| The Hebrew Bible with the Original Book Listing as known at the time of Jesus Christ |
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| Originally, the 22 books in the Old Testament were divided into 3 groups: The Law, The Prophets, and The [Holy] Writings: |
| The Law |
| The Law was written by Moses – God being in communication with him. |
| The Pentateuch [The Torah]: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy |
| The Prophets |
| These books were written by the Prophets – being higher in rank than the Priests – then came the Kings being next in rank. |
| The Former Prophets: Joshua+Judges and Samuel+Kings |
| The Latter Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and “The Twelve” [Minor Prophets] |
| The Writings / Also called The Psalms – being the name of the first book |
| These books were written by the ‘Royal’ or ‘Government’ group – the authors were royals or of royal lineage, alternatively they were high government officials – e.g. Daniel who being a eunuch was prohibited from entering the Temple. |
| Poetical Books: Psalms, Proverbs, and Job |
| The Five Scrolls: Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther |
| The Historical Books: Daniel, Ezra+Nehemiah and Chronicles |
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| The Law |
| The Pentateuch [The Torah]: |
| 01 Genesis |
| 02 Exodus |
| 03 Leviticus |
| 04 Numbers |
| 05 Deuteronomy |
| The Prophets |
| The Former Prophets: |
| 06 Joshua & Judges |
| 07 1 Samuel & 2 Samuel & 1 Kings & 2 Kings |
| The Latter Prophets: |
| 08 Isaiah |
| 09 Jeremiah |
| 10 Ezekiel |
| “The Twelve” [Minor Prophets]: |
| 11 Hosea & Joel & Amos & Obadiah & Jonah & Micah & Nahum & Habakkuk & Zephaniah & Haggai & Zechariah & Malachi |
| The Writings / Also called The Psalms – being the name of the first book |
| Poetical Books: |
| 12 Psalms |
| 13 Proverbs |
| 14 Job |
| The Five Scrolls: |
| 15 Song of Solomon |
| 16 Ruth |
| 17 Lamentations |
| 18 Ecclesiastes |
| 19 Esther |
| The Historical Books: |
| 20 Daniel |
| 21 Ezra & Nehemiah |
| 22 1 Chronicles & 2 Chronicles |
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| The New Testament was written post Jesus Christ with 27 books – almost as in the KJV Bible order – making God’s Word in a total of 49 books. |
| This is very important for 2 reasons: |
| Reason 1: |
| The Bible, as a whole, was originally divided into 7 major divisions: |
| [1] the Law; [2] the Prophets; [3] the Writings, or Psalms; [4] the Gospels and Acts; [5] the General Epistles; [6] the Epistles of Paul; and [7] the book of Revelation. |
| 7 Represents: |
| Spiritual Completeness / Perfection – Sanctification – Resurrection – Covenant – Holy Spirit – Finished – Totality – God’s Seal |
| The total number of originally inspired books was 49, or 7 x 7 – Perfection in 7 but 49 is to a much higher power. |
| The 49 books demonstrate the Absolute Perfection of the Word of God. |
| Reason 2: |
| The 4 Gospels of Matthew, Mark Luke and John together with The Acts of the Apostles form the “Pentateuch” of the New Testament. |
| Thus you have God’s Word in symmetry: |
| 22 Old Testament books then The 5 books forming the “Pentateuch” of the New Testament then 22 New Testament books |
| Furthermore, Luke is the central book of: |
| Matthew – Mark – Luke – John – The Acts of the Apostles |
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| Matthew presents Jesus as the great Teacher, the exponent of divine truth; he wrote primarily to the Jews. |
| Mark presents Him as the Man of action. |
| Luke brings Jesus into close contact with human needs, emphasizing the human side of His nature, and presents Him as the Friend of humanity. |
| Luke writing for men of all races, traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Adam, the father of all mankind. |
| More than any other evangelist, Luke [a Gentile] takes note of incidents that reveal Jesus having an interest in, and ministry for, Gentiles. |
| Medical terms appear frequently in the book [Luke 4:38, 5:12, 8:43, etc.] – proving Luke’s authorship: |
| Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. [Colossians 4:14] |
| Luke was the historian of the movement and was chosen to relate the story of the proclamation of the gospel to the Gentile world. |
| John presents Jesus as the divine Son of God. |
| The Acts of the Apostles, also written by Luke, provides a historic background of the early church, the struggle to free itself from its Jewish origin thereby enabling the gospel to be “preached to every creature which is under heaven” [Colossians 1:23]. |
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| So, right at the centre of God’s Word, we see Luke recording: |
| The Gospel of Jesus Christ, His death for all mankind [atonement for our sins] and the development of His early church. |
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| And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. |
| Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth [day] of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. |
| And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. |
