The Bible. It is the mostly widely sold book of all time.
But what makes the Bible so important and so widely read even after all these years?
Isn't it just another book of stories and myths of time past?
How did the Bible become God's guide for man today?
And who did God use to speak and write His words?
How can we be sure that they did not commit or make any mistakes in writing God's words?
Please stay with us on The Message to find out.
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There are 66 books in the Bible.
39 in the Old Testament
and 27 in the New Testament.
How did God reveal His words to man?
In Deuteronomy 4:12-13, this is what is recorded:
Our dear viewers,
we can see from what we have read in the Holy Scriptures
God spoke to the servants whom He used to reveal His words.
Like in this instance,
He spoke His words to His servant, Moses.
He not only spoke to them,
but He wrote them on 2 stone tablets
which are known as the 10 commandments.
We need to find out:
What else is another way that God revealed His words to man?
If we read the book of Numbers 12:8 beloved friends,
we could get our answer. It says this:
Now, another way that God spoke or revealed His words to His early servants
was by means of speaking to them face-to-face
just like what He did with His servant, Moses.
Did God only speak to Moses?
Whom else did God speak through and how did God reveal His words to them?
Well, let's read here in the book of Numbers 12:6
So we can notice, our dear viewers,
God spoke also through the prophets
by means of visions and dreams.
During ancient times,
if our Lord God needed to be able to relay instructions
or teachings to His servants,
how did our Father do this?
Let's read the answer, beloved friends, in Ezekiel 21:1-3
Now according to what we have read,
here, our Lord God was instructing the prophet Ezekiel.
He is an example that we could use of one that our Lord God used to convey His words to His people.
Now we should notice here, beloved friends,
the prophet Ezekiel said that the word of the Lord reached him
that he would relay them to the servants of our Father in heaven.
Let's find out now:
Whom else does God use as His instruments in revealing His words?
Let's find out in the book of Luke 1:35-38
So please take note, dear viewers,
God uses also angels or messengers
like the angel Gabriel when God sent him to Mary, the Mother of Christ
to reveal to her His will about His only begotten Son.
One might be saying,
"Well brother, maybe God only spoke during ancient times.
Maybe He spoke only to the prophets.
Maybe He only spoke to Moses and those servants."
But we need to find out brother, and beloved friends,
Did our Lord God also reveal His words in all or every dispensation of time?
Let's refer to the Bible once again, in Hebrews 1:1-2
Apostle Paul mentions the following:
Based on what we have read,
God revealed His words in various times and in various ways.
Now we need to understand and remember that the Bible
is divided into 3 great dispensations of time.
The first time or era is called the era of the patriarchs.
That is from creation all the way to the birth of Moses.
The second dispensation of time is called the era of the prophets.
The third and final dispensation of time is called the Christian era.
Now, what else is it that we should notice?
That our Father spoke to His servants in various ways.
Like what we have established already, Brother Andrew,
He spoke to them face-to-face.
He spoke to His prophets by means of visions and by means of dreams.
In fact, you mentioned earlier,
that our Father spoke also through angels or messengers.
Now, what is it that we should notice?
That our Father spoke through His greatest servant or greatest messenger;
none other than our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear friends,
Let's find out now, what did the Lord Jesus Christ Himself testify concerning His preaching?
Let's read the answer in the book of John 12:49
So here, our Lord Jesus Christ clearly states
that He did NOT speak on His own authority
but it was the Father that gave Him a command
what He should say and speak.
Now, if we read the Bible, Brother Andrew,
we know that our Lord Jesus Christ died.
After 3 days, He was raised to life and
He appeared and stayed on the Earth for 40 more days.
But does it mean to say that, when Christ went into heaven after the 40 days,
that our Lord God no longer spoke to anyone or revealed His words to man?
For us to find this out, beloved friends,
we need to consult the Bible once again.
Here in the book of Revelation 1:10-11 and we'll include verse 19.
This is what the Bible teaches to us:
Now, according to what we have read,
our Lord God also revealed His words to the apostles.
Like in this instance, Brother Andrew, (to) Apostle John.
In fact, what is it that our Father instructed Apostle John to do?
God instructed him to write down what he saw in the Holy Scriptures.
The message of the day:
The Bible came about because God used instruments to reveal His words to man.
Now in our next episode, beloved friends,
we will find out how the word of God was preserved and passed on.
How are we sure that these people whom God commissioned
did not make a mistake in relaying the message of our Father in heaven.
Thank you for joining us in this episode of The Message.
But before we part ways, we invite you to join us for a short prayer.
Our Father in heaven,
we offer to You our profound thanks.
For once again, we were able to share our faith with our fellow man.
We were able to explain to them
the process on how Your words are revealed.
We beg of You to please help each one
to be able to fully understand this, O God,
so that this would be their sole basis of faith
in serving You and in gaining salvation on Judgment Day.
Lord Jesus, our Savior,
please mediate our prayers to our Father in heaven.
Please beseech our God to be merciful upon those
who have listened to this message today
so that they would be able to embrace
the teachings of our Lord God
which would guide them accordingly in their daily life.
Our Father, as we return to You in prayer,
we beg of You to please continue to maintain our connection
with the spirit that prevails within the Church Administration.
For all of these things we ask and beg for
through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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