God's Big Picture

Just as the Lord Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, so the Bible is both a human and a divine book. It is God’s Word: he is the ultimate author.

We must not expect life to be easy. We are called to proclaim the gospel to a world that does not want to hear it and to live a Christian life among people who live in a very different way. We are citizens of heaven, who must, for the time being, live as ‘strangers’ in the world (Philippians 3:20; 1 Peter 1:1). But we shall not have to live away fr

History Poetry Prophecy (Genesis to Esther) (Job to Song of Songs) (Isaiah to Malachi) Figure 1. The Old Testament (English Bible) In our English Bibles, the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament are arranged as in Figure 1. This order follows the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, made in the third century BC. The original Heb

‘The beast’ (who represents worldly anti-Christian powers), ‘the false prophet’ (worldly anti-Christian ideology) and Satan are also judged alongside Babylon.

Bible study Exodus 19:1–13; 20:1–17 19:1–13 What does this passage teach us about God? How does it challenge the way we often think about him? How should we relate to such a God? What has God already done for the Israelites (see also 20:2)? What does he promise to do in the future? How do these promises relate to the promises he made to Abraham (Ge

The gospel promises are in danger of failing almost as soon as they have been made. Abraham decides it is time to take matters into his own hands, and sleeps with Sarah’s maid, Hagar, who gives birth to a son, Ishmael. But God makes it clear that his people will not arise from Ishmael. Abraham has to learn that, if the gospel is to be fulfilled, on

We need to learn from Abraham’s example and trust in the gospel promises even when we cannot understand what God is doing in our lives.

The kingdom of God God’s people God’s place God’s rule and blessing The pattern of the kingdom Adam and Eve The garden God’s word; perfect relationships The perished kingdom No-one Banished Disobedience and curse The promised kingdom Abraham’s descendants Canaan Blessing to Israel and the nations The partial kingdom The Israelites Canaan (and Jerus

We tend to have a negative attitude to authority and assume that it must always be oppressive. But there is nothing negative about being under God’s authority. In the Bible, to be under God’s rule is to enjoy God’s blessing. When Adam and Eve obeyed God’s command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they knew life at its best