INTRODUCTION
           Some elementary understanding of the "Colored Bible" and its use is necessary before its unique chromatic shorthand
can be used and its benefits derived.  This present introduction is designed to be no more than a practical and basic introduction
to the "Colored Bible".  In passing some attempt is also made to instill some understanding of and appreciation for its method in
the hope that the reader will study the more complete work "Understanding the Colored Bible."
 

       WHAT IS THE COLORED BIBLE?
The "Colored Bible" is a ''teaching vehicle" which affords a degree of immediate understanding and direction in an easy
fashion and is an introduction to the deeper teaching of the true method of interpretation, from which it descend and  which  is a
companion. The "Colored Bible"' is a sort of coded commentary that results in a flexible, and easily used shorthand that serves
as an immediate first approximation of the interpretation and explanation of scripture.  Much direction is contained  in the simple

rows of circles and through the choice and arrangement of the colored circles, much can be understood of the nature and
teaching of the passage. It differs from the usual format of the commentary in that it shows only the areas of meaning intended
by God rather than describing them. It is a guide rather than a spoon feeding, and thus, when solving the riddles, one has an
exciting sense of discovery and is unaware that he is being taught ht as surely, safely and sufficiently as by other less attractive
methods.

       BIBLE TEACHING

           Strange as it may seem, God has said that He hides His word from some, and reveals it to others! He hides it in dark
sayings, parables, and figures of speech, yet reveals it to all whom He Himself sees to be honestly seeking truth. In the Acts
8:31 we see the common dilemma of all who would read the Bible, and especially of those who seek to undetstand it. In that
much of it is highly figurative, it must be explained before it can be understood. Thus, it has pleased God to arrange that His
church should have teachers whom He Himself appoints and whose minds He opens to understand the very nature and purpose
of His message to man.  Their function is to faithfully and rightly explain the mystery of God's 'Word in such a way that God will
be glorified, and the Church will have certain guidance. There are very great privileges and frightful responsibilities associated
with this office.  Since God has planned to dispense His insight in this fashion and has clearly directed all His people to look to
these teachers for direction, only pride or rebellion on our part would cause us to disobey, and to refuse His offer of assured
understanding.
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             In understanding Bible teaching it is first necessary to distinguish between meaning and application.  It is important to
understand and remember that while each passage applies to many situations in life, it has but one meaning or interpretation, and
before the benefits of the passage can be rightly realized, this unique meaning, originating in the mind of God, must be
discovered and demonstrated.
 
            Thus, true Bible teaching must begin with the teachers statement of God's meaning in a passage. Then the teacher must clearly show that this explanation is necessarily the one and only true interpretation. He must then rightly explain how we may wisely apply the teaching in our lives, and how it will benefit us. If the student is to be able to maturely safely, and accurately handle  the Word himself, he must increasingly see a connection between his teacher's direction and that of the Bible itself.     Furthermore, he must increasingly see the same foundation and order in both, which also must appear to him to be the foundation and order of all creation, and finally of God's will!

         THE NEED FOR THE COLORED BIBLE
            One of the important duties of Bible teachers is that of attractively presenting the truths of Scripture in such a way as to develop understanding and further interest in the minds and hearts of his "hearers".  In this respect, as in all others, it is necessary that the student consider Scripture through the eyes of the true method of interpretation. Yet in a world that no longer regards the Bible even as poorly as it did in times past, there can be no appreciation of this God given method and assurance.  Thus, we see the need for a method that bridges the enormous gap between the present condition of the "average" person and  the  understanding and  benefits available to him in the Bible.  Especially to the young, impatient and untrained, the orthodox format of the commentary is tedious even when matched with expensive and cumbersome tape and video-tape learning machines. Another problem is that the explanation given by the teacher himself personally, however interesting it may be is limited by time and space and also is too quickly forgotten.  Thus, the need is for a short-cut method that is immediate in its benefits, yet open-ended in its value, and capable of leading even new students into much Bible understanding before they have developed any appreciation for the true method of interpretation.   The method itself must be easily learned and remembered, and it must greatly aid the student in learning, associating, and remembering the themes, teachings and methods of the
  Bible itself.   Once again, in His mercy, God has fulfilled His promise to supply our every need. He is not only unfolding His
  Word to us and giving us assured understanding of it, but has presented us with this appropriate means of displaying it, and thus the opportunity to make it available to all.
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  THE NATURE OF THE COLORED BIBLE
      Strictly speaking, beyond being the text of the Bible itself, the "Colored Bible" is the matching of two distinct elements, each
  of which could exist and be used without the other.  As such, the  "Colored Bible" is the happy combination of true Bible teaching with an effective teaching method by which the true teaching is presented.
 
     As the cover suggests,    the "Colored Bible" could be compared with a prism. As it breaks up the sun's light into seven basic colors, so the "Colored Bible" reduces the light of understanding and makes it even easier to handle by separating it into 10 colors or areas which can then be studied independently of each other until one is trained to handle the light itself.

      It can readily be seen that the "Colored Bible" is based on the concept of associating colors with the Bible's basic themes and subjects, and that the nature of the ' 'Colored Bible" is largely "fixed" by these 10 color subject relationships.  It should also
  appear that the choice of the 10 subjects, while having nothing to do with the operation of the method itself is the crucial link between  the method and the true teaching that the "Colored Bible" presents. Indeed, it should finally be understood how these
10 choices themselves are based on the guidance provided by God in unfolding His Word to us through His kind revelation of His own teaching methods.

