The Bible

As we begin our apologetic tour through the bible beginning in Genesis it occurred to me maybe we should first defend the legitimacy of the scripture and describe what it is first.

THEORIES OF CRITICAL SCHOLARS ABOUT BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

1. Claim: Deliberate Deception: The Old Testament prophets, Jesus and the apostles deliberately lied when they claimed their messages were from GOD.
   1. Comment: Imposters and liars are not willing to die for their faith
2. Claim: Self-Deluded Sincerity: These men sincerely believed their message was from GOD, but were self-deluded.
   1. Comment: Self-deluded men are unable to predict accurately future history 100’s of years before it occurs.
3. Claim: Evolution of Thought: The Bible records man’s continued development of thought from each preceding generation rather than God’s gradual revelation to man.
   1. Comment: Paul claimed that his knowledge of Christ did not come from any man, but by a direct revelation of Christ himself (Galatians 1:12).
4. Claim: Existential Inspiration: The Bible is a record of differing experiences of men of GOD who interpreted their experiences and God’s will in different ways.
   1. Comment: The Bible teaches that GOD had different laws and covenants with man throughout past ages Jeremiah 31:31 predicted a new and better covenant, which Jesus, the Messiah fulfilled with His New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-12). Jude 3 says this covenant represents not different faiths, but “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
5. Claim: Genius Inspiration: Like Shakespeare, talented men wrote the Bible.
   1. Comment: Uneducated shepherds, Galileans and fishermen joined their books with educated men like Moses, Isaiah, and Paul.
6. Claim: Gradual Illumination: The Bible represents the gradual illumination of truth that occurs in the lives of all religious people.
   1. Comment: Since the first century A.D. no Jew or Christian has written or received any illumination that is superior to the teaching found in the Bible.
7. Claim: Partial Inspiration: The Penmen of the Bible were sometimes inspired with Divine ideas and at other times wrote errors that were not inspired by God. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7:10, “not I, but the Lord” and in 7:12, “I, not the Lord” are cited in favor of the theory of Partial Inspiration.
   1. Comment: Jesus said in John 16:12-13 that He taught only part of His will to the apostles during His earthly ministry and the Holy Spirit would reveal additional teachings and guide them into “all the truth.”
   2. Comment: Paul’s statement, Not I, but the Lord,” refers to what Jesus taught on earth (1 Corinthians 7:10-11) and his statement, “I, not the Lord,” refers to additional revelation of the Holy Spirit which Jesus did not teach on earth.
   3. Comment: Paul said all he taught was from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-14) and all his commands were “the Lord’s commands” (1 Corinthians 14:17).
8. Claim: Embellished Truth: The core of history was embellished by alleged miracles, which are really myths.
   1. Comment: These scholars are evolutionists and do not believe in the miracle of creation or in any other miracle and consider all the Bible’s miracles as myth.
9. Claim: Thought Inspiration, But Not Verbal Inspiration: GOD inspired the thoughts, but the writers often made errors in attempting to express these thoughts into words.
   1. Comment: These scholars are honest enough to admit that the Bible does contain remarkable ideas and predictions that could only come from God.
   2. Comment: 1 Corinthians 2:13 says; Paul’s words, not just his thoughts, were inspired.
10. Claim: Dictation Inspiration: Some ultra-conservative scholars believe that every single word was dictated by the Holy Spirit into the mind of the prophets as they wrote.
    1. Comment: At times revelation and inspiration occurred simultaneously in the form of dictation, as Jesus said in Matthew 10: 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
    2. Comment: In most cases GOD allows the author to do his own research, as Luke did (Luke 1: 1-4), and to express the ideas in his own unique style (Dr. Luke used the language of a physician), but guided the writing to guarantee its truth (John 16:13).
11. Claim: Plenary Inspiration: Plenary means “complete.” Conservative Bible scholars believed the Bible is completely inspired without errors.
    1. Comment: The rest of the lesson is devoted to what the Bible actually says about its own inspiration as being indeed complete, adequate and without error.

 THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN REVELATION AND INSPIRATION

Different Word Meanings

Revelation means “uncovering” or “revelation” in both Hebrew (galah) and Greek (apocalupsis).

