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1. Why believe in Christianity over all other religions?

   By Matt Slick

   Critics often ask why Christianity is any better than any other religion in the world. After all, of all the religions that exist, how can it be that only Christianity is true? If God exists, why can’t God use different religions? Don’t all paths lead to God? Skeptics ask these kinds of questions all the time; and, unfortunately, few Christians have the answers. Therefore, in an attempt to demonstrate why Christianity is true and all other religious systems are false, I’ve prepared the follow list of reasons for Christianity’s superiority.

   There are such things as absolute truths

   If truth is relative, then the statement that truth is relative is an absolute truth and would be a self-defeating statement by proving that truth is not relative. But, if truth is absolute, then the statement “truth is absolute” is true and not self-defeating. It is true that truth exists. It is true that truth will not contradict itself as we have just seen. In fact, it is absolutely true that you are reading this paper.

   If we can see that there is such a thing as truth in the world, then we could also see that there can be spiritual truth as well. It is not absurd to believe in spiritual absolutes anymore than physical or logical absolutes. Even the statement that all religions lead to God is a statement held to be a spiritual absolute by many people. This simply demonstrates that people do believe in spiritual truth. Why? Because truth exists. However, not all that is believed to be true actually is true. Furthermore, all belief systems cannot be true since they often contradict each other in profound ways–and truth is not self-contradictory.

   Religions contradict each other; therefore, they cannot all be true.

   Mormonism teaches that there are many gods in existence and that you can become a god. Christianity teaches that there is only one God and that you cannot become a god. Islam teaches that Jesus is not God in flesh where Christianity does. Jesus cannot be both God and not God at the same time. Some religions teach that we reincarnate while others do not. Some teach there is a hell, and others do not. They cannot all be true. If they cannot all be true, it cannot be true that all religions lead to God. Furthermore, it means that some religions are, at the very least, false in their claims to reveal the true God (or gods). Remember, truth does not contradict itself. If God exists, He will not institute mutually exclusive and contradictory belief systems in an attempt to get people to believe in Him. God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that there can be an absolute spiritual truth and that not all systems can be true regardless of whether or not they claim to be true. There must be more than a mere claim.

   Fulfilled Prophecy concerning Jesus

   Though there are other religions that have prophecies in them, none are 100% accurate as is the Bible; and none of them point to someone like Jesus who made incredible claims and performed incredible deeds. The Old Testament was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Yet, the Old Testament prophesied many things about Jesus. This is undoubtedly evidence of divine influence upon the Bible.

   Please consider some of the many prophecies of Jesus in the following chart.

   Prophecy Old Testament Prophecy New Testament Fulfillment
   Born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14
   Matt. 1:18, 25

   Born at Bethlehem Micah 5:2
   Matt. 2:1

   He would be preceded by a Messenger Isaiah 40:3
   Matt. 3:1-2

   Rejected by His own people Isaiah 53:3
   John 7:5; 7:48

   Betrayed by a close friend Isaiah 41:9
   John 13:26-30

   His side pierced Zech. 12:10
   John 19:34

   Crucifixion Psalm 22:1
   Psalm 22:11-18
   Luke 23:33;
   John 19:23-24

   Resurrection of Christ Psalm 16:10
   Acts 13:34-37

   Fulfillment of prophecy can have different explanations. Some state that the NT was written and altered to make it look like Jesus fulfilled OT prophecy (but there is no evidence of that). Others state that the prophecies are so vague that they don’t count (but many of the prophecies are not vague at all). Of course, it is possible that God inspired the writers and Jesus, who is God in flesh, fulfilled these prophecies as a further demonstration of the validity of Christianity.

   The Claims and Deeds of Christ

   Christianity claims to be authored by God. Of course, merely making such a claim does not make it true. Anyone can make claims; but, backing up those claims is entirely different. Jesus used the Divine Name for Himself (John 8:58)–the same Divine Name used by God when Moses asked God what His name was in (Exodus 3:14). Jesus said that He could do whatever He saw God the Father do (John 5:19), and He claimed to be one with the God the Father (John 10:30; 10:38). Likewise, the disciples also called Him God (John 1:1, 14; John 10:27; Col. 2:9). By default, if Jesus is God in flesh, then whatever He said and did would be true. Since Jesus said that He alone was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one can find God without Him (John 14:6), His words become incredibly important.

   Again, making a claim is one thing. Backing it up is another. Did Jesus also back up His fantastic words with miraculous deeds? Yes, He did.

   • Jesus changed water into wine (John 2:6-10).
   • Jesus cast out demons (Matt. 8:28-32; 15:22-28).
   • Jesus healed lepers (Matt. 8:3; Luke 17:14).
   • Jesus healed diseases (Matt. 4:23, 24; Luke 6:17-19)
   • Jesus healed the paralytic (Mark 2:3-12).
   • Jesus raised the dead (Matt. 9:25; John 11:43-44).
   • Jesus restored sight to the blind (Matt. 9:27-30; John 9:1-7).
   • Jesus restored cured deafness (Mark 7:32-35).
   • Jesus fed the multitude (Matt. 14:15-21; Matt. 15:32-38).
   • Jesus walked on water (Matt. 14:25-27).
   • Jesus calmed a storm with a command (Matt. 8:22-27; Mark 4:39).
   • Jesus rose from the dead (Luke 24:39; John 20:27).
   • Jesus appeared to disciples after resurrection (John 20:19).

   The eyewitnesses recorded the miracles of Jesus, and the gospels have been reliably transmitted to us. Therefore, we can believe what Jesus said about Himself for two reasons: One, because what He said and did agrees with the Old Testament; and two, because Jesus performed many convincing miracles in front of people who testified and wrote about what they saw Him do.

   Christ’s resurrection

   Within Christianity, the resurrection is vitally important. Without the resurrection our faith is useless (1 Cor. 15:14). It was Jesus’ resurrection that changed the lives of the disciples. After Jesus was crucified, the disciples ran and hid. But when they saw the risen Lord, they knew that all that Jesus had said and done proved that He was indeed God in flesh, the Savior.

   No other religious leader has died in full view of trained executioners, had a guarded tomb, and then risen three days later to appear to many many people. This resurrection is proof of who Jesus is and that He did accomplish what He set out to do: provide the only means of redemption for mankind.

   Buddha did not rise from the dead. Muhammad did not rise from the dead. Confucius did not rise from the dead. Krishna did not rise from the dead, etc. Only Jesus has physically risen from the dead, walked on water, claimed to be God, and raised others from the dead. He has conquered death. Why trust anyone else? Why trust anyone who can be held by physical death when we have a Messiah who is greater than death itself?

   Conclusion

   Why should anyone trust in Christianity over Islam, Buddhism, Mormonism, or anything else? It is because there are absolute truths–because only in Christianity is there accurate fulfilled prophecies of a coming Messiah. Only in Christianity do we have the extremely accurate transmission of the eyewitness’ documents (gospels), so we can trust what was originally written. Only in Christianity do we have the person of Christ who claimed to be God, performed many miracles to prove His claim of divinity, who died and rose from the dead, and who said that He alone was the way the truth and the life (John 14:6). All this adds to the legitimacy and credibility of Christianity above all other religions–all based on the person of Jesus. If follows that if it is all true about what Jesus said and did, then all other religions are false because Jesus said that He alone was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). It could not be that Jesus is the only way and truth and other religions also be the truth.

   Either Jesus is true and all other religions are false, or other religions are true and Jesus is false. There are no other options. I choose to follow the risen Lord Jesus.

   Reply

2. WHAT IS CRUCIFIXION?

   A medical doctor provides a physical description: The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought iron nail through the wrist deep into the wood.

   Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place. The left foot is press backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified.

   As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain – the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet.

   As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath.

   Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen, hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint wrenching cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against rough timber.

   Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compressess the heart. It is now almost over, the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level, the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues, the tortured lungs are making frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air.

   He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues…Finally, he can allow his body to die…All this the Bible records with the simple words, “and they crucified Him” (Mark 15:24).

   What wondrous love is this? Many people don’t know that pain and suffering our Lord, Jesus Christ went through for us…because of the brutality, crucifixion was given a sentence to only its worst offenders of law. Thieves, murderers, and rapists would be the types of creeps who got crucified. Yet, here Jesus is being crucified between two hardened crimminals…What did Jesus do? Did he murder anyone? Did he steal anything? The answer as we all know is NO!! Jesus did nothing to deserve this type of death, yet he went willing to die, in between 2 thieves, so that we might be saved. And there, in between the sinners, was our slain Savior for our sins.

   Hope this message opened your eyes on how much Jesus really loves you!

   Reply

3. Holy Spirit

   God has revealed to us [these things] through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him. So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)

   Now here is this great Being of God in our universe, this fantastic Being of infinite wisdom and mighty power. How can we know anything about him? Paul’s answer is that we cannot, except he discloses himself to us. You cannot find out God by searching. Man by wisdom does not know God. Man by investigation of all the natural forces of life will never find his way to the heart of God. Only God himself must disclose himself, must open himself to us. That he has done by means of the Spirit of God — the Spirit has come to teach us about God. The Lord Jesus himself appeared as a man in order that we might have a visible demonstration of what God is like. The simplest answer to the question, “What is God like?” is to say he is like Jesus, under all circumstances. But it is the work of the Spirit to show us what Jesus is like. Jesus said, “He will take of the things of mine and show them unto you,” (John 16:14 KJV). You can read the record of the Gospels, and read the historical record of Jesus, but the living Lord does not stand out from the pages merely by reading them. It is as the Spirit illuminates those pages and makes them vivid and real that you find yourself confronted with the living, breathing Christ himself. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul describes the method that the Spirit has taken by which he does this fantastic thing. Verse 12:

   Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13 RSV)

   [We have received] the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:12b RSV)

   That is the reason why non-Christians can read their Bibles and it seems to be a totally different book to them than when a Christian reads it. Many of you have had that experience. Before you became Christians you read the Bible and it was such a dull book; there was nothing exciting in it. Then you became a Christian, you received the Spirit, and the result was that the book came alive. Things that you once had puzzled over became clear, and you found yourself fascinated by it. The Spirit began with the apostles; they were illuminated by him. Then another phenomenon happened, Verse 13:

   And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but words[implied here] taught by the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:13a)

   As you know, one of the major arguments of our day is over the question of the inerrancy of scripture. People are asking afresh today, “Is everything in the Bible true? Does the Bible speak with authority in every realm of life? Is it true in what it says about scientific, geographic, and astronomic matters, etc? Or is it true only when it tells you how to get to heaven?” The question is answered by Paul’s statement here. He says that when the apostles began to speak and to write the Scriptures, they did so by words taught by the Holy Spirit. What he is really talking about is a process by which the Spirit of God awakened the minds of the apostles to understand truth, and they chose their own words to express it so that every apostle’s personality comes through in the words that he uses. And yet, in a strange and wonderful way, those words which the apostles chose are words that God himself approved. Therefore, they come from him, not in a direct, but in an indirect sense.

   Paul says to Timothy, “All scripture is breathed out from God,” (2 Timothy 3:16). If that is true, then it comes from a God who cannot lie, a God who makes no mistakes, a God who sees the end from the beginning, so every word in Scripture is true. As the apostles wrote these things down, therefore, we can trust what they had to say.

