The Unity and Cohesion of the Bible

Well, brethren, this year, as we start out in 2024, there's a number of Bible reading programs that people embark on. I sent out one on the email about a week and a half ago on reading through your Bible in the course of a year. This one starts from Genesis and goes straight through to Revelation. Darla's on one that starts in Genesis and Matthew and kind of marches forward incrementally that way. But there's different programs, and there's different opportunities to stop and go cover to cover through God's Word. And it's insightful to do that. Actually, this morning, as I was shaving, I had the Bible going on my phone, and I heard something that I guess I'd heard it before or it'd come to mind, but I thought, huh, that's interesting. I'd never noticed that before. And it's not necessarily, I suppose, direct to my sermon, but it was Isaac and Ishmael. In the Bible, I'd kind of looked at it and thought, okay, well, yes, they've gone their separate ways, but then Abraham died, and it says, and Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham. And I thought, well, that's interesting. You know, just one of those tidbits that had slipped past me in the past, or perhaps I had forgotten. So again, there's that value to going through God's Word on a regular basis and reminding ourselves of these things. So I'd like to encourage you, as you go through the Bible once again, to watch for and allow yourself to be impressed and impressed upon your awareness the unity and the cohesion that exists in God's Word.

Part of the proof of the Bible that this is indeed the Word of God is that unity, cover to cover, the cohesion, the agreement that binds it together. And it's not just random or happenstance. It starts in Genesis and goes through the end of Revelation. And it's important for us to recognize and again gain assurance from that this is God's Word. And so today, the title is Recognizing Biblical Unity and Cohesion. Because when you understand the makeup of the Bible and how it came to be put together, frankly, it's pretty incredible to consider the concept of just how unified it is. But then when you also flip it over and understand the mind behind it, it's not so surprising. Indeed, it's what you would expect.

The Bible, such as we have it, is a series of 66 books that were written across the span of approximately 1,500 years. Some estimates stretch that out to 2,000. That really depends where you put the book of Job. It was seen that perhaps that was written before the books of Moses, and some say up to 500 years. So you could go from, you know, it's 1,500 from the books of Moses to the end of the Gospel writers, John and the book of Revelation. But you could stretch that to perhaps close to 2,000 years. The writings of Moses were estimated around 1,400 BC, with the last Old Testament writings concluding around 400 BC. They had a thousand-year span of time there. And then you ended up with a period, we would say, in between the Testaments of about 450 years, where no new inspired scriptures were written. The New Testament, such as we call it, our writings believed to have ranged from around 40s, so the 40s AD to the late 90s AD, again with the book of Revelation penned by John to have been the last inspired book written. Now over that period of time, portions of God's Word were penned on three continents, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

There were 40 writers involved, and they came from many different backgrounds. And a good portion of this book were penned by individuals that you would consider perhaps very basic in their education level, even perhaps even simple in some cases. Among those unique backgrounds, you had shepherds, you had fishermen. Indeed, a number of Jesus' disciples were fishermen, a number of the 12. Peter, James, and John certainly were. And just by note of reference, Acts chapter 4 and verse 13 says this about Peter and John as they're standing before the council, having been brought in after boldly preaching Jesus in Jerusalem. Acts 4 13 says, now when they, the council, saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, and they realized they had been with Jesus. Right? So these are these, from their perspective, I suppose, these hicks from the backwater village of, fishing village of Galilee, you know, what do they know about this? And yet they're confounding the educational elite of their day with the Word of God.

So some were considered uneducated in that way. On the flip side, you also had people like kings, King David, King Solomon, who penned scripture, scholars like Ezra, who was a scribe, you have a priest who was Ezekiel, you have a military general who was Joshua, you have a cupbearer of the king of Persia, Nehemiah, you have the tax collector Matthew, and the doctor Luke, who in the book of Acts was described by Paul as the beloved physician. So you had some uneducated, some highly educated, who were part of bringing this book together.

