Christianity

Christianity: Simple Truth
Christianity rises to the top when you earnestly investigate the other theories, philosophies, movements and religions of the world. Yes, as hard as it is to hear in our pluralistic world community, Christianity is different than all the others. That may sound terribly dogmatic and narrow-minded, but the simple truth is that Christianity is the only true religion.

Christianity: Why Believe It’s the Only Way
Christianity is not based upon evidence…but it is backed by evidence. Obviously anyone could “claim” to be God. The difference with Jesus is that His life completely backed those claims. Check out the history, check out the claims – it’s an absolutely phenomenal study.

A primary focus for your study is that Jesus fulfilled over 300 messianic prophecies written in the Old Testament scriptures. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the reliability of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, both of which have been proven to exist prior to the time Jesus walked on the earth, you can be assured that these prophecies were not “conspired” after-the-fact. They were truly fulfilled by the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Examine the probability of one man fulfilling just a handful of the most specific prophecies, and you’ll be amazed. “And He [Jesus] said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me.” Luke 24:44

Another focus for your study is to understand what Jesus said and did as a historical figure. No legitimate scholars today will deny that Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago, was a great teacher and doer of good works, and that he was crucified on a Roman cross for the crime of blasphemy among the Jews. The only dispute is whether Jesus rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion and that He was, in fact, God incarnate. This is where everyone must test the evidence for the resurrection, examine their hearts, and make a decision about who Jesus really was.

Jesus said that He alone was the way to the Father (John 14:6), that He alone revealed the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22). Christians do not go around saying Christianity is the only way because they are arrogant, stupid or judgmental. They do so because, based on the evidence, they believe what Jesus said. Christians believe in Jesus, who claimed to be God (John 8:58; Exodus 3:14), who forgave sins (Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20; 7:48), and who rose from the dead (Luke 24:24-29; John 2:19f). Jesus said that He was the only way. Jesus is unique. He was either telling the truth, He was crazy, or He was a liar. But since everyone agrees that Jesus was a “good man,” how then could He be both good and crazy, or good and a liar? He must have been telling the truth. He is the only way.

Buddha didn’t rise from the dead, nor did Confucius or Zoroaster. Muhammad didn’t fulfill detailed prophecy. Alexander the Great didn’t raise the dead or heal the sick. And though there is far less reliable information written about these “religious” leaders, they are believed in and followed by millions.

Christianity: Not Religion – A Relationship
Christianity is not really a religion; it is a relationship with God. It is trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross for you (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), not on what you can do for yourself (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christianity is not about ornate buildings, flamboyant preachers, or traditional rituals. Christianity is about truly accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Story 1:

Is Your Jesus Worth Dying For?
The story of Cassie Bernall

by Tiffany Fate
Used with Permission

As Cassie entered the ninth grade, her mom Misty just “had that gut feeling that something was wrong. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but I just knew something was wrong. I didn’t feel like either I nor my husband had any connection with her.”

Desperate for answers, Misty began to search Cassie’s room regularly, and on one occasion was shocked to discover evidence that her daughter had developed an interest in witchcraft, drugs and alcohol. Facing the trauma of how to deal with their troubled teen, Cassie’s parents decided that the only way to stop their daughter from making more bad decisions was to make a few good choices for her.

So, they began making changes. For starters, they transferred Cassie to a new school–Columbine High School, in suburban Littleton, Colorado. They also kept closer tabs on her friends, her attitudes, and her study habits. In general, they put their foot down, and said, “Cassie, it stops here. You must now choose to take responsibility for your life.”

Cassie began to respond – positively…new friends, new attitudes. One of the new friends was Dave McPherson, youth pastor at West Bowles Community Church. McPherson admitted to the Denver Post that, when he first saw Cassie, he thought to himself, “There’s no hope for that girl. Not our kind of hope.” The joyless look on her face, the monosyllabic speech which came from her lips — all of it suggested that perhaps Cassie was just “too far gone.”

One weekend, though, McPherson encouraged Cassie to accompany the church youth on retreat, and, with her parents’ enthusiastic permission, she agreed. That weekend which changed Cassie’s life. Said Brad, her father, “When she left, she was this gloomy, head-down, say-nothing youth. When she came back, her eyes were open and bright and she was bouncy and just excited about what had happened to her and was just so excited to tell us. It was like she was in a dark room, and somebody turned the light on, and she saw the beauty that was surrounding her.” Said Misty, “She looked at me in the eye and she said, “Mom, I’ve changed. I’ve totally changed. I know you’re not going to believe it, but I’ll prove it to you.’”

The “light” that had been turned on in 17-year-old Cassie’s life was the light of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom she had trusted as her personal Lord and Savior at that church retreat. Jesus changed Cassie-from the inside out. A deep-down, 100-percent kind of transformation, like Paul spoke of in Romans 12:2 when he exhorted us, “be transformed by the renewing of your minds!” Gone was the preoccupation with the occult; instead, Cassie began to spend her spare time, along with her new Christian friends, ministering at Denver’s inner-city Victoria Outreach Church, serving dinner to prostitutes and drug addicts as part of that church’s mission ministry. Cassie even planned to cut off her cornsilk-colored hair that hung halfway down her back, so that it could be given to “someone who makes wigs for kids who are going through chemotherepy,” according to her aunt, Kayleen.

One night, Cassie spoke of her newfound hope for the future with her mom. She said, “Mom, it would be OK if I died. I’d be in a better place, and you know where I’d be.” The same girl who, just a couple years before, had been spinning on the edge, in danger of falling into hopelessness. Jesus change her-she was living life sacrificially in Jesus’ name, and she was ready to die as a child of the Lord Jesus.

On Sunday night, April 18, Cassie stood up and gave her testimony to her youth group at church. She told them, “You really can’t live without Christ. It’s, like, impossible to really have a really true life without Him.” Cassie was ready. With her life–and with death, if necessary.

Two days after that, Cassie was sitting in the library of Columbine High School when Eric Harris and Dylan Kelbold burst in with homemade pipe-bombs and guns. They knew who she was; she’d made no secret of her newfound faith.

The Bible stacked on top of her textbooks, along with the WWJD (“What Would Jesus Do?”) bracelet around her wrist, clearly marked Cassie as one of the “Christians” of Columbine High.

“Do you believe in God?” was the question which was posed to her by that young member of the self-proclaimed “Trenchcoat Mofia.” Her friend, Keven Koeniger, later said that Cassie paused for a long moment. He said, “I think she knew she was going to die.”

Finally, the response came: “Yes, I believe in God.” The trigger was pulled.

You think the question, “Are you ready to die for Jesus?” isn’t an urgent one? Just ask Cassie Bernall. Ask her parents. Misty and Brad said, “We looked at each other and we said, ‘Would I have done that? I would have begged for my life!’ She didn’t.

Cassie Bernall’s brother Chris found this poem on her desk. It was the last poem she wrote before she died.

“Now I have given up on everything else.
I have found it to be the only way
To really know Christ
And to experience the Mighty power
That brought Him back to life again
And to find out what it means
to suffer and die with Him.
So, whatever it takes
I will be one who lives
In the fresh newness of life
Of those who are alive from the dead”

Is your Jesus worth dying for?

(Editor’s note: The “poem” above is actually a quotation from the Living Bible Phil. 3:10-11. The author of this article was mistaken in thinking that Cassie had been the author. However, it is fairly certain that Cassie looked to these verses soon before her death.)

Story 2:

Come Follow Me…
(Christmas – Do You Hear What I Hear?, Paul H. Dunn, 1987, pp 90- 91)

Once upon a time, there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug.

He wasn’t a Scrooge. He was a very kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealings with other men. But he didn’t believe all that stuff about an incarnation which churches proclaim at Christmas. And he was too honest to pretend that he did.

“I am truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer, “but I simply cannot understand this claim that God became man. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

On Christmas Eve, his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. “I’d feel like a hypocrite,” he explained. “I’d much rather stay at home. But I’ll wait up for you.”

Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier.

“If we must have a Christmas,” he reflected, “it’s nice to have a white one.”

He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his newspaper. A few minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another. He thought that someone must be throwing snow balls at his living room window.

When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window.

I can’t let those poor creatures lie there and freeze, he thought. But how can I help them?

Then he remembered the barn where the children’s pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter. He quickly put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on the light. But the birds didn’t come in.

Food will bring them in, he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn. To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction – except into the warm, lighted barn.

“They find me a strange and terrifying creature,” he said to himself, “and I can’t seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety.”

Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He stood silently for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow.

“Now I understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why you had to do it.”

Story 3:

The Prayers of a Mom

A true life Testimony
by Emanuel Rodriguez

Sometimes I sit and look back on my life,
I remember the pain and remember the strife.
I didn’t know what I was looking for,
until I heard Jesus Knock at my door.
He asked to come in, but I kept saying no,
I closed the door to my heart and he said “I won’t go,
I’ll keep on knocking until you ask me in.”,
But I chose to stay in my life of sin.
I thought that I had the game of life already won!
I had money in my pockets and carried a gun.
The life of a gangster is what I had chose,
Selling drugs to buy new clothes, driving new cars and going to lowrider shows.
This is what I thought life was about,
never had a worry, never a doubt,
but mom kept on saying that I was missing the truth.
She said “I always pray for you and the youth,
Material things in the world are not all bad,
but without God in your life, your heart will remain sad!”
I listened really close and I knew deep inside she was right,
my happiness was a front, cause I felt lonely and sad at night.
My mom said, “God can take all your pain away,”
but I again chose an alternative way.
Alcohol and drugs were my choice this time,
all my pain and thoughts were gone for good, out of my mind,
but then again, that was just for a season,
the day came when I really had nothing, no money, no cars, no home, and for what reason?
The drugs and the alcohol took over my life
and when I didn’t have them, again, came pain and strife.
All this time my mother did pray,
and life got harder for me each and every day!
I was tired of life at that moment in time,
I had nothing except, pain in my heart and a vary lost mind.
The time had come when I wanted to die,
but all I could do was just sit there and cry.
All I remember was what my mom kept on saying
that, Jesus loved me, and she’ll continue praying.
I looked at the door to my heart, and started debating,
could Jesus still be there, could he really be waiting.
I started to cry and fell to my knees,
I shouted out loud, “God! Help me please!”
I opened the door and Jesus was still standing there,
with fire in his eyes and a bright blinding glow to his hair.
Then he spoke one more time and said to me again,
“I love you my son, will you please let me in?”
I asked him into my heart that day,
and at that moment, he took all the pain and the strife in my life away.
I fell at his feet and started to cry. ”Thank you Lord,”
I gave him my gun and he gave me a sword,
He said, “These are the words I have spoken to you,
go forward in life and may your life be a new!”
From that day forward I sang a new song.
“Thank you my Lord for The Prayers of a Mom!”

Jakarta, 30 Mei 1993
Penyusun
Drs. A. Purnama W.

Muslim - Koptik
[Sebuah Potret]
Catatan Ahmad Ginandjar Sya'ban

Ada yang menarik dari pola interaksi umat Muslim dan umat Koptik di Mesir.
Koptik (Coptic/ al-Qibth) merupakan salah satu sekte Kristen kuno yang
sampai di Mesir pada abad pertama masehi di bawah tangan rasul Marcus
(Rifaat Abd al-Hamid, al-Fikr al-Mashri fi 'Ashr al-Masihi: 2000).

Contoh kecilnya, yaitu simpati yang kerap kali disampaikan oleh keduanya
saat salah satu dari mereka sedang merayakan hari suci. Ketika umat Muslim
merayakan Idul Fitri, banyak dari kalangan umat Koptik yang memberikan
simpati, baik sekedar memberikan ucapan, memberikan kartu dan karangan
bunga tanda selamat, memberikan hadiah, hingga ikut serta hadir dalam
perayaan tersebut. Pun ketika umat Koptik merayakan hari raya Natal (id
al-milad al-majid), tak sedikit dari umat Muslim yang memberikan simpati
serupa (Nehdat Misr, edisi 6 Januari 2006).

