What You Should Know about ULTIMATE REALITY
WORM'S EYE VIEW OF THE BIBLE



                           FROM CREATION TO THE EXODUS
In the very beginning, God alone created the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them.
Out of nothing God created everything in six "days" of Creation Week; He rested on the seventh.
On the first three "days," God created the settings for whatever He made on the last three "days."
On "day four," the sun, moon and stars began to dwell in the setting of light made on "day one."
Just as day four fits day one, so day five fits day two and day six fits day three (artistic pattern).
On "day six," mankind, male and female, were made in God's own image and given dominion.
Adam and Eve lived in a Paradise, the Garden of Eden, until the day they first sinned and "died."
Eve was miraculously created from a rib of Adam and gave birth to several sons and daughters.
Their first son, Cain, envied and killed Abel, their second, because God liked his sacrifice better.
As time went on, the population of the earth grew, with more and more people becoming wicked.
God planned to destroy all bad people by sending a flood and told righteous Noah to built a boat.
Living on this ark, Noah, his three sons, and their wives were the only ones to survive the Flood.
God "covenanted" with humanity never to send such a flood again and made the rainbow a sign.
God caused descendants of these sons to repopulate the world and to speak different languages.
In order to bless every nation, God chose to make Abram and his wife Sarai into a great nation.
God called Abram to leave Ur, near Babylon, to travel hundreds of miles to the land of Canaan.
In the Promised Land, God blessed Abram with vast riches, many servants, and success in battle.
Abram and Sarai were childless for a very long time, but God promised a son to them in old age.
Isaac means "laughter," because Sarah laughed at the idea of having this child when she was old.
God changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's to Sarah, not long before the birth of Isaac.
Abram earlier had a son named Ishmael with another wife, an Egyptian slave girl named Hagar.
After Isaac was born, Sarah had Hagar and Ishmael kicked out, but God took good care of them.
Abraham and his nephew Lot had to divide the land because of conflicts between their servants.
Lot chose the best part of the land and settled with many bad people in a rich city named Sodom.
God destroyed Sodom with fire and brimstone and turned Lot's wife to a pillar of salt for looking.
After the death of Sarah, Abraham married a woman named Keturah, who bore him six children.
Before Abraham died, Isaac married Rebekah, who eventually bore twins named Esau and Jacob.
Esau sold his birthright cheaply to Jacob, who tricked Isaac into giving him the greatest blessing.
Rebekah had Jacob go on a long trip to the old country to escape Esau's anger and to get a wife.
Jacob's uncle Laban tricked him into marrying Leah before he married her prettier sister Rachel.
Jacob was named Israel (contender with God) when he wrestled a mighty angel and almost won!
Jacob had four wives and twelve sons, half of whom were children conceived by means of Leah.
Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife, bore Joseph and Benjamin, but she died giving birth to the second.
Joseph got into trouble with his brothers because of his pride and was sold as a slave into Egypt.
As a slave, Joseph was thrown into prison because he resisted the lustful lures of Potiphar's wife.
He interpreted dreams, the fates of Pharaoh's baker and his cupbearer, and then Pharaoh's dream.
This dream predicted years of famine, which caused Joseph's brothers to go to Egypt to buy food.
Pharaoh allowed Jacob and seventy direct descendants of Abraham to settle in Goshen in Egypt.
Little did any of them realize that their descendants would someday become slaves of Pharaoh.
Greatly honored, Joseph had already married Asenath, an Egyptian lady, who bore him children.
His two sons were named Manasseh and Ephraim, and he made certain that Jacob blessed them.
Jacob crossed his hands so that the youngest son, Ephraim, would receive the greatest blessing.
God protected Moses, who grew up among Egypt's royalty, and called him to liberate His people.

                            FROM THE EXODUS TO JOSHUA
Abraham (Abram from Ur) begat Isaac, who begat Israel (Jacob), who later begat twelve sons.
From these twelve sons, including Levi and Joseph, and their wives, came twelve tribes of Israel.
One of Levi’s descendants, Amram, had two sons (Aaron and Moses) and one daughter (Miriam).
God’s people lived in Canaan, and then in Egypt for 430 years, until they were freed from slavery.
Moses spent 40 years until he killed an Egyptian, and then 40 years tending sheep in the desert.
After Moses met God at the burning bush at age 80, he spent his last 40 years leading His people.