Inspiration of GOD means: breathed into by GOD in both Hebrew (ruwach Shaddai) and Greek (theopneustos).

Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is GOD -breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD GOD formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

GOD breathed into Scripture and it became the living word of GOD Hebrews 4:12 “The word of GOD is living and active.”

Examples of Revelation

Visions and Dreams: Numbers 12:6 he said, “Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.

Face to Face speaking. numbers 12:7-8 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Taught directly by Christ: Galatians 1:11-12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Angels: Revelation 1:1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which GOD gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

How Inspiration Relates to Revelation

When Moses wrote down the revelation GOD spoke, the Holy Spirit inspired him to remember and write accurately what GOD had said. Thus, Exodus 24:4 says, “Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.”

Jesus promised in John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

When Paul preached or wrote, the Holy Spirit inspired him to remember precisely what Jesus directly revealed to him, 1 Corinthians 2:13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

When John wrote his gospel, the Holy Spirit reminded John of what he had heard Jesus say and what he had seen Jesus do, just as Jesus promised (14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.)

When John wrote the book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit reminded John of what the angel had said and shown to him (The revelation from Jesus Christ, which GOD gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,)

GOD INSPIRES ALL SCRIPTURE, NOT PART OF THEM

All Scripture is “GOD -breathed…is Inspired by GOD.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is GOD -breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of GOD may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

All Scripture Includes Old Testament Scripture. When Paul said, all Scripture is inspired, he specifically noted the Old Testament Scriptures.

All Scripture Includes the New Testament Scripture

Paul believed New Testament writing also is inspired Scripture, because Paul quoted Luke 10:7 as “Scripture” in 1 Timothy 5:18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” The first verse is from Deuteronomy 25:4 and the 2nd verse contain the exact Greek words of Luke 10:7. Thus, Paul called both the Old Testament and the New Testament “Scripture.”

GOD -breathed Scripture Includes Both Old and New Testament Writings.

THE INSPIRED BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE GOD’S WORDS, NOT MAN’S

The Old Testament Claims 3,800 Times to Be God’s Word

David in 2 Samuel 23:2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.

“This is what the Lord says” (Isiah 66:1).

“The word of the Lord came to me saying” (Jeremiah 1:4).

Ezekiel 1:1 “I saw visions of GOD,” 2:1 and 3:1 “And He said to me”

“There is a GOD in heaven who reveals mysteries (Daniel 2:28).

New Testament Scripture Claims to Be God’s Word

Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. John 7:16

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:24

If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 1 Corinthians 14:37

And we also thank GOD continually because, when you received the word of GOD, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of GOD, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of GOD. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 peter 1:23-25

Peter quotes Isaiah 40: 6-8 as God’s word and then claims that his own writing is the same Word of GOD that Isiah taught.

In 2 Peter 1: 20-21, Peter denied that Scripture is of Human Origin.

THE BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE UNERRING TRUTH (without errors)

The Bible claims to Speak Only the Truth

GOD is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19

Yet you are near, LORD, and all your commands are true. Psalm 119:151

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

Jesus Claimed All Old Testament History to Be True (Matthew 23:35) that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Abel is in Genesis, the first Old Testament book and Zechariah is in 2 Chronicles, the last Old Testament book in the Hebrew Bible.

Jesus Claimed the Old Testament Predictions as God’s Inspired Word.

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:25-27

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24:44-45

Jesus Claimed Old Testament Miracles Were God’s Inspired Truth.

1. Creation of the universe (Mark 10:29; 13:19).
2. Creation of all living creatures (Matthew 10:29-30)
3. Creation of man (male and female) in His own image (Matthew 19: 4-6)
4. The Flood, Noah, and the Ark (Matthew 24: 37-39; Luke 17:26-27).
5. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning Sulphur (Luke 17: 28-30).
6. Lot’s wife turning to salt (Luke 17:32).
7. GOD speaking to Moses out of the burning bush (Luke 20:37).
8. God’s provision of manna from heaven (John 6:49-51).
9. Elijah’s miraculous support of the widow in Zarephath (Luke 4:24-26)
10. Elisha’s miraculous cleansing of the leprosy of Naaman (Luke 4:27).
11. Jonah’s deliverance from the belly of the big fish (Matthew 12:40).
12. Jesus Said, “Scripture Cannot Be Broken” (John 10: 34-35).

