Incredible Accuracy

 

The Incredible Accuracy of the Bible: An Argument for Inspiration

By Wayne Jackson

 
 
 
 

Horace (65-8 B.C.), a Latin lyric poet, wrote: “Sometimes even the noble Homer nods” (Ars Poetica I.359).

Homer was the blind Greek poet of the eighth century B.C., so well-known for his works, the Iliad and the Odyssey. What Horace suggested was this: as accomplished as Homer was, he sometimes erred with reference to the facts of the incidents he mentioned.

More than a quarter of a century ago, the late B. C. Goodpasture, respected editor of the Gospel Advocate for some thirty-eight years, published an article in that journal titled, “Homer Sometimes Nods” (1970). The thrust of this fascinating essay was to show that human authors, regardless of their genius and skill, are fallible. Thus, in spite of their consummate care, they will “nod” or slip on occasion.

By way of contrast, the writers of the biblical record never nodded. Even though many of them were not professional scholars (cf. Acts 4:13), nonetheless they wrote with astounding precision. The only reasonable conclusion the honest student may draw is this: their work was directed by the Spirit of God.

To Err Is Human

A poet once quipped: “To err is human.” How very true. Humans do err; God does not. And that is why the careful student can clearly discern the difference between a document that is a mere human composition, and one which was penned under the guidance of the infallible Creator of the universe.

Literary Flaws—Ancient and Modern

Herodotus was a Greek historian of the fifth century B.C. Cicero called him “the father of history.” He wrote nine books dealing with the Greek and Persian wars, together with a history of the customs and geography of those empires. In one of his writings, Herodotus claimed that oxen in Sythia grew no horns because it was too cold there (The Histories 4.29). He apparently had never heard of reindeer!

Aristotle, the famous Greek scholar of the fourth century B.C., was renowned for his knowledge. Yet he made some colossal speculative blunders. In his work titled Parts of Animals, he argued that within the human body, man’s soul is “lodged in some substance of a fiery character.”

 He contended that the brain “is a compound of earth and water.” He further suggested that sleep is caused by the blood flowing into the brain, thus making it heavy. This, he declared, “is the reason why drowsy persons hang the head” (Book II, Chapter 3).

Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman who died about the mid-second century B.C. His famous work De Agri Cultura (On Farming) has survived. In one passage (71) he gave a remedy for treating an ailing ox. It consisted of forcing down the ox a whole, raw hen’s egg, followed the next day by a concoction of leek and wine. 

However, this treatment, in order to be efficacious, absolutely must be administered from a wooden vessel while both the ox and the administrator are standing (cited by Sarton 1959, 408).
It is obvious that the method of administration would have nothing to do with the curative value of Cato’s concoction. But, such is the nature of human superstition.

Flavius Josephus was a Jewish writer who authored several works regarding the Hebrew nation—its fortunes and fates. Though he is considered a respectable historian for his day, he frequently slipped. For instance he declared that during the siege of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), a heifer, being led to sacrifice in the temple, gave birth to a lamb (The Wars of the Jews 6.3).

Samuel Johnson was the author of the first bona fide English dictionary. He also produced A Grammar of the English Tongue. In that work the celebrated writer stated that the letter “H seldom, perhaps never, begins any but the first syllable” of a word. Regrettably, he had not noticed that h commenced the second syllable in “perhaps.” His humiliation must have been keen.

The famous poet, Lord Byron, wrote a magnificent composition which he titled The Destruction of Sennacherib. In beautiful rhyme this literary masterpiece dramatically told of the devastating deaths of the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers who threatened Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah. 

The poet slipped, though, because the rebel monarch Sennacherib was not destroyed when Jehovah’s messenger smote that vast heathen camp. The king was several miles away at Lachish when the destruction occurred. He eventually returned to his home in the east and was slain by his own sons—in fulfillment, incidentally, of sacred prophecy (2 Kings 19:7,36-37).

Adam Clarke was probably the most famous scholar produced by the Methodist Church. He spent forty years writing his famous Commentary on the Bible. As meticulous as he was, Clarke occasionally erred. For example, in commenting on Genesis 1:16, he suggested that the moon has streams and vegetation, and is inhabited by intelligent beings.

 Our modern space explorations have proved that speculation to be quite erroneous. Clarke also stated that Jewish historian Josephus never mentioned the Syrian soldier, Naaman. He was wrong, though, because Josephus asserted that the warrior who mortally wounded Ahab, by shooting an arrow randomly into the air, was Naaman (Antiquities of the Jews 8.15.5).

Alexander Cruden produced a very widely used concordance of the English Bible, a task for which he was well-qualified by virtue of many years of Scripture study (even though, at times, he suffered from emotional illness). Yet, in his volume, Explanations of Scripture Terms, concerning the whale, Cruden wrote: “The [whale is the] greatest of the fishes that we know of” (1840, 366). He erred. Actually, the whale is a mammal, and not a fish at all.

The religion of Islam claims that the Qur’an is inspired of God. Clearly, however, it is not, for it is flawed by many examples of nodding. For instance, the Qur’an suggests that the human fetus results from “sperm” (no mention of an egg) that changes into “a clot of congealed blood,” which then becomes bones, later to be covered with flesh (Sura 23:14). This is hardly an accurate description of fetal development.

The Book of Mormon is revered by millions of “Latter-Day Saints.” It purports to be an infallible revelation from God given to Joseph Smith Jr. by an angel of the Lord. Whoever composed the narrative, however, nodded more than once (one is tempted to say he lapsed into a coma). For instance in Alma 7:10 it is said that Jesus Christ was born in Jerusalem. But, as every school child knows, the Lord was born in that “little town of Bethlehem” (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1).

The Spirit of God makes no such blunders. Again, according to The Book of Mormon, a man by the name of Nephi was using a “compass” to find his direction in the sixth century B.C. (1 Nephi 16:10; 2 Nephi 5:12).

 It is well known, of course, that the mariner’s compass was not in use until at least a thousand years after the birth of Christ. This is a critical anachronism in Mormonism’s “sacred” book.

Joseph Smith Jr. also taught that there were people living on the moon. According to Smith, they were six feet tall, dressed like Quakers, and had a life-span of one thousand years (Huntington 1892, 263). Brigham Young, Smith’s successor, when asked about this matter, concurred, suggesting that such beings lived on the sun as well (Young 1854-75, 271).

Mary Baker Eddy founded the “Christian Science” movement. She produced a book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which she claimed was co-authored by God. But Mrs. Eddy more-than-nodded when, in that volume, she wrote:

Man is not matter, made up of brains, blood, bones, and other material elements . . . .Man is spiritual and perfect; and because of this, he must be so understood in Christian Science . . . .Man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death (1934, 475). In spite of her denial of human mortality, she died December 3, 1910.

Biblical Accuracy

By way of glaring contrast, the holy writers of the biblical records never nodded. Their works are characterized by a razor-sharp accuracy that defies explanation save on the ground they were controlled by the Spirit of God. Consider the following factors.

The first two chapters of the Bible contain the divine record of the commencement of the universe, including the Earth and its inhabitants. Though it was penned thirty-five centuries ago, there is not a syllable in this account that is at variance with any demonstrable fact of science. Any book on astronomy or earth science penned fifty years ago is already obsolete. And yet Genesis, simple and sublime, is factually flawless.

The Mosaic narrative asserts that the universe had a “beginning” (1:1), which is perfectly consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Contrast this with the Babylonian creation record known as Enuma Elish, which asserts the eternality of matter (Pfeiffer 1966, 226).

