KNOW YOUR BIBLE IN 50 DAYS:
A GUIDE TO ALL 66 BOOKS
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Prologue
The desire to read and understand the Bible is a worthy desire. After all, it is the world’s best-selling book of all time with over 5 billion copies printed. If you are a beginner just starting out to read the Bible, or even if you have read it many times already, this book is for you. However, there a few things you should know before attempting to master the Bible.
Who is God?
The very first sentence of the Bible introduces God, and so a few words about God as He is revealed in the Bible should be helpful to you. God is a divine Family of three Persons, namely, the Father, the Son called Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible calls this Family “the Godhead.” All three Persons of the Godhead have a character of love.
Introduction to Chronology
In this book, I have given the (approximate) period in human history that each book of the Bible covers. For example, the first book, Genesis, covers the period, Creation (approx. 3958 B.C.) to 1589 B.C.
But what does B.C. mean? First, we need to know that the year 2022 is properly known as the year 2022 A.D. The abbreviation A.D. means Anno Domini in the Latin language. It is translated as “in the year of our Lord.” The year, 1 A.D. is intended to designate the year when Christ was born on earth in human flesh as a baby boy named Jesus. We can see then that our current calendar has started the count of the years from 1 A.D.
The years before 1 A.D. are referred to as B.C. meaning “before Christ” was born. Note that in this method of designating the years, 30 B.C. is a later date than 52 B.C. Also note that after the year 1 A.D. was established, it was later discovered that Christ was, in fact, born a few years earlier in approximately 5 B.C.
About the Bible
The Bible has been translated from the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek in which it was originally written into many languages. There are many English Language versions of the Bible and I recommend that you read the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. The KJV is written in an older form of the English language but it is nevertheless highly readable and understandable. This book uses the KJV as the preferred Bible version.
The King James Version of the Bible is a collection of 66 books. Each book in the Bible has one or more chapters and these chapters are divided into numbered sections called verses. The first 39 books are called the Old Testament, and the remaining 27 books are called the New Testament. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew with small sections written in Aramaic. On the other hand, the New Testament was written in Greek.
There is a convention for referring to the Bible that we will use in this book. For example, “Genesis 1:5″ refers to the book of Genesis, the 1st chapter, and the 5th verse of chapter 1. Another example of this convention is “John 12:3″ which means the book of John, the 12th chapter and the 3rd verse of chapter 12.
The Bible was written over a period of about 1,600 years starting in approximately 1465 B.C. and ending in approximately 96 A.D. The first part of the Bible, was written by the Jewish people and so it is known as the Hebrew Bible, and it corresponds to the Old Testament of the KJV. The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) was written over the approximate period 1465 B.C. to 410 B.C. On the other hand, the New Testament was written over the approximate period 45 A.D. to 96 A.D.
I will now give just a brief note on two translations of the Hebrew Bible which are relevant to this book. The Septuagint (abbreviated LXX), which was completed about 150 B.C., is the earliest existing Greek translation of the books from the Hebrew Bible along with other non-biblical books. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, completed about 400 A.D., is a translation of the Hebrew Bible and other non-biblical books into the Latin language.
For the purpose of this book, note that the titles of the books in the King James Version (KJV) of Bible have come down to us today from the one or more earlier translations, namely, the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (LXX), and Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.
Purpose of the Bible
The Bible, also known as the Scriptures, has much to say about its purpose. Let us then look at one statement of its purpose. The Bible says, “The holy scriptures…are able to make thee wise unto salvation [the saving of humanity by God from annihilation to instead give them eternal life] through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly [fully] furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17.
Note that the three consecutive dots, …, in the verses quoted above are called an ellipsis and they indicate that one or more words of the verse have been omitted from the quotation. I have used ellipses to render complex verses conveying more than one thought in a simpler form for the purposes of our discussion. Also, note that the pair of square brackets, [], used in the verses quoted above contain my own explanatory note/personal translation for the older English word “throughly” occurring in these verses.
It is an exciting journey to encounter, understand, and live according to God’s thoughts as given in the Bible. If you do so, you will become “transformed” (Romans 12:2) into a new Christlike person, qualified to receive eternal life from God. Now many of the apostles, prophets, and ordinary people, suffered and died a martyr’s death so we could have the Bible, so make it the guide, counsel, and study of your life. Eternal life depends on it.
It is important to understand that God intends that the Bible will lead those who read and study it into a loving relationship with God. Thus, the Bible is not a substitute for a personal relationship with God.
What is Necessary to Understand the Bible
The Bible “[is] not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Therefore, the Bible is a book like no other. For it contains millions of God’s thoughts which you will become aware of when you are a mature student of the Bible. That is, the Bible is a spiritual book because it is the production of the mind of the infinite God.
