Progressive Revelation - Part 4: Three Peaks of Prophecy: Failure, Repentance, and God's Faithfulness

Introduction: Understanding God’s Revelation

Read part 3 here.

When natural disasters occur, high-ranking officials like prime ministers or chief ministers often conduct an aerial survey to gain a high-level view of the situation. The district, mandal, and village officers collect detailed ground reports. However, the comprehensive understanding of those intrinsic details only comes when they are related back to the initial high-level view.

In the same way, we need to understand from a very high level how God progressively revealed about Himself to His people over a period of time. When we possess this high-level view, we can rightly relate the specific details of God's word. This prevents us from misunderstanding or misusing Scripture.

We must always remember the inspired nature of the prophetic word: 2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV): "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit".

As the history books record, God’s people quickly failed to meet the expectations of the covenant established in the first five books. They were never faithful in a steady manner. So, whenever they were faithless and failed, God used to send His prophets to warn them, to warn them, and to ask them to repent or to come back to God.

The Essential Role and Start of Prophecy

The prophets played a key role in the history of God's people. Their primary function was not just predicting the future, but rather representing God to bring people back to Him.

As we have seen previously, prophets had peculiar qualifications and conditions: they should first listen from God, secondly be sent by God, and they should also live a separated life. Furthermore, this same ministry of prophecy should be encouraged in the New Testament church, which has the responsibility to be a prophet to the world and to sustain the ministry of prophecy in the church.

The very first mention of the word "prophet" in the Bible defines this foundational role:

• Genesis 20:7 (ESV): "Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."

Abraham, being a prophet, was primarily asked to pray. He was not asked to predict the future, give a sermon, or write a prophetic book. This teaches us that, (irrespective of whether you are a brother or sister,) the starting point of the duty and responsibility of prophecy is to start praying for God's people and for others in your own capacity.

The Structure and Audience of Prophetic Books

There are 17 books of prophecy in the Old Testament. This division is often done in three ways:

1. Based on Content (Length): Five Major Prophets (from Isaiah to Daniel) and twelve Minor Prophets (from Hosea to Malachi).
2. Based on Chronology/Circumstance:
   • Some prophets spoke before God’s people went into exile (e.g., Hosea).
   • Some prophets spoke during the exile time (e.g., Daniel, some portions of Ezekiel, and the last portion of Jeremiah).
   • Some books were written or spoken after people returned from exile (e.g., Zechariah and Malachi). It is crucial to keep the time and circumstances of writing in mind when reading these books to rightly understand God’s word.
3. Based on Audience:
   • Some prophets spoke only to the nation of Israel (e.g., Amos, Hosea).
   • Some prophets spoke only to the nation of Judah (e.g., Jeremiah).
   • Some prophets spoke only to other nations (e.g., Obadiah prophesied about Edomites, and Jonah went to preach to Nineveh/Assyria).
   • Some prophets spoke both to God's people and others (e.g., Isaiah addressed God's people as well as Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt).

The Common Message and the Cost of Prophecy

The higher sense content of all prophetic books is common: God's people were failing in keeping the covenant of God. The prophets were sent by God to ask them to return back to God. (The call for gentiles also was to repent or face the wrath of God).

The right word for this is repentance, which means to turn back or come back. The prophets proclaimed blessings if they obeyed and curses if they disobeyed.

Prophets used diverse methods to deliver their message; some spoke, some wrote, and some did both. Sometimes God asked them to go to a specific place (like Jeremiah going to the potter’s house and prophesying from there). Sometimes they were asked to act something and speak:

• Ezekiel was asked to shave all his hair, divide it into three parts, spread it, and then speak to the people.
• God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute.
• God told Jeremiah not to marry in the land.

God was trying to give a message through the lives of the prophets. Sometimes, prophets were required to live out what they were supposed to prophesy themselves first. This demonstrates that the preparation of the messenger is important before the preparation of the message or delivering the message.

The job of prophecy was not so comfortable. For example, Isaiah, called the "prince of prophets," was sawn upside down with a wooden saw. Prophets lived faithfully and did their job responsibly irrespective of the difficulty of the message they delivered.

