how credible is the bible 07-24-2017 · 7 stephen c. meyer, the signature of the cell, p. 232 8...

Page 1

O

ther

pub

licat

ions

that

yo

u m

ay r

eque

st:

W

hich

Day

Is

the

Chr

isti

an S

abba

th?

L

ord,

Wha

t Sh

ould

I D

o?

H

arm

ony

of t

he G

ospe

ls

D

ay J

esus

the

Chr

ist

Die

d

Occ

ult

Hol

iday

s or

G

od’s

Hol

y D

ays—

Whi

ch?

T

he A

ppoi

nted

Tim

es o

f Je

sus

the

Mes

siah

Am

eric

a an

d B

rita

in—

T

heir

Bib

lical

Ori

gin

and

P

roph

etic

Des

tiny

Juda

ism

—R

evel

atio

n of

M

oses

, or

Rel

igio

n of

Men

?

Why

Is

Chr

isti

anit

y F

ailin

g

In A

mer

ica?

The

Col

laps

e of

A

ngel

ican

Chr

isti

anit

y

H

ow C

redi

ble

Is

T

he B

ible

?

by

Dun

can

Mac

Leo

d

Page 2

© 2

017

Chr

isti

an B

ibli

cal C

hurc

h of

God

P

.O. B

ox 1

442

Hol

list

er, C

A 9

5024

-144

2 w

ww

.trut

hofg

od.o

rg

ww

w.c

hurc

hath

ome.

org

ww

w.a

fait

hful

vers

ion.

org

All

rig

hts

rese

rved

. E

xcep

t fo

r br

ief

exce

rpts

for

rev

iew

pur

pose

s, n

o pa

rt o

f th

is p

ubli

cati

on m

ay b

e re

prod

uced

or

used

in

any

form

or

by

any

mea

ns w

itho

ut t

he w

ritt

en p

erm

issi

on o

f th

e co

pyri

ght

owne

r. T

his

incl

udes

ele

ctro

nic

and

mec

hani

cal

phot

ocop

ying

or

reco

rdin

g, a

s w

ell

as th

e us

e of

info

rmat

ion

stor

age

and

retr

ieva

l sys

tem

s.

All

Scri

ptur

es q

uote

d ar

e fr

om T

he H

oly

Bib

le I

n It

s O

rigi

nal

Ord

er—

A F

aith

ful V

ersi

on u

nles

s ot

herw

ise

note

d.

Page 3

7 S

teph

en C

. Mey

er, T

he S

igna

ture

of t

he C

ell,

p. 2

32

8 I

bid,

pp.

239

-241

9

Spe

tner

, p. 2

13

10 M

eyer

, p. 1

2 11

Bill

Gat

es, T

he R

oad

Ahe

ad, p

. 188

12

Fra

ncis

Cri

ck, W

hat M

ad P

ursu

it, p

. 138

13

Rob

ert C

arte

r, e

d., E

volu

tion

’s A

chil

les

Hee

ls, p

. 54

14 M

eyer

, p. 1

6 15

Spe

tner

, pp.

120

, 212

64

Con

tent

s In

trod

ucti

on:

How

Cre

dibl

e Is

the

Bib

le?

……

……

……

…..

P

AR

T I

: B

ible

Pro

phec

y F

ulfi

lled

Thr

ough

out H

isto

ry

Cha

pter

1

Egy

pt …

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

C

hapt

er 2

T

he P

hoen

icia

ns …

……

……

……

……

…...

C

hapt

er 3

A

ssyr

ia a

nd N

inev

eh …

……

……

……

……

C

hapt

er 4

B

abyl

on …

……

……

……

……

……

……

…

P

AR

T I

I: T

he B

ible

Sup

port

ed b

y Se

cula

r

His

tory

and

Arc

haeo

logy

C

hapt

er 5

T

he M

igra

tions

of t

he P

atria

rchs

….…

……

….

Cha

pter

6

Isr

ael I

n E

gypt

, Mos

es, a

nd th

e E

xodu

s …

...

Cha

pter

7

The

Col

laps

e of

the

Wal

l of

Jeri

cho

……

….

Cha

pter

8

Isra

el U

nder

Kin

gs D

avid

and

Sol

omon

……

...

Cha

pter

9

Jud

ah a

nd I

srae

l in

Bib

lical

Arc

heol

ogy

.….

Cha

pter

10

New

Tes

tam

ent A

ccou

nt o

f Je

sus

Chr

ist

Sup

port

ed …

……

……

……

……

……

……

.

PA

RT

III

: Sc

ienc

e an

d th

e B

ible

Agr

ee

Cha

pter

11

Bib

lica

l Sta

tem

ents

Now

Sci

enti

fica

lly

P

rove

n T

rue

……

……

……

……

……

……

.. C

hapt

er 1

2

D

arw

inia

n E

volu

tion—

The

Fai

led

H

ypot

hesi

s …

……

……

……

……

……

……

PA

RT

IV

: T

he B

ible

’s I

nter

nal C

onsi

sten

cy

and

Har

mon

y C

hapt

er 1

3

C

onsi

sten

cy o

f Pr

inci

ples

Bet

wee

n

O

ld a

nd N

ew T

esta

men

ts …

….…

……

……

C

oncl

usio

n …

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

.. E

nd N

otes

…

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

..

i

1

6

10

13

16

18

27

30

33

37

45

47

55

61

62

Page 4

18 B

ryan

t Woo

d, “

Did

the

Isra

elite

s C

onqu

er J

eric

ho?”

in B

ibli

cal

Arc

haeo

logy

Rev

iew

, Mar

ch-A

pril

1990

, pp.

49-

56

19 E

ugen

e M

erri

ll, K

ingd

om o

f Pri

ests

, p. 3

10

20 I

bid

21 G

eorg

e R

awlin

son,

Pho

enic

ia, p

. 101

22

Yig

ael Y

adin

, Haz

or, p

. 187

23

Kel

ler,

The

Bib

le A

s H

isto

ry, p

. 225

24

Mer

rill,

p. 4

07

25 J

ames

Pri

tcha

rd, A

ncie

nt N

ear

Eas

tern

Tex

ts, p

. 284

26

Pri

tcha

rd, T

he A

ncie

nt N

ear

Eas

t, pp

. 199

-201

27

Mos

he P

earl

man

, Dig

ging

Up

the

Bib

le, p

. 97

28 S

hapo

ur G

hasa

mi,

“The

Cyr

us th

e G

reat

Cyl

inde

r,”

in H

isto

ry o

f

Ir

an, a

n on

line

arti

cle

that

incl

udes

a 1

912

Eng

lish

tran

slite

ratio

n

by

Rob

ert R

oger

s of

the

full

text

of

the

Cyr

us C

ylin

der.

29

Cra

ig L

. Blo

mbe

rg, T

he H

isto

rica

l Rel

iabi

lity

of t

he G

ospe

ls, p

. 251

30

Cor

neliu

s T

acitu

s, A

nnal

s, p

p. 3

53-3

54

31 C

.D. Y

onge

(tr

ansl

ator

), T

he W

orks

of P

hilo

, p. 7

85

32 F

lavi

us J

osep

hus,

Ant

iqui

ties

of t

he J

ews,

Boo

k X

IV, B

ook

XV

33

Alf

red

Ede

rshe

im, T

he L

ife

and

Tim

es o

f Jes

us T

he M

essi

ah, p

. 182

34

Ibi

d 35

Ibi

d, p

. 852

36

Ibi

d 37

Rob

ert V

an V

oors

t, Je

sus

Out

side

the

New

Tes

tam

ent,

p. 1

14

38 W

illia

m R

amsa

y, S

t. P

aul T

he T

rave

ler

and

Rom

an C

itiz

en, p

. 19

39 I

bid,

p. 2

3 40

Ric

hard

Bat

ey, J

esus

and

The

For

gott

en C

ity,

p. 5

3 41

Ibi

d, p

. 15

42 R

anda

ll P

rice

, The

Sto

nes

Cry

Out

: W

hat A

rcha

eolo

gy R

evea

ls,

p. 3

05

43 R

alph

Mun

cast

er, 1

01 R

easo

ns Y

ou C

an B

elie

ve:

Why

Fai

th M

akes

Se

nse,

pp.

