A Literary Jet Tour of the Bible
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Preliminary:
Preliminary:
Invite to Psalm 119:89
Thank - special singer & testimonies
Tonight I am beginning a Sunday Night series through the Bible. I will take each book and look at either the overall message or a key verse from that. This is an attempt to help us become more familiar with our Bibles and hopefully inspire you to read through the books with me this year. This is not an apologetic effort, just a study of what God’s word says.
We will take a birds-eye look at every book in the Bible so it will take a while.
We will put it on pause for revivals, camps, special services, and/or if the Lord should lead in another direction.
Psalm 119:89
Tonight I want to begin with a basic Jet Tour of the Bible - so buckle your seat belts and get ready to fly through fascinating things about God’s Word.
Read Psalm 119:89
89 LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.
Introduction
Introduction
Alternate Introduction:
When it comes to the Holy Bible, what frustrates you if anything?
The American Bible societies, annual report (April 2022), finds:
the most Americans, have some respect for the scriptures
and many want to read them.
But there are some obstacles,
the most common complaint people have is that it's hard to find the time to read the Bible regularly.
Others say it's hard to know where to begin
and many people are confused by some of the language
younger people more likely to cite these problems that are older Americans. Michael Harrington Sr in News
Source: https://www.srnnews.com/audio-news/srn-hourly-news-04-24-22-0400-pm-cdt/
I can’t promise to answer all of these questions tonight - but I do hope to instill in you a great love, respect, and reverence for the Bible.
If the Bible were read aloud, as in a church service, it would take about 70 hours and 40 minutes to read the whole Bible, with the Old Testament taking about 52 hours and 20 minutes and the New Testament taking about 18 hours and 20 minutes.
1 Mark Water, The Christian Book of Records (Alresford, Hants, UK: John Hunt Pub., 2002), 11.
As some one has so beautifully said,
“The Bible is not a history, yet it gives the origin, progress and destiny of the human race.
It is not a book of science, yet it contains a storehouse of knowledge on scientific subjects.
It is not a book of botany, yet it gives us a beautiful picture of the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.
It is not a work on geology, yet speaks of the Rock of Ages.
Not a treatise on philosophy or psychology, but filled with philosophical truth and tells the future state of the soul.
Not on mathematics, yet it gives us a description of the most magnificent superstructure ever beheld, a city whose latitude, longitude and altitude have never been surpassed.
Not on astronomy, yet it speaks of the sun and moon and tells of a day when the stars sang together.
It is not a book of poetry yet contains the most beautiful verse that ever fell from the lips of man.” A book so complete that nothing is passed over, no one is ignored and nothing is left out and from the little child to the aged parent, from the ignorant Hottentot to the learned professor, all may come and find in this Grand Old Book help for their every need.
The Grand old Book J. Wesley Aycock Ch 4
Somebody said, about the Bible, "The Bible is such a wonderful book. It is shallow enough that a little child can come and get a drink without fear of drowning, and so deep that the scholars can swim in it and never touch bottom."
Adrian Rogers,
The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons, (North Palm Beach, FL: Adrian Rogers Foundation, 2011), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "How to Walk in the Spirit".
GREAT MEN HAVE GIVEN GREAT QUOTES ON THE GREAT BOOK:
GREAT MEN HAVE GIVEN GREAT QUOTES ON THE GREAT BOOK:
Above all, the pure and benign light of Revelation has had a meliorating influence on mankind, and increased the blessings of society. -- George Washington
I always have said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands. -- Thomas Jefferson
The first and almost the only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the world, and I say to you, "Search the Scriptures." -- John Quincy Adams
It (the Bible) is the rock on which our republic rests.-- Andrew Jackson
It was for the love of the truths of this great and good book that our fathers abandoned their native shore for the wilderness. -- Zachary Taylor
I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this book you can upon reason and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man. -- Abraham Lincoln
Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts on your hearts and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for the progress made, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. -- Ulysses S. Grant
http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2635.pdf
Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face. Ronald Reagan
http://www.freshwindfreshfire.org/QUOTES.html
The Psalmist declares: Psalm 119:89
89 LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.
This verse comes from the longest chapter in the Bible?
176 verses and all but seven of them talk about God’s word. It sometimes uses different terms (precepts, statutes, commandments, and judgments)
The inspired Psalmist describes what God’s word meant to him, the effect it had on him, and it shows us the importance of the Bible for the Christian
“Some people use the Bible:
as a source of doctrine,
as a source of evidence to prove points,
as a boost for their mood when they are discouraged,
or as a book for religious routines.
The Bible is good for those purposes, but if a person uses the Bible only in those ways, it may seem to become separate from his relationship with God. The Bible is supposed to be much more for a believer. (Stephen Gibson - Reading as Worship)
The Seven Miracles of the Word
The Seven Miracles of the Word
The miracle of its creation – its growth is a mystery
The miracle of it unity – it is a library of 66 books, but is considered one.
The miracle of its period of time – the oldest book of all time
The miracle of its marketing – sold more than any other book
The miracle of its appeal – all makes of people, old, young, poor, rich, black and white have read it
The miracle of its composition – the best book from a literary standpoint
The miracle of its durability – the most hated of all books, yet it remains to exist.
Foundations of Holiness Workbook 1 p 6
The Bible is certainly the most remarkable piece of literature this world has ever seen.
