By Bishop Michael Goings, Guest Columnist
If you have not guessed what book I am referring to by reading my topic and heading, I will give you a clue. The book, which is the topic of my column today, has 66 books in content and was divinely inspired by the Almighty. He enlisted 40 men to write this astounding and unique book that is unlike any other that has ever been written. By now, most of you have surmised that I am referring to the Judeo-Christian Bible. According to the most recent data, there has been over 5 billion Bibles sold since selling Bibles became an enterprise. It is reputed that there are over 6 billion Bibles in circulation today scattered all over the globe in nearly every dialect or language. With the population of the earth being more than 8 billion people, it is easy to believe that at some point in time, in the very near future, the number of Bibles in circulation and existence will surpass the number of people who are upon the Earth. I will devote the remainder of this article with some astounding and amazing truths about the Judeo-Christian Bible that is the most essential and best-selling book of all times, bar none.
It Was Divinely Inspired
In my humble opinion, the reason why the Judeo-Christian Bible is the most essential and circulated book of all times is because it was inspired by God. When Paul the Apostle wrote that “all scriptures are given by the inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16), it literally meant that it was God-breathed. Unlike any other book that was ever written, the Bible was divinely impregnated in the minds of the human authors chosen by God to write all 66 books. No other religious book (like the Quran, the book of Mormon, the New World Translation, or any other) can make a true claim to have been directly inspired by God.
The Bible is Inerrant and Flawless
Since the Judeo-Christian Bible was God-breathed, it stands to reason that it is also infallible. This is not just an assertion based upon the divine attributes of God as being omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent therefore able to prevent any inerrancy in the writing of His Word though He used flawed men to write it. That would, of course, be enough proof for me. However, there is the proof of meticulous scrutiny by people (pro and con) to the belief that the Bible is inerrant and without flaws and contradictions. On both accounts to the pros and cons, there were no serious discoveries to disprove the inerrancy of the Scriptures. The general conclusion and consensus of these men of learning and letters were that due to being translated into various languages, there were perhaps some grammatical and human mistakes made. Nevertheless, they concurred (except those who chose to be critical and oppositional) that the Judeo-Christian Bible is absolutely inerrant, flawless, and without any contradictions whatsoever.
All True Sciences Prove and Agree with the Bible
Up until about 100 years ago, the atheist beliefs of evolution and the Big Bang theory ruled supreme in the science community and in certain apostatic and heretical elements of Christianity. Just as the theory of Galileo asserted that the Earth goes around the Sun was vindicated from being a heresy due to the advancement of true science. The advancement of true science in the areas of astronomy, cosmology, archeology, physics, biochemistry, and all the others have not only given witness to the authenticity of things contained in the Bible, but have also rendered the theory of evolution, the cash cow of the atheistic scientific community, invalid and moronic. One very practical and astute student of theology, psychology, and sociology once said, “it takes much more faith to believe in evolution than to believe in God”.
The Proof of Fulfilled Prophecies
In my opinion, I believe that the most compelling and convincing proof that the Bible is the infallible Word of God is the affirmation of prophecies being fulfilled. Prophecies that were predicted by God’s servants, hundreds of years before they came to pass, were accurately and precisely fulfilled. Prophecies predicted by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and other Old Testament prophets about Israel, Babylon, and other nations were fulfilled with precise accuracy. The prophecies of Christ’s birth and the town of His birth (of which He had no power over) were predicted hundreds of years before these events took place. The circumstances leading up to His crucifixion, as well as the method by which He would be put to death were predicted hundreds of years before these events transpired by prophets like David (Psalm 69:21 and Matthew 27:34) and Isaiah (Isaiah 53:12 and Matthew 27:38). Everything that we have considered today bears witness to why the Bible is the God-breathed, inerrant Word of God, as well as the best-selling and circulated book of all times.