The beautiful Bible; the book that those of us in the world of Christendom believe to be the word of God in
written form, actually contains sixty-six different books, written by forty different authors,
most of who lived and died in different centuries, in different countries, with
many of them unaware of the existence of other prophets or other prophecies.
The writers of the Bible were shepherds, fishermen, kings, statesmen and
beggars, but all had one thing in common; they were all moved by the Holy
Spirit to complete this great work which one day would be culminated into one perfectly
fitted volume.
Every book blends seamlessly into the others. Some even reference
events penned in other books that would come along much later in history.
Others quote earlier prophets whom they may have never met or even knew existed,
but still, all are harmonious with one another.
In every generation since its compilation, the Bible has
been the subject of discussion and debate between believers and non-believers.
In every generation, there have been non-believers that have made it their
mission to disprove the Holy Scriptures. However, every scripture the skeptic feels
might carry some discrepancy has been analyzed and re-analyzed by both friend
and foe; every scripture has been read and re-read; every scripture has been argued
and re-argued in millions of conversations over thousands of years. Yet the Bible
has never been proven to be in error on any point, whether in doctrine,
history, archeology, law, medicine, science, or geography. Anyone who could
have done so could boast that he had single handedly destroyed the basic
foundation of the Judeo-Christian ethic and belief. This person would be
world-famous. Think of it! The man who proved
the Bible to be a complete fallacy! Yet, in all those generations, among all
those thinkers, over all those centuries, not one has yet to claim this prize.
The Bible is wholly
consistent with known science. The book of Isaiah tells us that the earth was
round tens of centuries before Columbus. "It
is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth. . ." (Isaiah 40:22)
Solomon reveals in Ecclesiastes 1:6 that the winds move in circular
patterns around the earth, which has come to be known today as, “the jet
stream”: “The wind goeth toward the
south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the
wind returneth again according to his circuits”. In verse 7 he tells us of
the evaporation and condensation process that keeps our lands watered and the
oceans filled while never overflowing: “All
the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from
whence the rivers come, thither they return again”.
Who has not stood on the sand at the edge of a mighty ocean
and marveled at its vastness? How many have not looked out and wondered why
this world of water that seems to elevated above the beach on which we stand, does
not rush in and crush us all. Let us look to Job 38: 11
“And
said, Hitherto shalt thou [the sea] come, but no further: and here shall thy
proud waves be stayed?”
Every historical event described by the Bible has been
confirmed by multiple sources. Not one event described by scripture has ever
been disproved.
The Bible has been translated many times since it was first
penned down by the holy men of old. Still its content and message has never
changed. Despite thousands of years of editorial criticism, the Bible stands
essentially unchanged from when it was first given to man.
A complete copy of
the Book of Isaiah was unearthed as part of the Dead Sea Scroll treasures and
is today enshrined in the Dome of the Tablets in Jerusalem. It has been dated
and proven that it could NOT be any younger than the day it was buried in AD
70. Yet, apart from grammatical changes made necessary by changes in Hebrew
grammar over the centuries, it reads exactly the same way as the Book of Isaiah
in our own Bible. It is it not therefore only logical that we can accept all
other Scriptures as being equally accurate.
The Bible's accuracy is not limited to history, geography,
science or medicine. It is equally accurate in describing the events that are
now occurring and even those that have yet to take place.
From God's perspective, who reigns outside of space and time
as we know it, everything is now, or in the present so to speak. God's
historical pronouncements are given from the benefit of His Divine
foreknowledge which can also be deemed as His Divine Hindsight.
Not only does God know all things, but He also sees (notice
the present tense) all things, whether past, present, or future because they
are always before him. Only God can call the future a historical event. Only
God can speak in the past tense of those things which are yet to come.
God challenges any and all others, whether they claim to be
gods or men, to do the same:
"Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring
forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth,
and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be,
that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us
things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may
know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and
behold it together." (Isaiah 41:21:23)
Therefore, we can be confident as we read our Bibles, that we
can have the serenity and security in knowing that we can trust its every word,
even those things we have yet to understand. Promises made by our Lord and Savior
are promises that cannot be broken. Remember, it is God Himself, by His
wonderful grace, who has given us this glorious gift.
Sam Everett
