—Books of the Bible Test!—And Bible Chronology Part 1!DO 269010/90

—Classtime with Grandpa!

1. (David: Thank You Jesus! Thank You Lord! We pray that You'll put Your blessing on this class time, Lord. Help us to learn the things that we need to, & help us as we take this test, too, Lord. Help us to get these things down so we'll remember them from now on. Please bless Grandpa & thank You for how he takes his time to teach us these things, Lord, in Jesus' name. Thank You Lord!)

2. Amen! Lord help them on their test. Have you got your papers ready? OK! Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord! We're on the Books of the Bible.

Books of the Bible Test!

3. Nos. 1 & 2: The Bible is divided into two main parts. What are they? You can just write the abbreviations if you want to. I'm talking about the two main parts. I'm not talking about the Books right now. (Techi: We're going to write this, right?) Yes, you're going to write them down. Write down the two main parts, or the initials of the two main parts. Number one is one part, & number two is another part. I like one–word tests. Are you ready for number three? (Kids: Yes!)

4. No. 3. What would you call the first five Books of the Bible? What is your favourite name for them? Now I want you to remember these. Don't look at your Bibles or your notes. (David: Yes, Sir.) (Techi: OK!) OK! You should be able to remember them. When you're through, tell me. (Kids: OK!)

5. No.4. The Books of the Bible beginning with Joshua through Esther are known as what? What kind of Books? It's the name for one kind of books you study in school‚ too. You can either use the noun or adjective‚ either one.

6. No. 5. The next five Books of Job through Song of Solomon are known as what? I should just say, "Are what?" (Techi: OK!) Tell me when, David. (David: Oh, yes, Sir, I'm done!)

7. No. 6. The next five Books are known as what?

8. No. 7. And all of the rest of the Books are known as what?—Who, really.—All the rest of those Books in the Old Testament, that is. Are you ready for more? (Kids: Yes‚ Sir!)

9. No. 8. In the New Testament, the first five Books are what kind of Books? I'm not talking about just the first four Books, which are the Gospels, but this term includes the Book of Acts, similar to one of the sections of the Old Testament. Are you ready? (Kids: Ready!)

10. No. 9. And the next Books, all the way from Romans through Jude‚ are known as what? You could either call them by the old-fashioned name or just their very common name. But of course the Bible colleges usually use theological* terms (*involved with the study of God & religion), & you need to know those, otherwise they might not know what you're talking about, & you might not know what they're talking about!

11. No. 10. And the last Book in the Bible, I don't want its name but what kind of a Book is it? What does it deal with? All right. Are you ready to correct your tests? Exchange your papers!

Test Answers!

12. Nos. 1 & 2. What are the two major divisions of the Bible? (David: Old Testament & New Testament.) Right! And you could have just put OT & NT.

13. No. 3. Of the Old Testament, what do you prefer to call the first five Books of the Bible? (Techi: Should we give you the name of what they are?) Just give me whatever you called them on your paper. (David & Techi: The Law.) Both of you said "The Law"? (Kids: Yes!) Good! And what are the other two names, can you tell me? (Techi: History & poetry?) No.

14. Well‚ one name I forgot to tell you, some people call it the Pentateuch. Do you know what Pentateuch means? In Greek it literally means "five books." "Penta" means five & "teuch" books. But they're also called what? (Techi: The Five Books of Moses.) And what else? What do the Jews call them? (David: The Torah.) Very good. Well, that's not on your test, but as long as you called them one of those or the Law, that's fine.

15. No. 4. The next Books‚ Joshua through Esther are what? (Techi: History!)

16. No. 5. Next five Books are? (Techi: Poetry!)

17. No. 6. Next five Books are? (David & Techi: The Major Prophets!)

18. No. 7. And the rest of the Books in the Old Testament are? (David & Techi: Minor Prophets.) That's very good!

19. No. 8. All right! New Testament! The first five Books are? (David: History!)

20. No. 9. And the next Books, all the way from Romans through Jude? (David & Techi: Epistles!)—Right! Or you could have used their common name, "Letters."

21. No. 10. And Revelation? (David & Techi: Prophecy!) Prophecy, right! OK!

22. If anybody missed one, take off 10 from 100. What did you both get? (Kids: 100!) 100! A-plus, both of you! OK! That's good! Give them their grade & then hand back their papers. You can either call it 100 or A-plus, or both! Make that nice & big & readable at the top of the test. OK? OK! One of these days we're going to add up all of these scores & take their average & that'll be your grade for the course.—Your "par" for the course, as they say in golf! All right! Boy, we sure got through that in a hurry. Wow!

