Bible Information

Books of the Bible

66 books, 1189 chapters, 40 authors, 6000 years of history

The Old Testament

Divided into Five Sections:

  1. 5 Books of Law (Pentateuch) - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The Pentateuch shows how Israel was chosen, redeemed, seperated, disciplined and instructed.
  2. 12 Books of History - Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuels, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Highlights from Israel's history include Canaan's conquest, Israel's dark ages, the golden years under Saul, David and Solomon, and the division of the kingdom.
  3. 5 Books of Poetry and Wisdom - Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. These books describe man's struggle with suffering and purpose, the saints' worship, holy living, and marriage.
  4. 5 Books of Major Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel. These books reveal God's contemporary message to Israel's kings and people, with prophetic glimpses of His coming New Testament kingdom.
  5. 12 Books of Minor Prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. These books record strong preaching against sin and astounding details of the coming Messiah.

Note: The only difference between the "Major" and "Minor" Prophets is the length of writing.


The New Testament

Divided into Four Sections:

  1. 4 Biographies of Christ - The Gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. In Matthew, Christ is presented as the King of the Jews. In Mark, He is the Servant of God. In Luke, He is the Son of Man. In John, He is the Son of God.
  2. History of the Church of Christ - Acts. Acts records the first generation of the church and presents cases of conversion.
  3. Letters of Paul - Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus.
    • General Letters - Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John, Jude.
  4. Prophecy From Christ - Revelation. This book consoled those who were suffering for Christ and pictures the future home of the faithful.

Simply by reading the New Testament in order, one is led to believe in Jesus (section 1), obey the gospel (section 2), worship and live faithfully (section 3), and prepare to go to heaven when death comes (section 4).



The Bible Contains Two Great Covenants...

The Old Covenant or Old Testament and The New Covenant or New Testament.

The word "covenant" is used to identify an agreement between two parties in which rules and regulations are spelled out and rewards are offered when the agreement is kept. God made the first great covenant with the Jewish (Israelite) Nation (Deuteronomy 5:1-4). It was given through Moses (Malachi 4:4) and it was to be kept throughout their generations until the "anointed One" should come (Galatians 3:19). It contained a perfect Law, as such, but the people were not able to keep it perfectly (Romans 7:12; 8:1-4; Hebrews 8:6-8). Thus, the Law of Moses helped the people to see their need of Christ (Galatians 3:15-25), who was to be the Redeemer for all mankind. Jesus was born as a Jew and lived under the Law of Moses (Galatians 4:4-5). He came to live the Law perfectly, so that He could become the perfect sacrifice for sin (John 1:29; Matthew 5:17-18). The Old Covenant had served its purpose and a New Covenant was given by Christ that went into effect at His death (Hebrews 8:6-8, 13; 9:15-22). All nations are now to be given the opportunity to come under that agreement with God (Matthew 28:18-20).



The Unity of Its Writings

The oldest of the Bible books was written about 3,500 years ago. The last book of the Bible was written about 1,900 years ago. The 66 books that make up the Bible have descended to modern times by means of handwritten copies. There are more than 12,000 manuscripts that when combined produce the Bible as we know it today. There were nearly 40 writers of the Bible. These writers lived at different times and in different locations, but they all wrote a unified account of God's people and the salvation that comes through faith in God. How can the Bible's amazing unity be explained except for the fact that it came from the inspiration of God?

Scientific Proofs of the Bible's Inspiration

Did you know that the Bible spoke of the earth being round hundreds of years before Columbus proved the fact (please see Isaiah 40:21-22)? Did you know that the Bible tells us the "earth hangs on nothing" long before man knew that to be true (see Job 26:7)? Did you know that until 1885 man did not know about ocean currents, until an oceanographer read of the "paths of the seas" in Psalm 8:8? The obvious question is how could these and other scientific facts be stated in the Bible long before man learned of them unless the Bible were inspired of God?

The Bible is God's Word

The Bible claims to be inspired. Peter said, "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:21.) The Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) so guided the writers of the Bible that they could not make mistakes. "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." (1 Cor. 2:13.) Because of this there are no real contradictions in the Bible. Those things which appear to be contradictions disappear under close investigation. That the Bible is true may be shown by several of its characteristics.

  • It's SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE, even though it is not a book of science.
  • It's HISTORICALLY ACCURATE. attempts to prove it wrong have failed.
  • It's PROPHETICALLY CORRECT its prophecies have been fulfilled.
  • It's IMPARTIAL, presenting both good and bad of all men.
  • It presents the world's HIGHEST STANDARD of MORALITY.
  • IT HAS NEVER BEEN DESTROYED despite attempts to eliminate it.