The books in the Bible

The Bible has many books, divided into the following sections, under two major collections called Old Testament and New Testament:

The Old Testament contains

The Pentateuch, which originally included only the first five books in the Bible. The Vatican later included the books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth

The Historical Books tell the story of the nation of Israel. There, you can see a reflection of what usually happens in our lives: A nation that walks away in sin from God, and a God that summons it back though His prophets.

1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees

The Books of Wisdom hold a lot of good advice we can follow in our daily lives. In them, you can see the great love God has for his children as well as a large set of praises and prayers we can all use. Moreover, the Psalms are used in every Catholic mass.

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, The Book of Wisdom, Sirach

The Prophetic Books start mentioning the coming of a Saviour for Israel. Christians acknowledge this Saviour as Jesus.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

The New Testament contains

The Gospels are books that narrate the life of the Messiah, Jesus, on Earth. Later, the Vatican included the book of Acts as a fifth Gospel.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts

The New Testament Letters were written later, and were circulated to the first churches after the receiving of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost.

Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews

Lastly, the Catholic Letters include those that were written by the other Apostles and the Revelation or Apocalypse.

James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Apocalypse

Final word

The book of Apocalypse has been, for centuries, a matter of great controversy. A lot has been written about its chaotic fights and terrible prophecies. How to read it properly? As a book of special hope. Why? The Apocalypse tells us that someday God will beat evil eternally and definitely. When? Nobody knows. Nobody can find out, figure out or guess. Jesus clearly said that "no one knows the day or the time" as it's written in one of the Gospels. Do not be afraid of it. Don't believe in the "terrible things" people tell you about it either.

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