Bible

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The Bible, a book in which God’s will and word are recorded
The Bible, a book in which God’s will and word are recorded

The Bible, or the Scriptures, is a book written by people who received God’s will and thoughts and wrote them down, being carried along by the Holy Spirit;[1] and it is used as holy scriptures in Christianity and Judaism. It was written over a period of about 1,600 years from around 1500 BC to around AD 96. It is classified into the Old Testament (39 books) written before Jesus’ birth and the New Testament (27 books) written after Jesus’ birth. The Bible was written by dozens of people who lived in different ages and environments, but all the words of the Bible are consistent and unified. This proves that the author of the Bible is God.

The Bible is a book that testifies about Christ who will save mankind, and it is a guide leading mankind to the kingdom of heaven by illuminating the past and present of mankind and prophesying about the future.

Author of the Bible

The 66 books of the Bible were recorded by dozens of people who lived in different times and different environments for over 1,600 years from 1500 BC to AD 96. Each writer of the Bible had a different occupation and living environment. There were kings like David, shepherds like Amos, and fishermen like Peter.

Despite that, all the words of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation are consistent and unified. This shows that although the Bible was written by many people, the author of the Bible is God.


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.

2 Peter 1:21


The writers of the Bible said that they spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. This means that even though the Bible was written by people, it contains God’s will and words. Let’s suppose that a lawyer was asked by a client to write down his will. In this case, it is the lawyer who wrote down the will, but the client is the true author of the will. This is because the will contains the client’s thoughts and words, not the lawyer’s. Likewise, the true author of the Bible is God.

Purpose of the Bible

God’s ultimate purpose of giving the Bible is for mankind to follow the way of salvation suggested by the Bible and be guided to heaven. In other words, the Bible is a guide leads people to the heavenly kingdom.

For details, refer to: Bible Subjects and Bible Role

Testifying to the Existence of God

Humans cannot see the world of tiny microbes or elementary particles with their naked eyes, nor can they see the outer space which is far away. However, if you use a microscope, you can confirm the existence of microorganisms, and you can see the stars in space through a telescope.

Then, how can we confirm the existence of God? We can confirm it through the Bible. The Bible serves as a spiritual telescope and a spiritual microscope that reveal the existence of the invisible God. No one can know what will happen to them tomorrow,[2][3] but the Bible accurately prophesied about God’s coming in the flesh[4][5][6] and even the situation after His death.[7][8] The rise and fall of many countries around the world[9] were prophesied hundreds or even thousands of years before they took place, and they were all fulfilled precisely. This testifies to the existence of God who prophesies the future and fulfills it.


You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

Deuteronomy 18:21–22


Testifying about the Savior

Not only religious people but also common people read the Bible for various purposes. Some consider it a historical book that contains the history of Israel and the life of Christ, and some think it as an ethics book that contains the wisdom and moral teachings of life. However, Jesus taught us that the Bible is a book that testifies about the Savior who saves mankind from sin and death.


“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.”

John 5:39


Since heaven is a place where there is no death,[10] human beings must have eternal life to enter that world. The Bible is the way to recognize the Savior who will give us eternal life. The fact that all the prophecies in the Bible about Christ were fulfilled through Jesus shows that Jesus is the Christ, who is the source of the living water.[11] Likewise, the Bible testifies about the Holy Spirit and the Bride (God the Father and God the Mother), who will appear as the source of the water of life in the last days, through various prophecies.[12]

Providing Wisdom and Teaching

The Bible also contains many teachings on the good conduct and character that the saints must have. The Bible contains the teachings of God of love, where God wants to change Christians into beautiful images to resemble God, so that they may reign forever in heaven.[13]


[T]he holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:15–17

Original Languages and Names of the Bible

Original Languages of the Bible

Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and only a small portion of it such as Ezra, Jeremiah, and Daniel was written in Aramaic. It is because the Jews gradually started to speak more Aramaic, a language spoken in Babylon and Persia after the captivity in Babylon (Neo-Babylon).

