The Bible
The Holy Bible is a collection of sixty-six books. It consists of two parts, the Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament has thirty-nine books and the New Testament has twenty-seven books.
The Old Testament
There are four divisions of books in the Old Testament:
- The Pentateuch which consists of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
- The Historical Books which consist of: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
- The Poetical Books which consist of: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.
- The Prophetic Books which consist of: a. The major prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. B. The Minor Prophets – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The New Testament
There are four divisions in the New Testament:
- The Gospels which consist of: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
- The Historical Book of Acts.
- The Epistles which consist of:
- The Pauline Epistles – Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon).
- The general Epistles – Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude.
- The prophetic book of Revelation
The Miracle of the Bible
One of the greatest miracles of the Bible is its unity. The sixty-six books of the Bible were written on three continents, in three languages, by about 40 different people (priests, kings, an army general, scientists, attorneys, shepherds, fishermen, and a physician), over a period of about 1,500 years, on the most debated topics by people who, in most cases, had never met and by authors whose education and background differed greatly.
Yet, though it seems totally unbelievable, the sixty-books books have full harmony with one another. This is so because these books were inspired by One author – God. “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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The Bible is the very thought of God communicated to men (2 Peter 1:21). The life-giving power in the Scriptures is due to the life breathed into them by the Creator Himself.
The Bible Answer Life’s Most Asked Questions:
- Where did I come from? The Bible says that God created mankind (Genesis 1:1) in His image (Genesis 1:16,17).
- Why am I here? The Bible says our goal in life is to get to know our Creator, accept His plan of salvation from sin through Christ, become more like Him each day (Romans 8:29) and get ready for the judgement (Luke 12:40).
- What does the future hold for me? The Bible says that Jesus will come very soon to take His children to live with Him forever (John 14:1–3).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
