OT God vs. NT Jesus

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Background
Per the New Testament, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and God is Jesus. It's the enigmatic Trilogy that is somewhat difficult to understand in human terms. But one thing that is easy to understand about the Trilogy is that they are united in Their purposes, goals, and knowledge. They share a common mind, or at least a common mindset. One part of the Trilogy could never transgress the will of another other part of the Trilogy. They are all three together in perfection of love and knowledge and justice.

OT God vs. NT Jesus
The trouble is that the Bible does not provide the Trilogy with a uniform front. Fundamental philosophical differences do exist. While the Holy Spirit is mostly silent, the Father and the Son appear to have some Family issues to work out. Below are a few examples of the Holy discord.

Jesus has something to say about murder and adultery in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:21-22, the former: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder'...But I tell you...” and in Matthew 5:27-28 the latter: “You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you...” In these passages, Jesus redefines, enhances, and expands the intents of these Commandments to more stringent requirements. At first glance, the views may seem to be in line with the Commandments and in tune with God. But this standpoint falls apart under closer scrutiny.

There are two sources of incongruency here. The first is the disowning of authorship of the Commandments. The second is the admission of the imperfection of God.

Consider the manner in which Jesus words these sentences. I'll paraphrase them together for simplicity: “The elder generations were told [this], but I tell you [that].” The trouble is that the source of these Commandments is not the elders or the prophets or some other detached being. The source of these Commandments is God (Exodus 20:13-14). So by substitution, that makes the expressions rephrased as “God told the elder generations [this], but I tell you [that].” This makes Jesus disagree with God. Now, because Jesus is God, another substitution could be made to “I told the elder generations [this], but I tell you [that]” or “God told the elder generations [this], but God tells you [that].” Take your pick; God disagrees with Jesus, Jesus disagrees with Himself, or God disagrees with Himself. Any way you slice it, there is discord in the Trinity. The word choice of these verses sets Jesus at some distance from the source of the original Commandments, but He does not actually have that distance because the original source was God.

Secondly, when we consider that Jesus is either raising the bar or clarifying the Law, it prompts the question of why. Why is it necessary? Why was God's original Commandment not perfect in and of itself? If it was imperfect, or maybe just incomplete, why didn't God set it right to begin with? If the original Commandments did fall short, then God made a mistake.

Am I reading too much into the literal meanings and not the intentional meanings? Is there really no conflict in your mind because Jesus is simply revealing God's intent with these laws? Well then, let's move on.

The third time is the charm, so to speak. Jesus does a similar disowning with divorcement in Matthew 5:31-32. Although in this case, He turns the permission given by the Law into a sin. This point is repeated in an ill-context-fitting one-liner in Luke 16:18, but with more greater detail and context in Mark 10:2-12 and Matthew 19:3-9 when the Pharisees ask Jesus if divorce is OK. In both of those detailed cases, Jesus included in His replies that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of their hearts (Mark 10:5, Matthew 19:8), but that Jesus considers it a sin. That's a nice story, but it's not true to what God said in the Old Testament.

You see, Deuteronomy is where you will explicitly find the permission to divorce. Deuteronomy is mostly composed of information and laws passed to the Jews from God through Moses. Starting from Deuteronomy 1:6 and continuing to 26:15 (and beyond there too), Moses tells the Jews everything that God commanded him to say (Deuteronomy 1:3). Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is where a man is permitted to divorce his wife, even explaining that the man may not remarry his ex-wife, as that would be an abomination to God. It is very unlikely that Moses would insert his own feelings on what should be permitted into a list of laws given by God, especially because one of those laws is not to add to or take away from the Law (Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32), and because Moses repeatedly says that these laws are from God, like in Deuteronomy 8:11; “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day.” NIV

For Jesus to explicitly disown Holy involvement and say that it was Moses that permitted the Jews to divorce, as opposed to God, is either a lie or a mistake. (Either that, or Moses is part of the Godhead and it's actually a Quartet!) We know God can't make a mistake, so it must be a lie. But we also know that God can't lie, so it must be a mistake. It's a bit of a conundrum; a conundrum repeated in two of the four Gospels.

(I find it particularly interesting that Luke records that Jesus disapproves of divorce in the previously mentioned ill-context-fitting one-liner in Luke 16:18. One theory of the creation of the synoptic Gospels is that they were iterations; starting with Mark, progressing to Matthew and Luke using Mark and another now-lost document as a source. If so, it may be that the writer of Luke realized that there was a little trouble with the way Jesus had said that Moses made the divorce law, so he deleted the preceding context for Jesus' declaration against divorce.)

God decreed divorce was acceptable in Deuteronomy. Jesus plainly says that divorce is not permissible (although, Matthew added it's OK in the case of a cheating spouse). Jesus disagrees with God's Law on marriage, and the two viewpoints are incongruent. But because of the nature of the Trilogy, this can't possibly occur.

What is the aftermath of such a finding? It seems that verses repeated in multiple Gospels are flawed. Even though there is concordance between the Gospels that would seem to indicate reliability (if they were truly produced by independent sources), they fundamentally do not agree with Scripture. In Jesus' own words, “the Scripture cannot be broken.” So I guess we'll have to remove these passages from Scripture to keep Scripture true. What do you think?

...John is but a Dream

I'll start the critiques off with just a minor, little glitch. Just a small chink in the breastplate of righteousness. Larger battle scars are on the way.

