This is a 30 minute show that begins with either a humorous or inspirational segment that links directly to the scripture, followed by a focused discussion of how the scripture relates to Christians of all ages today.
We're excited to be with today on Anchored by Truth as we bring you a special episode. It is apparent to anyone who is paying attention to cultural trends that the Christian faith in America has been subjected to more challenges in the last few decades than in the first two centuries of the country's existence. A lot of the challenges come from the fact that our surrounding culture has changed so much. And no part of our culture has changed more than how the culture views relationships, marriage, and sex. The cultural norms and mores regarding these subjects that prevailed in America's first two centuries – and in fact for millennia before America even existed – have shifted dramatically. the effects of all these changes has been in the arena sometimes called “romance.” To say that how our society views and treats romance may be the understatement of the century. So, to help us think about America's changing views of romance and relationships, today in the studio we have RD Fierro who has just released his first romance novel which is called Claire's Treasures. This is episode 289. +++++++ You can find more information here: http://www.crystalseabooks.com/
Today we're still speaking with Orlando attorney, James O. Cunningham, who has written much on the intersection of faith and politics. Not too long ago Jim wrote a fascinating article for substack entitled History Doesn't Repeat but it Rhymes. Jim is joining us again today because we want our listeners to hear from someone who has thought deeply and carefully about the truth and values of the Christian faith must express themselves in our current truth-averse culture. As Anchored by Truth listeners know, we believe that there are four lines of evidence that demonstrate that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. We term those 4 lines of evidence reliable history, remarkable unity, fulfilled prophecy, and redeemed destinies. First, as both science, archeology, and human historical records amply demonstrate the Bible is historically reliable. Second, the Bible displays a remarkable unity for a book that was composed by over 3 dozen human authors who wrote over a span of 1,500 years. Third, the Bible gives evidence of supernatural origin especially through a large body of fulfilled prophecy. And the 4th line of evidence is that the Bible has resulted in an untold number of lives that have been positively changed by its transcendent message. Jim' life was transformed and redeemed by the scriptures. Jim has been practicing law in Florida for nearly 50 years and he also taught law classes at the Barry college of law including a class on the foundations of law. So, Jim not only knows how the law operates in our society but why it operates that way. And as we heard in our last couple of episodes of Anchored by Truth Jim has done an extensive investigation of the famous debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas as they both ran for the US Senate just prior to the civil war. Any listeners who didn't catch that episode of Anchored by Truth can go the website for Crystal Sea Books and find them there. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were an extremely important series of political conversations because in them the two men articulated far different visions of the American democracy. And those different visions are still being expressed in the political dialog of our day. This is episode 288. +++++++ You can find more information here: http://www.crystalseabooks.com/
Today we're still speaking with an attorney from Orlando Florida, James O. Cunningham, who wrote a fascinating article for substack entitled History Doesn't Repeat but it Rhymes. Jim is joining us today because we want our listeners to hear from someone who has thought deeply and carefully about the truth and values of the Christian faith must express themselves in our current truth-averse culture. This is episode 287. +++++++ You can find more information here: http://www.crystalseabooks.com/
In the studio today we're going to hear from an attorney from Orlando Florida, James O. Cunningham, who has written a fascinating article for substack entitled History Doesn't Repeat but it Rhymes. Jim is joining us today because we wanted our listeners to hear Jim's observations about critical issues that will affect the upcoming elections. Jim is going to help us see that faith, culture, and politics are really inseparable and it is essential for faithful Christians to understand how they intersect in today's post-modern, truth-averse culture. As long time Anchored by Truth listeners know, we believe that there are four lines of evidence that demonstrate that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. We term those 4 lines of evidence reliable history, remarkable unity, fulfilled prophecy, and redeemed destinies. First, as both science, archeology, and human historical records amply demonstrate the Bible is historically reliable. Second, the Bible displays a remarkable unity for a book that was composed by over 3 dozen human authors who wrote over a span of 1,500 years. Third, the Bible gives evidence of supernatural origin especially through a large body of fulfilled prophecy. And the 4th line of evidence is that the Bible has resulted in an untold number of lives that have been positively changed by its transcendent message. We strongly believe that the Christian faith is a faith that is grounded in evidence, logic, and reason. Contrary to the refrain that you hear from some people that – “you have faith, but I have reason” – we believe that a proper use of logic, reason, and evidence actually demonstrates that the Christian faith is true. So today we're going to hear from someone whose life was transformed and redeemed by the scriptures. And, as you will hear, after his life was transformed Jim went on to intentionally develop and deepen his faith so that today he can help others see the truth contained in the Bible. Jim has recorded several of his observations in a series of substack essays . One of the great things about Jim's observations is that they are packaged in a very convenient way. They are easy to read in a few minutes and his style is very reasonable and informative for the average lay believer. One reason that is true is that Jim has been practicing law in Florida for nearly 50 years, has been Board-Certified by the Florida Bar as a Civil Trial Specialist for 40 years and has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer for well over a decade. This is episode 286. +++++++ You can find more information here: http://www.crystalseabooks.com/
This is our 10th episode and final episode in a series we called “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” Throughout this series we have emphasized that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible. In fact, Jesus is the cornerstone of everything that exists. And the Bible is the only book that helps us clearly see Jesus' foundational role in creation and in human history. The Bible opens with Jesus' creative activity. It continues in the Old Testament by providing dozens or hundreds of prophecies that lead to His first coming. The New Testament then explains the changes that took place in redemptive history because of Jesus' first coming, and the Bible concludes with the anticipation of Jesus' return to the earth in a triumphant and final second coming. In short, if we don't understand Jesus' roles as the cornerstone and foundation of all scripture and creation, we will never be able to understand our own roles in this world. Today as we wrap up this very important series, we have RD Fierro back with us in the studio. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. This is episode 278.
This is our 9th episode in this series which is entitled “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” As we have gone through this series we have seen that Jesus is the not only the cornerstone of the Bible but he is the cornerstone of creation and history. Not surprisingly, the Bible is the only book that helps to clearly see and understand Jesus’ role as the cornerstone of everything that exists. And part of the way scripture helps us to do that is that scripture has several clear and consistent themes that are woven throughout the Bible. Two themes that weave throughout the Bible are the restraint of sin and the promotion of abundant and holy living. Two themes that are ever present in the Old Testament are the preparation of a tribe and family that would produce a Messiah and the preparation of the world to receive the Messiah. Then, in the New Testament – after the Messiah has come for the first time, a new theme emerges. And that is the preparation of the world and cosmos for the Messiah’s second and final arrival on this earth. Today we’re going to begin the wrap up of the series. To help us as we begin the wrap we have RD Fierro back with us in the studio. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, Jesus is the cornerstone of scripture and God gave us consistent themes throughout all the books of the Bible to help us understand that. This is episode 277.
This is our 8th episode in a series we are calling “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” Just about everyone who has spent much time with the Bible quickly realizes that the Bible is home to a wide variety of literature types including history, prophecy, poetry, and practical principles. But these many different types of literature do not take away from the Bible’s unity. The Bible is a unified whole. The unity and harmony that bind the Bible demonstrate clearly that it is the product of an omniscient mind, God’s mind. The various books of the Bible were penned by their various human authors during a period that stretched over 1,500 years. Only an eternal Being who knew all human history from beginning to end could have inspired the human writers over such a period. This is one of the reasons that it is so helpful for us to have a firm framework to guide our study and understanding. To help us with our discussion is RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, you will hear some people talk about “systematic theology.” What is systematic theology? This is episode 276.
We’re so happy to be back with you on Anchored by Truth as we continue a series we are call “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” This series is designed to help our listeners absorb the Bible’s timeless wisdom more readily. The Bible contains a wide variety of literature types including history, prophecy, poetry, and practical principles. But despite the many type of literature in the Bible, it is a unified whole. As we have said throughout this series, the Bible is a single story about a single plan centered on a single man. The Bible contains a remarkable unity which demonstrates clearly that it is the product of an omniscient mind. The Bible is the special revelation of that Mind to men and women. Why would God have gone to so much trouble? As is often said, God did it for our good and His glory. So, back with us today as we continue the discussion is RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, what is the cornerstone of the Bible. And what are some of the themes that provide a context we can use to better understand the Bible – the themes that weave throughout scripture and create a beautiful tapestry out of the threads that are the individual books and accounts? RD: Well, before we get too far into our discussion I would also like to say hello and welcome everyone to this episode of Anchored by Truth. We’re so happy that you’re with us today. I hope that most people would know – even if they have not been following our series – that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible. It’s impossible to make sense out of the Bible unless you build your understanding upon that essential truth. But as philosophers and scientists sometimes say knowing that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible is necessary but not sufficient to build a comprehensive understanding of scripture. So, in our last few episodes on Anchored by Truth we discussed the idea that there are at least 4 themes that are woven throughout the Old Testament. The 4 themes are the preparation of the world for the arrival of the Messiah, Christ Jesus; the preparation of a family that would actually give birth to the Messiah; the restraint of sin; and the promotion of holiness and abundant living. 2 of these 4 themes continue on into the New Testament because is always concerned about the restraint of sin and that His children live holy and abundant lives. But once Jesus came the New Testament writers shift their attention to preparations for Jesus’ second coming – his return to earth. So, in addition to the two themes that carried over from the Old Testament, a new theme emerges in the New – the preparation of the world and especially the church for Christ’s second coming to earth. This is episode 275.
Greetings! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I'm Victoria K. We're glad to be back with you on Anchored by Truth as we continue a series we are calling “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” This series is designed to help you with your Bible reading and study. Specifically, we want to aid you in the assimilation of the priceless wisdom the Bible contains. In the first episodes in this series we learned that Christ Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible. In fact, Jesus is the cornerstone of creation. The Bible makes it very clear that everything that exists was created by Jesus. Knowing that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible is essential to our Biblical understanding. But knowing that Jesus is the cornerstone is necessary but not sufficient to develop a comprehensive grasp of the Bible. We have to build on that cornerstone. And one way to do that is by having a contextual framework that helps us see the Bible as a unified whole. As we have said throughout this series, the Bible is a single story about a single plan centered on a single man. So, back with us today as we continue our discussion is RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, in our last couple of episodes we began talking about some themes that weave throughout scripture and help create a beautiful tapestry out of the threads that are the individual books and Bible accounts. What are some of those themes? RD: Well, before we get too far into our discussion I would also like to welcome everyone to this episode of Anchored by Truth. In our last few episodes on Anchored by Truth we introduced the idea that there are at least 4 themes that are woven throughout the Old Testament. The 4 themes are the preparation of the world for the arrival of the Messiah, Christ Jesus; the preparation of a family that would actually give birth to the Messiah; the restraint of sin; and the promotion of holiness and abundant living. 2 of these 4 themes continue on into the New Testament because is always concerned about the restraint of sin and that His children live holy and abundant lives. But once Jesus, the Messiah, actually arrived in the world there was no need to continue to prepare for his arrival. So, whereas in the Old Testament the inspired writers talked about preparing for Jesus' first coming, the New Testament writers shift their attention to preparations for Jesus' second coming – his return to earth. So, in addition to the two themes that carried over from the Old Testament, a new theme emerges in the New – the preparation of the world and especially the church for Christ's second coming to earth. This is episode 274.
VK: Greetings! Welcome to Anchored by Truth sponsored for you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. We’re happy to have you back with us on Anchored by Truth as we continue a series we are calling “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” We are offering this series because we believe a contextual framework that guides Bible reading and study aids the assimilation of the priceless wisdom the Bible contains. In our first couple of episodes in this series we learned that Christ Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible. In fact, Jesus is the cornerstone of creation. The Bible makes it very clear that everything that exists was created by Jesus. Knowing that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible is essential to our understanding but we think it’s important to build a solid Biblical structure on that foundation. And one way to do that is by having a contextual framework that helps us see the Bible as a unified whole. As we have said, the Bible is a single story about a single plan centered on a single man. So, back with us today as we continue our discussion is RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, in our last couple of episodes we began talking about how to develop an integrated context into which we can fit all the various elements of scripture. Can you give us a brief summary of some of the material we’ve discussed related to context? RD: Well, before we get too far into our discussion I would also like to welcome everyone to this episode of Anchored by Truth. In our last couple of episodes we have introduced the idea that there are at least 4 themes that are woven throughout the Old Testament. The 4 themes are the preparation of the world for the arrival of the Messiah, Christ Jesus; the preparation of a family that would actually give birth to the Messiah; the restraint of sin; and the promotion of holiness and abundant living. 2 of these 4 themes continue on into the New Testament because is always concerned about the restraint of sin and that His children live holy and abundant lives. But once Jesus, the Messiah, actually arrived in the world there was no need to continue to prepare for his arrival. So, whereas in the Old Testament there was a lot of attention paid to preparing for Jesus’ first coming, in the New Testament attention shifts to preparations for Jesus’ second coming – his return to earth. VK: Let’s remind everyone that the Bible is a single book about a single plan centered on a single man. The Bible contains a great many books but they all relate to a single, grand saga – the saga of creation, fall, and redemption. Jesus is the cornerstone and centerpiece of the plan of redemption. It is impossible to understand the Bible correctly without understanding Jesus’ foundational role. So, it makes perfect sense that the Bible’s 2 major parts, the Old Testament and New Testament, would each focus on Jesus. The Old Testament focuses on Jesus’ first coming. But once Jesus came many things that were only hinted at in the Old Testament came into sharp focus. It was as if mists had cleared. We could now see things more clearly – things such as how the Messiah could be both the “Lamb of God” and “the lion of the tribe of Judah” and how some prophetic structures in the Old Testament would be fulfilled in the first coming but others would await a later fulfillment. In his first coming Jesus came to effect salvation for the elect. In his second coming Jesus will glorify the elect so mankind can again assume the Dominion Mandate that was given in the Garden of Eden. This is episode 273.
VK: Greetings! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. We’re happy to be back with you on Anchored by Truth as we continue with our series that we call “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books, is with us again today as we continue our discussion of how people can grow in their Biblical literacy by knowing the cornerstone of scripture and then developing a contextual framework to guide further reading and study. In our first two episodes in this series we learned that – unsurprisingly – Christ Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible. In fact, Jesus is the cornerstone of creation since the Bible makes it clear that everything that exists was created by Jesus. The New International Version of Colossians, chapter 1, verses 16 and 17 say this. “All things have been created through [Jesus] and for [Jesus]. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together …” That’s a pretty clear statement. And other scriptures build on this foundational concept, don’t they RD? RD: Well, I’d also like to greet everyone joining us here today as we continue our discussion on the cornerstone and context of the Bible. Yes. There are a number of scriptures that affirm that Jesus is not only the cornerstone of creation but also the cornerstone of God’s plan of redemption. And Jesus himself tells us that. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21, verse 42 when Jesus was speaking to the chief priests and elders he said to them: “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” Jesus was quoting was likely Psalm 118, verse 22 which says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” And there are other Old Testament scriptures that reinforce this same point. Isaiah, chapter 28, verse 16 says, “So this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.’” The Bible is abundantly clear that Jesus is its cornerstone. VK: Let’s remind everyone that the Bible is a single book about a single plan centered on a single man. The Bible contains a great many books but they all relate to a single, grand saga – the saga of creation, fall, and redemption. Jesus is the cornerstone and centerpiece of the plan of redemption. It is impossible to understand the Bible correctly without understanding Jesus’ foundational role. So, that’s a great place to begin to understand how all scripture fits together in a unified whole but it’s not enough by itself, is it?
Episode 271 –Bible: Cornerstone and Context 3 – Timeless Themes Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac … . The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, New International Version ******** VK: Greetings! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. We’re glad to be back with you on Anchored by Truth as we continue with our series that we call “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books, is with us again today as we continue our discussion of how people can improve their understanding of the Bible by developing a contextual framework to guide their reading and study. RD, the Bible has a vast variety of material. It contains records of history, inspirational poetry, practical admonitions, moral and ethical commands, and even entertaining stories. All of this material can be engaging and valuable even when we just focus on the individual instruction or report. So, why do think that it is so important for Bible students to take the time to see a bigger picture? RD: Well, I’d also like to welcome everyone joining us here today as we continue our discussion on the cornerstone and context of the Bible. As you’ve noted there’s a wide variety of material in the Bible and even a wide variety of literary genres. The Bible has poems, proverbs, parables, allegories, as well as history and prophecy. And – also as you have noted – we can gain a lot just by learning about individual episodes of the Bible heroes like David with Goliath or Daniel in the lion’s den. And certainly many of the individual psalms are inspirational and comforting just as the individual proverbs contain practical advice that will help people live better lives. But as valuable as all this material can be when considered separately when we see how it is all part of God’s grand plan for His people I think the individual episodes take on even more meaning. As we see God’s overall plan for the created order it increases our ability to glorify Him through our lives and testimonies. VK: And that should be the central focus of every Christian life. One of the major confessional creeds says that the chief purpose of man is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” RD: Yes. It’s certainly important to learn from each part of scripture. But it is also important to be able to see the larger tapestry of scripture where the individual threads and features form a larger and more inspiring whole. And the first step in being able to do is to certainly see that Jesus is present in each and every part of the tapestry. Or to return to other metaphor Jesus is the cornerstone of scripture. VK: And we started out talking about Jesus as the cornerstone in our first two episodes in this series. In our first episode we pointed out that even in famous Old Testament stories that don’t seem to relate to Jesus such as Jonah and the whale Jesus was being foreshadowed. And in our second episode we talked about the elegance of the way in which Jesus’ attributes and work made Him the perfect – in fact the only possible – Mediator between God and man. RD: Yes. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden they violated the Covenant of Works which God had established with them. This left the covenant unsatisfied and incurred a debt with infinite consequences. Jesus came to address both of these concerns. He lived a sinless life. He fulfilled the Covenant of Works. So, he never needed to die for His own sin. This meant that when He willingly sacrificed Himself He could atone for the sins of others. Moreover, since Jesus was fully divine as well as being fully human He is a Being of infinite value. His death was infinitely valuable. Therefore, he could satisfy the infinite debt that man had created for himself. VK: But Jesus’ death is only of value for those who are willing to trust Him. As you put it in the title of one of your books, Christ is The Prodigal’s Advocate. We are all prodigals. We all need an advocate to face the perfect bar of God’s justice. Without an advocate we will be left to defend ourselves – a futile effort if there ever was one. But Jesus will gladly serve as our advocate if we will let him. The choice is ours. So, are the consequences of our choice. RD: Right. So, today I want to build on the foundation we have established. I want to build on the fact that Jesus is the cornerstone of scripture.
Episode 270 –Bible: Cornerstone and Context 2 – Infinite Salvation Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. 11 Timothy, Chapter 2, verses 5 and 6, New International Version ******** VK: Hello! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. We’re so happy to have you with us today on Anchored by Truth as we continue with the series that we began in our last episode. We’re calling this series “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” Our goal on Anchored by Truth is to help people understand that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. And one powerful way for people to come to that awareness is for them to realize that the Bible is a pre-eminently reasonable book. Some people may come to the Bible and think that the various books and stories contained in the Bible were just sort of randomly assembled. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible is a unified revelation. To help us continue this invaluable discovery, today in the studio we have RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, why did you decide to do a series you call “Cornerstone and Context?” RD: Well, I’d also like to welcome everyone joining us here today as we continue our new series. We’ve talked often on Anchored by Truth that in our day and age there is widespread Biblical ignorance in our culture. And surprisingly that Biblical ignorance extends even into our churches. If you talk to the average person sitting in a pew on Sunday morning and ask them whether they believe the Bible is the word of God the vast majority will say yes. But when you ask them to explain to you why they believe that you get a lot of blank stares. It’s not that they are not sincere in their belief. It’s that all too often they have only a cursory understanding of the faith they claim and even more cursory understanding of the Bible. That’s sad but it’s also perilous – because a Christian who can’t provide a reasoned explanation of what they believe and why they believe it is just chum to the cultural sharks who swarm in school buildings, the media, academia, corporate hallways, and government. Some surveys have said that as many as three-quarters of the kids raised in Christian homes lose their faith when the leave home. VK: What you’re saying is that our culture is no longer a safe place to be a Christian. While there are a lot of platitudes hurled around that talk about freedom of thought and expression, the truth is that the consistent target for denigration today is evangelical Christianity. Now we shouldn’t be surprised by this. Jesus told us that his people would be a target for the world and the devil. In what may be Jesus’ best-known discourse on the end times he said this: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” That’s the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, verses 9 through 11. RD: Yes. Note that in those verses Jesus warned that “many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.” Since Jesus said that these people would “turn away” that means that for at least some time there would be people who were seemingly His followers, seemingly Christian, but they really weren’t. And the occasion for those people abandoning their false profession of faith was because of persecution. We all need to take Jesus’ warning to heart and make sure that we aren’t among the group that turns away. We need to make sure that we – and our families and friends – are firmly grounded in their faith. VK: … that they are “anchored by truth” in other words… RD: Yes - anchored by truth. That’s why we named this show what we did. People with a shallow faith are going to be swept away when waves of persecution come. We’re already seeing that all around us. The fastest growing religious group in America today is the so-called “nones.” These are the people who possess no religious faith. VK: But that’s really a deceptive label isn’t it. People may say they don’t believe in any religion but they are just lying to themselves. It’s just that they have substituted a false idol for faith in the One True God. And while in our society they are certainly free to do that they are not free to do that without consequences. Because God has been very clear that He will one day call all people to account. The Apostle Paul wrote “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” That’s 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 10. The consequence of people rejecting Christ in this life is that Christ will not recognize them as His people when they stand before Him at judgment. RD: Yes – and that’s actually what I wanted to talk more about today - salvation. I’d guess that if you asked a lot of Christians to explain exactly how Christ provides salvation to His people we would get a lot of blank stares. VK: Well, I think a lot of people would say something like “we’re saved by Christ’s death on the cross” or “we’re saved because Jesus took our sins away.” RD: I think they would and both of those statements are accurate. But they are incomplete in terms of the basis for our salvation. Both of those statements are essentially statements about the result of Christ’s atoning death – and it is a glorious result indeed. But a complete understanding and explanation of how Christ provided salvation to His people means going beyond just the result to the origin of the need for salvation and the process used to bring about the result. VK: In other words the cornerstone and context of our salvation. RD: In so many words yes. VK: Well, I think many people might say “I don’t need to know how I was saved. I just need to know that I am saved. RD: And that would be unfortunate for a number of reasons but let’s just mention one for today. Studying scripture is not optional for God’s people. In Paul’s epistle to the Philippians he told them to “work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling.” That’s Philippians, chapter 2, verse 12. Now Paul is not telling the Philippians to be afraid of the work. He is telling them that they must be diligent about being obedient to his admonitions and the commands of scripture because expects His people to do their best. We should be afraid of not doing our best for Jesus because as Paul pointed out earlier Jesus gave up a heavenly throne to provide our salvation. In other words, God and Jesus gave us the greatest blessing possible – eternal salvation – but to do that God had to send His only begotten Son to die for us. It’s incumbent on us then to express our gratitude by at least taking the trouble to understand what God did for us. In addition to the instruction God gave to the Philippians Paul also gave his follower Timothy, and us, an express command to study scripture. VK: You’re thinking of 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 15. In the Amplified Bible that verse says, “Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.” RD: Right. God commands us to study God’s word, the Bible. And if we do that we will be able to explain not only the result of our salvation but why it was necessary in the first place. And, even more wonderfully, we will be able to explain the true elegance of the plan of redemption. VK: And one thing that can help everyone with developing a complete understanding of how and why Jesus saved us is by returning to the grand story that the Bible tells. In our last episode of Anchored by Truth we mentioned that the Bible is a single book about a single plan centered on a single man. The plan was God’s plan to redeem a people for Himself. The man who is the center of God’s plan of redemption, and all of history for that matter, is Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible and History. And the grand saga that the Bible relates is a saga of creation, fall, and redemption. RD: So, one thing that we can immediately see by returning to the big story, the grand saga, is the origin of the need for Jesus to die an atoning death on the cross – the fall of man that occurred in the Garden of Eden. If Adam and Eve had obeyed God’s command to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil man would never have fallen. So, the origin of the need for the sacrifice of God’s only Son lies in the fall of man that is reported in chapter 3 of the book of Genesis. VK: If man had not fallen, sin would not have entered the created order. And therefore man would not have to have been redeemed from the consequences of sin. But once man fell, God had to do something to save His elect because if God had done nothing everyone would have been lost. RD: Correct. So, let’s work our way through the chain of salvation step by step. In chapter 1 of Genesis we hear the overall story of creation. Then in chapter 2 we get more detailed information about how created the pinnacle of creation, man and woman. At the end of chapter 2 everything is good – in fact very good – within the created order. VK: Sadly, all that changed in the opening verses of chapter 3 of Genesis – because in the first verse of chapter 3 we start to hear about the serpent. The serpent is really the devil in disguise. We learn about that from chapter 12 of the book of Revelation. RD: So, obviously the devil already existed at that time. And the devil had already rebelled against God and most likely already led a third of the angels into following him. So, in chapter 3 of Genesis we find out that Adam and Eve are now going to be tested to see whether they will be obedient to God or whether they are going to succumb to temptation. And from the fact that Satan presents an initial temptation for Eve to doubt God that she resists we learn that she could have resisted subsequent temptations if she had simply done what she did at first – which was to repeat God’s truth back to Satan when he tempted her. VK: And we also learn from this encounter that temptation is not sin. We can be tempted and still not sin. I think this confuses a lot of people. They think that just because they are experiencing temptation that they have sinned. But just encountering temptation is not necessarily sinful. Now it may be our sin that leads us to rush into places where we will encounter temptation more readily, but we can also encounter temptation even if we haven’t done that. Temptation is all around us – unfortunately. But just because we are tempted does not mean we have sinned. One of Satan’s favorite tricks is to discourage us by convincing us we sinned when all we really experienced was temptation. RD: I agree. At any rate Eve did ultimately succumb to Satan’s temptations and Adam followed right along with her. That lapse, that first sin changed everything – not just for mankind but for all of creation. So, at that point man was lost. Man had incurred an infinite debt. VK: Man is finite creature. All creatures are finite. But God is infinite. So, the consequences of man’s rebellion were infinite because man had offended a Being of infinite proportions and attributes. Even in our society we recognize that the consequences of our action are dependent on not just the offender but the offended. Lie to your neighbor and that may or not be a crime. Lie on a loan application and it is likely a criminal offense. Betray a friend and you’re a false friend. Betray your country and its treason. The severity of an action is dependent on both sides of the transaction. RD: Yes. So, after Adam and Eve rebelled, sinned, in the Garden of Eden they and all of their children would have been eternally condemned had God not immediately began a plan of redemption. But He did. God immediately announced that Satan’s dark plan for the downfall of man would one day result in Satan’s eternal death. God said that one of Eve’s descendants, the “seed of the woman” as the King James Version puts it, would crush Satan’s head. Crushing the head of a serpent is a fatal blow. But defeating Satan wouldn’t come without cost. The serpent would strike the heel of the One who would crush his head – a painful but not fatal blow. VK: So, immediately, even before the Bible’s account of the first sin has ended we already have 3 elements that help us begin to understand how Jesus accomplished our salvation. Element number 1 is that the coming hero would be the “seed of a woman” but not of a man. Element number 2 is that whoever this hero is going to be it is going to be a man. Most versions that translate Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15 use the pronoun “he” to talk about the person who is going to crush Satan’s head. And third we can understand that for the curse of sin to be reversed it is going to take a Person of infinite value. As we have said the debt Adam and Eve incurred in the Garden was an infinite debt. And a finite man cannot pay an infinite debt no matter how hard he tries or how long he works. RD: Right. So, even just knowing the beginning of the grand story is of immense value to understanding how Jesus saved us by his sacrificial death on the cross. We leave the third chapter of the first book of the Bible with three criteria that are going to be true of the coming Messiah. And more criteria will be added as the plan of redemption proceeds. Redemptive history began in the Garden of Eden began there but it most certainly didn’t end there. From chapters 6 through 9 of Genesis we find out that the coming Messiah would be descendant of Noah – because only Noah, his 3 sons, and their wives were the only people who survived the worldwide flood. In chapter 12 of Genesis we find out that the Savior will be a descendent of the patriarch Abraham because God tells Abraham that all the peoples on earth will be blessed through him. And in chapter 14 of Genesis we first hear of the mysterious figure “Melchizedek.” We find out in Psalm 110, verse 4 that this figure Melchizedek is a figure who presages the kind of priest that the Messiah will be. VK: And we find out that Jesus fulfilled this priestly role by three separate references in the book of Hebrews. Those verses are Hebrews, chapter 5, verse 6, and chapter 7 verses17 and 21. And in scripture a three-fold repetition of something is significant, isn’t it. RD: Yes. There aren’t many three-fold repetitions of words or phrases in scripture they are always used by God as a form of emphasis. In the case of the Messiah God was telling the Jews that the Messiah would be not only be a priest but also a king. He was also telling them that the Messiah would not be from the priestly tribe of Levi. And God continued to add criteria and attributes throughout the Old Testament that would allow the Jews and the world to know Jesus was the Messiah when Jesus arrived in the world. Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, be crucified between two thieves, buried in a rich man’s tomb, but rise again to sit at the right hand of God. All of these signs of the Messiah, and others, were given to the Jews in their scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus’ life. VK: And the point is that because we know that God’s grand plan and the big story of the Bible is all about creation, fall, and redemption we can trace a consistent path through the Old Testament. Immediately after the fall God told Adam and Eve that a Deliverer would come and God immediately gave them distinctive criteria that would mark the Messiah. So, by getting a firm grasp on the larger context in which all the various events, stories, and prophecies of the Old Testament are set we can see the progress of redemptive history. When God gives a new criteria that will mark the life of the Messiah, like being born of a virgin, we can look and see if we have evidence that that criteria was fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Context keeps the lights on for our pathway. So, by keeping the larger context in mind we can better organize our study to ensure we get the most out of time with scripture. RD: Yep. So, now let’s start to put all these ideas together and see God’s perfect elegance in both establishing the plan of salvation and then shepherding it to completion. God warned Adam and Eve that if they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would die. VK: In other words, the consequence of disobedience was death. Or as the Apostle Paul said in Romans, chapter 6, verse 23 “the wages of sin is death.” RD: Yep. Well, Adam and Eve did eat from the forbidden tree and they experienced death. Not only did they die but everyone who would descend from them would also die. The curse of death, the sting of death, would have been an eternal part of the created order if God had not intervened. VK: And God had to intervene – because man had incurred an infinite debt to God. And as we have said a finite man cannot pay an infinite debt. The only Infinite Being that exists is God. So, God had to figure out how to pay that infinite debt if any people were ever to be saved. Man’s sin estranged man from God. Restoration required reconciliation. But man couldn’t do what was necessary for reconciliation. Only God could. And God did. RD: And this is where our opening scripture fills in a key thought. In our opening scripture from 1 Timothy Paul tells Timothy that “there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” A mediator must be capable of representing both sides of a transaction. So, the mediator between God and man had to be able to represent both God and man. VK: Which is why the 2nd Person of the Trinitarian Godhead had to take on a human nature. This is the miracle of the incarnation. Biologically speaking Jesus was born of Mary but the baby in Mary’s womb had actually resulted from the Holy Spirit coming “on her” as most translations put it. Now we don’t understand exactly how the Holy Spirit did but an infinite God who created the entire universe and all life in the universe wouldn’t have any trouble creating a baby in a virgin’s womb. So, Jesus was the Son of a human mother but in a very real sense He was also the Son of a Divine Father. RD: Yep. Because God brought Jesus into the created order the way He did Jesus came equipped to be the mediator to reconcile man to God. VK: What remained was for Jesus to live a “spotless” life because a Perfect God can only accept a perfect sacrifice. And Jesus did live a sinless life, a perfect life before God. This fulfilled the Covenant Works which Adam and Eve had violated in the Garden. RD: Yep. And that sinless Jesus died unjustly on a Roman cross fulfilling the mandated consequence that death be the wage paid for sin. VK: But Jesus had no sin of His own. He did not need to pay the price for His own sin. That meant that He could pay for our sins. And since Jesus is fully God as well as fully man his sacrificial death had infinite value. And all of this had been clearly set forth in the Old Testament as the way that God would redeem His people. Most of the Jews of Jesus day, including the religious elites did not understand it. A few did but not many. So, in the New Testament the writers began to unpack the Old Testament prophecies in sufficient details to make it clear. Sounds like the religious elites could have done well to understand the cornerstone and context. RD: Quite possibly. We are fortunate in a way that the elites in 1st century Israel were not. We have the New Testament as well as the Old. We now understand exactly how Jesus fulfilled the role of being a priest forever according to Melchizedek because an inspired writer has spelled it out for us. And we understand that there will be two comings of the Messiah. The first coming was as the suffering Servant, the sacrificial Lamb. The second coming will be as the Conquering Lion. We can see clearly the meaning of ideas and themes that they could only perceive dimly. That’s a huge blessing. But it is no blessing at all if we neglect to use the scriptures that God has provided. But when we do we see that far from our Christian faith being a “leap in the dark” what we are actually doing is placing our faith in the abundant evidence that God has supplied. And if we understand the evidence we can explain it to others. That’s how we fulfill the Great Commission Jesus gave in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations. VK: Well, our thought-provoking journey into the cornerstone and context of the Bible continues. It should be a great encouragement to everyone to know that God never expected us to turn off our brains while we follow our hearts in response to His outreach of love. Hopefully, listeners will let others know about this series. It really can be a valuable resource to the skeptic and the believer alike. This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer for the celebration of the day that our Lord rose out the earth by His own power. In doing so He conquered death for all who would place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Because of Jesus’ resurrection we can boldly ask “O grave where is your victory? O death where is your sting?” And the answer we receive is that they are gone and we will live eternally in the light of God’s blessed radiance. ---- PRAYER FOR EASTER VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) 1 Samuel, Chapter 17, verses 5 through 7, New Living Translation https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/8/4/1 https://patternsofevidence.com/2018/10/26/david-battles-goliath/)
Episode 269 –Bible: Cornerstone and Context 1 Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelation, Chapter 1, verse 8, New International Version ******** VK: Greetings! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. We’re excited to be with you today on Anchored by Truth as we start a new series. It is apparent to anyone who is paying attention to cultural trends that the Christian faith in America has been subjected to more challenges in the last decade than in the first two centuries of the country’s existence. Some of the challenges come from a surrounding culture that has become either indifferent to matters of faith or even outright hostile to the Bible and Christ. And certainly one trend that worries just about every thinking Christian is the increasing level of Biblical ignorance that characterizes not only our society but often the people sitting in the pews. So, RD Fierro, an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books, has entitled this series “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” And we have RD who is an in the studio today. RD, why did you decide to do this series? RD: Well, I’d also like to welcome everyone joining us here today as we begin a new series. As you’ve noted there is widespread Biblical ignorance in our culture today. And often, far too often, that Biblical ignorance extends even into our churches. That’s shameful but it’s also dangerous. You can’t be a Christian without knowing Christ. And you can’t truly know Christ without the Bible. And you can’t be eternally saved without truly knowing Christ. Therefore, it’s not too strong a statement to say that ignorance of the Bible poses a very real danger to people being saved from an eternal perdition. Sadly, I know a lot of Christians who recognize this but still don’t read or study the Bible regularly. And when I talk to them about why they don’t I’ll commonly hear the answer “I just don’t understand the Bible.” VK: And we can sympathize with that statement at Anchored by Truth. The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, was written almost 2,000 years ago. And the first book of the Bible was written 1,500 years before that. So, the Bible was written in a different time. It was also written to a very different group of people. The Old Testament was written and delivered to the Hebrew people and its final book, Malachi, was completed at least 400 years before Jesus was born. And even though the New Testament was written during times and places that are more familiar to modern readers – because it was prepared during the height of the Roman Empire – it still contains references that to us are archaic. RD: Yes. And this lack of familiarity with the times, places, and peoples of the Bible is just the beginning of the issues that we confront when we try to encourage people to grow in their knowledge of scripture. Another real challenge is that just everybody who comes to the Bible does so without having a cornerstone on which to ground their reading and without having a context into which to place the various accounts, records, poems, and instructions. VK: And that’s why you called this series “The Bible: Cornerstone and Context.” We want to give people a framework that will enable them to know how the Bible fits together – and how the Bible fits into their lives and futures. RD: Yes. For those of us who are concerned about helping people understand that the Bible is the inspired word of God we want them to see that the Bible is not just a collection of stories, historical episodes, and moral and ethical instructions. The Bible is God’s special revelation to the world and most especially, to His people. There’s a big word that theologians use to describe the fact that God wrote the Bible so that people could and would understand it. Theologians will talk about the perspicuity of the Bible. Perspicuity simply means to think, write, or speak clearly. With respect to the Bible perspicuity simply means God wrote in such a way that anyone who comes to it with an open mind, willing heart, and diligent attitude will be able to understand what it is saying. They don’t need special training or education to read it and benefit from it. VK: But even though you don’t need special training or education to benefit from the Bible people can certainly benefit from having people who have training and education to help them along, right? RD: Yes, of course. That’s why we’re doing this series. And there are a lot of great Bible study courses and tools available in churches or the internet. Many of these resources are free monetarily. And we would definitely encourage people to take advantage of these helps including previous episodes and series of Anchored by Truth. We want to help people learn the Bible for themselves. But we want to start this series by recognizing that people can develop a deep knowledge of the Bible just by reading the Bible regularly and repeatedly for themselves. That’s why there have been Christians down through the ages like John Newton and John Bunyan who became powerful church leaders even though they had limited formal education before being saved. VK: Well, one of your concerns is that even people who start out with the best of intentions can be derailed can’t they? You’ve often said that you have known a lot of people who made a resolution to read the Bible from cover to cover but far too many of them don’t make it much past Genesis. Too many people exit their Bible program in the book of Exodus. And many who make it past Exodus are often done in by Leviticus. RD: Yep. A sincere desire to read the Bible all the way through is great. I started out that way. But it took a lot of dogged determination to get through the Levitical code in Leviticus, the genealogies of Chronicles, and the strange images of Ezekiel. Today, I know how those things fit together. But I certainly didn’t understand them on my first reading. VK: And that’s okay. People are not likely to understand everything they read the first time they go through the Bible. But persistence in studying the Bible is like farming – time and faithful cultivation will yield results. But also like farming, a little bit of up front knowledge will increase the crop and can yield a bountiful harvest. RD: Right. Understanding the cornerstone of the Bible can help tremendously – as can having a context in which to fit the information that comes from the various books and stories. We want people to have their minds and hearts illuminated and inspired by the Bible each time they come to it. And that is possible. It is especially possible because the Holy Spirit will personally teach them from the Bible. That’s something that we can say about the Bible that can’t be said about any book that is purely a product of man. VK: That’s really an amazing thought. The Holy Spirit inspired the people who wrote the Bible. Jesus tells us that even the words and pen strokes of the Bible were inspired. And the Holy Spirit is still available to us today when we come to the Bible. The Holy Spirit, as well as the Father and Son, are eternal. We heard that from our opening scripture from the first chapter of the book of Revelation. God tells us that “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” There are 3 powerful affirmations of God’s eternality and infinitude in just that short verse. RD: Yes. Alpha is the first letter in Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter. Saying that He is the alpha and omega is merism. VK: Merism is a rhetorical term for a pair of contrasting words or phrases (such as near and far, body and soul, life and death) used to express totality or completeness. When Jesus told John in that verse that He was the alpha and omega it was a way of him saying that He is source and beginning of everything and all of history is progressing toward the end that He has ordained. One Biblical commentator, Albert Barnes, puts it this way, “The language here is what would properly denote "eternity" in the being to whom it is applied, and could be used in reference to no one but the true God. It means that he is the beginning and the end of all things; that he was at the commencement, and will be at the close; and it is thus equivalent to saying that he has always existed, and that he will always exist.” RD: Right. And Barnes’ explanation of that verse is a good example of how knowing the cornerstone of the Bible helps us begin to develop a clear understanding of passages or idioms that may initially be strange to modern readers. Most people today don’t know the Greek alphabet. If they encountered it at all it was probably in the context of the name of a college fraternity or sorority. VK: Or the name of a character in a superhero movie or video game … RD: … or a nutritional supplement like “omega 3” fatty acids. So, when they read the words “I am the Alpha and Omega” they may not have a clear idea of what the writer is trying to say. But when you understand that cornerstone of the entire Bible is Jesus – and that Jesus is fully God as well as being fully human – we gain additional clarity about what that passage is communicating to us. But I don’t want to get too far over our skis. We are talking about how people can build a solid understanding of scripture. And certainly one way we can be sure that it is possible to do so is because of scripture’s perspicuity. God wrote scripture with the specific intent that it could be understood. VK: And then God also gives the indwelling Holy Spirit to further help us. In other words anyone who has a heartfelt desire to know and understand scripture isn’t going to be left to flail about on their own. God will actively aid them in their quest. And one way God can aid them is by good Bible study tools and programs. And you think that another way people can improve their Biblical understanding and comprehension is by starting out with a solid understanding of the cornerstone of scripture: Jesus. And also by having a good contextual framework that will enable them to organize the material they learn. Correct? RD: Correct. Buildings that have weak cornerstones are not going to stand. Reading the Bible without understanding that Jesus is its cornerstone is not only going to lead to frustration but worse. It is going to lead to gross misunderstandings that can give way to heresy. VK: And Jesus himself tells us that. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21, verse 42 Jesus when Jesus was speaking to the chief priests and elders he said to them: “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” The scriptures Jesus was quoting was likely Psalm 118, verse 22 which says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” RD: And there are other Old Testament scriptures that reinforce this same point. Isaiah, chapter 28, verse 16 says, “So this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.’” Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible. It’s fair to say that every book, chapter, and verse in the Bible relies on this fundamental truth in some way. It may not always be immediately obvious how it does so, but some diligent meditation will help us gain insights and that same meditation will certainly improve our overall understanding of scripture. VK: Can you give us an understanding of what you’re thinking about? RD: Sure. Certainly, one of the best known stories in the Bible is about Jonah and the whale – or really the Bible just says it was a large fish. Now, it may not seem like this story has much to do with Jesus but it does. Jonah is one of the so-called Minor Prophets which are part of the Old Testament. After his life was saved from drowning by being swallowed by the fish or whale and then disgorged onto dry land, he finally did what God told him to do – go preach to the people of the city of Nineveh which was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. In other words they weren’t Hebrews. When Jonah did so, the whole city was converted. So, on one level the story of Jonah seems to just be about God saving a group of non-Hebrews. But it turns out that when we get to the New Testament book of Matthew we find out that the story of Jonah has profound messianic implications. VK: You’re referring to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, verses 2 through 4. In that portion of scripture Jesus is confronting a group of Pharisees and Sadducees who are trying to test Jesus to see if Jesus really is the Messiah, the Savior. In response to the demand from the Pharisees and Sadducees that he perform some kind of miracle to prove who he is Jesus “replied, ‘When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’” The Bible then tells us that “Jesus then left them and went away.” RD: Yes. So, let’s think about this for a second. At first the story of Jonah doesn’t seem to have much to do with Jesus. But when Jesus actually arrives on the scene we find that it does. The first messianic implication of Jonah was that Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days. In Matthew, chapter 12, verse 40, Jesus told his disciples that “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Then, as we just heard, Jesus later told the Sadducees and Pharisees that this was the sign that was going to be given to them when they wondered whether He really was the promised Messiah. VK: Now, unlike people today, the Sadducees and the Pharisees knew the Old Testament inside and out. They knew exactly what the book of Jonah said – probably some of them could recite it word for word. So, when Jesus told them that the sign they were going to receive that would absolutely prove to them that He was the Messiah they knew, or should have known, that Jesus was telling them that He was going to rise from the dead. That’s what Jonah had done. Jonah should have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea but God saved him by the intervention of the great fish. And when Jonah was delivered onto dry land by the fish it was as if he had come back from the dead. Jonah’s delivery was a miraculous sign that would receive its greater fulfillment in Jesus’ life. Jonah was only in the grip of a seeming death before he came back. Jesus would actually experience death. Jonah needed God’s intervention to save him. Jesus would actually walk out of the tomb by His own power because Jesus is God. And Jonah would go on to preach to save a gentile city. After His resurrection Jesus would commission his Apostles to go out and begin a session of salvation that would reach every tribe, tongue, and nation. All of this is truly amazing. RD: Right. So, the story of Jonah is just one example of how knowing that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible helps us understand the Bible’s messages more clearly. We have an advantage that the people who physically heard Jesus speak did not. At that point in history the scriptures consisted only of what we call the Old Testament. And, by the way, that was more than enough for them to be able to know that Jesus was who He claimed to be – the Savior promised by God thousands of years earlier. In other words, the Jews of Jesus’ time had enough in their own scriptures to validate his identity and claims. Their failure to do so wasn’t because they didn’t know enough. It was because they chose not to accept the evidence. VK: Like a lot of people today. RD: Sadly, yes. Today we have the complete special revelation of God because we have the New Testament as well as the Old. But many people today still reject the lifesaving message that is contained in them. But that does not need to be the end of the story. Those of us who do know that the Bible contains the words of life still have the opportunity to add our testimony to the Bible’s witness. And one of the best ways we can do that is by improving our own understanding of the Bible’s message. By doing that we are going to be in a far better position to answer questions, assuage doubts, and direct people to the real source of the truth that can transform their lives. VK: In other words, the better we understand the Bible the better able we are to help others anchor themselves to the Truth. And one way we can improve our understanding of the Bible is to understand the cornerstone of the Bible and then establish a contextual framework to guide our further integration of the Bible’s stores, records, and messages into our scriptural comprehension. And I think that this kind of framework is so necessary today. It might not have been fifty or even twenty years ago, but it is today. RD: Yep. As we started out saying the Bible was written in a different time and it was written to people with which most of us have little familiarity. So, we will improve our understanding by reading and learning something about those times and places. But we can also improve our biblical comprehension just by knowing how the Bible fits together. Knowing that Jesus is the Bible’s cornerstone is vital but we can’t stop there. Laying the cornerstone is the first step in building the house but we’re still going to get cold and wet if we just stop there. VK: Said differently, knowing that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Bible is necessary but not sufficient to developing a clear understanding of how scripture fits together into a unified whole. We also need the vertical columns and horizontal braces upon which to hang the many, many additional components of a mature faith. RD: Yep. The Bible is a single book about a single plan about a single man. Even though most Protestant Bible’s contain 66 books, the Bible is a unified whole. It was composed by a single mind who delivered it to the world through the hands of inspired writers. The plan is God’s plan to redeem a people for Himself. It unfolds through time and history, through people and places but everything that happens unfolds according to God’s grand plan. The grand saga of God’s plan unfolds in 3 phases or stages that occur on this earth. There will be a 4th phase that takes place when this present heavens and earth give way to a new heavens and earth. The 3 phases that take place on the current earth are creation, fall, and redemption. VK: And once people understand this grand plan and see how the grand saga has unfolded they will be better equipped to see how the various parts of scripture fit into that unified whole. They will be able to see that the seemingly tedious aspects of the Levitical code are actually giving us important information about the work and life of the coming Christ. They will see that the genealogies of Genesis, Numbers, and Chronicles are actually quite necessary for us to understand the full relevance of the genealogies of Jesus that will come to us in Luke and Matthew. And they will see that prophetic statements in both the major and minor prophets were essential to the people of Jesus’ day – and our day for that matter – to be assured that Jesus was the Promised Messiah. RD: Right. The Bible is a single book about a single plan about a single man. The plan is God’s plan of redemption that was made necessary because of man’s rebellion against His infinite Creator after that Creator had created and fitted an ideal habit for His image bearer. Once man rebelled and fell, God had to take affirmative action to make redemption possible. And that redemption and reconciliation could only be possible by God providing a representative that could suitably represent both sides of the transaction. That took a unique Being that was not only perfectly human but also fully divine. And we’ll talk more about that in coming episodes in this series. We will see that Christ is not only the cornerstone of the Bible He is the cornerstone of creation. And Christ will preside over the coming 4th phase of God’s master plan which will be the glorification of God’s redeemed people in a new heavens and a new earth. God’s grand saga has unfolded through millennia. So, of course only an eternal Being could be the centerpiece of such a plan. That’s just one of the reasons our Savior and Messiah had to be both fully God as well as fully man. VK: So understanding this grand plan and the grand saga enables people to be better equipped to see how the various parts of scripture fit into that unified whole. It gives them a contextual framework to connect the various people, stories, poems, and proverbs into a comprehensible picture. Many people come to scripture essentially as ants. The can only see what is right in front of them at a single moment. We must come to scripture not only as ants but also as eagles who can see a grander vista. Ants are hard-working and scripture commends that. But eagles can see over the horizon and ride the winds to great heights. We must do both as we study scripture. Well, sounds like we’re in for quite a thought-provoking journey. Hopefully, listeners will let others know about this series. It really can be a valuable resource to the skeptic and the believer alike. This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer for first responders – the men and women who often put their own health and safety at risk to provide for others. This is truly service that goes beyond self and they deserve our support and prayers. ---- PRAYER FOR FIRST RESPONDERS VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New International Version) Revelation, Chapter 1, verse 8, New International Version
