Scripture: Inspiration and Preservation, Part 4

This will be part four in an ongoing series on the issue of the inspiration and preservation of the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15). We have so far defined revelation as a disclosure of information that could not have been known otherwise. Also, the two types of revelation which include general and special, and inspiration. Then finally, we started to look at the issue of proof. We have already looked at what the Bible says of itself, its indestructibility, and its transmission, Today we are going to look at fulfilled prophecy, scientific accuracy, history, and the lives that have been transformed because of it.

There is no doubt that the Bible is indeed a book of prophecy and the purpose of prophecy is not only to establish the authenticity of the prophet but also the authenticity of the source of the prophecy. As a matter of fact, the Bible goes so far as to bring about the death penalty for those who presume to speak on behalf of God. “But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die” (Deuteronomy 18:20).

It is estimated that there are at least 456 prophecies in the Bible that refer to the Messiah alone. Of these, there are at least 109 of them that Jesus had to fulfill at his first coming alone.”  Some of these would include his virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), birthplace (Micah 5:2), being proceeded by John the Baptist (Isaiah 40:3), triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9-10), the piercing of his side on the cross (Zechariah 12:10), and the list could go on and on. In Psalm 22 alone, it is prophesied of the darkness that occurred at the moment of his death, the mocking that he received, the piercings in his hands and feet and the casting of lots for his robe.

Another proof of inspiration is its scientific accuracy. It has been said that although the Bible is not a science book, it is accurate when it speaks on scientific matters. Just to name a few. In Leviticus 17:11, it says that the life of the flesh is in the blood. In Psalm 8:8 it says that there are paths or currents in the sea. In Isaiah 40:22 it says that the earth is a sphere and yet for many years people believed that the world was flat. In Job 26:7 it says that the earth is suspended in space. In Genesis 15:5 it says that the stars were innumerable. In Jonah 2:6 it says that there are mountains and canyons in the sea. In Genesis 7:11 it says that there are springs and fountains in the sea. In Ecclesiastes 1:6-7 it speaks of the hydrologic cycle. In Romans 1:20 it speaks of matter.  And once again the list could go on and on.

And yet another proof of the inspiration of the Bible is history, especially in the realm of archeology. It has been said that with every turn of the archeologist's spade, another skeptic is put to silence. Halley’s Bible Handbook lists 112 examples and Unger’s Bible Handbook lists 96. In Genesis 2:8-14 it says that the Garden of Eden was in the lower Mesopotamian Valley and it is now referred to by even the evolutionists as the birthplace of human life or the Cradle of Civilization. In Genesis 11:1-9 it mentions the Tower of Babel and dozens of ziggurats have been found in Mesopotamia. The Bible states that the birthplace of Abraham was in Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:27-31). For many years, people doubted if it ever existed until C.L. Wooley came along in 1922 and found it. It is now one of the best known ancient sites in the world that dates back to around 2000 B.C.

The final proof (at least for this paper) for the inspiration of the Bible is the lives that it has transformed. There is not enough room in this paper or any other for that matter, to list the lives that have been “elevated to new levels of peace and joy by turning their lives over to Christ.” The Bible says in Psalm 119:9, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.” Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

There is no doubt that the Bible has changed the lives of many. The Apostle Paul said of himself in 1 Timothy 1:12-15 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”

Scripture: Inspiration and Preservation, Part 3

This will be part three in an ongoing series on the issue of the inspiration and preservation of the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15). As stated earlier, entire books have been written on this issue, and it is not meant to be exhaustive by any means. However, it will cover the basics, and, hopefully, encourage you to further study and strengthen your faith in the Word of God, especially, in a day in which fewer and fewer seem to believe it.

We have so far defined revelation as a disclosure of information that could not have been known otherwise. Also, the two types of revelation which include general and special, and inspiration. Today, we are going to look at the subject of proof. What are the proofs of the inspiration of the Bible? Well, there are many. These include the Bible itself, its indestructibility, its transmission, fulfilled prophecy, scientific accuracy, history and the lives that have been transformed because of it.

The first proof offered is the Bible itself. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” As a matter of fact, the term “thus says the Lord” is found over 3800 times in the Bible.

Second, the inspiration of the Bible is seen in its indestructibility. It has survived throughout the centuries in spite of all events to the contrary. For example, the Roman emperor, Diocletian, made a degree that all Bibles were to be destroyed in 303 A.D. His reasoning was simply that if Christians were “people of the Book”; once the book was removed, Christians would cease to exist. He even went so far as to raise a pillar to his “success” that said, “Extincto Nomene Christianorum” which means “the name Christian is extinguished.” Ironically, only 25 years later, the new Roman Emperor, Constantine, commissioned 50 copies of the Bible to be prepared at government expense.

