How the Bible Came to Be

MEMORY VERSE: “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.” —Hebrews 1:1,2

EXODUS 24:3-8; JEREMIAH 36:1-4; REVELATION 1:10,11

GOD through the power of the Holy Spirit impressed upon the minds of his servants the messages that he would have them deliver to his people. These messages were recorded and they became the theme of the Bible, the inspired Word of God. Some of the Bible consists of recorded historical facts. The accuracy of these facts is constantly being verified by archeology.

One of the reasons for recording facts concerning genealogy and associated circumstances was that the Jews were looking for the promised Seed that was to come through Abraham and subsequently through David. This Seed was to be a Messiah who would bring blessings to Israel and to the world.—Gen. 22:16-18; Luke 1:69-73

To the casual reader the Bible might appear as an account of unrelated events with many contradictions. But the real student has determined that the Bible is an account of the creation and fall of man and the steps that the great Creator has taken, and is now taking, to restore mankind to perfection. The account of the creation and fall is given in the first chapters of the Book and the complete restoration is recorded in the last chapter of the Book.

Another fact that makes the Bible more understandable to the student is the realization that the great design, or plan, for the restoration of man is divided into times and seasons. After the Flood God began dealing with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in a very special way, and to Abraham he made that very wonderful promise recorded in Genesis 22:16-18. This promise is the basis of all the Christian’s hopes. The period of time during which God dealt with these holy men of old is called by students of the Bible the Patriarchal Age.

At the death of Jacob God began to deal with the twelve sons of Jacob, who became the heads of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. And for some 1,800 years God dealt exclusively with this people.—Amos 3:1,2; Rom. 3:1,2,19,20

At the death of Jesus a new age began, called the Christian Age, or Gospel dispensation. During this time the true servants of the Lord are commissioned to preach the good news of the kingdom and assist in the work of taking out from the world a people for his name, a people who, if faithful, will be associated with Jesus in the mediation work of the kingdom. (II Cor. 5:18-20) We believe that this great work of calling out the church is nearing its end, and that soon the next age will be inaugurated.

The next age will be the thousand years of Christ’s kingdom. This is the time when all mankind will be restored to life in the resurrection and given an opportunity to be obedient to God’s laws under the most favorable circumstances. Those who are obedient will receive everlasting life as perfect human beings right here on earth.—Jer. 31:33,34; Zeph. 3:9; Acts 3:19-21; Isa. 65:21-24; Rev. 21:4; Isa. 35:10; Ps. 98:9; Isa. 26:9; Isa. 2:4

In II Timothy 2:15 the apostle admonishes us to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”

If our study of the Bible is to be meaningful, we must learn to apply the Scriptures to the proper time feature of the divine plan. For example, the prophecy in Zephaniah 3:9 states, “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.”

Then again in Micah 4:3,4 we read, “And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.” It is obvious that these prophecies do not apply today, but apply to the next age.

The content of the Bible, together with its logic and harmony, stamp it as being the inspired Word of God, and it is given to us by his overruling providences.

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