Four Questions You Must Answer Before You Can Correctly Understand the Bible

8/3/2019 Four Questions You Must Answer Before You Can Correctly Understand the Bible

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Four Questions

You Must Answer

Before You Can

Correctly Understand

The Bible

Lawrence BlanchardPublished in the United States of America

Published under the jurisdiction of

Fellowship of God’s Covenant People

P.O. Box 321

Union

The Commonwealth of Kentucky



Page 1

Four Questions You Must AnswerBefore You Can Correctly Understand

The Bible

Introduction

We think and act in a particular fashion because of what we

believe is true. But if we stop and consider this, a lot of what we

believe to be true is actually assumptions – ideas or concepts we

take for granted as true. And these assumptions may or may not be

true.

Below are a few examples of assumptions that we might

believe to be true:

• The cure for cancer is just around the corner.

• Vitamin C is ascorbic acid.

• Fluoride in the city water protects your teeth.

• Chronic pain is a natural consequence of aging.

• The NASDAQ is a natural market controlled only by

supply and demand.• The Federal Reserve System is a part of the federal

government.

• Paper “dollar” bills (Federal Reserve Notes) are money.

• Income taxes go to fund the federal government.

• Communism is dead.

• Christians, Muslims, and Jews all worship the same God.

• Christianity sprang from Judaism.

Think about how these and other assumptions determine our

perspective about life.



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Of course, we could have the right perspective of many aspects

of life if the assumptions we believe are true could actually be

proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be true. On the other hand,

if the assumptions we believe cannot be proven to be true, well,

then we would believe in something falsely and would not have a

true and correct perspective. If our assumptions are false, but we

are not aware they are false, we will think and act out of an

erroneous belief.

Assumptions and the Bible

We can also make assumptions about what the Bible says

without necessarily knowing whether those assumptions are in fact

true. If those assumptions turn out to be false, then our

understanding about what the Bible says and means will be false

too.

But if we correct those false assumptions, after we verify thatthey are indeed false, we can change those false assumptions into a

belief that is true and correct. Thus, we would be able to apply that

true and correct belief to contribute to a more accurate

interpretation of what the Bible says and means.

Two Problems with Assumptions

Sounds like a rather straightforward simple process. But there

are a few common obstacles that get in the way of analyzing

assumptions to determine whether they are true or not. The first

problem is that we sometimes don’t even recognize that we have

certain assumptions until they are pointed out. All of us tend to

drift along in daily living without being consciously aware that we

think and act in certain ways that reflect our masked assumptions.

For example, many people observe Christmas with lights and

gift-giving festivities because they assume that Jesus was born onDecember 25. Is that an assumption or a verifiable fact? It is not

difficult actually to find out the truth of the matter. Any

authoritative historical reference would tell you that December 25



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was not originally the celebration of the birth of Jesus but theMithra (the Persian sun god).

This celebration was later linked with the worship of the

Roman sun god Saturnalia. And in 379 A.D. the Roman Catholic

Church later adopted December 25 to celebrate the birth of Jesus

“to encourage a common religious festival for both Christians and

Pagans” (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas) , incorporating all the

pagan customs and rituals so that the people would more easilyconvert to Catholicism.

History reveals that Jesus was born in the time period of the

Feast of Tabernacles. This was a feast that God instituted for his

covenant people to look forward to the time when He would dwell

with His people. That feast was celebrated near the end of

September into early October – the time of the year when the

shepherds could still be out in the fields with their sheep at night. Itwas a time when many Israelites could still travel and sleep

outdoors on their way to register at the census commanded by

Rome.

The second obstacle we encounter, although we might be

aware of certain assumptions, is that we avoid questioning whether

those assumptions are true. There may be at least three reasons for

this:

1) They are assumptions everybody believes and no one else

has questioned them, or

2) Nobody really considered that there were other possible

alternatives to those assumptions, or

3) Perhaps those assumptions never were questioned because

everybody was too fearful to question them – afraid of what

others may think, for example.

This last reason might be one of the main ones that keeps us from

questioning our assumptions, especially if those assumptions raise

sensitive political or religious issues.



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Four Questions and Four Assumptions

This small booklet presents four questions that reveal four

assumptions most people make as they attempt to understand what

the Bible says and means. Your answers to these questions will

determine in large part how you interpret what the Bible says and

your conclusion as to what it means. Here is a preview of these

four questions:

1) Was Adam the father of all races?

2) Does the term “Gentiles” mean all other races except

Israel?

3) Who are the recipients of the New Covenant?

4) Did God change His mind?

As you may suspect, these questions and their answers arefundamental to correctly interpreting the Bible. As you get into this

book you’ll understand why.

Now, are you ready to engage? Are you ready to encounter

difficult-to-face questions? To find out, take this simple test:

• Is it your desire to find out what the Bible says and

means to your satisfaction?

• Is it important for you to find out for yourself what you

believe and not let others tell you what you should believe?

• Are you willing to overcome any fear of tackling these

important questions regardless of what others may think of

you?

