Holy Hormones Bible Study: Teaching — not Entertainment
PROPHECY 101
Introduction to Bible Inerrancy
Why this post?
There is a regular cycle of articles on the Medium platform that give derogatory opinions of Bible Inerrancy. This is as good a time as any to present evidence and let the reader decide.
What is your definition of the Bible?
That seems like a reasonable place to start. But I’m not asking you. I’m asking Jesus.
When asked by a lawyer, “Which is the great commandment in the Law,” it is written in Matthew 22:37–40 || Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
NT Saints commonly focus in on v37–39. A wise move but there’s another bit — v40, On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets — to which a significant portion (?majority?) of the church has cast a blind eye. He was speaking to Jews who knew the Old Testament when it was the only Testament, and He gave equal weighting to the Torah (Teachings) and the Prophets (what the Teachings were all about). I’m open to correction but, to me, there are words unspoken in that sentence.
• Know the Torah (Teachings)
• Know what the Prophets said.
Once more I’m open to correction but it seems that NT Saints are more Torah-fied of Prophecy than even the OT.
I’m glad you asked me what my definition is
I freely admit that my Hermeneutics has more of a Yiddish accent than Italian or German.
The Bible is a Diamond having many facets. On the Medium platform it’s sole purpose seems to be a collection of documents to criticise (though not by the Wise). I feel out of place because my understanding is that, being a testament, it is a Legal Document laying out the Strategy of God’s Redemption Plan where He has given a series of Promises about what will happen — long before they happen. (More about that soon.) Being a Legal Document, His Children are entitled to hold Him to account (very, very carefully) if they don’t happen.
BUT HOW CAN WE HOLD HIM TO ACCOUNT IF WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THE PROMISES ARE?!
Unfortunately, the normal NT Saint holds Torah in low regard because Christ was the End of the Law (Romans 10:4). Yet again, I’m open to correction but I can’t see that this verse — a Pillar of NT Saint Doctrine — can be adequately interpreted without at least a working knowledge of the OT. But you be the judge.
What does INERRANT mean?
Even today’s dictionaries can get that one correct. In a nutshell, “A lack of mistakes (in any shape, manner or form).” But we’ll come back to that after spending some time on Prophecy…. Promise.
Physics? What has that got to do with it? The Bible isn’t a technical book.
Perhaps you’ll change your mind as things progress.
When I was failing Physics in Days of Yore, I could misunderstand General Relativity as well as anyone. The only thing that stuck in my mind was that something without mass was not subjected to the constraints of time.
Now I read the Bible and it tells me that God is Spirit (John 4:24) so, by definition, has no mass therefore, by definition, is not confined by time. Perhaps you’ve noticed that mortals are. How can Someone, Who is Spirit, outside of time effectively communicate with someone inside? He declares what will happen before it does, as is written in Isaiah 46:9–10 || Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.’ Prophecy.
What God says about Prophecy and Prophets
It is written in Amos 3:7 || Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
Clear enough.
Who picks the Prophets?
God. It is written in Deuteronomy 18:18 || I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
Prophets are mentioned in the Five-Fold Ministries for the Church in Ephesians 4:11. Women prophesied in 1 Corinthians 11:5. Sons and daughters shall prophesy in Acts 2:17.
Do Prophets speak only of the future?
No. Whatever God wants to say to the Assembly.
Deuteronomy 18:19 || And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it (i.e. there will be consequences) of him. [Parenthesis mine]
But how do we know the prophet is not a fraud?
It is written in Deuteronomy 18:21–22 || Now you may ask yourselves, ‘How will we be able to discern that the Lord has not spoken?’ Whenever a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the oracle does not come about or the word is not fulfilled, then the Lord has not spoken it. The prophet will have spoken presumptuously, so you need not fear him.”
How much tolerance does God have for false prophets?
Zero.
Deuteronomy 18:20 || “Even then, if the prophet speaks presumptuously in my name, which I didn’t authorise him to speak, or if he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.’”
This is a difficult situation in today’s world. Obviously, there are a lot of prophecies given in today’s church which fizzle, and not (m)any people dying. The wording of the Command is that the Saints must discern and decide what to do with the false prophet. Sometimes it is just positive witness of what is written in the Bible. Whatever, everyone must be careful of putting words into God’s mouth, as is written in Matthew 12:36–37 || But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Also, the Saints have been warned against False Prophets in the Last Days. But the words spoken by God in the OT are set in stone. No cause for concern there.
Obviously, death limits the focal length of any prophecy.
Plainly true. These Prophecies were multiple generations ago. How does God get around that?
Deftly. It becomes evident going through the OT that the Prophets work on the multi-focal lens principle. There is always a near-future event linked to a far-future one. The fulfilment of the near-future one verifies the authenticity of the Prophet, showing that the far-field event is certain.
The following schematics demonstrate the principle.
An important example
Diligent study of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew shows it to be about the Great Tribulation before Jesus’s Second coming, while the one in Luke is about the Destruction of the Second Temple before the Great Tribulation before the Second Coming. The Second Temple incident occurred about 38 years after the Crucifixion (the near-field Prophecy) showing that He was an Authentic Prophet. Because this happened, the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming can be taken to the bank.
What has this to do with inerrancy?
This brief primer has been to give a basis for the next post. The Prophecy in Isaiah 11:11–12 where it is written that God will bring His People back, a second time, a century-and-a-half before they left the first time.
It will show that the Prophecy, made in about 720 BC, begins to come to fruition in 1948 and finally in the Six Day War of 1967.
The Word of God is:-
Inspired: How could Isaiah, in 720 BC, know what was going to happen in 1967?
Inerrant: Was the Prophecy wrong?
Infallible: Has the Word of God failed in any of His Prophecies?
Conclusion
How can anyone challenge the veracity of the Word of God if the important part of that Word has been blatantly ignored? It is like trying to start a fire with a one-ended stick.
How can anyone claim to be following the Teachings of Jesus if they haven’t followed His instructions regarding the Most Important Commandment?
If anyone has created a god in their own image it is easy to understand why that word may be guilty of errancy …. But not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The forgoing evidence has not been presented to convince any reader but to allow a personal decision to be made. There is much more to know about this subject. Perhaps you’ll pay another visit, sometime.
All Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
(We all have a plank in our eye. It’s bigger than we think.)
