Category: Bible Questions

Did it ever rain before the Flood?

The story of the great flood is one of the most studied events on the Bible Timeline. Some people are skeptical that rain took place on Earth before Noah’s flood, others are just as strongly convinced that there was rain even before the rain that caused the great flood. The Bible does not specifically tell us whether or not it rained before the Flood.

Both groups use the same verses of scripture as proof of their positions. The main ones are “the fountains of the great deep” and the “windows of heaven” along with the significance of the rainbow in Genesis 9:11-17. Others use History, Science and even rules of Literature to defend their convictions. Here are some of the most frequent, and a few controversial or lesser-known arguments for and against rain prior to Noah’s flood.

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Argument: No It Did Not Rain Before the Flood

The Rainbow: as a new sign of a covenant from God to man after the Flood (Genesis 9:11-17), suggests that rain was experienced for the first time just before the flood and rainbows only after the flood. [i]
Today’s Science: John Baumgardner, et.al. [ii] proposed the catastrophic plate tectonics model where during the onset of the flood, the ocean floor rapidly lifted up to 6,500 feet (2,000 meters). Due to an increase in temperature as horizontal movement of the tectonic plates accelerated resulting in massive flooding. This phenomenon depicts the breaking up of the “fountains of the great deep” described in Genesis 7:11.
Water Canopy and Windows of Heaven: Dillow [iii] described water canopy, made of vapor or ice in the atmosphere surrounding the earth. Inundation of the canopy as the source of all the water required to explain a global flood may also refer to the “windows of heaven being opened” in Genesis 7:11.
Water Canopy and the Greenhouse Effect: Dillow and Vardiman [iv] cited that vapor canopy caused a greenhouse effect before the flood that explains the growth of lush vegetation on the land all around the globe. Even with just the aid of mist, validated by the discovered coal seams in Antarctica containing vegetation.
No Need for Rain: Genesis 2:6 could reflect the annual flooding of the Nile River every spring and covered the tillable land of Egypt. Water was channeled from the Nile to the crop fields through irrigation to resolve the lack of rainfall needed for plant growth. [v]
Today’s Science: a prerequisite for rain – condensation nuclei (typically less than .0001 millimeter in diameter) was largely absent before the flood. Water vapor molecules in the air have lesser chance to collide and fuse together. Without them, no rain can be produced. [vi]
Fountains of Great Deep: The “fountains of great deep” could also be seen as a series of volcanic eruptions with prodigious amounts of water (about 70% or more) bursting up through the ground supported by many volcanic rocks interspersed between the fossil layers in the rock record—layers that were obviously deposited during Noah’s Flood. [vii]

On the other hand, here are some viewpoints that rain occurred before the flood:

