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'Twelve Points that show Christianity is True' (book)
- Norman L. Geisler
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The book might be helpful for you..
- Norman L. Geisler
---
The book might be helpful for you..
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- Aug 17, 2020
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Stubborn, eh? You’re doing fine you have enough knowledge. He just won’t take the leap of faith. You probably can’t fully convince him. Try another way like the Roman road. Be patient if he is Catholic he probably thinks he is going to heaven already. Some Catholics will go to heaven. Try to increase his faith. Get him to study with you and pray with you. I know born again Catholics, don’t belabor the point. Plow the soil, plant seeds and water and pray for God to open his eyes. It takes time. Don’t get frustrated. Be a friend.
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It sounds like you are more interested in debating than evangelizing. I was like that too when I was young. What I learned was that all of my debates accomplished nothing, other than hard feelings. My focus shifted to what I know is true about the Word, and not trying to discredit the belief of others, because that puts them on the defense. Personal testimony is powerful, because it is personal experience. The most effective is like the blind man; "I once was blind, but now I see." Paul says to speak gently and with kindness. Since I shifted away from debate, my testimony is much more effective.
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com7fy8
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But it looks like you are giving him ideas and facts. But what are we guaranteed by trusting Jesus?
And how is Jesus with us while teaching and guiding us, and correcting us?
"'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" (Matthew 11:29)
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You would be better of sharing how your faith has impacted your life. Where you've changed, grown and recognized your mistakes. That's what the light on a hill implies. Your example should compel his questions and discussion. Your life is evangelization. You can't convince to believe in God or get upset when he doubts. That's a heart issue and it's the Lord's domain not man's. He draws us to Himself.
Pray for his salvation. That's the best thing you can do for him. The Lord will put people in his path. The people you know rarely lead you to Christ. There's too much familiarity. Your role may not be the one you've undertaken. If you care for him you'll pray on his behalf more than most. If the two of you do it every week you'll see heaven move.
Ask the Lord how you can serve Him in this situation. That's the first thing you do before taking action. The Counselor knows the way to proceed but we don't. You're speaking in your own strength that's why you're struggling. Ask Him what to do and He'll tell you. If He wants you to say something He'll put the words in your mouth.
I've never used a book or any resource. I prayed for daily assignments and went outdoors and approached people as the Lord me to do. Sometimes I overheard things and responded. Sometimes I interrupted conversations and dropped a seed. Every situation differed. I ministered to the staff in stores, restaurants and Starbucks too. Allow Him to use you and you'll feel more comfortable.
~bella
Pray for his salvation. That's the best thing you can do for him. The Lord will put people in his path. The people you know rarely lead you to Christ. There's too much familiarity. Your role may not be the one you've undertaken. If you care for him you'll pray on his behalf more than most. If the two of you do it every week you'll see heaven move.
Ask the Lord how you can serve Him in this situation. That's the first thing you do before taking action. The Counselor knows the way to proceed but we don't. You're speaking in your own strength that's why you're struggling. Ask Him what to do and He'll tell you. If He wants you to say something He'll put the words in your mouth.
I've never used a book or any resource. I prayed for daily assignments and went outdoors and approached people as the Lord me to do. Sometimes I overheard things and responded. Sometimes I interrupted conversations and dropped a seed. Every situation differed. I ministered to the staff in stores, restaurants and Starbucks too. Allow Him to use you and you'll feel more comfortable.
~bella
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d taylor
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There is only one way to tell a person how to receive God's free gift of Eternal Life salvation. That is to simply tell them that Eternal Life is only receive by believing in Jesus. To receive God's free gift of Eternal Life salvation, they must believe in Jesus.
What is believing in Jesus, it is believing Jesus is who He says He is, which is The Son of God/The promised Messiah, the resurrection and the life.
What it is not is just believing Jesus lived or exist or believing Jesus died on the cross. A person must believe in the person Jesus for Eternal Life.
When the person believes in Jesus they immediately cross over from death to life and become a permanent born again child of God
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- Nov 22, 2012
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Although there are changes to the Bible, eg Catholic bible has 80 book while protestant bible has 66, there are still other proofs to show that Bible is true. Eg the the BIble has names of ancient nations (Egypt, Assysia, Babylon, Roman empire, israel) and cities (Judea, Bethlehem , jerusalem ...) and people (King Darius and governor Pilate) that really exist. Hundreds of ancient copies of the old testaments exist from more than 2000 years ago, so these names were not just added a century ago.
