Bible Questions and Answers

When we read the Bible for ourselves we have to make a judgment about its truthfulness.

The scriptures which make up the Bible were written over a period of 1500 years by some 40 different authors.
The scriptures explain the purpose of creation, why we die and how we can be saved from death by a resurrection to eternal life at a future date.

The Old Testament is a collection of writings made by people belonging to the nation of Israel. They claim to be written by the inspiration of the creator. For this reason they were meticulously maintained and copied out as the original writings deteriorated.

The Old Testament contains prophecies which have been accurately fulfilled historically. This supports their claim of inspiration. No one other than the creator can foretell the future accurately. The focus of the Old Testament is on the promise of the creator to provide a redeemer, one who would make resurrection from the dead possible.

The scriptures which make up the New Testament are the record of the birth, life, teaching, death, and resurrection of the promised redeemer. That redeemer was Jesus Christ. He preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and performed many miracles which showed that he was the redeemer promised by the creator.

Far from being lies preached by people for thousands of years, the majority of the people of Israel wouldn’t (and still don't) accept that Jesus was the promised redeemer.

Notwithstanding the clear prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus Christ, the leaders of Israel blackmailed the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate into crucifying him.

His crucifixion was clearly prophesied in their own scriptures as was his resurrection from the dead.
Jesus Christ was subsequrently raised from the dead on the third day. He was seen alive by his apostles and over 500 witnesses over a period of 40 days. He then ascended to heaven.

Many of the people of Israel believed on him, but the majority didn’t. Those who believed were persecuted, imprisoned and some were killed.

The apostles preached the gospel to the gentiles (non-Jews). Gentile believers became known as Christians. They were persecuted, imprisoned and killed by the Romans who were idol worshippers.

Now consider the following:

• Are we here by accident or is it more likely we are here by design?
• Is it reasonable to expect that if we are created, our creator would tell us in writing what his purpose is?
• We know we die. Our period of life is finite. If our creator is offering us the opportunity of resurrection to eternal life, is it wise to reject his written explanation as a bunch of made-up lies without actually examining it. We have nothing to lose and a lot to gain if it proves to be true.
• Does it make sense that people would become Christians and run the risk of persecution and death for a pack of lies they had made up about Jesus rising from the dead – and ascending to heaven?
  Surely, unless the resurrection of Jesus was true, Christianity wouldn’t have got off the ground.

Jesus Christ is the only person who ever lived of whom it is claimed that he rose from the dead. This could easily be disputed by someone pointing out his grave, containing his remains. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE. The Jewish leaders couldn’t produce a body and neither could the Romans.

According to the Bible. the Jews were to be removed from the land of Israel and scattered amnongst the nations for a long period of time. They were to be persecuted wherever they went. Subsequently they would be restored to the land. This happened in 1948. The nation of Israel are a testimony to the truth of the scriptures.

We can choose to ignore the Bible, live our life and die and perish forever. OR We can read the Bible for ourselves and take advantage of the creator’s offer to be part of his purpose.

There is one Bible, but many Churches and they can’t all be right; so it is important that we read the scriptures very carefully for ourselves.

I hope this helps
Glenn