Dead Sea Scrolls on display at the caves of Qumran, Israel. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain some of the most ancient copies of the Bible.

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Make Reading the Bible a New Year Resolution – It Could Change Your Life

The Bible is the world’s best-selling book, with no serious competitors. Josh McDowell, in his book The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Thomas Nelson Publishers 1999) writes:

It’s not unusual to hear about books that have hit the bestseller list, selling a few hundred thousand copies. It’s much rarer to come across books that have sold more than a million copies, and rarer still to find books that have passed the ten-million mark in sales. It staggers the mind, then, to discover that the number of Bibles sold reaches into the billions. That’s right, billions! More copies have been produced of its entirety as well as selected portions than any other book in history.

According to the United Bible Societies’ 1998 Scripture Distribution Report, in that year alone member organizations were responsible for distributing 20.8 million complete Bibles and another 20.1 testaments. When portions of Scripture (i.e., complete books of the Bible) and selections (short extracts on particular themes) are also included, the total distribution of copies of the Bible or portions thereof in 1998 reaches a staggering 585 million – and these numbers only include Bibles distributed by the United Bible Societies!

There are currently over 6 billion Bibles in print.

What is the Bible?

It is a collection of 66 books, written by 40 or more different authors over a period of about 2,000 years. Yet it is clearly one Book (also referred to as the Scriptures), with perfect unity and consistency throughout.

The individual writers, at the time of writing, had no idea that their message was eventually to be incorporated into such a Book, but each nevertheless fits perfectly into place and serves its own unique purpose as a component of the whole. Anyone who diligently studies the Bible will continually find remarkable structural and mathematical patterns woven throughout its fabric, with an intricacy and symmetry incapable of explanation by chance or collusion.

The one consistent theme of the Bible, developing in grandeur from Genesis to Revelation, is God’s great work in the creation and redemption of all things, through His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. – From ChristianAnswers.net

The Bible is the record of God’s revelation to man. The authors were inspired by God to write down the things He was revealing to them. Peter wrote:

“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20)

Paul wrote: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

To learn more about the Bible, pick one up and start reading it! With billions of copies sold, chances are there is one very close by you somewhere. You can also read it online for free!