Virtually all English Bibles, which we have today, do NOT accurately
set forth the order or divisions of the Biblical books, as originally
maintained and inspired by God.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Hebrew Bible of the Old Testament consisted originally of 24 books. It is to be divided into three sections:

(1) The Law (5 books of Moses)

(2) The Prophets (8 books)

— The former prophets—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings (4 books)

— The latter prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 12 Minor Prophets (4 books)

(3) The Writings (11 books)

— Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs (4 books)

— Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther (4 books)

— Daniel, Ezra/Nehemiah, and Chronicles (3 books)

It
is fairly established today that the Hebrew Bible originally consisted
of 24 books (Compare, The Bible as Literature, The Barnes & Noble
Outline Series, p. 19; The Jerusalem Bible, p. xii: “The Jewish Bible
thus consists of ‘twenty-four books’”; Prof. Felix Just, of Loyola
Marymount University: “Jews count 24″; Encyclopedia Britannica,
copyright 1959, under “Bible”: “The 24 books of the Hebrew Canon have
become 39… in the English Bible, by treating each of the Minor
Prophets as a separate book, by separating Ezra from Nehemiah and
subdividing Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.”)

Some erroneously
claim that the Old Testament consisted originally of only 22 books.
They say that Joshua and Judges were originally only one book, and that
Samuel and Kings were originally only one book.

However, no
evidence has been found confirming that Joshua and Judges were ever
treated as one book. When considering the books of Samuel and Kings,
let us us take note of this quote from the Nelson Study Bible, on page
449: “First and Second Samuel were originally one book, ‘The book of
Samuel’ in the Hebrew Scriptures. When these Scriptures were translated
into Greek, around 150 B.C., Samuel and Kings were brought together
into a complete history of the Hebrew monarchy. This unit of Scripture
was divided into four sections: First, Second, Third, and Fourth
Kingdoms. Samuel and Kings were later separated again, but the
divisions of the Greek translation persisted. The result was a First
and Second Samuel and a First and Second Kings.”

We see then that originally, Samuel and Kings were TWO books, not just one.

Others refer to Josephus for their claim that the Old Testament consisted originally of only 22 books.

In
his work, “Flavius Josephus against Apion,” Josephus states, under
Section 8 (page 609): “For we have not an innumerable multitude of
books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another, but
only twenty-two books, which contain the records of all the past times…
and of them, five belong to Moses…, the prophets, who were after Moses,
wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books. The
remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct
of human life.”

We can see from this quote that Josephus’
numbering of 22 books, by speaking of 13 prophetic books [as
distinguished from 8] and 4 writings [as distinguished from 11], is
clearly different from the Hebrew Bible, as maintained by the Jews.

Eerdmans’ Handbook to the Bible, p. 71, points out:

“There
is a strong Jewish tradition that it was Ezra the scribe who arranged
the canon, although collections of the Pentateuch and some of the
prophets existed long before his time. The books of the Hebrew canon
were arranged in three groups – the Law, the Prophets and the Writings
(which included the wisdom literature, some historical works such as
Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles, and one prophetic work, Daniel). The
prologue to the apocryphal Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus (about
130BC) contains evidence of this threefold grouping, but no indication
of the contents of each section… Josephus, the first-century AD
historian, acknowledged 22 books; the Apocalypse of Ezra (about AD 100)
acknowledged 24. If Josephus included Ruth with Judges and Lamentations
with Jeremiah the two agree.”

This suggests that Josephus was also referring to a different order of the books, not just a different number.

Halley’s
Bible Handbook confirms this conclusion, when stating: “The Hebrew Old
Testament contains exactly the same books as our English Old Testament,
but in different arrangement… these 24 books are the same as our 39.
Josephus further reduces the number to 22, to make it correspond to the
Hebrew alphabet by combining Ruth with Judges, and Lamentations with
Jeremiah.”

Conclusion as to the Hebrew writings of the Old Testament:

Inasmuch
as the numbering of 22 books corresponds with a change of the
established order of the Hebrew Scriptures, its evidentiary value
must be rejected. The available evidence strongly supports the
conclusion that the Hebrew Bible was arranged by Ezra and delivered to
us in the order as listed in the beginning of this Q&A, consisting
of 24 books.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Greek
New Testament consisted originally of 27 books. They are to be divided
into five sections, i.e. the four gospel accounts, the book of Acts,
the general [a/k/a Catholic] epistles (James; 1 and 2 Peter; 1, 2 and 3
John; Jude), the epistles of Paul, and the book of Revelation.

Note how the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament have maintained the order of the books.

