Holy Orthodox books are a kind of compass for the spiritual advancement of Christians in knowledge of the will of God. The Bible is the Holy Scripture given by the Creator to humanity. Historical merits of the texts Holy Scripture lie in the fact that they were written by specific people who lived at a certain time, according to the knowledge bestowed by the Almighty Himself.

Great prophets, having the gift of communication with God, wrote down messages to humanity so that specific examples show the reality and power of the Lord.

Apostle John the Theologian

What the Bible Includes

The Bible includes 66 books:

• 39 messages of the Old Testament;
• 27 books of the New Testament.

These books are the basis of the biblical canon. Holy books in Orthodoxy are inspired by God, for they were written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is a must-read and study for every Christian.

INThe Bible, Holy Scripture, the creator said “Do not be afraid!” 365 times. and the same number of “Rejoice!” The great promise from the Creator is given to thank the Creator every day, constantly being in joy.

Only by understanding the texts of the Holy Scriptures and finding confirmation in the stories of the saints can one learn what and how to rejoice and what to thank God for. Without knowing the origins of the creation of the world, it is impossible to fully believe in the reality of the events taking place in the New Testament.

About the Bible:

Why should an Orthodox believer read the Old Testament?

The Old Testament begins with the basics, a description of events from the creation of the world to 400 before the coming of Jesus Christ to earth. The Pentateuch (first 5 books) or Torah in Hebrew was written by the prophet Moses.

Prophet Moses

The first book of Genesis describes a long period from the first man, the global flood, God's creation of His Jewish people, the birth of Isaac, Jacob, the entry into Egypt and the exit from it after 400 years. Some people wonder how humanity learned about Adam, if there was global flood. The answer is found in the Holy Scripture itself, if you read it carefully, making sure to pray to the Almighty.

The Jews have preserved good rule, coming from the first people, to know their ancestors up to the 14th generation. Noah's grandfather was still alive during Adam's last days. Of course, the little boy heard the story of the creation of the earth and the first people more than once, and then Noah passed it on to his sons. This is how you can historically prove the righteousness of every message conveyed by God to humanity through the prophets.

For 1500 years, from Abraham, the first Jew on earth, to Malachi, through life circumstances, God appeared to kings and shepherds, prophets and priests, warriors and judges.

An amazing fact is that written at different times different people Biblical sacred texts are consistent with each other, seem to be a continuation and addition of one another.

Exodus shows God's care for His people, who wandered in the desert for 40 years because of murmuring, but at the same time the Creator did not leave the Jews without His guidance for a moment.

The Jews moved through the desert under the guidance of a pillar, which was dusty during the day and fiery at night. It was the Holy Spirit who led God's people out of slavery. In the desert, on Mount Sinai, God gave his 10 commandments, which became the basis of all Christianity, law and guide.

Ten Commandments (tablets)

Based on historical facts, it is easy to trace the prototype of Jesus Christ, for example, at the moment when the people were attacked by snakes, the one who kept his eyes on the staff of Moses was saved, and so Orthodox people they will never perish if they constantly look to Christ.

The laws of blessing and cursing are recorded in Deuteronomy. A faithful God always does what he promises. (Deuteronomy 28)

The books of the Prophets describe the development of the Jewish people, their reign, and prophecies about the birth of the Messiah run through them as a red thread. Reading the book of the prophet Isaiah, one cannot shake the feeling of unreality, because he lived almost 600 years before the coming and death of Jesus, and he described in detail the birth of Christ, the killing of infants, and the crucifixion.

In chapter 42, through Isaiah, God makes a promise to always be there for His faithful children.

The 12 books of the minor prophets show real communication mortal people, faithful to God with their whole lives, with the Creator. They knew how to hear the Creator and were obedient in fulfilling His commands. Through faithful prophets, God spoke to the world.

King David was faithful to the Lord, for which he was awarded the title of a man after God's heart. Psalms, recorded from the songs of David and the prophets, formed the basis of many prayers. Every Orthodox Christian knows that in times of trial, Psalms 22, 50, 90 help to overcome fear and feel the Protection of God.

King David

Solomon was not David's eldest son, but it was him who the Creator chose to be king. Because Solomon did not ask God for wealth and glory, but only wisdom, the Creator granted him the richest reign on earth.

Psalms of David:

Ask God for wisdom to earthly life was filled with completeness:

• God's knowledge;
• fear of the Savior;
• family happiness;
• children's laughter;
• wealth;
• health.

The books of Daniel, Malachi, Ezra carry encrypted messages to humanity until the end of earthly existence; they echo the Revelation of John from the New Testament. After Malachi there is no record of God's messages.

