Preached by Andrew Smellie, 6/8/2008

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From left: The Pullens and Debra Anderson will be joining the Smellies (far right) to plant the Washington DC International Christian Church

The Holy Bible: Examine the Evidence - Outline

Questions to Cover
- What is the Bible?
- How did it come together? The Canon
- Evidence for why the Bible is reliable
- How do we need to live as a result?

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
Psalm 19:7-8

The Holy Bible
- The Bible has great diversity.
- Yet the Bible has amazing unity.
- This is best accounted for by Deity (one Mind behind it all).

Amazing Unity
- Written over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to 100 A.D. ), I.e. Over 40 generations
- Over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. - kings, shepherds, a doctor, fishermen, statesmen, scholars)
- In different places (e.g. - wilderness, dungeon, palaces)
- At different times (e.g. - war, peace)
- On three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)
- In three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
- The Kingdom of God (Isaiah 2:1-5; Daniel 2; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 2:1-41)
- Messianic Prophecies (Isa 7:14/Matt 1:22-23 (a virgin birth); Psalm 22:16-18 / Matthew 27:35 (Casting lots at crucifixion); Isaiah 53:7-9 / Matthew 27:57-60 (Burial in a rich man’s tomb)
- Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Matthew 27:46; Galatians 5:19-21)
- One theme - Salvation (2 Timothy 3:15)
- One person - Christ (Luke 24:27)
- With one goal - to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Facts about the Bible
- The OT was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic.
- The NT was originally written in Greek
- The first translation of the Bible to English was in 1382 A.D., led by John Wycliffe, and was first printed in 1454 A.D. by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the “type mold” for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed.

The Canon of the Bible
- The term “canon” is derived from the Hebrew word “qaneh” and the Greek word “kanon” which means a reed used as a measuring stick. A canon refers to the body of writings which have been officially “measured” according to a special standard, and recognized as authoritative, i.e. divinely inspired, by a church or a religious community.

The OT Canon
- Protestant translations of the Bible contain 39 books in the OT
- Five books of the Law (also called the Pentateuch): Genesis to Deuteronomy
- Twelve books of History: Joshua – Esther
- Five books of Poetry: Job – Song of Songs
- Five Major Prophets: Isaiah – Daniel
- Twelve Minor prophets: Hosea - Malachi
- Our OT comes from the canon of the Hebrew Bible.
- The Hebrews divided the OT into just three parts: the Law, Prophets, and the Writings.
- They divided the Scriptures up into 24 books.
- Their order and numbering is different from our OT, which explains their 24 books vs. our 39. (Ex: Ezra-Nehemiah, The Book of the Twelve)
- The Law is exactly like our section: Genesis - Deuteronomy
- The Prophets contained Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and the Book of the Twelve Prophets
- Eight books in all.
- We divide Samuel and Kings into two parts.
- In addition we divide the Book of Twelve Prophets into 12 separate parts.
- The Writings included Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and the Chronicles
- This canon had been formed by the time of Christ
- Jewish scholars (Josephus and others) confirm this was done around 300 BC.
- Jesus alludes to (approves) it in Luke 24:44, Matthew 5:17

Jesus’ Own Words
“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.” (Luke 24:44)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)

