The Bible as revelation is written such, that an uninitiated reader would come away with the following things as controlling concepts:

1. God created the world and everything in it.

2. Mankind as a race, was created in the image of God.

3. In love, God gave man every benefit, and a warning not to eat that which God had put off limits, or man would die.

4. Man was tempted by the serpent, and disobeyed God’s command.

5. Man hid in his shame.

6. Instead of man dieing right away, God showed mercy. He sought man out, covered his nakedness and promised to send the “Seed” of the woman who would bruise the serpent’s head – the tempter behind the Fall. The race was spared.

7. Man lost his access to the Tree of Life, and suffers the effects of this loss in physical corruption. All human misery is linked to this fall.

8. Man very quickly descended into envy, hatred and murder.

9. While man continued to digress, in love God continued to sustain him.

10. God repeatedly intervened in the affairs of mankind to prevent its total demise, displaying special grace to certain individuals, thus preserving the race while also letting it suffer the first pains of His just wrath.

11. Out of the mass of fallen men, God chose one man – Abraham – and in making a covenant with him (a promise confirmed by signs) set Abraham and his offspring apart to be the means of preserving the witness, worship and Word of the true God among men. Through this arrangement (Abraham was told), all of the nations of the earth would eventually be blessed.

12. For the most part, the rest of mankind outside of this new nation were given up to their sin, though through this nation (Israel) the testimony of God, His purposes and His Word were preserved and could be sought.

13. Irrespective of their repeated rebellion and sinfulness, in grace, God preserved the nation which came from Abraham, and the promised “Seed” eventually did come through them in the person of Jesus Christ.

14. This Jesus who was fully both God and man, was rejected as the “Seed” by the vast majority of the nation (Israel) God had preserved all along.

15. This Jesus announced that God loved not only the Jews, but the whole world. So much so that He (Jesus) had been sent so that whosoever – without qualification – would believe in Him, would be spared from the final wrath of God still due on their sin, and instead gain eternal life with Himself.

16. Dieing on the Cross at Calvary, and experiencing God’s wrath which is justly due to fallen mankind, Jesus arose from the dead on the third day, and commissioned those who believed in Him to make the good news of His death, burial and resurrection known to every living creature.

17. Those who believed God’s willingness to receive them if they believed, and demonstrated that belief in obeying His commands, would be saved. Those not believing would remain under God’s wrath and would finally be condemned.

18. His disciples engaged in telling this good news immediately, but still needed to be shown that this news was in fact to be made known to all men – not just the nation of Israel.

19. With supernatural signs attesting to it, this message began to be taken everywhere, and preached freely to everyone. “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)

20. God has demonstrated His love in sending His Son, so that if I believe – I can be saved too.