Argument: Yes It Rained Often Before Noah’s Flood

Todays Science: A river ran out of the Garden of Eden and parted into four headstreams – Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates (Gen. 2:10). The water from these rivers would pour into the sea. However, the sea would not overflow (Eccl. 1:7). With a hydrologic cycle, water from the sea evaporates then returns to Earth as rain thus, the sea never overflows. [viii]
The Rainbow: The Pulpit Commentary suggested that the phrase “I do set” in Genesis 9:11-17 grammatically connotes, “I have given, or have placed”, an implication that the occurrence of rainbow had already frequently appeared yet God took it as “new” sign. [ix]
Windows of Heaven: Refers to Rain Raqia (Hebrew word “expanse”) occurs 18 times in 15 verses of the Old Testament. In Genesis 1:8 raqia can be translated as “heaven” or “sky.” The “floodgates of the sky” might refer to a water canopy if “expanse” is never used in the later part of the Old Testament. But it can be seen from Malachi 3:10 and 2 Kings 7:2 which happened after the flood that this term indicates rain in general. [x]
Water Canopy Too Dense: Dr. Russell Humphreys [xi] reasoned that “in the expanse of the heaven” must have consisted of interstellar space therefore the waters above the expanse of Genesis 1:7 would be beyond the stars at the edge of the universe. Any kind of substantial water canopy above the earth would prevent the light from the sun, moon, and stars from being seen.
Water Canopy and the Greenhouse Effect: Earth’s atmospheric pressure doubles even with just 40 feet equivalence of liquid water canopy. A global water layer of only 40 feet deep that is 6.22 x 1021 grams of water would release 3.35 x 1024 calories of heat, increasing Earth’s temperature to 810°F.[xii] Definitely, animals and plants, including Noah and his family, do not survive long at this extreme pressure and temperature.
Other: Gen 2:4-25 is a highly structured topical account with a twofold focus on vegetation and humanity. Therefore, it is suggested that the coherent reading of Gen 1:1-2:3 (reading that coheres internally as well as externally with Gen 2:4-25) is topical rather than chronological [xiii].
Plants and the Need for Rain: Genesis serves as a preface to the history of Israel. The land of Canaan was a land cared for by God with rain from heaven. To keep the pledge to be loyal only to God would result in rain, vegetation, and life. But the Canaanites were tempted to turn to Baal, “the rider on the clouds,” in the procuring rain that resulted in no rain, no production, and death. God of Israel, our God created everything by His powerful words (Psalms 33:6), including the very first rain sent in the beginning, and has ever since sustained all things in His greatness (Hebrews 1:3). [xiv]

References:

i. Whitcomb and Morris, The Genesis Flood, p. 241

ii. S.A. Austin, J.R. Baumgardner, D.R. Humphreys, A.A. Snelling, L. Vardiman, and K.P. Wise, “Catastrophic Plate Tectonics: A Global Flood Model of Earth History,” Proc. Third ICC, 1994, pp. 609-621.

iii. J.C. Dillow, The Waters Above, 1981

iv. L. Vardiman, “The Sky Has Fallen”, Proc. First ICC, 1986, 1:113-119

v. House Church Network Association, Did it Rain Before Noah’s Day?, 2005

vi. Sound Doctrine, Did It Rain before the Flood? 2000

vii. Noah’s Flood – What about all that water? pdf

viii. Weldon E. Warnock, Did It Rain Before the Flood? 1989

ix. Pulpit Commentary, (Vol. 1, p. 143)

x, xii Rich Deem, The Water Vapor Canopy Theory: Why the Bible (And Science) Says It is False, 2007

xi. D.R. Humphreys, “A Biblical Basis for Creationist Cosmology,” (Proc. Third ICC, Pittsburgh, PA, 1994, pp. 255-266).

xiv. Dr. Mark D. Futato, Because it Had Rained: A Study of Genesis 2:5-7 With Implications for Genesis 2:4-25 and Genesis 1:1-2:3. PDF

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The two genealogies of Jesus Christ are found in Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3: 23-38

How are the two genealogies of Jesus Christ different?

Matthew’s gospel was written for the convincing of the Jewish people that Jesus was the prophesied Messianic king of the Jews. His line traces through Joseph, Christ’s legal father, his line of descent that proves that he would have truly been a King of the Jews had they not been living under Roman rule.

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Matthew starts with Abraham coming forward to Christ in sets of 14 names – a common device in that time. His focus is on the important forbears – i.e., as one might say today “a descendant of King Henry” or “one of the Mayflower” without giving the entire line linking back to that person.

Luke’s gospel is written to converted members of the ancient church both Jewish and Gentile to give background and the story of this man Jesus, son of God. His genealogy begins with Jesus linking him to Joseph as his father (with the qualifier “as was supposed”) since the church knew Christ was the literal son of God. Luke, therefore, traces the genealogy of Christ back to Adam ending with the words “the son of God.”

Why are the two genealogies of Jesus Christ Different?

