Showing posts with label prophecy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prophecy. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Authority, Inspiration, and Inerrancy of the Bible

A.W. Pink (1886-1952) said “Christianity is the religion of a Book.”(1) As a Christian how can one trust the reliability of the Bible? By addressing it’s authority, inspiration, and inerrancy.
     I’ll start with how the Bible is authoritative. The writers of and/or the main characters in the Bible—i.e. the prophets, the Apostles, Jesus, God, and others—claimed to either be speaking from God, for God, to God, or of God, so when the authoritative statements in the Bible were penned, the authority isn’t from the human authors but God. Maybe you’re thinking, “I can say God told me to write something too. Does that mean what I write is authoritative?” No, not without God confirming that He is the source of your revelation. Once God revealed Himself to and through the people in the Bible with signs, miracles, prophecies foretold and fulfilled, and so on, what the human authors recorded about Him or from Him in the Bible became authoritative because of the testimony of Himself. As a scholar wrote, “Because the Bible points beyond itself to God, it has a conferred authority. Yet the Bible has a real authority in itself as the authentic embodiment of God’s self-disclosure.”(2) The Bible is authoritative because of God’s undeniable revelation of Himself throughout it.
     So how can we trust these so-called “human authors”? That is a matter of inspiration. The human authors who penned the Bible were supernaturally led to record just what God wanted them to record for their time and times to come. The Apostle Peter wrote,
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”(3)

The Apostle Paul said,
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”(4)
And in another place Paul recorded, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”(5) Furthermore, Old Testament writers repeatedly stated, “Thus says the LORD” or “The LORD said”, when they spoke or kept record of what was said; indicating they were speaking and writing God’s word not their own. Hence, because of inspiration the Bible has dual authorship, God and humans.
     Does this mean that the Bible is perfect (without flaw) because God inspired it? Yes, that’s exactly what it means. Some of the characteristics of God revealed throughout the Scriptures are He’s all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfect. Just from these three characteristics how can a God who inspired what to be written in His book not keep it free from error? That’s logically incompatible. The Bible then is inerrant. Yet, there are those who disagree. They say if there is even one mistake found then it is not inerrant. But that would mean that God’s testimony of Himself is not true, and for centuries they have found no errors but more confirmations. Another disagreement is that this “inerrancy” view came in later centuries and was not adopted by the earlier saints, nor is “inerrancy” taught in the Bible. However, the earliest saints—i.e. the Apostles and the disciples after them (Clement of Rome, Augustine, etc)—acknowledged that (6)“Every Scripture is God-breathed”. And even Jesus Himself said, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”(7) As we can see, while there are arguments against this, the arguments for the Bible being inerrant are much more solid. Because God has divinely inspired what was written in the original autographs it bears His character throughout it, one being His perfection.
     If a person who calls themselves a believer plays down the authority, inspiration, and inerrancy of the Bible, it is difficult to hold on to biblical certainty and conviction. As for me, these three ensure that what I believe stands true and solid, and because of that I can be totally open when reading, studying, and living what is in God’s Word.

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1. Arthur W. Pink, The Divine Inspiration of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Guardian Press, 1976), 5.
2. Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic), 153
3. 2Peter 1:19-21 (New King James Version)
4. 1Corinthians 2:10-13 (New King James Version)
5. 2Timothy 3:16-17 (New King James Version)
6. 2Timothy 3:16 (Amplified Bible)
7. Matthew 5:18 (English Standard Version)

Friday, November 13, 2009

Unmasking the Witnesses: Putting the JW's on the stand


“It is important, then, that you “keep testing whether you are in the faith,” as Paul declared. Keep checking to see whether the things you believe are in keeping with God’s Word. But the question is, are you willing to put your religion through such a test? There is nothing to fear, because if you have the right religion you can only be reassured by the examination. And if what you believe is not in keeping with the Bible, then you should welcome the truth, because it leads to light and life.” (Watchtower May 1 1958 p.261 Is Your Religion the Right One?)
Allow me to put the Jehovah’s Witnesses on the stand and unmask some of the fallacies of their belief. This is very close to my heart. I had a young cousin who was a JW and he committed suicide because he had no hope of a better way out of his mess and I have a grandfather who is presently a JW, so I’m not doing this to bash but rather to challenge minds to see false for false and create the opportunity to come to the Truth. I should’ve done this a long time ago.

