why we believe special issue
TRANSCRIPT
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
53
A m
onth
ly m
agaz
ine
in d
efen
se o
f the
“T
hing
s C
once
rnin
g th
e K
ingd
om
of G
od a
nd t
he N
ame
of J
esus
Chr
ist”
as
embr
aced
in T
he H
ope
of
Isra
el w
ith a
vie
w to
“T
akin
g O
ut A
Peo
ple
For
Yah
weh
’s N
ame”
DE
CE
MB
ER
200
8
SP
EC
IAL
ISS
UE
Why
We
Bel
ieve
T
he A
polo
getic
s of
Fai
th
A
polo
getic
s, n
., the
bra
nch
of
the
olo
gy h
avi
ng t
o do
w
ith t
he d
efe
nse
and
pro
ofs
of C
hris
tiani
ty
F
aith
, n.,
unq
uest
ioni
ng b
elie
f, co
mp
lete
tru
st,
relia
nce
or
con
fide
nce
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
54
CO
NT
AC
T IN
FO
RM
AT
ION
P
ostm
aste
r: S
en
d a
ddre
ss c
ha
nge
s to
T
he
Ch
rist
ad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate, 8
100
Th
ree
Cho
pt R
oa
d, S
uite
238
, Ric
hm
ond
, Vir
gini
a,
2322
9-4
833.
Pu
blis
hed
mo
nthl
y b
y T
he C
hri
stad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
Pu
blis
hin
g C
omm
itte
e. M
em
bers
of
the
Co
mm
itte
e a
re
den
ote
d b
y *
in t
he t
able
be
low
. P
erio
dica
l po
sta
ge p
aid
at R
ich
mon
d, V
irgi
nia.
IS
SN
074
6-8
253.
U.
S. A
. $1
5
Fun
ctio
n P
erso
nnel
A
ddre
ss
Em
ail
& T
elep
hon
e
S
ubsc
riptio
ns a
nd c
hang
es o
f add
ress
sho
uld
be s
ent t
o th
e T
reas
urer
.
SU
BS
CR
IPT
ION
S
Tom
Ca
rso
n
Tre
asu
rer
81
00
Thr
ee
Ch
opt R
oad
, Su
ite 2
38
, R
ich
mon
d, V
A, 2
32
29
-48
33
tc
ars
oncp
a@
eart
hlin
k.ne
t (8
04
) 6
73
-74
00
M
ater
ial f
or p
ublic
atio
n, in
clud
ing
eccl
esia
l new
s, s
hould
be
sent
to th
e E
dito
r.
ED
ITO
R
Jam
es
Mill
ay*
2
7 D
elp
hia
n R
oad,
S
prin
gfie
ld,
VT
, 05
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6-9
33
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jimill
ay@
verm
onte
l.ne
t F
ax:
(8
02
) 8
85
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19
Go
odly
Pea
rls
Jim
Wa
she
ck*
12
We
stw
ood
Est
ate
Dri
ve,
S
t. P
eter
s, M
O 6
33
76
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ash
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es
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rra
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ake
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oad
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rimsb
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N, L
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2X
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ana
da
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oca
te@
jaye
ffpa
rtn
ers.
ca
Qu
estio
ns
& A
nsw
ers
R
obe
rt M
iller
* 1
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idg
eto
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rive
S
her
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d, A
R,
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ail.
com
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e D
ay
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roa
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ike
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de
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rk R
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oer
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xas,
78
00
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e@
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m
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OK
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hm
ond,
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cate
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ITE
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ww
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ista
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hia
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te.o
rg
SU
BS
CR
IPT
ION
RA
TE
200
9 Con
tent
s In
trod
uctio
n
355
Abo
ut S
ubst
ance
And
Evi
denc
e 35
6 T
he O
rigin
Of T
he B
ible
35
9 T
he S
ure
Wor
d O
f Pro
phec
y 36
3 C
hanc
e, P
rovi
denc
e an
d M
oder
n Is
rael
36
7 D
isco
verie
s F
rom
The
Pas
t Tha
t Co
nfirm
The
Bib
le (
Arch
aeol
ogy)
37
1 T
he R
ing
of T
ruth
(U
ndes
igne
d S
crip
tura
l Coi
ncid
ence
s) 37
7 M
iracl
es A
nd F
aith
38
2 P
rofe
ssor
Ric
hard
Daw
kins
’ Rec
ent A
dmis
sio
n 38
6 In
spire
d, In
falli
ble,
Iner
rant
— T
he H
oly
Scr
iptu
res
BC
Ack
now
ledg
me
nt
Ba
ck c
over
pre
sent
atio
n ta
ken
from
Bro
ther
Ric
har
d F
arra
r’s
“A
nsw
erin
g M
oder
n C
hal
-le
nge
s to
our
Fa
ith”
2008
New
Mex
ico
Bib
le S
choo
l cla
ss m
ate
ria
l.
Can
ada
C$1
7
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
55
The Christadelphian Advocate
VO
LU
ME
123
DE
CE
MB
ER
20
08
N
UM
BE
R
12
Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1).
Ded
icat
ed e
spec
ially
to th
e co
min
g ge
nera
tion
in o
ur e
ccle
sias
Intr
oduc
tion
We
live
at
a p
ara
doxi
cal
time
in t
he h
isto
ry o
f ci
viliz
atio
n. O
n th
e on
e ha
nd,
neve
r ha
s th
e cu
mu
lativ
e ev
iden
ce i
n fa
vour
of
the
Bib
le’s
tr
uth
spok
en w
ith
grea
ter
forc
e. O
n th
e ot
her
hand
, ne
ver
have
the
re b
een
mo
re s
ourc
es r
ais
ing
doub
ts a
bout
the
tru
th o
f th
e w
ord
of G
od.
Mos
t yo
uth
toda
y re
ly h
eavi
ly on
elec
tron
ic m
edia
as the
ir so
urce
of
info
rma
-tio
n a
bout
the
wor
ld.
The
y a
re n
ot a
vid
rea
ders
of
book
s, n
ewsp
ape
rs,
and
ne
wsm
aga
zine
s, a
s th
e on
goin
g de
clin
e in
circ
ula
tion
of m
any
ic
onic
pub
lica
-tio
ns a
ttes
ts.
The
y re
ly i
nste
ad
on n
ew i
nfor
ma
tion
sour
ces
lik
e F
ace
boo
k a
nd
Wik
iped
ia t
hat
are
easi
ly a
cces
sib
le.
The
tra
ditio
nal l
earn
ing
hier
arc
hy i
n w
hich
w
isdo
m i
s pa
ssed
dow
n fr
om o
ne g
ener
atio
n to
the
nex
t is
bei
ng r
epl
ace
d b
y pe
er-b
ase
d le
arn
ing.
Pee
r-ba
sed
lea
rnin
g m
eans
tha
t th
e pr
ima
ry s
ourc
es o
f kn
owle
dge
are
pee
rs o
f on
e’s
own
gene
ratio
n ra
ther
tha
n el
ders
of
the
prev
ious
ge
nera
tion.
In
pass
ing
dow
n th
e T
ruth
, it
is n
eces
sary
to
foll
ow t
he t
radi
tiona
l le
arn
ing
hier
arc
hy c
ouns
eled
in
the
writ
ings
of
Sol
omon
: M
y so
n,
hea
r th
e in
-st
ruct
ion
of
thy
fath
er,
an
d f
ors
ake
no
t th
e la
w o
f th
y m
oth
er:
Fo
r th
ey
sha
ll b
e
an
orn
am
ent
of
gra
ce u
nto
th
y h
ead
, an
d c
ha
ins
ab
out
th
y n
eck
(P
rove
rbs
1:8-
9).
In t
his
issu
e, a
nu
mb
er o
f th
e co
ntrib
utor
s a
re b
reth
ren
of
retir
emen
t a
ge
who
se w
isdo
m a
nd le
arn
ing
are
pro
vide
d fo
r th
e b
enef
it of
the
ne
xt g
ener
atio
n.
Ele
ctro
nic
med
ia e
nabl
e yo
ung
peo
ple
, ev
en a
s ch
ildre
n, t
o s
earc
h ou
t m
any
so
urce
s of
inf
orm
atio
n fr
om w
hich
the
y w
ill b
e in
form
ed
abo
ut t
he w
orld
. T
his
abu
nda
nce
of c
hoic
es i
nclu
des
site
s th
at
are
hig
hly
criti
cal
of
Chr
ista
delp
hia
ns,
site
s in
whi
ch o
ther
you
ng p
eop
le o
pen
ly s
hare
the
ir o
wn
dou
bts,
and
site
s w
hich
tre
at
skep
tica
lly e
very
thin
g w
hich
we
bel
ieve
. In
add
itio
n, t
he t
ende
ncy
to r
ely
on f
requ
ent,
sho
rt s
nipp
ets
of i
nfor
ma
tion,
suc
h a
s th
ose
sent
by
text
m
essa
ging
, le
ads
to
high
ly a
bbre
via
ted
expr
essi
ons
of t
hou
ght.
A f
ull
unde
r-st
and
ing
of t
he p
reci
ous
trut
hs o
f S
crip
ture
ca
nnot
be
gain
ed f
rom
suc
h co
ntem
-po
rary
met
hods
of
inst
ant
and
con
dens
ed c
omm
uni
catio
n. A
pplic
atio
n to
the
w
isdo
m o
f th
e W
ord
requ
ires
thou
ghtfu
l rea
ding
, st
udy
and
pr
aye
r.
The
ups
hot
is t
hat
ther
e is
a g
rea
t ba
ttle
ra
ging
for
the
hea
rts
and
min
ds o
f C
hris
tade
lphi
an
you
ng p
eopl
e. W
ill t
he n
ext
gene
ratio
n, l
ike
Ti
mot
hy i
n th
e a
post
olic
age
, ta
ke h
old
of t
he f
aith
whi
ch d
wel
t fir
st i
n hi
s gr
and
mot
her
Lois
,
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
56
Thi
s sp
ecia
l is
sue
has
been
pre
pare
d a
s a
n a
po
log
y, us
ed i
n th
e se
nse
of a
de-
fens
e a
nd p
roof
for
God
’s T
ruth
. In
thi
s is
sue,
the
su
bjec
ts t
hat
are
add
ress
ed
prov
ide
evid
ence
of
thos
e th
ings
uns
een
incl
udi
ng t
he a
uthe
ntic
ity o
f th
e sc
rip-
ture
s, t
he s
ure
wor
d of
pro
phe
cy,
the
witn
ess
of I
sra
el,
the
witn
ess
of a
rcha
e-ol
ogy,
mira
cles
and
und
esig
ned
coin
cide
nces
.
Whe
re d
oes
co
nvic
tion
com
e fr
om
? Wha
t is
it
that
has
the
pow
er t
o co
n-vi
nce
and
chan
ge
us,
to m
ove
us t
o a
ctio
n o
n be
half
of
our
C
reat
or?
Is i
t no
t th
e ab
solu
te c
onv
ictio
n th
at w
hat
we
belie
ve i
s t
ruth
? O
ur L
ord
said
, K
no
w t
he
tru
th a
nd th
e tr
uth
sh
all
ma
ke y
ou
fre
e; he
cha
lleng
ed t
he P
haris
ees
by a
skin
g th
em w
hy t
hey
wou
ld n
ot b
elie
ve h
im w
hen
he h
ad
spok
en
to t
hem
th
e tr
uth.
We
are
tol
d th
at
whe
n th
e m
en o
f S
am
aria
be
lieve
d Ph
ilip
pre
ach
ing
th
e th
ing
s co
nce
rnin
g t
he
kin
gd
om
of
Go
d,
an
d t
he
na
me
of
Jesu
s C
hri
st,
they
Abo
ut S
ubst
ance
and
Evi
denc
e
and
his
mot
her
Eun
ice?
Or
will
dra
win
g m
isle
adi
ng a
nd b
iase
d in
form
atio
n fr
om I
nter
net
sour
ces,
cou
ple
d w
ith l
ife-c
hang
ing
exp
erie
nce
s lik
e go
ing
to c
ol-
lege
, w
here
the
tru
e pr
inci
ples
of
the
Bib
le a
re a
nyth
ing
but
rei
nfor
ced
both
in
the
lect
ure
hall
and
in
the
dorm
itory
, tu
rn t
he t
ende
r he
art
s o
f th
e yo
ung
aw
ay
from
tha
t w
hich
is
true
? T
he b
att
lefie
ld o
n w
hich
thi
s w
ar
is f
ough
t is
inf
orm
a-
tion-
base
d. W
e m
ust
join
the
ba
ttle
. W
e m
ust
not
cea
se t
o pr
ovid
e co
mp
ellin
g re
aso
ns f
or t
hat
whi
ch w
e b
elie
ve.
We
mus
t pr
ovid
e a
nsw
ers
to
the
cha
lleng
es
brou
ght
aga
inst
our
fa
ith.
We
need
not
fea
r w
hat
the
skep
tic
ma
y a
llege
bec
aus
e h
e th
at
is in
us
is g
rea
ter
tha
n h
e w
hic
h is
in t
he
wo
rld
(1
Joh
n 4:
4).
Sa
tura
tion
of t
he c
omin
g ge
nera
tion
of b
elie
vers
with
God
’s t
ruth
mus
t b
e ou
r go
al: An
d
tho
u s
ha
lt te
ach
th
em d
ilig
ently
un
to t
hy
child
ren
, a
nd
sha
lt ta
lk o
f th
em w
hen
th
ou
sitt
est
in t
hin
e h
ou
se,
and
wh
en t
ho
u w
alk
est
by
the
wa
y, a
nd
wh
en t
ho
u
liest
do
wn
, a
nd
wh
en t
ho
u r
ises
t up.
God
ly i
nstr
uctio
n is
giv
en t
oda
y on
ly in
the
hom
e a
nd t
he e
ccle
sia
. W
e en
cour
-a
ge o
ur s
ubsc
riber
s to
sha
re t
his
issu
e a
nd u
se t
hese
art
icle
s to
op
en a
ctiv
e di
s-cu
ssio
n w
ith t
heir
child
ren,
gra
ndch
ildre
n a
nd y
oung
peo
ple
in
the
eccl
esia
. T
he
subj
ects
und
er d
iscu
ssio
n a
re o
nes
tha
t ha
ve t
he a
bilit
y to
enl
ight
en a
nd m
oti-
vate
the
com
ing
gene
ratio
n. W
hile
thi
s is
sue
is i
nten
ded
to
prov
ide
info
rma
tion
tha
t a
ll a
ges
in o
ur e
ccle
sia
s ca
n us
e to
com
bat
unb
elie
f a
nd s
tren
gthe
n fa
ith,
it ha
s be
en p
repa
red
esp
ecia
lly w
ith t
he n
eeds
of
our
yout
h in
min
d. S
hou
ld i
t co
me
into
the
ha
nds
of a
ny o
f th
ose
who
ha
ve d
rift
ed f
rom
the
fa
ith,
ma
y it
serv
e fo
r th
em a
s a
tho
ugh
tful
call
to r
etur
n to
the
pre
cio
us T
ruth
of
the
livin
g G
od.
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
Pu
blis
hin
g C
om
mitt
ee
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
57
wer
e ba
ptiz
ed, b
oth
men
an
d w
om
en.
The
con
vict
ion
tha
t th
ese
thin
gs w
ere
true
m
oved
the
m t
o a
ctio
n, m
oved
the
m t
o b
ecom
e ne
w c
rea
ture
s in
Chr
ist
, b
orn
aga
in!
God
’s s
erva
nts
are
to
be
rea
dy t
o g
ive
an
an
swer
to
eve
ry m
an
th
at
as-
keth
(u
s) a
rea
son
of
the
ho
pe
that
is
in u
s.
Who
ha
s no
t be
en p
erso
nally
st
reng
then
ed b
y a
n ea
rnes
t st
udy
to p
rese
nt o
r pr
ove
a p
oint
of
scrip
ture
? T
he
wor
d of
God
is a
pow
erfu
l mot
iva
tor
whe
n u
nder
stoo
d a
nd
bel
ieve
d.
God
has
not
lef
t us
with
out
witn
ess.
In e
very
age
and
circ
um
sta
nce,
He
pro-
vide
s th
e w
itnes
s ne
cess
ary
for
the
sus
tena
nce
of a
ctiv
e, r
obus
t fa
ith.
At
the
sam
e tim
e th
at
ma
ny d
oubt
s a
re c
ast
upo
n th
e tr
uth
of t
he S
crip
ture
s in
gen
era
l a
nd C
hris
tade
lphi
an
und
erst
and
ing
of G
od’s
pla
n in
pa
rtic
ula
r, G
od h
as
pro-
vide
d a
bund
ant
witn
ess
for
thos
e w
ho s
eek
for
it. T
he f
irst
witn
ess
is t
he B
ible
its
elf.
Its
ori
gin
has
to b
e a
ccou
nted
for
. It
is e
ither
a c
unni
ng f
orge
ry o
r a
dec
la-
ratio
n of
the
onl
y tr
ue a
nd l
ivin
g G
od.
The
mor
e fa
mili
ar
one
is
with
the
Bib
le
itsel
f, t
he m
ore
likel
y on
e is
to
com
e to
the
con
clus
ion
tha
t it
cou
ld n
ot b
e a
for
-ge
ry.
In a
sec
tion
of h
is le
tter
in w
hich
he
add
ress
ed t
he p
robl
em o
f un
bel
ief,
the
a
post
le P
aul
exp
ress
ed t
his
poi
nt w
hen
he w
rote
, S
o t
hen
fa
ith c
om
eth
by
hea
r-in
g,
and
hea
rin
g b
y th
e w
ord
of
Go
d (
Rom
ans
10:
17).
The
re is
no
subs
titut
e fo
r fir
stha
nd,
pers
ona
l, in
tima
te f
am
ilia
rity
with
wha
t is
writ
ten.
Tho
se w
ho a
re i
n-cl
ined
to
disb
elie
ve t
he S
crip
ture
s m
ost
are
tho
se w
ho a
re a
cqua
inte
d w
ith i
t le
ast
. T
he s
econ
d w
itnes
s is
the
cor
resp
onde
nce
bet
we
en w
hat
is w
ritte
n in
the
pa
ges
of S
crip
ture
s w
ith t
he e
xter
nal
wor
ld,
the
latt
er c
onfir
min
g a
nd t
estif
yin
g to
the
for
mer
. T
his
corr
esp
onde
nce
ma
y b
e hi
stor
ica
l, in
the
res
earc
h un
cove
red
by a
rcha
eolo
gy;
it m
ay
be
cont
emp
ora
ry,
in e
xpla
inin
g th
e a
lign
men
t of
the
na
-tio
ns i
n a
ccor
danc
e w
ith t
he p
lan
fore
told
in
Scr
iptu
re;
or i
t m
ay
com
bin
e el
e-m
ents
of
both
in
the
witn
ess
of f
ulfi
lled
prop
hecy
, a
s hi
stor
y m
arc
hes
inex
ora
-bl
y fo
rwa
rd t
o th
e de
stin
y a
ppoi
nted
by
God
. T
he p
urpo
se o
f th
is i
ssu
e is
to
high
light
ele
men
ts o
f th
at a
bund
ant
witn
ess,
bot
h in
tern
al a
nd e
xter
nal.
The
wo
rld to
day
trea
ts t
he c
onc
ept o
f tru
th a
s if
it wer
e re
lativ
e. A
s a
res
ult,
ch
alle
nges
to
bel
ief
in G
od a
bou
nd.
Chr
istia
nity
is
bla
med
for
ma
ny i
lls.
The
B
ible
is
deno
unc
ed,
deni
ed a
nd r
ewrit
ten
to r
efle
ct t
he v
alu
es a
nd a
ttitu
des
of
men
. Its
aut
horit
y, a
s th
e vo
ice
of t
he li
ving
God
, is
we
ake
ned,
dilu
ted
and
com
-pr
omis
ed in
the
ha
nds
of it
s su
ppos
ed f
rien
ds t
o th
e p
oint
whe
re it
ha
s lit
tle r
ele-
vanc
e. T
houg
h hu
ma
nity
is d
esp
era
te f
or s
omet
hing
to
belie
ve in
and
hol
d on
to,
th
e B
ible
is f
or t
he m
ost
part
hel
d in
con
tem
pt a
nd t
he a
bsol
ute
sta
nda
rds
whi
ch
it de
fines
are
set
asi
de.
Yet
fa
ncifu
l sp
ecu
latio
ns a
nd b
ooks
esp
ousi
ng n
ew d
is-
cove
ries
or
prom
ise
seem
to
find
soci
eta
l a
ccep
tanc
e a
s so
met
hing
to
latc
h on
to
, so
met
hing
tha
t m
ight
giv
e m
eani
ng a
nd p
urpo
se t
o lif
e. T
hou
gh w
e a
s b
e-lie
vers
ma
y ob
serv
e w
ith p
ity a
nd s
adn
ess
thos
e to
ssed
to
an
d f
ro a
nd
ca
rrie
d
ab
ou
t w
ith e
very
win
d o
f d
oct
rin
e b
y th
e sl
eig
ht
of
men
, w
e m
ust
gua
rd a
gain
st
hum
an
rea
soni
ng i
n ou
r ow
n liv
es!
The
com
ma
nds
of o
ur F
ath
er
do n
ot n
atu
-ra
lly a
ppea
l to
the
fle
sh.
We
live
in a
soc
iety
tha
t eq
uat
es b
elie
f in
the
Bib
le
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
58
with
ign
ora
nce
and
sha
llow
ness
. P
aul
dec
lare
s th
at
not
ma
ny
wis
e m
en…
are
ca
lled
…fo
r h
ath
no
t G
od
ma
de
foo
lish
th
e w
isd
om
of
this
wo
rld
?
As
has
bee
n w
isel
y ob
serv
ed, “T
he
influ
ence
of
hu
ma
n p
hilo
sop
hy
mu
st b
e n
um
ber
ed a
mo
ng
the
tho
rns
wh
ich
so
met
imes
ch
oke
th
e W
ord
an
d p
reve
nt
ou
r fin
al
prep
ara
tion
for
the
Kin
gd
om
of
Go
d.
It i
s al
wa
ys d
iffic
ult
to r
esis
t fa
shio
ns,
wh
eth
er i
n
clo
thes
or
theo
log
y, a
nd
wh
en w
e th
ink
we
are
qu
ite u
nm
ove
d b
y th
e st
rea
m,
it
oft
en o
nly
mea
ns
tha
t w
e a
re l
ag
gin
g a
litt
le w
ay
beh
ind
” (I
slip
Col
lyer
, Co
n-
vict
ion
an
d C
on
du
ct, C
hapt
er 3
). The
rew
ard
is t
o th
ose
tha
t be
lieve
, th
ose
tha
t en
dure
to
the
end
and
are
fou
nd p
atie
ntly
wa
tchi
ng a
nd w
aiti
ng
with
oil
in t
heir
lam
ps!
Tru
th is
not
just
so
met
hing
we
com
preh
end
and
decl
are to
be
corr
ect.
The
in
telle
ctua
l re
aliz
atio
n m
ust
be
acc
ompa
nied
by
a s
pirit
ual
and
em
otio
nal
in-
volv
emen
t; i
t ha
s to
mov
e a
nd t
rans
form
us!
Pa
ul i
nstr
ucts
, Fo
r w
ith t
he
hea
rt
ma
n b
elie
veth
un
to r
igh
teo
usn
ess.
B
elie
f is
the
ba
sic
elem
ent
in o
ur r
ela
tions
hip
w
ith o
ur C
rea
tor,
for
he
tha
t co
met
h t
o G
od
mu
st b
elie
ve t
ha
t h
e is
. It
is o
ur
‘hea
rt’ u
pon
whi
ch t
he la
w o
f ou
r G
od m
ust
be
writ
ten,
for
it
is t
he h
eart
tha
t H
e kn
ow
s, s
earc
hes
a
nd tr
ies.
