Bible Study Course Introduction

The main objective of this study course is not to teach the doctrines or traditions of any denomination or sect.

The main objective of this study course is to bring you to the point that you can rightly divide the word of truth and thereby understand the instructions, warnings, promises, and stories that are written in this Holy Book.

Pleasep remember when you open your Bible to also open your heart, mind, and soul so that you can receive the blessings that God wants to bestow on you as you study the Bible.

The Bible is Inspired of God. A study of this world will only remind us that God exists. We can look at the sunset and think of His beauty; we can observe the thunder and lightning and think of His power; we can think of our conscience and know He is righteous. But we must study the Bible in order to really know how God deals with man, what He expects from man, how much He loves man, and how we can know Him personally.

There are 39 books in the Old Testament which are divided into four sections.

1. Law------Five books of ceremonial and moral law, including the Ten Commandments.
2. History--Twelve books consisting of the history of the nation of Israel.
3. Poetry---Five books of promise, praise,prayer,prophecy, and commandments.
4. Prophecy-Seventeen books of five major and twelve minor prophets.

There are 27 books in the new testament which are divided into four sections.

1. Gospels---Four books of the Gospels.
2. Acts---One book of the acts of the Apostles.
3. Epistles---Twenty one books of instructions on how to live a Christian life after we are born again.
4. Prophecy---One book of prophecy which is the book of Revelation.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:2 When God started to move on the earth to make a place where He would place man it was without form and void. In other words the earth was just a big rock covered with water. There were no islands or continents but just one great sea covering the entire planet.

The amount of time that elapsed between the begining and when God's Spirit started to move on the face of the earth to shape it into the place for Him to place man whom He would create is not known. It could have been millions of years.

Genesis 1:3-5 God created light, divided the light from the darkness, called the light day and the darknes night. And the evening and the morning were the the first day.

Genesis 1:6-8 God created the firmament (the atmosphere) and made some of the water that was on the surface rise as vapor to form clouds dividing the water on the surface from the water in the air. God called the firmament heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:7-13 And God rearanged the landmass to form continents, islands, and seas. The gathering together of land He called earth and the gathering together of waters He called seas. He also created grass, herbs, and fruit trees at this time. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:14-19 And God created the sun and the moon to be for signs, seasons, days, and years. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Genesis 1:20-23 And God created all the water creatures including great whales along with every type of bird. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Genesis 1:24-31 And God made all the land animals, every creeping thing, and man. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Since each day ended with the same words (The evening and the morning were that day) each day is calculated to be the same length of time but this cannot be a 24 hour day.

I use the sixth day to make my calculation. From the first record of man in the Bible until the year 2000 is calculated to be approximately 6000 years and there is a 1000 year time of peace to come (Revelation 20:4-6) so I calculate the sixth day to be approximately 7000 years long.

Since the Bible tells us that each of the creation days are the same length in time then each and every one of them is approximately 7000 years long.

Genesis 2:1-3 The statement "The evening and the morning were the seventh day" is not in this Scripture.

The seventh day has not arrived yet because God has not finished creating and making. He is preparing a place for us. A new heaven and new earth with the Holy City with many mansions and streets of gold.

At the end of the sixth day Satan will be cast into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are. (Revelation 20:10)

At the end of the sixth day comes the great white throne judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15) This is when all the righteous will enter the new earth and the New Jerusalem. (Revelation chapter 21)

I believe that at the end of the sixth day when Satan has been put away forever that God will rest for 7000 years then we can say that the evening and the morning were the seventh day.

During the Sixth Days of Creation is when God will deal with man whom He had created. There are seven different periods of time where God deals with man in seven different ways. We call these periods of time dispensations and have given each a name.

The seven dispensations of time for man are:

1. Innocence
   Innocence extends from the creation of man until his fall due to sin.
2. Conscience
   Conscience extends from the fall of man to the Flood.
3. Human Government
   Human Government extends from Noah to Abraham.
4. Promise (The Patriarchs)
   The time of the Patriarchs extends from Abraham to Moses.
5. The Law and the Prophets
   The time of the Law and the Prophets extends from Moses to Christ.
6. Holy Ghost
   2000 year period from Christ to Millenium.
7. Millenium
   1000 year peace on Earth with Christ as King.