Notes from Willmington’s Guide to the Bible p.788

Part One How the Bible Came into Being

Everyone knows that the Bible continues to be the World’s Best Seller. It wasn’t just someone’s idea to write a Best Seller.

God used Three wonderful methods as He prepared the Book of Books - The Bible.

These Three Tools that God used were :revelation, inspiration and illumination.

Beginning nearly 1400BC God spoke to nearly forty writers over the next 15 centuries in simple but sublime language explaining His heart for the world. They heard Him tell of Creation, Corruption and condemnation, justification, sanctification and glorification. He.finished the first step in the Production of the Bible : revelation.

The Apostle John receives the Revelation on the Island of Patmos

Now we see that God, the Almighty Author of the Bible, carefully guided each chosen human vessel in his assigned task. Each is dealt with individually. Job, a rich farmer will write differently than Amos, a poor farmer. The words of the highly educated Paul will be different from the fishermen John and Peter. But all will carry the stamp of God’s Approval on their writings.

the prophet Amos. the Poor farmer

The last scribe lays down his (or her) pen. The angels watch as the Creator lays aside the second tool in the making of His manuscript. Inspiration has taken place.

Wycliffe Bible Translations

Many thousands join the ranks of the original forty and begin their assigned task of taking God’s glorious story to the uttermost parts of the earth. As they do, untold multitudes are stopped in their tracks, convinced in their hearts, and saved from their sins. By what power did this take place? The Author of the Bible is using the third of His Divine tools:illumination Illumination continues to take place.

Summary:

Revelation : From God to man (man hears that which God wants written).

Inspiration : From man to paper (man writes that which God wants written).

Illumination : From paper to heart (man receives the light of that which God had written)

We will now consider each of these tools.

1. Revelation.

We know that God spoke to man, but, how did He speak?

Hebrews 1:1 God, who in ancient days spoke to our forefathers in many distinct messages and by various methods through the Prophets,

Heb 1:2 has at the end of these days spoken to us through a Son, who is the pre-destined Lord of the universe, and through whom He made the Ages. WNT

There were eight different modes of Communication by God to man.

A. He often spoke through angels.

1. Angels reassured Abraham of the birth of Isaac and informed him of the destruction of Sodom. Gen 18.

2. Angels warned Lot to flee Sodom before the awful destruction took place. Gen 19.

3. The Angel Gabriel explained the nature of the tribulation to Daniel. Dan 9:21-27

4. the Angel Gabriel informed Zacharias he would have a son who would be the forerunner the Messiah. Lk 1:11-20

5. Gabriel informed Mary that she was the chosen vessel for the for the Birth of Christ. Luke 1:26-37

The Angel Gabriel comes to Mary.

6. Angels announced the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds at Night.Lk 2:814

7. An angel announced the resurrection of Christ to some women. Mt 28:5-7

8. An angel directed Philip to the seeking Eunuch of Ethiopia. Acts 8:26

9. An angel directed Peter out of a Roman Prison. Acts 12 :7-10

The Angel wakens Peter in Prison

B. He spoke to men through a loud voice.

1. He spoke directly to Adam Gen 3:919

2. to Noah Gen 6:13-21

3. to Abraham Gen 12:1-3

4. to Moses Ex 20:1-17

5. to Joshua Joshua 1:1-9

6. to Samuel 1 Samuel 3:1-14

7. to Nathan about David 2 Samuel 7:4-16

8. to Elijah 1 Kings 17:2-4

9. to Jeremiah Jerm 1:4-5

God spoke to Moses

C. He spoke to men through a still small Voice.

1Ki 19:11 And He said, Go forth and stand on the mountain before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke the rocks in pieces before Jehovah. But Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind was an earthquake, but Jehovah was not in the earthquake.

1Ki 19:12 And after the earthquake was a fire, but Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire was a still, small voice.

1Ki 19:13 And it happened when Elijah heard, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out, and stood at the cave entrance. And behold, a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Psa 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you, My eye shall be on you.

Psa 32:9 Be not like the horse, or like the mule, who have no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, so that they do not come near you.

D. He spoke to men through Nature.

Psa 19:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the expanse proclaims His handiwork.

Page by Peter Ryan - Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” I love winter; I love looking up on a cold clear night

Psa 19:2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Psa 19:3 There is no speech nor are there words; their voice is not heard.

Act 14:15 and saying, Men, why do you do these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preaching the gospel to you to turn you from these vanities to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all things in them;

Act 14:16 who in past generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.

Act 14:17 And yet He did not leave Himself without witness, doing good, giving rain and fruitful season to us from heaven, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Rom 1:19 because the thing which may be known of God is clearly revealed within them, for God revealed it to them.

Rom 1:20 For the unseen things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being realized by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, for them to be without excuse.

E. He spoke to men through the mouth of an ass.

Num 22:28 And Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have beaten me these three times?

F. He spoke to them through dreams.

1. Jacob received the confirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant in a dream..

Gen 28:12 And he dreamed. And behold! A ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven! And behold! The angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

Gen 28:13 And behold! Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac! The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your seed.