The Genesis record affirms that creation activity was concluded by the end of the sixth day (2:1-3). Science says, as per the First Law of Thermodynamics, that nothing is being created today.

No less than ten times Genesis 1 affirms that biological organisms replicate “after [their] kind.” In passing we must note that modern pseudo-science (i.e., the theory of evolution) is dependent upon the notion that in the past organisms have reproduced after their non-kind! The biblical account, however, is in perfect harmony with the known laws of genetics.

The medical knowledge revealed in the Bible is truly astounding. It is well known, for instance, that medicine in the antique world was based upon myth and superstition. This was true in Babylon and Egypt.

For example the Papyrus Ebers (from the sixteenth century B.C.), edited by George M. Ebers in 1874, offered some very strange remedies for various illnesses. Here is a prescription for folks who are losing their hair:

When it falls out, one remedy is to apply a mixture of six fats, namely those of the horse, the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the cat, the snake, and the ibex. To strengthen it, anoint with the tooth of a donkey crushed in honey (quoted by McMillen 1963, 11).

Even the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, one of the more sophisticated examples of Egyptian medical “science,” contains a spell for “transforming an old man into a youth of twenty.”

In spite of the fact that Moses was reared in an Egyptian environment and “was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22), not one time did the great law-giver incorporate any of this magical mumbo-jumbo into the Scriptures. On the contrary, Moses was far ahead of his time in terms of medicine and sanitation. 

A careful study of Leviticus 13, with reference to certain skin diseases, reveals some rather modern techniques (e.g., the diagnosis of certain symptoms), treatment to lessen spread (e.g., disinfection), and quarantine. No other law code in the whole of ancient history came anywhere near rivaling these health regulations.

Consider, for instance, the fact that the “leper” was required to “cover his upper lip” (Leviticus 13:45). Dr. J. S. Morton has noted: “Since the leprosy bacilli are transmitted from nasal drippings and saliva, this practice of having lepers cover their upper lips was a good hygienic policy” (1978, 255).

Concerning Moses’ procedures for quarantining, Dr. William Vis has written:

To show how far Moses was ahead of modern society we need only to remind ourselves that the word quarantine originated in the fourteenth century when the Italian ports of Venice and Genoa first refused admission to immigrants who might be harboring plague and required them to stay on board for forty days—hence the word quarantine. Even in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries leprosy spread over southern Europe until the principles of Moses were re-enacted successfully (1950, 244).

When the Encyclopedia Britannica was first published, it had so many mistakes relative to American geography and topography that the publishers of the New American Cyclopedia issued a special pamphlet correcting the blunders of its British rival.

J. W. McGarvey once noted that when Tacitus wrote his celebrated work, Germania, which dealt with the geography, manners, customs, and tribes of Germany, it contained so many errors that many were inclined to doubt that this well-known Roman historian could have produced such a flawed volume (1956, 26-27). The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that “the geography is its weak point” (1958, 736).

The biblical writings contain literally hundreds of references to geography and topography relating to those lands which the prophets and apostles traversed. We are quite casual in our topographical allusions. Usually we speak of going “up” north and “down” south. For example, you might say you are going to travel from Atlanta up to Chicago, though Chicago is almost five hundred feet lower than Atlanta.

However the biblical writers, are always precise when recording elevation references. One travels from Jerusalem (in the south) “down” to Antioch, some one hundred fify miles to the north (Acts 15:1-2). Not once is there a geographical or topographical blunder in the sacred volume, in spite of the fact that the ancients did not possess the sophisticated instruments we have today.

Here is an amazing fact. In the book of Acts, the historian Luke mentions thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine of the Mediterranean islands (Metzger 1965, p. 171). There is not the slightest mistake in any of his references. Luke has been criticized over the centuries to be sure; his influence has increased, however, while his critics’ credibility has decreased.

Alleged Slips

Over a span of many centuries, hostile critics of the Bible have charged the sacred writers with nodding. Time after time, however, when the true facts have come to light, the Scriptures have been vindicated. Reflect upon a few examples.

The Genesis record declares that while he was in Egypt, Pharaoh presented Abraham with some camels (12:16). Liberal writers disputed this. T. K. Cheyne wrote: “The assertion that the ancient Egyptians knew of the camel is unfounded” (1899, 634). Professor Kenneth Kitchen has shown, however, that “the extant evidence clearly indicates that the domestic camel was known [in Egypt] by 3,000 B.C.”—long before Abraham’s time (1980, 228).

On several occasions in the book of Genesis, it is recorded that Abraham and Isaac had associations with the Philistines (cf. Genesis 21 and 26). Liberal scholars consider these references to be anachronistic (details from a later age inappropriately inserted into the patriarchal account). H.T. Frank characterizes the allusions as “an historical inaccuracy” (1964, 323).

It has been shown, however, that “Philistine” was a rather generic term and that there is no valid reason to doubt that these groups were in Canaan before the arrival of the main body in the early twelfth century B.C. (Unger 1954, 91; Archer 1964, 266; Harrison 1963, 32). Harrison says that the archaeological evidence “suggests that it is a mistake to regard the mention of the Philistines in the patriarchal narratives as an anachronism” (1983, 362).

Elsewhere, this writer has catalogued no less than twenty major slips, with which the biblical writers have been charged (Jackson 1982). Each of these has evaporated with the passing of time and the exhumation of evidence.

Conclusion

Yes, even the noble Homer may nod; those guided by the Spirit of God, however, never did. You can trust the Bible! And here is a crucial point: if the Bible proves to be reliable in hundreds of matters that are verifiable, why should it not be trusted in issues in the spiritual realm that, from the very nature of the case, are beyond human verification, e.g., issues pertaining to redemption from sin?

The author acknowledges his indebtedness to the lamented B.C. Goodpasture for the idea from which this article sprang, and for a few of the examples that illustrate the concept developed (1970, 322,325).

Works Cited

• Archer, Gleason. 1964. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Chicago, IL: Moody.
• Cheyne, T. K. 1899. Encyclopedia Biblica. Vol. 1. London, England: A. & C. Black.
• Cruden, Alexander. 1840. Cruden’s Explanations of Scripture Terms. London, England: Religious Tract Society.
• Eddy, Mary Baker. 1934. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Boston, MA: The First Church of Christ, Scientist.
• Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. 21. 1958. Tacitus. London, England: Encyclopedia Britanica, Inc.
• Frank, H. T. 1964. An Archaeological Companion to the Bible. London, England: SCM Press.
• Goodpasture, B. C. 1970. Homer Sometimes Nods. Gospel Advocate, CXII.21.
• Harrison, R. K. 1963. The Archaeology of the Old Testament. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
• Harrison, R. K. 1983. The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology. Edward Blaiklock and R.K. Harrison, eds. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
• Huntington, Oliver B. 1892. Inhabitants of the Moon. Young Woman’s Journal, 3.
• Jackson, Wayne. 1982. Biblical Studies in the Light of Archaeology. Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press.
• Kitchen, K. A. 1980. The Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Vol. 1. J. D. Douglas, ed. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
• McGarvey, J.W. 1956 Reprint. Evidences of Christianity. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate.
• McMillen, S. I. 1963. None of These Diseases. Westwood, NJ: Fleming Revell Co.
• Metzger, Bruce M. 1965 The New Testament: Its background, Growth, and Content. Nashville, TN: Abingdon.
• Morton, J. S. 1978. Science in the Bible. Chicago. IL: Moody.
• Pfeiffer, Charles. 1966. The Biblical World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.
• Sarton, George. 1959. A History of Science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Unger, Merril. 1954. Archaeology and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
• Vis, William R. 1950. Medical Science and the Bible. Modern Science and the Christian Faith. Wheaton, IL: Van Kampen Press.
• Young, Brigham. 1854-75. Journal of Discourses. Vol. 13. Liverpool, England: F. D. Richards.