On top of that, sections of the original Bible text were written in three different languages. You had Hebrew, you have Aramaic, and you also have Greek. So it's incredible when you consider this. There's different literary forms used in the Bible ranging from poetry to parables to prophetic warnings. So when you consider all the factors to consider in this, the Bible is a pretty incredible book. Again, 1500 years, these various authors most didn't live in a time frame where they communicated with one another. Different languages, different geographical locations, and it's incredible because this is a unified book. It is unified in intent and purpose and message, and it is cohesive. And that's what I want us to recognize as the next time you're going through the Word of God, whether it's reading it cover to cover or it's topographical studies that you're doing, recognize the unity and the cohesion in the Word of God. It is not a mistake, and in fact, it's something that's very encouraging. When I was a teenager, back in the 1980s, there was a new science fiction TV series that came on, ended up running eight seasons, and I enjoyed that very much once it got going. But in the early years, the first two seasons, they had troubles really getting off the ground. There were writer turnovers constantly through this show, and it came around the mid part of the first season. There was a writer strike in Hollywood, such as took place recently, and yet the show was going on, so they were changing out writers. Every two to three episodes, the writing team left and a new writing team came in, and they would then try to bring out their vision for the show. And I really liked the series as a whole, but in terms of to this day, I can hardly go back and watch the first and second seasons, because to me, they were so disjointed. That's where the plot development is supposed to take place. That's where the character development happens, and all these threads that make their way through the series. And it wasn't until they actually got a settled group of writers that they could take that series and actually mature it and develop it and take it on. So it's just an interesting concept to consider. Because man on their own, in many ways, just bring a handful of people together, and there can be challenges in coming up with unity and cohesion of thought. What about the Bible?

What are the odds, again, that these 40 men of diverse backgrounds and educational opportunities spread across 1500 years, three continents, three languages, would sit down in their own time and place and write a portion of this book that flows so smoothly and joins so beautifully with the rest of what's written? You know, it's not like the final trilogy of the Star Wars movie where you bring in a new writer for each of them, and maybe I shouldn't have... You can x that out if you want Jason after.

To me, it was a disaster, right? Everybody had their own ideas, and it's like, what happened? Okay, well, this, though, is across the pages of history.

Unity is maintained, and what's the chances of that happening?

Well, humanly none. Right? Humanly none. Several years ago, there was a ministerial training program that was posted online for the ministry called Labor in the Word, and I enjoyed going through that very much. And some of my favorite parts of that series were the unity of the Bible classes presented by Dr. Ward. I mean, I literally got writer's cramp in my hand trying to take notes to keep up with what he presented so well. Today, I'm going to share with some of you the notes, at least a portion of those notes, from his class on the unity of the Bible, and it's my hope that we'll see and appreciate the manner in which this book, with all its threads and concepts, are bound together into a beautiful tapestry that, you know, each small thread woven through, but together they form a picture of what it is that God wants us to see and understand. So let's start by considering the unity and the cohesion, why it exists. I want to answer that from two perspectives today. Number one is, why is the Bible unified? And number two will be, how is the Bible unified?

And it's my hope this will be encouraging to you in your studies.

So first, why is the Bible unified? When you consider the authors and the circumstances and the times in which this was written, why isn't the Bible just a jumbled collection of disorganized thoughts? When you turn to one book and say, well, that's really good, and you go somewhere else and you say, that doesn't really even connect. Well, that's different than what they said over there. That doesn't make sense. Why is that not the Bible we have? Why is there so much unity in the Scriptures? Well, the answer is clearly found in God's Word. Let's begin in 2 Timothy chapter 3 today.

2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. We know this very well, the writings of the Apostle Paul.

He says, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. The key phrase I want to zoom in on today is, all Scripture given by the inspiration of God. It's God-inspired. That translation, inspiration of God, it's in the Greek, theonustos, and we would know theo, T-H-E-O, theo, God, and nustos breathed or breathed out.

So this is the God-breathed word that has been recorded for us, and it is under the inspiration of God, cover to cover. That's why it joins together so well.

Sometimes people ask the question, if it's God-breathed, does that mean that God literally spoke out each of these words, and the writers just simply dictated what he gave. They wrote it down, word for word, the message of God. Well, let's go to Hebrews chapter 1, as we begin to understand indeed how this how this inspiration of God took place.

Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1 says, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, as in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. And so what we see is God used human instruments to declare his words to the fathers and to us as well, through the word being recorded and written down for us. This is where the unity of the Bible comes from. It's from the same mind behind it, cover to cover, the mind of God giving inspiration to these men to record what it is he wanted preserved and passed down. And it was built upon throughout history by others writing and adding to it. But again, the inspiration of God did not change. And the source of these words ultimately did not change. They recorded what he wanted to have recorded. And it wasn't the brilliant mind of man. It wasn't an intellectual person that studied through maybe the portion of what he had in his time and said, well, I'll add to this. You know, you can't make this up, and you can't make up the way that God's Word joins together and presents the picture that he does. It is God's inspiration working in them and through them. Notice 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20.

