The Uniqueness of the Bible Unique  One and Only  Different From All Others  Having No Like or Equal  One of a Kind Our purpose: To show how the Bible is unique and different from all other written documents

Unique In It’s Continuity The Bible Was Written  Over a long period of time  Over 1600 years  Over 40 generations

Unique In It’s Continuity The Bible Was Written By about 40 authors from many different walks of life By about 40 authors from many different walks of life  Moses, political leader educated in Egypt  Peter, a fisherman  Amos, herdsman  Joshua, military leader  Nehemiah, cup bearer to King of Persia  Daniel, prime minister in the courts of Babylon  Luke, physician  Solomon, King  Matthew, tax collector  Paul, tent maker

Unique In It’s Continuity The Bible Was Written In Many Different Places  In the wilderness  In a dungeon  On a hillside  In a palace  In prison  While traveling  In exile  In a military campaign

Unique In It’s Continuity The Bible Was Written  On Three Continents  Asia  Africa  Europe  In Three Languages  Hebrew  Aramaic  Greek

Unique In It’s Continuity The Bible Was Written With Many Controversial Subjects  The origin of mankind  The origin of the universe  The purpose of mankind  What happens after death  The nature of God  The nature of mankind, sin and redemption  Good verses Evil

Unique In It’s Continuity Yet There Is Harmony and Continuity  Paradise lost in the book of Genesis becomes the paradise regained in the book of Revelation  Access to the Tree of Life is forbidden in Genesis and allowed again in Revelation  In Genesis man is separated from God because of sin, in the book of Revelation sin is destroyed and man is reconciled to God Compare the Bible with any other writings of men  Imagine what you would have if you took ten men, from one walk of life, in one generation, in one place, at one time, on one continent and one language and have them write on one controversial subject

Unique In It’s Translation  One of the first major books translated  Septuagint version of the Old Testament translated into Greek in 250 B.C.  “By the end of 1993, the whole Bible had been translated into 337 languages; 2,062 languages have translations of at least one book of the Bible.” Guinness Book of World Records, 1998 Guinness Book of World Records, 1998

Unique In It’s Circulation Circulation  In 1804 = 409 million copies  In 1932 = one and a third billion copies  “The world’s best selling and most widely distributed book is the Bible, with an estimated 2.5 billion copies sold.” Guinness Book of World Records, 1975 Guinness Book of World Records, 1975  “No other book has known anything approaching this constant circulation.” Cambridge History of the Bible

Unique In It’s Survival The Bible Was  Written on material that was perishable  Copied and recopied over hundreds of years by hand  Banned, burned and outlawed  Criticized, ridiculed and mocked Yet, it’s style, correctness and existence has not diminished.

Unique In It’s Teaching A Book of Prophecy  No other book has predicted so many future events and then have them all come to pass  There are 44+ prophecies concerning Jesus  Micah 5:2 Born in Bethlehem Luke 2:4,5  Isaiah 7:14 Born of a Virgin Luke 1:26,27  Zech. 11:12 Betrayed 30 pieces Silver Matt. 26:14,15  Zech. 12:10 Hands and Feet Pierced John 20:27  Psalms 22:17 Clothing Gambled For Matt. 27:35,36  Psalms 34:20 No Broken Bones John 19:32-36  Psalms 68:18 Ascension back to God Mark 16:19

Unique In It’s Influence “KJV & It’s Influence on Life and Literature” by Cleland Boyd McAfee, D.D. “KJV & It’s Influence on Life and Literature” by Cleland Boyd McAfee, D.D.  “The first and most notable fact regarding the influence of the Bible on English literature is the remarkable extent of that influence. It is literally everywhere. If every Bible in any considerable city were destroyed, the Book could be restored in all its essential parts from the quotations on the shelves of the city library. There are works, covering almost all the great literary writers, devoted especially to showing how much the Bible has influenced them.”  “When, therefore, it is urged that the English Bible has influenced history, it is not making an undue claim for it. When it is further urged that of all books in English literature it has been most influential, it has most made history, it has most determined great movements, the argument only claims for it the highest place among books.”

Unique In It’s Influence Carol Thiessen – Faith Today July/August 1998 Carol Thiessen – Faith Today July/August 1998  “The Bible has shaped not only religious thought, but politics, law, education, literature, culture, flavored our language with words and phrases, such as “by the skin of their teeth” (Job 19:20) and the Good Samaritan ( Luke 10:25-37). Its stories are rendered creatively through painting and sculpture. Its themes have been portrayed lyrically by composers through the ages. We swear on Bibles in court; we discover them in our hotel and hospital rooms. We can read them on CD-ROM and we can find thousands of sites dedicated to the Holy Book on the Internet. Touted by many as the best-selling book of all time, 80 percent of Americans in a 1996 national survey commissioned by Tyndale House Publishers named the Bible as the most influential book in human history.”

The Uniqueness of the Bible  It has not been our purpose to absolutely prove that the Bible is the Word of God  But I believe anyone with a logical mind and sincere heart could see that such a book, as the Bible, could not have been written by man alone  Of course, we believe the Bible is unique because it did come from God.  “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” II Peter 1:21 II Peter 1:21

The Uniqueness of the Bible  The Bible is unique because it is God’s revealed will to all of mankind  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will.” Eph. 1:7-9  Through His Word God has given us:  Everything that pertains to life and godliness  The Words of Life  The Words that will judge us

The Uniqueness of the Bible The Bible is unique because it came from God. Since it is the Word of God, will you not listen to Him and Obey Him?

By Bob Gard – Hollister Missouri church of Christ Adapted lesson from Mark A. Copeland December 4, 2005www.hollisterchurchofchrist.orgwww.executableoutlines.com