There was a time when I did not know that the Bible existed and had never even heard of it. I could not imagine that this Book would one day radically change my life. I remember that when I was still in the first grade, Young Pioneer leaders came to my school and hung up a poster that read, “There is no God, but there is science.” They told us how, during the Middle Ages, representatives of Christianity deceived the people by selling indulgences and displaying false miracles in order to rob them and lure them into their church. The leaders showed us how blood appeared when two transparent liquids were mixed, making it clear that this was how priests had fooled the unenlightened people. I do not remember what else they told us, but I understood that there was a God Who did not exist and that there was a Bible that deceived people; I was not to believe it, but was to read scientific articles and rely upon them.
And I grew up with these ideas, without thinking that there was One Who had created me and loved me very much.
The first time I saw a Bible was at the home of my Orthodox grandmother. I was about ten years old. This book was written in Old Church Slavonic, but I was able to read something from it and understood that it told about the lives of various people who went somewhere and did something. At that point, my acquaintance with the Bible came to an end.
When perestroika began, one of my classmates told me that the Bible had predicted that the marked Mikhail would come and that this would be the end of the world. And I understood that Holy Scripture was a prophetic Book and that everything written in it came to pass.
When I turned twenty-one, I went to an Orthodox church because I wanted to buy myself this Bible, but it was not available, so I bought a New Testament and decided to read it. From the very first lines, I saw that I understood nothing. When I reached the passage saying that one must turn the left cheek also, I closed the Book, strongly disagreeing with such an approach to life. Nevertheless, I decided to keep it as a talisman, because for some reason I believed that it should protect me from something evil. Later, when I met my wife, she showed me a complete Bible, and I immediately decided to read it. But when I reached the story of the Flood, I closed the Book, realizing that I understood nothing in it. Still, I sometimes picked it up and read passages from it. Even then, I saw that the Bible gave answers to every question, but I did not know how to understand the difficult passages.
The time came when the Iron Curtain fell, and God began drawing me to Himself. He brought me to the understanding that I needed to believe in something, and I remembered the Bible and began reading it more, though as a historical work.
At that time, my friends gave me the book The Great Controversy, which revealed to me all the beauty and meaning of the Bible, showed me the true character of God, and pointed me to Jesus as my Savior from the power of sin, explaining in simple language what was happening and what was to take place. After this, the Bible came alive in my hands, and with amazement I began making astonishing discoveries for myself in this Book of books. I learned that God is Love and that He loves all sinners and desires to save them. I believed in such a Merciful and Just God and decided to give Him my life.
From the moment when I dedicated myself to Christ in a prayer of repentance, my understanding of the Bible changed radically. I began reading this Book from morning until evening, underlining everything I liked, and I marveled that I had not seen these truths before.
I studied the history of how the Bible was written and compiled, how those who read it were persecuted, and how those who possessed it were killed. I was amazed that its forty-two authors wrote in one spirit about one God from the different circumstances of their lives, and that their testimonies about the Creator and the plan of Salvation for humanity are in complete agreement.
The Bible is the Book of books, Holy Scripture, the Word of God. It is the only true testimony about the living God. Having passed through centuries of persecution and darkness, wars and revolutions, oppression and attacks, it has preserved its beauty and integrity and has reached our day unchanged. All those who fought against the Bible died long ago without achieving their goal, but the Bible is alive and, like Noah’s Ark, majestically survives every global catastrophe, continuing to testify about God’s love, the coming judgments, how to be saved through faith in Jesus, and what awaits us in the future.
All biblical prophecies have been fulfilled precisely and continue to be fulfilled. To this day, it is the most widely published book in the world, translated into all known languages, and among many peoples it becomes the beginning of cultural transformation.
Holy Scripture also tells us about love—where it comes from, how important it is, Who its Author is, and how to receive it. No other religious book tells us that God is Love, and only the Bible reveals to us the One True God and Jesus Christ, Whom He sent, in the true light of love.
Without understanding that God is Love, that He hates sin, and that all His motives and laws are based on love for truth and for humanity, one can find much seemingly inexplicable cruelty and dictatorship of power in the Bible. But it is precisely the knowledge of the depth of God’s agape that reveals all of God’s actions to me in the proper light. Where some stumble and distort the meaning of Scripture, I see God’s wisdom and love, truth and beauty.
The Bible is the foundation of my faith and of the faith of every person who believes in God. This foundation has endured many attacks and, despite everything, has not cracked. Not one word in God’s law has been changed to please the sinful world. The teaching of Holy Scripture remains firm and unchanging. It reveals to us God, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Every teaching can be tested by this Book, and every heresy and false science can be exposed. The Bible does not contradict scientific discoveries that are necessary for humanity, but is in harmony with them, revealing their great depths to us.
The Bible teaches that a person does not need very much in this world and that, no matter what he achieves, it will not satisfy the soul as the simplicity and depth of the Bible and its teaching do. The one who lives in harmony with the Word of God is truly happy.
The Bible develops the intellect of every person, ennobles his character, calms the soul, and teaches wisdom and love for God and people. God Himself speaks through its pages, and the reader who seeks the truth hears this voice of God, although he cannot understand its nature. Nevertheless, he heeds the revelations given.
Our School of Agape Love is also founded upon the Bible, and this foundation is the firm foundation upon which everything good and useful can be built. It is the Bible that gives us new revelations about God’s love and explains the special importance of possessing this love in our last days.
The uniqueness of the Bible also consists in the fact that It has a True Interpreter—the Holy Spirit, Who reveals and explains to me precisely what I need to know, understand, accept, and believe, and what I should leave behind. At the same time, He gives me freedom and endows me with power for transformation and change.
And the entire teaching of the Bible moves me to love God and my neighbors. Is there any book in this world like the Book of books, which so clearly reveals the science of love? I do not know of one.
Homework 152
Did this lesson reveal anything new to you? How does the Bible differ from other books? Why is the Bible the true standard by which every teaching is measured? Can Holy Scripture be trusted when we see that the world lives by different laws and ideas? What is the Bible to you? Have you ever read the Bible? How often do you turn to it for counsel? Is the Word of God an unquestionable authority for you? Please read Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 30:5–6; Isaiah 8:20; John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Hebrews 4:12; and 2 Peter 1:20–21 in the light of our lesson.