discourse on the bible

8/3/2019 Discourse on the Bible

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Discourse on the Bible:

INTRODUCTION:

There are many different writings and books that various groups haveconsidered/believed to be holy books, but why so. Many have beenconsidered holy books based on human tradition such as the EgyptianBook of the Dead, the Rig Veda, etc., and others for which divineinspiration are claimed, but which are actually just knockoffs from theBible such as the writings of David Korash, the Book of Morman, theQuran (Koran), etc. However, there is only one book, actually a bookof books, the Bible which actually was written by man acting as scribeswho were given the thoughts of God (YHWH) and put them into the wordsof men.

Specifically, the Bible is NOT the product of one committee orstrongman. It has over 40 individual writers who wrote under divineinspiration/guidance much as transcribing secretaries today takingtranscription and then later typing it out. In other words one real

author, God (YHWH), and many scribes each of whom wrote in his ownstyle over a period of approximately 1,600 years. All of what peoplecall or consider inconsistencies are really not such, but most oftenjust a problem of translation and/or understanding, i.e., lack ofunderstanding of what the original writer writing in his own languageand culture meant/said in his original writing. What is remarkable, isthe writers over such a period of time all wrote in harmony when evenmost posters on threads on this forum can not even stay on track orsubject over a period of a few days and/or weeks at most with theoriginal subject of the thread. This fact of harmony over a period sogreat as to almost stagger the imagination shows that it had oneguiding force or author who divinely inspired its writers as humans oftheir own volition can not keep on track over short periods of time.

To wit, the Bible is the ONLY book God (YHWH) ever inspired men towrite as his scribes. In other words, God is its author and men onlyput his thoughts given to them by divine inspiration into their ownwords, the words of men. Not only that, all the other writers of laterso called religious guidance books borrowed from it and made changes inaccord with their strong man or so called prophet. Take the example ofJoseph Smith who borrowed from it to write the Book of Mormon, butfailed to give credit or source to the Bible and twisted some borrowedthings into bizarre distortions. Other examples are of course thebizarre writings of David Koresh the Prophet of the Branch Dividians ofWaco, Texas; and the Quran, and the Book of Wiccim.

INSPIRED BY GOD (YHWH) AND NOT BY HUMANS:

All other so called 'holy books' have been inspired by men such as theRig Veda which is a collection of early writings about nature and lifeby the early inhabitants of India, or the so called Egyptian Book ofthe Dead which is of similar nature but deals more specifically withthe items of nature that the early Egyptians considered gods such asthe sun, frogs, and other things of nature. Now the Bible is a quitedifferent entity which does NOT consider things of nature as gods, butonly the Creator of Heaven and Earth a god, Almighty God (YHWH) whichExodus 20:3 says, "Thou hast no other Gods before Me." (Young's Literal


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Translation; YLT). Clearly showing there is but one true God (YHWH)through whom all came into being at his discretion.

This fact, that the Bible was inspired by God (YHWH) is testified to at2 Timothy 3:16-17, "Every scripture inspired of God ìs' alsoprofitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instructionwhich is in righteousness. 17 That the man of God may be complete,furnished completely unto every good work." (American Standard Version;ASV); and this is affirmed, also, at 1 Thessalonians 2:13, "And forthis cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye receivedfrom us the word of the message, èven the word' of God, ye acceptedìt' not às' the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God,which also worketh in you that believe." (ASV).

MAN WROTE UNDER INSPIRATION FROM GOD (YHWH):

As shown at Exodus 20:1-2, "Ànd God speaketh all these words, saying,2 I àm' Jehovah thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land ofEgypt, out of a house of servants." (YLT); and reaffirmed at Isaiah7:7, "thus saith the Lord Jehovah, It shall not stand, neither shall it

come to pass." (ASV); and the fact that these divinely inspiredindividuals wrote not their own words, but simply put the thoughts ofGod (YHWH) into the words of men as testified to by God's (YHWH's) ownson, Jesus (Yeshua) at John 14:10, "Believest thou not that I am in theFather, and the Father in me? the words that I say unto you I speak notfrom myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works." (ASV).

