2Tim 3:14-17 (KJV)
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned [them]; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The Holy Bible, God’s word revealed to man, is made up of 66 books. These books were penned by approx. 35 authors. The Bible covers over 6000 years of history through the use of both historical accounts and prophetic writings.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Bible, it can be a very confusing, intimidating book. In many cases, an attempt at studying and becoming familiar with the Word can be a very frustrating experience. In our 4-part blog series, we will be looking at some basic information about the Bible. Hopefully, through this study we will be laying a basic foundation of Bible knowledge. In doing so, our hope is that the Bible will become more easily understood and less intimidating.
If there is one key to coming to a better understanding of God’s Word, it is a consistent, daily quiet time of Bible reading. The more we read the Bible the more we become familiar with it. With this familiarity, comes which leads to less intimidation and an easier, more complete understanding of His Word.
Our series will consist of 4 parts:
- The Order and Divisions of the Bible
- The Author and Writers of the Bible
- The Time Line of the Bible
- The Theme of the Bible
A downloadable spreadsheet containing all the series information can be found at the following link… two versions are available BibleSurvey - Excel or BibleSurvey - PDF. Please feel free to save it to you hard drive or print it out to use during your Bible Study times.
THE STUDY:
The central theme of the Bible is Jesus Christ, His person, His work, and His desires for our lives.
The two main divisions of the Bible are the Old Testament and the New Testament…
The Old Testament…
- Is made up of 39 books.
- Was written BEFORE Christ’s first coming to the earth, the OT looks FORWARD to the first coming of Christ to the earth.
- Its main theme is Jesus Christ. Christ is presented through the use of symbolism, prophetic predictions and the story of Christ’s nation of ancestry (Israel).
The divisions of the Old Testament include…
- The Pentateuch – the first five books of the Old Testament
- The beginning of the world
- The beginning of sin
- The beginning of the languages and races of the world
- The beginning of the Nation of Israel
- The beginning of the Law of God
- The History - The History of the Nation of Israel including
- The retaking of the land area of Israel
- The time of the Judges ruling united Israel
- The time of the Kings ruling united Israel
- The time of the Kings ruling the divided nation of Israel
- The taking of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria
- The taking of the Southern Kingdom of Judah
- The Poetry - Books of Practical Knowledge and Remembrance and Praise
- The Example of Faith under Fire of Job
- The Worship songs of Israel
- The Wisdom writings of Solomon
- The Major Prophets - The prophetic books of the OT that are long in length
- The Events spoken of involve events concerning the North and South kingdoms of Israel and events related to the 1st and 2nd comings of Christ
- The Minor Prophets - The prophetic books of the OT that are short in length
- The Events spoken of are identical to the major prophets (events concerning the North and South kingdoms of Israel and events related to the 1st and 2nd comings of Christ)
The New Testament…
- Is made up of 27 books
- Was written AFTER Christ’s 1st coming to the earth. The New Testament looks BACKWARD at the coming of Christ, leaving us historical accounts and explanations of His coming.
- Its main theme is Jesus Christ. Christ is presented through the use of historical accounts, doctrinal teachings, explanations and clarifications of OT passages and prophecies of His second coming to earth.
The divisions of the New Testament include…
- The Gospels – The historical accounts of Christ’s first coming
- Christ’s birth, His ministry, His crucifixion and resurrection.
- The Church History – The historical record of the beginning of the ministry of the church
- the Ascension of Christ
- Pentecost
- Churches formed in Israel and throughout the Gentile nations
- The persecution and martyrdom of the Apostles and other followers of Christ.
- The Pauline Epistles (Note: Epistles are personal letters) – the personal letters written by the Apostle Paul to various churches and individuals
- These letters contain both doctrinal and practical instruction
- The General Epistles - the personal letters written by the various followers of Christ. They wrote to churches and individuals to various churches and individuals
- These letters contain both doctrinal and practical instruction
- The Prophecies – the Revelation received by John while banished to the Isle of Patmos
- prophecies concerning the existing churches of his day and future events leading to the second coming of Christ.
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The Main Divisions of the Bible and the Books that each contain…
THE OLD TESTAMENT
- The Books of The Pentateuch
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
- The Books of History
- Joshua
- Judges
- Ruth
- 1 Samuel
- 2 Samuel
- 1 Kings
- 2 Kings
- 1 Chronicles
- 2 Chronicles
- Ezra
- Nehemiah
- Esther
- The Books of Poetry
- Job
- Psalms
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Solomon
- The Books of the Major Prophets
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Lamentations
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- The Books of the Minor Prophets
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Zechariah
- Malachi
THE NEW TESTAMENT
- The Books of the Gospels
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- The Book of Church History
- Acts
- The Books of the Pauline Epistles
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Hebrews
- The Books of the General Epistles
- James
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude
- The Book of NT Prophecy
- Revelation
In our next blog entry we will be looking at the different writers that God used to pen His Holy Word
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To see this lesson taught on video please go to my Video Blog at http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven
If you have any questions concerning this blog, or if you have a subject you would like discussed, please feel free to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I will answer all emails via my blog, email, or both.
Take A Look At My Wife’s Artistic/Scriptural Devotion Blog http://alivewithchristart.blogspot.com
Follow my Squidoo Instructional Lens “Presenting God’s Grace” “The Solemn Obligation To Present the Doctrines of Grace to the Lost and Saved Alike” http://www.squidoo.com/presenting-gods-grace
May the Lord bless your study of His Word. Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”
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