The Holy Bible is the number one selling book of all time.
When we compare the 66 books of the Bible to any other book or collection, it has no peer. Without apparent planning, the Bible grew book-by-book in a structured and organized manner, spanning 1500 years and 60 generations. It opposes the very essence of what it means to be human; thus no mortal authored it, yet the consistency of thought is unmistakable that it came from a single mind. Its function is to a deeper purpose, to reveal God to mankind through a living breathing document.
There are some that believe that an oral tradition predated the transcription of the Old Testament; there was no such custom prior to Judah’s Babylonian exile. Everything was set down as instructed by God. (Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 31:19-22; and Genesis 5:1.) Even the LORD wrote the Law:
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (Exodus 32:18)
Writing is mentioned 38 times in the Pentateuch, 221 times in the Prophets and a further 55 times in the New Testament. The first writings were in cuneiform as used across Mesopotamia, and from Egypt to Assyria.
Cuneiform writing became the system used by all civilized countries east of the Mediterranean – Assyria, Babylonia, Persia – and by the Hittites, who are mentioned seven times in Genesis beginning at Genesis 15:20. Cuneiform writing consists of a series of wedge-shaped impressions (cuneia means ‘wedge’) made in plastic clay.
The Hebrew word ‘to write’ means ‘to cut in’ or ‘to dig.’ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all would have written in cuneiform. Those who do not consider the early chapters of Genesis to be reliable history use oral transmission as the explanation for those chapters of the book. However, it is absurd to think that God would entrust the eternal Word to the fragile memory of humans. Scripture teaches the opposite. (Marvin L. Lubenow: The Bones of Contention: 1992)
Since God created our first parents with the ability to speak, it is reasonable to suggest that He created them with the ability to learn to write as well. A naturalistic, evolutionary origin of language stretches credulity. (ibid)
Measured against all ancient texts the Bible has no equal. Of Caesar’s Gallic War (58-60BC) there are perhaps ten copies; Livy’s Roman History (59BC-17AD) less than twenty, the earliest dating from around 900AD. Of the Histories of Tacitus (100AD) only twenty are said to exist. The works of historians Thucydides and Herodotus, written more than 400 years BC, have come down to us with only eight approved copies intact. Yet, no classical scholar doubts their authenticity despite the gap between original and duplicate, and the small number of surviving manuscripts.
With regards to the New Testament, there are fragments and portions of letters dating from 120AD; full manuscripts dating from 300AD. There are more than 5000 Greek manuscripts; 10,000 in Latin, in addition to over 9,000 texts and 36,000 citings in the writings of the early Church.
Textual critics and historians agree the integrity of the New Testament is established beyond doubt.
There is also fulfilled prophecy to think about, which ties the Old Testament to the New. Centuries before Jesus was born, His ancestry (Isaiah 9:7); birthplace (Micah 5:2); manner of birth (Isaiah 7:14); infancy (Hosea 11:1); manhood (Isaiah 40:11); character (Isaiah 9:6); occupation (Isaiah 35:5-6); reception (Zechariah 9:9); rejection (Micah 5:1); death (Psalm 22:16); burial (Isaiah 53:9); resurrection (Psalm 16:10) and ascension (Psalm 68:18);
These were all prophesied and set down often by more than one Prophet.
These ancient writers drew a picture of a man not yet born, and told of his life, ministry and fate an achievement unmatched in history. Then there are the mathematical odds of prediction to consider. In James Hefley’s: What’s so great about The Bible: students of City College, Pasadena applied laws of probability to the fulfillment of only eight Old Testament prophesies concerning the Christ.
They concluded:
- Birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) 280,000 to 1;
- A messenger would announce His coming (Malachi 3:1) 1000 to 1;
- A triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a colt (Zechariah 9:9) 10,000 to 1;
- Betrayed by friends and would suffer wounds (Zechariah 13:6) 1000 to 1;
- The betrayer to receive 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12) 10,000 to 1;
- The silver thrown to a potter (Zechariah 11:13) 100,000 to 1;
- Though innocent he would be oppressed and afflicted and make no defense (Isaiah 53:7) 10,000 to 1; and
- Die by crucifixion (Psalm 22:16) 10,000 to 1.
They calculated the likelihood of all eight prophesies being fulfilled in one person as: 1 in 28 trillion. On the subject of chance Psalm 22, written several hundred years BC reads:
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked has enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
David described the terrible outcome of a type of execution unknown at the time. He wrote these words centuries prior to the crucifixion of Jesus; well before it was invented in Persia, and later adopted by Rome.
But, what does the Bible say about itself?