Breaking into the thought here, Peter says, knowing this, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. That word interpretation, if you have a marginal reference, it can also say origin. No prophecy came of any private origin. You know, a man didn't make this up on his own. Verse 21, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So what we find is that the Word of God came through man as they were inspired by his Spirit. God didn't just dictate word for word all of this, but he gave inspiration through his Spirit. And these individuals then recorded what it was that God wanted them to record. Now, there are places in the Bible as well of direct revelation, and those are clearly designated. Places that begin with wording such as, the Word of the Lord came to me saying.

And then the prophet follows up with directly what the Word of God was, or thus says the Lord.

So we do have a number of places as well where direct revelation is in the text such as that.

The Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai would be a good example of that, right? Spoken by God, written on a tablet of stone by the finger of God. You can't get much more direct in revelation than that. So God certainly was involved very directly in that way as well. Moses wrote down and preserved in the Scriptures then for us what it was we needed, even by that direct revelation from God. So the Bible was written by man, but understand it was inspired by God, and as God people today, you and I derive our understanding from these words by the same inspiration, by the Spirit of God working with us and dwelling in us. We won't go there, but in the book of Romans it talks about, you know, apart from the Spirit of man, you know, that's how you know the things of man, and apart from the Spirit of God, how would you know the things of God? Well, it's the Spirit that God gives us that gives us understanding as well of the same things He revealed through His Spirit. So it brings us then to the second question, which is, how is the Bible unified? We know that it is. We know that God is the mind behind it, and it makes it perfect sense then that it would be, but in what ways is it unified? You know, how can we turn through it and say, okay, here's a principle by which it is, and we see it here, here, and here. I want to look at five different ways that the Old and New Testament are tied together in unity, and I encourage you to look for these as you study through, as you read the Bible this year. The first that we'll look at is allegory. Allegory. The Bible is bound together by allegory. Allegory is a story of people, things, or happenings, which has a hidden or a symbolic meaning. Okay, allegory, a story of people, things, or happenings, which has a hidden or a symbolic meaning. The example we're going to look at took place in Abraham's time, okay, recorded in the book of Genesis, but we're going to see an expansion of the symbolism behind it that is brought out in the New. And as we go through these things, you're going to see, okay, this is how we form the package of our understanding, the complete picture that God wants us to have. And you take out part of this, and you throw it away, and suddenly your understanding is incomplete. Allegory. Let's go to Genesis chapter 12 in verse 1.

Genesis chapter 12 and verse 1. Again, an event in Abraham's time, but the revealed symbolism largely in the New Testament. Genesis chapter 12 and verse 1. Now the Lord has said to Abram, Get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. He says, I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Here we have a promise from God towards a brom in the make of him a great nation. And ultimately, as we understand this promise to bring the Messiah out from his descendants, this individual that would be a blessing to the world.

And you know, we know the story, right? Abraham and Sarah, this was going to happen through the air that would come and then the lineage down the line from him. But you see, Abraham and Sarah couldn't have children. They tried to bring about an heir then in their own way. Sarah said, Take my handmaiden Hagar and produce offspring, produce an heir through her. And as a result of that union, Ishmael was born, but he was not the seed of promise. God said, Okay, you've done this, but this isn't him. And this isn't what I have intended for you, Abraham. God did eventually bless Abraham and Sarah with a son Isaac, who would be the heir, through whom the great nation would come about, and through whom then the Messiah would be born.

So this is the record of events in the Old Testament. But understand, there's a fuller symbolism. There's greater symbolism and meaning that is brought out and expressed in the New Testament. And when you put those together, it helps to give us a complete picture of what it is God wants us to understand. Let's go to Galatians chapter 4.

Galatians 4 verse 22. We'll look here at a New Testament allegory. Galatians chapter 4 and verse 22.

It says, For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondwoman and the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise. So we understand that Ishmael was born according to the flesh, which means, you know what, they tried to bring about an heir on their own, and he was born according to the flesh, not according to faith. Okay. He was born according to the flesh. Abraham and Sarah tried to handle this, whereas though Isaac was a son of promise, it was the promise of God. And Abraham is like, well, you know, a guy of my age, and Sarah is thinking, a lady of my age, are we truly going to have this? Well, this is a matter of faith, but God had promised. So Isaac was born of faith, and he was the son that would not come by human strength or devising, but only by faith that God would fulfill what he promised.

