THE BIBLE’S PROPHETIC ORGANIZATION

(GOD’S REDEMPTIVE TIMELINE)

One example of documentary evidence to support the validity of the Bible is based simply
on the way the Bible is organized, for it will be shown in this Topic that the entire Bible is
organized prophetically in a manner predictive of God's entire Plan of Redemption from
beginning to end.

OLD TESTAMENT
BEGINNINGS OLD COVENANT ISRAEL'S HISTORY WRITINGS MAJOR PROPHETS MINOR PROPHETS

Genesis Exodus Joshua Job Isaiah Jeremiah Hosea

Leviticus Judges Psalms Lamentations Joel

Numbers Ruth Proverbs Ezekiel Amos

Deuteronomy I Samuel Ecclesiastes Daniel Obadiah

II Samuel Jonah
Song of Songs
I Kings Micah

II Kings Nahum

I Chronicles Habakkuk

II Chronicles Zephaniah

Babylonian Exile Babylonian Exile

Ezra Haggai

Nehemiah Zechariah

Esther Malachi

NEW TESTAMENT
EARLY CHURCH
NEW COVENANT CHURCH LETTERS HEBREW LETTERS
HISTORY

Matthew Acts Romans I Timothy Hebrews

Mark I Corinthians II Timothy James

Luke II Corinthians Titus I Peter

John Galatians Philemon II Peter

Ephesians I John

Philippians II John

Colossians III John

I Thessalonians Jude

II Thessalonians Revelation
 MATTHEW
Inspect all of the 66 books in the Bible in the preceding chart, and notice that the books
have been grouped in a particular way. You will quickly realize that all the books are there,
falling in precisely the same order as they appear in the complete Bible. Although it is not
yet clear just why they have been grouped as they are, you will realize quickly that the
Gospel of Matthew is not only the first book in the New Testament, but it also happens to
be the 40th book in the entire Bible. Think for a moment about the Biblical significance of
the number “40”. Remember that it rained 40 days and nights before the great flood;
Israelites spied out the Land 40 days at the time of Moses, then were forced to spend 40
years in the wilderness because of unbelief; Jesus was tested 40 days by Satan at the advent
of His ministry; and Jesus remained 40 days on earth following His resurrection to confirm
the fact of that miraculous event. On the basis of these examples, we would surmise that the
number “40” must signify a time of testing, and by extension the 40th book in the Bible, i.e.
Matthew, should also imply a time of testing for those people to whom it was written. Any
student of the Bible will be aware that it was written to the Jews who were faced with the
task of deciding whether or not Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, who had been
predicted in Old Testament Scriptures. Do you see the point? Matthew is placed at
precisely the correct location in the Bible to be the time of testing for those who had been
told of His coming, and should have been eagerly awaiting the fulfillment of those Old
Testament prophecies. Here is but one of many prophetic connections with the organization
of the Bible.

OVERALL BIBLE
ORGANIZATION
Now turn your attention to the major groupings of books in both the Old and New
Testaments. If you have studied the Old Testament, and are generally familiar with the
contents of its books, you will realize that the first three groups contain subjects that are
largely historical, with the books themselves placed generally in chronological order. In
contrast, the books in that middle group from Job to the Song of Songs constitute the
“Writings”, and do not deal with history but with subjects of timeless truths. Finally, those
three groups from Isaiah to Malachi are all prophetic in nature. It is here that we begin to
observe a very interesting characteristic of the organization of the Old Testament. Not only
do the Writings and Prophetic books differ in character from the history books, but also
books placed in the Writings and Prophetic groupings were actually written during the
time periods described in the historical books. Therefore, the Old Testament is not
organized chronologically, but in some peculiar way that seems to convey another purpose.
Now the same thing is true about the New Testament. The first four books are parallel
historical accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and the book of Acts is the
chronological account of the Apostolic period, which followed Jesus’ life and ministry.
However, the letters following the book of Acts deal with subjects that are largely non-
historical in nature, but were written during the earlier period of Acts, with the exception
of those by John. Consequently, the New Testament is likewise not organized
chronologically, but once again, in some manner appearing to convey another kind of
message.
We are struck by the fact that the non-chronological organization of the Bible nevertheless
displays decided patterns, which are curiously repeated. Notice how the historical
groupings of one-four-nine-and three books are repeated in the prophetic groupings of one-
four-nine-and three books. Observe how there are four groupings of four books, two in the
Old Testament and two more in the New Testament. Finally, recognize that there are also
four groupings of nine books, two in the Old Testament and two others in the New. If it is
becoming apparent that these patterns are not coincidental, we will add that the numbers
of books in each of the groupings also have prophetic significance. For example, the
number “one” relates to “uniqueness”, “three” to “accomplishment”, “four” to a
transition in God’s earthly Kingdom, and “nine” to “fullness”. All of the observations just
made will now serve as a starting point from which we will discover shortly that the
organization of the Bible actually reveals the totality of God’s Redemptive Plan for
mankind, from its very beginning until its very end!

