¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

 ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Gen 1:1-2

in this passage the narrator introduces the creation of heaven and earth. the hovering over the waters was a rebuttal to the Babylonian creation story in which their gods were originated from the sea. this gives the Hebrew gods superiority because he hovers over the water and he created everything.

Psalm 33:6-12

Refers back to the creation story, in which god creates all things by saying and it is. restates that god is master of all things and that the Babylonian water gods (enuma elish) are inferior to his oneness. also has references to the covenant in which god establishes the nation of Israel as his chosen people and that shall have many descendants in many generations.

²¹ For the first Adam bearing a wicked heart transgressed, and was overcome; and so be all they that are born of him.

2 Esdras 3:21

Refers to the fall in Genesis 2. Adams sinfulness in disobeying god by eating from the tree of knowledge creates and eternal inclination towards sin. Adams rebellion against god is the first but isn't the last. this rebellion is reiterated in the Cain and Abel and in the nation of Israels rebellion against god as their king

¹Now the LORD said to Abram,
         "Go forth from your country,
         And from your relatives
         And from your father's house,
         To the land which I will show you; 
    ²And I will make you a great nation,
         And I will bless you,
         And make your name great;
         And so you shall be a blessing; 
    ³And I will bless those who bless you,
         And the one who curses you I will curse 
         And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

 ⁴So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Genesis 12: 1-4

in this passage God speaks to Abraham (before the name change) and tells him to leave his home for the promised land. this is the first instance of the covenant between god and his chosen people. god gives the promises of making the descendants of Abram as numerous as the stars and a great nation, land, and blessing and cursing. the blessing and cursing can be seen in Abrams encounters with the pharaoh and Melchizdek.

 ¹³Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"

 ¹⁴God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

 ¹⁵God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you ' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

Exodus 3: 13-15

moses and god speak on the mountain when god reveals himself. moses goes not die when seeing god. the ancients used to believe that anyone who who saw or heard god god could not live. this is a result of the fall of Adam. moses tries to gain an advantage over god by learning his name just as Jacob defeats god in the wrestling match. knowing the name of someone gives you dominion over him. therefore god says that his name is I AM, Yahweh, later mistranslated as Jehovah.

¹Then God spoke all these words, saying,

 ²"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

 ³"You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exodus 20: 1-3

this is god speaking to moses. this introduces the 10 commandments. this establishes a renewed covenant between god and the people of Israel. reiterates gods oneness. there is no other god (enuma elish)

 ⁹Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

 ¹⁰and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet ⁽there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.

 ¹¹Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.

Exodus 24: 9-11

this passage the narrator speaks of moses and the elders climbing the mountain after performing the ritual of the new covenant. this passage is particularly important because its the first instance in which that number of people witnessed god and survived. again, the ancients believed that seeing god would result in automatic death as an effect of the fall of man. this passage is one of the sources of ritual sacrifices in the jewish tradition this is gods third theophany with moses.

Exodus 25:9

this passage god speaks to moses about the creation of his arc in which he will reside amongst his people. this is the first instance of a permanent place for god to exist. the arc is later replaced by both temples (586BCE and 70CE) and finally in Jesus.

 ³⁴Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

 ³⁵Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

 ³⁶Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out;

Exodus 40: 34-36

narrator speaks of moses journey to the holy land. the cloud is the spirit of god that hovers over the arc. gods presence is always hovering similar to genesis 1 in which god hovers over the water. moses does not enter tabernacle when gods presence is in there because he is afraid he is going to die if he sees god (despite having seen god several times already)

 ¹⁵"Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

 ¹⁶"He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.

Leviticus 16: 15-16

god speaks to moses about his requirements for sacrifices. this is another example of the ritual later to be called the Eucharist in Christian tradition, sacrificing the body of Jesus and having communion to atone for sins. the fall of Adam led to the inclination of man to commit evil, and therefore a sacrificial offering must be made. this passage is also related to the mentioning of the scapegoat or Azazel. 

⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

 ⁵and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations."

 ⁶But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us " And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

 ⁷The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

1 Samuel 8: 4-7

in this passage the elders of Israel ask Samuel to ask god to appoint a king to rule over them. this is a replay of man rebellion against god and their desire to be like/better than him. 

 ¹²"When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.

 ¹³"He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

 ¹⁴"I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,

2 Samuel 7: 12-14

in excerpt god speaks to Nathan to tell David these words. the covenant of Abraham and and moses is again reestablished between god and David. god also reestablishes the order to create a permanent dwelling for him by building a house in his name (the temple). later in the chapter god promises that his descendants will have the eternal love of god (Abram) and will not be removed like Saul.

 ²¹Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.