   According to the Scriptures you receive the Spirit when you believe in Jesus. That is what he himself said. On the great day of the feast of the Tabernacles recorded in John 7, he said, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water,'” (John 7:37-38 RSV). John adds, “Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive;” (John 7:39 RSV). And in the first chapter of his Gospel, John says, “To all who received him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave power [power is the work of the Spirit] to become children of God,” (John 1:12 RSV). Everywhere in the Scripture you find that the moment you believe the word about Jesus — who he is, what he did, and what he can do for you as Lord of your life — in that moment you receive the Spirit.

   There is the process. It begins with the indwelling of the apostles, then the illuminating of the apostles’ minds, the preaching of the apostles in words chosen by the Spirit, the indwelling of every believer by belief in the word that the apostles preached, and the illuminating of the mind of each believer to understand truth as it fits his or her life directly.

   That is the process by which this great body of fascinating truth, the secret and hidden wisdom of God which is intended for our glorification, will begin to change our lives, our homes, our families, our community, our nation, and ultimately, the whole of the world. You would never think up that process, would you?

   The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
   “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
   (1 Cor 2:14-16)

   What is it that is the central thing about Christian faith?

   Well, the answer of Scripture, of course, is very clear. Both the Old and New Testaments indicate that the “main thing” about Christianity is Jesus Christ himself. He is the center of our faith, not even the Word about him, but he himself as a living Being who imparts to us new life by faith in his name. His life, his death, and his resurrection are the central themes around which all truth gathers. All truth, whether of a religious, a scientific, a moral or a polemic or political nature, whatever it may be, all truth must center around that. That is the central truth of Christianity. Therefore, the fundamental question of life from the Bible’s point of view is, “What is your relationship with Jesus? What do you think about Jesus?” Our Lord himself put it in those terms when he said to the people of his day, “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:42a KJV). The fundamental division of all humanity, therefore, comes right at that point. Are you related to Christ, or do you not yet know him? Are you regenerated by faith in Christ, or are you still on the way, perhaps yet to come to that encounter with him which will make the transformation in your life.

   Non-Christians cannot understand spiritual truths, and they cannot grasp the concept of God’s Spirit lives in believers. Many non-Christians do not approve or understand Christians who receive Christ as Lord and Savior and follow Him, believe is all seems so silly to them. Just as a tone-deaf person cannot appreciate fine music, the person who rejects Christ cannot understand truths from God’s Spirit. With the lines of communication broken, he or she won’t be able to hear what God is saying to him or her.

   No one can know what the Lord is thinking (Romans 11:34), but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, believers have insight into some of God’s plans, thoughts, and actions. They, in fact, have “the mind of Christ.” Through the Holy Spirit, we can begin to know God’s thoughts, talk with him, and expect his answers to our prayers. An intimate relationship with Christ comes only from spending time consistently in his presence and in his Word. Now, have you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Just ask Him to enter into your life and believe that He is the true and living God and that He can forgive all your sins: past, present and future! And you are guaranteed eternal life in heaven with Him, because He promises you will be saved by faith in Him alone!

   Reply

4. A Physician’s Look: The Agony of Love

   Personal Update, April 1998
   By Mark Eastman, M.D.
   (Former atheist)

   The Trials

   After Jesus’ arrest, they led Him away to the High Priest Caiaphas, where the Scribes and elders were assembled. During this inquisition we are told that “some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, ‘Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands. (Mark 14:65)

   Beatings about the face received by a blindfolded individual cause even worse trauma because the victim cannot “roll with punches.” In the hours that followed Jesus received two additional beatings at the hands of Romans soldiers. (Matthew 27)

   Several disfigurement of the face would certainly have resulted from the brutal treatment. It is likely that the eyelids were swollen shut as a result of such beatings. This was done in fulfillment of Isaiah 52:13-14:

   Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted
   and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at
   thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his
   form more than the sons of men.

   Scourging

   After His trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus was scourged (flogged) by the Roman guards. This process typically involved a whip with numerous leather thongs, 18-24 inches long, with bits of metal, bone or glass embedded in the leather. At times they would use an iron to beat the prisoner. According to Jewish custom, a prisoner was usually flogged 39 times (Forty minus one was a sign of Jewish mercy!)

   Scourging was an extreme form of punishment. The skin on the victim’s back was usually shredded, thus exposing the underlying muscle and skeletal structures. Severe blood loss and dehydration were the rule. Many victims died from such scourging.

   After the scourging of Jesus, the Roman soldiers beat Him a second time with their hands and with a reed. Then they put on him a “crown of thorns.” Jesus had not drunk since the night before, so the combination of the beatings, the crown of thorns, and the scourging would have set into motion an irreversible process of severe dehydration and cardio respiratory failure. All of this was done so that the prophecy of Isaiah would be fulfilled:

   I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked
   off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)

   And:
   But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
   iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
   stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

   Crucifixion

   Crucifixion was invented by the Persians between 300-400 B.C. It was “perfected” by the Romans in the first century B.C. It is arguably the most painful death ever invented by man in where we get our term “excruciating.” It was reserved primarily for the most vicious of criminals.

   The most common device used for crucifixion was a wooden cross, which consisted of an upright pole permanently fixed in the ground with a removable crossbar, usually weighing between 75-100 lbs. Victims of crucifixion were typically stripped naked and their clothing divided by the Roman guards. In Jesus’ case this was done in fulfillment of Psalm 22:18, “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”

   As a gesture of “Roman kindness” the prisoner was offered a mixture of vinegar (gall) and wine as a mild anesthetic. This anesthetic was refused by Jesus. (Matthew 27:34) Consequently, He bore it all! The Apostle Peter stated of Jesus:

   Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
   we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose
   stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

   The victim was then placed on his back, arms stretched out and nailed to the cross bar. The nails, which were generally about 7-9 inches long, were place between the bones of the forearm (the radius ad ulna) and the small bones of the hands (the carpal bones). The placement of the nail at this point had several effects. First it ensured that the victim would indeed hang until dead. Secondly, a nail placed at this point would sever the largest nerve in the hand called the median nerve.

   The severing of this nerve is a medical catastrophe. In addition to severe burning pain the destruction of this nerve causes permanent paralysis of the hand. Furthermore, by nailing the victim at this point in the wrist, there would be minimal bleeding and there would be no bones broken! Thus scriptures were fulfilled:

   I can count all my bones: they look and stare upon me. (Psalm 22:17)

   He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken. (Psalm 34:20)

   The positioning of the feet is probably the most critical part of the mechanics of crucifixion. First the knees were flexed about 45 degrees and the feet were flexed (bent downward) an additional 45 degrees until they were parallel to the vertical pole. An iron nail about 7-9 inches long was driven through the feet between the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal bones. In this position the nail would sever the dorsal pedal artery of the foot, but the resultant bleeding would be insufficient to cause death.

   The Catastrophic Result

   The resulting position on the cross sets up a horrific sequence of events which results in a slow, painful death. Having been pinned to the cross, the victim now has an impossible position to maintain.

   With the knees flexed at about 45 degrees, the victim must bear his weight with the muscles of the thigh. However, this is an almost impossible task, try to stand with your knees flexed at 45 degrees for 5 minutes. As the strength of the legs gives out, the weight of the body must now be borne by the arms and shoulders. The result is that within a few minutes of being placed on the cross, the shoulders will become dislocated. Minutes later he elbows and wrists become dislocated. The result of these dislocations is that the arms are as much as 6-9 inches longer than normal.

   With the arms dislocated, considerable body weight is transferred to the chest, causing the rib cage to be elevated in a state of perpetual inhalation. Consequently, in order to exhale, the victim must push down on his feet to allow the rib muscles to relax. The problem is that the victim cannot push very long because the legs are extremely fatigued. As time goes on, the victim is less and less able to bear weight on the legs, causing further dislocation of the arms and further raising of the chest wall, making breathing more and more difficult.

   The result of this process is a series of catastrophic physiological effects. Because the victim cannot maintain adequate ventilation of the lungs, the blood oxygen level begins to diminish and the blood carbon dioxide (CO2) level begins to rise. This rising CO2 level stimulates the heart to beat faster in order to increase the delivery of oxygen and the removal of CO2.

   However, due to the pinning of the victim and the limitations of oxygen delivery, the victim cannot deliver more oxygen and the rising heart rate only increases oxygen demand. So this process sets up a vicious cycle of increasing oxygen demand, which cannot be met, followed by an ever increasing heart rate. After several hours the heart begins to fail, the lungs collapse and fill up with fluid, which further decreases oxygen delivery to the tissues. The blood loss and hyperventilation combines to cause severe dehydration. That’s why Jesus said, “I thirst.” (John 19:28)

   Over a period of several hours, the combination of collapsing lungs, failing heart, dehydration, and the inability to get adequate oxygen supplies to the tissues cause the eventual death of the victim. The victim, in effect, cannot breath properly and slowly suffocates to death. In cases of severe cardiac stress, such as crucifixion, a victim’s heart can even burst. This process is called “Cardiac Rupture.” Therefore it could be said that Jesus died of a “broken heart!”

   To slow the process of death the executioners put a small wooden seat on the cross, which would allow the victim the privilege of bearing his weight on his buttocks. The effect of this was that it could take up to nine days to die on a cross.

   When the Romans wanted to expedite death, they would simply break the legs of the victim, causing him to suffocate in a matter of minutes.

   At three o’clock in the afternoon Jesus said, “Tetelastai”, meaning “it is finished.” He gave up the ghost. When the soldiers came to Jesus to break His legs, He was already dead. Not a bone of Him was broken!

   How Should We Then Live?

   I realized that it is difficult to read the details of Jesus’ physical sufferings. And yet, when realize that He looked forward, on our behalf, to the cross, we are overwhelmed with His practical demonstration of love and, hopefully, a personal realization of our unworthiness. How should we then live? I believe that the Apostle Paul said it best:

   Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in
   the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but
   made Himself of no reputation,taking the form of a bondservant,and
   coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man,
   He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even
   the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and
   given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of
   Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
   and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
   glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

   Reply

5. The cause of suffering revealed (Genesis 3; Isaiah 24:5-6). The earth is subject to misery, which appears at odds with our wonderfully designed universe. However, the Bible, not evolution, explains the origin of suffering. When mankind rebelled against God, the curse resulted, introducing affliction, pain and death into the world.

   Death explained (Romans 6:23). All eventually die. The Bible alone explains why we die, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). Sin is transgression of God’s Law. To see if you will die, please review God’s Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Have you ever lied? (White lies an fibs count). Ever stolen? (Cheating on a test or taxes is stealing). Jesus said that “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). Have you ever looked with lust? Then you’re an adulterer at heart. Have you ever hated someone or called someone a fool? If so, the Bible says you are guilty of murder (Matthew 5:21-2; 1 John 3:15). Have you ever used your Creator’s name (Lord, God, Jesus, or Christ) in vain? This is called blasphemy, and God hates it. If you have broken these commandments at any time, then by your own admission, you are a blasphemer, a murderer, an adulterer, a thief, and a liar at heart. And we have only looked at five of the Ten Commandments. This is why we die.

