e Bible’s Amazing Story Copyright 2004 by David W. Cloud ISBN 978-1-58318-123-2 is book is published for free distribution in eBook format. It is available in PDF, MOBI (for Kindle, etc.), and ePUB formats from the Way of Life web site. We do not allow distribution of this book from other web sites. Published by Way of Life Literature PO Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061 866-295-4143 (toll free) - [email protected] www.wayoflife.org Canada: Bethel Baptist Church 4212 Campbell St. N., London Ont. N6P 1A6 519-652-2619 Printed in Canada by Bethel Baptist Print Ministry ii Contents Introduction ....................................................................1 The Old Testament .........................................................6 Genesis ...........................................................................6 Exodus ..........................................................................41 Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy ..........................58 Joshua, Judges, Samuel ...............................................63 Psalms, Proverbs .........................................................67 Kings, Chronicles .......................................................76 Prophets .......................................................................79 The New Testament .....................................................92 e Gospels .................................................................92 Acts .............................................................................116 Epistles .......................................................................125 Revelation ..................................................................136 Conclusion .................................................................144 iii e Bible has been likened to a body of water in which a lamb can walk and an elephant can swim. To understand the Bible requires more than intellect and education and religion. It requires spiritual enlightenment. iv Introduction is book is for those who are interested in the Bible and who want to know what the Bible teaches. e Bible is amazing and unique. It is the world’s best selling and most popular book. It has been translated in whole or in part into 2,300 languages and has converted the hearts of men and women from every race and nation. rough the power of its message, drunkards have become sober, thieves have become honest, murderers have laid down their knives and guns, atheists have become believers in God, and the tongue of the blasphemer has been converted into an instrument of worship. e Bible is a large book composed of 66 smaller books. It was written by 40 different men over a period of 1,600 years, beginning in about 1,500 B.C. and ending in about 95 A.D., yet it tells one consistent story and contains no contradictions in its facts or teaching. is is a great and amazing miracle. When men living even in the same lifetime try to describe something they have all seen and experienced, there are always many contradictions. For example, when Krakatoa exploded off the western tip of Java in August 1883, it was the largest, most devastating volcanic eruption in known history. Almost 40,000 people were killed. e sound of the explosion could be heard 3,000 miles away! One historian observed: “ousands of people, far and wide, suddenly became aware of the events, but their accounts of it, like the accounts of any monstrous and traumatizing event, present today a morass of conflict and confusion” (Simon Winchester, Krakatoa: e Day the World Exploded, p. 210; emphasis added). us we see that apart from a divine miracle, men’s testimonies disagree even when they are reporting about the same event in their own lifetime. In this light it is obvious that the Bible is an incredible miracle, when it was written 1 over a period of 1,600 years by more than three dozen authors yet gives a unified message. e main theme of the Bible is the creation, fall, and salvation of mankind. e main Person presented in the Bible is Jesus Christ. e Bible is composed of two major parts, the Old Testament (composed of 39 individual books) and the New Testament (composed of 27 individual books). e Old Testament prepared the way for the coming of Jesus Christ to die for man’s sins. e New Testament tells of Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension back to Heaven. It also tells the story of the establishment of the first Christian churches and God’s instructions for Christians. Some people today think that the Bible and Christianity is a “western religion.” Actually the events of the Bible take place in the Middle East and the first Christian churches were in Israel and Asia Minor. From there Christian churches spread throughout the world. In the Bible we see God’s pattern for Christian churches. Many churches that have called themselves “Christian” through the past 2,000 years did not follow the Bible. ey followed their own thinking, instead. is has oen given “Christianity” a bad name. Some “churches” even persecuted Jews and Bible believers and some “church” leaders have lived in great wealth, wore crowns, and even ruled over kings. None of this is supported by the Bible. e Lord Jesus warned that many false teachers would come into the world aer His departure, and they would teach and do many false things in His name. History bears