The Bible as One Book
In this introduction
Part One: The Bible as One Book
One Story, One Author, One Saviour
The Bible is 66 books written by about 40 human authors over roughly 1,500 years, in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek), on three continents, by kings, shepherds, fishermen, priests, a physician, a tax collector and a tentmaker. Yet it tells one story with one theme, because it has one Author: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16), and "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21).
That theme is the redemption of fallen man through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said of the Old Testament, "they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39), and on the road to Emmaus, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). The Old Testament is Christ concealed; the New Testament is Christ revealed.
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
John 5:39
The Storyline in Seven Movements
- Creation (Genesis 1-2). God makes all things good and places man in fellowship with Him.
- Fall (Genesis 3). Man sins, death enters, and God promises a Seed to crush the serpent (3:15).
- Promise (Genesis 12 - Deuteronomy). God chooses Abraham, promises land, seed and blessing to all nations, redeems Israel from Egypt, and gives the law and the tabernacle.
- Kingdom and Exile (Joshua - Malachi). Israel enters the land, gets a king, receives the covenant with David, falls into idolatry, goes into exile, and returns. The prophets point forward to a Messiah and a new covenant.
- Christ (Matthew - John). The promised Seed, Son of David and Suffering Servant is born, lives sinlessly, dies as a substitute, and rises again.
- Church (Acts - Jude). The Spirit is poured out, the gospel goes to all nations, and the apostles explain and apply the work of Christ.
- Consummation (Revelation). Christ returns, judges, reigns, and makes all things new. What was lost in Genesis is restored and surpassed.
How the Bible Is Arranged
| Division | Books | Count | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law (Pentateuch) | Genesis - Deuteronomy | 5 | Foundations: creation, covenant, law |
| History | Joshua - Esther | 12 | Israel in the land, exile and return |
| Poetry and Wisdom | Job - Song of Solomon | 5 | Worship, wisdom and the inner life |
| Major Prophets | Isaiah - Daniel | 5 | Longer prophetic books |
| Minor Prophets | Hosea - Malachi | 12 | Shorter prophetic books |
| Gospels | Matthew - John | 4 | The life, death and resurrection of Christ |
| History | Acts | 1 | The birth and spread of the church |
| Pauline Epistles | Romans - Philemon | 13 | Doctrine and practice for churches and leaders |
| General Epistles | Hebrews - Jude | 8 | Letters to the wider church |
| Prophecy | Revelation | 1 | The return of Christ and the new creation |
The Old Testament has 39 books; the New Testament has 27. Between Malachi and Matthew lie about 400 years of prophetic silence, during which Persia, Greece and Rome rose in turn, exactly as Daniel foretold (Daniel 2; 7; 8), the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) was produced, and the synagogue spread. When the New Testament opens, the "fulness of the time" had come (Galatians 4:4).
How to Read Each Entry
Every book in Parts Two and Three has the same layout: author, date and chapter count; the theme; a key verse (KJV); a short outline; "Christ in the Book," which shows where Jesus appears in prophecy, type or person; and "Links," which lists the other books it connects to and why. Each link names the connecting book first, so you can follow any thread across the Bible. Part Four draws all those links together into a single map.
Dates follow conservative, Bible-believing scholarship (for example, an early Exodus around 1446 BC and traditional authorship of the books). Where a date or author is uncertain, it is marked as such.
Part Four: The Link Map — How the Books Connect
The Whole-Bible Link Diagram
The diagram below draws every link listed in this volume. The diagram is on the next page. The books run down the centre line from Genesis at the top to Revelation at the bottom. Each arc joins two books that quote, fulfil or explain each other. Gold arcs on the right connect two books in the same Testament. Navy arcs on the left cross between the Old and New Testaments. The dense web between the Testaments shows how completely the New Testament is built on the Old.
The Most-Connected Books
Genesis and Revelation: The Bookends
The first and last books mirror each other. What begins in Genesis is completed in Revelation.
| Genesis | Revelation |
|---|---|
| Heaven and earth created (1:1) | New heaven and new earth (21:1) |
| Sun and moon to rule the day and night (1:16) | No need of the sun or moon (21:23) |
| Night established (1:5) | No night there (22:5) |
| Paradise and a river (2:8-10) | The river of the water of life (22:1) |
| Tree of life guarded (3:24) | Tree of life restored (22:2, 14) |
| The first marriage (2:22-24) | The marriage of the Lamb (19:7-9) |
| Satan enters and deceives (3:1) | Satan cast into the lake of fire (20:10) |
| The curse pronounced (3:17) | No more curse (22:3) |
| Death enters (3:19) | No more death (21:4) |
| Sorrow multiplied (3:16) | No more sorrow, tears wiped away (21:4) |
| Man driven from God's presence (3:24) | They shall see his face (22:4) |
| Babel, the city of rebellion (11) | Babylon the great falls (18) |
Twelve Golden Threads Through Scripture
Each thread begins in the Old Testament, develops through it, and is fulfilled in Christ.
