THEOLOGY LESSON 6

LESSON 6

Biblical – Canonicity

Matthew 5:17
Luke 11:51
Canonicity
Greek Grammar
Hebrew Grammar

INTRODUCTION

The Bible has only been in its present form as far as contents go since 397 AD. Prior to that they only had scattered manuscripts as far as the New Testament was concerned and a completed Old Testament in the form of the Septuagint that had been available since the earliest days. We have one book. In the past they did not.

When you are reading commentaries or other books to get the background to the Bible you need to undertake a thorough background study as to the ancient history of the place and period to be able to gauge as to the accuracy of any commentary. Commentaries are the works of men, and may be good, accurate and spiritual, but they may also contain errors or incomplete information, indeed all will be incomplete. Always compare a number of commentaries and explore the history in a number of proven texts.

For instance there is one text which says that the Septuagint was not written until 300 AD which is in error as it was written by and completed before 100 BC as quotations from it and references to it occur well before this date. Beware of strong statements by men who are too sure of themselves over small matters two thousand years back in time unless they back up their words with some evidence.

BIBLICAL CANON

Canon means a measuring rule or standard. It comes from the Greek word kanon. The canon of Scripture is the rule of life – Galatians 6:16, Philippians 3:16.

As Bible believers we see this book as God's book, that God made sure that he got every book, every letter in that book and that only what was His Word got in.

The books of the Bible were canonical as soon as they were written. It did not require a church council to finally select it. Canon meant both the complete Bible with the 66 books and also those books that come to be the rule of life. The councils simply recognized the books that were canonical.

The council of Carthage in 397 AD was the venue for the finalizing of the canon. No further book could be added in after that stage. It should be remembered that Paul did not write only 12 - 13 letters. He wrote many more, although the rest were not canonical as they were not recognized by the church as inspired by God as Scripture in the way the others were.

In church history we can also look at bishop's letters of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. These are very interesting but they are not canonical. These letters quote from Scripture but are not Scripture themselves.

THE ANCIENT WORLD

In the ancient world very few people had horses so that they either traveled by boat or walked.

The fastest speed of communication was therefore walking pace. In addition unless a person was very wealthy no one in the ancient world owned a book as such. Any books which existed were in the form of a scroll or codex which was perhaps a metre or so long and 300 mm wide. Every book was hand copied. It was therefore very expensive. People would make their own copies of manuscripts they had access to for their own use, and even these were valuable, as paper, (papyrus from Egypt), was expensive.

In Rome for example there were, at the time of Paul, some 20+ house churches as well as over possibly 100+ synagogues in the city of Rome. Paul writes one letter and it goes by one person to the city of Rome and is taken by hand around the house churches. The messenger reads Paul's letter and gives an exposition on the letter to that house church. He may stay in that suburb for a couple of days during which time the letter is copied by hand by someone in the church.

The original now goes to the next house church and the same procedure is followed. As a result a number of spelling mistakes crept in causing a slight variety in the letters however with the original being the one from which the copy was taken these variations were not major. It has been found that 95% of all variations in the texts that have survived are spelling mistakes.

The Romans tried to eliminate Christianity around the turn of the century with one of the major areas of suppression being book burning. All the leaders of a house church would elect one of their number to be their leader and bishop over a particular group. The Romans would try and capture the bishop, torture him and try to get him to divulge who the elders were and where they kept the sacred books. They thought that if they could destroy the sacred books and kill the leadership they could eliminate Christianity.

By the end of the second century many of the copies of the Scriptures had been destroyed and a number of heretical letters had been written. There were many false teachers in the church as seen in Galatians with all the heresies which we have now occurring in the first century. There was also great missionary activity with many people being saved.

A Christian in the Black Sea area, said to the Romans; that all they were leaving them was their empty pagan temples. Pliny the younger, the great letter writer wrote that it appeared that everyone was becoming a Christian. While he was Governor of Bythinia in 114 AD he tried to eliminate the Christians.

The false writings by the heretics were being claimed as Scripture by themselves. This was causing a lot of confusion thus there was increasing demand from the bishops of the various churches to assemble and decide what was acceptable and what was not. Eventually, with Christianity becoming the official State religion of the Roman Empire at the time of Constantine, persecution stopped, and through a number of church councils the sacred writings were consolidated and agreed to.

This is also the time when we get the codex such as Codex Sianaticus and Codex Vaticanus, which many scholars believe is the best source of material. It is likely that these single volume Codexes of the scriptures were ordered to be compiled by Constantine as a result of these first Councils. By the year 400 AD therefore a person could have one book to carry with him as the Bible. They also tried to ensure that the version was as accurate as possible.

OLD TESTAMENT

How was the canon formed? With the Old Testament there is internal evidence from the Lord Himself, who saw the law of Moses being authoritative as well as quoting from many of the other books. Internally also authors of the Old Testament books quoted from other books.

[a] From the Law – Joshua 1:7-8, 1 Kings 2:3, Ezra 6:18, Nehemiah 13:1 Daniel 9:11, Malachi 4:4.

[b] From the Prophets – Joshua 6:26, 1 Kings 16:34, Joshua 24:29-33 Judges 2:8-9, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 Ezra 1:1-4, Daniel 9:2 Jeremiah 25:11,12

[c] From Malachi 4:5 there is an indication that the prophetic witness would end with Malachi and not recommence until an Elijah type prophet such as John the Baptist. Matthew 17:11-12

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

The Dead Sea scrolls are the writings of a sect which flourished 100 BC and were eliminated by the Romans just after the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. These people were not Christians but many of the texts refer to the Old Testament. Some of the oldest written copies of the Old Testament are from amongst these scrolls that they hid in caves as the Romans attacked them.

About 175 of the 500 Dead Sea Scrolls are biblical. Most famous of these is the Isaiah scroll. The sect was rigorous and the text is therefore probably rigorous as well.

