THE BIBLE

1. There is a small but important point in Acts 3:21.

2. Peter made reference to the prophets.

3. He said that they were “holy.”

4. He also said that they spoke with “one mouth.”

5. The word “mouth” is singular.

6. This was not a mistake.

7. In verse 18 a similar statement is made and the singular is used there as well.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BIBLE WE FIND THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL PROPHETS. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WE FIND 16 PROPHETS WHO WROTE BOOKS THAT WE DESCRIBE AS PROPHETICAL BOOKS.

A. Most also know that prophecy was not limited to these 16 men.

B. Men like Moses also issued some prophesies.

C. According to Acts 3, the “prophets” spoke with “one voice.”

D. Why did Peter say “voice” (singular—one)?

E. He used the singular to affirm that these men all preached the same message.

F. There was unity and harmony in what these people believed and taught.

2. This harmony is almost shocking when we think about it.

3. Tonight I want us to take a look at the people who wrote the Bible and the volume they produced.

4. When we look at how the Bible was produced we must conclude that was not made by mere men.

5. I want to begin by considering where the Bible starts.

6. Gen. 1:1 says “in the beginning.”

7. This statement tells us that scripture starts with how things began.

8. Instead of going back 50 years, 100 years, or 500 years, scripture goes back to the very first.

9. We know that the Bible can be separated into two basic parts (Old Testament and New Testament).

10. The Old Testament covers the time from the beginning (Gen. 1:1) to about 430 B.C.

11. Based upon what I can tell this is a period of about 4,000 years.

12. If we take this fact and compare it to Acts 3 we are presented with this claim:

13. During a period of about 4,000 years there was a plan.

14. We find that as we examine this plan that several people were involved with it.

15. Several people spoke and wrote about it.

16. The people who were exposed to this plan are described in Heb. 1:1 – READ.

17. Over a period of several thousand years God communicated with a variety of people.

18. The Hebrew writer says that He used different techniques.

19. This is what we find when we look at the Old Testament.

20. God spoke to some through heavenly messengers (1 Kgs. 19:5).

21. He spoke to others in dreams (Dan. 7:1).

22. Sometimes God used visions (Isa. 1:1).

23. On other occasions God used an audible voice (1 Sam. 3:4).

24. Several people were spoken to, in many different ways, over a period of about 4,000 years.

A. Many of those who received information wrote things down.

B. What the people wrote is very diverse.

C. Some who wrote part of scripture wrote poetry.

D. Others recorded history.

E. Part of the Bible contains proverbs, direct teaching, and even prophecy.

25. In spite of all these different things Acts 3 affirms that these people were all unified.

26. No matter who they were, what kind of literature they wrote or how God contacted them, they = 1.

27. This information does not complete the picture of what happened under the Old Testament.

A. The Old Testament was mainly written in Hebrew but it also has some Aramaic.

B. Thus, the Old Testament writers used two different languages.

C. The writers of the Old Testament were from different backgrounds and cultures.

D. The people and their different backgrounds spanned a period of about 3,600 years.

E. Then there was a so-called “silent period” of about 400 years.

F. What kind of product could be exposed to all these things and still be 100% intact?

G. The story does not stop here.

H. After nearly four centuries along came some additional information.

28. IN WHAT MIGHT BE CALLED “ACT 2,” OTHER PEOPLE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WERE ADDED.

A. There were new authors, more cultural differences, and even another language.

B. By the time of the New Testament there had been a shift in world governments.

C. When we add the New Testament writers to the Old Testament writers, at least 35 authors.

D. These men wrote over a period that spans a period of at least 1600 years.

E. These writers worked with three different languages.

F. Their cast of characters is close to 3,000 different people.

G. The book that the 35+ authors compiled has 1,189 chapters.

H. These men wrote at different times in history.

I. Some parts of scripture were written during times of peace.

J. Other parts were written during periods of war.

K. It was written when things were good and plentiful and evil and not slim.

L. It was written when people had hope and when people had despair.

M. It was written from three different continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe).

