Friday, May 2, 2014

Reasons For Reading A Chronological Bible

By Tracie Knight


Various reactions have been evidenced from the various versions of the Chronological Bible that are in circulation today. Most people think that some of these versions do not reflect the order of events as they really occurred. Instead, they haphazardly put stories none after the other leading to possible confusion readers.

The Jewish Septuagint has received acclaim from the vast majority as the credible original source of scripture. As a result, the closer a writing is to the Jewish masoretic texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls, the more scriptural will it be considered. These are the major documents trusted to contain the truth. The line of distinction though, is about salvation. While the Christians believe in the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, their Jewish counterparts postulate that since the time of the Patriarchal Abraham, the Messiah has not yet appeared.

Salvation, according to Christians, is a gift from God through His son, Jesus Christ. The circumstances that necessitated His birth have however remained a mystery to most people. Connecting the Old Testament prophesies and their fulfillment in the New Testament is quite a task too to most people. Failure to correctly interpret the accounts of chapters one and two of Luke has caused serious misunderstanding between Muslims and Christians on the identity of the Christ.

Studying the scripture sequentially and contextually is therefore necessary for demystifying some mythical beliefs that result from ignorance and lack of study. This goes a long way in complementing and reinforcing what one learns in the regular church services. As per the book of john 3:16, it is clear tha God loved the world and gave Out His son as sacrifice. Reading this in context will bring you to a realization that it is the son Himself talking here.

There are several methods of conducting chronological Biblical reading. One is by using a Reading Plan. Some Bibles have such plans and guides at the back to assist the reader. Using such guides, you will be in a position to complete all the scriptures in a given period such as one year or six months. Another option is to visit Christian bookshop where periodical study materials are stocked.

You can also find Bibles that are ordered according to sequence of occurrence of events based on Theological research. They give a wealth of information and new revelations about issues that might have seemed complex or hard to understand. A good example is the Pauline epistles. Theologians argue that their order in the famous versions is distorted and thus they become hard to follow.

A chronological arrangement of the scripture does not only consider the order in which books occur but also scriptural arrangement. This is expertly done so that the whole Bible forms a complete sequential story. From Genesis through to revelation, one can describe for instance the story about the Israelites; prophesies about Jesus Christ, his birth, life and resurrection.

The major preoccupation of the chronology is for us to understand and unravel the mystery of Jesus Christ. He is right at the center of the Holy Bible and other stories and occurrences are only there to make us know more about Him. He is the one who was promised to David, foretold by prophets and born of a virgin. Through His death and resurrection men have hope of enjoying eternity.




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