Matthew chapter 25

The 25th chapter of Matthew has Jesus telling 2 parables, one about ten bridesmaids waiting for the groom, and the other about how effective different servants are as stewards of their master's money.

Jesus then follows these two parables up with an example of the division of Sheep and Goats, illustrating how the Christians will be separated from the unbelievers in the comming judgment.

The two parables are in relation to Jesus' second comming and since it is unknown when it will occur, we must watch and be ready.

In The Parable of the Ten Virgins, the ten virgins would be the bridesmaids, rather than the bride herself. Wedding processions, like the one in this parable, from the bride's to the groom's home, accompanied by singing and dancing, normally happened at night and thus required lamps or torches for light. It is reasonable to assume the bridesmaids are thus waiting outside the bride's home for the Groom's coming, to escort her to his home, where she will become his wife.

In this particular parable (in contrast to Matthew 24:42-44) the issue is not that the virgins went to sleep, since both the wise and foolish did so; the issue is that some were not watchful enough to have sufficient oil. All the virgins would have been ready for the groom had he arrived when they expected, but grooms' delays were common enough that they should have been prepared for it anyway. As the old saying goes "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." This provides clear warning that the second coming of Jesus may be delayed, but even though Jesus might not come as soon as we would like, we must still be prepared for His arrival and not be only prepared for a short time.

Those unprepared for Christ's coming insult Him and are subject to His judgment. The wise virgins' unwillingness to share their oil reflects their concern for their friend's wedding; since they had only enough for their own torches, sharing would cause all the torches to be extinguished, ruining the whole processi. Bridal processions were so important that later rabbis even suspended their lectures so they could hail a passing bride, so a breach of etiquette was serious. Thus the foolish virgins were not excluded simply because the door was locked, nor because the host actually did not recognize them, but because they had insulted the bride and groom as well as all their relatives! They would never be allowed to forget such an offense. That they would be shut out of the feast in punishment suits their offence, but the language used "'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'" points beyond itself to severer, eternal judgment, probably echoing the sayings in Matthew 7:21-23.

The Parable of the Talents has a couple of important points to begin with. Firstly, a single Talent was worth quite a lot of money, in the realm of at least a thousand dollars in modern money. Secondly, the maseter already knew which servants would perform well and which would not. This is evident in the way he entrusted his money, "To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability" This parable provides clear warning about how Christians are to manage the gifts, abilities, resources, and talents God has given us to further His Kingdom.

Christians are to be like the servants who increased their master's wealth. We are to use our abilities, develop them and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Grace to the world. Christians are to be a light to the world. Christians should not be like the servant who hid away the talent for fear of losing it only to give the same back to his master. When we come face to face with God, we are to say "Lord you made me a good singer/preacher/teacher/listener/etc and see how this built up your Kingdom." We are not to say " Thanks Lord, you made me a good singer/preacher/teacher/listener/etc and I enjoyed it everyday in the shower, but never shared this gift as I was afraid." Christians obviously will have different levels of ability and calling for ministry, this means we will be able to reach different lives and indeed will mean some reach more than others. The Christian who God has planned only to evangelise to one soul and does it, is far more worthy that the Christian destined to preach to millions but only reached hundreds of thousands.

The illustration Jesus gives of dividing believers from unbelievers like dividing sheep from goats is a very visual and powerful illustration of election. It is a very practical one, explaining that the sheep are the ones who unknowingly performed righteous acts of service to Jesus. "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." These acts were not performed by the 'goats', but it is not these acts which makes a believer righteous, believers are made righteous through Grace alone. As C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity (I very strongly recomend reading this book as soon as possible, place it on the top of your "to read" list) "[Our] good works are not [our] gift to God, but God's gift to [us]." Unless one believes in the Darwinian Theory of Evolution, which no biblical Christian should, a sheep can never turn into a goat no matter how beardy that sheep may be, and a goat can never be turned into a sheep, no matter how well behaved. Unsaved, or pre-saved 'sheep', are considered 'lost sheep' as found in the famous parable, and are never refered to as goats. The Sheep will be rewarded with life in heaven, simply for being sheep, not because they also hear and obey the voice of their Good Shepherd. They hear and obey the Shepherd's voice because they are sheep, they are not sheep because they hear and obey.

The Authority of God's Word: Is the Scripture alone sufficient as a source of truth and authority?

This is the second of 2 posts, in which I have attempted to address two important questions when considering the authority of the Bible.

