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Chapter 5: The Message We have seen one evidence after another that life could not have been a chance occurrence but must have been created by an intelligent being. Remember the SETI scientists and their insistence that only intelligent beings create the information in meaningful messages? I used their statement before because it helps us understand the source of the information in DNA. Now I want to point out their belief that if intelligent life exists somewhere other than on earth, it might try to communicate with us. These scientists have been pointing the world's largest radio telescopes out into space, looking for a radio message. The bad news is they have not found one. The good news is that another message has already been delivered. To make sure we could understand, God became a person, Jesus Christ, and lived for a time right here on earth. He showed who He was by doing miracles no one else could do. True, throughout history many have not believed. In fact, many have hated Him. When He was a small child, an evil king tried to kill Him by having all the children of His age in His town killed. When He grew up and brought forth His message, the religious leaders rejected Him and when the time came for the Lord to lay down His life for our sins they had Him killed. However, after three days He rose from the dead and sent His followers out to deliver His message, which still lifts people from degraded lives of sin to lives of peace and sterling character. The Ten Commandments, that have been thrown out of many public places, show us we are sinners who have not kept God's laws. Christ explained how we can be saved from having to suffer God's judgment on sin. His death paid the penalty for our sin. The story of God becoming a man to bring us this message is recorded in the Bible, which is a message to us from our Creator. He gave it to us in written form which we can examine for ourselves. Can I back up this statement with evidence? Yes, here is some: Though originally written in three languages by more than 40 writers over a period of more than 1500 years, the 66 books of the Bible agree with each other just as they would if they were all inspired by one mind as the Bible claims. This is not true of other books, ancient or modern: • It would be hard to find a scientific specialization that agrees now with what was taught even 50 years ago. • The history of philosophy is the story of each successive philosopher's thoughts which he defended by showing how those before him had been wrong. • In writing this book I had to use very recent quotes from scientists because science changes so rapidly. • The next time you are seriously sick, how would you like to be treated by the medicine of just 100 years ago? Science and philosophy change rapidly, yet the 66 books of the Bible agree among themselves so well that we often think of the Bible as one book. Try to find other books which were written over a period of 1500 years that agree with one another. Impossible, isn't it? Can you find them for even 200 years? 100? What Book is Number Two? I did an informal poll asking many people: "What is the second most important book in the world?" Almost everyone knows the Bible is the most important book, but the book that comes in second is so far behind, nobody can agree what book it would even be. Whether you love or hate the Bible, it stands out from other books. Many more ancient copies of the Bible were made and preserved than of any other really old book. Why? In the past, as today, many believed it was the Creator's message to man. Another way in which the Bible stands out is that it is still in print. Even though publishing today is cheaper and easier than ever, most manuscripts submitted to publishers are still rejected. Of those that do get published, only around one in 50 goes into a second edition. Even the fortunate books that go into many editions eventually lose the public interest, and are no longer published. Except the Bible! After the Bible had been copied by hand for well over a thousand years, Gutenberg invented the printing press that printed copies of the Bible more rapidly. Since then, its distribution has grow constantly. Almost 2000 years have passed since its writing was completed, and every year more copies of the Bible are sold than of any books which might be considered next in importance. The Old Testament was one of the first major books to be translated into a second language: into Greek around the time of Christ. The Bible has since been translated into many more languages than any other book. At the end of the year 2000, of the 6,809 languages in the world, the entire Bible had been translated into 383 languages. Another 987 have only the New Testament, and another 891 languages have at least one complete book of the Bible.1 When you finish reading most books, they sit on the shelf collecting dust, yet millions of people read the Bible again and again. Some of us read portions of it every day. Why? Because of the nature of God's communication with us. Little children who read the Bible understand a good deal, but adults find it so profound there is always more to learn and put into practice. The Bible has been quoted more often and has inspired more commentaries, films and literature than any other book. Why is all this true of the Bible, but no other book? Would it not be wise to at least consider the reason the Bible itself offers, that it is the word of God? After reading all this, many will feel a rage against the Bible building up, and some of you will understand from personal experience that the Bible is not only the most loved book in the world, but also the most hated. Why? Perhaps for some because the Bible's first words are: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." While the statement is logical, some people hate the idea of a Creator who has a right to ask them to love Him and live for Him. Whatever the reasons, there have always been those who oppose the idea that the Bible is a message from God to man. Many strongly contest the words of Christ: "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away" (Mark 13:31). Even these folks must admit that Christ's words have held up remarkably well for the first 2000 years. John Wycliffe was the first to translate the Bible into English. After his death, officials who did