(Written by Hayes K. Minnick)
I.-Introduction.
As Sir Walter Scott lay dying, he asked his nephew to read to him from the Book. "What book?" replied the young man. "There is only one Book," said Sir Walter Scott, "--the Bible."
Ah yes, there is no doubt about it, the Bible is a unique Book; the only one of its kind--there is none other like it in all the world. It claims for itself to be the inspired, authoritative, final revelation of God to man. Over 2500 times the Old Testament claims to be the Word of God; and the New Testament makes the same claim at least 500 times. The doctrine of inspiration is set forth fully in such classic passages as II Timothy 3:16-17 and II Peter 1:20-21. The first of these passages declares plainly that "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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." The second of these passages states "that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For 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." These sets of verses should be committed to memory and hidden in the heart of every child of God in accordance with I Peter 3:15. "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asked you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
In recent years an all-out attack has been made against the inspiration and authority of the Bible, and in a very subtle way. For centuries, the old Devil sought to destroy the Scriptures by external force. He failed. Today he is using other tactics, far more subtle. Institutions, founded by God-fearing men and women for the purpose of providing young people with a Bible-based, Christian training, have through the years been turned into instruments for robbing young men and women of their faith. College, University, and Seminary alike have united in a vicious effort to undermine and wreck the faith of men and women in the Bible as the Word of God. "He took Christ out of my heart..... that's why life isn't worth living," cried a young girl as she lay dying, having drunk a cup of poison, poured by her own hand. Having come from a Christian home, she went away to a godless University where some God-defying professor robbed her of her faith in the Bible, and in the Bible's Christ. Her soul poisoned with the philosophy of atheistic materialism, with no God to live for, no Christ to live for, no heaven on earth or in the skies, this poor deluded soul went to a suicide's grave. Tragically enough, this attack against the Bible is not limited to the classroom of the University and Seminary. It is being made today from many a pulpit in our land. Men who profess to be ministers of the Gospel are out to destroy the authority of the Book that gives us the Gospel.
In the face of this terrible onslaught, what shall we say? Is the Bible the inspired Word of God? Or is it just another book, the mere product of human ingenuity? I submit to you that if the Bible is not what it claims to be, the inspired, inerrant Word of the living God, it is the supreme hoax of human history. The judge in a certain court was much provoked because a certain man did not appear at his summons. Finally the man's son came; and the judge thundered at him, "What's the reason your father isn't here, young man? He should have been here two weeks ago." "There are seventeen reasons, your honor, why my father is not here. "What are they?" roared the judge. "The first is, my father died a little over two weeks ago," said the youth. "Well," said the judge after a moment's hesitation, "that reason is sufficient, we won't need the other sixteen."
We herewith begin a series of sermons presenting a dozen or more reasons why we believe the Bible to be the Word of God, any one of which would be sufficient to prove its Divine inspiration and authority. In presenting these reasons, we are not seeking to defend the Bible, for the Bible needs no defense. We are presenting this series of messages to defend men and women from infidelity and its soul-blighting consequences. I earnestly pray that God will use these messages first, to strengthen the faith of each Christian; secondly, to challenge some unsaved soul in such a way that he may realize his need of receiving Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour from sin.
II.-Body of message.
I.-I believe with all my heart that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God because Jesus Christ said it was. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:18) "...Scripture cannot be broken;" (John 10:35) Emphatically, repeatedly, unequivocally, Christ testified that the Bible is God's Word. My friend, who will you believe? Will you take the word of some infidel University professor whose intelligence approximates that of the ape from which he professes to have come? Will you hang the eternal destiny of your soul on the opinion of a bunch of quacks who fill our modern pulpits? Or will you believe the testimony of Jesus Christ?
The value of testimony in any court depends on three things: 1.) the character of the witness; 2.) his intelligence; 3.) his knowledge of the facts in the particular case before the court. I submit to you that Jesus Christ, the only perfect character known to history, is the only person who can qualify as a witness in this case. His character is unimpeachable for He is the sinless Son of God; His wisdom and knowledge of the facts is infinite, inferior to none, and
superior to all. When Jesus Christ speaks, He knows what He is talking about. And that is more than I can say for your two-by-four pin-whiskered University professors; that is more than I can say for your Fosdicks, Buttricks, Homrighausens and all the rest of these modernist preachers. The Lord Jesus knows what He's talking about. Jesus said, "Scripture cannot be broken." And I believe Him. I believe with all my heart that the Bible is the inspired Word of God because Jesus Christ said so.
2.-I believe that the Bible is the Word of God because the human authors of it testified that they received it from God. The prophets and apostles who wrote the Bible uniformly testify that they were merely instruments, and that it was God who gave them the words to write. These men were holy, intelligent men, many of whom sealed their testimony with their blood. Do you think that they would have suffered martyrdom merely to propagate a pious fraud? Had they been false witnesses, they would have recanted under persecution. It was John Wesley who stated the argument in words to this effect: The Bible was written either by God, good men, or bad men. Bad men could not have written it, for the Bible is a good Book, and fresh waters do not come from a salt fountain; bad men would not have written it, for the Bible strongly condemns sin and sinners, and wicked men would not condemn themselves to hell. Good men could not have written it, and then deliberately said that God wrote it; they would no longer have been good had they written it for the purpose of deception. Hence the only one left who could have written it is God. Dr. I.M. Haldeman very aptly said, "Man could not have written the Bible if he would, and would not have written it if he could."