72-

73

44 W

illia

m F

. Alb

righ

t, T

he A

rcha

eolo

gy o

f Pal

esti

ne, p

p. 1

27-1

28

45 N

elso

n G

luec

k, R

iver

s in

the

Des

ert,

p. 3

1

PA

RT

III

End

Not

es:

1 R

ay C

omfo

rt, S

cien

tifi

c F

acts

in th

e B

ible

, p. 1

2 2

Jon

atha

n Sa

rfat

i, “T

he O

rigi

n of

Lif

e,”

in R

ober

t Car

ter,

ed.

,

E

volu

tion

’s A

chil

les

Hee

ls, p

. 84

3 F

red

Hoy

le, C

hand

ra W

ickr

amas

ingh

e, E

volu

tion

Fro

m S

pace

,

p.

24

4 J

ohn

F. A

shto

n, E

volu

tion

Im

poss

ible

, p. 1

91

5 I

bid,

p. 1

90

6 L

ee S

petn

er, N

ot B

y C

hanc

e, p

. 209

63

Page 5

PA

RT

I E

nd N

otes

: 1

H. L

. Hoe

h, C

ompe

ndiu

m o

f Wor

ld H

isto

ry, p

. 40

2 J

ack

Finn

egan

, Lig

ht F

rom

the

Anc

ient

Pas

t, pp

. 65-

66

3 J

ohn

Urq

uhar

t, T

he W

onde

rs o

f Pro

phec

y, p

. 27

4 I

bid,

pp.

46-

47

5 I

bid,

pp.

31-

32

6 I

bid,

pp.

53-

54

7 J

.C. M

cCoa

n, E

gypt

, p. 5

8

Urq

uhar

t, p.

49

9 G

eorg

e R

awlin

son,

Egy

pt a

nd B

abyl

on, p

p. 3

18-3

19

10 U

rquh

art,

p. 5

3 11

Geo

rge

Raw

linso

n, P

hoen

icia

12

Urq

uhar

t, p.

16

13 R

awlin

son,

Pho

enic

ia, p

p. 2

22-2

35

14 U

rquh

art,

pp. 1

9-20

15

Aus

ten

Hen

ry L

ayar

d, N

inev

eh a

nd I

ts R

emai

ns

16 D

iodo

rus

of S

icil

y, B

ook

II, 2

6 17

Ibi

d, B

ook

II, 2

7 18

Flo

yd H

amilt

on, T

he B

asis

of C

hris

tian

Fai

th, p

. 310

19

Aus

ten

Hen

ry L

ayar

d, D

isco

veri

es A

mon

g th

e R

uins

of N

inev

eh a

nd

Bab

ylon

20

Pet

er S

tone

r, S

cien

ce S

peak

s: A

n E

valu

atio

n of

Chr

isti

an

Evi

denc

es, p

. 94

21 I

bid

P

AR

T I

I E

nd N

otes

: 1

C. L

eona

rd W

oolle

y, U

r of

the

Cha

ldee

s, p

p. 7

8-79

2

Joh

n B

righ

t, A

His

tory

of I

srae

l, p.

90

3 I

bid,

p. 9

2 4

Ibi

d, p

. 93

5 P

aul J

ohns

on, A

His

tory

of t

he J

ews,

p. 2

4

6 J

. A. T

hom

pson

, The

Bib

le a

nd A

rcha

eolo

gy, p

. 49

7

Wer

ner

Kel

ler,

The

Bib

le A

s H

isto

ry, p

. 86

8 K

. A. K

itche

n, O

n th

e R

elia

bili

ty o

f the

Old

Tes

tam

ent,

p. 3

66

9 J

ames

Hof

fmei

er, I

srae

l In

Egy

pt, p

. 98

10 D

avid

Roh

l, E

xodu

s, M

yth

or H

isto

ry, p

p. 1

06-1

08

11 I

bid,

p. 1

10

12 I

bid,

p. 1

17

13 I

bid,

p. 1

37

14 A

lan

Gar

dine

r, T

he A

dmon

itio

ns o

f an

Egy

ptia

n Sa

ge

15 H

offm

eier

, pp.

208

-209

16

Ibi

d, p

. 209

17

Kat

hlee

n K

enyo

n, J

eric

ho 3

, p. 3

70

62

HO

W C

RE

DIB

LE

IS

TH

E B

IBL

E?

In

trod

ucti

on

O

pini

ons

abou

t th

e B

ible

ran

ge f

rom

its

tot

al d

ism

issa

l as

a

coll

ecti

on o

f m

yths

and

fab

les

to t

he r

ever

ent

embr

ace

of S

crip

-tu

re a

s sa

cred

, ine

rran

t, an

d in

viol

ate.

In

secu

lar

acad

emic

cir

cles

, th

ere

are

thos

e w

ho s

ee t

he B

ible

as

noth

ing

mor

e th

an t

he e

ffor

ts

of a

ncie

nt w

rite

rs t

o po

rtra

y th

eir

peop

le a

s G

od’s

“ch

osen

” na

-tio

n,

thus

el

evat

ing

the

Bib

le’s

hi

stor

ical

si

gnif

ican

ce.

Oth

er

scho

lars

, ho

wev

er,

afte

r lo

okin

g ca

refu

lly i

nto

the

Bib

le—

alon

g w

ith t

he h

isto

ry a

nd a

rche

olog

y of

the

nat

ions

and

cul

ture

s im

-pa

ctin

g it

s na

rrat

ives

—ha

ve m

arve

led

at t

he a

ccur

acy

of i

ts p

re-

dict

ions

, th

e cr

edib

ility

of

its h

isto

ry,

and

the

cons

iste

ncy

of i

ts

them

es.

Fo

r pr

ofes

sing

C

hris

tiani

ty,

the

com

pila

tion

of

book

s kn

own

as t

he H

oly

Bib

le i

s pu

rpor

tedl

y th

e ba

sis

for

belie

f an

d do

ctri

nal

teac

hing

. Acc

ordi

ngly

, if

you

cons

ider

you

rsel

f a

Chr

is-

tian,

or

at l

east

a “

belie

ver

in G

od,”

the

nex

t lo

gica

l st

ep i

s to

de-

term

ine

whe

ther

the

Bib

le i

s re

liab

le a

s th

e in

spir

ed W

ord

of

God

. In

deed

, th

e B

ible

is

the

esse

ntia

l fo

unda

tion

on

whi

ch y

our

Chr

istia

n lif

e sh

ould

be

base

d.

B

ut c

an y

ou p

rove

its

vera

city

? M

any

Chr

istia

ns c

anno

t.

The

re a

re h

undr

eds

of p

rofe

ssin

g C

hris

tian

sect

s an

d de

-no

min

atio

ns t

hat

wra

ngle

ove

r do

ctri

nes

and

beli

efs.

The

y ca

nnot

al

l be

cor

rect

in

the

sigh

t of

God

. Fi

ndin

g ou

t w

ho,

if a

nyon

e, i

s tr

uly

righ

t co

uld

be a

hop

eles

s ex

erci

se—

unle

ss w

e kn

ow w

hat

God

Him

self

tea

ches

us.

For

tha

t, w

e ne

ed a

rel

iabl

e so

urce

of

info

rmat

ion

abou

t God

and

wha

t He

actu

ally

teac

hes.

The

re i

s ev

ery

reas

on t

o be

liev

e th

at t

he B

ible

cou

ld b

e th

at s

ourc

e. B

ut r

athe

r th

an a

ssum

e it

s ac

cura

cy a

nd r

elia

bili

ty,

why

not

exa

min

e fo

r ou

rsel

ves

whe

ther

the

Bib

le i

s in

fac

t th

e W

ord

of G

od—

or w

heth

er i

t is

sim

ply

myt

h an

d le

gend

? A

fter

al

l, if

we

are

not

care

ful,

we

coul

d m

ake

the

sam

e m

ista

ke a

s th

ose

who

are

ign

oran

t an

d gu

llibl

e—as

sum

ing

thin

gs t

o be

tru

e th

at i

n fa

ct m

ay n

ot b

e tr

ue.

Shou

ld w

e no

t ra

ther

“pr

ove

all

i

Page 6

thin

gs”—

refu

sing

to b

elie

ve a

nyth

ing

we

can

not p

rove

?

Man

y pr

ofes

sing

C

hris

tians

ta

ke

for

gran

ted,

w

itho

ut

proo

f, th

at t

he B

ible

is

the

Wor

d of

God

. T

hus,

the

y ha

ve l

ittle

de

fens

e w

hen

assa

ulte

d by

arg

umen

ts a

gain

st th

e B

ible

’s c

redi

bil-

ity o

r cl

aim

s th

at i

t “s

ays

this

” or

“sa

ys t

hat.”

