(Understanding the Bible in 20 Sentences)
1.) The bible is the INSPIRED, INERRANT, and AUTHORITATIVE Word of God.
*Inspired - act by which God super intended the authors of the bible.
*Inerrant - when all facts are known with no errors.
*Authoritative - words in scriptures are God's words.
2.) The bible is 1 book which consists of 66 individual books.
+Consider the bible was:
*Written over a period of 1,500 years.
*Written by over 40 different authors from various walks of life.
*Written in 3 different languages.
*Written on 3 different continents.
*Written in various moods.
*And written in various locations.
+Yet amongst all that diversity, from Genesis to Revelation the bible demonstrates an incredible unity that leads us to the truth that it was written by a single author!
3.) The bible's 66 books are divided into 2 testaments, the Old Testament with 39 books and the New Testament with 27 books.
4.) The big picture of the bible can be understood in terms of 5 CHRIST-CENTERED divisions:
*Anticipation (Genesis-Malachi) - prophecies only what Jesus can fulfill.
*Manifestation (Matthew-John) - the one anticipated was manifested. birth-death.
*Proclamation (Acts) - traces growth of the early church.
*Explanation (Romans-Jude) - He is now explained.
*Consimation - (Revelation) - what God started, He will finish.
5.) The old testament consists of 39 books written BEFORE the birth of Christ.
6.) The 39 books of the old testament are divided into 17 Historical books, 5 Poetic books, and 17 Prophetic books.
*5 Historical (Pentateuch) = Genesis-Deuteronomy
*12 Historical (Israel) = Joshua-Esther
*5 Poetic = Job-Song of Solomon
*5 Prophetic (Major) = Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
*12 Prophetic (Minor) = Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zepheniah, Haggai, Zecheriah, Malachi
7.) The key to understanding the old testament is to realize that the first 17 historical books cover the entire STORYLINE of the old testament, from creation to approximately 400 B.C., while the remaining 5 poetic books FIT IN at proper places within that storyline.
8.) The major storyline of the old testament, while foreign to many, is not dificult to learn, as its 4,000+ year history can be understood by learning Max Anders' nine eras of the old testament: CREATION, PATRIARCH, EXODUS, CONQUEST, JUDGES, KINGDOM, EXILE, RETURN, and SILENCE.
9.) Concerning the poetical books (Wisdom Books), Job is about SUFFERING, Psalms is about WORSHIP, Proverbs is about WISDOM, Ecclesiastes is about MEANING, and Song of Solomon is about MARITAL ROMANCE.
10.) The first thing to realize about the Prophetic Books is that the descriptions Major and Minor refer to LENGTH and not IMPORTANCE, and the reference to length is inconsistent... thus the labels are unfortunate.
11.) Concerning the prophetic books, there are 3 major categories to keep in mind: PRE-EXILIC, EXILIC, and POST-EXILIC, though 3 of the prophetic books do not fit into these categories.
12.) The period between the old testament (approx 400BC) and the beginning of the new testament (approx 4BC) is often referred to as the SILENCE PERIOD though God was greatly at work behind the scenes, preparing the way for His Son Jesus.
13.) The New Testament consists of 27 books written by the early followers of Christ.
14.) The 27 books of the new testament are divided into 5 historical books, 21 epistles, and 1 prophetic book.
15.) The gospels present Jesus Christ from the nique prospective of 4 different authors who were writing to 4 different audiences, together presenting a compelling, complimentary (no contradictions) picture of Jesus.
*Matthew - Relationship of Jesus to the JEWISH faith. Denounces hypocritical outlook of Pharisees. Judgment on the Jews for not responding to the Messiah.
*Mark - Action rather than teaching. Disciples need to be ready to endure same difficulties Jesus faced. Jesus chose humble path.
*Luke - Blessings of salvation. Signs of the Messiah: miracles, etc. Focused on grace given to undeserving people.
*John - Jesus as one sent by God the Father to be the Savior. John brings eternal significance.
16.) The book of Acts records the works of the ascended Jesus through his Spirit in the lives of the early church as the gospel spread to the city of JERUSALEM, JUDEA, SAMARIA, and the ENDS of the earth through the Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Paul.
*Gospel spreading to:
*Jerusalem (Chapters 1-7)
*Judea and Samaria (Chapters 8-12)
*Remote Parts of the Earth (Chapters 13-28)
17.) While Paul's 13 LETTERS are placed from longest to shortest in our bible, they are better understood in their proper historical context:
*After Paul's 1st missionary journey he wrote - GALATIANS.
*During pauls 2nd missionary journey he wrote - 1 & 2 THESSALONIANS.
*During pauls 3rd missionary journey he wrote - 1 & 2 CORINTHIANS and ROMANS
*During pauls 1st imprisonment in Rome he wrote - EPHESIANS, COLOSSIANS, PHILEMON, and PHILIPPIANS.
*After his release from prison he wrote - TITUS and 1 TIMOTHY.
*During his 2nd and final imprisonment he wrote - 2 TIMOTHY
Note: after his 1st - he wrote 1 book, during 2nd - he wrote 2 books, during 3rd - he wrote 3 books, during 4th (imprisonment) - he wrote 4 ... Pattern!
18.) The GENERAL EPISTLES are so named because they (for the most part) are not addressed to specific audiences, but they might better be called PAULINE EPISTLES.
19.) Revelation is the final book of the bible that records the RETURN of Jesus which John saw in Revelation 1:12-16, Jesus' LETTERS to the seven churches of John's day (Chapters 2-3), and the things that will take place in the FUTURE. (Chapters 4-22)
20.) The bible is to be HEARD, READ, STUDIED, MEMORIZED, and MEDITATED ON upon for a lifetime!
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