   Justice understood (Acts 17:30). Our God-given conscience reveals that all sin will be judged. Down deep we know that He who created the eyes sees every secret sin (Romans 2:16). He who formed our mind remembers our past offense as if it just occurred. God has declared that the penalty for sin is death. Physical death comes first, then second death, which is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). God cannot lie. Every sin will be judged. His justice demands it. But God is also rich in mercy to all who call upon His name. He has made a way for justice to be served and mercy to be shown.

   Eternal life revealed (John 3:16). Scientists reach in vain for the cure for aging and death. Yet, the good news is that God, who is the source of all life, has made a way to freely forgive us so that we may live forever with Him in heaven. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners. Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God desires a loving, eternal relationship with each person, free from sin, fear, and pain. Therefore, He sent His Son to die as our substitute on the cross. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Jesus never sinned, therefore He alone qualified to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. He died in our place. He then rose from the grave defeating death. All who turn from their sins and trust Him will be saved. To repent and place your trust in Jesus Christ, make Psalm 51 your prayer. Then read your Bible daily, obeying what you read. God will never let you down.

   The solution to suffering (Revelation 21). Neither evolution nor religion offers a solution to suffering. But God offers heaven as a gift to all who trust in His Son. In heaven. “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

   The Bible offers the only remedy for sin, suffering, and death. God’s Word presents the only perfect, sinless Savior, one who died for our sins and rose from the dead. Jesus is the Creator (John 1: Colossians 1). He said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). And He promises His followers: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:28). Your eternal destiny will be determined by your choice. There is only one provision for sin. Jesus died in your place. Only faith in Christ’s finished work will you be saved. This is God’s free gift offered to all.

   Please do not let pride, religion, opinions, or love for sin separate you from God. No sin is worth an eternity in hell. Please heed Jesus’ words, “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). If you do, you will live in heaven with our awesome Creator forever!

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6. SCIENTIFIC FACTS & FOREKNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE

   Science means knowledge, and true science always agrees with the observable evidence. Scientific research continues to unfold the wonders and mysteries of our universe. Interestingly, there is one book that has anticipated many of these scientific facts. That book is the Bible.

   The following are several scientific facts found in the Scriptures. Many of these facts were penned centuries before they were discovered. Scientific foreknowledge found only in the Bible offers one more piece of the collective proof that the Bible is truly the inspired Word of the Creator.

   1. The earth free-floats in space (Job 26:7), affected only by gravity. While other sources declared the earth sat on the back of an elephant or turtle, or was held up by Atlas, the Bible alone states what we now know to be true: “He hangs the earth on nothing.”

   2. Creation is made of particles, indiscernible to our eyes (Hebrews 11:3). Not until 19th century was it discovered that all visible matter consists of invisible elements.

   3. Oceans contain springs (Job 38:16). The ocean is very deep, almost all the ocean floor is in total darkness and the pressure there is enormous. It would been impossible for Job to have explored the “springs of the sea.” Until recently, it was thought that the oceans were fed only by rivers and rain. Yet in the 1970’s, with the help of deep diving research submarines that were constructed to withstand 6,000 pounds-per-square-inch pressure, oceanographers discovered springs on the ocean floors!

   4. Joy and gladness understood (Acts 14:17). Evolution cannot explain emotions. Matter and energy do not feel. Scripture explains that God places gladness in our hearts (Psalm 4:7), and ultimate joy is found in our Creator’s presence, “in Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).

   5. The bible states that God created life according to kinds (Genesis 1:24). The fact that God distinguishes kinds, agrees with what scientists observe, namely that there are horizontal genetic boundaries beyond which life cannot vary. Life produces after its own kind. Dogs produce dogs, cats produce cats, roses produce roses. Never have we witnessed one kind changing into another kind as evolution supposes. There are truly natural limits biological change.

   6. Chicken or egg dilemma solved (Genesis 1:20-22). Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This question has plagued philosophers for centuries. The Bible states that God created birds with the ability to reproduce after their kind. Therefore the chicken was created first with the ability to make eggs! Yet, evolution has no solution for this dilemma.

   7. Which came first, proteins or DNA (Revelation 4:11)? For evolutionists, the chicken or egg dilemma goes even deeper. Chicken consist of proteins. The code for each protein is contained in the DNA/RNA system. However, proteins are required in order to manufacture DNA. So which came first: proteins or DNA? The ONLY explanation is that they were created together.

   8. The First Law of Thermodynamics established (Genesis 2:1-2). The First Law states that the total quantity of energy and matter in the universe is a constant. One form of energy or matter may be converted into another, but the total quantity always remains the same. Therefore the creation is finished, exactly as God said way back in Genesis.

   9. The first three verses of Genesis accurately express all known aspects of the creation (Genesis 1:1-3). Science expresses the universe in terms of time, space, matter and energy. In Genesis chapter one we read: “In the beginning (time) God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter)…Then God said, Let there be light (energy).” No other creation account agrees with the observable evidence.

   10. The universe had a beginning (Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 1:10-12). Starting with the studies of Albert Einstein in the early 1900s and continuing today, science has confirmed the biblical view that the universe had a beginning. When the Bible was written most people believed the universe was eternal. Science has proven them wrong, but the Bible correct.

   11. The Second Law of Thermodynamics (Enthropy) explained (Psalm 102:25-26). This law states that everything in the universe is running down, deteriorating, constantly becoming less and less orderly. Enthropy (disorder) entered when mankind rebelled against God, resulting in the curse (Genesis 3:17). Historically, most people believed the universe was unchangeable. Yet modern science verifies that the universe is “grow old like a garment” (Hebrews 1:11). Evolution directly contradicts this law.

   12. Rejecting the Creator results in moral depravity (Romans 1:20-32). The Bible warns that when mankind rejects the overwhelming evidence for a Creator, lawlessness will result. Since the theory of evolution has swept the globe, abortion, pornography, genocide, etc., have all risen sharply.

   13. The fact that God once flooded the earth (the Noahic Flood) would be denied (2 Peter 3:5-6). There is a mass of fossil evidence to prove this fact, yet it is flatly ignored by most of the scientific world because it was God’s judgment on man’s wickedness.

   14. Vast fossil deposits anticipated (Genesis 7). When plants and animals die they decompose rapidly. Yet billions of life forms around the globe have been preserved as fossils. Geologist now know that fossils only form if there is rapid deposition of life buried away from scavengers and bacteria. This agrees exactly with what the Bible says occurred during the global Flood.

   15. The earth was designed for biological life (Isaiah 45:18). Scientists have discovered that the most fundamental characteristics of our earth and cosmos are so finely tuned that if just one of them were even slightly different, life as we know it couldn’t exist. This is called the Anthropic Principle and it agrees with the Bible which states that God formed the earth to be inhabited.

   16. Our ancestors were not primitive (Genesis 4:20-22; Job 8:8-10; 12:12). Archeologists have discovered that our ancestors mined, had metallurgical factories, created air-conditioned buildings, designed musical instruments, studied the stars, and much more. This evidence directly contradicts the theory of evolution, but agrees completely with God’s Word.

   17. The order of creation agrees with science (Genesis 1). Plants require sunlight, water, and minerals in order to survive. In the first chapter of Genesis we read that God created light first (v.3), then water (v.6), then soil (v.9), and then He created life (v.11).

   18. Strong and weak nuclear force explained (Colossians 1:17) Physicists do not understand what binds the atom’s nucleus together. Yet, the Bible states that “all things consist”, or are held together by the Creator, Jesus Christ

   19. Atomic fission anticipated (2 Peter 3:10-12). Scripture states that “the elements will melt with fervent heat” when the earth and the heavens are “dissolved” by fire. Today we understand that if the elements of the atom are loosed, there would be an enormous release of heat and energy (radiation).

   20. Animal instincts understood (Job 39; Proverbs 30:24-28). A newly hatched spider weaves an intricate web without being taught. A recently emerged butterfly somehow knows to navigate a 2,500 mile migration route without a guide. God explains that He has endowed each creature with specific knowledge. Scripture, not evolution, explains animal instincts.

   21. Pseudo-science anticipated (1 Timothy 6:20). The theory of evolution contradicts the observable evidence. The Bible warned us in advance that there would be those who would profess: “profane and idle babblings, and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge (science).” True science agrees with the Creator’s Word.

   22. Science confirms the Bible (Colossians 2:3). These insights place the Bible far above every man-made theory and all other so called inspired books. In contrast, the Koran states that the sun sets in a muddy pond (Surah 18:86). The Hadith contains many myths. The Book of Mormon declares that Native Americans descended from Jews, which has been disproven by DNA research. The Eastern writings also contradict true science.

   23. Love explained (Matthew 22:37-40; 1 John 4:7-12). Evolution cannot explain love. Yet, God’s word reveals that the very purpose of our existence is to know and love God and our fellow man. God is love, and we were created in His image to reflect His love.

   Reply

7. The Gospel for Hindus
   by Ryan Turner http://www.carm.org

   The Gospel means good news. According to the Bible, there is one God who has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Because God loves humans, He has revealed Jesus as the Savior for all people (1 Tim. 4:10).

   Christianity is the religion based on the teachings of the historical person Jesus Christ and His followers. According to the Bible, there is one God who has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus. Jesus claimed to be divine. Jesus came, not to teach us how to become one with Brahman. He came to save humans from the consequence of their sins which was death.

   God
   According to Christianity, there is one God who has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. The One God coeternally exists as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

   Jesus Christ
   Jesus Christ who is the second person in the Godhead who became man, lived a perfect life, died for the sins of the world, and rose from the grave. Since Jesus was God, whatever He said was true. The God-man Jesus taught that there was only one way to heaven. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me (John 14:6).”

   Jesus is not just one option among many paths to God. He is the only way of salvation. It is only through trusting Christ as one’s Savior that a person can receive forgiveness for their sins (Eph. 1:13).

   The Bad News – Sin
   The law reflects the character of God. The bad news is that as humans, we have all sinned by rebelling against God’s standard of righteousness as revealed by His law. In God’s eyes, if we have told one lie, we are a liar. If we have stolen one thing, we are a thief. If we have looked with lust at a person, we are an adulterer. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10-11).” In fact, if we were able to keep all of God’s commandments, but broke just one of them…it would still be as if we had broke all of them. James 2:10 says, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, yet break one, he is guilty of breaking all of them.”

   Because of our sinful rebellion against God, we are separated from God and deserve His eternal righteous judgment which is His wrath in hell (Rev. 20:15). All humans deserve an eternal hell for their willful rebellion against Him. We are not able to pay for our sins.

   The Courtroom Analogy
   Imagine that you committed a serious crime and you are standing before a judge in a court of law. The judge tells you, “You have committed a serious crime which cost the government 500,000 dollars in damage.” You reply, “Judge I know that I committed that crime, but I can’t pay for it. I do not have the money.” The judge will reply, “I am sorry, but your fine has to be paid for. If you cannot pay, you are going to have to go to prison.” As you stand there you begin to sweat and are extremely nervous.

   However, someone abruptly comes into the courtroom, walks up to the judge, and pulls out a checkbook. The person then writes a check to the judge for 500,000. The judge looks at you. He says, “This man has paid your fine. Here is the check.” The judge then extends the check to you. What do you have to do to make the check yours? You must simply receive it. This is the same thing with the gospel. We are all sinners. We stand before the only one true holy God. Our sin is so great that we cannot pay for it.