| [Leviticus 25:8-10] |
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| In other words, for the true, sanctified and perfected follower of Jesus Christ, there is a promise: |
| Once the Bible – the Word of God [49] – has been taken to the whole world, then there will be a proclamation. In that day – a day of atonement for God’s people will occur – Jesus will return – it shall herald in the long awaited jubilee – every saved follower will be freed from sin and no longer held in bondage; he shall be returned to his rightful family – the family of God. |
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| Concerning the last 4 major divisions of the Bible the order was: |
| The Gospels and Acts |
| The Pentateuch [The Torah] of the New Testament – the first 5 books: |
| 23 or 1 The Gospel According to Matthew |
| 24 or 2 The Gospel According to Mark |
| 25 or 3 The Gospel According to Luke |
| 26 or 4 The Gospel According to John |
| 27 or 5 The Acts of the Apostles |
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| The General Epistles [7 in number] |
| 28 or 6 The General Epistle of James – James being the brother of Jesus being given the highest rank. |
| 29 or 7 The First General Epistle of Peter |
| 30 or 8 The Second General Epistle of Peter |
| 31 or 9 The First General Epistle of John |
| 32 or 10 The Second General Epistle of John |
| 33 or 11 The Third General Epistle of John |
| 34 or 12 The General Epistle of Jude |
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| The Epistles of Paul [The Pauline Epistles] [14 = 2 x 7 in number] |
| 35 or 13 or 1 [re Paul’s Epistles] The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans |
| 36 or 14 or 2 The First Epistle to the Corinthians |
| 37 or 15 or 3 The Second Epistle to the Corinthians |
| 38 or 16 or 4 The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians |
| 39 or 17 or 5 The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians |
| 40 or 18 or 6 The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians |
| 41 or 19 or 7 The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians |
| 42 or 20 or 8 The First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians |
| 43 or 21 or 9 The Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians |
| 44 or 22 or 10 The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews |
| 45 or 23 or 11 The First Epistle to Timothy |
| 46 or 24 or 12 The Second Epistle to Timothy |
| 47 or 25 or 13 The Epistle of Paul to Titus |
| 48 or 26 or 14 The Epistle of Paul to Philemon |
| Finally, |
| 49 or 27 The Revelation of Jesus Christ |
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| Using this original order the importance of the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews stands out: |
| It is the 44th, or 22 x 2, book of the Bible, the 22nd book of the New Testament and the 10th book of Paul. |
| Naturally, 22 echoes the Hebrew alphabet while 10 is one of the complete / perfect numbers used by God. |
| 12 – another complete / perfect number – is seen by the new Pentateuch of 5 + 7 being the General Epistles. |
| Notice also the 7 General Epistles and the 14, or 7 x 2, Pauline Epistles: |
| Like the Old Testament, the New Testament follows the same similar hierarchy – the General Epistles coming before Paul’s Epistles, with his writings to churches coming before his letters to individuals. |
| Lastly, the Revelation of Jesus Christ concludes God’s Word by globally relating to all previous books as it focuses upon His second coming and the New Jerusalem – the eternal heavenly kingdom. |
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| Notes: |
| 1. Various modern interpreters put Hebrews with the General Epistles citing that it was not written by Paul. |
| This is not true – the Bible immediately loses its Divine Gematria structure and also its association with the Hebrew alphabet. |
| Furthermore, Spirit of Prophecy absolutely confirms who wrote Hebrews: |
| The apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, says: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the show-bread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy-seat.” [Hebrews 9:1-5.] [GC88 411.1] |
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| God did not forsake his people; his Spirit still abode with those who did not rashly deny the light which they had received, and denounce the Advent movement. The apostle Paul, looking down through the ages, had written words of encouragement and warning for the tried, waiting ones at this crisis: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” [Hebrews 10:35-39.] [4SP 256.1] |
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| The Word of God warns us not to provoke one another to wrath. But there is one kind of provoking that is justifiable. Paul writes: . . . “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24).–Letter 38, March 2, 1903, to Edson and Emma White. [TDG 70.7] |