The Three Peaks of Prophecy

We will look briefly at three prophets who gave messages at highly intense times:

1. Hosea: The Lack of Knowledge (Before Exile)

Hosea spoke just before the Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) was sent into Assyrian exile. The Israelites, after reaching their highest point under King Solomon, had their kingdom divided after Solomon. In Hosea’s time, Israel was large, had relative peace, and was experiencing prosperity, comfort, and luxury, and rich getting richer and richer.

However, they were spiritually declining, marked by idolatry, injustice, bribery, and oppression, thus breaking the covenant God made with them. They had physical comfort but were spiritually very poor and in bondage.

God prepared the messenger, Hosea (name means "Deliverer"), by telling him to marry a prostitute, symbolizing God's painful relationship as a faithful Husband to His unfaithful wife, Israel. God wanted Hosea to understand His heart before speaking His message.

The main message of Hosea was "return" or repent, which appears 15 times in the book's 14 chapters. The core reason for their failure was a lack of knowledge of God:

• Hosea 4:1 (ESV): "Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land."
• Hosea 4:6 (ESV): "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me."
• Hosea 6:6 (ESV): "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

The people wrongly thought God was more concerned about sacrifices and offerings, but God wanted them to have the true knowledge of Him. Their priorities were upside down, and because they did not return, God sent them to Assyrian exile.

2. Jeremiah: The Uncooperative Clay (Decline and Exile)

Jeremiah spoke just before the Southern Kingdom of Judah went into Babylonian exile. The meaning of his name, "God will build up and he will throw down," characterized his ministry. God wanted to build them up, but because they were not listening, He had to throw them down.

God sent Jeremiah to a potter’s house to see what the potter was doing. The potter tried to make the first pot (God’s desire to bless), but the clay (Judah) did not cooperate. God revealed that their lack of cooperation led Him to make the second pot, which was a pot of curses. God maintained His sovereignty, reminding them that they were like clay in His hands.

Despite seeing Israel go into exile, Judah was even more treacherous. God explicitly stated:

• Jeremiah 3:11 (ESV): "And the Lord said to me, 'Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.'"

Jeremiah, though the youngest of the prophets, was faithful despite being beaten, threatened with death, and thrown into a pit.

3. Malachi: The Restoration of Families (After Exile)

Malachi was the last of the prophets who spoke just before the 400 silent years. Though the people had returned from exile, and the temple and walls were rebuilt, they were still faithless.

Malachi delivered two main messages:

1. To the Priests: God chose priests for two duties: representing the people before God (offering sacrifices) and representing God before the people (teaching the laws). Malachi indicted them for failing in both, offering wrong offerings and teaching laws in a partial way.
2. To God's People (Family Life): The people were marrying foreigners (which they should not do) and were unfaithful to their own spouses. Their religion was wrong, and their families were broken. God is as much concerned about our families as He is concerned about our religious life.

The book ends with a ray of hope—a promise of restoration:

• Malachi 4:5 (ESV): "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes."
• Malachi 4:6 (ESV): "And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

Even when the whole nation was faithless, God focused on building families, because the nation or church cannot be built unless families are built in a right way according to God's word.

Conclusion: God’s Enduring Faithfulness

Throughout the books of the prophets, one persistent nature of God is constantly revealed: even though His people were faithless, He remained faithful to bring them back and build them back. This is assured by His nature:

• 2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV): "if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."

(To be continued...)

Progressive Revelation - Part 3: From Sinai to the Spirit: The Progression and Privilege of Prophecy in Scripture

Introduction: God’s Continuous Revelation and the Need for Correction

Read part 2 here.

As God continues to reveal Himself progressively over time, His expectations for His people increase. We have already examined the general revelation available before the Law (in the days of Job) and the foundational teaching provided through Moses (The Law or Torah : Genesis to Deuteronomy).

However, as the history of the Israelites unfolded, they repeatedly failed to meet God’s expectations, and that is when God started sending prophets.

The function of a prophet in Scripture is not merely to predict the future. While prophets did predict the future partly, their primary role and duty was to speak on behalf of God. For example, great prophets like Elijah never predicted the future as other prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah did; they only spoke and did what God told them to do. Moses himself was a prophet, as God promised to raise up another prophet "like you(Moses) from among their brothers" (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18).

The first man who was called prophet by God was Abraham.

• Genesis 20:7 (ESV): "Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live".

So, the fundamental duty and starting point of a prophet, revealed in the first mention of the word in Scripture, is prayer for others. Every believer can become a prophet in this sense. 

