Brother Gus Nichols wrote these things about the Bible: 1) The Bible is a best seller around the world and it is the best book in the world. 2) Proper Bible verses on the will of God can save you from reverses in life. 3) The Bible is not just for information, but for transformation. 4) Don’t criticize the Bible, but let the Bible criticize you. 5) Which is worse: For the world to reject the Bible, or for the church to neglect it? 6) It is a great responsibility to own a Bible. 7) The windows of heaven are not open to those who keep their Bibles closed. 8) The Bible offers no loaves to loafers. 9) The Bible is often rejected because it contradicts men, not because it contradicts itself. 10) If you don’t believe the Bible about our origin, how will you believe it on where we are going? 11) Buying a Bible that one will not read, or by reading a Bible one will not obey does not save one. (From sermons on "Facts About the Bible.")

Samuel Sandmel, a Jewish author, wrote: "More people praise the Bible than read it; more people read it than understand it; more people understand it than follow it."

Lest some charge us with bibliolatry (the worship of the Bible), we fully embrace this passage from the lips of Jesus to some Jews. "You search the Scriptures, because in them you think that you have eternal life. But they are they which testify of me and you will not come to me that you might have life." (John 5:39-40.) The Scriptures are instrumental in pointing us to the Redeemer. Scripture alone cannot save, just as law cannot justify. Jesus is the Redeemer and Savior.

We emphasize studying and understanding the Bible more than we do loving the will of God and following what we do understand. Both Nichols and Sandmel were right. This message presents some "strange writings" in the Bible, but also shows that we do understand the meaning. There is no demand in the Bible that we understand everything in order to be saved. We can and must come to "a knowledge of the truth." (2 Tim. 3:7.)

Some scribes and Pharisees brought a woman before Jesus to accuse her and to tempt Jesus. When they asked if she should be stoned, he stooped down and wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. When they kept on asking him, he replied, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. (John 8:6-8.)

We do not know what Jesus wrote on the ground. We know that he spoke in Aramaic, a dialect or form of Hebrew. It uses the same alphabet as the Hebrew but with different vocalization. But we are not certain what language he used when he wrote on the ground. Maybe, he did not write anything readable. Many of us have so marked on the ground with a stick or with a finger. Jesus was embarrassed for the poor woman singled out for her sin. But he was firm with the hardened self-righteous accusers.

We do understand what Jesus meant by turning away from the Pharisees and writing on the ground. His actions said something like this: 1) I am ashamed to hear what you are saying. You really should be quiet and go your way. 2) If the Judge of all judges pauses before judging a sinful woman, should not we fellow sinners pause before we do so? Judge not that you be not judged, said the Lord on another occasion. (Matt. 7:1.) 3) He was ashamed of the men who cared little that they publicly embarrassed a woman, thinking that men were better than women.

Jesus perhaps would have stooped and written on the ground when the elder brother stood outside while a party welcoming his brother was going on inside, when Jonah pouted over God sparing Nineveh, when Peter withdrew from the Gentiles because some Jews showed up from Jerusalem, and when we speak evil of others made in God’s image.

Jesus’ writing on the ground is really not mysterious at all. It is understandable even though we will never know what he wrote or drew.

Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, king of Babylon made a great feast after his father was restored to his senses again. God punished Nebuchadnezzar for his arrogance and self-exaltation until he understood that God rules in the kingdoms of men. But his son did not learn much from the experience. He asked the servants to bring out the golden and silver vessels that were taken from the temple in Jerusalem for them to use to drink wine. In their drunken state, they partied and praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood and stone.

"In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against the other." (Daniel 5:5-6.)

The king demanded that his astrologers and wise men interpret the writing, but none of them was able. Daniel was brought forth to interpret the writing from God. He told the king that the hand wrote, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." MENE means that God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it; TEKEL means that thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES means that thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. (Daniel 5:25-28.)

Today, we refer to this ancient incident when we say, "I saw the handwriting on the wall." We mean by it that we understand without anyone explaining it to us. Belshazzar knew that the words meant to number, to weigh, and to divide. He also understood that he was in trouble. His conscience had troubled him when he saw a hand writing a message on his palace wall. He knew that it was serious and against him.