1. What is meant by the phrase "The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God?"

2. Is the Scripture alone sufficient as a source of truth and authority?

"The true treasure of the church is the Holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God." Dr Martin Luther.

Psalm 119:33-37
"Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word."

By believing "Scripture alone is sufficient as a source of truth and authority," Christians submit to Scripture as the final measure of God's revealed Truth. This submission is based upon the belief that:

1. The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God.

2. The revealed Word of God in the Bible is complete and needs no addition.

There are several levels of God's revelation of Himself to mankind.

Firstly is a general revelation, that God exists and that He is powerful. This is revealed to all mankind through all of Creation (that is the natural universe and everything in it) as seen in Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:18-20, the underlying rule of a universal 'right and wrong' know as a human conscience as seen in Romans 2:14-15, and the provision of mankind's most basic needs of nourishment and joy as seen in Acts 14:15-17. This level of revelation does not give much information but is available to all people at all times, whenever we see the wonder of creation, just know and can't explain why something is 'right' or 'wrong', or the sun again rises and rain again falls to provide life on this planet it is evidence of God.

Secondly is the special, inspired revelation of God's laws and plan for humanity and indeed all of creation through His inspired Words the Scripture. This is not a general revealtion, but a very specific one. From Scripture we learn more about the character of God, and also only selcted men were inspired to write Scripture. Scripture gives account of all things necessary for Crhistianity, it begins with God's Creation of the Universe, and ends with God's final judgment of that Creation. Scripture is God's message to mankind of His design plan. From Scripture we are to teach, have the basis for correction and all training in righteousness, in accordance with 2 Timothy 3:16-17. The Scripture also records God's incarnation as Jesus Christ, the most powerful of the revelations of God to Humanity. The Scripture is completed and nothing more will be added to or taken away from Scripture in accordance with Matthew 5:18 and Revelation 22:18-19.

Thirdly is the incarnate revelation of who God is, and His plan for the salvation of His people. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, is God made flesh, revealed to mankind so that we can now know Him personally, as He intended when He created Adam in the Garden of Eden. Through Jesus' life, and subsequent death, we have the example of a perfect and sinless life, which Christians are to aspire to (although can never attain). Also God's redemptive work of sacrifice on the Cross where Jesus, who was sinless, died for the sins of many. Jesus' life is the Gospel message which is foretold in the Old Testament, as Jesus Himself said in John 5:39-40 and revealed through the New Testament, and summised in 1 Corinthians 15:2-4.

Finally is the revelation of the Holy Spirit within each believer, which affirms the truth of the Scripture, as seen in John 16:13-14. The Gospel of Jesus and salvation through Grace alone does not make sense to earthly wisdom, that nothing is ever for free. Through the Holy Spirit however, this truth is revealed, that Grace and Salvation are in fact free as Ephesians 2:8 tells us, and by the Holy Spirit openeing our 'eyes' is how Christians may believe (1 Corinthians 2:9-11). The Holy Spirit will never contradict Scripture and neither will Scripture contradict the Holy Spirit, which is also called the Spirit of Truth. This revelation of the Holy Spirit, that the Bible and Gospel of Jesus is truth and the only way to redemption for sin and entry to Heaven, will not suppliment or add to scripture in any way. Simply, it will reveal that the Scipture is true, not that Scripture is incomplete and needs any supplimetary material, doctorines or new revelations. All Christian doctorines and teachings are found within the Bible, and if found contrary to Scripture, the belief is to be rejected.

Although all Christians claim to believe that The Scripture is the Word of God, some do not submit to the authority of Scripture.

Personal revelations of Truth: Some Christians have the belief that the Spirit will reveal all truth and that in fact the Spirit is the final measure of Truth. In essence, that Scripture is to be tested by the Spirit. This is a belief that Christians are not to live according to the Scripture but according to the Spirit. They claim that the Spirit which dwells within Christian's will either support Scripture, or the Scripture is meaningless. If this were true, then the Spirit would be a higher authority than the Scripture and thus Scripture would not be infallable, since it must be validated by another, higher source of truth.

Who is to say then, where the Bible is truthful and where is it not? The modern answer is that "the Holy Spirit will guide us" but this leads to nothing more than relativism, for there is no longer an exterior test of truth. Now each person would require a personal revelation of truth and who would be correct? Since there would be no standard test for each person's revelation of truth, all must be considered true. This would demote truth from being an absolute, to being relative to one's own circumstance and whim.