How then do we go about understanding the Bible? We do so through prayer, having a humble and teachable spirit, by believing what God says in the Bible, and by obeying God’s instructions given in the Bible. Let us look one by one at each of these four things necessary for understanding the Bible.
First of all, prayer is necessary. What is prayer? It is a two-way communication between God and ourselves. God speaks to us and we listen and, in turn, speak to God. Now God rarely speaks to us in an audible voice, but He can and will impress your mind with His thoughts and by referring you to the Bible. Never should the Bible be read without prayer.
God says, “I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.” Ezekiel 11:5. So, in our speaking to God, we should preferably pray silently so that God’s enemies and humanity’s enemies, Satan, the angel who is the originator of sin (evildoing), and his evil angels, cannot hear our prayers. In this way, our prayers are truly secret since only God knows what we have said to Him in prayer.
Second, God says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord [God].” James 4:10. “Be not wise in your own conceits.” Romans 12:16. We must be humble and put aside our preconceived notions if we are to be able to understand the Bible.
Third, God is “a God of truth and without iniquity [without wickedness], just and right is he.” Deuteronomy 32:4. We must believe what God says in the Bible, for otherwise we make God out to be a liar.
Fourth, God says, “If any man [or woman] will do his [God’s] will, he shall know of the doctrine [teaching]” (John 7:17) in the Bible. We must be willing to obey what God says if we wish to understand the Bible.
If we do not do these four things, we will find that we will read the Bible and not understand its meaning, and thus have a wrong interpretation of the Bible.
Bible Reading and Study Plans
As was said before, the Bible contains millions of God’s thoughts. Therefore, you will need to make plans to read and study it if you are to digest its contents. Reading the Bible daily is absolutely essential. In fact, the Bible is intended to be read through from the beginning to the end over and over again during one’s lifetime.
Bible study is also necessary and is a distinct activity from reading the Bible. Both are necessary. How do you study the Bible? The answer is that you need to put forth effort in an effective way and to be taught by God. The exact steps you should take to successfully study the Bible are outside the scope of this book which is Book 2 in a series of books.
In Book 1 of the series, entitled Victory in Christian Warfare (2nd Edition), I have explained in detail how to study and understand the Bible. Victory in Christian Warfare (2nd Edition) is available as a free Ebook on my website to read online as text and to download free as a PDF document at https://www.onlyrepairer.com/start-here-victory-in-christian-warfare-chapter-1/. (The web address of my website is www.onlyrepairer.com.) The book is also available for sale at www.amazon.com. Also, read my Bible study blog for insights into how to study the Bible at https://www.onlyrepairer.com/blog/.
The Format of This Book
Sixty-six of the 67 chapters of this book have the following six sections, with some chapters having additional sections as required to understand that specific book of the Bible:
- Authorship – This gives a brief note on who is the author of a specific book in the Bible.
- Summary – The content of the specific book of the Bible summarised with some analysis.
- Themes – The major themes in the specific book of the Bible which highlight the main thoughts of the book.
- God as Revealed in the Book – A note on the different ways that the specific book of the Bible reveal who God is and what He is like, intended for you to see God in the whole Bible.
- Connections with the Rest of the Bible – A note giving related Bible verses to show that the whole Bible is interconnected in thought.
- Spiritual Applications – A note intended to help you see how the specific book of the Bible applies to your life.
Important! How to Make Spiritual Applications
First of all, there are in total three divine Persons, namely, “the Father” (Matthew 11:27), “the Son” (Matthew 11:27) “who is called Christ” (Matthew 1:16), and the “Holy Spirit.” Psalm 51:11. This divine Family of three Persons is known as “the Godhead.” Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9. “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21) is the name given to Christ when He was born as a baby boy on earth.
God Teaches Us
Now, God says, “For the grace of God [which is God’s blessings and enabling power to obey God] that bringeth salvation [that leads to the saving of humanity from eternal death (annihilation) because of their wickedness] hath appeared to all men [to all humanity], teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour [our Deliverer from sin (from evildoing)] Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us [by dying for the sins (the evildoing) of the whole world], that he might redeem us from all iniquity [from all wickedness], and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:11-14.
That is, God’s grace teaches us how to live holy lives, lives where we do good, and only good, at all times. Furthermore, Christ says, “Without me [transforming you in character] ye can do nothing [good].” John 15:5. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. That is, God must work in us on our character in order for us to become holy. But we must be willing to be taught by God, for God will not force anyone to be holy.
