The Bible was written by about 40 men over a period of about 1600 years dating from 1500 BC to about 100 years after Christ. These men wrote this Scripture as they were given inspiration by God. (2 Timothy 3:16)The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in 1388.
The Bible has since been translated in part or in whole into over 1200 languages and dialects.
The Bible was divided into chapters by Stephen Langton in 1228. The Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan in 1488 and the New Testament by Robert Stephanus in 1551. The entire Bible divided into chapters and verses first appeared in the Geneva Bible of 1560.
Today The Bible is the largest seller of all books published.
Almost billions of people around the world own Bibles. Even as far back as 1950, one reputable magazine reported that "by the end of 1950 (the 500th anniversary of Gutenberg’s invention), over two billion Bibles and parts of Bibles will have been printed, with 25 million more being added each year" (Antiquarian Bookman, November 18, 1950). According to a survey conducted recently 93 percent of Americans own a Bible, and 27 percent own four or more. So you probably have a Bible. If you have hidden yours in a closet or a dresser somewhere, then you should search it and read it. It can help you in many, many ways.
The origin of the Bible can be summed-up as follows: "A mere translation of a translation of an interpretation of an oral tradition" - and therefore, a book with no credibility or connection to the original texts. Actually, the foregoing statement is a common misunderstanding of both Christians and non-christians alike. Translations such as the King James Version are derived from existing copies of ancient manuscripts such as the Hebrew Masoretic Text (Old Testament) and the Greek Textus Receptus (New Testament), and are not translations of texts translated from other interpretations. The primary differences between todays Bible translations are merely related to how translators interpret a word or sentence from the original language of the text source (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek).
The Bible exists among us as one book. Yet it is in fact composed of more than 60 books, written by over 40 different authors, and its compilation extended from the days of Moses (1400 BC) to the days of the apostle John (end of 1st Century AD), a period of 1,500 years. Its narrative goes right back to the origin of man. It presents the Lord God of heaven and earth as Creator of all, who has a purpose with the human race, which extends through history right up to the present day; and then goes further and tells what will happen to that race in the future. There is no other book in the world which has such a range and scope as this.
But its writings are not just philosophical predictions. They are rooted in human history, dealing with actual nations and real people. The Bible deals with mans early career, passes a devastating judgment on him at the Flood, and proceeds to detail Gods purpose with a particular people, the descendants of faithful Abraham, in their deliverance from the oppression of Egypt and their inheritance of the land of Canaan. It faithfully records the history of that people, the lives of their men of faith, their constant failure to do Gods will, the judgments which came upon them through the Assyrians and the Babylonians, and the eventual overthrow of their kingdom. It takes up in the New Testament the record of the coming of Jesus Christ, the preaching of the gospel by his apostles, and ends with their writings to the early communities of believers in the 1st century AD. But the word of prophecy they spoke extends in time into the future.
Now the remarkable fact is that over this long period of 1,500 years the Bible speaks of one God, having one purpose. The earliest books of the Old Testament and the latest of the New are bound together by one outlook and one conviction, so that they become in fact one revelation. How this could be in a world of human fallibility is something we must seek to understand.
Now the remarkable fact is that the Bible never shared this optimistic view of human progress. It has been well said that the Bibles view of the development of human civilization is not evolutionary, but catastrophic; that is, mankinds career will end in a great crisis and a dramatic change (H. J. Cadbury, in The Peril of Modernising Jesus, 1934).
The only way in which one can save the Christian Faith Property is by going through the bible himself. One incident happened once ago, a lady who claimed to be a Christian tried to defend “God hates divorce” on a radio. That lady was helpless and she could not find a word against a Jewish lady who claimed to know the Old Testaments and referred to Moses’ Certificate of Divorcement. At that time the Christian lady found herself helpless. Thus from this example we can calculate the relevance of having a proper knowledge about Bible. If a person has a good knowledge about Bible then he can face any situation, with any one and at any point of time.
The evidence for this is quite clear throughout the Old and New Testaments. Daniel, speaking of "the time of the end", foresaw "a time of trouble such as never was" when "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake", some to everlasting life (12:1,2). The apostle Paul foresaw that "in the last days perilous times shall come". He proceeds to describe the rise of a violent and self-indulgent generation, "lovers of money, boastful . . . disobedient to parents . . . without natural affection . . . without self-control . . . lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, holding a form of religion (RSV), but having denied the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RV). The resemblance to the materialistic, atheistical and undisciplined spirit of our age is striking. Jesus himself was equally explicit. At a time when Jerusalem would be no longer under the domination of the nations, there would be "upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity . . . men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world" (Luke 21:25,26).
But the writings in which these forecasts are found are 2,000 years old and more. How did the writers know that the climax of mankinds career would not be a state of peace and prosperity, as the wise men of only 100 years ago were predicting? Again, of themselves as men, they could not have known. But it is clear that somebody must have known. There must have been a Mind far greater than the human to inspire what they wrote. It was surely that of God Himself. No other explanation meets the facts.
Some of the benefits which one can derive from reading a bible are as follows:-
Benefit 1: The Bible Reveals the Way to Life Beyond Death
Benefit 2: The Bible Explains Life’s Real Meaning and Purpose
Benefit 3: The Bible Shows the Way to Harmonious Relationships
Benefit 4: The Bible Teaches How to Find True Success, Fulfillment and Happiness
Benefit 5: The Bible Reveals the Future!
Our conclusions can be brief. The Bible is a book unique in the world. It could not have been written solely by man. It must be a Word from God.
As such it is of vital significance. It should be read with reverent attention and eager interest. It answers all our problems, warning us of the dangers that beset us, giving us hope of help now and of a new life in the Kingdom of God. No other book in the world can do this. To neglect it, to treat it with indifference, would be an act of folly. Let us rather be wise and give heed to this Word of truth and life in a world of darkness and doubt.
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