That Book
A bookshelf containing the millions of books in the world would extend further than the fittest of us could walk before breakfast. In that long, long, line there’s only one book identified as the Holy Bible. A different book, a literary phenomenon with the largest circulation and also the world’s most translated—facts that suggest the question, what makes the Bible different?
Its black cover? Its archaic language? No. Its “churchly” feel? No. It comes in colours, in scores of modern translations and is read by many not of the Christian faith.
Some would say that what sets the Bible apart is that it is a “holy” book, which is true, but most religions have their sacred writings. However, the Bible posses three distinct differences in, first, its propositions, second, its predictions and, third, its promises.
its propositions
Like many others, I’ve safely travelled in places where, but for the life-changing infusion of the Bible’s message 150 years ago, I’d have likely been killed and eaten by cannibals.
Today’s happier situation underscores the Bible’s self-proclaimed proposition that “the entrance of [God’s] words give light” (Psalm 119:130).
Many, in more recent and civilised times, have uttered, “Thank God for the Salvos!” The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, was truly a man of the Bible, who believed in the power of the Bible absolutely. It informed him, motivated him and it kept him at his outstanding humanitarian task of bringing men and women from “gutter-most to utter-most.” In fact, it’s difficult to think of major, sustained humanitarian effort of the past centuries that didn’t have the Bible as its original motivator.
The Bible’s proposition—that it has life-changing power—is verified in the lives of those it has touched.
It contains another proposition that would be outrageous if it were not true, and this is that it is actually “the word of God” (see 1 Thessalonians 2:13). In scores of instances its pages claim to contain “the word of the Lord” or similar. Paul says, in Romans 12, that the Old Testament contains “the very words of God.” We know our words are instruments of self-revelation, saying so much about us, and just so the Bible as the words of God reveals Himself.
Australian scholar Dr Peter Jensen, once principal of Moore Theological College and now Archbishop of the Diocese of Sydney, says, “The Christian revelation not only discloses information about God’s character, it also reasserts His rule over a wayward and rebellious people. . . . The revelation is verbal; it announces the word of God, centred on Jesus Christ but multifaceted in its expression.”*
its predictions
Up to one-third of Scripture’s 31,000 verses is prophetic in nature. The Bible is a demonstration that God accurately foretells the future. For evidence, one has only to read the second chapter of Daniel, where the world’s great empires are predicted in order with the first one named to help identify the others. There are scores of well- and lesser-known examples. Take, for example, the prediction of Obadiah concerning the civilisation of Edom.
Edom and Israel were twin nations, arising from the twin brothers Esau and Jacob (see Genesis 25: 22-34). No Edomite lives today, but Israelites are numerous, yet Edom always looked the stronger, fortressed on the rocky mountains of Seir. Edom’s capital was the famous rose-red city of Petra, cut out of the mountains of Seir across the Dead Sea from Israel. Its glorious capital is a mere tourist attraction today.
Edom disappeared from the face of the earth; the “flame” and “fire” became stubble with “no survivors,” as predicted in the book of Obadiah. God had instructed Israel to respect its sibling nation (see Deuteronomy 2:17), but Edom didn’t reciprocate (see Numbers 20:14-21). In the final hour of Israel’s capture by the Babylonians, the Edomites shouted insults, “Tear it down . . . tear it down to its foundations” (Psalm 137:7).
Just five years later, Nabataens backed by Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar forced the Edomites out of Petra. They fled to Idumea in northern Palestine. The prophecy recorded by Obadiah became history when the Edomites were wiped out during the siege of Jerusalem. God’s predictions as recorded in the Bible become history in God’s time: His plans and purposes know neither haste nor delay, something the Bible amply demonstrates.
its promises
The Bible contains some 7487 promises by God to humankind. That’s 22 per day for a year! No wonder the psalmist sang, “How sweet are your promises to my taste” (Psalm 119:103). Of course, you have to look for some of them, and they’re timeless.
At the beginning of the world, God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). This promise was made in the midst of utter darkness, but the Bible records, “there was light.” That’s also a promise to the searcher whose life occupies a metaphorical dark, cold space. In the midst of that darkness and in an instant, what’s more, God can create light. As David declared, “My God turns my darkness into light” (Psalm 18:28).
So when you read the Bible’s closing promises of a “new heaven,” a “new earth” and “no more death” (see Revelation 21:1-4), why would you assume that He won’t keep them after doing so for millennia?
Long-time Signs readers might recall a series I wrote called “Here’s a promise for you.” Month after month there was a new one for 12 years. The well of God’s promises is extremely deep and full.
The Bible is refreshingly different from all other books in what it proposes, what it predicts and what it promises.
* Peter Jensen, The Revelation of God, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England, 2002.
| This is an extract from January February 2004
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