Suppose that I wanted to communicated with them in order to urge them to make their home else where and why they should.  How do I get my message across to them? Do I stand over the log and shout at them?  Do I bend down and cup my hands and talk to them in a loud voice?  Do I write what I wish to communicate to them on paper and drop the paper among them?  Realistically, to get my point across to them, I should become one.
I should become a termite, , spend my life with them, and let them get to know me. I should speak to them in their own language.  After we have formed a bond, then communicate my message to them.

This is exactly what produced the Bible. The Bible is a record of God trying to get mans’ attention by becoming one.

There have been numerous books and articles written about the Bible, pro and con.  These have ranged from evidences of the divine inspiration of the Bible to who wrote the individual books to the so called lost or rejected book of the Bible. These are based on many evidences that are varied in nature. Most of us, unfortunately or maybe fortunately , have not read any of these books.  Few have even read the Bible itself! As a result many people tend to go along with the popular notion that the Bible is full of mistakes and is no longer relevant to our modern world.

The Bible was written by a loving God to sinful man. The Bible is a record of the encounter of God acting in history to instruct man in matters of life and purpose.  God acted in real time in history, not just bending down low and cupping his hand and shouting to man.  God encountered man in man’ environment. The Bible is not just one book, but a library of 66 books.  The bible is the only book in the world that tells man the truth about the past, present and future. After realizing this fact, it is not necessary to spend time proving its truth. When read with the hole heart , the Holy Spirit will authenticate the message for and to the reader.  It is helpful to know something about how the Bible came into being and why it is presented to us in this manner.

Where the Bible got its name.

The word "Bible" comes from the Greek word "Biblion" which means "book." Our Bible is actually a collection of 66 books combined upper one cover. These books were not just randomly selected.  In the Bible God revealed Himself.  It was not man seeking God.  It was God seeking man.

Methods of revelation used in the Bible.

First He revealed Himself through Creation

The following passages testify to this.

Psalm 19:1 (The Message)

Psalm 19

A David Psalm

1-2
God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.
When the Bibles’ message is revealed to a person and then it is ignored, problems will arise.
Romans 1:19-20 (The Message)

This passage comments on willfully Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral

18-23
But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse.

What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

Jesus is God revealing Himself to man, as a man, on terms man can understand.

God has given a more specific revelation of Himself to man.

Hebrews 1:1-3 (The Message)

Hebrews 1

1-3
Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God's nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!

The Son Is Higher than Angels

3-6
After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule. Did God ever say to an angel, "You're my Son; today I celebrate you" or "I'm his Father, he's my Son"? When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, "All angels must worship him."

Jesus Christ is God revealing Himself to man in everything He did. This is an absolute statement: If you want to know about God, then study the life of Christ. If you honestly seek God, he will be found by you.

The Bible is about God who is found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a destination by a scribe about something abstract.  If you lived during the time of His life, you would have a chance to know Him.  If you live in our time, you will have the same opportunity afforded  by the written word of the Bible. The Bible pro­vides us complete reve­lation information about Himself. IT will be self revealing to a willing heart.

It is no accident of history that the Bible is in our grasp to be studied at our own discretion.

If you do not believe me, honestly try it.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE BIBLE

Most people in Western civilization are having heard that and are familiar with the fact that the Bible is the most popular book ever written.  The Bible is in fact, 66 books, separately written over a long period of time, and put together into one bound volume. The 66 books are separated into two basic revelations: the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

The Old Testament is made up of 39 individual books and written over a period of about two thousand years. It covers the Creation of the earth and it is a record of the Jewish peoples encounter with Gods’ self revelation up to the time of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament is composed of 27 books, written over a period of one hundred years. It is the record of the birth of Jesus, his life and ministry, and the ministry of his Apostles following the establishment of his Church after Jesus’ crucifixion.

The authors, some 40 of them, wrote their contributions over 1600 years The Bible shows the unmistakable hand of one overall mind. This is God reveal­ing Himself to these men during their various life­times. Most of them never knew the others.  They were not aware that others were writing pieces that would be considered the way that they are. When put together the sixty-six books in the library of God make one composite whole.
God is behind this unity and wholeness of de­sign. Consider the testimony of these writers: Moses: Exodus 3:14 (The Message)

14 God said to Moses, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you.'"
Joshua: Joshua 1:1 (The Message)

Joshua 1

1-9
after the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses' assistant:

"Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."
Samuel: "1 Samuel 3:11 (The Message)

11-14
God said to Samuel, "Listen carefully. I'm getting ready to do something in Israel that is going to shake everyone up and get their attention. The time has come for me to bring down on Eli's family everything I warned him of, every last word of it. I'm letting him know that the time's up. I'm bringing judgment on his family for good. He knew what was going on, that his sons were desecrating God's name and God's place, and he did nothing to stop them. This is my sentence on the family of Eli: The evil of Eli's family can never be wiped out by sacrifice or offering."

