God and The Bible

Where did it come from and who wrote it? These are important questions because, if the Bible is true, then one would be a fool not to believe it. On the other hand, if the Bible is not true and factual, then why do we need to learn about it?

The Bible is the most famous book in the world. Throughout history, since the invention of the printing press, more Bibles have been printed and sold every year than any other book in the world. The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book in the world. It has changed lives and nations and has affected people more than any book ever written. It is very powerful because it is God’s word, not just the word of mere people.

There is more manuscript support for the New Testament of the Bible than for any other ancient book. The New Testament portion of the Bible was originally written in the Greek language and soon after was translated into Latin. Today, over 5000 Greek, 8000 Latin, and many more manuscripts in other languages exist from ancient times.

These prove that we have in God’s word today as it was originally written. It has not been corrupted down through the ages.

1. Introduction

The word “Bible” is from the Greek word Biblos, which means “book”. The Bible is, in fact, made up of 66 books. It is divided into two main sections:

• Old Testament, which consists of 39 books.
• New Testament, which consists of 27 books.

While the Old Testament is the foundation of the New Testament, the New Testament reveals the Old Testament.

Old Testament

The Old Testament (O.T.) describes the beginning of creation, the ancient history of man, the origin of languages and races, etc. The Old Testament presents– in the form of historical narratives and prophetical types – the reasons behind the necessity of the birth of Jesus Christ. And it contains clear prophecies concerning the first and second comings of Jesus Christ.

New Testament

The New Testament shows how the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Christ have been literally fulfilled in history. It portrays the super natural and sinless life of Jesus Christ and bears witness to the amazing miracles that He did. The cornerstone of the New Testament is the sacrificial, atoning death of Christ and His resurrection. The N.T. contains eye – witness narratives of the astounding historical events of the resurrection of Christ and his bodily ascension into heaven. Besides, the New Testament tells us how the Disciples of Christ did miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit and how their preaching spread throughout the Middle – East and Europe. The New Testament also contains profound and practical teachings for living. It also contains many prophecies concerning the events and character of days to come. Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are equally important and factually true.

2. The BIBLE is a Unique Book – Because of its Construction 

The Human Writers

The Bible is not an ordinary book, written by ordinary men. It is God’s book and was inspired by God. Containing God’s words, it has been proven over and over to be true and accurate.

How the Bible was written is important to understand. The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years by about 40 different writers. The writers lived at different times, in different places, and were of different personalities. Among the writers somewhere princes and somewhere Kings; somewhere prime ministers and some we’re learned man; somewhere fisherman and somewhere shepherds; somewhere government officials; some work priests and one was a doctor. Thus, the Bible was written by men from various backgrounds; having contrasting personalities. Some were rich, some were poor; they lived in different periods of history.

The Author

Under such conditions, we would naturally expect the thoughts and writings of the 40 writers to differ from one another. We would think it would be totally impossible that their writings should ever completely agree into one unified book. But the contents of the Bible are all in harmony or agreement. This proves that the Bible has but one author. How is this possible? It is possible for this very reason, that the 40 men themselves did not author the Bible. This means, the contents of the Bible did not come from men’s own minds and hearts. Instead, they wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What ever God moved them to write, they wrote. Therefore, the Author of the Bible is not man, but God.

Let us think how this could be possible. The Bible declares, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Each of the books of the Bible were given by inspiration of God. God is the author of the Bible. This explains how the books of the Bible, though having different writers, are in perfect agreement with each other. God is the actual author of the Bible. That is why the Bible says, “For the prophecy (the Bible) came not in old-time by the will of man: But holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” There are many examples of God using men to write His word:

King David, the writer of a large portion of the Bible, said, “The spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue.” A prophet named Jeremiah wrote the “book” of Jeremiah found in the Bible. God told him, “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth”. There are 3,800 references in the Old Testament alone that tell us that the Bible is God’s word. One man named Paul was used by God to write several “books” of the Bible. Paul wrote to a church and said, “When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God.” Again, the apostle Paul wrote to a church in a city called Corinth and said, “…. we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.”