(1)
The Codex Sinaiticus was copied about 330 AD. It is one of the oldest
copies of the New Testament. It was written in Greek and is now being
maintained in the British museum. It contains, in this order, the four
gospels, the Catholic [or general] epistles, the Pauline epistles (with
Hebrews following 2 Thessalonians and preceding 1 Timothy), Acts, and
Revelation. (It also includes the uninspired works of the epistle of
Barnabas and the shepherd of Hermas).

(2) The Codex Vaticanus
was copied in the middle of the fourth century. It is now being
maintained in Rome. It contains, in this order, the four gospels, Acts,
the Catholic [or general] epistles, and most of the Pauline epistles.
The last book is Hebrews, following 2 Thessalonians.

(3) The
Codex Alexandrinus was copied around 400 AD. It was written in
Byzantine and Alexandrian. It contains, in this order, the four
gospels, Acts, the Catholic [or general] epistles, the Pauline epistles
(Hebrews following 2 Thessalonians) and Revelation (It also includes
the uninspired works of 1 and 2 Clement).

(4) The Codex Ephraemi
was copied in the 400’s AD. It contains, in this order, the four
gospels, Acts, the Catholic [or general] epistles, the Pauline epistles
(Hebrews following 2 Thessalonians) and Revelation.

(5) The
Council of Laodicea (about AD 363) lists, in Canon 60, all of the New
Testament books (with the exception of the book of Revelation), in this
order:

The four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John; the Acts of the Apostles; seven catholic epistles, namely, 1 of
James, 2 of Peter, 3 of John, 1 of Jude; and the fourteen epistles of
Paul, namely 1 to the Romans, 2 to the Corinthians, 1 to the Galatians,
1 to the Ephesians, 1 to the Philippians, 1 to the Colossians, 2 to the
Thessalonians, 1 to the Hebrews, 2 to Timothy, 1 to Titus, and 1 to
Philemon.

(6) E.W. Bullinger writes in “The Church Epistles,” under “Importance of their Order”:

“In
all the hundreds of Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the order
of these seven epistles addressed to churches is exactly the same
[i.e., Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians, and Thessalonians. We might add here that these are
actually nine epistles, not seven, but Bullinger counts 1 and 2
Corinthians as one epistle, as he does 1 and 2 Thessalonians, in order
to reach the number “seven.”]. We have examined the five most ancient
in existence, viz., the Codex Vaticanus (Cent. IV.), the Codex
Sinaiticus (Cent. IV.), the Codex Alexandrinus (Cent. V.), the Codex
Ephraemi (Cent. V.) and the Codex Bezae (Cent. V. or VI.) [We want to
note here that the Codex Bezae contains only a portion of the New
Testament Scriptures, i.e., the four gospels, the ending of 3 John, and
Acts]. The general order of the books of the New Testament takes the
form of groups, viz., (1) the Four Gospels, (2) the Acts, (3) the
General Epistles, (4) the Pauline Epistles, and (5) the Apocalypse…

“…
while the Pauline Epistles themselves vary in their order (e.g.,
Hebrews in some cases following Thessalonians [Let us also note that in
one ancient manuscript, Hebrews follows Galatians. In another
manuscript from 200 AD, P 46, Hebrews follows Romans, preceding 1 and 2
Corinthians, but omitting Galatians]), yet the order of these seven
[correctly, nine; see our comment above] addressed to the churches
never varies…”

Conclusion as to the Greek writings of the New Testament:

It appears that the most likely order of the New Testament Scriptures, as originally inspired, is as follows:

(1) The four gospel accounts, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

(2) Book of Acts

(3) General or Catholic Epistles:

James; 1 and 2 Peter; 1, 2 and 3 John; Jude

(4) Pauline Epistles:

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

(5) Book of Revelation

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

John 1:1 tells us that the “Word” was God. The “Word” is a reference
to Jesus Christ (compare Revelation 19:13; 1 John 1:1-3). John 1:14
tells us that Jesus Christ, the “Word,” “became flesh and dwelt among
us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
existed as a God being long before the events took place, which are
described in John 1:14–that is, long before He “became flesh.”
Philippians 2:5-11 tells us that Christ, who was “in the form of God,”
took “the form of a bond servant” and came “in the likeness of men.”
Hebrews 2:14 confirms that Jesus partook of flesh and blood, so that He
could die. As long as He was an immortal Spirit being, He could not die.

We
are told that God the Father made everything through Jesus Christ
(Hebrews 2:10; Colossians 1:15-17). We also read that no one has ever
seen God at any time (John 1:18). Christ elaborated to explain that no
one has ever seen the form of the FATHER at any time, nor has anyone
ever heard His voice (John 5:37; 6:46). And yet, we read that some of
the ancients in the Old Testament saw the very form of God, and they
heard His voice (Numbers 12:8; Deuteronomy 5:4). This means, they saw
and heard Jesus Christ, but not God the Father (compare 1 Corinthians
10:1-4, 8-9).