Background
The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are the only books of the Bible where you can find the words which reportedly Jesus said, with the exception of a sparse few words at the beginning of Acts. Of the four Gospels, three are considered Synoptic Gospels because of their similar storyline; Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Gospel of John stands conspicuously alone in the tale it tells, and also has the honor of being the only Gospel to record the dogma of being born again, as well as containing some of the most quoted verses, like John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Verily, verily, verily, verily, John is but a dream.
One of Jesus' colloquialisms is that He would often start a sentence with “verily” to emphasize a point of God's philosophy or plan. All four of the Gospels record this. In fact, of the 136 times the term “verily” is used in the entire King James Version of the Bible, 101 of those occurrences are in the Gospels. Of those 101 times, John snags up more than its fair share with 46 instances!

Why? Because John records Jesus saying “verily, verily” every single time He says it. Meanwhile, the Synoptic Gospels never record Jesus saying verily twice in a row. (NOTE: If you have a newer Bible translation, you may not see this as the editors have often decided to “correct” the duplications which do actually exist in the source Greek text.)

So what? Remember that the legend goes that the Gospels were written by the Apostles of Jesus. These were guys that spent day and night with Jesus. They would have heard Him first hand. They would have learned the way that Jesus said things because they would have heard them over and over again as Jesus traveled to different places. Jesus was in the habit of saying verily either once or twice. In a three to one vote, John is wrong.

Well, perhaps John was just trying to emphasize the truth and authority with which Jesus spoke? (With satirical tone: Yes, because even though it was Jesus, the Son of God, speaking, John thought to himself that Jesus still didn't enough panache in His words!)

At the very least, this reveals a man made alteration of reality made for aesthetic reasons. One can only wonder if any of Jesus' words were further touched up by John in a less obvious manner. One can only speculate that John left the essential essence of Jesus' messages unmolested. And therefore, in the interest of intellectual honesty, one should be at least a little leery of revelations contained only within John.



About the Pictures
This bas-relief adorns an adjoining building to the Saint Francisco Cathedral in Salta, Argentina. What I find particularly interesting is that only the books of the Synoptic Gospel are included. John is left out. Hmmm....

The Invitation

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So you think you have faith? Faith in what? I challenge you to figure out exactly what you believe. Stop glossing over the pillars of your faith. Start exploring the foundation. Stop relying on the filtered views of preachers and religious pundits. Start exploring God's Word yourself. God wants you to (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).

You may think that it would be boring to read the Bible yourself. While there are certainly sections that are real tests of endurance, there are equally sections that will shock your heart, rock your understanding of the nature of God, and suck you into reading more.

As I progress along myself, I'll even provide you with summarized books of the Bible to help you get right to the juicy meat of the text. Tomorrow, I will post the summarized book of Genesis to get you started.

I will present what I have discerned in studying the Bible in a manner specifically designed to get you thinking about what the real Truth is. I encourage you to prove me wrong if you can. So please, comment as much as you'd like to the posts.

Are you up for the challenge? I hope so! Please join me. Prove your faith. :-)

Predestined Beginning

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I was a bit hesitant to start up a blog that scrutinized the veracity of the Bible. I mean, I don't believe in God, but I've been wrong before. If I am wrong, I would hate to have led someone astray. There are even words from the mouth of Jesus suggesting that it might not be profitable to do so:

Luke 17:1-2 Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin." NIV

Matthew 18:6-7 "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!" NIV

Lucky for me, or maybe unlucky for me, God has His Elect. The Elect are the people guaranteed a good spot in the immortal afterlife. God predestined the Elect before they were even born. There will be much more on the Elect on a later posting, but for now we'll touch on just one more characteristic: If you are Elect, you can't be lost. This is touched on briefly in Mark 13:22 and Matthew 24:24 "...to deceive even the elect—if that were possible." But the best explanation is in John.

John 10:25-30 “...The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” NIV

You see, His Elect cannot be deceived, cannot be removed from His Hand, because they are predestined by God. There is nothing I can do to thwart the will of God. So if I somehow manage to convince you that Christianity is flawed; just relax. You were destined for Hell anyway. :-)

My Angle

I just want to know the Truth. And so, I am seeking and knocking. Will I find the Truth and have it opened to me? Only time will tell, but I invite you to come along with me in my journey.

I consider myself atheist. Yet, at the same time, I do not preclude the existence of a god. Even if science can discover every mystery in our universe, the elusive truth of why the universe even exists in the first place will never be known through computation, experimentation, and the scientific method. A god may very well exist.

I keep an open mind. If there is one thing that the history of science has taught us, it's that beliefs that are once held so firmly can become utter nonsense over time. It really isn't that long ago that top thinkers of their times believe that all matter was made up of four basic elements, or that the earth was the center of the universe, or that the earth was flat. And so I try to hold my beliefs as firm yet tentative; pliable to more accurate revelations.

I study religion. Somewhere between one to two billion people are without a religion. The balance of the six billion plus people of the world do have a faith. Many of those with faith claim some type of direct spiritual connection with the object of their worship. I feel like I am somewhat on the outside looking in, and so I am intensely curious of exactly what is going on. I understand how people can believe things that aren't true, even to the point of compelling the most altruistic or most horrific actions. But I would like to know if there is anything else, anything real, providing the same motivation.

I most diligently study Christianity. I study it because it is the religion I was raised with, but also because it is the largest major religion. Both Judaism and Islam have direct relationships to Christianity. Altogether, they make up over half the world population, over three billion people. Three billion plus people can't be wrong, can they? Well, that's what I am trying to discover.

