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S LORD. ART CHRIST A TS SET AP ER TO IN YOUR HEAR “BUT GIVE AN ANSW PARED TO FOR LWAYS BE PRE E THE REASON A OU TO GIV E WHO ASKS Y IS WITH EVERYON VE. BUT DO TH T YOU HA - 1 PETER 3: 15 THE HOPE THA PECT” NESS AND RES GENTLE OLOGETICS AP FINAL SESSION 1

DEAD SEA SCROLLS 2 THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS ARE A LARGE COLLECTION OF SCROLLS DISCOVERED IN THE DEAD SEA AREA. THE FIRST SCROLLS WERE DISCOVERED IN EARLY 1947 BY THREE BEDOUIN SHEPHERDS. EVENTUALLY, SOME OF THE SCROLLS MADE THEIR WAY INTO THE HANDS OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND HEBREW SCHOLARS WHO WERE AMAZED TO FIND AN ENTIRE COPY OF ISAIAH WHICH THEY DATED TO THE FIRST CENTURY BC. AT THAT TIME, THIS WAS ABOUT 1000 YEARS OLDER THAN THE NEXT OLDEST MANUSCRIPT OF ANY PART OF THE BIBLE. ABOUT 800 DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPTS HAVE SINCE BEEN FOUND IN THIS AREA. THERE ARE MANUSCRIPTS OR FRAGMENTS OF EVERY BOOK IN THE OLD TESTAMENT EXCEPT ESTHER. SEVERAL COPIES OF SOME BOOKS WERE FOUND INCLUDING ISAIAH, PSALMS, DEUTERONOMY AND GENESIS. ALL THE MANUSCRIPTS ARE DATED BETWEEN 150 BC AND AD 250. WHEN COMPARED WITH THE MASORETIC TEXT, THERE WAS HARDLY ANY DIFFERENCE. BECAUSE OF THEIR GREAT AGE, THEY PROVIDE AMAZING EVIDENCE THAT THE BIBLE HAS BEEN FAITHFULLY COPIED BY SCRIBES FOR CENTURIES. SO ACCURATE HAS THIS COPYING BEEN, THAT IT PROVIDES COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT GOD HAS PRESERVED HIS WORD FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

COMPARISON QUMRAN AND MT 3 OF THE 166 HEBREW WORDS IN ISAIAH 53, ONLY SEVENTEEN LETTERS IN DEAD SEA SCROLL 1 QISB DIFFER FROM THE MASORETIC TEXT (GEISLER AND NIX, 1986, P. 382). 10 LETTERS = SPELLING DIFFERENCES 4 LETTERS = STYLISTIC CHANGES 3 LETTERS = ADDED WORD FOR “LIGHT” (VS. 11) __________________ _ When the Isaiah scroll was discovered, the translators of the RSV had already completed their translation of Isaiah. They compared what they had done with the Isaiah scroll and made a total of 13 changes. That is, in only 13 places did they think the Dead Sea Scrolls were more accurate than the later Masoretic text. All changes were minor. The texts from Qumran proved to be word-for-word identical to our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The 5 percent of variation consisted primarily of obvious slips of the pen and spelling alterations (Archer, 1974, p. 25). 17 LETTERS = NO AFFECT ON BIBLICAL TEACHING HTTP: //WWW. APOLOGETICSPRESS. ORG/APCONTENT. ASPX? CATEGO RY=13&ARTICLE=357 The scrolls are also interesting because they help to date prophecies. Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, some critics said that prophecies about Jesus, such as those in the Psalms and Isaiah, were written after the event. The Dead Sea Scrolls proved that they were true prophecies that predated Jesus, and we know they were fulfilled. Again, this gives further evidence that God inspired the Bible, and preserved it for us to read.

