The Myth of the “Intertestamental Period”. Many Protestant Bibles speak of the “Intertestamental Period” or “400 years of silence.” This phrase refers to the time between Malachi (as arranged in the Protestant canon) and the New Testament. The idea is that God gave no prophetic word during those centuries, leaving Israel in silence until John the Baptist arrived.

Understanding church history matters because it helps us see where our traditions come from and why so many sincere Christians have ended up divided. It teaches us to be humble about our own assumptions and to focus on what is essential.

Many people pick up a Bible without realizing that this book has a history all its own—a long journey stretching thousands of years, across languages, cultures, and even empires. The Bible wasn’t dropped into the world fully formed. Instead, it was carefully written, copied, translated, and gathered into the collection of books we have today.

The Apocrypha: Lost Books or Forgotten Scripture? The word “Apocrypha” means hidden in Greek. But in this context, it refers to a group of ancient Jewish writings included in the Greek Old Testament—the Septuagint (LXX)—but later excluded from the Hebrew Masoretic Text. These books are also known as the Deuterocanonical Books (literally, “second canon”), especially in Catholic and Orthodox circles, where they are considered fully inspired Scripture.