The Christian Arsenal
The Bible
The Bible... an Amazing Book !
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We attribute the authorship of the Bible ultimately to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There are many things about the Bible that speak of a supernatural origin. It is here we examine of the various type of people God used through the ages to deliver this revelation to us. There were about 35 authors that contributed to the writing of the sacred scriptures. These men were from many varied backgrounds.
Consider this for a widely varied group of authors:
Poets
Fishermen
Philosophers
Statesman
Prophets
Priests
Publicans
Pharisee
Physician
Farmers
King
Musician
Tax Collector
Prince of Egypt
Herdsman
Preachers
Exiles
Shepherd
Lawgiver
Political Leaders
Judges
Cupbearer
Relatives of Jesus'
Let's add the next ingredient to the mix here. Not only was the Bible written by men who were from these varied backgrounds, but let's consider where it was written. The Bible was not written all at the same time or in then same place. It took over 1500 years for the writings to be completed.
Places of writing:
The desert of Sinai
In the land of Ur
In the Cave of Addulam
The Wilderness of Judeah
On the banks of the River Chebar
In the Courts of Babylon
In the Courts of Shushan
In Jerusalem
In a prison in Rome
On the Isle of Patmos
The next point of consideration is the Literary form which is contained in the Bible. Some people will say the Bible is a book of stories or a history book. The Bible is a library of many books and there are many types of literary forms found within it's pages.
A style for many occasions:
Covenants
Music
Poetry
Chiasms
Law
History
Philosophy
Prophecy
Doctrine
Biographical Sketches
The Bible also covers a wide variety of topics. When God made a revelation, he revealed many things on many subjects. Just how many things did God talk about in His Word? I am not sure, but the Nave's Topical covers about 20,000 topics and subtopics.
A subject for every occasion:
History
Genealogies
Law
Ethics
Love Stories
Prophecy
Heroes
Heroines
War Stories
Dietary Laws
Sanitation Laws
Doctrine and Theology
Salvation
Heaven
Hell
Resurrection
Wisdom
Church
Business Advice
Leadership Examples
Marriage Advice
God
Jesus
Holy Spirit
Judgment
Witnessing
Children
Societal Rules
Worship
Prayer
Guidelines for Welfare
The Future
Money Advice
and 1000's more.......
Let's consider what we have here. A collection of books written in 3 different languages across a time span of more than 15 centuries. The authors lived in different countries and cultures. In all of this, the Bible possesses an amazing unity. Let's look at some of the facets of it's unification.
First there is a structural unity between the testaments. The prophecies, the fore shadowing, the typology, the symbolisms and the messages of the Old Testament are completed and brought to light in the New Testament. As one writer so aptly put it, " In the Old the New concealed, in the New the Old revealed!"
Secondly, there is an historical unity in the Bible. One book builds upon the other. It is a historically accurate book. There was no opportunity for Moses to talk to David or Nehemiah or visa versa. The Bible, in it's final form, gives us a complete history of the story of the creation, fall, redemption and future of mankind. No one person writing the Bible could have controlled this aspect of the Bible. There must have been someone associated with the Bible who was around for the entire writing process.....The Holy Spirit.
A third type of unity is doctrinal unity. There are many different doctrines in the Bible. You will find these doctrines to be in harmony with each other from Genesis to Revelation. From the creation to atonement, salvation, and the nature of God. The Bible is 100% harmonious in what it says about these subjects. This is amazing considering, the variation in writings in other religions. Considering the list of writers that contributed to the Bible, this is miraculous. The Bible speaks on so many things, yet it is in agreement with itself when properly interpreted.
There is a spiritual and thematic unity in the Bible. The Bible centers around the person and work of Jesus Christ. So much of the prophecy of the Old Testament deals with the coming messiah. He is the future hope of the Old Testament and the realized hope of the New Testament is Jesus. From the first promise of Genesis 3:15 to the final victory of Revelation 20:15, it' all about Jesus! Again, it is apparent that there was someone involved in the authoring process that knew the main subject of the book personally!
The Bible does not contradict itself. It has a supernatural unity that can only come from a supernatural source. It contains hundreds of fulfilled prophecies. (More about this in lesson five.) This makes the Bible truly a unique and miraculous Book among books!
For further reading on these subjects I would recommend the following books:
The Case for Christ for Christ by Lee Strobel
The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel
New Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell