| Highlights of Dawn | July 1958 |
The Bible, the Word of God
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” —Psalm 119:105
THE Bible tells us of our creation. It is the Bible that tells ups what is going on in the world today. It is the Bible that tells us what has taken place in the past, or the laying of the foundation of the great kingdom of God for the future. And it is the Bible that tells us of our destiny.
When we say that the Bible is the Word of God, we mean just that. We mean that it is the Book in which we read the words of God; words concerning his purposes for us as individuals, and as a human race.
When a contractor builds a structure he uses many different workmen. From the time that he surveys the ground and digs the trenches for the footings until the time when he hands the key to the owner and says, “It is now yours,” many different persons have been used in bringing the building to completion.
So also with the Word of God. Our Heavenly Father used many types of men in the “building” of this Book. Every class of society was represented in these artisans. There were poets, princes, fishermen. There were herdsmen, doctors, and lawyers, rich men and poor men, learned men and unlearned. There was Moses, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; Solomon, the wisest king of Israel; Daniel, one of the greatest statesmen that the world has ever known; Luke, a doctor; Paul, a logician. On the other side of the social scale we have Peter and John, who were fisherman; and Amos, a herdsman.
There was a purpose in the using of each one. The Word of God was to reach so many different types and kinds of people. Were they chosen because they were rich, because they were poor? Were they chosen because they were learned, or unlearned? No, they were chosen because they were holy men whom God could use. They were men who would not put their own ideas into their message; men who would be anxious only to have the message of God reflected in their writings. They were unselfish men, and men of absolute intellectual honesty. The Bible says holy men wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.—II Pet. 1:21
How long did it take to write the Word of God? A hundred years? A thousand years? Fifteen hundred year’s? From the time that Moses began to write the account of creation in Genesis, until the Apostle John laid down his pen on the Isle of Patmos, more than 1,600 years had passed into history, and 1,600 years is a long time. If you do not think so, remember that it is only a little over 300 years since the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. And think of the number of changes that have taken place in America since then!
But we do not have to go back that far. Think of the number of changes that have taken place since you were born! And yet 1,600 years were used to build the Word of God. Why? Because several things had to be covered in that 1,600 years in order that we might have the Book which is the “Word of God.”
Then there are the circumstances under which it was written. It was written in palaces and in prisons. It was written on the desert, in the teeming cities of the Middle East It was written by free men, and it was written by those who were in bondage. It was written by those who were in exile, and by men as they sat under their own vine and their own fig tree.
Of course there is a purpose in all this. It was all necessary in order for the Word of God to be able to reach so many hearts. Even the language in which it was written is important. We would talk about the various literary forms that are used in order to reach these human hearts to which it was to be sent. The stories of Genesis have thrilled us since childhood, many of which we have learned to understand, not in childhood, but in maturity. There is the poetry of the Psalms and the drama of the Book of Job, or the Book of Esther, and the romance of the Book of Ruth. There are the prophecies that are contained in the Bible, and the messages in the works of the apostles. All of these are wonderful. All are needful.
If you really want to know how to conduct your business, and the real ethics of general living, read the Proverbs. If you want to understand some of the philosophy of life, read Ecclesiastes. Each book contains its own message. Each is necessary. The important thing to us is that the messages they contain are truth. The message that each book contains is directed by God, and their united testimony presents the divine plan of the ages. The Bible says, “All scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect [R.V., complete], thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”—II Tim. 3:16,17
The Lord supervised the writing of the Book. He is the real Author. He did not leave out anything that should have been written. Men who have written books often say if they had it to do over again they would write a little differently here and a little differently there. But not the Lord. The Lord did not forget anything. Oh, we may have felt at times that he has forgotten to put in a few texts that would have helped our individual theories tremendously. We might have appreciated that!
