The Books of the Bible

[Patriot]

Where did Old Testament believers/saints go when they died?​

ANSWER

The Old Testament believers went to a place of comfort and rest called “paradise” when they died. The Old Testament taught life after death and that everyone who departed from this life went to a place of conscious existence. The general term for this place was Sheol, which could be translated “the grave” or “the realm of the dead.” The wicked were there (Psalm 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; Isaiah 5:14), and so were the righteous (Genesis 37:35; Job 14:13; Psalm 6:5; 16:10; 88:3; Isaiah 38:10).

The New Testament equivalent of Sheol is Hades. Luke 16:19–31 shows that, prior to Christ’s resurrection, Hades was divided into two realms: a place of comfort where Lazarus was (Abraham’s bosom or Abraham’s side) and a place of torment where the rich man was (hell). Lazarus’s place of comfort is elsewhere called “paradise” (Luke 23:43). The place of torment is called “Gehenna” in the Greek in Mark 9:45. Between paradise and hell (the two districts of Hades) there was “a great chasm” (Luke 16:26). The fact that no one could cross this chasm indicates that, after death, one’s fate is sealed.

Today, when an unbeliever dies, he follows the Old Testament unbelievers to the torment side of Hades. At the final judgment, Hades will be emptied before the Great White Throne, where its occupants will be judged prior to entering the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13–15).

On the other hand, when a believer dies today, he is “present with the Lord” in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:6–9). There, he joins the Old Testament saints who have been enjoying their reward for thousands of years.

A resurrection awaits everyone—either a resurrection to eternal life or a resurrection to “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). The Bible clearly states that New Testament saints who have died will be resurrected at the event we call the rapture of the church (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). The Bible is less clear about when the Old Testament saints will be resurrected. It is our view that Old Testament believers will be joined to their resurrected bodies at the end of the tribulation period when Jesus returns to earth to set up His millennial kingdom (Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14).

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Heaven and the Afterlife: The Truth About Tomorrow and What It Means for Today by Erwin Lutzer

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[Patriot]

Why did God condone such terrible violence in the Old Testament?​

ANSWER

The fact that God commanded the killing of entire nations in the Old Testament has been the subject of harsh criticism from opponents of Christianity for some time. That there was violence in the Old Testament is indisputable. The question is whether Old Testament violence is justifiable and condoned by God. In his bestselling book The God Delusion, atheist Richard Dawkins refers to the God of the Old Testament as “a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser.” Journalist Christopher Hitchens complains that the Old Testament contains a warrant for “indiscriminate massacre.” Other critics of Christianity have leveled similar charges, accusing Yahweh of “crimes against humanity.”

But are these criticisms valid? Is the God of the Old Testament a “moral monster” who arbitrarily commands genocide against innocent men, women, and children? Was His reaction to the sins of the Canaanites and the Amalekites a vicious form of “ethnic cleansing”? Or is it possible that God could have had morally sufficient reasons for ordering the destruction of these nations?

A basic knowledge of Canaanite culture reveals its inherent moral wickedness. The Canaanites were a brutal, aggressive people who engaged in bestiality, incest, and even child sacrifice. Deviant sexual acts were the norm. The Canaanites’ sin was so repellent that God said, “The land vomited out its inhabitants” (Leviticus 18:25). Even so, the destruction was directed more at the Canaanite religion (Deuteronomy 7:3–5; 12:2–3) than at the Canaanite people per se. The judgment was not ethnically motivated. Individual Canaanites, like Rahab in Jericho, could still find that mercy follows repentance (Joshua 2). God’s desire is that the wicked turn from their sin rather than die (Ezekiel 18:31–32; 33:11).

Besides dealing with national sins, God used the conquest of Canaan to create a religious/historical context in which He could eventually introduce the Messiah to the world. This Messiah would bring salvation not only to Israel, but also to Israel’s enemies, including Canaan (Psalm 87:4–6; Mark 7:25–30).

It must be remembered that God gave the Canaanite people more than sufficient time to repent of their evil ways—over 400 years! The book of Hebrews tells us that the Canaanites were “disobedient,” which implies moral culpability on their part (Hebrews 11:31). The Canaanites were aware of God’s power (Joshua 2:10–11; 9:9) and could have sought repentance. Except in rare instances, they continued their rebellion against God until the bitter end.

But didn’t God also command the Israelites to kill non-combatants? The biblical record is clear that He did. Here again, we must remember that, while it is true the Canaanite women did not fight, this in no way means they were innocent, as their seductive behavior in Numbers 25 indicates (Numbers 25:1–3). However, the question still remains: what about the children? This is not an easy question to answer, but we must keep several things in mind. First, no human person (including infants) is truly innocent. The Scripture teaches that we are all born in sin (Psalm 51:5; 58:3). This implies that all people are morally culpable for Adam’s sin in some way. Infants are just as condemned from sin as adults are.

Second, God is sovereign over all of life and can take it whenever He sees fit. God and God alone can give life, and God alone has the right to take it whenever He so chooses. In fact, He ultimately takes every person’s life at death. It is not our life to begin with but God’s. While it is wrong for us to take a life, except in instances of capital punishment, war, and self-defense, this does not mean that it is wrong for God to do so. We intuitively recognize this when we accuse some person or authority who takes human life as “playing God.” God is under no obligation to extend anyone’s life for even another day. How and when we die is completely up to Him.

Third, an argument could be made that it would have been cruel for God to take the lives of all the Canaanites except the infants and children. Without the protection and support of their parents, the infants and small children were likely to face death anyway due to starvation. The chances of survival for an orphan in the ancient Near East were not good.

Finally, the children of Canaan would have likely grown up sympathetic to the evil religions their parents had practiced. It was time for the culture of idolatry and perversion to end in Canaan, and God wanted to use Israel to end it. Also, the orphaned children of Canaan would naturally have grown up resentful of the Israelites. Likely, some would have later sought to avenge the “unjust” treatment of their parents and return Canaan to paganism.

It’s also worth considering the eternal state of those infants killed in Canaan. If God took them before the age of moral accountability, then they went straight to heaven (as we believe). Those children are in a far better place than if they had lived into adulthood as Canaanites.

Surely, the issue of God commanding violence in the Old Testament is difficult. However, we must remember that God sees things from an eternal perspective, and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8–9). The apostle Paul tells us that God is both kind and severe (Romans 11:22). While it is true that God’s holy character demands that sin be punished, His grace and mercy remain extended to those who are willing to repent and be saved. The Canaanite destruction provides us with a sober reminder that, while our God is gracious and merciful, He is also a God of holiness and wrath.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

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[Patriot]

What was a prophet in the Old Testament?​

ANSWER

A prophet in the Old Testament was someone who was used by God to communicate His message to the world. Prophets were also called “seers” because they could “see,” spiritually speaking, as God gave them insight (1 Samuel 9:9). The prophets can be divided into the “writing prophets” such as Isaiah, Daniel, Amos, and Malachi; and the “non-writing prophets” such as Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29), Micaiah (2 Chronicles 18:7), and Elisha (1 Kings 19:16). There are also some anonymous prophets in the Old Testament, such as the unnamed prophet in Judges 6:7–10.

The prophets came from a variety of backgrounds, spoke to different audiences, possessed unique styles, and used assorted methods. Most of the Old Testament prophets’ messages concerned the people of Israel; if other nations were mentioned in the oracles, it was usually in connection to those nations’ dealings with Israel. Most prophets of God were men, but the Old Testament also mentions prophetesses such as Miriam (Exodus 15:20, ESV), Deborah (Judges 4:4, ESV), and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14, ESV). All prophets shared some characteristics that made their ministries “prophetic.”

A prophet was called by God to be a prophet. Isaiah and Ezekiel were given visions of God’s glory (Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1). God told Jeremiah that he had been picked out prior even to his birth: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, / before you were born I set you apart; / I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). A common description of the source of the message is that “the word of the Lord came” to the prophet (Jeremiah 1:2; Ezekiel 1:3; Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Micah 1:1; Zephaniah 1:1; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 1:1). Another description is that the prophet received an “oracle,” that is, a special revelation from God (Isaiah 13:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Numbers 24:16, ESV).

A prophet was required to deliver God’s message accurately. The prophet Micaiah put it well: “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell [the king] only what the Lord tells me” (1 Kings 22:14). Those who, like Jeremiah, tried to keep silent found they could not (Jeremiah 20:9). Those who, like Jonah, tried to avoid their responsibility were corrected (Jonah 1:3–4). Others, like the unnamed prophet from Judah who directly disobeyed the divine command, lost their lives (1 Kings 13:15–24).

A prophet sometimes had a unique appearance. Elijah was known for wearing “a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist” (2 Kings 1:8). Elijah’s mantle that he left for Elisha was also seen as a symbol of the prophetic office (2 Kings 2:13–14). God told Ezekiel to shave his head and beard (Ezekiel 5:1). Other prophets were set apart in other ways: Jeremiah, for example, was told he could not marry (Jeremiah 16:2); Hosea was told to marry a prostitute (Hosea 1:2). All prophets were recognized as those through whom God spoke (even if their message was not welcome).

A prophet often led a hard life. Isaiah was sent to a people “ever hearing, but never understanding” (Isaiah 6:9), and (according to tradition) he was eventually murdered for his efforts. Ezekiel ministered to “a rebellious people” (Ezekiel 12:2). The queen of Israel sought to take Elijah’s life (1 Kings 19:2). Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern, where he “sank down into the m&d” (Jeremiah 38:6). Jesus spoke of Jerusalem as those “who kill the prophets and stone those sent” to them (Luke 13:34), and, speaking to the Jewish leaders of his day, Stephen asked this condemning question: “Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?” (Acts 7:52).

