Why 66?
After the apostles, church leaders used the term “Bible” to refer to the body of Christian doctrine accepted by the churches. The Bible is made up of 66 books written by 40 different authors over a period of 1,500 years. Each writer wrote in his own language and style, using his own mind and in some cases research, but each was so overruled by the Holy Spirit that error was not allowed to creep into his work.
The Canon of the Old Testament
Many books, such as 1 and 2 Samuel and Ezra and Nehemiah, were counted as one. There is a lot of evidence that the books of the Old Testament were written close to the time they record.
The Council of Jamnia
Between the years 90 and 100 A.D., a group of Jewish scholars gathered in Israel’s Jamnia to discuss issues concerning the Hebrew Scriptures; the goal of Jamnia was not to decide which books should be included among the sacred writings, but to examine those that had already been accepted.
The Apocrypha and the Septuagint
The Apocrypha were written between 400 B.C. and the beginning of the New Testament, and they were never considered part of the Hebrew Scriptures; in fact, despite using the Septuagint, neither Jesus nor any of the apostles ever quoted from them.
The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Samaritans used their own version of the Pentateuch, but they did not represent mainstream Judaism; Scripture as a revelation from God through the prophets ended around 450 B.C. for the Jews.
Jesus, His Disciples, and the Early Church Leaders
The New Testament writers rarely quote from other books and never with the same authority as the Old Testament. Some early church leaders quoted from the Apocrypha, but there is no evidence that they recognized these books as equal to the Old Testament.
The Canon of the New Testament
The four Gospels, Acts, thirteen letters of Paul, Jude, two (possibly all three) letters of John, and the Revelation of John are all included in the earliest available list of New Testament books, which dates from around A.D. 150.
Why Did It Take So Long?
The New Testament was not all neatly printed and bound by the Macedonian Pub. Co. in Thessalonica shortly after Paul’s death; original copies were scattered across the Roman Empire’s bookstores and kiosks, and any church would have needed time to learn about all of Paul’s letters.
Facts about the New Testament Canon
With only a few exceptions, the four Gospels were universally accepted by A.D. 180. Clement of Rome quoted or referred to more than half of the New Testament, while Origen of Alexandria used all 27 books of the New Testament, and only those, as Scripture alongside the Old Testament.
What Made a Book “Scripture”?
The internal witness of the texts themselves was strong evidence of canonicity, and most of the false writings were rejected simply because they were too new to be apostolic. 23 of the 27 books were almos written by an apostle or under the direction of an apostle.
Providence
The God who “breathed out” (2 Timothy 3:16) His word into the minds of the writers ensured that those books, and no others, formed part of the completed canon.
Where did the 66 books of the Bible come from?
The 73 books of the Catholic Church canon, the 66 books of some denominations’ canons, or the 80 books of other Protestant denominations’ canons, all the way up to the 81 books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church canon.
Why is it important to know the books of the Bible?
Why Should You Read the Bible on a Regular Basis? First, the Bible reveals God’s character and provides God’s revelation of himself to his people; we see God’s holy, unchanging, faithful, gracious, and loving character in each section of the Bible.
What are 66 books of the Bible?
The Books of the Old Testament
- Numbers.
- Deuteronomy.
- Joshua.
- Judges.
- Ruth.
- Genesis.
- Exodus.
- Leviticus.
Are there 66 books in the Bible?
Have you ever looked at your Bible and wondered, “How do we know that these 66 books, and no others, make up the inspired Word of God?” This is a critical question, because many today would argue that these 66 books do not constitute the entire canon of Scripture.
Why is God’s word so important?
It means that God’s Word is alive and active in our lives, giving life to things that would otherwise be spiritually dead, and that the Holy Spirit changes us and gives us true life through the Word of God.
Why is the Bible the most important book?
The Bible is the most important book ever written; it is the foundation for almost everything mankind will ever know or achieve, and it has led to massive acts of good will and charity.
Why is the Bible the most read book in the world?
According to Guinness World Records, over five billion copies of the Bible have been sold, making it the best-selling book of all time; however, precise figures are difficult to come by because religious texts are frequently translated into many different languages and distributed widely by churches.
WHO removed the books from the Bible?
Both Catholics and Protestants agree that he was correct on many points and that he changed Western history; however, one of his most significant actions was the removal of seven books from the Bible. So, Why Did Martin Luther Remove 7 Books From The Bible?
Who Really Wrote the Bible?
The books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (the first five books of the Bible and the entirety of the Torah) were all written by Moses in around 1,300 B.C., according to both Jewish and Christian dogma. However, there are a few problems with this, such as the lack of evidence that Moses ever existed.
Why did they remove books from the Bible?
These texts were not included in the canon for a variety of reasons: they may have only been known to a few people, or they may have been left out because their content does not fit well with that of the other Bible books. The Authorized King James Version referred to these books as ‘Apocrypha.’
What religion is in the Bible?
The Bible is the Christian religion’s holy scripture, claiming to tell the story of the Earth’s creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries, including the publication of the King James Version.