"For everything comes from God alone. Everything
lives by his power, and everything is for his glory." Rom 11:36 (LB)
The Bible: fact or fiction? Today the Bible has
been a subject argued about for many years. Many believe it, but can't defend
its evidence. And yet, it's been a book trusted for many centuries, and the foundation for many people's lives. I
shall do my best to ease some of your consciences in the area of Biblical
evidence. This should give you some good, accurate insight into what
professional scientists, Christian and even Non-Christian, have found and
concluded to be evidence consistent with the Bible.
Let's try thinking of the Bible as a history book,
or even a time capsule (that's not buried, of course.) It gives a look at our
past and what it was like, just like any other history book. It shows us the
mistakes and errors of the people who lived during those times, just like many
history stories such as the fall of Napoleon. It even gives us good, godly,
Christian knowledge on how to live life, shows the difference between right and
wrong, and tells us our origin, where we came from. The list goes on and on and
on. And it is consistent, and, if you truly live, think, and act the way the
Bible instructs, this information works! It even tells us that there were
dinosaurs living with humans in Job 40 and 41!
Here are some accurate facts that support the
Bible: First, according to the Hebrew record, when descendents of Ham, Shem,
and Japheth (Noah's sons) arrived at the Tigris-Euphrates River, everyone spoke
the same language. Nimrod, a Hamitic ruler, unified the people of the valley,
and began building a tower and city that would keep all the people together.
Suddenly something happened that stopped the construction. People began
speaking in different languages and couldn't understand each other. People who
spoke the same language moved to different locations. The unfinished tower and
city were later called Babel, meaning "confusion". Creationists
believe the confusion of languages was an act of God because He wasn't pleased
with what the people were doing. This supernatural event resulted in migrations
and the beginning of other nations.
We must know and remember that the Bible isn't just
a book written hundreds of years ago. When the Bible was written, it wasn't
written from scratch. The Bible's original language was Hebrew, and it was
translated into English for King James in 1611; therefore, becoming the King
James version Bible. The Bible, in Hebrew, English, or any type of language or
version, has existed for thousands of years. The first five books of the Bible
were written by Moses, who was, in fact, Hebrew. And David, an Israelite, is
also known for writing most of the book of Psalms found in the Bible. ( Or
possibly, his son Solomon)
Israelites are also mentioned in the Bible,
including Moses. Between 1447 and 1411 B.C., under the rule of King Amenhotep
II, Pharaoh of Egypt, Israelites were enslaved under his rule. According to the
Bible, Moses was sent by God (with his brother Aaron) to ask the Pharaoh to
free the Hebrew slaves. (King Amenhotep II was a real Pharaoh) Every time the Pharaoh
refused, a plague, sent by God, would come upon Egypt. The ten plagues,
according to the Hebrew record, were a series of supernatural signs brought
against the Egyptian people as a result of Pharaoh’s refusing the Israelites
freedom of worship. Each plague was related to nature, the source of all
Egyptian deities, and would seem to be a direct attack on their gods. The fact
that Egyptian magicians were unable to imitate the plagues proved the power of
the true God.
During the rule of King Xerxes (who was a real
king) in ancient Persia, there was a beauty pageant much like Miss America or
Miss Universe contests. After divorcing his wife for disobeying him, Xerxes
wanted a new queen. He held a Miss Persia contest in which all the most
beautiful girls in the Persian Empire entered. The winner, a Hebrew girl named
Esther, married Xerxes and became queen of Persia. Later she saved all the
Hebrews from death when the king was tricked by an advisor to order them
killed. This story is recorded in the book of Esther in the Bible.
Years before Alexander the Great (an actual person)
was born, a prophet named Daniel (who's in the Bible) lived in Babylon (an
actual city in history and the Bible). According to the Hebrew record, Daniel
had a dream in which he saw strange and fearful animals fighting each other.
Then God revealed to him that the animals represented kingdoms and events that
were going to happen. A ram with two horns, the first animal, represented the
kings of Medo-Persia. The second animal, a goat with one mighty horn,
represented Alexander, the king of Greece. In the dream the goat suddenly
appeared to defeat the ram. Then Daniel saw the goat's horn break and become
four horns. He prophesied that Alexander's kingdom would be divided into four
kingdoms. We know from historical records that Alexander, the king of Greece
(the goat), did conquer the Medo-Persian Empire (the ram). When Alexander died,
his empire was left to his young son (the goat's single horn). This son died
and the empire was divided into four kingdoms, just as Daniel had prophesied
many years before.
Every prophecy which appears in the Bible, except
for future events, has come true. We can see things happening even today that
fulfill prophecies made more than 2,000 or 3,000 years ago.
These are just a small part of the amount of
evidence that support the Bible. And these are just historical facts! What we
see in God's world agrees with what we see in God's word. If you are ever
confronted by someone who's not a Christian, with this information, (and much
more out there) you can defend the Bible with confidence with no doubts about
what you believe.
Haiku
Source: Streams of Civilizations Vol. 1 by Mary Stanton and Albert Hyma and Dinosaurs and Creation by Donald B. Young.
Image by Leaping Lizard
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