_Prophetical._

Revelation.

The _historical_ books of the New Testament give an account of the life
of our Lord Jesus Christ and of some of His apostles. The _didactical_
books (the epistles or letters) explain the Gospel of Christ more fully,
and show how we are to believe in Him aright and live aright. The
_prophetical_ book tells in figurative language what shall take place in
the Church of Christ up to the time when there shall be new heavens and
a new earth.

CANONICAL BOOKS. The sixty-six books enumerated above are inspired, and
are called the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testaments. The
so-called Apocryphal Books, printed in some editions of the Bible, are
not a part of the Bible: they are not inspired.

OUR ENGLISH BIBLE. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew,
and the New Testament in Greek. Our English Bible is a translation from
the Hebrew and the Greek. The English Bible which is in ordinary use is
called the Authorized Version, or King James' Version. It is a
translation made by a body of learned men and published in England in
1611, during the reign of James I. The Revised Version is an improved
translation made by a body of learned men in England and America and
published in 1881-1885. The Bible in whole or in part has been
translated into more than three hundred languages.

QUESTIONS.--1. What is the Bible? 2. What does it tell us? 3. Why do we
need it? 4. Why do we say that the Bible is the Word of God? 5. What is