HAS THE BIBLE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? 4 BEFORE 1947, SEVERAL COPIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT HAVE BEEN FOUND DATING FROM ABOUT AD 900. THESE WERE PRODUCED BY A GROUP OF JEWS KNOWN AS MASORETES WHO FOLLOWED A NUMBER OF PRECISE RULES WHEN COPYING. AS LONG AS SUCH RULES WERE FOLLOWED, IT WAS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT ERRORS CREPT IN. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME PLACES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WHERE THERE APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN MINOR COPYING ERRORS. Masoretic rules for copying the Old Testament 1. the whole scroll must be carefully ruled before a word is written 2. the ink must be black, made from soot, charcoal and honey 3. each line is to contain 30 letters exactly 4. each column is to contain an even number of lines, the same number throughout the scroll 5. no letter or word is to be written from memory 6. each word must be studied in the original manuscript and spoken aloud before being copied 7. the document is to be carefully checked using word and letter counts 8. the entire scroll is to be checked by a supervisor HTTP: //WWW. BIBLEED. COM/COURSES/READ THE BIBLE EFFECTIVELY/3. ASP

TODAY’S OUTLINE • DEAD SEA SCROLLS • WHERE DID THE 66 BOOKS COME FROM? • OTHER ARGUMENTS FOR RESURRECTION • QUESTIONS • REVIEW 5

WHY DOES GOD REQUIRE US TO READ SO MANY PAGES? 6

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HEBREW BIBLE ORTHODOX BIBLES CATHOLIC BIBLE PROTESTANT BIBLE Torah / Books of Moses 1) Bereshit / Genesis 2) Shemot / Exodus 3) Va. Yikra / Leviticus 4) Ba. Midbar / Numbers 5) Devarim / Deuteronomy Pentateuch 1) Genesis 2) Exodus 3) Leviticus 4) Numbers 5) Deuteronomy Pentateuch (Law) 1) Genesis 2) Exodus 3) Leviticus 4) Numbers 5) Deuteronomy Law (Pentateuch) 1) Genesis 2) Exodus 3) Leviticus 4) Numbers 5) Deuteronomy Nevi'im / Former Prophets Historical Books 6) Joshua 7) Judges 8) Ruth 9) 1 Kingdoms (= 1 Sam) 10) 2 Kingdoms (= 2 Sam) 11) 3 Kingdoms (= 1 Kings) 12) 4 Kingdoms (= 2 Kings) 13) 1 Chronicles 14) 2 Chronicles Historical Books 6) Joshua 7) Judges 8) Ruth 9) 1 Samuel 10) 2 Samuel 11) 1 Kings 12) 2 Kings 13) 1 Chronicles 14) 2 Chronicles 15) Ezra 16) Nehemiah 17) TOBIT 18) JUDITH 19) Esther (longer version) 20) 1 MACCABEES 21) 2 MACCABEES Historical Books 6) Joshua 7) Judges 8) Ruth 9) 1 Samuel 10) 2 Samuel 11) 1 Kings 12) 2 Kings 13) 1 Chronicles 14) 2 Chronicles 15) Ezra 16) Nehemiah 17) Esther (shorter version) Wisdom Books 22) Job 23) Psalms (150) 24) Proverbs 25) Ecclesiastes 26) Song of Solomon 27) WISDOM of Solomon 28) SIRACH, a. k. a. Ecclesiasticus Wisdom Books 18) Job 19) Psalms (150) 20) Proverbs 21) Ecclesiastes 22) Song of Solomon Prophets 29) Isaiah 30) Jeremiah 31) Lamentations 32) BARUCH (incl. LETTER of JER. ) 33) Ezekiel 34) Daniel (14 chapters) 35) Hosea 36) Joel 37) Amos 38) Obadiah 39) Jonah 40) Micah 41) Nahum 42) Habakkuk 43) Zephaniah 44) Haggai 45) Zechariah 46) Malachi Prophets 23) Isaiah 24) Jeremiah 25) Lamentations 26) Ezekiel 27) Daniel (only 12 chapters) 28) Hosea 29) Joel 30) Amos 31) Obadiah 32) Jonah 33) Micah 34) Nahum 35) Habakkuk 36) Zephaniah 37) Haggai 38) Zechariah 39) Malachi DIFFERENT BIBLES 8 6) Joshua 7) Judges 8) Samuel (1&2) 9) Kings (1&2) Nevi'im / Latter Prophets 10) Isaiah 11) Jeremiah 12) Ezekiel 13) The Book of the Twelve: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi Khetuvim / Writings 14) Psalms (150) 15) Proverbs 16) Job 17) Song of Solomon 18) Ruth 19) Lamentations 20) Ecclesiastes 21) Esther (shorter version) 22) Daniel (12 chapters) 23) Ezra-Nehemiah 24) Chronicles (1&2) The Protest Old Testament and Hebrew Old Testament are the same, but ordered differently. 15) 1 Esdras 16) 2 Esdras (=Erza + Nehemiah) 17) Esther (longer version) 18) JUDITH 19) TOBIT 20) 1 MACCABEES 21) 2 MACCABEES 22) 3 Maccabees 23) 4 Maccabees Poetic Books 24) Psalms (151) 25) Odes (w/ Prayer of Manasseh) 26) Proverbs 27) Ecclesiastes 28) Song of Solomon 29) Job 30) WISDOM of Solomon 31) SIRACH, a. k. a. Ecclesiasticus 32) Psalms of Solomon Prophets 33) Hosea 34) Amos 35) Micah 36) Joel 37) Obadiah 38) Jonah 39) Nahum 40) Habakkuk 41) Zephaniah 42) Haggai 43) Zechariah 44) Malachi 45) Isaiah 46) Jeremiah 47) BARUCH 48) Lamentations 49) LETTER of JEREMIAH 50) Ezekiel 51) Daniel (2 chapters listed separately): 52) SUSANNA 53) BEL and the DRAGON

