GladTidingsO F T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D 11445533

GladTidings

How The Bible Came to Us – page 8The Future is in God’s Hands

– page 15First Century Christianity

– page 18

How The Bible Came to Us – page 8The Future is in God’s Hands

– page 15First Century Christianity

– page 18

Bible Talks, Study Classes, Sunday Schools and Youth Clubsare held regularly by Christadelphians worldwide. The address

of your nearest group can be obtained from either the Distribution Secretaries or from the local agents or

information addresses given above.

Bible VersionsThe version most used in this issue isthe New King James Version (NKJV)and other versions are sometimes

used.

� The New King James Version iscopyrighted by Thomas Nelson.

� The Revised Standard Version is copyrighted 1946 and 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the NationalCouncil of Churches in the USA.

� The New International Version is copyrighted 1978 by New York Bible Society

GladTidingsO F T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

121st Year 1453A monthly magazine published by the

Christadelphians (Brethren in Christ) and availablethroughout the world.Its objectives are – to encouragestudy of the Bible as God's inspired message to men; to call attention to the Divine offer of forgiveness of

sins through Jesus Christ; and to warn men and women that soon Christ will return to Earth as judge

and ruler of God’s world-wide Kingdom.

AcknowledgementsPhotographs:

Cover: Children at Sale SundaySchool, Manchester, UKJames HardyIllustrations:Art Today: 3,5-7; Todd Bolen 8;Derrick Banyard 9,10; ChristianClipart 14; Ian Riddell 11,12,15-19

ContentsF05

Magazine orders to the address nearest you:United Kingdom – Cilla Palmer (Mrs), “Highlands”, 78 Mildenhall Road, Fordham, Ely, Cambs, EnglandCB7 5NR Tel: (01638) 723959 (24hrs&Fax) cilla@gladtidings.fsnet.co.uk

Australia – K.G.Quixley, 22 Narallah Grove, Box Hill North, Victoria, Australia, 3129 gladtidings@optusnet.com.au

Canada – Vivian Thorp (Mrs), 5377 Birdcage Walk, Burlington,Ontario, Canada, L7L 3K5

New Zealand – Christadelphian Witness, P.O. Box 15-457, New Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand

South Africa – A. J. Oosthuizen, P.O.Box 50357, MusgraveRoad,Durban 4062, South Africa antoost@mweb.co.za

U.S.A. – Pat Hemingray (Mrs), 3079 Kilburn West, Rochester Hills, MI 48306, USA.

Other Countries – Geoff Maycock, 8 Hale End, Bracknell, Berks., England, RG12 9YH gmaycock@fish.co.uk

Local information is also available from:Fiji – Bible Mission, Box 1012, G.P.O., Suva, Indonesia

– Bible Mission, PO Box 61, Solo, Java

Philippines – Mr Albert Cruz, PO Box 991, Manila,Philippines 1099

Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Pacific Islands, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea – Bible Mission, PO Box 42, Wallacia, NSW 2745, Australia

India – T. Galbraith, G.P.O. Box 159, Hyderabad 500001, India

Bangladesh – Christadelphian Bible Students, PO Box 9052,Banani, Dhaka 1213

Editor: Owen Tecwyn Morgan26 The Crescent, Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, B92 OBP, England, UK glad.tidings@virgin.net

Publisher: The Glad Tidings Publishing Association (a registered charity) number 248352

ContentsGod Has a Purpose ..3

God’s World – Created

for a Purpose.........5

How The Bible

Came to Us.............8

The Past is True.....12

The Future is in

God’s Hands.........15

First Century

Christianity .........18

This issue is based on a BibleExhibition prepared by the

Christadelphians which is inregular use in the UK. It givesoverseas readers a flavour ofwhat the Exhibition contains

121st Year 3

Nobody is ever put on trialwithout some evidence thatmight lead to a conviction,even if the evidence isfaked.

It would be a waste of timeattempting to prove somethingwith nothing more to go on thansuspicion or possibility. “Where’sthe evidence?” people would ask,and rightly so. Everybody deserves afair trial.

At the same time, whenthere is overwhelmingevidence, somethingshould be done about it. It isequally unjust for people to ignore thingsthat really should be taken into account.

What is true in a court of law is also trueof life itself. The things in which we placeour trust should be well-established,especially if they are really important tous. Nobody wants a doctor who doesn’tcare about patients; a hospital whichmakes you sick; a newspaper that tellslies; or a school that teaches wrongthings. But how do you know what is bestfor you or for your children? Where’s theevidence one way or another?

Blind Faith?We all have to take somethings on trust, at least atfirst. You can ask aroundabout doctors or hospitalsand hope to get goodfeedback but when you aresuddenly taken ill such questioningbecomes of secondary importance. Yourexperience will be the guide from there on.

You can read a newspaper and formyour own judgement about its values andtruthfulness, by comparing it with otherversions of the same reported events. Andyou can check up on what a schoolteaches by carefully listening to what is

taught and using your own intelligenceand understanding to work thingsout for yourself.

Wrong teaching is usually contra-dictory in one way or another; it’s amatter of spotting the inconsisten-cy when you put everything

together.

Evidence on Display

It’s like that with religion as well.Nobody is asked to believe in God withoutsome evidence that substantiates Hisexistence and His purpose. Put it alltogether and you will soon see what acompelling case there is for belief in Godand for putting absolute trust in the wayHe is working things out for the best.

It’s not a case of having blind faith.Jesus once said that if the blind lead theblind they will both fall into the ditch(Matthew 15:14). Instead we must haveour eyes open if we are to see what God

is doing and what it means tous (Acts 26:18).