I study Christianity with the eyes of a skeptic. I was raised Christian; Methodist in particular. I went to Bible school. I got confirmed. I would say that I even had faith for a while. I believed in the unseen and the unknown. At the height of my faith, I distinctly remember even praying that God (I use capitol letters when referring to the Christian God), for Him to use me as He best saw fit. The trouble is that I never felt anything, spiritually or otherwise. I was never able to discern that God was actually out there, communicating with me or being involved in my life in any fashion. Without any Holy encouragement, my faith and belief diminished to nothing. After a long period of apathy, my curiosity eventually grew to the point to begin studying the Bible. I now have more Biblical knowledge than I ever had before. My faith has not returned, but my skepticism has been born.

I have no qualifications, other than being human. I am not a master linguist. I am not a specialist in history, archeology, psychology, eschatology, hermeneutics, or any other field that would make me more adept to find the Truth. I just have the ability to read, to reason, to apply logic, and to apply the lessons that I have learned throughout my life.

I have no doubt that I will post errors ranging from simple typos to major philosophical blunders. Please forgive me, as I am only human.

The Bible Storyline

Below is a synopsis of the major themes of the chapters of the Bible. The links will take you to the corresponding locations my Bible book summaries. Note that Psalms and Proverbs will not be included because they are non-narrative books.


Genesis

	God creates everything	1-2
	The Fall of mankind	3
	The first murder	4
	Noah and the Flood	5-10
	God makes all languages / Tower of Babel	11
	God tells Abram/Abraham where to go	12-14
	God tells Abraham the future of his lineage	15
	Old Abraham has children	16-18; 20-21
	God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah	18-19
	God tests Abraham with sacrificing his son	22
	Abraham buries Sarah	23
	Abraham finds Isaac a wife	24
	Isaac's early years	25-26
	Jacob/Israel steals Edom/Esau's blessing	27
	Israel gets a wife	28-29
	God blesses Israel with children and livestock	30-31
	Israel literally wrestles with God	32
	Israel and Edom/Esau make peace	33
	Israel's sons revenge unwed sex and love	34
	Israel purifies his household	35
	Edom/Esau's lineage	36
	Joseph is sold to an Egyptian	37
	Judah impregnates his daughter-in-law	38
	Joseph: house-tender, to jail, to dream diviner	39-41
	God enslaves the Israelites through Joseph and famine	41-47
	Israel blesses his sons and dies	48-50

Exodus

	Pharaohs oppress the Israelites	1-2
	God delivers the Israelites from Egypt through plagues	3-14
	The Israelites wander the Wilderness	15-18
	God gives Moses Ten Commandments, laws on slavery, physical injury, theft, sacrifices, legal justice, Feasts	19-24
	God instructs how to make the Holy things and a Tabernacle	25-31
	Impatient Israelites worship a golden cow	32
	God gives Moses a different Ten Commandments	33-34
	The Israelites make the Holy things and a Tabernacle	35-40

Leviticus

	God tells Moses how to perform sacrifices	1-4
	God gives Moses laws on sin sacrifices	5-6
	God establishes the priesthood	6-10
	God defines clean and unclean	11-15
	God further defines atonement sacrifices	16-17
	God gives Moses laws on blood, sex, social ethics, grooming, killing for transgression	17-20
	God gives Moses priestly laws	21-22
	God gives Moses laws on Feasts, blasphemy, real estate, slaves	23-25
	God will bless or curse based on lawfulness	26
	God tells how offerings can be bought back	27

Numbers

	God directs a census	1-4
	God instructs the purging of the camp	5
	God instructs how one is dedicated to God	6
	The Tabernacle and Levites are consecrated	7-8
	Regulations for celebrating Passover	9
	The Israelites leave Mount Sinai	10
	God punishes the Israelites for complaining	11
	God punishes Miriam for talking bad of Moses	12
	Israelites lose access to the Promised Land	13-14
	God instructs on sacrifices	15
	God squashes a rebellion against Moses	16-17
	God instructs on purification	18-19
	Israelites conquer the Amorites	20-21
	Balaam and his talking donkey predict defeat	22-24
	God orders death of immoral Israelites	25
	God directs another census	26
	Moses begins transfer to Joshua	27
	God instructs on sacrifices and vows	28-30
	Genocide of the Midianites	31
	Plan for settling the Promised Land	32-34
	Levitical land and blood justice	35
	God instructs tribal racial purity	36

Deuteronomy

	Moses reviews the history of the Israelites	1-3
	Moses tells the Israelites to obey and teach God's Law that he is about to give them	4
	Obey the Ten Commandments	5
	Perform continuous and blatant teaching of the Law	6
	Perform genocide on the Promised Land's present occupants	7
	Remember God provides	8
	God is giving them the Promised Land because the inhabitants are wicked	9
	God is the best	10
	Perform continuous and blatant teaching of the Law	11
	Have zero tolerance of other religions	12-13
	Laws on food, debt, the poor, slavery, sacrifice, Feasts, legal justice, kingship, the occult	14-18
	God will provide a Prophet and how to test a Prophet	18
	Laws for manslaughter, legal justice, war, inheritance, livestock, apparel, virgin brides, adultery, rape, injured genitals, bastard children, nocturnal emissions, waste management, prostitution, loans, divorce, kidnapping, social justice, judgements, family lineage, fighting, firstfruit sacrifices	19-26
	Curses are made at Mount Ebal	27
	Blessings and curses are made for the Israelites, depending on their faithfulness to the covenant of the Law	28-30
	Moses makes his succession to Joshua	31-34

