Old Testament survey = The Bible Overview
Proverbs 8: 14 Council is mine, and knowledge (sound wisdom), I am understanding!
Robert Speer - Missionary Statesman: -
The Bible is one of the solid facts of Christianity. What it is, is not affected by what men think of it. Changing Opinions about the bible do not change the bible. Whatever the bible was the bible is! And what it is, it has always been. It is not men’s thoughts about the bible that Judge it. It is the bible which judges men and their thoughts. It has nothing to fear but ignorance and neglect!
The Bible is the word of the Living God- Nothing can be more important than knowing it
Every capacity of mind is challenged by the bible
The intellect is challenged by its truths for understanding and doctrine
The emotions of a man are challenged by its insights for devotion and inspiration
Mans will is challenged by its ethical guidance for the conduct of life
What is the Bible? It is a collection of 66 books divinely inspired and God breathed into the earth through the lives approximately 40 different authors, over a time span of approximately 15 centuries or 1500 years! ).
2 Timothy 3: 16-17 - All scripture has been given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ( living that the man of God may perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works
Inspiration or to inspire: means to breathe into. (When Paul wrote all scripture is given by inspiration of God… it is as if the breathe of god was in each scripture as a mans breathe is in each of his very own words. Making them the vehicle of his thoughts )
God imparted into chosen men truth which they could not have otherwise known, and by his providential control the holy spirit of Jesus wrote the canon
2 Peter 1:16-21- 16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Men of every rank and stature in Life wrote these books by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Princes, Kings, Tax Collectors, Physicians, Lawyers, prophets, farmers, herdsman, fisherman and teachers.
The miracle is that some wrote without knowing what any of the other writers had written, many wrote with the knowledge of only a few meager portions of text and none wrote having at hand all the other books -
Yet whole bible comprises one theme of unity and purpose which can only be accounted to that men moved by God wrote the Bible by the God breathed Inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
2. What makes up the bible? How are the books connected?
The bible is made up of all 66 books. We call the Old Testament and New Testament in the original books which is the O.T. books, they were originally called the scriptures Or the Law & the prophets. Once the New Testament was written and accepted the scriptures where split into two testaments Old & New!
The Arrangement of the scriptures where placed in the bible as we have them now by two means 1. ) Chronologically and logically, they are arranged largely Historically and in time sequence and at the same time placed in an order by material
So you have 40 authors - 2 testaments - 8 sections - 66 books all connected by one Christocentric (Christ centered) theme the redemptive cross of Christ. The Old Testament and the gospels all look forward to the cross - The New Testament following looks back at the cross.
5 - law, 12 historical, 5 poetic, 17 prophetic = 39 books
4 - Gospels, 1- historical, 21- epistles, 1 prophetic = 27 books
there are over 250 direct quotes from the old testament quoted in the new testament and there are almost 1603 allusions or references in NT from the OT
.The order of the scriptures is what we call the Canon of scripture. These are the collection of scriptures that where embraced by the Jews who were the custodians of the writings of the Old Testament. Canon means the norm or the rule.
Four Major Translations of the bible
1. Septuagint - translation from original Hebrew into to Greek for New Testament day’s use. This is the most significant version Used by Jesus and The apostles
2. Targum - Hebrew into Aramaic
3. Peshitta - Syrian
4. Latin Vulgate - Final translation from Greek into Latin - First translation into English 1456 by Johann Gutenberg (Gutenberg press)
The Septuagint scriptures is what was quoted by Jesus and the apostles
John 10:33-35
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Matt 22:29-30
29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
NIV
Matt 5:17-18
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Luke 24:44-45
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
NIV
John 5:38-40
39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
NIV
In the OT the NT is concealed and in the NT the OT is revealed
The Canon scriptures. The canon of scripture contains the accepted books of the time by the Jews as binding and authoritative by God. These Contained the 39 books we accept as the old testament
these are the books of the law and prophets / later called the law, prophets, writings
There were many books written at the same time as the scriptures which covered 1000 years of prophecies from Moses to Malachi. There are more than 15 books quoted in the OT writings of the day but the books themselves where not considered to fit in the canon as scripture( Example: The book of the acts of Solomon-1kings 11:41; the book of the wars of the lord - Numbers 21:14)
there are 11 books of the apocrypha - which where books written between the time of Malachi and Matthew during the 400 years of silence and the
These books where never included into the canon of scripture for several reasons -
They were never accepted by the Jews who were the custodians of the canon of scripture. They were never considered to be inspired writings by Jesus, The Jews, or the apostles.
But the early church was aware of the writings and was familiar with their text. They did admit is use for historical information.
They do have some inaccuracies and misstatements of facts - Example Justification of suicide, Prayers and baptisms for the dead - 2 Maccabees
A. There are references in the book of Jude 1:14-16 referring to a passage out of the book
Of Enoch - This is not a quote from the apocrypha but the Pseudepigrapha. From which no claims to inspiration have ever been made.
This book consist of a large volume of visions and prophecies of a bright future for the Jewish people. There are at least 9 of these books.
The canon was considered completely the Jews and the argument arose at the council of Trent by the catholic Church in 1546 that the apocrypha should be added
There are 5000 manuscript Copies that have been found enforcing the legitimacy of the scriptures of the new testament alone all written within 50 years after the NT was written. The entire NT was written by 75 AD which means the eye witnesses of the NT where still alive when it was written.
The attitude of the church reflects that there faith was in the present canon of the bible as being completed by God and his inspired hand. By not opening it back up and allowing other text to easily be enveloped with the scripts they have preserved that the canon is complete. It is a closed book.
The Scribes went through such careful task to produce a flawless translation or copy
Had to rewrite verse by verse could not begin to write the name of god with a pen newly dipped in ink had to be in full Jewish dress wash his whole body, if a king addressed him while in the middle of writing God’s name he had to ignore him.
1947 - Dead sea scrolls where found. A portion of every book except Esther.
Found a manuscript 1000 years older of the book of Isaiah than had been known of
Rev 22:18-19
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
NIV
Ultimately we have to take the word of god by Faith in our hearts just like we do the rest of the kingdom.