Christadelphians haveassembled a lot of informa-tion to demonstrate the casethat exists for belief in Godand His plan and purposewith mankind. This issue of“Glad Tidings” features

some of that information which is also ondisplay in a Bible Exhibition that travels

Consider the Evidence

God Has a PurposeGod Has a Purpose

widely in the UK. Some of the photo-graphs used in this issue feature that exhi-bition and the various articles will give aflavour of its coverage and content.

But it would hardly justify being called a“Bible” Exhibition if there was not a col-lection of Bibles and it is right and properthat they are the central feature of thedisplay. For the Bible – the Word of God –is the ultimate evidence that God has a purpose.

God has revealed Himself and Hispurpose in a marvellous library of 66books, written over a period of more that1000 years by some 30 writers, in threelanguages, with a fascinating range offeatured characters, topics, teachings andincidents. There has never been a collec-tion of books like this one and there never will be. For it is not just a remark-able work: it is a true account that comesfrom God.

As our cover photograph shows, webelieve in sharing this evidence with ourchildren too, so they can make up theirown minds. In a world where too manythings are taken for granted we believe ingiving children a chance to work things outfor themselves.

Ring of TruthYou can judge for yourself, as we look at

various aspects of Bible teaching,whether or not it

seems to you to have the ring of truth.Over the years many people have set outwith the objective of rubbishing the Bibleand have come to believe it because ithas a message which is convincing. Theynever intended to give its message achance, but it won through even so.

If you are willing to weigh up theevidence the Bible presents you tooshould find it a compelling case, and thatis likely be helpful to you. For we live in a confusing world of changing values anduncertain aims. Things can happen withbewildering speed which can leave us veryunsure about the future. It is helpful toknow about something that can be trustedabsolutely.

One writer, who spent a lot of timetranslating the New Testament intoEnglish said this – that a close study ofthese writings “can, and constantly does,challenge, provoke and appeal to a manat a deeper level and with a moreprofound authority than any other humanwriting” (J. B Phillips: “Ring of Truth – aTranslator’s Testimony”).

Your ChallengeThe Bible itself is the ultimate test. Readit for yourself and you could find it life-changing. Just think what it would meanto you if you were fully persuaded thatthere is – � sound evidence that God exists,

and� that He has a purpose with this

earth, and that� He is offering you a chance to

join in when His plan entersits final glorious phase.

Consider the evidence foryourself and see what a difference it could make toyour life.

Editor

4 Glad Tidings

121st Year 5

Big Bang?It is a mistake to overlook the Bibleaccount for two reasons. First, we need toappreciate what the Bible account ofcreation is telling us about the purpose ofGod. Second, scientific accountsinevitably undergo revision asfurther information accumu-lates.

After scientists discoveredthat it appeared the universewas expanding, there was afamous controversy as towhether the universe was in a‘steady-state’ – that materialwas being created constantlyto fill the “gaps” – or if it orig-inated from an explosive ‘bigbang’ at some point in spaceand time. At present, mostcosmologists are convincedthat there was indeed a beginning in theform of a big bang.

Like most scientific beliefs, this createsfurther questions – “How did it start likethis and what was the condition of theuniverse before that? Will it go onexpanding for ever? Is the universeinfinite?” Vast sums of research moneyare spent each year in the quest forknowledge about the origin of the universeand of life on earth. For most of us, thesesorts of questions are interesting but reallydo not impinge on our everyday lives. If wereally knew the answers to thesequestions what difference would it make?

Questions that MatterThe questions to which most of us wouldlike certain answers are ‘Why are wehere?’; ‘What is the purpose of life?’;‘Where is life leading, if anywhere?’ and‘What happens at death, if anything?

Remarkably, science has noanswers to these keyquestions because scientistsonly investigate the ‘how?’ ofeverything and not the ‘why?’For example, we may discoverthat part of the reason grassappears green is becausechlorophyll absorbs light ofother colours but not green.

That does not tell us why itis green and not blue or someother colour. And for manyscientists, there is noultimate purpose to our lives:

the universe just came into existencewithout any purpose and life originatedsimply by chance. Such a simplisticapproach might have been tenable in the19th and early 20th centuries, when anexplosive increase in scientific investiga-tion occurred, but now it is questionable.

The further we have looked upwards andoutwards at our universe, or lookeddeeper and more closely into the structureof living things and even into the verynature of matter itself, we have foundgreater and greater complexity. The‘simple’ Amoeba of Darwin’s day and theminimalist atomic model of Rutherford’s

God’s World

Created for a PurposeCreated for a PurposeA question that intrigues many is “How did the world come into existence?” Yet

the Bible’s account of the creation of the world – in the Book of Genesis – is oftendismissed as ‘myth’ or ‘legend’. But as scientist John Hellawell now explains, thisis a huge mistake. John is the author of several publications the most recent being

“Creation or Evolution?”

6 Glad Tidings

spersed with the key word “divided”.Light is divided from darkness (v.4) to

give day and night. The atmosphere (“firmament”; the

Hebrew means ‘expanse’) is formedwhen the waters below aredivided from the waters

above, that is, the clouds(v.7).

The gathering together ofthe waters below the

atmosphere allows land toappear and provides for earthand seas.

Dry land allows the vege-tation to flourish and the atmos-

phere enables birds to fly while the seasteem with creatures of many kinds. Theearth also supports the vast variety ofanimal life and the climax is the creationof mankind. All animal life is supported byvegetation and this aspect is consideredin verses 29 and 30.

