Picture of a Walnut with a picture of my NIV Thompson Chain Reference in the nut created by Fran Meservy

The Bible in a Nutshell By Frances M. Meservy @ 1981

God told Adam he could eat from all the trees in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he ate from the tree of knowledge, he would die. (God’s word is powerful)

God created Eve from Adam’s rib and Adam told Eve that she could eat from all the trees in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In fact she could not even touch the tree of knowledge lest she die. (When we add to God’s word, it is no longer His word. It is our word and our words have no power in them.)

Satan said to Eve "Did God really say…….?" He could say this because he knew that God did not say "nor can you touch it." Doubt grew in Eve because there was no power in Adam’s word. She ate from the tree. Nothing happened because Eve sinned against Adam – not God.

Since nothing happened, Adam began to doubt and ate the fruit that Eve handed him. When Adam ate everything happened because he had sinned against God. The blame game started and Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

God put a flaming sword at the entrance to the Garden so people could not eat from the tree of life and live forever in their sins. (This is an act of Love)

God cut off his right hand and sent it after His people to draw them back to him. When His hand came on them, they received gifts. (The Holy Spirit is God’s right hand)

God wanted a personal relationship with mankind and asked that they come near so he could talk with them. They were afraid and asked Him to tell Moses what He wanted them to do and they would do it. God agreed because he knew without a personal relationship, they could not keep the commandments. He had to show them how hard it would be so he allowed it to be so.

God cut off his right arm and implanted into the womb of a virgin named Mary. Jesus was born, died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day. (Jesus is God’s right arm)

Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into us so we would be filled with love that would spill over on the gifts and cause us to use them correctly. The spirit of love that dwells in us spills over on all that we meet and draws others to Jesus who gives us eternal live. (Breath of God is God’s love in us)

The Trinity is One God. The father (head) tells what to do; the Son/Jesus (arm) moves and the Holy Spirit (hand/breath) does. The father is all God but only part of God. Jesus is all God but only part of God. The Holy Spirit is all God but only part of God. It takes all of God to save us.

If a person believes what Jesus says (trust Him with his/her life), they will be with Jesus the instant they die (1st death/rapture of the dead in Christ). If they do not trust Jesus, they will go to hell. (A dark tomb where a person is totally alone, in chains and their tongue is on fire)

When Jesus returns, he will rapture out the people who believe in him and they will be caught up with him in the air. Then he will put Satan and his angels in chains.

Jesus will create a new heaven and earth and Christians will live with him for 1,000 years. Everyone else will be in hell. At the end of the 1,000 years Satan will be released for a time to test the faith of those who grew up in the millennial rule.

Then Jesus will throw hell and its inhabitants into the burning lake of fire (2nd death). He will then through Satan and his Angels into the burning pit and they will burn forever and ever.

Gen 2:15 – 18 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."

Gen 3:1 - 3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Gen 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Gen 3:22 - 24 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"; therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

1 Sam 10:10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

Psa 80:15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.

2 Chr 30:12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.

Luke 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Rom 12:6 -9 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

1 Cor 12:7 - 11 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

1 Cor 13:13-14:1 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

Eph 4:8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."

Mat 26:64 Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Joel 2:28 -29 "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Exo 20:18 - 20 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin."

Isa 53:1 - 9 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked; But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Mark 16:19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

John 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

John 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Mat 22:36 - 40 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the first and great commandment. "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Rev 2: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'

Rev 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

John 3:16 - 18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

1 Th 4:16 -17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Rev 20:2 –3 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Rev 20:6 - 8 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

Rev 20:10-21:2 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

John 3:14 -15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 10:28 -30 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. "I and My Father are one."

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