Major Events

Major Events hero image

The Bible is a collection of texts that span thousands of years and covers a wide range of historical events. Some of the major events that are recounted in the Bible include:

Major Events 1
  1. The Creation: The Bible begins with the story of the creation of the world, as described in the book of Genesis. This story describes how God created the heavens and the earth, as well as all the creatures that inhabit them, in six days.
    Major Events 2
  2. The Flood: The book of Genesis also tells the story of the great flood that God sent to destroy the earth because of the wickedness of mankind. Only a small group of people, led by Noah, were saved on an ark.
  3. The Exodus: The book of Exodus tells the story of how God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. This event is considered one of the most significant events in the history of the Israelites, as it marked their liberation from oppression and their establishment as a nation.
    Major Events 3
  4. The Reign of King David: The books of Samuel and 1 Chronicles tell the story of King David, who was chosen by God to lead the Israelites. David's reign was marked by military successes, the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the building of the Temple.
  5. The Babylonian Captivity: The books of 2 Kings and Ezra tell the story of how the Babylonians conquered the Israelites and carried them off into exile. This event is significant because it marked the end of the Israelite monarchy and the beginning of a period of exile that lasted for several centuries.
  6. The Birth of Jesus Christ: The New Testament tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, who is considered the Son of God and the savior of humanity by Christians. This event marks the beginning of the Christian era and is celebrated annually on Christmas.
  7. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: The New Testament also describes the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion, which is considered the foundation of Christian belief. This event is celebrated annually on Easter.
  8. The Coming of the Holy Spirit: The New Testament also describes the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which is considered the birth of the Christian Church.
Major Events 4

These are just a few of the major events that are recounted in the Bible, but there are many more that are described in the text. Each of these events has had a significant impact on the history of the world and continues to be studied and celebrated by people of many different faiths.

You Might Also Like:

The Art and Agony of Translation

1 John 5:7-8 reads differently in the King James Version than in other translations because Erasmus lost a bet. If you compare this verse in the King James Version, you will find a Trinitarian formula (“the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one” ) that does not appear in mos...
Read More

Translations of the Bible Into English

You decide to buy yourself or someone else a Bible, so you run down to the nearest bookstore—but they have so many different translations, you don’t know where to begin. Here is something that might help: a list of modern translations that you are likely to find in a bookstore, with a description of...
Read More

About Those ‘Literal’ Translations

Every so often, someone writes to ask me about some obscure Bible translation, and invariably they add, ‘it is supposed to be a literal translation.’ For me, this is a red flag. Let me explain. New Testament Greek is quite a different language from English, and a strictly literal translation is impo...
Read More

The Nicene Creed and the New Testament Canon

The New Testament and the Nicene Creed are deeply entangled with each other. The wording and the concepts in the Nicene Creed come from the New Testament—in fact, one of the most important debates at the Council of Nicea concerned whether it is proper to include a word in the Nicene Creed that does ...
Read More

The Torah in Modern Scholarship

The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah by Jews and the Pentateuch by scholars. The word ‘Torah’ is Hebrew for ‘teaching’ or ‘law,’ and the word ‘Pentateuch’ is Greek for ‘five books.’ Sometimes scholars include the book of Joshua and term the collection the ‘Hexateuch,’ which means ‘...
Read More

The Apocrypha and the Old Testament

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.—Proverbs 30:5-6, NIV The canon of scripture—that is, the official list of what’s in the Bible—is not revealed to us by any saying of Jesus, nor does scr...
Read More

New Testament Scholarship

The Insufficiency of Literary Analysis Unaccompanied by Other Tools New Testament critics generally assume that our gospels are the product of a scribe having two or more editions before him, which he takes together to produce a new version that contains material from the old sources. They say this,...
Read More

The Synoptics and John

If you read Matthew, Mark, and Luke in a row, you get a “haven’t I read this before” feeling, because they are so similar to each other. In many places, they even have identical wording! For this reason, Bible scholars lump them together with the term “synoptic gospels.” The word “synoptic” means “t...
Read More

Leviticus For Christians

A few interesting laws from Leviticus, which at first glance don’t seem to concern us today: Forbidden leftovers When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day;...
Read More

Slavery and Sonship

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”—John 8:34-36, NIV Notice that Jesus has the slave living in the house, albeit temporari...
Read More

Are There Contradictions in the Bible?

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise yo...
Read More

The Rescue of Lot

The story of the destruction of Sodom and its sister city of Gomorrah is of compelling interest today because of the current debate in the churches over homosexuality. In the course of this debate, these two chapters of Genesis have been degraded from a story of God’s justice and providence to a dia...
Read More

Evolution and Creationism

Why does water boil? Fred and Ethel have different explanations. Fred says that heat causes the vapor pressure within the water to rise to the same level as the atmospheric pressure on its surface. That causes bubbles to form, which rise and break the surface.Ethel says that’s nonsense. The water wa...
Read More

Reading What Isn't There

“Judge others, but you are exempt from judgment. You must go out and tell it like it is, exposing sinners wherever you find them. You will receive a special bonus for each evil you expose.”—Matthew 7:1-2, Reversed Fractured Version “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you ju...
Read More

Wrong Impressions

Do you have a regular Bible study plan? Well, I’m so glad to hear that! You don’t? Well, maybe that is not so bad. You know, a lot of people who have a regular Bible reading plan are very systematic about it. Certainly you’ve met the type: they read a chapter a day, or some other arbitrary amount. I...
Read More

But Is it Biblical?

Recently I helped my boss decode a rather obtuse document, in which the writer had used obscure words instead of plain language. “This is,” I said, “an example of what happens when people go to the dictionary for permission instead of guidance,” and my boss thought that was an astute observation. Ju...
Read More

The Bible and Personal Revelation

God reveals Himself to us in nature, for Scripture says: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.Their voice goes out in...
Read More

The Inspiration of the Bible

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.—2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV Someone recently asked if I consider the Bible the inspired and inerrant word of God or if I fee...
Read More