Authenticity of the Bible Has the Bible Been Changed?? May 17, 2016

Transcription

1 Authenticity of the Bible Has the Bible Been Changed?? May 17, 2016

2 Why is it important to us?? Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15). Address objections: on the flawlessness of the Bible from Christians and non- Christians, especially muslims. The Bible is anti-science There is no proof God wrote it / was inspired by God Can be easily dismissed It is full of contradictions

3 The Bible - History of humankind - Relationship between God and Humans - Laws, statutes, and spiritual values. Old Testament: The Word of God to the Jews First books written by Moses, Then the books of the Prophets New Testament: Gospels Acts: history and record of the Apostles and preaching Epistles Book of Revelation: the only prophetic book in the NT

4 Outline External Perspective Inside Look Supporting Perspectives From the Bible Logic Historical Evidence

5 Outline External Perspective Inside Look Supporting Perspectives From the Bible Logic Historical Evidence

6 Bible: an external look: Origination Preservation The Bible Circulation

7 How it Originated Doctors, fishermen, shepherds, kings, princes, rich, poor, educated, uneducated. 13 different countries, 3 different continents, Over a period of 1600 years 66 books. A masterpiece!!! Creation of man Beginning of sin Divine principles of government Rise and history of Israel Incarnation of Christ Institution of the church Evangelization of the world. ONE theme from beginning to end: Jesus Christ, and the redemption of mankind.

8 Bible Preservation No book has been the object of more attacks, despise, rejection, ridicule, burning, outlawing than the Bible. The more it is attacked, the more it multiplies! Bible Circulation #1 seller of all time. People gave their lives to circulate the Word of God. Over 80 million Bibles distributed worldwide/year. Been smuggled into countries.

9 Outline External Perspective Inside Look Supporting Perspectives From the Bible Logic Historical Evidence

10 An Inside look: Scientific view and Accuracy Astronomy The Bible Prophetic Accuracy History

11 The Bible is NOT a Science Book, but a Love Letter! but when the Bible does speak on scientific matters, it speaks with complete authority and absolute certainty and accuracy!. Medicine: It s the blood that fights diseases, brings nourishment, repairs tissue, promotes growth. (Lev. 17:11), the life of the flesh is in the blood. Plague 14 th Century Black plague: The church applied a principle unheard of in that day quarantine! (Lev. 13:46) He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. Heisunclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. People in Moses day didn t know anything about microbiology. They didn t know what a germ or virus was! But God gave them the principle of quarantine.

12 Bible and Science Hand Washing 1800 s Pregnant women were coming in for routine exams at a hospital immediately after exams, many of them were dying of infection. Thousands of years ago, Moses said in (Numbers 19:14). This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days;and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean.whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.the clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean. Principles here: quarantine, washing with water, changing clothes, time interval for bacteria to die. How did Moses know these things? All scripture is given by inspiration of God.

13 Bible and Science Egypt was the leader in the medical trade in those days. The ancient Egyptians were considered to be brilliant in the area of medicine. Archaeologists found a medical book in 1855, Papyrus Eburs : a comprehensive book containing virtually all the medical info they had in the time in which Moses lived. But when reading sanitary code Moses wrote down, one will find the highest standards anywhere, and without medical contradiction.

14 An Inside look: Scientific view and Accuracy Astronomy The Bible Prophetic Accuracy History

15 Bible and Astronomy Ancient Egyptians believed and taught that the earth was supported by 5 marble pillars. Greeksbelieved earth rested on the shoulders of the god Atlas. Hindusbelieved earth rested on the backs of elephants, when they shook, that was an earthquake and the elephants rested on the back of a huge tortoise, which was on top of a coiled serpent in the midst of a cosmic sea. Job said in the oldest of Biblical writings, (Job 26): He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing That was a radical thought until just a few hundred years ago. How did Job know that thousands of years ago? Nobody believed the earth was round until Columbus, you re gonna sail off the end of the earth but 700 years before Christ, Isaiah said that God sits upon the circle of the earth. Circle is globe or sphere. (Is 40:22)

16 Bible and Astronomy Number of Stars 150 B.C., Astronomer named Hipparchus laid down his pencil and smiled, it s done! He believed he had counted all the stars in the sky. 1,022! That was the number used in Universities for 250 years. Then Ptolemy came along and laughed, 1,022, that s ridiculous, there s 1,026! He found 4 more! And that was science for 1,300 years. Then Galileo came along with his invention, the first crude telescope, he looked thru it for the first time, and gasped. We know now that there are billions and billions of stars in each of the galaxies, which are innumerable! What did the Bible say long before any of them were even born? (Jer. 33): As the host of heaven cannot be numbered God said to Abraham, your seed will be innumerable, like the stars of heaven.

