Have you ever wondered how the Bible came to us? Are you sure you can trust what the Bible says? How do you know the Bible is true? Do you ever wonder if the Bible is really God’s Word?
HOW DID WE GET OUR BIBLE?
Suppose you were given the responsibility of writing the Bible and just suppose you went about it like this.
You start with more than 40 different people who would help in the writing. You go out to Harvard and get some highly educated scholars. Then you go to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and get a medical doctor and then you go to Kansas and pick a farmer and then to Montana and get a rancher. Next go to Cape Cod and get a fisherman and then to San Francisco to get another fisherman. Then you go to downtown Detroit and get a guy living with a prostitute. You end up with 40 people.
Then you tell them to write a book. You would say, by the way, the book has to include poetry, philosophy, science and ethics. And you have to tell the story of history from how the universe was created up to how it is going to conclude in the future. In fact, one sixth of what you must write, must concern things that have not yet happened; it must tell what will happen in the future.
Also, you can’t talk to each other about what you are writing. In fact, you aren’t all going to be alive at the same time. Your lifetimes will be spread over 1500 years. And one further thing, I don’t want a single contradiction in what you write; I want you to be in total agreement on everything you write.
Imagine the strange concoction you would come up with for a book! The book would be inaccurate and contradictory. The book would be a farce.
Yet that is exactly what happened with the writing of the Bible. God took 40 people like those I described, people with all types of backgrounds and lifestyles, most who had never met or talked with each other. God used them to give the most important message in history to all people. God used these 40 people to transmit his love letter to planet earth.
THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
The word “canon” is used to describe the official list of books considered inspired by the Holy Spirit and part of the Scripture. These books are official because they are divinely inspired, not just considered divinely inspired because a council of church leaders made them official.
The 40 plus writers wrote 66 books that have been combined into our Bible. There are 66 books, from Genesis to Revelation, that make up our Bible. The Old Testament has 39 books and the New Testament has 27.
At the time of Jesus, the Old Testament was in three parts: the “Law,” the “Prophets” and the “Writings.” The Law contained the first five books of the Old Testament. The Prophets consisted of the books of prophecy (EG. Isaiah, Jeremiah Hosea) plus many of the Old Testament books of history (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles). The Writings consisted of the books of poetry – Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes. There are 39 books that make up the Old Testament.
We can easily recognize the books that are in the New Testament. Many are identified by the name of the author or the person or church to which the letter was initially addressed.
However in the early days of the Christian church, there were many letters that were written by church people that were circulating among the churches. Some of these were good but some contained false teaching.
By the fourth century, the church leaders created an official list of those letters and books that were considered authoritative and to be included in the Bible. At various church councils, it was agreed that 27 books would be included in the New Testament and these are the 27 books that compile the New Testament today.
BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
No matter what version of the Bible you use today, what you are using is a translation. Not one word of the Bible was written in English. The English language did not even exist when the Bible was written. Here’s what happened.
The original Old Testament
The original text of the Old Testament was mainly in the Hebrew language. However there are some words in the books of Daniel and Ezra, that were Aramaic. The oldest copies of the Old Testament that we have today date back to the 2nd century BC. These are copies of the Scroll of Isaiah that were discovered in 1949 in a cave near the Dead Sea.
The Old Testament was translated into the Greek language in the 3rd century BC. This translation is known as the Septuagint and was commonly used in Jesus’ time. Many quotations in the New Testament are translations from the Greek Old Testament, not the Hebrew Old Testament.
The original New Testament
The original New Testament was written in Greek. No copies of the actual original writings are available today. The oldest copy of the original we now have dates back to the 2nd century and about 20 manuscripts date back to the first five centuries.
The Latin Vulgate Bible
In the fourth century, the Bible was translated into Latin, the dominant language in Europe and this translation became known as “the Vulgate Version.” This Latin Bible became the dominant Bible in use for the next 1,000 years. In fact, it was the only version of the Bible available.
English translations
The first English translation was made by John Wycliffe, in 1384. There was much opposition to what Wycliffe did and people said he was changing what was in the Latin Bible. In 1428, his body was dug up and burned as a protest against what he did. He was merely trying to put the Bible in the language of the people.
It is really to William Tyndale that we owe a debt of gratitude for bringing the Bible to the English language. Tyndale, an Englishman, was also totally opposed in England in his desire to translate the Bible into the language of the people, so he did his work on the Continent of Europe where his English New Testament was published in 1525.
