Vintage

The simple answer to this question is that the Bible is the priceless gift of God to man.  It is unique among books.  Its author is the great Eternal Creator, the maker of the heavens and the earth.

Its contents reveal and explain the purpose of God in the creation of the earth and of mankind upon it.  To those who are prepared to search its pages it answers the most perplexing questions concerning the meaning and purpose of our existence — and it reveals a religion that makes sense.  Most importantly it has the power to guide those who read it to real peace and happiness and everlasting life to come.  For those who are concerned by the prevalence of evil in the world today, it outlines for us the final outcome of the struggle between good and evil — and right and wrong.

There is no other book in the world to compare with the Bible.  The vital question is, “Can we trust it?”

The Bible consistently outsells every other publication.  Worldwide, 250 million copies are distributed each year and it has been translated into 2 000 languages.

The Bible’s Claims

The Bible makes great claims.  It clearly states that its author is God - the Creator of the universe.  It claims to reveal God and His purpose and it speaks with great authority.

If these claims are not true, then the Bible is the greatest and the cruelest hoax, which has ever deluded mankind.  If the claims of the Bible can be supported, then we are in possession of the world’s greatest treasure.

So what is so special about this Book?

The first fact to remember is that the Bible is not just one book, but a collection of 66 very ancient books, written by the pens of about 40 different people.

The second is, that these writers did not sit down at the same time to write their books.  They wrote over a period of some 1 600 years.

Further, given such diverse backgrounds and cultures of its contributors, any collection of writings would almost certainly contradict each other and present radically different views of the subject, especially in the controversial field of religion.  Yet we find this is not so.  All the books combine in one consistent theme: the working out of God's purpose with man.  Harmony exists from the books of Genesis to Revelation.

A final remarkable fact is that this library of books has survived at all.  Why haven't the ravages of history destroyed these ancient writings from our heritage?  Not only has it survived unchanged in content for thousands of years, but also attempts to suppress or destroy its influence in the lives of men and women in the past have only served to spread its message further across the world.

Inspired of God

Let us first look more closely at the Bible’s claims.

Paul, writing in the New Testament, says:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Every word of the original manuscripts was written under direct Divine guidance.  The Apostle Peter also stressed this fact:

No prophecy (teaching) of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.  (2 Peter 1:20-21)

These are statements, which are fundamental to any study of the Bible and show that we are not dealing with the writings of men, but of God Himself.

An Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, was sent by God to call his people to repentance.  The people did not like what he said and did not want to hear him.  They persecuted him and caused him much strife and suffering.  Therefore he decided he would stop proclaiming God’s message.  The Bible records what happened:

Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” (Jeremiah 20:9)

This he was unable to do.  He found he could not stop preaching the message from God.  The inspired Word of God was so strong inside him that he could not resist.  He was irresistibly borne along in preaching and writing God's message:

But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.  (Jeremiah 20:9)

Bible Prophecy

God has chosen prophecy as a great proof of His existence and of His infinite superiority over all other beings, as the Bible declares:

For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done.  (Isaiah 46.  9:10)

Prophecies that have already been fulfilled are proof; not only of God’s existence, but that the Bible must be what it claims to be — the inspired Word of God.

The Bible speaks from time to time of events that would come to pass hundreds of years later.  For example, in the well-known story, often told at Christmas, we read how the wise men came to Jerusalem and asked King Herod about the baby Jesus:

Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.  (Matthew 2:2)

When Herod inquired of the chief priests, they were able to providing the answer:

In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.”  (Matthew 2:5-6)

They were quoting from the Old Testament book of Micah, which God had caused to be written hundreds of years previously.  This is just one example of many, showing that fulfilled prophecy proves that the Bible is the inspire Word of God.

Israel in Bible Prophecy

In addition to prophecies about Jesus Christ, there are many relating to ancient nations and in particular, to the Jews some written 3 500 years ago.  Many of the ancient nations have disappeared from world affairs but the Bible said that the Jews would survive.  The Jewish people still survive today in spite of repeated efforts to destroy them.