Sol
omon
dec
lare
s as a
ma
n t
hin
keth
in
his
hea
rt,
so
is
he.
The
rein
lie
s ou
r co
nsci
ence
and
our
opp
ortu
nity
to
know
if
trul
y w
e lo
ve
in d
eed
an
d i
n t
ruth
…fo
r if
ou
r h
eart
co
nd
emn
us,
Go
d i
s g
rea
ter
tha
n o
ur
hea
rt,
an
d k
no
wet
h a
ll th
ing
s…if
ou
r h
eart
co
nd
emn
us
no
t, t
hen
ha
ve w
e c
on
fi-d
ence
to
wa
rd G
od
(1 J
ohn
3:18
-21)
.
One
of
the
grea
t st
atem
ents
of
Scr
iptu
re is
Wha
tsoe
ver
is n
ot o
f fa
ith is
sin
(Ro
man
s 14
:23)
. In
a w
orld
in w
hich
iniq
uity
abo
und
s a
nd t
he la
ws
of G
od a
re
flaun
ted
at
ever
y tu
rn,
it is
som
etim
es h
elpf
ul
to p
onde
r, w
hat
is t
he c
aus
e a
nd
effe
ct r
ela
tions
hip
betw
een
faith
and
sin
? A
re w
e in
clin
ed
to s
in b
eca
use
our
faith
is w
eak?
Or
are
we
incl
ined
to
wea
k fa
ith b
eca
use
we
sin?
Cer
tain
ly,
if w
e ch
oose
to
follo
w t
he w
ays
of
this
wor
ld a
nd a
band
on r
espe
ct f
or
the
law
of
God
, it
ease
s ou
r co
nsci
ence
if
we
can
reje
ct t
he a
utho
rity
of
tha
t la
w a
nd l
aps
e in
to
unb
elie
f. T
hus,
to
keep
our
selv
es f
rom
sin
is a
s im
por
tant
a
mea
sure
in
sust
ain
-in
g ou
r fa
ith a
s it
is t
o kn
ow a
nd u
nder
sta
nd t
he r
easo
ns f
or o
ur c
onvi
ctio
ns.
Ma
ny p
eop
le h
ave
aba
ndon
ed t
heir
faith
bec
aus
e th
ey r
esen
t th
e id
ea t
hat
ther
e is
a h
ighe
r a
utho
rity
tha
t ho
lds
them
acc
ount
abl
e fo
r w
hat
the
y do
. H
owev
er,
this
is a
phi
loso
phic
al c
hoic
e ra
ther
tha
n th
e ou
tcom
e of
int
ense
in
telle
ctua
l re-
flect
ion
and
inve
stig
atio
n. Som
e su
rvey
s in
dica
te t
hat
far
too
ma
ny o
f ou
r yo
ung
peop
le h
ave
su
ccu
mb
ed t
o b
eha
vior
s of
thi
s w
orld
tha
t a
re d
isp
lea
sing
to
God
. W
hat
is t
he r
easo
n fo
r th
is p
art
icip
atio
n in
evi
l? I
s it
bec
aus
e th
ey d
id n
ot u
nder
-st
and
tho
se b
eha
vior
s w
ere
sin,
or
is it
bec
aus
e th
ey l
ack
ed t
he s
tren
gth
of c
on-
vict
ion
to a
bst
ain
fro
m f
lesh
ly lu
sts
tha
t w
ar
ag
ain
st t
he
sou
l?
If th
e ro
ot c
aus
e of
the
pro
blem
is t
he la
tter
, th
en o
ur m
ost
urge
nt n
eed
is t
o w
ork
on s
tren
gthe
n-in
g th
ose
conv
ictio
ns s
o th
at
beha
vior
al
choi
ces
will
be
ma
de b
y b
elie
vers
of
ever
y a
ge w
hich
giv
e gl
ory
to G
od.
As
one
Chr
ista
delp
hia
n w
rite
r ex
pres
sed
it,
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
59
“Rig
hte
ou
s co
nd
uct
is s
imp
ly r
ight
do
ctrin
e in
pra
ctic
e”
(Isl
ip C
olly
er, C
on
vic-
tion
and
Co
nd
uct,
Cha
pter
2).
The
wor
ds “
bel
ief”
and
“fa
ith”
are
fre
quen
tly u
sed
int
erch
ang
eabl
y a
lthou
gh
ther
e a
re d
istin
ctio
ns t
hat
are
app
aren
t in
sp
ecifi
c co
nte
xts.
Bot
h w
ords
ha
ve t
he
mea
ning
of s
tea
dfa
stn
ess a
nd p
ersu
asi
on.
Alth
ough
we
note
the
wor
d fa
ith i
s on
ly u
sed
in t
he O
ld T
esta
men
t tw
ice,
wha
t w
e fin
d th
ere
is n
ot th
e d
oct
rin
e of
faith
but
the
exa
mp
le of
faith
. T
he w
riter
to
the
Heb
rew
s de
scrib
es t
hose
Old
T
esta
men
t w
orth
ies
who
o
bta
ined
a g
oo
d r
epo
rt t
hro
ugh
fa
ith
by a
n a
ccou
ntin
g of
the
ir w
orks
! Our
fa
ith m
ust
be c
are
d fo
r a
s a
livi
ng t
hing
. It
can
be
influ
ence
d by
oth
ers
but
it is
up
to e
ach
ind
ivid
ual t
o nu
rtur
e a
nd k
eep
it a
live
and
str
ong.
W
e a
ccom
plis
h th
is b
y a
ste
ady
die
t of
the
w
ord
s o
f lif
e a
nd c
onfid
ence
in
the
exce
edin
g g
rea
t a
nd
pre
cio
us
pro
mis
es m
ade
unt
o th
e fa
ther
s. The
se p
rom
ises
a
re b
ut a
fa
nta
sy t
o th
e w
orld
, bu
t to
the
spi
ritua
l m
ind,
str
engt
hene
d w
ith s
ub-
sta
nce
and
evi
denc
e, t
hey
cons
titut
e th
e fu
ll a
ssu
ran
ce o
f h
op
e.
Our
Hea
venl
y F
ath
er r
equ
ires
our
tot
al c
omm
itmen
t to
and
con
fiden
ce in
th
ose
uns
een
rea
litie
s a
s m
ani
fest
ed i
n lo
ving
ob
edie
nce
to H
is w
ill,
Fo
r w
e w
alk
by
faith
, n
ot
by
sig
ht.
T
he
Ch
rist
ad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
Pu
blis
hin
g C
om
mitt
ee
The
Orig
in O
f The
Bib
le
Th
is a
rtic
le is
ta
ken
fro
m T
ho
mas
Will
iam
s’ w
ork
of
the
sam
e ti
tle a
nd
pre
sen
ts
sele
cted
th
ou
gh
ts a
nd
arg
um
ents
gen
era
lly in
th
e or
der
th
ey a
pp
ear
in t
he
or
igi-
na
l. In
ad
diti
on
to
ha
vin
g s
kip
ped
ove
r se
nte
nce
s a
nd
pa
rag
rap
hs
to g
lea
n w
ha
t is
pre
sen
ted
bel
ow
, so
me
wo
rdin
g h
as
bee
n l
eft
out
of
som
e se
nte
nce
s fo
r th
e sa
ke o
f b
revi
ty a
nd
ava
ilab
le s
pa
ce.
Rea
der
s m
ay
find
th
e la
ng
ua
ge
a l
ittle
u
n-
usu
al b
ut a
ll th
e w
ord
s in
thi
s a
rtic
le w
ere
pen
ned
in 1
89
7 b
y B
ro. W
illi
am
s. W
e re
com
men
d t
he
ori
gin
al 9
0 p
ag
e tr
eatis
e to
rea
der
s. I
t ca
n b
e fo
un
d in
Sel
ect
ed
Wo
rks
of T
ho
ma
s W
illia
ms.
The
fac
ts a
nd f
igur
es o
f C
hris
tend
om
can
not
be ig
nore
d.
Chr
iste
ndom
is
an
open
boo
k, u
pon
who
se p
age
s fig
ures
as
wel
l a
s fa
cts
sta
nd
out
bol
dly
bef
ore
the
eyes
of
the
wor
ld,
seen
of
all,
kno
wn
of a
ll a
nd w
ritte
n by
all;
pri
nted
, pa
inte
d, p
enci
led
and
chi
sele
d, h
ere,
the
re a
nd e
very
whe
re,
so t
hat
they
ca
nnot
be
ign
ored
or
forg
otte
n. T
his
yea
r th
ese
figur
es a
re f
or 1
897,
and
the
y a
ppea
r up
on e
very
let
ter,
new
spa
per,
boo
k a
nd d
ocu
men
t is
sued
fro
m t
he p
en o
r th
e pr
ess.
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
60
Eve
ryth
ing
poin
ts to
one
ma
n. The
wor
d C
hris
tend
om a
nd e
very
thin
g it
repr
e-se
nts
poin
t ba
ckw
ard
s fr
om a
ll di
rect
ions
, ce
nter
ing
and
fo
caliz
ing
in o
ne M
an,
w
ho s
tand
s ou
t in
bol
d re
lief
bef
ore
the
wor
ld w
ithou
t a
n eq
ual,
and
tha
t m
an
is
know
n b
y th
e te
rms J
esu
s and
Ch
rist
, and
his
birt
h a
nd t
he w
onde
rful
wor
k h
e di
d a
nd h
is t
ragi
c de
ath
ma
rked
off
one
of
the
cent
urie
s of
th
e w
orld
’s h
isto
ry a
s a
poi
nt a
nd p
ivot
aro
und
whi
ch a
ll ot
hers
rev
olve
. B
. C
. an
d A
. D
. m
ean
in p
lain
E
nglis
h, B
efor
e C
hris
t, a
nd A
fter
Chr
ist,
and
thu
s th
is
ma
n is
the
gre
at
finge
r-po
st o
f th
e ci
viliz
ed w
orld
and
all
tha
t is
the
rein
.
Now
in t
rea
ting
all
the
natu
ral f
act
s a
nd f
igur
es,
with
w
hich
Chr
iste
ndom
is f
ull,
w
e a
re t
ake
n to
the
ma
n, t
he p
lace
and
the
na
tions
in
whi
ch t
he g
rea
t hi
stor
ic
tra
gedy
occ
urre
d. W
e a
re c
onve
yed
thro
ugh
the
gre
at
high
wa
y of
hi
stor
y, i
n w
hich
the
ver
y st
ones
cry
out
to
witn
ess
the
fact
in
ques
tion
. A
nd w
hen
we
rea
ch o
ur jo
urne
y’s
end,
we
find
the
Hol
y La
nd a
fa
ct; J
erus
ale
m a
fa
ct;
Ca
lva
ry
a f
act
– a
ll a
re f
act
s, a
nd e
very
bod
y is
ta
lkin
g a
bout
the
tr
age
dy,
som
e cu
rsin
g th
e vi
ctim
, ot
hers
ble
ssin
g hi
m;
all
add
ing
to t
he ir
resi
sti
ble
evid
ence
of
the
fact
of
Chr
ist’s
exi
sten
ce,
won
derf
ul l
ife a
nd t
ragi
c de
ath
.
The
tes
timo
ny o
f ene
mie
s: Now
we
find
ours
elve
s in
pos
sess
ion
of f
act
s, s
uch
as,
on
the
one
hand
, th
e B
ible
in
exis
tenc
e w
ith t
hou
sand
s of
zea
lous
fri
ends
; a
nd o
n th
e ot
her
hand
ma
ny e
nem
ies
ang
rily
ass
aul
ting
it. T
her
e m
ust
be a
mo-
tive
on b
oth
side
s of
thi
s co
nflic
t. T
he m
otiv
e w
hich
pro
mpt
s th
e fr
iend
s of
the
B
ible
ca
n b
e fo
und
onl
y b
y re
adi
ng t
he d
octr
ines
and
pre
cept
s w
hich
the
boo
k co
nta
ins,
and
lea
rnin
g of
the
hop
es w
hich
it h
olds
out
. It
is t
he a
im a
nd o
bjec
t of
th
e en
emie
s of
the
Bib
le t
o te
ar
dow
n a
nd t
o de
stro
y. I
f th
ey
held
out
any
hop
e to
be
rea
lized
whe
n th
eir
wor
k of
des
truc
tion
is a
ccom
plis
hed
it w
ould
red
uce
the
issu
e to
a q
ues
tion
of w
hich
hop
e is
the
bet
ter.
As
it is
, ho
pe
is o
nly
on o
ne
side
. R
eally
it
is s
afe
to
say
tha
t a
n en
emy
of t
he B
ible
is
utte
rly
inca
pabl
e of
cr
itici
zing
it.
A m
an
who
is
colo
r bl
ind
cann
ot j
udg
e of
col
ors.
With
the
Bib
le
the
stro
nges
t a
rgum
ent
in i
ts f
avo
r co
mes
fro
m a
n u
nder
sta
ndi
ng o
f its
dee
pes
t te
ach
ings
, a
nd a
n ex
per
ienc
e of
liv
ing
its p
rece
pts.
It
fol
low
s, t
here
fore
, th
at
the
two
side
s of
thi
s co
ntro
vers
y a
re u
nequ
al.
The
fri
end
of t
he B
ible
ha
s a
dva
nta
ge
over
the
ene
my
whi
ch t
he l
att
er c
ann
ot r
ealiz
e…no
t th
at
we
are
fea
rful
of
the
issu
e w
hen
disc
usse
d fr
om a
pur
ely
inte
llect
ual b
asi
s. I
ndee
d, t
he t
ests
to
whi
ch
the
Bib
le h
as
been
sub
ject
ed b
y th
e he
ady
and
hea
rtle
ss h
ave
don
e m
uch
to
stre
ngth
en t
he e
vide
nce
tha
t th
e b
ook
is w
hat
it cl
aim
s t
o b
e.
Sin
ce t
he B
ible
has
rec
eive
d so
muc
h at
tent
ion
at t
he
hand
s o
f su
ch m
en it
w
ill b
e co
nclu
ded
that
it m
ust
have
bee
n a
very
po
pular b
ook;
tha
t po
pula
r se
ntim
ent
wa
s in
its
favo
r, a
nd r
elie
d up
on a
s a
tru
thfu
l b
ook
and
as
bei
ng w
hat
it cl
aim
s to
be.
It
will
be
seen
tha
t it
wa
s to
loos
en t
he t
ena
ciou
s ho
ld w
hich
th
e B
ible
ha
d up
on t
he p
eop
le a
nd t
he p
eop
le u
pon
the
Bib
le t
hat
thes
e p
opul
ar
writ
ers
used
the
ir gr
eat
inte
llect
ual
pow
ers
and
em
plo
yed
the
bes
t a
rt o
f th
e cr
itic.
The
opp
ositi
on o
f th
e ea
rly
writ
ers
goes
to
esta
blis
h th
e fa
ct t
hat
Chr
is-
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
61
tians
exi
sted
in
thos
e tim
es,
tha
t th
ey h
ad
the
New
Te
sta
men
t in
the
ir ha
nds
as
an
expl
ana
tion
of t
heir
exis
tenc
e, a
nd t
hat
the
boo
ks t
here
of w
ere
then
adm
itte
d by
fri
end
and
foe
to
be
genu
ine.
The
evi
denc
e de
rive
d f
rom
all
the
ene
mie
s of
C
hris
tiani
ty in
the
ea
rly
days
pro
ves
tha
t th
e C
hris
tians
he
ld a
s sa
cred
the
boo
ks
of t
he N
ew T
esta
men
t a
s w
e no
w h
ave
the
m.
Wha
t a
boo
k it
mus
t b
e! t
hey
will
ex
cla
im,
to h
ave
wie
lded
suc
h a
pow
er o
ver
the
peo
ple
of
the
mos
t en
light
ene
d pa
rts
of t
he w
orld
and
tha
t to
o, in
the
da
ys w
hen
men
ra
n to
and
fro
and
kno
wl-
edge
inc
rea
sed
as
it ne
ver
had
bef
ore!
We
mus
t co
nclu
de t
hat
it w
as
laun
che
d ou
t in
to t
he w
orld
as
a w
onde
rfu
l thi
ng,
and
tha
t its
mir
acu
lous
pow
er e
nabl
ed it
to
do
wha
t it
did
– re
volu
tioni
ze t
he c
ivil
and
rel
igio
us w
orld
, w
ithou
t its
fa
ith-
ful f
rien
ds f
iring
a s
hot
or d
raw
ing
a s
wor
d fr
om a
sca
bba
rd.
The
Can
on
Rea
ding
s an
d R
ende
rings
of t
he S
crip
ture
s: U
nder
thi
s he
adin
g
it w
ill b
e pr
ofit
able
to
cons
ider
firs
t th
e ca
non
of s
crip
ture
, th
at is
, ho
w t
he
boo
ks w
e ha
ve in
our
Bib
le c
ame
to b
e ac
cept
ed a
s th
e o
nly
sac
red
and
au-
then
tic b
ooks
of
reve
latio
n. In
fidel
s a
nd s
kept
ics
have
ta
lked
muc
h a
bout
th
e ch
anc
e-w
ork
in c
ounc
ils v
otin
g on
and
rec
eivi
ng t
he b
ooks
of
the
New
Tes
ta-
men
t w
hile
rej
ectin
g ot
hers
, cl
aim
ing
tha
t th
e “s
elec
tion
of s
ome
and
rej
ectio
n of
oth
ers”
dep
ende
d up
on t
he m
otiv
es a
nd v
otes
of
falli
ble
men
.
To
rea
lize
how
the
aut
hent
icity
of
thes
e b
ooks
wou
ld b
e de
ter
min
ed b
y th
ose
in
who
se h
and
s th
ey w
ere
first
pla
ced
we
mus
t go
ba
ck t
o th
e o
rigi
n of
Chr
istia
n-ity
and
see
tha
t th
ey d
id n
ot o
rigi
nate
by
an
aut
hor
dete
rmi
ning
to
prod
uce
a
book
on
a c
erta
in s
ubje
ct t
o b
e pr
inte
d a
nd o
ffer
ed f
or s
al
e up
on i
ts m
erits
. It
w
as
not
a t
heor
y, a
sci
ence
or
a r
elig
ion
alr
eady
out
and
bei
ng d
iscu
ssed
tha
t or
igin
ate
d th
ese
boo
ks.
The
fa
ct t
hat
thin
gs m
ost
rem
ark
abl
e w
ere
taki
ng p
lace
be
fore
the
eye
s of
the
peo
ple
in
all
the
land
of
Jude
a w
as
the
ori
gin…
and
the
fa
ct t
hat
chur
ches
exi
sted
and
wer
e co
min
g in
to e
xist
ence
in
tow
ns a
nd c
ities
a
nd t
hat
the
apo
stle
s es
tabl
ishe
d a
nd v
isite
d th
ese
rea
l c
hurc
hes
in r
eal
pla
ces
and
spo
ke a
nd w
rote
to
them
ab
out
rea
l con
ditio
ns a
nd p
erso
ns w
ell
know
n. A
ll th
e b
ooks
wer
e pr
oduc
ed b
y th
e fa
cts,
com
ing
out
sim
ulta
neou
sly
with
the
fa
cts
in t
he m
ost
natu
ral w
ay,
with
no
poss
ible
hop
e fo
r th
e w
rite
rs a
nd a
ll co
ncer
ned
in t
he m
ovem
ent
of a
ny r
emun
era
tion
exce
pt t
he s
atis
fact
ion
the
spiri
tua
l res
ults
m
ight
yie
ld a
nd t
he h
ope
of f
utur
e lif
e; a
nd t
his
with
per
sec
utio
n, t
ortu
re a
nd
dea
th a
s th
e on
ly p
rese
nt p
rosp
ects
. A
ll th
ese
thin
gs g
o to
exc
lude
any
tho
ught
s of
des
ign
in t
he p
rodu
ctio
n of
the
boo
ks,
exce
pt w
hat
wa
s su
gge
sted
by
the
daily
dev
elop
ing
fact
s a
nd c
ondi
tions
nec
essa
ry t
o th
e pe
rfor
ma
nce
of a
dut
y to
G
od a
nd m
an.
All
told
, th
ose
who
esp
ouse
d th
e ca
use
wer
e bu
t f
ew in
nu
mb
er,
a lit
tle f
lock
, a
nd t
he v
ery
natu
re o
f th
e m
ove
men
t br
ough
t th
em a
ll cl
osel
y to
-ge
ther
into
per
sona
l acq
uain
tanc
e.
If th
e a
ccep
tanc
e of
the
se b
ooks
ha
d b
een,
as
the
infid
els
cl
aim
, de
pen
dent
up
on
vote
s of
cou
ncils
in
the
third
and
fol
low
ing
cent
urie
s, t
he q
ues
tion
wou
ld s
till
be,
Whe
re d
id t
hey
com
e fr
om?
How
did
the
y ge
t in
to t
he s
upp
osed
pi
les
of
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
62
vario
us b
ooks
fro
m a
mon
g w
hich
the
y w
ere
to b
e vo
ted
as
sacr
ed?
Tha
t th
e bo
oks
of t
he N
ew T
esta
men
t w
ere
in g
ener
al
circ
ula
tion
and
fr
om t
heir
orig
in
know
n to
be
aut
hent
ic is
bey
ond
disp
ute
from
the
fa
ct t
hat
they
wer
e so
larg
ely
and
rev
eren
tly q
uot
ed b
y va
rious
writ
ers
in t
hose
ea
rly
days
. It
wa
s ne
ver
nece
s-sa
ry f
or t
he C
ounc
il of
Nic
e no
r a
ny o
ther
cou
ncil
to v
ote
on
them
. T
he r
ever
-en
ce f
or t
hem
wa
s no
t a
n ou
tgro
wth
of
sup
erst
ition
ye
ars
aft
er t
heir
prod
uctio
n,
but
a d
irect
and
im
med
iate
res
ult
of a
kno
wle
dge
tha
t th
ey c
am
e fr
om m
en w
ho
by s
igns
and
won
ders
and
by
dive
rs m
iracl
es h
ad
esta
blis
hed
thei
r cr
eden
tials
be
yond
the
sha
dow
of
doub
t. N
ot o
nly
do w
e ha
ve p
roof
of
the
boo
ks b
eing
re-
ceiv
ed f
rom
the
beg
inni
ng,
but
we
have
spe
cific
ca
talo
gues
of
the
ins
pire
d a
nd
aut
hent
ic b
ooks
giv
en b
y so
me
of t
he a
utho
rs w
ritin
g a
bout
the
m.
In t
hese
ca
ta-
logu
es t
here
is
a c
lea
r a
nd w
ell
defin
ed d
istin
ctio
n dr
aw
n b
etw
een
the
sacr
ed
book
s a
nd t
hose
writ
ten
by f
rien
dly
but
falli
ble
men
– f
alli
ble
in t
heir
writ
ings
be
caus
e un
insp
ired
.
Dili
gen
t m
en h
ave
very
car
eful
ly a
nd v
olu
min
ous
ly g
iven
the
wor
ld t
he r
e-su
lts o
f th
eir
rese
arch
in
this
bra
nch
of
Chr
istia
n ev
idenc
e, bu
t si
nce
Dr.
P
ale
y ha
s gi
ven
us a
com
pen
diu
m o
f th
e fa
cts
brou
ght
out
we
qu
ote
from
his
E
vid
ence
s, pp
. 171
-173
:
Thi
s sp
ecie
s of
evi
denc
e co
mes
la
ter
tha
n th
e re
st;
as i
t w
as
not
natu
ral
tha
t ca
talo
gues
of
any
pa
rtic
ula
r cl
ass
of
book
s sh
ould
be
put
fort
h un
til C
hris
tian
writ
ings
bec
am
e nu
mer
ous;
or
until
som
e w
ritin
gs s
how
ed t
hem
selv
es,
cla
imin
g tit
les
whi
ch d
id n
ot b
elon
g to
the
m,
and
the
reby
ren
derin
g it
nece
ssa
ry t
o se
pa-
rate
boo
ks o
f a
utho
rity
from
oth
ers.