Scripture References

Acts 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 5; 2 Kings 19:7, 36-37; Genesis 1:16; Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1; Genesis 1; Acts 7:22; Leviticus 13; Leviticus 13:45; Acts 15:1-2; Genesis 21

Cite this article

Jackson, Wayne. "The Incredible Accuracy of the Bible: An Argument for Inspiration." ChristianCourier.com. Access date: June 4, 2021. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/82-the-incredible-accuracy-of-the-bible-an-argument-for-inspiration

Coal

 

The Bible and the Coal Basket

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains
of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning,
Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old
worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him,
tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just
like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand
I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading
the Bible do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal
in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river
and bring back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out
before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed
and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and
sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time
the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he
returned home.

Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to
carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket
of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and
he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to
show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the
water would leakout before he got far at all. The boy scooped the
water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket
was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!" "So you think
it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy
looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the
basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it
was clean.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not
understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will
change you from the inside out. That is the work of God in our
lives. To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform
us into the image of His son.

Take time to read a portion of God's word each day."

A Women of Great Faith;

 

The Syrophoenician Woman: A Woman of Great Faith

By Jason Jackson

“And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon” (Mark 7:24a). Matthew wrote that Jesus “withdrew” (15:21). This was the third time in which Jesus withdrew from Galilee in the gospel of Mark (cf. 4:35; 6:31).

The Lord sought solitude with his disciples, but the text says,

“And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid” (7:24b).

He had not gone into Gentile territory to embark on a healing ministry, but his fame had reached beyond the borders of Galilee (cf. 3:8).

During this retreat into a largely Gentile region, a woman approached Jesus for help. Mark introduced the account with a strong adversative conjunction, “but,” (Grk. alla), recording the fact that in contrast to the need for seclusion, a notable scene developed.

Mark 7:25 reveals that when this woman heard that Jesus was in the area, she came immediately and fell down at his feet. The aorist participles indicate that she fell down at his feet when she heard and when she came. Thus, the writer expressed the urgency in this mother’s heart as she unabashedly pursued Jesus — immediately.

Mark explained that she was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race (7:26). She was a Greek speaking lady who was a Gentile. She kept on asking (Grk. imperfect tense) him to cast forth the demon out of her daughter (cf. Demons: Ancient Superstition or Historical Reality?).

Matthew related that her request was formed in this way: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. But he answered her not a word” (Matthew 15:22-23). So intrusive was this woman that the disciples encouraged Jesus to send her away.

Jesus replied by saying, “I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). “But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me” (v. 25).

“And he said to her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27). Jesus used the diminutive form of the term “dogs” (i.e., the little dogs). D. Edmond Hiebert observed, “Jesus softened the force of the expression with His use of the diminutive, ‘little dogs’. . . Clearly His reference is to the little household pets, which, while not children in the house, yet had a place in the affairs of the household” (The Gospel of Mark: An Expositional Commentary, Greenville, S.C.: Bob Jones University Press, 1994, p. 210).

The woman followed the Lord’s parable, acknowledging the distinction implied by his words. Perhaps she saw a glimmer of hope in the word “first,” for Jesus implicitly revealed that while there was a redemptive priority for the Jews, the blessings of heaven did not exclusively belong to them.

With remarkable insight and persistence, she replied, “Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs” (Mark. 7:28). Jesus responded, “For this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter” (v. 29).

“This saying,” (i.e., her reply to Jesus) evidenced great faith on her part. Matthew records the assessment of our Lord: “O woman, great is thy faith” (15:28). Because of her faith, expressed in her thoughtful exchange with Jesus, the Lord granted her request for a miracle. The verb “is gone out,” is in the perfect tense, reflecting the Lord’s control and power. The demon left while they spoke and would remain out.

Consider the following observations about this woman of great faith.

This lady had great spiritual insight. She was not asking the Lord to alter the way he was implementing the plan of God, which would later be carried out by the apostles to the Jew first and also to the Greek. She was simply asking for a “crumb.” Faith is based upon understanding the will of God. It is founded upon knowledge — not mere emotion.

This mother illustrated the connection between faith and unfavorable circumstances. Great faith will rely upon the Son of God. Faith becomes stronger in times of distress for those who tenaciously depend on God (cf. James 1:2-4).

This woman demonstrated that great faith seeks the welfare of others. Those who trust in God will intercede for others. How much more ought we to be concerned about the spiritual welfare of those we love?

The Gentile lady showed the relationship of faith and humility. Her humble disposition complimented her genuine faith. Great faith is seeing one’s complete dependence upon God.

The Syrophoenician woman taught us that great faith endures. She was steadfast and resilient in her request of the Lord. Reminiscent of the woman who pursued the unjust judge, she reminds us to always pray and never give up (cf. Luke 18:1ff).

The distressed mother exemplified that great faith in the Son of God will result in a great deliverance. Although miraculous healings were confined to the first century during the infancy of Christianity (cf. John 20:30-31; see What Does the Bible Say About Miracles?), today everyone who will follow the Lord with obedient faith can be delivered from that which plagues all morally accountable people — sin.

What a relevant message. We need to cultivate great faith so that we may obtain the greater deliverance through the Great Physician — the salvation of our souls.

Scripture References

Mark 7:24; Mark 7:25; Matthew 15:22-23; Matthew 15:24; Mark 7:27; Mark 7:28; James 1:2-4; Luke 18:1; John 20:30-31

Cite this article

Jackson, Jason. "The Syrophoenician Woman: A Woman of Great Faith." ChristianCourier.com. Access date: June 4, 2021. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1235-the-syrophoenician-woman-a-woman-of-great-faith

Abide Forever

 

Will Earth “Be Burned Up” or “Abide Forever”?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Q.

According to certain Bible critics, 2 Peter 3:10 contradicts Ecclesiastes 1:4. Whereas Peter wrote, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (emp. added), Solomon declared in the book of Ecclesiastes, “One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever” (emp. added).

 Is one of these two declarations an “erroneous statement” as skeptic David Miles contends (2007), or is there a logical explanation regarding why the “burned up” Earth is said to “abide forever”?

A.

The answer to this question actually is very simple: the Bible frequently uses the term “forever” (Hebrew olam) in a more limited sense, to mean “a long duration,” and not necessarily a literal eternal existence (see Olam, 1999). Consider a few examples:

• Prior to the Israelites’ departure from Egypt, Moses instituted the Passover. He then added: “And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever” (Exodus 12:24, emp. added).

• Under the Law of Moses, when a servant pledged allegiance to his master, the master would “take an awl and thrust it through” the servant’s ear to the door (Deuteronomy 15:17). This was a sign that the servant would work for his master “forever” (15:17).

• After the Israelites visited King Rehoboam and petitioned him to lighten their burdens (2 Chronicles 10:3-4), the elders advised the king to be kind to the people and they would be his servants “forever” (10:7).

Like so many words throughout Scripture that have more than one meaning, the term “forever” must be understood in light of the context in which it is found. The above-mentioned passages clearly use “forever” in a limited sense, referring to a “long duration” and not literal unendingness. 

What’s more, considering how many words (e.g., “forever”) have more than one meaning, skeptics cannot justifiably label passages like Ecclesiastes 1:4 and 2 Peter 3:10 contradictory unless they can prove both passages are using the word in the exact same sense. The proper understanding of these passages is that though the Earth has outlasted countless generations (lasting “forever” in limited sense), one day the Earth “will be burned up.”

