ITS UNIVERSAL APPEAL

The Bible is one of the greatest facts in the history of the world. It is universal in its appeal. While it is an Oriental book in its origin and background, its teachings carry a profound appeal to, and wield a strong influence over, every people and every race on the glove. It influences over, every people and every race on the globe. It influences every type of mind, every degree of intellect, every gradation of life. Prince, and peasant, mechanic and artisan, ruler and subject, laborer and employer, learned and unlearned, all alike read the fascinating pages and are benefited thereby.

Children read its stories with pleasure; philosophers ponder its profound wisdom; scholars are moved by its sublime statements; and lost men eagerly grasp the salvation it hold forth. Sickrooms are brightened and cheered by its psalms, which are caroled alike by the child at school, the mother over her infant, and the bereaved over the grave.

It a world undiscovered for hundreds of year after the writing of this Book was completed, thousands of miles away from the land that gave it birth, in a civilization undreamed of by those who lived when it was produced, and in a language unknown alike at Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome, it rules as lovingly and as forcefully as in its native soil.

FOR ALL AGES

It is not a book of one age or one race or one language. In all ages its sway is constant. Among all races it exercises its astonishing power. In all languages it runs its course and is glorified. That its power is not derived from race or clime is demonstrated when it is taken to salvage cannibal islands and converts head-hunters into civilized nations; when it transforms barbarians into peaceful, law-abiding citizens; when it changes a wild native warrior into an editor of a paper, and a Negro slave into the president of an African republic. It changes human lives wherever its teachings are followed.

It is a book that is closer to the human heart that any other book. It meets the needs of humanity in every state and condition. It is suited to men in all circumstances, rich and poor, educated and ignorant. It has something of profit for all classes.

MOLDED HUMAN THOUGHT

No other book has so molded the minds and thoughts of men as has this Book. Out of its teachings political constitutions have been framed, and entire literature's have been profoundly influenced. This Book has entered into human thinking to a degree little realized.

If by some satanic miracle the language and thought and imagery and truth of the Bible, wherever found and by whomever repeated and employed, were stricken out of existence, men would begin to realize how profoundly this Book has influenced the world. The sweetest passages of the world's greatest writers would be changed into unmeaning nonsense. A vast sweep of literature would become worthless. Men would be amazed at the disclosure that where the greatest genius has been displayed, there is the greatest drawing on the thoughts and language and imagery and teachings of the Book.

For the first time some adequate idea would be formed of the extent to which the Bible has molded and influenced the intellectual and moral life of this planet for the past twenty centuries, how closely it has fused itself which the habits of thought and modes of expression of humanity, and how naturally and widely its comprehensive and ageless imagery and language have been introduced into human writings through the centuries.

WHENCE CAME THIS BOOK?

Translated into more than one thousands languages, used by nearly nine tenths of the inhabitants of the earth, the Book is everywhere. It wields an influence beyond calculation. And yet men are not agreed about it. Is it God's Book or man's book? Is it of heavenly origin or earthly? Is it the product of divine or human mind? Is it God speaking to men or just men reasoning about God?

These questions confront us all. The Book is here. It will not be ignored. It grows through the years. Its influence has not weakened. The twentieth century with all its progress and advancement has not lessened its power. Great as its past triumphs have been, it does not appear to have finished its course and reached the end of its influence. Translated into more than a thousand languages, carried by tens of thousands of heralds to every corner of the habitable globe, it is still going forth conquering and to conquer.

No other book is so generally read, so greatly loved, so ardently propagated, so widely distributed, so certain in its results, so powerful and blessed in its influences. It stands out alone, clear and distinct, separate from and above every other book in the world.

With increased emphasis, therefore, comes our question, Is it a true book? Surely the Book and everything connected with it -- its history, its origin, its authority, its purpose, its power, and its teachings -- are worthy of analysis and study, in an effort to obtain a right answer to this question, so big with importance and eternal possibilities.

The Bible is not a new book. It has a long, an honorable, and a most fascinating history.

There are some who pretend to believe, and who endeavor to get others to believe, that it is not so old as it claims to be. They like to claim that it is a fraud, foisted upon credulous dupes as very old and venerable, when in reality, so they declare, it is a comparatively modern production. Thus would they discredit both its story and its teachings.

We are told that it was not written by the men whose names are connected with its various parts; that these men never really existed, but were invented by the deceivers who actually wrote the Bible; and that therefore the Bible is a forgery to begin with, and imposition, the fruit of depraved hearts, lying tongues, and corrupt minds.

HAS A LIE SUCH POWER?

A lying forgery, however, has no power to transform human lives into the likeness of the divine. Lying, lustful, murdering, idolaters cannot be changed by the millions into honest, peaceable, virtuous men by someone's telling them a great lie. It does not appear possible to any but a very biased and scrambled brain that men could lie so well, "Lie not one to another" and "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone," as to turn immense multitudes of wicked men, as a consequence of such lying, to a life of virtue and purity and honesty and truthfulness. There is no such power in a lie, even though it be well told.

The people who possess and receive and follow the Bible are the most advanced people in the world. The nations that have received and circulated and given freedom to the Bible are the nations that are at the forefront of human progress and development. The nations where civilization prevails, where the blessings of human progress are most widespread, are the nations that possess the Bible. The lands whose people have good clothing and comfortable homes and world well-tilled farms; whose people have intelligence to harness powerful streams to do their work, to build railways, and to invent towns and schools in every village; whose blacksmiths are thus made wiser than the priests of Egypt, and their Sabbath school scholars were more learned than the philosophers of Greece, are lands where the Book has free course and is glorified.

These things in themselves are sufficient answer to the foolish charge that the Book is a fraud and an imposition.

The Bible is in the world. It is here in many languages. The majority of the earth's inhabitants can read it in their own tongue. It is found around the circle of the earth.

A VERY OLD BOOK

The Bible has been here a long time. As long as the oldest person now living can remember, it has been in existence. We learned its stories in our childhood. We repeated its sublime poetry and parables and proverbs in school. The old men of our childhood told us they had done the same when they were children. So it has been here a long time. It is printed by Bible societies; but only the very, very ignorant believe it originated with them.

Very old copies are still in existence. They can be seen in many libraries, and the dates when they were printed show clearly on their title pages. They can be traced back, copy after copy, through the nineteenth, the eighteenth, the seventeenth, the sixteenth, and the fifteenth centuries to the very beginning of the art of printing. Indeed, standing in a museum in Europe is the first printing press ever made. At its side is the first book ever printed, a copy of the Bible in Latin. So the Book is as old, we know, as the art of printing itself.

OLDER THAN THE ART OF PRINTING

But when we have reached the beginning of the art of printing we have not reached the beginning of the Bible. It is older than that. In the British Museum in London is the incomplete copy of Wycliffe's translation of the Bible, translated into English in the year 1380. Hence we know the Book is more than five hundred years old.

The Bible, however, reaches back beyond 1380. Wycliffe translated it from another language. Many copies are still in existence, numbering thousands, in other languages. It was translated into the Greek, the Latin, the Syriac, the Armenian, the Egyptian (or Coptic), in the early centuries of the Christian Era, and many of these copies are in the possession of men and institutions today. They can be seen and handled and read and studied.

These versions, when one learns to read them, will be found to be the same Bible that we know today. In them will be found the same studies, the same Gospels, the same Epistles, the same wonders, the same miracle, the same parables, the same teachings, as are found in the book we have in our homes in a more modern dress and language. And some of these manuscripts of books of the New Testament date back well into the forth and even the third century on the Christian Era. So we know the Bible is very old.

This is not, however, to intimate even for a moment that age give authority to the writings that have come down to us from remote times in the form of what we now call the Bible.

It is a matter of common knowledge that the entire Old Testament was translated into Greek before the time of Christ, the work beginning in the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus, 289 B.C., and continuing at intervals until 150 B.C., when the translation was finished.

HOW ITS AGE IS KNOWN

Very often the inquiry is made in this connection as to how we know the age of the New Testament manuscripts. It is true that sometimes there is deception in connection with old manuscripts. But there is not much, and usually it is readily discovered. It is not easy to deceive in matters of this kind. Men did not write eighteen centuries in the same way we write now. Books were not made then as they are made now. Changes in manners and customs and practices are constantly occurring. By studying these changes it is comparatively easy to determine the time of certain writings.

Eighteen hundred years ago the writings of manuscripts was done on parchment or papyrus, and "books" were generally mere scrolls. There was no small letters and capitals, such as we now have. All letters were capital, or uncial letters, as they are called. There was no punctuation, or at least very little. It was not then the custom to separate words and sentences. All the words were run together until each line looked like one long word made up of capital letters.

For a thousand years it has not been the custom to write in the way they wrote eighteen centuries ago. Therefore, when old manuscripts are discovered, written with uncial letters, with the words and sentences all run together, with little or no punctuation, we know they were written very long ago. Cities buried under volcanic ashes and lava eighteen centuries ago have been uncovered during recent decades, and their libraries books have been found written in this ancient manner. When they are found, it does not require great learning or faith to believe they are books that were written more than eighteen hundred years ago, for they have lain buried during all that time. They reveal how writing was done in that long-ago time.

There have come to light copies of the New Testament manuscripts written exactly as men wrote books in those early centuries. They bear in themselves clear evidence, therefore, of the early date at which they were produced. We know that the New Testament existed during the early centuries of the Christian Era.

OLDER THAN THE COUNCIL OF LAODICEA

Opponents of the Bible were accustomed a few years ago to make the foolish claim that the New Testament was produced by the Council of Laodicea, about A.D. 364. Quite generally they have discarded this claim at the present time, although now and gain some of the less intelligent will run across it in some old infidel book and revive it with all the ardor of a new discovery. As a matter of fact, the Council of Laodicea, instead of making the New Testament, appealed to it as the source of its own authority.