The KJV is translated from the Masoretic text which is from the 10th century but comparison between the Scriptural section of the Dead Sea scrolls and that text shows a remarkable consistency. The scrolls found gave positive evidence of canonicity to all the Old Testament books other than Chronicles, Esther and the Song of Solomon.

OTHER SOURCES

The non canonical books in the Old Testament or Apocrypha were accepted as valuable books but are not canonical. They were however accepted into the Roman Catholic Bible at the Council of Trent in the 16th century.

A similar group of books called the Pseudepigrapha were rejected as non canonical as far as the New Testament was concerned.

Satan wanted to get false books into the Bible and thereby water it down. A number of writers in the ancient world also noted those books which were considered sacred by some. Josephus recognized the 22 books that became the 39 books of the Old Testament as sacred. In AD 90 a prominent group of rabbis met at Jamnia and produced a list which left out Esther, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes.

The Church Fathers accepted the 39 books of the Old Testament. The apocrypha whilst acknowledged by Augustine as important was not accepted into the Bible until it was by the Roman Catholics in the counter reformation and the Council of Trent in 1546. Most of the protestants accepted it also, and it was published in the first KJV in 1611 for use in the Anglican churches, although not as part of the private editions.

EVIDENCE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

[a] Quotation of the Old Testament in the New. All books except Esther, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon are quoted in this way. The apocrypha is never quoted.

[b] Matthew 5:18 were seen as authoritative by the Lord Jesus Christ. This includes all the Old Testament.

[c] Luke 11:51 from the death of Abel to Zechariah Abel’s death is in Genesis 4, Zechariah’s death in 2 Chronicles 24. In the Hebrew canon Genesis was the first and 2 Chronicles, not Malachi, the last.

TESTS FOR CANONICITY

They had three tests for every letter when it came for consideration for inclusion in the Bible.

[a] A test of authority ‑ was this written by a prophet, a leader in Israel or a lawgiver as far as the Old Testament was concerned or an apostle, or a close associate of an apostle in the case of the New.

[b] Was it unique? – Was there the evidence of inspiration?

[c] They had to be accepted by the churches.

New Testament Canon

[a] The witness of the apostolic period – Colossians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians 4:15. 1Timothy 5:18 Deuteronomy 25:4 Luke 10:7, 2 Peter 3:16

[b] The witness of the first and second century where church fathers recognized all 27 books as canonical.

[c] The Council of Carthage in 397 where the New Testament canon was finally set in place. Many liberals will only accept 3‑4 letters ascribed to Paul as being Pauline but because the Church Fathers went into this so thoroughly, we must deduce that when we have something in the New Testament, there is a very good reason for it to be in there.

Do not have liberal commentaries, have conservative ones. If you study it thoroughly you will find that your faith in the Bible is on very solid ground. The onus of proof is on the liberals. The people meeting at Carthage said that the Pauline epistles were written by Paul and being much closer to the situation their statements should have significant weight. Therefore what we have in the canon of Scripture is inspired and has been protected by God throughout the ages.

DOCTRINES

BIBLE: CANONICITY

DEFINITION - Canon - KANON (Greek) - a measuring rule or standard.
1. Why do we need a canon of Scripture?
a) So that believers in every generation might have complete revelation from God.
b) That man might have God's Word in writing. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
c) A need for the preservation and circulation of sacred writing in the time of oppression.
d) That people might know what was scripture and what was not, and know how God thinks.

2. CRITERIA FOR OLD TESTAMENT CANONICITY
a) The question of Inspiration (2 Peter 1:21) - every existing book of an acknowledged messenger of God was immediately accepted as the Word of God being commissioned by God to make known his will.

b) The principle of Internal evidence (Deuteronomy 31:24-26, Joshua 1:8, Judges 3:4). Nehemiah 8:1-8 shows that people were taught the word of God. Daniel in captivity read (Jeremiah 25:11--12, Jeremiah 29:10) and discovered Israel had a future giving rise to (Daniel 9:2, 5, 6. Zechariah 7:12)
c) Documentation by quotation - New Testament quotes by Jesus Christ and others declare them to be the Word of God, e.g. (Matthew 22:29, John 5:39, John 10:35)
d) The Law of Public Official Action (Nehemiah 8:5)
e) The Law of Cause and Effect. In this area canonicity is recognition of what God has done in the field of communication. Passages such as (2 Kings 22:1 - 23:2 and Nehemiah 8) are not historical accounts of the ratification of the Canon but the result of the existence of the Canon.
f) Principle of external evidence - Israel had gone down spiritually prior to the Babylonian captivity (2 Chronicles 36:11-21) During captivity the Jews realised the importance of Bible doctrine and there was a spiritual resurgence led by people like Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi, Zerubbabel who extra biblically attested to the canon of scripture. The Old Testament canon was closed in 425 BC-

3. DIVISION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT - Three sections.
a) Torah or Law - The Pentateuch consisting of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
b) The Nabiim or Prophets This was divided into 2. The Former and the Latter Prophets, the division being the Babylonian Captivity.
c) The Kethubim or Writings which were further subdivided into 3 subsections -
i) Poetical Books - Psalms and Job.
ii) The Five Rolls or Megilloth books that were read at various feasts:
Song of Solomon - Passover
Ruth - Pentecost
Ecclesiastes - Tabernacles
Esther - Purim
Lamentations - Anniversary of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC-
iii) Historical Books - Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles.