Dou

bt c

an s

et i

n,

and

thei

r fa

ith

may

be

wea

kene

d. I

n so

me

case

s, t

he s

hake

n be

-lie

ver

can

be l

ed i

nto

all

kind

s of

fal

se n

otio

ns—

or w

orse

, in

to

outr

ight

ske

ptic

ism

and

ult

imat

ely

athe

ism

.

But

ther

e is

no

reas

on th

at th

is s

houl

d ev

er h

appe

n.

T

here

are

a n

umbe

r of

sol

id r

easo

ns t

o be

liev

e th

at t

he B

i-bl

e is

in f

act t

he in

spir

ed a

nd r

elia

ble

Wor

d of

God

. For

exa

mpl

e:

1) M

any

of t

he B

ible

’s p

roph

etic

pre

dict

ions

hav

e be

en f

ulfi

lled

in

his

tory

, so

met

imes

cen

turi

es a

fter

the

pro

phec

y w

as g

iven

; 2)

M

any

bibl

ical

his

tori

cal a

ccou

nts

are

veri

fied

by

both

sec

ular

his

-to

ry a

nd a

rcha

eolo

gy;

3) T

he B

ible

is

esse

ntia

lly i

n ag

reem

ent

wit

h th

e pr

oven

fac

ts o

f sc

ienc

e; 4

) T

he B

ible

’s i

nter

nal

con-

sist

ency

and

har

mon

y cl

earl

y po

int t

o its

div

ine

insp

irat

ion.

Whi

le t

hese

fou

r ar

eas

of b

ibli

cal

auth

enti

city

are

not

the

on

ly e

vide

nce

for

the

divi

ne i

nspi

ratio

n of

the

Bib

le,

they

are

am

ong

the

mos

t co

nvin

cing

, es

peci

ally

for

tho

se c

omin

g to

the

su

bjec

t fr

om a

pos

ition

of

unce

rtai

nty.

With

tha

t in

min

d, w

e w

ill

elab

orat

e on

the

se f

our

aspe

cts

of b

ibli

cal

vera

city

.—D

unca

n M

acL

eod

ii

Intr

oduc

tion

Con

clus

ion

In

sum

mar

y, w

e fi

nd t

hat

the

sam

e pr

inci

ples

are

tho

ught

-fu

lly w

oven

thr

ough

out

the

Bib

le—

from

one

end

to

the

othe

r.

Tru

e, s

ome

of t

he s

tatu

tes

God

gav

e to

anc

ient

Isr

ael

cann

ot b

e ap

plie

d by

Chr

istia

ns i

n to

day’

s w

orld

—no

t un

til

Chr

ist

retu

rns

and

sets

up

the

Kin

gdom

of

God

. M

eanw

hile

, as

Chr

istia

ns,

we

shou

ld o

bey

the

“law

s of

the

lan

d” t

hat

are

in h

arm

ony

with

the

la

ws

of G

od. W

e ar

e to

live

by

ever

y (a

pplic

able

) w

ord,

then

, tha

t ha

s co

me

from

God

—as

He

give

s us

the

hel

p w

e ne

ed t

o un

der-

stan

d th

ose

wor

ds.

H

avin

g pr

oven

that

the

Bib

le is

in f

act t

rue

and

that

it

was

in

spir

ed b

y th

e C

reat

or G

od c

an b

e so

mew

hat

dang

erou

s—if

you

fa

il to

act

on

wha

t yo

u’ve

lea

rned

. But

if

you

are

will

ing

to a

pply

w

hat y

ou h

ave

lear

ned,

this

kno

wle

dge

can

be s

upre

mel

y va

luab

le

as p

art o

f th

e es

sent

ial f

ound

atio

n of

you

r fa

ith. W

ithou

t the

sol

id,

depe

ndab

le W

ord

of G

od—

the

Bib

le—

you

can

be l

ed b

y de

ceiv

-er

s to

bel

ieve

a v

arie

ty o

f er

rone

ous

teac

hing

s. B

ut w

ith a

fir

mly

fo

unde

d tr

ust i

n th

e B

ible

as

God

’s w

ritte

n W

ord

to y

ou p

erso

nal-

ly,

you

can

deve

lop

a lo

ving

, tr

ustin

g, o

bedi

ent

rela

tions

hip

with

G

od. I

f yo

u co

ntin

ue to

stu

dy G

od’s

Wor

d an

d in

crea

sing

ly c

ome

to k

now

bot

h w

hat

it te

ache

s an

d w

hat

it do

es n

ot t

each

, yo

u ca

n fu

lfil

l Pe

ter’

s ad

mon

itio

n to

“be

gro

win

g in

the

gra

ce a

nd t

he

know

ledg

e of

our

Lor

d an

d S

avio

r Je

sus

Chr

ist”

(II

Pet

. 3:1

8).

T

he B

ible

sta

nds

prov

en t

o be

tru

e. I

t is

God

’s i

nspi

red

Wor

d to

you

—H

is a

ll-im

port

ant

mes

sage

of

how

to

succ

essf

ully

liv

e yo

ur l

ife.

Wha

t w

ill y

ou d

o w

ith i

t—ne

glec

t it,

or

bene

fit

by

appl

ying

it

in y

our

life?

The

cho

ice

is y

ours

—th

e m

ost

impo

rtan

t ch

oice

you

will

eve

r m

ake!

61

Page 7

Paul

tel

ls i

n de

tail

how

tho

se w

ho h

ave

died

in

the

fait

h w

ill

be

resu

rrec

ted

to e

tern

al l

ife

as S

piri

t-bo

rn s

ons

and

daug

hter

s of

G

od w

hen

Jesu

s re

turn

s to

the

ear

th.

The

esc

hato

logi

cal

visi

ons

God

gav

e Jo

hn a

lso

agre

e w

ith P

aul’

s te

achi

ng t

hat

the

faith

ful

dead

wil

l be

res

urre

cted

to

eter

nal

life

(R

ev.

11:1

5; 1

4:14

-16;

20

:4-5

).

Pa

ul e

xpla

ins

genu

ine

godl

y fa

ith i

n H

ebre

ws

11,

the

“fai

th c

hapt

er.”

Eac

h ex

ampl

e of

fai

thfu

lnes

s he

cit

es c

an b

e fo

und

in t

he O

ld T

esta

men

t—an

d ea

ch e

xam

ple

of l

ivin

g fa

ith

link

s fa

ith

with

ob

edie

nce

to

God

. Pa

ul,

like

Chr

ist,

clea

rly

equa

tes

godl

y fa

ith w

ith o

bedi

ence

.

Paul

loo

ked

to J

esus

as

God

“m

anif

este

d in

the

fle

sh”

(I

Tim

. 3:

16).

How

the

n ca

n w

e im

agin

e th

at h

e w

ould

dar

e pr

each

an

ythi

ng in

con

flic

t wit

h C

hris

t’s

teac

hing

s?

Cha

pter

Thi

rtee

n

60

PA

RT

I:

B

ible

Pro

phec

y F

ulfi

lled

Thr

ough

out

His

tory

The

pro

phet

s of

the

Bib

le m

ade

coun

tless

pre

dict

ions

for

m

any

natio

ns—

grea

t an

d sm

all,

wel

l kn

own

and

obsc

ure.

In

this

se

ctio

n, w

e w

ill o

utlin

e w

hat

bibl

ical

pro

phet

s ha

d to

say

abo

ut

the

resp

ecti

ve f

utur

es o

f fo

ur o

f th

e gr

eate

st p

ower

s of

the

pre

-R

ome

anci

ent

wor

ld:

Egy

pt,

the

Phoe

nici

ans,

Ass

yria

, an

d B

aby-

lon.

Eac

h in

its

turn

was

the

mos

t pow

erfu

l nat

ion

or e

mpi

re o

f its

ti

me.

CH

AP

TE

R O

NE

__

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

Egy

pt

H

isto

rian

s ge

nera

lly tr

eat

Egy

pt a

s th

e ea

rlie

st o

f th

e gr

eat

wor

ld e

mpi

res.

But

tho

se s

tudy

ing

its d

ynas

tic h

isto

ry o

ften

ove

r-lo

ok t

he f

act

that

Egy

pt w

as s

eldo

m a

sin

gle,

uni

fied

nat

ion-

stat

e.