Clearly men were moved to write by God's (YHWH's) spirit as testifiedto at 2 Peter 1:20-21, "this first knowing, that no prophecy of theWriting doth come of private exposition, 21 for not by will of man didever prophecy come, but by the Holy Spirit borne on holy men of Godspake." (YLT); and 1 Thessalonians 2:13, "And for this cause we alsothank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word ofthe message, èven the word' of God, ye accepted ìt' not às' the wordof men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh inyou that believe." (ASV).

Unlike other so called 'holy books' that were written as men observednature or were moved by self interest, the Bible was written by men whowere moved by God's (YHWH's) spirit as testified to at Acts 3:21, "whomthe heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things,whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been fromof old." (ASV); and at Acts 28:25, "And when they agreed not amongthemselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, Wellspake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers,"(ASV).

NOW WHAT DOES INSPIRATION MEAN:

The dictionary definition, "The infusion or arousal within the mind ofsome idea, feeling, or impulse, especially one that leads to creativeaction. 2. The state or quality of being inspired, 3. Divine influenceexerted upon the mind or spirit; especially , the divine influenceunderlying prophetic or scriptural revelation. [source = Funk &Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary, ISBN # 0-308-10309-2). Now ofall these definitions, the one of interest is the third dealing withdivine influence


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being exerted. This is further defined by Ezekiel 1:3, "the word ofJehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in theland of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah wasthere upon him." (ASV). This divine inspiration is further testifiedto at Habakkuk 2:2, "And Jehovah answered me, and said, Write thevision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readethit." (ASV); and at Daniel 7:1-2 & 7, "In the first year of Belshazzarking of Babylon, Daniel hath seen a dream, and the visions of his headon his bed, then the dream he hath written, the chief of the things hehath said. 2 Answered hath Daniel and said, Ì was seeing in my visionby night, and lo, the four winds of the heavens are coming forth to thegreat sea;" and "7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bitethee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty untothem?" (ASV).

PROPHECY PROVES THE BIBLE TO BE OF DIVINE ORIGIN:

Whereas, other so called 'holy books' that are NOT knockoffs of theBible deal mostly with nature and if they deal with prophecy, they deal

with it in very general terms; whereas, the Bible gives very specificprophecies that have all come true at the predicted time. As 2 Peter1:21 says, "For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spakefrom God, being moved by the Holy Spirit." (ASV); and at Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is noneelse; Ì am' God, and there is none like me; 10 declaring the end fromthe beginning, and from ancient times things that are not `yet' done;saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;" (ASV).Also, this is testified to at many other places in the Bible such as atDeuteronomy 18:22 (part of the Torah), "that which the prophet speakethin the name of Jehovah, and the thing is not, and cometh not -- it ìs'the word which Jehovah hath not spoken; in presumption hath the prophetspoken it; -- thou art not afraid of him." (ASV); and at John 14:29,"And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is cometo pass, ye may believe." (ASV).

AS an example of this fulfillment of prophecy as given in God's(YHWH's) word, the Bible, just consider some of the prophecies givencenturies before the incarnation of his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) that werefulfilled by him as follows:

Prophecy Fulfilled When Jesus Was Crucified:

[ 1. Betrayed by a friend - Psalms 41:9 - John 13:18-27 - 460 BCE ]]

[ 2. Thirty (30) of silver thrown in Temple - Zechariah 11:13 - Matthew27:3-5 - 518 BCE ]

[ 3. Betrayed for thirty (30) pieces of silver - Zechariah 11:12 -Matthew 26:14-15 - 518 BCE ]

[ 4. Potters field bought for thirty (30) pieces of silver&Zechariah11:13 - Matthew 27:6-10 - 518 BCE ]

[ 5. Forsaken by His disciples - Zechariah 13:7 - Mark 14:27-50 - 518BCE ]


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[ 6. Falsely accused by false witnesses - Psalms 35:11-21 - Matthew26:59-61 - 460 BCE ]

[ 7. Remained silent before accusers - Isaiah 53:7 - Matthew 27:12-14 -732 BCE ]

[ 8. Was wounded and bruised - Isaiah 53:4-6 - 1 Peter 2:21-25 - 732BCE ]