The Council of Laodicea assumed no overlordship in this matter, but simply recognized an authority generally acknowledged by this Christian communities of that age. As expressed by one writer, "The heart of this whole question has been well put in words that deserve special emphasis and careful consideration: 'The New Testament is not an authorized collection of books, but a collection of authorized books.' The authority lies in the books, not in the collection." And we add, not in the Council.

OLDER THAN THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA

Again the claim is made by some that the New Testament was brought into existence at the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325. It is easier to claim this twice than prove it once. The very making of such a claim clearly demonstrates that those who make it know nothing at all about the Council of Nicaea.

If those who make such claim would take the pains to inquire, they would learn that the members of the Council of Nicaea believed the teaching of the New Testament that a teacher had been sent of God into the world about three centuries before. A difference of opinion had arisen among them as to whether this teacher was God Himself or an angel, and they had assembled from every part of the Roman Empire to inquire into, discuss, and endeavor to settle this question. In this discussion of it both sides appealed to the writings of the apostles as found in the New Testament. That this is true anyone may learn who cares to read the history of this Council in such standard works as Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, Neander's History of the Christian Religion and Church, Lardner's Credibility of the Gospel History, and Stanley's Eastern Church.

Instead, then, of the Council of Nicaea making the New Testament, the facts are that at that time of that Council the books of the New Testament were known and accepted throughout the Christian world, and the Council, so far from giving any authority to them rather bowed to their authority, for both Arian and orthodox unitedly acknowledged that the entire Christian world received them as the writings of the apostles of Christ.

ROME COULD NOT DESTROY IT

Then, too, it is easy to demonstrate by decrees of the Roman Empire that the new Testament did not come into existence in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicaea. For example, it was twenty-two years before this Council, that is, in 303, that Diocletian, the emperor of Rome, issued his infamous decree to burn all the Christian writings and destroy all the Christian churches. Strange, indeed, that the Roman emperor should be so concerned about a book that had no existence until twenty-two years later!

The New Testament, in fact the whole Bible, was well known and undoubted authority among all Christians long before the Council of Nicaea. This is an established fact.

Not alone by examination of the early manuscripts and the refutation of the claims of its enemies do we learn something of the age of the Bible. We learn much from the enemies of the Bible in those early centuries. Indeed, we are under great obligation to them, for their denunciations of the Bible make it easy for us to prove that they had a Bible at that time, which would not be so easy to do were it not for their fulminations against it.

KNOWN IN THE SECOND CENTURY

At the close of the second century after Christ an Epicurean philosopher named Celsus' wrote a book against Christianity and called it The Word of Truth. No copy of this work remains today, but Origen, a celebrated Christian philosopher, replied to Celsus' book, and in his reply quoted long extracts from it. In these quotations from Celsus there are more than eighty quotations from the New Testament itself, so many, in fact, and of such length that we can gather from them all the principal facts of the New Testament story.

Now, it is plain that if a man takes the pains to quote the new Testament in order to prove that it is not true, no matter what else he may prove, he certainly does prove that there was a New Testament in his time. If he writes a book to overthrow it, it is obvious and self evident that the book he tries to confute is at least in existence, in circulation, and possessed of influence. Celsus did not claim there was no New Testament. He tried to show that the New Testament was not true. He did not succeed, but his attempt makes it easy for us to prove that the New Testament did exist in his day.

We go back, however, beyond the time of Celsus. There lived early in the second century the noted heretic Marcion. He had been excommunicated from the church and therefore had every reason to say the worst of it. No one ever had a better opportunity of discovering any forgeries that might have existed in the alleged writings of the apostles. He traveled all the way from the center of Asia to Rome, through all the countries and cities where the apostles had preached, and where were located the churches to which their epistles had been sent, and he never found one single person who suggested to him that the writings of the New Testament were not genuine. He claimed that the Gospel of Matthew, the Epistle to the Hebrew, and the Epistles of James and Peter were for Jew only, but he never thought of claiming that the New Testament did not exist.

NOT FRAUDS AND FORGERIES

Thus the books of the New Testament can be traced back to the times of the men who wrote them. The records of the past are clear and plain. The Sacred Writings are not frauds and forgeries. They were written by the men who claimed to write them.

Indeed, a little consideration would make plain to anyone how impossible it is that these writings could be forgeries, or be written by anyone besides those whose names were attached to them, and by whom they were sent to the churches.

The manuscripts of the New Testament were directed to be publicly read in the Christian churches to which many of them were addressed. They were so read publicly in the days when their authors were still living. If an epistle written by Paul was publicly read during Paul's lifetime, there would be no difficulty in determining that Paul wrote it. If a forged epistle were read with the claim that Paul wrote it, and Paul was still alive, there would be no trouble in learning of its fraudulent character. It is altogether unlikely that an imposture would direct his forgery to be publicly read. He would certainly know this would mean exposure.

In the churches to which the Pauline epistles were addressed there were those who knew Paul personally, who were acquainted with his matter and his teachings. They had been brought into the faith by him. They would be easily able to prove or disprove the genuineness of each epistle that claimed to be his. Thus it is plain that the primitive churches, to which these writings of the New Testament were first sent, had the most conclusive proof of the genuineness of these writings of the apostles and evangelists who produced the New Testament.

PRESERVED BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE

By the special providence of God, then, we are in actual possession of true copies of the Gospels and Epistles first written by the companions of Jesus just as truly as we are of true copies of the Declaration of American Independence and the Constitution of the United States. This we can rely upon, and we thank God for it. When we hold our Bible in our hands we may be altogether certain that it is our Father's revealed will, the word of the eternal God.

When we get back to the men who wrote the books, we find each supporting the other, the book of one verifying and confirming the book of another. The later books refer to and endorse the earlier ones. The different writers accept what the other writers have written, and declare that God led them in the writing. And all of them, when brought together, are found to be one Book.

PETER AND PAUL

When Peter wrote his epistles he referred in them to the writings of Paul. Peter and Paul had not always seen exactly alike. Paul on one occasion had found it necessary to rebuke Peter. It will be interesting, therefore, to see what Peter has to say about the writings of Paul. He says this:

"The long-suffering of our Lord is salvation even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of those things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:15, 16.

"Our beloved brother," Peter calls Paul. Paul, he says, wrote his epistles "according to the wisdom give unto him." The "unlearned and unstable wrest" Paul's writings, "as they do also the other scriptures." Peter clearly puts Paul's writings on an equality with the Old Testament, then acknowledged by all the people of God to be the Holy Scriptures. Thus Peter, in this passage, gives clear evidence that before his death Paul had written epistles, and that these epistles were accepted by the apostles of the Lord as from God, and were placed on the same plane as the sacred writings of the Old Testament.

PAUL AND LUKE

Turning now to the writings of Paul, which according to Peter were accepted as Scripture, we find Paul writing as follows:

"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The laborer is worthy of his reward." 1 Timothy 5:17, 18.

Here Paul declares that the Scripture says two things; he makes a double quotation from the Scriptures: First, "The scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." The scripture says that in Deuteronomy 25:4, in the writings of Moses. Second, the Scripture also says, "The laborer is worthy of his hire," or reward. Where does the Scripture say that? Not in the Old Testament. This is not a quotation from the Old Testament. This statement will be found in Luke 10:7: "The laborer is worthy of his hire."

Clearly, before Paul's death Luke had written some things that Paul puts on an equality with the writings of Moses, and calls them both "Scripture."

LUKE'S TWO BOOKS

Luke wrote two of the New Testament books, the Gospel that is called by his name and the book of Acts. He began the book of Acts in this fashion:

"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach." Acts 1:1.

Luke declares to the man Theophilus, to whom he wrote this book, that before he wrote it he had already written a "former treatise." In this former treatise was contained "all that Jesus began both to do and teach." There can be no question that Luke is here referring to the Gospel he had written.

Turning back to Luke's Gospel, we find him addressing this same Theophilus in the following manner:

"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed." Luke 1:1-4

Here Luke declares that before he began to write his Gospel other had written of the same matters that he proposed to cover, and that they had been eyewitnesses of the things concerning which they wrote. Certainly he is referring here to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, already known and accepted when he started to write.

Thus these men, writers of the New Testament, confirm the writings of one another. They tell the same story without contradiction. They hold the same doctrine. They teach the same things. What they wrote they were directed to write, and were inspired in the writings of it.

The New Testament, too, upholds and supports the Old Testament. The two are unit, standing or falling together.

THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS

There are some who say they believe the New Testament but do not believe the Old -- which remark in itself demonstrates their ignorance of both Old and New. There is no contradiction between them. The Old Testament is the foundation of the new. The New Testament is the superstructure of the Old. The New Testament does not teach one doctrine while the Old is teaching another. They teach one thing. The Old Testament does not tell one story while the New is telling another. Their references to historical facts are the same. The New Testament accepts as true the history of the Old. There is no confusion of spiritual facts between them. Some of the prophecies given in the Old Testament find their fulfillment in the New. There is no collision of doctrinal statement between the two. The divine perspective of the Old is divine perspective of the New. The unity between them is altogether remarkable.

In the New Testament there are three quotations that commentators generally identify as coming from secular writers. These are all by Paul. They are found in the Acts, where Paul says, "As certain also of your own poets have said, "For we are also his offspring" ( Acts 17:28), which was taken from a play by Aratus; in 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Evil communications corrupt good manners," which was taken from the writings of Menander; and in Titus 1:12, "One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said The Cretians are always liars, even beasts, slow bellies," which was from Epimenides.

