A 9 PART EXPLORATION OF GOD’S WORD

JOURNEY

THROUGH THE
PART 1
BIBLE The Bible Defined
BIBLEF
What Is This Book We Call The Bible?
Books Of The Bible
Fun Bible Facts
How We Got The Bible

APOSTOLIC
NETWORK
PUBLICATIONS
john atkinson
 Table of Contents
Chapter 1: What is This Book We Call The Bible? .................................. 3
Purpose Of This Course ....................................................................... 3
The Word Of God ................................................................................ 3
What the Word of God Says About Itself ................................... 4
What Others Have Said About The Bible ................................. 5
External Proofs That The Bible is True ..................................... 5
It is the Word! ....................................................................................... 5
Study Questions.................................................................................... 6
Chapter 2: The Books of The Bible ........................................................... 7
Chapter and Verse ................................................................................. 7
The Old Testament .............................................................................. 8
Old Testament Facts ................................................................ 8
Basic Divisions of the Old Testament ........................................ 8
The New Testament ........................................................................... 10
New Testament Facts .............................................................. 10
Basic Divisions of the New Testament ..................................... 10
Abbreviations and Reference Notation ................................................ 12
Study Questions.................................................................................. 12
Chapter 3: Intermission – Fun Bible Facts ............................................. 13
Psalm 118 Facts .................................................................................. 13
Science Before Science Knew It ........................................................... 14
Chapter 4: How We Got The Bible ....................................................... 15
The Flow Of God’s Word .................................................................... 15
Revelation ............................................................................. 15
Inspiration ............................................................................ 15
Manuscripts .......................................................................... 16
Translation ........................................................................... 16
Preservation .......................................................................... 17
Translations ........................................................................................ 17
Study Questions.................................................................................. 18
Appendix A: King James Words ............................................................. 19

1
All Scripture Quotations Are From the King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Hebrew definitions from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon, Greek definitions are from the Thayer’s
Lexicon unless otherwise noted

Copyright © 2004 by Apostolic Network, All Rights Reserved

2
Chapter 1
What is This Book W
Wee Call The Bible?
Purpose Of This Course
The purpose of this course is to teach a brief overview of the Bible from
Genesis to Revelation in 9 parts. It’s main focus is:

• To define the Bible

• To describe the attributes of it
• To familiarize the student with basic Biblical concepts and
definitions of terms
• To illustrate the “big picture” of God’s plan for man
• To give a brief overview of each book, and it’s place in God’s
plan.

In this first section we will cover the following:

• The books of the Bible

• Bible book name meanings and abbreviations
• Facts about the Bible
• How the Bible came to be

The Wor
Wor d Of God
ord
The first thing we must recognize is that the Bible contains the Word of
God. The Word of the Lord isn’t like any other writings on earth. This
book exists for a reason. There is none other like it. It was written by 40
different men over a period of 1500 years. Yet it is clearly the work of a
single mind. It has 40 writers, but only one author. No other book
considered “Holy” by the different world religions can make that claim.
Here are some of those books and their writer’s:

1. The Koran (Islam) – Written by Mohammed in 600 A.D.

THE WORK OF ONE MAN!
2. The four Vedas (Hindu) – Written by Menu the son of
Brahma about 1100 BC. THE WORK OF ONE MAN!
3. Tri Pitikes (Buddhism) – Written by Sidharta Guatama
around 600 BC. THE WORK OF ONE MAN!

Each of these religions find their source in the philosophies of a single

individual. A man with a beginning and an ending. Yet the Bible main-
tains it’s unity of purpose and scope having been written by 40 different

3
 men who lived in different times, different cultures and came from
different backgrounds: socially, economically and racially.

• Isaiah was a prophet to the royal court of Judah. He came

from wealth and privilege. Amos, a prophet his contempo-
rary was a farmer.
• Peter was a fishermen. Paul a trained and educated theolo-
gian from the ruling Jewish sect; the Pharisees. Luke was a
Greek physician with no Biblical training or background.