4. NUMBER OF OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS
The number of books in the Hebrew Old Testament was 24 compared to 39 in the English: 1st and 2nd Kings etc. are combined and many of the prophets also combined into scrolls, e.g. Matthew in the New Testament when quoting Zechariah said "As Jeremiah said" (Matthew 27:9-10) Zechariah was in the Jeremiah scroll. (Zechariah 11:12-13)

5. CLASSIFICATION OF OLD TESTAMENT CANON.
a) Homologoumena - these are writings that were accepted and had always been accepted as canonical.

b) Antilegoumia - these were five books which were eventually accepted as canonical which were disputed in the 1st - 5th centuries AD
i) ESTHER - because the name God was not mentioned.
ii) SONG OF SOLOMON - this dealt with a love affair which the early church fathers apparently were somewhat embarrassed about and thought it non-canonical.

iii) ECCLESIASTES - where Solomon was looking at life from a human viewpoint which was not reconcilable with Judaism or Bible Doctrine.
iv) EZEKIEL - because chapters 40-48 seemed to contradict the Mosaic Law. Ezekiel 40-48 deals with annual sacrifices in the Millennium not the Levitical usage.
v) PROVERBS - because one proverb seemed to contradict another.

c) Pseudepigrapha - these were the false writings and were rejected. Such books as "The Penitence of Jannes and Jambres" "The Magic Book of Moses", are in this category.

d) Apocrypha - these were books written after 425 BC and have been rejected as not being canonical. The Apocrypha includes 14 books which are found in the Septuagint and Vulgate but never in the Hebrew Canon. False doctrine found in the Apocrypha includes:-
i) Prayers and Offerings for the Dead. - 2 Maccabees 12:42.
ii) Suicide Justified - 2 Maccabees 14:41.
iii) Atonement by Almsgiving - Ecclesiasticus 3:32, 4:1-11.
iv) Salvation by Almsgiving - Tobit 4:11

v) Cruelty to Slaves Justified - Ecclesiasticus 33:25-9.
vi) Pre-existence of souls - Wisdom of Solomon 8:19, 20.
vii) Other fallacies include magical incantations, purgatory, assassination, angels having the power of intercession.

6. REJECTION OF OLD TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA
a) These books are included in the apocrypha
1 & 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, additions to Esther, The wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch , The letter of Jeremiah, The prayer of Azariah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, The prayer of Manassah, 1 & 2 Maccabees

b) The apocrypha was never in the Hebrew Canon.
c) Neither Jesus Christ nor any of the New Testament writers ever quoted once from the Apocrypha.
d) Josephus expressly excluded them from his history of sacred scriptures.
e) No mention of the Apocrypha was made in any catalogue of canonical books in the first 4 centuries AD
f) These apocryphal books were never asserted to be divinely inspired or to possess divine authority.
g) No prophets were connected with these writings.
h) These books contained many historical, geographical and chronological errors.
i) The apocrypha teaches doctrines and upholds practices which are contrary to the canon of scripture.

7. CRITERIA FOR NEW TESTAMENT CANONICITY
a) Apostolicity - every book must either to have been written by an apostle or someone closely associated with an apostle (Mark with Peter, Luke with Paul). An early date of writing is essential prior to 100 AD

b) Reception by the Churches - must be accepted by the churches as authentic when written.
c) Constancy of Doctrine - with Old Testament scripture and Apostolic teaching.
d) Inspiration - each book must have internal and external evidence of inspiration. This was evaluated using the spiritual gift of discernment during the formation of the canon. (1 Corinthians 12:10)
e) Recognition - each must be recognised by the Church Fathers as canonical. Four councils were held - Laodicea (336 AD), Damascus (382 AD), Carthage (397 AD),Hippo (419 AD).
f) Internal - each must contain exhortation to public evaluation of the word. (Colossians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:27, 1 Timothy 4:13, Revelation 1:3).

8. CLASSIFICATION OF NEW TESTAMENT CANON
a) Homologoumena - the accepted books.
b) Antilegomena - the disputed books which were eventually accepted - James, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Hebrews.
c) Pseudepigripha - the false writings - Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Thomas, Acts of Andrew etc.

d) Apocrypha - the rejected writings - Acts of Paul, Epistle of Barnabbas, Shepherd of Hermes, The Revelation of the Twelve, The Revelation of Peter.

GREEK GRAMMAR

1. A tense is an expression of the action or the time of the verb. Greek has three tenses:
a) CONTINUOUS tense which is further subdivided into the PRESENT and IMPERFECT.
i) PRESENT - implies action in the present time, a dramatic present focuses attention on a dramatic event in history.
ii) IMPERFECT - continuous action in past time.
b) COMPLETED tense - action itself has been completed but its results continue - the PERFECT tense. (Ephesians 2:8, 9) "For by grace are ye saved" - literally - for by grace have you been saved in the past with the result you keep on being saved forever through faith.
c) OCCURRING tense - action of the verb is presently in progress -
d) AORIST tense which is subdivided into two - POINT OF TIME AORIST and ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME AORIST
i) (Acts 16:31) - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
ii) BELIEVE - Point of time Aorist.
iii) SAVED - Once and for all time Aorist.
iv) Believe in a point of time on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved once and for all.

2. The voice of the verb expresses the relationship between the subject and the verb. Greek has three types of voice:
a) ACTIVE VOICE - the subject produces the action of the verb (Acts 16:31) Believe - you believe.

b) PASSIVE VOICE - subject receives the action of the verb - the voice of grace.
c) MIDDLE VOICE - subject is benefited by the action of the verb. (John 15:16)

3. The mood affirms and relates the verb to reality. There are three frequently used moods
a) IMPERATIVE MOOD - mood of command
b) INDICATIVE MOOD - mood of reality, indicates that an event actually took place as stated.
c) SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD - potential mood - maybe yes, maybe no.
d) INFINTIVE MOOD – mood of purpose or intention

4. The Greek conditional clause states a supposition and is classified on the basis of the condition it expresses. There are four conditional clauses -
a) Type 1 - If, and it is true (Matthew 4:3, 6)
b) Type 2 - If, but it's not true. (Matthew 4:9)
c) Type 3 - If, maybe yes, maybe no. (1 John 1:9)
d) Type 4 - If, I wish it were true, but it isn't (1 Peter 3:14)

HEBREW GRAMMAR

1. In the Hebrew there are only 2 tenses:
a) IMPERFECT - incomplete action.
b) PERFECT - completed action.

2. In order to express different meanings the stems on the verbs are used:
a) KAL - a simple declarative statement indicative active.
b) NIPHAL - passive and sometimes reflective.
c) HITHPAHEL - reflective.
d) PIHEL - Intensive stem - active.
e) PUHAL - Intensive passive.
f) HIPHIL - Causative - active.
g) HOPHAL - Causative - passive.