So if we go on to verse 23, then, we kind of now begin to delve into what's the symbolism of this that God would have us understand. Verse 23 again, it says, but he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, he of the free woman born through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. Okay, so he's saying Hagar the bondwoman represented the old covenant, represented Mount Sinai, the covenant of works, covenant of physical works, the covenant of sacrifice, fleshly ordinances tied to that covenant. And he says that's Hagar. In the bondwoman, verse 24, again, which thinks they're symbolic, the two covenants. One is Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children. So the Jerusalem, which now is, in this time, and I would say even bring it forward to our time, the Jerusalem, which now is, remains under bondage. Again, it was a physical and a fleshly covenant. It was a covenant in which it was still bondage unto sin in death under the terms of the old covenant law. Physical sacrifices couldn't remove the sin. You know, it could make you ceremonially clean before God, but if you sinned on Monday, no perfect living Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday could remove that as the blood of Jesus Christ under the new covenant, such as we understand. So the equation here is the bondwoman in bondage, Mount Sinai, the Jerusalem of the time, is still in bondage in this way today, but we come forward then to the free woman, verse 26.

But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. So just as Hagar symbolized the old covenant corresponding, again, to the fleshly covenant, the Jerusalem in bondage, Sarah symbolized the new covenant corresponding to the Jerusalem above, which is, as we learn from other places, the church under the new covenant, under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, set free from sin and death. It is the covenant through faith and brings together then the concept of being children of Abraham through faith. This wasn't just a physical lineage now. This is going to be a nation of sons of Abraham by faith, not simply by the flesh. Galatians chapter 3, verse 26, again, you have the old, I don't like those terms, but for sake of conversation, you have the Old Testament account, and now you have the New Testament symbolism and the understanding of the fulfillment. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 26, for you all are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. He says, for as many of you, as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither slave nor free, there's neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, and if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And so you see how this particular allegory ties the Old and the New Testament together in unity. There was the child from the bond woman and the child of promise of faith, and if you respond to God come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in faith, you are heirs according to the promise and the children of Abraham. And as Paul said, these things are symbolic of what literally happened. This is just one example. There's many allegories in the Bible that you can look at that tie this word together, many other scriptures that you could go through along the way. I'm just trying to pick up the end points for us to consider, but watch for these things as you study God's Word this next year. Point number two. Point number two, another way that the Old and New Testament are tied together is through typology. Typology.

Typology is a study of types and symbols in which one type points to a greater fulfillment. And we go through this all the time as we especially walk up to the days of 11 bread, the Passover, right? The spring holy days every year. We bring out typology. We'll say Pharaoh is a type of what? Satan the devil. Egypt is a type of this world and a type of sin, and God brought His people out. So you have these types, but they point to a anti-type or what we would say a greater spiritual fulfillment. And a prime example of that is the Passover lamb of Exodus 12, right? The perfect lamb. Without spot, without blemish, that lamb was killed. Its blood was put on the doorposts and on the lentils, and the people that came under the sacrifice of that blood.

They escaped the penalty of death. That was the Passover. All right, their sins were passed over in that way. If you point forward then to the New Covenant, what is the Old Testament Passover lamb a type of? Where do you find it?

Well, you have to come forward, don't you, to the New Testament to understand then the fulfillment of then the anti-type. 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

1 Corinthians chapter 5, and picking up here in verse 6, 1 Corinthians chapter 5. I'm getting the right book. Verse 6, the apostle Paul writing, he says, For your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? You know, there's other typology you could go into there of leavening, representing sin, and puffing up unto pride. Verse 7, Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are a leaven, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Christ our Passover. That's the Passover of Lamb of Exodus 12, right? But brought forward into what it ultimately pointed to, which was Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. There's verse after verse after verse you can go to to see the fulfillment of the type, but the type pointed forward, and you can actually string a thread in this tapestry and weave it all the way through from the prophecies of the old to fulfillment in the new, and frankly it has not stopped because of what God yet still intends to do.

But this is a type and fulfillment, and you find it place after place after place in God's Word.

Delivery from bondage to Egypt was a type of delivery from bondage unto sin in the new covenant.