Chronology of the Bible!—Creation to Babel!

23. Now the next thing I'm going to teach you, which is very important, is the chronology* of the Bible, Lord willing, before we get into anything textual. (*Chronology = Order of events from earliest to latest.) I'll just ask you these questions now to see how much you already know, but I'll probably ask you to answer them on a test tomorrow. I'm a teacher who likes to give tests to make sure you know what you know. (Techi: I'm not good at chronology at all!) Well, I don't really expect you to be, Honey. You weren't old enough to get all of this before. But I'll tell you right now‚ or if you can manage to pull out the answer, fine. If you don't know it, well, don't be surprised! And don't be disheartened or disappointed!

24. Here's one that you ought to know pretty well: Creation was about how many thousand years before Christ? (Techi: 5,000?) No, but you're only a thousand off. It's 4,004 B.C. Let's say 4‚000 B.C. Putting things in round numbers is a big help.

25. According to this chronology‚ the Flood occurred about what year B.C.? About how many years before Christ? You can round it off to the nearest 500‚ if you want to. (David: Was it 2,500?) Well, how many years after Creation did it occur? Let's see, maybe you're right. Yes, you were right! I always remembered it as being 1,600 years after Adam.

26. Actually, something very important occurred almost every 500 years in the Old Testament History. If Creation was about 4,000, then if the Flood was about 1,600 years later, that would make it‚ like he said first, about 2,500 B.C. That was pretty good, David! (David: I don't know how I remembered it.) Yes‚ about 2,500 B.C.

27. The Tower of Babel happened about 300 years after the Flood. Look how soon people got evil! We're doing this in round numbers. You'll never remember the specific dates, it's too hard & it's not necessary to have to remember them. You just need to know it in round numbers. (David: Yes.)

28. When did the Flood happen? (David: About 2,500 B.C.?) Yes. And then how long after that did the Tower of Babel happen? In round numbers, in hundreds. (David: 2‚000?) Well, my answer is about 300 years. (Techi: What's the date for that?) About 2‚200 B.C. You can do this either way you want to, by actual date or number of years‚ whichever way you prefer to memorise it. I like to think of most of the things being about every 500 years. They built the Tower of Babel about 300 years after the Flood, as they were coming down the Euphrates Valley. They were all one people, one tongue, & that made them very powerful‚ of course.

Super Powers!

29. Why did God break them up into different tongues? Why is the World in such a mess now in all different tongues? (David: Because they were getting too powerful, or at least they thought they were.) Yes, countries that have the most number of people speaking the same language are the most powerful countries on Earth today. And this is one way the Lord had of keeping them from becoming like the final Antichrist One-World Government.

30. So the Lord broke them up into languages so that they would be scattered all over the Earth & nobody would be too strong. It's only when nations began to assemble, like the United States‚ with each State big enough to become a country, speaking the same language, that they became so powerful. So the U.S. has become a Super Power.

31. What about Russia? (David: Yes‚ they're one, too.) They're many what?—Soviet Republics, they're called. The whole bunch is called the U.S.S.R., the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. There are about 15 of them all together & each one is called a Soviet Republic of so-&-so. But there, all the people united together & they all speak different languages. However, Russia, the strongest & biggest Republic, has forced the others to learn Russian so they also all speak Russian, the same language. And that's where the danger comes and where Super Powers begin, is when millions & millions of people can speak the same language.

32. So the Antichrist is probably going to make everybody learn one language too. (Techi: I wonder what it's going to be! What would it be?) Well‚ the most popular worldwide language today is English, believe it or not! One hundred years ago French was the worldwide language of diplomacy.—That means of diplomats & international relations, etc. Guess what was the worldwide language of science then, 100 years ago? (David: Latin?) No, German! You'd have to go back about to the 1500's‚ the end of the Middle Ages, to have Latin being spoken much. Because the Germans were the most scientific people on Earth, everybody who wanted to graduate with a high science degree had to go to Germany & finish his university education. (Techi: Interesting!)

33. What was the most important language, & virtually worldwide, of the music world 100 or 200 years ago? There were two, really.—Italian & German. (Techi: Oh, yes‚ opera!) Yes. So, that's enough about Babylon, the Tower of Babel, & about the languages, etc. That's an interesting point.

