A few points of explanation will help the brothers and sisters in their reading of the Bible.
The Bible is divided into two major sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each of these is further divided into several sections.
The five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy are considered as the books of the Law, or the books of Moses (Luke 16:29, 31; John 5:45-46; Rom. 10:4-5). They are commonly referred to as the Pentateuch. The twelve books from Joshua to Esther are called the books of history.
Some call these five books and Lamentations books of poetry because they are written in poetic form.
These books collectively are called the Prophets. The longer books are referred to as the major prophets, and the shorter books are referred to as the minor prophets.
In Luke 24:44 the Old Testament is divided into three sections: (1) the Law of Moses, the Pentateuch; (2) the Prophets, including the books of history; and (3) the Psalms, including the books of poetry. The Jews and their rabbis divided the Old Testament according to Luke 24:44: the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
The first four books are called the four Gospels. The fifth book is called Acts.
These twenty-one books are called the Epistles.
In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the first section is history, the second section is experience, and the third section is prophecy. This is very meaningful.
In the Old Testament God used types as pictures to depict the truths that would be revealed in the New Testament. This is similar to a kindergarten teacher using pictures to teach children. There are many categories of types, including people, things, events, and ceremonies.
Christ, as the Head of the new creation, is typified by Adam (Rom. 5:14).
The veil of the temple, which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies so that man could not approach God in the Holy of Holies, is a type of the physical body of Christ. After the veil was rent, however, man could come before God. When the Lord Jesus’ body was rent on the cross, a new and living way was opened for sinners to approach God (Heb. 10:20). His death on the cross enables us to come to God directly.
Before God’s salvation was manifested, God typified His salvation through the event of the children of Israel leaving Egypt (1 Cor. 10:1-11).
The Passover in the Old Testament is a type, a living picture, of Christ’s death. God used this ceremony to point to the death of Christ in the New Testament (5:7).
The prophecies in the Bible are fulfilled literally. The greatest prophecies in the Bible concern the two comings of Christ. The prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ have been fulfilled literally. For example, the prophecy concerning a virgin was actually fulfilled by a virgin (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-21); the prophecy concerning the Lord riding on a foal of a donkey was actually fulfilled with a foal of a donkey (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:2-5). The prophecies concerning the second coming of Christ and other unfulfilled prophecies will certainly be fulfilled literally. Therefore, our explanation of prophecy must be absolutely literal.
Furthermore, no prophecy of Scripture is of one’s own interpretation (2 Pet. 1:20). This means that no prophecy can be interpreted in isolation from other Scripture; we must see how it relates to other prophecies on the same subject.