A Quick Overview Of The Bible

 

The English word Bible comes from the Latin Biblia which means book or books. The Bible is actually a library of books – 66 books to be exact. There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The timeline of all the books covers over 3500 years of human history. The Old Testament covers the majority of this time frame, whereas the New Testament covers about 100 years only.  The first book Genesis covers about 2200 years of human history – more than the other 65 books combined. The Bible was written over a period of about 1500 years written by around 40 different authors.

Why was the Bible written?

The Bible was written as God’s personal revelation to mankind. I think of it as a very large collection of love letters. God wanted us to learn about and develop a relationship with Him based on love and obedience. God decided of His own free will to use man as His instruments to record His revelation. It is important to remember that the words man wrote are not his own – they are God’s. Man is only the human author. God is the original and divine author. The Bible could never exist if God did not supernaturally communicate His revelation to man. The Bible tells us this in 2 Peter 1:21, “No prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

In other words, the Biblical writers did not speak from God unless they were commanded to. Anyone who claimed to speak for God and the words they spoke did not come to pass was a false prophet. False prophets in the Old Testament were put to death (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

Who Is the Bible About?

The Bible is centered around one person – The Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said, ‘’The volume of the Book is written about me (Psalm 40:7; Luke 24:27,44). At its core, the entire Bible is a book of redemption. It clearly describes the hopelessness of man because of sin, and the supreme love of God who loves man so much that He (the Father) would send His perfect, sinless Son to die as a perfect sacrifice for mankind’s sins (John 3:16). Anyone who places their complete trust and life into the hands of Christ would be forgiven of all their sins and granted salvation and entrance into the kingdom of God and as a child of God. Anyone who does not believe in the completed work of Christ is condemned. If one dies in that condemnation, they will be eternally lost. Although there are many different religions and belief systems, none of them can save man but one Why? Jesus said John 14:6, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father except by Me.” So, there is no need for confusion. Jesus said believe in Him for salvation. To reject Him is what the writer calls “eternal suicide” – meaning one will be lost for eternity.

When was the Bible written, who are some of its main characters?

The Bible describes the origins of the universe. The first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis 1:1 tell us in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This insight of who created the universe should settle the matter forever but sadly it has not. Many believe in evolution as the cause for the creation of everything. Evolutionists believe the universe was created by some process called the Big Bang Theory. Evolution can never happen because that would mean the world was created by an effect with no cause. That is impossible.

God is the creator of the human race. The first man and woman ever created was Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:7; 20-23). They are parents of everyone that will ever dwell on the earth.

Another key figure in the Bible was Noah. He was the one God commanded to build the ark. God destroyed the old world with a flood because man became too wicked on the earth (Genesis 6 &7). The only people to survive the flood were Noah, his wife, his three sons Ham, Shem and Japheth and their wives. Just eight people and some of the animals were in the ark.

Abraham was the man that God called His friend. God promised Abraham that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham is known for his great faith in God and His promises. He is known as the Father of the faithful (Romans 4:16).

Jacob was the man that wrestled with God. God changed his name to Israel which means one who wrestles with God (Genesis 32:28). The nation Israel that exists today comes from him and his descendants. He is the father of the Jewish people.

Moses was the one that led the Hebrew race out of slavery in Egypt. He was the one that parted the Red Sea when the Hebrews were running from Pharoah and the Egyptians. This occurred around 1446/1445 B.C. when Moses was 80 years old (Exodus 12). God through Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. It is in Exodus 20 where we get the famous Ten Commandments.

David was a shepherd boy from the town of Bethlehem. God made him a king around 1010 B.C. He conquered the ancient city of Jerusalem (city of peace) and made it his capital. He was the one that killed the Philistine giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17:48-50; 2 Samuel 5:6-10). David was also a skilled musician, songwriter, and singer. David wrote almost half the Psalms.

Daniel was a captive of Babylon during the sixth century B.C. He was a wise man in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. He was a prophet and a gifted interpreter of dreams. God gave him the ability to predict future events with precise accuracy. Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter two of a huge metallic statue.

Who are some New Testament Figures?

Peter was an Apostle of Christ. He is the author of 1 & 2 Peter. He denied he knew Jesus three times after the Lord was arrested by the Roman authorities (Matthew 26:69-75). On the Day of Pentecost-the birth of Church, Peter preached the very first Church sermon. About three thousand people were saved and baptized (Acts 2).

Paul was an Apostle of Christ. Before he was saved, he was part of religious sect called the Pharisees. He was a member of a group called the Sanhedrin. An elite group that served like a Jewish Supreme Court. Paul (who’s Hebrew name is Saul) was an educated man. An expert in the law of Moses. Before he was saved, he used to persecute the Church, but after Jesus saved him, he became the main teacher/evangelist to the non-Jewish world in the first century. Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament – thirteen books.  They are:

·           Romans

·           1 &2 Corinthians

·           Galatians

·           Ephesians

·           Colossians

·           Philippians

·           1 & 2 Thessalonians

·           1 & 2 Timothy

·           Titus

·           Philemon

  John was an Apostle of Christ. John wrote 5 New Testament books. They are:

·           The Gospel of John

·           1st John

·           2^nd John

·           3^rd John

·           Revelation

John referred to himself as the disciple who Jesus loved (John 21:20). The book of Revelation deals with future events such as the Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation, the Second Coming of Christ, the Millennium Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgement and the destruction of the devil. These are all end time events.

Jesus Christ

Jesus means God is Salvation. Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Rather Christ is His title. Christ comes from the Greek Christos which means anointed one. It is equivalent to Messiah. As mentioned earlier in the article, all the books are about Christ. Jesus primary goal was to seek and save that which is lost (Luke 19:10). Who or what is lost? Mankind. God the Father sent the Son to save our souls from our sins (Matthew 1:21).

Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). To die in sin means that one died unforgiven because they rejected Jesus, the only way to salvation.

The Bible teaches salvation through Jesus Christ and Him alone.

Peter declared in Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”

Finally, John the Baptist said, “He that has the Son has life. He that does not have the Son does not have life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

Finish Line

Our God is a lover of mankind. He is long suffering, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He must punish sin because He is absolutely holy. He also willing and ready to forgive the penitent sinner. He gave us His word so that we could get to know Him personally. Whatever ideologies we face in life, and there will be too many to count, always go to the Bible to get God’s view on it. This is the way one begins to think and act Biblically. The scriptures (writings) are wisdom from the Almighty. Read and study it. Trust it. Understand it. Obey it and teach it. This will make one mature – thoroughly furnished for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16).