All under ControlTime is a result of the pattern of theheavenly bodies the lights of which “dividethe day from the night” and they are “forsigns, and seasons, and for days, andyears” (v.14). This is a profoundstatement for all our reckoning of timedepends on the apparent motion of thesun from sunrise to sunrise (day); thephases of the moon (months) and thechanging day-length (seasons) and theannual variation in the sun’s maximum

height in the sky. The whole process in

the first chapter ofGenesis moves relent-lessly from the picture ofan uninhabitable earthto one which supportedlife, especially humanlife. Nor does this pattern end in the first

time now seem to be such naïveconcepts. Einstein’s theory of relativity,Bohr’s quantum theory and recentresearch in cosmology have brought us tothe point where even atheistic scientistswonder whether there is someover-ruling mind or purpose increation. That mind is revealed tous in the Bible.

Bible Account ofCreationThe Bible account of creationseems to have been given to usto explain why things are theway they are, rather than to provide uswith a step-by-step description of events.The majestic opening statement: “In thebeginning God created the heavens andthe earth” (Genesis 1:1), implies activeinvolvement by a Creator. Note the orderin which these words are spoken and that‘the earth’ is singular but ‘the heavens’are plural. Is it too much to read into thisthe implication that God created a vastuniverse (heavens) but also centred Hispurpose on one planet, the earth?

The next verse gives a description of adark chaotic earth, totally incapable ofsupporting life. Now the purposefulactions of God become evident, for Hisspirit hovers over the waters and light isintroduced to dispel the darkness. Carefulexamination of the text reveals that manyof the stages in transforming the earth areachieved not by new creative activity butby the alteration ofexisting states. Witheach intervention,another stage isreached towards aplanet capable of sup-porting life andmankind in particular.References to creativeactivity are inter-

121st Year 7

chapter, for in the second we have thecreation of a perfect habitat for mankind –the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve werenot left to their own devices and expectedto create their own garden. The LORD God“planted a garden…”(2:8) and estab-lished every tree “that is pleasant to thesight, and good for food…” (v.9) and thegarden was irrigatednaturally (v.10). Thisprovision by God isso characteristic forHe is concerned forhis creation (Psalm104:10-31; Luke12: 6,7)

Throughout theaccount of creationwe have a benefi-cent Creator who isclearly concerned with what He hasbrought into being. Indeed we are toldthat “God saw everything that He hadmade, and indeed it was very good”.

The creative activity of God runsthroughout the Bible from Genesis to Rev-elation. At least fifty passages refer orallude to God as the Creator, because Godcontinues to care for His creation. Hemade the world for a purpose.

The Purpose of CreationFrom a purely self-centred viewpoint wemight suppose that we are the purpose ofcreation. However, God’s ultimate purposeis that: “…the earth will be filled with theknowledge of the glory of the LORD, asthe waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk2:14)

That purpose was recognised by KingDavid in Psalm 72, which describes thetime when this becomes a reality, whenhe wrote:

“And blessed be his glorious nameforever! And let the whole earth be filled

with his glory. Amen and Amen” (Psalm72:19).

In the Bible, creation is presented aspurposeful: it is an expression of God’swill. For example:

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receiveglory and honour and power, for you

created all things, andby your will they existand were created”(Revelation 4:11).

Part of God’s graciouspurpose was thecreation of rationalbeings, made in Hisimage (Genesis 1:26,27). Our status isexplained in Psalm 8:4-6, where we are told thathumanity was made

“lower than the angels”, at least for themoment. Man was created in order toreflect the attributes of his Maker. He wasgiven dominion and responsibility forcreation but he has despoiled the planetand polluted the environment.

This will not continue indefinitely, forwhen the Lord Jesus returns in order toestablish God’s Kingdom, the world will betransformed. The Old Testament prophetsprovide a preview of that glorious age (SeeIsaiah, for example, 2:4; 11:1-9; 35:1-8;40;4,5; 65:17-25)

Purposeful creation contrasts stronglywith the humanistic evolutionist’s pur-poseless evolution. If there is no Creator,then the universe around us and life onearth resulted from random events, whichmeans that our existence has nomeaning.

The Bible gives meaning to life andreveals that creation has purpose. Thewonder of all this is that God invites us tohave a part in His eternal purpose.

John Hellawell

8 Glad Tidings

by a stylus and then baked; and pieces ofearthenware, parchment and papyruswere later written upon with ink.Parchment sheets were made from theskin of a sheep or a goat and stitchedtogether to become a roll. Papyrus wasmade from the stems of the papyrus

plant.

The Old TestamentThe Old Testamentdeveloped with Israel.Written mainly inHebrew, the first partcontains five booksknown as the ‘Law’; itreveals God’s creativework, the early history

of man, God’s call of Abraham, the doingsof the nation descending from him, andthe covenant God made with Israel.Israel’s history is then recorded throughtheir kingdom period. Meanwhile,Psalmists and Prophets contributedwritings which were acknowledged to bethe Word of God, sustaining the faithful byits promise of a Redeemer.

Upon their return from Babylon, in aspirit of reformation, scribes brought thewritings together. Ezra, a descendant ofthe High Priest, is described as “a skilledscribe in the Law of Moses, which theLORD God of Israel had given” (Ezra 7:1-6, Nehemiah 8:1-8). The Jewish Talmud

Long before the world had heard of ‘Infor-mation Technology’ the Creator wasteaching mortal man and making condi-tional promises about his release from thesad condition that had resulted from thecoming of sin and death.

Communication was first through angels(see Genesis chapter18), or by dream orvision (Genesis 31:11).Sometimes a prophetwas the messenger —for “holy men of Godspoke as they weremoved by the Holy Spirit”(2 Peter 1:21), and theyspoke “in the name ofthe Lord” (James 5:10).