But God was not trying to please us, and he was not trying to bolster any of our pet theories, or any creeds that men have made during the darker past. He was writing the Word of God just as he wanted it written. After it was written he said through the Apostle Paul to Timothy, “Study [it] to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” Also, “Prove all things” by my Word; “hold fast that which is good. And again, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Let us use this lamp to show us the way to walk with God.—II Tim. 2:15; I Thess. 5:21; Ps. 119:105
The Bible is peculiar because it is the only Book in existence that is dependent upon the heart condition of the one who reads it in order to understand the message it contains. Is your heart wrong? The Bible has no message. Are we desirous of doing our own will? It has no message. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,” neither does he know them. They are foolishness unto him.—I Cor. 2:14
But if the heart is right, if our desire is to know and to do God’s will, then the Bible does contain a message—a wonderful message. Part of that message is found in the promises of God. What would we do without these promises? In the life of every one of us there have been times when we have had to lean on the promises of God. How powerful they are! Here are a few:
“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”—Heb. 13:5
“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”—Isa. 30:15
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”—II Cor. 12:9
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”—Zech. 4:6
These are “great and precious promises.” By these we are made “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”—II Pet. 1:4
Prophecies
The prophecies of the Word of God are also part of the message found in the Book. The prophecies tell us where we are on the stream of time. Our Master said the day would come when men’s hearts would fail them “for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” (Luke 21:26) Has that prophecy been fulfilled in our day? We all know that it is being fulfilled now. Look out over the world and you will realize how completely this prophecy is being fulfilled.
But in spite of the sputniks and in spite of the satellites, in spite of those things that have come to make men wonder and to bring about distress and anxiety, we have also the assurance of God’s Word that when this time of trouble is ended, there shall never be another, and that Christ’s kingdom will be established in the earth.—Matt. 24:21; Dan. 12:1
There are prophecies that tell us of an increase in knowledge, of a running to and fro, of a time of trouble. (Dan. 12:1,4) There are prophecies also which assure us that this is the time of the end of an old social order, one that has taken men away from God, one where darkness has covered the earth and gross darkness and error the minds of the people. (Isa. 60:2) This old order will collapse under its own weight of sin
There are prophecies concerning the establishment of a new order. Even the angels rejoiced and sang that the day would come when there would be “on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) This, the angel described as “glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,” because there was born in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10,11) We are in the days of the end of the old order. Let us look forward with joyful anticipation and hope for the new day and order.
God’s Plan
The Bible also contains the plan of God for men. What is God’s plan? There is no topic more interesting. According to the Bible, which is the Word of God, man was created in the Garden of Eden. He was created perfect—in the image and likeness of God. And had he remained obedient to the law of God he would have been able to enjoy forever the benefits and the blessings of a perfect world. Eden would have extended her boundaries to include all the land from sea to sea and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth.
But man lost this chance. Adam disobeyed, and therefore he was sentenced to death. Not only did that sentence affect him but it affected his children and his children’s children—all mankind. The Bible’s testimony is: “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so that death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom. 5:12) “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”—Gen. 2:17
These are the statements of God, in the Bible, in his Word. The Devil did not believe these direct statements of truth—mat least he said, “Ye shall not surely die,” you will only appear to be dead. (Gen. 3:4) On the other hand, our Master believed God. Thus we have the great issue that exists in the world today between truth and error concerning man’s destiny. The Bible, the Word of God, presents the proposition that man was created perfect; that he died because of disobedience; and if there will ever be life after death, it will be through Jesus in a resurrection from the dead. This is the Bible message.
But heathendom and wide sections of Christendom do not believe that message. They believe that man, having inherent life, possessing an immortal soul, is from the moment of death more alive than ever, and that his future does not depend upon a resurrection from the dead, but upon the inherent possession of an immortal soul.
In the sentence back in Eden, God said the “seed” of the woman will “bruise” the serpent’s “head.” (Gen. 3:15) This was the first ray of hope that man would ever have any other destiny than “dying, thou shalt die.” (margin, Gen. 2:17) The seed of the woman “shall bruise” the serpent’s head was said in Eden, and many centuries later the Prophet Isaiah prophesied, “A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel.”—Isa. 7:14
Was there any relationship between the “seed” of the woman and a “virgin” conceiving and bearing a son? Indeed there was! Because if you and I were ever to receive redemption from death, it was necessary that one untainted with the imperfections of adamic birth would die as a corresponding price for Adam. Could you have done that? Could you have died for Adam? Are you perfect? Could any other member of the human race?