Call to mind our proof text, II Peter 1:21, "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." The choice is yours, friend. Will you believe the testimony of these holy men, or will you accept the rantings of an infidel, born centuries later, a creature of habits and sin, who lectured against the Bible at two hundred dollars a night?
3.-1 believe with all my heart that the Bible is the Word of God because of the marvelous unity exhibited therein. Composed of sixty-six different books, written during sixteen centuries of time, by thirty-six different authors who were of different stations in life and who came from totally different environments, the Bible nevertheless represents a unified whole. Its message is one and the same from Genesis to Revelation, centering in the same Person--the Lord Jesus Christ. Its teachings are never contradictory when rightly understood.
Let me ask, what unity of thought would there be in a symposium on any scientific subject, written by forty different authorities, each expressing his own ideas of the subject? You would have forty different schools of thought, giving a hodge-podge of incongruous incompatibility!
4.-I believe the Bible to be the Word of God because it speaks with full authority. Cf Matthew 7:29, "For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." "Scribes" and "scientists"; philosophers and modernists do not speak with authority. They rather use such expressions as, "We believe," "it might well be," "in all probability," "quite likely," etc. The Bible on the other hand comes out with a clear-cut "Thus saith the Lord" and that is the end of all argument. Cf John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Matthew 28:18, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Truth is dogmatic--the most dogmatic, uncompromising thing in the universe; light can admit of no darkness; purified gold dare not be mixed with dross; truth cannot endure error. The Bible, absolute and eternal truth, never compromises, never changes, never apologizes. Its truths, spoken with authority, have never been gain-said. All of which proves this Book to be the Voice of God.
5.-I believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God because of its intrinsic worth. It has done for me what no other Book could ever do. It warmed my heart and brought light and life to my soul. Spurgeon tells the story of a woman who was confronted by an agnostic who asked her what she was reading. "The Word of God," she replied. "The Word of God," he exclaimed, "who told you it was the Word of God?" "He told me so Himself," replied the woman. "He told you so; how can you prove that?" went on the skeptic, Looking skyward, the trusting soul said, "Can you prove to me that there is a sun up in the sky?",, "Why of course," he answered, "the best proof is that it warms me and I can see its light." "That's it," she said joyously, "the best proof that this Book is God's Word is that it warms my heart and gives light to my soul." Ah yes, truth always has its inherent characteristics that are unmistakable. Take a piece of glass and place it beside a real diamond. It would take but a glance for the expert to determine which was the imitation and which was the genuine stone. Why? Because of its inherent characteristics. So with the Bible. It possesses the characteristics, the life and power, that prove to the heart that it is God's Word.
III.-Conclusion.
I.-Hebrews 1:1-3. "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" God hath spoken in His Son.
2.-The Son is speaking to you, Matthew 11:28-30. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Jesus doesn't say, "I'll do the best I can to give you rest." He says, "I WILL give you rest." Friend, have you found rest for your soul in the Son of God? Cease from your own works and trust in Christ's perfect work of redemption. Hebrews 4:9-10. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
3.-John 12:48. "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (II Peter 1:21)
I.-Introduction.
"Mamma," asked a little girl, "Is the Bible God's Book?" "Yes, my dear," replied the mother. "Well then, don't you think we better send it back to Him. We haven't been using it around here lately." Dear friend, how much use have you made of the Bible during the past week? In comparison to the time you spent with newspapers, magazines, and other reading material, how much time did you spend with the Book of Books, the Word of God? Mother, Dad, do you have a family altar in your home? Do you read daily to your children from the Scriptures, instructing them in the way of the Lord? If not, why not?
Let me call your attention to a verse of Scripture, Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Let me repeat this solemn statement. Remember, it is God who is speaking through the prophet. He says, "My people," --not the unsaved, not the heathen, not the unconverted, but, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Sadly enough, the situation today is identical with that of Hosea's day. The average Christian has far too little knowledge of the Word of God. As a consequence he cannot cope with the wiles of the Devil, nor is he prepared to withstand the treacherous onslaught of twentieth century infidelity. It is true now, as it was then, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." "I know everything that's in the Bible," boasted a little girl in the presence of company visiting in her home. "Now Mary," remonstrated her mother, "you know you don't know everything that is in the Bible." "Yes I do," insisted the little girl," --- Grandma's specs; Uncle Charlie's picture; some dried flowers, and a love letter Daddy wrote to you when you were going together, etc." I fear that the knowledge of the average Christian as to what's in the Bible is as superficial as was the little girl's.
One of our chief purposes in presenting this message is to strengthen the faith of the Christian by encouraging each one to spend more time in the earnest study of this blessed Book. How do we get faith anyway? How is our faith strengthened? Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." If we would be strengthened in faith, we must make greater use of the Word. II Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." This exhortation is not for preachers and Sunday School teachers only; it is for every child of God. May God grant to each one of us an ever greater capacity, an ever enlarged desire for His Word! Matthew 4:4, "But he answered and said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Job 23:12, "Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." Jeremiah 15:16, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, 0 Lord God of hosts."
