What is Going on from Genesis to Revelation is the first in a mini-series (The Bible Themes Series) discussing the Old Testament, its relationship to the New Testament, and vice-versa. Ideally, this series will reveal very important themes that span the Bible story. This might be just the bridge you are needing to make sense of otherwise peculiar language in the Bible.
Have you ever studied the book of Revelation? Many people with very little knowledge of the Bible have a great interest in the book of Revelation. My father, a long time preacher, was recently studying with a lady whose primary concern about the Bible was the book of Revelation, the end times, and the false prediction that the world would end on September 23rd, 2017. He asked the lady if she had ever heard of Samson. Her reply was an astonishing, “No.” This perfectly illustrates a core problem in popular Bible study methods and approaches. In order to understand what the book of Revelation is even talking about, you must first have a solid foundation in the rest of the Bible. Specifically, you need to have a good idea of what the Bible is about. This last statement takes us to Genesis.
What is going on from Genesis to Revelation? First, recall from Is the Bible Really the Word of God in Ink? “Scripture has a double authorship,” (J. I. Packer) This simply means that while different men wrote the individual books of the Bible, the one Holy Spirit inspired all 66 books. Since it was written by one Holy Spirit, you would expect one continuous story line. Second, remember what you learned from Questions You Need to Ask About Bible Context. You should have learned to ask this question when starting a new Bible book, “How does this Bible book develop the greater theme/purpose of the Bible?” This fact may be difficult for you to digest at first, but the Bible has a single, unbroken plot that is ignited in Genesis 1 and brought full circle by Revelation 22. This plot development is elusive to new Bible students who have never read their Bible all the way through. Even then, the plot doesn’t necessarily jump off the page to that person who has read his Bible three or four times. This is one reason you should be ever diligent in reading your Bible through on a steady basis.
Man sins and God wins.
This is as simplified a summary as I can give to the plot of God’s revelation. Unfortunately, a five word summary fails to do justice to the plot, so let me try again.
God makes man a new creation to reflect His holy character (image) throughout the world (Genesis 1). Man fails this mission very quickly (Genesis 3). Thereafter, the story is a cycle of God teaching His creation about redemption and restoration of that new creation (Genesis 4 – Malachi). This restoration begins when God comes in the flesh to dwell with man (Matt. 1:23 / John 1), redeem man’s sins (Matt. 1:21), and reign over man as King (Colossians 1:15-18). That process is complete when the King comes back to claim His faithful kingdom people and take them to a place that is described in terms of Solomon’s temple and the Garden of Eden (Revelation 21).
What does this mean as you read through the Bible? Keeping this plot progression in mind helps in understanding the difficult parts of the Bible. If you read the Bible and conclude that Moses was writing history so you would know what color to paint your kitchen- read it again. The Bible is not a motivational self-help book. The Bible was not written to 21st century Americans so they would know signs signalling the end of the world. Miley Cyrus may be the spawn of Satan, but John is not predicting the coming of Miley Cyrus in Revelation 17 where he speaks of a great harlot. God did not waste His breath writing the Holy Bible. That means, the Bible was written to reveal God’s redemptive plan to man and how to have part in that redemptive plan. When people ignore reading their Bible and proceed to claim, “God led me to marry this person,” based on some indescribable phenomenon, Satan is the one that wins, and the local court house collects on the divorce proceedings that follow 10 years later. Also important, if you think a book of the Bible doesn’t make sense and doesn’t belong in the Bible, read it again and consider the plot above while you read. Judges, Ruth, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Lamentation, Song of Solomon, Proverbs, Obadiah, Philemon, and many other Bible books do not make sense until you understand the overarching plot progression. Every single book in the Bible helps the ancient and modern Bible reader better understand the full dynamic of God’s redemptive plan. If the literal language of Judges does not power the light bulb in your noggin, perhaps the symbols of Solomon will make a connection.
I hope you enjoyed this Five Minute Bible Study! The next lesson will focus on recurrent themes in the Bible. There are themes like the Exodus, Kingship, the Temple, and the Garden of Eden that show their face in redundant and unsuspecting ways to help the Bible reader better understand the plot.