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

But there are hundreds of quotations in the New Testament from the Old Testament, taken from every book in the Old Testament with the exception of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and the Song of Solomon. And in addition there are other hundreds of allusions and references to the Old Testament history and customs and scenes and worship.

Thus the New Testament confirms and verifies the Old; it is of the very warp and of woof of the Old. The New is the consummation of the Old. Nothing is stated or taught or prophesied in the Old that is not transfigured in the New. Someone has likened the Old and New Testaments to a Damascus blade, which was made of cloth of woven wire, heated, forged, and tempered in such a manner that the edge was irresistible. So the Old and New Testaments are interlaced, intertwined, interbraided, and interwoven, and heated and welded in the fire of a divine inspiration until they come out to us "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:17.

And when we get back to the Old Testament itself, we also find the later writers referring to and confirming the earlier. Almost the last statement in the Old Testament is this:

"Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgment." Malachi 4:4.

Thus the prophets quote from the Psalms, the later books from the earlier ones, and we move back step by step from writer to writer, all upholding and confirming the others, until we come at last to the very first words of the Bible. There we stand, as it were, at the entrance to the stately and awe-inspiring cathedral, upon which, it is true, many builders have labored, but over the entrance of which is written the name of the Great Architect Himself, "In the beginning GOD."

About forty men wrote the Bible. They produced sixty-six books. They belonged to many different generations, centuries, and ages in human history. They lived in different lands. Their writings stretched over nearly two thousand years. Collusion and conspiracy were altogether impossible. Many of them never sw any of the others. They were brought up in different surroundings, molded by different languages. One writer was the visible leader of Israel, and under God a great lawgiver; another was an exile in Babylon, another herdsman of Tekoa, another a cup bearer at the Persian court, another a shepherd lad who later became a king; some were rulers, others subjects; some were rich, others poor; some were educated, others untaught.

They wrote in at least three languages -- Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and some would add arabic -- on every conceivable subject and in every form of literary expression -- history, biography, poetry, speeches, proverbs, predictions, parables, ethical teachings, legal precepts, moral maxims, drama, romances, love lyrics, tragedies, plain precepts, moral maxims, drama and Oriental imagery.

Yet, these scores of writers of such diverse temperaments, writing on such widely different subjects, in various countries and in different languages, did not conflict. There is the most amazing harmony in all they wrote. They produced one book. Such a thing is absolutely unparalleled in literature, and is in itself conclusive proof of a supernatural and superhuman origin.

The Book that is in all the world carries a vitalizing power with it wherever it goes. Out from it flow an energy and an influence that changes lives, transform human character, give strength to the weak, impart courage to the depressed, and bring hope to the dying. In brief, the Book is a real dynamo of spiritual power.

Nor is this to be wondered at, for "where the word of a king is, there is power." Ecclesiastes 8:4. And this is the word of the a King, the King of the universe Himself. The Bible, therefore, is clothed with vital, life-giving power. Its words are living words, having in them a glowing energy and heavenly brightness that makes all other literature cold and dead by comparison.

KINGDOMS PERISH; THE BOOK REMAINS

The Bible is old, but it has not grown feeble and weak. Its power grows as the years go by. Centuries pass, and it survives. Kingdoms perish, but it remains. Thrones crumble to dust, but the Bible stands more firmly than ever. Nations drop out of history, but firmer than the eternal hills the Book stands out against the sky. It outlives its enemies, marches in triumph over the graves of its critics, while the broken weapons of those who have assailed it, shattered by its impregnable might, lie broken and impotent on every hand.

The words of the Bible are filled with living energy, pointed with penetrating power.

"The word of God is quick {living}, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12.

All that human genius has accomplished has had no such influence upon the world as the words of the Bible. No other book in the world has won such absolute self-surrender and passionate love as has this Book. It has inspired tens of millions of lives to deeds of love and mercy, and so tenacious is its hold on its followers that they laid down their lives by tens of thousands rather than renounce it or adjure the faith it taught them.

TRANSCENDS RACE AND NATIONALITY

This influence of the Book of human lives has been constant and unvarying through the centuries, and quite independent of race, culture, tradition, or national characteristics. It has enabled millions to rise above their sufferings and find satisfaction and rest in God, to live lives of gentleness and goodness, to bear the scorn of the world while remaining devoted to God, to be an influence for righteousness and truth in every part of the earth.

The Bible has in it a power that enables it to transcend the bounds of race and nationality. The Hebrew Scriptures, although written by a people who have been and are hated by many nations have something in them so far above anything the Jews could have imparted to them that they have passed from race to race, and from people to people, broken through all racial and national barriers, migrate without violence into new regions of the world, and found a home among savage tribes and various ancient and modern nationalities separated by every conceivable difference of climate, government, customs, culture, development, and religion. Everywhere this influence has been the same.

MULTIPLIES ITSELF

The Bible has had and has now the power of multiplying itself and of impelling men to produce enormous masses of literature about it. Altogether astonishing is the ceaseless activity of men in translating, teaching, explaining, interpreting, propagating, and defending this Book. Every succeeding generation, each race, community, or nation that falls under the fascination of the Book, seems smitten with the same incurable contagion of doing for or against this Book what it would not dream of doing for or against any other book in the world, sacred or profane.

It stirs men up and moves them to intense activity. It induces them to encounter every form of peril and to make the most gigantic sacrifices just to get the mere chance of preaching it; it moves them to undergo the most enormous labors in order to translate it into difficult and barbarous languages; it impels them to submit to the most arduous drudgery in order to reduce spoken languages to written form so the Book can be make to speak in these languages.

PRODUCED AN ENORMOUS LITERATURE OF ITS OWN

This one Book, just the smallest part of what is known as the literature of the world, has attracted to it and had concentrated upon it vastly more thought, and has called forth more explanatory, illustrative, and apologetic works upon its text, its meaning, its exegesis, its doctrines, its history, its geography, its ethnology, its chronology, its evidence, its inspiration, its origin, than all the rest of the literature owes its origin to this Book.

In addition to the great multitudes of books in favor of the Bible there are great numbers against it, attempting to refute its teachings and overthrow its claims, denying its truth, denouncing its doctrines, opposing its influence directly and indirectly, and attempting to correct its followers. If they could all be collected from the earliest times to the present day, they would make a library of no inconsiderable size.

If they could all be collected into such a library, and then a little center table could be moved in, and the Bible placed on it, no more astonishing exhibit could be made of the power of the Bible. Shelf after shelf, tier upon tier, room after room, floor upon floor, of books written to prove that one small Book untrue, dead, mistaken, and of no particular use of value; and still all that has been written is not yet considered enough; other books of a similar nature are being produced today with feverish haste to destroy the influence of the Bible.

And all the while the Book itself has never answered back, never taken its own part, never made any explanation or rejoinder. It passes along the ages in majestic silence, saying not one thing except that which is has always said, speaking no word but what it has always spoken, taking no notice of the tumult it creates, taking no part in the controversies it arouses. But it survives both friends and foes, and continues to give its testimony through the passing centuries. Its enemies die, pass away, and are forgotten. It lives, and grows in power.

No other book in the world has left so many and so deep traces on human literature as the Bible. It has molded thought and sentiment, given grace and strength to expression, fashioned the style of the greatest masters of eloquence and poetry, and supplied matter for apt illustration, vivid imagery, and energetic diction of the world's greatest orators.

The influence this Book has had on the imagination of men is also strikingly seen when we consider the poetry, the sculpture, the painting, and the music of the world. An inexhaustible spring of inspiration for the painter have been the graphic narratives, the poetry and pathos, the inimitable word pictures of the Sacred Writings. The great events of the Bible, those of chief importance, have become the subjects of great oratorios, on which such gifted geniuses as Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart have lavished their musical artistry. Michelangelo and Raphael found in the Bible the subjects for their greatest paintings. The greatest epic of the English language, Paradise Lost, and the great musical creation The Messiah both have their inspiration in the lofty themes of the Bible.

Yes, the old Book is filled with divine energy and power. Its words live because it is the word of the living God. And it should always be remembered that it is not merely the living but the life-giving Word as well. The life of God Himself is imparted to the one who believes and appropriates the living Word.

The Bible is composed of a number of separate treatises, or books, sixty-six in number, written by different men at various times. It treats of the very beginning of the world, the origin of human life, and many early events of which we have no other authentic history.

There are portions that give a history of the Hebrew people, their worship, system of government, travels, hardships, exile, and return to their own land. Other portions describe a system of sacrifices, a priesthood, ceremonies of worship, and the giving of a divine law, with sundry warnings about obedience or disobedience to that law.

The New Testament contains a record of the birth, labors, miracles, teachings, parables, betrayal, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, priesthood, and intercession of Jesus the Christ, together with the prediction of His coming again. It contains also an account of the establishment of the Christian church, the epistles of the apostles of Christ, and the Revelation.

What is the purpose of such a book? Of what benefit is it to man? What is its meaning and what its message? Is it to be viewed as a history, as a statement of ethics, as a system of teaching, or as a guidebook to morals?

A MESSAGE OF SALVATION

The message of the Bible is a message of salvation from sin. It is a revelation of God's mercy, disclosing to human beings the steps God has taken to provide a remedy for them from the ruin sin has caused. Its two big words are "salvation" and "sin."

It was not God's purpose that sin should ever come into the world. He did not plan for it while He made the world. It was no part of His purpose for the human race. There was no deficiency in His that would justify it. In fact, there is no explanation for sin.

Nevertheless, contrary to the purpose of God and altogether outside of His original plan, sin thrust itself into the world. It came as an intruder, originating in a revolt against the just rule of God. And it ruined the world.

SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

It brought death and sorrow and eternal loss. It brought an end to the fellowship between God and man. It marred the harmony of the universe. It broke the connection between earth and heaven. It alienated man from God. It placed a great gulf between them that man can never bridge. It placed man under the sentence of death. It ruined his nature, which fell under corruption and depravity. It removed hope from the earth and placed it under a curse. It has produced every evil thing that has ever existed. Sin, the ugly thing that raised itself against God, ruined the world and brought death to the human race.

And there was no hope in man that he could ever recover his original standing before God. He could not remove his guilt. He could not cleanse his heart. He could not change his corrupt, depraved nature. He could not remove or cancel the sentence of death that hung over him. He could not attain the righteousness. He could not make himself acceptable to God. He was lost, irretrievably, hopelessly, eternally lost.

THE OFFER OF GOD'S MERCY

And in that helpless condition, without hope of salvation through any energy or effort of his own, shut up to certain and eternal death, with life meaning only an ever-increasing accumulation of guilt, with remorse for the past he could not change, with defeat in the present he could not face, and with despair for the future he could only dread--in that lost condition man was offered free pardon for the past, victory over all the power of sin for the present, and eternal salvation and restored fellowship with God for the future; offered it without money and without price, as a free gift from God, without effort of his own, or the simple and sole condition of faith and acceptance.

For God was not satisfied that man should be lost. He was not satisfied that mean should be separated from Himself. He hated sin but He loved the sinner. He was determined to destroy sin but to save the sinner. And seeing that man could not save himself, God brought salvation with His own arm. He provided His own remedy for the sin of man and the sinful condition of man.

The Bible sets forth God's remedy for sin -- the salvation that is Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us of the origin of sin and of God's dealings with it, together with His purpose utterly to destroy it.

THE PURPOSE OF GOD TOWARD SIN

From the beginning of sin until now God has had no other purpose toward sin than to destroy it. For God and sin are antagonistic. He can never take any other attitude toward it but one of complete antagonism. So long as it exists He must fight it. There never can be any peace between them until one or the other is destroyed. There never can be any truce between them. Either God or sin must go. The conflict between them can never end except in the complete destruction of one or the other.

From the beginning until now God has shown it to be His purpose to destroy sin and save the sinner. In all His dealings with the human family He has taken every means to reveal this. He caused to be established among His ancient people the sanctuary and its services. Book after book of the Old Testament is taken up with accounts of this sanctuary and its furniture, its ceremonies, its sacrifices, its offerings, its worship, its ritual, its priesthood. One wonders and many today fail to see why so much of the Bible is devoted to these ancient forms of religious service and worship, and why such a vast amount of detail was necessary in describing them. What was it all about? Why is it so fully set forth in the Bible?

GOD'S REMEDY FOR SIN

That whole ancient system and everything connected with it was an attempt to disclose God's remedy for sin. What was the sanctuary for -- the priesthood, the sacrifices, and all the unvarying round of services day by day and year by year? Why were the people instructed to bring animals to the gate of the sanctuary, slay them, and have their blood ministered before God?

For this reason and this alone -- to get rid of sin. For this reason the priests ministered. For this the sacrifices were brought, the sanctuary was pitched, the furniture placed, the blood shed, the incense offered -- in order that sin might be taken away, removed, destroyed, utterly consumed, and the sinner be saved. It was all for the purpose of revealing God's attitude toward, His purpose with reference to, and His remedy for sin.

And in the New Testament, why did Jesus come into the world and labor and teach and preach the gospel, and die and be buried and be raised and ascend to heaven? It was so set forth God's remedy for sin, to deal with sin, to pay the penalty for sin, to get rid of sin, and to save the sinner. That was the supreme purpose of it all.

Through all these years since He was here on earth Jesus has been ministering in the heavenly sanctuary above as our High Priest, offering His blood in our behalf, interceding for His people, as the Mediator of the new covenant and our Advocate with His Father. What for? Again the answer is, To get rid of sin, to apply the great divine remedy for sin, and to save the sinner.

And He is soon coming again. What for? To complete His destruction of sin, to wipe it out of existence forever, to cleanse the universe of its curse, and to establish renewed and eternal fellowship between His Father and saved sinners.

GOOD NEWS, GLAD TIDINGS

So the Bible was written to reveal to men, to sinners, not only their lost condition but also the only remedy for their sins. It contains the glorious message of salvation, the salvation of God for men. It is good news, glad tidings. It is more than history or prophecy; it is more than poetry and eloquence; it is more than romance and tragedy. It was not prepared merely for the intellect of man but for his heart. It is a message not merely for his mind but for his soul. It was designed not merely to teach doctrines but to bring men to God. It is purpose is not merely to teach doctrines but to bring men to God. Its purpose is not merely to give men right views and correct beliefs but to save them from their sins. It is not merely historically accurate and intellectually simulating; it is a vital, living, transforming, life giving principle. It is not the reasonings of men about God; it is God speaking to men in order to impart His own nature of them. It is not only fascinating philosophy, profound ethics, pure morality, sublime religion; it is the actual life of God designed to lift men out of this world and into another.

The paramount purpose of the Bible, then, is to make men "wise unto salvation." The grandeur of such a purpose and its bearing on the deepest and most enduring interests of the human race are calculated to excite the deepest concern. The Bible deals with interests so vast that it becomes of greater value than all other literature, and it ought to command the most reverent study and the most earnest obedience. It is nothing less than the voice of God calling us away from other sins into paths of love and light, of holiness and truth. No other writings in the world have such a lofty purpose as the Bible. No other writings have such power actually to accomplish their purpose.

The fascination of the Bible is due to the fact that it is the story of a Person. The inmost central glory of the Bible is Christ, the Son of God. All the writers of the Old Testament thrill with hope and expectation as they sing and prophesy and prepare for the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. All the writers of the New Testament are moved by admiration and worship as they tell the story of His actual appearance and work among men.

What the Bible is in human speech, Christ was in human flesh -- the Word of the living God.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning was with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:1-3, 14.

What the Word of God is in written form, that Jesus was in the flesh. The Word of God was in the world in written form before Jesus came into the world. All that was in the Word in written form was made to be in human form in Christ, for He was the Word of God made flesh. There is nothing the written Word contains that is not in Him. There is no truth He taught or lived that is not in the written Word. The Bible is the Word of God. And Jesus Christ is the Word of God. The two are one. Together they constitute the complete revelation of God to man.

WITNESS TO CHRIST

From beginning to end the Bible witnesses to Christ. He is the Seed promised to the woman. He is the Angel of the Presence who appeared to the patriarchs. He is the ancient Deliverer of His people. He is the Messiah of the Jews. He is the Redeemer of the world. He is the crucified Saviour. He is the Babe born in Bethlehem. He is the Miracle Worker of Galilee and Judea. He is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. He is the risen Christ. He is the ascended Christ. He is the great High Priest standing before God in the holy holies. He is the Mediator between God and man. He is the King of the only hill of Zion. And He is the coming King.

The patriarchs of old are represented in the Holy Scriptures as looking and waiting with eagerness and longing for the coming of the Messiah. His ancient people sang of His coming into the world to deliver them; their prophets thrilled them with predictions of the his coming; their psalmist heralded His coming with deepest joy; their priests taught generation after generation the good news of His predicted advent.

Christ is the central figure of the Old as well as the New Testament. To Him does all the Bible give witness.

SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST

The Bible's message of salvation is the message of Christ. He is the Saviour. God saves men in Christ. Without Him there is no salvation.

The purpose of the Bible is to bring salvation to men. It does this presenting Christ, the Saviour of men. No wonder, then, that He is the central figure in and central theme of the Book.

The first Adam fell under sin. His children derive from him a corrupted heritage, a fallen, carnal nature, which is altogether incapable of righteousness. Out of this grow all the woes of humanity.

Christ is the second Adam. He is the new head of the race. Those who by faith are united to Him become heirs of a heritage of an exactly opposite kind.

They come into an illimitable heritage of merit, which Christ had made the common property of all the members of the family of which He is head.

This extinguishes our guilt, cancels the record of our sins, brings pardon for all transgressions, removes the sentence of death hanging over us, and makes us rich in the righteousness of Christ. Thus we are placed in the favor of God with restored fellowship.

More than that, as Adam conveyed to his posterity a carnal, fallen nature, separated from God and inherently unfit for righteousness, so the second Adam transmits to the race of which He is the head an entirely new nature, a spiritual nature, akin to God's partaking of the delighting in righteousness.

UNION WITH CHRIST

The life of the Christian, therefore, may be summed up in one phrase -- union with Christ. In repentance we turned away from sin and turned to Christ. Then we trusted Christ as Redeemer and Lord. Then we assumed the life and duties of followers of Christ. God's regenerating power then reproduced in our souls the image of Christ. The new life thus implanted is the life of Christ Himself.

Becoming a Christian, then, is not merely a mental assent to a set of doctrines, nor is it believing the truth of the Bible in a purely intellectual way. It is more than joining the church and partaking of the ordinances. Christian teaching, acceptance of sound doctrines, belief in the truths of the Bible, church membership, and participation in the ordinances of the Lord's house -- all have their place in the gospel plan, bur the true Christian does more than accept outward forms and doctrines and church membership; personal relationship with Christ.

"As many as receive him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. " "He that hath the sons hath life." "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." John 1:12; 1 John 5:12; Colossians 2:6.

The inmost central glory of the gospel, therefore, is Jesus Christ Himself. Without Him there would be no gospel. He came not alone to proclaim a message, but also that there might be a message to proclaim. He Himself was and is the message. Not only His teaching but He Himself constitutes Christianity.