THE BIBLE CLAIMS COMPLETE AND ALL SUFFICIENT TRUTH

The Bible Claims to Reveal ALL the Truth That GOD Wants Man to Have

Old Testament Covenant

1. “The secret things belong to the Lord our GOD, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29
2. and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32: 46-47
3. Isaiah predicted a coming King who would make a new covenant with a people of GOD who would include the Gentiles (non-Jewish nations). Luke 4:18 Jesus quotes Isaiah 42 and refers this promise to Himself (Isaiah 42: 1-7).
4. Jeremiah predicted that GOD would one day make a new covenant with His people, that would be different than Moses’ Law (Jeremiah 31:31).
5. The Hebrew writer explains that this covenant is the New Testament of Jesus.

New Testament Covenant

1. Jesus Christ charged His apostles to teach all of His truth to the whole world (Matthew 28: 18-20).
2. Jesus has all authority as Lord and King.
3. God’s people are to include all nations.
4. The apostles were to teach “everything” Christ commanded.
5. The Holy Spirit would remind the apostles of all He taught (John 14:26)
6. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:12-13
7. Toward the end of Paul’s life, he told the Ephesian elders, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of GOD. Acts 20:26-27
8. as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 2 Peter 1:3
9. Jude 3 urges Christians to contend for “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints”
10. All Scripture is given by inspiration of GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of GOD may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17
11. There is not truth GOD wants us to teach or believe that is not revealed in Scripture.
12. There is no work or act of worship that GOD commands us to perform that is not recorded and authorized in Scripture.
13. Through the knowledge of Scripture, the man of GOD can be completely adequate to serve, obey, and please GOD.

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE INALTERABLE TRUTH (cannot be changed)

1. Old Testament Commands Could Not Be Deleted or Changed
2. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your GOD which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2
3. Jesus condemned the Jews who followed religious tradition rather than God’s word in the Old Testament, He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of GOD because of your tradition? Matthew 15:3
4. Jesus considered religious tradition as a dangerous addition to God’s word.

The New Testament Covenant: Complete and Adequate

1. Paul said that he was a minister of the New Testament, not the old Testament (2 Corinthians 3:6-18)
2. Paul said that Christian Jews die to the Old Law when they are baptized into Christ and come under the Covenant of Christ (Romans 7:1-6).
3. Paul prohibited Christians from practicing or teaching anything that went beyond the teaching of the Scriptures: Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 1 Corinthians 4:6
4. In the context, the Corinthians were calling themselves by the names of men, not by the name of Christ (1 Corinthians 1-4)
5. Paul had taught that Christians should do everything in the name of Christ, not the name of man (Colossians 3:17).
6. Paul commanded them not to go beyond Scripture by exalting men in the place of Christ.
7. Thus, Paul prohibited the church from appointing any man in the place of Jesus Christ.
8. Paul condemned any modification of the gospel of Christ: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1: 8-9).
9. Paul the apostle did not have the right to change the gospel.
10. An angel does not have the right to change the gospel. Neither does the Pope!
11. Man, cannot change the gospel without incurring the condemnation of eternal damnation.
12. The last book of the New Testament gives a solemn warning not to add or take away from Scripture (Revelation 22: 18-19)

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE COMPLETELY PRESERVED TRUTH

1. The Old Testament is Preserved. Jesus taught that every word and letter of the Old Testament would be preserved until every prophecy is fulfilled (Matthew 5: 17-20).
2. The Bible Endures. Isaiah 40: 6-8 said that God’s word (Old Testament) endures forever.
3. Jesus said, “My words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
4. Peter said the Word of GOD he taught would “endure forever” (1 Peter 1:22-25).

