The Doctrine of Inspiration

Introduction: Several years ago, I put together a Study of Inspiration, prior to the time that I knew when it was proper to footnote (actually, the study was done primarily for myself at that time). It was more of a compilation of what other authors had put together at that time. I drew heavily from A General Introduction to the Bible by Geisler and Nix, from Lewis Sperry Chafer’s Systematic Theology, Thieme’s Canonicity, and from Evidence That Demand a Verdict by Josh McDowell. In fact, this was so long ago, that I split this 50 page or so study into five parts, as my computer was just unable to scroll through 50 pages. What I hope to have here is the shortened version of the Study of Inspiration, which could be taught in a few days, if not less. Therefore, whereas in the Study of Inspiration, I attempted to be painstakingly thorough with abundant Scripture and sub-topics (e.g., canonicity), I intend for this to be relatively brief. Furthermore, I don’t wish to portray this as something new; this is primarily a compilation of information from various authors. If this sparks an interest, I cannot emphasize enough how helpful to you it would be to get copies of Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict or A Ready Defense; Geisler and Nix’s General Introduction to the Bible; Chafer’s Systematic Theology; or R.B. Thieme’s Canonicity. I can’t tell you how often I just wanted to reproduce entire pages from the works of these men. My problem was more what can I leave out? rather than what should I quote? All of these books are worthy and highly recommended additions to your library.

If your interest is in how did we get our Bible today; or if you wonder about why some books were chosen and some were not. Perhaps you are curious as to why the Protestants have a different Bible from the Catholics. This is actually the study of Canonicity, which is related, but not this particular study. The books named above devote a great deal of space to this topic, as does my Study of Inspiration.

There are few doctrines as vital to the believer as the Doctrine of Inspiration. Most believers have some concept that the Bible is the Word of God, but, beyond that, they don’t really know what that means. Therefore, it is easy for someone to come along with a great-sounding theory (e.g., the Bible contains the Word of God or the Bible becomes the Word of God) that many believers will then fall for. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you need to know what it means for the Bible to be the Word of God. This is as important as understanding your salvation and as important as knowing how to get in and out of fellowship (two doctrines which are also very distorted in this day and age).

The tragedy of our age is that very few pastors or believers have even the slightest clue as to the importance of God’s Word. I am talking about these pastors who have a Wednesday night Bible study and urge you to read your Bibles, and then to share your opinions with everyone as to how you feel about this passage or that. God did not intend to place His Word in the hands of amateurs with regards to understanding and perceiving it—that means, He has seen to it that various gifts were given to His people, including teaching gifts, so that His Word could be understood. We, as believers new, right out of the package, can barely get a thimbleful of doctrine from God’s Word for ourselves, even with all of the study guides in the world. God designed His Word to be taught to His congregation by a pastor-teacher. If such a gift were unimportant, it would not have been mentioned, nor would we have the two epistles to Timothy and the one to Titus.

Let me tell you the second greatest tragedy of the pulpit: even in churches where the Bible is studied, very little time is given to careful, verse-by-verse exegesis. There is certainly a place for jumping from one passage to another; however, bear in mind, that approach is the whole foundation for any cultic religion which uses the Bible. People with screwy ideas continually quote a verse here and there to justify the stupid things that they do and cults do likewise to support their erroneous doctrines. There is probably not a position that you could not give credence to if allowed to quote Scripture from here and there, out of its context. The key to understanding God’s Word is a verse-by-verse examination. That should be the basis for all church study of the Word. It is quite difficult to teach God’s Word verse-by-verse and lie to the congregation about what is true. So far, I only know of a handful of churches and Biblically-based operations that depend upon verse-by-verse teaching out of hundreds of ministries. This is a tragedy and it should be an embarrassment to any pastor who sends his congregation out to study the Bible for themselves.