How do we know the Bible is truly the Word of God? What evidence is
there that attests to this fact?

The scripture says:

… In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be

established.
– 2 Corinthians 13:1

Here are three witnesses:

• What the Bible says about itself.
• What others say about the Bible.
• External proofs that the Bible is true.

What the Word of God Says About Itself

The Bible testifies several things about the truth and power of the Word of
God
• That it is profitable for doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16).
• That it is Spirit and Life (John 6:63).
• That God inspired men to put it on paper (2 Peter 1:21).
• That it will accomplish the purpose for which God sends it
(Isaiah 55:11).
• That it is Alive, Powerful and Perceptive (Hebrews 4:12)
• That the hearing of it invokes faith (Romans 10:17).
• That it is the source of the New Birth (1 Peter 1:23).
• That it is to be spiritually perceived (1 Corinthians 2:14).

4
 What Others Have Said About The Bible

Some of the most prominent figures in US history were men who believed
that the Bible is the Word of God.
• God’s Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all
necessary rules to direct our conduct. – Noah Webster.
• I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to
men. All the good from the Savior of the world is commu-
nicated to us through this book. – Abraham Lincoln.
• Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties;
write its precepts on your hearts and practice them in your
lives. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for the
progress made, and to this we must look as our guide in the
future. – Ulysses S. Grant.
• It is impossible rightly to govern the world without God
and the Bible. – George Washington.
• The Bible is the cornerstone of Liberty. – Thomas
Jefferson.

External Proofs That The Bible is True

• Fulfilled Prophecy – Jesus Christ fulfilled completely 332
prophecies in the Old Testament concerning himself.
• Scientific Discoveries – Multiple verses in the Old Testa-
ment reveal knowledge that scientists have only discovered
in the last 500 years.
• Biblical Archeology – Archeological Discoveries in the last
100 years have done much to confirm and validate the
writings of the Bible. Discoveries such as the Dead Sea
Scrolls confirmed the accuracy of the Old Testament.
• Best Selling Book – Over 800,000,000 copies sold since
1611. Over 2,000,000 per year, and over 5000 per day. This
is a very conservative estimate, and it doesn’t include those
translated for missionary work. Top that Buddha.
• The Testimony of the People of God – Perhaps the most
important proof! The Bible says that things will happen
when people receive God into their lives … AND THEY
DO!

It is the Wor
Wor d!
ord!
Understanding that the Bible contains the Word of God is the first step to
understanding that God has a plan for man collectively, and for you
individually! By knowing that God is able to speak to us we take the first
step to believing and being born again.

5
Study Questions
1. The Bible contains the _______________ of __________.

2. The Bible was written over a period of __________ years.

3. The Bible was written by _______ different men, but only has _______
author.

4. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All _________ is given by inspiration of God, and

is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:”

5. Isaiah 55:11 states “So shall my ________ be that goeth forth out of my
mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall ________ that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

6. Romans 10:17 reads: “So then _______ cometh by ________, and

hearing by the ______ of God.”

7. Hebrews 4:12 reads: “For the word of God is __________, and

__________, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
_______________ of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

8. How many Old Testament Prophecies did Jesus Christ fulfill?

_________________

9. Who said, “The Bible is the cornerstone of Liberty”?

__________________________

10. Understanding that the Bible contains the Word of God is the first
step to understanding _____________________________________

6
Chapter 2
The Books of The Bible
This chapter is more than just a table of contents for the Bible. It is a
introduction to the 66 books that make up the Bible.

The Bible is divided into 2 parts:

• The Old Testament – 39 Books

• The New Testament – 27 Books

In turn each of these are divided into categories (see Figures 1 and 2 on the
following pages).

Bible
The word Bible comes from the Latin
word Biblia, which simply means
“books”! It isn’t one book – it is a
Quick Fact collection of 66 books!

Chapter and VVerse

erse
The chapter/verse division of the Bible is man-made (but you can still see
the hand of God even in this in Chapter 3: Bible Facts). The Old Testament
was divided into chapters and verses in 1443, with the New Testament
following in 1451.