COMMUNION WITH GOD IN CHRIST

The gospel is a revelation of the redemption of men by the work of Christ. It is a message of unutterable mercy regarding the pardon of human sins. It is a proclamation of the amnesty of the Holy One for the guilty sinner. It is the good tidings of redemption through the death of Just One for the unjust, He becoming the propitiation for our sins. It is the bringing of life and immortality out from the shadows into the light, and revelation of the glorious possibilities of benefits and blessing even for this present life as well as for the life to come.

But the gospel is infinitely more than all this. It is the given by God of Himself to men. It is man's union and communion with God in Christ. It was for this that prophecy was given, that preparation was made, that patriarchs, priests, and kings witnessed and wrought. It was for this that Bethlehem and Nazareth and Calvary and Golgotha and Joseph's tomb and the hill of the ascension and the fiery tongues of Pentecost entered Scripture history. It was for this that He has imputed His righteousness, imparted His holiness, and revealed the coming redemption and glorification of the body. All the saving process, the entire scheme of salvation, centers here. That God might give Himself to man, dwell in man and walk in man and manifest His glory in man, and shine out from him and bring him at last to Himself -- for this was the gospel instituted. And all this God does -- in and through Christ.

PERSONAL ACCEPTANCE OF CHRIST

Jesus bids us, "Come unto me," "Learn of me," "Follow me," "Abide in me." Personal acceptance of Him as a personal Saviour is the condition of salvation, and the only condition. Surrender to Him, repentance toward Him, confession to Him, acceptance of Him, believing in Him, having faith in Him, following Him, learning of Him, having faith in Him, abiding in Him, resting in Him -- these are the indications and blessed privileges of Christian experience.

To be a Christian, then, is to enter into relationship with a Person -- a Person who loves you, cherishes your friendship, deals tenderly and gently with you; who guides you in the way of righteousness and obedience, teaches you the truth; who has strength for all your needs, and supplies it to you; who walks with you as a Friend, communes with you, shares His own eternal life with you, comforts you in trouble, solves all your trouble and perplexities; who meets every crisis of life with you, stands by your side always, smoothes your pillow in sickness, goes down into the dark valley of death with you; and with whom you are safe. Knowing Him as a Friend and Saviour, you feel assured in leaving all the future in His hands ever as you commit all the present to Him.

Imparting His own life to you, He will fulfill all His commandments in you. Yours will be a commandment-keeping life because it is His life. There will be no failure in obedience because He is your obedience. Trusting Him, relying on Him, abandoning yourself to Him, giving yourself completely to Him, you will be brought into full harmony with every requirement of God because of His life in you.

This is the glorious message of the Bible, Christ only, Christ crucified, Christ rise, Christ ascended, Christ interceding, Christ coming again, Christ the only Saviour from sin, Christ our righteousness, Christ our obedience, Christ our coming King -- let us cease not "to teach and preach Jesus Christ," "the chiefest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely."

The inspiration of the Bible is altogether different from either genius or piety. It is not at all the same as the inspiration of the poet, the painter, the sculptor, the musician, or the writer.

It is true that God endows men of genius with gifts that distinguish them from their fellows. The Bible, however, is inspired in an altogether higher and different sense. It is inspired in such an exceptional way as to remove it out of the class of other books.

The Bible is a divine revelation embodied in an inspired book. By revelation God makes known to man that which he could never know or discover for himself. By inspiration God so guides and controls man that his writing accurately conveys the thoughts and commands and purposes of God to the reader. Revelation makes known things otherwise unknown. Inspiration enables the revelation to be precisely conveyed to man.

THE SOURCE OF REVELATION AND INSPIRATION

The source of revelation is Jesus Christ. This will be seen from the following passages:

"I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Galatians 1:11,12.

"I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of men." 1 Corinthians 11:23,24.

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John." Revelation 1:1.

The source of inspiration is the Holy Spirit of God.

"The prophecy come not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:21.

It has been God's purpose from the beginning to save sinners. In order to carry out this purpose it was necessary for Him to make a revelation of Himself, as well as of His purpose and plan, to man.

This revelation He has made in three forms -- in nature, in the written Word, and in the Word made flesh.

The revelation of God in nature is only partial and incomplete, not full and perfect. Nature marred by sin.

The revelation of God in the written Word is full, complete, and perfect.

The revelation of God in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, was complete, full, and perfect. But Christ is not now present in the world.

THE NECESSITY OF INSPIRATION

A perfect revelation from God to man is required if mankind is to be without excuse in the judgment.

Inspiration is the means by which God, is carrying out His saving purpose, not only makes facts or truth known to men but also confers the ability to convey these facts accurately to other. It imparts to man not only the capacity to receive the revelation from God but also the power to communicate divine truth to other human beings.

An inspired man is one who has received by direct action of God a message to give to others. This involves an obligation on his part under God's guidance to sometimes speak or write a fact, a conversation, or a discourse; sometimes under like conditions to narrate a history; sometimes to compile and edit documents; sometimes by direct inspiration to write letters; and sometimes to predict future events.

INSPIRED PERSONS MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR REVELATIONS

The person who is commissioned and so inspired may thoroughly comprehend his own words, or it may be that their meaning is concealed from him. He may, as did Luke, write only because many have "taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things. . . surely believed," and it "seemed good" to him to write also; or like Daniel he may write words respecting which he is obliged to say, "I heard, but I understood not." He may like Paul on one occasion feel that he speaks "by permission, and not of commandment"; or like the same apostle at another time, he may claim to express himself "not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth."

He may speak with authority and demand audience as a messenger of God or he may beseech and entreat, as a fellow sufferer, that his words amy be received with a loving heart, since love alone moves him to utter them. He may be altogether unconscious that he is writing for all time to come, foreseeing the wants of all generations and supplying the church with spiritual nourishment for thousands of years, or he may have some dim understanding that this is the case.

THE FACT AND METHOD OF INSPIRATION

The method by which this is accomplished, or whether one method is used at one time and another method at another time, is not a matter of chief concern. Neither is it important to require that we understand the process and the method. It is not the exact operation of the Spirit of God in giving the communication, or the precise method of safeguarding it from error when it is imparted to others, that we desire to ascertain, but whether what they say is their own or from God, whether it is merely human judgment or a divine and therefore authoritative message. Is it the word of men or the Word of God?

The Bible declares that God did inspire its writers and writings. It does not tell us how He did thos. Therefore, we have nothing to do with the method of inspiration; we have everything to do with the fact of inspiration, for we must accept it or reject it.

AUTHENTICATED AS COMING FROM GOD

In offering to man redemption and salvation from sin and its consequences there certainly is need of a clear, accurate, and authoritative revelation of truth and duty. That revelation should be authenticated as coming from God and as being His message of love and light. On whatever subjects it touches, it would be necessary to accompany it with clear evidence of its divine origin.

If this revelation were committed to vessels of tainted or corrupt material, so that the infusion corrupted or injured or distorted the truth, or if the revelation were communicated by men who stated simply the result of their own observation or used the utmost of their native ability, reasoning out of their best they could, unaided, what could be useful to man, in either case it would scarcely be what might reasonably be expected from God. It would not be like God. Both in its reception and in its impartation it must be the word of the living God.

This is seem to be all the more true when it is considered that the revelation was designed not for one age but for all ages. Although it was given to one race and nation, it was designed for all races and all periods. Even those things that were obviously local and apparently temporary were as truly as any "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Corinthians 10:11.

It seems clear that both revelation and inspiration are altogether supernatural. The communication of the truth by God to be the prophet is wholly supernatural and altogether controlled by God. This is revelation. The record of the utterance of this revelation by the prophet is equally under God's exclusive control. This is inspiration.

If it was necessary for God to work a miracle in giving the revelation, it surely cannot be considered improbable, but likely, that He would also exercise such control and give such supernatural aid as might be necessary to obtain the accurate transference of the revelation into human speech, so as to make it just what He meant it should be.

It was God's plan to give to the human race a revelation of Himself. It is reasonable, therefore, to believe that He would not only superintend the process of giving this revelation to chosen instruments but also superintend the process by which they imparted the sacred truth of that revelation to others. If the divine control stopped with communicating the revelation, then we have no revelation at all, but merely a human account of a divine revelation. That is, there was a revelation, but it perished as such with the men to whom it was imparted, and all that the world has now is the fallible impression it made on their minds or their fallible account of that impression.

The writers of the Bible claim that their authority and their messages came from God:

"The Lord God called unto Adam, and said." "God said unto Noah," and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. "God spake unto Israel." "Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord." Of the Decalogue it is said: "These are the words which the Lord hath commanded." "The Lord called unto" Moses. "Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words." "The voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire." "Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice." "Thou heardest his words." "The Lord talked with you face to face."

Expressions such as "God said," "the Lord spake, saying," "the Lord commanded," and "the word of the Lord" occur in the Pentateuch alone nearly seven hundred times. Certainly this part of the Bible claims to be the word of God.

In the historical books of the Bible from Joshua to Esther such expressions as these occur more than four hundred times.

THE WORD OF THE LORD

"After the death of Moses. . . the Lord spake unto Joshua, . . . saying." "The word of the Lord was precious in those days."  "The Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the words of the Lord." David says, "The Spirit of the Lord spake unto me, and his word was in my tongue." "The God of Israel said." "The Rock of Israel spake to me." "The word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying." "The Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saith, that will I speak." "They mocked the messengers of God and despised his words." The word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak." "All that the Lord speaketh, that must I do." "I cannot go beyond the commandments of the Lord."

The poetical books, Job and Psalms, contain the same testimony that they constitute the word of the Lord. Frequently such expression occur as: "The Lord said unto Satan." "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said." In Psalms 19 the law, the testimony, the statutes, the commandments, and the judgments, of the Lord are spoken of; the whole of Psalms 119 is a song in a praise of the word of God, that word being mentioned as many times as there are verses in the Psalms.