Voltaire, the French infidel, once said “that in one hundred years from his time that “Christianity would be a thing of the past and that the only Bible left on earth would be in a museum.”  As a God-hater who greatly despised the Bible, he was sorely mistaken in that statement. The Bible today is still the number one best seller of all times! Josh McDowell refers to these things as “historical irony”.  He made a quote that “We might as well put our shoulder to the burning wheel of the sun, and try to stop it on its flaming course, as an attempt to stop the circulation of the Bible.

The Bible itself speaks of its own indestructibility. Isaiah 40:8 says “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” Also, in Matthew 24:35, Jesus said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Other references include

Isaiah 55:11; 59:21; Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17.

Another proof of the inspiration of the Bible is in the way in which it has been passed down through the centuries through the copying of the autographs or what is known as transmission. It’s obvious that God has preserved His Word by the hands of dedicated copyists. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 revealed that the copies of the Scripture that we hold in our hands today are incredibly accurate when compared to the oldest known copies. However, with this discovery came even older extant copies that date back to the first century B.C.

The scribes and the scholars who did most of the copying over the centuries took surprising steps to ensure accuracy. For example, copies of the Pentateuch which were meant to be read in the synagogues were written on skins. These rolls were to be sewn together with string made from clean animals and prepared only by a Jew.   Everyone was to contain a certain number of columns and they were not to be shorter than forty-eight lines and not more than sixty lines and the breadth was not to be more than thirty letters. It was to also be written in only black ink.

They were so careful with the process that in order for a copy to be considered authentic and worthy to be read in the synagogue, there could not be even one deviation from the original codex. Also, “no word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory, the scribe not having looked at the codex before him.” 

Furthermore, it was stated that the copyist “must also sit in full Jewish dress throughout the entire process, wash his whole body, and to not begin the name of God with a pen newly dipped in ink, and should a king address him while writing that name he must take no notice of him.” The rolls that failed to meet the above criterion were condemned to be buried, burned or banished to the schools to be used as reading books.

This method of copying continued until the invention of the “movable-type printing press by Johann Gutenberg in Germany in the 15th century. As a matter of fact, the first major book to be printed for distribution was the Bible! It was known as the Gutenberg Bible.

Scripture: Inspiration and Preservation, Part 2

I am going to continue discussing the issue of the inspiration and preservation of the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15). As stated earlier, entire books have been written on this issue, and it is not meant to be exhaustive by any means. However, it will cover the basics, and, hopefully, encourage you to further study and strengthen your faith in the Word of God, especially, in a day in which fewer and fewer seem to believe it.

Last time, we defined revelation as a disclosure of information that could not have been known otherwise. Also, the two types of revelation which include general and special. Both speak of situations in which God is revealing Himself to some extent. Today, we are going to tackle the subject of inspiration. Obviously, one can have a revelation without it necessarily resulting in an inspiration, but one cannot have an inspiration without first having received a revelation. The word “inspired” literally means “God-breathed” or as Erickson puts it, “breathed into by the Holy Spirit”  It is seen in 2 Timothy 3:16 where it says that “All Scripture is inspired by God.” The inspiration spoken of here is more than just that of an artist or a musician being inspired to create something. Instead, it is a unique event in which God speaks words to man and man in turn, writes those words down.

When speaking of these words as contained in the Bible, Peter said in 2 Peter 1:16-21 that the Bible is the “prophetic word made more sure”. In the context of that statement, Peter had just stated that even though he and the others who were him had seen Christ transfigured before them on the mountain (Matthew 17:2-5); their testimony was not to be compared to the testimony of the Bible itself. In other words, the Bible, by its own claim to inspiration, is always the superior witness.

There are several views as to inspiration. First, there is the natural view which totally denies any supernatural element in the process. Those who hold this view merely see the Bible as a great work of art on the level of Shakespeare or any other great artist. A second view is that of partial inspiration which believes that while not all of the Scriptures are inspired, some are. The third view is what is called conceptual inspiration. In this view, it’s not necessarily the words themselves that are inspired, but the concept behind those words, i.e., the overall message. A fourth view is what some would call encounter inspiration. In other words, the Bible “becomes” inspired to each individual reader as they “encounter” perceived truth. 

