WHAT is the Bible?

The Holy Bible is the best-selling book in history!  The Bible is a love story of God’s perfect love for imperfect people. Everyone is loved unconditionally by God, and because He loves us, He sent Jesus to Earth to die for us. God loves you, but He will not force you to love Him because that isn’t love. Let God love you. Let Jesus save you.

The Bible is also a compilation of sacred writings which are the historical account of God’s creation of us and our natural world, as well as a glimpse into the unseen spiritual world to which we truly belong. There are two opposing spiritual forces in our lives — the Holy Spirit and the evil spirits of Satan. Satan hates Jesus and those who love Jesus, but Jesus is more powerful than Satan and Jesus will end Satan’s evil reign soon. Believe in God and Jesus so you can be led by the Holy Spirit and not be fooled by the lies of Satan.

The thief (Satan) comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I (Jesus) have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone
where the beast and the false prophet are
And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:10

Bible Layout

The Bible has two major sections — The Old Testament and New Testament.  The Old Testament was written by Hebrews (aka Jews) before the birth of Jesus, the Christ, and it is the primary religious text of Judaism.  The New Testament was written by Jews and non-Jews after the birth of Jesus, the Christ, and it is the primary religious text for Christians.  Although the Bible was written over a period of about 1,500 years by approximately 40 men who were inspired by God, all of the pieces are interconnected like a puzzle and represent the inspired Word of God.

The typical Christian Bible has about 1,500 pages, depending on text and page size, and has more than 30,000 verses or scriptures.  The original scriptures were not divided into chapters and verses, but most modern translations do this for easier reference.   For example, Genesis 3:1-4 indicates the scripture is from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 1-4.  The Book names are often abbreviated.  For example, the book of Matthew may be abbreviated as Matt or Mt.  If there is more than one book with the same name, such as Kings, the books are distinguished by numbers before the book name (e.g. 1Kings, 2Kings or I Kings, II Kings).

The books of the Bible, including their order and contents, differ slightly between religious groups due to differing opinions about which writings are authoritative as scripture, also known as Biblical Canon.   The Bible is generally laid out as follows:

  • Testaments – Old (Before Christ) & New (After Christ)
  • Books – 66 Books, 39 Old Testament  & 27 New Testament
  • Chapters – 1,189 (King James Version)
  • Verses – 30,000+ (King James Version)