From the prophetic books it is scarcely necessary to quote, as prophecy by its nature is recognized as supernatural. However, it may be well to say that such expression as the following occur in the prophecies more then thirteen hundred times, and double that number of times in the Old Testament:

"Hear the word of the Lord." "Saith the Lord." "I heard the voice of the Lord, saying." "The Lord hath spoken." "It was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts." "The word of our God." "My word that goeth forth out of my mouth." "The word of the Lord came unto me." "Whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak." "I have put my words in thy mouth." The word of the Lord came unto me, saying." "He said unto me." "He spake unto me." "Thou shalt speak my words unto them." "My words that I speak unto thee." "When I speak with thee." "When I heard the voice of his words." "The Lord hath spoken it." "Thus saith the Lord."

Certainly the testimony of the Bible seems clear that the Scriptures are indeed "the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

MESSAGE AND MESSENGER BOTH INSPIRED

Paul says: "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." 1 Corinthians 2:12, 13.

This is a definite claim by Paul to an inspiration that extends to the message by which he communicated divine truth.

Again Paul says: "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 14:37.

Proof that one is a "prophet, or spiritual," is here said to be contained in an acknowledgment that the authority of Christ is continued in the apostle. Surely this is a strong claim. Professor Findlay remarks on it: "The professor of divine knowledge who does not discern Paul's inspiration proves his ignorance; his character as a prophet, or 'spiritual,' is not recognized, since he does not recognize the apostle's character."

It is altogether probable that much of what passes for Bible scholarship stands condemned before such a test.

Once more Paul declares, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

This is a claim that when Paul made known the doctrines contained in his writings, both himself and his message were directly under the control of the Spirit of God.

"BE MINDFUL OF THE WORDS"

What Paul claimed, the other apostles claimed as well. Peter said, "That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour." 2 Peter 3:2.

Here Peter places the apostolic writings on a level with the Old Testament prophetic writings, of which he has already said, "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:21.

The reader will find additional light thrown upon the claim of the apostles that their writings were given them of God by studying the following passages:

Acts 15:1-6, 28; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; 2 Corinthians 13:2, 3; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 15; 2 Peter 3:1, 2; Revelation 22:6, 7, 18, 19; Romans 16:25-27; 1 Corinthians 14:37; Galatians 1:8-12; Ephesians 3:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:2, 8, 15; 1 Peter 1:10-12; Revelation 1:1-3, 10, 11, 19.

THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Jesus said to Peter, representing the Christian church, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19.

On this passage one writer has made this illuminating and positive statement:

"'The keys of the kingdom of heaven' are the words of Christ. All the words of the Holy Scriptures are His, and are here included. These words have power to open and to shut heaven. They declare the conditions upon which men are received or rejected. Thus the work of those who preach God's word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. Their is a mission weighted with eternal results." -- Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 414.

The words of the Bible were not dictated to the inspired writers as a man would dictate to a stenographer. There is nothing in the Bible that intimates such a thing; in fact, the Bible contains much evidence to the contrary.

When God inspired men to write, the personality of the writer was not effaced; his style was not set aside. The Spirit of God infallibly guided in the communication of divine truth from the writer's own vocabulary and in his own particular style. Inspiration means that the Spirit, but a mysterious control beyond our comprehension but in which we may and should believe, acted in such a way upon chosen men, while they were writing the books of the Bible, that they were supernaturally guided in communicating the will of God. Their individual human personalities, their peculiar mental traits, and even their form and styles of literary expression were apparently given full sway and liberty. They were used by the Spirit, and yet the product was so controlled that it became "the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." 1 Peter 1:23.

Before reaching us in any copy or translation the divine word of God contained in the Bible passes through four successive forms. It existed first in the mind of God from all eternity. From His mind it conveyed to human minds. From their minds to whom God gave it, it passed into human speech and took shape in words. This was its first translation, and this ws supervised and controlled by God so that it became His Word. Since then men have copied, translated, and reproduced it through the centuries. By such translations it has passed from country to country and from one human language into other human languages.

Three of these operations were supernatural and divine -- its being in the mind of God, its passing from His mind to the minds of men, and its being translated from the minds of men under the operation of the Holy Spirit into the forms and symbols of human language.

The fourth operation, that of its being copied and translated, is human and fallible, although God has exercised a wonderful control over His Word and preserved it from gross errors.

In Europe, Asia, and Africa, for fifteen hundred years, the sacred text was copied and recopied by thousands of transcribers. In monasteries, colleges, palaces, churches, and houses of the clergy scholars of many nations, with extreme care and strictness, have translated and copied the books of the New Testament. And the product of their labors has come down to us in the form of thousands of manuscripts in many languages.

Almost it can be said that these thousands of manuscripts are without essential differences, but not quite.

THE VARIOUS READINGS

The extent of the labors expended on the examination of these manuscripts in the search for differences in unparalleled in any other field of literary research. Friends and enemies have during the past three centuries, with immense patience and unflagging energy, scrutinized with scrupulous and minute attention these thousands of manuscripts in many languages -- Greek, Latin, Armenian, Ethiopic, Sahidic, Arabic, persian, Slavonic, Coptic, Syriac, and Gothic -- and compared them one with another and then with the ancient writings of the church where they have been quoted.

The differences in the readings of the manuscripts have been tabulated and listed until every such difference is known. And when they have been collated and brought together, the sum total of all the different readings that have yet been discovered has been found to be so small as scarcely to change the essential meaning of any single verse in all the New Testament. Such differences as have been found are merely in a single word, and more often in a single letter; and when all of them are put together and allowed to have their full weight instead of the received text, not in any instance is any part of the teaching, the significance, the meaning, the doctrine, the truth, of the Bible changed, even to the shadow of a single degree.

On this point we can do no better than to quote from the writings of L. Gaussen, D.D., professor of systematic theology, Orataire, Geneva, as found in his Theopneustia, The Bible: Its Divine Origin and Entire Inspiration, without doubt the ablest and most learned book on the inspiration of the Bible. Dr. Gaussen says:

"In constituting as its depositories, first, the churches of the Jewish people, and then those of the Christian people, His providence had by this means to see to the faithful transmission of the oracles of God to us. It has done this; and in order to the attainment of this result, it has put different causes in operation, of which we shall have again to speak afterwards. Later learned researchers have thrown the clearest light on this great fact. Herculean labors have been bestowed, during the whole of the last century (particularly in its last half) and the first part of this, on the task of bringing together all the various readings that either the detailed examination of the manuscripts of Holy Scripture preserved in the different libraries of Europe, or the study of the most ancient versions, or the searching out of the innumerable quotations made from our sacred books in all the writings of the fathers of the church, could furnish; and this immense toil has ended in a result wonderful by its insignificance, and (shall I say?) imposing by its nullity.

"As respects the Old Testament, the indefatigable investigations and the four folios of Father Houbigant; the thirty years' labors of John Henry Michaelis; above all, the great Critical Bible and the ten years' study of the famous Kennicott (who consulted 581 Hebrew manuscripts); and, in fine, Professor Rossi's collection of 680 manuscripts; -- as respects the New Testament, the no less gigantic investigation of Mill, Bengel, Wetstein, and Griesbach (who consulted 335 manuscripts for the Gospels alone); the latest researches of Nolan, Matthaei, Lawrence, and Hug; above all, those of Scholz (with his 674 manuscripts for the Gospels, his 200 for the Acts, his 256 for the Epistles of Paul, his 93 for the Apocalypse, without reckoning his 53 Lectionaria): all these vast labors have so convincingly established the astonishing preservation of that text, copied nevertheless so many thousands of times (in Hebrew during thirty-three centuries, and in Greek during the eighteen hundred years), that the hopes of the enemies of religion, in this quarter, have been subverted, and as Michaelis has said, 'They have ceased henceforth to look for anything from those critical researches which they at first so warmly recommended, because they expected discoveries from them that have never been made.'

"The learned rationalist Eichhorn himself also owns that the different readings of the Hebrew manuscripts collected by Kennicott hardly offer sufficient interest to compensate for the trouble they cost! But these very misreckonings, and the absence of those discoveries, have proved a precious discovery for the church of God. She expected as much; but she is delighted to owe it to the labor of her very adversaries. 'In truth,' says a learned man of our day, 'but for those precious negative conclusions that people have come to, the direct result obtained from the consumption of so many men's lives in these immense researches may seem to amount to nothing; and one may say that in order to come to it, time, talent, and learning have all been foolishly thrown away.' But, as we have said, this result is immense in virtue of its nothingness, and all-powerful in virtue of its insignificance.

"When one thinks that the Bible has been copied during thirty centuries, as no book of man has ever been, or ever will be; that it was subjected to all the catastrophes and all the captivities of Israel; that it was transported seventy years to Babylon; that it has seen itself so often persecuted, or forgotten, or interdicted, or burnt, from the days of the Philistines to those of the Seleucidae; -- when one thinks that, since the time of Jesus Christ, it has had to traverse the first three centuries of the imperial persecutions when persons found in possession of the holy books were thrown to the wild beasts; next the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, when false books, false legends, and false decretals were everywhere multiplied; the tenth century, when so few could read, even among princes; the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, when the use of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue was punished with death, and when the books of the ancient fathers were mutilated, when so many ancient traditions were garbled and falsified, even to the very acts of the emperors, and to those of the councils -- then we can perceive how necessary it was that the providence of God should have always put forth its mighty power, in order that, on the one had, the church of the Jews should give us, in its integrity, that Word which records its revolts, which predicts its ruin, which describes Jesus Christ; and, on the other, that the Christian churches (the most powerful of which, and the Roman sect in particular, interdicted the people from reading the sacred books, and substituted in so many ways the traditions of the Middle Ages for the Word of God) should nevertheless transmit to us in all their purity, those Scriptures which condemn all their traditions, their dead languages, their absolutions, their celibacy; which say, that Rome would be the seat of a terrible apostasy, where the 'Man of Sin would be seen sitting as God in the temple of God, waging war on the saints, forbidding to marry, and to use meats which God had created;' which say of images, 'Thou shalt not bow down to them' -- of unknown tongues, 'Thou shalt not use them' -- of the cup, 'Drink ye all of it' -- of the Virgin, 'Woman, what have I to do with thee?' -- and of marriage, 'It is honorable in all.'