Written RecordsGod’s dealings with men have been faith-fully recorded for us. He told Moses onone occasion: “Write this for a memorialin the book” (Exodus 17:14) and God’slaws were first written on stone, both to belearned by Israel (Deuteronomy 11:18-31) and copied by their kings (Deuterono-my 17:18-20; 2 Kings 11:12). The firstfive books of our Bible were written byMoses, as Jesus confirmed when heacknowledged their authority, and that ofthe psalms and prophets (Luke 24:27,44-45).

Writing materials included soft claytablets, the characters being impressed

God’s Word

How The Bible Came to UsHow The Bible Came to UsDerrick Banyard is the author of “God’s Living Word” which deals

extensively with the way the Bible was first communicated by God to manand then was marvellously preserved so that we can now read it and profitfrom its inspired message. In this article he reviews some of the ways in

which God’s Word has come to us.

Scribe copying Hebrew text

refers to the work of “the men of the greatgathering,” taken to refer to those who inthe days of Ezra and Nehemiahassembled the divinely inspired writingsinto one group. Greek became theeveryday language of the dispersed Jews,estranging them from their Hebrew Scrip-tures, so in the third century BC aboutseventy Jewish scholars made a Greektranslation known as the ‘Septuagint’.

The New TestamentComing as prophesied, Jesus’ activitiesand teaching were recordedby four well-informedwriters, Matthew, Mark,Luke and John, whoincluded his numerous ref-erences to the teachingand authority of the OldTestament writings. Theapostles spread the Gospelfar and wide, as recorded in‘Acts of the Apostles’ andsome of their valuableletters have beenpreserved.

Together, the gospels,Acts amd Epistles make upthe New Testament, which concludes witha serious letter from the risen Jesushimself, as the servant of God and theworld’s future King at his return. He wasvery concerned that people should beready for that!

Although first written in Greek, the widerworld had diverse languages so manytranslations of the New Testament weremade. Latin versions appeared and in AD382 Pope Damasus commissioned hissecretary, Jerome, a Greek and Latinscholar, to produce an authoritative LatinNew Testament, followed by the OldTestament, all later designated the‘Vulgate’.

In AD 324 the emperor Constantineadopted Christianity as the State religion,

121st Year 9

ordering Bibles for churches which were tobe built in Constantinople. Commissionedto provide them, Eusebius of Caesareagave much study as to which inspiredbooks those Bibles should include. In AD367 Athanasius of Alexandria put the NewTestament books as we know them into alist, confirmed by the Council of Carthagein AD 397.

The English BibleThe Roman occupation from AD 43-410linked Britain with the Continent and per-

secutions elsewhere probablybrought Christian refugees toBritain. Tertullian, in the 2ndcentury, recorded that therewere Christians in Britain evenwhere Roman soldiers hadnever been stationed. By theend of the 6th Century manymonasteries existed, monkscopying manuscripts for thelibrary.

A notable copy of the LatinNew Testament was made atLindisfarne and another atDurham. Many of the clergyand most of the public could

not understand Latin. At Lindisfarne apriest named Aldred wrote the Anglo-Saxon words underneath the Latin. Thecomplete Gospels in Anglo-Saxon (TheWessex Gospels) were produced in the10th Century and then the NormanConquest of 1066 added to the confusionof Britain’s existing languages anddialects.

John WycliffeBorn in about 1320, John Wycliffe, distin-guished scholar and Master of BalliolCollege, became Rector of Lutterworth.His understanding of Scripture led him tocontest the constitution and abuses of theChurch. He resolved to translate the Bibleinto English to enlighten the people,

Tableau showing Aldredadding the Anglo-Saxon words

to the Lindisfarne Gospels

10 Glad Tidings

sending out preachers with writtensheets of the New Testamenttranslated into common English.By about 1382 he had translatedthe whole of the Latin Vulgate intoEnglish. Wycliffe’s curate, JohnPurvey, revised this work by 1396to make it more fluent andhundreds of handwritten copieswere made.

Thomas Arundel, Archbishop ofCanterbury, passed the Constitu-tions of Oxford in 1408, prohibitingtranslation or reading of a Bible inthe common language withoutchurch approval. Copies of theWycliffe Bible were sought anddestroyed and some of Purvey’sassociates were burned at thestake. Even so, 170 copies stillexisted 450 years later! TheRenaissance advanced learning.:Greek scholars driven out of Con-stantinople in 1453 took theirknowledge and books to Europe, facilitat-ing research into New Testament Greek.

The invention of printing was revolution-ary. Using moveable metal type,Gutenberg made printing the Latin Vulgatehis first job in 1455-6. Printing spread toproduce a Greek Grammar (1476), thePentateuch in Hebrew (1482), HebrewBible (1488), Greek New Testament byErasmus (1516); and complete Bibles inGerman, Italian, French, Danish, Dutch,Slavonic, Bohemian and Spanish by theend of the 15th Century.

William TyndaleEducated at Oxford and Cambridge,William Tyndale became competent inGreek and Latin, going on to learn manyother languages. He resolved to make theBible available to everybody regardless ofstatus and unavailingly sought approvalfor the work.

He sailed away to the Continent, never

to return. Tyndale studied theLatin Vulgate, the Greek andLatin of Erasmus and theGerman of Luther andproduced his own Englishversion of the NewTestament, printed inGermany in 1525, smuggledinto England and then distrib-uted. Some who helped andsome who merely read thebook were imprisoned andtortured and some wereburned at the stake.

Bishop Tunstall preachedagainst the new translationand publicly burned thebooks. Tyndale worked on,producing revised editionswhich came into England byvarious means, although pro-hibited by the Church underHenry VIII. Tyndale wasarrested at Antwerp, impris-

oned at Vilvoorde and there strangled andburned in October 1536. His legacyincluded the English New Testament, theOld Testament to the end of 2 Chroniclesand the Book of Jonah.