We read that God, in the Person of Jesus Christ,
together with two angels, appeared to Abraham, and they ate and spoke
with him (Genesis 18:1-15). Christ and His angels appeared as men
(verse 2). But this does not mean that they actually WERE men–that is,
flesh and blood human beings. They just manifested themselves AS human
beings. If the two angels had BECOME human beings at the time of
Abraham, they could have died–but God’s Word tells us that His angels
CANNOT die (Luke 20:34-36). If Christ had become a flesh and blood
human being at the time of Abraham, He could have died at that time,
too. But this would have been impossible. He had to become a human
being, at the time of the New Testament, to be able to die.

The
same is true when reviewing Christ’s manifestations AFTER His death and
resurrection. He was resurrected as a Spirit being–an immortal eternal
God being. As such, He cannot die anymore (Hebrews 9:27-28; 1 Timothy
1:17; Revelation 1:18). What, then, happened when He appeared to His
disciples after His resurrection, claiming that He had “flesh and
bone”? Had He BECOME a human being again? Hardly, as He was able to
appear and disappear at pleasure, and to go through closed doors (Luke
24:31; John 20:19-20). No human being, composed of flesh and blood,
could have done this.

Let us notice what exactly occurred when
Christ appeared to His disciples “in human form.” We explain this in
our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World”, when
discussing the powers of Satan and his demons. The context is the
inability of demons to manifest or materialize themselves–this power
is only reserved for God and His holy angels. To quote from our booklet:

“It
appears from Scripture that demons cannot materialize themselves the
way that angels can. Demons cannot appear as men. They can, however,
create an illusion, or an apparition that might look very real to
people. Examples of those illusions would include the appearance of
‘ghosts,’ or of a ‘lady,’ claiming to be ‘Mother Mary.'”We find the following interesting record in Mark 6:47–50: ‘Now when
evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone
on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was
against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them,
walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw
Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost [Authorized
Version: a spirit], and cried out; for they all saw Him and were
troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of
good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”‘ The disciples thought they saw
a ghost or a spirit, that is, a demon. The Greek word for ‘ghost’ is
‘phantasma,’ which has the meaning of ‘phantasm’ or ‘apparition.’

“In
Luke 24:36–42 we find another passage that sheds some light on the
inability of demons to materialize themselves. We read: ‘Now as they
said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said
to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and
supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you
troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and
My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not
have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He
showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not
believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food
here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.
And He took it and ate in their presence.’

“Christ manifested
Himself to the disciples as a being with flesh and bones. He even ate
food in their presence to convince the disciples that it was He, not a
spirit or a demon. The Greek word for ‘spirit’ is ‘pneuma’ and can
refer to demons (compare Matthew 8:16; 10:1; 12:43, 45; Luke 4:33, 36;
6:18; 7:21, etc.). We understand, of course, that Christ is not a being
with flesh and bones. Rather, at His resurrection He received a
spiritual body and became a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:44–45,
50). He was able to manifest Himself, however, as a person with flesh
and bones. We saw earlier that angels can manifest themselves as human
beings as well. Demons cannot. Christ used this opportunity to show His
disciples that He was not a spirit or a demon, because demons cannot
manifest themselves as human beings with flesh and bones.

“We
read in Job 4:12–16 about Eliphaz’ encounter with a spirit: ‘Now a word
was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. In
disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep
falls on men. Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones
shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair on my body stood
up. It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was
before my eyes; There was silence; then I heard a voice…’ Eliphaz saw
some kind of a form before his eyes but he could not discern the
appearance of the spirit. This indicates that it was a demon, as the
Bible does not show that God’s angels appear to man in such a way. It
was something like an apparition—a phantasm. It was what the disciples
thought they saw, too, when Jesus was walking on the water.

“Another
encounter with a demon is recorded for us in 1 Samuel 28… King Saul
consulted a witch to find out his future. During a séance, the witch
‘saw’ a demon, who pretended to be the dead Samuel. Saul could not see
the demon. The demon spoke through the witch to Saul. We note again
that the demon did not materialize himself as a being with flesh and
bones. Rather, it was an illusion.”

To summarize, Jesus became
ONLY ONCE a flesh-and-blood human being, living on earth as a man for
33 1/2 years. To accomplish this unique purpose of BECOMING human, God
the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit, impregnated the
virgin Mary, so that she conceived and brought forth a child, whose
name was to be Jesus (Luke 1:26-35). Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
NEVER was a human being BEFORE this miraculous event, and He NEVER
again BECAME a human being AFTER His death and resurrection. However,
He did manifest Himself AS a human being in Old Testament times, as
well as after His resurrection. But these were just human
manifestations of the immortal and invisible God Being, Jesus Christ. He
decisively did not BECOME a human being during those manifestations.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link