There are two main divisions of the Bible called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word Testament means a Covenant or will. It could also be called an agreement. In the Old Testament there are thirty-nine books while the New has just twenty-seven. An easy way to remember these numbers is to count the letters in the words “Old Testament”. You will find three in the first word and nine in the second—39. You will then take the number of letters in “New Testament” and multiplying them together you have 3 X 9 = 27 making in all 66.
A further division of the Bible in the O.T. is that of Law, History, Devotion, Major Prophets and Minor Prophets. The first five books are Called Law; the next twelve are History. Following History are five books of devotion. After that you will find the five Major Prophets and the last twelve books are called Minor Prophets. Look them up and write out the names of each group.
Likewise the New Testament has different divisions. First come four books of Biography which are also called the gospels. Next is the lone book of history, namely Acts. After that you will find fourteen special letters followed by seven general letters, closing with a book of Prophecy. It will not be hard for you to write out the names of the books in each division.
The Old Testament was written originally in Hebrew. The first five books were written by Moses. The word “Genesis” means beginning. In this book it tells the beginning of creation, of light, sun, moon and stars, grass, herbs, animals, man, of nations and more particularly the Hebrew nation. It tells of the fall of man in Eden and the beginning of redemption, the great purpose for which the Bible is written. The first promise of a Redeemer is in Genesis 3:15. It indicates the Virgin Birth. Look it up and mark it. “Exodus” means “going out” because it tells of Israel’s going out of Egypt. The book of Psalms is a collection of hymns that were sung in temple worship. The Old Testament is the Bible Jesus used.
The New Testament was originally written in Greek because it was the most widely used language of the time. Eight persons helped to write it, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, Jude and James.
The first four books are called gospels which means “glad tidings” because they tell about the life of Jesus. The book of Acts was written by Luke and it tells of the work of the apostles in spreading the gospel. It can almost be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit because of the prominent part that Divine Person occupies. The Apostle Paul wrote most of the Epistles, or letters in the New Testament. They were written to instruct people on how to live the Christian life. The Revelation is a book of prophecy, though much is already fulfilled. It tells the future about the judgment and the end of the world. “Revelation” means “unveiling.” In Rev. 19:10 we read, “For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.”
All the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit. 2 Tim. 3:16. “Inspired” means “God breathed” and by inspiration all of the writers of the Bible were divinely enabled to give utterance to truth. 2 Pet. 1:21. The Bible was completed more than nineteen hundred years ago and it is still the world’s best seller. For years it has continued to outsell any other book in print. In it is given the one certain foundation upon which to build our hopes for time and for eternity. [ The End ]