Finally, we frequently use the word “forever” in a limited sense in the 21^st century (e.g., “that lecture lasted forever”). One wonders why skeptics disallow the Bible writers the same freedom in their use of words such as “forever.”

REFERENCES

Miles, David (2007), “Letters,” Montgomery Advertiser, December 10, [On-line], URL: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071113/ OPINION02/711130304/1014/OPINION.

Olam (1999), Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Logos Research Systems: Bellingham, WA).

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Copyright © Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evil in the World

 

Is God the Cause of Evil in the World?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Based upon the rendering of Isaiah 45:7 in the KJV, ASV, and other translations,¹ skeptics have maintained that God is the author of evil. The verse reads: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” But is God the cause of evil in the world?

In order to answer that question, one must first define terms and, more specifically, ascertain the meaning behind the original word from which an English translation is taken. After all, the current state of English is such that we use the word “evil” to refer to spiritual, moral evil, i.e., sin or wickedness. But is that the meaning of the Hebrew word that lies behind the word “evil” in this verse?

As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word translated “evil” (rah) has various shades of meaning. It often has the meaning of distress, misery, injury, calamity, and adversity.² For example, consider its use in Amos 6:3—“Woe to you who put far off the day of doom” (NKJV). The NASB has “the day of calamity.” Jeremiah 42:6 reads in the ESV: “Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God.” 

The NKJV has: “Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God.” Isaiah 31:2 renders the word “disaster” in the NKJV: “Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster.” In Micah 1:12 “good” is contrasted with “disaster.”

Ahab complained to Jehoshaphat that the prophet Micaiah never prophesied “good” concerning him, but only “evil” (1 Kings 22:8,18). He was referring to the misfortune that came upon himself.³ 

In the great admonition that Moses issued to the younger generation near the end of his life, he urged: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil” (NKJV). The NASB rightly renders the verse: “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity” (Deuteronomy 30:15). “Good” and “evil” here refer, not to sin or moral evil, but to “prosperity” vs. “adversity.” 

The previous generation grumbled against Moses in the desert: “And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place?” (Numbers 20:5). They did not mean that the desert was immoral or sinful. They meant it was a “wretched place” (NASB/NRSV), a “terrible place” (CJB/ISV/NIV), a “horrible place” (EHV).

The NKJV renders Job 31:29 as: “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted myself up when evil found him.” A clearer rendering is: “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him” (NIV). 

What did Jacob mean when he explained to Pharaoh “few and evil have the days of the years of my life been” (Genesis 47:9)? He used the word to mean “poor, not beneficial.”⁴ The CJB renders it: “they have been few and difficult.” The NCV has: “short and filled with trouble.” Many additional verses manifest similar meanings for rah that have nothing to do with sin, moral evil, or wickedness.

One final observation regarding Isaiah 45:7. Based on the way Hebrew parallelism functions, the verse itself offers assistance in defining its use of the word “evil.” It is placed in antithesis to the word “peace.” The opposite of “peace” is not moral evil or wickedness—but physical disturbance, trouble, and adversity. The same is true in verse 11:

Therefore evil shall come upon you;
You shall not know from where it arises.
And trouble shall fall upon you;
You will not be able to put it off.
And desolation shall come upon you suddenly,
Which you shall not know.”

Hebrew parallelism in this verse demonstrates that “evil” = “trouble” = “desolation.”

Returning to verse 7, the NKJV reflects the parallelism nicely:

“I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.”

God is not the author of evil. Intrinsic evil, by definition, refers to violations of God’s will, i.e., sin (1 John 3:4). Sin is committed when human beings⁵ exercise their free will and choose to transgress God’s laws, thus committing evil. Humans are the source of evil in the world—not God.⁶

 ENDNOTES

¹ In addition to the KJV and ASV, these translations also render the Hebrew term “evil”: BRG, DARBY, DRA, GNV, JUB, LEB, WYC, and YLT.

² Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs (1906), The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2000 reprint), p. 948.

³ L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, M.E.J. Richardson, & J.J. Stamm (1994-2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, electronic ed.), p. 1252.

⁴ Ibid., p. 1250.

⁵ Satan and other angelic beings also chose to violate God’s will (e.g., John 8:44).

⁶ God’s allowance of suffering to exist in the world is likewise not evil. See Dave Miller (2015), Why People Suffer (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press); Dave Miller and Kyle Butt (2009), “The Problem of Human Suffering,” Apologetics Press, https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=890&topic=330.

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Believe

 

What should we Believe?

Sam Harris, Christ’s Resurrection, and the Nature of Belief
by Kyle Butt, M.A.


Sam Harris has helped lead the new brigade of militant atheists in their charge against God. His bestseller, The End of Faith, attempts to persuade the reader that all religions, including Christianity, are not only useless, but often quite harmful. 

In truth, he does an outstanding job showing some of the problems with false religions like Islam, and he also effectively repudiates perversions of Christian doctrine that attempt to pass themselves off as authentic. What he fails to do, however, is accurately assess true, New Testament Christianity, a fault that lies at the heart of much modern, atheistic writing.

As a case in point, Harris asked the question: “What should we believe?” He answered:

We believe most of what we believe about the world because others have told us to.... In fact, the more educated we become, the more our beliefs come to us second hand. A person who believes only those propositions for which he can provide full sensory or theoretical justification will know almost nothing about the world (2004).

Harris then proceeded to discuss how to assess the validity of what we should or should not believe that other people tell us. He gave three sources of information and analyzed the validity of each. 

First, he proposed the scenario of an anchorman on the evening news claiming that a fire in Colorado had burned 100,000 acres.

 

Second, he listed as a source of information numerous biologists who claim that DNA is the “molecular basis for sexual reproduction.” 

And the third source of information he listed was the Pope, who claims that Jesus is the Son of God, was born of a virgin, and was resurrected bodily after death.

After some discussion, Harris concluded that the first and second sources of information are reliable and should be trusted, but the third, the Pope, is not. What is interesting about Harris’ discussion is why he concluded that the story about the fire on the evening news is trustworthy. He elaborated:

Given our beliefs about the human mind, the success of our widespread collaboration with other human beings, and the degree to which we all rely on the news, it is scarcely conceivable that a respected television network and a highly paid anchorman are perpetrating a hoax, or that thousands of firefighters, newsmen, and terrified homeowners have mistaken Texas for Colorado.

 Implicit in such commonsense judgments lurks an understanding of the causal connections between various processes in the world, the likelihood of different outcomes, and the vested interests or lack thereof, of those whose testimony we are considering. 

What would a professional news anchor stand to gain from lying about a fire in Colorado? We need not go into the details here, if the anchor on the evening news says that there is a fire in Colorado and then shows us images of burning trees, we can be reasonably sure that there really is a fire in Colorado (2004).

It is not surprising that Harris follows this explanation with his statement about mistrusting the words of the Pope pertaining to the resurrection of Christ. In this regard, he is right: the Pope’s “word” on the resurrection is no more authoritative than the word of Sam Harris. But notice the straw man Harris has built. He rightly attacks the false belief of the Pope’s infallibility, but he does not address the real evidence that validates Jesus’ resurrection.

 Were we to put the evidence for the resurrection beside that of the news story, the resurrection would have unquestionably more “commonsense judgments” to commend it, making it much more “reasonably sure” than a modern news story.

