The Bible: Getting The Big Picture As Paul indicates to Timothy (II Tim. 3:16,17), and many other passages affirm, the Bible is the ultimate authority for Christian faith and practice. It is most important to interpret Scripture in light of its overall context. The Bible as it has come down to us is laid out in two parts: the Old Testament, covering the period before Christ, and the New Testament, covering the period during and after the life of Christ on earth. The biblical record is a three-part story: Part I: Gods Original Creation (Gen. 1, 2) The eternal God created a perfect, beautiful world and put it under the management of Adam and Eve and their successors (Gen. 1,2). No one is certain of how long this part of the story lasted in time, but Scripture devotes only the first two of its 1,189 chapters to telling it. Part II: The Human Dilemma and Gods Response (Gen. 3 Rev. 20) The second part of the story takes up all but the last two chapters of the Bible. Two story lines weave throughout the record. One reveals how the balance and beauty of creation are terribly damaged by sin and rebellion. The other unfolds Gods plan to rescue his creatures and the creation from this dilemma. This deliverance is promised through Israel (as recorded in the Old Testament), provided through Christ (as recorded in the Gospels), and then applied in and through the church (as told in Acts and the New Testament letters). The book of Revelations first 20 chapters display events related to Christs return to earth. Part III: The Achievement of Gods Original Design (Rev. 21,22) The last two chapters of the Bible tell the final third of the story. They offer great hope to the reader by promising a new heaven and earth. Gods original intentions for the creation will finally and fully be achieved. This glorious final pair of chapters at the end of the Bible; triumphantly parallel the first air that climaxed in defeat (Gen. 1,2). The victory in Revelation affirms once and for all the values of Christ, who is the central figure of the whole Bible. Reading the Bible Because the middle third of the account comprises 99 percent of the text, it holds most of the attention of Bible readers. But to properly understand it, one must keep the first and third parts firmly in mind. Like two bookends, they frame and anchor the big picture of Gods wok throughout history. They provide the crucial context for the double story line of rebellion and restoration etched through the middle of the account. That middle part often makes for painful reading. With forceful realism it shows the brutality that sin causes in all of creation. Some readers would prefer to skip over or dismiss that aspect of the story. But God refuses to distort reality or put a positive spin on it. He includes the horrors of sin in his record as examples to avoid (I Cor. 10:6). He lets nothing escape either exposure of resolution in Jesus Christ.		:: Go For The Truth :: All Religions Are Not The Same :: Benefits of Knowing The Bible :: The Bible is Reliable :: Getting The Big Picture :: Content of the Gospel