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Is
the Bible REALLY the Word of a Supreme Being? Or, as the skeptics
and evolutionists say, is it a collection of Hebrew myths, distorted
history, poetry and glaring contradictions? Is there any real PROOF
that the Bible is the word of God? For if it is not, then hundreds
of millions of Christ-professing "Christians" are deluded
into believing in myths!
Does the
Bible contradict itself? Skeptics say yes, many times. Does the
Bible present us with wholly impossible scenarios; unbelievable
historical accounts, and unscientific claims? Scoffers and doubters
say yes. Evolutionists, agnostics, skeptics of every sort are quick
to challenge the Bible on many fronts.
A favorite
attack against scripture is the age-old question, "Where did
Cain get his wife?"
Another
is why the fifth commandment says "Thou shalt not Kill,"
and yet, God commanded the Israelites to kill thousands of their
enemies: "Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are
very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
"But
of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give
thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
"But
thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites,
the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites;
as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee" (Deuteronomy 20:15-17).
"You
see?" challenge the scoffers, this "God" you say
inspired the Bible says "Thou shalt not kill," and then
turns right around and says, "kill them all, even their little
babies!"
Several
times a year, I receive angry, challenging letters from such doubters,
who are trying to convince themselves there is no God, or, if there
is, He did not inspire the Bible to be written.
How about
you? Are you equipped to answer challenges from those who point
out alleged Bible contradictions, or who say the Bible is uninspired?
The Claims Of Scripture Itself
The
Bible claims to be inspired. Jesus Christ said, "Search the
scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and
they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). Therefore,
Christ plainly said the Hebrew Old Testament was inspired, and that
it contains information which, if accepted, points the way to eternal
life. He said, as recorded only a few verses later, "Do not
think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth
you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
"For
had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of
me [in the first five books of the Bible].
"But
if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"
(John 5:45-47). Christ therefore placed His stamp of approval on
the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
If one accuses Christ of being either ignorant, deceived, or deliberately
lying, then one is obviously rejecting Jesus Christ as the Son of
God; the Savior of the world; the soon-coming world ruler, and one
is perilously close to a blasphemy which will not be forgiven.
After His
resurrection, Jesus Christ reminded His disciples of His many Bible-based
statements during His Messiahship: "And he said unto them,
These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with
you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in
the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me.
"Then
opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures" (Luke 24:44, 45). Here, Jesus Christ lists
the three divisions of the Hebrew Old Testament, commonly called
the "Torah" (the first five books of the Bible), or the
"law," the Prophets, including all the major and minor
prophets, and the "Psalms," or "the Writings,"
which includes all the other books.
The Bible
itself claims to be the inspired word of God. Peter wrote,
"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we
made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
"For
he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came
such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.
"And
this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him
in the holy mount.
"We
have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that
ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
"Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation.
"For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2
Peter 1:16-21).
John the
apostle wrote, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come
to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant
John:
"Who
bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of
Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
"Blessed
is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,
and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is
at hand" (Revelation 1:1-3).
Paul used
the Old Testament scriptures to preach Christ, and salvation. "Now
when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came
to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
"And
Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days
reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
"Opening
and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again
from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ"
(Acts 17:1-3).
Luke wrote
that Apollos, a gifted and noted speaker, "...mightily convinced
the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures [the
Old Testament — the only "scriptures" extant then] that
God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ,
with all confidence, no man forbidding him" (Acts 28:23-31).
Thus ends the book of Acts, with Luke’s testimony that Paul continually
taught from the Hebrew Old Testament; "out of the law [Torah]
of Moses, and out of the prophets," all day long, day after
day, week after week, month after month for two years.
One thing
is sure. Jesus Christ Himself plainly said the Old Testament scriptures
are the word of God. All the disciples believed the scriptures were
inspired. Paul believed the Old Testament was inspired. What about
the writers of the Old Testament? Did they believe they were writing
God’s own words?
Scoffers Were Predicted
Today,
evolution is taken for granted by the vast majority. Evolution
is the basis of all formal education; inculcated into the minds
of youths in western societies from their early childhood. Evolution
is palpably evident throughout the "nature" shows which
children love; television documentaries about fish, dolphins, whales,
lions, elephants, birds, insects — all continually reinforce the
concept that there is no God; that all life "evolved"
over vast aeons of time.
To evolutionists,
the natural forces in place today provide evidence that the earth
has always continued as it is, with "resident forces"
acting upon the earth, and "natural selection" bringing
about the "survival of the fittest" as all forms of life
gradually "evolved" from one life form to another.
Thus, man
is said to have begun as a "chance strike of lightning in a
primal soup of methane and ammonia," or as a "spark of
life in an ancient sea," or as "green slime," or
"brown scum," or "cracks in rocks," or from
either supreme heat, or supreme cold. Each of the above postulates
can be found in erudite texts and articles written by science writers.
The "big bang" theory; that all matter was once contained
in one gargantuan "atom" which exploded is commonly accepted
today by evolutionists.
All of
which says "There is no God worthy of mention." Evolution
directly contradicts the Bible, which says "In the beginning
God created..." Evolution says, instead, "In the beginning
was the hydrogen atom."
To evolutionists,
any catastrophism is anathema. While many have come to believe that
a meteor once struck the earth, which is largely accepted as the
reason for the "sudden die out of dinosaurs," the concept
of catastrophes interrupting the gradually changing "resident
forces" is generally rejected. For example, the great flood
of Noah’s time, mentioned by Christ and the apostles, and set forth
in Genesis chapters six through nine, is rejected as pure myth.
Peter wrote,
"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days
scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
"And
saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of the creation [everything is cyclical, they say; there have
always been droughts, famines, and storms].
"For
this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of
God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water
and in the water:
"Whereby
the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
"But
the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept
in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition
of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:3-7).
In a later
section we will deal with the flood of Noah, and various challenges
against it by scientists and religionists alike. The point is, Peter’s
prophecy has come true! Millions deny the flood of Noah’s time.
Yet, Jesus Christ Himself said, "But as the days of Noe were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
"For
as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered
into the ark,
"And
knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of Jesus was Christ" (Acts 18:28).
When Paul was under house arrest in Rome, knowing that he was in
peril of his life, he nevertheless continued to faithfully preach
the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God, using the Old Testament
scriptures! Luke wrote, "And when they had appointed him a
day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded
and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning
Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from
morning till evening.
"And
some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not....And
Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received
all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of man be"
(Matthew 24:37-39). Evolutionists accuse Christ, therefore, of being
either ignorant or deceived, because Christ clearly believed in
a universal deluge.