Copies had to be smuggled into England, secretly purchased and secretly read. Readers of his translation were arrested and their copies destroyed. For his work, in 1536, he was publicly strangled and his body burned at the stake.
The persecution came because people could not accept change. They wanted the old Latin Bible, even though no one except the priests could understand the Latin language.
In the 15th and 16th centuries several others worked on translating the Bible. Most of these were merely translations of the Latin version of the Bible.
The King James Version (KJV) was completed 400 years ago in 1611. It was called the Authorized Version simply because King James, an extremely ungodly king, permitted it to be printed. You could have a copy and read it without being punished. Authorized simply meant that the king permitted people to read it. It was legal! It was not authorized by any church; it was accepted with the blessing of the secular king!
Since then there have been more than 500 new translations or revisions in English. I personally have more than 20 translations and have one book that exerpts from 26 different translations.
WHY SO MANY TRANSLATIONS?
There are several reasons.
The skill of the translators.
Having worked as a missionary in many cultures and language groups, I have a great appreciation for the diverse skills of interpreters. Some are great and some are poor. The effectiveness of translation depends on the skill of the translator in both languages.
In more recent years, Bible translators have learned and understood the original Bible languages and this has enabled them to be more accurate in their work.
The original manuscript to be translated.
One critical question Bible translators must answer is what are they going to translate from. Clearly, it is not good enough to translate the text of another translation; translators need to get the earliest, most authentic manuscripts and translate those into our language.
Much of the debate about translation work deals with which manuscripts are being used to make the translation.
The changes in the English language.
The English language we use today is quite different from the English language of 400 years ago. In fact, the English language changes significantly every ten years. New words are developed and become part of daily usage. In addition, some English words even change their meaning.
The word, “suffer” means to have aches and pains, but in the KJV, Jesus said, Suffer the little children to come unto me. He wasn’t telling the disciples to inflict pain on the children. At the time the King James Version was made, the word “suffer” meant “let” or “permit.” The English word changed its meaning. There are many similar words used in older translations which have changed their meaning.
Today, Christians use many different translations. Some still feel comfortable with the 400-year-old KJV; others prefer a newer translation. The message of the Bible has not changed and never will, but we will need new translations every 10-20 years.
In America, the most commonly used translation today in the New International Version (NIV). More copies of the NIV are sold each year than any other translation. Further, almost all new Bible commentaries and study books are keyed to the NIV. The NIV is an accurate translation and is very readable. It’s the first Bible in 75 years to be specifically designed as a pulpit Bible and it’s the translation I personally use the most.
THE UNIQUENESS OF THE BIBLE
There are three words that describe the uniqueness of the Bible. If you are serious about studying the Bible, you have to understand these words.
Inspiration.
We believe the Bible is inspired.
All Scripture is God‑breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16).
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. (2 Peter 1:20-21).
The word inspired is not a cheap word. When we say the Bible is inspired, we do not mean the same thing as when we say a team plays an inspired game.
When each of the writers of the Bible wrote his words, he was inspired by God in what he wrote. Paul told Timothy that God breathed in and through these writers as they wrote. Peter said, “They were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
God inspired human beings to be his channels through whom he would speak.
Inerrancy.
We believe that the Bible, as it was originally written, is totally without error or contradiction in any form.
While the Bible was not written as a science text book, when the final text of science is written, I’m confident that there will not be one contradiction between science and the Bible. New scientific discoveries support this.
While the Bible is not primarily a history text book, when all the facts of history are known, the total accuracy of the Scriptures will be verified.
Hundreds of recent archeological discoveries verify the Bible’s accuracy.
Authority.
The Bible speaks with the authority of God himself. When you read the Bible, you are reading the words of God. When you open your Bible, it’s as if you are hearing God speak directly to you. Repeatedly, the writers said, “Thus says the Lord…” and that gives the Bible authority.
When you quote the Scriptures, things happen. The devil left Jesus when he quoted Scriptures.
The Bible is our final authority. It is the yardstick by which we measure everything we believe and everything we do, both in our private lives and in the life of the church.
When culture clashes with the Scripture, we reject our culture and follow Scripture.
When traditions conflict with the Bible, we throw away our traditions and follow the Bible.
When our beliefs don’t line up with the Bible, we reject our personal beliefs and accept the truth of God’s Word.
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