Joshua

	Joshua takes over Israelite leadership	1
	Joshua spies on Jericho	2
	The Israelites cross the Jordan River	3-4
	The Israelites get circumcised	5
	The conquest of Jericho	6-7
	The conquest of Ai	7-8
	The Promised Land occupants unite against the Israelites	9
	God helps the Israelites revenge the attack on the Gibeonites	10
	The Israelites conquer many lands	10-12
	Conquests continue as the land is given tribal assignments	13-21
	The eastern tribes build their own altar to God	22
	Joshua reminds the Israelites to obey the Law, and then dies	23-24

Judges

	Israelites war against the Canaanites	1
	God is angry that the Israelites didn't commit the genocide and purging of the Promised Land as instructed	2-3
	Judge Ehud's victory of the Moabites	3
	Judge Deborah's victory of the Canaanites	4-5
	Judge Gideon's miraculous victory of the Midianites	6-8
	Abimelech assumes kingship	9
	Judge Jephthah's victory of the Ammonites, sacrifice of his daughter, victory of the Ephaimites	10-12
	Samson is born	13
	Samson's Philistine wife, victory of the Philistines	14-15
	Samson and Delilah	16
	Micah and the Danites	17-18
	The rape of a Levite's concubine and Benjamite devastation	19-21

Ruth

	The widowed Ruth tends to her mother-in-law	1
	Ruth gets a new husband	2-4

1 Samuel

	Samuel is born	1
	God curses priest Eli's lineage	2
	Samuel becomes a Prophet	3
	War with Philistines with the Ark of the Covenant	4-7
	Saul becomes king	8-12
	Saul defeats the Philistines	13-14
	Genocide of the Amalekites	15
	David is anointed to be the next king	16
	David and Goliath	17
	David and Jonathan get intimate, while Saul attempts to kill David	18-23
	David spares Saul's life and they make peace	24
	David threatens Nabal for not paying for his protection, marries Nabal's widow Abigail	25
	David spares Saul's life and they make peace again	26
	David joins the Philistine army	27-29
	David revenges the sacking of Ziklag	30
	Saul and his sons die in battle with Philistines	31

2 Samuel

	David mourns for Saul and Jonathan	1
	War between Ish-Bosheth, king of Israel, and David, king of Judah	2-4
	David becomes king of all the Israelites and captures Jerusalem	5
	David fails at bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem	6-7
	David has many successful conquests	8
	David favors Saul's only heir Mephibosheth	9
	David defeats the Arameans and the Ammonites	10
	David takes Bathsheba, another man's wife, for his own	11-12
	David's son Absalom kills David's son Amnon for raping his sister	13-14
	Absalom incites rebellion against David	15-19
	Sheba incites rebellion against David	20
	God gives Israel plague for long-dead Saul's actions	21
	David thanks God	22-23
	God makes David take a census, then punishes Israel for it	24

1 Kings

	David makes Solomon his successor	1-2
	Solomon is blessed by God	3-4
	Solomon builds the Temple for God	5-6
	Solomon builds a palace for himself	7
	God consecrates the Temple	8-9
	The Queen of Sheba meets with Solomon	10
	Solomon sins against God	11
	The Israelites split with the people of Judah	12
	A prophet foretells the end of Jeraboam's ways and gets killed for eating	13
	Successions of kings and wars of Israel and Judah	14-16
	Elijah foretells of drought and raises a dead boy	17
	Elijah arranges a contest between Baal and God	18
	Elijah flees Jezebel and talks to God	19
	God delivers the Arameans to Ahab	20
	Ahab repents the murder he did, so God will punish his children	21
	Ahab dies in battle	22

2 Kings

	Elijah has God kill men trying to bring him to Ahaziah, then goes anyway	1
	Elijah goes directly to heaven, God kills 42 children for calling Elisha bald	2
	Elisha helps Joram conquer the Moabites	3
	Elisha performs miracles, including raising the dead, and reveals prophesies	4-8
	Jezebel and the house of Ahab are destroyed	9-11
	Joash rebuilds the temple	12
	Elisha prophesies Israel's partial victory over Arameans, dies, and his bones bring a dead guy to life	13
	Successions of kings and wars of Israel and Judah	14-17
	Isaiah reveals God will protect Judah from Sennacherib	18-19
	Hezekiah's later years of ruling Judah	20
	Menasseh, the most evil king of Judah, rules 55 years	21
	Josiah, the most good king of Judah and all Isrealites ever, finds and lives by the Book of the Law	22-23
	God could not forgive the evil Menasseh had done, so He has Babylon capture Judah	24-25

1 Chronicles

	Lineage information up to Saul	1-9
	The end of Saul	10
	David becomes the commander of Israel	11-12
	David brings the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem	13-16
	God promises David's kingdom will last forever	17
	Military victories under David's kingship	18-20
	God punishes the Israelites for taking a census	21
	David arranges for the construction of the Temple	22-23
	Lists of the priests, Temple musicians, gate keepers, treasurers, armies, officers, overseers	24-27
	David prepares Solomon to lead and build the Temple	28-29

