There are several ways to understand the basic structure of the Bible, but this article will look at what I have found most helpful for myself.

As most of us would be aware, the Bible is the most printed book ever and yet for all the people who have had access to it, very few have utilized the Bible to become the source of enhancement it offers. There are many reasons why this has happened and one definitely is the general lack of structure of the words it contains, it’s a little like being given a lot of jigsaw pieces without being shown what the jigsaw looks like, it can be sorted eventually but it takes a lot longer and can easily be, and often is discarded just for frustration reasons.

In very simple terms, the Bible can be divided into 4 chronological segments, if we do this it is far easier to grasp the overall intent of the book.

if we segment is what is termed the Old Testament, this embraces all writings from Genesis to Malachi, it spans approximately 4000 years, the BC years from the fall of man till the fruition of God’s solution. The Books that make up this segment are not exactly chronologically ordered, which can create a little confusion but in one sense that doesn’t really matter as the issue at stake and the point God wants to make, is that when man fell, by choice, from the realm of never dying, mentally we lost the ability to be faultless in God’s sight, and hence two thirds of the Bible records achievement followed by regression.  There is a multitude of incredible events we can read of, Moses receiving the Law of God or the Israelites walking through the Red Sea, David dealing with Goliath, Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar etc. etc. But there is a lot more than that, there is the wisdom of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the writings of Isaiah or the Psalms of David, the list is almost endless.  But for all of that what we need to know is what Jeremiah wrote in chapter 17, the root cause of the dilemma we are all caught up in, the heart of man, basically our thinking, especially toward God.  We are informed our heart is deceitful, above all things and as is recorded in the Book of Ezekiel, we need a new heart, a better and more honest way of thinking and this is the In very has injected his miraculous power into the affairs of man.”

Sometimes it was individuals who are recorded or sometimes it is a nation (especially Israel) that is written of, but the conclusion is final, we need help and thankfully the God who created all, the eternal God who despises death and a vain life with a passion, the God who is compassionate and kind and always wants the best for every person, he decided to provide the help we have to have.  And what a help it is.  This takes us to the second segment.

This second segment embraces a short period of time, in fact, it is only 33 years, but what happens during this most amazing time is beyond what any person could have imagined and it was all centred around one main person, the exceptional and phenomenal, Jesus Christ.  The time, manner and place of his birth was spoken of in the first segment, they were precise predictions that were literally fulfilled as had been spoken many years before, by people who were inspired by God to record such things, and none were closer than 400years before the advent and some were as early as 2500years.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recorded events and facts about this most beautiful person, someway and somehow this was the Son of God on the planet we live on, bewildering for sure but as real as real gets.  Ironically the greatness of his birth basically paled when compared to what was to happen with his life, and this segment is quite explicit with detail.  I think it is helpful to realise that the years of the Life of Jesus up till his 30th year do not appear to be of major significance and therefore they hardly get a mention but from the age of 30 years of age everything changed.

The introduction was at the River Jordan, John (or his assistants) were baptising people, telling them to prepare for what was about to happen, something very special, and it was during these days that John looked up and saw Jesus and he marvelled saying that he (John) should be baptised by Jesus, John said he was unworthy to even undo the sandals Jesus was wearing because Jesus was so great he would soon be baptising people (ordinary people like you and me) with the Holy Spirit, which did happen within 4 years of his being baptised by John, and is still happening to this very day and is available to anybody and everybody.  It was at the water baptism of Jesus that he Received the Holy Spirit.

After this cataclysmic event, Jesus’ ministry began. The ministry of Jesus only went for the three and a half years as was prophesied over 500years before, but what Jesus did and said in that time has changed our world forever, there now is Truth, there now is the opportunity for mere mortals like us to be partakers of something eternal and there is proof, not airy fairy rubbish, that this is real.