Justeru, yang lebih menjadikannya menarik adalah para pembesar agama kedua
belah pihak yang melakukan hal-hal simpatik tersebut. Dr. Sayyed Thanthawi,
Grand Syeikh Al-Azhar, kerap kali bersimpati dan menziarahi gereja-gereja
Koptik, sama halnya seperti Poppe Sanouda, pucuk pemimpin spiritual umat
Koptik Mesir, yang sering berkunjung ke lembaga Al-Azhar dan masjid-masjid.

Bahkan, Syeikh Thanthawi membolehkan shalat di dalam gereja. Hal ini beliau
lakukan berulang kali bersama para ulama Al-Azhar lainnya pada waktu-waktu
dewan Al-Azhar diundang berbuka puasa bersama di gereja-gereja Koptik.
Dewan ulama Al-Azhar berbuka puasa di gereja tersebut, sekaligus shalat
berjama'ah di sana. Tidak bersama para Babawât tentunya (Nehdat Misr, edisi
12 Maret 2005).

Dalam salah satu petikan wawancaranya di mingguan Nehdat Misr (edisi 12
Maret 2006), Syeikh Thanthawi mengatakan bahwa nahnu ka abna al-wathan
al-wahid, fa 'alayna an nahfazha wathanana (kita bersama adalah anak bangsa
yang satu, maka wajib bagi kita untuk bersama-sama menjaganya). Syeikh
Azhar yang dikenal moderat ini juga menegaskan bahwa perbedaan agama bukan
menjadi alasan untuk sebuah perselisihan. Lana ma lana wa lahum ma lahum,
nahnu abna min al-abb al-wahid Ibrahim (bagi kita agama kita dan bagi
mereka agama mereka, kita adalah anak-anak dari ayah yang satu, Nabi
Ibrahim).

Fenomena saling bersimpati ini rupanya sudah mengakar tradisi. Bahkan
semenjak zaman nabi Muhammad dan masa penaklukan Mesiryang waktu itu
menjadi anak peradaban Romawidi bawah komandan Amru bin Ash. Ketika Nabi
Muhammad tiba di Mesir untuk pertama kalinya, pihak Mesir menghadiahkan
seorang gadis Koptik bernama Morrient (Maria al-Qibthiyyah) yang kelak
dinikahi oleh Nabi. Pun pada masa penaklukan Mesir, Amru bin Ash dengan
keras melarang pasukannya untuk menganiaya penduduk setempat, merusak
rumah-rumah serta sarana sosial yang ada.

Maka hingga sekarang, situs-situs peninggalan orang Yunani, Yahudi dan
Koptik sebelum masa penaklukan Islam sebagian masih terawat dengan baik.
Beberapa synagog Yahudi, gereja-gereja kuno dan situs-situs Yunani-Romawi
masih utuh, hal yang menandakan jika pada masa pendudukan Islam hampir
tidak ada pengrusakan.

Sewaktu Al-Mu'tashim, salah satu pucuk pemimpin dinasti Abbasiyyah (8 M)
yang terkenal dengan ashr al-tarjamah al-ilmiyyah (masa penerjemahan
besar-besaran), hendak mendirikan perpustakaan Bayt al-Hikmah di Baghdad,
beliau mengundang ilmuwan-ilmuwan Yahudi, Kristen dan Zoroast untuk
menerjemahkan literatur-literatur berbahasa Yunani, Ibrani, Suryani, Romawi
dan Persia. Tak ketinggalan diundangnya juga ilmuwan Koptik Mesir untuk
menerjemahkan beberapa literatur Neo-Platonis (Hellenistyc) yang dahulu
berkembang di Alexandria (Ahmad Amin: Dluha al-Islam, 1998).

Pada masa dinasti Shalahuddin al-Ayyubi (11 M), orang-orang Koptik dan
Yahudi Mesir ikut serta memerdekakan Palestine yang waktu itu diduduki
tentara Salib. Hal ini, menurut novelis Irlandia Lorenz Deriell, dalam
salah satu novelnya yang berjudul Alexandria, adalah karena orang-orang
Romawi melarang orang-orang Koptik untuk memasuki kota suci Palestina,
sebab mereka memandang orang Koptik sama kafirnya dengan orang Muslim dan
Yahudi (el-Cairo News/ 23 Mei 2006).

Saat dinasti Muhammad Ali Pasya memimpin Mesir (18 M), ia menyerahkan
urusan administrasi keuangan pada orang Koptik. Begitu juga puak
penerusnya, Cadeve Ismail Pasya dan Cadeve Fuad Pasya yang banyak
mengangkat orang-orang Koptik menjadi menteri kerajaannya (el-Cairo News/23
Mei 2006).

Keharmonisan Muslim-Koptik justeru semakin menghangat sewaktu revolusi 1952
meledak dan menggulingkan raja Farauq II yang korup. Dalam film monumental
Tsawrah Yuliu (Revolusi Juli) digambarkan ribuan orang Mesir (umat Muslim
memakai pakaian identitas kemuslimannya dan umat Koptik memakai pakaian
identitas mereka) berjibun memenuhi jalanan sambil bergandengantangan antar
satu sama lain. Saat itu semboyan yang terkenal adalah misr awwalan, islam
wa masihiyyah fi ma ba'd (bangsa Mesir utama, identitas agama Islam dan
Kristen selanjutnya) dengan simbol bulan sabit dan salib Koptik yang
menyatu.

Saat teori Clash of Civilization yang digulirkan Samuel Huntington
menggegerkan dunia, para cendikiawan Mesir dari unsur Muslim dan Koptik
bersama-sama meraksinya. Adalah Milad Hanna yang kemudian menurunkan buku
dengan tajuk Qabul al-Akhar (Attechment the Other/ Menerima yang Lain) yang
kemudian mendapat nobel perdamaian.

Pun, adalah Morad Wahbah, Lweiss Owd, Ramses Owd, Ghali Syukri, Samuel
Sabri, Phillip Gallab, Yunan Labib dan sederet filosof Koptik-Mesir lainnya
yang bersama-sama filosof Muslim-Mesir (semisal Zaki Naguib Mahmoud, Athef
Iraqi, Hassan Hanafi, Abd al-Halim Atheyya, Saleh Qanswu dll) merancang
bangun proyek al-falsafah al-arabiyyah al-haditsah (filsafat Arab modern).

Itulah sedikit potret pola interaksi antara Muslim dengan Koptik di Mesir
yang sangat harmonis. Sebuah pola yang mengedepankan kebersamaan dan
menghargai yang lain, menjadikan perbedaan sebagai sebuah peluang untuk
sama-sama saling belajar. Sejak jauh hari orang Mesir sadar betul bahwa
sebuah bangsa tidak akan berdiri kokoh tanpa ditopang oleh asas saling
menghargai.

Sayang, pola interaksi yang harmonis di atas, yang telah turun temurun
selama berabad-abad lamanya, tiba-tiba terguncang oleh ledakan bom di tiga
gereja Koptik di Alexandria. Selama berabad-abad puak nenek moyang bangsa
Mesir telah membangun "rumah laba-laba" Muslim-Koptik dengan sangat susah
payah, tiba-tiba rumah sulaman itu sekarang harus terkoyak.

**Ahmad Ginandjar Sya'ban, peminat kajian lintas peradaban, tinggal di
Cairo Mobile: (+20)104858448
- Ahmad Ginandjar Sya'ban, Caire, Egypt, 26/05/2006 16:05

Mujizat Gereja Koptik di Mesir-memindahkan gunung dengan iman

Saya ingin mengutip kisah mukjizat besar, yang membuktikan pemeliharaan Allah atas gereja-gereja ini. Pada masa pemerintahan al-Iman al-Aziz billah bin al-Mu’izz, kalifah pertama Dinasti Fatimiyah (975-996 Masehi), hiduplah seorang Yahudi bengis bernama Ibn Killis. “Tahukah Anda, hai Raja kaum beriman,” provokator Yahudi itu memulai hasutannya. “Dalam kitab orang Nasrani tertulis bahwa apabila seseorang mempunyai iman sebesar biji sesawi saja ia akan dapat menggerakkan gunung dari tempatnya.” Maksudnya, tentu saja ia menghendaki agar kalifah memanggil pemimpin tertinggi orang Kristen untuk membuktikan kebenaran kata-kata Injil tersebut.

Pada waktu itu, Patriarkh Koptik di Mesir yang dijabat oleh Anba Abram As-Suryani, tidak bisa mengelak dari permintaan raja untuk memohon mukjizat dari Allah. Padahal ayat ini tentu saja tidak boleh dipahami secara harfiah. Tantangan itu sudah mempertaruhkan eksistensi kekristenan di Mesir. Kalau doa Anba Abram tidak dapat mendatangkan keajaiban di hadapan raja itu, kekristenan akan dianggap sekadar kebohongan belaka.

Selanjutnya dikisahkan, Patriarkh memerintahkan para rahid dan seluru umat Kristen untuk berdoa dan berpuasa selama tiga hari berturut-turut. Pada hari yang ditentukan, Anba Abram bersama seluruh umat Kristen pergi menenuhi permintaan kalifah. “Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, ” (10) begitu seluruh umat Kristen berseru dengan histeris kepada Allah yang Mahatinggi. Dan apakah yang selanjutnya terjadi? “Allahu akbar,” seru kalifah pula, begitu menyaksikan sendiri gunung itu benar-benar bergerak. “Cukup, ya Patriarkh, semua telah membuktikan kebenaran imanmu.” Menurut beberapa sumber sejarah Mesir, bukit yang bergerak itu sampai hari ini disebut Mokkatam (artinya: “pecah”), karena dahsyatnya mukajizat tersebut.(11)

Yang menarik adalah kisah ini bukan hanya dicatat oleh sumber-sumber sejarah Kristen saja, melainkan diabadikan pula oleh seorang pengarang Muslim, Abu Salih al-Armini dalam bukunya, Tadhakkur fiha Akhbar min al-Kana’is wa al-Adyar min nawahin Mishri wa al-Iqtha’aih (Daftar berita-berita tentang gereja-gereja dan biara-biara di propinsi Mesir dan wilayah wilayah di luarnya). Abu Salih membahas kisah ini dalam deskripsinya tentang Gereja St. Mercurius, yang juga dikenal sdengan nama Gereja “Abu As-Saifain”.(12)

Setelah terjadi mukjizat itu, kalifah memerintahkan baik-pulih dan restorasi gereja tersebut atas biaya pemerintah Islam. Gereja ini sampai hari ini masih bisa kita saksikan di kota lama Kairo.

Kisah yang saya kutip di atas, dan masih banyak mukjizat lain yang terjadi sampai hari ini diizinkan oleh Allah terjadi atas gereja-gereja di Timur Tengah untuk membuktikan kebenaran kesimpulan Thomas W. Arnold. Jelas pula bahwa rentangan panjang sejarah kekristianan di dunia Arab menghadapi keadaan yang amat keras yang menyebabkan perpindahan beribu-beribu anggotanya ke Amerika, Eropa, dan Australia.

Seperti yang terjadi dengan Gereja Koptik, markaz al-Bathriki (pusat kepatriarkhan) Gereja Ortodoks Syria, juga mengalami perpindahan dari satu negara ke negara lainnya. Perpindahan ini terjadi akibat jatuh bangunnya kekuasaan-kekuasaan politik yang membawahi gereja yang mula-mula berpusat di kota purba Antiokhia ini. Tetapi bi-ni’matillahi ta’ala, hanya dengan anugerah Allah semata-mata, akhirnya pusat gereja ini kembali ke Syria dan menjadikan Damaskus sebagai pusatnya. Meskipun sejumlah besar anggota gereja Syria mengalami berbagai malapetaka dan penganiayaan yang mengerikan, melalui gereja Syria ini warisan gereja dari zaman Rasuli telah diselamatkan. Salah satunya adalah dilestarikannya bahasa Aram/Suryani sebagai “lughat as-Sayid al-Masih” (bahasa ibu dari Gusti kita al-Masih). Suatu fakta yang sangat menarik minat para ahli.

