BiblicalInsights.net

In the March/April issue of Biblical Archeology Review, there was an article titled, Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible. A feature of BAR is “how many.” How many people in the Hebrew Bible have been confirmed archaeologically? The answer is 50!
Kings of Judah confirmed through archeology include: David, Hezekiah, Uzziah, Ahaz, Manasseh and Jehoiachin. Kings of Israel that have been confirmed through archeology are: Ahab, who angrily called the prophet Elijah “Thou troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17), Omri, Jehu, Joash (short for Jehoash), Jeroboam II, Menahem, Pekah and Hoshea. That’s a total of fourteen kings!
Foreign kings are also mentioned, including: Sennacherib (Assyrian ruler who shut up king Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage” mentioned on Sennacherib’s prism), Tiglath-pilesar III, Shalmaneser V, Sargon II and Esarhaddon, all Assyrian kings mentioned in the Bible. Adrammelech, the son and assassin of Sennacherib has also been confirmed.
Babylonian monarchs mentioned in the Bible include: Nebuchadnessar (destroyed Solomn’s Temple in 586 B.C. and took the Jews to Babylon for 70 years captivity), Merodach-baladan II, Evil-merodach and Belshazzar. Belshazzar is featured in the book of Daniel and Daniel read the mysterious handwriting on the wall to him.
Persians kings mentioned in the Bible and corroborated by archeology include: Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great who issued the decree allowing the Jews to return to Palestine (written on the Cyrus Cylinder), Darius I, Xerxes, Artaxerxes I and Darius II. Xerxes plays a prominent role in the Book of Esther where he is called Ahasuerus. Xerxes is Greek and Ahasuerus is Hebrew.
Egyptian rulers include: Shishak, So, Tirhakah, Necho II and Hophra.
Mesha from Moab is mentioned in 2 Kings 3:4-27.
Rules in Damascus include: Headadezer, Ben-hadad, son of Hadadezer, Hazael, Beh-hadad, son of Hazael and Rezin.
In the Southern Kingdom, there were royal officers and priests that have been confirmed through archeology. These include: Hilkiah (priest during Josiah’s reign), Shaphan (scribe during Josiah’s reign), Azariah (high priest during Josiah’s reign), Gemariah (official during Jehoiakim’s reign), Shelemiah, (father of Jehucal the royal official-Jeremiah 37:3), Jehucal or Jucal, (official during Zedekiah’s reign), Pashhur, (father of Gedaliah the royal official), and Gedaliah, (official during Zedekiah’s reign).
This completes the list of 50. The list shows that Bible history is real/authentic. The list helps to verify the truthfulness of the Bible. Contrast this information about the Bible with the Book of Mormon which is not verfied by a single historical fact and you can see that the Bible is the more reliable and trustworthy document.

Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).  This is one of the most profound questions ever uttered by man.  The answer to this question is vitally important.  Jesus makes it clear that the Word of God is truth (John 17:17).  He affirmed that, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).  He promised that the Spirit of Truth would guide the apostles into “all truth” (John 16:13-15).  The words of Jesus Christ and the apostles constitute truth.  These words are found in Scripture (II Tim. 3:16-17).  Consider the following aspects of truth.

TRUTH IS THAT WHICH CONFORMS TO REALITY AS GOD EXPRESSES IT.
The Bible is completely true.  All of its affirmations and denials conform to reality (this is the correspondence theory of truth).  Truth conforms to reality as God defines reality.  We do not create our own reality.  If we created our own reality, then truth would be subjective rather than objective.  We do not create our own truth.  God’s Word (objective reality) is truth!  When you destroy the foundation of truth–the Word of God–you eliminate God’s will from consideration in the everyday events of life.  This means that man is free to pursue the lusts of the flesh without restraint.  The result–anything goes!  Lies multiply when truth is suppressed or rejected.  When God speaks, His word is truth.  It matters not whether that reality is historical, factual, or spiritual.

TRUTH IS GOD’S WORD
The Word of God is the result of inspiration and revelation.  The Holy Spirit superintended the revelation of God’s will to holy men of God (apostles and prophets).  “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretaion.  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” (II Pet. 1:20-21).  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” (II Tim. 3:16).  “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All  things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:13-15).   The Gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16) is the Word of God (I Pet. 1:25).  In God’s Word, we have an objective reality, an eternal reality, and an authoritative reality.