Repentance
It is the Holy Spirit who teaches the way of holiness, that is, the way of salvation. As we begin to see our own sinfulness, the Holy Spirit works in us to give the gift of repentance from God so that we have deep remorse for our sins. In this work, the Holy Spirit draws us to see the infinite love of God in giving Christ to die “for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2. As we view the pure, spotless character of Christ, we are deeply affected and afflicted by our own acts of sinfulness in making void God’s law of love.
So, by bringing to our mind the purity, goodness, and love of Christ in comparison to our own depravity, the veil is taken away and we see ourselves as we truly are, which is that we are evil-minded. And God says, “Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe [loathe] yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities [for your wickedness] and for your abominations.” Ezekiel 36:31. This repentance is the very first step toward reaching God’s ideal for mankind, which is for the individual to “be holy and without blame before him [God] in love.” Ephesians 1:4.
The heart of the individual who has received the gift of “repentance” (Acts 5:31) from God will be melted with tenderness and contrition as they comprehend the infinite sacrifice that Christ has made on behalf of mankind. Such an individual will “seek righteousness” (Zephaniah 2:3) through Christ. In other words, they will seek for the cleanness of heart that is in harmony with God’s law of love which is a perfect transcript of Christ’s character of love.
Confession
“A broken and a contrite [remorseful] heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17. The humble and broken heart, subdued by genuine repentance, will in true penitence bring all their sins before God. That is, we will confess our sins making no excuses for our wrongdoing. For God says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. True repentance then will lead us to confess our sins to God and to turn away from our sins, thus meeting God’s requirements.
If we have not with true humbleness and brokenness of spirit because of our remorse confessed our sins, despising our wickedness, we have never truly sought God for the forgiveness of our sins. For God says, “If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
Surrender
Our healing from the corruption of sin requires an entire transformation, a “renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) and, hence, we must yield ourselves completely to God. God says to all humanity, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” Proverbs 23:26. So, God declares that the whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change by which we are restored to the likeness of Christ’s character of love can never be accomplished in us.
“For the flesh” (Galatians 5:17), the sinful nature “with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24), “lusteth” (Galatians 5:17), that is, wars, “against the [Holy] Spirit, and the [Holy] Spirit [wars] against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17), against the sinful nature, “and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, the surrendering all to the will of God, requires of us a struggle.
But God says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), practice the truths brought to light by the Holy Spirit, “and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16. In other words, God says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. The individual must submit to God before they can be renewed such that they become holy. We must be willing to be made willing by God to do the will of God.
Here we need to understand the true force of the will. It is the governing power in the nature of mankind, the power of decision, the power of choice, which God has given to all humanity, and it is theirs to exercise. Everything, even our salvation, which is our saving from annihilation by God because of our sins, depends on the right action of the will. In choosing not to sin anymore, you can give God your will. That is, you can choose to serve God in living according to God’s law of love. Then your whole nature will be brought under the control of “the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9) and your affections will be centred upon Christ, your thoughts will be in harmony with Christ.
How is this so? The answer is that having brought conviction of our sinfulness, and presented before our mind, Christ, the standard of righteousness, the Holy Spirit withdraws the affections from “the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15) and fills us with a desire for holiness, a desire to be like Christ in character. Through a right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. For we cannot change our heart, neither can we of ourselves give to God the affections of our heart. The only thing that lies within our power is the power of choice in that we can choose to serve God by doing God’s will.
By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with His power which is above all the “principalities and powers” (Colossians 2:15) of Satan. Hence, you will have strength from God to hold you steadfast in doing God’s will. This is true surrender to the will of God.
Faith and Acceptance
You cannot atone, which is to say, make amends or give satisfaction to God, for your past sins. You cannot change your heart and make yourself holy. But God promises to do all this, to forgive your sins and cleanse you, through Christ. Now there are those of whom God says, “ye…repented not…that ye might believe.” Matthew 21:32. Unless we repent, we cannot believe the gospel of Christ, otherwise known as the plan of salvation. Why? The reason is that without conviction of sin which leads to repentance, we will not feel the need of a Saviour, that is, a need of Christ who saves. And if we do not feel a need, we will not believe in Christ as our Saviour from the bondage of sin and its penalty.
Now, “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) and, therefore, God says, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him” (John 6:29), that you believe in Christ. So, the ability to believe God, our faith in God, is a gift from God. And this faith, this gift from God, is yours if you yield to the Holy Spirit. For “this is the word of the LORD [God]…saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6. “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit].” 1 Corinthians 12:3.
Therefore, take God at His word, in other words, believe His promise to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you through Christ. So then, you have confessed your sins, and in your heart put them away from you. You have resolved to give yourself to God. You will to serve God. Just as surely as you do this, God will fulfill his word to you. “For he [God] is faithful that promised.” Hebrews 10:23. The important thing to grasp here is that you must believe God’s promise. If you believe God’s promise—believe that you are forgiven and cleansed—God supplies the fact and you are healed from your sins. It is so if you believe it. To disbelieve God is to make God out to be a liar and, hence, God cannot work in us to make effective that in which we do not have any faith.