PROVIDENTIALLY PRESERVED

"Now, although all the libraries in which ancient copies of the sacred books may be found, have been called upon to give their testimony; although the elucidations given by the fathers of all ages have been studied; although the Arabic, Syriac, Latin, Armenian, and Ethiopian versions have been collated; although all the manuscripts of all countries and ages, from the third to the sixteenth century, have been collated and examined a thousand times over, by countless critics, who have eagerly sought out some new text as the recompense and glory of their wearisome watchings; although learned men, not content with the libraries of the West have visited those of Russia, and carried their researches into the monasteriea of Mount Athos, Turkish Asia, and Egypt, there to look for new instruments of the sacred text; -- 'Nothing has been discovered,' says a learned person already quoted, 'not even a single reading, that could throw doubt on any one of the passages before considered as certain. All the variantes, almost without exception, leave untouched the essential ideas of each phrase, and bear only on points of secondary importance'; such as the insertion or the omission of an article or a conjunction, the position of an adjective before or after its substantive, the greater or less exactness of a grammatical construction." -- Pages 167-171.

Everywhere, then, we have the same Scripture. Given by God so many centuries ago, it is still literal Word of God for the people of today. The miracle of its origin is equaled by the miracle of its preservation.

Chief among the evidences of the divine origin of the Bible is its infallible accuracy and precision, even when speaking of things to come. It is remarkable to be able to tell accurately the things of the past, but when predictions of the future are made, which deal not merely with broad, general outlines but often with minute details, and the things predicted come to pass, this is clear evidence of the possession of divine foreknowledge.

FOREKNOWLEDGE BELONGS TO GOD ALONE

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it." Isaiah 46:9-11.

The knowledge of God covers not only "former things," the past, but extends as well to "things that are not yet done." He is thus able to declare "the end from the beginning," making accurate forecasts of future events. His own claim regarding this is put into the following words:

"Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may known that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together." Isaiah 41:21-23.

This divine wisdom is displayed in a series of connected predictions contained in the Bible, specific in their nature, the study of which is calculated to be most convincing with reference to the accuracy and divine precision of the Bible.

For the purpose of this illustration we shall take two of the great nations and cities of antiquity, Babylon, and Tyre. We shall notice what God has foretold of each.

BABYLON, THE GLORY OF NATIONS

While Babylon ruled the world and was the glory of nations, God foretold its fall:

"Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 51:53.

"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." Isaiah 13:19.

The very nations who would destroy Babylon are named:

"Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple." "Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion." Jeremiah 51:11, 28.

"Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children." Isaiah 13:17, 18.

CYRUS NAMED BEFORE HE WAS BORN

The name of the very man who would lead the armies against Babylon was foretold nearly two hundred years before his birth:

"That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." Isaiah 44:28.

"Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me." Isaiah 45:1-4.

Fulfilling these predictions, a confederacy was formed between the Medes and the Persians, Cyrus taking command of the Persians and bringing them under strict discipline. He then joined forces with the Medes. They conquered the Armenians, the Hyrcanians, the Lydians, the Cappadocians, and other allies of Babylon, and finally marched on Babylon. All this was foretold:

THE MULTITUDE THAT COMPASSED BABYLON

"Lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain." "Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord." "Behold, a people shall come form the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts the earth. They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, " daughter of Babylon." Jeremiah 50:9, 14, 41, 42.

Herodutos, who visited Babylon within fifty years of its down fall, gives a graphic account of the developments connected with the overthrow of the city. His account confirms the prophetic forecast in detail. From it we gather what is here presented.

At the head of his great multitude Cyrus encompassed Babylon, examined it defenses, concluded there must be a long siege, dug trenches entirely around the walls, erected towers, and made every preparation for the lengthy siege.

The weakness of the king of Babylon and its inhabitants was foretold:

"The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail." "The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as woman." Jeremiah 50:43; 51:30.

THE SUDDENNESS OF BABYLON'S FALL

The suddenness of Babylon's fall, together with the method by which it was taken, the entry under the wall by the river bed, the running of the posts to tell the king, the surprise -- all were predicted before they took place.:

"A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up; for it us the land if graven images, and they are made upon their idols." Jeremiah 50:38.

"One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end" "How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earch! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!" Jeremiah 51:31, 41.

"I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou are found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the thou hast striven against the Lord. Jeremiah 50:24.

"Thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else besides me. Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt no know." Isaiah 47:10, 11.

It was foretold that the gates to the city would offer no resistance to the conqueror:

"Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gat3es; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron." Isaiah 45:1, 2.

It was predicted that the attack would be made during the time of a great feast:

"In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord." "And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her might men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not make, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts." Jeremiah 51:39, 57.

It was during a great feast that the attack took place and Babylon was overthrown:

"Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand." "In that night was Belshazzar the king of Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being the threescore and two years old." Daniel 5:1, 30, 31.

Hearing the noise and the tumult, the king of Babylon sent to inquire its cause. When the doors of the palace were opened, the Persians rushed in, and the king was slain. This was all foretold: "The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail." Jereimiah 50:43.

The multitude of the soldiers of Cyrus, the noise and tumult in the streets, were all predicted:

"The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall lift up a shout against thee." Jeremiah 51:14.

"Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 50:30.

All the treasures of Babylon fell into the hands of Cyrus. God had declared that they would: "I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3.

BABYLON TO BECOME TRIBUTARY

It was predicted that Babylon would fall from an imperial, sovereign city to a tributary city: "Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones, and grind meal." Isaiah 47:1, 2.

Later the city rebelled against Darius, at which time its gates were destroyed and all walls reduced. This had all been foretold:

"Yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall." "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary." Jeremiah 51:44, 58.

Later, Xerxes, king of the Medes and Persians, after his defeat in Greece, entered Babylon and rifled the treasures in the temple of Bel. This had not been overlooked by the prophet:

"I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more until him. . . . Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: in the midst of her." Jeremiah 51:44-47.

It was foretold that the inhabitants of Babylon should be exiled:

"Out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast." "Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, abut it shall be wholly desolate: everyone that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues." Jeremiah 50:3, 13.

BABYLON TO REMAIN PERPETUALLY DESOLATE

Not satisfied with these particulars, God declares that Babylon should remain perpetually desolate:

"They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 51:26.

"So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah saith to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; then shalt thou say, O Lord, Thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are words of Jeremiah." Jeremiah 51:60-64.

Its desolation should be not only eternal but also complete:

"And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about." "And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant." "Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby." Jeremiah 51:2, 29, 43.

TO REMAIN UNINHABITED

Not only desolation was to be the lot of Babylon, but no man was to dwell in it again forever. This is made most positive:

"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there: neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged." Isaiah 13:19-22.

"Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein." Jeremiah 50:39, 40.

That it would finally decay and disintegrate and deteriorate into great heaps and mounds was also foretold: "Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant." Jeremiah 51:37.

TESTIMONY OF EXPLORERS

The explorer Layard, passing among the great mounds that mark the site of ancient Babylon, thus describes the scene:

"Shapeless heaps of rubbish cover for many an acre the face of the land. . . . On all sides, fragments of glass, marble, pottery, and inscribed brick are mingled with that peculiar nitrous and blanched soil, which, bred from the remains of ancient habitations, checks or destroys vegetation, and renders the site of Babylon a naked and a hideous waste. Owls [which are of a large gray kind, and often found in flocks of nearly a hundred] started from the scanty thickets, and the foul jackal skulls through the furrows." -- A. Henry Layard, Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, p. 413.

That the ruins of Babylon today fulfill the ancient predictions is especially noted by Rawlinson:

"The second point specially to be noted in the prophecies concerning Babylon is the prediction of absolute loss of inhabitants. The positions of important cities are usually so well chosen, so rich in natural advantages, that population clings to them; dwindle and decay as they may, decline as they may from their high estate, some town, some village, some collection of human dwellings still occupied a portion of the original site; their ruins echo to the sound of the human voice; they are not absolute solitudes. Clusters of Arab huts cling about the pillars of the great temples at Luxor and Karnak; the village of Nebbi Yunus crowns the hill former by the ruins of Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh; Memphis hears the hum of the great city of Cairo; Tanis, the capital of Rameses II and his successor, the Pharaoh of the exodus, lives on in the mud hovels of San; Damascus, Athens, Rome, Antioch, Byzantium, Alexandria, have remained continuously from the time of their foundations towns consequence. But Babylon soon became, and has for ages been, an absolute desert." -- George Rawlinson, Egypt and Babylon, pp 107, 108.

The complete extinction of Babylon in fulfillment of prophecy is also noted by the same writer:

"When we turn from this picture of the past to contemplate the present condition of the localities, we are at first struck with astonishment at the small traces which remain of so vast and wonderful a metropolis. 'The broad walls of Babylon' are 'utterly broken' down, and her 'high gates burned with fire.' Jer. 51:58. 'The golden city hath ceased.' Isa. 14:4. God has 'swept it with the bosom of destruction.' Isa. 14:23. 'The glory of the kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,' is become 'as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.' Isa 13:19.... The whole country is covered with traces of exactly that kind of which it was prophesied Babylon should leave. (Jer. 51:37: 'And Babylon shall become heaps.' Compare 50:26.) Vast 'heaps' or mounds, shapeless and unsightly, are scattered at intervals over the entire region." -- The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, Vol. II, pp. 520, 521.