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE PRECIOUS AND PRACTICAL TRUTH

1. What Men of God Think about this Book
2. Book of Wisdom (Deuteronomy 4:6; Ephesians 3: 3-5).
3. Book of Life (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).
4. Book of eternity (John 6:68; Ephesians 3:9-11).
5. Book of Love (1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:9).
6. Book of light (Proverbs 6:23; John 8:12; Psalms 119:1-5).
7. Book of strength and power (Psalms 119:50; Acts 20:32).
8. Book of Hope (Romans 15:4; Psalms 119:81).
9. Book of God’s word and God’s truth (Psalms 119:142; 160; John 8:32).
10. Above all, it is a book of God’s Son and God’s people (John 20:30-31).
11. What Modern Man’s Attitude Should Be Toward this Book.
12. Study it and mediate on it as God’s Word (Psalm 1:2).
13. Believe it as God’s Word (Mark 16: 15-16).
14. Obey it is as God’s Word (Acts 2:36-39).
15. Share it as God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 2:8).
16. Defend it as God’s Word (1 Peter 3:15).

SUMMARY: The Bible clearly claims to be God’s Inspired and Inerrant Word. Since Jesus and the apostles believed the Bible is God’s Inspired and Inerrant Word, how can any true Christian believe less? Do we know more than Jesus?

The Bible is a Historical Book

1. Christianity comes from historical eyewitness testimony. We know that things happened in the past because it is recorded in reliable historical documents.
2. If the New Testament is a reliable historical document:
3. Then there was a Nazarene named Jesus and He claimed to be the Son of God
4.  Then when it says Jesus walked on water, He did!
5. When it says that He fed 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread, He did!
6. When it says that He raised the dead and was raised from the dead, He did and He was!

NOTE: there are records from the past, which we have every reason to believe, are true since both archaeology and contemporary documents from the same time zone have confirmed their general reliability. Whether we believe the Bible is the word of God or not, one thing is for sure. If is is a history book, then these things are true.

An Example of Historical Context, Luke 1: 1 – 4

1. Written to Theophilus an official in the imperial network of the Roman empire. “Most excellent Theophilus.”
2. Three times in the book of Acts (also written by Luke) the phrase “most excellent” is used of Roman governors.
3. This man had access to the police files.
4. He had access to records.
5. He would be able to check things out to know whether or not they were so.
6. He had been instructed in the way of Christ. Luke opens his account to Theophilus by assuring him that the material he was about to read had been carefully researched, secured from eyewitnesses, that the material was accurate, and that the events were to be presented “in order” of their occurrence. Then he states the reason for such precision of research and accuracy of writing: “that thou mightiest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed” (Luke 1:4)

NOTE: What Luke claims then is that his book is reliable historical testimony, that it contains the facts as they literally and really happened.

Your New Testament records the events that eyewitnesses like Matthew and John and Peter and Paul and careful researchers like Luke and others, the authors, the writers of the New Testament were able to record.

The ground of our faith is the testimony of eyewitnesses.

1. “He that hath seen hath born witness and his witness is true and he knoweth that he saith true that you may believe. “ John 19:35 John said”
2. “What I am writing is what I saw.”
3. “I was a participant in what I saw.”
4. “I know it is true, and I am writing that you might believe.”
5. The testimony of Thomas the apostle, John 20: 24 – 29. “My Lord and my God.”

NOTE: Why do we believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead? Not because of a feeling or an existential experience. We believe because of men like Thomas and Matthew and john and Peter and others who saw and recorded their eyewitness testimony.

The Propositional Statement and Methodology of Study

Propositional Statement (The thing to be proven):

1. “There is abundant evidence from historical sources which is adequate to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and the Bible is the word of God.”
2. The Methodology (How to prove the proposition): A Two-fold methodology.
3. “To establish the historical reliability of the New Testament documents – to prove to you that the New Testament is a history book.”
4. “To reason those historical evidence which the New Testament contains, and by a systematic argumentation of those facts to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Bible is the word of God.”

CONCLUSION:

Here is the beginning place for an investigation into the genuineness of Christianity. It must begin with a real historic space-time Jesus for apart from his own historical existence neither redemption nor resurrection could amount to any more that pie-i-the-sky-by-and-by.

Belief is the result of an honest evaluation of reliable, convincing evidence. An unwavering faith in God, Christ as the Son of God and the Bible as God’s Word must be grounded on actual documented evidence rather than being inherited from our family or derived from our feelings. The case for belief is not to be found in either science or philosophy.

Christian Evidences seek to confirm the Deity of Christ and the inspiration of the Bible by presenting various evidences to substantiate this. The historical approach of Christian Evidences seeks to confirm that the Christian faith rests upon a reliable foundation of historical facts. These facts of history from the basis of the evidences for belief. It is this kind of evidence, its historical reliability and its weight in relation to the Biblical claim, which we shall investigate during the course.