For 400 years before the birth of Jesus, the Creator was silent, observing the observance of His laws by the chosen people.

Humanity at that time represented many peoples, they had their own gods, worship, rituals, which in the eyes of the Creator was an abomination.

Seeing the hardened hearts of the world's population, who try to earn forgiveness of sins by killing animals as sacrifices, God sends His Son, Jesus Christ, to the people. The Savior became the final sacrifice, for everyone who believes in Him will be saved. (John 10:9)

The New Testament - A Guide to Living with Christ

Begins with the birth of the Savior new era in the history of mankind. The New Testament describes the main stages of Christ's stay on earth:

• conception;
• birth;
• life;
• miracles;
• death;
• resurrection;
• Ascension.

Jesus Christ is the heart of the entire Bible. There is no other way to gain eternal life except by faith in the Savior, for Jesus Himself called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14).

Each of the twelve apostles left a message to the world. Only four Gospels included in the New Testament are recognized as inspired and canonical.

Twelve disciples of Jesus Christ

New Testament begins with the Gospels, the Good News conveyed through ordinary people who later became apostles. Known to all Christians Sermon on the Mount teaches believers how to become blessed in order to acquire the kingdom of God already on earth.

Only John was among the disciples who were constantly near the Teacher. Luke at one time healed people; all the information conveyed to him was collected during the time of Paul, after the crucifixion of the Savior. This message conveys the researcher’s approach to historical events. Matthew was chosen as one of the 12 apostles instead of the traitor Judas Iscariot.

Important! Epistles that are not included in the New Testament due to doubts about their authenticity are called apocryphal. The most famous of them are the Gospels of Judas, Thomas, Mary Magdalene and others.

In the “Acts of the Holy Apostles,” transmitted by the Apostle Paul, who never saw Jesus the man, but who was given the grace to hear and see the bright Light of the Son of God, the life of Christians after the resurrection of Christ is described. The teaching books of the New Testament contain the letters of the apostles specific people and entire churches.

By studying the Word of God, transmitted by His disciples, Orthodox people see before themselves an example to follow, to be transformed into the image of the Savior. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians contains a hymn of love (1 Cor. 13:4-8), reading each point of which you truly begin to understand what God's love is.

In Galatians 5:19-23, the Apostle Paul offers a test by which every Orthodox believer can determine whether he is walking according to the flesh or according to the spirit.

The Apostle James showed the power of the word and the unbridled tongue through which both blessing and curse flow.

The New Testament ends with the book of Revelations of the Apostle John, the only one of all twelve disciples of Jesus who died a natural death. At the age of 80, for his worship of Christ, John was created on the island of Patmos for heavy work, from where he was transferred to heaven to receive Revelation for humanity.

Attention! Revelation is the most difficult book to understand, its messages are revealed to selected Christians who have a personal relationship with the Holy Trinity.

Revelation of Saint John the Theologian

Many people say that they began to read the Holy Scriptures and did not understand anything. To avoid this mistake, reading the Bible should begin with the Gospels, giving priority to the message of John. Then read Acts and move on to the Epistles, after which you can begin reading the Old Testament.

It is impossible to understand some sayings and instructions without examining historical time and place of writing.

The science of Hermeneutics teaches us to consider each text from the point of view of its time.

The Apostle Paul wrote all his epistles during Christ’s campaigns, moving from city to city, and this is described in Acts. The Holy Fathers of the Church, based on research, give clear interpretations of the message, showing the inspiration of each text.

The Bible writes that the Scriptures were given to mankind to correct, teach, reprove and edify. (2 Tim. 3:16). The Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, has been translated into many languages ​​and is God's most widely read message to mankind, revealing the character of the Most High and the way to Heaven through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments compiled a single book - the Holy Bible, which contains many recipes for knowing the Most High and examples from the lives of saints.

Holy Bible. Bible

Divine revelations came from the hands of sacred authors and were originally written on thin papyrus or parchment scrolls. Instead of pens, they used a pointed reed stick, which was dipped in special ink. Such books looked more like a long ribbon that was wound around a shaft. At first they were written on only one side, but later they began to be sewn together for convenience. So over time, the sacred scripture “Hagakure” became like a full-fledged book.

But let's talk about that collection sacred texts, which is known to all Christians. Divine revelations or the Bible speak of the salvation of all mankind by the messiah who became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Based on the time of writing, these books are divided into Old Testament and New Testament. In the first, the sacred scriptures contain information that the Almighty God revealed to people through divinely inspired prophets even before the coming of the Savior himself. speaks of the realization of salvation through teaching, incarnation and life on earth.