3. Example GATAL - to kill:
a) KAL - someone kills.
b) NIPHAL - you are killed.
c) HITHPAHEL - suicide.
d) PIHEL - you kill in a horrible manner.
e) PUHAL - you are killed in a horrible manner.
f) HIPHIL - Murder incorporated - you cause someone to be killed without being involved.
g) HOPHAL - you are the victim of murder incorporated.

THEOLOGY LESSON 5

LESSON 5

Bible – Interpretation

2 Timothy 2:14-19
Galatians 1:6-9
2Timothy 1:10-11
Inspiration: Fulfilled Prophecy
Interpretation
Consecration

INTRODUCTION

In 2 Timothy 3:16 - Four things that Paul emphasizes are [a] Study, unremitting study with application to life; [b] Prove yourself by action or be deemed unapproved, [c] You become a worker with a tool of trade in the form of God's Word; [d] Rightly dividing the Word of truth.

Rightly dividing is a present active participle of the word "orthotomeo" which means to plough a straight furrow or to cut a straight line. Both the farmer and military engineer are in view here. Consistency and order is the key concept, and this applies directly to the way we handle the Word of God.

The study of the principles of interpretation is called hermeneutics by many Colleges, but we reject this system because Hermes is the false god of order and reason and is linked to freemasonry and other satanic cults. Analysis of a passage is called exegesis.

Interpretation must cut a straight line, an accurate consistent interpretation of the text. It is like the farmer who ploughs the field all the same way to the same depth and the same basic line. You need to be consistent and persistent. Our attitude towards inspiration, revelation and inerrancy is vital in our attitude towards interpretation. We are not to be careless, flippant or casual with our interpretation, nor change our methodology to suit our beliefs, but let the text speak to us consistently and directly, with the context being the guide.

Preaching is accurately undertaking interpretation of the Word and teaching it, Galatians 1:6-9. You can be cursed if you handle the Word of God lightly and erroneously.

You are in danger of divine discipline if you share the ignorance that you have wrongly deduced by your faulty study, with others.

WHAT WE MUST DO?

[a] Walk consistently in the Spirit and in prayer.
[b] Consistent hard study of the Word is called for the pastor- teacher or teacher.
[c] Thirdly prayerfully prepare your study.
[d] Finally you should teach it with authority.

INTERPRETATION

There are four methods of interpretation – [a] Literal, [b] Allegorical [c] Semi Allegorical [d] Theological

[a] Literal - The Bible is to be taken, using the normal rules of grammar, literally. Literal interpretation means that where the Scripture is obviously an allegory it should be taken in that form e.g. John 10:7-10. Where it is not, it should be taken as a true story, Luke 16:19-31. Some things are recorded as lies, some as pictures, some as parables and some as normal narrative. Each passage is to be interpreted in the way that the context indicates it is to be taken. We have a literal interpretation. This type of interpretation will have theological significance. Amongst other things, it will cause the person to believe in a literal Millennium and distinguish between Israel and the Church.

The Principle: "When common sense makes plain sense take no other sense”. Usually this form of interpretation goes hand in hand with acceptance of a verbally inspired Bible.

[b] Allegorical - This method which uses symbols makes Scripture say something other than its obvious meaning. Once you start to allegorize you should ask why?

Perhaps it is because you do not wish to take it literally. Many within the Roman Catholic Church ascribe to this method. Many of the denominations such as some within the:

Reformed Movement, Anglicans, some Baptists and Methodists follow this format. They make spiritual word pictures from the text rather than take a literal interpretation.

This method came to a peak with Origen in Egypt during the 3rd century who used a combination of Greek and Jewish philosophy including the works of Plato and Philo.

If used consistently this type of interpretation would reduce the Bible to near fiction for the normal meaning of the words would be replaced by whatever meaning the interpreter gives to the symbols.

[c] Semi literal. - This is, as is the case of Allegorical approach, an inconsistent approach where the interpretation is often coloured by preconceived ideas and concepts.

Very few evangelicals use the full allegorical method. Evangelicals who use the semi literal method usually treat prophecy by allegory and the rest of the Bible literally. This tends towards A-millennialism.

[d] Theological – This method is allied to the semi allegorical method and is controlled by the Theological framework applied by the interpreter.

REASONS FOR SUPPORT OF THE LITERAL METHOD

[a] The purpose of language. God is the author of language as it is the means of communication. If the Bible does not communicate there is something wrong with the author but as the author is God the Holy Spirit there is nothing wrong with the Scriptures. The Scriptures are therefore to be taken in a literal and objective manner.

[b] Objectivity – switching from literal to other forms of interpretation, unless the context directs, will give different messages from the Bible.

[c] Prophecy - There are about 300 prophecies of the Old Testament referring to the Lord. It can be shown that the Lord fulfilled all but 7 of them literally at His first advent vindicating the literalists position. Micah 5:2, Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 9:1-2, 42:1, 53:5, 61:1, Psalm 16:9-10, 22:1, 15-16, 18, 31:5, 34:20, 68:18, Zechariah 13:7.

PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION

[a] Grammatical – study the grammar.

[b] Context – Study the context.

[c] Scripture with Scripture - Compare with other areas of the Bible.

[d] Progressive Revelation – God may add to or change. – The Lamb, Pork – 1 Timothy 4:3

Examples Matthew 10:5-7, 28:18-20, Luke 9:3 22:36, Genesis 17:10, Galatians 5:2, Exodus 26:8 Acts 20:7, John 1:17 16:24 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Summary - It is God who desired to give man His Word, it was God who gave the language so that we could understand and communicate. He gave the Bible to communicate to us and not confuse us. He gave us the communication plainly as this is the way that people communicate.