1 Kings 18: 21

this passage talks about Elijah challenging the people of Israel to follow the true god instead of the Babylonian god Baal and his idols. Elijah has the hundreds of prophets call for their god to help them but to no avail. then Elijah calls for god and he answers from the first time and lights a fire under his sacrifice. this passage leads to an early example of gods trinitarian state. the symbolic number three is used when they pour water over the sacrificial offering

 ³¹"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

 ³²not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

 ³³"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

 ³⁴"They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." 

Jeremiah 31: 31-34

in this excerpt god appears to Jeremiah and reveals this to him. this is an example of mans return to god. in the bible there are many instances of righteousness, sin, falling, repentance, and return to god (rebirth). this is another return to god similar to the reestablishing of covenants with Abraham, moses, and David and the behavior of Seth, the son of Adam

¹⁸Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.

 ¹⁹When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD'S house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.

Ezekiel 10: 18-19

in this passage Ezekiel tells about his vision. god hovers over the cherubim near the gate of his temple. this relates to the spirit of god hovering over the waters in Genesis and over the arc in the tabernacle in Exodus. the cherubim are a reference to gods angels. Azazel is the fallen angel referred to 

A Psalm of David

¹The LORD says to my Lord:
         "Sit at My right hand
         Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." 

Psalm 110: 1

David writes this psalm. this refers back to gods promise to Abraham and David. god blesses those who bless his people and curses those who curse his people. god promises David here that his enemies will lie at his feat, "defeated"

Daniel 7: 13-14

in this passage the covenant of god is reestablished. the chosen people are promised and everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and that all nations will serve god. this passage also predicts the coming of the son of man, Jesus, who will reaffirm the covenant

Isaiah 53: 1-5

this passage predicts the coming of Jesus and his suffering for the sins of the people. in his scourging, the people are healed from the original sin, the inclination to do evil things. this refers back to the rebirth by Seth and moses, the return to god and his love and blessing

¹¹Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?

 ¹²For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.

Hebrews 7: 11-12

in this passage Paul brings up the topic about the Levitical Priesthood. these are the priests of the Hebrews who perform all their religious rituals. well known Levitical priests include Aaron and Levi. the priests of Israel varied in their loyalty to god. while Aaron and Levi followed gods commandments, later priest abused this relationship and followed false gods and idols, leading the nation of Israel astray. the high priests who stood against Jesus are example of the priesthood abusing its role. Jesus is the highest of priests and gods inhabitance in him

 ¹Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

 ²a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

 ³For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

 ⁴Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law;

 ⁵who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."

 ⁶But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

A New Covenant

 ⁷For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.

Hebrews 8: 1-7

this excerpt from Paul's letter to the Hebrews brings up many topics including the multiple covenants, the housing of god in his tabernacle, and the priesthood. Paul's referencing to the new arc of god in Jesus, who is also the highest of priests. the multiple covenants refers to the broken covenant of moses, its renewal in David, and its finalization in Jesus

 ⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

 ¹⁰Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;

 ¹¹and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

Mark 1: 9-11

in this excerpt, the narrator tells us about Jesus' baptism in the Jordan river. in this gospel, Jesus is completely submerged in the water for the baptism. this differs from another gospel in which he is not fully immersed. this is also one of the few instances when god tells everyone that Jesus is his son and he is to be listened to.  

 ²Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;

 ³and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

 ⁴Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.

 ⁵Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

 ⁶For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.

 ⁷Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"

Mark 9: 2-7

in this passage the narrator tells of Jesus transfiguration. similar to moses when he climbs the mountain at Sinai and glows, Jesus is radiant with the spirit of god. Jesus is immersed in the cloud of god that appears many times in the bible (cloud over the arc in Exodus and hovering over the water in Genesis). this is the second instance in which god refers to Jesus as his son and orders people to listen to him.

The Deity of Jesus Christ

 ²He was in the beginning with God.

 ³All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

 ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

 ⁵The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1: 1-5

john version of the bible starts out very different from the synoptic gospels. john takes a very theological approach and starts of his bible similar to genesis. he talks about Jesus being the Word of god and that he exist with god and was god. this is a reference to the holy trinity. johns reference to the light is another symbol of gods presence, similar to Jesus shining with the light of god in mark and moses shining in exodus.

Romans 1: 17

in this letter to the romans, Paul readdressing the motif of faith. Abraham put his faith in god, so did moses, so did the appointed judges. those who have faith are righteous and lead the way to rebirth, those who lose their faith are on the path to the fall

The Day of Pentecost

 ¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

 ²And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

 ³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

 ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Acts 2: 1-4

this book is a continuation of Luke's bible. this excerpt is about the day of pentecost, the day in which the holy spirit descended upon the apostles. the symbolism for the spirit as a wind/cloud is used again here and the power of god as fire