Bahkan juga tokoh-tokoh intelektual Muslim di Indonesia, seperti ditunjukkan dari tanggapan Dr. Nurcholish Madjid yang dikutip di depan, juga Dr. Komaruddin Hidayat dan Dr. Kautsar Azhari Noor (13). Saya sendiri merasa begitu takjub menyaksikan semua mukjizat ini, lebih-lebih sebagai ‘prasasti hidup’ yang boleh disaksikan oleh gereja-gereja Tuhan lainnya di seluruh muka bumi. Sebagaimana diungkapkan oleh Mar Ignatius Ya’kub III, Patriarkh Gereja Ortodoks Syria (1957 – 1983): “Wa fakhuruna biannana auladu ashshuhada’ (Kami bangga menjadi putra-putri para syahid yang gugur di jalan Allah).” (14)

Apakah yang dapat dipelajari oleh gereja-gereja di Indonesia dari pengalaman saudara-saudara seiman mreka di Timur Tengah? Pertama, semua peristiwa itu terjadi justru ketika kesatuan gereja tercabik-cabik dan agama dijadikan alat kekuasaan politik oleh Kristen Byszantium. Kedua, kendati Allah sendiri mengizinkan semua penganiayaan terjadi, namun setiap kelemahan dan penderitaan menimpa tubuh gereja-Nya dan kuasa kebangkitan-Nya memberikan kekuatan baru. Hal ini benar-benar diyakini oleh gereja-gereja Arab, seperti yang dikidungkan dengan penuh iman pada setiap perayaan Paskah (‘Id al-Fashda) sebagai berikut:

“Al-Masih qama min bainal amwat

wa wathiy al-mauta al-maut

wa wahaba al-hayata lil ladzina

ful qubur”

Kristus telah bangkit dari antara

orang mati, dengan kematian-Nya telah

diinjak-injak kematian, dan dikaruniakan-Nya

hidup baru bagi setiap orang yang ada

dalam kubur kematian.

The Church – the greatest force on Earth
by Rick Warren

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The Church is everywhere in the world.
There are villages that have little else,
but they do have a church.
Rick Warren
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The Church is the most magnificent concept ever created. It has survived persistent abuse, horrifying persecution, and widespread neglect. Yet despite its faults (due to our sinfulness), it is still God’s chosen instrument of blessing and has been for 2,000 years.

The Church will last for eternity, and because it is God’s instrument for ministry here on Earth, it is truly the greatest force on the face of the Earth. That’s why I believe tackling the world’s biggest problems – the giants of spiritual lostness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and ignorance – can only be done through the Church.

The Church has eight distinct advantages over the efforts of business and government:

1. The Church provides for the largest participation.
Most people have no idea how many Christians there are in the world: More than 2 billion people claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. That’s one third of the world’s population! The Church has about a billion more people than the entire nation of China.

For example, about 100 million people in the United States went to church this past weekend. That’s more people than will attend sporting events in the United States throughout this year. The Church is the largest force for good in the world. Nothing else even comes close.

2. The Church provides for the widest distribution.
The Church is everywhere in the world. There are villages that have little else, but they do have a church. You could visit millions of villages around the world that don’t have a school, a clinic, a hospital, a fire department, or a post office. They don’t have any businesses. But they do have a church. The Church is more widely spread – more widely distributed – than any business franchise in the world.

Consider this: The Red Cross noted that 90 percent of the meals they served to victims of Hurricane Katrina were actually cooked by Southern Baptist churches. Many churches were able to jump into action faster than the government agencies or the Red Cross. Why? The Church is literally everywhere, and Christians who could provide help to the Gulf Coast communicated with Christians in need of help so relief could be sent immediately.

3. The Church provides the longest continuation.
The Church has been around for 2,000 years. We’re not a fly-by-night operation. The Church has a track record that spans centuries: Malicious leaders have tried to destroy it, hostile groups have persecuted it, and skeptics have scoffed at it. Nevertheless, God’s Church is bigger now than ever before in history.

Why? Because it’s the Church that Jesus established, and it is indestructible. The Bible calls the Church an unshakable kingdom. In Matthew 16, Jesus says, “I will build my Church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” All the powers of hell – in other words, no hurricane, no earthquake, no tsunami, no famine, no pandemic, no army will ever conquer the Church established by Jesus Christ.

4. The Church provides the fastest expansion.
Did you know that every day 60,000 new people come to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? By the end of today, thousands of new churches will be started throughout the world, and that will happen tomorrow and the next day and the next.

In one country that is closed to traditional Christian missions, more than 60,000 house churches have been started in one province by the work of lay people, no different from the people who fill your church sanctuary every weekend.

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If you’ve got a problem that’s growing at
a rapid rate, then you need a solution
that will grow even more rapidly. For
instance, HIV/AIDS is growing at an
incredibly fast rate in the world. Yet
thank God, the Church is outgrowing
the disease,so more and more believers
can help minister to those with HIV/AIDS.
Rick Warren
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Why is fast expansion important? If you’ve got a problem that’s growing at a rapid rate, then you need a solution that will grow even more rapidly. For instance, HIV/AIDS is growing at an incredibly fast rate in the world. Yet thank God the Church is outgrowing the disease, so more and more believers can help minister to those with HIV/AIDS.

If we’re going to tackle global giants like poverty, disease, or illiteracy, then we must be part of something that’s growing faster than the problem. The Church is doing just that!

5. The Church provides the highest motivation.
Why do any of us do what we do in ministry? It’s not to make money, not to make a name for ourselves and not for duty to our nation. We do it out of love. Jesus stated it as the Great Commandment: “Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” We wouldn’t do the hard work required to tackle these global giants for money, for fame, or for anything else. It just wouldn’t be worth it; we’d quit before the end.

We’re motivated to keep at the hard work of ministry because we love God, and our love for God compels us to love other people. It is love that never gives up; it is love that keeps moving forward despite the appearance of impossible odds; and it is love that outlasts any problem.

6. The Church provides the strongest authorization.
God authorized the Church to take on global giants, such as spiritual lostness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and ignorance. With God’s authorization, the outcome is guaranteed to be successful.

When you know that God has authorized you to do something, you don’t worry about failure because God doesn’t sponsor flops. If God says we’re going to do it, it’s going to happen. It is inevitable. In fact, the Bible teaches that God will give us his power to complete the task. This is God’s way – ordinary people empowered by his Spirit.

7. The Church provides the simplest administration.
The Church is organized in such a way that we can network faster and with less bureaucracy than most governmental agencies or even well-meaning charities. For instance, the organizational structure at Saddleback, which is based on the New Testament model, holds that every member is a minister. Each person in our church family is encouraged to use his or her own S.H.A.P.E. (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences) to do what God has called him or her to do. There is no bureaucracy or hierarchy. There isn’t a single committee, and the process doesn’t require a long list of approvals.

The old wineskin of command and control won’t work well in the 21st century. The organization of the future is the “network.” And there’s no better worldwide network than the Church, where every member is a minister and empowered to do what God wants done.

The P.E.A.C.E. Plan
Want to learn more about Rick Warren’s historic plan to tackle the global giants of spiritual lostness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and ignorance? Check out Purpose Driven Ministries’ P.E.A.C.E. Plan Web site.
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Consider it this way – tens of millions of Christians in millions of small groups that are part of churches around the world can take on the global giants with no other authority than that given from Jesus Christ. In other words, we have God’s permission and we have God’s command to do it. There is no need to seek permission from anyone else.

8. The Church provides for God’s conclusion.
Since we believe the Bible is God’s Word, we already know the end of history. Jesus said in Matthew 24: “The good news about God’s Kingdom will be preached in all the world to every nation, and then the end will come.” It is inevitable and unavoidable.

When you consider these eight advantages, think about the exponential explosion of ministry when millions upon millions of small groups in millions upon millions of churches organize in such a way that each person can do their part in attacking the five global giants.

What do you think could happen if God’s people prayed against these global giants, prepared for action against these giants, and then moved through faith to tackle these giants?

We may look at these problems and think, “These are too big! How could we possibly solve them?”

But with God, nothing is impossible – and if we all work together as his Church, we’ll see these giants falls just as Goliath fell when faced with David’s obedience to God.

Pastor, it is a great privilege and an awesome responsibility to lead a local church. God wouldn’t have placed you where you are if he didn’t believe you could handle the task before you. You play a vital role in tackling these global giants. It is my privilege to co-labor with you.

Holy Bible: A General Overview
The Holy Bible is a phenomenal account of history, comprised of 66 books, written over approximately 1600 years, by at least 40 distinct authors. The Old Testament (Old Covenant) contains 39 books written from approximately 1500 to 400 BC, and the New Testament (New Covenant) contains 27 books written from approximately 40 to 90 AD. The Jewish Bible (Tenach) is the same as the Christian Old Testament, except for its book arrangement. The original Old Testament was written mainly in Hebrew, with some Aramaic, while the original New Testament was written in Greek.

Holy Bible: The Old Testament
The Holy Bible begins with the Jewish Scriptures. The historical record of the Jews was written down in leather scrolls and tablets over centuries, and the authors included kings, shepherds, prophets and other leaders inspired by God. In Exodus, God tells Moses to write the Law (Torah) in a book. About 450 BC, all of the Jewish scriptures were collected and arranged by councils of rabbis, who then recognized the complete set as the inspired and sacred authority of God. Beginning as early as 250 BC, the Hebrew Bible (Tenach) was translated into Greek by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. The translation became known as the Septuagint, meaning 70, and referring to the tradition that 70 or 72 men comprised the translation team. At this point, the books of the Hebrew Bible were arranged by topic, including history, poetry, and prophecy. In 90 AD, at the Council of Jamnia, the Jewish elders established the final Hebrew Bible canon. Although the Jewish Scriptures were copied by hand, they were extremely accurate copy to copy. The Jews had a phenomenal system of scribes, who developed intricate and ritualistic methods for counting letters, words and paragraphs to insure that no copying errors were made. In fact, scribal tradition was maintained until the invention of the printing press in 1455. As far as manuscript accuracy, the recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has confirmed the remarkable reliability of the Old Testament texts over the years.

Holy Bible: The New Testament
After approximately 400 years of scriptural silence, Jesus arrived on the scene in about 4 BC. Throughout His teaching, Jesus often quotes the Old Testament, declaring that He did not come to destroy the Jewish Scriptures, but to fulfill them. In Luke 24:44-45, Jesus proclaims to his disciples, “All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” Starting in about 40 AD and continuing to about 90 AD, the eye-witnesses to the life of Jesus Christ, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude write the Gospels, letters and books that later become the New Testament. These authors quote from 31 books of the Old Testament, and widely circulate their material so that by about 150 AD, early Christians were referring to the set of writings as the New Covenant. During the 200s AD, the writings were translated into Latin, Coptic (Egypt) and Syriac (Syria) and widely disseminated. At this time, at least 21 of the writings were considered canonical. Thereafter, in 397 AD, the current 27 books of the New Testament were formally confirmed and canonized in the Synod of Carthage.

Like the Old Testament, we now have significant evidence that the New Testament we read today is remarkably accurate as compared to the original manuscripts. Of the thousands of copies made by hand before the printing press, we have approximately 24,000 manuscripts, including more than 5,300 Greek manuscripts from the New Testament alone. The Bible is better preserved, by far, than accepted writings of Homer, Plato and Aristotle. Of course, as the Bible was carried from country to country, it was translated into languages that don’t necessarily mirror the original languages of Greek and Hebrew. However, other than grammatical and cultural differences, God’s Word has been remarkably preserved and translated over the years. The Bible now gives inspiration to hundreds of millions throughout the world – that’s because the Bible is truly the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:20-21).