Episode 265 – The Truth in Genesis Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: (Bible quotes from the New Living Translation) Then the LORD said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” … Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: “Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them! Job, Chapter 40, verses 1 and 2 and verses 6 and 7, New Living Translation I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,”says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One”… Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.” Revelation, Chapter 1, verse 8 and verses 17 and 18, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author, founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time mechanical engineer. He changes the air filter in the air conditioner. And speaking of changing things, today we are closing out the series that we’ve been presenting for several episodes that we’ve been calling The Truth in Genesis? So today we’re going to be doing a bit of a recap of all the subjects that we’ve covered and hit the highlights of some of the major things that we’ve learned. RD, would you like to say a brief word of introduction about today’s show? RD: I would. Our “The Truth in Genesis” series was designed to allow listeners to hear a sample of the scientific evidence that is relevant to two of the most important topics that affect Biblical inspiration and infallibility: the age of the earth and universe and the origin and diversity of life. One of the biggest challenges facing most Christians is right at the beginning of the Bible in Chapter 1 where the Bible tells us that God created the heavens, the earth, and everything that exists on the earth including all living creatures and most especially, us. Supposedly, that claim is at odds with what contemporary science tells us about the universe and life. So, for a Christian to maintain their faith in the Bible today culture they must immediately confront the cultural challenge to the Bible’s proclamation about creation. In effect, our culture demands that we either surrender our faith in the Bible or our acceptance of science as a source of truth. I believe that we’ve shown through the episodes in this series that conscientious Christians don’t need to make that kind of a false choice. VK: Your contention is that we have illustrated through the episodes in The Truth in Genesis series there is substantial scientific evidence that absolutely supports, the belief that the plain language of Genesis may be accepted as literal, historical fact. And today we want to review and summarize just a few snippets of what we’ve learned. But before we get too far into our discussion about the serious stuff, we’d like to start by just listening to a poetic summary of the state of this debate. To do that we want to play a portion of Crystal Seas’ upcoming poetic series called the Genesis Saga. For today, let’s listen to Part 5 of the Genesis Saga which – aptly enough - we call The Truth in Genesis. ---- TRUTH IN GENESIS VK: That is a pretty amazing summary - and it rhymes. So let’s go back and cover briefly some of the main points of evidence that we’ve learned about from Truth in Genesis that support the fact that the universe and earth aren’t nearly as old as is commonly believed. Let’s also talk about how it would be impossible for the random, chaotic action of inanimate atoms and molecules to spontaneously give rise to life. RD: Well, to start let’s be clear about the competing truth claims that we are examining. The Bible clearly claims that God created the heavens and earth and all the life that exists on the earth, whether plant or animal. And, according to most traditional interpretations, God performed His creative activity on the order of several thousands of years ago. Also, when it comes to animal life the Bible created all the “kinds” of animals that exist today. Contrary to the strawman version of Biblical creation that critics like to shoot at, “kinds” does not refer to the species that are extant today. Nor does the Biblical term “kind” refer to any particular taxonomic level such as an order or genus. It primarily refers to the ability of any two animals to reproduce regardless of how those animals might be classified according to current taxonomy. By contrast the dominant view among most scientists today is that the universe is 14 billion, or so, years old and that the earth is 4.5 billion years old. Also, most conventional biologists believe that life on earth evolved from primitive forms to more complex forms, likely starting with some sort of a self-replicating molecule that over time spontaneously aggregated into a single cell, and that from that cell all the amazing biodiversity we see around the globe today emerged – without direction or instruction from any intelligent source. As our guest for most of our shows, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, puts it – a “goo to you” form of evolution. VK: Those are two very clearly contrasting views. But isn’t there sort of a middle ground that some have termed “theistic evolution?” This is the view that God created everything but then used evolution as a sort of intermediate mechanism to allow life to progress from simple forms to more complex ones and that over time many different forms of plants and animals emerged from the process that God originated. RD: You are absolutely correct that there have been various attempts to bridge the gaps between Biblical creationism and a materialist, secularist form of evolution. The problem is that most of these “middle ground” approaches suffer from the same faults as the ones that afflict a purely materialistic evolution plus they create additional theological or Christological problems for Christians who hold them. For instance, any approach that presumes that God used evolution to produce man from some lower form of pre-human hominid requires that death preceded Adam and Eve’s fall – and that’s if they accept the fall as being a historical event. Yet various scriptures, such as Romans 5:17, tie death directly to Adam’s sin. Further, if Adam’s fall wasn’t a literal event that introduced death into a creation that God had deemed “very good,” then why was it necessary for Christ to die on the cross to undo the effects of sin. VK: So, you’re saying the middle ground approaches really don’t bridge the gap and allow both sides to be right. But are you also saying that the middle grounds are subject to the same criticisms scientifically as a purely secularistic evolutionism. RD: Yes. For instance, one of the problems we learned about insofar as evolution is concerned is the absence of transitional forms in the fossil record, a fact that even Charles Darwin noted and lamented. When you study the fossil record species appear suddenly and fully formed with very few specimens that can even be offered up as being transitional. Despite the fact over 90% of the fossils that have been discovered were discovered after Darwin wrote the Origin of Species there aren’t any more convincing transitional examples known to today than when Darwin lamented their absence. This absence of transitional fossils would be a problem for any form of evolutionary hypothesis whether theistic or not. VK: What are a couple of other examples of problems that cast doubt on evolution regardless of which form is being discussed? RD: Well, there’s what’s been called by one writer “the failure of homology.” Homology is the idea that certain structures present in different species have a structural or other biological resemblance to each other. The classic example is the pattern in the bones of vertebrate limbs. In a wide variety of mammal species, example, from bats to whales to horses to people, there’s a consistent pattern of having one bone in the upper part of the limb (our arms or legs), connected to two bones, that are then connected to a series of five bones that have 2 segments in the large bone (thumb, big toe) and 3 segments in the other four. Such so-called “homologous” structures are thought to be evidence of “common descent.” In other words some ancient ancestor of all mammals had this pattern of bones so all the mammals in the world today that are descended from the ancestor inherited this pattern. VK: Certainly, at least on the surface, that makes sense. So what’s the problem? RD: The problem is that when Darwin wrote about the support that homology provided for his theory science knew very little about embryology – the study of how life develops following conception. Today, we know a lot more and we now know that the seeming homologous structures in adult animals don’t arise from similar embryological processes or from identical or similar genes. In other words while the adult features seem to be similar they come about from significantly varying developmental processes. This directly conflicts with the notion that the supposedly homologous structures came from a common ancestor because if all the common features were inherited from a common ancestor that ancestor would have passed along its embryological features not just the adult result. There’s a good discussion of this problem in Michael Denton’s book entitled Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. Chapter 7 for those who want to study further. VK: So just like with the fossil record, evidence that is often used to demonstrate the truth of evolution actually has significant scientific problems. Are there any other illustrations of scientific problems with the “particles to people” view of evolution? RD: There are actually lots of them and Dr. Sarfati discussed a number of them during his time in the Anchored by Truth studio. VK: For instance? RD: For instance, just about every proposed mechanism for how life could have arisen from non-living chemicals involves some variation on Darwin’s musings about a “warm little pond” – in other words the notion that the primordial oceans contained a nutrient rich broth that is sometimes termed “pre-biotic soup.” The chemicals necessary for life were supposed to have been present in this soup in such densities that random collision between the right molecules produced abiotic organic compounds that were then used to assemble the first cell or at least the cell’s precursor, whatever that would have been. The existence of these abiotically produced organic compounds is absolutely essential for the scheme to have worked. The problem is that rocks of purportedly great antiquity, by conventional dating, methods have extensively examined and none contain any evidence of these abiotically produced organic compound even the so-called “dawn rocks” of Western Greenland that were supposedly laid down within 3 or 4 hundred million years of the earth’s formation. The same thing is true of all the other rocks of similar antiquity. VK: So the rocks contain no evidence of this pre-biotic soup and without it the whole origin hypothesis falls apart. But some scientists now believe that the earliest life was formed underwater near these heating vents in the deep ocean. RD: Yes. That hypothesis is frequently mentioned in ocean exploration programs on one or another science channel. The problem with this theory is that all life depends on very lengthy chains of amino acids that are called polypeptides. Well, polypeptides won’t form in the presence of excess water. Even if the requisite amino acids were present they wouldn’t combine into the lengthy polypeptides so again there’s an absolute chemical barrier to life starting underwater hypothesis. VK: In other words the difficulties against life having arisen spontaneously from non-living chemicals are starting to stack up like a bricks in a brick wall. Are there any other bricks that are problematic? How about the famous experiments by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey? Didn’t they create the chemicals needed by life when they stimulated a chemical medium with methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and water using electric discharges? RD: Urey and Miller were successful at creating organic compounds. That much is true. But the good news pretty much ends there. VK: How so? RD: First, there is no evidence that the conditions Urey and Miller used in their lab were present in the primordial earth. At a minimum, they used an oxygen free atmosphere because oxidation would quickly break down any organic chemicals that formed. Think rust. But there is evidence of oxidation in supposedly ancient rocks so it’s more likely that the early atmosphere contained oxygen than that it didn’t. Next, amino acids come in two varieties: levorotary and dextrorotary. The amino acids that support life are all levorotary. Dextrorotary forms are lethal. The combination of the two is called a racemate. Miller’s experiments and others since only produce racemates, never pure levorotary amino acids. Third, the amino acids they produced were captured in special traps. If those traps hadn’t been there the amino acids would have broken down before they could be determined to be present. Moreover, Urey and Miller’s experiment where they produced the amino acids wasn’t the first experiment they conducted. They had done others where they didn’t get anything. So, even when they got a result it involved the application of a considerable amount of intelligence. It was the exact opposite of the operation of blind chance. VK: Wow. That last thought really forces you to think doesn’t it? Even if a team of scientists today were successful at producing life in a test tube or laboratory beaker that wouldn’t demonstrate that life could have formed randomly or chaotically. Because - presumably - the scientists would have been applying intelligent guidance and decision making at every step within their process. And, of course, that’s assuming they had duplicated exactly the conditions on the earth at the time life is supposed to have formed and that is, and always will remain, unknowable. Well, this truly has been a remarkable series and yet we really have only skimmed the surface of all these topics. But the takeaway for the series and as well as from each episode is that faithful, committed Christians can believe in the truth of Genesis without having to give up their confidence in real science. As you would expect of an almighty and all-knowing Creator, He has provided His special revelation in a way that is entirely consistent with the way that He created and sustains the universe. Sounds like a great time to praise our Creator in prayer. ---- PRAYER OF ADORATION FOR THE CREATOR (radio version) VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) The Book of Job, chapter 38, verses 4 through 7 The epistle to the Colossians, chapter 15 verses 1 through 17 https://creation.com/right-perspective-interpreting-data
Episode 264 – Evolution’s Deceptive Evidence – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: With your wisdom and power you created the earth and spread out the heavens. The waters in the heavens roar at your command. You make clouds appear— you send the winds from your storehouse and make lightning flash in the rain. Jeremiah, Chapter 10, verses 12 and 13, Contemporary English Version God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse. Romans, chapter 1, verse 20, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we are beginning the wrap up of the series that we call The Truth in Genesis. This series has been an examination of whether the latest contemporary science supports or refutes the traditional view of the Genesis text regarding creation. We’ve been led on this journey by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati. Dr. Sarfati is an internationally known author and the lead scientist for Creation Ministries International. He has written a number of widely selling books that bring an understandable, yet comprehensive, scientific perspective on what empirical observations tell us about the age of the earth and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution volumes 1 and 2, By Design, The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati has been answering questions about a wide variety of topics that pertain the evidence that supports the historicity of the literal Biblical account. These topics have included methods of assigning dates to long past events, what we really learn from studying dinosaurs, and how life cannot exist without the complex information system that is embedded in the DNA of all life. Our approach to our discussions has been to use reason, logic, and evidence to examine whether the Bible and science are indeed at odds with each other as is often asserted today. Thus far we have seen that nothing could be further from the truth than the assertion that we have to either accept either science or the content of the traditional Christian faith. So as we begin our wrap up of this series, today we’re going see that many of the arguments commonly used to support the truth of evolution actually turn out to be evidence against it. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and give us some general comments on the whole subject of science and the Bible? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: Dr. Sarfati, During our last several episodes we have seen that there is a substantial body of scientific evidence that demonstrates that the age of the universe cannot be as old as conventional science claims. The earth and universe are far more likely to be several thousand years old than several billion years old. As such, even assuming inanimate particles could somehow aggregate themselves to form self-replicating molecules there is insufficient time for those molecules to be transformed into the vast diversity of plant and animal species that currently exist on the earth, much less create a logical, purposive, ethically animated being such as man. Could you give us a brief summary of some of the evidence that points out how life is too complicated to arise from non-life by blind chance? Dr. Sarfati: Comments on how life cannot arise by blind chance VK: Thank you for those observations. So let’s get right to the main subject for today’s discussion - . Question List: a. Darwin made much of the homological nature of certain vertebrate structures as evidence of common descent. What is homology and what information do we now possess that Darwin did not? Why does homology fail as evidence for evolution? b. Darwin acknowledged that the absence of transitional fossil evidence present in his time did not support his theory, but he appealed to future discoveries that he believed would come to his rescue. Have subsequent discoveries vindicated Darwin’s confidence that the fossil record would one day demonstrate that evolution is true? c. The revolution is molecular biology did not take place until almost 100 years after Darwin’s publication of Origin of the Species. How have advances in our understanding of the atomic and molecular attributes of the cell affected the validity of the evolutionary hypothesis? d. From a probability standpoint, what does the complexity of life imply about the likelihood that life could have arisen by chance? e. The conventional explanation for the origin of life requires the existence of a widespread pre-biotic primordial soup. Is there any evidence that such a “soup” ever existed? f. Some proponents of evolution have argued that we have been able to see “evolution before our eyes.” For example some have pointed to Richard Lenski’s decades-long experiments on bacteria as having demonstrated the truth of evolution. Did Lenski’s experiments show that single-celled creatures could turn into critics or creationists? g. Are there any scientists who affirm the Genesis account and who do research into biological questions from a Creationist perspective? h. In your opinion what are the three or four of the most important facts that Christians should keep in mind when reading articles about the supposed latest discoveries that support evolution as a viable explanation? i. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study more about the scientific deficiencies in evolution as an explanation for life and biodiversity? VK: So the big takeaway from our discussion today is that many of the traditional “proofs” used to demonstrate the validity of evolution actually demonstrate its unreliability as a scientific hypothesis. Homologous structures more often than not do not share a common embryological origin. The absence of transitional fossils really is evidence that transitional species do not exist and Darwin’s original concern for their absence has never been alleviated. And molecular biology, far from supporting evolution, has just presented even more perplexing challenges for the evolutionary hypothesis. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today and throughout this series. Your insights have been invaluable and I believe will continue to be a source of inspiration for everyone who is committed to the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of scripture. Just as a reminder to our listeners, this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer for our nation, especially that the light of truth would once again shine in the hearts of all our friends and neighbors. ---- Prayer for the Nation. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time and we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the American Standard Version) Jeremiah, Chapter 10, verses 12 and 13, Contemporary English Version Romans, chapter 1, verse 20, Contemporary English Version https://creation.com/the-evolution-trains-a-comin
Episode 263 – Life Requires Intelligence and Information – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. Psalm 147, verse 5, American Standard Version …for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. Colossians, chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, American Standard Version ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we want to continue our study of the origins of the universe and life with our series that we call The Truth in Genesis. To help us to understand not only what the Bible says but what the latest scientific evidence reveals we’ve invited Dr. Jonathan Sarfati to be our guest in the studio. Dr. Sarfati is an internationally known author and the lead scientist for Creation Ministries International. He has written a number of widely selling books that bring an understandable, yet comprehensive, scientific perspective on what empirical observations tell us about the age of the earth and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution volumes 1 and 2, By Design, The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati has been answering questions about a wide variety of topics that pertain the evidence that supports the historicity of the literal Biblical account. Of course, we recognize that this can be a very controversial topic. So, our approach to our discussion has been to use reason, logic, and evidence to support all of the points that underscore the accuracy of the Bible text. Sometimes you will hear people say something like – “You have faith, but I have science.” This statement creates an artificial distinction between faith and science with the implication that the Christian faith requires the suspension of our trust in science. Nothing could be further from the truth, and that is one of the reasons that Dr. Sarfati’s books are so important. His books are filled with detailed explanations for how the creative process described in Genesis is amply sustained by empirical observations and the rigorous application of logic and reason. Specifically, today we’re going see that the existence of life in any form requires not just chemistry and biology but also information – and a great deal of it. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and maybe tell us a little bit about yourself and how you developed your interest and expertise in logical reasoning? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: Dr. Sarfati, During our last several episodes we have been discussing key points that point to the fact that a literal interpretation of Genesis is not only true but well supported by reason and evidence. First, there are significant scientific problems with the way dates have been traditionally been assigned to the age of the universe and the earth. Second, there is a considerable body of scientific evidence that supports the ages for creation and the earth derived from Genesis. Third, the Noahic flood dispels the need for a long-age uniformitarianism to explain the geological configuration of the earth. A young earth would be an arrow in the heart of evolution as that term is commonly used. In our last episode of Anchored by Truth we saw that there is another arrow that is fatal to goo-to-you evolution: cellular information. But another line of scientific evidence that pierces the evolutionary veil surrounds the origin of life. What are the major problems that are encountered when someone tries to explain how inanimate particles came to life through the random collision of molecules? Dr. Sarfati: Comments on how life cannot arise from random and chaotic activity VK: Thank you for those observations. Obviously, this is a topic that could easily consume hours of discussion but since we don’t have that kind of time today, let’s get right to some detailed questions. Question List: a. The existence of life requires specified complexity. It also requires what one scientist has termed irreducible complexity, aka functionality threshold. What do these terms mean and how do they relate to the ability of blind chance to animate atoms? b. The Urey–Miller experiments supposedly demonstrated that electrical discharges simulating lightning when sent through a mixture of gases could produce life sustaining amino acids. But we now know that the results of the experiments to explain the formation of life were wildly overstated. What did these experiments actually do and why did they actually not demonstrate how life could have formed? c. If the primordial atmosphere contained oxygen early organic molecules would have been destroyed by oxidation. If the primordial atmosphere did not contain oxygen there would have been no ozone layer to block ultraviolet radiation which is particularly deadly to organic materials. How do evolutionary scientists try to get around this simple barrier to life’s origin absent intelligent intervention? d. All life on earth is cellular based. But for a cell to live it must have a permeable membrane to enclose its protein machinery. But the protein machinery is necessary to build the permeable membrane. Isn’t this an absolute impediment to the validity of conventional evolutionary explanations for the origin of life? e. The center piece of cellular reproduction is DNA. We now know that DNA isn’t just an arrangement of chemically linked molecules that happen to have a particular arrangement, but it is actually more akin to the software that operates a computer. The cell’s proteins are dependent on the DNA for instructions, but the DNA is dependent on the proteins for its own existence and maintenance. Doesn’t this mutual dependence destroy any possibility that life could have arisen by chance? DNA is also very unstable (as per the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2015), and RNA is even less stable. In fact, even the building blocks like ribose and cytosine are too unstable to last long in a primordial soup. f. In your opinion what are the three or four of the most important facts about the origin of life that scientifically support Biblical creationism and demonstrate the futility of evolutionary thought to explain the existence of life? g. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study more about why the complexity of life requires an intelligent cause? VK: So the big takeaway from our discussion today is that an intelligent cause is required to explain the specified and irreducible complexity present in life. Higher orders of animals are so complicated they point to a supremely intelligent Creator. This means that the conclusion we get from Genesis – that God created all life - is amply supported by empirical observations and scientific evidence. After all, all life demonstrates that it could not exist without an enormously complex information system. And the notion that a complex information system could arise randomly or chaotically is simply unreasonable in the formal sense of that word. The existence of life requires the organization of information. That points directly to a personal being – God – who had the intelligence and power to not only design the system but also bring it about. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today. Just as a reminder this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer, since there are so many places throughout the world where our Christian brothers and sisters are not free to practice their faith, how about today that we pray for those believers who live daily with persecution because of their faith? ---- Prayer for Persecuted Christians, radio version. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Dr. Sarfati. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the American Standard Version) Psalm 147, verse 5, American Standard Version Colossians, chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, American Standard Version https://creation.com/divine-engineer-sarfati-by-design-review https://creation.com/the-evolution-trains-a-comin
Episode 262 – Evolution: A Word in Doubt – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the LORD,” he says, “and there is no other. I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and declare only what is right. Isaiah, chapter 45, verses 18 and 19, English Standard Version You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased. Revelation, chapter 4, verse 11, English Standard Version ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we are continuing to explore the origin of the universe and the beginning of life with our series that we call The Truth in Genesis. To help us in our exploration we’ve invited Dr. Jonathan Sarfati to be our guest in the studio. Dr. Sarfati is the lead scientist for Creation Ministries International. He has written a number of widely selling books that bring an understandable, yet comprehensive, scientific perspective on what empirical observations actually tell us about the age of the earth and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution volumes 1 and 2, By Design, The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati has been answering questions about a wide variety of topics that pertain the evidence that supports the historicity of the literal Biblical account. Of course, we recognize that the overwhelming view in our culture today is that the universe is billions of years old and that life somehow arose spontaneously by a process labeled as “evolution.” But, surprisingly enough, the science that supports life arising from non-living chemicals is not nearly as settled as is usually thought. Moreover, as we’ll learn today, evolution as a hypothesis is defined so flexibly that it is nearly impossible to find a consensus on what the term actually means. Today we’ll be looking at what the terms “evolution” and “natural selection” actually mean and how God’s provision for the adaptation of species has been misused in a way that violates the rules of logic and evidence. Specifically, today we’re going see that the concept of natural selection had actually been recognized by Biblical creationists before Charles Darwin ever put a pen to paper to publish his most famous book. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and maybe tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became interested in studying the subject of creation and biological adaptation? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: Dr. Sarfati, during our last few episodes we have been discussing several key points demonstrate that the earth and universe are much younger than conventionally assumed. First, there are significant scientific problems with the way dates have been traditionally been assigned to the age of the universe and the earth. Second, there is a considerable body of scientific evidence that supports the ages for creation and the earth derived from Genesis. Third, the Noahic flood dispels the need for a long-age uniformitarianism to explain the geological configuration of the earth. A long age time period is absolutely essential to placing any confidence in – as you put it - a particles-to-people concept of evolution. But there are other problems with the notion that life arose from non-life and blind, random forces produced all the brilliant diversity we see on the earth today. But before we get too deep into our discussion the term “evolution” is often given widely varying meanings. What does the term “evolution” actually mean? Dr. Sarfati: Comments on the varying ways “evolution” is used by its advocates VK: Thank you. That was very helpful. So let’s delve more deeply into some of the issues associated with natural selection and evolution. Question List: a. Can you comment a little more on the fact that Christian scientists had considered the possibility of natural selection as a mechanism for the creation of new species before Darwin wrote The Origin of Species? If so, what was Darwin’s contribution to science? b. What does “natural selection” mean and how does it operate? c. Is it fair to say that the critical factor that precludes random, undirected activity, even at the molecular level, from enabling simpler life forms to “evolve” into more complex life forms is the inability of random activity to create the additional information within the cell that enables all complex life to function? d. How can the loss of genetic information actually contribute to enhanced survival of a species in some circumstances? e. Can genetic mutations ever create new information? Would it ever be possible for a single-celled ancestor to create all the genetic information present in humans and other higher orders of animals? f. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study the scientific problems with evolution? g. In your opinion what are the three or four of the most important facts that Christians should know that demonstrate that particles-to-people evolution is not supported by actual scientific evidence? VK: So the big takeaway from our discussion today is that evolutionists consistently commit the logical fallacy of equivocation and use the term “evolution” to create a veneer of scientific respectability to defend an anti-supernatural secularism. This reinforces the conclusion that we have seen through this Truth in Genesis series. There are significant problems with common consensus that the universe is billions of years old and that the evolutionary hypothesis has been proven scientifically. Methods for assigning ancient days to long past events are not as reliable as normally thought. And the Genesis flood explains geological phenomena that are observed around the globe. So if a billions of years age for the earth is not necessary to explain either geological or paleontological discoveries maybe we should begin considering an alternative. This means that the conclusion we get from Genesis – that God created all the various “kinds” of animals – is amply supported by empirical observations and scientific evidence. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today. Just as a reminder this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer, since we may often be the only one who can be the voice of God to bring God’s truth to our friends, how about today that we pray for those friends? ---- Prayer for Friends, radio version. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Dr. Sarfati. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the English Standard Version) Isaiah, chapter 45, verses 18 and 19, English Standard Version Revelation, chapter 4, verse 11, English Standard Version https://creation.com/3-rs-of-evolution https://creation.com/divine-engineer-sarfati-by-design-review https://creation.com/the-evolution-trains-a-comin
Episode 261 – Dinosaur Duplicity – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly! Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron. It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword. Job, chapter 40, verses 15 through 19, New International Version I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form. Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor? Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth? Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted. Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn. Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. Job, chapter 41, verses 12 through 20, New International Version ******** VK: VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we are pressing forward with our series that we call The Truth in Genesis. To help us in our exploration of one of the most fascinating – and controversial – parts of scripture, we’ve invited Dr. Jonathan Sarfati to be our guest in the studio. Dr. Sarfati is the lead scientist for Creation Ministries International. He has written a number of widely selling books that bring an understandable, yet comprehensive, scientific perspective on what empirical observations actually tell us about the age of the earth and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution volumes 1 and 2, By Design, The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati is addressing a wide variety of topics that pertain to a proper understanding of scientific evidence that conflicts with the conventional view that the earth is billions of years old. Today we’ll be exploring some of the most fascinating parts of that evidence because we’ve devoted today’s show entirely to dinosaurs. Specifically, today we’re going see that recent discoveries about dinosaur fossils are at odds with the hypothesis that these fossils are tens or hundreds of millions of years old. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and maybe tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became involved with Creation Ministries International? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: Dr. Sarfati, in our first couple of episodes of our Truth in Genesis series you addressed some of the major problems that affect the validity of dating methods that are used to support the belief in an ancient earth. Last time we saw that the world-wide flood described in Genesis casts further doubt on the reliability of many of the popular claims about the old age of the universe and earth. Would you like to give us a brief overview of a few of the observations that you made? Dr. Sarfati: Review comments for evidence of a young earth VK: Thank you. That was very helpful. As we observed last time - it’s very important to note that the dates developed from geology depend entirely on the assumption that the current appearance of the earth reflects processes that have been consistent and continuous throughout the earth’s history. Yet this assumption is unproven and unprovable. But another problem is that geologists often look to paleontologists to corroborate their determinations. Ironically, though, paleontologists often do the reverse and look to geologists for date determinations. Do I have that correct? Dr. Sarfati: Introductory comments on the geology-paleontology circle. VK: So let’s delve more deeply into what we actually learn by studying dinosaurs. Question List: a. Do dinosaurs prove that the earth is billions or millions old? b. How does much of the evidence that is available from studying dinosaur fossils actually demonstrate that Biblical time frame is more accurate? c. How does the presence of blood cells, elastic blood vessels, intact cells, animal proteins and DNA, found in dinosaur skeletons demonstrate that such skeletons could not be as old as the conventional dating theories assert? d. Could dinosaurs have been present on Noah’s ark? Is there evidence to suggest that dinosaurs lived on the earth for some time after the flood waters had abated? e. Is there evidence to suggest that dinosaurs may have lived in proximity to people at one time? f. How do preconceptions affect paleontologists when they assign long age time periods to dinosaur skeletons? g. Are there any Christian paleontologists who support a literal reading of Genesis and what that mean about dinosaurs? That dinosaurs were created on the sixth day, accompanied Noah on the ark, and existed for some period of time before becoming extinct as millions of other species have. h. In your opinion what are the three or four of the most important facts that point out that Christians can view dinosaur skeletons without surrendering any belief in a literal genesis? i. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study more about what dinosaurs really tell us about the earth, it’s age and history? VK: So the big takeaway from our discussion today is that dinosaur remains and dinosaur skeletons do not provide evidence for a long dated age of the earth. This reinforces the conclusion that we saw last time: that the Genesis flood explains geological phenomena that are observed around the globe. So if a billions of years age for the earth is not necessary to explain either geological or paleontological discoveries maybe we should begin considering an alternative. This means that the conclusion we get from Genesis – that the earth is thousands rather than billions of years old – is amply supported by empirical observations and scientific evidence. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today. Just as a reminder this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer, since so many of our children study dinosaurs in school, how about if we pray a prayer for any of our kids who may be preparing to take a test. ---- Prayer before taking a test, radio version. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Dr. Sarfati. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New International Version) Job, chapter 40, verses 15 through 19, New International Version Job, chapter 41, verses 12 through 20, New International Version https://creation.com/how-did-dinosaurs-grow-so-big https://creation.com/3-rs-of-evolution https://creation.com/divine-engineer-sarfati-by-design-review https://creation.com/the-evolution-trains-a-comin
Episode 260 – A Flood of Biblical Proportions – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. Genesis, chapter 7, verses 11 and 12, New King James Version Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. Genesis, chapter 7, verses 17 through 20, New King James Version ******** VK: VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we are continuing our series that we call The Truth in Genesis. To help us do that we’ve invited a gifted scientist and logic expert, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, to be our guest in the studio. Dr. Sarfati has written a number of widely selling books that bring a clear and comprehensive scientific perspective on what empirical observations actually tell us about the age of the universe and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution volumes 1 and 2, By Design, The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati is addressing a wide variety of topics that pertain to a proper understanding of the opening chapters of the book of Genesis including evidence that the earth’s surface provides abundant evidence of a world-wide flood. Today we’ll be exploring that evidence in greater detail. But just as a refresher for where we are in the Truth in Genesis series, in our last couple of episodes we learned that there are a number of very significant scientific problems with the dating methods methodologies that are typically used to assign ancient dates to the age of the earth. We also learned that there is a substantial volume of empirical observations that fit perfectly with the timeframes found in Genesis. Today we’re going to add to these earlier observations by taking a look at how a catastrophic world-wide flood also calls into question many of the dating assumptions so prevalent in popular discussions. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and maybe tell us a little bit about yourself and how you pursued your interest in logical argumentation? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: As I mentioned, in our last couple of episodes of Anchored by Truth you addressed some of the major problems that affect the validity of dating methods. You also showed us that there are some scientific facts that are completely at odds with the hypothesis that the earth is millions or billions of years old such as the recovery of intact soft tissue, such as blood vessels, from the skeletons of dinosaurs. Would you like to give us a brief overview of a few of the observations that you made? Dr. Sarfati: Review comments for evidence of a young earth VK: Thank you. That was very helpful. It’s very important to note that when it comes to assigning dates most conventional geologists today depend entirely on the assumption that the current appearance of the earth reflects processes that have been consistent and continuous throughout the earth’s history. Yet this assumption is unproven and unprovable. And the man who originally popularized this view, Charles Lyell was not a geologist. He was in fact a lawyer and his argument was not based on empirical observations. In fact, it was the creation scientists of his day who were committed to the use of empirical observations to support their views. Do I have that correct? Dr. Sarfati: Introductory comments on uniformitarianism vs catastrophism. VK: So let’s explore the scientific support for a flood that was literally of Biblical proportions. Question List: a. First, can we be sure that the flood described in chapters 6 through 9 of Genesis was a worldwide flood? Can the Genesis text be reasonably interpreted to permit a more localized flood? b. What geological evidence demonstrates that at one point in its past the earth was entirely inundated by the flood waters? c. What paleontological evidence demonstrates that at one point there was a rapid and sudden deposit of enormous amounts sediments and minerals? Is there any reasonable, scientific hypothesis that does not require a worldwide deluge that could also account for certain phenomena we see in the fossil record? d. How does the Biblical description of the flood differ from flood accounts passed down in other cultures? Why can we be certain that the Biblical account was the accurate and original one and that the other floor narratives are accounts that have been distorted or mythologized through the years? e. How does the “catastrophic plate tectonics” hypothesis explain geological observations that cannot be explained by conventional plate tectonics or other forms of geological uniformitarianism? f. How many and what kinds of animals did Noah actually bring on the ark? Is it true that Christian scientists had considered the possibility of natural selection as a mechanism for the creation of new species? g. How do we account, Biblically, for biodiversity and the worldwide distribution of animals? h. In your opinion what are the three or four of the most important facts that point out that the Biblical flood account may be accepted as literal history without compromising a belief in science or empirical observations? i. Could you briefly summarize the things Christians should keep in mind when they hear arguments disputing the Biblical flood account? j. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study the scientific dimension of the Genesis flood? VK: So the big takeaway from our discussion today is that there is a substantial body of scientific observation that can best be explained by a catastrophic world-wide inundation of the type we heard about in our opening scriptures. The Genesis flood explains geological phenomena that are observed around the globe. Therefore a billions-of-years age for the earth is not required for a valid understanding of geological formations. This means that the conclusion we get from Genesis – that the earth is thousands rather than billions of years old – is amply supported by empirical observations and scientific evidence. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today. Just as a reminder this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer how about if we pray a prayer where we confess all the times we have departed from the truth of God’s word and our need to return to the truth found in holy scripture. ---- Prayer of Corporate Confession, radio version. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Dr. Sarfati. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New King James Version) Genesis, chapter 7, verses 11 and 12, New King James Version Genesis, chapter 7, verses 17 through 20, New King James Version https://creation.com/noahs-flood-questions-and-answers
Episode 259 – Younger Than You Think – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: You alone are the Lord, Creator of the heavens and all the stars, Creator of the earth and those who live on it, Creator of the ocean and all its creatures. You are the source of life, praised by the stars that fill the heavens. Nehemiah, chapter 9, verse 6, Contemporary English Version Because of our faith, we know that the world was made at God's command. We also know that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen. Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 3, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we are continuing our series that we call The Truth in Genesis. To help us do that we’ve invited one of the premier scientists and experts on the question of origins, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, to be our guest in the studio for the next several weeks. He’s written a number of widely selling books that challenge the conventional views of what chemistry, geology, and paleontology say about the age of the universe and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution, By Design, The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati is addressing a wide variety of topics during this series including problems with conventional dating methods, affirmative evidence that the universe is actually fairly young, scientific challenges to life arising from non-living chemicals, and evidence that the earth’s surface provides abundant evidence of a world-wide flood. We are even going to do an entire show just on dinosaurs and what the latest dinosaur research actually tells us about the earth’s history. In our last episode we learned that there are a number of very significant scientific problems with the dating methodologies that are typically used to assign purported dates to events of the distant past. Today we are going to build on that discussion and learn that there is a substantial volume of empirical observation that actually indicate that the earth is much younger than traditionally assumed. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and maybe tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be persuaded that so much of what is typically taught about the age of the universe and earth isn’t supported by real science? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: As I mentioned in our last episode of Anchored by Truth you addressed some of the major problems that affect the validity of dating methods such as the use of radiometric dating. Would mind briefly reminding our listeners of the major points that you made? Dr. Sarfati: Review comments for problems with dating methodologies VK: Thank you. That was very helpful. It’s so important to be very clear about the fact that there’s a difference between scientific evidence and the interpretation of that evidence. Contrary to popular belief not all scientists are unanimous that the universe and earth are billions of years old. There are many highly qualified scientists who have pointed to empirical observations that can only be explained by an earth that is thousands of years old. Dr. Sarfati: Introductory comments on the evidence that the earth is thousands of years old. VK: So let’s expand on the basic point that you’re making. Question List: a. What types of evidence exist that would place the age of the earth and the universe in the range of thousands rather than millions or billions of years old? In short - let’s assume uniformitarianism is true. But if uniformitarianism were true it would – in fact – undercut own foundations, wouldn’t it? b. What is carbon 14 and how does its presence in diamonds and other substances indicate that the earth cannot be as old as traditionally assumed? c. What is the faint young sun paradox and how does it demonstrate that the sun cannot be millions or billions of years old? d. Why do short period comets pose such a challenge to the belief that the universe is billions of years old? e. What examples are there of empirical observations that are typically used to support an ancient universe that are actually better explained by Biblical time periods? f. In your opinion what are the three or four of the most important facts that point out that the conventional age assigned to the universe is unlikely to be true? g. Could you briefly summarize the evidence that demonstrates that the universe is actually much younger than normally assumed? h. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study the scientific basis for believing in a “young” earth and universe? VK: So the big takeaway from our discussion today is that there is a substantial body of scientific observation that can only be explained by an earth and universe that are substantially younger than is typically thought. This means that the conclusion we get from Genesis – that the earth is thousands rather than billions of years old – is amply supported by scientific evidence. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today. Just as a reminder this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer how about if we pray a prayer of adoration for the Father who is the one who spoke the heavens and earth into existence. ---- Prayer of Adoration for the Father, radio version. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Dr. Sarfati. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the Contemporary English Version) Nehemiah, chapter 9, verse 6, Contemporary English Version Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 3, Contemporary English Version https://creation.com/age-of-the-earth
Episode 258 – Disappointing Dating – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: When Lamech was one 182, he had a son. Lamech said, “I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort, as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the Lord has put under a curse.” 0Lamech had more children and died at the age of 777. After Noah was 500 years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Genesis, chapter 5, verses 28 through 32, Contemporary English Version But first you must realize that in the last days some people won't think about anything except their own selfish desires. They will make fun of you and say, “Didn't your Lord promise to come back? Yet the first leaders have already died, and the world hasn't changed a bit.” They will say this because they want to forget that long ago the heavens and the earth were made at God's command. First Peter, chapter 3, verses 3 through 5, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we want to continue our discussion series that we’re calling The Truth in Genesis and to help us do that we’ve invited one of the premier scientists and experts on the question of origins, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, to be our guest in the studio for the next several weeks. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution, By Design, The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati will be addressing a wide variety of topics that are pertinent to the question of the origin of the earth and the universe. During the series he will be providing us with insight into the extensive body of scientific evidence that supports the truth of the Genesis text. Along the way he will be addressing a number of subjects, including problems with conventional dating methods methodologies, affirmative evidence that the universe is actually fairly young, scientific challenges to life arising from non-living chemicals, and evidence that the earth’s surface provides abundant evidence of a world-wide flood. In our last episode we learned that, contrary to many claims, the text of Genesis is actually very clear that God created the entire earth and universe in just six, normal 24 hour days. We are well aware that this position is at odds with the claims of contemporary culture. Yet, surprisingly enough, there is an enormous body of empirical observations that reinforces the Bible’s declaration and refutes the cultural consensus. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and maybe tell us a little bit about yourself and Creation Ministries International? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: As I mentioned in our last episode of Anchored by Truth you addressed why the Genesis text actually rules out the possibility that God performed His work of creation in six successive stages of indeterminate duration. Would mind briefly reminding our listeners of the major points that you made? Dr. Sarfati: Review comments for the meaning of the Genesis text VK: Thank you. That was very helpful. It’s so important to be very clear about a proper understanding of the opening verses of Genesis is essential because any other view of the creative period would require the existence of animal and human death before Adam’s sin? This would undermine God’s declaration of the unspoiled creation being “very good.” It would also undermine the clear link scripture makes between sin and death. And there is no good reason for Christians to attempt to fit scripture into a framework that sees the universe as being ancient as opposed to being young, is there? Dr. Sarfati: Introductory comments on problems with conventional dating methods. VK: So let’s expand on the basic point that you’re making. Conventional dating methods have fatal flaws that compromise their reliability for assigning dates to the distant past Question List: a. Well then, what are the most common methods used to assign dates to geological and paleontological phenomena and materials? b. What problems are present in these dating methodologies? c. Why do these dating methodologies result in unreliable results? d. Are there examples of ancient dates that were assigned to rocks of known recent origin? e. If conventional dating methodologies aren’t reliable, are there any methods for assigning dates in which believers can invest confidence? f. How do preconceptions affect attempts to assign dates to long past events? g. Why is it essential that the conventional scientific establishment defend the billions-of-years age assigned to the universe? h. In your opinion what are the three or four of the most important facts that point out that the conventional age assigned to the universe is unlikely to be true? i. Could you briefly summarize the things Christians should keep in mind when they hear arguments supporting a billions-of-years age for creation? j. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study the scientific problems with a billions-of-years age for the universe? VK: So the big takeaway from our discussion today is that conventional dating methods have fatal flaws that compromise their reliability for assigning dates to the distant past. This means that the conclusion we get from Genesis – that the earth is thousands rather than billions of years old – is amply supported by scientific evidence. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today. Just as a reminder this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer how about if we pray for the restoration of the worship of the one True God throughout our land and world. ---- Prayer for the restoration of the worship of the one true God, radio version. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Dr. Sarfati. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the Contemporary English Version) Genesis, chapter 5, verses 28 through 32, Contemporary English Version First Peter, chapter 3, verses 3 through 5, Contemporary English Version https://creation.com/how-dating-methods-work
Episode 257 – Creation According to Genesis – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Sarfati Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. Genesis, chapter 1, verses 1 through 5. New Living Translation “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verses 4 through 6. New Living Translation ******** VK: VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today we want to continue our discussion series that we’re calling The Truth in Genesis and to help us do that we’ve invited one of the premier scientists and experts on the question of origins, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, to be our guest in the studio for the next several weeks. For those who aren’t familiar with Dr. Sarfati’s work we would encourage listeners to check out his impressive body of writing. He’s written a number of widely selling books that challenge the conventional views of what chemistry, geology, and paleontology say about the age of the universe and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution, By Design, and The Greatest Hoax on Earth and The Genesis Account. During this series Dr. Sarfati will be addressing a wide variety of topics that are pertinent to the question of the origin of the earth and the universe. He will be providing us with insight into the extensive body of scientific evidence that supports the truth of the Genesis text. Along the way he will be addressing a number of subjects, including problems with conventional dating methods, affirmative evidence that the universe is actually fairly young, scientific challenges to life arising from non-living chemicals, and evidence that the earth’s surface provides abundant evidence of a world-wide flood. We will even be doing an entire show just on dinosaurs and what the latest dinosaur research actually tells us about the earth’s history. But before we get too far into our discussion, Dr. Sarfati would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth listeners and maybe tell us a little bit about yourself? Dr. Sarfati: - Thanks for inviting me. It’s a pleasure to be on Anchored by Truth today. Introductory comments. VK: Is it fair to say, Dr. Sarfati that you believe that what some have termed the “Battle for the Beginning” is one of the most significant challenges facing the church today especially in America and in much of the developed world? Dr. Sarfati: Opening comments VK: It sounds as though you have a real heart to increase what we might call an awareness of the truth in Genesis to our culture today. So that sounds like you believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God which is a point of view we definitely share on Anchored by Truth. Is it fair to say that one of the reasons it’s so important to be very clear about a proper understanding of the opening verses of Genesis is because any view of creation other than a literal 6 24-hour day understanding of Genesis would require the existence of animal and human death before Adam’s sin? This would undermine God’s declaration of the unspoiled creation being “very good” and the clear link scripture makes between sin and death. Dr. Sarfati: Comments VK: So let’s amplify on that essential truth for our listeners. Question List: a. You strongly believe that the six days of creation described in Genesis chapter 1 must be understood as literal 24-hour periods? Why? b. The Hebrew word yom can be used to mean longer periods than a 24 hour day. Is interpreting yom to mean “age” rather than day a possible interpretation? c. The “gap” theory of creation posits a gap of an indeterminate time between creation and the subsequent events in Genesis and thereby could permit the earth to be millions or billions of years old. Is this possible? d. Some Biblical commentators argue that the “seventh” day of creation in which God rested is still going on. If so, that means that at least one of the days of creation wasn’t 24 literal hours. Doesn’t that mean that the earlier six days might also be of an indeterminate length? e. From a Biblical standpoint what is the age of the universe and earth? f. How is this age calculated? g. When and how did you arrive at the conviction that a proper interpretation of Genesis requires viewing creation as 6 24-hour days and the age of the universe as being thousands, rather than billions of years old? h. What resources would you recommend for Christians who want to study a correct interpretation of the Book of Genesis? VK: So the one of the big takeaways from our discussion today is that any view of creation other than a literal 6 24-hour day understanding of Genesis would require the existence of animal and human death before Adam’s sin. This would undermine God’s declaration of the unspoiled creation being “very good” and the clear link scripture makes between sin and death. This position implies that the earth is thousands rather than billions of years old. Dr. Sarfati, we’d really like to thank you for joining us on Anchored by Truth today. Just as a reminder this show, as well as all Anchored by Truth episodes will be available by podcast shortly after the broadcast airing. So any listener today who has a friend or study group that could benefit from Dr. Sarfati’s depth of knowledge can go to their favorite podcast app and search on Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books. Today for our closing prayer how about if we pray that everyone would come to a saving knowledge of the God of the Bible who is our one sure anchor to truth. ---- Prayer for the spiritually lost, radio version. VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Dr. Sarfati. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) Genesis, chapter 1, verses 1 through 5. New Living Translation The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verses 4 through 6. New Living Translation https://creation.com/gods-days https://creation.com/how-did-dinosaurs-grow-so-big https://creation.com/3-rs-of-evolution https://creation.com/divine-engineer-sarfati-by-design-review https://creation.com/the-evolution-trains-a-comin