Here are the common reasons that were given and some arguments for them:

1. That as Joseph was the legal father of Christ both genealogies are of Joseph – one of Joseph’s natural father and the other of his legal father -one being from the line of David and the other being from the line of Levi thus giving Christ both priestly and ruling power. A number of writers have suggested that this could have happened through adoption, or through the common practice for a “brother” (a man from the same father but not necessarily the same mother) to marry his deceased brother’s wife to raise up children for his brother.
2. One of the genealogies is the genealogy of Mary. Hebrew law did not allow a woman to be in the genealogy (it went from male to male) so that Luke used Joseph’s name instead. This argument also suggests that Mary and Joseph were cousins and shared a maternal ancestor. Most frequently writers argue that Luke’s line is the one of Mary as Luke believed that God was the father of Christ, and, therefore, the genealogy should be traced from her.
3. One or the other is incorrect – most likely Luke, who was going by hearsay while Matthew knew Christ and his family.

FREE, beautiful posters of the genealogy of Christ available for instant download.

We had two beautiful posters of the genealogy of Christ designed. On those posters, we have chosen to reflect the arguments suggesting that Luke’s genealogy traces Mary’s ancestors.

You can download either or both of these beautiful artwork posters of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ here – and while you’re there sign up for other free downloads and discount coupons.

What do we mean by scientific proof of the Bible?  For this issue, we are going to look at the creation only.  The creation is covered in 31 verses in the first chapter of Genesis.  It is obvious we aren’t looking at a detailed step by step instructions on how to create a universe, but rather a broad overview of how the universe was created.

Moses wrote Genesis 3500 years ago.  He either saw in vision or was taught by tradition the creation of the universe and wrote what he learned.  Since then scientists have found his description and their findings to be in complete agreement.  Moses wrote 3500 years ago about events that scientists have not fully understood until just recently.

One example is the first event, the separation of light from the darkness. This is an excellent description of an event astronomers refers to as the photon decoupling event.  Prior to that event, say, modern astronomers, the universe was opaque.

Light could not stream, helium atoms could not form.  There was no material for building worlds; there was no light and darkness.  After this event, light formed and streamed creating light and dark places in the universe. Helium atoms could form, and thus worlds were able to be formed.  The photon decoupling event as described by astronomers matches Moses description of the separation of light from the darkness. From there, the following takes place:

• The creation of the earth itself

• The separation of the dry land from the seas

• The creation of plants in a particular order – grasses, shrubs and trees

• The placing of the heavenly bodies in relationship to the earth

• The creation of animal life in a particular order – fish, birds, land animals

• The creation of man

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As scientists study the creation of the universe and life on earth, they have found that it happened in exactly that order. David Attenborough’s book “Life on Earth” gives a good description of the order of the creation of life on earth.  His listing of the order of appearance of various types of life and the sequence given in Genesis agree.  While Moses does not mention every item, those he does mention are in the correct order. The placing of heavenly bodies is also in agreement.  The moon is of particular interest.  Genesis 1:17 says “God set them [the moon and the sun] in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth”.

What is interesting is the size of the moon in relationship to the earth. It is much larger in comparison to the earth than any other moon is compared to the planet it circles. Due to its size and composition, the Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial “planet” along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

Scientists still have not decided exactly how the moon came to be in orbit around the earth or even how it was formed.  What is interesting to us, is that the moon is so large that it could easily destroy the earth.  A shorter distance away and the moon would not circle the earth. If it were any closer, it would impact the earth creating massive destruction.  Our moon is unique in the Universe and is precisely placed to accomplish it’s purpose.

Science itself proves the Bible to be correct in it’s description of the creation.

(Note:  We like to present both sides to every question here.  Since the “evolutionists” have plenty of sites explaining that side, this short excerpt will present the side of creationists.  The answer to this question is taken directly from the book In the Beginning:  Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood by Walt Brown, Ph.D.  Here’s more information on:
In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood (8th Edition)

This frequent question, asked in just this way, implies many questions related to dinosaurs—a word meaning “terrible lizards.” When did they live? What killed the dinosaurs? What were they like? What does the Bible say about them? Could so many large animals have fit on the Ark? There were about 300 different types of dinosaurs. Most were large; some even gigantic. One adult dinosaur was as tall as a five-story building. However, some were small, about the size of a chicken.