The following questions, with answers from Bible prophecy illustrate this point:

Question:  Why have the Jews survived their terrible history?

Answer:  Because the Bible said they would.  Nations, which persecuted the Jews thousands of years ago, have long since disappeared off the face of the earth.  Yet the indestructible Jew is still with us.  Why?  The Bible says:

“For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you.”  (Jeremiah 30:11)

Question:  Why has Israel been re-established as a nation for over 60 years?

Answer:  Because the Bible repeatedly says that God would re-gather them:

The Lord your God will have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.  If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.  Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land, which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it.  (Deuteronomy 30:3-5)

Question:  Why have they been regathered?

Answer:  As a sign to all nations of the approaching intervention by God in the affairs of the human race:

When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.  (Ezekiel 39:27-28)

If the Bible had been the writings of men, such accurate prophesies would have been impossible.  But the Jews are still with us today in their own state, proving again that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.  We see Israel, with its capital city, Jerusalem, just as the Bible foretold.  (It should be noted that God’s work with the Jews is not yet complete, and that there are more prophecies yet to be fulfilled.)

Just as surely as these prophecies have come to pass, so other prophecies concerning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth will be fulfilled, along with the establishment of the God’s kingdom on earth.

Theme of the Bible

The consistent theme throughout the Bible is God’s purpose to populate the world with a perfected race of men and women.  They will live in peace and harmony with one another and with God Himself on a wonderful, restored earth.  From Adam’s fallen race God is calling out a people who want to live their lives in accordance with His will and purpose.  To them this life is a time of training and testing.  The Bible sums up this theme in the following verses:

But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.  (Numbers 14:21)

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.  (Habakkuk 2:14)

Many will be familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, given by the Lord Jesus Christ.  Thinking people will realise that this prayer, repeated by millions of men and women around the world, has never been answered.  However, it will be answered in this glorious age, which Jesus will return to usher in:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven ...  (Matthew 6:10)

Why Should I Read the Bible?

There are two basic reasons. First, it is the express revelation given to man by his Maker, telling him why he was created, how he should behave and what he should aim for. If we buy a complicated machine for use in home or industry we shall be foolish to ignore the manufacturers’ instructions about installation and maintenance. We ourselves are far more complex and prone to go wrong-the state of our world today being eloquent witness. How much more important then that we should seek guidance from our Maker on how we should run our lives.

The second reason is equally compelling. We are dying creatures, “here to day and gone tomorrow,” and none of us knows how long remains to us. It could of course be years — but it might be only days! The Bible tells us why we die, what went wrong soon after man was created. More important still, it reveals the plan of rescue from permanent death that God devised, and later put into operation when He raised Jesus from the dead. Christ’s own resurrection is a guarantee of God’s promise of salvation to us, if we believe and obey His Word, the Bible. The gift of immortality, which God offers us through His Son, is so great that no sane person could dismiss is as not worth careful investigation. Who in his senses ignores a lifeline?

There is a Part for Us

The matter does not finish there.  Paul was inspired to write about the hope of all who have died as faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ — and it includes those who are still alive at his coming:

I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (in death), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.  If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15)

If you have ever wondered what the faithful in Christ will be doing in a life yet to come, the Bible explains some of the joyful praise they will give to Jesus:

You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”  (Revelation 5:9-10)

That is just a brief look at what the Bible promises to the faithful in Christ.  We will look more closely at the promises of God in a later study.

Over to you

We hope the reasons we have given for reading the Bible have made sense to you.  Additional reasons will be given as you proceed through these notes.

Finally we would emphasis the point that it is important that you look up in your own Bible the references we give.  If you are not familiar with the Bible, you will find the book in the table of contents at the front of your Bible.  In this way you will be following the example of those who heard the preaching of Paul in a city named Berea.  They were commended for their willingness to search the scriptures for themselves, to see if what Paul said was true:

They (the Bereans) received the word (of God) with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.  (Acts 17:11)

Next: http://www.biblenews.org/Gods-Plan-and-Purpose/