The Bible is not written to everyone. That can be a shock to many. But it is a special book. Someone said that the Bible stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. In reality it is much more than that. It represents Jesus’s love letter to His church. It is a coded book. Without the right key to understand it, it might be a dead book for some or a bunch of rules for others. With the right understanding, it becomes a delight to those initiated to the secrets of this interesting manual. King Solomon advised in Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Furthermore he explained in Proverbs 24:3-4 “Through wisdom is a house builded; and by understanding it is established. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
Three important factors mentioned here: knowledge, understanding and wisdom. What knowledge? Knowledge of the word of God. Another word for this knowledge is faith as reported by Paul in Romans 14:17, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The word of God well preached by the right ministry or preachers (Romans 14:14-15) gives knowledge. But knowledge by itself can puff you up. It needs to come with the right understanding. The right knowledge paired with the right understanding produces wisdom. No wonder Paul insists on an enlightening of the eyes of our understanding…In Ephesians 1: 17-18 he wrote: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,…”
To you then who are reading the Bible, do you understand what is in that love letter? Was this not the question Philip asked the eunuch in Acts 8:30?
In Isaiah 4:1 , it is said “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” Is Isaiah referring here to seven natural women? What is a woman in the Bible? Who is that … “lucky” man … so wanted? What is our own bread? What is our own apparel?
Then in Revelation 12:1, John wrote: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars…”
In verse 3, he continued “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”
Who is that woman clothed with the sun without being consumed? What does it mean the moon under her feet? Stars on her head? What is a dragon in the Bible? What a monster with seven heads and ten horns! The woman and the dragon share the same heaven? Will I see the dragon when I go to heaven?
You see, there is a code beyond that language and without the right understanding, it sounds just like fairy tale. A woman in the Bible is a picture of the church. Two main women found in the Bible, two main churches described in the word of God: a true church and a false church. In which one are you today? In Malachi 4:2 Jesus is called the Sun of righteousness. A woman clothed with the sun is a picture of the true church, the early church which came from the upper room on the day of Pentecost clothed with the understanding of the New Testament or the teaching of Christ and having for foundation the understanding of the Old Testament. (Eph. 2:20). A crown of twelve stars depicts the authority of that church found under the administration of the twelve apostles.
That woman was in heaven. Which heaven? How many heavens do we know of? In II Cor. 12:2, Paul reports that he was caught up to the third heaven, which let us know of at least three heavens. In which one was that woman? The dragon? What is a Bible dragon? Jer. 51:34 and Ezekiel 29:3 tell us what a Bible dragon is.
When the knowledge of the word of God is open to you, that love letter is no longer dead to you nor represents a bunch of rules set to make you feel miserable. But there is an excitement in your heart and you feel like preparing yourself as the maiden in King Ahasuerus palace. You want to purify yourselves by steadily using the oil of myrrh (understanding of the word of God) and the sweet odors (the Spirit of God) with other things (your personal experiences during your walk with God) provided to you. There is such a longing in your hearts to make yourself ready (Revelation 19:7) and meet the bridegroom! Let us therefore delight ourselves by faithfully reading The Love Letter until the coming of that glorious day when we shall be with the bridegroom forever!
Dr. Joel Hilaire
Pastor of Orlando Gospel Assembly