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Many other questions will be answered if we focus on one question, “When did they live?” There are two common, but quite different, answers. Evolutionists say dinosaurs lived, died, and became extinct at least 60 million years before man evolved. Others believe God created all living things during the creation week. So man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. If we look at the evidence, sorting out these two very different answers should be easy.

Did dinosaurs become extinct at least 60 million years before man evolved? Almost all textbooks that address the subject say so. Movies and television vividly portray this. One even hears it at Disney World and other amusement parks. Some will say that every educated person believes this. We frequently hear stories that begin with impressive-sounding phrases such as, “Two hundred million years ago, as dinosaurs ruled the earth, …” But none of this is evidence; some of it is an appeal to authority.  (Evidence must be observable and verifiable.)

Did man and dinosaurs live at the same time? Scientists in the former Soviet Union have reported a layer of rock containing more than 2,000 dinosaur footprints alongside tracks “resembling human footprints.”¹ Obviously, both types of footprints were made in mud or sand that has since hardened into rock. If they are human footprints, then man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. Similar discoveries have been made in Arizona.² If it were not for the theory of evolution, few would doubt that these were human footprints.

The Book of Job is one of the oldest books ever written. In it, God tells Job of his greatness as Creator and describes an animal, called Behemoth, as follows:

Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox.  Behold now, his strength in his loins, And his power in the muscles of his belly. He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron.    (Job 40:15–18)

Marginal notes in most Bibles speculate that Behemoth was probably an elephant or a hippopotamus, but those animals have tails like ropes. Behemoth had a “tail like a cedar.” Any animal with a tail as huge and strong as a cedar tree is probably a dinosaur. Job 40:19–24 describes this giant, difficult-to-capture animal as not alarmed by a raging river. If the writer of Job knew of a dinosaur, then the evolution position is wrong, and man saw dinosaurs.

The next chapter of Job describes another huge, fierce animal, a sea monster named Leviathan.³ It was not a whale or crocodile because the Hebrew language had other words to describe such animals. Leviathan may be a plesiosaur (PLEE see uh sore), a large seagoing reptile that evolutionists say became extinct 60 million years before man evolved.
Consider the many dragon legends. Most ancient cultures have stories or artwork of dragons that strongly resemble dinosaurs.⁴ The World Book Encyclopedia states that:

The dragons of legend are strangely like actual creatures that have lived in the past. They are much like the great reptiles [dinosaurs] which inhabited the earth long before man is supposed to have appeared on earth. Dragons were generally evil and destructive. Every country had them in its mythology.⁵

The simplest and most obvious explanation for so many common descriptions of dragons from around the world is that man once knew the dinosaurs.

What caused the extinction of dinosaurs? The flood. Because dinosaur bones are found among other fossils, dinosaurs must have been living when the flood began. There are dozens of other dinosaur extinction theories, but they all have recognized problems. Most of the food chain was buried in the flood. Therefore, many large dinosaurs that survived the flood probably had difficulty feeding themselves and became extinct.

Were dinosaurs on the Ark? Yes. God told Noah to put representatives of every kind of land animal on the Ark. (Some dinosaurs were semiaquatic and could have survived outside the Ark.) But why put adult dinosaurs on the Ark? Young dinosaurs would take up less room, eat less, and be easier to manage. The purpose for having animals on board was so they could reproduce after the flood and repopulate the earth. Young dinosaurs would have more potential for reproduction than old dinosaurs.

Most, if not all, dinosaurs hatched from eggs. The largest dinosaur eggs ever found were a foot long. Hatchlings, even after a year of growth while on the Ark, would be quite easy to handle.


Possibly dinosaurs became very large because they lived to great ages. Preflood humans could live for more than 900 years.  If whatever caused man to live so long had the same effect on dinosaurs, they could have grown very large. Reptiles, unlike other animals, continue to grow throughout their lives. Perhaps large dinosaurs, which are similar to reptiles in many ways, were just old.

