Warnings from history <3
I hope you had a good weekend.
The past few days of reading in the Chronological Bible have been extremely interesting.
The commentary between the Old and New Testament has taken me back to my school days and I am remembering how much I enjoyed my World History classes.
Back when there were fewer players on the grid of “world news” and things moved slowly enough between battles and coups that my tiny mind can take in and stand a chance of remembering names like Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire and such.
But I am painfully reminded that even back in the years we fondly call “when America was more Christian”…I made absolutely no connection with the timing of the events of Cleopatra and Anthony…the lineage of Caesar who defeated them…and the Roman Empire that took over…and how that set the stage for the birth of Messiah.
I also was stricken when I read this passage from the commentary about the impact of the Aramaic and other languages replacing the use of Hebrew.
“There was waning interest in reading the Torah…thus the law’s influence itself diminished.”
“Also of significant impact were the Persian beliefs in astrology and the occult. As a result when many Jews read their Scriptures in this post exilic period, they attached special meanings to any passages dealing with demons and angels, or light and darkness. The Torah is gradually being mystified in the eyes of many.”**
The writings of the commentators of this particular chronological Bible I am reading also explain how because of these new interpretations, many sects formed with various ideas.
This chills me to the core.
Go back and look at those paragraphs and substitute in some key words for our current age.
Would it look something like this?
There was waning interest in reading the Bible…thus the influence of God’s Word revealed in Scripture diminished. With the abundance of Christian based reading material available through popular authors, people began to use these as the primary basis for understanding and interpreting God’s Word.
Also of significant impact are the cultural beliefs of our times and influences of pluralistic and new age religions. As a result when many Christians read the Bible, they attach special meanings to certain passages that align with those ways of thinking. The Bible is gradually being tailored to our personal preferences of who God is in our own eyes.
So we divide ourselves off into sects, defending what we believe about the Bible and polarize the Gospel according to our interpretation and war amongst ourselves.
Scary as hell itself, isn’t it?
It makes me ask myself just how much I am allowing the culture of today, the thoughts of those who have watered down the Gospel to meet their agenda and the fear of offending the followers of the god of this current age to color the lens of my spirit as I read God’s Word.
We have to recognize that when we go to open the pages of Scripture, we have to seek the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us. Yes, God anoints teachers to guide us, but we do not follow a teacher or a preacher or a denomination or a cause.
We follow Jesus Christ. He is our real and present Teacher. Always.
We have to understand that our various translations have come down from others who can read Hebrew and Greek and interpreted as best they could – but we have to dig deeper into the meanings and context behind the passages and not lean on our own understanding of the words we are reading in a native tongue where the meanings of a word or phrase can change over time.
There are many resources available to turn to so that we can develop a deeper understanding and knowledge about the character and nature of the God who saved us.
What a powerful warning we can glean from the pages of history. We do not have to make the same mistakes.
We have a spiritual obligation and responsibility to rightly study God’s Word and apply it to our own lives each and every day.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable and useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 1 Timothy 3:16 & 17 NKJV
** The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order; NIV, With Devotional Commentary by F. LaGard Smith; Harvest House Publisher 1984, pg. 1343