1.    First we need a definition of inspiration: human authors wrote as moved by the Holy Spirit, so that, without waving their human intelligence, their vocabulary, their personal feelings, their literary style, their personality, their environmental influences or their individuality, they recorded God’s complete and connected message to man with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture, the very words bearing the authority of divine authorship. The is known as the verbal, plenary view of inspiration. Saint Peter gives perhaps the more pedestrian view: No prophecy was ever made by an act of human volition, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoken from God (2Peter 1:21). Paul says that all Scripture is God-breathed (2Tim. 3:16). Chafer writes: Plenary inspiration means that the accuracy secured by verbal inspiration is extended fully to every portion of Scripture so that in all its parts Scripture is both infallible as to truth and final as to divine authority.

       a.    Scripture is given as the word of human authors. In Mark 12:25–27 and Luke 20:37–38, Jesus quotes Ex. 3:6, 15 as coming from the book of Moses. It is actually more difficult to find Scripture referring to previous Scripture as written by men without also mentioning the Holy Spirit.

       b.    Scripture is given as the word of God or of God the Holy Spirit: Matt. 15:3–7, where various portions of Scripture are called the commandments of God and the Word of God. Ex. 3:6, 15 are quoted in Matt. 22:31–32 as spoken by God. See also Heb. 3:7–11 9:8 10:15–16.

       c.    Scripture is given as man moved or inspired by the Holy Spirit or as the word of man and the Word of God. In Mark 7:10, our Lord quotes Ex. 21:17 Lev. 20:9 authoritatively, yet refers to this as what Moses said. In Mark 7:13, our Lord refers back to those same words as the Word of God. See also Mark 12:36–37 Acts 4:25–26.

       d.    This dual authorship finds its parallel in Jesus Christ, the God-man, Who is fully God and fully man, Who is called both the Son of God and the Son of Man. Ironically, in present theology, the debate is often whether or not Christ was God; in ancient theology, the debate was whether or not Christ was really a man. We have a similar parallel in ourselves—a believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. When we lead our lives filled with the Spirit, we are fully man, but we are fully guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. I should point out that, in most cases, past initial salvation, most believers are never again filled with the Holy Spirit because they have no idea as to what the mechanics are (and, again, this is a problem with the pastor teacher leaving Scriptural exegesis in the hands of amateurs).

       e.    With respect to this dual authorship of Scripture, there are three incorrect notions and one correct understanding: (1) the Bible is almost exclusively the Word of God as a divine work. (2) The Bible is almost exclusively the word of man. (3) The Bible has portions which are written by man and portions which are exclusively of divine origin. Finally, the correct view is (4) the divine and human authorship are both without impairment to either, wholly present in every word from the first to the last. This final view is the correct understanding of the authorship of Scripture.

2.    Geisler, Nix and Chafer all rightly distinguish between three related doctrines: revelation, inspiration and illumination.

       a.    Revelation is the revealing of truth by God to the writers of Scripture. Although there is a great deal of logic and reasoning involved, apart from God’s revelation to man concerning His love, His perfect righteousness, His justice, as well as such things that we cannot actually observe, including the creation of the world and the existence of an unseen world—apart from this, we would not be in the dark concerning all of these things, even with the use of human reason and logic. The actual processes involved in revelation are varied, and best suited for another study.

       b.    Chafer: Inspiration was the work of God in guiding and directing the writers of Scripture so that what they wrote was absolutely true, even if some of it was beyond their own understanding. God the Holy Spirit guided these men to record God’s revelation to man while retaining their individual writing styles, their vocabulary, and their personalities. No prophecy was made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2Peter 1:21).

       c.    Illumination: God the Holy Spirit reveals to us divine truths through His Word, whether read, heard from the pulpit, or heard from the voice of any man under any circumstance, whether paraphrased or quoted from a careful translation. The illumination is simply the gift of God the Holy Spirit to us to allow us to understand His revealed Word. Apart from illumination, no one would be able to be saved, as they would not understand the issues. For we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory, which none of the rulers of this age has understood, for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory (1Cor. 2:7–8).

       d.    Chafer sums up: Revelation is God’s act of communicating divine truth. Inspiration is God’s guidance of the writers of Scripture so that what they wrote was the Word of God. And illumination is the work of the Holy Spirit in making the written Scriptures understood and applied as God intended them to reveal the truth.