God says, “I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.“ Mark 11:24. There is a condition to this promise—that we pray according to the will of God. But it is the will of God to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Therefore, we may ask for these blessings, and believe that we receive them from God, and thank God that we have received these blessings.
It is our God-given privilege to go to Jesus and be cleansed, and to stand before God’s law of love without shame or remorse. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1.
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26. It is by giving ourselves to God and believing His promises, that we become His children, “the children of God.” Galatians 3:26. Through the simple act of giving ourselves to God and believing His promises, the Holy Spirit has created a new life in your heart and you are “born again.” John 3:3. You are now as a child born into the family of God, and Christ says of the Father, “thou…hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:23.
You have now received “the gift of righteousness” (Romans 5:17), the gift of the righteousness of Christ, for Christ is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jeremiah 23:6. The moment you as a penitent sinner believe in Christ, you stand without any condemnation in the sight of God because at that instant the righteousness of Christ is yours. In other words, Christ’s perfect love and obedience has been implanted in you for you have now received “a new heart” (Ezekiel 36:26), you have been “renewed in…your mind.” Ephesians 4:23.
You are now “accepted [by God] in” (Ephesians 1:6), Christ, “the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) for you are now among those individuals who have become “partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4. Now God’s decree for you, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith [such] that ye…[are] rooted and grounded in love.” (Ephesians 3:17), has come to pass. For now “the love of God is shed abroad” (Romans 5:5), supernaturally poured, “in our hearts by the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit] which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5.
Therefore God has written His law of love in your heart thus enabling you to have a character of love just like God’s own character. Now you may say of yourself, in truth, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8.
Now when Christ dwells in your heart by faith, you will be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him, that you will cleave to Him. Moreover, in the contemplation of Christ, self will be forgotten. For you may now say, in truth, “all my springs are in thee” (Psalm 87:7), O God. In other words, love for Christ will be the spring from which flows all our actions.
In addition, all your past sins are now forgiven, just as a man named Abraham “he believed in the LORD [God]; and he [God] counted it to him [Abraham] for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6. How is this so? Well, because of your repentance and faith in God’s promises, God has accepted Christ’s death for your sins in the place of your death for the sins you have committed. And God now treats you as if you had never sinned.
Thus, you have now met both conditions required for justification, which are “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:21. One or the other is not sufficient for justification; both steps must be taken. And genuine faith is only possible when there is a prior repentance. As one who has been justified, you have now become a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. You are now among those “whose names are in the book of [eternal] life.” Philippians 4:3.
Sanctification
Now that you have given yourself to Jesus, do not draw back, do not take yourself away from Him, but each day say, “I am Christ’s; I have given myself to Him,” and ask Him to give you His Holy Spirit and keep you by His grace. As it is by giving yourself to God, and believing Him, that you become His child, so you are to live in Him. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” Colossians 2:6.
For as we go along in life from day to day, we are in a struggle with our old sinful nature’s acts of sin which we can only overcome by faith in God’s keeping power and earnest effort on our part to abstain from sin. So we need to pray sincerely and ask God to work in us so that we accept His teaching and do His will, believing that God will help us. “And this is the confidence that we have in him [God], that, if we ask any thing according to his [God’s] will, he [God] heareth us: And if we know that he [God] hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have [we are granted] the petitions that we desired of him [God].” 1 John 5:14, 15. Now a prayer for God to work in us to transform our character is according to God’s will. Thus “all [such] things, whatsoever ye shall ask [God] in prayer, believing, ye shall receive [from God].“ Matthew 21:22.
Then, act according to your prayers going forward in faith to do God’s will, knowing that God’s unconquerable will when aligned with your fickle human will, will keep you steadfast in God’s ways of love. Thus, you will be enabled to make the spiritual applications noted in each of the following chapters of this book that you are now reading. This then is the lifelong process of “sanctification” (1 Corinthians 1:30) which will be complete when we have overcome all temptations to sin. “But the God of all grace [all blessings], who hath called us unto his eternal glory [eternal character of love] by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish [establish], strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:10) in God’s ways of love.
Get an Overview of the Bible in 50 Days!
The Bible can take at least a year to be read from beginning to end, so this book allows one to get a grasp of the whole Bible in, say, 50 days, reading at a rate of about 11 pages a day. This book does not contain all that the Bible says for there are millions of God’s thoughts in the Bible, but it does, I believe, enable one to get a good foundation for understanding the Bible.
My prayer is that you will be blessed by this book. Happy reading!
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