   The Good News
   While humans are sinful and deserve hell, God the Father sent Jesus the Son to die for humans sins. The Bible says, “God demonstrates His loved towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The one true God Jesus did not die for good people He died for sinners. Since He was God, His death on the cross for our sins, had infinite value and was able to pay for all of our sins past, present, and future.

   The good news is that Jesus did not die and stay dead. On the third day, He rose from the dead. He triumphed over the consequence of our sin which was death. As a result of His resurrection, He proved that His death on the cross was sufficient to pay for our sins before God the Father. The miracle of the resurrection also proved that He is able to save us and assure us of living eternally in heaven.

   Our Response
   Do you have any certainty that you will reach samsara or moksha? Are you going to be in the endless cycle of reincarnations/transmigrations forever? Are your meditations and rituals actually going to help you with this process?

   Jesus Christ came to give us hope. He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He also said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). Jesus Christ offers you salvation from God’s judgment by faith. It is not by your works, but by faith that you can possess everlasting life (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 4:5; 5:1). This salvation you can possess immediately and with certainty due to the completed work of Jesus who was the unique God in flesh.

   Since Jesus paid for our sins, we must receive His free gift of salvation by faith. We must place our trust in Jesus Christ’s alone as our salvation before God. Our good works cannot save us.

   You can know for sure you are going to heaven!

   The only passport to eternity is Jesus. God does not grade on the curve, He grades on the cross. Heaven is not for good people, heaven is for forgiven people.

   When you read God’s Word, in the Bible, it requires a response. God made the first move, now it’s your move.

   Either you accept God’s free gift of salvation or you reject it, the choice is yours.

   Receive Jesus today by accepting Him as your personal Lord and Savior. Ask Him to enter into your life and ask Him to forgive you for all of your sins.

   Reply

8. I believe in reincarnation, so why do I need Christianity?

   What makes you think that reincarnation is true? Believing it to be true doesn’t mean that it is. Yes, I know, believing Christianity is true doesn’t make it true either. But there is a big difference. In Christianity, we have Jesus. Jesus said He was the only Way. “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6). Jesus also performed many miracles. He walked on water, healed sicknesses, raised people from the dead, and claimed to be God in flesh. Because of these things, we need to look at Him seriously and consider what He is saying.

   Now, if Joe Schmoe on the street said that he was the only way to God, we’d look at him and say, “Yeah, right.” But, if Joe calmed a storm with a command, raised someone from the dead, walked on water, etc., that would add a lot of credibility to his claim. After all, he is demonstrating extraordinary abilities consistent with his extraordinary claim.

   This is the case with Jesus. He made extraordinary claims and performed extraordinary deeds. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that what Jesus said was true–especially since He claimed to be God (John 8:24, 58; 10:30-33; 5:18).

   Jesus commissioned the apostles to teach and preach the Christian faith. In Heb. 9:27 it says, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” This verse alone shows that reincarnation is not true. Also, reincarnation negates the necessity of the Cross because reincarnation teaches, you can have different lives in which to try to “get it right.” Not so in Christianity. According to the Bible, God gives us one chance to escape the clutches of sin and damnation. God has given us the Law, which states that we are not to lie, to cheat, or steal. But, we all have. Therefore, we are all under the judgment of God, and He will execute His judgment upon sinners on the Day of Judgment. If reincarnation is true, then there is no Day of Judgment, no need of a sacrifice, and no need to trust in Christ.

   A person needs Christianity because reincarnation does not remove sin. Also, reincarnation contradicts the Bible which presents Jesus with His miracles, fulfilled prophecies, resurrection, and so much more. Reincarnation denies the Day of Judgment. Also, think about this. Reincarnation works with karma, the idea that your past lives of “goodness” or “badness” affects the quality and position of your next incarnation. The purpose of reincarnation is to help you develop perfect karma by which you might then achieve a union with the divine consciousness after you have learned whatever it is you are supposed to learn. The problem is that each person had a first incarnation. That means that each person then had perfect Karma since he had no previous life and had done nothing wrong. Therefore, if he had perfect Karma and didn’t learn or do what he was supposed to in his first life, then what makes him think that after hundreds of incarnations with accumulated bad karma that he will be able to achieve the perfect state of union with the divine consciousness that reincarnation moves him toward? It doesn’t make any sense.

   But what does make sense is that there is one God who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, and the only way to have your sins forgiven is to trust in Him and not your own efforts through various lives to try to become perfect. That is why you need Jesus because reincarnation is not only false, it is empty.

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9. Certain of His Death

   Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
   — 1 Corinthians 15:3

   An advice columnist received this letter about the Resurrection: “Dear Uticus, Our preacher said on Easter that Jesus just swooned on the cross and the disciples nurtured Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered.”

   Here was the response: “Dear Bewildered, Beat your preacher with a cat of nine tails with 39 heavy strokes. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for three hours. Run a spear through his heart. Embalm him. Put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours, and see what happens. Sincerely, Uticus.”

   Inevitably, unbelievers will offer their own concepts regarding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in an attempt to discredit the Bible and its message. Among the most commonly held theories is “the swoon theory,” proposing that Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross, but went into a deep coma, or swoon. It further proposes that He was revived in the cool atmosphere of the tomb, was somehow able to get out of the tightly-wrapped strips of cloth, and appeared to His disciples.

   Yet the Roman guards were the first to report the death of Jesus. They were experts at execution, and they would be put to death themselves if they allowed a condemned man to escape death. These soldiers were so certain Jesus was dead, they did not bother to break His legs. They thrust a spear into His body and out came blood and water (which occurs when the heart stops beating), giving them the final proof they needed.

   We can either believe or hang our doubts on some flimsy theory. But the death and resurrection of Jesus means that one day, we all will stand before God and be held accountable.

   God is not some mere force or distant power somewhere in the universe. He is personal, He is caring, and He loves you. And that is why He came down to earth to die on the cross in our place.

   The God Who Suffers

   He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows.
   — Isaiah 53:3-4

   When we think of God, we usually consider that fact that He is righteous, holy, loving, and good. But here is something else to consider about God: He is the God who has suffered. We don’t tend to think that a perfect Creator would experience such a human trait as human pain and suffering. After all, why would you suffer if you did not have to?

   But God has suffered, and more deeply than any of us could ever imagine. In his book The Cross of Christ, John Stott said, “Our God is a suffering God.” And I think he is right.

   Listen to Isaiah’s description of what Jesus (who was God) went through at Calvary:
   “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5)
   “A man of suffering.” That was Jesus. But why did God suffer? Because He loved and loves. That means He also enters into our suffering as well.

   Hebrews 2:17-18 tells us:
   “Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted” (NLT).

   You are not alone in your suffering today. Jesus has been there and walked in your shoes and He is here for you right now. Call out to Him, ask Him to come into your life by asking Him to be your personal Lord and Savior, to forgive and cleanse you of all your sins.

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10. THE WONDERFUL TRUTHS OF THE TRINITY

    For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one (1 John 5:7).

    The above text is the clearest and most succinct statement of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Bible, but also probably the most controversial verse in the Bible. Many authorities believe it was not in John’s original epistle, but was added by some ancient copyist. Consequently, although it is in the King James Bible, most modern English translations omit it. There are others (including this writer) who are convinced it was in the original and should be retained.

    In any case, the truth of the Trinity is taught in many other passages of the New Testament and does not depend on this particular verse. It is undoubtedly the most distinctive doctrine of the Christian faith. Most religions are either pantheistic (e.g. Buddhism) or polytheistic (e.g., Hinduism). Two other religions are monotheistic (Judaism, Islam), but only Christianity recognizes the one real God (the Triune God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit), one God in three Persons.

    The sacred book of the Muslims, the Koran, regards Jesus as only a prophet, repeatedly denouncing as infidels all those who believe in the Trinity. The Jews often consider Jesus to have been a great teacher, but no more than that. To the Christian, however, the Lord Jesus Christ is a person yet God incarnate, God’s only begotten Son, the Creator, Savior, King of kings and Lord of lords. Christians also believe that the Holy Spirit is not just a spiritual influence, but a real person, the third Person of the Godhead.

    When an individual becomes a Christian, he acknowledges it by being baptized in the “name [note, just a single name] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). He believes in one God, but not the unknowable, unapproachable “god” of Islam called “Allah.”

    Instead, he recognizes God as the infinite, invisible, omnipresent Father, but also as the Son, the visible, touchable, yet perfectly holy Word always revealing and manifesting the Father, and as the Holy Spirit, always present to guide, convict, and comfort. He is very real, eternal and invisible, omnipresent Father of all, yet visible and approachable through the Son and experienced and understood in the Holy Spirit. Majestic mystery, but wonderful reality!

    Christians believe in the Trinity, one God, not three gods, but three divine Persons, each equally and totally God. We cannot really comprehend this with our minds, but we can believe it and rejoice with our hearts. It is somewhat analogous to the “space” of God created the universe. Space is comprised of three dimensions, each of which permeates all space. This structure is helpful to illustrate the nature of the tri-une God. That is, God is one God, not three gods. Yet He is revealed as three Persons, each of which is eternally and completely God.

    This great truth appears again and again in the Bible, especially in the New Testament. But one can also discern it here and there in Old Testament. For example, note Isaiah 48:16: “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and not the Lord God and His Spirit, hath sent me.” Note here that the Son, the divine Word who is speaking, is being “sent” into the world by the Father and the Spirit.

    But turning again to the New Testament, it is rather remarkable to note how all three Persons of the Godhead are significant in so many phases of the Christian life. First, as noted, the believer is baptized in the one Name but in every Person (Matthew 18:19) of the holy Trinity. Then, as he begins his Christian life, all three are still actively involved. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).

    The actual event of salvation requires a miraculous creation, with the believer undergoing “regeneration,” and thus becoming “born again.” This tremendous miracle is indeed accomplished only by the working of all three Persons of the Godhead.

    The apostle Peter also noted the action of every Person of the divine Godhead in the great work of saving those who trust in Christ: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2).

    Once we have been born again by the regeneration miracle of the Holy Spirit, our bodies become His temple. But this also means that the tri-une God Himself is there through the Spirit. We can be “strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in [our] hearts by faith;…that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-17,19).

    This was also implied in Christ’s original promised that He would send the Holy Spirit. “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth…for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you…At that day ye shall know what I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you…If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:16-18,20,23)

    At that time, Christ also promised that the Holy Spirit would teach us, and that this also would involve Himself as well as the Father. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things” (v.26). The pervasive content of His teaching would, of course, concern the Lord Jesus Himself, as directed by the Father, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me” (15:26).

    Thus, in a wonderful sense, the tri-une Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one and all live in each Christian believer, teaching, strengthening, convicting, comforting,and guiding him in answer to his prayers. This is the marvelous truth of the Trinity.

    The Word “Godhead” appears just three times in the New Testament each from a slightly different, though essentially synonymous Greek word. The first occurrence of “Godhead” is in Acts 17:29.”…we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’ device.” That is, no one can make a model of our three-in-one God, neither any kind of graven image nor some kind of philosophical construct.

    But is seems that God Himself has made such a model. “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20).