God is behind man's thinking; and is not going to write His book of revelation and inspiration in such a way that the very rules of language; that He uses is going to be broken.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF BIBLE INTERPRETATION.

[a] Consider the Bible as a whole, it is God's unfolding drama of redemption. Your interpretation should be on the basis of God's Word having a redemptive theme.

[b] Consider each book distinctively. You need to understand the different characteristics of each book.

[c] Consider to whom the book or the passage was written.

[d] Consider the bigger context, the historical and geographical context.

[e] Consider other biblical passages with the same subject. Because the Bible is God's Word, He has got it right and got it all together. Consider like with like and if the different passages tie together with the same interpretation you probably have got it right.

[f] Discover the exact meanings of the original words used. Textural variations do not affect one doctrine.

[g] Beware of personal prejudice, do not read your own preconceptions into any passages, let the Holy Spirit correct your theology as you study.

[h] One old saint also asked these questions. Does your interpretation make you love the Lord more, desire the salvation of the lost more, desire to assist your brethren more, make you keen in your desire to serve the church? If you answer “YES!” to each of these questions then your interpretation is probably correct.

DOCTRINES

INSPIRATION: FULFILLED PROPHECY PROOF OF INSPIRATION

All scripture is inspired by God (2 Peter 1:19-21) Therefore all Biblical prophecies must come true.
This is demonstrated in prophecies already fulfilled.

1. Reuben would be unstable and lose his rights as firstborn. Prophecy (Genesis 49:3-4) - Fulfilment (Numbers 26:5-11)

2. Simeon would not have land allotted in the Promised Land. Prophecy (Genesis 49:5-7) - Fulfilment (Joshua 19:1-9)

3. Levi would not have land allotted in the Promised Land. Prophecy (Genesis 49:5-7) - Fulfilment (Joshua 21:4-7)

4. Judah would become the ruler over the nation of Israel. Prophecy (Genesis 49:8-12) - Fulfilment (Numbers 10:14, Joshua 15:1 Revelation 5:5)

5. Zebulun would receive an allotment of land on the coast and it would reach down to Sidon. Prophecy (Genesis 49:13) - Fulfilment (Joshua 19:10-16) as well as history when they took the land to the south of their area previously allocated to Asher and their influence reached right down to Sidon.

6. Issachar would be given a fertile area between two mountains and would be a servant. Prophecy (Genesis 49:14-15) - Fulfilment (Joshua 19:17-22)

7. Dan would be a full member of Israel but would lead the nation away in idolatry. Prophecy (Genesis 49:16-18) - Fulfilment (Joshua 19:40-48) and the fact that idolatry in the nation was led by this tribe. It is also of interest that his tribe is not mentioned as having any part in the 144,000 witnesses in (Revelation 7).

8. Gad would be a warrior tribe. Prophecy (Genesis 49:19) - Fulfilment (1 Chronicles 5:18-20, 12:8)

9. Asher would have a rich and fertile land. Prophecy (Genesis 49:20, Deuteronomy 33:24-25) - Fulfilment - History - Asher enjoyed a rich and fertile area together in more recent times successful oil exploration.

10. Naphtali would be quick to spread good news Prophecy (Genesis 49:21) - Fulfilment (Matthew 4:13-15) as Jesus began his ministry in Naphtali and most of the disciples who gave the good news came from that region.

11. Joseph would receive great blessing. Prophecy (Genesis 49:22-26) - Fulfilment (Deut 33:13-17)

12. Benjamin would be a ferocious group Prophecy. (Genesis 49:27) - Fulfilment (Judges 19, 20:21-47)

13. Joshua and Caleb to enter into the Promised Land after 40 years wandering. Prophecy (Numbers 14:24, 30) - Fulfilment (Joshua 3:7,17 14:6-12)

14. Sisera would be defeated by a woman. Prophecy (Judges 4:9) - Fulfilment (Judges 4:21)

15. Hophni and Phineas would die on the same day. Prophecy (1 Samuel 2:34) - Fulfilment (1 Samuel 4:11)

16. The priesthood would be removed from the family of Eli. Prophecy (1 Samuel 2:27-36, 3:11-14) - Fulfilment (1 Kings 2:26-27)

17. Saul was to be the first king of Israel and would save the nation from the Philistines. Prophecy (1 Samuel 9:15-16) - Fulfilment (1 Samuel 11;14)

18. Saul's kingdom would not continue. Prophecy (1 Samuel 13:14, 15:28, 24:20) - Fulfilment (2 Samuel 3:1, 5:1-3)

19. Saul to die in battle on a certain day. Prophecy (1 Samuel 28:19) - Fulfilment (1 Samuel 31:1-6)

20. Solomon to build the Temple not David. Prophecy (1 Chronicles 17:1-12) - Fulfilment (1 Kings 7:51)

21. The sword not to depart from David's house because of sin. Prophecy (2 Samuel 12:10-12) - Fulfilment (2 Samuel 13:28-29, 16:21-22)

22. The bones of Jeroboam's pagan priests to be burnt upon the false altar that Jeroboam had constructed. Prophecy (1 Kings 13:1-3) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 23:4-6)

23. Jeroboam's dynasty to be destroyed. Prophecy (1 Kings 14:10-11) - Fulfilment (1 Kings 15:27-28)

24. Ahab to be victorious over the Syrians. Prophecy (1 Kings 20:28) - Fulfilment (1 Kings 20:29-30)

25. Ahab to die in battle for causing Naboths death. Prophecy (1 Kings 21:19, 22:17) - Fulfilment (1 Kings 22:37)

26. The dogs would then lick his blood from his chariot. Prophecy (1 Kings 21:19) - Fulfilment (1 Kings 22:38)

27. Jezebel to be eaten by wild dogs. Prophecy (1 Kings 21:23, 2 Kings 9:10) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 9:30-37)

28. Elisha to receive a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Prophecy (2 Kings 2:9) - Fulfilment demonstrated by the fact that the Bible records that Elisha performed twice as many miracles as Elijah.

