Inspiration (part 2)
Introduction. As we learn more about the amazing nature of the Bible, it becomes one of the pillars for a strong faith. While most books are written by one author, the Bible was written by about 40 different authors. Not only were there different authors, but it took over 1500 years to complete. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible about 1500-1400 BC (Deut. 31:9). John wrote the last book of the Bible about 90 AD (Rev. 1:1). These authors lived in different countries/empires and eras. Moses was raised in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon, Ezra in Medo-Persia, and Paul in Rome. Some like Moses and Daniel, were highly educated, (Acts 7:22; Dan. 1:5, 19-21), while the apostles were called “uneducated and unlearned men” (Acts 4:13). Their understanding of science, medicine, morality and history would have been molded by the culture and time period in which they lived.
While most textbooks become dated and even obsolete as man’s knowledge continues to expand, the Bible has never been revised. It is now over 3,400 years old. While all other books of antiquity contain obvious errors, the Bible still remains accurate and clear. The Bible speaks of the creation, history, geography, good and evil, but its primary intent is to reveal God and His purposes for us. The theme of the Bible is set forth in the first three chapters. God is our Creator, Father and the author of all that is good, just and right. Our greatest enemy is the devil, who is a liar, murderer and slanderer. Through the lies of the devil, sin, evil, suffering and sorrow have entered this world. In love, wisdom, and compassion, God revealed His purpose to save us. One of Eve’s seed would save us and crush the devil. (Gen. 3:15). With this promise, one of the most amazing and unique elements of the Bible is introduced: prophecy. God proclaimed He can see the future and perfectly foretell what will occur. If not true, this alone would be enough to discredit the Scriptures, but all the prophesies came to pass exactly as God said they would!
God promised Abraham He would make of him a great nation and that one man from this nation would bless all the families of the earth. (Gen. 12:1-3). Moses added that He would be a great lawgiver just like him. (Deut. 18:15-18). He would come from the tribe of Judah, through the lineage of David, (Gen. 49:10; 2Sam. 7:12-16), and be born in Bethlehem. (Mic. 5:2). When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, God foretold who the next three world empires would be. He identified two of them as Medo-Persia, and Greece (Dan. 2:36-45; 7:19-22), and revealed that the Messiah would be born and set up a great kingdom that would never be destroyed during the reign of the still future third empire (Rome). While His great success was described in Daniel, His complete rejection by Israel, His execution, and resurrection were also foretold. (Isa. 53; Ps. 16:9-10). These seemingly contradictory statements were all blended into the truth that Jesus was executed, raised from the dead and now reigns at the right hand of God. There are over 200 specific prophecies about Jesus, and many other prophecies about other topics. For centuries skeptics argued these prophecies were too precise and must have been written after the events they appeared to foretell. Yet with the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls written Christ’s birth, the books of Daniel and Isaiah were confirmed to be written long before they were fulfilled.
If the Bible were written by only by human authors, this would be impossible. No one can predict events 1800 years into the future with 100% accuracy. If not from God, then Moses had to begin this myth and thus force all future writers to build upon his initial ideas with perfect unity and accuracy. This is not only amazing and extraordinary, it is impossible! If they were written by men, it should be easy to tear the Scriptures apart, showing their flaws, errors, and inaccuracies. Multitudes of skeptics and antagonists have tried, and even predicted their success, yet in the midst of our age of information, Scripture has yet to be proven to contradict itself.
What does the Bible claim about itself? How do the Scriptures explain all this? The truth is that while there are many human authors, the real and only author is God. As Paul stated: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (God breathed), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim. 3:16-17). Every verse from Genesis to Revelation has been breathed out by God. Each individual verse of “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2Pet. 1:21). That this is the only logical and reasonable explanation for the existence of the Bible is obvious. 40 human authors living 1500 years apart could not have produced this book! Only our Eternal Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator could have done it. The existence of the Bible proves the existence of God!
