Puzzle

By Peter S. Ruckman (1983)

The Authorized Version 1611 King James Bible is a puzzle with a cover, words, punctuation and index that God puts together.  

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line;  here a little, and there a little “  Isaiah 28:10

  We are talking about types, and one of the best ways to arrive at truth from the Bible is to pay attention to when the Lord shows you how one thing is a picture of another. In Hosea 12:10, the Lord says He uses “similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets,” so any Bible reader who ignores types is missing out on a lot of truth. 

  It is a great outline of Redemption,  a dispensational view, no other book does this.  No way men who put the Bible together could understand this. God controlled and inspired men who put the Bible together, and kept the format the way it is in the King James Bible. Follow this here, look at the way God put the Bible together, it helped me. It is a dispensational view, God will go through that thing several times like he does in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, see you have different pictures of Jesus Christ, go through Revelation and God will take you through four times up until the advent and he has done that in the way he has put the books together in the Bible. The index is given by the inspiration of God the way he put it together.

How careful he is about that book. 

   The first five books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy represent the Law--  Beginnings, Redemption, Worship, Pilgrimage, and Obedience. They represent the Law. The Books of Moses.  Following that you have the book of Joshua. Joshua  “the Saviour“  

  Following the Law in time Jesus Christ showed up, “ the Saviour. “

  Following Jesus Christ after they rejected him is the book of Judges -- the History of the Nation of Israel--  read the book of Judges there was no king in Israel in those days and they were apostate -- away from God. 

   Then notice the eighth book --  a brand new beginning. After the nation of Israel abandoned the Saviour represented by the book of Judges up comes the book of Ruth. And what is the book of Ruth ? Here is a Gentile woman under the curse of God who met a Jewish prince who married her and handed her the parched corn.  And she became part of the great lineage of Jesus Christ. Is that not our history in this church age? Then you will notice 1st Samuel and 2nd Samuel -- in the tribulation the nation of Israel will take the false King . First that’s first Samuel and then God will give her the real King Jesus Christ that is second Samuel. 

   Then you’ll see I Kings, 2 Kings, I and 2 Chronicles, they picture the nature of man during the Millenial reign. 

   Now pick up the book of Ezra, God will start you with Jesus Christ again. Jesus Christ is the God-man who is to restore the religious order. That is what Jesus Christ came to do. 

   Then the book of Nehemiah -- that is the restoration of the social order -- that is what Jesus Christ came to do.  

   Then Esther -- the nation of Israel didn’t want Jesus Christ to restore either one of these orders and they rejected him. So the book of Esther depicts that. Esther represents the nation of Israel for the last 2000 years. One of the greatest books about God in the Bible. It is a book of Providence. The name of God is not even mentioned. Here’s God’s hand here and God moving there. That’s what you have had in the nation of Israel in the last 2000 years. 

   Following the book of Esther is the book that will represent what will happen to Israel next. The book of Job. They go through tribulation and come out the other side blessed and prosperous. 

   The book of Psalms representing the song book Israel will use going in to the millenium. They will have something to sing about. 

   Then Proverbs, that’s the great laws of the millenium how they will live.

   Then Ecclesiastes which demonstrates with a perfect King on the throne God will demonstrate the vanity of human nature. 

   Song of Solomon  -- that great relationship pictures the honeymoon of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Bride the Church during the Millenial reign of Jesus Christ.  

  Then pick up the major prophets. God’s going to teach Israel something. He says in Isaiah, there’s judgment in captivity coming. 

   In Jeremiah, the judgments happening now.

   Lamentations is the great pathos of that destruction. 

   Ezekiel -- the captivity’s here.

   Daniel -- This is the result of that captivity -- you’re under the rule of the Gentiles and he gives us a revelation of the four world empires -- the nation of Israel under subjagation to the world powers. But God in his mercy follows this with the book of Hosea. What do you think that is ? My people, don’t be discouraged, I’m going to call you back one of these days. Remember the story of Hosea ? He marries that harlot woman, he ended up buying her off that auction block. 

And isn’t that what God is going to do with the Nation of Israel following the four world empires ? How careful he is about that book. 

   You put those four books together and you’ll find they represent a period of 400 years, between Malachi and the coming of Christ. Between the Old and New Testaments.  Then the New Testament opens with Jonah -- New Testament’s great message.  There’s coming a Saviour who as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a whale will spend three days and three nights in the belly of the earth. The Gospel message. 

   Following that you have seven books  --  Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,  Zechariah, and Malachi -- the outstanding theme  -- they correlate with the seven churches over in Revelation in the Church Age. 

   Then in the New Testament each book gives you a theme about Jesus Christ.