What does He think of the creation? Can millions of different species living creatures just exist by themselves? Its either creation by God or evolution. Can evolution design millions of species?
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Simonides
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My young Brother, may God bless you and keep you, and use you to the advancement of His Righteous and Glorious Kingdom.
I'm going to tell you what the Father placed upon my heart more than thirty years ago, when I was new in the faith, and much like yourself, unable to contain the joy of my salvation. And probably, zealous far beyond the point of just being annoying. ;-)
Never. Never, speak to a man about the Father or the Son, if you haven't first spoken to the Father, about the man!
No man is greater than his prayer life.
And this applies doubly to those of us called to ministry or evangelism.
"Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment."
The work of evangelism is done on your knees, long before you hit the streets. If you are spending more time preaching than you are spending praying, and if your prayers are not coupled with fasting (a very deep and broad discipline that cannot be covered sufficiently here) then Yahweh is not building your house, and your labors are in vain.
Can God still use you? Absolutely. Ever heard of Balaam.. or his donkey?
Devote yourself to prayer. Christ will reveal yourself to yourself. Christ will reveal Himself to yourself.
As you are conformed into His image by the renewing of your mind and the putting to death of the old man, the life of Christ within you will shine so brightly that others will be drawn to you or they will despise you. There won't be much middle ground.
Christ within you, the hope of glory, not just for you, but for everyone who sees Christ in you. A man who spends time with God reflects God. Think Moses coming down from the mountain.
Study the word.
Pray like your life depended upon it,
it does. Fast. Study some more. Pray some more. If you haven't wept over a mans soul, you haven't earned the right to tell him anything.
You want results?
You gotta do it the right way Brother.
No man is greater than his prayer life.
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T.i.m.o.t.h.y.
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Regarding the book of Enoch, there's no way to disprove it, not everything needs to be disproved. Just acknowledge some things about it. The book of Enoch is a part of Jewish history.
It has a similarity of Bible events in it, so there's that to recommend it somewhat, and know that it was a popularly read book by the Jews of Jesus day.. also acknowledge that James in his epistle quoted a verse from it. Which proves my statement that they read it. Jesus had to know about it as well because James did. The book of Enoch also gives a greater detail concerning the event in Genesis 6 about the Nephalim (which you should get yourself familiar with in these last days because they are a part of what Jesus meant when he said that the last days would be like the days of Noah).
I know that Christians call those things fringe topics but it is essential to have biblical knowledge about things that the unsaved will quiz you on to test your range of Biblical knowledge. It might be that they won't accept what you say about redemption and salvation if you don't know about topics that they know about.
So the book of Enoch is not a 'bad' book to read in that it's historical and matches up with a number of books of the Bible. But, it isn't inspired as the Bible is. And, it doesn't have the gospel or Jesus in it.
Being inspired is the qualification for books to be included or not included in the Bible. That is why the Apocrypha was removed from the Protestant Bible. It's not a 'bad' thing to read the Apocrypha either.
The history of translations is another topic that you will need to be familiar with. The text of the Bible has been improved on text availability and context comparisons that is called "textual criticism" through the years due to discoveries of previously unknown of manuscripts. If you don't want to study it directly then watch some videos from those Bible scholars who have extensively studied the topic.
It looks like you've got a lot of learning to do before you put you evangelism shoes on again.
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The #1 thing is to put the word into their hearts and minds. All the rest is just a vehicle for that goal. It is the word and the word alone that gets people saved. Faith comes by revelation, and revelation comes by a spoken word from Christ. If they get the word, the word gets them! So while you are conversing with people, just be sure to repeat the word again and again. Use their questions as an invitation to feed the word to them. Do not get distracted from pushing the word. End every explanation with the word.
"Jesus died for your sins."
"Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Let the word do its work. The questions in their minds are irrelevant. People can believe in their hearts while having questions in their mind. What goes on in their minds will take a back seat. The mind is not the target of the word anyway. The mind of man cannot receive the revelation of the Word. The word belongs to the spirit. So go ahead and entertain their mind and even let them think they are making points. But if you continue to feed them the word, it will do its work.
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I hope the following can provide biblical knowledge for evangelism, It is adapted from a book Understanding Prayer, Faith and God's Will by Roman Ri.
