BASIC BIBLE SURVEYL1 Overview

Jerry F. Smith, PhD ● Missionary Pastor-Teacher ● Faith Missionary Church World Outreach Ministry ●jfrsmth@gmail.com ● http://pastorjerrysblog.blogspot.com/ ● http://c-ed.blogspot.com ●http://fmcoutreach.blogspot.com/

Ministry Essentials Training

What is the BIBLE?

What is the Bible?

The Bible is a collection of books,accepted by the Christian Church asuniquely inspired by God, and thusauthoritative in matters of faith andpractice.

The sixty-six books of the Bible are a PERFECT UNITY.

GOD Himself is its AUTHOR.

How do I know the Bible is FROM GOD?

Verses that attest to the Bible’s Divine origin:

2Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God,and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, forinstruction in righteousness:

2Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the willof man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved bythe Holy Ghost.

1Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in thewords which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the HolyGhost teacheth …

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Fatherwill send in my name, he will teach you all things and bringto your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Where did the events of the Bible take place?

Biblical Regions

The events of the Bibleprimarily take place inone central location inwhat we call theMiddle East.

How long did it take to write the Bible?

In what years was it written?

The Bible was written over a period of nearly 1500 years.

Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible between 1440 and 1400 B.C.

The New Testament was completed in the latter part of the first century (ca. 4-0 BC – 95 AD).

There were about 40 different human authors involved in the writing of the Bible

These men differed in background, education, culture and profession.

The Bible discusses matters from Creation to the Early Church

The OT covers the time from CREATION to CHRIST’s DEATH

The NT covers the time from CHRIST’s RESURRECTION to the BEGINNINGS of the CHURCH

About 6000 years from CREATION until NOW

GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshua

RuthJudges

Job

GospelsNT Books

HaggaiZechariahMalachiEzraEstherNehemiah

DanielEzekiel

1-2Kings2ChronJoelMicah IsaiahZeph.HabakkukJeremiahJonahNahumObadiahLam.

1-2Sam1ChronPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SolAmosHosea

Who were the HUMAN writers?

Human Authors

• Job, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,Deuteronomy = MOSES - 1400 B.C.

• Joshua = JOSHUA - 1350 B.C.

• Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel =SAMUEL/NATHAN/GAD - 1000 - 900 B.C.

• 1 Kings, 2 Kings = JEREMIAH - 600 B.C.

• 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah = EZRA -450 B.C.

• Esther = MORDECAI - 400 B.C.

• Psalms = several DIFFERENT authors, mostlyDAVID - 1000 - 400 B.C.

• Isaiah = ISAIAH - 700 B.C.

• Jeremiah, Lamentations = JEREMIAH - 600 B.C.

• Ezekiel = EZEKIEL - 550 B.C.

• Daniel = DANIEL - 550 B.C.

• Hosea = HOSEA - 750 B.C.

• Joel = JOEL - 850 B.C.

• Amos = AMOS - 750 B.C.

• Obadiah = OBADIAH - 600 B.C.

• Jonah = JONAH - 700 B.C.

• Micah = MICAH - 700 B.C.

• Nahum = NAHUM - 650 B.C.

• Habakkuk = HABAKKUK - 600 B.C.

• Zephaniah = ZEPHANIAH - 650 B.C.

• Haggai = HAGGAI - 520 B.C.

• Zechariah = ZECHARIAH - 500 B.C.

• Malachi = MALACHI - 430 B.C.

• Matthew = MATTHEW - A.D. 55

• Mark = JOHN MARK - A.D. 50

• Luke = LUKE - A.D. 60

• John = JOHN - A.D. 90

• Acts = LUKE - A.D. 65

• Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians,Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2Timothy, Titus, Philemon = PAUL - A.D. 50-70

• Hebrews = UNKNOWN, mostly likely Paul, Luke,Barnabas, or Apollos - A.D. 65

• James = JAMES - A.D. 45

• 1 Peter, 2 Peter = PETER - A.D. 60

• 1 John, 2 John, 3 John = JOHN - A.D. 90

• Jude = JUDE - A.D. 60

• Revelation = JOHN - A.D. 90

Bible Writer Occupations

MOSES was a political leader, trained in the highest schools and universities of Egypt.

AMOS was a simple herdsman.

JOSHUA was a military general.

NEHEMIAH was a royal cupbearer.

DANIEL was a prime minister.

SOLOMON and DAVID were kings.

MATTHEW was a tax collector for the Roman Empire.

LUKE was a physician.

PETER was a fisherman.

PAUL was a rabbi.

What are some things that show that the

BIBLE is really a supernatural book?

The Supernatural Features Of The Bible

Prophetic Accuracy

Historical Accuracy

Scientific Accuracy

Prophetic Accuracy

Isaiah 48:5 I have even from the beginningdeclared it to thee; before it came to pass Ishewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mineidol hath done them, and my graven image,and my molten image, hath commanded them.

