THE BIBLE From God to Us JoLynn Gower Spring 2017 493-6151 jgower@guardingthetruth.org 1
WORD FOR THE JOURNEY 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Scripture: graphe: writing, especially the Holy Bible text Inspired by God: theopneustos: God-breathed: the concepts and wording came from God, via the Holy Spirit, to men who wrote it down 2 Peter 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God APOCRYPHA AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA 2
OT APOCRYPHA Council of Trent 1546: these approved in Catholic Canon Tobit (200 BC; magic; alms to free from purgatory) Judith (historically inaccurate; may have been a novel) Additions to Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4–16:24) Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon) 30 BC; Mary born sinless Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 132 BC; alms make atonement for sin Baruch, including the Letter of Jeremiah (Additions to Jeremiah in the Septuagint) 150-50 BC; historical errors Additions to Daniel: ... Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children (Vulgate version of Daniel 3:24–90) Susannah (Vulgate Daniel 13, Septuagint prologue) Bel/Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14, Septuagint epilogue) 1 Maccabees 110 BC; some historical inaccuracies 2 Maccabees 110-170 BC; indulgences for the dead 3
REASONS: NOT INCLUDED Not original in Hebrew – written in Greek or Latin Do not claim inspiration – never claim God spoke to them Never acknowledged by Jewish scholars Not included in the first 400 years after Christ Contradict the canonical scriptures Contradict each other (Antiochus died in three different places in three different ways) Baruch teaches that God hears the prayers of the dead Wisdom teaches that the soul had existence before birth Wisdom teaches that God made everything out of pre- existing matter None of those added to Catholic canon are quoted in NT 4
PSEUDEPIGRAPHAL BOOK QUOTED Enoch 60:8 is quoted in Jude 14:15 and 2 Peter 2:4 Jude 1:14-15 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Enoch isn’t included because it likely wasn’t written by Enoch and doesn’t seem to date to his time There are facts in it that are false; universe described in ways known to be false: heaven on east edge of earth; 7 stars (actually planets) Interesting? Describes all angelic sin originating with Azazel Interesting? Evil spirits coming out of bodies of giants 5
NON-CANONICAL: JASHAR Book of Jashar (Book of the Upright/Just) 2 Timothy 3:8 Joshua 10:13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 2 Samuel 1:17-18 Then David chanted with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar. A lot of information on the history of Abram’s family, history, and upbringing; links to false gods Joshua 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River , namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 6
OTHER QUOTED BOOKS Numbers 21:14-15 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD, "Waheb in Suphah, and the wadis of the Arnon, and the slope of the wadis that extends to the site of Ar, and leans to the border of Moab." Mentioned in the Book of Jashar Called a collaborative effort Jude 1:9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Quotation from the Assumption (or Testimony) of Moses Also speaks of the division of Israel into 10 and 2 tribes, the destruction of the temple, and its treasures carried off However, it contradicts the Bible by saying that Moses was assumed into heaven like Elijah 7
OTHER QUOTED BOOKS Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated Martyrdom of Isaiah Colossians 4:16 When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea. Marcion said that letter was the letter we call Ephesians.I It is possible that any other letter could have been read and just on its way from Laodicea since the letters were designed to be read in the churches and passed on to the next 8
THE DA VINCI CODE IS WRONG Dan Brown alleges that the NT scriptures was formulated in Nicea at the Nicene Council and that its content was greatly influence by Constantine The Nicene Council actually articulated the Christian belief about the divinity of Jesus – thus was born the Nicene Creed The various church councils really only affirmed what the consensus of Christian believers had already recognized The canon isn’t a power play brokered by the elite; It was the result of God’s people reading, using, and responding to the content Early church fathers felt that the canonical scriptures were “self-authenticating” 9
SELF-AUTHENTICATING Self-authenticating scripture: when read, God reveals Himself through what is said If the internal qualities of these books really exist, then how do we explain why they are rejected by so many? 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. But, if Christian doctrines concerning the fall, original sin, and the corruption of the human heart are true, then it naturally follows that a person without the Spirit cannot discern the presence of the Spirit Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 10
WRITTEN LATER/BY ANOTHER Many NT apocryphal books are written much later than the gospels and contain information that is incorrect Example: Gospel of Peter has Christ emerging from the tomb as a giant whose head reaches the clouds Example: Gospel of Barnabas uses numerology 1 Clement: speaks of the Phoenix as real Many books were excluded because they were written much later than the time of the one claiming authorship Books that were associated with the apostles were considered to be authoritative Ephesians 2:19-20 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 11
SUMMARY By the 170’s there was a list that included 22 of the 27 NT books; the Muratorian Fragment lists them While there was disagreement on books such as 2 Peter, 3 John, James, and Revelation, the disagreement was in the minority of church leaders and most major leaders accepted them We would expect that with human beings involved, there would not be total agreement We can trust that God is able to use normal historical processes without being stymied by people As in our own time, we could expect there to be objection from people intent on doing things their own way rather than God’s way We have no earlier Christian writings than the NT canon, authoritatively revealing to us the New Covenant 12
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