Paul wrote
that evolutionists have no excuse for denying what their own eyes
tell them:
"For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
"Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them [is evident to
them]; for God hath showed it unto them.
"For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made [the material
universe; all creation], even his eternal power and Godhead; so
that they are without excuse:
"Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:18-20).
Today,
many theologians attempt to reconcile anti-God evolution with "theistic
evolution," saying there might have been a "First Cause"
or a "God" of some sort who used evolution as His creating
method. But this is nothing short of gratuitous; an attempt
to give in to evolutionists, and still maintain there is a God.
Such people
claim that the "days" of creation were actually thousand,
or even million-year periods, and not literal days. The Bible says
otherwise: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was
light.
"And
God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from
the darkness.
"And
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening [darkness] and the morning [daylight] were the
first day" (Genesis 1:3-5).
There has
never been a time when the Bible was under such attack as today!
From evolutionary classrooms to the pulpits of churches, men scathingly
ridicule the Bible as myth.
Peter’s
prophecy has come to pass. For several in-depth articles which DEMOLISH
the "theory of evolution" be sure to look into our web
site at "http://www.gtaea.org," go to the literature page,
and type in "evolution" or "creation." There,
you will find the existence of God absolutely and scientifically
PROVED!
Is
the Bible a deliberate attempt by dozens of collaborators over centuries
to create a myth about a "God," and form a monotheistic
religion? Were the prophets coconspirators in an elaborate scheme
to deceive you and me?.
Reluctant Prophets
God’s
prophets were not arrogant "wannabes" who arrogated to
themselves some high "spiritual" office. Instead, they
were humble men who felt inadequate for the task appointed them.
Isaiah wrote of having seen a vision of the throne of God; of seraphim
crying "Holy, holy, holy, is the Eternal of Hosts: the whole
earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:1-3). Isaiah then 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
mine eyes have seen the King, the Eternal of Hosts" (Isaiah
6:5).
Then occurred,
in Isaiah’s vision, a seraphim who flew from the altar with a coal
from beneath and, laying it upon Isaiah’s mouth, said, "Lo,
this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and
thy sin purged" (Isaiah 6:7). Isaiah was now a vessel sanctified
for God’s work. Yet, he was told that the people would not understand
or heed his message; that they would be "dull of hearing"
until the time of the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, when
God will visibly manifest Himself.
God said
to Isaiah, "Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand
not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
"Make
the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut
their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
"Then
said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted
without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be
utterly desolate,
"And
the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking
in the midst of the land" (Isaiah 6:9-12). Jesus Christ emphasized
the fact that the vast majority of mankind would be blinded; unable
to comprehend spiritual things. He quoted Isaiah, thus giving this
prophet his stamp of approval and divine authority, when His disciples
asked Him why He spoke to the masses in puzzles, or parables. Christ
answered, "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they
seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither
do they understand.
"And
in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing
ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see,
and shall not perceive:
"For
this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should
see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand
with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them"
(Matthew 13:13-15).
Millions
believe Jesus Christ came to save everyone He could! Nothing
could be farther from the truth! Instead He plainly said most were
BLIND to the truth, and said this was in God’s intent, "LEST"
they should be converted; should understand with their heart.
Bear this
in mind as you continue through this booklet! It was not then, and
it is not now God’s intention to reveal His truth to every human
being! Jesus Christ said, "No man can come to me, except
the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him
up at the last day" (John 6:44). Remember this basic principle,
and never forget it! It takes a miracle from God to open a human
mind to His truth! Mere reading of the Bible by a carnal mind (Romans
8:7) will never bring any person to repentance and salvation. Those
who read the Bible with a skeptical attitude will remain skeptics.
Why? Because they do not TREMBLE before God’s Word. Isaiah wrote,
"Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth
is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where
is the place of my rest?
"For
all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have
been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that
is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word"
(Isaiah 66:1, 2).
Isaiah
trembled before God. He knew he was unworthy of conveying God’s
message. He was a reluctant prophet, not one who vainly arrogated
to himself any authority. Notice how Jeremiah likewise felt unworthy:
"Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
"Before
I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth
out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations.
"Then
said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
"But
the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go
to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou
shalt speak.
"Be
not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith
the LORD.
"Then
the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD
said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
"See,
I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms,
to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down,
to build, and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:4-10). Jeremiah said he
was too young for the job; that he would have no credibility! Yet
God sent him as one of his prophets.
Amos wrote,
"I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was
an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit:
"And
the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto
me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel" (Amos 7:14,15).
Daniel
fainted when he saw an archangel who came to commission him as God’s
prophet: "And in the four and twentieth day of the first month,
as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
"Then
I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed
in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
"His
body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of
lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet
like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like
the voice of a multitude.
"And
I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw
not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they
fled to hide themselves.
"Therefore
I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained
no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption,
and I retained no strength.
"Yet
heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his
words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward
the ground.
"And,
behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon
the palms of my hands.
"And
he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the
words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am
I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
"Then
said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou
didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before
thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words"
(Daniel 10:4-12). Like so many other prophets, Daniel’s experience
with a great archangel so traumatized him that he was left weak
and trembling. This was no pompous individual who assayed to become
a "faith healer" or "evangelist" parading around
in a white suit, claiming to "heal" people! Instead, Daniel
was a meek and humble man who was stultified at the calling of God.
He was not a volunteer.
It is important
to know that each of God’s prophets related that God, no doubt through
angelic messengers, spoke to them directly! They did not seek it.
They were not volunteers. Instead, they were chosen. Paul wrote,
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets,
"Hath
in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds [compare
with John 1];
"Who
being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when
he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of
the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:1-3).
The New
Testament writers absolutely believed that the Old Testament scriptures
were inspired! They believed that God Himself had inspired the prophets!
In most cases, they gave their lives, often in the most horrible
fashion, for that conviction. This was not mere "belief,"
but deep conviction; a knowing brought about by their
personal experiences with Jesus Christ during His sojourn in human
flesh, and His many miraculous appearances to them following His
resurrection!
Reluctant Disciples; Unwilling Witnesses
The
Bible is hard on its heroes. Every human being save Jesus Christ
is presented to us as eminently human; with human failings, foibles,
silly mistakes, false assumptions and sins. David’s sin with Bathsheba;
Abraham’s lie to save his wife from Abimelech; Peter’s brazen rebuke
of Jesus; Paul’s participation in the martyrdom of Steven and earlier
persecution of Christians; Jeremiah’s lamentations — all are obviously
humans, subject to normal human emotions.
Did the
disciples concoct a "new religion" and foist it off upon
unsuspecting masses?