The New Testament was written in Greek, which was the common language of the Roman Empire at that time. The apostles wrote the Bible in Greek, hoping that the Gentiles would also be saved. However, it is known that the books of Matthew and Hebrews were written in Hebrew at first for the Jews.[14][15]

For details, refer to: Bible Original Language

Name for the Bible

The word Scriptures in the New Testament refers to the Old Testament which the Jews studied. The Greek word for Scriptures is graphé which means a writing. Jesus and the apostles described the Old Testament as “Moses and all the Prophets,”[16] “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms,”[17] and “the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.”[18]
The English word Bible is derived from the Greek word biblos meaning a book. The word biblion, which means a book, was derived from biblos, and the Latin word biblia was made from biblia (books) which is the plural form of biblion (book). The Latin word biblia is the etymology of the English word Bible.

Biblos and biblion are also used in the New Testament. In the NIV Bible, it was translated as “book” or “scroll.”

Composition of the Bible

The Bible consists of a total of 66 books. It is divided into two parts—the Old Testament recorded before Jesus, and the New Testament recorded after Jesus. The Old Testament refers to 39 books from Genesis to Malachi, written between BC 1500 and BC 400. There are 27 books in the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation.

The Bible we use today was not arranged in chronological order but according to its characteristics. Moreover, when the Bible was written, there were no chapters and verses. It is known that Bible was divided into chapters around the 13th century AD.[19] The division of verses first appeared in the middle of the 16th century, when Stephanus, a French printer, published the New Testament in Greek. The Geneva Bible, published in English in 1560, became the standard of chapter and verse divisions we use today.[20]

39 Books of the Old Testament

Books of the Law (Pentateuch): 5 books
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Historical Books: 12 books
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
Poetic Books: 5 books
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
Prophetic Books: 17 books
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

27 Books of the New Testament

The Gospels (The work of Jesus) : 4 books
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Historical Book: 1 book
Acts
Epistles of Paul (Named after the recipients) :14 books
Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews
General Epistles (Named after the senders) :7 books
James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
Prophetic Book: 1 book
Revelation

Authority & Preservation of the Bible

Authority of the Bible

The Bible has the absolute authority as the word of God. God’s word recorded in the Bible decides salvation and judgment of mankind. Since God wants to deliver the Bible, which is directly related to salvation, to mankind as it is, He tells us not to add or subtract anything from the Bible.[21]


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.

Revelation 22:18–19


Through this warning, we can infer that God Himself preserved the Bible. God did so because He wants no one to be destroyed but everyone to be saved,[22] but if the Bible is damaged or altered, human beings cannot be saved. Therefore, the authority of the Bible is guaranteed by the living God Himself.

Recording and Preservation of the Bible

Copy of the Bible made on papyrus
Copy of the Bible made on papyrus

In the age when publishing technology was not developed, people made books by writing down letters one by one. As time passed and the original text was worn out, people wrote the copy of the original text on clay, leather, or tree barks, and this is called manuscript. As the material, parchment or papyrus which could be easily obtained around the Nile River in Egypt were commonly used.

  • Old Testament

Even though the original texts of the Old Testament no longer exist, they have been handed down through manuscripts. In Israel, there were scribes, who copied the Bible and verified its copies. The manuscripts were made very elaborately. When the scribes made copies of the Bible, they made great efforts to keep the originals, even counting the letters one by one so that the Bible would not be altered.

“ Book I. AGAINST APION.
[A]nd how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation, is evident by what we do; for during so many ages as have already passed, no one hath been so bold as either to add anything to them, to take anything from them, or to make any change in them;

but it is become natural to all Jews, immediately and from their very birth, to esteem those books to contain divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them. For it is no new thing for our captives, many of them in number, and frequently in time, to be seen to endure racks and deaths of all kinds upon the theatres, that they may not be obliged to say one word, against our laws and the records that contain them:

“
— Flavius Josephus, Complete works of Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews, the wars of the Jews against Apion etc., 1924, p. 419

Although the Bible has been handed down as a manuscript for a long time, it is clear from the Dead Sea Scrolls that its content has not been changed. The scrolls written in 100 B.C. were discovered in Qumran Cave near the Dead Sea in 1947. They are called the Dead Sea Scrolls or Qumran Caves Scrolls. The oldest manuscript at that time was the Masoretic manuscript, dated about 900 AD. When scholars compared the two manuscripts, they were amazingly identical even though there was a time difference of about 1,000 years between the two manuscripts.[23]

  • New Testament

In the first century AD, the disciples felt the need to preserve and record the life and teachings of Jesus. These are the Gospels that we have today. In addition, Apostle Paul and other church leaders wrote and sent letters to teach members of local churches to build up their faith because they could not visit each of the churches individually. The epistles were shared in many churches,[24][25][26][27] and after that, the epistles that had been widely read in churches for a long time in order to follow the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, became acknowledged as the Bible.