Timeline of the origin of JW’s
1852- Birth of Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
1872- Charles Taze Russell founds the International Bible Students Association in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(Only 20 years old, he’s still a kid. He’s not even old enough to have finished a 4 year degree in Biblical Studies, hmm.)

1874- Year designated by Charles Taze Russell as the year of Christ’s invisible return (with the visible return to occur in 1914).
(Wow, 22 years old and making prophecies about the return of Christ.)

1879- Russell begings publishing the Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence magazine.
1884- Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society established as an incorporated body.
1886- Russell begins writing Studies in the Scriptures, which came to be considered second only to the Bible in importance.
(Now he has cornered the market on authoritative writings, interesting.)

1914- Year designated by Russell for Christ’s visible second coming.
(No return of Christ. Prediction is false, yet he is the JW’s inspired, authoritative and prophetic founder/leader.)

1916- Russell dies and is succeeded by “Judge” Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942).
1925- Year predicted by Rutherford as the year Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets would return to earth. (From a booklet in 1920 entitled Millions Now Living Will Never Die. pp.89-90)
(Nowhere in the Bible does it say Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would return after their death. Oh, and the prediction was false. This would be the second false prediction in 20 years of the new birth of this religion. So much for being inspired.)

1931- Judge Rutherford adopts the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” for the group, based on Isaiah 43:10.
(Though believers/followers of Jesus Christ have been called “Christians” since the middle of the first century in Antioch, and the Apostle Peter confirmed it in one of his epistles-1Peter)

1942- Rutherford dies and is succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr (1905-77).
1975- Year predicted for Armageddon, based on calculation of Adam’s creation (determined to be 4026 BC) plus 6,000 years. But Watchtowers leading up to that year warn that no one can predict “the day or hour” with certainty.
(Yet we see the founder of this group started with a false prediction, as well as the next three successors. Not to mention, the same “Watchtower” that now says no one can predict with certainty was created by the founder who made a false prediction, hmm. Oh, and again, another false prediction.)

1977- Death of Knorr, who was succeeded by Frederick Franz. Franz explained the uneventful 1975 by noting that perhaps Eve was created several months or years after Adam, and Armageddon would occur 6000 years from that date.
(If this is true, according to the calendar of time recorded in the Bible, we have either passed or are close upon the 6000 years after Eve was created. Another false prediction after they say no one can predict with certainty.)

From this timeline we see the JW’s have no historic depth. They were founded by a 22 year old who made, he and his successors, false predictions and used them as the basis for why they are the one true faith. They have not been affirmed by the scholarly communities as historic or systematically legitimate. And as we are about to further see they are a false offshoot of Christianity.

The JW’s Bible
“For the most part, the NWT is similar to most other modern translations. However, notable differences occur in verses that touch on particular doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses that differ from mainstream Christianity.”
     The JW’s say their New World Translation is the “Hebrew Scriptures” and “Christian Greek Scriptures”. How can the NWT (which has only been around for 50 years) truly have the “Hebrew Scriptures” and “Christian Greek Scriptures”—of which they took from the Holy Bible—when they have altered the Holy Bible scriptures to fit their belief and no longer stand in accordance with the 2,400 year old complete Hebrew Bible and the 1,900 year old New Testament? The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament have been consistent for over a thousand years and yet only the NWT—which is supposedly taken from the same Holy Scriptures as the Bible—has altered the context of the content within. Why would one want to trust the NWT? Yet the JW’s say they “affirm the full inspiration of the Bible by God and the preservation of its copies over the centuries.” But how can this be when they have altered it. So despite the “full inspiration of the Bible by God” within the last 50 years they figured God did not do a good enough job the first time and the centuries upon centuries of preserving it so they had to change the very source they got their translation from and make a “New Word of God”. Smells fishy.