Episode 256 – Competing Truth Claims About Genesis Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: (Bible quotes from the New Living Translation) “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” Job Chapter 38, verses 4 through 7, New Living Translation “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see... Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together it.” Colossians Chapter 1, verses 15 through 17, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author, founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time interior designer. He arranges the books in the display case in the lobby. And speaking of arranging things, we have arranged a very special series on Anchored by Truth that will begin next week. Starting next week and for several weeks in a row we will doing a very special series and to help us do that we will have a VERY special guest. RD, do you want to tell us about this extra special series that we’re introducing today on Anchored by Truth? RD: I do indeed. Today we’re going to launch a series of shows I’m calling “The Truth in Genesis.” Obviously, Anchored by Truth is all about demonstrating that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. We start every show with that proclamation. But I think one of the big challenges that most Christians face today who believe that the Bible is the word of God is how to sustain that belief in a relativistic world and culture that bombards us constantly with the message that there is no such thing as absolute truth and that there is no way to know whether any book, including the Bible, can be shown to be the word of God. And certainly for Christians in contemporary culture one of the most immediate challenges that is placed before us is right at the beginning of the Bible in Chapter 1 where the Bible tells us that God created the heavens, the earth, and everything that exists on the earth including all living creatures and most especially, us. Supposedly, that claim is at odds with what contemporary science tells us about the universe and life. So, for a Christian to maintain their faith in the Bible today culture they must immediately confront the cultural challenge to the Bible’s proclamation about creation. VK: And your contention is that it is a cultural challenge more than a scientific one. Your view is that there is substantial scientific evidence that absolutely supports, as you are saying, the truth in Genesis. And that’s what this series of radio episodes is going to be about. We are going to review some of the scientific evidence that pertains to the age of the universe and earth and the origin and development of life. We believe that conducting this review listeners will be able to see how objective, scientific observations fit very well with a proper understanding of the Genesis text. And to help us do that for most of the shows we have a very special, invited guest to help. But before we provide the details about our upcoming special guest or get too much farther into our discussion about the serious stuff, we’d like to start by just reminding the folks about how the Bible tells us that God did go about creating the heavens and earth. To do that we want to play a portion of Crystal Seas’ upcoming poetic series called the Genesis Saga. For today, let’s listen to Part 1 of the Genesis Saga which we call Seven Days of Wonder. ---- SEVEN DAYS OF WONDER VK: I know I’m biased but I just love the simple beauty of the descriptions contained in that piece. The piece is visual and emotional but it also gives us a description of each day of creation that is absolutely faithful to Chapter 1 of Genesis. RD: And that was certainly our goal. In fact it’s always our goal at Crystal Sea and Anchored by Truth. We want people to always be drawn back to the Bible for their own inspiration and edification. Particularly when it comes to creation the best that we can do today is look at to evidence that can be found in the world around us and see where the evidence points insofar as origins are concerned. But the Bible provides us an eyewitness account of creation from the only One who was there when it all took place: God. Because God, in fact, was not only there, He was the One who did the creating. VK: But of course, that’s the part that’s to so much disagreement today or outright disbelief and criticism. Today, a great many people go to science to get their explanation for the origin of the universe, the earth, life, and people. RD: And in a certain sense that’s ok – provided we always remember that it’s the scientific evidence we should look to – as opposed to simply accepting certain interpretations of that evidence. Everyone – including you, me, and scientists approach the world with an established set of axioms, a lens if you will, through which we will view issues or evidence that comes before us. There is a tendency, however, in our day and age to somehow believe that - if someone calls himself or herself a scientist – that they have set aside all preconceptions and are somehow now operating in an objective, dispassionate fashion without such a set of preconceptions or axioms. While I don’t doubt that the vast majority of scientists are genuinely interested in trying to better understand the world and universe it would be a mistake to not understand that scientists are people complete with agendas, aspirations, and viewpoints that will affect how they approach evidence. VK: Can you give us an example of what you’re thinking about? RD: Sure. There are massive fossil beds - graveyards of thousands and even millions of fish, dinosaurs, and mammals that are found in North America, Europe, and Africa. The same is true of plants. From Utah-Colorado north to Alberta-Saskatchewan, Canada, thousands of dinosaurs are found in certain beds such as the Morrison Formation. These sites reveal that great quantities of animals were buried together rapidly. The rapid burial resulted in excellent preservation of the remains and the position of mammals suggests death by drowning. In Brazil there is a large plateau where fish fossils are found with the skin, muscles, organs etc. all preserved. The fish look like they had just been caught but they are petrified and hard as stone. They are abundant and distributed over several thousand square miles. The plateau where these fossils are found is well above sea level and a good 500 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. This is remarkable because experiments with fresh dead fish have shown that dead fish in water will disintegrate and their skeletons will fall apart in less than one week. Only catastrophic conditions would have enabled the preservation of such an extensive collection of animals and plants so exquisitely preserved. A world-wide catastrophe involving water is a very reasonable explanation for these observations. But a geologist or paleontologist who rejects the Biblical flood account will come to the same evidence but will provide a different explanation for the evidence. VK: Such as? RD: Well they might believe there have been catastrophic floods in the past, just not a world-wide one. They might believe in a more localized flood perhaps based on a catastrophe caused by an asteroid strike or an immense undersea volcanic eruption that caused a massive tsunami. VK: So your point is that different people can approach the same body of evidence and arrive at very different conclusions. And a part of their determination will be based on the set of axioms that they use to approach either life in general or in the practice of their profession. And we see that kind of variation in the results of decision making every day in the world around us. Two different financial analysts look at exactly the same set of financial statements or business presentations and one says a company’s stock is a buy and the other says it’s a sell. Two different forensic examiners look at the same evidence and one might say it points to the innocence of a defendant and the other believes it points to guilt. RD: Exactly. And that’s one of the reasons we wanted to do a series on the book of Genesis because so often today the only discussion people hear about the earth’s past is very one sided. Today, almost without exception, we are told that all scientific evidence points to a universe and earth that are billions of years old and that life on earth began without an intelligent cause – or as I would say God. So, we wanted to do a series of Anchored by Truth episodes that examine some of the latest scientific discoveries and see whether or not the only reasonable conclusion is that science contradicts Genesis. That’s the reason we’re calling this series The Truth in Genesis. VK: And to help us do that we’ve invited one of the premier scientists and experts on the question of origins, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, to be our guest in the studio for the next several weeks. For those who aren’t familiar with Dr. Sarfati’s work we would encourage listeners to check out his impressive body of writing. He’s written a number of widely selling books that challenge the conventional views of what chemistry, geology, and paleontology say about the age of the universe and the origin of life. Dr. Sarfati has sold hundreds of thousands of books such as Refuting Evolution, By Design, and The Greatest Hoax on Earth. Dr. Sarfati will be addressing a wide variety of topics during this series including problems with conventional dating methodologies, affirmative evidence that the universe is actually fairly young, scientific challenges to life arising from non-living chemicals, and evidence that the earth’s surface provides abundant evidence of a world-wide flood. We will even be doing an entire show just on dinosaurs and what the latest dinosaur research actually tells us about the earth’s history. RD: I think this will be a truly amazing series especially for listeners who have never had the chance to do any personal investigation into what science actually reveals about the key questions of the age of the universe and how life on the earth began. And I’d like to emphasize that while we will not be shy about discussing the Bible in connection with these important topics, this series really will be top heavy with science. Dr. Sarfati’s title is the Lead Scientist for Creation Ministries International. He has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and he is an internationally ranked chess champion. He’s well known for playing up to chess with up to 12 players simultaneously while he is blindfolded. VK: He sounds pretty impressive but what about your earlier warning that scientists are just people and that we shouldn’t necessarily accept their opinions just because they are scientists? RD: And I’m standing by that warning. I don’t think anyone should accept Dr. Sarfati’s analyses just because they come from him any more than I think that we should blindly place our trust in any human source. The point of my earlier observation is that we can and should listen to people who are acknowledged experts in their fields whether it’s a geologist, paleontologist, medical doctor, or auto mechanic. But we should always employ our own reasoning skills to examine what they’re telling us and make our own determination about whether what they’re telling us makes sense, especially if they start telling us that their point of view is the only reasonable or even possible one - which is something that evolutionary adherents have been saying for decades. VK: So what you’re saying is that when someone says, “Evolution is not a theory. It is a fact,” that what they’re really trying to do isn’t to examine the evidence for or against the evolutionary hypothesis. The real intent is shut down debate. They’re trying to avoid any need to consider evidence that doesn’t support their position. RD: Yes. All too often that’s what happens. Conventional science has embraced the evolutionary hypothesis for so long that a great many scientists, as well as their lay followers, are no longer willing to consider any alternatives. But despite these assertions, the truth is that “goo to you,” “particles to people,” “the sea to me” position on evolution is not a proven fact. So, people who believe in believe in Biblical creationism simply want to point out that since it is not a proven fact evolution as the solution for the origin of life should not be promoted dogmatically. But throughout the halls of schools and colleges everywhere as well as in the popular press and media it is. Phillip Johnson in his groundbreaking work Darwin on Trial devoted an entire chapter to discussing what Johnson called the “Darwinist Religion.” In other words, all too often today the scientific problems with evolution are simply dismissed because the evolutionary paradigm is deemed to be so sacrosanct no forms of dissent are tolerable. VK: But one of the ironies that we are going to cover during the series is the fact that some of the evidentiary elements that are often offered in support of evolution actually point in the opposite direction. For instance, the fossil record is often touted as demonstrating that there is empirical evidence for evolutionary development. But even Charles Darwin recognized that the fossil record at his time didn’t support his theory. He famously wrote, “Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely-graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and serious objection which can be urged against the theory.” Darwin hoped that with further exploration gaps in the fossil record would be closed and so called “intermediate species” would be identified. Yet despite the fact that over 100,000 species are now known from the fossil record there are only a handful of truly viable candidates that are known to be possible intermediates. RD: And that’s just one example of the scientific problems that plagues the evolutionary hypothesis and it’s a great example of the kinds of topics we hope to discuss during the series. And since time is running out on this episode of Anchored by Truth I’d like to cover one final point. During this series we are going to be contrasting Biblical creationism vs. “molecules to men” evolution. I am well aware that there are various positions regarding origins and biological development that try to straddle the obvious gaps between those two positions. VK: Such as so-called theistic evolution where God created life but then used evolution to form the species that we see existing today? RD: Yes. Theistic evolution is an attempt to resolve the tension between Biblical creationism and evolution. Just like the Day-Age approach is an attempt to reconcile the differences in the time scales we get from the Bible and from conventional science. I think there are significant problems with both of those approaches and other middle-of-the-road type of strategies. For instance, one of the problems with theistic evolution is that it places death before sin in the chronology of the history and I think that’s problematic given the entirety of scripture. So, because of the limited time we’ll have for addressing a large variety of topics we’re going to concentrate on how science supports the orthodox view of Biblical creationism because that’s the view that gets the least time in most discussions about these issues. VK: And one of the biggest reasons we want to that is that we want to be respectful of our listeners time. All of us have a lot going on so we want to be sure that if listeners are kind enough to tune into the show or the podcast we want their time to be rewarded with information that will help them develop in their own investigation of scripture and development of their faith. Since we’ve begun a focus on the first chapter of Genesis, how about if today we hear a prayer of adoration for the Creator? ---- PRAYER OF ADORATION FOR THE CREATOR (radio version) VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us next time as we are joined by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati to begin our in depth look at the truth in Genesis. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) The Book of Job, chapter 38, verses 4 through 7 The epistle to the Colossians, chapter 15 verses 1 through 17 https://creation.com/right-perspective-interpreting-data https://creation.com/gods-days https://creation.com/how-did-dinosaurs-grow-so-big https://creation.com/3-rs-of-evolution https://creation.com/divine-engineer-sarfati-by-design-review https://creation.com/the-evolution-trains-a-comin
Episode 255 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 10 – The Forest and the Trees Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: After he said this, Jesus … made some mud … he rubbed the mud on the man's eyes and told him, “Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam.” … the man went, washed his face, and came back seeing. The Gospel of John, Chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, Good News Translation ******** VK: Hello and welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. This is our 10th and final episode in our series on archeology and the Bible. This is not our final episode because we have exhausted the pool of archeological findings that support the trustworthiness of the Bible. You could do a radio show or podcast every day for the rest of your life and never cover all of that evidence. Instead, in our series we have discussed just a few of the thousands of archeological discoveries that support the accuracy of the Bible’s text. But we hope the examples that we have cited will inspire listeners to do some further exploration on their own. RD Fierro is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books and he is in the studio today as we wrap up this series. RD, we could go on for months or years talking about all of the archeological evidence that demonstrates that the history contained in the Bible is reliable. So, why limit this series to 10 episodes? RD: Well, before we get started I’d also like to welcome everyone to this episode of Anchored by Truth. And, if this is your first time being with us, we’d encourage to you to check out – not only the earlier episodes in this series but all of our previous series because Anchored by Truth is the only radio show that we know of that focuses exclusively on demonstrating the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of scripture. And that’s why we do series like this one on archeology and the Bible. But archeology is only one of the disciplines that support the accuracy of the Bible. While most people don’t realize it because of the Biblically hostile culture in which we live physics, chemistry, biology, geology, paleontology, and many other scientific disciplines – as well as basic logic and reason – support the fact that the Bible is the inspired revelation of an almighty God. In fact, you really can’t have a truly coherent worldview without acknowledging that the Bible is God’s inerrant word. And that’s our purpose – to help people develop not only that awareness but also be able to cogently explain why this is true. VK: That’s a big statement. I don’t think many people in the world, especially in the western world, would accept the fact that we must accept the truth of the Bible to form a coherent worldview. RD: It’s a big statement but that doesn’t mean that it’s not true. And in the future we are going to do a series on why forming a coherent worldview necessitates a Biblical worldview. But for today’s wrap up we’re just adding one more piece to the assembly of that much larger puzzle. VK: What you’re saying is that building a coherent worldview – a truly coherent worldview – isn’t something that can be done in a few minutes, hours, or days – or even months. Building a truly coherent worldview and seeing how and where the Bible fits in takes years. You must build a coherent worldview just as you would assemble a jigsaw puzzle - one piece at a time. But each piece that you put into place enables you to see the larger picture or pattern more clearly. And that’s what we try to do with these series. We keep adding pieces to the larger picture – one episode at a time and one series at a time. This series on archeology is just one piece of evidence that demonstrates the historical reliability of the Bible. It’s just one piece but it is an important piece. RD: Yes. At Anchored by Truth and Crystal Sea Books our basic formulation for how we can be sure that the Bible is the inspired word of God is centered around four lines of evidence: reliable history, remarkable unity, fulfilled prophecy, and redeemed destinies. So, in this series we have pointed out a number of specific examples of archeological discoveries that have demonstrated that the Bible’s historical record is true. VK: We’ve talked about the fact that the rediscovery of the city of Nineveh in the mid-19th century confirmed portions of the book of Jonah that were doubted by secular scholars. We’ve talked about the evidence that supports the historicity of the Biblical records contained in both the Old and New Testaments with respect to the city of Jericho. We discussed the fact that the Bible not only gets the big details of history right – such as the names of empires, emperors, cities, and nations – but also smaller details. We talked about how the book of Jeremiah even accurately preserved the name of one of the king of Babylon’s court officers. That’s the kind of historical detail that is easily lost in the sweep of history but the Bible kept it and it’s been validated by archeology. RD: Yes. And we could have offered many, many more examples. At the start of today’s episode we used a quote from the gospel of John where Jesus restored sight to a blind man. As a part of the process Jesus told the blind man to wash his face in the pool of Siloam. Jesus named the pool he wanted the man to wash in. So, obviously this pool was well known in Jesus’ day. Well, in 2004 a crew digging a sewer line in Jerusalem uncovered some well-dressed stone steps that were covered by more than 10 feet of soil that had washed into a valley. Further exploration revealed that the steps led into a stone-lined pool that was not far from a tunnel that in Old Testament times had brought water into Jerusalem. VK: This water tunnel is called Hezekiah’s tunnel because it was built by the Old Testament king of Judah named Hezekiah as part of his preparations to withstand a siege by the Assyrians. The tunnel itself is mentioned 2 Kings, chapter 20, verse 20 and 2 Chronicles, chapter 32, verse 30. We have a friend who actually walked through the tunnel when he visited the Holy Land. The tunnel was finalized around 701 BC although portions of it may have existed earlier. RD: Right. Subsequent excavations at the pool revealed coins that the pool dated from around the first century BC and other coins revealed that the pool was still in use during the time of the Jewish revolt against the Romans which lasted from 66 AD to 70 AD. In other words, the pool would have been in use during Jesus’ earthly ministry around 30 to 33 AD. So, Hezekiah’s tunnel and the pool at Siloam are just two more examples of archeological discoveries that are entirely consistent with the Bible record. VK: And there are countless others that we could cite. Bible critics used to doubt the existence of the greatest king of Israel during the Old Testament period: King David. Due to the Bible’s description of him, he almost seemed to be legendary – a sort of Old Testament King Arthur. But in 1993 a fragment of an ancient stone tablet was found that mentions the “House of David.” This fragment was dated from the late-9th century BC which means it dated about 150 years after the time that David was king of Israel. The fragment also mentions other names of kings that are named in the Bible. Scholars are agreed that 150 years is not enough time for true legends to form so the fragment pointed clearly to the existence of a king named David whose dynastic succession was still in existence at the time the fragment was prepared. Again, this is a clear example of archeology supporting the Bible. So, with all the examples that are available that support the Bible’s records why do you think that so many critics continue to resist the idea that the Bible’s history is accurate? RD: Well, that’s actually the major subject I wanted to tackle today as we finish our series on archeology and the Bible. We began talking about this last time. It’s somewhat amazing to me how many people will dismiss the reliability of the Bible’s text and then proceed to rely on it as if it were true. VK: Can you give us an example of what you’re thinking about? RD: Sure. Last year a friend of mine read James Michener’s book called The Source. He wanted me to read it. So, he got me a copy. The back cover of the version he got me says this: “Michener vividly re-creates life in an ancient city and traces the profound history of the Jewish people – from the persecution of the early Hebrews, the rise of Christianity, and the Crusades to the founding of Israel and the modern conflict in the Middle East.” The hero of Michener’s book is an archeologist named Cullinane. Michener has this to say about his hero: “He was the crop-headed type of new scholar, solidly trained and not given to nonsense.” VK: In other words Michener’s archeologist isn’t one of those silly people who accept the Bible as being reliable and true. RD: Right. In one incident Michener writes this: “On his departure from Chicago, loaded with gear, [Cullinane] had been asked by a newspaperman if he expected to dig up any records which would prove that the Bible was true. Cullinane replied, ‘No, we’re not out to help God steady the ark.’” VK: But then you said that 25 pages after his hero dismissed the Bible’s truth the hero is then finding artifacts and uses the Bible to give them context and meaning as well as citing details about history that come to us from the Bible. RD: Exactly. Michener does exactly what so many people do – and not just with respect to archeology. They openly contend that the Bible’s text is untrustworthy but then proceed to rely on the truth of the Bible’s reports. VK: For instance, the back cover talks about “the profound history of the Jewish people” and “the persecution of the early Hebrews.” But we could ask Michener, what constitutes a Hebrew or a Jew? Someone might reply that a Jew is a descendant of the patriarch Abraham. RD: And that would be partially true. The Jewish people are descendants of Abraham. But there are a lot of other people in the world today who also trace their ancestry to Abraham. For example, many of the modern day Arabic tribes see Abraham’s first born son, Ishmael, as their ancestor. And Abraham had a number of other sons. Genesis, chapter 25, verses 1 through 5 says this: “Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.” VK: So, the point is that a lot of tribes and national groups were descended from Abraham. Well, then as a further qualification we might say that the Jewish people are descended through Abraham’s son Isaac. RD: And that would also be partially true. But Isaac and Rebecca had two sons, Esau and Jacob (who was later renamed Israel by God). And Jacob wasn’t the only one who founded a nation that persisted for hundreds of years. Esau was the ancestor of the Edomites who are mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, often as an enemy of Israel and Judah. After the southern kingdom of Judah was taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar the Edomites moved into some of the vacant territory into the region of the former city of Hebron. The Greeks and the Romans called this region Idumea. And the Idumeans were present in the time of Jesus. Herod the Great was the son of an Edomite father and a Jewish mother. So, just because someone was descended from Isaac wouldn’t make them a Jew. VK: In other words, to be considered Jewish someone would have to be descended not only from Abraham and Isaac but also Jacob. And we learn from the book of Genesis that Jacob – who was later renamed Israel by God – was indeed the father of the 12 men who gave rise to the 12 tribes of Israel. But I think I see where you’re going. The back cover of Michener’s book says that it is going to discuss the “profound history of the Jewish people” but how would you even know where that history begins if you eliminate the Bible or if you discount the accuracy of the Bible’s reports? RD: Exactly. Michener’s hero discounts that he will find anything that will be relevant to the Bible’s truth but then must presume that truth in order to even make sense of a great many of the artifacts he unearths. And that’s what a great many people these days do. They tell us the Bible is a dry well for truth but then return to that well many, many times when they need to fill in the gaps of what they see in the earth. I was watching a public television documentary recently about the history of writing and the alphabet. In general, it was very informative. But part of the narrative said that human beings had been around for 300,000 years but writing had only been around for the last 5,000 years. VK: But even that period of human existence of 300,000 years isn’t agreed upon by secular scientists. Many discussions of the history of humanity have our specific species dating back as much as 800,000 or even a million years ago. And our “near ancestors” are sometimes dated to as much as 2 and a half or 3 million years ago. RD: Correct. Secular science wants to find a long period for human existence but is forced to acknowledge that common attributes that mark human civilizations like building and writing can only be dated to thousands of years ago. Even if we accept secular science’s dating of the oldest ruins on earth they only date to about 10,000 years before Christ. VK: And as we have discussed in other episodes in this series those dates are assigned not measured. There is no way to directly measure an ancient date. And the assigned dates are all dependent on a set of unprovable assumptions. RD: Right, but notice something. The observable evidence is all entirely consistent with a Biblical time period. The Biblical time period says that the earth is roughly 6,200 years old and the flood of Noah occurred about 1,500 years after creation. I’m using round numbers here for the sake of simplicity. This means that the oldest human structures or trees (which are the longest living land plants) would be just shy of 5,000 years old. This time period is entirely consistent with observations that we make about the world as we see it today. VK: And for anyone who wants to go deeper into more of the problems with deep time and uniformitarianism they can go to our website, crystalseabooks.com, and locate our series on “10 facts every Christian needs to know.” In that series we have a lengthier discussion than we can undertake today about the scientific problems with the secular ideas about deep time. RD: Yes. So, one of the big ideas we want people to remember as we close out this series on the Bible and archeology is that the observations we can make today through available evidence are consistent with the Bible’s reported time frames. But when you start using secular conventions of millions and billions of years you run into some real issues. VK: Such as “where are all the dead human bodies?” If human beings have been around for hundreds of thousands of years, or more, where are all the bones of the people who supposedly existed during that period? There are extraordinary fossils of very small creatures that supposedly died millions of years ago and we see their remains but we find very few, if any, human remains. And those that are supposedly human, or pre-human, have numerous problems with the identifying the skeletons as being truly human. RD: Right. And it’s not as though secular scientists aren’t aware of the problems that arise with their time frames and alternative explanations. They are. But in order to resist the obvious conclusion that evidence from human and natural history is entirely consistent with the Bible they have to find reasons to disagree with what the Bible is telling us. VK: And some scientists have become willing to admit that they do so. Harvard evolutionary biologist and geneticist Richard Lewontin wrote: “We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failures to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.” RD: Lewontin said the quiet part out loud. Science does not require a materialistic explanation but secular scientists do. And, sadly, they are aided in their quest to cast doubt on the Bible’s records by liberal so-called theologians who bring an anti-supernatural bias to the Bible. There have been a number of groups who have supposedly wanted to find the “authentic Jesus” or “the real history” behind the Bible’s plain declarations. So, they admit that the city of Jericho existed and that the walls fell but they must doubt the dating of when the walls collapsed. They admit that there was a dynastic succession of kings in the southern kingdom of Judah but then dispute who was the founder of the succession despite the Bible’s record of the life of King David. They admit that the book of Daniel reports accurately the succession of empires that controlled the Middle East in Biblical times but claim that the book of Daniel must have written 400 years after the date that it was. VK: And, as you said, they do all of this because they must resist the conclusions that are inescapable if the Bible is what it says it is – the Word of an almighty God. Because that word of God doesn’t just contain statements about history, culture, and nations it also contains ethical and moral prescriptions. The Bible is a unique book in human history and human experience. As some people have noted, “most of the time people judge books. The Bible is a book that judges people.” RD: Yes. Archeological findings provide a great deal of support for the accuracy of the Bible’s historical records. Thus, any fair evaluation of the Bible must be that it is a generally reliable historical record. But this generally reliable historical record goes on to record not just ordinary history but also an extraordinary, redemptive history. The Bible records God’s superintendence of redemptive history including His direct intervention at times to keep His plan on track. God’s superintendence and intervention is an anathema to modern man that wants to believe that man is the penultimate actor in the universe. And God’s presence in the universe means there is an ultimate Judge who will one day hold all people accountable for their lives and actions. VK: This is why so many people resist the obvious conclusion that the Bible contains a reliable record of the history it chooses to report. If the Bible is trustworthy when it comes to history it is likely also trustworthy when it comes to its enduring ethical pronouncements and its warnings about the consequences for ignoring or disobeying God. The same God that brought down the walls of Jericho, also brought down the Babylonian Empire. He also destroyed the city of Nineveh so completely it was lost to history for almost 2,000 years and He allowed the city of Jerusalem to be destroyed for rejecting His Messiah. RD: Yes. Our God is a God of mercy and salvation but He is also a God of justice and holiness and we see evidence of all of His attributes in human history especially the history of Israel and the Middle East. Michener’s fictional hero wants to study the history of the Jews but he doesn’t want to learn anything from that history. Like so many today Michener’s hero thinks that the horned-altar he finds in the mound he is excavating is just another ancient relic. He fails to recognize that among the God of Israel was not the same as the gods of the surrounding cultures. Michener’s hero has failed to make a critical distinction – between the One True God of the Bible and the false gods invented by men to avoid acknowledging the True God. The Bible is a single story about creation, fall, and redemption. Archeological discoveries affirm the accuracy of many of the events in that redemptive history. But redemption would be irrelevant and unnecessary if the fall had not occurred. And that is what is so dangerous about us not preparing ourselves to effectively advocate for the One who provides redemption – because the effects of the fall will one day sweep away everyone who has not turned to the God of salvation. VK: And that is why we all need to study the Bible and study enough about the Bible’s settings and history to help our friends and family. Archeology helps us do that. And there a lot of good resources that can give us a good, basic understanding of how archeology helps reinforce our confidence in the Bible. We should know enough to be able to help our kids and grandkids understand and avoid the pushback from a world that doesn’t want them to live a life of saving faith. Knowing a little bit about archeology can help with this greater goal. God has given us ample evidence His word is true. He expects us to exercise our minds and wills to become familiar with the evidence and to incorporate into our lives and faith. As we close, today let’s listen to a prayer of adoration for our Creator God. God not only created everything that exists, He also maintains it by His infinite power. As the Apostle Paul said to the Athenians “in [God] we live and move and have our being.” Surely, such a God is always worthy of adoration of Him. ---- PRAYER OF ADORATION OF THE CREATOR VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the Good News Translation) The Gospel of John, Chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, Good News Translation
Episode 254 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 9 – As Old As the Bible Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: The LORD possessed me [wisdom] at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. Proverbs, Chapter 8, verses 22 and 23, English Standard Version ******** VK: Greetings. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. This is our 9th episode in a series that we are doing on archeology and the Bible. We’re 9 episodes into this brief overview of just a few of the thousands of archeological discoveries that support the accuracy of the Bible’s text. So often today we hear critics attempt to label the Bible as a book that has little connection to the real world. But when reviewed objectively it is obvious that the Bible is a book that is firmly set in time and place. And as a book set in time and place it is demonstrable that the human history that the Bible chooses to report is accurate. And archeology is very supportive of the Bible’s historical trustworthiness. That’s why we wanted to do this series. To help us continue to explore this topic, in the studio today we have RD Fierro. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, today you said you wanted to begin to wrap up the series. So, what do you want listeners to begin to think about as we think about the series as a whole? RD: Well, before we begin our summary I’d also like to greet everyone and welcome them to Anchored by Truth. As we have stressed throughout this series archeology is the study of the past. And the vast majority of archeological interest pertains to times and dates that occurred long before anyone currently living was alive. This means that anyone attempting to glean information about the past from archeological finds and artifacts is always looking at evidence that is available in the present and interpreting it. This is going to be true whether the person making the interpretation is a Christian or non-Christian. This means that it is likely and reasonable for similarly qualified experts to disagree on what a particular find means or tells us. In other words, we cannot obtain the same degree of certainty about past events from archeological science that we can from branches of operational science where the replication of results is possible. This certainly doesn’t mean that rigor and discipline aren’t possible in archeology. They are. And it doesn’t mean that we can’t rule certain possible explanations in or out based on the application of evidence and reason. But it does mean that alternative explanations are possible in many situations and we must therefore be prepared to sort among those explanations. VK: What you’re saying is that as Christians we must always be aware that – no matter how convincing a Biblical explanation may be for a find, artifact, or site – that we must be aware that other explanations for that same evidence are possible. And we must be prepared to deal with those alternative non-Biblical explanations because the world is going to consider those explanations. Because if we can’t intelligently discuss why the Christian explanation is at least as reasonable as the non-Christian alternative we will be far less effective in our witness for Christ in the public arena. In other words, we have to know what “the other side” believes and we must be prepared to engage their arguments – kindly, compassionately, and sensibly – but firmly. RD: Right. The old saying is that “there are two sides to every story.” But, while the saying has some truth to it that does not mean that each side is equally credible or reasonable. So, one of the things we need to talk about as we wrap up our series is to give a couple of examples where there are competing explanations for archeological sites that are the subject of Biblical accounts. VK: Where do you want to start? RD: Well, we spent the last couple of episodes of Anchored by Truth talking about the city of Jericho especially about God’s miraculous intervention in the Hebrews’ conquest of it at the end of their wilderness wanderings. VK: This is the well-known story found in the book of Joshua, chapter 6. The Hebrews encountered Jericho just after crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Militarily the Hebrews needed to conquer Jericho but it was a walled and heavily fortified town. And the Hebrews did not have the kind of siege equipment necessary to breach those kind of walls – at least not quickly. But, fortunately they didn’t have to. As God directed, they marched around the walls once a day for 6 days. Then, on the 7th day they marched around the walls 7 times, shouted, and the walls fell down. And, while we won’t go over the evidence that supports that account again – because we covered it in our two previous episodes – we will note that there is substantial archeological evidence that supports the Biblical account. RD: Yes. There’s an abundance of archeological evidence that Jericho was located where the Bible says it was, at one time had large and imposing walls, and that the walls did in fact “fall down flat” as the English Standard Version puts it. Several excavators have determined that most of the walls collapsed flat likely due to an earthquake. But even though these facts are well known one topic that is hotly debated is when the walls fell down. There are various dating options for when the Exodus occurred and therefore when Jericho fell to Joshua. We don’t have time to go into all the options but there are two that often talked about – to so-called late date for the exodus and the early date for the exodus. VK: So, the most commonly accepted date for the exodus in scholarly circles is the late date. That’s the dating theory that was used in Cecil B. Demille’s famous movie, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as Moses. What time period is in view for the late date? RD: Around 1290 BC. This would be referred to as early in the 13th century BC. VK: And what time period is in view for the early date? RD: Around 1445 or 1446 BC – about a hundred years earlier. This is the date that is arrived at by calculating the time periods that are referenced in the Bible in verses such as 1 Kings, chapter 6, verse 1. VK: That verse in the English Standard Version reads: “In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the … the second month, [Solomon] began to build the house of the LORD.” RD: Yes. We know that Solomon’s reign as king of Israel began in 970 BC. That means his 4th year would have been 966 BC. That means that 480 years earlier would have been 1446 BC. But let’s remember that the Hebrew calendar is not the same as the Gregorian calendar that we use today. So, they didn’t use a January to December year. Also, in the Bible some numbers may have been rounded off. So, allowing for those factors orthodox, conservative Christian scholars have usually placed the date for the start of the exodus between 1447 BC and 1442 BC. It’s common to refer to Joshua’s conquest of Jericho as taking place late in the 15th century BC. VK: The 15th century BC began in the year 1500 BC and ended in the year 1401 BC. RD: Right. So, while there may be agreement on the fact that at some time around in the distant past the walls of Jericho did collapse as the Bible describes, there is a very clear division of opinion on exactly when the walls fell down. VK: So, a Bible critic may acknowledge that there is archeological evidence that is consistent with major portions of chapter 6 of the book of Joshua but then immediately turn around and say the Bible still isn’t trustworthy because it got dates wrong. And as we started out saying, all any present day investigator can do is look at the available evidence and then interpret what that says about things like ancient dates. It’s not as though anybody 3,300 or 3,400 years ago chiseled dates into the sides of buildings to make it easier to assign precise dates. RD: No, they didn’t. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have some tools that can help us resolve our dating dilemma. And while we don’t have time to discuss all the ways dating is accomplished for archeological sites let’s just mention a couple. First, we can look to see what information can be gleaned from artifacts that are found at a site. Often, even if there aren’t written records that contain helpful references there may be jewelry, coins, or other decorative items that provide clues as to when that item was being used. This is particularly true with pottery pieces or even shards. It has been common throughout human history to decorate items even ones used for practical purposes like jars or lamps. And, just as today, decorative styles come and go. And since pottery is a lot more durable that items made out of cloth or paper pottery is often present at a site even hundreds or thousands of years after it was in use. In the case of excavations at the city of Jericho over 100,000 pottery fragments have been unearthed. VK: So, what do the pottery fragments found at Jericho tell us? RD: The pottery fragments favor the early date theory. This is because there is almost no pottery fragments at Jericho that are what would be labeled Mycenaean. As we mentioned in other episodes of Anchored by Truth Mycenae is another name for the region we think of as Greece. The Mycenaeans were a sea faring people and traveled widely including to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean which is where Israel is. As a consequence their pottery is found all over the Mediterranean coastal lands. And it began to appear in Palestine from about 1400 BC onward. Therefore, if the conquest of Jericho had been around 1290 BC as the late date theory posits then there should have been plenty of Mycenaean pottery fragments present. But there aren’t. The early date theory explains this absence easily. The Hebrews conquered Jericho before Mycenaean pottery became commonplace in Palestine. By 1290 Mycenaean pottery would had been circulating in Palestine for over 100 years. So, its absence at Jericho is hard to reconcile with the late date theory. VK: How about other artifacts found at Jericho? What do they tell us about whether the late date theory or the early date theory is most likely to be correct? RD: There are other archeological findings that point strongly to the early date. For instance, Palestine in the 15th century BC was connected to Egypt. Remember that at this time Egypt was the dominant power in that region. The Egyptians had mines and other economic interests in Palestine. Trade between the two regions was extensive. One common item that circulated in those days was scarabs. VK: According to the Wikipedia entry “Scarabs are beetle-shaped amulets and impression seals which were widely popular throughout ancient Egypt. They still survive in large numbers today. Through their inscriptions and typology, they prove to be an important source of information for archaeologists and historians of the ancient world, and represent a significant body of ancient Egyptian art.” In other words, scarabs were like modern jewelry pieces. They were valuable and therefore were not thrown away or destroyed. They are frequently found in graves with their owners. Like some modern jewelry items they often contained images of royalty. Think about things like commemorative lockets made for the various milestones of Queen Elizabeth’s long reign. So, as the Wikipedia quote states, by looking at the images contained on scarabs we can get an idea about when they were produced and in circulation. What do the scarabs found at Jericho tell us? RD: One of the best known archeologists who did extensive excavations at Jericho is John Garstang. After years after his excavations of a cemetery at Jericho not a single scarab was found that could be dated later than the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III who reigned from 1412 BC to 1376 BC. VK: We probably should remind our listeners that in the time before the birth of Jesus the years are frequently labeled “BC” which simply means “before Christ.” Since these yearly designations get smaller as you approach the birth of Jesus the larger numbers are actually farther back in time. This is the opposite of how we assign annual dates today where it’s the smaller numbers that are older. So, for the years before Christ 1412 BC is older than 1376 BC. It can be easy to get confused. RD: That’s a good note. So, Pharaoh Amenhotep III began his reign in 1412 BC and it lasted for 36 years. That’s plenty of time in which his cartouche would have put on decorative items. VK: A cartouche is just a common graphic symbol. It’s an oval with a line at one end and it indicates that the name that is found within the oval is a royal name. RD: Right. So, the absence of any scarabs with the cartouches of any pharaohs later than Amenhotep III means that later pharaohs weren’t known or represented at that site. That would be very strange if the late date theory was correct. The late date theory says that the pharaoh at the time of the exodus was Ramses II and there were a lot of pharaohs between Amenhotep III and Ramses II. This is a strong indicator that the early date theory about the date of the exodus and the destruction of Jericho by Joshua is correct. VK: So, the really big point that we want to make by this discussion is that there may be competing explanations about how to correctly date events from the past. And even though no one living was present then we can look at the evidence available in the present and make reasoned determinations about which explanation is most likely to be true. And one way to do that is look at finds and artifacts and see what they tell us about what was going on in the world at that time. Who was in power? What trade was occurring? What building techniques were available and in use? Are there any written records from the period? Information can be gleaned from any sources. And, of course, some people will say that scientific measurements such radiocarbon dating can be helpful. Well, how about radiocarbon dating? Isn’t it frequently used to assign dates to ancient sites and artifacts? RD: It is, but there are a lot of problems with radiocarbon dating which are well known in the scientific community. Radiocarbon dating depends on determining the ratio present in a specimen between carbon-14, which is radioactive, and carbon-12 which is not. We don’t have time today to go into all of the details of how carbon-14 is formed but here are a couple of big points. Radiocarbon dating can only be used on organic residue such as wooden artifacts because it must be absorbed by a living entity to be present at all. Next, radiocarbon dating depends on certain baseline assumptions which are unprovable. Third, the rate of formation of carbon-14 is affected by the strength of the earth’s magnetic shield which is known to decline through time. As such, the farther back in time we go – especially as we get closer to the flood of Noah – the more adjustments are necessary to compensate for the stronger magnetic shield. The net result of these issues – and there are others – is that, as you said, radiocarbon dates are assigned not measured. Radiocarbon dating can be a useful tool for certain things like determining relative dates but it has limitations in assigning absolute dates. VK: In other words we simply don’t possess all of the information that would be necessary to precisely calculate a date by measuring the ratio of one substance and compare it to another. We can never be sure what the starting ratio was unless somebody had been there who reported it – which is never going to happen with archeology. We can never be sure about whether assumed formation rates are accurate or whether contamination occurred at some point. Dates assigned by measuring ratios of various elements often differ by tens of thousands or even millions of years. In such cases the scientists will often dismiss dates that don’t conform to their expectations but this just amounts to selecting data that reinforces an original hypothesis or bias. RD: Right. Radiocarbon dating can be helpful for certain purposes but it is sometimes offered as if it settles all dating questions of ancient finds. It doesn’t and can’t. It rests on unprovable assumptions. This doesn’t mean it must be dismissed. It means we should bear its limitations in mind when it is used to offer evidence. The point that we want to drive home today is Christians must be prepared to hear explanations for archeological finds that the world will tell us “disprove the Bible.” But we need not accept such claims on face value. Certainly one of the best known explorers who did excavation at Jericho was an archeologist named Kathleen Kenyon. She disagreed with Garstang’s findings about the correct dating of the ruins at Tell-el-Sultan which is normally agreed to be the site of ancient Jericho. One reason she disagreed with Garstang was that she said the pottery shards she found in the collapsed wall that is believed to belong to the Joshua conquest were not from the mid-15th century BC. VK: In ancient times, and even today, when builders are building walls they will throw scraps of unusable building material as part of fill. The builder knows the fill won’t be seen. So, it doesn’t matter whether its broken concrete, metal scraps, or old pieces of pottery. That’s a common building practice today and it was in ancient times. So, we can derive some dating information about when a structure was built if we find scraps that have some identifying information. Someone who tore down a fireplace and found a coin that had fallen into the cement would know the latest date the fireplace was built. But it seems to mean that Kenyon’s conclusion doesn’t necessarily follow her observation. There are houses in America that date from the Revolutionary War period that are still standing today 250 years later than they were built. If one of those houses fell over today it’s walls are still going to be composed of building material from 1776. The fact that the walls fell in the 21st century doesn’t change that the fallen material was from 250 years ago. RD: That’s a very good observation. And it illustrates that we have to think carefully through the conclusions that are drawn from evidence. The evidence may be consistent with multiple and varying conclusions. Then we will have to look at other evidence to see if we can determine which of those conclusions is most accurate. VK: And you say we need to be particularly vigilant when we examine conclusions about the dating of ancient ruins or artifacts. RD: Right. Here’s a simple example. If you do an internet search on the oldest buildings in the world you will find that are a few buildings dated by secular science to be several thousand years older than the date the Bible tells us the great flood occurred. Often the reason the ruins are dated older is by using radiocarbon dating. But as we just discussed radiocarbon dating has real problems for assigning absolute (not relative) dates. So, if we step back from the radiocarbon dates we find that it is at least as likely, if not more likely, that all of the ruins that are assigned these pre-flood dates were actually built after the flood. VK: In other words the question that occurs is whether the evidence from these sites is just as consistent with being built after the flood as before. RD: Yes. So, let’s think about this for a second. Some of these sites display a remarkable degree of mathematical precision in their layout and construction. Yet, conventional science says that the people at that time were all hunter-gatherers. Why would people living off hunting game and gathering food from plants that grow wild all of a sudden divert a great deal of effort into building large structures that had no relevance to how they stayed alive. Isn’t it at least just as probable that these structures were built by people who had descended from a family that possessed a sophisticated knowledge of building techniques and who were now occupying land that was completely free of groups or tribes? VK: Noah built a huge ark that survived a great flood. And we know from the Bible that Adam’s earliest descendants founded cities, worked with metal, and even made musical instruments. Said differently, rather than human beings having to learn everything by trial-and-error the human race was started with the kind of knowledge to build sophisticated structures. RD: Yes. And then there’s the whole question of why – if the modern human race had been in existence for hundreds of thousands of years – all of a sudden one day they began building these complicated buildings and complexes. Remember there is absolutely no evidence in the world of human sites that existed tens of thousands of years ago. Dinosaur bones supposedly survived intact for millions of years. So, even if humans 20,000 or 50,000 years ago had built homes or communities it seems probable that some evidence would have survived. The evidence from the most ancient structures we know about on earth fits in very well with a Biblical narrative but runs into some significant difficulties with the secular explanation. VK: And that is why we all need to know a little bit about archeology. There’s an old saying that “you better teach your kids about faith. Otherwise the only faith they will know will be what comes from the world.” Archeology may or may not interest us as a subject. But we must know enough to be able to help our kids understand and avoid the pits the world will put in their path. Knowing a little bit about archeology can help with this greater goal. God has given us ample evidence that His word is true. But He expects us to exercise our minds and wills to become familiar with the evidence and to incorporate into our lives and faith. This sounds like a time to go to God in prayer. Today let’s listen to a prayer for our nation. The Bible tells us that we are to be good citizens of the nation in which we find ourselves. And certainly part of doing that is to work for the common good, pray for our communities and states, and encourage everyone to grow in godliness. Only a Godly people will persevere and prevail in a fallen creation. ---- PRAYER FOR THE NATION VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the English Standard Version) Proverbs, Chapter 8, verses 22 and 23, English Standard Version Göbekli Tepe shows evidence of geometric planning (creation.com)