Often, a prophet in the Old Testament predicted the future. Sometimes, the prophecies concerned events that were soon to happen; for example, Joseph predicted seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine in Egypt, events that occurred within the next fourteen years (Genesis 41:25–36). Many other prophets foresaw things in the distant future; for example, many of Daniel’s and Zechariah’s prophecies concern the second coming of Christ and other end-times events (Daniel 12:1; Zechariah 12:10).

The Old Testament also mentions false prophets. These were liars who claimed to speak for God but were intent upon deceiving the people or serving their own interests. Ahab had nearly four hundred such false prophets in his employ (1 Kings 22:6, 23). Nehemiah’s work was opposed by several false prophets and one false prophetess (Nehemiah 6:14). The test of a prophet was 100 percent accuracy in what he said (Deuteronomy 18:22). If a prophet’s predictions did not come true, then he could not have been speaking for God, since God never lies (Numbers 23:19).

The role of Old Testament prophet reached its consummation in the person of John the Baptist, who was predicted in Malachi 4:5 (cf. Luke 7:26–27); and in Jesus Christ, who was the Prophet “like Moses” predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15 (cf. Acts 3:22).

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Are Miraculous Gifts for Today - Four Views edited by Wayne Grudem

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[Patriot]

Is Richard Dawkins’ caricature of the God of the Old Testament accurate?​

ANSWER

In his 2006 book The God Delusion, and in countless speeches, Richard Dawkins has said, “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” It’s more of a caricature of God than a characterization.

Responding to Dawkins’ charges against God is best done by first examining his overarching critique and then working through some of his more specific accusations.

Dawkins’ predominant indictment against God is that He is immoral and evil because of the judgments He hands down that involve the killing of certain people. Dawkins arrives at his conclusion through a superficial and excised reading of certain passages in the Old Testament including the flood that destroyed the world (Genesis 6:17) and the expulsion or killing of various people (e.g., Deuteronomy 7:1–2), especially those in the land given by God to Israel (Deuteronomy 20:16–17) and Israel’s national enemies (1 Samuel 15:3).

However, reading these passages in their contexts and with an understanding of the history of those ancient civilizations paints a different picture. With a fair treatment of the text, a clear pattern emerges regarding how God arrives as His declarations of judgment on various peoples:

• God warns of a coming judgment that will be used to remove a moral cancer from His creation.
• Individual judgments are handed down for extreme acts of evil.
• Each judgment is preceded by warnings and, often, long periods of time to give the people a chance to repent. For example, the people of Noah’s day were warned about impending disaster for hundreds of years. The Canaanites were warned over 400 years in advance of God’s judgment on them (Genesis 15:13–16).
• The presence of “good” or “innocent” people in the situation delays or stops judgment altogether. For example, before judgment fell on Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked God, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” and was told that if God found only ten righteous people in those cities, He would withhold judgment (Genesis 18:22–32).
• A way of escape is usually provided. For example, the Bible records that families were many times given the option to flee a land being conquered by God’s people. Only those who disregarded that option received judgment.
• A person or a group of people can be redeemed from the culture receiving a judgment from God (e.g., Rahab and the city of Jericho in Joshua 2).
• Finally, after the warnings and after the offer of mercy, judgment falls on a morally perverse, recalcitrant people.

If the evil actions judged by God in the Old Testament were catapulted into the twenty-first century and broadcast around the world, there would be a global outcry for strong military action to put an immediate end to the atrocities. The world at large would not stand idly by while a nation openly practiced child sacrifice, genocide, human trafficking, and the torture of criminals and war prisoners. If human beings call for severe judgment on national evil, why should God be criticized for carrying it out?

What about some of the other aspects of Dawkins’ caricature of God? Is God misogynistic? No, the Bible says women are equal to men in nature (Genesis 1:27), in value of life (Exodus 21:28), in redemptive status (Galatians 3:28), in spiritual gifting (1 Corinthians 12:1–10), in political leadership (Judges 4:4–7), and in business leadership (Proverbs 31).

Is God infanticidal? No, God declares nothing but love and protection for children, including the unborn (Exodus 21:22–25). The only children to experience judgments from God in the Bible were those whose parents resisted God’s calls for repentance or expulsion from their land.

Is God filicidal? (The reference here is likely to God’s telling Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.) No, God is not filicidal. Being omniscient, God knew what would happen and that Isaac would not die, but He allowed the episode to be played out to foreshadow the death of God’s Son in the future.

Is God homophobic? No, He offers His grace and redemption to everyone, including homosexuals (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

Is God racist? No, He is the Creator of all, and all are made in His image (Genesis 1:27). Racism directly violates the golden rule of loving your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Caricatures of God as a racist usually revolve around Israel driving out other nationalities from their lands; however, it should be noted that 1) such judgment was carried out only in response to the people’s sin; 2) Israel was held to the same standard and was often punished in the same way (Deuteronomy 9:4–5), so there was no racial favoritism.

Regarding God’s mercy, a little-known fact of the Bible is that the word mercy, as it relates to God and His creation, is used only 70 times in the New Testament but 290 times in the Old Testament. In other words, the Old Testament speaks of God’s mercy four times more often than the New Testament does.

The mercy and love of God were well-known in Old Testament times. The prophet Jonah knew of God’s mercy very well—and he scorned it, at least on one occasion. God had directed Jonah to deliver a warning of judgment to Nineveh, and Jonah resisted at first. Later, Jonah reveals why he had been so reluctant: “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2). Jonah did not want the Ninevites to be saved, but he knew God, in His mercy, was going to save them.

The true God does not resemble Richard Dawkins’ caricature of Him in the slightest. Dawkins’ critique of the God of the Bible serves to show how he and other militant atheists feel about God and His authority. Their view can be summed up in this statement: “There is no God—and I hate him!”

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine by Alister & Joanna McGrath

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[Patriot]

Is baptism in the Old Testament?​

ANSWER

The two New Testament ordinances instituted by Christ are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The rite of baptism is a physical depiction of a new believer’s old life being buried with the Lord and then raised to walk in newness of life. Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected, and the Christian identifies with Jesus by being fully immersed into the water (symbolizing death) and then being lifted out of the water to live a new life now and, one day, to live in a glorified new body in the eternal state.

The physical practice of baptism is not found in the Old Testament, although there are events in biblical history that foreshadowed the ordinance. The first incident is chronicled in Genesis and mentioned by Peter when he references how “God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20–21). Noah and his family going through the waters of the flood symbolizes New Testament baptism, according to Peter

Peter links our salvation to the story of Noah, using the waters of the flood as a type of the waters of baptism. Noah was “saved through water”; the ark symbolized salvation for Noah, just as baptism symbolizes salvation for us. Here’s how Peter links the story of Noah to baptism: Noah was in the ark, going through the water (of the flood), as we are in Christ, going through the water (of baptism). The difference is that Noah’s salvation through the ark was temporary, while our salvation through Christ is eternal.

Peter immediately clarifies that he’s speaking spiritually: it’s not “the removal of dirt from the body,” he says (1 Peter 3:21). It’s not the washing of the flesh but the cleansing of the heart he has in mind. It’s not that our bodies are washed, but our conscience is washed. All the water in the world will not take away sin. What makes baptism significant is not the fact that we get wet but what has happened on the inside, in our hearts, and that’s exactly what Peter says. What makes baptism significant is the “pledge” or “answer” of a heart right with God. Baptism is meaningful 1) when administered in connection with true repentance and true faith in the Lord Jesus, 2) when it is performed as a symbol of putting away sin and of the renewal of the Holy Spirit, and 3) when it is an act of unreserved dedication to God. This is all possible through the resurrection of Christ, because, if our Lord did not rise again, we could never have a heart right with God.

Paul references another Old Testament type of baptism: “I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1–2). Moses himself had gone through a “baptism-styled event” when he passed through the waters of the Nile in his own “ark” of shelter as a baby (Exodus 2). Later, Moses led the Israelites through the waters of the Red Sea as they all followed the cloud of God’s glory. In a way similar to our identification with Christ and the New Covenant, the Israelites were “baptized” or “immersed” in Moses, identifying with him and the covenant he brought to them.

Another Old Testament foreshadowing of baptism is seen in the story of Jonah. The prophet goes down into the waters to what seemed like certain death only to be delivered by God via a great fish that rescues the prophet, thus giving him a “resurrection” of sorts. Jonah references this fact in his prayer: “Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me . . . but You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God” (Jonah 2:5–6). Jesus later used the story of Jonah as a type of His own resurrection (Luke 11:29–30).

Water has been an important symbol throughout biblical history: Noah and his family were saved from worldwide destruction through the waters of the flood; the Israelites under Moses gained their freedom from slavery through the waters of the Red Sea; the Israelites under Joshua entered the Promised Land through the waters of the Jordan River; Elisha began his ministry after the rapture of Elijah by passing through the waters of the Jordan; John the Baptist called for repentance to be shown through baptism in water; and every Christian since Jesus’ ascension has used baptism in water to show their repentance from sin and faith in Christ.

While the ordinance of baptism is not found in the Old Testament, there are biblical events that represented a type of baptism, and those events pointed to and eventually found fulfillment in the New Testament practice commanded by Christ.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ by Schriener and Wright

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[Patriot]

Where does the Old Testament predict the coming of Jesus Christ?​

ANSWER

There are many Old Testament prophecies about Jesus Christ. Some interpreters place the number of Messianic prophecies in the hundreds. The following are those that are considered the clearest and most important.