    The physical universe is, in a very real sense, a trinity of trinities. Also, in a certain sense, human life is a trinity of body, soul, and spirit. In fact, tri-unity in various ways is often seen in the creation (but note that a “trinity” is not an entity composed of three individual parts, like the sides of a triangle, but rather an entity of three parts, each of which is the whole.

    Thus, although no man could ever model the Godhead, God has seemingly done this in His creation. But then the third mention of the Godhead is given in Colossians 2:9. “For in [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Thus, the Lord Jesus can say to His disciples: “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9), for He Himself is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

    Another Biblical mention of the Trinity: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all”. (II Corinthians 13:14).

    What the Bible says about The TRINITY:

    1. Yet each is called God:
    • Father Eph. 4:6; John 6:27
    • Son Heb. 1:8; Titus 2:13
    • Holy Spirit Acts 5:3,4

    2. Yet each is described as CREATOR:
    • Father Isaiah 44:24
    • Son John 1:1-3
    • Holy Spirit Job 33:4; 26:13

    3. Yet each is described as ETERNAL:
    • Father Psalms 93:2
    • Son Micah 5:2, Heb 1:8
    • Holy Spirit Heb. 9:14

    II Peter 1:21
    4. Yet each is described as OMINIPRESENT:
    • Father Jer. 23:24
    • Son Matt. 28:20
    • Holy Spirit Psalms 139:7-10

    5. Yet each is described as OMNISCIENT:
    • Father Jer. 17:10
    • Son John 2:24
    • Holy Spirit I Cor. 2:10-12

    6. Yet each is described as OMNIPOTENT:
    • Father Matt. 19:26
    • Son Heb.1:3
    • Holy Spirit Rom. 15:19

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11. GOOD NEWS

    Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. (1 Corinthians 1:22-25)

    Many Jews considered the Good News (Gospel Message) of Jesus Christ to be foolish, because they thought the Messiah would be a conquering king accompanied by signs and miracles. Jesus had not restored David’s throne as they expected. Besides, he was executed as a criminal, and how could criminal be a savior? Greeks, too, considered the Good News foolish: They did not believe in a bodily resurrection, they did not see in Jesus the powerful characteristics of their mythological gods, and they thought no reputable person would be crucified. To them, death was defeat, not victory.

    The Good News of Jesus Christ still sounds foolish to many. Our society worships power, influence, and wealth. Jesus came as a humble, poor servant, and he offers his kingdom to those who have faith, not to those who do all kinds of good deeds to try to earn salvation. This looks foolish to the world, but Christ is the mighty power of God, the only way we can be saved. Knowing Christ personally is the greatest wisdom anyone can have.

    The message of Christ’s death for sins sounds foolish to those who don’t believe. Death seems to be the end of the road, the ultimate weakness. But Jesus did not stay dead. His resurrection demonstrated his power even over death. And he will save us from eternal death and give us everlasting life if we trust him as Savior and Lord. This sounds so simple that many people won’t accept it. They try other ways to obtain eternal life (being good, being wise, performing religious rituals, etc.). But all their attempts are futile. The “foolish” people who simply accept Christ’s offer are actually the wisest of all, because they alone will live eternally with God.

    “There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on the save them.” (Acts 4:12)

    Many people react negatively to the fact that there is no other name than that of Jesus to call on for salvation. Yet this is not something the church decided; it is the specific teaching of Jesus himself.

    “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

    If God designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world, no one else can be his equal. Christians are to be open minded on many issues, but not on how we are saved from sin. No other religious teacher could die for our sins; no other religious teacher came to earth as God’s only Son; no other religious teacher rose from the dead. Our focus should be on Jesus, whom God provided us the way to have an eternal relationship with himself. There is no other name or way!

    The Bible says “…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) It is impossible for us to live a life that is righteous enough for us to “earn our way into Heaven. Salvation is a gift from God as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ and our acceptance of His sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. (See Ephesians 2:8-9) You can become a Christian today

    If you are willing to entrust your life to Jesus, to allow Him to be your Lord, to take control of your life, Then pray this simple prayer:

    “God, I admit that I have sinned. I don’t want to be separated from You because I need You in my life. Please forgive me for all my sins. Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I invite You to come into my life to be my Lord and Savior. Make me the person You want me to be. In Your perfect name I pray. Amen.”

    Reply

12. Analysis of Other Explanations

    Was Jesus really dead? Crucifixion was more routine and was a longer, more visibly excruciating death than the electric chair is today. Is it likely that such professional executioners would not know death? The final spear thrust to the heart area was to ensure death. For such a political threat, they would be certain. If Jesus was not dead, what are the chances that a barely living person could move a two-ton rock from the inside of a tomb and escape a full Roman Guard unnoticed?

    Was the body stolen at night? Recognizing that no flashlights nor infrared sensors were available then, is it likely that a band of scared disciples carrying torches could bypass a full Roman guard, move a two-ton rock, and not be noticed? Furthermore, the Sabbath greatly limited movement. And again, for what motive?

    Eyewitnesses to the Truth Died to Tell the Story

    Martyrdom for a belief is not unique. But what kind of person would die for a known lie? Someone insane? Would all the disciples face hardship and death for a known lie? The disciples were with Jesus constantly for three years. They would certainly know the truth of the resurrection. Lying would serve no purpose since Jesus’ ministry would then be moot. Yet historical records and reports about the disciples indicated they all died cruel deaths for their beliefs (except John). James was stoned, Peter was crucified upside down, Paul was beheaded, Thaddaeus was killed with arrows, Matthew and James (Zebedee) faced sword deaths, and other believers were crucified.

    Archaeological Evidence

    Archaeologists have discovered substantial support about many
    details of Jesus’ life. Some examples include:

    Indirect Resurrection Evidence

    Evidence that the people in Jesus’ time believed in the resurrection is found on caskets of bones (ossuaries) discovered in a sealed tomb outside Jerusalem in 1945. Coins minted in about A.D. 50 were found inside the caskets, dating the burial within about 20 years of Jesus’ crucifixion. Markings are clearly legible, including several statements reflecting knowledge of Jesus’ ability to overcome death. Example of writings (in Greek) of hope for deceased loved ones include: “Jesus, Help” and “Jesus, Let Him Arise.” The caskets also contain several crosses, clearly marked in charcoal. This is powerful evidence that early Christians believed in Jesus’ ability to triumph over death. It also ties the idea of victory over death to the cross.

    Jesus’ Burial Shroud?

    A burial shroud (Shroud of Turin) is believed by many people to be the actual burial shroud of Jesus (Matthew 27:59; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53). Items supporting its authenticity are:

    1. Test that confirm fiber type and small particles of limestone dust unique to the region.
    2. Confirmation of blood, in wounds precisely as indicated in the accounts of Jesus’ unique execution.
    3. Confirmation of a crucifixion as likely cause of the type of image created…matching a deceased body.
    4. Coins on eyes dated about the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.

    The Prophecies – Statistical “Proof”

    Although history can never be “proven,” enormous statistical probability is often viewed as proof by scientists and mathematicians. From a statistical viewpoint, God’s involvement in the life of Jesus is “certain.”

    As indicated earlier, the prophecies contained in the Old Testament were written long before Jesus. The Dead Sea Scrolls provided irrefutable evidence that these prophecies were not tampered with over the centuries. Of the 469 prophecies contained in the Old Testament that would have been fulfilled, 467 have been verified (we have no record of fulfillment of two). Perhaps the most fascinating prophecies are those about Jesus.

    Who Jesus’ Ancestors in Prophecy:

    David 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 23:5
    Jesse Isaiah 11
    Judah Isaiah 11
    Jacob Genesis 35:10-12; Numbers 24:17
    Isaac Genesis 17:16; 21:12
    Abraham Genesis 12:3; 22:18
    Shem Genesis 9:26,27; 10

    What
    Virgin Birth Isaiah 7:14
    Birth of eternal Savior Isaiah 9:6,7
    Savior to Jews and Gentiles Isaiah 49:6
    Miracle worker Isaiah 29:18; 35:5,6
    Rejection by Jews Isaiah 53:1-3, Psalm 118:22 Matthew 21:42-46

    When
    Prophecy of the Date of Palm Sunday Daniel 9:20-27 – Although complex until understood,
    This prophecy made about 535 B.C. predicted Jesus’ final
    entry into Jerusalem to the day. The prophecy states:

    Daniel’s “Seventy Sevens”

     69 periods of 7 (years) will pass from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the “Anointed One” (Messiah, in Hebrew). This dates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

     After that time the Anointed One will be cut off (Hebrew: yikaret, meaning a sudden, violent end – crucifixion).

     And after that time the city and the temple will be destroyed.

    Prophecy: Daniel, a Hebrew, received the prophetic revelation in 535 B.C. Using the Hebrew definition of a year (360 days) we find:
    69 times 7 years = 173,880 days

    The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given to Artaxerxes on March 14, 445 B.C. (first day of Nisan that year – Nehemiah 2:1-6).

    Using the actual 365-day calendar, along with adjustments for leap years and the final scientific adjustment (leap year is dropped every 128 years), we find this number of days brings us precisely to:

    April 6, A.D. 32

    History: Jesus’ ministry began in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1), whose reign began in A.D. 14. A chronological analysis of Jesus’ ministry shows three years leading up to the final week, in A.D. 32.

    The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, confirms the Sunday before Passover that year to be …

    April 6, A.D. 32

    Other prophecy elements were fulfilled as well:
    Jesus was crucified three and a half days later.
    The Romans destroyed the city and temple in A.D. 70.

    Precise City of Jesus’ Birth The Bible (Micah 5:2) specified that Jesus would be born
    Bethlehem, in Ephrathah.

    Other Prophecies

     King on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)
     Suffering, rejected (Isaiah 53:1-3)
     Crucified, pierced (Psalm 22:16)
     Cast lots for clothing (Psalm 22:18)
     No bones broken (Psalm 22:17)
     Given gall and wine (Psalm 69:20-22)
     Pierced with a spear (Zechariah 12:10)
     Posterity to serve Him (Psalm 22:30)
     Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12)

    Amazing Prophecy
    Statistics experts estimate the probability of all these prophecies coming true in any one man is about one
    Chance in 1099 , less than the odds of correctly selecting one electron out of all the matter in the universe, or essentially zero without divine intervention.

    Jesus’ Own Prophecies
    The many prophecies made by Jesus Himself are important because:

    1. Perfect accuracy verifies the prophecy was “from God” (Deuteronomy 18:19-22).
    2. Since He claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God, it verifies the claims of Jesus Christ.

    Prophecy from Jesus includes several immediately verified by people around Him [e.g., Jesus told a
    Centurion his servant would be healed, Matthew 8:5-13]. Other prophecies refer to judgment, to heaven, or the end of the world. Jesus told His disciples that His precise prophecy of His death and resurrection was so that when it happened, they would believe He was the Messiah (John 13:19). The Jews realized that only God knows the future.