Many sensational
books have made just such a charge. Write a book which debunks Jesus
Christ as a fraud, and you have an instant best-seller. Write the
truth about the Bible, and about Christ, and only a precious few
are interested. Many years ago, a book entitled The Passover
Plot alleged that Jesus’ "death" was just that; a
part of a conspiratorial plot to stage a death, when in fact Christ
was not really dead at all.
But consider
the record of the disciples themselves. For one thing, as Christ
was being led away by the armed guards of the High Priest, having
been betrayed by Judas, every one of His disciples forsook Him!
If
you have not read our booklet, "The Young Revolutionaries,"
please request for a free copy. I urge you to read this
fascinating booklet.
Consider
the case of Peter, the disciple. Bombastic, zealous, rough around
the edges, Peter was often abrasive and impetuous. For years, he
and the other disciples had assumed Jesus Christ was a revolutionary
who would overthrow the Sanhedrin, topple the Herods, and then kick
out the occupying Romans. Notice what the disciples thought was
the one most important question they could ask Jesus on His final
appearance before them: "When they therefore were come together,
they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore
again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). They did not speak
of the "Kingdom of God," nor did they envision a globe-girdling
millennial rule of Christ. Rather, they asked if NOW, at long last,
after what had been to them many, many abortive attempts, was He
FINALLY ready to "restore the kingdom TO ISRAEL!"
What that
meant was they expected Christ to establish a new GOVERNMENT on
the throne which was being usurped by the Herods; to restore a greater
Davidian or Solomonic Kingdom, from the headwaters of the Tigris-Euphrates
in modern-day northern Iraq to the seven streams of the Nile in
the Egyptian delta. They did not ask Him anything whatsoever about
"religious services," or about the myriad things which
have led to major disputes and divisions among the denominations
in "churchianity." They asked nothing about hair styles
or length; about dresses or robes for the clergy; about candles,
bells, chants, or holy water. They asked nothing about celibacy,
or "orders" for women; they asked nothing about "praise
worship" or religious postures.
Instead,
they asked, in essence, a POLITICAL question. Would Christ FINALLY,
now that He had all power, ascend to David’s throne and RULE ISRAEL
right then and there?
Christ
answered, "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know
the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
"But
ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
"And
when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken
up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
"And
while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold,
two men stood by them in white apparel;
"Which
also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so
come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts
1:7-11). This miraculous phenomenon was the final anchor for their
unbounding faith. They SAW Him ascend. They watched until He was
a tiny speck, fading from sight into the clouds!
After a
period of a month and ten days, during which He had appeared and
disappeared many times, these unwilling witnesses; these men who
had forsaken Him in bitter disappointment and anger, were deeply
convicted!
Space does
not permit me to retell the entire story here (please read the "Young
Revolutionaries" book), but remember that Peter tried to trigger
the revolution when he attempted to kill Malcolm, the servant of
the high priest. "And, behold, one of them which were with
Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant
of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.
"Then
said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for
all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" (Matthew
26:51, 52; compare with Luke 22:49-62).
All the
disciples shrank back into the darkness. Peter followed at a distance,
afraid of being discovered. Later, he cursed and denied that he
ever knew Jesus.
When the
disciples were told that Christ’s tomb was empty, they were doubtful.
"It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of
James, and other women that were with them, which told these things
unto the apostles.
"And
their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed
them not.
"Then
arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld
the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in
himself at that which was come to pass" (Luke 24:10-12).
Christ
would suddenly materialize before their startled eyes, as
they were discussing all the stupendous events of the past four
days. "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst
of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
"But
they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen
a spirit.
"And
he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise
in your hearts?
"Behold
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for
a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
"And
when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet"
(Luke 24:36-40).
Christ
Himself chastised the disciples for their unbelief. When Mary Magdalene
had seen Him first, and related her experience to the disciples,
"...she went and told them that had been with him, as they
mourned and wept.
"And
they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of
her, believed not.
"After
that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked,
and went into the country.
"And
they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
"Afterward
he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them
with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed
not them which had seen him after he was risen" (Mark 16:10-14).This
was no plot to deceive the world, and begin a false religion based
on fraudulent claims. Remember, "doubting" Thomas said
he would never believe unless he personally saw Christ’s wounds:
"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with
them when Jesus came.
"The
other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord.
But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print
of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and
thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
"And
after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas
with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood
in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
"Then
saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands;
and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not
faithless, but believing.
"And
Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
"Jesus
saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have
believed [does that include you?].
"And
many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book" (John 20:24-30).
Many allegations
of fraud have been presented. Some say Jesus’ enemies stole His
body. But if so, they would have publicly displayed it, for the
entire issue was whether or not He was truly the Messiah, the Son
of God. Had the Jews "stolen the body," they would have
openly rejoiced, paraded the body through the streets. Instead,
the Jews accused the disciples of having stolen Jesus’ body!
But do
men DIE, being crucified upside down, sawn asunder, impaled, burnt
alive, or stoned to death, for what they KNOW TO BE A LIE?
Some have
said Jesus Christ was only in a "swoon," that He revived,
and removed the stone, and disappeared, in order to keep the myth
alive. But I have been inside the tomb where Jesus Christ was buried
for three days and three nights. The "door" was formed
of a huge slab of rock, shaped like a wheel. There was a channel
carved uphill from the opening into the tomb, and the stone was
positioned above it, so, when the restraining chocks were taken
away, the stone would roll downward into an ever narrowing rock-hewn
channel, wedging itself solidly in front of the opening.
It would
have required dozens of powerful men, with pick axes and crow bars,
laboring for many hours, to remove that huge stone! It was disc-shaped,
and much taller than a man. It must have weighed several tons! Could
Jesus, after being beaten within an inch of His life, in some alleged
"swoon," have revived, and removed that stone by Himself?
Nonsense.
Such allegations
mean that those who make them are calling every one of the New Testament
writers liars and frauds. They have to explain to themselves how
it is that men who were unwilling witnesses would go to the
stake and give their lives in excruciating suffering for what they
knew was a fraud!
The resurrection
of Jesus Christ is historic FACT, not some kind of hallucination
or fantasy. The FACT of the resurrection is not some later invention
to justify the "Christian" religion, but the very reason
for its beginning. It is the CORNERSTONE of Christian faith; that
Christ is alive; that He was resurrected from the tomb, as He said.
Paul told the Corinthian church, "I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures;
"And
that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the scriptures:
"And
that he was seen of Cephas [Peter], then of the twelve:
"After
that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;
of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are
fallen asleep.
"After
that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
"And
last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of
due time" (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). This is a powerful witness,
for Paul states to his readers that they can ask nearly FIVE HUNDRED
living witnesses, or ask any of the apostles about having SEEN Jesus
Christ alive after His death and burial. The Christian religion
BEGAN on the fundamental belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Where Did The Bible Come From? How Did We Get it?
