The Holy Bible (which is also known as The Word of God, Scripture or simply The Bible) is the written word of God. The Bible is a collection of significant historical and divinely inspired writings from ancient times as recorded by the Hebrew (Jewish) people — the descendants of a man known as Abraham, and his son Isaac and Isaac’s son, Jacob. (God gave Jacob a new name — Israel. That’s why God’s people are often referred to as the children of Israel, and also where the nation of Israel gets its name.)
The Bible primarily tells the story of God and his interactions with humankind — God, the creator of the heavens, the earth and everything in it (including humans). It is a sweeping story from the beginning of time through to the first century (AD) and centred around the area we would describe as the Middle East, and particularly modern-day Israel.
The Holy Bible contains 66 books, separated into two volumes known as “The Old Testament” and “The New Testament”. Sometimes, these are referred to as “The Old Covenant” and “The New Covenant”. (Testament and Covenant both meaning agreement — between God and people). The life of Jesus is the break-point between the two volumes of the Holy Bible. His life, death and resurrection marks the new covenant or the new agreement that God established for us.
There are many different versions of the Holy Bible, translated into English (and other languages) by various scholars and institutions qualified to interpret the original Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) text in which it was written.
The King James Version (KJV) was the first translation into English in 1611. It can be somewhat difficult to read being in “Ye Olde English” style, hence the many modern translations which aim to make reading more transparent and the meaning more relevant. The translators also inserted chapter numbers and verse numbers throughout the Bible to make it easier to cross-reference and to find specific passages.
One of my favourite versions of the Bible to read has been the New Living Translation (NLT). It is a relatively modern translation, first published in 1996 and refined for republication in 2004. The Bible verses I have quoted in this book are taken from the NLT version.
[Not] A spoiler alert
This won’t spoil the story if you decide to read the Bible for yourself — which I certainly encourage you to do! There’s so much more detail, depth and amazing truth to be found, but here is a condensed and summarised version of the story of the Holy Bible:
God, the creator of the universe and everything in it, created man and woman (Adam and Eve) in his own likeness. They were created to walk in close relationship with God himself.
The man and woman rebelled against God and chose to go their own way. Their choice gave entry to sin and resulted in separation from God, a cursed and difficult life, followed by death.
The story continues through the population growth over many generations. Humans become more and more debased as they move further and further away from God. The whole time, God is reaching out in love and calling people to return to him (repentance). God’s messages are delivered by people he chose to represent him and include prophecies, letters, songs and proverbs.
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament, referring to the coming of a “Messiah” (Hebrew word), or “Christ” (Greek word). Both words have the same meaning: The Anointed One, The Chosen One, The Saviour, The Deliverer.
After some time, and with the continuing corruption of sin, God sends his only son Jesus to earth with the message of repentance, and to provide a way out of the impossible situation. To do this, Jesus performs significant miracles including healing many people of all kinds of sickness and disease. He offers forgiveness of sins and even raises the dead. He demonstrates the amazing love of God in order to help everyone turn back to him. Despite this, his message is ultimately rejected and he is maliciously killed by the religious leaders of his own people.
Jesus rises from death proving he was sent by God. He was in fact the Messiah, the Christ as promised in the Old Testament. God accepts the sacrificial death of Jesus as payment for the sins of mankind. Those who acknowledge this as true and repent, receive the forgiveness of God and the restoration to eternal life with him.
Jesus, alive, returns to heaven in front of many witnesses and sends the Holy Spirit to earth to help those who believe and follow him. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they go out and begin spreading the message of repentance and salvation through Jesus to the world, healing the sick and casting out demons in his name.
The story concludes with visions and predictions about the last days of earth in which Jesus will return for those who belong to him, bringing them into everlasting life with God. Everyone else is subjected to the judgement of God and permanently separated from him and “thrown into the lake of fire”.
There’s no nice way to convey that last part, and it’s not good. There are real, eternal consequences for those who haven’t repented and turned back to God through Jesus.
