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.
The Mark of the Beast
54-0513 §6
And now, it's just too bad, or... Maybe it isn't the will of the Lord, and maybe it is, I don't know, that, I would like to have just week after week in this book, just to stay right here and watch it catch right back over into Daniel, and Daniel and Revelations, and tie in the prophets. And the whole Word of God is every bit tied right together. Sixty-six books, wrote by numbers of men, hundreds of years apart, and not one contradicts the other one, not a one. Every one of them perfect. Never was a piece of litera...
Who is this?
59-1122 §7
Now, no doubt what I have plenty Catholic friends sitting here this afternoon. I was asked by a Catholic friend of mine not long ago, he said, "Why is it that you don't return to the mother church?" I said, "You're referring to the Catholic church?" He said, "Yes sir." I said, "I am a Catholic." He said, "You're a what?" I said, "I'm a Catholic." And he said, "A Roman Catholic?" I said, "Well, I'm just a Catholic, is all I know." And he said, "How do you figure that?" I said, "Is it true that you say that the Bible...
Divine Healing
54-1219M §19
...aid, "Well," he said, "let me see you teachers make your Word come to pass, what your Jesus said would do." He said, "Oh, you're referring to Mark 16." He says, "That's not inspired." He said, "What kind of a book are you reading?" He said, "Our Koran, every bit of our Koran is inspired." That's the Mohammedan Bible. Said, "It's inspired. We believe every word of it. And everything that Mohammed promised, we can make it say so." That's right. Said, "Now, you people make this Bible say so." Said, "Now, if it ain't i...
We would see Jesus
61-0208 §26
Now, if this is his book... I had an interview not long ago with a Catholic priest. He came to my house to ask about if I'd baptized some girl that ... when she was a baby, or a little girl about fifteen years old. She'd remarried, and remarried Catholic. He had to baptize her over. And the bishop asked me some questions. He asked me if I'd baptized her, and I told him Christian baptism by immersing. He said, "The Catholic church used to do that." I said, "When?" So he went back and said, "In the days of the Bible....
Church Ages, part 1: Revelation Chapter 1
60-1204M §39
And the book of Revelation has more symbols in it than all the rest of the books in the Bible. It has more symbols because it is a book of prophecy. It's a prophetic book. Therefore, it has to be understood by a prophetic class. This book is not meant for everybody. There's nobody can understand it, hardly. This book is made for a certain class of people. Over in Deuteronomy it says, "The hidden things belong to the Lord." That is right. And He reveals to us, his children, the hidden things. So it doesn't go... The...