My Duty: The Revealed (Introduction)

GOD. Jesus. Heaven. Angels. Hell. Devil. Demons. Satan. Soul. Spirit. Rapture. Revelation. Eternity…

I am a Christian. I wrote this book for other believers of the Christian faith. If you are an agnostic, atheist or believe in some other god (idol) other than the Triune GOD of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then this book may not be for you. However, if you desire to understand the Bible, then this book is definitely for you. I wrote this book for Christians in order to encourage, uplift, motivate, inspire, and challenge them, but if you are an unbeliever and want a good insight on what the Christian faith is truly about, then I recommend reading this book. In fact, if you are an unbeliever, I recommend that you read this book so that you will no longer be deceived into believing lies about Christianity. This book will answer challenging or difficult questions and also clear up misconceptions about Christianity and provide understanding as to why unbelievers have misunderstanding regarding Truth.

[Dig Deeper: What is Truth?]

A wise man once told me that the most compelling piece of evidence isn’t found in books, test tubes, decaying scrolls, or even events predicted centuries earlier — the greatest evidence for the relevance of the Word of GOD, and GOD Himself, lies within those who have experienced GOD’s power and presence firsthand. Well, I have firsthand experience, which makes my testimony one of the most compelling pieces of evidence of GOD’s love; however, no book (not even my own testimony, LAST REQUEST) will ever be more important than THE BIBLE.

Firsthand experience is definitely the most powerful experience (because it is the fastest route to becoming a believer), but without the foundation that the Bible builds within you, the firsthand experience can be doubted, written off, mistaken for something else and then GOD can somehow vanish from the picture of understanding. The Bible is the foundation of life. But what is the Bible? I like to view it this way:

I once purchased a book called Invitation to Critical Thinking, Sixth Edition for my college class, “Critical Reasoning.” Although useful then, the book is even more useful now because I am going to use it to make a very crucial point in understanding why the Bible is important and necessary for life:

Reflecting on the occasion of this sixth edition of Invitation to Critical Thinking, we find it rather sobering to realize that this textbook is as old as many of the students who read it. Much has changed in the world since this book was first published, and so the book itself has had to change to remain in touch with the world inhabited by its students. Many of the examples we used in earlier editions have disappeared from common shared awareness down the memory hole into the dustbin of history. And yet the need in this generation for basic critical thinking skills remains as deep and urgent as ever.

-Joel Rudinow & Vincent E. Barry

The Bible is older than your grandparents and their grandparents before them. Unlike Invitation to Critical Thinking, the Bible hasn’t changed for a long time! Sure, it has been translated and paraphrased, but it has never had to cut out examples and create new examples within the book — the message has remained the same. Why? Because the knowledge and wisdom found in the Bible has always been and will always be applicable to life. Think about it — the people who wrote the books of the Bible did so hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. The message is still applicable to this day; in fact, the message is even more relevant and important today than it has ever been before. However, like my college text book, the need to connect Truth with the current generation is dire. Different translations have been made from the original versions of the original documents that make up the Bible to help people understand it better, but I have been led by the Holy Spirit to write this book to help you understand the importance of those words written in the Bible and how to apply those words to your own life. Like the authors of my college book explained, many things in life have disappeared from common shared awareness and have gone “down the memory hole into the dustbin of history.” There are three major reasons for the disappearance of Truth:

1. Truth disappears when people are complacent or selfish and don’t pass it along to others.
2. Truth disappears when people are lazy and don’t care enough to search through history’s files; in fact, many people are oblivious to the truth of today because they are not aware of the truth of yesterday.
3. Truth becomes hidden, covered by the Counterfeiter in a layer of lies.

Everything has so much more depth than we realize. We need to look beyond the surface and dig deeper. The ocean is a great example of Depth versus Surface. Just going to the beach and looking at the ocean is a great experience. Many things can be found from the surface. It also makes you realize how small you are in this world. However, once you immerse yourself in the ocean, you realize that there is so much that you didn’t know! There’s so much to learn! The area that you can’t see from the surface is huge!

If you ride on a boat and look out over the vast landscape of water and see a little iceberg poking out, it is usually only the tip of the iceberg; what lies beneath the surface is actually a very large ice mass, and if your boat runs into the seemingly harmless ‘little’ iceberg, the large ice mass may very well tear a hole in the boat and cause it to sink. That is exactly how the famous ‘unsinkable’ Titanic boat met its demise.

