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The Structure of the Bible THESE NOTES ARE WRITTEN SO THAT THE VIEWER WILL BE EQUIPPED TO MORE DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE FULL MEANING OF THE SCRIPTURES The structure of the Bible is based upon the 7 literal days of Creation. The prin- ciples revealed in that record should be clearly understood in all scriptural study. It is our intention to further define these principles within a study on Proverbs, if it is the Lord's will, where we see the "seven pillars" of "wisdom". See below for link to the relevant page on this site. Note numbers 1 - 7 are explained below. The Old Testament Introduction Genesis 1st section 1 Exodus 2 Leviticus 3 Numbers 4 Deuteronomy 2nd section 1 Joshua 2 Judges 3rd section 1 Ruth 2 1st Samuel 3 2nd Samuel 4th section 1 1st Kings 2 2nd Kings 3 1st Chronicles 4 2nd Chronicles 5 Ezra 6 Nehemiah 7 Esther 5th section 1 Job 2 Psalms 6th section 1 Proverbs 2 Ecclesiastes 3 Song of Solomon 4 Isaiah 5 Jeremiah 6 Lamentations 7th section 1 Ezekiel1 2 Daniel2 3 Hosea3 4 Joel4 5 Amos5 6 Obadiah6 7 Jonah7 8 Micah1 9 Nahum2 10 Habakkuk3 11 Zephaniah4 12 Haggai5 13 Zechariah6 14 Malachi7 The New Testament 1st section 1 Matthew 2 Mark 3 Luke 4 John 2nd section 1 Acts 2 Romans 3rd section 1 1st Corinthians 2 2nd Corinthians 3 Galatians 4th section 1 Ephesians1 2 Philippians2 3 Colossians3 4 1st Thessalonians4 5 2nd Thessalonians5 6 1st Timothy6 7 2nd Timothy 8 Titus 9 Philemon7 5th section 1 Hebrews 2 James 6th section 1 1st Peter 2 2nd Peter 3 1st John 4 2nd John 5 3rd John 6 Jude 7th section 1 Revelation 66 Books-6 is the number of man; the Bible offers us salvation- link to 'signs'- the 6th and also consider explanatory notes below Explanatory Notes Numbers have a vital meaning throughout the Bible, and are built upon the days of Creation. If it is the Lord's will, we hope to go into this in more detail, but for now, below we give the meaning of the num- bers from two points of view,both being very significant. 1 from God's viewpoint- the invitation from our viewpoint- the hearing 2 from God's viewpoint- the promise from our viewpoint- the belief 3 from God's viewpoint- the call to obey from our viewpoint- the obedience 4 from God's viewpoint- the feeding from our viewpoint- the growing 5 from God's viewpoint- the mercy from our viewpoint- the trusting 6 from God's viewpoint- the enlightening from our viewpoint- the separating 7 from God's viewpoint- the acceptance from our viewpoint- the unifying The descriptions above are not meant to be arbitrary - countless other words consistent with the above meanings could have been used. They are simply meant to open up the vista of this vast & vital subject to the viewer's gaze. If you follow this subject into every corner of the Bible, you may be amply rewarded, both now and in the Age to come... let us now make several other points.. You will notice the similarities between Old and New Testa- ments relative to the sections set out above. For instance, both the Old and the New Testaments have the same number of books in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th sections. When we look at the 4th sections we see that there are 7 books in the Old, & 9 in the New - however, in the New, 3 books form the 6th sub- section - so there are actually only 7 sub-sections, the same as in the Old. Now looking at the 7th sections of Old and New, we see that there are 14 books in the Old, and only 1 in the New. These 14 books in the Old Testament are really the seed-plot of the Apocalypse in the New,and therefore are the equivalent of the New, inasmuch as they have a special message concern- ing the apocalypse of Jesus Christ. Not only so, but you will notice that we have notated these 14 books in two sets of 7. This is because the first set concentrates on doctrine, and the second set deals more with practice. This distinction is comm- on in the Bible - for instance, the first 3 chapters of Ephesians relate to doctrine, and the last 3 chapters to practice. The change of emphasis is easily seen in Eph.4v1 - "I therefore
beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called". The "unity of the spirit" in v3 is defined in v4 - 6 by the same 7 principles we have outlined above, with diff- erent words, but they have the same essential meanings. Proverbs 4v2,4 has the same transition - doctrine to practice: "For I give you good doctrine, forsake not my law
...Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live". Consider the parallels - 1- 'the invitation' TO the 'one body'.. 2- 'the promise' OF the 'one spirit' (i.e. the one Truth, pro- ducing the one attitude of mind, link to 'spirit' - but false teachings will produce different results)..3- 'the call to obey' i.e. the 'one hope' - this was a key principle which led to John Thomas realizing his need for re-immersion (& true baptism, link to 'baptism') for Romans 8v24 literally reads - 'we were saved by the hope'- & he had not known the hope previously. He later wrote'Elpis Israel'(The Hope of Israel) which is an in- tegral part of the Gospel - link to 'promises'-p.3,cpActs 28v20. Ephesians 5v26 defines baptism as 'the washing of water by the word', and it is ineffectual unless the understanding of the word and its humbling effect on our minds is first present... 4- 'the feeding' by the 'One Lord' - the number 4 sig. authority ..5- 'the mercy'- God's care for those showing the 'one faith', here signifying action, i.e. faith in the terms of James, after acceptance of the Truth - Paul in Romans is treating of faith as a matter of belief - this is before acceptance of the Truth.. Romans therefore appears in the 2nd New Testament section, whereas James' epistle is in the 5th section re working faith. 6- 'the enlightening' which results in 'one baptism'- again, this is treating in this context not of water baptism, which by now has already taken place - but of what baptism really means, the cruci- fixion of sinful human nature.. it is the 'baptism' of which Jesus spoke when He said (well after His baptism in water) - 'But I have a baptism to be baptized with;and how am I straitened (mg. 'pained') till it be accomplished'. This of course was His sacrifi- cial death. We do not know if in this day we must witness to the death; however, we are called upon to witness - and without this witness to the Truth, which inevitably involves separating from evil, whatever and wherever it is, we have no hope of life eternal- link to 'apocalypse' where the aspect of 'witness' is discussed... Whereas the 3rd section (baptism in water) has to do with sep- aration from the world, the 6th section deals with separation from all evil, whether in one's own self,or that which may have permeated the nominal assembly of God. This becomes the ful- filment of the number 6 in us - victory over sin by God's grace. On the 6th day man was created and given 'dominion' over God's creation..by gaining 'dominion' over the flesh by the grace of God,we shall attain to that 'rest' of which the 7th day speaks-Gen. 1v26-31; 2v1-3- link to 'grace'-p.2-'signs'-the 6th. Note the connection with Psalm 8 & Hebrews 2, and the work of Jesus Christ in the destruction of sin ('the devil'). This is indeed a most painful and sad experience, but is one which must be faced with faith and trust in God. For more de- tails link to 'the Lord's day'-4th Vision, and 2nd Timothy 2.. As shown above, all the following are related to the number 6 and consequently contain sound advice for this situation - the epistles of Paul to Timothy and Titus, and the epistles of Peter, John and Jude...this is something which is awe-inspiring.. 7- 'the acceptance'- which is the ultimate aim of 'the invitation' (cp 1 Timothy 6v12) and all the other necessary steps, over which we may stumble, but must 'rise up again'- Prov. 24v16 .. we are accepted by the 'One God and Father of all, who is (i.e. by this time of the 7th stage of our life in the Truth) above all, and through all, and in (us) all'. We seal our salvation by peace(7)built on purity(6) - cp James 3v17,18; Matthew 5v8,9. This does not give us immunity to persecution- v10,11- but note v12. Further re these incremental stages in our lives, link to 'signs'. There is great value in building on basic principles, & if we do so, we shall attain to wisdom - Prov. 1v5; Matt. 13v12. The number 8 signifies perfection, & this is the ultimate aim of all of the above - cp 'grace'-p.2-'the Lord's day'-8th Vision- 'signs'-the 8th. It is not our aim, and nor could we, fully prove the above in the course of this short discussion, but we make the promise born of over 45 years' study of this subject, that if you pursue it diligently with a mind that desires to learn, in prayer, you can make it your own, to the glory of God and also your own eternal benefit. One of the main reasons this page is offered now is so that you will have some important background facts to assist you in the study which now features on this site - 'Proverbs and Parables in the New Testament' This is a vast subject, which is most important to understand, for the Book of Proverbs not only has many great and abiding lessons to teach us concerning doctrine and practice, but it also has a vital prophetical import concerning these last days in which we live, just prior to the coming of Jesus Christ. Please check periodically re the progress of this study. |