KNOW YOUR BIBLE

The word Bible comes from the Greek equivalent word Biblia, meaning ‘Books’. The term the books occurs in Daniel 9:2, “In the 1st year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood form the scriptures (books)…” This usage was taken by the Christian Church for the Old Testament (O.T.), and later it was extended to mean the whole of the Scriptures. By the middle of the 2nd century, Clement called the Sacred writings ‘la Biblia’ – The Books (in English). Jerome named The Books in the 4th century as Divine Library. Later by 13th century the important change took place from plural to singular noun, with a common consent & thereby, The Books became The Book – The Bible.

Divisions of the Bible.
Old Testament (OT) : 39 books
New Testament (NT) : 27 books
Total : 66 books

The Five, Old Testament divisions.

A. The Pentateuch (meaning 5 books) of Mosses.
1.Genesis 2.Exodus 3.Leviticus
4.Numbers 5.Deuteronomy

B. The 12 historical books.
1.Joshua 2.Judges 3.Ruth 4.1 Samuel
5.2 Samuel 6.1 Kings 7.2 Kings 8.1 Chronicles
9.2 Chronicles 10.Ezra 11.Nehemiah 12.Esther

C. The 5 poetical books.
1.Job 2.Psalms 3.Proverbs
4.Ecclesiastes 5.Songs of Solomon.

D. The 5 books of the major Prophets.
1.Isaiah 2.Jeremiah 3.Lamentations
4.Ezekiel 5.Daniel

E. The 12 books of the minor Prophets.
1.Hosea 2.Joel 3.Amos 4.Obadiah
5.Jonah 6.Micah 7.Nahum 8.Habakkuk
9.Zephaniah 10.Haggai 11.Zachariah 12.Malachi

The Five divisions of The New Testament.

A. The 4 Gospels (History of Jesus)
1.Mathew 2.Mark 3.Luke 4.John

B. The Historical book.
The Acts of the Holy Spirit & the Apostles.

C. The 14 Pauline epistles
1.Romans 2.1 Corinthians 3.2 Corinthians
4.Galatians 5.Ephesians 6.Philippians 7.Colossians
8.1 Thessalonians 9.2 Thessalonians 10.1 Timothy
11.2 Timothy 12.Titus 13.Philemon 14.Hebrews

D. The 7 general Epistles.
1.James 2.1 Peter 3.2 Peter 4.1 John
5.2 John 6.3 John 7. Jude

E. The Prophetical book.
Revelation

The Bible as a whole:
1. Number of Books – O.T. - 39
N.T. – 27
Total - 66

2. Chapters – O.T. - 929
N.T. - 266
Total -1189

3. Longest name: 18 letters (Isaiah 8:1) Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (meaning quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil.)

4. Longest verse: Esther 8:9
5: Shortest verse: John 11:35
6. Middle books: Micah & Nahum
7. Middle verse: Ps.118:8
8. Largest book: Psalms
9. Smallest book: 3John
10. Longest chapter: Psalms 119
11. Authors: 40
12. Translated into 1100 languages.
13. First complete English Bible was made by
John Wycliff in 1380 AD
14. 5 books have only 1 chapter each – Obadiah,
Philemon, 2 & 3John, Jude.
15. Haggai has only 2 chapters.
16. 7 books have only 3 chapters each – Joel,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
2Thessalonians, Titus, 2Peter.
17. 6 books have only 4 chapters – Ruth, Jonah,
Malachi, Colossians, Philippians, 2Timothy.
18. 5 books have only 5 chapters – Lamentations,
1Thessalonians, James, 1Peter, 1John.

How we got the present day Bible.

Our English Bible is the result of 1200 years of work by all kinds of learned men.. In 1535 Miles Coverdale made the first complete printed English Bible. Then came the Geneva Bible in 1560AD, followed by Bishops Bible in 1563AD and revised in 1568. In 1604AD King James authorized 47 men to make a complete translation of the Bible from the original languages. It was completed in 1611AD. It has been the most popular and accepted version of the English, speaking world till date.

What the Bible is NOT?
1. The Bible is not an amulet, a charm, a fetish, or anything to work wonders by it’s presence alone. It also does not claim that if one study and practice its teaching wonders will work in one’s life.

2. It is not a book of mysteries. It explains it’s mysteries in a self interpreting manner, so that the mysteries no more remains a mystery.

3. The Bible is not a book of chronological (serially arranged) events or an unbroken series on divine utterance. It was given here & there a little to many prophets (Isa.28:9-11); which when linked together forms perfect unity in itself. It is also not a book that gives systematic discoveries on any subject; but it does give divine information practically on every
subject. One must collect from here & there, all God’s information through various writers in order to know the whole truth as well learn the entire subject.

4. Bible is not adapted to the tastes, customs, traditions, and habits of anyone nation or people, age, or period of time. It is for all people, for all ages, in all ages (times).

What the Bible is?
1 Bible is God’s inspired revelation of the origin and destiny of all things. Here the gates of heaven are opened, & gates of hell disclosed. The Bible is a travelers map, the pilgrims staff,
the pilots compass, the soldiers sword, & the Christians charter.

2 Bible is the power of God unto the eternal salvation of present help, for body, soul & spirit (Rom.1:16; Jn.15:7). Jesus Christ is its grand subject, mans good it’s design, and the glory of God it end. It is a mine of wealth, the source of health, & a world of pleasure.