Miles CoverdaleThrough Miles Coverdale, co-worker withTyndale in translating the Pentateuch,came the first printed complete Bible inEnglish in 1535. In 1537 the Englishtranslation by John Rogers was publishedunder the name of ‘Thomas Matthew’because any apparent association withTyndale would have meant burning: Yettwo-thirds of it was Tyndale’s work!

The Coverdale and ‘Matthew’ Bibleswere both belatedly licensed by Henry VIII.

Thomas Cromwell feared the king’sreaction if he discovered that Tyndale wasat the heart of the new Bibles and com-missioned Coverdale to make a newtranslation which he thought would seem

Statue of

William Tyndale in

The Embankment

Gardens, London

121st Year 11

independent. This appeared in1539, known as ‘The Great Bible’.All clergy were ordered in advanceto place it conveniently within thechurch, accessible to all for readingin the 11,000 parishes.

Knowledge of what the Bibletaught fostered growth of theProtestant movement. Catholicreaction led to Cromwell’sbeheading on Tower Hill in 1540. In1546 the Latin Vulgate became theofficial and only permitted Bible,the Roman Catholic Churchrequiring all others to be removedor made unreadable, to eliminateTyndale’s influence. In 1553 MaryTudor became queen and all thingsProtestant were abolished.

More than 300 people from allwalks of life were martyred becausethey possessed, read or listened tothe Bible. Some reformers fled to Geneva,where another English translation, the‘Geneva Bible’, appeared in 1560.

‘The ‘Bishops Bible’ was translated in1568 but was unpopular and not autho-rised by Queen Elizabeth. Under Protes-tant Elizabeth, Catholics sought refuge onthe Continent, where they produced aNew Testament translation from theVulgate at Rheims in 1582 and the OldTestament at Douai in 1609-10, makingthe ‘Douai’ or ‘Douay Bible’.

King James VersionThe Hampton Court Conference of

1604 resolved to translate a newcomplete Bible, taking into accountprogress made in Hebrew and Greekscholarship, one which was to be ratifiedby the Privy Council and King Jameshimself.

This Authorised Version (or King JamesVersion) was published in 1611, includinga long preface, “The Translators to theReader”, which shows that they not only

had the Hebrew and Greek text beforethem but consulted a wide range of trans-lations in seven other languages. It isacknowledged today that WilliamTyndale’s contribution to the OldTestament is about 76% and to the NewTestament about 83%.

Wonderful PreservationThe Bible is sometimes referred to as amiracle – a marvellous event attributed toa supernatural cause – and the Bible ismost certainly that. From many originalauthors, and via the various means wehave looked at so briefly, the Word of Godhas come down to us through the ages,and is entirely trustworthy.

Ecclesiastical and civil authorities havesought to destroy the Bible and those whoidentified with it in any way. When the LordJesus Christ returns it will become plain toall that “the word of the Lord enduresforever” (1 Peter 1:25).

Derrick Banyard

12 Glad Tidings

Throughout human history,as empire has succeededempire, each civilisation hasleft its imprint upon theearth – ruined buildings,discarded pottery, falleninscriptions and abandonedburial grounds.

The lands of the Bible, and in particularthe Holy Land, are no exception. AncientIsrael and the succession of empireswhich dominated it – vividly representedby the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream– have each left ampleevidence of their pastglories, to be revealedand interpreted by thearchaeologist.

Though this is takenfor granted today, itmust be rememberedthat 200 years agothings were verydifferent. Then there was verylittle independent evidence for the histori-cal existence of the nations, places andpeople, whose names appear in the Bible.

Sceptical scholars could claim withimpunity that the stories of the Bible,especially the Old Testament, were simplymyths or legends. Sadly many peopletoday still believe this to be so. But, infact, a large number of archaeological dis-coveries since then have helped to provethat, at every period, the Bible records are

set against authentic historical back-grounds. You only have to look carefully todiscover a selection of items showing thatthe people, places and events recorded inthe Bible were real!

Reliable recordsWhen approaching the writings in theBible, we are entitled to ask how old therecords are and whether they have beenchanged over the centuries. It hasbecome fashionable among scholars toclaim that the earliest books, the fivebooks of Moses, could not possibly havebeen written by him, but date from many

hundreds of yearslater. Yet manyspecific details of thetimes and customsmentioned in themhave been confirmedby archaeology, andcould not possiblyhave been known bysomeone writing

centuries after!For instance, the Bible makes 47

mentions of a nation called the Hittites.The patriarch Abraham purchased a tombfrom a man called Ephron the Hittite(Genesis 23:10-20). Critical scholarsdoubted such a people ever existed, untilin the 1880s, inscriptions carved on rocksin Turkey and Syria were shown to be inthe Hittite language and the ruins of anancient city – Boghaz-Koy – were found tobe those of the Hittite capital. Similarly

David Burges is the Editor of Science Section of “The Testimony” magazine and a regular contributor to “Glad Tidings” about archaelogical matters.

In this article he looks at some key findings of Biblical archaeology.

Biblical Archaeology

The PThe Past is Trueast is True

121st Year 13

the city Ur of the Chaldees, from whichAbraham migrated to Canaan, wasexcavated by Leonard Woolley from1922to1934 and was shown to have had anadvanced civilisation at justthe time the Bible recordindicates.

Before 1947, the oldestknown manuscript of theOld Testament, dated to noearlier than AD 935, andcritics could claim that thetext was unreliable aftercenturies of copying. Thenthe discovery of the DeadSea Scrolls revealedportions of nearly all the OldTestament books dating toaround 100 BC, over 1000years older than what hadbeen available previously! Despite thepassage of time, no significant changes inthe Bible text were found to haveoccurred.

