If you’ve ever opened the Bible, you’ll notice it is organised into two parts. Jews recognise the first section (often referred to simply as “the Jewish Scriptures”), which points forward to the Messiah. Christians also recognise the New Testament—a record kept by those who had seen and heard Jesus personally. While observant Jews carry portions of Scripture on their heads and Waldensians slipped death-defying fragments of holy writ to sympathisers in the Catholic Middle Ages,1 not everyone feels the love. In the 1970s, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu confiscated Bibles and recycled them as toilet paper.2
Clearly, the Bible can be physically altered but should it—and where it has been, are these unauthorised changes lasting? Overwhelmingly, the answer is “no”. Film buffs will be familiar with the “curse of the Pharaohs” trope, where greedy villains die trying to get rich. In Ancient Egypt, royal tombs were sometimes sealed with curses to deter would-be grave robbers tempted to sully the graves’ purity.
In the Bible, there are similar injunctions against tampering with the script. The Old Testament warns, “Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” John the Revelator cautions, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” The message is clear: those who violates even the smallest part do so at their own risk!
God’s Word: reliable
So, why read the Bible? In part, for the same reason we read so many other books: to expand our understanding of the human experience, identify personally with misunderstood people and be inspired. Jaded as we are, something inside us yearns for something transcendently wonderful and true. What mystery draws us hither, heterogeneous in age, ability, personality, background and experience, as we are?
The Bible is a miracle worthy of our highest regard and admiration
But, for that matter, how can we be sure that the Bible is reliable? Why not leave it in Qumran, where Essene communities stored them away more than 2000 years ago? Why should we care if Masoretic scribes ensured transcription accuracy more than 1000 years ago? Why should the Bible authors—mortal, fallible, just like us—be believed? How can we tell if this Western cultural keystone—by, for and about mostly ancient Jews—isn’t just a myth?
In a whodunit like no other, God’s penmen came together to tell one story. Differing remarkably in age, personality, ability and background, they were slaves and princes, scribes and conquerors. Here we find inclusivity in live-action: yes-men to strongmen; farmer to prophet; bread-and-cheese courier to giant slayer; bureaucrat to builder, immigrant to queen, weatherman to star-voyaging spaceman, to name just a few!
How could it be justly claimed that all these people colluded across space and time to invent one Messiah? Good question! If you’re familiar with any number of debates through the ages, whether based in politics, education, gender, class or race and so many others, have you stopped to wonder how the Bible presents such a unified story throughout such diversity? How is it that in a world of multi-directional debate, raging war and ongoing social contention, that 40 different writers with 66 books between them all came together seamlessly across 1500 years to lift up one Saviour?
The Bible defies the odds to present a unified, unanimously awestruck witness to “the breadth . . . length . . . height and depth” of God’s great love for humanity, and an open invitation to enjoy the riches of His blessings. It is a miracle worthy of our highest regard and admiration! No wonder so many believe it to be “the greatest story ever told”.
God’s Word, giftable
When Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone, he brought humankind a rare gift. However, that was nothing compared to the living “stone” that came down from heaven 2000 years ago. Yet so many missed it! Apropos of much pharisaic self-seeking, this was the Gift of whom all the prophets wrote: a Messiah for all nations.
Genesis introduces Jesus as the “seed” of the woman who’ll crush the origin of evil. In Exodus, He’s the Passover Lamb, as well as the Bread of Life that “came down from heaven”. In Leviticus, He’s the High Priest who represents Israel. In Numbers, His “star” is foreseen. In Deuteronomy, He’s a prophet like Moses.
In Joshua, He’s a conqueror. He’s better than the judges of Israel at their best. In the book of Ruth, He is the kinsman-redeemer of both Gentiles and Jews. In 1 Samuel, He is God’s anointed and shepherd-king. In 1 and 2 Kings, He is a peacemaking sage, a healer and a doer of miracles. In 1 and 2 Chronicles, He is “one greater than the temple”.
In Ezra, He’s the restored temple embodied. In Nehemiah, He’s the cupbearer who puts temptation to shame. In Esther, He’s an intercessor and protector. In the Psalms, He asks, “God, why have you forsaken me?” even as His mercy is proclaimed. In Proverbs, He’s the Tree of Life. In Song of Songs, He’s the Bridegroom. In Isaiah, He’s the Suffering Servant, yet “mighty to save.”
In Jeremiah, He’s the Shepherd that is struck. In Ezekiel, He’s the Son of Man. In Daniel, He’s “the Messiah, the Prince.” In Hosea, He’s faithful. In Joel, He sends the Spirit. In Amos, He is the sin-bearer. In Obadiah, He’s victorious. In Jonah, He’s lost and found.
In Micah, He’s a Bethlehemite. In Nahum, He is an iconoclast and a peacemaker. In Habakkuk, His light is manifest. In Zephaniah, He is a returner of the remnant. In Haggai, He is the glory of the temple. In Zechariah, He’s like a slave—and yet a Priest-King like Melchizedek, humble and lowly and riding on the foal of a donkey. In Malachi, He’s the Sun of Righteousness, Who rises with power to heal.
God’s Word, unstoppable
Why did Cuthbert Tunstall feel so threatened by an English translation of the Bible that he sought to destroy all known copies of the book that would become the King James Bible? He failed: in fact, the purchase of William Tyndale’s Bible funded more!3 Why did Tyndale’s enemies urge Henry VIII to murder him in 1536? Even after his death, Tyndale’s wish came true—that God would “open the king of England’s eyes”.
So that all might know the truth of the Gospel, the Bible was soon translated into all the languages of Europe
Despite “murder most foul”, God’s great work of translating the Bible into English continued unabated. Three years later, King Henry VIII ruled that every church in England must have access to an English Bible. By 1611, a unified England and Scotland had a Bible in the English language. Of course, Tyndale was not the only man to give his life for the sake of translation, nor was he the Bible’s sole translator. So that all might know the truth of the Gospel, the Bible was soon translated into all the languages of Europe.
Beloved reader, did you know Jesus gave Himself for you? My urge for you is to accept the love of Jesus for yourself. It’s the most amazing gift ever! Much more could be said about the nuances of the Bible and the stellar faith of those who, in loving devotion to Jesus, wrote it. For now, one question remains: will the power in the blood—the blood of one innocent man, one gracious father of cosmic love, one Messiah, swift to die, but forever strong to redeem lost humanity—give you freedom from death? That choice is yours alone.
- Ellen G White, The Great Controversy. SL: Indoeuropeanpublishing Co, 2019. ↩︎
- V Prodan, Saving my Assassin. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2016. ↩︎
- <spartacus-educational.com/Cuthbert_Tunstall.htm> ↩︎