29. Naaman to recover from his leprosy. Prophecy (2 Kings 5:3, 8,10) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 5:14)

30. The starving inhabitants of Samaria to receive an abundance of food in twenty four hours. Prophecy (2 Kings 7:1) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 7:16-17)

31. An arrogant aide to the king to see the miracle but not to eat of the food. Prophecy (2 Kings 7:2, 19) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 7:17, 20)

32. Beb-Hadad, a Syrian king to recover from his sickness, but die anyway. Prophecy (2 Kings 8:10) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 8:15)

33. Jehu to have four generations on the throne of northern kingdom. Prophecy (2 Kings 10:30) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 15:12)

34. Jehu's dynasty to then be destroyed. Prophecy (Hosea 1:4) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 15:8-12)

35. Joash to defeat the Syrians on three occasions. Prophecy (2 Kings 13:18-19) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 13:25)

36. Jehoram to suffer with a disease because of sin. Prophecy (2 Chronicles 21:15) - Fulfilment (2 Chronicles 21:18-19)

37. Amaziah to die because of his idolatry. Prophecy (2 Chronicles 25:16) - Fulfilment (2 Chronicles 25:20-27)

38. Sennacherib to be assassinated in his own land. Prophecy (Isaiah 37:7) - Fulfilment (Isaiah 37:37-38)

39. Sennacherib's attempt to invade Jerusalem not to be successful. Prophecy (Isaiah 37:33-35) - Fulfilment (Isaiah 37:36-37)

40. Hezekiah to be healed of a terminal disease. Prophecy (Isaiah 38:5) - Fulfilment (Isaiah 38:9)

41. Cyrus to allow the Jews to go back to Jerusalem. Prophecy (Isaiah 44:28) - Fulfilment (Ezra 1:1-2)

42. Zedekiah to be captured by Nebuchadnezzar. Prophecy (Jeremiah 21:7) - Fulfilment (Jeremiah 52:8-11)

43. Jehoahaz to die in Egyptian captivity and not return to Judah. Prophecy (Jeremiah 22:10-12) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 23:33-34)

44. Jehoiachin to be captured by Nebuchadnezzar. Prophecy (Jeremiah 22:25) - Fulfilment (2 Kings 24:15)

45. Coniah was told that no seed of his would sit on the throne of David. Prophecy (Jeremiah 22:28-30) - Fulfilment - historical. This prophecy is in apparent contradiction to the Davidic Covenant of (2 Samuel 7:8-16) where David was promised a "son" who would reign forever on his throne. This apparent contradiction is solved by the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ as Mary was descended from David via Nathan. (Luke 3:23-31)

46. Hananiah, a false prophet to die within a year. Prophecy (Jeremiah 28:15-16) - Fulfilment (Jeremiah 28:17)

47. Nebuchadnezzar to invade Egypt. Prophecy (Jeremiah 43:9-13) - Fulfilment - history

48. Nebuchadnezzar to defeat the Egyptians at Carchemish. Prophecy (Jeremiah 46) - Fulfilment - history.

49. Nebuchadnezzar to be given the mind of an animal because of pride. Prophecy (Daniel 4:19-27) - Fulfilment (Daniel 4:28-37)

50. Belshazzer to have his kingdom removed from him. Prophecy (Daniel 5:5, 25-28) - Fulfilment (Daniel 5:30)

51. Alexander the Great to establish a world empire in a very short time. Prophecy (Daniel 2:32-39, 7:6, 8:5-8, 21, 11:3) - Fulfilment - history.

52. Alexander to defeat the Persians - Prophecy (Daniel 8:5-8) - Fulfilment - history

53. Alexander to die at the height of his power and his kingdom to be divided into four parts. Prophecy (Daniel 8:8, 22, 11:4) - Fulfilment - history tells us that at the height of his power Alexander died of a fever in Babylon at the age of 33.

After a period of some twenty years of internal struggle and fighting the eleven generals of the Greek army who had survived Alexander were reduced to four called in Scripture the four winds of heaven, Ptolemy, Seluchus, Cassander and Lysimachus.

54. Antiochus Epiphanes persecuted the Jews and desecrated their Temple. Prophecy found in (Daniel 8:11-25) - Fulfilment - history. The whole of (Daniel 11) represents historical prophecies of the Greek dynasties based on Ptolemy and Seluchus which lasted until the time of Julius Caesar with Cleopatra being the last Greek ruler of Egypt. [SEE Prophecy: Prophecy and History Fulfilled]

55. Zacharias would be mute until the birth of John the Baptist. Prophecy (Luke 1:20) - Fulfilment (Luke 1:57-64)

56. John the Baptist to be the herald for the Lord Jesus Christ. Prophecy (Luke 1:76-77) - Fulfilment (Matthew 3:1-11, Luke 3:2-6)

57. Simeon to live until he had seen the Messiah. Prophecy (Luke 2:25-26) - Fulfilment (Luke 2:28-30)

58. Peter would deny Jesus Christ. Prophecy (John 13:38) - Fulfilment (John 18:24-27)

59. Peter to die as a martyr. Prophecy (John 21:18-19, 2 Peter 1 :12-14) - Fulfilment - history

60. Judas to give himself over to Satan. Prophecy (John 6:70) - Fulfilment (John 13:27)

61. Judas to betray Jesus. Prophecy (John 13:21) - Fulfilment (John 18:2-5)

62. Paul would suffer a lot for the Lord Jesus Christ. Prophecy (Acts 9:16) - Fulfilment (2 Corinthians 11:23-28, 12:7-10, Philippians 1:29-30)

63. Paul would be a minister to the Gentiles. Prophecy (Acts 9:15) - Fulfilment (Romans 11:13, Ephesians 3:1)

64. Paul would preach before kings. Prophecy (Acts 9:15) - Fulfilment (Acts 24-26)

65. Paul would go to Rome. Prophecy (Acts 23:11) - Fulfilment (Acts 28:16)

INTERPRETATION

In receiving revelation which comes through the Holy Spirit as He teaches the Word of God to a believer in Christ certain basic rules are necessary in order to understand the Word of God. The science of interpretation is called hermeneutics. Interpretation should be undertaken using the following concepts.