not want others to be able to read the Bible were so irritated that they dug up his body and burned it. William Tyndale, who produced the second English translation, was imprisoned for a year and a half, then tied to a stake, strangled, and his body was burned.2 Throughout history, many times more people have been tortured and killed for reading the Bible than for reading any other book. In more recent times, communist nations have burned and torn up millions of Bibles, often imprisoning people just for having one. Sometimes those who attack the Bible feel they have finished it off for all time. Voltaire, a famous skeptic of an earlier day, was one of these. He predicted that within one hundred years after his attacks, the Bible would disappear from circulation. Instead, just fifty years after his death, his own house became a warehouse for Bibles. Viggo Olsen, a brilliant doctor, and his wife were more recent skeptics. They read and followed the works of the famous skeptics of their day. They were challenged by Christians to search for the truth, and agreed because of a hidden motive: "But our agnostic bias made us begin the 'search' in a diabolically clever way. We would prove the Bible is not the word of God, that Christianity is not the true religion of God, and that Christ was but a man, not the Son of God!"3 The critics they had been following cited as their proofs of errors in the Bible the absence of archeological finds confirming the existence of: • The Hittites and Edomites. The critics called them "legendary people" while the Bible identified them as real ancient tribes. • "…the Roman census which brought Joseph and Mary to the town of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born…" Critics also claimed that the Bible made these and other mistakes because its books were written in periods of history hundreds of years later than those claimed by the books themselves. Most importantly of all, critics claimed that writing was not yet known in Moses' time so Moses could not have written the five books of Moses. What did the Olsen's investigation lead them to conclude? "Contrary to our previous understanding, we found the Bible to be historically accurate."4 In addition to reading the Bible itself, Olsen checked out recent archeological finds and found that the points he and other skeptics were using as proofs against the Bible were out of date. Archeological research had already shown the Bible to be true in each of these points.5 Writing not only existed in Moses' time, but whole libraries had been unearthed from before his time. Archeology has also shown that the authors of the Bible had a knowledge of the times in which they claimed to write that would be virtually impossible for anyone of a later time to acquire. It is true that some things the Bible speaks of have not yet been confirmed by archeological digging, but most of the accusations against the Bible that I hear being passed around today are old accusations that archeologists have long ago shown to be in error. The Olsens approached the Bible thinking that if salvation existed, it would be merited by those who had not sinned. As they read, however, they found that Christ came to save sinners… He died to save them from their sins, and proved it by rising from the dead. After careful study, the Olsens were convinced and trusted Christ to forgive their sins. They accepted the salvation that He offered. Their lives were transformed, and dedicated to serving God.6 The former skeptic became a medical missionary in Bangladesh, one of the most needy places on earth. Why? Because in addition to having made the Bible difficult to prove wrong, God also uses it to change lives. Read it and you may find out what this means. Josh McDowell was also challenged by Christians to examine the claims of Christ. He thought Christians were idiots, and believed if he could write a book laying to rest once and for all the myths Christians believed, his book would become a best seller. He studied the evidence from history, archeology and ancient literature and wrote, not one, but many books. He laid out good solid evidence. His books, however, show that Josh McDowell had been wrong, and the Bible right!7 Christ really did die on the cross for our sins, and He did rise from the dead. Many witnesses really did see Him. When Josh realized these things, he too trusted Christ, and dedicated his life to serving his Lord. In the past, more archeologists have gone out searching for evidence against the Bible than against any other book. Josh learned that many of these same archeologists have ended up praising its accuracy. Dr. Nelson Glueck, an outstanding Palestinian archaeologist, said: "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible."8 Famous archaeologist W.F. Albright, recipient of over twenty honorary degrees, wrote: "Archaeological and inscriptional data have established the historicity of innumerable passages and statements in the Old Testament…"9 Step up to the challenge like Olsen and McDowell did. Why should you trust the critics and reject the Bible without comparing their relative track records? The Bible's critics often charge that its central message, the story of Jesus Christ, is a myth or it would have been mentioned in other ancient literature besides the Bible. Actually Jesus Christ is mentioned in other ancient literature. Check it yourself! The many volumes referred to as "The Church Fathers" give Christ a great deal of friendly testimony, but He is also mentioned in several ancient books written by His enemies. I quote a few: The Romans: • Tacitus, AD 110, in his account of the persecution of Christians, Tacitus explains: "The name is derived from Christ, whom the procurator Pontius Pilate had executed in the reign of Tiberius."10 • Pliny the Younger, governor of Asia Minor, AD 111-112, asks in a letter to the emperor Trajan how he should treat the Christians. McDowell explained: "…he had been killing both men and women, boys and girls. There were so many being put to death that he wondered if he should continue killing anyone who was discovered to be a Christian, or if he should kill only certain ones."11 • Suetonius, A. D. 112.12 The Jews: • The Talmud contains a few statements from the first and second centuries A. D. which refer to Christ. • The Jewish historian Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, A. D. 93, 