66 - That’s the number of books in the Bible. But why these particular 66? Why not a few more or less?
When I posted “Let’s talk about the Bible” a few weeks ago, @Jumi, mentioned the Bible Canon. That’s what this thread is about.
So, who decided which books should be included in the Bible? Faithful believers like myself believe it was God. He didn’t write the books with his own hand but He inspired the writers and those who later on put the final version of the Bible together.
But there is a long history behind all that, and of course, a context that leads to where we are today. After all, the Bible canon developed over the course of centuries.
The Ministry Magazine says that due to a lack of historical sources, it is not really possible to know who decided which books should be included in the Old Testament. “Historical-critical scholars believe the Bible gained its authority progressively. They suggest that the 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, arranged in three major divisions (the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings), indicate a three-step development in the canonization process. According to this view, the Law—meaning the books of Moses, also called the Pentateuch—was canonized by about 400 B.C., the Prophets during the first century B.C., and then the Writings during the first century A.D. (…)
Apart from the testimony of historians, there is evidence in the Bible itself to indicate that by the time of Daniel and Zechariah, the Law and the earlier prophets (Joshua–Kings) were regarded as Scripture.”
When it comes to the Old Testament, Jesus Christ affirmed the Jewish canon of His day—consisting of the very same content that is in our Old Testament today.
“A study of the gospels shows that, throughout His ministry, Jesus affirmed the Old Testament in its entirety (Matt. 5:17–18)—including its historical reliability (cf. Matt. 10:15; 19:3–5; 12:40; 24:38–39), prophetic accuracy (Matt. 26:54), sufficiency (Luke 16:31), unity (Luke 24:27, 44), inerrancy (Matt. 22:29; John 17:17), infallibility (John 10:35), and authority (Matt. 21:13, 16, 42).
He affirmed the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets and all that was written in them; clearly seeing the Old Testament Scriptures as the Word of God (Matt. 15:16; Mark 7:13; Luke 3:2; 5:1; etc.).
Significantly, the first century Jews did not consider the Apocryphal books to be canonical. And neither did Jesus. He accepted the canon of the Jews as being the complete Old Testament. He never affirmed or cited the Apocryphal books – and neither do any of the other writers of the New Testament.” (https://www.tms.edu/preachersandpreaching/why-these-66-books/)
The same principle applies to the New Testament. Jesus not only affirmed the Jewish canon of the Old Testament, He also promised that He would give additional revelations through His authorized representatives—namely, the apostles.
The night before his death, Jesus said to His disciples:
John 14:25–26 – “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
The fulfillment of that promise is found in the four gospel accounts. Two chapters later, in the same context, Jesus promised the apostles additional knowledge through the Holy Spirit:
John 16:12–15 – “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
The New Testament, then, was pre-authenticated by Christ Himself, as He authorized the apostles to be His witnesses in the world." (https://www.tms.edu/preachersandpreaching/why-these-66-books/)
Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the apostles came to occupy a unique position in spreading and bearing witness to the words of Jesus. Indeed, Christ had said of them that because they had been with Him from the beginning they would be His witnesses (John 15:27).
“For about two decades the message of Jesus was proclaimed orally. Then, from the mid–first century on, Paul’s letters began to appear. Somewhat later, the three synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts were written; by the end of the first century, when John wrote the book of Revelation, all the books of the New Testament were completed.
As was the case with the books of the Old Testament prophets, the writings of Paul and the other apostles were immediately accepted as authoritative because the authors were known to be authentic spokesmen for God. The writers themselves were conscious of the fact that they were proclaiming God’s message, not merely their own opinions.”
Many people believe that the Bible canon was decided at the Council of Nicaea and enforced by the emperor Constantine but that is not exactly true. While Constantine ended the prosecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, he didn’t have much to do with the content of the Bible. Constantine was the first Roman emperor to become christian, but no one really knows if that was an act of faith or a political move.
The origin of the Bible Canon remains a controversial subject with different options among scholars and religious people, so much so that different religious groups include different books in their Bibles.(Books of the Bible - Wikipedia)
For more information:
Who decided which books made it into the Bible?
How did we get our Bible, who wrote it and who decided what order to put it in?
