How to use the Word of God Part 1- Accuracy of Scripture and Salvation [Archive]

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Venom

07-13-2003, 09:49 PM

http://www.thelightanddarkseries.com/cf/consumingfire.jpg

This series written by, Gabriel Wilson, Jacob Wilson, and Adam Knowlden.

The first part will consist of the accuracy of scripture (and so much more) and salvation. It's so in-depth, we must separate it into 3 posts. So you better grab a protein shake or two! You're going to need it. This info is anabolic for the spirit! Enjoy.

<ul type="square">Goal of this Study
Glorify God- this is always the goal in all our labors.
Save Souls- we hope that those who do not believe in Christ, will accept him after this compassing study.
Give an understanding on the importance of the bible- so many today are compromising Gods word for fallible man, and their lies. We hope after this, you will see why this is so unfortunate, and turn back to the truth!
Edify believers- if you take the advice in this study, your walk in the Lord will explode!
Come in one accord with the brethren- [/list]
2 Corinthians 13:11
11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

 Philippians 1:27
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 

 Philippians 2:1-2
1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 

Its very powerful when believers are able to come together in one accord. And agree on something, and work together, and motivate each other. The only way to consistently do this, is to have a constant base of absolutes. In order to have an absolute, perfect, unswerving doctrine, we must depend on an absolute non-changing, perfect being.

Many times, you will see Christians point to other Christians for answers. This man believes that, or that man believes this. Man changes like the wind! If you go from man, you can use any doctrine you desire, freedom to sin, blasphemy of God, worshiping of idols. You name it, its there.

Therefore, using mans opinion, is not a valid option, but one destined for failure.

Is there such a being, who has always been, is perfect in all his ways, and wisdom, and never changes? I have good news for you my friends, there is! And he has promised to us, that he would preserve his word, and allow us to Holy follow his precepts and statutes, with a ready mind and heart!

http://www.thelightanddarkseries.com/SAVED/SAVED.jpg

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 

 Psalms 147:5
5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. 

 Psalms 90:1-2
1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 

 Psalms 93:1-2
1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. 2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. 

Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

 Micah 5:1-2
1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting 

These final two verses are prophecies concerning Christ, and his Deity. For more on the these prophecies, read The Holy Trinity. (http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=bodybuilder&Number=492006& page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1)

To add to this, lets use a quote, on the eternal nature of God:
[ QUOTE ]
!
[ QUOTE ]
But what is the difference between immortal and eternal? You say they are immortal but not eternal. Aren't both words about the same in meaning?

[/ QUOTE ]

Immortal simply means "exempt from death." Angels cannot be killed like we can because they possess no physical body, they are spirits.

Eternal means everlasting. With no beginning and no ending. Angels cannot be eternal because they were created by God, and hence have a beginning.

 1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them 

All the host of them refers to the angels in heaven. And they are immortal, as Jesus states:

 36Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. 

[/ QUOTE ]

So as you see, God is perfect, eternal, infinite in knowledge, and cannot lie, nor sin. Therefore, it would behoove us, to follow after him! Hence, we turn to his most Holy Word for answers. /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

This is the key to having one mind in the church, and so much more. Revivals in the bible occurred when servants of the Lord came to this epiphany and took heed. We will discuss this in detail later on, and so much more!

 Acts 4:23-31
23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord , and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 

 Important note to Christians: 
This study is not meant to question the salvation of other Christians, but to reprove, instruct, inspire, and lead you in the direction you need to go in order to live in the perfect will God has for your life.

 Proverbs 9:8-9
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 

So if you're reading this, look to take instruction and get wiser and stronger in your faith.

Without further ado, lets get to it!

The Accuracy Of Scripture is UnMatched Part I

The word of God is infallable. Every phrase, and each fact are directly revealed by The Holy Spirit

Gods word confirms this many times

 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. 

 2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 

 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 

The above verses speak for themselves, and are not subject to change.
God, is as he states able to preserve his word. This is a fact, which I will document below
 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 

and again:

 Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 

Why is it so important that God preserves his word? There are several reasons. One of which, is that through them comes salvation. I will document this below
 John 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. 

and again:

 How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 

The word of God is also the Sword of the Believer:

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

and again:

Eph 6:17 - And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

We can therefore conclude that the Bible is:

the word of God
Will stand forever
Will be preserved By God
Is the Living Weopon of the Believer
Is not subject to private interpretation
Is the medium through which faith in Jesus Christ, and saving from eternal ****ation takes place

Let us continue our journey and discover how God has preserved his word. We shall begin with the Old Testiment

The Bible, has been copied and been preserved with a precision beyond comprehension. One of Gods direct commands for leadership in his Holy nation was the preservaton of his word

Deuteronomy 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

Deuteronomy 6:4-16
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Deuteronomy 27:1-10
1 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. 2 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister: 3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

and again:

8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly. 9 And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. 10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

We of course see that this was carried out strictly. In fact it was one of the first things that Joshia did

Joshua 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. 28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

It was of course a Law to read the Word of God outloud to the congregation during Holy Days. See here

De 31:11 - Show Context
When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

of course, this continues throughout the history of Israel, whether in the Judges years as shown above, in the Kingdom years as shown below

2Ki 23:2 - And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant

or in the years of return from exhile

. 7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. 8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

It was for this reason that, the duty of The " Scribes was so important. " We see that this was a literal office. In fact, when studying the positions undernieth all the kings, this is found from the beginning and throughout scripture. Here are a few examples

2 Samuel 8:15-18
15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; F46 17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe; F47 18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

2 Samuel 20:25
and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar R631 were priests;

1 Kings 4:3
Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; F19 Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.

2 Kings 12:10
When they saw that there was much money in the chest, the R336 king's scribe and the high priest came up and tied {it} in bags and counted the money which was found in the house of the LORD.

2 Kings 18:37
Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with R567 their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

2 Kings19:2
Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered R571 with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

Nehemiah 13:13
In charge of the storehouses I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they R347 were considered reliable, and it was their F160 task to distribute to their kinsmen.

I can go on and on, for example: 1 Chronicles 24:6, Jeremiah 36:12 , 2 Kings 12:10-12; 22:1-14; Esther 3:12; 8:9 2 Kings 25:19; 2 Chronicles 26:11 Matthew 7:29; 13:52; 17:10; 23:2,3 John 8:3 Matthew 26:3,57; 27:41; Mark 14:1; Luke 22:66 Matthew 5:20; 9:3; 12:38; 15:1; 16:21; 20:18; 21:15

The Guidlines of the Scribes

The actual guidlines recorded by the scribes were extremely strict and extremely thorough. The handeling of Gods word, is far too important. The Great Scholar of antiquities Dr. Davidson lays it out like so

Davidson, Samuel, The Hevrew Text of The Old Testiment, London 1856

1. The Regulations of The Scribes

A synogogue roll must be written on the skins of clean animals

2. Prepared for the particular use of the synogogue by a Jew

3 These must be fastened together with strings taken from only clean animals

4 Every skin must contain number of columns, equal throughout the entire codex.

5 The length of each column must not extend over less then 48 or more than 60 lines and the breadth must consist of thirty letters

6 The whole copy must be first lines, and if three words be written without a line, it is worthless

7 The ink should be black, niether red, green, nor any other colour, and be prepared according to a definite recipe

8 An Authentic copy must be the exemplar , from which the transcriber ought not in the least deviate

9 NO word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory, the scribe not having looked at the codex before him

10 Between every consonant the space of a hair or thread must intervene

11 between every new parashah, or section, the breadth of nine consonants

12 between every book three lines

13 The fith book of Moses must terminate exactly with a line, but the rest need not do so

14 Besides thisl, the copyist must sit in full Jewish dress

15 wash his whole body

16 not begin to write the name of God with a pen newly dipped in ink\

17 If a king should come while writting that name, he must not take notice of him

Dr. Davidson adds that " the rolls in which these regulations are not observed are condemned to be buried

The scribes were so thorough that they would give the new Manuscript equal authority to the copy.

Certainly one of the greatest scholars of our time FF. Bruce makes the following statements of the Jewish Scribes known as th Masoretes

Brucem F.F. The Books and the Parchments: How We Got Our English Bible. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1950

" The Masoretes were well disiplined and teated the text with the greatest imagionable complicated system of safeguards againt scribal slips. They counted , for example, the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurs in each book, they pointed out the middle letter of the Pentateauch and the middle letter of the whole Hebrew Bible, and made even more detailed calculations then these. Everything countable seemed to be counted. says Wheeler Robinson and the ymade mnemonics by which the varous totals might be readily remembered"

Certainly considered to be one of the greatest historians of all time, the Great Flavious Joshephus of the 1st century, who recorded Jewish history has this to say about the scriptures and their importance

 We have given practical proof of our reverence for our own Sciptures. For, although such long ages have now passed, no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable,and it is an instinct with every Jew, from the day of his birth , to regard them as the decrees of God, to abide bu them, and, if need be, cheerfully to die for them. Time and again ere now the sight has been witnessed of prisioners enduring tortures and death in every form in the theatres, rather then utter a single word against the Laws and the allied documents

Josephus, Flavius. The Antiquities of the Jews 1st century AD


Interestingly enough Paul discusses these tortures in Hebrews:

: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; Hebrews

Old Testiment Manuscripts

The Old Testiment Manuscripts which have been compiles is quite remarkable. To compare, think of some of the great documents of antiquity such as Platos manuscripts. We have only seven of his, and they are considered very accurate.
And yet by in the year 1776 Dr. Kennitcott of Oxford published over 615 matching copies! This number only grew, by 1788 Giovanni de Rossi published a list of 731 manuscripts!

This trend would continue. One of the most important discoveries for example in Cairo, in a synogogue, a store house for old manuscripts was disivered. Two hundred thousand manuscripts were found. And Ten Thousand of those were Biblical!

reference: Goshen-Gottshalk, Bible Manuscripts in The Us, Textus 3 1962

Dr. Dockery confirms this

" This geniza had apparently been walled off and forgotten until recent discovery. In this small room, as many as 200,000 manuscripts were preserved, indluding biblical texts in Hebrew " Dokery, FBI 162-163

Consequently, most of these are now housed in the famous Cambridge University.

This trend has of course continued. For example, one of the largest collections of the Hebrew Ol Testiment manuscripts in the world is found in the " Collection in Leningrad. It contains 1, 582 Biblical documents!

Once again this continues. The collection known as the Antonin collection has over 1, 200 manuscripts and fragments from the Old Testiment.

Reference Wurtherwein TOT

Other examples include the British Museums collection which has 161 Hebrew manuscripts of the Old testiment.

At Oxford University, the Bodleian Library contains 146 Old Testament manuscripts.

-reference Kahle CG

To carry this on, the schollar Dr. Dottstein estimates that in the US alone there are at least 500 OT biblical manuscripts.

Comparing the manuscripts. The amazing thing about the massive amount of manuscripts is that they match eachother and assure us, as Flavious Josephus stated that Gods word is preserved, ! Let me give you an example of comparison of the manuscripts, and I will do so When comparing manuscripts 1, 000 years apart, to show just how accurate the transmission is! one from 125 B.C. and one from 916 A.D. This is a M Text of Isaih compared to a Dead Sea Scroll script. Dr. Burrows explains

" Thus, in one chapter of of 166 words there was only 3 letters in question after 1, 000 years of transmission-and this word does not change the meaning of the passage.

he continues:

" As I said in my first article. Herein lies its chief importance, suporting the fidelity of the Masoreti Tradition. "

Burrows, TDSS, 304

Of course the dead sea scrolls " Quamran Manuscripts, yield over 233 manuscripts! The only document of antiquity with more manuscriptual support is the New Testiment, which we will see! The New testiment is by far the most accurate collection of documents of antiquity. And it lends further backing to the Hebrew Old Testiment

Vital Importance!

What we must know, as Christians, is that the same text which Christ read from, is the same text we have access today. Here the great scholar Dr. Harrisson confirms this

 Because of their faithfullness( scribes ), we have today the Hebrew Text which duplicates the recension which was considered authoritiative in the days of Christ and the apostles. 

The great scholar continues with this astonishing statement

 And in turn, judging from Quamran evidence, goes back to an authoritative revision of the Old Testiment Text which was drawn up on the basis of the most reliable manuscripts available for collation from previous centuries. These bring us, in all essentials to the origional autographs themselves, and furthish us with an authentic record. 

W.F. Albright, without question the greatest Arcaeologist of the ancient eastern world states

" The Hebrew Bible...has been preserved with an accuracy perhaps unparallelled n any other Eastern literature "

Archaeology

This is a list that can go on and on and on. The archaological evidence for the Old Testiment is unparalleled. The scholar Robert Wilson discusses some of them here

The Hebrew Scriptures contain the names of 26 or more foreign kings whos names have been found on documents contemporary with the kings. They were found on their own monuments, or in documents from the time in which they reigned in the same manner that they are spelled in the documents in the Old Testiment

The name of the kings of Judah and Israel are found on the Assyrian contemporary documents with the same spelling as that which we find in the present Hebrew text

In 144 cases of transliteration from Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Moabite into Hebrew and in 40 cases of the opposite, in 184 in all, the evidence shows that the Hebrew Bible has been ttransmitted with the most minute accuracy. That the origional scribes should have written them with such close conformity to correct philological principles is a wonderful proof of their thorough care and scholarship, further, that the Hebrew text should have been transmitted by copyists through so any centuries is a phenomenon unequaled in the history of literature.

