The Bible: An Open Book

(Rev 5) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. -2. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? -3. And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. -4. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. -5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. -6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. -7. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. -8. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. -9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; -10. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. -11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; -12. Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. -13. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. -14. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

It is a great disappointment to man to find a book that he cannot understand because he does not understand the language that it is written in. And so the Bible is to many who do not understand the language of holiness. To them it is a book that is sealed or a book that they cannot understand. Our subject today is The Bible An Open Book - we want you to see that you can and should understand the Bible. It should not be sealed to you. God wants you to understand it so that you can live according to its' instructions.

There are many in our world that do not understand the Bible and there are reasons for their confusion. Jesus taught us that many have their eyes closed and their hearts darkened by sin and therefore they do not understand the Bible. (Mat 13:10-16) And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? -11. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. -12. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. -13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. -14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: -15. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. -16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

(John 3:3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Until you want to live right, you will not have a clear understanding of the things of God. In order to understand spiritual things, you must have a spiritual birth.

(John 3:19-21) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. -20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. -21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. A person that practices evil is not trying to really understand the Bible. If such a person studies the Bible it is to find something in it that will justify his evil doing. Clearly every one that doeth evil hateth the light and refuses to have his evil doings revealed.

(John 9:39-41) And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. -40. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? -41. Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. Jesus came into this world to make it possible for those of us that do not see to see and for those that see to be made blind. It is an incredible thing how some that have backslid from God have gone into such deep darkness and it is equally astounding how one that never understood anything can become so knowledgeable of the Word of God. This is only through the miracle working power of God turned loose in people's lives.

Ills. 436 Finite Mind - Can a man born blind conceive in his mind of all the varieties and properties of color merely by hearing of them? How foolish it would be for a blind man to conclude that because he cannot see colors they do not exist. He simply lacks the capacity for seeing them. It would be equally foolish for us to reject the existence, the reality, of that which is mysterious to us, but which has been revealed to us by God. As Paul says in 1 Cor. 2:10 (1 Cor 2:9-10) But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. -10. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. - Too often people read only verse 9 and ignore verse 10 in their efforts to try and convince us that God is holding out on us and wants to keep everything secret. It is not the case for verse 10 clearly teaches us that that things God has prepared for us are revealed to us by His Spirit. So all we have to do is obey the leading of the Holy Spirit of God. And it only makes sense that the holy spirit of God will lead us into a holy way. After all He is a Holy Spirit not just a spirit.

(Isa 59:1-8) Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: -2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. -3. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. -4. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. -5. They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. -6. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. -7. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. -8. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. - Isaiah tells us why people cannot understand the Word of God. Their sins have separated them form God. And since they are separated from God they think that everybody else in the world is a sinner like them. They ignore the fact that the Lord's hand is not shortened because they are not saved. No, Praise God! There are many that are saved!

(Isa 29:9-14) Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. -10. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. -11. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: -12. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. -13. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: -14. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. - This is the condition that many are in today. Many educated cannot understand the Bible and many uneducated think that you have to be educated to understand it. The truth is that you only need a heart after the Lord to understand the Bible and education or the lack of education has no effect on understanding God's Word.

Jesus said that it was our privilege to understand - (Mat 13:10-11) And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? -11. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. - It is given unto you to understand. These things are revealed to us by His Spirit. - (John 14:26) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Yes, the Holy Spirit is our teacher and He teaches us all things. The only thing you have to do to be taught of the Holy Spirit is to have a spirit in you to be holy. - (John 16:13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. - The Holy Spirit will not just teach you some things, He will guide you into all truth.

(John 14:15-21) If ye love me, keep my commandments. -16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; -17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. -18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. -19. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. -20. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. -21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. - Do you have the Holy Spirit abiding with you? If you don't then why don't you repent today and receive Him into your heart. Then you will begin to understand the Bible as it come alive in your life.

One of the very fundamental aspects of living a Christian life is to become a student of the Bible. No one can be a Christian and not study God's Word. Do not let Satan tell you that you cannot understand God's Word. You just take it and begin to study it, put it into practice in your life and it will begin to open up to you. Your Lord has prevailed to open up the book. He will teach you through His Holy Spirit all things and guide you into all truth.

(Rev 1:1-3) The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: -2. Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. -3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. - A lot of people think that they cannot understand the book of Revelation because it is so misunderstood by multitudes, but listen to what the writes says. Blessed is he that readeth - understanding begins with reading. I know that it is not a popular thing today to suggest that you read the Bible, but I also know that if you will read it you will be blessed. Understanding begins with reading the instructions of God. Then understanding grows when you hear or put into practice the messages that you read. And as you continue to keep the lessons of your Lord by doing them in your life your understanding will grow and grow.

God will help you in your efforts to understand. - (Jer 3:14-15) Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: -15. And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. - Yes, God appoints Pastors over you to feed you with knowledge and understanding. Your Lord wants you to learn how to live righteous and holy in this present world and He has provided a host of preachers and teachers to help you.

Let me help you to understand the Bible by first appealing to what you know about written language. You know that the oldest forms of written language are called hieroglyphics the meaning of which is: designating or pertaining to a writing system, particularly that of the ancient Egyptians, in which many of the symbols are conventionalized pictures of the thing named by the words for which the symbols stand. 2. Inscribed with hieroglyphic symbols. - Now in order to read these writings one has to be somewhat acquainted with the culture of the writer. In face the more you know about the life style of the writer, the better you can read his stories. We often refer to this type of writing as picture writing and we use it a lot in the modern world. We mark men's and women's rest rooms with a distinct picture so that people of all languages can understand the message. We have a system of international markings on highway signs so that even if you don't understand English, you will still know when to stop, exercise caution, etc. Since this is the oldest system of written communication, it should not be a surprise to anyone that much of the Bible is written in picture language. It should be easier to understand. And it is when you understand the life style of the writer - Holiness.

Let us now consider some examples of how Jesus used figurative language to get his point across. - (Luke 13:31-32) The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. -32. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. - Now when Jesus told these people to go tell a fox thus and so, did they go into the countryside and start to hunt a fox? Of course not, they knew that He meant that Herod was cunning like a fox and there was no doubt what Jesus meant by his statement. Such use of terms is yet common in our language today. It is nothing to hear of some snake in the grass or some rat etc.

The Bible refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God, The Lion of Judah, The Son of Man, etc. Men are referred to as sheep and various beasts are used to describe the natures of certain individuals. This is not hard to understand. In fact it is easy for the one that is seeking the truth so they can live holy as God intends for you to do.

It is a great disappointment to man to find a book that he cannot understand because he does not understand the language that it is written in. And so the Bible is to many who do not understand the language of holiness. To them it is a book that is sealed or a book that they cannot understand. The Bible is An Open Book - you should be able to see that you can and should understand the Bible. It should not be sealed to you. God wants you to understand it so that you can live according to its' instructions. Will you take advantage of this opportunity today and turn to the Lord. Accept His as your Lord and learn of His way.