Sword & Canon: From God to Us
Part 1 – The Word of God
Introduction�
1. What are some of the most important Bible
teachings (doctrines)? Why?
2. Which of these might we put at the top of the list
(without minimizing the importance of the
others)? Why?
Introduction�
3. With these points in mind, where do you think the devil will direct some of his harshest attacks against Christianity?
How have you seen this?
I. The Bible ________ the Word of God �
1. What do the following tell us about the origin of the Bible? �
2 Peter 1:19a... 20-21: We also have the completely reliable prophetic word... since we know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone’s own interpretation. 21In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit.
1. What do the following tell us about the origin of the Bible? �
1 Peter 1:10-12: 10 The prophets, who prophesied about the grace that has come to you, searched and studied carefully concerning this salvation, 11 trying to find out what person and what time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they wrote about these things. These are the things that have now been announced to you by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even the angels long to look carefully into these things.
2. What does the Bible say about itself? �
Ezekiel 6:1: The word of the Lord came to me.
Joel 1:1: The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.
Jeremiah 1:9: Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me: There! I have now placed my words in your mouth.
Isaiah 2:15a (plus ca. 2,000 similar wordings)
KJV – Thus saith the Lord...
EHV – This is what the Lord says...
2. What does the Bible say about itself? �
Romans 1:2: which he promised in advance through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
Matthew 1:22-23: All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.”
Acts 28:25: They were arguing with one another and began to leave after Paul made this one statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
Hebrews 3:7: Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice,
2. What does the Bible say about itself? �
Romans 3:2: Much in every way! Indeed, above all else, they were entrusted with the messages of God.
1 Thessalonians 2:13: There is also another reason we give thanks to God unceasingly, namely, when you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not receive it as the word of men but as the word of God (as it really is), which is now at work in you who believe.
3. What does Jesus say about the Bible? �
Matthew 22:31 And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you never read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the
God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
Luke 5:1: One time, while the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
3. What does Jesus say about the Bible? �
John 17:17: “Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.
John 5:39: You search the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them. They testify about me!
4. Agree/Disagree and (explain why).
The Bible contains God’s Word.
I. The Bible is the Word of God �
II. God gave the Bible through inspiration �
1. The Concept—How did God bring His word to us?
Exodus 34:27: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words for yourself, for these are the words with which I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
1. The Concept—How did God bring His word to us?
Jeremiah 30:2: The Lord, the God of Israel, says, Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book.
1. The Concept—How did God bring His word to us?
Exodus 34:27: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words for yourself, for these are the words with which I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
1. The Concept—How did God bring His word to us?
2 Samuel 23:2: The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me. His word is on my tongue.
2. The Terminology �
2 Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness,
Omnis Scriptura divinitus inspirata utilis est ad docendum, ad arguendum, ad corripiendum, ad erudiendum in justitia:
2. The Terminology �
2 Peter 2:21: In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2. The Terminology
Inspiration = God Breathed Into the writers
But how much?
2 Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness,
But how much?
1 Corinthians 2:13: We also speak about these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual truths with spiritual words.
But how much?
Matthew 5:18: Amen I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything is fulfilled.
But how much?
Galatians 3:12: The promises God spoke referred to Abraham and to his seed. It doesn’t say, “And to seeds,” as if it were referring to many, but, as referring to one, “And to your seed,” who is Christ.
But how much?
Matthew 22:43: He said to them, “Then how can David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’?”
Verbal = each word
LATIN - VERBUM
Verbal Inspiration
The Bible is Word for Word, God’s Word!!!
3. What inspiration is not:
A computer keyboard
Or mere mechanical movement
4. This truth does not minimize the Bible as God’s Word in any way, but only heightens what a fitting wonder God has given us as He....
Used ___________ writers �
Psalm 45:1: My heart is bubbling over with a beautiful theme. I am reciting my works for the King. My tongue is the pen of a rapid writer.
2 Peter 3:15-16: Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom that was given to him. 16 He spoke about these things the same way in all of his letters. There are some matters that are hard to understand in his letters, which the ignorant and unstable distort, as they also do with the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
a. Used human writers
With their own unique backgrounds
Moses—Exodus 2:10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, with the explanation, “Because I drew him up out of the water.”
Amos--Amos 7:14: Then Amos responded to Amaziah: I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. Rather, I was a sheep breeder and I took care of sycamore fig trees.
John—Matthew 4:21: Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them.
Peter—Matthew 4:18: As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea,
since they were fishermen.
Luke—Colossians 4:14: Luke, the dearly loved doctor, greets you, as does Demas.
Paul—Acts 22:3, Acts 26:5
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strict ways of the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as all of you are today... ...I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest party of our religion.
Note—
1 Peter 5:12: I have written to you briefly (through Silas, whom I consider a faithful brother), to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.
Romans 16:22: I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 3:17 This greeting is written by me, Paul, with my own hand. This is a distinguishing sign of how I write in every letter.
Matthew—Matthew 9:9: As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow me.” Matthew got up and followed him.
Jeremiah—Jeremiah 1:1: The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, who was one of the priests from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
Daniel—Daniel 1:3-4: The king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some young Israelite men from the royal family or from the nobility. 4 He was to choose young men who had no blemish, who were good looking, who had insight into all kinds of wisdom, who possessed knowledge, understanding, and learning, and who were capable of serving in the king’s palace, in order to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans
David—1 Samuel 16:11: Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?”Jesse said, “There still is the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.”
1 Samuel 18:13 So Saul sent David away from his court and made him a commander over a unit of a thousand. So David led the army out to battle and back again.
c. Employing various methods... �
John 14:25-26: “I have told you these things while staying with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.
Luke 1:3 For this reason, it seemed good to me also, since I followed everything closely from the beginning, to write an orderly account to you, most excellent Theophilus,
Daniel 9:2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the scrolls that, according to the word of the Lord given to the prophet Jeremiah, the number of years it would take to complete the devastation of Jerusalem was seventy years.
Ecclesiastes 1:13 I applied my heart to seek out and explore with wisdom everything done under the sky. (What a burdensome task God has given the children of Adam to keep them busy!)
d. speaking ____________________ literature and language
Genesis 13:1-2: Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev. He went with his wife and with all that he had, and with Lot too. 2 Abram was very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
Song of Songs 4:1: Look at you. You are beautiful, my darling! Look at you. You are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats�which flows down from Mount Gilead.
Isaiah 65:17 Watch this! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.�The former things will not be remembered. They will not come to mind.
1 Chronicles 12:1-2: When Rehoboam had established his rule as king and had become strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord. All Israel went along with him. 2 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord.
Luke 15:8-10: 8 “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Galatians 4:24: These things can be used as an illustration; namely, the women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children into slavery. This is Hagar.