Jesus did and said incredible things as most of us know even if we haven’t read this segment, he turned water to wine, he stilled a storm, he walked on water, he healed the sick, he even raised Lazarus from the dead 4 days after he died, he was lovely in the true sense of the word, he was kind, he was selfless, he was caring, he was just so very understanding to all who came to him and he always wanted the best for them, such is the Saviour of Mankind.

It should be noted the only people he appeared negative to was the religious people who were being hypocritical, that he despised then and that he still despises, period.  But for all he did, or said, it actually was his death and what was to follow that revealed the paramount purpose of him becoming a ransom for us, his eternal life in exchange for our lost and confused three score and ten.

So, he died, for us, the righteous for the unrighteous, extremely hard to fathom but it happened as was prophesied, and we can’t turn back the clock. 

This second segment is riddled with magnificent events of wonder and we do well to not ignore it, but for all of that said I think the words spoken by Jesus Christ as he walked to the place he was to be betrayed, then taken, then beaten, then crucified, as he had already told the disciples.  These words are recorded in John, chapters 14 to 16 and we rob ourselves blind to not know them….Have a read! in reading this you will notice two major concerns of the King of Kings, firstly the means by which we show God we love him, by keeping (ie protecting and exalting) his Word and also the imperative need to receive the Spirit of God, as later recorded in the book of Acts in chapters 2-v10-19.

Jesus was decimated in every form, from his mock trial until his eventual death on the cross, but it had to be and it was all for us.  As we know, Jesus was raised from the dead, talked and ate with the disciples and many others, for forty days we are told.

Then we go to the third segment, the segment which is still active today, the Gospel in its pure form, the form we will keep it in if we are faithful people.  This segment is precious, because it helps us identify whether we are doing things right as far as God is concerned.  The Book of Acts is written by Luke, basically, it is a continuation of Luke’s gospel, the most important thing in life is to uphold the standards that the disciples and fellow believers upheld in this segment.  We can and should ask ourselves if we are speaking the same as is recorded in this account written by Luke, if a person asks us what do they need to do to be saved, do we quote Acts 2:v38, do we make the Book of Acts distinction on receiving the Holy Spirit as mentioned in detail, in Acts 10 and 11. In Acts people were healed, lives were miraculously transformed and objective truth had clear dominion over emotional compromise, no matter what form it paraded in.  We all do ourselves a great favour when we decide to not be bullied away from the faith that was upheld, by unfaithful people.

The fourth segment is the letters sent to believing people, in different areas, who had obeyed the God required standards that God has laid before man, they are not applicable to people who have not obeyed Acts 2:v38.

These letters were written to assist believers to be effective and not stupid.  This realm of New Testament salvation is the most important thing that can happen in the life of a living person and therefore should be refined if helpful. And hence these letters, they do not supersede the Book of Acts, they enhance it.

The last portion of this final segment is the book of Revelation, written by John late in his life.  This book is a great book, but because it is grossly misunderstood and misquoted it causes anguish for many people.  The Book of Revelation is a book of symbolisms (often used in other parts of the Bible) that describe happenings from the beginning of the only True Church which started on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and continues right through till the Return of Jesus Christ.  Basically, it records the pressure put on the True Gospel by an organisation that is situated on seven hills, this organisation masquerades as faithful to God, but in fact couldn’t be a stronger opposition. History helps us identify such a group but here is not the time to go into the detail that is necessary.

So, in conclusion I would suggest the following to assist you in understanding the Bible.

I would start by reading Luke and read the continuation of his Book by reading the Book of Acts, in the meantime, you obviously can read whatever else you would like to, there are no rules as far as this is concerned.  One final thought before signing off is a comment made by Jesus in regards to his words. Jesus said his words are Spirit and they are life, every person I know who has been baptised in/by the Holy Spirit has mentioned how the words of the Bible almost came alive after that experience, I certainly can agree with that thinking.  If that hasn’t happened to you as yet pray a simple prayer to God for him to direct your steps to a place that upholds such things and I’m quite sure you will experience the same.