TRUTH IS INERRANT
Truth and inerrancy are synonymous.  The statements of scripture are always without error.  Skeptics look for errors in the Bible in vain. Error stands in opposition to truth.  The concept of inerrancy must be qualified.  Consider the following areas of study.
1.  Modern technical precision.  The Bible records numbers–size of a crowd, or the size of an army, or the number of years between one event and another–by rounding them.  The rounding of numbers does not constitute errors of facts.
2.  Irregularities of grammar or spelling.  For example, New Testament authors sometimes give a different spelling to Old Testament names.  These are not errors.
3.  Observational descriptions of nature.  The Bible speaks of the sun rising or the sun setting.  These are descriptions as they appear to the observer on earth.  They are not errors.
4.  Reporting falsehoods.  The Bible records the lies of Satan and the fradulent teachings of false prophets.  But, it reports them as lies and not the truth.
5.  The use of hyperbole.  Hyperbole is a figure of speech where exaggeration is used to make a point.  When the Bible says that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven–it does not mean every single person, but that the preaching of the gospel was pervasive in the world (Col. 1:23).
6.  The use of free citations.  The New Testament writers frequently quote from the Old Testament.  About 10% of the New Testament is made up of Old Testament quotations or allusions.  But, the New Testament writers adapt many of these Old Testament quotations to their intended purpose.  These are not mistakes or errors.
7.  Arrangement of material.  Sometimes chronological arrangment of material is used by a writer and sometimes it is not.  The author may have a different purpose and so arrange material to fit that purpose.  However, these are not errors.

TRUTH MEANS INTERNAL CONSISTENCY
The Bible is not full of contradictions.  Alleged contradictions in the Bible can be answered by showing that two statements, that seem to be incongruous, can be harmonized.  The law of contradiction is as Aristotle noted, “that the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject and in the same respect.”   “In other words, if the same thing is said to be and not be (1) for the same person, place, or thing. (2) at the same time, and (3) in the same sense (respect), then a genuine contradicton exists” (Eric Lyons, Dealing Fairly With Alleged Bible Contradictons Part II, Reason and Revelation, Nov. 2013, p. 122).  The Bible has been falsely charged with contradictions.  If the Bible contradicted itself, then it would not be true.  If it is not true, then it is not believable.

TRUTH MEANS THAT THE BIBLE REFLECTS THE NATURE OF GOD
The Holy Spirit affirms, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2, see also Heb. 6:18).  God’s Word reflects His truthfulness.  The Word of God reflects the very nature of God Himself!  The Word of God does not lie.  But, any doctrine that contradicts the plain teaching of God’s Word is a lie.  Thus, we have a truth test and can try the spirits to see if they are of God (I John 4:1 and II John 4).  Why not put your own beliefs to the test of truth and see if they endure.

A lengthy dispute over how to convey the Trinity to Muslims led two denominations to threaten boycotts of Wycliffe Bible Translators.  The disupte began in 2011.  Wycliffe’s partner SIL International halted seven translation projects in 2011 until a 14-member panel convened by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) could assess the debate.
The dispute focused on how to translate phrases like “God the Father” and “Son of God” in predominantly Muslim nations.  The problem is the Quran’s teaching on the subject of the Triune God.  Muslims do not believe in the diety of Jesus Christ and consequently, they do not believe in a Triune God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit).  While Muslims are monotheistic, their god Allah, is not the one, true and living God.
The Quran teaches: 5:116, “And behold! God will say, “O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, “Worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God?”  17:111, “Praise be to God, Who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion: Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation, yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory.”  19:88-92, “They say: ‘(God) Most Gracious has begotten a son!’ Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous!  At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin, That they should invoke a son for (God) Most Gracious.  For it is not consonant with the majesty of (God) Most Gracious that he should beget a son.”
The idea of God begetting a son (assumed in a physical sense) is misunderstood by Muslims.  The Virgin Birth will have to be explained to Muslims.  But, God’s Word should not be changed to accommodate their misunderstandings.  We cannot compromise the truth in the way the Bible is translated.  Political correctness should not enter into Bible translation.
Some of the transational changes involved the following:
-Reference to “God the Father” are replaced by the Arabic word for god, “Allah.”  (But, Allah and the Triune God of the Bible are not the same).
-References to Jesus as the “Son of God” are replaced with “Messiah”, thus eliminating references to Jesus as the Son of God and thus destroying the relationship between the Father and the Son in Scripture.
-In Matthew 18:19, “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” becomes “Cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, His Messiah, and His Holy Spirit.”
Most will be able to see the translational problems involved with these changes and the doctrinal import of each.  The WEA established a 14-member panel to address the translational issues.  It produced a report in April, 2013.  The report includes ten guidelines that address the translational issues.  It may be obtained at www.worldevangelicals.org/translation-review/.
Christianity Today had an article addressing this issue titled, “Translation Tension” by Ruth Moon in the July/August, 2013 issue.  The tension points up the difficulty encountered in Bible translation when one of the motivating factors is political correctness.  There will always be tension and conflict when truth meets error.

Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).  Every word of the Bible is significant.  Every word of the Scriptures is inspired of God (II Tim. 3:16).  Every word that Jesus spoke is important for spiritual and eternal life (John 6:63).  Every word of Jesus is eternal (Mat. 24:35).  Every word of the Lord will judge us in the last day (John 12:48).
Recently, a preacher of the Gospel was rebuked by one of his members for quoting Mark 16:16 is a sermon.  The person stated that Mark 16:16 is not an authentic passage of Scripture and should not be used in preaching.  This raises an important question, “Is Mark 16:9-20 an authentic passage of Scripture or is it spurious?”
In 1881, Brooke F. Westcott and Anthony J. Hort developed and introduced a new Greek Text of the New Testament.  In that text, they omitted Mark 16:9-20 as well as many other passages and thousands of smaller changes.  This created a significant problem in the field of textual criticism that produced a ongoing debate  (see Perspectives on the Ending of Mark-4 Views).
The first person to introduce a critical Greek text was Johann Griesbach (1745-1812).  Griesbach was the first to insist that the concluding verses of Mark 16:9-20 were spurious (D. Burgon, Unholy Hands on the Bible, vol 1, C-4).  His students Hug and Scholz (1808, 1830, respectively) did not concur with Griesbach.  Karl Lachmann (1793-1851) a German philologist and critic, originated the new principle of textual criticism of paying exclusive and absolute deference to the testimony of a few arbitrarily selected ancient documents with no regard being paid to the others of the same or of yet higher antiquity.  This resulted in weighting a few manuscripts over many manuscripts.
Tishchendorf, Tregelles, and Alford reconstructed the Greek text and all agreed that Mark’s Gospel ends at 16:8.  These men were predecessors to Wescott and Hort.  Tishchendorf is the one who discovered codex Sinaiticus.  He retrieved it from a waste basket at the Convent of St. Catherine’s at the foot of Mt. Sinai (May, 1844)  Why was it relegated to the trash?  It was obviously a corrupt manuscript and considered useless.  This manuscript has a space after 16:8 which indicates that the scribe was aware that something else followed.  The last twelve verses of Mark’s Gospel are also omitted from the Vaticanus manuscript.  The Vaticanus also terminates at Hebrews 9:14, thus omitting the remaining portion of that treatise and the books of James, I and 2 Peter,  3 John, Jude, and Revelation.  Are we to conclude that these books never were part of the original text?
These two manuscripts, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, are referred to by many translators as the “oldest and best manuscripts.”  This is the primary weight of the external evidence against the inclusion of Mark 16:9-20 in the New Testament.  There is one other Greek manuscript, Codex 304, 12th century Byzantine manuscript, that also ends at Mark 16:8.  In contrast to this evidence, 95% or more of the extant Greek manuscripts have the passage, Mark 16:9-20.  It is found in all major text types: Western, Caesarean, Byzantine, and Alexandrian.  It is found among many of the early church fathers including Justin Martyr (First Apology 1:45, A.D. 151–within 50 years of the Apostle John) and Irenaeus (Bishop of the Church of Lyons and student of Polycarp who was a student of the apostle John).  Also, Hippolytus (Bishop of Portus near Rome (A.D. 190-227 and contemporary of Irenaeus) quotes the 17th and 18th verses of the ending of Mark’s Gospel in his fragment Peri Charismaton.  These writers are cited because they actually predate both the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts.
The external evidence (manuscripts and early church fathers) for the authenticity of Mark 16:9-20 is overwhelming!  There is no good reason to exclude these passages from the New Testament Gospel of Mark.  If this is true, then, we must question the reliability of many modern translations that cast some sort of dispersion on these verses either omitting them or setting them off by themselves.
Every word of the Lord is important and essential for our salvation.  Every word of Jesus Christ will judge us in the last day.  Mark 16:9-20 contains an important declaration by Jesus concerning salvation.  “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;  But he that believeth not shall be damned” (KJV).  Faith and baptism are essential for salvation while unbelief will condemn one before God.  Could some desire to omit Mark 16:9-20 due to doctrinal bias?  Those who hold to “faith only” do not like this passage.  Many today do not believe that baptism into Christ is essential for salvation.
There is no doubt that Mark 16:9-20 is an authentic passage and belongs in the New Testament.  T. W. Brents in his book The Gospel Plan of Salvation said that you cannot blow a passage of Scripture out of the Bible by a breath.  Just because someone says it,  doesn’t make it so.  Let the evidence speak for itself!

