Hebrews In Egypt

The Bible records Jacob settling in Egypt, in the land called Rameses.  They became slaves to Egypt and were used to construct the Rameses city.  After 430 years of intense labor and poverty, they left.  (Genesis 47:11,27; Exodus 1:11, 12:37-40).  Is this the only explicit record of Israelites being enslaved in Egypt?  There are a couple logical questions we must ask then we can ponder any sort of evidence or support for the bible's claim.

Why The Bible Is Divine: Christology

The bible is not just a historical record of Israeli culture but also records of a supernatural element that illuminates hearts and minds to a greater plan for all history; where the center point of human history is not a civilization or culture, but a person.  A person that ancient history looked forward to and the same person the modern world looks back at.  This person is identified as Jesus.  In this article we will look at Jesus of the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament.

Earliest Mention of Israel in History

 

The Merneptah Stele is the most widely recognized and accepted earliest inscription of "Israel".  The inscription is from the ancient Egyptian king Merneptah who ruled between 1213BC to 1203BC.  This stele is estimated to have been carved around 1208BC. 

The Tel Dan Inscription

A fragmented slab of stone found in Israel with Aramaic characters carefully engraved in the stone describe a military victory of the Aramein King over southern nations; one of which is stated as: "The King of the House of David".  The stone is date to the late 9th Century BC. Sadly the undiscovered portion of the stone presumably records the names of the kings but most scholars believe the stela recounts a campaign of Hazael of Damascus, king of Aram, in which he defeated both Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah.

Why is this discovery so important?

Christology; Pre-incarnation

Christology; pre-incarnation is the study of Jesus in the Old Testament.  This is a very important study because this is how the Messianic Jews knew who Jesus was even before he died and rose again.  How did his followers know him as the Messiah, Christ, and Son of God before his crucifixion and resurrection?  By correctly understanding and knowing the Old Testament.  This also shines light how to better understand the Old Testament and have sound hermeneutics.

DANIEL 9: Timeline To The Messiah

Daniel 9 is HUGE.  Daniel sees the coming Messiah and is also given a time frame from when the Messiah will come, go, and come again. Considering Jesus, this time line is amazingly accurate.  Leaving Jesus out and this prophecy makes no sense and has expired; thus it is true through Jesus for false with out Jesus.

Daniel 9:24-27

Bible Translation Test

In recent history, printing bibles has become a business.  As time goes on we see the shifts in public opinion and cultural norms sway some of the bible translations.  Here we will list 6 verses that are an easy test.  When scanning through what ever bible translations you have you can see if your bible has the subtle changes from the original texts.  These six verses relate to the Divinity of Jesus, the uniqueness of Jesus, and cultural changes like gender neutrality and sexual issues. 

Freedom for The Law and Sexuality

The Leviticus Law is a go-to area of the bible some use to justify why they can do certain things.  The argument attempts to say that Jesus freed Christians from the old covenant law and that the church currently cherry picks what to follow and what should not be followed.  But, the ignorance of that very scripture is clear when simply looking at who the law is addressed to.

Leviticus 18:22

²² You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman; it is detestable.

This is the verse of 'controversy' 

It is not denied what is being condemned here.  But is being contested is whether or not this behavior is still condemned or not.  But this argument must then address the following verse as well:

²³ You are not to have sexual intercourse with any animal, defiling yourself with it; a woman is not to present herself to an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.

Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorah

It is clear God was not pleased with the inhabitants of these ancient cities.  It is only in recent history that WHY he was not pleased and WHY he destroyed them has been questioned.  Since the event and all through Jewish, early Christan, and until modern church history it has been understood.  With changes in American culture and the church world wide the WHY has been questioned.  But the answer is clear with a simple look.

 Begins in Gen 18:20

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious.

Right off the bat The Lord states that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely sinful and their sin is serious.  What is so serious?  They are so enslaved by their sin, it has infected their bodies, souls, and minds to the point of absolute blind slavery.

Has The Bible Changed?

This is a question for some people that is a genuine concern.  For others it is an attempt to belittle or patronize a religion.  The question it self is a valid question for any and all documents that claim to be the source of unchanged universal objective divine truth.
Has the teachings and documents evolved and morphed into what we have today?

The Entire Bible is God's Word: pt 2, The Old Testament

The Old Testament as a divine and authoritative set of writings has been recognized and validated all through out the Jewish history.  The formation of the Old Testament is nothing new either.  A simple look at all the historical clues reveal that The Old Testament has been declared all along.

The Entire Bible is God's Word: pt 1, The Old Testament

Some religions claim parts of the bible is from God, some people claiming to be Christian also say that some parts are from God and other parts are not.  Some that claim the whole bible is from God only cherry pick bible verses to suit their needs, desires, and arguments.   The orthodox Christian faith believes that the whole bible is from God.  The Old testament is from God just as equally as the New testament and the apostolic epistles.  God used and spoke through the Prophets and Apostles.  But how do we know?

Do You Want To Hear God Speak?

He has spoken. 
He has been speaking for thousands of years.
He spoke and created reality.
He had man write down his words throughout history.
His written word is carries with it Himself- The Holy Spirit.
He speaks to this day, all day, every day, through out the world to all people at any moment.
Do you want to hear his voice?

Read His written word aloud and he is speaking to you!

The Jewish nation understood this and kept His words written from the moment it was necessary. 
The early church understood this and kept His words written and circulating.
The church now understands this and keeps His words open for all generations.

The Reformers understood this greatly.  They knew for a fact that Holy Scripture was God's very own words.  They understood that God influenced man to record the very things that God wanted man to know.  The accumulation of God's own words reached the beginning of time and the future all the way to eternity.  It addressed all points of human existence and nature.  They formed the principle 'Scripture Alone' to express this very issue about the God's Words- Holy Scripture.

Statement of Faith: The Bible

         The Bible is made up of the Old and New Testaments; written by the Prophets and Apostles who were in fact inspired by The Holy Spirit; it is infallible, the only authoritative true Word of God (Matthew 5:18;2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is inerrant in the original writings, God-breathed, and the final authority for faith and practice; it addresses the beginning of creation and future for eternity making it forever timeless and complete for all time (2 Timothy 3:16-17).