Holy Bible
The title of this book, ‘Holy Bible’, is known to almost everyone. Yet, most people know very little about it or its contents. Here are some vital facts about the Bible.
The word ‘Bible’ means ‘books’.
There are a total of 66 individual books in the Bible. There are 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. The word ‘testament’ as used in the Bible means ‘a covenant’ or ‘an agreement’ between God and mankind.
The Bible was written in 3 ancient languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
The Bible was inspired by God
It is the Bible’s incredible unity, unfolding the creation, development and history of mankind that has caused the most profound thinkers to see more than the mind of man in the Bible – they see it as a miracle of God communicating His Word to His creation man.
The authors of the Bible were inspired by God to write the messages and histories which they wrote. The Bible explains that holy men of God spoke as they were borne along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
So the Bible is actually God’s own Word, inspired from Himself, and when we read it God is in fact speaking to us and communicating the reality of His person, and His mind and will to all of us.
The central theme of the Bible
The central theme of the Bible is God’s salvation, lovingly provided for mankind, and its central character is God’s own Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. He is prophesied in the Old Testament, and the story of His birth, life, sacrificial death and resurrection is historically given in the four gospels found in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’
The Bible is the world’s best seller
It is estimated that over 800 million copies of the Bible have been sold since 1611, (over 2 million per year, and over 5000 per day).
It has changed more lives than any other book in the world’s history.
The Bible is the oldest book in the world.
The Bible was written over a time span of 1,500 years from roughly 1450BC (the time of Moses) to about 100 AD (following the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ). This makes it the oldest, real book in the world.
The Bible was written by over 40 different authors. The men who wrote the Bible came from every walk of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings.
Despite these differences in occupation and the vast span of years it took to write, the Bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book.
The Bible has been translated into over 2000 languages
The Bible has been translated into more than 2,018 languages – in comparison Shakespeare, the great English–language playwright, has been translated into only 50 languages.
The Bible was the first book ever printed
The first English translation of the Bible was made by John Wycliffe in 1382 AD.
It was the first book ever printed using the original ‘type mold’ on the newly invented printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1454 AD.