3.    The extent of revelation:

       a.    The Bible reveals the unknown past. The creation of the universe and the restoration of earth, as well as the creation of man, are all covered in Gen. 1–2. The fall of Satan, which occurred prior to the history of man, is covered in Isa. 14 and Ezek. 28.

       b.    The Bible reveals information about ancient history. The Bible is not essentially a historical book; however, throughout Scripture, we find historical incidents, ancient customs and even ancient peoples which are given as a background for the understanding of God’s hand in the history of man. Even in the 20^th century, many of these incidents were thought to be fabrications, as there were no extra-Biblical corroborative documents. Therefore, some historians and archeologists supposed the Bible to be in error with regards to these areas. However, we have in this past century translated ancient Canaanite pagan literature as well as enjoyed many archeological discoveries, all of which have supported the historical citations and allusions which are found in Scripture.

       c.    Objective law and morality: an objective system of Law, designed particularly for a theocratic nation, is established in the second through the fifth books of the Bible. These laws can be slightly modified and followed by modern governments today in order to enjoy great prosperity, as well as great national order and discipline. People who follow the moral precepts and standards found in Scripture, even apart from the divinely revealed plan for our lives, typically enjoy fuller, more blessed lives—not because God is blessing them, but because these moral and legal rulings are absolute because they come from God.

       d.    Dictation: a significant portion of the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are direct quotations from God. Inspiration assures us that these quotations are accurate.

       e.    Prophecy: We find throughout Scripture other places where the prophets give prophetic utterances (it is often unclear as to whether these are the prophets quoting directly from God or whether they are simply inspired). In either case, inspiration assures us that the prophets speak is accurate.

       f.     Devotional Literature. This include the Psalms, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and Job. God uses the problems, the pressures, the prosperity and successes, as well as the failures of certain believers, to reveal His plan and principles of grace.

       g.    Quotations: the Doctrine of Inspiration assures us that the quotations of men, God and angels are accurate, although there are certainly times when a quotation is paraphrased (and several times where a quotation is given in one language, and then quoted in another).

       h.    The actions of man: the Bible accurately records the actions of believers and unbelievers, often without laying down a specific judgement of these actions. Because what men do is exposed in Scripture in no way implies that these actions are right and good. Just because the 11 disciples elected a 12^th Apostle, this in no way indicates that this was a divinely-inspired action. Just because David committed adultery or just because Solomon had a plethora of wives and mistresses, in no way are these actions supported by the Bible. This simply indicates that these are things which man has done.

       i.     The recording of falsehoods: men and fallen angels often say things which are lies. Abraham lied as to the actual identify of his wife Sarah in the book of Genesis; Satan lied when speaking to Eve in the garden; Satan also misapplied Scripture when speaking to God the Son in Matt. 4. The Doctrine of Inspiration assures us that these things are accurately recorded, even though they are lies.

4.    The importance of inspiration:

       a.    It is impossible to develop a complete, cohesive and applicable theology apart from divine revelation that we can trust. If we depend upon the ideas of various individuals and their philosophies, or if we depend upon the revelations of various holy rollers, then what we will have is as many points of view as we have people. As Chafer wrote, It is an act of futility to attempt to debate theology and the truths relating to it without agreeing on the foundation and source of this truth.

       b.    Apart from Holy Scripture, where else can we go for truth?

               i.     Human reason; philosophy. Whereas, there is nothing wrong with using your mind, intelligent men can reasonably come up with opposite viewpoints on the same issue (the death penalty, for instance).

               ii.     Divine revelation to holy rollers. These are the ones who get slain in the spirit, who have ecstatic experiences, who tell jokes in tongues that no one understands, but they laugh anyway. These are men upon whom I am not going to depend for my theology.

               iii.    Other scriptures from other religions. When we finish this brief study, you will find that there is no book of any kind which is even in part comparable to the Bible.

               iv.    Take the kernel of all religions and apply that to our lives. Be nice to our fellow man and lead nice, moral lives. Again, we have the problem of just exactly what is moral and right (religions disagree here); and, more importantly, this is strictly man-centered. Our inner rebellion, our past transgressions, God’s perfect righteousness and justice—these issues are not addressed at all by trying to be nice most of the time. Don’t misunderstand—there is nothing wrong with morality. This often allows a society to function and prosper (particularly when the norms and standards which are taught line up with the Bible). It just isn’t enough.