Yahweh sent ten plagues against the Egyptians before their king Pharaoh released the Israelites.
Plagues in order were bloody water, frogs, gnats, flies, anthrax, boils, hail, locusts and darkness.
The last plague before fleeing was the death of every non-Israelite firstborn male, man or beast.
The Angel of Death “passed over” homes of Israelites who sprinkled blood on their door frames.
God’s people were put on alert to leave Egypt quickly once Pharaoh caved into Moses’ demands.
They left Egypt so quickly that their bread for the journey had no time to rise because of yeast.
The memories of these great events were tied to a spring festival that became known as Passover.
God’s people were to recall the Exodus by keeping this feast holy throughout their generations.
Lots of people left Egypt, and so Moses, prodded by Jethro, began using elders to govern them.
They grumbled in the desert about food, and so God provided manna ("What is it?") and quail.
For forty years the people of Israel collected manna each morning, except on the Sabbath Day.
Moses taught them to keep the Sabbath holy by collecting enough manna for it the day before it.
Mount Sinai, God’s holy mountain, was the goal of the journey of God’s people after escaping.
They traveled three months from the Red Sea, where Pharaoh's army drowned, to Mount Sinai.
Over a year they camped there, to receive the Ten Commandments and the Tabernacle lay out.
Their COVENANT (agreement with Yahweh) at Sinai focused on HOLINESS (being set apart).
Sinai’s awesome conditions were trumpet sounds, smoke, fire, thunder, lightning and quaking.
God gave His Ten Commandments, and also other laws about slaves, animals, murder and theft.
The Old Testament does not mention exactly how we are to number these Ten Commandments.
God guided Tabernacle building, with a priesthood limited to Aaron and his male descendants.
Male Levites substituted for the firstborn of all the tribes to help the priests with the Tabernacle.
Moses broke the Decalogue tablets because God’s people pressured Aaron to make a golden calf.
The gold for the calf came from gifts that rich Egyptians gave to bribe the people to leave Egypt.
This golden calf, not the last in Israel’s history, was meant to be an image of God, not a false god.
God wanted to destroy this sinful people until Moses prayed to Him for compassion and mercy.
God told Moses to punish the people by grinding the statue and making them drink its powder.
Jewelry remaining from “despoiling the Egyptians” was used to decorate their new Tabernacle.
God gave Moses other tablets for the Commandments, and Moses veiled the glow on his face.   
After all the parts had been made, Moses assembled the Tabernacle in the middle of the camp.
Each tribe had a specific location in relation to this tent whenever they set up camp or moved on.
Only the Levites could touch and therefore carry the pieces whenever the camp site relocated.
On the journey from Sinai to the oasis at Kadesh-Barnea, God’s people continued to complain.
Aaron and Miriam complained about their brother Moses marrying a Cushite (black?) woman.
God temporarily punished Miriam with leprosy, and caused Aaron to cry out to God for mercy.
The spies’ report was divided, ten spies (“The people are giants!”) against two (Caleb and Joshua).
Since God’s people had put Him to the test ten times, they had to wander 40 years in the desert.
Since they wanted to force God’s hand, their attack on the Canaanites without God's help failed.
Against Moses and Aaron rebelled Korah the Levite, with some Reubenites, and met a fiery end.
Moses put a serpent on a pole, a picture of Jesus on the cross, to heal people dying from serpents.
All who were age 20 and up when the spies reported died in the desert, except Caleb and Joshua.
Balak, the king of Moab, paid the prophet Balaam to curse God's people, but failed to stop them.
God’s people also won big battles with other peoples between the desert and the Promised Land.
Because of their sins, Miriam, and then Aaron, and then Moses died outside of the Promised Land.
Before Moses died, he reminded the new generation about their heritage and laws (Deuteronomy).
Since Moses disobeyed God at the waters of Meribah, he climbed Mount Nebo in Moab to die.
Before he died, he saw the Land and appointed Joshua as his successor to lead Israel to claim it.
Joshua led the people across the Jordan River to battle the Canaanites, middle, south, and north.

                            FROM JOSHUA TO THE KINGS
While they were still in the desert, God told the people that He wanted all Canaanites destroyed.
Although Joshua conquered the Promised Land, not all the native Canaanites were destroyed.
The many types of Canaanites (Jebusites, Hittites, Hivites, etc.) often controlled the lowlands.
