Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” My daughter gave me a 12k flashlight that is amazing! It will blast up to 12,000 lumens of bright light up to 721 feet away. But I thought, “when will I ever use a flashlight that bright?” Well I found out “when” I started crawling under my 2 feet high (3 block high) crawl space b/c the plumber 17 years ago did not even connect two tub drain pipes and we were pouring many gallons of water directly onto the crawl space! 1st world problem but one that has to be dealt with. God has blessed me to find the problem before it got even worse. Fortunately we didn’t use those two tubs much at all since we built the house 17 years ago.

Back to the flashlight. That 12k brightens up the whole crawl space! I can see clearly how to crawl all over setting my my fans, checking wood moisture and humidity, avoiding hitting water lines, examining the drains and plumbing. God’s word is like that. It is not just a lamp and light, but a brilliant shining light that will clearly show you exactly what God wants you to do and what His promises are for you.

1 Corinthians 14:33 “God is not a God of confusion”. Many think that the Bible can’t be understood. There are passages that are hard to understand. Peter said “our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3) “Hard” but not “impossible”. The “untaught” and “unstable” will take the hard to understand passages and distort them to their own advantage (to gain power, sex, or money). But the basic truths that we need for salvation, wisdom, and guidance are not hard to understand.

God reveals Himself and His plans in His word. There is “general revelation” from God in nature. Romans 1:¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (NASB) Paul is saying that it should be clear to all that there is a supernatural creator God. There is no excuse for someone being an atheist. Intelligent design of the universe, the human body, DNA, the periodic table, etc should convince the greatest skeptic that there is a creator God.

But perceiving that there is a creator God does not tell you what that God is like or what His plans are. In Hinduism, Brahma is the creator god. He is part of the Trimurti, a trinity of supreme divinity that also includes Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer). In Zoroastrianism, the primary deity is Ahura Mazda, the “Wise Lord,” who is the creator and sustainer of the universe. So God had to reveal Himself to man. He did so through His messages to the prophets who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:¹⁹ And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. ²⁰ But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, ²¹ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” There’s that “lamp” (Psalm 119:105) that shines showing us what God is like and what His plans are for us. The prophets made known the nature of God, what kind of a God is he? AI: “While not constantly fighting in a war-like sense, the Greek gods in mythology were prone to conflict and rivalry. They often argued, quarreled, and even fought among themselves over various issues, including power, love, and honor. These conflicts were a defining characteristic of Greek mythology, making the pantheon a dynamic and entertaining collection of characters.” Is the creator God like that? From bible.org “he attributes of Sovereignty, Holiness, Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Immutability, Wrath, and Love, set God apart from the false Gods of pagans.” God is holy and just, and He must punish sin. But His great love and mercy has provided forgiveness for sin through the sacrifice of Jesus His son on the cross. He is opposed by Satan and evil demonic princes but He has conquered them through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  in Jewish tradition, God is often described with 13 attributes, also known as the “13 Middot” (ways). These attributes, found in Exodus 34:6-7, emphasize God’s compassion, mercy, grace, and other positive characteristics. The Lord told Moses as he hid behind the rock, ⁶ “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth; ⁷ who keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” 

So the prophets told man what their creator God is like, His attributes. But what are His plans for man? The Bible is “progressive revelation”. AI: “the concept of progressive revelation suggests that God revealed Himself and His plan to humanity gradually over time, rather than all at once. This means the Old Testament provides foundational truths, and the New Testament, especially through Jesus and the apostles, builds upon and clarifies those truths. It’s not that the Old Testament is wrong, but rather that the full understanding of God’s plan and nature is revealed more completely in the New Testament.” The Law of Moses of the Old Testament was never intended to be God’s permanent plan of salvation for all mankind. Paul told the Jews who were under the Law: Galatians 3:²³ But before faith came, we (Jews) were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” AI: “Progressive revelation doesn’t imply a change in God’s character or plan. God’s nature is constant, and His plan unfolds progressively. Understanding progressive revelation can help us interpret Scripture more fully, recognizing that earlier revelations were foundational and preparatory to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.”

So we come to the New Testament.  AI: “The doctrine of justification by grace through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, and the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s plan are examples of truths that are hinted at in the Old Testament but are more fully revealed in the New Testament.” God’s primary revelation of His final plan of salvation comes through His Son Jesus in HIs teachings. Hebrews 1:1 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days (i.e. the last days of the Jewish Age from 30 AD to 70 AD) has spoken to us in His Son”. (NASB) Jesus tells us that He is “the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). He predicts that He will suffer, be “lifted up” in his death (crucifixion) like the bronze serpent in the wilderness, and be raised from the dead. He tells us that we can have eternal life if we believe in Him, God’s son. He tells us that His kingdom is “not of this world” but a spiritual kingdom, the church (John 18:36; Matthew 16:16-18). The Spirit of God confirms that He is God’s Son and spokesman. Acts 2:22 “Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst.”

But God’s progressive revelation continues after Jesus ascends to heaven. He left the Spirit with the apostles to complete progressive revelation. John 16: ¹³ “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” They delivered the final truths of God’s plans through their preaching and writings in the New Testament book of Acts and the Epistles. Paul wrote 13 of those epistles defining justification, redemption, and sanctification through Jesus. He gave the central core message of eternal life: Ephesians 2:⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast”, and defended that core teachings against the constant legalistic threat of the Judaizer Jewish Christians who kept trying to make Gentile converts keep the Law of Moses. He explains what it means in daily practical living what the Christian “walk” is (Ephesians 4-6). He gives rules and guidelines for Christian assemblies.