This in turn leads into pluralism, as now we rely upon individual, spiritual revelations for truth, by which measure can each individuals claim be tested? There would be no way to determine which is wrong so all spiritual revelations would then be true. Gautama Buddha who gained spiritual enlightenment while sitting under a Bodhi tree, after he vowed never to arise until he had found the Truth; Joseph Smith Jr. who recieved the Golden Plates from Moroni, who Mormons believe is a resurected prophet who became an angel; and Mohhamed who claimed to have a vision of the angel Gabriel, would all be correct, since they were 'truths' derived from spiritual revelations.

2 Peter 1: 20-21 says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Scripture is neither the will of man nor interpretation of man. Scripture was written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are the Word of God. Therefore, what the Holy Spirit reveals to Christians will NEVER contradict what the Scriptures teach. God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18) and thus can’t contradict Himself.

This does not mean that the Spiritual Gifts have ended. Far from it, according to 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, the Holy Spirit will still, heal and perform other miraculous signs, grant wisdom, provide Faith, allow prophecy, discernment, speaking in tounges and interpreting them. The most miraculous gift of the Spirit though is a new and clean heart which accompanies the gifts of Salvation and Faith. What the Spirit will not do however, is give new, superior revelations to Scripture that are not already found in the Scriptures. Even though there may and will be Spiritual gifts and miraculous signs and wonders every spirit must be tested to see if it is from God. In fact, 1 John 4:1-3 tells us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world...you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” Christ, is another title of Jesus which indicates He is the Christ or the Messiah foretold dof in the Old Testament. Jesus told us in John 5:39, that the Scriptures "testify about me." Therefore to test if a spirit exalts Jesus as the Messiah, it should be tested against a medium which already does, the Scripture. If any spiritual revelation contradicts the Bible, then it is a false spirit. The Bible is the authority because it is the Word of God concening His revelation of Himself to humanity.

Church Tradition: The Catholic Church in particular teaches the infallibility of the Pope and that Church tradition is to be considered equal to Scripture in terms of authority. This again lessens the authority of Scripture as Church tradition then becomes the primary measure of truth. If the Tradition were to contradict Scripture, then Scripture would be considered wrong.

In many cases this obedience of Church tradition will not lead away from Scriptural truth. With tradition though, there also needs to be a test of righteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 says "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings [or traditions] we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." In Matthew 15:1-9 however, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for holding to tradition when it meant breaking the Word of God saying "...you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." Jesus is saying here that when conflicting, a righteous person will follow the Word of God rather than any conflicting Church tradition. As John Wesley stated in the 18th century, "The Church is to be judged by the Scriptures, not the Scriptures by the Church." Scripture is to be the measure of Truth, not Church traditions.

Replacing Scripture with the latest trends: Another, and possibly most serious of the threats to Scriptural authority in the Church is the tendancy of some 'Culturally relevant' churches replacing Scripture all together. This is a serious problem. Pastors who rely on a culturally relevant message rather than Scriptural truth to try to explain God and Christianity. Jesus cirtainly spoke in parables, but He refered to Scripture in His teachings more often. Using multimedia presentations, allegories from current films and music artists or using ever changing pop-psychology in sermons can be helpful, but it should stay in the proper proportion. Scripture and the Word of God needs to remain the focus of Christian teaching and preaching, not the latest theory about 'how to make friends and influence people'. Even plain old unbiblical teachings such as a Gospel of Prosperity instead of Christ is damaging and replaceing Scripture in some churches. God is not simply a Heavenly 'blessing-machine' (think vending machines), where we pray like this and He responds with those blessings. Job suffered the loss of everything including his family, Jonah suffered in the belly of a whale, Joseph was sold into slavery, Sampson was tortured and imprisoned, most of the Apostles were martyred for their faith in Jesus, Jesus was ignored, taunted, challenged, despised, beaten, tortured, abused and murdered. Is there a common thread here? Christianity is about taking up our cross to follow Him, dieing to ourselves and submitting totally to His will in our lives. About seeking the Kingdom of Heaven, not getting a free ride and being blessed with wealth here. God may chose to bless some Christians with material wealth, indeed He cirtainly does in some cases. This does not equate to every Christian being a millionaire though. Our Focus needs to be on the Giver, not the gifts, on the Word of God, not the latest motivational theories of men.