Israelites controlled the highlands, except Jebusites controlled the high country near Jerusalem.
God helped Joshua to determine how the Promised Land should be divided for twelve tribes.
Two and one-half tribes already had their area for settlement picked out east of the Jordan River.
This took place while Moses lived, and their men helped Joshua to conquer before they settled it.
Nine and one-half tribes used a lottery in order to get their own regions west of the Jordan River.
The Levites, the only tribe without a region, were given 48 cities at spots throughout the Land.
Though 2 1/2 + 9 1/2 - 1 (Levi) = 11, Joseph's heirs had two portions, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Manasseh is the only tribe with settlers living in territory on both sides of the Jordan River.
To be fair to everyone, Joshua tried to make up in quantity for land that was lacking in quality.
So what looks like a smaller-than-average tribal allotment on a map has better soil than average.
Caleb, now old, one of the two faithful spies, was given Hebron (he had to drive giants out first!).
Joshua, the other faithful spy, warned the people that they must obey God, or lose their Land.
Each tribe had the solemn duty before God to drive the remaining Canaanites out of its territory.
God commanded this since they were idolaters and child murderers and often married Israelites.
Because God's people were not always obedient in this matter, God often sent them oppressors.
In various places and times, God raised up "judges" among His people to overthrow oppression.
Not all the judges were men; God used the words of Deborah and the nail of Jael to bring victory.
This was the usual cycle: sin (idolatry), oppression, prayer for help, arising of a JUDGE, victory.
Victories over the Canaanites and the Philistines were often surprising battles led by the judges.
During this period before there were kings, there were also two civil wars between the tribes.
Even when the men from the 2 1/2 tribes first went home, they came close to causing a civil war.
They put up an altar on the east side of the Jordan River; some thought this was for another god.
While the judges were often local heroes, they had to look out for the interests of all Israelites.
Ephraimites set off a bloody civil war, because they were insulted at being left out of battle plans.
A wicked town in the tribe of Benjamin caused a civil war that almost wiped out the whole tribe!
In the years between these two civil wars lived Samson, one of the most interesting judges.
An angel came to his parents and promised that he would be born (his name means "sunlight").
They had to promise that their son would never drink alcoholic drinks and never cut his hair.
With God's help he had great physical strength, but he was very foolish in his love for women.
He married a Canaanite women who betrayed one of his secrets (riddles) to wedding guests.
This put Samson in debt to some of the guests, and so he killed 30 Philistines to pay them off.
When Samson found out his bride married his best man, he angrily set Philistine fields on fire.
He did this by catching 300 foxes, tying tails together in pairs, and putting a torch in each knot.
Telling a Philistine woman named Delilah about his hair cost him his freedom and his life.
Once the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant in battle, but two cows brought it back!
During this period, the Tabernacle was at Shiloh, and old Eli and his wicked sons were priests.
The Israelites wanted to be like all the other peoples on the face of the earth and have a KING.
Samuel, the prophet who was also the last of the judges, asked God if this was OK with Him.
God told him that He would allow it (monarchy), after He had been their only King (theocracy).
God led Samuel to anoint Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, to be the first king over all of Israel.

                            FROM THE KINGS TO THE EXILE
Saul, David, and Solomon were kings over all twelve tribes and each one ruled for forty years.
After Saul disobeyed God and lost His favor, God sent Samuel to anoint David to become king.
David could not become king until Saul died, and David twice refused to kill him when he could.
David, a son of Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah, was a shepherd, harpist, and courageous warrior.
He played the harp to soothe depressed King Saul and killed a Philistine giant named Goliath.
As the reward, King Saul gave David money, his daughter Michal for a wife, and tax exemption.
King Saul was envious of David and tried to kill him, but Saul's son Jonathan helped to save him.
David gathered around himself a band of warriors who were willing to fight for the highest bidder.
King Saul was wounded and committed suicide when Philistines defeated him on Mount Gilboa.
As the ghost of Samuel predicted, some of Saul's sons, including Jonathan, perished with him.
His general Abner betrayed his son Ish-Bosheth as the new king of the north for King David.
After David made Jerusalem his capital, he tried to have the Ark of the Covenant moved there.
On the way a man was struck dead for touching it, and God blessed the family where it rested.
When it finally arrived, David joyfully danced naked before it, and Michal criticized him for this.
David planned to build the Temple, but God told him that his son would one day build it instead.
