OT SURVEY // UNIT - 1 // LESSON - 3 // Basic Bible Fundamentals // (English)
Basic Bible Fundamentals
The following section lists
the basic information that you need to understand as you read and study God's
word. It is intended to help you understand just what is the underlying
"structure" of God's ways of doing things. It won't explain "everything,"
but will lay-out the framework of people and truths in the Bible.
A. The Main
Events of the Bible - what follows are the important events in history
and prophecy as recorded in the Bible!
2. The
Flood. About
4,600 years ago, a world-wide flood occurred that wiped-out all land-dwelling
creatures, including mankind (Genesis 6). Everyone died except for Noah, and his family,
who were saved because they obeyed God, and built an ark which contained two of
every kind of land animal. It was the flood that fashioned the continents into
their current shapes, and lifted the mountains to their current heights.
3. The
Calling out of Abraham. Abraham is a cornerstone of the Old
Testament. He lived in an ungodly city called Ur, but decided to obey God's
word and leave Ur to follow God's will for his life. When God promised Abraham
that He would give him as many children as the number of the stars, Abraham
didn't doubt, but simply believed God, and became the father of the race of
people called the Jews, who because of Abraham, are the people of God (Genesis
12-25).
4. The
Bondage in Egypt. The descendants of Abraham were called Jews.
These Jews went to dwell in Egypt, but were enslaved by the Egyptians for over
400 years (Genesis
30 through Exodus 3).
5. The
Passover. Just
before Israel was set free from slavery in Egypt, God commanded that every
believer get themselves a lamb, and to kill that lamb in their place. They were
to then take the blood of that lamb, and place it visibly upon the outside
doorposts of each home, and God promised to "pass over" them
in His judgment (Exodus 12)!
6. The
Promised Land. Abraham had been promised a piece of land known as Canaan. It was
over 400 years later when Joshua led the nation of Israel into Canaan and conquered
all its inhabitants (The Book of Joshua). It is where Israel now dwells, and
always will be Israel's.
7. The
Kingdom Age. Israel became a kingdom under three great kings named Saul, David,
and Solomon. Many other kings followed them (1 Samuel – 2 Chronicles).
8. The
Captivity. After
about 400 years in the Promised Land, the people of Israel lost interest in
following the God of the Bible, and became totally idolatrous. God gave them
over to their enemies, who came into their cities, and took all the healthiest,
and strongest, and most beautiful away to distant lands as slaves again. Israel
had gone full cycle, and would have to wait for 70 years before they could
begin to rebuild their lives back under God.
9. The Old
Testament. This
set of 39 Books in the Bible contains the history of the world from Creation,
up to about 400 years before the birth of Jesus. It was written in Hebrew, and
pointed toward Christ.
10. The
Nativity of Christ - His First Coming. God became flesh and dwelt
among us here on earth almost 2,000 years ago. He lived a sinless life for 33
years, and then died as our substitute for sins on the cross to pay off our
sin-debt to God. Everyone of His day wanted Jesus to rule as King, but His
first coming was not to rule, but to save!
11. The New
Testament. This
set of 27 Books in the Bible records the life of Christ, and presents the
truths and freedoms that can transform any sinner into a true saint.
12. The
Rapture. A
catching away of the Christians from the earth just before the beginning of the
time called the Tribulation. It occurs so fast that people won't know what
happened!
13. The
Tribulation. Seven years of disasters and troubles that will rock the very foundations
of this planet (Revelation 6-19). It will result in 1/3rd of the
population of the earth dying.
14. The
Second Coming of Christ. Christ Jesus, and all Christians are coming
back again! Jesus promised that He will defeat Satan, and will establish a true
kingdom of heaven on earth (Revelation 19). We don't know when it
will happen, but look for it everyday expectantly!
15. The
Millennium. This is the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth, who
will return the earth back to what it was like in the Garden of Eden (Revelation
chapters 20,21).
16. The New
Heaven and New Earth. Once the Millennium is over, God will destroy
this entire universe by fire, and start over with a perfect universe, and
earth, with no more sin, or Satan around (Rev 21 & 22).
B. The Main
People of the Bible
1. Adam and
Eve (Gen
chapters 2,3). These
were the first humans on earth, and from them are all humans, and because of
their disobedience to God, we have death, and sin, and separation from God.
2. Cain and
Able (Gen 4). Here
were two brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. Abel worshipped God with the sacrifice
of lambs, and Cain with his own good efforts. When God only appreciated Abel's
lamb, Cain ended up killing his brother out of envy, and became the first
murderer!