Circumcision of the old covenant was a type pointing to conversion, right? Circumcision of the heart and the new, and we see that clearly lined out for us in God's Word. And the list could go on and on. The unity of the Bible can be clearly seen through type and fulfillment, and it's no coincidence. It's no accident. It is the mind of God building into His Word over the centuries across 40 authors, three languages, and multiple locations by His Spirit the message of His plan of salvation. Ultimately what it is, beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, it is the plan of salvation, and it's this beautiful tapestry that is weaved by the Spirit of God.

Point number three, the third way the Old and New Testament are tied together is through the unity of promise and fulfillment. The unity of promise and fulfillment. Many promises given in the Old Testament are repeated or fulfilled in the New. We saw the promise of the seed of Abraham and the Messiah to come, and fulfillment in the New, right? We read that in Genesis chapter 12, that promise. The first Messianic prophecy in the Bible goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. And again, it's a thread that runs through the course of the entirety of the Scripture, and you come to your understanding of who the Messiah is and what indeed He will do on upon line, precept upon precept, as God placed those things all throughout His Word. Moses declared in Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 15, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren, him you shall hear. And so built around so many sections of God's Word, then, is this promise and fulfillment, and it's not finished yet. We can see first prophecy of the Messiah. We can see He's coming, He's coming. We see He's born. We see what He did at His first coming, and yet we're standing in a place where we can look back, but we can also look forward in God's Word and see what it is He will yet do. This is ongoing and forward-looking, but again, it ties this book together from Genesis all the way through to Revelation. Notice Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 and 7.

Sometimes people say, well, how do you know the Bible is true? How do we know we have the right books in the Bible? There's a number of different proofs you can go through, but one to me, a primary proof, is the unity and the cohesion of the Scriptures. They are fit together perfectly to form the picture God has given, and it's not like, well, just throw that book out. It doesn't make any sense. No one ties in perfectly to the other. Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, from this time forward, even forever, says the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

God has prophesied it. He brings it to pass. As Mr. Klein mentioned in the sermon, God declares the end from the beginning, and the blessing is that God who does that has both the will and the power to bring about that which he has declared. And he is working in people, in places, in history, and as Mr. Klein said, according to his perfect time. And again, it brings back then to weaving together these threads of a tapestry. It brings us a picture that is beautiful. Luke chapter 1, verse 30.

We saw the Isaiah 6 prophecy. Let's pinpoint it in the New Testament. Isaiah, excuse me, Luke chapter 1 and verse 30.

Then the angel said to her, this is Gabriel who has appeared to Mary and told her she'll be actually carrying the son of God. Luke chapter 1, verse 30. Then the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. Verse 32. He will be great, and will be called the son of the highest, and Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Promise and fulfillment is a means by which the Old Testament and New Testament are bound together in unity, in cohesion, and indeed gives insurance that this is the Word of God.

Point number four is thematic unity. Thematic unity. This is the unity of ideas, of themes, some themes that began in the Old Testament, run all the way through the Word of God throughout the New Testament. Genesis to Revelation. One of Dr. Word's favorites, which he preaches on often if you've listened to him, is judgment, mercy, and faith. And he's actually given a whole sermon series on judgment, mercy, and faith. I just want to touch briefly on the concept. Micah chapter 6 verse 6. A theme that we can see started in the Old Testament, brought forward into the New. Micah chapter 6 and verse 6 says, With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body, for the sin of my soul? The question is, you know, how great of a sacrifice to cover my great sin, and would God just, would he be pleased with greater and greater sacrifices? What if I could give ten thousand bulls? Right? Isn't that what would please God?

Well, the answer, verse 8, He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? This is what God truly desires more than sacrifice. He desires the sacrifice of our heart and, you know, our self, given over to Him. But here we have this concept introduced as something that God desires, and if we go forward to the New Testament, we see it expressed more clearly by Jesus Christ, Matthew chapter 23, verse 23. Because again, there's times you might just have a standalone statement in the Old Testament, and it's not brought back into view again. Now, justness, mercy, and faith actually are a thread of theme running all throughout that, but in terms of being brought out by actual terminology, it resurfaces here directly in the New Testament. Matthew chapter 23 and verse 23, Woe do you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! This is Jesus speaking, for you pay tithe and mint anise and cumin, but you have neither neglected the weightier matters of law, justice, mercy, and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. The point is, keep the law, right? God gave that, and it's not done away. Do what you know you must do, but that's actually not the exact point. The point is the obedience from the heart and the change of character and the judgment, mercy, and faith. You live those. You will be living the righteous truth of God. Verse 24, he says, blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe do you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the outside of the cup, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe do you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Again, thematic unity takes themes that are introduced in the Old Testament and brings them forward with greater expansion and depth and understanding. And you find it time and time and time again, and it binds the word of God together.

