OLD BOOKS There are not too many really old books in the world. By really old, I mean one or two thousand years old. There is one old book, which is actually a collection of other old books, the newest of which was written in the First Century after Jesus.

This book is, of course, the Holy Bible, and is composed of sixty-six different books written by about forty different men over a fifteen century period.

To get a perspective on this period of time, picture a book written by forty different men from the time of the fall of the Roman Empire in 565 A.D. until today!

By about the year 270 B.C. the Old Testament had been translated from Hebrew into Greek, the dominant language at that time. Because of this historic fact, secular historians have to agree that the Old Testament existed at about that time.

The care taken in copying the Bible is shown by the Dead Sea Scrolls which are about two-thousand years old. The books contained in these scrolls agree with the same books in our Bibles today.

Most of the men who wrote the books of the Bible did not know each other, and yet the Bible is consistent. It is also symmetric. The deception of Satan and the rebellion of man is in Genesis, the first book; and the conclusion of these matters is in the last book, The Revelation.

What makes the Bible stand out from other old books, is that it foretold the complete document that we have received today. The Bible foretold the number and arrangement of all the sixty-six books of which the Bible was ultimately composed.

The amazing thing about this is the fact that twenty-seven of those books did not exist in 270 B.C., when we know that the Old Testament was completed.

This design was given to Moses by the Lord as part of the instructions for items to be used where the people were to worship Him, the Tabernacle.

We recognize this design as the Menorah, frequently seen during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

The Lord instructed Moses to build the lampstand with six branches and the central supporting lampstand. Each of the branches was to have three sets of three decorations, for a total of nine. - Exodus 25:31-33

The central supporting lampstand was to have four sets of three decorations for a total of twelve. - Exodus 25:34

Here is the resulting lampstand according to the design of the Lord. The 66 Books of the complete Bible!!

Note how the decorations are divided between the Old and New Testaments. There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.

The Bible is divided into seven parts: 1 – History of the Patriarchs (9 books) 2 – History of the Kingdom of Israel (9 books) 3 – Prophecy about Israel (9 books) 4 – Prophecy about the Messiah (12 books) 5 – Books from a Jewish perspective (9 books) 6 – Books from a Gentile perspective (9 books) 7 – Books from a Jewish perspective (9 books) Please note the pattern

Do you see the pattern in the Lord’s Lampstand?

The Psalmist said, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” -Psalm 119:105 What a fitting description, because the Lord’s Lampstand show us His divinely inspired Scripture.

The outline I have given is not the traditional breakdown. Please allow me to explain. 1 - Genesis to First Samuel are nine books. These books give a history of the Patriarchs through King Saul. 2 – Second Samuel to Job are nine books and give us a history of the Kingdom of Israel. The Kingdom started with King David.

2 - continued I believe the Book of Job is included in this group because it is a picture of the people of Israel. The people of Israel had everything, but lost it. The Lord made solemn, unilateral promises to Israel that in the end they would have more than they lost, just like Job who received double of everything he lost.

3 – Psalms to Daniel are nine books of prophecy. The Psalms are prophecy according to no less an authority than Jesus. (Luke 24:44) 4 – Hosea to Malachi includes twelve books prophesying the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. 5 – Matthew to Galatians are nine books concerning the early (Jewish) Church. These books dealt with Jewish subjects.

6 – Ephesians to Philemon are nine books dealing with the early Gentile Church. Philemon is a picture of the Church being sent Home to its master. Does this represent the end of the Times of the Gentiles? (Luke 21:24) 7 – The last group of nine books are written to Jews and concern Jewish subjects. The first of these books is Hebrews. This group concludes with The Revelation and the fulfillment of the promises made by the Lord.

The Lord’s Lampstand, given to Moses 3,500 years ago, shows us the Holy Scriptures that we have today. This cannot be coincidence. It was according to the ancient plan of God. For more information, go to