David: 2 Samuel 23:2 (The Message)

2-7
God's Spirit spoke through me,
his words took shape on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke to me,
Israel's Rock-Mountain said,
"Whoever governs fairly and well,
who rules in the Fear-of-God,
Is like first light at daybreak
without a cloud in the sky,
Like green grass carpeting earth,
glistening under fresh rain."
And this is just how my regime has been,
for God guaranteed his covenant with me,
spelled it out plainly
and kept every promised word—
my entire salvation,
my every desire.
But the devil's henchmen are like thorns
culled and piled as trash;
better not try to touch them;
keep your distance with a rake or hoe.
They'll make a glorious bonfire!
Jeremiah: Jeremiah 16:1-16 (The Message)

Jeremiah 16

Can Mortals Manufacture Gods?

1
God's Message to me: 2-4"Jeremiah, don't get married. Don't raise a family here. I have signed the death warrant on all the children born in this country, the mothers who bear them and the fathers who beget them—an epidemic of death. Death unlamented, the dead unburied, dead bodies decomposing and stinking like dung, all the killed and starved corpses served up as meals for carrion crows and mongrel dogs!" 5-7God continued: "Don't enter a house where there's mourning. Don't go to the funeral. Don't sympathize. I've quit caring about what happens to this people." God's Decree. "No more loyal love on my part, no more compassion. The famous and obscure will die alike here, unlamented and unburied. No funerals will be conducted, no one will give them a second thought, no one will care, no one will say, 'I'm sorry,' no one will so much as offer a cup of tea, not even for the mother or father.

8
"And if there happens to be a feast celebrated, don't go there either to enjoy the festivities."

9
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, say, "Watch this! I'm about to banish smiles and laughter from this place. No more brides and bridegrooms celebrating. And I'm doing it in your lifetime, before your very eyes.

10-13
"When you tell this to the people and they ask, 'Why is God talking this way, threatening us with all these calamities? We're not criminals, after all. What have we done to our God to be treated like this?' tell them this: 'It's because your ancestors left me, walked off and never looked back. They took up with the no-gods, worshiped and doted on them, and ignored me and wouldn't do a thing I told them. And you're even worse! Take a good look in the mirror—each of you doing whatever you want, whenever you want, refusing to pay attention to me. And for this I'm getting rid of you, throwing you out in the cold, into a far and strange country. You can worship your precious no-gods there to your heart's content. Rest assured, I won't bother you anymore.'

14-15
"On the other hand, don't miss this: The time is coming when no one will say any longer, 'As sure as God lives, the God who delivered Israel from Egypt.' What they'll say is, 'As sure as God lives, the God who brought Israel back from the land of the north, brought them back from all the places where he'd scattered them.' That's right; I'm going to bring them back to the land I first gave to their ancestors.

16-17
"Now, watch for what comes next: I'm going to assemble a bunch of fishermen." God's Decree! "They'll go fishing for my people and pull them in for judgment. Then I'll send out a party of hunters, and they'll hunt them out in all the mountains, hills, and caves. I'm watching their every move. I haven't lost track of a single one of them, neither them nor their sins.

The 39 books of the Old Testament were writ­ten in Hebrew by at least 32 different men.

These men came from a variety of educational and vocational back­grounds.  They were priests, prophets, judges, kings, and shepherds and teachers.  The time frame spammed approximately 1600 years. It is benifitual to learn the books of the Bible by divisions. Then you can find your way around in the Scriptures; especially when holding discussions or hearing it taught.

In order to compare scripture to scripture, context must be considered. Remember the Bible is not a record handed down to man from God, pre-written.  God never violated mans will and conscience in getting His word across to us. These books have the personality of the men who wrote them woven into them.  The divisions of the Bible were not written in would expect if they were really authored by God in an automated fashion.

Much of the Old Testament is history.