OLD TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA 9 NONE OF THE BOOKS OF THE APOCRYPHA CAME FROM Approximate Title PROPHETS AND SO THEY WERE date of writing NEVER ACCEPTED BY THE JEWS AS Psalm 151 200 BC? INSPIRED. THE JEWS SOMETIMES Ecclesiasticus * 180 BC QUOTED FROM THE APOCRYPHA, Tobit * 180 BC The Prayer of Manasseh 150 BC BUT IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE Judith * 150 BC WOULD QUOTE SHAKESPEARE— 1 Esdras 150 BC INTERESTING LITERATURE BUT Additions to Esther 100 BC DEFINITELY NOT THE WORK OF Song of the Three Young Men 100 BC GOD. Susanna 50– 100 BC IT SEEMS THAT ABOUT 100 YEARS Bel and the Dragon 50– 100 BC AFTER JESUS, SOME NON-JEWISH 1*, 2*&3 Maccabees 50– 100 BC CHRISTIANS DIDN’T UNDERSTAND 4 Maccabees AD 40 The Wisdom of Solomon * AD 40 THAT THE BOOKS OF THE 2 Esdras AD 100 APOCRYPHA WERE NOT Baruch * AD 100 GENERALLY ACCEPTED, AND THOUGHT THEY WERE PART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. IN THIS * DENOTES CATHOLIC CHURCH ADDED THIS TO THEIR WAY, THEY CAME TO BE PART OF CANON IN 1546 AD THE BIBLES OF SOME CHRISTIANS AND ARE STILL USED TODAY.

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA 10 Title Approximate date of writing The gospel according to the Hebrews Epistle of Barnabas Epistle to the Corinthians The seven epistles of Ignatius Didache, teaching of the twelve Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians Shepherd of Hermas Second epistle of Clement Apocalypse of Peter Acts of Paul and Thecla Epistle to the Laodiceans AD 65– 100 AD 70– 79 AD 96 AD 100 AD 108 AD 115– 140 AD 120– 140 AD 150 AD 170 AD 350

11 NT CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION IN THE BIBLE • APOSTOLICITY—AUTHORSHIP BY AN APOSTLE OR A CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF AN APOSTLE—WHICH THUS, FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, LIMITED THE WORKS TO THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OR SO OF CHRISTIAN HISTORY • ORTHODOXY OR NON-CONTRADICTION WITH PREVIOUSLY REVEALED SCRIPTURE, BEGINNING WITH THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES THAT CHRISTIANS CAME TO CALL THE OLD TESTAMENT. • CATHOLICITY—UNIVERSAL (OR AT LEAST EXTREMELY WIDESPREAD) USAGE AND RELEVANCE THROUGHOUT THE CHURCH. ALL BOOKS OF NT WERE IMMEDIATELY ACCEPTED, ONLY 2 PETER, 2&3 JOHN, HEBREWS, JAMES, JUDE AND REVELATION WERE DEBATED UNTIL THIRD CENTURY.