And finally, there is what is called plenary verbal inspiration. This is the correct view. It implies that not only is the message of the Bible inspired, but the very words of that message are inspired. The word “verbal” actually means “by means of words” or “word for word”. Jesus said in Luke 16:17 "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” That same language is found in Matthew 5:18 where it says, “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” The word for “letter” in this verse is the Hebrew word iota and the word for “stroke” is the Hebrew word keraia as in Luke 16:17. The iota, or jot as it is sometimes called, refers to the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet and the word keraia refers to the small appendage that differentiates two similar letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In our English language, it would almost be the equivalent of what we would call the dotting of an “I” and the crossing of a “T”.

Now, some would argue that verbal inspiration of necessity requires dictation. Grudem is quick to point out that even though the words in the Bible are indeed God’s words, we are talking more about the “result” than the actual words themselves.  He further points out that God actually used a “wide variety of processes” to bring about the desired “result”. However, that is not to say that no dictation is to be found in Scripture. It is obvious from the text at times that the author did indeed pen the words verbatim as they were spoken to him. For example in Revelation 2:1 it says, "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:” It’s obvious from the text that the Apostle John was told emphatically to write exactly what the angel said to write. In the end, it means that God made sure that the human personalities and the individual writing styles of each were under the oversite of God and He directed each of them to write exactly what He wanted them to write. Finally, that brings us to the “plenary”. The word means “full” or “all”. In other words, when the words “plenary verbal inspiration” are all added together; they mean “all words God-breathed.”

Congratulations, Marling!

Congratulations, Marling! She is one of several students who is sponsored by Building Lives International. The funds given by this ministry allowed her to successfully complete not only high school studies but continues to provide for her as she studies at university. She is well on her way to becoming a teacher! We are so proud of her and equally honored to be a part of her journey. Marling, lives in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Scripture: Inspiration and Preservation, Part 1

In this post I am going to take a closer look at the Scriptures and what we believe in regards to their inspiration and preservation (2 Timothy 2:15). Since the subject is large, it will be in several parts. Of course, entire books have been written on this issue, and it is not meant to be exhaustive by any means. However, it will cover the basics, and, hopefully, encourage you to further study and strengthen your faith in the Word of God, especially, in a day in which fewer and fewer seem to believe it. 

Christianity rises and falls on not only the inspiration of Scripture but also upon God’s ability to preserve them for future generations. As such, issues such as revelation, the various views, and proofs of inspiration, inerrancy and ultimately canonization must be looked at together and in order. Revelation comes first. The word revelation speaks of a disclosure of information that could not have been known otherwise. In Scripture, the word speaks of God giving information to man that he otherwise would not have known on his own. In regards to revelation, there are two types that must be dealt with before we proceed: they are general and special. Both speak of situations in which God is revealing Himself to some extent.

General revelation is by definition, “God’s disclosure of Himself in nature as the creator and sustainer of all things.”  Most would agree that this revelation comes through nature (Psalms 19:1-6), conscience (Romans 2:14-15), and history (Deuteronomy 28:9-10). The Bible tells us two things about general revelation. First, it is seen by all men. Barnabas and Paul asked, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness” (Acts 14:15-17, NASB). Second, it leaves all men without an excuse. Paul said in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” It’s that “natural knowledge of God that is the basis for divine  judgment.” 

Therefore, no man will stand before Him in the day of judgment with a valid excuse. However, ultimately, general revelation is not enough. While it does indeed point to God, it is insufficient to reveal the totality of God and salvation. We see this in Romans 2:12-16. However, most do agree that general revelation, if accepted, will of necessity lead to special revelation. Some will also argue otherwise and say that many will die with only the general revelation of God and will be held accountable for how they responded to it.  

Special revelation is when God reveals Himself to men “directly in a personal way.”  It is information that cannot be learned any other way, but through God (1 Corinthians 2:14) and it must be accepted by faith (Romans 10:17). Swindoll and Zuck point out that it was necessary as that it would have been impossible for Adam and Eve to just look around at God’s creation in the garden and have been able to surmise from creation alone what God’s will and purpose for their lives was. God had to have eventually communicated with them by using words.  

The conclusion would be that the ultimate form of special revelation is the Bible itself; for it is the Bible that contains the gospel that is necessary for salvation. Thus is the urgency of getting out the gospel (Romans 10:13-15). It is only through special revelation that we are able to “learn truth about God that cannot be known or discovered by general revelation alone.”