But
, w
hen
it do
es
app
ear,
it
is e
xtre
mel
y sa
tisfa
ctor
y; t
he c
ata
logu
es,
thou
gh n
um
erou
s a
nd m
ade
in
cou
ntri
es f
rom
a
wid
e di
sta
nce
from
one
ano
ther
, di
ffer
ing
very
litt
le,
diff
eri
ng i
n no
thin
g w
hich
is
ma
teria
l, a
nd a
ll co
nta
inin
g th
e fo
ur g
osp
els.
To
this
la
st a
rtic
le t
here
is
no
exce
ptio
n.
1.
In t
he w
ritin
gs o
f O
rige
n…th
ere
are
enu
mer
atio
ns o
f th
e b
ooks
of
scrip
-tu
re i
n w
hich
the
fou
r G
osp
els
and
the
Act
s of
the
Ap
ostle
s a
re d
is-
tinct
ly a
nd h
onor
abl
y sp
ecifi
ed,
and
in
whi
ch n
o b
ooks
app
ear
bes
ide
wha
t a
re n
ow r
ecei
ved.
The
rea
der
will
rec
olle
ct t
hat
the
date
of
Ori-
gen’
s w
orks
is A
. D
. 23
0.
2.
Ath
ana
sius
, a
bout
a c
entu
ry a
fterw
ard
s, d
eliv
ered
a c
at
alo
gue
of t
he
book
s of
the
New
Tes
tam
ent
in f
orm
, co
nta
inin
g ou
r sc
riptu
res
and
no
othe
rs;
of w
hich
he
says
, “I
n th
ese
alo
ne t
he d
octr
ine
of r
elig
ion
is
taug
ht;
let
no m
an
add
to
them
, or
ta
ke a
nyth
ing
aw
ay
from
the
m.”
3.
Ab
out
twen
ty y
ears
afte
r A
tha
nasi
us,
Cyr
il, b
isho
p of
Jer
usa
lem
, se
t fo
rth
a c
ata
logu
e of
the
boo
ks o
f sc
riptu
re p
ublic
ally
rea
d a
t th
at
time
in
the
chur
ch o
f Je
rusa
lem
, ex
act
ly t
he s
am
e a
s ou
rs,
exce
pt t
hat
the
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
63
The
apo
stle
s P
eter
, Ja
mes
and
Joh
n w
ere
the
only
witn
esse
s t
o th
e tr
ans
figur
a-
tion
of C
hris
t. T
his
wa
s a
uni
que
even
t, o
ccur
ring
only
onc
e in
his
tory
and
ne
ver
rep
eate
d. W
e ca
n on
ly r
ead
abo
ut t
his
even
t, w
e c
an
neve
r ex
per
ienc
e it.
P
eter
cite
s th
is e
vent
to
prov
e th
at
the
early
Chr
istia
ns w
ere
not
follo
win
g cun
-ni
ngly
dev
ised
fab
les, bu
t he
add
ed a
noth
er c
omm
ent
whi
ch w
e fin
d in
II
Pet
er
1:19
-21.
We
have
als
o a
mor
e su
re w
ord
of p
roph
ecy;
whe
reun
to y
e do
wel
l th
at y
e ta
ke h
eed,
as
unto
a li
ght
that
shi
neth
in a
dar
k pl
ace,
unt
il t
he d
ay d
awn,
and
th
e da
y st
ar a
rise
in y
our
hear
ts:
Kno
win
g th
is f
irst,
tha
t no
pro
phec
y of
the
S
crip
ture
is
of a
ny p
rivat
e in
terp
reta
tion. F
or t
he p
roph
ecy
cam
e no
t in
old
tim
e by
the
will
of m
an: b
ut h
oly
men
of G
od s
pake
as
they
wer
e m
oved
by
the
Hol
y S
pirit
.
The
exp
ress
ion “m
ore
sur
e w
ord
of p
roph
ecy”
is t
rans
late
d in
va
rious
wa
ys in
ot
her
Bib
le v
ersi
ons,
but
the
Dia
glot
t w
ord-
for-
wor
d tr
ans
la
tion
sta
tes,
“We
have
mor
e fir
m t
he p
roph
etic
wor
d.”
Thi
s te
nds
to a
gree
with
the
sen
se o
f th
e K
ing
Jam
es V
ersi
on a
nd s
ugg
ests
tha
t B
ible
pro
phe
cy i
s a
sup
erio
r w
itnes
s to
th
at
of t
he t
rans
figur
atio
n of
Chr
ist,
whi
ch w
as
limite
d t
o th
e ey
es o
f th
e th
ree
apo
stle
s.
“Rev
ela
tion”
is o
mitt
ed.
4.
Fift
een
yea
rs a
fter
Cyr
il, t
he C
ounc
il of
La
odic
ea d
eliv
ere
d a
n a
utho
ri-ta
tive
cata
logu
e on
ca
noni
cal
scrip
ture
, lik
e C
yril’
s, t
he s
am
e a
s ou
rs,
with
the
om
issi
on o
f th
e “R
evel
atio
n.”
5.
With
in t
hirt
y ye
ars
afte
r th
e la
st d
ate
, fr
om t
he y
ear
363
to n
ear
the
con-
clus
ion
of t
he f
ourt
h ce
ntur
y, w
e ha
ve c
ata
logu
es…
all,
as
the
y a
re
som
etim
es c
alle
d, c
lea
n ca
talo
gues
(th
at
is t
hey
adm
it no
boo
ks in
to t
he
num
ber
bes
ide
wha
t w
e no
w r
ecei
ve),
and
all,
for
eve
ry p
urpo
se o
f hi
s-to
ric e
vide
nce,
the
sa
me
as
ours
.
Lest
the
da
rk p
all
of s
uper
stiti
on a
nd a
post
asy
hid
e fr
om v
iew
the
cor
rupt
ion
of
the
third
and
fol
low
ing
cent
urie
s, le
t us
tur
n th
e se
arc
h lig
ht
upon
the
sim
ulta
ne-
ous
birt
h a
nd g
row
th o
f C
hris
tiani
ty a
nd i
ts b
ooks
du
ring
the
firs
t a
nd s
econ
d ce
ntur
ies,
and
the
n it
will
be
seen
tha
t ou
r bo
oks
need
ed
no v
otes
or
cou
ncils
of
men
to
deci
de w
heth
er t
hey
wer
e w
hat
they
cla
imed
to
be,
and
th
at
thei
r co
mp
e-tit
ion
with
oth
er b
ooks
wa
s ne
ver
in q
ues
tion.
T
ho
ma
s W
illia
ms
The
Sur
e W
ord
Of P
roph
ecy
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
64
We
do n
ot d
oubt
the
rel
iabi
lity
of P
eter
's w
itnes
s, b
ut t
he f
ulfi
llmen
t of
Bib
le
prop
hecy
we
can
see
with
our
ow
n ey
es,
whi
ch h
as
to b
e su
per
ior
to t
hat
of a
n hi
stor
ica
l rep
ort.
Whi
le w
e a
ccep
t P
eter
's w
ords
by
faith
, w
e se
e th
e re
gath
erin
g of
Isr
ael
by
sigh
t.
Pet
er t
ells
us
to p
ay
att
entio
n to
pro
phec
y b
eca
use
it gi
ves
us
light
, di
vine
lig
ht,
whi
ch is
Tru
th.
The
pro
phe
t A
mos
, w
ho w
rote
in a
bout
787
BC
, st
ate
d in
Am
os
3:7,
Sur
ely
the
Lord
God
will
do
noth
ing,
but
He
reve
alet
h hi
s se
cre
t un
to h
is
serv
ants
the
pro
phet
s. Suc
h a
sta
tem
ent
am
ount
s to
an
open
invi
tatio
n to
sea
rch
the
Scr
iptu
res
and
dig
out
the
hid
den
trea
sure
of
the
divi
ne p
lan
. Je
sus
plea
ded
with
the
Jew
s in
the
da
ys o
f hi
s ea
rthl
y m
inis
try
in J
ohn
5:3
9: S
earc
h th
e S
crip
-tu
res;
for
in t
hem
ye
thin
k ye
ha
ve e
tern
al li
fe:
and
the
y ar
e th
ey w
hich
tes
tify
of m
e. T
hey
not
only
tes
tify
of J
esus
' per
son
but
als
o of
his
ea
rthl
y m
inis
try,
his
de
ath
, hi
s re
surr
ectio
n, a
nd h
is i
nvita
tion
to m
ank
ind
to b
e p
art
ake
rs o
f et
erna
l sa
lva
tion.
Kin
g S
olom
on w
rote
in
Pro
verb
s 25
:2, It is
the
glo
ry o
f G
od t
o c
once
al a
th
ing;
but
the
hon
our
of k
ings
is t
o se
arch
out
a m
atte
r. W
hat
grea
ter
hono
r is
th
ere
for
thos
e w
ho h
ave
the
pot
entia
l of
bei
ng k
ings
and
pri
ests
in
Chr
ist's
ki
ngdo
m t
han
to s
earc
h th
e S
crip
ture
s fo
r th
e gl
orie
s th
at
the
Lor
d ha
s co
n-ce
ale
d th
erei
n?
Eve
ry g
ener
atio
n fro
m t
he t
ime
of
Ada
m h
as b
een
bles
sed
by
havi
ng
know
ledg
e o
f Bib
le p
roph
ecy,
and
we
see
prop
hetic
the
mes
re
peat
ed to
suc
-ce
ssiv
e ge
nera
tions
. God
, sp
eaki
ng t
o th
e S
erp
ent
in t
he G
ard
en o
f E
den
said
, A
nd I
will
put
enm
ity b
etw
een
thee
and
the
wom
an a
nd b
etw
een
thy
seed
and
he
r se
ed; i
t sha
ll br
uise
thy
head
and
thou
sha
ll br
uise
his
hee
l (G
enes
is 3
:15)
. T
his
sam
e pr
ophe
cy,
in e
ssen
ce,
wa
s gi
ven
to A
bra
ham
in
Gen
esis
22:
17, Tha
t in
ble
ssin
g I
will
ble
ss t
hee,
and
in m
ultip
lyin
g I
will
multi
ply
thy
seed
as
the
star
s of
hea
ven,
and
as
the
sand
whi
ch i
s up
on t
he s
ea s
hore
; an
d th
y se
ed
shal
l po
sses
s th
e ga
te of
HIS
ene
mie
s. The
apo
stle
Pa
ul,
utili
zing
the
Ada
mic
fo
rm o
f th
e pr
ophe
cy,
uses
it t
o co
mfo
rt t
he s
ain
ts o
f hi
s d
ay,
rea
ssur
ing
them
in
Rom
ans
16
:20,
And
the
God
of
peac
e sh
all
brui
se S
atan
und
er y
our
feet
sh
ortly
. T
he g
race
of o
ur L
ord
Jesu
s C
hris
t be
with
you
. Am
en.
The
Lor
d to
ld M
oses
, in
the
fa
ce o
f a
reb
ellio
us n
atio
n,
But
as
trul
y as
I li
ve,
all
the
eart
h sh
all
be f
illed
with
the
glo
ry o
f th
e Lo
rd (N
um
ber
s 14
:21)
. T
he
prop
het
Isa
iah,
in
abo
ut 7
13 B
C,
havi
ng s
pok
en a
bout
the
com
ing
of C
hris
t a
nd
his
right
eous
ness
, re
itera
tes
the
eter
nal
inte
ntio
n of
the
Lor
d a
s a
con
ditio
n th
at
will
pre
vail
in t
he K
ingd
om a
ge,
sta
ting
in I
saia
h 11
: 9,
fo
r th
e ea
rth
shal
l b
e fu
ll of
the
kno
wle
dge
of t
he L
ord,
as
the
wat
ers
cove
r th
e se
a. E
ight
y-se
ven
yea
rs la
ter,
the
Pro
phet
Ha
bakk
uk,
in
626
BC
, pr
ocla
ims
to t
he w
icke
d ge
nera
-tio
n of
his
da
y th
e sa
me
prop
hecy
whi
ch
will
com
e to
pa
ss,
whi
ch
noth
ing
ca
n pr
even
t. H
aba
kku
k 2:
14 s
tate
s,
For
the
ear
th s
hall
be f
illed
with
the
kno
wl-
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
65
edge
of
the
glor
y of
the
Lor
d, a
s th
e w
ater
s co
ver
the
sea.
T
his
prop
hecy
, re
-pe
ate
d th
ese
thre
e tim
es,
is t
he e
ssen
ce o
f th
e pu
rpos
e of
G
od w
ith t
he e
art
h. W
e ha
ve t
he o
ppor
tuni
ty n
ow t
o b
ecom
e a
n el
emen
t of
tha
t gl
ory
whe
n ou
r Lo
rd
retu
rns.
Da
niel
12
:3 e
xten
ds t
he p
ricel
ess
prom
ise
to u
s,
And
the
y th
at b
e w
ise
shal
l sh
ine
as t
he b
right
ness
of
the
firm
amen
t; an
d t
hey
tha
t tu
rn m
any
to
right
eous
ness
as
the
star
s fo
r ev
er a
nd e
ver.
The
Psa
lms
of
Dav
id s
park
le w
ith d
ivin
e pr
ophe
cy. P
salm
103
:10-
14 w
ill
touc
h th
e hea
rt o
f a
ny s
ince
re p
erso
n: He
hath
not
dea
lt w
ith u
s af
ter
our
sins
; no
r re
war
ded
us a
ccor
ding
to
our
iniq
uitie
s. F
or a
s th
e he
aven is h
igh
abov
e th
e ea
rth,
so
grea
t is
his
mer
cy t
owar
d th
em t
hat
fear
him
. A
s fa
r as
the
east
is
from
the
wes
t, s
o fa
r ha
th h
e re
mo
ved
our
tran
sgre
ssio
ns f
rom
us.
Lik
e as
a
fath
er p
itiet
h hi
s ch
ildre
n, s
o th
e Lo
rd p
itiet
h th
em t
hat fear
him
. F
or h
e kn
owet
h ou
r fr
ame;
he
rem
emb
eret
h th
at w
e ar
e du
st.
Psa
lm 8
3 de
pict
s Is
rael
in
per
il fr
om h
er e
nem
ies.
In
the
Wa
r of
Ind
epen
denc
e in
194
8, t
he S
ix D
ay
Wa
r in
196
7 a
nd t
he Y
om K
ippu
r W
ar
in 1
973,
Isr
ae
l en-
cou
nter
ed h
er h
ostil
e A
rab
neig
hbor
s, i
n le
agu
e a
gain
st h
er
and
com
mitt
ed t
o he
r de
stru
ctio
n, j
ust
as d
escr
ibed
in
this
Psa
lm.
Out
of
all
thes
e p
erils
the
Lor
d de
liver
ed I
sra
el.
Thi
s P
salm
cou
ple
d w
ith t
he p
rop
hecy
of
Oba
dia
h a
nd o
ther
pr
ophe
ts d
escr
ibe
Isra
el's
str
uggl
es y
et t
o co
me,
but
Psa
lm 2
de
scrib
es C
hris
t's
triu
mp
h a
gain
st t
he h
eath
en k
ings
of
the
eart
h. V
erse
8 u
rges
, Ask
of
me,
and
I
shal
l gi
ve t
hee
the
heat
hen
for
thin
e in
herit
ance
, an
d th
e u
tterm
ost
part
s of
th
e ea
rth
for
thy
poss
essi
on.
Psa
lm 7
2 d
escr
ibes
the
rig
hteo
us r
ule
of C
hris
t to
bri
ng j
ustic
e, p
eace
, re
lief
to
the
poo
r a
nd t
he s
uppr
essi
on o
f ev
il ge
nera
lly,
thus
fill
ing
the
ea
rth
with
the
gl
ory
of t
he L
ord.
Ver
ses
18-2
0 ex
cla
im,
Ble
ssed
be
the
Lord
God
, th
e G
od o
f Is
rael
, w
ho o
nly
doet
h w
ondr
ous
thin
gs.
And
ble
ssed
be
his
glor
ious
nam
e fo
r ev
er:
and
let
the
who
le e
arth
be
fille
d w
ith h
is g
lory
; Amen
and
Am
en. T
he
pray
ers
of D
avid
the
son
of J
esse
are
end
ed.
Ofte
n, w
hen
we
thin
k o
f Bib
le p
roph
ecy,
our
min
ds m
ove in
the
dire
ctio
n o
f tim
e pe
riods
and
his
toric
dev
elo
pmen
ts. T
he z
enith
of
such
pro
phe
cy i
s N
e-bu
cha
dnez
zar's
dre
am
of
the
grea
t im
age
des
crib
ed i
n D
ani
el 2
. T
his
prop
hecy
, gi
ven
in 6
03/6
04 B
C,
cove
rs t
he s
cop
e of
wor
ld h
isto
ry f
rom
the
ti
me
of N
ebu-
cha
dnez
zar
until
the
set
ting
up o
f th
e K
ingd
om o
f G
od.
Eve
ry g
ene
ratio
n of
Bi-
ble
stud
ents
who
ha
ve e
xam
ined
thi
s pr
ophe
cy c
ould
det
erm
ine
in w
hich
of
the
five
era
s (g
old,
silv
er,
bras
s, ir
on,
iron
and
cla
y) t
hey
wer
e liv
ing.
We
know
tha
t w
e a
re n
ow l
ivin
g in
the
per
iod
of t
he f
eet
and
toe
s (ir
on a
nd
cla
y),
whi
ch w
ill
see
the
retu
rn o
f C
hris
t. S
ome
of t
he d
eta
ils o
f th
is p
erio
d w
e fin
d in
Da
niel
11
a
nd 1
2 a
nd i
n R
evel
atio
n 16
, pr
ophe
cies
dea
ling
with
pus
hing
the
Tur
ks
out
of
Pa
lest
ine
and
the
ter
min
atio
n of
the
Tur
kish
Em
pire
(re
pres
ent
ed f
igur
ativ
ely
by
the
dryi
ng u
p of
the
riv
er E
uphr
ate
s).
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
66
The
gre
at
Sev
en T
imes
pro
phe
cy o
f L
eviti
cus
26,
whe
n in
terp
rete
d on
the
pri
n-ci
ple
of
a d
ay
for
a y
ear,
led
to
the
und
erst
and
ing
of a
per
iod
of 2
520
yea
rs o
f Is
rael
’s d
own
trea
ding
. T
his
spa
n of
tim
e tie
s in
with
Neb
uch
adn
ezza
r's d
rea
m.
Beg
inni
ng w
ith 6
03/6
04 B
C,
“sev
en t
imes
” en
ded
in 1
917,
the
yea
r in
whi
ch
Brit
ish
Gen
era
l A
llenb
y to
ok J
erus
ale
m f
rom
the
Tur
ks a
nd p
roc
eede
d in
the
fo
llow
ing
yea
r to
dri
ve t
he T
urks
out
of
Pa
lest
ine.
The
se e
ven
ts w
ere
visi
ble
to
the
sain
ts d
urin
g th
e W
orld
Wa
r I
per
iod;
the
y w
ere
eye-
wit
ness
es t
o th
is r
e-m
ark
abl
e fu
lfillm
ent
of p
roph
ecy.
Thr
ough
out
hist
ory
ma
ny a
ttem
pts
have
bee
n m
ade
to
pinp
oint
the
tim
e of
th
e co
min
g of
Chr
ist.
The
se h
ave
end
ed i
n fa
ilure
, di
sapp
oint
men
t a
nd
disc
oura
ge-
men
t. A
ttem
pts
to s
et d
ate
s fo
r th
e re
turn
of
Chr
ist
are
cont
rary
to
scrip
ture
, un
-w
ise
in t
heir
form
ula
tion
and
lia
ble
to c
aus
e sc
orn
and
eve
n lo
ss o
f fa
ith.
A c
ase
in
poi
nt i
s th
at
of t
he f
ollo
wer
s of
Will
iam
Mill
er,
who
in 18
31 t
old
his
flock
th
at
Chr
ist
wou
ld r
etur
n in
184
3. B
y 18
40 s
ome
of h
is m
any
fol
low
ers
ha
d di
s-po
sed
of t
heir
belo
ngin
gs i
n a
ntic
ipa
tion
of t
he j
udg
men
t da
y. W
hen
1843
pa
ssed
une
vent
fully
, M
iller
set
a n
ew d
ate
of
1844
. W
hen
this
da
te f
aile
d, t
he
mov
emen
t co
llaps
ed.
The
y di
d no
t co
mpr
ehen
d or
cou
ld n
ot a
ccep
t C
hris
t's
wor
ds c
onta
ined
in A
cts
1:7
, It is
not
for
you
to k
now
the
tim
es o
r th
e se
ason
s,
whi
ch t
he F
athe
r ha
s pu
t in
his
ow
n po
wer
.
Als
o in
Ma
tthe
w 2
5:13
, Wat
ch
ther
efor
e, f
or y
e kn
ow n
eith
er t
he d
ay n
or t
he h
our
whe
rein
the
Son
of
man
co
met
h. S
ome
fulfi
llmen
t da
tes
of p
rop
hetic
eve
nts
ma
y b
e de
term
ined
, bu
t th
e da
te o
f th
e a
ctua
l adv
ent
ma
y no
t.
The
re r
ema
ins
muc
h w
ork
yet
to b
e do
ne i
n th
e st
udy
of
Bi
ble
prop
hecy
, es
pe-
cia
lly t
hat
per
tain
ing
to e
vent
s of
the
last
da
ys a
nd t
he
plig
ht o
f b
elea
guer
ed I
s-ra
el.
It is
tim
e to
ren
ew o
ur i
nter
est
in t
his
are
a o
f S
crip
ture
. If
the
city
of
Da
-m
asc
us w
as
sudd
enly
obl
itera
ted,
do
you
know
whe
re t
o fin
d th
at
in t
he B
ible
?
Are
you
aw
are
tha
t pr
esen
t da
y E
dom
ites
are
aliv
e a
nd w
ell
and
are
pla
guin
g Is
rael
and
are
soo
n to
be
dest
roye
d? I
f w
e pr
ofes
s to
be
wa
tchm
en o
n th
e w
alls
of
Zio
n a
s it
wer
e, f
or w
hat
are
we
wa
tchi
ng?
Onl
y th
e su
re
wor
ds o
f pr
ophe
cy
can
give
us
tha
t in
form
atio
n.
Let
us t
ake
ser
ious
ly t
he p
ass
iona
te p
lea
of
the
tra
nsla
tors
of
the
Kin
g Ja
mes
V
ersi
on o
f th
e B
ible
, w
ho i
n th
e ye
ar
1611
, w
rote
con
cern
ing
the
Scr
iptu
res:
“T
hey
can
ma
ke u
s w
ise
unto
sa
lva
tion.
If
we
be
igno
rant
, th
ey w
ell i
nstr
uct
us;
if ou
t of
the
wa
y, t
hey
will
brin
g us
hom
e; if
out
of
orde
r, t
hey
will
ref
orm
us;
if
in h
eavi
ness
, co
mfo
rt u
s; i
f du
ll, q
uic
ken
us;
if co
ld,
inf
lam
e us
. To
lle,
leg
e;
tolle
,leg
e; T
ake
up
and
rea
d, t
ake
up
and
rea
d th
e S
crip
ture
s.”
