TOPICS PAGE: http://eztech.com/bibletalks/topics.htm EMAIL: bibletalks@eztech.com Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Bible Talks about THE BIBLE: TRUTH OR LIE? (Does it matter whether the Bible is written by a supernatural God who chose human beings to do His writing, or whether the Bible is the work of men drawing on their own knowledge of myths, traditions and stories?) WHAT IF THE BIBLE IS REALLY GOD SHOWING HIMSELF TO US? THEN: Everything the Bible says is true. The Supernatural God of the Bible really exists. God created the heavens, earth and mankind. Adam and Eve were real persons and the garden of Eden really existed. There is such a thing as "sin" and a punishment for being a sinner. There is a devil called Satan. We do have to give an answer for our beliefs and our behavior. We do need a Savior to save us from the penalty of being sinners. We do need to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior from eternal punishment. There is everlasting life after death. There is a heaven of peace and joy and there is a place of eternal punishment we call hell. Israel has a Messiah who will rule the world. The Jewish Messiah is Jesus who is made known in the Tenach (Old Testament). Jesus is all He claimed to be: Prophet, priest, king, Son of God and Israel's Messiah. All the miracles and events mentioned in the Bible did happen. (If the Bible is true then all the above must be true because the above is what the Bible has revealed to us. BUT WHAT IF THE BIBLE IS NOT TRUE, IF IT IS NOT GOD REVEALING HIMSELF, AND IT IS ONLY MAN'S IMAGINATION? THEN: There is no God of the Bible, no creation, no Adam and Eve, no "sin," no punishment for sin, therefore no need for a Savior to save us from the penalty of being sinners, no life after death, no heaven or hell, and no Messiah for Israel. Then Jesus was either a deluded man, a lunatic or a liar. And the miracles and events the Bible mentions did not happen. OBVIOUSLY, KNOWING WHETHER THE BIBLE IS TRUTH OR A LIE IS IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE OF US. OUR LIFE-STYLE AND BELIEFS DEPEND ON WHAT WE THINK OF THE BIBLE. IS THERE REAL EVIDENCE THAT THE BIBLE IS REVEALED TRUTH, THAT A SUPERNATURAL GOD IS REALLY THE AUTHOR OF THE BIBLE? YES THERE IS! Especially strong evidence that the Bible has one all-knowing Author is the fact that promises and prophecies made thousands of years ago have been, and are being, completed as promised and prophesied. World history proves this. The most remarkable prophecies that have come true are those concerning the nation Israel, Jewish descendants of the twelve tribes of Jacob whose name was later changed by God to "Israel." Their entire history is fulfillment of promise and prophecy, prophecies coming true even in our time today. Much of Israel's history is one of despair and unhappiness. This, too, was prophecied. At Mt. Sinai, some 2000 years ago, God, through Moses, gave Israel laws to follow. If they obeyed these laws, God said, peace and prosperity would follow. If they disobeyed these laws, a long list of curses would befall them. This giving of the Law was a covenant (Pact; contract) between God and Israel. Israel said they would obey, but as time went on they became disobedient. The promised curses came upin them. For a complete list of these curses, read Leviticus 26:14-39; Deuteronomy 8:19,20: Deuteronomy 11:16,17,28 and chapter 28:15-68. A SAMPLING OF THE PROMISED CURSES AND THEIR FULFILLMENT IN HISTORY FOLLOW: Leviticus 26:20 "And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit" (The land of Israel was barren for over a thousand years). . Leviticus 26:29 "You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters." (This terrible curse was fulfilled when Jerusalem was taken). Leviticus 26:33 "I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste." (Since 70 A.D. over 14,000,000 Jewish people have been killed). Deuteronomy 28:63 ".... and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess." (Jewish people have been forced to flee from Caanan (now called Palestine), Spain, France, England and Germany). Deuteronomy 28:64 "Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods,...." (The Jewish people have been scattered throughout the world). TODAY ISRAEL IS BACK IN HER LAND. THIS RETURN, TOO, WAS PROMISED AND PROPHESIED AND IS BEING FULFILLED IN OUR TIME! (In spite of Israel's many sins and punishments by God, Israel has never been rejected: Leviticus 26:44 "Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God." HERE ARE SOME OF THE PROPHECIES AND PROMISES OF GOD TO RETURN ISRAEL TO HER LAND: Isaiah 11:12 "He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Jeremiah 30:3 'For behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the LORD. 'And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers,and they shall possess it.' " Jeremiah 32:37 'Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely." Amos 9:14 "I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them." Amos 9:15 "I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God." THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND THE NATION ISRAEL ARE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLES AND COUNTRIES WHOSE EVENTS HAVE BEEN FORETOLD IN THE BIBLE MANY YEARS BEFORE THEY HAPPENED. OTHER COUNTRIES. (The numbers are chapter numbers, not verses): EGYPT (Isaiah 18; Ezekiel 29,30) has had her politics, economics and the destruction of major cities given in detailed prophecies centuries before . All came true. MOAB (Ezekiel 25; Isaiah 15,16; Jeremiah 47,48). EDOM (Isaiah 21,34; Jeremiah 49; Ezekiel 25) DAMASCUS (Isaiah 8,17). BABYLON (Isaiah 13,21,47; Jeremiah 50). JERUSALEM (Jeremiah 5; Ezekiel 4,5,16). TYRE (Isaiah 23; Ezekiel 26). ARABIA (Isaiah 21). BESIDES FULFILLED PROPHECIES, ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS ALSO SUPPORT THE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE: DANIEL AND BELSHAZZAR (Daniel chapter 5). According to the book of Daniel, Belshazzar was king at the time of the conquest of the Persians by Cyrus and was slain. But secular history shows that Nabonidus, not Belshazzar, was king of Babylon at that time in hiostory but he, Nabonidus, was not slain. Archaeological findings support Daniel's reporting of events. Belshazzar, was the son of King Nabonidus and was serving as king in place of his father who was off on a campaign of his own. Belshazzar was king regent and was the one slain. ARCHAEOLOGY HAS ALSO UNCOVERED OVENS USED TO KILL THOSE WHO DISOBEYED THE KING'S ORDERS AND UNCOVERED A SCHOOL FOR TEACHING PRINCES AS REPORTED IN DANIEL. MORE EVIDENCE THAT GOD DID INDEED AUTHOR THE BIBLE IS PRESENTED BY THE COMPOSITION OF THE BIBLE: The Bible has 66 "books." The writings took place over 1500 years. There were forty writers, mostly unknown to each other. The writings were from all walks of life: Shepherds, kings, fishermen, a tax collector and others. The writers were learned and unlearned, free men and prisoners. The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Bible was written on three continents: Africa, Asia and Europe. In spite of all these differences in time, background and learning, the Bible has unity and harmony. This could only happen if one person authored the Bible. That one person is God. COMPLETED PROMISES AND PROPHECIES MADE THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS AND THE COMPOSITION OF THE BIBLE ARE PROOF THAT THE BIBLE IS AUTHORED BY ONE PERSON, GOD, BECAUSE ONLY THE SUPERNATURAL GOD OF THE BIBLE IS ALL-KNOWING AND ABLE TO KNOW THE ENDING FROM THE BEGINNING EVEN THOUGH THOUSANDS OF YEARS SEPARATE THEM. YES. THE BIBLE IS TRUTH. IT IS GOD SPEAKING TO US THROUGH HIS WORD. In order to receive a particular Bible Talks, visit the web page at http://eztech.com/bibletalks/topics.htm to select a Bible Talks by topic. Click on the topic you want and print or read.