this out, and because of this, many have been confused about what true Christianity is. We have seen one reason why we know the Bible is God’s Word, and that is its amazing unity and composition. Another reason is ITS PROPHECIES. e Bible is unique in that it contains hundreds of prophecies of the future. ese are not vague prophecies such as those commonly made by astrologers and fortune tellers. e Bible’s prophecies are clear 2 and specific. e Bible’s prophecies name the names of people and places; they contain exact dates and details. Many of the prophecies have already been fulfilled, and each of these was fulfilled exactly as written. For example, the Bible has hundreds of prophecies about the first coming of Jesus Christ. Consider just a few of these: e Bible prophesied exactly when Jesus would be born. is prophecy is in Daniel 9:22-27, which was written about 530 years before Jesus came. e prophet Daniel said the Messiah would come 483 years aer the commandment was given to rebuild Jerusalem, and that is exactly when He was born. e Bible prophesied exactly where Jesus would be born, in the little town of Bethlehem in the province of Judah in Israel. at is in Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” at amazing prophecy was written down 700 years before Jesus was born. e Bible prophesied that Jesus would be rejected by His own people, the nation Israel. is was written in the prophet Isaiah about 710 years before Jesus was born: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3). e Bible prophesied that Jesus would die by crucifixion. is was written in Psalm 22:14-16 about 1,000 years before Jesus was born. “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. ... they pierced my hands and my feet.” is is an amazing and perfect description of death by crucifixion, and when the prophet David wrote it, crucifixion was not practiced! 3 e Bible prophesied that the soldiers would gamble for Jesus garment at the foot of the cross. is was written in Psalm 22:18. “ey part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” e callous soldiers did this as Jesus was suffering. e Bible prophesied that none of Jesus’ bones would be broken during the crucifixion. is was prophesied in Psalm 34:20 about 1,000 years before Jesus was born: “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.” e Bible prophesied that Jesus would be buried in the tomb of a rich man. is was written in Isaiah 53:9 about 710 years before Jesus was born. “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death...” is was fulfilled when Jesus was taken down off the cross by a wealthy disciple and buried in that disciple’s own tomb. e Bible prophesied that Jesus would rise from the dead. is was written in Psalm 16:10 about 1,000 years before Jesus came. “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” ese are only a few of the wonderful Bible prophecies that have already been fulfilled. Another way that the Bible is unique is in THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST who is presented therein. Everything about Him is unique: His virgin birth, His sinless life, His amazing miracles, His wonderful teaching, His sacrificial death on the cross for man’s sin, His bodily resurrection, His ascension back to Heaven, His offer to grant forgiveness of sins and eternal life to any sinner of any race or nation who will believe on Him. Indeed, the Bible is an amazing and unique book. And yet it is also a large book with many individual parts and when a person picks up the Bible for the first time, its message doesn’t always seem simple. is book presents a summary of the Bible for those who are not familiar with its message. 4 e following passages are lied directly from the pages of the Bible and are presented in an orderly fashion so that a new reader can more easily understand its wonderful message and can put his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ presented therein. 5 e Old Testament Genesis e Creation of the World Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 God Made Light In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 1 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. God Divided the Earth from the Sky And God said, Let there be a firmament2 in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were 1 The Bible begins with the account of creation. This first chapter of the Bible is contrary to many popular philosophies. It is contrary to Atheism and Agnosticism and Rationalism, because it says God exists. It is contrary to Materialism, because it says the material things of the creation are not eternal but had a beginning. It is contrary to Polytheism, because it says there is only one God. It is contrary to Pantheism, because it says that God is above and distinct from the creation. It is contrary to Fatalism, because it says man was created for a purpose, to know and serve God. It refutes Deism, because it says that God is actively involved with His creation and He can be known by man. It is contrary to Evolution, because it says God personally created the world in six days and that every living thing reproduces “after its own kind” and does not evolve into different things. 2 “Firmament” means an expanse; it refers to the great arch or expanse over our heads, where the atmosphere and clouds reside. It also refers to the heavens above which contain the stars. 6