- When it comes to the early
church in the New Testament,
00:00:01.36\00:00:02.90
who exactly got to decide
which books would become part
00:00:02.90\00:00:05.90
of the Bible and which
ones were gonna be left out?
00:00:05.90\00:00:08.50
Was it a church
council that decided,
00:00:08.50\00:00:10.54
the way some people say?
00:00:10.54\00:00:12.24
Or was it
created some other way?
00:00:12.24\00:00:14.48
That's today on "Authentic."
00:00:14.48\00:00:17.08
[gentle guitar music]
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[gentle guitar music continues]
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When the Christian
church first got started,
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they already had a Bible,
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actually, the first 39 books
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that we now call
the Old Testament.
00:00:44.34\00:00:46.91
By the 1st century
AD, the inspiration
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and authority of those
books was beyond question,
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but, of course, the church
also assembled another 27 books
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that came to be
known as the New Testament.
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And that's really what
we're gonna look at today.
00:00:59.89\00:01:02.22
And I've gotta warn you,
00:01:02.22\00:01:03.49
this is such a big
story that I don't believe
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for a moment we're gonna
cover this in just half an hour.
00:01:05.53\00:01:09.40
As we've already
discussed on another program,
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the Bible didn't just fall
from the sky completely written.
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Instead, the community
of faith started to notice
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that certain writings had
God's fingerprints on them,
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and they had lasting
value for all generations.
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Sometime after
the Babylonian exile,
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the Jewish canon was completed,
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and then after the death
and resurrection of Christ,
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the Christian community
started to recognize some
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of those same inspired features
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in some of the
works being written
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by members of the early church.
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Now if you listen to
more skeptical academics,
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some of them are gonna
tell you that the canon
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of scripture was
something invented later,
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something that was
imposed on the church
00:01:51.51\00:01:54.01
hundreds of
years after the fact.
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In fact, some modern
scholars will tell you
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there's a sharp distinction
between books of scripture
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and the notion
of a biblical canon.
00:02:03.22\00:02:05.89
They say that
scriptural writings
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were recognized
very, very early on,
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but a definitive list of
inspired books wasn't created
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for almost another 300 years.
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The key idea behind
that theory suggests
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that the canon was
actually invented by the church
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and then imposed on
books whose authors, they say,
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had no idea they
were writing scripture.
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By contrast, the
more traditional view
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and my view, to be honest,
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is that the church
very quickly recognized
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that some of the
things being written
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had the imprint of God.
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And the fact that we
developed a canonical list
00:02:39.65\00:02:42.22
in later years doesn't
mean the scriptural status
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was something new.
00:02:46.36\00:02:47.86
It was simply an
organized recognition
00:02:47.86\00:02:50.43
that the apostles had indeed
been writing by inspiration.
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If you really think about it,
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the early church
was really rooted
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in a person instead of a book
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because many of the believers
00:03:01.11\00:03:02.91
in the 1st century
had actually met Jesus
00:03:02.91\00:03:05.45
or heard Him speak.
00:03:05.45\00:03:06.82
At least that
would've been the case
00:03:06.82\00:03:08.65
in the city of Jerusalem.
00:03:08.65\00:03:10.72
If they didn't get the
chance to actually meet Jesus,
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a lot of them would've
met one of the apostles,
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who made it their
business to spread the story
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of Christ across
the Roman Empire.
00:03:18.13\00:03:20.73
But of course, as time moved on,
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and one generation died
and another took its place,
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it became more
and more important
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to have a written record
of why the church was born.
00:03:27.84\00:03:31.11
So in about the 40s AD,
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we get some of the very first
books of the New Testament,
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and by the close
of the 1st century,
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the church was in possession
of all 27 of the works
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that you now find
in the New Testament.
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And in spite of the
insistence by some people
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that the church essentially
invented the New Testament
00:03:48.56\00:03:51.33
in the 4th century,
300 years after Christ,
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the truth is that 1st
and 2nd-century Christians
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actually started teaching from
those same inspired writings.
00:03:59.83\00:04:03.91
Back in the late 19th
and early 20th century,
00:04:03.91\00:04:06.27
the German theologian
Theodor Zahn decided to sit down
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and count up all the quotations
00:04:09.88\00:04:11.35
from the New Testament you find
00:04:11.35\00:04:12.81
in the writings of
the early church fathers,
00:04:12.81\00:04:15.58
and he found so many
that he came to the conclusion
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that the early church already
had a New Testament canon
00:04:19.45\00:04:23.83
by the end of the 1st century.
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The recognition of
which books were inspired
00:04:26.80\00:04:29.10
and which ones weren't kind
of happened by broad consensus,
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and it really
wasn't the decision
00:04:33.57\00:04:35.04
of a handful of
powerful individuals.
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Back in 1987, the famous
scholar Bruce Metzger said,
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"The formation of the canon
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was among the
first instinctive acts
00:04:43.41\00:04:45.31
of the Christian society,
00:04:45.31\00:04:47.02
resting upon the general
confession of the Churches
00:04:47.02\00:04:50.02
and not upon independent
opinions of its members.
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The canon was not the
result of a series of contests.
00:04:53.59\00:04:57.23
Rather, canonical books
were separated from others
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by the intuitive
insight of the Church."