The Bible is full of themes running from Genesis to the book of Revelation. Consider, you know, if you're starting a Bible reading program in Genesis, you've already seen the snapshot, right, of introduction. Consider the creation of the heavens and the earth and the beginning of Genesis. Now, bring it forward all the way to the end of the book of Revelation, and John sees the new heavens and the new earth that will be. Consider the result of Satan's rebellion as highlighted in the beginning of Genesis. The earth became without form and was void. Bring it forward to the end of Revelation, the new Jerusalem, excuse me, the result of Satan's rebellion, right, his final rebellion after the millennium, and the result of that once again. It's a thread that runs throughout. In the beginning, you had the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. Bring it forward to Revelation. You have the new Jerusalem with no need for sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb is its light.

And between point A and point Z, right, you have this thread that weaves all the way through that tapestry through each and every book. You know, from darkness to light, I gave a sermon on that one time and you really touch all the way through the Word of God. The tree of life in the Garden of Eden, very beginning once again, the tree of life, and access denied by sin. Bring it forward to the end of the book of Revelation, the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, and access granted through righteousness, through the forgiving of sin. And ultimately, we're talking about salvation, which is the overall theme of the Bible, beginning to end. So these are just a few examples of themes in God's Word, and it's not limited to Genesis and Revelation, as I said. It's that thread that's woven all throughout the entirety of God's Word, and it binds the Word of God together. Point number five. Point number five, progressive revelation. Progressive revelation. Some themes in the Old Testament continue to be revealed with deepening detail and understanding in the New. So we have a revelation given, but that's not the whole story. And as you move through time and place, God reveals some more, and he reveals some more. But it's always in agreement and ties back into the original revelation, and then it's progressive in terms of the manner in which he reveals it.

I'll just say this about the term progressive revelation, and it's a term, okay? It's just a term to describe something. Many religions have taken that concept, though, and brought it forward to, you know, our prophet has said this, thus nullifying what the Bible says and its claim to be progressive revelation. That, okay, we understand the counterfeit here, but truly, as it takes place in God's Word, it's revelation that continues with deepening detail and understanding. So an example of that would be, how will Israel become the sons of God? How would that physical nation of Israel come to be called the sons of God? Hosea chapter 1 tells us a story of Hosea. Let's go there. Hosea chapter 1.

Ezekiel Daniel Hosea. Hosea was told to take a wife of Harlotry, right? Hosea represented a type. So we have types here. He represented a type of God, and his wife of Harlotry, Gomer whom he took, represented a type of Israel. Unfaithful. Unfaithful to God. Running around on God.

Hosea chapter 1 and verse 6 says, Verse 8, So God's putting Israel away here because of their unfaithfulness, okay? And actually, the names of the children were given to reflect that relationship, but there's going to be a time of restoration in the future. God promises that as the chapter goes on. You're not my people, but the time comes when you will once again. But there's a stretch of time between the promise and then the fulfillment.

Verse 10 says, So this is a promise that is yet in the future on a national scale for Israel. But future from this point, restoration will take place, but we need to understand, brethren, how this process actually has already started and how it will be fulfilled. Again, it's the declaration, those who were called not my people, it said you will be the sons of the living God. How does that take place? Where do we find that take place? Well, we have to come to the New Testament, don't we?

Let's go to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 9, verse 6.

Romans chapter 9, verse 6. I'll just throw it out as a question. Give me the answer. How do you go from being not my people, in God's perspective, to being the sons of the living God, to be a child of God? What's the process? How does that happen? Repentance, conversion, right?

Right, so repentance, it's baptism, laying on of hands, receiving the Holy Spirit through the process of conversion. And how do we even know that? You have to come here to discover the answer of what God has prophesied in Hosea that he will do. Romans chapter 9, it begins with some words from Paul, his heavy-heartedness about Israel, that the gospel has gone out, and by and large, they have not responded. And in Romans 9, verse 6, it says, but it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect, for they are not all Israel who are of Israel. So what's he saying? They're not of all Israel who are of Israel. Well, he's saying the fact that the Israel of God, the spiritual Israel, is going to be made up partly of Israelite descendants, those of the actual nation of Israel, and partly of those who are not. As the Bible, we call them Gentiles, those of the nations.