Bible Translations – Why the need?
Because the original texts of the Bible were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, many modern day Christians would not be able to read and understand it so the texts needed to be translated into English.

Bible Translations – What are the Main Bible Translations?
Here are some of the Bible translations and their advantages.

King James Version (KJV) – This version originated when a group of Puritans presented King James with a petition requesting reforms in the Church of England. This is an excellent translation for people who were brought up with it because it makes a distinction between the second persons singular (thou, thee, thy, thine) which is not easy in modern English. You must understand the difference between thou and thee and ye and you, or there is confusion.

The New King James Version (NKJV) – A man by the name of Sam Moore, CEO of a Bible publishing company, is the publisher of this edition because his son could not read and understand the King James Version so Moore hired 130 scholars to produce the translation. It is considered to be the most accurate of the Greek than the King James Version and less likely to be puzzling to the reader. It is especially good for people with a Wesleyan or Eastern Orthodox background.

Since the translation of the King James Version in the 1600s, many additional copies of biblical manuscripts have been discovered. Some of these were manuscripts much older and therefore, likely more reliable than the manuscripts that the King James’ translators had access to.

The New International Version (NIV) – This translation is the product of evangelical scholars from a variety of church backgrounds under the umbrella of the New York Bible Society International. This is an excellent translation into very good contemporary English suitable for study and reading aloud. The word, international, means the translators made sure their work would be usable in any English-speaking country although it appears with versions of American and British spelling.

The Living Bible (TLB) – A gentleman by the name Kenneth Taylor began paraphrasing scripture for use in family devotions in the year 1954. It became The Living Bible which appeared in 1970. It is very easy to read and makes a good story book. Many editions explain the nature and purpose of the paraphrase.

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) – This is an updated version of the American Standard Bible originally published in 1901, and then updated in 1995 to be consistent with modern English. All archaic language was changed. This version is considered to be the most exact English translation available.

Bible Translation – Why Are There So Many Different Translations?
The King James Version of the Bible was used for over 300 years until it became noticeably difficult for people to understand the Old English way of speaking. It then became necessary to make new translations and revise old ones if people desired to read the Word of God in their native languages. Words tend to change in meaning with the passage of time.

The Bible did not exist in English until a little more than 600 years ago. Before then, the most widely-used Bible translation was in Latin. This version existed in the middle Ages and was called the Latin Vulgate. The first English translation was produced in 1382 by the influence of John Wycliff. Despite complete opposition by the Catholic Church and in the absence of a printing press, copies were widely circulated. In the 16th century, more popular English versions were produced beginning with William Tyndale. This was the first version to be translated directly from the Greek. In 1604, because of so much controversy between the Englishmen, King James I authorized the translation of another version bearing his name.

Misquoting Jesus — New Testament Textual Criticism
When it comes to New Testament textual criticism, the first few chapters of Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman are generally excellent. They present the academic discipline of “textual criticism” in a simple, easy-to-read format for the lay person. In fact, in my personal journey, I studied much of this same manuscript evidence as a skeptic and found “textual criticism” to be a compelling tool that actually established the credibility of the New Testament.

Of course, Ehrman uses these chapters to lay the foundation for the exact opposite conclusion. Thus, his proposition at the book’s center:

“With the abundance of evidence, what can we say about the total number of variants known today? Scholars differ significantly in their estimates — some say there are 200,000 variants known, some say 300,000, some say 400,000 or more! We do not know for sure because, despite impressive developments in computer technology, no one has yet been able to count them all. Perhaps, as I indicated earlier, it is best simply to leave the matter in comparative terms. There are more variations among our manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament.”¹

Ehrman’s chapter-ending statement is absolutely true. . .and absolutely misleading in the context delivered.

Indeed, there are approximately 138,000 words in the Greek New Testament (NT) and, as stated by Ehrman, there are up to three times as many variants. Initially, this seems shocking, but when we actually examine the textual possibilities, Ehrman’s open-ended statement is quite misleading. Actually, a basic review of mainstream NT textual criticism reveals that most of these variants are totally insignificant, such as word order differences, proper name spellings, and the addition of simple articles and conjunctions.

For example, here are some of the Greek variants for the simple line, “Jesus loves Paul.”²

‘Ιησούς αγάπα Παυλον — [Jesus—ee-ay-sus / loves—agapa / Paul—paulan]
‘Ιησούς αγάπα τον Παυλον — [Jesus loves the Paul]
ό ‘Ιησούς αγάπα Παυλον — [The Jesus loves Paul]
ό ‘Ιησούς αγάπα τον Παυλον — [The Jesus loves the Paul]
Παυλον ‘Ιησούς αγάπα — [Paul Jesus loves]
τον Παυλον ‘Ιησούς αγάπα — [The Paul Jesus loves]
Παυλον ό ‘Ιησούς αγάπα — [Paul the Jesus loves]
τον Παυλον ό ‘Ιησούς αγάπα — [The Paul the Jesus loves]
αγάπα ‘Ιησούς Παυλον — [Loves Jesus Paul]
αγάπα ‘Ιησούς τον Παυλον — [Loves Jesus the Paul]
αγάπα ό ‘Ιησούς Παυλον — [Loves the Jesus Paul]

Remarkably, these variations only represent a small number of the actual possibilities in Greek. For example, if the sentence used different words for “love” (i.e., φιλεί instead of αγάπα) or if the sentence included a superfluous conjunction such as καιν [also] or μέν [indeed], the potential variations grow significantly. Work in synonyms such as κύριος [Lord] for ‘Ιησούς [Jesus], or extra words such as Χριστός [Christ] or άγιός [holy]), and the list of possible variations that do not impact meaning jumps ten-fold.

“If such a simple sentence as ‘Jesus loves Paul’ could have so many insignificant variations, a mere 400,000 variants among the NT manuscripts seems like an almost negligible amount.”

Biblical Inspiration – Textual Variants and Their Impact on the Bible
When it comes to biblical inspiration, Bart Ehrman’s well-written piece on textual criticism grossly overstates the negative impact of textual variants on the integrity of the New Testament. His conclusion (direct and implied) is that “numerous” textual variants must equal “numerous” problems with the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

At the end of the book, Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman summarizes his findings as follows:

“The more I studied the manuscript tradition of the New Testament, the more I realized just how radically the text has been altered over the years at the hands of scribes, who were not only conserving scripture but also changing it. To be sure, of all the hundreds of thousands of textual changes found among our manuscripts, most of them are completely insignificant, immaterial, of no real importance for anything other than showing that scribes could not spell or keep focused any better than the rest of us. It would be wrong, however, to say — as people sometimes do — that the changes in our text have no real bearing on what the texts mean or on the theological conclusions that one draws from them. We have seen, in fact, that just the opposite is the case.“In some instances, the very meaning of the text is at stake, depending on how one resolves a textual problem: Was Jesus an angry man [Mark 1.41]? Was he completely distraught in the face of death [Hebrews 2.8–9]? Did he tell his disciples that they could drink poison without being harmed [Mark 16.9–20]? Did he let an adulteress off the hook with nothing but a mild warning [John 7.53–8.11]? Is the doctrine of the Trinity explicitly taught in the New Testament [1 John 5.7–8]? Is Jesus actually called the “unique God” there [John 1.18]? Does the New Testament indicate that even the Son of God himself does not know when the end will come [Matthew 24.36]? The questions go on and on, and all of them are related to how one resolves difficulties in the manuscript tradition as it has come down to us.”¹

So, there you have it. . .

In the first half of his book, Ehrman introduces us to the academic discipline of New Testament textual criticism. In the second half of his book, Ehrman focuses on some specific New Testament textual issues. Here, at the conclusion of his book, Ehrman recaps his seven, primary, questionable texts and then declares, “The questions go on and on. . .”

Actually, the questions don’t go “on and on.” The seven problem texts cited by Ehrman are the same problem texts noted by biblical scholars for decades² – Let’s take a look at each one. . .

Mark 16:9-20 – The Last 12 Verses of Mark’s Gospel
John 7:53-8:11 – Pericope Adulterae
1 John 5:7-8 – The “Trinitarian Formula”
Mark 1:41, Hebrews 2:9, John 1:18, Matthew 24:36

Biblical Inspiration – My Simple Conclusion
Bart Ehrman has introduced the pop culture to the same lines of text that NT scholars (yes, even evangelical ones) have been footnoting as problematic/inauthentic for years. These same scholars have also agreed for years that these textual variations/additions affect no key doctrines of the Christian faith. Remarkably, it’s the discipline of “textual criticism” that has allowed scholars to identify and correct these variants and corruptions in the first place. Indeed, “textual criticism” over the last hundred years has given us the best, most trustworthy, Bible translations ever!

As I see it, Ehrman (and his publisher) have delivered a book in the genre of The Da Vinci Code.

A witty, credible, and provocative scholar has finally let the general public in on a tightly-held, academic secret. The “conspiracy” kept from the faithful masses has finally been exposed.

Yes, I made that up. However, according to the mainstream reaction to Ehrman’s book, it seems the marketing strategy is working quite well.

Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy

You ask, “How difficult would it have been for the Gospel writers to tell the story of Jesus’ life so as to make it conform to Old Testament prophecy?”⁷⁴ While this may appear simple to you, neither the writers, nor any individuals prior to them who may have known Jesus’ family personally, had the ability to direct the events of, say, Jesus’ birth, in such a way as to convince both Joseph and Mary that this was a normal birth. You claim, with respect to the virgin birth, that Luke and Matthew “relied upon the Greek rendering of Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew text of Isaiah uses the word ‘almâ, however, which simply means ‘young woman,’ without any implication of virginity.”⁷⁵

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14

The Hellenistic ruler of the Egyptian Ptolemaic Empire, Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Alexandria commissioned the Greek rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures in the 260s BC, quite some time before the birth of Christ. The translators were a group of seventy-two Jewish Rabbis, six elders from each of the twelve tribes of Israel,⁷⁶ all highly respected for their work. The non-Christian historian Josephus and the ancient philosopher Philo both ascribed divine inspiration to the translators of the Septuagint.

The Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran in 1947 included many fragments that agreed closely with the Septuagint, attesting to its place of honor among ancient translations. One of the scrolls found in Qumran also contained “a complete manuscript of the Hebrew text of Isaiah. It is dated by paleographers around 125 BC.”⁷⁷

The Hebrew word in the text that is translated virgin is “almah.” It has a definite article in Hebrew as can be seen in the last word in the first line in the Hebrew text above. It is “ha’almah” or literally “the virgin.” Only after the beginning of the Christian dispensation did Jewish scholars insist that the word means a young woman who is not necessarily a virgin and therefore they say a virgin birth was not predicted. Irenaeus is the first one to answer that argument and his points have not been improved upon. One of the most telling arguments he uses is that the Septuagint translators not only translated the verse here but they told what it meant, to them, before the advent of Jesus.⁷⁸

The Septuagint authors translated the Hebrew word ‘almâ into the Greek work parthenos, strictly translated “virgin.” Note also that the verse indicates that a sign would be given. Most would not consider such a common event as a “young woman giving birth” a sign. However, the uniqueness of a virgin giving birth would deem the event worthy of such a designation.

Old Testament Law – Does it still Apply?

When it comes to the Old Testament Law, you make the unwarranted assumption that many of the Old Testament laws continue to bind Christians today. If true, shouldn’t we have heard of instances where Christians acted upon these laws? Wouldn’t home schooling moms kill children frequently for talking back to them? Wouldn’t Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in Texas in 2001, have considered first an appeal to Leviticus rather than an insanity plea? The only place where these laws apply within today’s culture is within certain Jewish sects, who contend that the Halakha (Jewish religious law) along with its 613 Commandments, including many of the ones you cited, should still require strict obedience. Among the vast majority of modern American Jews a person only binds himself to the Halakha by his own volition, a choice few actually make. Even among Orthodox and Haredi Jews, the most conservative segments of Judaism, the death penalty has been done away with since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD.