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, "To him that knows to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin." (James 4:17.) "For when the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel." (Rom. 2:14-16.)

We really do understand how we should live before God. That is not a mystery, nor too difficult. Paul argued that both Jew and Gentile were without excuse before God. (See Rom. 1:20, 2:1.) When the man without the proper wedding garment was asked why he so came into the wedding, the Bible says that he was speechless. (Matt. 22:12.)

Peter wrote something important about the writing prophets. He said,

"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel. . . ." (1 Peter 1:10-12.)

Peter described the prophets of old searching their own writings because they did not fully understand the meaning of what they had written. This is a clear statement of revelation and inspiration. They were moved by the Holy Spirit to make known things concerning the grace of God and the sufferings of Christ for mankind. (2 Peter 1:21.) One characteristic of just a man’s writings is that the person composing it thinks and then writes his thoughts down on paper. He understands beforehand the writing and meaning because he is the author. If anyone claims to have written something that he did not understand, then he is claiming direct guidance of the Spirit of God. He is claiming that he received a revelation from God.

Peter said that the prophets received this information for us. It is for our benefit and understanding. We can understand more about Isaiah’s, Joel’s, Daniel’s prophetic messages than he himself understood. Even though the Bible has gone through many translations of language from the Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek of the original documents to Latin and now in English, we can understand the Bible better than most who have ever lived. We have the advantage of living this side of the cross and Jesus’ life. We further have many advantages of study and available materials.

Marks on worshippers. John referred to a mark on the forehead and in the right hand of those who worshipped the image of the beast. The 144,000 had the name of the Father written in their foreheads. (Rev. 13:16, 14:1.) In Revelation everyone is identified or marked. Those who worshipped the Caesar of Rome and false gods had their mark of identification. Christians had the name of the Father written on their foreheads. Paul wrote,

"Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure having this seal, The Lord knows them that are His." (2 Tim. 2:19.) (Rom. 6:16.)

What are this mark of the beast and the mark that belongs to the Christian? Those bearing the mark of the beast wore the number of his name on their foreheads and right hands. The number was 666. In other languages, like Greek and Latin, the alphabet had numerical equivalents. The number of the name of the Caesar, the beast, equaled 666. It does not say that a cryptic number was given to the Christians, but rather that they bore the name of the Father written on their foreheads.

In the Bible, we are given many names for God the Father. John does not tell us which of these names were written on the believers’ foreheads. Was it Elohim? Jehovah? I am that I am? (Exodus 3:14.) The New Testament often uses simply Lord and God. The tetragrammaton (YHWH) occurs 6600 times in the Bible; Elohim occurs 2600 times. Jehovah Witnesses maintain that Jehovah is the only correct name for God the Father. Yet, we do not know for sure how to translate, YHWH, the Hebrew name for God. Is it Yahweh or Jehovah?

We would like to know the name of God written on their foreheads of the redeemed, but we do not and cannot know. However, there is something that we do know. We know what the "right hand" and "forehead" signify; that is, strength and intellect. We are commanded to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. (Luke 10:27.) We know that the marks mean that we belong either to God the Father or to the false gods that we worship. Pagan worshippers often bore marks of identity on their bodies showing the gods which they worshipped. Paul once wrote, "From henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ." (Gal. 6:17.)

The overall book of Revelation. We puzzle more over this book than any other New Testament book. The symbols and style of writing is strange and different. However, there are least three things about this book which presuppose that we can understand its message. They are: 1) The word, revelation, means an unveiling. 2) There is a blessing pronounced upon the reader, the hearer and doer. (Rev. 1:3.) 3) There is a warning to anyone who tampers with the prophecy of this book. To do that one must understand its message. (22:18-19.)

This book teaches us that we can enjoy something different from the normal prose and poetry that we read. This style of writing, apocalyptic, was common in the centuries before John’s day. They understood the symbols and cryptic messages. We should allow the writings of the Bible to be whatever they are and not try to make them into something else. We can understand the nature of letters, histories, narratives, law, gospels, prophets, wisdom literature, and apocalyptic writings. Paul wrote, "When you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ." (Eph. 3:4.)