More recently, two silver amulets, smallpieces of jewellery, found in a tomb nearJerusalem and dated to before 600 BC,were found to be inscribed with the HighPriestly blessing (Numbers 6:22-27),written exactly as it is in modern manu-scripts. This is well before the date whensome critics claim the Book of Numberswas even written!

The Rosetta Stone A key role in the Bible story is played bythe land of Egypt. But much of its ancienthistory and culture remained a mysteryuntil the decipherment of its language,written in hieroglyphics. In 1798 one ofNapoleon’s officers discovered a black, 4foot high inscription at Rosetta, on thebank of the Nile. Originally erected in 196BC to extol the triumphs of King PtolemyV Epiphanes, it is inscribed in threeparallel scripts: Egyptian demotic andhieroglyphic scripts, and Greek. This

allowed the young French scholar Cham-pollion to show that hieroglyphics were notmysterious symbols but a readablelanguage and consequently the thousands

of inscriptions in Egypt couldbe deciphered, opening upancient Egypt’s history.

In a similar way thelanguages of ancient Assyria,Babylon and Persia, theempires that dominated thenation of Israel in OldTestament times, were deci-phered by an Englishman, SirHenry Rawlinson. For centuriestravellers passing the 4,000foot Iranian mountain, knownas the Rock of Behistun, hadwondered at the strangefigures carved into the rock,

300 feet above their heads. The great wallbehind them had been chiselled flat andcovered with thousands of tiny arrow-heads. It was recognised that these werea form of writing and were given the namecuneiform (from the Latin meaning‘wedge-shaped). Rawlinson showed thatthe inscriptions honoured the greatPersian king Darius I Hystaspes, whoserved as God’s instrument for returningthe Jews from exile to Jerusalem (EzraChapter 6). That inscription allowedanother three languages to be deciphered– Old Persian, Babylonian and Elamite –enabling further civilisations to beexplored and greater understandingobtained.

Discoveries in IsraelAs well as shedding light on the greatempires of Bible times, archaeology hasdone much to illuminate and confirm theBible record of Israel and its land. A largenumber of the cities and villagesmentioned in Scripture have been posi-tively identified and very often theirlocations assist our understanding, partic-

The Rosetta Stone – key to someancient languages

14 Glad Tidings

has no basis in history at all!

Jesus and his ApostlesArchaeological support for the NewTestament period is no less rich. The birthof Christianity is set against an authenticbackground of the current Greek andRoman cultures, providing ampletestimony to the accuracy of the Biblerecord. The accounts of the activities ofJesus and his apostles are certainly not“once upon a time” stories! So the datesof the Roman emperors and governors

and the Jewishleaders, all carefullyrecorded by Luke inthe Acts of theApostles, fit into adependable picture ofthe historical period.

For example aninscription unearthedat Caesarea mentionsboth the emperorTiberius and thenotorious Roman

governor Pontius Pilate, while inJerusalem the funeral ossuary of theJewish High Priest Caiaphas was discov-ered in a 1st Century tomb. Thus archae-ology has confirmed the names of the twochief characters in the crucifixion of Jesus!

‘The stones cry out’When the Pharisees demanded that Jesussilence the joyous acclaim of his disciples,accompanying him into Jerusalem on‘Palm Sunday’, he replied: “I tell you thatif these should keep silent, the stoneswould immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40).How wonderful it is that, in an age whenthe Bible is widely ignored, by the provi-dence of God the evidence of the stonescontinues to testify to its truth and relia-bility as the guide to saving faith in JesusChrist.

David Burges

ularly of the battles and sieges recordedthere.

For instance, extensive excavations atthe site of Hazor in northern Galilee, haveconfirmed its role in the Bible story. Oncethe most important of the Canaanite citystates, it was conquered by Joshua,according to the Bible, as part of theIsraelite Conquest (Joshua 11:1-14).Many critics have denied that theconquest even took place, yet archaeolo-gists have shown that Canaanite Hazorwas destroyed with an intense fire, exactlyas the record states:“But as for the citiesthat stood on theirmounds, Israel burntnone of them, exceptHazor only, whichJoshua burned”(v.13).

Some Bible charac-ters have been identi-fied by their seals, orseal impressions,which have survived even though thedocuments they were attached to haveperished. The seal of Shema, a servant ofJereboam II was found at Megiddo, whilein Jerusalem a collapsed document roomwas excavated containing 51 seal impres-sions, among them one of Gemariah, sonof Shaphan (mentioned in Jeremiah36:10-12). Even more exciting have beenthe recent publication of seals in privatecollections, belonging to two of the kingsof Judah, Ahaz and Hezekiah, and toBaruch, Jeremiah’s scribe.

Many of the inscriptions of the greatAssyrian and Babylonian kings confirm thehistory of the Israelite kingdoms. In theBritish Museum there is even a picture ofKing Jehu of Israel, on the famous blackobelisk of the Assyrian King ShalmanezerIII, offering tribute to his overlord. Howregrettable it is that large numbers ofpeople still believe that the Old Testament

King Jehu of Israel paying tribute to the Assyrian King Shalmanezer III

121st Year 15

A mighty Emperor once had areally bad night and awoke ina very bad mood. He wanted toknow the significance of adream that perplexed himand which hesaid he could notremember, so hesummoned his wise men.

They were to tell himwhat he had dreamedand then explain whatit all meant, but theycouldn’t. Who could?

