I know a lot of people (including myself at one point, as an example) that don't understand the difference between the Old and New Testament, why there are so many Bibles and or not understanding how to even read the Bible. Personally, I was too busy judging the Bible to even try to understand, I would seriously just be so offended by it (I had no idea it was satan and his kingdom at work behind the scenes). After being saved and now having the knowledge and wisdom to understand, thanks to the Holy Spirit and teachers He sent me of Christ, I can now explain this to you, and I hope it blesses you! Sometimes I feel like a lot of people feel discouraged to not know much or anything about the Bible, so I hope this blog can reach those that don't know where to start and have no knowledge on it. Jesus still loves you!
Understanding how to read the Bible:
To understand how to read the Holy Bible you need to know the terms. The names listed in the Old and New Testaments are books, and within those books are chapters that are numbered. So, for example, John 3:5. John is the book, and the chapter is number 3. Now the colon is dividing which verse within the chapter one is reading. So, John 3:5, means the Book John chapter 3 verse 5. You will also see multiple verses being mentioned, for example, John chapter 3, verses 5 - 7; altogether it is John 3:5-7. That is how it is throughout each book. Happy reading!
The Holy Bible:
The Holy Bible is a prophetic book in which contains 66 individual books; there are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. (There are different versions of the Bible as well as different books for different religions.) Going off of what I was taught about Jesus, He was a Christian Jew. So therefore, I identify as a follower of Christ as a born-again Christian, but not in the sense of the Christianity religion we've come to know today. It's honestly really watered down our King Jesus and Christians are becoming more worldly. I have been taught to go off of the Kings James Version as well. The Kings James Holy Bible was first published in 1611 under the auspices of King James the First of England. Let me start off first by mentioning that Satan is anti-Christ, not anti-religion! So, we have many different religions (and books) because that's what satan wants, he wants us to be divided, using the Holy Bible, but twisting the words, or changing meanings and beliefs (praying to other Gods) forming other books to follow. Allowing things that are in fact not allowed in the eyes of God to be allowed. He is a mastermind to make sure we don't ever fully get to the truth but allowing us to know some truth just in the wrong context. It is key to pray and ask God for discernment with things like this, because it's a question a lot of people have and we literally live with SO many different beliefs, we need to know the truth as Jesus's return is evident with the things going on in the world today.
Let me explain the difference between the Old and the New Testament.
The Old Testament:
The Old Testament takes place in the eighth century and consists of the history of how our heavenly Father, God, created life, cast out satan and was very much alive and using people to prophesy in His name. Being able to communicate with his mighty supernatural power and loyal angles, God would tell followers of His choosing (all sinners by the way) to share the Gospel to nations who were troubled and did not believe in Him (they prayed to other Gods). They were also to complete sacrifices, sweet (things like honey were used) and savory (meat was sacrificed with salt, there were "rules" to follow), to show their loyalty and faith to God and so He could send our King to be able to come save us from our sins of this world. Thank you, heavenly Father! Abraham almost sacrificing his son Issaac (Genesis 22:1-19) is a book we often hear about and know even if you don't actually read the Bible, but you are around church goers, like myself growing up. I'd just like to point out that God would never make Abraham actually kill his son, it seems harsh, but it was a test to prove His loyalty to God, as Abraham too has a story like all of us and sometimes things he did wasn't always right in the eyes of God, but our God is merciful, He is forgiving, He leads us to the path of righteousness no matter the sin! I encourage you to read up on the history of our prophets, stay connected to the roots of this history as well.
Books in the Old Testament:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk,
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
There are also some books brought to my knowledge and understanding that have been taken out of the Holy Bible and they include 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Book of Tobit, Book of Susanna, Additions to Esther, Book of Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, The Epistle of Jeremiah, The Prayer of Azariah, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasses, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Book of Enoch, and Book of Jubilees. You can usually find them online. Why they were taken out, I do not know. I will be praying on that one!
Let me now explain to you the New Testament.
The New Testament:
The New Testament is Soley focused on Jesus's life, ministry and death, followed by a narrative about the early Christian church, epistles (letters mainly written by Apostle Paul), and ending in a visionary Revelation of the future of the Christian church until the end of time (Jesus's return). The first Gospel written was about 40 years after the death of Jesus. It was shared through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus taught to love each other as much as yourself and that God the Father is the ONLY God. Jesus went on to perform miracles (casting out devils), healings (the blind could see, the deaf could hear) and even Rasing the dead! There's a chapter on a woman who had an issue with bleeding, and all she did was reach out and touch His garment in full belief of healing and was completely healed! (Matthew 9:20-22) He knew someone touched Him too because he felt the power leave Him. He was not upset that she touched Him, but happy that she had the belief to be healed and the boldness. The supernatural power of our Almighty God is AMAZING! To read it and really envision it, it's so comforting to know we have that type of power backing us up! Besides His amazing doings, Jesus was also dedicated to sharing the Gospel of our Father God in Heaven to all of the nations that were troubled and who disobeyed God, He caused a lot of conflict amongst religious leaders. Because of this is why Roman leaders eventually agreed to send Jesus to be crucified on the cross (it was also Gods Will and Jesus knew that). I thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for us, in forgiving our sins and I thank you heavenly Father for it being your Will and loving us all that much so we shall not perish! All the Glory goes to God!
Books of the New Testament:
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts of the Apostles
Letter of Paul to the Romans
Letters of Paul to the Corinthians
I Corinthians
II Corinthians
Letter of Paul to the Galatians
Letter of Paul to the Ephesians
Letter of Paul to the Philippians
Letter of Paul to the Colossians
Letters of Paul to the Thessalonians
I Thessalonians
II Thessalonians
Letters of Paul to Timothy
I Timothy
II Timothy
Letter of Paul to Titus
Letter of Paul to Philemon
Letter to the Hebrews
Letter of James
Letters of Peter
I Peter
II Peter
Letters of John
I John
II John
III John
Letter of Jude
Revelation to John
Main overview:
Jesus was NOT around in the Old Testament, but He was alive in the New Testament. The Old Testament is not what we necessarily follow today, the New Testament is. The Old Testament explains the old covenant between God and His people whereas the New Testament is the new covenant between Jesus, our Father and we the born-again believers. I hope this brings clarity to anyone who didn't understand! Thank you for reading, God bless you!
* (Thank you, Holy Spirit, for using me to write this blog. I pray it helps those that lack knowledge like I once did in these areas, and I thank you for it in advance. You have all the Praise, the Honor and the Glory, Lord! Amen.) *
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