JW’s on the End-times
“A belief that is unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses is that the eschatological events predicted in Revelation began in 1914. This is when God gave Jesus his Kingdom, and Jesus has been ruling from heaven ever since. At this time Jesus threw Satan and his demons out of heaven and down to earth, which is why, according to Witnesses, the world has been getting progressively worse since 1914.”
     Jesus said, while He was still on earth amongst His disciples before His death and resurrection, He saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lighting (Lk. 10:18). How can this be so if He didn’t throw Satan and his demons out until 1914? Somebody is wrong, the JW’s or Jesus.

JW’s on the Afterlife
“Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the existence of hell. Instead, they hold that the souls of the wicked will be annihilated.”
     And yet they also believe Jesus went to the place of the dead. How can the souls of the wicked be annihilated (to destroy something completely so that it ceases to exist) and yet still have a place where Jesus can go? Where does the Holy Bible—from which they made up the NWT—say anything about the souls of the wicked being annihilated?

“The death that Adam brought into the world is spiritual as well as physical, and only those who gain entrance into the Kingdom of God will exist eternally.”
     Solomon, the wisest man to walk the earth next to Jesus, says in Ecclesiastes that God put eternity in the hearts of men and that man will go to his eternal home (Eccl. 3:11; 12:5-7). Jesus Himself said when speaking to His disciples that some will be raised to eternal life and others to everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:31-46). The Apostle Paul says the same thing to the Thessalonians, as does the writer of Hebrews and Jude (2Thess. 1:6-9, Heb. 6:2, Jude 6-8). And let’s not get into Revelation in regards to this. Yet JW’s hold that only those who gain entrance into the Kingdom of God will exist eternally, how can this be when Jesus just said there will be some who will be raised to everlasting punishment, Solomon affirms an eternity for mankind not just the saved, and the others? Someone is wrong, either Jesus and Solomon and company or the JW’s, hmm. Oh and how can one be certain if they have gained entrance into God’s kingdom? JW’s teach that “eternal life comes not simply from faith in Jesus but from “learning about Jehovah and obeying his requirements,” proving oneself to be God’s loyal subject, and listening to the Kingdom message and acting on it.” So you may never really know if you’re in until you die. That’s a lot of hoping and risk-taking with no guarantee!

JW’s on Jesus
JW’s teach that Jesus was crucified “not on a cross, but a single upright stake.”
     In first century Roman history it has been documented that when they crucified someone, they were nailed to two wooden beams attached in the shape of a cross. The nails went through the wrist (which was considered a part of the hand during that time) and a single nail through both feet, also there would be times the legs where broken so they couldn’t hold themselves up and die quicker. The New Testament’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion also affirms the Roman’s custom of punishment for capital crimes at that time. So who is right the JW’s or the Holy Bible and history? The 1,900 year old New Testament records Jesus being crucified on a cross, and those (both believers and non-believers) during that time who wrote of Jesus after His death says He was crucified.
(Samaritan born historian Thallus AD 52; 1st century Jewish historian Josephus; Roman historian Tacitus AD 112; 2nd century satirist Lucian; and the Jewish Talmud all record Jesus being crucified/hung on a cross)

