#27
Post
by JButler » Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:00 pm
Close to a year ago after the BSF study classes were done for the summer, I felt lost on what to study and where to go. So I prayed about it, asking for guidance. The answer came swiftly, first Dr. Hugh Ross and a couple weeks later, Dr Michael Heiser. I have been busy since then. Before I used to say the Bible was opening up, revealing itself, like a beautiful flower. But this was more like a field of flowers exploding into bloom. Actually I was overwhelmed for some time.
But as I studied, read, thought, meditated, read more, read repeatedly it began to come together. The Bible is so deep and wide its hard to comprehend. There is so much backstory that is not evident by just reading words its truly like an iceberg. Obscure passages, "meaningless" details, weird stuff, passages repeating a few lines down, and lots of misc., suddenly start to not only make sense but start coming together in context. Then the "Ah ha" moments increase in frequency.
One observation that was driven home to me is, never ever ever base your theology, belief system or even a single point based only on an English translation of any kind. Not unless you've done a bunch of study in the original sources. A good example is Psalm 82, the ESV is the only one I know of that translates it correctly. And that is a big deal because Psalm 82 has incredible insights into God and His work/organization. It also connects directly to why humans became so corrupt so quickly.
Why did Jesus take the disciples on a 25+ mile walk to Caesarea Philippi? Just to ask Peter a question? Hardly, there is a huge backstory behind this. The Bible does not tell you why because it was not written to you, it was written to those who knew what Caesarea Philippi was all about, so no need to explain it. The same applies to quotes from the Book of Enoch or passages with Enochian inspiration.
So many people fall into the trap of thinking they know what the Bible says, but unless they have the knowledge of a first century Jew they're missing huge blocks of revelation. Its that plain and simple. If you deliberately avoid learning by hiding behind "Well, its not in the Bible so its not true", it is your loss. Don't be like the Sanhedrin in Acts 7.
If the truth hurts, maybe it should.