1. Alexander Romashko, “Tracking Dinosaurs,” Moscow News, No. 24, 1983, p. 10.

1. Paul O. Rosenau et al., “Are Human and Mammal Tracks Found Together with the Tracks of Dinosaurs in the Kayenta of Arizona?” Parts I and II, Creation Research Society Quarterly; Vol. 26, September 1989, pp. 41–48 and December 1989, pp. 77–98.
   Before 1986, many thought dinosaur tracks and human tracks were together along the banks of the Paluxy River in Texas. Some, but not necessarily all, of the humanlike tracks were apparently made by part of a dinosaur’s foot. A film, Footprints in Stone, and John Morris’ book, Tracking Those Incredible Dinosaurs, which popularized the man-track idea, have been withdrawn. A few creationists still claim that some of these manlike tracks were made by humans. I believe the Paluxy tracks should be studied more and many questions satisfactorily answered before claiming human tracks are along the Paluxy River.
   In Uzbekistan, 86 consecutive horse hoofprints were found beside supposedly 90 –100-million-year-old dinosaur tracks. Evolutionists have almost as much difficulty believing that horses and dinosaurs lived together as they do man and dinosaurs. Horses allegedly did not evolve until many millions of years after the dinosaurs became extinct. [See Y. Kruzhilin and V. Ovcharov, “A Horse from the Dinosaur Epoch?” Moskovskaya Pravda (Moscow Truth), 5 February 1984.] For a report of a quadruped that left hoof-shaped prints alongside 1,000 dinosaur prints, see Richard Monastersky, “A Walk along the Lakeshore, Dinosaur-Style,” Science News, Vol. 136, 8 July 1989, p. 21.

Leviathan is also mentioned in Psalms 74:14 and 104:26 and in Isaiah 27:1. Both Leviathan and Behemoth are described in the apocryphal book II Esdras. II Esdras 6:49–53 says these beasts were created on the fifth day and given separate territories because of their large size.

1. Lorella Rouster, “The Footprints of Dragons,” Creation Social Science and Humanities Quarterly, Fall 1978, pp. 23–28.
2. Knox Wilson, “Dragon,” The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, 1973, p. 265.
3. The book that this information came from is available to order NOW at Amazon, please click the link below:In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood (8th Edition)

• How did we get our English version of the Bible and how accurate is it?
• What is the difference between the Catholic and Protestant versions?
• When were the Apocrypha removed from the Protestant version of the Bible?
• How many people worked on the King James Version, the most widely used Protestant version today? How long did it take?

What a fascinating history the English Bible has including martyrs, translations by Kings and poets and a search for the definitive translation that would confirm “truth.” Here’s a short, concise history of the English Bible from the earliest times to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

443 BC Completion of all the books of the original Hebrew manuscripts that make up the 39 books of the Old Testament

200 BC Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts that contain the translation of the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 14 books of the Apocrypha.

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60 AD Completion of the Greek manuscripts that make up the 27 books of the New Testament

90-95 AD Council of Jamnia, a Jewish council, met to revise the Books of the Canon (or the Old Testament as it is known to Christians.) These were the criteria:

1. The books had to conform to the Pentateuch (the first five books).
2. The books had to be written in Hebrew.
3. The books had to be written in Palestine.
4. The books had to be written before 400 B.C..

One result is the removal of the 14 books known as the Apocrypha.

360 AD Laodocia Council meets to decide which books and writings will be accepted as Holy Scripture. The Greek Septuagint is accepted for the Old Testament. Criteria for the New Testament writings include that they must be written by an Apostle or during the time of the Apostles, that they must support true doctrine and must have wide spread usage. Thus, even though the Shepherd of Hermas, the First Letter of Clement, and the Didache may have been widely used and contain true doctrines. They were not canonical because they were not apostolic nor connected to the apostolic age, or they were local writings without support in many areas.