Rat

her,

“E

gypt

” w

as u

sual

ly a

fed

erat

ion

of a

uton

omou

s ci

ty-

stat

es lo

cate

d al

ong

the

Nile

Riv

er.1 T

he t

wo

that

gen

eral

ly d

omi-

nate

d w

ere

The

bes

and

Mem

phis

—ea

ch i

n tu

rn b

eing

see

n as

the

“c

apit

al”

or m

ost

pow

erfu

l of

the

cit

y-st

ates

. O

ther

cit

y-st

ates

w

hose

dyn

astie

s ar

e in

clud

ed i

n E

gypt

’s k

ing-

lists

wer

e H

er-

acle

opol

is,

Ele

phan

tine,

A

bydo

s,

Thi

nis,

an

d B

ubas

tis.

Man

y E

gypt

olog

ists

als

o ov

erlo

ok t

he f

act

that

oft

en m

ore

than

one

of

thes

e dy

nast

ies

rule

d at

the

sam

e tim

e in

thei

r re

spec

tive

city

-sta

te

terr

itori

es—

resu

lting

fre

quen

tly i

n dy

nast

ies

who

se t

ime-

span

s ov

erla

pped

.

The

his

tory

of

Egy

pt i

s ty

pica

lly s

een

as s

tret

chin

g ba

ck

thou

sand

s of

yea

rs f

urth

er t

han

it a

ctua

lly

does

. H

isto

rian

Jac

k Fi

nneg

an e

xpla

ins:

“In

the

arr

ange

men

t of

the

se a

nd o

ther

Egy

p-tia

n m

ater

ials

with

in a

fra

mew

ork

of c

onse

cutiv

e dy

nast

ies,

all

mod

ern

hist

oria

ns a

re d

epen

dent

upo

n an

anc

ient

pre

dece

ssor

. T

his

was

an

Egy

ptia

n pr

iest

nam

ed M

anet

ho…

. Ber

osus

of

Bab

y-lo

n w

as p

ract

ical

ly a

con

tem

pora

ry, a

nd t

he t

wo

beca

me

riva

ls i

n th

e pr

ocla

mat

ion

of t

he g

reat

ness

and

ant

iqui

ty o

f th

eir

resp

ecti

ve

land

s.”2 T

o pu

t it b

lunt

ly, M

anet

ho k

now

ingl

y po

rtra

yed

the

over

-la

ppin

g dy

nast

ies

of m

ultip

le E

gypt

ian

city

-sta

tes

as i

f th

ey a

ll ha

d be

en c

onse

cuti

ve,

so a

s to

mak

e E

gypt

see

m m

uch

mor

e an

-ci

ent t

han

it e

ver

was

.

1

Page 8

It

is

impo

rtan

t th

at w

e un

ders

tand

thi

s fa

ct,

beca

use

we

can

othe

rwis

e be

dec

eive

d in

to t

hink

ing

the

Bib

le i

s in

err

or o

n ch

rono

logy

, w

hen

in f

act

it is

acc

urat

e. E

gypt

is

now

here

nea

r 10

,000

yea

rs o

ld;

it is

not

eve

n 5,

000

year

s ol

d. W

ith t

he k

ing

lists

co

rrec

tly

unde

rsto

od

as

over

lapp

ing

dyna

stie

s,

num

erou

s m

oder

n hi

stor

ians

hav

e re

vise

d th

eir

esti

mat

ed d

ate

for

the

Firs

t D

ynas

ty—

dow

nwar

d fr

om 8

,400

BC

to

abou

t 2,

750

BC

. T

his

corr

ecte

d vi

ew b

ette

r ha

rmon

izes

with

the

bibl

ical

acc

ount

s.

In

man

y ca

ses,

Bib

le p

roph

ecie

s re

gard

ing

Egy

pt d

eal

with

in

divi

dual

ci

ty-s

tate

s—th

e m

ain

two

bein

g T

hebe

s (i

dent

ifie

d by

its

an

cien

t na

me

of

No-

Am

on)

and

Mem

phis

(i

dent

ifie

d as

Pa-

noap

h).

Pass

ages

in

the

Kin

g Ja

mes

Ver

sion

(K

JV)

refe

r to

No-

Am

on s

impl

y as

No,

and

to P

a-no

aph

sim

ply

as

Nop

h. T

hebe

s an

d M

emph

is w

ere

nam

es l

ater

app

lied

to

thes

e ci

ties

by th

e G

reek

s af

ter

the

conq

uest

of

Egy

pt in

330

BC

by

Al-

exan

der

the

Gre

at. E

ven

the

nam

e “E

gypt

” its

elf

is o

f G

reek

der

i-va

tion;

the

orig

inal

nam

e of

the

peop

le w

as M

izra

im.

T

here

are

sev

eral

pre

dict

ions

in

the

Bib

le a

bout

eac

h of

th

e tw

o pr

imar

y E

gypt

ian

“cap

ital

” ci

ties

, T

hebe

s an

d M

emph

is,

as w

ell a

s pr

edic

tions

abo

ut th

e w

hole

land

of

Egy

pt.

T

hebe

s (N

o)

P

roph

ecy—

In E

zeki

el 3

0, G

od i

s qu

oted

as

decl

arin

g th

at

He

will

“ex

ecut

e ju

dgm

ents

in

No”

(ve

rse

14),

“cu

t of

f th

e m

ulti-

tude

of

No”

(ve

rse

15),

and

that

“N

o sh

all b

e to

rn a

sund

er”

(ver

se

16).

Eze

kiel

was

wri

ting

in t

he 5

80s

BC

aft

er h

avin

g be

en t

aken

ca

ptiv

e, a

long

with

the

Jew

s, t

o B

abyl

on b

y N

ebuc

hadn

ezza

r—w

hose

dyn

asty

was

late

r ov

erth

row

n by

the

Pers

ians

in 5

39.

F

ulfi

llm

ent—

In

525

BC

, C

amby

ses,

ki

ng

of

Pers

ia,

“cap

ture

d T

hebe

s an

d po

ured

out

upo

n its

dev

oted

hea

d th

e w

rath

of

his

ins

ane

fero

city

. It

s m

ajes

tic t

empl

es w

ere

cons

umed

with

fi

re;

and

the

pow

er o

f th

e vi

ctor

ious

hos

t w

as b

ent

to o

vert

hrow

, or

mar

, it

s co

loss

al s

tatu

es…

. It

cea

sed

to b

e E

gypt

’s c

hief

cit

y.

The

cap

ital

was

rem

oved

in

turn

to

Mem

phis

, Sa

is,

and

Ale

xan-

dria

….

Yet

, no

twith

stan

ding

its

lon

g de

clin

e, w

hen

the

seco

nd

stro

ke f

ell,

in th

e fi

rst c

entu

ry p

rece

ding

the

Chr

isti

an e

ra, T

hebe

s w

as e

ven

then

one

of

the

wea

lthie

st c

ities

in

the

land

. T

he b

low

w

as d

ealt

by o

ne o

f E

gypt

’s o

wn

prin

ces,

Pto

lem

y L

athy

rus,

the

gr

andf

athe

r of

Cle

opat

ra,

abou

t th

e ye

ar 8

9 B

C…

. It

was

alm

ost

2

Cha

pter

One

teac

hing

s? I

ndee

d, a

car

eful

rea

ding

of

Paul

’s w

riti

ngs

will

rev

eal

that

in

no w

ay d

id h

e pr

each

any

thin

g th

at c

onfl

icts

wit

h th

e te

achi

ngs

of J

esus

.

For

exam

ple,

Pau

l sum

mar

izes

the

Ten

Com

man

dmen

ts a

s th

e la

w o

f lo

ve:

“Bec

ause

it

says

, ‘yo

u sh

all

not

com

mit

adul

tery

, yo

u sh

all

not

com

mit

mur

der,

you

sha

ll no

t st

eal,

you

shal

l no

t be

ar f

alse

witn

ess,

you

sha

ll no

t lu

st,’

and

if

ther

e be

any

oth

er

com

man

dmen

t, it

is s

umm

ed u

p in

this

say

ing,

eve

n by

this

sta

nd-

ard,

‘Y

ou s

hall

love

you

r ne

ighb

or a

s yo

urse

lf’

” (R

om. 1

3:9)

. He

clea

rly

wri

tes,

“C

ircu

mci

sion

[of

the

fle

sh]

is n

othi

ng,

and

unci

r-cu

mci

sion

is

noth

ing;

rat

her,

the

kee

ping

of

God

’s c

omm

and-

men

ts i

s es

sent

ial”

(I

Cor

. 7:

19).