Episode 253 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 8 – Jericho Old & New 2 Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus … was sitting beside the road. …The blind man [said], “Master, I want to see!” Jesus told him, “… Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” At once the man could see ... The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10, verses 46 through 52, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: Hi. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. This is our 8th episode in a series that we are doing on archeology and the Bible. It’s popular today, especially in academia and the media, to attempt to portray the Bible as a book that has little connection to the real world. But when reviewed objectively the it is obvious that the Bible is a book that is firmly set in time and place and accurately reflects a large body of important history. And archeology has been extremely supportive of the Bible’s historical trustworthiness. That’s why we wanted to do this series. We want everyone, especially listeners to Anchored by Truth, to have a firm grasp on evidence by which they can be assured that the Bible is the inspired word of God. To help us continue to explore this topic, in the studio today we have RD Fierro. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books RD, thus far in this series we have reviewed a number of specific archeological finds that have confirmed details of the Bible. And in our last episode of Anchored by Truth we spent some time providing evidence that the story of the fall of Jericho told in the book of Joshua is true. Can you give us a brief reminder of some of the things we talked about? RD: Sure. One element of the Biblical story that is attested to by archeology is that Jericho was strongly fortified and could have held enough people to be militarily significant. A second element is that it was small enough for the Israelite army to march around seven times in one day. A third element is that when the archeologists excavated at Jericho they found a one-meter-thick layer of ash and debris, including jars of burnt wheat, in many sections of the city. Joshua, chapter 6, verse 24 says “Then [the Israelites] burned the whole city and everything in it …” One final piece of evidence that is consistent with the Bible is that one section of the city wall was found to still be upright and that there were houses whose back walls were actually part of the city’s walls. The Bible explicitly says that the harlot Rahab’s house was built into the city wall. Joshua, chapter 2, verse 15 says, “So [Rahab] let [the Hebrew spies] down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.” A German exploration team in 1907–1909 found that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else and formed the back wall of a house. VK: The main point of the evidence we cited is that there is ample archeological evidence to support the reliability of the Bible’s account the Israelites captured the city of Jericho exactly as the Bible describes. And then we talked briefly about, “why does it matter whether the story - as told in the Bible - is true?” Some people might very well say that whether the story is literally true or just an embellished account doesn’t make a difference. RD: And, as we said last week, the answer to that question is that it makes all the difference in the world whether the story is true. The city of Jericho was the first major obstacle the Israelites encountered when they ended their period of wandering in the desert and were about to enter the Promised Land. That’s not unusual even in the lives of faithful believers. Even if we are doing exactly what God wants us to do we can and should expect to encounter opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Overcoming opposition is a part of fulfilling God’s plans for our lives. And that is why it matters that the story of Joshua’s conquest is true. Humanly speaking Joshua and his soldiers may or may not have been able to ultimately breach Jericho’s walls. But they sure weren’t going to do it in a matter of days – more like months or maybe years. For the Hebrew conquest of Canaan to be successful it was vital for Joshua to keep the momentum going. But he couldn’t do that on his own. He needed God’s help. And he got it. And because Joshua really got the help he needed when he needed it that gives us hope we can receive help from that same God when we need it. VK: But if the story of Joshua’s conquest of Jericho was just a legend or some kind of embellished story why would that give anyone hope. We might be able to learn lessons from stories – Jesus used parable to teach - but if we want real hope we need examples, real examples, of when our God came to the aid of His people. That’s one thing we get from the story of Jericho. But we only get that if the story is real history. RD: Exactly. Militarily and psychologically it was important for the Israelites to conquer Jericho to fulfill the mandate they had received from God to take possession of the land of Canaan. And with God’s help they did conquer Jericho and proceeded to other cities in Canaan. And most Christians, and many non-believers, have a sort of basic awareness of this episode from the Bible. Well, the book that contains the account of the conquest of Jericho is Joshua which in most modern Bibles is the 6th book of the Bible. VK: The book of Joshua immediately follows the five books that Moses wrote during the wilderness wanderings. Together these five books are often called the Pentateuch and they are sometimes referred to as the “Torah” or the “Law.” The book of Joshua is the first of the historical books which include Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. So, the book of Joshua is featured early in the Old Testament. RD: And while many, if not most, people are familiar with the story of the conquest of Jericho and the walls falling down, most people are probably not aware that the city of Jericho also appears in the New Testament - which, of course, means that Jericho was rebuilt after it was destroyed by Joshua. And the continuing story of Jericho is something we want to take a look at because it helps illustrate the unity of scripture. VK: So, the first thing we note is that, even though Joshua led the expedition against Jericho, Joshua himself prophesied that the city would be rebuilt. The Contemporary English Version of Joshua, chapter 6, verse 26 puts his prophecy this way: “After Jericho was destroyed, Joshua warned the people, ‘Someday a man will rebuild Jericho, but the LORD will put a curse on him, and the man's oldest son will die when he starts to build the town wall. And by the time he finishes the wall and puts gates in it, all his children will be dead.’” This prophecy was fulfilled over 500 years later. Ahab was the king of northern kingdom of Israel from around 871 B.C. to about 852 B.C. During Ahab’s time Jericho was rebuilt. 1 Kings, chapter 16, verse 34 tells us that a man named Hiel rebuilt the city. RD: That verse in the Contemporary English version says this. “While Ahab was king, a man from Bethel named Hiel rebuilt the town of Jericho. But while Hiel was laying the foundation for the town wall, his oldest son Abiram died. And while he was finishing the gates, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the LORD had told Joshua to say many years ago.” Now the Bible does not tell us why Hiel decided to rebuild Jericho but we can engage in a little sanctified speculation. Hiel was from Bethel and the location of Jericho was just a little to the east of Bethel. So, Hiel was very familiar with the area around Jericho and likely with the ruins. And he probably realized that the ruins contained a lot of potentially desirable building materials that he could salvage and repurpose. VK: Plus, as you mentioned, it had been over 500 years since the original Jericho had been destroyed. Perhaps Hiel reasoned that over such a long period Joshua’s original curse had simply expired. Also, Bethel was one of the religious sites for the northern kingdom. Let’s remember that the original unified nation of Israel had by this time split into the northern and southern kingdoms. After the split the northern kingdom was called Israel and the southern kingdom was called Judah. Jerusalem was the religious center for the southern kingdom but the northern kingdom had established two religious centers – one in Bethel and one in a more northerly city, Dan. So, it’s possible Hiel simply felt that now that the kingdoms were split he wouldn’t be affected by a curse that had been given during a time before the split. Or perhaps he just didn’t believe in the validity of the curse because he lived in a time and a place when his people had set aside many of the religious practices that had been inaugurated by Moses during the Exodus. RD: Any or all of those things are possible. As you noted Hiel was chronologically, culturally, and religiously a long ways away from the pronouncement of the curse. That’s how people reason. We tend to think that things from long ago won’t affect us. But that’s now how God acts. God had inspired Joshua to pronounce the curse to begin with. So, when Hiel rebuilt Jericho he suffered the penalty for his ignorance or his hubris and his children died. But the city of Jericho lived on and it was still in existence during Jesus’ lifetime. But there is one detail about Jericho’s reconstruction that we need to note. Even though Hiel rebuilt a town named Jericho he did not build it on exactly the same site as the original city. VK: And that makes perfect sense. The original site of Jericho would have been a mess. There were ruins of structures scattered everywhere, the residue from walls that had fallen in, the ground would have been uneven and hard to navigate. The original site would have been a very difficult place on which to build a new set of walls and buildings. So, Hiel probably made a sensible decision to salvage what materials were useful but to build the new city a short distance away. He would have chosen a site that was relatively level, more construction friendly, but close enough where any salvaged materials did not have to be transported very far. And that’s the configuration that came down to New Testament times. RD: And that configuration is an important element of understanding two passages from the New Testament. We heard one of those two passages in our opening scripture from the Gospel of Mark. The other passage that we want to compare is from the Gospel of Luke. It’s from Luke, chapter 18, verses 35 through 43. VK: Let’s listen to that section – again from the Contemporary English Version. When Jesus was coming close to Jericho, a blind man sat begging beside the road. The man heard the crowd walking by and asked what was happening. Some people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. So the blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people who were going along with Jesus told the man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Jesus stopped and told some people to bring the blind man over to him. When the blind man was getting near, Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see!” he answered. Jesus replied, “Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” At once the man could see, and he went with Jesus and started thanking God. RD: So, that passage from Luke tells us that Jesus encountered the blind beggar as he “was coming close to Jericho” – in other words, as he was approaching Jericho. Now Mark told us the name of the beggar – Bartimaeus – which just means son of Timaeus – but Luke didn’t bother mentioning the name. But let’s remember what Mark told us about the encounter. In Mark the opening of the passage says, “Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, … A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus … was sitting beside the road.” VK: So, the distinction that you want us to note is that Mark tells us that Jesus encountered the beggar as they were “leaving” Jericho, but Luke says the encounter occurred “When Jesus was coming close to Jericho.” – in other words as Jesus was approaching Jericho. So, that does seem to be a bit of a problem. Luke says Jesus encountered the beggar on the way into Jericho, but Mark tells us it was he was leaving Jericho. That does seem to be a bit of a contradiction. RD: Yes, it does. But the key word you used is “seems.” And that’s where we need to go back to Hiel’s ill-fated decision to rebuild Jericho. Hiel rebuilt the city but, in all probability, he did not use exactly the same site for the reasons we have discussed. Plus Hiel’s reconstruction of Jericho was over 800 years before Jesus was born. And during those intervening 800 years there were a lot of invaders who had passed through Palestine including the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans. It’s entirely possible that some, or all, of the town Hiel rebuilt had been destroyed and rebuilt yet again. We do know that around Jesus’ time the heart of New Testament Jericho was the winter palace complex built by Herod the Great. New Testament Jericho was about 2 miles southwest of Old Testament Jericho. So, it is possible that Mark and Luke could be referring to an encounter that took place between the two sites. Mark was referring to Jesus leaving the vicinity of the Old Testament site and Luke was referring to Jesus approaching the New Testament site. VK: But it is also possible that Jesus had encountered a blind man on the way into Jericho who had tried, but failed, to get Jesus’ attention. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, verse 29 has this to say about Jesus’ encounter with blind beggars near Jericho. “Jesus was followed by a large crowd as he and his disciples were leaving Jericho. Two blind men were sitting beside the road. And when they heard that Jesus was coming their way, they shouted, ‘Lord and Son of David, have pity on us!’” Matthew goes on to say that Jesus did restore sight to both men although Matthew does not provide any names. Only Mark mentions a specific name. RD: Agreed. That is also a possibility. Some scholars believe that the reason Mark mentions a specific name of one of the men who was healed is that Bartimaeus was the more vocal and forceful of the two. And if Bartimaeus had initially tried to get Jesus’ attention as Jesus was approaching Jericho and then waited around to make another attempt, knowing that eventually Jesus would leave the city, that would also mean Bartimaeus had particularly strong faith. So, one reasonable explanation for how these 3 passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke can be reconciled is this. Bartimaeus had heard that Jesus was travelling in the vicinity. VK: And that was certainly possible. As even these accounts note Jesus was being accompanied by a large crowd. And people in Jericho and in that region knew that Jesus was going to be in Jericho at about that time. Let’s listen to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, verses 1 through 4. “Jesus was going through Jericho, where a man named Zacchaeus lived. He was in charge of collecting taxes and was very rich. Jesus was heading his way, and Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like. But Zacchaeus was a short man and could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree.” So, we know news about Jesus being in and around Jericho had circulated widely enough for a large crowd to gather. The crowd was so large that the chief tax collector of the region – who would have been a very important man in that time – wasn’t even able to get a glimpse of Jesus. It’s probable that, as we say, “the crowd was lining the streets.” To be able to see Jesus Zacchaeus was willing to completely put aside his dignity and climb a tree. RD: Right. So, a lot of people had heard about Jesus. His fame had spread. News travels fast in a place where villages are close and a person as famous as Jesus is in the area. Bartimaeus had probably heard that Jesus had performed miraculous healings. Most people in Israel at that time had heard that. As we’ve said, it appears that, even though his blindness had reduced him to begging, Bartimaeus still had very strong faith. So, Bartimaeus positions himself on the route into Jericho. Also, as we’ve said Jericho was an important place at that time – so important Herod the Great had built his winter palace there. VK: The palace complex was so large that it totaled over 35 acres. It had been built on the foundations of earlier royal palaces. The palace complex of Herod contained luxurious gardens, theaters, and athletic facilities as well as palaces and villas. That’s the kind of place that everyone knows about. There are going to be lots of people around who provide goods and services to the palace. That’s probably a big reason Zacchaeus lived in Jericho. He was the chief tax collector. He would have had his own mansion. And of course where there are big houses and rich people there will be a lot of trades people, merchants, and suppliers who all want their piece of the high end business. It would also have been a common place for beggars to gather. Beggars want to be where people with money are coming and going and that would have been Jericho in Jesus day. RD: Agreed. So, Bartimaeus either lives near Jericho or travels there knowing that Jesus is going to be in that vicinity. When Jesus is approaching Jericho Bartimaeus hears the commotion and starts calling out to Jesus to be healed. It’s possible that Jesus healed Bartimaeus at that time but it’s more likely the large crowd kept a blind man from getting Jesus attention on his first attempt. But, with his strong faith Bartimaeus knew Jesus would leave the city at some point. So, he decides to try again. While Jesus and the crowd are inside the city another blind beggar joins him and they wait together. Nothing would be more natural. It’s likely part of the crowd, maybe most of the crowd stayed in Jericho, either eating or spending the night. So, when Jesus came out Bartimaeus’ faith was rewarded because now he got Jesus’ attention and the healing he desired. VK: And so did the other beggar who joined him in the waiting. That provides us a good example of why it makes sense to be around people with strong faith. God pays attention to people with strong faith. So, if have faith that is still maturing or developing it’s a good idea to associate with people who are farther down the faith journey. In this instance it meant a man got his sight restored. He might otherwise have remained blind his entire life. RD: That’s a very cogent observation. VK: Thank you. But there’s a larger point we want to make in going into the details of these three passages. As with the account we heard from the book of Joshua when the walls fell, God miraculously intervened when people of faith had a dire need. But neither the story from Joshua or the reports of blind men being healed in the gospels are of any value to anyone today unless they are real history – unless those were real people, at real places, with real needs. RD: Right. And because of archeological finds we can be confident that that’s exactly what the Bible is reporting – real history. Jericho is still in existence today. It’s a real city with real residents. And it’s in about the same location as it was when Joshua encountered its massive walls. It was destroyed but it was rebuilt and as we’ve been discussing it played an important part in the New Testament. VK: And because we know that Jericho is real we have a great starting point for assembling the evidence that show that the miracles performed there were just as real as the city. RD: Right. The story of Joshua and Jericho tells us that we don’t have to be discouraged when we encounter obstacles in our lives of service to the Lord and others. The Lord knows of the obstacle long before we encounter it. And the story of Bartimaeus and his fellow blind beggar tells us God provides help to individuals as well as to large groups of people. In many ways Jericho is a great illustration of how the story of redemption unfolded in time. In Joshua’s day Jericho was an obstacle to be overcome. But when Jesus arrived it became a site of renewal and reformation. Zacchaeus renounced his greed and theft after encountering Jesus. Zacchaeus received spiritual healing which he desperately needed. VK: As do we all. RD: And Bartimaeus and his companion received physical healing. But as Jesus told Bartimaeus he was healed because of his faith. Before Jesus had dinner with him Zacchaeus had curiosity about Jesus but that curiosity was enough to lead him to true faith. Bartimaeus had real faith. That’s what kept him in place as he had to wait for God’s timing to provide his sight. Jericho is a place from which we can learn deep spiritual truths – but it wouldn’t be of any value if the accounts we hear about from the Bible weren’t true. Fortunately, for us they are. VK: And that is why we all need to be fully persuaded that the Bible is true. Verifying for ourselves that the Bible’s history is accurate is one step in that process of developing deep and abiding faith. And knowing a little bit about archeology can help us with that process. We have said this throughout our series. Archeology may or may not interest us as a subject. But we must know enough to be able to intelligently respond to the world’s resistance. Knowing a little bit about archeology can help with this greater goal. It’s just a little bit silly to believe that God will reward people whose faith wavers constantly. The book of James tells us He won’t. And we don’t have to surrender to a wavering faith. God has given us ample evidence that His word is true. And He is more than willing to help us live productive, joyful lives if we will just acknowledge that simple fact. This sounds like a time to go to God in prayer. There are many places around the world where Christians are persecuted just for acknowledging and proclaiming their belief in the God of the Bible. Let’s remember them in prayer today. ---- PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the Contemporary English Version) The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10, verses 46 through 52, Contemporary English Version
Episode 252 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 7 – Jericho Old & New Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. They completely destroyed everything in it … The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. Joshua, Chapter 6, verses 20 through 23, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hello and welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. This is our 7th episode in our series on archeology and the Bible. Throughout this series we have been talking about the large number of archeological finds that supply evidence that confirm that the history contained in the Bible is real history. It’s popular today, especially in academia and the media, to attempt to dismiss the long-standing relationship between the Bible and archeology. But when reviewed objectively the only fair conclusion is that archeology has been extremely supportive of the Bible’s trustworthiness. To help us continue to explore this topic, in the studio today we have RD Fierro. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books RD, thus far in this series we have reviewed a number of specific archeological finds that have confirmed details of the Bible. But you said that today you wanted to switch things up a bit. What do you have in mind? RD: Well, thus far in this series we have mostly been talking about archeological finds and artifacts that came from places that today are in ruins. Some of the sites we have discussed were destroyed so thoroughly like Nineveh, the capital of the ancient Assyrian Empire, that they were lost to secular history or considered legendary. But today we are going to talk about a city that not only plays a prominent role in the Bible but also is still in existence today – Jericho. Jericho is one of the few cities that is mentioned early in the Old Testament and later in the New Testament. Most of the locations from that time in Bible history have turned into piles of rubble and most have disappeared beneath multiple layers of sand, rock, or dirt. But Jericho didn’t. It still exists today in the West Bank territory and according to recent estimates has about 20,000 occupants. But we must emphasize that while the city exists it is not on exactly the same spot as the Old Testament city mentioned in Joshua. VK: Some scholars believe that Jericho may be the oldest continuously occupied city in the world. And while the secular dating for how long Jericho has been around doesn’t conform with a Biblical view, pretty much everybody agrees Jericho is thousands of years old. Jericho is well known to students of the Bible and even in popular culture because of the popular incident that is related in chapter 6 of the book of Joshua. We heard a part of the description of the incident in our opening scripture. Just to refresh everyone’s recollection though, the book of Joshua is set in history just as the Israelites are ending the 40 years of wandering in the desert. Moses has died but before he did he named Joshua as his successor to actually lead the Hebrews across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land to begin their occupation of it. While it’s not evident today, Jericho was a very imposing obstacle in Joshua’s day. Its defensive walls were famous and since it was located near one of the fords in the Jordan River it occupied a strategic location. RD: Right. Both militarily and psychologically it was important for the Israelites to conquer Jericho if they were to have any hope of actually fulfilling the mandate they had received from God to take possession of the land of Canaan. It essentially confronted the Israelites just as soon as they had crossed the river. The big question for Joshua and the Hebrews was how in the world could they defeat it? Let’s remember that while the number of Hebrews that had come through the wilderness wanderings was sizeable – some scholars estimate as many as 2 million in total – they were not a well-equipped army. They were essentially a band of farmers, shepherds, and tradespeople who had little, if any, significant weapons. The only weapons the Bible mentions are personal weapons like swords and bows and arrows. VK: During their 40 years of wandering through the wilderness the Israelites were a nomadic people. They pitched camp whenever the Lord told them to and they moved when the Lord told them to. They were always accompanied by their “flocks and herds.” Their shelters were tents. The largest structure they ever built was their temple which was itself, just a large tent. In short, they didn’t spend any time, or have the opportunity to build a real army or develop the kind of weapons an army would need to take on a walled and fortified city like Jericho. Swords and arrows aren’t much good against walls that were, according to archeological excavations, up to 6 feet thick and as much as 40 feet, or more, high. Armies that would tackle fortifications like that would have catapults, towers, and siege engines. The Hebrews didn’t have any of those things. RD: Of course they did have God on their side. There’s an old saying that you never know that “You’ll never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” VK: Amen to that. RD: The point is that Jericho would have been an imposing obstacle to the Israelites who just entering the land God had told them to occupy. And, humanly, speaking they would have had no way to breach the walls. Fortunately, they didn’t have to. All the Hebrews had to do was obey God’s instructions and He said He would deliver the city into their hands. At this stage of their history the Israelites were still being obedient to God – which would change later on, sadly. VK: But, as you said, at this time the Hebrews under Joshua were still obeying God. God told them to march around the city once for six days. Then He told them to march around the city seven times on the 7th day. After their final circuit God told them that when they shouted the walls of Jericho would “collapse” and they would be able to charge straight into the city. They did exactly as told and the Bible tells us that the walls fell down and the Hebrews were able to take the city. The only people who survived was Rahab, the harlot, and her family who were with her because she had sheltered the Hebrew spies. It’s a dramatic story that has been popularized in various songs, books, and movies. So, naturally the question occurs as to whether there is any archeological evidence that supports the Biblical account. RD: And not surprisingly there is. The Old Testament city of Jericho is located at a site that is called Tell-el-Sultan today. Extensive excavations have been conducted at that site through the years. And we know from those excavations that the ruins that have been uncovered provide substantial confirmation for the Biblical account of the episode that is described in chapter 6 of the book of Joshua. VK: Well then let’s go through some of the evidence that has been uncovered. For our listeners’ benefit we want you to know that there are a couple of very good articles on the Creation Ministries International website that deal with the archeological work that has been done at Jericho. But for this episode we have also used material from Dr. Gleason Archer’s book, The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, and the Archeological Study Bible. The Archeological Study Bible is a particularly helpful book for any Bible student that wants to explore the connection between the Bible and archeology. There are literally hundreds of articles, comments, maps, and pictures that demonstrate that the Bible is a book firmly set in place and time. And the fact that such a book can be produced for the Bible sets the Bible apart from all other ancient or modern books that claim to have divine inspiration. So, where do you want to start in talking about the evidence from archeology that supports the Biblical account? RD: Well, we can start with the fact that Jericho was strongly fortified. In fact excavations have shown that Jericho had two sets of walls. The mound of Jericho was surrounded by a great earthen embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base. The retaining wall was about 12–15 feet high. On top of the earthen embankment was a mudbrick wall that was six feet thick and over 20 feet high. That means the Israelites standing on the outside of this lower wall would have been staring up at a wall that was close to 40 feet high. VK: In other words the attacking Hebrews would have been facing a wall that was close to 4 stories tall. That would have been both imposing and discouraging. RD: Absolutely. And that was just the lower wall. At the top of the embankment was a similar mudbrick wall whose base was roughly 14 meters (46 feet) above the ground level outside the retaining wall. This is what loomed high above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for seven days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate the impregnable bastion of Jericho. VK: Archeologists estimate that within the upper walled section was an area of approximately six acres. Based on an archaeologist’s rule of thumb of approximately 200 persons per acre, the population of the upper city would have been about 1,200. Archeologists estimate that the total area within the walls of Jericho including the lower walled portion was about 9 acres. We also now know, from excavations carried out by a German team that people were also living on the embankment between the upper and lower city walls. And it is reasonable to believe that as the Israelite army was approaching Jericho that Canaanites living in surrounding villages would have fled to Jericho for safety. Thus, it’s quite likely that there were several thousand people inside the walls when the Israelites came against the city. RD: Right. So, one element of the Biblical story that is attested to by archeology is that Jericho was strongly fortified and could have held enough people to be militarily significant. A second element that the archeology has shown us is that it was small enough for the Israelite army to march around seven times in one day. The Israelites wouldn’t have marched around right next to the walls – that would have made them vulnerable to rocks or objects tossed off the walls. So, let’s assume they marched far enough away to have a reasonable margin of safety. The distance they marched in a single trip would have been in the range of 3,500 to 4,000 feet. There are 5,280 feet per mile so even if they marched around a 4,000 feet perimeter 7 times that’s a total distance of about 5 miles. Certainly for people who had been used to trekking through the desert for the last 40 years a 5 mile walk would not have worn them out. They would have had plenty of energy to attack the city with strength when the falls finally fell. VK: The archeological excavations at Jericho have also revealed that the city’s free-standing inner and outer mudbrick walls collapsed outward. This means they fell down the slope and piled up at the base of the mound. This is consistent with how the Bible describes the walls’ collapse. The Legacy Standard Bible put it this way in Joshua, chapter 6, verse 5. “And it will be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down beneath itself, and the people will go up every man straight ahead.” Once the walls collapsed, this allowed the invading Israelites to go straight up and into the city. This is consistent with what the Bible says in verse 20 of the same chapter. RD: A third element of the archeological evidence that supports the Bible account is that a one-meter-thick layer of ash and debris, including jars of burnt wheat, was found in many sections of the city. Joshua, chapter 6, verse 24 says “Then [the Israelites] burned the whole city and everything in it …” VK: And the fact that the jars were full of burnt wheat is consistent with the Bible’s report that the attack took place just after the harvest. Joshua, chapter 3, verse 15 says that the Hebrews crossed the Jordan River just before attacking Jericho in the harvest season. Moreover, the fact that there was grain in the charred jars is evidence that the siege of Jericho was a short one. According to the Bible’s description the siege lasted just 7 days. If it had been a long siege the people who had fled into the city would have eaten the grain in the jars. Also, the fact that the archeologists found grain in the jars was evidence that most of the Hebrews complied with the Lord’s instructions to not take plunder for themselves from the city. In Joshua, chapter 6, verses 18 and 19 Joshua had said to the Israelites: “keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.” Grain would have been a valuable commodity to an attacking army. An army certainly would have taken any food stores in the city with them under normal circumstances. The fact that the grain was left shows that whoever sacked the city and set fire to it is unusual but it is entirely consistent with the Bible’s account. RD: And let’s mention one final piece of evidence of what was found at Jericho which is consistent with the Bible. The Bible explicitly says that the harlot Rahab’s house was built into the city wall. Joshua, chapter 2, verse 15 says, “So [Rahab] let [the Hebrew spies] down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.” Well, as the archeologists were exploring the walls that had fallen they discovered a section of the lower city wall had not collapsed in the same way as the other parts of the walls. An article on the Creation Ministries website puts it this way: “The German excavation of 1907–1909 found that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else. A portion of that mudbrick wall was still standing to a height of over …eight feet). What is more, there were houses built against the wall! It is quite possible that this is where Rahab’s house was. Since the city wall formed the back wall of the houses, the spies could have readily escaped. From this location on the north side of the city it was only a short distance to the hills of the Judean wilderness where the spies hid for three days.” VK: So, the main point of all of this evidence that we are citing is that there is ample archeological evidence to support the reliability of the Bible’s account the Israelites captured the city of Jericho. But I think some people might ask the question, “why does it matter whether the story - as told in the Bible - is true?” Some people might say that even if the story was an embellished account what difference does it make? Or, does it even matter if the story is just an amazing legend that was used to inspire generations of Hebrew children. RD: And the short answer to those questions is that it makes all the difference in the world whether the story is true. Let’s step back for a second and remember that the Bible is a single book about a single plan and that its content was selected by a single mind – the mind of God. God had a purpose for everything He chose to have included in the Bible. There is a lot of history in the Bible, such as the history found in Joshua, but none of that history is there by accident. God wanted and wants His people to learn things from the history He chose to include. VK: So, what are some of the things God wants us to learn from the Hebrew encounter with Jericho? RD: Well, remember where this encounter occurs in the larger plan of redemptive history. The Hebrews were coming out of a 40-year period of wandering in the desert after they had left captivity in Egypt. But the group that was entering the Promised Land was not the same group that had left Egypt. Except for Joshua and Caleb all of the Hebrews who had left Egypt had died in the desert because they had rebelled against the Lord in one way or another. VK: Even Moses had died. God had not permitted Moses or his brother Aaron to enter the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy, chapter 32, verses 50 through 52 God said, “There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites … in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.” RD: Right. So, the group of Israelites that was entering the Promised Land, except for Joshua and Caleb was not the same group that had seen the miracles that God had performed in Egypt as part of delivering the Hebrews from bondage. This group might be wondering “how can we be sure that God is going to help us displace the Canaanites and enable us to take possession of the land?” Well, certainly be helping them to overcome the first major obstacle they encountered after crossing the Jordan was a powerful signal that though almost all of their previous leaders had died their God was still very much alive and in command. So, the miraculous conquest of Jericho was a dramatic signal to the Hebrews that as long as they were obedient to Him God was going to assure that they obtained the inheritance He had promised. VK: And the Hebrews experience at Jericho is still a valuable lesson for us. God had led the Hebrews to Jericho. They were in the center of His will as they were staring up at the walls. The fact that they were facing this huge obstacle as they were seeking to do His will wasn’t because they had done anything wrong – at least at that point. They were doing what God had commanded them to do. But that didn’t mean that they weren’t going to encounter obstacles and opposition. I think that’s a great lesson for us. Sometimes we are doing things that we feel led by God to do and just as soon as we start doing them we encounter opposition. That may make some people question whether God really wants them to do it. Obstacles in fulfillment of our purpose shouldn’t deter us or cause us to turn aside. RD: Right. Even if we are doing exactly what God wants us to do we can and should expect to encounter opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Overcoming opposition is a part of fulfilling God’s plans for our lives. And that is why it matters that the story of Joshua’s conquest is true. Humanly speaking Joshua and his soldiers may or may not have been able to ultimately breach Jericho’s walls. But they sure weren’t going to do it in a matter of days – more like months or maybe years. And in the meantime they would have had to worry about counterattacks from the surrounding Canaanite cities and tribes. It was vital for Joshua to keep the momentum going. But he couldn’t do that on his own. He needed God’s help. And because the story in Joshua chapter 6 is true then we can be confident he got the help he needed. And it gives us hope we can receive help from that same God when we need it. VK: But if the story of Joshua’s conquest of Jericho is just a legend why would that give us any hope. We might be able to learn lessons from stories – Jesus used parable to teach - but if we want real hope we need examples, real examples, of when our God came to the aid of His people. That’s one thing we get from the story of Jericho. But we only get that if the story is real history. RD: Right. The story of Joshua and Jericho tells us that we don’t have to be discouraged when we encounter obstacles in our lives of service to the Lord and others. The Lord knows of the obstacle long before we encounter it. And the story of Joshua and Jericho tells us that it doesn’t matter whether, from our viewpoint, the obstacle seems insurmountable. As Jesus said in Luke, chapter 18, verse 27, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Joshua learned this lesson at the very start of the actual conquest of the land. This must have increased his confidence in what was coming next. And there was going to be plenty of continuing opposition as they moved forward. But right up front Joshua and the people – and we – learned that obedience to God produced delivery from the world. As you said, that’s a lesson we still need today – especially as we face a culture that is increasingly trying to build walls to keep the church and the gospel out of their walled cities and away from the things they treasure. We are not conquerors but we are more than conquerors when we don’t depend on our own strength but on the Lord’s. VK: And that is why we all need to be fully persuaded that the Bible is true. And verifying for ourselves that the Bible’s history is accurate is one step in that process of persuasion. And knowing a little bit about archeology can help us with that process. Archeology may or may not interest us as a subject. But we must know enough to be able to intelligently rebut the world’s claim that the Bible is a book that gets a few things right but most things wrong. Our faith may or may not hang in the balance. But the faith of our children, families, and friends may. So, we must do our part to be able to defend their faith from the assaults that will inevitably come. Knowing a little bit about archeology can help with this greater goal. This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer for our friends. Most of us may not be called to be missionaries in far-away lands but we are all called to be missionaries to the people in our families and communities. ---- PRAYER FOR FRIENDS (JUNE) VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New Living Translation) Joshua, Chapter 6, verses 20 through 23, New Living Translation The walls of Jericho (creation.com) Jericho archaeology after Joshua (creation.com)
Episode 250 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 6 – Names We Know 2 Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: … [in] the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. … the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer …and all the other officials … of Babylon. . Jeremiah, Chapter 39, verses 1 through 3, New International Version ******** VK: Hello and welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. This is the 6th episode in our series on archeology and the Bible. At Anchored by Truth we think most people understand that archeology is generally relevant to the study of the Bible - but they have a limited understanding of what the relationship is. But if we take the Bible seriously – which we definitely do at Anchored by Truth - we all need to know a little bit about archeology. That’s because archeological explorations and finds have supplied an abundance of evidence that confirms that the history contained in the Bible is real history. That’s why we decided to do this series. Despite the fact that popular culture has tried to dismiss the long-standing relationship between the Bible and archeology the truth is that archeology as a whole has done much to provide evidence of the Bible’s trustworthiness. To help us continue to explore this topic, in the studio today we have RD Fierro. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books RD, throughout this series you have pointed out that despite the skepticism we often hear many scholars, including ones who aren’t Christian, have used the Bible as a source document when planning or conducting archeological explorations. In fact, the Bible’s history has regularly been shown to be accurate even when doubted, right? RD: Right. And during our most recent episodes of Anchored by Truth we have been covering specific examples of times secular history doubted what the Bible reported but archeology proved that the Bible’s report was right. Today we are going to continue in that same vein and provide another example of an archeological find that shows that the Bible not only gets the “big things” right but is also accurate in details that most people wouldn’t even consider are significant. VK: Well, perhaps we should start by briefly discussing one of the specific criticisms that is frequently hurled at the Bible – the idea that many of the books of the Bible weren’t actually written by the person whose name is associated with that particular book. This would include books like Daniel and Jeremiah but it extends to the first five books of the Bible which are historically attributed to Moses. RD: One of lines of evidence that the Bible is the inspired word of God is that the Bible contains a large body of fulfilled prophecy. We have provided a lot of examples of successful prophecies in many of our different series on Anchored by Truth. We have talked about the fact that the prophet Isaiah provided the name of the Persian king who would conquer the Babylonian Empire about 200 years before that happened in history. VK: For anyone who wants to verify that prophecy for themselves they can go chapters 44 and 45 of the book of Isaiah. For example, Isaiah, chapter 45, verses 1 through 3 say, “This is what the LORD says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again. This is what the LORD says: “I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.” RD: Yes. A simple internet search of the question “who conquered Babylon” will bring up the name “Cyrus” or, as he is often called, “Cyrus the Great.” Isaiah is the first of the so-called “Major Prophets” and prophesied from approximately the years 740 BC to about 700 BC. So, the latest his prophesy about a coming conquering king named Cyrus can be dated is 700 BC. But Babylon didn’t fall to Cyrus until 539 BC. So, Isaiah’s prophecy predates the fulfillment by 170 to 200 years. VK: And since that we can’t successfully predict who will win the next election, Super Bowl, or World Series, a successful prophesy given 200 years before the event is pretty compelling evidence of supernatural inspiration and insight. RD: Right. Another example of a successful prophesy given hundreds of years ahead of time is found in the book of Daniel, who is the last of the Major Prophets. In chapters 2, 7, and 8 of his book Daniel prophesied about a series of empires that would control what was, for the ancient Hebrews, the known world – essentially to us eastern Europe, north Africa, the Mideast, and western Asia. Daniel prophesied that a series of 4 empires would dominate that territory. We now know from history that those empires were the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greeks, and the Romans. Rome conquered Palestine and Jerusalem around 63 BC but Daniel had given his prophecy around 540 BC – almost 500 years earlier. VK: Again, none of us know what the price of gas will be next month much less next year. We don’t know what level the stock market will be at in a year and we can’t even be sure what the weather will be like two days from now. So, for a human, unaided by God, to successfully predict a major military and political event 500 years in the future is simply impossible. But what is impossible for people is possible for God. But it is possible only for God. That’s one of the big reasons we can be sure the Bible was inspired by God. God inspired His writers to record things hundreds of years before they would happen. And that then becomes strong evidence that while a human hand pushed a pen or stylus the information was coming straight from a divine Being. RD: Yes. These are just two examples of the hundreds that could be cited to illustrate that the Bible writers were given supernatural inspiration by God Almighty. And this evidence is so compelling that the critics of the Bible must find a way to discount the evidence. The most common way they do that is to assert that the books weren’t written when they were. To discredit the prophecy the critics must turn the prophecy into history. So, the critics will claim that the book of Daniel was not written in the 6th century BC but rather the 1st or 2nd century BC. And they claim that while portions of the book of Isaiah were written in the 8th century BC they claim that other parts were written much later such as the 5th or even 4th century BC. By doing so, they claim that rather than the books containing successfully fulfilled prophesies all the books were doing was presenting historical events as prophecy. VK: That calls to mind the medieval notion that it was possible to turn iron into gold. It was called alchemy. But, in this case, the critics want to turn the golden evidence of fulfilled prophecy into the common element of recent history – a sort of reverse alchemy. The critics can plainly see the implications of a book that contains prophecies given hundreds of years before the events prophesied. Human beings can’t do that. Only God could. So, to get rid of the evidence they turn the evidence into something else. Re-date the book and “poof” – prophesy becomes history. RD: Yes. So, that’s one of the most common forms of criticism that’s hurled against the Bible. The books of the Bible weren’t written when claimed. It’s a pernicious form of criticism because the critic doesn’t deny the content of the book – just claims the book doesn’t mean what we thing because it’s been “misdated.” VK: But one of the ways the Bible defends itself against such criticism is that it frequently contains language or details that wouldn’t have been used or known to a later writer. And that detail or language has now been confirmed by archeology. For instance, with respect to the false assertion that the book of Daniel was written in the 1st or 2nd century BC Biblical Scholar Dr. Gleason Archer in his Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties has written this: “… it seems that a second century date for the Hebrew chapters of Daniel is no longer tenable on linguistic grounds. In view of the markedly later development in the areas of syntax, word-order, morphology, vocabulary, spelling, and word-usage, there is absolutely no possibility of regarding Daniel as contemporary [with the sectarian documents][of the second century BC…] The complete absence of Greek loan-words apart from musical instruments … point unmistakably to a time of composition prior to the Alexandrian conquest.” RD: What Dr. Archer is saying is that, just as today, language changes through time. We know longer use phrases like “Daddy-O” or “23 skidoo” … VK: “23 skidoo” … really? RD: Really. “23 skidoo” was an American slang phrase that appeared early in the 20th century. It was often used to mean “I’m leaving quickly.” According to the Wikipedia entry “23 skidoo” was actually the conjoining of two earlier expressions, “‘twenty-three’ (1899) and ‘skidoo’ (1901), both of which, independently and separately, referred to leaving, being kicked out, or the end of something.” The point is that language changes through time. “23 skidoo” is slang from over 100 years ago. If someone sees it in a document we can have high confidence about roughly when that document might have been prepared. The same thing is true about ancient languages. They changed through time. In the case of the language used in the book of Daniel it does not resemble the language used by the Jews in the 1st or 2nd century BC. And we can have high confidence about that in large measure because of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. VK: The point is that the language of the book of Daniel defeats the critics’ attempts to date it at a time when its prophecy would have become history. And today we are going to cite an example where a name in the text of the book of Jeremiah defeats the critics’ attempt to turn its successful prophecies into history. Remember, our opening scripture came from the book of Jeremiah. RD: Exactly. So, let’s set the stage so we know what is going on – both in scripture and in history. VK: Jeremiah is the 2nd of the Major Prophets. Jeremiah wrote during a period starting in 626 BC and lasting until about 586 BC. He is sometimes called the “weeping prophet” because he had the sad task of warning the people in Judah and Jerusalem that they were going to be destroyed by the Babylonians because of their idolatry. Jeremiah did not want to see them destroyed but he faithfully reported that because the people would not give up their idolatry they were going to suffer. He made a number of famous prophecies. He not only prophesied that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed but he also prophesied that the captivity of the exiled Jews was going to last 70 years. RD: And he was proven accurate on both counts. Nebuchadnezzar, the most famous of the Babylonians kings, destroyed Jerusalem in 587 BC and sent most of the people into exile around Babylon. Only the poorest were permitted to remain in their homeland. Jeremiah was also right about how long the Jews would remain in exile. The first time Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem was 597 BC but before that Jerusalem had become a vassal state of Babylon. Many scholars date the start of the 70 years to 605 BC when Judah first swore allegiance to Babylon. Cyrus defeated Babylon in 539 BC but it took a little while before the exiled Jews were able to begin their return to their homeland. So, all told, the exile of the Jews in Babylon lasted about 70 years. VK: But a skeptic might say that these two prophecies were not really prophetic. Nebuchadnezzar began his control of Judah during Jeremiah’s lifetime and so the prophecy that Nebuchadnezzar would one day destroy Jerusalem might have just been an educated guess. Or a skeptic might assert that the writer of Jeremiah just wrote about the destruction of Jerusalem after it happened. While the book of Jeremiah does contain information about when various prophecies were given it’s not impossible that the writer might have deliberately misdated the material to appear prophetic even if it were not. RD: But, that would still leave a successful prophecy about the length of the period of exile. Chronologically, the book of Jeremiah ends right after the final destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. But Cyrus would not defeat Babylon for almost another 50 years. So, even if the critic asserts that the writer of Jeremiah was writing history when it came to the fall of Jerusalem the writer would have no way of knowing if or when that period of Babylonian captivity would end. VK: So, to get around that possibility the critic would say that a later editor of the book of Jeremiah just added that detail after the period of the exile ended. That, in fact, is a very common line of criticism with respect to many of the books in the Old Testament. Many critics assert that many books of the Old Testament, including the first 5 books, were not written until after the period of the Babylonian captivity and the Jews had returned to their homeland – sometime in the late 6th century BC or early to mid 5th century. The assertion is that the returned Jews were trying to create a sort of noble history for themselves because the whole nation was in such desperate condition. The critics assert that the returned Jews either just outright fabricated books such as Genesis at that time - or they took earlier works and just added a bunch of details to give them the appearance of supernatural inspiration. And one way they supposedly did that was to put prophecies in the books that were really historical events that had affected the Israelites. The idea is that by doing so the national or religious authorities could fool their population into believing their holy books contained prophecies that had been fulfilled. The general idea is that these pious fictions would have inspired the Jews, who were then in a pretty sad state at that time. RD: And that’s where today’s opening scripture becomes relevant. Our opening scripture includes the names of two Babylonian officials who were present at the time the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem. “Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim.” Nebo-Sarsekim is described as being “a chief officer.” VK: Ok. Let’s focus on what’s going on within the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah has been warning the people – probably for decades at this time – that if they don’t give up their idolatry they are going to be punished by being defeated militarily. And Jeremiah even tells them that their defeat will come at the hands of the Babylonians. But the people don’t listen and the defeat comes about. So, Jeremiah is now describing what was happening at the time that the Babylonians broke through the walls of Jerusalem. RD: Right. Now what is interesting, amazing even, about this passage from Jeremiah is that he has gone to the trouble of recording the names of Babylonian officials who weren’t the king or part of the royal family. Now it would not be unusual for a careful and honest historian to record the names of important people who present at a significant event – like the breaching of the walls of your capital city. But why would someone who was making up or editing a book to somehow give it the air of supernatural inspiration do that? VK: I suppose someone would say that adding the names of officials would increase the level of credibility to the account they were concocting. Good fiction writers always want to make their fiction believable. RD: Someone – a critic – trying to cast doubt on the book might say that. But let’s explore that idea for a second. Let’s suppose that a religious authority in Israel is trying to somehow add weight to a book that they are creating. So, to add that weight they start throwing in a bunch of details about a dramatic event. It makes little sense that one of the details they would throw in would be the names of a couple of people from the invading army who sat down in a city gate just after the invaders had breached the wall. But even if they did decide to throw in a couple of names how would a writer writing decades after the actual event know which names to toss in? Remember the idea we’re examining is whether it is reasonable to suppose that the book of Jeremiah was written decades after the events that it records – because that’s what it would take for a later writer to have made it seem like Jeremiah knew the length of the Babylonian captivity. VK: Or is just more reasonable to conclude that the book of Jeremiah was written by an eyewitness of the events recorded in the book. An eyewitness could easily know the names of high ranking officials who took part in the capture of the capital city. But details get lost in as time passes by. So, the likelihood that a later religious figure would know which lesser officials happened to be present when Jerusalem fell starts to strain credulity. Which possibility is more likely really comes down to whether the names recorded in Jeremiah are accurate. RD: And thanks to archeology we now have solid evidence that the writer of Jeremiah got the names right. A clay tablet that is in the British Museum contains a receipt issued by a high official of Nebuchadnezzar, who was the King of Babylon that conquered Jerusalem. This tablet is a receipt is for gold donated to a temple in Babylon. The full translation reads: “‘(Regarding) 1.5 minas (0.75 kg) of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni. Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.” The tablet is dated to the 10th year of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon (595 BC) or 8 years before the siege of Jerusalem. Many Biblical scholars have now realized that the name mentioned in the tablet is the same name as contained in Jeremiah, chapter 39. VK: And that’s pretty remarkable. As we’ve said frequently during this series one test for whether a historical record is accurate is whether the record gets the names and titles right. And it is one thing for a writer to get the big names right. But it is even better when the writer gets the names of lesser officials right. Everyone remembers Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. But how many people would know who was on their staff. How many would remember the people who were, in essence, just supporting actors. RD: Yet, over and over again, we find that from the Bible that the Bible writers get even the small details right. In this case the Bible describes Nebo-Sarsekim as being a “chief officer” of the king of Babylon. The tablet from the British museum tells us that Nebo-Sarsekim was the “chief eunuch.” That title doesn’t mean anything in our society but in that day the chief eunuch would have been a very important Babylonian official. It would take too much time today to describe why that was true but we can get some idea of his importance and wealth by noting that the tablet indicates he gave gold to the temple that was worth over $50,000 today. VK: And how many people today can afford to give away $50,000? It’s little wonder that someone kept a receipt of the donation. And by the grace of God we now have that receipt as additional evidence that the book of Jeremiah wasn’t written hundreds of years or even decades after the events it records. An eyewitness of the events could record details accurately. A writer at a far distant time wouldn’t have reason to include the names of lesser officials. By that time the relevance and value of such people would have faded into the distant past. RD: Right. The book of Jeremiah contains lessons that would have been important for the people of his day – and for us today. Jeremiah warned his people about the dangers of idolatry. An idol is anything we value more than God and lots of us have things that we value more than our relationship with God. Jeremiah was a genuine prophet of God and we can be sure of that because prophecies he passed along to his people came true. And today we’ve only mentioned a couple of those. There are a great many more that time precludes us from discussing in these brief episodes. At Anchored by Truth our purpose is to help people understand that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Archeological finds like the tablet we’ve talked about point to that fact. The history in the Bible is reliable and the Bible contains a large body of fulfilled prophecies. Human beings can write accurate history but only a supernatural God can provide knowledge to His people of events that won’t occur for decades or centuries. VK: And that is what we are illustrating in this episode and in this series. Archeological discoveries have repeatedly supported the history contained in the Bible. And that accurate history tells us that the Biblical authors were eyewitnesses to most of the history they record. So, the times indicated by their place in history tells us their prophecies were given far before their fulfillment. This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer that our children who are in school and many of them facing tests. Most of us have put such tests far behind us but it always appropriate for us to help the next generation as they walk the path behind us. It is also appropriate for us to ensure that just as we care about their formal education we also take care to pass along our faith in our Lord Christ Jesus. ---- PRAYER FOR TAKING A TEST (RANNI) VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New International Version) Jeremiah, Chapter 39, verses 1 through 3, New International Version New archaeological find affirms Old Testament historicity (creation.com)
Episode 249 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 5 – Names We Know Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: [Belshazzar] called in his advisors, who claimed they could talk with the spirits of the dead and understand the meanings found in the stars. [Belshazzar] told them, “The man who can read this writing … will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. Daniel, Chapter 5, verse 7, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K and I want to welcome you to Anchored by Truth. Anchored by Truth is brought to you by Crystal Sea Books because we have a passion for wanting everyone to reawaken to the life giving truth that is found only in the pages of the Bible. The Bible is the only book in the world that provides God’s special revelation to mankind and contains the good news of salvation that is available through Christ Jesus. Today we are going to continue our series that we are calling “Archeology and the Bible.” The Bible is a book that is firmly set in place and time. It contains a significant amount of history and, despite the doubts of some critics the history contained in the Bible is accurate and reliable. And one way the reliability of the Bible’s history has been demonstrated is through archeological finds and artifacts. So, to help us continue our discussion today in the studio we have RD Fierro, who is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, can you give us a brief summary of the points that we have made thus far in our “Archeology and the Bible” series? RD: Sure. But before I do that I would also like to say “hi” to everyone and welcome them to Anchored by Truth. As you mentioned our passion at Crystal Sea Books is to help people either connect or reconnect with the Bible as an essential part of their life. Until relatively recently, for hundreds of years in fact, people have recognized the Bible as being of immeasurable value for both life and success. President Theodore Roosevelt once said that “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” What Roosevelt recognized is that the Bible is a unique book. The Bible imparts not only knowledge but wisdom. VK: And that is a point that is often missing in our technologically obsessed culture. We have more facts and data at our fingerprints, literally in our pockets and purses, than any generation in history. Yet, as important as some of that information may be it does surprisingly little to contribute to wisdom. In fact, in some cases it seems like the more information we can command the less wisdom we choose to absorb. RD: Sadly, I agree with you. Our smart phones can tell us every address on the planet and how to get to them but they do precious little to helping us get the most important place in all of creation: heaven. VK: And what good would it do us to have visited every amazing site or attraction on earth if we don’t ensure that we are steadily on course for heaven as we travel this world’s highways and byways? RD: Exactly. As that quote from Teddy Roosevelt tells us the way we can be really smart with our “smart phones” is to use them to give us immediate access to the Bible. But no one is going to be motivated to read the Bible, whether it is on their phone, their computer, or on paper, if they aren’t convinced that the Bible has important things to say. And for them to be convinced of that they must believe the Bible is true. VK: I saw a yard sign the other day that said “Read banned books.” Ironically, the book most banned in today’s culture is the Bible. It’s not permitted in government run schools and it’s excluded from a lot of government buildings. At one time Bethesda Naval Hospital wanted to keep visitors from bringing Bibles into the hospital as part of comforting wounded soldiers. A lot of social service programs are prohibited from mentioning the Bible as part of treating people with substance abuse or mental health problems. I doubt the person who had the sign in their yard realizes that in putting that sign up they are actually encouraging Bible readership. RD: Right. But as an old boss of mine used to say, “it’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” So, the candle we want to light is simply the one that stands in front of an open Bible. And that’s the reason we wanted to take a few episodes of Anchored by Truth and talk about archeology. There have been a great many archeological finds that have confirmed the accuracy of the history contained in the Bible even when that history had been doubted by the secular world. And we’ve covered a number of specific examples in the first four episodes of this series. Today we want to provide a couple more examples of instances where secular historians doubted names contained in the Bible but those names have now been confirmed. VK: In our last episode we talked about the fact that when a historian gets names and titles right it increases our confidence that the historian is reporting history accurately. And in our last episode we showed that the Bible not only gets the names and titles of major historical figures right, but is also accurate with less prominent people and government officials. We are going to continue that theme today. Where do you want to start? RD: Let’s take a look at one of the best known stories in the Bible – the handwriting on the wall. Even though the story is well known most people know very little about the principle human player in the story – Belshazzar. VK: We heard about Belshazzar [BELL-SHAZ-ZAR] in our opening scripture. He was a Babylonian ruler who was reigning in Babylon at the time the Babylonians fell to the combined army of the Medes and the Persians who were being led by the Persian king, Cyrus. This story is found in the book of Daniel chapter 5. Belshazzar was hosting a banquet for nobles and royal officials and all of them were getting drunk. At one point in the festivities the king ordered his servants to bring out the sacred vessels that had been brought to Babylon when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem. The Babylonians took all the gold and silver serving cups and vessels from the temple and carried them back to Babylon. There they put them in the royal treasury. On this occasion the king appears to have wanted to remind everyone of the glorious history of the Babylonian Empire so he commanded the vessels to be brought out for use in their drunken revel. RD: Yes. So, most people know the next part of the story. As Belshazzar and the Babylonians are committing sacrilege with the temple treasures a giant man’s hand appears in their midst and begins writing on the wall. The hand writes four words but no one knows how to interpret them. So, Belshazzar announces that if they can find anyone who can read the words and interpret them, Belshazzar will make that person the 3rd most important person in the Empire. It’s very important to note that Belshazzar didn’t offer to make them the 2nd most important person in the Empire but the 3rd most important. VK: That is a strange detail. Why make someone the 3rd most important person in a kingdom? That just seems like a very strange way to offer a reward. RD: And from archeology we now know why Belshazzar framed his offer that way. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For many years secular historians thought that this story from the book of Daniel got the name of the king wrong and therefore that the story was just fictional. That’s because it was well known from history that the last king of Babylon, before they were conquered, was Nabonidus. Historians were somewhat uncertain as to how Nabonidus ascended to the throne of Babylon. He wasn’t in the lineage of the Babylonian royal family. He seems to have some kind of a prominent career before he became king and many scholars believe he had married a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar who is the most famous Babylonian king and is prominently featured in the early part of the book of Daniel. One thing that does seem to be clear is that Nabonidus’ elevation to being the king was as a big a surprise to him as it was to others. Notwithstanding his unlikely ascension to the throne Nabonidus was well known enough to have history remember his name. The same thing was not true for his son Belshazzar. Secular history forgot about Belshazzar for centuries but the Bible never did. VK: And for anyone who hasn’t read the book of Daniel, or read it in a while, we’d recommend picking it up tonight. Daniel is the 4th of the Major Prophets but also the shortest. The entire book is only 12 chapters and the book is easy to read. The first 6 chapters are history and contain some of the best known stories in the Bible like Daniel in the lion’s den, the 3 Hebrews thrown in the fiery furnace, and the handwriting on the wall. The last 6 chapters are all prophetic and they contain an unparalleled demonstration that Daniel was given accurate prophetic information about events hundreds of years into the future. You think Daniel is one of the most important books of the Old Testament, don’t you? RD: I do. All the books of the Bible are important, but not all books are equally consumable by modern readers. And while I hate to start ranking books of the Bible I would highly recommend that everyone become very familiar with the books of Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel from the Old Testament. Naturally, they should read the entire Old Testament, but if anyone hasn’t spent much time with the Old Testament I’d suggest they really become familiar with those books. VK: But let’s get back to Belshazzar and archeology. RD: Yes, let’s. So, until the 19th century so far as secular history was concerned Belshazzar didn’t exist. But in 1854, four clay cylinders with identical inscriptions were excavated from the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. These clay cylinders were subsequently named the Nabonidus Cylinders. These Nabonidus Cylinders contained Nabonidus’ prayer to the moon god for “Belshazzar, the eldest son—my offspring.” Thus, in 1854 Belshazzar’s existence was confirmed—as Nabonidus’ firstborn son and heir to his throne. VK: But the confirmation of the Biblical account didn’t end there did it? RD: Nope. In 1882, a translation of another ancient cuneiform text, the Nabonidus Chronicle, was published. We learned from the Nabonidus Chronicle that Nabonidus was a mostly absentee king. He spent 10 years of his 17-year reign living in Tema, Arabia which was 450 miles away from Babylon. The king left Belshazzar in charge during his frequent absences from Babylon. And we know that Nabonidus was accustomed to putting Belshazzar in charge of Babylon during his absence. There’s a Persian account of Nabonidus, published in 1924, that stated that, as “he started out for a long journey”, Nabonidus “entrusted the kingship” to “his oldest (son), the firstborn.” Furthermore, there are other ancient cuneiform texts found in the early 1900s which also mention Belshazzar, including a tablet from Erech in which both he and his father were jointly invoked in an oath, suggesting they both had royal authority. So, Belshazzar was used to functioning in the role of a king for years while his father was away. Not only do the Nabonidus Chronicles refer to Belshazzar as “the crown prince” they also explain that Nabonidus was away from Babylon when it fell. Two days before the handwriting appeared on the wall Nabonidus had fled from the Persians when they defeated him at Sippar. The engagement is sometimes called the battle of Opis. So, Belshazzar was the highest authority in Babylon at the time of Babylon’s capture just as Chapter 5 of Daniel describes. VK: That detail about the war between the Babylonians and the Medes and Persians isn’t in the Bible but it does help us to better understand the events of Chapter 5 of Daniel, doesn’t it? Belshazzar’s father had just suffered a major defeat and he undoubtedly knew that Cyrus was headed for Babylon itself. The walls of Babylon were considered to be impregnable so he wouldn’t have thought the city was in real danger. While ancient estimates vary, the walls of Babylon were probably at least 25 feet thick and possibly as much as 80 feet thick. Some ancient reporters said you could drive 2 chariot teams abreast across the top of the walls. Belshazzar’s father probably thought Cyrus would just exhaust himself trying to get past the walls. So, he moved off to a safe distance to recover and rebuild his army. But Babylon wasn’t safe because the almighty God had previously told the Babylonians he would bring about their defeat. And that message was again given to the Babylonians because that’s what the handwriting on the wall said - even though the king and his guests were initially confused about the writing. RD: And the confusion may have been because the language the words were written a language the king and his guests couldn’t read. Some scholars believe the words were not written in Aramaic script but in a non-human script that Daniel was given a special ability to read. But, many scholars believe that the words were most likely written in Aramaic because that was the language used for official Babylonian purposes. But it’s possible that the words, even if they were written in Aramaic, were written without vowels or word separations. If so all the king and the audience might have seen was a string of consonants and they didn’t know how to separate the string into the individual words. At any rate the king didn’t have to wonder too long because once Daniel arrived he immediately read the message. The New Living Translation puts verse 25 of Chapter 5 of Daniel this way, “This is the message that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel , and Parsin.” In their ordinary use these words are all monetary weights. VK: But, that word string still might not have made much sense to the king. The God’s Word Translation puts verse 25 of Daniel, Chapter 5 this way: “This is what has been written: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided.” So, even from that translation we can see it was strange message. Even if the king and the guests could read the words it’s no wonder they were confused about what it meant. RD: But, once again, the king didn’t have to wonder too long because in addition to reading the words Daniel also told the king what the words meant. VK: The God’s Word Translation says verses 26 through 28 say, “This is its meaning: Numbered-God has numbered the days of your kingdom and will bring it to an end. Weighed-you have been weighed on a scale and found to be too light. Divided-your kingdom will be divided and given to the Medes and Persians." So, the basic message to Belshazzar and his drunken friends was clear. Your time as rulers of your world is over. But there is no way his father could have known this as he was retreating to lick his wounds. His father probably thought the City of Babylon was safe because it always had been. RD: Probably. So, the situation as described in chapter 5 of Daniel makes sense based on what we now know from the Bible and other historical sources. Belshazzar’s father, Nabonidus, had suffered a major defeat at the hands of Cyrus at Sippar. The Babylonian nobles who weren’t with Nabonidus fled into Babylon thinking they were safe behind its impenetrable walls. They were all stressed out at because they knew about the loss to the Persians. So, to relieve their stress Belshazzar decides to have a party and everyone there gets drunk. VK: So, Belshazzar’s father is off recovering. Belshazzar and the Babylonian elites want to forget their troubles by getting drunk. And in the midst of their drunken revelry Belshazzar decides to remind everyone of their former victories by having the servants bring out the temple vessels from the conquest of Jerusalem. Everything looked great – right up until the moment the giant hand appears and tells them the party is over. And it was. History records that the fall of Babylon was sudden and dramatic. Many historians believe that what the Persians did to get past the impregnable walls was to divert the flow of the Euphrates River which ran under the walls and supplied Babylon with water even if a siege was taking place. RD: The Greek historian Xenophon gave an account of the fall of Babylon which also contains many of the elements that are found in the Biblical account. Xenophon says that the attacking Persians found that when the entered the city there was revelry taking place everywhere – so much so that the noise of the attackers was just mixed in with the noise that was already coming from the big party. Xenophon also tells us that the attacking Persians were able to overcome the defenders because they didn’t realize they were under attack until the Persian attack was well underway. And he adds that in all the confusion some of the attacking soldiers were able to get into the palace and kill the king – who from the Biblical account we know was Belshazzar, not his father, Nabonidus. VK: And the fact that the kingly figure who was present in Babylon when the Persians conquered the city was Belshazzar explains that peculiar detail we pointed out earlier. Belshazzar served as king in his father’s absence but Belshazzar was not the king. He was not number one in the kingdom. He was number two. So, when he wanted to offer a reward to someone who could read the handwriting on the wall he couldn’t offer to make that person the number two person in the kingdom. He could only offer to make them number three – which is what he did offer. And the Bible faithfully captured this seemingly odd detail. And as we’ve pointed out, it’s one thing for a historical record to get the big things right. But it’s even more impressive when even the fine details are proven to be accurate. RD: And, over and over again, we find that from the Bible. In this instance, of the handwriting on the wall, the Bible has the big things right. The Persians did suddenly and completely overwhelm the Babylonian defenses. Even the Greek historians recorded that. One reason the Persians were able to do that was frankly because most of the people who should have been defending the city or leading the city’s defense were drunk and incapacitated. Xenophon and the Bible agree on that. And the Babylonian Empire ceased to exist when Babylon fell and the empire was just absorbed into the Medo-Persian Empire which would last for the next 250 years. Those were the big parts of the story. But the Bible story preserved two key smaller parts of the story that were lost to secular history until the archeological finds of the 19th century. VK: Secular history forgot that it was Belshazzar who was killed that night. And, of course, secular history did not record that as Belshazzar was trying to comprehend a miraculous message the best thing he could offer was the third position in the kingdom. RD: Just for a second let’s think back to the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph was able to interpret a dream for the Pharaoh who was ruling Egypt. In response Pharaoh was able to make Joseph the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt. He could do that because Pharaoh was the most powerful man. Pharaoh was number 1. So, he could make Joseph number 2 and he did. Belshazzar was already the 2nd most powerful man in Babylon. So, he could only offer the reward of making someone the 3rd most powerful person. The fact that the story of the handwriting on the wall preserves this seemingly coincidental detail is not only fascinating but it also helps confirm when the book of Daniel was written. VK: How is that? RD: Critics of the book of Daniel like to assert that Daniel was not written in the 6th century BC because that would mean Daniel contains undeniably accurate prophecy. And that would prove it was divinely inspired. That’s something the critics have to prevent. So, they assert Daniel was written in the 1st or 2nd century BC when many of the events Daniel prophesied had already occurred. That way Daniel would have been writing history not prophecy. But, as we have been discussing, in the 1st or 2nd century BC Israel, Egypt, and the Mideast had been under the dominion of the Greeks for 200 years. And by that time there is no way a Hebrew writer would have preserved a detail so insignificant as Belshazzar only offering the 3rd position in the empire as a reward. Someone writing a pious fraud, even if they had known the details of the Babylonian system of governance would have had no use for that detail in their story. To tell the tale of God’s judgment on the Babylonians by means of the Medes and Persians the fiction writer would have gained little to nothing for their narrative by inserting a detail in their story that would only have cast doubt on the story. Think back to the story of Joseph. A fiction writer would have gained more credit for their fiction if they had made Daniel a parallel figure to Joseph than inserting a detail that would have only confused their readers. But a writer writing contemporaneously with the events and writing an accurate history would get the details right. VK: And that is what we wanted to point out in this episode and in this series. Archeological discoveries have repeatedly supported the history contained in the Bible. There are times when secular history loses details, events, kings, and even cities that the Bible preserves. But as archeologists have spent time in the territory described by the Bible quite often records or artifacts come to light that confirm the Bible’s accounts. When that happens we find out the Bible had it right the whole time. Well, This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer that our communities and nations would repent of our departure from the worship of the One True God. The Babylonians would have been far better off to confess their sins to the One True God than mocking Him by drinking from vessels stolen from His temple. They paid a high price for their lack of repentance. Let’s not repeat their mistake. ---- PRAYER OF CORPORATE CONFESSION (MARCUS) VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the Contemporary English Version) Daniel, Chapter 5, verse 7, Contemporary English Version Archaeology Belshazzar (creation.com) Daniel 5 Barnes' Notes (biblehub.com)
