20190320 - Why the Bible is Credible by Peter Schwartzkoppf - Fay Berry

20190320 – WHY THE BIBLE IS CREDIBLE by Peter Schwartzkoppf

The Bible Itself

• The Oldest Book in the World

• It has survived intact for 3500 years

• The only one which claims to be the Word of God

• Has the ring of truth with a brutal honesty about the faults of all its heroes

• Has a consistent message of hope from beginning to the end – centred on faith in God and his plan of salvation

• The beauty and purity of its words

• The wisdom of its words

• There are more ancient manuscripts of the Greek New Testament (5800) than all the writings of other ancient authors put together (e.g. Homer’s Iliad 647, Caesar’s Gallic Wars 10, Thucydides 8, Tacitus 2)

• The world’s best-selling book still in 2015! “No one really knows how many copies of the Bible have been printed, sold, or distributed. The Bible Society’s attempt to calculate the number printed between 1816 and 1975 produced the figure of 2,458,000,000. A more recent survey, for the years up to 1992, put it closer to 6,000,000,000 in more than 2,000 languages and dialects. Whatever the precise figure, the Bible is by far the bestselling book of all time.”

• The book that has changed lives dramatically for the better.

Creation and the Natural World

• Biblical account matches Big Bang Theory

• Biblical Account matches Plate Tectonic Theory

• Complexity of Cells supports creation – esp. Molecular machinery

• The lack of a viable mechanism for evolution is a real problem – especially the need to start with DNA code from the first life forms.

• The Protein Conundrum- Protein requires an environment without oxygen but earth’s atmosphere is 20% oxygen.

• No apparent change in ‘hundreds of millions of years’ with many organisms

• The very special physical conditions for earth that support life

Features of the Genesis Account of Eden are found in many cultures

• The story of a Golden Age spoilt by evil men

• The story of the Great Flood (more than 270 stories from different cultures around the world about a devastating flood.)

• The idea of priesthood

• The idea of prayer

• The idea of sacrifices

• The idea of the Way (e.g. Chinese Tao – the Way, Japanese Shinto = the spirit way, Buddhism & the Middle Way)

• The Idea of Cherubim guarding the Way

• The idea of the Tree of Life

• The idea of the Woman

• The idea of the Saviour born of a woman

• The idea of prophecy

• Ideas like the sacred fleece (eg Jason and the Argonauts)

Benefits of OT Law for stability of Society

• Murder

• Kidnapping

• Damages

• Personal Disputes

• Obscene Behaviour

• Stealing

• Marriage

The Health Benefits of OT Biblical Teaching

• Circumcision

• Laws concerning mould

• Laws concerning infection

• Laws concerning Personal Hygiene

• Laws concerning Quarantine

• Laws regarding Foods

• Social Laws regarding relationships – marriage, incest, infidelity

The Record of Archaeology matches the Biblical record

“No archaeological discovery has ever controverted a single, properly understood biblical statement.” Nelson Glueck, Jewish Archaeologist

Archaeology verifies the existence of cities & towns mentioned in the Bible:

• Arad

• Capernaum

• Chorazin

• Dan

• Ephesus

• Gaza

• Gezer

• Heshbon

• Joppa

• Nineveh

• Shechem

• Susa

• Hazor

• Beth-shan

• Babylon

• Ur

Archaeology verifies Biblical accounts concerning/via:

• The Bani Hasan Tomb

• Hezekiah’s wall

• The pool of Bethesda

• Joab’s Water Shafts

• Joseph’s Tomb

• The Theatre at Ephesus

External Written Records Verify the Bible account:

• The Mesha Stele

• The Kurkh Stele

• The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

• Sargon’s Library

• Palace inscription of Sargon

• Sennacherib’s Cylinder

• The Babylonian Chronicle

• The Lachish letters

• Cuneiform Cameo concerning Nebuchadnezzar

• Nebuchadnezzar’s Library

• Nabonidus Chronicle’

• Stele of Nabonidus

• The Ishstar Gate

• Cyrus’ Brick

• Cyrus’ Cylinder

• Silver Denarius of Augustus

• Quirinius’ Inscriptions

• Ebla archives

• Caesarea Inscriptions of Pontius Pilate

• The verification of technical terms used by Luke in his Gospel and Acts

• The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Biblical Chronology matches the Biblical Account – except Egypt’s

There are busts, statues, and pictures of many individuals mentioned in the Bible

• Shishak

• Jehu

• Hazael

• Tiglath-Pileser III

• Sargon II,

• Sennacherib

• Tirhakah

• Esarhaddon

• Merodach-baladan

• Xerxes I

• Darius

• Herod Agrippa I

• Aretas IV

• Nero

• Augustus Caesar

• Tiberius Caesar

• Claudius Caesar

The Accuracy of Scientific Statements

(not that it is a science text book)

• The earth hangs on nothing

• Air has weight

• Mountains look like folded cloth from the air

• Fountains of the Deep

• There are frozen seas (written from the Middle East)

• There were gigantic water creatures in the past that resemble dinosaurs

The Accuracy of Prophecy

Concerning Ancient Cities & Nations

• Nineveh

• Moab

• Ammon

• Edom

• Samaria

• Egypt

• Tyre

• Sidon

• Babylon

• Egypt

• Elam

• Gaza-Ashkelon

• Alexander the Great

Concerning the Life of Christ

• Detailed prophecies about events in his life

Concerning Israel’s History

• The sieges of Jerusalem in ancient times

• Their Destruction by the Romans

• Their Exiles

• Their Persecution amongst the nations

• Their Return to the Holy land after Babylonian exile

• Their latter days return to Palestine prior to the return of their Messiah

• The latter day wealth and unbelief of Israel

• The defensive walls in Israel

• The Jewish control of Jerusalem in the last days

• The controversy over Jerusalem in the last days

• The calm in Israel in the Last days

• The isolation of Israel in the last days

Concerning Current Modern Day Nations and their Alliances

• Russia, Crimea & SE Ukraine

• Russia with Syria

• Russia with Iran, Sudan, Libya, Serbia, & Armenia

• Western Powers with Gulf States

• The Kurdish Restoration

• Egypt’s current strife and despair

Other Prophecies that are more involved and more difficult

• The rise of the Papacy

• The rise of the EU

• The Demise of the Ottoman Empire

• The Seleucid & Ptolemaic Dynasties

• The Roman Empire and its wars with Jews

• The Maccabees

• The gathering of nations to the Middle East for war in modern times

• The madness that is involved in this movement

The Bible Answers Personal Needs

• Sin and alienation from God – Declared Righteous through faith

• Feelings of Guilt – Forgiveness

• Mercy and grace that engenders thankfulness and humility

• Death – Resurrection

• Despair – Hope and therefore Sanity and Joy

• Self-centredness replaced by love for God and others

• Corruption by ungodly lusts replaced with pure thoughts and holiness

• Greed – Contentment

• Fear of the Future – Certainty of the Kingdom of God

• Lack of purpose – Study, Preaching and Caring for family, ecclesia and outsiders; also a more wholesome view of work and employment

• Desire for belonging – given high status a son of God

• Companionship – Marriage & Ecclesial Fellowship

• Sense of Perspective – a vision of the future

• Anger – Peace and calm thinking

• Lack of Control over one’s life – Patience and Prayer

• Irresponsibility and too much freedom replaced by sense of responsibility and discipline.

• An intimate relationship with a totally loyal and trustworthy individual – our relationship with both Jesus and the Father

• The need to worship and honour – God and Christ

Fay Berry - My Story

20190320 – Why the Bible is Credible by Peter Schwartzkoppf