The Book of our Faith
“Heaven and Earth shall pass away.”
Matt. 24:35, Heb. 4:12, Isiah 55:10-11
A new navigator chartered a course for a C 47 from Labrador to the Agores. “The Agores should be right there.” Fulfillment proved the navigators readings of 8 hrs. earlier correct. Fulfillment in human life has proved again and again the truth of the Bible as God’s word.
I: The 5 Alps Climbers.
1. “The People of the Book.” Whitefield asked a Roman Catholic Miner, “What do you believe?”
2. “We believe that with the bible in our hands we are able to deal with every problem of life.”
3. “We believe that it is the final authority for conduct of life! The whole structure of Christianity is built upon it.”
4. Dr. E.V. Mulling, “We must let the Bible tell it’s own story and not hold it to false standards and test.”
5. Horace Greely, “It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a bible reading people.”
Dr. Augustus Strong, “A telescope between Man and God.”
II: God is its Author, its subject, and its preserver.
1. “All scriptures are given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for Doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Tim 2 3:16
2. The Bible does not try to prove God, but simply tells about him from Genesis-Revelation.
3. All that we know of God and his dealings with man are in the Bible.
III: God has Preserved the Book.
1. Very few books last more than twenty yrs.
2. When we bear in mind the attempts to destroy the Bible and its continual survival, it becomes a miracle.
3. The Bible has been the most loved and the most hated book of all times.
Yet the Bible is still the world’s best seller. The Bible has been translated into more than 1,200 languages. In 1844, Tischendorf found the Sknai (350). Codex Manuscript in the St. Catherine Monastery. In 1933, England purchased this Codex for $500,000 on the same day a 1st edition of Voltaire sold for $.11.
From every part of the ancient world comes proof there are 4,105 ancient Greek Manuscripts of the new Testament. 15-30,000 Latin. The Bible is God’s book and we must become familiar with it if we are to be what God wants us to be. Family Altar, Daily Bible Reading, and Private Reading.
The 1st New Testament in Greek was published by Erasmus in 1516, and for 200 yrs. this edition was supreme in the world. In the year 1611, the English King James Version was made from the Erasmus text. At 1st each New Testament book was a roll in itself and was circulated separately in the place to which it was inscribed, and for whom it was written.
The Codex
The change from a book roll to a Codex that is a leaf book was brought to pass about 300 A.D. It was only after the Codex was put in use that we began to have a New Testament. The Codex was written in large, even, capital letters called uncials. With the beginning of the 7th Century another kind of Greek manuscript began to appear. It was a running hand written smaller letters.
THE SEARCH FOR GREEK CODEX
The search lasted for hundreds of years. Trebles of England starved and went blind translating the ancient manuscripts. Teschendorf found the Ancient Codex in a monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai, in the desert’s beyond the Red Sea. In 1844, he came to the Monastery of St. Catherine at the foot of Mt. Sinai. In the hall of the convent he found basketfuls of parchment used to start fires. These writings were copies of the Greek Septuagint and appeared to be ancient manuscripts.
His joy aroused the suspicion of the Monks and he was able to get only 43 sheets of the Codex. In 1859, the Russian Government sponsored his return to the Monastery. He came back with other parts of the Old Testament and the complete New Testament. These manuscripts were made in 350 A.D. They were brought to the Imperial Library of St. Petersburg and given the name Aleph. On December 24, 1933, Aleph was purchased by the British Government from Russia for $500,000 and was placed in the British Museum. (On the same day a 1st edition of Voltaire, sold for 11 cents). Another codex also is in the British Museum that was presented to Charles I in 1628 by Cyril of Constantinople. The Vatican Library of Rome has another codes that was written near 350 A.D. Paris has another copy of the Ancient Manuscript.
The writings of the Father’s Sir David Dalrymple, found that the early Church Father’s had preserved all of the New Testament Scriptures except 11 verses. The early writings that he possessed were written in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries. There are thousands of Ancient Manuscripts of the Bible in Latin, Syrian, Coptic, and other languages. Everyone of them helps to verify the true and exact word of God. Archeology and Papyri..
From beneath the sands of Egypt in graves and ash heaps of destroyed cities, comes the witness of scripture. The story was told in Coin Greek. Our assurance of the word of the Text. 4,105 ancient Greek Manuscripts. 15,000-30,000 Latin versions. Comparing, checking and grouping these we become founded in the authenticity of the Bible as the whole word of God. John sealed the last pages of the sacred scriptures with Rev. 22:18-19.