Though a simple-seeming topic, the question “What is the Bible” has many layers, especially because of its rich contents, history, and impact on the world for countless generations. Written over 1000 years by approximately 40 authors, it is marvelous just by that description. On top of that, over 2 billion people in the world are Christian, basing our beliefs on this book. Of course, from this can arise many doubts, making us wonder; what really is this book?
Here, we will discuss the following questions:
How is it organized?
Who wrote the Bible?
Is it trustworthy?
And most importantly, what is it about/what does it say?
Starting with the first question, how is the Bible organized? A staple of being able to read it is to understand how it is sectioned and organized. The Bible is split into 2 halves, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament starts at the beginning of time and ends with the prophet Malachai, written around 400-500 BC. The New Testament continues the story, beginning with the birth of Jesus Christ and ending with the last book written by John, the book of Revelation (circa 90 AD).
After splitting the Bible into these 2 halves, these are divided further into 66 “Books”. These are the individual stories or letters written by the authors. They can be very short, taking up a page of your Bible, while some can be hundreds of pages. Each book is unique in its own way, telling different stories, representing a different part of time, and demonstrating a new perspective. Believe it or not, these books are split even further. Because you can’t reference a page number to someone (the book is so long, and there are different sizes of printed Bibles), these books are split up into chapters. Just like a classic chapter book, these chapters chop up the book, splitting it up when something new comes up. Finally, each sentence or two is assigned to a “Verse”. That way, you can reference an exact part of the Bible, with no way it can be misinterpreted.
Here's an example: John 3:16. The first word, in this case, John, is the title of the book. Next, the first number means the chapter (Chapter 3). And finally, the colon and second number represent the verse, in this case, verse 16. Anyone can turn to their Bible, or even google the verse John 3:16, which makes the Bible extremely easy to navigate and share.
Next, who wrote the Bible? As said earlier, there are about 40 authors who wrote the Bible. How is this trustworthy, if about 40 people wrote this during a span of over 1000 years? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads: “16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Although human hands wrote these books down, this verse tells us that God had some influence in it, whether to a large or small extent. A common phrase is that God INSPIRED the Bible, aligning with what we just said.
Another question: is the Bible trustworthy?
As we just covered, we know that the Bible states that God inspired it. However, how do we know this is true, that what it says is factual? Well, there are numerous pieces of evidence that gives us a very strong basis that proves that the Bible really is what it says it is. Primarily, we have archeology. Bible archeology proves that the books were really written so far apart in time (using tools such as carbon dating), and the cities mentioned were really real. The book of Exodus claims that the pharaoh's army was sunk in the Red Sea, and sure enough, chariot remnants were found at the bottom of the sea, using designs only used by the pharaoh that ruled during Moses’ time. Second, we have Bible prophecies. Many old testament books (proved to be written hundreds of years before Jesus Christ), give specific prophecies regarding him, which turned out to be accurate. Micah 5:2 states that out of Bethlehem will come a leader of the Jews. Then, around the year 2 BC, Jesus Christ was born in the same city. Here's another one. In the book of Daniel, Chapter 8, he sees a vision of 2 animals fighting and thinks not much of it, However, later in the chapter the vision is interpreted to him. The angel Gabriel said that one ram represented the empire of Medo-Persia, and it was defeated by the other ram, represented by Greece. Then, its leader’s power would be split to 4 other leaders, each with their own empire but not nearly as powerful as the first. Sounds exactly like Alexander the Great, right? This is such a specific prophecy, written before these events, that it definitely bolster’s the authenticity of the Bible. It means that no human could have predicted that, but only Divine powers. Finally, to prove that the Bible really is the word of God, we can look at its alignment with each other, and other accounts. Eyewitness accounts of Jesus, such as the 4 gospels, all align and agree with each other, and combined, they provide immense, indisputable detail. Josephus, one of the most trusted sources of information regarding ancient Israeli history, had writings that speak of the same events and individuals of the Bible, such as Herod the Great, Pontius Pilate, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself. Overall, these 3 examples work together to really prove that the Bible IS the Word of God, and that it speaks truthfully.
