This week we are doing an introduction to our new summer class that includes important reasons why all Christians are called to study the Bible, know what they believe, why they believe it, and then teach it to others! We will go over our ministry statement, and will practice reviewing some important things about the Bible, and the Old Testament in particular. Over the course of this class we will also be looking at the apologetics for the Old Testament that will include authorship and dating for the narratives of Genesis and Exodus, as this is one of the most attacked periods of time in academia today.

This class is designed for a person to do on their own or in a small group. Students will also be given the opportunity to go deeper by watching additional video recommendations along with Bible study homework that will be reviewed each week. Each week’s class includes prayer, an “apologetics” presentation, a review of last week’s Bible study, and a homework assignment.

Watch this week’s class presentation on this topic:

Presentation Notes

A Case for the Old Testament
Joseph to Moses

Introduction

Prayer and Reflection

Write out your prayer cards and exchange them at the end of the class.
Discuss: What are you hoping to learn in this class?
Recite to practice as a memory verse:

”See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

Colossians 2:8 (NASB)

Why should we study the Bible?

It helps us grow in our relationship with God and know Him better
It gives us direction in life
It protects us from sin
It protects us from temptation
It will help us to honor God and become more like Jesus
It will help us discern Biblical error
It will help us defend our faith

“A Bible that’s falling apart, usually belongs to someone who isn’t!”

-Charles Spurgeon

Why do we need to become teachers of the faith and Biblically literate Christians?

Scripture instructs that all believers are to be teachers of the Word (Dt. 6:5-7; Mt. 22:37-40; 1 Peter 3:15; Mt. 28:18-20)
The culture is ever changing, but God and His Word are not, and as Christians we have the answers to the biggest worldview issues facing society today (Origin-Purpose-Identity-Truth-Destiny-Evil and Suffering)
A majority of Christians do not have a solid foundation for what they believe, so many are swayed by the cultural “feelings” of the day, and we are warned to be prepared so that we are not fooled by the false teaching of the times (Mt. 24:4-5 and 24; Col. 2:8; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Pt. 2:2-3 and 3:3)
Statistics show that people are leaving the Christian faith more than ever before – especially our younger generation – many are becoming “nones”
Social media’s top two categories for views are either in some form of pornography or some form of religion

What side of the battle will you be on?

Ministry Statement

The purpose of this ministry is to provide participants with the information and tools needed to address the questions asked of Christians in our culture today (1 Peter 3:15), and this includes an emphasis on developing our Christian walk through these four important life skills:

1. Daily prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; John 17:1-3 [this entire chapter is a model])
2. Proper Biblical interpretation in Bible study through the use of hermeneutics (Matthew 22:37; 2 Timothy 2:15)
3. An apologetic defense of the historicity, inerrancy and inspiration of the Christian Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
4. Discipleship and Community (Matthew 28:18-20; Hebrews 10:23-25)

Developing a consistent Biblical Christian Worldview takes practice!

Make a commitment to these four practices over the course of this year and see how your joy, peace and confidence level grows!

This ministry believes that it is the responsibility of every person to invest serious time looking into the claims of Christianity because what we believe to be true about God, human purpose, and destiny defines us in this life and more importantly in the next. (John 3:16 and John 14:1-3 [this entire chapter defines the importance of eternity])
This ministry is committed to providing Biblical truths based on the entirety of Scripture—both Old and New Testaments. (Matthew 5:17-18; 2 Peter 1:16-19)
This ministry believes that the most important question we must answer in this life is the one Jesus asked of his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:27-29; John 14:6-7)

This life is temporal—eternity is forever.

Own your faith!

Know what you believe and why you believe it!

Then share it with others!

THE BIBLE GIVES US INSIGHT AND TRUTH, WE NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH IT!

Bible Knowledge Practice:
Memorizing helpful facts

What are the five categories of the Old Testament books in the Christian Bible and what are the 39 books of the Old Testament in each of those five categories? (Hint 5-12-5-5-12) Extra Credit for the 27 New Testament categories and books.
What are the “Major Historical Events” – the “Major Players” involved in those events – and the “Major Covenants” found in Genesis and Exodus?
What is the “Big Picture” of the Bible?
What are the most important focus points to watch for when studying the Old Testament?