5.    False theories of inspiration:

       a.    The mechanical or dictation theory: some maintain that God the Holy Spirit dictated Scripture to various men, and they simply wrote it down. Although there are places in Scripture which are obviously dictated (this would be a significant portion of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers), the bulk of Scripture reflects the writers’ vocabulary, emotions, background, and intelligence. Even in individual books, one can observe abrupt changes in writing styles and vocabularies (i.e., where one author ended his work and another began; Genesis, Joshua and Judges are chief examples). Chafer: Paul wrote regarding Israel, “I have great sorrow and increasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel” (Rom. 9:2–4). These statements would lose meaning if Paul were merely the stenographer of what God said.

       b.    The theory of partial inspiration: some assert that when the writers of Scripture wrote, that some of what they wrote was inspired and some was not. This of course gives us the problem of interpretation. That is, anyone could throw out what they didn’t like and keep what they did in Scripture. However, this is not the view of the Bible (Rev. 22:18–19 sternly warns against adding to or subtracting from the Word of God); nor is it the view of our Lord, Who tells us that neither one jot nor one tittle will pass away... in Matt. 5:18. If Scripture is only partially inspired, then that part would have to exclude these passages as well.

       c.    Degrees of inspiration: some theologians have tried to teach that Scripture is inspired, but just in varying degrees. We lodge the same objections to this point as in the previous point. Furthermore, whereas there are varying degrees of falsity, absolute truth is absolute.

       d.    Concept inspiration: the words are not inspired, but the concepts taught in Scripture are. The Bible, when referring to its own message, never calls attention to a mere concept; it speaks of its message as committed to men in the words taught by the Spirit (1Cor. 2:13). Furthermore, any disagreement as to concept would then have to depend upon the words used to present that concept. Again, one has no basis for any theological position unless one can go to the very words of Scripture. Our Lord said, “The words I have spoke to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63). Or, Jesus speaking in prayer to God: “For the Words which You gave to Me, I have given to them. And they received and truly knew that I came out from beside You, and they believed that You sent Me” (John 17:8).

       e.    Natural inspiration: this theory asserts that men, in some height of spiritual awareness, wrote the words of Scripture. This ignores a plethora of Scripture where the Holy Spirit is said either to be the Author or the inspiration behind Scripture.

       f.     Mystical inspiration: this theory asserts that men, while in some mysterious, heightened spiritual awareness, recorded the words of Scripture. Again, this is not much different from the previous point, and the objections are similar.

       g.    Geisler and Nix have a marvelous classification of the incorrect views of Scripture which are highly recommended.

6.    Objections to the doctrine of inspiration: there are those who allege that the Bible is filled with contradictions and error. Although there is no way that we can deal with every alleged error, we will cover some of them when we deal with the accuracy of the Bible with regards to history, science and prophecy in later points. Other detractors suggest that Scripture is filled with contradictions. Most of the ones which I have seen are easily explained away. There are very few supposed contradictions which do not have a simple explanation. In my careful verse-by-verse studies I have come across only very minute points which suggest actual contradiction—although, 95% of the time, I can explain it without even having to refer to reference material. One of the more difficult points to deal with is the post-crucifixion activity at the tomb of our Lord. Interview ten people at an accident and you often get ten differing views. The four gospels all present differing views of the tomb activity; however, with careful examination, none of these views are contradictory, but they all supplement one another. Three outstanding books which have been written that deal with alleged contradictions, theological problems, and ethical problems are When Critics Ask, When Skeptics Ask, and Hard Sayings of the Bible. There are, no doubt, many more other than these. However, if you have come across some objection that you truly think would cast aspersions on the inspiration of Scripture, then one of these three books has probably dealt with that objection already.

7.    Important points concerning the inspiration of Holy Scripture:

       a.    What the Bible affirms is true is always true, and what the Bible affirms as false is always false...it is an act of futility to attempt to debate theology and the truths relating to it without agreeing on the foundation and source of this truth.

       b.    Whereas, everything the Bible teachers is true; not everything found in the Bible is true—e.g., the Bible includes the lie of Rahab (Joshua 2:4) and the distortion and misapplication of Scripture by Satan (Matt. 4:1–17). Geisler and Nix carefully distinguish between what the Bible records and what It says. The Bible records David’s immorality; however, this cannot be misconstrued as the condoning of his actions. Every event recorded in the Bible as historical is true; however, it is not placed in Scripture to encourage us to ape or to emulate it. One is hard-pressed to find a single decent act in the book of Judges (particularly in the last five chapters); however, what is being taught is how far astray Israel had gone. The complete and abysmal failure of the people in the last few chapters helps to explain the lameness of their judges and saviors in the previous chapters.