Last week we presented several reasons why we believe the Bible to be the Word of God. I believe with all my heart that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of the living God because Jesus Christ said it was; because the human authors of it testify that they received it from God; because of the marvelous unity exhibited therein; because of the full authority with which it speaks; and because of its intrinsic worth. Now we continue this list of reasons.
II.-Body of Message.
I.-I believe with all my heart that the Bible is the Word of God because it is a book without error. And this is just as we should expect it to be, coming from God. There are some people, you know, who would like to get rid of Gospel preachers. Well, here's how they can do it. Just let them prove one demonstrable error in this Book, and every Gospel preacher would have to go out of business. That's easy enough, isn't it? The faith of the Christian stands or falls with the integrity and trustworthiness of this Book. Let one error be demonstrated in it, and the faith of the Christian is vain. We speak, of course, not of the various translations of the Bible (for men may err in translating), but of the Bible as originally given. We challenge the world to point to a single, demonstrable error or contradiction in the Bible in the original languages. Whether it is in the field of science, history, or any other field, the Bible speaks with complete accuracy and with full, final authority. The Research Science Bureau, composed of a number of Christian gentlemen, scientists in their own right, for years offered a reward of one hundred dollars to anyone who can prove a contradiction between any fact of science and the Bible. One graduate from the University of Michigan claimed the one hundred dollars on the ground that the garden of Eden is located in Mesopotamia, and science has proved that apples will not grow in that area; and since the Bible declares Adam and Eve ate an apple, the Bible is untrue. The Research committee wrote the lady that she had forgotten to cite the Scripture reference which says that Adam and Eve ate an apple. Upon closer examination she discovered to her embarrassment that there is no such statement in the Bible. Scripture says they ate of the fruit of the tree, and many kinds of fruit grow in Mesopotamia. On two occasions the Research Science Bureau was sued for the reward it offered, and on both occasions the case was thrown out of court in the state of New York when in neither instance the claim against the Bible could be established. All of which demonstrates just how little people know about the Bible. The widest learning and most acute ingenuity of skepticism has never produced one demonstrable error of fact or doctrine in the Old or New Testament.
Is it not amazing that while the Bible makes hundreds And thousands of references in the fields of history and science there are no discrepancies therein? Yes, it would be most amazing if the book were merely the product of human ingenuity. For nothing merely on the human level is perfect. On the other hand, if the Book came from a perfect God it is not at all surprising that it should be a perfect Book. This leads us to our next reason.
2.-I believe that the Bible is the Inspired Word of God, because as an errorless Book, it is an up-to-date Book. It cannot be improved upon. lt never changes. Textbooks on science written ten to fifteen years ago are out of date today. Why? Because the authors of these texts have been time and again embarrassed by newer findings and developments, in the wake of scientific advance. They are forced to swallow their pride and admit that some of the hare-brained conclusions they taught as fact ten years ago are not fact after all, but mere theory. Science marches on, and its textbooks must be re-written from age to age. There isn't a science text in existence today that will not be improved upon by later generations. In 1861 The French Academy of Science published its famous, or should I say infamous, fifty-one cardinal points, each of which contradicted some part of the Bible. Today there isn't a scientist in the world who would accept or believe a single one of these fifty-one tenets. If he did, he would be ridiculed to shame for exposing his ignorance.
Even the Soviet Council of Ministers found it necessary to order a complete revision of the Soviet Encyclopedia, not only because science marches on, but also because the Encyclopedia now contains antiquated theories and political mistakes. With Russia's present leaders it has become out of date.
Dear friend, the writings of man pass away. Not so with the Word of God. The writings of men change, and must be improved upon from age to age. Not so with the Word of God! Psalm 119:89, "For ever, 0 Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." The Bible never finds itself embarrassed. It is never in need of change. Written well over two thousand years ago, it has absolutely no apology to make to our modern twentieth century intelligentsia.
How often have we heard the Bible called an old-fashioned book for a bunch of old fogies! My dear friend, the truth of the matter is that science has not yet caught up with the Bible. For instance, in Isaiah 40:22, the prophet said of God, "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers..." This statement was written seven hundred and fifty years before Christ. How did Isaiah know that the earth is in the form of a circle? Science did not know it until 1492. Before Columbus people thought the earth was square, but Isaiah said it was round. Where did Isaiah get his information 2,200 years before? He had never sailed around it. How did he know? The only satisfactory answer is by Divine inspiration.
In Job 26:7, the patriarch said, "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." In this verse Job makes two statements that we did not know were true until comparatively recent years. Notice that Job said God stretcheth the north over the empty place. With the advent of our latest telescopes the astronomers have learned that in the true north there is an empty place where there are no stars. Call the Bible old-fashioned? Why my friend, Job made this announcement 2,000 years before Christ.
The second thing the author mentions in this verse is that God hangeth the earth upon nothing. This is done by means of gravity. But how did Job know anything about gravity? We have not known it for very many years, yet here is a man who wrote four thousand years in the past, and he tells us the earth is suspended upon nothing. How did Job know anything about gravity? He was inspired of God. This is the only reasonable explanation.