Jesus explained exactly how the Holy Spirit revealed God’s truth in the Scripture to fallible men. “It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” and “whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 10:20; Mk. 13:11). This is how God kept Moses, David, Jeremiah, Daniel and all the others from making a mistake. They did not have any input. They were not the ones speaking and writing, it was all written by the Holy Spirit. Jesus also revealed that when His apostles and prophets completed their writings, it would all have been be written by: “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.” After they completed their work, Jesus promised: “He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.” The New Testament is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise: “when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth.” (Jn. 14:26). Once these books were completed: “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” (2Pet. 1:3) “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” (Mt. 24:35).
The more we understand about this inspiration, the more amazing it becomes. Through Paul the Holy Spirit explained: “how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ.” (Eph. 3:3-4). There are three distinct stages for truth to get from heaven into the written pages of the Bible.
It was impossible for the thoughts of human authors to enter any verse in the Bible because no man saw, heard or ever imagined it: “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” They had nothing to add, so the Spirit made it impossible for them to add anything. What they imagined, thought, or understood was completely excluded when they preached or wrote.
This fulfilled Jesus’ promise to His apostles. Once baptized in the Holy Spirit, He would begin guiding them into all truth. The manner of the first sermon made this obvious. Those who heard the first gospel sermon heard it in their own native languages. Since the apostles could only speak and understand Greek, only the Holy Spirit could have revealed these words to them. Since the language was unknown to the preachers (Acts 2), obviously they could not have any input of their own thoughts. They could not even speak or understand the languages they spoke!
Only the apostles chosen by Jesus and the prophets chosen by the Holy Spirit had this ability. They are the “us:” “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” No one else knew any of these things. The Holy Spirit revealed them to Jesus’ holy apostles and prophets: “which in other ages was not made known ... as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” (Eph. 3:5).
The Holy Spirit was in complete control over what and to whom it was revealed. From the apostles He chose four to write 21 books of the New Testament: Matthew (1), John (5), Paul (13), and Peter (2). From the prophets, He chose four who wrote 5 books: Mark (1), Luke (2), James (1) and Jude (1), one human author was never identified: Hebrews. Without these books, no one knows anything about God or His truth: “no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” Those thus chosen by the Holy Spirit were given the unique ability to “know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” The end result: “These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches.”
Conclusion. When we hold the Bible in our hands, we are reading the words of God - each word chosen and placed on the page by the Holy Spirit. Every word, every sentence, including both the grammar, the reasoning and the words that hold them were from the Holy Spirit and not from the human authors. This is the truth and it perfectly describes the book we call the Bible.
While most textbooks become dated and even obsolete as man’s knowledge continues to expand, the Bible has never been revised. It is now over 3,400 years old. While all other books of antiquity contain obvious errors, the Bible still remains accurate and clear. The Bible speaks of the creation, history, geography, good and evil, but its primary intent is to reveal God and His purposes for us. The theme of the Bible is set forth in the first three chapters. God is our Creator, Father and the author of all that is good, just and right. Our greatest enemy is the devil, who is a liar, murderer and slanderer. Through the lies of the devil, sin, evil, suffering and sorrow have entered this world. In love, wisdom, and compassion, God revealed His purpose to save us. One of Eve’s seed would save us and crush the devil. (Gen. 3:15). With this promise, one of the most amazing and unique elements of the Bible is introduced: prophecy. God proclaimed He can see the future and perfectly foretell what will occur. If not true, this alone would be enough to discredit the Scriptures, but all the prophesies came to pass exactly as God said they would!
God promised Abraham He would make of him a great nation and that one man from this nation would bless all the families of the earth. (Gen. 12:1-3). Moses added that He would be a great lawgiver just like him. (Deut. 18:15-18). He would come from the tribe of Judah, through the lineage of David, (Gen. 49:10; 2Sam. 7:12-16), and be born in Bethlehem. (Mic. 5:2). When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, God foretold who the next three world empires would be. He identified two of them as Medo-Persia, and Greece (Dan. 2:36-45; 7:19-22), and revealed that the Messiah would be born and set up a great kingdom that would never be destroyed during the reign of the still future third empire (Rome). While His great success was described in Daniel, His complete rejection by Israel, His execution, and resurrection were also foretold. (Isa. 53; Ps. 16:9-10). These seemingly contradictory statements were all blended into the truth that Jesus was executed, raised from the dead and now reigns at the right hand of God. There are over 200 specific prophecies about Jesus, and many other prophecies about other topics. For centuries skeptics argued these prophecies were too precise and must have been written after the events they appeared to foretell. Yet with the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls written Christ’s birth, the books of Daniel and Isaiah were confirmed to be written long before they were fulfilled.
