The Message of the Bible

Old Testament

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

New Testament

Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation

The first book printed by Johannes Gutenberg after the invention of the printing press in 1454, the Bible has been the world's best-seller ever since. The Bible has a staying power that no other work has even approached, and has had a powerful influence on cultures all over the world.

The Bible is really a collection of 66 other documents called "books". It was written at various times by about 40 authors between about 1400 BC and AD 100. Nevertheless, it shows a remarkable unity of theme and subject.

Each of these books was later divided into chapters and verses, in order to make it easier to find various statements and stories.

Christians believe that the Bible is "God's Word", a message to human beings from God.

Christians point out several kinds of evidence that the Bible comes from God: it is historically accurate; it is scientifically accurate; it has intricate patterns of symbols and themes which could not have been planned by the human writers; many of its prophetic predictions have already come true; and those who have read the Bible say that it speaks directly to their hearts. Since the Bible has a solid record of being right on subjects that can be tested, the Bible deserves respect for its statements about things that cannot be tested.

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

The first five books of the Old Testament are thought to have been written by Moses, possibly between about 1280 and 1240 BC.

Genesis chapters 1 and 2 describe the creation of the universe (including human beings) by God.

Genesis 3 describes the choice of human beings to reject God and God's way of doing things--the Bible calls this choice "sin". Much of the rest of the Bible records the evil and disasters, including death itself, which came into the world as a result of this rejection of God. The rest of the Bible also provides God's solution to this problem.

Most of the rest of Genesis concerns God's promise to Abraham (between 2000 and 1700 BC) that he would be the ancestor of a great nation. Genesis closes with Abraham's descendants moving to Egypt about 1700-1650 BC.

The book of Exodus begins about 400 years later, with Abraham's descendants, having grown into the nation of Israel, living as slaves in Egypt. God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God also gave Moses laws, particularly the Ten Commandments, telling the Israelites (and other human beings) how He wants them to live.

Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy give more details of these laws. The laws included plans for a temple in Jerusalem and rules for offering sacrifices so that people could be forgiven for the sins they had committed.

Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther

Joshua describes how the Israelites, led by Joshua, conquered the land now known as Palestine, beginning about 1240 BC. Judges and Ruth cover the years to about 1050 BC, when Israel began to be ruled by kings.

I Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings tell the history of Israel while it was ruled by kings. 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles repeat the same history from a lightly different point of view. Some of the kings, such as David and his son Solomon, were relatively good. However, even though they had God's laws and the first part of the Bible, the Israelites gradually rejected God and drifted into sin again. The result was more evil and disaster. Israel was divided into two nations (Israel and Judah) about 931 BC. Israel was conquered by Assyria in 722 BC and dispersed. The people of Judah (now called Jews) were conquered by Babylon in 587BC and exiled.

Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther describe how the Jews returned to following God and were allowed to return to Palestine after about 537 BC.

Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs

Job tells the story of Job, a good man whom God allowed to be tested by a series of personal disasters.

Psalms is a collection of songs about God and life written by King David and others.

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes contain wise sayings and observations written by King Solomon and others.

Song of Songs, also known as Song of Solomon, is a celebration of marital love.

Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

The last section of the Old Testament consists of messages from God written by "prophets", mostly during the reigns of the kings (between about 780 and 400 BC). These books present God's view of the history of Israel. They point out that even though Israel was given God's laws, the Israelites, like other human beings, proved to be hopelessly evil and sinful. The prophets then promised that God would send His Son Jesus Christ to earth to save human beings from the evil they had gotten themselves into.

The Bible has two parts.

The Old Testament was written between about 1400 and 400 BC. It is accepted as a revelation from God by both Jews and Christians. The New Testament was written between about AD 49 and 96.

The Old Testament reveals several key things, particularly that God is completely good, but that humans have chosen to do evil; humans are thus condemned and in need of being "saved". The New Testament reveals God's solution to humanity's problem--Jesus Christ.

Matthew
Mark
Luke
John

The first four books of the New Testament are called "Gospels", which means "good news". Written by the first followers of Jesus, they tell the story of Jesus' life. Mark is probably the earliest. Matthew was written to describe Jesus' life to Jews. Luke addresses educated people. John spends more time showing the significance of Jesus, demonstrating that He is the Son of God.

The Gospels tell the story of the miraculous birth of Jesus without a human father about 6-4 BC. They report His teaching, and describe the miracles He performed. The Gospels then tell of Jesus' execution about AD 27-29. They explain that Jesus was sinless and did not deserve to die as human beings do. In fact, He died in place of human beings, paying the penalty for humans' sins. This brings to human beings forgiveness, reconciliation with God and everlasting life. Jesus then visibly rose from the dead, demonstrating both that He is God and that He will bring His followers back to life after they die.

Acts

This book tells of the rapid growth of the Christian church from Jesus' resurrection to about AD 70. This rapid spread of Christianity was mainly due to the remarkable story that Jesus Christ had been crucified and had risen from the dead--a story that could not be disproven by Jesus' enemies. From about a hundred followers, by the end of the first century, Christians probably made up about 10% of the population of the Roman Empire--in spite of severe persecution.

More than half of Acts describes the journeys of an early Christian missionary named Paul, who spread the Christian message to Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and Italy.

Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude

The largest number of documents in the New Testament are letters written by early Christian leaders to Christian churches. The letters tell more about Jesus and describe how Christians are supposed to live.

Nine of these letters were written by Paul to churches in places such as Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae and Thessalonica. Four others were written by Paul to individuals (Timothy, Titus and Philemon). Hebrews may also have been written by Paul.

The other seven letters were written by other leaders named James, Peter, John and Jude.

Revelation

The New Testament, like the Old Testament, concludes with prophecy. The book of Revelation describes what conditions will be like throughout the rest of history. It then describes the end of the world, when Jesus will return to earth again. It warns that evil people who refuse Jesus' salvation will receive the punishment their sins deserve. It promises that people who have accepted Jesus will be given a wonderful new life in heaven.

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