Rather than building God a house, David was promised that God would make him a kingly line.
David won many military victories against nearby nations and forever ended the Philistine threat.
As punishment for David's sin with Bathsheba, he suffered because of the sins of his children.
One was raped by another, and two, Absolom and Adonijah, plotted to take his place as the king.
Right before he died, David had the prophet Nathan anoint Solomon to be the new king of Israel.
King Solomon, Bathsheba's son, asked God for wisdom, and received riches and honor as well.
King Solomon built the Temple for God in seven years, but also welcomed gods of foreign wives.
His Kingdom was large in extent and experienced peace and prosperity, but it was very costly.
When his son King Rehoboam threatened to increase taxes, the ten northern tribes broke away.
This northern kingdom was called Israel, and the remaining southern kingdom was called Judah.
Rehoboam was the first of twenty southern kings from one Davidic dynasty; few were righteous.
Jeroboam was the first of twenty northern kings from six brief dynasties; they all acted wickedly.
Jeroboam set up golden calves at two worship sites in the north in order to rival the Temple.
The kings of both kingdoms at times made alliances with the pagan powers against one another.
Key pagan powers were neighboring Syria, and the big powers of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia.
God sent prophets to correct the peoples of both kingdoms, but their warnings were ineffective.
During the Omri dynasty in the north, Elijah and his successor Elisha did many mighty miracles.
The most dangerous women in those days was pagan Queen Jezebel and her daughter, Athaliah.
Jezebel married King Ahab in the north, and later Athaliah married one of the Kings in the south.
To replace King Ahab, Elisha anointed Jehu, who zealously made Jezebel and Athaliah widows.
Athaliah murdered all the males of the Davidic line, except baby Joash, in her plot to rule Judah.
The longest period of peace and prosperity for Israel in the north was King Jeroboam II's reign.
Chaos which followed his death and Assyrian pressure led to many bad kings in quick succession.
King Ahaz of Judah bribed Assyria to fight on his side against the alliance of Israel and Syria.
Assyria ended up controlling both Israel and Judah, and ended the kingdom of Israel for rebelling.
Assyria deported almost all leaders in the north and resettled pagans there to mix with the people.
Since the prophet Isaiah helped King Hezekiah to reform Judah, it lasted about 150 years longer.
Manasseh, the longest, most wicked king of Judah, lived a century before the Babylonian EXILE.

                            FROM THE EXILE TO THE MESSIAH
Most powerful nations, in order of time, were Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome.
Egypt eventually became weaker than Assyria, and Babylonia eventually conquered Assyria.
Assyria was a brutal nation and started to use deportation as a national policy--and crucifixion.
For someone to be forced to leave one's homeland (deportation) is to be forced to go into EXILE
Assyria destroyed the Northern Kingdom (Israel) in 722 B.C. and deported many of its citizens.
But the poor Israelites were left behind and were forced to live with exiles from other countries.
When some of them married these foreigners, their half-breed children were called Samaritans.
Babylonia destroyed the Southern Kingdom (Judah) in 586 B.C. and deported many of the Jews.
While destroying the Kingdom of Judah, the Babylonians looted and burned Solomon's Temple.
While God's people lived in foreign countries, they picked up some different ideas and customs.
Persia soon conquered Babylonia, and the Persian King Cyrus allowed some Jews to return home
The time from when they were forced into exile until their RETURN home was seventy years.
Those who returned traveled in three caravan, years apart, under Zerubabel, Ezra, or Nehemiah.
We do not know what eventually happened to Zerubabel, a leading descendant of King David.
Out of jealousy, Samaritans caused a new King of Persia to turn against the rebuilding of the city.
This policy lasted for almost twenty years, until another King (Darius) went back to Cyrus' plan.
Ezra was responsible for teaching Jews about God's Laws and getting them to marry only Jews.
Nehemiah governed the people and had the protecting walls around the city of Jerusalem re-built.
The greatest building project for those who returned from exile was the re-building of the Temple.
It took much too long to finish this project, and the people were disappointed by how it looked.
Haggai and Zechariah scolded them for caring more for their own homes than for God's house.
The father of Alexander the Great united the Greeks, and they eventually conquered the world.
As Alexander the Great led them from victory to victory, they conquered the Kingdom of Persia.
Persia had controlled the Promised Land, and now the Greeks ended up controlling God's people.