-reference Wilson, SIOT, 64, 71

Professor Wilson now shows just how Vital and accurate these names are compared to other documents of antiquity

 For neither the assailants nor the defenders of the Biblical text should assume for one moment that either this accurate rendition or correct transmision of proper names is an easy or usual thing. And as soe of my readers may not have experience in investigating such matters, attention may be called to the names of kings of Egypt as given in Manetho and on the Egyptian monuments. Manetho wasa high Priest of the idol temples in Egypt in the time of Ptolemy. He wrote a work on the dynasties of Egyptian kings, of which fragments have been preserved in the works of Joshephus, Eusibius, and others. Of the kings of the 31 dynasties, he gives 40 names from 22 dynasties. Of these 49 appear on the monuments in a form in which every consonant of Manethos spelling may possibly be recognized, and 28 more may be recognized in part. The other 63 are unrecognizable in any single sylable. If it be true that manetho himself copied these lists from the origional records and the fact that he is substantially correct in 49 casescorroborates the supposition that he did-the hundreds of variations and corruptions in the 50 or more unrecognizable names must be due either to his fault in copying or to the mistakes of the transmiters of text 

-Wilson, SOT, 71-71

He makes one final point in the accuracy of Gods word( Old Testiment ) in the names found in them!

 There are about forty kings living from 2000 BC to 400 BC. Each appears in chronological order: WIth reference to the kings of the same country with respect to the kings of other contries, no stronger evidence for the substantial accuracy of the Old Testament records could possibly be imagined, than this collection of kings. "

He then shows the probability of this " Mathematically, it is one chance in 750, 000, 000, 000, 000. 000, 000 that this accuracy is mere circumstance "



 More from archaology 
Dr. Glueck states that " It may be stated categorically that no archaological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in a clear outline or exact detail historical statementsi n the Bible."

Gluech, RDHN, 31

Jerrico

There is unending evidence. But lets analyze this aspect.
The City o Jerrico as mentioned in the Bible was first excavated in 1930-1936. The archaeologist in charge of the excavation was Dr. Garstang. When he unexcavated it, he found something most shocking, and I will quote him directly

" As to the main fact, then, there remains no doubt: the walls fell outwards so completely that the attackers would be able to clamber up and over their ruins into the city. Why is this unusual? Because the walls of cities do not fall outwards, they fall inwards. An yet in Joshua 6:20 we read, " The Walls fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ' The walls fwere made to fall outward. "
Garstang, FBHJJ, 146

The Archaologist Bryan Wood, writing a review on Jerrico, as he is a main excavator of the city( reference Wood, DICJ, 44-59 ), includes a list of collaborations between archeological evidence and the biblical narrative as follows

The City was strongly fortified - found in Josh. 2:5, 7, 15, ^:5, 20

The attack occured just after harvest time in the spring ( Josh. 2:1, 3:15, 5:16

The inhabitants had no opportunity to flee with their foodsheds ( Josh 6:1 )

The siege was short ( Josh 6:15) Jerrico's walls were some of the hugest ever discovered in an archaological find. To take a city like that, would mean that it would take a minimum of months, and most likely years. Until they starved the people out. The amazing thing however is that they found more grain in Jerricho then any archaological find. Why is that significant?

A. It proves that the city was taken almost immediately, because the grain was completely fresh and abundant. The bible says it took 7 days

B. The bible said they took the city in spring time. And the grain was abundant for the direct time, showing it was just harvested.

The walls were leveled as Garstang above( Josh 6:20 )

The city was not plundered which is pecular but biblical Josh 6:17, 18 You see that God ordered them not to plunder the city!

The city was burned after being conquered, they found tremendous layers of ash all over jericho. = Joshuah 6:24

That is just a sampling of Biblical Archaeology

Heres are more

One of my favorite papyruses, and a great historical document of antiquity from the Egyptians is in the Leiden Museum in Holland. Its quite fascinating what they wrote themselves.

Gods said this in his word

[ QUOTE ]
Exodus 12: 13 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people;

[/ QUOTE ]

In the papyrus from Egypt, it states

Nay, but the heart is violent. Plague stalks through the land

Gods word then says this

[ QUOTE ]
. 17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

[/ QUOTE ]

The papryrus says this

and blood is everywhere ; . Nay, but the river is blood.

The Bible then says this:

[ QUOTE ]
18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

[/ QUOTE ]

They shall of coruse lothe it, the papyrus says this

Does a man drink from it? As a human he rejects it. He thirsts for water .

Another of Gods plaugues was this:

[ QUOTE ]
Exodus 9:34 and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

[/ QUOTE ]

The hail was mingled with fire!

the papyrus says this Nay, but gates, columns and walls are consumed with fire

Gods word also says this:

[ QUOTE ]
25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

[/ QUOTE ]

It shall smite " man " the papyrus says this:

Nay but men are few. He that lays his brother in the ground is everywhere .

Gods word say this of the crops:

[ QUOTE ]
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

[/ QUOTE ]

the papryrus says this:

Nay, but corn has perished everywhere.

We also know, that on the passover, the Lord killed the First Born of even the highest officials in Egypt, inlcuding pharoh. The papyrus says this

Nay but the son of the high-born man is no longer to be recognized .

We also know that before, the Jews left, that they spoiled the Egyptians. God told this to Abraham
this:

[ QUOTE ]
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

[/ QUOTE ]

On the passover, this is what happened as it is written in Gods word:

[ QUOTE ]
and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians .

[/ QUOTE ]

Consequently, this is what the papyrus says:

People are stripped of clothing, perfume and oil. Everyone says "there is no more". The storehouse is bare ; .

The storehouses also reflect the fact that their crops were consumed by plagues.

Finally, this is what happened to the Pharoah:

[ QUOTE ]
19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea

[/ QUOTE ]

We know that the Jews were a slave nation, and that they were certainly living as poor slaves. This is what the papyrus says:

It has come to this. The king has been taken away by poor men

Still more,

Saul became the first king of Israel, and his fortress was at Gibeah and has been excavated. In Judges 20:16 we find that sling shots were a main weopon in the earlier king and judge days. In fact, David used one. Judges states that there were seven hundred expert slingers who could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

At Gibeah, one of the primary weopons found were sling shots!

Upon Sauls death samuel tells us that his armor was put in the temple of Ashtaroth, while Chronicles tells us that his head was placed in the temple of Dagon. This was thought to be an error because it seemed unlikely that enemy peoples would have temples in the same place at the same time. However, excavations have again shown Gods word was right. They found that there are two temples at this site that are seperated by a hallway! One for DAGON! and he other for ASTARITH! The phiistines had adoped the canaanite goddes.

King David captured Jerusalem. In scripture it is recored that the Israelites entered the city by way of a tunnel that led to the Pool of Siloam, Howver, that pool was " thought " to be outside the city walls. Once again the Bible was right! the excavations in 1960s revealed the wall did indeed extend well past the pool.

a pomegrant from Solemons temple was found that sat on the end of a rod and bears the inscription. " Belonging To the Temple of Yahweh. "

The excavation of Gezer in 1969 ran across a massive layer of ash that covered most of the mound. Sifting through the ash yielded pieces of Hevrew, Egyptian, and Philistine artifacts. All three cultures had been there at the same time. This puzzled researchers greatly until they realized that the Ibble confirms exactly what they found!
 " Pharoah king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Cannaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a Wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon's wife. " I Kings 9:16 ) 

The House of David and Him being the King of Isriael is inscribed is found in the 9th century BC

Alnright says " Archaological discoveries since 1925 have changed all this. There is scarcely a single historian who has not been impressed with the rapid accumulation of data supporting the substantial historicuty of the patriarchs.

Dr. Burrows states: " The picture fits the frame, the melody and the accimoniment are harmonious. The force of such evidence is cumulative. The more we fnd that items in the picture of the past presented by the Bible are compatable with what we know from archaeology, the stronger is our impression of authenticity. Mere legen or fiction would inevitably betray itself. Burrows WMTS 278

He further states - The Bible is supported by archaeology again and again. On the whole, there can be no question that the results of excavation have increased the respect of scholars for the bible as a collection of historical documents.

Dr. Kitchen states - Not a few towns of biblical interest appear in Ebla tablets, which preserve the earliest known mention in these written records. More useful, potentially are the Eblite mentions of familiar Palestinian place names such as Hazor, Megiddo Jerusalem, Lachish, Dar, Gaza, Ashtarot etc.

Dr. Giovani confirms the use of names on these tablets, such as Israel, Ishmael, Michaih

The ebla also shows the preservation of words we have. Because these are some of the oldest documents, and yet the words they use confirm Biblical authenticity. For exmaple in Ebla the term for those scores of leaders was nase, the same word as nasi, a term in biblical hebrew used for leaders of tribes of israel. There are several examples. Dr. Kitchen states, an example of a rare word confirmed in both existance and meaning, one may cite Hebrew ereshet, " desire " which occurs in Psalm 21:2

The flood of Noah. The great thing about the flood cold turkey is that it is probably the most historically documented event in history. And it is told all over the world, as we would expect. The flood is told by the Greeks, the hindus, the Chinese, the Mexicans, the Algonquins the Haawaiins. The summeian kings treat the flood as an historical reference point. In fact, the Summeritans confirm the long lives of the earlier people, before God shortened life spans.

Here is an excellent quote from a scholar:

there are many descriptions of the remarkable event [the Genesis Flood]. Some of these have come from Greek historians, some from the Babylonian records; others from the cuneiform tablets, and still others from the traditions of different nations, so that we may say that no event has occurred either in ancient or modern times about which there is better evidence or more numerous records, than this very one which is so beautifully but briefly described in the sacred Scriptures. It is one of the events which seems to be familiar to the most distant nations;in Australia, in India, in China, in Scandinavia, and in the various parts of America.

." Stephen D. Peet, "The Story of the Deluge," American Antiquarian, Vol. 27, No. 4, , p. 203.

There are well over 500 flood accounts.

http://answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/overheads/images/oh20011121_91.jpg

Here is a compare and contrast with the Babolonian account and the Bible

BABYLONIAN - Take the seed of all creatures aboard the ship

Gen. 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring.

BABYLONIAN = I boarded the ship and closed the door.

Gen. 7:1 - Come into the Ark
Gen. 7:16 The Lord shut him in.

BABYLONIAN = I sent out a dove . The dove went, then came back, no resting-place appeared for it, so it returned.

Gen. 8:8 He sent out a dove...But the dove found no resting-place . . . and she returned.

BABYLONIAN = Then I sent out a raven . .it was the waters receding, it ate, it flew about to and fro, it did not return.

Gen. 8:7 He sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the Earth.

BABYLONIAN = I made a libation on the peak of the mountain.

Gen. 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord (on the mountain) and offered burnt offerings.

Heres the African account:

Africa
Southwest Tanzania

Once upon a time the rivers began to flood. The god told people to get into a ship. He told them to take lots of seed and to take lots of animals. The water of the flood eventually covered the mountains. Finally the flood stopped. Then one of the men, wanting to know if the water had dried up let a dove loose. The dove returned. Later he let loose a hawk which did not return. Then the men left the boat and took the animals and the seeds with them.

Heres another one :

Chaldean
There was a man by the name of Xisuthrus. The god Chronos warned Xisuthrus of a coming flood and told him to build a boat. The boat was to be 5 stadia by 2 stadia. In this boat Xisuthrus was to put his family, friends and two of each animal (male and female). The flood came. When the waters started to recede he let some birds loose. They came back and he noticed they had mud on their feet. When he tried the third time the birds did not return. Assuming the water had dried up the people got out of the boat and offered sacrifices to the gods.

another one:

United States
The Ojibwe natives who have lived in Minnesota USA since approximately 1400AD also have a creation and flood story that closely paralleles the Biblical account. "There came a time when the harmonious way of life did not continue. Men and women disrespected each other, families quarreled and soon villages began arguing back and forth. This saddened Gitchie Manido [the Creator] greatly, but he waited. Finally, when it seemed there was no hope left, Creator decided to purify Mother Earth through the use of water. The water came, flooding the Earth, catching all of creation off guard. All but a few of each living thing survived." Then it tells how Waynaboozhoo survived by floating on a vessel in the water with various animals.

The Tower of Bable - There is considerable evidence that the world did indeed have a single language at one time. The Summerian literature states this. Linguists also find this theory helpful in categorizing languages.

Archaeology has revealed that Ur-Nammu king of Ur from 2044 - 2007 BC recieved orders to build a great zigguret( temple tower ) On a a tablet it discusses thir god was angry at the temple, threw it downm and scattered them and made their speech strange, as the Bible states.

According to scripture " The whole earth had one language and one speech. Many modern day philologists attest to tghe likelihood of such an origin for worlds of languages. Dr. Alfredo Trombetti says he can trace and prove the common origin of all languages. Dr. Mueller also attests to the common origin. And Dr. Otto Jesperson also concurs.

Once again, names such as Abraham, Jacob-elm and Benjamites are found in the Mari leters

The Mari letters confirm Genesis 14 where five kings fought against four kings. The names of these kings fit with the prominant nations of the day. For example Genesis 14:1 mentions an Amorite King Arioch, the Mari documents render the kings name as well. All this evidence leads to the conclusion of the accuracy of scripture

Dr. Kitchen states - The Biblical data match objectives facts from the ancient world in almost uncanny way, establishing the general reliability of Biblical periods.

One important item involves the price of slaves in silver shekels. From Ancient Near Eastern sources we know the price of slaves in some detail fora period lasting about 2000 years. from 2400 bc to 400 bc. These data provide solid body of evidence that we can compare the figures in the Bible , in which the price of slaves is mentioned on several occations( genesis 37L38 exidus 20, exodus 21, 2 kings 15:20 )In each case the Biblical narrative of slave price fits the period to which it relates

In the geneology of Esau, there is mention made of the Horites( gen 36:20 ) It was at one time accepted that these people were cave dwellors. But now archaeology confirms that they were a prominant group of warriors in the East in Patriarchal times

It would seem a most unusual event that Issaac did not take his oral blessing back when he discovered Jacobs deception. However, the Nuzi tablets tell us that oral decleration was both legal and BINDING. Thus he could not retract his oral blessing.
Dr. Ernst states that " Oral blessings or death bed wills were recgnized as valid at Nuzi as well as Patriarchal society
Dr. Gordon makes three points " The text conforms with biblical blessings like those of the Patriarchs in that it is ( A ) an oral will, ( b ) with legal validity and ( C ) made to a son by a dying father.

