Consider the Bible. Have you ever REALLY thought about
where it came from and how it came to be? Look at some of
the Facts concerning the Bible:
The
Bible contains 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in
the New Testament
The
Bible was written on 3 Continents over a time span of some
1500-1600 years
More
than 40 writers wrote the books of the Bible in 3
different languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek
The
writers came from all walks of life with different
backgrounds, different educations, different cultures,
different trades. Consider these:
Moses
was a Political Leader, a Judge, A Pharaoh in training
who had been trained in the best universities of Egypt.
David
was a King, a poet, a musician, a shepherd and a
warrior
Amos
was a simple shepherd
Joshua was a military general
Nehemiah was a cupbearer. And THAT was to a Pagan King.
Daniel was a politician. He was Prime Minister to 2
countries.
Solomon was a King and a Philosopher
Luke
was a Physician
Peter
was a Fisherman
Matthew was a Tax Collector, not just ANY tax collector
but a Tax Collector for the Romans.
Paul
was a Pharisee, a Rabbi
Mark
was Peter's secretary
John
was very young man with only a partial education when
Jesus came along
It is
extremely significant to note the writers and their
backgrounds. They all wrote in perfect harmony with each
other and all confirmed a central theme: That there is ONE
true living God and that He wants to know mankind and that
he prepared a means of salvation in order for man to be
reconciled back to himself in the person of Jesus Christ.
In the
Old Testament:
The
foundation for Christ is established in the Law
The
Preparation for Christ is established in the Historical
Books of the Bible
The
Expectation of Christ is established in the Prophetic
Books
In the
New Testament:
The
Gospels record the manifestation of Christ
The
Epistles give the interpretation of Christ
Revelation gives us the consummation (or the completion)
of Christ
Concerning the Character of the Bible
The
Bible is not a book that a man would write if he could.
The
Bible is not a book that a man COULD write, if he would.
The
Bible deals quite boldly, honestly and openly with the
sins of it's characters, even when those sins make those
characters 'look' bad. Why? It is because the Word of God
is TRUTH. Period. It matters little to God WHO is in sin.
It matters very greatly to God that one quits, puts away
and shuns their sin. Consider the following examples of
this matter:
The
sins of the patriarchs are mentioned (Genesis 12.11-13;
49.5-7) as are the sins of the people (Deuteronomy 9.24).
The
sins of KINGS are NOT COVERED UP (Compare this to modern
day political scenes). Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12
tells us of King David's affair and his attempted
cover-up. The Word also tells us of the consequences for
his sin. God is no respecter of persons! His eye is on us
all, from the least to the mightiest.
The
writers of the Gospels show, not only the faults of the
apostles, but those of themselves.
Faults
and sins of the church are exposed to the light of the
Truth: (First Corinthians 1.11; 15.12; Second Corinthians
2.4)
The
Bible presents it all: The good and the bad, the right and
the wrong, the best and the worst of life. It is unique
above all books on the face of the Earth.
Yes, my
friend, there may have been many writers, but when you
consider that even in today's modern world you can't even
get 3 "scholars" to agree with each other (try to find 40
in agreement!), you find the Bible indeed must have been
inspired.
Here is
an experiment for you skeptics: Go find you 3 people from
around the world. Make sure they are from different
cultures, different backgrounds, and of different
educational status. In fact, why don't you choose an
Afghan Shepherd, A German Scientist and a Russian
Parliamentarian. Ask them to write them a book on who God
really is. REMOVE ALL communication from each other. DO
NOT allow them to have access to one another's writings.
ALLOW them to write in their own language. DO NOT give
them or allow the use of any other study materials.
What do
you think the end result will be? Do you think they will
be in harmony? Do you think they would agree as to the
nature of God, his methods, his description? Do you think
they would all come to the same conclusion? I submit to
you that you will have 3 different accounts and
descriptions of God that would NOT be in harmony with each
other.
Do I
think the Bible is inspired? Yes. Do I think the Bible
contains the WORDS of God? Yes. Do I think the Bible is
the WORD of God? Yes.
Do I
think there is ONE AUTHOR? Absolutely Yes. Though there
are many writers, there is only ONE AUTHOR! That author is
the only ONE AND TRUE LIVING GOD!
What about "ORIGINAL" writings?
When
dealing with ancient manuscripts there is one thing you
must understand. THERE ARE NO ORIGINAL WRITINGS.
There
are old copies of many ancient manuscripts but there are
no originals. It is a funny thing that the Bible is
constantly questioned, and other ancient manuscript COPIES
are readily accepted. Look at the following facts and I'll
show you what I mean.
Caesar wrote sometime between 100 and 44 BC.
The earliest copy of his writings is dated from 900 A.D.
That's a span of about 1,000 years between the original
writing and the oldest copy. I wonder how much 'could'
have changed in 1000 years? Yet, there are none that
question the accuracy of his writings!
Total number of Caesar copies today? There are only 10
existing.
Sophocles wrote sometime between 496 and 406 BC.
The oldest copy know today is dated from about 1,000
A.D.
That's a span of 1,400 years between the original and
the oldest copy. Again, How much could have been changed
or corrupted in 1400 years?
There are 100 copies that exist today.
Plato
wrote between 427 and 347 BC.
The earliest copy is dated at about 900 A.D.
That's a span of 1,200 years between the original and
the oldest copy in existence.
There are 7 copies today.
Now, Compare those findings with the Bible:
The NEW
TESTAMENT was written by several different writers
somewhere between 40 A.D. and 95 A.D.
The
oldest copy is dated at 130 A.D. (770+ years older than
other ancient manuscripts)
Time Span? 45-55 years depending upon when you believe
John wrote Revelation (85-95 A.D.)
How
many copies would you expect? Consider:
1.
The oldest manuscripts are nearly 800 years OLDER than
Caesar's, Sophocles' or Plato's (the OLDER the
manuscript, the fewer copies we are likely to have)
2. The Bible is comprised of MANY writers versus a
single writer
3. The most copies of ancient manuscripts we have today
belong to Sophocles and stands at 100 (and those COPIES
were copied more than 1400 years after the original was
written!)
Now,
how many copies would you expect to be still in existence?
The
number? More than 13,000. Yes, THIRTEEN THOUSAND. This is
all in addition to the fact that MANY early writers quoted
directly from the manuscripts!
THERE
IS MORE VALIDITY TO TRUST THE BIBLE FOR IT'S ACCURACY THAN
TO TRUST THE WORKS OF PLATO! After all, how do you know
that the manuscripts of these ancient writers are true?
Maybe they've been "revised" or changed over the years.
I use
the King James Bible for all the above reasons and more. I
believe the evidence is more than ample to provide anyone
with a trustworthy, accurate translation of the Word of
God.
Perhaps I could give you
something to think on?
Consider these facts
and think upon them.
