The word bible simply means 'book'. The ancient Israelites were known and referred to as "the people of the book" by
neighboring tribes and nations. In the time of Jesus, Jews read from the scriptures. Clearly, the written 'book' has existed
for a long time. Before the written scrolls it was transmitted orally from generation to generation.
The Holy Book specifically refers to the collection of writings in the Judaeo-Christian collection of scriptures.
For convenience in modern speech and writing the Holy Book is referred to as the Bible with uppercase B.
The Bible is so important in Western Civilization that it is the first book printed using movable type invented by
Johannes Gutenberg around 1439 AD in Mainz, Germany.
Content of the Bible
The content varies somewhat among traditions, denominations, and sects. There is a wonderful comparative
chart online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_the_Bible if it has not moved. Click
here to view it in a new window or tab.
The individual books have names taken from various sources. Some are named from the first word in Hebrew [like Exodus],
others from the name of the believed writer [like Ezra], and others from their theme [like Chronicles or Psalms].
Each book is divided into chapters and verses. These divisions were added to facilitate reference to specific content so
any person could know what another person was pointing to in a communication. It is simply standardization for our
convenience and has nothing to do with the original author's intent.
It enables me to tell you that John 5:24 is among the most important verses in the Bible, you have a way to read it with
assurance that it is exactly the quotation I mean. You go to the Gospel of John. In it you find chapter 5. You look through
chapter 5 until you come to the verse numbered 24.
This form of notation allows reference to multiple verses and spans across verses such as in these examples:
Gen 1:1-3 means chapter 1, verses 1 through 3, in Book of Genesis.
Gen 1:1,3 means chapter 1, verse 1 and verse 3, skipping over verse 2.
Gen 1:1-3, 4:3, 7 means chapter 1, verses 1 through 3, AND chapter 4, verses 3 and 7.
Exod 17:9 - Judges 2:7 means the entire span, (which includes the life of Joshua).
The Old Testament
The Hebrew Bible corresponds pretty closely with the Christian Bible OLD Testament. What we call the Pentateuch, the
Jews call Torah. In both cases it means the first five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
The Torah reveals how after creation things progressed until the covenant was established with Abraham [Abram], the
law was given to Moses, and the chosen people prepared to cross into their promised land.
Following the Mosaic books are histories and prophesies, poetry and songs ... the story of the people of
Israel [Jacob's descendants] and their relationship with God.
The New Testament
This part of our Bible contains the Gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The first three are labeled
"synoptic" meaning chronological accounts. John's is more metaphysical. Matthew and John were disciples of Jesus who
walked with him throughout his earthly ministry. They, with ten others, were the inner circle and we call them Apostles.
They claimed to be eyewitnesses. Mark and Luke obtained their information from other sources.
It is worth noting that there were at least fifty other 'gospels' circulating in the first centuries after Christ but they did not
make it into the Bible which was formalized by the Council of Laodicea in 363. At that time the book of Revelation was not
included. The other excluded gospels are widely available in print for reading by anyone interested.
You can imagine how the reports of the death and resurrection of a carpenter from Nazareth, turned itinerant preacher
and miracle worker, produced stories and rumors. Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem in 350 AD set the canon of accepted books for inclusion.
Keep in mind that, whether or not guided by the Holy Spirit, these were ordinary men deciding what would and would not
be allowed in the church. Still today there are several books accepted by some, notably Roman Catholics, and rejected by
others, notably Protestants.
First, and most important, are the four Gospels. The word gospel comes from medieval English and means
'good news'. The first two definition entries in Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Dictionary,
© Random House, Inc. 2009 read as follows:
"1. the teachings of Jesus and the apostles; the Christian revelation.
2. the story of Christ's life and teachings, esp. as contained in the first four books of the New Testament,
namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. "
I believe it is important to recognize that the Good News is the news Jesus proclaimed.
It is what he said and what it means.
Surely it is good news that he came at all, but the reason he came was to bring us the good news of The Kingdom of God.
Modern Christianity, especially in organized churches, appears to me to be focused more on the story about Jesus
and the person of Jesus than it is on what Jesus said. In His words is LIFE eternal for us.
Immediately following the four gospels is the Book of Acts [of the Apostles]. It recounts events after Jesus rose from the dead,
and extremely important, the coming of the Holy Spirit as he had promised.
The remainder of the books between Acts and Revelation are epistles, or letters, written by disciples/apostles to various constituencies.
Paul wrote more letters than the others. It is primarily his writings which form the structure of the organized denominations.
The last book after the epistles and the final book accepted as part of the canon is the Book of Revelation, variously
labeled Revelation to Saint John the Divine, or the Revelation of Jesus Christ, among others.
The last words of the Book of Revelation are these:
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy,
God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
[ Revelation 22:18-21 New International Version ]
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These words are by John in a lengthy letter about his visions of the risen and ascended Christ at the right hand of the Father.
Verses 18 and 19 are filled with a terrifying warning about changing the contents in any way.
The warning obviously applies to the book of the revelation but observe that the church authorities placed it at the very end
of the New Testament as if it applies to the entire Bible. Many teach that this is so.
If it is true the way they interpret it, every scribe since 1 AD who incorrectly read and rewrote something has lost his share
of the Kingdom. This is nonsense. We will talk more about this issue in the section on how to understand the Bible.
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