    The Resurrection Prophecies of Jesus

    1. That He would be betrayed (Matthew 26:21; Mark 14:17-21; Luke 22:21,22)
    2. Who would betray Him
    3. When He would be betrayed
    4. That His disciples would desert Him
    5. That Peter would disown Him three times (Matthew 26:33,34; Mark 14:29,30; Luke 22:31-34)
    6. That He would be crucified (John 3:14-16; 12:32-34)
    7. That He would die and then be resurrected:
     First prediction (Matthew 16:21-28; Mark 8:31-9:1; Luke 9:21-27)
     Second prediction (Matthew 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34)
     Third prediction (Matthew 26:2-5; Mark 14:1-9)
    8. That on the third day He would rise from the dead
    9. That He would return from death to meet the disciples in Galilee (Matthew 26:32)
    Was the Resurrection Physical?

    Some people (and even organizations) have tried to minimize or even disclaim Christ’s physical resurrection. Why? Perhaps because it undermines Jesus’ claims to deity. A prophet had to be 100 percent accurate to be a prophet of God, and clearly Jesus indicated that He would rise again physically from the dead (John 2:19-22). Or perhaps people want to diminish the role and power of Jesus. The facts clearly state that the resurrection was both real and physical.

    The resurrection was a highly significant event to Jews in the area. The Sadducees and Pharisees debated fiercely over the concept of resurrection long before Jesus. After the first Easter, people argued over it, people imprisoned others for it, people even died for it. In the days immediately following the Resurrection there was no doubt that many people believed that Jesus appeared again in a physical form.

    The accounts recorded in the New Testament stood the test of eyewitness examination. They could have easily been challenged by contemporaries. In the earliest days, there is no record of anyone claiming Jesus was an apparition (ghost) or a mass hallucination or any other sort of “mere spirit being.” For the resurrection to have any meaningful significance, it had to be a resurrection of the body, as Christ Himself indicated. Several references support this.

    Eating, Drinking, Touching

    Can a spirit eat? Drink? Touch? There is no historical evidence of any spirit-form taking on human functions unless it became human first (e.g., angels becoming human). Jesus, on the other hand, specifically made a point of verifying His physical existence by eating and drinking after the resurrection (Luke 24:37-43).

    Can a spirit or hallucination be touched or felt? Thomas, the most doubting of the disciples, certainly believed that touching was a primary criterion for “proof.” Jesus specifically appeared to Thomas (and the others), challenging him to see the nail prints in His hands and touch His side (John 20:25-28).

    How Can We Ensure the Right Relationship to Go to Heaven?

    When Jesus said not all who use His name will enter heaven (Matthew 7:21-23), He was referring to people who think using Christ’s name along with rituals and rules is the key to heaven. A relationship with God is not based on rituals or rules. It’s based on grace, forgiveness, and the right relationship.

    How to Have a Personal Relationship with God

    1. Believe that God exists and that He came to earth in the human form of Jesus Christ (John 3:16;
    Romans 10:9).
    2. Accepts God’s free forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Ephesians
    2:8-10; 1:7,8).
    3. Switch to God’s plan for life (1 Peter 1:21-23; Ephesians 2:1-5).
    4. Express desire for Christ to be Director of your life (Matthew 7:21-27; 1 John 4:15).

    Then What?

    People who sincerely take the preceding steps automatically become members of God’s family of believers. A new world of freedom and strength is then available through prayer and obedience to God’s will. New believers also can build their relationship with God by taking the following steps:

     Find a Bible-based church that you like, and attend regularly.
     Try to set aside some time each day to pray and read the Bible.
     Locate other Christians to spend time with on a regular basis.

    Reply

13. WHY INVESTIGATE EASTER?

    What if there is a God?
    What if there is a divine plan for mankind?
    What if a person’s soul or spirit exists for eternity?
    What if there is a heaven and hell?
    What if the biblical ultimatum of heaven and hell is true?
    What if committing to Jesus is the only answer for heaven?

    If these things are true, then understanding and accepting God’s plan is the single most important thing to discover in life. More important than the next vacation. More important than the next golf game. Even more important than the next paycheck. And our choice regarding that plan will affect us forever. It’s a choice that can bring real joy here on earth. A choice that can mean “no more pain and no more tears” forever or a choice that will lead to eternal horror.

    Would God expect us to accept His plan on faith? Yes and no, because history can never be “proven.” Instead, evidence is the only basis for verifying historical fact. Does evidence exist for Easter resurrection? Absolutely. There is far more evidence for the resurrection than for any other single event in the history of the world.

    Often people don’t embrace a relationship with God because they fail to investigate and understand their beliefs. Some people are taught wrong beliefs from birth, which they never objectively challenge. Some people are misled by individuals who cleverly tamper with facts and tell people what they want to hear. And some people just don’t care. Yet abundant evidence exists for the first Easter and the tremendous message it brings to mankind. Hence, we might reject God out of apathy … or out of pride … or for many other reasons. But we have no basis to reject God for lack of evidence if we take time to seek it. As the Bible says “Men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

    Did Jesus Exist?

    Virtually all major religions, even those opposing Him, acknowledge the existence of Jesus. For hundreds of years, Jesus’ existence was a widely accepted as Abraham Lincoln’s existence is today. Only in relatively recent history have some people challenged it. Possibly in a few thousand years, Mr. Lincoln’s existence may be challenged as well.

    Christian Historical Records

    The magnitude of the Christian record stands far above any record of anyone who has ever lived upon this planet. Existing early manuscripts exceed 24,000. The earliest were written within 25 years of His death. No work of antiquity approaches the Bible’s documentary credibility, including all works we accept as historical fact. Some examples are:

    Early Event Until First
    Major Existing Manuscripts Records Existing Manuscript

    Julius Caesar – Gallic Wars 10 1000 years

    Pliny the Younger – History 7 750 years

    Thucydides – History 8 1300 years

    Herodotus – History 8 1300 years

    Homer – Iliad 643 500 years

    The New Testament 24,000+ 25 years

    The vastness of the number of accounts of the resurrection is particularly extraordinary considering that:

    1. Jesus was not in a position of public importance. He was not a king, not a religious leader, nor a general. Relative to Rome, Jesus came from a small, distant town and was a lowly carpenter with a scant three-year ministry. Rome hardly knew of Him until testimony of eyewitnesses later threatened political/religious stability.

    2. The records survived the most intensive eradication effort of all time. Rapidly growing in number,
    Christian witnesses were killed, written records were burned, and anyone professing belief in Christianity was executed. In A.D. 303 an edict was issued to destroy all of the world’s Bibles. People found with Bibles were killed.

    3. There was no printing press, and the world population was low. The number of surviving early
    Manuscripts is absolutely staggering considering they were all hand copied by a far smaller pop-
    ulation base. Only 138 million people existed at the time, the no automatic duplication methods for he printed word. What motivated such extensive work?

    Was the incredible quantity and survival of the Christian record a miracle, or just senseless expansion of a myth? Why haven’t other religions with more prominent leaders, with lifelong ministries, and with less persecution produced similar evidence? Something major happened.

    Manuscript Documentation

    The position of Jewish scribe was one of the most demanding and esteemed jobs in biblical times. After
    training for years, scribes were allowed to practice the profession only after age 30. Often referred to as doctors of the Law, they joined the priests in the teaching of the Law.

    Scripture Copy Rules

    Recording of Holy Scripture was a serious responsibility. So important was exact reproduction that Old Testament scribes were forced to adhere to demanding rules anytime a manuscript was copied:

    1. Scrolls – special paper, ink, and surface preparation required.
    2. Tight specifications – specified column number, 37 letters per column.
    3. Master used – no duplicates of duplicates.
    4. Each letter visually confirmed – no writing of phrases.
    5. Distance between letters checked with thread.
    6. Alphabet – each letter counted and compared to original.
    7. Letters per page counted and compared to master.
    8. Middle letter of scroll verified to be the same as the master.
    9. One mistake – scroll was destroyed (i.e., master scrolls)

    Proof of Authenticity

    Not surprisingly, critics of the Bible, especially those knowledgeable of the prophecy miracles, suggest that the Bible was changed, altered, and somehow mishandled. Commonly, people claim the Bible was in the control of the Roman Catholic Church, which supposedly had “opportunity and motive” to change Scripture to meet its purpose. Such critics miss some key facts. There are two indisputable sets of records that mankind has in its possession today that were not historically controlled by the Christian church and verify the authenticity of the message contained in the words of the Bible we read today:

    The Septuagint

    Almost 300 years before Christ, the world was becoming so accustomed to Greek that the language of Hebrew was becoming “lost.” It was deemed more important to translate the Bible into a common language than to try to teach everyone Hebrew. A group of 70 elite scholars was assembled to translate the Scriptures into Greek. The result was a document called the Septuagint (meaning “seventy”), compiled around 250 B.C. (Several copies were made by the techniques of the scribes above.) Today, we still have copies of the early translations. The Septuagint message is consistent with the Bible.

    The Dead Sea Scrolls

    Any doubt regarding the accurate transmission of manuscripts was erased in 1947 with the discovery of hundreds of scrolls buried in caves for nearly 2000 years. Many were written before 100 B.C. Comparison of biblical books with recent Jewish copies shows virtual no change in words or even letters.

    Non-Christian Evidence

    Very few written works of anything in history exist from the period of A.D. 30 to 60. All works from A.D. 50-60 are said to fit in bookends only a foot apart. Nero’s killing of Christians in A.D. 64 led to non-Christian writing about Jesus.

    Thallus (circa A.D. 52) – Historical work referenced by Julius Africanus. Explains the darkness at the time of Christ’s death as a solar eclipse. While an eclipse did not occur in that period (pointed out by Julius Africanus), reference to Jesus’ death was stated as a matter of fact.

    Josephus (circa A.D. 64-93) – This Jewish historian referenced Jesus, His miracles, His crucifixion, and His disciples. Also referenced are James, “brother of Jesus who was called the Christ,” and John the Baptist.

    Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 64-116) – Writing to dispel rumors that Nero caused the great fire of Rome in A.D. 64, he refers to Christians as the followers of “Christus.” Who “had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus.” The resurrection was called “the pernicious superstition.”

    Pliny the Younger (circa A.D. 112) – As governor of Bithynia (Asia Minor), he requested guidance from Rome regarding the proper test to give Christians before executing them. (If they renounced the faith, cursed Jesus, and worshiped the statue of Emperor Trajan, they were set free.)

    Phlegon (circa A.D. 140) – Referenced by Julius Africanus and Origen – referred to “eclipse,” earthquake, and Jesus’ prophecies.

    Did the Resurrection Occur?

    The crucifixion of Jesus was especially well documented and accepted as fact. The crucial question then becomes, Did Jesus rise from the dead, proving His claim to be God incarnate? Or did something else happen with His body? Or was He never dead at all?

    A key to this issue is the extreme local importance placed on handling this execution. Jesus’ powerful, insightful speaking and many miracles had let the populace to request that He become king. This began to threaten the local political stability of the Romans and the religious power of the Jewish leaders whom Jesus openly criticized. Both the absolute death of Jesus and the protection against a hoax were critical, since Jesus had claimed He would overcome death. Furthermore, He had already raised other people from the dead. As a result, all precautions were taken to secure His corpse (Matthew 27:62-66).