[ 9. Spit upon and beaten - Isaiah 50:6 - Matthew 26:67-68 - 732 BCE ]

[ 10. Was mocked - Psalms 22:6- 8 - Matthew 27:27- 31 - 460 BCE ]

[ 11. Fell under the cross (stauros) - Psalms 109:24- 25 - John 19:17,Luke 23:26 - 460 BCE]

[ 12. Had hands and feet pierced - Psalms 22:16 - John 20:24-28 - 460BCE ]

[ 13. Was crucified with thieves - Isaiah 53:12 - Matthew 27:38 - 732

BCE ]

[ 14. Prayed for His enemies - Isaiah 53:12 - Luke 23:34 - 732 BCE ]

[ 15. His own people rejected him - Isaiah 53:3 - John 19:14-15 - 732BCE]

[ 16. Was hated without cause - Psalms 69:4 - John 15:25 - 460 BCE ]

[ 17. Friends stood aloof - Psalms 38:11 -Luke 22:54; Luke 23:49 - 460BCE ]

[ 18. People wag their heads - Psalms 22:7; Psalms 109:25 - Matthew27:39 - 460 BCE]

[19. He was stared at by people - Psalms 22:17 - Luke 23:35 - 460 BCE]

[ 20. Gamblers divided his clothes - Psalms 22:18 - John 19:23-24 - 460BCE ]

[ 21. He became very thirsty - Psalms 22:15 - John 19:28 - 460 BCE ]

[ 22. He was given gall & vinegar - Psalms 69:21 - Matthew 27:34 - 460BCE ]

[ 23. He committed himself to God - Psalms 31:5 - Luke 23:46 - 460 BCE ]

[ 24. His forsaken cry - Psalms 22:1 - Matthew 27:46 - 460 BCE ]

[ 25. His bones not broken - Psalms 34:20 - John 19:32-36 - 460 BCE ]

[ 26. Was buried in tomb of a rich man - Isaiah 53:9 - Matthew 27:56-60- 732 BCE ]

[ 27. A darkness came over the land - Amos 8:9 - Luke 23:44-45 - 804BCE ]


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[ 28. His heart was broken - Psalms 69:20;Psalms 22:14 - 460 BCE ]

[ 29. His side pierced - Zechariah 12:10 - John 19:34-37 - 648 BCE ]

Prophecies Fulfilled Concerning His Birth:

[ 1. Born of the seed of women - Genesis 3:15 - Galatians 4:4 - 1513BCE ]

[ 2. Born to a virgin Hebrew - Isaiah 7:14 - Matthew 1:18-25 - 732 BCE ]

[ 3. Children are killed by Herod - Jeremiah 31:15 - Matthew 2:16-18 -580 BCE ]

[ 4. Born of the family line of Jesse - Isaiah 11:1 - Luke 3:32 - 732BCE ]

[ 5. Born into the Tribe of Judah - Genesis 49:10 - Revelations 5:5 -1513 BCE ]

[ 6. Born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2 - Matthew 2:1-6 - 717 BCE ]

[ 7. Seed of David - Jeremiah 23:5 - Luke 3:31 - 580 BCE ]

[ 8. Seed of Jacob - Numbers 24:17 - Luke 3:34 - 1473 BCE ]

[ 9. Seed of Isaac - Genesis 21:12 - Luke 3:23-34 - 1513 BCE ]

[ 10. Seed of Abraham - Genesis 22:18 - Matthew 1:1 - 1513 BCE ]

Prophecies on his Personality:

[ 1. His zeal for this Father (YHWY) - Psalms 69:9 - John 2:15-17 -460 BCE ]

[2. His existence before creation - Micah 5:2 - 1 Peter 1:20 - 717 BCE ]

[ 3. He shall be called Lord - Psalms 110:1 - Acts 2:36 - 460 BCE ]

[ 4. Called Immanuel (God with us) - Isaiah 7:14 - Matthew 1:22-23 -732 BCE ]

[ 5. Anointed by the Spirit (HS) - Isaiah 11:2 - Matthew 3:16-17 - 732BCE ]

[ 6. He is a Prophet - Deuteronomy 18:18-19 - Acts 3:18-25 - 1473 BCE ]