Doe

s th

is a

t al

l so

und

like

Paul

co

nsid

ered

the

Ten

Com

man

dmen

ts o

r th

e L

aw “

done

aw

ay”?

Quo

ting

all

of t

he p

lace

s Pa

ul’s

wri

tings

agr

ee w

ith t

he

teac

hing

s of

Chr

ist

wou

ld m

ake

this

wri

ting

exce

ssiv

ely

long

. If

yo

ur m

ind

is o

pen,

the

abo

ve e

xam

ples

sho

uld

suff

ice.

If

not,

I ch

alle

nge

you

to s

tudy

the

who

le N

ew T

esta

men

t an

d se

e fo

r yo

urse

lf t

hat

ther

e ar

e no

act

ual

conf

lict

s be

twee

n th

e te

achi

ngs

of P

aul

or a

ny o

f th

e ot

her

apos

tles

and

thos

e of

Chr

ist.

In s

ome

case

s an

apo

stol

ic w

riti

ng m

ay g

o in

to g

reat

er d

etai

l on

an

issu

e th

an d

id J

esus

, bu

t su

ch a

mpl

ific

atio

ns i

n no

way

con

stitu

te c

on-

trad

ictio

n.

Fo

r ex

ampl

e, i

n hi

s fa

mou

s “l

ove

chap

ter”

(I

Cor

. 13

),

Pau

l ex

pand

s on

Chr

ist’

s te

achi

ng a

bout

lov

e fo

r fe

llow

man

. T

hen

he s

ums

up b

y re

info

rcin

g Je

sus’

teac

hing

that

the

seco

nd o

f th

e tw

o gr

eat

com

man

dmen

ts i

s lo

ve f

or n

eigh

bor.

He

says

, “A

nd

now

, th

ese

thre

e re

mai

n: f

aith

, ho

pe a

nd l

ove;

but

the

gre

ates

t of

th

ese

is l

ove”

(ve

rse

13).

Isn

’t t

hat w

hat J

esus

was

say

ing

in M

at-

thew

22:

39?

Con

sist

ency

of

Pri

ncip

les

Bet

wee

n O

ld a

nd N

ew T

esta

men

ts

59

Page 9

anot

her

pers

on,

incl

udin

g th

eir

wif

e or

hus

band

. N

umer

ous

New

T

esta

men

t pas

sage

s te

ach

that

cov

etou

snes

s is

wro

ng (

Rom

. 7:7

; I

Cor

. 6:1

0; I

I T

im. 3

:2).

God

had

com

man

ded

Abr

aham

and

his

mal

e de

scen

dant

s to

be

circ

umci

sed.

In

Paul

’s t

ime,

it

was

a J

udai

c de

cree

tha

t a

Gen

tile

pros

elyt

e to

Jud

aism

had

to

be c

ircu

mci

sed.

Gen

tile

con-

vert

s to

Chr

isti

anit

y, h

owev

er,

wer

e no

t re

quir

ed b

y ei

ther

Pet

er

or P

aul

to b

e ci

rcum

cise

d. W

hy?

Bec

ause

as

Paul

cle

arly

tau

ght,

God

int

ende

d ph

ysic

al c

ircu

mci

sion

to

be o

nly

a ty

pe o

f sp

irit

ual

circ

umci

sion

—a

“cir

cum

cisi

on”

of t

he h

eart

, lea

ding

to

prof

ound

re

pent

ance

of

sin

and

conv

ersi

on.

Paul

wro

te:

“For

he

is n

ot a

[s

piri

tual

] Je

w w

ho i

s on

e ou

twar

dly,

nei

ther

is

that

cir

cum

cisi

on

whi

ch is

ext

erna

l in

the

fles

h; r

athe

r, h

e is

a [

spir

itua

l] J

ew w

ho is

on

e in

war

dly,

and

cir

cum

cisi

on i

s of

the

hea

rt,

in t

he s

piri

t an

d no

t in

th

e le

tter

; w

hose

pr

aise

is

no

t fr

om

men

bu

t fr

om

God

” (R

om. 2

:28-

29).

But

is

ther

e a

corr

obor

atio

n of

thi

s pr

inci

ple

in t

he O

ld

Tes

tam

ent?

Ind

eed

ther

e is

, in

sev

eral

pla

ces.

For

exa

mpl

e, G

od

told

the

Isra

elit

es th

roug

h M

oses

: “T

here

fore

, cir

cum

cise

the

fore

-sk

in o

f yo

ur h

eart

and

be

no l

onge

r st

iff-

neck

ed”

(Deu

t. 10

:16)

. A

dditi

onal

ly, “

And

the

Lor

d yo

ur G

od w

ill c

ircu

mci

se y

our

hear

t an

d th

e he

art o

f yo

ur s

eed

to lo

ve th

e L

ord

your

God

with

all

your

he

art a

nd w

ith a

ll yo

ur s

oul,

so th

at y

ou m

ay li

ve”

(Deu

t. 30

:6).

A

“cir

cum

cise

d he

art”

see

ms

to b

e a

met

apho

r in

bot

h th

e O

ld a

nd

the

New

Tes

tam

ents

for

lov

ing

God

and

bei

ng w

illin

g to

obe

y H

im.

S

ome

have

all

eged

that

the

teac

hing

s of

the

apos

tles

, esp

e-ci

ally

Pau

l, di

ffer

fro

m t

he t

each

ings

of

Chr

ist.

But

the

fol

low

ing

exam

ples

will

sho

w t

hat

Jesu

s an

d th

e ap

ostle

s ta

ught

the

sam

e pr

inci

ples

.

Chr

ist

unam

bigu

ousl

y to

ld H

is d

isci

ples

tha

t if

the

y lo

ved

Him

the

y w

ould

kee

p H

is c

omm

andm

ents

. Jo

hn,

the

“dis

cipl

e w

hom

Jes

us l

oved

,” t

ells

us

in h

is f

irst

gen

eral

epi

stle

tha

t th

e st

anda

rd b

y w

hich

we

(tru

e C

hris

tians

) kn

ow t

hat

we

“kno

w

Him

” is

that

we

“kee

p H

is c

omm

andm

ents

” (I

Joh

n 2:

3). H

e go

es

on i

n th

e ne

xt v

erse

to

call

anyo

ne a

lia

r w

ho c

laim

s to

kno

w

Chr

ist b

ut d

oes

not k

eep

His

com

man

dmen

ts.

Cha

pter

Thi

rtee

n

58

entir

ely

leve

led

to th

e gr

ound

, and

the

wor

ds o

f th

e fo

urte

enth

and

fi

ftee

nth

vers

es [

of E

zeki

el 3

0] f

ound

a c

ompl

ete

fulf

illm

ent.”

3

Mem

phis

(N

oph)

Pro

phec

y—T

he p

roph

et J

erem

iah

mak

es t

he e

arli

est

pre-

dict

ion

abou

t Mem

phis

in th

e cl

osin

g ye

ars

of th

e na

tion

of J

udah

, be

fore

Neb

ucha

dnez

zar

firs

t to

ok m

any

Jew

s in

to c

aptiv

ity t

o B

abyl

on.

In J

erem

iah

46:1

9, h

e sa

ys t

hat

“Nop

h sh

all

be w

aste

an

d de

sola

te

with

out

inha

bita

nt.”

E

zeki

el,

a fe

w

year

s la

ter,

qu

otes

God

as

sayi

ng,

“I w

ill a

lso

dest

roy

the

idol

s, a

nd I

will

ca

use

thei

r im

ages

to c

ease

out

of

Nop

h” (

Eze

k. 3

0:13

).

F

ulfi

llm

ent—

“And

now

wha

t of

to-

day?

So

com

plet

ely

has

the

doom

bee

n ac

com

plis

hed

that

a c

entu

ry a

go [

befo

re 1

925]

th

e si

te o

f M

emph

is w

as a

mat

ter

of d

ispu

te.

Lat

er i

nves

tigat

ions

ha

ve s

ettle

d th

e qu

estio

n, b

ut t

hey

have

als

o ve

rifi

ed t

he t

ruth

of

the

[Bib

le’s

] pr

edic

tion

… [

that

] th

e id

ols

and

the

imag

es a

nd t

he

tem

ples

—th

e ci

ty a

nd a

ll it

con

tain

ed h

ave

pass

ed a

way

.”4

T

he L

and

of E

gypt

Of

the

land

of

Egy

pt i

tsel

f, t

here

are

a n

umbe

r of

pro

phe-

cies

in

the

Bib

le t

hat,

in s

ome

case

s, h

ave

take

n ce

ntur

ies

to b

e fu

lfil

led;

in f

act,

som

e ar

e st

ill b

eing

ful

fill

ed to

this

ver

y da

y.