Initially, with God’s help, he discovered the first sacred scripture - the so-called “Law” of 5 books: “Genesis”, “Exodus”, “Leviticus”, “Numbers”, “Deuteronomy”. Long time The Pentateuch was the Bible, but after them additional revelations were written: the Book of Joshua, then the Book of Judges, then the writings of Kings, the chronicles of Chronicles. And finally they finish and bring it to main goal history of Israel Maccabees books.

This is how the second section of Divine Scripture appears, called " History books". In them there are separate teachings, prayers, songs and psalms. The 3rd section of the Bible dates back to a later time. And the fourth was the sacred scripture about the creation of the Holy Prophets.

Inspiration of the Bible

The Bible differs from other literary works in its divine illumination and supernaturalism. It was divine inspiration that elevated the book to the highest perfection, without suppressing the natural forces of humanity and protecting it from mistakes. Thanks to this, revelations are not simple memoirs of people, but a real work of the Almighty. This fundamental truth awakens us to recognize the sacred scriptures as divinely inspired.

Why are Scripture so precious to people?

First of all, it contains the foundations of our faith, which is why it is so dear to all humanity. Of course it's not easy to modern man transport yourself back to the era of that time, because millennia separate the reader from that situation. However, by reading and getting acquainted with that era, with the peculiarities of the language and the main tasks of the Holy Prophets, we begin to more deeply understand the entire spiritual meaning and richness of what was written.

Reading Bible stories, a person begins to see specific problems that concern modern society, in religious and moral concepts, the primordial conflicts between evil and good, unbelief and faith that are inherent in humanity. Historical lines are still dear to us because they accurately and truthfully present the events of past years.

In this sense, the sacred scriptures cannot in any way be equal to modern and ancient legends. Correct decisions moral problems or errors contained in the Bible will serve as a guide for solving public and personal difficulties.

Our knowledge of God is most strengthened by considering everything around us and wisely organized nature. God reveals himself even more in Divine revelation, which is given to us in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.

The Holy Scriptures are books written by Prophets and Apostles with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, revealing to them the secrets of the future. These books are called the Bible.

The Bible is a historically established collection of books that covers - according to the Biblical account - an age of about five and a half thousand years. How literary work it has been going on for about two thousand years.

It is divided in volume into two unequal parts: the larger one - the ancient one, that is, the Old Testament, and the later one - the New Testament.

The history of the Old Testament prepared people for the coming of Christ for about two thousand years. The New Testament covers the earthly period of the life of the God-man Jesus Christ and his closest followers. For us Christians, of course, the history of the New Testament is more important.

The subjects of biblical books are very diverse. At the beginning it is devoted to the historical past from the point of view of the philosophy of history and Theology, the origin of the world, and the creation of man. This is what the oldest part of the Bible is dedicated to.

The books of the Bible are divided into four parts. The first of them talks about the law left by God to the people through the prophet Moses. These commandments are dedicated to the rules of life and faith.

The second part is historical, it describes all the events that took place over 1100 years - until the 2nd century. ad.

The third part of the books includes moral and edifying ones. They are based on instructive stories from the lives of people famous for certain deeds or a special way of thinking and behavior.

There are books of very high poetic and lyrical content - for example, the Psalter, Song of Songs. The Psalter is especially interesting. This is the book of the history of the soul, inner life human, covering the range internal states from spiritual soaring to deep despair due to one or another wrong action.

It should be noted that of all the Old Testament books, the Psalter was the main one for the formation of our Russian worldview. This book was educational - in the pre-Petrine era, all Russian children learned to read and write from it.

The fourth part of the books are prophetic books. Prophetic texts are not just reading, but revelation - very important for the life of each of us, since our inner world is always in motion, striving to achieve the pristine beauty of the human soul.

The story about the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the essence of his teaching is contained in the second part of the Bible - the New Testament. The New Testament consists of 27 books. These are, first of all, the four Gospels - a story about the life and three and a half years of preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then - books telling about His disciples - the books of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as books of His disciples themselves - the Epistles of the Apostles, and, finally, the book of the Apocalypse, telling about the final destinies of the world.

The moral law contained in the New Testament is more strict than that of the Old Testament. Here not only sinful deeds are condemned, but also thoughts. The goal of every person is to eradicate evil in himself. By defeating evil, man conquers death.

The main thing in Christian doctrine- this is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who defeated death and opened the way for all humanity to eternal life. It is this joyful feeling of liberation that permeates the New Testament narratives. The word “Gospel” itself is translated from Greek as “Good News.”

