Chapter 3
THE BIBLE … THE WORD OF GOD
In the previous two studies, chapters 1 & 2, we found that the Bible is unique and accurate. To refresh our memories, let us review some of the more pertinent points that we discovered.
1. The Bible was written over a 1536 year time span by 40 different writers from various walks of life; yet it reveals the single coherent theme of God's redemption of man.
2. It has been read by more people than any other book and has been published in more languages and dialects than any other piece of literature.
3. Even though many kings, nations and governments have tried to destroy it, there still exists more ancient manuscript evidence of the Bible than any other ten pieces of ancient literature combined.
4. Its accuracy has been and continues to be verified from the historical, scientific and prophetic viewpoints. In fact, its prophetic accuracy is unprecedented. Within its pages prophecies that were predicted to occur in the near term, that is one year or less, to prophecies predicted to occur within tens, hundreds and even thousands of years have been and continue to be fulfilled.
Why? Why is the Bible so unique? Why is it so different from all the other known pieces of literature? What we will find is that the reason for this is because it is the Word of God. To see this we will,
1. Conduct a brief survey of the books of the Bible.
2. Review the history and origin of the Bible.
3. Search the Scriptures to fine that the true Author of the Bible is God Almighty.
Before we begin our study, let us now come before our God and Father and ask Him for His guiding hand,
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come before You in Jesus Christ’s Holy Name. Father please provide me true spiritual wisdom and understanding so I can truly see that the Bible is Your Word. Lord please do not allow me to go to the left or right but lead me directly to the knowledge of You and Your Word.
Amen
THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
There are two major divisions of the Bible, the Old Testament (the books written before Jesus Christ’s life upon this earth) and the New Testament (the books written after Jesus Christ’s birth, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven). The reason for this division goes back to the belief that the Old Testament, which documents God's covenant or promise given through Moses, was superceded by a new covenant provided by Jesus Christ. However as we progress through the remaining chapters of "Spiritual Foundations" we will find that the New Testament is not really new. Actually, the New Testament records the fulfillment of what God foretold and promised during the Old Testament days of what was to come. Specifically, He, the Messiah, would come to save mankind from their sin.
THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Old Testament is the collection of thirty nine books that were considered by the Jewish elders and priests as being divinely written or inspired. The Old Testament begins with the book of Genesis and ends with the book of Malachi. As we will see later in this chapter Jesus separates these books into three partitions: the Law of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets.
The Law of Moses
In this partition we read about God’s creation of the universe and His establishment of the nation of Israel. We also find within this partition the description of various moral and ceremonial laws that God gave through Moses. This partition contains the following books,
1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy
The Psalms
These are the books that are often called the books of wisdom and poetry. In this partition of the Old Testament we find good examples for prayer, worship and proverbs to live by. This partition also contains some prophecies and is composed of the following books,
1. Job
2. Psalms
3. Proverbs
4. Ecclesiastes
5. Song of Solomon
The Prophets
The last major partition of the Old Testament and by far the largest of the three is normally divided by the English Bible scholars into three sections: the Historical books, the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets.
HISTORICAL BOOKS
These books record the history of the nation of Israel. This history starts after Israel's exodus from Egypt and their entrance into the land of Canaan. These books also contain, as good object lessons for us, many accounts of God’s dealings with various individuals and the nation of Israel as a whole. This section contains the following books,
1. Joshua
2. Judges
3. 1 Samuel
4. 2 Samuel
5. 1 Kings
6. 2 Kings
7. 1 Chronicles
8. 2 Chronicles
9. Ezra
10. Nehemiah
11. Ester
12. Ruth
In addition to the historical books there are the major and minor prophets. The distinction between major and minor prophets is only a reference to the length of their writings not their quality. These books record various prophecies with respect to individuals, the nation of Israel and various Gentile (that is non Jewish) nations.