Believe
it or not, there are more ancient manuscripts available from the
Old Testament than there are from the New! It was in 1844 that a
German scholar named Tischendorf visited the St. Catherine’s monastery
on Mount Sinai. The monks were cleaning up the place, and had stuffed
a waste basket full of pages of vellum, or written pages from sheep’s
skin, which they were going to burn. The monks were secretive people,
and not very good housekeepers. Tischendorf noticed that the vellum
pages were in Greek. When he looked at them closely, he found they
were parts of an ancient "Septuagint" version of the Old
Testament. The "Septuagint" is so called because there
were seventy copyists in Alexandria, Egypt, assigned to translate
the entire Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. This was allegedly
commanded by the High Priest in Jerusalem at the behest of Emperor
Ptolemy II, since so many Jews spoke only Greek, and could no longer
read the Old Testament in Hebrew.
Tischendorf
managed to salvage 43 such leaves, but an additional search turned
up no more. He visited the same monastery again in 1853, and again
searched for any more such vellum pages without success. Then, in
1859, he returned again, and this time a steward told Tischendorf
he had an ancient copy of the Septuagint. When he brought it out,
Tischendorf found it was the remaining pages of the manuscript he
had found fifteen years earlier. It contained 347 vellum leaves
in all, beautifully written by hand on fine vellum; measured 15
x 13 1/3 inches for each page, and included the entire New Testament.
He eventually secured the entire manuscript for the Imperial Library
in St. Petersburg, where it remained until 1933. That year, it was
sold to the British Museum for half a million dollars.
I have
seen this original manuscript, and Ambassador College obtained a
very expensive photo copy of many pages, actually reproduced on
heavy parchment, which were on display in the library for many years.
The other
most ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament are the "Vaticanus,"
produced in the 4th century; has been in the Vatican library since
1481, but some fragments of the New Testament are missing; the "Alexandrinus"
made in the 5th century in Alexandria, Egypt, which has been in
the British museum since 1627. Some fragments are missing, but it
contains the entire Bible. Another is the "Ephraem" manuscript,
containing about half of the New Testament in Greek. There are,
altogether, about 4,000 known manuscripts of the Bible or parts
of the Bible, all of which were produced from the 2nd to the 12th
centuries. No manuscripts exist prior to that time.
The original
letters of Paul, which were kept by the churches to which they were
addressed for many years, have all been lost. But copies of these
writings were made for other churches, and sent there from the earliest
times. As older copies wore out, newer ones were made.
In contrast,
there is no known complete copy of Homer dating earlier than AD
1300, and no known copy of Herodotus, the Egyptian historian, prior
to 1,000 AD. There are vastly more manuscripts available for the
Bible than these ancient writers, but no one challenges either Homer
or Herodotus!
For further
study into the origin, preservation, transmission and translation
of the ancient texts of the Bible, one can obtain vast information
from various libraries in the world over the Internet. The many
Bible handbooks are instructive. A good layman’s Bible Handbook
is "Halley’s," and a collegiate-grade book is The Angus
Bible Handbook, which I have used for many years. It is particularly
good for alleged biblical contradictions. I challenge any skeptic
to STUDY the Angus Bible Handbook, and to meticulously, carefully
attempt to dismantle it, prove it wrong! It is a daunting, and ultimately
impossible, task!
Angus includes
many, many examples of scriptural anomalies and alleged contradictions,
and satisfactorily explains each one.
Biblical Enigmas
Still,
there are many thousands who, while they believe the Bible is the
word of God, are nevertheless perplexed by seemingly irreconcilable
difficulties in scripture.
As mentioned
earlier, many demand, "Since Adam and Eve had Cain, and the
Bible says Cain had a wife, where did Cain get his wife?" The
truth is that Adam and Eve had many, many children — perhaps as
many as twenty five or even many more, over a span of a phenomenal
nine hundred and thirty years. This is not to suggest that
Eve bore children all during such a life span, or that Adam remained
virile until his death. However, the great age of the patriarchs
is stated again and again in Genesis, and no doubt was due to several
factors:
(1) Prior
to the Noachian Deluge, or world-wide flood, the Bible states there
was a different weather pattern on earth; that the atmosphere contained
much, much more moisture then than now.
(2) The
earth was very likely protected to a much greater degree from ultraviolet
rays from the sun from the time of the creation of Adam until the
flood, when the "waters which were above the firmament"
(Genesis 1:7) were unleashed.
(3) The
intake of Carbon 12 from the sun would have been almost nil, accounting
for the errors in assigning vast ages to wood samples from preflood
times through radiocarbon dating.
Questions
about Cain’s wife stem from people reading Genesis 4:17 prior to
reading subsequent chapters. The problem verse says, "And Cain
knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he [Cain]
builded a city, after the name of his son, Enoch." Notice,
however, Genesis 5:1-5, "This is the book of the generations
of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God
made he him;
"Male
and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name
Adam, in the day when they were created.
"And
Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his
own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
"And
the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years:
and he begat sons and daughters:
"And
all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years:
and he died." When Cain was born, the exclamation from the
parents was, simply, "It’s a boy." The Bible says Eve
remarked, "I have gotten a man from the Eternal." The
name: "Cain" means "acquired."
It is remarkable
that after Cain killed his brother Abel, probably at the time when
both men were in their 30s or 40s, the next son born elicited a
far different response from Adam. Now, he had a son "in his
own likeness, after his image."
Notice
that Seth, the third son, was one hundred and five before Enos was
born, and that "Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred
and seven years and begat sons and daughters" (Genesis
5:7).
The simple
answer is that Cain married one of his own sisters. As the
human family expanded, more and more children of both sexes were
born. Each of the patriarchal families may have had fifteen, twenty,
thirty or more children, for they were fertile for literally hundreds
of years. All the possible color variations of the human race were
contained in the body of mother Eve from her creation. God is the
Author of the races of mankind, and no race of people exists which
are "Satan’s seed."
The "Loose Brick" Approach To Scripture
There
are many who believe the Bible is shot through with errors; with
direct contradictions and discrepancies. To many, if they can find
just one passage which seems, on its face contradictory, they believe
they can dismiss the Bible — especially its moral and spiritual
requirements.
One such
alleged discrepancy is found in 2 Samuel 24:9, which says, "And
Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king:
and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that
drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand
men." Yet, as some point out, 1 Chronicles 21:5 says, "And
Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all
they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand
men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten
thousand men that drew sword." But this is a discrepancy of
270,000 men!
