The Prelude Preview

Why I Wrote This Book

I was sitting in Bible study.

While studying Genesis, particularly Genesis 1:3-5, a man in the group — a physicist — said to the pastor, “I know it wasn’t a literal day. I know the earth is millions of years old.” The pastor replied, “Nobody knows what the Creator meant by a day.”

I was surprised. Not by the physicist — by the pastor’s answer. That moment started a question that would not let me go: Was the Creator’s writing actually confusing… or had we simply been taught to treat it that way? If this one plain statement could be explained away so easily, what else had I accepted without checking? Was I allowing my family to be guided by tradition instead of by what the Scriptures actually say — in both the Old Testament and the New Testament?

I realized four things:

I had only been assuming what I had been taught was solid truth.

I had trusted family beliefs without question.

I had entrusted others with my family’s eternal safety.

I had never truly read the text in full context.

That realization led to thirty years of careful study. I read the Hebrew Scriptures from Genesis to Malachi and the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. I used Strong’s Concordance to examine every word in the original Hebrew and Greek. I visited other congregations to see what they taught. And at the end of 2020, I noticed something I had never seen before.

There were clear differences between what the Creator said in the Old Testament and what the New Testament claimed about Him.

I reviewed the passages again and again. The differences remained. I confirmed them with my wife. She told me, “You’ve got the skill — put it in a book. For our family, and for anyone else who might listen.”

Then her cancer returned. I set every note aside and cared for her until she was gone. She is with the Creator now. And I am doing what she asked.

— Ezekiel 33:7–9 (WEB)

7 “So you, son of man, I have set you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from my mouth, and give them warnings from me.

8 When I tell the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you don’t speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at your hand.

9 Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he doesn’t turn from his way; he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul.”

This book is not an argument. It is not an attack. It is a question — the same question that hit me thirty years ago in that Bible study: What if the people teaching us haven’t actually read in context what the Creator said — and are simply following tradition?

Everything in these pages has been in the Bible all along. I found it by learning to read each passage in its full context, letting the text speak for itself.

Whether you engage these questions is your decision. I wrote them because my wife believed you deserved the chance.

A Note on Language

The Hebrew Scriptures use multiple names and titles for the one being who made heaven and earth — including God, LORD, Yahweh, Adonai, and Elohim. The World English Bible renders several of these as Yahweh. Whether that is the correct vocalization of the name is a matter of long-standing dispute, and tradition holds that the name is not to be spoken aloud. The scripture quotations in this book are left exactly as the WEB translates them.

When this book refers to the Hebrew Scriptures’ speaker outside the quoted verses, it uses the word Creator. Every time you see Creator in the commentary of these pages, it points to the same being the Scriptures identify: the one who made everything, who was there before anything else existed.

When the New Testament makes a claim, you can ask: Does it match what the Creator said?

You are encouraged to verify every passage in your own Bible.

How to Read This Book

This book follows a simple pattern in every chapter. Each chapter begins with a claim or teaching from the New Testament.

Then the Old Testament is opened — in full context — so you can read what the Creator said on the same subject. Minimal commentary is provided only to identify speaker, subject, and context. This book reads every passage in its plain, contextual meaning. The standard for this method is drawn from the Scriptures themselves — specifically the passages presented in the Prelude.

At the end of each passage you will find a short set of simple questions. Each offers three choices:

Mark your answers on the Tally Page at the end of this preview (or on a separate sheet of paper). Be honest. There are no right answers except your own.

The standard for every question is the same: Assumption Is Not Confirmation. When the New Testament claims that an Old Testament passage refers to Jesus, this book simply asks you to read what the Creator actually said in context. Does the Old Testament passage identify the subject in the same way?

The questions in this book focus your attention on what the text identifies — the speaker, the subject, the authority, and the context. They are observations, not arguments. They ask what is on the page, not what the reader should believe about it. Where the text leaves room for more than one reading, that is also a finding worth marking. The book’s only standard is the one already named: Assumption Is Not Confirmation. The reader’s answer is the reader’s answer.

The full book presents the prophecies most commonly cited in New Testament teaching — 155 New Testament claims compared with the Old Testament passages they reference, each one in full context, the same way it appears in the Bible.