REMARKABLE SCIENTIFIC FOREKNOWLEDGE 

1. Recent Scientific Truths
   1. The Scriptures reveal extraordinary scientific truths that were not discovered or confirmed by scientists until the 15^ththrough the 20^thD.
   2. Astronomical Truth
   3. The numberless stars, “I will make the descendants of David my servant…as countless as the stars of the sky” (Jeremiah 33:22)
   4. Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. (NKJV)
   5. Isaiah 40:22 (c.700B.C.) wrote, “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.” Discovered 2,300 years later
   6. Jesus said in Luke 17: 31-36 that people will be working in the fields during the day and sleeping during the night when He returned. Jesus knew that day and night occurred simultaneously over the earth 1,350 years before Galileo discovered it.
      1. Luke 17: 31-37 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord? “So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
      2. Laws of Physics and Geology
      3. Hebrews 11: 3 says by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Discover that matter is composed of invisible molecules in 1920 A.D.
      4. Job 38: 16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? The ocean/ seas are very deep, and in almost complete darkness, and the pressure there is enormous, it would have been impossible for Job to explore the bottom of the ocean. Springs in the Ocean were discovered by Oceanographers in the 1970’s using deep diving research submarines built to withstand 6,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.
      5. Oceanographers also discovered the trenches at the bottom of the sea mentioned in Job 38:16
      6. Psalm 8:8 (C. 1000 B.C.) The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas Paths, or streams through the oceans were discovered in 1854
      7. Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. The water cycle was not recognized as scientific fact until the 17^th
      8. Biological and Medical Truths
      9. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmityBetween you and the woman,And between your seed and her Seed;He shall bruise your head,And you shall bruise His heel.” Scientist used to think that only the man had “seed” until the 17^thcentury when they discovered that the woman also has “seed” that combines with man’s “seed” when a strand of DNA (discovered in the 19^th century and identified in the 20^th century) from the women combines with a strand from man
      10. Leviticus 13 gives instructions for quarantine for diseases to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of the camp. Discovered in the 19^thcentury, 3,240 years after Moses’ time.
      11. Leviticus 17:10 forbids Israelites to drink or eat blood of animals. In the 19^thcentury scientists realized that diseases of animals can infect humans of their blood is eaten or drunk.
      12. Leviticus 15: 5-13 instructs the washing of hands and clothes to prevent infection after touching a diseased or dead person.[i].
      13. Genesis 17:12 commands Abraham and his descendants to circumcise their male children on the 8^thday after birth. In the 20^thcentury medical scientists discovered that vitamin K causes blood to clot and does not enter the body significantly until the 8^th day after birth.[ii]
   7. NOTE:Such remarkable scientific foreknowledge can be explained only by an omniscient Scientist who revealed these truths to His prophets.

AMAZING PREDICTIONS OF FUTURE PEOPLE, NATIONS, AND EVENTS 

The Accuracy of Biblical Prophecy

God told Isaiah, “write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness” (Isaiah 30:8)

1. God predicted the Future of Babylon
   Isaiah chapters 13-14, 44-45, written about 700 B.C.
   1. Medes will conquer Babylon (Isaiah 13:17). Fulfilled 539 B.C.
   2. “Cyrus” (predicted by name) will free the Jews from Babylonian Captivity and permit them to return to Judea and rebuild Jerusalem (Isiah 44:28; 45:1). Fulfilled 539 B.C.
   3. Babylon to be desolate and uninhabited, like Sodom and Gomorrah, forever (Isiah 13: 19-22. Fulfilled c. 363 A.D.
   4. Babylon to be covered by swamps of water (Isaiah 14:23) – “The great part of the country below ancient Babylon has now been for centuries a great swamp”[iii] (Over 1,000 years after Isiah predicted it).
   5. Name survivors and offspring of Babylon to be cut off forever (Isiah 14:22). The name of Babylon ceased to exist more than 1,000 years after Isiah predicted it.
2. Prophecies Concerning Egypt. Ezekiel 29: 15-16 predicted that the great and might country of Egypt would become, and remain forever a lowly kingdom. He further predicted that Egypt would not become extinct as Babylon was.
   1. Date of Ezekiel’s prophecy: between 592 and 586 B.C
   2. Egypt remains “a lowly” and impoverished nation, thus continuing the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy for the last 2,580 years.