Or is
it? Samuel says the "valiant" men numbered 800,000! But
1 Chronicles says that ALL of Israel’s army numbered 1,100,000 "men."
The simple answer is that there is a difference in soldiers, even
as in any army today. "Crack troops" such as Rangers,
Special Forces, or Navy "Seals" are reckoned as tougher,
better trained and more battle-ready than average soldiers.
So it was
in ancient Israel. The "valiant men that drew the sword"
numbered 800,000, while there were 300,000 other men, who, while
part of the army, were not "elite troops."
There is
an alleged discrepancy between the numbers of the "Men of Judah"
(Samuel says 500,000 men, while Chronicles says 470,000 men "that
drew sword." But any army has a large number of noncombatants,
such as porters, cooks, clerks, medics, and even members of the
band! The simple answer is that there were 30,000 men who were noncombatants,
OR that, while they are not included as men who "drew sword"
and were expert swordsmen, they may have been spearmen, or bowmen.
Some point
out that Matthew made a mistake when he wrote, "And they took
counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers
in.
"Wherefore
that field was called, the field of blood, unto this day.
"Then
was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that
was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
"And
gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me"
(Matthew 27:7-10).
But, say
the detractors, Zechariah said, "And I said unto them, If ye
think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed
for my price thirty pieces of silver.
"And
the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that
I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver,
and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD" (Zechariah
11:12, 13). The problem is solved when it is realized that some
of the earliest and best manuscripts do not include the name "Jeremy"
at all, but merely say "spoken by the prophet." In any
event, it is immaterial, for the account in Matthew says it was
"spoken" by the prophet, not written.
Now, what
about Paul’s alleged "mistake" when he said, "Neither
let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in
one day three and twenty thousand" (1 Corinthians 10:8). But,
critics point out, Numbers 25:9 says, "And those that died
in the plague were twenty and four thousand." But the plague
lasted for some time! Paul says all but one thousand of the victims
fell in one day. There is no contradiction, therefore. The
total number of deaths was 24,000, but 23,000 died in the same day!
Did Peter
make a mistake about the horrible end of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed
Christ? He said, "Now this man purchased a field with the reward
of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst,
and all his bowels gushed out.
"And
it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that
field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say,
the field of blood" (Acts 1:18,19).
But they
say Matthew wrote, "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when
he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again
the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
"Saying,
I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they
said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
"And
he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and
went and hanged himself" Matthew 27:3-5).
So which
was it? Did Judas hang himself, or did he fall headlong, and all
his bowels gush out? The answer is BOTH occurred. No headlong fall
causes a human’s bowels to "gush out."
But when
a corpse has hung for a long time, the body bloats to unimaginable
proportions, as putrefaction sets in. Ultimately, the rope broke,
and Judas’ body did indeed fall headlong, and his bowels gushed
out! There is no contradiction here.
But what
about the story of "Jonah in the whale’s belly"? How could
ANY fish actually swallow a man? And, once the man was swallowed,
how could he breathe? Many doubt the account of Jonah.
Jonah wrote,
"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish [note
this well!] to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the
fish three days and three nights.
"Then
Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly [Jonah
no doubt prayed IMMEDIATELY. There is no need to assume he waited
for hours, or days, to cry out to God, for such is unthinkable,
and illogical],
"And
said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he
heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my
voice.
"For
thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and
the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed
over me.
"Then
I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward
thy holy temple.
"The
waters compassed me about, even to the soul [Hebrew: Nephesh,
meaning life]: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped
about my head.
"I
went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars
was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption,
O LORD my God.
"When
my soul [life] fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer
came in unto thee,
"They
that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
"But
I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will
pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
"And
the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the
dry land.
"And
the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
"Arise,
go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching
that I bid thee" (Jonah 1:17; 2:1-10; 3:1, 2).
Most so-called
modern "critics" are virtually unanimous in their dismissal
of the book of Jonah as a "combination of allegory and myth."
Yet, Jesus Christ Himself said, "For as Jonas was three days
and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
"The
men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and
shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas;
and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
"The
queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation,
and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than
Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:40-42). Thus, Jesus Christ places
the historical fact of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon’s
capital alongside the book of Jonah. Did Jesus Christ believe in
myths? No, He was the One of Divine Elohim who had PREPARED the
great fish; the One who very likely resurrected Jonah, and who commanded
him to preach to Nineveh!
The Century
Bible says: "...apart from the fact that the Lord referred
to the Queen of Sheba in the very next sentence, and thus places
Jonah on the same level of ‘literal validity,’ the question [of
Jonah’s authenticity] is placed beyond all controversy by the further
fact that seven times in John’s Gospel the Lord declared that every
one of His words that He uttered was given Him to speak by the Father.
Those who strike at these words of Christ are striking at God Himself,
and are making the whole of divine revelation of none effect. All
the puerile and fanciful assumptions used for arguments are swept
away with one stroke, and are overwhelmed by this decisive and conclusive
fact."
The simple
facts are these: There is no proof that Jonah remained alive
for three days and three nights! There are other instances of resurrections
from the dead in the Old Testament. Further, Jonah is a type of
Christ’s DEATH AND BURIAL, not a type intended to imply that Christ
remained alive in the tomb! The type is more thorough, and is complete,
if Jonah actually died, and was revived when vomited up.
Notice
his soulful prayer! These may well be the words of a man who knew
he was about to die! It is a prayer of repentance; of chagrin; of
self-abasement; of the observation that they which "observe
lying vanities forsake their own mercy."
When Jonah
cried out "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the
earth with her bars was about me forever," he was probably
referring to the fact that the sailors had BOUND Jonah, very probably
with iron chains or bars! There is no evidence that he was not bound.
In any
event, the entire matter is resolved when one accepts the fact that
God Almighty, who has ALL POWER, plainly said He had "prepared"
a great fish (the type is irrelevant, though it may have been a
gigantic grouper which weighed several hundred pounds) to swallow
Jonah.
One need
not argue about the size of the throat of a whale, or how Jonah
breathed, with these facts in mind.
The Bible
was never intended to be a book about science. Instead, it is the
handbook from the Creator of man to tell us what we are,
why we are here, and what is our fabulous human potential! As one
once said, "A home without a Bible is a ship without a compass."
Did Angels Marry Women Before the Flood?
Those who
espouse the "Satan’s seed" doctrine, alleging that the
Devil himself had sexual relations with Eve, are motivated by deep-seated
racist prejudices. There is no scriptural basis for angelic beings
having intercourse with humans.