THE MAJOR PROPHETS
This section contain the writings of,
1. Isaiah
2. Jeremiah
3. Jeremiah’s Lamentations
4. Ezekiel
5. Daniel
THE MINOR PROPHETS
Here we find the writings of,
1. Hosea
2. Joel
3. Amos
4. Obadiah
5. Jonah
6. Micah
7. Nahum
8. Habakkuk
9. Zephaniah
10. Haggai
11. Zechariah
12. Malachi
THE NEW TESTAMENT
The New Testament is the collection of twenty seven books written after the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The New Testament begins with the Gospel according to Matthew and ends with The Apocalypse, commonly identified as the book of Revelation. These books are partitioned into four categories: the Gospels, History, the Epistles and the Prophecy.
The Gospels
In this partition we find the Gospel’s according to,
1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John
History
In this category there is only one book, the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which commonly called the book of Acts. This book provides us with a historical account of the early development of the Christian Church.
The Epistles
The epistles, which are letters of instruction and/or correction, written to churches, or individuals have been partitioned into the following two sections,
PAULINE EPISTLES
This section contains the letters written by the Apostle Paul. These are:
1. Romans
2. 1 Corinthians
3. 2 Corinthians
4. Galatians
5. Ephesians
6. Philippians
7. Colossians
8. 1 Thessalonians
9. 2 Thessalonians
10. 1 Timothy
11. 2 Timothy
12. Titus
13. Philemon
14. Hebrews
GENERAL EPISTLES
This section contains the letters written by James, Peter, John and Jude:
1. James
2. 1 Peter
3. 2 Peter
4. 1 John
5. 2 John
6. 3 John
7. Jude
The Prophecy
In this partition of the New Testament there is only one book, which is the book of The Apocalypse, which means the revelation. This book was penned by the Apostle John.
THE HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE
THE OLD TESTAMENT
To better understand why we can be sure that the thirty nine books of the Old Testament are Holy Scripture, we will,
1. Review the history and origin of today's Old Testament.
2. Find that in the first century writings the present Old Testament was identified as Holy Scripture.
3. See that our Lord and His Apostles bore witness to the divine inspiration of the Old Testament.
The History and Origin of the Old Testament
According to the, “Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament” by John W. Walton in approximately 200BC there were in use four Old Testament texts that were considered to be Holy Scripture. The development of these four texts is briefly described in the following paragraphs.
After Cyrus set the Jewish people free, in approximately 538BC, from their Babylonian captivity there were some who elected to remain in Babylon and not return to Jerusalem. Using the Old Testament that was brought from Jerusalem when the Jewish nation was initially captured, these Jewish people, who remained in Babylon, ultimately developed and used by 400BC a version of the Old Testament that is called the “Proto-Masoretic” text.
Using the Scriptures that were originally carried to Babylon, Ezra, in the fifth century BC, after returning to Jerusalem, formulated an Old Testament called the “Old Palestinian” recension. Over the years this text was refined and a second version of the Scriptures emerged in approximately 400BC known as the “Proto-Samaritan” text.
The third version of the Old Testament in use from around 300BC is called the Greek Septuagint, also known as LXX. This version of the Scriptures is a Greek translation of the Hebrew “Proto-Septuagint. The “Proto-Septuagint” was a development by the Jews living in Egypt using Ezra’s “Old Palestinian” text. It is this Greek Septuagint version of the Scriptures that Jesus and His disciples most often used for the Greek speaking culture of that day.
In approximately 200BC, even though the above three versions remained in use, a fourth text or version of the Scriptures was developed and put into use. This version is known as the “Samaritan recension” and was the initial effort to consolidate the previous three texts of Holy Scripture.