ANSWERS:

The five categories of the Old Testament, and their 39 books, in the Christian Bible

(5-12-5-5-12):

The Torah (also known as the Pentateuch/Books of Moses/The Law):

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

The History Books:

[Joshua, Judges, Ruth] [1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles] [Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther]

The Books of Wisdom and Poetry:

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (aka: Song of Songs)

The Major Prophets:

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

The Minor Prophets:

[Hosea, Joel, Amos] [Obadiah, Jonah, Micah] [Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah] [Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi]

(Extra Credit)

The 27 books of the New Testament are in the following categories and order:

The Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

Church History

Acts (of the Apostles and the Holy Spirit)

The Pauline Epistles

Romans, 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians, 1^st and 2^nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon

The General Epistles

Hebrews, James, 1st and 2nd Peter, 1st 2nd and 3rd John, Jude

Apocalyptic (end times)

Revelation (of Jesus Christ)

Major Historical Events-People-Covenants of the Bible

* The Scarlet Thread of Jesus (carrier of the “seed promise”)

The Antediluvian (pre-flood) Period of time: ca. 4000 – 2000 BC

1. Creation (Genesis chapters 1-2); God

2. Fall (Genesis chapter 3); *Adam & Eve, Cain, Abel and *Seth; The Adamic Covenant/The Seed Promise

3. Flood (Genesis chapters 6-9); *Noah; The Noachain Covenant and Rainbow Promise

4. ca. 2500 BC – Dispersion at the Tower of Babel (Genesis chapter 11); *Seth

5. ca. 2166 – 1800 BC – The Period of the Patriarchs (Genesis chapters 12-50); *Abraham, *Isaac, *Jacob/Israel and the Twelve Sons/Tribes of Israel: Joseph foreshadows Jesus, *Judah carries the Seed Promise; The Abrahamic Covenant

6. ca. 1500 – 1406 – The Exodus (books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Moses; The Mosaic Covenant/The Law

The Big Picture of the Bible – Telling the Story

THE OLD TESTAMENT:

God creates us to be in relationship with Him (Genesis 1-2)
Humans lose that relationship at “the Fall” when they disobey God’s only command (Genesis 3) and we live with the consequence of that today
God immediately Promises a way of salvation and begins to work that [rescue] plan out in “Covenants” throughout the Old Testament—giving encouragement, warning and hope through the prophets (Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 15:5-19; Genesis 26:3-5; Genesis 28:10-15; Genesis 49:9-12; Exodus 12-15; 19-20; 2 Samuel 7:5-17; Jeremiah 31:31)
Every book (39), story, and event contain a foreshadow, model, or prophecy of Jesus (who He would be and what He would do)—the Scarlet Thread of the Old Testament
The Nation of Israel was chosen to be God’s people and role-model to the other nations (but they failed all the time), showing the need for a Savior, and it would be through this Nation that Messiah would come

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Gospel:

Jesus is born, the promised Messiah from the tribe of Judah and line of David (Luke 3:23-37)
Jesus is the New Covenant in fulfillment of God’s Old Covenant and the hundreds of prophecies made about Him centuries before (Luke 22:20; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:7-13; 9:1-15)
Jesus’ ministry proves that He is God incarnate evidenced by His sinless life and multitude of miracles attesting to His power over the natural order and His love for humanity (evidenced throughout the Gospels)
Jesus dies as a substitute for all humanity, then resurrects from the grave in defeat of death and Satan, restoring that lost relationship with humankind and providing a path for eternal life (John 3:11-21)

The Church:

Jesus’ followers begin to spread this good news at Jesus’ command and giving of the Holy Spirit to all believers (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:7-8)
The early Church begins as disciples gathering in various places worshipping and studying Scripture (book of Acts)
Jesus promises to come back bringing the full Kingdom of God creating a New Earth and New Heaven with no more pain, suffering, or death (John 14; Revelation 21:1-7)