What you cannot see is what has the depth to it. That which is unseen is truly enormous. It truly makes you realize just how small you are in this world. But most importantly, it makes you realize that there’s so much you didn’t see from the surface. People might think the ocean is big just by looking at the surface, but once they immerse themselves in the ocean, they find out how big it really is. The Bible is a lot like the ocean, and so is GOD and all of Heaven. Too many people want to merely look at The Bible’s surface instead of diving into the deep. Take the plunge! (Read the Bible!)

When you buy an expensive device, it usually has a manual that belongs to it; a book that contains information and instructions about the operation and care of the device — it is a step-by-step guide. Most of the time, people tend to throw the manual to the side, forget about it and never read it. People say, “I can figure it out on my own! I can do this by myself! I’ll just do it my way!” The manual is taken for granted far too often. Well, we humans are the expensive devices and the Bible is the manual that belongs to us. The Bible is our “Owner’s Manual.”

We do own our bodies, but the ownership is temporary. That makes us stewards; we are merely looking after what belongs to GOD. GOD has given us the gift of free will, to choose how we use or abuse our bodies. Our body is ours. But the body does have a life expectancy (an expiration date); therefore, we need to take care of it. The Bible contains information and instructions; what not to do in order to keep operation of the ‘device’ to the best of its ability, how to keep it clean, etc… But most importantly, it gives us instructions on what to do. And as long as you follow the ‘to do list,’ you won’t have to worry about what not to do because you will already be staying clear from that dangerous path that will cause harm and damage to the ‘device,’ ultimately causing it to fail prior to its estimated expiration date. The Bible truly is a gift of wisdom from GOD, to us, in order to help us. But sadly, a lot of people want throw the ‘manual’ aside because they think they can figure it all out by themselves.

A long time ago, I had an expensive camera that my aunt mailed to me. I got excited about the camera but I threw the manual aside and didn‘t even attempt to read it because it was “way too long.” Simply put, reading the manual required too much effort and too much time. So, I tried to figure things out by myself. I did a fairly good job at doing so; however, on one particular day, I wanted to do something specific: I wanted to be in the picture. The problem was that no one else was around. I desired to do things on my own and I got my wish. I had to figure out how to set the timer so that I could be in the picture. But, because it was an expensive [older model] camera, there wasn’t just one button that needed to be pushed — there were about three different steps that needed to be taken in order to set that specific feature. I had to push this, push that, and then turn that. I couldn’t figure it out. Suddenly, I realized that I needed the manual. I searched for it, found it, and then read it. Not only did I read it, but I kept it close to where I kept my camera because I knew at that point that it belonged to my camera for a reason. And that is how the Bible relates to us humans. There are people who will eventually figure out that they can’t figure everything out in their lives on their own and then they will search the Bible for help. And once they figure out that the ‘manual’ is necessary and quite helpful, they keep it close to them because they know it belongs to them and is for them. Do not be intimidated because the ‘manual’ is long. It wouldn’t be so long if it didn’t need to be. If you want to be in the picture as well, you must know how to be in the picture. GOD is painting a picture of His will. If you want to be in that picture of GOD’s will, you must read the ‘manual’ in order to comprehend how to be in the picture.

Now, I know that a lot of people don’t want to read the Bible because they think it is outdated and no longer relevant, but in reality, it is still very much relevant. An inability to understand GOD’s Word doesn’t negate GOD’s Word. The Bible was originally written in the language of the streets. It was the language of fisherman, shopkeepers, and other regular people. The Bible was never written in such a way that only spiritual people could understand it; in fact, it was written by average people for average people. Back then, no one had a hard time understanding what was written and being said in the Bible because they all used the same language and slang. But as time went on, language and slang changed and modified to be what it is today, which makes the older versions of the Bible (such as King James Version) difficult to understand. This is why it is so important for Christians to be able and willing to adapt to change. Nowadays, we have multiple translations of the Bible, ranging from word-for-word, thought-for-thought, or paraphrased. We even have study Bibles that are arranged in chronological order!

Where there is a will, there is a way. That saying is old and familiar, yet still remains powerful if taken to heart. But that’s the thing — it is old and familiar and so it is taken for granted. Where did passion go?! Our nation has become a lazy and ungrateful nation. So many people nowadays are spoiled by pastors who preach the Word in sermons to crowds. In church, a pastor preaches an entire sermon on one tiny portion of scripture from GOD’s Word. It’s awesome (and a privilege) that we are able to hear the Word through a pastor in such a public display, but a lot of people miss out on the blessings and miracles of GOD because they are too lazy to read the Bible for themselves.