Gen 28:14 And your seed shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And in you and in your Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 28:15 And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in every place where you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.

2. Solomon received both wisdom and a warning in a dream.

1Ki 3:5 In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. And God said, Ask what I shall give you!

1Ki 3:6 And Solomon said, You have shown to Your servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before You in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with You. And You have kept this great kindness for him, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.

1Ki 3:7 And now, O Jehovah my God, You have made Your servant king instead of David my father. And I am a little child; I do not know to go out or come in!

1Ki 3:8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a numerous people who cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

1Ki 3:9 And give to Your servant an understanding heart, to judge Your people, to discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge this, Your great people?

1Ki 3:10 And the word was good in the eyes of Jehovah, that Solomon had asked this thing.

1Ki 3:11 And God said to him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, and have not asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to judge justly,

1Ki 3:12 behold, I have done according to your words. Lo, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like you before you, and after you none shall arise like you.

A warning: 1Ki 9:2 Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

1Ki 9:3 And Jehovah said to him, I have heard your prayer and your cry which you have made before Me. I have made this house which you have built holy, to put My name there forever. And My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually

3. Joseph received three messages in three dreams.

a. Assuring him of Mary’s purity Mat 1:20

b. Commanding him to flee into Egypt. Mat 2:13

c. Ordering him to return to Israel to live in Galilee. Mat 2:19-22

4. The Wise men were warned of Herod’s Evil intentions in a dream

Mat 2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

G. God spoke to men through Visions.

Unger’s Bible Dictionary defines a Vision as : “A Supernatural presentation of certain scenery or circumstances to the mind while a person is awake. Many great tuths in the Scriptures were related to men in this way.

1. Jacob was instructed in a Vision to go to Egypt.

Gen 46:1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

Gen 46:2 And God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob! And he said, Here I am.

Gen 46:3 And He said, I am God, the God of your fathers. Do not fear to go down into Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation.

2. David was warned of Judgment in a Vision.

1Ch 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of Jehovah standing between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. And David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.

3. Isaiah saw God’s Holiness in a Vision.

Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I then saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphs; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

Isa 6:3 And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts; the whole earth full of His glory.

Isa 6:4 And the doorposts moved at the voice of the one who cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

4. Daniel saw Great Gentile powers Dan 7,8

5. Daniel saw the Glories of Christ in a Vision.

Dan 10:5 then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man was clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz.

Dan 10:6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face looked like lightning. And his eyes were like lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet in color were like polished bronze, and the voice of his words like the sound of a multitude.

Dan 10:7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. For the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great quaking fell on them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

Dan 10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me. For my beauty was turned within me to corruption, and I kept no strength.

Dan 10:9 Yet I heard the voice of his words. And when I heard the voice of his words, then I was in a deep sleep on my face, and my face was toward the ground.

H. God Spoke to men through Christophanies.

A Christophany is a Pre- Bethlehem appearance of Christ. Some Theologians have seen a number of these appearances in the OT, believing that the term, “the Angel of the Lord,” is actually another name for Christ. If this is true, the following examples of Christophanies could be submitted.

1. The Angel of the LORD wrestled with Jacob.

Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone. And a Man wrestled there with him until the breaking of the day.

Gen 32:25 And when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh. And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with Him.

Gen 32:26 And He said, Let Me go, for the day breaks. And he said, I will not let You go except You bless me.

Gen 32:27 And He said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.

Gen 32:28 And He said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for like a prince you have power with God and with men, and have prevailed.

Gen 32:29 And Jacob asked and said, I pray You, reveal Your name. And He said, Why do you ask after My name? And He blessed him there.

Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Face of God; for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

2. The Angel of the Lord spoke to Moses.

Exo 3:1 And Moses kept the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back side of the desert. And he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.

Exo 3:2 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a thorn bush. And he looked. And behold! The thorn bush burned with fire! And the thorn bush was not burned up.

Exo 3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the thorn bush is not burned up.

Exo 3:4 And Jehovah saw that he had turned aside to see. God called to him out of the midst of the thorn bush, and said, Moses! Moses! And he said, Here I am.

3.The Angel of the Lord protected Israel by the Red Sea.

Exo 14:19 And the Angel of God, the one who went before the camp of Israel, moved. And he went to the rear of them. And the pillar of the cloud went from in front of their face and it stood behind them.

Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. And it was a cloudy and dark night, but it lit up the night, so that the one did not come near the other all night.

4. The Angel of the Lord prepared Israel for the Promised Land.

Exo 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.

Exo 23:21 Be on guard before Him, and obey His voice. Do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions. For My name is in Him.

Exo 23:22 But if you shall indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and a foe to your foes.

Exo 23:23 For My Angel shall go before you and bring you in to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I will cut them off.

Great Doctrines of the Christian Faith

Monday 18 August 2014

The Doctrine of the Bible : Bibliology.

God used Three wonderful methods as He prepared the Book of Books - The Bible.

1. Revelation.

E. He spoke to men through the mouth of an ass.

F. He spoke to them through dreams.

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