1 Timothy 1:1-2: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
d. speaking human literature and language
e. To teach _________________ truth
Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God has been refined. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
1 Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written: What no eye has seen and no ear has heard�and no human mind has conceived—�that is what God has prepared for those who love him.
e. To teach Divine truth
f. with Divine power.
Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
John 6:68: Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life.
f. with ___________________ power.
God used human writers with their own gifts, backgrounds and methods, using human language and literature to write divine truth filled with divine power.
Thus in Holy Scripture we have book that is
uniquely Divine
uniquely human
How fitting given the central message of Scripture Old Testament and New!!!
Hebrews 1:1: In the past, God spoke to our forefathers by the prophets at many times and in many ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
Colossians 2:9: For all the fullness of God’s being dwells bodily in Christ.
John 1:14: The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
6. Discussion: It is arguing in a circle to say that the Bible is God’s Word because the Bible tells us it is God’s Word.
7. Since the Bible is God’s Word, what should we do with it?
Next time: The Canon of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha
Sword & Canon: From God to Us
Part 2 – The O.T. Canon
THIS
NOT THIS
THIS
NOT THIS
Installation of a Teacher:
Do you believe that the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice?
Installation of a Pastor:
Do you believe the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice?
1. Have you ever heard this word used elsewhere? Where/how?
κανον
2. Greek word kanon (κανον) means, ‘a measuring rod’ or ‘ruler.’ Why then is this is a fitting name to be used to speak of the set of books that make up the Bible, the Word of God?
Installation of a Teacher:
Do you believe that the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice?
Where did the Canon come from? �
Jeremiah 36:1-3:
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, concerning Judah and all the other nations, from the day I began speaking to you in the days of Josiah until now. 3 Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning for them, each of them will turn from his evil ways. Then I will forgive their guilt and their sin.
Jeremiah 36: 4-6a, 8: 4 So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah. While Jeremiah dictated all the words that the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah gave an order to Baruch, saying, “I am restricted from going into the House of the Lord, 6 so you will have to go. Read from the scroll you have written at my dictation.
8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. He read the words of the Lord from the scroll in the House of the Lord.
Jeremiah 36:21-26:
21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. After he took it from the room of Elishama the secretary, Jehudi read it to the king in the hearing of all the officials who stood beside the king.
22 Now the king was sitting in the winter house (it was the ninth month), and there was a metal heating pan with a fire of burning coals in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king would cut it off with a scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire until the entire scroll was burned up in the fire.
24 Neither the king nor his attendants who heard all these words were afraid. They did not tear their clothing. 25 Even when Elnathan and Delaiah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahme’el the king’s son, along with Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abde’el, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord hid them.
Jeremiah 36:27-28, 32: 27 After the king had burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
28 Take another scroll, and write all the earlier words on it that were on the first scroll, the one that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to his scribe Baruch son of Neriah, who wrote on it all the same words that had been on the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
2. The Canon is established by ____________.
2. The Canon is established by the LORD God.
3. The Word the LORD spoke through the prophets, apostles and evangelists became the Canon when _____________.
3. The Word the LORD spoke through the prophets, apostles and evangelists became the Canon when it was written.
Daniel 9:2: ...in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the scrolls that, according to the word of the Lord given to the prophet Jeremiah, the number of years it would take to complete the devastation of Jerusalem was seventy years.
John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
Ezekiel 2:7: You are to speak my words to them whether they listen or they do not, for they are rebellious.
Romans 3:2-4: 2 Much in every way! Indeed, above all else, they were entrusted with the messages of God. 3 Now what if some did not believe? Their unbelief will not nullify God’s faithfulness, will it? 4 Absolutely not! God must be true, even though everyone is found to be a liar, just as it is written: So that you would be justified whenever you speak,�and win the case when you judge.
4. The role of the church is simply to_________ and _________ to the Canon.
4. The role of the church is simply to recognize and listen to the Canon.
5. The Church does not establish or rule the Canon.
That belongs to God!
II. The OT Canon is collected�
3,000 ish BC
Papyrus 2400 BC
Old Testament Language(s)
Hebrew
Aramaic
Genesis 31:47
Ezra 4:8-6:18
Ezra 7:12-26
Jeremiah 10:11
Daniel 2:4-7:28
Other Books Mentioned in Scripture
3. Examples of the Canonical books gathered and recognized
Deuteronomy 31:24-26: When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, 25 he gave this command to the Levites, who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and let it remain there as a witness against you.
Joshua 24:26: Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was at the holy place of the Lord.
2 Kings 22:8: Samuel told the people the regulations concerning the kingship, and he wrote them on a scroll, which was placed before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each man to his own house.
2 Kings 22:8: Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of the Lord.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.
Proverbs 25:1: These also are the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah compiled.
Jeremiah 26:17-19 (quotes Micah 3:12)
Ca. 609 BC
Jeremiah threatened with death, but the godly officials speak up for him and quote Micah Godly
750-686 BC
Micah prophesied around
Daniel 9:2: ...in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the scrolls that, according to the word of the Lord given to the prophet Jeremiah, the number of years it would take to complete the devastation of Jerusalem was seventy years.
(539 BC) in Babylon/Persia
Jeremiah’s ministry likely ended around 580 BC
in Egypt
Daniel 9:6: We did not listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, officials, and fathers and to all the people of the land.
Jonah 2:1-3: (Jonah’s song quotes/borrows from several Psalms)
Many more examples can be given of Scripture quoting Scripture, knowing of previous books already recognized for what they are, the Word of God.
For example, beyond specific quotes from the first five books of Moses, the entire body of the prophets and writings builds upon and applies the books of Moses, just as the Epistles of the New Testament do the same with the Gospels.
4. How could the Old Testament Church recognize that which was inspired?
Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law must never depart from your mouth, and you are to meditate on it day and night, so that you will act faithfully according to everything written in it, because then you will prosper in everything you do, and you will succeed.
Deuteronomy 13:1-5, 18 If a prophet or an interpreter of dreams arises among you, and he predicts a sign or wonder for you, 2 and the sign or wonder that he promised you comes true, and he says, “Let’s go after other gods that you do not know, and let’s serve them,” 3 do not listen to the words of that prophet or that interpreter of dreams, because the Lord your God is testing you to see whether you really love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 Follow the Lord your God, fear him, keep his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him, and cling to him.
5 That prophet or that interpreter of dreams is to be put to death because he advised you to turn against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, in order to draw you away from the path on which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. Purge the evil from among you.
18 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God by keeping all of his commandments that I am commanding you today, by doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
Isaiah 8:20: To the law and to the testimony! If people do not speak according to this word, there will be no dawn for them.
Galatians 1:8-9: But even if we or an angel from heaven would preach any gospel other than the one we preached to you—a curse on him! 9 As we have said before, so I now say again: If anyone preaches to you any gospel other than the one you received—a curse on him!