18:3:3. The Encyclopedia Britannica sums up its list of ancient statements about Jesus from non Christian sources:"These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries."13 John Clifford wrote a well known poem summarizing the result of the attacks on the Word of God by the critics: "Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door, And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime. Then looking in, I saw upon the floor, Old hammers, worn with beating years of time. The Bible has withstood the continual hammering of the critics. Throughout history many like Voltaire, Olsen, and McDowell have tried to destroy the Word of God. What have their hammers accomplished? More copies of the Bible are selling in more languages than before the critics picked up their hammers. Why does it fare so much better than your book or mine? Is it just a lucky accident, or is there really something different about the Bible? Read it regularly. "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:29) Would You Like to Be Rich? Let me give you a tip on a sure way to get rich. All you need is the ability to see just one day into the future. Try it! You can become incalculably rich just by buying and selling stock. If you know that Microsoft or General Electric will take a big jump up in price tomorrow, buy that stock today. Do it consistently, and before long, the rulers of the world will be lined up at your door begging for loans. Can't get rich on the stock market because you can't see a day into the future? Don't despair! There is a way to get rich if you can only see ahead a minute or two. Play the horses! If minutes are too long, you only need to look into the future a few seconds to get rich in the gambling casinos. It's a nice dream, but no one can see into the future. We know that because anyone who could, would already own almost everything. God claims He spoke in the Bible about certain things before they happened so that when they happened we would know it was He who had caused them: "Because I knew that thou art obstinate… I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them…" (Isaiah 48:5) In saying this, God is challenging us to put Him to the test in the area of prophecy. When we do, we find that His Word has foretold many things men could never have known. This builds up our faith in what He says about other things as well. Some who refuse to believe that God can see the future claim that the very accurate prophesies of the Bible were actually faked prophesy written by others much later, after the facts had already occurred. Let's examine an Old Testament prophesy about Christ that, for a number of reasons, could not have been faked later. Isaiah 53 This prophesy of Jesus Christ was written around 700 B.C. How do we know it was not faked after the time of Christ? In 1947 the first of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls was found in caves in the desert near the Dead Sea. Books of the Bible were among the older of the Dead Sea Scrolls.14 Though many were fragmentary, among them was a copy of the entire Book of Isaiah made around 100 B.C.15 A large portion of another copy of Isaiah and a number of smaller fragments were also among the scrolls. We know Isaiah's prophesy of Christ was not faked after the time of Christ because the copy of the whole book, made 100 years before Christ's birth, still exists today. It remained sealed in a jar in a desert cave until 1947. It has been photographed so if you know Hebrew you can compare it to the copy in your own Bible. The Isaiah Dead Sea scrolls say the same thing that we are going to study from the Old Testament of our English Bible, so no one can successfully argue that the prophesy we are about to examine was faked after Jesus had already done the things prophesied. Long before Christ came to earth, God really did tell us many of the things He was going do, so when they had happened, we would believe. To be brief, we will start with Isaiah 53:5, but I encourage you to read all of chapter 53 in your own Bible: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) The passage I have chosen is central to God's message to man. It speaks of Christ suffering for us. The following verses include one detail after another of Christ's death and resurrection. Each one makes the prophesy fit Jesus more specifically. This passage can only describe Jesus Christ. No one else in history meets the criteria. Notice how the next verse gives us further insight into why God the Father laid our punishment on Christ: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6) Because we had wandered off instead of following God, Christ carried our sin in His sacrifice for us. You may remember that at His trial Christ did not defend Himself: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." (Isaiah 53:7) We have already seen that Christ carried our sins, but up to this point the passage had not spelled out the fact that He would actually die for them. God was getting to that: "…for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken" (Isaiah 53:8). Isaiah 53 is a preview of the Gospel which would be explained seven hundred years later in the New Testament. Christ died for our transgressions. The verses we saw before put it: "for our iniquities," because we have "gone astray." God sees our sins as so serious that only the death of His Son could pay for them. The next verse gives our faith another big jump by adding details about his burial that make the prophesy even more specific, and less likely to have just been a lucky coincidence: "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his deathÉ" (Isaiah 53:9) How was this verse fulfilled? The most powerful nation on earth at the time intended to have Jesus buried with the wicked men who were crucified with Him. However, at the last moment, a rich man went to the Roman ruler and received permission to bury Christ's body in the new tomb he had dug for himself (Matthew 27:57-60). Next, Christ's resurrection, was foretold: "…when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days…" (Isaiah 53:10) The precision of Bible prophesy is a real problem to anyone who refuses to believe, so some have claimed that Isaiah 53 was not talking about Christ. This verse, however, destroys their position. Who else died and then prolonged his days? Christ rose again from the dead! Remember, we know that this