       c.    Similarly, when a parable is taught, it is the thrust or the meaning of the parable which is true, not the events of the parable itself. Events similar to those described by a parable may have occurred hundreds of times, although these events may not be known first-hand by the one speaking the parable or the ones to whom the parable is addressed. And it is possible that these events never occurred. The key is what the parable teaches, rather than zeroing in on the events of the parable as being an accurate recording of events witnessed by the person speaking the parable. I realize that some of you are thinking well, duh! Given the goofy criticisms which have come down the pipe over these centuries, it is better to cover all bases.

       d.    The inerrancy of Scripture is a doctrine adhered to in both the Old and New Testaments, as well as a central doctrine of the church throughout church history, despite the fact that such a position has many detractors, going back to the time when Satan questioned Eve in the garden and disparaged God’s Word.

       e.    Properly speaking, inspiration belongs to the writings rather than to the writer himself. Not everything that Paul wrote was inspired by the Holy Spirit nor was he always inspired by the Holy Spirit (recall when he went to Jerusalem to offer a vow, working in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit).

       f.     It is the autographs which are inspired. An autograph is the original manuscript or a perfect copy of the original manuscript. A translation is not inspired in its every word nor are even the imperfect copies of God’s Word made throughout the ages. Obviously, you will wonder, how do we know what is inspired then? Some of the great spiritual gifts of the past 19 or so centuries revolve around textual criticism, canonicity, interpretation and translation of the Holy Scriptures. There are great men who have devoted their lives to these areas whose names we, for the most part, do not know, but on whose shoulders we stand. Their reward in heaven will be great, although few believers have even a clue as to the appreciation that we owe these men. It is through their dedication that we know with 99% accuracy what is found in the New Testament autographs and with 95% accuracy what is found in the Old Testament autographs.

       g.    No part of Scripture is more inspired than any other part. If your Bible is a red-lettered edition, with Jesus’ words in red, this does not mean what He said is more important than the rest of the Bible. For new believers, this may be a little hard to grasp. After all, Jesus is God, so why wouldn’t His words be of greater importance? Simply because the entire Bible is the Word of God.

       h.    Even though the very words of Scripture are inspired, this does not mean that there is only one way to say something or that parallel Scripture must be verbatim. The Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God. However, when given in Ex. 20, the reason for the Sabbath was historical, going back to creation. Since God rested on the seventh day, the Jews were to do likewise as a memorial to His finished work (Ex. 20:10). However, Moses, in giving the Decalogue to the second generation, also added that the Sabbath was a memorial to the redemption of the Jews—God had paid the price to redeem them out of slavery from the Egyptians (Deut. 5:13–15). There is no contradiction in all of this, but the completed work of God in creation on behalf of all mankind and the redemption of Israel from their slavery both pointed ahead to His finished work upon the cross on our behalf wherein He purchased us out from the slave market of sin. In fact, the meaning of the Sabbath is expanded in the book of Hebrews to mean the rest that we believers enter into when we believe in Jesus Christ. For indeed, we have had good news proclaimed to us, just as they also, but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. Therefore, we who have believed entered into that rest...there remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God (Heb. 4:2–3a, 9). That Sabbath rest is the resting from works to obtain salvation. A person who has believed in Jesus Christ is no longer working for salvation. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one fall through the same example of disobedience (Heb. 4:9–10).

       i.     Few parallel passages are ever given verbatim, yet there are no real contradictions. When Peter gave his confession of faith, he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). In Mark 8:29, this reads “You are the Christ [i.e., the Messiah].” In Luke 9:20b, it is simply “The Christ of God.” Matthew gave his entire confession and Mark and Luke recorded only a portion of it. That is not a contradiction nor is it verbatim.

       j.     The Doctrine of Inspiration does not preclude the use of non-Biblical, heathen, and/or secular writings from being used by men of God. Luke studied several documents of his day (apparently including the books of Matthew and Mark), as well as interviewed eyewitnesses, and based his gospel upon thorough research. Paul quoted a heathen poet on Mars hill (Acts 17:38); several books are referred to in the book of Genesis, Samuel and Kings; and even Jude cites a passage from a religious, but noncanonical work in Jude 14. Just because God uses the word of man to make a point, this does not in any way denigrate Scripture. After all, God uses the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:10).

       k.    Because the Bible was written in a nonscientific age in nonscientific language, there are phrases which are used which are clearly understood, although they cannot be taken 100% literally. Joshua speaks of the sun rising in Joshua 1:15, as do modern scientists. This does not mean that the sun literally rises. In the day of Pentecost, it is said that there were people from every nation under heaven (Acts 2:5). This obviously did not include people from Australia, or North America or South America. This referred to the known world at that time to those people.

