The Bible: Its History, Origins, Reliability, and Content /// Prophecies

THE BIBLE: ITS HISTORY, ORIGINS, RELIABILITY, AND CONTENT

I. HISTORY: The Bible Is The All Time Best Seller

A. The Bible has been read by more people and published in more languages than any other book in history.

B. The Encyclopedia Britannica says about the Bible that “by 1966 this entire book had appeared in 240 dialects and languages, and parts of it in 739 additional dialects and languages.”

C. Around this same year of 1966 the British and Foreign Bible Society had to publish “one copy every three seconds day and night; 22 copies every minute day and night; 1,369 copies every hour day and night; 32,876 copies every day in the year,” to keep up with demands. 

D. This book has been burned, banned, and outlawed more than any other book in history.   From the Roman emperors to present-day Communist-dominated countries, the Bible has constantly been persecuted, but has managed to survive and thrive. 


II. ORIGINS: The Bible Is Unique

A. How and by whom was the Bible written anyway?

1. Written over a 1,500 year span.
2. Written over 40 generations.
3. Written by more than 40 authors, with different walks of life (Such as: kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, etc).
4. Written on 3 different continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe.
5. Written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

B. The uniqueness about this book is that although there is such a diversity in the making of it, the Bible still has just one unfolding story: God’s redemption of mankind. Many people see some Biblical laws to be contradictions (e.g. food choices, head coverings, circumcision).  But it is important to remember that though these specific laws were of upmost importance, they were not intended for Gentiles (us) but for the Old Testament Jewish person.  The New Testament is the moral compass for today's Christian, and it clarifies the reasons for many of the Old Testament laws.


III. RELIABILITY: The Bible Is Reliable 

A. According to Josh McDowell’s A Ready Defense, “There is more evidence for the reliability of the text of the New Testament as an accurate reflection of what was initially written than there is for any ten pieces of classical literature put together” (McDowell, p.24).

B. Since Homer’s book, the Iliad, is in second place for the most existing manuscripts (hand-written copies), let’s compare it with the New Testament, which is in first place for the most manuscripts.  

1. There are 764 questionable lines from the Iliad, but only 40 lines (400 words) are in doubt of the New Testament.
2. Homer’s book was written in 900 B.C.  The New Testament was written in A.D. 40-100.  
3. The earliest copy of the Iliad is 400 B.C.  The earliest copy of the New Testament is A.D. 125.
4. There are over 24,000 hand-written copies of the New Testament.  There are only 643 copies of the Iliad (McDowell, p.45-46).

C. Even after the invention of printing, there are gaps in thirty-seven plays of William Shakespeare.  Scholars have to fill in his plays with educated guesses.  In the New Testament, there is not one gap (McDowell, p.24).  John Warwick Montgomery (a noted lawyer, professor, Lutheran theologian, and prolific author) says, “To be skeptical of the resultant text of the New Testament books is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament". 


IV. CONTENT: We Can Trust That What The Bible Says Is True

A. It is a universal axiom that the Bible is historically accurate.  The Archaeologist known as Professor Albright, tells us that the “Hebrew national tradition excels all others in its clear picture of tribal and family origins.  In Egypt and Babylonia, in Assyria and Phoenicia, in Greece and Rome, we look in vain for anything comparable . . .”  (pg.32).  He goes on to say that there is nothing like the Bible within the tradition of the Germanic peoples; nor can the people of India or China come up with anything similar. 

B. Not only are the contents of the Bible incomparable with other cultures in terms of History, but the Bible has also proven its integrity through the actual fulfillment of prophecy.

1. Just one example: The prophet Isaiah, wrote in 700 B.C. that a king name Cyrus will say to Jerusalem that it shall be built and that the Temple foundation shall be laid (Isaiah 44:28 & 54:1).  When He wrote this, Jerusalem was completely built and so was the Temple, but in 586 B.C. the Temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar.  The Babylonians took over Jerusalem, and then it was conquered by the Persians in about 539 B.C.  After that, the Persian King Cyrus gave the decree to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.  This was 160 years after the prophecy of Isaiah (McDowell, p.56).
2. There are many examples of fulfilled prophecy in the Bible; some prophecies have even been fulfilled in the 20^th century (Please see paper called “Prophecies”).  Wilbur Smith, a man who had a personal library of 25,000 volumes, says of the Bible, “It is the only volume ever produced by man, or a group of men, in which is to be found a large body of prophecies relating to individual nations, to Israel, to all the peoples of the earth, to certain cities, and to the coming of one who was to be the Messiah.  The ancient world had many different devices for determining the future, known as divination, but not in the entire gamut of Greek and Latin literature, even though they use the words prophet and prophecy, can we find any real specific prophecy of a great historic event to come in the distant future, nor any prophecy of a Savior to arise from the human race . . .”   (McDowell, p.31).


V. CONCLUSION

I have concluded that through the test of time, through its unity, reliability, historical content, and prophetic integrity (described here and in the “Prophecies” paper), that the Bible is, to say the least, the most unique book ever written. I also believe that it is of divine origin, the very Word of God.  Take the time to observe and thoroughly examine the Bible to test it, and see if it is really the Word of God.

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PROPHECIES

I. MESSIANIC PROPHECIES

A. The Old Testament was translated into the Greek language almost three centuries (300 years) before Christ was born (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.14. p. 762; Vol.22. p. 413 etc.).  There are 60 Major Messianic prophecies and 270 ramifications (prophecies from the 60 major ones) from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in one person, Jesus Christ.  This list is just seven of these ancient prophecies:

1. Gen. 3:15 tells us that Jesus would be “born of the seed of a woman” – everybody else is born from the seed of a man, not a woman.  Isaiah 7:14 says that Jesus would be born of a virgin.