Episode 248 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 4 – Amazing Accuracy Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 2 Kings, Chapter 18, verse 28, English Standard Version ******** VK: Hello! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. Today we’re moving on in the series we began a few episodes ago called “Archeology and the Bible.” Archeology as a science can be very helpful to show an unbelieving world that that the Bible is true. The Bible is a book that is firmly set in place and time. It contains a large body of history and, despite the doubts of some, the history contained in the Bible has been shown repeatedly to be reliable. And one way the reliability of the Bible’s history has been demonstrated is through archeological finds and artifacts. So, to help us continue our discussion today in the studio we have RD Fierro, who is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, one of the big points that we are trying to make in this that archeological finds can be a valuable source of support for the accuracy of the history that the Bible reports. Can you give us an example of that? RD: Absolutely. But before I do that I would also like to say “hi” to everyone and welcome them to Anchored by Truth. So, here is a quick example that will lead us into today's discussion. Most people who have read the Bible know that the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles are historical books. They describe the history of the nation of Israel after the period of the judges ended. VK: As a quick refresher just about everybody knows that at one time the Hebrews lived in Egypt for a period of hundreds of years. Then around 1445 BC, plus or minus a few years, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. After a period of 40 years of wandering in the desert the Hebrews finally entered Palestine and displaced many of the Canaanites who had been living there. Well, for the first 400 or so years after they entered Palestine the Hebrews lived a loose confederation of tribal states under a succession of judges. And the book of Judges in the Bible describes this time period. But around 1100 BC Saul was anointed king and the Hebrews lived in a monarchial system for the next 500 years or so. Under Saul, David, and David’s son, Solomon, Israel had a united kingdom. But after Solomon died the kingdom split into the northern and southern kingdoms. The northern kingdom was called Israel and the southern kingdom was called Judah. RD: Yes. Well, chapter 17 of the book of 1 Samuel describes the epic encounter between David and Goliath. The encounter took place in the Valley of Elah which is very near the boundary between the Philistines and Israel. Today there is a site called Khirbet Qeiyafa which is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Elah Valley of Israel. It’s about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem and 7 miles from Goliath’s hometown of Gath. Since 2007, excavations by Yosef Garfinkel of The Hebrew University and Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority, have uncovered a large number of artifacts at Qeiyafa. One of the artifacts they found was a jar with the name “Eshbaal” on it. Eshbaal was one of the sons of Saul. 1 Chronicles 8:33 says “Ner became the father of Kish; and Kish became the father of Saul; and Saul became the father of Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.” VK: And what is interesting is that Garfinkel has dated the find to about the time that Saul would have been the king. But you’re not asserting that this jar actually belonged to Saul’s son, are you? RD: No. But what the find does point out is that the name “Eshbaal” was in use around that time. Furthermore, Garfinkel thinks it likely that the evidence at this site is indicative of a stronger government and nation at that point in Israel’s history than has been commonly thought. Part of the reason they think this is because the excavators at the site found out that the city at the site had two gates. According to an article on PatternsofEvidence.com “This has caused them to propose that the site was biblical Shaaraim, which means “two gates” in Hebrew and this settlement/fortress is also mentioned as being near the site of the David vs. Goliath confrontation in the Bible’s account.” The English Standard Version of 1 Samuel 17:52 says this “And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.” We’ll put a link to the article in the notes that accompany the podcast version of this episode. VK: So, these archeological finds are entirely consistent with the Biblical record of the encounter between David and Goliath and they are consistent with the timing and location of the encounter. As we’ve said before, this does not rise to the level of conclusive proof but it does mean that there is evidence that what the Bible says about the confrontation between the Philistines and the Hebrews, and the fight between David and Goliath, has significant historical support. RD: Right. And that’s a good lead into what I wanted to talk about today. Names and titles tend to change through times and they vary from nation to nation and culture to culture. So, if we find out that a writer uses names and titles correctly, that their use is consistent with the time, place, and surroundings, we can have confidence that the writer has been accurate in their reporting. VK: For instance at one time Elsie was a very common woman’s name in America and Horatio was a common men’s name. Horatio Alger was one of the best known authors of the late 19th century. But you never hear of parents naming their children “Elsie” or “Horatio” today. So, if you see those names you can be pretty sure they weren’t born in the late 20th century or early 21st century. Same thing is true with titles. In England the highest governmental executive officer is called the “Prime Minister.” In American the title “President” is used. So, if a writer were to write an account and call an American office holder the “Prime Minister” we could be reasonably sure that some, if not most, of their account was inaccurate. In ancient Egypt the ruler was called “Pharaoh.” In Rome before Julius Caesar came to power the leaders of the Roman government were called “counsels.” After Julius Caesar made himself dictator most of the men who succeeded him also went by the title Caesar. We could date the reign of Roman rulers at least somewhat by what title applied. Names and titles tend to be location, time, and culturally dependent. RD: Right. So, let’s take a look at a specific example of a Biblical account that gets even obscure titles right. In 701 BC the southern kingdom of Judah was threatened by the Assyrian Empire under their king named Sennacherib. Sennacherib is a name found in 3 books of the Bible: 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah. Sennacherib began to reign 710 BC and even though he only reigned a few years he was prominent in the Bible because of his threats to Judah. VK: Hezekiah who was the king of Judah at the time had freed Judah from the Assyrians. As a consequence Sennacherib marched an army against him, and took all the strong cities of Judah except Jerusalem. Hezekiah, realized the predicament he was in and sent ambassadors with tribute to Sennacherib [SIN-AT-CHUR-RIB], who at the time was besieging and destroying another city in Judah. Sennacherib accepted his tribute, but refused to depart, and he sent some of his senior officials with an insulting message to Jerusalem. Hezekiah then prayed to the Lord, who sent a destroying angel against the Assyrian army, and killed a 185,000 of the Assyrians in one night. Sennacherib then retreated to his capital city of Nineveh. But two or three years after his return from Jerusalem he was murdered by two of his sons. RD: Right. All of that history is contained in the Bible. But the Bible’s account has been confirmed by records that were found in the ruins of Nineveh. The ruins of Nineveh are in a mound called Kouyunijik, which is outside the current city of Mosul, Iraq. The mound has been explored and excavated and the excavation has uncovered the remains of a huge palace of the type that would have been built by a powerful king. Inside the palace are huge stone tablets which formed the walls of its various apartments. These tablets are covered with bas-reliefs and inscriptions and while they have suffered over time some large portions remain intact. The fragments that remain are very important. One series of tablets recounts the Sennacherib exploits, who calls himself "the subduer of kings from the upper sea of the setting sun to the lower sea of the rising sun." In our language that would be from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. VK: For those of us who are interested in the Bible the most important of these mural pages recount the history of Sennacherib’s war against Syria and the Jews, in the third year of his reign. In his campaign region he fought with an Egyptian army, sent to help King Hezekiah. Sennacherib defeated the Egyptians and conquered a number of cities in Judah. One inscription on a tablet says "Hezekiah king of Judah, who had not submitted to my authority, forty-six of his principal cities, and fortresses and villages dependent upon them, of which I took no account, I captured, and carried away their spoil. The fortified towns, and the rest of his towns which I spoiled, I severed from his country, and gave to the kings of Askelon, Ekron, and Gaza, so as to make his country small. In addition to the former tribute imposed upon their countries, I added a tribute the nature of which I fixed." RD: Now it’s importance to note that in this boast Sennacherib does not claim to have conquered Jerusalem itself. He claims to have carried away Hezekiah's family, servants, and treasures, with a tribute of thirty talents of gold and eight hundred talents of silver. The amount of gold Sennacherib mentions is the same reported in the Bible narrative. The amount of silver claimed by Sennacherib differs from the amount in scripture. Scripture just mentions three hundred talents of silver. So, it is possible that Hezekiah gave Sennacherib 300 talents of silver because that was all the silver money he had. The five hundred additional talents claimed in the Ninevite record may include the temple and palace treasures that Hezekiah gave when he tried to buy Sennacherib off. VK: The Bible describes these events this way, “In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: ‘I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.’ The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace. At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria.” That’s 2 Kings, chapter 18, verses 13 through 16 from the New International Version. You know it’s interesting that the Bible doesn’t record Hezekiah seeking help from the Lord until Jerusalem itself was threatened. RD: That is interesting and I think it points out something important. From archeological records and artifacts we can learn much of what happened in history. But it’s only from the Bible that we can see the interactions between God and his people. Of course it’s important to have confidence that the history in the Bible is accurate but it’s more important to know what God wants us to learn from that history. Hezekiah and Judah endured a lot of loss before Hezekiah finally sent some of his court officials to the prophet Isaiah to ask the Lord for help. VK: 2 Kings, chapter 19 verses 5 through 7 say, “When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.” Then in verses 32 and 33 the Lord tells Hezekiah through Isaiah “He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city …” Those quotes are from the New International Version. RD: This is a great lesson for us all. At one point the southern nation of Judah was subject to the dominion of the Assyrian Empire. Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, had put them in that position because Ahaz had asked the Assyrians to help him against a confederation that was composed of the kings of the northern nation, Israel and one of the neighboring states, Aram. The Bible tells us that Ahaz was a wicked, ungodly king. Ahaz was so wicked he even practiced child sacrifice. So, rather than seeking help from the Lord, Ahaz looked to the wicked pagan power of Assyria for help for Judah. He got the help but it made Judah subject to Assyria. VK: But unlike his wicked father the Bible tells us that Hezekiah was a righteous king. Hezekiah led a reformation within Judah and eventually Hezekiah was able to achieve a measure of independence for Judah. The Bible tells us that for 14 years of Hezekiah’s reign the Assyrians did not attack. But then this new Assyrian king, Sennacherib, ascended the throne and he appears to have resented the fact that Judah had broken away. So, he attacked Judah. And despite that fact that Hezekiah was a very good king he apparently did not seek the Lord’s help until the Assyrian campaign had progressed quite a bit. RD: And that may be because in the years after he assumed the throne and before the Assyrians attacked Hezekiah appears to have formed a relationship or an alliance with Egypt and Ethiopia. Hezekiah may have been counting on his earthly alliances more than his heavenly father. Again, this is a lesson for us. As it’s sometimes put, we need to make “prayer our first response and not our last resort.” In Hezekiah’s case he appears to have made an appeal to the Lord his last resort because he didn’t send his officials to Isaiah until Sennacherib had conquered much of Judah and was threatening Jerusalem. VK: I think a lot of us are like that – even many Christians. We think God is there or at least we hope He is. But when troubles come our way we almost behave as if He isn’t. We try to handle our problems using our own resources, strength, and plans. All too often we don’t immediately go to prayer and start petitioning the Lord for Him to intercede. And, all too often we certainly have been consulting with the Lord before we got into trouble to ask him what we should be doing that might have kept us out of trouble to begin with. RD: And part of the reason we permit this to happen is because we haven’t studied the Bible to see how God has dealt with His people throughout history. This is a serious weakness in the faith of the modern church. We attempt to build our faith on what we think the Bible says and not on what it actually does say. But I am persuaded that a large part of the reason we treat our faith this way is because too many Christians really aren’t persuaded that the Bible is the inspired word of God. At least that what the surveys tell us. VK: Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Books collaborate every two years and do surveys to determine what they call the “state of theology.” One of the statements they test is: “The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.” In 2014 only 41% of adult Americans agreed with this statement. In 2022 53% of adults agreed with the statement. That’s an alarming trend. RD: Less than half of adult Americans think that the Bible is literally true. I don’t know for sure but I suspect when I was a kid in the 1960’s the percentage would have been in the 70’s or even 80%. And part of the reason the percentage of adult Americans who believe the Bible is literally true is because the Bible has been under an unrelenting assault. That’s why seemingly arcane details about archeology are important. These details help us to assure ourselves, first and foremost, that the Bible is true and then they help us to convey that to others. We won’t rely on our faith if we’re not confident in our faith. And we’re not going to be confident in our faith if we don’t have assurance that the written source of our faith, the Bible, is true. An assured faith is a faith that will turn to God in trouble and frankly will please that God more than a faith that is built on 2nd hand knowledge. So let’s go to one final example today of how the Bible has been validated by archeology. VK: We heard in our opening scripture that it was not the king of Assyria that spoke directly to the residents of Jerusalem in making his threats, but one of his designated officials. And as we mentioned at the start of our episode getting the names and titles right when reporting history gives us confidence the writer was reporting things accurately. Well, archaeology has validated the biblical terms used for the Assyrian officials who confronted Hezekiah. RD: Right. From the Judean city of Lachish, Sennacherib sent some of his high-ranking men, together with a delegation of his army, to Jerusalem. They presented a message to Hezekiah as a means of intimidation. Three Assyrian officers who brought Sennacherib’s message are listed: “the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh” That’s 2 Kings 18:17. Up until the ruins of Nineveh were explored these titles were obscure and puzzling to Bible commentators. But all three terms have since been found in ancient Assyrian records. The Assyrian records mentions the Tartan—the senior military commander who ranked next to the king. They also mention the slightly lower-ranked Rabshakeh, which means ‘chief of princes’. The Rab-saris, another of the king’s close officials (possibly chief eunuch), is mentioned in a small contract document. VK: And while we don’t know everything about the exact duties performed by these officers, the preservation of their titles is one of many examples where the details in Scripture, though otherwise lost from secular history, have been verified by archaeological discoveries. RD: Right. And let’s remember from the opening scripture we heard that the chief spokesman for the Assyrians when they threatened Jerusalem was the Rabshakeh, a slightly lower officer – not the military commander. This is very similar to what we see in today’s governments where announcements are usually made by designated spokesman, not the actual leader. Think about the press briefings that are conducted in the White House or Pentagon. VK: And it is interesting to hear that the spokesman for the Assyrians was like a lot of political spokesmen today. He didn’t just confine himself to asking the Hebrews to surrender. Instead he can’t help but do some boasting. He actually said: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. … And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?’” That’s 2 Kings, chapter 18, selected verses from 28 through 33. But the Lord did deliver Jerusalem from the hands of the Assyrians. They made a big mistake when they exhibited disdain for the almighty God. They treated the almighty, everlasting God as if he were just one of the other gods – who were not gods at all but just idols made by human hands. That was not smart. And just as Isaiah had prophesied Sennacherib never conquered Jerusalem and was murdered a short while later. RD: Right. Sennacherib and the Assyrians were like all people who oppose the Lord. They enjoy some earthly success for a while but they are long term losers. Less than a hundred years later the Assyrians were conquered by the Babylonians - and as we have discussed – disappeared so completely that for 2,000 years nobody even new where Nineveh (their capital) once stood. But Hezekiah and the people who trusted in the Lord survived. So, the details of this encounter show the precision and reliability of the Biblical record. You know it’s one thing for records to be able to get the “big” names and titles right. People remember the names of famous kings or queens or the titles of rulers. But it’s another thing when the writers get the titles of lesser officials right. That demonstrates an attention to detail and a concern for accuracy. But that’s what we see in the Bible. And it’s why the assertions that the Bible is not true, filled with myth and fairy tales, or was written hundreds of years after the events that it records are so easily shown to be wrong. VK: And that is what we wanted to point out in this episode and in this series. Archeological discoveries have repeatedly supported the history contained in the Bible. And when they supposedly don’t – when purportedly a discovery shows how the Bible is wrong - we need to stop and think. As we discussed in a previous episode in this series we need to examine the worldview and axioms of the group making the discovery and they need to research and consider the Biblical alternative. All archeologists look at evidence in present and try to determine what it says about the past. Often later discoveries will result an initial opinion being revised. Quite often when that happens we find out the Bible had it right the whole time. Well, This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer that our communities and nations would repent of our departure from the worship of the One True God. The God that saved Hezekiah and the Hebrews from the Assyrians still rules today and He will still help all those who turn in trust to Him. ---- PRAYER FOR RESTORATION OF THE WORSHIP OF THE ONE TRUE GOD VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the English Standard Version and New International Version) 2 Kings, Chapter 18, verse 28, English Standard Version David Battles Goliath: Is There Evidence That David Won (patternsofevidence.com) When God rescued King Hezekiah, part 2 (creation.com) Topical Bible: Sennacherib (biblehub.com)
Episode 247 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 3 – Archeological Axioms Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: Noah was 600 years old when he went into the boat to escape the flood, and he did everything the LORD had told him to do. His wife, his sons, and his daughters-in-law all went inside with him. Genesis, Chapter 7, verses 5 through 7, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: Hello! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. Today we’re going to be doing the third episode in a new series that we are calling “Archeology and the Bible.” Some scholars estimate that there are over 4,000 different religions in the world. With that many religions out there it’s reasonable to ask whether we can be sure which of those religions, if any, is true. The good news is that we can reasonably differentiate among the competing truth claims made by the various religions using logic, reason, and evidence. And one source of evidence that demonstrates that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God is archeology. Archeology helps us to show an unbelieving world that that the Bible contains a large body of reliable history. So, to help us continue our discussion today in the studio we have RD Fierro, who is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, one of the big points that we are trying to make in this that archeological finds can be a valuable source of support for the accuracy of the history that the Bible reports. In fact, the Bible’s history has been shown to be accurate even when doubted by secular historians and we talked about that in our last episode of Anchored by Truth, right? RD: Right. But before I get to a reminder of what we discussed last time I would also like to say “hi” to everyone and welcome them to Anchored by Truth. At Anchored by Truth we often say that there are four lines of evidence, at a minimum, that will help people understand that the Bible may be differentiated from all other books that claim to be the word of God. Those four lines of evidence are reliable history, remarkable unity, fulfilled prophecies, and redeemed destinies. And one way we can show that the Bible’s historical reports are accurate is through archeological finds. And there have been some pretty graphic examples of the Bible getting history right even when skeptics for centuries dismissed the Bible’s report. A case in point is the Bible’s report on the existence of the ancient kingdom of Assyria and its famous capital city, Nineveh. Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire literally disappeared beneath the sands of time in the 6th century BC and for over 2,000 years physical evidence of the once-mighty empire was missing. VK: Nineveh disappeared so completely that a Greek writer, Lucian of Samosata ([who lived from] A.D. 120-180), once lamented: "Nineveh has perished. No trace of it remains. No one can say where once it existed" ... This lack of visible evidence caused many scholars and historians as late as the 19th century to doubt that the Assyrian Empire even existed, much less was once the dominant military power on earth. RD: Yes. But then all that changed. The online Encyclopedia Britannica has this to say about the rediscovery of Nineveh. “The first person to survey and map Nineveh was the archaeologist Claudius J. Rich in 1820, a work later completed by Felix Jones and published by him in 1854. … Sir Henry Layard during 1845–51 discovered the palace of Sennacherib and took back to England an unrivalled collection of stone bas-reliefs together with thousands of tablets inscribed in cuneiform from the great library of Ashurbanipal.” VK: But while secular history had lost sight of Nineveh and the Assyrians the one witness to their existence that never wavered was the Bible. The Old Testament books of Kings, Chronicles, Isaiah, Nahum, and Jonah always contained a clear record of the existence of the Assyrians even preserving names of some of its rulers and officials, the name of its capital, and even records of its conquests. Once the clay tablets were recovered from the great library by Henry Layard the Bible’s accounts were vindicated. RD: Right. No serious historian today doubts that the Assyrian Empire at one time dominated the Mideast, was a very successful military power, and posed a grave and mortal threat to kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The Bible always contained a plain record of those facts and today scholars worldwide accept those facts. So, one subject I want to discuss today is why – at one time – there was so much doubt about the Bible’s reports about Assyria and Nineveh despite the fact that the Bible record was true and accurate. VK: Well, I suppose many, maybe most people, would say “before Rich, Layard, and the others who unearthed the ruins of Nineveh from the Iraqi desert there wasn’t any evidence that the Bible’s account was accurate.” RD: I think you’re quite right –. VK: Thank you. RD: - And that’s what I want to talk about. Why do so many people doubt the Bible until one of the Bible’s accounts is confirmed by an extra Biblical source? The Bible is an ancient record – but there are a lot of ancient records from about that same time period. The Greeks in particular had some well-known historians such as Herodotus and Xenophon. The Romans had historians such as Tacitus and Pliny. The Jews had a particularly well-known historian called Josephus. But when secular scholars read those ancient historians they don’t automatically doubt their accounts unless another source or archeological find confirms it. But all too many people automatically doubt the Bible’s records unless there is an extra-Biblical source that comes along and shows the Bible is right. VK: Oh. I see the point you’re making. Even before Rich and Layard discovered the physical remains of Nineveh and the Assyrians there was in fact very good evidence of their existence - because the Bible contained a record of their existence. But today the tendency is to discount the Bible’s record as having evidentiary value unless another source is available to confirm what the Bible says. Your point is that among a lot of scholars today there seems to be an anti-Biblical bias that says, in effect, “Sure it’s in the Bible. But how do we know the Bible is true.” Yet, those same scholars don’t bring that same attitude to other historical records from the Biblical times. The way the academic community, the journalists, and the media treat the Bible is exactly the opposite of the way they treat other ancient sources. The skeptics and critics will regard other records as being accurate on their face but they regard the Bible as being inaccurate unless confirmed. This is either ironic because, in fact, the Bible is what inspired many, if not most, of those early Middle Eastern archeologists to go on their expeditions. They saw Bible as being true so they were willing to stake time and money to look for the ancient cities the Bible said had been there. If they had had the same attitude as many people today have they would never have set on their expeditions. RD: Right. A belief in the Bible’s accuracy inspired much, if not most, of the early archeological exploration in Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, etc. Some of the greatest finds in archeological history, such as the rediscovery of the city of Petra in modern day Jordan, might never have been brought to light if it weren’t for the fact that explorers knew it must be there because the Bible said it was. Petra in Greek means “rock like” or “stony” and it is, quite literally, a city carved out of rock. In the Bible that location is identified with Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, who was the brother of the patriarch Jacob (also known as Israel). Esau was red haired and the city occupied by his descendants was known for the distinctly red color of the stone in that area. So, it is interesting that when it was rediscovered so much of the Bible’s text was vividly confirmed. At any rate, the point is that there is often the tendency to doubt the Bible unless confirmed, whereas the opposite attitude is taken with respect to other ancient documents. The histories compiled by Herodotus, Xenophon, etc. are accepted as being generally reliable until inaccuracies are shown. VK: Well, as you say that wasn’t the case a hundred years ago or maybe even thirty or forty years ago. So, why is it that way now. RD: In my opinion it’s because of the concerted pushback that has been occurring against Christianity and the Bible in recent decades in the west. Christianity’s values and ethics have been under attack in the western societies for a wide variety of reasons. But to effectively dispense with Christianity’s values you must dispense with the source of those values: the Bible. So, there has been a concerted effort in academia, the media, and popular culture to characterize the Bible as being filled with myth and fairy tale. Once that idea is established, whether it is true or not, much of the Bible’s magisterial authority has been eliminated. VK: This is not only sad, it is dangerous. The Bible contains the special revelation that God has given to mankind. We can no more dispense with that revelation safely and without danger than the patient can ignore the mechanic who has just told him that he has an issue with his car or truck which he should attend to. The driver can ignore the mechanic’s advice but not without risking catastrophe. With respect to ignoring the Bible it’s even more dangerous. Mechanics are human. They can be wrong. The Bible was inspired by God and God is never wrong. RD: Well said. What people need to realize is that all people, all of us, approach our lives using a set of axioms. These axioms form a lens through which we see the world. Sometimes these axioms are obvious and reasonable. Most of us tend to see the advice given to us by professionals as being useful and helpful. This means we will accept and follow the advice. But not all people operate by this axiom. VK: Recent events in America and other western nations have unfortunately caused previous trusting people to begin to doubt the advice they previously wouldn’t have questioned. This may be medical advice, advice about nutrition and health, or prescriptions involving social, political, or cultural norms. Hmmm. I see why we need to talk about this. The widespread confusion over the virus and how to deal with it has caused a lot of people to no longer trust medical advice they once would have never questioned. And sadly, tragically, something similar has happened in our culture with respect to the Bible. 20, 30, or 40 years ago you could have settled a discussion by quoting the Bible. Today, if you quote the Bible people are quite likely to say “so what?” RD: Right. We all view life through a set of axioms. Quite often those axioms have put into our lives by our families or cultures and we don’t even question them. The set of axioms that surround us tend to shape what many scholars or theologians will call our worldview. I don’t want to spend too much time on worldview today - because that would be the subject for a whole show or even series. But the collection and aggregation of our foundational axioms form our worldview. For most of us the ideas that form our worldview are unspoken and un-thought-of. Most of them seem almost self-evident. Well, interestingly enough these unseen, unspoken axioms can have a powerful role in areas of study like archeology. VK: What are you thinking about? RD: Let’s take a specific example. Chapters 6 through 9 of the book of Genesis clearly describe a worldwide flood. Despite the attempts of some critics to say that this flood was a localized, limited flood, the Genesis language is pretty clear. The flood endured by Noah and his family was worldwide and essentially reshaped the entire surface of the earth. And based on the time periods that we can derive by studying the genealogies elsewhere in Genesis we can confidently say that this worldwide flood occurred about 4,500 years ago. VK: The Amplified Bible, Genesis, chapter 7, verses 19 and 20 say this: “The waters prevailed so greatly and were so mighty and overwhelming on the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. [In fact] the waters became fifteen cubits higher [than the highest ground], and the mountains were covered.” RD: Yes. That’s pretty clear language. But, of course, despite the clarity of the language today there are a great many people, including scientists, who deny that such a flood ever happened. Deep time, uniformitarianism, and evolutionary thought rule the halls of academia, the discussions at most so-called science institutions, and popular thought. Thus, it has become a widely accepted axiom in archeological thought that the flood never happened. So, let’s think about this. If there was a worldwide flood about 4,500 years ago that reshaped the earth’s surface and deposited huge amounts of sedimentary material all of the earth then no structures that we can find on the earth today would be older than 4,500 years. VK: It’s not impossible that some artifacts or parts of buildings might be found in one of the layers deposited by all the water moving around – but with the kind of flood described in the Bible nothing would have survived intact. RD: Right. So, an archeologist who accepts the Bible’s flood account as being historical will rarely, if ever, be tempted to assign a date to ruins or an artifact older than 2,500 BC. One of the axioms which would form a part of their approach to their craft would include the presence of the flood in ancient history. They wouldn’t have any reason to try to put a date on an artifact earlier than 2,500 BC. But an archeologist who denies the historicity of the Bible’s flood account has no problem dating ruins or artifacts as being much older than 2,500 BC. And there are a number of sites around the world that have been assigned dates older than 2,500 BC. And similar older dates would be assigned to artifacts found in those ruins. Bible denying archeologists have an axiom in their worldview that says people have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and therefore ruins as old as 5,000 or 10,000 BC (or even older) are possible. The difference in the starting axioms between these two groups is going to lead to widely differing possibilities in assigning dates to ancient ruins, artifacts, or civilizations. VK: Let’s remind our listeners of something that we’ve talked about before. Historical science is not the same as operational science. In operational science hypotheses can be tested and results of experiments repeated and affirmed or refuted. One scientist boils water at sea level at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and other scientists around the world can replicate those results. That’s operational science. But that is not true for historical sciences like archeology, cosmology, paleontology, or the certain elements of geology that pertain to age. All any scientist can do is look at evidence available in the present and attempt to provide an explanation for what that evidence says about the past. And there is just about no way to dispositively confirm that explanation. The best scientists can do is provide explanations that can be tested against the evidence and determine whether that explanation is consistent or inconsistent with the evidence. RD: Agreed. Historical science can never reach the same level of certainty as operational science. Moreover – and this is really important – the number of scientists, historians, or archeologists who may accept a particular explanation does not determine the truth of that proposed explanation. VK: Or, said slightly differently, truth is not determined by majority opinion. We’ve talked before on Anchored by Truth that today geologists acknowledge that many of the great river valleys all over the world were created by truly epic floods. David R. Montgomery, a geology professor at the University of Washington, labeled the floods that created these river valleys “Noah-like” in a 2012 article for Discover magazine. But in that same article Montgomery noted that the first geologist to propose that the river valleys of eastern Washington were caused by such floods was J. Harlan Bretz. But when Bretz initially proposed his explanation in the 1920’s he was met with widespread. Yet the recognition that Bretz was correct is so widespread today that, at the age of 97, Bretz was awarded the Geological Society of America’s highest honor. When Bretz first proposed his explanation for the origin of river valleys in eastern Washington he was a minority of one. But today it is widely acknowledged that Bretz was right. RD: Exactly. And that same thing can be true for the axioms that archeologists or other scientists bring into their profession. Just because one, many, or most archeologists believe that there has never been a worldwide flood has no bearing on the truth of whether a flood actually occurred. What is important for listeners to note is that this rejection of the flood of Noah will greatly affect many of the explanations that flood-deniers offer. A specific instance of this that we will cover in greater depth is the ruins at Göbekli Tepe in south eastern Turkey. Secular archeologists date these ruins to about 11,000 – 12,000 years BC. Their assigned dating is largely due to the results of radiocarbon dating. VK: But there are well known problems with the accuracy of radiocarbon dating. Creation Ministries International has several excellent articles on their website that discuss these problems. So, we won’t go into them today, but we will mention one. Radiocarbon dating depends on a comparison between the amount of carbon-14 present in a sample such as a wood fragment with the amount of carbon-14 that is assumed to have been present when the sample was first formed. One basic problem is that we have no idea how much carbon-14 was originally present. The starting value to which the current amount is present is always an assumption. There is no way to know for sure what that starting value was. That’s one reason we say that dates to artifacts or ruins are always “assigned” not discovered. There is never any way to prove that assumptions that went into the assigned date are accurate. And it is quite common for different dating methods to differ widely in the assigned dates. RD: Yes. So, largely based on radiocarbon dating the ruins at Göbekli Tepe have been dated far older than possible when considering the date for the Noahic flood. This points out the importance of the date assigners underlying set of starting axioms. VK: So, how can we know who and what to believe? RD: By doing what we always recommend – consider the evidence and apply logic and reason. In the case of whether the Genesis flood occurred there is an abundance of scientific and historical evidence that it did. And we have covered that evidence in depth a couple of times on Anchored by Truth. And the series that discuss the flood of Noah are available from our website: crystalseabooks.com. In the case of the dating of the ruins of Göbekli Tepe one simple question to ask is whether the ruins are more consistent with a hunter-gatherer society (which is what secular archeologists tell us existed at that time) or a society that possessed some level of mathematical and construction sophistication. In the case of the ruins we now know that they were laid out with a level of mathematical precision that would be inconsistent with a society that had not supposedly even entered a settle agricultural phase. But they are consistent with a community that possessed the kind of technological sophistication described in Genesis chapters 4 through 6. VK: Let’s remember that in chapter 1 of the book of Genesis the Bible tells us that Adam was created with a sophisticated knowledge of many subjects. He possessed language, a knowledge of biology and botany, and the ability to reason and analyze comparative attributes. And, of course, Noah in the pre-flood environment was able to undertake a large naval architecture project. So, his descendants after the flood would have retained much of this knowledge. By contrast an evolutionary viewpoint says that man’s predecessors knew nothing of math and technology and had to discover everything? So, in this case what we know from the ruins is more consistent with a Biblical explanation than the alternative RD: Exactly. This line of reasoning cannot reach the level of absolute certainty but following it, in the case of the ruins at Göbekli Tepe we can make the case that the Biblical explanation for their existence and dating is at least as compelling as the flood-denying alternative. And that is what we wanted to point out in this episode. When people see reports of new and sensational archeological discoveries in the news or on the internet – that purportedly show how the Bible is wrong - they need to stop and think. They need to examine the worldview and axioms of the group making the discovery and they need to research and consider the Biblical alternative. When they do they are going to find out that the Bible holds its own in every situation. VK: Well, This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer that all of us would receive the ability to discern truth from the Holy Spirit who is the only One that can truly illuminate the human mind. God created the human mind and it would be far better for us to receive the least little bit of his infinite wisdom to guide our lives than anything that world can provide. ---- PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the Contemporary English Version) Genesis, Chapter 7, verses 5 through 7, Contemporary English Version
Episode 247 – Temporary Defeat, Permanent Victory Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: [The king said] “We will never find a better man than Joseph, a man who has God's spirit in him… you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else. I will put you in charge of my country ... . Genesis, chapter 41, verses 37 through 40. Good News Translation ******** VK: Hello! Welcome to another episode of Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K in the studio and today we’re going to do something a little different on Anchored by Truth. Today we’re going to interrupt the series that we began a couple of episodes ago to focus on a news story that has been particularly important in our home broadcasting community of Tallahassee, Florida. As just about everyone knows Tallahassee is the home of Florida State University which down through the years has had a notable football program. And in 2023 the football team had a particularly noteworthy year under head football coach Mike Norvell who was in his 4th season with the team. The team won their first 13 games in a row and was so highly ranked nationally that they fully expected to play in the Bowl Championship Series. Playing in that series would have given Coach Norvell and his players an excellent opportunity to become the national champions. But … that’s when the story changed. So, to talk about what came next and why we wanted to discuss this on Anchored by Truth RD Fierro, the Founder of Crystal Sea Books is back in the studio. RD, talking about news events is not something we normally do on Anchored by Truth. So, why this story and why now? RD: Well, you’re absolutely right that this is a departure from what we normally talk about on Anchored by Truth. Anchored by Truth is the only radio show that we know of that focuses exclusively on demonstrating the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of scripture. But the reason we do that is because we want people to know that the Bible is a reliable resource (the only absolutely sure resource) to guide their faith, lives, and Christian practice. But the Christian faith is not a sterile faith. It’s not a faith that is meant to be lived out in a vacuum or be disconnected from the real world and daily life. The Christian faith is a faith that recognizes and looks forward to eternity but is lived out through a daily life that serves others while proclaiming God’s eternal truth. And part of living out our daily lives is encountering and overcoming obstacles and challenges. And that’s why I thought it was important for us to talk about what went on with the FSU football team in 2023. There has been a lot of “ink spilled” about what happened with the team but I thought in all the clamor and discussion some key thoughts weren’t being given much coverage. VK: In other words, you thought that too little attention was being focused on some important insights that come to us from our Christian faith about what happened with the team. I mentioned a second ago that after winning 13 games in a row, including their conference championship, FSU had a very reasonable expectation of being invited to play in the series that leads to the national championship. But that invitation never came did it? RD: No, it didn’t. And the decision by the committee that issues the invitations to the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) has received a lot of comment and criticism. And it’s received enough comment and criticism that I don’t think we need to spend much time on it today. VK: Well, I know we don’t want to spend too much time on the invitation committee’s actions but I do think a couple of the things you wrote in response to a question from one of our friends is worthy of being repeated on this show. You wrote, “[The committee has] taught the FSU players that privileged people will abuse their privileges to obtain more privilege - and that those who are still aspiring can expect nothing from people of privilege unless what they offer will benefit those people of privilege. [The committee has] taught the FSU players that people in positions of trust are capable of far greater and more sinister betrayals than ordinary mortals - so they should pledge to themselves that if they are ever in a position of trust they will do better for others than was done for (to) them. “[The committee has also] taught the FSU players that success in life isn't just a matter of hard work and individual/team effort. Your goals can be and are easily and whimsically thwarted by powerful people. But those people can't define your response to their thwarting. Only you can.” RD: Yes. I’m not naive. I’m well aware that BCS invitation committee offered what they considered a reasonable rationale for why FSU should have been excluded from the final four teams while 2 teams who had lost a game deserved inclusion. But unfortunately the final selections just called to my mind 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 10. VK: In the New International Version that verse says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” RD: Yes. Only the invitation committee members themselves know why they made the decision they did. Their decisions are between them and God and God knows the truth no matter what public statements were made. And that’s part of what I wanted to do today was – in the midst of the all the public comments and clamor – to redirect our attention to our God who is sovereign over all the affairs of humanity and history. VK: Well, just to complete the background for those people who may not have paid a lot of attention to this story, after FSU did not get an invitation to the BCS a number of FSU players elected not to participate in the Orange Bowl, the bowl game to which FSU was invited. Actually, more than 2 dozen players, many of whom were “starters” opted out. They either decided to turn professional or enter what is now called the “transfer portal.” Without a lot of key players available FSU then proceeded to lose in the Orange Bowl by a pretty lopsided margin. RD: Right. So, of course that big loss caused another round of consternation and criticism. Some of the criticism was directed at the players who elected not to play. Some was directed at the system that makes it more attractive for some players not to play than to play in a game. And some was directed at the coaches. While I understand the reason the criticism would occur I’m not going to comment on any of that because I would rather point to the people I consider to be the heroes in this whole situation. VK: And I think that that is surprising – that you could find any heroes in a situation that seemed to go steadily downhill ever since FSU secured its 13th win in a row? RD: And that’s why I felt compelled to do this special episode of Anchored by Truth – which I am calling Temporary Defeat, Permanent Victory. VK: Temporary defeat and permanent victory is not a mindset that most of the world embraces. What are you thinking about? RD: In God’s providence there are a lot of times in life when He permits His people to suffer defeat because He is going to use that temporary defeat to prepare that person for a permanent victory. VK: And, of course, one of the classic examples of that phenomenon in the Bible is the story of Joseph which is told in Genesis, chapters 37 through 50. That’s 14 chapters in the Bible. That is a large number of chapters in which one person is the primary focus. RD: Right. Everyone knows the story of Joseph. He had two dreams in which he say his brothers and parents bowing down to him. That was odd since Joseph was the 11th son in line out of 12. His brothers were so irritated by this that they sold Joseph into slavery. But more than a decade later the dream came true when the brothers had to go to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph who had become the 2nd most powerful person in the kingdom. VK: And we heard about Pharaoh promoting Joseph in our opening scripture. Joseph endured slavery, captivity, false accusations, and being forgotten for over a decade before God finally sent him to interpret a dream for Pharaoh. That interpretation caused Pharaoh to promote Joseph to being the number 2 person in Egypt. So, when Joseph’s brothers had to go to Egypt to buy grain because there was a famine in Palestine they did indeed literally bow down to Joseph. They had sold Joseph into slavery but that temporary setback for Joseph did not prevent God from using Joseph in a powerful way. The temporary defeat did not limit God’s ability to provide permanent victory. RD: Exactly. And we see that same situation in the book of Esther. Esther is a Jew but through the advice she receives from her uncle Mordecai she becomes the wife of a Persian Emperor. While she’s the queen, though, one of the emperor’s advisors, a wicked man named Haman, entices the emperor to issue an order that all of the Jews in the empire are to be killed. Mordecai tells Esther that God raised her up “for such a time as this.” So, at the risk of her life Esther intervenes for her people and Haman’s plan is defeated and Haman himself is executed. This episode in their national history is still celebrated as a holiday called Purim by Jewish people. VK: So, again we see that God transformed a temporary defeat into a permanent victory. Haman hated Mordecai and therefore hated the Jews. Haman thought he had won when he enticed the king to issue an ill-advised edict to murder all the Jews in the kingdom. But God is sovereign, not man. RD: And another example of temporary defeat, but permanent victory that we see in scripture is in the life of Elijah. And interestingly enough the defeat we hear about for Elijah came about after the tremendous victory that God gave him when he faced down 850 false prophets on the top of Mount Carmel. A lot of people may not realize that after God demonstrated his power by burning up Elijah’s bull Elijah became so discouraged and disillusioned he actually asked God to kill him. VK: Here are a few verses from 1 Kings, chapter 19, verses 1 through 4 in the Amplified Version. “Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.’ And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life … [Elijah] said, ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’” Wow. That’s amazing. Elijah had just seen God defeat 850 false prophets but now he’s so afraid of one woman that he flees into the desert and asks God to take his life. RD: And all that says is that even the best among us will have our moments of discouragement and doubt. And sometimes our greatest defeat may have followed a great victory. But our God does not abandon us because of our defeats, doubts, or disillusionment. God had other work for Elijah to do and God strengthened Elijah so he could do it. And God started that next phase of Elijah’s work by reminding Elijah that even though he felt like he was alone, he was not. In verse 18 God told Elijah that there were “7,000 [survivors] in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” And God followed Elijah’s disillusionment with the greatest victory possible. God took Elijah to heaven without Elijah passing through physical death. Elijah had a profound temporary defeat but an unsurpassed permanent victory. VK: So, we see that there is a clear pattern in the Bible – that for the men and women of the Bible who have faith – defeat is not permanent. Temporary defeats are often followed by victories. RD: And you can see another example of this pattern in the life of ancient Israel’s greatest king, King David. David had served faithfully in the household of the king who preceded him, Saul, until Saul became jealous of David’s rising fame. Saul then chased David into the wilderness and tried to kill him on multiple occasions. Naturally, all that wickedness on Saul’s part was silly and fruitless. God had already told them that David was going to become the king of Israel after Saul and he did. But even after he became king David experienced another temporary defeat when his son, Absalom, led a revolt against him. Initially the revolt succeeded and David was driven out of Jerusalem. But David was God’s king and Absalom died during the course of God restoring David to the throne. VK: And, of course, the greatest example in the Bible, the greatest example possible, of a temporary defeat that led to permanent victory was Jesus’ death on the cross. The forces of wickedness, both human and demonic, had seen clear evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Jesus had fulfilled dozens of prophecies that showed that Jesus was God’s anointed Savior. Yet, their hatred of God and Jesus was so great that they induced Pontius Pilate to execute Jesus. They probably thought that Jesus’ death on the cross had solved their problems and defeated God’s plan. But, as you just said, that was silly and fruitless. Jesus gave the ultimate proof that he was the prophesied Messiah when He walked out of the tomb and defeated death itself. Aren’t we all grateful that God grants victory to those who trust Him no matter what the world may be claiming at any particular moment? RD: Exactly. And that brings us back to FSU’s loss in the Orange Bowl. It was clearly a temporary defeat but we have yet to see whether that temporary defeat will yield to a permanent victory. I believe it will for two groups – or rather one group and one special individual. So, here’s a personal observation . The year I was a senior at West Point our football team didn’t win a single game. Needless to say it was a hard year for the Corps of Cadets and an even harder year for the team, especially my classmates, the seniors. Yet, a very large number of my classmates went on to notable successes – not just in the military but also in law, medicine, diplomacy, industry, and a host of other professions. And I read a testimony of one of my classmates who was on that team where he credited much of his success later in life to that crucible – that horrible no win season. Because even though that year the team didn’t win any games that year he noted that they never gave up. They fought hard in every game. The outcome of the games wasn’t what they wanted. It sure wasn’t for the Corps. But the fire of that season’s trial refined our characters and our victories were won later. VK: So, I know one group that you think has emerged from this whole saga that deserves some praise is the group of players who went down to Miami and represented Florida State in the Orange Bowl. You think the fact that they were willing to suit up, show up, and play their best speaks very well of them don’t you? RD: I do. Most people, and certainly every athlete, know that it is easy to show up when everything is going your way. It’s easy to go out onto a field, step on a race track, or enter the arena when you’re pretty sure you’re going to win. But it’s an entirely different matter when you know the odds are against you. Going out and doing your best in that kind of situation takes discipline, strength of character, and plain old-fashioned guts. There’s a lot of truth in the old saying that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” VK: And in our success-obsessed culture we forget that. And we saw that even in this situation. There were some critics who thought FSU shouldn’t even go to Orange Bowl because they had lost so many key players whereas their opponents had not. RD: Right, the FSU players who did play in the Orange Bowl already proved they were men of strength and character just by being willing to put in the practice and then step on the field. As I’ve said, I’m not going to comment on the players who didn’t go. Their decision was between them, their families, and God. But I am commending and thanking the players who did go. And their courage and character isn’t diminished at all by the results of the game. VK: That’s a hard lesson. We all like to win especially in high profile games. And we are certainly not saying that the outcome of games or other events isn’t important. Outcomes are important. But there are going to be situations in life where we need to step up and perform regardless of whether we think we may emerge from that situation as “the winner.” Outcomes matter – but they are not all that matters – especially for Christians. Ultimately, Christians play and work for an audience of One and our lives will have been worthwhile if we ever hear “well done good and faithful servant” from Jesus. RD: And one more thing I think we should point out about the FSU players who went to the Orange Bowl. Every athlete knows that your performance in a game is going to be improved by reps – repetitions both in practice and in games. We simply don’t know how those players might have performed if they had had the opportunity to play as much and have as much game time earlier in the season as the other team’s players did. People have hurled some unfair criticism when we don’t know what might have happened if those players had been able to develop their skills more fully. VK: And I know the special person that you want to commend is FSU’s head football coach, Mike Norvell. You think that anyone who hasn’t done so should listen to the speech he made in the locker room after the game and his opening comments during the postgame press conference. They are a tremendous example of what servant leadership looks like. RD: Yes. Many people forget that Jesus was a leader. In fact, He was the greatest leader of all time and He gave us the single greatest leadership maxim of all time. “The greatest among you is the servant to all.” In his talk with his players and again with the press Coach Norvell gave us an example of what Christ-like leadership looks like. VK: And before anybody goes off the rails and saying that you are comparing Coach Norvell to Jesus that’s not what we’re doing. We are simply saying that Christ gave us an example of how we should conduct our daily lives. We are simply observing that Coach Norvell is doing a good job of following that example. RD: Yes. Here are two easy to understand examples of how Jesus led. When they came to arrest Jesus he told the soldiers to let His followers go – and they did. Leaders place themselves between danger and their followers. And after the resurrection, even though the disciples had openly failed, Christ didn’t dwell on their failures. He told them how to do better, strengthened their weak faith, and provided encouragement. That’s what Coach Norvell did. He took all the responsibility for the loss onto his own shoulders and tried to protect his kids by going out of his way to ease their pain. No excuses, no evasion, no equivocation. Coach Norvell stood in the breach. He blamed himself, told the players how proud he was of them, and reminded them of the remarkable season they had had. Coach Norvell’s treatment of his players was a stark contrast with the behavior of some other coaches who experienced bowl losses. VK: But we are naming no names. That’s not our purpose today. RD: No. Our purpose is to redirect everyone’s attention to the commendable aspects of an episode that had some truly sad moments. As far as I’m concerned Coach Norvell’s actions after the loss only enhanced his excellence as a football coach. And for the players who endured the loss I’d just say that trial by fire is one of the surest ways God refines our characters for our good and His glory. And we learn that by studying the Bible and how even God’s greatest heroes have their own temporary defeats. I strongly believe victories will come for each of those young men and for the Coach. When you’re committed to Christ, Christ will not let you stand in the fire alone. And when you come out of the fire not only will you benefit but you’ll be far better able to bless others and glorify God. And that is our only purpose at Anchored by Truth. VK: Well, as we used to say in the old days – ‘nuff said. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer of adoration for Jesus. He is not only the One who secured our salvation by His unfathomable sacrifice but he modeled how we are to behave throughout our lives. People like Coach Norvell show us that Christ did not die in vain. The effects of Jesus’ leadership continue to shine brightly through His children today. ---- PRAYER FOR ADORATION OF THE SON. VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Candy. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the Good News Translation) Genesis, chapter 41, verses 37 through 40. Good News Translation Florida State Head Coach, Mike Norvell, Delivers INSPIRING Speech After Orange Bowl Loss To Georgia - YouTube
