All Scripture is Inspired of God...

by cellomould 7 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • cellomould
    cellomould

    When Paul wrote the often quoted words of 2 Tim 3:16, to what was he referring?

    To what he himself was writing in his letter to Timothy?
    No, of course not.

    He was referring to scripture to which his audience, Timothy, was familiar. I'm talking about scrolls which contained the sacred words....

    But wait, was anything sacred at the time it was written?
    Or did it become sacred through familiarity and tradition?

    So did Paul mean that his letter should one day be considered inspired scripture? Probably not. But that's how it happened.

    cellomould

    "In other words, your God is the warden of a prison where the only prisoner is your God." Jose Saramago, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ

  • dungbeetle
    dungbeetle

    I love the reactions I get when I point out what Paul said the scripture WAS--inspired, for teaching, reproving, setting things straight, than you might be equipped, yadyadyada.

    What is it NOT? TRUE!!!! What a funny word to leave out!!!

    In 1975 a crack team of publishers was sentenced to death by a judicial commiteee. They promptly escaped from the cult and now live life on the run. If you have a problem ... and if you can find them ... maybe you can contact the A--postate Team"

  • logical
    logical

    Paul was infact referring to the Law, the prophets, Psalms etc. Of course the bible cannon wasnt in existence then, and there is no way that can refer to NT writings, many of which are not scripture, merely eyewitness accounts (Luke 1:1-5, Acts 1:1) and opinions.

  • Adonai438
    Adonai438

    Actually in many places in the NT they do assert they are being inspired-- They write things to the churches from God, They use phrases like "the Lord, not I, says these things to you", some are direct visions for the church like Revelations and the NT also says that we are to beware those teaching another gospel besides what they {the apostles} have taught us from God. All the writings also are in accordance and do not contradict the oT that was already writen which is one of the tests of a reliable inspiration source. They are also accurate in historical account and propecy. You may not believe in what they say but the authors clearly believed and taught that they were inspired by God to write the NT books. Etc... Etc... etc...

  • Moxy
    Moxy

    well adonai, havent you identified a big problem here yourself? why would paul need to specify when he was talking by 'spirit' and not 'from himself.' did that mean that all the other times, he was just giving his own opinion? what about the times he explicitly says, 'not the holy spirit, but I' say such-and-such? were these words inspired? how do you know?

    mox

  • KJV
    KJV

    The correct translation is "All scripture THAT is inspired....". Makes a little difference.

  • seedy3
    seedy3

    Adonai438 said:

    They are also accurate in historical account and propecy

    I almost choked on my coffee when I read that. Lets just take a look about this "accurate" history and Prophecy.

    First Prophecy, here is a list of 100 prophecies that either never took place or were totally wrong in what was prophesied

    Genesis
    God says that if Adam eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then the day that he does so, he will die. But later Adam eats the forbidden fruit (3:6) and yet lives for another 930 years (5:5). 2:17

    As a punishment for killing Abel, God says Cain will be "a fugitive and a vagabond." Yet in just a few verses (4:16-17) Cain will settle down, marry, have a son, and build a city. This is not the activity one would expect from a fugitive and a vagabond. 4:12

    God promises Abram and his descendants all of the land of Canaan. But both history and the bible (Acts 7:5 and Heb.11:13) show that God's promise to Abram was not fulfilled. 13:15, 15:18, 17:8, 28:13-14

    How long was the Egyptian captivity? This verse says 400 years, but Ex.12:40 and Gal.3:17 say 430 years. 15:13

    "In the fourth generation they [Abraham's descendants] shall come hither again." But, if we count Abraham, then their return occurred after seven generations: Abraham, Issac (Gen.21:1-3), Jacob (Gen.25:19-26), Levi (Gen.35:22-23), Kohath (Ex.6:16), Amramn (Ex.6:18), and Moses (Ex.6:20). 15:16

    God renames Jacob for the first time (See 35:10 for the first renaming). God says that Jacob will henceforth be called Israel, but the Bible continues to call him Jacob anyway. And even God himself calls him Jacob in 46:2. 32:28, 35:10

    God promises to bring Jacob safely back from Egypt, but Jacob dies in Egypt (Gen.47:28-29) 46:3-4

    The tribe of Judah will reign "until Shiloh," but Israel's first king (Saul) was from the tribe of Benjamin (Acts 13:21), and most of the time after this prophecy there was no king at all. 49:10

    Exodus

    God promises to cast out many nations including the Canaanites and the Jebusites. But he was unable to fulfill his promise. 33:2

    In this verse God says he will write on the stone tablets, but in 34:27 he tells Moses to do the writing. 34:1

    Deuteronomy

    Misquote of Dt.30:14.
    Joshua

    Joshua (8:28) says that Ai would never again be occupied after it was destroyed by Joshua. But Nehemiah (7:32) lists it among the cities of Israel at the time of the Babylonian captivity.

