Jan. 3, 2022 (10th New Month)
Acts 17:11 The Bereans studied the bible daily to see if these things were so.
2 Tim. 2:15 Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth
-To understand the bible, you must first be baptized by a truly authorized person, that is a person that is truly saved, who truly understands truth and who truly has The Holy Ghost of JEsus. The bible says that without his spirit, we can't understand.
I can baptize people by phone or internet. The Roman military leader told Jesus that all he had to do was to say the word and the man would be healed. We should have faith that I don't have to be with you in person to baptize you, especially considering modern technology of video and audio and texting.
Consider also 2 Kings 5, where Elisha sends a messenger to tell Naiman the captain of the Syrian army to wash seven times in the Jordan River. Although he dunked himself in the water, he was doing it under the instruction of the man of GOD. Elisha didn't have to be there in person. Naiman only needed to do it under the instruction of the man of God.
www.isawthelightministries.com/baptism.html
-Use common sense!
-Take notes! (Both on paper & in bible.)
-Underline and circle select words.
-Cross reference related verses, and related books.
Compare prophetic books with each other such as Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Revelation.
-Cross reference same Greek word used in other verses.
-Consider repeated words/phrases.
-Consider spirit/purpose of what's being said.
-Consider Strong's Concordance definition of Greek and Aramaic words. But beware that definitions are man made and therefore are sometimes wrong.
From the intro of Sirach:
FOR THE SAME THINGS UTTERED IN HEBREW AND TRANSLATED INTO ANOTHER TONGUE, HAVE NOT THE SAME FORCE IN THEM: AND NOT ONLY THESE THINGS, BUT THE LAW ITSELF, AND THE PROPHETS, AND THE REST OF THE SCROLLS, HAVE NO SMALL DIFFERENCE, WHEN THEY ARE SPOKEN IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.
So yes it's important to see and study the Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic words by using Strong's Concordance. I will be adding a link to recommended Strong's Concordance later today. Check back here. Also will be posting it by itself also.
A hard copy of Strong's Concordance is a "must have".
-Use a study bible for the publisher's notes. But beware that many publisher notes and commentaries are based upon traditional lies. Nevertheless, some of their notes can be extremely helpful.
Recommended, most accurate study bible is The Alpha & Omega Bible (AOB)
https://www.most-accurate-bible.com
-Use "Commentaries" when necessary. Biblehub.com has a useful commentary feature, showing many commentaries in one place for a particular verse.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_timothy/2-15.htm
But be aware that commentaries will have much more false doctrine than "study bibles" because there are many more notes by the publisher who is deceived by traditional denominations. Therefore I do NOT recommend commentaries for new comers to learning the bible, but rather only for people who have already studied the bible for years and have already developed some ability to throw out the trash.
https://www.blueletterbible.com also provides Strong's Concordance and commentaries by clicking on "tools" for each verse. BibleHub.com also has Strong's Concordance.
-Read slowly.
-Read daily if possible.
-Always pray before, and during and after studying/reading. Pray for truth and understanding. And protection from deception and misunderstanding.
-Consider context and who he is talking to.
-Study to learn! To grow in truth, and to actually understand. Not because reading the bible is the right thing to do. But because you want to learn and grow and understand better. Must be willing to allow God to change your way of thinking.