If the Bible were written by only by human authors, this would be impossible. No one can predict events 1800 years into the future with 100% accuracy. If not from God, then Moses had to begin this myth and thus force all future writers to build upon his initial ideas with perfect unity and accuracy. This is not only amazing and extraordinary, it is impossible! If they were written by men, it should be easy to tear the Scriptures apart, showing their flaws, errors, and inaccuracies. Multitudes of skeptics and antagonists have tried, and even predicted their success, yet in the midst of our age of information, Scripture has yet to be proven to contradict itself.
What does the Bible claim about itself? How do the Scriptures explain all this? The truth is that while there are many human authors, the real and only author is God. As Paul stated: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (God breathed), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim. 3:16-17). Every verse from Genesis to Revelation has been breathed out by God. Each individual verse of “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2Pet. 1:21). That this is the only logical and reasonable explanation for the existence of the Bible is obvious. 40 human authors living 1500 years apart could not have produced this book! Only our Eternal Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator could have done it. The existence of the Bible proves the existence of God!
Jesus explained exactly how the Holy Spirit revealed God’s truth in the Scripture to fallible men. “It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” and “whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 10:20; Mk. 13:11). This is how God kept Moses, David, Jeremiah, Daniel and all the others from making a mistake. They did not have any input. They were not the ones speaking and writing, it was all written by the Holy Spirit. Jesus also revealed that when His apostles and prophets completed their writings, it would all have been be written by: “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.” After they completed their work, Jesus promised: “He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.” The New Testament is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise: “when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth.” (Jn. 14:26). Once these books were completed: “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” (2Pet. 1:3) “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” (Mt. 24:35).
The more we understand about this inspiration, the more amazing it becomes. Through Paul the Holy Spirit explained: “how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ.” (Eph. 3:3-4). There are three distinct stages for truth to get from heaven into the written pages of the Bible.
- It was revealed to them and directly placed into their minds.
- The Holy Spirit placed each word on the paper, with no interference or input from the human authors.
- When we read it, we can have exactly the same understanding they had by revelation.
It was impossible for the thoughts of human authors to enter any verse in the Bible because no man saw, heard or ever imagined it: “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” They had nothing to add, so the Spirit made it impossible for them to add anything. What they imagined, thought, or understood was completely excluded when they preached or wrote.
This fulfilled Jesus’ promise to His apostles. Once baptized in the Holy Spirit, He would begin guiding them into all truth. The manner of the first sermon made this obvious. Those who heard the first gospel sermon heard it in their own native languages. Since the apostles could only speak and understand Greek, only the Holy Spirit could have revealed these words to them. Since the language was unknown to the preachers (Acts 2), obviously they could not have any input of their own thoughts. They could not even speak or understand the languages they spoke!
Only the apostles chosen by Jesus and the prophets chosen by the Holy Spirit had this ability. They are the “us:” “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” No one else knew any of these things. The Holy Spirit revealed them to Jesus’ holy apostles and prophets: “which in other ages was not made known ... as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” (Eph. 3:5).
The Holy Spirit was in complete control over what and to whom it was revealed. From the apostles He chose four to write 21 books of the New Testament: Matthew (1), John (5), Paul (13), and Peter (2). From the prophets, He chose four who wrote 5 books: Mark (1), Luke (2), James (1) and Jude (1), one human author was never identified: Hebrews. Without these books, no one knows anything about God or His truth: “no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” Those thus chosen by the Holy Spirit were given the unique ability to “know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” The end result: “These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches.”
Conclusion. When we hold the Bible in our hands, we are reading the words of God - each word chosen and placed on the page by the Holy Spirit. Every word, every sentence, including both the grammar, the reasoning and the words that hold them were from the Holy Spirit and not from the human authors. This is the truth and it perfectly describes the book we call the Bible.