Other cultural evidence is found in the Nuzi are events such as Essaus birth right, and Labans tirade to reclaim his idols

Dr. Elder states the following: " In the last verses of Genesis it is told how Joseph adjured his relatives to take his bones back to Canaan whenever God should restore them to their irgional home, and in Joshua 24:32 it is told how his body was indeed brought to Palestine and buried at Shechem. For centures there was a tomb at shechem reverenced as the tomb of Joseph. A few years ago he tomb was opened. It was found to contain a body mummified according to the Egyptian custom, and in the tomb, among other things, was a sword of the king word by Egyptian Officials

Much has been learned from Assyrians when twenty six thousand tablets were found in the palace of Ashurbanipal

These tablets tell of many conquests. Several of these records confirm the Bibles accuracy. Every reference in the Old Testiment to an Assyrian King has been proven correct!!!!

Even Sargon was unknown for some time. When his palace was found and excavated, there was a wall painting of the battle discussed in Isaih 20!!!!!

The black Obelish of Shalmaneser confirms the Israel King Jehu bowing down to the king of Assyria

Among the most interesting finds is Senacheribs record of the siege of Jerusalem. Thousands of his men died and the rest scatered when he attempted to take the city and as Isaiah had foretold, he was unable to conquer it.

Countless facts of the Babolonian captivity have been confirmed. Records found in Babylons famous hanging gardens have shown that Jehoiachin and his five sons were given a monthly ration and place to live and were teated well. This is exactly what the Biblical record states! ( 2 kings 25:27-30 )

The name Belshazzar caused problems, because there was not any mention of him in Babylonian Kings. However, it was now excavated that the King of Babylon Nabodonius left a record that his son, Belshazzar ( Daniel 5 ) would reign in his absense! Just as the Bible said all along!

Isaaihs prophesies seemed too be too thorough to be real. That is, until Cyrus's cylander was found and confirmed all of Isaiahs words!!!!

Several letters from the 5th and 6th BC centuries have been found. Dr. Albright states - " In these letters we find ourselves in exactly the age of Jeremiah, with social and political conditions aggreeing perfectly with the picture drawn in the book that bears his name. The Lachish letters take their place worthily between Ostraca of Samaria and Elphantine Papyri as epigraphic monuments of Biblical Hebrew history

Dr. Haupert writes of the letters - " Most of the best letters are written by Hoshaiah a biblical name, a military officer stationed at an outpost or observation point not far from Lachish.

The nearby city fortress of Lachish provides clear proof that it had been twice burned over a short period of time, coiciding with the two captures of Jerusalem. In lachis hthe imprint of a clay seal was found, its back wtill shows the fibers of papyrus to which it had been atatched. it reads " The proerty of Gedaliah whi is over the house " We meet this distinguished individual in II kings 25:22 where we are told " An as for the people that Nebachadnezzar king of babylong had left, even over them he made Gedaliah ruler "

That is just a taste! The New Testiment, which is the most backed historical document of all time also confirms the Old Testiment. See here

Jesus Confirms The Old Testiment

Mark 7:10
Mark 10: 3-5
Mark 12:26
Luke 5:14
Luke 16:29-31
Luje 24:27, 44
John 7:19

For example, in John 5:45-47 Jesus states unequivically that Moses wrote the Torah

" Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father, there is one who accuses you, Moses, in whome you trust. " For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writtings, how will you believe my words? "

Let God be true, and every man a Liar Romans 3:4

This has continued to be the case, as the Bible has shut up critique after critique. Take the popular atheistic notion that religion has evolved. That monotheism, the belief in one God, came after polytheism. We would expect, that the closer you got to creation, the more accurate accounts would be of One God creating the heavens and the earth. The paganistic, notion of evolution of monotheism has now been smashed.

The Oldest know tablets we have are from Ebla. These predate Babylonian accounts by over 600 years. And their creation account is strikingly similar to the Bible. They state that one God created the heavens, moon, stars and earth. The tablets report belief in a creation out of nothing, declaring: Lord of heaven and earth, the earth was not, you created it, the light of day was not, you created it, the morning light you had not yet made exist. This shatters the afore mentioned hypothesis

An additional example of the contribution of the Ebla discovery relates to Genesis 14. Abrahams victory over Chedolaomer and the Mesopotamian kings and the fiver Cities of the Plain ( Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar )

The Ebla archives refer to all fiver Cities of the Plain, and on one tablet the Cities are listed in the exact same sequence as appears in Genesis 14. The tablets reflect the culture of the patriarchal period and depict that before the catastrophe recorded in 14 the area flourished, was prosperous and successful, as recorded in Genesis.

Internal Flawlessness

We study Moses writings and see if his style was
A. contemporary with the times
B. contemporary with the culture he lived in
C. contemporary with the life lived by himself and the Israelites in the areas written about
D. contemporary with the region lived in. I.E. the manner and needs of the environment, such as the desert.

You see optimum objectivity in dating any written document may be achieved through examining internal evidence. There is impeachable internal evidence that the Pentateuch, both in form and content is 100 percent contemporary with the exact time assigned to it!

We can name example after example. But we will single out a few:

Desert Setting of Exodus Numbers

Exodus, Leviticus and numbers are quite obviously aimed at people wandering in the desert, not a nation of farmers settled in their promised land. There are frequent detailed descriptions of the portable tabernacle. There are meticulous instructions for encampment( Num 2:1-31 ) and for marching ( Num 10:14-20 ). These are 100 percent relevant to the time and place these books were written, which is the desert experience. Desert references are abundant, including

sanitary instructions for desert life Deut 23:12, 13

sending the scapegoat into the desert Leviticus 16:10

Style

We have writings of the thirteenth and fourtheenth centuries from the Hittites. Specifically the Hittite suzainty treaties of the fourteenth centures. This is what their writing style reveals, and we will subsequently compare these with the contemporary writings of Moses to show the authenticity. This is outlined by the Scholar K.A. Kitchen

1.Preamble or title, identifying the author of the covenent.
2. Historical prologue or retrospect, mentioning previous relations between the two parties involved, past benefactions by the suzerain are a basis for the bassals gratitude and future obedience
3. Stipulations basic and detailed: the obligations laid upon the vassal by the sovereign
(4) (a) Deposition of a copy of the covenant in the vassal's sanctuary and (b) Periodic public reading of the covenant terms to the people.
(5) Witnesses, a long list of gods invoked to
witness the covenant.
(6) (a) Curses, invoked upon the vassal if he breaks the covenant and, (b) Blessings, invoked upon the vassal if he keeps the covenant. Nearly all the known treaties of the fourteenth to thirteenth centuries B.C. follow this pattern closely. Sometimes some elements are omitted, but the order of them is almost invariable, whenever the original texts are sufficiently well preserved to pen analyzed. This is, therefore, a stable form in the period
concerned. Earlier than this, the pattern was
quite different different. (Kitchen, OOT, 92-93 )
Form of Deuteronomic Covenant and comparison of Contemporary style to show that this was written in the exact time period

Sinai Covenant in Deuteronomy
(1) Preamble: 1:1-5

(2) Historical prologue: 1:6-3:29

(3) Stipulations: 4-11 (basic); 12-26
'detailed)

(4) (a) Deposition of text: 31:9, 24-26

(b) Public reading: 31:10-12

(5) Witnesse.5: since pagan gods are
excluded here, ancient oriental godlists are
absent. Moses' song could have been the witless (31:16-30; 32:1-47), as Kitchen attests.
(6) Curses and Blessings: 28:1-14 (blessngs); 28:15-68 (curses);

What do the scholars conclude from this writing style?

The close correspondence between the two has led Kitchen to observe that "there
can be no serious doubt that Deuteronomy coincides with the fourteenth- and thirteenth-century treaties,." (Kitchen, ,AODOT,3)
Kline displays equal confidence: "In the light of the evidence now surveyed, it would
seem. indisputable that the Book of Deuteronomy, not in the form of some imaginary original core but precisely in the , integrity of its present form, the only one for which there is any objective evidence, exhibits the structure of the ancient suzerainty treaties in the unity and completeness of their classic pattern." (Kline, I
DC,41)
D. J: McCarthy has pro- deduced the most thorough examination of u the ancient treaties in his scholarly Treaty b and Covenant. he finds the comparison unavoidable: "Is there, there-fore, a text in the Old Testament which exemplifies with sufficient fullness the treaty
form? For an affirmative answer we need only look at the the Book
of Deuteronomy:' (McCarthy, TC, 110)
McCarthy goes on to assert that Deuteronomy's components "present
an organic structure which is that of the treaty:' (McCarthy, TC, 110)
Elsewhere he emphatically states that
"there can be no doubt that Deuteronomy
does show relationship to the literary forms of these treaties:' (McCarthy,
COT,230)
The most recent extensive study of this issue has been undertaken by Weinfeld.
is forced to acknowledge: . "The major sections of the Hittite state
treaties. ..are all found in the book of Deuteronomy:' (Weinfeld, DDS, 61)

Therefore we can conclude, that the Bible is also backed by the writing style directly within the form of the day, which it was written in! Once again showing the exemplary preservation of Gods word.

Comparison of styles after this, to show why this is so significant
Mendenhall recognized When empires again arose, notably Assyria, the structure of the
covenant by which they bound their vassals is entirely different. Even in Israel, the writer
submits that the older form of covenant was no longer widely known after the united
monarchy." (Mendenhall, LCIANE, 30) The quite conspicuous differences to which Mendenhall refers can be detailed as follows:
(I) Order
(a) The earlier form almost invariably
places divine witnesses between stipulations
and curses; this is never found in later treaties.
(Kitchen, AOOT, 95)
(b) The highly consistent order of the earlier treaties is replaced by more randomness.
(Kitchen, AOOT, 96)
(2) Content
(a) The customary historical prologue of the second millennium B.C. is totally absent in 0
the later treaties. (Kitchen, AOOT, 95; Kline, JDC, 43; Mendenhall, LCIANE, 56; Huffrnon, Ic
ESC, 84)
(b) The first millennium B.C. treaties are A also lacking in the earlier usage of blessings in
conjunction with the cursings. (Kitchen,AOOT, 96; Kline, DC, 42)
What are the immediate implications of this? Kline says: the new evidence for the antiquity and authenticity of Deuteronomy must not be suppressed. This would mean that not only does the evidence confirm the dates of the writings, but also confirms that one would have to invent a way or a process to reproduce exactly a complex legal pattern belonging to the second millennium.

The Sinai covenant is therefore solidified again.
Egyptian Influence in Books of the Law
Much of the material in the books of the law has obvious Egyptian background. This is exactly what we would expect, as Moses was educated under the top Egyptian schooling. This can only be explained, if written by someone of his skills and upbringing. When I say upbringing, he knew even of Egyptian Royalty. Such as Moses mentioning Royalty wearing a signet rung and a chain of gold as a token of authority * Gen 41:42, ) This existed in ancient Egypt and Persia, but not in latter times.
Moreover, Moses uses a great percentage of Egyptian words. For example, the expression abrek ( Gen 41:43 translated bow the knee ) is the Egyptian word for bow down. Countless others are found as well. For example weights and measures such as zeret( a span ), drt ( hand ) ephah (tenth of a homer ), from pt hin ( about 5 quarts volume ) gome ( papyrus ), ses ( linen ) are all specifically derived from Egyptian terminology.

Venom

07-13-2003, 09:50 PM

Moses also lists several Egyptian names.

These include: Potipherah (Gen. 41:45; 46:20) and its shorter form. Potiphar (Gen. 37:36; 39:1)
meaning "whom Ra (the Sun-God) gave:' }

Zaphnath-paaneah (Gen. 41:45), whom Pharaoh named Joseph. The LXX interprets
this to mean "savior of the world"-a fitting title for the one who delivered Egypt
from famine.

Asenath (Gen. 41:45, 50), Joseph's wife.
On (Gen. 41:45, 50; 46:20),

The ancient Egyptian name for Heliopolis. Rameses (Gen. 47:11; Ex. 1:11; 12:37; 33:3, 5).
Pithom (Ex. 1:11), the Egyptian mentioned in the nineteenth
dynasty monuments, just as Exodus here records it.

More confirmation from archaology

Campaign into Israel by Pharaoh Shishak (1 Kings 14:25-26), recorded on the walls of the Temple of Amun in Thebes, Egypt.

Revolt of Moab against Israel (2 Kings 1:1; 3:4-27), recorded on the Mesha Inscription.

Fall of Samaria (2 Kings 17:3-6, 24; 18:9-11) to Sargon II, king of Assyria, as recorded on his palace walls.

Defeat of Ashdod by Sargon II (Isaiah 20:1), as recorded on his palace walls.

Campaign of the Assyrian king Sennacherib against Judah (2 Kings 18:13-16), as recorded on the Taylor Prism.

Siege of Lachish by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:14, 17), as recorded on the Lachish reliefs.

Assassination of Sennacherib by his own sons (2 Kings 19:37), as recorded in the annals of his son Esarhaddon.

Fall of Nineveh as predicted by the prophets Nahum and Zephaniah (2:13-15), recorded on the Tablet of Nabopolasar.

Fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:10-14), as recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.

Captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in Babylon (2 Kings 24:15-16), as recorded on the Babylonian Ration Records.

Fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:30-31), as recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder.

Freeing of captives in Babylon by Cyrus the Great (Ezra 1:1-4; 6:3-4), as recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder.