Jesus Christ
is the final arbiter. When confronted with a trick question concerning
marriage in the kingdom, He told the Pharisees "Ye do err,
not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
"For
in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given
in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven"
(Matthew 22:29, 30). Satan is a fallen archangel. Christ said, "I
beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18). This
not only reaffirms Christ’s pre-human existence as the Logos
of the Divine Family Elohim, or Theos (God), but also
confirms that Satan was once a "Cherubim that covereth"
(Ezekiel 28:14); an archangel next to the throne of God.
The false
belief that angels cohabited with women stems from a misunderstanding
of Genesis 6:1-4 which says, "And it came to pass, when men
began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born
unto them,
v"That the sons of God saw the daughters of
men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they
chose.
"And
the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that
he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
"There
were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when
the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare
children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old,
men of renown." The assumption is that "sons of God"
can only mean angels. But Adam himself is called "the son of
God" (Luke 3:39). The obvious inference from the emphasis on
men taking wives of "all which THEY chose," shows men
were departing from God’s direction, and from their patriarchal
parent’s direction. Men began to incorporate references to God in
their names at this time. Names such as Enoch (the "E"
from "El"ohim),
Jared (the
"JA" from JAH, or YAH), and, later "Elijah"
(meaning, God, He is God), and "Daniel," (meaning, God
will judge), illustrate this point. Modern names like "Godwin,
Goodson, Godoy and Goodpastor show how the same tradition is carried
on.
A common
error is in assuming these illicit (ill advised) marriages were
the CAUSE of gigantism! Not so! Notice that the scripture says "And
there were giants in the earth in those days, and also AFTER that..."
So the giants were NOT the result of illicit marriages at all, but
came BEFORE the improper marriages.
The giants
were men of huge stature, and are found in the fossil record in
the form of the Neanderthal skeletons discovered in many parts of
Europe; huge, massive bones which indicated human beings of 7, 8,
9 and more feet tall, or men with very thick, wide torsos, very
large feet and hands, who must have been extremely well-muscled,
and powerful.
Even during
David’s time the Bible speaks of giants such as Goliath, who may
have measured 10 feet tall, and who carried armor weighing 180 pounds,
as well as a spear whose head alone weighed 21 pounds. Goliath had
several children who are mentioned in 2 Samuel 21, who were later
slain by Abashai and Elhanan. Goliath’s brother had a "spear
which was like the staff of a weaver’s beam," and one of his
sons "was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six
fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number"
(2 Samuel 21:20).
It was
AFTER the occurrence of gigantism that the illicit marriages were
said to have taken place! Angels do not produce semen. The reproductive
organs of humankind are passed down from generation to generation,
having commenced with Adam and Eve. Christ plainly said angels neither
marry, nor are given in marriage.
When in
college, I did extensive research into the skeletons of Neanderthal
and Cro-Magnon man. Many skulls showed plain evidence of having
been opened by chisel-type instruments; having obvious tool marks
around the hole in the skull. Had the hole in the skull been caused
by a dull instrument, such as a stone axe or bludgeon, it would
have been broken and splintered, and crushed inward. But the skulls
I saw pictured were intact except for a fairly neat, round hole.
This presented proof of cannibalism, where severed heads were thrown
into a fire, and a hole cut into the skull to access the cooked
brain inside. Many such skulls, along with other large bones of
the human body, were found in the remains of ancient fire circles.
Immediately
following the statements concerning illicit marriages and gigantism,
God said, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually.
"And
it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved
him at his heart.
"And
the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing,
and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them"
(Genesis 6:5-8). This was not merely "sin" in some abstract
form, such as being "alienated from God." This was wickedness
and evil on such a scale that it caused God to decide to utterly
obliterate the entire human race!
"But
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Eternal" (Genesis 6:8).
It was only ONE MAN who had remained righteous before God; only
ONE MAN who had carried on the traditions of God’s righteous patriarchs!
Later,
God said, "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth
was filled with violence.
"And
God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all
flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
"And
God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for
the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will
destroy them with the earth" (Genesis 6:11-13.
Noah’s Ark And The Flood — Fact Or Fiction?
Some of
the most disdainful of modern-day scoffers leap on the dimensions
of the ark, and then bring up many (to them) insurmountable difficulties
in an attempt to prove there never was an ark, and never was a universal
deluge.
Strangely,
thousands of theologians, willing to compromise with misled evolutionary
geologists, debunk the Bible account of a universal flood, and insist
it was merely local. Was it only a local flood, which "grew
with the telling" until a "myth" of a great global
flood occurred?
Interestingly
enough, there is a UNIVERSAL FLOOD TRADITION among dozens of primitive
societies. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia lists
many of them.
In pagan
Babylonian tradition, an ancient king named "Xisuthros,"
warned of "one of the gods" of an impending disastrous
flood, built a ship, took into it his friends and relatives and
all different kinds of animals. The ship was eventually stranded
in Armenia, where, upon subsidence of the water, he sent out birds.
The third time, they failed to return, whereupon he emerged, built
an altar, and sacrificed.
In Greek
tradition, a hero named Deucalion was "warned by the gods"
that a great flood was coming on the earth due to man’s wickedness.
He built an ark, which rested on Mt. Parnassus, and twice sent out
a dove.
The Hindus
claim that Manu, being warned, built a ship and survived a global
flood which destroyed all other creatures.
The ancient
Chinese claimed "Fa-He" who to them was the founder of
Chinese civilization, survived a flood sent from heaven in punishment
for man’s rebellion, and that he escaped with three sons and three
daughters.
The islanders
of Polynesia have a tradition of a flood in which eight people were
saved alive.
vVarious of the American Indian tribes had a flood
tradition in which eight, or three persons were saved in a boat
above the waters on a high mountain.
The ancient
Druids of Ireland, Scotland and England believed in a destruction
of all mankind for its wickedness in which a righteous patriarch
escaped and repopulated the earth.
In Mexico,
there is a flood tradition in which one man, his wife and children,
were saved when a flood overwhelmed the earth. The Peruvians’ tradition
said that one man and one woman were saved in a box that floated
upon flood waters. Thus, every part of the human race, in all parts
of the earth, maintain an ancient flood tradition. Greeks, Druids,
Peruvians, Fiji Islanders, Eskimos, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese;
every color of the basic human racial strains possess an ancient
flood tradition.
How? Why?
When God scattered the races following the attempt to build the
tower of Babel, the three main divisions of human kind began overflowing
the earth in different directions. Ham and hundreds of thousands
of his progeny drifted southward and southeastward; Japheth drifted
eastward, and Shem drifted into the Mediterranean and northwestwards.
Today, the "yellow races" are essentially in Asia, and
Japan. The black races are basically found in Africa and India,
as well as the central and South Pacific Islands. The so-called
"white" races (Caucasians, so called), are found in Europe
and the west.