00:05:00.30\00:05:03.93
Now, very early on, there were
some interesting developments
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that probably
motivated the church
00:05:07.70\00:05:09.40
to publish a definitive
list of inspired books,
00:05:09.40\00:05:13.41
not because they were trying
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to figure out which
books were inspired,
00:05:14.68\00:05:16.41
but because they were
trying to counter the rise
00:05:16.41\00:05:19.11
of false teachers
in unbiblical heresy.
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A scholar by the name of
Adolf von Harnack believed
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that it was an early
heretic by the name of Marcion,
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who in the middle of the
2nd century forced the church
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to explicitly
define which writing
00:05:32.39\00:05:34.83
should be
considered authoritative.
00:05:34.83\00:05:37.50
The reason he said that
is because the Marcionites,
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as they were called,
had developed their own list
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of canonical New Testament
books, and it only had 11 books.
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They had a shortened
version of the Gospel of Luke,
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10 of Paul's
letters, and that's it.
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Marcion even rejected
the entire Old Testament,
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which is something the
apostles clearly never did.
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I mean, just look at all
the Old Testament references
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you find in the
writings of the apostles.
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And by using just a
few selected writings,
00:06:05.86\00:06:08.86
Marcion the heretic
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was teaching what
we now call gnosticism.
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He believed,
like other gnostics,
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that the original
creator botched the creation
00:06:15.27\00:06:18.24
and that Jesus had
come to redeem that mistake.
00:06:18.24\00:06:21.38
Marcion actually
pitted the teachings of Christ
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against the
teachings of the Old Testament,
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which is something the
apostles never, ever did.
00:06:26.58\00:06:30.12
Instead, you'll notice
that John explicitly says
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that Christ is the creator.
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And Paul tells us that Jesus
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is the one who
led the Israelites
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through the
wilderness during the Exodus.
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And Jesus Himself said this:
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"Do not think that I have come
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to abolish the
Law or the Prophets.
00:06:46.33\00:06:48.74
I have not come to abolish
them but to fulfill them.
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For truly, I say to you,
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until heaven and earth pass
away, not an iota, not a dot,
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will pass from the Law
until all is accomplished.
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Therefore, whoever
relaxes one of the least
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of these
commandments and teaches others
00:07:03.52\00:07:05.12
to do the same
will be called least
00:07:05.12\00:07:07.42
in the kingdom of heaven,
00:07:07.42\00:07:09.06
but whoever does them and
teaches them will be called
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great in the kingdom of heaven."
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Now, additionally,
Marcion the gnostic taught
00:07:14.30\00:07:17.10
that Jesus was not
actually God in human flesh.
00:07:17.10\00:07:19.47
In fact, he said He
wasn't human at all,
00:07:19.47\00:07:21.84
a teaching that is
now called docetism.
00:07:21.84\00:07:24.97
Now, Marcion was
actually different
00:07:24.97\00:07:26.78
from the other gnostics
in one really important way.
00:07:26.78\00:07:29.94
While the gnostics stressed
having a special, elite body
00:07:29.94\00:07:33.28
of knowledge that was
revealed just to them,
00:07:33.28\00:07:36.69
Marcion at least
attempted to build his teachings
00:07:36.69\00:07:38.69
on the writings of
some of the New Testament.
00:07:38.69\00:07:42.49
But of course, to
make his ideas fit,
00:07:42.49\00:07:44.16
he had to pick and
choose what he wanted to accept.
00:07:44.16\00:07:47.46
Now, there was
another 2nd-century heresy
00:07:48.56\00:07:50.73
known as Montanism,
00:07:50.73\00:07:52.13
and the Montanists
insisted that they were inspired
00:07:52.13\00:07:55.40
by God to reveal
brand-new prophecies.
00:07:55.40\00:07:58.94
So in response, at
least the theory says,
00:07:58.94\00:08:01.84
the church had to get serious
00:08:01.84\00:08:03.35
about publishing a real
list of authoritative books,
00:08:03.35\00:08:06.55
one that exposed Marcion's
truncated New Testament
00:08:06.55\00:08:10.72
and put a stop to this idea
00:08:10.72\00:08:12.42
that the Montanists were
producing new scriptures.
00:08:12.42\00:08:15.62
And they say that's how we
got our New Testament canon.
00:08:15.62\00:08:19.53
Now, personally, I'm kind
of skeptical of the theory
00:08:19.53\00:08:22.76
because I'm with Mr. Metzger.
00:08:22.76\00:08:24.60
I think the body of the
New Testament was obvious
00:08:24.60\00:08:27.74
before the likes of
Marcion or the Montanists,
00:08:27.74\00:08:30.34
and we'll talk about
that in just a minute,
00:08:30.34\00:08:32.57
but I'll give the theory a
itty-bitty tiny bit of credit.
00:08:32.57\00:08:36.54
There is something
about false teaching
00:08:36.54\00:08:38.71
that does help the church
00:08:38.71\00:08:39.98
become a whole lot more
decided about the truth.
00:08:39.98\00:08:43.69
After all, facing
opposition has a way
00:08:43.69\00:08:45.55
of requiring you to
know for sure who you are
00:08:45.55\00:08:49.72
and what you believe.
00:08:49.72\00:08:51.23
We actually saw that happen
00:08:52.26\00:08:53.63
during the
Protestant Reformation.