Analyzing the resurrection of Christ in light of Harris’ filter of evidence, it is “scarcely conceivable” that several hundred eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6) of the resurrected Christ simply concocted the story to further their agenda. What would ordinary fishermen, farmers, or businessmen and women stand to gain from perpetuating such a hoax? 

The reward for their testimony was that many of them were stoned, killed with the sword, tortured, or imprisoned for nothing more than saying that they knew Jesus came back to life. Thousands of their peers listened with interest to their evidence, assessed the value of the witnesses and other information, such as the empty tomb of Christ, and were forced to conclude that the resurrection had, indeed, occurred (Acts 2:41). 

Many among the most educated classes, including the priests, who would have had numerous reasons to deny the validity of the evidence, were convinced of the truth of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 6:7). The many “infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3) offered for the resurrection are recorded in the most reliable documents ever to come down to modern man from any historical repository (see Butt, 2004). 

In fact, so powerful are the various evidences for the resurrection (see Butt, 2002), that, knowing what we know “about the casual connections between various processes” and humanity’s “success of our widespread collaboration with other human beings,” it is inconceivable that the resurrection of Christ is a hoax. The Pope is an easy target. The real evidence for the resurrection is not.

REFERENCES
Butt, Kyle (2002), “Jesus Christ—Dead or Alive?” Reason & Revelation, [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/121.

Butt, Kyle (2004), “Archaeology and the New Testament,” Reason & Revelation, [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2591.

Harris, Sam (2004), The End of Faith (New York: W.W. Norton).





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Copyright © Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fall of Jerusalem

 

The Fall of Jerusalem

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

While Jesus was on Earth, He performed amazing miracles that verified His claim to be the Son of God. He often used these miracles as legitimate evidence that would lead any reasonable person to conclude that He was Who He declared Himself to be. 

He presented a challenge to those who disbelieved: “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:37-38). Jesus’ proposal was simple: if He accomplished things that mere mortals could not do, then He must be Who He claimed to be..

 One such evidence of Jesus' divinity was the fact that He often predicted the future. Many times those predictions had to do with immediate events that would occur within a brief time after He made the predictions, such as His own capture by the Jews and His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21), or the establishment of the Church after His ascension (Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:4-8).

 One of Jesus’ most profound and easily verified predictions, however, had to do with events that would occur years after His time on Earth. With meticulous detail, Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, an event that took place almost four decades after His ascension. Not only does this prophecy verify His deity, it adds another powerful piece of evidence to the case for the inspiration of the Bible.

JESUS’ PREDICTION

Even the most casual reader of the Gospel accounts in the New Testament quickly discovers that the majority of the Jewish leaders in the first century wanted Jesus dead.

 In spite of Jesus’ healings, teachings about love, sermons on the coming Kingdom of God, and invitations to enjoy God’s forgiveness, the Jewish nation, in large part, completely rejected Him. 

We hear His heartbroken cry for the capital city of Jerusalem, and the Jewish nation, when He lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).

The text of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life transitions from His sorrow over Jerusalem into an episode when Jesus’ disciples wanted to bring their Teacher’s attention to the majestic stones and architecture of the “buildings of the temple” (Matthew 24:1).

Jesus responded to their fawning over the physical structures of Jerusalem with a startling pronouncement. “Do you not see these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (24:2). Such a declaration from the Christ would have shocked even His most ardent disciples.

First, in the minds of virtually every first-century Jew, the Messiah was supposed to usher in a glorious new Kingdom. “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever” (Isaiah 9:7).

 Furthermore, this Kingdom surely would have for its seat of government the Holy City, Zion, Jerusalem, as Isaiah predicted, “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2). If the Messiah was to reign on the throne of David “forever,” and if the center of governmental power was to be in Jerusalem, then foretelling the city’s, and especially the Temple’s, destruction approached blasphemy.

Second, the actual, physical destruction of Jerusalem seemed virtually impossible to Jesus’ hearers, and for good reason. First-century Jewish historian, Josephus, writing about the stones of the Temple, stated: “Now the outward face of the temple in its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise either men’s minds or their eyes, for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great weight…. 

Of its stones, some of them were forty-five cubits in length, five in height, and six in breadth.”¹ Such massive stones have been estimated to weigh several hundred tons. Furthermore, the towers that adorned and protected the Temple were magnificent in and of themselves. “Now as these towers were so very tall…. The largeness also of the stones was wonderful, for they were not made of common small stones for of such large ones only as men could carry…each stone was twenty cubits in length, and ten in breadth, and five in depth.”² 

After all, it had taken over 40 years just to build the Temple (John 2:20). The Roman historian Tacitus was struck by the city’s defenses as well. He noted that “the commanding situation of the city had been strengthened by enormous works which would have been a thorough defence even for level ground.” He went on to comment that “two hills of great height were fenced in by walls” and “within were other walls surrounding the palace, and rising to a conspicuous height, the tower of Antonia.”³ In view of Jerusalem’s excellent military defensive position with a high elevation and massive walls, Jesus’ prediction seemed outlandish.

Naturally, such a sweeping statement of destruction piqued the curiosity of the dubious disciples, and they further questioned their Leader, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”⁴ In answer to their questions, Jesus proceeded to explain events that His disciples could identify that would signal the destruction of Jerusalem.⁵

1: False Christs and Prophets

In enumerating the events that would precede the fall of Jerusalem, Jesus stated: “Then if anyone says to you , ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you before hand” (Matthew 24:23-25, also 24:5, 11).⁶ 

When we scour the pages of history between the years of A.D. 30 and A.D. 70 we find a host of references that verify Jesus’ prophecy. Josephus wrote: “Theudas persuaded a great part of the people…to follow him…for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would by his own command, divide the river and afford them an easy passage over it; and many were deluded by his words.”⁷

 When writing of events that happened during the reign of Felix (A.D. 52-60), he stated: “There was also another body of wicked men gotten together…. These were such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretense of divine inspiration…and these prevailed the multitude to act like madmen, and went before them into the wilderness, as pretending that God would show them the signals of liberty.”⁸

 The historian further recorded: “Moreover, there came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem, one that said he was a prophet…. He said further that…at his command the walls of Jerusalem would fall down.”⁹ And “there was an Egyptian false prophet…he was a cheat, and pretended to be a prophet also.”¹⁰

 Josephus wrote despairingly of the prevalence of such false prophets when he stated, “Now, as for the affairs of the Jews, they grew worse and worse continually, for the country was again filled with robbers and impostors, who deluded the multitude. Yet did Felix catch and put to death many of those impostors every day, together with the robbers.”¹¹

In recording events during these years, Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, stated: “But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was something great, to whom all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God’” (Acts 8:9-10). 

Origen, who lived from A.D. 185-253, wrote in his book Contra Celsum: “And after the times of Jesus, Dositheus the Samaritan also wished to persuade the Samaritans that he was the Christ predicted by Moses; and he appears to have gained over some to his views.”¹² He further stated that Dositheus proclaimed himself to be “the Son of God.”¹³ It is evident to all who give this period of history the most casual glance that it was rife with people claiming to be prophets, saviors, and divinely inspired christs.

2: Wars and Conflict

Jesus predicted, in no uncertain terms, that prior to the fall of Jerusalem there would be “wars and rumors of wars,” and that nation would “rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:6,7; Luke 21:10). 

While it is true that wars and talk of wars are fairly common, Jesus’ prediction corresponds precisely to the worldwide increase in hostilities during the years between A.D. 30 and 70.

Tacitus wrote of the months leading up to A.D. 70 and the strife that raged during this time, when he stated: “I am entering on the history of a period rich in disasters, frightful in its wars, torn by civil strife, and even in peace full of horrors. 