In describing these Old Testament laws and their penalties, ostensibly to affirm their validity in American Christianity, you make it a point to cite references to the New Testament as well. However your citations from Matthew 15:4-7 and Mark 7:9-13 refer only to instances when Jesus alludes to the same Old Testament laws. Both gospel writers explicated the same incident. Jesus spoke to a group of Jewish Pharisees who had already relaxed the penalties of the Old Testament law by rationalizing away the need to care for their parents in their old age. He showed them the hypocrisy of allowing their followers to ignore their obligations to their parents so as to contribute to the Temple. And yes, Jesus actually supported the Law by His words. You confirm this as well by quoting Matthew, which I will repeat here.

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:18-20

However, your quote failed to include the critical verse that preceded these words.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. – Matthew 5:17

Woven into this one verse we discover the sine qua non. . .the summum bonum of the Christian faith. Jesus’ purpose here on earth was to fulfill the law, not only by living in total obedience to the law, but also by paying the penalty incurred by everyone who has ever lived or will ever live, who are drawn to place their trust in Him. Paul wrote, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”²⁶ Jesus was the only person who could unequivocally make such a claim.

Bible Origin – Divine Inspiration
When examining Bible origin, many of today’s liberal scholars look everywhere but the Bible. However, the Bible tells us that the origin of the Bible is God Himself. In 2 Timothy 3:16, we read that all scripture is inspired by God. The Greek word used for inspiration is theopneustos, which means “God-breathed.” In 2 Peter 1:21, we understand that each writer was “carried along” by God. Therefore, God used each of the Bible’s 40 authors, including their diverse cultural backgrounds, personalities and positions, to deliver His divine Word to all mankind.

Bible Origin – The Word of God
It seems that the question of Bible origin turns on the truth of its divine inspiration. In Luke 24:27,44; John 5:39; and Hebrews 10:7, Jesus says that what was written about him in the Old Testament would come to pass. Romans 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12 refer to the Old Testament as the Word of God. We read in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit.” This is confirmed in 2 Timothy 3:16. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul when referring to that which he had written says, “…you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the Word of God…” Peter speaks of the inspiration of Paul’s writings in 2 Peter 3:15-16, where he maintains that, “…Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters…” Earlier, in 2 Peter 1:21 Peter writes, “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along [moved] by the Holy Spirit.” And then finally in Revelation 22:18,19 the writer John, referring to the book of Revelation states, “…if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life…”

“The Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God. However, it was not written by good men, because good men would not tell lies by saying ‘Thus saith the Lord;’ it was not written by bad men because they would not write about doing good duty, while condemning sin, and themselves to hell; thus, it must be written by divine inspiration” (Charles Wesley, McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990:178).

Bible Origin – Authenticity of New Testament Scripture
A primary attack against divine Bible origin is that the books of the New Testament were agreed upon (canonized) by men hundreds of years after the books were written. Actually, the fathers of the early Christian church reveal that most of the New Testament books were accepted as scripture almost immediately. For instance, in 2 Peter 3:16, the writer takes for granted that Paul’s letters were already considered inspired scripture on the same level as the Old Testament. In 1Timothy 5:18, Paul joins an Old Testament reference and a New Testament reference and calls them both Scripture. The need for official canonization of the New Testament scriptures only came about because of certain heresies that were being spread throughout the church starting in the mid to late second century. For instance, Marcion created his own religion by only teaching from ten of Paul’s letters and certain portions of Luke. In addition, the Gnostics, especially in Alexandria, were introducing new “secrets” to the standard Christian doctrine, including new gospel accounts altogether.

For the church leaders in the mid second century, the four Gospels were baseline authority in their teachings. In about 170 AD, Irenaeus cited 23 of the 27 New Testament books, omitting only Philemon, James, 2 Peter and 3 John. The Muratorian fragment, written about the same time, attests to the widespread use of all the New Testament books except Hebrews, James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter. However, other church fathers had already cited those omitted books in various writings defending against Gnostic doctrines. The Codex Barococcio from 206 AD includes 64 of the 66 books of today’s Bible. Esther and Revelation were omitted, but they had already been declared as inspired scripture by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian and the Muratorian Canon. In 230 AD, Origen declared that all Christians acknowledged as scripture the four Gospels, Acts, the epistles of Paul, 1 Peter, 1 John and Revelation.

By the early 300′s, all of the New Testament books were being used in the mainstream church body. In 367 AD, Athanasius formally circulated the Easter Letter that listed all 27 books as canonical. The Synod of Hippo (393 AD) and the third Synod of Carthage (397 AD) also recognized these 27 books as canonical. In addition, during this time, the highly influential church fathers, Jerome (340-420 AD) and Augustine (354-430 AD) published their lists of 27 books completing the New Testament.

It’s important to remember that the canon of the New Testament was not the result of any pronouncement by any official of the church or any organizational body. Rather, the canon was determined by the authoritative use of these books right from the start by the rapidly expanding church of the first and second centuries. The New Testament canon was merely a process of formal recognition of already recognized scripture, to defend against the various forms of Gnosticism and heresy that were starting to creep throughout the ever-expanding church.

Bible Manuscripts

Dramatically, when the Bible manuscripts are compared to other ancient writings, they stand alone as the best-preserved literary works of all antiquity. Remarkably, there are thousands of existing Old Testament manuscripts and fragments copied throughout the Middle East, Mediterranean and European regions that agree phenomenally with each other. ¹ In addition, these texts substantially agree with the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, which was translated from Hebrew to Greek some time during the 3rd century BC. ² The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in Israel in the 1940′s and 50′s, also provide astounding evidence for the reliability of the ancient transmission of the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. ³

The manuscript evidence for the “New Testament” is also dramatic, with nearly 25,000 ancient manuscripts discovered and archived so far, at least 5,600 of which are copies and fragments in the original Greek. ⁴ Some manuscript texts date to the early second and third centuries, with the time between the original autographs and our earliest existing fragment being a remarkably short 40-60 years. ⁵

Interestingly, this manuscript evidence far surpasses the manuscript reliability of other ancient writings that we trust as authentic every day. Look at these comparisons: Julius Caesar’s The Gallic Wars (10 manuscripts remain, with the earliest one dating to 1,000 years after the original autograph); Pliny the Younger’s Natural History (7 manuscripts; 750 years elapsed); Thucydides’ History (8 manuscripts; 1,300 years elapsed); Herodotus’ History (8 manuscripts; 1,350 years elapsed); Plato (7 manuscripts; 1,300 years); and Tacitus’ Annals (20 manuscripts; 1,000 years). ⁶

Renowned Bible scholar F.F. Bruce declares:

There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.⁷

Homer’s Iliad, the most renowned book of ancient Greece, is the second best-preserved literary work of all antiquity, with 643 copies of manuscript support discovered to date. In those copies, there are 764 disputed lines of text, as compared to 40 lines in all the New Testament manuscripts. ⁸ In fact, many people are unaware that there are no surviving manuscripts of any of William Shakespeare’s 37 plays (written in the 1600′s), and scholars have been forced to fill some gaps in his works. ⁹ This pales in textual comparison with the over 5,600 copies and fragments of the New Testament in the original Greek that, together, assure us that nothing’s been lost. In fact, all of the New Testament except eleven minor verses can be reconstructed outside the Bible from the writings of the early church leaders in the second and third centuries AD. ¹⁰

In real terms, the New Testament is easily the best attested ancient writing in terms of the sheer number of documents, the time span between the 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.¹¹

The academic discipline of “textual criticism” assures us that the Bible translations we have today are essentially the same as the ancient Bible manuscripts, with the exception of a few inconsequential discrepancies that have been introduced over time through copyist error. We must remember that the Bible was hand-copied for hundreds of years before the invention of the first printing press. Nevertheless, the text is exceedingly well preserved. Again, I pondered this — of the approximately 20,000 lines that make up the entire New Testament, only 40 lines are in question. These 40 lines represent one quarter of one percent of the entire text and do not in any way affect the teaching and doctrine of the New Testament. I again compared this with Homer’s Iliad. Of the approximately 15,600 lines that make up Homer’s classic, 764 lines are in question. These 764 lines represent over 5% of the entire text, and yet nobody seems to question the general integrity of that ancient work.

To my real surprise, I discovered the Bible to be better preserved — by far — than other ancient works I’ve read and accepted over the years, such as Homer, Plato and Aristotle. As far as my “interpretation of an interpolation of an oral tradition” theory, I found that the Bible was not changed or interpreted from the ancient source texts. Simply, as the Bible was carried from country to country, it was translated into languages that don’t necessarily mirror the original languages of Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. However, other than some grammatical and cultural differences, the “Bible manuscripts” are absolutely true to their original form and content, and remarkably well-preserved in their various translations.

Saint Luke

I decided to start with the writer known by many as Saint Luke, because that’s where the archaeologists and historians seemed to start. Also, Luke wrote about one-quarter of the New Testament (the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts), so, for me, that was a big enough chunk of text to start testing the veracity of the entire New Testament.

Starting about 150 years ago, scholars in Europe started rejecting the historical records of Saint Luke. These academics declared that there was no evidence to support the existence of several locations and leaders mentioned in Luke’s writings, and therefore, they rejected the entirety of his account. However, I discovered that archaeological finds during the last century have revealed that Luke was a very accurate historian and the two books he authored were absolutely authoritative records of history!

One of the greatest archaeologists of all time was Sir William Ramsay. He studied under the famous German historical schools in the mid-nineteenth century, which taught that the New Testament was a religious treatise written in the mid-200s AD, and not an historical document recorded in the first century. Ramsay was so convinced of this teaching that he entered the field of archaeology and went to Asia Minor to specifically find the physical evidence to refute Luke’s biblical record. After years of field study, Ramsay completely reversed his entire view of the Bible and first century history. He wrote:

Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of the true historic sense…in short, this author should be placed along with the greatest of historians.¹

Luke’s accuracy is demonstrated by the fact that he names key historical figures in the correct time sequence. He also uses the correct, and often obscure, government titles in various geographical areas, including the politarchs of Thessalonica, the temple wardens of Ephesus, the procouncil of Cyprus, and the “first man of the island” in Malta. In Luke’s announcement of Jesus’ public ministry, he mentions, “Lysanius tetrarch of Abilene”. Scholars questioned Luke’s credibility since the only Lysanius known for centuries was a leader of Chalcis who ruled from 40-36 BC. However, an inscription dated to the time of Tiberius (14-37 AD) was found, which records a temple dedication naming Lysanius as the “tetrarch of Abila” (Abilene near Damascus). This matched Luke’s account and stunned the liberal scholarship of the day. ²

In the Book of Acts, Paul was brought before Gallio, the proconsul of Achaea. Again, archaeology confirms this account. At Delphi, an inscription from Emperor Claudius was discovered that says, “Lucius Junios Gallio, my friend, and the proconsul of Achaia . . .” Historians date the inscription to 52 AD, which supports the time of Paul’s visit there in 51 AD. ³

Later in Acts, Erastus, a coworker of Paul, is appointed treasurer of Corinth. In 1928, archaeologists excavated a Corinthian theatre and discovered an inscription that reads, “Erastus in return for his aedilship laid the pavement at his own expense.” The pavement was laid in 50 AD, and the term “aedile” refers to the designation of treasurer. ⁴

In another passage, Luke gives Plubius, the chief man on the island of Malta, the title, “first man of the island.” Scholars questioned this strange title and deemed it unhistorical. Inscriptions have recently been discovered on the island that indeed give Plubius the title of “first man.” ⁵

Elsewhere, Luke uses the Greek term “politarchs” (“rulers of the city”) to refer to the leaders in Thessalonica. Although it sounds inconsequential, this was another hit against Luke’s credibility for centuries, because no other Greek literature used this leadership term. However, approximately 20 inscriptions have now been discovered that bear the term “politarch,” including five finds that specifically refer to the ancient leadership in Thessalonica. ⁶

As a final example, Saint Luke calls Iconium a city in Phyrigia. Who cares? Well, this was also a major rub against the credibility of Luke for centuries. Scholars, going all the way back to writings from historians like Cicero, maintained that Iconium was in Lycaonia, not Phyrigia. Therefore, scholars declared that the entire Book of Acts was unreliable. Guess what? In 1910, Ramsay was looking for the evidence to support this long-held claim against Luke and he uncovered a stone monument declaring that Iconium was indeed a city in Phyrigia. ⁷ Many archaeological discoveries since 1910 have confirmed this – Luke was right!

