21. (a) Rather than as a series of disjointed events and unrelated pictures, how should we view the Bible? (b) To what does it lead man?

²¹ As each book is written, God’s thrilling purpose unfolds—not as a series of disjointed episodes or unrelated prophetic pictures, but, like a masterful tapestry, the Bible reveals the purposes of God as a composite picture, all its parts being related to one another, each incident or event of Bible history having some part to play in the understanding of the whole. Each thought, doctrine, event, revelation or prophecy fits into the picture in its proper place, never clashing or contradicting, but contributing to our comprehension of the one grand purpose of Jehovah God. Above all, this wonderful book, the Bible, helps us to come to know God, and that knowledge means our life.—John 17:3.

“Increasing in the Accurate Knowledge of God”

1, 2. (a) What conditions as to learning did Paul foretell for “the last days,” and why so? (b) What other factor affects our growth in accurate knowledge?

WHEN speaking of “the last days” when “critical times hard to deal with” would be here, the apostle Paul wrote of those who are “always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” Such learning is indeed futile, for it fails to be of any real benefit. That is why in his letter to the Colossians the same apostle prayed that his fellow Christians might “go on bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the accurate knowledge of God.”—2 Tim. 3:1, 7; Col. 1:10.

² How is it that some are “always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth”? Of course, as the context of these words shows, persons who are not true lovers of God and who do not put him first in their lives could not come to an accurate knowledge of the truth. Their indulgence in sin and pandering to wrong desire prevent the needed flow of God’s spirit, which is an essential to such understanding. (1 Cor. 2:10-14) But the manner in which we accumulate knowledge also determines the extent of our understanding and comprehension.

3. How can we test the accuracy of our knowledge, and how might this be illustrated?

³ For example, a man may consider building himself a house. He might collect all the needed materials and deposit them at the building site—piling up bricks, bags of cement, window and door frames, roofing tiles, and so forth. But, unless he starts putting all the materials together according to a definite plan or design, they will remain just a heap of unrelated items serving no useful purpose. And that is exactly how some people appear to accumulate knowledge, or at least items of information, including religious or Bible information, piling them up in their minds as an unrelated miscellany of ideas. It is only when the actual construction work begins on the building site that it is possible to determine whether the materials meet the required specifications and will fit properly into their place in the structure. Likewise with building up accurate knowledge in the mind. It is only when we relate what we know, putting our knowledge together in a composite pattern, that we can discern whether our knowledge is accurate, harmonious and understandable, or whether it consists of inaccuracies, contradictions and possibly even falsehoods. Even if we have the right facts, if they are not understood in their proper relationship to one another, our understanding would still be faulty and could lead to our making bad decisions or arriving at wrong conclusions.