Who Decided What Went into the Bible? - Topical Studies
https://www.ministrymagazine.org/ar...d-which-books-should-be-included-in-the-bible
Bible Timeline
When I posted “Let’s talk about the Bible” a few weeks ago, @Jumi, mentioned the Bible Canon. That’s what this thread is about.
So, who decided which books should be included in the Bible? Faithful believers like myself believe it was God. He didn’t write the books with his own hand but He inspired the writers and those who later on put the final version of the Bible together.
But there is a long history behind all that, and of course, a context that leads to where we are today. After all, the Bible canon developed over the course of centuries.
The Ministry Magazine says that due to a lack of historical sources, it is not really possible to know who decided which books should be included in the Old Testament. “Historical-critical scholars believe the Bible gained its authority progressively. They suggest that the 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, arranged in three major divisions (the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings), indicate a three-step development in the canonization process. According to this view, the Law—meaning the books of Moses, also called the Pentateuch—was canonized by about 400 B.C., the Prophets during the first century B.C., and then the Writings during the first century A.D. (…)
Apart from the testimony of historians, there is evidence in the Bible itself to indicate that by the time of Daniel and Zechariah, the Law and the earlier prophets (Joshua–Kings) were regarded as Scripture.”
When it comes to the Old Testament, Jesus Christ affirmed the Jewish canon of His day—consisting of the very same content that is in our Old Testament today.
“A study of the gospels shows that, throughout His ministry, Jesus affirmed the Old Testament in its entirety (Matt. 5:17–18)—including its historical reliability (cf. Matt. 10:15; 19:3–5; 12:40; 24:38–39), prophetic accuracy (Matt. 26:54), sufficiency (Luke 16:31), unity (Luke 24:27, 44), inerrancy (Matt. 22:29; John 17:17), infallibility (John 10:35), and authority (Matt. 21:13, 16, 42).
He affirmed the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets and all that was written in them; clearly seeing the Old Testament Scriptures as the Word of God (Matt. 15:16; Mark 7:13; Luke 3:2; 5:1; etc.).
Significantly, the first century Jews did not consider the Apocryphal books to be canonical. And neither did Jesus. He accepted the canon of the Jews as being the complete Old Testament. He never affirmed or cited the Apocryphal books – and neither do any of the other writers of the New Testament.” (https://www.tms.edu/preachersandpreaching/why-these-66-books/)
The same principle applies to the New Testament. Jesus not only affirmed the Jewish canon of the Old Testament, He also promised that He would give additional revelations through His authorized representatives—namely, the apostles.
The night before his death, Jesus said to His disciples:
John 14:25–26 – “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
The fulfillment of that promise is found in the four gospel accounts. Two chapters later, in the same context, Jesus promised the apostles additional knowledge through the Holy Spirit:
John 16:12–15 – “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
The New Testament, then, was pre-authenticated by Christ Himself, as He authorized the apostles to be His witnesses in the world." (https://www.tms.edu/preachersandpreaching/why-these-66-books/)
Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the apostles came to occupy a unique position in spreading and bearing witness to the words of Jesus. Indeed, Christ had said of them that because they had been with Him from the beginning they would be His witnesses (John 15:27).
“For about two decades the message of Jesus was proclaimed orally. Then, from the mid–first century on, Paul’s letters began to appear. Somewhat later, the three synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts were written; by the end of the first century, when John wrote the book of Revelation, all the books of the New Testament were completed.
As was the case with the books of the Old Testament prophets, the writings of Paul and the other apostles were immediately accepted as authoritative because the authors were known to be authentic spokesmen for God. The writers themselves were conscious of the fact that they were proclaiming God’s message, not merely their own opinions.”
Many people believe that the Bible canon was decided at the Council of Nicaea and enforced by the emperor Constantine but that is not exactly true. While Constantine ended the prosecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, he didn’t have much to do with the content of the Bible. Constantine was the first Roman emperor to become christian, but no one really knows if that was an act of faith or a political move.
The origin of the Bible Canon remains a controversial subject with different options among scholars and religious people, so much so that different religious groups include different books in their Bibles.(Books of the Bible - Wikipedia)
For more information:
Who decided which books made it into the Bible?
How did we get our Bible, who wrote it and who decided what order to put it in?
Who Decided What Went into the Bible? - Topical Studies
https://www.ministrymagazine.org/ar...d-which-books-should-be-included-in-the-bible
Bible Timeline
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