Chapter 11 (JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE)
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......
Is there historical or scientific evidence to substantiate the Bible?
Many Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God but do not really know why, besides saying that it is a matter of faith. If we are not able to explain our conviction, then we miss the opportunity to evangelize. Conversely, with knowledge of evidence that substantiates the Scriptures, we can go on to share some food for thoughts with non-believers. And they will take note, even if we may not have all the answers to their questions.
The Bible Makes Accurate Scientific Statements
In our world today, science has made great advancement, and technology is just an extension of our lives. However, when the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanakh was written, engineering existed only at the most basic level. But embedded in God’s Word are geographical facts and scientific predictions which have turned out to be accurate.
The Bible is not a book of science but when it makes scientific statements on several occasions, it is surprisingly accurate. For instance, the Scriptures predicted that the earth was round even before science confirmed it. “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in [Isaiah 40:22]; the word “circle” implies that the earth is round. The prophet Isaiah said this about 700 BC. At that time, people believed that the earth was flat, or they would fall off the surface into space if it was round; back then, no one understood gravity, and sailors were afraid to reach the edge of the sea. In 340 BC, the famous Greek thinker Aristotle wrote a book, On the Heavens, where he gave reasons to support the theory that the earth was shaped like a sphere. Later, more evidence would confirm it. In the twentieth century, aerial photographs showed the earth to be round, but the Bible had said it well ahead of time.
The Scriptures also say the earth is suspended upon nothing. “He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing” [Job 26:7]. In those days, people had little or no clues about the universe. The Greeks believed that the earth was held in space by one of their gods, Atlas. Gradually, thinkers like Ptolemy, Copernicus and Galileo asserted that the earth, like the other planets, might be suspended upon nothing. Science would confirm this later, but not before the Bible had said it much earlier
The Word of God has been consistently correct on numerous occasions, not just a couple of times. The Lord told Abraham that his descendants would be as many as the number of stars in the sky, if indeed he can count them [Genesis 15:5]. Early astronomers used to believe that they can count the stars, but later, they realized that there are billions of them in the galaxies – beyond our ability to even give a close estimate.
When God created the earth, He said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear” [Genesis 1:9]. It means that at the beginning, the land mass was together. Today, there is geological evidence to substantiate this theory: Same kinds of plants and animal fossils on different continents show that they used to exist on the same land. Geologists or scientists believe that only one supercontinent used to exist, which later became separated into the land masses that we see today. .... The Bible provides clues about how the supercontinent was broken up by the flood. During Noah’s time, the waters poured out from the deep of the earth and the floodgates of heavens opened, upon which the earth became submerged. After the water had covered the earth for about a hundred and twenty days, God altered the terrain of the earth. He broke up the supercontinent and oceans were formed as water filled the void between the lands. He created valleys and gorges, and the water flowed into these channels.
The Bible also presents more interesting facts about science. ..... predicted how people would communicate in the future: “Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?” [Job 38:35]. When the Bible was written, the word “electricity” did not exist, obviously, and “lightning” referred to raw electric power from nature. Several millenniums later, scientists would be able to harness electricity for use in lighting, telephones and many other ways that we see today. Now, we are indeed using electricity to speak and send messages and images over telephones, mobile phones, radios, televisions, computers, satellites and other communication equipment. In Job’s time, when lighting was provided by fire, no one would dream of using electricity, let alone run away from streaks of lightning. And the telephone was invented more than two millenniums later in 1876, but the Bible alluded to it well ahead of time. Of course, Job did not know about electricity, and he would not be thinking about telephones, televisions and sophisticated instruments. However, inspired by God, he spoke about a technology that will materialize far beyond his time. Today, satellites send messages across the galaxy and spacecraft transmit images from Mars back to earth. We use mobile phones to communicate daily.
……
…………
Some people feel that it is a choice between science or God, but not both; that if they believe in science, then they have to reject His existence. The truth is science does not confirm or deny the existence of a Creator. Faith cannot be proven in an empirical manner. And there are scientists who believe that without a Designer, it would have been mathematically impossible for the vast diversities of life on earth to have happened all by themselves.