In Acts 17:26 Paul said that God made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth. In other words he states that there is no chemical difference in the blood of the various races. All you have to do to confirm this fact is to write to the laboratories of the FBI. But how did Paul know it when he wrote I Corinthians nineteen hundred years ago? Surely he did not have a laboratory with the necessary equipment to learn this. The answer: by Divine inspiration.
In I Corinthians 15:39 Paul says, "All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." It is not so long ago that skeptics and infidels were laughing at this statement made by Paul. For many years advocates of the evolutionary theory countered Paul's pronouncement with the hypothesis that all flesh is the same because it evolved from a common cell. Today however, these Bible critics are being forced to laugh out of the other side of the face. Research on this subject came to a climax not too many years ago in our own Parke-Davis laboratories when an interesting reagent called "Anti-Human Precipitin" was produced. With this discovery our criminologists can take a bit of bone, blood, flesh or other organic substance, and, regardless of its age or condition tell from what living creature it came. This reagent will tell instantly and infallibly whether the once living matter was animal or human. So Paul was right after all when he said that all flesh is not the same. The flesh of an ape, monkey, or gorilla from which the evolutionist says we came is proven to be just as distinct from the flesh of man as that of any other beast of the field. So if we were to express the latest findings in the field of cytology we could do no better than to read Paul's statement in I Corinthians 15:39, where he says that all flesh is not the same. But how did Paul, writing nineteen hundred years ago, know this truth which our scientists have just so recently learned? By Divine inspiration.
There is a statement in Genesis 9:4 which says that life is in the blood. Only two hundred years ago, in the days of our own George Washington the doctors said, "It is calomel and blood-letting forever." In conforming to this medical theory they bled the first President of our Country to death, thinking they were doing the best thing for him to help him get well. All the while Moses was saying in Genesis 9:4 that the life is in the blood.
Job even tells us that the earth turns, and he made this statement over three thousand years ago. Job 38:14, "It (the earth) is turned as clay to the seal." In the days of Grecian civilization and culture, people thought the earth rested upon the back of Hercules and that Hercules in turn stood on the back of a mammoth turtle which swam in a cosmic sea. During all this time men ignored the statement of Job. When Copernicus in 1453 suggested the movement of the planets, he was punished for heresy. They thought he was out of his mind. Today, even a grade-school child knows that the stars and planets do move, and are not stationary. Cf Job 38:31-32, "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?" Where did Job secure his knowledge four thousand years ago? By Divine inspiration.
One day, the French infidel Voltaire said, "It took twelve ignorant fishermen to establish Christianity. I will show the world how one Frenchman can destroy it." Setting to his task he openly ridiculed Sir Isaac Newton who made the prediction based on Daniel 12:4 and Nahum 2:4 that man would someday be able to travel at the tremendous speed of forty miles an hour. Voltaire replied, "See what a fool Christianity makes out of an otherwise brilliant man. Doesn't he know that if a man traveled forty miles an hour, he would suffocate and his heart would stop?" Today any standard car will go twice that speed on an open highway. Today jet planes shoot through the skies at six hundred miles per hour, and faster. Today we send men to the moon at thousands of miles per hour.
We could go on with similar evidence. This will have to suffice. Christian friend, don't go into a panic and throw your Bible away when you hear men ridiculing the Scriptures. Just sit back and wait until science catches up to the Bible. When it does, you will discover that true science harmonizes with the Bible at every point. Why? For the simple reason that the Bible, written hundreds of years ago, is a thoroughly up to date Book. Old-fashioned? My friend, the Bible is so far in advance of science that human knowledge will never begin to approximate its revelation of absolute truth.
III.-Conclusion.
l.-This message should serve to strengthen the faith of every Christian.
2.-It should challenge the soul of every unsaved person. This Book tells us of an eternal hell for Christ-rejecting sinners. If the Bible, a Book without error, speaks with complete accuracy and final authority on every other subject, it certainly isn't kidding when it informs us of a sinner's hell. Friend, will you here and now accept the claims of this Book, and take the Christ it offers you as your own personal Saviour from sin?
3.-John 12:48, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
(II Peter 1:21)
I.-Introduction.
One morning as Matthias Baldwin, an engineer, picked up the morning paper to read, his little son climbed up on his knees and said: "The Bible first, Daddy! The Bible first!" The busy father thought he did not have time to read the Bible or pray every morning. And the words of the little boy sounded like the voice of God in his heart. He did not heed at first--not until a few weeks later when those little limbs were still, the childish voice was silent, and there was no one to climb upon the father's knee. In that tragic hour God kept the boy's words ringing through the lonely father's heart. Again and again he seemed to hear those piercing words: "The Bible first Daddy! The Bible first!" In the silent chamber where the body of his little boy lay, as he looked for the last time upon that little white face with lips now stilled in death, Matthias Baldwin gave his heart to Jesus Christ and the words of his son became the motto of his life. He put the Bible first in his heart, in his home and in his business.
Dear friend, what place has the Bible in your heart and life? Does it come first? Or is it crowded out by matters of secondary import? If the Bible is God's Book, then surely it should have the first and foremost place in our lives. God grant that we may give it that place of preeminence at all times!
