INTERNATIONAL BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH, BANGKOK, THAILAND

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON OCTOBER 13, 2013

STUDIES ON THE BIBLE PART 3

EXTERNAL EVIDENCES OF INSPIRATION

What are the characteristics of the Scriptures that make it unique?How is it different from all other books in the world? This is a brief session in Christian apologetics

I. ANTIQUITYA)The Bible is the oldest book or thing most of us have ever possessed. The writing of the Bible is as old as the art of writing itself. Men first recorded their thoughts in the form of pictures that they would carve in caves. From these were developed pictographs. And then pictures were turned to sound symbols for faster communication which we call alphabet writing.

B) In some places like the great valley of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, stone and wood were scarce so they used clay. Writings were done on clay tablets or tiles (Ezekiel 4:1) which were called cuneiform because of the wedge-shaped inscriptions

C) When the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, they used hieroglyphs or “sacred writings.” Egyptians wrote on sheets of papyrus or strips of the pith of large reeds pressed and formed into something resembling a rough type of paper. It was used for as much as 3,000 years. In 2 John 12 it is spoken as paper.

D) Prepared skins of sheep and goats at a later time called parchments (2 Tim 4:13). They were also used as early as the time of the Judges (Judges 5:14)

E) During the 450-year accession of David until the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the greater portion of the Old Testament were written. It was edited after the return from the Babylonian captivity. The first five books or the Torah was circulated by the time of Ezra (Ezra 7:6,11, 14) and this was the portion that he read to the people (Neh. 8:1, 5, 8).

F) After the destruction of the temple by the Romans in A.D. 69-70, the Jews realized that their one great national bond was their sacred writings. So scholars tried to copy the Scriptures carefully with accuracy. The Hebrew language consisted of 22 characters all consonants. Since each of these consonants can be followed by any vowel, it was a very difficult, inaccurate and not precise language. Jewish scholars added a system of vowel points which made it easier to use and understand.

G) With the possible exception of the gospel of Matthew, which many scholars believe was first written in Aramaic, the New Testament was set down in Greek. By the end of the first century A.D., persecution of the church was growing and copies of the Bible were multiplied but Christian believers were being captured and also their writings.

H) The Bible is at least 4,000 years old. Revelation is the most recent book and is 1,900 years old. The Roman emperor Diocletian ordered all Bibles destroyed and decreed death to anyone who yet had copies of the Scripture in possession. When Constantine was “converted” he asked for Bibles and 25 copies appeared within 24 hours and they were hand-written. What would you call about a man who had been crucified, drowned, stoned and yet lived? Superhuman, right? So the Bible is also a Super Book! It is the most loved and most hated book in the universe.

II. MODERNITYA) A medical journal about 150 years old prescribed the following treatment for cataracts: “Take one totally black cat. Burn it to ashes and sprinkle the ashes in the eye. This will eliminate the film that grows over the eye.”Yet the Bible is up to date in whatever area it touches or addresses. It’s medical laws are contemporary. Leviticus 13: 45-46. The teaching concerning life and the blood is modern, Leviticus 17:11. President George Washington died because of a wrong medical practice called blood letting. It is believed then that some illnesses were caused by “bad blood” and by cutting the veins to drain it out, it would heal a person. The use of antiseptics is advocated in Luke 10:34.

III. DIVERSITYIt is one book, but in reality, it is a library. The Bible was written over a period of about 1, 500 years by 40 authors on every known subject of literature plus prophesy. It contains history, mystery, romance, songs and poems, proverbs and also comedy.

IV. UNITYAlthough there were 40 authors who wrote 66 books on at least 50 different subjects and although these men were scholars, shepherds, kings, fishermen, medical doctors, tax collectors, teacher and statesmen, and few of these men knew each other, there is perfect agreement. There are no contradictions. The Old and New Testament complement each other.

V. ONE THEMEThe Bible is a history of redemption. It is about Jesus: Who Was , Who Is and Who Is to Come. Redemption is the crimson thread that runs throughout the Scriptures. The story begins in Genesis 3: 15. It is elaborated through typology, the sanctified system the tabernacle, prophetic teaching and finally He is here ( the Gospels). And the Epistles become the ultimate elaboration of His life and all that it means. The people in the Old Testament were saved by looking forward to the cross and people in the New Testament look back at the finished work of redemption.

VI. CULTURAL POWERWherever the Scripture has gone and has an impact, it changes lives, upgrades cultures and elevates the status of women. Compare the cultures of the United States and China, England and India. John Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, evangelized those islands bringing savages to civilizations. It is stated that when American servicemen landed in these islands during the World War II, they found the natives with Bibles. Some of the natives were ridiculed. One old tribesman said, “if it were not for those Bibles, we would have you in the the pot.”

VII. COMFORTThe Bible is the only book that can encourage, comfort, strengthen a believer in times of great trouble. Psalms 34:19. The Bible is not only the best book to live by, it is the only book to die by, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 2:21. When men are about to die, it is unlikely they would call for the reading of Shakespeare or Poe. But the Bible takes away the fear of death like no other book.