00:08:53.63\00:08:55.10
By facing the corruption
of the mainstream church,
00:08:55.10\00:08:57.97
believers were forced
to examine the scriptures
00:08:57.97\00:09:00.44
for themselves and know
for sure what the Bible said
00:09:00.44\00:09:03.77
and what it didn't say.
00:09:03.77\00:09:05.57
And as a result, the teachings
00:09:05.57\00:09:06.88
of scripture
became the focal point
00:09:06.88\00:09:09.34
for people like
Tyndale, Luther, or Calvin.
00:09:09.34\00:09:12.58
And right now, my
focal point is the clock
00:09:12.58\00:09:15.52
on the studio wall, which
says it's time for a break,
00:09:15.52\00:09:18.42
so I'll be
right back after this.
00:09:18.42\00:09:20.89
- [Announcer] Here at
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"Discovery Mountain"
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- It all really boils
down to one simple question.
00:09:54.16\00:09:57.46
Did the church create the Bible,
00:09:57.46\00:10:00.26
or did the Bible
create the church?
00:10:00.26\00:10:02.76
The way that some
people think about this,
00:10:02.76\00:10:04.70
it was a church
council that approved a list
00:10:04.70\00:10:07.04
of canonical books long
after they were written,
00:10:07.04\00:10:10.24
and the writers of
those books, they say,
00:10:10.24\00:10:12.14
apparently had no idea
00:10:12.14\00:10:14.51
that they were
actually writing scripture.
00:10:14.51\00:10:16.98
It's almost as if believers
had no idea what was inspired
00:10:16.98\00:10:20.68
before a body of high-ranking
luminaries made a decision
00:10:20.68\00:10:24.25
hundreds of years later.
00:10:24.25\00:10:26.59
In another episode, we look
00:10:26.59\00:10:27.89
at Dan Brown's ridiculous claims
00:10:27.89\00:10:30.13
that the Council of Nicaea
created the New Testament canon
00:10:30.13\00:10:33.36
in the year 325 AD, and
we demolished that idea.
00:10:33.36\00:10:37.73
We know for a
fact that the church
00:10:37.73\00:10:39.57
had a canonical New
Testament long before Nicaea,
00:10:39.57\00:10:43.64
as evidenced in the writings
of various church fathers
00:10:43.64\00:10:46.31
and in one
especially important document
00:10:46.31\00:10:48.84
called the Muratorian Fragment.
00:10:48.84\00:10:51.35
You might remember the
Muratorian Fragment was a copy
00:10:51.35\00:10:54.58
of a 2nd-century document,
00:10:54.58\00:10:56.42
and it listed the books
00:10:56.42\00:10:57.82
of the New
Testament almost 200 years
00:10:57.82\00:11:00.39
before the Council of Nicaea.
00:11:00.39\00:11:02.62
The biggest
problem with giving credit
00:11:03.73\00:11:05.89
to a church council
is the fact that a body
00:11:05.89\00:11:08.90
of human scholars
would then have been sitting
00:11:08.90\00:11:10.90
in judgment over the Bible.
00:11:10.90\00:11:13.54
The scriptures cannot
be the ultimate authority
00:11:13.54\00:11:16.57
in a Christian's
life if they sat around
00:11:16.57\00:11:18.81
for 300 years lacking the
endorsement of a church council
00:11:18.81\00:11:22.68
before they were
considered authoritative.
00:11:22.68\00:11:25.81
And if that's what happened,
00:11:25.81\00:11:27.78
then the authority
of a church council
00:11:27.78\00:11:29.72
would actually be superior
00:11:29.72\00:11:31.49
to the authority
of the scriptures.
00:11:31.49\00:11:34.29
And this of course is
the position that a number
00:11:34.29\00:11:36.99
of Christian communities
have actually adopted,
00:11:36.99\00:11:39.73
and it actually
forms the key distinction
00:11:39.73\00:11:42.00
between the Protestant
00:11:42.00\00:11:43.37
and the Catholic
position on scripture.
00:11:43.37\00:11:46.77
Now, the other view,
00:11:46.77\00:11:48.34
and the one that makes the most
sense, in my humble opinion,
00:11:48.34\00:11:50.97
is that the inspired
writers actually knew
00:11:50.97\00:11:53.31
they were writing scripture,
00:11:53.31\00:11:55.04
and the original
church knew it too.
00:11:55.04\00:11:57.71
This is fairly
easy to demonstrate
00:11:57.71\00:11:59.28
from the words of
the apostles themselves,
00:11:59.28\00:12:01.08
and I'm gonna do
that in just a minute.
00:12:01.08\00:12:03.22
But before I do, let
me address a key objection
00:12:03.22\00:12:07.06
that some
people have to the idea
00:12:07.06\00:12:08.66
that the New Testament
actually authenticates itself.
00:12:08.66\00:12:12.53
They'll say, "Oh,
that's circular reasoning."
00:12:12.53\00:12:14.93
How do you know the books
00:12:14.93\00:12:16.20
of the New
Testament are the Word of God?
00:12:16.20\00:12:17.57
Well, the books of the
New Testament say they are.
00:12:17.57\00:12:20.20
It sounds like
circular reasoning,
00:12:21.24\00:12:22.84
but if God is really
the author of this book,
00:12:22.84\00:12:26.34
to what other authority
could He possibly appeal?
00:12:26.34\00:12:29.91
Does God actually
answer to church councils?
