Here are eight facts that might surprise you about the Bible.
One Book, Forty Authors
One book, the holy Bible, was written over thousands of years by forty different authors from every walk imaginable: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings and not in that order however these authors were inspired by the Spirit of God as Peter wrote “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2nd Pet 1:21) and so “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2nd Tim 3:16). How all these different authors wrote books that are in theological agreement with all the other author’s books convinces me that God was orchestrating the Bible’s construction, from Genesis to Revelation, especially knowing that the vast majority of these authors didn’t know one another.
Non-Human Authors
The Bible is the only religious book that claims God as the Author. Paul writes that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work” (2nd Tim 3:16-17) so “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2nd Pet 1:20-21). The phrase “thus says the Lord” appears over one hundred times indicating that it is God speaking and not man.
Archeology and the Bible
Every year it seems that archeologists provide more proof that the historical accounts in the Bible are accurate. Ancient historians such as the Jewish historian Josephus who was hired by the Roman Empire and Tacitus a Roman historian both confirm the accounts that were recorded in the Bible are actual and factual historical events. Recently historian and archivist Ignazio Perrucci discovered a composition on a sheepskin parchment that is presumed to be the first eyewitness account ever recorded of a miracle of Jesus Christ and a careful dating analysis it does indeed date from the 1st century of this era, more precisely from between 20-45 AD.
The Best Seller and Most Read
The Bible is the bestselling book of all time having been translated into 1,200 languages and in the U.S. nearly 170,000 Bibles are sold or given away every single day. There must be some reason that the Bible is the bestselling book in human history. It is no accident that more Bibles are sold each year than the top ten bestsellers because books come and books go but the Bible is here to stay forever or as Peter wrote “the word of the Lord remains forever” (1st Pet 1:25a).
Prophecies Fulfilled
There is a remarkable thing about the Bible that cannot be a coincidental happening; over 3,200 prophecies are recorded with yet 3,100 verses still to be fulfilled. There are over 800 prophecies about Jesus Christ alone that have been prophesied and may of these have already been fulfilled by Christ’s earthly ministry. The actual mathematical probability that Jesus Christ could have fulfilled even eight of these prophecies would still be a mind boggling 1 in 1017 of a chance! In other words, it's 10 to the 157th power that Jesus would have accidentally fulfilled these prophecies showing that it is no coincidence, rather it is God’s specific and predetermined plan that no one can prevent. Just consider the mathematical odds of these fulfilled prophecies happening by blind chance; 1 in 100, 000, 000, 000, 000, and 000 which of course is impossible.
The Power of the Word
Nothing in this world comes with a guarantee backed by God Himself except His Word. God says through the prophet Isaiah “my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (55:11). His Word is immutable, unstoppable, and immovable. His Word will not come back empty or without accomplishing just what God intended for it to accomplish. Paul knew the gospel of salvation was its own power source, writing “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). The power is not in the speaker but in the Word and “it is the [very] power of God” that leads to “salvation to everyone who believes” and “to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1st Cor 1:18b).
The Law of Coverture
Where did the custom originate where the woman took the man’s last name as her own? It began with the first wedding when Adam became one with Eve and thereafter, both Adam and Eve were frequently mentioned together as “Adam” since they became “one flesh” (Gen 5:2; Matt 19:5-6; Mark 10:8; Ephesians 5:31). This is called the Law of Coverture or the law of covering. After the marriage, a woman's legal rights and obligations were subsumed by her husband, but today, many women who marry, carry over their own family name with them or add a hyphen to it. It is all a matter of the couple’s personal preferences, so whether the wife hyphenates it, or takes her husband’s last name for herself, she is still one flesh with her husband.
The Tree of Life
Most people believe after Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden, we’ve seen the last of the tree of life but not so. It makes a comeback and is found in the New Jerusalem (Rev 2:7) when the Apostle John writes about “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Rev 22:1-2). Adam and Eve were not banned from Eden because they had eaten of the forbidden food on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; they were banned from the Garden to block their access to the tree of life, lest they take it and live in sin for all time so God “drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:24).
Conclusion
We still have no access to eternal life or the tree of life until we repent and trust in the Author of Life and that is Jesus Christ. He made it possible for us to enter the kingdom of heaven and gives us the free gift of eternal life. The tree of life will once more bear fruit as “for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:2b-5).
Pastor Jack Wellman
