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.
Pride
55-0807A §7
And now, before we can open the book... We can open the pages that way, but there's only One who can unravel that Word, and that's the Holy Spirit; that's all. He was the one Who wrote it. Do you believe that? He did, He wrote the... Men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, wrote the Bible. And it was wrote by ... I'm sorry, I did know, but I don't know now, just how many writers of the Bible. I'm sorry I can't quote that now, because I got two different numbers in my mind. I'm afraid I'd be mixed on it....
Come, let us reason together
55-1004 §38
There's sixty-six books in the Bible, and there's sixty-six chapters in Isaiah. Isaiah starts off with the generation ... I mean, in the creation. In the middle of the book, he ends up the Old Testament, and brings in the "voice of one crying in the wilderness," and ends off over in the millennium, where the sixty-sixth verse... the sixty-sixth chapter of ... like in the book of Revelations. It's a complete Bible in itself. Isaiah is a prophet of grace. He was the one who really set forth, that how the blood of Jes...
Influence
64-0315 §70
Isaiah wrote sixty-six chapters in his book, and there's sixty-six books in the Bible. He starts off with the beginning of creation, and ends up in the millennium, just like the entire Bible does. That great prophet of God who was willing to confess that all their traditions was wrong, and get down there and get cleansed so the Word of God can come to him, then he said, "I am ready to go, Lord. I'm ready. I'll speak what You say speak. I'll say what You say say." He was ready to go. God, bring the angels again this...
It was not so from the beginning
59-0405A §7
This Catholic friend of mine said, "What's the strange thing to me, Billy, is this, that you have not come back to the mother church, the Catholic church." "Oh," I said, "I have never left it." And 'course, this was most amazing to this fellow. As he looked at me strangely, I said, "You know, as according to the teaching of the church, that Christ founded the Catholic church, and put over it the twelve apostles, Peter being the first pope. And they, by inspiration, wrote the Bible. And the Bible is the history of t...
The curtain of time
55-0302 §37
We Christians, the first thing, we're separated between Catholic and Protestant. The Catholic says, "The Bible's inspired, but the Catholic church is over the Bible." The Protestant said, "Well, it's inspired as much as I believe. The rest of it's not inspired." Fussing, fighting, arguing, separating, oh, it's a pitiful thing. I'm sure glad God got a hold of me before the church did (That's right. Yes, sir.), that God taught me first, 'cause I'd have probably been an unbeliever. I see what people call themselves Ch...