That the Scriptures are only reliable in matters of morality: Another blatant attack upon Scriptural authority is the claim of many secular, and atheistic, scientists and some Christians that Science and Religion never overlap, that Darwinian Evolution is compatable with Biblical Christianity. That is, that Science deals with the "facts of the real world" and religion deals with ethics, morals, and human values. However, The Ressurection of Jesus is an essectian Christian 'value', but it must also be a fact of history, Christ must actually HAVE been ressurected, to have any importance.

This error is called Theistic Evolution, and is a belief that God used Evolution over billions of years in creation, rather than a six day time frame. This however is an attack on Christianity at the very core. For if God used evolution, then there was billions of years of decay, disease, pain and death in God's creation. But "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good..." (Genesis 1:31) whereas death is an intruder, the "...last enemy..." (1 Corinthians 15:26) God did not introduce death into His very good creation, death was a result of Adams sin (Romans 5:12-19). Christianity is based upon the Fact that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23) That death is a result of Sin and that Jesus defeated Death to pay for the sins of His Children. If Death came before sin, a requirement of evolution, then it could not be a result of sin. "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:18-19)

It is important to understand that the Bible is not a textbook on science, or history, or geography. The Bible is not even a textbook on theology. However, whatever the Bible says about any of these things is God's Word. God's Word is correct and no one will ever be deceived or led into error by believing what the Scripture says.

Is the Scripture alone sufficient as a source of truth and authority?

2 Timothy 3:14-17 - "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Yes, the Scripture is a sufficient source of truth and authority. All scripture is God’s word. It is God’s will. What greater authority could there be? All scripture is useful, we are to teach with it, rebuke with it, correct according to it, be trained by it. By the Scripture we become wise for salvation. Ephesians 2:8 teaches that "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith" and Romans 10:17 teaches that "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Scripture thoroughly equips Christians for every good work.

Christians don’t need any personal revelation or “word of knowledge” to know God’s will. The Bible and its teaching will thoroughly or completely equip Christians for each and every good work. Christians don't need to rely on Church tradition to interpret Scripture for them. Fellowship with other Christians is vital for Christian growth, but we are to each search the Scriptures and hold each other accoutable to the Truth found in the Word of God. The Bible is a Christian's guide book, instruction manual, and the sufficient source for doctrine. Psalms 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

The cry of the Reformation was Sola Scriptura, that the Scripture Alone is to be the authority over believers. Scripture is the Word of God and since God is Truth and God is all-powerful, there can be no better measure of truth and authority than God's Word.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 - "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."

1 Corinthians 15:2-4 - "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..."

Further reading:
Biblical Authority: The Critical Issue for the Body of Christ by James T. Draper & Kenneth Keathley.

The Authority of God's Word: Is the Bible the inspired and infallible Word of God? and Where did the Bible come from? by the Modern Day Magi.

Looking for Jesus is Genesis: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, by T A Blankenship at Fire and Hammer.

The Authority of God's Word: Is the Bible the inspired and infallible Word of God?

In the next 2 posts, I will attempt to address two important questions when considering the authority of the Bible.

1. What is meant by the phrase "The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God?"

2. Is the Scripture alone sufficient as a source of truth and authority?


The phrase "The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God" literally means that Christians believe:

1. That the Bible is of such surpassing excellence as to suggest divine inspiration. [Inspired]

2. That the Bible is also incapable of failure, deception or error. [Infallible]

3. That the Bible is the express revelation of God's purpose and plan for mankind, and not simply collected writings of men. [Word of God]

Historically the Church has always believed the Scriptures to be the inspired and infallible Word of God, and thus should be considered the highest authority in Christian life. This fact can be clearly seen through the writings of many faithful men of the Church throughout history. Clement of Rome wrote in approximately 100 AD "Look carefully into the Scriptures which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit." Justin Martyr, one of the most famous early Christian apologists wrote "We must not suppose the language proceeds from the men who are inspired but from the divine word which moves them." Irenaeus of Gaul (130-202 AD) wrote "The Scriptures are perfect inasmuch as they were uttered by the word of God and His Spirit, though we want of the knowledge of their mysteries." Origen Adamantius (182-251 AD) wrote "We cannot say of the writings of the Holy Spirit, that anything in them is useless or superfluous, even if they seem to some obscure." Augustine (354-430 AD), considered by many to be the greatest theologian of the ancient church, said "Therefore, we yield to and agree the authority of the Holy Scripture which can neither be deceived or deceive." More recently men such as Martin Luther, who wrote "For whoever despises a single word of God does not regard any as important" and John Calvin, who referred to the Scriptures as "the sure and infallible record", "the unerring standard" and "the pure word of God", have also fiercely held that the Scriptures are the perfect Word of God and as such are the highest source of Authority for any Christian.