Episode 246 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 2 – The Resurrection of Nineveh Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: One day the LORD told Jonah, the son of Amittai, to go to the great city of Nineveh and say to the people, “The LORD has seen your terrible sins. You are doomed!” Jonah, Chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, Contemporary English Version ******** VK: Hello and welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. All of us at Anchored by Truth are excited to be with you at the start of a New Year and a new series. As we often talk, the Christian faith in America has been subjected to more challenges in the last couple of decades than it was in the first 225 years of the country’s existence. One comment that we hear frequently in the popular media – that is completely false – is that the Bible is a book filled with “myth and fairy tales.” Nothing could be further from the truth and this is a claim that is easily refuted. And one way it can be refuted is by knowing that the Bible contains a large body of reliable history. And one way to demonstrate that the history the Bible contains is reliable is by pointing to archeological discoveries. So, RD has entitled this series “Archeology and the Bible” and we have RD, who is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books, in the studio today. RD, in our first episode in this series you pointed out that archeological finds can be a valuable source of support for the accuracy of the history that the Bible reports. Despite the fact that popular culture has tried to dismiss the connection the truth is the relationship between the Bible and archeology has been mutually supportive. Many scholars, including ones who weren’t Christian, have used the Bible as a source document when planning or conducting their excavations. The Bible was and is widely regarded as an important source of information about ancient peoples and cultures. The trend to dismiss the Bible’s accuracy in matters of dates and places in the Mideast has become popular among skeptics but it is completely out of sync with how the Bible was viewed among professionals. In fact, the Bible’s history has been shown to be accurate even when doubted and you said that’s something you wanted to illustrate today, right? RD: Absolutely. But before we get into that I would also like to welcome the listeners to our show. Anchored by Truth’s sole purpose is to equip believers to be able to answer the question “how can we be sure the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.” And one way to do that is to use confirmed archeological discoveries to show that the Bible’s historical reports are accurate even when they have been doubted by secular scholars. Today I want to revisit one of the most famous examples of the Bible getting history right even when skeptics for centuries dismissed the Bible’s report. VK: So, since our opening scripture was from the book of Jonah I’m guessing that today you want to talk about the discovery of the city of Nineveh in the 19th century. Nineveh was the capital of Assyrian empire and was one of the most prominent cities in the ancient world. You wouldn’t think that a city as important as Nineveh could get lost in history but it did. An article on the United Church of God’s website says this: “Nineveh, the capital city, fell to the Babylonians in 612 B.C. About 50 years after its peak, [the Assyrian Empire had] collapsed and virtually vanished from history. By the time of Jesus Christ and the apostles, no physical evidence of Nineveh could be seen. Lucian of Samosata ([who lived from] A.D. 120-180), a Greek writer, lamented: "Nineveh has perished. No trace of it remains. No one can say where once it existed" ... Such a lack of visible remains led some scholars of the 19th century to express skepticism that Nineveh or any part of the Assyrian Empire even existed, much less dominated a significant part of the world.” RD: Yes. From around 900 BC to 600 BC the Assyrian Empire was the dominant military power in the Mideast. Some scholars believe that during this time period it was the most formidable military power in the world. But as you just quoted, in the waning years of the 7th century BC, Assyria began to weaken and it ultimately fell to the Babylonians under King Nabopolassar. The fall of the Assyrian Empire isn’t all that remarkable because if we learn anything from history it’s that all empires, regardless of their power during their peak years, always weaken and ultimately fall. The Assyrians fell to the Babylonians, the Babylonians to the Persians, the Persians to the Greeks, and the Greeks to the Romans. And even the mighty Roman Empire which lasted even longer than the Assyrians or any of its predecessors ultimately collapsed under the weight of social decay and external pressures. What is somewhat remarkable is that the Assyrians disappeared so completely that secular history completely lost sight of them. VK: But, let’s be clear, in addition to the Bible recording the existence and greatness of the Assyrian Empire the Bible also had prophesied the destruction and disappearance of the Assyrian Empire. The Bible prophesied that God would use the Assyrians to punish His people because of their drift into idolatry. But at the same time God also told the Assyrians they would be punished in turn because of their arrogance. For instance, Isaiah, chapter 10, verses 15 through 19 record God saying to the Assyrians, “But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself? Therefore, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops, and a flaming fire will consume its glory. The LORD, the Light of Israel, will be a fire; the Holy One will be a flame. He will devour the thorns and briers with fire, burning up the enemy in a single night. The LORD will consume Assyria’s glory like a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land; it will waste away like sick people in a plague. Of all that glorious forest, only a few trees will survive — so few that a child could count them!” That’s from the New Living Translation. RD: And Isaiah was not the only Old Testament prophet to warn Assyria of their coming destruction. Why don’t you read Nahum, chapter 2, verses 11 through 13? VK: Those verses say, “Where now is that great Nineveh, that den filled with young lions? It was a place where people—like lions and their cubs— walked freely and without fear. The lion tore up meat for his cubs and strangled prey for his mate. He filled his den with prey, his caverns with his plunder. ‘I am your enemy!’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. ‘Your chariots will soon go up in smoke. Your young men will be killed in battle. Never again will you plunder conquered nations. The voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more.” RD: Listen to the last portion of what you read from Isaiah. God told the Assyrians that their “glorious forest” would be reduced to so few trees that a child could count them. Then in Nahum God said, “the voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more.” These are essentially poetic ways of God telling the Assyrians they would be utterly destroyed and they were. But what we want to focus on today is that after those prophesies were fulfilled, and Nineveh was destroyed by the Babylonians, it wasn’t just reduced to a vassal state – as often happened. Nineveh and the Assyrians were so devastated that they disappeared. This huge city that was located in modern day Iraq literally disappeared into the sands. As the Greek writer you quoted said, “Nineveh has perished. No trace of it remains. No one can say where once it existed." Lucian lived in the 2nd century AD – almost 1,900 years ago. At least at that time secular history remembered Nineveh. But by the 19th century AD even that memory had disappeared – or at least it was greatly doubted. The one source, though, that unequivocally preserved the memory of the Assyrians and Nineveh was the Bible. VK: Well, one reason some secular historians may have begun to doubt the existence of an actual Nineveh was because one Bible book in which Nineveh plays a prominent role is the book of Jonah. Jonah may be the most famous of the Minor Prophets because his book contains one of the best known stories in the Bible – a man is saved from drowning by being swallowed by an extremely large sea creature and then tossed up on land. That same man later preaches to a pagan city and in 3 days converts the whole city including the king. That story sound mythical. So, maybe historians reasoned that the whole book of Jonah was mythical including the existence of Nineveh and the Assyrian empire? RD: And that’s certainly possible even though Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire are also mentioned in several other books of the Bible. But one thing the skeptics could take comfort from was that until the mid-19th century there was no physical evidence of Nineveh’s existence. Physically, Nineveh had just vanished. And archeology, as we know it today, was just beginning to emerge in the 19th century. And for the opening decades of the 19th century Nineveh still remained undiscovered. But then all that changed. The online Encyclopedia Britannica has this to say about the discovery of Nineveh. “The first person to survey and map Nineveh was the archaeologist Claudius J. Rich in 1820, a work later completed by Felix Jones and published by him in 1854. Excavations have been undertaken intermittently since that period by many persons. … Sir Henry Layard during 1845–51 discovered the palace of Sennacherib and took back to England an unrivalled collection of stone bas-reliefs together with thousands of tablets inscribed in cuneiform from the great library of Ashurbanipal.” VK: So, at least one of the names you just read should be familiar to any student of the Bible, right? RD: Right. Sennacherib was one of the most famous of the kings of Assyria and is mentioned in several places of the Bible. VK: Such as in the historical books of Kings and Chronicles. RD: Yes. Sennacherib is well known to Bible readers because at one point he invaded the kingdom of Judah with the intent to make it part of the Assyrian Empire. VK: Let’s remind listeners that during the time that David and his son, Solomon, were the kings of Israel the nation was unified. But when Solomon’s son took over the kingdom split in two. After that the northern kingdom was called Israel and the southern kingdom was called Judah. The northern kingdom was ruled by a series of idolatrous kings and was eventually conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. The Assyrians deported the Israelites and resettled some other people into that territory. Judah remained an independent kingdom although it paid annual tributes to the Assyrians. But around 701 BC the Assyrians invaded Judah. 2 Chronicles, chapter 32, verse 1 says that the Assyrian king “laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.” RD: Right. The Assyrian king who laid siege to the cities of Judah was Sennacherib which the Bible tells us. But until the middle of the 19th century secular historians weren’t even sure that Sennacherib was a historical figure. But as the entry from the Encyclopedia Britannica told us once Sir Henry Layard discovered the great library of Assurbanipal all that changed. That library contained thousands of clay cuneiform tablets, including tablets that described Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah. And those tablets provided clear confirmation of the accuracy of the Bible’s text. VK: That same article from the United Church of God’s website says this. “Assyrian records of these events quote the King … of Assyria boasting of his devastating invasion of Judah: ‘Forty-six of [Hezekiah's] strong walled towns and innumerable smaller villages...I besieged and conquered...As for Hezekiah, the awful splendor of my lordship overwhelmed him’ … [the Assyrian records] noted that [the king] had made Hezekiah ‘a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.’” RD: Right. The article goes on to say, “The biblical record agrees with Sennacherib's account of the Assyrian invasion and notes the desperation of the kingdom of Judah as the Assyrians laid siege to Jerusalem, their last surviving stronghold. However, the Bible continues the story where the Assyrian records are silent. With Jerusalem facing imminent destruction, the people of Judah, led by King Hezekiah, prayed fervently to God (Isaiah 37:15-20) and were miraculously delivered against overwhelming odds.” In both the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles the Bible tells us that Hezekiah and the people’s prayers brought deliverance. VK: 2 Kings, chapter 19, verses 32 through 37 say this. “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’ That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So [the] king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god … his sons … killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.” [EH-SAHR-HEH-DOHN] RD: And the records that were brought back from the great library confirmed this account. Sennacherib carefully recorded a list of the cities he captured and destroyed, but one city is conspicuously absent—Jerusalem. Sennacherib talks about besieging Hezekiah in the city—not of taking it or Hezekiah, Judah's king. So, after almost 1,900 years of silence that prompted the secular world to doubt the authenticity of the Bible the Bible’s record was again proven to be true. The cuneiform tablets unearthed from Assurbanipal’s great library confirmed the Bible’s record of Sennacherib’s interactions with Judah exactly as described. VK: So, this reinforces one of the big points that we made in our first episode on “Archeology and the Bible.” One very important role archeology plays with respect to the Bible is to help affirm the reliability of the Bible’s historical reports. That’s what happened when archeologists began excavating at the site of the ancient city of Nineveh. At first they just found the ruins of the city. But when Henry Layard found the library the tablets in the library confirmed many of the details contained in the Bible’s historical records. These included the names of kings from both countries, the fact that Assyria invaded Judah and conquered many Judean cities, and that the Assyrians never conquered Jerusalem. The Assyrian records also confirmed that the invading king was murdered by two of his own sons and that a 3rd son inherited the empire. RD: Yes. Even though secular history lost sight of Nineveh for almost 2 millennia the Bible never did. But, let’s get back to the book of Jonah. We started out noting that one of the books of the Bible in which Nineveh features prominently is Jonah but some of the other elements of Jonah are so unusual that it made the book seem more fiction. But let’s show that even one of the historical details contained in book of Jonah was shown to be accurate. In Jonah, chapter 3, verse 3, Jonah gives us a detail about the city that seems unlikely. VK: Jonah, chapter 3, verse 3 says, in part, “This time Jonah obeyed the LORD’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.” That’s from the New Living Translation. The New International Version says, “Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.” What you’re saying is that that seems like a very large city if it takes 3 days for a person to walk across it. There aren’t that many modern cities that you couldn’t walk across in a day or two. So, a city that takes 3 days to cross seems improbable. RD: But, as improbable as it may seem, archeology has shown that even this detail from the book of Jonah is correct. Genesis, chapter 10, verses 11 and 12 tell us about the founding of Nineveh. It says, “From that land Nimrod went to Assyria, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, 12and [Nimrod built] Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; all these [combined to form] the great city [Nineveh].” That’s from the Amplified Bible. A Wikipedia article on the city of Nineveh notes that “The ruins of Kuyunjiq, Nimrud, Karamlesh, and Khorsabad for the four corners of an irregular quadrilateral. . The ruins of the ‘great city’ Nineveh, … [is] included within the parallelogram [formed] by lines drawn from the one to the other, [the Biblical reference in Jonah is] generally regarded as consisting of these four sites.” Furthermore, excavations have revealed that, as was common in ancient times, there were defensive fortifications in the area that lay well outside the walls of the Nineveh proper. These defensive fortifications were probably like outposts that could be used both to slow the advance of an oncoming army as well as give early warning to the main city. In walking from the outposts on one side of the region to the other archeologists found that it did indeed take a few days to cross from one outer ring of fortifications to the one on the opposite side. VK: Also, even in our day it’s common to refer to a large area by the name of a city that dominates it. If you look at a map we know that the New York City includes Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and so forth. But no one would bat an eye is someone from Florida just told their friends they were travelling to New York even though they might wind up in the Bronx. So, when the Hebrew writer said that Nineveh was a very great city that it took three days to cross the writer was just using the same kind of descriptive language we use today. RD: Agreed. In fact, the use of that kind of informal descriptive language adds to the authenticity of the book of Jonah. If someone had been contriving a pious fraud about a man being miraculously delivered by a fish from drowning before converting the capital city of his enemies it’s unlikely they would have been cavalier about describing the people who were to be converted. But someone recording a true, though remarkable, tale of conversion, whether the writer was Jonah or someone else, will write using the conversational conventions of their day. VK: What we’ve been talking about in this episode of Anchored by Truth is summed up well in the article from the United Church of God. The article says, “the only historical source in those days that verified the existence of the empire was the Bible. The Old Testament histories and prophecies spoke about Assyria. Jesus proclaimed the existence of Nineveh as a historical fact (Matthew 12:41). Yet some scholars disputed the testimony of Jesus and the prophets—that is, until ‘one spectacular decade in the middle of the nineteenth century...[when] Austen Henry Layard and Paul Emile Botta rediscovered in northern Iraq the ancient remains of three Assyrian cities [including Nineveh] and evidence of the military panoply that had crushed all resistance from the Tigris to the Nile. The Assyrian empire...in all its awesome power had been resurrected through archaeology.’” RD: So, the book of Jonah and the other books that mention Assyria and Nineveh provide a clear and easily understandable example of archeology producing evidence that demonstrated the truth of the Bible’s history – even when evidence had disappeared for a long time. Secular historians had concluded that the absence of evidence was evidence of absence. But it wasn’t. VK: The point you’re making is that is important to not discount the reliability of the Bible just because secular culture or so-called experts would like to do so. RD: Exactly. The Bible is the Word of God and as such it is trustworthy. But God has not asked us to suspend the use of ordinary human tools such as archeology, science, and logic in our pursuit of understanding the Bible. It is not unreasonable to for an honest skeptic to ask the question, “what evidence is there that the Bible is the Word of God?” That’s not an unreasonable question. What is unreasonable is for us to provide example after example of scientific fact or archeological discoveries supporting the Bible only for the skeptic to contend that the evidence doesn’t exist. There comes a point where a request for evidence dissolves into a simple unwillingness to accept what the evidence is saying. VK: So, when we encounter a book like Jonah it’s not unreasonable to approach certain parts of it – a man being swallowed and kept alive by a giant fish or whale – with an initial skepticism. Men being swallowed by giant fish isn’t an everyday occurrence for us. But the fact that it is unusual does not mean it’s impossible. And when we begin looking at elements within the book of Jonah that we can test directly we find out that a fair test tells us that the writer of Jonah was writing history not myth. RD: Right. In our first episode in this series we pointed out that another amazing story contained in the Bible, that of David and Goliath – that might on first blush look legendary – in fact is historically accurate in the details it reports. The book of Jonah reinforces the points we made in our first episode in this series. Archeology can play two very important roles in our study of the Bible and that’s why we’re doing this series. Archeology can help skeptics see that the Bible is not, in fact, a book of “myth and fairy tale.” It is a book firmly set in place and time and its reports of those places and times are trustworthy. Archeology can also help us expand our understanding of the places and times of the Bible and of the people, societies, and cultures that the Bible describes. This helps us understand the Bible’s messages more clearly. VK: Well, This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer for our friends and neighbors who have not yet come to know Christ as their savior. Just as God converted the people of Nineveh through Jonah’s preaching, we can pray that the Lord will convert the lost of our day through our own preaching. Only God can change the human heart but He most often does it by using human instruments, like us, as part of His great work of redemption. ---- PRAYER FOR THE SPIRITUALLY LOST VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the Contemporary English Version) Jonah, Chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, Contemporary English Version A Staggering Archaelogical Discovery: The Mighty Assyrian Empire Emerges From the Dust | United Church of God (ucg.org) Nineveh | History, Map, & Significance | Britannica Topical Bible: Ashurbanipal (biblehub.com) Nineveh - Wikipedia
Episode 245 – Archeology and the Bible – Part 1 - Affirmation Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: Goliath … wore a bronze helmet, and [a] bronze coat of mail ... He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. … The shaft of his spear was … heavy and thick … His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.” 1 Samuel, Chapter 17, verses 5 through 7, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hello and Happy New Year! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’re excited to be with you at the start of this New Year and we pray that this year will be a year of joy and blessings to all our listeners. We pray especially that this year will see us all grow in our knowledge and adoration of our Lord Christ Jesus. Today on Anchored by Truth we’re going to start the new year with a new series. As just about everyone knows, the Christian faith in America has been subjected to more challenges in the last decade than probably in the first two centuries of the country’s existence. So, as we open up this New Year we want to revisit a subject that has particular relevance in our day and time –being able to demonstrate that the Christian faith has a firm basis in reason and evidence. RD has entitled this series “Archeology and the Bible.” So, we have RD who is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books, in the studio today. RD, why did you decide we need to take a special look at the topic of archeology? RD: Well, I’d also like to say Happy New Year to everyone who is joining us here today. As we begin a new year I wanted to take several episodes of Anchored by Truth focusing on archeology because it seems like in the last few years the number of times I’ve heard the Bible criticized as a book of “myth and fairy tales” has increased dramatically. This is sad but it’s also silly because it is a criticism that is so easily disproved. The Bible is a book that is set in place and time. While the Bible contains a large variety of literary genres, a large part of the Bible is the history of those places and times. As such we can validate the accuracy of the Bible’s reporting through other ancient documents that also contain reports about the same places and times. And we can also affirm much of the Bible’s reporting through the findings of archeology. VK: As Anchored by Truth listeners know at Crystal Sea Books we believe that there are two criteria that would have to be true for any book that claims to be the word of God. First, the book would have to be consistent with what we know about human and natural history. How could you trust a book that claims to be the product of a divine and infinite mind if it contains easily demonstrable errors? Second the book would have to contain evidence of supernatural inspiration. After all, humans write books all the time. And even human beings can produce books that accurately report history and contain meaningful insights about life and society. RD: Yes. There are other criteria that some people might think are appropriate when considering whether a particular book is the word of an almighty, everlasting God but we would submit that those two criteria would have to be true at a minimum. And we would urge that anyone who is trying to decide whether one book or another is God’s word should apply their minds as well as their hearts to the decision. Many people think that faith is believing in something in spite of reason and evidence, but it’s not. Becoming a Christian and embracing faith in Christ Jesus doesn’t require us to suspend the use of our minds. To the contrary, knowing and loving Jesus means we should increase our efforts to grow in knowledge as well as trust. Real faith is far more likely to arrive by placing trust in something or Someone after careful consideration of the truth claims at issue. This includes being able to explain why some truth claims are true but others false. Reason and evidence are an essential part of doing that. VK: So, just to ensure that’s clear, at Anchored by Truth we believe that any book claims to be the word of God must be consistent with what we know about human and natural history and must contain marks of supernatural inspiration. Well, we also believe that are four lines of evidence that demonstrate that the Bible meets those two criteria and is, therefore, the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. First, the Bible is historically reliable. Second, the Bible displays a remarkable unity for a book that was composed by over 3 dozen human authors who wrote over a span of 1,500 years. Third, the Bible gives evidence of supernatural origin, especially through a large body of fulfilled prophecy. And the 4th line of evidence is that the Bible has resulted in an untold number of lives that have been positively changed by its transcendent message. So, what you are saying – and what we are going to be talking about during this series - is that archeology can be a useful to aid to helping affirm the historicity of the Bible. RD: Yes. For those of us who are concerned about helping people understand that the Bible is the inspired word of God archeology can have two roles. First, as we mentioned we started this discussion archeology can help demonstrate that the Bible is not, in fact, filled with myth and fairy tales. Archeology can help us demonstrate that Bible accounts of certain exploits that may seem legendary are historically accurate. VK: Why don’t you give us a quick example of what you’re thinking about? RD: Many people might think that the encounter between David and Goliath is some kind of myth and legend. VK: Because the idea of a short, teenage boy defeating a heavily armed and armored warrior with only a sling and stone does seem improbable doesn’t it? RD: It might but it’s not. And one of the reasons that we can have confidence about what the Bible says about the encounter is the large number of details that the Bible gives us about the fight. For instance, the Bible describes in great detail – as you put it – Goliath’s arms and armor. VK: And among many archeological finds that have confirmed the accuracy of the Bible’s description of Goliath’s equipment is a depiction of Philistine warriors in a temple in Egypt, right? RD: Right. Let’s start by reminding everyone that while the Bible is mostly concerned about the activity of the Philistines in their interactions with ancient Israel, the Philistines came into contact with all of the civilizations of the ancient Mideast including Egypt. The Egyptians fought the Philistines on many occasions. The Egyptians called the Philistines the “Sea Peoples” because the Philistines had come to Palestine from Mycenae which was located in modern day Greece. This means they would have arrived on the coast of Palestine by way of ships crossing the sea. VK: So, the Egyptians were very familiar with Philistine warriors like Goliath. RD: Yes. According to an article in Biblical Archeology Society website one of the most vivid depictions of the Philistine warriors is in a “mortuary temple at Medinet Habu in Thebes. The battle scenes depicted on the walls of this temple are our most precious and most graphic representation of the Sea Peoples’ dress, weaponry, chariotry, naval equipment, and battle tactics. The Philistine infantry is shown fighting in small phalanges of four men each; three men are each armed with a long, straight sword and a pair of spears, the fourth with only a sword.” Notice that the Egyptian drawings show the Philistine infantry armed with a pair of spears exactly like Goliath – although the Bible is more precise and notes that the second spear is a javelin which was used for throwing. The spear that Goliath carried in his hands was actually more like a long club. It was used for smashing and bashing … VK: Smashing and bashing … really? RD: Really. Every infantryman knows that one of the keys to victory is break through the enemy lines. And the David encounter notwithstanding, that’s what Goliath’s job was – to create holes in the enemy’s front lines that the soldiers behind him could exploit. Homer referred to such soldiers as “first men.” VK: That explains why the Bible tells us that Goliath’s spearhead weighed 15 pounds. A 15 pound piece of iron on the end of a heavy and thick spear – the Bible says it was as thick as a weaver’s beam – is to going to be good for, as you said, “smashing and bashing.” And it’s also important to note that in the Biblical description of Goliath’s armor his helmet and coat of mail are said to be made of bronze, as was his javelin. The battle between David and Goliath took place just as the Iron Age was beginning. At that time there would still have been a lot of bronze weapons and armor in use. Bronze had been in common use since about 2500 BC. Iron would later become far more common and the Philistines were very proficient at shaping and forming iron but this battle occurred before that transition was complete. And even at that time bronze was easier to form into weapons. Bronze has a much lower melting point than iron – about 1000 degrees Celsius. Iron’s melting point is closer to 1600 degrees Celsius. So, on first blush, the Bible’s description of the fight between David and Goliath might seem to be legendary but the details that the Bible provides and archeological discoveries show us that it is not. So, what is the second role that archeology plays for those who are interested in the Bible? RD: Archeology can help shed new light on the history the Bible contains and it can also help us understand the Bible text as well. We’ll get more into this as we move through the series, but one quick example of how archeological finds can improve our understanding of the Bible’s texts are clay tablets referred to as the Ugaritic texts. These came from an archeological excavation in Syria. The tablets dated over a thousand years before Jesus and contained cuneiform writing in a variety of languages. Cuneiform writing was a writing form common in ancient Mideast languages and used wedge shaped characters typically impressed into soft clay. The Ugaritic texts were helpful to Bible scholars because some of the tablets were written in an alphabetic script that recorded a northwest Semitic language that overlapped with Biblical Hebrew. The Ugaritic language shared a number of words with Biblical Hebrew so this has helped scholars better understand some words contained in the text of the Bible, especially words that occur only once in the Bible. VK: So, one important role that archeology plays is to help affirm the reliability of the Bible’s historical reports. And a second important role that archeology plays is actually to amplify our understanding of the Bible’s texts as well as increase our understanding of the times, cultures, and places recorded in the Bible This second role is true for those of us who accept the Bible as the inspired word of God as it is as for those who don’t regard the Bible as being inspired. The first role of archeology can be especially important in the Christian work of apologetics which is a defense of the Christian faith. But in this first role you say that it is important for Christians to not say things like, “archeology proves the truth of the Bible.” Why is that? RD: Yes. It is not proper to say that archeology proves the Bible is true because doing so carries the risk of both over claiming and under claiming at the same time. VK: Ok. Over claiming and under claiming at the same time would seem to be a bit of a mystery. Why is saying that “archeology proves the Bible is true” an “over claim?” RD: Archeology, like any human endeavor, has limits in the amount of certainty it can provide. Archeologists are always looking at artifacts from the past and they do their best to derive information from those artifacts. But, the archeologists were not present at the time the artifacts were created. So, their interpretation is exactly that. It’s an interpretation not a history based on first hand observation. And archeologists will differ in their interpretations and it is not at all uncommon for subsequent discoveries to necessitate revising previous opinions. None of this is to suggest that archeology is valuable and can’t be conducted with rigor. It certainly can. But archeology, while it can and does provide important support for the Bible, cannot “prove” the Bible is true. VK: That makes sense. The Miriam Webster online dictionary defines archeology as “the scientific study of material remains (such as tools, pottery, jewelry, stone walls, and monuments) of past human life and activities.” It’s important to note in that definition that archeology is concerned with “past human life and activities.” So, while we can do much to try and determine what actually happened in the past we will always fall short of absolute certainty. Why is saying that “archeology proves the Bible is true” an “under claim?” RD: Well, simply put the Bible is true because it is God’s word. It would be true regardless of whether any human being were to accept as being true or not. Now, I’m well aware that a critic would accuse me of circular reasoning in saying this. The Bible is God’s word and it is true because God is all-knowing and all-powerful. But it is the Bible that tells us that God is all-knowing and all-powerful. But that is not what I am saying. Anything that is true – that is that it corresponds to reality – is true regardless of agreement or acceptance of the truth. The man who decides he doesn’t like having cancer and rejects the doctor’s report will still have cancer regardless of whether he accepts the report. The Bible is or is not the inspired, revealed word of God regardless of whether we accept it as such. So, when we say that archeology “proves” the Bible we are, in effect, turning the truth of the Bible over to archeological judgment. Again, I’m not saying that archeology cannot be a valid and important venue for obtaining evidence that helps us understand the Bible but we don’t need archeology to establish the Bible’s truth. VK: I think I see the point you’re making. Some theologians will refer to the Bible as being self-authenticating. The Bible’s truth will pierce through all the fog and distractions of the world and the inward witness of the Holy Spirit will confirm its truth to us. Sometimes people will say, “most of the time we judge books, but the Bible is a book that judges us.” You’re not disagreeing with this position are you? RD: I’m not disagreeing with this position but I am trying to look at the question from all angles. One of the reasons I believe God will be able to hold all people accountable because He has given sufficient witness of Himself through His creation and His superintendence of history. The Bible tells us this explicitly in Psalm 19, verses 1 through 4 and in Romans, chapter 1, verse 20. God has given all humanity ample witness of His existence and attributes. Well, I believe something similar is true about the Bible. We can use reason and evidence to evaluate whether the Bible can be legitimately considered the word of God. We laid out our criteria and lines of evidence for doing so at the start of today’s episode. In considering those lines of evidence, especially whether the Bible contains reliable history, archeology can be an important source of information and support. But this role of archeology is ministerial not magisterial. If we made our opinion about whether the Bible is true based on the findings of archeology, that would make archeology magisterial not ministerial. VK: What you’re saying is that the Bible is true and was true before archeology ever entered the scientific dialogue. Like all science, when properly used and properly understood, archeology sheds important light on questions of truth. And there are literally thousands, or maybe tens of thousands of archeological findings, that confirm the accuracy of the Bible text and the history recorded in the Bible. So, saying archeology “proves the Bible is true” is an under claim because it suggests the Bible’s truth was uncertain until archeology came along. RD: Right. As we’ve said archeology can play two very important roles in our study of the Bible and that’s why we’re doing this series. Archeology can help skeptics see that the Bible is not, in fact, a book of “myth and fairy tale.” It is a book firmly set in place and time and its reports of those places and times are trustworthy. Archeology can also help us expand our understanding of the places and times of the Bible and of the people, societies, and cultures that the Bible describes. This helps us understand the Bible’s messages more clearly. VK: Regardless of how old anyone living is, the reality is that the Bible’s text was completed two thousand years before they were born. And the Bible was written in and to cultures and countries that are much different from those with which we are familiar. Archeological findings help us understand the people that the Bible was written to and about so we can get closer to standing in their shoes, seeing the sights they saw, and thereby know exactly what the Bible writers meant to communicate. RD: Yes. So, before we close, let’s go back to our David and Goliath example for just a second to amplify how archeology increases our confidence that this incident is accurate historically. One simple fact that has been confirmed by archeology is that Goliath’s home city of Gath was a real city. Gath was one of the 5 major cities of the Philistines. Its existence has been confirmed by Egyptian inscriptions. It is thought to be located at Tel Zafit (in Hebrew) which is located inside Tel Zafit National Park in modern day Israel. So, this is a finding of archeology that is consistent with the Bible. Another detail of the story that has been confirmed is the Bible’s description of Goliath’s armor. The Bible tells us that Goliath wore a coat of scale armor. The fact that Philistine warriors wore such armor coats has been confirmed by an archeological find. In 2006, bronze scale armor was discovered in a Mycenaean palace on the island of Salamis. Remember that the Philistines were thought to have originated in Mycenae. VK: This finding was especially relevant because some scholars who were critical of the Bible’s account of the fight between David and Goliath alleged that the story was just a fictional account probably made around the 6th or 7th century BC. Their assertion was that the story was concocted to make the Hebrews have a greater sense of national pride. The Hebrew pride supposedly needed a boost at that time because the Hebrews were either still captives in Babylon or had only recently returned to Israel. Part of the reason critics made that assertion was because the shirt of scale armor the Bible reports that Goliath wore was not thought to be typical of Mycenaean soldiers. Mycenaean soldiers were often armored by wide bronze bands connected by hinges. It was thought that scale armor had gone out of use before the Mycenaean heyday, around 1400 B.C.E. So, the critics alleged, that the Bible’s description of Goliath’s armor was inaccurate. But archeologists finding a coat of scale armor in a Mycenaean palace shows that their soldiers did use scale armor at least part of the time. RD: Yep. The Bible reported that Goliath wore a type of armored coat that had not been commonly associated with the Philistines. This was a detail that the Bible writer knew that would have been unknown to a writer who wrote three or four hundred years later. Writers in the 7th or 6th century would have had little to no idea how Philistine warriors had been armored in the earlier Bronze Age. So, this is another discovery from archeology that supports the Bible’s account of David and Goliath. And let’s mention just a couple of more items to complete our discussion. We now have prolific evidence that the kind of “contest between champions” was common in combat between Bronze Age armies. Single combat to determine the outcome of battles spared bloody casualties. The armies of the Bronze Age were willing to do this because wars were thought to actually be contests between the gods of the respective armies. The armies believed that each side’s god would fight on their behalf to determine the outcome that would have resulted anyway. Archeologists have unearthed texts from this time that provide numerous examples of this belief. Examples include the Egyptian account of Sinuhe, the Babylonian Epic Enuma Elish, and the famous duel between Paris and Menelaus in Homer´s Iliad. VK: And the Bible even records this detail in its account. In 1 Samuel, chapter 17, verse 43 the Bible says, “And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” Then in verses 45 and 46 The Bible tells us that David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down.” RD: Yep. So, the big idea that we wanted to introduce today is that archeological finds can be a valuable source of support for the accuracy of the history that the Bible reports. Actually, for decades the relationship between the Bible and archeology has been mutually supportive. Many scholars, including ones who weren’t Christian, used the Bible as a source document when planning or conducting their excavations. The Bible was and is widely regarded as an important source of information about ancient peoples and cultures. This symbiotic relationship was well known. The trend to dismiss the Bible’s accuracy in matters of dates and places in the Mideast has become popular among skeptics but it is completely out of sync with how the Bible was viewed among professionals. The Bible’s history has been shown to be accurate even when doubted and we’ll get more into that in later episodes in this series. VK: Well, sounds like we’re in for quite a thought-provoking journey. Hopefully, listeners will let others know about this series. It really can be a valuable resource to the skeptic and the believer alike. This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer of praise of Adoration for the Creator God who set the cosmos into motion and established a home on the earth for His people as He prepares them for an eternity with Him in heaven. ---- PRAYER OF ADORATION FOR THE CREATOR VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) 1 Samuel, Chapter 17, verses 5 through 7, New Living Translation https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/8/4/1 https://patternsofevidence.com/2018/10/26/david-battles-goliath/)
Episode 244 – Jesus and the Great Commission Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: The devil took [Jesus] to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 8 through 10, New International Version ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time event lighting technician. He straightens out the cords on the Christmas lights before we put them up. Today on Anchored by Truth we’re going to finish up our current series where we have focused on the life and historicity of Jesus. And we’re going to hear the last installment of our seven part, epic Christmas poem The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. When we left off last time the koala bears who live in the arctic village that surrounds the Golden Tree had just encountered the Frost Lion for the first time in their history. The bears have lived in the valley surrounding the tree for many generations and had heard of the Frost Lion but this is the first time they have ever seen him. And they have only seen him now because the lion has chosen to come to their village. Why did the Frost Lion choose to come to their village now, RD? RD: Well, the biggest reason that the Frost Lion has chosen to enter the bears’ village at this time is because something else has happened to the bears for the first time in their generations around the tree. For the first time since the bears have lived in the village they have had visitors from their ancestral homeland. A bear named Roleb and his travelling companion had made an arduous journey to the north because they were concerned about the state of their village’s faith. Roleb’s travelling companion died just before they could reach the village. Roleb himself was almost at the point of death. They had known that their quest to travel to the great far north would be dangerous but they had made it because their homeland had lost its faith in the bears’ creator who they thought of as the Great White Koala Bear. To try to preserve their own tribe’s faith the two bears from down under had gone searching in the arctic even though they were mocked for doing so. Fortunately for them, two teenage bears from Golden Tree village had spotted Roleb just as he collapsed on the snowy wastelands outside their village. This had kicked off a search for Roleb’s friend. With the aid of a Great Ice Eagle, Gabriel, they had found the friend but he had just died. But when they brought the friend back to the village the Frost Lion was there. But no one knows what the Frost Lion can do – and no one knows what the Frost Lion will do … VK: So, it’s time to find out what happens to Roleb, and his travelling companion in this Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. ---- The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion – Part 7 VK: So, the Frost Lion was able to raise Roleb’s friend from the dead. But I hope that most listeners noticed that the Frost Lion didn’t just stop with restoring the life and health of the two bears down under. The Frost Lion began the process of addressing the deeper need – the fact that the bear clan down under was losing its faith. So just like Jesus did after His resurrection the Frost Lion commissioned missionaries from the Golden Tree village to carry the good news back with Roleb and his friend. Obviously, the message you are sending through this poem is that we live in a day and age when many people in our own clans are losing, or have lost, their faith. And we need to be missionaries to our family and friends. Because if we aren’t who will be? RD: Yes. And for any listeners who haven’t heard the previous episodes of The Frost Lion, they need to know that for the last six weeks we have been playing one section of The Frost Lion during each episode of Anchored by Truth. And since Anchored by Truth is available on most major podcasting apps listeners who want to hear those episodes can do so at any time. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time today to repeat those portions of the poem. But listeners who would like to hear all of the action and adventure that led up to today’s conclusion can listen to those episodes from their favorite podcast app or on our website, crystalseabooks.com. VK: And just as a reminder as of the time of the production of this broadcast and podcast in late 2022 The Frost Lion has not yet been made available for commercial release but that will happen in the early part of 2023. RD: That’s a good note. So, let’s amplify on the reason that the Frost Lion has now chosen to visit the bears, his disciples, in the village around the Golden Tree. For the first time since the bears had come to live near the Golden Tree they had now been presented with a missionary need. In other words, the Golden Tree village bears now knew that their ancestors had actually been saved generations ago for a reason – and that reason had now been brought to their attention in an unmistakable way. VK: Well, if we went back to the first part of the Golden Tree Tales which is The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest we heard the heroine, Komari, say something significant which was quoted by Kodan in The Frost Lion. In her confrontation with the Demon Lord Komari said, “ For if not for the tree, which of us Would ever have even been born? The tree saved our forebears When they came upon it that morn. Ever since then, we’ve not been our own, Our lives bought for a price. This tree that was sown for you and me Was the Great White Bear’s sacrifice.” So, that’s part of the point you’re making with this whole epic saga. Those of us who know Christ as our Savior have been saved for a reason. RD: Right. So, in answer to the question of why did the Frost Lion appear now it was because the Frost Lion wanted to commission the Golden Tree village bears to begin what is sometimes termed “The Great Commission.” The Great Commission is the mission that Jesus gave to His followers in Matthew, chapter 28 and which we heard repeated in the section of the poem we heard today. After His resurrection Jesus told the followers who had been with Him throughout His earthly ministry that the time had come for them to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and [teach] them to obey everything I have commanded you.” That’s from the New International Version of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 19 and 20. VK: So, the reason that the Frost Lion appeared in the Golden Tree village at this time reminds us that there came and a time and place in history when the Lion of Judah entered world history to conduct His earthly ministry. And as we have talked about in other episodes of Anchored by Truth the time that Jesus entered world history as the God-Man wasn’t a random time. It was the time that had been chosen by the Father before the foundation of the world. Up to that time the world was being prepared for the arrival of the Messiah, the Anointed One, because it was at that time that the good news of salvation was going to be made available to a much larger audience. RD: Right. Before the incarnation it’s not that there weren’t Gentiles who had worshipped the One True God – there were. But up to Jesus’ arrival on the earth the primary audience for God’s message that He was going to provide a Savior had been the Jews. All that changed with Jesus’ life. After Jesus’ earthly life, death, and resurrection not only did Jesus issue the Great Commission to His first followers but we see other evangelical and apostolic giants such as the Apostle Paul come on the scene and begin a concerted outreach to the Gentile nations as well as continuing the spread of the gospel among the Jews. But, this outreach was not going to be easy. Jesus knew it wouldn’t be which is, I believe, He made it so plain that this was a mission He was now assigning His followers. It would have been easy, more natural, for them to want to just speak to their countrymen in Israel or even just to other Jews. The outreach to the Gentiles was going to be hard – but it was the right thing to do because that’s the reason God had preserved His chosen people for thousands of years. VK: That calls to mind a line out of the West Point cadet prayer that you mentioned to me a long time ago. The line says, “O God, our Father … Make us choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong and never to be content with a half-truth when the whole can be won.” RD: Exactly. God had selected and preserved a people for Himself because it was through that people that He was going to bring a Savior for the whole world. Jesus, of course, was that Savior. But even after proving that He was the Son of God and the Messiah through His earthly ministry Jesus still had to complete His mission and send His followers to carry that message to the rest of the world. Until the message of salvation was sent to the rest of the world the rest of the world was still under the burden and curse of sin. But the message of salvation could and did change that. VK: And that calls to mind Jesus saying in Matthew, chapter 11, verses 28 and 29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus’ promise is to help us bear our burdens not merely to dismiss them from our lives but we have to hear that good news for it to be effective in people’s lives. RD: Exactly right. So, living near the Golden Tree had brought many blessings to the bears in the arctic village. But it wasn’t enough for them to enjoy those blessings. They had a responsibility to share their blessings with others. VK: So, that brings us to another question. Couldn’t Roleb and his companion just go back to their village and told their friends and neighbors they had seen the Golden Tree, the Frost Lion, and the northern bears? RD: They could have but it would strengthen their witness to have others from the Golden Tree village support their testimony. That’s something anyone who has ever testified to their friends and neighbors will tell you. We all have a responsibility to give a reason for the hope that lies within us. That’s 2 Peter 3:15. But our witness is strengthened when we have others who will go with us and add their voices to our testimony. That’s one of the reasons it’s important to always engage in Christian fellowship with other believers. Sometimes we can put too much emphasis on that old admonition that “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.” Well, of course, we must do our part. But we should also seek the help of others in our own missionary activities. VK: That’s a really important point. As Christians we can get so caught up in struggling to be good believers, good workers, or good parents or family members that we can forget to turn to other believers for support and help. And we must always trust the Lord to support us and depend on the Lord to provide for us. There’s nothing wrong with hard work but ultimately if we think that our lives and destinies on this earth are all about us we are in danger of relying on our strength rather than the Lord’s. RD: Right. And again our model in how to approach struggles is Christ in his confrontation with Satan. Even Jesus didn’t depend on Himself to when He responded to the temptations presented by Satan. When Jesus needed strength to repel Satan Jesus went to scripture. VK: And most people may not realize that all of the scriptures Jesus used came from probably one of the least well-known books in the Bible, Deuteronomy. Christ quoted Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verse 3 in response to the first temptation Satan presented. He quoted Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 16 in response to the second temptation, and Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 13 in response to the third temptation. This certainly reinforces the need to study the entire Bible. Jesus certainly knew all of the Old Testament and used it in his life. RD: Right. Part of us fulfilling our role in the Great Commission is recognizing that the Lord is sovereign and we are not. Even Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for the Father’s will to be done and not his own. We must be willing to witness and testify to others, kindly and gently, but ultimately the results are up to God. Only God can bring change to a human heart. VK: And that calls to mind James, chapter 1, verse 17. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” So, in essence what you’re saying is that Jesus is not only the One who issued the Great Commission but Jesus is the One who enables us to fulfill it. We dare not try to undertake any part of the Great Commission or any other aspect of the Christian life on our own. We must always turn to, and trust in, Jesus to guide and provide. RD: Yes. Jesus is both the source of the instruction and the strength for the obedience. Turning to Jesus should be our first response but all too often I fear it’s our last resort. I always wince a little when I hear people say “the only thing I can do for you is to pray.” VK: Because as you say in your book Purposeful Prayers “the whispered prayer that stirs the hand of God dwarfs the most powerful force in the universe.” RD: Yes. The one big advantage that the bears who lived in the Golden Tree had over their southern relatives was that they had learned that ultimately the supply for their needs came from a source outside themselves. They had lived near the Golden Tree for generations. They knew there was a source of blessing outside of their own effort and that’s where they placed their trust. Anyone or anything that tempts you to place your trust in anything other than God cannot be of God. It’s not that we should not work hard to develop our own skills and abilities but we must keep them in proper perspective. VK: The Apostle Paul essentially affirmed this sentiment in the one of the best-known verses from the Bible: Philippians, chapter 4, verse 13. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” RD: Exactly. We should learn from Golden Tree village bears’ example to be discerning when the world presents us with challenges or opportunities. Jesus is our sure and certain guide in this world and the primary way Jesus imparts wisdom to us is through the Bible. That’s why we must become so familiar with the Bible that we can immediately discern things or events in our lives that tempt us to depart from its teaching. There are a lot of things that will come our way that may not seem to be harmful, in and of themselves, but we can see that it what they offer or tempt us to do will not be consistent with scripture. At my age I’ve learned that the most important skill we can develop is spiritual discernment and we can only get that from the Bible and developing a strong network of mature Christian friends. VK: And while The Frost Lion doesn’t get into that level of detail it’s obvious from the poem that the bears had a strong regard for genuine wisdom and Kodan, Kojon, Koest and all the reset developed even more wisdom after their encounter with the Frost Lion. Christ came to bring us not only joy and peace but “life more abundantly.” But how can we enjoy that abundant life if we don’t ensure that as we travel through life we stay as close as humanly possible to the author of all life, peace, and joy. Staying close to Jesus means reading the Bible, developing a strong prayer life, and staying connected to other believers who can bless us and who we can bless in turn. Sounds like a great time for a prayer. Today since we’re so close to New Year’s Day let’s listen to a prayer for blessings to come to us in the new year. ---- Prayer for NEW YEAR’S DAY VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on our website or your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” Also, we’d like to remind listeners that copies of the first part of the Golden Tree saga, The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest, is available from our website. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New International Version) The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 8 through 10, New International Version