NT Canon
- Origen of Alexandria (early Christian scholar, c. 185-254) listed 27 canonical books of the NT, showing that as early as the mid-third century that there was an accepted list of inspired NT books.
- Athanasius (theologian & leader of church in Egypt, c. 296-373) confirmed the 27 books of the canon in 367 AD and said, “These are the fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied…In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take from these.”
- The NT contains 27 books that are divided into 5 subcategories.
- Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
- History: Acts
- Doctrine: Hebrews – Jude
- Prophecy: Revelation
- We can look to some of the earliest translators for evidence of an accepted NT canon.
- Example: The Coptic (Egyptian) version of the NT (existing in two dialects for Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt) included all 27 books of the NT.
- Other early version (Old Syriac and Old Latin) mostly agreed.
- Councils of the Catholic Church which (unfortunately) added the Apocrypha into the OT canon, nevertheless listed only 27 books in the NT canon. As a result we can trace the canon’s acceptance.
- Council of Hippo (AD. 393)
- Third Council of Carthage (AD. 397)
- Sixth Council of Carthage (AD 419)
- However, though these early scholars and councils attest to the acceptance of the NT canon, they did not establish the canon! This was done by NT writers who were inspired by God. (2 Peter 1:20-21) – internal canonization!
- The majority of NT books were canonized internally.
- 2 Peter 3:15-16 – Peter authenticates Paul
- Ephesians 2:19-20 – Paul authenticates the writings of Matthew, John, Peter.
- 1 Timothy 5:18 – Paul quotes Luke 10:7 and Deuteronomy 25:4, citing both as Scripture
- You might ask, “How did they determine these books were inspired and belonged in the canon?”
Answer: They asked critical questions!
- Did the apostles consider it to be inspired?
- Did the early church accept it as inspired? (I.e. was it passed from church to church, copied, translated? Colossians 4:16)
- Are there internal claims of inspiration? (1 Corinthians 2:4,10)
- Does it match the style of the writer’s other works?
- Based upon this, certain books were accepted and others were rejected. By AD 180, 20 of the 27 were clearly accepted. By the mid-third century, the canon was complete.
- If you have questions about why the Apocrypha was excluded, check out some of its historical errors! (Judith 1 – Nebuchadnezzar being king of the Assyrians instead of the Babylonians)

Church Father Quotes
- Ignatius d. AD 115 Quotes from Matthew, John and Luke.
- Polycarp, writing to the Philippians in AD 120 quotes from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, 1,2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1,2 Thessalonians, 1,2 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 Peter, and 1,3 John
- Clement of Rome AD 95 or 96 quotes from ten of the twenty-seven New Testament books.
- Nearly the entire New Testament can be reconstructed from quotes of the church fathers in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
- None of these ever quoted from a Gnostic gospel, ever!

Summary
- The New Testament canon was selected by consensus of the church in the second century as those books with apostolic authority.
- The evidence is conclusive that the Greek New Testament we have is virtually identical to the original writings of the inspired writers.

The Bible Is RELIABLE
- Medical Evidence
- Scientific Evidence
- Archeological Evidence
- Prophetic Evidence
- Manuscript Evidence

Proves that ancient Israel was “ahead” of its time because of God’s Law
Proves that God’s knowledge of science was ahead of Man’s
Proves that the Bible is superbly documented
Proves the historical truth of the Bible

Egyptian Medical “Experts”

The most advances culture of Moses’ time!

Papyrus Ebers – 1552 BC
- Egyptian Prescriptions from The Ebers Papyrus:
- “To cure pinkeye apply the urine of a faithful wife.”
- To embedded splinters they applied worms’ blood and donkey’s dung.
- To prevent hair from turning gray, anoint it with the blood of a black calf which has been boiled in oil, or with the fat of a rattlesnake.”

Drugs of Choice included (Check this out…):
- Lizards blood
- Swine’s teeth
- Putrid meat
- Moisture from Pigs’ ears
- Excreta from animals including: human beings, donkeys, antelope, dogs, cats and flies

Medical Evidence: The First Antiseptic!

“Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days. He must purify himself with the water on the third and seventh day…take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and furnishings and the people who were there.”
Numbers 19:11-12,18

Hyssop has been shown to contain 50% antibacterial and anti-fungal agents!

Thymol (Oil of Hyssop)
- Thymol is a disinfectant!

Ignaz Semelweiss: Hungarian physician
“Savior of mothers”

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (July 1, 1818 - August 13, 1865), was a Hungarian physician called the “savior of mothers” [3] [4] who discovered, by 1847,[3] that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by use of hand washing standards in obstetrical clinics.[3] Puerperal fever (or childbed fever) was common in mid-19th-century hospitals and often fatal, with mortality at 10%-35%. [5]

Vienna, 1847: In maternity wards one out of every six women dies.
Obstetricians ascribe deaths to constipation, fear and poisonous air.