390 AD Jerome’s Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible is produced and in wide circulation. It includes all 80 books including the Apocrypha. It is used in Celtic monasteries in Britain. During this period the British within the Roman Empire use Latin as the official language

Historical Background: 5th – 6th Century: Germanic peoples who came to Britain bring their dialects of which Saxon becomes standard Old English. Because of this, a need for an English version of the scriptures arises.

7th Century: Herdsman Caedmon, spoken of by Bede, the learned monk of Jarrow, sings the themes of the Bible in English. This becomes a common method for presenting scriptural themes in English.

640 AD to 735 AD Aldheim is credited with translating the whole Bible into English while Bede was still working on completing his translation when he died. The translations of these times are based on translations of the Latin Vulgate version rather than translations of the original Hebrew and Greek versions.

1384 John Wycliffe finishes the first translation of the entire Bible into English. His version and copies of it are handwritten.

1408 Synod of Oxford tries to suppress the Wycliffe Bible with little success.

1455 Gutenberg invents the printing press making it possible to mass produce books. The first book printed is Gutenberg’s Bible in Latin.

Historical Background: Reformation
A revolution in western thinking followed the midpoint of the 15th century A.D. The Renaissance opened up the treasures of both classical and patristic learning in a new way. It also revived interest in the study of both Greek and Hebrew that made possible the study of the Bible in the original languages. This new interest in original editions stimulated textual research and also evidenced the corruption and ignorance of the contemporary church anew. The Renaissance created new opportunities for humanist scholars such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, who sought to make the Bible available to people of all ages, social levels, and countries.

More radical in outlook than Renaissance humanists were the Reformers, who measured the teaching and practice of the contemporary church by the standards of scripture. The Reformers were horrified by the obvious discrepancies. There soon emerged a mission to discover the pure biblical message and to reconstruct both the teaching and practice of the church. The Reformers became deeply convinced that it was both reasonable and necessary to circulate God’s word to purify the church from ignorance and destructive practices. (from http://davidsonpress.com)

1525 William Tyndale’s New Testament is completed. His translation is based on the Latin Vulgate, Erasmus Greek and the original Greek manuscripts. His wording and sentence structures are found in most modern day translations of the Bible.

Tyndale was committed to taking the Bible directly to the people. Expressing open defiance of the Pope, Tyndale said that if God would spare his life he would make it possible for even a ploughboy to know more about Holy Scripture than the Pope himself. By August of 1525, his translation of the New Testament was complete. Printing began at Cologne, but when the authorities forbade the project, Tyndale escaped to Worms, where 6,000 copies were printed and sold in England by April of 1526. The official opposition in England led to the destruction of most of these early copies.

Tyndale’s English work is similar to that of Martin Luther. Although he used Luther’s German translation, Tyndale also drew upon the Latin Vulgate as well as Erasmus’ Greek text. Ninety percent of the New Testament in the King James Version (KJV) is Tyndale’s translation. By the same token, where the KJV departed from Tyndale’s wording, the English Revised Version (ERV) of 1881 went back to it. Without question, this first printed English New Testament is the basis of all future works in translation.

1536 Tyndale executed. Tyndale did not live to complete his Old Testament translation. On May 21, 1535, he was arrested and later executed for heresy at Vilvorde, Belgium, on October 6, 1536. His dying prayer was that the Lord would open the eyes of the King of England. He left behind a manuscript containing the translation of the historical books from Joshua to 2 Chronicles that was finally published in 1537.

1535 Myles Coverdale, a student of Tyndale’s, produces a Bible. It includes 80 books (The 39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament and 14 Apochrypha) His version uses the translations Tyndale was able to complete. Coverdale finished translating the rest of the Bible but not being a Hebrew or Greek scholar his portions are based on intermediate Latin and German translations rather than the original Greek and Hebrew.

1537 Matthews Bible printed. Matthews Bible is really Tyndale’s translation supplemented by Coverdale’s translation. Henry VIII through the efforts of Archbishop Crammer and Thomas Cromwell gave permission for this English version of the Bible to be bought and sold throughout Britain.