Regarding Jesus’ birth—Isaiah 7:14: “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 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Concerning Jesus’ ministry and death—Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Psalm 22:16-18: “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”

Likely the clearest prophecy about Jesus is the entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah 53:3-7 is especially unmistakable: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But 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. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

The “seventy sevens” prophecy in Daniel chapter 9 predicted the precise date that Jesus, the Messiah, would be “cut off.” Isaiah 50:6 accurately describes the beating that Jesus endured. Zechariah 12:10 predicts the “piercing” of the Messiah, which occurred after Jesus died on the cross. Many more examples could be provided, but these will suffice. The Old Testament most definitely prophesies the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ by Stephen Wellum

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[Patriot]

What were the various sacrifices in the Old Testament?​

ANSWER

There are five main types of sacrifices, or offerings, in the Old Testament. The burnt offering (Leviticus 1; 6:8–13; 8:18-21; 16:24), the grain offering (Leviticus 2; 6:14–23), the peace offering (Leviticus 3; 7:11–34), the sin offering (Leviticus 4; 5:1–13; 6:24–30; 8:14–17; 16:3–22), and the trespass offering (Leviticus 5:14–19; 6:1–7; 7:1–6). Each of these sacrifices involved certain elements, either animal or fruit of the field, and had a specific purpose. Most were split into two or three portions—God’s portion, the portion for the Levites or priests, and, if there was a third, a portion kept by the person offering the sacrifice. The sacrifices can be broadly categorized as either voluntary or mandatory offerings.

Voluntary Sacrifices

There were three voluntary offerings. The first was the burnt offering, a voluntary act of worship to express devotion or commitment to God. It was also used as an atonement for unintentional sin. The elements of the burnt offering were a bull, a bird, or a ram without blemish. The meat and bones and organs of the animal were to be totally burnt, and this was God’s portion. The animal’s hide was given to the Levites, who could later sell it to earn money for themselves.

The second voluntary offering was the grain offering, in which the fruit of the field was offered in the form of a cake or baked bread made of grain, fine flour, and oil and salt. The grain offering was one of the sacrifices accompanied by a drink offering of one-quarter hin (about a quart) of wine, which was poured into the fire on the altar (Numbers 15:4–5). The purpose of the grain offering was to express thanksgiving in recognition of God’s provision and unmerited goodwill toward the person making the sacrifice. The priests were given a portion of this offering, but it had to be eaten within the court of the tabernacle.

The third voluntary offering was the peace offering, which consisted of any unblemished animal from the worshiper’s herd, and/or various grains or breads. This was a sacrifice of thanksgiving and fellowship followed by a shared meal. The high priest was given the breast of the animal; the officiating priest was given the right foreleg. These pieces of the offering were called the “wave offering” and the “heave offering” because they were waved or lifted over the altar during the ceremony. The fat, kidneys, and lobe of the liver were given to God (burnt), and the remainder of the animal was for the participants to eat, symbolizing God’s provision. The vow offering, thanksgiving offering, and freewill offering mentioned in the Old Testament were all peace offerings.

Mandatory Sacrifices

There were two mandatory sacrifices in the Old Testament Law. The first was the sin offering. The purpose of the sin offering was to atone for sin and cleanse from defilement. There were five possible elements of a sin sacrifice—a young bull, a male goat, a female goat, a dove/pigeon, or 1/10 ephah of fine flour. The type of animal depended on the identity and financial situation of the giver. A female goat was the sin offering for the common person, fine flour was the sacrifice of the very poor, a young bull was offered for the high priest and the congregation as a whole, and so on. These sacrifices each had specific instructions for what to do with the blood of the animal during the ceremony. The fatty portions and lobe of the liver and kidneys were given to God (burnt); the rest of the animal was either totally burned on the altar and the ashes thrown outside the camp (in atoning for the high priest and congregation), or eaten within the tabernacle court.

The other mandatory sacrifice was the trespass offering, and this sacrifice was exclusively a ram. The trespass offering was given as atonement for unintentional sins that required reimbursement to an offended party, and also as a cleansing from defiling sins or physical maladies. Again, the fat portions, kidneys, and liver were offered to God, and the remainder of the ram had to be eaten inside the court of the tabernacle.

The sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed forward to the perfect and final sacrifice of Christ. As with the rest of the Law, the sacrifices were “a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:17). Christians today recognize Christ’s atoning death on the cross as the only needed sacrifice for sin, offered once for all (Hebrews 10:1–10). His death opened the “holy place” for us (Hebrews 10:19–22) so that we can freely enter God’s presence and offer our “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15; cf. 9:11–28; 4:14—5:10).

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament edited by Roy Zuck

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[Patriot]

What types of musical instruments are mentioned in the Old Testament?​

ANSWER

Music is important in the Old Testament. The first person to make a musical instrument lived before the flood of Noah’s day (Genesis 4:21). People used music when celebrating, mourning, worshiping, and prophesying. In addition, different sounds and voices were compared to musical instruments. Sometimes, the exact instrument referred to in the Bible is difficult to determine.

Winds

Pipe: The Old Testament mentions four different types of pipes or flutes:

Halil is translated “pipe” or “flute”; it was double-reeded and played vertically like an oboe or horizontally like a modern flute. The name is taken from the Hebrew for “perforated” or “pierced,” as the tube is pierced with fingerholes. Two of these pipes may have been played at the same time. It was mostly used during celebrations (1 Kings 1:40; Isaiah 5:12; 30:29) but also when King Saul prophesied (1 Samuel 10:5). Its sound is compared to the moans of mourning over Moab’s judgment (Jeremiah 48:36).

The ugab was similar but used for less formal purposes. Bible versions translate ugab variously as “pipe,” “flute,” or “organ.” The name comes from the Hebrew for “breathing.” It is one of the first instruments mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 4:21) and was used for worship (Job 21:12; Psalm 150:4). Some believe it was a primitive type of bagpipe with a pipe for fingering below, a bladder in the middle, and the mouthpiece coming up above.

Two different types of Aramaic pipes, the sumpponeya and the masroqi, are mentioned in connection with the worship of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15). The masroqi made a whistling sound; it was probably similar to panpipes. The identity of the sumpponeya is not as clear. It is translated as “bagpipe,” “tambourine,” “pipe,” and “sackbut,” which is a type of trombone.

Horns

The shofar is perhaps the most well-known horn mentioned in the Bible. It is made from a ram’s horn and most closely associated with Rosh Hashanah. Translators identify it as a “horn,” a “ram’s horn,” or a “trumpet”—not to be confused with the metal clarion. The shofar was used in battle (Joshua 6:4; Judges 3:27; 6:34; 1 Samuel 13:3), as a warning of coming battle (Ezekiel 33:3–6; Hosea 5:8; Amos 3:6; Zephaniah 1:16), in celebration (1 Chronicles 15:28; 1 Kings 1:34), and as a call or warning (Psalm 81:3; 98:6; Isaiah 27:13; 58:1).

The chatsotsrah was similar to the shofar but made of metal, often silver (Numbers 10:1–2) and is more properly identified as a cornet, although it would not have had valves like our modern cornets. It was used in similar ways as the shofar, including to sound the alarm (2 Chronicles 13:12; Hosea 5:8) and in celebration (2 Kings 11:14; 1 Chronicles 13:8; 2 Chronicles 5:12–13; 15:14; 23:13). Where the shofar was used more for music, the chatsotsrah was primarily used to draw attention to announcements or warnings.

Qeren is Aramaic for “horn” and can refer to the instrument or the horn of an animal; it is the source of our word modern word crown. It is mentioned in the worship of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15).

Percussion

The Bible doesn’t mention drums as we think of them. Israelites used cymbals, bells, tambourines, and castanets.

Cymbals: both selselim and mesiltayim are translated as “cymbals.” They were played in pairs and may have been as small as finger cymbals. Selselim, which occurs infrequently (2 Samuel 6:5), is from the Hebrew for “clattering” or “whirring,” as an insect’s wings. Mesiltayim is from the Hebrew for “double tinklers” and is used extensively in reference to the ark of the covenant (1 Chronicles 13:8; 15:16) and the temple (1 Chronicles 25:1, 6; 2 Chronicles 12—13; 29:25), as well as the dedication of the wall and temple after the return from Babylon (Ezra 3:10; Nehemiah 12:27).

Castanets: Menaanim are difficult to identify, as the definition we have is “an instrument made of fir or juniper wood.” Most likely, they were similar to our castanets, small finger cymbals made of wood. Israelites used them to celebrate the return of the ark from the Philistines (2 Samuel 6:5). Since this celebration was impromptu and menaanim are not mentioned in temple worship, it was probably a common instrument of the people.

Tambourine: The toph or top seems to be the closest the Israelites had to a drum, although it’s not clear if it had a drumhead or if it was comprised of cymbals or castanets fastened to a ring of wood. Bible versions translate toph as “tambourine,” “timbrel,” or “tabret.” Like the menaanim, it is not mentioned in temple worship but is prolific in celebratory events (Exodus 15:20; 1 Samuel 18:6; 2 Samuel 6:5; Psalm 81:2; 149:3; 150:4; Jeremiah 31:4). Taphaph (Psalm 68:25) is a verb meaning “to beat a tambourine.”

Bells: Bells were used for ornamentation, not specifically for music. Pa’amon were attached to Aaron’s robe (Exodus 28:33–34; 39:25–26), while metsillah, from the Hebrew for “tinkler,” were used on horses’ bridles (Zechariah 14:20).

Strings

There are several terms in the Old Testament that evidently refer to stringed instruments, but we have few definitive ideas of what they actually were.

Zither: The most commonly mentioned stringed instrument in the Bible is the kinnor. Bible versions call it a “lyre,” “harp,” or “stringed instrument,” but it’s something in between. Together with the pipe, it is one of the first musical instruments mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 4:21). The base is solid or hollow with sound holes. The top of the base has two arms that rise to hold a bridge. Strings span the space from the bridge to the bottom of the base. It was played by plucking the strings with fingers or a stick. The Old Testament mentions it was used for celebration (2 Samuel 6:5; 1 Chronicles 16:5; Nehemiah 12:27; Isaiah 30:32), worship (Psalm 33:2; 43:4; 57:8; 150:3), and prophecy (1 Samuel 10:5; 1 Chronicles 25:1–3; Psalm 49:4). Kinnor was an instrument specified for temple worship (2 Chronicles 9:11; 29:25).

