How to read The Bible ~ My Learning

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

Dear Friends in Christ,

This is the notes I have taken and compiled from various sources while preparing to study the Bible. This gives some basic knowledge and background on the books of the Bible so one can relate to it and understand the contents better.

Promises to claim as we read the Word of God

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

~ Psalm 119:18

.. for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 

~ Matthew 23:10

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth

~ John 16:13

Now, how to read The Bible?

Best way is to read it from Genesis

OR

Start from John's Gospel

"In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God" – that’s how it starts.

To begin with, here is the list of the Books of the Bible with their authors.

Book No.	Name of the Book	Author
1	Genesis	Moses
2	Exodus	Moses
3	Leviticus	Moses
4	Numbers	Moses
5	Deuteronomy	Moses
6	Joshua	Joshua
7	Judges	Samuel
8	Ruth	Samuel
9	1 Samuel	Samuel; Gad; Nathan
10	2 Samuel	Gad; Nathan
11	1 Kings	Jeremiah
12	2 Kings	Jeremiah
13	1 Chronicles	Ezra
14	2 Chronicles	Ezra
15	Ezra	Ezra
16	Nehemiah	Nehemiah
17	Esther	Mordecai
18	Job	Moses
19	Psalms	David and others
20	Proverbs	Solomon; Agur; Lemuel
21	Ecclesiastes	Solomon
22	Song of Solomon	Solomon
23	Isaiah	Isaiah
24	Jeremiah	Jeremiah
25	Lamentations	Jeremiah
26	Ezekiel	Ezekiel
27	Daniel	Daniel
28	Hosea	Hosea
29	Joel	Joel
30	Amos	Amos
31	Obadiah	Obadiah
32	Jonah	Jonah
33	Micah	Micah
34	Nahum	Nahum
35	Habakkuk	Habakkuk
36	Zephaniah	Zephaniah
37	Haggai	Haggai
38	Zechariah	Zechariah
39	Malachi	Malachi
40	Matthew	Matthew
41	Mark	Mark
42	Luke	Luke
43	John	Apostle John
44	Acts	Luke
45	Romans	Paul
46	1 Corinthians	Paul
47	2 Corinthians	Paul
48	Galatians	Paul
49	Ephesians	Paul
50	Philippians	Paul
51	Colossians	Paul
52	1 Thessalonians	Paul
53	2 Thessalonians	Paul
54	1 Timothy	Paul
55	2 Timothy	Paul
56	Titus	Paul
57	Philemon	Paul
58	Hebrews	Paul
59	James	James (Jesus’ brother)
60	1 Peter	Peter
61	2 Peter	Peter
62	1 John	Apostle John
63	2 John	Apostle John
64	3 John	Apostle John
65	Jude	Jude (Jesus’ brother)
66	Revelation	Apostle John

Based on the King James Version of the Holy Bible

·         Written by Approximately 40 Authors

·         Written over a period of 1,600 years

·         Written over 40 generations

·         Written in three languages: Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic

·         Written on three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa

·         Written in different locations: wilderness, dungeon, palace, prison, in exile, at home

·         Written by men from all occupations: kings, peasants, doctors, fishermen, tax collectors, scholars, etc.

·         Written in different times: war, peace, poverty, prosperity, freedom and slavery

·         Written in different moods: heights of joy to the depths of despair

·         Written in harmonious agreement on a widely diverse range of subjects and doctrines

OLD TESTAMENT

Old Testament is the History before Jesus came to the earth.  It has 39 books – the sequence is:

5 BOOKS OF LAW

1.      First Book – Genesis talks about the beginnings. How Abraham became a big nation - the nation of Israel. After Abraham, his son, his sons and generations. They were for 400 years in Egypt

2.      Second Book – Exodus tells us about how Abraham’s generations came out of Egypt After they came out, God made them a nation Israel and gave them laws; basically the 10 Commandments

3.      Third book – Leviticus is God explaining the law in detail to the priests

4.      Fourth book- Numbers where the entire nation is counted, by tribe, by clan and family

5.      Fifth book – Deuteronomy is the of the second book of law with more explanation of the law to the common man

12 BOOKS OF HISTORY

1.      Joshua – was the leader who took over from Moses after Moses died (Moses was the one who brought Israel out of Egypt). Actually after the Israelites came out of Egypt, they wandered for 40 years, and then they had to defeat several kingdoms and then take their land, as per God's promise. That consolidation was done by Joshua. But there was no king, because God said He would lead them