    The Bible implies the cause of Jesus’ death was cardiac arrest, indicated by blood and water from a spear thrust (medical experts confirm this). To secure the body, a Roman guard was placed outside the tomb. Such a guard would have consisted of 16 soldiers, with a disciplined rotation for sleeping at night (every four hours, four would switch). The guards all faced the rigid Roman penalty of crucifixion if they slept outside of the assigned shift or deserted their post. The idea that all guards were asleep, considering the death penalty, is especially unreasonable. To further ensure safekeeping, a two-ton stone [McDowell, Josh and Wilson, Bill. A Ready Defense. San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life Publishers, Inc., 1990] was rolled in front of the tomb with Pontius Pilate’s seal on it. Breaking the seal without the official Roman guard’s approval meant crucifixion upside down. The central issue, unexplainable by Jewish leaders, especially in light of the many precautions, is…

    What happened to Jesus’ corpse if He did not rise from the dead as indicated in the Gospel accounts?

    The official explanation is that the disciples stole the body while the guards were asleep (with the priests protecting the guards from the governor). This story was necessary only because no one could produce a dead body of Jesus, which would have stopped the resurrection story forever. Is a theft of Jesus’ body even remotely possible given that:

    1. All 16 guards would have had to risk the penalty of crucifixion by sleeping while on duty of deserting. Surely at least one guard would be awake.
    2. The disciples were in a state of shock, fear, and disarray, having seen their Master crucified. Is it reasonable to think they quickly created a brilliant plan and flawlessly executed it on the Sabbath day of rest?
    3. What possible motive could the disciples have? If Jesus was not the Son of God as He claimed, stealing the body would create a lie with no apparent benefit, and death for no purpose for the disciples.

    Reply

14. Jesus Is Different – Jesus Claimed to Be God

    Many times Jesus either unequivocally asserted that he was God or made statements and performed actions that implied the same thing. His words and actions so infuriated the religious leaders of the day that they tried several times to kill him for “blasphemy” (claiming that he was God). Eventually they succeeded in putting him into the hands of the Roman government, which technically crucified him (though Pilate “washed his hands” of the act, which he opposed, see Matthew 27:24).
    If we look at Jesus’ actions and words, we can see four specific ways in which he indicated he was divine:
    1. Jesus indicated he could forgive sins. The Jews believed that only the single God of the universe could forgive sins. When Jesus made this claim, the religious leaders said he was blaspheming (Matthew 9:1-8)
    2. Jesus accepted worship. In the Law of Moses, God specifically commanded the Israelites to worship only him. Jesus demonstrated that he was in fact God by accepting the worship of, among others, his disciples (Luke 5:8; John 20:28).
    3. Jesus specifically said he was God. Jesus said “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). He also told the religious leaders, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58, “I am” was one of the names that God used of himself). The leaders clearly recognized what Jesus was saying and started to pick up stones to stone him for blasphemy.
    4. Jesus performed miracles only God could do. Jesus did the same miracles Isaiah had prophesied would be signs of God’s presence (Isaiah 35:4-6).
    Here are more examples of Jesus’ actions and claims:
    • He forgave the sins of a man who had been paralyzed since birth. The religious leaders recognized his action as either evidence that he was God (“only God can forgive sins”) or blasphemy. Jesus silenced them by healing the paralyzed man in front of them and other witnesses, a miracle that only God could performed (Matthew 9:1-8).
    • Jesus called himself the “capstone” (the highest and most critical part of a building) that was rejected by the “builders”, in this case the religious leaders. Again they tried to find a way to arrest him (Matthew 21:42-46).
    • At his final trial, when Jesus was asked whether he was the “Christ, the Son of God,” he replied that he was. At this point the high priest tore his own clothes, a sign of great distress over, among other things, blasphemy, and the religious leaders emphatically demanded that Jesus die for his “blasphemy” (Mathew 26:63-66).

    Jesus Proved He Was God
    How can anyone prove he is God? Based on God’s words in the Bible, there is literally only one way that Jesus or anyone else can proved he is God:
    1. Demonstrate first that he is a prophet of God by proclaiming perfectly fulfilled prophecy. Only God can predict the future (Isaiah 46:10). The Bible tell us to “test everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and specifically tells us to use prophecy as the test to confirm that something is from God (Deuteronomy 18:14-22).
    2. Then prophesy that he is God, and that he will prove it by performing miracles only God can perform. In addition to maintaining that he was God, Jesus told both his disciples and the Jewish religious leaders that he would be resurrected from the dead, which would be a confirmation of all his words and prophecies.
    3. Finally, fulfill the prophecy and perform the miracle that he predicted. Jesus fulfilled his prophecy of the miracle of the resurrection. Its fulfillment verified his claim to be God and confirmed his triumph over death.

    In addition to fulfilling his own prophecies, Jesus fulfilled more than 100 Old Testament Mesianic prophecies, giving further evidence that he is God.

    The Miracle of the Resurrection

    Jesus precisely prophesied his own miraculous resurrection from the dead. Despite making this remarkable prophecy many times, along with others, he did not make any errors in any predictions. Furthermore, he professed to be God. And God tells us to use prophecy as a test to know whether something is from him. Therefore, the prophecies Jesus made, along with their fulfillment by the events of his death and resurrection, verify his claim to be God.

    Reply

15. What the Bible says about Jesus
    Revelation 1:7-8 says: Jesus is the Almighty
    Genesis 17:1 says: The Almighty is God

    John 18:51 says: Jesus is the I Am
    Exodus 3:14 says: The I Am is God

    Acts 3:14 says: Jesus is the Holy One
    Isaiah 43:15 says: The Holy One is God

    John 8:24 says: Jesus is I Am He
    Isaiah 43:10 says: I Am He is God

    Revelation 22:13 says: Jesus is the First and the Last
    Isaiah 44:6 says: The First and the Last is God

    1 Corinthian 10:4 says: Jesus is the Rock
    Psalm 18:31 says: The Rock is God

    John 5:21 says: Jesus raises the dead
    1 Samuel 2:6 says: God is the One who raises the dead

    John 8:12 says: Jesus is the light
    Isaiah 60:19 says: God is light

    Matthew 25:31 says: Jesus is the Judge
    Joel 3:12 says: God is the Judge

    Colossians 1:16 says: Jesus is the creator of Angels
    Psalm 148:5 says: The Creator of Angels is God

    Hebrews 1:6 says: Angels worship Jesus
    Psalm 148:2 says: Angels worship God

    Matthew 23:8 says: Jesus is the One Master
    Malachi 1:6 says: The One Master is God

    Acts 4:12 says: Jesus is the One Savior
    Isaiah 45:21 says: The One Savior is God

    Luke 1:68 says: Jesus is the One Redeemer
    Isaiah 41:14 says: The One Redeemer is God

    Revelation 19:16 says: Jesus is the Lord of Lords
    Deuteronomy 10:17 says: The Lord of Lords is God

    Philippians 2:10 says: Every knee must bow to Jesus
    Isaiah 45:23 says: Every knee must bow to God

    John 1:3 says: Jesus is the One Creator
    Genesis 1:1 says: The One Creator is God

    John 1:49 says: Jesus is the King of Israel
    Isaiah 44:6 says: The King of Israel is God

    Philippians 2:9 says that God is highly exalted Him, and given Him, the name of Jesus, that every knee shall bow of those in heaven and those of earth, and those under the earth. Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

    Act 4:12 says: Nor there is salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, for we must be saved.

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16. Fully God and Fully Man

    Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
    (Hebrews 4:14-15)

    Before there was a world, before there were planets, before there was light, before there was matter, there was Jesus. Coequal, coeternal, and coexistent with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus was with God—and He was God. John 1:1–2 tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” In John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” When the Word became flesh, he dwelt in the womb of Mary and was born as Jesus. Jesus is the incarnation of God, the term “incarnation” means “to become flesh.” Jesus is God in flesh. Col. 2:9 says, “for in him dwells all the fullness of deity in bodily form.” Another term for the incarnation of God in reference to Jesus is the hypostatic union. The term “incarnation” does not appear in the New Testament, but the concept is definitely taught: John 1:1,14; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 John 4:2; John 20:28; Heb. 1:8.

    We cannot pinpoint the moment in time when there was the beginning, because John was going back in time to eternity past. He was going back further than our minds can imagine.

    Jesus is God, and He left the safety of heaven. He entered our world and breathed our air and shared our pain and walked in our shoes. He was fully God and fully man. This does not mean that Jesus had the capacity to sin; this could not and would not happen. Yet He was a man. He was in a human body. He felt human emotion. He faced physical limitations. He felt real pain. It was actual blood coursing through His veins. Yet He was deity. He was God in human form.

    Jesus did not become identical to us, but He did become identified with us. In fact, He could not have identified with us any more closely than He did. As Hebrews 4:15 reminds us, “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

    It was total identification without the loss of identity as He became one of us without ceasing to be himself. He became human without ceasing to be God. Jesus left heaven, lived our life, and died our death. He has walked in your shoes—and then some.

    The Book of Hebrews links God’s saving power with his creative power. In other words, the power that brought the universe into being and that keeps it operating is the very power that cleanses our sins. How mistaken we would be to ever think that God couldn’t forgive us. No sin is too big for the Ruler of the universe to handle. He can and will forgive us when we come to him through his Son. Hebrews 1:3 it says: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
    Jesus sat down means that the work was complete. Christ’s sacrifice was final.

    Because God’s Children are human beings, made of flesh and blood, Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. (Hebrews 2:14)

    Jesus (as God) had to become human so that he could die and rise again, in order to destroy the Devil’s power over death. When we belong to God (being a born-again Christian), we need not fear death, because we know that death is only the doorway into eternal life. All who dread death should have he opportunity to know the hope that Christ’s victory brings.

    God is holy, and he will not be associated with sin. All people are sinful and so they are separated from God. In addition, all sin deserves punishment. Instead of punishing us with the death we deserve, however, Christ took our sins upon himself and look for punishment by dying on the cross. Now we can rejoice in God. Through faith in Christ’s work, we become close to God (friends) rather being enemies and outcasts.

    Salvation comes by faith alone (Romans 1:16,17) We are not saved by good deeds, but when we commit our life fully to God, we want to please him and do his will. As such, our good deeds are a grateful response to what God has done, not a prerequisite to earning his favor.

    There are those who say that people must add something else to simple faith. No person should add anything to Christ’s offer of salvation by grace through faith. Human achievements, no matter how impressive, cannot earn a personal salvation and eternal life with God.

    It is Jesus Christ who saves us, not our feelings or actions. Jesus offers us salvation as a gift because he loves us, not because we have earned it through our powerful faith. Faith is believing and trusting in Jesus Christ and reaching out to accept his wonderful gift of salvation.

    If you were to die right now, do you think you would enter into Heaven? Would you like to have the absolute assurance that you will be welcome there? If so then, pray this simple prayer:

    Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I know I cannot earn my way into Heaven. I thank you for sacrificing your life so that my sins could be forgiven. I know the only way anyone can receive forgiveness is through you, and so I come to you now and ask you to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, cleanse me, heal me, and be my personal savior so I may have eternal life through you. I pray in your name Jesus. Amen.

    As a continuation of your faith in Christ, you should start studying the Bible daily in order to gain a closer relationship with God, also find a local church to attend that teaches directly from the Bible so you will have someone to answer any questions you may still have. Welcome to the family of God!

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17. With so many denominations and religions, how can I decide which are true and which are false?