At approximately 100AD in the council of Jamnia under Rabbi Akiba this consolidation was finalized and produced what is called the “Masoretic Text”. It is this version of Hebrew Scripture that is used as the basis for the majority of today’s Old Testament Bible translations.1
First Century Writings
The second piece of key evidence to support the fact that our present Old Testament is Holy Scripture comes from the first century writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. In his book, “Antiquities of the Jews”, Josephus refers to the same books as our present Old Testament as accepted Scripture by the Jewish community at that time.2
Finally, in the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible we read where the Talmudic Treatise Baba Bathra (200AD) identifies the list of books, that is virtually the same as our present Old Testament, as Holy Scripture.3
The Witness of Jesus Christ and His Apostles
The most authoritative witnesses to the divine inspiration of the Old Testament are the Apostles and the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. To see this, let us begin with the Apostles.
The Apostles
As one reads the letters of Paul one can not help but marvel on how often the Holy Spirit, through Paul, used the Old Testament Scriptures to teach us about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. An example of this can be seen in,
Romans 1:16-17
"[16] I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. [17] For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith.""
It is pointed out that the phrase, “the righteous will live by faith” comes from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk 2:4.
The Apostle Peter also bears witness to the authority of the Old Testament. One example of this is in,
1 Peter 1:22-25
"[22] Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. [23] For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. [24] For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, [25] but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you."
It is noted that verses 24-25 is a direct quote from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah 40:6-8. Also note in verse 23 and 25 the Scripture is referred to as the Word of God.
Even though there are many examples in the letters penned by James, John and Jude that also bear witness to the authority of the Old Testament, let us move on to the most authoritative witness to the divine inspiration of the Old Testament namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. To do this, we will review some examples from the many teachings of Jesus Christ that encompass the three major divisions of the Old Testament; namely, the Law of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets.
The Witness of Jesus Christ
For an example of the many times that Jesus bore witness to the authority of the Law of Moses, let us read how He treated the incident of God's appearance to Moses from the burning bush. In the following passage of Scripture we see how Jesus used this incident to teach the Sadducees, a Jewish sect who did not believe in the resurrection, that they were in error.
Mark 12:26-27
"[26] Now about the dead rising--have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? [27] He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!""
Notice Jesus did not treat this appearance of God as a fable. No, Jesus considered this event as an actual encounter that Moses had with God.
For a representative book from the division of the Psalms, let us use the book of Psalms. In the New Testament we find that the Lord Jesus Christ often referenced the Psalms. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount we read,
Matthew 5:5
(Excerpt from Psalm 37:11)
"[5] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
Matthew 5:7
(Excerpt from Psalm 41:1)
“[7] Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
And,
Matthew 5:8
(This is a paraphrase from Psalm 24:3-5)
“[8] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
In addition to teaching us about the kingdom of God, Jesus also used the Psalms to reveal to us that He was the fulfillment of them. To see this, let us see how Jesus used the Parable of the Tenants to teach the chief priests and elders of the people of what was soon going to happen to Him. As we read this parable let us keep in mind that:
1. The landowner represents God the Father.
2. The vineyard represents the people.
3. The farmers or tenants represent the elders of Israel.
4. The servants represent God’s prophets.
5. The son represents Jesus, the Son of God.
6. The other servants represent the soon to be Christians.
With the above in mind let us now read from,
Matthew 21:33-41
""[33] Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. [34] When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. [35] "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. [36] Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. [37] Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. [38] "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' [39] So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. [40] "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" [41] "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.""
As Jesus completed this parable He told the chief priests and elders they should not be surprised at this. He did this by asking the following question,
Matthew 21:42
"[42] Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone ; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
In other words, Jesus told them that if they had read and understood the Scriptures, they would know that His rejection and death were foretold in them. The point for this study is that Jesus used the above passage to reveal what will happen to Him is from Psalm 118:22-23. In addition, let us also note He identified the passage as Scripture, which is sacred writing or canon.
For our representative from the book of the Prophets, let us explore how Jesus utilized the book of Jonah to teach the people and us about the significance of His death and resurrection.
Matthew 12:38-41
"[38] Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." [39] He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [41] The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here."
