For those who say the Bible was written by men--STOP. You dont know what youre talking about, and you only make yourselves look foolish, as I will set about to address point by point in the following discussion. HOW GREAT IS THIS GOD OF YOURS, ANYWAY?—INSPIRING & PRESERVING The attacks on the Word of God are threefold: addition, subtraction, and substitution. From Adams day to the computer age, the strategies have remained the same. There is nothing new under the sun. The Father, through the agency of the Holy Spirit “moved” human authors to write the Bible. 2 Pet 1:21. The Greek word for “moved” comes from the root word PHERO which means “to carry,” “to bring” or “to bring along.” This means the Holy Spirit “brought” men along. He caused men to write what He wanted them to write. The different books of the Bible had different authors who used their own style, language and grammar, but the Holy Spirit “carried” them in their writing. What they wrote was what the Holy Spirit wanted to be written. In addition to the divine inspiration of the scriptures as originally given, a second consideration is equally important, i.e., the great God of the Universe will preserve his Holy Word. Were it not so, the fact that scripture is given under the inspiration of the Lord would be of no use whatsoever. That the Lord has promised to preserve his Word is as certainly taught as that he gave the original writings by inspiration. Jesus said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matt 24:35 Peter wrote of the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever...the word of the Lord endureth for ever, (1 Pet1:23-25), and he was quoting Isa 40:8. If there was no preservation of the Word of God, of what use would its inspiration have been? If the Lord had given the original scriptures by inspiration, this would have been of benefit to those believers who originally had them; but of what use would it have been to believers of later ages, for the original manuscripts have long since perished. They have rotted away. We, therefore, would not have the Word of God today, if it were not for the fact that the Lord has kept his promise to preserve his Word forever. SUPERCOMPUTER • Book of Matthew Try this little experiment: write a paragraph about anything you want; it can be as short as you want or as long as you want, but you have to follow these rules: 1. The total number of words must be evenly divisible by 7; 2. The total number of nouns must be evenly divisible by 7; 3. If you use the word the anywhere in the paragraph, the total number of times the is used must be evenly divisible by 7; 4. The total number of words that begin with a vowel must be evenly divisible by 7 and the total number of words that begin with a consonant must be evenly divisible by 7; 5. Count all the letters in your paragraph: the total number of letters must be evenly divisible by 7, but the total number of vowels and of consonants, both, must also be evenly divisible by 7; 6. If you use any words more than once, the total number of all uses of the word must be evenly divisible by 7; 7. If you use synonyms as an alternative to the original word used, the number of synonyms must be evenly divisible by 7; 8. If you include names in your paragraph, the number of names has to be evenly divisible by 7; 9. The number of male and female names, both, must be evenly divisible by 7; Why evenly divisible by 7? Because 7 is the number of God. All of the above attributes are fulfilled in the original Greek of the first 17 verses in Matthew. Supercomputers around the world have been attempting to repeat this for decades, without success. Science of God and His Word Pt 7/7 https://youtube/watch?v=fpgHFwC5DfQ Yes, I am saying that the Holy Bible that many reject out of hand is a hyperdimensional Scrabble board, to use a crude analogy, the meaning and majesty of which remains consistent, coherent, and amazing within multiple dimensions of perception. • Bible Codes Bible Codes, for those not familiar, are equidistant letter skips used to search a particular keyword or keyword phrase. This is done electronically with special software and was not available as a means of searching the Bible until the advent of the PC. Not only do we find frequent tight clusters of code providing answers to the question asked in the search term and an abundance of additional details, but also clusters of code are found intersecting on various axes through the original cluster. In addition to that, the codes themselves frequently form various geometric patterns or pictographs that are internally consistent with the message of the code, for example, crosses, boxes, circles, arrows, and so forth. Finally, the codes are internally consistent with the passages from the Bible where they are found. One might expect an occasional dissonance or discord of the code in relation to the plain text, but the code is always consistent with the plain text. To say the Bible is written by men is simply ludicrous. I am personally ambivalent about the Bible Codes, but I cant deny the results are quite astonishing. Here are two particularly good Bible Code sites. outersecrets/real/biblecode2a.htm realbiblecodes PROPHECY FULFILLED Fulfilled prophecy is the signature that God has spoken in the Bible. The Bible is the only sacred book that contains future predictions that have come true. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He revealeth His secret unto His servants, the prophets.” Amos 3:7 The Bible is an extraordinarily unique book with 737 prophecies recorded in about 8,500 verses, although some scholars put that figure much higher. The prophecies occur in both the Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament prophets, the New Testament apostles, and Jesus Christ all prophesied of the future. All prophesies except those that have been sealed up for the time of the end have come true, including every single one of the many prophesies concerning the birth of Jesus Christ, his conception, and the details of his life. The Bible is also a book of history whose facts are being proven to be true with almost every archaeological finding. The Bible is accurate when it speaks to history; and when it makes predictions, they come true. It is Truth. neverthirsty.org/pp/other-bible-studies/how-accurate-is-the-bible/who-wrote-the-bible.html UNORIGINAL/PLAGIARIZED Many claim that the Bible is a retelling of the Egyptian myth of Horus, or other ancient mythologies. I contend that the Bible is the original story of Creation and Gods dealings with His people since the beginning of Time up to the death of the Apostles and Johns final vision as told in Revelation. I suggest that other ancient mythologies are also authentic, but are a retelling of the original story from the perspective of the Adversary, his band of Fallen Angels that fell with him (the gods of ancient mythology), and the women of earth they chose to serve as their vessels for the purpose of creating man in their image. (Cf Gen 6) ACCURACY Classic Christianity rests on the assurance that the