Introduction

The Pony Express was the first western mail service in the early days of America. It ran from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, a distance of 1900 miles. The trip was made on horseback in only ten days. Forty men, each riding fifty miles a day, dashed along the trail on five hundred strong horses.

To conserve weight, only small men were employed, clothing was light, saddles were small and thin, and no weapon was carried, even through Indian country. The horses wore small shoes or none at all. The mail pouches were conservative in size. Letters were written on thin paper and postage was $5.00 per ounce—a high price now, but a king’s ransom then. Yet each rider carried a full-sized Bible!

The Bible is an indispensable companion for a complete life. It is like carrying a whole library in one volume. It has 66 books and 1189 chapters. Yet a motivated reader can read the Old Testament in only a couple of weeks (74 hours—64 verses a day will get an average reader through it in one year) and the New Testament in less than a week (18.5 hours—28 minutes a day will complete it in forty days; 36 minutes a day will finish it in a month).

The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, the Jew’s language, with a small part in Aramaic (Ezra 4:8–6:18; Jeremiah 10:11; Daniel 2:4– 7:28). The New Testament was written in Greek.

The Bible is the only book that can tell man’s past, present, and future.

> Past: Man was created in the image of a loving God (Genesis 1:27).

> Present: Life’s purpose is to glorify, praise, and serve God (1 Peter 2:9).

> Future: Man can live in heaven with God forever (John 14:1–2; cf. Hebrews 9:27; Acts 17:30–31).

Learning about the Bible is as simple as 1-2-3-4-5.