5. Perhaps gathered into the collection of the OT canon by Ezra?
a. This fits the opinion of Jewish tradition and legends, as well as:
2 Maccabees 2:13: “The same things also were reported in the writings and commentaries of Neemias; and how he founding a library gathered together the acts of the kings, and the prophets, and of David, and the epistles of the kings concerning the holy gifts.”
b. It fits well with what we know about Ezra from Scripture and that all the latest books
of the Old Testament were completed in Ezra’s lifetime.
Ezra 7:6: this Ezra came up from Babylon. Now he was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given to them. The king granted him his entire request, because the hand of the Lord his God was resting upon him.
Ezra 7:14
14Since you are being sent from the king and his seven advisors to look after Judah and Jerusalem on the basis of the Law of your God, which is in your possession,
Nehemiah 8:18: Ezra also read from the Book of the Law of God every day of the festival, from the first day to the last day. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly according to the ordinance.
Nehemiah 12:26: These men served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and Ezra the priest, the scribe.
Nehemiah 12:45: They and the singers and the gatekeepers continued the service of their God and the service of purification, according to the command of David and his son Solomon...
6. They are gathered together in the order they appear in the collection of the Hebrew Scrolls well before Jesus time.
As the apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus (early 2nd century BC) notes:
Prologue: Since many and great things have been given to us through the Law and the Prophets and the others that followed them...
As our Lord testifies! �
Luke 24:44: He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
III. The books of the OT Canon �
Handout p. 7
Septuagint order (the Greek Translation(s) of the O.T. from 3rd to 1st centuries BC
Handout p. 7
Hebrew – counted as 24 books (22 books counted by Josephus, who lived AD 37-97)
Luke 24:44: He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
Luke 11:51: As a result, you will be held responsible for all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
[Abel is martyred in Genesis. Zechariah in Second Chronicles (last book in Hebrew) if the reference is to Zechariah son of Jehoiada here in Luke]
Thus we have Jesus’ own stamp of approval and recognition of the very same books we have from Genesis – Malachi! There is no doubt when it comes to which books belong in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Next time:
The Apocrypha + Review and Q & A
Sword & Canon: From God to Us
Part 3 – The Apocrypha
Introduction
1. What do you think of when you word the Apocrypha?
2. What is the Hollywood/other media popularized idea of Apocrypha?
I. Review Thus Far and Time to Catch Breath/Q + A �
Inspiration
1. Doctrine of Inspiration – (God Breathed) – Through the Holy Spirit’s guidance the Bible is Word for Word God’s Word
2. The Holy Spirit used unique human authors, incorporating their gifts and voice (crayon/pencil/marker, but God the writer) (flute, trumpet, tuba, God the Breath)
3. The Bible is therefore uniquely Divine, uniquely Human, just like it’s main subject: our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh for our salvation (John 1:14)
B. Canon (the straightedge that guides faith and practice) – the books that are the Word of God.
κανον
1. The Canon is established by the Holy
Spirit through Inspiration, at the moment that
Word was given, it became the Canon.
2. The role of the Church is NOT to
establish the Canon. (see number 1)
The Church cannot by its listening or
failing to listen overthrow God’s Canon.
3. The role of the Church is to recognize
and listen to the Canon. (Aided by the
already assembled Word of God—cf.
Deuteronomy 13 – ‘the test of the prophet’
4. The OT itself contains many references to the recognizing and gathering together of the Canonical books of the OT which took place before Christ (perhaps by Ezra?)
...and to which Christ gave His stamp of authority to the exact books we have today through their order in the Hebrew arrangement of the scrolls – Torah(Law/Moses), Prophets, Writings (Psalms).
As our Lord testifies! �
Luke 24:44: He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
C. Carryover and Q and A. �
1. Appendix added with approximate dates of OT Books (cf. Appendix I)
2. An ‘un-pulled’ thread from last time – why the handful of Aramaic verses in the Hebrew Old Testament? (to the extent we can address the question)
Hebrew
Aramaic
Genesis 31:47
Ezra 4:8-6:18
Ezra 7:12-26
Jeremiah 10:11
Daniel 2:4-7:28
3. Q and A on items so far.. .
II. The Apocrypha �
Book | Approximate Date |
1 Esdras | 150-100 B.C. |
2 Esdras | A.D. 100 |
Tobit | 200 B.C. |
Judith | 150 B.C. |
Additions to Esther | 140-130 B.C. |
Wisdom of Solomon (Book of Wisdom) | 30 B.C. |
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) | 132 B.C. |
Baruch | 150-50 B.C. |
Letter of Jeremiah (sometimes counted as one book with Baruch) | 300-100 B.C. |
Prayer of Azariah (and The Three Young Men or Holy Children) | 100 B.C. |
Susanna | 100 B.C. |
Bel and the Dragon | 100 B.C. |
Prayer of Manasseh | 100 B.C. |
1 Maccabees | 110 B.C. |
2 Maccabees | 110-70 B.C. |
IV. What about the Apocrypha? �
Luther
“Apocrypha, that is, books which are not held equal to the sacred Scriptures...
1. They came into early Christian usage by the early church often making use of the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (they do not appear in the Hebrew Canon).
Greek Septuagint (LXX)
Really a series of Greek translations, starting around 270 BC through 1st Century BC with the Torah and subsequent books added through the centuries BC.
2. Thus early church fathers who were familiar with Hebrew recognized they should not be included in Scripture.
St. Jerome
Spent the last 39 years of his life in Bethlehem studying Hebrew
3. The reformers recognized they did not belong in the Canon in part due to the renewed interest in the original languages of Scripture.
Luther
"Without languages we could not have received the Gospel. Languages are the scabbard that contains the sword of the Spirit; they are the casket which contains the priceless jewels of antique thought; they are the vessel that holds the wine; and as the gospel says, they are the baskets in which the loaves and fishes are kept to feed the multitude.”
If we neglect the literature we shall eventually lose the gospel . . . no sooner did men cease to cultivate the languages the Christendom declined, even until it fell under the undisputed dominion of the pope. But no sooner was this torch relighted, than this papal owl fled with a shriek into congenial gloom...
. . . In former times the fathers were frequently mistaken, because they were ignorant of the languages and in our days there are some who, like the Waldenses, do not think the languages of any use; but although their doctrine is good, they have often erred in the real meaning of the sacred text; they are without arms against error, I and fear much that their faith will not remain pure."
4. Reasons why the Apocrypha do not belong in the Canon.
a. They come from the period between the last prophets and Christ.
(cf. the dates comparison between Appendix I and Appendix II)
The Apocrypha themselves don’t consider themselves consider themselves part of Scripture.
1 Maccabees 4:45c-46: So they tore down the altar and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them.
1 Maccabees 9:27 Thus there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them.
Ecclesiasticus – Prologue:
Since many and great things have been given to us through the Law and the Prophets and the others that followed them... and since it is necessary not only that the readers themselves should acquire understanding but also that those who love learning should be able to help the outsiders by both speaking and writing...