TYRE TO BE OVERTHROWN

Because of its pride it was predicted that Tyre should be overthrown:

"Is this your joyous city, antiquity is of ancient days? Her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?" Isaiah 23:7, 8.

The name of the man and the name of the power that should overthrow Tyre were foretold.:

"Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes ha shall break down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground." Ezekiel 26:7-11.

TO BE REBUILT AFTER SEVENTY YEARS

"It shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth." Isaiah 23:15-17.

Tyre was restored, not on the old site on the mainland but on an island. This had not escaped the observation of the prophet:

"Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished." Isaiah 23:2.

"In their wailing they shall take up a lamentation of thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?" Ezekiel 27:32.

TO BE DESTROYED AGAIN BY FIRE

The prediction was made that it would be destroyed again, this time by fire:

"Tyrus did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire." Zechariah 9:3, 4.

In order to capture the city, now an island, Alexander took timbers and stones from the ruins of the old city and laid them in the water of the sea and made a causeway out to the new city on the island, by which his army was able to take Tyre:

"They shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water." Ezekiel 26:12.

A PLACE FOR THE SPREADING OF NETS

Though a city was built again on the island the prediction was to effect that ancient Tyre should be eternally destroyed, and become a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea:

"Thus saith the Lord God: When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; when I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down in the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 26:19 - 21.

"Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth this waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations." "And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 26: 3-5, 14.

Every detail of these predictions has been exactly fulfilled. Modern Tyre is built on the old island and the widened causeway constructed by Alexander. The site of ancient Tyre is bare as the top of a rock, and fishermen spread their nets there in the midst of the sea, just as was foretold twenty-five hundred years ago by the ancient prophets of the Bible.

The prophecies of the Bible concerning Christ contain the strongest and most convincing evidence of the divine origin of the Book. These prophecies are numerous, full, and complete.

The first great promise of Eve that her Seed should bruise the serpent's head is the prophecy of the coming of a Deliverer, and was fulfilled in Christ. (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16.)

The dying prophecy of Jacob in Egypt pointed forward to the coming of Shiloh, the Prince of Peace. (Genesis 49:10.)

Moses, the man of God, through inspiration made known the coming of another Prophet like unto himself, clothed with such authority as the mouthpiece of God that the rejection of his words would bring the hearer into judgment. (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, 19; Acts 3:22-24.)

A prophecy of Christ on the cross is contained in the twenty-second psalm. The sufferings of the Victim (verse 14); His hands and feet pierced (verse 16); stripped of His garments and partially nude, with the people looking on (verse 17,18); the passers-by mocking and deriding Him (verse 7); His agony attended by great thirst (verse 15); and His last despairing cry (verse 1) -- these were all faithfully portrayed centuries before they took place on Calvary.

THE PROPHECY OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH

The virgin birth of our Lord was foretold seven hundred years before it occurred. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22,23).

That the child born to us should be God Himself was predicted long before He came. (Isaiah 9:6, 7.)

His vicarious atonement, His propitiatory sacrifice, and His substitutionary death are all set forth in Isaiah 53.

The exact time of the appearance of the Messiah to His people is revealed in Daniel 9:24, 25. And it was exactly fulfilled. (Mark 1:15.)

The place of His birth was foretold accurately. (Micah 5:2.)

The slaughter of the innocents in connection with His birth is a subject of divine prediction. (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16-18.)

The preaching of John the Baptist as His forerunner was outlined. (Isaiah 40:1; John 1:19, 23.)

What would be contained in the preaching of Christ was predicted. (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:16-19, 21.)

The treatment He would receive while hanging on the cross was made known to David. (Psalm 69:21; Matthew 27:34.)

His triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion was prophesied by Zechariah. (Zechariah 9:9; Luke 19:35-38.)

THE PROPHECIES BEAR WITNESS TO CHRIST

His performance of miracles was foretold by Isaiah (Isaiah 29:18; Matthew 11:4, 5.)

David predicted the opposition of the Jewish leaders. (Psalm 2:1; Mark 3:6.)

His submission to scourging and contempt, and the insults directed at Him, were foreseen by Isaiah and David. (Isaiah 50:5, 6; Psalm 22:7, 8; Matthew 27: 39-43.)

Thus in minute detail the prophecies of the Old Testament bear witness to Christ, to His birth, His genealogy, the time of His coming, His deity, His miracle-working power, His salvation, His atonement, His preaching, His betrayal, His trial, HIs conviction, His scourging and suffering, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension. And all of this before any of it took place.

There can be, therefore, no questions at all that only the One who knows the end from the beginning could have caused these ancient prophecies to the Bible to be written. There is no better evidence of the inspiration and divine authority of the Bible.

There are other astonishing prophecies contained in the Bible, some regarding the nations of old, some regarding individuals, some regarding cities, and some regarding the nations that have existed since the Bible was completed, and even some regarding the nations of today.

PROPHECIES OF DANIEL AND THE REVELATION

The books of Daniel and the Revelation are filled with predictions covering the centuries form the time of Daniel and John to the present. No more helpful study can be urged upon the student of the Word of God than that comparison of these great lines of Bible prophecy with the history of the nations to which they refer.

In the second chapter of the book of Daniel is a prophecy given to Nebuchadnezzar in the form of a great metallic image, and interpreted by Daniel. The head of this image was of gold, its breast and arms of silver, its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, and its feet and toes part of iron and part of clay.

A careful study of this prophecy discloses the fact that the head of gold represented the first universal empire, Babylon; the breast and arms of silver, Medo-Persia; the thighs of brass, Greece; the legs of iron, Rome; the feet and toes of iron and clay, the modern nations of Europe today. All that was foretold in this amazing outline of the world's history has been most wonderfully fulfilled. The prophecy closes, as most of these great prophecies do, with the prediction of the coming of the eternal kingdom of Christ during the time of the present kingdom of the world.

GREAT EMPIRES OF HISTORY

In the seventh chapter of Daniel is another great prophecy of the great empires of the world between Daniel's time and the end of human history. Babylon is shown under the symbol of a lion with two wings; Medo-Persia, as a bear; Greece, as a leopard with four heads; pagan Rome, as a monstrous ten-horned beast; and ecclesiastical Rome, as a powerful little horn that would seek to change the law of God. Here, to, the prophecy closes with the triumph of God and the establishment of God's kingdom over all the earth, and the victory of the saints.

In the eighth chapter of the book of Daniel another great line of prophecy begins, this time with Medo-Persia, which is set forth under the symbol of a ram having two horns; succeeded by Greece as a goat; followed by Rome in both pagan and ecclesiastical phases, against as a little horn, which became exceedingly great. The opposition of Rome to God and His work and people, the substitution of a human system of ministry and mediation for the ministry and mediation of Christ, the deception of human souls to their eternal destruction, and the final triumph of christ and the truth -- all are clearly and graphically set forth in this prophecy. It continues through chapter nine, ten, eleven, and twelve.

THE PROPHECIES OF THE REVELATION

In the book of Revelation there is contained prophecy after prophecy covering the Christian Era. In chapters two and three there is the prophecy of the seven churches, which covers the history of the true church of Christ during the centuries of the Christian Era, beginning with the church as established by the apostles and reaching to the church of today, the whole time between Christ's first and second comings being divided into seven periods.

In chapters five, six, seven and eight is the prophecy of the seven seals, in which the religious history of the world from the first advent of Christ is foretold. Beginning with the time of the apostles, when the church was pure in faith and life, and "went forth conquering, and to conquer," the student is carried through its departure and apostasy from Christ to its fall. There are foretold the counterfeit system established in the great apostasy, the Reformation, the remnant church, and finally the church triumphant in the kingdom of heaven.

In chapter eight, nine, and eleven is the prophecy of the seven trumpets, covering the chief political and warlike events of the Christian Era, first in the breaking up of the Western Rome, then the disintegration of Eastern Rome, and closing the scene with the ominous words:

"The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that thy should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Revelation 11:18. (See Psalm 2:8, 9; Daniel 2:44, 45.)

In the tenth chapter is a prophecy of the closing movement of the gospel that will carry to all the earth the definite message of the Lord's return.

In the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth chapters is another prophecy covering the time of the Christian Era, beginning with the Christian church under the symbol of a woman; setting forth the persecution of Christ and His people by a great red dragon and a ten-horned leopard beast; and dealing with the rise, progress, and destiny of the United States under the symbol of the two-horned lamb-like beast as well as with the rise, progress, and glorious triumph of the final message of the gospel of Christ, the great threefold message of Revelation 14.

Chapters fifteen and sixteen contain the prophecy of the seven last plagues, which will bring and end to sinners and the words of man on this planet.

Chapters seventeen and eighteen contain additional prophecies of the closing events of human history, with the final fall of Babylon, or apostate religion.

The closing chapters of the book reveal the events of the millennium, the descent of the Holy City, the fiery cleansing of the earth, the destruction of the sin and sinners, the glorified new earth, and the eternal reign of Christ with His people.

PROPHECY DIVINELY GIVEN

The circumstantial particularity of these numerous predictions, their high improbability at the time they were given, their progressive fulfillment through a series of centuries, and the great variety of the events predicted make it altogether impossible to account for them on any other ground that that they were divinely given. They have proved true in every case and in every particular. Taken as a whole, they prove that only an omniscient God could have inspired the Bible. Only the One who knows the end from the beginning could thus have outlined human history in advance.