John 10:3 and the scripture cannot be broken;
This lesson makes no claim of answering EVERY
question which might arise but rather to simply point
out some of the methods to be used as these difficulties
are confronted.
Many are more prone to accept an absurd lie than
to believe a simple truth. Evolutionists have given the
earth an age ranging from a few million to several
billion years, and many accept the discrepancy without
batting an eye, and yet shout in derision if they
‘perceive’ a difference in the Bible,
of 30 years concerning Israel's time of slavery in
Egypt.
An elephant supposedly evolved from a small,
rat-like animal while the little wild pig descended from
a huge hippopotamus-like creature. All
of this by some blind, unguided process, and it seems
completely believable by the mind that hates God; while
the idea of an intelligent creator is ridiculed as
illogical.
Personally, the dialogues of the evolutionist
always remind me of the ‘mad hatters tea party’!
I. The importance of the ‘Infallibility of the
Word.’ Psa 11:3 If the
foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
The Bible is not a scientific textbook and
was not written for scientists, nor was it written in
scientific language. Yet, if we believe the Creator is
the author, we must accept the challenge and affirm that
it speaks with authority and accuracy when it touches
upon ANY subject.
II. When ‘science’ and the Bible disagree,
either;
A. Science has presented an hypothesis that is wrong and
will soon be proven so and discarded, or;
B. There is an error in what men THINK the Bible
teaches. i.e. For years, men scoffed that the Bible
taught a ‘flat earth’ while science knew better. The
truth? The Bible taught the truth long before man made
the discovery! Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon
the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are
as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a
curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
III. A few of the alleged errors and
contradictions.
A. These fall, generally, into four categories;
1. The same thing?
Acts 12:2 And he killed James the brother
of John with the sword.
Acts 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James
answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Believe it or not, this has actually been
cited as an error or contradiction by some! One of these
was the son of Zebedee and the other the son of Alphaeus.
2. A difference in time. In Genesis 1, God
declared everything was good, while in Genesis 6:11-12
He said it was evil.
3. In the same sense? Was John the Baptist
Elias?
Mat 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this
is Elias, which was for to come.
John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias?
And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, No.
Luke gives us the answer. Luke
1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power
of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just;
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
4. Problems with contrary attributes. Do we have
a God who is love, or one who is a stern judge? Picture
the judge as he faces a criminal, and as he looks down
at the face of his sleeping child. Which is the real
person?
B. A few difficulties examined.
1. Was there one angel or two?
John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white
sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had lain.
Mark 16:5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a
young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long
white garment; and they were affrighted.
Mark tells of four women who saw one angel
before they went to tell Peter and the others.
John tells us the other disciples have left, and Mary is
alone at the tomb. This squares with Mark's account
which tells us Mary was the first to see the risen
Christ. Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen
early the first day of the week, he appeared first to
Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
2. The length of the sojourn in Egypt.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that
is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall
afflict them four hundred years;
Exo 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel,
who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
Acts 7:6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed
should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should
bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four
hundred years.
The total time in Egypt was four hundred
and thirty years while the slavery was four hundred.
3. Did Absalom have sons?
2 Sam 14:27 And unto Absalom there were
born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar:
she was a woman of a fair countenance.
2 Sam 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and
reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's
dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in
remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own
name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.
These refer to different times in his life.
4. Three passages harmonized.
a. Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ:
b. Rom 5:9 Much more then,
being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through him. c. James
2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified,
and not by faith only.
Which is correct? All are! Faith is the
instrument of our justification, The blood of Christ is
the merit of our justification and works is the
declaration of our justification.
5. The price paid for the threshing floor of
Ornan.
2 Sam 24:24 And the king said unto Araunah,
Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price:
neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my
God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought
the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of
silver.
1 Chr 21:25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six
hundred shekels of gold by weight.
Here are clearly two different
transactions. David first bought the threshing floor and
later bought the entire farm.
6. Did Matthew mistake one prophet for another?
Mat 27:9 Then was fulfilled that which was
spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the
thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was
valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
The only WRITTEN prophecy concerning this
is Zec 11:13 And the LORD said unto me,
Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was
prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of
silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the
LORD. Jeremiah SAID IT and Zechariah wrote
of it.
Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from
Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Did Jude err when he quoted Enoch?
7. the manner of the death of Judas.
Mat 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of
silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged
himself.
Acts 1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward
of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in
the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
There is no mystery or discrepancy here. If
a man ties a rope around his neck and jumps from a
sufficient height it might well result in a hanging such
as Luke describes in Acts.
These are but a small selection of the charges
critics have made against the Bible but they are
examples of the whole, and all can be answered with a
little close reading and study and a little common
sense.
Practice on this one. How many souls went into
Egypt?
Gen 46:26 All the souls that came with
Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides
Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and
six;
Gen 46:27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in
Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the
house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore
and ten.
Acts 7:14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob
to him, and all his kindred, threescore and
fifteen souls.
Next; The Bible Proven By Prophecy
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