Great Themes of the Bible
Brief Overview of the Bible
Old Testament
Key themes
- 1) Fall of man (sin in the world) (Genesis 3:1-24)
- 2) A God of second chances/possibility of redemption/mercy of God (Psalm 145:9; Genesis 6-9; Hosea 6:6)
- 3) Covenant (Genesis 12; Leviticus 26:12)
- 4) Call for a messiah (Isaiah 9:5-6; 61:1)/ Need for a messiah (Jews were dominated physically as a kingdom and spiritually, by sin)
Key people
- God: creator, all-powerful, just.
- Abraham: follower of God; father of the Hebrew people; made a covenant with God
- Moses: giver of the law
- David: king of Israel; ancestor of Jesus
New Testament
Key themes
- 1) Jesus Christ is the savior (John 1:28-29; Philippians 3:21, many others)
- 2) Connection to Old Testament - Jesus routinely quotes/references OT (Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:44)
- 3) Love - God/Jesus is love. (1 John 4:8 & 16; Matt. 22:35-40)
- 4) Call to be the church (1 Corr. 10:17; Eph. 4:4)
Key people
- Jesus: son of God; son of Man. Savior
- Paul: prolific early believer, wrote much of New Testament
- Peter: key disciple of Jesus
- Mary: Jesus mother
- Mary Magdalene: woman who first discovered the empty tomb
Published by Dan Heaton
Dan is a freelance writer and a graduate of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit. He is a veteran of both the US Air Force and the US Navy. View profile
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