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Which leads to a question: If early Christians probably made a few slip-ups, why do modern textual experts consider the Bible to be an essentially accurate document?
Plainly, one reason experts consider the Bible so accurate in its message is simply due to the sheer number of Biblical manuscripts (24,000 New Testament manuscripts alone). Since there are so many of them, and because their content is so similar (more on this in a moment), scholars believe beyond reasonable doubt the reconstructed Bibles we have today are essentially equivalent to the original.
Even if a "bad apple" manuscript existed among the 24,000—perhaps due to a sloppy copyist or unscrupulous person who tampered with the text—the massive number of copies would make identifying and eliminating the suspicious manuscript a relatively simple task. And what about all those allegations regarding unscrupulous modifications to Bible manuscripts? There is no reliable historical evidence suggesting such a conspiracy ever took place except in the imaginations of typically religiously motivated Biblical opponents.
Phillip Schaff wrote: "We possess so many MSS [manuscripts] and are aided by so many versions, that we are never left to the need of conjecture as the means of removing errata [errors]." (Companion to the Greek New Testament and English Version, p. 182)
Another reason scholars have enormous confidence in Biblical accuracy is that early Christians were utterly intolerant of dishonesty. Christians were commanded—by Christ and Biblical writers—to be absolutely truthful, reliable, and honest in all situations. And all historical evidence seems to suggest they did just that. (8)
Finally, Christians were strictly forbidden to add or take away from God's word in any manner. They deeply believed in the importance of preserving every detail of the entire word of God "exactly as it had been delivered to them." (9) (10)
Thus it should come as no surprise that textual experts consider the Bible to easily be the most well-attested book of antiquity. There are many more surviving manuscripts of the New Testament than there are of any other piece of ancient literature. Outside of Homer's Iliad which has less than 700 surviving manuscripts, no other ancient Greek or Latin work has more than 200 surviving manuscripts, and very few have more than 20. (11)
]url=http://www.religiouslyincorrect.com/Articles/BibleAccuracy1.shtml]Link[/url]
And did not Jesus Christ Himself reveal that the Jews are of the Synagogue of Satan? (Revelations 2).
Jesus Christ also revealed that the Jews are not true Jews when He said to the Christians of Asia Minor,
“I will make them who say they are Jews but are not,
but do lie,
to come and worship before thy feet.” (Revelations 3).
How then can the so-called Jews who are now the enemies of the Cross and of the Synagogue of Satan,
and who must worship at the feet of Christians,
be the “Chosen People?”
Spoken by an EX-Jew~
Originally posted by helen670
reply to post by toasted
Hi toasted/
Well said.
The Old Testament was a Law for the Old Covenant,and Jesus Christ makes this clear!
God said to Abraham, “I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee. And in thy seed all of the nations shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12,26).
Jesus Christ said this ''Because you do not believe,
you are not of my sheep be the “Chosen People?” (St John 10)
And in Isaiah.. “accursed people” because of their sins. (Isaiah 66:20)...many more Scriptures to ponder on.
Did not St Paul the Hebrew of Hebrews say that the Jews are the enemies of the Cross? (Philipians 3 )
“If ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed.” (Galatians 3:29)...Obviously we all are called to the New Covenant.
And did not Jesus Christ Himself reveal that the Jews are of the Synagogue of Satan? (Revelations 2).
Jesus Christ also revealed that the Jews are not true Jews when He said to the Christians of Asia Minor,
“I will make them who say they are Jews but are not,
but do lie,
to come and worship before thy feet.” (Revelations 3).
How then can the so-called Jews who are now the enemies of the Cross and of the Synagogue of Satan,
and who must worship at the feet of Christians,
be the “Chosen People?”
Spoken by an EX-Jew~
ICXC NIKA
helen
Some of what you wrote is true, however, what is missing are things which give context to the apparently Anti-jewish connoation you're trying to construct.
Paul asks in Romans 11:
So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew!
11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved
Did you catch that? A partial alienation between God and the Jews will be in place during the Age of the Church.. but the Age of the Church will come to an end, and when it does, God will return to his people, Israel, and bring redemption to them.
Romans 11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all .
So any effort to state that the Jews are fundamentally sprititually or salvationaly lost is false. It's a lie.
It's only in our historical context that it would appear as if things were that way. But God has an overall historical plan and in the end the Jewish people will receive all of the promises that God has made with them.
Regarding the Covenant that God has made with the Jews...
Jeremiah 31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord. “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people.
You see that... in the future, God will return the Jews to the land. And the Covenant that he will make with the Jews is interestingly similar to the way that Christians regard their relationship with God.
St. Paul wishes to explain how it is possible, given the promises God made to Abraham and his offspring, that Israel has now seemingly been rejected in favor of the Gentiles.
His answer is that the corporate election of Israel has not been revoked, but that there is now added to it a corporate election of the Gentiles, or rather, of those who believe from among the Gentiles.
The effect of this is not to replace Israel, but to “graft” the believing Gentiles onto the tree of Israel in place of its broken branches (11:19). What has been foreknown and predetermined from all the ages is simply this—that God would, at the proper time and in the proper way, graft the believing Gentiles onto the tree.
It is important to notice that nothing follows from this about the salvation of any individual. Whether an individual belongs to the branch which is grafted onto the tree remains a matter of his free response.
SOURCE
14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus,
and their own prophets,
and have persecuted us; and they please not God,
and are contrary to all men:
16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved,
to fill up their sins always: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
LINK
In attempting to reconcile the 2520 360-day years to our Roman calendar, one is faced with the discrepancies between the sidereal year and the solar year. (The Julian year is 11 minutes and 10.46 seconds longer than the mean solar year.) In 1572, it was recognized that errors had accumulated to 11 days too many, and adjustments were required. In the Gregorian Reform, September 4th was declared September 14th, and the formula for leap years was changed to exclude centuries unless divisible by four (and millennia by 400). Thus, 2520 360-day years contain 907,200 days, which are accounted for on our current calendar as 2483 years, 9 months and 21 days: 2483 x 365 =906,295 days 9 months x 30 =270 21 days 21 Leap Years - 2483/4 =621 -18 +11 =614 2520 x 360 =907,200 days The "Servitude of the Nation"? The 70 years of servitude, to be consistent, should be reckoned as 25,200 days, or two days short of 69 years on our Roman calendar. The first siege of Nebuchadnezzar, in 606 B.C., began the "Servitude of the Nation," which lasted until the summer of 537 B.C. If July 23, 537 B.C. was the time of their release: -537y 7m 23d +1 (no year "0") 2483y 9m 21d 1948 5 14 The "Desolations of Jerusalem"? The third siege of Nebuchad-nezzar, in 587 B.C., began the "Desolations of Jerusalem," which lasted until 518 B.C. If August 16, 518 B.C. was the completion of the walls of Jerusalem, then: -518y 8m 16d +1 (no year "0") 2483y 9m 21d 1967 6 7
Originally posted by toasted
reply to post by VinceP1974
You made some good points but then you messed it by lumping everyone together.
But as I said, all the different groups will have to choose.
I think since you seem to love prophecy, that you would love the very small booklet on the Abrahamic covenant by E. Raymond Capt
I'm sorry, but I have to run now. I'll comment as time permits.