The Bible is a book written over a period of thousands of years by many authors. It tells one story: God's acting in the lives of people.

The Bible has two main parts. The first part is called The Old Testament, the second, The New Testament. A "testament" is a covenant, or an agreement.

The Old Testament begins with Genesis, which means "beginnings." The last book of the New Testament is called Revelation or Apocalypse, which reveals how everything will end.

The first books of the Old Testament are a history of God's dealings with people. There are also books of songs (Psalms), wise sayings (Proverbs), and books written by prophets. All of these books point toward events which are recorded in the New Testament.

The first four books of the New Testament are historical records of the life and teaching of Jesus, called the Gospel (Good News). The next book, Acts, tells what Jesus did in the lives of his followers. The rest of the New Testament contains letters which were written to early Christians to explain and teach about various issues.

How to Start Reading the Bible

Since the Bible's main focus is the person and work of Jesus, a good place to begin understanding the whole Bible is by reading one of the historical accounts of the life of Jesus. The Gospel According to Mark or the Gospel According to John are good places to begin. You can find them by looking in the "Table of Contents," found in the first pages.

Write down questions you have and ask a true Christian for the answers. If you cannot find a qualified person, please eMail International Student Ministries.

You may find it helpful to join a Bible discussion group with other students who are interested in asking their questions about the Bible.

Bible Facts

More copies of the Bible have been printed than any other book in history, and the Bible has been translated into every major language.

The oldest surviving Bible manuscripts (dating about 100 B.C.), the Dead Sea Scrolls, represent every book of the Old Testament except one (Esther).

There are over 30,000 manuscripts of parts of the Bible, which is more than 30 times the number of manuscripts of any other historical book (next closest is Homer's Iliad).

Sir Isaac Newton stated, "There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any secular history."

The Bible consists of 39 Old Testament books that were written thousands of years ago, and 27 New Testament books written in the first century A.D., shortly after the death and resurrection (coming back to life) of Jesus.

In the Old Testament, there are over 300 prophecies (predictions) about the coming of Christ, written more than 400 years before the birth of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled them all!

The 66 books of the Bible were written over a period of thousands of years by about 40 different authors from different walks of life. And yet the Bible has total consistency, because God inspired and spoke through the writers, and they wrote according to His plan.

For help in finding a Bible discussion group, or for more information, send eMail to International Student Ministries.

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