The Bible is full of amazing and fascinating topics of study. Even though most American families own several copies of the Bible, Bible study is not trending in our society. This is such a shame. To study the Bible is to read the mind of God. It is seeking Him, getting to know Him, and finding Him. Studying the Bible means you study a little bit of everything! Science, world history, philosophy, poetry, anthropology, and much more.
The following is some of my favorite studies from the Bible that truly are incredible!
1) The Bible displays impeccable scientific accuracy. As a mother, one of my favorite examples of this is the beautiful description of conception and pregnancy in the Psalms.
Psalms 139:13 “You KNITTED me together in my mother’s womb.” Verse 15 says “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately WOVEN in the depths of the Earth.” (Depths of the Earth mean mother’s womb.)
This was written by King David around 1000 B.C. DNA was not discovered until the 1950’s. Our bodies are made up of trillions of tiny cells. Cells are the building blocks of life. DNA is what tells the tiny cell what to do. All known cellular life contains DNA. Everyone’s DNA is different. It makes up who we are. DNA is INTRICATE and WOVEN in appearance.
Verse 16 goes on to say “Your eyes saw my unformed substance;” which perfectly describes the blastocyst stage of development.
Verse 14 says “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.”
2) Angels have always been a source of fascination to humans, and I am no exception. But I was surprised to learn that angels (which includes Lucifer, of course), and Heaven, were created in Creation week.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.” The original Hebrew word used for heavens is the plural word, “shamayim”, meaning not only the abode of stars, but the abode of God as well. Nehemiah 9:6 suggests that the heaven of heavens (God’s abode) and the heavenly host (angels) were a part of Creation week. Genesis 2:1 says “the heavens and the Earth were finished, and all the host of them.”
Ezekial 28:13 and 15 states that Lucifer (as an angel, before he rebelled and was stripped of that title) was created on a day, thus he must have been created after time began. Revelation 12:12 specifically states that Satan is bound by time. In other words, he is in no way, shape, or form ever to be considered the “opposite” of almighty God! He is just another created being.
We often try to picture what was before Creation. What did God do? Where was He? What existed? But the answer is we cannot know. Space, time, even states of matter were all created in Creation week. Everything we know or recognize is a part of Creation.
3) The Bible always values women.
Women, just like men, were “made in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). In Exodus 20:12, children were commanded to honor both father and mother. Miriam and Deborah held powerful positions in the early years of the nation of Israel. In Deuteronomy 24:5, a new husband was commanded to take a year off and be free at home to cheer up/ be happy with the wife that he had taken. Women could be landowners in Israel (Numbers 27:8 and Proverbs 31:16). Jesus’ disciples included several women (Luke 8:1-3). Jesus’ first admission that He was the Messiah was to a woman.
Lastly, the Gospels record that women were the first to discover the empty tomb. At that time, a woman’s word was not even acceptable in a court of law. The only way these men would have written that women discovered the empty tomb would be if they were 100% committed to the truth.
The betterment of the status of womanhood is one of the major proofs that the Bible was inspired by God, and that God used men as merely tools to write it. Because books like the Quran or the Book of Mormon, which were written by men, grossly DE-value the status of women!
I highly, highly recommend John MacArthur’s “Twelve Extraordinary Women” to add to your library, as well as Lee Strobel’s “Case for the Resurrection”.
4) The Scriptures prophesied the coming Muslim religion.
The religion of Islam came from a man named Muhammad. He lived around 600 years after the time of Jesus. He was given the Quran by a so-called “angel of light.”
However, Muhammad described the experience as wrenching. He felt as if his “soul was being ripped away.” He was terrified and even doubted it’s validity at first.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
5) We won’t have mansions in Heaven.
John 14:1-3 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.” ESV
The King James Version uses the word “mansion”. The meaning of the word mansion is varied, especially going back a hundred years. So it wasn’t necessarily an incorrect translation at the time, but for us to read it today, we definitely do not arrive at the intended meaning. Jesus was not saying we would each have a personalized mansion upon our arrival in Heaven. He was saying we would have a place just for us in our Father’s house.
I was raised on that word “mansion” and that thought that I would have a mansion in Heaven one day. But it doesn’t fit in with the rest of Scripture at all! Scripture expressly denounces materialism. And how lonely a big mansion seems! I love the real meaning so much better!
I hope that these little thoughts have ignited and renewed your passion for God’s Word. Remember, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) In this vicious, awful, evil world, we NEED faith! You will NOT have it without the Word of God! Stay strong and stay in His Word! Love to you all!
A White Stone with a New Name 