Catholic Doctrine Bible Study

The writer of Hebrews used Psalms (and other Old Testament writings to show that Jesus is the FINAL fulfillment as the Son of God and Messiah. (Beyond David.)  Some examples: Ps. 2:7 - Hebrews 1:5 (“You are my son..”) Ps. 8:4-6 - Hebrews 2:6-8(“You made him for a little while lower than the angels Ps. 45:7-8 -Hebrews 1:8-9(“your kingdom...God anointed you...”) Ps. 110:1- Hebrews 1:13 (“Sit at my right hand....”) See the below link for further parallels between the Psalms and the New Testament. http://www.jesuswalk.com/psalms/psalms-NT-quotations.htm

Mt.27:26 (“My God..why have you forsaken me?)  Jesus  is reciting Psalm 22 on the Cross, which ends in triumph and assurance!  In times of trouble, He (and we!) turn to scripture! No despair! Luke 23:44-46 (“Into Your  hands I commend my spirit.”)  Jesus is reciting Psalm 31 from the Cross, which also ends in assurance. No despair! Some other Psalms Jesus quoted in the Gospels and their parallels: Ps 8:3-Mt 21:16 Ps 35:19-Jn 15:18-25 Ps 110:1-Mt 22:41-45 Ps 118:22-Mt-21:42 Jesus quoted from the Psalms more than any other book. In Luke 24:44-45 it says Jesus explained the scriptures to them “that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and PSALMS must be fulfilled.”

The Psalms are the writers sharing with God the whole gamut of human emotions, from fear, frustration, spiritual dryness, sorrow, joy, repentance, thankfulness, etc. As such, they are personal, and are to be EXPERIENCED, rather than TAUGHT.  As you read through the 150 Psalms, you will find some that speak to you more than others at a point in time, depending on your experience AT THE TIME.  Of the 150 Psalms: 63 “Complaint” psalms vs. 32 “Praise” psalms. (Human nature!) 72 psalms attributed to David -Ps 59-1Sam 19:11 -Ps142-1Sam 22 -Ps 63-1Sam 24 -Ps 51-2Sam 11+12 -Many, many others “Hallel” Psalms 111-117 (Sung at Passover.) “Ascent” Psalms 120-134 (“Travelling music” sung while travelling to Jerusalem for the 3 Annual Feasts.) Approximately 130 quotes from Psalms in New Testament. Jesus quoted more from Psalms and Isaiah than any other Old Testament books.  (Some examples in Part 2.) Consider writing your own thoughts to God, in a daily diary.

Yes, it’s true that many times we bring on our own misery (5:7, etc), but many times our misery is brought about because we live in an imperfect world. Whatever the cause, God can use our tragedy to bring us into a closer relationship with God.  We learn that we are not in total control, and that God sometimes is ALL we can trust in, for our ETERNAL happiness. We recognize that THIS world is not our ultimate home, but heaven is (as Job wished existed in 14:14), that THIS world is frequently “not fair”, (Chapter 21) but that God is always with us even when (especially when!) it seems God is not. (9:11,23:8) We don’t need to know all God’s answers (42:1-6), we just need to trust God.  “Be still, and know that I am God.”

God pointed out Job to Satan, not the other way around.  (1:8) God knew (foreknowledge) that whatever was thrown at Job, Job would not quit seeking Him.  (Omniscience) This in no way conflicted with Job’s free will.  Job could have chosen to reject God. God LIMITED what Satan could do to Job. (1:12, 2:6) (Omnipotence) Omnipresence (God sees everything and is everywhere at the same time.) Satan is a pawn in God’s plan.  Whatever Satan does, God can use it to bring people into a closer relationship with God.