Testament
In Biblical Terminology a Testament is
a covenant, or agreement, between
God and Man. The “Old Covenant” and
the “New Covenant”.
Definition

The chapter and verse division of the scripture makes it easy for us to
search and find the different verses and communicate them to one another!

7
The Old TTestament
estament
Old Testament Facts
• Contains 39 Books
• Written from 1400 B.C. to 400 B.C.
• Written in the Hebrew language.
• Target audience the Hebrew (Jewish) race.
• Central Them: The promise of the coming Messiah (Jesus
Christ).
• Relevance to us:
1) Examples of God dealing with his people.
2) Promises and warnings to the people of Israel can apply
to us collectively and individually.
• The Old Testament, though fulfilled in Jesus Christ is still
the Word of God.

Messiah
Literally means “the anointed one”.
This word is transliterated from the
Hebrew word “Mashaich”. Because of
Definition Jesus it has taken the contemporary
meaning of: champion, defender or
savior.

Basic Divisions of the Old Testament

The Old Testament is divided into four basic divisions, These divisions are
simply man’s attempt at categorization for easy remembrance. Note that
these divisions aren’t the end-all as there is History contained in the Law,
Prophetic writings in both the Law and the Poetic Books.

These divisions are for sake of categorization only. They are:

• The Law or Penteteuch – 5 Books
• The Historical Books – 12 Books
• The Poetic Books – 5 Books
• The Prophetic Books – 17 Books (5 Books - Major Prophets,
12 Books - Minor Prophets). NOTE: There is no such thing
as a Major or a Minor Prophet. They were all Prophets
delivering the Word of the Lord. The one’s listed as “Major”
simply wrote bigger books.

For a list of the books in each category see Figure 1,

8
 Isaiah Job Joshua Genesis
Jerimiah Psalms Judges Exodus
Lamentations Proverbs Ruth Leviticus
Numbers

Major Prophets
Daniel 2 Samuel Deuteronomy
Song Of Solomon
Hosea 1 Kings
Joel 2 Kings

Obadiah 2 Chronicles
The Law

Jonah Ezra

The Poetic Books

The Prophetic Books

The Historical Books
39 Books

Micah Nehemiah
Nahum
Esther
Zephaniah

Figure 1: The Old Testament Books and Divisions

Haggai

Minor Prophets
Zechariah
Malachi

9
The New TTestament
estament
New Testament Facts
• Contains 27 Books
• Written from 40 A.D. to 100 A.D.
• Written in the Greek language.
• Target audience the people of the world.
• Central Theme: The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of
Jesus Christ, The Church.
• Relevance to us:
1) Explains how to be saved.
2) Teaches how to live a Christian life.
3) Contains the Promise of Eternal life.
• The fruit of the New Testament is “Christ in You, the hope
of Glory”.

Epistles
The New Testament contains 21 books
called Epistles. An Epistle is merely a
letter or message. These were letters
Definition written to church assemblies and
individuals, and by extension to you
and I, by the Apostles

Basic Divisions of the New Testament

Like the Old Testament, the New Testament is divided into four basic
divisions,

These divisions are for sake of categorization only. They are:

• The Gospels – 4 Books
• Historical Narrative – 1 Book
• The Epistles – 21 Books
• Prophecy – 1 Book

For a list of the books in each category see Figure 2,

10
 Hebrews Romans Matthew
James 1 Corinthians Mark
2 Corinthians Luke
2 Peter John
1 John Ephesians

The General Epistles

Philippians
The Gospels - The Life Of Christ
3 John Colossians

2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy

The Pauline Epistles

2 Timothy
27 Books

Philemon

Figure 2: The New Testament Books and Divisions

Revelation

Revelation
Historical Narrative

Acts Of The Apostles

11
Abbreviations and Refer
Abbreviations ence Notation
Reference
The standard method of abbreviating the books of the Bible is to use the
first three letters of the book.