For the past two weeks we have been presenting a list of reasons why we believe the Bible to be the Word of God. By way of summary, I believe with all my heart that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of the living God because Jesus Christ said it was; because the human authors of it testify that they received it from God; because of the marvelous unity exhibited therein; because of the full authority with which it speaks; because of its intrinsic worth; because it is a book without error; and because as an errorless book it is thoroughly up to date. These are the reasons presented thus far. Today we continue, presenting several more.
III.-Body of message.
I.-I believe with all my heart that the Bible is the Word of the living God as evidenced by its universal popularity. It is by far and away the world's best seller. What is more, its popularity is growing year by year. More Bibles are being published today than ever before in the history of the world. In whole or in part, Scripture has been published in well over one thousand dialects, reaching the fabulous world wide circulation of thirty million copies a year! Consider what this means in view of the fact that its nearest competitors very seldom reach a circulation of one hundred thousand in their entire life-time. Here it is friends--the world's best seller, the most popular book in the world! Written from two to three thousand years ago, it is in greater demand every day. All of which proves that its message is alive with the very life of God! (II Timothy 3:16), "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
2.-Now here is an amazing thing. While the Bible is the most popular of books, it is at the same time the most hated book in the world. This is further evidence of its Divine inspiration. "But why should men bear hatred to the Bible?" someone will ask. For the simple reason that the Bible is a holy Book, and as a holy Book it exposes human sin without one iota of compromise. (Hebrews 4:12-13), "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." That's why men hate this Book! It is a sharp two-edged sword that exposes human sin. In Psalm 119: 105, the psalmist says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." That's what it is to the Christian, whose life has been cleansed from sin through the precious blood of Christ. But there are multitudes of men and women in this old world who don't want light. They'd rather walk in darkness because their deeds are evil. It is the same today as it was in the days of our blessed Saviour who said, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:19-21). Jesus came into the world as the light thereof, and men hated Him. Consequently, the Book that reflects His glory in this dark world of sin is likewise the object of human hate. It is quite evident that sinful men would not hate an evil, fraudulent book. Men hate it because of its pure holy testimony, because it came from God. This leads us to our next reason.
3.-I believe with all my heart that the Bible is the Word of God because it has passed the supreme test of endurance. Despite the hatred of men, despite the incessant persecution of the centuries, the Bible stands today and will stand while the countless ages of eternity roll along. No other book has a record such as this. Man has attacked it with fire, sword, pen, spade, test tube and microscope; he has examined its claims minutely in the light of all positively ascertained facts of science, archeology, history, morality and every other branch of human learning, and instead of overthrowing the Bible he has revealed how firmly it is established in the counsels of infinite wisdom.
From that time in the garden of Eden when the old devil curled his lip and sneered, "Yea, hath God said?"--the Bible has been subjected to constant attack and the most bitter persecution. In Jeremiah 36 we behold a wicked, ungodly king on the throne of Judah taking a copy of the Scriptures, cutting it to shreds with his penknife, and casting it into the fire until all the roll was consumed. The act of King Jehoiakim is symbolic of man's Satanically inspired effort in all ages to destroy the Divinely inspired Book--the holy Scriptures. Did the wicked king succeed in his diabolic design? No my friend, the message of this Book will never be destroyed. Jeremiah reproduced the very same message in the very same manner by Divine inspiration. And in the day of judgment yet to come, old King Jehoiakim will be faced with the record he thought he had destroyed. Man fights a losing battle when he fights against God and against the Book which God has given.
In the year 303 A.D., Diocletian, the Roman Emperor, inaugurated the most terrific onslaught against the Bible that the world has ever known. Every manuscript that could be found was destroyed. Every copy of any portion of the Bible was confiscated and burned. Thousands upon thousands of those who possessed these writings were martyred, and at length a column of victory was erected to celebrate the supposed extinction of God's Word and its message. But lo and behold, within a quarter of a century, the Bible was enthroned by Emperor Constantine as the one infallible judge of truth! Isaiah 40:8, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
In 1199 Pope Innocent III burned all Bibles in the city of Metz and forbade anyone to retain a copy of the Book. Again, in 1234, Pope Gregory IX ordered all people to submit their Bibles to be destroyed. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain forbade the use of the Bible to any of their subjects. In August, 1600, Ferdinand II burned ten thousand copies of the Scripture. In 1637 the Jesuit priests boasted of having destroyed sixty-thousand copies in Bohemia alone. Clement III in 1713 condemned men and women to death for one crime, that of possessing a copy of the Scriptures. Popes Pius sixth, seventh, and eighth continued this persecution against all who held a copy of the Scriptures in their possession. Gregory XVI and Leo X called it a book of fiction and jested about the fable of Jesus Christ. Let the Roman church face her black and oft times bloody record! If Rome had her way there wouldn't be a copy of the Scriptures in the hands of a lay person today. The papacy through the centuries has been one of the chief enemies of the Bible.
