The Bible is made up of 66 books, all beautifully linked
together. Although written by many people over a period
of about 1200 years, there is but one author. The Bible
is the word of God. God's message was given directly through
His prophets and writers in the Bible and all the books
reflect the same message - God's plan for the world through
Jesus Christ.
The earliest civilisations were centred on the Middle
East and here God spoke through His angels to such men
as Adam, Noah and Abraham. Here, too, God spoke through
some of His chosen prophets - David, Samuel, Isaiah, and
Jeremiah.
The Bible is mainly about God's dealings with people
in this part of the world. The land of Israel is God's
chosen land and is the centre for all His plans for the
world. Here, His son Jesus Christ was born - the man through
whom we can all share in God's wonderful plans.
The Old Testament contains the first 39 books of the
Bible. Here we can read of the creation of the world,
early man, God's choice of Israel as His people, His promises
of life to all those who believe and of the future birth
of His son.
The New Testament contains 27 books and includes accounts
of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus; the
early church; the preaching of the apostles; the letters
of Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude; and the instructions
for living as a follower (disciple) of Jesus. The New
Testament also contains prophecies of the return of Jesus
and the future Kingdom of God.
The Bible contains the priceless promise of everlasting
life. It is inspired by God and so contains the words
of God - not the words of man (1 Peter 1:21). God's prophets
often had to speak words they did not want to (Jeremiah
20:9) but always the message from God was "thus says
the LORD". When it was necessary for the writers
of the Bible to remember events or to write about them,
God made sure that the details were correct. Jesus promised
the apostles that the Holy Spirit (God's Power) would
bring all things to remembrance after he had left them
(John 14:26). So they were able to write true accounts
of what Jesus had said and done.