SCRIPTURES ABOUT SCRIPTURES 12 • 2 TIMOTHY 3: 16 -17 [16] ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED AND IS USEFUL FOR TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, [17] SO THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK. • 2 PETER 1: 20 -21 [20] ABOVE ALL, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT NO PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE CAME ABOUT BY THE PROPHET'S OWN INTERPRETATION. [21] FOR PROPHECY NEVER HAD ITS ORIGIN IN THE WILL OF MAN, BUT MEN SPOKE FROM GOD AS THEY WERE CARRIED ALONG BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. • ACT 1: 16 AND SAID, "BROTHERS, THE SCRIPTURE HAD TO BE FULFILLED WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE LONG AGO THROUGH THE MOUTH OF DAVID CONCERNING JUDAS, WHO SERVED AS GUIDE FOR THOSE WHO ARRESTED JESUS-- (ALSO ACTS 4: 25) • 2 PETER 3: 15 -16 [15] BEAR IN MIND THAT OUR LORD'S PATIENCE MEANS SALVATION, JUST AS OUR DEAR BROTHER PAUL ALSO WROTE YOU WITH THE WISDOM THAT GOD GAVE HIM. HE WRITES THE SAME WAY IN ALL HIS LETTERS, SPEAKING IN THEM OF THESE MATTERS. HIS LETTERS CONTAIN SOME THINGS THAT ARE HARD TO UNDERSTAND, WHICH IGNORANT AND UNSTABLE PEOPLE DISTORT, AS THEY DO THE OTHER SCRIPTURES, TO THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION.

MANUSCRIPTS OF ANCIENT DOCUMENTS Taken from Evidence that demands a verdict, Josh Mc. Dowell, revised edition 1979, p. 42 -43. Author Written Earliest copy Time span (yrs) Copies Caesar Livy Plato Tacitus Pliny the Younger Thucydides Suetonius Herodotus Horace Sophocles Lucretius Catullus Euripides Aristotle Aristophanes Homer New Testament 100 -44 BC 59 BC - AD 17 427 -347 BC AD 100 AD 61 -113 460 -400 BC AD 75 -160 480 -425 BC ? 496 -406 BC 55 BC 54 BC 480 -406 BC 384 -322 BC 450 -385 BC 900 BC AD 40 -100 AD 900 ? AD 900 AD 1100 AD 850 AD 900 AD 950 AD 900 ? AD 1000 ? AD 1550 AD 1100 AD 900 400 BC AD 125 1000 ? 1200 1000 750 1300 800 1300 900 1400 1100 1600 1500 1400 1200 500 25 10 20 7 20 1 7 8 8 8 193 2 3 9 49 10 643 24, 000 13

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EYEWITNESSES (POST RESURRECTION) A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE CLAIMED TO SEE JESUS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION. THOSE WE KNOW ABOUT ARE LISTED BELOW. • • • • MARY MAGDALENE WOMEN RETURNING FROM TOMB PETER DISCIPLES ON ROAD TO EMMAUS APOSTLES, THOMAS ABSENT APOSTLES, THOMAS PRESENT SEVEN BY SEA OF GALILEE 500 BELIEVERS AT ONE TIME JAMES ELEVEN AT ASCENSION PAUL STEPHEN PAUL IN TEMPLE JOHN ON PATMOS THEIR EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNTS WERE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE (ACTS 2: 32; 3: 15; 10: 39 -41; 1 CORINTHIANS 15: 3 -8). 15

WHERE’S THE BODY? • SWOON THEORY: JESUS COULD HAVE FAINTED, REVIVED AND ESCAPED FROM THE TOMB. • HALLUCINATION THEORY: ALL THE EYE-WITNESSES HALLUCINATED. • WRONG TOMB THEORY: THE DISCIPLES WENT TO THE WRONG TOMB. • HOAX THEORY: THE DISCIPLES STOLE THE BODY. • THEFT THEORY: THIEVES STOLE THE BODY • OFFICIAL COVER UP THEORY: EITHER THE ROMANS OR JEWISH AUTHORITIES TOOK THE BODY. 16

QUESTION BEFORE QUESTIONS 17

WHY DOESN’T GOD MAKE HIMSELF MORE EVIDENT THROUGH MIRACLES AND OTHER WONDERS? • SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD… IT IS CLEAR • WILDERNESS DID NOT BELIEVE - REBELLION • JESUS TIME, SAW MIRACLE AND DID NOT BELIEVE - CRUCIFIXION • IT’S A CHOICE AND EXPERIENTIAL RELIGION • BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO DO NOT SEE AND YET BELIEVE 18