“Why Do Most Protestant Bibles Have 7 Fewer Books Than Catholic Bibles?” and “What Is The Lesson Here For Me Regarding Use Of Scripture?" Martin Luther’s false idea of being saved by “faith alone”, at a moment in time, caused him to need to kick out books of the bible that disagreed with his beliefs. In addition to the 7 books of the Old Testament that he removed from his bible, (Tobit, Judith, 1and 2 Maccabees, Baruch, Wisdom, and Sirach) he also wanted to remove James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation from the New Testament! (But even his followers thought this was too radical.) His rationale for removing the 7 Old Testament books was a JEWISH council of 90 AD that decided to eliminate all books not written originally in Hebrew or not written in the Jewish homeland, and other restrictions.  The Church was already formed long before 90AD, of course, and was already using the books of the Septuagint, the most popular Jewish canon, where 2/3 of New Testament quotes from the Old Testament came from.  So, it is irrelevant what the Jews chose to edit out AFTER the Church was formed. As we saw from Session 207, 2 Maccabees 12 talked about praying for the dead, which suggests Purgatory, and Chapter 15 suggests the Communion of the Saints, both of which Luther disagreed with.  The 90AD Jewish council gave him a (weak) excuse to eliminate them from his bible. The legitimacy of these books were not seriously questioned for over 1100 years until Luther. For us: Do I choose to ignore the teachings of the bible that make me uncomfortable or that I disagree with?

6:12-16 Purpose of Divine Judgement. (It can be for our benefit, as any good parent would know.) 7 Great example of keeping the faith despite persecution unto death. Anticipated their resurrection! 10:5-6 Hanukkah! 12:39-46 Resurrection, and Praying for the dead. (v.42, would only do this if there was a way to expunge sin after death. (PURGATORY for those who die in God’s good graces but need a bit of “cleaning up” before going to Heaven.)  No need to pray for the dead if heaven and hell were the only ends right after death, since both are eternal states and the “decision” is irrevocable after death. 15:12-14 Communion of Saints, Intercession of Saints.  (Jeremiah had been dead over 400 years when he prayed here!) For reasons that will be explained in Session 208, (and should be obvious to the reader!) Luther kicked this (and 6 other) books out of HIS bible, and it is absent from most Protestant bibles today!

Many Jews were gently persuaded (at first!) to drop their Jewish practices in favor of Greek ones, that seemed innocent enough at the time. (Sports, youth groups,etc.)  They let the outside culture influence THEM, instead of the other way around. Antiochus IV Epiphanies’ persecution of the Jews from 168-164BC was the cause for the writing of ‘Daniel’ during that same time frame, to comfort the Jews during that persecution.  We also see veiled reference to Antiochus IV in Revelation (Rev. 11:2). 1,2 Maccabees are not in most Protestant bibles.  (We will answer why they were taken out of the bible by Protestants when we finish 2Maccabees.) There would be no references to Hanukkah in the OT without 1 and 2 Maccabees.

Esther, a Jew in a society that was very anti-Jewish and persecutory, risked her life by revealing her ethnicity to the king and asking him to rescind a proclamation to exterminate all Jews, which he did.  The celebration that followed is recognized annually today as the the Feast of Purim, still celebrated by Jews today. Though very likely a fictional story (dates, names, even the historicity of the events don’t add up) all of Scripture is true “for the sake of our salvation.” (CCC 107-110.)  A timeless truth of Esther is that we must speak out, even to government when our faith is under attack.  Don’t hide your Catholicism!

Key Points: Though a fictional story, the author gives us several keys to our faith: Don’t give ultimatums to God!  (as in 7:30-31, rejected by Judith in 8:16) Things will be done in God’s time and in God’s way, not ours! Use your gifts for God’s purposes.(10:23-13:8)  If it’s physical beauty, use it chastely! (13:16)  What gift do YOU have that you can use for the Lord? Have courage and trust in God in times of fear.  Speak out to power in defense of your faith! Pray constantly. (Chapter 9.) Fasting (8:6) Give God praise and thanksgiving. (Chapter 16.) A woman saves the people.  Foreshadowing of Mary. (15:9 used in the liturgy of the Church regarding Mary) “Judith” is one of the 7 books of our bible that is not in most Protestant bibles.  The reasons for this error will be given when we study 2Maccabees 12.