1. The purpose of the Bible as a whole: - each text must be interpreted in the light of the total content of Scripture as the Bible does not contradict but complements itself.

2. The particular message of each book of the Bible: - the interpretation of a book must be in conformity with its purpose. In this way Ecclesiastes will need to be interpreted in a different way to Psalms or the Revelation.

3. To whom addressed: - while all Scripture is equally inspired not all Scripture is equally applicable. As an example in David’s day, one could plead with the Lord that the Holy Spirit would not be taken away from you (Psalm 51:11). However since Pentecost the Holy Spirit has been permanently in all believers and therefore cannot be removed thus such a prayer is no longer valid today. (John 14:16, 17).

4. The context: - review the surrounding text as to the context and interpret in relation to that context.

5. Similar teachings elsewhere in the Bible where study of one book may help interpretation in a related book for instance Daniel and Revelation.

6. Accurate exegesis from the original languages.

7. Literal Interpretation: - unless otherwise guided the person should assume a literal interpretation rather than a symbolic.

8. Guard against prejudice: - each passage must be allowed to say what it does even if it fails to immediately resolve apparent lack of harmonization with other passages in the Bible.

CONSECRATION

1. Consecration means full surrender of self to God. (Romans 6:13)

2. This is the attitude of "denying self" and "not my will, but yours be done" (Matthew 16:24, 26:39, Galatians 2:20).

3. This is the only acceptable gift to God. (Romans 12:1,2)

4. The consecration of the Temple is a picture of the believer's life: the Outer Court (the body), the Holy Place (the soul) and the Holy of Holies (spirit)

5. You are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and therefore must be set apart as a holy vessel (Romans 12:1-2 cf 1 Kings 8:1-11)

THEOLOGY LESSON 4

The Bible – Inerrancy

Matthew 4:1-11
Matthew 5:17-18
John 10:31-38
Matthew 22:23-33
Matthew 22:41-46
Inerrancy

IMPORTANCE OF INERRANCY

Inerrancy is very important today as it is the place where attacks on scripture are presently occurring. As a believer sees that the Bible is completely trustworthy and without error in the original, so they will stabilize in their study of the texts. A church will only be biblically strong only if it has a strong stand on inerrancy.

Can one be an evangelical and not accept the doctrine of inerrancy? Yes.

Can one be a Biblicist and not accept the doctrine of inerrancy? No, because the Bible itself states that it is inerrant.

If you believe there is error in the Bible how do you know that the Bible is accurate when it talks about the Lord Jesus Christ or the resurrection.

Some of the things you doubt if you do not take an inerrant view is the fact of Adam, the reality of the fall, your attitude to sin, Jonah as a prophet, Noah and his ark, deny that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, that there are more than a single author to Isaiah. It is therefore critical as to what your attitude to God's Word is.

With the down playing of the Pentateuch there are likely to be the down playing of five lifestyle errors; adultery, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, civil disobedience. Many mainline denominations will not take a stand on these because they are afraid of losing members. As a result they tend to go liberal and eventually have nothing to preach.

If we cannot explain things we should realise we have not got all the facts. The Bible however does teach that it is without error. The challenge for us is to study harder.

LIMIT OF INERRANCY

We limit inerrancy to the original manuscripts. All translations from the original document depend on the skill of the translators as well as their background. God's hand however has protected the Scriptures over the years. There is no doctrinal error or point of confusion within the textural differences we have within the presently discovered old manuscripts. Even with their variations they do not lead to any theological errors or issues.

Have people worried about this before? - Yes, Augustine in the early Church stated that the greatest catastrophe would occur if we believe anything false is found in the sacred books. Thomas Aquinas - nothing false can underlie the literal sense of Scripture. Luther - the Scriptures have never erred. Wesley, if there be any error in the Bible it did not come from the God of truth.

In the last five decades or so it has become a major problem. Big issues are fought at different time in Church History over different doctrines. For the first four centuries Satan's attack was on the person of Christ, during the late middle Ages the doctrine of justification by faith was rediscovered, in the last fifty years the Bible and inerrancy.

THREE POSSIBLE VIEWS

[a] The Bible is infallible but not inerrant. There are historic and scientific errors in the Bible but it is suitable for faith and practice. This is the view of most of the major denominations.

[b] The Lausanne Covenant declares it to be inerrant in all that it affirms. This is a covenant of evangelicals which implies that it may not be true on what it does not affirm directly or specifically.

[c] The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy states that Scripture is without error or fault in all its teachings and in everything that God's word has said. We would subscribe to this teaching.

GOD’S PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE

In everything that God's Word has said it is God's Word, God has said it, God has preserved it; so although we haven't got the original manuscripts, we know by God's wonderful preservation of so many manuscripts that we have revelation that is accurate, trustworthy and reliable. He has inspired it, He has preserved it, it is without error. We have God speaking through man and speaking without error. God and man worked in such a way from an inspirational viewpoint that it is without error.

Everyone wrestles with the relationship between the Divine and human authors of the Word of God. The Divine must not be so over emphasized as to obliterate the human, nor must it be allowed to be so human as to allow errors. The authorship of the Scriptures requires balance. People today hold both extremes, we need to hold to the middle, balanced view.

The debate over the scriptures is mirrored in the debate over the person of Christ. In the first century the church got involved in the doctrine of Docetism which claimed that the Lord was not really flesh but just a spirit. Also there was another group the Ebionites who stated that he was only a man and not God. He however was both fully man and fully God in one person forever - the hypostatic union.

