How True the Bible is the Word of God?

HOW TRUE THE BIBLE IS 

THE WORD OF GOD?

“I don’t believe in the Bible because 

it is only written by men”

THE BIBLE IS consists of sixty-six (66) books and written by more than forty (40) men including the Prophet Moses, the King David and the Apostle Paul. However, because the books of the Bible were written by men, others immediately dismissed the Bible as the word of God. They asked, “How can the Bible be the word of God if it is written only by men?” Thus, they dismissed the Bible as a “sacred text” and see it only as a human text that can be analyzed and criticized like any other literary works.

THEY WERE COMMANDED BY

GOD TO WRITE HIS WORDS

Not because the biblical books were written by men it does not necessarily means that the Bible is not God’s word, not a “sacred text.” These men wrote God’s words because God commanded them to do so. Jeremiah wrote the biblical book “Jeremiah” because God ordered Him to do so:

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.” (Jeremiah 30:2 NIV)

Even in the Christian era, the apostles like Apostle John, were commanded by God to write His words:

“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:9-11 NKJV)

Thus, the biblical books were written by men whom God commissioned to do so. What they wrote is God’s words, “'Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.”

It is like a letter which the president ordered his secretary to write. Technically, it is written by the secretary, but it does not necessarily means that the letter is not from the president.

The prophets and the apostles wrote the biblical books because God commaned them to do so.

THEY WROTE THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

THROUGH GOD’S INSPIRATION

Not only that God commanded them to write His words, but they wrote the biblical books through God’s inspiration. This is what Apostle Paul said in II Timothy 3:15-17:

“And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NKJV)

This is why the writers of the biblical books are called “inspired writers.” These men wrote through God’s inspirations or they were inspired by God when writing the biblical books.

The notion that the biblical books were written by men make others to immediately dismissed the Bible as God’s word because “all men commit mistakes.” However, they failed to consider that these men who wrote the biblical vooks were inspired by God. What does it mean that these men who wrote the biblical books were inspired by God? In Revelation 10:4 this is what we could read:

“Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.’” (Revelation 10:4 NKJV)

“They wrote through God’s inspiration” means the Lord God guided them as they wrote His words. It is the Lord God Himself who decides what should be written and what should not be written. It is also the Lord God who decides when the inspired writers will end the writing of the biblical book:

“But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” (Daniel 12:4 NIV)

“He said to me, "And now, Daniel, close the book and put a seal on it until the end of the world. Meanwhile, many people will waste their efforts trying to understand what is happening.” (Daniel 12:4 TEV)

Thus, the real issue here is not if the biblical books were written by men, but if those men who wrote the biblical books were truly inspired by God and what they wrote are truly God’s words.

WHAT GOD WAS, THE WORD WAS

God is unique in that He is almighty (Gen. 17:1). He has unlimited power. His will always comes to pass since nothing could ever prevent its fulfillment. God’s words possess the same quality:

“For no word from God shall be void of power.” (Luke 1:37, ASV)

Every word from the Almighty God has power. Like God Himself, His words are of unlimited power. How is God’s power manifested in His words?

“Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.” (Is. 41:22-23, NIV)

God is able to declare what the future holds. He can tell us the things to come long before they happen. False gods, such as idols and graven images, cannot do or say anything, let alone declare the future. And it is this power of God, which can be seen when what He says come to pass, that proves that He alone is the true God. God is able to “make known the end from the beginning” – or declare what will ultimately and certainly come to pass – because He himself, with His infinite power, brings His words to fulfillment (Is. 46:9-10). This characteristic of God and of His words distinguishes Him from man. Man by Himself cannot “declare the things to come” since he cannot foretell even the day of his own death (Js. 4:14).

Therefore, God’s power and the power of His words are found in no other. This power of the divine word, “declaring the things to come,” cannot be found in any “human text.”

Is the Bible truly God’s word? Did the writers of the biblical books truly write through God’s inspiration? How true that what they wrote are indeed God’s words? Only the scripture that have the power of the divine word or the attributes of the word of God can rightfully claim to be the Sacred Scripture where the words of God are indeed written.

DECLARING WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

The Bible contains several examples of God’s words that were declared long ago but were appointed to take place in the time when the end is near. One of these is that written in Revelation chapter 6:12-13:

“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.” (Revelation 6:12-13 NKJV)

In this verse, the Bible is telling about a “great earthquake.” Although there were many “great earthquakes” happened in the past, but the Bible explicitly tells us that this “great earthquake” is followed by the “sun became black as sackcloth of hair,” the “moon became like blood,” and the “stars of heaven fell to the earth.” These distinguished the “great earthquake” of Revelation 6:12-13 from other earthquakes occurred in the past.

The fulfillment of this “great earthquake” is the earthquake of 1755 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Lisbon earthquake is one of the strongest earthquakes recorded, felt in a radius of about forty times larger that the United Kingdom and claimed 6,000 lives (The Physical Earth, pp. 28-29).

 We are certain that the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 is the fulfillment of the “great earthquake” mentioned in Revelation 6:12-13, because this is the earthquake followed by the “sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became like blood” which the fulfillment is what history called as the “Black Friday” of May 19, 1780 in New England (The New International Encyclopedia, volume VI, p. 502).

Take note that according to the Book of Revelation the “great earthquake” was followed by “sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the “moon became like blood” which followed by “stars of heaven fell to the earth.”