Notice, Jesus did not treat the account of Jonah and the huge fish as a mythical story. Instead, Jesus considered it to be an actual fact and declared Jonah to be a prophet.
The Witness of Jesus Christ Summary
Thus we find that Jesus Christ bore witness to the fact that the Old Testament, which is the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms were Holy Scripture. Jesus beautifully summarized this when He, after His resurrection, appeared to His disciples, and instructed them how everything written about Him must be fulfilled. We find His instruction recorded in,
Luke 24:44-45
"[44] He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." [45] Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures."
Let us notice the following verses,
44 … Jesus bore witness to the authority of the Old Testament. Also notice that He partitioned the Old Testament into (1) The Law of Moses, (2) The Prophets and (3) The Psalms.
45 … It was Jesus Christ who opened their minds to understand the scripture. This is why, when we read or study the Bible, it is so important for us to ask Him to do the same for us.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
As we did for the Old Testament, let us now review some of the reasons why we can be sure that the twenty seven books of our New Testament are Holy Scripture. In Josh McDowell’s book, “Evidence That Demands A Verdict” we find it is not exactly known what all the criteria the early church used to determine whether or not a New Testament writing was Scripture, that is canon.4 However, according to Geisler and Nix in their book entitled; “A General Introduction To The Bible” there were possibly five guiding principles that were used to make this determination: (1) Is it dynamic?, (2) Is it prophetic?, (3) Is it authentic?, (4) Is it used by the people of God? And (5) Is it Authoritative? 5
The Bible Is Dynamic
In deciding whether or not a New Testament piece of writing was dynamic or not, the early church had to determine whether or not the book or letter contained the life transforming power of God. Obviously time was required for the early churches to observe and discern the effects that a piece of writing had upon its membership.
The Bible Is Prophetic
The guiding principle to determine if a piece of literature was prophetic was to determine whether or not it was written by an apostle or a person carrying the apostolic authority. Although many qualifications are needed to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ, two key ones are: (1) to have actually seen the resurrected Christ and (2) to have the attesting signs, wonders and miracles.
The qualification for an Apostle of Jesus Christ to have actually seen the resurrected Christ is given to us by the original eleven apostles. This criterion arose after Judas committed suicide and when the apostles were deciding who was to replace him. To see this, let us read from,
Acts 1:21-22
"[21] Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, [22] beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.""
Let us notice the last part of verse,
22 … They must be a witness of His resurrection.
The second key qualification for an apostle, which is attesting signs, wonders and miracles, is given to us when Paul was defending his apostleship to the church in Corinth. To see this, let us read from,
2 Corinthians 12:12
"[12] The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance."
The Bible is Authentic
According to Geisler and Nix, whenever the early church had a doubt with respect to the authority or origin of a New Testament book or letter it was either: (1) discarded as spurious or (2) held in dispute until more evidence surfaced to make a more final determination.
The Bible is used by the People of God
Here the authority or witness given to a New Testament work to be Scripture was actually provided by its acceptance and usage by the people of God. As an example, we find that within the Bible itself we read that the apostle Peter acknowledged Paul’s letters as Scripture. We find this given to us in,
2 Peter 3:15-16
"[15] Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. [16] He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
Notice in the above passage Peter equates Paul’s writings to the other Scriptures thereby also acknowledging them as Scripture. Unfortunately this is the only passage within the Bible that one New Testament author bears witness to the authority of another person’s writings. Consequently, one must look outside of the Scripture to the early church to see how over time they considered and used the various pieces of New Testament writings.
As we read early church history we find it was not until approximately 393AD that all the books of the present New Testament were considered to be Holy Scripture. For example, men, such as Eusebius, who died in 340AD, considered all but Jude, 2 & 3 John, 2 Peter and James to be Holy Scripture. At that time these five books were still held in dispute. Eusebius is the author of, "Ecclesiastical History." His book is considered by many to be the most important work from the early church fathers. However, Jerome, who died approximately 80 years later, considered all twenty seven books as the work of God.6 Jerome was the person who first translated the Scriptures into the Latin language. His work is commonly referred to as the Latin Vulgate Bible.