Harp: The nebel is also frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. Bible versions translate the Hebrew as “harp,” “lyre,” “psaltery,” and “viol.” The word is based on the Hebrew for “skin-bag” or “jar,” which reflects its overall shape. Modern scholars don’t know what it was—whether the strings ran over a sound box like a zither, from one frame to another like a harp, or both, like a kinnor. Nebel may be a general word for “stringed instrument.” It is often mentioned with the kinnor and for the same purposes. The King James Version’s reading of “viol” is anachronistic, as stringed instruments were plucked or strummed at that time, not drawn across with a bow.

Ten-stringed harp: The nebel asor was some kind of stringed instrument that had ten strings; asor means “ten.” It’s unknown if it was more like a harp or a lute. It was used for worship (Psalm 33:2; 92:3; 144:9).

Related to the Hebrew nebel is the Aramaic picanteriyn, translated as “harp” or “psaltery.” It is only mentioned in connection with the worship of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15), so it’s probably the Babylonian version of the nebel. The Aramaic word picanteriyn and the Hebrew psanterin are related to the Greek psalterion.

Trigon: The Aramaic sabbka is also only referred to in the episode of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. It seems to be a triangular-shaped instrument, but we don’t know if that means a harp with two arms or a triangular lyre. The King James refers to it a “sackbut,” which is a type of trombone.

Lyre: The Aramaic qiytharoc is either a harp, lyre, or zither and is only mentioned in Daniel 3. Like picanteriyn, qiytharock is a transliteration of the Greek, in this case, qitaros.

Strings: Finally, the Hebrew men means “part,” as in parting a chord into several strings. Some versions translate it as “strings,” while others say, “stringed instruments.” It is used only once in this context, in Psalm 150:4.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Psalms: The Expositor's Bible Commentary by Longmann, Garland, & VanGemeren

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[Patriot]

What is the story of the Old Testament?​

ANSWER

In the very beginning, God was already there. For His own good pleasure, God created time and the universe by the power of His word, turning nothing into something. On the sixth day of creation, God made something unique: mankind—a man and a woman—created in His likeness. As God created the first two humans as male and female, He instituted the covenant of marriage (Genesis 1–2).

God placed the man and his wife in the Garden of Eden, a perfect environment, and gave them the responsibility of tending the garden. God allowed them to eat of any fruit in the garden but one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden to them. They had a choice to obey or disobey, but God warned them that death would result if they disobeyed (Genesis 2:15-17).

Meanwhile, a mighty angel named Lucifer rebelled against God in heaven. He and one third of the angelic host were cast out of heaven. Lucifer came into the garden where the man and his wife were. There, he took the form of a serpent and tempted Eve, the first woman, to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit. He told her that she would not die and that the fruit was actually good for her. She believed the lies and ate some of the fruit. She then gave the fruit to her husband, Adam, and he ate it, too. Immediately, the couple knew they had done wrong. They felt ashamed and vulnerable and exposed. When God came looking for them, they hid (Isaiah 14:12-15; Genesis 3).

Of course, God found them. Judgment was meted out. The ground was cursed for the man’s sake: it would no longer bring forth its fruit easily; instead, man must toil to produce a crop. The woman was cursed with pain during childbirth. The serpent was cursed to crawl in the dust from then on. And then God made a promise: one day, Someone would be born of a woman who would do battle with the Serpent. This One would crush the Serpent’s head, although He would be injured in the process. God then slaughtered an animal and provided coverings of skin for the sinful couple before He drove them out of Eden (Genesis 3:15-19, 21).

The struggle between good and evil continued in the first couple’s family. One of their sons, Cain, murdered his brother, Abel, and was cursed for his deed. Another child was born to the first woman. His name was Seth (Genesis 4:8, 25).

Several generations later, the world was filled with wickedness. Violence and a disregard for God were rampant. God determined to destroy the wickedness of man and begin anew. A man named Noah, one of Seth’s descendants, was extended grace (God’s blessing on the undeserving). God revealed to Noah that He would send a great Flood to destroy the earth, and He gave Noah instructions on building an ark to survive the Flood. Noah built the ark, and when the time came, God caused animals of each kind to enter the ark. These animals, along with Noah and his family, were spared. The Flood destroyed every other living thing on the earth (Genesis 6–8).

After the Flood, Noah and his family began to repopulate the earth. When their descendants began building a monument to themselves in defiance of God, God confused their language. The inhabitants of the earth separated according to their language groups and spread out over the face of the earth (Genesis 11:1-8).

The time came for God to begin His plan to introduce the Serpent-crusher into the world. The first step was to create a people set apart for Himself. He chose a man named Abraham and his wife, Sarah, to begin a new race of people. God called Abraham away from his home and led him to the land of Canaan. God promised Abraham innumerable descendants who would possess Canaan as their own. God also promised to bless Abraham’s seed and, through that seed, to bless all the nations of the earth. The problem was that Abraham and Sarah were old, and Sarah was barren. But Abraham believed God’s promise, and God reckoned Abraham’s faith as righteousness (Genesis 12:1-4; 15:6).

In due time, God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son, Isaac. God repeated His promise of many descendants and blessing to Isaac. Isaac had twins, Esau and Jacob. God chose Jacob to inherit the promised blessing and changed his name to Israel. Jacob/Israel had twelve sons, who became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 21:1-6; 25:19-26; 28:10-15; 35:23-26).

Due to a severe famine, Jacob moved his entire family from Canaan to Egypt. Before he died, Jacob gave prophetic blessings to each of his sons. To Judah, he promised there would be a King among his descendants—One who would be honored by all the nations of the world. Jacob’s family increased in Egypt, and they remained there for the next 400 years. Then the king of Egypt, fearing that the children of Israel would become too numerous to handle, enslaved them. God raised up a prophet named Moses, from the tribe of Levi, to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt and back to the land which had been promised to Abraham (Genesis 46; 49; Exodus 1:8-14; 3:7-10).

The exodus from Egypt was accompanied by many great miracles, including the parting of the Red Sea. Once safely out of Egypt, the children of Israel camped at Mt. Sinai, where God gave Moses the Law. This Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, was the basis of a covenant God made with Israel: if they kept His commandments, they would be blessed, but if they broke His commandments, they would suffer curses. Israel agreed to follow the Law of God (Exodus 7–11; 14:21-22; 19–20).

In addition to establishing a moral code, the Law defined the role of the priest and prescribed the offering of sacrifices to atone for sin. Atonement could only be made by the shedding of the blood of a spotless sacrifice. The Law also detailed how to build the holy tabernacle, or tent, in which God’s presence would dwell and where He would meet with His people (Leviticus 1; Exodus 25:8-9).

After receiving the Law, Moses led the Israelites to the border of the Promised Land. But the people, fearing Canaan’s warlike inhabitants and doubting God’s promises, refused to enter. As a punishment, God turned them back into the wilderness, where they were forced to wander for 40 years. In His grace, God miraculously provided food and water for the entire multitude (Numbers 14:1-4, 34-35; Exodus 16:35).

At the end of 40 years, Moses died. One of his last prophecies concerned the coming of another Prophet who would be like Moses and to whom the people must listen. Moses’ successor, Joshua, was used by God to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. They went with God’s promise that none of their enemies would be able to stand against them. God showed His power at Jericho, the first city they encountered, by causing the walls of the city to fall down flat. In His grace and mercy, God spared a believing harlot named Rahab from Jericho’s destruction (Deuteronomy 18:15; Joshua 6).

Over the next years, Joshua and the Israelites succeeded in driving out most of the Canaanites, and the land was divided among the twelve tribes. However, the conquest of the land was incomplete. Through a lack of faith and simple disobedience, they failed to finish the job, and pockets of Canaanites remained. These pagan influences had an effect on the Israelites, who began to adopt the worship of idols, in direct violation of God’s Law (Joshua 15:63; 16:10; 18:1).

After Joshua’s death, the Israelites experienced a tumultuous time. The nation would lapse into idolatry, and God would bring judgment in the form of enslavement to an enemy. The people of God would repent and call on the Lord for help. God would then raise up a judge to destroy the idols, rally the people, and defeat the enemy. Peace would last for a while, but, after the death of the judge, the people invariably fell back into idolatry, and the cycle would repeat (Judges 17:6).

The final judge was Samuel, who was also a prophet. During his time, Israel demanded a king to rule over them, in order to be like the other nations. God granted their request, and Samuel anointed Saul as Israel’s first king. Saul was a disappointment, however. He disobeyed God and was removed from power. God chose David, of the tribe of Judah, to succeed Saul as king. God promised David that he would have a descendant who would reign on the throne forever (1 Samuel 8:5; 15:1, 26; 1 Chronicles 17:11-14).

David’s son Solomon reigned in Jerusalem after David’s death. During the reign of Solomon’s son, civil war broke out, and the kingdom was divided: the northern kingdom was called Israel, and the southern kingdom was called Judah. The Davidic dynasty ruled in Judah (1 Kings 2:1; 12).

The kingdom of Israel had an unbroken series of wicked kings. None of them sought the Lord or attempted to lead the nation according to God’s Law. God sent prophets to warn them, including the miracle-working Elijah and Elisha, but the kings persisted in their wickedness. Finally, God brought the Assyrian nation upon Israel in judgment. The Assyrians deported most of the Israelites, and that was the end of the northern kingdom (1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 2; 17).

The kingdom of Judah had its share of wicked kings, but the chain was broken by an occasional godly king who truly loved the Lord and sought to govern according to the Law. God was faithful to His promise and blessed the people when they followed His commandments. The nation was preserved during the Assyrian invasion and endured many other threats. During this time, the prophet Isaiah preached against the sins of Judah and foresaw the Babylonian invasion. Isaiah also predicted the coming of the Servant of the Lord—He would suffer for the sins of His people and be glorified and sit on David’s throne. The prophet Micah predicted that the Promised One would be born in Bethlehem (Isaiah 37; 53:5; Micah 5:2).