Ecclesiasticus – Prologue:
... my grandfather Jesus (Ben Sirach), after devoting himself especially to the reading of the Law and the Prophets and the other books of our fathers and after acquiring considerable proficiency in them, was himself also led to write something pertaining to instruction and wisdom...
c. They don’t claim divine authority. This is especially jarring when you read them in comparison to all of the ‘Thus says the Lord’ references we note permeate the Bible (cf. lesson 1).
d. They were not recognized by the Jews or Christ.
e. Apocrypha means ‘hidden’ and most likely refers to their being stored away in the genizah where non-Biblical books were kept by the Jews.
f. They are not directly quoted by Christ or anywhere in the New Testament.
g. They do not appear in the Hebrew Canon, nor were written by prophets, most were originally Greek or Aramaic.
h. They contain some clear (and quite likely purposeful – especially in Tobit) historical and geographical errors.
i. They contain some unbiblical teaching which contradicts Scripture.
j. Since Christ mentions the Hebrew order of the Old Testament books without any qualification, we can rest assured the Apocrypha do not belong in the Canon.
“Apocrypha, that is, books which are not held equal to the sacred Scriptures, and nevertheless are useful and good to read.”
B. Luther
1. Rome calls 11 of the 15 books “deuteron-canonical,” explaining they were not part of the original canon, but were later added to the canon by the church (officially decreed at the counter-reformation Council of Trent in 1545-1563). [Note what we said about who establishes the Canon in our earlier study]
2. That said, there is scant support for Rome’s extra and anti-Biblical doctrines in the Apocrypha. The real support for those things comes from the Pope’s claims that church council’s, tradition, and his speaking ex-cathedra also have the authority of Scripture (when he says so that is).
3. They provide an insight to the past and the intertestamental period (time between Malachi and Christ).
4. Some books contain solid history and along with purely secular sources, help show us the fulfillment of prophecies given in the book of Daniel that fit into this time of history (1 Maccabbees).
5. They give an insight into the faith of God’s people in the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Wisdom of Solmon 16:5-7
5 When terrible, fierce snakes attacked your people and were killing them with their poison, you did not remain angry long enough to destroy your people. 6This trouble lasted for only a little while, as a warning. Then you gave them a healing symbol, the bronze snake, to remind them of what your Law requires. 7If a person looked at that symbol, he was cured of the snakebite—not by what he saw, but by you, the savior of all mankind.
Wisdom of Solmon 16:10-12
10But even poisonous snakes could not overcome your people, because you had mercy, helped them, and cured them. 11They were bitten so that they would remember your commands, but they were quickly rescued, in order to keep them from forgetting you completely and depriving themselves of your kindness.
6. A quick overview of Content (cf. also Appendix II)
1 Esdras (150-100 BC)
First Esdras reproduces the books of Ezra, Nehemiah 7:38-8:12 and 2 Chronicles 35-36. It does give a new version of the rise of Zerubbabel as the leader of the Jews.
2 Esdras (A.D. 100)
Tobit (200 B.C.)
Judith (150 B.C.)
Additions to Esther (140-130 B.C.)
Wisdom of Solomon (30 B.C.)
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) (132 B.C.)
Baruch (150-50 BC)
Letter of Jeremiah (300-100 B.C.)
Found attached to the end of Baruch. But not actually written by Jeremiah.
Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three Holy Children (100 B.C.)
Susanna (100 B.C.)
Bel and the Dragon (100 BC)
Prayer of Manasseh (110 B.C.)
1 Maccabees (110 B.C.)
2 Maccabees (110-70 B.C.)
Tells of the struggle against the Seleucid kings from a different point of view than that of 1 Maccabees. The first book is from a Sadducean point of view; the second from a Pharisaic point of view. The immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead are taught in this book. It is from this book that the Roman Catholic Church takes its teaching concerning prayer for the dead and the intercession of the saints (12:43-45)
From Concordia� Publishing House
Next time:
The Canon of the New Testament
Sword & Canon: From God to Us
Part 4 – New Testament Canon
Introduction
Claims made in best-selling novels (e.g. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code ), often portrayed in media of one kind or another (including social), and either appearing in university classroom materials or being referenced:
Claim:
Christianity was a developing religious spirit (with many varieties and variations) long before it had a book.
Claim:
The Council of Nicaea (325) voted to decide that Jesus was true God. Before this most Christians did not think Jesus was true God.
Claim:
The Council of Nicaea (325) decided which books are actually going to make it into the Bible. There were many competing ideas of Christianity, such as the Gnostics, but they were out voted by the Orthodox party who then controlled the books that would support their teaching.
All of these are blatant falsehoods, at best constructed from an evolutionary bias (that presupposes [without evidence] there is no God and the only way for religion to develop is gradually from myth to legend).
Occasionally one or two tiny little bits of reality are interspersed with the erroneous misconceptions and exaggerations (e.g. there was a council of Nicaea, there were many other books written by false teachers and sects).
I. Formation of the NT Canon ��
1. NOTE WELL! The New Testament and Christians were already working with a Canon before the Epistles and Gospels were written!
Luke 24:44: He (Jesus) said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
Acts 18:27b-28: When he (Apollos) arrived, he provided much help to those who had become believers by grace, 28 because he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Acts 17:2-3: As was his custom, Paul went to the Jews, and on three Sabbath days he led them in a discussion from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. He also said, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”
2. OT Canon approved by Christ (in its Hebrew ordering of the books). NT books are “pre-approved by Christ in His promises to the Apostles.
Luke 10:16: Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever
rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
John 14:26: But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.
John 16:12-15: “I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own, but whatever he hears he will speak. He will also declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I said that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.
3. Thus, the key to recognizing the canon of the New Testament is that they are from the Apostles or those who work closely with them (their co-workers, usually called Evangelists – e.g. [John] Mark, Luke, James, Jude).
John 21:24: This is the disciple who is testifying about these things and who wrote these things. We know that his testimony is true.
2 Thessalonians 2:15: So then, brothers, stand firm and hold on to the teachings that were passed along to you, either by word of mouth or by a letter from us.
2 Peter 3:2: ...for you to remember the words spoken earlier by the holy prophets and the command of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.
Ephesians 2:20: You have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the Cornerstone.
4. As the Holy Spirit used the Apostles and the Evangelists to write the Scriptures they were already the Word of God at that moment and therefore were canon. (cf. also lesson 2)
1 Thessalonians 2:13: There is also another reason we give thanks to God unceasingly, namely, when you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not receive it as the word of men but as the word of God (as it really is), which is now at work in you who believe.
