The Holy Bible

The Holy Bible - Part 1 The Old Testament – Overview
4/6/2008 3:29:24 PM
Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. The wicked and the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother’s voice. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams; so that Love, Friendship, Sympathy, Devotion, Memory, Hope, put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens, and the trembling pilgrim comes to the Valley of the Shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade, 'Goodbye; We Shall Meet Again;' and, comforted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who walks through darkness into light. – Henry Van Dyke

Before we begin today’s study, please bow your hearts before the Lord…

“Father, we come before you with Thanksgiving in our hearts for all your many blessings. We ask that you would give us understanding of your Word and help us to hide your Word within our hearts. We ask this in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.”

Introduction

The Bible has been the best selling book by far since the invention of the printing press. In the past 200 years it has been estimated that between 3.5-4 billion copies have been printed. The most popular in the English speaking countries have been the King James Version, the New International Version, The Living Bible and The New King James. Millions of Bibles are sold every year as well as portions of the Bible, such as the New Testament and the Psalms, are given away free by various ministries.

It has been said that the New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and that the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed. This is a good analogy as we can see many prophesies found in the Old Testament are fulfilled within the record of the New Testament.

These 66 Books written by some 40 authors are all One Book. Or as Chuck Missler likes to say, “An integrated message system designed outside of our time domain.”

Holy Bible: A General Overview

The word Bible is derived from the Greek word, biblia, meaning "books," and refers to the sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity.

The Holy Bible is an account of history, prophecy, and words of wisdom comprised of 66 books, written over a period of some 1500 years, by 40 different authors. The Old Testament (Old Covenant) is comprised of 39 books written from approximately 1400 to 400 BC. The New Testament (New Covenant) contains 27 books written from approximately 50 to 95 AD.

The Jewish Bible (Tenach) is the same as the Christian Old Testament, other then its book arrangement and numbering. The original language of the Old Testament was Hebrew as well as some Aramaic. The original language of the New Testament was Koine (common) Greek.

The Name of God - YHWH

The Name of God, YHWH (“I AM” or “I AM WHO I AM”), is from the Hebrew text appearing in Exodus 3:14. YHWH, known as the Tetragrammaton, from the Greek, tetra meaning four and gramma-letter, also known as the “Four-Letters.”

The Tetragrammaton is considered so sacred that it was never pronounced in Hebrew (except once a year in the Temple while in the Holy of Holies by the high priest) and traditionally is read in the text as HaShem (The NAME) or in prayer as Adonai (My Lord) or El Shaddai (The Almighty). In most English Bibles it is traditionally translated as “THE LORD,” using small capital letters. Some scholars believe that the Name is pronounced YAH-WEH.

The Tetragrammation is found eight times in Genesis in different forms. 15:1 “I am your shield,” Gen 15:7 “I am the LORD,” 17:1 & 35:11 “I am the Almighty God,” 26:24 “I am the God of Abraham,” 28:13 “I am the God of Bethel,” 31:13 "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father,” and 46:3 “I am God, the God of your father.” Exodus continues with 21 places God uses the term “I am” to describe Himself and is an interesting study in itself.

The First and the Last

The term Nomina Sacra is Latin and means “Sacred names.” It was common practice when copping ancient manuscripts to abbreviate certain words or phrases, a type of shorthand if you will. These abbreviations are evident in ancient manuscripts and help researchers to differentiate between Christian and Jewish codexes of the Old Testament.

The use of Nomina Sacra is apparent in the first verse of the Bible with the Aleph and the Tau, or the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Hebrew text: http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/tools/printer-friendly.pl?translation=heb&book=Gen&chapter=1#top

Hebrew is read from right to left and if you notice the forth ‘word’ or set of letters, they are not translated. These letters are the Aleph and the Tau, or the First and the Last.

If we were to translate these ‘letters’ into English we would read: “In the Beginning God (Aleph Tau or the First and the Last) created the heaven and the earth.”

We also find these letters in Zechariah in the Hebrew text, again not translated, when the Prophet speaks of the Messiah ...and they shall look upon me (Aleph Tau) whom they have pierced... Zechariah 12:10.

What is extremely interesting is that in the New Testament we see the use of the words Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet ), explained within the text as the First and the Last - the Beginning and the End, to refer to Jesus Christ, or God in human form.

Jehovah

The name Jehovah is derived from the combination of the consonants YHWH and the vowels of Adonai. The name Jehovah was never part of the Hebrew Scriptures but entered the common English language through its use in the King James Bible.