00:12:29.91\00:12:32.91
Does He need an outside
source to validate what He says?
00:12:32.91\00:12:36.85
That doesn't make sense.
00:12:36.85\00:12:38.92
Here, let me show you a
really interesting passage
00:12:40.16\00:12:42.12
in the Book of Hebrews,
00:12:42.12\00:12:43.66
where the author is explaining
God's promise to Abraham,
00:12:43.66\00:12:47.00
and pay attention to
what it actually says.
00:12:47.00\00:12:49.80
Really pay attention.
00:12:49.80\00:12:51.07
"For when God made
a promise to Abraham,
00:12:52.30\00:12:54.64
since He had no one
greater by whom to swear,
00:12:54.64\00:12:57.57
He swore by Himself, saying,
00:12:57.57\00:12:59.24
'Surely I will bless
you and multiply you.'"
00:12:59.24\00:13:03.01
You see, when you
and I go to court,
00:13:03.01\00:13:05.15
we often place
our hands on a Bible
00:13:05.15\00:13:06.98
and swear by
something greater than us
00:13:06.98\00:13:08.75
that we're gonna tell the truth.
00:13:08.75\00:13:11.15
What we're really
doing is appealing
00:13:11.15\00:13:12.62
to an outside authority,
00:13:12.62\00:13:14.19
and it makes perfect
sense in a world full
00:13:14.19\00:13:16.42
of broken,
fallible human beings.
00:13:16.42\00:13:19.69
But when it comes to God,
where exactly is He supposed
00:13:19.69\00:13:22.13
to find outside validation?
00:13:22.13\00:13:24.47
It doesn't exist
00:13:24.47\00:13:25.83
because He's at the very
pinnacle of all existence.
00:13:25.83\00:13:28.90
In fact, He defines the
very nature of existence
00:13:28.90\00:13:32.64
because according to the
scripture, He's the source of
00:13:32.64\00:13:36.85
that. So would it be circular
reasoning to say that the books
00:13:36.85\00:13:39.68
of the New
Testament validate themselves?
00:13:39.68\00:13:42.22
Well, I can see how
people might think that,
00:13:42.22\00:13:44.95
but it's perfectly valid
because the books were inspired
00:13:44.95\00:13:48.49
by the highest
authority there is.
00:13:48.49\00:13:51.13
And if God says
they're scripture,
00:13:51.13\00:13:53.80
there's nowhere else
you can go for validation.
00:13:53.80\00:13:56.10
This was one of the
biggest talking points
00:13:57.37\00:13:59.13
of the Reformation.
00:13:59.13\00:14:00.54
People were arguing for a return
00:14:00.54\00:14:02.50
to something they
called sola scriptura,
00:14:02.50\00:14:05.37
the Bible, and the Bible
alone, as the rule of faith.
00:14:05.37\00:14:09.74
And I say it was a
return to that principle
00:14:09.74\00:14:11.91
because if you go back
00:14:11.91\00:14:13.21
and read the writings
of the earliest church,
00:14:13.21\00:14:14.65
you'll see they
also held that position.
00:14:14.65\00:14:18.29
It was only as we
pass through the marriage
00:14:18.29\00:14:20.32
of church and state and
then the abysmal medieval period
00:14:20.32\00:14:24.23
that we started to
adopt other kinds of thinking.
00:14:24.23\00:14:27.23
The official church responded
00:14:27.23\00:14:28.70
to the reformers by
doubling down on the idea
00:14:28.70\00:14:31.50
that church councils
are the ultimate authority.
00:14:31.50\00:14:34.67
At the Council of Trent in
the middle of the 16th century,
00:14:34.67\00:14:37.64
we suddenly
canonized a number of books
00:14:37.64\00:14:39.97
that historically
speaking had never been
00:14:39.97\00:14:42.88
in the Bible before,
00:14:42.88\00:14:44.45
and those were the
books called the Apocrypha.
00:14:44.45\00:14:47.48
Prior to the Council of Trent,
00:14:48.45\00:14:50.05
Jerome included
those apocryphal books
00:14:50.05\00:14:52.52
in his Latin
Vulgate translation,
00:14:52.52\00:14:55.12
but he included a careful
note to let the reader know
00:14:55.12\00:14:57.49
that these were not
considered scripture.
00:14:57.49\00:14:59.89
Instead, they were just
useful background material
00:14:59.89\00:15:02.60
that helps us understand
things like culture or context.
00:15:02.60\00:15:06.27
And Jerome was right.
00:15:06.27\00:15:07.57
They are helpful reading.
00:15:07.57\00:15:09.50
Then in AD 600, Pope Gregory
the Great explicitly stated
00:15:09.50\00:15:13.41
as he was commenting on
the books of the Maccabees
00:15:13.41\00:15:16.41
that they were not scripture.
00:15:16.41\00:15:18.31
Here's what he said:
00:15:18.31\00:15:19.81
"We shall not act rationally
if we accept a testimony
00:15:19.81\00:15:22.58
of books which,
although not canonical,
00:15:22.58\00:15:25.65
have been published for
the edification of the Church."
00:15:25.65\00:15:28.39
So if the canon of
scripture was really the product
00:15:28.39\00:15:31.73
of a decision made
by a church council,
00:15:31.73\00:15:33.83
that creates a bit of a problem.