While working at the Vienna General Hospital in Austria, Semmelweis discovered in 1847 that hand washing with chlorinated lime solutions reduced the incidence of fatal puerperal fever from about 10 percent (range 5-30 percent) to about 1-2 percent. At the time, diseases were attributed to many different and unrelated causes. Each case was considered unique, just like a human person is unique. Semmelweis’ hypothesis, that there was only one cause, that all that mattered was cleanliness, was extreme at the time, and was largely ignored, rejected or ridiculed. He was dismissed from his hospital and had difficulty finding employment as a medical doctor.
Semmelweis was outraged by the indifference of the medical profession and began writing open and increasingly angry letters to prominent European obstetricians, at times denouncing them as irresponsible murderers. His contemporaries, including his wife, believed he was losing his mind and he was in 1865 committed to an asylum (mental institution). Semmelweis died there only 14 days later, possibly after being severely beaten by guards.
Semmelweis’ practice only earned widespread acceptance years after his death, when Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory of disease which offered a theoretical explanation for Semmelweis’ findings. Semmelweis is considered the father of antiseptic procedures.
- Death Rate falls from 18% to 1%

Medical Evidence: Circumcision and Blood Clotting!

“For the generations to come, every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised…” - Genesis 17:12

Medical researchers recently discovered that Vitamin K & Prothrombrin (a clotting protein), reach their highest level in life, about 110% of normal on the 8th day after birth! These blood clotting agents facilitate rapid healing and greatly reduce the chance of infection!

For centuries scholars must have been perplexed by God’s law of circumcision which required the procedure to be performed on the 8th day after birth (Gen 17:12, Gen 21:14, Lev 12:3, Luke 2:21). Medical researchers recently discovered that the two main blood clotting factors, Vitamin K and Prothrombim, reach their highest level in life, about 110% of normal, on the 8th day after birth. These blood clotting agents facilitate rapid healing and greatly reduce the chance of infection. You can verify with any Obstetrician that the 8th day of life is the ideal time for a circumcision, and that any circumcision done earlier requires an injection of Vitamin K supplement.

Clotting Protein Peaks on Day Eight

The Medical Evidence Abounds
- Sanitary practices: burying waste outside the camp (Leviticus 11, 15; Deuteronomy 23:12)
- Dealing with Bacteria (Leviticus 13:52)
- Laws of Quarantine (Leviticus 13, 14, 22)
- Dietary Guidelines

Scientific Evidence: Astronomy
- Universe had a beginning (Genesis 1:1)
- Universe has expanded (Isaiah 42:5)
- Universe was pre-adapted for human life (Psalm 8:3-4)
- Earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22) – thought as “flat” in the 1400s!
- Earth is hung in space (Job. 26:7)
- “…countless as the stars of the sky” (Jeremiah 33:22)

Scientific Evidence: Physics and Chemistry
- Universe is running down (Psalms 102:26)
- Human body is composed of earth’s elements (Gen. 2:7)
- Water returns to its source (Ecclesiastes 1:7)
- Water cycle of evaporation and condensation (Job 36:27-28 (1500BC), Isaiah 55:10 (750 BC) – Not scientifically determined until the 1800’s!

The Scientific Evidence Abounds
- The precise dimensions for Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6:15) are the exact dimensions of any major sea going vessel today!
- Ocean currents (Job 38:16) – scientists have only recently discovered springs of water in the depths of the oceans!

Archeological Evidence
- Ruins of Hattusha, capital of the Hittites
- In the 19th century, the Bible was accused off being fictitious because no non-Biblical texts have been written about
the Hittites. The Bible stated that it was a major power in Palestine about 1800 BC with many cities. Mentioned 47 Times
In 1906, Hugo Winkler digs at Hattusha proved that it was the capital city of the Hittites, silencing the
skeptical scholars and archaeologists.

The Lion Gate in Hattusha was found.

