A Consistent Message

The whole Bible is a library of books, written down 1500 years apart, by a wide range of different people with different professions in different parts of the world. It can be hard to fully grasp the variety of writers as the Bible is an ancient book and so all of the writers seem ancient to us. To illustrate this variety by way of example, let us consider what the equivalent professions of the writers would be if we brought things forward by a couple of millennia. If the New Testament was written today then the whole collection of books would have been written by: a chieftain from the early dark ages; a Saxon king; a medieval serf; a Tudor Courtier; and a modern shopkeeper, doctor, and university lecturer. We would also need another 15 writers from equally varied backgrounds who spoke several different languages. You wouldn't expect this group of people to share anything in common, let alone have a world view that is so consistent they can produce a piece of work that reads like a single book.

The whole theme of the Bible is God's intention to establish a community of people on this earth who have the same characteristics as he does and to live with them forever.

  • The first chapters of the Bible show the wonderful creation of the world by God. They also show how humans disobeyed God and became prisoners to sin and death but indicates the promises of God to mankind to send a redeemer.

  • The early books of the Bible show God starting to choose people to reveal his character to, and his promises to to send a specific man who would be a blessing to all nations.

  • The rest of the Old Testament shows the dealings of God with the Jewish people - who were the first nation God revealed his character to. It shows their failings, but also God's promise to help them and all the world by sending a man who would be a King over the whole world and bring peace and justice.

  • The Gospels (the first four books off the New Testament) show the promises fulfilled in God's son Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and then rose from the dead again, before ascending to heaven.

  • The Acts of the Apostles (the fifth book of the New Testament) describe the preaching of the apostles (the early followers of Jesus) as they told the whole of the known world about the hope of redemption in Jesus.

  • The rest of the New Testament (the letters) give instruction and advice to Christians on how to live their lives as they wait for the return of Jesus Christ to set up the kingdom. The final book of Revelation describes the return of Jesus and the end state of the world - when God's purpose will be fulfilled and he will be at one with men and women on the earth again.

It is hard to show this to people who have not / do not read the Bible - as it is something which becomes more evident the more you read and see how every part of the Bible interlinks with every other part. However we invite you to take the test for yourself - to read the Bible and see for yourself what an amazing book it is.