History of God acting in time, stepping out of eternity to do so. This history covers about eleven hundred years and is covered in 12 books. This covers entering the enter­ing into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua to the partial restoration back into the land after the Babylo­nian captivity.

Here are records the of judges like Gideon and Samson, kings like Saul, David, Solomon and others. Found here the fulfilling of God's prophecy to Israel in Deuteronomy 28 that if they would obey Him He would bless them, but He warned that if they dis­obeyed Him He would curse them. The times of Is­rael's blessings followed their obedience to God; their periods of national disgrace and sorrow fol­lowed their times of disobedience.

Have a look at the charac­ters God raised up at key periods of history. This is revealing.   He is willing to use men. He still does. One authentication of the Bible is this:  God works in my personal life and can work in your personal life the same way he did then.   He is faithful to the individual that obeys Him. Once you test Him, you will discover a new reality when you read the Bible.  You can say that He dealt with you in the same way He dealt with them.  We are challenged in the New Testament to read these dealings of God with men.  These examples become examples of how God works in our lives today.

For convenience sake our OT is arranged like it is.   In contrast, The Jews only have 22 books in their scriptures, for they combine such books as 1 and 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and others, but the content is essentially the same as our 39 books.

The writers of the New Testament made reference to refer­ence to Moses and the prophets. The writers were a part of their time and culture.  The reference to Moses and the prophets was the current and convenient grouping.  This twofold grouping places the five books of Moses which we call "the law" division in one group and then lumps all the rest into another called "the proph­ets" because in a sense all the writers were prophets or spokesmen for God. You will find the five divisions make it much easier to remember how each book relates to the whole. The following descriptions will help you become acquainted with each division:

These books are sometimes called the "Pentateuch" or the five books of Moses, or the Jews call them "the Torah" meaning law. They consider them on a higher level of inspi­ration than the other O.T. books; we do not. The first six chapters of Genesis contain some of the most sublime litera­ture in all the world dealing with creation, man's origin, the fall, and the conditions that led up to the world-wide flood. Obviously God did not re­veal much to us about that period of about 1600 years from Adam to Noah, for it is all pressed into six chapters. This is in stark contrast to the other 923 chapters that cover a period of only about 2000 years in the history of Israel from Noah to Malachi. The stories of many men of God are re­corded, including that of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and many others.

Included in these books are the history of man, the development of Israel as the "chosen people," their 40 years wandering in the wilder­ness and the giving of the law and God's special instructions to them as a people. These ancient books are among the oldest known to mankind and have teachings that are singularly unique. They defy human primitive concepts and stan­dards but started out on such a sublime level they are still unsurpassed as literature, just as you would expect if they were really authored by God.

The next 12 books found in your Bible cover about eleven hundred years from the enter­ing into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua to the partial restoration back into the land after the Babylo­nian captivity. You will find the exciting stories of judges like Gideon and Samson, kings like Saul, David, Solomon and many others. In a real way, it is the fulfilling of God's prophecy to Israel in Deuteronomy 28 that if they would obey Him He would bless them, but He warned that if they dis­obeyed Him He would curse them. As clearly seen in these books of history, the times of Is­rael's blessings followed their obedience to God, their periods of national disgrace and sorrow fol­lowed their times of disobedience.

One of the things you will enjoy is the charac­ters God raised up at key periods of history. It reveals to us that He is indeed willing to use men and it also shows He is faithful to the individual that obeys Him. We are challenged in the New Testament to read these dealings of God with men because they are "examples" of how He wants to work in our lives today.

We have already examined the importance of learning the wis­dom literature of the Bible, so we shall not repeat it. But these timeless principles show how to enjoy success and blessing re­gardless the political and religious circumstances into which a person is born.

Some Bible teachers call these "the books of poetry" because they were largely written as poetry, particularly Psalms and Proverbs. That is why sometimes you will note that the writers say the same thing in the last half of a verse that they did in the first. This is called "Hebrew paral­lelism" and usually adds further insight into the original statement. Once you get used to it you will enjoy it. I have met many who read one Psalm and one chapter of Proverbs each day.

Care should be taken in reading the other three books. Job contains some bad advice that should not be taken as God's truth, but man's philosoph­ical attempt to explain tragedy without God's in­sights. If you keep the overall story in view, you will have no problem.