The distinctive mark of God’s prophecies (as opposed to false religions) have been that they

are completely accurate in their fulfillments.

This is an obvious EVIDENCE of the supernatural origins of the Bible.

Precisely Fulfilled Prophecy

Behold, the former things arecome to pass, and new things doI declare: before they springforth I tell you of them (Isaiah

42:9).

The ancient Egyptian city of Thebes (Ezekiel 30:14-16) was destroyed in 336 B.C.

Eze 30:14 And I will makePathros desolate, and willset fire in Zoan, and willexecute judgments in No[Thebes].15 And I will pour my furyupon Sin, the strength ofEgypt; and I will cut off themultitude of No.16 And I will set fire inEgypt: Sin shall have greatpain, and No shall be rentasunder, and Noph shallhave distresses daily.

The city of Memphis in ancient Egypt (Ezekiel 30:13) destroyed in the 6th Century A.D.

Eze 30:13 Thussaith the LordGOD; I will alsodestroy the idols,and I will causetheir images tocease out ofNoph [Memphis];and there shall beno more a princeof the land ofEgypt: and I willput a fear in theland of Egypt.

BABYLONMighty Babylon, Isaiah &Jeremiah declared its doom.

These prophets further claimedthat the ruins would beavoided by travelers, that thecity would never again beinhabited, and that its stoneswould not even be moved foruse as building material (Isaiah13:17-22 and Jeremiah 51:26,43).

The destruction of the ancient city of Babylon and accompanying barrenness of the land (Isaiah 13:20-22),

fulfilled in 539 B.C.

Isa 13:20 It shall never be inhabited,neither shall it be dwelt in fromgeneration to generation: neither shallthe Arabian pitch tent there; neithershall the shepherds make their foldthere. 21 But wild beasts of the desertshall lie there; …

Jer 51:26 And they shall not take ofthee a stone for a corner, nor a stonefor foundations; but thou shalt bedesolate for ever, saith the LORD.

Jer 51:43 Her cities are a desolation, adry land, and a wilderness, a landwherein no man dwelleth, neither dothany son of man pass thereby.

The ancient city of Tyre, (Ezekiel 26:3-14) was destroyed in 332 B.C., and again in 1291 A.D.

Eze 26:4 And they shalldestroy the walls ofTyrus, and break downher towers: I will alsoscrape her dust fromher, and make her likethe top of a rock.5 It shall be a place forthe spreading of netsin the midst of the sea:for I have spoken it,saith the Lord GOD:and it shall become aspoil to the nations.

Historical Accuracy

The BIBLE has maintained it’s historical accuracy throughout the ages

The Bible has been shown to be a Historical Document

And as such, can be used as scientific evidence of historical events

Compared to the amount of other ancient writings in existence, the Bible has more

manuscript evidence supporting its RELIABILITY and ACCURACY than all other

classical writings combined.

Archaeological Support for the Bible

The Bible's accuracy and reliabilityhas been proved and verified overand over again by archeologicalfinds produced by both believingand non-believing scholars andscientists.

This includes verification fornumerous customs, places, names,and events mentioned in the Bible.

Extra-Biblical Accounts of the

Flood

• A number of Babylonian documents have been discoveredwhich describe the same flood told of in Genesis 6-9.

• The Sumerian King List Men had long life spans before theflood and shorter life spans after the flood.

• The 11th tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic speaks ofan ark, animals taken on the ark, birds sent out during thecourse of the flood, the ark landing on a mountain, anda sacrifice offered after the ark landed.

Extra-Biblical Accounts of the Tower of Babel

• Sumerian tablets record the confusionof language as we have in the Biblicalaccount of the Tower of Babel (Genesis11:1-9). There was a golden age whenall mankind spoke the same language.Speech was then confused by the godEnki, lord of wisdom.

• The Babylonians had a similar accountin which the gods destroyed a templetower and “scattered them abroad andmade strange their speech.”

Chariot wheels found at the

bottom of the red sea at the point where Israel was

said to cross.

Scientific Accuracy

The Bible has stood the test of time and has remained

scientifically accurate throughout the ages.

The Bible is not a

science book, but

when it talks about

the natural world, it

is accurate.

“He telleth the number of the stars;

he calleth them all by their

names.”

Psalm 147:4

It’s been estimated that there are about

66, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 stars

in the universe!

Starlight Differs Among the Stars

1 Corinthians 15:41

There is one glory of the

sun, another glory of the

moon, and another glory of

the stars; for one star differs

from another star in glory.

Distant stars look alike to

the naked eye.

They seem to be just points

of light. However, analysis

of their light spectra reveals

that each is unique and

different from all others.