P

roph

ecy—

In t

he 5

80s

BC

, th

e pr

ophe

t E

zeki

el w

rote

of

Egy

pt: “

It s

hall

be [

beco

me]

the

low

est o

f th

e ki

ngdo

ms,

and

sha

ll

no m

ore

exal

t its

elf

abov

e th

e na

tion

s. F

or I

wil

l m

ake

them

so

few

, tha

t th

ey s

hall

no m

ore

rule

ove

r th

e na

tions

” (E

zek.

29:

15).

T

hus,

Egy

pt’s

day

s of

im

peri

al p

ower

wer

e to

com

e to

an

end.

In

addi

tion,

Eze

kiel

pre

dict

ed t

hat

“the

re s

hall

no m

ore

be a

pri

nce

of

the

land

of

E

gypt

; an

d I

will

pu

t a

fear

in

th

e la

nd

of

Egy

pt”

(Eze

k. 3

0:13

).

F

ulfi

llm

ent—

The

se

long

-ter

m

prop

heci

es—

that

E

gypt

w

ould

det

erio

rate

int

o a

base

and

wea

k na

tion,

and

tha

t no

nat

ive

Egy

ptia

n w

ould

eve

r ru

le t

he l

and

agai

n—ha

ve t

aken

cen

turi

es t

o be

ful

fille

d. N

ebuc

hadn

ezza

r of

Bab

ylon

con

quer

ed E

gypt

soo

n af

ter

conq

ueri

ng J

erus

alem

. A

fter

abo

ut f

orty

yea

rs,

the

Pers

ians

co

nque

red

the

city

of

Bab

ylon

, an

d th

e B

abyl

onia

n em

pire

, in

-cl

udin

g E

gypt

, pa

ssed

int

o Pe

rsia

n ha

nds.

Tw

o ce

ntur

ies

late

r, i

n 33

0 B

C,

Ale

xand

er t

he G

reat

con

quer

ed E

gypt

. T

his

gave

the

3

Egy

pt

Page 10

land

nom

inal

inde

pend

ence

und

er th

e G

reek

dyn

asty

of

the

Ptol

e-m

ies,

whi

ch e

nded

wit

h th

e de

ath

of q

ueen

Cle

opat

ra—

kille

d al

ong

with

Mar

k A

nton

y by

Oct

avia

n (n

ephe

w o

f Ju

lius

Cae

sar)

in

a b

attle

for

the

rule

rshi

p of

Rom

e.

T

hrou

ghou

t th

is t

ime,

Egy

pt h

ad r

emai

ned

a so

mew

hat

pros

pero

us n

atio

n an

d an

im

port

ant

play

er i

n in

tern

atio

nal

poli

-ti

cs.

But

it

now

bec

ame

a m

ere

prov

ince

of

the

Rom

an E

mpi

re,

and

the

regi

on s

erve

d as

the

“gra

nary

” of

the

empi

re f

or c

entu

ries

. Im

port

antly

, Egy

pt h

ad b

een

rule

d by

for

eign

ers

sinc

e N

ebuc

had-

nezz

ar.

In

638

AD

, th

e fo

rces

of

the

new

Isl

amic

Ara

b em

pire

co

nque

red

Egy

pt a

fter

a l

ong

sieg

e of

the

cap

ital,

Ale

xand

ria.

Si

nce

then

, th

e co

untr

y ha

s be

en m

ostly

occ

upie

d an

d ru

led

by

peop

le o

f A

rab

desc

ent.

A

utho

r Jo

hn U

rquh

art

asks

, “H

ave

the

last

tw

elve

and

a

half

cen

turi

es p

rove

d or

dis

prov

ed t

he S

crip

ture

? H

ere

is t

he a

n-sw

er:

The

re h

as b

een,

as

was

pre

dict

ed,

a co

nsta

nt d

eclin

e. F

rom

th

e ti

me

of t

he B

abyl

onia

n in

vasi

on t

here

was

no

revi

val

of

Egy

pt’s

gre

atne

ss a

nd p

reem

inen

ce a

mon

g th

e na

tions

….

In t

he

Egy

pt o

f th

e Ph

arao

hs, o

f th

e Pe

rsia

n do

min

ion,

of

the

Ptol

emie

s,

of th

e R

oman

Em

pire

, [an

d] o

f th

e M

oham

med

ans,

we

see

a gr

ad-

ual b

ut c

ontin

uous

des

cent

. Aft

er th

e A

rab

conq

uest

the

dege

nera

-tio

n pr

ocee

ded

with

rap

id s

trid

es, t

ill E

gypt

has

bec

ome

wha

t it i

s to

day

[192

5]…

. A

long

tha

t pa

thw

ay o

f th

e pa

st,

ever

ythi

ng t

hat

mad

e th

e E

gypt

ians

wha

t the

y w

ere

[his

tori

cally

] ha

s be

en w

holly

lo

st.”

5

rive

rs d

ry…

” (E

zek.

30:

12).

Ear

lier,

Isa

iah

had

wri

tten:

“A

nd t

he w

ater

s fr

om t

he s

ea w

ill d

ry u

p, a

nd t

he

rive

r sh

all

be p

arch

ed a

nd d

ry.

And

riv

ers

shal

l be

fou

led;

the

st

ream

s of

Egy

pt w

ill l

angu

ish

and

dry

up;

the

reed

and

the

rus

h sh

all

wit

her…

. The

fis

herm

en a

lso

shal

l m

ourn

, and

all

who

dro

p a

hook

int

o th

e N

ile s

hall

wai

l, an

d th

ose

who

spr

ead

nets

upo

n th

e w

ater

s sh

all l

angu

ish”

(Is

a. 1

9:5-

6, 8

).

Cha

pter

One

4

the

apos

tle

Paul

lik

ewis

e em

phas

izes

tha

t th

ere

is o

nly

one

true

G

od.

“For

ind

eed,

eve

n if

the

re a

re t

hose

whi

ch a

re c

alle

d go

ds,

whe

ther

in

heav

en o

r on

ear

th,

as t

here

are

man

y go

ds a

nd m

any

lord

s, s

till

to u

s th

ere

is o

ne G

od t

he F

athe

r, f

rom

Who

m a

re a

ll th

ings

, an

d w

e ar

e in

Him

, an

d on

e L

ord

Jesu

s C

hris

t, by

Who

m

are

all t

hing

s, a

nd w

e ar

e by

Him

” (I

Cor

. 7:5

-6).

2) I

n E

xodu

s 20

:4-6

and

Deu

tero

nom

y 5:

8-9,

we

read

the

co

mm

and

agai

nst

idol

wor

ship

. T

his

com

man

d ap

pear

s se

vera

l tim

es i

n th

e N

ew T

esta

men

t (I

Joh

n 5:

21;

I C

or.

6:9-

10;

Rev

. 21

:8; e

tc.)

.

3) T

he c

omm

andm

ent

proh

ibiti

ng u

sing

God

’s n

ame

in

vain

occ

urs

in E

xodu

s 20

:7 a

nd D

eute

rono

my

5:11

. In

Mat

thew

6:

7, C

hris

t te

lls H

is d

isci

ples

not

to

vain

ly r

epea

t an

y pr

ayer

by

rote

. L

ikew

ise,

Pau

l ad

mon

ishe

s th

e E

phes

ians

to

avoi

d al

l co

r-ru

pt c

omm

unic

atio

n (E

ph. 4

:29)

.

4) T

he s

even

th-d

ay S

abba

th i

s co

mm

ande

d in

Exo

dus

20:8

-11

and

Deu

tero

nom

y 5:

12-1

4. W

e no

te t

hat

Jesu

s ke

pt t

he

Sab

bath

as

an e

xam

ple

for

His

fol

low

ers.

We

read

in

Luk

e 4:

16

that

kee

ping

the

Sab

bath

was

His

cus

tom

. Plu

s, H

e cl

earl

y ar

ticu-

late

d th

at H

e is

“L

ord”

of

the

Sabb

ath

day—

not

Sund

ay (

Mar

k 2:

27-2

8).

5)

To

hono

r on

e’s

mot

her

and

fath

er i

s th

e Fi

fth

Com

-m

andm

ent

(Ex.

20:

12;

Deu

t. 5:

16).