2 Peter 3: 16: He (our dear brother Paul – v. 15) spoke about these things the same way in all of his letters. There are some matters that are hard to understand in his letters, which the ignorant and unstable distort, as they also do with the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
5. The Apostles commanded that these words be read and used in the church and shared with fellow believers.
Colossians 4:16a: When this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans.
1 Thessalonians 5:27: I put you under oath to the Lord to read this letter to all the holy brothers.
1 Timothy 4:11, 13: Insist on these things and continue teaching them... Until I come, devote yourself to the reading of Scripture, to encouraging, and to teaching.
6. One can than imagine copies being made and passed on to other congregations and cities. With books being collected together (i.e. Paul’s letters, which seem to be the first collection on account of early date, a generally central location, the abundance of Paul’s coworkers in those areas, etc. + note Scripture’s own testimony – 2 Peter 3:15-16 above).
7. However one would expect challenges of getting all the books to all the places given geography and the lack of a central headquarters/capital (like there was with Jerusalem in the OT), not to mention persecution (first from the Jews in Paul’s time, then in Nero’s day and again toward the end of John’s life/ministry). (cf. Acts 1:8, Acts, Hebrews, 1 Peter, Revelation)
8. The Apostles already dealt with false teachers and false teachings in their time (as did the OT prophets – cf. Jeremiah, Amos) and even false books.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-2: Now, about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together with him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken from your composure or disturbed by a spirit, a message, or a letter thought to be from us, which says that the day of the Lord has already come.
3 John 9: I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, does not welcome us.
9. Thus the Apostles encouraged Christians to test these writings. In some cases (with the autographs- i.e. the first hand written edition from the pen of the apostle (or his scribe) this even included a signature.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22: Do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 But test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Keep away from every kind of evil.
2 Thessalonians 3:17: This greeting is written by me, Paul, with my own hand. This is a distinguishing sign of how I write in every letter.
Galatians 6:11: See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.
Matthew 7:15-17: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. You do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do you? 17 So then, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.
Note: Bear in mind the chief fruit/work of a teacher is their teaching. It is by their teaching you recognize false teachers for it contradicts Scripture (back to Deuteronomy 13!)
1 John 4:1: Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Revelation 2:2: I know your works, your labor, and your patient endurance, and that you are not able to tolerate evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles, but are not, and have found them to be liars.
10. Just as we noted in Lesson 2 with the Old Testament canon, the testing and recognition of these inspired books would be aided by comparing them to what God had already revealed in Scripture (the test of the prophet in Deuteronomy 13) for which the New Testament Christians already had a book to compare these teachings to—the OT Scriptures authenticated and fulfilled by Christ!
Galatians 1:8-9: But even if we or an angel from heaven would preach any gospel other than the one we preached to you—a curse on him! 9 As we have said before, so I now say again: If anyone preaches to you any gospel other than the one you received—a curse on him!
II. Witnesses to the New Testament Canon
1. The process of receiving, compiling, recognizing the NT canon (complicated no doubt to cf. #7 under I. above) led to some books we (and most Christians throughout history) include in the New Testament canon not being excepted universally by all Christians.
Origen Eusebius
Homologoumena
(Accepted by all/universally)
The Four Gospels, Acts, the letters of Paul, 1 Peter, 1 John – 20 books
Antilegomena
(spoken against/questioned by some)
They were accepted as God’s Word/canon in many places from the time of their writing, but drew questions of authorship, doctrinal concerns in some other places.
Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation
Rylands Library Papyrus – P52
Possibly as early as AD 100 or 125 – from Northern Egypt – John 18:31-33, 37-38
Clement of Rome
1 Clement – AD 96
Shows Knowledge of:
Matthew
Romans
1 Corinthians
Hebrews
Possibly James
Didache (late 1st/early 2nd century)
Gospels
Matthew’s Gospel referenced as the Word of the Lord.
Ignatius of Antioch
Died AD 109 – Pupil of John
Polycarp of Smyrna
Died AD 155
Knew John
Irenaeus of Lyons
AD 140-203
Pupil of Polycarp
Freely quotes from nearly every NT book
Justin Martyr
AD 100-165
Homologoumena
+ Hebrews
Reading of the Gospels
(at least) along with OT well established pattern in the churches.
g. Basilides (taught AD 117-140), Valentinius (AD 100-160) – gnostic heretics who use the NT much as we have it, pointing to it, though trying to reinterpret what it says. Many 2nd century gnostic works follow this pattern, clearly trying to supplement/supplant the NT (which shows how early it was accepted that they are trying to say they are loyal to it while pulling people away from the Gospel)
Note- Most Gnostics were anti-Old Testament – that is the reason they never got off the ground or accepted (remember OT is NT canon!), not because they were a legitimate competing Christianity that got edged out by the others!
Muratorian Canon – document from Rome listing 22 books (includes Revelation)
Original Fragment c. AD 170
Tatian
Diatessaron – c. AD 170
Harmony of the four Gospels
Tertullian – Died AD 220 – quotes from old Latin translation likely dating to around AD 150
Syriac Peshito/Peshitta
Translation dating to perhaps AD 150
All books but 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation
3. By the 3rd Century the Antilogumena have gained ground throughout the church with only 2 Peter and Revelation most questioned, especially in the Syrian church.
Note Well:
Some sources clearly exclude or question the antilegomena.
But other times, a lack of their use doesn’t prove a rejection. (I do not often quote Esther in my sermons, but I confess it is God’s Word!)
4. The growing acceptance of the Antilogumena as time goes on is not the result of any council saying, ‘yup, they’re in,’ but rather the books authenticating themselves among God’s people as they are wont to do.
5. Much more evidence, detail can be added to the list above, but it becomes clear though here and there occasionally another book (such as the Didache) was highly regarded, yet those books never claimed Scripture status nor were they recognized widely by the faithful, meaning we can be certain we are not missing any books from our 27 book New Testament canon.
Within the Lutheran Church, Luther maintained the distinction of Homologoumena and Antilegomena, though he and the other reformers made extensive use of the books that were spoken against.
Luther had reservations about James and Revelation (consider what we saw last time about the Reformers having to sort out the Apocrypha as not belonging to Scripture).
Over time, he seems to have been more appreciative of them. One can find several examples in Luther’s own preaching that say the exact same thing as some of the passages from James 2 that bothered him.
Ironically, Luther’s funeral sermon text was from Revelation!
III. Antilegomena and the formation of the NT Canon Key ‘Takeways’�
A. Should I be worried about Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, Jude, Revelation?
1. No! It is good to know about their questioned status at times by some in the church so we’re not surprised to hear about it from an unbelieving critic.
2. No! They are in harmony with the rest of the books of the New Testament and the Old Testament Scriptures.
3. Orthodox Theologians among the church fathers and Lutheran theologians felt it was best not to establish any doctrine only on the basis of the Antilegomena, yet those very same teachers often have made extensive use of the Antilegomena!