E. R
. E
van
s, B
urli
ng
ton
, O
N
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
67
Cha
nce,
Pro
vide
nce
and
Mod
ern
Isra
el
If a
ny o
f us
wer
e p
layi
ng a
ga
me
invo
lvin
g th
e th
row
of
dice
and
we
fou
nd t
hat
each
tim
e w
e ro
lled
in s
ucce
ssio
n, t
he d
ice
land
ed w
ith “
one
” on
the
ups
ide
face
of
the
cub
e, w
e w
ould
qui
ckly
beg
in t
o su
spec
t th
e di
ce t
hro
ws
wer
e no
t en
tirel
y ra
ndom
. T
he c
hanc
es o
f ob
tain
ing
one,
whe
n th
row
ing
a s
ix-s
ided
cu
be,
are
on
e in
six
. T
he c
hanc
es o
f ob
tain
ing
one
on t
wo
succ
essi
ve t
hrow
s a
re t
he p
rodu
ct
of t
he c
hanc
e of
obt
ain
ing
one
on e
ach
ind
ivid
ual
thro
w,
tha
t i
s, o
ne i
n th
irty-
six.
The
cha
nce
of o
bta
inin
g “o
ne”
on t
hree
suc
cess
ive
thro
ws
is o
ne i
n 21
6, o
n fo
ur,
one
in 1
296,
and
so
on.
T
he p
oin
t is
tha
t th
e m
ore
no
n-ra
ndo
m a
ser
ies
of e
vent
s is
, th
e m
ore
likel
y w
e ar
e to
sus
pect
tha
t so
methi
ng o
ther
tha
n si
mpl
y ch
ance
is
invo
lved
in
dete
rmin
ing
the
out
com
e. If
we
rolle
d on
e on
fo
ur s
ucce
ssiv
e th
row
s, w
hile
ack
now
ledg
ing
tha
t it
coul
d ha
ppe
n ra
ndom
ly,
we
mig
ht b
egin
to
susp
ect
the
dice
cub
e w
as
wei
ghte
d or
dev
ised
in
suc
h a
wa
y a
s to
ma
ke i
t m
ore
likel
y th
at
“one
” w
ould
be
rolle
d th
an
one
of t
he o
ther
fiv
e fa
ces
of t
he c
ube
– th
at
the
resu
lts o
f ea
ch t
hrow
wer
e no
t ra
ndom
at a
ll.
The
gre
at is
sue
of
life
on
whi
ch e
very
one
of
us is
re
quire
d to
ma
ke a
per
-so
nal d
ecis
ion i
s to
det
erm
ine
whe
ther
the
wor
ld i
nto
whi
ch w
e w
ere
bor
n is
a
grea
t th
eatr
e of
ra
ndom
eve
nts,
eve
nts
tha
t so
me
supp
ose
beg
an
with
a g
iga
ntic
ex
plo
sion
of
ma
tter
in
the
Uni
vers
e b
illio
ns o
f y
ears
ago
; or
whe
ther
, on
th
e ot
her
hand
, th
ere
is p
att
ern
and
ord
er i
n ev
ents
whi
ch i
ndi-
cate
tha
t th
ey a
re not
ent
irel
y ra
ndom
occ
urre
nces
. M
ost
of
us w
ould
gra
nt t
hat
som
e oc
curr
ence
s w
e ob
serv
e in
life
a
re
rand
om.
For
exa
mp
le,
whi
ch l
eaf,
on
a t
ree
with
tho
usa
nds
of
lea
ves
in a
for
est
with
tho
usa
nds
of t
rees
will
fa
ll on
a
pa
rtic
ula
r da
y, w
e w
ould
vie
w a
s ra
ndom
. W
here
suc
h ra
n-do
mne
ss e
nds
and
sup
erin
tend
ing
prov
iden
ce b
egin
s is
an
inte
rest
ing
stu
dy
to
whi
ch
no
defin
itive
a
nsw
er
can
be
give
n.1
Whi
ch w
ay
we
ma
ke t
his
dete
rmin
atio
n –
and
whe
ther
we
ma
ke i
t ex
plic
itly
as
a m
att
er o
f in
telle
ctua
l cho
ice,
or
imp
licitl
y a
s a
ma
tter
of
pra
ctic
al c
hoic
e –
will
1 T
he w
ords
of
the
Lor
d Je
sus
wou
ld l
ead
us
to i
nfe
r th
at
the
degr
ee o
f ra
ndom
ness
is
muc
h le
ss a
nd t
he r
ole
of s
uper
inte
ndin
g pr
ovid
enc
e m
uch
grea
ter
than
ca
sua
l ob
serv
atio
n m
ay
sugg
est
: Are
no
t tw
o s
pa
rro
ws
sold
fo
r a
fa
rthi
ng?
And
on
e o
f th
em s
hal
l n
ot
fall
on
the
gro
und
with
out
yo
ur
Fa
ther
. B
ut t
he
very
hai
rs o
f yo
ur
hea
d a
re a
ll nu
mb
ered
(M
atth
ew
10
:29,
30).
“It
is o
nly
rea
sona
ble
to c
all
the
Jew
s a
s th
e fir
st w
itne
sses
and
to
enqu
ire
whe
ther
the
ir hi
stor
y of
fers
any
jus
tific
atio
n of
the
cla
im
tha
t th
e en
d w
as
de-
cla
red
from
the
beg
inni
ng i
n a
ma
nner
bey
ond
the
pow
er o
f m
an
(Isa
iah
43:8
-12
).”
Islip
Co
llyer
, V
ox
Dei,
p.
31
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
68
have
a p
rofo
und
bea
ring
on
the
kind
of
life
we
lea
d, t
he k
ind
of
per
son
we
are
, a
nd t
he k
ind
of p
erso
n w
e w
ill b
ecom
e. I
f th
e U
nive
rse
is m
erel
y th
e pr
odu
ct o
f a
ra
ndom
che
mic
al
exp
losi
on,
then
life
ulti
ma
tely
is
als
o b
eref
t of
any
hig
her
purp
ose
othe
r th
an
tha
t w
hich
we
ma
ke f
or o
urse
lves
. B
ut o
n th
e ot
her
hand
, if
ther
e is
a s
uper
inte
ndin
g W
isdo
m b
ehin
d th
e U
nive
rse,
by
who
se w
ill i
t w
as
calle
d in
to e
xist
ence
and
by
who
se h
and
it is
sus
tain
ed,
the
n th
e p
ossi
bili
ty o
f a
gr
eate
r pu
rpos
e to
life
is
conc
eiva
ble,
as
long
as
tha
t W
isd
om h
as
chos
en t
o co
mm
uni
cate
to
ma
n th
e log
os
(a G
reek
wor
d tra
nsla
ted
in 1
Pet
er 3
:15
as
[the]
rea
son)
for
its e
xist
ence
.
Man
y ha
ve b
een
pers
uade
d by
the
ir ob
serv
atio
n an
d ex
amin
ation o
f nat
ure
tha
t th
e U
nive
rse
is t
oo c
ompl
ex a
nd t
oo o
rder
ed t
o ha
ve b
een
the
pro
duct
of
mer
e ra
ndom
ness
. B
ut t
hat
conc
lusi
on,
lea
ding
to
a c
onvi
ctio
n in
Int
ellig
ent
Des
ign,
doe
s no
t in
its
elf
suff
icie
ntly
def
ine
one’
s ow
n w
orl
dvie
w u
nles
s it
is
acc
ompa
nied
by
the
para
llel
conv
ictio
n th
at
the
Des
igne
r ha
s r
evea
led
His
pur
-po
se t
o th
ose
who
m H
e ha
s cr
eate
d. O
ur w
orld
view
is f
ram
ed b
y th
e co
nvic
tion
tha
t G
od’s
pur
pose
ha
s be
en r
evea
led.
It
cent
ers
on
two
prin
cipa
l fac
tors
: th
e m
essa
ge a
nd t
he m
ediu
m.
Ma
ny o
f th
ose
who
ha
ve w
ritte
n a
gain
st t
he e
vide
nce
of d
esig
n in
the
wor
ld
have
res
ted
a l
arg
e pa
rt o
f th
eir
case
on
thei
r p
erce
pti
on t
hat
ther
e a
re m
any
fla
ws
in t
he d
esig
n. T
hat
is,
they
ha
ve n
ot s
o m
uch
dis
pute
d th
e ev
iden
ce o
f de
-si
gn p
er s
e bu
t ha
ve a
rgu
ed t
hat
thei
r pe
rcep
tion
of f
law
s i
n th
e de
sign
ref
lect
s ne
gativ
ely
on t
he d
esig
ner.
The
se a
rgu
men
ts a
re o
ften
for
mu
late
d a
nd p
ress
ed
hom
e w
ith g
rea
t em
otio
nal f
orce
as
ridi
cule
of
the
desi
gner
a
nd t
here
fore
, in
th
e m
inds
of
thos
e w
ho m
ake
the
m,
just
ifyin
g th
eir
scor
n to
wa
rds
the
des
ign.
The
mes
sage
co
ncer
ns w
hat t
he r
evel
atio
n o
f Go
d ca
lls t
he g
ospe
l, tr
ans
late
d in
to E
nglis
h fr
om t
he G
reek
wor
d eua
gg
elio
n w
hich
mea
ns t
he “
good
mes
-sa
ge.”
At
the
hea
rt o
f th
is g
ood
mes
sage
is t
he id
ea t
hat
God
ca
lled
the
wor
ld a
s w
e ob
serv
e it
into
exi
sten
ce f
or t
he s
ake
of
one
ma
n, a
spe
cia
l m
an
by w
hom
a
nd t
hrou
gh w
hom
He
dete
rmin
ed t
o a
ccom
plis
h gr
eat
thin
gs f
or
eter
nity
. S
o ce
ntra
l to
thi
s pu
rpos
e is
thi
s m
an
tha
t he
is
calle
d in
Scr
iptu
re t
he Lo
go
s. In
E
nglis
h, w
e m
ight
reg
ard
tha
t st
ate
men
t a
s ex
pres
sing
“th
e R
easo
n” –
the
rea
son
ultim
ate
ly f
or e
very
thin
g th
at
exis
ts.
The
apo
stle
Pa
ul,
in
exp
ound
ing
thes
e th
ings
, re
fers
to t
he
ete
rna
l p
urp
ose
wh
ich
He
pu
rpo
sed
in
Ch
rist
Jes
us
ou
r L
ord
(E
phes
ians
3:1
1).
The
rea
lity
of t
his
ma
n’s
life,
dea
th,
resu
rrec
tion
from
th
e de
ad,
and
his
asc
ensi
on i
nto
the
hea
vens
to
the
righ
t ha
nd o
f hi
s F
ath
er a
re
the
corn
erst
one
fact
s w
hich
def
y a
ny v
iew
of
the
wor
ld a
s a
pu
rely
ra
ndom
out
-co
me.
The
y a
lso,
whe
n ri
ghtly
con
side
red,
lay
to r
est
the
scor
ner’
s co
mpl
ain
t. I
f th
ere
wer
e no
t fla
ws
in t
he w
ork
resu
lting
fro
m t
he d
esig
n –
if th
e p
otte
ry f
ash
-io
ned
by t
he p
otte
r w
as
not
ma
rred
– t
hen
ther
e w
ould
ha
ve b
een
no n
eed
for
a m
essa
ge a
bout
a p
lan
to r
escu
e hu
ma
nity
fro
m i
ts p
redi
cam
ent.
The
mes
sage
ex
pla
ins
why
thi
s pr
edic
am
ent
has
aris
en,
on a
ccou
nt o
f m
an’
s do
ing
and
not
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
69
God
’s.
Any
ass
essm
ent
of t
he f
ulln
ess
of G
od’s
des
ign
cann
ot
be
cons
ider
ed
only
on
the
basi
s of
the
cre
ate
d or
der
He
has
brou
ght
into
bei
ng,
with
out
als
o co
nsid
erin
g th
e p
lan
for
its r
edem
ptio
n. I
nfor
ma
tion
abo
ut t
ha
t pl
an
can
only
be
gain
ed f
rom
con
side
ratio
n of
div
ine
reve
latio
n: it
is n
ot w
ritt
en in
na
ture
.
The
liv
ing
med
ium
by
whi
ch G
od c
hose
to
com
mun
icat
e th
is m
essa
ge t
o
ma
nkin
d is
a p
artic
ular
rac
e or
peo
ple
with
a n
atio
nal i
dent
ity: I
srae
l. T
hat
med
ium
ha
s se
rved
, no
t on
ly a
s a
mea
ns t
o b
ear
the
mes
sage
, bu
t a
lso
as
a w
it-ne
ss t
o its
tru
th.
One
wa
y in
whi
ch t
he m
essa
ge a
nd t
he m
edi
um
are
con
nect
ed
is b
y th
e fa
ct t
hat
the
ma
n fo
r w
hom
God
wro
ugh
t th
e w
orld
is a
mem
ber
of
tha
t na
tion,
one
of
the
peo
ple
of
Isra
el.
God
’s p
lan
requ
ired
the
dis
per
sion
of
Isra
el
thro
ugh
out
all
the
cou
ntri
es o
f th
e ea
rth
tha
t, i
n so
doi
ng,
they
mig
ht b
ear
His
m
essa
ge a
cros
s bo
th t
ime
and
inh
abi
ted
spa
ce.
It is
on
acc
ount
of
tha
t di
sper
-si
on,
for
exa
mp
le,
tha
t in
virt
ually
eve
ry c
ity o
f th
e R
oma
n E
mp
ire t
o w
hich
th
e a
post
les
carr
ied
the
mes
sage
, th
ere
wer
e Je
wis
h sy
nago
gues
est
abl
ishe
d w
here
th
e sc
riptu
res
of t
he la
w a
nd t
he p
rop
hets
wer
e a
vaila
ble
and
rev
eren
tly s
tudi
ed.
The
mes
sage
was
pre
dica
ted
on
the
prin
cipl
e th
at t
her
e w
as a
def
inite
pur
-po
se,
app
oint
ed in
adv
anc
e fo
r re
aliz
atio
n a
t a
spe
cific
tim
e, f
or b
ringi
ng a
n en
d to
hu
ma
n to
il un
der
the
law
of
sin
and
dea
th.
One
of
the
key
ste
ps in
the
acc
om-
plis
hmen
t of
tha
t co
nsu
mm
atio
n, i
n tu
rn,
requ
ired
tha
t th
e sc
att
ered
rem
nant
of
Isra
el b
e br
ough
t ba
ck f
rom
the
Gen
tile
land
s w
here
the
y dw
elt
to f
orm
an
inde
-pe
nden
t, s
over
eign
Jew
ish
natio
n a
gain
. T
hat
re-g
ath
erin
g pr
oces
s ha
s th
us f
ar
spa
nned
ove
r 11
0 ye
ars
, be
ginn
ing
with
the
birt
h of
mod
ern
Zio
nism
in
the
late
ni
nete
enth
cen
tury
and
con
tinu
ing
to t
he p
rese
nt.
As
we
cons
ider
the
tor
turo
us h
isto
ry o
f th
e Je
wis
h pe
opl
e thr
ough
the
lon
g ce
n-tu
ries
of t
heir
disp
ersi
on u
p t
o th
eir
emer
-ge
nce
as
an
inde
pen
dent
sta
te,
sanc
tione
d by
a r
esol
utio
n of
the
UN
Gen
era
l Ass
em-
bly,
it is
nec
essa
ry t
o re
nder
a d
ecis
ion.
Is
this
hi
stor
y pu
rely
ha
ppen
sta
nce
−
the
resu
lt of
cha
nce,
or
is t
here
a s
uper
inte
nd-
ing
Pro
vide
nce
at
wor
k, t
hat
first
occ
a-
sion
ed t
he d
isp
ersi
on o
f Is
rael
and
the
n a
cted
to
brin
g it,
in m
easu
re,
to a
n en
d? T
he m
ore
fam
ilia
r w
e a
re w
ith t
he h
is-
tory
of
Isra
el,
the
mor
e lik
ely
we
are to
conf
ess
the
role
of
a d
ivin
e ha
nd i
n Is
-ra
el’s
sur
viva
l and
re-
gath
erin
g.
For
exa
mpl
e, in
the
tw
entie
th c
entu
ry,
the
wor
ld w
as in
volve
d in
tw
o gr
eat
conf
licts
so
vast
in
thei
r ex
tent
and
dur
atio
n th
at
they
are
kno
wn
to
hist
ory
as
the
first
and
sec
ond
“wor
ld”
wa
rs.
Whi
le I
sra
el w
as
not
the
ost
ensi
ble
ca
use
or
rea
son
for
eith
er c
onfli
ct,
its d
estin
y w
as
ma
rked
ly a
ffe
cted
by
both
. In
the
Firs
t
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
70
Wor
ld W
ar,
the
dec
isio
n of
Tur
key
to a
lign
itsel
f w
ith Germ
any
res
ulte
d in
Tur
-ke
y’s
com
ing
into
con
flict
with
Brit
ain
, a
nd l
osin
g its
Mi
ddle
Ea
ster
n te
rrito
ry,
incl
udi
ng P
ale
stin
e a
nd J
erus
ale
m,
to t
he B
ritis
h a
rmy.
Thi
s te
rrito
ry’s
com
ing
unde
r th
e B
ritis
h fla
g op
ened
the
doo
r fo
r th
e L
eagu
e of
Na
tion
s to
con
fer
the
ma
nda
te f
or g
over
ning
Pa
lest
ine
to B
rita
in,
by w
hich
dev
elop
men
t it
wa
s pl
ace
d in
a p
ositi
on t
o en
abl
e Je
wis
h im
mig
ratio
n to
Pa
lest
ine
and
the
flo
uris
hing
of
Zio
nist
ent
erpr
ise
ther
e. I
n th
e S
econ
d W
orld
Wa
r, H
itler
’s G
erm
any
wa
s co
n-su
med
with
ha
tred
aga
inst
the
Jew
s so
inte
nsel
y th
at
the
Na
zi r
egim
e w
as
dete
r-m
ined
to
exte
rmin
ate
the
Jew
ish
race
in
Eur
ope.
Hitl
er’s
di
abo
lica
l “fin
al
solu
-tio
n,”
whi
ch b
olst
ered
the
eff
ectiv
enes
s of
the
org
ani
zed
kill
ing
squa
ds t
hat
op-
era
ted
beh
ind
the
adv
anc
e of
Ger
ma
n lin
es i
n th
e ea
st w
ith t
he c
onst
ruct
ion
of
gas
cha
mb
ers
and
cre
ma
toria
for
ma
ss s
laug
hter
in
Pol
and
, to
whi
ch J
ews
fro
m
all
over
occ
upie
d E
urop
e w
ere
roun
ded
up a
nd s
hip
ped
by
tra
in,
deci
ma
ted
Eur
opea
n Je
wry
. O
nly
one-
third
wer
e le
ft in
Eur
ope
at
wa
r’s
end
, tw
o-th
irds
havi
ng b
een
kille
d b
y th
e N
azi
s. W
hen
thes
e a
troc
ities
bec
am
e w
idel
y kn
own
to
the
wor
ld,
ther
e w
as
suff
icie
nt s
ympa
thy
in t
he U
nite
d N
ati
ons
for
the
Jew
ish
plig
ht t
o m
uste
r th
e po
litic
al
supp
ort
for
the
emer
gen
ce o
f th
e Je
wis
h st
ate
in
part
ition
ed P
ale
stin
e. L
ike
the
roll
of t
he d
ice,
ea
ch s
tude
nt o
f hi
stor
y ne
eds
to
deci
de i
f th
ese
even
ts w
ere
pure
ly r
and
om o
r w
heth
er t
hey
test
ify t
o de
liber
ate
pa
tter
n a
nd d
esig
n th
at
bea
rs w
itnes
s to
the
ha
nd o
f a
Hig
her
Pow
er a
t w
ork.
Fro
m o
ur s
tand
poin
t, t
he i
ssu
e of
des
ign
and
pa
tter
n in
the
thi
ngs
conc
erni
ng
Isra
el i
s b
eyon
d a
ll do
ubt
att
ribut
abl
e to
God
’s h
and
and
con
firm
s th
e m
essa
ge
He
set
on r
ecor
d m
any
cen
turi
es b
efor
eha
nd i
n th
e p
age
s of
S
crip
ture
. It
is a
pa
radi
gm t
hat
ma
kes
sens
e of
his
tory
and
of
pres
ent
even
ts i
n th
e w
orld
and
gi
ves
us h
ope
for
the
futu
re.
The
ora
cles
of
God
re
vea
l the
me
ssa
ge;
the
natio
n of
Isr
ael
is
the
med
ium
giv
en t
o b
e th
eir
cust
odia
ns (
Rom
an
s 3
:1);
the
Lo
go
s ca
me
in t
he f
lesh
, se
en a
nd h
and
led
of w
itnes
ses
(Joh
n 1:
14,
1 Jo
hn 1
:1),
his
tory
be
arin
g w
itnes
s to
the
tru
th r
evea
led;
and
the
fut
ure
will
sho
w t
hat,
Eye
ha
th n
ot
seen
, n
or
ear
hea
rd,
nei
ther
ha
ve e
nte
red
int
o t
he
hea
rt o
f m
an,
th
e th
in
gs
wh
ich
Go
d h
ath
pre
pa
red
for
them
th
at lo
ve h
im (
1 C
orin
thia
ns 2
:9).
Ja
mes
Fa
rra
r, Gri
msb
y, O
N
Wo
rld
Wa
r I
lea
ds
to J
ew
ish
col
oniz
a-
tion
of P
ale
stin
e
unde
r B
ritis
h M
an
-d
ate
Wo
rld
Wa
r II
lea
ds
to U
N r
eco
gniti
on
of I
srae
l as
a s
ove
r-e
ign
nat
ion
afte
r Je
ws
of E
uro
pe a
re
deci
mat
ed
Six
Da
y w
ar
in
1967
: Is
rae
l re
-un
ites
Jeru
sale
m
Firs
t G
ulf
Wa
r in
19
91:
Isra
el s
urvi
ves
SC
UD
mis
sile
s fr
om
Ir
aq
Wo
rld
Wa
r II
I: a
ll n
atio
ns c
om
e
aga
inst
Je
rusa
lem
. T
he B
ible
de
clar
es
the
out
com
e.
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
71
A
rcha
eolo
gy
Dis
cove
ries
from
the
Pas
t tha
t Con
firm
the
Bib
le
The
dis
cip
line
of B
iblic
al
Arc
haeo
logy
pro
vide
s su
ppor
t a
nd
unde
rsta
ndin
g fo
r th
e ve
raci
ty o
f th
e S
crip
ture
s, h
owev
er,
its p
urpo
se i
s no
t to
“p
rove
” th
e B
ible
.
Rob
ert
Bra
dsha
w
in
his
1992
pa
per
on
A
rch
aeo
log
y a
nd
th
e P
atr
iarc
hs
(Bib
lica
l Stu
dies
. O
rg.u
k) n
otes
, “Y
ahw
eh i
s un
iqu
ely
the
God
who
act
s in
his
-to
ry,
and
ina
smuc
h a
s ar
cha
eolo
gy s
heds
lig
ht o
n th
at
hist
ory
it is
im
por
tant
to
Bib
lica
l st
udi
es.”
W
.S.
Laso
r in
“A
rcha
eolo
gy”
in t
he Inter
natio
nal
Sta
nda
rd
Bib
le E
ncyc
lop
edia
(G
rand
Ra
pids
: Eer
dma
n’s
1979
) p
oint
s ou
t th
at
“fa
ith d
oes
not
ask
for
pro
of,
but
arc
haeo
logy
pro
vide
s a
con
text
of
rea
lity
for
the
Bib
lica
l st
ory
and
a r
easo
nabi
lity
for
Bib
lica
l fa
ith.”
It
is
from
thi
s p
ersp
ectiv
e th
at
the
follo
win
g sa
mpl
es o
f a
rcha
eolo
gica
l ev
iden
ce c
orro
bor
atin
g th
e S
crip
ture
s a
re
pres
ente
d.
