THE HOLY SCRIPTURES---THE WORD OF GOD--THE BIBLE.

TAKEN FROM,WITH GRATITUDE AND MANY THANKS, FROM SIGNS OF THE TIMES SPECIAL "WE BELIEVE",  ALL SCRIPTURES ARE FROM KING JAMES VERSION REVISED.


                              The HOLY SCRIPTURES.

    The God of the Bible is a God that reveals Himself. He does not leave us alone in our lost condition, separated from Him, because of our sins. He comes to us, showing His character, revealing His will, and offering us the Salvation He {HIMSELF] provided on the Cross, for ALL!  He is a God Who speaks; "In the past God spoke to our forefathers,, through His prophets at many times and in various ways, but in place of these last days  He has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, by Whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through Whom He made the3 Universe.
     Hebrews 1:1-2  "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"

    The Holy Bible then, is The Voice, of God, both the Old and the New Testaments! They are in effect, the Living Word of God, His Record if you will!

    Note: Biblicaly we God The Father; God The Son in Jesus Christ who became the God-Man; and God The Holy Spirit, all work towards ONE COMMON GOAL, to re-unite humanity with The Father through Jesus Christ, and both use the Holy Spirit as a "Channel or means" to work within us, those who are so willing to allow it. Satan used all means but not, ever,  love and truth, which are God's only  "Weapons"!.

   God the Holy Spirit gave the Bible by inspiration of the minds, of those He chose as various Bible writers.......
   2 Peter 1:20-21 " 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."
  The same Spirit speaks to us today, through the Holy Bible Note [(jb) only if we pray and ask for help to understand and guidance, without which to even the very intelligent person, it has no meanings] The Holy Spirit' job is to guide us to the Father through Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior. by convicting us of our sins and illuminating our minds and hearts:..

   Hebrews 3:7-8  "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:"

    Because God id the Author, we can trust the Bible to be His authoritative voice and is very practical.

        WHO WROTE THE BIBLE;

  HISTORICALLY, it was written during some 1,500 years in three languages, on three continents, Asia, Asia Minor and Europe, with Hebrew Aramaic/Chaldean and Greek , including two women!
    Like Jesus the Bible is God's Word made flesh...

     .John 1:14  "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

     It and Jesus is a unique union of the divine and the human, [something only God can accomplish, man knows not how, for if one did then that one would also be God, that's not possible}, God did not dictate the Bible word for word, nor did He give it to the prophets in some otherworldly language. Rather He used people of varied backgrounds, highly educated people, highly cultured ones, and some with little education; people with royal blood and common people. He inspired their minds with thought--messages for the human race.. They then expressed, as most think, those ideas and thought in their own words!
NOTE (JB) No man knows now How this was done, but what can be sure of it is God's periods! As no human could write such an all-encompassing book, so so many connections with it, that become apparent only with deep studies, and still proves itself within itself!
   Yes, it had many writers, but ONLY ONE Author the God-Man Jesus Christ! .It is Authoritative, it is Jesus Christ Himself speaking to us all, for ALL are God's children, as it is HE who created us within the wombs!

    Psalms 127:3 " Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."
Note: Can YOU dear reader, think of a better reason that this to appose abortions?

  As the Bible is then God's Authoritative Word,, We should believe it words, and practice what it commands. Every human opinion must be subject to proof from the Bible. The Bible is, in all its parts, god's INFALLIBLE Word.{ (JB) unlike those of ANY MAN,  Popes included, as we all come with baggage not found in the Bible!]  WHY?

    2 Timothy 3:15 " 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"

    God's Word is infallible presentation od God's plan to redeem the lost humanity. That plan is the same through the New and the Old Testaments, and it centers in Jesus Christ. The prophecies of the Old Testament, testify of Him in John 1:1-3,14 ] and IS the Central Focal Character in God's written Word!

    John 1:1-3  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made"
    John 1:14  "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth"
NOTE: The Word is Jesus Christ!  He is our Creator! As well as our Savior! It was His dead that paid the ransom for us all from the captivity of Satan!
 
   John 5:39-40  "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."
    The prophecies of the Old are fulfilled in the New in Jesus.

   1 Peter 1:10-11 " Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow."

  Because Christ IS the central Being in God's Written Word! Thus He can not be diminished by men worshiping Mary, nor be removed by men!  [(JB) as men have done in the NIV translations!]

                                 OUR ONLY,,,,ONLY INFALLIBLE GUIDE!

     God never changes  .....
      Malachi 3:6 " For I am the LORD, I change not; ....."
     Hebrews 13:8 " Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

    Therefore, the revelation of His character in the Bible is unchanging. He has just one plan to save the lost human beings., and it can never be altered. Because His will is unchanging, the teaching purpose of the Bible is indispensable. The Word of god call people everywhere to be saved and obey Jesus as Lord of life. In a world of fluctuation and change, of shifting values and conflicting notions of truth, God's Word [Stands like a rock] is the ONLY safe moral guide. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path....

      Psalms 119:105 . "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

      It tests our experience so that we do not end up being captive to our shifting feelings. The Bible tells us how to life day by day. It steers us away from the shifting sands of error. It guided us  through the perils of the last days. It reminds us that we are son and daughters of God, created in OUR Image Genesis 1:26-27] by Jesus Christ Himself Genesis 2:7]. Loved by Him, and accepted by Him in Jesus Christ,j and destined to live with Him throughout eternity.....

     2 Timothy 3:16-17  "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

    In the Bible we learn of Jesus, {note(jb) we can't learn to love an unknown, can we?] , The Word of god, made flesh, our Savior and LORD. Through spending time with Him, in the Bible we are "Born Again", ...

     1 Peter 1:23  "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
     
......and transformed daily into His image...

     2 Corinthians 3:18  "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

     Thus, the Bible is our Light, our Spiritual nourishment, our refuge. just as it guided God's people in the past, so it is for us our heart's joy and delight....

   Jeremiah 15:16  "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts."

  ......our comfort in affliction, our counsel in prosperity, and our hope of eternal life.  When we embark upon a study of the Bible, we must especially keep in mind its unique character. The ordinary methods of study are inadequate for understanding the Bible. Because Spiritual things are spiritually discerned....
 
        1 Corinthians 2:14  "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned"

    Thus we are in need of guidance from the Holy Spirit, to correctly understand and apply God's Word to our lives. We must be willing to accept the Bible as the word of God and ready to receive God's instruction on its pages.....
 
     .Revelation 2:7  "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

   God's invitation to every human being is to "tast4e and see that the Lord is good".[ Psalms 34:8].
He reveals Himself as the Author of the Bible to every person who opens its pages with a willing heart to learn. The Bible is the living Word of God for your life. God still speaks through its words today..

For further Study::  Proverbs 30:5-6. Isaiah 8:20; John 10:35; 17:17. 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Hebrews 4:12

Thanking you dear reader, for your time.
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Questions?   Comments?  John at www.servant@frontier.com

Want more?  Visit your Seventh day Adventist Church, any Saturday/Sabbath at 9-10 AM. You just may find the peace of mind you been searching for!

Other sites:  www.BLBN.org.   www.AFTV.org   www.amazingdiscoveries.org.

John B.
    
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