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…………
What about the skeletal remains of mammoths or dinosaurs? There is evidence to believe that such giant creatures lived on earth before. In Canada, skeletal remains of ancient prehistoric animals can be seen at the Dinosaur Provincial Park of Alberta. In China, fossilized dinosaurs’ eggs have been discovered in Guangdong province, in Heyuan city. Other remains have been found in Germany,
While many may think that the existence of dinosaurs contradicts the Bible, the surprising truth is that the Scripture describes a creature leviathan, which was overpowering to look at; “the mere sight of it is overpowering” with its double coat of armor, fearsome teeth, and flames and fire that stream out from its mouth” [Job 41:1-19]. God asked Job whether he could subdue it with a fishhook or harpoon …….. I believe most dinosaurs could have died in the flood during Noah’s time or become extinct from natural causes.
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....
Evolutionists believe that humans are descended from apes, and they have been looking for the “missing link” between these two species. They claim that some fossils have transitional features between ape and human, such as the Hesperopithecus (Nebraska man), Pithecanthropus (Java man), or Sinanthropus (Peking man). However, these remains were not discovered with entire skeletons intact, far from it. For the Nebraska man, the finding was a tooth, which was initially thought to come from a higher form of primate (a family of monkeys) but later reclassified to belong to the pig families. The Peking and Java man turned out to be fully human and not ape-men. There were other discoveries as well, but none concluded that humans and apes were linked genetically. Although there are sketches of prehistoric people which are deliberately drawn to resemble apes in order to lend support to the theory of evolution, this does not mean that they really used to look like that.
In 2014, the discovery of Skull 5 in Georgia (Europe) was published. It was the first complete skull of an ancient human or human “ancestor” (assuming there was one). Being fully intact, it allows archaeologists to see it as it was, eons of time ago. And it surprised them. This ancient skull has very little variances from those of humans today. This fact differs from theories which claim that ancient skulls of human ancestors would be different in size or form before they gradually evolved into the present state. Of course, the debate is far from finished, and future findings from the same archaeological site in Georgia, where there were more skulls and bones, might shed more light on this subject.
......
..........
Biblical Prophecies Fulfilled
The Scriptures contain interesting prophecies about the future. Jesus spoke about earthquakes during the end days. In the past thirty years, there has indeed been an increase in the frequency of quakes. Some people think that we are able to detect tremors more efficiently today, which gives the impression that there are more earthquakes now than before. However, in the recent past, we can see that there have really been more destructive quakes and tsunamis,..
Other remarkable prophecies are in Revelation. When John had a vision of war and battle scenes, he saw the kinds of weapons and technologies that would be used in the future. In his time, when soldiers fought with spears and swords, and cavalry rode horses and chariots, the apostle did not have the vocabulary to describe modern day arsenals that he never saw before. He could only compare them to locusts with wings, moving with noises like the thundering of horses and chariots rushing into battle. He also wrote that the heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur [Revelation 9: 7-19]. Today, we can see that the apostle was trying to describe modern war machines. The locusts with wings were helicopters and fighter jets. The horses with lion heads that threw fire and smoke were armored vehicles and tanks. John’s vision did materialize during the twentieth century – the Bible was 2000 years ahead of time.
The apostle also wrote about four horsemen who rode across the earth. The white horseman was spreading false messages of hope [Revelation 6:2]. The second horseman, dressed in red to symbolize bloodshed, carried a sword and slayed a quarter of the world population which means that many people perished [Revelation 6:3-4]. He represented wars, which had been a constant part of the human recourse. There was the Hundred Years War in medieval Europe, two World Wars in the twentieth century and the armed conflicts that we see today, just to name a few.
The third horseman was dressed in black, and carrying a pair of scales, he said, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages…” [Revelation 6:5-6]. He was speaking about inflation, where it would take a denarius or a day’s wage to buy food. Today, we would not even begin to compare the vast difference between prices now and back then, of course. Instead, consider some numbers that are closer to our times: US$1000 in the 1930s would be the equivalent of about US$20,000 now. Today, the costs of housing and college education have multiplied greatly, and without a doubt, the prices will keep rising, the only question being the magnitude of inflation. Inflation, including the prices of food especially, has also surged since 2020 during Covid 19 pandemic and Ukraine war.
The fourth horseman represented Death, and as he rode, many perished from diseases, epidemics and famines [Revelation 6:7-8]. These have been happening from the past until today. In 1350, millions of people perished as the Black Plague swept Europe. In 1918, about 80 million people died from the Spanish Flu. In recent times, the severe epidemics are AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Zika, Covid-19 and Mpox.
