The Bible is
self-revealing. It is written in such a manner that truth oozes from it
like honey from the honeycomb. The Bible is utterly distinct in character
from all other religious literature in the world extant, bar none. Unlike all
other religious literature in the world, the Bible is historically and
prophetically accurate, as well as morally and theologically profound. The
veracity and genuineness contained within the Bible's pages shout so
loudly to the heart and soul and mind of man that one must be under a
severe curse of blindness in order to miss it.
That is not a
metaphor, nor is it merely a warning. It is, in fact, a judgment, for he
who cannot see the divine imprint of Almighty God in the pages of the
Bible is he who is under a death sentence from Almighty God. Or, as John
Bunyan so piercingly stated --
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"I will tell thee, he that slights the scriptures, doth also slight him of whom they testify. And I will tell thee also, that for this cause God hath given up many to strong delusions, that they might believe a lie." John Bunyan, Some Gospel Truths Opened |
Jesus Christ, who,
from Genesis to Revelation is the supreme subject of the Bible, stated,
"Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." John 18:37
The voice of
truth by Jesus Christ in the Bible is so certain and so distinct that every person
who is of the truth will recognize the divine imprint of Almighty God in
the pages of the Bible. He who cannot see this simple truth is he who is
eternally doomed, for he who is blind to this simple truth is he who
demonstrates that he does not have that capacity of grace that all who
belong to Jesus Christ truly possess.
Take the book
of Genesis, for example. Its divine certitude is utterly distinct and
supersedes all other creation literature extant. Its divine character is
illuminated to the man of truth so brightly as to be infinitely above all
other religious literature in the world. Its imprint of genuineness is so
profound that the difference between the character of the Bible and
the character of all other religious literature in the world is greater
than the span of the universe. A few excerpts from "Ancient Records And
The Structure Of Genesis" by P. J. Wiseman accurately reflects this
simple paradigm. Regarding the book of Genesis, Wiseman notes --
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"Naturally the wording is simple, but the truth conveyed is profound... this first section of Genesis is the most ancient piece of writing. It is a record of what God told Adam. It is not an impersonal general account. It is God teaching the first man the elemental things about the universe, at the very dawn of human language. Here we get back also the very inauguration of written history. For it may have been written before even the sun and the moon had been given names... We know that long before the time of the Flood men worshipped the sun and the moon and had given them names. Had this first chapter of Genesis been written even as late as Abraham's day, instead of the simple expression "greater light" we should have had the Babylonian word for the sun... Names for the sun and moon have been among the oldest words known in any language, yet this document was written before names had been given to the "greater and lesser lights"... It is written in the style of someone recording precisely what Adam heard when the narrative was told to him... All the reader needs to do is to realize its unique features and to compare it with the Babylonian versions... The first chapter [of Genesis] is so ancient that it does not contain mythical or legendary matter; these elements are entirely absent. It bears the markings of having been written before myth and legend had time to grow, and not as is often stated, at a later date when it had to be stripped of the mythical and legendary elements inherent in every other account of Creation extant. This account is so original that it does not bear a trace of any system of philosophy. Yet it is so profound that it is capable of correcting philosophical systems. It is so ancient that it contains nothing that is merely nationalistic; neither Babylonian, Egyptian, nor Jewish modes of thought find a place in it, for it was written before clans, nations, or philosophies originated. Surely, we must regard it as the original, of which the other extant accounts are merely corrupted copies. Others incorporate their national philosophies in crude polytheistic and mythological form. This is pure. Genesis 1 is as primitive as the first human. It is the threshold of written history." P. J. Wiseman, Ancient Records And The Structure Of Genesis |
THE VERACITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: A SCIENTIFIC VALIDATION
And
with regard to the utterly absurd contention that some literary cabal
could ever have invented such a person as Jesus as recorded in the four