JW’s teach that Jesus is not God “but rather God’s first creation.” “Jesus existed in pre-human form as God’s agent of creation and God’s chief spokesman (the Word), and took on human form as the man Jesus by means of a virgin birth.”
     Here is where it gets steamy. In the JW’s NWT they, and only their translation, have changed John 1:1. No other biblical translation of the Holy Bible has changed the context of any of the content of what has been passed on since the first century. How can someone trust a translation that has altered the context of the content from the historical translations—the same it copied from—which has passed the scrutiny and rigorous analyzing that the New Testament has from the first century? Secondly, where in any Holy Bible does it say that Jesus is God’s first creation? Jesus Himself told John in the heavenly revelation (Rev. 1:8, 17-18; 22:13) that He was the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end—names which in the Old Testament that only God attributes to Himself. Where does the Holy Bible say Jesus ever existed in “pre-human form”? Is not God an invisible spirit (Jn. 4:24, Rom. 1:20, 1Tim. 1:17)? Does not the Apostle Paul say Jesus is the image (Gr. eikon—a likeness, i.e. (literally) statue, profile) of the invisible God (Col. 1:15, 2Cor. 4:4)? This same “image” (eikon) is used in Matthew 22:20 and Mark 12:16 when Jesus said to the disciples about the coin with Caesar’s face on it, “Whose is this image and inscription?” In the Book of Hebrews it says Jesus is the “express image of [God]” (Heb. 1:1-3). The term “express image” in this context in the Greek is charakter which means “exact likeness/exact image”. (This Greek word is where we get our word “character” from). Just from these we see Jesus is portrayed as the visible image of the invisible God. Jesus says out His own mouth that He is God, equal in nature and power (Jn. 5:17-39; 8:57-59; 10:30-39; 17:11, 21-22). And every time He made these claims the Jews who knew exactly what He was saying shouted “blasphemy” and then tried to stone Him as was the custom for blasphemy, death—the exact reason why they wanted Him crucified, because He was a blasphemer. Not only did Jesus say it, but those who followed Him preached it and worshipped Him as the one true God. This has been documented by believers and non-believers as far back as late first century and the early second century (1st century Jewish historian Josephus; First Clement AD 96; Pliny the Younger and Emperor Trajan AD 112; Polycarp AD 116; Suetonius AD 120; Justin Martyr AD 150; Irenaeus AD 185; etc). Yet with just this little bit of data the JW’s still somehow come up with the Jesus they came up with.

JW’s on the Holy Spirit
“Witnesses disagree with mainstream Christianity that the Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons in the Godhead. Instead, they believe the Holy Spirit to be “God’s active force.”
     Jesus, the Apostle John, and the Apostle Paul seem to disagree with JW’s on the Holy Spirit. Jesus specifically makes references to the Holy Spirit as a Person (Jn. 14:15-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-11, 13-15) not some impersonal “active force”. Apostle’s John and Paul also make references to the Holy Spirit as a Person (Rom. 8:9-16, 26-27, 1Cor. 2:10-14; 3:16, Eph. 4:30, Heb. 9:14, 1Jn. 5:6-8). Whom should one trust, the Savior Jesus and the inspired by God Apostles John and Paul or the JW’s translation which supposedly corrects what they themselves believe was already fully inspired?

More facts and critical examining about the JW’s
–“The Jehovah’s Witnesses organization (The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society) has claimed in its own writings to be THE ONLY channel through which God communicates His truth to the world. (WT, 4/1/1919, p.6414; WT, 1/15/1917, p.6033) Furthermore, it has described itself as a “Prophet-like” group that does not interpret what God’s truth is, but merely puts in writing the truth that God delivers to the world through them, and only them! (WT, 7/1/1943, p.203; WT, 11/1/1931, p.327; WT, 10/1/1994, p.6) Considering these claims to posses the exclusive ability to communicate God’s truth, the Jehovah’s Witnesses must succeed in passing the highest Biblical scrutiny. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 and 13:1-4 give two tests for distinguishing between genuine Prophets of God and False Prophets.
     (1)If one prophesies in God’s name and what they predict does not come to pass, they are a False Prophet.
     (2)If one prophesies in God’s name and the prediction does come to pass, BUT they teach you to follow false gods, they are a False Prophet.
Thus, recognizing False Prophets is achieved by simply applying these tests to the teachings and prophecies of the WTBTS to determine if the claims it makes about itself hold up to Biblical and reasonable scrutiny. If they are THE ONLY TRUE “Prophet” of God, then everything they have ever predicted should have come to pass. Tragically, everything they have ever predicted has FAILED to come to pass. “Judge” Rutherford in his book Light, he wrote that making false predictions is proof positive that someone is a False Prophet, Rutherford stating,
“...their prophecies to date have not come to pass; and that alone is strong evidence that they are false prophets.” (Light Vol.2, p.47).
Anyone can read and study the WTBTS publications from 1879 to present and discover for themselves how deceptive that have been to their followers.”*