Bible is completely accurate. It may contain statements that are (1) figures of speech, (2) non-technical descriptions, or (3) difficult to understand. But actual errors would fall into a different kind of category. If there are any errors in Scripture, no matter how small, the book can no longer be our standard of truth. I become the standard of truth, as I determine which Bible statements are right and which are wrong. And if I cant trust God to get the facts straight on things like dates and measurements (where I can check on Him), why should I expect Him to be more accurate in areas like sin and salvation (where I cant check on Him)? • Lithographic/Manuscript Errata Although the printing press had been invented in 1450 by Johann Gutenburg in Germany (161 years before the 1611 printing), the equipment used by the printer had changed very little. Printing was still very slow and difficult. All type was set by hand, one piece at a time (thats one piece at a time through the whole Bible), and errors were an expected part of any completed book. Because of this difficulty and also because the 1611 printers had no earlier editions from which to profit, the very first edition of the King James version had a number of printing errors. As shall later be demonstrated, these were not the sort of textual alterations which are freely made in modern bibles. They were simple, obvious printing errors of the sort that can still be found at times in recent editions even with all of the advantages of modern printing. These errors do not render a Bible useless, but they should be corrected in later editions. According to a study (omitted here), 72% of the approximately 400 textual corrections in the KJV were completed by the time of the 1638 Cambridge edition, only 27 years after the original printing! The thousands of alleged changes consist primarily of spelling changes made to match the established correct forms as the language was evolving during the Elizabethan Age. Such changes as there were (in the four revisions to the KJV) can be divided into three kinds: printing changes, spelling changes, and textual changes. The textual changes to the KJV were not made to alter the meaning. In the first printing, words were sometimes inverted. Sometimes a plural was written as singular or vice versa. At times a word was miswritten for one that was similar. A few times a word or even a phrase was omitted. The omissions were obvious and did not have the doctrinal implications of those found in modern translations. In fact, there is really no comparison between the corrections made in the King James text and those proposed by the scholars of today. jesus-is-savior/Bible/was_the_king_james_revised.htm • Content: False Claims/Lies/Deliberate Doctrinal Changes King David wrote Thy word is true from the beginning. Psa 119:160. The skeptics, however, claim the Bible is full of error. Lets test this claim. Three lines of evidence support the claim that the biblical documents are reliable: these are the bibliographic test, the internal test, and the external test. The first test examines the biblical manuscripts, the second test deals with the claims made by the biblical authors, and the third test looks to outside confirmation of the biblical content. In the case of the Old Testament, there are a small number of Hebrew manuscripts, because the Jewish scribes ceremonially buried imperfect and worn manuscripts. Many ancient manuscripts were also lost or destroyed during Israels turbulent history. Also, the Old Testament text was standardized by the Masoretic Jews by the sixth century A.D., and all manuscripts that deviated from the Masoretic Text were evidently eliminated. Nonetheless the existing Hebrew manuscripts are supplemented by the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint (a third-century B.C. Greek translation of the Old Testament), the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Targums (ancient paraphrases of the Old Testament), as well as the Talmud (teachings and commentaries related to the Hebrew Scriptures). The quantity of New Testament manuscripts is unparalleled in ancient literature. There are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts, about 8,000 Latin manuscripts, and another 1,000 manuscripts in other languages (Syriac, Coptic, etc.). In addition to this extraordinary number, there are tens of thousands of citations of New Testament passages by the early church fathers. In contrast, the typical number of existing manuscript copies for any of the works of the Greek and Latin authors, such as Plato, Aristotle, Caesar, or Tacitus, ranges from one to 20. Because of the great reverence the Jewish scribes held toward the Scriptures, they exercised extreme care in making new copies of the Hebrew Bible. The entire scribal process was specified in meticulous detail to minimize the possibility of even the slightest error. The number of letters, words, and lines were counted, and the middle letters of the Pentateuch and the Old Testament were determined. If a single mistake was discovered, the entire manuscript would be destroyed. While the quality of the Old Testament manuscripts is excellent, that of the New Testament is very good--considerably better than the manuscript quality of other ancient documents. The New Testament can be regarded as 99.5 percent pure, and the correct readings for the remaining 0.5 percent can often be ascertained with a fair degree of probability by the practice of textual criticism. The bulk of the Bible was written by people who were eyewitnesses of the events they recorded. All the evidence inside and outside the New Testament runs contrary to the claim made by form criticism that the early church distorted the life and teachings of Christ. Most of the New Testament was written between A.D. 47 and 70, and all of it was complete before the end of the first century. There simply was not enough time for myths about Christ to be created and propagated. And the multitudes of eyewitnesses who were alive when the New Testament books began to be circulated would have challenged blatant historical fabrications about the life of Christ. The Bible places great stress on accurate historical details. Because the Scriptures continually refer to historical events, they are verifiable; their accuracy can be checked by external evidence. The chronological details in the prologue to Jeremiah (1:1-3) and in Luke 3:1-2 illustrate this. Ezekiel 1:2 allows us to date Ezekiels first vision of God to the day (July 31, 592 B.C.). The historicity of Jesus Christ is well-established by early Roman, Greek, and Jewish sources, and these extrabiblical writings affirm the major details of the New Testament portrait of the Lord. The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus made specific references to John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and James in his Antiquities of the Jews. In this work, Josephus gives us many background details about the Herods, the Sadducees and Pharisees, the high priests like Annas and Caiaphas, and