We need to take initiative and read the Bible. The entire Bible. From front to back, from beginning to end. The Bible, after all, is the owner’s manual to our lives. There is so much to learn from GOD’s Word! So, we need to read it and allow GOD to use His words as He would like to in us as we read, rather than us being spoon-fed scriptures as if we were babies who couldn’t handle a big-boy meal of the entire Bible. Let GOD take the reigns — teaching you, knowing you, and changing you from the inside-out. Read the whole book. There are parts in the Bible that GOD will use to teach you something that a pastor wouldn’t think to preach a sermon about. If you don’t read the entire Bible, you will miss out on the wisdom that GOD gave you in the form of that book. The Bible is composed of 66 books that were written over a span of 1,500 years by 40 different authors who lived on three different continents and wrote in three different languages. Don’t settle for a mere sample of this meaty meal!

Many people believe they wouldn’t be able to read the Bible because they wouldn’t be able to relate to it, but I know (from firsthand experience) that is not true. Each of us can find little glimpses of ourselves within the pages of that awe-inspiring book. The people in the Bible are a whole lot like you and I, and a lot of them were far from perfect. Actually, one of the reasons why I love GOD’s Word so much is because it reveals how all of the people who ended up as people of greatness started out as average people that didn’t have much that was special about them, or they were people who made bad decisions until they got saved and turned their lives around. But they became people of greatness because they allowed GOD to work within their lives to transform them and place them into greatness. The Bible records with honesty all of the heinous acts of humanity — even from those who represent GOD! Not even GOD’s faithful followers were exempt from hiding their flaws! And it is the Bible’s honesty and humility to highlight mistakes of mankind that lend credibility to the GOD of Truth. We need to open our eyes, look beyond the surface and into the depth, and see what GOD would have each of us understand about ourselves and about others. There’s much to uncover still; there’s much to discover still. But there’s much that has already been revealed. And it is my duty to share with you all that has been revealed to me.

GOD’s Word is a flavorful feast — truly exquisite! You should savor each bite, taste every morsel, enjoy it thoroughly, and never want it to end. It’s not a meal to swallow whole (as a pelican or crocodile would do). You don’t ‘eat’ GOD’s Word for the taste either — you ‘eat’ it for the nutrients. GOD’s Word is not to fill your body, it is to provide for your soul. You also shouldn’t rush through the ‘meal’ because you’re in a hurry — “I’ve got places to go, things to do, people to see!” — Calm down! You’ve got eternity to go places, do things, and to see people, but you’ve only got this lifetime for that eternity. And you determine what that eternity will be… Heaven or Hell. So, sit down and enjoy your meal! Don’t be the white rabbit in Wonderland — you’re not late! We’re never late. Unless prevented from completing our journey through life, we always arrive exactly when we’re intended to arrive. Some say it is possible to arrive early, to leave before GOD would have liked us to depart due to unfortunate incidents such as murder or suicide, but for the most part, we arrive when we are intended to arrive because we determine our destination through the means our own freewill. Our own actions determine our path. Again, it’s what we do in this lifetime that determines that eternity.

“Love is the most characteristic and comprehensive act of the human being. We are most ourselves when we love. We are most the people of GOD when we love.” (Eugene H. Peterson)

The Bible is a gift from GOD to us to help us live to our full potential, filled with love. It helps us to see what is truly there and not what appears to be there.

Have you ever looked into a mirror only to realize that you had something disgusting stuck between your teeth? Everything usually seems fine until we step away and take a good look at ourselves — then we see a clear picture which reveals that we have flaws. The Bible reflects who we are and reveals our flaws gently, but also tells us how to overcome and change. It is a very optimistic and encouraging message. GOD is perfect but He will let you know that you have ‘something in your teeth’ gently, without embarrassing you or making you feel stupid. And GOD’s Word will act as a mirror to help you remove the gross stuff from your ‘teeth’ — GOD will guide and direct you. The Bible is GOD’s way of gently helping us remove flaws from our lives while helping us to live better and more fulfilled lives. It is refinement.