Ecclesiastes is a different matter; it contains the frustrations of Solomon at the end of his life after turning his back on God and obedience to the principles of God that he well knew. Never build your life on the humanistic conclusions of this backslidden king, unless it is to recognize the futil­ity of man apart from God.

The Song of Solomon contains the intimate story of the beauties of married love. It shows that God designed sex for married pleasure and love.

The four prophets who wrote the five books called "major prophets" were the outstanding prophets in the entire history of Israel. Isaiah called the nation of Judah to repentance which saved the country from the Judgment of God for another one hundred and thirty years. Jeremiah tried the same thing in his

Day but was rejected. His little book of Lamenta­tions is his sad lament that the great city of Jerusa­lem and the nation of Judah were unnecessarily destroyed because they rejected the Lord. Ezekiel and Daniel were taken captive into Baby­lon and prophesied the restoration of Israel prior to the first coming of Christ and again in the "last days." Daniel's prophecy is considered outstand­ing in the Old Testament and is comparable to the book of Revelation of the New Testament.

The 12 Minor Prophets were raised up by God at strategic times in the history of Israel to call the people back to God. They are called "minor" prophets because their books are smaller. Although limited largely to the people to whom written, there are many blessings to be found hidden in these little prophecies.

THE SILENT YEARS

From the close of the Old Testament to the birth of Christ over 400 years transpired when Is­rael had no prophet to reveal the message For that reason they are called "silent years." The silent years ended with the coming of the prophet John the Baptist.

Since there was no prophetic word from God during this period, they are referred to as the silent years. However the political, religious, and social atmosphere of Palestine changed significantly during this period. Much of what happened during this time period was predicted by the prophet Daniel. Look at Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, and 11 and compare to historical events.
Israel was under the control of the Persian Empire from about 532-332 B.C. The Jews were given some freedom under the Persians to practice their religion. They were even allowed to rebuild and worship at the temple. This time of peace and contentment was just the calm before the storm.

Alexander the Great brought Greek rule to the world. Alexander was a student of Aristotle.  He was educated in Greek philosophy and politics. He promoted Greek culture in every place he conquered. This caused the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek, and became the translation known as the Septuagint. Most of the New Testament references to Old Testament Scripture use the Septuagint phrasing.

After Alexander died, Judea was ruled by a series of successors, culminating in Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus refused religious freedom to the Jews. Around 167 B.C., he overthrew the rightful line of the priesthood and desecrated the temple, defiling it with unclean animals and a pagan altar. In this manner he took actions to consolidate his empire and strengthen his hold over the region.  He made the decision to Hellenize the Jews.  He tried this by   outlawing their religion. He ordered the worship of Zeus as the supreme god.  This was anathema to the Jews and when they refused, Antiochus sent an army to enforce his decree. Because of the resistance, the city was destroyed, many were slaughtered, and a military Greek city called the Acra was established.

Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator to force the Jews to abandon the customs of their ancestors and live no longer by the laws of God; also to profane the temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and that on Mount Gerizim to Zeus the Hospitable, as the inhabitants of the place requested...They also brought into the temple things that were forbidden, so that the altar was covered with abominable offerings prohibited by the laws. A man could not keep the Sabbath or celebrate the traditional feasts, nor even admit that he was a Jew. At the suggestion of the citizens of Ptolemais, a decree was issued ordering the neighboring Greek cities to act in the same way against the Jews: oblige them to partake of the sacrifices, and put to death those who would not consent to adopt the customs of the Greeks. It was obvious, therefore, that disaster impended. Thus, two women who were arrested for having circumcised their children were publicly paraded about the city with their babies hanging at their breasts and then thrown down from the top of the city wall. Others, who had assembled in nearby caves to observe the Sabbath in secret, were betrayed to Philip and all burned to death.

2  Maccabees 5:1-11

Because of Jewish resistance to Antiochus, the rightful priests were restored and the temple was restored. The period that followed was one of war, violence, and infighting.

Around 63 B.C., Pompey of Rome conquered Palestine, putting all of Judea under control of the Caesars. Then entered Herod.  He became king of Judea by the Roman emperor and senate. The Romans taxed and controlled the Jews.  These events led to the execution of Jesus on a Roman cross. Roman, Greek, and Hebrew cultures were now mixed together in Judea.
This time period saw two important political/religious groups emerged in Palestine.