APOLOGETICS • 1 - CHOICES – OTHER RELIGIONS 19

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APOLOGETICS • 1 - CHOICES – OTHER RELIGIONS • 2 - PROPHECY 22

HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE BELIEVE IS TRUE? 23

PROPHECY NOW I TELL YOU BEFORE IT COMES, THAT, WHEN IT IS COME TO PASS, YE MAY BELIEVE THAT I AM [HE]. -JOHN 13: 19 NASB LET THEM (OTHER GODS) BRING FORTH AND DECLARE TO US WHAT IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE; AS FOR THE FORMER EVENTS, DECLARE WHAT THEY WERE, THAT WE MAY CONSIDER THEM AND KNOW THEIR OUTCOME. OR ANNOUNCE TO US WHAT IS COMING; DECLARE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO COME AFTERWARD, THAT WE MAY KNOW THAT YOU ARE GODS; -ISAIAH 41: 22 -23 NASB 24

DANIEL 9 TIMELINE DECREE TO REBUILD TEMPLE MARCH 14, 445 BC (NEHEMIAH 2: 18) 476 SOLAR YEARS MESSIAH IS CUT- JERUSAL EM OFF DESTROY ED APRIL 7, 32 AD (LUKE 19: 42 -44) 476 SOLAR YEARS (NO 0 AD) 25

ANY PROPHECY COMING TRUE NOW? 26

EZEKIEL 37/38 "THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD: 'SURELY I WILL TAKE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FROM AMONG THE NATIONS, WHEREVER THEY HAVE GONE, AND WILL GATHER THEM FROM EVERY SIDE AND BRING THEM INTO THEIR OWN LAND. " (EZEKIEL 37: 21) 27

I WILL BRING THEM OUT FROM THE NATIONS AND GATHER THEM FROM THE COUNTRIES, AND I WILL BRING THEM INTO THEIR OWN LAND. – EZEKIEL 34: 13 28

DAMASCUS BEHOLD, DAMASCUS WILL CEASE TO BE A CITY AND WILL BECOME A HEAP OF RUINS –ISAIAH 17: 1 (NOT THERE YET) Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets, and all the men of war will be silenced in that day, ’ declares the Lord of hosts. ’I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the fortified towers of Benhadad. ’” Jeremiah 49 (not yet) 29

ISIS MAP SETTING UP NEXT WAR? 30

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APOLOGETICS • 1 - CHOICES – OTHER RELIGIONS • 2 - PROPHECY • 3 - ARCHEOLOGY 34

ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS • DID THEY REALLY? 35

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APOLOGETICS • 1 - CHOICES – OTHER RELIGIONS • 2 - PROPHECY • 3 - ARCHEOLOGY • 4 - SCIENCE OF THE BIBLE – CREATION V EVOLUTION • 5 - SCIENCE OF THE BIBLE – FLOOD, FOSSILS, ETC 37

LIFE FROM NON-LIFE DIVERSITY OF SPECIES COMPLEXITY 38

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DINOSAUR SOFT TISSUE 40

• ON CNN “IF THAT IS YOUR TRUTH” – MEANING PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON WHAT THE TRUTH IS • JESUS SAID “I AM THE TRUTH” • CHRISTIANITY IS A RELATIONAL RELIGION – ALL THE EVIDENCE IN THE WORLD WON’T GET YOU THERE…. 41