Episode 243 – Jesus' Birth – The Dividing Line of History Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, New International Version ******** VK: Hi! I'm Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I'm here today with RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time event librarian. He straightens up the books on the book shelves when one falls over. Today on Anchored by Truth we're going to begin finishing up our current series where we have focused on the life and historicity of Jesus. And we're going to hear the next-to-last installment of our seven part, epic Christmas poem The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. When we left off last time a group of small koala bears that lives in a valley in the arctic north was trying to save the life of a bear who had gotten lost. This bear had journeyed to the arctic not knowing that a group of koalas already lived in the far north near a Golden Tree that had saved a group of their ancestors. To find the lost southern bear the village bears had enlisted the aid of a great ice eagle. Unfortunately, by the time the village bears found the lost bear the southern bear had died? So, it doesn't look like it's going to be a happy Christmas for the Golden Tree villagers, does it RD? RD: No. It does not. As our last installment of The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion ended two of the villages' teenage bears, Koest and Kopaul, had flown with Gabriel, the great ice eagle. They had gone looking for the bear because earlier in the story Koest and Kopaul had saved the life of Roleb, another bear from the south. Roleb and his friend had made the journey to the north because their own village was in desperate trouble. Their fellow villagers in the south were in danger of losing their faith in their Creator, the Great White Bear. These southern bears knew that many generations ago a group of bears had travelled north but their legends had said that ancestral group had died. The southern bears had no idea the first group that travelled to the north – while they didn't find the Great White Bear – they had found the Golden Tree. Now the question is whether salvation is still available? VK: So, it's time to find out what happens to Roleb and his travelling companion in this Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. ---- The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion – Part 6 VK: Wow. So, now the village bears have met the great Frost Lion – the One who actually created the bears and the ice eagles. But Roleb's friend is still dead. And we still don't know what Roleb's fate is going to be. Is it just too late for the Frost Lion to do anything to help Roleb and his friend? Seems there are still a lot of unanswered questions. RD: Well, hopefully we'll get the answers to all these questions next week since next week is part 7 and there's only seven parts to this part of the Golden Tree saga. But part of what listeners should be listening for is why did the Frost Lion choose to appear at this time in the village bears' history. After all, they had lived near the Golden Tree for many generations? What was it about this situation that made the Frost Lion arrive in the village? Maybe we'll hear something about that next time too. VK: And that's a great lesson for why listeners should grab some friends and family and encourage them to tune in. It would be a good starting point for a discussion in a family setting, or a church youth group, or a home-school study project. The story can help kids learn about poetry as a form of literature, and also see how their imagination can be an important tool in getting immersed in the Bible. RD: Right. Classically some of the greatest poetry ever written like Milton's Paradise Lost was written under the inspiration of the Bible. We've lost some of that awareness but I firmly believe it can be reclaimed by again striving to honor the Lord in everything we do. VK: So, what's on tap for today as we are right on Christmas' doorstep? RD: I thought as our closeout topic for this series on Jesus it would be fitting to talk about the reason for the season: Christ's birth. It's been celebrated on December 25th for centuries, but unfortunately today even that fact has become a source of either criticism or else an outright attack on the historicity of Jesus. For instance, some critics will claim that the celebration of Christmas was an adaptation of the Roman festival of Saturnalia and that as such it casts doubt on the historicity of Jesus. VK: And it is true that the Roman celebration of the Roman god Saturn did occur around the same time on the Julian calendar. The celebration originally started on December 17th but it was eventually expanded so that it lasted until December 23rd. And there are certainly elements of the Roman celebration of Saturnalia that correspond to how we celebrate Christmas. Saturnalia included parties, giving gifts, and plenty of food and drink. Though, it did differ markedly in certain ways. A lot of the time Saturnalia probably resembled Mardi Gras more than Christmas. RD: And that's because the Roman god, Saturn, was the god of abundance and plenty but he was also thought of as the god of dissipation and dissolution. And it's also fair to say that some elements of the Christian celebration of Christmas were influenced by Saturnalia. In the fourth century AD, Pope Julius I (337–352) decided that Christ's birthday should be celebrated on 25 December, around the same time as the Saturnalia celebrations. Some commentators have speculated that part of the reason why he chose this date may have been because he was trying to create a Christian alternative to Saturnalia. Another possibility may have been that in 274 AD, the Roman emperor Aurelian had declared 25 December the birthdate of Sol Invictus and Julius I may have thought that he could attract more converts to Christianity by allowing them to continue to celebrate on the same day. So it's fair to say that the way in which we celebrate Christmas was probably influenced by Saturnalia, but that is quite a different thing from saying that just because the Roman god Saturn was mythological or fictional that Jesus was also. That would be the classic example of a non sequitur. VK: Non Sequitur: a conclusion that does not necessarily follow. In other words it's a logical fallacy to conclude that just because the god Saturn was a myth that Jesus must be a myth also just because there are some common elements in the way the two different figures were or are celebrated. RD: Exactly. VK: But, of course, that does raise the question of whether Pope Julius picked December 25th just because that was a time when there were already pagan celebrations going on, or whether there were other reasons for selecting that day? RD: And that is a great question. VK: I'm so glad you agree. So… RD: We need to start out by saying that the Bible does not tell us exactly when Jesus was born. As one scholar put it, “the early Christians were not so much concerned with the date of Christ's birth, as the fact of his birth.” And for those people who would like to take an in-depth look at when Jesus was born, there's a great little book called Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ by Harold W. Hoehner. Much of what we're going to talk about now comes from his book. The first question we need to address is not the day Jesus was born but the year. VK: I think most people generally think that Jesus was born in 1 AD. Doesn't AD stand for anno domini meaning the “year of the Lord?” RD: Yes, it does. And that was the original intent when a Scythian monk named Dionysius originally prepared a calendar for use by the Western church at the direction of Pope John I in 525 AD. Before that time the Alexandrian system of dating was being used but it used as it base the reign of Diocletian who was a persecutor of the early church. Dionysius did not want the reference date for the church to be based on a persecutor. So Dionysius used the Julian system, which had been established by Julius Caesar, for the organization of the year which ran from January 1st to December 31st. And the year 1 AD was set on January 1st of 754 A.U.C. – anno urbis conditae – from the founding of the city of Rome. At the time Jesus was thought to have been born on December 25th of the prior year. Remember that there is no “zero” year. The calendar goes straight from 1 BC (before Christ) to 1 AD. VK: But… RD: But subsequent scholarship has determined that Dionysius didn't get the translation between the AUC system and the system based on Christ's birth year right. As our scripture today from Matthew noted, King Herod was still alive when Jesus was born. At the time it was thought that Herod died in 754 AUC but we now know that the latest date for Herod's death was 750 AUC. VK: So that would mean Jesus was actually born 4 or 5 years earlier than previously thought. So he was born in 4 or 5 BC, not December 25th of 1 BC. Interesting. RD: Yes. But it's worth noting that scholars are not even agreed on that. VK: Because…? RD: Because we have two scriptures that serve as the outer boundaries for Jesus' birth. According to Matthew Jesus could not have been born later than Herod's death, but according to Luke Jesus was born after a census that had been taken by a Roman official named Quirinius. In Greek Quirinius would have been Kyrenius. Luke says that this was “This was the first census that took place while a Quirinius was governor of Syria.” One of the issues was there aren't any clear records about when this census took place. Josephus does not mention a census that took place during Herod's reign but he does mention one that took place in 6 or 7 AD. So scholars are not unified on the date that this previous census might have taken place. This is one of the more puzzling questions that still linger about the birth of Jesus. VK: So, does Dr. Hoehner discuss this question in his book? RD: He does and there is actually a wealth of discussion available from many sources on this first census of Quirinius. Here are a few things we know for certain. The Romans were well known to take censuses throughout their empire to establish what we might call the basis for taxation and it was common for them to take them about every 14 years. Second, the text from Luke that says that Quirinius was the governor of Syria does not actually use the normal word, legatus, that is translated as “governor.” It uses a more generalized term for being in charge or leading. Third, we know that Quirinius was in the mid-East from 12 B.C. to 2 B.C. successively suppressing rebellions taking place in modern day Turkey. Apparently, Quirinius was well known as a successful military leader. VK: So, it would make sense that he was given charge of an important task of taking a census even if was done as an extra duty. Also, it would make sense that Augustus would want a census taken in that part of the empire because Herod had fallen out of favor with Augustus around 7 or 8 BC and by then it was known that his health was failing and that his sons were quarrelling over who would succeed him. Herod changed his will 3 times in the year before his death, each time naming a different son. Augustus knew about the changes and the quarrels because Herod had to get Augustus' permission before making the changes. RD: Or executing one of his sons which Herod also did – again with Augustus' knowledge and consent. VK: So that helps show that Herod was the kind of a king who would order the murder of all boys, 2 years old and under, in and around Bethlehem to get rid of a child the Magi had described the “king of the Jews.” So, it looks very much like Quirinius might have been in charge of a census sometime in the latter part of Herod's reign around 5 BC. Herod died in 4 BC. But, what about the specific day? Did Pope Julius just pick that day because it roughly corresponded with Saturnalia? RD: We can't be entirely sure why Pope Julius picked December 25th but the traditional date for Jesus' birth had been around for at least 100 or 150 years before he set it officially within the church calendar. At a minimum an early church father named Hippolytus of Rome (ca 165-235 AD) had proposed that date. It is thought that Hippolytus might have had some greater insight about Jesus because he was associated with one of the early disciples of the Apostle John. There's not a lot of information in scripture itself to pin down the date, but the tradition of a midwinter date for his birth does date back to the very earliest of the church fathers. Also, it's fair to note that December 25th is the traditional day of celebration in the Western church but the Eastern church has traditionally used January 6th as the birthday and arrival of the Magi. VK: But some people object to the December date because a part of Luke that we didn't listen to today says the shepherds were keeping watch on their flocks which were out in the fields at night. It is generally known that the shepherds brought their sheep into enclosures from about November through March. So the thinking is that if the sheep were out in the field it couldn't have been December. RD: And that's a reasonable observation but it's not conclusive. First, it might have been a mild winter so there would have been less reason to keep the sheep enclosed. Second, the sheep were apparently in and around Bethlehem as opposed to being out in their spring and summer feeding grounds in the wilderness so this makes it far more likely the birth was in the winter. The shepherds had to be close enough to be able to get to family who were lodged in the stable in Bethlehem fairly quickly. Third, there are Jewish texts that say that the sheep that were going to be used for the Passover celebration were to be out in the field for at least 30 days before the celebration. Passover could have been as early as February so this would again reinforce a midwinter date as early as late December or early January. VK: The bottom line is that - again – when you look at the details of history and the gospel accounts it dispels completely the notion that even if there are superficial resemblances between the Christian celebration of Christmas and some pagan winter festivals that somehow diminishes the historicity of Jesus as a person. Or his birth in Bethlehem on a night over 2,000 years ago. Sounds like a great time for a prayer. Today since we're so close to Christmas let's listen to a prayer about that special day. ---- Prayer for Christmas VK: We'd like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” Also, we'd to remind listeners that copies of the first part of the the Golden Tree saga, The Golden Tree: Komari's Quest, is available from our website. If you'd like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We're not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New International Version) The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, New International Version
Episode 242 – Jesus’ Attributes Were Not “Borrowed” Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” The Gospel of John, Chapter 11, verse 25, New Living Translation “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” The Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verse 6, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time event planning consultant. He rearranges the chairs in the conference room when we have meetings. Today on Anchored by Truth, as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, we want to continue our series where we focus on the life and ministry of Jesus. And we want to continue listening to Crystal Sea’s epic Christmas poem The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. Frost Lion is the third part of the Golden Tree trilogy. The first installment of the Golden Tree saga was The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest and copies of it are available from our website which is crystalseabooks.com. Even though we’re playing Frost Lion on our broadcasts and podcasts it has not yet been released for people to get their own copy but that will happen in the near future. Today we’re coming to part five out of seven of the poem. So, we’re getting close to bringing it home, right RD? RD: We are indeed. For any listeners who weren’t able to be with us for our last couple of episodes we should tell them that The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion is a poem that is written in the style of some classic Christmas stories. It was written in seven parts and each part ends in a sort of cliffhanger. So, now that we’re at part five we’re pretty deep into the story. But just as a quick refresher The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion is about a group of small koala bears who live in the Artic in valley that’s green and warm because in the middle of the valley is a Golden Tree that keeps the valley warm and fertile. They’ve been there for several generations but just as Christmas season is approaching two teenage bears, Koest and Kopaul, were on a high hill near their town when the spotted a dark shape crossing the snow and ice. The strange shape turned out to be a bear named Roleb. Roleb came from the village their ancestors had left many generations ago and had travelled with a friend who got lost. Roleb and his friend were travelling to the arctic to search for help for their village which had lost its faith. Thanks to the wisdom of the village elders, Kodan and Kojon, the bears have been able to summon an ice eagle. But what can this ice eagle do? What will this ice eagle do … if anything? VK: Sounds like we’re getting to the good part. So, let’s continue with the story. Here’s part five of Crystal Seas’ Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree, The Frost Lion. ---- The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion – Part 5 VK: Ok. So, the bears from the village have now found Roleb’s lost friend. But it’s too late. Roleb’s friend has died from the cold. So, it seems as if Roleb’s whole journey to the north has been for nothing. That seems very sad – if that was how the story ended. But, of course, it hasn’t ended yet. So, maybe all hope isn’t lost. And, knowing you, the answer to finding out whether anything can be done for Roleb and his friend is …to tune in next time. RD: That sounds like a brilliant suggestion. And maybe listeners could gather some family members to join them ... VK: Sounds even better. Listening to Golden Tree as a family could be a great way for parents or grandparents to connect with their kids and help them develop their faith. It would also make a great centerpiece for a home school study group or church youth group discussion about the role that courage and commitment play in the Christian faith – something that’s particularly relevant as we get closer and closer to Christmas. RD: Right. Somebody once said that the Christian faith is so simple that even children can comprehend enough about it to understand the plan of salvation. But even though we can begin with the faith of a child we should pursue the goal of developing a truly mature faith. God will meet us and help us wherever we are in our faith journey but He isn’t satisfied with leaving us at the starting line. Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus doesn’t just initiate our faith. He also wants to perfect it. And part of perfecting our faith is ensuring that we understand what the Bible tells us about Jesus. VK: Well, so far we’ve seen that there are extra-Biblical sources that confirm that Jesus was a real historical figure who lived and died in Judea during the time period described by the Bible. But we’ve also seen that as helpful as it is to know that there are secular sources that confirm Jesus’ life that those sources aren’t enough to tell us everything that we need to know about Jesus. We can only get a complete revelation about Jesus from God’s special revelation to people, the Bible. And as we saw in our last episode, and again in today’s scriptures, Jesus’ statements about himself tell us something pretty important: that Jesus is not only fully human but also fully divine. RD: Yes. And so that takes us to the next subject that we need to talk about as we are focusing on the life of Jesus in preparation for celebrating his birth at Christmas. VK: And that is... RD: And that is - that because Jesus is the central figure not just of Christianity, but also the entire Bible, one of the criticisms that’s sometimes directed toward Jesus is that the attributes that the Bible assigns to Jesus were borrowed from other cultures or religious sources. So, Christians need to be familiar with some of the assertions that Jesus’ deeds, especially his miracles, were simply drawn from other religious myths or pagan characters. VK: Can you give us an example of what you’re thinking about? RD: Sure. It is has been alleged that Jesus’ miraculous conception isn’t a unique belief. For instance, critics will say that the mythological figure, Hercules, was also supposed to be the son of a divine father – in this case Zeus - and a mortal mother. VK: But, of course, there are significant differences between Hercules purported conception and Jesus. In the Greek legend Hercules mother was named Alcmene (ALK-MEN-EE). Zeus was supposed to have taken on the human form of Alcmene’s husband and deceived Alcmene and slept with her. And that’s how Hercules was conceived. That’s not nearly the same thing as Jesus being born of Mary while Mary was literally still a virgin. RD: The differences are even more pronounced. Hercules was actually the Roman name of a hero the Romans adapted from the Greek Heracles. According to the Greek legend, Heracles’ mother Alcmene was simultaneously pregnant with Heracles by Zeus and his half-brother Iphicles by her husband. And that’s only the beginning of the legendary aspects in Alcmene’s pregnancy with Heracles. So, as soon as you get beyond the superficial similarity and look at the details, the notion that Jesus’ conception was somehow an adaptation of the Heracles/Hercules myth falls apart. But this is a good example of one kind of obviously fallacious attack that’s directed against the historicity of Jesus. VK: So, what you’re saying is that one form of attack that’s leveled at Jesus has to do with a particular attribute of Jesus and then trying to find a parallel somewhere else in a different religion that is obviously false. The critics then try to discredit the life of Jesus by saying that if story A is false, then story B must be false also. RD: Right. But that makes as much sense as saying that if there are two $5 bills on the table and one is counterfeit, the other one must be also which is just silly. So, sometimes the supposed pagan origin of the details of Jesus earthly life and ministry are concerned with specific attributes of Jesus, such as his virgin birth. But sometimes the copycat thesis is less concerned with the specifics of Jesus life and more concerned with generalities that might be associated just about any supernatural figure. VK: Again, do you have any specific examples in mind? RD: For instance, since sickness and disease are obviously a plague on human existence... VK: No pun intended… RD: No pun intended… anyway, the ability to bring miraculous healing would be expected to be a staple of myths or legends. And it is. For example, Asclepius or Asklepios was a Greek demi-god who was the god of medicine. He was supposed to have raised Hippolytus from the dead, though he was killed by Zeus for doing so. Asclepius was supposed to be the son of the god Apollo and a human mother. Buddha was also supposed to have been able to cure the sick. VK: But again, these kinds of general miracle workings of mythological characters vary considerably from the information we have about the miracles that Jesus performed. For instance, in the case of Jesus curing Peter’s mother we have precise details of the location where the miracle was done, the people involved, and even a pretty close approximation to the timing. And many of Jesus’ healings involved specific details that conform to the religious and cultural conventions known to exist. Such as when he healed the lepers and then told them to go show themselves to a priest which was required by Jewish law. And Jesus’ healing miracles weren’t always the cause for celebration the way you would expect of a miracle like when Jesus restored the eyesight of the man born blind. The blind man was rejected by the religious leaders and cast out by them. RD: Exactly. The descriptions of Jesus’ miracles read like historical accounts because they are. Again, the key to drawing distinctions between Jesus’ miracles and those general sorts of miraculous powers that are associated with the pagan sources is in the details. The Bible accounts provide the details and in the majority of cases there are multiple eyewitness accounts. But the case of Buddha provides another way of refuting the claims that the Bible’s descriptions of Jesus are drawn from other sources. The earliest known account of Buddha’s life was written in the 2nd century AD so it came after Jesus and not before it. That’s also true for another supposed religious figure who supposedly served as the source for many of the details of Christ’s life, Mithra. In Mithra’s manifestation during the Roman period he was supposed to have been born on December 25th, had 12 disciples, performed miracles, had a final meal before he died, and rose from the grave after 3 days. VK: And since Mithra was a religious figure that was known to come from the Persian culture, modern day Iran, supposedly he was the inspiration for much of what the disciples taught about Jesus. Right? RD: Right. The earliest mention of Mithra is around 1400 BC so as a religious figure Mithra would pre-date Christ by a considerable time period. But the problem is that the attributes of the Iranian version of Mithra do not correspond to the Roman version. The Roman version of Mithra is best known for slaying a bull whereas there is no known connection to bull slaying in the Iranian version. And a lot of the supposed correspondences between Christ and Mithra appear in the Roman version and the dating of the correspondences is after Christ. VK: So, many scholars believe there might have been some cross pollination between Christ and the Roman version of Mithra but given the timing of the appearance of the similarities it’s far more likely that the legends of Mithra borrowed from Christianity and not vice versa. RD: And that would have been fair because there was one way that Christianity did borrow from Mithraism, in art. In the early part of the 3rd century AD (313), the Roman emperor Constantine issued the edict of Milan which accepted Christianity. Before then the Roman emperors had generally been very hostile to Christians. Within 10 years Christianity had become the official religion of the empire. But by then Mithraism seems to have also gained a strong foothold within the empire as well. In the third and fourth centuries, the Roman church officials seemed to have embarked on an effort to prove that their faith was the superior one, embarked on an advertising campaign. One commentator said their efforts were “reminiscent of our soft drink wars. Mithra was depicted slaying the bull while riding its back; the church did a lookalike scene with Samson killing a lion. Mithra sent arrows into a rock to bring forth water; the church changed that into Moses getting water from the rock at Horeb.” VK: That sounds suspiciously like the law of unintended consequences. The church officials in the 3rd and 4th century went on a campaign to prove that Christianity was superior to Mithraism and 1,600 years later the church now has to defend itself against the claim that Jesus’ life and ministry were the copycat version. RD: I think that’s an excellent observation. And let’s close out with one more, quick example. In Hinduism Krishna was also supposed to have had a miraculous conception so some critics point to that legend as a possible inspiration for the Christian tenant. VK: But in that case, Krishna’s ‘miraculous conception’ is his mom being impregnated by ‘mental transmission’ from his completely human father. Again, not remotely similar to the Bible’s description of how Mary became pregnant. RD: And to add to that – how credible is it that the first Christians, who were largely Jews from Palestine, would have borrowed a legend from a thousand miles away. At a minimum the Jews were fiercely monotheistic whereas Hinduism is distinctly polytheistic. So, this again points to the need to not only examine the varying details of alleged instances of borrowing but also consider the cultural factors that would have been in play. Often either chronological or cultural factors alone will be enough to refute the alleged possibilities. To go back to our earlier example with the money, when new bank tellers are being taught to spot counterfeit dollars they aren’t given lots of counterfeits to study. They’re given lots of real bills to feel and handle. The idea is that if the tellers get so used to touching and handling the real thing, the fakes will become instantly recognizable. That same approach will work when it comes to being able to answer many of the criticisms that are addressed at Christianity and Jesus. VK: And that’s a good lesson for all of us. The more time we spend studying scripture – and developing familiarity with the details of the people, the nations, the geography, the culture – not only will we be able to be confident in our own faith. But we will also be able to point other people to the truth. RD: Precisely. Myths and legends read like myths and legends. They have fantastic details that have little or no correspondence to things in the real world. Good common sense enables us to quickly see elements that don’t make sense in our experience. By contrast, the history contained in the Bible reads like good histories that we see elsewhere. There are specifics about people, places, times, and events and quite often either archeological finds or extra-Biblical records will provide information that helps confirm the Biblical record. VK: Sounds like a great time for a prayer. Today since we’re so close to Christmas let’s listen to a prayer about that special day. ---- Prayer for Christmas VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us next time as we continue our discussion of the reality of Jesus’ life. We hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. Also, we’d to remind listeners that copies of The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest are available from our website. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) The Gospel of John, Chapter 11, verse 25, New Living Translation The Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verse 6, New Living Translation The Gospel of John, Chapter 15, verse 5, New Living Translation (Sources used for this episode or other in this series) https://creation.com/pagan-copycat-thesis-refuted http://www.tektonics.org/copycat/pagint.php http://www.tektonics.org/copycat/mithra.php
- ManEpisode 241 – Jesus – Man and God Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” The Gospel of John, Chapter 6, verse 35, New Living Translation “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” The Gospel of John, Chapter 8, verse 12, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time pastry consultant. He buys the cookies we keep in the kitchen. Though to be fair I’m the one who makes sure we don’t run out of animal crackers. Anyway, today on Anchored by Truth, as we start to celebrate the Christmas season, we want to continue our series where we focus on Jesus. And we want to continue listening to Crystal Sea’s epic Christmas poem The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. Today we’re coming to part four of the poem where we now hear about the seemingly unsolvable quandary that is confronting our bears. So do you want to tell us where we are in the story, RD? RD: I’d love to. For any listeners who weren’t able to be with us for our last few episodes we should tell them that The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion is a poem that is written in the style of some classic Christmas stories. It’s the third of the Golden Tree series. The first segment is called The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest and the second part was called The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma. Both of these earlier parts of the saga were also written using the model of the old-time movie serials that they used to play when I was a kid and you went to the theater on Saturday afternoons. Before the movie they’d give you the latest installment of an ongoing saga. Each episode would end with the heroes and heroines left in a precarious position so next week you’d come back and plunk down another quarter or two. So, to get ready for part four listeners need to know that the epic is all about a group of small koala bears who live in the arctic. Even though they are in the arctic they live near a Golden Tree that creates a peaceful and fertile valley. The bears’ ancestors discovered the Golden Tree after they had left their homes down under and went searching for their Creator that they called the Great White Koala Bear. The bears have lived near the Golden Tree for generations. In all that time they had never met another bear from the land their ancestors left – but that has now changed. A new, strange bear named Roleb was rescued by a pair of young bears, Koest and Kopaul, and brought to Koest’s home. Once there, Roleb told the bears he had friend who was traveling with him but that friend is now lost in the arctic wasteland. Two of village elders, Kodan and Kojon are trying to figure out if there is a way to save Roleb’s lost friend before it is too late … which it might already be. VK: Alright then. So, let’s continue with the story. Here’s part four of Crystal Seas’ Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree, The Frost Lion – part four. ---- The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion – Part 4 VK: Wow. So, the bears figured out how to summon an ice eagle … but can this ice eagle help them? Will this ice eagle help them? It doesn’t seem like this ice eagle is all that friendly at this point. RD: I guess folks will just have to tune in next week and see what happens... VK: I’m starting to see why the movies played those serial episodes before they played the main feature. RD: Well, as a kid the trick was not to not eat all your popcorn during the serial. Otherwise, you didn’t have any left to enjoy during the feature. It helped if you had enough money to buy a large bag. No buckets in those days. VK: Today I think some of us need to worry about waistlines more than money… RD: No comment. VK: Anyway, maybe one of the lessons we can learn from the bears is that we need to understand that challenges to our faith can come to us at any time. We need to be prepared to intelligently respond to them. And Ephesians 6:17 does tell us that the sword of the Spirit is the Bible, the Word of God. That’s one of the big reasons we try to encourage people to develop the habit of staying in the Word. It’s the best way for us to cope with our own ice eagles. So, where do you want to go today as we resume our study of Jesus’ earthly life? RD: Well, in our last couple of episode on Anchored by Truth we talked about some examples of extra-Biblical sources that confirm that Jesus was a real person who lived and died in Judea during the early part of the first century AD. But, naturally, the only thing that the secular writers could write about was the human dimension of Jesus. If secular writers were our only source about the life of Jesus we could know some important details about him, but we would completely miss the most important fact about Jesus: that Jesus was not only fully human but that he was also fully divine. VK: And here is where a lot of headaches begin. How can one person be both God and man? I think it’s safe to say that many Christians – even serious and devout ones – have trouble with that concept. So, let’s go over some of the basics of historical, orthodox Christian theology – the Trinitarian nature of God and the dual nature of Jesus. A lot of confusion arises because people don’t understand what Christians mean when they refer to the Trinity or the dual nature of Christ. So, let’s start there. RD: Well, let’s acknowledge right at the start the limitations of human language and the incomprehensibility of God. Humans are finite. God is infinite. So, there is no way any human or group of humans is every going to be capable of exhaustively understanding or explaining the nature of the God or the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. That doesn’t mean we can’t know some true things about God and develop an awareness of the miracle of the incarnation, but it does mean that mysteries will always remain. But that the fact that mysteries will always remain doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t apply ourselves to develop a full-orbed understanding of God insofar as we are able. VK: And it also means that we should always approach these subjects in a spirit of reverence and prayer, right? I mean the one Person who can help us grow in our understanding is the very Person we’re seeking to understand. So, what does the doctrine of the Trinity refer to? RD: Orthodox, Christian theology believes that the Bible refers to one God, but acknowledges that God exists eternally as three divine Subsistences or Persons. The classic proof text for the Trinitarian view of the Godhead is Matthew 28:18 and 19 which says: “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” A slightly different way of explaining this is that God is singular in nature but three in person. By contrast, Jesus, the 2nd Person of the Trinity, is singular in person but has two natures. Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. And the classic formulation of this that came out of the Council of Chalcedon is : ” Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, having two natures inseparably united in one divine person without confusion, mixture, separation, or division. Each nature retains its own attributes.” VK: So, those views explain why Christians still believe in one God – we’re monotheistic – but we also believe that within the Godhead there are three distinct Persons who have a relationship with each other. Grappling with these concepts is challenging to say the least. RD: And that’s the reason we have to always be willing to acknowledge that even though the church has classic formulations like the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds that help amplify the basics, these doctrines will always contain a certain amount of mystery for men. We’re back to the plain fact that finite man cannot fully understand or explain an infinite, Triune God. VK: So, how do our opening scriptures relate to this who discussion? At least on the surface, while Jesus is certainly providing some really comforting assurances to his disciples – such as that he will provide for them and protect them like a shepherd does his sheep – how do these verses demonstrate that Jesus was claiming to be God? RD: In English, the claim is not as obvious as it was in the language in which John originally recorded his Gospel, Greek. You see the Greek words that are translated as “I am,” in “I am the bread of life,” and in the other scriptures we heard are two Greek words: ego and eimi. And these are exactly the same words that God used when He made declarations about himself in the Old Testament. VK: As in the declaration that God made to Moses when Moses was standing before the burning bush recorded in Exodus 3:14? Let me read that part. But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” God also said that Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.” RD: Exactly. The Septuagint translators when they translated the Hebrew “Yahweh” which came from the word for “I am” translated it by a combination of two different Greek words used for the verb “to be:” ego and eimi. So in Jesus’ time the phrase ego eimi came to be synonymous with the name for God. In Hebrew, Yahweh. In Greek, Jehovah. So, when the Apostle John recorded what Jesus said about Jesus being the bread of life or the light of the world, John used the phrase “ego eimi” for the words “I am.” Many scholars think that when Jesus identified himself with the “I am,” He was directly proclaiming to his followers that he was the same as the one who appeared to be Moses. But there are other references in the Old Testament to which Jesus may have been pointing to make the same point. Michael J. Krueger, who is a New Testament scholar and President of the Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, has shown that there are number of “I am” references in chapters 40 – 55 of the book of Isaiah that unmistakably point to God. Let’s listen to a couple of examples, Isaiah 41: 4 and 43:10: Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he (ego eimi). Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he (ego eimi). Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. The “I am he” in these passages is translated in Greek by ego eimi. VK: So, when Jesus said he was the bread of life or the light of the world he was going beyond simply giving metaphors for the provisions that he was making for his people? He was saying that one of the reasons his followers could have confidence in the promises that he was giving was because he was God. And as God whatever he promised he had the irresistible power to fulfill. I’m starting to get another headache when I think about that. Imagine, listening to someone standing before you who was saying “I am the light of the world,” - meaning he would give you all the light and wisdom you would ever need – and then realizing that the one making the promise was the who made light to begin with. That’s a staggering thought. RD: And it gets even more staggering. Remember that on Anchored by Truth we have often talked about the fact that logic and empirical observations demonstrate that the universe was created by a self-existent Being. We call that Being God. We can arrive at the need for a self-existent Being to explain the existence of the universe and everything in it, just by making some informed observations. In other words, as people we have the ability to deduce the existence of a self-existent Being or God just by exercising our reason and intelligence. Well, when God said to Moses that his name, God’s name, was “I am” he was identifying himself by using the attribute of self-existence. God was simultaneously exalting Moses by saying “you’re standing in the presence of the One who made everything,” and God was condescending to the level of man by communicating to Moses in a way Moses could understand. God was also pointing out that Moses should be aware of His existence because Moses own intellect and intelligence would have revealed the need for God even God had never chosen to communicate with him directly. VK: And the same thing would have been true of the people listening to Jesus, wouldn’t it? Only now, rather than the people listening to a voice out of a burning bush, they’re hearing those words from a man standing in front of them. And many, if not most, of them would have seen Jesus perform miracles so they would have known that when Jesus spoke, he was speaking the truth. But I think you have one more point that you’re making with the line of reasoning aren’t you? RD: Exacatamundo… VK: Exactamundo, again ... RD: Ok. Precisely, if you prefer. Think about it. By making empirical observations and exercising a little logic and reason we can arrive at the conclusion that the universe was created by a self-existent Being – God. But where did we derive the ability to make those observations? Where did we get eyesight that could see the sun and stars? Where did we get the intellect and reasoning ability to design instruments that could amplify our own observational capabilities like telescopes or microscopes? Where did we get the reasoning ability to understand that an effect demands a cause and that the law of non-contradiction is an essential element in reasoning correctly? Where did we get the ability to write and use language and make and retain records so we could pass words and observations down over thousands of years? And not just the records of the Bible but the other records that we examined on Anchored by Truth the last couple of times by secular observers who affirmed that Jesus was a real man who lived in Judea at a particular time in history. VK: So the point you’re making is that the same God who designed and created the universe with all its marvelous complexity and order also created us in such a way that we could perceive Him. And you’re saying that that same God came to various men at different points in history – to Moses and Isaiah in the Old Testament, to Matthew, John and others in the New Testament – to leave us a record of His appearances in this world. So, you’re saying that God designed man so that man could recognize not only the design in nature but also the design in God’s plan for human history. The plan that we call the plan of creation, fall, and redemption. Oh, all that is either super scary or super exciting. RD: Rather like the disciples in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm or Moses when he was in front of the burning bush, an immediate confrontation with the undeniable presence of the Almighty is simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. Unfortunately, today too many people deny themselves that experience of reverential awe that comes from truly grappling with the authentic nature of God. VK: And only the Bible gives us what we need to understand that nature. And we all need to have a better understanding of that nature. Because when we gain it we will find out that God is not only an awesome and mighty God but He is also a loving and merciful God who has made provisions for us to have eternal fellowship with him by placing our faith in Jesus as our Savior. So let’s close with prayer. Today let’s listen to a prayer of adoration for the first person of the Trinity, our heavenly Father. ---- PRAYER OF ADORATION OF THE FATHER VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us next time as we continue our discussion of the reality of Jesus’ life. We hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. Also, we’d to remind listeners that copies of The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest and The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma are available from our website. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the English Revised Version) The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 1 through 6, English Revised Version The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 23, verses 44 through 47, English Revised Version (Sources used for this episode or other in this series) https://www.ligonier.org/about/who-we-are/what-we-believe/ https://www.michaeljkruger.com/why-does-jesus-use-the-phrase-i-am/ https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/10-things-yahweh-means
Episode 240 – Jesus Beyond the Bible Part 2 Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ... And Joseph also … to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enroll himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child. …while they were there… she [gave birth].” The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 1 through 6, English Revised Version ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time health consultant. He buys the cough drops we keep in the studio for people to use during recording. Today on Anchored by Truth, as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, we want to continue our series where we focus on the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. And we want to continue listening to Crystal Sea’s epic Christmas poem The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. Today we’re coming to part three of the poem where the action starts to get a little more intense. Is that a fair statement, RD? RD: I think so. For any listeners who weren’t able to be with us for our last couple of episodes we should tell them that The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion is a poem that is written in the style of some classic Christmas stories. It was also written using the model of the old-time movie serials that they used to play when I was a kid and you went to the theater on Saturday afternoons. Before the movie they’d give you the latest installment of an ongoing saga. Each episode would end with the heroes and heroines left in a precarious position so next week you’d come back and plunk down another quarter or two. So, to get ready for part three listeners need to know that the epic is all about a group of small koala bears who live in a valley in the arctic. A group of the bear’s ancestors settled in the valley because in the center of the valley is a golden tree that transforms the valley into a place where they can live and thrive. They’ve been there for several generations but in the current Christmas season an unexpected challenge has come to their valley, the tree, and their lives. Two of the town’s teenage bears, Koest and Kopaul had gone to a hill to look at the northern lights. While on the hill they saw a new, strange bear staggering through the snow. At first they weren’t sure if this new bear posed a danger but since the new bear was so close to death they brought him back to Koest’s home where Koest’s mother, Koray, began attending to the bear. But they still don’t know anything about the new bear. Where did he come from and why is he here? And what does he want? VK: Alright then. So, let’s continue with the story. Here’s part three of Crystal Seas’ Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion – part three. ---- The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma – Part 3 VK: Ok. As the old timers … RD: Like me... VK: Right… used to say, “the plot commences to thicken.” The bears who live near the Golden Tree have found out that they have distant relatives who don’t know about the Golden Tree or even the Great White Bear. But a couple who still did believe in the Great White Bear decided to attempt the quest that others had tried long ago. But now their quest is in danger because one of them has almost died and the other one is lost in a vast arctic wilderness – a wasteland for anyone who’s not near the tree. RD: Right. And sometimes those of us who live in today’s post-modern culture can feel that way – that we are living in a wilderness that has lost sight of our true Creator. That’s why it’s such a good idea for mature believers to listen to or read stories to the kids or grandkids because they can introduce those kids or grandkids to the real struggles that life contains and help prepare to them to be overcomers. And of course the best strategy for being an overcomer is to be so familiar with the truth that lies and deception become immediately identifiable. VK: And of course that’s why we do Anchored by Truth – to remind people that the Bible, in the words of Psalm 46, is a “very present help in time of trouble.” But people aren’t likely to turn to the Bible to help them in times of trouble if they aren’t confident that the Bible is reliable and trustworthy. So that’s why we focus on using evidence and logic to demonstrate that we have very good reasons for believing that the Bible is the very Word of God. RD: Yes. Everybody, at some point in their life, is going to ask the question, “Why am I here?” It’s one of the most obvious questions that arise from the human experience. But, whether most people realize it or not, the answer to the question, “why am I here,” is inexorably tied to three other questions. Is there a God? If there is a God, does He communicate with people – or said slightly differently, “Is the Bible the Word of God.” And, if there is a God and the Bible is His word, can I learn about my life, my needs, and my purpose by studying the Bible? Of course at Anchored by Truth we think that the answer to all three questions is a resounding “yes.” But we would just as quickly admit that, unless people are convinced that the Bible is more than just an aggregated collection of fairy tales and myths, they are unlikely to find the Bible relevant to their lives. VK: I notice that you said “study the Bible” not just “read the Bible.” What you’re observing is that understanding the Bible, confidently and contextually, demands effort. Right? I mean that sort of runs against the old method of letting the Bible fall open and then reading the first verse that comes to your attention. RD: Well, I wouldn’t try to restrict the Lord’s ability to communicate to any particular person any way He chooses. But randomly or haphazardly reading selected portions of the Bible isn’t likely to help people answer the question, “Why am I here?” I am fully persuaded that the Lord will reveal Himself to anyone and everyone who seeks to truly know Him. But our relationship with the Lord – who is after all first and foremost a person – is just like our relationship with others in our lives. The quality of our relationship will be dependent on the quality and quantity of time we spend with the Lord. And because the Bible was written in a different time and era we need to do some study on the times, customs, and cultures that form its setting. And, unfortunately, because so much misinformation circulates in our own culture today about what the Bible is or isn’t, contemporary Christians need to arm themselves by being able to respond to certain common errors. VK: Such as the erroneous assertion that Jesus wasn’t a real person. That he didn’t live a real life, eat, walk, and sleep like normal human beings. And that, despite being fully human, he didn’t also demonstrate that he was fully divine by rising out of a stone tomb after being killed by the most powerful empire on the earth at the time. So, that takes us back to our review of some examples that Jesus’ earthly existence is confirmed by sources outside the Bible. Last time we took a look at two examples of other ancient historians who mentioned Jesus in their histories: the Roman historian Tacitus and the Jewish historian Josephus. Both are considered reliable historians. Both wrote their histories within a relatively short period after Jesus’ earthly life. And both wrote accounts that confirmed some of the details in scripture. Where do you want to start today? RD: Well, let’s take a look at another Roman historian, Suetonius. Suetonius was a Roman historian and annalist of the Imperial House under the Emperor Hadrian. His writings about Christians describe their treatment under the Emperor Claudius (41-54AD): “Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus [Christ], he [Claudius] expelled them from the city [Rome].” (Life of Claudius, 25:4) This expulsion took place in 49AD. In another work, Suetonius wrote about the fire which destroyed Rome in 64 A.D. under the reign of Nero. Nero blamed the Christians for this fire and he punished Christians severely as a result: “Nero inflicted punishment on the Christians, a sect given to a new and mischievous religious belief.” (Lives of the Caesars, 26.2) So from these quotes we can see that the awareness of Jesus had spread all the way to Rome less than 20 years after Jesus died. The awareness was so strong that the emperor had taken personal notice of Jesus’ followers and apparently felt the need to try to minimize their influence in the capital city. VK: And again, just to remind everyone of what we mentioned last time the fact that Roman historians and even Roman emperors would take notice of Jesus is remarkable. It wasn’t as if Jesus had led a conquering army that was threatening to lay siege to Rome or even one of his outlying provinces. And Suetonius’ observation that the Christians had a “new and mischievous religious belief” is particularly fascinating. When you think about the pantheon of gods with which the Romans were thoroughly familiar – not only their own gods but also the Greek gods and the gods of all the people they’d conquered – when you think about the vast variety of religious beliefs with which they were acquainted what could be considered “new and mischievous?” RD: Well, of course, many scholars believe that Suetonius was likely referring to the physical resurrection of Jesus. Obviously, the Romans were well familiar with various beliefs of life after death, but those belief systems never included a person – a flesh and blood man – walking around, talking, eating, and even touching other people after being crucified. That was new and novel. VK: Still is. I’ve never seen it though I thoroughly believed it happened. Who’s next? RD: Well, take a look at two sources who wrote about Jesus but for whom we don’t have any copies of their writings: Thallus and Phlegon. VK: Well, if there are no existing copies of their manuscripts how can we know what they wrote? RD: Because just like today, there were other writers who did read what they wrote and preserved some of their material by quoting it in documents they were preparing. Just like someone may not have attended a political event, but they can know part of what the speaker said by reading quotes in articles written by people who were there. In Thallus’ case, parts of his histories were preserved by Julius Africanus who wrote around 221 AD. In Phlegon’s case, not only did Julius Africanus record some of his material but so did Origen who was an early church scholar and theologian. VK: So what observation did Julius Africanus preserve from Thallus’ writings that pertain to Jesus? RD: Well let me read a quote from Julius Africanus: “On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.” (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18:1) So Thallus had written more than one book of history but in at least one of his books he took note of the darkness and earthquake that accompanied Christ’s crucifixion. This parallels precisely the account that Matthew gave us in Chapter 27 of his Gospel. VK: And Luke also wrote about the darkness. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 23, verses 44 through 47 say: “And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost. And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly, this was a righteous man.” So, it is very interesting that a secular historian like Thallus would mention the same detail that is present in Matthew and Luke. And if I remember correctly Thallus’ observations are particularly important because many scholars believe he wrote around 52 AD. In fact, he may have been the earliest secular writer to comment on the events surrounding the crucifixion. Well, what about Phlegon? RD: Well let me read three quotes. This first is one preserved by Julius Africanus and the second two were preserved by Origen: “Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth to the ninth hour.” (Africanus, Chronography, 18:1) “And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place … ” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 33) “Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but that he arose after death, and exhibited the marks of his punishment, and showed how his hands had been pierced by nails.” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 59) So in these quotes we several things of significance. First, Phlegon confirms the darkness mentioned by Matthew, Luke, and Thallus. Second, he confirms that Jesus was crucified and he gives us a specific time reference: during the reign of Tiberius. And third, he confirms the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus including that he showed the marks of his crucifixion to those to whom he appeared. VK: Well, that’s even more amazing because now we know that the secular historians of the 1st and 2nd century AD were not only aware of Jesus’ life and ministry but they were also familiar with many of the details that surrounded his death and resurrection. But that does raise a question. Since Julius Africanus and Origen were both admitted Christians is it possible that they fabricated the quotes they attributed to Thallus and Phlegon? RD: It’s not impossible, but why would they have done that? VK: I think critics would say they would have fabricated the quotes to make their case for the truth of Christianity stronger. RD: Well, if they had attempted to do that it would actually have had the opposite effect in their day and time. First, remember that even though copies of the writings from Thallus and Phlegon are no longer extant today, they were in existence at the time Julius Africanus and Origen wrote and quoted from them. So if they had fabricated quotes or deliberately misquoted them their fraud or errors would have been easily detectable. Second, Africanus and Origen were writing at a time when there was substantial official opposition to Christianity. In other words they were writing in a hostile world. As such, they would have taken even greater pains to be sure that they wouldn’t be subject to easily refuted assertions. Third, Origen’s quotes of Phlegon came from a work entitled Contra Celsum or in English Against Celsus. So Origen was writing a work to refute the claims of Celsus who wrote a work entitled The True Doctrine. The True Doctrine was likely written under the authority of a Roman emperor was critical of Christianity. Since accuracy was essential to his refutation of Celsus’ book, most scholars agree that Origen is a reliable source for what Phlegon said. Why would Origen have handed his opponent an easy method for dismissing Origen’s criticisms? VK: That all makes a lot of common sense and it points to a broader implication of the extra-Biblical sources that you’ve been citing. None of the observers themselves, including Thallus or Phlegon, were friendly to Christianity. So theirs were essentially the observations of hostile witnesses. As such, when they confirm details of the Biblical account their testimony of Jesus’ life has even greater weight. If they thought that Jesus was a fraud or a fabrication it would have been very easy for them just to not mention him. RD: And one more point to note before we close. In these episodes we haven’t been able to cover all the extra-Biblical sources that there are that confirm Jesus’ life, ministry, and death. There’s a book called The Historical Jesus by Dr. Gary Habermas that contains a much more exhaustive treatment of this subject. VK: And – again – we wanted to point listeners to all these resources, including the links we put on our podcast notes, to enable them to continue their own studies about the life and ministry of Jesus. As we said at the start of this episode, to answer the question “why am I here,” we need to understand why any of us are here. And how we got here. Those questions are directly related to what we think about God and Jesus. So let’s close with prayer. Today let’s listen to a prayer of the One who leads into a knowledge of truth, the Holy Spirit. ---- Prayer for Adoration of the Holy Spirit VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us next time as we continue our discussion of the reality of Jesus’ life. We hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. Also, we’d to remind listeners that copies of The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest are available from our website. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the English Revised Version) The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 1 through 6, English Revised Version The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 23, verses 44 through 47, English Revised Version (Sources used for this episode or other in this series) https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible/ https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/jesus-of-nazareth/the-evidence-for-jesus/ https://alwaysbeready.com/extrabiblical-historical-sources-corroborate-the-bible/ https://crossexamined.org/why-should-we-trust-the-extra-biblical-references-to-jesus/