This book is not a replacement for your Bible. It is a companion to it. You are strongly encouraged to follow along in your own copy.

Verify everything for yourself.

Prelude

The Instruction to Test

The Old Testament contains passages in which the Creator addresses how to evaluate claims made in His name. The passages are presented in full context.

Mark your responses on the Tally Page at the end of this preview — or tap the boxes as you go.

1.

The Old Testament passage (Deuteronomy 13:1–5) — read in full context:

— Deuteronomy 13:1–5 (WEB)

1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let’s go after other gods” (which you have not known) “and let’s serve them,”

3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice. You shall serve him, and cling to him.

5 That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall remove the evil from among you.”

— Deuteronomy 1:1 (WEB)

1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

— Deuteronomy 1:6 (WEB)

6 “Yahweh our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have lived long enough at this mountain.

Verse 1:1 addresses who is speaking. Verse 1:6 addresses who gave them the authority to speak. Verse 13:1 addresses a prophet who gives a sign or a wonder. Verse 13:2 states the sign comes to pass. Verse 13:3 states: “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet.” Verse 13:4 states: “You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice.”

2.

The Old Testament passage (Isaiah 8:20) — read in full context:

— Isaiah 8:19–20 (WEB)

19 “When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

20 Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.”

— Isaiah 1:1 (WEB)

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

— Isaiah 1:2 (WEB)

2 Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.

Verse 1:1 identifies Isaiah the son of Amoz, and identifies the vision as concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Verse 1:2 identifies Yahweh as the one who has spoken. Verse 8:20 states: “Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.”

A Note Before the Chapters

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and the Epistle to the Hebrews are formally anonymous within their texts; authorship attributions arise from early church tradition rather than from the texts themselves. See the Appendix in the full book for details.

Chapter 1

The Lineage Claims

The New Testament claims Jesus fulfills a specific lineage: descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the tribe of Judah, and heir to David’s throne. These are frequently cited passages. The Old Testament passages are presented here in full context.

Mark your responses on the Tally Page at the end of this preview — or tap the boxes as you go.

1.

The New Testament says Romans 16:20, Galatians 4:4, and Hebrews 2:14 identify Jesus as the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15:

— Romans 1:1 (WEB)

1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God,

— Romans 16:20 (WEB) – Paul Speaking

20 “And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

— Galatians 1:1 (WEB)

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

— Galatians 4:4 (WEB) – Paul Speaking

4 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,”

— Hebrews 1:1–2 (WEB)

1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

— Hebrews 12:24–25 (WEB) – No official authority who the actual writer is

24 to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel.

25 See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven,

— Hebrews 2:10–14 (WEB) – No official authority who the actual writer is

10 “For it became him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

12 saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”

13 Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”

14 Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”

The Old Testament passage being quoted (Genesis 3:15) — read in full context:

— Genesis 3:14–19 (WEB)

14 “Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.

18 It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.

19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall return to dust.”

The Creator is speaking directly to the serpent. He pronounces a curse upon it. In verse 15, He states: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” The subject addressed is the serpent. The Creator then speaks to the woman (verse 16) and to Adam (verse 17).

Chapter 1 continues in the full book with the remaining lineage claims — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and the throne of David.

Tally Page

Prelude & Chapter 1, Claim 1

Mark one box for each question. Be honest. There are no right answers except your own.

In the full book, questions like these are asked of 155 New Testament claims — and your answers are tallied the same way.

Your marks live on this page only — the book is where your tally becomes permanent.

A Letter to Family and Friends

If someone you love gave you this book, they did not give it to hurt you.

They gave it because they read it — and something in these pages mattered enough to share with you.

This book does not tell you what to believe. It does not ask you to leave anything. It asks you to read — to see what the Creator said in His own words, in the passages where He said them — and to decide for yourself.

The person who gave you this book found it worth sharing. Now they are offering you the same opportunity. Not to agree with them. Not to follow them. To read for yourself and arrive at your own answer.

That is all this book asks. That is all they are asking.

Whatever you decide — they love you. That has not changed.