In

Mar

k 7:

9-13

, C

hris

t co

n-de

mne

d th

e sc

ribe

s an

d Ph

aris

ees

for

nulli

fyin

g th

is c

omm

and

by

carn

ally

rea

soni

ng a

roun

d it.

6) E

xodu

s 20

:13

and

Deu

tero

nom

y 5:

17 t

ell

us n

ot t

o co

mm

it m

urde

r. I

n m

any

plac

es i

n th

e N

ew T

esta

men

t m

urde

r is

co

ndem

ned

(I J

ohn

3:15

; Rev

. 21:

8; 2

2:13

; etc

.).

7)

We

see

next

the

com

man

d ag

ains

t ad

ulte

ry i

n E

xodu

s 20

:14

and

Deu

tero

nom

y 5:

18.

Rom

ans

13:8

-9 t

ells

us

that

not

co

mm

ittin

g ad

ulte

ry is

one

of

the

way

s w

e lo

ve o

ur n

eigh

bor.

He-

brew

s 13

:4 te

lls u

s th

at G

od w

ill ju

dge

adul

tere

rs.

8)

The

Eig

hth

Com

man

dmen

t is

aga

inst

ste

alin

g (E

x.

20:1

5; D

eut.

5:19

). T

hiev

es a

re n

umbe

red

amon

g th

ose

who

will

ha

ve n

o pl

ace

in th

e K

ingd

om o

f G

od (

I C

or. 6

:10)

.

9) B

eari

ng f

alse

wit

ness

, or

lyin

g, i

s pr

ohib

ited

in E

xodu

s 20

:16

and

Deu

tero

nom

y 5:

20. I

n R

evel

atio

n 21

:8, w

e re

ad o

f lia

rs

bein

g ex

clud

ed f

rom

the

Kin

gdom

of

God

.

10)

In E

xodu

s 20

:17

and

Deu

tero

nom

y 5:

21,

God

com

-m

ands

us

not

to c

ovet

(w

rong

ly d

esir

e) a

nyth

ing

that

bel

ongs

to

Con

sist

ency

of

Pri

ncip

les

Bet

wee

n O

ld a

nd N

ew T

esta

men

ts

57

Page 11

.

Rig

ht a

fter

tha

t, C

hris

t ad

ded,

“A

nd t

he s

econ

d is

lik

e it:

‘Y

ou s

hall

love

you

r ne

ighb

or a

s yo

urse

lf.

On

thes

e tw

o co

m-

man

dmen

ts h

ang

all

the

Law

and

the

Pro

phet

s’ ”

(ve

rses

39-

40).

T

he s

econ

d of

the

se t

wo

com

man

dmen

ts i

s al

so f

ound

in

the

Old

T

esta

men

t: “Y

ou s

hall

love

you

r ne

ighb

or a

s yo

urse

lf”

(Lev

. 19

:18)

.

Ano

ther

im

port

ant

prin

cipl

e w

e fi

nd i

n bo

th t

esta

men

ts i

s hu

mili

ty b

efor

e G

od.

Isai

ah 6

6:2

quot

es G

od a

s sa

ying

, “T

o th

is

one

will

I l

ook,

to

him

who

is

of a

poo

r an

d co

ntri

te s

piri

t, an

d w

ho tr

embl

es a

t My

Wor

d.”

Whe

n Je

sus

gave

the

“Ser

mon

on

the

Mou

nt,”

He

bega

n it

with

, “B

less

ed a

re t

he p

oor

in s

piri

t, fo

r th

eirs

is th

e ki

ngdo

m o

f he

aven

.”

T

hose

wit

h th

is a

ttit

ude

of r

ever

ent

hum

ilit

y be

fore

God

w

ill o

f co

urse

be

obed

ient

to H

im. M

oses

told

the

Isra

elite

s in

Ex-

odus

23:

22, “

But

if y

ou s

hall

inde

ed o

bey

His

voi

ce, t

hen

He

will

be

an

enem

y to

you

r en

emie

s an

d a

foe

to y

our

foes

….”

The

sam

e ad

mon

itio

n to

obe

y G

od i

s re

peat

ed c

ount

less

tim

es (

for

exam

ple,

D

eut.

30:2

, 8,

20)

. In

the

New

Tes

tam

ent,

Jesu

s te

lls H

is d

isci

-pl

es,

“If

you

love

Me,

kee

p th

e co

mm

andm

ents

—na

mel

y M

y co

mm

andm

ents

.” H

e sa

ys f

urth

er i

n ve

rse

21,

“The

one

who

has

M

y co

mm

andm

ents

and

is

keep

ing

them

, th

at i

s th

e on

e w

ho

love

s M

e, a

nd th

e on

e w

ho lo

ves

Me

shal

l be

love

d by

My

Fath

er,

and

I w

ill

love

him

and

wil

l m

anif

est

Mys

elf

to h

im.”

Jus

t as

in

the

Old

Tes

tam

ent,

Jesu

s cl

osel

y lin

ks l

ove

for

God

with

obe

di-

ence

to H

im.

A

noth

er i

mpo

rtan

t pr

inci

ple

foun

d in

bot

h te

stam

ents

is

reve

aled

fir

st i

n D

eute

rono

my

8, t

he t

each

ing

that

“m

an d

oes

not

live

by b

read

alo

ne,

but

by e

very

wor

d th

at p

roce

eds

out

of t

he

mou

th o

f th

e L

ord

does

man

liv

e” (

vers

e 3)

. Je

sus

repe

ated

thi

s te

achi

ng w

hen

Sat

an tr

ied

to g

et H

im to

turn

sto

nes

into

bre

ad. “

It

is w

ritte

n, ‘

Man

sha

ll no

t liv

e by

bre

ad a

lone

, bu

t by

eve

ry w

ord

that

pro

ceed

s ou

t of

the

mou

th o

f G

od’

” (M

att.

4:4)

. In

deed

, th

e pr

inci

ple

of

livin

g by

all

of

th

e B

ible

is

co

nsis

tent

ly

taug

ht

thro

ugho

ut b

oth

test

amen

ts.

W

e al

so n

ote

that

eac

h of

the

Ten

Com

man

dmen

ts o

f E

xo-

dus

20 a

nd D

eute

rono

my

5 is

tau

ght

in t

he N

ew T

esta

men

t as

w

ell.

1) T

he F

irst

Com

man

dmen

t is

to

have

no

othe

r go

ds b

e-fo

re t

he t

rue

God

(E

x. 2

0:3;

Deu

t. 5:

6-7)

. In

the

New

Tes

tam

ent,

Cha

pter

Thi

rtee

n

56

prop

hecy

was

a c

ondi

tion

thro

ugh

whi

ch t

hey

actu

ally

pas

sed…

. H

avin

g on

ce b

een

very

pro

duct

ive

and

a m

ain

sour

ce o

f re

venu

e as

wel

l as

sus

tena

nce,

the

fis

heri

es a

re n

ow s

carc

ely

of a

ny m

o-m

ent…

.”6

J.

C.

McC

oan

also

poi

nts

out

that

the

Nile

tod

ay h

as o

nly

two

bran

ches

lef

t in

the

del

ta t

hat

are

at a

ll n

avig

able

—th

e R

oset

-ta

and

the

Dam

ietta

. “T

he f

ive

othe

r co

urse

s of

the

rive

r ha

ve lo

ng

ago

silte

d up

….”

7 M

cCoa

n te

lls

us t

hat

acco

rdin

g to

the

anc

ient

G

reek

his

tori

an H

erod

otus

, the

tw

o th

at a

re s

till

navi

gabl

e ar

e th

e “w

ork

of m

an”

(McC

oan

does

not

cite

exa

ctly

whe

re i

n H

erod

o-tu

s’ H

isto

ries

we

find

thes

e w

ords

).

A

ll of

the

nat

ural

bra

nche

s of

the

Nil

e D

elta

tha

t ex

iste

d in

Isa

iah’

s ti

me

are

toda

y dr

ied

up—

or a

re,

at b

est,

mar

shy

swam

plan

ds!

The

onl

y tw

o br

anch

es t

hat

can

be n

avig

ated

tod

ay

orig

inat

ed a

s ch

anne

ls d

ug b

y m

an.

“Eve

n th

ese

are

acce

ssib

le

only

to s

mal

l to

med

ium

-siz

ed v

esse

ls.”