CONCLUSION

1. Here we have a book in our hand. It is God's Word through the agency of men but it is written in such a way and comes to us inerrant.

2. In the same way the Lord Jesus Christ is trustworthy as a man, as our Saviour and Lord.

3. The Bible is God's Word through man without error resulting in a sinless product.

INERRANCY AND JESUS CHRIST

The evidence from Scripture itself; In Matthew 4 during His temptation in the wilderness by Satan, the Lord Jesus Christ quoted the authority of Scripture. Satan had questioned the Word of God right from the beginning as shown in Genesis 2 where he intimated that God was being unfair not allowing man to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Satan perverts Scripture and his main attack is against Scripture. [Matthew 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:10 Psalm 91:11,12, Matthew 4:4, 7, 10]

Jesus Christ stated and quoted many of the Old Testament characters as real historical people and indicated that he believed that their exploits were factual as well. These characters included such people as Moses, Jonah, Jacob as well as places such as Sodom and Gomorrah.

By not accepting the Word of God as literal the liberals are saying that God is wrong and are implying that they know more than our Lord. If they say He was confused about Moses, Jonah and Isaiah they could also say the same about His claim to be God. John 10 31-38

The Word of God is minutely inspired and authoritatively inspired, you can depend on it. The Lord's attitude to the Scriptures is absolute and we must stand with him if we would claim his name. Matthew 22:41-46

The Promise of Inerrancy – Matthew 5:17-18, John 5:18 and 10:34

John 10:31-38

V 24 – Jesus claims to be God. One is in the neuter, one in unity with God.

V 34 Refers to an obscure Psalm 82:6 concentrating on the word gods.

V 35 It is authoritatively inspired. The people are about to stone him.

Matthew 22:23-33

Sadducees did not believe in resurrection but asked a question on it.

Jesus says they are ignorant v 29 and the question is ridiculous v 30, Exodus 3:6

V 32 of John 10:34. From this the Lord assumed the truth of God’s appearance to Moses, that every word could be trusted and the doctrinal truth involved was sound. The Bible cannot be inaccurate.

SOME APPARENT PROBLEMS

Many ‘Christians’ are errantists; those who believe there are errors in the Bible and there are many Christians who are in-errantists; those who believe there are no errors in the Bible and these opposing groups clash over a number of areas.

One group looks for errors, whereas the other is confident that there are no errors in Gods word.

There are locations with apparent discrepancies, conflicting numbers, differences in parallel passages, and allegedly unscientific statements. We believe that a thorough study of the text and its context will eliminate all supposed problems.

The Word of God is God breathed [inspired]. We would expect it to be totally accurate. We would expect it to be preserved in errantly.

The in-errantist assumes that we have not got all the evidence before us. An example was the critics of the Bible in the 18th century, who said there was no such thing as a Hittite Empire. A few years later archaeologists in the Middle East excavated an area showing that there was a Hittite Empire.

The liberal’s history books had to be revised. The same could be said of Sodom and Gomorrah, for until the discovery of the Amarna tablets there was no extra-biblical reference to these cities. The discovery of the archive in this ancient city turned up references to all the places recorded in the Genesis account of the life of Abraham, proving that the author of the source of Genesis had lived at the time of the events he recorded.

SOME EXAMPLES

[1] Old Testament

[a] The two accounts of Creation - Genesis 1:11-12 Genesis 2:5

[b] Who was Cain’s wife - The fact of Adam and Eve - Matthew 19:39, Luke 3:38, Jude 14 - They had many children – Genesis 5:4 -They came from the hand of God without mutant genes. - The first marriages were between brothers and sisters and were genetically safe at that point.

[c] Laver in 2 Chronicles 4:2 – 5 - Did the Holy Spirit know the value of pi. One cubit is 18 inches Circumference = 30 cubits or 540 inches, Diameter 10 cubits = 180 inches - Formula shows that circumference would be 565 inches - 2 Chronicles 4:5 – hands breadth = 4 inches, inside diameter 180-8 = 172 inches - Revised circumference 540 inches.

[2] Old and New Testaments

[a] The Time between the Exodus and the Dedication of the Temple - 1 Kings 6:1 – 480 years of Acts 13:18-21 – 573 years

[b] The number of people killed - Numbers 25:9 [24,000] and 1 Corinthians 10:8 [23, 000]

[3] New Testament

[a] To take a staff or not – Matthew 10:9-10 [ktaomai], Mark 6:8 , Luke 9:3 [airo]

[b] Zechariah or Jeremiah Matthew 27:9, 10 and Zechariah 11:12-13

[c] Death of Judas and the Field of Blood – Acts 1:18 and Matthew 27:5

By close examination these apparent anomalies are not anomalies at all

DOCTRINES

BIBLE: INERRANCY

1. The Scriptures are quoted as the absolute standard of truth. (Daniel 10:21, John 10:35)

2. The source of the Scriptures is God; there is no imperfection or error permissible with God. (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 1 John 1:5, James 1:17)

3. The Scriptures therefore becomes the final authority in the resolution of disputes. (Romans 4:3, 11:2, Galatians 4:30)

4. The Scriptures are seen as authoritative. (Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:27, Luke 4:8, Acts 23:5 Romans 11:8)

5. The person who does not know the Scriptures is in error. (Mark 12:24)

6. The Lord believed the Scriptures:-
a) He implied there was only one Isaiah. (Isaiah 61:1, 2, Luke 4:16-21, Isaiah 53:1, and Isaiah 6:1-4, 9-10, John 12:38-41)
b) Jonah was a prophet not a myth. (Matthew 12:39, Luke 11:29)
c) Daniel was a prophet not an historian. (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14)
d) Adam and Eve were created. (Matthew 19:8)

7. The Bible is called God's Word (Mark 7:13, Luke 5:1, 11:28, John 10:35, Acts 6:7, 12:24, Romans 10:17)