The Pharisees

The Pharisees added to the Law of Moses through oral tradition.  They even considered their own laws more important than God’s. Although Jesus’ teachings often agreed with the Pharisees, He revisited their hollow legalism and lack of compassion. The Sadducees represented the aristocrats and the wealthy.

The Sadducees

The Sadducees, who wielded power through the Sanhedrin, rejected all but the Mosaic books of the Old Testament. They refused to believe in resurrection and were generally shadows of the Greeks, whom they greatly admired.

The New Testament

The New Testament tells the story of how hope came for the Jews and for the entire world. Christ’s fulfillment of prophecy was anticipated and recognized by many who sought Him out. The New Testament is a collection of books that were originally letters rather than “books” or narrated history. One exception to this is the last book of the Bible, the revelation of John. New Testament begins with the four histories of the life of Christ

The Gospels.

Everything that can be known about the life of Jesus Christ is found in these four books.  There is no other written, eyewitness account.

A gospel, from the English word, good news, is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word refers to the first four books in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  The first gospel written was Mark. These first three gospels are called the synoptic because they share similar incidents, teachings, and even much language.  The synoptic gospels are the source of many popular stories, parables, and sermons, such as Jesus' humble birth in Bethlehem, the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, the Last Supper and the Great Commission.

John, the last gospel, presents a different picture of Jesus and his ministry. John details the story of Jesus from his Baptism to his resurrection. The gospel was written with an evangelistic purpose.  The primary purpose was for Greek-speaking Jews who were not believers or to strengthen the faith of Christians.  A second purpose was to counter criticisms or unorthodox beliefs of Jews and those who believed Jesus was only spirit and not flesh. In Johns’ view, Jesus was the eternal Word, the unique savior of humanity. All four describe his Sonship, miraculous power, crucifixion, and resurrection. The gospels and all the books of the New Testament were written in Greek.

The Acts of the Church or Aposles

The 28 chapters of the book of Acts contain the record of the spread of Christianity after the ascen­sion of Christ. It is labeled the Acts of the Apostles.  It is a record of the Holy Spirit acting in the history of men to their benefit.

Dr. Luke, a Greek medical doctor, is the author. Because of his training, the book shows meticulous scholarship Skeptics who have set out to disprove the accuracy of this book have been overcome with its painstaking completeness of detail.

The largest division of the New Testament was written by Paul.

The thirteen Pauline Epistles form a large section of the New Testament. Each of these was actually letters written either to a church or some person associated with a church or ministry. They were not general broadcast, much like in a church bulletin rather each was written to a church or person for some special purpose. These letters or communications were saved by those who received them, passed them along to other groups and made copies of them.  These Letters of Paul begin with the name Paul (Παῦλος) as the first word, therefore claiming authorship by Him. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents. They provide an insight into the beliefs and controversies of the early church. They have also been, and continue to be, foundational to Christian theology and ethics.

Paul was a mis­sionary of the early church. Paul did much to spread Christianity He was used by God to minister to the church. He himself experienced a dramatic conversion.  His conversion experience is a classic illustration of the power of Christ to change lives.

Every human need is covered in one or another of his epistles.

The General Epistles

The General epistles are books in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audiences are Christians in general instead of individual persons or churches, which is the case with Paul’s letters.

Listed in order of their appearance in the New Testament, the General Epistles are:

• James
• 1st  Peter
• 2nd  Peter
• 1st John
• 2nd  John
• 3rd John
• Jude

These cover a general area of truth needed by God's people of every age. Do not assume that these are not important, for they are indeed liter­ally filled with God's truth needed by today's Christians.

The last book in the library of God is called The Book of Revelation. Because of complex, intricate and symbolic language of the Book of Revelation, is hard for modern people to read. It is not their “culture” and for the most part, is not used to this kind of literature. However, this is not true for the intending recipients. They would have been more accustomed to the complex nature of apocalyptic literature. Apocalypse was a common type of literature.  Apocalypse literature followed certain conventions of style. Individuals knew how to read it. Apocalyptic literature was almost always a kind of literature for people who already knew something of the situation and of the symbols that were used to portray it. The original audience of the Revelation of John knew the meaning behind all these strange scenes. Would have been immediately intelligible.