Voltaire, the infidel, who lived in the eighteenth century, boldly predicted that within one hundred years of his death there wouldn't be a Bible in existence and Christianity would be entirely swept from the face of the earth. Within twenty-five years after he made that prediction the British Foreign and Bible Society was founded. Since that time this organization alone has published more than five hundred million copies of the Bible. The irony of it all is this: the printing press once used by Voltaire to print his atheistic literature was used to print copies of the book he said would soon perish and the very house in which he lived was used as a Bible storage depot. (Isaiah 40:8), "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
Next came Tom Paine, a Quaker preacher of America who went to France and came under the influence of infidels such as Robespierre. He wrote a book entitled, The Age of Reason, and boasted that his book would destroy the Word of God. Paine said, "I have gone through the Bible as a man would go through a forest with an ax and fell trees. Here they lie. The priests may replace them but they will never be able to make them grow again." He too was a false prophet. Very few people have read his book, whereas millions throughout the world read the Book whose influence he sought to undermine. If one less copy of the Bible has been sold because of Paine's book, the sales do not reflect it. The Bible goes majestically onward! (Isaiah 40:8), "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
Then along came Robert Ingersoll who said in 1885 that within twenty-five years there would be no more churches erected. He traveled far and wide lecturing against the Bible. One of his lectures was on "The Mistakes of Moses"-I have often thought how wonderful it would have been to hear Moses lecture on the mistakes of Ingersoll. His career in the army would shame a coward. His writings and speeches were taken from books written by French infidels whom he sought to imitate. Challenged again and again to debate, he always refused. Today his writings are almost unknown, while the popularity of the Bible increases from age to age.
"Last eve I passed the village blacksmith's door--and heard the anvil ring the vesper chime--and going in I saw upon the floor--Old hammers, worn, with beating years of time--How many anvils have you, said I--to wear and batter all the hammers so?--Only one, said he with twinkling eye--The anvil wears the hammers out, you know--And so, thought I, the anvil of God's Word--for years skeptics blows have beat upon-- and though the noise of falling blows was heard--the Anvil is unchanged, the hammers gone." (Isaiah 40:8), "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
4.-I believe the Bible to be the Word of God because of its power to transform lives and make men holy. This book is a holy Book, and will produce holy lives in all who believe and obey its message. I can take you today to scores of rescue missions throughout the land and show you reclaimed drunkards, libertines, and women of the street who have been saved and lifted from the depths of sin and degradation through the message of this Book. I can take you to heathen lands and show you sober, humanized men who were formerly bloodthirsty cannibals won to a holy life by the message of the Bible. I want you to hear the testimony of an old cannibal chief from the South Sea islands. He stood up in a communion service one Lord's Day to give his testimony, and this is what he said. "How can we ever forget what God has done for us?" Pointing to another old chief who was kneeling by his side, he continued: "There are scars on my body that this my friend inflicted. Yet he is my brother. We are one in Christ. A few years ago I longed for vengeance; I yearned for his life. I captured and ate his people as he did mine. He is the man who killed and ate my wife. Soon we shall kneel together and remember how Christ died for us. Because He died, there is no malice in my heart. We are brothers." Yes thank God, this book is a book that has power to transform lives and make them holy. I Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." Have you been born again through the message of this Book?
5.-I believe this book to be the Word of God because it not only makes living better, but makes dying easier. "Christians die easy," exclaimed an executioner who had put to death a number of Christian martyrs. "Eternity rolls up before me like a sea of glory," said Margaret Pryor on her dying bed. "I am touching the hem of his garment," were the last words of Lord Shaftesbury. "How beautiful to die and be with God," cried Frances E. Willard. "Earth is receeding; heaven is approaching," were the last words of D.L. Moody as he passed beyond the sunset of this earthly life. "...to depart, and to be with Christ is far better!" (Philippians 1:23) cried the Apostle Paul. Job 19:25-27, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." Multitudes have been sustained in the hour of death through the testimony of the Psalmist. Psalm 23:4, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me."
On the other hand atheism and heathenism know nothing of victorious dying. Rather, a Christless death, leading to a Christless eternity, forecasts the shadow of coming doom. Hear now the testimony of the man who boasted that he would destroy the Bible and Christianity, the French infidel Voltaire, who in his dying moments screamed: "I am abandoned by God and man! I shall go to hell. Oh Christ! Oh Jesus Christ! I wish I had never been born. Oh God--if there be a God, save my soul, if I have a soul, from hell, if there be a hell."
Tom Paine, as he approached the hour of death, cried: "I would give worlds, if I had them, if The Age of Reason had never been written. 0 Lord, help me! Christ, help me! Stay with me! It is hell to be left alone." Frances Newport, another champion of infidelity, in his last moments wailed in lament: "Millions and millions of years will bring me no nearer to the end of torments than one poor hour. Oh, eternity, eternity! Forever and forever! Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell." A certain well known professor of religion tossed to and fro on his dying bed, crying, "I'm going to hell! I'm going to hell!"
These proud blaspheming infidels and skeptics aren't so brave after all when they come face to face with death and the issues of eternity. I believe the Bible to be the Word of God because it not only makes living better, but takes the sting out of death and makes dying easier.
III.-Conclusion.
Will you receive the claims of this Book? Will you receive the Christ whom it presents as the only Saviour for sinners? Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
(II Peter 1:21)
I.-Introduction.
For the past several weeks we have sought to show that the Bible is God's Miracle Book. Our original plan was to present a list of twenty-seven reasons why we believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God. Up to the present moment we have completed but twelve of those reasons. For lack of time, and not desiring to extend this present series of messages over more than four weeks, we shall conclude today presenting one of the most convincing arguments of all for the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures. Perhaps at a later date we shall be able to consider the remainder of these reasons.
