A Very Simple Survey of the Bible

Introduction

The Bible is the word of God. It is God’s book. It is not the product of human imagination or creativity. God is the author of it, using chosen men to record the words He wanted written down.

Being the word of God, the Bible is also “the word of truth.” It is God’s complete written record about what is really going on. It is not the work of philosophers speculating on what they think the truth is. It is God’s own testimony to us about what He is doing in, and with, His creation.

Being “the word of truth,” the Bible is naturally a logical book. God has not recorded the truth in a haphazard manner, with no sense or sequence to it. Rather, God has set forth the record of what He is doing in a logical, progressive manner. From Genesis to the book of The Revelation a progressive description of the development of God’s plan and purpose is given.

The Bible declares that God is working out a two-fold plan and purpose. One aspect centers around the people of Israel and the covenant God made with Abraham and his seed. God’s plan and purpose with Israel pertains to this earth, and has been the subject matter of “all his holy prophets since the world began.” The other aspect centers around God’s “new creation,” the “one new man,” the church the body of Christ, which He is forming now in this present dispensation of Gentile grace. God’s purpose with the church pertains to the heavenly places, and is something God kept “hid in Himself” in ages past. He first revealed it when He raised up Paul to be a brand new apostle. God’s program and dealings with Israel, and His program and dealings with the church the body of Christ, are not the same. They are two distinct and different programs. Because of this, God commands us to be “rightly dividing the word of truth” as we study it. We must divide it into its two proper portions, recognizing the portion that pertains to God’s program with Israel and the portion that pertains to what God is doing today in the dispensation of His grace.

This booklet is a very simple survey of the Bible, along with its “right division.” By means of a time line and a brief description of the Bible record, the progressive outworking of God’s plan and purpose is followed from Genesis to the book of The Revelation.

Each of the following pages contains 3 sections – a dispensational time line at the top; the books of the Bible in the middle; and a doctrinal description at the bottom.

The full scope of God’s plan and purpose from creation to the fulfillment of God’s program with Israel is illustrated by the time line. In addition the time line also illustrates the “right division” of God’s word showing God’s “Time Past” dealings in His program with Israel; His “But Now” program and dealings with us today in the dispensation of His grace; and the resumption and fulfillment of His program with Israel yet “To Come.”

The books of the Bible placed below the time line show the corresponding logical flow of the Bible in perfect accordance with the way that God is working out His plan and purpose. The particular book, or books, being considered is highlighted and the corresponding section on the time line is shown.

The description at the bottom briefly summarizes the doctrinal content of the book, or books, under consideration. It also cites essential issues that need to be studied out to better understand and appreciate the outworking of God’s plan and purpose.

The following pages, therefore, provide you with A Very Simple Survey of the Bible.