3 Bible is Gods will for man of all ages, revealing the plan for man here on earth & life after. It will be opened at the time of judgment. It blesses all who Proclaims the word for the Glory of God, an eternal salvation to all who believe in it. The eternal damnation (destruction) to all who play with it, rebel against it, manipulate its contents.

4. is the most remarkable book ever compiled. It is a divine library of 66 books by 40 authors. They contain various forms of literature: history, biography, poetry, proverbs, hymns, letters, directions for elaborate ritualistic worship, laws, parables, riddles, allegories, prophecy, & all other forms of human expression.

5 Bible is the only book that reveals the mind of God, state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, & joy of believers. Its doctrines are Holy, percepts binding, history true, and decision immutable(unchangeable).

Directions to read a Bible & benefits of reading Bible.

1.Frequently and daily (Josh.1:8) “Do not let this book (The Bible) of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day & night, so that you may be careful to do
everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

2.Not for controversy, but for profit (Pr.3; 2Tim.3:16-17)

3.Meditatively (Ps.113)

4.In love (Ps.119:97-104)

5.With consciousness of need (Mt.5:6; Jn.7:37-39; 2Peter.1:1-10; 3:18)

6.In faith (Rom10:17; Heb.11:6)

7.Searchingly (Jn.5:39)

8.Openness to all of it (2Tim.3:16-17; Heb.4:12; Jude3)

9.By comparing scripture with scripture (1Cor.2:13)

10.In the spirit (Jn.14:16-17; 15:26; Gal.5:16,26)

11.Through, over & over again (Mt.5:18)

12. In obedience (Rom.1:5; 16:26)


Seven reasons why the Bible is easy to understand.

1. The truths in the Bible has been repeated over and over again (2Cor.13:1) Now what we have to do here is to find out what God says, where He says it & then believe it.

2. It is written in the simplest language. Therefore if it is understood as it is written then it becomes a simple book (Lk.24:25,45)

3. God Himself is the author of the Bible (2Tim.3:16-17, 2Pet.1:21) As He is our creator and if He cannot express clearly what He wants to say then probably no one can make us understand. As God is the creator of all languages, & as He wants every simple man to understand the Bible,
therefore it is written in the simplest of the language. The fault with Bible complications is not with God or Bible, but with us who refuse to believe what He says and think that we have to interpret the Bible in order to get the meaning.

Seven reasons why Bible is not easy to understand.

1. Reasoning, implying doubt & unbelief Mark 8:10-18

2. Lack of perception, implying dullness Mark 8:17

3. Ignorance - lack of interest.

4. Hardness of heart – stubbornness in understanding & rebellion.

5. Dull eyes – wish-full blindness to truth (Mt.13:14-15)

6. Dull ears – wish-full rejection of truth (Mark 8:18)

7. Dull memory – will-full forgetfulness.

DISARMED and DESTROYED

Have you ever thought about going into a war without your helmet, breastplate and sword in place! My friends, we will certainly end up losing, and fall into the trap of Satan. There is no alternative being disarmed. Satan is alert always to trap us in; why not prepare. Why not prepare by putting on the full armour of God, to protect yourself.

WHAT IS THE ARMOUR OF GOD?

Paul, the author of Ephesians, could not have explained it better.

Ephesians 6:10-18
10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
11 - Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 - Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 - Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 - and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 - In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 - Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 - And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Gods armour protects us from Satan's trap and brings victory. Gods armour is the very life of Jesus Christ as evident from Paul's letter to the Romans, "...clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14)


BENEFITS OF THE ARMOUR OF GOD

Jesus becomes your hiding place, and shelter in the storm--just as He was to David. Hidden in Him, you can count on His victory, for He not only covers you as a shield, but remains in us'.

John 15:5 5 - "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

RISK FACTORS

Although you enjoy the benefits of a hiding place, and shelter in the storm, you need to share Jesus' struggles as well as peace. He hasn't promised immunity from problems. Instead He has promised deliverance from all problems:

Romans 8:2 - Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Psalms 34:17; Psalms 91:3-7; affirms Jesus' promise.


HOW DO I PUT ON GOD'S ARMOUR?

Paul in Galatians 3:27 says - “cloth yourselves in Christ”. Clothing in Christ begins with, reading, re-reading, affirming, and trusting in each armour of God as mentioned earlier in Ephesians 6:10-18. Once we memorise and follow truth, it cuts through all the world's distortions, deceptions, and compromises.

HOW CAN I EXPLAIN GOD'S ARMOUR TO MY CHILDREN?

Most of us are aware of how a potter works through wet clay to get a desired result, it is the same with children. It is us; as parents who shape a child to what she or he becomes in their later years. TV, Radio, Magazines, Books; all sell stuff that at most times do counterfeit God's plan and purpose of our life. And there is only ONE safe place, in the arms of Jesus.

Proverbs 22:6 - Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Sit with children read out Bible passages, make them memorise Bible passages, answer and clarify doubts and once they know the truth, they won't fall for counterfeits. Remind them about the Armour, tell them it isn't a magic shield that you can slip, but one to be worn everyday.

NOTES:

All scripture references are from the New International Version (NIV) Bible
.