Last Lord's Day we turned to various phases of Bible prophecy. The fulfillment of specific predictions hundreds of years after they were made is conclusive, indisputable, irrefutable evidence that the Bible is the Word of God. His ability to foretell future events is the seal of God's Deity and sovereign authority which He claims can not be counterfeited. It is the mark of His superiority over the false gods of the heathen according to Isaiah 41:21-23, "Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together." In this passage God Almighty challenges the gods of the heathen to do as He has done, to predict future events. Their inability to do so proves that the idols of the heathen are false gods. While His ability to do so is proof evident that He is the true and living God.
Christian friend, in these closing days of the age of grace, in these perilous days of apostasy, God hath given to us a more sure word of prophecy, literally, "the word of prophecy made more sure." Cf II Peter 1:16-21, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For 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.,, Peter tells us that he was an actual eyewitness of the glory and majesty of Christ on the mount of transfiguration, and that he heard with his ears the voice of God speaking to His Son Jesus. You and I have never had the privilege Peter had; you and I have never seen the glory of Jesus with the physical eye; we have never heard the audible voice of God from heaven with the physical ear. Nevertheless, says Peter, we do have the word of prophecy made more sure, evidence just as certain as the audible demonstration of the actual presence of God. What is this word of prophecy made more sure? Cf II Peter 1:20-21, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For 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." It is the Scriptures, the Word of God, made more sure from age to age in the fulfillment of predictions made hundreds of years ago. Every day the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible is being more and more confirmed through the fulfillment of prophecy. it is an amazing fact that in many instances the writers of Scripture did not understand their own message, nor did the people of their age. Its meaning was to be revealed at a future date and to other generations. Cf Daniel 12:8-9, "And I heard, but I understood not: then I said, 0 my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Habakkuk 2:3, "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." I Peter 1:10-12, "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." Thus it is that the passing of time confirms the testimony of the Bible through the fulfillment of its predictions, making the Word of prophecy more sure from age to age.
II.-Body of Message.
I.-The first phase of Bible prophecy to which we turn is that which concerns the nation of Israel. When Frederick the Great asked his court preacher for an unanswerable proof of the inspiration of the Bible, he replied, "The Jew, your majesty." Some one has well said, "Behold the Jew, and tremble; behold the Jew, and believe; behold the Jew, and rejoice." The Jew is God's miracle of the centuries, and is today living proof of the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures. For the Bible, written from two to three thousand years ago, when the British empire was still unborn, and when the European races were still in the swaddling clothes of savagery,--this Book gives to us a pre-written history of the Jewish nation describing exactly, precisely, with uncanny exactitude, the Jewish people as they are today.
How many times have you heard the expression "He tried to Jew me down," or something similar thereto. Perhaps you did not realize it, but it was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Cf Deuteronomy 28:37, "And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee." "A proverb and a by-word." More than once I have seen a Jewish huckster pushing his cart along the street followed by a troupe of boys throwing stones and calling "sheeney." That word "sheeney" comes from the Hebrew word translated "by-word" in this verse.
Centuries ago the Bible predicted that the Jews would be scattered among all nations. Cf Deuteronomy 28:63-67, "And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see." How accurately has this been fulfilled.
Cf the marvelous forecast, Hosea 3:4-5, "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days." This passage predicts that the Jewish people would continue as a race (1) without a government of their own; (2) without the central rite of their religion [the daily sacrifice in the temple]; (3) without a house for public worship, without a temple; (4) without idolatry to which they have had heretofore invariably turned; (5) without the high priesthood. Here then you have a scattered, persecuted people, deprived of their own government and of the central facts and customs of their religion whose national identity is nevertheless remarkably preserved. Observe too, that in the latter days the children of Israel are scheduled to return to Palestine and eventually to the God of their fathers. Is it not significant that since 1948 the Israeli government has for the first time in centuries been re-established in the land of Palestine? It is here that God's redemptive purpose in the earth will reach its climax - and very soon we believe.
Said the late Lord Chancellor Erskine: "The universal dispersion of the Jews throughout the world, their unexampled sufferings, and their wondrous preservation, would be sufficient to establish the truth of the Scriptures if all other testimony were sunk to the bottom of the sea."
2.-Turning to another phase of Bible prophecy, we discover that the Scriptures give a pre-written history of the life of Christ. Who could have written the principal facts of the life of George Washington from four hundred to one thousand five hundred years before he was born? But this is exactly what the Old Testament does with the life of Christ. It tells us where, how, and when he was to be born, and how he was to die, along with scores of other events relating to His public ministry. Cf Micah 5:2, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel-11 Genesis 49:10-11, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:" Psalm twenty-two describes his death in detail, death by crucifixion. The Jewish method of capital punishment was by stoning. Crucifixion, a Roman institution, was introduced into Palestine in 63 B.C. How did David know the manner of Messiah's death one thousand years before? By Divine inspiration. Cf details, Psalm 22:14-18, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed 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."
3.-The Bible perfectly describes the world as it is today. Any man of ordinary intelligence can prove or disprove the Bible without spending years of time in study and research to do so. All he has to do is pick up the daily paper or listen to a radio newscast and check the current events with the predictions of Scripture. Cf II Timothy 3:1-7, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Read Luke, chapter twenty-one and Matthew, chapter twenty-four.
