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You might be under the impression that the Bible as we normally read it is in chronological order but that isn’t the case. The Bible that we all use is broken up into categories, which can be easily referred to as law, history, poetry, major prophets, and minor prophets for the Old Testament, as well as Gospels, Church history, letters, and prophecy for the New Testament.

When a regular, non-specialty, chronological Bible is read straight through the timeline it jumps back and forth between books. In fact, the timeline in some books of the Bible changes as well, taking you forward or backward without much if any indication. This can at times be hard to follow and create problems understanding where the passages you are reading fits into the historical time, therefore, reading the Bible chronologically is much different than how most persons normally read the Bible and comes with many added benefits.

Many scriptures intersect, sharing the same time in ways you never see by just reading the books of the Bible on their own. Of course, there are clues in each book indicating where they fit in the timeline along with the help of extra-biblical resources. However, when you read the Bible in chronological order passages are broken up based on where they fit in the timeline and not just by book.

For instance, this means a prophet’s writing is placed right in the timeline that it fits in. This allows you to see the actions of the people God was speaking to through the prophet and who God’s Word has changed their actions. Likewise, David’s songs of praises follow his victories they relate to. The letters of Paul are mixed into the books of Acts showing where he was and what he was doing as he wrote them.

It can be difficult to really grasp where certain passages of Scripture fit. Reading the Bible chronologically makes it easy, allowing you to see right where everything fits. It also gives you an even greater understanding of God’s Word and the circumstances surrounding everything He has said to His people.

Every book that makes up the Bible is important and contains valuable information about our faith. If we are completely honest, there are some sections that are simply hard to read straight through such as Leviticus where the law and tabernacle plan is laid out in great detail. In fact, some of the information is repeated. First and Second Chronicles seem to be almost an unending genealogy. Psalms with all the beautiful poems and songs can be hard to read through in succession because of its expansive size.

Reading the Bible chronologically is much easier. It divides sections and places them among other passages that tends to be easier to read, thus preventing the reader from being burnt out and overlooking important information.

During this Bible Reading plan, we will be reading the New Testament in the order each book was written. The order below will be used to guide our reading. While no arrangement of these books can be made with absolute certainty, the following dates are generally accepted as the dates when the books were written:

  1. James - 50 A.D.

  2. 1st Thessalonians - 52-53.

  3. 2nd Thessalonians - 52-53.

  4. Galatians - 55.

  5. 1st Corinthians - 57.

  6. 2nd Corinthians - 57.

  7. Romans - 57-58.

  8. Philippians - 62-63.

  9. Colossians - 62-63.

  10. Philemon - 62-63.

  11. Ephesians - 62-63.

  12. Luke - 63.

  13. Acts - 64.

  14. 1st Timothy - 65.

  15. Titus - 65.

  16. 2nd Timothy - 66.

  17. Mark - 66.

  18. Matthew - 67.

  19. Hebrews - 67.

  20. 1st Peter - 67-68.

  21. 2nd Peter - 68.

  22. Jude - 68.

  23. Revelation - 68.

  24. John - c. 85.

  25. Epistles of John - 90-95.

 

The goal is for every member to prayerfully read the assigned chapter each day with an emphasis on reading to apply God’s truth to our lives.

We trust that every member of the United Apostolic Church will come on board and “search for truth” daily and apply the truthreceived to their lives.

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