    2 Kings

    In 2 Kg.22:20 God promises Josiah that he will have a peaceful death. But Josiah's death was anything but peaceful. (2 Kg.23:29-30, 2 Chr.35:23-24) <

    Psalms

    "David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel." (2 Sam.7:13-16, Jer.33:17, Ps.89:3-4, 34-37) But the Davidic line of Kings ended with Zedekiah; there were none during the
    Babylonian captivity, and there are none today.

    Misquote of Ps.40:6.

    Misquote of Ps.78:2.

    Isaiah

    The river(s) of Egypt (identified as the Nile in NIV, NASV, and RSV) shall dry up. (Is.19:5, Ezek.30:12, and Zech.10:11)
    This has never occurred.

    According to Is.19:18, there shall be five cities in Egypt that speak the Canaanite language. But that language was never spoken in Egypt, and it is extinct now.

    Isaiah 17:1 says that Damascus will be completely destroyed and no longer be inhabited. But Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities and was never completely destroyed.

    Is.19:18-21 predicts that the Egyptians will worship the Lord (Yahweh) with sacrifices and offerings. But Judaism has never been an important religion in Egypt.

    Misquote of Is.28:16.

    "Henceforth there shall no more come into thee [Jerusalem] the uncircumcised and the
    unclean." (Is.52:1) But many uncircumcised people have visited and occupied Jerusalem after this prophecy
    was made.

    Jeremiah

    Jeremiah prophesies that all nations of the earth will embrace Judaism. This has not happened. 3:17

    Apparently, prophets that preach good news and tidings anger God. So he will kill them. 5:12-13

    "The prophets prophesy falsely." Unfortunately, we're not told how to differentiate between the true and false prophets. 5:31

    God will make Jerusalem "a den of dragons." 9:11

    Judah will become a desolate den of dragons. 10:22

    God complains that "the prophets prophesy lies" in his name. Does this mean that Isaiah, Daniel, and Jeremiah were all prophesying lies? 14:14

    God will destroy by famine and sword those who are misled by the prophets, as well as the prophets themselves. 14:15-16

    Matthew (1:12) lists Jeconiah as an ancestor of Jesus -- which, according to this prophecy, disqualifies Jesus as the Messiah. 22:28-30

    God finds some wicked prophets and priests. Like Jeremiah, maybe? 23:11

    God says he is going to punish Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians for what they have done to his people -- even though God Himself is the one who made the Babylonians attack and enslave Judah! As part of the punishment God will take the land of the Babylonians and "make it perpetual desolations." A false prophecy, since present-day Iraq is quite occupied.25:12

    God kills Hananiah for prophesying falsely. 28:16-17<

    Matthew (2:17-18) quotes this verse, claiming that it was a prophecy of King Herod's alleged slaughter of the children in and around Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus. But this passage refers to the Babylonian captivity, as is clear by reading the next two verses (16 and 17), and, thus, has nothing to do with Herod's massacre. 31:15

    Misquoted in Heb.8:9. 31:32

    "David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel." But the Davidic line of Kings ended with Zedekiah; there were none during the Babylonian captivity, and there are none today. 33:17

    God lies to Zedekiah again by telling him that he will die in peace and be buried with his fathers. But later (2 Kg.25:7 and Jer.52:10-11) he dies a violent death in a foreign land. 34:5

    The beginning of the end for Zedekiah. Despite God's earlier assurances (34:5) that he would die peacefully at home, here Zedekiah watches as his children are killed and then has his eyes put out and he is shackled and taken to Babylon. Also, the city is burned and those remaining are enslaved. 39:6-9

    All those who move to Egypt will die by the sword, famine, or pestilence. None "shall escape from the evil" that comes directly from God. But many, including Jews, have moved to Egypt and most seem to have escaped from God's promised evil. 42:15-18, 22

    Jeremiah predicts that humans will never again live in Hazor, but will be replaced by dragons. But people still live there and dragons have never been seen. 49:33