Paul says that the apostles’ teaching and writing are from the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:¹³ We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” Thus the concept of “verbal plenary inspiration”: AI “Verbal plenary inspiration of scripture is the belief that God inspired every word of the Bible, not just the ideas, and that the original manuscripts were perfectly preserved, making the Bible God’s authoritative and inerrant word.” We don’t have those original manuscripts, but the copies and translations have been shown to be totally reliable. AI: “While there’s no universally agreed upon percentage for the accuracy of the Bible, many scholars believe that we can be reasonably confident in its accuracy, with estimates ranging from 95% to 99.9%. This confidence stems from the vast amount of textual evidence, internal consistency within the texts, and external confirmation from archaeological and historical findings.” You can trust your translation of the Bible.

Finally, the finality of “progressive revelation”. After the New Testament writing of the apostles, did God continue to give more revelation after that first century (all the NT gospels, Acts, and epistles were written before 70 AD)? Did He continue to speak after the apostles through the Pope? Paul told us what the miraculously gifted leadership of the New Testament was: Ephesians 4:¹¹ And He (Jesus) gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors (elders of the churches) and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love.” Notice there is no pope as the head of the church in 4:11. Don’t you think that there would be a mention of any such office if God was going to continue to speak through a pope for the next 2,000 years? Paul is telling us that the teachings and writings of the apostles and prophets are totally sufficient to keep Christians unified (Ephesians 4: ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all). They are sufficient to keep us from being carried away by false teachers and prophets.

So there is no pope who continues to give progressive revalation after the first century. But is there “apostolic succession”? AI: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), commonly known as Mormons, claims to have a valid apostolic succession. They believe this line of succession was restored through Joseph Smith, who they claim received priesthood authority from biblical prophets and apostles.” In choosing a replacement for the apostle Judas, Peter gave the qualifications of an apostle: Acts 1:²¹ Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— ²² beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection (and an apostle).” I once asked 2 Mormon elders: do your apostles meet these qualifications? Paul was the only apostle who was not with Jesus from His baptism to His ascension but Jesus made a special post resurrection appearance to Him on the road to Damascus, qualifying him to be an apostle (1 Corinthians 15:7). Paul claimed equal authority to the other original apostles. 2 Corinthians 12: 11 “Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was in no respect inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. ¹² The distinguishing marks of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs, wonders, and miracles.” His miracles prove that he was equal to the original apostles even though he became an apostle years after the others did. It always amazes me to hear some say that Paul’s writings are not authoritative for us today. That mainly comes b/c his writings clearly condemn homosexuality and many don’t want to accept that (the LBGQT movement).

There is no more “progressive revelation”. The Spirit can still speak to us individually but there are no more inspired writings of scripture after the first century. There are no more inspired prophets who give us direct messages from God. A prophet was always confirmed by his ability to predict the future with 100% accuracy and there are no prophets today who can do that. There are no “latter day prophets”. The Mormons claim to have latter day prophets, beginning with their founder Joseph Smith, with equal authority to the apostles and prophets of the first century. Thus they claim that the Book of Mormon is equal in authority to the New Testament. There have been many “latter day prophets” over the past 2,000 years, all claiming to have messages from God separate from the original scriptures. They have started many cults. Such as Ellen G. White of the Seventh Day Adventists, David Karesh of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, Jim Jones (the Guyana tragedy), Rutherford and Russell of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mary Baker Eddy of Christian Science, and many, many more. These latter day prophets always made predictions of the future, especially of the 2nd coming of Jesus, that failed to come to pass, thus proving them to be false prophets. They introduced doctrines not in the New Testament and contrary to the teachings of the original apostles. Nowhere did Jesus or the Scriptures give authority to them to speak messages from God. So complete was the final progressive revelation completed with the writing and collection of the New Testament that Jude would say: Jude 3 “³ Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints.” The Bible claims 2 things: 1) The “once for all time sacrifice of Jesus”. Hebrews 10:10 ” we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” 2) The “once for all time” completion and delivery of the final NT writings in the first century (Jude 3).

I hope this helps in some way. So we need to follow the example of the Thessalonians as Paul preached the gospel to them: 1 Thessalonians 2:¹³ For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of mere men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.” We need to follow the example of the Bereans: Acts 17:¹¹ Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” We need to heed the advice of the apostle John: 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

We do need to keep studying, not only the basic core teachings of the Bible, but also those “hard to understand” sections like those dealing with eschatology and the Book of Revelation. Why? B/c there are so many false prophets predicting the 2nd coming of Jesus and the fulfillment of Revelation in events occurring today. You can refer to my other articles dealing with that. Yes, we need to keep studying doctrinal issues like Calvinism. Does God really only predestine a. certain number to be saved and sinners can not just be converted by their own free will choice (as Calvinism claims). Will saved sinners never fall from grace (as Calvinism claims). What is the nature of Jesus (fully God and fully man?)? But even if you never come to an opinon on the fulfillment of the book of Revelation, that’s ok. You don’t need that to be saved by the blood of Jesus. Basic faith in Jesus and Christian living is more important than understand eschatology (the study of last times).