It would be a tragic error to claim more of the Bible than it claims for itself, however it would be equally tragic to claim less that Scripture itself indicates.

Exodus 4:10-12 tells us plainly that God gave Moses the words to speak, Exodus 34:27 says "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." also tells us that what Moses wrote was indeed the Word of God, perfect and intact. Deuteronomy 4:2 is a clear statement of God's authority through the Scripture. "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you." Deuteronomy 18:20 "But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death." describes the consequences of falsely claiming that something is the Word of God.

Each of the Prophets in the Old Testament also claim to be speaking the Words of God. In Isaiah there are about twenty claims that he was speaking the Words of the Lord, eg. Isaiah 1:10 "Hear the word of the Lord...". Jeremiah makes similar claims more than one hundred times eg. Jeremiah 1:4 "The word of the LORD came to me, saying..." Ezekiel also claims more than sixty time that he is speaking the very words of God "...This is what the Sovereign LORD says..." (Ezekiel 3:10-11) Daniel says he heard and reported directly from God "Then I heard Him speaking, and as I listened to him..." (Daniel 10:9) Each of the twelve minor prophets also plainly claim to be repeating the words of God, see Hosea 1:1, Joel 1:1, Amos 3:1, Obadiah 1:1, Jonah 1:1, Micah 1:1, Nahum 1:12, Habakkuk 2:2, Zephaniah 1:1, Haggai 1:1, Zechariah 1:1 and Malachi 1:1.

David, a man after God's own heart, wrote "Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." and the whole of Psalm 119 deals with David's concept of the truthfulness and purity of the Scriptures as the Word of God.

There are also many passages in the New Testament which address the infallibility and authority of Scripture as the Word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

2 Peter 1:20-21 - "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

James 1:18 - "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."

Since the Scripture is the Word of God we are to have as much Faith in Scripture as in God Himself. For if God can create the Universe by the power of His Words then His Words should remain true. Christian Faith rests on the Word and Truth of God's Word. The Bible surely testifies of God's honesty.

Titus 1:2 - "...a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time..."

Jesus also held the Scripture to be the word of God and to be authoritive.

Matthew 5:17-20 - "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished..."

Jesus knew and said that the Scriptures predicted He would come. The Scriptures always testify of Christ and His majesty. Jesus is in the Old Testament concealed, in almost every event and cirtainly every Jewish religious observance. Jesus is in the New Testament as the Messiah revealed.

John 5:39 - "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me."

Jesus authenticated the New Testament Scriptures as inspired by God before they were even written.

John 14:26 - "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Belief in the divine inspiration and infallibility of Scripture simply means that God used men to write the Bible. He overruled their particular imperfections, and did not allow any human faults or imperfection to enter the Scriptures which were written.

This does not imply mechanical dictation. God did not audibly dictate the scriptures as a business executive might dictate a letter for a secretary. God used the human intelligence, literary style and personal feelings of each author of Scripture. He did not remove them. He did not force material through an unwilling writer but prepared the writer for the task. God's light of truth is not distorted by the coloured glass of the writer's humanity. God designed the writer's humanity to colour His truth in a very precise and perfect way. God did not need to search all of humanity untill He found Paul so we could have the Pauline Epistles, God created Paul and conditioned him for exactly that purpose.

This does not imply that the modern translations are inspired or infallible. Only the original manuscripts were inspired. Whereever humans are involved there will be errors. No book has ever been reproduced, especially by hand which has not incurred some error. It is unreasonable to hold the Author responcible for this in an ordiany book, so we should not hold God responcible for this with the Bible. As far back as Augustine, there was distinction made between the original manuscripts and copies in regards to accuracy. "If, in one of these books, I stumble accross something which seems opposed to the truth, I have no hesitation in saying that either my copy is faulty or the translator has not fully grasped what was said, or else I myself have not fully understood." In spite of this God's message in the Scriptures is very close to its original form in the modern translations. This is why it is important to use multiple translations for Biblical study, and why the study of the original-language, root-words is helpful.

