Soap wrote:
I think putting Malachi last is important for Christians because it ends with the prophecy of the return of Elijah, the forerunner to the Messiah.
True.
I once thought that both the Old Testament (in its Christian order) and the New Testament have a similar three-part structure: past, present, and future.
Old Testament:- Past: Pentateuch and Historical books (the history of the Jewish people)
- Present: Wisdom books (how to live your life day-to-day)
- Future: Prophets (what will happen to the Kingdom of Israel)
New Testament:- Past: Gospels and Acts (the story of Jesus and his followers)
- Present: Epistles (how to live as a Christian, and how to operate a Church)
- Future: Revelations (what will happen at the end of times)
alynnidalar wrote:
(If one of you is God, by the way, please PM me with what on earth Revelation means because I'm not entirely certain I'm convinced by any of the predominant theories I've heard.)
In
Unsong, the Archangel Uriel confesses that he didn't have the time to make a proper Book of Revelations, so he just gave John of Patmos a pot of mushrooms.
linguoboy wrote:
I'm not sure the Bible is really that hard to understand. I think it's hard to read it and come to the same understanding as a particular Christian denomination or preacher, but that's rather a different issue.
You're probably right. It doesn't help that the first five books are among the most difficult to read, with episodes appearing in two versions (e.g. the story of Abraham) or even out of order (looking at you, Numbers). That can be discouraging for a first-time reader.