2.      Judges – Since there was no King because God said He would lead them, there were "Judges" who would judge Israel according to their sins whenever they needed judgment

3.      Ruth - is a short love story that happens in that time

4.      1^st  Samuel – the prophet

5.      2^nd Samuel – the prophet

6.      1^stKings – of Israel

7.      2^ndKings of Israel

8.      1stChronicles - these are the accounts of what the kings did

9.      2nd Chronicles - these are the accounts of what the kings did

Three persons who did extraordinary things for God and Israel

10.  Ezra – built the temple

11.  Nehemiah – built the walls

12.  Esther – as the queen saved the Jews from a racist attack

God said "He is a rewarder of those who sincerely seek Him"

5 BOOKS OF POETRY

1.      Book of Job -  story of a man who is put to suffering but sees God's glory in the end

2.      Book of Psalms - a collection of Hymns

3.      Book of Proverbs - a collection of several short proverbs, most of them are one liners

4.      Book of Ecclesiastes, also called the "Preacher"

5.      Songs of Solomon - It is about the romance between two lovers, but it actually talks about God and the Church. The names of the lovers are not mentioned, it is just "he" and "she"

5 MAJOR PROPHETS

The books are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (written by Jeremiah), Ezekiel and Daniel.

Now the prophets, what they wrote were messages for the kings but their prophecies were very powerful.

The thing is during the time when the kings ruled Israel, some were good and some were bad and disobedient. So these were the prophets sent by God to correct them exhort them or encourage them

These books were written around 1000 years before Christ, but they have prophecies about Christ like that he would be born to a virgin in Bethlehem and about his death and many events told 700 years before Christ.

12 MINOR PROPHETS

Then there are also 12 Minor Prophets, minor because they are smaller books, but not in power or their importance. The Minor Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi - the last book is the book of Malachi which was written about 400 years BC.

Then there was 400 years of silence from God, no prophets no word, nothing. In that time, due to Israel's disobedience, God gave Israel over to other kings’ disobedience to God, in that they did not follow God's law and did not listen to the prophets who warned them.

Nebuchadnezzar, who built the Hanging gardens of Babylon, was the king of Babylon who invaded and conquered Israel then Persia, King Darius, and king Xerxes so on until the Romans became world rulers then Jerusalem was under the Roman Empire. All this during the 400 years of silence; then during the reign of Augustus Caesar, there was Silence because of disobedience. The prophets said, "If you do not obey the LORD and turn back now, Nebuchadnezzar will come and destroy Israel." And when they did not listen, that was exactly what happened.

Then during the reign of Augustus Caesar, Jesus was born, as per the prophecy.

Silent treatment followed by the birth of Jesus-

Now, until Jesus, the relationship was between Israel and God; but when Jesus came, it was for God's love to be shown to the whole world and the people of Israel. But sadly, they rejected Jesus.

NEW TESTAMENT

New Testament is after Jesus came to the earth.  It has 27 books and the sequence is:

4 BOOKS WRITTEN BY DISCIPLES OF JESUS

These books were written by close disciples of Jesus - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

This was about what Jesus did when he was walking on the earth called gospels. Gospel according to Matthew, Mark Luke and John; all of them are accounts of what Jesus did on the earth. They end with the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus.

1 BOOK OF HISTORY

The Book of Acts was when Jesus came back from the grave, showed himself and went back to Heaven. This is the Ascension of Jesus, then the coming down of the Holy Spirit as the Promised Comforter, and the growth of the early church. Then He promised that the Holy Spirit would come down on His disciples and they would go about the whole earth, teaching about God's love and how this is shown to us through Jesus.

It is in this book that we read how the early church suffered got scattered and triumphed.

God is a God of peace and not of confusion.

This means that because Jesus suffered, our pain is taken away.

13 EPISTLES WRITTEN BY THE APOSTLE PAUL

These books are called the Pauline Epistles.

1.      Romans

2.      1 Corinthians

3.      2 Corinthians

4.      Galatians

5.      Ephesians

6.      Philippians

7.      Colossians

8.      1 Thessalonians

9.      2 Thessalonians

10.  1Timothy

11.  2 Timothy

12.  Titus

13.  Philemon

These are the books that teach Theology and also are aimed to build up the churches in their Faith and teaching of the Christian conduct.

BOOK OF ROMANS

This book was written by Paul to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is one of the most profound books in existence and is certainly one of the most valued parts of the Holy Scriptures

2 EPISTLES TO CORINTHIANS

1&2 Corinthians talks about unity in Christ and working and operating harmoniously as a Church. Chapter 13 on Love helps us witness this.