Jews were allowed to worship as they pleased, but they picked up many Greek ideas and customs
Many of these Greek ideas and customs remained a part of the way that Jews thought and lived.
When Alexander the Great died, his worldwide Empire was divided among four of his generals.
The generals that controlled Egypt and Syria fought with each other to have control of the Jews.
The King of Syria won out and tried to force the Jews to give up many of their religious practices.
He even forced them to offer bloody sacrifices to pagan gods in their own Temple and elsewhere.
His name was Antiochus Epiphanes, and many consider him to be a forerunner of the Anti-Christ.
Some pious, zealous Jews revolted against Syria and fought bravely to take back their Temple.
Military leaders of this revolt were brothers in a priestly family and were called the Maccabees.
Judas, one of these sons of Mattathias the priest, heroically captured the Temple and cleansed it.
The Jewish holiday that celebrates this event in Jewish history is the Feast of Lights, Hannakah.
After the King of Syria died, internal fighting among its nobles kept Syria weak against Israel.
The Maccabees made an alliance with the Roman Republic, and later with the Greek Spartans.
After his brothers were killed, including Judas and Jonathan, Simon ruled in freedom and peace.
Rome took over Syria to protect the Jews, and then took over the Jews to stop their bickerings.
Antipater, the clever father of Herod the Great, helped the Romans to strengthen control of Judea .
Antipater influenced the Romans to allow Herod to become King of the Jews and rule ruthlessly.
Jesus THE MESSIAH was born in Bethlehem in 6 B.C., a few years before Herod the Great died.

            FROM THE MESSIAH TO THE GREAT COMMISSION
Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary, engaged to Joseph, a just man of the line of King David.
Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born to liberate God's people from their sins.
Born in a stable in Bethlehem, David's city, He was dedicated to God in the temple in Jerusalem.
As an infant, He was hailed as the Messiah by Gentiles, the Magi, who saw His star in the East.
Since Herod the Great aimed to kill Him as a rival King, the Holy Family fled to Egypt for safety.
A few years later, after Herod the Great's death, Jesus and His parents returned to the Holy Land.
This child made trips to the temple remodeled by King Herod, most notably when he was twelve.
He grew up to perfect manhood in the Galilean town of Nazareth, where He became a carpenter.
Thirty years after Christ's birth, the voice of John the Baptizer rung out within the Judean desert.
John was the herald of Jesus the Christ, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.
As John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, a dove descended on Jesus as a sign of this to John.
Christ left the banks of the Jordan to be tempted by Satan to sin during forty days in the desert.
Jesus began His public ministry in order to fulfill His vocation for our redemption from our sins.
Jesus joined John in boldly proclaiming the coming of God's Kingdom, but He also did miracles.
Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great, put John in prison and reluctantly killed him.
This caused Jesus to move his ministry from Judea to Galilee, with headquarters in Capernaum.
Jesus performed the first miracle pointing to His Messiahship by changing water to wine at Cana.
He was rejected even in His hometown of Nazareth, because not everyone was pleased with Him.
Jesus spent over three years in public ministry and taught in all major regions of the Holy Land.
He lived in Judea, then in Samaria, then for a long time in Galilee, and lastly in Perea and Judea.
Much of the time, Christ preached, healed, cast out demons, and taught God's people in parables.
From among His disciples, He chose and sent out twelve apostles to minister to all in His name.
Christ grew in popularity for over two years and faced increasing opposition during the last year.
The high point of popularity was when He fed over five thousand on the Eastern Galilean shore.
As Jesus became less popular, He spent more time privately training the Twelve for the future.
He chose Peter to be the leader of the apostles, as the one on whom He would build His church.
Christ began a one-way trip to Jerusalem to redeem us, to suffer and die for sin, to save the lost.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared and Jesus was gloriously changed.
Near the end of the journey, in Bethany, Jesus mightily raised His friend Lazarus from the dead.
His supporters hailed Him as the Messiah as He entered the holy city of Jerusalem on a donkey.
He taught near the temple and predicted the destruction of the temple and the end of the world.
He identified Himself as the Son of Man who would return with holy angels on clouds of glory.
Righteously indignant, He drove the moneychangers, merchants, and animals out of the temple.
Aware of the murderous plots of His enemies, He ate His last Passover meal with His disciples.
At the end of the meal, He offered them His Body and Blood, by instituting the New Covenant.
One of the Twelve, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus Christ to the religious authorities with a kiss.