| Thread | Beginning | Development | Fulfillment |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Seed | Genesis 3:15 | Abraham (Genesis 22:18), Judah (49:10), David (2 Samuel 7) | Christ the Seed (Galatians 3:16); Satan crushed (Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:10) |
| The Lamb | Genesis 22:8 "God will provide himself a lamb" | Passover lamb (Exodus 12); lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7) | "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29); the Lamb on the throne (Revelation 5) |
| Blood atonement | Coats of skins (Genesis 3:21); Abel's offering (4:4) | Sacrifices and the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16-17) | Once for all by His own blood (Hebrews 9:12-14) |
| Covenant | Noah (Genesis 9); Abraham (15; 17) | Sinai (Exodus 19-24); David (2 Samuel 7); new covenant promised (Jeremiah 31) | New covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8) |
| The King | Shiloh from Judah (Genesis 49:10) | David's throne (2 Samuel 7); the coming King (Isaiah 9; Zechariah 9:9) | King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2); King of kings (Revelation 19:16) |
| The Prophet | "A Prophet like unto me" (Deuteronomy 18:15) | Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah | "This is of a truth that prophet" (John 6:14; Acts 3:22) |
| The Priest | Melchizedek (Genesis 14) | Aaronic priesthood (Leviticus 8); priest for ever (Psalm 110:4) | Our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-7:28) |
| God dwelling with man | Walking in Eden (Genesis 3:8) | Tabernacle (Exodus 40); temple (1 Kings 8) | The Word tabernacled among us (John 1:14); the church a temple (Ephesians 2:21); "the tabernacle of God is with men" (Revelation 21:3) |
| The Spirit | Moving on the waters (Genesis 1:2) | On judges, kings and prophets; outpouring promised (Joel 2:28) | Pentecost (Acts 2); indwelling believers (Romans 8) |
| Faith | Abraham believed God (Genesis 15:6) | "The just shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4) | Justification by faith (Romans 1:17; 4); the hall of faith (Hebrews 11) |
| Babylon | Babel's tower (Genesis 11) | Babylon destroys Jerusalem (2 Kings 25); its fall foretold (Isaiah 13; Jeremiah 50-51) | Mystery Babylon falls (Revelation 17-18) |
| Paradise | The garden (Genesis 2) | Promised restoration (Isaiah 11; 35; 65; Ezekiel 47) | Paradise to the thief (Luke 23:43); paradise of God (Revelation 2:7; 22) |
Key Book-to-Book Pairings
Some books are best read together because one explains or completes the other.
| Book | Read With | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | Revelation | The beginning and the end of the story |
| Genesis 15; 22 | Romans 4; Galatians 3; Hebrews 11; James 2 | Abraham's faith and justification |
| Exodus | John; Hebrews | Passover, manna, I AM, tabernacle fulfilled in Christ |
| Leviticus | Hebrews | The sacrificial system and its fulfillment |
| Numbers | 1 Corinthians 10; Hebrews 3-4 | Wilderness unbelief as a warning |
| Deuteronomy | Matthew 4 | Jesus defeats Satan with Deuteronomy |
| Ruth | Matthew 1 | The kinsman-redeemer and the royal line |
| 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings | 1 and 2 Chronicles | The same history told from the prophetic and the priestly view |
| 1 Samuel; 2 Samuel | Psalms | The historical settings of David's psalms |
| 2 Kings 18-20 | Isaiah 36-39 | Hezekiah and the Assyrian crisis |
| 2 Kings 25 | Jeremiah; Lamentations | The fall of Jerusalem |
| Ezra; Nehemiah | Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi | The prophets of the return |
| Psalms | Hebrews; Acts | Christ proven from the Psalms |
| Proverbs | James | Practical wisdom in both Testaments |
| Isaiah | Matthew; Romans | The most-quoted prophet and the gospel he foresaw |
| Jeremiah 31 | Hebrews 8 | The new covenant |
| Daniel | Revelation | The end-time prophecies explained together |
| Ezekiel 40-48 | Revelation 21-22 | God's city, temple and river |
| Joel 2 | Acts 2 | The outpouring of the Spirit |
| Hosea | Romans 9; 1 Peter 2 | "Not my people" become God's people |
| Jonah | Matthew 12 | The sign of death and resurrection |
| Micah 5:2 | Matthew 2 | Born in Bethlehem |
| Habakkuk 2:4 | Romans; Galatians; Hebrews | "The just shall live by faith" |
| Zechariah 9-14 | Gospels' Passion accounts; Revelation | The rejected and returning King |
| Malachi | Matthew; Mark; Luke | The last prophecy and the first fulfillment |
| Luke | Acts | Two volumes by one author |
| Romans | Galatians | The gospel of justification by faith |
| Ephesians | Colossians | The church (body) and Christ (Head) |
| 1 Timothy | Titus | Church order and leaders |
| 2 Peter | Jude | Warnings against false teachers |
| John | 1 John; Revelation | Same author: life, light, love and the Lamb |
The Old Testament in the New Testament
The New Testament quotes the Old Testament directly about 300 times, with many hundreds of further allusions. Nearly every Old Testament book is quoted or alluded to. The books cited most often are:
| Old Testament Book | Main New Testament Use |
|---|---|
| Psalms | The Messiah's sonship, suffering, resurrection, ascension, priesthood and reign (Acts, Hebrews, Gospels, Romans) |
| Isaiah | Virgin birth, ministry, Suffering Servant, Gentile salvation, Israel's future (Gospels, Acts, Romans) |
| Deuteronomy | Jesus' answers to Satan, the great commandment, the Prophet like Moses (Gospels, Acts, Romans, Galatians) |
| Genesis | Creation, marriage, Abraham's faith, the Seed, Melchizedek (Gospels, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews) |
| Exodus | Passover, law, tabernacle, I AM (Gospels, 1 Corinthians, Hebrews, Revelation) |
| Leviticus | Holiness, love thy neighbour, sacrifices and priesthood (Gospels, Hebrews, 1 Peter) |
| Daniel | The Son of man, the abomination of desolation, the end times (Gospels, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation) |
| Zechariah | The triumphal entry, betrayal price, pierced Messiah, smitten Shepherd (Gospels, Revelation) |
| Jeremiah | The new covenant (Hebrews, Gospels) |
Revelation alone is reported to contain hundreds of allusions to the Old Testament while seldom quoting it directly, drawing especially on Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Zechariah and the Psalms. You cannot understand the last book without the first 39.