The following section lists the basic information that you need to understand as you read and study God's word. It is intended to help you understand just what is the underlying "structure" of God's ways of doing things. It won't explain "everything," but will lay-out the framework of people and truths in the Bible.
A. The Main Events of the Bible - what follows are the important events in history and prophecy as recorded in the Bible! Take careful note!
1. The Creation. The Bible teaches in Genesis 1, and throughout the Scriptures that God "created" everything there is about 6,000 years ago, and that everything is currently wearing out, and not improving.
2. The Flood. About 4,600 years ago, a world-wide flood occurred that wiped-out all land-dwelling creatures, including mankind (Genesis 6). Everyone died except for Noah, and his family, who were saved because they obeyed God, and built an ark which contained two of every kind of land animal. It was the flood that fashioned the continents into their current shapes, and lifted the mountains to their current heights.
3. The Calling out of Abraham. Abraham is a cornerstone of the Old Testament. He lived in an ungodly city called Ur, but decided to obey God's word and leave Ur to follow God's will for his life. When God promised Abraham that He would give him as many children as the number of the stars, Abraham didn't doubt, but simply believed God, and became the father of the race of people called the Jews, who because of Abraham, are the people of God (Genesis 12-25).
4. The Bondage in Egypt. The descendants of Abraham were called Jews. These Jews went to dwell in Egypt, but were enslaved by the Egyptians for over 400 years (Genesis 30 through Exodus 3).
5. The Passover. Just before Israel was set free from slavery in Egypt, God commanded that every believer get themselves a lamb, and to kill that lamb in their place. They were to then take the blood of that lamb, and place it visibly upon the outside doorposts of each home, and God promised to "pass over" them in His judgment (Exodus 12)!
6. The Promised Land. Abraham had been promised a piece of land known as Canaan. It was over 400 years later when Joshua led the nation of Israel into Canaan and conquered all its inhabitants (The Book of Joshua). It is where Israel now dwells, and always will be Israel's.
7. The Kingdom Age. Israel became a kingdom under three great kings named Saul, David, and Solomon. Many other kings followed them (1 Samuel – 2 Chronicles).
8. The Captivity. After about 400 years in the Promised Land, the people of Israel lost interest in following the God of the Bible, and became totally idolatrous. God gave them over to their enemies, who came into their cities, and took all the healthiest, and strongest, and most beautiful away to distant lands as slaves again. Israel had gone full cycle, and would have to wait for 70 years before they could begin to rebuild their lives back under God.
9. The Old Testament. This set of 39 Books in the Bible contains the history of the world from Creation, up to about 400 years before the birth of Jesus. It was written in Hebrew, and pointed toward Christ.
10. The Nativity of Christ - His First Coming. God became flesh and dwelt among us here on earth almost 2,000 years ago. He lived a sinless life for 33 years, and then died as our substitute for sins on the cross to pay off our sin-debt to God. Everyone of His day wanted Jesus to rule as King, but His first coming was not to rule, but to save!
11. The New Testament. This set of 27 Books in the Bible records the life of Christ, and presents the truths and freedoms that can transform any sinner into a true saint.
12. The Rapture. A catching away of the Christians from the earth just before the beginning of the time called the Tribulation. It occurs so fast that people won't know what happened!
13. The Tribulation. Seven years of disasters and troubles that will rock the very foundations of this planet (Revelation 6-19). It will result in 1/3rd of the population of the earth dying.
14. The Second Coming of Christ. Christ Jesus, and all Christians are coming back again! Jesus promised that He will defeat Satan, and will establish a true kingdom of heaven on earth (Revelation 19). We don't know when it will happen, but look for it everyday expectantly!
15. The Millennium. This is the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth, who will return the earth back to what it was like in the Garden of Eden (Revelation chapters 20,21).
16. The New Heaven and New Earth. Once the Millennium is over, God will destroy this entire universe by fire, and start over with a perfect universe, and earth, with no more sin, or Satan around (Rev 21 & 22).
B. The Main People of the Bible
1. Adam and Eve (Gen chapters 2,3). These were the first humans on earth, and from them are all humans, and because of their disobedience to God, we have death, and sin, and separation from God.
2. Cain and Able (Gen 4). Here were two brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. Abel worshipped God with the sacrifice of lambs, and Cain with his own good efforts. When God only appreciated Abel's lamb, Cain ended up killing his brother out of envy, and became the first murderer!