Four emperors perished by the sword. There were three civil wars; there were more with foreign enemies; there were often wars that had both characters at once.”¹⁴ In addition, Josephus wrote an entire book titled The Jewish Wars, because the various wars, conflicts, and battles that the Jews were involved in during this time literally required an entire volume to document. Jesus’ allusion to wars and strife during this time cannot be gainsaid by even the most ardent skeptic of divine prophecy.

3. Famines, Pestilences, and Earthquakes

In answering His disciples’ question about the signs that would precede the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus foretold that there would “be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11). History could not be more abundantly clear that Jesus knew what He was talking about. 

When recording events from the year A.D. 51, Tacitus wrote, “This year witnessed many prodigies…. Houses were flattened by repeated earthquakes…. Further portents were seen in shortages of corn, resulting in famine…. In this year war broke out between Armenians and Iberians, and seriously disturbed relations between Rome and Parthia.”¹⁵ Concerning the years A.D. 65-66, Tacitus wrote:

Heaven, too, marked this crime-stained year with tempest and pestilence. Campania was ravaged by a hurricane which destroyed houses, orchards, and crops…. At Rome, a plague devastated the entire population. No miasma was discernible in the air. Yet the houses were full of corpses, and the streets of funerals. Neither sex nor age conferred immunity. Slave or free, all succumbed just as suddenly.¹⁶

Roman historian Suetonius documented that “a series of droughts had caused a scarcity of grain” during the reign of Claudius.¹⁷ Josephus details the story of Helena visiting Jerusalem, stating, “Now her coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem, for whereas a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food….”¹⁸ In addition, Acts 11:27-30 records that Agabus, a prophet, foretold of “a great famine throughout all the world,” which severely affected those in Judea.

Seneca the Younger, in writing about a specific earthquake that occurred in the A.D. 60s, stated: “This tremor was on 5 February in the consulship of Regulus and Verginius, and it inflicted devastation on Campania…. 

For part of the town of Herculaneum too fell down and even the structures that remain are unstable.”¹⁹ Tacitus noted that an “earthquake too demolished a large part of Pompeii.”²⁰

One remarkable aspect to all these historical events is the fact that, in reality, we have very little that is recorded about the first century. Yet, what little we do have includes direct verification of exactly what Jesus predicted.

4. Persecution of the Disciples

In looking into the future at the trials that His followers would face, Jesus predicted: “But before all these things, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake” (Luke 21:12). Those of us in the 21^st century, aware of the persecution experienced by the early Christians, hardly find such a prediction remarkable. 

In truth, however, the idea that Jews who were former fishermen, tax collectors, and zealots who became followers of a carpenter from Nazareth would be so infamous in secular circles that they would stand before the most politically powerful rulers of the age was a rather bold prediction.

The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy is so well documented it hardly even needs verification. The book of Acts records this persecution thoroughly. Acts 5:18,40 state: “Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him…and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison…. And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus.”

 Stephen was murdered in Acts 7. King Herod killed James the brother of John with a sword (Acts 12:2), and proceeded to capture Peter with the obvious intent of doing him harm (12:4). The Jewish leaders brought Paul before the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:3). He was then sent to the governor Felix (24:10), then to Festus (24:27), and stood before King Agrippa (24:26).

The early church historian Eusebius stated: “It is therefore recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day…. And that they both suffered martyrdom at the same time is stated by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, in his epistle to the Romans.”²¹

 Suetonius wrote that during the reign of Nero, “Punishments were also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous religious belief.”²² And Tacitus added that Nero “inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians…. 

Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight expired. Nero offered his garden for the spectacle.”²³ 

Additional testimony could be added to this, but little need there is for it. Mark it down as historical fact: Christ’s followers were subjected to the exact punishments and persecutions predicted by their Lord.

5. Jerusalem Surrounded by Armies

In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ prophecy, he recorded that Jesus said, “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (24:15-16; Mark 13:14-15). 

Admittedly, the term “abomination of desolation” sounds vague to a 21^st-century reader. To what does this reference apply? Apparently, from Matthew’s parenthetical statement “whoever reads, let him understand,” the author was confident that his readers would recognize the situation when it occurred.

 Since it is generally recognized that Matthew wrote for an early Jewish audience, he could assume that they had an understanding of the prophet Daniel that would help them identify the “abomination of desolation” (Daniel 9:27).

Luke’s account, on the other hand, does not leave the warning shrouded in any vagueness. In his parallel passage to Matthew 24, he recorded Jesus as stating, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains…” (Luke 21:10).

 The context places Luke’s statement of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies in the exact place that Matthew positioned Jesus’ statement about the “abomination of desolation.” Also notice that Luke’s account connects the ideas by stating that Jerusalem’s “desolation” would be near when the armies surrounded it. 

Clearly, the “abomination of desolation” and the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies was so closely connected that Jesus’ listeners should take action when they saw the armies around Jerusalem. That being the case, can we historically document the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies? We most certainly can.

Josephus, at length, explains that the Roman General Cestius brought a massive Roman army against Jerusalem. In his explanation of the event, Josephus further stated: “But now Cestius, observing that the disturbances that were begun among the Jews afforded him a proper opportunity to attack them, took his whole army along with him, and put the Jews to flight and pursued them to Jerusalem.”²⁴ The Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem as Jesus predicted.

The attentive reader will note that Jesus warned His listeners that when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then they should flee from the city (Luke 21:20-21). How would that be possible with the Roman army surrounding and besieging the city?

 Cestius’ behavior provides one of the most remarkable instances of historic verification for any prophecy ever recorded. Josephus noted that those in Jerusalem could not withstand the forces of Cestius. In fact, he stated that “had he but at this very time attempted to get within the walls by force, he had won the city presently, and the war had been put an end to at once.”²⁵ But Cestius did not press his advantage.

 In fact, not only did he refuse to take the walls, he withdrew his entire army. The reader can almost hear Josephus’ disgust as he wrote: “It then happened that Cestius was not conscious either how the besieged despaired of success, or how courageous the people were for him, and so he recalled his soldiers from the place, and by despairing of any expectation of taking it, without having received any disgrace, he retired from the city, without any reason in the world.”²⁶

From a military standpoint, Cestius’ behavior was inexplicable. In his struggle to understand why the events occurred as they did, Josephus suggested that Cestius could have ended the war at that point, but the reason he did not, was “owing to the aversion God had already at the city and the sanctuary, that he was hindered from putting an end to the war that very day.”²⁷ In other words, God was not finished with His judgment of Jerusalem.

It is important to remember that Josephus was not a Christian and showed little, if any, awareness of the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel accounts. He never considered these events to be fulfilled prophecy and never seemed to have been aware of Jesus’ prediction warning His followers to flee Jerusalem.

 The reader is urged to remember this fact. Josephus was not inspired, nor was he attempting to validate the biblical account. Since the events he recorded are so clearly an exact fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy, it is tempting to think that somehow he was “in league” with the Bible writers, but even the most liberal scholars and skeptics recognize that cannot be the case.

Josephus saw absolutely no “reason in the world” that Cestius should have withdrawn his army. Those attending to Jesus’ words, however, have an exceedingly good idea as to why this strange event occurred.