Finally, what does the Bible say? What is it about? It starts at the creation of the universe, recording God’s process of creation. Then it comes to the first human beings, Adam and Eve, who lived in a perfect, paradise-like world. They disobeyed God, got kicked out of paradise, and populated the earth. Then, the earth got so sinful that God destroyed it with a flood, saving only 8 righteous people and the earth’s animals by asking Noah, one of the 8, to build an ark. Soon later, Abraham was chosen by God to be the first of his chosen people, Israel. Abraham miraculously has a son named Isaac at the age of 100. God made a promise to Abraham that through his seed, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This was a reference to Jesus, who through him, everyone will have the opportunity to be saved. Isaac has a son named Jacob, who has a son named Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, but he ended up becoming the second-in-command in Egypt. He then saved Israel from a famine by bringing them to Egypt, who thanks to Joseph, prepared for the famine and had excess food. Joseph dies, and the new Pharoah hates the Israelites and forces them into slavery. Thanks to Moses, alongside God, there are many plagues and Israel is kicked out of Egypt. After the parting of the Red Sea, the Israelites head to the promised land, Canaan. On the way, God makes a covenant with Israel that if they keep his Law (that He gives them), he will bless and protect them. They sin many times, but through Joshua, they invade and take the promised land. Israel has a series of leaders, called Judges, who are basically their “king”, give them advice, tell them what God wants them to do, and save them from attacking nations. The nation complains, and says they want a real king, like all the other nations. God gives them a king named Saul, who was sinful, and is replaced by king David. He was very righteous, he reunited Israel, and although he sinned, he repented and God loved him. His son, however, though blessed with innumerable wealth and wisdom, sinned against God, and God split Israel in two. After a long series of good and evil kings, along with Prophets telling Israel to stay away from sin, they are conquered by empire after empire. Finally, they are permitted to return to their homeland once again. They rebuild Jerusalem, but are conquered once again because of their sin. More prophets warn them, but nothing is enough. Now comes the New Testament. While under Roman control, Jesus is born in Jerusalem. Unbeknownst to the world, Jesus would change the entire world, forever. Not much is said about his growing up, but we know that he was raised righteously and with good knowledge of God. He was then baptised by John the Baptist, who for years had been “clearing the way” for Jesus. Why was he so important? We’ll get there later. After being baptised, Jesus began to perform miracles and preach to the Jews. Compared to other people who claimed to bring wisdom, he said something different. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He preached that you don’t need to follow the Law as stated in the Old Testament, but rather repent to God and give your life to him. He gave two new commandments to everyone. Love your neighbor as yourself, and love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. He was the Son of God, and the Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders) hated him. They said that was blasphemy, he had to be killed. Although he healed people, performed miracles, and gave hope for something beyond the grave, repentance, and salvation, he was killed. He was crucified between 2 criminals, although he was innocent. Everyone who followed him was disappointed. He was prophesied to save the Jews, overthrow the Romans, and be a great king! Little did they know, but it was not the time yet. After parts of 3 days of being dead, He was resurrected. He appeared to his disciples, restoring their faith, and rejuvenating them. 40 days after being resurrected, he ascended to heaven, telling his disciples to spread his Word to the world. They received the Holy Spirit, called a “helper” that would guide them as they preach. They dispersed across the world, preaching the truth, and starting what we know as christianity today. The remainder of the Bible is a collection of letters and books written by His disciples, meant to strengthen the faith of anyone who reads them. The last book, Revelation, is a vision given to the apostle John and preaches of amazing things, when Jesus will return to earth, bring it to perfection, and everyone will know God. Isn’t that exciting? That’s what the whole Bible preaches. The story of how man was in perfection but sinned, and God’s amazing process through judges, kings, prophets, and finally his only Son to save it so that we, and the earth, may be restored back to its original perfect state.
Overall, we’ve covered a huge load of content, but I hope that this has been a blessing to whoever got this far, being an introductory or reminder on what the Bible is about, why it is true, and an overview of its amazing, historical story.
- A Follower of Christ