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         HOW THE COLORED BIBLE WORKS
             Previously it was said that the nature of the "Colored Bible" was a blend of true Bible teaching and a method of presenting it,  and the nature of that teaching was then briefly discussed. While the teaching is unseen, the method itself is visible, and in this passage we will be concerned with understanding the mechanics of the method in order to be able to use the "Colored Bible"

             At first, three things need to be understood in order to
         to effectively handle the "Colored Bible".      These are:

                       I. The color-subject relationships.
                       2. The order of the colored circles.
                       3. The lines appearing within the circles.

         1.  Ten important subject areas are represented by ten rather appropriate colors, the presence of each of which in any given verse or passage would alert the reader to seek meaning in that special subject area.  Thus the appearance of red should cause one to expect to find God's salvation message in that text.  The appearance of purple should alert one to seek instruction concerning God's nature, and so forth.  It should be apparent that some understanding of the definitions of each color is crucial to the proper handling of the "Colored Bible".  To help the reader to better understand the color-subject relationships, their definition and descriptions will shortly be given.
 
2. The order of the appearance of the colored circles, from left to right, is of great importance in understanding the "Colored Bible."  The order of the colors represents the approximate order of significance of each of the subjects in that passage or verse. For example, if red were the first color, then the salvation message would be the right area of interpretation of that passage or verse.  If  blue were the second color, the reader should expect that prophecy was God's secondary intent, and so forth. It should be realized, however, that in verses having more than three or four colors, the order of the last few colors is of much less importance, and the recognition and understanding of their presence is usually sufficient.
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3. Many of the colored circles, particularly among the first three in order, will be seen to have lines within them. Some will have straight lines through them and others will have an "X" through them. These markings indicate the approximate degree of importance of a verse or passage to the subject area in question. For example, if a red circle has an "X" inside it, then among all the the salvation verses in the Bible, that one will rank as important. If a green circle has a straight line through it, then among    all the witnessing verses in the Bible, that one would be found to be fairly important, and so forth. Thus an "X"  is seen to be  indicating more importance than a straight line.

                                                    
      THE DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COLORS

 PINK - About and leading up to salvation, verses that explain salvation or are directly helpful in coming to understand it     initially; verses that point to salvation and make it easier to grasp; verses that set the red verses into other areas  such as brown, blue, and grey. Pink could be called simplified or watered down Red.

RED   - Direct salvation message. Verses that directly deal with or describe the actual process of getting saved. In a sense, red could  be called the purpose of the Bible. It should be noted that these are verses that could be used  a great deal in preaching.
 
ORANGE - Our new nature in Christian life. Orange describes and deals with out new nature which is different from brown and purple, corresponding to our dual nature as sheep and children.  It describes our life from the time that we get till the time that we go to be with Jesus. It covers everything that happens to us in the meantirne,

PURPLE - About God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Purple describes  points to and reveals the nature of God as three persons who are somehow are one.  In this regard, it is to be noted that the person of  the Holy Spirit is treated somewhat differently in scripture than the Father and the Son.  For instance, no one ever glorified the Holy Spirit, nor is He ever worshiped or even addressed in scripture and there are not many verses about the Holy Spirit, in that He does not draw attention to Himself. Nevertheless, purple rightly includes His person.
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BLACK - Sin, death, disease, hell, and the devil.  Black represents the enemy, and most of all, black represents the person of the devil, his nature, his doings, his place, his tricks, and everything about him except his ' 'channel", which is our human nature
          through which he works.  This latter is brown's domain.  One can speak of "doing a black" by allowing his brown to give in to sin.

BLUE   - Prophecy and fulfillment. The first part of the definition speaks of verses in which the Spirit speaks through a man, usually one of the Old Testament prophets, and reveals things that are to come.  The second part speaks of the occurrence of those predicted events or their fulfillment.

TURQUOISE - The second coming of Jesus; Jesus returning from  heaven where He presently sits at the right hand of God to collect  His elect to take them to be with Him forever.  It occurs at the same time as the first resurrection.

GRAY - God's teaching tools and methods.  The means whereby God instructs us and His personal ways of handling those means. Gray verses would principally be those showing the coding and decoding process God used in the Bible as revealed by true  interpretation. One should note that these tools and methods do  include God's servant, the Holy Spirit, or His motive, which is love.

GREEN - Witnessing and preaching.  Evangelizing the world with the gospel, making Jesus known to the unsaved.  Green would speak more of the techniques of preaching than the message.

BROWN - Human nature.  One's capacity for sin as opposed to his "living out" sin. Brown is the desire and natural inclination to give in to the flesh.  The self-centered nature in man and the wreckage of his once godly nature. It is also the color of human
 corruption.

 CONCLUSION
          Finally, it must be said that this short introduction to the understanding and use of the "Colored Bible" is far from
exhaustive. Other Subjects, such as the overlapping of some colors. more usage explanations and examples of usages need to
be considered, and the reader is urged to read the more complete pamphlet concerning this method-"Understanding the
Colored Bible."

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