6. Flight of Christians from Jerusalem

Cestius’ retreat provided the perfect opportunity for the Christians in Jerusalem to flee the city. Jesus had sternly warned them that when they saw the city surrounded by armies, to take no care about their earthly possessions, but run from the city for their lives. History records that they did precisely that. Church historian Eusebius wrote:

But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. And when those that believed in Christ had come there from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men.²⁸

Epiphanius, a fourth-century church writer, noted: “This sect of the Nazoraeans is to be found in Beroea near Coele-syria, in Decapolis near Pella…. For that was its place of origin, since all the disciples had settled in Pella, after their remove from Jerusalem—Christ having told them to abandon Jerusalem and withdraw from it because of the siege it was about to undergo.”²⁹ 

Josephus mentioned that after Cestius’ retreat many Jews “swam away from the city, as from a ship when it was going to sink.”³⁰ He did not specifically mention Christians, but it is quite probable that many of those who fled at that time were followers of Christ.

7. Great Distress and Death in Jerusalem

Jesus warned His followers to leave Jerusalem because soon after the armies surrounded the city He predicted there would be “days of vengeance” and “great distress in the land and wrath upon this people” (Luke 21:22-23). 

Matthew recorded Jesus’ foreboding description in these words: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (24:21). Some have questioned how Jerusalem would suffer more destruction, death, and horror than those in the Flood, or those during the time of the Holocaust.

While it is possible that Jesus was using hyperbole, a look at the devastation brought upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70 reveals a period of pain, terror, and rapine that easily could be argued to surpass any in human history.

In the year A.D. 70, Roman general Titus besieged the city in an assault that would spell doom for Jerusalem. Not only did the siege begin to choke the food supplies, but the problem was compounded by warring factions within the city.

 Josephus mentions three “armies” of zealots in the city that fought one another for control. One of their strategies was to burn the supplies of the other factions. The result of this was that the supply of corn that the inhabitants laid up for such a siege that could have sustained them for many years, was destroyed by the Jews themselves.³¹

Thus, famine quickly took hold of the city—a famine so horrific that the details turn the stomach. The militant factions in the city marauded the streets, killing many and confiscating all food. “They also invented terrible methods of torment to discover where any food was, and they were these: to stop up the passages of the privy parts of the miserable wretches, and to drive sharp stakes up their fundamentals.”³²

 As the famine worsened “upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine; and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged.” The children and the young men “all swelled with famine, and fell down dead wheresoever their misery seized them.”³³

 One report before the entire ordeal was finished, said the number of dead from the famine was more than 600,000, with many dead bodies not even able to be counted.³⁴ So much so that “the multitude of carcasses that lay in heaps one upon another, was a horrible sight, and produced a pestilential stench.”³⁵ As the famine continued, those dying ate the dead carcasses of animals, the leather off of their shoes, girdles, and shields, and old wisps of hay.

 Furthermore, in coming to an end of his description about the famine, Josephus related a story of a woman killing and roasting her son, eating half of it, and offering the other half to the marauders who came when they smelled cooking flesh. They were so appalled by the sight that even they went out trembling.³⁶

The factions that caused the famine inside the city did so much destruction that Josephus said that a list of all the terrible things they did could not even be written, but because of these men “neither did any city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world.”³⁷

In relating further instances of suffering brought on the Jews in Jerusalem, we read that Romans were also responsible for immense amounts of cruelty. Concerning Jews that attempted to desert to the Romans, the Roman soldiers “out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to crosses, by way of jest.”³⁸ And many were “whipped, and then tormented with all sorts of tortures before they died, and were then crucified.”³⁹

 Other Jews that attempted to desert to the Romans met a more gruesome fate. Certain Jews coming out of the city had swallowed their gold in an attempt to hide it. Soldiers in the Roman army heard of this ploy and “cut up those that came as supplicants, and searched their bellies.” In one night, about 2,000 Jews were thus dissected.⁴⁰ 

Such instances could be multiplied extensively. In Josephus’ summary of the death and destruction of the Jews, he wrote that because the siege happened during the time of the Passover, millions of Jews from all over the world had congregated in the city. 

A final, estimated number of those killed in the few months of the siege was 1.1 million, with another 97,000 sold as prisoners (as Jesus stated in Luke 21:24, that not only would the inhabitants of Jerusalem be killed, but also “led away captive into all nations”).⁴¹

 Josephus lamented, “Accordingly the multitude of those that therein perished exceeded all the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the world.”⁴² Jesus’ description of great distress aptly expresses what horrors were experienced during the fall of Jerusalem.

8. The Destruction of the Physical Temple

When the disciples sat marveling at the “buildings of the temple,” they could not resist drawing Jesus’ attention to the architecture and magnificence of the structures. Surely they believed that the city and its buildings would continue through history. Imagine their surprise when Jesus declared and prophesied, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). Is it true that the buildings of the Temple were destroyed as Jesus predicted?

Again, Josephus provides one of the only first-hand accounts of the destruction of the Temple by the Roman armies. He noted how the Roman soldiers “put fire to the gates, and the silver that was over them quickly carried the flames to the wood that was within it, whence it spread itself all of the sudden, and caught hold of the cloisters.”⁴³

 As for what was left of the Temple, he noted a Roman soldier “being lifted up by another soldier, set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side.” Josephus detailed how Titus tried to stop his soldiers from destroying the remainder of the building, but he was unsuccessful. And “flames burst out from within the holy house itself immediately…and thus the holy house burnt down.”⁴⁴

Thus, the Temple itself was destroyed, but what about the stones of the “buildings of the temple”? To discover that information we must turn to archaeology. When we do, we find complete fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction. 

Archaeologist Harold Mare wrote: “We do not have any remains of the Herodian temple itself because of the devastating Roman destruction in A.D. 70.”⁴⁵ H.T. Frank noted, “Strictly speaking, the Temple proper is not a matter of archaeological consideration since only one stone from it and parts of another can be positively identified.”⁴⁶ Randall Price stated, “In fact, after the destruction of the Second Temple, the Romans plowed under the Temple Mount and erected pagan structures upon it (which themselves were later destroyed).”⁴⁷

What about the Wailing Wall?

Not long ago I received an email from a skeptic who claimed that Jesus’ prophecy had been falsified. He stated, “Jesus was flat wrong in saying not one stone will remain on top of another. The Wailing Wall is still there today.” Supposedly, since the Western Wailing Wall existed during the time of Jesus, and since some stones are still intact, then Jesus’ prediction that “not one stone shall be left here upon another” did not come true. Does the Wailing Wall disprove Jesus’ prediction?

To discover the truth on this issue, I asked the skeptic to tell me “where, exactly did Jesus say that every stone in Jerusalem would be knocked down?” He then quoted Matthew 24:2, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’” He said, because of the Wailing Wall, “So, I conclude Jesus was wrong and cannot be God’s representative.”

In response, I asked him, “Did you read the context of the passage? What had the disciples specifically asked Jesus about?” He wrote back and admitted that in Matthew 24 the disciples “wanted to draw Jesus’ attention to the buildings of the temple.”

Again, I responded by saying, “Looking closely at the context, could you tell me which buildings of the temple…the followers of Jesus were showing Him?” He stated, “I don’t know. It doesn’t say. I don’t see what difference it would make as to which buildings, since Jesus says ‘all these things’ will not have one stone left upon another.” When I asked him what he understood “all these things” to mean, he said, “Jesus means the things to occur in the following verse 7.”

I then recapped our conversation by pointing out that he first claimed that Jesus’ statement about the stones in Jerusalem not being left one on another could not be true because there are stones in the Wailing Wall.

 Then when I asked if he had read the context, he admitted that Jesus was actually talking about the buildings of the Temple, which might not have had anything to do with the Wailing Wall. Then I asked him which buildings Jesus predicted would be destroyed, and he correctly stated that he did not know, since the text does not say.