Interpretation of the Bible

For details, refer to: Interpretación de la Biblia and La raíz de David

God inspired the prophets with the Holy Spirit to write the Bible.[1]
Therefore, when reading and interpreting the Bible, only those who are inspired by the same Spirit can realize the true will of God recorded in the Bible.[28] The way to be moved by the Holy Spirit is to keep the truth of the new covenant. When a person is purified through the blood of Christ in the truth of the new covenant,[29] the Holy Spirit of God dwells in them.[30] When the Holy Spirit of God is present, they receive the wisdom and understanding of the Holy Spirit and come to know the deep mysteries of God contained in the Bible.[31]
However, after the Apostolic Age, the truth of the new covenant disappeared, and there was no longer anyone who had true faith or received the wisdom and understanding of the Holy Spirit.[32] It means that the Bible recorded for the salvation of mankind was completely sealed. In this situation, the Bible prophesied that only the Root of David, Second Coming Jesus, would teach mankind the meaning of the words of the Bible.


Then I saw in the right hand of him [God] who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Revelation 5:1–5


Second Coming Jesus is the only one who is able to correctly interpret the Bible and lead mankind to salvation. Today, many people interpret the Bible without even accepting the Root of David or obeying the truth of the new covenant. However, if anyone who is not the Root of David interprets the Bible arbitrarily, it is an act that leads themselves to destruction.[33]
Even those who keep the truth of the new covenant and have been purified by the blood of Christ must not interpret the Bible carelessly. We should pay attention to the way of eternal life taught by the Savior and the Bible and follow His word.[34][35]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "2 Peter 1:20–21".
  2. ↑ "Proverbs 27:1".
  3. ↑ "Luke 12:20".
  4. ↑ "Isaiah 53:1–5".
  5. ↑ Matthew 27:26-30, 35
  6. ↑ "John 19:34".
  7. ↑ "Isaiah 53:9".
  8. ↑ Matthew 27:38, 57–60
  9. ↑ "Daniel 8:1, 20–22".
  10. ↑ "Revelation 21:4".
  11. ↑ "John 4:14".
  12. ↑ "Revelation 22:17".
  13. ↑ "Revelation 22:5".
  14. ↑ The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Cesarea, in Palestine, 1860, pg. 127
  15. ↑ The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Cesarea, in Palestine; In Ten Books, TheClassics.us, September 12, 2013, pg. 124
  16. ↑ "Luke 24:27".
  17. ↑ "Luke 24:44".
  18. ↑ "Acts 28:23".
  19. ↑ "WHY IS THE BIBLE DIVIDED INTO CHAPTERS AND VERSES?". Blue Letter Bible.
  20. ↑ The 1560 Geneva Bible (The 1560 Geneva Bible Giant Print Edition, First Printing, Facsimile) Unknown Binding
  21. ↑ "Deuteronomy 4:2".
  22. ↑ "2 Peter 3:9".
  23. ↑ Halley’s Bible Handbook, pg. 878–882, Zondervan, 2000
  24. ↑ "2 Peter 3:15–16".
  25. ↑ "Colossians 4:16".
  26. ↑ "1 Thessalonians 5:27".
  27. ↑ "2 Thessalonians 2:15".
  28. ↑ "1 Corinthians 2:10".
  29. ↑ "Luke 22:7–20".
  30. ↑ "John 6:53–56".
  31. ↑ "Ephesians 1:7–9".
  32. ↑ "Luke 18:8".
  33. ↑ "2 Peter 3:16".
  34. ↑ "John 5:39".
  35. ↑ "2 Timothy 3:15–17".
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