[ 7. He will be a Priest - Psalms 110:4 - Hebrews 5:5-6 - 460 BCE ]

[ 8. He will be a Judge - Isaiah 33:32 - John 5:22-23 - 732 BCE ]

[ 9. He will be a King - Psalms 2:6 - John 18:33-37 - 460 BCE ]

Prophecies Concerning his Public Ministry:

[ 1. Will be preceded by a messenger - Isaiah 40:3 - Matthew 3:1-3 -732 BCE ]


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[ 2. He would perform miracles - Isaiah 35:5-6 - Matthew 9:35 & 11:4 -732 BCE ]

[ 3. Ministry to begin in Galilee - Isaiah 9:1-2 - Matthew 4:12-17 -732 BCE ]

[ 4. Would teach with parables - Psalms 78:1-4 - Matthew 13:34-35 - 460BCE ][ 5. He would preach in temple - Malachi 3:1 - Matthew 21:10-12 - 443BCE ]

[ 6. Enter Jerusalem on a donkey - Zechariah 9:9 - Matthew 21:1-7 - 518BCE ]

[ 7. Stone of stumbling to Jews - Isaiah 28:16; Psalms 118:22 - 1 Peter2:6-8 - 732 BCE ]

[ 8. Light to Gentiles - Isaiah 49:6 - Acts 13:46-48 - 732 BCE ]

Prophecies Concerning his Resurrection and Ascension:

[ 1. Raised from the dead - Psalms 16:8-11 - Acts 2:24-31 - 460 BCE ]

[ 2. Only begotten Son of God (YHWH) - Psalms 2:7 - Acts 13:32-35 - 460BCE ]

[ 3. Ascended to God (YHWH) - Psalms 68:18 - Ephesians 2:8-10; John6:26 - 460 BCE ]

[ 4. Seated at the Right Hand of God (YHWH) - Psalms 110.1 - Hebrews1:3-13 - 460 BCE]

Another remarkable prophecy that was very specific was the one given atIsaiah 44:28-29, "That saith of Cyrus, `He is' my shepherd, and shallperform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built;and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." (ASV); and Isaiah45:1, "Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand Ihave holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loinsof kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not beshut:" (ASV), which secular history shows was fulfilled over twohundred years in the future as it does of the prophecy about how Cyruswould capture Babylonia at Isaiah 44:27, "that saith to the deep, Bedry, and I will dry up thy rivers;" (ASV). This fact can be verifiedin most world history books and in "Ancient Near Eastern Texts," editedby J. Pritchard, 1946, and of course in the Bible.

CANDOR OF BIBLE SCRIBES SHOWS THEIR TRUTHFULNESS:

Unlike writers of so called other 'holy books' the writers (scribes) ofthe Bible showed outstanding candor in their writings even testifyingto their own shortcomings under divine guidance as shown at Numbers20:12, "And Jehovah saith unto Moses, and unto Aaron, `Because ye havenot believed in Me to sanctify Me before the eyes of the sons ofIsrael, therefore ye do not bring in this assembly unto the land whichI have given to them.'" (YLT); and at Jonah 1:1-3, "Now the word ofJehovah came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to


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Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness iscome up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from thepresence of Jehovah; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship goingto Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to gowith them unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah." (ASV) clearlyhere the prophet Jonah is testifying in candor to his own lack of faithand wrong doing; and at Mark 14:66-67 and 71-72, "And Peter being inthe hall beneath, there doth come one of the maids of the chief priest,67 and having seen Peter warming himself, having looked on him, shesaid, Ànd thou wast with Jesus of Nazareth!'" and "and he began toanathematize, and to swear -- Ì have not known this man of whom yespeak; 72 and a second time a cock crew, and Peter remembered thesaying that Jesus said to him -- `Before a cock crow twice, thou mayestdeny me thrice;' and having thought thereon -- he was weeping." (YLT).Examples such as these are found throughout the Bible of candor on thepart of the writers (scribes) which is definitely not found in theEgyptian Book of the Dead, the Rig Veda, the so called holy book of theZoroastrians, etc.; once more showing the great difference between theBible, which is the only book ever inspired by God (YHWH) and so calledother 'holy books.'

