Who wrote Gods Word?
The Bible was written over a period of about 1,500 years by about 40 different authors.
The incredible thing about it is that even though it was written by so many people over such a long period of time
it is still one complete book, which has no contradictions in it. The reason for this is that those who wrote it did so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the different ages God inspired different people, for different reasons, to write down what He had shown to them. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read
that scripture was written at the 'inspiration' of God. For some reason, he wanted us to have an accurate record of all the facts, or messages that have now been preserved through the ages.
When the Bible was compiled together, there were tests made to ensure the authenticity and authority of each book. There are no definite records of when the books in the Old Testament were authorised to be accepted, but
there are references in historical documents which show that the 39 books that we know as the Old Testament were certainly accepted by 70-100 AD.
The Old Testament begins with 5 books known as "The Law" (Genesis - Deuteronomy),
and these were written down by Moses who presumably drew on other written material, or things passed down through the generations orally, for him to be able to write of things that had taken place before his lifetime.
These books are also sometimes called "The Pentateuch".
Next comes a section that deals with history... that covers the books from Joshua to Esther.
These were written down by a variety of people, eg. Joshua, Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah.
Some of the authors are unknown to us, but it is clear by the way that they were written that the authors were educated men in important positions within the nations they lived in.
The next section is poetry..... that covers the books from Job to the Song of Solomon.
Again some authors are unknown today, but others include King David, King Solomon, and men who were involved in producing the music for worship in the temple during that time.
The last section in the Old Testament is prophesy. These cover the books from Isaiah through to Malachi.
In general each book is an account of the life and/or teaching of the prophet that God had raised up to speak to a particular group of people.
They don't all prophesy to the same people, but different prophets lived in different areas, and taught the people in the
area where God called them to be. Contrary to what a lot of people think, prophesy is not necessarily telling the future, but is simply telling forth, explaining, or teaching what God had to say to the people.
There is a gap of about 400 years between the last events in the Old Testament, and the first events in the New Testament.
The New Testament is a collection of 27 books written by 8 or possibly 9 authors
(authorship of the book of Hebrews is uncertain, but many believe it to be Paul), and these were written over a period of about 50 years.
Matthew wrote the first gospel, and he was a disciple of Jesus, and therefore an eyewitness to what he was sharing.
Mark was not one of the 12 apostles, but either got his information from Peter, who he later travelled
extensively with, or else he was an eyewitness himself to some of the events.
Luke is the only Gentile author of any books in the Bible, and he wrote both the gospel named after him, and the book of Acts.
We know nothing much about him, except that he travelled with Paul, and he makes it
clear that he thoroughly investigated what he wrote, getting his information from eyewitnesses, so that his readers would know that it was completely true.
John was a disciple, and he wrote the gospel named after him, the three epistles named after him, and the book of Revelation.
Most of the other books in the New Testament were written by the apostle Paul, who was not one of the 12 original disciples, but who was a highly educated man, called by God to evangelise and teach Gentiles.
The book of James was written most probably by the half-brother of Jesus and not by the disciple who had the same name. The apostle Peter wrote the two books named after
him.
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