AN
TIQ
UIT
IES
& E
AR
LY A
RC
HA
EO
LOG
ICA
L E
VID
EN
CE
In t
he 1
8th a
nd 1
9th c
entu
ries
a g
row
ing
Eur
opea
n fie
ld in
tere
st in
the
gre
at
past
ci
viliz
atio
ns o
f th
e M
iddl
e E
ast
(S
umer
, A
kka
dia
, A
ssyr
ia,
Ba
bylo
nia
, P
ersi
a,
Egy
pt),
ce
nter
ed
prin
cipa
lly
on
the
sea
rch
for
larg
e im
pres
siv
e ite
ms
of
“ant
iqu
ity”
to b
e ta
ken
back
to
mus
eum
s in
Lon
don,
Par
is,
Ber
lin,
etc.
N
otw
ith-
sta
ndin
g th
e fr
equ
ent
laxi
ty o
f si
te-d
ocu
men
tatio
n a
nd c
onte
xt-s
ensi
tive
met
h-od
s re
gard
ing
the
prov
ena
nce
of i
tem
s fo
und
, th
is e
arl
y p
eri
od y
ield
ed s
ome
of
the
mos
t im
pres
sive
evi
denc
e ex
tant
tod
ay
tha
t is
sup
port
ive
of
the
Old
Tes
ta-
men
t re
cord
. S
ome
exa
mp
les
from
thi
s A
ntiq
uiti
es/E
arly
A
rcha
eolo
gy P
erio
d a
re r
evie
wed
bel
ow.
Firs
t –
Unr
avel
ing
the
Lang
uage
s: T
wo
unre
late
d di
scov
erie
s of
tril
ingu
al
insc
riptio
ns i
n st
one
duri
ng t
his
per
iod
led
to u
nra
velin
g th
e m
yste
ries
of
Egy
p-tia
n hi
erog
lyp
hic
sym
bols
and
Mes
opot
am
ian
cune
iform
cha
rac
ters
.
The
firs
t tr
iling
ual
reco
rd w
as t
he “
Ros
etta
Sto
ne”
disc
over
ed i
n 17
99 b
y on
e of
Na
pol
eon’
s so
ldie
rs w
hile
dig
ging
a t
renc
h in
Egy
pt.
It co
nta
ined
a m
es-
sage
in
thre
e la
ngua
ges:
H
iero
glyp
hic,
Dem
otic
(a
hie
rogl
yphi
c sh
orth
and
) a
nd
Gre
ek.
In 1
822
a y
oung
Fre
nch
scho
lar
used
the
Gre
ek t
o fin
ally
unl
ock
the
Hi-
erog
lyp
hics
and
thi
s le
d to
op
enin
g up
the
va
st 3
000+
yea
r ol
d E
gypt
ian
insc
rip-
tions
of
the
Nile
ba
sin
to t
he w
orld
. T
wo
exa
mpl
es a
re:
The
sto
ne s
tele
of
Pha
rao
h M
enep
tah
(c.1
215
B.C
.)
wa
s di
scov
ered
in
1896
a
t T
heb
es,
Egy
pt.
Its h
iero
glyp
hics
pro
vide
irre
futa
ble
conf
irm
atio
n of
the
pre
s-en
ce o
f Is
rael
as
a p
eop
le i
n th
e la
nd o
f C
ana
an
at
the
tim
e of
the
Jud
ges.
It
is
the
olde
st
know
n ex
tra
-Bib
lica
l re
fere
nce
to
Isra
el
exta
nt
tod
ay.
T
he
text
re
ads
… “
Ca
naa
n is
plu
nder
ed w
ith e
very
evi
l w
ay.
A
shke
lon
is
conq
uer
ed a
nd
brou
ght
aw
ay
capt
ive,
G
ezer
se
ized
, Y
ano
am
m
ade
no
nexi
sten
t,
Isra
el is
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
72
wa
sted
, ba
re o
f se
ed…
” (e
mp
hasi
s a
dded
).
The
rec
ord
of
Pha
rao
h S
hosh
enq
(Shi
shak
- 9
44-9
24
BC
) fo
und
on
the
sout
h w
all
of t
he g
rea
t te
mp
le o
f A
mon
at
Ka
rna
k, E
gypt
is
an
othe
r ex
am
ple.
Her
e S
hish
ak
reco
rded
his
10
th C
entu
ry B
.C.
mili
tary
ca
mpa
ign
aga
inst
Ju
dea
and
K
ing
Reh
oboa
m.
In
it he
list
s th
e ci
ties
he s
ack
ed in
clud
ing
Jer
usa
lem
, G
ibeo
n,
and
Meg
iddo
. T
he B
ible
in 1
Kin
gs 1
4:25
-26
and
2 C
hron
icle
s 12
: 2-4
, 9
rela
tes
this
inva
sion
in t
he 5th
yea
r of
Reh
oboa
m’s
rei
gn.
The
sec
ond
tril
ing
ual
key
to a
ncie
nt l
ang
uag
es w
as f
oun
d in
183
3 by
Sir
H
enry
Ra
wlin
son
whi
le i
n P
ersi
a t
o or
gani
ze t
he S
hah’
s a
rmy.
He
disc
over
ed
tha
t th
e hu
ge a
ncie
nt i
nscr
iptio
n ca
rved
hig
h on
the
fa
ce o
f M
t. B
ehis
tun
wa
s in
th
ree
diff
eren
t cu
neifo
rm s
yste
ms:
Old
Per
sia
n, E
lam
ite a
nd A
kka
dia
n. B
y 18
36
he m
ana
ged
to t
rans
late
the
Old
Per
sia
n a
nd b
y 18
45 t
he o
ther
tw
o la
ngua
ges
wer
e de
cip
here
d. W
ith t
his
brea
kthr
ough
, sc
hola
rs w
ere
now
abl
e to
rea
d th
e m
eani
ng o
f lit
era
lly t
hous
and
s of
cu
neifo
rm r
ecor
ds f
rom
all
over
Mes
opot
am
ia.
One
res
ult,
am
ong
othe
rs,
has
been
the
dis
cove
ry o
f dr
am
atic
ev
iden
ce c
orro
bo-
ratin
g th
e O
ld T
esta
men
t hi
stor
y of
Isr
ael
and
Jud
ah.
Som
e ex
am
ples
are
:
The
Bla
ck O
belis
k o
f Sha
lman
eser
III w
hich
wa
s un
cove
red
by
Aus
ten
Hen
ry
Laya
rd in
184
5 a
t N
imru
d.
Thi
s se
ven
foot
hig
h b
lack
sto
ne p
ris
m i
s in
scrib
ed
with
pic
ture
s a
nd c
une
iform
on
all
four
sid
es a
nd c
lea
rly
show
s K
ing
Jehu
of
Isra
el b
owin
g to
the
gro
und
and
pa
ying
trib
ute
mon
ies
to S
halm
ane
ser
III.
The
cu
neifo
rm t
ext
iden
tifie
s th
e pr
ostr
ate
Kin
g a
s “J
ehu
the
son
of
Om
ri”
and
als
o m
entio
ns H
aza
el o
f A
ram
/Da
ma
scus
(se
e 2
Kin
gs 8
:7-1
5 &
10:
28-3
6).
The
Nam
e o
f T
igla
th-P
ilese
r III
: I
n 1
Chr
onic
les
5:2
6 th
e b
egin
ning
of
the
Ass
yria
n ca
ptiv
ity o
f th
e no
rthe
rn k
ingd
om o
f Is
rael
is d
escr
ib
ed t
husl
y: An
d t
he
Lo
rd G
od
of
Isra
el s
tirre
d u
p t
he
spiri
t of
Pu
l, K
ing
of
Ass
yria
, a
nd
th
e sp
irit
of
Tig
lath
-Piln
eser
, ki
ng
of
Ass
yria
an
d h
e ca
rrie
d a
wa
y ev
en t
he
Reu
ben
ites
an
d
Ga
dite
s, a
nd t
he
hal
f tr
ibe
of
Ma
nass
eh,
and
bro
ugh
t th
em i
nto
Ha
lah
an
d H
ab
or,
and
Ha
ra,
an
d to
th
e riv
er G
oza
n, u
nto
th
is d
ay.
A
t fir
st t
his
seem
s to
be
a c
ontr
adi
ctio
n by
des
crib
ing
two
sepa
rate
kin
gs o
f A
ssyr
ia w
ith t
he n
am
es o
f P
ul a
nd T
igla
th-P
ilnes
er.
2 K
ings
15:
19-2
0 te
lls u
s th
at
Men
ahe
m,
Kin
g of
Is-
rael
, pa
id t
ribut
e to
Pul
, K
ing
of A
ssyr
ia,
to s
ave
his
ca
pita
l, S
am
aria
, fr
om d
e-st
ruct
ion.
Ass
yria
n sc
hola
rs a
gree
tha
t du
ring
the
first
pa
rt o
f M
ena
hem
’s 1
0
yea
r re
ign,
aro
und
746
B.C
., a
usu
rper
na
med
Tig
lath
-Pile
ser
seiz
ed t
he A
ssyr
-ia
n th
rone
and
rul
ed f
or s
ome
18 y
ears
. C
unei
form
rec
ords
on
cla
y ta
blet
s fo
und
a
t N
imru
d ha
ve s
ilenc
ed t
he c
ritic
’s c
ry t
hat
the
Bib
le i
s fa
lse.
Tw
o se
para
te
tabl
ets
give
pa
ralle
l acc
ount
s fo
r th
is A
ssyr
ian
mon
arc
h, t
he o
ne u
ses
Pul
, th
e
othe
r us
es T
igla
th-P
ilese
r III
. T
he f
act
is,
the
usu
rper
, P
ul (
Pul
u) c
hang
ed h
is
nam
e to
Tig
lath
-Pile
ser
(as
the
third
mon
arc
h to
cho
ose
tha
t tit
le)
in o
rder
to
enha
nce
his
aut
horit
y/le
gitim
acy
. In
tere
stin
gly,
the
Heb
rew
idi
om i
n 1
Chr
oni-
cles
5:2
6 th
at
brid
ges
the
two
nam
es w
ith “
and
” ca
n a
ppar
ent
ly a
lso
be
tra
ns-
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
73
late
d “e
ven,
” th
us t
he t
ext
can
app
ropr
iate
ly b
e u
nder
stoo
d to
rea
d...
the
spiri
t o
f P
ul,
Kin
g o
f A
ssyr
ia,
even
the
spir
it o
f T
igla
th-P
ilese
r K
ing
o
f A
ssyr
ia
(em
pha
sis
add
ed).
A
rcha
eolo
gica
l cu
neifo
rm
evid
ence
pre
serv
ed
in
nea
rly
3000
yea
r ol
d cl
ay
tabl
ets
now
cor
robo
rate
s th
is r
ende
ring
!
In a
dditi
on,
the
reco
rd o
f K
ing
Men
ahe
m g
ivin
g tr
ibut
e to
‘Pul
’ i
n or
der
to b
uy
off
the
dest
ruct
ion
of S
am
aria
as
reco
rded
in
2 K
ings
15:
19-2
0 is
als
o co
rrob
o-ra
ted
by
one
of t
he ‘T
igla
th-P
ilese
r’s’
ow
n cu
neifo
rm in
scr
iptio
ns t
hat
rea
ds:
“I
rece
ived
trib
ute
from
Men
ahe
m o
f S
am
aria
…Li
ke a
bir
d a
lone
he
fled
and
sub
-m
itted
to
me.
”
The
Cla
y P
rism
of
Sar
gon
II di
scov
ered
in
Kho
rsa
bab
in 1
843
by P
. E
. B
otta
te
lls o
f a
sie
ge o
f S
am
aria
, th
e ta
king
aw
ay
of c
apt
ives
a
nd r
epla
cing
the
m w
ith
Ass
yria
n ca
ptiv
es f
rom
oth
er l
and
s. I
t re
ads
, “I
bes
iege
d a
nd c
apt
ured
Sa
ma
ria
and
ca
rrie
d of
f 27
,290
of
its in
habi
tant
s a
s b
ooty
… T
he c
ity I
reb
uilt
bet
ter
tha
n it
wa
s be
fore
and
set
tled
ther
ein
peo
ple
fro
m c
ount
ries
whi
ch I
mys
elf
had
con-
quer
ed.”
Thi
s A
ssyr
ian
pra
ctic
e of
rep
laci
ng c
apt
ives
with
for
eign
ers
is c
lea
rly
seen
in 2
Kin
gs 1
7:5-
6 a
nd 2
3-24
.
The
Hex
ago
nal C
lay
Pris
m o
f Sen
nach
erib
disc
over
ed a
t N
inev
eh.
Thi
s a
rti-
fact
boa
sts
of t
he v
icto
ries
of
Sen
nach
erib
but
nev
er m
entio
ns a
ny d
efea
ts.
It te
lls o
f th
e si
ege
of J
erus
ale
m in
701
B.C
. du
ring
the
reig
n of
Hez
ekia
h, k
ing
of
Juda
h, a
nd s
ays
… “
I sh
ut u
p H
ezek
iah,
the
Ju
dahi
te,
like
a c
age
d b
ird w
ithin
Je
rusa
lem
his
ow
n ro
yal
city
.” I
n th
ree
acc
ount
s (2
Kin
gs
18:1
3 -
19:3
7; 2
C
hron
icle
s 32
and
Isa
iah
36 &
37)
the
Bib
le c
lea
rly o
utli
nes
Ya
hweh
’s m
iracu
-lo
us d
efea
t of
Sen
nach
erib
’s m
ight
y a
rmy
bes
iegi
ng J
erus
ale
m.
If
Sen
nach
erib
ha
d br
each
ed t
he c
ity,
conq
uer
ed H
ezek
iah
and
ta
ken
capt
ives
fro
m
Jeru
sale
m,
one
wou
ld e
xpec
t th
is ‘b
oast
ing’
pris
m t
o hi
ghlig
ht s
uch
a s
igna
l ev
ent.
Und
er-
sta
nda
bly,
it s
ays
not
hing
of
‘vic
tory
’ at
Jeru
sale
m j
ust
as
it sa
ys n
othi
ng o
f hi
s de
fea
t th
ere.
It
is in
tere
stin
g to
not
e, h
owev
er,
tha
t E
gypt
ian
sour
ces
of t
he d
ay
do m
entio
n th
e A
ssyr
ian
defe
at
at
Jeru
sale
m.
The
y cl
aim
ed i
t w
as
one
of t
heir
go
ds w
ho s
ent
field
mic
e in
to t
he A
ssyr
ian
cam
p a
t ni
ght
to e
at
up a
ll th
eir
bow
-st
rings
, re
nder
ing
the
sold
iers
una
ble
to f
ight
, th
us f
orci
ng S
enna
cher
ib t
o fle
e ba
ck t
o N
inev
eh.
Suc
h w
as
the
prop
aga
nda
of
one
grea
t m
ilita
ry
pow
er a
gain
st
ano
ther
eve
n in
tho
se d
ays
!
An
am
azi
ng e
vent
ass
ocia
ted
with
Sen
nach
erib
’s s
iege
of
Jer
usa
lem
wa
s th
e ur
gent
wor
k b
efor
e th
e si
ege
of H
ezek
iah’
s en
gine
ers
to s
ecu
re a
vita
l w
ate
r so
urce
sa
fely
with
in t
he c
ity d
efen
ses.
Tun
nelin
g un
der
Jeru
sa
lem
fro
m o
ppos
ite
ends
the
y lin
ked
toge
ther
the
Gih
on S
prin
g ju
st o
utsi
de t
he w
all
in t
he
Kid
ron
Va
lley
on t
he e
ast
sid
e of
Jer
usa
lem
to
the
pool
of
Silo
am
30
fee
t lo
wer
ins
ide
the
city
wa
lls m
ore
tha
n 17
00 f
eet
to t
he s
outh
wes
t.
The
y s
topp
ed u
p th
e ex
ter-
nal
flow
s of
the
Gih
on a
nd r
edir
ecte
d a
ll its
wa
ters
thr
ou
gh t
his
secr
et t
unne
l in
to J
erus
ale
m o
nly.
Thi
s lo
ng t
wis
ting
‘S’ s
hape
d tu
nnel
wa
s co
mp
lete
d w
hen
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
74
the
wor
kmen
fro
m e
ach
end
met
in
the
mid
dle.
The
Am
eric
an
Ori
enta
list,
Ed-
wa
rd R
obin
son,
dis
cove
red
the
tunn
el i
n 18
38 a
nd l
ate
r, i
n 18
80,
a y
ou
ng b
oy
acc
iden
tally
dis
cove
red
a H
ebre
w i
nscr
iptio
n ca
rved
int
o th
e tu
nnel
wa
ll ne
ar
the
cent
er w
here
the
tw
o te
am
s m
et.
Thi
s no
w f
am
ous
‘Silo
am
Ins
crip
tion’
de-
scrib
es h
ow t
he t
wo
tea
ms
met
in
the
mid
dle
by
liste
ning
fo
r th
e so
und
of
each
ot
her’
s vo
ices
and
ha
mm
ers.
Thi
s in
cred
ible
fea
t, b
less
ed b
y Y
ahw
eh,
and
re-
disc
over
ed t
hous
and
s of
yea
rs l
ate
r, d
ram
atic
ally
con
firm
s th
e ve
raci
ty o
f 2
C
hron
icle
s 32
:2-4
and
2 K
ings
20:
20.
Man
y ot
her
arch
aeo
log
ical
fin
ds f
rom
the
sub
sequ
ent
em
pires
of
Bab
ylo
n an
d P
ersi
a pr
ovid
e si
mila
r co
nfirm
atio
n o
f th
e S
crip
ture
s. B
aby
loni
an
cu-
neifo
rm t
abl
ets
men
tioni
ng r
atio
ns f
or c
apt
ive
Jeho
iach
in,
Ki
ng o
f Ju
dah,
and
ot
her
rela
tives
(cf
. 2
Kin
gs 2
4:10
-16)
and
the
Ba
bylo
nia
n C
hron
icle
ta
blet
s re
-co
rdin
g th
e ca
ptur
e of
Jer
usa
lem
by
Neb
ucha
dnez
zar
(cf.
2 K
ings
25
:8-1
1) a
re
exa
mp
les.
The
‘Cyr
us C
ylin
der’
writ
ten
in Ba
bylo
nia
n cu
neifo
rm a
fter
Cyr
us I
I co
nqu
ered
Ba
bylo
n in
539
B.C
. se
ts o
ut h
is t
oler
ant
vie
ws
on t
he
trea
tmen
t of
co
nqu
ered
peo
ples
and
the
ir rig
ht t
o re
ligio
us f
reed
om.
Its
to
ne a
nd i
nten
t co
r-re
late
str
ongl
y w
ith t
he B
ible
rec
ord
of h
is p
rocl
am
atio
n a
llow
ing
the
Jew
ish
capt
ives
in
Ba
bylo
n to
ret
urn
to J
erus
ale
m t
o re
build
the
tem
ple.
(S
ee 2
Chr
oni-
cles
36:
22-2
3, I
saia
h 44
:28
and
Ezr
a 1
all)
PO
ST
19th
CE
NT
UR
Y A
RC
HA
EO
LOG
ICA
L E
VID
EN
CE
The
wor
k of
Sir
Flin
ders
Pet
rie
from
189
0 to
192
0 a
nd t
he w
ork
of W
illia
m F
. A
lbri
ght
from
192
0 to
the
196
0’s
had
a p
rofo
und
impa
ct o
n 20
th C
entu
ry P
ale
s-tin
ian
and
Bib
lica
l Arc
haeo
logy
. A
s a
res
ult
of t
heir
wor
k i
t b
eca
me
mor
e sc
ien-
tific
and
sys
tem
atic
as
wel
l a
s m
ore
inte
gra
ted
wit
h hi
stor
ica
l/cul
tura
l ge
ogra
-ph
y, B
iblic
al
rese
arc
h, a
nd g
ener
al
Nea
r E
ast
ern
Stu
dies
. S
pace
her
e a
llow
s on
ly a
sho
rt l
istin
g of
a f
ew B
ible
-rel
eva
nt a
rcha
eolo
gica
l fin
ding
s si
nce
1900
. In
app
roxi
ma
te c
hron
olog
ica
l ord
er t
hey
are
:
The
Gez
er C
alen
dar (
D\d
ate
d c.
925
-100
0 B
.C.?
) fo
und
at
anc
ient
Gez
er
nort
hwes
t of
Jer
usa
lem
in
1908
by
R.A
. M
aca
liste
r. I
t lis
ts
ann
ual
agr
icu
ltura
l ta
sks
by m
onth
. It
show
s cl
ear
evid
ence
of
liter
acy
in I
sra
el a
t thi
s tim
e.
The
Lac
hish
Ost
raca
fou
nd a
t a
ncie
nt L
ach
ish
sout
h w
est
of J
erus
ale
m i
n th
e
1930
’s b
y Ja
mes
Sta
rkey
. T
hese
are
pot
tery
sha
rds
tha
t w
ere
used
as
‘scr
ap
pa-
per’
to
send
urg
ent
mes
sage
s a
bout
the
con
ditio
ns ju
st b
efor
e t
he 1
st B
aby
loni
an
inva
sion
. L
ette
r #3
ref
ers
to w
arn
ings
fro
m “
the
prop
het,
” #4
sa
ys L
ach
ish
an
d A
zeka
h a
re a
mon
g th
e la
st t
o co
me
und
er s
iege
(Je
rem
iah
34:7
) a
nd #
6 te
lls o
f co
nsp
iracy
in la
ngua
ge t
hat
echo
es J
erem
iah
38:4
,19.
Col
laps
ed W
alls
of J
eric
ho in
vest
iga
ted
by
Ga
rsta
ng i
n th
e 19
30’s
, K
enyo
n in
th
e 19
50’s
and
Woo
d in
the
198
0’s
- 90
. P
hysi
cal
evid
ence
(es
pec
ially
fro
m
Ken
yon’
s w
ork)
sho
ws
sudd
en c
ata
stro
phic
des
truc
tion
and
bur
ning
con
sist
ent
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
75
with
Jos
hua
6:2
0, 2
4. G
arst
ang
da
ted
it to
140
0 B
.C.
and
Ken
yon
to
1550
B.C
. W
ood
endo
rses
Ga
rsta
ng’s
da
ting.
Dea
d S
ea S
cro
lls disc
over
ed 6
0 ye
ars
ago
(19
47-5
6) i
n ca
ves
at
Qu
mra
n ne
ar
the
Dea
d S
ea.
Bib
lica
l and
non
-Bib
lica
l ma
nusc
ripts
in H
ebr
ew,
Gre
ek a
nd A
ra-
ma
ic w
ere
fou
nd.
The
re a
re o
ver
800
docu
men
ts a
nd t
hous
and
s of
fra
gmen
ts
datin
g fr
om t
he 1st
- 3
rd c
entu
ries
B.C
. T
he c
omp
lete
scr
oll o
f Is
aia
h is
the
mos
t sp
ecta
cula
r fin
d. W
hen
com
pare
d to
the
pre
viou
s ol
dest
sou
rces
for
Isa
iah
(nea
rly
1000
yea
rs y
oung
er),
thi
s sc
roll
and
Ma
sore
tic t
exts
are
virt
ually
iden
ti-ca
l. T
his
prov
ides
a p
ower
ful c
ase
for
the
rel
iabi
lity
of t
he S
crip
ture
s ov
er t
ime.