The Origin of Prophecy and God's Promise

The initial need for prophets arose from the Israelites’ fear of hearing God directly at Mount Sinai. God came down in great fire and thunder, and the people were terrified, trembling, and feared death if they even touched the mountain. They told Moses they did not want to hear God's voice directly, asking him to speak to them instead.

However, because Moses would not live forever, there had to be a continuation of this work of prophecy and a continuous mediator between God and man. Thus, God promised:

• Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV): "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen".
• Deuteronomy 18:18 (ESV): "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him".

The prophets (Nabi, meaning "one who is called") were those called by God and sent as His representatives to deliver His message, especially when people went away from Him.

Hence, the condition is that the prophet must speak only what God commanded.

• Deuteronomy 18:20 (ESV): "For the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die".

The Universal Nature of Prophecy

God was ready to use people from all walks of life—kings, servants, slaves, and free men—to prophesy. God’s choice was not restricted by gender, as women were also prophetesses. We see examples of prophetesses like Hilda (1 Kings 22) and Isaiah’s wife. 

Moses himself expressed a desire for this calling to be universal:

• Numbers 11:29 (ESV): "But Moses said to him, 'Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit on them!'".

God is willing to use those who were ready, willing to work with His Spirit, obey His word, and hear His word. The history of the prophets includes people right from the highest position to the lowest, such as Amos, who made his living by picking up figs in the forest.

Three Essential Qualifications for a Prophet

God has conditions and qualifications for those He uses. If these qualities were absent, God would prefer even to remain silent, as He did for 400 years after Malachi.

1. Careful Listening and Paying Attention

The primary eligibility for a prophet was the willingness to stand in the counsel of the Lord, see, hear, and pay careful attention to His word.

• Jeremiah 23:22 (ESV): "But if they had stood in my counsel, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds".

Without careful listening, God stopped speaking. The old prophet Eli, though a judge, was not ready to listen, so God raised the young boy Samuel. Samuel's willingness to hear established him as a prophet:

• 1 Samuel 3:20-21 (ESV): "And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord".

2. Readiness to Respond to the Call

A prophet must be ready to respond to God's need when He calls. Even after the prophet Isaiah received a great vision of heaven and had his lips cleansed, God still issued a general call:

• Isaiah 6:8 (ESV): "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am. Send me'".

The prophet’s response must be solely for the call of God, not for any personal gain, money, or profit, contrasting with the warning given concerning the prophet Balaam (referenced in 2 Peter and Jude).

3. Living a Separated Life

The prophet must live a life distinctly different from the rebellious people he serves. God commanded Isaiah not to walk in the way of the rebellious people:

• Isaiah 8:11 (ESV): "For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people".

Unless a prophet lives a separated and distinguished life, they cannot be God’s representative, serve God, or hear His voice.

The Greater Privilege of the New Covenant Believer

The line of prophecy culminated in Jesus Christ, who was the fulfillment of the promise of the prophet like Moses (referenced in Acts 3:22,23 and Acts 7:37). John the Baptist marked the transition, as the phrase used for the Old Testament prophets ("the word of the Lord came to...") was also used for him (Luke 3:2).

Jesus declared that John the Baptist was the greatest among those born of women, but then revealed a great New Covenant truth:

• Luke 7:28 (ESV): "I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he".

The New Testament believers, who constitute the kingdom of God, are granted greater privileges than John the Baptist or any Old Testament prophet through two key differences:

1. The Indwelling Spirit

In the Old Testament, the Spirit rested upon people to enable them to prophesy (as with the 70 elders in Numbers 11). In the New Testament, the Spirit dwells inside us.

• John 14:17 (ESV): "Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you".

2. The Inscribed Word

While Old Testament prophets heard God’s word externally, we have the word within us. This fulfills the New Covenant promise (Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26,27), where God writes His laws not on tablets of stone, but on the heart.

• Romans 10:8 (ESV): "But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim)".
• Colossians 3:16 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God".

Prophecy in the Church Today

With the indwelling Spirit and the inscribed Word, all believers have the privilege to be prophets of God. We are explicitly encouraged to seek this gift:

• 1 Corinthians 14:1 (ESV): "Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy".

This spiritual gift should be genuinely desired, and when we approach God with true desire, He will give it.