Papyrus Ipuwer
- About 1500 BC mentions many details which parallel the biblical plagues
2:2 The river is blood = The river was turned to blood —Exodus 7:20
2:6 Blood is everywhere = Blood is throughout all the land of Egypt — Exodus 7:21
4:14 Trees are destroyed = And the hail… broke every tree in the field — Exodus 9:25
9:11 The land is not light = And Moses stretched forth his hand… and there was a thick darkness — Exodus 10:22
2:13 He who places his brother in the ground is everywhere = For there was not a house where there was not someone dead — Exodus 12:30

Archeological Evidence
The Moabite Stone or Mesha Stele 870 BC (the Louvre)
1 Kings 16:28
- The Moabite Stone. 870 BC Mentions Ahab “Of the house of Omri.” 1 Kings 16:28

Black Obelisk of Shalmanezer III 840 BC
- In the British Museum from 2 Kings 17:3-6
- First known carving of an individual Israelite.

The Five City League, including Sodom and Gomorrah
- What about Sodom and Gomorrah? Bible: fairly well-watered, large cities
League of 5 cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, Zoar (Genesis 14:2)
Today: SE corner of Dead Sea. Total wasteland.
Archaeologists discovered about 2000 BC Dead Sea twice as large, much wetter.
Guess how many wadis contain ruins of cities? Five!! All destroyed about 2000 BC by fire
Largest city (presumably Sodom) as thick as 7 ft. ashes.
The graveyard considerable distance from the city: Burned from the top down!
- FIVE CITIES LOCATED AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE DEAD SEA REBELLED AGAINST THEIR MESOPOTAMIAN OVERLORDS:
- THESE FIVE CITIES WERE: SODOM, GOMORRAH, ADMAH, ZEBOIIM, AND ZOAR.

The Tel Dan Inscription 820 BC
2 Kings 8:28-29

- Hazael, king of Aram declares: “I killed Jehoram, son of Ahab, King of Israel, and I killed Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of the House of David.” Actually not true. 2 Kings 8:28-29 Joram (not Jehoram) was wounded, but did not die. He was killed by Jehu.
- The Tel Dan Stele is a black basalt stele erected by an Aramaean king in northernmost Israel, containing an Aramaic inscription to commemorate his victory over the ancient Hebrews. Although the name of the author does not seem to appear on the available fragments, it is most likely a king of neighboring Aram Damascus
- The stele was discovered at Tel Dan, previously named Tell el-Qadi, a mound where a city once stood at the northern tip of Israel.
- The inscription has been dated to the 9th or 8th centuries BCE. The 8th-century limit is determined by a destruction layer caused by a well-documented Assyrian conquest in 733/732 BCE. Because that destruction layer was above the layer in which the stele fragments were found, it is clear that it took place after the stele had been erected, then broken into pieces which were later used in a construction project at Tel Dan, presumably by Hebrew builders. It is difficult to discern how long before that Assyrian conquest these earlier events took place.
- Because it mentions both “Israel” and the “House of David”, the Tel Dan Stele is often quoted as supporting evidence for the Bible account.

The Sennacherib Cylinder or Taylor Prism British Museum, London (2 Kings 18) 691 BC
- As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke. I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the countless small villages in their vicinity. I drove out of them 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting and considered [them] booty. Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.

Cyrus Cylinder British Museum 535 BC
Ezra 1:2-4
- Almost identical to Ezra 1:2-4 …I returned to [these] sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been in ruins for a long time, the images which [used] to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I [also] gathered all their [former] inhabitants and returned [to them] their habitations. Furthermore, I resettled upon the command of Marduk the great lord, all the gods of Sumer and Akkad whom Nabonidus has brought into Babylon to the anger of the lord of the gods, unharmed, in their [former] chapels, the places which made them happy. May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask daily Bel and Nebo for long life for me and may they recommend me…to Marduk, my lord, may they say thus: Cyrus, the king who worships you and Cambyses, his son…all of them I settled in a peaceful place.