GOD can be viewed as your best friend as well as your parent. GOD is love. I want you to think about this now: If you had a friend who constantly asked you for things, asked you to do something for him/her, but that friend never really wanted to listen to you, and never felt like doing anything nice for you, how far would that relationship go? How long would it last? Well, this is what we humans do to GOD all the time! A lot of us only come to GOD when we want something, when we need something, but never just have an open relationship with GOD, never just communicate and talk. Some never give GOD thanks, never stop to merely thank GOD for all the good He has done, is now doing, and the good that He will do. GOD knows us and actually tries to maintain a relationship with us, but it’s kind of hard to do that when we don’t know GOD. It’s especially hard when someone doesn’t want to know GOD. Most of the time, people don’t even attempt to know GOD. Well, the Bible is a great way to learn about GOD and to keep in constant communication with Him. The Bible is like one huge love letter that GOD wrote to us. Relationships are a two-way street. Both directions. Give and receive in order to complete.

On my spare time I love to be a nature photographer. I know the difference between looking and absorbing. I try to visit different beautiful scenic locations as often as I can. While I’m at these places, I usually find that people who arrive after me usually leave before me. And that is because I don’t just look at the beautiful scenery, I absorb it. I stay as long as I can, absorbing the beauty in, and pondering on what makes it so beautiful and how much work was put into making it be so beautiful. To me, certain things are so beautiful because of how detailed they are — so much work, effort, and tender loving care is put in by GOD into all of His creations. I realize that, no matter how great my photography may look from the surface, it isn’t that great at all because that’s all it will ever be — it is only surface level. My photography doesn’t have a 3-D picture beyond the focus of the 2-D photograph. Basically, I merely capture a small portion of a creation that was designed, crafted by the hand of GOD. I take a picture of GOD’s artwork. GOD’s artwork, on the other hand, does have depth to it and there are messages and meanings behind every single seemingly insignificant thing He does. With GOD, there is depth.

But we humans can only merely copy the greatest artist of all time — GOD! Why, Earth itself is a masterpiece artwork created by GOD. Viewed from space, Earth looks like a beautiful masterpiece against a black backdrop. Zoom out far enough and it looks like a mere marble of blue amongst larger marbles (the other planets); however, once you take a closer look and find out what makes Earth so beautiful, you realize just how much detail is involved with it. Wow! And Earth is merely a tiny detail to GOD’s masterpiece called The Universe. There are details layered beneath details, layered beneath details, etc… It’s amazing.

You can think about the Bible in the same way as any other beautiful location, especially the ones that all the tourists typically flock to. You can go to a beautiful scenic location, look at it, take a few pictures, and then head to the gift shop before you go on about your life. Likewise, you can read a sentence or two in the Bible (maybe even a whole verse! Whoa!), and then you could quickly decide what they mean and make a mental check next to them, and then head off to the gift shop so you can purchase your paperweight cross with ‘John 3:16’ engraved on it so you can bring it to work and feel spiritual, or you can spend days and weeks (or even months and years) actually being spiritual by meditating and praying on what a particular passage is truly talking about by chewing on it, reflecting on it, and soaking it in. The Bible has depth to it. It is not just words on a page. Words on a page is mere surface level. The Bible has depth to it. Nothing in GOD’s Word is only surface, there’s always depth as well. We must dig deeper.

When a man gives a woman flowers because he is in love with her, he is not really giving the woman a floral arrangement. The man is giving the woman his heart. The flowers are symbolic — they symbolize his heart. In this picture, the 2-D image of the roses has a 3-D image of a heart beyond the surface. The heart can be seen in the depth beyond the surface once you change your perspective to look beyond the surface. There is depth to even the smallest actions that have become ritualistic and sometimes redundant. The words in the Bible may appear as roses, but it is actually GOD revealing His heart to us. Beyond the surface is the depth that you have to actually change your focus in order to see. We can take the message of the Bible literally without interpreting its various literary devices in a woodenly literal way.

“Interpretation according to the literal sense will take account of all figures of speech and literary forms found in the text. We distinguish between lyric poetry and legal briefs, between newspaper accounts of current events and epic poems. We distinguish between the style of historical narratives and sermons, between realistic graphic description and hyperbole. Failure to make these distinctions when dealing with the Bible can lead to a host of problems with interpretation.”

-R.C. Sproul

Understanding GOD’s Word requires the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth in the depth beyond the surface. But we have to actually read GOD’s Word to be able to understand GOD’s Word. So, let us stop being spoiled and merely held over for the time being by little snacks from sermons we hear at church and let us dive into the main meal! Not only do we need to read GOD’s Word, but we need to absorb it as well. But we need to be prepared before we begin.