Example: Exodus 1:12 will be written as Exo. 1:12. Philippians 4:8 as Phi.
4:8, 1 Peter 2:5 as 1 Pet. 2:5

This is standard notation and is used not only throughout this course but
in many books and article where specific parts of the Bible are referenced.

Book Chapter Verse

Figure 3: Reference Notation for Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 8

Book Chapter Verses

Figure 4: Reference Notation for Isaiah, Chapter 44, Verses 17 through 22

Study Questions
1. The second book of the Law is named __________.

2. The third Old Testament Historical book is ______________.

3. Another word for Testament is ____________________.

4. An Epistle is a letter or _________________.

5. There are _______ Prophetic books in the Old Testament.

6. How many Gospels are there? ___________

7. What is the first Epistle in the New Testament?

8. What is the reference notation for 1 Corinthians Chapter 2, Verse 5?

_________________

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Chapter 3
Intermission – Fun Bible Facts
This chapter is a collection of interesting facts about the Bible.

¼ The first English Translation of the Bible was initiated by John

Wycliffe in 1382.

¼ The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenburg in

1448. The first book ever printed was the Bible.

¼ The average person can read the Bible through in about seventy
hours reading time. Reading three chapters per day and five on
Sundays, you can read your Bible through in one year. About
fourteen chapters per day will take you through in three months.

¼ Esther 8:9 is the longest verse, while John 11:35 is the shortest.

¼ The word Bible never appears in the Bible.

¼ There are 1189 chapters and over 31,000 verses in the Bible.

¼ The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119.

¼ The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117.

¼ Which brings us to Psalm 118…

Psalm 118 Facts

• Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the Bible
• Psa. 118:8 is the middle verse in the Bible. It reads: “It is
better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in
man.”
• The middle two words in the Bible is “the LORD”.
• There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118, and 594 chapters
after Psalm 118. Add them up you get 1188, which brings
us back to the center verse Psa. 118:8
• All that is a coincidence … right?

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Science Befor
Beforee Science Knew It
• No actual “moon light” – (Job 25:5)
• Light travels – (Job 38:19)
• Stars cannot be counted – (Gen. 15:5; 22:17)
• Empty place in North – (Job 26:7)
• Earth suspended in space – (Job 26:7)
• Entropy increases – (Psa. 102:25-27)
• Pleiades star cluster – (Job 38:31)
• Sea mounts – (Jon. 2:3-6)
• Sea springs – (Job 38:16; Pro. 8:28)
• Submarine canyons – (II Sam. 22:16)
• Ocean currents – (Psa. 8:8)
• Earth not flat – (Isa. 40:22)
• Running water more sanitary, – (Lev. 15:13)

Study Questions
1. The first English translation of the Bible was initiated by
_______________ _____________ in the year 1382.

2. The middle chapter of the Bible is _______________.

3. The Middle two words of the Bible are _________ __________.

4. Job 26:7 reads: “He stretcheth out the north over the ___________,
and hangeth the earth upon ____________.

5. Isa 40:22 reads: “It is he that sitteth upon the ___________________,

and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the
heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”

6. Lev 15:13 “And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then
he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his
clothes, and bathe his flesh in ____________________, and shall be
clean.”

7. The shortest chapter in the Bible is: __________________.

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Chapter 4
How W
Wee Got The Bible
The Flow Of God’
God’ss Wor
Wor d
ord
How we got the Bible is a process that actually started with the creation of
the world, but kicked into high gear around 1450 B.C. Our Bible is the
result of a 4 step process with divine
oversight throughout.
Revelation
Those steps are illustrated in Figure 5 and
are:
• Revelation
• Inspiration
• Manuscripts
• Translation

Revelation Preservation
God reveals things about himself in many
Inspiration
ways. God began revealing him self and his
plan to Moses around 1450 B.C. As time
passed God revealed more of himself and
his plan to the other writer’s of the Old
Testament. Much of the New Testament
Manuscripts
was revealed to the Apostles by Jesus
Christ through the Holy Ghost.

Of note: the Old Testament Prophets were

inspired to write many things concerning
Translation
Jesus, things, the meaning of which, was
not revealed to them!