2 Chronicles

	Solomon gets wisdom, wealth, and honor from God	1
	Construction of the Temple	2-4
	Solomon brings the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple	5
	Solomon blesses and dedicates the Temple	6-7
	Miscellaneous activities of Solomon	8
	The queen of Sheba visits Solomon, Solomon gets rich and dies.	9
	God divides the Israelites against the house of David.	10
	The reign of Rehoboam in Judah, the plundering of the Temple	11-12
	The reign of Abijah in Judah	13
	The reign of Asa in Judah	14-16
	The reign of Jehoshaphat in Judah	17-20
	The reign of Jehoram in Judah	21
	Turmoil and reign of Joash in Judah	22-24
	The reign of Amaziah in Judah	25
	The reign of Uzziah in Judah	26
	The reign of Jotham in Judah	27
	The reign of Ahaz in Judah	28
	Restoration and reign of Hezekiah in Judah	29-32
	The reign of Manasseh and Amon in Judah	33
	The reign of Josiah in Judah	34-35
	The fall of Jerusalem	36

Ezra

	Cyrus sends the exiled Israelites back home to build the Temple of God	1-2
	The Temple is built, with some difficulties	3-6
	Ezra goes to Jerusalem	7-8
	The Jews sin by interracial marriage	9-10

Nehemiah

	Nehemiah directs the repairs of Jerusalem's fortifications	1-4
	Nehemiah reprimands Jewish lenders for charging usury to Jews	5
	The repairs of the wall of Jerusalem are completed	6
	The record of those that returned from exile	7
	The Israelites confirm their covenant with the Law	8-10
	The settling of Jerusalem and Judah	11-12
	Nehemiah's corrective return visit to Judah	13

Esther

	Xerxes gets rid of his queen for disobeying him	1
	Esther pleased Xerxes, so she became the new queen	2
	Haman plots to kill all of the Jews	3
	Mordecai and Esther work to save the Jews	4-7
	Mordecai gives the Jews vengeance against their enemies	8-10

Job

	God bets with Satan; Job is robbed and his children killed	1
	God bets with Satan again; Job is afflicted with sores	2
	Job curses his life	3
	Job's friend, Eliphaz, consoles him	4-5
	Job claims that he is innocent	6
	Job pleads aloud to God	7
	Job's friend, Bildad, consoles him	8
	Job replies to Bildad in hopelessness	9
	Job pleads aloud to God	10
	Job's friend Zophar rebukes him	11
	Job replies that this has been God's will	12
	Job pleads aloud to God	13-14
	Eliphaz says that God punishes the wicked	15
	Job claims God causes him hardship	16-17
	Bildad says that God punishes the wicked	18
	Job claims that God has wronged him	19
	Zophar says that God punishes the wicked	20
	Job claims that actually the wicked prosper by God's will	21
	Eliphaz accuses Job of sins, telling him to return to God	22
	Job claims God is untimely in His justice	23-24
	Bildad doubts that Job is righteous	25
	Job recounts his situation due to God's actions	26-31
	Elihu says that Job has sinned, and God's justice is perfect	32-37
	God brags about His knowledge and His power	38-41
	God blesses Job with twice what he had before	42

Ecclesiastes

	Life is meaningless, so enjoy it!	1-6
	Solomon searched for God's plan	7-8
	The righteous and the evil share the same destiny	9
	Solomon shares some random wisdom	10-11
	Remember God before you become cynical	12

Song of Solomon

	Two lovers celebrate each other	1-4
	The man leaves, and a search for him ensues	5-7
	The lovers are reunited	8

Isaiah

	God will purge the evil from Judah	1
	In the last days, God will humble Judah and leave only a remnant	2-5
	God has Isaiah curse the Israelites to leave only a remnant	6
	Immanuel will be born, then the Assyrians will conquer nations	7-8
	Mighty God will rule forever after Israel is destroyed	9
	Mighty God will destroy the Assyrians and call back the remnant	10
	The Root of Jesse will gather back the remnant	11-12
	Babylon will be destroyed and Israel will be restored and rule all nations	13-14
	Moab will be destroyed and Israel's throne will be established	15-16
	Aram and the Israelites which broke from Judah will be reduce to a remnant	17
	Cushites will be reduced to a remnant which will then give God tribute	18
	Egypt will be reduced to a remnant and then will worship God, as will Assyria	19-20
	The Babylonians, Edomites, and Kedarites will be reduced to a remnant	21
	God is planning a day of destruction for Jerusalem because they didn't repent	22
	Tyre will be destroyed, and then be a whore for benefiting God's people	23
	God has planned the Apocalypse	24-26
	God's Apocalypse plan for the Israelites	27-28
	God will humble the Israelites with invaders	29-31
	The Kingdom after the Apocalypse	32-33
	All nations, especially Edom, will be destroyed	34
	God will build a highway of Holiness to Jerusalem	35
	Isaiah reveals God will protect Judah from Sennacherib	36-37
	Hezekiah's later years of ruling Judah	38-39
	God is done punishing the Israelites, so He will bring them to Israel to be His Servant	40-44
	God will direct Cyrus to bring the Israelites back to Israel	44-45
	God disgraces pagans and will destroy Babylon	46-47
	God has refined the Israelites through their afflictions	48
	God's suffering Servant's vindication will exhibit God to everyone	49-50
	God will richly bless the Israelites and punish their oppressors	51-52
	God's suffering Servant's vindication will exhibit God to everyone	52-53
	God will forever bless and protect the Israelites	54
	All who keep God's Law and Sabbaths are welcome in Israel	55-56
	God will eventually punish the wicked pagans and stop punishing Israel	56-57
	Properly fast and obey the Sabbath to restore Israel	58
	Sin keeps the Israelites separate from God	59
	God will soon make Israel a blessed nation representing God	60-62
	The Israelites repent of their sins	63-64
	God will create the new heaven and the new earth	65-66