The further
these early families, clans, tribes and nations migrated away from
original centers of population and knowledge, the more they lost
the original truths their forebears had understood. Thus, in the
thousands of years following the flood, as the human family repopulated
the world, various garbled versions of an original truth which had
been handed down from Shem, Ham and Japheth survived in the form
of seemingly mythological tradition.
The closer
to the original seat of knowledge, the more precise the tradition.
For example, in the ruins of ancient Nineveh was found an epic impressed
in stone. Obviously, polytheism and myth had colored the tradition
by the fifth dynasty after the flood. In brief, the epic said, "The
assembly of the gods decided to send a deluge. They said, ‘On the
sinner let his sin rest,’ O Shuruppak, build a ship, save your life.
Construct it with six stories, each with seven parts. Smear it with
bitumen, inside and outside. Launch it upon the ocean. Take into
the ship seed of life of every kind. I built it. With all that I
had I loaded it, with silver, gold, and all living things that I
had. I embarked upon the ship with my family and kindred. I closed
the door. The appointed time arrived. I observed the appearance
of the day. It was terrible. All light was turned to darkness. The
rains poured down. The storm raged, like a battle charge on mankind.
The boat trembled. The gods wept. I looked out upon the sea. All
mankind was turned to clay, like logs floating about. The tempest
ceased. The flood was over. The ship grounded on Mt. Zazir. On the
seventh day I sent out a dove. It returned. I sent out a swallow.
It returned. I sent out a raven, it alighted. It waded about; it
croaked; it did not return. I disembarked. I appointed a sacrifice.
The gods smelled the sweet savor. They said, ‘Let it be done no
more.’"
As recently
as 1929, Dr. C. L. Woolley, conducting a joint expedition on behalf
of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania, found,
at Ur, the site of Abraham’s early life, beneath layers of relics
of human habitation, a thick bed of solid water-laid clay. It was
a full eight feet thick, and contained no fossils to indicate human
habitation. Yet, beneath it was the ruins of another city! Woolley
deduced that no ordinary overflow of a river could have piled up
sediment to such a depth, but that he had found evidence of a flood
such as that detailed in Genesis. Woolley wrote of his experiences
in his book, Ur of the Chaldees.
Was there
really a worldwide flood? The Bible says yes! Notice, "And,
behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to
destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven;
and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
"But
with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into
the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with
thee.
"And
of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou
bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be
male and female.
"Of
fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every
creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall
come unto thee, to keep them alive.
"And
take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather
it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
"Thus
did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he"
(Genesis 6:17-22).
Noah, together
with his sons and no doubt many hired laborers, began construction
of an ark. For a long one hundred and twenty years, Noah continually
preached against the extreme wickedness and sin all around him;
proclaimed that a great flood would come in retribution!
Noah, A Preacher Of Righteousness
Noah
was prophesied to do what he did. Notice what was said of him by
his father, Lamech. It is contained in the lengthy genealogy of
Genesis 5, the "Book of the Generations of Adam:" "And
Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
"And
Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and
two years, and begat sons and daughters:
"And
all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years:
and he died.
"And
Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
"And
he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning
our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which
the LORD hath cursed.
"And
Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years,
and begat sons and daughters:
"And
all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years:
and he died.
"And
Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth"
(Genesis 5:25-32).
What was
the "WORK" to which Lamech referred? Was there a work
of God being performed among sinning mankind even prior to the
flood? Jude, the brother of Jesus Christ, wrote a brief letter which
was accepted as canonical, along with Paul’s epistles, as the New
Testament was forming in the centuries following Christ’s resurrection.
He wrote, "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam [take
careful note!], prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
"To
execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken
against him" (Jude 14, 15). This is nothing less than the proclaiming
of the good news of Christ’s coming world-ruling kingdom! This was
not merely the promise of a Messiah, but a prediction of His SECOND
coming; His invasion of earth to conquer the Beast, and establish
His world-ruling kingdom (Revelation 19:11-21).
Was Enoch,
one of the ancient patriarchs, the seventh first-born son from Adam?
Note: Adam
had Cain, then Abel, who was slain, then Seth. But the genealogical
table in Genesis 5 says, "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty
years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and
called his name Seth:
"And
the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years:
and he begat sons and daughters:
"And
all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years:
and he died.
"And
Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos" (Genesis
5:3-6).
So it was
SETH, and neither Cain nor Abel, who was reckoned as Adam’s successor
in the biblical genealogical tables! Then the genealogy does NOT
deal with the first born son, but with some other criterion.
The truth
is found in Lamech’s prophecy about Noah, above. Noah would comfort
"us," meaning the patriarchs who were previously named,
"concerning our [their] WORK..." Since the "toil
of their hands" is mentioned later, and since such a statement
could hardly refer to the saving of homes or crops, since all was
destroyed by the flood, it is obvious, both from Enoch’s prophecy
and Jude’s repeating of it, that a WORK of PREACHING THE GOSPEL
of a coming Kingdom of God on this earth was being carried on PRIOR
TO THE FLOOD!
Notice
what happened to Enoch! "And Jared lived an hundred sixty and
two years, and he begat Enoch:
"And
Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat
sons and daughters:
"And
all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and
he died.
"And
Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
"And
Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred
years, and begat sons and daughters:
"And
all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
"And
Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him"
(Genesis 5:18-24).
Twice,
it is emphasized that "Enoch walked with God." This could
have been both literal and figurative, for the "Spokesman"
of Divine Elohim (meaning more than one; see John 1 and Hebrews
1) walked and talked with Adam, and much later with Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. There could have been manifestations of the deity, either
through an archangel, or by appearances in human form, any number
of times prior to the flood.
Where did
Enoch go, and why? Where did God "take" him? Paul wrote,
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
death; and was not found, because God had translated him:
for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased
God" (Hebrews 11:5).
Enoch was
taken away to a place of protection; concealed by God, because there
was a plot to kill him!
For
a thorough study of the question: "Are Enoch and Elijah in
Heaven?" please request for a free copy. Briefly,
Enoch was not found because people were looking for him,
no doubt with intent to do murder! Enoch was a "preacher of
righteousness," as was Noah. Enoch wrote a book which is referred
to in scripture.
Later,
Lamech was to speak of "our work" and that Noah would
"comfort" them concerning that work.
Jesus Christ
said Enoch was NOT taken to "heaven"! Notice, "And
no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,
even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13). David,
though prophesied to be in the first resurrection, and to sit upon
his throne over all twelve tribes of Israel (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel
34:23, 24), is not in heaven. Peter, speaking under inspira-tion
of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, said, "Men and brethren, let
me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both
dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day...For
David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
"Until
I make thy foes thy footstool" (Acts 2:29-35). The word "translated"
means the same thing as transmitted, or trans-located. Notice that
Enoch is included in Paul’s statement "These all died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth"
(Hebrews 11:13). Therefore, Enoch eventually DIED, just like all
the other patriarchs. He is not in heaven!