2. Psalm 22:6-18, Zechariah 12:10 and Deut. 21:23 say that Jesus will be crucified.  This is 800 years before Romans even practiced crucifixion, which was introduced by Alexander the Great.

3. Isaiah 8:14, 28:16, 49:6, 50:6, 52:53, 60:3, and Psalms 22:7-8 and 118:22 tell us that the Jewish people would reject Jesus, and the Gentiles would believe in Him.

4. Isaiah 40:3, and Malachi 3:1 and 4:5 tell us that John the Baptist would come before Jesus.

5. Zechariah 11:11-13, Psalm 41, Jeremiah 32:6-15, and Matthew 27:3-10 tell us specifically that Jesus the Messiah would be betrayed, by a friend, for thirty pieces of silver that will be cast onto the floor of the Temple, and used to buy a potter’s field.  

6. Micah 5:2 tells us that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, (a town with a population of less than a thousand at the time of His birth).  

7. Malachi 3:1, Psalm 118:26, Daniel 9:26, Zechariah 11:13, and Haggai 2:7-9 tell us that the Messiah would come while the Temple of Jerusalem is still standing.

II. MESSIANIC PROPHECIES FULFILLED

A. Jesus fulfilled these seven ancient prophecies and many more.  We read about these fulfilled prophecies in the New Testament, which was written at least 300 years after the Old Testament prophecies.  The New Testament was written from A.D. 40-100; the oldest NT manuscript we have is from A.D. 125. 

1. Luke 1:26-38 tells us that Mary was a virgin who miraculously had a son.  He would be called “the Son of God.”  Since Mary was a virgin, Jesus came from the seed of a woman not a man. 

2. The end of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all tell us the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.

3. The Gospels speak of the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish people of that time.  After I visited a synagogue, I learned that even today in order to be a practicing Judaic Jew, you must reject Jesus as being the Messiah. 

4. Luke 1:17 tells us that John the Baptist came in the “spirit and power of Elijah.”  Jesus explains to His disciples that John the Baptist came before Him in Mt. 17:10-13.

5. Matthew 26:47-56, and Mt. 27:1-10 tells us the story about Judas and how he betrayed Jesus. It was exactly as it was foretold. 

6. Mt. 2:1 tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which is a city that still exists today.  

7. Mt. 21:12-13 tells us that Jesus visited the temple, which means it was still up when He was on earth in the flesh.  This is an amazing prophecy since we know that Titus Vespasian destroyed the city of Jerusalem, along with the temple, in A.D. 70, which was about 35 years after Jesus resurrected. Today, the temple has still not been rebuilt, which means we are waiting for more prophecies to come true. . . 

III. NEW TEMPLE PROPHECIES

  A. Daniel  9:27, 11:31, and 12:11 tells us that there is going to be a future temple built in Israel, and that there will be a “defiling” of this temple.  Jesus also spoke about this “Abomination of Desolation” that will take place in this future temple (Matthew 24:15-22).  From the looks of things, it seems like the rebuilding of the temple is coming soon.  I have visited Israel twice, and was able to go into the Temple Institute Museum.  I have seen firsthand the many implements that have been made for the future temple (for example, the 200 pound gold menorah). These temple vessels can be viewed at the Temple Institute’s official site: templeinstitute.org. You can also read Don Stewart’s and Chuck Missler’s book, “The Coming Temple,” for more pictures and information on the new temple implements.  It seems that so many Biblical prophecies are coming to fruition before our very eyes.  Israel and Palestine want control over this Holy Land in which the Dome of the Rock stands today.  As we can see, Israel has constantly been in the news because of it’s ongoing wars with the Palestinians. What better way to bring peace to the Middle East than allowing a Jewish Temple to stand next to the Muslim Temple?  Well, this is spoken of in Revelation 11:1-2.  It seems likely that there will be two areas on the Temple Mount - one for the Jews, the other for the Gentiles (which in this case would be the Palestinians).  In walking the Temple Mount, you will quickly realize that there actually is room for two temples.  It would seem that this could be the answer to the Middle Eastern conflict, but it is actually only the beginning of the end.  The Bible speaks very candidly about the end of time as we know it.  It seems that the next prophetic event we are waiting for is that the Anti-Christ or “the man of sin” will come and give three and a half years of false peace, then he’ll proclaim himself as God in the new temple (2Thess. 2:3-4, John 5:43, 1 John 2:22, Daniel 9:27, 1Thess. 5:2-3) - this is the “Abomination of Desolation” that Jesus spoke about.  Because of this, and all the other sins of humanity, the book of Revelation tells us that God will begin to judge the earth.  He wouldn't be a just God if He didn't judge the earth.  But that's why the Gospel is Good News.  For those who simply believe in Him, who trust Him for their forgiveness, and surrender their own desires to His purposes - they will be saved.  Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."


IV. THOUGHTS

A. I find it interesting that some will believe that there are absolute truths in the natural world, but there are only subjective truths in morality.  Some believe that the supernatural does exist - like our spirits and souls, or like ghosts or even demons, but they refuse to believe in the existence of a supernatural God that loves them.  It's amazing to read the polls that most people believe that there is a God, yet they can't believe that God is powerful enough to provide a perfect sacrifice, Jesus, to pay the debt of our sins and to make it as simple as faith to enter His Kingdom.  The God of the Bible remains as the most convincing source of logic for choosing a way of life.  Is the Bible the most elaborate hoax in history, or it is the Truth?  Is Jesus the most sadistic deceiver of all time, or did He speak truth when he said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)."?  These are questions worth asking ourselves.