Inspired Bible :66 Book (protestant), 73 Books (catholic), or More (Orthodox traditions)?
1) Direct Answer
The inspired canon is the 66 books—Genesis to Revelation. Nothing to add and nothing to take away.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- The Bible says all Scripture is God-breathed and sufficient to thoroughly furnish the believer (2 Timothy 3:16–17). That speaks of a complete body of writings that fully equips.
- Jesus identified the Old Testament as “the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms” (Luke 24:44). He also marked its bounds “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias” (Luke 11:51), which covers the full Hebrew canon.
- The oracles of God were committed to the Jews (Romans 3:2). Jesus affirmed their Scriptures; He never placed other writings on equal footing.
- God then spoke in the Son and through those He sent (Hebrews 1:1–2; John 14:26; John 16:13). The New Testament came through apostles and their close associates, confirmed by God (Hebrews 2:3–4).
- We are told the faith was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). And the Word warns not to add to or take from what God has given (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:5–6; Revelation 22:18–19).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Jesus endorsed the recognized Scriptures of Israel; the apostles, led by the Holy Spirit, gave the New Testament. That forms a complete, Spirit-sealed witness.
- The extra books can be historical or moral in places, but they were not received by Jesus and the apostles as Scripture, nor do they carry the “It is written” authority in the New Testament.
- Since God warns against adding to His Word, we hold to the closed canon He vindicated: the 66 books.
Short reinforcement
You see, God keeps His Word pure. The Bible is complete—one Book, from Genesis to Revelation, perfectly in step, without the need of additions.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Influences
64-0215 §67
I want you to notice something else. God did not use books and theological terms to cleanse his servant; He used fire. He never used creeds to clean his servant; He took fire off the altar. And if God ever cleans a man today, it's got to be the Holy Ghost fire that cleanses a man---not reading a book, and doing this, or some other book by So-and-so. A certain great minister here in California said, the other day, he had the book of the year. I differ with him. The book of the year is the Bible, always been. The boo...
Hebrews, Chapter 1
57-0821 §9
Now, we're studying the book of the Hebrews. It's been... Oh, it's one of the most deepest, richest books of the Bible. I tell you, it's a book that really will... If God permits, and we just get down into this, I believe we will find golden nuggets till we will just shout the praises of God [unclear words]. And now, I... The book of Hebrews, really what it is, it's supposing to be written by Saint Paul, the greatest Bible expositor, I guess, the world's ever had outside of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul was a sep...
Abraham's seed
59-0423 §33
I remember old John Ryan. He come through the prayer line at Fort Wayne, been blind for years. And he's Catholic by faith, and he came through the prayer line. Now, to you Catholic... You know, I'm Catholic too. You knew that, didn't you? Sure, I'm Catholic. I met a fellow the other day. He said, "Billy, the strange thing to me is, that you ... your sincerity, and yet not Catholic." "Oh," I said, "I am a Catholic." He said, "I didn't know that." I said, "Oh, yes." "Aw, now..." And I said, "Sure. Yes, sir." I said,...
Faith
61-0813 §24
But what we're trying to do, my Catholic friends... See, we are Catholic, too---we are the early, beginning Catholic. And the church that they call us now, mostly we're referred to as Pentecostal because we believe in the Pentecostal blessing. That's where the Catholic church was organized. And in our organizations of Pentecost today, if any of this world would stand five hundred years longer, this Pentecostal organization would be more formal than the Roman Catholic church is today. It's just getting farther away,...
Church Ages, part 2: The Patmos Vision
60-1204E §40
How are they going to make a Bible that ... try to squeeze it, make it fit Jews, Catholics, and Protestants, when they are as different as day is from night? Thought the Jews knowed better than that. I guess maybe it's just the hour for it to come, where it all has to go in this great apostasy. So, in all things just... Remember, we cannot stop it. But the only thing we can do is throw the light out there, maybe give ourself as a martyr and walk away. So that's the only way we can do it, but many will have to do th...