Inspiration

Inspiration is the process that God used to

guide the writers of the books of the Bible.
Inspiration literally means “God-
breathed”. The source of the scriptures is The Bible
God. God gave the writers the words to
write, and preserved it from then until Figure 5: The Flow of
now. God’s Word
15
 As was mentioned, Inspiration and Revelation are not the same thing.
Consider King David. God revealed many things to David about God.
However, God inspired David to write many prophecies about Christ, the
meaning of which David had no idea.

Manuscripts

The books of the Bible were written primarily on parchment and papyrus.
Then, copies were made so that people could access them. Until the
printing press was invented this was painstakingly done by hand.

One of the powerful statements about the truth of the word of God is the
sheer volume of original manuscripts available to us today. There are over
5000 copies of the New Testament, the earliest dating back to 150 A.D.

Additionally there are even more copies of the Old Testament. In 1947 a
Palestinian shepherd boy stumbled into a cave and made a startling
discovery … the Dead Sea Scrolls! There, stored in clay jars were portions
of original manuscripts from the Old Testament, including a complete
book of Isaiah.

Translation of these scrolls proved to the academic world that the content
and context of the Bible had indeed been preserved through the ages!

Translation

Now comes the sticky part. Very few of us speak the Hebrew dialect that
Moses did. Very few of us speak the Common Greek of the New Testa-
ment that was the trade language of the Roman Empire. Even fewer speak
both.

What Is Up With The Italics?

There are a number of words that exist in the
English language that do not in the original
tongues, words like his, it, is… and so on. Also
there are words that are grammatically
Quick Fact
necessary in English that either aren’t available
in the original tongues or were not used..
When using these, the translators were careful
and desiring not to risk the original words to
be corrupted. Thus they used italics to differ-
entiate the words they added for sake of
clarification.

In order for us, or anyone else, to understand the Word of the Lord it must
be rendered into the language that we understand. This process is called
translation.
16
 Preservation

Part of having faith in the word of the Lord is having faith in God’s ability
to preserve it. The same God who had the ability to reveal himself to his
prophets, inspire them to write the words he would have committed to
parchment, can also inspire translators to be accurate in their translation.
To bring us the pure Word of God, to the end that we may be saved.

Translations
Today we face a dilemma. There are so many translations or versions of the
Bible on the shelves that it is difficult, without guidance, to pick the one
which is right.

Translations are available between two benchmarks:

• Literal
• Paraphrase

Figure 6 illustrates the position on the literal to paraphrase scale. At the far

New King James Today’s English (TEV)

Amplified New International (NIV) The Message

Literal Paraphrase

Interlinear New Revised New International

King James Standard (NRSV) Readers (NIrV) Living Bible

Figure 6: Version Scale, Literal to Paraphrase

left of the scale you have the most literal translation available, which is the
Interlinear. The Interlinear is a direct word-for word translation with the
original word above the English word. While accurate, the Interlinear is
difficult to read.

Very close to the literal end of the spectrum is the King James Version,
which we use in this course and is most popular in our churches. This is
the translation of the Bible that we recommend that you use.

Paraphrase Versions
Avoid Paraphrase Versions like “the Message” and
“Today’s English Version” like the plague. In
paraphrasing the Bible, it ceases being the word of
God and becomes the word of man!. These
WARNING! versions are easy to read and entertaining … BUT
NOT PROFITABLE FOR DOCTRINE!

17
Study Questions
1. ________________ is the way God shows himself.

2. The Prophets and Writers of the books of the Bible recieved the Word of
God by _____________________.

3. There are over ___________ copies of New Testament manuscripts

available.

4. In 1947, the __________ _________ __________ were discovered,

validating the accuracy of many Old Testament manuscripts.

5. The process by which a manuscript is rendered from the original

language to another is called ______________ .

6. When using a word that didn’t exist in the original language, but is
grammatically necessary in English, the translators put the word in
______________ so that we would understandthat it was not used in the
original text.

7. God _______________ his Word so that we may have access to the

true word of the Lord.