Today, with our vast array of knowledge and information, we try to predict the future. But when John did not know that the earth was round, he wrote about what would happen to humanity as far as 2000 years later. How could he know what lies ahead, far beyond his time? Was he a great visionary or did he prophesy by the power of God?
Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947, in the Mediterranean area, an Arab youth, Muhammad, accidentally stumbled upon the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were hidden in jars in a cave. The parchments, which were written mainly in Hebrew (with some parts in Aramaic), might have belonged to one of the Jewish religious sects or a community of people who lived during biblical times. It is possible that they could have hidden the scrolls from the Romans who came to crush the Jewish revolt circa 70 AD.
It was a phenomenal discovery, not only for Christians but also for historians, archaeologists, and scholars. The Dead Sea Scrolls were the manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures, without the Book of Esther. They were believed to have been written by the Jews after returning to Judea from exile (from 400 BC). The following four hundred years were usually referred to as the Second Temple Period.
The greatest significance is that the Scrolls represent a close resemblance to the “original” Hebrew Old Testament (the Tanakh), which consists of the Pentateuch, History, Prophets and Poetry. At this point, it is appropriate to mention the existence of Jewish scribes, known as the Masoretes, from about 500 AD to 900 AD. They were entrusted with copying, editing and distribution of the Old Testament – a sacred and serious vocation that was held in high regard, which entailed the washing of hands before they started to write, for instance. They developed a system of counting the number of words in each book in order to ensure that every word was copied. Even if one error was spotted, the entire manuscript would be discarded by burying, in accordance with Jewish customs. They also introduced vowels into the Hebrew words, which only contained consonants originally.
.....
.........
The Roman Calendar
Could Abraham Lincoln or Napoleon be cleverly fabricated myths that became accepted as the truths? Could historical records attribute the Great Wall of China to the work of a fictitious emperor? Surely these people were not just stories or folklores. Likewise, our calendar today, dated according to the birth of Jesus, indicates that He once lived on earth.
The Roman Empire persecuted Christians for about three hundred years. In 312 AD, however, the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Just before a decisive battle with his arch enemy, Maxentius (who was a co-ruler of the empire), Constantine had a dream, where God told him that under the cross, he would have victory, upon which he ordered that the sign of the cross be painted on his soldiers’ shields. His army prevailed, he believed, and passed a decree to stop all persecutions against the church, and also declared Christianity to be the official religion of the empire.
Later, the existing Roman calendar at that time was modified to be marked according to the year of Jesus’ birth, 1 AD. Anno Domini means “the year of the Lord”. The years before His birth were marked BC (Before Christ).
The Historical Bible
In the city-state of Singapore, where I live now, there are movies from Hollywood, China, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, India, and occasionally Europe. I used to go to the cinemas often, before streaming was common. Good script, superb acting and clever dialogues make a good movie. In the past, I used to watch without knowing anything about the show. Now, I read movie reviews – without the spoilers – in order to gain some behind-the-scenes perspectives. What is the theme or background of the movie? What are the highlights and scenes to look out for? How do the actors and actresses try to portray their characters effectively, and what are the producers’ ideas as they make the movie? Such snippets of information help me to enjoy the movie better.
Similarly, understanding the Bible and how it came about will help us to appreciate God’s Word. The Old Testament was compiled and completed before Jesus’ time, and the Lord alluded to it constantly as He taught. Later, the Gospels and Letters were written between 35 and 70 AD. About three hundred years later, both the Old and New Testament were combined by the church. Later, this was followed by copying, translations and distribution. It was not a literature that was quickly written and printed like today’s modern-press books; instead, it even started without pen and paper initially.
How the Old Testament Was Formed
The Scriptures did not start as written words. When God first spoke to Abraham – which could be about 2000 BC – he did not write it down immediately or even soon. It was a time when people lived in tents, kept livestock, traveled on foot, camels or horses, and engaged in barter trade. Paper and pen did not even exist, literacy level was low, and very few people could write or read. Written languages were not well developed either. Events that happened were remembered by spoken words, which we might think had less credibility because they could be mistaken or changed over time. However, the way of life was different back then, and people’s memories were more tenacious. In the absence of writing materials, they were more tuned to remember effectively. A simple way of life also helps, unlike today where our attention is divided by multitasking and technological gadgets.
