Students of the Bible who take it for what it is, without prejudice, find its complete unity truly amazing. The only explanation is that it is simply the result of one supreme intelligence. Though it is composed of sixty-six books, written over a period of about sixteen hundred years, by forty different writers in different geographical locations, its wonderful unity is without question to the open-minded student. It is really one book in form, purpose, subject matter, and development. Each writer made a distinct and fitting contribution to the whole. The Bible grew portion by portion, century by century, into a progressive record of God’s dealings with man, climaxing with the redemptive work of the Son of God for man’s eternal salvation.
Consider the men who wrote the Bible. They were from various backgrounds. They were herdsmen, kings, priests, prophets, judges, fishermen, preachers, and various other vocations. Most of the authors had little or no writing skills with little or no formal education. Yet, the style of writing is generally similar and does not appear to have been produced by authors with limited ability. Neither do the writers contradict each other in the various accounts they give. These facts point to inspiration.
Consider the time element in the writings. The Old Testament, containing thirty-nine books that were written by over thirty men, took about twelve hundred years to complete. Though some few passages of both Testaments are very similar in content, most of the books carry the same overall theme but are worded entirely different. Later authors did not simply copy the former authors. Some have a similar message (Kings and Chronicles, the prophets, and the four biographies of Christ), yet originality is evident, as well as repetition. Moses wrote about his own experiences, but also informs the reader of events which occurred centuries before his birth, including the creation. How could he have known these things? Inspiration is the only answer.
Consider the harmony of the writings. The Bible is in complete harmony from Genesis to Revelation. All parts of it complement the whole, and are not in opposition to any other part. Though some of the writers were contemporaries, most of them, living in different centuries, could not confer with one another. The twenty-seven books of the New Testament, written by eight men within about forty years, present a complete theme and purpose. Each one is in harmony with the others, and the whole is in harmony with the whole of the Old Testament. Numerous passages from the writings of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms are cited by Christ, as well as by the New Testament writers. There is never a disagreement or correction given in doing so.
There is no other book like it in the world, and there never will be. In view of these few considerations and circumstances, it would have been impossible for such a library of books, which all together form the one complete book, the Bible, to come into being other than through divine inspiration.
0 Comments