8

Reg

ardi

ng

Isai

ah’s

pr

ophe

cy

that

th

e “f

ishe

rs

shal

l m

ourn

,” “

Her

odot

us s

ays

that

a c

erta

in n

umbe

r of

the

poo

rer

Egy

ptia

ns ‘

lived

alm

ost

entir

ely

on f

ish.

’ It

was

so

abun

dant

tha

t it

was

nec

essa

rily

che

ap.

The

Nile

pro

duce

d se

vera

l ki

nds

whi

ch

wer

e ea

sily

cau

ght;

and

in L

ake

Moe

ris

the

abun

danc

e of

fis

h w

as

such

tha

t th

e P

hara

ohs

are

said

to

have

der

ived

fro

m t

he s

ale

a re

venu

e of

abo

ve 9

4,00

0 [E

nglis

h po

unds

] a

year

….

The

fis

her-

men

of

Egy

pt f

orm

ed a

num

erou

s cl

ass,

and

the

sal

ting

and

dry-

ing

of f

ish

furn

ishe

d oc

cupa

tion

to a

larg

e nu

mbe

r of

per

sons

.”9

B

ut h

as I

saia

h’s

prop

hecy

of

the

decl

ine

of f

ishi

ng i

n E

gypt

bee

n fu

lfill

ed?

“In

the

decl

ine

of E

gypt

the

fis

h-po

ols

and

thei

r co

ndui

ts w

ere

negl

ecte

d an

d ru

ined

, an

d th

e fi

sher

s la

men

t-ed

, mou

rned

and

lang

uish

ed.”

10

T

hese

fu

lfill

ed

prop

heci

es

rega

rdin

g E

gypt

ar

e on

ly

a sa

mpl

ing—

man

y m

ore

coul

d be

doc

umen

ted.

But

eve

n th

ese

are

suff

icie

nt t

o ca

use

us t

o as

k, I

s th

is j

ust

coin

cide

nce

or l

ucky

gu

esse

s? O

r is

this

fulf

ille

d pr

ophe

cy?

B

ut

wai

t. W

e’ve

on

ly

begu

n to

do

cum

ent

prop

heci

es

mad

e in

the

Bib

le a

bout

anc

ient

gre

at p

ower

s—an

d th

eir

fulf

ill-

men

ts d

own

thro

ugh

hist

ory.

5

Egy

pt

Page 12

CH

AP

TE

R T

WO

__

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

The

Pho

enic

ians

The

Pho

enic

ians

wer

e a

loos

e fe

dera

tion

of

coas

tal

city

-st

ates

at

the

east

ern

end

of t

he M

edit

erra

nean

Sea

tha

t in

clud

ed

Sido

n (t

he o

ldes

t, an

d th

e na

me

the

Bib

le s

omet

imes

use

s to

ref

er

to a

ll th

e Ph

oeni

cian

peo

ple)

, T

yre

(the

mos

t po

wer

ful

and

lead

-in

g ci

ty-s

tate

), A

kko,

Byb

los,

Uga

rit,

and

Ber

ytus

(no

w c

alle

d B

eiru

t).

The

ir f

eder

atio

n w

as a

rgua

bly

as m

uch

com

mer

cial

as

poli

tica

l. T

oget

her

they

for

med

the

gre

ates

t m

arit

ime

com

mer

cial

em

pire

the

wor

ld h

ad e

ver

seen

—fr

om a

bout

120

0 to

600

BC

. T

heir

tra

de c

olon

ies

incl

uded

nea

rly

ever

y po

rt c

ity

of t

he M

edi-

terr

anea

n, p

lus

colo

nies

Med

iter

rane

an-A

tlan

tic

wor

ld th

at th

ey h

ad n

ot a

t lea

st v

isite

d an

d pr

obab

ly tr

aded

with

.11

T

he m

ain

Pho

enic

ian

subj

ect

of B

ible

pro

phec

y is

the

city

-sta

te o

f T

yre.

The

re i

s so

me

prop

hecy

abo

ut S

idon

as

wel

l, bu

t w

e w

ill f

ocus

mos

tly o

n th

ose

pred

ictio

ns c

once

rnin

g T

yre.

Tyr

e

Pro

phec

y—T

he b

egin

ning

ver

ses

of E

zeki

el 2

6 fo

rete

ll of

so

me

of N

ebuc

hadn

ezza

r ex

ploi

ts,

whi

ch h

ave

all

been

ful

fill

ed.

How

ever

, so

me

mig

ht q

uest

ion

whe

ther

the

se p

roph

ecie

s w

ere

actu

ally

mad

e be

fore

the

ir h

isto

ric

fulf

illm

ents

. T

hus,

we

will

sk

ip t

hese

ear

lier

ver

ses

and

go r

ight

to

the

long

-ter

m p

redi

ctio

ns,

whi

ch b

egin

in

vers

e 12

: “

‘And

the

y sh

all

plun

der

your

ric

hes

and

mak

e a

pill

age

of y

our

mer

chan

dise

. A

nd t

hey

shal

l br

eak

dow

n yo

ur w

alls

and

des

troy

you

r pl

easa

nt h

ouse

s. A

nd th

ey s

hall

lay

your

sto

nes

and

your

tim

ber

and

your

dus

t in

the

mid

st o

f th

e w

ater

s. A

nd I

will

cau

se t

he n

oise

of

your

son

gs t

o ce

ase;

and

the

soun

d of

you

r ly

res

shal

l be

hea

rd n

o m

ore.

And

I w

ill m

ake

you

like

a ba

re r

ock.

You

sha

ll be

a p

lace

to

spre

ad n

ets

on:

you

shal

l be

bui

lt n

o m

ore:

for

I t

he L

OR

D h

ave

spok

en,’

say

s th

e L

ord

GO

D”

(Eze

k. 2

6:12

-14)

.

6

PA

RT

IV

:

T

he B

ible

’s I

nter

nal

Con

sist

ency

and

Har

mon

y

CH

AP

TE

R T

HIR

TE

EN

__

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

Con

sist

ency

of

Pri

ncip

les

Bet

wee

n O

ld a

nd N

ew T

esta

men

ts

W

e ha

ve s

how

n in

pre

viou

s ch

apte

rs h

ow B

ible

pro

phe-

cies

hav

e be

en f

ulfi

lled

ove

r th

e ce

ntur

ies;

we

have

als

o co

n-fi

rmed

the

acc

urac

y of

the

Bib

le’s

his

tori

cal

acco

unts

; an

d w

e ha

ve d

emon

stra

ted

way

s in

whi

ch b

iblic

al s

tate

men

ts a

bout

the

ph

ysic

al w

orld

agr

ee w

ith

fact

s of

sci

ence

. B

ut w

hat

abou

t th

e B

ible

itse

lf?

Doe

s it

hold

inte

rnal

evi

denc

e of

its

own

vera

city

?

Man

y ar

e un

awar

e th

at t

he m

ultip

le b

ooks

kno

wn

as T

he

Hol

y B

ible

wer

e w

ritt

en b

y so

me

40 d

iffe

rent

aut

hors

ove

r a

peri

-od

of

mor

e th

an 1

500

year

s. T

his

is s

urel

y a

form

ula

for

a di

sas-

trou

s co

nglo

mer

atio

n of

dis

join

ted

and

cont

radi

ctor

y te

achi

ngs.

Y

et w

hen

the

Scr

iptu

res

are

clos

ely

exam

ined

, w

e in

stea

d se

e a

rem

arka

ble

degr

ee o

f co

nsis

tenc

y an

d ag

reem

ent

as t

o th

eir

con-

tent

and

the

prin

cipl

es th

ey te

ach.

Man

y w

ho a

ccep

t th

e N

ew T

esta

men

t re

ject

the

Old

Tes

-ta

men

t as

no

long

er a

pplic

able

, w

hile

man

y w

ho b

elie

ve t

he H

e-br

ew S

crip

ture

s (O

ld T

esta

men

t) r

ejec

t the

New

. Som

e al

lege

that

th

ere

are

conf

lict

s be

twee

n th

e tw

o. I

n th

is c

hapt

er w

e w

ill

see

that

the

Bib

le is

am

azin

gly

cons

iste

nt in

its

teac

hing

s be

twee

n th

e O

ld a

nd N

ew T

esta

men

ts. W

hile

the

Old

Tes

tam

ent t

each

es m

ain-

ly th

e le

tter

of

God

’s la

ws

and

prec

epts

, the

New

Tes

tam

ent r

aise

s th

e ap

plic

atio

n of

thos

e pr

ecep

ts to

the

spir

itua

l lev

el.

55