Tem
ple
Mo
unt
Stu
dies
ha
ve b
een
grea
tly e
xten
ded
sinc
e th
e 6
Da
y W
ar
of
1967
. T
he i
nitia
l wor
k of
Ben
jam
in M
aza
r a
nd t
he w
ork
of
Lee
n a
nd K
ath
lee
n R
itmey
er u
ncov
ered
the
Sec
ond
Tem
ple
Pre
-Her
odia
n w
alls
. T
his
is t
he m
ost
defin
itive
ass
essm
ent
to d
ate
of
the
Tem
ple
Mou
nt b
ound
ari
es a
nd w
alls
fro
m
the
pre-
Her
odia
n p
erio
d. W
ork
at
the
sout
hwes
t co
rner
rev
eals
eith
er S
econ
d T
emp
le f
ound
atio
n el
emen
ts o
r po
ssib
ly S
olom
onic
fou
nda
tion
blo
cks.
The
Ebl
a T
able
ts fr
om T
el M
ard
ikh
in n
orth
ern
Syr
ia,
exca
vate
d b
y P
aol
o M
att
haie
196
4-19
75+
rea
ch f
ar
back
int
o B
ible
tim
es.
Fift
een
thou
sand
cla
y ta
blet
s in
cu
neifo
rm w
ere
fou
nd i
n a
lib
rary
tho
ugh
t to
b
e a
ssoc
iate
d w
ith r
oy-
alty
. M
any
da
te t
o 3rd C
entu
ry B
.C.
and
som
e ev
en a
s fa
r ba
ck a
s th
e tim
e of
A
bra
ham
. It
has
been
rep
orte
d th
at
seve
ral B
ible
pla
ces
, U
r, S
odom
, G
omor
rah,
H
ara
n, L
ach
ish,
Jer
usa
lem
, H
azo
r, M
egid
do,
etc.
and
na
mes
suc
h a
s A
bra
ham
, Is
rael
, E
sau,
Da
vid
and
Mic
ah
wer
e di
scov
ered
in
Eb
alit
e,
a S
emiti
c la
ngua
ge
rese
mb
ling
anc
ient
Heb
rew
. T
here
is
inte
nse
arc
heol
ogic
al
dis
pute
ove
r th
ese
earl
y cl
aim
s a
nd t
he m
att
er is
stil
l fa
r fr
om s
ettle
d.
The
Syr
ian
gove
rnm
ent
con-
tinu
es t
o w
ithho
ld f
ull p
ublic
atio
n of
the
tex
ts.
Tel
Dan
Ste
le (d
ate
d 9th
Cen
tury
B.C
.) d
isco
vere
d in
199
4 by
Avr
aha
m B
iran
in
nort
hern
Ga
lilee
. T
his
is a
bro
ken
vict
ory
stel
e of
a n
orth
ern
king
des
crib
ing
his
conq
ues
ts o
ver
Isra
el.
It
cont
ain
s th
e p
hra
ses,
‘K
ing
of
Isra
el’
and
‘H
ouse
of
Da
vid.
’ Thi
s is
the
ea
rlies
t ex
tra
-Bib
lica
l ref
eren
ce t
o th
e ro
yal l
ine
of D
avi
d.
The
Poo
l of S
iloam
: Rec
ently
in 2
004
deep
er e
xca
vatio
ns a
t th
is J
erus
ale
m s
ite
unco
vere
d, a
t a lo
wer
ele
vatio
n, t
he t
rue
anc
ient
poo
l of
Silo
am
(Jo
hn 9
:11)
.
The
Gat
h O
stra
con
(a p
otte
ry f
ragm
ent)
wa
s fo
und
in
2005
by
Are
n M
asi
r a
t T
el e
s-S
afi
(Bib
lica
l Ga
th o
f th
e P
hilis
tines
).
Thi
s sh
ard
ha
s ni
ne le
tter
s in
cise
d in
to it
rep
rese
ntin
g tw
o na
mes
. L
ingu
istic
ally
the
y a
re c
onne
cted
to
‘Gol
iath
.’
IN S
UM
MA
RY
Thi
s sh
ort
art
icle
is a
bri
ef g
lanc
e a
t a
muc
h la
rger
bod
y o
f a
rcha
eolo
gica
l ev
i-de
nce
tha
t su
ppor
ts t
he v
era
city
of
the
Bib
le.
The
com
mon
thr
ead
is t
hat
thes
e
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
76
long
sile
nt t
estim
onie
s sp
eak
to u
s to
day
with
sur
enes
s a
nd a
con
sta
ncy
un-
cha
nged
thr
ough
the
age
s. T
hey
enco
ura
ge o
ur f
aith
tha
t G
od’s
wor
d is
tru
e,
sure
, st
eadf
ast
, a
nd a
lam
p to
our
fee
t in
a d
ark
enin
g a
ge.
We
do w
ell t
o re
me
m-
ber
thes
e en
duri
ng w
ords
, Hea
ven
an
d e
art
h s
ha
ll p
ass
aw
ay,
bu
t m
y w
ord
s sh
all
no
t pa
ss a
wa
y (Ma
tthe
w 2
4:35
).
Ja
mes
Ho
rto
n, G
rim
sby,
ON
The
Sea
l of H
agab
In
arc
haeo
logi
cal
exca
vatio
ns t
he I
sra
el A
ntiq
uitie
s A
uth
orit
y is
ca
rryi
ng o
ut a
t th
e b
ehes
t of
the
Wes
tern
Wa
ll H
erita
ge F
ound
atio
n, in
th
e no
rthw
este
rn p
art
of
the
Wes
tern
Wa
ll pl
aza
in
Jeru
sale
m,
a r
are
and
im
pre
ssi
ve H
ebre
w s
eal
wa
s di
scov
ered
tha
t da
tes
to t
he l
att
er p
art
of t
he F
irst
Tem
ple
peri
od.
The
sea
l w
as
fou
nd in
a b
uild
ing
tha
t is
cur
rent
ly b
eing
unc
over
ed,
whi
ch d
ate
s to
the
sev
enth
ce
ntur
y B
.C. −
to t
he t
ime
whe
n th
e ki
ngs
Ma
nass
eh a
nd J
osia
h re
igne
d.
Acc
ordi
ng t
o th
e ex
cava
tion
dire
ctor
, ar
cha
eolo
gist
Shl
omi
t W
exle
r-B
dola
h of
th
e IA
A,
“The
sea
l, w
hich
app
aren
tly b
elon
ged
to a
priv
ate
ind
ivid
ual,
is m
ad
e of
bla
ck s
tone
, is
elli
ptic
al
in s
hape
and
mea
sure
s 1.
2 x
1.4
cm.
It is
ado
rne
d w
ith a
n en
gra
ved
deco
ratio
n of
an
arch
er s
hoot
ing
a bo
w a
nd
arr
ow.
The
na
me
of t
he a
rche
r is
eng
rave
d in
anc
ient
Heb
rew
scr
ipt
next
to
him
and
rea
ds L
HG
B
(mea
ning
: fo
r H
aga
b).
The
na
me
Ha
gab
is m
entio
ned
in t
he B
ibl
e in
Ezr
a 2:
46,
as
wel
l a
s in
the
La
chis
h Le
tter
s, w
hich
als
o da
te t
o th
e tim
e of
the
Firs
t T
em-
ple.
” E
zra
’s H
aga
b w
as
a t
emp
le s
erva
nt,
from
a d
iffer
ent
per
iod
in I
sra
el’s
his
-to
ry a
nd n
ot,
ther
efor
e, t
he s
am
e in
divi
dua
l. T
he H
ebre
w n
am
e H
ag
ab
mea
ns
gra
ssh
op
per.
The
sea
l is
uni
que
sinc
e th
is i
s th
e fir
st t
ime
tha
t a
priv
ate
sea
l ha
s be
en d
isco
vere
d th
at
bea
rs a
Heb
rew
na
me
and
is d
ecor
ate
d in
the
Ass
yria
n st
yle.
The
sea
l a
ttes
ts t
o th
e st
rong
Ass
yria
n in
fluen
ce t
hat
exis
ted
in J
erus
ale
m i
n th
e se
vent
h ce
ntur
y B
.C..
It is
usu
-a
lly a
ssum
ed t
hat
the
owne
r of
pri
vate
sea
ls w
ere
indi
vidu
als
w
ho
held
go
vern
men
t po
sitio
ns.
The
na
me
app
ears
in
reve
rse
so t
hat
whe
n im
pres
sed
in
cla
y, it
wou
ld c
ome
out
right
.
So
urc
es :
IM
RA
, O
cto
ber
30,
20
08
an
d R
itmey
er
Arc
ha
eolo
gic
al D
esig
n’s
web
site
. T
he
rep
rese
nta
-tio
n o
f th
e se
al d
epic
ted
ab
ove
wa
s ta
ken
fro
m th
is
site
: w
ww
.ritm
eyer
.com
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
77
Pro
posi
tion
XX
XI
of t
he C
hris
tade
lphi
an S
tate
me
nt o
f F
aith
stat
es: T
ha
t th
e S
crip
ture
s, c
om
po
sin
g th
e b
oo
k cu
rren
tly k
no
wn
as
the
Bib
le,
are
th
e o
nly
so
urc
e n
ow
ext
an
t o
f kn
ow
led
ge
con
cern
ing
Go
d a
nd
His
pu
rpo
ses,
an
d t
ha
t th
ey w
ere
giv
en w
ho
lly b
y th
e u
ner
rin
g i
nsp
ira
tion
of
Go
d i
n t
he
wri
ter
s, a
nd
th
at
such
err
ors
as
ha
ve s
ince
cre
pt
in a
re d
ue
to t
ran
scri
ptio
n o
r tr
an
sla
tion
. A
ccor
ding
ly,
we
pla
ce c
omp
lete
rel
ianc
e in
the
aut
hent
ici
ty o
f th
e B
ible
with
on
ly t
he f
oreg
oing
qua
lific
atio
n re
latin
g to
suc
h er
rors
of
tra
nscr
iptio
n or
tra
ns-
latio
n. T
here
fore
, w
e u
nequ
ivoc
ally
acc
ept
the
Bib
le a
s be
ing
the
insp
ired
Wor
d of
God
with
our
fa
ith…
the
sub
sta
nce
of
thin
gs
ho
ped
fo
r, t
he
evid
ence
of
thin
gs
no
t se
en (
Heb
rew
s 11
:1),
sec
urel
y a
ncho
red
in t
his
rea
liza
tion.
God
ha
s cl
early
sp
oken
to
the
nece
ssity
of
faith
bei
ng a
n es
sent
ial c
omp
onen
t of
ou
r ef
fort
s to
bot
h a
ppro
ach
and
ple
ase
Him
: B
ut
with
ou
t fa
ith it
is im
po
ssib
le to
p
lea
se H
im:
for
he
tha
t co
met
h t
o G
od
mus
t b
elie
ve t
hat
He
is,
an
d
tha
t H
e is
a
rew
ard
er o
f th
em t
ha
t d
ilig
ently
see
k H
im
(Heb
rew
s 11
:6).
How
ever
str
ong
our
own
faith
ma
y b
e in
the
Wor
d of
God
– t
he B
ible
– w
e kn
ow t
here
are
indi
vidu
-a
ls c
laim
ing
to b
e C
hris
tians
who
do
not
rea
lize
the
Bi
ble’
s cl
aim
to
be
insp
ired
: A
ll sc
rip
ture
is
giv
en b
y in
spira
tion (G
od-b
rea
thed
, N
IV) o
f G
od
(2 T
imot
hy
3:16
).
Add
ition
ally
, th
ere
are
tho
se w
ho d
o no
t b
elie
ve t
hat
the
Bib
le i
s in
spire
d, a
nd
thus
, ho
w c
an
it b
e a
sser
ted
tha
t it
is a
ccur
ate
? U
nfor
tuna
tely
, w
e fin
d th
at
ma
ny
chur
ches
ha
ve d
evel
oped
cer
tain
doc
trin
es in
dep
ende
nt o
f th
e B
ib
le w
hich
com
-pr
omis
e or
den
y a
bsol
ute
scrip
tura
l de
cla
ratio
ns o
f its
div
ine
ins
pira
tion.
Eve
n m
ore
repr
ehen
sibl
e is
tha
t m
any
of
thes
e u
nscr
iptu
ral d
oct
rine
s a
re c
lea
rly b
ase
d up
on h
um
ani
stic
con
cept
s a
t va
rianc
e w
ith t
he W
ord
of G
od.
One
of
the
prin
ci-
pal
thru
sts
of a
llege
d C
hris
tian
scho
lars
hip
has
been
to
deve
lop
qu
estio
nabl
e ev
iden
ce f
or d
atin
g th
e B
ible
la
ter
tha
n it
is g
ener
ally
asc
ribed
to
be,
the
reb
y un
derm
inin
g its
cla
ims
to b
e a
utho
rita
tive.
Thi
s su
ppos
ed C
hris
tian
scho
lars
hip
rega
rdin
g a
late
r dat
ing
of
cert
ain
boo
ks o
f th
e B
ible
is e
spec
ially
rel
evan
t to
the
so-
calle
d hi
ghe
r cr
itici
sm of
the
four
Gos
pel
acco
unts
, and
ma
inst
rea
m m
edia
ten
ds t
o em
bra
ce s
uch
idea
s a
nd c
once
pts
by r
epor
ting
thes
e op
inio
ns t
hat
the
Bib
le is
no
t re
ally
tru
stw
orth
y.
How
ever
, re
liabl
e ev
iden
ce e
xist
s th
at
the
Gos
pel
s w
ere
writ
ten
befo
re A
.D.
70
rath
er t
han
muc
h la
ter:
(1
) th
e ol
dest
ma
nusc
ript
fra
gmen
ts o
f th
e G
osp
els
are
fr
om t
he e
arly
firs
t ce
ntur
y a
nd t
here
are
com
ple
te c
opie
s fr
om t
he la
te f
irst
cen-
tury
; (2
) th
e G
osp
els
mus
t ei
ther
be
rea
d a
s no
t re
fere
ncin
g th
e de
stru
ctio
n of
Je
rusa
lem
in
A.D
. 70
or,
allu
ding
to
it a
s a
n ev
ent
yet
futu
re;
(3)
exce
ptin
g th
e
Und
esig
ned
Coi
ncid
ence
s in
the
Scr
iptu
res
The
Rin
g of
Tru
th
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
78
cruc
ifixi
on o
f C
hris
t, t
here
do
not
app
ear
to b
e a
ny r
ecor
ded
inc
iden
ts o
f se
vere
R
oma
n p
erse
cutio
n of
Jew
s; a
nd (
4) p
ass
age
s su
ch a
s Jo
hn 5
:2 i
ndic
atin
g a
nor
-m
al s
tate
of
affa
irs p
rior
to t
he d
estr
uctio
n of
Jer
usa
lem
in
A.D
. 70
. W
e in
tend
to
pre
sent
evi
denc
e in
thi
s a
rtic
le t
hat
pla
inly
dem
onst
rat
es t
hat
the
Bib
le i
s tr
ustw
orth
y a
nd t
ruly
the
Wor
d of
God
.
Rep
etiti
ons
and
co
ntra
dict
ions
are
qui
te c
om
mo
n an
d eve
n un
ders
tand
able
for
a co
llect
ion
of
hum
an d
ocum
ents
, but
thi
s is
not
the
ca
se f
or a
per
fect
ly
cons
truc
ted
reve
latio
n of
Div
ine
orig
in,
refle
ctin
g th
e om
nip
ote
nce,
om
nis-
cien
ce,
and
om
nipr
esen
ce o
f ou
r H
eave
nly
Fa
ther
. A
ccor
ding
ly,
we
can
rest
a
ssur
ed t
hat
alth
ough
the
re a
re i
ndee
d re
pet
ition
s of
ce
rta
in a
ccou
nts
with
in t
he
Bib
le,
thes
e a
re n
ot t
rue
cont
radi
ctio
ns.
Ra
ther
, w
e in
ten
d to
sho
w t
hat
cert
ain
re
pet
ition
s of
the
sa
me
acc
ount
s pr
ovid
e st
rong
evi
den
ce o
f a
uthe
ntic
ity b
y th
e pr
esen
ce o
f ce
rta
in u
nim
por
tant
det
ails
dis
clos
ed in
one
or
mor
e of
the
acc
ount
s.
Suc
h re
vea
led
inst
anc
es
of
thes
e se
emin
gly
uni
mpo
rta
nt
deta
ils
fu
rthe
r st
reng
then
our
con
vict
ion
tha
t th
ere
wa
s no
con
triv
ed c
olla
bor
atio
n b
etw
een
the
vario
us w
riter
s of
the
Bib
le.
It is
im
por
tant
to
rea
lize
tha
t th
e B
ible
is t
ruly
the
W
ord
of G
od w
ritte
n by
sev
-er
al
men
as
they
wer
e in
spir
ed b
y th
e H
oly
Spi
rit.
How
ever
, t
hey
wer
e m
orta
l m
en a
nd t
heir
view
poi
nts
and
sty
les
of w
ritin
g w
ere
sha
ped
and
inf
luen
ced
by
thei
r in
divi
dua
l ci
rcu
mst
anc
es a
nd m
ann
er o
f lif
e. T
here
fore
, th
eir
indi
vidu
al
reco
llect
ions
of
inci
dent
s a
nd e
vent
s w
ere
cert
ain
ly d
epic
ted
in a
ma
nner
con
sis-
tent
with
the
ir ow
n p
ersp
ectiv
es.
Thu
s, w
e of
ten
find
tha
t so
-ca
lled
cont
radi
c-tio
ns o
r in
cons
iste
ncie
s m
erel
y re
flect
the
ind
ivid
ual
cha
ract
eris
tics
of t
hese
m
en a
nd t
here
by c
onfir
m t
he v
alid
ity o
f th
eir
acc
ount
s.
J. J
. B
lunt
pub
lishe
d a
boo
k, U
ndes
igne
d C
oinc
iden
ces,
in 1
847.
In t
his
wor
k, B
lunt
pre
sent
ed a
n im
pres
sive
arg
um
ent
for
the
vera
city
of
the
Bib
le
base
d on
com
parin
g B
ible
acc
ount
s. H
e p
erce
ptib
ly i
llust
rate
d tha
t a
cha
ract
er-
istic
impl
icit
in a
ny d
ocu
men
t w
hich
is a
ccur
ate
wou
ld b
e t
he in
clus
ion
of in
sig-
nific
ant
det
ails
not
ed b
y th
e w
riter
but
whi
ch a
re o
nly
inc
iden
tal t
o th
e ke
y m
es-
sage
of
the
spec
ific
acc
ount
bei
ng d
escr
ibed
, i.e
., u
ndes
igne
d co
inci
denc
es. T
hese
det
ails
are
oft
en q
uite
not
icea
ble
and
con
firm
va
lidi
ty a
nd c
onsi
sten
cy
occu
rrin
g in
pa
ralle
l th
ough i
ncom
plet
e a
ccou
nts
of t
he s
am
e in
cide
nt o
r si
tua
-tio
n b
eing
add
ress
ed.
The
pre
senc
e of
suc
h unde
sign
ed c
oinc
iden
ces pro
vide
s co
mp
ellin
g su
ppor
t th
at
such
acc
ount
s ha
ve a
str
ong
prob
abi
lity
of a
ccur
acy
. S
uch
occu
rren
ces
ther
eby
stre
ngth
en t
he r
elia
nce
tha
t ca
n b
e pl
ace
d up
on e
arl
y tr
ans
crip
tions
as
corr
ectly
con
veye
d to
the
pre
sent
da
y. T
he B
ible
abo
und
s w
ith
too
ma
ny e
xam
-pl
es o
f tr
uly
rand
om i
nsta
nces
of unde
sign
ed c
oinc
iden
ces to
allo
w f
or a
ny
cont
rive
d m
etho
d of
coo
per
atio
n b
etw
een
the
vario
us w
riter
s of
the
boo
ks.
Suc
h in
dep
ende
nt o
ccur
renc
es o
f un
desi
gned
coi
ncid
ence
s ca
n tr
uly
impa
rt a
ring
of
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
79
trut
h in
est
abl
ishi
ng t
he v
era
city
of
the
Scr
iptu
res.
In t
he G
ospe
l ac
coun
ts o
f th
e fe
edin
g o
f th
e m
ultit
udes, w
e no
te t
hat
ther
e w
ere
two
dist
inct
gro
ups
fed:
(1)
A
nd
th
ey t
ha
t h
ad
ea
ten
wer
e a
bo
ut
five
th
ou
-sa
nd
men
, b
esid
e w
om
en a
nd
ch
ildre
n
(Ma
tthe
w 1
4:2
1),
and
(2)
An
d t
hey
th
at
did
ea
t w
ere
fou
r th
ou
san
d m
en,
bes
ide
wo
men
an
d c
hild
ren
(M
att
hew
15
:38)
. W
hen
the
five
thou
sand
wer
e b
eing
fed
, C
hris
t to
ld t
hem
to
sit
dow
n on
th
e gr
ass
ind
ica
ting
tha
t th
is w
ould
ha
ve b
een
abo
ut t
he t
ime
of P
ass
over
; la
ter
in
the
yea
r th
e gr
ass
wou
ld h
ave
bee
n bu
rnt
by
the
sun
and
ea
rlie
r in
the
yea
r th
e gr
ass
wou
ld n
ot h
ave
beg
un
to g
row
. In
the
fee
ding
of
the
fou
r th
ousa
nd t
here
is
no in
dica
tion
of g
rass
and
the
y w
ere
inst
ruct
ed t
o si
t on
the
gro
und
.
It is
als
o no
tew
orth
y th
at
the
kind
of
bask
ets
tha
t w
ere
used
in
feed
ing
the
five
thou
sand
wa
s di
ffer
ent
tha
n th
ose
used
in f
eedi
ng t
he f
our
thou
sand
. T
here
wer
e di
ffer
ent
Gre
ek w
ords
use
d fo
r ea
ch t
ype
of b
ask
et i
n t
he t
wo
acc
ount
s. T
he
Gos
pel
acc
ount
s p
ortr
ay
the
two
as
bei
ng t
ota
lly a
nd c
onsi
sten
tly s
epa
rate
. T
hese
ra
ther
im
ma
teria
l de
tails
, or
un
desi
gned
coi
ncid
ence
s, in
thes
e tw
o a
c-co
unt
s w
ould
pro
babl
y ha
ve b
een
lost
or
vagu
ely
pres
ente
d if
they
ha
d b
een
reco
rded
fro
m m
emor
y or
rep
etiti
on a
fter
a l
ong
per
iod
of
time.
How
ever
, if
they
wer
e re
cord
ed a
t th
e tim
e or
sho
rtly
aft
er t
hey
had
tra
nspi
red,
cou
pled
with
th
e a
ckno
wle
dgem
ent
tha
t th
e a
ccou
nts
wer
e di
vine
ly in
spir
ed,
the
dis
clos
ure
of
such
ins
igni
fica
nt i
nfor
ma
tion
in e
ach
of
the
acc
ount
s is
muc
h m
ore
pla
usib
le
and
pro
vide
s cr
edib
le e
vide
nce
of t
heir
aut
hent
icity
.