The Old Testament is the ancient union of God with man, in which God promised people a Divine Savior and, over many centuries, prepared them to receive Him.

The New Testament is that God really gave people a Divine Savior, in the person of His Only Begotten Son, who came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and suffered and crucified for us, was buried and resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures.

religious books that make up the Bible. In Judaism, only the Old Testament is considered sacred scripture, in Christianity - the Old and New Testaments. In Islam, the Koran plays a role similar to holy scripture.

Excellent definition

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SACRED SCRIPTURE

Matthew 21:42, 22:29, etc.) - this name refers to books written by the Spirit of God through people sanctified by God, called prophets and apostles and usually called the Bible. Priest Scripture was given so that God's revelation could be preserved more accurately and unchangeably. In St. In the Scriptures we read the words of the prophets and apostles exactly as if we lived with them and heard them, despite the fact that the sacred books were written several centuries and millennia before our time. Priest books written in different times, some before Christ, others after Christ, the first are called the books of the Old Testament, the second - the books of the New Testament. Priest books of the Old Testament, according to the testimony of Cyril of Jerusalem, Athanasius the Great and John of Damascus - 22, in relation to how these Jews believe in their original language. The number of Jews is especially worthy of attention because, as the ap. Paul, they were entrusted with the word of God (Rom 3:2) and the New Testament Christian church accepted the Old Testament sacred books from the Old Testament Church. St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Athanasius the Great Old Testament priests. books are counted in the following way: 1) The Book of Genesis. 2) Outcome. 3) Leviticus. 4) Book of Numbers 5) Deuteronomy. 6) The Book of Joshua. 7) The Book of Judges and together with it, as if its addition, the book of Ruth. 8) The first and second books of Kings are like two parts of one book. 9) The third and fourth books of Kings. 10) First and second books of Chronicles. 11) The first book of Ezra, and his second, or according to the Greek inscription, the book of Nehemiah. 12) Esther. 13) Book of Job. 14) Psalter. 15) Proverbs of Solomon. 16) Ecclesiastes, his own. 17) Song of Songs, his own. 18) The book of the prophet Isaiah. 19) Jeremiah. 20) Ezekiel. 21) Daniel. 22) Twelve prophets, namely: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Not mentioned in this list of Old Testament books are: Lamentations of Jeremiah, the book of St. Baruch, the book of Tobit, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, the second and third books of Ezra, the three books of Maccabees and some narratives and passages added to the canonical books, somehow: The Prayer of Manasseh, added at the end of book 2. Chronicles, the prayer of the three youths, Daniel 3:25-91, the story of Susanna (Dan 8), Bel and the Dragon (Dan 14), are not mentioned precisely because they are not in the Hebrew language. However, the Fathers of the Church used these books, cited many passages from them, etc. according to the testimony of Athanasius the Great, they were appointed by the fathers to be read by those entering the Church. In order to separately determine the content of the sacred. Old Testament books, they can be divided into the following four categories: a) Legislative, constituting the main basis of the Old Testament, namely the five books written by Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy, b) Historical, containing primarily the history of piety, such as books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. c) Educational, containing the teaching of piety, such as: the book of Job, the Psalter and the books of Solomon, d) Prophetic, containing prophecies about the future, and especially about Jesus Christ, such as the books of the great prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve other minor ones. There are twenty-seven books of the New Testament. Legislative ones between them, i.e. Primarily constituting the basis of the New Testament, in all fairness we can call the Gospel, which consists of the four books of the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Among the New Testament books there is also a historical one, namely the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles. There are twenty-one teaching books of the New Testament, namely: seven conciliar epistles, one ap. James, two of Peter, three of John and one of Judas and fourteen epistles of St. Paul: Romans, Corinthians two, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians two, Timothy two, Titus, Philemon and Hebrews. The Apocalypse or Revelation of St. is a prophetic book among the books of the New Testament. John the Theologian. (For the contents of these books, see the individual titles of each book.) The oldest translation of the books of St. The Scriptures are a translation of the Old Testament by LXX interpreters. It is compiled with Hebrew language into Greek in Alexandria under Ptolemy Philadelphus 270 years BC. The Slavic translation of the Bible was compiled by St. Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius, educators of the Slavs in the 9th century, from the Greek translation of LXX. The translation of the Bible into the generally understandable Russian language began at the beginning of this century by members of the Russian Bible Society, but in 61 and 62 the revised New Testament was published and reprinted and then the translation of the Old Testament books began, which was completed in 1875.