An inscription was found on the Mount of Olives in 1931 which reads, "Here were brought the bones of Uzziah, King of Judah &#8211; do not open." Evidently, because of his leprosy, Uzziah's bones were removed from the field belonging to the kings and transferred to yet a more remote location.

That Cyrus released the Jewish exiles from Babylon is not only documented in the Bible (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:2-4), but also implied in the contemporary Cyrus Cylinder. This ancient record states, "I (Cyrus) gathered all their former inhabitants and returned to them their habitations."

Darius-I the Great
Darius I was king of the Persian empire from 522-486 B.C. He gave permission to renew the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 6:1-12), which had been discontinued for some 10 years.

His is the first of three monumental tombs cut into a cliff near the Persian capital of Persepolis, Iran. The inscription on his tomb reads,

King Darius states: King, whoever you are, who may arise after me, protect yourself well from lies. Do not trust the man who lies. Believe what I did and tell the truth to the people. Do not conceal (it). If you do not conceal these matters, but you do tell the people, may Ahura Mayda protect you.

There are three other tombs at the site, of the Persian kings Xerxes (485-465 B.C.), Artaxerxes I (465-424 B.C.), and Darius II (423-405 B.C.). Xerxes is the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther, the king whom Esther married. Ezra was a scribe (Ezra 7:6) and Nehemiah a cupbearer (Nehemiah 2:1) under Artaxerxes I. He authorized both Ezra and Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem, Ezra to carry out religious and judicial duties (Ezra 7:12-26), and Nehemiah to rebuild the city walls (Nehemiah 2:1-9). Darius II is the Darius mentioned in Nehemiah 12:22, but this is not certain.

Additional List of Structures discussed in the Old Testiment that have been found!

The palace at Jericho where Eglon, king of Moab, was assassinated by Ehud (Judges 3:15-30).

The east gate of Shechem where Gaal and Zebul watched the forces of Abimelech approach the city (Judges 9:34-38).

The Temple of Baal/El-Berith in Shechem, where funds were obtained to finance Abimelech's kingship and where the citizens of Shechem took refuge when Abimelech attacked the city (Judges 9:4, 46-49).

The pool of Gibeon where the forces of David and Ishbosheth fought during the struggle for the kingship of Israel (2 Samuel 2:12-32).

The Pool of Heshbon, likened to the eyes of the Shulammite woman (Song of Songs 7:4).

The royal palace at Samaria where the kings of Israel lived (1 Kings 20:43; 21:1, 2; 22:39; 2 Kings 1:2; 15:25).

The Pool of Samaria where King Ahab's chariot was washed after his death (1 Kings 22:29-38).

The water tunnel beneath Jerusalem dug by King Hezekiah to provide water during the Assyrian siege (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30).

The royal palace in Babylon where King Belshazzar held the feast and Daniel interpreted the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5).

The royal palace in Susa where Esther was queen of the Persian king Xerxes (Esther 1:2; 2:3, 5, 9, 16).

The royal gate at Susa where Mordecai, Esther's cousin, sat (Esther 2:19, 21; 3:2, 3; 4:2; 5:9, 13; 6:10, 12).

The Square in front of the royal gate at Susa where Mordecai met with Halthach, Xerxes' eunuch (Esther 4:6).

The city of Dan is one of the most famous for being the site of one of the high-places set up by Jeroboam, first king of the breakaway northern kingdom, in order to worship the golden calf.

Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!" And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in DAN.
-1 Kings 12:28-29

That high place has been found and excavated by Biran (Biran 1976). The Dan high place was not only used during Israelite times, but continued as a religious center down to the Roman period. In 1977, a very important discovery from the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd centuries BC) was made. A dedicatory inscription mentioning Dan was found some 17 meters south of the high place (Biran 1981). the Biblical name of the site was found in an ancient inscription and, by association, the name of one of Jacob's sons.

Gad was Jacob's seventh son, the first son of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid. The tribe of Gad occupied the central area of Transjordan (Joshua 13:24-28).

In the famous Mesha Inscription found at Dhibon in Jordan, dating from the 9th century BC, the tribe of Gad is mentioned.[2] The Moabite king Mesha states, "And the men of GAD had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from of old" (Lemaire 1994: 33, line 10).

Judah is perhaps the best known of Jacob's sons. He was the fourth son of Jacob and the fourth son born to Leah (Genesis 29:35). Because of the political importance of the area of Judah through the centuries, the name has turned up in many ancient inscriptions.

The oldest of these are two references to Ahaz King of Judah from the eighth century BC. One is on a bulla (clay sealing) which reads "Ahaz (son of) Jotham King of JUDAH" (Shanks 1997). The other is in a building inscription of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III from Calah (Nimrud), Iraq. It simply states that king "Jehoahaz (Ahaz) of JUDAH" paid tribute to the Assyrian king (Oppenheim 1969:282).

Additional references to Judah occur throughout the Assyrian period (Oppenheim 1969: 287, 288, 291, 294, 301). The Babylonians recorded the fall of the "city of JUDAH" to Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC (Oppenheim 1969: 564) and the issuing of rations to Judean captives, including Jehoiachin (Oppenheim 1969: 308). In addition, we have a 407 BC letter from Elephantine to Bagoas, governor of JUDAH (Ginsburg 1969: 492), Yehud (Judah) coins from the 4th century BC, and Yehud seals from the 4th-2nd centuries BC (Stern 1982: 224-27; 202-13).

In The Bible Balaam the Son of Beor is mentioned numerous times. In an unprecedented discovery, an ancient text found at Deir Alla, Jordan, in 1967 tells about the activities of a prophet Balaam. Three times in the first four lines of the text he is referred to as "Balaam son of Beor," exactly as in the Bible. Balaam was not an Israelite. He was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites. They were camped on the east side of the Jordan river, about to make their historic entry into the promised land. Through God's intervention Balaam was obliged to bless the Israelites rather than curse them (Num 22-24). Afterwards, Balaam seems to have been the cause of the Israelites' sin in Numbers 25 when they took Moabite and Midianite women and worshipped the Moabite god Baal-peor (Num 31:16). Balaam was eventually killed when Moses sent the Israelites against the Midianites (Num 31).

Written in Aramaic, the text begins with the title "Warnings from the Book of Balaam the son of Beor. He was a seer of the gods." It is in red ink, as are other portions of the text where emphasis is desired. There is a reference to the "Book of Balaam" There are a number of similarities between the text and the account of Balaam in the book of Numbers. To begin with, the events described in Numbers 22-24 took place in the same general area where the text was found. At the time of the Numbers 22-24 incident, the Israelites were camped on the Plains of Moab, across the Jordan river from Jericho. Deir Alla is located about 25 miles north of this area, where the Jabbok river flows into the Jordan valley.

Balaam evidently was well known as a "cursing prophet," for Balak specifically summoned Balaam for the purpose of cursing Israel (Num 22:6). Much of the Deir Alla text was given to curses uttered by the prophet. The term "shadday- " is used on two occasions in the text. Shadday is one of the names for God in the Old Testament, used mainly in the book of Job. Since the account of Job is set in Transjordan (Job 1:1-3), it seems that Shadday was a name used for deity in this region. Balaam used the name twice in his blessing speeches where it is translated "Almighty" (Num 24:4, 16).

This is important because it confirms the Biblical wanderings of the Isrialites. It is clear that Balaam was a real person who operated on the east side of the Jordan river. He was known as a cursing prophet and continued to be revered hundreds of years after his death. His persona as revealed in the Deir Alla text precisely matches that of the Balaam of Numbers 22-24.

1. Dijkstra, M. "Is Balaam Also Among the Prophets?" Journal of Biblical Literature. 1995. 114: 43-64.
2. Shea, W.H. "The Inscribed Tablets From Tell Deir `Alla". Andrews University Seminary Studies. 1989. 27: 21-37; 97-119.
3. Wood, B.G. "Prophecy of Balaam Found in Jordan". Bible and Spade. 1977. 6: 121-24.
Moabite Stone reveal about the revolt of Mesha is found. "I am Mesha, son Chemosh, king of Moab, the Dibonite." [1] So begins one of the most extraordinary ancient documents ever found. What is fascinating is that the rest of the stone describes an event parallel to the Bible. Both documents, 2 Kings 3 and the Mesha Inscription, describe the same event, the revolt of Mesha,
Interestingly enough Mesha also discusses Yahweh, which is one of the main names of God!

Moreover The Bible records the names of many pagan gods worshipped by the nations around Israel. One of those gods is Chemosh. He is mentioned eight times in the Old Testament (Num 21:29; Jgs 11:24; 1 Kgs 11:7, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13; Jer 48:7, 13, 46), always (with the exception of Jgs 11:24) as the national god of the Moabites. The Mesha Inscription verifies that this indeed was the case. Chemosh is mentioned some 11 times in the inscription:

Baal Meon was allotted to the Reubenites (Jos 13:17, where it is called Beth Baal Meon), and built by them (Num 32:38).

Toward the end of the inscription, Baal Meon is mentioned again when Mesha records,

"And I built ... the temple of Baal Meon; and I established there [...] the sheep of the land" (lines 29-31).

The reference to sheep is significant, as it reflects the main occupation of the people of Moab, in agreement with the Bible. 2 Kings 3:4 tells us,

Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with 100,000 lambs and with the wool of 100,000 rams.
Kiriathaim was another city allotted to the Reubenites and built by them (Jos 13:19; Num 32:37).Mesha also mentions this

And I built Kiriathaim" (lines 9-10)

Kerioth was judged by God (Jer 48:24), with the town being captured and its strongholds taken (Jer 48:41).

Mesha also mentions this town

"And I brought thence the altar-hearth of his Beloved, and I dragged it before Chemosh in Kerioth/my town" (lines 12-13) "

There are several others mentioned here! But, this is just a sample of the mesha writings excavated! One of which, he Mentions King David and his house

REFERENCES
Dearman, A., ed. 1989 Studies in the Mesha Inscription and Moab. Atlanta: Scholars Press.
Lemaire, A. 1994 "House of David Restored in Moabite Inscription". Biblical Archaeology Review 20/3: 30-37.
Thiele, E.R. 1983 The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan.

The Incredible Preservation of God's Word Part III - New Testament

Noone from antiquity has had their words so carefully preserved as Jesus Christ. The New testament provides Eye Witness accounts to, The Life, Death, and Resurection of Jesus. We can say with assurity, that the eye witness accounts, written on his life are the exact accounts to which we are priveledged to read today.

The Nature of The New Testament

What I will document below, are statements, which describe the purpose and intent of the eye witnesses to Jesus. In it, they state their purpose for their writtings.

[i]For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

2 Peter 1:16

"1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. "

1 John 1:1-3

" 1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus"

Luke 1:1-3

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God

Acts 1:1-3

" After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also "

1 Cor 15: 6-8

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John 30:30-31

" And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; 41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. "

Acts 10:39-42

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed

1 peter 5:1

" Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know "

Acts 2:22

" 24 And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. 25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. 26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. "

Acts 26:24-26

Summary

The writters of the New Testiment were eye witnesses to Jesus.

The writers of the New Testament also appealed to the firsthand knowledge of their
readers or listeners concerning the facts and evidence about the person of Jesus Christ.
The writers not only said "Look, we saw this;' or "We heard that," but they turned the
tables around and right in front of their most adverse critics said, "you also know
about these things. You saw them; you yourselves know about it." One had better be
careful when he says to his opposition, "you know this also;' because if he is not right
about the details, his critics will gladly and quickly expose his error. But this is exactly
what the apostles did, and their critics could not refute them.

The New Testiment, The Most Authentic Documentation of All Time

Luke, the New testiment writter on the life, death and ressurection of Christ, was prominant physician. However, he goes beyond this. This man, is hailed as one of the most proficient historians of all time.

These are not my words, but what many consider to be the worlds greatest archaeologist of all time. This is what he has to say in regards to the New Testiment writter

Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements trustworthy, this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians

This archaeological Genious, and world renound scholar continues by stating

Lukes history insurpassed in respect to its trustworthiness "

Consider the seriousness of this statement. Jesus said, and I quote

 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?


Notice how he said, believest thou this? It is the same question he asks each of us. A question with eternal consequences, as we see from the Rich man

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Fortunately Jesus paid the price for us. In fact, Jesus himself stated

said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

The prophets, clearly stated that Jesus must die, that we might live. Isaiah speaks of this in depth. To understand what Jesus had to suffer, I refer you to the prophesy regarding him centuries before his sacrafice click here (http://bible.crosswalk.com/cgi-bin/audio-bible.pl?translation=kjv&title=Isaiah%2053:1-12&file=Isaiah_053&start=1.67&end=)

We shall now, concentrate on New testiment accuracy, now that we understand its eternal significance.

Luke, a man varified and attested to as One of Histories greatest, stated the following regarding Jesus

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Acts 1:3

What we must understand, is that the New Testiment is vast. It provides us with a numerous plethora of testable features. And as we shall show, in every area testable, the New Testiment stands as unsurpassed in accuracy, content and shere revelation.

We begin our journey by discussing the fact, that what you read today, is what was written origionally. That the eye witness accounts, which you have an opportunity to study, and to learn from, are unprecedented in accuracy, and authenticity.

We will test its accuracy with both time, and also in number of manuscripts. Quite simply, the more manuscripts one has, the more assured they are of their ability to assuridely state, that they are reading the origional work.
The closer in time they are, the even more assured they become. Therefore, it needs be that we compare and contrast, the greatest works of antiquity, and the most reffered to, with the New Testiment. Only then can we grasp, the incredible, nay, overwelming support for our Bible.

Author Herodotus Book History Date Written 480-425 B.C.

