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Antiochus IV Epiphanes–Accurately Foretold by Daniel

February 5, 2018 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid (Syrian) kingdom from 175 to 164 BCE, and was foretold by Daniel, prophet of Yahweh. Epiphanes means “manifest,” and the name indicates that he claimed to be the earthly manifestation of Zeus. Antiochus attempted to unify his empire by imposing Hellenistic culture upon all its inhabitants. This policy brought him into sharp conﬂict with the Jews of the region later known as Palestine. Most Biblical scholars believe Antiochus to have been the “small” horn in Daniel 8:9 and the “contemptible person” of 11:21. His relations with the Jews are recorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees (Apocryphal books) and are prophetically depicted in Daniel 8:9-14,23,25 and 11:21-34. “Then from one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew. very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel” (Daniel 8:9 NLT). He was infamous for establishing pagan worship in the Jerusalem temple. read more

The Early Acceptance of Revelation

January 19, 2018 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The Book of Revelation is without doubt the most complicated, controversial, and esoteric of the entire Bible! Some even doubt that it should even be in the Bible at all, and assert that its place in the Bible Canon was controversial from the start. This is false. Why? The early acceptance of Revelation by the Christian Church is proof that the book is divinely inspired.

We have early, widespread and consistent reception of Revelation. Papias (c 125), Justin Martyr, Irenaus, the Muratorian Fragment, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen all accepted Revelation as authentic. That’s impressive! Every one of these accepted Revelation as inspired, on the basis that John, the apostle was the recorder. B W Bacon was so impressed with the initial widespread acceptance of Revelation, that he wrote: “There is no other book in the entire NT whose external attestation can compare with that of Revelation, in nearness, clearness, defintiteness, and positiveness of statement” (The Making of the New Testament, 190).

Objections to Revelation were later and limited. Gaius in the early 3^rd century rejected Revelation, thinking it was a forgery of the apostate Cerinthus. This is the first real objection.

Objections to Revelation were not on any historical basis. Gaius rejected the literal millennnial reign of Christ, so he thought the reference in chapter 20 of such had to be a product of the apostate Cerinthus.

Any such objections were resolved early. It was accepted by the synods of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), by Philastrius of Brescia (c 385), Rufinus of Aquilia (c 404), Jerome (c 414), and Augustine (c 426). They accepted Revelation as authentic because it was accepted by the early Christians as authentic.

There are many quotations from Revelation by early writers, who quoted it as being authentic.

The writings of the Apostles were viewed as authentic (Jude 1:17-18; 2 Peter 3:15-16).

October 13, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

What is the source of the Apocrypha?

“I shall bring my work to an end here too. If it is well composed and to the point, that is just what I wanted. If it is worthless and mediocre, that is all I could manage”—2 Maccabees 15:37-38 NJB. The writer of the Apocryphal book 2 Maccabees, in effect, admits that he is not inspired by God.

The Apocrypha is accepted as being genuine by some people and some large religious organizations, such as the Roman Catholic Church, today, but rejected by many others. Some of it is included in various versions of the Bible, but is absent in most. The Apocryphal books accepted as canonical and part of the Old Testament (OT), by the Roman Catholic Church are: Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (or Sirach, or Ben Sira), Baruch, and several additions to Esther and Daniel. read more

Does the Bible Reference the Book of Mormon?

October 11, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 8 comments

The official title: The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, speaks volumes. Does the Bible reference The Book of Mormon? Mormons, or Latter Day Saints (LDS), as they prefer to be called), proudly proclaim that it does. The main scripture they use to support this claim is Ezekiel 37:15-19, which reads:

“The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘Judah and those Israelites loyal to him.’ Take another stick and write on it, ‘Joseph (Ephraim’s wood) and all the House of Israel loyal to him.’ ‘Join one to the other to make a single piece of wood, a single stick in your hand. And when the members of your nation say, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean?’ say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says this: I am taking the stick of Joseph (now in Ephraim’s hand) and those tribes of Israel loyal to him and shall join them to the stick of Judah. I shall make one stick out of the two, a single stick in my hand'” (NJB). read more

New Testament Canon Evidence of Existence by Circa 100 CE

September 28, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Although it is popular to do so, we should not measure the existence of the New Testament (NT) canon (authoritative, or inspired, books) just by the existence of lists, which came into being somewhat later than the New Testament canon itself coming into existence. When we examine the way the NT books were viewed and used in the very early days of Christianity, we can determine the de facto existence of a functioning New Testament canon by about 100 CE.

