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.
Hebrews, Chapter 3
57-0901M §7
There's not another piece of literature written anywhere that can do that. And mathematically and geographically and every way, there's not a book in the Bible wrote like the Bible ... there's not a book in the world, I mean, wrote like the Bible; there's nothing. The numerics of the Bible is perfectly in harmony; just even chapters and punctuations and everything, it's perfect. Not another book... You couldn't read a chapter out of it without crossing itself back. But there's not one cross-up in the entire Bible....
Divine Healing
54-1219M §16
Let me just pass a little something to you here while we're thinking of it. You know what makes Protestants turns Catholic? Is because the Catholics believes this Word is inspired. The Protestant believes some parts of it is inspired. The part he wants it to be inspired, it's inspired; the rest of it is not inspired. If it hits his doctrine, it's not inspired, see. That's the Protestant. The Catholic says that it's all inspired, every bit of it, but their church is over the Word. So ... make any difference what the...
Influence
63-0803E §77
Now, he's cleansed. Now he's confessed and cleansed and called, and commissioned to be a prophet. And God let him write the entire Bible. In sixty-six books of the Bible, and there's sixty-six chapters of Isaiah. He starts out in Genesis, the middle of the book comes John the Baptist, and goes plumb over into the millennium reign in Isaiah 65 and 66. That's right---Revelation. He wrote the entire outline of the Bible. Why? Because he humbled himself when he saw the presence of God. What did he do? And his... After...
The Kinsman Redeemer
60-1002 §20
...ix chapters of I Samuel, and you will get the real story of it. But we're going to jump along now to get the main context out of this, which, sometime ago I started on this book of Ruth, and was for three or four weeks getting through it. Started on the book of Revelation once, and took all year, about, to go through it. Just every little scripture ties one with the other entirely through the Bible. And it's beautiful. Therefore, we know the Bible is inspired. For mathematically, and every way... There is no other...
The Second Coming
55-0220A §32
Here's why. The Catholic says, "This Word is inspired, all of it, but the church is over the Word." That's wrong. The Protestant says, "This is inspired, as much I believe in it to be inspired. Mark sixteen is not inspired, divine healing that's not inspired..." You just take it, which part, just what their theology will permit them to say is inspired. To me, it's every word's inspired, and it's the only foundation for the Christian. I believe it--God's Word. I may not be able to make it manifest. My faith may be t...