Jeremiah

	Jeremiah becomes a prophet	1
	God will mercilessly decimate the Israelites, send the remnant into exile, and then bring them back better than before	2-13
	God tells Jeremiah not to pray or mourn for the Israelites because it is too late to save them from His wrath	14-16
	Jeremiah prays for God to punish his enemies	17
	If the people of Judah repent, God will not destroy them	18
	God will destroy Judah for worshiping other gods	19
	Jeremiah laments his life and prays for God to punish his enemies	20
	God's message: fight and die, or surrender and live	21
	God's message: do good to keep Jerusalem, or it will be destroyed	22
	God will punish false prophets and bring back the exiled Israelites to a blessed land	23
	The first exiles will be good, the second will be bad	24
	God will bring judgement to all of mankind	25
	Jeremiah relays prophecies of potential destruction for several nations	26-27
	The false prophet, Hananiah, is killed by God	28
	God capriciously makes good exiles and bad exiles	29
	God will bring the exiled Israelites back and establish them there forever	30-33
	The Israelites free their slaves, then change their minds	34
	The Recabites impress God	35
	Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah's prophetic scroll	36
	Jeremiah gets sent to prison, a guarded courtyard, a cistern, and back to the courtyard	37-38
	Jerusalem is captured	39
	Ishmael goes on a murderous rampage	40-41
	The Jewish remnant goes to Egypt against God's advice	42-44
	Baruch, the scribe, will be protected by God	45
	God pronounces judgement against the Egyptians	46
	God has the Egyptians destroy the Philistines	47
	God pronounces judgement against the Moabites	48
	God pronounces judgement against the Ammonites	49
	God will destroy Babylon, leaving it forever desolate	50-51
	Jerusalem is captured	52

Lamentations

	God has decimated Jerusalem	1-2
	The prophet prays for Godly revenge	3
	Jerusalem has been destroyed, but will be restored by God	4
	God, why do you forsake us?	5

Ezekiel

	Ezekiel sees four creatures and hears from God	1-3
	God's symbolic prophesy for the siege of Jerusalem	4-5
	More prophesies of God's wrathful destruction of Israel	6-7
	God grabs Ezekiel for visions of provocation and wrath	8-11
	Pre-exile prophesies of wrath without delay	12
	Prophesies against the false prophets	13
	God will institute a no tolerance policy	14
	God will burn the unproductive vine of Jerusalem	15
	Israel is worse than a prostitute, and will be punished	16
	Parable of eagles and cedars	17
	A righteous man will live, a wicked man will die	18
	Parable of lion cubs and a vine	19
	Pre-exile prophesies of wrath	20-23
	The siege begins, and a prophesy against the sanctuary	24
	Post-exile prophesies against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia	25
	Post-exile prophesy against Tyre	26-28
	Post-exile prophesy against Egypt and her allies	29-32
	Ezekiel is a watchman	33
	David will shepherd Israel	34
	Edom will be desolate	35
	Prophesy for the land and people of Israel	36
	Valley of Dry Bones prophesy for Israel	37
	Prophesy against Gog and his allies after restoration	38-39
	Design of the coming Temple in Israel	40-42
	Regulations for priests of the coming Temple	43-44
	Sacrifice instructions for the coming Temple	45-46
	Boundaries and tribal division of Israel	47-48

Daniel

	Daniel and friends live in Babylon	1
	Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's metal statue dream	2
	Daniel's friends get thrown into the furnace	3
	Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's tree dream	4
	Belshazzar sees the handwriting on the wall	5
	Daniel is thrown into the lions' den	6
	Daniel dreams of the four beasts	7
	Daniel's vision of the goat and the end	8
	Daniel prays, Gabriel tells of the 70 sevens	9
	Prophesy of the troubled times up to the end times	10-12

Hosea

	Hosea marries adulteress Gomer, and God names his children for prophesy	1
	God's prophesy of punishment and restoration	2
	God tells Hosea to love his adulteress wife again	3
	God will destroy the House of Israel for its wickedness	4
	God will destroy both Israel and Judah for their wickedness	5
	Israel and Judah should repent so that God will restore them	6
	God wants to heal Samaria, but they are too wicked and so will instead be destroyed	7
	God will destroy Ephraim for their sins and rebellion	8-10
	God will not completely destroy Ephraim because of His compassion	11
	God will destroy Ephraim without compassion due to their sins and rebellion	12-13
	God calls the Samaritans to repent to be healed	14

Joel

The destruction of Judah and the soon-coming Day of Judgement

1-3

Amos

	God's judgement against many nations	1-2
	God's judgement against the House of Israel	2-9

Obadiah

Edom and other nations will be destroyed when God makes His new, larger Kingdom.