17 An Inside look: Scientific view and Accuracy Astronomy The Bible Prophetic Accuracy History

18 Bible and Historical Accuracy Moses The Bible records the fact that Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible. For many years, unbelieving historians rejected the thought that Moses wrote the Torah (5 five books). that s impossible, they said, for there was no written language when Moses lived! Archaeologists continued their work, and in 1887 in N. Egypt 300 clay tablets were unearthed, we know them as the tel-el-armana tablets. They were letters and business transactions between Egypt and Palestine, dated centuries before Moses was even born. And now it has been proven not only did they have a written language, they had a postal service! Daniel Remember the story in the book of Daniel of Belshazzar seeing the handwriting on the wall? For centuries histories mocked that story as mythology, stating that they have the Babylonian records, which show that the last king of Babylon was NOT Belshazzar, but was Nabonitis. As a matter of fact, they say, we have no record anywhere that any Belshazzar ever lived! One day a clay tablet was found by archaeologists which revealed the truth: Nabonitiswas the father of Belshazzar, and they were co-regents, ruling together! Nabonitistraveled the world, his son ruled the kingdom. Now we have a better understanding of Daniel 5:16 And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. What if that tablet had never been found? Should we doubt the Bible, no! But isn t it terrific how God makes His truth known, often times with an exclamation point tacked onto the end!

19 Bible and Historical Accuracy Luke Late 1800 s. early 1900 s Sir William Ramsey was a well-known archaeologist and historian. He was professor of humanities at Aberdeen University. He was considered to be the world s most imminent scholar on Asia-Minor, and it s geography and history. He read the book of Acts and said, the book of Acts is a highly imaginative and carefully colored account of primitive Christianity (in essence, of my knowledge of history, I have no respect for Luke as a historian ) Then he went to the middle east for the express purpose of proving the Bible wrong in its history. He came home and wrote the book, Luke, the beloved physician in which he proclaimed Dr. Luke to be one of the worlds foremost historians. Here s a quote from Sir William Ramsey this was after looking carefully at the evidence: I take the view that Luke s history is unsurpassed in its trustworthiness. You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian, and they will stand the keenest scrutiny, and the harshest treatment.

20 An Inside look: Scientific view and Accuracy Astronomy The Bible Prophetic Accuracy History

21 Bible and Prophetic Accuracy Prophecies that dealt with the coming of Christ, 2000 years ago. (Over 300): Is. 7:14 He would be born of a virgin Lk. 1:7 it happened! Micah 5:2 born in Bethlehem Lk. 2:4 that happened! Gen. 49:10 born of tribe of Judah Mt. 3:3 that happened! Psalm 78:2 speak in parables Mt. 13:34 that happened! Zech. 9:9 ride on colt of a donkey Mt. 21 that happened! Is. 61 heal broken-hearted Lk. 4:18 that happened! Is. 53:3 rejected by own Jn. 1:11 that happened! Is. 53:7 stand silent before accusers Mk. 15:5 that happened! Ps. 22:18 cast lots for His robe Jn. 19:23 that happened! Ps. 22 (hundreds of years before crucifixion ever invented or thought of) prophets said they would pierce His hands and feet, and it happened! Ps. 22:1 my God, why forsaken me? Mt. 27:46 that happened! v. 5 tongue cleave to jaw Mt. 26:15 that happened! Zech. 11:2 sold by enemies for 30 silver Mt. 26:15 that happened! Is. 53:9 buried w/ rich Mt. 27 that happened!

22 Outline External Perspective Inside Look Supporting Perspectives From the Bible Logic Historical Evidence

23 Impossibility of Bible Changes Perspectives The Bible Itself Logic Supported Evidences

24 Impossibility of Bible Changes Bible Warnings! Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away (Matt 24:35) & (Matt 5:18) From the Bible Itself If anyone addsto these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Rev 22:18-19)

25 Impossibility of Bible Changes Logical Perspective Where did the change occur? Who changed the Bible? Logic What language?

26 Impossibility of Bible Changes Where did the change occur? Christianity since the Apostolic Era spread all over the world, in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and beyond. Which continent or country did the change occur? Or did the change happen everywhere?