the Roman emperors mentioned in the gospels and Acts. We find another early secular reference to Jesus in a letter written a little after A.D. 73 by an imprisoned Syrian named Mara Bar-Serapion. This letter to his son compares the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and Christ. Other first- and second-century writers who mention Christ include the Roman historians Cornelius Tacitus (Annals) and Suetonius (Life of Claudius, Lives of the Caesars), the Roman governor Pliny the Younger (Epistles), and the Greek satirist Lucian (On the Death of Peregrine). Jesus is also mentioned a number of times in the Jewish Talmud. The Old and New Testaments make abundant references to nations, kings, battles, cities, mountains, rivers, buildings, treaties, customs, economics, politics, dates, etc. Because the historical narratives of the Bible are so specific, many of its details are open to archaeological investigation. While we cannot say that archaeology proves the authority of the Bible, it is fair to say that archaeological evidence has provided external confirmation of hundreds of biblical statements. Higher criticism in the 19th century made many damaging claims that would completely overthrow the integrity of the Bible, but the explosion of archaeological knowledge in the 20th century reversed almost all of these claims. Noted archaeologists such as William F. Albright, Nelson Glueck, and G. Ernest Wright developed a great respect for the historical accuracy of the Scriptures as a result of their work. https://bible.org/article/how-accurate-bible Okay, but what about all these versions of the Bible, from KJV to NIV to New American Standard to all the others? Are they all correct, and if not, how can we know which one is right and correct? Obviously, any version of the Bible must be based upon the true text of Gods Word. That text is the Received Text. This was the text that was the basis of all the Bible translation work carried out in Europe at the time of the Protestant Reformation and afterwards, when the Bible was placed in the hands of the common man. This is the text that underlies the King James Version. The King James Version was used by the overwhelming majority of the English-speaking people the world over until the year 1881. Almost without exception, the versions that have been published since 1881 have been based, not upon the Received Text, but upon another, corrupt text: a text found in only a very small percentage of all extant Greek manuscripts. If a version is based on a corrupt text, the very foundation is faulty, and no Christian should use that version. Let the reader not think that the differences between the texts are minimal, or insignificant! They are neither. The corrupt text is drawn primarily from two manuscripts, the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus manuscripts. Let the reader comprehend something of the differences between the Received Text and the false text by a consideration of the following: it has been calculated that in the Gospels alone, Codex Vaticanus differs from the Received Text in the following particulars: it omits at least 2877 words, adds 536, substitutes 935, transposes 2098, and modifies 1132. This adds up to 7578 divergences. As for Codex Sinaiticus, it is even worse, with almost 9000 divergences. And a great many of the differences are very serious indeed, affecting vital doctrines of the faith. KJV is found to be an extremely accurate, faithful translation of the Word of God into English. This fact has even been recognized by its enemies. The King James Version translators were men of exceptional ability, among the most learned men of that age or of any other, expert in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and other ancient languages. One of them was well at home in twenty languages! They approached the Word of God with reverence, with fear and trembling, and with great care. They produced a word-for-word translation, a literal rendition of the Hebrew and Greek texts into English. And in addition, their translation was eminently readable, easily committed to memory, a melodious and graceful translation. They took the true text, and they translated it faithfully, carefully, lovingly and reverently. The result was a Bible version of unsurpassed accuracy and beauty. If accuracy and strictest attention to the letter of the text constitute an excellent version, then this is of all versions the most excellent. Through the centuries its superiority has been acknowledged by many men well able to judge of such matters. The King James Version was not the first English version based on the Received Text. Before it made its appearance in 1611, other versions were published. Tyndales Version, Coverdales Version, the Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, and the Bishops Bible, were some of the versions that appeared in the sixteenth century. They were all based on the true text, and carefully translated; but without any doubt whatsoever the King James Version superseded them all. It was the crowning achievement in the translation of the Bible into English. The King James Version is the most accurate translation of the Word of God into English ever produced, either before or since. thebibleistheotherside.org/currentarticlep24.htm CONTRADICTIONS The claim is that the Bible is full of contradictions. Is it? Contradictions in the Bible, such as they exist, are nonsubstantive and superficial in nature. More often than not, however, those alleging contradictions take scriptures out of context, e.g., heaven is limited to 144,000 when the very next verse that follows clearly indicates that multitudes accompanied these 144,000. Likewise, more often than not, what appears to be a contradiction is a paradox, that is, a seemingly contradictory statement defying intuition that is nonetheless true. And then there are ambiguities, rather than direct contradictions. In law, rules of interpretation prescribe that ambiguities be resolved so as to make rational sense and remain consistent with the intent of a contract, for example. The ambiguity therefore requires the reader to reconcile an apparent inconsistency so that it is no longer an irrational statement. The rules of literary or scriptural interpretation are no different. Moreover, where there is an apparent inconsistency, a further prescription for biblical interpretation is that the Bible always interprets itself. In other words, other passages of a similar nature and on the same subject are used to flesh out the meaning where there is a question. christiananswers.net/q-comfort/contradictions-bible.html ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL RECORD • Several different expeditions were undertaken to try and find the Walls of Jericho or any remnants that prove this biblical event of the destruction of the walls occurred as told in Joshua 6. They ended in failure until excavations were conducted by Professor John Garstand between 1930-1936. He discovered the remains of a network of collapsed walls. He was able to date them back