1. WHERE DID THE BIBLE COME FROM? A variety of writers forty different men contributed to the collection of 66 books A variety of backgrounds kings, shepherds, priests, fishermen A variety of places Jerusalem, Rome, Babylon A variety of times from 1450 B.C. till A.D. 95 Three different languages Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek NO CONTRADICTIONS

2. Who Decided Which Books Belong in the Bible? As Christians, we listen to Christ What does Jesus say about scripture? Jesus recognizes the authority of scripture Matthew 4:1-11 “It is written” Matthew 5:17-20 all the Law and Prophets Matthew 12:1-8 He uses Hosea 6:6 Pharisees accepted all 39 books Sadducees accepted only the first five books

3. What About the Apocrypha? Catholic Bible contains extra books Not officially accepted until 1563 at the Council of Trent They are not accepted by the Jews as scripture Not accepted by Paul (a Pharisee) or other apostles and prophets in the New Testament Also in Orthodox Bibles, plus even some more writings (Manasseh’s prayer in Odes) 2 Chron. 33:19 Esther’s prayer and other details in Esther Ethiopian Bible contains Book of Enoch Jude 14-15

4. Order of Accepted Hebrew Scriptures Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The Twelve Prophets, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles

5. How Do We Know Which Books Belong in the New Testament? The New Testament is the law of Christ 1 Cor. 9:21 It was first spoken by the Lord Hebrews 2:3-4 The Spirit gave it to the apostles John 16:12-13 Apostles spoke it through the Spirit Acts 1:8; 2:1- 4; 4:8, 31 The word began a transition phase from oral to written 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, Ephesians 3:1-5

6. How Do We Know Which Gospels Belong in the New Testament? Luke refers to many who wrote an account about the life of Jesus Luke 1:1-4 Mark and Matthew are similar to Luke However, content is not the criterion Apostolic authorship is the criterion Early Christians were very cautious 1 John 4:1 Justin Martyr referred to the gospels in his defense in early 2 nd Century The four gospels were the only ones generally recognized as scripture by 160 Irenaeus recognized that in Against Heresies

7. How Do We Know Which Books Belong in the New Testament? Ireneaus also attacked The Gospel of Judas By middle of the second century, most major writings of the New Testament were already accepted (Cambridge History of the Bible) Even Marcion accepted Luke’s gospel in 2 nd Century Several church councils (Fourth Century and later) established canons of scripture They did not decide what was scripture; They “officially” acknowledged what was believed about the writings already They rejected books that could not be proven

8. How Do We Know Which Epistles Belong in the New Testament? Letters to churches were confirmed by spiritual gifts 1 Cor. 14:37 Confirmed letters were to be circulated to other churches Colossians 4:16, Rev. 2:7 Peter declares that Paul’s writings are scripture 2 Peter 3:15-16 The apostles had to write it for the church to have it after their deaths 2 Peter 1:12-15 Origen used the same 27 books by A.D.200