Leland Ryken’s book, The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential English Translation is a wonderful treatment of the King James Version of the Bible from a historical and literary standpoint.  I have just recently posted a book review of this work.  Ryken is a friend of the KJV.  The KJV is the most published book in the history of the world.  It has a place of prominence among English Bible translations and is unsurpassed in its literary beauty.  If you have neglected this English translation of the Bible, perhaps this is the time to take a closer look at the KJV.  If Ryken impresses you with its beauty and quality, maybe you will read it with new admiration too!

The wonder of God’s Word is the awe it inspires within us as we contemplate the various aspects of its nature.  In Psalm 119:161, the writer declares, “…my heart standeth in awe of thy word.”  One of the aspects of God’s Word that produces awe is its sufficiency.  The sufficiency of the Scriptures is comprehended in three concepts:  Scripture is complete, comprehensive and capable.
The Scriptures are Complete
Scripture is the “whole counsel of God.”  Acts 20:27.  Jude states, “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” (Jude 3).  The reference to “the faith” is the one faith mentioned by Paul in Eph. 4:5.  It is the body of truth revealed by God through the means of inspiration (II Tim. 3:16).  The word “once” is from the Greek word hapax which means “once for all” and denotes an unrepeatable event.  The consequence of the force of this term is:  no latter day revelations.  However, some claim that God speaks to them today and makes revelations to them by His Spirit.  If this is so, Jude 3 is not true.  Others claim that the traditions of men are just as binding on them as the Law of God.  This also is false.  The Scriptures contain all of the sacred knowledge that equips men to know God and to know His Will for their lives (II Pet. 1:3).  In addition, consider the passages of Scripture that forbid adding to or taking away from the Word of God (Deut. 4:2, Rev. 22:18,19).  The Scriptures and the Scriptures alone make us wise unto salvation (II Tim. 3:15).
The Scriptures are Comprehensive
The Scriptures contain all of the divine words for every aspect of life.  In II Pet. 1:3-4, Peter writes that we have “…all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who hath called us to glory and virtue.”  Absolutely nothing has been omitted that is essential for us to know God, know how to be saved, and know how to live the Christian life and eventually receive the crown of life.  God’s Word should permeate the heart and mind of man in such a way that it impacts the whole of life by integrating faith in God in everything we do.  This is the Christian worldview.  God’s wisdom expressed in His word touches every aspect of life.  Do not compartmentalize the Scriptures.  Do not compartmentalize your faith.  The Scriptures must guide the politician, school teacher, scientist, mathematician, preacher, plumber, etc. etc.
The Scriptures are Capable
The Scriptures are able to accomplish the sacred purposes for which God sent them forth (Isa. 55:10,11).  God’s Word will not return unto Him void.  There is power in the Word of God.  The Word of God is the seed of the kingdom.  In this seed is the germ of spiritual and eternal life.  There is life-giving power in the Word of God (John 6:63, 68).  We are born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever (I Pet. 1:23).  There is power to save in God’s Word (Rom. 1:16).  God’s Word is sufficient to provide us with the knowledge of salvation.  There is life-changing power in God’s Word (Rom. 10:17, I John 5:4).  Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  Faith overcomes the world.  Our lives are transformed as our minds and hearts are renewed through the Word of God (Rom. 12:1-2).  God’s Word facilitates the process of becoming all that God wants us to be!
The Scriptures are sufficient.  They provide us with all of the divine words needed for every aspect of life.