Noah was
not the seventh from Adam genealogically, but was
the seventh faithful patriarch, for there was only ONE man
in each generation who remained faithful to God, and who carried
on the "work" of proclaiming the coming retribution for
sin, and the possibility of salvation.
Noah was
one of the most unsuccessful preachers of all time! For one hundred
and twenty long years, he proclaimed the penalties for sin, and
the rewards of righteousness. Yet, in all that time, Noah did
not have a single convert! Not even his wife, or his sons, truly
believed his preaching.
Not only
was Noah a "preacher of righteousness," he was a builder
who was backing up his work of witness and warning by building an
ark which would insure his, and his families’ survival.
Note that
it was SETH, and not Cain nor Abel, who is reckoned as Adam’s successor.
Look at Genesis 5 again. Cain was the firstborn, hence:
| Cain |
1st from Adam |
| Abel |
2nd
from Adam |
| Seth |
3rd from Adam |
| Enos |
4th
from Adam |
| Cainan |
5th from Adam |
| Mahalaleel |
6th
from Adam |
| Jared |
7th from Adam |
| Enoch |
8th
from Adam |
| Methusaleh |
9th from Adam |
| Lamech |
10th
from Adam |
| Noah |
11th from Adam |
Therefore,
as you read through the "Book of the Generations of Adam"
in Genesis five, you are not being given the names of the firstborn,
but the names of the righteous successors to each patriarch
who continued the "work" being done in that wicked pre-flood
generation.
Was The Flood Merely "Local" In Nature?
Peter said
scoffers would deny that there had been a global deluge. There are
such scoffers, just as Peter predicted. That includes many who stand
in pulpits, claiming to be the ministers of Christ, who do not believe
the Bible is inspired, and who claim the flood was only "local."
But the
Bible says the flood would cover the whole earth, and that
all of the high mountains were covered: "And the flood was
forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up
the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
"And
the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth;
and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
"And
the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all
the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
"Fifteen
cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
"And
all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle,
and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth, and every man:
"All
in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the
dry land, died" (Genesis 7:17-22). The "fifteen cubits
upward" implied that the tops of the highest mountains were
covered by that depth.
It is important
to realize that the mountains in the pre-flood period might not
have been anywhere near so high as they are today. The flood was
not only accomplished by waters from the heavens, but by the gradual
subsidence of the land masses, allowing flood waters to cover the
land from the oceans. The continents may not have been in their
present location prior to the flood. The tectonic plates which form
the uppermost part of the earth’s crust may have moved considerable
distances as the flood waters covered the earth.
Remember,
the flood came on over a period of 150 days! While it rained for
40 days, the water "prevailed" for a much longer time.
There was a period of mountain building due to tectonic plate shifts,
intrusion of subterranean magma (just as continually occurs around
the Hawaiian Islands and Iceland, as well as other areas of the
earth, today) occurred both during and after the flood.
The gravitational
pull of the moon was not suspended during the rising of the waters,
nor during their subsidence, which required many, many years. The
present topography of the earth proves there were vast inland basins
which contained huge amounts of water. The present "Great Salt
Lake" is but a tiny saline puddle at the bottom of what was
once "Lake Bonneville," that once covered much of Utah.
Actual
strand lines (ancient shore lines) prove that Lake Bonneville was
once 1,000 feet higher than the shore line of the present lake.
The same
thing is true of the ancient "Lake Lahontan," which covered
some 8,400 square miles of Nevada and the surrounding area.
I have
written before of how I have stood on rocky precipices high in the
western Colorado Rockies with millions of little fossil snails and
other seabed shells beneath my boots at the nine to 11,000 foot
level. The highest mountains on earth contain fossils which were
once dwellers in shallow seabeds!
During
the incursion of the waters and their subsidence, huge basins, river
courses, bays, estuaries, valleys and canyons were scoured out.
Massive "islands" of floating vegetation, consisting of
thousands of uprooted trees, shrubs, fronts, ferns, grasses and
the like were deposited on the shores which began to appear as imagination-defying
tidal bores swept across the rising continents.
As turgid
tides, bearing billions of tons of mud and sand swept over them,
they were buried deep beneath. In Pennsylvania, one finds thick
beds of coal, then a bed of shale or sandstone, then another coal
bed, then another bed of rock, then another coal bed, and so-on,
like so many pages of a book, stacked conformably atop one another.
This "cross bedding" or "inter-bedding" of sedimentary
strata is a fact of geology. It would have required a floating "raft"
of vegetation about forty feet thick to be compressed into a one-foot
thick seam of anthracite coal.
As all
know, coal is nothing more than ancient plant life, compressed by
the weight of the succeeding rock layers. Many coal deposits contain
perfectly preserved imprints of ancient kinds of foliage; palms
and ferns unknown today.
That the
entire face of the globe displays massive and imagination-defying
mountain building, faulting, upthrusts, synclines, geo-synclines,
hogbacks, huge canyons (such as the Grand Canyon of Arizona), inland
seas and lakes (such as the Caspian sea, and the Great Lakes of
the U.S.), granitic upthrusts (such as McKinley in Alaska and Whitney
in California) and volcanic intrusions (such as "Aconcagua"
in the Andes) is well known to geologists.
The rocks
of the earth; from the Aleutians to Tierra del Fuego; from the Atlas
Mountains to the Andes; and from the Himalayas to the Alps, show
massive catastrophes of the past. The rocks cry out "a
huge FLOOD did this!"
The "White
Cliffs of Dover" of England (and of World War II fame from
the song) consist of huge cliffs of solid seashells. Such a massive
deposit could not have been accomplished over a vast period of time,
for the action of tides and waves gradually tumbles, breaks, polishes,
and eventually disintegrates the shells, turning them into sand.
The huge cliffs represent a massive deposit which was accomplished
in a very short period of time.
Any serious
student of the Bible who has sincere questions about the flood should
obtain a copy of The Genesis Flood by John C. Whitcomb, Jr.,
and Henry M. Morris. It is published by Baker Book House, Grand
Rapids, Michigan. I recently found that it is available from "Amazon.com"
on the Internet.
Any doubting
scoffer will be turned into a humble BELIEVER by reading carefully
this collegiate-grade book of 518 pages which answers ALL the various
objections and difficulties concerning Noah’s ark and the flood.
Also completely
demolished is the "local" flood theory.
First,
why a "local" flood when all the sinning men and women
had to do wa |