    God prophesies that Babylon will never again be inhabited. But it has been inhabited constantly since the prophecy was supposedly made, and is inhabited still today. 50:39

    God says that Babylon will be desolate and uninhabited forever. He says that only dragons will live there. But Babylon has been dragon-free and continuously inhabited since then. 51:26, 29, 37, 43, 62, 64

    God promised Zedekiah (Jer.34:5) that he would die peacefully and be buried with his fathers. But here we see that he died a miserable death in foreign land. 52:10-11

    Lamentations

    So the prophets are no longer hearing from God? Is that a permanent thing or what? 2:9

    Prophets have vain and foolish visions. 2:14

    Ezekiel

    God says, "The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision." So the days are near when all of the visions will come to pass? Hasn't happened yet. There's much left unfulfilled. Then, in the next verse, another falsehood: "For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel." As for "vain visions," the Bible is loaded with them, before and after Ezekiel's time. 12:23-24

    Ezekiel Prophesies (in the 6th century BCE) that Ammonites will not be remembered any more. They continued to exist until the 2nd century CE. (And they are still remembered in the Bible.) 21:28-32

    Ezekiel prophesies that Tyrus will be completely destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar and will never be built again. But it wasn't destroyed, as evidenced by the visits to Tyre by Jesus and Paul (Mt.15:21, Mk.7:24, 31, Acts 21:3). 26:14,21

    Ezekiel repeats the false prophecy of the destruction and perpetual desolation of Tyrus. (See Mt.15:21, Mk.7:24, 31, Acts 21:3). 27:36

    Once more Ezekiel repeats the false prophecy of the complete destruction of Tyrus and its perpetual desolation. 28:19

    Ezekiel conveys God's promise that Israel will reside in their homeland safely, never again to be tormented by neighboring nations. One need only look to the newspaper for evidence that this has not been fulfilled. Israelites continued to be scattered from the area and tormented by other powers, including the Romans and Turks. In the 20th century, they were given a large portion of their homeland back, only to have the recent residents (Palestinians) revolt. After that, the surrounding Arab nations invaded Israel, though they were turned back. Israel has had nothing near a peaceful existence, nor does it appear they'll enjoy one anytime soon. 28:24-26

    Ezekiel makes another false prophecy: that Egypt would be uninhabited by humans or animals for forty years after being destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar. But there was never a time when Egypt was uninhabited. Humans and animals have lived there continuously since Ezekiel's prophecy. 29:10-13

    Egypt "shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations." But Egypt remained an important and often powerful nation. During the Tulunid dynasty (868-905 CE), for example, Egypt was the center of a small empire and conquered Syria. 29:14-15

    The rivers of Egypt (identified as the Nile in NIV, NASB, and RSV) shall dry up. This has never occurred. 30:12

    Once again, Ezekiel prophesies God will protect the Israelites from invasion and plunder as a shepherd protects his flock. Again, we know this has not happened. 34:28-29

    Daniel

    Despite the knowledge that the writer of Daniel most likely lived well after the events he writes about, modern day Armageddonists, or Endtimers, use the vision of the four beasts to bolster their claim that the end is near. They say the lion, bear, leopard, and horned beast represent Europe, Russia, Israel and the U.S., respectively. And, in the battle between the ram and the one-horned goat, some believe this represents a battle between Christianity and Islam. For more information on the Endtimer's beliefs, visit this link page: The Ultimate Site on Armageddon, Apocalypse, Millennium, Rapture, Doomsday, Tribulation and Revelation 7:3, 8:3-6
    To many endtimers, these verses describe the coming Antichrist. However, it is more likely that they describe a tyrant king of Syria, Antiochus IV. He reigned around 170 BCE and persecuted the Jews, sparking the Maccabean revolt. This information gives even more credence to the train of thought that has Daniel's writer living in the second century BCE, than in the sixth. Which wouldn't make these verses prophecy; they would be contemporary history. 8:23-25, 11:21-45

    If you want to be confused out of your gourd, check out The 70th. week of Daniel; Revelation Unsealed, By James D. Shade. This tries to link the time frame and descriptions in Daniel to the same type of passages in Revelation. 9:25-27
    Hosea

    "After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight." This may be the verse referred to in Luke 18:31-33 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. However, Hosea 6:2 refers to the people living at the time (hence "us") who were to be torn up by God and therefore cannot be fulfilled by the the death and resurrection of Jesus. 6:2

    The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad." Wow, Hosea and I finally agree on something! 9:7