Gospels, even the liberal theologian and historian Philip Schaff was
forced to observe in wonder --
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"The incarnation or the union of the infinite divinity and finite humanity in one person is indeed the mystery of mysteries. "What can be more glorious than God? What more vile than flesh? What more wonderful than God in the flesh?" Yet aside from all dogmatizing which lies outside of the province of the historian, the divinity of Christ has a self-evidencing power which forces itself irresistibly upon the reflecting mind and historical inquirer; while the denial of it makes his person an inexplicable enigma. It is inseparable from his own express testimony respecting himself, as it appears in every Gospel, with but a slight difference of degree between the Synoptists and St. John. Only ponder over it! He claims to be the long-promised Messiah who fulfilled the law and the prophets, the founder and lawgiver of a new and universal kingdom, the light of the world, the teacher of all nations and ages, from whose authority there is no appeal. He claims to have come into this world for the purpose to save the world from sin - which no merely human being can possibly do. He claims the power to forgive sins on earth; he frequently exercised that power, and it was for the sins of mankind, as he foretold, that he shed his own blood. He invites all men to follow him, and promises peace and life eternal to every one that believes in him. He claims pre-existence before Abraham and the world, divine names, attributes, and worship. He disposes from the cross of places in Paradise. In directing his disciples to baptize all nations, he coordinates himself with the eternal Father and the Divine Spirit, and promises to be with them to the consummation of the world and to come again in glory as the Judge of all men. He, the humblest and meekest of men, makes these astounding pretensions in the most easy and natural way; he never falters, never apologizes, never explains; he proclaims them as self-evident truths. We read them again and again, and never feel any incongruity nor think of arrogance and presumption. And yet this testimony, if not true, must be downright blasphemy or madness. The former hypothesis cannot stand a moment before the moral purity and dignity of Jesus, revealed in his every word and work, and acknowledged by universal consent. Self-deception in a matter so momentous, and with an intellect in all respects so clear and so sound, is equally out of the question. How could He be an enthusiast or a madman who never lost the even balance of his mind, who sailed serenely over all the troubles and persecutions, as the sun above the clouds, who always returned the wisest answer to tempting questions, who calmly and deliberately predicted his death on the cross, his resurrection on the third day, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the founding of his Church, the destruction of Jerusalem - predictions which have been literally fulfilled? A character so original, so complete, so uniformly consistent, so perfect, so human and yet so high above all human greatness, can be neither a fraud nor a fiction. The poet, as has been well said, would in this case be greater than the hero. It would take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus." Philip Schaff, History Of The Christian Church |
The Bible is self-revealing indeed, and all who do not find the living Jesus between its pages will rue the day they were born, for the testimony of the Bible is brighter than the sun shining in its strength for the man who has eyes to see with.
Would you be born again? GENUINELY born again?
Then take wise counsel -- pick up a Bible based on the Traditional Text -- in English, the ONLY VALID Bible based on the Traditional Text is the King James Bible -- and then read with SOLEMNITY, beginning in the Gospels preferably, and beg Jesus Christ to reveal himself to you, and give him no rest until he does, for if you read the TRUE written Word of God, you will find the Lord of Glory, even Jesus Christ, moving upon the face of the waters in its pages, just as he moved upon the face of the waters when he walked across the Sea of Galilee, and if you follow the advice just given, and if you persist, Jesus Christ HIMSELF will verily MANIFEST HIMSELF to you (for he HIMSELF promises to do this for those who truly heed this advice), just as he MANIFESTED HIMSELF to his disciples when he moved upon the face of the waters as he walked across the stormy sea some two thousand years ago, and just as he did with ME not too many years ago, and just as he has done with a FEW others from day to day since that time, in this very generation, and just as he will do for YOU if -- IF -- you heed my advice, and if -- IF -- you persist therein, for he who promised is FAITHFUL. John 14:21, Matthew 14:25-27
The Great Gamble
Regeneration And The Holy Spirit
Where Have All The Preachers Gone?