00:15:33.83\00:15:36.20
In the year 600, we have
the Bishop of Rome saying
00:15:36.20\00:15:39.83
that 1 and 2
Maccabees aren't scripture,
00:15:39.83\00:15:42.74
but then in 1546, the
Council of Trent reverses that.
00:15:42.74\00:15:47.21
So how do we understand that?
00:15:47.21\00:15:49.41
Were the books
canonical all along,
00:15:49.41\00:15:51.31
but the church was
mistaken in the beginning?
00:15:51.31\00:15:53.82
Or did the books suddenly
become inspired in 1546,
00:15:53.82\00:15:57.22
almost 2,000 years
after they were written?
00:15:57.22\00:16:00.76
You see the problem here,
00:16:00.76\00:16:02.39
and that might be the
reason it was a minority vote
00:16:02.39\00:16:05.39
at the Council of
Trent that actually decided
00:16:05.39\00:16:07.60
to include the Apocrypha.
00:16:07.60\00:16:09.76
The people who gathered there
00:16:09.76\00:16:11.77
knew those books
had never been scripture
00:16:11.77\00:16:14.54
over the last 1,500 years.
00:16:14.54\00:16:15.97
In fact, as late as 1498,
00:16:15.97\00:16:18.44
the marginal notes in
Jerome's Latin Vulgate
00:16:18.44\00:16:20.84
still said those
books were not scripture.
00:16:20.84\00:16:24.51
Even the
notorious Thomas Cajetan,
00:16:24.51\00:16:26.58
one of the key opponents
of Martin Luther, wrote this.
00:16:26.58\00:16:29.92
He said, "Here we
close our commentaries
00:16:29.92\00:16:32.65
on the historical
books of the Old Testament.
00:16:32.65\00:16:35.32
For the rest,
that is, Judith, Tobit,
00:16:35.32\00:16:37.33
and the books of the Maccabees,
00:16:37.33\00:16:39.29
are counted by St. Jerome
out of the canonical books
00:16:39.29\00:16:42.76
and are placed
amongst the Apocrypha,
00:16:42.76\00:16:44.80
along with Wisdom
and Ecclesiasticus."
00:16:44.80\00:16:48.40
In other words,
back in those days,
00:16:48.40\00:16:50.61
everybody knew those apocryphal
books were not inspired.
00:16:50.61\00:16:55.48
A few years
later, a minority vote
00:16:56.75\00:16:58.68
in a church council
supposedly changes that.
00:16:58.68\00:17:01.42
So how can we trust the idea
00:17:01.42\00:17:03.32
that a self-appointed church
council is the final authority?
00:17:03.32\00:17:07.36
The entire idea
is very problematic
00:17:07.36\00:17:10.03
because it puts the
Bible under our authority,
00:17:10.03\00:17:13.23
and it wasn't actually
the way the church thought
00:17:13.23\00:17:15.03
about the Bible for
the first 1,200 years.
00:17:15.03\00:17:18.20
What we really need to do
00:17:18.20\00:17:19.77
is examine the
documents themselves
00:17:19.77\00:17:21.77
to see if there's evidence
00:17:21.77\00:17:23.47
that the earliest
church believed the books were
00:17:23.47\00:17:26.88
inspired, and
that's what we're gonna do
00:17:26.88\00:17:28.14
as soon as I come
back from this break.
00:17:28.14\00:17:30.28
- [Announcer] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:17:34.58\00:17:38.89
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:17:38.89\00:17:43.46
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:17:43.46\00:17:45.66
and come away scratching
your head, you're not alone.
00:17:45.66\00:17:48.70
Our free Focus on
Prophecy guides are designed
00:17:48.70\00:17:51.60
to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:17:51.60\00:17:53.90
and deepen your
understanding of God's plan
00:17:53.90\00:17:56.30
for you and our world.
00:17:56.30\00:17:57.94
Study online or
request them by mail
00:17:57.94\00:18:00.41
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:18:00.41\00:18:03.98
- When you take a look
at Peter's second letter,
00:18:03.98\00:18:06.45
you find an indication
that he believed the process
00:18:06.45\00:18:08.92
of writing inspired
scripture was already going on
00:18:08.92\00:18:11.89
in his day back
in the 1st century.
00:18:11.89\00:18:14.46
The Old Testament canon
00:18:15.32\00:18:16.76
was finished roughly
400 years before Christ,
00:18:16.76\00:18:19.79
but now that Jesus had come,
00:18:19.79\00:18:21.56
the Spirit of God was once
again illuminating the minds
00:18:21.56\00:18:24.53
of Christian prophets
00:18:24.53\00:18:26.47
and inspiring them
to write the counsels
00:18:26.47\00:18:28.10
of God for the church.
00:18:28.10\00:18:29.77
So here's what it says
beginning in 2 Peter 1:9:
00:18:29.77\00:18:33.78
"And we have the prophetic
word more fully confirmed,
00:18:33.78\00:18:36.81
to which you will do
well to pay attention
00:18:36.81\00:18:38.85
as to a lamp
shining in a dark place,
00:18:38.85\00:18:41.35
until the day dawns
and the morning star rises
00:18:41.35\00:18:44.05
in your hearts,
knowing this first of all,
00:18:44.05\00:18:46.92
that no prophecy
of Scripture comes
00:18:46.92\00:18:48.82
from someone's
own interpretation.