N. There are hundreds of controversial subjects within its pages.

29. The book known as the Bible is the strangest publishing project of all time.

30. In spite of all these strange things this book was produced with “one mouth.”

31. This is the claim and this is what we find.

32. The writers present a consistent picture of God.

33. A consistent picture of man’s problem (sin) is also expressed throughout the Bible.

34. The solution for sin is also seen throughout this book.

35. This product is astonishing.

36. How could such a document have ever been produced?

A. Consider if you will some of the people who wrote parts of the Bible and their backgrounds.

B. Moses (a prince, shepherd, and leader of the Hebrew nation).

C. Joshua (a military commander and a scout).

D. Men like Samuel were priests and judges.

E. Natahan was a prophet and a king’s counselor.

F. David was a shepherd, musician, poet, military hero, and a king.

G. Solomon was a wise man, zoologist, statesman, and a botanist.

H. Amos was a farmer.

I. King Hezekiah has been called a civil engineer.

J. Ezra has been likened to a revival leader.

K. Nehemiah was a king’s cupbearer.

37. There were so many things that didn’t go together but God still produced a single, unified book.

38. Under the Old Testament God often used prophets to write the scriptures.

39. When it came to writing the New Testament God no longer used prophets.

40. He selected a new group of people known as the apostles.

41. Even though God used a different kind of person this did not change the unity of the message.

42. Most know that not every New Testament book was written by an apostle.

43. Most were but there are some exceptions.

44. Those who were not apostles are especially worthy of study.

A. Most agree that the apostle James did not write the book that bears his name.

B. It was written by James the Lord’s half brother.

C. For a long time the Lord’s brothers and sisters did not believe in Him.

D. One of the people who had formerly rejected the Lord wrote a book about Him.

E. It appears that James was not the only one who did this.

F. The book we know as “Jude” also seems to have been written by a half brother of Jesus.

G. For quite a while Jude didn’t believe in Jesus. That changed.

H. When we look at the people who wrote the New Testament we find some other things that are odd.

I. Jesus relied upon fishermen. He used Peter to write two books of the New Testament.

J. John was another fisherman. He wrote 50 chapters of the New Testament.

K. What do fishermen know about writing and public speaking?

L. Another New Testament writer was Paul.

M. God took someone who had been hostile to Christianity and allowed him to write several books.

N. Another writer was a tax collector.

O. In thinking about the authors of the New Testament we cannot overlook Luke.

P. God used a doctor to write the books known as Acts and Luke.

Q. These men were light years apart but they all wrote books that fit together like the human body.

45. IF THE VARIOUS AUTHORS OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT 1600 YEARS HAD TRIED TO WRITE ABOUT A GENERAL THEME (WITHOUT DIVINE GUIDANCE) THEY WOULD HAVE FAILED.

46. A quick look at the Bible shows that the writers did not write about a general theme.

47. They were very specific.

48. These men not only succeeded, they spoke with “one voice.”

49. It has been calculated that the Old Testament has 306 specific prophecies about the Lord’s 1^st coming.

50. Someone who has an interest in probabilities did some calculating.

51. The chance of just 8 of the Old Testament prophecies coming true is 26 + 10 zeros.

52. To put this into the form of an illustration imagine the state of Texas.

53. This state is 710 miles by 760 miles; it has 262, 134 square miles.

54. Suppose that this state were covered in stacks of silver dollars; each stack is three feet deep.

55. One just one of these silver dollars there is a red dot.

56. A blindfolded person is asked to find the single silver dollar with the red dot.

57. The person gets only one chance to find the dot.

58. This is comparable to just 8 of the prophecies in the Old Testament coming true.

59. We don’t have 8 prophecies; we have more than 300.

60. When we look at the prophecies and we look at how the Bible was constructed…

61. We must say without a doubt that this is not a man made document.

62. People sometimes ask me why I believe in the Bible.

63. One of the reasons has been given tonight.

64. There is no way that mere men could have produced such a book.

65. This product, from beginning to end, is overflowing with proof that it has come from God.

66. Because this volume has come from God we need to know what it says and we need to obey it.