8. What is the most literal translation? _________________

9. What is the least literal translation? _________________

10. What version of the Bible holds the middle spot between literal and
paraphrase? ____________________________

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Appendix A
King James Wor
Words
ords
1) abjects, outcasts 50) describe, divide
2) adamant, very hard stone 51) descry, search out
3) affinity, related by marriage 52) diadem, head dress,
4) afore, before crown
5) amerce, fine 53) dispensation, steward
6) amiable, lovely ship, distribution
7) anathema, cursed 54) distaff, rod for holding
8) anon, immediately wool
9) apothecary, spice dealer 55) divers, different
10) assay, attempt 56) divination, magical
11) asswage, restrain prediction
12) avouched, declared 57) earing, ploughing
13) beeves, cattle 58) earnest, deposit, pledge
14) besom, broom 59) emerods, swellings
15) bestead, facing difficulty 60) ensue, to follow
16) bewrayeth, betrays 61) eschew, avoid
17) blains, boils, sores 62) fain, gladly
18) bowels, affections 63) fetters, shackels
19) bruit, rumour, report 64) fray, frighten
20) buckler, small shield 65) fret, to be worried, angry
21) bunches, humps 66) froward, perverse
22) careless, free from care,secure 67) fuller, cleaner of cloth
23) carriages, baggage 68) garner, barn
24) causeway, paved road 69) gier eagle, vulture
25) chamberlain, household manager 70) gin, trap
26) chapiter, head of a column 71) greaves, leg armour
27) charger, large dish 72) grisled, grey
28) chode, complained 73) hart, deer
29) churl, miserly 74) helve, ax handle
30) clouts, rags 75) holpen, helped
31) coasts, borders 76) hosen, stockings
32) cockatrice, adder, cobra 77) hough, cut hamstrings
33) cockle, weeds 78) husbandman, farmer
34) coffer, box 79) implead, accuse
35) collops, lumps 80) jangling, foolish talking
36) comeliness, beauty 81) kine, cows
37) compass, go around 82) laden, loaded
38) confectionaries, ointment makers 83) laud, praise
39) contemn, despise 84) leasing, lying
40) convocation, assembly 85) leaven, yeast
41) coulter, plough blade 86) lewd, vicious
42) covert, shelter 87) listeth, chooses
43) cumbered, worried 88) mammon, riches
44) cunning, skill 89) maul, hammer
45) curious, embroidered 90) mete, to measure
46) curious arts, sorcery 91) mitre, head dress
47) custom, tax 92) muffler, facial scarf
48) damsel, girl 93) murrain, cattle plague
49) daysman, mediator 94) noisome, very hurtful
19
95) pate, head
96) peradventure, perhaps
97) pilled, peeled
98) polled, cut hair
99) post, mail man
100) potsherd, broken pottery
101) pottage, soup
102) profane, dishonorable
103) proselyte, convert
104) publican, tax collector
105) pulse, vegetables
106) purtenance, internal organs
107) quarternions, group of four guards
108) quick, alive
109) quit, behave
110) rail, boldly speak against
111) rase, destroy
112) rereward, rear guard
113) rue, a herb
114) savour, taste
115) scall, sore
116) scrip, bag
117) seethe, boil
118) severally, separately
119) shambles, meat market
120) silverlings, silver coins
121) sleight, deceitfulness
122) sod, boiled
123) sottish, foolish
124) stay, support
125) strake, streak
126) subtil, sly, cunning
127) tabering, hitting
128) taches, fastenings
129) tell, count
130) tares, weeds
131) tire, head dress
132) traffick, trade
133) trow, think
134) usury, interest
135) vagabond, fugitive
136) vaunt, boast
137) venture, at random
138) vestments, apparel
139) vex, trouble
140) victuals, food
141) vile, useless, wicked
142) wist, knew
143) wont, accustomed
144) wot, know
145) wroth, wrathful, angry

20
21
JOURNEY

THROUGH THE

BIBLE

PART 1
The Bible Defined
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