4. The best way to be certain of these books, is to read them, study them, dig into them (along with the rest of Scripture) and see the awesome unity and continuity the Spirit has woven throughout them. See how God says the same key truths over and over again, but in so many different ways!
Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the point of dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, even being able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.
Jeremiah 23:29: Is not my word like a fire? declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
B. A thorough study of these things will bolster confidence in Scripture as God’s Word in keeping with its consistent message!
1. Consider how human beings trying to pass their creation off as God’s Word would claim the process happened... (for example the fanfare of the Book of Mormon’s golden tablets or Muhammad being able to perfectly read the Sura God spoke to him in the cave, when he could not read at first).
2. Consider then how quietly the true God actually brought His Word to us in an unassuming way (yes filled with miracle, but not in the outward, flashy kind man wants-that is the Theology of the Cross vs. man’s false theology of glory).
3. Consider then how this utterly fits Scripture’s central message: Jesus Christ! What a miraculous, but assuming away He came into the world (How silently the wondrous gift is given!). Yes a Scripture that is given by the Holy Spirit through human authors and quietly gathered together matches perfectly our Savior who though very God, comes humble and lowly.
4. Consider how fitting this is, that the ultimate proof that the Bible is God’s Word is to read it (Romans 1:17, etc.) just as Christ would not give the enemies any sign, but the sign of Jonah (the resurrection).
5. See how fitting this process is to the God who hides Himself to make Himself known to us!
Conclusion
Christianity was a developing religious spirit (with many varieties and variations) long before it had a book.
Truth: Christianity had a book from its very beginning! It was a continuation of the Messianic faith from the dawn of the time reaching fulfillment in the coming of the long promised Savior. The New Testament had a book from the start—the Old Testament Scriptures which Christ and the Apostles made extensive use!
The Council of Nicaea (325) voted to decide that Jesus was true God. Before this most Christians did not think Jesus was true God.
Truth: Christian teachers like Paul and Apollos “proved” from the Scriptures (the Old Testament) that Jesus was the Messiah through fulfilled prophecy.
The books of the New Testament that teach Christ’s divinity were familiar to first century Christians quite quickly (if not all of them at once).
Even pagan historical sources (and graffiti) note Christians considered Christ God long before Nicaea.
E.g. Pliny the Elder to Trajan (c. AD 112) – Writes of persecuting Christians and looks for advice from the emperor.
“...on an appointed day they had been accustomed to meet before daybreak, and to recite a hymn antiphonally to Christ, as to a god, and to bind themselves by an oath, not for the commission of any crime but to abstain from theft, robbery, adultery, and breach of faith... After the conclusion of this ceremony it was their custom to depart and to meet again to take food; but it was ordinary and harmless food...
...by applying torture to two maidservants who were called deaconesses... I found nothing but a depraved and extravagant superstition (Note- this is likely a reference to the resurrection!)
Palatine Hill Rome – 1st – 3rd century
The Council of Nicaea (325) decided which books are actually going to make it into the Bible. There were many competing ideas of Christianity, such as the Gnostics, but they were out voted by the Orthodox party who then controlled the books that would support their teaching.
Truth: God established the canon, not the church. Scripture is self- authenticating. The Council of Nicaea gave no decrees regarding the canon.
The first church council to include a list of books is the Council of Hippo in AD 393. The 27 books of the New Testament Canon were widely known and the majority recognized and received as the Word of God by a full century before Nicaea, with many far earlier than that.
The so called ‘competing’ books were never widely accepted by anyone save false teachers, never agreed with the Old Testament Scriptures, the Canon Jesus put his stamp of approval upon, many came after the NT books and are clearly attempting to supplement/supplant them, and in general to anyone who takes the time to read them (and not listen to a talking head on the History Channel or a super market tabloid) it becomes clear how questionable and spurious they are.
Next time: The Transmission of the Bible
Sword & Canon: From God to Us
Part 5 – Copies and Variants
Introduction
Another hyper-exaggeration (best construction) to baseless and diabolically malevolent false claim is that the Bible is so old and copied so many times you can’t even be sure of what it says: ‘even if it was the Word of God, you wouldn’t actually still have it today it must have been changed so much in the copying down through the ages’.
This is what we’ll address today (in part at least, this topic can be taken much, much deeper!)
I pray even a quick glance will show us Jesus has been true to His Word:
Luke 16:17: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for even one part of a letter in the Law to fail.
I. Transmitting the Text of the Bible and Variants ��
A. What Moses or John wrote were the original manuscripts or autographs.
B. We have no autographs; only copies of autographs in some cases or copies of copies.
C. How would you make copy of a letter today?
How was it done back then?
D. No matter the care taken, errors in transmission could arise. These are called “variants” since they may vary from copy to copy. The most significant variants are often noted in footnotes in Bible versions (translations).
Mark 7:4 (EHV) When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions they adhere to, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and dining couches.[c]
[c]Mark 7:4 A few witnesses to the text omit and dining couches.
Mark 7:4 (NIV) 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.[a])
[a]Mark 7:4 Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining couches
2. Common types of variants – largely typographical.
A. Manuscripts did not have chapters (as we know them today w/ numbers) and numbered verses. Sometimes there weren’t even spaces between the words.
Many ancient Hebrew Manuscripts did not include the vowel marking.
GD S LVD TH WRLD THT H GV HS NLY
BGTTN SN THT WHVR BLIVS N HM
SHLL NT PRSH BT HV VRLSTNG LFE
-CLD Y RD THT ND NDRSTND THT WS JHN 3 16
ALLINTOWNWENTINTOTHE
GARDENINORDERTO
PLANTSOMESEEDSHEHAD
TOPLOWTHEGARDENFIRS
THEHADDETERMINEDHOW
MUCHSPACEHEWOULD
NEEDBEFOREHEASKEDTHE
BANKERFORTHEMONEYTO
CARRYOUTTHEPROJECTHE
HADPLANNEDWELLINAD
VANCETOEARNSOMEMO
NEYBYSELLINGALLHE
COULDTOTHEPEOPLE
OFTHEVILLAGEHEWASAN
HONESTMANWHOCOM
MANDEDTHEIRREPSPECT
C. Attempts at giving ideas of common typographical errors using English equivelant examples
a. Word division: nowhere or now here
b. Spelling, not just misspelling but change in spelling over time within a language:
Savior or Saviour Gray or Grey
c. Repetition: accidentally repeated same line or word
d. Repetition: accidentally repeated same line or word
f. Omission: accidentally skipped a line or word (especially when there is a repetition of a word that might make you jump from one verse to the next etc.)
g. Sound confusion: write, rite, right, wright; two, to, too
h. Grammar who/whom; thee/you; you pl./sg.