Singing Stars

Science has recently

discovered that stars

emit radio waves,

which are received on

earth as a high pitch.

God mentioned this in

Job 38:7 "When the

morning stars sang

together..."

Ps 104:2 Who coverest thyself with light as

with a garment: who stretchest out the

heavens like a curtain:

It is a scientific fact that the

universe is expanding. The

Lord told us so before any

telescopes were invented.

Furthermore, it is not

expanding flatly, but in

waves. Like a curtain.

“The heavens declare

the glory of God; and

the firmament sheweth

his handywork.”

Psalm 19:1

Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavensmade; and all the host of them by the breath of hismouth.

UNIVERSE

“uni” (one) + “verse” (a group of words)

ONE VERSE (UNIVERSE):

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven

and earth.

GOD MADE

EARTH VERY

SPECIAL

There’s something very special about our planet.

Our Solar System

MARS

VENUS

NEPTUNE

PLUTO

OUR PRIVILEGED PLANET

Uniquely

designed

for life

Isaiah 45:18

God … formed the earth and

made it; … he formed it to be

inhabited ...

“na siyang Dios na nag-anyo sa

lupa at gumawa niyaon, na

kaniyang itinatag, at hindi niya

nilikha na sira, na kaniyang

inanyuan upang tahanan”

“It is he that

sitteth upon the

circle of the

earth…”

Isa 40:22

The book of Isaiah was written sometime

between 740 and 680 BC. This is at least

300 years before Aristotle suggested that

the earth might be a sphere.

He stretcheth out

the north over the

empty place, and

hangeth the earth

upon nothing.

Job 26:7

Only the Bible describes what we know to

be true.

Job 36:27 For he

maketh small the

drops of water:

they pour down

rain according to

the vapour thereof:

28 Which the

clouds do drop and

distil upon man

abundantly.

The Jet

Stream

Ec 1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turnethabout unto the north; it whirlethabout continually,and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

Underwater Mountains

Jonah 2:6 “I went down to the bottoms of the mountains …”

Man from Dust

Researchers at NASA's

Ames Research Center

confirmed that every element

in man can be found in the

soil…”

Readers Digest, November 1982

www.evolutionfairytale.com/bibleevidences/scientif.htm

Ge 2:7 And the LORD

God formed man of the

dust of the ground, and

breathed into his nostrils

the breath of life; and

man became a living

soul.

Life is in our blood

The blood carries water and nourishment to every cell,maintains the body’s temperature, and removes the waste material of the body’s cells.

The blood also carries oxygenfrom the lungs throughout the body.

In 1616, William Harvey discovered that blood circulation is the key factor in physical lifeconfirming what the Bible revealed 3,000 years earlier.

Le 17:11 For the life of the flesh

is in the blood: and I have given it

to you upon the altar to make an

atonement for your souls: for it is

the blood that maketh an

atonement for the soul.

Running Water

Until recent years, doctorswashed their hands in a bowlof water, leaving invisiblegerms on their hands.

However, the Bible saysspecifically to wash handsunder "running water.”

http://www.creationists.org/scientific-foreknowledge-in-the-

bible.html

Le 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 running water, and

shall be clean.

Happiness Heals

Happiness can promote physical healing

It appears that this was discovered only within the past 10-50 years by scientists.

The LORD said it over 2,500 years ago.

http://www.creationists.org/scientific-foreknowledge-in-the-bible.html

Pr 17:22 A

merry heart

doeth good like

a medicine: but

a broken spirit

drieth the bones.

What were the BIBLE languages?

In what languages was the

Bible written?

Hebrew

Aramic

Greek

How was the Bible

PRESERVED?

Preserved

Psalm 12:6-7 The words of the LORD are purewords: as silver tried in a furnace ofearth, purified seven times. Thou shaltkeep them, O LORD, thou shaltpreserve them from this generationfor ever.

“words” (plural) = EVERY single word

Who decided which books

belong in the OLD Testament?

The Hebrews accepted the

books we have in our Old

Testament as genuinely inspired

by God.

Safeguarded

• From the writings of Moses, the Scriptures weresafeguarded by successive generations of priests,Levites and scribes who took GREAT CARE in copyingand preserving these books.

• When a scroll was COMPLETE, scribes checked itsaccuracy by reading it to one another.

• If a SINGLE ERROR was made in copying, the entirescroll was destroyed, rather than merely correctingthe error.

• When a scroll became WORN or DAMAGED, it wasdestroyed – the primary reason even older copiesaren't available today.

A Different Order

• Finally, the Jews adopted a definite order for theScriptures, which is DIFFERENT than the oneChristians use today.

• For example, the LAST book in the Hebrew Scripturesis Chronicles, which follows Ezra-Nehemiah, a bookthat covers a later historical period.

