God directly gave Moses the Ten Commandments. But the Bible wasn't given to mankind by way of God or an Angel. The idea of a complete and clear-cut list of books of the New Testament didn't exist until the Council of Rome in 382. We must clearly understand how written and worthy records were few and debatable in the early Church. After Jesus death on the Cross, His Apostles and disciples were persecuted from 33 A.D to 313 A.D. What we know about these years is extremely limited and uncertain.
It's likely the early church would share the letters called Epistles, letters from Peter, John, Paul, James and Jude. Each generation would pass on these letters. Thus it could be said that through tradition, the faithful would read these letters even though the early Church was hiding for fear of violence and death. The Bible as we know it today didn't exist until 382 A.D.. With no unifying agreement on what was scared, the complete set of Epistles and Gospels were not available to the Christian Church until 382 A.D.. The religious at that time were most likely arguing over which writings were inspired by God or were frauds. Coming to an agreement on a list would be difficult because people always disagree. It would take a strong Bishop of Rome (Pope) with a strong understanding how he carried the "keys" given first to Peter by Jesus, to publish a list of inspired writings called a cannon. With the help of other Bishops and council, Pope Damasus issued the first cannon. This list was extremely important in order to reveal the truth's about Jesus and shun other writings that were false.
The list of Books called the canon agreed to at the Council of Rome is as follows.
The list of the Old Testament begins:
1) Genesis
2) Exodus
3) Leviticus
4) Numbers
5) Deuteronomy
6) Jesus Nave (Joshua)
7) Judges
8) Ruth
9) Kings, four books
10) Paralipomenon (Chronicles I & II)
11) One Hundred and Fifty Psalms
12) Proverbs
13) Ecclesiastes
14) Canticle of Canticles
15) Wisdom
16) Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)
Likewise, the list of the Prophets:
17) Isaiah
18) Jeremias
19) Cinoth (Lamentations)
20) Ezechiel
21) Daniel
22) Osee (Hosea)
23) Amos
24) Micheas (Micah)
25) Joel
26) Abdias (Obadiah)
27) Jonas (Jonah)
28) Nahum
29) Habacuc (Habakkuk)
30) Sophonias (Zephaniah)
31) Aggeus (Haggai)
32) Zacharias (Zechariah)
33) Malachias (Malachi)
34) Job
35) Tobias (Tobit)
36) Esdras (Ezra and Nehemiah)
37) Esther
38) Judith
39) Maccabees I & II
40) Matthew
41) Mark
42) Luke
43) John
44) Romans
45) Corinthians I & II
46) Ephesians
47) Thessalonians I & II
48) Galatians
49) Phillippians
50) Colossians
51) Timothy I & II
52) Titus
53) Philemon
54) Hebrews
55) Peter I & II
56) James
57) John I & II & III
58) Jude
59) Apocalypse (Revelation)
60) Acts of the Apostles
The Bible
Where did the Bible come from?
The New Testament
Jesus Died on the Cross March 25,
33 years after His Birth December 25.
382 A.D
Council of Rome, with the help of the Bishops, Pope Damasus listed the inspired Books of the Old and New Testaments.
The Roman emperor, Constantine I, announced the "Edict of Milan", which removed penalties for professing Christianity.
313 A.D
34 A.D
5 Books written by Moses
a) First and Second Books of Kings (Samuel I & II)
b) Third and Fourth Books of Kings (Kings I & II)
4 Books written by Solomon
14 Epistles by Apostle Paul
List of Apocrypha found in Roman Catholic Bibles but not found in Protestant Bibles.
There are other books in the Protestant Apocrypha like Esdra that is not recognized by the Catholic Bible.
2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
3:17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Saint Paul wrote the above verse. He is referring to the Old Testament. As for the New Testament the Council at Rome determined what was inspired. The "keys" of Peter allow us to have confidence in these Books as being inspired.
In the Book of Isaiah, God symbolizes his Word as rain that falls upon the earth.
Is 55:10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
55:11 so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
It is very obvious that rain still falls upon the earth, it is not as obvious that God still sends His Words today. No where in the Scriptures does it say that God has nothing more to add or say. God chose the "keys" of Peter as His method to speak to us apart from the Scriptures.
Their are those who will say, "Why does God make it so difficult"? The answer is, we are being tested. One of the tests is arrogance. Those who have the brightest minds have rejected the truth and the less gifted are leading religion. They can't see the test and those who try to follow Christianity are not informed of the test. Read the section on on arrogance.
http://www.4kingdoms.com/deadly-sins.html
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach
Tobit
Baruch
Additions to Esther
Judith
Suzanna (Addition to Daniel)
Bel & the Dragon (Addition to Daniel)
Maccabees 1 and 2
Unfortunately the story does not end here. After further research there are Protestants who say that the Council of Rome was not an ecumenical council. This is true, not all the bishops were there. But we must recognize all we need is one Pope. The bishops can be wrong and even a majority can be wrong as in the case of Arianism. Arius, a bishop, taught that although God the Son indeed pre-existed as a divine being before the creation of the Universe, He was not "co-eternal" with God the Father. Protestants will say that the Council of Rome was not binding to all Christians. Ok, make that assumption and let Martin Luther or some other arrogant person or group make the cannon. Make no mistake about it, men are being tested through arrogance.
Protestants will also say that the list of cannon books didn't come from the Council of Rome at all. But realize history that far back is rather impossible to prove either way. God made it that way, and history has been a stumbling block for most. Saint Paul warns us that Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. 1 Cor (1:22) Jesus promised us the truth and no other way can the truth come unless it is through the "keys". If there is another way the truth can come to us, show me? But men would rather follow their feelings and so called intelligence.
There is also a disagreement with a group of books called the apocryphal. They say that these books were not inspired by God. Some people claim these books were not even in the Bible until the Council of Trent. People buy this story and no amount of proof will change their minds.
Questions
1) Who gave Moses the Ten Commandments?
2) Did God or an Angel give us the Bible?
3) What year did the list or canon was determined by the Council of Rome?
4) Peter, Paul, John, James and Jude wrote letter to the faithful. We now call these letter by what name?
5) People love to argue and not agree. After Jesus died in the year of ______ and until 313 AD, the church was heavily persecuted. Many letters and gospels were circulating. Arguments would occur among Christians on which writings were inspired. Something needed to be done to solve this problem. The bishop of Rome called the ______ called for a council. What was the name of this meeting.
6) People argue about history long ago because it his hard to prove. People didn't have ways to take pictures. Writings would get destroyed through many centuries. The writings we do have were copies written by others. This makes it easy for _________ to say, reject and believe just about anything. Arrogant men would rather follow their feelings and so called intelligence.
7) In the Book of Isaiah, God symbolizes His word as ________.
8) No where in the Scriptures does it say that God has nothing more to add or say. God has chosen the "_____" of ______ as His method to speak to us apart from the Scriptures.
9) We are being tested. That is why God does not make it obvious how He speaks to us. People commit the sin of _________ when they do not believe in the "keys" of Peter.
Email
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Saint Jerome was born some where within this circle.
Dalmatia, Roman territory