00:18:48.82\00:18:51.53
For no prophecy was ever
produced by the will of man,
00:18:51.53\00:18:54.93
but men spoke from God
as they were carried along
00:18:54.93\00:18:57.70
by the Holy Spirit."
00:18:57.70\00:18:59.83
Now, naturally,
Peter's referring
00:18:59.83\00:19:01.54
to the belief that
Jesus is the fulfillment
00:19:01.54\00:19:04.34
of Old Testament
messianic prophecies,
00:19:04.34\00:19:06.64
and he's underlining the fact
00:19:06.64\00:19:08.28
that the
scriptures are reliable.
00:19:08.28\00:19:10.85
But he makes this
statement after talking
00:19:10.85\00:19:13.01
about his own
experience on the mount,
00:19:13.01\00:19:15.42
where he saw Jesus
transfigured in all His glory.
00:19:15.42\00:19:18.85
He's clearly talking
about present revelation,
00:19:18.85\00:19:22.42
1st-century revelation,
00:19:22.42\00:19:24.43
and the fact that the
Spirit of God was still at work.
00:19:24.43\00:19:27.46
So yeah, he's talking
about the Old Testament,
00:19:27.46\00:19:30.03
but he's also talking
about the continuation
00:19:30.03\00:19:32.43
of that work with the apostles.
00:19:32.43\00:19:35.07
The prophetic gift was present
00:19:36.00\00:19:37.67
in the earliest
New Testament church,
00:19:37.67\00:19:39.81
the same way it had
been there for Israel
00:19:39.81\00:19:41.64
during the Old Testament.
00:19:41.64\00:19:43.21
And in those very first years
00:19:43.21\00:19:45.38
after Christ returned to heaven,
00:19:45.38\00:19:47.32
the church understood
00:19:47.32\00:19:48.45
that they were
rounding out the process
00:19:48.45\00:19:50.05
of producing the
canon of scripture.
00:19:50.05\00:19:52.82
And sure enough, as
you look through the pages
00:19:52.82\00:19:55.26
of the New Testament,
00:19:55.26\00:19:56.73
you find this belief
being expressed more than once,
00:19:56.73\00:19:59.26
and it's stated very clearly
00:19:59.26\00:20:01.70
in the opening words
of the Book of Revelation.
00:20:01.70\00:20:03.93
I mean, listen to this,
00:20:03.93\00:20:05.30
and remember he's talking about
00:20:05.30\00:20:07.37
what he's writing
at this very moment.
00:20:07.37\00:20:10.17
He calls it, "The
revelation of Jesus Christ,
00:20:10.17\00:20:13.84
which God gave Him to
show His servants the things
00:20:13.84\00:20:16.41
that must soon take place.
00:20:16.41\00:20:18.15
He made it known by sending
His angel to His servant John,
00:20:18.15\00:20:21.45
who bore witness
to the Word of God
00:20:21.45\00:20:23.25
and to the
testimony of Jesus Christ,
00:20:23.25\00:20:25.75
even to all that he saw."
00:20:25.75\00:20:28.52
So ask yourself, did
a church council decide
00:20:28.52\00:20:31.43
that Revelation was
inspired 250 years later?
00:20:31.43\00:20:34.83
Or did the Apostle John believe
that God had inspired him
00:20:34.83\00:20:38.27
to write this
book for the churches?
00:20:38.27\00:20:40.50
Now, I want you to notice
what comes next in verse three.
00:20:42.00\00:20:43.81
Listen: "Blessed is the
one who reads aloud the words
00:20:43.81\00:20:47.68
of this prophecy,
00:20:47.68\00:20:49.14
and blessed are those who hear
00:20:49.14\00:20:51.31
and who keep what is written
in it, for the time is near."
00:20:51.31\00:20:54.78
So in other words,
John was telling us
00:20:54.78\00:20:56.58
that this is an inspired book
that carried God's authority
00:20:56.58\00:20:59.82
as he was writing it,
00:20:59.82\00:21:01.46
and it was meant
to guide the churches.
00:21:01.46\00:21:03.46
And just in case
there was any doubt,
00:21:03.46\00:21:05.56
he closes the book with
these words found in chapter 22:
00:21:05.56\00:21:09.46
"And He said to me,
00:21:09.46\00:21:10.77
'Do not seal up the
words of the prophecy
00:21:10.77\00:21:12.57
of this book, for
the time is near.'"
00:21:12.57\00:21:16.20
It would seem that the real test
00:21:16.20\00:21:18.11
for whether or not a book
should be in the New Testament
00:21:18.11\00:21:20.74
or the Old
Testament, for that matter,
00:21:20.74\00:21:22.71
rests on whether or
not it was prophetic.
00:21:22.71\00:21:25.48
Was the spirit of
God inspiring a prophet
00:21:25.48\00:21:28.05
or apostle to write it?
00:21:28.05\00:21:30.22
Notice what Paul
says about his own work
00:21:30.22\00:21:32.45
in 1 Corinthians
14, where he writes,
00:21:32.45\00:21:35.62
"If anyone thinks that he
is a prophet or spiritual,
00:21:35.62\00:21:38.93
he should acknowledge
that the things I am writing
00:21:38.93\00:21:41.16
to you are a
command of the Lord.