The Bible answers and says that no man “can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him” (Ps. 49:7) But nevertheless, a virgin conceived and bore a son. He was not of the “seed” of Adam. He was not tainted with the imperfections of humanity. He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,” and therefore he was a corresponding price to father Adam.—Heb. 7:26
The Bible says, “He took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham” for the suffering of death, “that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” That is the ransom. That is the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.—Heb. 2:16,9
We were all represented in Adam back in Eden, and we are represented now in the second Adam. We are all represented in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, and therefore our hope of a resurrection is established—not because we possess an “immortal soul” but because of the hope of life through Jesus Christ, the hope of life through the resurrection of the dead, the hope of life because a corresponding price has been provided, and additionally, if faithful as his followers, a hope of immortality, the divine nature.
Well, you say, after all it is nearly 2,000 years since Christ died. That is a long time ago. But God has not been inactive during the long period of time from Calvary until now. He has been selecting his church, the “bride” of Christ, the “Lamb’s wife,” the “little flock.” He has been choosing a group of people who will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years.
That “little flock” reflects complete devotion and sincerity in following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. The Bible says of them, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”—Rev. 20:6
Well, what is to be accomplished by their reigning with Christ a thousand years? The Bible says in I Corinthians 15:25,26 that Christ must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet, destroying even the last enemy, Death. That is one of the things that will be accomplished. Death will be destroyed. As stated in Revelation 21:4: “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” That will be a real accomplishment, won’t it?
But still more will be accomplished! The Prophet Isaiah (35) says the “desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and of Sharon.” He tells us that the lame man shall leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; and the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. He tells us that the ransomed of the Lord shall return. And, remember, Jesus gave himself a ransom for all.
All of this and more will be accomplished by the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ. That is why he taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) Yes, God has a plan for man; he has a plan for the human race; for all the willing and obedient. The Bible tells us that the time will come when all that are in their graves will hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth, and “they that hear shall live.”—John 5:28,29,25
All the willing and obedient of that time, all who hear the Word of God and obey that Word during that thousand-year reign, when Satan is bound and all evil tendencies are restrained, will walk up the highway of holiness to attain human perfection. The Word of God says, “When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:9) Yes, the people will learn righteousness. They will learn to walk uprightly. They will grow into perfection. They will walk up the highway of holiness and attain that perfection that was lost by father Adam, and that was redeemed by Jesus Christ. Therefore we rejoice in the hope for eternal life through Jesus Christ, through the resurrection of the dead. Yes that is the message of the Bible—the Word of God!
Suppose a man in California sent a stone to Washington, D.C., and suppose he was only one of sixty-six men in various countries and states throughout the world who, over a period of 1,600 years, sent a stone to Washington. Suppose some of those stones had been lost in the debris. Suppose some of those stones had become covered with dust. Suppose some had been forgotten for centuries.
Nevertheless, there were sixty-six different stones, different shapes, different sizes, different colors, and at the end of 1,600 years they were all found, and when they are brought together they fit into a beautiful pattern. Harmoniously, beautifully, they fit together into a marvelous work of art. To take away one stone would mar the symmetry of that work of art, to add one stone might spoil it. Why, you say, that would be a miracle!
But we know that that is the way the sixty-six books of the Word of God were given to us. A miracle of God? Yes! Over a period of 1,600 years these books were written—beautiful, harmonious, and containing a definite plan of God for the blessing of all the families of the earth.
Yes, the Word of God is indeed a miracle Book! Let us accept its testimony above the works of men. God has built this Book “that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4) We have accepted the Word of God as the foundation of our faith. Let us study it that we may stand approved unto God!