The Old Testament

The name “Old Testament” comes from the Latin term vetus testamentum used by Tetullian in the second century AD.
The Old Testament begins with the Book of Genesis. The Hebrew word for Genesis (Bereshith) means “birth,” “origin,” or “beginnings,” and is defined as “the way in which something comes to be.” In Genesis we find the origin of the Universe and all life. We also learn of the beginning of sin and death and the birth of a nation, Israel.

God called Abram (whose name was later changed by God to Abraham-Gen17:5) to, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Gen12:1-2.

Isaac, the son of Abraham, also receives the calling of God and the promises of becoming a Great Nation - Gen 26:2-5

Jacob, Isaac’s son, whose name means “supplanter” or more literally, “grabber,” which is a fitting metaphor for his life, also receives the call of God. While in the womb he struggled with his twin brother, Esau and at birth he was clutching the elder’s heel. Later he supplants his older brother’s birthright which Esau sold him for a bowl of stew – Gen 25:31. Later in life God also changes his name, “…Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Gen 32:28. Israel means struggling or striving with God. It was the twelve sons on Jacob (Israel) that are the 12 patriarchs of the nation of Israel.

The Old Testament records the history of this nation, both the good and the bad. This record was written by kings, shepherds, prophets and scribes on leather scrolls and stone tablets over hundreds of years as inspired by God.

Moses is the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, or Torah, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (other then the last few verses of Deuteronomy, which records his death and was penned by Joshua).

The Torah, which is translated as “doctrine” or “teaching,” and known in English as the Pentateuch, from the Greek Pentateukhos, which refers to scroll cases, is also commonly called the Law as the Laws of God, most notably the 10 Commandments, are revealed within its pages. The Torah is the first part of the Tenakh, the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament.

The word Tenakh originated from the initials T.N.K., the first letters of the three parts of the Old Testament. In Hebrew; these parts are the TORAH – the Law, NEVI’IM – the Prophets, and K’TUVIM – the writings (Psalms, history, poetry, etc.)

Following the Torah we begin with the “First Prophets,” Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, which include the history of the nation Israel. Interspersed throughout this history of Israel we find stories of conquest and defeat, love and hate, betrayal, deceit, murder, and of course prophecy (prophecy is found dispersed throughout the Scriptures). The stories found within these books have stirred the hearts of men and women for centuries and are beloved by both Jews and Christians. (The books of I & II Samuel and I & II Kings in the Tenakh are counted as one book each respectively).

Within the books of the First Prophets we find the book of Ruth - a very prophetic book of the goel, or Kinsman-Redeemer; I & II Chronicles – written for the exiles who had returned to Israel following the Babylonian captivity; Ezra and Nehemiah - the story of the return from exile to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the Temple; Esther – the story of Purim and God’s care of his chosen people while in exile; and Job - a book of several sermons in itself. From the sovereignty of God, suffering, obedience, blessings, and even the workings of Satan, the book of Job has long been a favorite and comfort to millions through the centuries.

Considered the ‘writings’ are the book of Pslams - songs of praise to God; Proverbs and Ecclesiastes - books of knowledge and wisdom; and the Song of Solomon - a beautiful human love story.

The last section of the Old Testament is the Prophets. Isaiah – from God’s judgment, His salvation, and a prophetic vision of the suffering Christ, Isaiah is one of the most startling and majestic of the prophetic books; Jeremiah – God’s Omnipresence, His judgment, and individual accountability permeate the writings of this Prophet in the setting before Judah’s eventual capture and captivity to Babylon; Lamentations– written by Jeremiah tells the story of the fall of Judah and the destruction of the Temple and true repentance; Ezekiel – More judgment of Judah as well as the surrounding nations, God’s total sovereignty over all creation; Daniel – a look at Israel’s captivity, the sovereignty of God, and prophecies of the coming world rulers. The ’70 weeks of Daniel’ is a prerequisite to understanding the book Revelation.

The final twelve prophetic books are known as the Minor Prophets which include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. There is nothing ‘minor’ about them as their prophecies are of major importance. The term minor only refers to the length of the books, not their importance. We’ll cover these books of the Prophets in depth in later studies, Lord willing.

For those who have been fascinated with Eschatology, a branch of theology concerned with the “end-times,” these books of prophecy have become some of the most thoroughly studied in the past 60 years, since the re-birth of the nation Israel.

We’ll continue our study at a later time with an overview of the New Testament, history of Biblical translations, archaeology, the canon, the Apocrypha and how to study the Bible.

Common sayings from the Bible

Here’s a quick study for you of sayings from the Old Testament that have become part of the English lexicon. This is a fun, quick and educational study. Grab your Bible (or you can use the Blue Letter Bible link listed under "favorite links" at upper left of this page – use the KJV or NKJV listing on BLB) to look up these references and see how they were used in God’s Word.