       l.     Extremely important: inspiration extends to the accurate recording of the miracles found in Scripture. There have been movements to demythologize Scripture—that is, to remove the events which are miraculous in nature (the miracles of Jesus, events preceding and following the exodus from Egypt). Such people assert that the truth is found once these miraculous events are removed from Scripture. Whereas, many of the events recorded in Scripture were not miraculous as we think of them, but a result of God’s plan put into motion thousands of years ago, there are still events which occurred which go against the laws of nature as we understand them recorded in Scripture and these events did occur. To remove these events from history is to remove the power from Jesus Christ. His miracles, whose authenticity were never in dispute in the ancient world, were His credit card. They gave Him His authority. These same sorts of miracles gave the early Apostles their authority as well. Charismatics do not grasp that they incredible and undeniable miracles which gave the early Apostles their authority are no longer operational as we have the Word of God, which is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12a) as our authority. They either do not believe or they do not fully grasp that the power of God’s Word is far greater than the power of the miracles performed by Jesus and His disciples. These miracles established the original authority of the Apostles, so that their writings would be understood to be inspired of God.

       m.   A similar point is that Jesus did not affirm the historicity of Adam, Noah and Lot (as well as others) as an accommodation to the thinking of the people of His time on earth. That is, he did not go along with the myths of the people of that day in order to make some spiritual point. What He affirmed was true was actually true.

8.    The approach that the skeptic should take is: assuming for a moment that it would be possible for God’s Word to be recorded, just what characteristics would such a book have?

       a.    This book should be unique.

       b.    If there are demons and if there is a devil, and if the Bible is God’s Word, then we should see attacks against this book unlike any other book in history. Still the Bible should emerge triumphant.

       c.    The book should claim to be the Word of God.

       d.    The book should outsell every other book, both in the past and in the present.

       e.    The Bible should be accurate in its transmission throughout the ages.

       f.     It should be available in essentially every human language.

       g.    It should have universal meaning for men of all different walk of life, cultures, background, nationalities and personalities.

       h.    When pronouncements are made concerning science, these pronouncements should be accurate.

       i.     When history is recorded, it should be accurate.

       j.     When prophecy is written, it should be inerrant.

       k.    Such a book should foster libraries of books from supporters and detractors alike—a greater number of books should be inspired by the Bible than by any other single book.

       l.     As a book to come out of ancient history, it should be absolutely unique.

       m.   As the Word of God, it should have the power to change man individually.

       n.    Despite the diversity of the human authors of Scripture, the Bible should carry to man the same message throughout.

9.    The uniqueness of Scripture:

       a.    The Bible is composed of 66 books which have been recorded by over 40 authors/editors (I would put the number closer to 50 or 60) over a period of over 1600 years (I would maintain that Scripture was recorded very early on in man’s history, making this time period extend over a period of over 3000 years). These men were kings (David and Solomon), judges (Gideon, Samson, Samuel), military types (Joshua, David); musicians (David and Asaph), prophets (Isaiah, Amos, Micah), religious types (Paul, who was a pharisee and Phinehas and Ezra, who were priests), scholars (Paul and Solomon), historians (Luke and the editor of Genesis), fishermen (Peter and John); and there was a tax collector (Matthew), a herdsman (Amos), a prince and a statesman (Daniel), and a doctor (Luke). These books were written while in variety of emotions and states of mind: depression and sadness (Psalms , Lamentations); extreme joy (Psalm ); during times of war (David) and peace (Solomon). These books have varying literary styles from historical (Genesis, Numbers, Luke, Acts), doctrinal (Leviticus, Romans); legal (Exodus, Leviticus); biographical (1Samuel, Mark); poetry (the Psalms); philosophical (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes); quotations (most of Exodus and Leviticus); verbal dissertations (Deuteronomy); prophetical (Isaiah, Jeremiah); letters to churches (I and I1Corinthians); letters intended for wide distribution (Hebrews); personal letters (Philemon, II and I2John); and apocalyptic (Revelation). The books of the Bible were written in widely varying places: Moses in the wilderness, Jeremiah in a dungeon, Daniel on a hillside and in a palace, Paul inside prison walls, Luke while traveling, John on the isle of Patmos, [and] others in the rigors of military campaign (e.g., Moses, Joshua, David). The books of the Bible were written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek on three different continents (Asia, Africa and Europe). The Bible deals with hundreds of controversial subjects, from the existence of God, to the redemption of man by Christ Jesus, to the futility of gathering riches, to deviant lifestyles. In fact, the topics found in Holy Write are so controversial, that in some school districts, a teacher could be fired for talking about some of these subjects. In fact, I wrote a short, couple page essay dealing with the existence of God that I read to several of my high school classes. I e-mailed this essay to several friends (20 or 30). This sparked a rash of arguments and disagreements and, in one case, I have one friend of twenty-plus years who, insofar as I know, is no longer speaking to me as a result of this.

