Biblical Theology — 0
The Scriptures
The Bible is a diverse collection of different writings. It contains sixty-six books, written by about forty human authors, over nearly 2,000 years. It has two main sections (the Old Testament and the New Testament), is written in two main languages (Hebrew and Greek), includes a mixture of literature types.
The Scriptures do not tell the story of how God decided to send Jesus to earth only after his first plan had failed (e.g., Adam, Israel). The Scriptures are not a book of quotations. Neither are the Scriptures a collection of books. The Scriptures must be understood and read as one book, written by one author (God), with one main subject (God’s plan of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ).
Biblical theology is, in effect, the study of the unity of the message of the Bible. Biblical theology:
• enables us to deal with problematic passages by relating them to the one message of the Bible.
• shows the relationship of all parts of the Scriptures to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
• shows the process by which God has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind.
The Kingdom of God
What is the kingdom of God? For purposes of our study, the kingdom of God is: “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule and blessing.”
An Overview of the Bible
For purposes of our study, we are going to divide the Bible into eight sections which are the main epochs in God’s unfolding plan to restore His kingdom (God’s Big Picture — Vaughan Roberts):
• The Pattern of the Kingdom
• The Perished Kingdom
• The Promised Kingdom
• The Partial Kingdom
• The Prophesied Kingdom
• The Present Kingdom
• The Proclaimed Kingdom
• The Perfected Kingdom