Brother’s keeper – Gen 4:9

Fire and brimstone – Gen 19:24

Scapegoat – Lev 16:8

Eye for an eye – Lev 24:19-20

Sabbatical – Lev 25

Apple of the eye – Deu 32:10

Skin of my teeth – Job 19:20

Spare the rod spoil the child –Pro 13:24

Fly in the ointment – Ecc 10:1

Drop in the bucket – Isa 40:15

Leopard change his spots – Jer13:23

The writing on the wall – Dan 5

Until next week be like the Bereans and study the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11).

Glory to our Lord Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah)!

References
The Holy Bible
Halley’s BibleHandbook, Henry H. Halley
Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Ephraim Stern
Old Testament Survey, W.S. Lasor, David Hubbard & Frederic Bush
Cosmic Codes – Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity, Chuck Missler
Archaeology and the Old Testament World, John Gray
The Bible as History, Werner Keller
The Bible, Max Anders
Every Prophecy of the Bible, John F. Walvoord
Strong's Concordance, Dr. James Strong
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words, W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger & William White, Jr.
Fascinating Bible Facts, David M. Howard, Jr., Ph.D.
Bible Almanac, Anna Trimiew
www.blueletterbible.org
www.allaboutgod.com
www.allabouttruth.org
www.williamtyndale.com
www.conservapedia.com
www.khouse.org
BELIEVE Religious Information Source: http://mb-soft.com/believe/index.html
The Unbound Bible: http://unbound.biola.edu/index.cfm?method=multilex.showSearchForm

The Holy Bible - Part 2 The New Testament – Overview
4/13/2008 2:51:47 PM
The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known to the world. – Charles Dickens

Before we begin today’s study, please bow your heart before the Lord…

Father, your love and care continues to amaze us. We are so blessed and ask that you would give us understanding of your Word and help us to hide your Word within our hearts. We ask this in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Introduction

The New Testament is about a Man, and God’s plan of salvation for all of mankind.

In 4 BC, some 400 years after the book of Malachi had been written, a child was born of a virgin. Some 30 years later this Man began to perform miraculous miracles in the site of all those around Him. Obviously this was no ordinary Man. This Man is known to the English speaking peoples of the world as Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ

The name Jesus is the Latin form of the Greek Iesous, which is in turn a transliteration of His Hebrew Name Yeshua, Yahshuah or YAHU'SHUAH, and means YHWH (God) is Salvation.

The term Christ, or Christos, is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term Messiah or transliterated Hebrew, Meshiach, and means “Anointed.” Or in Hebrew: Yeshua ha Mashiach – God Saves the Anointed!

Who are the Anointed?

Before we continue with our current study the above statement begs the question, “Just who is the Anointed that will be saved by God?” If you have put your faith and trust in Jesus, believe He has paid the price for your sins and have a personal relationship with Him, YOU are that Anointed. Salvation is a free gift. It cannot be earned no matter how good you think you are or how many works of good you have done. This is the Gospel Message, the Good News!

If you would like this free gift God is waiting to hear from you. Tell Him right now that you need Him and the salvation that Jesus provided for you on the Cross. It’s really that simple. Continue to speak with Him throughout each and every day and read His word, even the difficult parts. Get connected with a Bible believing and teaching church. As time goes on you will grow in your faith as well as God’s plan for your life and you will experience true joy in no matter what situation you might find yourself. Don’t wait until you think you are good enough to approach Him as that day will never come – COME JUST AS YOU ARE! His grace will change everything.

The Gospels

Just as the Old Testament has three sections, The NewTestament also has three distinct parts; The Gospels, the Epistles, and Prophecy (Revelation).

The New Testament begins with the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which provide us with the history of Jesus’ birth, ministry, Deity, and His death.

The term Gospel comes from the Greek word “euangelion,” which means Good News. It must be noted that the information within the Gospels was taught and spread by the Apostles, as well as many of the eye witnesses of the events of Pentecost, for some 20 years by oral tradition before they were written down for all of posterity.

The first three Gospels are known as the Synoptic Gospels (from the Greek syn-together, and opsis-seeing or “seeing together” or “seeing with the same eyes”). These three Gospels share many of the same events of the life of Jesus as seen from different perspectives. There are many similarities of these three records and yet also differences. This is exactly what one would expect of three different witnesses of an event who are asked to relate what they saw and heard.

Matthew, one of the two Apostle writers of the Gospels, and as a Jew was writing mainly to other Jews. From the words and terms he uses it is quite obvious who he believed was his main audience. Matthew attempts to show his fellow Jews how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the promised Messiah as well His human lineage connecting Him to David.

