FIGURE IT OUT IS ALL ABOUT INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY, ALWAYS ASKING "WHY" SPECIFIC DATES, PLACES, TIMES, NAMES, SEASONS, RULERS, COUNTRIES, KINGDOMS, AND EVENTS WERE INCLUDED.
FIO IS ABOUT PROBING DEEPER ABOUT DETAILS THAT AT FIRST MAY SEEM TRIVIAL - BUT BRING AMAZING PERSPECTIVES TO THE BIBLICAL RECORD.
WHENEVER THERE ARE SPECIFIC DETAILS IN THE BIBLE THAT IS WHERE WE ASK, "WHY DID THE HOLY SPIRIT INCLUDE THIS?" SO WE NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT.
why inlcude:
- Zacharias was from the course of Abijah.
- Quirinius, Augustus Caesar, Herod, and Pontius Pilate.
- Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus in Babylon.
- A decree from Artexerxes Longimanus to Nehemiah.
- Abraham on Mount Moriah.
- Threshing floor of Aruna on Mount Moriah.
- Golgotha on Mount Moriah.
- The shadow moved ten steps during Hezekiah’s reign.
- Ezekiel laid on his side for 390 days and then 40 days.
- Paul went to Arabia.
- The ark rested on Ararat the 17th day of Nisan
Figure It Out was launched in 2000 at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara. A Bible study with the expressed purpose to go deeper in the Scriptures. Within a few months it was simply being called FIO. In the first 10 years [2000-2009] FIO did deep dives into the books of James, Acts, Romans, Ruth, Jude, Revelation, and Daniel - with a 10-month series on apologetics. Between 1992-2010, Dr. Newton taught over 20 different Bible study series on Wednesday nights at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara, filled in for Pastor Ricky on Sunday morning 3 services, delivered messages at men’s retreats, taught at the annual summer family camp at Twin Peaks, and spoke at the annual Prophecy conferences alongside Ricky Ryan, Jack Hibbs, Britt Merrick, Lance Ralston, and David Guzik.
The Proverbs encourage believers in faith, patience, sound words, and thoughtful actions. Chapter 14 and verse 8 declares “The Wisdom of the Prudent is to Figure It Out”. This is the commitment all believers should make when examining God’s Word.
Similar to the Bereans noted in Acts 17:11, who were recognized for diligence in examining the Scriptures daily to see if all they were being taught was true, so too there are many provocative Biblical narratives with precision details about historical:
that may appear at first glance to be tedious and difficult to define within the immediate context of that account. However, these are the most exciting and compelling places to more closely examine the ways that all of those specifics connect, confirm, and further amplify greater meaning from God’s Word . . . FOR THE WISDOM OF THE PRUDENT WILL BE TO FIGURE IT OUT.
- Seasons
- Rulers
- Countries and Kingdoms
- Events
- Dates
- Places
- Names
- Times
The Roman Empire
was a significant historical entity in the 1st Century A.D. – as was Greece in the 3rd Century B.C. and Babylon 300 years before that. Saul, David, and Solomon were real kings of Israel who ruled from Jerusalem, even as Abraham was a real man who departed Ur of the Chaldeans, and Moses was a real man who tended flocks in Midian before leading Israel out of Egypt.
The Egyptian Passover, the prophecy of Daniel, Jeremiah’s preview of the dates of captivity, the dimensions of the tabernacle and the Temple, the Septuagint project in Alexandria, Paul’s itineraries around the Mediterranean Basin, the Red Sea, the rivers Jordan, Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile, the lineage of the Genesis patriarchs, as well as the organization of Israel’s camps described in the Book of Numbers – all contain amazing insights FOR THE PRUDENT WHO WILL FIGURE IT OUT.
The Book of Daniel
is fascinating because of its incredible accuracy in describing very specific details that happened in the mid-5th Century BC and the 1st Century AD while being penned during the Babylonian captivity in the mid-6th Century BC. The "decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem" was made in March of 445 BC to Nehemiah by Artaxerxes Longimanus, and from that came the exact number of days written by Daniel until "Messiah the King" as Jesus of Nazareth rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey in 32 AD. Many scholars are so skeptical of Daniel's precision they claim it was written after the fact, but there was a complete Book of Daniel in the Greek Septuagint [LXX] Bible some 300 years prior. Another amazing insight FOR THE PRUDENT WHO WILL FIGURE IT OUT.
Pontius Pilate
was thought to be some made-up name for a person who never even existed, but in 1961 a large slab of limestone was found in Caesarea Maritima that specifically noted the Roman Prefect of the Syrian province between 26 and 36 AD, stating the title given him by Caesar: Praefectus Judaea [Prefect of the Judaeans]. Additional records uncovered he was the fifth prefect to administer this province following Coponius [in office from 6-9 AD], Marcus Ambivulus [9-12], Annius Rufus [12-15], and Valerius Gratus [15-26]. This puts him in office in 32 AD when Jesus was reluctantly sentenced by him for crucifixion. Once again, provocative wisdom FOR THE PRUDENT WHO WILL FIGURE IT OUT.
The Birth of Jesus
could only happen within a very narrow 5-year window of time in human history. Augustus Caesar, Quirinius, and Herod only overlapped between 6 BC and 1 BC. Gaius Octavius was crowned Rome's first Emperor, Divi Felius Augustus in 27 BC at age 36 and ruled until 14 AD. Publius Sulpicius Quirinius was born near Rome in Linuvium and was Legate Governor of the Syrian Province from 6 BC until 12 AD after Herod Archelaus was removed as Tetrarch of Judea. Herod was born in Edom in 73 BC and Falvius Josephus records his death in Jericho was "preceded by a lunar eclipse and was before Passover". Lunar records show an eclipse visible in Judea on January 10, 1 BC while Passover that year was on April 11, 1 BC. Jesus could only be born between 6 BC and 1 BC. This confirms additional evidence that Jesus was born in September of 2 BC - a great insight FOR THE PRUDENT WHO WILL FIGURE IT OUT.