In addition to individuals such as the above, several councils were convened to not only refute various heresies that were infiltrating the churches but to also acknowledge as a group the New Testament writings that were to be considered as Holy Scripture. These councils were composed of all the bishops from as many Christian communities as possible. The council of Nicea in 325AD that convened under the direction of the Emperor Constantine considered all but five of the twenty seven books as Holy Scripture. The books Jude, 2 and 3 John, 2 Peter and James remained in dispute.7 However, by the time that the council at Hippo convened in 393AD all twenty seven books were considered to be Holy Scripture by the Christian community at large.8 The council at Carthage in 397AD also considered all twenty seven books as the work of God.9 Since this time they have not changed, that is the twenty seven books of the New Testament are the same today as they were then. There has been no questioning of them by the Protestant or Roman Catholic Church.
The final and most critical principle is one of authority. Here the issue before the early church was to decide whether or not the words within a book or letter came from God. Since this is the most critical issue of all, let us explore in a bit more depth about who the author of the Bible really is. To do this, we will look to the Bible itself and find out what it has to say about its own authorship. Because of its extreme importance our study will encompass both the Old and New Testaments. In doing so we will find that,
THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
Since the Old Testament is composed of thirty nine books, our study of their authorship will be limited to a representative book from each of the major categories. Thus, this portion of our study will focus on just a representative book from the Law of Moses, The Psalms and the Prophets. Since there are also three partitions within the Prophets, which are the historical books, the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets, representative books from each of these partitions will also be examined for their authorship.
We begin our examination by determining who the true author is for,
THE LAW OF MOSES
Our representative book from the Law of Moses is the book of Exodus. To find where and how Moses received the information that he wrote in the book of Exodus, let us read what happened when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 32:15-16
"[15] Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. [16] The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets."
As we read further we find that as Moses came down from Mount Sinai to return to the camp of Israel, he found the people steeped in the sin of idolatry. Moses became so angry at them that he threw the tablets down on the ground and broke them. Consequently, Moses had to return to Mount Sinai and receive a new set. What is interesting to note is that Moses himself could have just as easily made another set of tablets. However, this was not to be the case. Instead, God told Moses to bring Him (God) two more tablets to write on. To see this, let us read from,
Exodus 34:1-2
"[1] The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. [2] Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain."
It is pretty clear that when we read the Law of Moses we are really reading God’s Word … isn’t it?
THE PSALMS
To understand who the true author of the Psalms is, we read from the New Testament where Jesus quoted from Psalm 110. Jesus used this Psalm to teach the people and us that He (Jesus) is the Son of God and only from a human perspective did He come from the lineage of David. This teaching is in,
Mark 12:35-37
"[35] While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, "How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? [36] David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."' [37] David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?" The large crowd listened to him with delight."
In verse 36 the passage: "The Lord said to my Lord …" is a quote from Psalm 110. Thus, Jesus is telling us that it was not David, but God the Holy Spirit speaking through David who provided us this Psalm.
THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
Our representative from the Old Testament historical books is 1 Kings. As mentioned earlier, the historical books not only provide us with the history of the nation of Israel but also provide various accounts of God’s dealing with many individuals. Our example is what God said to King Solomon when Solomon was building the Temple. To do this, let us read from,
1 Kings 6:11-13
"[11] The word of the LORD came to Solomon: [12] "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. [13] And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.""
Let us notice the following verses,
11 - The word of the Lord came to Solomon
12-13 - The Bible tells us what God said to Solomon.
Given the above, isn’t it true that the words we have read are not those of Solomon or some other human being but the Words of God?”