BIBLE DIRECT GLORY TO GOD AND NOT TO MEN:

Unlike many other so called 'holy books' the Bible directs glory to God(YHWH) and not to men such as the Egyptian Pharaohs, many ancientrulers, and the Roman Emperors that claimed to be gods. This is madevividly clear at Psalms 113:3-5, "From the rising of the sun unto thegoing down of the same Jehovah's name is to be praised. 4 Jehovah ishigh above all nations, And his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is likeunto Jehovah our God, That hath his seat on high," (ASV); and at Isaiah40:22-23, "Ìt is' he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, andthe inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out theheavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; 23that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earthas vanity." (ASV); and at 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, "For behold yourcalling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty,not many noble, àre called': 27 but God chose the foolish things ofthe world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chosethe weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the thingsthat are strong; 28 and the base things of the world, and the thingsthat are despised, did God choose, `yea' and the things that are not,that he might bring to nought the things that are: 29 that no fleshshould glory before God. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who wasmade unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, andredemption: 31 that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, lethim glory in the Lord." (ASV); and at many other places such asRevelation 7:12.

ARCHAEOLOGY HAS CORROBORATED MANY BIBLE ACCOUNTS:

So many Bible accounts have corroborated

so many Bible accounts that it would require many books tosignificantly deal with them all. However, but a few of these areGenesis 19:24-25, "and Jehovah hath rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrahbrimstone and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens; 25 and Heoverthroweth these cities, and all the circuit, and all the inhabitants


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of the cities, and that which is shooting up from the ground." (YLT)has been corroborated by Geologist recently when they ascertained thatthe area mentioned had been involved in a catastrophic explosionfollowed by rain of sulphur. Also, a recent expedition found extensiveunderwater remnants of a civilization that flourished and died app.4,000 years ago that now is submerged beneath the south end of the DeadSea.

Another example is Joshua 1:4, "From this wilderness and Lebanon, andunto the great river, the river Phrath, all the land of the Hittites,and unto the great Sea -- the going in of the sun -- is your border."(YLT). This has been confirmed by the discovery at an excavation atBoghazkeui, Turkey, the ancient site of the Hittite capital where over10,00 clay tablets in the Hittite cuneiform script and other languageshave been found.

Another example is 1 Kings 14:25-26, "And it came to pass in the fifthyear of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up againstJerusalem; 26 and he took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah,and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he

took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made." (ASV).This was verified by a finding in 1830 of writings on the outer wall ofEgyptian temple at Karnak that when deciphered was found to be a recordof Shishnak's victory.

Another example is 2 Kings 3:4-5, "Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he rendered unto the king of Israel the wool of a hundredthousand lambs, and of a hundred thousand rams. 5 But it came to pass,when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king ofIsrael." (ASV). This was verified with the finding of the Moabitestone in 1868 [now preserved in the Louvre, Paris] which gives KingMesha's version of his revolt against Israel.

Another example is 2 Kings 18:13, "Now in the fourteenth year of kingHezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all thefortified cities of Judah, and took them." (ASV). In 1847 to 1851,Layard excavated Assyrian King Sennacherib's great palace at Kuyunjik,and uncovered clay cylinders, now called King Sennacherib's Prism,giving his boastful version of the invasion of Judah, [now preserved inthe British Museum].

Another example is Acts 17:22, "And Paul stood in the midst of theAreopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that

ye are very religious." (ASV). The Ares, or 'Mars Hill," rocky hillnorthwest of Acropolis of Athens still remains to confirm the Beblerecord of setting for Paul's discourse, and a plaque there contains acopy of a part of his speech.

Now if any want to know more, go and read one of the many books writtenon archaeology corroboration of Bible accounts, many can be found inany large metropolitan library.

THE BIBLE IN HARMONY WITH TRUE SCIENCE:


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Let's review a few examples such as Genesis 1:11 & 21 & 25, "And Godsaith, `Let the earth yield tender grass, herb sowing seed, fruit-tree(whose seed ìs' in itself) making fruit after its kind, on the earth:'and it is so." And "21 And God prepareth the great monsters, and everyliving creature that is creeping, which the waters have teemed with,after their kind, and every fowl with wing, after its kind, and Godseeth that ìt is' good." And "And God maketh the beast of the earthafter its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every creepingthing of the ground after its kind, and God seeth that ìt is' good.",all of which we all now know to be true do to the findings ofscientist.