34. I wonder what will be the major language of the Antichrist. It might even be English. You take the Jews‚ nearly all of them know English. If they're going to be running the World, I don't doubt they'll prefer English. (Techi: That's good, at least we'll know the language.) Of course, the Antichrist may be a Russian himself. (Techi: Yes, so maybe he'll make everybody learn Russian, at least as the second language.) Yes, that's what they have done in the Soviet Union; besides their own language they made them all learn Russian as well. (There are over 90 separate nationality groups or languages in the Soviet Union!)

35. That's what all the dictators & mighty empires do. Look at the Greek Empire‚ they made everybody learn Greek. And then along came the Roman Emperors & they made everybody learn Latin. Most of the disciples originally were Jews & spoke what? (Techi: Hebrew.)—But they also knew what? (David: Latin?) Well, later. First they knew Greek, because it was following the time of the Greek Empire.

God's Preparation for the Gospel!

36. The Lord prepared the World for the Gospel by having nearly everybody learn Greek, because of the Greek Empire. The Greeks were very interested in religion, sex‚ art & literature. They were really very well-educated & intellectual. So when the Gospel came along, when Jesus came, all those people knew Greek & they were easily able to spread the Gospel all in the same language, Greek‚ or both Hebrew & Greek. (Techi: The Jews spoke Hebrew‚ right?) Yes.

37. So language is very important, & the timing was perfect! The whole Western World had one government, the Roman government, or at least they all had one cultural language before the Romans took over, they'd all learned Greek. Then when the Romans took over, they all learned Roman, or Latin. But the most important part Rome had to play was really in creating peace on Earth at that time‚ because the Romans had forced peace on Earth.—And almost everybody was a Roman citizen. (Techi: Amazing, forcing people!) Yes. Well, that's what the Antichrist is going to do. That's what every major empire has tried to do. That's what Napoleon tried to do in Europe, force peace on Europe. Actually most people don't care about peace that much. They're ready to start a war at the drop of a hat almost, or a fight in the school yard or whatever!

38. Anyway, the Lord prepared the way so that virtually all of Europe & the Mideast would have a common language‚ & eventually a common government. Wasn't that good for peace? (David: Yes!) They didn't have to have passports or anything to go from country to country. You could travel freely & you spoke the language. Wasn't that good for the Gospel? (David: Yes, Sir!) I may ask you some of those questions, like, "What two things prepared the World for the Gospel?" One answer would be, "The Greek language," & the other answer would be, "The Roman government." Have you got that? (Kids: Yes!) It would be good to put that down in your notes.

39. Now, we've dealt with the differences in languages & how they have been a help‚ & sometimes a hindrance. But the Lord didn't want any one group to get too strong. It's only when millions of people finally spoke the same language that you began to have Super Powers & Empires. Now there's going to be a One-World Government that will probably have a one-World language.

40. (Techi: Were they all speaking Hebrew at the Tower of Babel?) They spoke Noah's language. (David: Oh yes, that's right!) They were all his children or grandchildren, etc., so it was probably Hebrew. We don't know exactly for sure‚ but that's a good enough answer for me!

The Origins of English!

41. (Techi: When did English come in? Who made English?) It came from the Anglos & the Celts, ancient tribes in England, or "Angle-Land"! (Techi: English is mostly a conglomeration of a whole bunch of other languages, isn't it?) Yes, really it is, but mostly it's from the Anglos. Do you know where the name "Anglos" came from? (David: From Anglo–Saxon?) The Anglo-Saxons, yes. But I mean how did they get the name Anglos? Well, you probably never heard it. But the Romans were usually dark-haired, & when they saw those blonde, fair–haired‚ fair-faced women they said‚ "They're angels! Angels!"—Anglos! And another main tribe was known as the Saxons, so from then on they were known as Anglo-Saxons. Get it? (Techi: So most of the English language comes from Anglo, doesn't it?) Probably the greatest portion of it, yes. And a lot of it is based on German, & a lot of it is from French‚ a lot of it is from Greek, & a lot of it is Latin. Those are the major contributions to the English language.

42. It was really helpful for me to study Latin because when I came to an English word that I didn't know the meaning of, the definition, I could often pick it apart from the Latin. When you're trying to understand a word‚ you can often look at its prefix—the first part of the word, or first syllable—or its suffix, which is the last part of the word, or last syllable. These prefixes or suffixes usually come either from the Greek or the Latin. So I learned both, & that makes it easier for me to see what a word means.

43. And then a lot of other languages also make up English, a lot of French, particularly, because the English had a lot to do with the French & they picked up a lot of French words. And now‚ in this last day & age, when the Jews are so popular, so prevalent & so powerful, they have put a lot of Jewish words into the modern-day English language particularly.

More Bible Chronology!