The fulfillment of the “stars of heaven fell to the earth” that followed the “sun became black as sackcloth of hair” and the “moon became like blood” is the “meteor shower” of 1833. In the night of November 12, 1833, hundreds of meteorites (also called “falling stars”) seen in the whole eastern part of the United States (N.E.S., p. 1217).

Take note of the following:

Revelation 6:12-13 “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.” (Revelation 6:12-13 NKJV)
(1) “there was a great earthquake”	1755	The great earthquake in Lisbon
(2) “and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.”	1780	The “Black Friday “of New England
(3) “And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.”	1833	“Meteor shower” seen in the whole eastern part of the United States

The “great earthquake” followed by the “sun became black as sackcloth of hair,” the “moon became like blood,” and the “stars of heaven fell to the earth” mentioned in Revelation 6:12-13 is followed by the coming of the “great day of their wrath”:

“The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.  Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:14-17 NIV)

Because of the “great day of the wrath” of the Lord, the “sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” The “great day of the wrath” of the Lord mentioned in Revelation is not the Day of Judgment but a war which also mentioned in the prophecy written in the Book of Isaiah:

“Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!  The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter.

“All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.” (Isaiah 34:1-2, 4 NIV)

What the Book of Revelation mentioned that “the sky receded like a scroll” is also mentioned in Isaiah 34:1-2 and 4, “the sky rolled up like a scroll.” Isaiah also mentioned the “wrath” of the Lord. Thus, Revelation 6:12-13 and Isaiah 34:1-2 and 4 are related prophecies.

The prophecy of Revelation 6:12-13 and the prophecy of Isaiah 34:1-2 and 4 are both referring to a “great war.” Isaiah said, “Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!  The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter.”

Because of this “great war,” according to Revelation “The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place...” The “sky” or “heaven” mentioned by the Book of Revelation refers to the “heavens of men” (Lev. 26:19), and the “glory of the kings” (Is. 14:18). The “mountains that were removed” refers to “kings” (Rev. 17:9-10).

The prophecy indeed came to past. The “great war” referred to by the biblical prophecies is the “Great War” of 1914-1918” also called as First World War (WWI):

“The first great campaign on the southeastern battle grounds of the Great War began on July 27, 1914, when the Austrian troops undertook their first invasion of Serbia.” (The Story of the Great War from official Sources, p. 291).

 

As the prophecy said, the “sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place,” the emperor of Russia, Austria and Germany were dethroned, and also the kings of Greece and Bulgaria, because of the First World War. Also, the government of these nations was changed (Modern Times and the Living past, p. 687).

The “islands” that were “removed from its place” were the “colonies.” Like the colonies of Germany in the Pacific, after the Great War, were transferred to Japan and England (M.T.L.P., pp. 707-707).

How about the hiding in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains of the “kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man”” This is the testimony of the history:

“The First World War was unlike any war in the past…This was the first war in ‘three dimensions,’ the first war in which cities were bombed from the air and winged warriors fought among the clouds. Of course the airplanes of 1914 were not so past, so formidable, nor so numerous as those of today…The soldiers had to turn themselves into beavers and moles and dig deep trenches…” (W.Hist., pp. 478-479)

The great War of 1914-1918 was the first war which cities were bombed from the air, thus people have to hide themselves in the air-raid shelters. The soldiers had to turn themselves into beavers and moles and dig deep trenches.

Take note that the First World War that began in 1914 was also the war that was followed by the “four angels” holding back the “wind”:

“After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.” (Revelation 7:1 NKJV)

The “wind” refers to a “war” (Jer. 4:11-13 and 19). The “four corners of the earth” refers to the “four directions of the earth” (I Chron. 9:24). Thus, “wind of the four corners of the earth” is referring to the world war.

The word “angel” came from the Greek word which literally means “messenger,” and messenger means “sent.” According to Apostle Peter, the kings, governor or leaders of nation are “sent by Him”:

“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.” (I Peter 2:13-14 NKJV)

The fulfillment of the prophecy:

“Orlando of Italy, Lloyd George of Great Britain, Clemenceau of France, and Wilson of America who were called the Big Four when they met in Paris to confer concerning the Treaty of Versailles.” (World History, p. 494)

The Bible also explicitly said that there was “silence in heaven for about half an hour” when the seventh seal was opened:

“When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Revelation 8:1 NKJV)

As already mentioned, the “heaven” refers to “heavens of men” (Lev. 26:19). Also take note that “one day to God is one thousand years to man”:

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (II Peter 3:8 NKJV)

One day to God is one thousand years to man. One day is 24 hours. Dividing one thousand years with 24 hours is “one hour is 41 years and 8 months.”

One day       =        One thousand years

24 hors        =        1,000 years

1 hours        =        41 years and 8 months

Half hour     =        20 years and 10 months

Did the prophecy come to past?

First World War ended on November 11, 1918

Second World War started on September 1, 1939

         YEAR               MONTH               DAY

          1939                      9                       1

          1918                    11                     11  .

          20 years              9 months          20 days

Indeed, Revelation 8:1 came to past.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, the Bible is indeed the word of God. “What God was, the word was.” God’s power to declare what the future holds, telling us the things to come long before they happen. Since the power of God’s words are found in the words written in the Bible, the Bible also declares what the future holds, long before it happens. Thus the Bible is indeed not a human text, not a collection of myth, not in equal status with other “scriptures,” but the only Sacred Scripture where the words of God are written.

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Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ)

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