Earliest Copies c. A.D. 900 Time Gap 1, 350 yrs. Number of Copies 8

Author Plato Date Written 400 B.C.

c. A. D. 900 Time Gap 1, 300 yrs. 7

Author Caesar Gallic Wars 100-44 B.C.

Earliest Copies c. A.D. 900 Time Gap 1, 000 yrs Number of Copies 10

Author Thucydides Book History Date Written 460-400 B.C.

Earliest Copies c. A.D. 900 Time Gap 1, 300 Number of Copies 8

Author Livy Book History of Rome Date Written 59 B.C. to 17 A.D.

Earliest Copies 10th century A.D. Time Gap c 1, 000 yrs Number of Copies 19

Author Pliny Book Natural History Date Written A.D. 61-113

Earliest Copies c. A.D. 850 Time Gap 750 yrs Number of Copies 7

These are the works considered of highest antiquity. However, the one work that truly stands out is Homer's Illiad. Next to the New testiment, it is the most accurate. Therefore we will finish this dissertation by comparing these two.

Author Homer Book Illiad Date Written 800 b.c.

Earliest Copies 400 BC Time Gap 400 yrs Number of Copies 643

Author God Book New Testament Date Written 40-100 A.D.

Earliest Copies 125 A.D. Time Gap 25 yrs Number of Copies I will list the number of copies below to show you the magnitude of difference!

Greek Copies

5,686

Manuscripts in Other Languages:

Latin Vulgate 10,000+
Ethiopic 2,000+
Slavic 4,101
Armenian 2,587
Syriac Pashetta 350+
Bohairic lOO
Arabic 75
Old Latin 50
Anglo Saxon 7
Gothic 6
Sogdian 3
Old Syriac 2
Persian 2
Frankish 1
SUBTOTAL 19,284+

TOTAL ALL MSS 24,970+

To compare these two in size, it is best to show a ruff scale

insert picture

references

Michael Welte of the Institute for New Testament Studies in Munster, Germany;

Kurt Nand's Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 87,
1968;

Kurt Nand's Kurzgefasste Liste der Griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments,

W. De Gruyter, 1963; Kurt Aland's "Neve Nevtestamentliche Papyri III

New Testament Studies, July, 1976; Bruce Metzger's The

Early Versions of the New Testament, Clarendon Press, 1977;

New Testament Manuscript Studies, (eds.) Merrill M. Parvis
and Allen Wikgren, The University of Chicago Press, 1950;

Eroll F. Rhodes's List of Armenian New Testament
Manuscripts, Tokyo, Ikeburo, 1959;

The Bible and Modern Scholarship, (ed.) J. Phillip
Hyatt, Abingdon Press, 1965.

I believe that the importance of this is best shown, by the following scholars below

The scholar F.F. Bruce states

" There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjous such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament. "

The scholar Dr. Zacharias concludes

In real terms, the New Testament is easily the best attested ancient writting in terms of the sheer number of documents, the time span between events and the document, and the variety of documents available to sustain or contradict it. There is nothing in ancient manuscript evidence to match such textual availability and integrity. "

Notice how Zacharias discusses variety. Indeed, Jesus commanded to go into all the world and preach.

The great scholar Greenlee discusses how this diversity is important in establishing the accuracy of the New testament

" Another strong support for textual evidence and accuracy is the ancient versions. For the most part, ancient literature was rarely translated into another language. "

Dr. Metzger states

" From its inception Christianity has been
a missionary faith. The earliest versions of the New Testament were prepared by mis-
sionaries to assist in the propagation of the Christian faith among peoples whose native
tongue was Syriac, Latin, or Coptic "

And as has been shown above, this list extends into several other languages.

Overwelming Evidence From Early Church Fathers

The Encyclopedia Britannica states : "When the textual scholar has examined the manuscripts and the versions, he still has not exhausted the evidence for the New Testament text." (EB, Vo13, 579)

You see, the Early Church Fathers quotes the New testament so frequently, and so numerously, that you could reconstruct the New Testament alone, even if you threw away all the New Testament Manuscripts!

Dr. Metezger states

Indeed, sso extensive are these citations that if all the other sources for our knowledge of the New Testiment were destroyed, they would be sufficient alone for the recontruction of the entire New Testament

Dr. Jaganay reveals just how extensive this is below

"Of the considerable volumes of unpublished material that Dean Burgon left when he died, of special note is his index of New Testament citations by the church fathers of antiquity. It consists of sixteen thick volumes to be
found in the British Museum, and contains
86,489 quotations:"

That number is astounding. It is better comprehended, when one sees a sampling of the early church fathers who cited the New Testament

Clement of Rome {A.D. 95). Origen, in De
Principus, Book II, Chapter 3, calls him a dis-
ciple of the apostles. (Anderson, BWG, 28)
Tertullian, in Against Heresies, Chapter
23, writes that he (Clement) was appointed
by Peter.

Irenaeus continues in Against Heresies,
Book III, Chapter 3, that he "had the preach-
ing of the Apostles still echoing in his ears
and their doctrine in front of his eyes."
He quotes from:

Matthew 1 Corinthians
Mark Titus
Luke Hebrews
Acts 1 Peter

Ignatius (A.D. 70-110) was Bishop of
Antioch and was martyred. He knew the apostles well. His seven epistles contain quotations from:

Matthew, Philippians
John, Colossians
Acts 1, and 2 Thessalonians
Romans 1, and 2 Timothy
1 Corinthians, James
Galatians, 1 Peter, Ephesians

Polycarp (A.D. 70-156), martyred at eighty-six years of age, was Bishop of
Smyrna and a disciple of the apostle John.

Among others who quoted from the New Testament were Barnabas (c. A.D. 70), Hermas (c. A.D. 95), Tatian (c. A.D. 170), and Irenaeus (c. A.D. 170).

Clement of Alexandria (A.p. 150-212). 2,400 of his quotes are from all but three
books of the New Testament.

Tertullian (A.D. 160-220) was a presbyter of the ~hurch in Carthage, and quotes the
New Testament more than seven thousand times, of which 3,800 are from the Gospels.

Fippolytus (A.D. 170-235) has more than
1,300 references. Justin Martyr (A.D. 133) battled the heretic Marcion.

Origen (A.D. 185-253 or 254). This vociferous writer compiled more than six thou-
sand works. He lists more than eighteen thousand New Testament quotes. (Geisler,
GIB,353)

Cyprian (died A.D. 258) was bishop of Carthage. Uses approximately 740 Old Tes-
tament citations and 1,030 from the New Testament.

To all the above you can add famous names such as Augustine, Arnabius, Laitantius, Chrysostom, Jerome, Gaius Romanus, Athanasius, Arnbrose of Milan, Cyril of Alexandria, Ephraem the Syrian, Hilary of Poitiers, Gregory
of Nyssa, and so forth.

As Jesus said, " Though Heaven and Earth pass away, my words shall never Pass Away. "

The famous Scholar John Warwick Montgomery says it best when he states " To be skeptical of the resultant test of the New Testament books is to allow all of clasical antiquity to slip away into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament 

More Evidence of New Testiment Accuracy

To compound the above, we have eye witnesses to the eye witness who wrote the New Testament. Here are some of these

 Papias, Bishop of Heirapolis, and disciple of John The Appostle known as the " The Elder " states

The Elder used to say this also: "Mark, having
been the interpreter of Peter, wrote down
accurately all that he (Peter) mentioned,
whether sayings or doings of Christ

Papias says this of Matthew, "Matthew recorded the oracles in the Hebrew (i.e., Aramaic)
"tongue.

Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons who was a student
of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna; martyred, had been a Christian for eighty-six years, and was a disciple of
John the Apostle. He wrote: "So firm is the ground upon which these Gospels rest, that the very heretics themselves bear witness to them, and, starting from these documents , each one of them endeavours to establish his own particular doctrine." (Against Heresies III)

The four Gospels had become so axiomatic in the Christian world that Irenaeus can refer to it [the fourfold Gospel] as
an established and recognized fact as obvi ous as the four cardinal points of the compass:

" For as there are four quarters of the world in which we live, and four universal winds, and as the Church is dispersed over all the earth, and the gospel is the pillar and base of the Church and the breath of life, so it is natural that it should have four pillars, breathing immortality from every quarter and kindling the life of men anew. Whence it is manifest that the Word, the architect of all things, who sits upon the cherubim and holds all things
together, having been manifested to men, has given us the gospel in fourfold form, but held together by one Spirit.

Matthew published his Gospel among the Hebrews (i.e., Jews) in their own tongue, when Peter and Paul were preaching the
gospel in Rome and founding the church there. After their departure (i.e., their death, which strong tradition places at the time of the Neronian persecution in 64), Mark, the
disciple and interpreter of Peter, himself handed down to us in writing Peter's preaching. Luke, the follower of Paul,
set down in a book the gospel preached by his teacher. Then John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on His breast ( this is a reference to John 13:25 and 21:20), himself produced his Gospel, while he was living at
Ephesus in Asia. (Irenaus, AH)

Clement of Rome (c. A.D. 95) uses Scripture as a reliable and authentic source.

Ignatius (A.D. 70-110). This Bishop of Antioch was martyred for his faith in Christ. He knew all the apostles and was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John. Ignatius himself said, " I would rather die for Christ than rule the whole earth. Leave me to the beasts that I may by them be partaker of God. He was
thrown to the wild beasts in the colosseum at Rome. His Epistles were written during his journey from Antioch to his
martyrdom. (Moyer, WWWCH, 209)

Ignatius gave credence to the Scripture by the way he based his faith on the accuracy of the Bible. He had ample material and witnesses to support the trustworthiness of the
Scriptures.

Polycarp (A.D. 70-156) was a disciple of John who succumbed to martyrdom at eighty-six years of age for his relentless devotion to Christ and the Scriptures. Polycarp's death demonstrated his trust in the accuracy of the Scripture. In the reign of Antoninus Pius, when a local persecution was taking place in Smyrna and several of his members had been martyred, he was singled out as the leader of the Church, and marked for martyrdom. When asked to recant and live, he said 'Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He hath done me no wrong. How can I
speak evil of my King who saved me?' He was burned at the stake, dying a heroic martyr for his faith. Polycarp certainly had ample contacts with all the appostles who wrote the scriptures to verify the truth.

Other confirmations To The New Testament Accuracy

It is already hammered home, how accurate the New Testament is. The early manuscript dates prove that Jesus was immediately preached upon his assention, and the 86, 000 quotations, show that the eye witness accounts of Jesus were immediately spread. below I will simply document, more quotes, which show that immediately Christ was preached, and immediately those who gave their testimony were horribly persecuted.

Tacitus

The first-century Roman, Tacitus, is considered one of the more accurate historians of the ancient world. He gives the account of the great fire of Rome, for which some
blamed the Emperor Nero:

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the popu lace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus,and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center."

Flavius Josephus, the famous historian. Each of the manuscripts we have, all contain the passages which I list.
This is a fact. Here is him discussing the martyrdom of James the Appostle, as the Bible attests

l Ananias, he writes: " ...he assembled the Sanhedrin of the judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some
others, [or some of his companions], and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned." (Josephus, AJ, 20.9.1)

This is exactly what we find in the New testament

Josephus goes on to write

"Now, some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, who was called the
Baptist; for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism " Josephus, AJ, 18.5.2)

His most famous passage is here

Now there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews
and many of the Gentiles. He was [ the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. For he appeared to them alive
again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not
extinct to this day. (Josephus, AJ, 18.3.3)

This passage was cited by Eusebius in its present form (Ecclesiastial History, 1.11) and the manuscript evidence
favors it. It exists in all the extant copies of this text.

Julius Afracanus, discusses the darkness caused during Jesus Crucifiction. There is a powerful article on this, which takes a look at the evidence by clicking here (http://www.christian-thinktank.com/jrthal.html)

such writer is Julius Africanus, who in about A.D. 221 quotes Thallus in a discussion about the darkness that followed the crucifixion of Christ: "On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness, and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the
third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun."
(Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1 in
Roberts, ANF)

Africanus identifies the darkness, which Thallus explained as a solar eclipse, with the darkness at the crucifixion described in Luke 23:44-45. His reason for disagreeing with
Thallus is that a solar eclipse can not take place at the time of a full moon, and the account reports that "it was at the season of the paschal full moon that Jesus died."

Pliny the Younger, confirms the early Christian beliefs, and their persecutions below

Pliny the Younger was a Roman author and
administrator. In a letter to the Emperor Trajan in about A.D. 112, Pliny describes the early Christian worship practices: They were in the habit of meeting on a certain
fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a God, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify
their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food-but food of an ordinary and innocent kind. (Pliny the
Younger, L, 10:96)

This reference provides shows that Jesus Christ was worshipped as God from an early date by Christians who continued to follow the practice of breaking bread
together, as reported in Acts 2:42 and 46.
6C.

Emperor Trajan once again confirms this

In reply to Pliny's letter, Emperor Trajan gave the following guidelines for punishing Christians: "No search should be made for these people, when they are denounced and
found guilty they must be punished, with the restriction, however, that when the party denies himself to be a Christian, and shall give proof that he is not (that is, byadoring our gods) he shall be pardoned on the
ground of repentance even though he may have formerly incurred suspicion." (Pliny the Younger, L, 10:97)

In The Talmud We Read - " It is taught: On The eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu the Nazarene ( for those of you who do not know, that is how you say Jesus in the Greek, and what you would read in the Greek translation biblically ) And an announcer went out, in front of him, for forty days saying: He is going to be stoned, because he practiced sorcery and enticed and led Israel astray. Anyone who knows anything in his favor, let him come and plead in his behalf.' But not having found anything in his favor, they hanged him on the eve of Passover. " ( San Hedrin 43a, cf t. Sanh 10:11 , Sanh 7:12 )

Yeshu again means Jesus, and he was from Nazareth, and furthermore hanged is another way of referring to crucifixion, and is referred to in the new testament several times, as a curse. I.e. Cursed is every man who hangeth on a tree. Which is why they strongly referred to this, in this way( also see Luke 23:39, and Gal 3:13 ). In fact crucifixion was so horrible that by the Talmud, it was almost always referred to as hanged. I.e. Paul discussing this in his epistles. for example

In acts

. 36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Acts 10

and again

29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. Acts 5

Lucian ( The extremely famous Greek Writter ) says the following scornfully about the Christians, as he was against them, and in favor of their persecutions.