The function of prophecy in the church is three-fold (1 Corinthians 14:3):

1. Upbuilding/Welfare: To grow and be built up (like a organism or body and like a building).
2. Encouragement: Bringing encouragement amidst discouragements.
3. Consolation: Providing comfort in disappointment.

While all believers should desire this gift individually, the universal church is also gifted with specific individuals for the benefit of the whole body. Crucially, true prophecy must not come from human imagination:

• 2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV): "Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit".

The role of prophecy requires dependence on the indwelling Holy Spirit to ensure the message is inspired by God, not human will.

Conclusion: Starting with Prayer

We are called to be Christ's representatives and execute this prophetic role in our own circles, regardless of status or gender. If we find ourselves lacking in the ability to share God's word or if we feel we don't have the gift of prophecy, we should start where Abraham, the first person called a prophet by God, started. Abraham’s role as a prophet was defined by his readiness to pray for others (Genesis 20:7).

We must examine our lives and ask if we are ready to listen to God’s word, willing to live a separated life, and ready to respond to His call. If we are at least willing to spend time in prayer for others, we are already doing the job of a prophet.

(To be continued...)

Progressive Revelation - Part 2: More Than Dictation: The Necessity of Context in Understanding God's Inspired Word

Introduction: Our Responsibility to Progressive Revelation

Read Part 1 here. 

The Holy Bible is a unique library, a compilation of books written by approximately 40 different people over a period of 1,600 years. Like any written work, these books act like time machines, transporting us to the times and circumstances of the writers—but we must actively endeavor to go there to understand the context.

God has been revealing Himself to humanity in a progressive manner from time to time. While God overlooked "times of ignorance", today, when God has given us so much revelation, He is expecting us to respond to that, to act according to it. This is our profound responsibility.

We are cautioned against ignoring the immediate truth revealed:

• Acts 17:30 (ESV): "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent".
• Luke 12:56 (ESV): "You hypocrites who know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky but do not know how to interpret the present time".

The Critical Need for Context

To respond rightly to God's word, we must avoid reading Scripture in a hasty manner, which often leads to misunderstanding.

Let me narrate a story. A police officer was walking down a road when he heard a voice that commanded someone to die, saying, "You go and die. No use of you. If you die, it is better for us".

Because of his police instinct, the officer immediately thought that this situation amounted to abetting to suicide. His initial thought was to determine what legal section this offense fell into and how he could bring the man into the law.

The officer walked further and approached the house, hearing a few more words. He looked into the window to understand what was happening inside.

He observed three people: an elderly man, a woman who appeared to be his wife, and a young man in his early 20s, standing before them. The two elderly people were speaking to the young man. The faces of the elderly people were sad, disappointed, and full of anger.

The officer became more interested and went inside the house to inquire what was taking place. The elderly people, who were the young man's parents, explained the situation. They began narrating all the "evil deeds" the young person was doing, describing the shame he was bringing to them and the pain they were experiencing in their lives, which was why they were shouting at him.

When the officer heard the painful situation of the parents, his heart melted. He sat down with them, counseled the young man, and managed to bring the situation to a "peaceable condition".

This story of the police officer illustrates the danger of hasty judgment without context: he initially reacted negatively but changed his response when he understood who was speaking, to whom, why, and how. Likewise, understanding God's word requires us to understand the context and situation.

Distinguishing Inspiration from Dictation

We face a similar danger when reading Scripture without context. We possess a wealth of revelation and resources today. Yet, many times we wrongly pick up words spoken by individuals in the Bible—such as Job’s friends, who held a wrong understanding of God and whose words God Himself condemned—and wrongly take them as direct promises of God for us.

We must recognize that the Bible is a collection of voices. For example, the book of Job contains words spoken by God, words spoken by Satan, and words spoken by people like Job, Job's wife, and Job's friends. If we take every word in God's word as a direct promise from God, we will definitely misunderstand it.

This clarifies the difference between God's inspiration and God's dictation. We affirm the authority of Scripture:

• 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV): "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness".

Scripture is inspired by God. God inspired the writers to write, but this does not mean that every single word recorded came directly from the mouth of God. The writers often recorded events or dialogue based on the revelation they had at that time.

The Foundation: The Teaching of the Torah

Though the Book of Job was chronologically the first book written (around the time of Genesis/Abraham), the set of books that constitutes the first direct revelation of God by Himself are the five books of Moses: Genesis to Deuteronomy.

Authorship and Audience: Moses wrote these five books during the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness (around 1500 BC, 3,500 years ago). The primary audience was the Israelites who had just been redeemed from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They were mostly uneducated, surrounded by pagan culture, and had only a few stories about their forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

The Purpose of the Teaching: After their deliverance, God started teaching them who He is (the God of their fathers), how He created the world, and how they must now serve Him as their Master. This teaching covered everything about their lives and culture, including building a house for God, offering sacrifices, treating neighbors, walking, resting, and wearing clothes.

These five books address the fundamental problems of life: Why death? Why marriage? Why pain in birth/labor? Why must we work hard to earn our living?. Jesus often referred back to these first five books when addressing fundamental problems, such as divorce (referencing Genesis 2:24) and resurrection (referencing God appearing to Moses in the bush).

Torah: Wisdom, Not Science: In Hebrew, these books are called Torah, the meaning of which is teaching. The purpose of this teaching was not to bring them into restrictions, but to instruct them to live righteously.

• Deuteronomy 4:6-8 (ESV): "Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who when they hear all these statutes will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today".

The goal was to raise them above all other nations, making them wise and understanding. It is important to remember that these books are not written to teach science, nor do they talk in terms of scientific development; their purpose is foundational theology and instruction on how to live.

These first five books lay the foundation for the whole theology and the identity of the nation of Israel. For Christians, who are heirs of the promise of Abraham through Christ, these books remain highly important for us to meditate upon and understand God's rich wisdom.

The Faithful Remnant and David’s Devotion

Following the Torah, the historical books (like Judges and Ruth) show the nation’s decline and failure to follow the covenant. While the first promise to Abraham (the land) was fulfilled in Joshua, they lost it soon after.

Despite the national failure, God always found a faithful remnant—people who stood for Him personally (e.g., Samuel in the days of Eli, David in the days of Saul). This teaches us that even when the environment around us is declining, God looks to see if we are standing for Him personally.

King David, a man after God's own heart, modeled profound devotion with limited revelation. His "Bible" consisted only of the first five books. Out of his love for God’s word, he wrote Psalm 119, which can be called a love letter to God’s word.

We can compare this devotion to his son, Solomon, who wrote a love letter to a woman (Song of Solomon, 117 verses). David’s love letter to God's word contains 176 verses. David expressed this immense love repeatedly:

• Psalm 119:97 (ESV): "Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day". (this means he thought about it all day, just as a lover thinks of their beloved).
• Psalm 119:113: "I love your law".
• Psalm 119:127 (ESV): "Therefore, I love your commandments above gold and above fine gold".
• Psalm 119:167 (ESV): "My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly".

Conclusion: Our Greater Accountability

David’s intense faithfulness with only the Torah should challenge us. We should not excuse our own failures by focusing on David’s weaknesses, but rather follow his faithfulness.

We now possess the complete revelation of God. If David was so faithful with just the Torah, our responsibility toward God's complete word is vastly greater. If we are negligent toward God’s words and fail to give them the necessary value, we will be responsible before God and experience loss. It is our duty to meditate on the rich wisdom of God's word and dig out its riches.

(To be continued...)

Progressive Revelation - Part 1 : The Divine Library: Understanding the Structure, Value, and Progressive Revelation of Scripture

Introduction

Books function as powerful time machines, transporting us to the time, circumstances, and culture of the writer. Yet, no book holds greater significance or power than the Holy Bible. In our hands, we possess a unique library—a compilation of 66 divine writings collected into a single, cohesive volume. This volume provides us with God's complete revelation. This article explores the structure and profound value of this divine library, emphasizing the profound responsibility laid upon all believers who possess the entirety of God's written word.

The foundational importance of Scripture is established in the Psalms:

• Psalm 119:89 (ESV): "Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens".
• Psalm 138:2 (ESV): "I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness. For you have exalted above all things your name and your word".

The Supreme Valuation of God’s Word

We must recognize the immense value God places on His word. According to some versions of Scripture, God has exalted His word even above His own name. While God’s name is high above everything (which is why many laws protect against blasphemy), God views the violation or disobedience of His word as much more serious. Therefore, we must see how valuable Scripture is in God’s sight and apply that same high value in our own lives.