The Bible says in another place, “Knowing this first, that no….. scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy (Bible) came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” This clearly shows that the writings in the Bible are from God, not man.

No other book has ever been put together like the Bible.

No other book came humanly be put together

Like the Bible. No other book can rightfully claim to be

The word of God.    

The construction of the Bible makes it a truly unique book.

The Bible contains many accounts of ancient history. All of the historical accounts in the Bible are true and accurate. All of the people mentioned in the Bible actually lived at one time. It contains no myths or fables.

3. The Bible is a unique book –because it is the word of God

The first verse of the first chapter of the first book in the Bible makes a simple yet profound statement:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Later versus tell us, “The heavens declare His handiwork.”

“….the invisible things of Him (God) from the creation of the world are clearly seen….”

Creation reveals there is a God, but not what He is like, why we are here, or what happens when this life is over. So it would stand to reason that our Creator would not leave His creation without any hope of answering these questions. That is why He provided us with an “Owners manual” on life, a very unique book known as the Bible.

It is gods gift to his creation, and was… “…written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

Our Creator has provided within the Bible everything we need to know about spiritual matters while we are on this earth. It is a book that has been read by more people, has been published in more languages, and has affected the world more than all the other books ever written combined. No wonder it is the bestseller of all time. More than 7 billion copies have been printed since the invention of the printing press.

In the lessons to come, this course will give you an understanding of the only book God has written. You will also learn about Jesus Christ and all that he has done for you. You will learn how to have a real peace and how to receive salvation.

4. The Bible is a Unique Book – Because of its INFLUENCE

There are many reasons why the Bible is unique. Among them is the Bible’s influence. No other book has influenced mankind the way the Bible has. The Bible’s influence can be seen throughout many aspects

How the Bible influenced us? 

The ‘seven day week’ of our modern day calendar is based on the Bible. God completed his creation in six days and rested on the seventh day.

Saturday is a holiday. Long ago, God commanded the seventh day, Saturday, as a day of rest.

The commandments that prohibit murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting were first mentioned in the Bible. Every society and religion has received these commandments as important moral laws.

The Christian era is used all over the world. This era is based on the birth of Jesus Christ. For example, they year 2004 shows that it has been approximately 2004 years since Jesus birth.

Throughout history the Bible has influenced the lives of many, many countries and societies. Most countries have a basic moral laws based on the 10 commandments of the Bible.

Here are some quotes by famous people who were influenced by the Bible:

“It is impossible to brightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” (George Washington, first president of the USA)

“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man.” (Abraham Lincoln)

“If a man is not familiar with the BIBLE, he has suffered a loss which he had better make all possible haste to correct. A thorough knowledge of the BIBLE is worth more than a college education.” (Theodore Roosevelt, President of the USA)

“ The BIBLE is no mere book, but a living creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it. (Napoleon world conqueror)

This is just a small sample of the total amount of quotes too numerous to mention!

Noah Webster (write of Webster’s Dictionary, one of the most famous dictionaries in the world) said, “Education is useless without the BIBLE. God’s word, contained in the BIBLE, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.”

Rober Charles Winthrop (1809 – 1894), and American legislator, also knew the Bible’s importance when he said:

     “Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them, or a power without them, either by the word of God, or the strong arm of man: either by the BIBLE or by the bayonet (force, such as a knife or gun).”

A free society will only function correctly if its people practice self-control and morraly restrain themselves. The source of all moral principles is the BIBLE. Horace Greeley said: 

That is why the BIBLE says:

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.”

5. The BIBLE is a unique Book – Because of its ABILITY TO SURVIVE

The Greek writer, Porphyry, tried to destroy the credibility of the BIBLE back in 304A.D. In the process he wrote fifteen books against the BIBLE and Christianity in general. Did he succeed? Absolutely not. Instead, Porphyry and all of his books have been forgotten, but the BIBLE still stands.