• Is the Truth more important to you than anything else –

no matter what the implications?

If your answer to all these questions is “Yes” – then you’re ready

to read. Take each question and the commentary below one at a

time. Don’t be afraid. God will not let you be led astray.



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such a belief would reflect badly on Negroes. It was too offensive.Back to the drawing board.)

Another theory states that the only way that all the races could

have come from Adam and Eve was that God had to supernaturally

intervene and do it by a “miracle.” The problem here is that there is

nothing in the Bible about such a “miracle.”

These two theories are examined biblically, scientifically

and historically in my book, Did All Races come From

Adam? Click here to order your copy and start reading

today.

The second problem is that the different races are so different

that, from a common sense perspective, it is difficult to believe that

all races came from the same origin. Not only do we not look alikebut we don’t think or act alike. Whether it is physiological,

cultural, or intelligence – there are major differences. Could that be

the logical reason why every race instinctively gathers with their

own kind? It’s a natural sort of thing.

Here’s the issue. If the law of nature described as “kind after

kind” is self-evident – like Caucasians producing offspring who

are also Caucasian, or Negroes producing offspring that areNegroes – how can so many different looking two-legged beings

come from one man and one woman?

There is nothing in our experience that has ever shown that two

purebred Caucasians could every produce a Negro or Chinese

child, for example.

Did All Races Come From Adam? examines this law of nature that only kind can reproduce after kind from biblical

and genetic points of view. Click here to order your copy

and start reading today.



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Truthfully, both these theories (natural selection and miracle)have a lot of problems in the believability department. But there is

another possibility that few ever consider as an answer to the

question, Was Adam the father of all races? Here it is: Only one

race came from Adam. Only one race of the many races descended

from Adam.

You might be asking, “So what?” What difference does it

make? Well, think about it. If all races came from Adam, then the

Bible is to and for all races. Make sense?

But if only one race came from Adam, then the Bible is about

that race. Logical conclusion. Either the Bible is universally

inclusive of all races or exclusively about one race only.

Let’s look at it this way. If you have a book about your

family’s history then it is exclusive to your family. Right? Can my

family be included with your family? No, unless we share the samefamily lineage somehow. Do you see my point?

Either the Bible is about all races (the “human race” as it is

called) or one race – but not both. The answer to the question –

Was Adam the father of all races? – is either yes or no. Your

conclusion would dramatically determine how you would interpret

the Bible – what it says and means.

Okay. It’s a sensitive subject. But perhaps you have morequestions about this common assumption. Do you have enough

integrity to search the matter out for yourself?

Until you examine the evidence, you will never know for

sure if Adam was the father of only once race or many. Did

All Races Come From Adam? explores the biblical,

historical and scientific evidence on both sides of thequestion. Click here to order your copy and start reading

today.



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Question # 2: Does the term “Gentiles” mean allother races except Israel?

Unless the “Gentiles” as used in the Bible is understood in its

true meaning, the Bible cannot be interpreted correctly.

It has been commonly assumed that “Jews” mean Israelites and

“Gentiles” means everyone else inclusive of every person of every

race on planet earth. If this assumption is true then the Bible can beinterpreted from a universal, all-inclusive perspective. In other

words, the Bible, all its promises and the gospel of the kingdom

preached by Jesus and His apostles apply to all races.

On the other hand, what if you discovered that the term “Jews”

does not necessarily mean Israelites and that “Gentiles” does not

mean everyone else other than Israel? What if the term “Gentiles”

actually refers to a limited group of people and is not inclusive of all races? Would this affect the meaning of the Bible? Yes, it

would!

Jews First

Let’s look at a few pieces of evidence about the “Jews”

mentioned in Scripture. The first time “Jews” (translated in the

King James Version) is used in the Bible is II Kings 16:6. This

verse refers to those Israelites belonging to the house of Judah.This is verified by Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

by the Hebrew word yehuwdah (#3064) which means, “a Jedudite

(i.e. Judahite or Jew), or a desc. Of Jehudah (i.e. Judah).”

This concordance also reveals the same thing for the meaning

of “Jews” described by its Greek word Ioudaios (#2453). It means,

“Judaean, i.e. belonging to Jehudah: - Jew . . . of Judaea.”

A “Jew” of the Bible basically referred to either a member of

the house of Judah or an inhabitant of Judea – the land of the

southern kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew and Greek words

translated “Jews” never refer to all the 12 tribes of Israel.



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Here’s another way to look at it. Some assume that Abraham

was a Jew. But nowhere in the Bible is Abraham referred to as a

Jew. For the sake of argument, let’s say that the Bible did say that

Abraham was a Jew. Then Abraham’s father would be a Jew.

Likewise all of Abraham’s ancestors would be Jews and thus, you

would have to include Adam as a Jew as well.

But if all races came form Adam, and Adam was a Jew, then

all races would have to be classified as Jews, too. Where did the

Gentiles come in?

I hope you grasp how the meaning of the term “Jew” as it has

been believed by many is a false assumption. But in fact, “Jew(s)”

has a limited biblical meaning.