I then asked about his understanding of “all these things,” and he said it must be everything that follows in verse seven. Yet, a close look at the context shows that cannot be the case. Verse two is immediately connected to verse one and Jesus is specifically talking about the stones of the buildings of the Temple (whatever buildings His disciples were showing Him). Verse three starts a different discussion in a different location. 

Now, if we knew which buildings were under discussion in verse one, and we knew that some stones of those buildings were left, there might be a case against this prophecy (barring the frequent use of hyperbole, which does not seem to be used here, but is a possibility). But, of course, we do not know that.

 Furthermore, it is a historical fact that Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, and that destruction included vast numbers of buildings that were connected to the Temple that were completely demolished. Thus, the existence of some intact stones in the structures around Jerusalem cannot be used to logically argue against Jesus’ prediction.

Jesus never predicted that every single stone in Jerusalem would be displaced. He was specifically addressing those “buildings of the temple” that His disciples pointed out. Archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer wrote: “If you read the text in Matthew, the site [the disciples] pointed out were the buildings of the Temple. 

Read the exact text—‘the buildings of the Temple.’ The only buildings I know that belonged to the Temple were [those] built around it and the porticos. And all these buildings that stood on the Temple Mount were indeed left without one stone upon another.”⁴⁸ Randall Price concluded, “Obviously Jesus was referring to those buildings (including the Temple itself) which were on the huge supporting platform….

 Archaeology has confirmed that no trace of these Temple buildings exists today, although some of their stones may have been put to secondary use in the walls and homes in Old City Jerusalem. Nevertheless, none remain in their original setting.”⁴⁹ Indeed, the attempt to discredit Jesus by pointing to the Wailing Wall falls down as flat as the buildings surrounding the Temple during the destruction of Jerusalem.

CONCLUSION

Jesus’ disciples boldly declared that they saw His miracles and were eyewitnesses to His marvelous works (1 John 1:1-3; 2 Peter 1:16-18). They recorded His prediction that He would be arrested, killed, and rise again (Matthew 16:21)—events about which they had first-hand knowledge. 

Jesus’ prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem, however, was set for a time in the future after Jesus ascended to heaven, but during the lifetime of many of His hearers. His primary purposes for the predictions were to warn His followers when to flee Jerusalem, as well as to add further proof for His divinity by providing yet another example of His ability to foresee the future. 

The historical record verifies that Jesus’ prophecy was so detailed and accurate that, after all the signs He predicted occurred, and His followers saw “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (Luke 21:20), they knew exactly what to do in order to avoid the fate of the wicked Jews who refused to recognize Jesus as God.

 Even so, Jesus has predicted another future event, His Second Coming, which will be Universal in its scope. Concerning this event, there will be no signs that enable anyone to predict when it will occur.⁵⁰ Indeed, it will come with no warning or announcements, like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:43). As surely and as accurately as Jesus predicted the fall of Jerusalem, He has foretold His Second Coming and the Judgment of all humanity. Let us all heed His words: “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:37).

ENDNOTES

¹ Josephus, Jewish Wars, 5:5:6.

² Ibid., 5:4:4.

³ Tacitus, Histories, 5:11.

⁴ Luke 21:5-24 and Mark 13:3-23 provide parallel accounts to these events in Matthew. Some have suggested that these accounts discuss the Second Coming of Christ and the events that will precede the end of the world. The clearest facts that show this cannot be true are seen in Jesus’ references to the hardships that would be experienced by pregnant women (Matthew 24:18-19), that the situation would be worse if it happened during the winter (vs. 20), that those outside the city or on their housetops should not expend any effort to get their earthly belongings (vs. 20), and that those “in Judea” should flee to the mountains (Luke 21:20). When Christ comes again, none of these precautions will have any bearing or significance. For a more thorough discussion, see Dave Miller (2014), “Left Behind—Or Left Bedazzled?” Reason & Revelation, 34[11-12]:121-125,128-131,133-137,140-143, November, http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1176.

⁵ While some interpreters have attempted to mark Jesus’ statements in Matthew 24:1-35 as predictions about the end of time, the context precludes this as a legitimate option. In Matthew 23:36, Jesus explained to the audience that Jerusalem’s judgment would “come upon this generation” and in Matthew 24:34, He again stated, “this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled.” Skeptics have seized upon the statements of those who teach that Jesus was predicting end times and claim that since the world did not come to an end during the lifetime of Jesus’ listeners (the term “generation” being generally understood to be about 40 years), then Jesus was wrong and could not be the Son of God. These skeptics and errant biblical interpreters fail to recognize that Jesus specifically detailed events in Jerusalem, regarding the physical city and Temple, and the area of Judea, that could not be universal in scope. On the contrary, Jesus clearly predicted situations that His disciples could watch that would help them know exactly when Jerusalem would be destroyed.

⁶ All emphasis in biblical quotes or historical quotations has been added by the author of the article unless otherwise noted.

⁷ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 20:5:1

⁸ Jewish Wars, 2:13:4.

 ⁹ Antiquities, 20:9:6.

¹⁰ Jewish Wars, 2:13:5.

¹¹ Antiquities, 20:8:5.

¹² Origen, Contra Celsum, 1:57, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04161.htm.

¹³ Ibid., 6:11 https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04166.htm.

¹⁴ Tacitus, Histories, 1:2.

¹⁵ Annals, 12:43-44.

¹⁶ Annals, 16:13.

¹⁷ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, 5:18.

¹⁸ Antiquities, 20:2:5.

¹⁹ Seneca the Younger, Natural Questions, 6:1:2.

²⁰ Annals, 15:22:2. J. Antonopoulos documents other seismic events during these years in his 1980 work, “Data From Investigation on Seismic Sea-waves and Events in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Birth of Christ to 500 A.D.”, https://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/view/4701.

²¹ Eusebius, Church History, 2:25:5-8, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm.

²² The Twelve Caesars, 6:16.

²³ Annals, 15:44.

²⁴ Ibid., 2:19:4.

²⁵ Ibid.

²⁶ Ibid., 2:19:7.

²⁷ Ibid., 2:19:6.

²⁸ Church History, 3.5.3, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm.

²⁹ Epiphanius, The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, ed. Frank Williams, Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, https://gnosis.study/library/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0/ENG/Epiphanius%20of%20Salamis%20-%20The%20Panarion,%20Book%20I%20(Sects%201-46).pdf, 29.7.7-8, p.129.

³⁰ Wars, 2:20:1.

³¹ Ibid, 5:1:4.

³² Ibid., 5:10:3.

³³ Ibid., 5:12:3.

³⁴ Ibid., 5:13:7.

³⁵ Ibid., 6:1:1.

³⁶ Ibid., 6:3:4.

³⁷ Ibid., 5:10:5.

³⁸ Ibid., 5:11:1.

³⁹ Ibid., 5:11:1.

⁴⁰ Ibid., 5:13:4.

⁴¹ Ibid., 6:9:3.

⁴² Ibid., 6:9:4.

⁴³ Ibid., 6:4:2.

⁴⁴ Ibid., 6:4:6-7.

⁴⁵ Harold Mare (1987), The Archaeology of the Jerusalem Area (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), p. 141.

⁴⁶ H.T. Frank (1972), An Archaeological Companion to the Bible (London: SCM Press), p. 249.

⁴⁷ Randall Price (1997), The Stones Cry Out (Eugene, OR: Harvest House), pp. 257-258.

⁴⁸ As quoted in Price, p. 257.

⁴⁹ Ibid.

⁵⁰ Miller.

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