And Job 26:7, "He is stretching out the north over the empty place,hanging the earth upon nothing." (New World Translation; NWT). Formany centuries it was believed that the sun revolved around the earth,and one so called Christian group, actually a counterfeit Christiangroup, actually burned an individual at the stake on orders from Rome,one Giordano Bruno, executed in 1600 for a belief and teaching of theCopernican's system, the belief that the earth revolved around the sun,

as they taught as truth the Ptolemaic system, the belief that the sunrevolved around the earth, can you imagine that. Also, some religiousgroups and so called 'holy books' stated that the earth was supportedby a giant turtle, can you imagine such nonsense; but the Biblecontains no such nonsense in the legitimate canonical books. AndIsaiah 40:22, "Ìt is' he that sitteth above the circle of the earth,and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth outthe heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwellin;" (ASV). For many centuries it was believed that the earth was flatand if you traveled too far you would fall off, but the Bible correctlysaid, "above the circle of the earth" revealing that it was a globe.Once more proving the Bible always was in harmony with true science.Of course this was NOT true for the many so called 'holy books,' theknockoffs from the Bible excluded.

ITS PRESERVATION IN FACE OF SEVERE OPPOSITION SHOWS THAT IT TRULY ISTHE WORD OF GOD:

The fact that the Bible still exist after such severe oppositionthroughout the ages is testimony to the fact that it is the word of God(YHWH). This fact was foretold in advance at Isaiah 40:8, "The grasswithereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall standforever." (ASV); and 1 Peter 1:25, "'The saying of Jehovah enduresforever." Well, this is the 'saying,' this which has been declared toyou as good news." (NWT). Through the ages many efforts were made toeliminate the Bible and many individuals were burned at the stake for

either publishing, distributing, and/or possessing a copy of the Bible,but we still have it as God (YHWH) made provisions for its preservationand today it has been translated into over 2,000 languages and morecopies are in existence of it than any other book on earth; in factmore copies of it have been printed than all other so called 'holybooks' sure says a lot.

ALL OF THE BIBLE IS VALUABLE:


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That all of the Bible is beneficial and NOT outdated is brought out atRomans 15:4, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were writtenfor our learning, that through patience and through comfort of thescriptures we might have hope." (ASV); and John 20:31, "but these arewritten, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;and that believing ye may have life in his name." (ASV).

JESUS (YESHUA) AND THE APOSTLES FREELY QUOTED FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Jesus (Yeshua) and his apostles clearly quoted from the Old Testament[Hebrew Testament] clearly showing that they considered all of it asthe inspired word of God (YHWH) as it truly is. This is clearly shownat Luke 4:17-21, "And there was delivered unto him the book of theprophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where itwas written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointedme to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaimrelease to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To setat liberty them that are bruised, 19 To proclaim the acceptable year ofthe Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant,and sat down: and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on

him. 21 And he began to say unto them, To-day hath this scripture beenfulfilled in your ears." (ASV); and at Luke 24:27 & 44-45, "Andbeginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to themin all the scriptures the things concerning himself." And "And he saidunto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yetwith you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written inthe law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me. 45

Then opened he their mind, that they might understand thescriptures;" (ASV). Also, there many more scriptures showing thatJesus (Yeshua) and his apostles clearly quoted from the Old Testament.

In fact, many of these scriptures contain examples for our benefittoday, one example being shown in Luke 17:26-30, "And as it came topass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of theSon of man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given inmarriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the floodcame, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise even as it came to pass inthe days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, theyplanted, they builded; 29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodomit rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: 30after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man isrevealed." (ASV).

