-
1 CE
Jesus ascends into heaven and gives the Great Commission to go to Jerusalem, Judea,Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth to tell EVERYONE about God’s kingdom
Jesus's disciples seen and what and how Jesus preached. They learnt from what He did during His mission journey. So, before Jesus ascends back to heaven, he gave the Great Commission to the disciples so that they can preach and spread the good news and God's kingdom to the ends of the earth. Then Jesus ascended back to heaven. -
2
Acts -- The Holy Spirit comes -- Note why the Holy Spirit is significant
In the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended in Jerusalem in the form of fire to symbolize power. The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus to Christians to empower the spread of the gospel. The Holy Spirit gave the disciples power to perform miracles. The Holy Spirit isn't a thing but a person, like the Father and Son. In the Old Testament it was significant in giving the people God appointed power, even during the Creation when He gave living things life and power. He is still with us today. -
3
Acts and the Apostles -- The founding of the early church in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the Earth
Because the Holy Spirit even allows the disciples to communicate with others in different languages, people with different nationalities understood the gospel and became Christian and even started churches. The church in Jerusalem was founded first. However, it was heavily persecuted by the Jews. But due to the apostles continuous spreading of the gospels, the gospel was spread even in Judea and Samaria and at the uttermost parts of the earth (eventually in the Age of Exploration). -
4
The Epistles -- 21 letters -- Purpose
Epistles are written by disciples such as Paul, Peter, James, and John. They are meant to encourage, to challenge, and/or to rebuke them if they get astray from the true faith. The four parts of the structure of the epistles are the opening, the prayer of thanks, the body, and the conclusion. A professional scribe is hired to write the letter. Then, a trustee is send to deliver the letter to read and perform the letter to the Christian audience out loud. -
4
The Epistles -- 21 letters -- Context
There are three contexts to the epistles
1. To get people of all nations to become Christian.
2. Everyone regardless of social status could receive salvation (counter-cultural as hierarchy is the culture of the Roman Empire).
3. Gentiles and Jews should unite through their faith in Christ regardless of difference of culture. -
5
The Epistles -- 3rd theme Live a godly life and don't sin for granted
Since the Old Testament, God really hates it when people live ungodly lives. That's why He sent a flood and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (two very ungodly cities). Even after Jesus's sacrifice, God still does not want people to continue living ungodly lives on purpose and take salvation for granted because faith without deeds is dead (faithless). He wants us to live by the Spirit and live by godly lives. -
5
The Epistles -- 1st theme Salvation Through Faith and Not the Law
The first theme is that salvation is through faith and not by the Law. We all have the sin problem since the Fall. Due to that, God made the Law for us to follow. Even if we try our very best to follow the Law, we still wouldn't be following it due to our sin problem. Therefore, we would never gain salvation through the Law. Since Jesus died for our punishment of sin, we don't have to face the punishment of sin and can gain salvation through faith in Jesus (gift from God). -
5
The Epistles -- 2nd theme Salvation is For Everybody
In the Old Testament, God promised Abraham land, descendants, and him to be a BLESSING to other nations. God also blessed Ruth (not a Jew) in the OT just like the Jews due to her faith in God and love for others. Jesus was a Jew, which means he's a descendant of Abraham. Because Jesus's sacrifice was the blessing to everyone and other nations, everyone (not just Jews) deserves salvation if they have faith, not for the Jews alone. That's the second theme the apostles were trying to address. -
6
Themes of Revelations continuing the enduring themes found in the rest of the Bible
Book of Revelations: apocalyptic prophecy through visions
1st theme:
The stubbornness of mankind. In the OT, NT, and the future, there will be unbelievers who would be stubborn and would refuse to have faith in Jesus and continue their ungodly lives. Those people are bound to face eternal punishment.
2nd theme:
The prophecy God made (OT) of the serpent crushing the man's heel and man crushing the serpent's head. This book shows how the man (Jesus) crushes the serpent's head (the devil). -
7
How the pictures build onto one another part 1
Those pictures shows a sequence of events of how God created the world, humans making the wrong choice that leads them to a sin problem that goes down a downward spiral. God knew that the humans still have this sin problem would never be perfect. So, he chose a righteous man (Abraham) and his descendants to demonstrate the lives everyone should live and to be a blessing for others. God gave them a set of Laws on how to do what is right in His eyes so that He could bless them. -
7
How the pictures build onto one another part 2
If they live and worship Him, God will bless them with land and blessings. However, even the Jews failed to live the way God wants them to and turn away from Him. So, He punished them by cursing them and eventually exiling them from their land. Even exiled, God blessed those that still worship Him. Eventually, the interyears period passed in the periods of when the Macedonians took over, the Maccabean Revolt, and when the Romans took over. -
7
How the pictures build onto one another part 3
In 0 AD, God sent Jesus (a Jew) in order for him to demonstrate a godly life to others. He also sacrificed Himself to face the punishment of sin so that we won't be punished and gain salvation. His disciples became apostles and preached the good news of salvation not by the Law but by faith not just to Jews but to Gentiles as well. They also preached on how to live a godly life and to beware of false teachers. They even wrote epistles. Also, it shows how the end of the world would look like.