Porphyry is just one of the many people who, throughout history, have tried to ban, burn, destroy, outlaw, restrict, ridicule or discredit the BIBLE.

But the BIBLE says,

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

In A.D. 303 the Roman Emperor Dicletian issued an edict to stop Christians from worshipping and to destroy their scriptures (the BIBLE). Twenty-five years later his successor, Constantine, issued another edict ordering 50 Bibles to be published at government expense. Too bad Diocletian didn’t realize the promise from the BIBLE….

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

Atheist Rober Ingersoll once boasted: “Within 15 years I’ll have the BIBLE buried in a grave.”

Well, within 15 years Robert Ingersoll was buried in a grave, but the BIBLE lives on!

In the 1700’s the atheist French writer Voltaire said, “Within 100 years, the BIBLE and Christianity will be swept out of existence, and pass into history.” Well, within 50 years, Voltaire was swept out of existence and passed into history, but the Geneva Bible Society used Voltaire’s house and printing press to print and distribute thousands of BIBLES.

This ironic twist of events should not have surprised anyone, because God had promised that….”Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

The BIBLE has a unique ability to simply keep remaining around, while at the same time other books just don’t have the staying power. For example:

A man named Herodotus wrote his Greek history in 425 B. C. and 1,500 years later there was only one copy left.

The same year that Voltaire said, “50 years from now, the world will hear no more of the BIBLE, “The British Museum $500,000 for an old manuscript of the BIBLE, while at the same time in Paris, one of Voltaire’s books sold for eight cents.

Neither of these authors could make their writings survive the test of time. However, God has always kept His Book, the BIBLE, flourishing more and more with time. And this is not a strange thing, since GOD INSPIRED King David to write…..

     “…..Thou has magnified thy word above all thy name.”

Down through the centuries many attacks against the BIBLE have come through bitter persecution along with outright attempts to destroy it….

Christian martyrs in the 15^th century were burned at the stake with a BIBLE tied around their necks.

William Tyndale was burned at the stake in 1536 because he translated the BIBLE from the Greek language into English. A few years earlier, the authorities had paid a large sum of money to a German man to have Tyndale’s Bibles confiscated and burned. What the authorities didn’t know was that the German was a friend of Tyndale’s and he used the money to help Tyndale further his efforts to print more Bibles.

Many attacks against the BIBLE have come from scoffers. But there have been some, who after examining the facts have changed their opinion. Here are two examples:

General Lew Wallace was a Territorial Governor following the days of the U.S. Civil War. He had been a Senator at the age of 29 and was considered a very intelligent and educated man. He has no confidence in Christianity or the BIBLE, so he decided to write a skeptical book to disprove both. However, as he studied the BIBLE, he found both the BIBLE and Jesus Christ to be true, and himself became  a devout Christian. General Wallace never wrote his book against the BIBLE, instead, he wrote the world famous Christian novel, Ben Hur. In this book Jesus Christ’s power and glory are shown.

William Ramsey, the English scholar, went to Asia with the purpose of proving the BIBLE was historically inaccurate. As he painstakingly poured over the ancient artifacts and details, to his amazement he found that the BIBLE was accurate down to the tiniest detail. The evidence was so convincing that Sir Ramsey himself became a Christian and a great Biblical scholar.

True history, science, and archaeology will always line up with the BIBLE. Not a single scientific fact or discovery has ever disproven a Biblical statement. In fact, the advances of science, history and archaeology have repeatedly confirmed the accuracy of the BIBLE.

Moreover, God foretold many scientific facts in the BIBLE long before man discovered them. For example, the BIBLE teaches the following:

The Bible clearly shows that the earth hangs in space on nothing. (However, for many years scientists and philosophers had mistakenly