" The Christians, you know, worship a man- the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified
on that account; You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them, and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. "

The main point is, that it is clear that the teachings of Chirst, were immediately manifested. And, we can see the persecution they led to as well.

Dr. Gary Habermas, a leading researcher and writer on the historical events surrounding Jesus, lists several verified facts that can be ascertained from this text: " Jesus
was worshiped by Christians, Jesus introduced new teachings in Palestine, He was crucified because of these teachings, such as all believers are brothers, from the moment that conversion takes place, and after the false gods are denied. [Also ] these teachings included worshiping Jesus
and living according to his laws. (Habermas,
HJ, 206-207)
Habermas adds: "Concerning Christians,
we are told that they are followers of Jesus
who believe themselves to be immortal. ...

Despite being one of the church's most vocal critics, Lucian confirms exactly that the New Testament writtings were immediately preached.
(Geisler, BECA, 383)

Mara Bar Serapion - In 70 AD, Mara Bar Serapion a Syrian and Philosopher wrote a letter to his son, encouraging him to pursue wisdom. In his letter he compares Jesus to the philosophers Socrates and pythagoras. He writes: " What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger, the samians were overwhelmed by the sea, the Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion.

There are several other early writtings which confirm the early teachings. Such as the Gnostics, which were not Christians. Here are some quotes from them in 1st century

"For when they had seen him and heard him, he granted them to taste him and to smell him and to touch the beloved Son.
When he had appeared instructing them about the Father. ...For he came by means of fleshly appearance." (Robinson, NHL,
30:27-33; 31:4-6)

"Jesus was patient in accepting sufferings since he knows that his death is life for many....He was nailed to a tree; he published the edict of the Father on the cross. ...He draws himself down to death through life. Having stripped himself of the perishable rags, he put on imperishability, which no one can possibly take away from him." (Robinson,
NHL, 20:11-14, 25-34)

Other Early Christian Writtings Which Affirm the Teachings of Christ and Their Spread

The infamous Justin Martyr - The consensus among scholars is that Justin Martyr is one of the greatest of the early Christian apologists. " He lived in 100 A.D. and died later that century, first he was scourged mercilessly and then beheaded for his belief in Christ. He was one of the most educated men of his days, and well versed in Stoism, Aristotelianism, Pythagoreanism, and Platonism. Justin not only was a devout reader of the 27 books of the new testament but affirmed the accuracy of Christ many times "

Here are some quotes from him

"And the expression, 'They pierced my hands and my Feet; was used in reference to the nails of the cross which were fixed in his hands and feet. And after he was crucified,
they cast lots upon his vesture, and they that crucified him parted it among them. And that these things did happen you can ascertain from the 'Acts' of Pontius Pilate." (Mar-
tyr, FA, 35)

" Now there is a village in the land of the Jews, thirty five stadia from Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ was born, as you can ascertain also from the registers of the taxing made under Cyrenius, your first procurator in Judea " ( first apology, 34 )

" For the time of his birth, Magi who came from Arabia worshiped him, coming first to Herod, who then was sovereign in your Land." ( Typho, 77 dialogue )

For when they crucified Him, driving in the nails, they pierced his hands and his feet, and those who crucified him parted his garments among themselves, casting lots for what he chose to have, and receiving according to the decision of the Lot."

" Accordingly, after he was crucified, even all his acquaintances forsook him, having denied him, and afterwards, when he had from the dead and appeared to them, and had taught them to read the prophesies in which all these things were foretold as coming to pass, and when they had seen him ascending into heaven, and had believed, and had received power sent thence by him upon them, and went to every race of men, they taught these things, and were called apostles ( first apology, 50 )

Christ said amongst you ( i.e. the Jews ) that he would give the sign of Jonah, exhorting you to repent of your wicked deeds at least after he rose again from the dead yet you not only have not repented, after you learned that he rose from the dead, but, as I said before, you have sent chosen and ordained men throughout all the world to proclaim that a godless and lawless heresy had sprung from one Jesus, a Galilean deceiver, whom we crucified, but his disciples stole him by night from the tomb, where he was laid when unfastened from the cross, and now deceive men by asserting that he has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. " ( trypho 108 )

The Koran however backs Jesus as a great historical figure. In Islam, Jesus is regarded as the Son of The Virgin Marry who was begotten by the creative word of God! The Koran refers explicitly to the virgin birth of Jesus ( Mary v. 20 ) When the angel Gabriel in the Koran announced to Marry that she would bear a son, she replied, " How can this be, for I am a virgin and no mortal has ever touched me." The account goes onto say that and I quote " it is easy for me ( the Lord ). " He then " breathed on her his Spirit. "

* Koran Attests to Jesus Being Free of Sin! - The Koran also affirms this biblical discussion. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary he told her that her son, Jesus, would be, and I quote " without fault," that is, free from sin.

* Koran Attests to his miracles - The nation of Islam once again backs the bible here when it says that Jesus
1. healed the blind
2. cleansed the lepers
3. raised the dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
( found in table V 110 )

* In the Koran it is taught to believe in all the prophets - The Koran ( Al-Imran, V. 45 ) says of Jesus, that he is and I again quote! " the greatest above all in this world and in the world to come."

As we know the Jews, namely the ones who crucified him, according to the 27 most backed books of antiquity were against Jesus and claimed his miracles were acts of sorcery. This is confirmed many times in historical documents. For example, in 90 AD Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus of Lyda speaks of and I quote " Jesus's magic arts"
( Staufer, JHS, 9 )

The Sanhedrin in 95 AD also confirmed Jesus miracles, as they bible says they did by the following statement: " Jesus practiced magic and led Israel astray " ( Sanhedrin 43a ).

* In 110 AD the Palestinian Jews discuss the controversy of the miracles of Jesus followers, they question whether " it is permissible to heal in the name of Jesus " Interestingly enough, healing in the name of Jesus imply that not only Jesus healed, but that people were being healed in the name of Jesus. Consequently, and as many of you know, this is a gain attested to in the bible! The disciples healed in the name of Jesus, and were persecuted, and brutalized for it. I would refer you to this scripture, its audio click here (http://bible.crosswalk.com/cgi-bin/audio-bible.pl?translation=kjv&title=Acts%204:1-37&file=Acts_004&start=2.36&end=)

Emporer Julian of Rome - " He mercilessly persecuted Christians for their faith in Jesus. Here is his statement in which he unwittingly attests to Jesus and his miracles and his establishment! " Jesus has now been celebrated about 300 years; having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of fame, unless anyone thinks it is a very great work to heal the lame and the blind people and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethaida and Bethany. " ( Schaff, PC 133 )
Julian thus unwittingly attest to Christ's ability to perform miracles

Hierocles wrote and condemed Peter and Paul as sorcerers, again attesting to the miracles they did.

Clement of Rome in the 1st century interestingly enough wrote to the Corinthians, spoken about several times in the bible. Here's what he stated

" The apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ was sent for the from God. So then Christ is from God, and the Apostles are from Christ. Both therefore came of the will of God in the appointed order. Having therefore received a charge, and having been fully assured through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in the word of God with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth with the glad tidings that the kingdom of God should come. So preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed their first fruits, when they had proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons unto them that should believe. "
Among other things this passage affirms the gospel message came from the historical Jesus who had been sent by God, and that his message was authenticated by his resurrection from the dead.

* Ignatius - While on his way to be executed for his belief in Jesus in Rome ( he was torn apart by wild animals ) he wrote seven letters - six to different churches and one to Polycarp. I would like to highlight three significant statements, from a person who was the direct disciple of John, Peter, Paul and personally knew Marry the mother of Jesus, and in fact we have letters between the two.

. " Jesus Christ who was of the race of David, who was the Son of Mary, who was truly born and ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died in the sight of those in heaven and on earth, who moreover was truly raised from the dead, his Father having raised him, who in the like fashion will so raise us also who believe in him. " ( trallians 9 )

2. " He is truly of the race of David according to the flesh, but Son of God by the Divine will and power, truly born of a virgin and baptized by John that all righteousness might be fulfilled by him, truly nailed up in the flesh for our sakes under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch ( of which fruit we are-that is, of his most blessed passion ), that he might set up and ensign unto all ages through his resurrection." ( smyreans, I )

3. " Be ye fully persuaded concerning the birth and the passion and the resurrection, which took place in the time of the governorship of Pontius Pilate, for these things were truly and certainly done by Jesus Christ our hope " ( magnesians 11 )

Quadras an early apologetic, who was like Ignatius was a disciple of the original apostles. Here is his defense of his faith to Roman Emperor Hadrian " The deeds of our Savior were always before you, for they were true miracles, those that were healed, those that were raised from the dead, who were seen, not only when healed and raised, but were always present. They remained living a long time, not only whilst our Lord was on earth, but likewise when he had left the earth. So that some of them have also lived to our own times. "

In his defense note the following as this was very early after Jesus and the very beginnings of the faith, when he was actually able to discuss with witnesses to Christ

1. Jesus miracles could be checked through witnesses, because they were done publicly and he appealed to this, as by the way the apostles did, and you read in the 27 most backed books of antiquity, known as the new testament. You have to understand, early in Christianity, countless of the converts were converted by simple phrases such as " You yourselves were witnesses. " Surely from a historical standpoint, and the spreading of Christianity like wild fire, in the face of death, you would see the need for such witness.

2. Again healing of the sick, raising of the dead, and Quadras was able to speak to these witnesses. Again, a huge way of conversion in the early church. The Jews knew of Jesus. If they had not, the disciples testimony would not have lasted long.

Barnabus - ( 138 AD ) Epistle of Barnabas Quote -
" He himself endured that he might destroy and show forth the resurrection of the ded, for that he must needs be manifested in the flesh, that at the same time he might redeem the promise made to the fathers, and by preparing the new people for himself might show, while he was on earth, that having brought about the resurrection, he will himself exercise judgment. Yea and further, he preached teaching Israel and performing so many wonders and miracles, and he loved him( Israel ) exceedingly. And when he chose his own apostles who were to proclaim his gospel, whi, that he might show that he came not to call the righteous but sinners, were sinners above every sin, then he manifested himself to be the Son of God."
He adds further the following about Jesus " But moreover when crucified He had vinegar and gall given him to drink. "

Aristedes was another very early apologist ( meaning defender in Greek ) and philosopher in Athens. He too defended Christ to the emperor Antonius who reigned in Ad 138. Here is how Aristedes describes Jesus:
" the Son of the most high God, revealed by the Holy Spirit, descended from heaven, born of a Hebrew virgin. His flesh he received from the Virgin, and he revealed himself in the human nature as the Son of God. In his goodness, which brought the glad tidings, he has won the whole world by his life-giving preaching he selected twelve apostles and taught the whole world by his mediatorial, light giving truth. And he was crucified, being pierced with nails by the Jews, and he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. He sent the apostles into all the world and instructed all by divine miracles full of wisdom. Their preaching bears blossoms and fruits to this day, and calls the whole world to illumination.

Thus, it is clear, that

1. The Eye witness accounts of Christ spread immediately
2. The New testament is the most backed document of antiquity with 25, 000 manuscripts
3. The teachings of the New Testament are spoken of through countless sources, and quotes over 86, 000 times

We will now move on and take Luke up on his offer to test the New testament historically

New Testaments Flawless Archaeological Backing

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God

Acts 1:1-3

We intend on testing the historicity of the New Testament, to show just how accurate Luke was.

However, before beginning I am compelled to once again quote Romans 3:4 Let God Be True and Every Man a Liar 

The following will document, how The New Testament has destroyed all opposition! Everytime it was questioned, the questions were answered with 100 percent truth. See documentation below

It was at one time conceded that Luke had entirely missed the boat in the events he portrayed as surrounding the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-3). Critics argued that there was no census, that Quirinius was not governor of Syria at that time, and that people did not have to return to his ancestral home. (Elder, Pill, 159, 160; Free, ABH, 285)

 This is proven wrong, and the Bible right 

Now archaeological discoveries show that the Romans had a regular enrollment of taxpayers and also held censuses
every fourteen years. This procedure was indeed begun under Augustus and the first took place in either 23-22 B.C. or in 9-8 B.C. The latter is the one to which Luke refers.

Second, evidence now shows that Quirinius was governor of Syria around 7 B.C. An inscription has now been found
in Antioch ascribing to Quirinius this post.