1. Rome and the Kingdom of Christ
   1. Daniel predicted in 604 B.C. the coming of four world empires.
      1. Babylon the first empire (Daniel 2:38)
      2. Medo-Persia the second (Daniel 2:39; 5:28-31; 6:8)
      3. Greece the third world empire (Daniel 2:39; 8:20-21).
      4. Daniel describes in detail the fourth world empire (Daniel 2:40-43; 7:17-27).
      5. History and the Bible (Luke 2:1) identify the fourth kingdom as the Roman Empire.
   2. Daniel 2:44 predicted that the Kingdom of God would be set up during the days of the fourth world empire (Rome).
   3. Daniel 7 also predicted that the Messiah’s Kingdom would outlast the Roman empire.
   4. Jesus Christ, who began to preach about 26 A.D. , it the 15^th year of Tiberius, Emperor of Rome (Luke 3:1) said, “The time has come,” and “The Kingdom of God is near.”
   5. Two years later Jesus told His apostles that the Kingdom would be established during their lifetime (Mark 9:1)
   6. After His resurrection, Christ claimed to have all authority and He commanded His apostles to expand His kingdom to all the world (Matthew 28:18-20)
   7. Jesus’s apostles taught that His kingdom was established in the 1^st century during the Roman Empire (Colossians 1:13 and Revelation 1:5,6,9)
   8. Rome fell in the 4^th century – Christ’s Kingdom continues to exist to this day.
   9. Daniel prophecies c. 604 B.C., 600 years before Christ was born and 900 years before Rome fell. A Hebrew manuscript of Daniel was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls with a carbon 14 date of c.150 B.C. 150 years before Christ was born and 450 years before the Roman Empire fell.
   10. Daniel’s amazing predictions could not have been made without Divine foreknowledge, proving the Bible is the Work of God.

MESSIANIC PREDITIONS FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST

1. Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell lists 332 Old Testament predictions of Jesus Christ
2. Six Old Testament Prophecies of Christ’s Dual Nature as Both God and Man are Fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
3. Six of the 80 Prophecies Predict Christ’s Genealogy
   Luke 3 traces Jesus genealogy all the way back to Adam and Eve
4. Three Prophecies of Christ’s Youth and Three Prophecies Concerning His Forerunner, John the Baptist (See Table-8A)
5. Ten Different Roles of the Future Messiah. As Prophet, Priest, King, Shepherd, Servant, Son of Man, Sacrifice, Counselor, Judge, and Redeemer.
6. Ten Different Aspects of the Messiah’s Life and Ministry
   His miracles, preaching in Galilee to the poor and sinful, speaking in parables, making a covenant with the Gentiles, and living a sinless life.
7. Thirteen Different Ideas About Christ’s Betrayal by Judas
   His rejection by the Jews and humiliation before Pilate. The Messiah’s entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, His betrayal by a friend for 30 pieces of silver.

The Death of Christ

Eight are listed:

1. 1. Pierced hands and feet,
   2. Pierced side
   3. Garments Divided
   4. One garment taken by lot,
   5. Gall and vinegar for drink,
   6. Forsaken by God,
   7. Vicarious death for others and,
   8. A death that justifies others.
2. Christ’s Resurrection from the Dead
   His ascension to heaven, His reign over all nations while seated at God’s right hand and His final victory over death in the final resurrection at His second doming.
3. Odds of Varied Numbers of Prophesies Being Fulfilled in One Person’s life.[iv]
   1. Eight prophecies: 1 to 10 with 17 zeros. This number will cover Texas with silver dollars by 2 feet deep.
   2. Forty-eight prophecies: 1 to 10 with 157 zeros
   3. Eighty prophecies 1 to 10 with abut 260 zeroes
   4. To illustrate the odds of the 332 prophcies of Christ that McDowell lists, Batsell Barrett Baxter pictured 40 archers and placed them from 1,400 to 400 yards away from a hidden target, to represent the prophecies that were made about Christ from 1,400 to 400 years before He was born. Each of the archers shoots his allotted arrows into the sky toward the hidden target. Imagine 332 arrows flying through the sky toward a hidden target, and all of them hitting the bull’s eyes.
   5. Jesus alone fulfills all 332 prophecies.
   6. One of the principal methods used by the apostles to convert unbelievers was to prove to them that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament predictions of the Messiah (Acts 2: 14-36; 3:17-26; 8:32-35; 13:16-41, 17: 2-4; 10 – 12; 18: 4-6)

