The Integrity of the Canonized Bible

Some people don’t believe the canonized Bible. In fact, they don’t read it at all. If at all, they don’t enjoy reading the Bible. They prefer to read the newspapers and other reading materials. These people, sad to say, are missing the best reading material or book in the universe. This sacred book is a complete story from beginning to the end and future of God, man and this world and the world to come. It contains history, science, math, law, music, medicine, wisdom, spiritual commands and instructions etc., everything that man needs to live wisely, correctly and comfortably. It is man’s “Manufacturer’s manual”.

When we say canonized Bible, we refer to the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament, or a total of 66 books authored by forty (40) different human authors who were anointed and used individually by the Holy Spirit and written within a period of 1,500 years, yet amazingly dovetail each other and without conflict with but rather compliment each other. These books passed the test on what makes a book qualified to be part of the Word of God, compiled after the death of Jesus Christ (A.D.) by the canonizing fathers in what it is known today as the BIBLE that Christians know and believe as the authentic Word of God. So, look at the index of your Bible. Count the number of books from Genesis to Revelation. Does it tally to number 66?

What is the basis of the canonizing Fathers in including only the 66 books? Each book have known authors or writers and Jesus himself said: “You are such foolish people! You find it hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory? Then Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself.” (Luke 24:25-27 NLT). When Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem, he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must all come true” (Luke 24:44 NLT).

The credulous will ask, what about the other books not included in the 66 canonized books? Sorry, believe it or not, the decision is yours.

More graphically, these are the Old Testament passages quoted by the Lord Jesus Christ:

Old Testament New Testament Occasion

Quotations

Deuteronomy 8:3 Matthew 4:4 Temptation

Deuteronomy 6:16 Matthew 4:7 - do -

Deuteronomy 6:13 Matthew 4:10 - do -

Exodus 20:13 Matthew 5:21 Sermon on the Mount

Exodus 20:14 Matthew 5:27 - do -

Isaiah 61:1,2 Luke 4:18, 19 Hometown Sermon

Hosea 6:6 Matthew 9: 13 Confrontations with the Jewish Rulers

Genesis 2:24 Mark 10:7, 8 Precept on adultery

Deuteronomy 6:4, 5 Mark 12:29, 30 Summary of ten commandments

Isaiah 29:13 Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus teaches against tradition of men that do not conform to the Scriptures.

Deuteronomy 17:6 John 8:17 Testimony of two men are true

Malachi 3:1 Luke 7:27 Tribute to John

Psalm 8:2 Matthew 21:16 Triumphal Entry

Isaiah 56:7 Luke 19:46 Temple Cleansing

Psalm 118:22, 23 Matthew 21:42, 44 Parable about Israel

Psalm 110:1 Mark 12:36 Temple Question

Session

Psalm 35:19;69:4 John 15:25 Last Passover

Psalm 22:1 Matthew 27:46 On the Cross

Psalm 31:5 Luke 23:46 Last saying of Jesus on the cross

The apostle Peter said, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever come from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God” (2 Pet. 1:20-21 NLT). On the other hand, apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16 KJV).

The canonized Bible’s prophetic record is 100% truly accurate. Thus, some examples are the following:

The Lord Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) at the time specified (Daniel 9:25). Infants in Bethlehem were massacred as prophesied (Jeremiah 31:15). Jesus went down into Egypt and returned (Hosea 11:1). Isaiah foretold Christ’s ministry in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2). Zechariah predicted His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a colt (Zechariah 9:9) and His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver (11:12-13). David had never seen a Roman crucifixion, yet Psalm 22, under divine inspiration, he penned a graphic portrayal of Jesus’ death. About seven hundred years before the New Testament was published, Isaiah 53 gives a detailed picture of our Lord’s rejection, mistreatment, death, and burial with the wicked and with the rich [vs. 9] (he was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man). These few prophecies (and there are many more) should impress and convince us beyond the shadow of doubt with the reliability and integrity of the canonized Bible.

Significantly, the Lord Jesus himself said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 3:19) speaking of “the temple of his body” (vs. 21). Paul said, “What, know ye not that your body (true Christian body) is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price:” [by the precious blood of Christ 1 Pet 1:19] (1 Cor. 6:19-20 KJV) that is why he said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die [meaning spiritually]” (John 11: 25-26 KJV).

The main criteria of the canonizing fathers in including a book in the Bible is that Jesus Christ must have quoted them when he was on earth personally ministering, and those spoken of truly happened as predicted by Jesus himself, by the prophets, or must have been authored by his disciples or apostles, or those very close to the apostles like Dr. Luke and John Mark.

When I was a young lawyer holding office in Davao City, about 80 kms. away from our hometown in Kapalong, Davao del Norte, I verbally told my father that I would go home on a certain important family occasion and we agreed that he would roast a pig (lechon in our local dialect) for lunch. In those days, as it is today, an important occasion is celebrated by Filipinos with lechon as the main menu. On that particular day, I was delayed due to an urgent, emergency and unavoidable professional engagement. In the middle 60’s there were no cellphones or telephones yet in our municipality. However, whenever I promise to go home, I would see to it that I arrive early to enjoy more hours with my parents and siblings but this time I arrived past 12:00 noon already. There was no way that I could communicate to my father that I would be arriving but will be delayed. Nevertheless, when I arrived, to my joy and amazement, the lechon was ready for lunch and I found out that they were just waiting for my arrival. I verbally appreciated my father, that he proceeded to have the lechon prepared although I was not able to confirm my promise and I arrived too late. His answer was sweet to my ears and very encouraging and wonderful to my heart: “There was never a time you made a promise that you did not fulfill”. And I am only an imperfect human being subject to human frailties and limitations.

In the same vein, since the above-mentioned predictions of the prophets in the canonized Bible have all been amazingly fulfilled, let us also accept with confidence what the Bible says about the future. Furthermore, Jesus himself affirmed them in his teachings and discourses, and he said, “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27) and “all things are possible to him that believe” (Mark 9:23).

Remember, we have a book of prophecy that is right – all of the time! The author – the Holy Spirit – is 100% reliable and full of integrity. Indeed, we CAN TRUST THE CANONIZED BIBLE WITH ALL ITS PROPHECY - - GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS WORD which is more trustworthy than the Word of any man that ever lived on this planet earth. (FGBMFI Davao City Chapter Bulletin, June 16, 2012)