The Bible: A Unique, Interconnected Library

The Bible is a compilation of 66 books, written by approximately 40 different people over a span of 1,600 years. Despite the diversity of authorship and time periods, a unique quality of God’s word is that every book is intimately interconnected and interrelated. This interconnectedness is why the Bible is the only book in the whole world that has cross-references.

The 66 books are divided into the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books). The books are arranged by their type, mirroring the logical structure of a university or college library, where books of one department are grouped together.

Old Testament Structure (39 Books)

• Law: The first five books, written by Moses.
• History: Twelve books (from Joshua to Esther).
• Poetry: Five books.
• Prophets: Seventeen books, divided into Major Prophets (five books) and Minor Prophets (twelve books). (The terms "major" and "minor" relate only to the length of the books, not the relative importance of the prophets themselves).

New Testament Structure (27 Books)

• Gospels: Four books.
• History: The Book of Acts (one book).
• Letters: Twenty-one letters in total (thirteen written by Paul and eight general letters).
• Prophecy: The Book of Revelation (one book).

The Focus Shift: From Past and Future to Present Practice

By examining the structure of the two testaments, we observe a significant shift in emphasis:

1. Old Testament Emphasis: The majority of the Old Testament focuses on what happened in the past (12 history books) and what is going to happen in the future (17 prophecy books).
2. New Testament Emphasis: While the NT includes history (Gospels and Acts, 5 books) and future prophecy (Revelation, 1 book), the bulk of its importance is given to the letters. Out of 27 books, 21 are letters (13 by Paul and 8 general letters). This means that approximately three-fourths of the New Testament speaks about the day-to-day Christian life—how we should live today.

The New Testament emphasizes that while the Lord will return when He chooses, but we must give importance to our practical life now.

The Nature of Progressive Revelation

When the 40 authors wrote their contributions, they were not aware they were writing the Bible; they were simply recording what God was revealing to them. Therefore, the Bible is a progressive revelation of God about himself to God’s people.

To properly understand God’s self-disclosure, we are required to know the revelation in the order of time and in chronological context. For example, Psalm 90, written by Moses, was composed around the same time as the first books of the Bible. Understanding when a book was written helps us understand how God revealed Himself to His people over time.

Accountability for Complete Revelation

Because God has given us the complete written revelation, we face a specific responsibility.

The Apostle Paul noted this clearly:

• Acts 17:30 (ESV): "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,".

Because we have a fuller revelation than those in olden days, God commands us to respond, repent, change our lives, and live according to the complete truth given to us. 

This responsibility is amplified even in Christ’s teaching:

• Luke 12:48 (ESV): "...everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more".

God expects more from us today than He did from those in the times of old. 

There is a danger, as seen in the Israelites (Romans 10:2), who possessed zeal for God but lacked the necessary knowledge, causing them to miss recognizing Christ when He came. 

Likewise, we are commanded to avoid being like the hypocrites Jesus condemned, who knew how to interpret the appearance of the weather but failed to interpret the "present time":

• Luke 12:56 (ESV): "You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?".

It is our responsibility to understand and respond to how God is revealing Himself in our own time.

General Revelation: The Example of Job

To understand the progressive nature of revelation, we can look at the Book of Job first. Chronological analysis suggests that Job was a contemporary of Abraham and that the book itself was written around the same time Moses was writing Genesis. During Job's lifetime, the Law (the first five books), the history books, or any part of the Bible as we know it today, were not yet available.

This helps explain why Job’s friends had a totally wrong understanding of God. God specifically chastised them, stating:

• Job 42:8 (ESV): "...For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has".

Job, despite lacking written Scripture, had a correct understanding of God according to the revelation available at that specific time. He gained this understanding because God’s character and nature are revealed through creation.

• Romans 1:19-20 (ESV): "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse".

If Job lived such a life that God praised Job as "blameless" and "righteous" with only the general revelation of creation, how much more is expected from us who have the complete provision of God’s written word? Understanding the full scope of God's continuing revelation is essential for our spiritual growth and for living the righteous life God commands.

Conclusion

The Bible is an interconnected, progressive, and exalted revelation of God Himself. We are supremely blessed to possess this divine library. Because we have been given "much" through the completed Scripture—the full story from creation to the command for repentance—God expects a deeper commitment and more complete obedience from us than He required in previous eras. We must continually strive to understand and respond daily to the exalted word that God has given to us.

(To be continued...)