3. Noah (Gen 6-9). Noah
was the only man who followed and obeyed God in his day - the rest of the world
was caught up in wickedness and violence. He was commanded to build a huge ark
that would carry both himself, his family, and two of each kind of animal
through the coming world-wide flood.
4. Nimrod (Gen 10).
Nimrod began again false worship, and open rebellion to God's word. He built
Babylon, and attracted all the world to worship his false Gods, which are the
basis for ALL the world's religions still (including Catholicism), except for
Biblical Christianity!
5. Abraham (Gen
12-25). The
father of the race of people called Israel, or the Jews. It was his faith in
God that moved God to choose to use him to bring the promised Messiah into the
world. It was his people that God would use to pen the Scriptures, and keep
them from error.
6. Isaac (Gen 21-35). The
miraculous born son of Abraham. This boy was the promised son of Abraham, and
was born when Abraham was 100 years old, and his wife Sarah was 90!
7. Jacob (Gen
25-49). He is
one of Isaac's sons. He is a trouble-maker, but gets converted, whose name gets
changed to Israel by God because he finally surrenders
to the Lord.
8. The
Children of Israel. These are the descendants of Jacob/Israel, and
are the people of God.
9. Moses
the Lawgiver. God protects Moses from birth, when he is taken in by Pharaoh's
daughter, and made the adopted son of the king of Egypt. Moses later discovers
that he is a Jew, and renounces his position so that he can be with his people
which at the time were slaves. Moses ultimately leads Israel out of Egypt, and
to the land promised them called Canaan, which is modern Palestine, where
Israel is today. God uses Moses to pen the first five Books of the Bible, which
are referred to as "the Law" of Moses.
10. Joshua. He
leads Israel into their Promised Land, and defeats all the kingdoms of the
land, allowing Israel to possess it in peace (see the Book of Joshua).
11. The
Judges. These
are leaders whom God uses to bring Israel back to God each generation after
Moses and Joshua because they would spiritually drift away. They were before
the time of kings in Israel (see the Book of the Judges).
12. The
Kings. God
set Israel up as a kingdom with Saul as its first king. After
him was king David, followed by Solomon. After them,
the kingdom splits in two, and each kingdom lasts for no more than 400 years
before being taken captive by other countries.
13. Daniel
the prophet. There were many prophets used by God to write much of the Bible,
but Daniel stands out among them. He is used to write about the coming Messiah
(Jesus), and the end times.
14. Jesus
the Saviour. Jesus is the whole theme of the Bible - from the first
lambs slain in the Garden of Eden, God has been pointing sinners to the only
substitute acceptable - that of an innocent Lamb. God became flesh, gave His
life freely on the cross, and was buried, but then after three days, rose
again, and ascended to heaven victorious over both sin and death! That makes
Him our only way to heaven, by faith!
15. Satan,
the devil. Satan's
name used to be Lucifer, an arch-angel, but he turned away
from God and sought to de-throne the Lord. He was kicked out of heaven, but
still works destruction in God's creation. He only seeks to destroy what God
has created, and set himself up as God. He is doomed to burn
forever with his followers in the lake of fire!
16. Angels. Angels
are spiritual beings that minister for God here on earth. They only do what God
wants done, not what we want done.
C. The Main
Themes of the Bible
1. The
Depravity of Mankind. At the start of the Bible, God shows that
mankind, even in the most perfect of environments, will chose to go their own
sinful way instead of God's way. God however, will not give-up on the work of
redeeming us from sin's power and price. All humans, at their best, are still
sinful, and unable to enter heaven, no matter how hard they try (Psalm
39:5; Isaiah
40:17). They
MUST be "born-again" where their sins are completely forgiven, and
their names are written in heaven, all by faith in Jesus Christ!
2. The
Intervention of God in Human Affairs. In order to keep
mankind from self-destruction, and total loss, God has had to intervene
sometimes with disasters (like the world-wide flood of Noah's day, etc.), and
with the coming of Jesus Christ. God is in no way ignoring our condition here
on earth, but intervenes at the right times, in the right ways. As a
matter-of-fact, He intervenes in everyone's life daily!
3. The
Salvation of Sinners. The primary reason for intervention is to
restore what sin has ruined, and He does that one heart at a time in the lives
of sinners who repent, and follow His Son, Jesus Christ. This theme is
played-out over and over throughout the lives of all people throughout
Scripture.
4. The
Coming Physical Kingdom of Christ. The constant struggle with sin on this earth
will not go on forever, but will climax with the return of Jesus Christ the
second time. He comes again to destroy the works of the devil, and to rule as
King of kings. No one knows when He is coming again, but we know He says it is
imminent (soon)!
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