Divisions of the New Testament Books: ASF 2 Module Packet

The Gospels

• The Gospels are four different accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
• They have a common structure and use similar materials and forms of literature such as sayings, sermons, parables, miracles, and others.
• Each Gospel has its distinctive structure and characteristics due to the author's style, sources, audience, and other factors.

The Acts of the Apostles

• This book continues where the Gospels leave off.
• It narrates the ascension of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
• The fruit of this outpouring is the carrying out of Christ's command to preach the "good news" to all men.

The Epistles

• These books are 21 follow-up letters to particular persons or communities after the Gospel has been preached orally to them.
• The contents of the Epistles deal with particular theological, moral, or social questions that arose in the growing Christian communities.

The Divisions of the Old Testament Books

The Pentateuch

• The first five books in the OT are called the Pentateuch (Greek Bible) or Torah (Hebrew Bible).
• The Pentateuch means "five books" or "instruction" or "law".
• These books deal with the covenant between God and the Jewish people given through Moses.

The Historical Books

• These books give us a history of how people lived out the demands of the covenant as they infiltrated, conquered, and spread through the promised land of Canaan.
• They do not seek to give an exact historical presentation of the events but rather a presentation of the meaning of the event.
• The major theme of these books is the ups and downs of Israel's living out the promises they made in the covenant.

Revelation or Apocalypse

• It is the last book in the Bible.
• It is the least read and most difficult to understand because it is an underground letter using symbolic language.
• It symbolizes Christ as the Lamb with seven horns (universal power) and seven eyes (knowledge and wisdom).