We
have
an
acco
unt
of
the
resu
rrec
tion
of
Jesu
s C
hris
t in J
ohn
20:
1-8
whi
ch a
lso
prov
ides
us
with
mor
e unde
sign
ed c
oinc
iden
ces th
at
conv
ince
us
of
the
vera
city
of
this
acc
ount
. M
ary
Ma
gda
lene
ha
d go
ne t
o t
he s
epu
lchr
e w
here
C
hris
t ha
d b
een
buri
ed b
ut w
hen
his
bod
y w
as
not
ther
e, s
he
ran
to P
eter
and
the
ot
her
disc
iple
who
m J
esus
lov
ed (
John
) to
inf
orm
the
m o
f th
is d
evel
opm
ent
(Joh
n 20
:1-2
). P
eter
and
Joh
n th
en r
an
to t
he s
epu
lchr
e w
ith J
ohn
out
runn
ing
Pet
er w
hich
is
not
surp
risin
g si
nce
John
wa
s th
e yo
ung
est
of a
ll th
e a
pos
tles
(Joh
n 20
:3-4
). Y
et w
e fin
d th
at
whe
n he
arr
ived
at
the
sepu
lchr
e, J
ohn
look
ed in
fir
st a
nd s
aw
the
line
n cl
othe
s la
ying
the
re w
hich
Chr
ist
had
bee
n w
rapp
ed i
n a
t hi
s bu
rial,
but
he d
id n
ot e
nter
the
tom
b. H
owev
er,
whe
n th
e im
pet
uou
s P
eter
ca
me
to t
he s
cene
afte
r Jo
hn,
he d
id n
ot h
esita
te t
o en
ter
the
sep
ulch
re w
here
he
obse
rved
the
lin
en c
loth
es ly
ing
and
the
na
pki
n w
hich
ha
d b
een
aro
und
Chr
ist’s
he
ad
not
lyin
g w
ith t
he l
inen
clo
thes
, bu
t ra
ther
wra
pped
tog
ethe
r in
a p
lace
by
itsel
f. W
e th
en f
ind
John
goi
ng i
nto
the
sepu
lchr
e to
obs
erve
thi
s si
ght,
and
he
saw
and
bel
ieve
d (J
ohn
20:5
-8).
The
se f
oreg
oing
dis
clos
ures
of
(1)
John
arr
ivin
g a
t th
e se
pul
chre
bef
ore
Pet
er
and
(2
) th
at
John
wa
s re
luct
ant
to
ente
r it
bef
ore
Pet
er
app
ear
quite
rea
sona
ble
whe
n w
e co
nsid
er t
he a
ges
of t
he t
wo
men
and
the
per
sona
lity
of P
eter
. W
e a
re
not
surp
rised
tha
t P
eter
did
not
sto
p to
sto
op d
own
and
loo
k i
nto
the
tom
b a
s
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
80
John
did
but
im
med
iate
ly w
ent
into
it.
Pet
er w
as
per
haps
hop
ing
to m
eet
aga
in
his
cruc
ified
Ma
ster
to
the
excl
usio
n of
any
thi
ng e
lse
whi
ch w
ould
be
irrel
eva
nt
com
pare
d to
thi
s w
onde
rful
hop
e a
nd d
esire
.
We
do n
ot
inte
nd t
o lim
it su
ch o
ccur
renc
es o
f unde
sign
ed c
oinc
iden
ces onl
y to
the
for
ego
ing
acco
unts
in
the
New
Tes
tam
ent. T
here
are
als
o nu
mer
ous
acc
ount
s of
the
se i
n th
e O
ld T
esta
men
t sc
riptu
res.
In
the
ba
lanc
e of
thi
s a
rtic
le,
we
inte
nd t
o pr
esen
t th
ree
(3)
sepa
rate
acc
ount
s ha
ving
a b
eari
ng u
pon
tw
o (2
) di
ffer
ent
inci
dent
s in
a d
efen
se o
f th
e ve
raci
ty o
f th
e sc
riptu
res
rela
ting
to s
ome
hist
oric
al e
vent
s of
Ya
hweh
’s c
hose
n ra
ce:
In t
he in
cide
nt w
hen
Mos
es s
ent
out
spi
es t
o se
arch
th
e la
nd o
f C
anaa
n, a
ll of
the
spi
es e
xcep
t Jo
shua
and
Ca
leb
gave
an
evil
repo
rt u
pon
the
ir re
turn
as
reco
rded
in
Nu
mb
ers
13:3
2-33
; A
nd
th
ey b
rou
gh
t u
p a
n e
vil
rep
ort
of
the
lan
d w
hic
h t
hey
ha
d s
earc
hed
un
to t
he
child
ren
of
Isra
el,
sayi
ng
,…a
lan
d t
ha
t ea
tet
h u
p t
he
inh
ab
itan
ts t
her
eof; a
nd
all
the
peo
ple
th
at
we
saw
in
it
are
men
of
a
gre
at
sta
ture
. A
nd
th
ere
we
saw
th
e g
ian
ts,
the
son
s o
f A
na
k, w
hic
h c
om
e o
f th
e g
ian
ts:
an
d w
e w
ere
in o
ur
ow
n s
igh
t as
gra
ssh
op
per
s, a
nd
so
we
wer
e in
th
eir
sig
ht.
Her
e a
s te
stifi
ed b
y M
oses
, w
e no
te t
hat
the
Ana
kim
s w
ere
exce
ptio
nally
ta
ll. L
et u
s no
w o
bser
ve t
hat
subs
equ
ent
to t
his
even
t:
An
d a
t th
at
time
cam
e
Josh
ua
, a
nd
cu
t o
ff t
he
An
aki
ms
fro
m t
he
mo
un
tain
s, f
rom
Heb
ron
, fr
om
Deb
ir,
fr
om
An
ab
, a
nd
fro
m a
ll th
e m
ou
nta
ins
of
Jud
ah,
an
d f
rom
all
the
mo
un
tain
s o
f Is
rael
: Jo
shu
a d
estr
oye
d t
hem
utt
erly
with
th
eir
citie
s. T
her
e w
as
no
ne
of
the
A
na
kim
s le
ft in
th
e la
nd
of
the
child
ren
of
Isra
el:
on
ly in
Ga
za,
in G
ath
, a
nd
in
Ash
do
d, th
ere
rem
ain
ed
(Jos
hua
11:
21-2
2).
If w
e w
ere
to c
onfin
e ou
r ob
serv
atio
ns t
o ju
st t
hese
tw
o a
ccou
nts
in N
um
ber
s a
nd J
oshu
a,
we
mig
ht l
ogic
ally
ask
, w
hat
is s
o re
ma
rka
ble
abo
ut t
hese
na
rra
-tiv
es?
How
ever
, le
t us
now
con
side
r a
des
crip
tion
of G
olia
th,
Da
vid’
s a
dver
-sa
ry: …
An
d t
her
e w
ent
ou
t a
cha
mp
ion
…o
f th
e P
hili
stin
es,
nam
ed G
olia
th,
of
Ga
th,
wh
ose
hei
gh
t w
as
six
cub
its a
nd
a s
pa
n (
1 S
amu
el 1
7:4)
. W
e w
ill n
ow
conn
ect
and
pre
sent
a r
ema
rka
ble
set
of
unde
sign
ed c
oinc
iden
ces re
latin
g to
th
ese
scrip
ture
s. W
e no
te t
hat
Gol
iath
wa
s fr
om G
ath
; o
ne
of
the
five
Ph
ilist
ine
city
-sta
tes.
Let
us r
eca
ll th
at
thes
e …m
en o
f a
gre
at
sta
ture
…th
e g
ian
ts,
the
sons
o
f A
na
k, w
hic
h c
om
e o
f th
e g
ian
ts…wer
e se
en b
y th
e sp
ies
(Nu
mb
ers
13:3
2-33
) a
nd w
ere
late
r de
stro
yed
by
Josh
ua e
xcep
t fo
r th
ose
tha
t w
ere
left
in G
aza
, G
ath,
and
Ash
dod
(Jos
hua
11:
21-2
2).
Thi
s a
ma
zing
arr
ay
of i
nsig
nific
ant
de-
tails
whi
ch a
re i
ncid
enta
l in
ea
ch o
f th
e a
ccou
nts
not
ed c
erta
inly
rei
nfor
ce a
nd
valid
ate
the
col
lect
ive
acc
ura
cy o
f t
hese
acc
ount
s an
d pr
ovid
e cr
edib
le e
vi-
denc
e of
the
hom
e of
and
phy
sica
l des
crip
tion
of G
olia
th.
Ano
ther
int
eres
ting
inci
dent
illu
stra
ting
a se
t o
f und
esig
ned
coin
cide
nces
in
volv
es t
he b
etra
yal o
f D
avid
by
Ahi
tho
phel
. Thi
s in
cide
nt a
nd t
he r
evol
t of
A
bsa
lom
fro
m K
ing
Da
vid
are
ins
epa
rabl
y in
tert
win
ed a
nd p
rese
nt s
ome
of t
he
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
81
natu
ral
cons
equ
ence
s of
Da
vid’
s si
n w
ith B
ath
sheb
a e
ven
tho
ugh
God
ha
d fo
r-gi
ven
him
of
this
gre
at
tra
nsgr
essi
on.
We
rea
d in
2 S
am
uel
15:
12 t
hat …
Ab
salo
m s
ent
for
Ah
itho
ph
el t
he
Gilo
nite
, D
avi
d’s
co
unse
lor,
fro
m h
is
city
, ev
en
fro
m G
iloh
, w
hile
he
off
ered
sa
crifi
ces.
An
d t
he
con
spir
acy
wa
s st
ro
ng
; fo
r th
e p
eop
le i
ncr
ease
d c
on
tinu
ally
with
Ab
salo
m.
Abs
alo
m w
as
seek
ing
the
cou
nsel
of
Ahi
thop
hel t
o su
ppor
t hi
m in
his
reb
ellio
n a
gain
st D
avi
d b
eca
use …
the
cou
n-
sel
of
Ahi
tho
ph
el,
wh
ich
he
cou
nse
lled
in
tho
se d
ays
, w
as
as
if a
ma
n h
ad
en
-q
uir
ed a
t th
e o
racl
e of
Go
d:
so w
as
all
the
cou
nse
l o
f A
hith
op
hel
bo
th w
ith
Da
vid
an
d w
ith A
bsa
lom
(2 S
am
uel
16:
23).
In
add
ition
to
this
res
pec
t fo
r A
hith
ophe
l, A
bsa
lom
wa
s a
wa
re o
f ci
rcu
mst
anc
es w
hich
wou
ld p
roba
bly
caus
e A
hith
ophe
l’s s
uppo
rt t
o be
off
ered
as
show
n in
the
fol
low
ing
par
agr
aph
.
2 S
am
uel
11
:3 i
nfor
ms
us t
hat
…Is
no
t th
is B
ath
sheb
a,
the
da
ug
hte
r o
f E
liam
, th
e w
ife o
f U
ria
h t
he
Hitt
ite?
We
als
o no
te t
hat
in t
he g
enea
logy
of
…E
liam
th
e
son
of
Ah
itho
ph
el t
he
Gilo
nite
, and
, …U
ria
h t
he
Hitt
ite …
is d
iscl
osed
(2
Sa
m-
uel
23:
34-3
9).
Thu
s, w
e co
nclu
de t
hat
whe
n D
avi
d ca
used
Uria
h t
o b
e m
ur-
dere
d, t
hat
Uria
h w
as
Ahi
thop
hel’s
gra
ndso
n by
ma
rria
ge,
and
, in
his
sin
with
B
ath
sheb
a,
Da
vid
had
bes
mirc
hed
Ahi
thop
hel’s
gra
ndda
ught
er.
Aga
in,
do w
e no
t se
e th
at
insi
gnifi
cant
det
ails
bro
ught
out
in
thes
e a
cco
unt
s, w
hich
are
onl
y in
cide
nta
l to
the
acc
ount
s, p
rese
nt r
ealis
tic r
atio
nal
iza
tion
for
Ahi
thop
hel’s
ac-
tions
in h
is b
etra
yal o
f D
avi
d?
We
firm
ly b
elie
ve t
hat
such
ind
epen
dent
occ
urre
nces
of
und
esig
ned
coin
ci-
denc
es a
s fo
und
in
the
scrip
ture
s ca
n a
nd i
ndee
d do
tru
ly i
mpa
rt
the
ring
of
trut
h to
the
Bib
le a
s th
e in
spire
d W
ord
of G
od.
Suc
h re
info
rcem
ent
and
va
lida
-tio
n of
the
ver
aci
ty o
f G
od’s
Wor
d co
ntrib
utes
to
our
faith
bei
ng f
irm
ly a
n-ch
ored
the
rein
.
Ro
ber
t M
iller
, S
her
wo
od
, A
R
No
Com
prom
ise
It ha
s of
ten
bee
n cl
aim
ed b
y “u
nlea
rned
and
ign
ora
nt m
en”
tha
t th
ere
is n
o p
os-
sibi
lity
of c
ompr
omis
e in
one
’s a
ttitu
de t
owa
rd t
he B
ible
. E
ithe
r th
e B
ook
is a
re
vela
tion
from
God
or
it is
the
gre
ate
st im
pos
ture
the
wo
rld
has
ever
kno
wn.
Thi
s ha
rsh
sta
tem
ent
of t
he c
ase
is r
esen
ted
by m
any
pe
ople
who
wou
ld g
rea
tly
pref
er t
o co
mpr
omis
e in
the
ma
tter
. A
s a
writ
er r
ecen
tly s
tate
d, “
No
one
wou
ld
disp
ute
the
supr
eme
pos
ition
of
the
Bib
le i
n lit
era
ture
if n
o cl
aim
ha
d ev
er b
een
ma
de t
hat
it w
as
a di
vine
rev
ela
tion.
” It
wou
ld s
uit
our
con
veni
ence
muc
h be
tter
to
reg
ard
the
Scr
iptu
res
as
insp
ired
onl
y in
the
ma
nner
tha
t a
ll go
od b
ooks
ca
n be
so
desc
ribed
, le
avi
ng u
s a
t lib
erty
to
att
ach
muc
h or
lit
tle i
mp
orta
nce
to i
ts
mes
sage
s a
ccor
ding
ly t
o th
e m
ann
er in
whi
ch t
hey
app
eale
d to
us
. Is
lip C
olly
er, V
ox
Dei ,
p.
27
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
82
Mira
cles
And
Fai
th
The
re a
re a
num
ber
of
way
s to
bui
ld o
ur f
aith
in G
od a
nd t
he t
ruth
of
His
W
ord.
R
ecen
t a
rche
olog
ica
l fin
ds,
fulfi
lled
prop
hecy
, in
tern
al
Bib
le e
vide
nce
and
the
rin
g of
tru
th a
re a
ll so
urce
s th
at
can
rest
ore
our
conf
iden
ce a
nd p
rovi
de
us w
ith t
he
sub
sta
nce
of
thin
gs
ho
ped
fo
r, t
he
evid
ence
of
thin
gs
no
t se
en
(Heb
rew
s 11
:1).
Rea
ding
abo
ut B
ible
mira
cles
or
act
ually
witn
essi
ng t
he p
owe
rful
ha
nd o
f th
e A
lmig
hty
wor
king
in t
he n
atio
ns o
r pe
rha
ps in
our
ow
n liv
es c
an
be
a m
arv
elou
s fa
ith b
uild
er.
Mira
cles
pro
vide
evi
denc
e to
sup
port
the
exi
sten
ce o
f a
Cre
ato
r a
nd t
hat
His
wor
d is
tru
e. E
ven
bey
ond
the
Bib
le r
ecor
d,
ther
e a
re m
any
doc
u-m
ente
d hi
stor
ica
l eve
nts
tha
t te
stify
to
the
pow
er o
f G
od,
such
as
the
rest
ora
tion
of H
is p
eopl
e Is
rael
to
the
Pro
mis
ed L
and
and
the
pro
vide
nce
ass
oci
ate
d w
ith
the
rise
and
fa
ll of
the
kin
gs o
f th
e ea
rth
- t
he
mo
st H
igh
ru
leth
in
th
e ki
ng
do
m
of
men
, a
nd
giv
eth
it t
o w
ho
mso
ever
he
will
(D
ani
el 4
:17)
.
Man
y o
f th
ese
acco
unts
are
cle
arly
the
way
s o
f di
vine
pro
videnc
e (u
sing
na
tura
l m
etho
ds t
o m
ani
pula
te o
utco
mes
); o
ther
s m
ay
be
true
mira
cles
– i
n-vo
lvin
g di
vine
int
erve
ntio
n (e
vent
s th
at
defy
na
tura
l la
ws,
suc
h a
s th
e re
surr
ec-
tion
or f
eedi
ng t
hous
and
s).
Whe
ther
we
inte
rpre
t a
ny p
art
icul
ar
even
t a
s di
vin
e pr
ovid
ence
or
a m
iracl
e re
ally
ma
tter
s ve
ry li
ttle
; th
e ha
nd o
f G
od w
as
invo
lve
d a
nd H
is p
ower
pro
duce
d th
e ou
tcom
e. R
ecog
nizi
ng t
he p
rovi
dent
ial
ha
nd o
f G
od c
an
stre
ngth
en o
ur f
aith
in
this
age
whe
re t
rue
mir
acl
es
are
cer
tain
ly n
ot a
s pr
omin
ent
as
they
wer
e w
hen
Chr
ist
wa
lked
on
this
ea
rth
and
hea
led
the
blin
d a
nd t
he la
me.
The
int
eres
ting
thin
g is
tha
t ev
en w
hen
Chr
ist
per
form
ed h
is m
iracl
es,
ma
ny o
f th
ose
who
witn
esse
d th
e ev
ents
fou
nd a
mpl
e re
aso
n to
dou
bt t
hat
this
ma
n w
as
usin
g th
e m
iracu
lous
pow
er o
f G
od;
they
allo
wed
the
mse
lves
to
be
blin
ded
to
the
trut
h th
at
wa
s be
ing
dem
onst
rate
d by
his
m
ira
cles
an
d w
on
der
s a
nd
sig
ns
(Act
s 2:
22).
In
toda
y’s
sop
hist
ica
ted
wor
ld m
en are
eve
n m
ore
skep
tica
l a
bout
th
e ha
nd o
f G
od w
orki
ng b
oth
in t
he w
orld
and
in
our
lives
. I
t is
oft
en o
nly
thro
ugh
the
eye
of
faith
tha
t w
e a
re a
ble
to t
ruly
app
reci
ate
the
mira
culo
us
pow
er o
f G
od i
n its
ma
ny m
ani
fest
atio
ns,
and
allo
w t
he d
emon
stra
tion
of H
is
pow
er t
o fo
rtify
our
little
faith
.
The
gre
ates
t m
iracl
e in
the
latte
r da
ys ha
s be
en th
e re
stor
atio
n of
the
Na
tion
of I
sra
el in
its
own
land
. N
ot o
nly
are
the
se e
vent
s a
ma
rvel
ous
test
imon
y to
the
fu
lfillm
ent
of B
ible
pro
phe
cy,
but
ther
e ha
ve a
lso
bee
n a
nu
mb
er o
f in
cred
ible
ha
ppen
ings
thr
ough
out
rece
nt h
isto
ry t
hat
are
sur
ely
a d
emon
str
atio
n of
the
ha
nd o
f G
od w
orki
ng w
ith t
his
peo
ple
to
fulfi
ll H
is p
urpose
. S
ome
will
rec
og-
nize
thi
s w
ork
with
the
Na
tion
of I
sra
el a
s a
mira
cle
and
it w
ill s
tren
gthe
n th
eir
faith
; ot
hers
will
rem
ain
ske
ptic
al,
eith
er
they
will
ing
ly a
re i
gn
ora
nt (2
Pet
er
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
83
3:5)
or t
hei
r ea
rs a
re d
ull
of
hea
rin
g,
and
th
eir
eyes
th
ey h
ave
clo
sed
(M
att
hew
13
:15)
.
The
mira
culo
us n
atu
re o
f th
e re
stor
atio
n of
Isr
ael
is
evid
ent
in
the
wor
ds o
f Is
aia
h: W
ho
ha
th h
eard
su
ch a
th
ing
? w
ho
ha
th s
een
su
ch t
hin
gs?
Sh
all
the
eart
h b
e m
ad
e to
bri
ng
fo
rth
in o
ne
da
y? o
r sh
all
a n
atio
n b
e b
orn
at
on
ce?
fo
r a
s so
on
as
Zio
n t
rava
iled
, sh
e b
rou
ght
for
th h
er c
hild
ren
(Is
aia
h 66
:8).
On
Ma
y 14
, 19
48, in
on
e d
ay,
the
mod
ern
Na
tion
of I
sra
el w
as bo
rn a
t o
nce.
The
pro
vi-
dent
ial h
and
of
God
wa
s w
orki
ng b
ehin
d th
e sc
enes
, p
ersu
adi
ng P
resi
dent
Ha
rry
S.
Tru
ma
n, a
gain
st t
he a
dvic
e of
som
e of
his
cou
nsel
ors,
to
open
ly r
ecog
nize
th
e b
irth
of a
na
tion;
and
rem
ark
abl
y, o
n th
e sa
me
day,
the
Sov
iet
Uni
on a
lso
decl
are
d th
eir
reco
gniti
on o
f th
e S
tate
of
Isra
el i
n th
e U
N.
Whe
n w
e co
nsid
er
both
the
fu
lfillm
ent
of p
rop
hecy
to
the
lett
er a
nd t
he u
nli
kely
eve
nts
tha
t a
l-lo
wed
it t
o ha
ppen
, ou
r ow
n ey
es w
ould
be
blin
d if
we
cou
ld n
ot g
ive
the
glor
y to
God
.
The
pro
phe
ts h
ad
all
spok
en a
nd t
he c
redi
bilit
y of
Isa
iah,
Jer
emia
h a
nd E
zeki
el
wer
e a
ll fir
mly
est
abl
ishe
d b
y th
is r
ema
rka
ble
rest
ora
tio
n. G
od’s
Wor
d w
as
true
a
nd i
t sh
all
acc
om
plis
h t
hat
wh
ich
I p
lea
se,
an
d i
t sh
all
pro
sper
in
th
e th
ing
wh
eret
o I
sen
t it (Is
aia
h 55
: 11)
.
�
Th
eref
ore
fea
r th
ou
not
, O
my
serv
an
t Ja
cob
, sa
ith t
he L
OR
D;
nei
the
r b
e d
ism
aye
d,
O I
sra
el:
for,
lo,
I w
ill s
ave
th
ee
fro
m a
far,
an
d t
hy
see
d f
rom
th
e
lan
d o
f th
eir
cap
tivity
; a
nd
Ja
cob
sh
all
retu
rn,
an
d s
ha
ll b
e in
res
t, a
nd
be
q
uie
t, a
nd
non
e sh
all
ma
ke h
im a
fra
id.
Fo
r I
am
with
th
ee,
saith
th
e L
OR
D,
to s
ave
th
ee:
tho
ug
h I
ma
ke a
ful
l en
d o
f al
l nat
ion
s w
hith
er I
ha
ve
sca
tter
ed
thee
, ye
t w
ill I
no
t m
ake
a f
ull
end
of
thee
: b
ut
I w
ill c
orr
ect
th
ee i
n m
eas-
ure
, a
nd
will
no
t lea
ve t
hee
alto
get
her
un
pu
nish
ed.
(Je
rem
iah
30:1
0-11
)
�
An
d s
ay
unt
o th
em, T
hu
s sa
ith t
he
Lo
rd G
OD
; B
eho
ld, I
will
ta
ke t
he
ch
il-d
ren
of
Isra
el fr
om
am
on
g th
e h
eath
en,
wh
ither
th
ey b
e g
on
e, a
nd
will
g
ath
er t
hem
on
eve
ry s
ide,
an
d b
rin
g th
em in
to th
eir
ow
n la
nd
: A
nd
I w
ill
ma
ke t
hem
on
e n
atio
n in
th
e la
nd
up
on
the
mo
unt
ain
s of
Isr
ael
(E
zeki
el
37:2
1-22
).
The
mira
culo
us p
ower
of G
od h
as b
een
ma
nife
sted
ma
ny times
dur
ing
this
re
stor
atio
n pr
oces
s. T
here
a
re
num
erou
s a
ccou
nts
of
Div
ine
prov
iden
ce
(per
haps
eve
n m
iracl
es)
duri
ng t
he s
ixty
yea
rs o
f w
ar
tha
t ha
ve t
rans
pire
d si
nce
the
Na
tion
wa
s bo
rn i
n on
e da
y in
194
8. N
o se
rva
nt o
f G
od c
an
hea
r or
se
e th
ese
hist
oric
al
even
ts p
rese
nted
with
out
bei
ng c
hoke
d w
ith e
mot
ion.