As a result of this finding, it is now shown that he was governor twice-once in 7 B.C. and again in 6 A.D. (the date
ascribed by Josephus). (Elder, Pill, 160)

Last, in regard to the practices of enrollment, a papyrus in Egypt gives directions for the conduct of a census. It reads:

"Because of the approaching census it is necessary that all those residing for any cause away from their homes should at once prepare to return to their own governments in
order that they may complete the family registration of the enrollment and that the tilled lands may retain those belonging to them." (Elder, Pill, 159,160; Free, ABH, 285)

Archaeologists at first believed Luke's implication
wrong that Lystra and Derbe were in Lycaonia, and that Iconium was not. (Acts 14:6)

 Once again they were wrong 

In 1910 Sir William Ram discovered the monument that showed that Iconium was a Phrygian city. Further discoveries confirm this and establish it as historical fact (Free, ABH, 317)

Among other historical references of Luke is that of Lysanias, the Tetrarch of Abilene who ruled in Syria and Palestine (Luke 3:1) at the beginning of John the Baptist's
ministry in A.D. 27. The only Lysanias known to ancient historians was one who was killed in 36 B.C. Once again they attacked the Gospels. And again they were wrong 

The inscription is now located at Abila near Damascus confirms Luke by showing clearly "Freedman of Lysanias the Tetrarch," and is dated between A.D. 14 and 29. (Bruce, ACNT, as cited in Henry, RB, 321)

In his Epistle to the Romans, written from Corinth, Paul makes mention of the city treasurer, Erastus (Rom. 16:23). During the excavations of Corinth in 1929, a pave-
ment was found inscribed: ERASTUS . "Erastus, curator of public buildings, laid this pavement at his own expense."
In Corinth is an inscription which reads "Synagogue of the Hebrews." Archaeologists believe it stood over the
doorway of the synagogue where Paul debated (Acts
18:4-7).
Another Corinthian inscription discusses the city
"meat market" to which Paul refers in I Corinthians 10:25.

Venom

07-13-2003, 09:50 PM

Thus, thanks to the many archaeological finds, most of the ancient cities mentioned in the New Testament have been identified. The journeys of Paul can now be accurately traced as a result of these finds. (Bruce, NTD, 95; Albright, RDBL,118)

Geisler reveals, "In all, Luke names thirty-
two countries, fifty-four cities and nine
islands without an error." ( Geisler, BECA,
47)
Luke writes of the riot of Ephesus, and represents a civic assembly (Ecclesia) taking place in a theater (Acts 19:23-29). The facts are that it did meet there, as borne out by an inscription that speaks of silver statues of
Artemis ("Diana" in the KJV) to be placed in the "theater during a full session of the Ecclesia." The theater, when excavated, proved to have room for twenty-five thousand people. (Bruce, ACNT, as cited in Henry, RB, 326)

Luke also relates that a riot broke out in Jerusalem because Paul took a Gentile into the temple (Acts 21:28). Inscriptions discovered read, in Greek and Latin,
"No foreigner may enter within the barrier which surrounds the temple and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will be personally responsible for his ensuing death:'
Luke is proved right again! (Bruce, ACNT, as
cited in Henry, RB, 326)

Also in doubt were Luke's usages of certain words. Luke refers to Philippi as a "part" or "district" of Macedonia. He uses the Greek word meris, which is translated "part" or "district:' F. J. A. Hort believed Luke erred in this usage. He said that meris referred to a
"portion;' not a "district;' thus, his grounds for disagreement.

 He was wrong and the Bible once again factual Archaeological excavations, prove now that this very word, meris, was used to describe the divisions of the district. Thus, archaeology has again shown the accuracy of Luke. (Free, ABH,320)

Other poor word usages were attached to Luke. He was not technically correct for referring to the Philippian rulers as praetors. According to the "scholars" two duumuirs
would have ruled the town. However, as usual, Luke was right. Findings prove that the title of praetor was employed by the magistrates of a Roman colony. (Free, ABH,
321) His choice of the word proconsul as the title for Gallio (Acts 18:12) is correct, as evidenced by the Delphi inscription that states: 'Lucius Junius Gallio, my friend,
and the Proconsul of Achaia. ..:' (Vos,CITB, 180)

The Delphi inscription (A.D. 52) gives us a fixed time period for establishing Paul's ministry of one and a half years in Corinth. We know this by the fact, from other
sources, that Gallio took office on July 1, that his proconsulship lasted only one year, and that this year overlapped Paul's work in Corinth. (Bruce, ACNT, as cited in Henry, RE, 324)

Luke gives to Publius, the chief man in Malta, the title "first man of the island" (Acts.28: 7). Inscriptions have peen unearthed that do give him the title of "first man:' (Bruce,-ACNT, as cited in Henry, RE, 325)

Still another case is his usage of politarchs to denote the civil authorities of Thessalonica (Acts 17:6). Since politarch is not found in the classical literature, Luke was again assumed to be wrong. However, it has been discovered that inscriptions that make use of the title are now well documented!. Interestingly enough,five of these are in reference to Thessalonica.(Bruce, ACNT, as cited in Henry, RE, 325)

One of the inscriptions was discovered in a Roman arch at Thessalonica and in it are found the names of six of that city'!

Colin Hemer, a noted Roman historian has catalogued numerous archaeological and historical confirmations of Luke's accuracy in his book The Book of .

Following is a partial summary of his voluminous, detailed
report (Hemer, BASHH, 104-107):

" Specialized details, which would not have been widely known except to a contemporary researcher such as Luke
who traveled widely. These details include exact titles of officials, identification of army units, and information
about major routes.

Details archaeologists know are accurate but can't verify as to the precise time period. Some of these are unlikely
to have been known except to a writer who had visited the districts. Correlation of dates of known kings and governors with the chronology of the narrative.

- Facts appropriate to the date of Paul or his immediate contemporary in the church but not to a date earlier or later.

-Undesigned coincidents" between Acts and the Pauline Epistles-

-Internal correlations within Acts.

-Off-hand geographical references that bespeak familiarity with common knowledge

- Differences in formulation within Acts that indicate the different categories of sources he used.

- Peculiarities in the selection of detail, as in theology, that are explainable in the context of what is now known of
first-century church life.

- Materials the "immediacy" of which suggests that the author was recounting a recent experience, rather than shap-
ing or editing a text long after it had been written.

- Cultural or idiomatic items now known to be peculiar to the first-century atmosphere.

Roman historian A. N. Sherwin -White agrees: "For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. Any attempt to reject its basic historicity must now appear
absurd. Roman historians have long taken it for granted." (Sherwin-White, RSRLNT, 189)

E. M. Blaiklock, professor of classics in Auckland University, concludes that "Luke is a consummate historian, to be ranked in his own right with the great writers of the Greeks." (Blaiklock, AA,89)

In 1945 two ossuaries (receptacles for bones) were found in the vicinity of Jerusalem. These ossuaries exhibited that These burial receptacles were found. The writings read lesous iou and lesous aloth. Also present were
four crosses. This is believed to be a prayer to Jesus for help, and the second, a prayer for resurrection of the person whose bones were contained in the ossuary. This was well before 50 A.D and illustrates how wide spread Christianity was already becoming shortly after Christs assention(Bruce, ACNT, as cited in Henry, RB, 327,328)

The Pavement - For centuries there has been no record of the court where Jesus was tried by Pilate (named Gabbatha, or the Pavement, John 19:13). William F. Albright, in The Archaeology of Palestine, shows that this court was the court of the Tower of Antonia, the Roman military headquarters in Jerusalem. It was left buried
when the city was rebuilt in the time of Hadrian, and was not discovered until recently. (Albright, AP, 141)

The Pool of Bethesda, another site with no record except in the New Testament, can now be identified in the northeast quarter of the old city (the area called Bezetha, or 'New Lawn') in the first century A.D.,

Archaeology has authenticated the Gospel accounts, including. Dr. William Foxwell Albright, a staff person and director for the American School of Oriental
Research in Jerusalem for seventeen years, reputably states: "The Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran have added vital new evidence for the relative antiquity of the Gospel of John." {Albright, AP, 249) He goes on: "The points of contact in phraseology, symbolism, and conceptual
imagery between Essene literature and the Gospel of St. John are particularly close, though there are also many resemblances between them and nearly all New Testament
writers:' (Albright, AP, 249)

Yohanan-A Crucifixion Victim - Dr. Geisler explains the importance of this archaeological find: In 1968, an ancient burial site was uncovered in Jerusalem containing about thirty-five bodies. It was determined that most of these had suffered violent deaths in the Jewish uprising
against Rome in A.D. 70. One of these was a man named Yohanan Ben Ha'galgol. He was about twenty-four to twenty-eight years old, had a cleft palate, and a seven-inch nail was driven through both his feet. The feet had been turned outward so that the square nail could be hanunered through at the heel, just inside the Achilles tendon. This would have bowed the legs outward as well so that they could not
have been used for support on the cross. The nail had gone through a wedge of acacia wood, then through the heels, then into an olive wood beam. similar spikes had been put between the two bones of each lower arm. These had caused the upper bones to be worn smooth as the victim repeatedly raised and lowered himself to breathe (breathing is restricted with the arms raised). Crucifixion victims had to lift themselves to free the chest muscles and, when they grew too weak to do so, died by suffocation.

Yohanan's legs were crushed by a blow, consistent with the common use of the Roman crucifragium (John 19:31-32). Each of these details confirms the New Testament description of crucifixion. ( Geisler, BECA, 48 )

The Pilate Inscription - In 1961 an Italian archaeologist, Antonio Frova, discovered an inscription at Caesarea Maritima on a stone slab which at the time of the discovery was being used as a section of steps leading into the Caesarea theater. The inscription in Latin contained four lines as follows:

Tiberium, Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea

This inscription clarifies the title of Pontius Pilate as "prefect" at least during a time in his rulership. Tacitus and Josephus later referred to him as "procura-
tor:' The NT calls him "governor" (Matt.27:2), a term which incorporates both titles.

New Testament Coins - Three coins mentioned in the Greek NT have been identified.

1. The "tribute penny" (Matt. 22:17-21; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26). The Greek word for the coin shown to Jesus
in these passages is "denarius;' a small silver coin which carried the image of Caesar on one side. Its value was equal
to one day's wages for an average worker in Palestine.

2. The "thirty pieces of silver" (Matt. 26:14-15). This amount was thirty silver shekels. Originally a shekel was a measure of weight equaling approximately two-fifths of an ounce. It later developed into a silver coin of
about the same weight.

3. The "widow's mite" (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). The passage in question reads (in NN): "two very small copper
coins, worth only a fraction of a penny:' The first words translate the Greek "lepta" which is the smallest Greek cop-
per coin, the second translates the Greek word " quadrans" which is the smallest Roman copper coin. Knowing the
minute monetary value of these coins gives even greater meaning to the message of the parable. (Dockery, FBI, 362)

Even More Archaeology!

Forcing Jews to leave Rome during the reign of Claudius (A.D. 41-54) (Acts 18:2), as recorded by Suetonius.

Caiaphas the High Priest - Caiaphas was high priest for 18 years, A.D. 18-36. He most likely gained the position by marrying the daughter of Annas, head of a powerful high-priestly clan (John 18:13). Caiaphas is infamous as the leader of the conspiracy to crucify Jesus.
Following Jesus' crucifixion, Caiaphas continued to persecute the early church. He brought the apostles before the religious leaders and said to them, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this Name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's (Jesus') blood." Peter and the other apostles replied, "We must obey God rather then men" (Acts 5:28-29).

The Caiaphas family tomb was accidentally discovered by workers constructing a road in a park just south of the Old City of Jerusalem. Archaeologists were hastily called to the scene. When they examined the tomb they found 12 ossuaries (limestone bone boxes) containing the remains of 63 individuals. The most beautifully decorated of the ossuaries was inscribed with the name "Joseph son of (or, of the family of) Caiaphas." That was the full name of the high priest who arrested Jesus, as documented by Josephus (Antiquities 18: 2, 2; 4, 3).

More New testament buildings found

The foundation of the synagogue at Capernaum where Jesus cured a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 1:21-28) and delivered the sermon on the bread of life (John 6:25-59).

The house of Peter at Capernaum where Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law and others (Matthew 8:14-16).

Jacob's well where Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman (John 4).

The Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, where Jesus healed a crippled man (John 5:1-14).

The Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, where Jesus healed a blind man (John 9:1-4).

The tribunal at Corinth where Paul was tried (Acts 18:12-17).

The theater at Ephesus where the riot of silversmiths occurred (Acts 19:29). - See picture at top

Herod's palace at Caesarea where Paul was kept under guard (Acts 23:33-35).

It can be said with authority, that the New Testament we are priveledged to read, is what was origionally written. Its accuracy is unsurpassed. God has truly preserved his word.

The Lord Jesus Christ: The Only Way of Salvation

Salvation is not found in man-made ceremonies. Neither is it obtained through ordinances or religious sacraments. Instead, Salvation is of the LORD (Jonah 2:9). Still, multitudes believe that the pursuance of good works or the following of a prescribed code of ethics automatically earns them the guarantee of eternal life. Others talk about the benefits of the Golden Rule, the Sermon on the Mount, or the observance of the Decalogue -- God's Ten Commandments -- as the way to prepare one's soul for heaven. Although such ideals need be part of a believer's life, they are a result of salvation; not a means of achieving it.
Ephesians 2:10 states, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. In other words, good works accompany salvation because Christ, who lives within the believer, is doing the work in him. Thus, we see that it is because one is saved that he works. He does not work in order to become saved. Too often, however, mankind puts the cart before the horse and attempts to reverse the gears of God's program. The result is humans trying to do that which only Almighty God can do. The end is frustration, false doctrine, and eternal ****ation. Man plays no part in obtaining salvation. It is all of God. Titus 3:5 declares, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

God's Word
Let me be as dogmatic as I have ever been and state that our Holy God has provided no other way of salvation except through the merits of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4: 12). Notice that last phrase again -- There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Buddha, Mohammed, Con***ius, Zoroaster, Dr. Moon, Maharajah Ji, and multitudes of others are unable to save because the Holy Word of God explicitly states that there is no other name or god who can save. Christ is the only Saviour.

Someone may immediately and antagonistically cry out within himself, "He is quoting some isolated text from Scripture. The Bible is not that narrow in its limitations concerning salvation. Were he using all of the Scriptures, his conclusion would be different." To prove this, there are at least 400 scriptures in the N.T which show say this very thing!