OLD TESTAMENT
ORGANIZATION
To show this, let’s develop this organizational perspective by initially scanning across all of
the groupings of books in the Old Testament. Clearly, the book of Genesis is unique,
because there was only one beginning of creation and only one fall of mankind. Genesis
spans a very long period of time from that creation until the advent of God’s Covenant of
Law in the following group of books.
There are “4” books in that next group of historical books dealing with the Covenant of
Law, suggesting that it deals with a time of transition in God’s earthly Kingdom. Indeed,
the giving of the Law not only brought new instructions, responsibilities, communications,
and promises, but also witnessed the creation of a new nation of Israel whose responsibility
would be to honor that Covenant. New instructions and responsibilities were provided in all
four of the books, with a new form of communications through the Tabernacle and
priesthood. Deuteronomy was written at the conclusion of Israel’s 40-year wandering in the
wilderness. It recalled the attitude of unbelief that had kept the first generation of Israel
who made the Exodus out of the Promised Land, but concluded with specific instructions
regarding their conduct in the Land, and prophecies about Israel’s future failures, which
would eventually cause that nation to be disannulled from the Covenant.
In a proper historical sequence, the next group of “9” books from Joshua through II
Chronicles shows how God’s promised blessing in the Land was affirmed in (Joshua 21.43-
45), and fulfilled over a subsequent period of about 800 years. The existence of these “9”
books might appear artificially designed, because Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles were
originally divided in the Greek Septuagint from earlier Hebrew manuscripts to create “9”
books instead of the earlier “6”. However, a closer inspection of the content of those books
will reveal the prophetic import of those divisions, made in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC, for
it will be discovered that Samuel was divided between the reigns of Saul and David, and
Chronicles between the reign of David, and all of the remaining kings in the southern
kingdom of Judah. These divisions prophetically set David apart from all of the other
kings, he being the human prototype of Messiah, who would be his biological descendant
and would eventually set up an everlasting Millennial Kingdom during the times in which
we presently live. This fact is substantiated in Topic III dealing with “Modern Israel”,
where it is shown that the timing for the setting up of David’s Old Testament kingdom has
been duplicated by the State of Israel since its inception on May 14, 1948, to an accuracy
within a day! The division of the book of Kings also has prophetic significance, for that
division occurs at precisely the place in the kingly lineage where God began to annul from
the Covenant some of the subsequent kings of Judah, because of their acts of willful
disobedience against Him (For details study "Generations"). Finally, Biblical scholarship
has already shown that the books of Kings offer an editorial on the history of that period,
whereas the books of Chronicles present a divine perspective, therefore there is convincing
justification for the inclusion of I and II Chronicles distinct from I and II Kings in this
nine-fold grouping of historical books.
The group of “3” historic books following the Babylonian Exile signify a time of
“accomplishment”, because they record a time when a remnant of the Jews were permitted
to return back to their Land. They occurred in three migrations: Zerubbabel led the first
return in 536 BC, Ezra the second in 458 BC, and Nehemiah the third in 445 BC. Those
Jews described in the book of Esther remained outside of the Promised Land within the
provinces of the Medo-Persian Empire. This was an accomplishment of prophetic
dimensions, because it was necessary that there be a remnant of the kingdom of Judah in
the Land when Messiah came so that Old Testament prophecies identifying Judah in the
Land at the time of Messiah’s coming could be fulfilled.
We have now arrived at the “Writings”, that fivefold centerpiece of Old Testament
Scriptures. The number “5” signifies “grace”, reflected in the Writings by God's ever-
present loving concern that He has for His people. These five books both serve as the heart
of the Old Testament, and a division between the historic and prophetic portions.
We noticed earlier that the books of the Prophets also appear in groups of one-four-nine-
and three, as a mirror image of the historic groups of books. Indeed, they complete the
picture of the Old Testament in several respects. The prophets begin typically with
pronouncements of judgement against Israel, because of their continuing disobedience of
the Law and unwillingness to trust God, but then typically end with promises of future
blessings consequent to His love. That mirror image is seen even within the individual
books. For example,
• Genesis uniquely spans the period from the eternity past till the advent of the giving
of the Law --- Whereas, Isaiah uniquely spans the period from the Law to eternity
future, it being the only prophetic book that ends with the New Heaven and New
Earth.
• The four-fold group of historical books from Exodus to Deuteronomy describes a
transition in God’s earthly Kingdom, with the giving of the Covenant of Law ---
Whereas, the four-fold group of prophetic books of Jeremiah, Lamentations,
Ezekiel, and Daniel describe another time of transition, when God annulled that
Covenant with Israel.
• The nine-fold group of historic books from Joshua to II Chronicles describe the
fullness of Israel's Old Testament history in the Land, beginning on a high note with
victories under the leadership of Joshua, but ending on a low note, with the
destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, then later the
southern kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians --- Whereas, the nine-fold group of
prophetic books from Hosea to Zephaniah describe Israel’s prophetic fullness,
beginning on a low note of judgement, but ending on a high note with their
restoration and blessing in the future Millennial Kingdom.
 • The three-fold group of historical books from Ezra to Esther shows the Lord’s
accomplishment of returning a remnant back to the Land, following the Babylonian
exile --- Whereas, the three-fold group of prophetic books from Haggai to Malachi
initially describes the Lord’s accomplishment of returning a remnant back to the
Land following the Babylonian exile, but ends with His accomplishment of returning
a future remnant back to the Land following the Times of the Gentiles, during the
End Times.