(partial adaptation of chapter 11)
Chapter 11 (JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE)
............
......
Is there historical or scientific evidence to substantiate the Bible?
Many Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God but do not really know why, besides saying that it is a matter of faith. If we are not able to explain our conviction, then we miss the opportunity to evangelize. Conversely, with knowledge of evidence that substantiates the Scriptures, we can go on to share some food for thoughts with non-believers. And they will take note, even if we may not have all the answers to their questions.
The Bible Makes Accurate Scientific Statements
In our world today, science has made great advancement, and technology is just an extension of our lives. However, when the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanakh was written, engineering existed only at the most basic level. But embedded in God’s Word are geographical facts and scientific predictions which have turned out to be accurate.
The Bible is not a book of science but when it makes scientific statements on several occasions, it is surprisingly accurate. For instance, the Scriptures predicted that the earth was round even before science confirmed it. “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in [Isaiah 40:22]; the word “circle” implies that the earth is round. The prophet Isaiah said this about 700 BC. At that time, people believed that the earth was flat, or they would fall off the surface into space if it was round; back then, no one understood gravity, and sailors were afraid to reach the edge of the sea. In 340 BC, the famous Greek thinker Aristotle wrote a book, On the Heavens, where he gave reasons to support the theory that the earth was shaped like a sphere. Later, more evidence would confirm it. In the twentieth century, aerial photographs showed the earth to be round, but the Bible had said it well ahead of time.
The Scriptures also say the earth is suspended upon nothing. “He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing” [Job 26:7]. In those days, people had little or no clues about the universe. The Greeks believed that the earth was held in space by one of their gods, Atlas. Gradually, thinkers like Ptolemy, Copernicus and Galileo asserted that the earth, like the other planets, might be suspended upon nothing. Science would confirm this later, but not before the Bible had said it much earlier
The Word of God has been consistently correct on numerous occasions, not just a couple of times. The Lord told Abraham that his descendants would be as many as the number of stars in the sky, if indeed he can count them [Genesis 15:5]. Early astronomers used to believe that they can count the stars, but later, they realized that there are billions of them in the galaxies – beyond our ability to even give a close estimate.
When God created the earth, He said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear” [Genesis 1:9]. It means that at the beginning, the land mass was together. Today, there is geological evidence to substantiate this theory: Same kinds of plants and animal fossils on different continents show that they used to exist on the same land. Geologists or scientists believe that only one supercontinent used to exist, which later became separated into the land masses that we see today. .... The Bible provides clues about how the supercontinent was broken up by the flood. During Noah’s time, the waters poured out from the deep of the earth and the floodgates of heavens opened, upon which the earth became submerged. After the water had covered the earth for about a hundred and twenty days, God altered the terrain of the earth. He broke up the supercontinent and oceans were formed as water filled the void between the lands. He created valleys and gorges, and the water flowed into these channels.
The Bible also presents more interesting facts about science. ..... predicted how people would communicate in the future: “Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?” [Job 38:35]. When the Bible was written, the word “electricity” did not exist, obviously, and “lightning” referred to raw electric power from nature. Several millenniums later, scientists would be able to harness electricity for use in lighting, telephones and many other ways that we see today. Now, we are indeed using electricity to speak and send messages and images over telephones, mobile phones, radios, televisions, computers, satellites and other communication equipment. In Job’s time, when lighting was provided by fire, no one would dream of using electricity, let alone run away from streaks of lightning. And the telephone was invented more than two millenniums later in 1876, but the Bible alluded to it well ahead of time. Of course, Job did not know about electricity, and he would not be thinking about telephones, televisions and sophisticated instruments. However, inspired by God, he spoke about a technology that will materialize far beyond his time. Today, satellites send messages across the galaxy and spacecraft transmit images from Mars back to earth. We use mobile phones to communicate daily.
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Some people feel that it is a choice between science or God, but not both; that if they believe in science, then they have to reject His existence. The truth is science does not confirm or deny the existence of a Creator. Faith cannot be proven in an empirical manner. And there are scientists who believe that without a Designer, it would have been mathematically impossible for the vast diversities of life on earth to have happened all by themselves.
