This free Truth Study Guide provides a good foundation as to how to define and identify truth. It is a journey of discovery that is probably quite different than you may be used to. Truth predates humankind. Therefore, it cannot be modified, manipulated, created, or destroyed by us. Truth offers a clear standard of comparison. It is absolute, universal, objective, and exclusive.
Unit 1: Foundation of Truth
Lessons 1-8
These lessons should be completed in order. They provide a good foundation for knowing the basics and how to start placing various concepts and ideas into a larger context. Take your time and do not rush.
Lesson 1: Worldviews
Bible Verses: Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30, John 10:24-30
Resources:
– 8 Worldviews Part 1, Part 2.
– Biblical Worldview by Focus On The Family
– What Is Mindset?
– What Is Worldview Video
– Who Do You Say That I Am?
Topic Questions:
1. What is a worldview?
2. How does a worldview affect how I live my life?
3. What is the relationship between worldview and mindset?
4. Who did Jesus say Jesus is?
5. Who do you say Jesus is?
Description:
“A worldview is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world.” It provides an approach to understanding broad and important concepts, such as: God, birth, death, purpose, our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other. There are 8 major worldviews.
Conclusion:
We want to encourage you to read through the Bible verses and articles provided to understand the primary ways in which people view their relationship with God and with each other. We want you to understand the critical importance of why Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?”
Lesson 2: The Bible
Bible Verses: Deuteronomy 31:9, Matthew 5:17-20, 22:23-33, Luke 24:36-49, John 1:1-2,14
Resources:
– Biblical Canon
– History of the English Bible Video
– Importance of Dead Sea Scrolls
– Latin Vulgate
– Masoretic v Septuagint
– Samaritan Pentateuch
– Textual Criticism of the Bible
– Versions of the Bible
– William Tyndale Bible
Topic Questions:
1. What is canonicity?
2. What did Jesus say about Scripture?
3. How did our modern English Bibles develop?
4. What Bible version is best?
Description:
The Holy Bible was written, translated, and canonized in stages. The Old Testament is separated into and canonized in the following order: Law, Prophets, and Writings / Psalms. The New Testament was written during the 1st Century AD and canonized later. The Dead Sea Scrolls, Masoretic, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, and Vulgate texts are the oldest sources of material for modern Bibles. Translators use different methods to translate Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew into languages we can understand.
Conclusion:
Do you believe what the Bible says? The Bible is not true simply because it says it is true. That would be circular reasoning. The approach of this study guide on truth is to give you some tools that help you better analyze and understand the contents and purpose of the Bible. We want to ask the tough questions, but we must also be willing to be open to the possibility that the Bible is scientifically and historically accurate. Is the Bible God-breathed and God-inspired, and can we trust it?
It is important to understand how our modern Bibles came to be. It is also important to use the correct version of the Bible for the correct purpose. For this study guide, a “word for word” translation is recommended. This includes: Amplified, English Standard, Interlinear, and New American Standard Versions.
Lesson 3: Series of Moments – Passover
Bible Verses: Refer to article
Resources:
– A Series of Moments: The Passover
Topic Questions:
1. What is Passover?
2. What is the significance of Passover?
Description:
This narrative takes you on a journey through the Bible from Abraham through King David to Jesus with a specific focus on Passover. Passover, pass over, or passed over, are mentioned over 100 times in the Bible and represent something significant.
Conclusion:
What is Passover? Passover is one of the most important themes repeated often in the Bible. It is a great foundation to understand themes, people, places, and events in the Bible.
Lesson 4: Spring Festival
Bible Verses: Exodus 12-14, Leviticus 23:1-14, John 12:12-19
Resources:
– Barley Harvest and Passover
– Crossing the Red Sea Video
– Jewish Holidays
– Lunar v Solar Calendar
– Months of the Jewish Year
Topic Questions:
1. What is the significance of Exodus 12:1-3?
2. What is the significance of Exodus 12:5-7?
3. What is the significance of Exodus 12:7-8,14-15?
4. What day of the Hebrew month did the Israelites cross the Red Sea?
Description:
Exodus 12-14 play out the spring feasts: 10th Plague / Passover (Nisan 14) and Crossing the Red Sea / Firstfruits (Nisan 17). Leviticus 23 states the importance of remembering them. The barley harvest is associated with Passover both Biblically and culturally.
Conclusion:
The spring feasts point to the work of Jesus Christ as the Messiah: Triumphal Procession (Nisan 10), Crucifixion / Passover (Nisan 14), Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15-21), and Resurrection / Firstfruits (Nisan 17). Biblical references to these events point to specific Lunar Calendar dates.
