You will never understand the 4 gospels if you are unaware of these principles:

(1)Hyperbole in the Bible – Jesus often over exaggerated things to emphasize the importance.

🌿Matt 18:9. Pluck out your eyes if it cause you to sin (hate sin).

🌿Matt5:39. If someone slap you on the left, let him slap you on the right too (emphasizing forgiveness & longsuffering).

🌿Luke14:26. Hate your father, mother, wife & children if you want to come to Jesus (Put Jesus as number 1 over your families).

🌿All these are hyperbole. Jesus is NOT telling you to pluck your eyes out, or allow yourself to be slapped twice or to hate your parents, wife & children.

Matthew 18:9 New King James Version (NKJV)

9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 5:39 New King James Version (NKJV)

39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Luke 14:26 New King James Version (NKJV)

26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

———

(2)Predestined by Foreknowledge – 1st Peter 1:2, Romans 8:29.

Romans 8:29 New King James Version (NKJV)

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

1 Peter 1:1-2 New King James Version (NKJV)

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Judges 2:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)

2 Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. 2 And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side,[a]and their gods shall be a snare to you.’” 4 So it was, when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

Isaiah 46:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done,

Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

Comment on Judges 2:1-4:

🌿God ask Joshua to wipe out everyone in the land of Canaan, even the women & children. Is God cruel? No! God waited 400 years for the Canaanites to repent of their wicked lifestyle, they were sacrificing their children as burnt offering to their god Molech (Lev18:21, Deu 9:5). But Joshua disobeyed and left behind a group of people. These group of people & their idols become a snare and bring down the future generations of Israel to idolatory. God has foreknowledge of future events, and instruct Joshua to destroy all the Canaanites for their own good.

Deuteronomy 9:5 New King James Version (NKJV)

5 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Leviticus 18:21-25New King James Version (NKJV)

21 And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

24 ‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.

🌿God wasn’t wicked to ask Joshua to destroy everyone in the promised land. God has foreknowledge of all men exercising their free will to choose good or evil in the future, so He predestined things to be done. He predestined by foreknowledge Jesus to be slained before the foundation of the earth , even before He created Adam and Eve. Because He foresaw and foreknew that mankind will fall astray.

🌿Many things that God did in OT is based on this. God is love , in both OT and NT. God is like a mountain of love in both OT & NT. He is the same past, present & future.

Revelation 13:8 New King James Version (NKJV)

8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

1 Peter 1:18-20 New King James Version (NKJV)

18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

———-

(3)Law of first mentioned

2 Corinthians 12:7New King James Version (NKJV)

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

Comment:

🌿Paul has thorn in the flesh, some interpret it as a disease that God doesn’t want to heal him to keep him humble. But Judges 2:1-4 talks about thorn in the flesh are humans. So the thorn in the flesh should be a human tormenting Paul. This is also scripture interprets scripture.

————

(4)Reading in context

Luke 18:18-23 New King James Version (NKJV)

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”[a]

21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Comment:

🌿He asked Jesus what should he do to inherit eternal life. There is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life. Jesus is not really telling that thru works of the flesh by selling everything, give to poor, follow Him, we can reach perfection and inherit eternal life. Eternal life is only by His grace (the cross) , thru His faith.

🌿When we read difficult passages like this, we need to study the whole context to grasp the true meaning. We need to interpret thru eyes of a Father’s love for all His children.

———-

(5)Those who don’t have, even whatever they have will be taken.

Romans 9:17-18New King James Version (NKJV)

17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”[a] 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

Comment:

🌿The Scriptures declare that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exo. 7:13, 10:1; 10:20; 10:27; 11:10), but the Bible also says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exo. 8:15; 32; 9:34; 1 Sam. 6:6).

🌿God harden those who harden themselves – Matthew 13:12-13, Matthew 25:29. God further harden the heart of Pharaoh because the Paraoh first harden his own heart. God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart to make him a vessel of wrath, or blinded the Pharisees to make them blinded and unable to hear the gospel Jesus was preaching. God did not predestined and choose certain people to be saved, and certain group of people to perish in lake of fire for His glory. But it is God foreknew the Pharaoh’s hardening his own heart, so He predestined the Pharaoh to be a vessel of wrath. Predestined by foreknowledge.

Matthew 13:12-13 New King James Version (NKJV)

12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Comment: Above scripture is referring to Pharisees who don’t understand the parables Jesus taught.

——

Matthew 25:29 New King James Version (NKJV)

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

Comment: Referring to the servant who buried his given talents.

———–

(6)Read the Word thru eyes of a Father’s love for His children.

Exodus 19:6New King James Version (NKJV)

6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Exodus 32:24-26New King James Version (NKJV)

24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

Comment:

🌿God is fair. Just as in NT, we are all royal priesthood in Christ, so is OT. But why is only Levites are chosen as priest and not every children of Israel? In Exodus 19:6, God said He wants everyone to be priest, but in Exodus 32:24-26, when Moses asked whoever is on the Lord’s side come to him, only the Levites came to him. The rest of 11 tribes refused. So God ordained the sons of Levi to be priest unto Him forever. Because of their rejection, the Old Covenant or Mosaic Covenant became a king-slave covenant, blessings or curses are conditional on their obedience to the Mosaic law. But the New Covenant is different, an unconditional covenant based on His agape love for us. It is based on better promises.  As Christians, we are sons of God, priests and kings of His kingdom right from the start as we receive His love gift of Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior. When we break His law, we repent to shut open doors to the devil, because sins open door to devil to kill, steal & destroy. As we repent, the blood of Jesus washes our sins as far as the east is from the west instantly.

🌿God assign Jonah to preach to the Gentiles in Nineveh in OT & also Jesus said in NT, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of prophet Elishah, but only Naaman the leper of Syria was healed. God loves Gentiles and Jews in OT!

🌿God is so loving that He was cloud by day and fire by night for 40 years to a rebellious , grumbling generation, and He told Israel to remember this by celebrating Feast of Tabernacle to remember His goodness, His faithfulness & His love forever.

🌿So God loves both Jew & Gentile in OT & NT.

🌿When reading the OT & NT, we must hold fast to this understanding, God loves us with an everlasting love, from the first day He created mankind. Reading the Word thru the eyes of a Father’s love for His children, then you will begin to have revelations & understanding of the Bible correctly.

💦💦💦💦💦

Why do we need to read the Bible with understanding?

===========

1. If our mind do not understand the teachings of Jesus, it is like the first kind of soil mentioned in Matthew 13:19, the devil will snatch away the seeds. We need our hearts to be 4th kind of soil, not the first kind of soil that do not understand His Word.

Matthew 13:19New King James Version (NKJV) 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

———–

2. Renew our mind so that it will submit to the Holy Spirit and be led by Him. Because our soul ( Mind, Emotions, Will ) is not born again. Our mind still contains old memories of the old man, the previous human spirit which is no more. But our human spirit is a new creation, remade in the perfect image of Jesus. Our human spirit is holy and righteous, wants to obey the Holy Spirit. But the mind which is not born again, holds old memories, old imperfect thinking patterns and imperfect moral values, which contradicts what the Holy Spirit wants us to follow. So a person with unrenewed mind, is almost impossible to be led by Holy Spirit, because his mind will want to take dominion with his old moral values and old thinking pattern. Old memories of imperfect thinking pattern and imperfect moral values, need to be replaced with the moral values of Jesus, and thinking pattern of Jesus by reading & understanding His teachings. Then we can walk in the Spirit 100%, not walk in the flesh (carnal mindedness). Those who walk in the flesh will perish (Romans 8:13).

3. Full salvation of spirit , soul & body. Jesus said all who are doer of His Words will be like a house build on rocks, no storm can shake it. But if we don’t understand His teachings, how can we obey and be a doer? Whenever Jesus taught the crowd about the kingdom, He would healed everyone, even the maimed. Those who heard and understood the kingdom message, are shone upon by His light, so that they can received total healing of spirit, soul & body – total physical & emotional healing & deliverance.

4. Be filled with perfect love. If you read the Bible especially the 4 gospel , in the light of trying to understanding the depth , height, width of Christ’s love for us (Eph 3:18-19), the perfect agape love of Jesus will fill you completely, casting out all fear, anxiety attacks. And because faith works thru agape love (Gal5:6), you will also receive enough faith to remove every mountains in your life, each time you pray.