CLOSING 42

43 EARLY MANUSCRIPTS – NEW TESTAMENT THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS WRITTEN IN GREEK. ITS ACCURACY IS ALSO WELL SUPPORTED BY THE MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE. IN FACT, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF SURVIVING NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE FIRST FEW CENTURIES AFTER JESUS. WHEN COMPARED WITH OTHER ANCIENT WRITINGS FROM THE TIME OF JESUS AND BEFORE, THE EVIDENCE FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT IS OVERWHELMING. THE EVIDENCE FOR OUR NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS IS EVER SO MUCH GREATER THAN THE EVIDENCE FOR MANY WRITINGS OF CLASSICAL AUTHORS, THE AUTHENTICITY OF WHICH NO-ONE DREAMS OF QUESTIONING. AND IF THE NEW TESTAMENT WERE A COLLECTION OF SECULAR WRITINGS, THEIR AUTHENTICITY WOULD GENERALLY BE REGARDED AS BEYOND ALL DOUBT. PROFESSOR F. F. BRUCE (UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER) THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS, 1960, P. 15. OTHER SUPPORT FOR THE RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT COMES FROM EARLY BELIEVERS WHO QUOTED IT. FOR EXAMPLE, IGNATIUS (BISHOP OF ANTIOCH, AD 70– 110) QUOTED FROM MATTHEW, JOHN, ACTS, ROMANS, 1 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, JAMES, 1&2 THESSALONIANS, 1&2 TIMOTHY AND 1 PETER. OTHERS SUCH AS JUSTIN MARTYR, IRENAEUS, CLEMENT, ORIGEN AND TERTULLIAN QUOTED THOUSANDS OF TIMES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT. THESE QUOTATIONS CAN ALSO BE USED TO CHECK THE ACCURACY OF THE SURVIVING MANUSCRIPTS. INDEED SO EXTENSIVE ARE THESE CITATIONS THAT IF ALL OTHER SOURCES OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WERE DESTROYED, THEY WOULD BE SUFFICIENT ALONE FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF PRACTICALLY THE ENTIRE NEW TESTAMENT. PROFESSOR BRUCE METZGER THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, 1968, P. 86.

WHY MUST WE BELIEVE BIBLE IS INERRANT? 44 • 1. THE BIBLE ITSELF CLAIMS TO BE PERFECT. “AND THE WORDS OF THE LORD ARE FLAWLESS, LIKE SILVER REFINED IN A FURNACE OF CLAY, PURIFIED SEVEN TIMES” (PSALM 12: 6). “THE LAW OF THE LORD IS PERFECT” (PSALM 19: 7). “EVERY WORD OF GOD IS PURE” (PROVERBS 30: 5 KJV). • 2. THE BIBLE STANDS OR FALLS AS A WHOLE. IF A MAJOR NEWSPAPER WERE ROUTINELY DISCOVERED TO CONTAIN ERRORS, IT WOULD BE QUICKLY DISCREDITED. FOR A PAPER TO BE RELIABLE IN ANY OF ITS PARTS, IT MUST BE FACTUAL THROUGHOUT. IN THE SAME WAY, IF THE BIBLE IS INACCURATE WHEN IT SPEAKS OF GEOLOGY, WHY SHOULD ITS THEOLOGY BE TRUSTED? IT IS EITHER A TRUSTWORTHY DOCUMENT, OR IT IS NOT. • • 3. THE BIBLE IS A REFLECTION OF ITS AUTHOR. ALL BOOKS ARE. IF IT IS FLAWED, IS ITS AUTHOR TOO? • 5. THE BIBLE’S MESSAGE MUST BE TAKEN AS A WHOLE. IT IS NOT A MIXTURE OF DOCTRINE THAT WE ARE FREE TO SELECT FROM. COOKIE CUTTER (PICK AND CHOOSE) (ABSOLUTE TRUTH V MORAL RELATIVISM) • 6. THE BIBLE IS OUR ONLY RULE FOR FAITH AND PRACTICE. IF IT IS NOT RELIABLE, THEN ON WHAT DO WE BASE OUR BELIEFS? JESUS ASKS FOR OUR TRUST, AND THAT INCLUDES TRUST IN WHAT HE SAYS IN HIS WORD. JOHN 6: 67 -69 4. THE BIBLE JUDGES US, NOT VICE VERSA. “FOR THE WORD OF GOD. . . JUDGES THE THOUGHTS AND ATTITUDES OF THE HEART” (HEBREWS 4: 12). THE WORD EXAMINES; THE HEART IS BEING EXAMINED. HTTP: //WWW. GOTQUESTIONS. ORG/BIBLICA L-INERRANCY. HTML

JOTS AND TITTLES 45 • MATTHEW 5: 18 FOR VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS, ONE JOT OR ONE TITTLE SHALL IN NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED. • LUKE 16: 17 AND IT IS EASIER FOR HEAVEN AND EARTH TO PASS, THAN ONE TITTLE OF THE LAW TO FAIL. SOME RABBIS BELIEVE WHEN THE MESSIAH COMES HE WILL INTERPRET EVERY LETTER AND EVEN THE SPACES BETWEEN THE LETTERS