27 Impossibility of Bible Changes Who changed the Bible? - The Jews? - Would have been easy to find out, as the Christians had copies of the original Old Testament the Jews had. - Old Testament was the word of God. The scribes were very careful when they copied it. (Deep respect for the word of God) - They had a set of rules which were quite strict. - The most important rules include not copying even the smallest mark from memory. - They also had to make sure that the scroll they were copying from was certified as a good copy.

28 Impossibility of Bible Changes Who changed the Bible? - Christians? - Is the Bible the word of God? If so, how can man change it? - Isn't God able to protect His Word from being changed? - Since the Bible is God's Word, are we not accusing God Himself by saying He was not able toprotect it from being changed? - Which parts were changed, when was it changed, and for what reason? - Changes to any parts of the Bible, would introduce contradictions with other sections. There is a clear unity of thought between all sections of the Bible with a central message!.

29 Impossibility of Bible Changes Who changed the Bible? - Jews and Christians? - Would have been impossible due to the disagreement on who the Messiah is between the Jews and Christians. - Why would they allow anyone to add prophecies about a coming Saviour who would do the very things they did not want? - If there were a portion in the Scripture that those Jews could have changed, (if they dared to do so) it would have been the prophecy of Isaiah 53 for example, which details the Messiah s life and what He would experience on the cross (death).

30 Impossibility of Bible Changes Who changed the Bible? - Others? - In the 4 th century Christianity, there was the Orthodox, Catholic, and others, like the Arians, Nestorians, etc, however, the Bible copies used by all these, were the same!!. - It is impossible that all of these factions would agree to change the Bible.

31 Impossibility of Bible Changes What language was the change in? What language was the change made in? - The Bible was written in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. - Then translated to many other languages, like, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Ethiopian, etc. - The Bible is consistent across all these languages!!.

32 Impossibility of Bible Changes Supported Evidences The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 and some of the scrolls have been dated to be as old as from 125BC. Before these were discovered, the oldest copy of the Old Testament we had was the Masoretic Text from AD916. (AD , from massora, Tradition) When comparing a copy of Isaiah from 125BC with the Isaiah in the Masoretic Text, nothing of importance was different. The prophecies about Jesus were still there. There were a few insignificant differences in wording, but the content was the same. TheVaticanandSinaiticManuscripts date from only two centuries after the writing of the Bible.

33 What about the many translations? God wanted everyone in the world to be able to read His Word. The King James Version which was translated back in 1611 A.D. Since then, the language of the people has developed and changed, so the translations have been updated to make the Holy Bible more readable. Every translation must agree with the ancient manuscripts. If it does not, it is not accepted. TheJehovah s witness translation, for example, is not an accurate translation of those documents.

34 Conclusion In the Bible, God is calling us to have a relationship with Him. The Bible reveals God s plan of salvation. This message is that, though we are sinners God has provided a solution. Jesus our Saviourlived the perfect life that we should have lived, and then He died the death that we deserve to die.

35 Glory Be To God Forever

36 Backup Slides

37 Copying Techniques by the Jews 1. A synagogue roll must be written on the skins of clean animals prepared by a Jew. 2. These must be fastened together with strings taken from clean animals. 3. Every skin (page) must contain a certain number of columns, equal throughout the entire codex. 4. The length of each column must not extend less than 48 or more than 60 lines; and the breadth must consist of thirty letters. 5. The whole copy must be first lined; and if three words were written without a line, it is worthless. 6. The ink should be black and prepared according to a definite recipe. 7. An authentic copy must be the exemplar, from which the transcriber ought not in the least deviate. 8. No word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory, the scribe not having looked at the codex before him. 9. The copyist must wash his whole body and sit in full Jewish dress. 10. He must not begin to write the name of God (YHWH) with a pen newly dipped in ink and should a king address him while writing that name he must take no notice of him.

38 Dead Sea Scrolls The scrolls have revealed that a commune of monastic farmers lived in the valley from about 150 BC to 70 AD. It is believed that when they saw the Romans invade the land they put their cherished leather scrolls in the jars and hid them in the caves on the cliffs northwest of the Dead Sea. This discovery provided an incredible proof for the authenticity and reliability of the Old Testament manuscripts. One of the complete books found in Qumran cave 1 were two copies of Isaiah. These books were thousands of years older than the oldest dated manuscripts previously known. Nevertheless, they proved to be word for word identical to the standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95% of the text. The 5% variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of pen and variations in spelling. They do not affect the message of revelation in the slightest.