Episode 239 – Jesus Beyond the Bible Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. Micha, Chapter 5, verse 2, New Living Translation Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, verse 1, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, author founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time barista. He turns on the coffee maker and puts in those little cups. Today on Anchored by Truth, as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are continuing our series where we focus on the earthly birth and life of Jesus. In today’s culture, it seems as though just about everybody has heard about Jesus, but fewer and fewer people actually know much about him. Do you agree with that RD? RD: Yes. Jesus’ name is certainly well known in modern culture but unfortunately there is as much or more misinformation that circulates about him than there is actual fact. I’m afraid that more people get there information about Jesus more by watching television specials or dramatized movies than they do from reading the Bible or studying the many fine, well-documented books and articles that have been produced by excellent Christian scholars through the years. That’s the bad news. The good news is that for those who are truly interested in knowing the actual, historical Jesus it’s probably easier today than any time in history to get accurate information. But you do have to be careful about the sources you use. VK: So, today we want to continue to provide the listeners to Anchored by Truth with a head start on doing their own study about Jesus. As you have so often said, Jesus is the centerpiece of both the Bible and the plan of redemption. So, to be confident not only in our own faith but to help those who are still looking for anchors for their own lives it’s imperative we know the real Jesus of the Bible. But before we get too deep into our discussion how about telling us a little about the Christmas poem that we’re going to continue today? RD: I’d love to. As I mentioned in an earlier episode of Anchored by Truth, years ago when I worked in one of those big state agency buildings that are so common here I wanted to give Christmas presents to some of my co-workers but doing that in a state agency can sometimes be tricky. So, I decided that one present I could give was a little entertainment so I wrote this piece that was inspired by some of things that used to entertain the kids of my generation: Christmas poems and the short serial stories you used to see in the movie theaters before the main feature. Each of those film pieces would always leave you hanging so you had to come back every week to see what happened. So, I wrote a Christmas story in six parts and each part left you wondering what would come next. That story became The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest. It was about a group of koala bears who had gone on a quest to the far north to find their creator that they called The Great While Koala Bear. The bears never found their creator but they did find a golden tree in the artic that made a valley a perfect place for them to live. Well, later on I created a new story that I called The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma and we’ve followed that up now with another Golden Tree story – the Frost Lion. In part one of Frost Lion that we heard on our last episode we’ve learned that there are two young bears confronting a dilemma they believe might threaten their village. From a vantage point at the top of a tall hill near their town they have seen a strange shape out on the distant snow – but they don’t know who or what the shape is. VK: Alright then. So, let’s continue with the story. Here’s part two of Crystal Seas’ Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. ---- The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion – Part 2 VK: The drama is now building. What we’ve heard is that bears have enjoyed the peace and plenty in the valley for generations but now a new bear from a strange land is in their midst – and that bear is very near death. Worse this new bear has a friend who is still lost in the deep winter snow and may already have died. So, the bears are learning - just like in the real world – that there are always unexpected events in this world that may require us to respond. And it may take real courage to confront those events … RD: And commitment and sacrifice... VK: And it’s hard to have those virtues if we don’t know why we’ve been sent on our own quests, isn’t it? I mean, God’s grace has saved us just like the Golden Tree saved the bears. But as the Apostle Paul said to the Philippians they had to. “work hard to show the results of [their] salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in [them and us], giving [them and us]the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” God’s grace saves us but our sanctification requires effort on our part. RD: Right. The old song there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to “trust and obey.” Part of that obedience is to be able to tell others why we believe that Jesus was qualified to be our savior. And that starts with us being assured that Jesus was a real, historical figure – not a myth or some kind of pious concoction. In our day and age one of the semi-criticisms that’s hurled against the Christian faith is that the Jesus that Christians worship is either a mythological figure or – if he even existed – that we can’t trust the gospel accounts for information about him. VK: But the truth is that Jesus was a real person. And we see that from passages like the ones we used for our opening scriptures. In these passages we can see that the Bible tells us specific facts about Jesus like where he was born – in Bethlehem – and when – during the reign of a king named Herod. But beyond even what scripture tells us Jesus life is a fact that is even confirmed by sources outside the Bible isn’t it? And that’s what you wanted to focus on today, right – the fact that we have historical sources besides the Bible that confirm Jesus’ historicity and even confirm many of the details contained in the gospels about his life, death, and circumstances? RD: Right. In some earlier episodes of Anchored by Truth we’ve discussed the fact that you can use the existence of the physical universe and apply logic and reason to come to the conclusion that there is a self-existent being responsible for the creation of the universe and of living creatures. But that line of reasoning can only carry you so far in an understanding of God and it would give us almost no information about other attributes that are essential parts of the Christian faith such as the plan of redemption or Jesus’ role in it. For that, we need a special revelation from that self-existent being – God – and fortunately we have that in the Bible. But we need to be persuaded that that revelation is true and reliable and once again logic, reason, and evidence can play a role in validating the Bible’s claim that it is the inspired Word of God. And that’s where extra biblical sources can be helpful. Such sources don’t add anything to the Bible, but they can add to our individual confidence that the Bible is describing history accurately when it speaks of historical events. VK: So, today you want to take a brief look at some other historical sources that also confirm that Jesus was a real historical figure. You know when you think about it, it’s remarkable that there would be any other surviving sources outside the Bible who would mention Jesus. In his day and time – if Jesus hadn’t been the Son of God – he would have been just another obscure and unimportant itinerant preacher that had a brief public ministry in a distant Roman province. He never led an army, held a prominent government or political position, or even wrote a book. Plus, his public ministry only lasted about 3 years and he didn’t travel all that widely. His public ministry was all conducted within 100 miles of his home. And he died the death of a common criminal. So, if Jesus wasn’t who he claimed to be – the Son of the Almighty God – he should have faded from the pages of history as just another local crank. But he didn’t. He’s mentioned by some of the most important historians of his age, men who had far more earthly distinction that he did. Where do you want to start? RD: Let’s start by talking about a few examples of well-known Roman historians who are widely regarded as having written important histories of the Roman Empire and conquests. The examples that we’re going to use today came from an article available on the website coldcasechristianity.com entitled “is there any evidence for Jesus outside the Bible.” We’ll put a link to the article on the notes that accompany the podcast version of this show. But these examples are all widely known and can be found in any number of historical reference sources. So the first example we want to use is a quote from Cornelius Tacitus was well known for his analysis and examination of historical documents and is among the most trusted of ancient historians. He was a senator under Emperor Vespasian and was also proconsul of Asia. In his “Annals’ of 116 AD, he describes the Roman Emperor Nero’s response to the great fire in Rome and Nero’s claim that the Christians were to blame: “Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.” So, in this account, Tacitus confirms that there was a man who lived in Judea, was known as Christ, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and who had followers who called themselves by his name and were persecuted for following him. VK: Well, this account is helpful because it directly confirms a number of details directly about Jesus. But it’s also important for another reason, isn’t it? A few episodes ago we talked about the fact that Luke and the other gospel writers were meticulous when it came to their historical recording and reporting. So much so that they got some obscure details right, even when other ancient historians got them wrong. So, this quote from Tacitus helps illustrate that point too, doesn’t it. RD: Very good. That’s pretty impressive. You noticed that Tacitus called Pontius Pilate the procurator of Judea not the prefect. VK: Thank you. I try. RD: And you’re absolutely right. As good a historian as Tacitus was he was human and in this case he did make a mistake. He got Pilate’s title wrong. For many years there were questions about the existence and the actual title of Pontius Pilate—the Roman governor who presided over the trial of Jesus. Later Roman writers, as well as almost all Bible reference works, referred to Pilate as the “procurator” of Judea but Luke and the other gospel writers called Pilate a “governor;” not a procurator. The fact that “governor” was the correct title was confirmed in 1961, when a two by three foot stone was discovered that had a Latin inscription. The translation of the inscription reads as follows: Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, has presented the Tiberieum to the Caesareans. This find was not only archaeological confirmation for the existence of Pilate but it was also confirmation that Pilate was the Prefect, or governor, of Judea. VK: In fact, we now know that the title “Procurator” was not used at the time of Jesus’ trial for the Roman governors. This title only came into usage at a later time, during the reign of the emperor Claudius, A.D. 41-54. During Claudius’ reign the title of the Roman governors shifted from Prefect to Procurator. So although Tacitus was correct about the title in use for the Roman governor of Judea at the time he wrote – about 60 years later - strictly speaking that was not Pilate’s actual title when he supervised the trial and execution of Jesus. Pilate was a prefect, a governor, not a procurator – a fact the Bible writers got right. So, who’s next on the list of extra-Biblical writers? RD: Well, before we close for today we should probably take a quick look at one of the most famous of the ancient historians, Josephus, because he lived so close to the time of Jesus and during the period of early church’s formation. Josephus lived from 37 AD to 101 AD. The most widely accepted year for the crucifixion is 33 AD so he was born just four years after the crucifixion. He wrote an extensive history of the Jews in 93 AD called “the Antiquities of the Jews.” So today when you see people referring to it you often just hear people call it “Antiquities.” Josephus wrote about Jesus in more detail than any other non-biblical historian and Josephus himself was a really interesting character. He was a consultant for Jewish rabbis and became a Galilean military commander by the age of sixteen. He was an eyewitness to much of what he recorded in the first century A.D. As a Jewish military leader he initially fought against the Romans but later surrendered and he eventually became an adviser to the Roman emperor Vespasian. Under Vespasian, Josephus was allowed to write a history of the Jews. This history includes three passages about Christians, one in which he describes the death of John the Baptist, one in which he mentions the execution of James (and describes him as the brother of Jesus the Christ), and a final passage which describes Jesus as a wise man and the messiah. There is some legitimate controversy about the writing of Josephus, because of the timing of the discovery of his writing but why don’t you read a conservative scholarly reconstruction of one of Josephus’ most famous passages. VK: “Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him accused by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians named after him has not disappeared.” RD: Now there are some other ancient versions of Josephus’ writing which are even more explicit about the nature of Jesus’ miracles, life and his status as the Christ, but from even this conservative version we can conclude: Jesus lived in Palestine, was a wise man and a teacher, worked amazing deeds, was accused by the Jews, crucified under Pilate and had followers called Christians. Josephus’ observations are particularly compelling because at the time he wrote he was very close in terms of timing to when Jesus lived. Even though he wasn’t like the apostles who actually walked with Jesus he could see around him the effect of the early church’s spreading and he may even have had the opportunity to talk to Jews who had been in and around Judea when Jesus had his public ministry. VK: Well, those two examples are a good introduction to the fact that Jesus’ earthly life has confirmation outside the Bible. Next time we can take up a few more examples but before we close for today a few general observations would seem to be in order. And you said that the early church itself is a confirmation that Jesus was a real, historical figure? RD: Exactly. VK: I’m surprised you didn’t say what you do in some of the Life Lessons with a Laugh - exactamundo … RD: Ok. Exactamundo. Anyway, there is no dispute that in the first century AD Christians and the Christian church began to be an issue within the Roman Empire. They were so widely known that the emperor Nero blamed the great fire of Rome on them. Well, it would be impossible to explain the spread of a movement if there wasn’t something or someone who started the movement. Remember that the Romans weren’t known for being timid administrators of their provincial empire and in the first century AD they certainly weren’t friendly to Christians. So, something remarkable must have happened in the early part of the first century AD in Judea that animated so many people to continue carrying the same message throughout the empire despite the official opposition they encountered everywhere. There are two simple reasons for this phenomena. First, they were persuaded something truly remarkable had happened. A dead man had risen from the grave and walked around for 40 days. And second, they had a source of support and strength – the Holy Spirit – who sustained them as they carried their message to a world that needed it but didn’t want it. VK: Well, all that makes perfect sense. As Paul said to the Romans the same power that raised Jesus from the dead also empowers us and gives us the ability to carry on in his name. Sounds like a perfect time to go to prayer. Since we’re approaching Thanksgiving how about if today we listen to a prayer for that special day when we turn our attention to the goodness that God has shown to us. ---- Prayer for Thanksgiving – VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us next time as we continue our discussion of the reality of Jesus’ life. We hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. Also, we’d to remind listeners that copies of The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest are available from our website. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) Micha, Chapter 5, verse 2, New Living Translation The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, verse 1, New Living Translation (Sources used for this episode or other in this series) https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible/ https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/jesus-of-nazareth/the-evidence-for-jesus/ https://alwaysbeready.com/extrabiblical-historical-sources-corroborate-the-bible/ https://crossexamined.org/why-should-we-trust-the-extra-biblical-references-to-jesus/
Episode 238 – A Necessary God Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. Psalm 19, verses 1 through 4, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hi! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m here today with RD Fierro, founder of Crystal Sea Books, and part-time poet. Today on Anchored by Truth, as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are going to begin a new series where we focus on the central figure of the entire Bible: Jesus. That seems appropriate as we come to the time of year when we celebrate the Lord’s birth, doesn’t it RD? RD: Well, Christmas is certainly a time of the year when people begin to more naturally think about Jesus because the reminders of him start to appear more and more around us every day. But, of course, it’s important to remember that we really should focus on Jesus every day of the year. For Christians, Jesus should be the focus of our daily lives. And actually throughout our lives we should be on a quest to get to know God better each day that is granted to us. VK: I agree with that. So, today we’re going to start listening to a new Crystal Sea story. This time it’s one of our rhymed pieces that you wrote as a Christmas epic poem. This is actually the second installment of a story that you began a long time ago. You said you originally wrote the first installment because you wanted to give it as a gift to some co-workers? RD: I did. Years ago when I worked in one of those big state agency buildings that are so common here I wanted to give Christmas presents to some of my co-workers but doing that in a state agency can sometimes be tricky. So, I decided that one present I could give was a little entertainment so I wrote a piece that was inspired by some of things that used to entertain the kids of my generation: Christmas poems and the short serial stories you used to see in the movie theaters before the main feature. Each of those film pieces would always leave you hanging so you had to come back every week to see what happened. So, I wrote a Christmas story in six parts and each part left you wondering what would come next. VK: And then a few years ago you decided that the story needed to continue so you wrote the next installment of what is going to be, when completed, a poetic trilogy. The story began in Crystal Seas’ Christmas epic poem: The Golden Tree, Komari’s Quest. The story continued in The Golden Tree, Eagle Enigma. Today, we are beginning the final part of the trilogy. Here is part one of The Golden Tree, The Frost Lion. ---- The Golden Tree: The Frost Lion – Part I VK: I really like some of the lines from that part. “Where the lights soared in the vault overhead and proclaimed indescribable glory as if the heavens could not but proclaim their omnipotent Creator's story.” Not only are the lines lyrical but they also evoke such clear imagery. I can imagine kids sitting around their mom and dad … RD: Or grandmother and grandfather... VK: Or grandparents and listening to this recording with them - just like families used to sit around and listen to someone read The Night Before Christmas. Of course, that’s one of the reasons we wanted to put this poem out there. To give families an entertaining story that also would allow parents to discuss their faith with their kids. RD: Exactly. There are so many questionable choices these days that are advertised as being “family friendly” but they are based on a secularist view of the world. We wanted to be sure that there was a story that was available for “fireside” listening that directed everyone’s attention to the real “reason for the season.” VK: Well, there are a total of seven parts to Golden Tree: The Frost Lion. So, for the next six weeks we’ll be letting the story unfold as we continue to unpack insights into how the Bible is such an integral part of being able to frame a coherent world view. I mean the two fundamental attributes that you believe would have to characterize any book that would constitute a genuine special revelation of God are that that revelation would have to be consistent with the created order as it is observable by creatures within it – essentially us. And that revelation would have to display supernatural origin. RD: Right. As hard – or as exciting – as it may be to comprehend empirical observations, combined with logic, tell us that the visible universe does not – indeed cannot – provide an explanation for its own existence. The universe, as grand and vast as it is, has all the fingerprints of having a beginning in space and time. Also, the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy, tells us that it will have an ending. Anything that has a limited life span, no matter how long some people might conceive that light span to be, cannot be self-existent. Only a self-existent being or entity can account for its own existence or the existence of anything else. Some philosophers use the terms Necessary Being and Contingent Beings to describe the difference between the two. VK: And since the universe is not eternal it looks very much like it is contingent on something or someone outside itself to account for its existence – a Necessary Being upon which it is dependent. And we call that Necessary Being God. So just like the bears in our story when we see the northern lights or stars twinkling in a deep night sky we can know that that the starlight - and the night sky and especially our ability to see and understand all that grandeur - points to the need for a Creator. And we’ve seen that the bears we’ve just met aren’t the first bears who have lived in this land. It was actually their ancestors who left their home and shortly we’ll learn they were searching for the lair and throne of their Creator – who they thought of as the Great White Bear. RD: Yes. I think the symbolism for the story is already pretty plain but I would like to point out one thing - and that’s what I want to spend some time on today – is that the bears who set out on their quest wouldn’t ever have started out if they weren’t convinced that the Great White Bear existed. And that’s one of the problems that we see reflected so clearly in today’s very relativistic culture. Too many - far, far, far too many people today, both inside the church and out, are defeated in their own quests because they have been misled to believe that there is no Creator – no Great White Bear if you will. As a result, they see the world as fundamentally being either chaotic at best or outright meaningless at worst. VK: I think you need to expand on that thought a bit. You’re saying that God isn’t just a logical necessity to explain the existence of a contingent universe, but that an awareness of God is an essential component of us being able to comprehend our place in that universe? RD: To quote what I say in some of our humorous Life Lessons with a Laugh - exactamundo. VK: So you’re quoting yourself. Sounds like something only a writer would do… RD: Again, exactamundo. Anyway as the eminent theologian RC Sproul used to say, “Ideas have consequences.” The idea that the universe was framed by an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and holy God carried with it the inextricable notion that the universe has been created intentionally and for a purpose. As such the universe would display design and order and the intelligent creatures within that universe – us – could perceive that design and order. VK: And that very concept formed the foundation for what we think of as science today. And that’s why many of the founders of modern science – like Sir Isaac Newton and Louis Pasteur were strong Christians. They were convinced that there was design, order, and logic in universe because the universe had been made by a being that was supremely purposeful and logical. As such, they were encouraged to go and discover that order and use the results of it to improve the lives of the people around them. Or said a little differently they were encouraged to go on their own quests to discover more about the creation and thereby appreciate even more the Creator. RD: So all that made perfect sense. If the universe had been created by a God of order, logic, and purpose then creation would be comprehensible. Those early giants of science took seriously the Biblical statement that man had been made in the image of God, so they felt sure that God would bless their efforts at applying themselves to understand what he had created. But one of the tragic effects of the success of their work and the amazing results they achieved is that over time – and now we’re talking about centuries not decades – the work of science became divorced from the original source of the inspiration for them to do the work. Scientists – not all, but a great many – became convinced that it was possible to understand creation while ignoring the Creator. VK: Or said slightly differently, they sought the blessing without regard to the Blesser. So, one of the points you’re making is that somewhere along the journey – the quest – for discovery, a lot of people forgot why the journey was begun in the first place. And that is reflected in our society and culture today. RD: Yes. And Christmas is a great example of that same phenomenon happening in our calendar and celebration of the common understanding that was the foundation of our communities. The word “Christmas” obviously derives from the words “Christ” and “mass.” And one of the big reasons that gift exchanges became a part of the celebration was in commemoration of the great gift that God had given the world in the birth of Jesus. And, of course, the whole reason that God gave us the gift of Jesus was because after the fall in the garden of Eden God had begun his great plan of redemption. So, in a very real way the history of all of mankind gives evidence of God’s plan unfolding in exactly the way God intended. VK: And you believe that even some of the more tragic of the things that we see around us provides evidence for the existence of God and the truth of scripture? RD: Yes. C.S. Lewis noted that one of the things that convinced him to become a Christian was that he couldn’t get over the idea that some things were right and some things were wrong. But then he realized for that idea to make sense – that there’s a difference between right and wrong – he had to have an explanation for where that idea came from. Why did he think that there was a real distinction? Of course, the only logical conclusion was because there was a Being – a God somewhere – who had established the whole moral and ethical scheme to begin with. That’s just as true today as it has ever been. VK: That’s a pretty remarkable idea when you think about it. The very notion that we have ethical sensibilities to begin with is dependent on there being a real difference between right and wrong. And not just a matter of personal convenience like preferring squash to broccoli. When people begin to assert that something is wrong they don’t just mean that they find it inconvenient. They mean that there is a determinable ethical distinction that compels – or should compel – our behavior. And we all know that. Anyone who doesn’t know that there is a difference between right and wrong we would describe as a sociopath. RD: And we would have good reason for doing so. Now in saying this we’re not saying that there is universal agreement on the precise details of what’s right or wrong and different societies at different times have arrived at varying conclusions about the specifics. But there’s never been a society that didn’t make some kind of a distinction regardless of what they did with the specifics. In some cultures the distinctions might have been ones that we would consider trivial – like acceptable dress for women and men. In other they would have been more profound or serious – like the relationship between a government and its people or whether private ownership of property is permitted or prohibited. The rules have varied but every culture, tribe, and nation has had rules of some sort. VK: And pretty much all people everywhere know that they have – at one point or another – violated those rules. Written or unwritten. Government or cultural. Religious or secular. We have an inherent awareness that as moral and ethical agents we have certain obligations that we are subject to. So we see that not only is there a physical order to the physical universe there is also an ethical order that applies to us as people. But without there being a God, a holy and purposive God, we would have no reasonable explanation for the existence either of the obligation or the sense that we need to be accountable the obligation. And that same sense that tells us that we are subject to the obligation tells us that we have all fallen short. RD: Right. We all know that we’re not perfect, but to know that means we know that somewhere there is a standard against which that determination can meaningfully be made. That’s why Jesus had to come and why the Christian claim that Jesus was perfect, was sinless, is so essential. Again, to refer to Sproul again, RC used to say that if he was in a discussion with someone who just refused to acknowledge the existence of God, one of the final questions he would ask such people is what they did with their guilt. VK: And we all have guilt. And some of us feel it far more keenly than others. If we don’t have Jesus, if we don’t know Jesus, then we’re the only ones who can shoulder that guilt. But the moment we understand that the Perfect Man, Jesus, has willingly taken our guilt onto his own shoulders, we can start to become free of that guilt. And that’s one of the keys to beginning and completing our own quests through life. As we talked about a long time ago on Anchored by Truth, understanding the Bible provides context and meaning to our lives. Knowing that God himself made a provision for our imperfection removes the need for us to continue to feel guilty forever. Knowing that Jesus is our savior is the truth that sets us free. RD: And that’s one of the things we really want to focus on as the days unwind toward Christmas. We want to take a close look at how we can be sure that Jesus isn’t a mythological figure, but instead is a real person who was born, walked and lived at a specific place and time, and died. But then he demonstrated that he was God’s atoning gift by walking out of the grave and appearing to a group of women first and then to his disciples. If Jesus wasn’t a real person who did those things we would have absolutely no hope for being justified before a perfectly holy God. A mythological figure, no matter how charming, couldn’t save anyone. But Jesus did and does. So, as we conduct our own quests through life, if we’re pursuing worthwhile ends we can be confident that they aren’t futile. There is a meaning to our individual lives even when those lives are set against the backdrop of an unimaginably grand cosmos. The Bible and Jesus give us that meaning. As Augustine famously said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” VK: Sounds like it’s a great time to have a prayer. Since we’re approaching Thanksgiving how about if today we listen to a prayer for that special day when we turn our attention to the goodness that God has shown to us. ---- Prayer for Thanksgiving – VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” We hope you’ll be with us next time as we continue our discussion of the reality of Jesus’ life. We hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. Also, we’d to remind listeners that copies of The Golden Tree: Komari’s Quest and The Golden Tree: Eagle Enigma are available from our website. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) Psalm 19, verses 1 through 4, New Living Translation (Sources used for this episode or other in this series) “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” Augustine, Confessions https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/ourheartisrestlessuntilitrestsinyou/ https://www.proginosko.com/2019/07/reforming-apologetics-common-notions/
Episode 237 – A Miraculous Christ 5 with Jay Ammerman Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. … A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. The Gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 16 through 19. New International Version ******** VK: Hi! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K and today we are continuing a series we call “A Miraculous Christ.” This is a special series for us because we are featuring Jay Ammerman. Jay has an amazing and inspirational story that everyone should hear. Jay was an Army combat medic and endured three deployments with front line infantry in Iraq. After his last deployment Jay came home but unfortunately he also returned from combat with an addiction to opiate pain killers. But our God is a God of healing and deliverance and God completely delivered Jay from that addiction over one Easter weekend. That delivery began a journey that led Jay to ultimately enter the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from which he will shortly graduate. Jay’s life road has included its share of bends and curves, but Jesus has been with him for all of them. Jay’s faith in Christ has grown so steadily that he has now been called by the Lord to full time service. So let’s welcome Jay Ammerman, the owner of Black Thumb Services to Anchored by Truth. Jay, your story is remarkable. But one thing comes through for anyone who talks to you is your passion for Jesus and the Gospel. That’s why when we met you we thought so many people needed to hear your story and hear about your desire to serve the Lord in whatever way He calls. When you told us that you would really like to help people think more deeply about Christ we thought a natural place to start was with Christ’s earthly ministry. So, it seemed like a good idea to get your episodes started by playing one of our Life Lessons with a Laugh on the miracles of Christ. So, let’s listen to one of those as we begin today. And as we heard in our opening scripture this Life Lesson deals with the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. Life Lessons with a Laugh - Miracles of Jesus 4- Pond Walking VK: Well, Jay obviously our founder, RD Fierro, cannot walk on water – nor can anyone else today. So, when Jesus did walk on the water in the midst of a storm it was further confirmation of His divinity. What other lessons do you want us to learn from this miracle? Jay: Comments about the miracle of Peter, the boat, and Jesus - :40 VK: I like that. This is a story about Peter, a boat, and Jesus – P, B, and J. I think that helps us get a good framework to organize our thoughts. But you say that to really have a good grasp on this miracle we also need to understand the background of the story. What do we need to know about the background of the miracle? Jay: Comments about the background of the miracle of Jesus walking on the water - 2:30 VK: Wow. That’s a really powerful observation. When we think about Jesus walking on the water or performing any of His miracles we are tempted to forget that Jesus wasn’t just fully divine. Jesus was also fully human. So, when His close family member, John the Baptist, died he would have experienced grief just as any of us would. That’s one of the reason we can turn to Jesus in times of our own needs. He knows what it means to lose someone close. But, as you said, Jesus set aside His own grief because His great love for others was even greater than His concerns for himself. That’s an amazing thought to get us started. So, that’s the background of our PB & J story. Where do we go next? Jay: Comments about PB & J - 3:20 VK: So, the first time a storm arose and the disciples were in a boat they didn’t do so well in terms of exhibiting faith, did they? Now we’re going to move on the 2nd time. But you say there are some things we need to know about the boat and where it was to be able to properly understand what’s going on. Jay: Comments about the disciples confusion in the boat - 4:45 VK: So when the disciples saw the storm arise and Jesus wasn’t with them they would have had some reason for concern. And that concern would have been legitimate because several of the disciples had a lot of familiarity with the Sea of Galilee. They were fishermen and they had spent a lot of time out on this particular body of water. They knew it very well. And the Bible’s account says that they were a long way from land. And they had left Jesus on land. So, there’s no way they ever could have expected to get help from Jesus was there? Jay: Comments about geography of the Sea of Galilee and background of the miracle - 10:35 VK: You know that some of those details put this story of the miracle in a whole different light. I think sometimes when we read the account we forget that this was a situation that would have been scary for anyone. They were on a large, deep lake in the middle of the night and a storm is raging. And they are tired. They’ve been fighting this storm for hours. I think a lot of people can identify with the state of the disciples at that moment. There are many among us who have been fighting storms in the dark for a long time. But that’s why it’s so important for us to understand these details, isn’t it. So we can learn lessons from the boat that we can apply to our own lives. Jay: Comments about Jesus having sent the disciples into the storm and lessons from Peter’s experience - 13:38 VK: All that is both scary and comforting but it’s something we need to think about. If Jesus sends us out on a mission the storm may come but Jesus is greater than the storm. But as you said we must always be ready to call out to Jesus in the storm. A lot of us try to do what we know Jesus wants us to do using our own strength. But our strength will fail. We can only make it through the storms when we reach out to Jesus. What lessons can we draw from the fact that when the disciples couldn’t make it to Jesus, Jesus made it to them. 13:40 Jay: Comments about Jesus not leaving us or forsaking us - 15:00 VK: Well, Jesus reached out to Peter when Peter started going under the water, but as you noted Jesus did not put Peter into boat. What should we learn from that aspect of this miracle? Jay: Comments about people needing to be in the boat - 15:33 VK: Well, let’s move on to the “J” part of the PB & J. What do we learn about Jesus from this miracle? Jay: Comments about what we learn about Jesus - 16:40 VK: And before we close for today what are the big ideas that you want everyone to remember about Jesus walking on the water? Jay: Jesus is Lord and we are not and we are not in the boat alone - end VK: Well, perhaps one more thing we should note before we close for today is that we have a Savior who is able to save people even when we are facing the storms of life. Jesus will not fail us but we must learn to call out to him and continue to keep our eyes on Him even when the waters get rough. And we have to understand that we are all going to fail from time to time but Jesus does not abandon us when we fail. He just asks us to reach out to him and let him help us get back into the boat. This miracle is another illustration of why we all need to stay connected with our faith through daily prayer and Bible study? We’d really like to thank Jay Ammerman for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. We can all still learn lessons from the miracles that Jesus performed even though they took place 2,000 years ago. As we’ve said before Jay’s life after his conversion is a great illustration of how Jesus continues to redeem destinies in our day and time. The Bible has been instrumental in changing Jay’s destiny and it can be instrumental in changing your destiny and the destinies of your friends. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer of corporate confession. We should all spend some time every day in prayer seeking forgiveness for our sins and those of our neighbors and community. ---- PRAYER OF CORPORATE CONFESSION (MARCUS) VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Jay. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New International Version) The Gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 16 through 19. New International Version
Episode 236 – A Miraculous Christ 4 with Jay Ammerman Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. … A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. The Gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 16 through 19. New International Version ******** VK: Hi! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K and today we are continuing a series we call “A Miraculous Christ.” This is a special series for us because we are featuring Jay Ammerman. Jay has an amazing and inspirational story that everyone should hear. Jay was an Army combat medic and endured three deployments with front line infantry in Iraq. After his last deployment Jay came home but unfortunately he also returned from combat with an addiction to opiate pain killers. But our God is a God of healing and deliverance and God completely delivered Jay from that addiction over one Easter weekend. That delivery began a journey that led Jay to ultimately enter the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from which he will shortly graduate. Jay’s life road has included its share of bends and curves, but Jesus has been with him for all of them. Jay’s faith in Christ has grown so steadily that he has now been called by the Lord to full time service. So let’s welcome Jay Ammerman, the owner of Black Thumb Services to Anchored by Truth. Jay, your story is remarkable. But one thing comes through for anyone who talks to you is your passion for Jesus and the Gospel. That’s why when we met you we thought so many people needed to hear your story and hear about your desire to serve the Lord in whatever way He calls. When you told us that you would really like to help people think more deeply about Christ we thought a natural place to start was with Christ’s earthly ministry. So, it seemed like a good idea to get your episodes started by playing one of our Life Lessons with a Laugh on the miracles of Christ. So, let’s listen to one of those as we begin today. And as we heard in our opening scripture this Life Lesson deals with the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. Life Lessons with a Laugh - Miracles of Jesus 4- Pond Walking VK: Well, Jay obviously our founder, RD Fierro, cannot walk on water – nor can anyone else today. So, when Jesus did walk on the water in the midst of a storm it was further confirmation of His divinity. What other lessons do you want us to learn from this miracle? Jay: Comments about the miracle of Peter, the boat, and Jesus - :40 VK: I like that. This is a story about Peter, a boat, and Jesus – P, B, and J. I think that helps us get a good framework to organize our thoughts. But you say that to really have a good grasp on this miracle we also need to understand the background of the story. What do we need to know about the background of the miracle? Jay: Comments about the background of the miracle of Jesus walking on the water - 2:30 VK: Wow. That’s a really powerful observation. When we think about Jesus walking on the water or performing any of His miracles we are tempted to forget that Jesus wasn’t just fully divine. Jesus was also fully human. So, when His close family member, John the Baptist, died he would have experienced grief just as any of us would. That’s one of the reason we can turn to Jesus in times of our own needs. He knows what it means to lose someone close. But, as you said, Jesus set aside His own grief because His great love for others was even greater than His concerns for himself. That’s an amazing thought to get us started. So, that’s the background of our PB & J story. Where do we go next? Jay: Comments about PB & J - 3:20 VK: So, the first time a storm arose and the disciples were in a boat they didn’t do so well in terms of exhibiting faith, did they? Now we’re going to move on the 2nd time. But you say there are some things we need to know about the boat and where it was to be able to properly understand what’s going on. Jay: Comments about the disciples confusion in the boat - 4:45 VK: So when the disciples saw the storm arise and Jesus wasn’t with them they would have had some reason for concern. And that concern would have been legitimate because several of the disciples had a lot of familiarity with the Sea of Galilee. They were fishermen and they had spent a lot of time out on this particular body of water. They knew it very well. And the Bible’s account says that they were a long way from land. And they had left Jesus on land. So, there’s no way they ever could have expected to get help from Jesus was there? Jay: Comments about geography of the Sea of Galilee and background of the miracle - 10:35 VK: You know that some of those details put this story of the miracle in a whole different light. I think sometimes when we read the account we forget that this was a situation that would have been scary for anyone. They were on a large, deep lake in the middle of the night and a storm is raging. And they are tired. They’ve been fighting this storm for hours. I think a lot of people can identify with the state of the disciples at that moment. There are many among us who have been fighting storms in the dark for a long time. But that’s why it’s so important for us to understand these details, isn’t it. So we can learn lessons from the boat that we can apply to our own lives. Jay: Comments about Jesus having sent the disciples into the storm and lessons from Peter’s experience - 13:38 VK: All that is both scary and comforting but it’s something we need to think about. If Jesus sends us out on a mission the storm may come but Jesus is greater than the storm. But as you said we must always be ready to call out to Jesus in the storm. A lot of us try to do what we know Jesus wants us to do using our own strength. But our strength will fail. We can only make it through the storms when we reach out to Jesus. What lessons can we draw from the fact that when the disciples couldn’t make it to Jesus, Jesus made it to them. 13:40 Jay: Comments about Jesus not leaving us or forsaking us - 15:00 VK: Well, Jesus reached out to Peter when Peter started going under the water, but as you noted Jesus did not put Peter into boat. What should we learn from that aspect of this miracle? Jay: Comments about people needing to be in the boat - 15:33 VK: Well, let’s move on to the “J” part of the PB & J. What do we learn about Jesus from this miracle? Jay: Comments about what we learn about Jesus - 16:40 VK: And before we close for today what are the big ideas that you want everyone to remember about Jesus walking on the water? Jay: Jesus is Lord and we are not and we are not in the boat alone - end VK: Well, perhaps one more thing we should note before we close for today is that we have a Savior who is able to save people even when we are facing the storms of life. Jesus will not fail us but we must learn to call out to him and continue to keep our eyes on Him even when the waters get rough. And we have to understand that we are all going to fail from time to time but Jesus does not abandon us when we fail. He just asks us to reach out to him and let him help us get back into the boat. This miracle is another illustration of why we all need to stay connected with our faith through daily prayer and Bible study? We’d really like to thank Jay Ammerman for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. We can all still learn lessons from the miracles that Jesus performed even though they took place 2,000 years ago. As we’ve said before Jay’s life after his conversion is a great illustration of how Jesus continues to redeem destinies in our day and time. The Bible has been instrumental in changing Jay’s destiny and it can be instrumental in changing your destiny and the destinies of your friends. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer of corporate confession. We should all spend some time every day in prayer seeking forgiveness for our sins and those of our neighbors and community. ---- PRAYER OF CORPORATE CONFESSION (MARCUS) VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Jay. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New International Version) The Gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 16 through 19. New International Version
Episode 235 – A Miraculous Christ 3 with Jay Ammerman Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: … the people heard that [Jesus] had come home...Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” The Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, verses 2 through 5. New International Version ******** VK: Hi! Welcome back to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K and today we are going to continue a series we call “A Miraculous Christ.” We started this series a couple of episodes ago and this is a special series for us because we are featuring Jay Ammerman. Jay has an inspirational story that everyone should hear. After being an Army combat medic and enduring three deployments with front line infantry Jay came home and began working in a hospital. Unfortunately, Jay also returned from combat with an addiction to opiate pain killers. But our God is a God of healing and deliverance and God delivered Jay from that addiction. That delivery began a journey that led Jay to ultimately enter the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from which he will shortly graduate. Jay’s life road has included its share of bends and curves, but Jesus has been with him for all of them. Jay’s faith in Christ has grown so steadily that he has now been called by the Lord to full time service. So let’s welcome Jay Ammerman, the owner of Black Thumb Services to Anchored by Truth. Jay, your story is remarkable – but the one constant throughout has been the presence of Christ. That’s why when we met you we thought so many people needed to hear it and hear about your passion to serve the Lord in whatever way He calls. When you told us that you would really like to help people think more deeply about the miracles Christ performed during his earthly ministry it seemed like a good idea to get your episodes started by playing one of our Life Lessons with a Laugh on the miracles of Christ. So, let’s listen to one of those. This one has to do with how Jesus responded to the loyalty of four very faithful friends. Life Lessons with a Laugh - Miracles of Jesus 3- Thru the Roof VK: Well, Jay it’s hard to know what wild things are going to take place in one of our Life Lessons with a Laugh. So, what are some of the lessons that we can take away from Jesus healing the paralyzed man whose friends literally went through the roof for him? Jay: Comments the historical foundation of Mark 2 - 2:57 VK: So, we have very good, early manuscript evidence that supports the historical accuracy of this miracle that Mark describes. But even beyond the fact that the manuscript evidence supports the historicity there is other compelling evidence isn’t there? Jay: Comments about cultural context - 5:30 VK: What you’re saying is that the Jews of Jesus day should have been able to put 2 and 2 together and get 4. The had scriptures going back hundreds of years that said that the coming Messiah would be a miracle working figure and that He would perform miraculous healings. So, when Jesus began healing people that should have been a big clue as to who He was. But you also say that the geographic setting of the miracle is also important, isn’t it? Jay: Comments about geographic factors - 6:30 VK: So, Jesus performed a very notable miracle in a place where word of the miracle was bound to spread quickly. As you said a lot of people were coming and going from Capernaum. And just like today people like nothing more than to pass news, so the people passing through would have heard the story and they would have carried it with them to their next stop. Well, when did this miracle take place within the context of Jesus’ public ministry? Jay: Comments about miracle being early in Jesus ministry - 7:30 VK: So, Jesus performed a very notable miracle in a place where word of the miracle was bound to spread quickly and he performed it early during his ministry. This really helped establish the basis of his ministry which was going to be necessary as Jesus sought to help his disciples build their faith. How do we see that? Jay: Comments about exegetical factors of the miracle - 9:40 VK: So the crowd contained seekers, skeptics, and spectators. That’s pretty similar to what we see all around us today. What do you see as being the big problem of the skeptics? Jay: Comments about the skeptics of the miracle - 10:15 VK: But thankfully there weren’t just skeptics present that day. I mean the paralyzed man certainly had friends who seemed to believe in Jesus. Jay: Comments about the friends of the paralyzed man - 12:00 VK: So the friends’ faith in God led them to overcome the obstacles that were in their way. That demonstrates that God rewards faith. So, earlier you said that Peter’s house was apparently close to the synagogue. Why is that important? Jay: Comments about the house being close to the synagogue - 13:00 VK: What else should be noticed about the faith of the paralyzed man’s friends? Jay: Comments about faith of the friends - 14:00 VK: What other observations do you think are important from Jesus healing the paralyzed man? Why is the story so significant? Jay: Comments about Jesus being able to forgive sins - end VK: Well, you’ve made some really powerful points here today, Jay. But the most important one is that Jesus has authority to forgive our sins and He is eager to do so if we will only acknowledge those sins and acknowledge that we want him to be our savior. And perhaps one thing we should emphasize before we close for today is that we are truly blessed if we have faithful friends like the paralyzed man in the story. There are going to be times in all our lives when we are going to need the support and strength of others. The paralyzed man was blessed by having such friends even before he received the even greater blessing of having his sins forgiven and his paralysis removed. This miracle is another illustration of why we all need to build and preserve friendships with other believers? We’d really like to thank Jay Ammerman for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. We can all still learn lessons from the miracles that Jesus performed even though they took place 2,000 years ago. As we’ve said before Jay’s life after his conversion is a great illustration of how Jesus continues to redeem destinies in our day and time. The Bible has been instrumental in changing Jay’s destiny and it can be instrumental in changing your destiny and the destinies of your friends. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer for our friends. We should all spend some time every day in intercessory prayer for our friends both inside and outside the church. And if we have friends who have not yielded their lives to Christ we must always pray for that time to come in their lives. ---- PRAYER FOR FRIENDS (June) VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Jay. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New International Version) The Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, verses 2 through 5. New International Version
Episode 234 – A Miraculous Christ 2 with Jay Ammerman Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, verses 24 through 26. New International Version ******** VK: Hi! Welcome back to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K and in the studio today we are continuing the new series we began last time on Anchored by Truth featuring Jay Ammerman. Jay has a truly amazing story. After being an Army combat medic and enduring three deployments with front line infantry Jay came home and began working in a hospital. Unfortunately, he also returned from combat with an addiction to opiate pain killers. But he was completely delivered from that addiction through his faith in Christ. That has led Jay to a place where he is almost finished with his seminary study. As we can see Jay’s life has included its share of twists and turns, but his faith in Christ has grown so steadily that he has now been called by the Lord to full time service. So let’s welcome Jay Ammerman, the owner of Black Thumb Services to Anchored by Truth. Jay, your story is amazing – but the one constant throughout has been the presence of Christ. That’s why when we met you we thought it would be so amazing for you to share your passion about Christ with the listeners. And, when we found out that one subject that you really wanted to discuss was the miracles Christ performed during his earthly ministry it seemed like a good idea to get the show started by playing one of our Life Lessons with a Laugh on the miracles of Christ. So, let’s listen to one of those. This one has to do with how Jesus calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Life Lessons with a Laugh - Miracles of Jesus 2- Big Wind VK: So, Jay what are some of the first things we should learn from this very powerful demonstration of Jesus’ power over wind and water? Jay: Comments about power - 2:30 VK: So, your first “P” is “power.” One thing we should note about Jesus’ miracle of calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee was that it was a clear display of divine power. And it’s important to note that Jesus could exercise divine power because Jesus was fully divine as well as being fully human. That’s an attribute that is true of no other religious figure or human being. Jesus could calm the wind and the waves because He had made the wind and the waves. Jesus could do miracles through His own power because he is God. How about your second “P” – promise? Jay: Comments about promise - 5:40 VK: All right. We’ve covered two of your four “P’s.” The first P we see from Jesus calming the storm was that it was a display of divine power. The second P was that calming the storm was part of Jesus fulling the promise that he was going to get his disciples safely across what is well-known to be a temperamental body of water. So what is your third “P?” Jay: Comments about peace - 7:30 VK: And Jesus is not just a source of peace, He is the source of all real peace. I like your point that Jesus calmed the storm on the sea so he could go and calm the storm that was raging in the man on the far shore. What a powerful statement. The demon possessed man did not know that peace was available but Jesus brought it anyway. But Jesus had to arrive for it to come. As Jesus’ disciples in the world today we have to be the ones who bring Jesus’ peace to those who need it but don’t yet know it’s available. So, what is your 4th “P?” Jay: Comments about perseverance - 10:20 VK: Well, that’s a great point. Just because few of us don’t sail on the Sea of Galilee doesn’t mean we don’t have our own storms. We do. And Jesus will bring us peace in the storm if we turn to Him but we must turn with persevering trust. Too many times we want to turn the boat around as soon as we see dark clouds on the horizon. We must persevere with Jesus if we want His peace and power to calm our storms. Now you said RD asked you something when you two were talking about this miracle. What was that? Jay: Comments about truth - 13:35 VK: RD often notes that truth must correspond with reality. If a truth claim cannot be shown to correspond to reality then we must reject it. And one of the great things about the Bible as you alluded to is that it does correspond to reality. Numerous archeological discoveries as well as an abundant body of scientific evidence supports the fact that the Bible’s history is reliable. Jay, do you have any final thoughts about the miracle on the Sea of Galilee? Jay: Comments to wrap up – (NEED TO EDIT RAW TRACK TO JUST HAVE ONE SET OF FINAL COMMENTS) VK: We’d really like to thank Jay for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. He’s given us some really great takeaways from this miracle. The miracle was an amazing display of Jesus’ power and it showed that Jesus not only can but does keep His promises. He suggested that the disciples go with Him to cross the sea and He was going to make sure it happened. And even though the disciples did not have peace immediately after Jesus calmed the sea they should have. The demon possessed man on the other side certainly experience peace after Jesus’ arrival. But we must stay with Jesus in the boat if we want to experience the blessings that He has for each of us. It takes perseverance to grow into Christian maturity – a lesson will illustrated in Jay’s life. Jay’s life after his conversion is a great illustration of how Jesus continues to redeem destinies in our day and time. The Bible has supernatural power and can change our lives for the better with that saving power if we will turn to it faithfully. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer for Christian missionaries - those who bring the saving power of the scriptures into places where it may never have been heard until their arrival. ---- PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES (Jay) VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Jay. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New International Version) The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, verses 24 through 26. New International Version
Episode 233 – A Miraculous Christ 1 with Jay Ammerman Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. The Gospel of John, chapter 2, verse 11. New International Version ******** VK: Hello! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K in the studio and today we are going to begin a new series on Anchored by Truth featuring Jay Ammerman. We heard Jay’s remarkable story in our last episode of Anchored by Truth – how Jay was delivered from an opiate addiction through his faith in Christ and how that beginning has led Jay to a place where he is almost finished with his seminary study. Jay’s very interesting life has included being an Army combat medic, working in a hospital, and owning a businesses that helps people who are troubled by nuisance critters - critters that can be as destructive as they are cute. But Jay does so humanely by trapping them and transporting them far enough into the countryside where they won’t be a bother to people any more. Jay’s life has included its share of twists and turns, but today Jay is in the final stage of finishing seminary because he has strongly felt the call of the Lord to full time service. So let’s welcome Jay Ammerman, the owner of Black Thumb Services to Anchored by Truth. Jay, your story is amazing – but the one constant throughout has been the presence of Christ. And when we met you we realized that Christ is such a powerful presence in your life that we thought it would be wonderful if you could share some of your passion about Christ with others. So, when we found out that one subject that you really wanted to discuss was the miracles that Christ performed as part of his earthly ministry it seemed like a good idea to get the show started by playing one of our Life Lessons with a Laugh on the miracles of Christ. So, let’s listen to one of those. This one has to do with Jesus’ first miracle which was to turn water into wine at the wedding at Cana. Life Lessons with a Laugh - Miracles of Jesus 1- Instant Grape Juice VK: So, Jay what are some of the big lessons that we can all learn from Jesus’ first miracle when he turned the water into wine? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd VK: So, one point we should note about Jesus’ first miracles was that it was the first time that he displayed his divine power. Now other people in redemptive history such as Moses and Elijah had also done miracles but there was a sense in which Jesus’ first miracle was different, wasn’t there. Other people had acknowledged that it was God who was doing the miracle. But Jesus could do miracles himself because he is God, isn’t he? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd 4:03 VK: And the fact that Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding is also very significant isn’t it. I suppose that he could have done his first miracle anywhere but he chose to do it at a wedding. Why is that important? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd 8:15 VK: That first miracle of Jesus was also significant in another way, wasn’t it? When Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding it was also an example of Jesus - who is, of course, also God – demonstrating that God rewards faith. Right? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd 10:30 VK: Well, one another thing that the miracle at Cana demonstrates is that God is a God who can exceed all of our expectations, right? I’m thinking about Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 20 where it says, [God] “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…” Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd 13:15 VK: What do you think Jesus meant when he said to Mary that his time had not yet come. What time was he referring to? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd 15:12 VK: So, - as we have been discussing - obviously two inescapable elements of Jesus’ first miracle are marriage and wine. And, of course, even today those two things are often found together. Marriages are still celebrated by toasts offered by the best man and then echoed by all those attending. And often those toasts are made with some form of wine. By turning the water into wine Jesus seems to have almost linked those elements together. Why is that? Why does it matter? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd 17:40 VK: The last of Jesus’ famous “I am” statements in John was “I am the vine. You are the branches.” That’s found in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 5 and that statement was made near the end of Jesus’ public ministry. Obviously, vines produce grapes and grapes are used to make wine. So, in a certain sense, Jesus has placed the fruit of the vine at the beginning and end of his public, earthly ministry. Why is that? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd 19:05 VK: Perhaps one more thing we should note before we close for today is that Jesus meets people where they are. And so many of Jesus’ actions during his life we can still understand easily 2,000 years later. That’s pretty amazing isn’t it? The miracle at the wedding at Cana really has a timeless dimension doesn’t it? Jay: Comments - From recording on June 23rd VK: We’d really like to thank Jay Ammerman for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. I think we can all learn lessons from the miracles that Jesus performed even though they took place 2,000 years ago. And frankly Jay’s life after his conversion is a great illustration of how Jesus continues to redeem destinies in our day and time. Jay’s story is just one more example of how sacred scripture –the Bible – continues to demonstrate its supernatural nature through lives that are changed for the better for all eternity by its saving power. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer for the renewal of the Church. Certainly, one of the prayers we pray most frequently and most fervently at Anchored by Truth is that God’s word will take an increasing role in the lives of his people and in the life of the church. The church cannot be salt and light to our culture unless it is securely anchored in the only real source of truth – God’s holy, inspired, inerrant, and infallible word – the Bible. ---- PRAYER FOR RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH (Vicky) VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Jay. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New International Version) The Gospel of John, chapter 2, verse 11. New International Version
Episode 232 – Interview with Jay Ammerman Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script Notes: For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verse 20. New Living Translation ******** VK: Hello! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K in the studio and today we have a very special episode of Anchored by Truth. Today we’re going to hear the story of someone whose life is a true testimony to the saving power of Jesus and the Bible and to the power the Bible brings to our lives. As Anchored by Truth listeners know we believe that there are four lines of evidence that demonstrate that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. First, the Bible is historically reliable. Second, the Bible displays a remarkable unity for a book that was composed by over 3 dozen human authors who wrote over a span of 1,500 years. Third, the Bible gives evidence of supernatural origin especially through a large body of fulfilled prophecy. And the 4th line of evidence is that the Bible has resulted in an untold number of lives that have been positively changed by its transcendent message. So today we’re going to hear the story of one of those lives. In the studio today we have Jay Ammerman. Jay has his own deliverance business. Jay delivers homeowners and businesses from nuisance critters that can be as destructive as they are cute. But Jay does so humanely by trapping them and transporting them far enough into the countryside where they won’t be a bother to people any more. But beyond Jay’s successful business Jay is in the final stage of finishing seminary because he has strongly felt the call of the Lord to full time service. And as you will hear it is a call that began early for Jay and persisted despite a life that would have its twists and turns. So let’s welcome Jay Ammerman, the owner of Black Thumb Services to Anchored by Truth. Jay, your story is frankly amazing. So let’s just jump right into it. What do you remember about your very first encounter with Jesus? Jay: Thanks for inviting me to join you on Anchored by Truth. - Introductory comments - From recording on June 9th VK: How old were you when that happened? Jay: Comments about being terrible with dates - From recording on June 9th. VK: That’s both common and wonderful that you associate your first encounter with Christ with your grandmother. Too many people don’t realize what a powerful influence for Jesus that parents and grandparents can be. So what happened next in your walk with Christ? Jay: Comments about high school and “comic book” Bible - From recording on June 9th. (That young man had the bull by the horns.) VK: I think a lot of us can sympathize with that feeling. Young believers especially can get caught up in that early ecstasy of finding salvation and believing that God is calling them to something great. But as Jesus said “in this world we will have tribulation.” And that tribulation can be humbling. What happened next? Jay: Comments about playing football. (I wasn’t going to be the man he wanted me to be.) VK: How did that work out? Jay: About like you’d expect. Comments about partying life. (A sin would rise up and I would try to wrestle it down and I would fail.) 7:25 VK: At some point during that period of your life you became a opiate addict. How did that happen? Jay: Comments about developing opiate addiction (He Baker acted me with that statement) VK: Some listeners may not know that the Baker Act is the Florida law that permits someone to be involuntarily committed to an institution for purposes of determining whether they are a danger to themselves or others. So, where did they send you? Jay: Comments about developing being sent to the hospital under Baker act. (Where am I now?) VK: Well, you’re at a pretty amazing place. You went into a mental hospital with an opiate addition and now you’re out without one. All due to God’s amazing grace. That’s just, well, amazing. What happened next? Jay: Comments about coming home to the family. (He did it for us in a big way.) VK: So, what did God do in response to your prayer to have a family come into the neighborhood? Jay: Comments about Bumps and feeling the call. (proclaim his word to anyone who would listen.) VK: And that is a feeling many of us have had. Certainly, Crystal Sea’s founder RD Fierro felt that when he launched Crystal Sea. Of course, the path to which God leads us may be different. What path did God choose for you? Jay: Comments about being called to the seminary VK: That is a truly amazing story. Do you have any final thoughts for our audience before we close? Jay: Crystal Sea endorsement VK: We’d really like to thank Jay Ammerman for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. I think we can all be inspired by the kind of faith Jay has displayed. Jay came to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus through his grandmother’s inspiration and her pastor’s preaching. But as so often happens that was only the beginning of the story. And while we don’t all have the same kind of story Jay does all it takes to have a saving relationship with Jesus is to acknowledge our sin and acknowledge our need for a Savior. Jay’s life after her conversion has yielded a bountiful harvest for the Lord and continues to yield blessings to a great many even today. Jay’s story is just one more example of how sacred scripture –the Bible – continues to demonstrate its supernatural nature through lives that are changed for the better for all eternity by its saving power. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer for combatting addiction. As in Jay’s case the best approach to seeking to slay any giants that seek to destroy us are to turn to Christ and seek His saving power. Christ can and does deliver his children by the power that He alone possesses. ---- PRAYER FOR COMBATTING ADDICTION VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Jay. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show. If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New Living Translation) The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verse 20. New Living Translation
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