to 1400 B.C., which is in the correct timeframe the Israelites were conquering Canaan. Garstand released a statement saying that the wall actually fell outward as opposed to inward like most other ancient cities that have been found. This is significant because it appears to confirm the act of God that made the entire wall system of Jericho collapse, as God promised that it would. Kathleen Kenyon also excavated the area and found heaps of red bricks, which were actually parts of the wall itself. • The Hittites were once thought to be a Biblical legend, until their capital and records were discovered at Bogazkoy, Turkey. • It was once claimed there was no Assyrian king named Sargon as recorded in Isaiah 20:1, because this name was not known in any other record. Then, Sargons palace was discovered in Khorsabad, Iraq. The very event mentioned in Isaiah 20, Sargons capture of Ashdod, was recorded on Sargons palace walls. What is more, fragments of a stela memorializing the victory were found at Ashdod itself. • Another king who was in doubt was Belshazzar, king of Babylon, named in Daniel 5. The last king of Babylon was Nabonidus according to recorded history; however, tablets have been found showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus son who served as coregent in Babylon. • The 1971 Excavation of King Solomons Gate at Tel Gezer was archaeological proof of a biblical passage as history. It proved the existence of King Solomon. • In the summer of 1971 Yigael Yadin discovered the city gate of Gezer which King Solomon built circa 960 BC, and the Bible described in 1 Kings 9:15. • The kingdom of Ebla existed around 2500 BCE. Many scholars have doubted the accounts in the Torah because it was believed that writing did not exist in Moses’ time; and therefore, he could not have written those books. On that notion, they date the Torah to a much later time and do not credit Moses as the author. The discovery of the Ebla tablets in 1975 has proven all those unbelieving scholars wrong. Also, the Creation account in Genesis 1 is considered by many to be a later writing, because the word ‘tehon’ (the deep) was used in the text. However, the discovery of tablets in the Eblaite Kingdom in the 1970’s shows the word was in use 800 years before the time of Moses. • Junius Annaeus Gallio, the son of Seneca the rhetorician and brother of Seneca the philosopher, was indeed the Roman governor of Achaia in present-day Greece, just as the Apostle Paul stated. Paul spent18 months at Corinth and environs, preaching and teaching. An inscription naming Gallio found at Delphi says that he was a friend of Caesar, and dates his governorship to AD 51 or 52. In Acts 18:12-17, Paul describes an incident at Corinth when he was brought up on charges before Gallio. • The discovery of Biblical artifacts astounds atheists, providing proof of the accuracy of the Bible. Archaeological finds ranging from skeletal remains to long lost cities continue to prove the Bible. Biblical artifacts and ruins such as Noah’s Ark, Ark of Bulrushes, Ark of the Covenant, King Ahaz’s Seal, Pool of Bethesda, Moabite Stone, Cyrus Cylinder, Arch of Titus, Caiaphas Ossuary, Shishak Relief, Lachish Relief, Gezer Calendar, Amulet Scrolls, Pilate Stone, Tower of Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, LMLK Seal, Dead Sea Scrolls, Baruch Seal, Tel Dan Inscription and Hezekiah’s Tunnel provide archaeological proof that the Bible is true and authentic in every detail. https://youtube/watch?v=lgQHQ992Wnw&index=31&list=FLOACoA0XJ4ofkTpUzkxzRXg https://youtube/watch?v=1dkoSJt6xfY&index=30&list=FLOACoA0XJ4ofkTpUzkxzRXg bibleistrue.net/the-walls-of-jericho/ biblicalartifacts.org christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a008.html kingsolomonsgate prevailmagazine.org/how-archaeology-proves-the-bible/ facingthechallenge.org/gallio.php INTERNAL COHERENCE & CONSISTENCY The Bible is internally coherent and consistent from book to book over a vast period of time. Careful study of the Bible reveals that profound truths are disclosed the deeper one probes. Looking into the etymology of the Hebrew and the Greek words themselves reveals a multidimensional narrative that is not apparent on reading of the surface narrative alone. I am not speaking of mystical interpretations here or Bible/Torah Codes, or Gematria; I am speaking simply of rich meaning that is revealed when the quest for understanding leads one to examine the words and their meanings on all levels and as woven together. To give but one small yet significant example, the lineage of Adam in Genesis has actual meaning and weaves its own narrative, as follows: Adam -Man Seth -Appointed Enosh – Mortal Kenan – Sorrow Mahalalel – The blessed God Jared – Shall come down Enoch – Teaching Methuselah – His death shall bring Lamech – Despairing Noah – Comfort and rest As a complete sentence, the entire Gospel message is fully encapsulated in the sequence of the names themselves: Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow, (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching; His death shall bring (the) despairing comfort and rest. How could the early prophets KNOW this 4000 years ago? Science of God and His Word Pt 7/7 https://youtube/watch?v=fpgHFwC5DfQ For those who say the Bible was written by men--STOP. You dont know what youre talking about, and you only make yourselves look foolish, as I will set about to address point by point in the following discussion. HOW GREAT IS THIS GOD OF YOURS, ANYWAY?—INSPIRING & PRESERVING The attacks on the Word of God are threefold: addition, subtraction, and substitution. From Adams day to the computer age, the strategies have remained the same. There is nothing new under the sun. The Father, through the agency of the Holy Spirit “moved” human authors to write the Bible. 2 Pet 1:21. The Greek word for “moved” comes from the root word PHERO which means “to carry,” “to bring” or “to bring along.” This means the Holy Spirit “brought” men along. He caused men to write what He wanted them to write. The different books of the Bible had different authors who used their own style, language and grammar, but the Holy Spirit “carried” them in their writing. What they wrote was what the Holy Spirit wanted to be written. In addition to the divine inspiration of the scriptures as originally given, a second consideration is equally important, i.e., the great God of the Universe will preserve his Holy Word. Were it not so, the fact that scripture is given under the inspiration of the Lord would be of no use whatsoever. That the Lord has promised to preserve his Word is as certainly taught as that he gave the original writings by inspiration. Jesus said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matt 24:35 Peter wrote of the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever...the word of the Lord endureth for ever, (1 Pet1:23-25), and he was quoting Isa 40:8. If there was no preservation of the Word of God, of what use would its inspiration have been? If the Lord had given the original scriptures by