When reviewing the research and writings of Saint Luke, Famous historian A.N. Sherwin-White declares:

In all, Luke names thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine islands without error. ⁸For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. . . . Any attempt to reject its basic historicity must now appear absurd. ⁹

Power of Prophecy

The power of prophecy is illustrated in the classic book, Science Speaks. In it, Peter Stoner reviews some of the historical prophecies of the Old Testament, including Babylon, Tyre, Samaria, Gaza-Ashkelon, Jerusalem, Palestine, Moab-Ammon, and Petra-Edom. He uses peer-reviewed mathematical analysis and principles of probability to conclude:

No human being has ever made predictions which hold any comparison to those we have considered, and had them accurately come true. The span of time between the writing of these prophecies and their fulfillment is so great that the most severe critic cannot claim that the predictions were made after the events happened.¹

For me, these historical prophecies weren’t a tabloid lark… They weren’t a contrivance… They weren’t an after-the-fact hoax… They were absolutely legitimate.

As I reviewed my notes, I was truly excited, yet somehow uneasy with the power of prophecy…

As I studied these predictions, I couldn’t deny a recurring theme in the Old Testament…

Who was this predicted “Messiah” (Shiloh) mentioned as far back as the Book of Genesis? ²

Who was this coming “Ruler” that the prophet Micah said would be born in Bethlehem, yet preexisted time itself? ³

Who was this “Immanuel” (literally, “God-with-us”) who the prophet Isaiah declared would be born of a virgin? ⁴

Who was this “Redeemer” that Job said would come to save him and the world from death? ⁵

Who was this prophesied “Son” that would be referred to as “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “Mighty God,” and the “Prince of Peace?” ⁶

For me, the biblical test of prophecy came through! Intellectually, I had no choice but to accept the facts — the fulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament authenticate its inspiration from outside our time dimension. There was no other logical conclusion… as hard as I tried to find one!

But what about all those predictions of a coming Jewish “Messiah” (Savior) found throughout a number of books in the Old Testament? What was I to make of them? Did I really need to deal with those as part of my prophecy analysis?

I was so uneasy with what the Old Testament was revealing to me that I went out and purchased an English version of the Hebrew Tanakh. I figured that some of these predictions had to be after-the-fact insertions by non-Jews. I decided to go “right to the source” and clear this up…

Guess what? The same “Messianic” “predictions” were there in the Jewish Scriptures — plain as day…

The power of prophecy was real to me, and my heart was truly uneasy… I needed to slow myself down… I needed to retreat to my intellect again…

I went back to my original list of questions and issues in my notebook…

Bible Codes are Fascinating Examples of Supernatural Design
Bible Codes are models, types and codes in the Bible, which show evidence of divine integration throughout 66 separate books, written by 40 distinct authors over nearly 1,600 years. We are not focused on the controversial and media-hyped topics such as hidden Equidistant Letter Sequencing (ELS), made popular in Michael Drosnin’s book, The Bible Code. Rather, we look at traditional and tested examples of supernatural design and integration that leap from the pages of God’s Word.

Bible Code Study: The Genesis Genealogy
Bible Codes throughout the Bible are based on all sorts of mundane things, including names and genealogies. At first glance, let’s face it, they’re boring. However, as we progress through these studies, you will see that Biblical names and genealogies are not only important for historical and cultural veracity, but they’re loaded with insight, meaning, and sometimes, downright supernatural design.

The first genealogy we see in the Bible is ADAM to NOAH (Genesis 5). This genealogy will be important throughout the Bible (Old and New Testaments) for all sorts of reasons. However, in this study, we just want to toss-out a dramatic “evidence of design” based on the Hebrew roots of these ten names.

ADAM (adomah) means “man.” This one makes absolute sense, since he’s the first one.

SETH means “appointed.” Eve said, “For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel , whom Cain slew.”

ENOSH (anash) means “mortal,” “frail” or “miserable,” used in the context of incurable grief, sickness, woe or wickedness. It was in the days of Enosh that Man began to defile God.

KENAN means “sorrow”, “dirge” or “elegy.” Again, this was a dark period of history, and parents traditionally used names that referred to circumstances at birth, etc.

MAHALALEL (mahalal) means “blessed” or “praise” and (El) was the name for God. Therefore, Mahalalel traditionally means “the blessed God”. (Side note: you’ll see that many Hebrew names include El, such as Dani-el, “God is my Judge,” Nathani-el, “Gift of God,” etc.)

JARED (yaradh) means “shall come down.” Many scholars attribute this to the time when the “sons of God” “came down” to Earth to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim (“fallen ones”).

ENOCH means “teaching” or “commencement.” Later in the Bible, we find that Enoch was the first of four generations of preachers.

METHUSELAH (muth) means “death” and (shalach) means “to bring” or “to send forth.” Therefore, his entire name means “his death shall bring.”

LAMECH (root still evident in today’s English meaning “lament”) means in Hebrew context here “despairing.”

NOAH (nacham) means “to bring relief” or “comfort.”

Bible Codes Study: The Genesis Genealogy – Part 2
Now, if we line it all up, here’s what we get: :

Bible Codes

Is it possible that God’s plan of redemption is right here at the beginning of the Bible?

“Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.”

Bible Codes: The Counter Argument
Of course, some of you will argue that this bible code stretches the original meanings of the Hebrew roots to fit New Testament scripture. Others might argue that this was contrived after the fact. However, you’ll have a hard time convincing us that a group of Jewish rabbis deliberately conspired to hide a summary of the Christian Gospel right here in the first genealogy of their venerated Torah.

Give it some thought. Look up the meanings for yourself. “Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
History of the Bible

The history of the Bible starts with a phenomenal account of history! It’s not one book like I always thought — It’s an ancient collection of writings, comprised of 66 separate books, written over approximately 1,600 years, by at least 40 distinct authors. The Old Testament contains 39 books written from approximately 1500 to 400 BC, and the New Testament contains 27 books written from approximately 40 to 90 AD. The Jewish Bible (Tanakh) is the same as the Christian Old Testament, except for its book arrangement. The original Old Testament was written mainly in Hebrew, with some Aramaic, while the original New Testament was written in common Greek.

The history of the “Bible” begins with the Jewish Scriptures. The historical record of the Jews was written down on leather scrolls and tablets over centuries, and the authors included kings, shepherds, prophets and other leaders. The first five books are called the Law, which were written and/or edited primarily by Moses in the early 1400′s BC. Thereafter, other scriptural texts were written and collected by the Jewish people during the next 1,000 years. About 450 BC, the Law and the other Jewish Scriptures were arranged by councils of rabbis (Jewish teachers), who then recognized the complete set as the inspired and sacred authority of God (Elohim). At some time during this period, the books of the Hebrew Bible were arranged by topic, including The Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nebiim), and the Writings (Ketubim). The first letters of these Hebrew words – T, N and K — form the name of the Hebrew Bible – the Tanakh. ¹

Beginning as early as 250 BC, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. This translation became known as the “Septuagint“, meaning 70, and referring to the tradition that 70 (probably 72) men comprised the translation team. It was during this process that the order of the books was changed to the order we have in today’s Bible: Historical (Genesis – Esther), poetic (Job – Song of Songs), and prophetic (Isaiah – Malachi). ²

Although the Jewish Scriptures were copied by hand, they were extremely accurate copy to copy. The Jews had a phenomenal system of scribes, who developed intricate and ritualistic methods for counting letters, words and paragraphs to insure that no copying errors were made. These scribes dedicated their entire lives to preserving the accuracy of the holy books. A single copy error would require the immediate destruction of the entire scroll. In fact, Jewish scribal tradition was maintained until the invention of the printing press in the mid-1400′s AD. As far as manuscript accuracy, the recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has confirmed the remarkable reliability of this scribal system over thousands of years ³ (I’ll get back to the Dead Sea Scrolls later).

After approximately 400 years of scriptural silence, Jesus arrived on the scene in about 4 BC. Throughout his teaching, Jesus often quotes the Old Testament, declaring that he did not come to destroy the Jewish Scriptures, but to fulfill them. In the Book of Luke, Jesus proclaims to his disciples, “all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴

Starting in about 40 AD, and continuing to about 90 AD, the eye-witnesses to the life of Jesus, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude, wrote the Gospels, letters and books that became the Bible’s New Testament. These authors quote from 31 books of the Old Testament, and widely circulate their material so that by about 150 AD, early Christians were referring to the entire set of writings as the “New Covenant.” During the 200s AD, the original writings were translated from Greek into Latin, Coptic (Egypt) and Syriac (Syria), and widely disseminated as “inspired scripture” throughout the Roman Empire (and beyond). ⁵ In 397 AD, in an effort to protect the scriptures from various heresies and offshoot religious movements, the current 27 books of the New Testament were formally and finally confirmed and “canonized” in the Synod of Carthage. ⁶

Biblical Archaeology: Ancient Civilization
Biblical archaeology really begins with the Sumerian civilization of about 2500 BC. To date, numerous sites and artifacts have been uncovered that reveal a great deal about the ancient Mesopotamian culture. One of the most dramatic finds is the Sumerian King List, which dates to approximately 2100 BC. This collection of clay tablets and prisms is most exciting because it divides the Sumerian kings into two categories; those who reigned before the “great flood” and those who reigned after it. The lists are also dramatic because they include the ages of the kings before and after the “great flood,” which show the same phenomenal life span changes mentioned in the Bible. Actually, records of a global flood are found throughout most ancient cultures. For instance, the Epic of Gilgamesh from the ancient Babylonians contains an extensive flood story. Discovered on clay tablets in locations such as Ninevah and Megiddo, the Epic even includes a hero who built a great ship, filled it with animals, and used birds to see if the water had receded (see Genesis 7-8).

Biblical Archaeology: Ancient Law & Culture
Biblical archaeology continues with the great military civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and their ultimate impact on law and culture throughout the region. One significant find is the Law Code of Hammurabi, which is a seven foot tall, black diorite carving containing about 300 laws of Babylon’s King Hammurabi (Hammurapi). Dated to about 1750 BC, the Law Code contains many civil laws that are similar to those found in the first five books of the Bible. Another find at the ancient city of Nuzi near the Tigris River uncovered approximately 20,000 clay tablets. Dated between 1500 and 1400 BC, these cuneiform texts explain the culture and customs of the time, many of which are similar to those found in the early books of the Bible.

Biblical Archaeology: Ancient Israel
Biblical archaeology then turns to the evidence for the early Israelites. The Merneptah Stele (also known as the Israel Stele) is an upright stone slab measuring over seven feet tall that contains carved hieroglyphic text dating to approximately 1230 BC. The Egyptian stele describes the military victories of Pharaoh Merneptah and includes the earliest mention of “Israel” outside the Bible. Although the specific battles covered by the stele are not included in the Bible, the stele establishes extra-biblical evidence that the Israelites were already living as a people in ancient Canaan by 1230 BC. In addition to the Stele, a large wall picture was discovered in the great Karnak Temple of Luxor (ancient Thebes), which shows battle scenes between the Egyptians and Israelites. These scenes have also been attributed to Pharaoh Merneptah and date to approximately 1209 BC. The Karnak Temple also contains records of Pharaoh Shishak’s military victories about 280 years later. Specifically, the Shishak Relief depicts Egypt’s victory over King Rehoboam in about 925 BC, when Solomon’s Temple in Judah was plundered. This is the exact event mentioned in 1 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 12.