• The Jamnia Sanhedrin about 90 A.D. endorsed theOld Testament books as SACRED SCRIPTURE, settlingthis issue among the Jews for good.

Who decided which books

belong in the NEW Testament?

During the 1st Century A.D., the books of

the New Testament were written over a

period of approximately 45 years (50-95

A.D.), copied by hand, and circulated

among churches (Colossians 4:16)

throughout the Roman Empire, which

extended from England and Spain to the

Middle East.

How did the books of the New Testament come into existence?

In the early years, not all churches hadequal access to these 27 books.

They would slowly be copied andcirculated among the churches and itwould have taken many years for them tohave saturated the empire.

How did the books of the New Testament come into existence?

Then during periods of persecution, copiesof these books were seized by the Romangovernment and burned.

So each book became known by a specificchurch one at a time or, at most, a few at atime as copies arrived at that church over aperiod of many years.

The New Testament Canon –How Was It Developed?

In the beginning, the account ofJesus' life on earth and histeachings were passed on to newChristians through a body of oraltradition taught by the Apostlesand their associates (Acts 2:42).

The New Testament Canon –How Was It Developed?

They were given the Holy Spiritto help them recall all that Jesushad taught them (John 14:25-26;Luke 12:11-12).

The New Testament Canon –How Was It Developed?

Then, for a time as the New Testamentbooks were written, the written witnessexisted side by side with the oral tradition.

But during the 2nd century A.D., the writtenWord gradually replaced the oral traditionas the primary source of Christian teaching.

The books of the OLD Testament and

(probably) the earliest copies of the NEW

Testament books were laboriously

copied by hand from one papyrus or

leather scroll to another by SCRIBES

who were carefully trained in copying

methods to ensure that there were no

additions or omissions.

Few Old Copies Exist

Any scroll that became heavily WORN or DAMAGED

from use was DESTROYED and REPLACED with a

new copy.

As a result, very FEW really old copies of Old

Testament books have survived to the present day.

Until the discovery of the DEAD SEA SCROLLS in

1947 in caves near Qumran, Palestine, no copies of

Old Testament books produced prior to the time of

Christ were known to exist.

The Early Church and Texts

CORRUPTION (both accidental andpurposeful: false apostles, falseteachers) in the New Testament textwas greatest in the first TWO centuriesafter the ascension of Christ (roughly80-200 AD).

But GOD is ABLE to PRESERVE His Words

• The OLD manuscripts are those which theearly church did not recognize and did notuse

– Therefore, they were “older” and in bettercondition

• The Textus Receptus texts were used,reused, and used again and again by theearly church

– They wore out, and would naturally be newer

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall

stand for ever.Isaiah 40:8

What is the BIBLE about?

Colossians 1:16

For by him were all things created,that are in heaven, and that are inearth, visible and invisible,whether they be thrones, ordominions, or principalities, orpowers: all things were created byhim, and for him:

Revelation 4:11

Thou art worthy, O Lord, toreceive glory and honour andpower: for thou hast created allthings, and for thy pleasure theyare and were created.

John 5:39

Search the scriptures; for inthem ye think ye haveeternal life: and they arethey which testify of me.

Luke 24:27

And beginning at Moses andall the prophets, heexpounded unto them in allthe scriptures the thingsconcerning himself.

John 20:31

But these are written, that yemight believe that Jesus is theChrist, the Son of God; andthat believing ye might havelife through his name.

Ephesians 1:9-12

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of hiswill, according to his good pleasure which he hathpurposed in himself:

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times hemight gather together in one all things in Christ,both which are in heaven, and which are onearth; even in him:

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,being predestinated according to the purpose of himwho worketh all things after the counsel of his ownwill:

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, whofirst trusted in Christ.

1Corinthians 10:11

Now all these things happenedunto them for ensamples: andthey are written for ouradmonition, upon whom theends of the world are come.

1Peter 2:2

As newborn babes, desirethe sincere milk of theword, that ye may growthereby:

Romans 15:4

For whatsoever things werewritten aforetime were writtenfor our learning, that wethrough patience and comfortof the scriptures might havehope.

What is the BIBLE about?

It’s GOD’s STORY!

Written for our BENEFIT

That we may know our BEGINNING and ENDING

That we may know our GOD and CREATOR in a personal way through JESUS CHRIST

That we may LEARN and GROW

That we may be COMFORTED in trials

That GOD may be GLORIFIED

The whole PURPOSE of this course . . .

Is to get you FAMILIAR with the BIBLE:

It’s CONTENTS

It’s PEOPLE

It’s PLACES

It’s CULTURE

So that your BIBLE will become more REAL to you!

Basic Bible Survey

To get you FAMILIAR with the BIBLE:

1. Overview

2. Old Testament

3. New Testament

4. Bible Culture

So that your BIBLE will become more REAL to you!

THE END