APOLOGETICS SECTION #2
The
Bible in History
I. Textual
Criticism
a.
Manuscripts
i. Enough available to compare and believe
as accurate
1.
5,300 Greek m. of NT
2.
10,000 Latin m. of NT
3.
Total of 24,000 m. of NT
ii. Compared to other literary works
1.
NT – 24,000
2.
Homer’s Iliad – 643
iii. Until 1947 oldest m. of OT was
~900AD
1.
Masoretic texts – preserved text between 500-950AD; gave OT final form/arrangement
2.
Tried to keep Jewish oral and textual teachings preserved after destruction of Temple in 70AD
3.
Dead Sea Scrolls discovered 1947
a.
Found 40,000 m. 1000yrs. older than Masoretic texts
b.
OT m. now date back to ~100BC
b.
Time Gap between events and writing:
i. Iliad
– 400yrs
ii. History
– 1300yrs
iii. Gallic Wars – 1000yrs
iv. New
Testament – between 50-200yrs
1.
Heightens reliability!
2.
Gospels separated from events by only a few decades at the most (well within an eye-witness’ lifetime)
c.
Mistakes & Contradictions
i. Are there disagreements among the
manuscripts? Yes, those things are called variant
readings
1.
However:
a.
95% identical
b.
No doctrine of the Church rests on any disputed (variant) text; meaning of the context is always clear
c.
Compared to Shakespeare’s writings – whole words, chapter and even acts of his plays are missing and have
been “filled in” over time – not the Bible
2.
Examples:
a.
End of Mark’s Gospel
b.
Jesus writing in the sand after woman is taken in adultery
c.
Isaiah 53 – Dead Sea compared to Masoretic
i. 166 words in text
ii. 17 letters in question
1.
10 are spelling matters
2.
4 or style alterations
3.
3 add the word “light” in vs. 11
iii. It does not change the context
or message
ii. Are there contradictions in the
text (Bible as a whole)? No, but there are difficult passages that must be treated
with special care of context, culture, etc. in their interpretation
1.
This is not a cop-out – it is a real matter of treating the text critically as it should be and must be
2.
See McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, pgs. 45-47
iii. Some keys to understanding tough
passages:
1.
Look at context
2.
Interpret difficult passages in light of clear ones
3.
Don’t base teaching on obscure passages
4.
Incomplete reports don’t mean false reports
5.
Bible does not approve of all it reports
6.
NT quotes of OT don’t need to always be exact
7.
Bible uses round numbers as well as exact numbers
8.
Bible uses various literary devices
9.
Bible uses non-technical language – it is not a textbook
10. An error in a copy
does not equate to an error in the original
11. General statements
don’t necessarily equate to universal promises
12. Later revelation
supercedes previous revelation
II. Archeology
a.
Confirms, but does not prove the Bible as true
b.
Some key supporting evidence discovered
i. Hittites
ii. Camels
iii. Priestly code of writing at the
time of Moses
iv. Assyrian Empire, Ninevah
v. Similar language to Hebrew writing
(Phoenician) found even before Moses (c. 1500-1900BC)
vi. Davidic Dynasty
vii. Jericho
viii. Sodom & Gomorrah – bituminous
pitch/earthquake evidence
ix. Solomon’s Temple
x. Elba
xi. Flood accounts
1.
Several other cultures have “flood” accounts/stories – what does that suggest?
2. See below
xii. Tower of Babel – Ur-Nammu,
King of Ur 2044-2007BC built great ziggurat to moon god Nannat
1.
Plaque indicates trouble in construction & a reference to “making strange speech”
2.
Linguists even theorize humans had one root language at one time
xiii. Abraham, Esau, selling of birthrights,
oral blessings, family gods, etc. all confirmed in archeological discoveries.
c.
Dead Sea Scrolls
d.
See above
III. Prophecy – here are just
a few examples for discussion
a.
Old Testament
i. Daniel
11 + [Darius to Antiochus IV]
1.
Persian Empire (~500 BC)
2.
4th King from Cyrus would be rich and expand Empire to Greece – this was Xerxes
3.
Young, great ruler would rise in Greece, Alexander the Great and eclipse Persia, defeat it
4.
Alexander dies at age 35, but his kingdom would not pass to heirs (323BC)
5.
Scattered to 4 Generals
a.
Cassander – Macedonia & Greece
b.
Lysimacus – Thrace, Bithynia, Asia Minor
c.
Selecus – Syria, Iraq, Iran
d.
Ptolemy – Egypt, Palestine
6.
King of North and South will war; in fact the King of North comes from the King of the South as a prince who shined
even brighter
a.
Years and years of war between them; intrigue; Cleopatra
7.
Daniel 11:21 – rise of Antiochus IV (little horn)
a.
Once a hostage in Rome, later gets out by a swap
b.
Steals from the Temple; hard on the Jews
c.
Desecrates the Temple – sacrifices a pig on the altar
i. Temple was defiled
ii. People were forced to choose &
make a stand
iii. Temple was restored
iv. All seem to point to a parallel
time yet to come
ii. Ezekiel 26 [Destruction of Tyre] (592-570BC)
1.
See MacDowell’s book Evidence Ch. 11
2.
Nebuchandnezzar will destroy it
a.
He took out mainland Tyre
3.
Many nations will come against it
a.
Alexander the Great built the causeway to attack it by throwing mainland debris in the water to reach the island fortress
b.
He leveled it
c.
Others followed: Ptolemies, Moslems, Christians, Carthage, etc.
4.
Tyre’s rock will be laid bare, flat like the top of a rock
5.
Fishermen will spread nets over the site
6.
Debris will be thrown in the water
7.
Never to be rebuilt
b. Jesus-related … [Matt. 13:16-17] blessed are we who have
things revealed to us
i. Where would the Messiah be born?
1. Micah 5 – Bethlehem
2. Isaiah 11 – Nazareth
3. Hosea 11 – called out of Egypt
4. All fulfilled uniquely in Jesus
ii. What would His bloodlines be?
1. Matt. 1 – follows Joseph’s line
a. Joseph from Solomon’s line including last King, Jechoniah, cursed
by God to not have royal heirs
b. See Jeremiah 22:29
2. Luke 3:31 – follows Mary line
a. Mary from Nathan’s line, royal blood but without the authority
of kingship, but out from under curse
b. Matt. 1:16 – shows Jesus was son of Mary, Joseph’s husband,
but not His father by blood, so no curse
iii. What kind of Messiah should
they expect?
1. Daniel 2:34 – stone of crushing; judgment
2. Isaiah 8:14 – stone of stumbling; rock of offense
3. Isaiah 28:16 – foundation stone; tested; precious cornerstone
4. Psalm 118:22 – rejected stone; rejected by builders
5. I Peter 2:6 – resolves all with Jesus
a. If you believe – He’s precious
b. If you don’t – He’s a stumbling block
iv. Imagery?
1. Gen. 49:9 – Lion of Judah; fierce, powerful
2. John 1:36 – John the Baptist describes as Lamb; meek, arnios –
“pet lamb beloved by family”
3. Rev. 5 – both in Jesus
a. 1st coming – Lamb; those who believe in Him
b. 2nd coming – Lion; those who deny Him
c. Josh MacDowell Chapter 9 of Evidence lists many, many more
i. 61 + prophecies fulfilled in
Jesus