–“…reading Russell’s Studies in the Scriptures is enough for many people to realize that the religion Russell started has very little resemblance to the Witnesses today. There are also over 20 wrong dates, many that were part of Watchtower doctrine for over 50 years. “F&D Slave” shows that there has never been a line of Jehovah’s Witnesses that even remotely believe current Watchtower truth. What is disappointing is the way that current Watchtower articles refer to these changes. When a significant doctrine has changed back and forth, or been introduced and then renounced, a person must ask “Can I believe that God directed the Organization to make such mistakes?””**
“Proving that the Organization is not directed by Jehovah took me many years because of fear; fear of change, fear of my own motives and fear of researching outside of the Watchtower.” (Paul Grundy)

Conclusion
I didn’t touch on everything, but I touched on enough to show the falsity of this belief. For how can something continue to profess to be the “truth” with so many falsehoods? Revelation 19:10 says, “Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” And on that note let’s sum this up:
-False predictions since its inception.
-False prophetic leaders.
-False doctrine fostered from an altered version of a tested historic and divinely written source existing over a thousand of years before the JW’s.
-False divine inspiration—the Holy Spirit of God is not with JW’s/Watchtower doctrine as exposed by the false doctrines and false predictions.
-This all equals a false testimony of Jesus, which means JW’s are worshipping a false god and therefore they are a false belief.

If you’re reading this and you are a practicing Jehovah’s Witness, I’m sure the thought of disfellowship and being shunned by family and friends is intimidating. And I will not try and act like I can relate, because I can’t. But I still have to ask, which is worth more...being shunned and rejected by family and friends or being shunned and rejected by God for eternity? I have lost a young cousin to this false belief and I may lose a grandfather, please don’t allow it to take you to Hell—–eternal separation from God in an eternal like prison.

If you want to talk, please contact me. You are not alone. The real Jesus would love to rescue you from the house of bondage, give you eternal life, and truly bring you into His family.

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*1. Essential for Addressing J.W. Assertions, June 8, 2007 by Chris Cross
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597815071?ie=UTF8&tag=religionfacts-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1597815071
**2. © Paul Grundy 2005 http://www.jwfacts.com/

All other information on Jehovah’s Witnesses taken from www.religionfacts.com
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11/2009