inspiration, this would have been of benefit to those believers who originally had them; but of what use would it have been to believers of later ages, for the original manuscripts have long since perished. They have rotted away. We, therefore, would not have the Word of God today, if it were not for the fact that the Lord has kept his promise to preserve his Word forever. SUPERCOMPUTER • Book of Matthew Try this little experiment: write a paragraph about anything you want; it can be as short as you want or as long as you want, but you have to follow these rules: 1. The total number of words must be evenly divisible by 7; 2. The total number of nouns must be evenly divisible by 7; 3. If you use the word the anywhere in the paragraph, the total number of times the is used must be evenly divisible by 7; 4. The total number of words that begin with a vowel must be evenly divisible by 7 and the total number of words that begin with a consonant must be evenly divisible by 7; 5. Count all the letters in your paragraph: the total number of letters must be evenly divisible by 7, but the total number of vowels and of consonants, both, must also be evenly divisible by 7; 6. If you use any words more than once, the total number of all uses of the word must be evenly divisible by 7; 7. If you use synonyms as an alternative to the original word used, the number of synonyms must be evenly divisible by 7; 8. If you include names in your paragraph, the number of names has to be evenly divisible by 7; 9. The number of male and female names, both, must be evenly divisible by 7; Why evenly divisible by 7? Because 7 is the number of God. All of the above attributes are fulfilled in the original Greek of the first 17 verses in Matthew. Supercomputers around the world have been attempting to repeat this for decades, without success. Science of God and His Word Pt 7/7 https://youtube/watch?v=fpgHFwC5DfQ Yes, I am saying that the Holy Bible that many reject out of hand is a hyperdimensional Scrabble board, to use a crude analogy, the meaning and majesty of which remains consistent, coherent, and amazing within multiple dimensions of perception. • Bible Codes Bible Codes, for those not familiar, are equidistant letter skips used to search a particular keyword or keyword phrase. This is done electronically with special software and was not available as a means of searching the Bible until the advent of the PC. Not only do we find frequent tight clusters of code providing answers to the question asked in the search term and an abundance of additional details, but also clusters of code are found intersecting on various axes through the original cluster. In addition to that, the codes themselves frequently form various geometric patterns or pictographs that are internally consistent with the message of the code, for example, crosses, boxes, circles, arrows, and so forth. Finally, the codes are internally consistent with the passages from the Bible where they are found. One might expect an occasional dissonance or discord of the code in relation to the plain text, but the code is always consistent with the plain text. To say the Bible is written by men is simply ludicrous. I am personally ambivalent about the Bible Codes, but I cant deny the results are quite astonishing. Here are two particularly good Bible Code sites. outersecrets/real/biblecode2a.htm realbiblecodes PROPHECY FULFILLED Fulfilled prophecy is the signature that God has spoken in the Bible. The Bible is the only sacred book that contains future predictions that have come true. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He revealeth His secret unto His servants, the prophets.” Amos 3:7 The Bible is an extraordinarily unique book with 737 prophecies recorded in about 8,500 verses, although some scholars put that figure much higher. The prophecies occur in both the Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament prophets, the New Testament apostles, and Jesus Christ all prophesied of the future. All prophesies except those that have been sealed up for the time of the end have come true, including every single one of the many prophesies concerning the birth of Jesus Christ, his conception, and the details of his life. The Bible is also a book of history whose facts are being proven to be true with almost every archaeological finding. The Bible is accurate when it speaks to history; and when it makes predictions, they come true. It is Truth. neverthirsty.org/pp/other-bible-studies/how-accurate-is-the-bible/who-wrote-the-bible.html UNORIGINAL/PLAGIARIZED Many claim that the Bible is a retelling of the Egyptian myth of Horus, or other ancient mythologies. I contend that the Bible is the original story of Creation and Gods dealings with His people since the beginning of Time up to the death of the Apostles and Johns final vision as told in Revelation. I suggest that other ancient mythologies are also authentic, but are a retelling of the original story from the perspective of the Adversary, his band of Fallen Angels that fell with him (the gods of ancient mythology), and the women of earth they chose to serve as their vessels for the purpose of creating man in their image. (Cf Gen 6) ACCURACY Classic Christianity rests on the assurance that the Bible is completely accurate. It may contain statements that are (1) figures of speech, (2) non-technical descriptions, or (3) difficult to understand. But actual errors would fall into a different kind of category. If there are any errors in Scripture, no matter how small, the book can no longer be our standard of truth. I become the standard of truth, as I determine which Bible statements are right and which are wrong. And if I cant trust God to get the facts straight on things like dates and measurements (where I can check on Him), why should I expect Him to be more accurate in areas like sin and salvation (where I cant check on Him)? • Lithographic/Manuscript Errata Although the printing press had been invented in 1450 by Johann Gutenburg in Germany (161 years before the 1611 printing), the equipment used by the printer had changed very little. Printing was still very slow and difficult. All type was set by hand, one piece at a time (thats one piece at a time through the whole Bible), and errors were an expected part of any completed book. Because of this difficulty and also because the 1611 printers had no earlier editions from which to profit, the very first edition of the King James version had a number of printing errors. As shall later be demonstrated, these were not the sort of textual alterations which are freely made in modern bibles. They were simple, obvious printing errors of the sort that can still be found at times in recent editions even with all of the advantages of modern printing. These errors do not render a Bible useless, but they should be corrected in later editions. According to a study (omitted here), 72% of the approximately 400 textual corrections in the KJV were completed by the time of the 1638 Cambridge edition, only 27 years after the original printing! The