00:21:41.16\00:21:43.57
If anyone does not recognize
this, he is not recognized."
00:21:43.57\00:21:48.04
Now, I don't want
you to miss what he said
00:21:48.04\00:21:50.11
because this is
really, really important.
00:21:50.11\00:21:52.27
Paul said that
what he was writing
00:21:52.27\00:21:53.88
to the church in Corinth
was a command of the Lord,
00:21:53.88\00:21:57.48
which means that God
inspired him to write it,
00:21:57.48\00:22:00.05
and it was clearly
considered to be authoritative.
00:22:00.05\00:22:03.42
Moreover, he
points out that if anybody
00:22:03.42\00:22:05.62
in that church happened to
have the real prophetic gift,
00:22:05.62\00:22:08.72
they would recognize
Paul's authority immediately.
00:22:08.72\00:22:12.43
If they didn't recognize
it, you could be certain
00:22:12.43\00:22:14.56
that this individual
was not a genuine prophet,
00:22:14.56\00:22:17.57
and you were safe to ignore him.
00:22:17.57\00:22:19.47
Then later, Paul actually quotes
00:22:20.50\00:22:22.37
from other New Testament works
00:22:22.37\00:22:24.21
and explicitly
calls them scripture,
00:22:24.21\00:22:26.44
like this
passage from 1 Timothy 5,
00:22:26.44\00:22:29.91
where he says,
"For the scripture says,
00:22:29.91\00:22:32.08
'You shall not muzzle an ox
when it treads out the grain,'
00:22:32.08\00:22:35.25
and, 'The laborer
deserves his wages.'"
00:22:35.25\00:22:38.45
Now, if you've got a red
letter edition of the Bible,
00:22:38.45\00:22:40.72
you'll notice that
that last quotation,
00:22:40.72\00:22:42.72
"The laborer deserves
his wages," they're in red.
00:22:42.72\00:22:46.70
That's because Paul
is quoting from Luke 10,
00:22:46.70\00:22:49.63
where Jesus spoke those words,
00:22:49.63\00:22:51.37
and Paul calls them scripture.
00:22:51.37\00:22:54.14
I'll be right back after this.
00:22:54.14\00:22:56.07
- [Announcer] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:23:00.18\00:23:02.41
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:23:02.41\00:23:05.81
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:23:05.81\00:23:08.25
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:23:08.25\00:23:11.32
Here at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:23:11.32\00:23:12.89
we've created the
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00:23:12.89\00:23:15.02
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:23:15.02\00:23:16.66
They're designed to
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00:23:16.66\00:23:19.13
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00:23:24.17\00:23:26.50
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00:23:26.50\00:23:28.77
- Okay, we're
almost out of time,
00:23:29.80\00:23:31.11
and I should probably mention
00:23:31.11\00:23:32.51
that I'm particularly
indebted to Phillip Kayser
00:23:32.51\00:23:35.01
for some of the historical
material we've been looking at
00:23:35.01\00:23:37.78
as well as some of
the internal evidence
00:23:37.78\00:23:40.12
from the New
Testament that we just examined.
00:23:40.12\00:23:42.85
What this really
amounts to again is the fact
00:23:42.85\00:23:45.49
that the books of the New
Testament are
self-authenticating.
00:23:45.49\00:23:49.19
They don't need the
approval of committees
00:23:49.19\00:23:50.99
or councils to
validate their authority.
00:23:50.99\00:23:53.93
They were
considered authoritative
00:23:53.93\00:23:56.03
the moment they were written.
00:23:56.03\00:23:58.57
In other words, the
church did not give birth
00:23:58.57\00:24:01.40
to the New Testament.
00:24:01.40\00:24:02.94
The Holy Spirit
gave birth to the church
00:24:02.94\00:24:05.54
through the New Testament.
00:24:05.54\00:24:07.24
You know, historically speaking,
we have plenty of evidence
00:24:08.61\00:24:11.18
to prove that the canon
00:24:11.18\00:24:12.61
of the New Testament
was very much in place
00:24:12.61\00:24:15.22
before the end
of the 1st century.
00:24:15.22\00:24:17.52
God wasn't waiting for
us to make up our minds
00:24:17.52\00:24:20.22
about which of the
New Testament books
00:24:20.22\00:24:21.86
we were ready to accept.
00:24:21.86\00:24:23.36
I mean, try to imagine
what that would look like.
00:24:23.36\00:24:26.03
It'd be like letting a
toddler set his own bedtime.
00:24:26.03\00:24:29.96
The Bible was
God's decision, not ours.
00:24:29.96\00:24:33.13
And yes, if you read
the history books carefully,
00:24:33.13\00:24:35.47
you'll notice that once in
a while some people struggled
00:24:35.47\00:24:38.47
with the fact that
certain books were included
00:24:38.47\00:24:41.01
in the scriptures,
people like Martin Luther,
00:24:41.01\00:24:43.95
who questioned
the Book of Esther
00:24:43.95\00:24:45.58
and didn't really
care for the Book of James.
00:24:45.58\00:24:48.48
But that's the
opinion of one man,
00:24:48.48\00:24:50.22
and you'll notice
it didn't prevail.
00:24:50.22\00:24:52.92
Luther might not
have liked those books.
00:24:52.92\00:24:54.86
He might have had questions
about what was in them,
00:24:54.86\00:24:58.06
but ultimately he submitted
00:24:58.06\00:24:59.63
to what the church had known
from the very, very beginning.