    It is certainly understandable that even a very earnest and sincere seeker after truth would be confused over the religious situation today, with hundreds of denominations, sects, and cults in Christendom alone, as well as hundreds more in other countries and cultures, and with new religious movements arising almost every day. Nevertheless, God has provided adequate instruction for us to enable us to “know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (I John 4:6) if we really want to do so.

    There are three criteria which are especially helpful in evaluating a particular cult or movement: the teachings of its leaders concerning the Bible, concerning Christ, and concerning the way of salvation, respectively.

    1. Attitude toward the Bible

    The Bible claims, many hundreds of time, to be the written Word of God. The Old Testament Scriptures were accepted by Christ and the apostles as divinely inspired and completely infallible. Jesus said: “The scriptures cannot be broken” (John 10:35). With respect to the New Testament, He promised His apostles that “the Holy Ghost shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26), and that “the Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

    Therefore, during the first century, the apostles who had been with Christ, had witnessed His resurrection and had received these promises, gradually wrote down the Gospels and Epistles which now comprise the New Testament. These were readily received and recognized by the early Christians as inspired Scriptures. The apostles claimed that these writings were divinely inspired and authoritative, and true Christians have always accepted them as such.

    Finally, the last of the apostles, John the Beloved, near the end of the first century, was enabled to look prophetically into the future ages and to write down the last of the true Scriptures, the book of Revelation. This completed God’s written words,

    “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life” (Revelation 22:18, 19).

    These last words of Christ’s apostles give us a most important rule. The Scriptures are fully inspired, even to the very words, and those who would add to them or take away from them are, to the extent they do so, false teachers.

    In general, cultists have been guilty of “adding to” the Scriptures, claiming either that the writings of their own founders were divinely inspired or that the interpretations of their leaders were uniquely necessary and authoritative. Modernists and liberals, on the other hand, have been guilty of the even more serious error of “taking away from” Scripture, culling out or allegorizing those portions which they decide are unscientific or unreasonable to modern man. The true teacher, however, will accept all the Scriptures, and only the Scriptures, as the infallible Word of God.

    2. Attitude toward Christ

    A true Christian teacher will gladly accept and proclaim Jesus Christ as He is, true God and true man.

    “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (I John 2:22).

    “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (II John 7).

    “There shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought [that is, ‘redeemed’] them” (II Peter 2:1).

    Error concerning the person of Christ can take either the form of the ancient Gnostic heresy, which denied His true humanity, or that of the modern Agnostic heresy, which denies His true deity. The latter considers Him to be a great man and great religious teacher and leader, but rejects His virgin birth, His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, and His bodily resurrection and ascension. Any cult or denomination or religious movement which does not clearly and forcefully proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ both as the perfect Son of man and the only begotten Son of God, “the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8), is false, and should be rejected.

    3. Attitude toward Salvation

    The gospel of Christ is “the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16). The word “gospel” means “good news,” not “good advice.” It does not tell us what we must do and not do in order to earn salvation, but rather what Christ has done to provide salvation as a free gift. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).

    Every other religion under the sun, whether pseudo-Christian or non-Christian, panders to man’s pride by teaching him there is something he can do to earn, or to help in earning, his own salvation. Only true Biblical Christianity recognizes man as he really is, utterly lost in sin, destined for eternal separation from God. The gospel, “by which you are saved,” is the glorious news that “Christ died for our sin” (I Corinthians 15:1,3), and that we can be saved by grace, through personal faith in Christ, plus nothing else whatever! Any religion which teaches otherwise is, to that extent, false. Paul said,

    “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9).

    One who is truly saved by God’s grace in Christ will, of course, then seek to follow Christ and His Word in all things, not to earn salvation, but in love and gratitude for His glorious gift of cleansing and everlasting life.

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18. THE BIBLE IS SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE

    For the Bible to be regarded as the inspired word of God, it must be scientifically accurate…since God would certainly know the facts about his creation. A word of caution, however, as we seek to evaluate the claim of scientific accuracy. Over time, science has often discovered new facts that confirmed a revised understanding of the truth, previously unknown. These discoveries have always been consistent with the Bible, however, at times a careful consideration of the words and (importantly) the context of the words must be made.

    The Bible is scientifically accurate and even contains enormous number of insights far in advance of their discovery by humans. In evaluating the Bible from a “scientific standpoint” we must keep in mind that the Bible is not a science textbook, it is a book to define human beings’ proper relationship with God. Therefore, one would not expect a great deal of discussion of science. However, as the summary below indicates, when there is a reference in it about a fact or nature, it is accurate, and in many cases there are insights provided thousands of years in advance of their understanding by science.

    The account of creation (the Bible: 1450 B.C.; science: 1900s). The account of creation as given in the Bible (Genesis 1) is accurate according to the steps understood by science. Written down originally by Moses, they were not fully recognized by science until the 1900s, using modern astronomy, physics, chemistry, paleontology, and geology.

    The hydrological cycle (the Bible: 3000 B.C.; science: 1700s). The hydrologic cycle was first written about in the book of Job, about 3000 B.C. It states,

    He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down
    their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. (Job 36:27-28)

    In addition, Solomon described the hydrological cycle in about 935 B.C., saying,

    All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams from, there
    they return again (Ecclesiastes 1:7).

    Science, however, did not understand the hydrological cycle until Perrault and Marriotte correctly identified the process in the 1700s.

    The Earth hangs in empty space (the Bible: 3000 B.C.; science:1543). Ancient cultures believed many things, yet virtually all thought of the earth as being some type of flat, unmovable object. Many myths were associated with the various beliefs. The Bible correctly indicated that the earth was suspended in space:

    He spreads out the northern [skies] over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing
    (Job 26:7, brackets in original).

    Science did not discover this until Copernicus in 1543.

    Air has weight (the Bible: 3000 B.C.; science: 1643). Although ancient people widely believed air to be weightless, the book of Job indicated that it in fact had weight:

    To establish a weight for the wind, and apportion the waters by measure (Job 28:25).

    Torricelli, an Italian, discovered barometric pressure in 1643.

    Time, space and matter had a beginning (the Bible: 1450 B.C.; science: 1916). The Bible’s first words are “in the beginning.” And elsewhere, including the New Testament, there are references to the beginning of time (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2; 1 Corinthians 2:7). In 1915, Albert Einstein’s equations of general relativity proposed a beginning of time, matter and space. Later these equations were confirmed by repeated experiments.

    The first law of thermodynamics (the Bible: 1450 B.C.; science: 1842). The law of conservation of energy indicates that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed (just converted). There are many biblical references to God’s completion (that is, there was no more creation), going as for back as Genesis (2:2-3), and also in several other books (Psalm 148:6; Isaiah 40:26; 2 Peter 3:3-7; Hebrews 4:3-4,10). Joule and Mayer both independently discovered this in the same year (1842), what is now known as the first law of thermodynamics.

    The second law of thermodynamics (the Bible: 1000 B.C.; Science: 1850). Commonly known as entropy, this law states that all things progress from a state of order to a state of disorder (within a closed system) without a purposeful input of energy. Common illustrations: things decay, springs unwind, stars burn out, heat dissipates, and materials become mixed over time. There are many references to the principle of entropy in the Bible, for example,

    In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of
    your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like garment
    (Psalm 102:25-26).

    Other similar references include Isaiah 51:6; Matthew 24:35; Romans 8:20-22; 1 John 2:17; and Hebrews 12:27. In 1850, Clausius discovered this second law of thermodynamics.

    The Earth is a sphere (the Bible: 700 B.C.; science 1543). Most of the world thought that the earth was flat until after the time of Copernicus in 1543. However, the Bible referenced the Earth in form of a “circle” (or implied it to be a sphere, using a broader definition of the original Hebrew word khug): He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers (Isaiah 40:22).

    The universe is expanding (the Bible: 1000 B.C.; science: 1916). The motion of the heavens is predicted by the general relativity equations first proposed by Albert Einstein and since confirmed many times. Experimental physicists, such as Edwin Hubble, verified the predicted expanding universe as early as the early 1900s. However, the Bible indicated that the universe is expanding far earlier than that. As early as about 1000 B.C.; the writer of Psalm wrote,

    He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent (verse 2).

    Many other verses indicate that the heavens were (and are being) stretched out by God (Job 9:8; Isaiah 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; 48:13; Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15; Zechariah 12:1)

    The stars are uncountable (the Bible: 600 B.C.; science: 1920s). Ancient people thought the stars were countable. In fact, in about 100 A.D., Ptolemy was actively cataloguing the stars, estimated to number 1100 at that time. Of course, modern science, starting in about the 1920s with new high powered telescopes, realized that the number of stars was in the billions. Later they recognized that there are about a billion galaxies, each with about a billion stars. However, the Bible recognized this when it proclaimed the stars “uncountable” in about 600 B.C.:

    I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before
    Me as countless as the stars of the sky (Jeremiah 33:22).

    The accuracy of the literal biblical statement can now be easily verified. If stars were ‘counted” at a rate of ten per second, it would take more than 100 trillion years to “count” the stars…which is clearly impossible.

    Global wind patterns (the Bible: 1000 B.C.; science 1960s). It took satellite technology to fully recognize the globe wind patterns that exist. However, the Bible indicated existence of such patterns in the book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon in about 1000 B.C.:
    The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course (1:6).

    Engineering of Noah’s ark (the Bible: 1450 B.C.; science: 1900s). The Bible defines the dimensions and building specifications for Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:15). Modern engineering has calculated that for a barge type design best-suited for rough seas, the design of Noah’s ark is optimum.

    Circumcision on the eighth day (the Bible: 1450 B.C.; science: 1947). No one really knows for sure why God specifically chose circumcision as the sign of his covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:11). Though it seems like an odd practice, research has indicated that it does have medical value. A study in the mid-1900s showed that Jewish women had a lower rate of cervical cancer. The smegma bacillus has been shown to be a major cause of cervical cancer. It can be easily carried in the foreskin of uncircumcised males and transferred to females through a abrasions of the cervix (as those occurring in childbirth).

    Interestingly, God specified that newborns be circumcised on the eighth day after childbirth (Genesis 17:12). Research shows that infants are particularly susceptible to hemorrhaging from the second day after birth to the fifth. A small cut can be deadly. Vitamin K, necessary for the production of prothrombin (the body’s blood-clotting substance) is not present sufficiently until days five through seven. It skyrockets to 110 percent of normal on day eight, and then levels off. The Bible specifies the best possible day.

    Quarantine (the Bible: 1450 B.C.; science: 1500s). When the Black Plague was killing much of Europe prior to the Renaissance, desperate nations turned to the Church for guidance. Germs and infections were not understood at the time. The clergy went back to the books of Moses for guidance and instituted the laws of Moses as taught to the Israelites, including those for dealing with infectious diseases like leprosy. Leviticus 13 stressed separating people with infectious disease from others. This, combined with the other laws of Moses, helped bring the Black Plague under control.

    Sterilization (the Bible: 1450 B.C.; science: 1800s). It is easy to take our understanding of germs and disease for granted. However, germs and sterilization were not understood until the time of Joseph Lister (1865), near the end of the Civil War. The Bible required sterilization for many things: infectious disease (Leviticus 13), childbirth (chapter 12), bodily discharges (chapter 15), and handling of the dead (Numbers 19).

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