1

Jonah

	Jonah flees from God, gets eaten by a fish	1-2
	Jonah warns Nineveh and they repent	3
	God teaches Jonah a lesson	4

Micah

	God is coming to punish the Israelites	1-2
	God will gather the Israelite remnant back home	2
	God will turn His back on Israelite leaders	3
	The "last days," a great battle, and an eternal Kingdom	4-5
	God will destroy the Israelites	6
	God will gather the Israelite remnant back home	7

Nahum

	Nineveh will be destroyed, Israelites will be restored	1-2
	God will shame and destroy Nineveh	3

Habakkuk

	Babylon will punish Judah, then God will punish Babylon	1-2
	God thrashes the nations to save the Israelites	3

Zephaniah

	God will punish Judah and other nations on Judgement Day	1-2
	God will destroy many and force the remnant to worship	3

Haggai

	God motivates the people to rebuild the Temple	1
	God will soon shake the nations	2

Zechariah

	Nations will be punished, and the Israelites will return	1-2
	The High Priest Joshua may usher in God's new Temple	3
	Zerubbabel will build the Temple by God's Spirit	4
	Sinners will be banished, and Babylon punished	5
	Joshua will rule a theocracy if he obeys God	6
	God is coming to the Temple to bless the Israelites	7-8
	God's wrath, the Israelite's righteous king, and their attack on Greece	9
	God will restore Israel and Judah into one nation	10
	Metaphorical history of the Israelites	11
	The final battle against invulnerable Israelites	12
	1/3 of the world will remain to worship God	13
	Holy war and the aftermath	14

Malachi

	The Israelites have angered God by cheating on offerings and disobeying God's Law	1-2
	God's Day of judgement is coming, so obey God's Law	3-4

Matthew

	Jesus is born	1-2
	John the Baptist baptizes Jesus	3
	Jesus is tempted, recruits Disciples, and begins His ministry	4
	Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount	5-7
	Jesus heals many, calms a storm, and casts demons into swine	8
	Jesus heals many, resurrects a girl, and casts out a demon	9
	Jesus sends the Disciples out on their first mission	10
	John the Baptist questions Jesus, and Jesus reveals that John the Bapist is Elijah	11
	Jesus confronts the Pharisees	12
	Jesus tells parables regarding the Kingdom of Heaven	13
	John the Baptist's death, the feeding of the 5000, and Jesus walking on water	14
	Jesus explained "clean," helped a Canaanite woman's daughter, and fed 4000	15
	Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, Jesus reveals His resurrection and Second Coming	16
	The Transfiguration, faith which moves mountians, and a tax-exempt Jesus	17
	Jesus' teachings on humility, causing sin, joy at repentance, and forgiveness	18
	Jesus' speaks on divorce, marriage, wealth, and the reward for forsaking this world	19
	Jesus' parable on the last being first, and the ranking in Jesus' Kingdom	20
	The Triumphant Entry, cursed fig tree, and Jesus' confrontations at the Temple	21-22
	Jesus condemns the Pharisees	23
	The signs and timing of Jesus' Second Coming	24
	Parables emphasizing preparedness and works of righteousness to be rewarded	25
	Judas' betrayal, The Last Supper, the Sanhedrin trial, and Peter's denial	26
	Jesus in front of Pilate, Jesus' Crucifixion, death, and burial	27
	Jesus' resurrection and the Great Commission	28

Mark

	John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, Satan tempts Him, He gathers Disciples and starts His miraculous ministry	1
	Jesus performs miracles and exorcisms, confronts religious leaders, and appoints the 12 Apostles	2-3
	Jesus speaks in parables to prevent understanding, and calms the storm	4
	Jesus sends demons into swine and resurrects a dead girl	5
	The First Mission, beheading of John the Baptist, feeding the 5000, and walking on water	6
	What makes you clean or unclean, exorcism of the Greek daughter, and healing of the deaf mute man	7
	Feeding of the 4000, Jesus' fate to come, and giving up everything for eternal life	8
	The Transfiguration, exorcism of a strong demon, Jesus' fate, and avoiding Hell	9
	Jesus on divorce, earning eternal life, the rich, and rewards for sacrifice, Jesus' fate, and a healing	10
	Triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Temple confrontations, and a cursed fig tree	11
	Jesus tells parables and squables with religious authorities	12
	The Signs of the End Times	13
	The Last Supper, Jesus' arrest and Sanhedrin trial, and Peter's denials	14
	Jesus with Pilate, the Crucifixion, and burial	15
	Jesus, resurrected, tells the Disciples to spread the Gospel	16

Luke

	The birth of John the Baptist and Jesus' early years	1-2
	John the Baptist prepares people, Jesus' baptism, Jesus' lineage	3
	Jesus tempted by Satan, rejected in Nazareth, teaching and healing in Capernaum	4
	Jesus gathers Disciples, teaches, and heals	5
	Sabbath issues, the Twelve Apostles, the Sermon in the Plain	6
	Faith of a centurion, resurrection of a boy, John the Baptist questions Jesus, Jesus speaks about John, a sinful woman washes Jesus' feet	7
	Supportive women, the Parable of the sower, Jesus calms the storm, sends demons into pigs, resurrects a girl	8
	The First Mission, the Feeding of the 5000, the Transfiguration, Jesus reveals His fate, exorcises a boy, starts heading to Jerusalem	9
	The Mission of the 72, selective Salvation, the Good Samaritan, Jesus at Martha's house	10
	The Lord's Prayer, Jesus' accused of being Satanic, the Sign of Jonah, condemnation of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law	11
	Focus on God and the afterlife, and be ready for Jesus to come back anytime, because only a few will be Saved	12-13
	A Sabbath healing, humility, a parable of Jewish rejection, and hating your own life for Jesus	14
	Heaven rejoices greatly everytime a sinner repents	15
	Use wealth to gain eternal reward, The Kingdom, the Law, divorce, and the beggar Lazarus	16
	About sin, faith, the Samaritan leper, and signs of Jesus' return	17
	Pray unceasingly, be humble, obey, and give your wealth to the poor to be rewarded	18
	Zaccaeus Saved, Parable of the Talents, the Triumphant Entry	19
	Jesus' teaching authority questioned, Parable of the Wicked Tenants, paying taxes, marriage at resurrection, warning about Teachers of the Law	20
	Proportions of giving, signs of the end and Jesus' Second Coming	21
	Judas conspires, the Last Supper, the greatest serves, Jesus' prayer for Peter, prayer on the Mount of Olives, Jesus' arrest and questioning, Peter's denial	22
	Jesus before Pilate and Herod, Jesus' Crucifixion, Jesus' burial	23
	The empty tomb, appearances of Jesus' resurrected, Scripture explained, Jesus' Ascension	24