00:24:59.63\00:25:02.06
He understood full well
that we are not the final word,
00:25:02.06\00:25:06.30
and he had to submit to
the authority of scripture.
00:25:06.30\00:25:10.31
And that's really
what's at the core
00:25:10.31\00:25:11.97
of the issue surrounding
the origin of the Bible.
00:25:11.97\00:25:14.98
If you and I are
going to sit in judgment
00:25:14.98\00:25:16.98
over what we think
should be God's Word,
00:25:16.98\00:25:20.32
would it really
be God's Word then?
00:25:20.32\00:25:22.98
Or would we be telling
God what He's allowed to say?
00:25:22.98\00:25:26.05
And that's one of
the key problems we have
00:25:26.05\00:25:27.99
when we simply
try to prove which
00:25:27.99\00:25:29.62
of the New
Testament books belong there
00:25:29.62\00:25:32.09
by just resorting
to historical evidence.
00:25:32.09\00:25:35.26
We're putting people in charge
00:25:35.26\00:25:37.40
of what's supposed
to be the Word of God.
00:25:37.40\00:25:40.14
Now, you might
not personally believe
00:25:40.14\00:25:42.74
in the inspiration of the Bible,
00:25:42.74\00:25:44.31
and that's a
completely separate issue,
00:25:44.31\00:25:47.38
but if God is real and
He really does speak to us,
00:25:47.38\00:25:52.25
then we should
expect to find evidence
00:25:52.25\00:25:54.95
in the biblical writings.
00:25:54.95\00:25:56.58
So is that circular reasoning?
00:25:57.42\00:25:59.15
I mean, sure it is,
00:25:59.15\00:26:00.72
but if God is real, that's
exactly what you should expect.
00:26:00.72\00:26:03.63
As Peter put it, "No
prophecy of scripture comes
00:26:03.63\00:26:06.46
from someone's
own interpretation.
00:26:06.46\00:26:08.96
For no prophecy was ever
produced by the will of men,
00:26:08.96\00:26:13.03
but men spoke from God
00:26:13.03\00:26:14.64
as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit."
00:26:14.64\00:26:18.01
That would be the full extent
00:26:18.01\00:26:19.41
of our
involvement in the process,
00:26:19.41\00:26:21.91
apart from
preserving the scriptures
00:26:21.91\00:26:24.58
and handing them on
to the next generation.
00:26:24.58\00:26:27.65
The human
contribution to this book
00:26:27.65\00:26:29.65
was made by the
prophets, not really by us,
00:26:29.65\00:26:32.95
and the early church
knew exactly which books
00:26:32.95\00:26:35.76
should be included before
the last of the apostles died.
00:26:35.76\00:26:39.56
You know, on a personal note,
00:26:40.56\00:26:42.80
I'd say that if
you have any doubts,
00:26:42.80\00:26:45.67
get a copy of the Bible.
00:26:45.67\00:26:47.54
Read it.
00:26:47.54\00:26:49.07
You're gonna notice it doesn't
read like pagan mythology,
00:26:49.07\00:26:52.14
and it does not read
like secular history.
00:26:52.14\00:26:55.51
This book purports
to be the voice of God
00:26:55.51\00:26:58.01
to this world,
to the human race.
00:26:58.01\00:27:00.78
And if it is,
you'd be missing out
00:27:00.78\00:27:03.18
on an awful lot if you
didn't take the time to read it.
00:27:03.18\00:27:06.72
And I know it can be
tough slugging sometimes,
00:27:06.72\00:27:08.76
but that's exactly
where we can help you.
00:27:08.76\00:27:11.36
Head on over to biblestudies.com
00:27:11.36\00:27:13.86
and look at that
incredible mountain
00:27:13.86\00:27:16.06
of free resources we
have to help you really start
00:27:16.06\00:27:18.80
to understand the
Bible for yourself.
00:27:18.80\00:27:22.27
And I promise these free studies
00:27:22.27\00:27:24.74
will have you understanding
more about the Bible
00:27:24.74\00:27:26.68
in a few short weeks than
many people have the chance
00:27:26.68\00:27:29.68
to learn in an entire lifetime.
00:27:29.68\00:27:32.71
And admit it, you
can't beat the price.
00:27:32.71\00:27:35.22
I'm offering it absolutely free.
00:27:35.22\00:27:37.75
Now, of course, if you
want to help us keep it going,
00:27:37.75\00:27:40.62
we won't say no to a
financial contribution,
00:27:40.62\00:27:43.39
and you could do that
at voiceofprophecy.com.
00:27:43.39\00:27:46.70
The next time we meet,
I'm gonna begin looking
00:27:46.70\00:27:48.43
at just a few notable moments
in the history of the Bible,
00:27:48.43\00:27:51.50
moments when the
impact of this incredible book
00:27:51.50\00:27:53.87
was a complete game-changer.
00:27:53.87\00:27:55.70
Thanks for joining me.
00:27:55.70\00:27:57.01
This has been "Authentic."
00:27:57.01\00:27:59.51
[gentle guitar music]
00:27:59.51\00:28:02.74
[gentle guitar music continues]
00:28:11.59\00:28:15.66
[gentle guitar music continues]
00:28:23.90\00:28:27.97