Lesson 5: Summer and Fall Festivals
Bible Verses: Leviticus 23:15-44, Leviticus 25:8-22, Deuteronomy 16:16, John 7, Acts 2:1-4
Resources:
– Fall Festivals
– God’s Three Harvest Festivals
– Jubilees and Grand Jubilees
– Prophetic Fulfillment of the Biblical Feasts Video
– Shavuot
Topic Questions:
1. Describe the Feast of Trumpets.
2. Describe the Day of Atonement.
3. Describe the Feast of Tabernacles.
4. Describe the Feast of Weeks / Pentecost.
5. What is the significance of Jubilee?
6. What is the significance of the wheat and grape harvests?
Description:
Shavuot / Feast of Weeks / Pentecost (Sivan 6)
– Associated with Jubilee (50 Year Cycle)
Feast of Trumpets (Tishri 1)
Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement (Tishri 10)
Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles (Tishri 15-21)
Conclusion:
Just as the Spring festivals occur on specific Lunar Calendar dates and have symbolic meaning, so to do the Summer and Fall festivals. These feasts and festivals codified in Leviticus 23 mark the core of Hebrew / Jewish holy gatherings and observances. The Feast of Weeks represents the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Feast of Tabernacles represents the work of God the Father.
Lesson 6: Shalmaneser III, Jehu (859 BC – 841 BC)
Refer to https://themercytable.net/2021/12/25/shalmaneser-iii-jehu-859-bc-841-bc/
Lesson 7: Reliability of Dating the Past
Bible Verses: Psalm 9:10, 111:7, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 26:3-4, 2 Timothy 3:16
Resources:
– Are Dating Methods Reliable
– Ash Heap of History
– Bur-Sagale Solar Eclipse (763 BC, June 15) in Year 9 of King Ashur-dan III
– Dating the Earth Video (Part 1)
– Dating the Earth Video (Part 2)
– Hittite Lunisolar Calendar Video
– Is Radiometric Dating Accurate?
– Lunar and Solar Eclipses on Biblical Events
Topic Questions:
1. Which dating methods are most reliable?
2. Can we trust the time-related information provided in the Bible?
Description:
These articles describe different dating methods and how they are used. Some are more reliable than others. Astronomical events, such as total lunar eclipses, are like a plumb line and can be quite reliable if interpreted correctly because they are based on observed celestial activity and mathematical calculations. If a writer from the past links a historical event (such as the inauguration of a king) to a significant astronomical event (such as a total solar eclipse), we can often determine the date of the event with great accuracy.
Conclusion:
Dating methods require calibration or a way to make sure the results are accurate. A plumb line determines true vertical and is often used as an accurate point of comparison. When working with more modern material, there are numerous points to compare: artifacts, astronomical records, coinage, DNA testing, historical records, international relations, monuments, written documents, etc. However, dating methods become much less reliable as the number of independent cross-reference points decrease. What are you using as a plumb line?
Lesson 8: Oldest Writings / Imago Dei
Bible Verses: Genesis 1:26–27, 4:22, 5:1, 9:6, Colossians 3:10, James 3:1-12
Resources:
– Anatolian Art and Architecture
– Diary of Merer (Year 27 of Khufu – 4th Dynasty Egypt)
– Ebla Tablets (2240 BC)
– Ebla Video
– Imago Dei
– Moscow Mathematical Papyrus (13th Dynasty Egypt)
– Narmer Palette (Early Dynastic Period)
– Temple Library of Nippur
— Instructions of Shuruppak (Early Dynastic Period)
— Kesh Temple Hymns (Early Dynastic Period)
Description:
“Imago Dei” means “Image of God.” We are made in the likeness of God. We have the ability to remember, to learn, to reason, and to be creative. We think beyond the needs of today. We are aware of our mortality. These are all attributes that God designed within us. These are some attributes that allow us and give us the desire to have a relationship with God. Evidence points toward the idea that man has been this way since the beginning.
Conclusion:
There is a common misconception that people of the distant past were illiterate, uncultured, and generally ignorant. This lesson demonstrates that engineering, mathematics, metallurgy, writing, and other “cultural advancements” were present and common throughout the last 5000 years. Curiosity, the ability to learn, the desire to leave a part of ourselves for the next generation, etc., are all gifts from God as that is how we are designed.
Unit 1 Conclusion:
Jewish holidays and astronomical observations help us identify when events occurred. Artifacts and written documents help us identify what happened, and to whom. There is one question Science cannot answer: Why? What is the purpose of all this? Why do we exist? The search to answer “Why” is at the heart of having a relationship with our Creator.
Timeline and Chronology:
763 BC, June 15: Bur-Sagale Solar Eclipse / Year 9 of Ashur-dan III.
824 BC: Black Obelisk of (death of) Shalmaneser III.
840 BC: Mesha_Stele.
841 BC: Tel Dan Stele.
841 BC: Year 1 of King Jehu (2 Kings 9-12) / Year 18 of Shalmaneser III.
852 BC: Kurkh Monoliths.
853 BC: Battle of Qarqar.
2250 (+-10) BC: Ebla Tablets / Naram-Sim of Akkad.
2500 (+-100) BC: Diary of Merer (Year 27 of Khufu – 4th Dynasty Egypt).
– Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Mercy Table 