BIBLE TO BE VIEWED AS A UNIFORM WHOLE:

The Bible is shown to be clearly a uniform whole at 2 Timothy 3:16,"All Scripture is Inspired of God and beneficial." (NWT); therefore,

the reading of it on a regular basis is important. This is testifiedto at Matthew 4:4, "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shallnot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of themouth of God." (ASV); and Deuteronomy 6:4-7, "Hear, O Israel, the Lordis our God, one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all yourheart and soul and strength. These commandments which I give you thisday are to be kept in your heart; you shall repeat them to your sons,and speak of them indoors and out of doors, when you lie down and whenyou rise." (The New English Bible; NEB); and 2 Timothy 3:15, "You knowhow, when you were a small child, you were taught the holy Scriptures;


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and it is these that make you wise to accept God's salvation bytrusting in Christ Jesus." (Living New Testament; LNT); and Acts 17:11,"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that theyreceived the word with all readiness of mind, and searched thescriptures daily, whether those things were so."

FOR THE RIGHT INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE, WE MUST LOOK TO GOD (YHWH):

We must look to God (YHWH) for the correct interpretation of the Bibleand not to men as testified to at Genesis 40:8, "They replied, 'We haveeach had a dream and there is no one to interpret it for us.'" (NWT);and Daniel 2:28, "but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries,and he discloses to king Nebuchadnezzar what is to happen in the latterdays. Your dream and the visions of your brain in bed are these:" (TheBible, A New Translation, by James Moffatt, D.D., D.Litt., M.A.; ANT);and Matthew 11:25, "And he shall stir up his power and his courageagainst the king of the south with a great army; and the king of thesouth shall war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; buthe shall not stand; for they shall devise devices against him." (ASV).

Remember that the 'RIGHT' explanation is always harmonious with therest of God's (YHWH's) word as brought out at 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "Everyinspired scripture has its use for teaching the truth and refutingerror, or for reformation of maners and discipline in right living, sothat the man who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for goodwork of every kind." (NET); and Acts 15:14-15, "Symeon hath rehearsedhow first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people forhis name. 15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it iswritten," (ASV). Also, as brought out by Matthew 16:4, "An evil andadulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign begiven unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed."(ASV); and Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but mywords shall not pass away." (ASV).

EVENTS IN FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY POINT OUT MEANING:

Actually, events in fulfillment of prophecy point out Bible meaning asshown by Matthew 1:18 & 22-23, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was onthis wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, beforethey came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." And "22

Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled whichwas spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, thevirgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shallcall his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us."(ASV); and Acts 2:4 & 14-21, "And they were all filled with the HolySpirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave themutterance." And "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his

voice, and spake forth unto them, `saying', Ye men of Judaea, and allye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear untomy words. 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is`but' the third hour of the day. 16 but this is that which hath beenspoken through the prophet Joel: 17 And it shall be in the last days,saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sonsand your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall seevisions, And your old men shall dream dreams: 18 Yea and on my servantsand on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; andthey shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heaven above,


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And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Beforethe day of the Lord come, That great and notable `day'. 21 And it shallbe, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."(ASV).

Remember, personal interpretation may lead to twisting of scriptures asshown by 2 Peter 3:15-16, "and the long-suffering of our Lord count yesalvation, according as also our beloved brother Paul -- according tothe wisdom given to him -- did write to you 16 as also in all theepistles, speaking in them concerning these things, among which thingsare certain hard to be understood, which the untaught and unstable dowrest, as also the other Writings, unto their own destruction." (ASV).Also, adding to or taking away from the words of the Bible is wrong asshown at Revelation 22:18-19, "I testify unto every man that heareththe words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them,God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book:19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of thisprophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and outof the holy city, which are written in this book." (ASV).

CONCLUSION:

As can be seen from the foregoing, the Bible is truly the word of God(YHWH) and NOT of man as are all the other books in existence. It isthe only book God (YHWH) has ever inspired to be written and that God(YHWH) used divinely inspired men to record his thoughts in the wordsof men. So as we can see, the proposition stated in the introductionhas been proved past any reasonable doubt to all individuals who arehonest with themselves. Of course there will be many individuals whowill not accept this, and this is to be expected; and that is why wehave the saying you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make himdrink. These are the ones who want to believe myths and legends andfiguratively say, 'my mind is made up, please do NOT confuse me withfacts.'

Your Friend in Christ Iris89

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