John

	The Word became flesh, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus gathered Disciples	1
	Jesus turned water into Wine, cleared the Temple courts, impressed people with miracles	2
	Nicodemus and Jesus discussed being born again, Salvation through belief, John the Baptist testified for Jesus	3
	Jesus and Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus healed an official's son	4
	Jesus healed a disabled man on the Sabbath, Jews confront Jesus, Jesus explained how misled the Jews were	5
	Jesus fed the 5000, walked on water, explained that the Jews will not have Salvation	6
	Jesus went to the Feast, accused the Jews of having bad judgement, left many people questioning and angry	7
	Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, Pharisees question Jesus, Jesus turned believing Jews against Himself	8
	Jesus healed a blind man, thereby confounding the Pharisees	9
	The Good Shepherd, confrontation at another Feast, collection of John the Baptist's disciples	10
	Resurrection of Lazarus, religious elite plot to kill Jesus	11
	Mary anointed Jesus, the Triumphant Entry, Jesus was popular, discourse on Resurrection and Judgement	12
	Jesus washed feet, Judas' treachery revealed, command to love, Peter's denial predicted	13
	Jesus preparing a place for disciples, vicarious reception of God, the Holy Spirit will be given	14
	Jesus is like a vine, be willing to die for one another, accountability for sin	15
	Stand firm, the Holy Spirit will be given and is powerful, grief will turn to joy, disciples finally believe	16
	Jesus prayed for and Saves only those who God has chosen	17
	Jesus arrested, Peter's denials, Jesus questioned, Pilate's investigation	18
	Jesus was flogged, Pilate let Jesus be crucified, Joseph put Jesus in a tomb	19
	The empty tomb, Jesus' resurrected appearances, the giving of the Holy Spirit	20
	Jesus appeared the third time, providing a miraculous fish catch, Peter instated as the leader	21

Acts

	Jesus' post-resurrection appearances, Jesus' ascent to Heaven, Matthias replaced Judas	1
	Apostles receive the Holy Spirit, Peter explained some prophesies and made 3000 converts, wealth was shared	2
	Peter healed a lame man, and explained prophesies and Jesus' mission to the Jews	3
	Peter and John were arrested, threatened, and released, others receive the Holy Spirit, wealth was shared	4
	Ananias and Sapphira were killed by God, Apostles were arrested and harrassed by the Jewish elite	5
	Church labor divisions made, Stephen was arrested, gave historical testamony, and then got stoned	6
	Church persecution, Simon the sorcerer, conversion of a eunich	8
	Saul/Paul's vision of Jesus, and his conversion, Peter's miracles	9
	Peter's vision of the unclean becoming clean, saving of the Gentile centurion's household	10
	The spreading of the Church, including to the Gentiles	11
	James killed, Peter arrested and miraculously freed, Herod killed by God	12
	Paul spreads the Gospel, blinds Elymas the sorcerer, teaches in Antioch	13
	Paul and Barnabus witness in Iconium, Lystra, and Debre, Paul gets stoned	14
	The debate on Gentile circumcision and obeying God's Law	15
	Paul and Silas witness, exocise a demon, and get arrested in Macedonia	16
	Paul witnesses in Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens	17
	Paul witnesses in Corinth and elsewhere, Apollos preached about Jesus without knowing Him	18
	Paul gives the Holy Spirit in Ephesus, exorcisms go bad for non-Christians, Ephesian idol-merchant gets angry	19
	Paul resurrects a young man in Troas, says goodbye to the Ephesus region	20
	Paul arrested in Jerusalem in the Temple, a retelling of Paul's vision of Jesus	21-22
	Paul before the Sandhedrin, the plot to kill Paul, and the trial before the Governor	23-24
	Paul's odyssey of witnessing on the way to Rome while under arrest	25-28

Romans

	God's wrath is coming for unrepentant sinners	1
	God will punish hypocrites	2
	Righteousness comes by faith, not by obeying the Law	3-4
	Adam made everyone die, Jesus lets everyone live	5
	Believers died through Jesus, therefore they are free from the Law	6-7
	Believers are free from the eternal consequences of sin	8
	God has only chosen a remnant of Jews to save	9-11
	Do good	12
	Obey all authorities	13
	Get along with one another, despite differences	14
	Paul is pleased by his work with the Gentiles	15
	Everyone says hello, and do not forget that God will soon crush Satan	16

I will update this post each time I post a new book summary. That way this post will collect the entire Bible storyline.