thousands of alleged changes consist primarily of spelling changes made to match the established correct forms as the language was evolving during the Elizabethan Age. Such changes as there were (in the four revisions to the KJV) can be divided into three kinds: printing changes, spelling changes, and textual changes. The textual changes to the KJV were not made to alter the meaning. In the first printing, words were sometimes inverted. Sometimes a plural was written as singular or vice versa. At times a word was miswritten for one that was similar. A few times a word or even a phrase was omitted. The omissions were obvious and did not have the doctrinal implications of those found in modern translations. In fact, there is really no comparison between the corrections made in the King James text and those proposed by the scholars of today. jesus-is-savior/Bible/was_the_king_james_revised.htm • Content: False Claims/Lies/Deliberate Doctrinal Changes King David wrote Thy word is true from the beginning. Psa 119:160. The skeptics, however, claim the Bible is full of error. Lets test this claim. Three lines of evidence support the claim that the biblical documents are reliable: these are the bibliographic test, the internal test, and the external test. The first test examines the biblical manuscripts, the second test deals with the claims made by the biblical authors, and the third test looks to outside confirmation of the biblical content. In the case of the Old Testament, there are a small number of Hebrew manuscripts, because the Jewish scribes ceremonially buried imperfect and worn manuscripts. Many ancient manuscripts were also lost or destroyed during Israels turbulent history. Also, the Old Testament text was standardized by the Masoretic Jews by the sixth century A.D., and all manuscripts that deviated from the Masoretic Text were evidently eliminated. Nonetheless the existing Hebrew manuscripts are supplemented by the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint (a third-century B.C. Greek translation of the Old Testament), the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Targums (ancient paraphrases of the Old Testament), as well as the Talmud (teachings and commentaries related to the Hebrew Scriptures). The quantity of New Testament manuscripts is unparalleled in ancient literature. There are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts, about 8,000 Latin manuscripts, and another 1,000 manuscripts in other languages (Syriac, Coptic, etc.). In addition to this extraordinary number, there are tens of thousands of citations of New Testament passages by the early church fathers. In contrast, the typical number of existing manuscript copies for any of the works of the Greek and Latin authors, such as Plato, Aristotle, Caesar, or Tacitus, ranges from one to 20. Because of the great reverence the Jewish scribes held toward the Scriptures, they exercised extreme care in making new copies of the Hebrew Bible. The entire scribal process was specified in meticulous detail to minimize the possibility of even the slightest error. The number of letters, words, and lines were counted, and the middle letters of the Pentateuch and the Old Testament were determined. If a single mistake was discovered, the entire manuscript would be destroyed. While the quality of the Old Testament manuscripts is excellent, that of the New Testament is very good--considerably better than the manuscript quality of other ancient documents. The New Testament can be regarded as 99.5 percent pure, and the correct readings for the remaining 0.5 percent can often be ascertained with a fair degree of probability by the practice of textual criticism. The bulk of the Bible was written by people who were eyewitnesses of the events they recorded. All the evidence inside and outside the New Testament runs contrary to the claim made by form criticism that the early church distorted the life and teachings of Christ. Most of the New Testament was written between A.D. 47 and 70, and all of it was complete before the end of the first century. There simply was not enough time for myths about Christ to be created and propagated. And the multitudes of eyewitnesses who were alive when the New Testament books began to be circulated would have challenged blatant historical fabrications about the life of Christ. The Bible places great stress on accurate historical details. Because the Scriptures continually refer to historical events, they are verifiable; their accuracy can be checked by external evidence. The chronological details in the prologue to Jeremiah (1:1-3) and in Luke 3:1-2 illustrate this. Ezekiel 1:2 allows us to date Ezekiels first vision of God to the day (July 31, 592 B.C.). The historicity of Jesus Christ is well-established by early Roman, Greek, and Jewish sources, and these extrabiblical writings affirm the major details of the New Testament portrait of the Lord. The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus made specific references to John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and James in his Antiquities of the Jews. In this work, Josephus gives us many background details about the Herods, the Sadducees and Pharisees, the high priests like Annas and Caiaphas, and the Roman emperors mentioned in the gospels and Acts. We find another early secular reference to Jesus in a letter written a little after A.D. 73 by an imprisoned Syrian named Mara Bar-Serapion. This letter to his son compares the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and Christ. Other first- and second-century writers who mention Christ include the Roman historians Cornelius Tacitus (Annals) and Suetonius (Life of Claudius, Lives of the Caesars), the Roman governor Pliny the Younger (Epistles), and the Greek satirist Lucian (On the Death of Peregrine). Jesus is also mentioned a number of times in the Jewish Talmud. The Old and New Testaments make abundant references to nations, kings, battles, cities, mountains, rivers, buildings, treaties, customs, economics, politics, dates, etc. Because the historical narratives of the Bible are so specific, many of its details are open to archaeological investigation. While we cannot say that archaeology proves the authority of the Bible, it is fair to say that archaeological evidence has provided external confirmation of hundreds of biblical statements. Higher criticism in the 19th century made many damaging claims that would completely overthrow the integrity of the Bible, but the explosion of archaeological knowledge in the 20th century reversed almost all of these claims. Noted archaeologists such as William F. Albright, Nelson Glueck, and G. Ernest Wright developed a great respect for the historical accuracy of the Scriptures as a result of their work. https://bible.org/article/how-accurate-bible Okay, but what about all these versions of the Bible, from KJV to NIV to New American Standard to all the others? Are they all correct, and if not, how can we know which one is right and correct? Obviously, any version of the Bible must be