Change in subject, “you to we” (hameis vs. humeis)
i. Singular/plurals
j. accidentally adding a phrase that is in a synoptic account with which the scribe was familiar
D. Note, this is not unique to the Scriptures, but all kinds of ancient writings! (i.e. anything pre-printing press, and even then...)
II. A quick look at variants and how we can often determine the original.
A. New Testament
1. We have many variants because we have many manuscripts!
a. 5,856 Greek Manuscripts (300 higher than
when I graduated from WLS)
b. 18,130 Non-Greek Manuscripts (translations, some of which are extremely early, sometimes giving us a limited insight to an early Greek manuscript used to make that translation which we do not have.
3. Numbers of variants can look more imposing than they are (and be falsely portrayed by unbelieving critics) when you consider that if a word was missed in an early copy and 1,000 copies of that copy missed that word you would not have one variant, but 1,001 variants, even though by studying the total manuscript evidence you can even figure out exactly how and generally where that error arose. Of course, that error/variant could be as small as two letters transposed!
4. The vast number of NT manuscripts actually make it easier to be certain of what the original manuscript said, because you can study and trace errors by location and date comparisons. (plus the witness of early Church fathers quoting the Scriptures etc.)
5. Just how many variants are we talking about?
a. However you count the variants, the significant variants are less than 1% of the Bible text.
b. Most questions easily answered. So no real question about 99.9 %
c. Few questionable cases change any real meaning of the section.
d. No variant where there is any question changes any teaching or message of Scripture.
e. To study the Hebrew and Greek texts is to work with the very words of God; variants do mean occasionally a question, which is the original reading of God’s verbally inspired Word.
Examples
Revelation 1:5:
wash:
freed:
Revelation 1:5b: To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood.
1 Corinthians 13:3
Boast
Burn
1 Corinthians 13:3 (EHV) If I give away everything I own, and if I give up my body that I may be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:3 (NIV) 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
7. Despite those who want to try to turn the reality of variants into weeding out of the Bible what they want, or rejecting its message, they will always fail in the end.
1 Peter 1:24-25: All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like a flower of the field. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Matthew 24:35: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
B. OLD Testament
1. Study of variants is very different with the Old Testament text. Given how much older the documents are and the Jewish practice of burying or burning official worn out manuscripts once new and reliable copies had been made.
2. Note there is also an extra set of centuries of warfare and sadly, a neglect of the Hebrew Text by many in the Post Apostolic era because of the church’s reliance on the Greek translations of the OT.
3. This means are earliest extant copies of the entire Hebrew Canon we have are from the AD 900’s (Aleppo Codex, Leningrad Codex).
4. In the AD 500’s-800’s, with some strong evidence that the process started far earlier (e.g. the work of Rabbinic scholarship in the second century careful studying of manuscripts took place working to determine variants as well as huge methods to prevent additional variants – counting the words/letters in columns lines, number of words in books counted, central verse of the book notated). Some of this work is displayed in notations of variants called quere/ketiv –in margins of these manuscripts as well as other notes and writings put together by these scholarly scribes (Masoretes who produced the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT))
5. Where there are variants, the Greek Translations of the Old Testament can be helpful at times, as can other versions (translations) made early on in Aramaic and Samaritan, e.g.
6. In 1947 – scrolls began to be found and sold from caves near the Dead Sea at Qumran.
a. Called the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) popularly, some of these documents date to as early as 300 BC giving us witnesses to the text that were over 1000 years earlier than the MT manuscripts.
b. The DSS show how remarkably amazingly the text of the Old Testament had been preserved in that time.
c. There are variants, many in spelling. (Compare Chaucer’s ‘original’ to our modern English after only 600 years...)
Canterbury Tales c. AD 1400
A KNYGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
To riden out, he loved chivalrie
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,
And therto hadde he riden, no man ferre,
As wel in cristendom as in hethenesse
And evere honoured for his worthynesse.
d. Actual substantial (and people have different definitions of that word) are far fewer. (For example most modern versions alter 13 words from the 66 chapters of Isaiah based on the DSS. (Even then, one can make strong arguments that more than ½ of selecting those variants are actually the original text).
Example
From the MT: Isaiah 3:24: ‘burning instead of beauty’
From the DSS: Isaiah 3:24: ‘shame instead of beauty’
Example – March 2021
The first new Dead Sea “scraps” in 60 years, found in March 2021 have a brand new variant for Zechariah 8:16: “justice in your streets.”
Whereas the MT has “justice in your gates.”
Technically not a variant, but a version hint at a variant (maybe!)
This example explained by the custom of where court cases where held differing from 500 BC to AD 100 when this scrap dates to, also highlights the possibilities of theories on some of the DSS documents being the equivalent of “amplified” or paraphrase translations.
This is not far-fetched given there are many documents among the DSS that were essentially religious commentaries. (Remember archeology and history bears out the common misconception that there weren’t many books in ancient times and that few people were literate. It is a misconception to view the ancient classical era through the lenses of the Western European dark ages!)
7. Once again, no Hebrew variants or anything found in the Dead Sea Scrolls affects any doctrine of Scripture, and hardly ever even alters the meaning of the verse itself!
8. The special case of Jeramiah in the LXX
III. Despite Variants we still have the Word of God (in translation too!) �
A. What is the purpose of words?
B. What of the following was inspired of God? What is not inspired?
Impulse to write.
Message.
Each and every word of the Bible.
The thoughts those words express.
The auto-graphs (the original manuscripts).
The copies of the Bible manuscripts.
The translations of the Bible.
B. What of the following was inspired of God? What is not inspired?
Impulse to write.
Message.
Each and every word of the Bible.
The thoughts those words express.
The auto-graphs (the original manuscripts).
The copies of the Bible manuscripts.
The translations of the Bible.
C. We strive to maintain a careful Lutheran narrow middle between the forms and vocabulary and the divinely intended meaning communicated through the divinely taught words.
Lutheran Dogmaticians have long made a distinction between:
The Matter (outward form)
Form (essences)
E.g.
-We had a great deal of precipitation today.
-We had a great deal of rain today.
-We had a great deal of snow today.
Scripture itself uses a variety or wordings to speak of the same thing. Including, sometimes truncating, abbreviating, but in such a way to provide an accurate record of what was said/done.
Consider the 4 Biblical accounts of the Lord’s Supper. Which one is the direct quote?
Which one conveys the real presence?
Which one shows the Lord’s Supper is for the Forgiveness of sins?
Dr. Becker Excerpts
From: Verbal Inspiration and the Variant Readings.
1. The essence of the Word of God is to be sought in the meaning of the words of the Bible; (so while we never downgrade the biblical words we must be careful never to make them bear a weight they were never meant to bear)
2. Verbal inspiration does not mean that the truth can be expressed in only one way; (so variations in wording will not necessarily create a radical change in the biblical message—even though in some cases a slight change can result in a significant change in meaning.)