This especially does not mean any single, modern translation is inspired. People who passionately advocate only one translation as being the inspired and preserved Word of God in accordance with Matthew 5:18 are usually "King James Only" people. In effect, people who believe this position claim that Christians who do not speak or understand English, espeially middle or Old Elglish, have no access to the authoritive Scriptures. In order to hold the inerrancy of scripture, it it not required or defensible to believe that only one modern translation is inspired.

This does not eliminate the human element of the Scriptures. Each of the authors of Scripture has their own distinct, if at times subtle, characteristics. The vocabulary, form, phrasing and the way they say things indicate their humanity and personalities. The wirters of the Scriptures were not intended to write about everything, Paul possibly believed the world was flat, he cirtainly would not have understood higher order calculus, or Einsteinian Physics. He was not called to write about these things so it does not matter what he thought about them. The important thing is that he did not introduce any error into the things he was called to write and any Scriptures he wrote were divinely inspired and thus contain no fault.

This does not eliminate figurative language. Literal inspriation of Scripture means the literature was inspired, the words were inspired, not that all the words are intended to be literally understood as opposed to figuratively. It is just as destructive to Biblical truth to interpret a figurative passage as being literal, as it is to interpret a literal passage as being figurative. If I said "My nose is running while I am running around the oval" everyone would understand the difference in the meanings of the word running. The language of the Bible should be offered this same coutesey.

This does not require exact duplication in parallel passages. In the gospels there are apparent discrepancies. These however should be treated with patience and caution and most likely arise from our incomplete understanding. For instance Mr X recieved a phone call to say his wife had been injured at home and was being rushed to hospital. On his way to meet her he recieves another phone call to inform him that his wife has been in a car accident and is being rushed to hospital. Which is correct? When he arrives at the hospital, Mr X is informed by the doctor that his wife had fallen off a chair at home, and was being driven to the hospital when she was involved in a car accident, and was then rushed to the hospital. When we are confronted with a discrepancy in the Gospel accounts of Jesus, it is most likely that they simply are relaying different aspects of the events of His life and in fact are both true. This should not surprise us as each of the Gospels had different human authors.

Divine Inspiration means that the Bible is accurate in all that it says an it will not deceive its readers theologically, historically, chronologically, geographically or scientifically. Of course the Bible is not a textbook on science, or history, or geography. The Bible is not even a textbook on theology. However, whatever the Bible says about any of these things is correct and no one will ever be deceived or led into error by believing what the Bible says.

According to Scripture, Jesus and the Church Fathers, the Bible is either totally inerrant and is reliable in all things or else it is not reliable at all and may be decietful at any point. Who is to say then, where the Bible is truthful and where is it not? The modern answer is that "the Holy Spirit will guide us" but this leads to nothing more than relativism, pluralism and mysticism. This answer denys the authority of Scripture and means the human mind is the final test which truth must pass through. This leads to an entirely different from of Christianity to Biblical Christianity which claims the Word of God and the contained Gospel of Christ is Truth. This issue will be addressed in my next post.

Further reading:

Biblical Authority: The Critical Issue for the Body of Christ by James T. Draper & Kenneth Keathley

The Authority of God's Word: Is the Scripture alone sufficient as a source of truth and authority? and Where did the Bible come from? by the Modern Day Magi

Looking for Jesus is Genesis: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, by T A Blankenship at Fire and Hammer.

Matthew 24

In this chapter Jesus talks about the Signs of the End of the Age. The disciples ask Him "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

This is a very timely passage to look at in light of all the recent Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia (no I did not make this word up) over last Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 - (6/6/06). Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a superstitious fear of the number 666, due to Revelation 13:18 indicating that 666 is the Number of the Beast, linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ. Outside the Christian faith, the phobia has been further popularized as a recurring symbol used in various horror films.

In verses 1-2 Jesus speaks about the destruction of the Temple, the symbol of the Jewish faith and nation. He says "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another..."

This destruction occured at the hands of Rome and the destruction of the temple was total. Jerusalem was taken by the Roman armies, under the command of Titus Flavius Vespasianus in 70 AD, before he became the Roman Emperor in 79 AD. The account of the siege and destruction of the city is left us by Josephus, an historian of undoubted veracity and singular fidelity. He was a Jewish priest.
Josephus wrote "...gave orders that they should now demolish the whole city and temple, except three towers, which he reserved standing. But for the rest of the wall, it was laid so completely even with the ground by those who dug it up from the foundation, that there was nothing left to make those believe who came hither that it had ever been inhabited." Maimonides, a Jewish writer, has also recorded that "Terentius Rufus, an officer in the army of Titus, with a ploughshare tore up the foundations of the temple," that the prophecy might be fulfilled, "Zion shall be ploughed as a field," Micah 3:12.