4.-The Bible perfectly describes the condition of the Church as it is today. Cf Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." II Peter 2:1-3, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." Jude 3-4, "Beloved when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Why are Christian people so shocked when the sin and apostasy of the National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches is exposed? God's Word predicted this apostasy centuries ago. God's Word also tells us what the Christian should do in days of apostasy, II Corinthians 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." The Orlando Bible Church is an independent Fundamental church. The inclusivists look at us and in ridicule call us the "come outers." Well, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. I thank God that I am a "come outer." That's just what the Bible tells us to do. And from now till Jesus comes, by the grace of God, I'm going to be a "stay outer." There can be no compromise with false doctrine, with sin or unbelief in any form. One of these days the "come outers" and the "stay outers" will be the "go outers" when Jesus appears in the clouds of glory.
5.-Before concluding this message, there are several predictions we should like to observe, specific predictions, accurately fulfilled.
Cf Jeremiah 51:43, "Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby." Cities flourished in Mesopotamia in Jeremiah's day because of an abundant supply of water. Jeremiah, living in the land of Palestine, looked out into the future and predicted great ruin and utter desolation for these then-flourishing cities. Today these ancient cities of Mesopotamia are just as Jeremiah said they would be. Because of the tremendous number of uninhabited cities this area is an archaeologists paradise. The few inhabitants who dwell there have to carry water for miles. What has happened? Through the centuries the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates have changed their course from ten to twenty miles. The cities of that area could not exist without water thus bringing to pass the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prediction hundreds of years later. Who changed the course of the rivers? God. Cf Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." And He foretold through the prophet that He would do it.
Cf Ezekiel 30:13, "Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph." The Bible Noph is the Egyptian city of Memphis. Along with No (Thebes) it was one of the principal cities of Egypt. It was not entirely destroyed (Ezekiel 30:16) when Thebes was rent asunder, and continued for many years as the capitol of Egypt. Memphis thus remained as a great center of heathen worship for about one thousand years after Ezekiel's prediction. It was renowned for its numerous idol images. Seemingly Ezekiel's pronouncement had gone by the board. Then, around the sixth century A.D. the Mohammedan invasion swept through Egypt. The Mohammedans built the city of Cairo as a center of Allah worship. It was located only ten miles from Memphis. Instead of securing stone from surrounding quarries, they used the stones of the ruins of Memphis along with the images and idols thereof. So that today the images and idols of ancient Memphis may be found in the foundations of Cairo.
Ezekiel 26:4,14, "And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock." (26:4). " ... thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord God.,, (26:14)- At the time when Ezekiel made this prediction, Tyre was the New York of Asia. While Tyre was at the height of her glory and power, while it seemed she would stand forever, along came Ezekiel who made this prediction in the early part of the sixth century B.C. Immediately after the giving of this prophecy Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre and after thirteen years finally destroyed it. Some of the inhabitants fled to an island about one-half mile from the shore and built a new city by the same name, leaving the old Tyre in ruins. The new Tyre prospered and became great, and remained prosperous for two and one-half centuries. Meanwhile the ruins of old Tyre remained, and it seemed improbable that Ezekiel's prediction would ever be fulfilled. For if Nebuchadnezzar, in his anger, had taken full vengeance and had not thought of this, who was likely to care enough about ruins of a deserted city to be so violently destructive. Then two and one-half centuries later, through the East the fame of Alexander the Great sent a thrill of terror. In three hundred and thirty two B.C. lie marched to the attack of New Tyre, because the Tyreans had supported the Persians against Alexander with their fleet. When Alexander arrived at the site, he discovered a half mile of surging water between his army and the new island city. He had no fleet to match the sea strength of the Tyreans. His plan of attack however was quickly formed and vigorously executed. He took the walls, towers, timbers, and ruined houses and palaces of ancient Tyre and with these ruins built a solid causeway to the island city. So great was the demand for material that the very dust was scraped from the site and laid in the sea. Today you will find in various museums relics from the sister city of Sidon and other cities in that area--but there are no relics from Tyre! The ruins and remains of Tyre were laid in the sea.
Cf Luke 21:24, "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Julian the apostate, Roman emperor of the fourth century, had an inveterate hatred of Christianity. Finding that he could not remove Christianity by force, he sought to thwart the purpose of God by causing the predictions of Scripture not to be fulfilled. Reading the prediction of Christ in the above verse, though he hated the Jews, he nevertheless set about to help them build a temple greater than that of Solomon in Jerusalem. The wealth and might of the Roman empire was behind this project. While yet in the process of building, God Almighty stepped into the picture and destroyed its foundations with earthquake and fire. Julian, who died a short time later in battle, as he fell from his horse, mortally wounded, lifted his eyes to heaven and cried, "Galilean, Thou hast conquered!"
III.-Conclusion.
Has Christ conquered your heart friend? Have you acknowledged Him as your Saviour and Lord? This Book speaks accurately, for it is the Word of God. The Christ whom it presents will be your Saviour, if you will put your trust in Him.
The very next event in Major Prophecy is the Coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Rapture of the Church. I Thessalonians 4:16-18, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."