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What about the skeletal remains of mammoths or dinosaurs? There is evidence to believe that such giant creatures lived on earth before. In Canada, skeletal remains of ancient prehistoric animals can be seen at the Dinosaur Provincial Park of Alberta. In China, fossilized dinosaurs’ eggs have been discovered in Guangdong province, in Heyuan city. Other remains have been found in Germany,
While many may think that the existence of dinosaurs contradicts the Bible, the surprising truth is that the Scripture describes a creature leviathan, which was overpowering to look at; “the mere sight of it is overpowering” with its double coat of armor, fearsome teeth, and flames and fire that stream out from its mouth” [Job 41:1-19]. God asked Job whether he could subdue it with a fishhook or harpoon …….. I believe most dinosaurs could have died in the flood during Noah’s time or become extinct from natural causes.
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Evolutionists believe that humans are descended from apes, and they have been looking for the “missing link” between these two species. They claim that some fossils have transitional features between ape and human, such as the Hesperopithecus (Nebraska man), Pithecanthropus (Java man), or Sinanthropus (Peking man). However, these remains were not discovered with entire skeletons intact, far from it. For the Nebraska man, the finding was a tooth, which was initially thought to come from a higher form of primate (a family of monkeys) but later reclassified to belong to the pig families. The Peking and Java man turned out to be fully human and not ape-men. There were other discoveries as well, but none concluded that humans and apes were linked genetically. Although there are sketches of prehistoric people which are deliberately drawn to resemble apes in order to lend support to the theory of evolution, this does not mean that they really used to look like that.
In 2014, the discovery of Skull 5 in Georgia (Europe) was published. It was the first complete skull of an ancient human or human “ancestor” (assuming there was one). Being fully intact, it allows archaeologists to see it as it was, eons of time ago. And it surprised them. This ancient skull has very little variances from those of humans today. This fact differs from theories which claim that ancient skulls of human ancestors would be different in size or form before they gradually evolved into the present state. Of course, the debate is far from finished, and future findings from the same archaeological site in Georgia, where there were more skulls and bones, might shed more light on this subject.
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Biblical Prophecies Fulfilled
The Scriptures contain interesting prophecies about the future. Jesus spoke about earthquakes during the end days. In the past thirty years, there has indeed been an increase in the frequency of quakes. Some people think that we are able to detect tremors more efficiently today, which gives the impression that there are more earthquakes now than before. However, in the recent past, we can see that there have really been more destructive quakes and tsunamis,..
Other remarkable prophecies are in Revelation. When John had a vision of war and battle scenes, he saw the kinds of weapons and technologies that would be used in the future. In his time, when soldiers fought with spears and swords, and cavalry rode horses and chariots, the apostle did not have the vocabulary to describe modern day arsenals that he never saw before. He could only compare them to locusts with wings, moving with noises like the thundering of horses and chariots rushing into battle. He also wrote that the heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur [Revelation 9: 7-19]. Today, we can see that the apostle was trying to describe modern war machines. The locusts with wings were helicopters and fighter jets. The horses with lion heads that threw fire and smoke were armored vehicles and tanks. John’s vision did materialize during the twentieth century – the Bible was 2000 years ahead of time.
The apostle also wrote about four horsemen who rode across the earth. The white horseman was spreading false messages of hope [Revelation 6:2]. The second horseman, dressed in red to symbolize bloodshed, carried a sword and slayed a quarter of the world population which means that many people perished [Revelation 6:3-4]. He represented wars, which had been a constant part of the human recourse. There was the Hundred Years War in medieval Europe, two World Wars in the twentieth century and the armed conflicts that we see today, just to name a few.
The third horseman was dressed in black, and carrying a pair of scales, he said, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages…” [Revelation 6:5-6]. He was speaking about inflation, where it would take a denarius or a day’s wage to buy food. Today, we would not even begin to compare the vast difference between prices now and back then, of course. Instead, consider some numbers that are closer to our times: US$1000 in the 1930s would be the equivalent of about US$20,000 now. Today, the costs of housing and college education have multiplied greatly, and without a doubt, the prices will keep rising, the only question being the magnitude of inflation. Inflation, including the prices of food especially, has also surged since 2020 during Covid 19 pandemic and Ukraine war.
The fourth horseman represented Death, and as he rode, many perished from diseases, epidemics and famines [Revelation 6:7-8]. These have been happening from the past until today. In 1350, millions of people perished as the Black Plague swept Europe. In 1918, about 80 million people died from the Spanish Flu. In recent times, the severe epidemics are AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Zika, Covid-19 and Mpox.