Outside Egypt, we also discover a wealth of evidence for the early Israelites. The Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) is a three-foot stone slab discovered near Dibon ,East of the Dead Sea, that describes the reign of Mesha, King of Moab, around 850 BC. According to Genesis 19, the Moabites were neighbors of the Israelites. The stele covers victories by King Omri and Ahab of Israel against Moab, and Mesha’s later victories on behalf of Moab against King Ahab’s descendants (2 Kings 3). The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser is a seven-foot, four-sided pillar of basalt that describes the victories of King Shalmaneser III of Assyria. Dated to about 841 BC, the Obelisk was discovered in the ancient palace of Nimrud and shows Israel’s King Jehu kneeling before the Assyrian king in humble tribute (see 2 Kings 9-10).

Biblical Archaeology: The House of David and Solomon’s Temple
Biblical archaeology covering ancient Israeli kings and culture received a huge lift in 1994 when archaeologists discovered a stone inscription at the ancient city of Dan, which refers to the “House of David.” The House of David Inscription (Tel Dan Inscription) is important because it’s the first ancient reference to King David outside the Bible. Specifically, the stone is a victory pillar of a King in Damascus dated about 250 years after David’s reign, which mentions a “king of Israel” (probably Joram, son of Ahab) and a king of the “House of David” (probably Ahaziah of Judah). Another important find is the House of Yahweh Ostracon, which is a pottery shard dated to about 800 BC that contains a written receipt for a donation of silver shekels to Solomon’s Temple. Written approximately 130 years after the completion of the Temple, this appears to be the earliest mention of Solomon’s Temple outside the Bible.

History of Israel: The Descendants of Abraham
The history of Israel commences with God’s covenant with Abraham in approximately 2000 B.C., “I will make you into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2). The name “Israel” (meaning either “one who fights victoriously with God” or “a prevailing prince with God”) comes from the new name God gave Abraham’s grandson Jacob, after Jacob withstood a spiritual struggle at Jabbok (Genesis 32:28). It is at this point that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are often referred to as the “Children of Israel.”

History of Israel: Its Selection as a Special Nation
The history of Israel goes back even further than 2000 BC. In fact, the selection of Israel as a special nation was part of God’s plan from the beginning of time. God’s choice of Israel as His “chosen people” did not lie in any special size, nature or attraction. Actually, the nation of Israel was the least in number among all the nations (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Rather, God chose these people because of His love for them and His unconditional covenant with Abraham. This doesn’t mean that God loved Israel more than other people, it was just that He intended to use Israel as His means to love and bless everyone. It was God’s plan from the beginning to bring forth the Messiah through Israel to act as the savior for the entire world.

History of Israel: The Biblical Record
The history of Israel as detailed in the Bible encompasses around 1800 years. It proclaims a dynamic account of God’s miracles, judgments, promises, and blessings. Israel begins as a unilateral promise to one man, Abraham. For more than 400 years, Abraham and his descendants rely on that promise, even during a significant period of slavery in Egypt. Then, by means of an amazing series of miraculous events, God delivers the Israelites of out Egypt in the Exodus (Hebrew: “a going out”). The Exodus is the occasion that most Jews look to as the foundation of the nation of Israel. The Exodus is the act of deliverance which Israelites dwell on as the demonstration of God’s love and protection of Israel. Once the Exodus was completed, God established a conditional covenant with the Israelites at the Mountain of Sinai. It is there that God proclaimed His Law (the Ten Commandments). It is there that God promises blessings for adherence to His Law and curses for noncompliance. The rest of Israel’s history as recorded in the Bible is a continuing cycle of blessing and punishment for Israel’s obedience and disobedience to God’s Law. Throughout times of victory and defeat, king and judges, priests and prophets, restoration and exile – the Israelites are blessed when they obey God and disciplined when they do not. As a nation, Israel was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. At that time, the Jews scattered throughout the whole world, keeping the hope based on prophetic promises of an eventual regathering to the chosen land God gave to Israel. In 1948, after almost 1900 years had passed, Israel was again declared a sovereign nation and officially reestablished in the promised land. Through a series of miraculous events, including the Jews retaking of Jerusalem in 1967, this generation is witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy with respect to God’s special nation.

History of Israel: God’s Ultimate Purpose
Why is so much of the Bible focused on the history of Israel and the future of its people? Why was one nation called out as “God’s chosen people”? These questions are answered when we examine God’s ultimate purpose for Israel. When God made His unconditional promise to Abraham that He would make his descendants a great nation, God also promised to bless all people through that nation (Genesis 12:1-3). Therefore, Israel was never considered a sole recipient of God’s blessings, but rather, a channel for God’s blessings to all mankind. God’s miracles for Israel, such as their dramatic deliverance from Egypt, were intended not only for the Israelites themselves, but as evidence of God’s absolute power and uniqueness for a watching polytheistic world (Exodus 7:5; 14:18; Joshua 2:9-11). The Messiah that would come through the nation of Israel was always intended to be the Savior for all mankind (Isaiah 49:6). The Old Testament also contains many invitations to the entire world to come and worship the one living God in Israel (Psalm 2:10-12; 117:1).

Based on recent events in the Holy Land, it is clear that God’s promise to Abraham is still being fulfilled. Accordingly, God’s promise to bless all peoples through Israel is still absolutely apparent. The teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the growth and influence of His church, were made possible through God’s choice of Israel as His people. All people who accept Jesus as their Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile, receive the great blessings of God channeled through His chosen people, the nation of Israel.

Who Wrote the Bible – A Letter from God
“Who wrote the Bible” is a question that is undoubtedly asked by many who are familiar with the impact this book has made on people around the world. The Bible gives guidance in our journey through life to eternity, as well as leads us to a relationship with the God of the universe. It is a historical book that is backed by archeology, and a prophetic book that has lived up to all of its claims thus far. In light of all these facts, asking, “who wrote the bible,” is a vital question that deserves serious investigation and a serious response. The Bible is God’s letter to humanity collected into 66 books written by 40 divinely inspired writers. These writers come from all walks of life (i.e., kings to fishermen) and spans over a period of 1,500 years or more. These claims may seem dramatic (or unrealistic to some), but a careful and honest study of the biblical scriptures will show them to be true.

Who Wrote the Bible – Evidence of Divine Inspiration
“Who wrote the Bible” is a question that can be definitively answered by examining the biblical texts in light of the external evidences that supports its claims. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that “All scripture is inspired by God….” In 2 Peter 1:20-21, Peter reminds the reader to “know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, … but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” The Bible itself tells us that it is God who is the author of His book.

God does not leave us with just claims of His divine handiwork in the Bible, but also supports it with compelling evidence. The design of the Bible itself is a miracle. Written over more than 1,500 years by vastly different writers, yet every book in the Bible is consistent in its message. These 66 books talk about history, prophecy, poetry, and theology. Despite their complexity, differences in writing styles and vast time periods, the books of the Bible agree miraculously well in theme, facts and cross-referencing. No human beings could have planned such an intricate combination of books over a 1,500-year time span. Bible manuscripts (remember, there were no printing presses until 1455) have survived despite weather, persecution and time. Most ancient writings written on weak materials like papyrus have vanished all together. Yet many copies of the Old Testament scriptures survived. For instance, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain all books of the Old Testament, except Esther, and have been dated to before the time of Christ. Consider Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars. Only ten copies written about 1,000 years after the event are in existence. In comparison, there are over 24,000+ New Testament manuscripts, the earliest one dating to within 24 years after Christ.

The Bible also validates its divine authorship through fulfilled prophecies. An astonishing 668 prophecies have been fulfilled and none have ever been proven false (three are unconfirmed). An honest study of biblical prophecy will compellingly show the divine authorship of the Bible. Further, archeology confirms (or in some cases supports) accounts in the biblical record. No other holy book comes close to the Bible in the amount of evidence supporting its divine authorship.

Who Wrote the Bible – A Question of Eternal Significance
“Who Wrote the Bible” is indeed a question that everyone must ask. If indeed it is the Word of the living God, then no other book gives us more insight into our lives, more hope for our future, and a true path to a relationship with God. Search the Bible with openness and honesty and see for yourself what the Creator of the universe wants to tell you!

God: Does He Exist?
God may not be provable through mathematical formulae or properties of physics, but we live in an era where the evidence of God is all around us. Just look through the Hubble Telescope and peer to the edge of the massive cosmos. View the monitor of an electron-scanning microscope and delve into the intricate world of an organic cell. Sit down and read an entire library of information that reveals the complexity of the digital code that turns a fertilized egg into a human being. Study principles of quantum mechanics and investigate the world of extra-dimensionality. Review the nature of your conscience, subconscious, standards of morality, thoughts of religion. Then, try to reconcile all of these realities with a basic theory of randomness. Not believing in God is much more of a “leap of faith” than ever.

God – A brief summary of the key arguments:

Order. God provides the best explanation for abstract notions, such as numbers, formulas and properties.
Causation. God provides the best explanation for the existence of the universe and all that is in it.
Design. God provides the best explanation for the complex order in cosmological and biological entities.
Morality. God provides the best explanation for the existence of objective moral/ethical values in the world. In Romans 5:12, we read that “sin entered the world through one man, and through sin – death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned.”

God: If He Exists, What is He Like?
God has been described as everything from an impersonal “life force” to a personal Creator, from Mother Nature to Almighty Lord. While mankind creates various characters for God over time, we should actually look to the timeless standards of truth already delivered in the Bible.

Of course, one must establish the credibility and reliability of the Bible before endeavoring to define God through the Bible. Well, like no time in history, we have established the truth of the Biblical record. Just explore the archaeological treasures that establish the veracity of Biblical events. Review the recently discovered manuscripts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which prove the reliability of the Biblical texts. Study the over 600 fulfilled prophecies contained in Biblical scripture, including the actual fulfillment of prophecy in Israel over the last few decades. Read the Bible itself as an intellectual undertaking and discover the inherent complexity and integration contained in its 66 books, written by 40 inspired authors, over a period of approximately 1,600 years.

God: You Will Discover His True Nature in the Bible
God — Once you’ve established that the Bible is a credible and reliable document, this is the first place to look for His true character and attributes. As you explore the Bible, you will discover His unchanging nature. God is Spirit – infinite and eternal. God is sovereign. God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (all places at all times). God is perfectly holy and perfectly just. God is wisdom, power, glory, righteousness, mercy, faithfulness, goodness, beauty, and patience. God is love. God is truth.

Names of God: A Way to Understand His Nature and Character
The Names of God used in the Bible act as a roadmap for learning about the character of God. Since the Bible is God’s Word to us, the names He chooses in scripture are meant to reveal His true nature to us.

Names of God: His Titles Revealed in Scripture
“ELOHIM” (or Elohay) is the first name for God found in the Bible, and it’s used throughout the Old Testament over 2,300 times. Elohim comes from the Hebrew root meaning “strength” or “power”, and has the unusual characteristic of being plural in form. In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.” Right from the start, this plural form for the name of God is used to describe the One God, a mystery that is uncovered throughout the rest of the Bible. Throughout scripture, Elohim is combined with other words to describe certain characteristics of God. Some examples: Elohay Kedem – God of the Beginning: (Deuteronomy 33:27). Elohay Mishpat – God Of Justice: (Isaiah 30:18). Elohay Selichot – God Of Forgiveness: (Nehemiah 9:17). Elohay Marom – God Of Heights: (Micah 6:6). Elohay Mikarov – God Who Is Near: (Jeremiah 23:23). Elohay Mauzi – God Of My Strength: (Psalm 43:2). Elohay Tehilati – God Of My Praise: (Psalm 109:1). Elohay Yishi – God Of My Salvation: (Psalm 18:47, 25:5). Elohim Kedoshim – Holy God: (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19). Elohim Chaiyim – Living God: (Jeremiah 10:10). Elohay Elohim – God Of Gods: (Deuteronomy 10:17).