Historical Background Leading to King James (Protestant) and Rheims-Douay (Catholic) Bibles: It is during this time that the Protestant Reformers gain political power in England with the breakoff from the Catholic Church by Henry VIII. The various Bible translations that follow are dependent upon the rise and fall of Protestant power. Mary Tudor is Catholic and during her time no new translations are permitted. Elizabeth is Protestant. Mary Stuart, never allowed to reign, is Catholic. Her son James who became King James I of England and King James VI of Scotland was raised in England by Elizabeth as a Protestant upon Mary Stuart’s abdication of the crown of Scotland when James was one year of age.

1539 The Great Bible is called that because of it’s size but it is basically Matthews Bible and was authorized for public use. It contains 80 books including the Apochrypha as an appendix.

1546 Council of Trent is called to answer the accusations of corruption and apostasy in the Catholic Church by the Protestant Reformers. The Council meets over a 27 year period. One of the results is that Jerome’s Latin Vulgate version of the Bible is held to be the official version of the Bible accepted by the Catholic Church.

1560 The Geneva Bible is printed. Verses are added for the first time in this edition. It is also the first translation of the Bible based entirely on the original Hebrew and Greek. It was translated by exiles from England living in Geneva during the Catholic Mary Tudor’s reign. The majority of the translation is attributed to William Whittington a relative of John Calvin.

1568 Bishops Bible produced. Because there was no “official” version of the Bible in England at this time, the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested the Geneva Bible be revised by the Bishop’s to be used by all the churches. This is the version known as The Bishop’s Bible

1609 Rheims-Douay Bible is the First Complete English Catholic Bible. Called Rheims – Douay because the New Testament portion was first completed in Rheims France in 1582 followed by the Old Testament finished in 1609 in Douay. In this version the 14 books of the Apochrypha are returned to the Bible in the order written rather than kept separate in an appendix.

1611 King James Version. The stated purpose of the King James translation was “”not to make a bad version good, but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones one principal good one.” It is primarily a re-translation of the Bishop’s Bible. 54 men were called to work on translation (47 actually participated) using all the widely accepted versions up to then including Bishop’s, Geneva, Matthews, Coverdale and Tyndale translation as well as looking at original manuscripts. All available copies of the original manuscripts are brought in. It is found that the Hebrew manuscripts are virtually identical while there is wide variations in the Greek manuscripts as they have been hand copied and handed down. The 47 men work as teams checking each other’s work. It was printed originally with all 80 books including the Apochrypha again as a separate section.

1613-1901: At that time until today translations have continued as translators gained a better understanding of the Hebrew language and the Greek writers. 300 corrections were made in the 1613 version of the King James Version. In the 18th century Bishop Challoner made revisions to the Rheims-Douay Bible removing some Latin terms and adding the use of King James translation in some areas.

The Apochrypha were removed in 1885 from King James Versions when the English Revised Version was printed and in 1901 when the American Standard Version was printed.

Related Articles

Are the books of the Bible in the order they were written? Did John really write John 1 and 2 after Revelation?
What are the Apochrypha? Why are the Catholic and Protestant Bibles different?
Are there any historical proofs of the Bible?
King James Bible Facts and Statistics

Summary:  The books of the Bible are organized according to the topic rather than in the order in which they were written.  Yes, John wrote the book of Revelation before writing the letters we know as John 1 and 2.

The books of the Hebrew scriptures were organized slightly differently than our King James Old Testament.  First is “the law” then “the prophets.”  When New Testament writers or Christ spoke of “the law and the prophets” they were referring to the Hebrew scriptures.  Next came the books of wisdom or “the writings” including Psalms, Proverbs, Job, etc. The King James Old Testament is also organized according to the topic. Starting with the writings of Moses, followed by historical books, the books of wisdom and ending with the Prophets.  The New Testament is similarly organized.  First are the Gospels, next are the letters or epistles including those written by John after he wrote Revelation and the last book is the book of prophecy or Revelation of John. A list of the books of the Bible including the author, when and where, as well as the time frame covered, is found on the page answering the question Who Wrote The Bible?.