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| He is making intercession for the most lowly, the most oppressed and suffering, for the most tried and tempted ones. With upraised hands he pleads, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” God loves to hear, and responds to the pleadings of his Son. Paul writes (Hebrews 4:14-16), “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” [RH, August 15, 1893 par. 8] |
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| 2. Jacob’s twelve sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin [Genesis 35]. |
| Reuben, although the first-born son, lost his birthright blessing through his grievous sin at Edar; he slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah [Genesis 35:22]. |
| Likewise Simeon and Levi had been united in their cruelty toward the Shechemites, and they had also been the most guilty in the selling of Joseph. |
| And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there [Isaiah 65:9]. |
| Therefore Judah inherited the position of firstborn of Jacob’s sons and received the kingly blessing of Jacob [Genesis 49:8-12]. |
| Benjamin was the last-born of Jacob’s thirteen children [12 sons + 1 daughter], and as such he was considered the least important by being the last to be born. |
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| Matthew 13:55 confirms James, Joseph (Joses), Judas (Jude) and Simon as brothers of Jesus: |
| Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? |
| All were from the inherited tribe of Judah which is why the General Epistles follow the Pentateuch – Paul, being from the tribe of Benjamin comes later. |
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| In Philippians 3:5, Paul confirms that he is: |
| Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; |
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| The Bible, when put into the correct book order, makes much more Scriptural sense. |
| By example, Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:51 are readily understood and the book of Jude provides the natural introduction for Paul’s epistles. |
| Likewise, the correct penultimate book – Philemon – ends in a commonly accepted sign-off manner. |
| This, in turn, enables the final book – The Revelation of Jesus Christ – to stand complete and on its own. |
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| When the Bible book list is corrected then various parts of Scripture readily become understood: |
| Take the example of Zacharias – what was special about his blood being shed? |
| Matthew 23:35 |
| That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. |
| Where marginal references occur in a Bible, many refer to 2 Chronicles 24: 20-21 – which is about half-way through the traditional Old Testament. |
| 2 Chronicles 24:20-21 |
| And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. |
| And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. |
| Luke 11:51 |
| From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. |
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| This is expounded within “The Desire of Ages” where we read: |
| Little did the Jews realize the terrible responsibility involved in rejecting Christ. From the time when the first innocent blood was shed, when righteous Abel fell by the hand of Cain, the same history had been repeated, with increasing guilt. In every age prophets had lifted up their voices against the sins of kings, rulers, and people, speaking the words which God gave them, and obeying His will at the peril of their lives. From generation to generation there had been heaping up a terrible punishment for the rejecters of light and truth. This the enemies of Christ were now drawing down upon their own heads. The sin of the priests and rulers was greater than that of any preceding generation. By their rejection of the Saviour, they were making themselves responsible for the blood of all the righteous men slain from Abel to Christ. They were about to fill to overflowing their cup of iniquity. And soon it was to be poured upon their heads in retributive justice. Of this, Jesus warned them: [DA 618.3] |
| “That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” [DA 619.1] |
| The scribes and Pharisees who listened to Jesus knew that His words were true. They knew how the prophet Zacharias had been slain. While the words of warning from God were upon his lips, a satanic fury seized the apostate king, and at his command the prophet was put to death. His blood had imprinted itself upon the very stones of the temple court, and could not be erased; it remained to bear testimony against apostate Israel. As long as the temple should stand, there would be the stain of that righteous blood, crying to God to be avenged. As Jesus referred to these fearful sins, a thrill of horror ran through the multitude. [DA 619.2] |
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| Now, with the corrected book order, Chronicles occurs at the end of the Old Testament. |
| When Christ uttered the words recorded in Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:51, the Pharisees readily knew and understood His reference to the first martyr and the last martyr, in what was God’s Word at that time. |
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