Eventually, the nation of Judah also fell into gross idolatry. God brought the nation of Babylon against Judah in judgment. The prophet Jeremiah experienced the fall of Jerusalem and predicted that the Jewish captives in Babylon would return to the Promised Land after 70 years. Jeremiah also prophesied a future covenant in which the Law was not written on tablets of stone but in the hearts of God’s people. This new covenant would result in God’s forgiveness of sin (2 Kings 25:8-10; Jeremiah 29:10; 31:31-34).

The Babylon captivity lasted for 70 years. The prophets Daniel and Ezekiel ministered during that time. Daniel predicted the rise and fall of many nations. He also predicted the coming of the Messiah, or Chosen One, who would be killed for the sake of others (Daniel 2:36-45; 9:26).

After Babylon fell to the Persians, the Jews were released to return to Judah. Many Jews returned home to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Nehemiah and Ezra led those endeavors, with encouragement from the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. One of Zechariah’s prophecies included a description of a future King who would come into Jerusalem humbly, riding on a donkey (Nehemiah 6:15-16; Ezra 6:14-15; Zechariah 9:9).

Not all of the Jews returned to Judah, however. Many chose to stay in Persia, where God still watched over them. A Jewess named Esther rose to the rank of queen of Persia and was instrumental in saving the lives of all the Jews in the kingdom (Esther 8:1).

Malachi wrote the last book of the Old Testament. He prophesied that the Lord would come to His temple, but, before His arrival, another messenger would prepare the way for the Lord. This messenger would be like the prophet Elijah of old. After Malachi’s prophecy, it was another 400 years before God spoke directly to man (Malachi 3:1; 4:5).

The Old Testament is the story of God’s plan to bring about the redemption of man. At the close of the Old Testament, God has a unique Chosen People who understand the importance of blood sacrifices, who believe the promises made to Abraham and David, and who are awaiting a Redeemer. In short, they are ready to receive the Serpent-crusher of Genesis, the Prophet like Moses, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, the Son of David, the Messiah of Daniel, and the Humble King of Zechariah—all to be found in one person, Jesus Christ.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

A Survey of the Old Testament by Paul Benware

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[Patriot]

Didn’t the Old Testament punish blasphemy with death?​

ANSWER

Leviticus 24:16 says, “Anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.” So, yes, the Mosaic Law did require the death penalty for those who blasphemed the name of God.

First, we must remember that the Israelites in the time of Moses lived under a theocracy. God’s people in the Old Testament prior to the coming of Christ were identified externally through their adherence to the Law. The theocracy encompassed everything from ceremonial religious rites to civic bylaws. The Law regulated dress code, diets, relationships, contracts, and even benevolence. The Law provided harsh penalties for wrongdoing, including the sin of blasphemy. One of the purposes of the Law was to establish the conviction that God is holy. God’s name, as an expression of His nature, is also holy (Psalm 99:3; Luke 1:49).

The coming of Christ signaled a transition in how God’s people are identified. They had been previously identified through the Jewish culture and a theocratic marriage of “church” and state. With Jesus came the New Covenant, and God’s people were identified internally: “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). In order to provide open access to God, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law (Matthew 5:17). No longer were sacrifices necessary because He was the once-for-all sacrifice. No longer were specific dress requirements necessary. And no longer were God’s people identified by a state under theocratic rule. Certainly, the spread of the gospel was aided by the fact that it didn’t require an overhaul of the state governing authorities in other nations.

Christianity is not to be associated with revolution on a civil level. This is the problem with Islam. It can only be spread through conquest and forced submission. Faith is not required, only surrender. This is disingenuous and oppressive. Christians are instructed to submit to the governing authorities (Romans 13) and to work within the political system. The government was never intended to be a means of evangelism. The church is. And the church must be flexible enough to adapt to any culture. Christianity translates, whereas Islam dominates. Any religion that relies on the power of the state to ensure adherence obviously has no confidence in the power of its God to rule hearts.

Christians do not seek a theocracy nor should the church overly concern itself with civil/legal issues. We can speak on civil issues, but enforcing civil law is not our business. By the same token, respect for God, tithing, church attendance and other outward expressions of personal piety are not civil concerns. Jesus nullified the theocratic approach because it had served its purpose. He in turn established an ecclesiastical approach because only the local church can effectively reach local peoples within the context of their particular customs and circumstances.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

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[Patriot]

Does the Old Testament truly predict a second advent of the Messiah?​

ANSWER

The Old Testament does prophesy the second coming of Christ, also referred to as the second advent of the Messiah. Some Old Testament prophecies concern the first advent, when Christ was born as a human being. Others concern the second advent, which is the ultimate triumph of this Messiah. It’s important to remember that prophecy does not describe the future in the same detail as history describes the past. So, while the prophecies of the Old Testament certainly describe both the first and second advents, most early interpretations of these prophecies melded them into a single event. Particularly during the years leading up to Jesus’ birth, it was assumed Messiah would be a political/military figure with an immediate worldly kingdom (Luke 19:11). In the light of Jesus’ ministry, it is possible to understand the true purpose of Christ and the real nature of His kingdom.

A careful look at Old Testament prophecies shows an underlying assumption of two advents. Micah 5:2 and Isaiah 7:14 predict the first advent. Separately, Isaiah 53:8–9 predicts a suffering and dying Messiah, who will be given life and greatness according to Isaiah 53:11–12. Daniel 9:26 describes the Messiah being killed after His appearance. At the same time, prophets such as Zechariah (Zechariah 12:10) say this same “pierced” Messiah will be seen again by His enemies. So the clues are there.

Many Old Testament prophecies foretell the ultimate triumph of Christ, which will occur at the second advent. These include statements from the books of Zechariah (Zechariah 9:14–15; 12:10–14; 13:1; 9:14–15); Amos (Amos 9:11–15); Jeremiah (Jeremiah 30:18; 32:44; 33:11, 26); and Joel (Joel 3:1); which describe the Messiah coming in triumph to lead Israel into salvation. Note that these are in the context of passages such as Deuteronomy 30:3–5 and so are predictions of the time of Messiah’s final victory.

Also, Scripture records Jesus making direct comparisons to Old Testament prophecies when making His own claims to a second advent. For example, His words in Matthew 24:31 and Mark 13:27 parallel the descriptions of Isaiah 52:15 and Isaiah 59—62.

All in all, the Hebrew Scriptures indicate that the Promised One would appear, be cut off, and then reappear in victory. The first advent has occurred; the second is still future. Both the New and Old Testaments predict a second advent of the Messiah.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Second Coming: Signs of Christ’s Return and the End of the Age by John MacArthur

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[Patriot]

What was the significance of the elders in the Old Testament?​

ANSWER

In ancient societies, the elders were the adult men, usually older, who were responsible for making decisions in a local village or community. While the term elder could simply refer to someone older (as in Genesis 10:21), most often, a reference to “elders” was an allusion to the men who led in local decision-making.

We first see an example of elders as community leaders in Genesis 50:7: “So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt” (ESV). The “elders” (or “dignitaries,” NIV) were the leaders who represented the families and community at Jacob’s funeral.

In Exodus 3:16 Moses was told to first tell the elders of Israel about God’s call to lead the Israelites out of Egypt: “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me.’” Later, in Exodus 12:21, Moses calls the elders together to communicate the Passover commands.

By Exodus 24, a team of 70 elders had been selected as the governing body of Israel under the leadership of Moses. In Numbers 11 we read of God’s specific call for this body of leaders to serve with Moses in the wilderness: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you” (verse 16).

It is clear from these and other biblical passages that elders held a place of leadership from an early period. Over time, the position of elder progressed from an informal position of leadership to a specific calling of God. Elders continued to serve as local leaders throughout the Old Testament period, including during the return of the Jews to Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah.

Proverbs 31:23 highlights the respect given to an elder: “Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.” This verse also reveals that those called “elders” may not have always been “elderly” but were mature adult males in Jewish society. In this passage, the husband seems to be of the age at which a family is still having children.

In the New Testament period, local elders continued to lead. In addition, the 70-member Jewish Sanhedrin helped lead the religious body of Israel. In the early church, elders became synonymous in many cases with pastors and served as the local church leaders. The elders’ role of teaching and leading is emphasized in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Historical Survey of the Old Testament by Eugene Merrill

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[Patriot]

Old covenant vs new covenant—what are the differences?​

ANSWER

The word testament is another word for covenant, so in one sense the question could be “What is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?” The terms Old Testament and New Testament are often used as titles of two halves of the Bible. But the terms books of the Old Testament and books of the New Testament get us closer to the meaning. If we said “books of the Old Covenant” and “books of the New Covenant,” we would be closer still. The literary work known as the Old Testament is actually made up of 39 individual documents that give us the details of the Old Covenant. The literary work known as the New Testament is actually made up of 27 individual documents that give us the details of the New Covenant.

The Old Covenant is the “working arrangement” that God had with Israel. He had chosen them for a special relationship that He did not have with any other group of people on earth. He took just a few patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and grew their descendants into a great nation and gave them a land (Canaan) and His law to live by (see Exodus 20 and following). The Israelites were to remain loyal to God, obeying Him and worshipping Him alone. If they did, He promised to bless them, and if they did not, He promised they would be chastened (see Deuteronomy 27—28). God established a sacrificial system that would allow them to be cleansed (temporarily) from their sins—but these sacrifices had to be repeated over and over. He ordained priests to represent the people before Him, as the people could never come directly into the presence of God. And even with all these accommodations, the nation as a whole was unfaithful and eventually fell under the judgment of God.

Jeremiah prophesied that judgment was coming upon the nation of Israel, but he also told the nation that something better was coming:

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,’
declares the Lord.
‘This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,’ declares the Lord.
‘I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,’
declares the Lord.
‘For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more’”
(Jeremiah 31: 31–34).

In this new covenant, God said, Israel will be restored, sins will be finally forgiven, people will know God directly, and they will have His law written on their hearts so that they will want to obey Him.