THE MAJOR PROPHETS
For our representative from the Major Prophets let us examine the book of Isaiah. To more fully understand whose words we are really reading in the book of Isaiah; let us read the following excerpt from Isaiah’s commission to be a prophet of God. The account of his commission or ordination is provided to us in,
[1] In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. [2] Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. [3] And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” [4] And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. [5] So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” [6] Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. [7] And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” [8] Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” [9] And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Let us notice the following verses,
5 … He saw the King, the Lord Almighty.
8 … He heard the voice of the Lord.
9 … God told Isaiah what to say to the people.
Let us read just one more example from the book of Isaiah,
Isaiah 8:1
“[1] The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”
(God now continues with the message)
Thus, as we read the book of Isaiah we are reading what God told Isaiah to say and write. In other words we are reading God's Word.
THE MINOR PROPHETS
For our representative from the Minor Prophets let us examine the book of Zechariah. To do this let us read from,
Zechariah 1:1-4
"[1] In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: [2] "The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. [3] Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty. [4] Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD."
It is pretty clear we have just read what God told Zechariah. What is also interesting to note is that in verse four we read that God tells us that the earlier prophets were also sent by Him (God) and they too spoke His words.
Let us now determine who the true author is of the New Testament.
THE GOSPELS
We begin our examination by determining whose words and activities we are really reading about in the Gospels. To do this, let use the Gospel according to Luke as our representative. To determine whose words we are reading in Luke’s account of the Gospel we must read what Luke wrote in,
Acts 1:1-3
"[1] In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach [2] until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. [3] After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."
Let us notice the following verse,
1 … Luke, the writer of Acts as identified in, “Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts”, is telling Theophilus and us that what he wrote in his Gospel is what Jesus taught and did. Thus, when we read the Gospel according to Luke we are not only reading about the various activities of Jesus but also the very words He spoke. This same conclusion can also be reached for the three remaining Gospels of Mark, Matthew and John.
To determine the true author of the Epistles we begin with,
THE PAULINE EPISTLES
In his letter to the church in Galatia Paul made it clear as to how he received the information that he spoke and wrote about. To read what he wrote we go to,
Galatians 1:11-12
“[11] I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. [12] I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
THE GENERAL EPISTLES
For our representative from the General Epistles let us examine the first letter of John. To do this we go to,
1 John 1:1-4
“[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. [2] The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. [3] We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. [4] We write this to make our joy complete.”
In other words, John is telling us is that what he wrote was what he heard Jesus Christ say and what he saw Him do. In fact, he also tells us that this was not a dream or some ecstatic vision for he also tells us that they even touched Him with their own hands!
THE PROPHECY
For our final example, let us determine from whom the Apostle John received the information he wrote in the book of Revelation. Perhaps the best way to make this determination is for us to read from,
Revelation 1:9-19
"[9] I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. [10] On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, [11] which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." [12] I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. [15] His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. [16] In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. [17] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. [18] I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. [19] "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
In other words, it was the resurrected Christ Himself who told John exactly what to write and John obediently did exactly that.
CONCLUSION
What is the point of this study? What is the message of it all? The answer to these questions is clearly provided in the following excerpt from Peter’s second letter.
2 Peter 1:16-21
"[16] We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." [18] We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. [19] And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. [20] Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. [21] For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
Let us notice the following verses,
16 … They did not follow invented stories, but were eyewitnesses to the things they preached and wrote about.
18 … They actually heard God the Father speak about His only begotten Son.
20-21 … Prophecy did not originate in the thoughts or intellect of men but came from God.
Thus we find that the Bible is not only a set of very unique books, as we saw in the first two chapters, but it is in fact the Word of God. Given this, what shall we do? What is the point of it all?
Well, if God and His servants took all the time and effort to have it written, published and distributed for us, then it must be important and hence we should prayerfully read it. To see this, let us consider the following Psalm.
Psalm 1:1-6
"[1] Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. [2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. [3] He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. [4] Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. [5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. [6] For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."
Blessed be the Lord forever!
AMEN and AMEN