
                                                        Race                        Advent of                    Church
                                                                                         The
                                                                                          Messiah

Genesis 11:10 Matthew
to Mal 4:6 to Jude

A word must be said here about the terms Semitic Race, and Christian Church. By the former is meant the descendants of Noah through Shem; and by the latter is meant the aggregate of all believers, that is, of all regenerated men, women, and children throughout this Christian age.

It is of the utmost importance for comparison and contrast to keep in mind the salient features of these Two Covenants

-The one is characterized by a prohibition “thou shalt not”; and the other, by a promise, “I will”

-Under the one, the command is, ”put off thy shoes from off thy feet’; and under the other, the command is, “Put shoes on his feet” (Exodus 3:5; Luke 15:22)

-At the inauguration of the one, three thousand souls were slain; and at the inauguration of the other, three thousand souls were saved (Exodus 32:28; Acts 2:41).

-The outstanding ideas of the Drama are Law and Grace the Law dominating Act I, and Grace dominating Act II.

These represent two distinct dispensations, and failure to distinguish between them has resulted in much confusion alike in thought and experience. “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17; cf. Colossians 2:16,17; Galatians 3).

- Under the Law God dealt with one nation only; but under Grace He is dealing with individuals of all nations

Long ago Augustine said: ‘Distinguish the dispensations, and you will understand the Scriptures.” Consider carefully, then, the Two Acts in the Drama of Redemption; the First making possible the Second, and leading to it (Galatians 3:24,25); enabling Paul to say, “Ye are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).

Between these Two Acts is an Interlude, of about 400 years duration. We must be careful not to suppose that this pause in the inspired record means a pause in the Divine activity. As there is no break in the redeeming purpose, so there is no break in the preparation for its realization. During this Interlude God was as much and as really imminent in history as He had been before, and was to be afterward. No one can study the world events of this period without realizing that they formed the transition from the Old Economy to the New; that Judaism and Heathenism, in history and literature, were casting up a highway for the coming of the Messiah.

In this period Greece rose to glory, and made the world think in a new way about beauty, conscience, retribution, the soul, and immortality. In this period the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek (the Septuagint, 70), and so were made available to a multitude of people who otherwise could not have read them. In this period the Jews were widely scattered throughout the world (Diaspora), and so prepared the way for the evangelization of the world in the Gospel age. And in this period Rome became the World Power in the Middle East and West, and so by its political system, and the roads which it built everywhere, it was unwittingly making possible the great missionary enterprise of the Christian dispensation.

The Interlude pause is, therefore, not in the Divine activity, but only in the inspired record of it. Here, then, in broadest outline is set forth the only true philosophy of history, the human story from the Divine standpoint. This is the frame into which all the details will fit. Take time to be impressed by this development of the redeeming purpose. Slowly, it may seem, but surely, the Divine design was unfolded from age to age.

‘God who of old time spake in many parts and in manifold ways.. .has now spoken fully and finally in His Son’.

The first of these facts reaches from the beginning of the Prologue to the end of the Interlude, and the second, reaches from the end of the Interlude to the end of the Epilogue. The words of the one are gathered up and completed in the Word of the other.

Symmetry can be defined as correspondence in size, shape and position of parts and as possessing balance and beauty of form. The symmetry which characterizes the Bible includes both literary structure and spirited teaching.

The Old Testament is the product of one country, stretching over a long period of time - the New Testament is the product of many countries, but extending over a short time

The Old Testament is by Moses and Prophets - the New Testament is by Christ and the Apostles

The nation and secular matters are more prominent in the Old Testament - the individual and spiritual matters are more prominent in the New Testament

The Old Testament is to the New Testament as the foundation to the structure - the New Testament is to the Old Testament as the building to the basis

In the Old Testament Christ is concealed - in the New Testament Christ is revealed

In the Old Testament Christ is anticipated - in the New Testament Christ is realized

The Old Testament is characterized by expectation and longing -the New Testament is characterized by realization and fulfillment

In the Old Testament we have God in Himself as supreme and man in himself as sinner - in the New Testament we have God in Christ as Savior and man in Christ as saved

The Old Testament is a revelation of outward forms developing inward principles - the New Testament is a revelation of inward principles developing outward forms

The Old Testament is a preparation of Christ for the Church and the Church for Christ - the New Testament is a revelation of Christ to the Church and through the Church to the world.

The new is in the old concealed - the old is in the new revealed; the new is in the old contained - the old is in the new explained.

            Law                BOOKS OF PRECEPT            Gospels
            History           BOOKS OF PRACTICE            Acts
            Poetry            BOOKS OF PRINCIPLES        Epistles
            Prophecy       BOOKS OF PROPHECY         Revelation

            Law (5)                            Gospels (4)
            History (12)                      Acts (1)
            Poetry  (5)                        Pauline Epistles (14)

         Old Testament            - Poetry
         New Testament          - Epistles
     The Prophetic Completion (Future)
          Old Testament        - Prophecy
          New Testament        - Revelation

NEW TESTAMENT

HISTORY EXPERIENCE: DOCTRINE

5 9 4 9

HISTORIC FOUNDATIONS CHRISTIAN PASTORAL HEBREW

CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN

EPISTLES PERSONAL EPISTLES

   Matthew         Mark      Luke    John     Acts                                    Romans-                 1,2 Tim,                   Hebrews-
                                                                                                               II Thes                      Titus                        Revelation
                                                                                                                                                Philemon

OLD TESTAMENT

HISTORY (17) EXPERIENCE (5) PROPHECY (17)

    Basic                Pre-Exile                 Post                      Inner                        Basic                        Pre-Exile                 Post
    Law                   Records                  Exile                        Life                          Prophecy                  Prophets                Exile