44. Well, I hope you learned a few things tonight! Do you want to suggest a few questions for tomorrow night's test? What do you think some good answers will be? Go back over your notes & see. (David: Well, there's the Chronology of the Bible.) We just barely got started on that. How far did we get? Give me the approximate dates, or so many hundred years. (David: Creation was about 4‚000 B.C.) Yes, & the Flood? (Techi: 2,500.) (David: And the Tower of Babel was approximately 2,200.) Yes. (Techi: About 300 years after the Flood.)

45. I'll give you one more right now. What famous man was born actually in 2,002 B.C., but I'll just say around 2,000 B.C. He's the next famous character in the Bible after Noah. (Techi: Moses?) No‚ who was before Moses? (David: Abraham?) Abraham! Right! (David: And he was born around 2,000.) Around 2,000 B.C. Actually, 2,002.

46. That's enough for tonight! Our time is up! We've got to quit! (Techi: You're doing good, Grandpa, on that!) Praise the Lord! (David: That was really interesting.)

B.C. & A.D.!

47. What does "B.C." mean? (Techi: Before Christ.) Right! What does A.D. mean? (David: Anno Domini‚ in Latin, the Year of our Lord.) Yes, exactly, good for you! I'll be asking you those questions on one of these tests. (Techi: I used to always think it meant "before Christ" & "after death.") Ha! No!

48. Did you know the Jews have even been trying to change that? They refuse to use B.C. & A.D. They're trying to even get the schools to do away with it, they say it's religious. (Techi: They just don't believe in Jesus. It's so stupid!) They say it's religious & they're not supposed to have anything about religion in the schools. So they've got a new lettering, "B.C.E.," "Before Christian (or Common) Era," for things way back before Jesus was born. And they've got a new one for "A.D." too‚ "C.E.," for "Christian (or Common) Era" or "A.C.E." for "After Christian (or Common) Era." They've been trying to get the courts to get the schools to use those letters instead.

Closing Prayer!

49. Well, that was a short but sweet lesson! I hope you can remember some of it. Maybe just before the test tomorrow we can review. Would that be nice? (David: Yes, that would be nice.) I used to try to have a review before my tests. I used to go over all the questions & answers about six or seven times, & the last time was a test. Oh, & when they corrected their papers, that was another time! So whose turn is it to pray?

50. (Techi: Amen! Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord! Thank You Jesus! Amen‚ Lord Jesus, thank You for the good class, Jesus‚ that Grandpa gave us. Thank You for the things that we learned—I pray that You will help them to stick with us, Lord, & help us to remember them. And thank You that we're having such good lessons, Jesus. They're short & sweet & really good, Lord. And we pray that You'll please help us, Lord, to be able to remember them in our test tomorrow, too, in Jesus' name.) Amen! Praise the Lord! (Can you remember'm?)

Picture captions & text boxes:

The English Language

English is used by more than 450 million people in almost every part of the World. Northern Chinese Mandarin is the only language used by more people.

During the 1500's‚ fewer than 2 million people spoke English. All of them lived in what is now Great Britain. Through the centuries, as the result of various historical events, English spread throughout the World. Today, more than 300 million people speak English as their native language. Most of them live in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. Another 50 million, chiefly in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, speak English in addition to their own language. An additional 100 million people probably know at least some English.

Paul in Athens. The Gospel was easily preached throughout the Western World because of the widespread use of the Greek language. The language was spread to all the countries conquered by Alexander the Great in the late 4th Century B.C.

Augustus (63 B.C.—14 A.D.)‚ ruled when Jesus was born. He centralised the power of the Roman Empire of his day in Rome itself, & established the Pax Romana (Roman peace).

The Latin Language

In schools. Latin has been taught in schools since the Middle Ages, though its popularity has declined during the 1900's. American college students of the 1700's and 1800's were required not only to read Latin fluently, but also to write original essays and poems in Latin. During the 1900's, most colleges and universities in the United States have relaxed or eliminated these requirements. However, many universities in Great Britain and other European countries still require Latin.

Latin and English. Scholars estimate that about half of all English words in current use are of Latin origin. Most of them were borrowed from Old French, and reflect forms and meanings that Latin words had acquired in that language. The title of every rank in the army, from private to general‚ has a Latin origin. Some common Latin idioms remain unchanged in English, including such phrases as persona non grata, ad infinitum, and P.S. (post scriptum).

REMEMBER!

(approximate dates)

— Creation—4,000 B.C.

— The Flood—2,500 B.C.

— Tower of Babel—2‚200 B.C.

— Abraham—2,000 B.C.

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family