The law under the Old Covenant was never a means to salvation; rather, it led to condemnation as people repeatedly broke the law and violated the covenant.

Paul, citing many passages from the books of the Old Covenant, explains:

“As it is written:
‘There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.’
‘Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.’
‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’
‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’
‘Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.’
‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:10–20).

The book of Hebrews is an extended discourse on the differences between the Old and New Covenants. Here is one passage dealing with the subject:

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

“But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. . . . Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

“The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary” (Hebrews 10:1–4, 11–18).

The New Covenant sacrifice of Jesus on behalf of His people means that sins can be forgiven once and for all.

Under the Old Covenant, only the priests could enter the Holy Place and only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once per year.

The author of Hebrews explains: “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, a he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:11–15).

Because of Christ, the high priest of the New Covenant, we can come into God’s presence: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Another aspect of the New Covenant is that Gentiles can be “grafted into the tree of Israel” by faith in Jesus, the King and Messiah of Israel (see Romans 11:11–24). As James explained at the Jerusalem Council, “Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

“‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’” (Acts 15:14–18).

In summary, the Old Covenant was governed by a law that prescribed correct behavior and that the people continually broke. It contained a sacrificial system that only temporarily removed sins. The sacrifices were administered by priests who represented the people of Israel to God, but the people could not enter God’s presence themselves.

The New Covenant is governed by a law that is internalized by the people of God and energized by His Spirit. The sins of the people are forgiven and removed once and for all by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the people of God have direct, intimate access to Him. Finally, Gentiles who believe are included in the New Covenant.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Quest Study Bible

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[Patriot]

How was the extremely large number of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament possible?​

ANSWER

The Law of Moses required animal sacrifices to atone for sin in Israel, and there were a lot of sacrifices made: “the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year” (Hebrews 10:1). About one sixth of the laws under the Mosaic system pertained to sacrifices and offerings.

There were five main types of sacrifices in the Old Testament: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, and various types of peace offerings. The God-appointed feasts of Israel required sacrifices, and there were also the daily burnt offerings: a lamb was sacrificed every morning, and another lamb every evening at the tabernacle/temple (Exodus 29:38–42).

There were a large number of animal sacrifices offered every year in Israel. All sin had to be atoned for, including sin committed by a common person (Leviticus 4:27), the priests (Leviticus 4:3), the leaders (Leviticus 4:22), and the nation as a whole (Leviticus 4:13). In addition to the sacrifices made for sin were offerings for ceremonial cleansing, which involved no moral failing, and voluntary sacrifices made in thanksgiving to God.

Given the sheer number of animals required to fulfill the requirements of the Mosaic Law, we may rightly wonder how the Israelites were able to keep up. The key is that, in the agrarian culture of the day, livestock was always near and usually plentiful. There were few occupations besides farming back then, so most Israelite families owned some livestock. The ones who didn’t knew someone who did. Also, since sacrifices were not only a national religious obligation but also a way to support the tribe of Levi, plans were laid to assure a ready supply.

On certain occasions, huge numbers of animals were sacrificed. For example, at the dedication of King Solomon’s temple, about 960 BC, the celebrants sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep over a two-week period. There were so many offerings that Solomon had to set up additional altars in the temple courtyard (1 Kings 8:63–65). As large as those numbers seem, they are not at all inconceivable. The previous census by Solomon’s father, David, had put the number of able-bodied fighting men over age 20 at 1.3 million (2 Samuel 24:9), so it would be reasonable to assume a national population in Solomon’s time of over four million. Most of the nation probably would have been present in Jerusalem for at least some of a great historic event such as the dedication of the new temple. The sacrifices made by Solomon were “fellowship offerings” (1 Kings 8:63), which were partly burned on the altars and partly eaten by the people. Even if only half the population attended, 142,000 animals is a reasonable number to feed two million people during two weeks.

We who live in advanced societies with massive food industries and complex transportation systems that do nearly everything for us but put the food into our mouths may find it hard to imagine the huge amounts of livestock recorded in the Bible. But, most likely, the ancients would find it just as hard to believe how much food modern societies throw away every day.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament edited by Roy Zuck

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[Patriot]

How can Jesus be God, when Numbers 23:19 says that God is not a man or a son of man?​

ANSWER

Some claim that the Old Testament proves that Jesus cannot be God because of Numbers 23:19a, which says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent” (KJV). The reasoning is that, if God is not a man, then the Christian claim that Jesus, a man, is God is false. Just as troublesome is the fact that Jesus repeatedly calls Himself the “Son of Man” in the gospels (e.g., Mark 14:21).

The Old Testament does indeed teach that God is not a human being, not only in Numbers 23:19 but also in 1 Samuel 15:29 and Hosea 11:9. However, the New Testament shows us that Jesus made claims to be God—and at the same time He calls Himself the “Son of Man,” a title that proclaims His humanity. With all this being true, how can we prove that Jesus is God?

Jesus claimed to be both the Son of God and the Son of Man. There are no tricks here. He said that He is God, and He said that He is (at the same time) human. No one had ever said such a thing before. It was strange then, and it is strange now—strange enough for a new term, the hypostatic union. No one will ever fully understand the union of Christ’s divine and human natures, no matter how much we talk about it, define it, or typify it. Therefore, “proof” cannot be obtained. We either believe Jesus, or we do not.

It is critical to understand at this point that the Bible is true in detail and in toto—both the Old and New Testaments. So, when Jesus began teaching new things, the old things did not become untrue; they became unveiled. Remember what He said about the Law: “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). All of Jesus’ new revelations work exactly the same way. The old knowledge was shadowy, and, as the Light of the world, Jesus dispelled the shadows (see Colossians 2:16–17). This process is not destructive of the old knowledge—it is instructive, as Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian shows (Acts 8:30–35).

We must also consider what the Old Testament is really saying about God when it says He is not a human being. The point being made in Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, and Hosea 11:9 is that God does not lie. He is not fickle. His emotions do not change His eternal purposes. This is unlike fallen humanity, who cannot see the big picture, who often breaks promises, and whose feelings often cloud discernment. In other words, the statements that God is not a man are contrasting one aspect of God’s nature with a corresponding part of man’s. Saying, “God is not a man,” has nothing to do with whether or not God can ever exist in the flesh.

The Old Testament references to God being unlike man do not apply to Jesus’ particular type of humanity. All they are telling us is that God is not a man as we think of men. It’s a contrast, not a restriction. There is nothing that logically prevents God from becoming a man in a whole new way—in fact, redemption requires this, and redemption was God’s plan from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Thus, it can be said that God knew He would become a man before Numbers 23:19 was even penned!

If we consider the Old Testament in isolation (which is the Jewish perspective), we shall not likely “prove” that Jesus Christ was man, God, Messiah, and Savior—although the indicators are all there (see Isaiah 53, for example). Christians see the foreshadowing of the God-man in the Old Testament because the New Testament revelation helps interpret the Old Testament references (e.g., Matthew 2:15; cf. Hosea 11:1). This brings up an important fact regarding biblical interpretation: God reveals His truth progressively, over time. He has unfolded His purposes sequentially and as needed over the millennia.

For example, Adam and Eve in their innocence had no need to know about redemption, but after they sinned, then the time was appropriate, and God laid it out for them in Genesis 3:15. That bit of revelation was given at a point in time, but its full meaning did not become clear until after Christ came in the flesh—and as the authors of the New Testament were writing under inspiration. We understand now that Genesis 3:15 points directly to Jesus’ atoning death—and this revelation is necessary for us today. But that information was not necessary for Adam and Eve. Their pre-fall ignorance, couched as it was in innocence, was appropriate for them.

In like manner God revealed His will progressively to His people in the Old Testament Scriptures, and those people were responsible to behave in obedience according to where they were on revelation’s timeline. Today, Christians are responsible for all of God’s Word, because we live in a time when it is complete. Additionally, believers have the indwelling Holy Spirit, so there are no excuses for not acknowledging Jesus Christ as God.

Since revelation is progressive, a person’s response to God depends on where he is on the timeline. An Old Testament Jew would have no concept of the God-man, although clues (such as Psalm 110:1) were present. But John the Baptist’s prophecies, followed by Jesus’ miracles, were further revelation. In fact, Jesus’ miracles were signs to prove who He is: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God” (John 20:30–31). People today still need to respond in faith to Jesus’ miracles. Those who do not are spiritually blind.

To summarize, God’s statements that He is not a man and Jesus’ statements that He is the Son of God coexist as true; they are not in conflict. Revelation is progressive, and Old Testament concepts are more fully developed in the New Testament. Finally, God always had it in mind that the Son would become flesh and dwell among men, so God never “changed His mind” about becoming a man.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ by Stephen Wellum

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[Patriot]

Is the original Bible still in existence?​

ANSWER

The answer to this question is both “no” and “yes.” In the strictest sense, no, the original documents that comprise the 66 books of the Bible—sometimes called the “autographs”—are not in the possession of any organization. However, in a very real way, yes, humankind does have the actual words and books that make up the Word of God. How can this be? To gain an understanding of how the original Bible was written and how it compares to what is read today, it’s necessary to look at the process that resulted in its original compilation and what has happened since that time.

Background of the Original Bible

According to skeptics, there has never been a true “original” Bible. For example, Dan Brown’s fictional book The Da Vinci Code has his storyline “expert” say the following about the Bible: “The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven. . . . The Bible is the product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book.” Brown’s charge does indeed belong in a work of fiction because the assertion is simply not true.

It is correct that the Bible was written over a long period of time. Written by 40 authors over a period of nearly 1,500 years, Scripture is comprised of 66 books—39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. The Old Testament is often divided into three sections: (1) The Pentateuch, which is sometimes referred to as “The Law” and includes the first five books of the Bible; (2) The Prophets, which includes all the major and minor prophetic writings; and (3) The Writings, which includes Psalms, Proverbs, and a number of other books.

