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In this message, loaded with historical information, we discover the authenticity of the Old and New Testament Scriptures. The Bible is truly God's voice to us, preserved and given to us in a manner we can understand, receive and live by. Download sermon video / audio / notesfrom our website - apcwo.org/sermons
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The Bible is one of the most revered and yet the most hated book ever written.
"For eighteen centuries every engine of destruction that human science, philosophy,
wit, reasoning or brutality could bring to bear against a book has been brought to bear against
that book to stamp it out of the world, but it has a mightier hold on the world today than
ever before. If that were man's book it would have been annihilated and forgotten hundreds
of years ago..."(R.A. Torrey, 1856-1928)
What The Bible Claims For Itself
2 Timothy 3:16,1716 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.
What The Bible Claims For Itself
2 Peter 1:20,2120 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
When was the Bible written and in what languages?
The Old Testament books were written in the Hebrew and Aramaic languages between about
1400 BC and 400 BC, a period of 1000 years!
When was the Bible written and in what languages?
All the New Testament books were written in Greek between about 50 A.D. and 95 A.D., a
period of only 45 years.
When was the Bible written and in what languages?
The Bible consists of a total of 66 books- 39 OT books, 27 NT books, with about 40 different authors, many of whom who never met each
other.
How has the Bible been transmitted down to us over thousands of years?
papyrus or leather scroll
Codex : book made of sheets of papyrus or vellum (animal skin)
How has the Bible been transmitted down to us over thousands of years?
The text of particular books were copied for hundreds of years
Ancient Manuscript CredentialsRecord Number of Manuscripts Time Gap
Plato (424 BC - 347 BC) 250 manuscripts known to exist
1,300 to 1,600 years (medieval manuscripts mainly from 9th-13th
century AD)
The History of Thucydides (460-400 B.C.) (Greek historian)
8 manuscripts known to exist
1,300 years
Herodotus (Greek historian) 8 manuscripts known to exist
1,300 years
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) Greek philosopher
1450 years
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
Malachi, last book of OT completed400 BC
Entire OT translated from Hebrew to Greek200 BC
Oldest known copies of the OT in Hebrew (initially) Massoretic Text (Jewish Scribes Massoretes)
900 AD
1,300 year time gap
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
1947
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
caves in the cliffs above Wadi Qumran, near the Dead Sea
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
leather scrolls wrapped in linen cloth in clay jars
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls included scrolls of every book of the Old Testament except Esther, all copied prior to
the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.,
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
leather scroll of the complete book of Isaiah dated 100 to 200 B.C.
It had rested in the cave undisturbed for more than 2000 years.
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
This copy of the book of Isaiah varied from the earlier text of Isaiah only insignificantly.
In other words, the book of Isaiah remains essentially unchanged after more than 2000 years!!
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
Malachi, last book of OT completed400 BC
Oldest known copies of the OT in Hebrew (initially) Massoretic Text900 AD
Dead Sea Scrolls (found in 1947), written by the Essenes Jews
150 BCto 70 AD
Isaiah, written750 BC
250 year time gap
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
Record Number of Manuscripts
Time Gap
Old Testament Over 10,000 150 years
New Testament Over 24,000 50 years
The Bible : Number of Manuscripts & Time Gap
Works by Plato and Aristotle- very few copies exist at all, and those were written 1,200 to 1,400 years after the autographs. If these ancient works are considered
"unquestionably authentic“, how much more the Bible!
The Bible : Copyist Errors?
Eminent Greek scholar F. J. A. Hort wrote, "Apart from insignificant variations of grammar or spelling, not more than one thousandth part
of the whole New Testament is affected by differences of reading."
Jesus on the Authority of the Old Testament
Jesus affirmed the truthfulness of our Old Testament text that we have today.
Accuracy (Inerrancy) of the Bible
First, The law of non-contradiction in logical thinking, states that a thing cannot be both A
and Non-A at the same time.
A difference is not a contradiction unless it satisfies this law.
Accuracy (Inerrancy) of the Bible
Secondly, sufficient background information and research helps clear up difficult passages.
The Bible - Not Just Another Book
the Bible is consistent and coherent.It amazing unity points to one Source - God as
its author!
#1, Its Unity
The Bible - Not Just Another Book
Archeologist Dr. Nelson Glueck : "No archeological discovery has ever
controverted a biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which
confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible".
#2, Its Historical and Archeological Accuracy
The Bible - Not Just Another Book
48 major Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah
The chance that any man might have lived and fulfilled all 8 prophecies is 1 in 10^17; yet the
chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies is an astounding 1 in 10^157.
#3, Its fulfilled Prophecy
The Bible - Not Just Another Book
#4, Its Indestructibility
The Bible - Not Just Another Book
#5, Its Christ-centeredness
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
The Bible - Not Just Another Book
#6, Its Teachings
2 Timothy 3:16,1716 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.
The Bible - Not Just Another Book
#7, Its Life Transforming Power
The Bible - is God's voice to us
The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners,
and the happiness of believers.
The Bible - is God's voice to us
Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are
immutable.
The Bible - is God's voice to us
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.
The Bible - is God's voice to us
It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword and the
Christian’s charter.
Here too, Heaven is opened and the gates of Hell disclosed.
The Bible - is God's voice to us
Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end.
It should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently and
prayerfully.
The Bible - is God's voice to us
It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.
The Bible - is God's voice to us
It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever.
It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and will condemn all who
trifle with its sacred contents.
The Bible is God's voice to us!
What will you do with the Word of God, the Bible?
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