based upon the true text of Gods Word. That text is the Received Text. This was the text that was the basis of all the Bible translation work carried out in Europe at the time of the Protestant Reformation and afterwards, when the Bible was placed in the hands of the common man. This is the text that underlies the King James Version. The King James Version was used by the overwhelming majority of the English-speaking people the world over until the year 1881. Almost without exception, the versions that have been published since 1881 have been based, not upon the Received Text, but upon another, corrupt text: a text found in only a very small percentage of all extant Greek manuscripts. If a version is based on a corrupt text, the very foundation is faulty, and no Christian should use that version. Let the reader not think that the differences between the texts are minimal, or insignificant! They are neither. The corrupt text is drawn primarily from two manuscripts, the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus manuscripts. Let the reader comprehend something of the differences between the Received Text and the false text by a consideration of the following: it has been calculated that in the Gospels alone, Codex Vaticanus differs from the Received Text in the following particulars: it omits at least 2877 words, adds 536, substitutes 935, transposes 2098, and modifies 1132. This adds up to 7578 divergences. As for Codex Sinaiticus, it is even worse, with almost 9000 divergences. And a great many of the differences are very serious indeed, affecting vital doctrines of the faith. KJV is found to be an extremely accurate, faithful translation of the Word of God into English. This fact has even been recognized by its enemies. The King James Version translators were men of exceptional ability, among the most learned men of that age or of any other, expert in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and other ancient languages. One of them was well at home in twenty languages! They approached the Word of God with reverence, with fear and trembling, and with great care. They produced a word-for-word translation, a literal rendition of the Hebrew and Greek texts into English. And in addition, their translation was eminently readable, easily committed to memory, a melodious and graceful translation. They took the true text, and they translated it faithfully, carefully, lovingly and reverently. The result was a Bible version of unsurpassed accuracy and beauty. If accuracy and strictest attention to the letter of the text constitute an excellent version, then this is of all versions the most excellent. Through the centuries its superiority has been acknowledged by many men well able to judge of such matters. The King James Version was not the first English version based on the Received Text. Before it made its appearance in 1611, other versions were published. Tyndales Version, Coverdales Version, the Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, and the Bishops Bible, were some of the versions that appeared in the sixteenth century. They were all based on the true text, and carefully translated; but without any doubt whatsoever the King James Version superseded them all. It was the crowning achievement in the translation of the Bible into English. The King James Version is the most accurate translation of the Word of God into English ever produced, either before or since. thebibleistheotherside.org/currentarticlep24.htm CONTRADICTIONS The claim is that the Bible is full of contradictions. Is it? Contradictions in the Bible, such as they exist, are nonsubstantive and superficial in nature. More often than not, however, those alleging contradictions take scriptures out of context, e.g., heaven is limited to 144,000 when the very next verse that follows clearly indicates that multitudes accompanied these 144,000. Likewise, more often than not, what appears to be a contradiction is a paradox, that is, a seemingly contradictory statement defying intuition that is nonetheless true. And then there are ambiguities, rather than direct contradictions. In law, rules of interpretation prescribe that ambiguities be resolved so as to make rational sense and remain consistent with the intent of a contract, for example. The ambiguity therefore requires the reader to reconcile an apparent inconsistency so that it is no longer an irrational statement. The rules of literary or scriptural interpretation are no different. Moreover, where there is an apparent inconsistency, a further prescription for biblical interpretation is that the Bible always interprets itself. In other words, other passages of a similar nature and on the same subject are used to flesh out the meaning where there is a question. christiananswers.net/q-comfort/contradictions-bible.html ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL RECORD • Several different expeditions were undertaken to try and find the Walls of Jericho or any remnants that prove this biblical event of the destruction of the walls occurred as told in Joshua 6. They ended in failure until excavations were conducted by Professor John Garstand between 1930-1936. He discovered the remains of a network of collapsed walls. He was able to date them back to 1400 B.C., which is in the correct timeframe the Israelites were conquering Canaan. Garstand released a statement saying that the wall actually fell outward as opposed to inward like most other ancient cities that have been found. This is significant because it appears to confirm the act of God that made the entire wall system of Jericho collapse, as God promised that it would. Kathleen Kenyon also excavated the area and found heaps of red bricks, which were actually parts of the wall itself. • The Hittites were once thought to be a Biblical legend, until their capital and records were discovered at Bogazkoy, Turkey. • It was once claimed there was no Assyrian king named Sargon as recorded in Isaiah 20:1, because this name was not known in any other record. Then, Sargons palace was discovered in Khorsabad, Iraq. The very event mentioned in Isaiah 20, Sargons capture of Ashdod, was recorded on Sargons palace walls. What is more, fragments of a stela memorializing the victory were found at Ashdod itself. • Another king who was in doubt was Belshazzar, king of Babylon, named in Daniel 5. The last king of Babylon was Nabonidus according to recorded history; however, tablets have been found showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus son who served as coregent in Babylon. • The 1971 Excavation of King Solomons Gate at Tel Gezer was archaeological proof of a biblical passage as history. It proved the existence of King Solomon. • In the summer of 1971 Yigael Yadin discovered the city gate of Gezer which King Solomon built circa 960 BC, and the Bible described in 1 Kings 9:15. • The kingdom of Ebla existed around 2500 BCE. Many scholars have doubted the accounts in the Torah because it was believed that writing did not exist in Moses’ time; and therefore, he could not have