Jesus was first tried before religious authorities on the charge of blasphemy and was found guilty.
Later Jesus was tried before the civil authorities on the charge of treason and was found innocent.
However, at the insistence of the crowd, Pilate sentenced Him to be scourged and to be crucified.
Jesus the Messiah died late on Friday afternoon and rose from the dead early on Sunday morning.
The Risen Christ instructed His disciples during the forty days before His ascension into heaven.
He appeared first in Jerusalem and then in Galilee; He appeared first to women and then to men.
He authorized His apostles to preach to everyone everywhere and told them to pray for the Spirit.

         FROM THE GREAT COMMISSION TO KINGDOM COME
The Spirit came upon His disciples as they were gathered in Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost.
When the apostles spoke in languages they never learned, this miracle attracted a huge crowd.
That day Peter's preaching led three thousand Jews from all over the world to became believers.
These earliest Jerusalem believers were baptized and shared everything they had with each other.
It was a time when the apostles did many miracle and the religious authorities persecuted them.
As the Spirit caused the Church in Jerusalem to grow, God called seven men to become deacons.
One was Stephen, who was stoned to death because Jewish leaders could not stand his criticisms.
One person consenting to his stoning was Saul, who later converted to become the Apostle Paul.
Persecution sparked by Stephen’s death caused Christians in the city to migrate to other regions.
The Spirit led Deacon Philip to Samaria, where his preaching and miracles led many to believe.
The Devil led Saul to plan a trip to Damascus in order to arrest Christians who were living there.
As Saul was traveling there, he was blinded by a very bright light and heard the voice of Jesus.
He was converted on the spot, and three days later, his sins were washed away through baptism.
Through some supernatural visits and visions, a God-fearing Gentile named Cornelius converted.
Peter preached the Good News about Jesus the Messiah to Cornelius and his entire household.
Peter later had to defend this inclusive action of his to some believers from a Jewish background.
As the first to be called Christians, believers in Antioch, Syria, sponsored Paul's missionary trips.
On these three missionary journeys, Paul, like Peter, preached many sermons and did miracles.
His first trip to Galatia and back took two years, and the second to Greece and back took three.
Paul's work with Gentiles helped to clarify Gentile Christian status during the Jerusalem Council.
Many letters from St. Paul in the New Testament were written on his second and third journeys.
St. Paul's third missionary journey from Antioch to the Roman province of Asia took four years.
On Paul's way back, he stopped in Jerusalem and was arrested there for desecrating the temple.
Imprisoned in Jerusalem and then in Caesarea, he appealed to Caesar in order to get a fair trial.
This meant that, as a Roman citizen, St. Paul would travel to Rome and be judged before Nero.
On his way, he experienced shipwreck, but he made it to Rome and waited a few years for a trial.
Some think that Paul was tried, released, and then went on a fourth missionary journey to Spain.
Early tradition affirms that St. Peter died in Rome by crucifixion under Nero's purge in 64 A.D.
Tradition affirms that St. Paul was decapitated with a sword near Nero's Rome three years later.
The storyline of New Testament history ends with Acts, except for indirect hints from the letters.
The letters from Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude reveal the churches' interior life and struggles.
St. Paul addresses nine of his thirteen inspired letters to congregations and four to church leaders.
Luke, in the book of Acts, mentions some people and churches also mentioned in Paul's letters.
His letters focus on the end times, the way of salvation, Jesus Christ, and the Church community.
The letter to the Hebrews is a major letter with a unique theme, the priesthood of Jesus Christ.
There have long been doubts as to who the real author is, though Paul has often been suggested.
Saints Peter, James, John, and Jude also wrote letters that are preserved in the New Testament.
These seven writings are called "General Epistles," since they focus on no specific congregation.
The last Biblical writing, Revelation, is a major one, the only New Testament book of prophecy.
It encourages Christians to be faithful in the midst of persecution by asserting God's final victory.
It does so by predicting that God will soon destroy evil and fully establish His Kingdom on earth.
John declares that God will justly intervene in all human affairs to judge the living and the dead.
St. John predicts an end to this old, persecuting world and the beginning of a new, righteous one.

                                                    THE END.
What will you do with Jesus?
Neutral you cannot be.
Some day your heart will be asking,
"What will He do with me?"
      --A. B. Simpson
Turn away from sin, and be faithful to the gospel.