“EL” is another name used for God in the Bible, showing up about 200 times in the Old Testament. El is the simple form arising from Elohim, and is often combined with other words for descriptive emphasis. Some examples: El HaNe’eman – The Faithful God: (Deuteronomy 7:9). El HaGadol – The Great God: (Deuteronomy 10:17). El HaKadosh – The Holy God: (Isaiah 5:16). El Yisrael – The God Of Israel: (Psalm 68:35). El HaShamayim – The God Of The Heavens: (Psalm 136:26). El De’ot – The God Of Knowledge: (1 Samuel 2:3). El Emet – The God Of Truth: (Psalm 31:6). El Yeshuati – The God Of My Salvation: (Isaiah 12:2). El Elyon – The Most High God: (Genesis 14:18). Immanu El – God Is With Us: (Isaiah 7:14). El Olam – The God Of Eternity (Genesis 21:33). El Echad – The One God: (Malachi 2:10). “ELAH” is another name for God, used about 70 times in the Old Testament. Again, when combined with other words, we see different attributes of God. Some examples: Elah Yerush’lem – God of Jerusalem: (Ezra 7:19). Elah Yisrael – God of Israel: (Ezra 5:1). Elah Sh’maya – God of Heaven: (Ezra 7:23). Elah Sh’maya V’Arah – God of Heaven and Earth: (Ezra 5:11).

“YHVH” is the Hebrew word that translates as “LORD”. Found more often in the Old Testament than any other name for God (approximately 7,000 times), the title is also referred to as the “Tetragrammaton,” meaning the “The Four Letters”. YHVH comes from the Hebrew verb “to be” and is the special name that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM; and He said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you… this is My eternal name, and this is how I am to be recalled for all generations’” (Exodus 3:14-15). Therefore, YHVH declares God’s absolute being – the source of everything, without beginning and without end. Although some pronounce YHVH as “Jehovah” or “Yaweh,” scholars really don’t know the proper pronunciation. The Jews stopped pronouncing this name by about 200 A.D., out of fear of breaking the commandment “You shall not take the name of YHVH your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7). (Today’s rabbis typically use “Adonai” in place of YHVH.) Here are some examples of YHVH used in scripture: YHVH Elohim – LORD God: (Genesis 2:4). YHVH M’kadesh – The LORD Who Makes Holy: (Ezekiel 37:28). YHVH Yireh – The LORD Who Sees/provides: (Genesis 22:14). YHVH Nissi – The LORD My Banner: (Exodus 17:15). YHVH Shalom – The LORD Of Peace: (Judges 6:24). YHVH Tzidkaynu – The LORD Our Righteousness: (Jeremiah 33:16). YHVH O’saynu – The LORD our Maker: (Psalm 95:6).

Names of God: The Lord Revealed in YHVH is the Lord Revealed in Yeshua (Jesus)
The LORD who revealed Himself as YHVH in the Old Testament is revealed as Yeshua (Jesus) in the New Testament. Jesus shares the same attributes as YHVH and clearly claims to be YHVH. In John 8:56-9, Jesus presents himself as the “I AM.” When challenged by some Jewish leaders regarding His claim of seeing Abraham (who lived some 2000 years earlier), Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” Those Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be YHVH. This is clearly established when they tried to stone Him to death for what they considered blasphemy under Jewish Law. In Romans 10:9, Paul declares, “if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as LORD… you shall be saved.” Immediately thereafter, in Romans 10:13, Paul backs up this declaration by quoting the Old Testament, “Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD (YHVH) will be saved” (Joel 2:32). Calling on Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord is the same as calling Him YHVH, because Yeshua (Jesus) is YHVH (LORD), the Messiah foretold throughout the entire Old Testament.

Who Is God – Who Does He Claim to Be?
Who is God? He’s been described as everything from an impersonal life-force to a benevolent, personal, almighty Creator. He has been called by many names, including: “Zeus,” “Jupiter,” “Brahma,” “Allah,” “Ra,” “Odin,” “Ashur,” “Izanagi,” “Viracocha,” “Ahura Mazda,” and “the Great Spirit” to name just a few. He’s seen by some as “Mother Nature” and by others as “Father God.” But who is He really? Who does He claim to be?

Who Is God – Father God or Mother Nature?
Who is God? What has He revealed about Himself? To begin with, whenever He refers to Himself in parental terms, He always addresses Himself as “Father,” never “Mother.” He calls Himself “a Father to Israel,”¹ and in one instance, when His “children” were particularly disrespectful to Him, He said to them, “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence?” ²

His prophets acknowledged Him as Father by saying, “You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand,”³ and “do we not all have one Father? Has not one God created us?”⁴ Never once does God refer to Himself as “Mother” and never once is He called such by the prophets to whom He spoke. Calling God “Mother Nature” is comparable to calling your earthly father “Mom.”

Who Is God – What Does God Care About?
Who is God in terms of moral attributes? What does God have to say about Himself in this regard? He says that He delights in justice and righteousness: “…Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.”⁵ “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity…”⁶

Justice and equity are very important to God. But so are grace and mercy. And so, while God will hold everyone accountable, each for their own lives, He extends His grace to the repentant sinner. He promises that, “‘If the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?…I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘Therefore, repent and live.’”⁷

By “death” God is not referring to the physical death which we might have in mind. Rather, God is referring to something which will happen in eternity, after our physical deaths. The Scriptures refer to this event as the “second death.”⁸ The first death separates us from our bodies and takes us from this world. The second death is different. It also entails a separation, but it’s the separation of one group of people from another: the righteous and the forgiven on one hand and the wicked and the unrepentant on the other. The two groups will be judged separately.

The one group will be rewarded according to the good that they’ve done. Their evil deeds will be overlooked, forgiven by God. The other group will be judged according to the evil that they have done, and their good deeds will not keep them from their punishment. God says, “When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die.” But “when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. …Therefore, repent and live.”⁹ In this way, God will see that justice ultimately prevails, but that mercy is given to the humble and the repentant.

God has made a provision for those who want to repent, a provision to atone for the sins of those who want to be made right with Him. He sent a “Messiah,” a Servant who willingly suffered and died a vicarious death in order to pay for the sins of those who would repent and trust in Him. The Scriptures say, “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?…Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.…it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” ¹⁰

Is Jesus God? The Historical Dispute
Is Jesus God? The answer to this question is the only real dispute surrounding the historical Jesus. No legitimate scholar today denies that Jesus is a historic figure that walked on this earth about 2,000 years ago, that he did remarkable wonders and acts of charity, and that He died a horrible death on a Roman cross just outside Jerusalem. The emotionally-charged dispute focuses specifically on whether Jesus was God incarnate who rose from the dead three days after His Crucifixion.

Is Jesus God? The Only Alternatives
Is Jesus God? Many people have dealt with this “spiritual” dispute by intellectually accepting Jesus as a great man, great teacher, or great prophet. However, Jesus and His inspired followers didn’t mince words when they declared Him to be God (John 10:30-38, Matthew 16:13-17, Mark 14:61-64, John 14:6, Hebrews 1:8, Colossians 1:16, John 12:40-41 [quoting Isaiah 6:1-10]). Therefore, any type of intellectual compromise calling Jesus a “good man” is logically inconsistent. Why? Because there are really only three legitimate alternatives for the identity of Jesus Christ. He is either a liar, a lunatic or our Lord and God. Since Jesus claimed to be God, His claims are either true or false. If false, He must have been a liar, deliberately misleading the multitudes. Or, He was a lunatic, sincerely believing Himself to be God, when in reality He was just a man. However, if Jesus was a “good man,” as most people now agree, how then could He be both good and crazy, or good and a liar? There is only one logically consistent alternative – He must have been telling the truth. In addition to the logical inconsistency, the remarkable historical, archaeological and manuscript evidence shows that Jesus was neither a liar nor a lunatic. Again, the only position left is that His claim is true. Jesus is Lord and God.

The only real argument that remains, is that Jesus was just a legend or myth. There is little likelihood that Jesus’ claims are legend. There just wasn’t enough time for any legendary development of the story to replace what really happened. For instance, we now know that the Gospels were written 30 to 50 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. More dramatically, we now date some of the early Christian creeds, proclaiming the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, to 3 to 10 years after His crucifixion. This includes Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, Romans and Galatians. Finally, if Jesus’ claim of deity was a myth, the early Jewish opponents of Christianity would surely have presented the fact that these claims never happened. Unlike modern skeptics, the Jewish rabbis never denied that Jesus made the claim that He was God. Instead, they called Him a liar, and tried Him for blasphemy.

Is Jesus God? The Only Answer
Is Jesus God? Once you have asked all your questions, weighed all the evidence, and tested all the arguments, you will ultimately be confronted with this question. In Mathew 16:15, Jesus put it this way, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ One of His disciples, Simon Peter, replied: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ What is your reply?

Who is Jesus? Why It’s Important to Know!
Who is Jesus, and why is it important for us to know? We live in an age of religious pluralism and moral relativism. The popular spiritual philosophy, especially after the events of September 11th, is that all religious belief systems, as long as heart-felt, are equal. Pick one and follow it sincerely, and you’ll get to Heaven. That’s what the world believes, but Jesus teaches otherwise. Therefore, we need to examine who Jesus is by looking at some of the questions people frequently ask about Him. The answers are found in the Bible, the historical evidence people have trusted for over 2000 years.

Who is Jesus? He Was 100% Man

According to John 1:14, Jesus became flesh and made His dwelling among us. Why is His humanity so important? In Hebrews 4:15, Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are. As such, Jesus can sympathize with our weakness as humans. What can we learn from the way Jesus handled temptation? According to 1 John 3:5, Jesus came to earth in human form so that He could die a physical death and take away our sins. How would we all be affected, if we had no potential for escape from our sins?

Jesus is the key to membership in God’s family. When He stooped to our level by becoming a man, He made it possible for us to relate to Him and for God to relate to us through Him.

Who is Jesus? He Was 100% God
Who is Jesus, and how was it possible that Christ’s human body held the whole deity and glory of God?

According to John 1:1-3, Jesus existed from the beginning. From the beginning, Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Here, the Bible establishes the inseparable nature of Jesus and the God of the Universe. The following verses provide further evidence that Jesus is 100% God:Highlights of Christ’s Time on Earth & the verses:

Miracles

: Luke 7:22

· Eyewitnesses to His perfect life: Matthew 16:13-17

Fulfillment of Prophecy

: Matthew 13:14, Luke 24:44

· Jesus’ own identification/claim: John 10:30-38, Matthew 16:13-

17, Mark 14:61-64

· Claims of Christ’s followers: Hebrews 1:8, Colossians 1:16, John

12:40 (quoting Isaiah 6:1-10)

Resurrection

: Luke 24:39, Mark 8:31, Acts 17:32

Jesus is the key to membership in God’s family. When He established His deity by rising from the grave, He made it possible for us to have forgiveness from sin and a renewed relationship with God.

Who is Jesus? He is the Way to Heaven
Who is Jesus, and why is He the only path to salvation?

In John 14:6, Jesus declares:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Why is it important to know that NO other religious leaders throughout history have ever made these claims? According to Ephesians 2:8-9,

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

How does this contrast with other world religions which are based on “works” versus faith in Jesus and the resurrection? If we can’t build a relationship with God by doing good deeds or repeating rituals, what must we do? Acts 4:12 is clear,

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

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