NEW TESTAMENT
ORGANIZATION
We are now ready to complete this story of God’s Redemptive Plan in the organization of
the Bible, by adding the organization of the New Testament. Once again, we will scan
horizontally across all of the groupings of books in the New Testament, but as we proceed,
also compare each group of books in the New Testament with that corresponding group in
the Old Testament, appearing vertically above it.
The first four-fold group of books in the New Testament from Matthew to John describes
the coming of Jesus Christ, and the fact that there are “4” Gospels indicates that His
coming constitutes another transition in God’s earthly Kingdom. Certainly it brought a
new Covenant of Grace, but the Gospels falling beneath the Old Testament Covenant of
Law also indicates that the Covenant of Grace fulfilled that Old Testament Covenant of
Law (Matthew 5.17).
The next "group" contains only the one book of Acts, which begins with the Pentecostal
arrival of the Holy Spirit. Truly, this was a unique first-time occurrence in the history of
the human race, for never before had the Holy Spirit routinely in-dwelled all believers,
making them "temples" of God. In fact, we look back on that occasion as the beginning of
the Church Age. However, Israel's Old Testament "Inheritance" in the Land (Joshua to II
Chronicles) under the Law was fulfilled, but Israel's New Testament "Inheritance" under
Grace was not. Why? --- Because Israel refused to accept their Messiah following
Pentecost. Acts spans about 34 years of history following Messiah's resurrection, but it
records a systematic rejection by Israel of the new Covenant of Grace offered through
Jesus Christ. The result was essentially an all Jewish Church on Pentecost, but nearly an all
Gentile Church at the conclusion of the book of Acts, shortly before the AD 66-70 invasion
and destruction of Israel by Roman armies.
The New Testament organization now makes it clear why the following group of "9"
Letters from Romans to II Thessalonians were all written by the Apostle Paul, the one
commissioned to go to the Gentiles. Those Letters reveal how God's Old Testament
promised blessings, originally intended for Israel, were fulfilled instead through the
mystery of the Body of Christ during the Church Age, consisting largely of Gentile
believers. The vertical connection between these Church Letters and the prophet Isaiah
also becomes understandable, because Isaiah is the Old Testament prophet who most
clearly prophesied the details of the coming of Messiah, e.g. (Isaiah 53), and who most
clearly forecast Israel's refusal to accept Messiah when He came, e.g. (Isaiah 6). It will also
become clear in the Topic titled "The Revelation" how the "Seraphim" in that chapter
provide the key link that enables us to clearly identify the location of the Times of the
Gentiles within The Revelation.
The ("4") Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, falling as they do beneath the ("4")
books of the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, must depict another
transition in God's earthly kingdom. Indeed, they describe a salvation fundamentally the
same as that described in the Church Letters, but there is no reference to the Body of
Christ. Moreover, there is a subliminal prophetic character to these Letters that has been
detected by numerous Bible scholars. For example, J. Sidlow Baxter perceptively wrote,

"In this, are these two Timothy epistles latently prophetic? Coming, as
they do, just at the end of the nine Christian Church Epistles, do they
throw on the screen an advance picture of tragic break-away and break-
down which are to characterize organized Christianity at the end of this
present Church Age?" --- "Yes, undoubtedly Paul is directly thinking
about these eventualities; but the further point which we are here
making is that perhaps in a way which he himself did not suspect, his
two Timothy letters as a whole (not just their occasional direct
references to the latter days) give a prophetic photograph of our own
twentieth century Christendom. If this is so, how carefully ought the
Lord's Timothies to be studying them, and praying over them again
today!"

J. Sidlow Baxter, "Explore the Book"

We arrive finally at that final grouping of ("9") Hebrew Letters from Hebrews to
Revelation, which fall directly beneath ("9") of the Old Testament Minor Prophets from
Hosea to Zephaniah. If this organizational rendition of God's Redemptive Plan is to remain
consistent to the end, that final group of "9" Hebrew Letters must describe the fullness of
the blessing for the "Hebrews". Furthermore, that blessing should constitute a fulfillment
of those promises for the future Millennial Kingdom prophesied by those Old Testament
Minor Prophets. We shall reserve the more detailed investigation of these final "9" Letters
for Topic VIII dealing with "Kingdom Redemption", but simply observe here that these
Letters have been studied over the centuries without distinction from the Church Age
Letters. However, this organizational approach shows that they are actually Letters
applicable for the Kingdom, though their purpose has not been disclosed until the arrival of
that Kingdom.
You will find detailed discussions of the "Bible's Prophetic Organization" in "A Topical
Organization For The Bible".
(Topic II)

Your Comments and/or Questions?