    "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."
    Matthew (2:15) claims that the flight of Jesus' family to Egypt is a fulfillment of this verse. But Hosea 11:1 is not a prophecy at all. It is a reference to the Hebrew exodus from Egypt and has nothing to do with Jesus. Matthew tries to hide this fact by quoting only the last part of the verse ("Out of Egypt I have called my son"). 11:1

    Joel

    "The day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Is every really bad day the "day of the Lord"? And is it always "nigh at hand"? 2:1

    Amos

    Despite this promise, the Jews have been continually uprooted and their lives disrupted over the ages. Even today, their land ownership falls into question. 9:15

    Obadiah

    "For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen." If so, then it must have come and past, unnoticed, long before the birth of Christ.15

    Jonah

    Jonah prophesies that in forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown. But it didn't happen because God repented (Jonah 3:10).3:4

    Micah

    Micah says some prophets are playing to the people's desires by only prophesying good things, like wine and "strong drink." I guess Judah liked to party in those days.2:11

    Some of God's prophets tell lies. God says that they bite (with their teeth).3:5

    "The prophets thereof divine for money." Some things never change.3:11

    "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

    The gospel of Matthew (2:5-6) claims that Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfils this prophecy. But this is unlikely for two reasons.
    "Bethlehem Ephratah" in Micah 5:2 refers not to a town, but to a clan: the clan of Bethlehem, who was the son of Caleb's second wife, Ephrathah (1 Chr.2:18, 2:50-52, 4:4).
    The prophecy (if that is what it is) does not refer to the Messiah, but rather to a military leader, as can be seen from verse 5:6. This leader is supposed to defeat the Assyrians, which, of course, Jesus never did.

    It should also be noted that Matthew altered the text of Micah 5:2 by saying: "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda" rather than "Bethlehem Ephratah" as is said in Micah 5:2. He did this, intentionally no doubt, to make the verse appear to refer to the town of Bethlehem rather than the family clan.5:2

    Zephaniah

    Zephaniah prophesies that "the great day of the Lord is near." But we're still waiting, 2600 years later. 1:14-18

    Haggai

    In "a little while" God "will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land." 2:6

    Zechariah

    The gospels (especially Mt.21:4-5 and Jn.12:14-15) claim that Jesus fulfils the prophecy of Zech.9:9. But the next few verses (9:10-13) show that the person referred to in this verse is a military king that would rule "from sea to sea". Since Jesus had neither an army or a kingdom, he could not have fulfilled this prophecy. 9:9

    The river of Egypt (identified as the Nile in NIV, NASB, and RSV) shall dry up. This has never occurred. 10:11

    Matthew (27:9) quotes this verse, but incorrectly attributes it to Jeremiah. 11:12

    Matthew

    The gospel of Matthew (2:5-6) claims that Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfils this prophecy. But this is unlikely because:
    "Bethlehem Ephratah" in Micah 5:2 refers not to a town, but to a clan: the clan of Bethlehem, who was the son of Caleb's second wife, Ephrathah (1 Chr.2:18, 2:50-52, 4:4).
    The prophecy (if that is what it is) does not refer to the Messiah, but rather to a military leader, as can be seen from Micah 5:6. This leader is supposed to defeat the Assyrians, which, of course, Jesus never did.
    It should also be noted that Matthew altered the text of Micah 5:2 by saying: "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda" rather than "Bethlehem Ephratah" as is said in Micah 5:2. He did this, intentionally no doubt, to make the verse appear to refer to the town of Bethlehem rather than the family clan.

    The gospels (especially Mt.21:4-5 and Jn.12:14-15) claim that Jesus fulfils the prophecy of Zech.9:9. But the next few verses (9:10-13) show that the person referred to in this verse is a military king that would rule "from sea to sea". Since Jesus had neither an army or a kingdom, he could not have fulfilled this prophecy.

    Matthew (2:17-18) quotes Jer.31:15, claiming that it was a prophecy of King Herod's alleged slaughter of the children in and around Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus. But this passage refers to the Babylonian captivity, as is clear by reading the next two verses (16 and 17), and, thus, has nothing to do with Herod's massacre.
    Jesus mistakenly tells his followers that he will return and establish his kingdom within their lifetime. Mt.16:28, 23:36, 24:34
    Jesus falsely prophesies that the high priest would see his second coming. Mt.26:64, Mk.14:62.

