A History of the English Bible - Final
Topic: Education is Key
All content from this series was taken directly from The Founder’s Bible
(On the topic of the Apocrypha to be or not to be included as the authoritative canon of scripture)
So does the Bible speak to this question? It may, in a most fascinating and relevant way through God’s detailed instructions to Moses concerning the construction of the golden lampstand for use in the tabernacle (Exodus 25:31-40).
Keep in mind that we are told in numerous places that much of what is written in the Old Testament is written for us as examples (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11), as types and shadows, symbols that prophesy to us, speaking of Christ who is to come (Hebrews 9:1-24ff). Hebrews 9:2 specifically refers to the golden lampstand as one of those types, a shadow, an earthly copy of something heavenly. The lampstand was the only light source inside the Holy Place in the tabernacle - its purpose was to give light. So what is it a type of?
Jesus says of Himself, “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12). He also says that believers are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). But while Jesus is pictured in the lampstand, most Biblical scholars believe it is the symbol of the Word of God. A few of the many scriptures that reveal this are:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).
The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; … The judgements of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold … (Psalm 19:7-10).
In the light of the lampstand being a type or symbol of the Word of God, these are the specific instructions God gave to Moses regarding the construction of the lampstand in Exodus 25:31-40.
Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its other side. Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms in the one branch, a bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bulb and a flower - so for six branches going out from the lampstand; and in the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers. A bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. Their bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold. Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold. It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.
It is interesting to note that the lampstand was to be made of pure gold, symbolic of Divine origin. Unlike some of the other pieces in the tabernacle, no acacia wood or any other materials were to be used for the lampstand - only pure gold. But it was to be made of hammered work, which involved human craftsmanship. Moses was to fashion together many different pieces into a lampstand that “shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold.”
Remember, at this point in the journey, all that Israel had was Ten Commandments etched into two stone tablets by God Himself. God revealed the specific pattern for the lampstand construction to Moses long before there were the many different books of the Old Testament that centuries later would be combined with the books of the New Testament to give us one Bible.
The lampstand was to have 7 branches, with 3 branches on each side of the center branch. Each branch was comprised of 3 cups in the shape of an almond blossom, and each cup had a bulb and a flower, thus 9 pieces (3 + 3 +3) form one branch. The center branch had 4 cups, each with a bulb and a flower, or 12 pieces (3 + 3 + 3 + 3). So there are 6 outer branches of 9 pieces each and one center branch of 12, which means the combined number of individual pieces (9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 12) is 66.
The golden lampstand, being a type or symbol of the Word of God, has 66 individual pieces of hammered gold that are fashioned together into a single complete unit. And the Bible has 66 books, by dozens of authors, written over the span of some 1500+ years, preserved and recorded for us upon whom the ends of the age have come, fashioned together to create one amazing, continuous story that testifies of God and shines light on His purpose and plan of salvation for mankind.
Is this coincidental, or is it God’s Providence?
There’s more. Adding up the individual pieces of hammered gold of the first four branches of the lampstand (9 + 9 + 9 + 12) gives a total of 39 - the number of books in the Old Testament. Combining the individual pieces of the remaining three branches (9 + 9 + 9) yields a total of 27 - the precise number of books in the New Testament.
Not everyone is going to agree as to whether this proves anything, but it’s hard to not agree that it is utterly amazing! The Bible has 39 Old Testament books + 27 New Testament books = 66 books of hammered pure gold that are considered one complete work - not just 39 or 27 or 80, but 66 Divinely inspired, purposed, and planned before the first one was ever planned.
And that is just one of the marvelous gems awaiting discovery in this supernatural Book!
This is the end of The History of the English Bible series.
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