There is no doubt the Bible is a God-inspired Book. In his second letter to Timothy Paul states …all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. (2Timothy 3:16) The phrase given by inspiration is the rendition of the Greek theopneustos meaning: breathed by God – showing that both the Hebrew and Greek Testaments have come to us via God-breathed instruction. Thus, God’s will was given to the Prophets and Apostles by His Spirit:
The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:21)
Accordingly, the words of the Prophets were not their own: God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. (Hebrews 1:1)
The Prophet Samuel made it plain when he said: The Spirit of the LORD Spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. (2Samuel 23:2)
And Jeremiah wrote: And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. (Jeremiah 1:9)
Luke confirmed this sacred connection between God and His prophets: as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began. (Luke 1:70)
Without exception, the Prophets of Israel literally gave their lives to the LORD. By the end Ezekiel was a broken man; Elijah hid in a cave hoping to die; Zechariah was murdered next to the temple, and Isaiah was required to live naked for three years as a sign to Israel. Jeremiah gave 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:2) And from the outset, Malachi called his ministry: the burden of the word of the LORD. (Malachi 1:1) Moses was forbidden to enter the Holy Land due to a momentary lapse. Each bore lives of enduring hardship and suffering.
The specter of death hung over any who added or removed: ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it… (Deuteronomy 4:2) So, when Paul declares: …the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord; …they are. Statements like “Thus saith the Lord” and “God said,” appear more than 2,500 times. The Bible then can be relied upon as the inspired and unwavering Word of the LORD and His Christ.
As confirmed by Paul: for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:12)
Therefore, the Bible holds the LORD’S purpose for us all; the path to salvation, the judgment of sin and the recompense of the faithful. Its doctrines are holy, its instructions binding, its history is true and its decisions set under oath. We become wise when we read it and righteous when we live it. It is a light to lead us, food to prolong us, and hope should we need it.
It is a map and road, the pilot’s compass, the pilgrim’s staff, the soldier’s sword; a river of delight for all who chart its sacred waters. It opens heaven and closes hell when it rules the heart. It is the prophet’s toil, the miner’s seam, the finder’s joy, the key to peace, the window of Heaven, the appearance of the LORD, the Grace of Christ, the course to perfection; the open door without end.
On the King James
More than simply a collection of sacred writings and contemplation, scholars are agreed the impact of the King James Bible was seismic. With the King James being the Church of England’s primary source of instruction it could hardly be otherwise. The poetry and rhythms of the King James, sometimes difficult but finally rewarding have inspired writers from Milton to Lawrence.
Lord Melvyn Bragg’s study marking the 400th anniversary of its publication, described the cadences and metaphors of the King James Bible as bitten into our tongue and more exuberantly as part of the DNA of the English language. Like Martin Luther’s German translation, it had a fundamental influence on both language and society. In his remarkable work: The Book: A History of the Bible, Cambridge Fellow and Manuscripts Scholar, Christopher de Hamel stated the Bible was; the biggest subject of all time. He is of course correct, as a literary wonder it has no equal.
In 1604, James the 6th of Scotland became King James the 1st of England, ruler of Great Britain and Ireland. James ‘one and six’ inherited a nation in religious and political turmoil, so when Puritan, John Reynolds proposed a new Bible in English be issued in his honour, the new King saw this as an opportunity to bring about a unity of service between Presbyterian Scotland and Episcopal England.
Work on the Bible began in 1604; it was completed and published in 1611. It became known as the Authorised Version as James had taken keen interest in its publication. It soon became the official Bible of England and of the English Church. The King James Bible is the most important book written in the English language. It introduced new words and phrases, and like Luther’s German Bible, brought about significant and measurable change to the alphabet and its use.
The first revision of the King James was in 1615. It was revised again in 1629, 1638, and 1762. The most substantive changes found in the 18th Century revision of 1769. Thomas Paris (1762) worked on his edition at Cambridge, while Benjamin Blayney completed his work independently at Oxford. Blayney included a large amount of modernisation of spelling, punctuation and idiom, though in keeping with the word structure of the 1611 original. Blayney’s 1769 revision is the King James Bible we know today.
The 14 books of the Apocrypha, removed since 1885 were included at the insistence of the king, and placed between the Testaments. They have since been removed from standard Bibles, but available as stand-alone publications, or in editions containing these works.
The Holy Bible is the most unyielding tome and volume; no power on earth can destroy the ideas it holds. Many who laboured to bring you its good news were hanged; crucified, burned at the stake, drowned, beheaded or killed by sword and lance. They were belittled, libeled and without charge, thrown in prison to leave in a box. Their devotion has brought us a great and glorious wonder. You should get to know it better; they gave of their blood to bring you this gift.
Cambridge Fellow, Christopher de Hamel is indeed correct in his statement that the Holy Bible is the biggest subject of all time. And if you feel you should open it again, say hello to Peter and Paul. If for the first time, the Gospels are a great place to start – I pray you find it helpful and rewarding.
Within this ample Volume lies the mystery of mysteries; Happiest they of human race to whom their God has given grace; To read, to fear, to hope, to pray, to lift the latch, to force the way; but better had they ne’er been born that read to doubt or read to scorn. (Sir Walter Scott)
All honour, glory and praise to its author and ours,
James