The 5.5 Year Chronological Bible Odyssey
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).
This is the Sunday that begins our five-and-one-half year study of the Bible. This is the second time through the curriculum; so the materials will be even better since there will be a second edit and fewer typographical errors. Preparing the original material was time-consuming, and a few lessons could have been better arranged. Most of these flaws should be corrected with this re-edited series.
The course is designed so that each lesson is easily divided into a Sunday morning and a Wednesday evening section. Thus, with this curriculum, all classes have enough material for two studies so that no additional material need be ordered. We had hoped to publish six months of lessons at one time in a booklet (six booklets for the Old Testament and five covering the New Testament), but various other concerns have prevented that plan from taking place. Therefore, the lessons will be handed out individually for a few weeks until that process is complete.
Some might wonder why we would devote five-and-one-half years to a single course of study. The answer is that: 1) no book is more important than the Bible; and 2) people do not know it as they should. In the last thirty years, congregation after congregation has departed from the truths taught in the New Testament. Why? Is not the answer that we are not "the people of the Book" that we once were? Especially are elders not knowledgable, or the false teachers who have enjoyed such success would have never had much of an audience. Our youth, through a lack of Bible knowledge—including proper principles of interpretation—have been easily swayed to follow personalities rather than the truth. If we are going to stop hemorrhaging young people, we need to have them well-grounded in the faith. Of course, nothing is foolproof, but a knowledge of the Word can go a long way towards the prevention of falling away. The edification of the entire body is essential if we want it to remain intact.
The study is primarily chronological, combining 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings with 1-2 Chronicles in the Old Testament and the Life of Christ from all four gospel accounts in the New Testament. Most of the poetic and prophetic books are studied individually. One objection to studying in this manner is that we do not arrive at the New Testament for three years. However, much of the Old Testament prophesies of the New, and much of the New (when it is studied) links back to the Old. The advantage to a chronological study is that students are not constantly jumping back and forth and perhaps becoming confused as to when certain events occurred.
Homer wrote the Odyssey describing the adventures that Ulysses had trying to return home from the Trojan War. The child of God is constantly in a war which the Bible helps him to fight. The original battle for man was fought in the Garden of Eden. Mankind lost. Ever since, we have been trying to get home—to our dwelling place with God, our Maker. The Old Testament is an account of the family of Abraham, who became the nation of Israel, as they struggled to bring the seed, the Christ, into the world, Who would die on the cross to redeem all mankind. Through Him are all the nations of the world blessed. That is to say, the blessing is available to all, but it is only appropriated when people believe and obey Christ.
The battle against Satan was won when Jesus overcame death by rising from His tomb. Even though we now have salvation from our sins through His blood, we still have battles to fight (Eph. 6:10-17). Some are personal and individual; others are congregational or brotherhood wide. Each Christian finds himself confronted by a variety of situations over time, and some of these can certainly be described as "adventures." The Bible provides all that we need for life's odyssey; the way for us to be properly prepared for the journey is to know thoroughly the Word of God.