What is the Bible all about?

There are 66 books in the Bible written by inspired men of God over a period of about 1600 years. There is a dual theme - God's glory and man's redemption. The central message from Genesis 1:1 to the last passage in Revelation is Christ and His coming.

A careful reading of the book of Genesis will give a good breakdown. Man is pure and perfect in Genesis 1-2. Having become separated from God through sin, mankind fell in Genesis 3. But God promised that One would come who could save fallen man (Genesis 3:15), the man Christ Jesus.

Mankind rested in this state of sin throughout the entire Bible, until Revelation 21-22. This is when man is pictured as entering the new Jerusalem.

The Old Testament can be broken down as follows:
LawsHistoryPoetryProphetic
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy		 Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 & 2 Samuel
1 & 2 Kings
1 & 2 Chronicles		 Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Lamentations
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah		 Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

The Old Testament can be divided into 4 areas.

  1. The Laws tell the story of how the earth was formed and the first man was placed upon it in a perfect, sinless state. Man falls into sin and gets so overtaken by it that God starts over by sending a flood to wipe out all human life, with the exception of 8 individuals. Then the Abrahamic Covenant is given.
  2. The History of God's people from their very beginning envelopes the Old Testament.
  3. The prophecies contain letters and prayers to God. They are also a collection of stories of the lives of wise men and their wisdom written down.
  4. The remainder of the Old Testament is awaiting the coming of Christ.
Here is a breakdown of the New Testament:
GospelsHistoryLetters / EpistlesProphetic
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John		 Acts
Romans
1 & 2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 & 2 Thessalonians		 1 & 2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 & 2 Peter
1, 2 & 3 John
Jude
Revelations

The New Testament can be divided into 4 areas.

  1. The gospels give an account of the daily life of Christ after his baptism and teach us why we should believe on Him as God's only begotten son. These books record that, though Christ saved man from man, it was man who crucified Christ. Still, Christ overcame death by rising from the grave after 3 days.
  2. New Testament History teaches us how to get into Christ by way of righteousness and many examples of conversion. The apostles and other disciples are depicted as valiant and courageous men who, in the face of death, spread the Word of God.
  3. The letters teach men how to prepare for that coming as Christ will be returning to judge mankind (Matt. 25:31-46; 2 Cor. 5:10). These 21 epistles instruct the Christian how to remain in Christ throughout life.
  4. Revelations teaches us how to overcome in order that one day we might get to heaven. It reveals the end of this world and is, in a sense, the opposite of Genesis. Whereas in the book of Genesis pure and perfect man falls and goes into a sinful state, Revelations tells the story of how sinful man will one day return to a state of purity and perfection. A wise, little boy once told the story of Revelations like this: God and the devil had a fight and God won.