3. Verbal inspiration does not mean that all the words are always as precise as we might wish them to be; (so while a given passage is always sufficiently clear to convey God’s meaning in its particular context, some passages are not as precise as others).
4. Verbal inspiration does not mean that all the words are of equal importance in conveying the message; (so while each word deserves our respect as a word of God, we may still rightly say that some words, sentences and books are of different value when compared to others in the whole of Scripture)
5. Verbal inspiration does not mean that the reports as we have them are never summarized, truncated, or restated, (so while it is certainly correct and adequate, the information need not be complete in detail or be conveyed in the exact words originally used)
Carry over take-aways from last time:
1. Consider then how quietly the true God actually brought His Word to us in an unassuming way (yes filled with miracle, but not in the outward, flashy kind man wants-that is the Theology of the Cross vs. man’s false theology of glory).
2. Consider then how this utterly fits Scripture’s central message: Jesus Christ! What a miraculous, but assuming away He came into the world (How silently the wondrous gift is given!). Yes a Scripture that is given by the Holy Spirit through human authors and quietly gathered together and copied and preserved down to us not in a an outward flashy miracle, but in a shockingly accurate state of preservation matches perfectly our Savior who though very God, comes humble and lowly.
Next time: Apologetics and How I can be sure the Bible is the Word of God
Sword & Canon: From God to Us
Part 6 – How can I know the Bible is God’s Word
How to know the Bible is God’s Word �
A. The Divine Way
Read with an open mind. Scripture is self-authenticating.
Psalm 34:8a: Taste and see that the Lord is good.
John 7:17: If anyone wants to do (God’s) will, he will know whether my teaching is from God or if I speak on my own.
Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
2. Jesus Christ. Spirit worked faith in Christ as Savior is Spirit worked faith in inspiration ‘in an embryonic form’ (Dr. Becker).
Romans 10:17: So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.
John 5:39: You search the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them. They testify about me!
Matthew 17:5: While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them. Just then, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
Note especially 1 Corinthians 15!!!!
Paul openly invites an attempt to ‘disprove’ the resurrection, knowing well it stands on solid ground.
B. So called ‘external proofs’ apologetics (defense that the Bible is true)
-Some of these will have clear Biblical attestation, making them closer to the ‘Divine Way’ of certainty.
-The purpose of such apologetics is to clear away the ridiculous and dismissive attitude of much opposition against the Bible so that people would give the ‘Divine Way’ a try!
1. It has an astonishing unity and continuity despite how it is given to us!
Hebrews 1:1: In the past, God spoke to our forefathers by the prophets at many times and in many ways.
40+ writers, 1600 years with an intermission, 3 languages, 3 continents.
66 books
various countries: Judea, Babylon, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy,
Different backgrounds: priests, prophets, princes, peasants, Egyptian culture, Jewish culture, Greek and Roman culture, people with no culture, warriors, statesmen, herdsmen, poets, publicans, physicians, fishermen, historians, lawyers, chroniclers, philosophers, orators, autocrats, exiles, rich, poor, to Jew and Gentile, to Greek and Barbarian, bond and free, men and women, in the rush of the city, hush of the country, in prosperity and adversity, national glory, in shame in Babylon, on tented field with pomp and pageantry of war, on tilled field amid fruits of peace.
c. Yet the seamless central theme (see II. B. above!) presented in many consistent flowing grand themes – (e.g. Immanuel – God with Us, Paradise Lost/Restored)
d. Grace buds in O.T.,
blossoms in the N.T.
e. Christ in the O.T. concealed, Christ in
the N.T. revealed
2. The remarkable preservation of the text brought to us.
-manuscript numbers
-variants
3. History! Compare to other so-called holy books!
NOT! --
BUT RATHER...
Luke 3:1-2: In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
b. While a very subjective and inexact science, archaeology brings to light countless reference points to Scripture and could be a whole topic of study to itself (Cf. Doctor Brug’s Digging for Insights from NPH for a great intro)
Hezekiah’s Water Tunnel
The Moabite (Mesha) Stele
References to Omri and Ahab
(Kings of Israel)
Sennacherib
The Water Shaft and Joab
The Cyrus Cylander
4. Prophecy fulfilled – in history! Cp. weather, pandemic. To name just as few...
a. Hundreds of Messianic prophecies (try counting how many just during Holy Week!)
b. The book of Daniel (whose appearance among Dead Sea Scrolls argues for an early date in the face of scoffers with an ‘anti-prophetic bias’)
Fall of Babylon Foretold
Fall of Tyre
e. The development of the Papacy and its hostility to Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone through history. (2 Thessalonians 2, Daniel 7, Daniel 11, Revelation 13, Revelation 17, 1Timothy 4:1-3)
5. Persecution of Christ, the Apostles and Martyrs
a. Why do people lie?
2 Timothy 1:11-12: For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher of the Gentiles, 12 and that is why I am suffering these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
6. The Devil’s opposition
Ephesians 6:12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Genesis 3:15 in constant fulfillment
(just like Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus!)
2 Peter 3:3-5: 3 First, know this: In the last days scoffers will come with their mocking, following their own lusts. 4 They will say, “Where is this promised coming of his? For from the time that our fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have from the beginning of the creation.” 5 You see, what they are intentionally forgetting is that the heavens came into existence long ago by the word of God and that the earth came together out of the water and between the waters.
c. The devil’s agents fascination with the Bible to try to quote it/claim a continuance of it, yet while going against it central teachings says there is something going on here with this book!
7. Relevance of message from ancient times directly to our situations today.
Ecclesiastes 1:9c: There is nothing new under the sun.
8. Fascinating details that no doubt were once not appreciated that seemed to anticipate modern attacks (e.g. the precision language of Genesis, like “according to their kinds”, that stand in defiance to macroevolution while leaving room for us to see adaptation)
9. The ‘Heroes’ of Scripture are not the kind of heroes men prefer to write into their ‘holy books’
a. The Theology of the Cross in general is so antagonistic to our human flesh – to follow a crucified Messiah and to suffer for doing so! �
1 Corinthians 1:19-20: In fact, it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nothing. 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Jewish law? Where is the probing thinker of the present age? Has God not shown that the wisdom of this world is foolish?
b. Cf. the warts and all Scripture gives to us concerning Abraham, David, Sarah, Paul, Mary the mother of Jesus (temple account/wedding of Cana/thinking Jesus is out of his mind – Mark’s Gospel), etc.
c. These and countless other examples can be given that this is just not the way we would do it, emphasizing this Word is from God!
10. The impact on human life
Just think about what you are about to celebrate this week...
11. The difference of message.
The Gospel is a stranger to the human heart because it comes only from the heart of God.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
d. Closely related is the difference in the one true triune God of the Bible (who doesn’t fit into the pocket of our preconceived notions)
12. A final Note Well – The purpose is to get to the Word, for only the Spirit changes hearts.