Titus actually wanted to preserve the temple; and frequently sent Josephus to the Jews to ask and encourage them to surrender in order to save the temple and city. But the prediction of the Saviour had been made and, in spite of the wish of the Roman general, the temple was to be destroyed. The Jews themselves first set fire to the porticoes of the temple. One of the Roman soldiers, without any command, threw a burning firebrand into the golden window, and soon the temple was in flames. Titus gave orders to extinguish the fire; but, amidst the tumult, none of his orders were obeyed. The soldiers pressed to the temple, and neither fear, nor entreaties, nor stripes, could restrain them. Their hatred of the Jews urged them on to the work of destruction; and thus, according to Josephus in The Jewish Wars, "the temple was burnt against the will of Caesar."

Other great temples are in ruins, but their ruins indicate their former splendor. The Parthenon, the Acropolis, the temples of Karnak, Luxor, and Baalbec are examples; but to find even the foundations of the Jewish temple it is necessary to dig beneath the modern city. It has entirely disappeared from the face of the earth, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque now stands on the spot where it once stood.

This prophecy was fulfilled literally. There was a real temple, and it was really destroyed. The literal fulfillment of this prophecy establishes the tone for the rest of the prophecies in the chapter. We should expect a literal fulfillment for these as well.

Jesus warns against being decieved by false prophets, of wars, famines and earthquakes. He says that these are merly the "beginning of birth pains." Jesus goes on to say that his followers will be persecuted, even unto death, more false prophets will appear and society will move further away from God as a whole. Many of these false Christs will be very convincing, they "will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible." Many will be decieved by them but the elected, born again, children of God will not be.
None of these things however will stop the Gospel from being preached to the world.

One reason why end times prophecy may seem vague is because God wants every age to have reasons to be ready for Jesus return. We should not think of Jesus' return as an event far off on a time line, but something we have been running parallel with since the day of Pentecost. Though some prophetic interpretations are different, we are sure of this: He is coming again, and we must be ready.

One specific Jesus does mention is "when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel." (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Essentially, the abomination of desolation speaks of the ultimate desecration of a Jewish temple, the establishment of an idolatrous image in the holy place itself, which will inevitably result in the judgment of God. It is the abomination that brings desolation. That it will be "standing in the Holy Place" indicates that that the abomination of desolation takes place in the Jewish temple. This is the only plain meaning of the phrase holy place. Some believe it happened in a prior Jewish temple, before it was destroyed in 70 AD Others - more properly - believe it will happen in the holy place of a rebuilt temple.

For centuries, there was only a small Jewish presence in Judea and Jerusalem. Their presence in the region was definite, and continuous, but small. It is unthinkable that this weak Jewish presence could rebuild a temple. Therefore the fulfillment of this prophecy was highly unlikely until Israel was regathered as a nation in 1948 and formed a Jewish State. The restoration of a nation that the world had not seen for some 2,000 years is a remarkable event in the fulfillment and future fulfillment of prophecy.

"Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." What generation does Jesus mean?

It cannot be the generation of the disciples, because they never saw Jesus return in glory. It is undoubtedly the generation that sees these signs. These events and Jesus' return won't be on some 1,000-year or drawn out timetable, but will happen in succession, in the timeframe of a single generation.

Jesus then gives three illustrations of how the day and hour of His second comming in unknown and cannot be predicted. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." The people in the time of Noah did not know of the comming judgment until it was too late, Christians are called to be prepared for His return. We are not to take our salvation for granted, but to live lives befitting one who is called a Child of God.

The Bible in 50 Words

God made;
Adam bit;
Noah Arked;
Abraham split;
Jacob fooled;
Joseph ruled;
Bush talked;
Moses balked;
Pharoh plagued;
People wlaked;
Sea divided;
Tablets guided;
Promise landed;
Saul freaked;
David peaked;
Prophets warned;
Jesus born;
God walked;
Love talked;
Anger crucified;
Hope died;
Love rose;
Spirit flamed;
Word spread;
God remained.