Doug Krieger: WHY ARE THERE EITHER 24 or 39 BOOKS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE AND 27 OF THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES?

WHY ARE THERE EITHER 24 or 39 BOOKS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE AND 27 OF THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES? THESE ARE TODAY’S CANON OF HOLY WRIT. DARE WE ASK? EVENTUALLY, WE MUST GET INTO THE NUMBERS OF THE BOOKS…BUT FIRST…

Marcion (cir. 144 AD) determined that there was an Old Testament and a New Testament with Yahweh being the tyrannical god; while the god of the NT, through Paul, being the god of goodness and grace. He sought to theologically ghettoize the Jews, deprecating the Hebrew Bible, while declaring Saturday to be a day of fasting.

Marcion created a biblical canon of his own by seizing on Paul's claim to have received the gospel not from man but directly from the Lord (Gal. 1:11-12). He rejected all the books of the Old Testament and retained only those of the New which were clearly authored by Paul, purging any texts which conflicted with his personal beliefs. A version of Luke, minus the infancy narrative, was acceptable to Marcion since Luke was the loyal companion of Paul and faithfully handed on Paul's words.

He was declared a heretic by the presbyter of Rome shortly after he made his views known while in Rome.

The Marcion heresy in various forms persisted up through Martin Luther and beyond—sadly, into Dispensationalism which in point of glaring fact created a two-tiered theological system wherein there are today Two New Covenants; Two Resurrections of the Just, Two Gospels—the one preached before the Rapture of the Church; and the other preached after her Rapture; Two Brides—the Wife of Jehovah for the Father and the Bride of Christ for the Son; Two Holy Cities (one heavenly, one earthly), etc.

In Luther’s case he felt there was conflict between the “works of the Law” and the “faith of the gospel.” Thus, he rejected canonical books from the Hebrew Scriptures and attempted to remove from the Christian Scriptures (e.g., the “Gospel of straw” – the book of James) those writings which came into conflict with his understanding of the gospel of the grace of God—Luther went so far as to mistranslate sundry texts to fit his narrative. Whenever one hears the moral law revealed through the Hebrew prophets is no longer in force, one is hearing the ancient prattling’s of Marcionism.

ALL Scripture is profitable—and ALL SCRIPTURE declares the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ—both testaments compliment one another, while magnifying God’s eternal purpose and plan in Messiah—the building of His EKKLESIA, His Assembly in order to crush the Gates of Hades: “I will build My EKKLESIA, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

NUMBERS, NUMBERS, NUMBERS

As is my wont – how is it that numerical values can attest to the canon of Scripture? How is it that Hebrew/Greek scholars who translated the Hebrew Bible into the Greek (viz., the Septuagint from the mid 3rd Century into the 2nd Century BCE) determined the Hebrew canon to be that of 24 books (Christians determined the same but eventually set up 39 books—whereas, for example, 1 and 2 Kings is simply among the Hebrew Scriptures 1 book of the Kings, etc.).

Jewish authorities did not fully canonize their Scripture until the Masoretic Text beginning in the Seventh to the Tenth Century—in particular, they desired to establish once and for all those books which were called the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and those which were apocryphal (not wholly “divinely inspired” in nature); thus, the 24 books or 39 books (the same) became the Hebrew Scriptures. We do not have time/space to go into elaborate detail on the determination of the canon of Holy Writ; however . . .

The Christian Canon was wholly substantiated by the 5th Century AD; in sum:

Following Jerome's principle of Veritas Hebraica (Latin for "Hebrew truth"), the Protestant Old Testament consists of the same books as the Hebrew Bible, but the order and numbering of the books are different. Protestants number the Old Testament books at 39, while Jews number the same books as 24. This is because Jews consider Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles to form one book each, group the 12 minor prophets into one book, and also consider Ezra and Nehemiah a single book. (Wikipedia)

In summary then:
Hebrew Scriptures – 24 or 39 Books
Christian Scriptures – 27 Books

Now – let’s check out the numerical values to see if there is any credence that the number of books in either testament brings us to possible conclusions which MAY determine if the ancients and more modern scholars “got it right” on the canon! Somewhat audacious of me—then again, this can only be matched by my grossly over-exaggerated humility!

(1) Addition: 24 + 27 = 51
(2) Addition: 39 + 37 = 66 (eventually “792” see below)

NOTE: The number set “66” is a fractal/resemblance of the “660” feet of one furlong of the New Jerusalem’s 12,000 furlongs or 12 (eliminating the zeroes to “see it better”) X 66 = 792 (whereas 12,000 furlongs X 660 ft. (one furlong) = 7,920,000 linear feet or 1,500 miles (i.e., 7,920,000 ÷5,280 ft. = 1,500 miles) (Ref. Revelation 21:16).

(1) Multiplication: 24 X 27 = 648 ÷ 2 (2 testaments) = 324 = Wall of the New Jerusalem
(2) Multiplication: 39 X 27 = 1053 or “153” (Eliminating zero)
(3) Multiplication: 648 and 153 = 6 X 4 X 8 X 1 X 5 X 3 = 2880 or “288” ÷ 2 (testaments) = 144 both the Wall of the New Jerusalem’s “144” cubits and each of her “6 faces of a cube” or 12,000 furlongs X 12 furlongs = 144,000,000 sq. furlongs or “144”

NOTE: The “324” is the fractal/resemblance of the Wall of the New Jerusalem found in Revelation 21:17 – the wall being “144 cubits” – the dimension of the Hebrew Sacred Cubit is determined by 360° (the rotation each day of the earth or the number of degrees in a circle) X 7 (days in a week) = 2520° or 25.20 inches (many other determinations on the measurement of the “cubit” of the Hebrews affirm that this is the length thereof) or, in feet, the 25.20 inches = 2.1 feet; therefore: 2.1 ft. X 144 cubits = 302.4 feet or “324”

NOTE: The “153” are the number of fish Jesus caught on the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection and the number of firkin which filled the six stone pots in gallons were determined by the fact that 2/3 “measures” or firkin are equal to 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 15 X 10.2 gallons (one firkin--NKjV Study Bible) = 153 gallons; thus, the miracles of Jesus’ ministry (first and last) were 153 + 153 = 306 or “36” which is fractal or resemblance of the 360°’s of a circle, a picture of God without beginning or ending. Likewise, the “153” can be seen all over the Ark of Noah in that the window of ark was 1 cubit all around and its width was 50 cubits and its length 300 cubits, as well as its height of 30 cubits; therefore 1 and 5 and 3 can be viewed in multiples or “153” and THAT ARK WAS CHRIST (1 Peter 3:20-22).

Summation: Something tells me that God’s Eternal Plan and Purpose through the Person and Work of the Messiah had but one quest: The Bride of Messiah! The New Jerusalem—that’s why we have 51 or 66 books of Scripture? Well, the numbers don’t lie—just sayin’….