What Do We Know About The Forty Writers of the Bible?

They Were:

• Shepherds

• Kings

• Fishermen

• Peasants

• Doctors

• Tax-collectors

They Were From:

• Rome

• Jerusalem

• Babylon (Iraq)

• Persia (Iran)

• Greece

• Turkey

The dates were from 1400 B.C. to 96 A.D.

The writing took place over a period of about 1500 years.

Since there are so many events recorded in the Bible, it is easier to read them one at a time.

““Whom Whom should we should we

love?”love?”

For example, a man once asked Jesus…

Brave Stories – Like

David And Goliath

Adventure Stories – Like

Jonah And The Whale

Happy Stories – Like the prodigal

son

Stories Of Miracles– Like Jesus Feeding

5000 Men

Interesting Stories of

People – Like Zacchaeus

A Quick SummaryA Quick Summary

• 66 books• 40 different writers• Almost 1500 Years• Over 10,000 events

• One Story• Unity of Theme• No contradictions• 40 writers in 15

centuries, yet it claims only one author

“Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Spirit of God” (2 Peter 1:21)

That alone makes it the only book of its kind in the entire world because it is from the Almighty!

The Bible Is In Two Parts

• The Old Testament tells us about the lives of people before Jesus was born.

• The New Testament tells us about the life of Jesus and the effect of His work.

Of the 66 books, 39 were written before the birth of Jesus.

These 39 books are called the Old Testament.

Of the 66 books, 27 were written soon after the death of Jesus.

These 27 books are called the New Testament.

The Old Testament = 39 books

• All were written before Jesus came• The dates were 1400 - 400 B.C.• “Testament” is like a contract; it means

“covenant or agreement”• The Old Covenant is an agreement that

God made with the nation of Israel• The Old Testament was written in

Hebrew – the language of Israel

The New Testament = 27 books

• All were written after Jesus’ death• The dates were 48 - 96 A.D.• “Testament” is like a contract; it means

“covenant or agreement”• The New Covenant is an agreement that

God made for All Nations• The New Testament was written in Greek

– the common language of that day

This Was The Land Of The Israelites To Whom The Old Testament Was Given.

To help us understand the area in which these people lived, let us note the same area on a modern

day map, with modern countries marked.

30 A.D. 2012 A.D.1400 B.C.

Moses

Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible:GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomy

Moses

They are sometimes called the Law of Moses

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012A.D.

Moses

The first five books look from the death of Moses all the way back to the beginning of the world.

Creation 1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

Moses

Chapters 1-11 deal with:

• The creation of the world

• The first human family

• The spread of evil

• A world-wide flood

• The division of mankind into nations and languages

Creation of world

2500 B.C. 1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

Moses

Chapters 12-50 deal with:

• God choosing the fathers of the future nation of Israel

• A history of four generations

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

• A growth from 1 couple to 70 people

Moses

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy• These tell about the beginning

of the nation

• And how God gave them His laws

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

Moses

• These were written by various authors

• The dates were 1400 – 400 B.C.

• The books deal with the possession of their land, the establishment of the kingdom, their captivity and the return to their land

400 B.C.1400 B.C.30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

Moses

• JobJob is about man’s question about suffering

• PsalmsPsalms is a collection of poems put to music

• ProverbsProverbs is a collection of short wise sayings

• EcclesiastesEcclesiastes tells how to live life in a world where all is vanity

• Song of SolomonSong of Solomon is a poem about true romantic love

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

Moses

Throughout the history of Israel, various prophets predicted that someone from Israel will one day be a Savior and King of the world.

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

The Story Of The Old Testament

was

The Message Of The Prophets Of The Old Testament Was

Moses

400 B.C.1400 B.C. 2012 A.D.

Moses

• All 27 books were written shortly after the death of Jesus.

• The first four tell an independent account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

The New TestamentThe First Four Books

• Called the four gospels (gospel is a Greek word for “good news”)

• Named after the authors – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Three were eyewitnesses and Luke knew many of the eyewitnesses.

• Jesus lived & died in 30 A.D.

• All 27 New Testament books were written while eyewitnesses were still alive

Moses

•These books give evidence that Jesus is the Christ (the anointed of God), the one predicted in the Old Testament times.

•Shows how prophecy was fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

The Message Of The Gospels Was

Moses

400 B.C.1400 B.C. 2012 A.D.

• Tell the purpose of Jesus’ coming

• Reveal His perfect life and service

• Gives the true source of His teaching

• Gives evidence that He is the Son of God and deserves our worship

• Helps us understand why His own nation killed Him

The Four Gospels(Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)

Do not contain everything that Jesus did.(John 20:30-31) “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (NIV)

(John 21:25) “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (NIV)

The Four GospelsThe Four Gospels(Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)(Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)

Moses

• It was written by a Greek doctor named Luke. It tells the story of the first 30 years of Christianity.

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

Moses

• These were written by apostles and prophets.

• These were written to various churches and individuals.

• They give instruction in Christian living, an explanation of the organization and work of the Lord’s church.

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

Moses

• It is called Revelation.• It was written by John, the

author of the gospel of John and 1, 2 & 3 John.

• It offers encouragement to Christians in their time of persecution and shows that good will eventually win over evil.

• It tells of our future home with God in heaven.

1400 B.C. 30 A.D. 2012 A.D.

The Story Of The New Testament Ends With

Summary• The Old Testament emphasizes the

history of one nation – Israel.• This nation is emphasized because it was

one man from that nation, that would one day change the world.

• The coming of Jesus Christ is the central event in all of human history.

• How did the writers of the Bible know to record the history of His ancestors?

Jesus Christ is more than a Jesus Christ is more than a historical figurehistorical figure

The Evidence presented in the The Evidence presented in the Bible proves that …Bible proves that …

Will you investigate theclaims of the Bible?