You know how when you start reading a book, you’re eager to get to the “good part?”Sometimes, especially as newbies to Bible study, the Old Testament books can seem a little dry with history. As we start to learn the Word, there’s a lot we don’t understand and it can be overwhelmingly and daunting to stare at the pages of thousands of years of history and genealogies, not knowing how to begin, when you know that the good news of the Messiah is just page flips away.
But the problem is that too many of us (I did this myself) try to understand the back of the book without having an understanding of the front of it. But what we don’t realize that we miss out on, is that there are still prophecies spoken by many prophets in the “Old Testament” that still haven’t been fulfilled. There are many prophecies that point us to the great and terrible “Day of Yahuah,” in which is a reference to the Messiah’s return.
The greatest restoration in the history of the world has yet to be fulfilled, and it has everything to do with the events that will happen that will usher in the 1,000-year Millennial Reign. This will mark the moment in time of Messiah’s Second Coming, in which those who get to take part in the first resurrection will rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years. But the problem is, is that through the error of dispensationalism, which teaches us that the church will be raptured away before He comes back, it has poked holes in our understanding of Scripture, and because of this, many people are going to be unprepared for His return.
This is why history is important. This is why your foundation of truth must be rooted in the books of the Old Testament. The Bible is actually one book—not two separate books with two sets of promises for two sets of people. Scripture doesn’t teach that. Men were the ones who added the subtitle pages of old and new testament.
If you were to read your favorite fictional novel and you started at the back of the book, how much of your understanding do you think would be skewed because you didn’t understand the events leading up to the climax and the ending?
The Bible is no different.
So, I say all of that to say that Episode 4 as well as the next several episodes are going to be jam packed with unpacking the history of the books that may seem intimidating to many. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive study of history, but it is to help give you context that will prayerfully allow you to better understand history and prophecy, as well as fall in love with becoming a student of the Bible.
I can only speak for myself, but studying the history of what I’m reading has made the Word come alive for me in so many ways that have only created a deeper hunger for truth and thirst for righteousness.
Bible history is world history and world history is Bible history.
I pray that this episode and season blesses you and edifies you.
Supplemental Documents:
Episode 4 Transcript
King History of Israel & Judah Chart
Contact me: stephanie@promise-perspective.com
Visit my website: www.promise-perspective.com