prophesy was written long before Christ came because handmade copies had already been hidden in caves near the Dead Sea many years before He died and rose again. This verse also answers those who claim: "Jesus was not the Savior. He just knew the prophesies regarding the Messiah and arranged His life to accomplish things that had been foretold so people would think He was the Messiah." Few impostors would purposely get themselves killed by crucifixion, and none could rise from the dead. Another prophesy names the town where Christ would be born. When the wise men came not long after His birth asking where Jesus was born, the wicked King Herod was able to tell them. To do this he simply inquired of those who knew the Scriptures: "And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet." (Matthew 2:1-8, Micah 5:2). An impostor could not arrange the town where he would be born. Christ's family tree was also spelled out in prophesy. He was from the family of Abraham (Genesis 22:18, Galatians 3:16), more specifically from the tribe of Judah, (Genesis 49:10), and from the house of David (Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15). Another prophesy says that at His death evil men would pierce his hands and feet and divide up His clothes (Psalm 22:16-18). No impostor could arrange his life to fulfill such prophesies. Someone might say, "OK, it was prophesied that Christ would die and rise from the dead, but I don't believe he really came back to life." Christ's disciples felt that way too! Several times before His death, Christ had told his disciples that he would be crucified and then rise from the dead (Matthew 20:19, John 2:18-22). However, they refused to believe His resurrection predictions, so when He died, their hope died with Him. They had really believed that Jesus Christ was the long expected Messiah, so when He died, they were demoralized. Even when some women came back and reported that He had risen from the dead, the disciples refused to believe their testimony. Only later, when they saw Him themselves, did they believe. After that, Thomas, who was not there when Christ appeared, told his fellow disciples that he would not believe unless he could touch Jesus' wounds. Jesus came to the disciples again when Thomas was present. He told Thomas to reach out and feel His wounds. Thomas believed. Jesus said, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:21) Christ was later seen alive by more than five hundred witnesses. After the disciples saw and touched Him, and received the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised, these men who had been demoralized, depressed, disillusioned and disheartened, were transformed and went everywhere, boldly preaching that Jesus had been raised from the dead. (Mark 16:9-11, Luke 24: 19-21, Acts 4:1-3, 7:57-8:3) The opposition to their message was so fierce that most of them were eventually killed because they stuck to their testimony that Christ had come back to life. If the resurrection was not true and Christ was still dead, what transformed the disciples? They would have stayed discouraged. It would have been most strange for them to go out and be killed for their testimony that He had come back from the dead. Because they saw, they believed, and the Holy Spirit empowered them. Acts 8:30-38 tells of a government official who, returning to Ethiopia after a visit to Jerusalem, was seated in his chariot reading the same prophesy of Christ in Isaiah 53 which we just read. God sent Philip to explain this passage to him. The official trusted Christ and was baptized. After reading the same prophesy, you too now know that the Bible is not just another of men's books, but is the word of God. Christ paid in full the penalty for your sins. I pray that you might receive Him just like that official. The next verse explains how: "by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:11) By knowing Him you can be justified and have peace with God: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1) Christ died bearing your sins and mine. Why not trust him like that official? "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23-24) You may find it hard to believe that God would really forgive a person who has done the things you have done. Remember, however, two criminals were executed along with Jesus. Even at the very end, one of them insulted Christ and refused to believe. You could follow this man's example, refuse Christ, and be condemned to eternal suffering in hell, but why would you want to do that? Why not follow the example of the other criminal who prayed: "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Wouldn't you like to pray this same prayer and be with Jesus when you die? The mighty God who created the universe and life itself invites you to become His child; to be clothed in the goodness of Christ, and not in your own sin when you stand before Him at the Judgment. How can you be clothed in Christ's purity and not your own sin? One of my sons is an industrial electrician. Sometimes he works in a factory that makes wafers that are cut up to make computer chips. Everything must be kept spotless because the circuits in the chips are so tiny that even a small speck of dust could ruin a chip. No one can enter the clean rooms without a special suit that does not produce dust. My son does not even own such a suit. How can he work there? No problem! The factory provides it. When they tell him he must wear this special suit or he can't go in, all he has to do is believe them, accept it, and put it on. God's heaven is clean too. You can't go there clothed in your sin, but God loves you and offers you Christ's righteousness and goodness. That is what it takes to get into heaven. Don't wait. Accept. When you realize Christ died for your sin and rose again, the most logical thing you can do is to repent and trust Him to save you. This very moment, tell God that you have sinned against Him and His law, and trust Christ to take away your sin and clothe you in His righteousness. While you can't see clearly into the future, and may never have the riches of this world, in Christ you will find the riches that really count: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)16 Accept the riches that are being offered to you right now by the Creator of heaven and earth; your Creator, your Savior!
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