Focus Points as we study through the Old Testament

God’s Kingdom and Sovereignty (His supreme power and authority over all things as Creator)
God’s Holiness (displayed in His truth, perfection and righteous justice)
Humanity’s fallen nature and imperfect interaction with each other and with God (thus the need for a Savior – Jesus, to return us to the original intended relationship)
God’s Hesed (His unconditional grace and love that passes all human understanding) and restorative power (the promise of forgiveness and a return to perfection through His Redeemer – Jesus)
The Scarlet Thread of Jesus: Foreshadowing in the stories or events – this include Christophanies (appearances of the pre-incarnate Jesus)
Satan’s Attempt to Crush the Righteous Seed (throughout history Satan puts up road blocks in an attempt to thwart God’s Promise and Plan – see Genesis 3:15)
The importance of the Nation of Israel (Even though they made many mistakes God still uses them to fulfill His Promise and ultimate Plan)
God’s desire for obedience disobedience (When the people follow God they are blessed; when they disobey God the consequence is discipline through hardship and trials)

Introduction to “Patterns of Evidence – The Moses Controversy”
Video Outline Questions

Timothy Mahony’s research used the following criteria as an investigative approach to the question of Moses’ authorship. His research and interviews include scholars of atheist, agnostic and skeptical views along with those who hold to a historical Biblical view.

Please note: The paradigm (model or framework which scholars work from) used in academia today is one that does not allow for the traditional historical Judeo-Christian view, even though there is ample evidence available as we will see.

Patterns of Evidence Investigative Criteria states that “If Moses wrote the Torah, as the Bible claims, then there should be evidence for the following questions:”

Was there a form of writing by the time of the Exodus?
Was there a form of writing available in the region of Egypt?
Was there a form of an alphabet available by the time of the Exodus?
Was there a form of writing similar to Hebrew?

Watch the preview for “Patterns of Evidence, The Moses Controversy”

Bible Study Guidelines:

This class will take the historically classical and traditional view of the Bible and its scholarship for our Bible studies.
Alternate views taught in some academic circles might be noted, but we will stand with the views of Christianity that have stood the test of time, especially in the areas of authorship and dating.
The traditional views are solid and based on historical, archeological and scholarly work in textual criticism, even though there are those in modern academia who take skeptical, agnostic and even atheistic views.
We will let the Bible interpret the Bible through cross-referencing practice, focusing on the complete context of the narrative and practicing hermeneutics.
Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us.

Using the Hermeneutical Method

AUTHOR-AUDIENCE-DATING

Includes cultural background of that day

PURPOSE OF THE WRITING

Includes genre

CONTEXT-FLOW OF THOUGHT

Includes getting the big picture

INTERPRETATION /SUMMARY

Includes cross-referencing

PERSONAL AND CULTURAL APPLICATION

Applying timeless truths to today – Always done last

Note: It is important to follow this order. If you start with personal application instead of author-audience-date you may not get the correct context and misapply it to your life.

Bible Study

Each week, starting next week, we will have Bible study following the presentation. There will be questions presented here on the weekend, and basic answers will be part of the next presentation and posted mid-week for your review. This can also be used to make a leader’s guide for your own small group and future studies!

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us.

1. Review of Class Topic:

With your table group, discuss today’s presentation by reviewing some of the important reasons that Christians should study and know the Bible.

The Hermeneutics:

Using a good study Bible, answer the following questions to the best of your ability (we will go over them in our discussion groups at class):

2. Who is the author and what do we know about him?

3. Who was the audience and what do we know about them?

4. What is the main genre (Literary style) of these books?

5. What is the purpose for the writing of these books?

6. Discuss and apply: Why do you think it is important to understand the Biblical narratives in the historical context in which they are written? How can we differentiate between the historical narratives and the timeless truths applicable for today?

7. What are some resources you can share to help us go deeper in our studies?

Join us next week as we continue our “Case for the Old Testament, Joseph to Moses!”

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15