The Bible Has Nothing to Hide Bible mentions Various Books: Numbers 21:14 “Book of the Wars of the...

The Bible Has Nothing to Hide• Bible mentions Various Books:• Numbers 21:14 “Book of the Wars of the Lord”• Joshua 10:13 “the Book of Jasher”• 2 Samuel 1:18 “the Book of Jasher”• 1 Kings 11:41 “book of the acts of Solomon”• 2 Chronicles 12:15 “book of Shemaiah”• 25 Extra-canonical books mentioned in

Chronicles

Points to Note:• Mention of a book or even quotes from it,

doesn’t mean God intended It to be in the Bible

• Esther 10:2 “book of the chronicles of he kings of Media & Persia”

• Esther 2:23 “the book of the chronicles”• Acts 17:28 “your own poets” Arastus 270 BC• Titus 1:12 “a prophet of their own said”

Points to Note:• Paul mentions a letter to Corinth we don’t

have. (1 Corinthians 5:9)• It isn’t “lost.”• GOD decided not to preserve it• Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the

Lord?”• Luke 1:37 “with God nothing will be

impossible”• Psalm 33:6

Jesus & The Old Testament• Never condemned or rebuked the Never condemned or rebuked the

Jews for not having the right Jews for not having the right number of books in their Old number of books in their Old Testament.Testament.• Jesus quoted extensively from the Jesus quoted extensively from the

Old TestamentOld Testament

Jesus’ Old Testament Quotes• Genesis – Matthew

19:4,5• Exodus – Matthew 22:32• Leviticus – Matthew 5:43• Deuteronomy – Matthew

4:4• Hosea – Matthew 9:13• Micah – Matthew 10:35• Malachi – Matthew

11:10

• 1 Samuel – Matthew 12:3

• Jonah – Matthew 12:40• 1 Kings – Matthew 12:42• Isaiah – Matthew 13:14• Psalms- Matthew 21:16• Daniel – Matthew 24:15• Zechariah – Matthew

26:31

He Considered Every Section To Be Prophetic of Him

• Luke 24:27,44• He believed inspiration extended

from Genesis through Chronicles (Hebrews placed Chronicles at the end of their O.T.) Matthew 25:35• Jesus considered the O.T. Complete

& Finished after Malachi wrote

He Personally Authenticated:

• Eden – Matthew 19:5• Jonah – Matthew 12:40• Daniel – Matthew 24:15• Noah – Luke 12:27• Sodom – Luke 17:29

He laid down the principle of “canonicity” – the canon consists

of that which is the “word of God”

• O.T. as Word of God – Mark 7:13• “God said” – Matthew 19:5• “by the Spirit” – Matthew 22:43

Jesus or Apostles Referred to Creation, Fall, flood, miracles of Moses and Elijah, and Jonah and

the Great Fish

• "If these major miraculous events are authentic, there is no difficulty in accepting the rest of the events of the Old Testament." (Geisler/Nix p. 86)

‘For both the Old and New Testaments there are certain books that were accepted by

everyone, some books that were later disputed, and some that

were rejected by all. There is no category of books initially

accepted and later thrown out.' (When Skeptics Ask, p. 154)

Pseudepigrapha• False writings from 200 B.C. to

200 A.D.• Rejected by virtually everyone• Never “lost,” both Jews &

Christians knew about them

Apocrypha• 1 Esdras (cir 150 B.C.) much

legendary material• 2 Esdras (100 A.D.) seven

visions• Tobit (2nd Century B.C.)

inconsistent dates/spans

Apocrypha• Judith (mid 2nd Century B.C.)

historical error• Additions to Esther (cir. 100

B.C.) long prayers, letters•Wisdom of Solomon (A.D. 40)

Apocrypha• Ecclesiasticus (cir. 180 B.C.)

teach morality based on experience• Baruch (cir. 100 A.D.) claims

to be written by scribe who served Jeremiah

Apocrypha• Bel & The Dragon (cir 146

B.C.) Chapter added to book of Daniel• Song of the Three Hebrew

Children - Follows Daniel 3:23, borrows from Psalm 148

Apocrypha• Prayer of Manasseh (1st – 2nd

Century B.C.)• First Maccabees (1st Century

B.C.)• Second Maccabees (100 B.C. –

50 A.D.) teaches prayer for dead, contradicts Scriptures

The Jews Didn’t Accept These Books

• Philo (20 B.C. – 40 A.D.) quoted O.T. but never quoted from Apocrypha as inspired

• Josephus (30-100 A.D.) excludes Apocrypha in numbering books of the O.T.

• Babylonian Talmud – “After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah, & Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel.”

None of these books Claim Inspiration

• Unlike books in the Bible (1 Corinthians 14:37; Galatians 1:11,12; Ephesians 3:3-5) which claim inspiration.

• Paul warns the Thessalonians about “false letters” (2 Thessalonians 2:2.15; 3:14)

• NO CLAIM within the Apocrypha that it is the Word of God

When Some Were Accepted by Roman Catholic Church

• Council of Trent (1545-1563)• Addition of books that support

“salvation by works” & “prayers from the dead” only 29 years after Luther posted 95 Theses.• Didn’t accept “all” of the Apocrypha

– only 12 of 15!

IF “The Catholic Church Edited & Removed Books

From The Bible”• Why do Catholic Bibles have

MORE books that other translations?• Didn’t accept “all” of the

Apocrypha – only 12 of 15!