2021 Bible Study Announced!

2021 Bible in Time
Introduction and Purpose

Christ Pantocrator mosaic in Byzantine style, from Cefalù Cathedral in Sicily, Italy, c. 1130
Wiki Commons Images

Dear Friends in Christ -

Like the rest of the United States, I have been confined

to my house because of the real COVID-19 pandemic

since March 2020. It came at a time in my life where

I recently retired. This time has given me a lot of time

to rest, recreate, think, and pray in the next directions

in my life.

Like every disciple of Jesus Christ, I ask the question

regularly, “What is God calling me to do?” It has been

my good fortune and blessing to have been able to teach

Christian adults in one form or another the Bible and

study it since 1993. I continue with this calling.

In 2020, I took a sabbatical from doing a brief daily

reflection on the Episcopal Daily Office readings

on my blog The Bible in Time: Read the Bible, Pray the

Prayers, Hear the Call, Serve the World! (There have

been over 1800 posts and 97,000 views over the

last seven years as of today.)

This year, 2021, I will begin a study on the New Testament

that will be a chronological study. Basically, we will reading,

praying, and studying the Bible based on the estimated time

that each of the books of the New Testament was written.

Since the Bible has been studied, scholars and faithful Christians

have been guessing when each of the books has been

written. (more on that later.)

I will be posting daily, Monday - Friday, beginning

January 1st. I will announce vacation days as they occur.

The order of the books of the Bible’s New Testament

is the Gospels, the Book of Acts (Vol. 2 of Luke’s writings

of the early Church), The Letters of Paul and others, and

the Book of Revelation. These were in the form first as oral

and then by individual scrolls circulated by the infant

Church. The order or canon of the New Testament was

determined in the 300’s C.E. (common era) by leaders

of the Church that circulated lists of what scrolls to use.

The letters section of the New Testament was arranged

by the size of the scrolls - longest to smallest -

and not when each of them was written. The Church from

time to time has reviewed the New Testament canon.

For this class, the basic texts are:

• a Christian Holy Bible that has been published in this century. I will be using The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 5th edition (ISBN 978-0-19-027608-9; Oxford University Press USA; © 2018.) I am suggesting that you use a study Bible.

• Gene Edwards, Revolutionary Bible Study (ISBN 978-0-97975157-8; SeedSowers Publishing; © 2009) I like the large print and the dynamism built into the text.

• I will refer to other resources. My favorites are here.

Please ask your friends to join us on this journey.

Let us pray …

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written

for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn,

and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold

fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have

given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, Proper 28)

In God's Service and yours,

Dave Eitland

Second Week in Advent
Friday, 11 December 2020

deitland@gmail.com