       b.    Despite this incredible variety of authors, moods, topics, types of literature, etc., the Bible hangs together as one unified whole which speaks from beginning to end of God’s redemptive work on behalf of man. From the day that man fell, in Gen. 3, to the almost completed human sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham, to the prophecies of David in the Psalms and Isaiah concerning the coming Messiah, to the fulfillment of these prophecies in our Lord as recorded in the gospels, to His sacrifice on the cross, to the doctrinal dissertations of Paul and Peter and the writer of Hebrews concerning our Lord’s sacrifice, to the final book of the history of man, Revelation, we have the scarlet thread of the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf. We have the same God found throughout these 66 books, the same fallen man found throughout Scripture, and the same viewpoints given on the same topics. These are topics which have remained controversial from the dawn of man; and yet, we have 66 books within the Bible, written by over 40 authors, who are in agreement on the most controversial religious topics of man’s history.

       c.    Josh McDowell spoke to a representative of the Great Books of the Western World; the guy was recruiting salesmen for this series of books. McDowell writes: Then we spent an hour and half talking...about the Greatest Book. I challenged him to pick just ten of the authors, all from one walk of life, one generation, one place, one time, one mood, one continent, one language and just one controversial subject. I asked him: “Would those ten authors agree?” He paused and then replied, “No!” “What would you have?” Immediately, he said, “A conglomeration.” Two days later he committed his life to Christ.

       d.    Given the background of the Bible, that the resulting book would be a unified whole is a greater miracle if one makes the assumption that men were not guided by the Holy Spirit.

10.  If there are demons and if there is a devil, and if the Bible is God’s Word, then we should see attacks against this book unlike any other book in history. Still the Bible should emerge triumphant. In other words, the Bible is unique in its survival in the face of human (and demonic) persecution.

       a.    We will cover in another point the Bible’s uniqueness with regards to survival in time. However, no other book has faced the attacks that the Bible has. The Bible has been burned, banned, ridiculed, criticized as has no other book in history. Both the Bible and its adherents were attacked in the ancient Roman empire, it was withheld from the people for hundreds of years by the Roman Catholic Church, it stands banned in many Communist countries, and it is practically anathema in the public schools of the United States.

       b.    The Diocletian Edict, circa 303 a.d., commanded that the Scriptures be burned. Today, you should be wondering, Diocletian, what or who the heck is that?

       c.    Sidney Collett wrote: Voltaire, the noted French infidel who died in 1778, said that in one hundred years from his time Christianity would be swept from existence and pass into history. But what happened? Voltaire has passed into history, while the circulation of the Bible continues to increase in almost all parts of the world, carrying blessing wherever it goes. McDowell continues: Concerning the boast of Voltaire on the extinction of Christianity and the Bible in a hundred years, Geisler and Nix point out that “only fifty years after [Voltaire’s] death the Geneva Bible Society used his press and his house to produce stacks of Bibles.”

       d.    Hastings wrote: Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before...When the French monarch proposed the persecution of the Christians in his dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, “Sire, the church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.” So the hammers of the infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures. If the book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.

       e.    And Bernard Ramm: A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, and inscription cut on the tombstone, and the committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. No other book has been so chopped, knived, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology...of classical or modern times has been subject to such a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and skepticism? With such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line and tenet? The Bible is still loved by millions, read by millions and studied by millions.

       f.     Even today, the Bible is ridiculed for its account of creation, and children are taught from their earliest years that evolution is the correct theory of our origins (and in most schools, the problems with evolution and the evidence which supports creationism is never mentioned). Still, more people believe in creationism than evolution, and, when people are exposed to both teachings in a classroom environment, more people are converted to creationism than to evolution.

       g.    Jesus Christ said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word will not pass away.” (Mark 13:31).