> 2. Where Did Our Bible Come From? > > 1. Who wrote the Bible? > > "Above all, here is what you must understand. No prophecy in Scripture > ever > came from a prophet's own understanding. It never came simply because a > prophet > wanted it to. Instead the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. > So > prophecy comes FROM GOD" (2 Peter 1:20, 21). > > There are sixty-six (66) different books in the Bible. Many different men > wrote these books. They lived in different lands. Some lived hundreds of > years > before others. They could not talk to one another, but their writings all > agree. What does this tell us? This tells us that there was Someone who > told > them what to write. The Holy Spirit told them what to write. > > All the books in the Bible fit together perfectly. Because the Holy Spirit > told the writers what to say in the Bible, these books tell parts of the > same > story. > > Jesus is the Son of God. He knows all things. When Jesus was here on earth > as a man He used the part of the Bible which we call the Old Testament. > The > Old > Testament was written before Jesus came to this world. Jesus taught people > many things from the Old Testament. > > The books of the Bible that we call the New Testament were written after > the > death of Jesus. There are thirty-nine (39) books in the Old Testament and > twenty-seven > (27) books in the New Testament. Together they make the Bible. > > 2. What does Jesus say about the Scriptures (Bible)? > > "You study the Scriptures carefully. You study them because you think they > will give you ETERNAL LIFE. The Scriptures you study GIVE WITNESS ABOUT > ME" > (John > 5:39). > > The Bible is important. It shows us the way to eternal life, a life that > has > no end. Study the Bible carefully, then you will learn about eternal life > with > Jesus. It shows us GOD'S WAY to heaven. > > 3. The Bible is called the written Word of God. Can we believe the written > Word of God? > > "Use the truth to make them holy. Your word is truth" (John 17:17). > > Jesus tells us that God's Word is truth. We can be sure the Bible is true > because Jesus says it is true. > > 4. Who gave us the Scriptures (Bible), and why? > > "GOD HAS BREATHED LIFE INTO ALL OF SCRIPTURE. It is useful for teaching us > what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for > making > our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. > By > using Scripture, a man of God can be completely prepared to do every good > thing" > (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). > > The Bible says "ALL of Scripture." The Bible is ALL God's book. We cannot > believe one part and then not believe another part. God's plan for our > lives > is > in the Bible. If we take away any part of the Bible, or if we do not > believe > some parts of it, then we spoil God's plan. > > 5. What does God say to the gods [idols] that people make from wood or > stone? > > "Tell us WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE DAYS AHEAD. Then we will know that you > are > gods [idols]" (Isaiah 41:23). > > "I am God. There is no one like me. Before something even happens, I > announce how it will end. In fact, FROM TIMES LONG AGO, I ANNOUNCED WHAT > WAS > STILL > TO COME" (Isaiah 46:9, 10). > > God tells us what will happen in the future. He tells us about the early > times of the world. The gods of men or idols cannot tell about the future. > Only > the Bible can answer these questions: > > Who made the world? > Where did man come from? > Why are we here? > Where are we going? > > The Bible is the only book that tells us the future of man. Because of > this > God says, " All of you who live anywhere on earth, turn to me and be > saved. > I am God. There is no other God" (Isaiah 45:22). Only the Bible points us > to > a Savior who can save us from our sins. > > 6. God did not want His Word to be lost. He wants all people to know about > it. What did He tell the Bible writers to do? > > "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'That is something to be remembered. So > WRITE > IT ON A SCROLL [IN A BOOK]. Make sure that Joshua knows you have done it'" > (Exodus > 17:14). > > "The Lord commanded Moses to record their journey. Here are the places > where > they stopped" (Numbers 33:2). > > "Never stop reading this Scroll [Book] of the Law. Day and night you must > think about what it says. Make sure you do everything that is written in > it. > Then > things will go well with you. And you will have great success" (Joshua > 1:8). > > "This is the disciple who gives witness to these things. He also wrote > them > down. We know that his witness is true" (John 21:24). > > The prophets of God and the disciples of Jesus wrote down the messages God > gave them by the Holy Spirit. They were told to write these messages and > keep > them. This is why we have the Bible today. It was God's plan to have these > messages in a book. > > 7. What did the prophets do with the messages God gave them? > > "He [Joshua] RECORDED [WROTE] those things IN THE SCROLL [BOOK] of the Law > of God" (Joshua 24:26). > > "Samuel . . . WROTE IT DOWN ON A SCROLL [BOOK]. He placed it in front of > the > Lord" (1 Samuel 10:25). > > "Get a SCROLL. WRITE on it all of THE WORDS