THE SUPERIOR CONTENTS OF BIBLICAL TEACHING

1. The Wisdom of Solomon
   No one in history has succeeded in expressing greater wisdom more concisely than Solomon (except for Jesus). Read this wisdom in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
2. The Patience of Job
   Job is a masterpiece of philosophical, scientific, and religious concepts in real life situations. Yet it was written more than 3,500 years ago.
3. The Devotion of David
   The Psalms contain the highest spiritual concepts and the deepest yearnings of the soul to praise and glorify God.
4. The Superior Morality of the Bible
   1. The Ten Commandments and other moral laws found in the Old Testament are superior to the moral standards of other nations when Moses wrote.
   2. The morality of Jesus’ Sermon on the mount sets the highest moral standard ever taught in human history (Matthew 5 – 7)
5. The Impartiality of the Bible
   1. Most ancient histories glorify their heroes and kings and fail to record their weaknesses and their defeats.
   2. The bible impartially presents the strengths and weaknesses of its most important characters.
      1. Noah’s drunkenness (Genesis 9:21).
      2. Sarah’s lie (Genesis 18: 15-16)
      3. Jacob’s deceit (Genesis 27)
      4. The envy and jealousy of Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 37)
      5. Judah’s fornication with Tamar (Genesis 38).
      6. Moses’ killing of an Egyptian (Exodus 2: 11 – 16).
      7. Israel’s sin and exile in the wilderness as punishment.
      8. King Saul’s witchcraft (1 Chronicles 10: 13-14)
      9. David’s adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11).
      10. Solomon’s multiplied wives and idolatry (1 Kings 11).
   3. The Bible points out Israel’s defeats as well as its victories
      1. Saul’s defeat at the hands of the Philistines and his suicide (1 Samuel 31)
      2. Absalom’s rebellion against his father, David (2 Samuel 15).
      3. Pharaoh Shishak’s sacking of Solomon’s treasures (1 Kings 14:25-28)
      4. Assyrian destruction of the Kingdom of northern Israel (2 Kings 24-25)
      5. Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and Judah (2 Kings 24-25)
      6. Slaves in Babylon for 70 years (2 Chronicles 36: 20-23).
   4. Unified and Consistent Truth
      1. Unity of thought in diversity of culture.
         1. About 40 authors wrote the 66 books of the Bible over 1500 years.
         2. The authors had varied cultural backgrounds, different religious teachings, and different educational backgrounds and professions.
         3. The promise of the coming Messiah links together the entirety of the Old and New Testaments
      2. While God’s covenants are different for each age, the same God is recognized as the Omnipotent, Omniscient Creator and Father in each covenant.
      3. Jeremiah 31:31 specifically predicted the coming of Christ’s new covenant, and Hebrews 8-10 shows that the Old Testament prepared for and foreshadowed Christ’s New Testament.
   5. The Wisdom, Love, and Purity of Jesus Christ
      1. Jesus’ analysis of “the two greatest laws” in the Old Testament demonstrates His divine wisdom (Mark 12: 30-32)
         1. Jesus said the first and most important law is “love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
         2. The second most important law is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
         3. The Golden Rule of Jesus is the best expression of the two greatest laws; “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
      2. Jesus’ new and superior law of love for neighbor.
         1. “Anew command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34-35).
         2. Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
         3. Jesus demonstrated that icredible love by dying on the cross for not only His friends, but also for His enemies (Romans 5:6-8)
      3. His teaching to “Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) was demonstrated by His perfect life, the only man to attain a sinless life (John 8:46; 1 Peter 2:21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
   6. The Power of the Gospel to Transform Lives
      1. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11
      2. The power of the gospel has changed more lives than the teaching of human philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology in all of history.