It has outsold every other publication
has been translated into more languages than any other work of literature.
While the works of Shakespeare have been in more than 30 languages and individual editions of the plays and poems in over 80 languages, as of 2005, some portions of the Bible have been translated into over 2400 languages.
So the Bible ...
• Took more than 1,500 years to compile
• Approximately 40 different authors
• Written primarily in Hebrew and Greek, with occasional Aramaic
• Various authors: King, peasants, warriors, priests, patriots and prophets.
is made up of 66 books divided into two testaments
The Old Testament has 39
The New Testament has 27
Bonus - There are 21 Apocryphal books
There are some different answers to this one out there
but according to some:
There are 31,202 verses in the Bible
23,145 OT
7,957 NT
The Middle verses:
Psalm 103:1–2 being the 15,551st and 15,552nd verses is in the middle of the 31,102 verses of the Bible.
The Old Testament represents thousands of years of history. By way of contrast, the New Testament represents fewer than 100 years.
John Cartwright
Literary Structure
Lets take a quick look at the Literary structure of the Bible
Old Testament - 39 books
Pentateuch/ Torah - Books of Moses = 5
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Books of History = 12
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Wisdom / Poetry = 5
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Major Prophets = 12
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Minor Prophets = 12
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
400 Years of silent traditionally taught - but many things happened and you can read about them in some of the apocryphal books - these are not part of the recognized Canonical books
New Testament = 27
Gospel = 4
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
History - 1
Acts
Pauline Epistles = 13
Major Letters = 4
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Prison Epistles = 4
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
Philemon
Pastoral Epistles = 5
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
General Epistles = 8
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Apocalyptic = 1
Revelation
We talked about it’s literary structure now lets talk a little about its
Theological Nature
It’s Impetus
The plenary inspiration
The Bible claims to be the Word of God more than 3,000 times
How Did God Communicate in the Past?
· At first the revelation of God was orally communicated "The word of the Lord came to Abram" (Gen. 15:1)
· Often angles were used to communicate God’s message (Gen. 21:17)
· Then God spoke through his prophets (Hosea 12:1; Heb. 1:1)
A. The Old Testament
Canon: Those books which together compose the Holy Scripture. These are those books which were communicated to us by God through inspired writers, carefully preserved, and which became authoritative. The biblical canon is considered closed (i.e., books cannot be added or removed). The closure of the canon reflects a belief that public revelation has ended and thus the inspired texts may be gathered into a complete and authoritative canon.
• 500 BC: Completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make up The 39 Books of the Old Testament
• The Jewish canon, which is limited to the Old Testament, took place in AD 100 at a rabbinical assembly in Jamni
• None of the books written between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament – known as the Apocrypha – are considered by either Jews or Christians to be inspired
• 200 BC: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts (LXX) which contain the 39 Old Testament Books and 14 Apocrypha Books
How did it come together?
• Moses - “And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord.” (Ex. 24:4)
• They were placed in the side of the side of the Ark of the Covenant (Deut. 31:26)
• People like Joshua and Samuel copied the law of the Lord by hand in order to preserve it
• Various authors contributed over the years and their writings were preserved
• The Scriptures were miraculously preserved even during the Jews exile in Babylon
• Ezra collected together the books of the Old Testament and they were once again kept in the newly reconstructed Temple
• The Scribes became responsible for preserving, copying and interpreting the law
B. The New Testament
1. Period of the Living Truth – During the period until AD 30 Jesus, who was the Truth (John 14:6) communicated God’s message to us. “you have heard it said….but I say to you…”
2. Period of oral tradition – until around 50 AD
3. Period of written communication – 50-95 AD
• Twenty-seven books
• Eight (possibly nine) authors - five were apostles of Christ and three were associates of the apostles
It’s Focus
Revelation
Reveal nature of God
Reveal condition of man
Reveal plan of God
It’s Emphasis
Jesus
– From the fly-leaf of D.L. Moody’s Bible
The Bible sets forth two things – The cross, and the throne
The Old Testament points toward the cross.
The Gospels tell the story of the Cross.
The Epistles point toward the Throne.
The Old Testament tells us what sin leads to, and ends with the words, “Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Malachi IV 6
The New Testament shows us the way out of sin, and ends thus: “The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. “ Rev XXII, 21
Fly Leaf of Sam Jones Sermons
See if there is a way you can show the picture that accompanies this:
This might be the most amazing data picture you see in a lifetime! It shows the 63,779 cross-references in the Bible. The white bars along the bottom represent each Bible chapter, Gen. 1 - Rev. 22. The line’s color shows the reference’s distance from the other. A cross-reference is a scripture that references another scripture. Had the Bible been written by one person or at one time this would still be amazing; however, the Bible was written by 40 authors over the span of 1500 years on 3 different continents.
The Bible is complex, diverse, and intricate, and yet it has one unified message: God lovingly is redeeming all who believe!
(Systematic Theology: 01- Bibliology - An Illustration of the 63,779 cross-references)
Someone who engages the Bible 4 or more times a week is:
228% more likely to share faith with others
407% more likely to memorize scripture
59% less likely to view pornography
30% less likely to struggle with loneliness
https://www.backtothebible.org/research#sthash.o5u6sMGE.dpuf