Today, with our vast array of knowledge and information, we try to predict the future. But when John did not know that the earth was round, he wrote about what would happen to humanity as far as 2000 years later. How could he know what lies ahead, far beyond his time? Was he a great visionary or did he prophesy by the power of God?
Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947, in the Mediterranean area, an Arab youth, Muhammad, accidentally stumbled upon the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were hidden in jars in a cave. The parchments, which were written mainly in Hebrew (with some parts in Aramaic), might have belonged to one of the Jewish religious sects or a community of people who lived during biblical times. It is possible that they could have hidden the scrolls from the Romans who came to crush the Jewish revolt circa 70 AD.
It was a phenomenal discovery, not only for Christians but also for historians, archaeologists, and scholars. The Dead Sea Scrolls were the manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures, without the Book of Esther. They were believed to have been written by the Jews after returning to Judea from exile (from 400 BC). The following four hundred years were usually referred to as the Second Temple Period.
The greatest significance is that the Scrolls represent a close resemblance to the “original” Hebrew Old Testament (the Tanakh), which consists of the Pentateuch, History, Prophets and Poetry. At this point, it is appropriate to mention the existence of Jewish scribes, known as the Masoretes, from about 500 AD to 900 AD. They were entrusted with copying, editing and distribution of the Old Testament – a sacred and serious vocation that was held in high regard, which entailed the washing of hands before they started to write, for instance. They developed a system of counting the number of words in each book in order to ensure that every word was copied. Even if one error was spotted, the entire manuscript would be discarded by burying, in accordance with Jewish customs. They also introduced vowels into the Hebrew words, which only contained consonants originally.
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The Roman Calendar
Could Abraham Lincoln or Napoleon be cleverly fabricated myths that became accepted as the truths? Could historical records attribute the Great Wall of China to the work of a fictitious emperor? Surely these people were not just stories or folklores. Likewise, our calendar today, dated according to the birth of Jesus, indicates that He once lived on earth.
The Roman Empire persecuted Christians for about three hundred years. In 312 AD, however, the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Just before a decisive battle with his arch enemy, Maxentius (who was a co-ruler of the empire), Constantine had a dream, where God told him that under the cross, he would have victory, upon which he ordered that the sign of the cross be painted on his soldiers’ shields. His army prevailed, he believed, and passed a decree to stop all persecutions against the church, and also declared Christianity to be the official religion of the empire.
Later, the existing Roman calendar at that time was modified to be marked according to the year of Jesus’ birth, 1 AD. Anno Domini means “the year of the Lord”. The years before His birth were marked BC (Before Christ).
The Historical Bible
In the city-state of Singapore, where I live now, there are movies from Hollywood, China, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, India, and occasionally Europe. I used to go to the cinemas often, before streaming was common. Good script, superb acting and clever dialogues make a good movie. In the past, I used to watch without knowing anything about the show. Now, I read movie reviews – without the spoilers – in order to gain some behind-the-scenes perspectives. What is the theme or background of the movie? What are the highlights and scenes to look out for? How do the actors and actresses try to portray their characters effectively, and what are the producers’ ideas as they make the movie? Such snippets of information help me to enjoy the movie better.
Similarly, understanding the Bible and how it came about will help us to appreciate God’s Word. The Old Testament was compiled and completed before Jesus’ time, and the Lord alluded to it constantly as He taught. Later, the Gospels and Letters were written between 35 and 70 AD. About three hundred years later, both the Old and New Testament were combined by the church. Later, this was followed by copying, translations and distribution. It was not a literature that was quickly written and printed like today’s modern-press books; instead, it even started without pen and paper initially.
How the Old Testament Was Formed
The Scriptures did not start as written words. When God first spoke to Abraham – which could be about 2000 BC – he did not write it down immediately or even soon. It was a time when people lived in tents, kept livestock, traveled on foot, camels or horses, and engaged in barter trade. Paper and pen did not even exist, literacy level was low, and very few people could write or read. Written languages were not well developed either. Events that happened were remembered by spoken words, which we might think had less credibility because they could be mistaken or changed over time. However, the way of life was different back then, and people’s memories were more tenacious. In the absence of writing materials, they were more tuned to remember effectively. A simple way of life also helps, unlike today where our attention is divided by multitasking and technological gadgets.
(partial adaptation of chapter 11)
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