I have spoken to you. WRITE > down > what I have said about Israel, Judah and all of the other nations" > (Jeremiah > 36:2). > > God told the prophets to write the stories of the past, His messages for > us > in the present and His prophecies for the future, so that they would not > be > lost. > > 8. Did God's writers know that other men had written messages from God? > > "In that year I [Daniel] LEARNED FROM THE SCRIPTURES that Jerusalem would > remain destroyed for 70 years. That was what the Lord had told the prophet > JEREMIAH" > (Daniel 9:2). > > Daniel studied the books of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. In those books, > he learned the plan of God for His people. > > "He [Paul] writes the same way in all his letters. He speaks about what I > have just told you. His letters include some things that are hard to > understand. > People who don't know better and aren't firm in the faith twist what he > says. They twist the other SCRIPTURES too. So they will be destroyed" (2 > Peter > 3:16). > > In the books of Peter, we read about the writings of Paul. Even in the > days > of the early church, Christians believed God told Paul what to write. Read > what > Peter had to say about Paul's writings. He calls these writings > "Scriptures." He warns that when other people twist the Scriptures (or the > Bible), they > will be destroyed. > > Ezra gathered the books of the Old Testament together. About thirty > different prophets wrote these books. People who lived before Christ came > to > earth, > believed the Old Testament was written at God's command. > > 9. How important does Jesus say the Old Testament is? > > "They do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. So they will not be > convinced > [believe] even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31). > > Here Jesus says that the writings of Moses and the other Old Testament > prophets are very important. In the New Testament, there are many places > where the > writers use verses from the Old Testament. > > God gave the Old Testament for all men everywhere. That is why the writers > of the New Testament use texts from the Old Testament. In the New > Testament, > we read the story of Jesus and the early Christian church. There are many > prophecies about the future of the church. As you study these lessons, you > will > see that the Bible is really God's letter to you. God writes to you about > Jesus and His plan to save you. > > PROPHECIES PROVE THE BIBLE TRUE > > It is easy to prove that the Bible comes from God. Men can only guess > about > the future. Only God knows for sure what is coming. Often the Bible tells > us > what is going to happen many years later. We call these special messages, > prophecies. We shall study some of these wonderful prophecies now. > > 10. Tyre was one of the largest cities in the world when Ezekiel was > alive. > What did God tell him would happen to Tyre (or Tyrus)? > > "'They will DESTROY your WALLS [of Tyre]. They will PULL YOUR TOWERS DOWN. > I > will CLEAR away the STONES of your broken-down buildings. I will turn you > into > nothing but a bare rock. Out in the Mediterranean Sea your island city > will > become a PLACE to spread fishnets. I have spoken', announces the LORD and > King. > . . . I will turn you into nothing but a BARE ROCK. You will become a > place > to spread fishnets. YOU WILL NEVER BE REBUILT. I have spoken. I am the > LORD,' > announces the LORD and King" (Ezekiel 26:4, 5, 14). > > Many years before Jesus was born, Tyre was a strong and rich seaport in > the > northern part of Israel on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It had much > power > over the nations. People were afraid to fight against this city. But God > told Ezekiel to say it would be destroyed. Many years passed. Then > Nebuchadnezzar, > king of Babylon, came and destroyed the city of Tyre. But it was 250 years > before the rest of the prophecy came true. The people of Tyre built a new > town > on an island a little way out from the shore. Then 332 years before > Christ, > Alexander the Great of Greece came to fight this new city of Tyre. He did > not > have any ships to fight the people of Tyre. He and his soldiers built a > road > in the sea out to the island. They used the stones and timber from the > houses > and stores of the old city of Tyre. They threw them into the sea and built > a > road. They even scraped up the small stones and sand from old Tyre to make > the road. Then they marched along the road and captured the city. > > So the prophecy was right! Tyre was scraped into the sea. Verse 14 says > that > Tyre will never be built again, IT NEVER HAS BEEN BUILT, IT NEVER WILL BE > BUILT > AGAIN! The prophet said this hundreds of years before Tyre was captured > and > scraped into the sea. His prophecy came true because God told him what to > write. > The Bible is always true. > > 11. What did the prophets say would happen to the great, rich, strong, and > proud city of Babylon? > > "The city of Babylon is the jewel of kingdoms. It is the glory and pride > of > the Babylonians. But God will destroy it just as he did Sodom and > Gomorrah. > No one will EVER LIVE in Babylon again. No one will live there for all > time > to come. Arabs