The
se i
n-ci
dent
s co
mb
ine
to e
cho
pra
ises
with
Isa
iah
as
he s
poke
of
the
time
whe
n th
ese
thin
gs w
ould
com
e to
pa
ss: Sin
g u
nto
th
e L
OR
D;
for
he
ha
th d
on
e e
xcel
len
t th
ing
s: th
is is
kn
ow
n in
all
the
eart
h.
Cry
ou
t an
d s
ho
ut,
tho
u in
ha
bita
nt o
f Zio
n:
for
gre
at i
s th
e H
oly
On
e o
f Isr
ael
in t
he
mid
st o
f th
ee (
Isa
iah
12:5
-6).
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
84
Isa
iah
had
prop
hesi
ed:
As
bir
ds
flyin
g,
so w
ill t
he
LO
RD
of
ho
sts
def
end
Jer
usa
-le
m;
def
end
ing
als
o h
e w
ill d
eliv
er i
t (
Isa
iah
31:4
-5).
Thi
s pr
otec
tion
has
bee
n m
ani
fest
ed in
at
lea
st t
hese
tw
o in
cide
nts:
�
In 1
967
the
“bird
s” o
f th
e Is
rael
i air
forc
e p
laye
d a
larg
e ro
le i
n sw
iftly
de-
fea
ting
the
natio
ns r
ound
ab
out
in a
six
da
y vi
ctor
y th
at
is c
onsi
dere
d b
y m
any
wor
ldly
sch
ola
rs a
s “m
iracu
lous
”. T
he o
ld c
ity o
f Je
rus
ale
m w
as
de-
liver
ed a
s pr
ophe
sied
in
Zec
haria
h 12
:6.
Life
Ma
gazi
ne r
epor
ted:
“Is
rael
’s
vict
ory
on f
ive
fron
ts in
six
ty s
hort
hou
rs is
abs
olut
ely
as
toni
shin
g.”
�
In t
he m
ore
rece
nt G
ulf
Wa
r (1
991)
the
“bi
rds”
wer
e th
e P
at
riot
mis
sile
s th
at
prot
ecte
d Is
rael
fro
m t
he m
any
Scu
d m
issi
les
tha
t w
ere
fired
into
the
ir te
rrito
ry.
Isa
iah
had
prop
hesi
ed:
No
wea
po
n t
ha
t is
form
ed a
ga
inst
th
ee
sha
ll p
rosp
er;
an
d ev
ery
ton
gu
e th
at s
ha
ll ri
se a
ga
inst
thee
in ju
dg
men
t th
ou
sh
alt
con
dem
n. T
his
is t
he
her
itag
e o
f th
e se
rva
nts
of t
he
LO
RD
, a
nd
th
eir
righ
teo
usn
ess
is o
f m
e, s
aith
the
LO
RD
(I
saia
h 54
:17)
.
The
han
d o
f God
in t
he r
esto
ratio
n an
d pr
otec
tion
of I
srael
is t
estif
ied
to i
n a
rec
ent
DV
D s
erie
s ca
lled
“Aga
inst
all
Odd
s: I
sra
el S
urvi
ves”
The
y pr
ocla
im
in t
heir
prom
otio
nal
liter
atu
re:
“Mod
ern
day
Isra
el i
s tr
uly
a d
ivin
e w
onde
r of
th
e cu
rren
t a
ge.
How
ha
s it
triu
mp
hed
thro
ugh
fou
r m
ajo
r w
ars
and
sur
vive
d re
lent
less
ter
roris
t a
ttack
s? M
eet
the
act
ual
peop
le w
ho l
ived
thr
ough
wha
t ca
n on
ly b
e de
scrib
ed a
s m
iracl
es o
f B
iblic
al p
rop
ortio
ns…
. T
his
ser
ies
dra
ma
tizes
a
we-
insp
iring
inc
iden
ts t
hat
pose
the
qu
estio
n: D
oes
a d
ivin
e p
ower
con
tinu
e to
up
hold
the
cou
ntry
?” A
mon
g th
e “m
iracl
es”
tha
t ar
e re
port
ed:
�
Isra
eli
troo
ps i
n th
e Y
om K
ippu
r w
ar
are
save
d w
hen
a m
yste
riou
s w
ind
exp
oses
tho
usa
nds
of la
nd m
ines
tha
t im
per
il th
eir
lives
.
�
An
outn
um
ber
ed I
sra
eli
squa
d is
sa
ved
whe
n a
ppro
achi
ng e
nem
y tr
oops
in
exp
lica
bly
flee.
�
Str
ang
e b
eing
s w
ield
ing
flam
ing
swor
ds f
oil
ma
raud
ing
Ara
bs i
n th
eir
at-
tem
pt t
o de
stro
y a
Jew
ish
com
mu
nity
.
�
Ba
ttle
field
rep
orts
of
Isra
eli s
oldi
ers
bein
g m
iracu
lous
ly h
eale
d…w
hile
the
en
emy
rep
orte
d b
eing
nu
mb
ed,
una
ble
to m
ove
or f
ire
a w
eapo
n.
Our
na
tura
l re
act
ion
ma
y b
e to
vie
w t
hese
acc
ount
s a
nd t
he m
any
mor
e lik
e th
em a
s a
litt
le f
ar-
fetc
hed.
But
the
n, h
ow w
ould
we
have
re
act
ed w
hen
it w
as
repo
rted
tha
t C
hris
t ha
d be
en r
ais
ed f
rom
the
dea
d?
In t
he 1
967
vict
ory
ther
e w
ere
a n
um
ber
of
reco
rded
fa
ctor
s th
at
seem
to
be
logi
cal
mis
calc
ula
tions
, a
ccid
ents
, or
mis
take
s, b
ut w
hen
we
cons
ider
the
m a
ll ha
ppen
ing
in c
lose
pro
xim
ity w
e m
ust
reco
gniz
e di
vine
pro
vide
nce.
To
nam
e a
fe
w:
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
85
�
Egy
ptia
n of
ficer
s a
t a
pa
rty
whi
le s
taff
fum
ble
d w
ith c
oded
inf
orm
atio
n w
arn
ing
of a
n a
ir ra
id.
�
Inco
mp
eten
t Is
rael
i ch
ief
of s
taff
suff
ers
brea
kdow
n a
nd i
s ho
spita
lized
- a
llow
ing
the
act
ing
chie
f to
win
the
dec
isiv
e vi
ctor
y.
�
Tru
cks
and
arm
ored
veh
icle
s br
oke
dow
n m
yste
riou
sly.
�
Egy
ptia
n ra
dar/
com
mu
nica
tion
syst
ems
not
wor
king
.
�
“All
Cle
ar”
sig
nals
giv
en w
hile
Isr
ael
i pla
nes
wer
e a
ppro
ac
hing
.
�
Ara
b di
scip
line
colla
psed
in t
he f
ace
of
Isra
eli a
ssa
ults
.
Mos
he D
aya
n is
a s
ecu
lar
lea
der
who
(w
ith h
is e
ye p
atc
h) a
ppea
rs a
s a
sym
bol
of
“bl
indn
ess
in p
art
”. H
owev
er,
afte
r ta
king
the
old
city
in
1967
, he
qu
oted
fr
om t
he P
salm
s a
t th
e W
este
rn w
all
in 1
967:
T
his
is
the
LO
RD
'S d
oin
g;
it is
m
arv
ello
us
in o
ur
eyes
(P
salm
118
:23)
.
The
Han
d o
f G
od in
the
Wea
ther
: The
re is
ano
ther
are
na in
whi
ch t
he e
ye o
f fa
ith w
ill s
ee m
iracl
es s
till h
app
enin
g. H
isto
ry h
as
rec
orde
d a
nu
mb
er o
f ev
ents
w
here
ext
rem
es i
n w
eath
er p
laye
d a
ma
jor
role
in
the
outc
ome.
One
cla
ssic
ex-
am
ple
wa
s on
D D
ay
nea
r th
e en
d of
Wor
ld W
ar
2, w
hen
the
al
lied
troo
ps
cros
sed
the
Eng
lish
Cha
nnel
with
unu
sua
lly c
alm
se
as
to i
nva
de E
urop
e a
nd
brin
g a
bout
an
end
to N
azi
pow
er.
Mor
e re
cent
ly t
here
ha
ve b
een
a n
um
ber
of
com
paris
ons
dra
wn
bet
wee
n “M
ajo
r A
cts
of G
od”
in t
he U
S b
ringi
ng ju
dgm
ent
on t
his
natio
n fo
r th
eir
polit
ica
l blu
n-de
rs i
n la
ck o
f su
ppor
t fo
r G
od’s
peo
ple
. A
boo
k en
title
d G
od’s
Fin
al
Wa
rnin
g to
Am
eric
a s
ugge
sts
tha
t H
urric
ane
Ka
trin
a o
f A
ugu
st 2
005
and
eig
ht o
ther
ev
ents
sta
rtin
g w
ith t
he Per
fect
Sto
rm in
Oct
ober
of
1991
wer
e a
ll w
arn
ings
fr
om G
od c
lose
ly l
inke
d to
adv
erse
US
act
ions
rel
atin
g to
Isr
ael
. A
noth
er s
imi-
lar
book
ca
lled I
sra
el,
Th
e B
less
ing
or
the
Cu
rse offe
rs t
he s
am
e ev
iden
ce o
f di
vine
judg
men
t.
How
do
we
und
erst
and
the
se t
hing
s? S
crip
ture
doe
s ve
rify
tha
t G
od u
ses
the
wea
ther
for
suc
h pu
rpos
es a
nd t
here
ma
y w
ell b
e a
con
nect
ion
in
som
e of
the
se
even
ts.
�
Ou
t o
f th
e so
uth
co
met
h t
he
wh
irlw
ind
: a
nd
co
ld o
ut
of
the
no
rth
. B
y th
e b
rea
th o
f G
od
fro
st i
s gi
ven
: a
nd
th
e b
rea
dth
of
the
wa
ters
is
stra
iten
ed.
Als
o b
y w
ate
rin
g h
e w
eari
eth
th
e th
ick
clo
ud
: h
e sc
att
eret
h h
is b
righ
t cl
oud
: A
nd
it
is t
urn
ed r
ou
nd
abo
ut
by
his
co
un
sels
: th
at t
hey
ma
y d
o w
ha
tso
ever
h
e co
mm
an
det
h t
hem
up
on
th
e fa
ce o
f th
e w
orl
d i
n t
he
eart
h.
He
cau
seth
it
to c
om
e, w
het
her
fo
r co
rrec
tion,
or
for
his
lan
d, o
r fo
r m
ercy
(Jo
b 37
:9-1
3).
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
86
On
Tue
sda
y ev
enin
g I
atte
nded
the
deb
ate
bet
wee
n R
icha
rd D
aw
kins
and
Joh
n Le
nnox
at
Oxf
ord’
s N
atu
ral H
isto
ry M
useu
m.
Thi
s w
as
the
seco
nd p
ublic
en-
cou
nter
bet
wee
n th
e tw
o m
en,
but
it tu
rned
out
to
be
very
di
ffer
ent
from
th
e fir
st.
Lenn
ox is
the
Oxf
ord
ma
them
atic
s pr
ofes
sor
who
se b
ook,
Go
d’s
Un
der
-ta
ker:
Ha
s S
cien
ce B
uri
ed G
od
? is t
o m
y m
ind
an
exco
riatin
g de
mol
ition
of
Da
wki
ns’s
ove
rrea
ch f
rom
bio
logy
int
o re
ligio
n a
s ex
pres
sed
in h
is b
ook T
he
Go
d D
elu
sio
n --
all
the
mor
e de
vast
atin
g be
caus
e L
enno
x a
ttack
s hi
m o
n t
he
basi
s of
sci
ence
its
elf.
In
the
first
deb
ate
, D
aw
kins
wa
s ba
dly
caug
ht o
ff-ba
lanc
e by
Len
nox’
s a
rgum
ent
prec
isel
y b
eca
use,
pos
sibl
y fo
r th
e fir
st t
ime,
he
wa
s be
ing
cha
lleng
ed o
n hi
s ow
n ch
osen
sci
entif
ic g
roun
d.
Thi
s w
eek’
s de
bate
, ho
wev
er,
wa
s di
ffer
ent
bec
aus
e fr
om
the
sta
rt
off
Da
wki
ns m
oved
it o
nto
safe
r te
rrito
ry–
and
at
the
very
beg
inn
ing
ma
de a
mos
t st
artli
ng a
dmis
sion
. H
e sa
id:
A s
erio
us c
ase
coul
d be
mad
e fo
r a
deis
tic G
od.
Pro
fess
or R
icha
rd D
awki
ns’ R
ece
nt A
dmis
sion
�
Pra
ise
the
LO
RD
fro
m th
e ea
rth,
ye
dra
go
ns,
an
d a
ll d
eep
s: F
ire,
a
nd
hai
l; sn
ow
, a
nd
va
po
urs
; st
orm
y w
ind
fu
lfilli
ng
his
wo
rd (
Psa
lm 1
48:7
-8).
God
wor
king
in o
ur li
ves:
Per
haps
one
of
the
mor
e di
fficu
lt a
rea
s fo
r us
to
ap-
prec
iate
God
and
His
mig
hty
pow
er is
whe
n it
com
es t
o ou
r ow
n li
ves.
W
e re
ad
in P
hilip
pia
ns 2
:13:
Fo
r it
is G
od
wh
ich
wo
rket
h in
yo
u b
oth
to
will
an
d t
o d
o o
f h
is g
oo
d p
lea
sure
, but
we
ma
y ha
ve t
roub
le u
nder
sta
ndin
g ho
w t
his
wor
ks.
We
prof
ess
tha
t G
od h
as
the
pow
er t
o in
terv
ene
in h
um
an
even
ts
and
to
cha
nge
the
outc
ome,
but
per
haps
won
der,
who
am
I t
hat
He
wou
ld a
ctua
lly w
ork
in
my
life?
In s
pite
of
our li
ttle
faith
in
thes
e m
att
ers,
I w
ould
gu
ess
tha
t w
e a
ll ha
ve h
ad
circ
um
sta
nces
rel
ativ
e to
our
hea
lth o
r w
elfa
re t
hat
we
felt
cert
ain
tha
t G
od w
as
invo
lved
in.
If w
e ca
n b
elie
ve in
mira
cles
– a
nd t
hat
God
stil
l w
orks
in o
ur li
ves,
ou
r fa
ith w
ill b
e in
crea
sed.
God
ma
y a
llow
tim
e a
nd
ch
an
ce to
hel
p us
gro
w,
or
He
ma
y in
terv
ene
acc
ordi
ng t
o H
is w
ill.
Do
we
bel
ieve
? It
is n
ot d
iffic
ult
for
us t
o id
entif
y w
ith
the
ma
n w
ho w
ant
ed h
is
son
hea
led
and
wa
s to
ld b
y C
hris
t: If
th
ou
ca
nst
bel
ieve
, a
ll th
ing
s a
re p
ossi
ble
to
him
th
at b
elie
veth.
His
rep
ly a
nd o
urs:
Lo
rd,
I b
elie
ve;
hel
p t
ho
u m
ine
un
be-
lief (
Ma
rk 9
:19-
24).
Jim
Mill
ay,
Sp
rin
gfie
ld,
VT
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
87
Thi
s w
as
sure
ly r
ema
rka
ble.
Her
e w
as
the
arch
-apo
stle
of
ath
eism
, w
hose
who
le
case
is
base
d on
the
ass
ertio
n th
at
belie
ving
in
a c
rea
tor
of t
he u
nive
rse
is n
o di
ffer
ent
from
bel
ievi
ng in
fa
iries
at
the
bott
om o
f th
e g
ard
en,
sayi
ng t
hat
a se
ri-ou
s ca
se c
an
be m
ade
for
the
ide
a t
hat
the
univ
erse
wa
s br
oug
ht i
nto
bein
g by
so
me
kind
of
purp
osef
ul f
orce
. A
cre
ato
r. T
rue,
he
wa
s no
t sa
ying
he
wa
s no
w a
de
ist;
on
the
cont
rary
, he
stil
l did
n't
bel
ieve
in
such
a p
urpo
sefu
l fou
ndin
g in
tel-
ligen
ce,
and
he
wa
s ce
rta
inly
stil
l sa
ying
tha
t be
lief
in
the
pers
ona
l G
od o
f th
e B
ible
wa
s ju
st l
ike
bel
ievi
ng i
n fa
iries
. N
ever
thel
ess,
to
ack
now
ledg
e th
at
‘a
seri
ous
case
cou
ld b
e m
ade
for
a d
eist
ic g
od’ i
s to
und
erm
ine
his
prev
ious
ca
te-
goric
al a
sser
tion
tha
t
...al
l lif
e, a
ll in
telli
gen
ce,
all
crea
tivity
an
d a
ll
‘des
ign’
an
ywh
ere
in t
he
univ
erse
is
the
dire
ct o
r in
dire
ct p
rodu
ct o
f D
arw
inia
n n
atu
ral
sele
c-tio
n...D
esig
n ca
nnot
pre
cede
evo
lutio
n an
d th
eref
ore
cann
ot u
nde
rlie
th
e un
iver
se.
In O
xfor
d on
Tue
sda
y ni
ght,
how
ever
, vi
rtua
lly t
he f
irst
thin
g h
e sa
id w
as
tha
t a
se
riou
s ca
se c
ould
be
ma
de f
or b
elie
ving
tha
t it
cou
ld.
Ant
hony
Fle
w,
the
cele
bra
ted
phi
loso
phe
r a
nd f
orm
er h
igh
prie
st o
f a
thei
sm,
spec
tacu
larl
y ch
ang
ed h
is m
ind
and
con
clu
ded
-- a
s se
t ou
t in
his
boo
k Th
ere
Is
A G
od
-- t
hat
life
had
inde
ed b
een
crea
ted
by a
gov
erni
ng a
nd p
urpo
sefu
l in
tel-
ligen
ce,
a c
hang
e of
min
d th
at
occu
rred
b
eca
use
he
follo
wed
wh
ere
the
scie
ntif
ic
evid
ence
led
him
. The
con
vers
ion
of F
lew
, w
hose
boo
k co
nta
ins
a cu
ttin
g cr
i-tiq
ue
of
Da
wki
ns’s
th
inki
ng,
has
been
di
smis
sed
with
u
nbr
idle
d sc
orn
by
Da
wki
ns –
who
now
sa
ys t
here
is a
ser
ious
ca
se f
or t
he p
osi
tion
tha
t F
lew
now
a
dopt
s!
Aft
erw
ard
s, I
ask
ed D
aw
kins
whe
ther
he
had
inde
ed c
hang
ed h
is p
ositi
on a
nd
beco
me
mor
e op
en t
o id
eas
whi
ch la
y ou
tsid
e th
e sc
ient
ific
par
adi
gm.
He
vehe
-m
ently
den
ied
this
and
exp
ress
ed h
orro
r th
at
he m
ight
ha
ve g
ive
n th
is i
mpr
es-
sion
...E
ven
mor
e ja
w-d
ropp
ingl
y, D
aw
kins
tol
d m
e th
at,
rat
her
tha
n be
lievi
ng in
G
od,
he w
as
mor
e re
cept
ive
to t
he t
heor
y th
at
life
on e
art
h ha
d in
deed
bee
n cr
e-a
ted
by a
gov
erni
ng i
ntel
ligen
ce –
but
one
whi
ch h
ad
resi
ded
on a
noth
er p
lane
t.
Lea
ve a
side
the
qu
estio
n of
whe
re t
hat
extr
a-t
erre
stria
l in
telli
genc
e ha
d its
elf
com
e fr
om,
is it
not
rem
ark
abl
e th
at
the
arch
-apo
stle
of
rea
son
finds
the
con
cept
of
God
mo
re u
nlik
ely
as
an
expl
ana
tion
of t
he u
nive
rse
tha
n th
e ex
iste
nce
and
pl
enip
oten
tiary
pow
er o
f ex
tra
-ter
rest
rial l
ittle
gre
en m
en.
..
Tru
th i
s in
deed
the
cru
x of
the
ma
tter
– b
ut D
aw
kins
see
ms
to
unde
rsta
nd t
he
wor
d ra
ther
diff
eren
tly f
rom
the
res
t of
us.
The
gre
at
ques
tion,
how
ever
, is
w
heth
er h
is o
wn
theo
ry i
s no
w i
n th
e pr
oces
s of
fur
ther
ev
olut
ion
-- a
nd
whe
ther
it
mig
ht e
ven
jum
p th
e sp
ecie
s ba
rrie
r in
to w
hat
is
vulg
arl
y kn
own
by
less
er m
orta
ls a
s fa
ith.
Mel
an
ie P
hill
ips,
Th
e S
pec
tato
r (.
CO
.UK
), O
cto
ber
23
rd,
20
08 (
Ab
ridg
ed
)
Th
e C
hris
tad
elp
hia
n A
dvo
cate
D
ecem
ber
200
8
p. 3
88
CH
RIS
TAD
ELP
HIA
N U
NA
ME
ND
ED
S
TAT
EM
EN
T O
F F
AIT
H
Cla
use
XX
XI
Tha
t th
e sc
riptu
res,
co
mpo
sing
the
bo
ok
curr
ently
kn
ow
n as
the
Bib
le,
are
the
onl
y so
urce
no
w e
xtan
t o
f kno
wle
dge
con-
cern
ing
Go
d an
d H
is p
urpo
ses,
and
tha
t th
ey
wer
e g
ive
n w
holl
y by
the
un
erri
ng in
spira
tion
of G
od
in t
he w
riter
s, a
nd t
hat
such
err
ors
as
have
si
nce
crep
t in
are
due
to
tra
nscr
iptio
n o
r tr
ansl
atio
n.
(Neh
em
iah
9:30
; Lu
ke 1
:70;
Jo
hn 1
0:35
; 1
Co
rinth
ians
2:1
3, 1
4:37
; 2
Tim
oth
y 3:
16;
Heb
rew
s 1:
1; 2
Pet
er 1
:21)
Doc
trin
es T
o B
e R
ejec
ted
1. T
hat
the
Bib
le is
onl
y pa
rtly
the
wo
rk
of
insp
iratio
n –
or i
f w
holly
so
, co
ntai
ns e
rro
rs w
hich ins
pira
tion
al-
low
ed.
Chr
ista
delp
hian
s B
elie
ve a
nd T
each
the
Scr
iptu
res
are:
INS
PIR
ED
- th
e w
ord
mea
ning
“G
od-b
reat
hed,
” es
tabl
ishi
ng th
e fo
unda
tion
of s
crip
ture
- N
ow
all
this
wa
s d
on
e,
tha
t it
mig
ht b
e f
ul-
fille
d w
hic
h w
as
spo
ken
of
the
Lord
by
the
prop
het...
(Mat
thew
1:2
2)
• “o
f th
e Lo
rd”
stat
es G
od
was
the
ulti
mat
e ag
ent
• “b
y th
e pr
ophe
t” im
plie
s a
n in
term
edia
te a
gent
of G
od
• T
he B
ible
is in
thi
s se
nse
both
a h
um
an
and
div
ine
pro
duct
, b
ut
the
end
pro
duct
is G
od’
s.
INF
ALL
IBLE
- th
e ne
xt le
vel u
p fr
om in
spire
d, m
eani
ng
th
e B
ible
is tr
ue in
what it
teac
hes
• T
here
is n
o u
ntru
th in
its
page
s re
gard
ing
mat
ters
of f
ai
th o
r pr
actic
e
INE
RR
AN
T –
th
e hi
ghes
t and
mos
t str
inge
nt le
vel…
a st
ep
beyo
nd in
falli
bilit
y
• T
he B
ible
is t
rue
in it
s de
scri
ptio
n o
f his
toric
al e
vent
s an
d su
mm
ary
of w
ord
s sp
oke
n.