written those books. On that notion, they date the Torah to a much later time and do not credit Moses as the author. The discovery of the Ebla tablets in 1975 has proven all those unbelieving scholars wrong. Also, the Creation account in Genesis 1 is considered by many to be a later writing, because the word ‘tehon’ (the deep) was used in the text. However, the discovery of tablets in the Eblaite Kingdom in the 1970’s shows the word was in use 800 years before the time of Moses. • Junius Annaeus Gallio, the son of Seneca the rhetorician and brother of Seneca the philosopher, was indeed the Roman governor of Achaia in present-day Greece, just as the Apostle Paul stated. Paul spent18 months at Corinth and environs, preaching and teaching. An inscription naming Gallio found at Delphi says that he was a friend of Caesar, and dates his governorship to AD 51 or 52. In Acts 18:12-17, Paul describes an incident at Corinth when he was brought up on charges before Gallio. • The discovery of Biblical artifacts astounds atheists, providing proof of the accuracy of the Bible. Archaeological finds ranging from skeletal remains to long lost cities continue to prove the Bible. Biblical artifacts and ruins such as Noah’s Ark, Ark of Bulrushes, Ark of the Covenant, King Ahaz’s Seal, Pool of Bethesda, Moabite Stone, Cyrus Cylinder, Arch of Titus, Caiaphas Ossuary, Shishak Relief, Lachish Relief, Gezer Calendar, Amulet Scrolls, Pilate Stone, Tower of Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, LMLK Seal, Dead Sea Scrolls, Baruch Seal, Tel Dan Inscription and Hezekiah’s Tunnel provide archaeological proof that the Bible is true and authentic in every detail. https://youtube/watch?v=lgQHQ992Wnw&index=31&list=FLOACoA0XJ4ofkTpUzkxzRXg https://youtube/watch?v=1dkoSJt6xfY&index=30&list=FLOACoA0XJ4ofkTpUzkxzRXg bibleistrue.net/the-walls-of-jericho/ biblicalartifacts.org christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a008.html kingsolomonsgate prevailmagazine.org/how-archaeology-proves-the-bible/ facingthechallenge.org/gallio.php INTERNAL COHERENCE & CONSISTENCY The Bible is internally coherent and consistent from book to book over a vast period of time. Careful study of the Bible reveals that profound truths are disclosed the deeper one probes. Looking into the etymology of the Hebrew and the Greek words themselves reveals a multidimensional narrative that is not apparent on reading of the surface narrative alone. I am not speaking of mystical interpretations here or Bible/Torah Codes, or Gematria; I am speaking simply of rich meaning that is revealed when the quest for understanding leads one to examine the words and their meanings on all levels and as woven together. To give but one small yet significant example, the lineage of Adam in Genesis has actual meaning and weaves its own narrative, as follows: Adam -Man Seth -Appointed Enosh – Mortal Kenan – Sorrow Mahalalel – The blessed God Jared – Shall come down Enoch – Teaching Methuselah – His death shall bring Lamech – Despairing Noah – Comfort and rest As a complete sentence, the entire Gospel message is fully encapsulated in the sequence of the names themselves: Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow, (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching; His death shall bring (the) despairing comfort and rest. How could the early prophets KNOW this 4000 years ago? Science of God and His Word Pt 7/7 https://youtube/watch?v=fpgHFwC5DfQ UnlikeUnlike · · Share You, Cherie Martin and 14 others like this. 3 shares Natasha Caron Agreed...however the devil is always in the details.... September 16 at 1:12am · Like Cherie Martin People sometimes love to put the devil in the details. September 16 at 1:13am · Like · 2 Natasha Caron Exactly...the devil was just as alive when men decided what to put in...and what to leave out....We need to get into the Vatican!! LOL!! September 16 at 1:14am · Like Cherie Martin Kryztal Sjustme, Ramon Anthony Luna, Catherine Ricker, Ann Endrulat Phillipps, Elliott Ridgway, Dave Boles, Miriam Blanchette Sawyer, and anyone else with a love for God. September 16 at 1:14am · Like · 4 Cherie Martin Origen had all kinds of heretical doctrines in some of his stuff. This is another falsehood, Natasha. I didnt address it, but those books were either false or preached another Jesus. Ill have to do a separate study on those and perhaps write it up someday. At any rate, I know people will believe what they want to believe. Those who are interested will read this and the rest wont. Thats it. It is what it is. September 16 at 1:17am · Like · 3 Natasha Caron I apologize for not reading the whole thing first..yet I say that if John had known that particular letter would be chosen as the rest...they may have written differently...All the scrolls agree on the history...Im no scholar and dont pretend..Ive just always found something lacking...btw..your post goes to another screen...yep, theyre paying attention to you.... September 16 at 1:20am · Like · 1 Cherie Martin Because its too big to open in one page. But I know its true that they watch. Good. They need to read this, LOL! September 16 at 1:24am · Like · 4 Magdi Shalash This is One HECK of a READ Cherie ..wow am impressed September 16 at 1:42am · Edited · Like · 4 Darrell Appleby Amen sister! Keep the good work up!!@ September 16 at 1:27am · Like · 4 Magdi Shalash Depends which Origen you read (if were still speaking of the Alexandrian Origen September 16 at 1:43am · Like · 1 Jane Slattery Amen... September 16 at 1:52am · Like · 1 Jane Slattery Cherie can you please post this to my timeline...every time I try to share it my screen goes black September 16 at 1:58am · Like · 1 Cherie Martin Will do, Jane. September 16 at 1:59am · Unlike · 2 Jane Slattery Thank you sister... September 16 at 1:59am · Like · 1 Kryztal Sjustme Bravo, Sis! Thank you so much for the work put into this explanation! Now I just need to make a place to save it, so Ill have it when the need arises. And it will. Great armor / ammo!!!! September 16 at 2:00am · Like · 3 Cherie Martin September 16 at 2:00am · Like · 1 Cherie Martin Calm Crash September 16 at 2:00am · Like · 2 Cherie Martin Gary Withrow Trudy Stanbery September 16 at 2:02am · Like · 2 Gary Withrow You are one fine lady Cherie Martin. God bless. September 16 at 4:46am · Like · 3 Jane Slattery Michelle LovesJesus...I suggest you read this... September 16 at 5:13pm · Like · 1 Jane Slattery KJV only true word of God my friend... September 16 at 5:14pm · Like · 1 Jane Slattery Cherie Martin...I still cant share this but I could share one from another friend that claims KJV isnt the only true version...how odd...lol September 16 at 5:18pm · Like · 1 Cherie Martin Feel free to cut and paste that section about KJV, Jane. September 16 at 5:21pm · Unlike · 1 Janette Starley Conz I cut, pasted and saved the whole thing. Brilliant. September 16 at 11:25pm · Like · 1 Jane Slattery researched by Cherie Martin
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 22:13:59 +0000
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