Sunday, August 23, 2009

A Defense for the Hope: True or False Witnesses


  • Why would eleven Jewish men (thirteen including Matthias and later Paul) follow, live, and preach a Hebrew prophetic message that they knew they would be killed for, just as the one who taught it to them was, if they didn't believe it to be true (fulfilled)?
  • Why would they lie about something as serious as the prophesied Messiah?
  • What would be their reason for lying?
People lie or are deceitful to gain something or avoid something. These eleven had nothing to gain or avoid from this message if it was a lie. No money, property, respect, power, etc, was to be gained nor was any reason for avoidance from what they preached/taught. They had no reputation to lose if it was false. They had no reputation to gain if it was true. There was nothing to be gained, lost, or avoided from the message they were preaching/teaching. So why risk their lives; unless they knew what they knew was worth the consequences of preaching/teaching it.
     We can see during the first century that even though every Jew is taught of and awaits the promised Messiah, nobody was really analyzing each person to see if they were He. The Jewish people then went about their lives normally just as we do today––same stuff, different day. Again, why would normal, everyday Jews put all their eggs in one basket and risk their life for a false Messiah who did numerous miracles, feats, and such just as it was prophesied of Him to do? Why would normal, everyday Jews teach/preach the prophetic message (that they had come to learn) to every other Jew they came across (even the teachers), if what they had personally witnessed in the life of Jesus was not in accordance with the prophetic scriptures taught by the teachers of the Law? Why would the writers of the Gospels misquote or manipulate prophetic scriptures? Again, they had nothing to gain or avoid from this alleged deception. These Jewish writers, with the exception of Luke, were no more educated then whom they were writing to. To misquote or manipulate the holy Hebrew Scriptures simply to get other Jews to believe the message or follow their cause was truly not worth the consequences they would face––inevitably––if they were right or wrong.
     These Jewish followers of Jesus had a prime opportunity to let this blasphemy die out. Right after Jesus' crucifixion they were no longer in the public eye. They had all scattered. This was a perfect set-up to lay low and let everything die down if Jesus' was a false Messiah. So, as for the many who deny Jesus as the Messiah and only way to God, why would His followers further risk their life and steal His body just to cover up the so-called lie? No one was looking for them. They could've stayed in hiding, rather than risk Roman imprisonment, ex-communication from their culture, and death. But no, they say three days later an angel rolled the stoned away and their so-called Messiah rose from the dead. He even had the nerve to come to them and over 500 others as well. That's an over-reaching lie right there isn't it? If this wasn't true, they were making the situation way worst then what it was already with just Jesus doing and saying all that He did. Either they were the dumbest Jews alive, or again, they knew what they knew was unquestionably true and they were willing to die to tell everyone.
     Fifty days after Jesus' crucifixion, these normal, yet seemingly senseless Jewish followers of Jesus, arose from what appeared to be humiliation of their fallen false Messiah and took their region by storm. They went from outcasted nobodies to speaking multiple languages, prophesying, and doing similar miracles attributed to their so-called false Messiah. These ordinary Jews were doing extraordinary things. They had their life to lose but nothing to gain or avoid from preaching Jesus as the promised Messiah. To them they had already gained that which mattered most, eternal life. And all they wanted to do was offer that same life giving to them to everyone else for free. No deceit needed. Nothing intended to be gained. They just preached what they knew, what they witnessed, the Truth of God revealed.

The most notable convert to the so-called prophesied Messiah's message was Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul. Paul was a teacher of the Law and an original persecutor of Jesus' followers. Why would this man, who knew the scriptures much much more then his eventual counterparts, risk his reputation, status, and life on something he didn't know for certain to be true? No follower converted Paul. Luke records Paul's story saying Paul was converted by the One who claimed to be the Messiah Himself. Who else could have converted Paul? Paul watched and assisted in the stoning of one of Jesus' followers. He wasn't moved by Jesus' follower's words. He knew too much to be won over by a nominal follower. Only one smarter than Paul could've convinced him that Jesus, who they called the Christ, was the prophesied Messiah. And Paul eventually came to the same conclusion, without any interference or influence of Jesus' followers, that Jesus was the promised Messiah. He then went on (by way of person and writing) to preach and teach Jews, and for the first time non-Jews (Gentiles), the now revealed Truth of God found in Jesus.
     The same that was said for Jesus' first followers can be said for Paul. Why would Paul misquote or manipulate the holy Hebrew Scriptures, which he probably held to much stricter than the others being a former teacher of the Law, simply to get other Jews and non-Jews to believe Jesus' message or follow Jesus' cause? What would Paul have to gain from preaching/teaching a false Jewish message? Paul, just as the others, had no reason to lie and no intention to gain, he just preached what he knew was the Hebrew Scriptures fulfilled in Jesus.

Now you tell me, why would these men (and women) risk their lives and their family's lives on a lie? Why would they preach lies to other Jews who would be able to tell if it wasn't in accordance with the Hebrew Scriptures? What did they have to gain from preaching/teaching their so-called false message? How did they do all the extraordinary things they did, which had not been seen before among the Jews except that of Jesus (and the prophets of old), if what they witnessed and knew was not the Truth? To me, there is no other logical answer to how they came to do what they did or why, except that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Truth of God revealed.



2009