The New Testament is also divided into three segments: (1) The Gospels; (2) Church History, which basically includes just the book of Acts; and (3) The Apostolic Writings, which includes everything else.

Compilation of the Original Old Testament

How was the original Bible compiled? Its assemblage can be traced through Scripture in a fairly accurate manner. After Moses wrote the Pentateuch (Exodus 17:14; 24:4, 7; 34:27; Numbers 33:2; Joshua 1:8; Matthew 19:8; John 5:46–47; Romans 10:5), it was placed in the Ark of the Covenant and preserved (Deuteronomy 31:24). Over time, other inspired texts were added to the first five books of the Bible. During the time of David and Solomon, the books already compiled were placed in the temple treasury (1 Kings 8:6) and cared for by the priests who served in the temple (2 Kings 22:8). More books were also added during the reign of King Hezekiah: David’s hymns, Solomon’s proverbs, and prophetic books such as Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah (Proverbs 25:1). In general, as the prophets of God spoke, their words were written down, and what was recorded was included in what today is the Old Testament.

During the exile of the Jews in the sixth century, the books were preserved. Around 538 BC the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, and Ezra the priest later added other inspired works to the compilation. A copy of the Torah was then stored in the Most Holy Place of the second temple, where the ark of the covenant used to sit. Following a meticulous process, other copies of the Torah were made to protect and preserve the inspired writings. This collection of Old Testament books, written in the Hebrew language, is what Judaism calls the “Hebrew Bible.”

In the third century BC, the Old Testament books were translated into Greek by a team of 70 Jewish scholars, with the finished work being called the LXX (which stands for “70”), or the Septuagint (a Latin word derived from phrase “the translation of the seventy interpreters”). The Septuagint was certainly used and quoted by the apostles, including Paul, in their writings. The oldest manuscripts of the LXX include some 1st- and 2nd-century BC fragments.

In AD 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the area of Qumran in Israel. Various scrolls date anywhere from the 5th century BC to the 1st century AD. Historians believe that Jewish scribes maintained the site to preserve God’s Word and to protect the writings during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The Dead Sea Scrolls represent nearly every book of the Old Testament, and comparisons with more recent manuscripts show them to be virtually identical—the main deviations are the spellings of some individuals’ names and various numbers quoted in Scripture.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a testimony to the accuracy and preservation of the Old Testament and give confidence that the Old Testament we have today is the same Old Testament used by Jesus. In fact, Luke records a statement made by Jesus regarding the assemblage of the Old Testament: “For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute, so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation’” (Luke 11:49–51, emphasis added). Jesus confirmed the 39 books of the Old Testament in these verses. Abel’s death is found in Genesis and Zechariah’s in 2 Chronicles—the first and last books of the Hebrew Bible.

Compilation of the Original New Testament

Dan Burstein, in his book Secrets of the Code (a book similar to Dan Brown’s book), says this about the New Testament: “Eventually, four Gospels and twenty-three other texts were canonized into a Bible. This did not occur, however, until the sixth century.” Is this assertion true? Actually, it is 100 percent false. The truth is the composition of the New Testament was officially settled at the Council of Carthage in AD 397. However, the majority of the New Testament was accepted as authoritative much earlier. The first collection of New Testament books was proposed by a man named Marcion in AD 140. Marcion was a Docetist (Docetism is a system of belief that says all spirit is good and all material matter is bad), and so Marcion excluded any book that spoke of Jesus being both divine and human, and he also edited Paul’s letters to match his own philosophy.

The next proposed collection of New Testament books on record was the Muratorian Canon, dated AD 170. It included all four gospels, Acts, thirteen of Paul’s letters, 1, 2, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. The final New Testament canon was first identified by the church father Athanasius in AD 367 and ratified by the Council of Carthage in AD 397.

But history shows that the actual New Testament in modern Bibles was recognized much earlier and that it is an exact reflection of what the “autographs” contained. First, Scripture itself shows that the writings of the New Testament were considered inspired and equal to the Old Testament. For example, Paul writes, “For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages’” (1 Timothy 5:18, emphasis added). The latter quotation is from Luke 10:7, which shows Paul considered Luke’s Gospel to be “Scripture.” Another example includes a statement made by Peter: “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15–16, emphasis added). It is clear that Peter regarded Paul’s letters as equally inspired as the Old Testament canon.

Second, quotations from the early church fathers allow the reconstruction of almost the entire New Testament as it is found today. For example, Clement (c. AD 95) quotes from eleven New Testament books, Ignatius (c. AD 107) quotes from nearly every New Testament book, and Polycarp (a disciple of John, c. AD 110) quotes from seventeen New Testament books. Using the early church fathers’ quotes, the entire New Testament can be pieced together, with the exception of 20–27 verses, most of them from 3 John. Such evidence witnesses to the fact that the New Testament was recognized far earlier than the Council of Carthage in AD 397 and that the New Testament we have today is the same as what was written 2,000 years ago.

Third, there is no literary rival in the ancient world to the number of manuscript copies and the early dating of the New Testament. There are 5,300 Greek, 10,000 Latin, and 9,000 miscellaneous copies of the New Testament extant today, and more continue to be unearthed via archaeology. The combination of early dating and the enormous number of New Testament copies causes historical experts such as Sir Frederic Kenyon (former director and principal librarian of the British Museum) to say, “The interval, then, between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established.”

Original Bible – Conclusion

In summary, while no one today possesses the original autographs, we do have many extant copies, and the work of biblical historians via the science of textual criticism gives us great confidence that today’s Bible is an accurate reflection of the original writers’ work. As an analogy, if the original and preserved unit of measure known as a “yard” was lost in a fire in its holding place in Washington, D.C., there is little doubt that that measurement could be replaced with full assurance through all the exact copies of it that exist elsewhere. The same is true of God’s Word.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Quest Study Bible

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[Patriot]

Where did the Bible come from? How did we get the Bible?​

ANSWER

Over centuries of inspired composition, the people of God received certain texts as Holy Scripture, without manufacturing or mandating them. The modern Protestant Bible, comprised of 66 books, is typically divided into two sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Because these two sections are distinct (they were written several centuries apart!), it is helpful to discuss their formation and inclusion in the Bible separately. We will start with the Old Testament, then turn to the New Testament, before offering some closing thoughts on the transmission of the Bible.

Where did the Old Testament come from?

The Old Testament is a combination of historical books, prophetic writings, and poetry, centered on ancient Israel. The Pentateuch, starting with the book of Genesis, was initially written sometime between the 15th and the 13th centuries BC. The book of Malachi was written in the 5th century, marking the close of the Old Testament period. The rest of the Old Testament was developed between the Pentateuch and the book of Malachi, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament books themselves refer to a variety of sources, including Moses (Deuteronomy 31:24–26), the official records of Israelite kings, and proverbial writings from wise individuals (Proverbs 31:1).

During the transmission process, ancient editors occasionally updated linguistic details or small sections of the biblical books. The apparently parenthetical comments in the book of Deuteronomy are a famous example (Deuteronomy 2:20–23), potentially added by an inspired editor to clarify the original material for later generations (which itself points to the ancient, original nature of the Deuteronomic material). These updates were not materially substantial, and Christians believe that they were done under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament was considered a complete canon around the time of Malachi, when prophetic activity largely ceased. The focus of Jewish scholars transitioned from preserving God’s revelation to translating and copying the Old Testament canon. Between the conclusion of Malachi and the birth of Jesus, the Old Testament was translated into other languages, including Greek. By the time of Jesus, the Old Testament canon was fully received and established, though there was some debate about the Apocrypha.

Where did the New Testament come from?

In the early years of the Christian church, the apostles, living witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection and bearers of divine authority, traveled among the churches, teaching and exhorting Christ’s followers to live consistently with their faith (Acts 1:21–22). As the church expanded, the apostles began to write letters to the churches, which carried the same authority as their spoken word. These letters were read aloud and circulated among the churches, so that everyone could benefit from the apostolic teaching. Early on, some people within the apostolic community recorded the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, writings that became the four Gospels we have today. Near the end of the first century, the apostle John received a revelation from Jesus Christ, which he recorded in a massive letter to seven churches. This work, known today as Revelation, marked the end of the apostolic era and the close of the New Testament canon.

The process of acceptance in the New Testament church involved ensuring that a book carried apostolic authority. Many of the books within the New Testament were written directly by apostles, and some, such as Mark and Luke, were written by those in the apostolic inner circle and based on the testimony of apostles. There is evidence that the church received the Gospels extremely early, and Paul even quotes the Gospel of Luke as Scripture, alongside the Old Testament (1 Timothy 5:18). A collection of Paul’s writings was also circulating among the churches extremely early, and Peter refers to them as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15–16). Because the apostles could not perpetually be present in every church, their writings served as inspired and authoritative teaching for the early church. These writings perform the same function for us today: by the grace of God, when we read the New Testament, we are reading the authoritative teachings of the divinely commissioned apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit to write for our edification. The Word of God is amazing!

Where did my Bible come from?

The early church regarded the Old Testament as the revelation of God and received apostolic writings with the same authority (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 3:15–16). Amid persecution, they painstakingly copied and circulated apostolic works. Sometimes, works claiming to be written by an apostle crept in, and sometimes churches were skeptical of certain New Testament books. However, over time, the pretenders were rooted out, and the church faithfully received the apostolic books. At first, these “books” were maintained as separate works, generally written in Greek, and copied thousands of times. As literary technology and the economic status of churches improved, Christians could compile their readings into codices, and eventually books. The Bible was translated into Latin, Aramaic, and other languages. Eventually, the Bible was translated into English, the same language as this article, so that anyone who understands English can read God’s revelation, given over thousands of years. Modern English Bibles are translated from early manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament. Thanks to the judicious copying work of ancient scribes and the providence of God, we can receive His revelation today through the Bible, even though they record events and words spoken thousands of years ago.

