Faith in the News Christian News
Here are seven amazing or unusual facts about the Bible that you may or may not have known about.
The Book of Isaiah and the Bible
Just like the Bible has 66 books in it, the Book of Isaiah has 66 chapters. Interestingly, the first 39 chapters contain much about the law, and the last 27 books contain much about grace. Some theologians divide the books as the Book of Judgment (Chapters 1-39) and the Book of Comfort (Chapters 40-66). This is exactly how the Gospel is shared: law to the proud but grace to the humble. It’s no wonder that the Book of Isaiah was the book that Jesus most often quoted.
Three Languages, 1,600 Years, and 40 Authors
The Bible is amazing in itself. But how could 40 different authors write in a span of about 1,600 years, many not having known one another, and yet agree exactly in all doctrinal areas? For example, the term “the just shall live by faith” is not just an New Testament belief but is found throughout the Bible, as with Abraham who was justified by His faith as He believed God and knew that He was able to raise Isaac from the dead. He was willing to sacrifice his own son in order to be obedient to God.
Archaeology and the Bible
It’s not that the Bible verifies what archaeologists and paleontologists have unearthed. It’s actually the other way around. The findings of archaeologists and paleontologists continue to discover what has already been recorded in the Bible for thousands of years. Archaeology hasn’t proven the Bible to be true. The Bible is known to be true, and what has been discovered tells us what we already knew. The Bible is true; and there is empirical, measurable, verifiable, concrete, objective evidence that aligns with what has already been recorded by the Bible. We don’t believe the Bible because of the archaeological finds. W believe the archaeological finds because of what we have already read in the Bible.
Seven Divisions of the Bible
There are seven major divisions in the Bible. First comes the Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy), then history (Joshua-Esther), then the poetic/wisdom literature (Job-Song of Solomon), then the major prophets (Isaiah-Daniel), then the minor prophets (Hosea-Malachi), then the Gospels (Matthew-John), and finally the general and pastoral epistles (1 Corinthians-Jude). Even though the Book of Acts is historical and the Book of Revelation is prophetical (like history written in advance), most of the major sections of the Bible are composed of seven distinct parts.
The Longest Chapter in the Bible
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. What is its focus? It’s on God’s Holy Law. We know that no one can be saved by keeping the Law, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore it. Believers should be striving to obey the Ten Commandments. That’s why it says, “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:1-2). If knowing about and trying to live according to God’s Law was not important, then why would God ensure that Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible? There are no coincidences in the sovereignty of God.
The Bestseller of All Time
No book has ever been read more, bought more, or cherished more than the Holy Bible. Every minute, more than 50 Bibles are sold. There has never been a better seller at any time in all of human history than the Bible, and it is still the most widely read and most often bought book of all time.
The Book of Esther
The Book of Esther never mentions God one time, yet you can see that God was working through Esther to save the Jews. This makes me think that even though we don’t see any signs or evidence of God working in our lives at times, that doesn’t mean He isn’t working silently and hidden from human eyes behind the scenes for us. God’s silence doesn’t mean He isn’t there; His delay doesn’t mean His denial.
May God richly bless you,
Pastor Jack Wellman
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