John Mark, a young man during Jesus’ ministry, is believed to be the first of the Gospel writers to put down his recollections of the events of Jesus’ life and death in written form. No doubt that Mark was an eye witness to many of the public events of Jesus’ life but it would seem much of his written account came from the oral teachings of the Apostles in Jerusalem.

Luke, the only gentile to have written any of the books of the Bible, (he also penned the book Acts or Acts of the Apostles), was a doctor and also a friend of Paul’s and accompanied him on several of his ministry journeys.

John, the “Apostle that Jesus loved,” wrote not only of the historical events surrounding the life and ministry of Jesus, but also of His Divinity and ties the Old and New Testaments together. This Gospel has become a favorite of many Christians today. As the Apostle John tells us, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Jhn 21:25

Following the Gospels we come to the book of Acts. Acts is an historical record of the workings of the early Church, Saul of Tarsus’ (Paul’s) conversion and journeys, the Holy Spirit being poured out upon the Apostles at Pentecost, and the spread of the Gospel message throughout much of the Roman Empire.

Epistles

The word Epistle comes from the Greek word, epistole and means “letter.”

The Epistles are comprised of 21 letters. These letters are addressed to churches and individuals, and in reality, to all of us. 14 of the 21 books were written by Paul with the remaining attributed to James, Peter, John and Jude. James and Jude were Jesus’ younger brothers (half-brothers) by birth.

These Epistles arose to address special situations within the early Churches of the first century. These letters address behavior, misunderstandings, or doctrinal error that needed correcting and expound upon in the way a Christian should live.

The Epistles are: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews (written by Paul), James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Jude.

Revelation

Many writers and producers of Bibles have named this book incorrectly such as the “Revelation of St. John” or “The Apocalypse.” This book is, as stated in its first words, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” as it reveals to us the very nature of our Risen Lord. The Apostle John, while imprisoned on the island of Patmos, was visited by the Lord Himself in Power and in Glory, and was instructed by an angel, or heavenly messenger, to write down what was about to be revealed.

Revelation is the only book of the Bible that offers a special blessing to everyone that reads and heeds the things that are written within yet many Christians have yet read through the book. We believe this is due to the symbolism used by John who was shown events that would take place in the distant future that he would have no knowledge or reference. Much of the symbolism used in Revelation is explained within the text itself or can be found throughout the Old Testament. A good concordance should be utilized when studying this book.

Revelation begins with seven letters to seven early Churches in Asia Minor, tells of the rise of the Anti-Christ, a world wide government, the return of Jesus, the end of Satan and the end of the world as well as a New Heaven, New Earth and a New Jerusalem. The descriptions of this New World defy imagination.

This has only been a general over-view of the Holy Bible and we plan on going much more in depth on each book as we proceed with our future studies, Lord willing.

We’ll continue our study at a later time with the history of Biblical translations, archaeology, the canon, the Apocrypha and how to study the Bible.

Common sayings from the Bible

Here’s a quick study for you of sayings from the New Testament that have become part of the English lexicon. This is a fun, quick and educational study. Grab your Bible (or you can use the Blue Letter Bible link to your upper left) to look up these references and see where they are found in God’s Word.

Salt of the earth – Matt 5:13

Seek and you will find – Matt 7:7

Wolf in sheep’s clothing – Matt 7:15

The blind leading the blind – Matt 15:14

With God all things are possible – Matt 19:25-26

What God has joined together – Mark 10:9

Eat, drink and be merry – Luke 12:13-21

Sweating blood – Luke 22:44

A thorn in one’s side – 2 Cor 12:7-9

You reap what you sow – Gal 6:7

The root of all evil (the LOVE of money) – 1 Timothy 6:10

Keep the faith – 2 Tim 4:7

Until next week be like the Bereans and study the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11).

Glory to our Lord Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah)!

References
The Holy Bible
Halley’s Bible Handbook, Henry H. Halley
Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Ephraim Stern
Old Testament Survey, W.S. Lasor, David Hubbard & Frederic Bush
Cosmic Codes – Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity, Chuck Missler
Archaeology and the Old Testament World, John Gray
The Bible as History, Werner Keller
The Bible, Max Anders
Every Prophecy of the Bible, John F. Walvoord
Strong's Concordance, Dr. James Strong
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words, W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger & William White, Jr.
Fascinating Bible Facts, David M. Howard, Jr., Ph.D.
Bible Almanac, Anna Trimiew
www.blueletterbible.org
www.allaboutgod.com
www.allabouttruth.org
www.williamtyndale.com
www.conservapedia.com
www.khouse.org
BELIEVE Religious Information Source: http://mb-soft.com/believe/index.html
The Unbound Bible: http://unbound.biola.edu/index.cfm?method=multilex.showSearchForm
www.skypoint.com/~waltzmn/NominaSacra.html