The Bible Consists of 66 Books: Old Testament - 39
Books, New Testament -27 Books Written in a span of 1600 years
From Moses to John.
So how can one be sure that the Bible we have in our
own hands is the real one?
Josephus (37-101AD) Against Apion: "We have given practical proof of our reverence for
our own Scriptures. For, although such long ages have now passed, no one has
ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable"
Who wrote the Bible?
2Peter1:20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of
Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never
had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit.
The Author of the Bible
2Tim3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
1Thessalonians2:13 And we also thank God continually
because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you
accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God,
which is at work in you who believe.
The basic principle is that while the Bible is written
by men (driven by the Holy Spirit), God is the Author of the Bible.
So the Word of God (see John1) is like Jesus - Divine and human in unity!
Let's have a look at how the Bible has been written.
There are several ways:
1. God spoke, the author wrote. Typical example: Moses
Exodus 24:4 Moses then wrote down everything the
LORD had said.
2. God talk to the author in a dream. Example: Daniel
Daniel Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king
of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was
lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
3. The author is under direct God's guidance -
"in the
Spirit". Example - John:
Revelation1:10 On the Lord's Day I was in the
Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said:
"Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the
seven churches"
4. The author dictates the message to somebody else for
various reasons. Example: Jeremiah
Jeremiah 31:17 Then they asked Baruch,
"Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did
Jeremiah dictate it?"
18 "Yes, Baruch replied, "he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in
ink on the scroll."
5. The author is eyewitness. Typical example: the
disciples
2Peter1:16 We did not follow cleverly invented
stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
1John1:3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may
have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,
Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
What is the Bible talking
about?
1. It reveals its author, Jesus.
John5:39, 40 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them
you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet
you refuse to come to me to have life.
2. It shows our real condition
Heb4:12 For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
3. Enlighten us, especially on the essential questions
of life
Psalm109:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a
light for my path.
4. It shows us the truth
John17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is
truth.
The Bible can not be treated as a supermarket - we
take what we want, but we leave what we don't want
Deuteronomy4:2 Do not add to what I command you and
do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give
you
Prov 30:5 Every word of God is flawless; he is
a shield to those who take refuge in him. 6 Do not add to his words, or he will
rebuke you and prove you a liar.
The Bible is not written as a school textbook: It
requires our diligent study, its gems are all around waiting for us to find
them
Isaiah28:10 For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on
rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there.
The Bible have been persecuted most severely, and many
people insisting on its principles have paid with their lives.
If a robber comes at your home and points a gun to your
head demanding your cash and valuables, what are you going to do? You going to
part with them to save your live, most logically. So you will keep what is most
precious to you, but you will part with the less valuable - your possessions.
These people reacted in the same way! for them most valuable was their faith,
based on the Bible, rather than their life.
This picture depict this situation. Rome in the first
second and third centuries has been the scene of the persecution. While 10 died
in the arena, devoured by the lions, thousand among the spectators become
Christians, seeing their godly courage. Tertulian says: While your gods are
staying at the pubs and the flies spit on them all, our God is living in heaven!
Rev12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and
by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to
shrink from death.
Tertulian wrote: Semen est sangua christianorum! (The
christian blood is a seed!)
The Bible
promises the greatest joy ever experienced by human beings, so it is a
personal experience, which nothing else can substitute
Jeremiah15:16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my
heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.
Do you like pizza? Yes? Me too! It is really nice hot
from the oven, steaming and crunchy...
Now imagine taking the pizza and liquidising it in the
blender. Tell me, will you drink the warm juice coming out of it? No, of course!
This is exactly the point which Jeremiah is making in the quoted above verse:
When your words came,
I ate them; they were
my joy and my heart's delight.
So it is a personal experience!
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Personal Experience...
Acts17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble
character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great
eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was
true.
Two ways of dealing with the Bible
1. INVENT A THEORY,
AND TRY TO SUPPORT IT FROM THE BIBLE
Mat4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the
highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw
yourself down. For it is written: '"He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot
against a stone.'" (Ps.91:11,12)
Actually the devil is trying to suggest that you can do
anything you want, because you are under God's protection. This is the sin of
presumption. He supports his temptation with bible verse - Ps. 91:11,12
2. STUDY THE BIBLE, AND MAKE CONCLUSIONS ONLY AFTER
COMPRISE RESEARCH. BE READY TO CHANGE YOUR FAVOURITE THEORY AS SOON AS YOU SEE
THAT BIBLE DOES NOT SUPPORT IT
Its is Sunday afternoon, two people are walking the
road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. In their minds Jesus was expected to take the
David's throne and to chase the hateful Romans. Instead he was disgracefully
treated and crucified as a worst of the criminals. They are disappointed because
they neglected all His words about his crucifixion as a only way to save
humanity! He explains their mistake and gives them a short Bible study, without
revealing who He is, lest they forget the lesson
Luke 24:19 "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they
replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the
people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to
death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was
going to redeem Israel. 25 He said to them, "How foolish you
are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did
not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in
all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Different languages of the
Bible
1. Narrative (Literal):
Acts28:11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in
the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods
Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.
There is nothing symbolic, prophetic, poetic, or
metaphorical in the above passage. Paul just describes his journey
2. Figurative
Psalm
44:23Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do
not reject us forever
God actually doesn't sleep, but the psalmist uses that
expression to emphasise his great need of God
3.Symbolic
Numbers14:34 33 Your children will be shepherds here
for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your
bodies lies in the desert. 34 For forty years—one year for
each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your
sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’
Ezekiel 4:6 ‘‘After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your
right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days,
a day for each year
In numerous Bible prophecies which deal with time a day
is used for a year as the texts above explain. Bear this in mind because later
we are going to study some of them.
Also Revelation and Daniel are full of beasts of
various sizes and shapes. It is not a Zoo, but a symbol of kingdoms
Daniel 7:2 Daniel said: In my vision at night I
looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great
sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the
sea.
As was stated before (Isa.28:10) - Here little, there little - Bible explains
itself! In this case the explanation is just few verses down:
16‘So he told me and gave me the interpretation of
these things: 17 The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from
the earth.