One man could and did: he was theprophet Daniel. Deported to Babylon as acaptive, he and his friends had also beeneducated in Babylon and, more impor-tantly, had retained their faith in God. Soafter earnest prayer, Daniel had come intoKing Nebuchadnezzar’s presence toannounce that God could tell the futureand, to prove it, he proceeded to remindthe King of what he had dreamed andthen to explain its vital significance.

Future Forecast

You can read the account of that dramaticencounter in Chapter 2 of the Book ofDaniel, in the Old Testament, and see foryourself what was foretold about theemergence of four world empires. For the

dream had been about a multi-metalledmonster which had reared up and whichwas then destroyed by a stone which fellfrom a mountain, crushed the monster

and then grew in itsplace until it was like amountain itself. Theprophecy is quiteexplicit and three ofthose four empires areidentified by name inDaniel’s prophecy:

“You, O king (Neb-uchadnezzar, ruler ofBabylon), are a kingof kings. For the Godof heaven has givenyou a kingdom,

power, strength, and glory; andwherever the children of men dwell, orthe beasts of the field and the birds ofthe heaven, He has given them intoyour hand, and has made you rulerover them all - you are this head ofgold” (Daniel 2:37,38);

“But after you shall arise anotherkingdom inferior to yours; thenanother, a third kingdom of bronze,which shall rule over all the earth”(2:39 and see 8:20 “the kings ofMedia and Persia”); to be followed by“the kingdom of Greece” (8:21). Thefourth kingdom to arise would be the ironkingdom of Rome, described in Daniel’sprophecy merely as “ships from Cyprus”(11:30).

Bible Prophecy

The Future is in The Future is in God’s HandsGod’s Hands

A display about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream andits interpretation in the Bible Exhibition

16 Glad Tidings

nations, some strong and some weak –and it was to be in that very time that Godwill intervene to establish His Kingdom.

Daniel was a Jew and his central hopeand desire concerned the Jewish nationand its own need of redemption fromcaptivity and restoration to theirhomeland. He prayed about it and was

given a most detailed pre-diction about the timethat must pass beforethe city was rebuilt andMessiah the Princewould be “cut off, but

not for himself”. After thatJerusalem and God’s Temple

were to be destroyed once again (Daniel9:26). This prophecy – known as Daniel’sSeventy Weeks Prophecy – was fulfilled tothe letter, both in the execution of theLord Jesus (Israel’s Messiah) and the sub-sequent destruction of Jerusalem byRoman military might.

Once again we have the benefit oflooking back and seeing exactly how theseevents came about, precisely aspredicted.

20th Century Fulfilment

At the time when Nebuchadnezzar ofBabylon was besieging Jerusalem andthreatening its overthrow a prophet withinthe walls of that city was predicting muchmore than its mere collapse and thedeportation of its citizens to Babylon.

The prophet Jeremiah foresaw a laterglobal dispersion of the Jewish people,

seeing the preliminaryexile in Babylon as abeginning of a muchgreater anguish to beexperienced some 600years after his time, whenthe Romans would againtake the city.

Jeremiah both predictedthe worldwide dispersion

Coming Kingdom

The stone that was to destroy all theseearthly kingdoms and then replace themwas to be from heaven – provided withouthuman aid or assistance. When the LordJesus Christ returns to earth from heaven,to rule as King, his dominion will be everybit as real and powerful as were those fourunrivalled world empires, but his rulershipwill be forever:

“In the days of thesekings the God ofheaven will set up akingdom which shallnever be destroyed; and the kingdomshall not be left to other people; itshall break in pieces and consume allthese kingdoms, and it shall standforever. Inasmuch as you saw that thestone was cut out of the mountainwithout hands, and that it broke inpieces the iron, the bronze, the clay,the silver, and the gold - the great Godhas made known to the king what willcome to pass after this. The dream iscertain, and its interpretation is sure”(2:44,45)

History’s Witness

We are now in the privileged position ofbeing able to look back at these develop-ments and see them to be completelyaccurate. There were only four times whenan Empire ruled with unchallenged mightand influence – Babylon, Medo-Persia,Greece and Rome – after which therewere many nationswhich seized control ofparts of the world for awhile, but never withthe same unrivalledpower. Nebuchadnezzarsaw the iron legs of theimage give way to feetof iron and clay – andforesaw a mixture of Jewish dispersion – just as predicted

121st Year 17

of the nation and their eventual regather-ing. As it turned out, the dispersion cameabout in AD 70 (the occasion that Danielalso described in 9:26) and it lastednearly 2000 years.

For all that time the Jewish people werewanderers and pilgrims, a people withouta land or obvious national identity.Wherever they went they wereunwelcome, their reputation going beforethem. Often they were persecuted andpillaged, sometimes they must havefeared for their very existence as a people.But the prophetic word still stood for, asJeremiah had said in BC 600:

“Hear the word of the LORD, Onations, and declare it in the isles afaroff, and say, ‘He who scattered Israelwill gather him, and keep him as ashepherd does his flock.’ For the LORDhas redeemed Jacob, and ransomedhim from the hand of one strongerthan he. Therefore they shall comeand sing in the height of Zion”(Jeremiah 31:10-12).

Through the centuries the Jewish peoplemust have wondered at the likelihood ofthat coming about, for they were moreoften like sheep without a shepherd,

being savaged by wolves. Then, at the endof the 19th century, it began to happenand in the 20th century the Jewish nationwas reborn.

Modern Miracle

When – in 1967 – Jews recapturedJerusalem and occupied it as theirs for thefirst time since their fateful last standagainst the Romans in AD 70, they hadreturned to the “height of Zion”, theprophet’s way of describing one of thehills on which Jerusalem stands. Again theprophetic Word of God was being fulfilledto the letter so that another generation –ours – could witness the marvellous way inwhich God has the future in His hands.