    Matthew quotes from Zechariah (11:12-13), but mistakenly attributes the quote to Jeremiah. 27:9

    Mark

    Jesus falsely prophesies that the end of the world will come within his listeners' lifetimes. Mk.9:1, 13:30

    Jesus said that his true followers will routinely perform the following tricks: 1) cast out devils, 2)speak in tongues, 3) take up serpents, 4) drink poisons without harm, and 5) cure the sick by touching them. Mk.16:17-18

    Luke

    Jesus falsely predicts that some of his listeners would live to see him return and establish the kingdom of God. Lk.9:27

    Jesus says that all that he describes (his return, signs in the sun, moon, and stars, etc.) will occur within the lifetime of his listeners. Lk.21:32

    John

    In John 7:38, Jesus quotes "the scripture" as saying that those who believe in him will have living waters flowing out of their bellies. Well, that sounds like fun, but there is no such scripture. (The closest are Ezek.47:1 and Zech.14:8, but they aren't very close.)
    John 19:33 says that during Jesus' crucifixion, the soldiers didn't break his legs because he was already dead. Verse 36 claims that this fulfilled a prophecy: "Not a bone of him shall be broken." But there is no such prophecy.

    It is sometimes said that the prophecy appears in Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12 and Psalm 34:20. This is not correct. Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12 are not prophecies, they are commandments. The Israelites are told not to break the bones of the Passover lamb, and this is all it is about. And Psalm 34:20 seems to refer to righteous people in general (see verse 19, where a plural is used), not to make a prophecy about a specific person.

    Jesus implies that he will return to earth during the lifetime of John. Jn.21:22

    PHILLIPIANS

    Paul thought that the end was near and that Jesus would return soon after he wrote these words. Phil.4:5

    Thessalonians

    Paul thought he would live to see the rapture. 1 Th.4:17

    Paul prays that the Thessalonians will be good until Jesus returns. Of course this implies that he expected this to happen within their lifetimes. 1 Th.5:23

    HEBREWS

    The author of Hebrews believed that he was living in the "last days" (Heb.1:2) and that Jesus would come "in a little while," and would "not tarry." Heb.10:37

    James

    James quotes "the Scripture" as saying, "The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy." But there is no such scripture in the Old Testament. Jas.4:5

    James thought that Jesus would return soon. Jas.5:8

    1 Peter

    Peter wrongly believed that he was living in the "last times" and that "the end of all things is at hand." 1 Pet.1:20 ,.4:7

    1 John

    John thinks he is living in "the last times." He "knows" this because he sees so many antichrists around. 1 Jn.2:18

    John says that the antichrist was already present at the time 1 John was written. 1 Jn.4:3

    Jude

    Jude says Enoch prophesied that God would come with 10,000 of his saints "to execute judgment upon all." But where did he make such a prophecy? It is not recorded in the Bible. Jude 14-15

    Revelation

    John believes "the time is at hand," and that the things that he writes about in Revelation will "shortly come to pass." Rev.1:1, 3

    Rev.1:7 says that "every eye shall see him," including those who executed him. But millions have lived and died without ever seeing him coming "with clouds."

    John quotes Jesus (1900 years ago) as saying he will come "quickly." Rev.3:11, 22:7, 12, 20

  • seedy3
    seedy3

    Now for the history

    Genisis

    God creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night, on the first day. Yet he didn't make the light producing objects (the sun and the stars) until the fourth day (1:14-19). 1:3-5

    Plants are made on the third day before there was a sun to drive their photosynthetic processes (1:14-19). 1:11

    "There were giants in the earth in those days." Well, I suppose it's good to know that. But why is there no archaeological evidence for the existence of these giants? 6:4

    Noah is told to make an ark that is 450 feet long. The largest wooden ships ever built were just over 300 feet, and they required diagonal iron strapping for support. Even so, they leaked so badly that they had to be pumped constantly. Are we to believe that Noah, with no shipbuilding knowledge and no shipbuilding tradition to rely upon, was able to construct a wooden ship that was longer than any that has been built since? But not only was the ark too big to be seaworthy, it was far too small to be able to contain the earth's millions of plant and animals species. 6:14-15