And Gentiles?

The term translated “Gentiles” by either the Hebrew word goy

or the Greek word ethnos is also rendered “nations” or “heathens.”

If “Gentiles” (goy) means all non-Jews or non-Israelites, then why

is it used to refer to Isaac’s two sons, Jacob and Esau? God told

Isaac’s wife, Rebekah:

Two nations [goy] are in your womb; and two peoples will be

separated from your body; and one people shall be stronger than

the other; and the older shall serve the younger. – Genesis 25:23

So, one of the sons in Rebekah’s womb was to be called Jacob who

was also to become the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. In other

words, Jacob would be the father of the “nation” of Israel.

Or how about Jacob’s prophetic blessing concerning his

grandson, Ephraim? In Genesis 48:19, Jacob explained to his son

Joseph that his son Ephraim “…shall be greater than he, [his

brother Manasseh] and his descendants shall become a multitude

of nations [goy].” If these “nations” (or “Gentiles”) meant non-Israelites, then the above verse would read that Ephraim “…shall

be greater than he, [his brother Manasseh] and his descendants shall



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Another Look

On the other hand, what if you discovered that the very words

of Scripture describe the recipients of the New Covenant as

exclusive to a particular group of people? In other words, the New

Covenant did not include every person? Let’s look at what the

Bible says:

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I

will make a new covenant with the house of Israel andwith the house of Judah.” – Jeremiah 31:31

Hebrews 8:8 says the same thing. Did God make the New Covenant

with only one people? Well, yes. That’s what it says.

I know. It’s mind-boggling. There must be some other

explanation. And there are probably plenty of questions racing

through your mind trying to figure out how an exclusive covenant

can also be inclusive of everyone else.

In my book, The Fall and Redemption of Adam’s Race, I

show how all the gospels and all the Apostle’s letters

consistently support the exclusive New Covenant

relationship. Click here to order your copy and start reading

today.

If it is true that the New Covenant is exclusive to one people,

how would that affect your understanding of the Bible? How about

everything else?!!



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Warning

If you choose to search out this alternative view for

yourself, you will walk down a narrow, lonely path. And if

you discover it is true, correct, and certain, it will change

your life forever. You won’t win any popularity contests,

but you will know the truth. And remember what Jesus said

about entering the narrow gate:

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and

the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there aremany who enter through it. For the gate is small and

the way is narrow that leads to life, and there arefew who find it. – Matthew 7:13-14

Question # 4: Did God change His mind?

Another assumption believed to be true is that the God of the

Bible changed His mind about who would be His covenant people.

Let me explain.

There is no argument that God chose a particular people to be

His people by covenant as testified in the Old Testament

Scriptures. But somewhere, somehow, this same God (who

declared He does not change) decided to open that covenant

relationship to everyone else in the New Testament Scriptures. So,

God changed His mind declaring that He chose the descendant of

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as His exclusive covenant people and

then later declared that everyone of every race are now His people

through the New Covenant in Jesus Christ.



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Exclusive Covenant

Let’s begin with God’s dealings with Abraham. God made a

covenant with him that contained certain promises. This covenant

would also be for Abraham’s genetic descendants. God told

Abraham:

I will establish My covenant between Me and you andyour descendants after you throughout their generations

for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and toyour descendants after you. – Genesis 17:7

Romans 4:13 also declares:

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the

Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

This covenant promise was also given to Abraham’s son, Isaac,

and his grandson, Jacob:

By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in

a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,fellow heirs of the same promise. – Hebrew 11:9

And to the sons of Jacob also who became the 12 tribes of Israel:

O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His

chosen ones! He is the LORD our God; His judgmentsare in all the earth. He has remembered His covenant

forever, the word which He commanded to a

thousand generations, the covenant which He made

with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. Then Heconfirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an

everlasting covenant. – Psalm 105:6-10

In no case in the Old Testament Scriptures did God choose any

other people to be His covenant people.



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In my book, Is The Judeo-Christian Gospel The Biblical

Gospel?, discover the real religious, philosophical and

political influences promoting a universal gospel, and why

the biblical gospel is still consistently exclusive to one

particular people. Coming online soon.

Did God Change His Mind?

Well, what does the Bible say?

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of

Jacob are not consumed. – Malachi 3:6 KJV

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today andforever. – Hebrews 13:8

Either God made an exclusive covenant with a specific people and

changed His mind later – or He didn’t. And if God did change,

then it still needs to be explained how, when, and why. This

question about God changing His mind must be answered in order

to correctly interpret the Bible.

If you are looking for Christian books that are popular and

accepted by “orthodox” Christianity, then my books are not for

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If you are seeking Christian books that honestly challenge the

unproven assumptions of modern Christianity, and present God’s

Holy Scriptures with a new perspective – then make your

investment now. You may discover the original intent and meaning

biblical Christianity according the Scripture.



Page 15

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Four Questions You Must Answer Before You Can Correctly Understand the Bible

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