Notes from January 12 Class

Main Points from Back to Basics Class: 

1.      The Bible’s accuracy has been preserved by God through His followers:
a.       Prophets and Prophet scribes copy scrolls word for word
b.      A new system is used before Christ to count letters
c.       Jesus uses the Old Testament scriptures and validates them
d.      Disciples, Reformers and Preachers would die rather than alter them. 

It is important to remember that literally none of the original manuscripts of either the Old or New Testaments has survived.  The Bible was passed down by individual manual copying and translation right up to the discover of printing in the 15th Century A.D.  The oldest manuscript copies date from sometime during the first three centuries A.D.

2.      The Bible is “Canonized” as God’s Word
a.       Jesus Validates the Old Testament by quoting and reading from it.(Jesus quoted from 27 of the books of the Old Testament and 36 of the 39 Old Testament books are referenced by the writers of the New Testament)
b.      Apocryphal books are omitted due to their content and unknown authorship.
c.       New Testament is authoritative due to its writers, who were all established as Jesus’ disciples.

It is now very important to realize that every sermon that is preached, every article that is written, and every word that is “prophesied” in the name of  Jesus,  should be tested and validated by the “Holy Scriptures,” which is what we call the Bible.

 The Bible Today:

The Bible was passed down by individual manual copying and translation right up to the discovery of the printing press in the 15th Century A.D. The oldest manuscript copies date from sometime during the first three Centuries A.D.

The original language of the Old Testament was Hebrew, and the original language of the New Testament was Greek; however as times and empires changed, the Bible began being written and copied in different languages.  The Old Testament Hebrew was changed to Aramaic and then into Greek and Latin.  By the end of the 6th Century, Latin was considered to be the official language of the Bible, and it would stay that way for most of the western world up through the 1500s, event though many could not read it.

The first English Bible was completed in the late 1300's by John Wycliffe, an Oxford instructor in religion and philosophy. Condemned by the church, it lasted in the underground for some 150 years.  As time went on and with the help of more presses, more translations were being circulated, and though meeting great opposition, the poeple were, for the first time, now able to read the Bible in their own language.

Today the Bible is found in over 2000 languages and one might think, after all these translations, how can we be sure there is still the original intent and true meaning of the Author's words?  It was in 1947 that a few Jordanian shepherds discovered a large number of jars hidden in a cave near the Dead Sea.  Later, after much excavating of that area, some 900 scrolls and parchments would be found.  These "Dead Sea Scrolls," as they came to be known, were some of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible to be found anywhere in the world.  It was from comparing these ancient documents with the current translations and observing the original meaning to still be intact, that assured all Christians that the Bible, though now readable in many languages, was still uncompromised by the years and the pens of men.

God has always had a way for us to know Him as He is. It has been as a result of His protective care and power that we have the Bible today with an accurate account of who He is.  He knows that, once we come to truly know Him, we will truly understand His deep and unending love for us and His desire for us to spend eternity with Him.