Summary

We know how Israel begins. Did you know the Bible also describes Israel’s infancy, childhood, adulthood, death and resurrection? We know Genesis is full of stories about brothers. Did you know the younger is always favored by God? It is not surprising these brothers experience conflict, but have you studied the development of all brotherly conflict in the Old Testament and seen how it relates to Jesus’ teachings? Did you know there are seven barren women in the Old Testament and there are seven God chooses to heal in the Bible before Mary’s miraculous virgin birth? Relevant Revelation shows God is the one Author of the Bible with seven themes serving as evidence. All these themes culminate in Christ to demonstrate He is the Messiah sent by God and anticipated by His people.

Relevant Revelation explores seven powerful themes that are developed throughout the Old Testament and lead to the coming of Christ: covenant, barren women, brothers in conflict, younger brother favored by God, change of heart, the low raised high, and the history of Israel mirrored in the life stages of man. There are exactly seven barren women in the Bible who are healed by God, the last being Elizabeth. The cycle begins anew with the next miraculous birth, the birth of Christ by a virgin! Relevant Revelation explores all of these women and the sons God’s healing produces as well as the one barren woman God does not heal and why. Israel’s early history is full of brother stories, did you know that the younger is favored by God in every case? The brothers have conflict, have you ever studied how those conflicts are resolved and if there is a pattern or development? Relevant Revelation points to the development of those conflicts and how both of these themes clearly culminate in Christ and His ministry. Many significant characters in the Old Testament experience a great change of heart or experience a humble beginning but are raised high unexpectedly by God. Relevant Revelation also demonstrates Christ as the dramatic culmination of these two themes developed throughout the Old Testament. Relevant Revelation examines the history of Israel as mirroring the life stages of man. Mankind’s conception and gestation are followed by Israel’s infancy, childhood, adulthood, and death in the Old Testament. The afterlife is reflected in the Kingdom of God when Christ comes in the New Testament. Any one of these themes point to purposeful cohesive authorship throughout the Bible. Relevant Revelation seeks to show God is the one Author of the Bible with seven themes as support. The fact that all these themes culminate in Christ demonstrates He is the Messiah sent by God and expected by His people.

Benefits and Features of Relevant Revelation

The Bible can seem intimidating and daunting to read. Millions of believers have a desire to read and understand the Bible, but many do not know how to do so. They may respect and honor the Bible but are struggling to navigate thousands of years of historical events, foreign places, and unknown people. Lay people who attempt to read the Bible from beginning to end, struggle with questions along the way: “Why is this here?” “How does this matter in the larger story?” “What is God trying to say?”

For nine years, I have taught Biblical Studies and have written curriculum to help make the Bible relevant and memorable to my middle and high-school students. We study the Bible like great literature, reading books “cover to cover” and looking for recurring motifs and developing themes. This approach of reading large portions of the Bible as one continuous story allows the reader to appreciate overarching themes developed throughout the Old Testament and culminating in the New Testament.

Relevant Revelation explores themes such as covenant, brothers in conflict, the younger brother is favored by God, a change of heart, barren women who are healed (and the one who is not), and the humble raised high. Understanding the development of these themes will change the way you read and study the Bible. When we see connections between books written by over 40 people over 3000 years, this leads to two major implications. First, the 66 books of the Bible have One Author. Second, the New Testament finishes what the Old Testament starts. Relevant Revelation challenges the reader to see the familiar Bible and its stories as one continuous story, to see God’s word as a cohesive unit and it’s life-changing.

Reading the Bible with an overarching perspective gives the student a schema on which to place the multitude of characters and events present in the Bible. Considering the Bible as one continuous story may not be new but understanding the development of themes can display its brilliance. The story of Israel in the Bible follows the life stages of man-- conception, gestation, infancy, childhood, adulthood, death, and afterlife. Knowing this schema helps the reader understand how the pieces of the story fits together in one cohesive story, brilliantly arranged over thousands of years with different authors of different generations. This is a much-needed guide for Bible study in today’s modern world. Reading the Bible out of order, in short disjointed chunks, has unfortunately failed to make the Bible accessible, much less understandable. My hope is to present a fascinating all-encompassing “plot” on which the characters, vignettes, dialogues, and events of Israel’s history can be placed and logically understood in order and in context of God’s great purpose and plan of redeeming the world through a Savior.

This book will serve as a companion to the Bible, not just for educators, preachers, pastors, but also for the layperson. Preachers can use this fresh perspective in their sermons and their congregations will use it in serious Bible studies. Seminaries can use it as a companion text in their Biblical Studies classes. It will be a textbook for secondary courses and a supplement for post-secondary courses. In my 30 years of adult Bible study, I have never come across this type of perspective, and I cannot study the Bible without it. It colors everything I read and teach.

Dana Bennett, M.Ed., M.Div.

Benefits:

In the process of reading this book, readers will:

· Learn how to share your faith out of biblical insights

· Appreciate the Bible as one continuous story, pointing to one Author, God

· See the development of several themes in the Old Testament that culminate in Christ, useful in evangelism of Jews and others outside the Christian faith

· Learn a schema to place Biblical personalities and events within a timeline of Israel’s history

· Learn how Biblical characters and events fit together and connect with each other, showing God’s intervention, purpose, and plan

· Learn how to read the Bible and find recurrent themes, motifs, and symbols and follow them to their culmination

· See the Bible in a new more understandable, memorable, relatable, and interesting way

Features:

· A philosophy of teaching for Biblical studies

· A method of fostering class discussion

· Note-taking suggestions and examples

· An introduction to advanced Bible-study skills (“first use”, “types” for Christ and God, numbers as symbols, recurrent themes)

· Charts for each of the seven themes discussed throughout the book

· Lists depicting repeated Biblical motifs (a hardened heart, childlike faith, work and toil, meaning of life, death as falling asleep, death as returning to dust, near-death experiences, types for Christ)

· A comprehensive list of all kings of Israel and Judah in order, years ruled, and an assessment of each king

· Stages of human development used as a schema which assist in understanding persons, places, and events in Israel’s history