Conclusion

The people of God acknowledged that certain texts were Holy Scripture, without creating or mandating them. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was originally written in Greek. Both were copied and translated by faithful scribes, preserving the inspired text for us today. About two thousand years ago, Paul told Timothy that the “Holy Scriptures” were “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14–15). Those same Scriptures are available to you today. Pick up a good translation in your native language and start reading it! You will not regret it.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce

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[Patriot]

Is the Bible truly God’s Word?​

ANSWER

Our answer to this question will not only determine how we view the Bible and its importance to our lives, but it will also have an eternal impact on us. If the Bible is truly God’s Word, then we should cherish it, study it, obey it, and fully trust it. If the Bible is truly the Word of God, then it is the final authority for all matters of faith, practice, and morality. If the Bible is the Word of God, then to dismiss it is to dismiss God Himself.

The fact that God gave us the Bible is an evidence of His love for us. God communicated to mankind what He is like and how we can have a right relationship with Him. These are things that we could not have known had God not divinely revealed them to us in the Bible. The Bible contains everything mankind needs to know about God in order to have a right relationship with Him.

How can we know that the Bible is the Word of God and not just a good book? What is unique about the Bible that sets it apart from all other books ever written? Is there any evidence that the Bible is truly God’s Word? These types of questions must be seriously examined. There can be no doubt that the Bible does claim to be the Word of God. This is seen in Paul’s commendation to Timothy: “From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15–17).

There are both internal and external evidences that the Bible is truly God’s Word.

Internal Evidence that the Bible is God’s Word

Internal evidences are those things within the Bible that testify of its divine origin. One internal evidence that the Bible is truly God’s Word is its unity. Even though it is really sixty-six individual books, written on three continents, in three different languages, over a period of approximately 1,500 years, by more than 40 authors who came from many walks of life, the Bible remains one unified book from beginning to end without contradiction. This unity is unique from all other books and is evidence of the divine origin of the words that God moved men to record.

Another internal evidence that indicates the Bible is truly God’s Word is prophecy. The Bible contains hundreds of detailed prophecies relating to the future of various nations, certain cities, and all mankind. Other prophecies concern the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of all who would believe in Him. Unlike the prophecies found in other religious books or those by men such as Nostradamus, biblical prophecies are extremely detailed. There are over three hundred prophecies concerning Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Not only was His lineage foretold and where He would be born, but also how He would die and that He would rise again. There simply is no logical way to explain the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible other than citing divine origin. There is no other religious book with the amount of detailed predictive prophecy the Bible contains.

A third internal evidence of the divine origin of the Bible is its unique authority and power. While this evidence is more subjective than the first two, it is no less a powerful testimony that the Bible is God’s Word. The Bible’s authority is unlike that of any other book ever written. This power is seen in the way countless lives have been supernaturally transformed. Drug addicts have been cured by it, homosexuals set free by it, derelicts and deadbeats transformed by it, hardened criminals reformed by it, sinners rebuked by it, and hate turned to love by it. The Bible does possess a dynamic and transforming power that is only possible because it is truly God’s Word.

External Evidence that the Bible is God’s Word

There are also external evidences that indicate the Bible is truly the Word of God. One is the historicity of the Bible. Because the Bible details historical events, its accuracy is subject to verification like any other historical document. Through archaeological evidence and extrabiblical writings, the historical accounts of the Bible proved time and again to be accurate and true. In fact, all the archaeological and manuscript evidence supporting the Bible makes it the best-documented book from the ancient world. That the Bible accurately records historically verifiable events helps substantiate its claim to be the very Word of God and supports trust concerning other matters the Bible addresses.

Another external evidence that the Bible is truly God’s Word is the integrity of its human authors. In studying the lives of the authors of Scripture, we find them to be honest and sincere. The fact that they were willing to die often excruciating deaths for what they believed testifies that these men truly believed God had spoken to them. The men who wrote the New Testament and many hundreds of other believers (1 Corinthians 15:6) knew the truth of their message because they had spent time with Jesus Christ after He had risen from the dead. Seeing the risen Christ had a tremendous impact on them. They went from hiding in fear to being willing to die for the message God had revealed to them. Their lives and deaths testify to the fact that the Bible truly is God’s Word.

Another external evidence that the Bible is truly God’s Word is the indestructibility of the Bible. The Bible has suffered more vicious attacks and attempts to destroy it than any other book in history. From early Roman Emperors like Diocletian, through communist dictators and on to modern-day atheists, the Bible has withstood a constant onslaught from detractors. Yet it endures and is still today the most widely published book in the world.

Throughout history, skeptics have regarded the Bible as mythological, but archaeology has confirmed it as historical. Opponents have attacked its teaching as primitive and outdated, but its moral and legal concepts have had a positive influence on societies throughout the world. It continues to be attacked by pseudo-science, psychology, and political movements, yet it remains just as true and relevant today as it was when it was first written. This should not surprise us. After all, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31).

The Bible, unique among books, has transformed countless lives and swayed whole cultures. After looking at the evidence, one can say without a doubt that God has spoken and that, yes, the Bible is truly God’s Word.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

Making Sense of Bible Difficulties: Clear and Concise Answers from Genesis to Revelation by Geisler & Howe

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[Patriot]

Is the Bible truly God’s Word?​

9,465 views May 9, 2022

Got Questions Ministries

Is the Bible truly God’s Word? How can we know that the Bible is the Word of God? Why should I believe that the Bible is God's Word?

Source Article: https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-Go...

 

[Patriot]

What is the Bible?​

ANSWER

The word “Bible” comes from the Latin and Greek words meaning “book,” a fitting name, since the Bible is the book for all people, for all time. It’s a book like no other, in a class by itself.

Sixty-six different books comprise the Bible. They include books of law, such as Leviticus and Deuteronomy; historical books, such as Ezra and Acts; books of poetry, such as Psalms and Ecclesiastes; books of prophecy, such as Isaiah and Revelation; biographies, such as Matthew and John; and epistles (formal letters) such as Titus and Hebrews.

What is the Bible? - The Authors
About 40 different human authors contributed to the Bible, which was written over a period of about 1500 years. The authors were kings, fishermen, priests, government officials, farmers, shepherds, and doctors. From all this diversity comes an incredible unity, with common themes woven throughout.

The Bible’s unity is due to the fact that, ultimately, it has one Author—God Himself. The Bible is “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). The human authors wrote exactly what God wanted them to write, and the result was the perfect and holy Word of God (Psalm 12:6; 2 Peter 1:21).

What is the Bible? - The Divisions
The Bible is divided into two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. In short, the Old Testament is the story of a nation, and the New Testament is the story of a Man. The nation was God’s way of bringing the Man—Jesus Christ—into the world.

The Old Testament describes the founding and preservation of the nation of Israel. God promised to use Israel to bless the whole world (Genesis 12:2-3). Once Israel was established as a nation, God raised up a family within that nation through whom the blessing would come: the family of David (Psalm 89:3-4). Then, from the family of David was promised one Man who would bring the promised blessing (Isaiah 11:1-10).

The New Testament details the coming of that promised Man. His name was Jesus, and He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament as He lived a perfect life, died to become the Savior, and rose from the dead.

What is the Bible? - The Central Character
Jesus is the central character in the Bible—the whole book is really about Him. The Old Testament predicts His coming and sets the stage for His entrance into the world. The New Testament describes His coming and His work to bring salvation to our sinful world.

Jesus is more than a historical figure; in fact, He is more than a man. He is God in the flesh, and His coming was the most important event in the history of the world. God Himself became a man in order to give us a clear, understandable picture of who He is. What is God like? He is like Jesus; Jesus is God in human form (John 1:14, 14:9).

What is the Bible? - A Brief Summary
God created man and placed him in a perfect environment; however, man rebelled against God and fell from what God intended him to be. God placed the world under a curse because of sin but immediately set in motion a plan to restore humanity and all creation to its original glory.

As part of His plan of redemption, God called Abraham out of Babylonia into Canaan (about 2000 B.C.). God promised Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob (also called Israel) that He would bless the world through a descendant of theirs. Israel’s family emigrated from Canaan to Egypt, where they grew to be a nation.

About 1400 B.C., God led Israel’s descendants out of Egypt under the direction of Moses and gave them the Promised Land, Canaan, as their own. Through Moses, God gave the people of Israel the Law and made a covenant (testament) with them. If they would remain faithful to God and not follow the idolatry of the surrounding nations, then they would prosper. If they forsook God and followed idols, then God would destroy their nation.

About 400 years later, during the reigns of David and his son Solomon, Israel was solidified into a great and powerful kingdom. God promised David and Solomon that a descendant of theirs would rule as an everlasting king.

After Solomon’s reign, the nation of Israel was divided. The ten tribes to the north were called “Israel,” and they lasted about 200 years before God judged them for their idolatry. Assyria took Israel captive about 721 B.C. The two tribes in the south were called “Judah,” and they lasted a little longer, but eventually they, too, turned from God. Babylon took them captive about 600 B.C.

About 70 years later, God graciously brought a remnant of the captives back into their own land. Jerusalem, the capital, was rebuilt about 444 B.C., and Israel once again established a national identity. Thus, the Old Testament closes.

The New Testament opens about 400 years later with the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Jesus was the descendant promised to Abraham and David, the One to fulfill God’s plan to redeem mankind and restore creation. Jesus faithfully completed His work—He died for sin and rose from the dead. The death of Christ is the basis for a new covenant (testament) with the world. All who have faith in Jesus will be saved from sin and live eternally.

After His resurrection, Jesus sent His disciples to spread the news everywhere of His life and His power to save. Jesus’ disciples went in every direction spreading the good news of Jesus and salvation. They traveled through Asia Minor, Greece, and all the Roman Empire. The New Testament closes with a prediction of Jesus’ return to judge the unbelieving world and free creation from the curse.

FOR FURTHER STUDY​

The Quest Study Bible

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