How were books chosen to be in the Bible?

Answer 1

As far as the Old Testament is concerned, the early church recognized those books that were recognized by the Jews at that time. Christ speaking in Luke 24:44 references the Jewish Bible at that time and refers to the divisions as the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms. In our English Bible, the law of Moses is Genesis through Deuteronomy; the Psalms is the poetical books (Job-Song of Solomon) and the prophets is our historical and prophetic books (Joshua-Esther and Isaiah-Malachi). Also another passage (Luke 11:51) mentions from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias being the time frame of the Old Testament. This doesn't just mean our English understanding of A-Z, but a time frame. Abel is mentioned in Genesis; Zacharias was the last recorded book of the Old Testament.

As far as the New Testament, these were a little more difficult for pastors in the first century to determine. Most followed these general rules:

Had to be written by an apostle or someone closely associated with an apostle

Had to match other Scripture (could not contradict the OT, or anything already recognized as Scripture in the NT)

As for the Apocrypha, that was not introduced in any Bibles nor recognized as part of The Bible until centuries later (don't have the exact date with me). The Catholics introduced it sometime around 800 AD. The early church pastors never recognized it as Bible, neither did the Jews. It was merely a historical record used to fill in the gap in history between the Old and New Testaments.

Answer 2

Here's the short version.... because this is actually question that requires a much more lengthy answer.... but, the books were chosen, not by accident. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, when the Hebrew people had strong faith in the Lord and they were called God's chosen people. God never changed his promise, but between Malachi and Matthew, there was 400 years of silence. The number 400 has a specific meaning as well... but back to the main question. When Jesus came, (New Testament now) He said he came to free us from the law. He preached love. The Jewish people had become so religious in their acts, they forgot the reel reason why God had commanded them to do so. Therefore Jesus preached to the Gentiles (Greeks) who were considered unclean to the Jew's standards. The Jews had taken the laws, God's commandments, etc and turned them into something to condemn others and lift themselves up, instead of draw closer to God. The entire New Testament is written in Greek. At that time, those were the people that believed in Jesus, followed him, and the ones that did NOT crucify him. Jesus was crucified by the Jews. SO in a sense, during the New Testament times, the Greeks (or Gentiles) were God's chosen people. DUring the 16th Century, England and the British Empire, was the strongest empire in the world. There was a saying in those days that said the "Sun never set on the British Empire..." or something very similar. English was widely spoken and taught... and it is also widely spoken today, taught in several countries, and America still leads the way for the most part in regards the direction many countries head. It was 1611 when the King James Version of the Bible was created combining the New and Old Testaments into one language, English. Considering that English was the main language, and that God loves EVERYONE and wanted the most people that could understand it to be able to read it, that is why the Bible today is in English. England was blessed as the biggest ruling country at one time UNTIL... they went against God's chosen people, and broke their promise to give them back their territory... (Palestine Turkey, read about it). Now they are but an island. The same thing happened to Egypt, once the strongest empire... reduced to an expanding desert..... Roman Empire (Greek times) until the Spanish inquisition... and now reduced to Ruins... for the most part. BABYLON the nation that went against God and His people more than any other nation in the Bible doesn't even exist anymore! And for some is considered to be a mythical place!!! And the only reason America is as strong as it is today, is because it has not gone against Israel. If Islam becomes the national religion here, America will be reduced to ruins as well, and we too, will repeat history.

Back to the Bible. Since English became the main language....SInce then, the Devil has come out with umpteenth number of versions that all take away from the Bible.... but read the last few verses of Revelation.... Those that take away, shall have their part taken out of the Book of LIfe and those that add, shall have added unto them the plagues written in this book.... and that is not verbatim, so don't judge me for taking away or adding... lol...not my intention. But I think it is always better to read our selves the Bible. So go get a KING JAMES VERSION BIBLE if you don't already have one... and read the last few verses yourself (to get the full effect) and you will know what I mean....