Verse 7, yes, verse 7, please, not all children. Are they not all children? Because they are the seed of Abraham, but in Isaac your seed shall be called. So the seed was going to be called in Isaac, because Isaac was not the son according to the flesh, he was the son according to the faith and promise. So the Israel of God, that nation that God is building that will be called the sons of the living God, are sons according to faith and promise, not even necessarily direct birth by lineage.

And that's how they can, you know, not all are of Israel who are called Israel, but they are all of Israel by faith. Verse 24, let's drop down, Romans 9 verse 24, it says, Even us whom he called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, as he says also in Hosea, I will call them my people who are not my people, and call her beloved who is not beloved, and it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, they shall be called the sons of the living God. So here we have Paul expressing the fulfillment of what Hosea was prophesying, and he's saying, at least in portion, it's the Gentiles actually that have been grafted in, that have responded according to faith, have become part of God's people too by the receiving of the Holy Spirit. So it's prophesied in Hosea, but more details revealing the fulfillment brought forward into the New Testament. And of course, we understand when we put in the other scriptures together that ultimately Israel as a nation will be gathered, settled back into their land following the return of Jesus Christ. God will put his Spirit in them, and those who are not my people will be called the sons of the living God. But it starts with the church today, in the process of conversion that will ultimately go out to the whole world. Peter carries on with this same theme in 1 Peter chapter 2. Let's go there next, 1 Peter chapter 2 in verse 9.

1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, and again, it ties into the church today as this nation of faith. 1 Peter chapter 2 in verse 9, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who were once not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but have now obtained mercy. Again, this process of becoming the Israel of God begins not with being a part of a physical nation, per se, but it's for those who exercise faith in the promise of God.

Come under the blood of the covenant, and by faith become heirs according to the promise. Progressive revelation, again, shows themes in the Old Testament which continue to be revealed with deepening detail and understanding in the New Testament. So it's like if I said to you, I'm going to come visit you next week. That's the prophecy, right? I'm going to come visit you next week.

And then a little later, I added some more. Well, I'm going to come visit you next week on Wednesday. And then a little later, I said, well, I'm going to come visit you next week on Wednesday at 1 30. And I'm going to come visit you next week on Wednesday at 1 30 at your house. And I'm going to bring my wife. It's progressive, it's building, but it all points back in agreement to the prophecy. And there's not conjecture, not conjecture among it of differing points.

It is all in agreement. And there's so many prophecies in the Bible that build in this way. The Day of the Lord is an incredible one you could go through and study. It's prophesied from the Old Testament in the prophets and the Day of God Almighty, and what it is that God will bring to pass on this earth. But as you understand, it builds progressively throughout the Bible until we come to the end of the book of Revelation. And you actually gain so much detail as to how God is going to do this.

How is He going to intervene into the affairs of this world? How is He going to put down the governments of man so that the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ? It builds in detail, but it always agrees with what it is God has declared. Again, He declares the end from the beginning and has the will and power to bring it the pass. And He has outlined it all the way through His Word, and He's given it to us as not only instruction but encouragement, that we would read and know these words are true.

Again, throw out the New Testament. Throw out portions of the Bible. Then your understanding is limited and it's incomplete, and perhaps even misdirected. Progressive revelation binds the Word of God together in unity. So, in conclusion, let me remind us of our five points of unity and cohesion. Number one was allegory. Number two, typology. Number three, unity of promise and fulfillment. Number four, thematic unity. Number five, progressive revelation. And brethren, if we keep these points in mind and remember who it is, who it is behind these words that have inspired these words to be written and recorded for us, then we will recognize the beautiful tapestry that as God has woven together through His Scriptures.

You know, you might say, well, that's just one thread, but you add it to one thread and one thread and one thread and it's woven out together. Then a tapestry has a picture, and it has the view that God wants us to have of who He is and what it is He is accomplishing in this world and in our lives. So, if we watch for these points of unity and cohesion in God's Word as we study throughout the next year, I believe you'll be encouraged, you'll be educated, you'll be uplifted in the plan and the purpose of God. So, brethren, enjoy your study.