… until He has revealed His secret to His servants, the prophets.” — Amos 3:7
I’m learning that in the old days, before the Bible was written, Jah transmitted His infallible truth through the mouths of the prophets. Those very prophets wrote down whatever He told them to, and it became the Bible. Now, that Bible has become the final source of God’s authoritative word for us.
I’m pretty sure there were other prophecies, too, that weren’t meant for us; but everything that was, can now be found in the scripture.
Another thing I’m learning is that the Lord has specific, significant things that He is still planning to do in the future; “secrets,” if you will. That doesn’t mean He necessarily told the prophets what I’m going to have for breakfast tomorrow, or how many children I’m going to have, or even necessarily what they (or I) should do for a living.
But the prophecies recorded in the Bible do have something to say about my life specifically, and about the course that human history is going to take in general. There are specific plans that He wants to share with me, and specific things that He wants to make me aware of, at specific points in time.
This is where modern “born-again’s” get the idea (and I have to apologize, but “born-again” will have to do until I can think of a better shorthand for referring to my chosen spiritual path) – but, it’s where we get the idea of finding “promises” in the Bible, or of getting directions from God’s Word that extend beyond its explicit, general wisdom, moral teachings, and lore.
What I’m describing here isn’t bibliomancy; it’s a process of trying to discern the voice and direction of God, guided by Spirit (you know – the One He promised to pour out on all flesh?), and the prophecies He instructed His prophets to record for us, their sons and daughters.
By immersing ourselves in those ancient writings, we can be convicted of sin. We can learn sound doctrine, transcendent wisdom, and Jewish and Christian history and heritage; and, we can learn God’s general (and specific!) will for our lives.
Protestants love to talk about “biblical” things – biblical teaching, biblical morality, biblical living. I’m going to coin a new phrase, and start talking about things that are “Bible-informed,” instead. Scripture wasn’t meant to be treated like a creed or a text book; it wasn’t meant to serve as the basis of a new sect of Christianity. All it is, is a collection of infallible prophecies – recorded in the past – to which we can refer for insight into what God wants to say to us now – always with a full understanding that, unlike what was transmitted in writing by those ancient prophets, our own apprehension of God’s message will never be perfect.
I want to allow scripture to shape the way I think and the way I relate to God and my fellow humans. I want it to transform me in subtle ways, as I am cultivated by it into a branch, with deep roots in the Vine, that can eventually begin to produce Spiritual fruit.
This is the deep spirituality I have been searching for all my life. This scripture – this prophecy – is the water I have been longing to swim in.
Now, I am finally home.