All these things are coming true, just asthe Bible predicted, so that we can reachthe same conclusion that King Nebuchad-nezzar came to more than 2500 yearsago. God does not just tell us about thefuture to satisfy our curiosity or to impressus with His foresight. He wants us toprepare for what is coming – and comingsoon:

“In order that the living may know thatthe Most High rules in the kingdom ofmen (Daniel 4:17).

18 Glad Tidings

The Kingdom of God is akey theme in first centuryChristianity. Jesus spokeabout it constantly andmany of his parables began with the words “The kingdom of God is like…”

The last question Jesus was asked bythe apostles before his departure toheaven concerned this very topic and thatafter Jesus had spent nearly six weeksteaching them more about “the thingspertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts1:3).

Just what that teaching comprised canbe seen from the nature of the questionthe disciples asked, as they were walkingalong the road to Bethany. “Lord”, theyasked, “Will you at this time restore thekingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). EvidentlyJesus had been explaining to them thatthe Old Testament Scriptures not onlyforetold his death and resurrection (see 1Corinthians 15:3,4) but also hisimpending return to earth to rule as King,when the Kingdom of God is restored toIsrael.

The answer Jesus gavemakes that quite clear:he did not rebuke themfor their misunderstand-ing but explained thatthe timing of his comingand of his kingdom wasa matter for God alone(Acts 1:7) and thatmeanwhile they had ajob to do preaching thegospel.

Hope of IsraelThat ancient hope – that Jerusalem will bethe throne of the Lord, and God’s peopleIsrael will return to divine favour – is a vitalpart of the gospel of salvation (see Acts26:7;28:20 and Romans chapter 11).The return of a King to Jerusalem is a keyevent in making this world an eternaldwelling place for those who are to besaved by God from utter destruction.

Now that pagan and mythical ideashave wrongly been mixed into the Chris-tianity many people believe, a lot ofconfusion exists about the true Christianhope. People believe wrongly in theimmortality of human existence and in afuture inheritance in heaven, making theactual promises of God of little signifi-cance. But that was not so with Jesus.

� He taught that sin and death are fatalconditions, capable of destroying ourentire existence unless something isdone about it (see Luke 13:1-5; John3:15,16).

� His offer of salvation includes themeek inheriting “the earth” (Matthew5:5) and Jerusalem becoming “the

city of the great King”(5:35).

Hope of ResurrectionThe earth is to be renewedand revitalised when Jesusrules as King fromJerusalem over a worldthat is to be first subduedand then glorified. Men

Bible Teaching

First Century ChristianityFirst Century Christianity

121st Year 19

and women who survive the traumas ofthe troubled days immediately before hisComing are to be allowed to live in peaceand harmony. Barren places will be madefertile; injustices will be put right; oppres-sors will be destroyed; true religion will bereinstated – including the establishmentof worship once again at Jerusalem.

Those who have been true followers ofJesus in the years before his Return asKing will be made immortal and willbecome helpers andworkers in the newlyestablished Kingdom,as its influence andcontrol graduallyincreases and extendsthroughout the earth.The end result will bethat then: “all theearth shall be filledwith the glory of theLORD” (Numbers14:21; see alsoPsalm 72:19 and Habakkuk 2:14).

How is this to be accomplished?Scripture says it will be achieved by thecoming of the Lord Jesus and some of theangels from heaven. For the unconsciousdead – many of those who now “sleep inthe dust of the earth” (Daniel 12:2) willawake from their slumbers and besummoned to meet the Lord at hisjudgement seat. Those accounted worthywill be made immortal and others willreturn to the dust of death forever. Andbelievers who are still living when Jesuscomes will be changed, so that this mortalcondition will be transformed to a state ofimmortality and incorruptibility (see 1Corinthians 15:50-57 and Philippians3:20-21).

One True FaithThese are teachings and beliefs thatbelong to first century Christianity, forthese are the things the Lord and his

apostles taught and they are part of asaving faith. There is only one true gospelwhich must be believed if we are to besaved and anything based upon man-made ideas is both wrong and misleading. The Bible insists that there is only one truefaith: “you were called in one hope ofyour calling; one Lord, one faith, onebaptism; one God and Father of all,who is above all, and through all, andin you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

We must make sure thatthe hope we have is aBible-based hope not aman-made one and thatwe have properly under-stood the nature and workof both Father and Son inthe offer of salvation thatis being made to us.

Faith and BaptismNotice that Paul says there

is only “one hope” and he explains whathe means by adding that it demands both“faith” and “baptism”. These were vitalcomponents of the Lord’s teaching andthe way this was practised can be seentime and again in the New Testament.

It was the command of the risen Christthat his followers: “Go into all the worldand preach the gospel to every creature.He who believes and is baptised will besaved; but he who does not believe will becondemned” (Mark 16:15,16).

Thus it was that the apostles journeyedaround Asia and Europe, as recorded inthe Book of Acts, teaching and baptising ,by immersion in water. It was God’s way ofsymbolising the end of an old life and thestart of a new life in Christ. That sameopportunity exists for us, once we acceptread and understand the Bible – the Wordof the living God. It can transform your lifeand give you a new start and a real hope,both for the present and the future.

Model in the Bible Exhibition of abaptismal bath of the 4th century

Local Information

God’s WordDespite all efforts to exter-minate it, the Bible isunscathed. It is the best-selling book of all time.Tens of millions of Biblesare sold every year. Whyhas the oldest book inexistence survived intactthrough such oppositionto become so widelyavailable today?Because God has preserved it. It is His Wordand He will not let it be destroyed. It existstoday so that you can read this essentialmessage from God.

James Walker

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