3. Noah (Gen 6-9). Noah was the only man who followed and obeyed God in his day - the rest of the world was caught up in wickedness and violence. He was commanded to build a huge ark that would carry both himself, his family, and two of each kind of animal through the coming world-wide flood.
4. Nimrod (Gen 10). Nimrod began again false worship, and open rebellion to God's word. He built Babylon, and attracted all the world to worship his false Gods, which are the basis for ALL the world's religions still (including Catholicism), except for Biblical Christianity!
5. Abraham (Gen 12-25). The father of the race of people called Israel, or the Jews. It was his faith in God that moved God to choose to use him to bring the promised Messiah into the world. It was his people that God would use to pen the Scriptures, and keep them from error.
6. Isaac (Gen 21-35). The miraculous born son of Abraham. This boy was the promised son of Abraham, and was born when Abraham was 100 years old, and his wife Sarah was 90!
7. Jacob (Gen 25-49). He is one of Isaac's sons. He is a trouble-maker, but gets converted, whose name gets changed to Israel by God because he finally surrenders to the Lord.
8. The Children of Israel. These are the descendants of Jacob/Israel, and are the people of God.
9. Moses the Lawgiver. God protects Moses from birth, when he is taken in by Pharaoh's daughter, and made the adopted son of the king of Egypt. Moses later discovers that he is a Jew, and renounces his position so that he can be with his people which at the time were slaves. Moses ultimately leads Israel out of Egypt, and to the land promised them called Canaan, which is modern Palestine, where Israel is today. God uses Moses to pen the first five Books of the Bible, which are referred to as "the Law" of Moses.
10. Joshua. He leads Israel into their Promised Land, and defeats all the kingdoms of the land, allowing Israel to possess it in peace (see the Book of Joshua).
11. The Judges. These are leaders whom God uses to bring Israel back to God each generation after Moses and Joshua because they would spiritually drift away. They were before the time of kings in Israel (see the Book of the Judges).
12. The Kings. God set Israel up as a kingdom with Saul as its first king. After him was king David, followed by Solomon. After them, the kingdom splits in two, and each kingdom lasts for no more than 400 years before being taken captive by other countries.
13. Daniel the prophet. There were many prophets used by God to write much of the Bible, but Daniel stands out among them. He is used to write about the coming Messiah (Jesus), and the end times.
14. Jesus the Saviour. Jesus is the whole theme of the Bible - from the first lambs slain in the Garden of Eden, God has been pointing sinners to the only substitute acceptable - that of an innocent Lamb. God became flesh, gave His life freely on the cross, and was buried, but then after three days, rose again, and ascended to heaven victorious over both sin and death! That makes Him our only way to heaven, by faith!
15. Satan, the devil. Satan's name used to be Lucifer, an arch-angel, but he turned away from God and sought to de-throne the Lord. He was kicked out of heaven, but still works destruction in God's creation. He only seeks to destroy what God has created, and set himself up as God. He is doomed to burn forever with his followers in the lake of fire!
16. Angels. Angels are spiritual beings that minister for God here on earth. They only do what God wants done, not what we want done.
C. The Main Themes of the Bible
1. The Depravity of Mankind. At the start of the Bible, God shows that mankind, even in the most perfect of environments, will chose to go their own sinful way instead of God's way. God however, will not give-up on the work of redeeming us from sin's power and price. All humans, at their best, are still sinful, and unable to enter heaven, no matter how hard they try (Psalm 39:5; Isaiah 40:17). They MUST be "born-again" where their sins are completely forgiven, and their names are written in heaven, all by faith in Jesus Christ!
2. The Intervention of God in Human Affairs. In order to keep mankind from self-destruction, and total loss, God has had to intervene sometimes with disasters (like the world-wide flood of Noah's day, etc.), and with the coming of Jesus Christ. God is in no way ignoring our condition here on earth, but intervenes at the right times, in the right ways. As a matter-of-fact, He intervenes in everyone's life daily!
3. The Salvation of Sinners. The primary reason for intervention is to restore what sin has ruined, and He does that one heart at a time in the lives of sinners who repent, and follow His Son, Jesus Christ. This theme is played-out over and over throughout the lives of all people throughout Scripture.
4. The Coming Physical Kingdom of Christ. The constant struggle with sin on this earth will not go on forever, but will climax with the return of Jesus Christ the second time. He comes again to destroy the works of the devil, and to rule as King of kings. No one knows when He is coming again, but we know He says it is imminent (soon)!