    Whether by twos or by sevens, Noah takes male and female representatives from each species of "every thing that creepeth upon the earth." Now this must have taken some time, along with expert knowledge of taxonomy, genetics, biogeography, and anatomy. How did Noah manage to collect the endemic species from the New World, Australia, Polynesia, and other remote regions entirely unknown to him? How, once he found them, did he transport them back to his Near Eastern home? How could he tell the male and female beetles (there are more than 500,000 species) apart? How did he know how to care for these new and unfamiliar animals? How did he find the space on the ark? How did he manage to find and care for the hundreds of thousands of parasitic species? How did Noah obtain and care for the hundreds of thousands of species of plants? (Plants are ignored in the Genesis account, but the animals wouldn't last long after if the plants died in the flood.) No, wait, don't tell me. A miracle happened. Millions of them. 7:8

    All of the animals boarded the ark "in the selfsame day." Since there were several million species involved, they must have boarded at a rate of at least 100/second. How did poor Noah and his family make sure that the correct number of each species entered through the door and then get them all settled into their proper living quarters so efficiently? I wish the airline companies could do as well! 7:13-14 The flood covered the highest mountain tops (Mount Everest?) with fifteen cubits to spare. Where did all the water come from? Where did it all go? Why is there no evidence of such a massive flood in the geological record? 7:20

    "The whole earth was of one language." But this could not be true, since by this time (around 2400 BCE) there were already many languages, each unintelligible to the others. 11:1

    According to the Tower of Babel story, the many human languages were created instaneously by God. But actually the various languages evolved gradually over long periods of time. 11:9

    In these verses the Philistines are said to have lived in Canaan at the time of Abraham, yet the Philistines did not live in the region until the period of the Judges, well after the time of Abraham. (See Britannica.com, Philistine) 21:32, 26:1, 21:32, 21:32, 8, 15, 18

    Exodus

    The Israelite population went from 70 (or 75) to several million in a few hundred years. 1:5,7, 12:37, 38:26

    Numbers

    The Israelite population went from seventy (Ex.1:5) to several million (over 600,000 adult males) in just a few generations! 1:45-46

    "And there we saw the giants ... And we were in our own sight as grasshopper, and so we were in their sight." According to this description, then, the giants must have been about 300 feet tall. 13:33

    Joshua

    In Joshua 8 the Israelites destroy Ai and make it a desolate heap. But archaeology has revealed that Ai was an abandoned city by the time of the Israelites and that this story is nothing more than a myth invented to explain the ruins of an ancient city that the Israelites encountered. See Archaeology and Biblical Accuracy by Farrell Till.

    Daniel

    The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be 606 BCE, at which time Nebuchadnezzar was not yet king of Babylon. It was 597 BCE that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem for the first time (without actually destroying it). By that time Jehohiakim was dead and his son, Jehoiachin, was ruling. (see Nebuchadrezzar II, Encyclopedia Britannica) 1:1

    Nebuchadnezzar eats grass, lets his hair grow like eagle feathers and his nails like bird claws. Of course, there is no record in secular history that Nebuchadnezzar sufferred any such strange sickness. 4:32-33

    Apparently, the author of Daniel knew of only two Babylonian kings during the period of the exile: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, who he wrongly thought was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. But Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BCE and was succeeded by his son, Awil-Marduk (referred to in the bible as "Evilmerodach" [see 2 Kg.25:27 and Jer.52:31]). In 560 BCE, Amel-Marduk was assissinated by his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-usur. The next and last king of Babylon was Nabonidus who reigned from 556 to 539, when Babylon was conquered by Cyrus. It was Nabonidus, and not Belshazzar, who was the last of the Babylonian kings. Belshazzar was a the son and viceroy of Nabonidus. But he was not a king, and was not the son (or any other relation) of Nebochadnezzar. (See The Neo-Babylonian Empire, Encyclopedia Britannica). 5:2,11,18,22

    Darius the Median is a fictitious character whom the author perhaps confused with Darius I of Persia, who came to the throne in 521 BCE, 17 years after the fall of Babylon. The author of Daniel incorrecly makes him the successor of Belshazzar instead of Cyrus. (See biblical literature, Daniel, Encyclopedia Britannica) 5:31

    John

    "These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing." Jn.1:28
    But no such site is known in history. Some translations (ASV, NAB, NIV, RSV, NRSV) rename Bethabara as Bethany, but Bethany is a suburb of Jerusalem and, therefore, not "beyond the Jordan."

    Although some of these are more science, they do relate to a historical account. Science is another thing that is WAY out of whack in the bible.

    Now what about contradictions?? Hmmmm another post perhaps

    As a credit to my source, I must give credit where credit is due, becasue without it I would have been typing all day and night.

    All above statements are from:

    http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/

    Seedy

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