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When you think about it, the Bible can be really confusing. Looking at the words on the pages takes some careful thought, but even then, it can leave us scratching our heads. Take this verse for example:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”
Revelation 21:1
What comes to mind when you read this verse? Do you think of this passage literally? If so, it seems pretty scary right? The earth and sky (heavens) literally go away and a new (literal) earth and heaven (sky) is being made and there’s no more sea. No more sea? Now this sounds really confusing doesn’t it?
Why would God make earth, heaven, and us if only to destroy it all and re-create it all over again? It doesn’t make any sense. But that’s only if you read the Bible literally without fully understanding it the way God intended.
The Bible is Confusing if We Don’t Know the Purpose of It
As believers, we know the Bible is God’s Word and that it should be the basis of our faith. Even people who don’t believe in God acknowledge the Bible to some degree. But do all people truly understand the purpose of the Bible?
When something or someone has a purpose, that means it has a reason and objective. It’s meant to do something specific, or be used for something. The purpose of the Bible is not to explain the world’s history or human history, but to help us reconnect with God, our Creator.
As believers, we need to understand God’s purpose, that is, to come back to His creation and dwell with it. The Bible is our road map, our guide, to God and His salvation. Yet, if you can’t read or understand God’s Word correctly, will you be able to reach your final destination?
Just like with real road maps, if we don’t understand it or read it correctly, it will seem confusing and we will end up in the wrong place. So, we need to learn how to clearly understand the Bible and its purpose.
Do You Get What God Means?
One thing we must always remember is that God is the Creator of all things, and we are the creation. There will always be parts of God that we will never fully understand nor perceive because it’s too much for us to comprehend.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 55:8
I’m sure that there are parts of you whether beliefs, feelings, or thoughts, things that others will never be able to fully understand – unless they’ve been in your shoes. Just as we should try to see things from others’ perspectives and empathize with them, we should also view the Bible and our faith from God’s perspective.
Many times we try to understand God from our own human perspective, but we cannot do that. When we look at things from God’s point of view, the Bible will become much clearer. That’s because God is the one who gives us wisdom and understanding of His Word.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;”
Proverbs 2:6
We cannot rely on our own thoughts (Proverbs 3:5), because if we do that, we will never be able to understand God or His Word the way He intended. So let us rely on God because He knows what His Word means and wants to share it with us.
The Bible Can Be Confusing God Wanted It to Be That Way
Why would God make parts of the Bible confusing on purpose?? Shouldn’t He want it to be simple for everyone everywhere to understand? That would be the ideal situation, but unfortunately there’s an enemy prowling about. And the thing is, we can’t see him.
Do you know who this enemy is? Satan. The devil, the original evil spirit has opposed God in the spiritual realm, and uses people here on earth to deceive God’s people.
In Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, we read about how an angel God created betrayed Him and became the devil. Unable to usurp God as the creator, the devil has set his sights on God’s other creations, deceiving and killing them, keeping them apart from God. And the devil doesn’t attack God’s people outright, but sneaks into their midst and works from the inside.
Satan wants to stop God’s light, truth, and life from spreading. He wants to keep the world under his control of evil, darkness, and death. So he uses people who look and sound like God’s pastors – those who claim to know the Bible but teach false things – to deceive believers; confusing them with all kinds of various teachings, rules, etc. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Most people are already trapped before they know it.
God’s Code Language
Because there’s an evil and destructive spy in the world, God shares His plan for His people through code – in other words, figurative language. Parables and prophecies are given in a way that’s like a secret code so the enemy doesn’t find out. God wants to save all people, but if the devil knows about God’s plan to do that, then what do you think would happen?
Keep It Secret, Keep It Safe!
God prophesied about Jesus through the Old Testament prophets. For example, here are a couple of examples in Isaiah and Jeremiah.
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14
“How long will you waver, O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
a woman encircles a man.”
Jeremiah 31:22
Jesus isn’t mentioned by name anywhere in the Old Testament, but spoken of vaguely as “a man” or “a child”. At the time, nobody knew who that person would be until those prophecies were fulfilled and the man was revealed. God would fulfill and reveal those prophecies at the proper time, and instructed His people to wait until that time.
And the Lord answered me:
“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
Habakkuk 2:2-3
God kept His plan for salvation secret and safe, so when the time was right, He could carry it out. He’s the ultimate strategist. When Jesus came, he spoke in parables to keep the secrets of the kingdom of heaven from the devil and his workers (Matthew 13:11-13).
Would you tell a secret to just anybody? I hope not. We only tell secrets to people we trust. It’s the same with God and Jesus. They only share their secrets with believers they can trust. Are you someone who is trustworthy to God?
So if believers don’t know about this, the Bible becomes difficult and very confusing to read and understand.
Light + Understanding = No More Confusion
Like mentioned earlier, if one doesn’t know or understand the Bible, then it can seem very confusing. Thankfully, God has provided a way for us to understand it and that’s through those whom God has sent.
God first reveals the true meaning of His word to His servants (Amos 3:7). Then those servants proclaim it to the people. For example, God showed Moses how to build His tabernacle after he lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.”
Exodus 25:8-9
Jesus received the revealed word of the Old Testament from God, meaning he knew how the prophecies were fulfilled and testified about them.
“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Matthew 11:27
And even the apostle Philip in the book of Acts, received understanding from the Spirit and helped an Ethiopian eunuch understand a prophecy in Isaiah about Jesus.
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.”
Acts 8:35
Seek and God Will Send Someone to Help You Understand
From these examples, we can see that God helps those who seek Him. He sends His servants to testify His words plainly at the proper time. In John 14-16, Jesus promises a time when the words of prophecy and parables will be spoken plainly. When Jesus returns, we will be reminded of Jesus’ teachings and will have an opportunity to learn about the Bible clearly so all who listen can understand.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.”
John 16:25
Until we have the opportunity to learn the secrets of the parables and understand the Word of God plainly, we need to wait patiently without adding our own guesses and interpretations, while also learning the prophecies as a kind of blueprint to prepare ourselves for the full understanding. It’s also important to be watchful for opportunities or people you might meet that can explain the Bible according to the Bible.
What Should We Do If We’re Confused?
When you’re confused about something in school, at your job, or in some other area of life, do you just let it be? When you really want to know the answer, you would ask someone for help, right? You have your teachers, administrators, or another person with the ability to help explain and clarify what you don’t know or understand.
The Bible is a book that’s not written in chronological order, has sections of literal events (history) and figurative events (prophecies), as well as teachings and laws, and recordings of the fulfillment of God’s prophecies. All of these things can make the Bible pretty confusing if you don’t know how to separate them, or how to understand them.
The Bible is Confusing, But It Doesn’t Have to Stay That Way
Yet, if you can begin to look at the Bible from God’s perspective, not man’s, then things will begin to clear up. God has given us His word and only He knows what it means. God shows His plan to his servants.
During the time of Moses, God showed Moses the Law and how to build the tabernacle on Mount Sinai. God revealed the meaning of the Old Testament prophecies to Jesus Christ, and Jesus explained the prophecies and how they were fulfilled during the time of the first coming. Jesus also promised a time when the meaning of the New Testament prophecies would be clearly explained by someone sent by Jesus.
So if you don’t understand God’s Word, then what should you do?
Pray to God to send someone to teach you. If you ask, you will be given; when you seek, you will find; if you knock, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8). God wants us to clearly understand the Bible so we can know what we must do to obey His Word.
Written by Kenny
Thankfully there is a place you can go to, and people who are willing to teach you! If you want to learn more about the Bible, to understand it clearly, come join our Bible study!
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