The views expressed here are admittedly a little different than the traditional, or orthodox, view of how the New Testament canon, in particular, and the Bible as a whole, came into acceptance. The views presented here actually stand in stark contrast to modern-day populist scholars, like the agnostic Bart Ehrman. read more

Titles of the Gospels – Are They Genuine?

August 2, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The Titles of the Gospels

History says Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote the books with those titles. People seem to have a highly variable standard in their assessment of what ancient writings are genuine, especially the Bible. What do we mean? Here is an example:

Most people accept Alexander the Great as a real historical figure. Yet, the two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than 400 years after the Great One’s death 323 BCE. Legends about him developed centuries after these two writers. Yet, Alexander’s true, accurate history is viewed as being preserved for hundreds of years prior to these legends. read more

Origin of the New Testament Canon

May 26, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The New Testament canon was established early, by Holy Spirit

The New Testament canon was established in the first century by holy Spirit. Let’s examine some scriptures which confirm this fact:

2 Peter 1:16-21 – Peter affirms Old Testament prophets wrote God’s word. He puts himself and other apostles in the same category.

2 Peter 3:15-16 – Paul’s letters were on the same level as all the “rest of the scriptures.” That is, inspired of God. Early Greek manuscripts show Paul writing 14 letters.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – The rest of the scriptures (the Old Testament) are inspired of God. We can broaden this now, and apply the principle to all 66 canonical books as shown below: read more

Extraordinary Claims – Extraordinary Proof – Jesus’ Resurrection

May 23, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

“He is not here, but He has been resurrected” (Luke 24:6 HCSB). Is there extraordinary proof of Jesus’ resurrection? The claim that Jesus rose from the dead is extraordinary. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. What is the strongest proof that Jesus was resurrected? Let’s start at the point of beginning, and work, or build from there.

This beginning point is that the universe, the earth, etc. very strongly witness to God’s existence as Creator. Psalm 19:1 says: “the heavens declare the glory of God.” (NIV) read more

Different Resurrection Appearances – ‘Proofs,’ or Contradictions?

May 17, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Some have claimed the different accounts of Jesus’ resurrection appearances in the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians are “proofs” these Bible books are riddled with errors and contradictions. If true, these would, in turn,” prove” the Bible not to be inspired of God, or infallible, as many Christians believe that it is.

The Bible itself says that these different resurrection appearances confirm the Bible’s inspiration by God.

“To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3 NKJV, emphasis added) read more

Why Many Do Not Believe

May 15, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Many do not believe in God — Why do many people not believe in God?

Why do many people not believe in God or his word the Bible? Why are so many people lacking faith? A person with genuine Bible-based faith is referred to as “one who sees Him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27 CSB)

In one special case, Elisha’s servant was given the ability to see otherwise invisible angelic forces, arrayed against the Syrian army: “Elisha prayed: ‘Yahweh,’ he said, ‘open his eyes and make him see.’ Yahweh opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw the mountain covered in fiery horses and chariots surrounding Elisha” (Kings 6:17 NJB). Although miraculous things like this don’t happen today, these events are recorded in the most reliable record in existence, God’s Word, the Bible. God, Jesus, and angels are just as real today, and we can see evidence of this with “the eyes of [our] understanding” (Ephesians 1:18 NKJV) “by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7). read more

Bible Authenticity

Is the Bible reliable?

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