It is the book of the New Testament. It is the only biblical book that is wholly composed of apocalyptic literature. Some consider this book the greatest prophecy in the Bible

The outline of this book is as follows

THE PROLOGUE (1:1-8)

A. The chain of revelation
B. Trinitarian greeting and doxology
C. Eschatological announcement

II. THE SEVEN CHURCHES (1:9 - 3:22)
A. Introductory Vision: Christ in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands
John on Patmos
Vision of Christ
B. The letters to the seven churches
1. Ephesus, the passionless church
2. Smyrna, the persecuted church
3. Pergamon, the tolerant church
4. Thyatira, the compromising church
5. Sardis, the dead church
6. Philadelphia, the missionary church
7. Laodicea, the arrogant church

III. THE SEVEN SEALS (4:1 - 8:1)

A. Introductory Vision: The Enthronement of the Lamb
General scene of worship
Crisis in heaven
Resolution of the crisis
Celebration of results
B. The opening of the seven seals
1. The white horse--victorious conquest
2. The red horse--war
3. The black horse--famine
4. The pale horse--pestilence
5. The cry of the martyrs
6. The final eschatological events
a. The wicked and the wrath of the Lamb
b. The righteous:
144,000 sealed saints
an innumerable multitude
7. Silence in heaven

IV. THE SEVEN TRUMPETS (8:2 - 11:18)

A. Introductory Vision: A view of trumpets, the altar of incense and the end of
intercession
B. The sounding of the seven trumpets
1. A plague falls to earth--hail and fire
2. A burning mountain sinks into the sea
3. A polluting star falls on the rivers and springs
4. A plague partially darkens the heavenly bodies
Announcement of three further woes
5. A scourge of darkness and locusts arises from the Abyss to attack
unsealed humanity
Transition from first to second woe
6. Preparation for the eschatological battle
a. The wicked: Four angels at the Euphrates release an army of two
hundred million horsemen to destroy a third of humanity
b. The righteous: The little book and the two witnesses
Transition from second to third woe
7. The mystery of God is; Christ claims His everlasting
Kingdom

V. THE WRATH OF THE NATIONS)

A. Introductory Vision: The Ark of the Covenant is seen
B. The showing of seven signs
1. The woman, the dragon and the remnant
2. The beast from the sea
3. The beast from the earth
4. The 144,000 with the Lamb on Mt. Zion
5. The three angel's messages
6. The harvest of the earth
a. The righteous grain is harvested
b. The wicked vintage is crushed outside the city
7. The saved beside the sea of glass sing the song of Moses and the
Lamb

VI. THE WRATH OF GOD (15:5 - 18:24)

A. Introductory Vision: God's glory fills the heavenly tabernacle; no one can enter
it
B. The pouring out of the seven censer-bowls
1. A plague strikes the earth--boils
2. A plague strikes the sea--blood
3. A plague strikes the rivers and springs--blood
4. A plague strikes the sun--burning heat (16:8-9)
5. A plague of darkness on the throne of the beast
6. The great river Euphrates dries up
a. The wicked: demonic spirits gather the kings for
Armageddon
b. The righteous: conditions for blessing
7. "It is done"--Babylon falls
C. The doom of Babylon
The harlot in the wilderness
The beast destroys the harlot
The destruction of the Great City

VII. THE FINAL DESTRUCTION OF EVIL (19:1 - 20:15)

A. Introductory Vision: Celebration in heaven over Babylon's fall
B. The Final End
1. The Word of God on the white horse)
2. An angel gathers the flesh-eating birds
3. The battle of Armageddon
a. The wicked defeated
b. The righteous victorious
4. The dragon thrown back into the abyss
5. Enthroned with Christ
6. The Defeat of Satan
7. The last Judgment

VIII. THE NEW JERUSALEM (21:1 - 22:5)

A. Introductory Vision: The New Heaven and New Earth
B. The New Jerusalem
1. Description of the New Jerusalem
2. The city's source of life

IX. THE EPILOGUE (22:6-21)

A. The book validated
B. Closing Benediction

This is an exciting book to read. This is a difficult book to grasp. Don't be surprised if there is much about it that you do not grasp by reading it once.  This above all book, need to be studied. This book is interpreted by the rest of the Bible. Context, context context.  Did I say context?  It is extremely important in understanding this book.  There is ample material in it that you can understand.  This understanding will give you spiritual inspiration and help.  Read this book often.

This has described somewhat the organization of the whole library of God as it appears today. You will find it a fascinating and in exhaustive li­brary to study. It is the only book that is able to There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus...." 2 Timothy 3:15 (The Message)

14-17
But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.