will never set up their TENTS there. Shepherds will never > rest > their flocks there. But DESERT CREATURES [WILD ANIMALS] will lie down > there, > . . . OWLS will live there" (Isaiah 13:19-21). > > "Babylon will have all of its buildings KNOCKED DOWN. . . . NO ONE WILL > LIVE > THERE. . . . The Lord who rules over all says, 'Babylon's thick WALLS will > fall down flat. Its high GATES will be SET ON FIRE'" (Jeremiah 51:37, 58). > > The people of Babylon thought their city would never fall. They had built > stone walls around it, very high and very thick. The city was a strong > fortress. > The prophets of God said this fortress would fall. These messages or > prophecies came true. Every word came true. Any man who reads history and > studies > the Bible will know that the Bible prophecies are true. This is what > happened to Babylon: > > Babylon was attacked many years after the prophecies were given. Her great > walls were broken to pieces. The city of Babylon was destroyed by fire. > Babylon > is still broken down. It has never been built again, and it never will be! > Nobody lives there. Nobody has lived there for hundreds of years. Wild > animals > and birds are the only living things in the ruins of Babylon. > > We can be sure that the Bible is true because these wonderful prophecies > came true. We can believe the Bible and follow its teaching. > > 12. Cyrus was the leader of the army that destroyed Babylon. What did the > Lord say about Cyrus over 100 years before he was born? > > "Cyrus is my anointed king. I take hold of his right hand. I give him the > power to bring NATIONS UNDER HIS CONTROL. . . . I break city gates open so > he > can go through them. . . . I will march out ahead of you. I will make the > mountains level [or "make the crooked places straight" - KJV]. I will > BREAK > DOWN > BRONZE GATES. I will cut through their heavy IRON BARS" (Isaiah 45:1, 2). > > "I say to the deep waters, 'DRY UP. Let YOUR STREAMS BECOME DRY'" (Isaiah > 44:27). > > Cyrus was not born when Isaiah wrote this prophecy; but God told the > prophet > his name. Cyrus, the king of the Medes and Persians, would attack and > capture > Babylon. Here is how Cyrus was able to do this, 100 years after the > prophecy > had been given to Isaiah: > > Cyrus and his army came to Babylon and found the gates locked. He looked > for > another road into the city. > The river Euphrates ran under the walls of Babylon, through the city, and > out the other side. Cyrus made a new canal for the river so it ran a > different > way. The old river dried up. Cyrus marched his men along the old riverbed, > under the walls and into the city. > That night Belshazzar, king of Babylon, and his leading government men > were > all drunk at a feast. The guards were also drunk. They forgot to lock the > gates > along the inner wall. Cyrus captured the city easily. > He cut up the gates of brass. He carried away the gold and silver of the > city. > > Remember, God told Isaiah to write this prophecy 100 years before Cyrus > was > born. He even called Cyrus by name. You can read about it in Daniel > chapter > 5. Yes, the Bible is true, and we can believe all of it. > > GOD'S WORD IS OUR ONLY SAFE GUIDE > > 13. What can we be sure about while we think of the future? > > "The LORD and King never does anything without TELLING HIS SERVANTS THE > PROPHETS about it" (Amos 3:7). > > God knows what is coming on the earth. He tells us about it in the Bible. > We > should not be afraid. We can trust the Bible. We can trust our God. > > 14. Why did God have the stories of the past written in the Bible? Why > does > He tell us about the future in Bible prophecies? > > "Those things happened to them as EXAMPLES for us. They were written down > to > WARN US who are living at the time when God's work is being completed" (1 > Corinthians > 10:11). > > The Bible makes clear the things that have passed. It helps us to > understand > the present. It gives us hope and instruction for the future. The Bible > was > written to make strong our belief in God. > > 15. What do we have today that is stronger than armies and sharper than > swords? > > "The WORD OF GOD is LIVING and ACTIVE. It is SHARPER than any SWORD that > has two edges. It cuts deep enough to separate soul from spirit. . . . It > judges > [knows] the thoughts and purposes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). > > For more than 2,000 years, men have fought against the Bible. They have > tried to change it. They have tried to prove that it is untrue. They have > tried > to hide it or burn it. Yet it still stands. God has cared for it against > its > enemies. Every one of us should have a Bible and read it all the way > through > very carefully. Look up the texts and verses in these lessons. You will > learn to find the different books of the Bible quickly by doing this. > Never > let > anyone steal away your faith in the Bible. It is your greatest help. It > shows us sin in the heart and life. It shows you the way of eternal life. > You can > always trust in the words of the Bible. It will bring you salvation if you > follow it always. God will speak to you from the Bible. Read God's Book > every > day. > > > >
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