Now, unfortunately for me (when I do photography), in order to even be able to obtain a picture of GOD’s artwork, I have to get as close as I possibly can to the subject I wish to capture, depending upon which lens I happen to have with me at the time. How does one ‘get close’ and/or obtain his/her goal? You must observe, think, study, pray, take action, and then wait in faith — and it must be done in that order, all of them being completed. I’ll give you an example:

I once saw a beautiful bluebird. At the time, I didn’t have a telephoto lens and wasn’t able to zoom in from afar; therefore, I had to get close in order to capture a picture of quality. I couldn’t get close to it — it flew away every time I tried to get near it. I couldn’t get close enough to get a good picture of quality! The closer you get, the more detail of beauty you’re able to capture. I discovered that in order for me to get close enough to photograph that bluebird, I needed to be where it was eventually going to end up. I had already tried to approach it where it was currently at, but that didn’t work because it saw me approaching and then flew away. The only way that I was going to get close was to get the bird to come to me. But how? I observed. I watched that bluebird for several days from a distance, not once bothering it. I then thought about birds and typical bird behavior. I then studied its flight pattern. I noticed that it always did a clockwise circle around my neighborhood, from north to east, south, west, and then back up north again, and always landed on a particular spot on a particular fence. So, I then prayed that GOD would guide His creation to the place that had been revealed to me and then I stood behind a tree (very close distance from ‘the spot’ with a clear view) and waited. I waited… and waited…

But while I waited, I continued to pray and believed in faith that GOD would deliver. After all, if anyone could talk that bluebird into landing on ‘the spot,’ it was its Creator, GOD. I waited there for four (4) hours. Finally, after the four-hour-long wait, that bluebird landed right next to me, right on ‘the spot.” — CLICK! — I took its picture, it was startled, and then flew away. I rejoiced!

I observed, thought, studied, prayed, took action and believed by faith. At the time that I did those steps, I wasn’t aware that I had followed those steps. I didn’t even know that there were essential steps, but I later figured out why I was able to succeed. With patience and dedication I accomplished my goal and obtained the reward for it. Patience and dedication are also required for the Bible. In the same way, you must study it first, then pray about it, and then take action from what you have learned from it. Without application, knowledge is of little value. Once you study GOD’s Word, you study Love and Wisdom. After studying Love and Wisdom, you then pray about it all and receive guidance and direction. And then the final step is to take action and do Love and live Wisdom.

“GOD is foundational for living. There is immense significance in everything that we do. Our speech and our actions and our prayers are all, every detail of them, involved in this vast building operation comprehensively known as the Kingdom of GOD. But we don’t build the foundation. The foundation is given. The foundation is firmly in place.”
-Eugene H. Peterson

“We are never outsiders or spectators to anything in ‘heaven and earth.’ GOD doesn’t work impersonally from space; He works with us where we are, as he finds us.”
-Eugene H. Peterson

I am going to take you on a journey through the Bible and act as a tour guide along the way by digging for depth and sharing with you what I find. But before we go digging in the depth, we need to pray for wisdom and discernment. May GOD equip us, enable us, empower us, enhance us, and advance our understanding in order to be properly aligned with GOD’s will and Word. May we be blessed with discernment and our knowledge and understanding be expanded and our wisdom increased. May lies be exposed and Truth revealed.

And now that we are prepared to take a journey through the Bible, let’s start digging in the depth and study what we find. You may want to read the Bible for yourself (and I suggest you do) as we go along in order to compare notes with me. I’m sure that you will be able to dig up something that I overlooked. Why? Because I’m human and I make mistakes. Because we are all unique and therefore create and generate thoughts differently. Also, GOD’s Word is not just a one-dig operation; it is an excavation that requires diligence. Moreover, it is not a one-person job — teamwork is necessary. It’s like digging for diamonds or sifting through dirt and rocks trying to find gold. You may miss the gold the first time around, so you should read the Bible over and over again. Each time you read GOD’s Word, I guarantee you will find something new. But let’s go through this particular journey together and see what we can dig up.

Start here: Why every Christian needs to read the Bible

And then read this: Should The Bible Be Taken Literally?

Below are quick links to each book of the Bible:

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy
• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1Samuel
• 2Samuel
• 1Kings
• 2Kings
• 1Chronicles
• 2Chronicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi
• How the Old Testament and New Testament relate
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
• Acts
• Romans
• 1Corinthians
• 2Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians
• 1Thessalonians
• 2Thessalonians
• 1Timothy
• 2Timothy
• Titus
• Philemon
• Hebrews
• James
• 1Peter
• 2Peter
• 1John
• 2John
• 3John
• Jude
• Revelation