GALATIANS

This book talks about the Fruit of the Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

EPHESIANS

In this book, Paul tells us to take up the whole armor of God. The breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith that, upon close examination of the function of each piece of armor and the attribute Paul assigns to it, there are some incredible lessons to be learned. 

PHILIPPIANS

This book is the Book of Joy - about Christ in our life, Christ in our mind, Christ as our goal, Christ as our strength, and joy through suffering. It was written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, about thirty years after Christ’s ascension and about ten years after Paul first preached at Philippi. This book is also called “Resources through Suffering.”

COLOSSIANS

In this book, the Preeminence of Christ over the church is described as the relationship between the head and the body. 

2 EPISTLES TO THESSALONIANS

1&2 Thessalonians are the books that talk about Christian conduct and preparing for Christ's coming. The first letter — 1 Thessalonians — was written to a community of believers who had been Christians for only a short period of time, probably no more than a few months. 

Paul's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians is in one sense a follow-up to the first letter. Evidently, the first letter was well received. People were satisfied with Paul's explanation concerning those who died and were ready and willing to suffer persecution if need be in order to remain true to the gospel that Paul preached.

Both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians were addressed to one church and were occasioned by the problems associated with that particular group of church members. It is quite unlikely that Paul anticipated any further use to be made of his letters. Little if anything in them throws much light on the theological issues involved in Paul's interpretation of Christianity. The letters do, however, indicate the type of instruction that Paul gave to newcomers in the Christian movement.

2 EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY

1&2 Timothy are with rules for pastoring a church - for pastors, deacons, elders and leaders. These books are so named because they are addressed to Timothy, Paul's travelling companion and assistant on his missionary journeys.

TITUS

This book is considered to be a Conduct Manual for the Church. It was written to counsel Titus concerning the work Paul had left him to do. It contains:

·         the qualifications of the presbyters to be selected

·         the method of dealing with false teachings

·         instructions to the different classes of the church

·         exhortations to Titus himself

PHILEMON

This book is about a runaway slave. Paul appeals to Philemon regarding a runaway slave Onesimus who has met Jesus and found refuge with Paul. Paul claims that Onesimus's conversion has resulted not only in his personal transformation but in his usefulness to Philemon.

BOOK OF HEBREWS

This book that compares the Old Testament with the New Testament; how the types of Jesus (type here means an example of Jesus who was not yet revealed, but his character have been demonstrated) re-confirmed in Jesus as The Promised Messiah.

EPISTLE OF JAMES

This book talks about the demonstration of Faith through our works.

2 EPISTLES OF PETER

In 1 Peter and 2 Peter, we see that the general emphasis is on the Christian growth.

3 EPISTLES OF JOHN

The author of these books is traditionally believed to be John the Evangelist, also known simply as "the Elder".

·         1 John - living in the light - blood of Jesus cleansing us from all sin

·         2 John - Abiding in God

·         3 John - prosperity in all ways, Christian fellowship

BOOK OF JUDE

This book gives us general warnings, says whatever had to be revealed has already been revealed, so we cannot add or delete from the word. It talks about contending for the faith. These are short letters of the New Testament that are often neglected, but the neglect of this important letter says more about us than it does about the Book of Jude. Its neglect reflects more the superficiality of the generation that neglects it than the irrelevance of its burning message.

REVELATION

This is the book of prophecy, which is very cryptic but we now see how accurately the prophecies are being fulfilled. This was written by the Apostle John when he was sent to the island of Patmos for solitary confinement.

May the Lord add a blessing and hearing upon the reading of His Word!

Desire God’s Word

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

~ 1 Peter 2:2

Study the Word of God

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

~ 2 Timothy 2:15

God’s Word acts in you

..and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

~– 2 Timothy 3:15, 16

Do God’s Word

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

~ James 1:22-25

God’s word will never return to Him void but will accomplish its work in you as you study and follow. God bless you as you do.

.. so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

~ Isaiah 55:11

AMEN

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The Christian Motto: 

For every task at hand, consider your calling and know that the chief end is to glorify God in all that we do.

God will take us as we are, and the love of Jesus is waiting for all with open arms.

We don’t need to reach a certain level of goodness before we can pray; walk into a church or even read the Bible. We need to believe that nobody is too broken for the grace of Jesus.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people" Titus 2:11

Amen!

                                                                 Anuradha Pogalur