Pilate Inscription Caesarea AD 30
- Governorship of Pilate: No record, the critics say 1961 Caesarea Maritima The Pilate inscription. Pilate’s title as “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.”

OT Discoveries
- King David’s reign.
- The existence of patriarchs (Abraham, Issac, and Jacob).
- The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
- The Jewish Captivity
- An Assyrian king
- The tunnel into Jerusalem during David’s reign
- The site of Solomon’s temple

NT Discoveries
- Historian Colon J. Hemer says that archaeology has confirmed not dozens, but hundreds of details from the biblical account of the early church including small details which have been corroborated
- The pavement of John 19:13
- The pool of Bethesda
- Jacob’s well
- The ancient cities of Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Capernaum
- The residence of Pilate in Jerusalem

The Text and Canon of the Old Testament
- The Cairo Codex: The former and latter prophets AD 895
- The Leningrad Codex: Oldest Hebrew manuscript of the whole Old Testament AD 1008
- The Masoretes and the Masoretic Text. These guys were fanatics!
- All this changed in 1949 with an Arab child in the hills east of Jerusalem…

The Masoretes AD 500-1000
- Before starting to copy the scrolls or codices, the scribe required by the Masoretes to go through an elaborate ceremony. In order to preserve the integrity of the text, the Masorete scribes counted all the letters in the Old Testament. They kept track of such arcane details as the middle verse of the Pentateuch (Leviticus 8:7). They also found the middle verse of the entire Hebrew Bible (Jeremiah 6:7). They were aware of the middle word of the whole Old Testament, as well as the middle word of each book. They also kept record of the middle letter and verse of each book. Taking it to the extreme, they also counted the number of times each Hebrew letter appeared in each book and counted the number of verses which contained all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. All this was intended to produce exact copies of the Scriptures. All this without word processors.

The Effect of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran)

Manuscript Evidence for the canonical gospels
- The Rylands Fragment
John 18:31-33, 37
AD 125

Codex Sinaiticus (350 AD)
Codex Vaticanus (350 AD)
Alexandrian Codex (350 AD)
Codex Bezae (300 AD)
Chester Beaty Papyrus (200 AD)
John Rylands Papyrus (125 AD)

Textual Evidence for Ancient Manuscripts
- Compared to the Bible, other ancient writings don’t come close to the amount of copies and closeness in dates to the original events.
- View a chart comparing these documents

A quote
- The scholar F.F. Bruce, in The Books and the Parchments sums it up well: “There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.”

Prophetic Evidence
- The Bible is the only book in the world that has precise, specific, predictions that were made hundreds of years in advance and that were literally fulfilled.
- In J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy he lists:
- 1,817 predictions from the Bible
- 1,239 from the Old Testament
- 578 from the New Testament

The Old Testament Has 71 Predictions
About the First Coming of Christ!

- The Succession of Great World Kingdoms (Daniel 2:37-42)
- Cyrus King of Persia (Isaiah 44:28-45:1 ff)
- The return of Israel to the land
- The closing of the Golden Gate (Matthew 21 – Ezekiel 44:2)
- The Destruction of Tyre (Ezekiel 26: 3-14)
- The Bible is the only book in the world that has precise, specific, predictions that were made hundreds of years in advance and that were literally fulfilled.

Conclusions
- The Bible had been led by the Holy Spirit in its canon development and through the amazing unity of its formation
- The Bible is reliable:
- Because of its incredible breakthroughs in medical science
- Because of its scientific evidence in several areas
- Because of the amazing archeological finds that confirm its history of the ancient world
- Because of the hundreds of prophecies that have been fulfilled from the OT to the NT
- Because of the manuscript evidence that far surpasses any other literary text
- As a result, God commands us to use it and defend it!

If The Bible is the Word of God We Need to Put it Into Practice
- John 12:47-50 The Word will be our judge
- James 1:22-25 Put it into practice
- John 7:17 It works.
- 2 Timothy 4:1-5 No sentimentality. Eternal life is at stake.

Categories: Apologetics, Sermons