Now if God said it once, that would satisfy my searching mind. However, when He declares it nearly 400 times, one had better believe it. In fact, I am presenting the entire list. The heart of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will be blessed as he takes time to study each of these passages. For the present, let's examine just a few of the texts which prove that only Christ can bring salvation to needy hearts. We will begin with the statements of the Saviour himself.

Jesus' Word
In order to bombard you with truth, my comments on the verses will be limited. This way I can cover approximately 75 portions of God's Word.

Matthew 16:18: Upon this rock I will build my church.

Matthew 26:28: This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 8:38: Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

In Luke 5:24, Christ states that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins.

Luke 19:10: The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

To the thief on the cross, the Saviour said, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). Only God could make such a promise.

In John 4:13,14, the Lord said to the woman at the well, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

In John 5:40, Christ said, Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

John 6:37: Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 8:12: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 8:24: If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

John 10:9: I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.

John 10:28: I give unto them eternal life.

John 11:25: I am the resurrection, and the life. Verse 26: Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

John 12:32,33: If I be lifted up from the earth [I], will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.

After hearing the statements of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, one would do well to obey God the Father who said in Luke 9:35, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

Jesus also said in Matthew 12:30, He that is not with me is against me. One cannot say, "Oh, I admire Christ, but I believe there are other ways." One is either for Christ or against Him. One either accepts what Christ stated about himself through 35 pronouns and references or rejects it. Neutral one cannot be!

The Holy Spirit's Word
Next, let's consider the blessed Holy Spirit's statements, dictated as He moved upon the various Bible writers (see 2 Peter 1:20,21). Thus, we will actually be hearing from Him as we investigate the verses He inspired these men to write. I am using only that portion of each verse which supports the truth that salvation is found in Christ alone. Please investigate each one thoroughly, as nothing has been taken out of context.

Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Notice it is the good news concerning Christ that is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. It is not to all who are sprinkled as babies or immersed as adults. It is not through confirmation or reformation. It is not based on works or a system of ethics such as the Sermon on the Mount, the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments. No, it is the good news about Christ that is the power of God unto salvation to all who -- watch that word believe -- believe.

Romans 5:1: We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8: Christ died for us.

Romans 5:9: We shall be saved from wrath through him.

Romans 6:23: The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Think of it -- no judgment or hell if one is in Christ Jesus!

Romans 10:13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 13:14: Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.

First Corinthians 1:2: [We are] sanctified in Christ Jesus.

First Corinthians 2:2: For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Why, Paul? He is the only way.

First Corinthians 3:11: For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He is the foundation on which the superstructure, the Church, has been built. Praise God, He is the rock or foundation, not Peter or any other man.

First Corinthians 6:11: Ye are washed...in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Second Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

Second Corinthians 12:2: I knew a man in Christ. Amen, that's the only way to be -- in Christ.>

Galatians 1:4: [Christ] gave himself for our sins.

Galatians 2:16: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:13: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.

Galatians 3:26: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 5:1: Christ hath made us free.

Ephesians 1:3: Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

Ephesians 3:17: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.

Philippians 3:10: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.

Philippians 4:21: Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. Saints are produced in Christ.

Colossians 1:20: [He] made peace through the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:27: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 2:10: Ye are complete in him. First Thessalonians 1:10: Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

First Timothy 2:6: [Christ] gave himself a ransom for all.

Second Timothy 2:10: They may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Hebrews 2:9: That [Christ] by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Hebrews 5:9: He became the author of eternal salvation.

Hebrews 10:12: But this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.

First Peter 2:24: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.

Second Peter 2:20: They have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

First John 4:9: God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

First John 4:10: [He] sent his Son to be the propitiation of our sins.

First John 5:11,12: And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Jude 21: Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Revelation 5:9,10 pictures the eternal future when believers shall be with Christ in heaven. It also records the words of the song the redeemed shall sing in that day. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. If one never sings about the blood of Christ in his highclass services, he will never find himself in heaven with the throngs singing redemption's story.

Revelation 7:14 pictures the Tribulation Hour. Here we find that the same plan of salvation exists after the Church is removed from this earth. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Christ is the Lamb of God (see John 1:29).

Revelation 14:13 states that the only ones called blessed or happy are the dead which die in the Lord. If one doesn't die in the Lord, he will be lost. Dear reader, I sum it all up by saying that you will never see God unless you come by the way of Christ's shed blood upon the cross.

Revelation 21:27: And there shall in no wise enter into it [heaven] any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but [hear it, don't miss it] they which are written in the Lamb's book of life [Christ's book of life].

These references but skim the surface. Four hundred passages reiterate this same glorious truth. The following compilation of references from Matthew through Revelation is printed chronologically. This allows one to follow the entire program of verses by simply turning the pages of the New Testament. In fact, I suggest that you highlight or underline each portion in your own Bible as a permanent record. The list is by no means exhaustive. Try to find others in your own study of the Word.

Matthew
7:21,22,23
11:28,29,30
16:18
18:6
19:14
26:28
27, 28 Gospel Story
Mark
5:6
8:35
8:38
9:41,42
10:28,29,30,31
15, 16 Gospel Story
Luke
1:46,47
2:11,29,30
5:24,32
9:23,24,25,26
13:25
19:10
23:43
23, 24 Gospel Story
John
1:4,12,29
3:16,17,18,36
4:14,42
5:40
6:28,29,37,47,48,51
7:5
8:12,24
9:38
10:9,28
11:25,26
12:32,33
14:6
17:3
19, 20 Gospel Story
20:30,31
Acts
1:8
4:12
5:30,31,42
8:5,12,35,37
9:20,27
10:36,43
13:38,39
15:11,17
16:30,31
17:2,3,4
20:21,28
28:31
Romans
1:16
5:1,8,9,10,11,15,18,19,21
6:23
8:1,3,10,32,34,35,39
9:33
10:4,9,10,11,13
12:5
13:14
14:10,11
15:16,29
16:18
1 Corinthians
1:1,2,3,4,6,8,9,18
2:2
3:11
4:1,10,15
5:5
6:11,15
10:4,16
11:1,25
15123423
16:22
2 Corinthians
2:12
4:4,5,6,14
5:15,17,18,19,21
8:9
10:7
11:2,10,23
12:2,19
13:5
Galatians
1:4,6,7,8,9
2:16,17,20
3: 13,14,22,26,27,28,29
4:7
5:1,4,24
6:12,14,18
Ephesians
1: 1,2,3,4,5,7,10,11,12,13,15,22,23
2:5,6,7,10,13,14,20,21
3:6,8,11,12,17
4:12,13,15,21,32
5:2,5,23,25,27,30
Philippians
1:1,6,27
2:10,11,16
3:8,9,10,14,18,20
4: 13,19,21,23
Colossians
1:2,4,7,13,14,18,20,27,28
2:6,7,8,10
3:1,4,13,17,24
1 Thessalonians
1:10
2:14
3:2
4:14,16
5:9,10,28
2 Thessalonians
2:14,16
3:16,18
1 Timothy
1:1,14,15,16
2:6
4:6
2 Timothy
1:1,9,10,13
2:1,10
3:15
Titus
1:4
2:13
3:4,5,6
Philemon
1:6,25
Hebrews
1:3
2:9,14,15,17
5:9
7:25,27
9: 12,14,15,25,26,28
10:10,12,14,19,20,29
12:2
13:12
1 Peter
1:18,19
2:5,7,21,24
3:18
4:1
2 Peter
1:1,11
2:1,20
3:18
1 John
1:7,9
2:2,24,25,28
3:23
4:9,10,14,15
5:1,5,10,11,12,13,20
2 John
1:9
Jude
1:1,4,21,25
Revelation
1:5,18
3:20,21
4:11
5:9,10,12
7:14
12:11
13:8
14:4,13
15:3
19:1,9,10
20:4
21:7

This is just a taste from the New Testament, which quotes the Old Testament on this very subject continually.

Acts 10: 43
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Revelation 19:10
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

All scripture is centered on Christ. It cannot be argued, only rejected from hardened hearts. For a taste I will throw out 5 more scriptures directly from the O.T (we'll add more to this later):

Deuteronomy 18:15-22
18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Psalms 2: 6 - 12
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Isaiah 53: 1 - 12
1 Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 28:16-17
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Daniel 9:20-27
20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This is just a fragment! For further explaination on this Daniel verse, and hundreds of other testimonies to Christ. Refer to the Trinity thread, and all the bible studies in our signatures.

At this point, one final question remains, "What will you do with Jesus?" You are a sinner. Christ shed His blood for your sin, and now you must receive Him. Remember the words to that old hymn:

"What will you do with Jesus?
Neutral you cannot be;
Someday your heart will be asking,
'What will He do with me?'"

If you reject Him, I can give you the answer today. John 5:40: Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. Again, John 14:6: No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Revelation 20:15: And whosoever was not found written in the [Lamb's] book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Where will YOU spend eternity?

barny

07-14-2003, 01:14 AM

Wow! fantastic post thanks.

**DONOTDELETE**

07-14-2003, 04:20 AM

jiacstrap

07-14-2003, 08:44 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Yu Yevon said:
This is the most complete bible study I have ever seen! And the cool part is, we've only begun to scratch the surface. /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif Venom, thank you for putting all of this together brother! It's simply outstanding!

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya really, I can't wait to read it all.......

Tuf

07-14-2003, 02:46 PM

Old School, President and Venom, thank you! This was great--edifying in deed!

It was especially good for me to contemplate the thorough (that seems to be such an understatement) methods of the Masoretes. That kind of toil just seems so foreign in the society in which I have grown up.

This was also very compelling:
[ QUOTE ]

Indeed, so extensive are these citations that if all the other sources for our knowledge of the New Testiment were destroyed, they would be sufficient alone for the reconstruction of the entire New Testament

[/ QUOTE ]

As were the stories of the martyrs--especially Polycarp...
[ QUOTE ]
When asked to recant and live, he said 'Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He hath done me no wrong. How can I speak evil of my King who saved me?

[/ QUOTE ]
I am quick to say that I would do the same thing, but in this country and at this point in time, I don't face the choice of life or death for my faith. It definitely makes me think about actually being in that situation and the different level of faith that martyrdom requries.

Awesome study! Thank you!

President Wilson

07-14-2003, 03:37 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Indeed, so extensive are these citations that if all the other sources for our knowledge of the New Testiment were destroyed, they would be sufficient alone for the reconstruction of the entire New Testament

[/ QUOTE ]

That has always amazed me!

yates

07-14-2003, 04:24 PM

I loved this, thanks /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Adam Knowlden

07-14-2003, 06:07 PM

Here are some articles for you bro:

http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/redsea.html

http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/redseapassageof.html

http://christiananswers.net/abr/jebel_thoughts.html

http://christiananswers.net/abr/sinai_not_arabia.html

http://christiananswers.net/abr/sinai_location.html

http://christiananswers.net/abr/redtides.html

RichW

07-14-2003, 06:51 PM

Just a little somthing for you to ponder Yates that might help you to decise what to believe.

Exodus 14
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off [1] so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward [2] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen-the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. 

Does that description sound like a shallow marshes or reed's to you?

Venom

07-14-2003, 07:29 PM

Glad to hear you guys enjoyed it. /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

07-15-2003, 12:13 AM

what an astounding article! as you might know I am not religious, but I do have to admit, that is an mind-blowing article! I did actually read it all, and it was very enjoyable...even to someone who does not believe in God.
you really outdid yourself this time Venom! very very superior article!

Venom

07-15-2003, 03:09 AM

Thanks duderoi! I am glad to hear you liked it. /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

yates

07-15-2003, 04:00 AM

/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

yates

07-15-2003, 04:06 AM

The problem is neither does it say its the Red Sea, that was my main point. /forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

**DONOTDELETE**

07-15-2003, 04:07 AM

Venom

07-15-2003, 04:12 AM

[ QUOTE ]
The problem is neither does it say its the Red Sea, that was my main point.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you mean the bible doesn't say they were tossed in the red sea, your wrong.

Exodus 15:1-21
1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. 4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. 10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. 17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. 19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. 20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Deuteronomy 11:1-7
1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. 2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, 3 And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; 4 And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; 5 And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; 6 And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: 7 But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did.

Joshua 2:8-21
8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you , when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

I wont bold the rest:

Joshua 4:20-24
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.

Psalms 106:6-12
6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. 7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. 8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. 9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. 12 Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

One of my favorite verses!

Psalms 136:10-22
10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever: 11 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: 12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. 13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever: 14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: 15 But overthrewPharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

And the New Testament:

Hebrews 11:4-31
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Acts 7:30-41
30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, 32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. 33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. 34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. 35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like F14 unto me; him shall ye hear. 38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: 39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, 40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

Need I proceed? /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

**DONOTDELETE**

07-15-2003, 04:15 AM

Venom

07-15-2003, 04:16 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Yu Yevon said:
/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif Too slow Venom! /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif Great verses!

[/ QUOTE ]
Darn lol! Wait till next time. /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

yates

07-15-2003, 04:06 PM

/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

07-15-2003, 04:12 PM

Interesting

Adam Knowlden

07-15-2003, 07:20 PM

Glad everyone like it

William Ustav

07-17-2003, 11:28 AM

Wow, just got home from Spain, so I'm too tired to read it now, but I'll be sure to read it soon! Looks awesome!!! /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

**DONOTDELETE**

07-17-2003, 03:12 PM

Venom

07-17-2003, 10:26 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yu Yevon said:
[ QUOTE ]
William Ustav said:
Wow, just got home from Spain, so I'm too tired to read it now, but I'll be sure to read it soon! Looks awesome!!! /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome back brother!

[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome back bro, glad you like it. /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

President Wilson

07-18-2003, 01:00 AM

I was extremely glad to see our friend back in the game!

William Ustav

07-18-2003, 04:40 AM

Thanks guys!!! /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Now I'm fully rested, and I'm looking forward to reading the article today!!! /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif