Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth Week 2

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This week in Rightly Dividing the Word was very exciting!  We were reminded that our Bible is divided into two main dispensations — Old Testament with 39 separate books, and the New Testament with 27 books.  Also, each division is divided into three main groups of books.

The Old Testament is divided into three sections:
1. History — Genesis – Esther
2. Poetry — Job – Song of Solomon
3. Prophecy — Isaiah – Malachi

The New Testament is divided into three sections:
1. History — Matthew – Acts
2. Church Doctrine — Romans – Philemon
3. Prophecy — Hebrews – Revelation

Although the Gospels are in the New Testament, they are the transition books closing out the Old Testament with the life of Christ.  The New Testament actually begins with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

Hebrews 9:12-18: Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

The New Testament was established in the shed blood of Jesus Christ!  Matthew 26:28 

We have familiarized ourselves with the first 3 dispensations of scripture, and began looking at the 4th.

1. Innocence — Genesis 1-3 from creation to the Fall and expulsion from the garden. The transition from innocence to conscience was the walk of shame out of the garden.

2. Conscience — Genesis 4-6: blood sacrifice and do what is right, and hate what is evil. Chapters 7-8 records the transition period from the Dispensation of Conscience to Human Government — the universal flood.  Wickedness filled the earth, and the pollution of the blood lines was attempted by the sons of God, a portion of the angels that followed Lucifer in his attempted overthrow of God.
3. Human Government — Genesis 9-11: Life and death was taken from the individual person’s conscience and placed in the hands of government.
The first world empire, ruled by Nimrod, the mighty one, was established.  Genesis 10:8-11 describe his character and kingdom.  The term “mighty hunter before the LORD” literally means he was a hunter and enslaver of men in the face of God.  His pride caused him to establish a one world religion, identified as the Babylon Mystery Religion (BMR) — Baal / Marduk worship. Revelation 17-18 records the demise of this all encompassing pride / man centered religion of Babel.
The three main characters:
Nimrod, identified as the Sun God after his untimely death
Semiramis, wife of Nimrod, identified as the goddess Ashteroth / Ishtar in the Old Testament. Declared herself to be the queen of heaven after Nimrod’s death,and the deified birth of Tammuz.
Tammuz, the miracle birth, virgin born son, conceived by Semiramis after Nimrod’s death.
These three personages are the foundational deities in the vast majority of the world’s pagan religions.  Osiris (Nimrod), and Isis (Semiramis), and Horus (Tammuz) — Egyptian, Oden (Nimrod), Freyr (Semiramis),and Thor (Tammuz) — Norse, just as an example.
Semiramis is identified as the queen of heaven in Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-19, 44:25
Tammuz is revealed in Ezekiel 8:14
The confusion of languages and dispersion of the nations at the tower of Babel, propelled the BMR into all four corners of the earth.
The BMR is pervasive throughout all false religions, even today. We will continue our walk through the early dispensations of God’s dispensing of his plan of grace toward man, next Sunday.