1. INTERNATIONAL BIBLE BAPTIST
CHURCH, BANGKOK, THAILAND
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
OCTOBER 13, 2013
STUDIES ON THE BIBLE PART 3

2. EXTERNAL EVIDENCES OF INSPIRATION
What are the characteristics of the Scriptures
that make it unique?
How is it different from all other books in the
world? This is a brief session in Christian
apologetics

3. I. ANTIQUITY
A)The Bible is the oldest book or thing most of us
have ever possessed. The writing of the Bible is as
old as the art of writing itself. Men first recorded
their thoughts in the form of pictures that they
would carve in caves. From these were developed
pictographs. And then pictures were turned to sound
symbols for faster communication which we call
alphabet writing.

4. B) In some places like the great valley of
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, stone and wood
were scarce so they used clay. Writings were
done on clay tablets or tiles (Ezekiel 4:1)
which were called cuneiform because of the
wedge-shaped inscriptions

5. C) When the Israelites were in bondage in
Egypt, they used hieroglyphs or “sacred writings.”
Egyptians wrote on sheets of papyrus or strips of the
pith of large reeds pressed and formed into
something resembling a rough type of paper. It was
used for as much as 3,000 years. In 2 John 12 it is
spoken as paper.

6. D) Prepared skins of sheep and goats at
a later time called parchments (2 Tim
4:13). They were also used as early as
the time of the Judges (Judges 5:14)

7. E) During the 450-year accession of David until the
destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the
greater portion of the Old Testament were written. It
was edited after the return from the Babylonian
captivity. The first five books or the Torah was
circulated by the time of Ezra (Ezra 7:6,11, 14) and
this was the portion that he read to the people (Neh.
8:1, 5, 8).

8. F) After the destruction of the temple by the Romans in
A.D. 69-70, the Jews realized that their one great national
bond was their sacred writings. So scholars tried to copy
the Scriptures carefully with accuracy. The Hebrew
language consisted of 22 characters all consonants. Since
each of these consonants can be followed by any vowel, it
was a very difficult, inaccurate and not precise language.
Jewish scholars added a system of vowel points which
made it easier to use and understand.

9. G) With the possible exception of the gospel of
Matthew, which many scholars believe was first written
in Aramaic, the New Testament was set down in Greek.
By the end of the first century A.D., persecution of the
church was growing and copies of the Bible were
multiplied but Christian believers were being captured
and also their writings.

10. H)
The Bible is at least 4,000 years old. Revelation is the most
recent book and is 1,900 years old. The Roman emperor Diocletian
ordered all Bibles destroyed and decreed death to anyone who yet
had copies of the Scripture in possession. When Constantine was
“converted” he asked for Bibles and 25 copies appeared within 24
hours and they were hand-written. What would you call about a
man who had been crucified, drowned, stoned and yet lived?
Superhuman, right? So the Bible is also a Super Book! It is the
most loved and most hated book in the universe.

11. II. MODERNITY
A) A medical journal about 150 years old prescribed the following
treatment for cataracts: “Take one totally black cat. Burn it to ashes and
sprinkle the ashes in the eye. This will eliminate the film that grows over
the eye.”
Yet the Bible is up to date in whatever area it touches or addresses. It’s
medical laws are contemporary. Leviticus 13: 45-46. The teaching
concerning life and the blood is modern, Leviticus 17:11. President
George Washington died because of a wrong medical practice called
blood letting. It is believed then that some illnesses were caused by “bad
blood” and by cutting the veins to drain it out, it would heal a person.
The use of antiseptics is advocated in Luke 10:34.

12. III. DIVERSITY
It is one book, but in reality, it is a library. The Bible
was written over a period of about 1, 500 years by 40
authors on every known subject of literature plus
prophesy. It contains history, mystery, romance,
songs and poems, proverbs and also comedy.

13. IV. UNITY
Although there were 40 authors who wrote 66 books on at
least 50 different subjects and although these men were
scholars, shepherds, kings, fishermen, medical doctors, tax
collectors, teacher and statesmen, and few of these men
knew each other, there is perfect agreement. There are no
contradictions. The Old and New Testament complement
each other.
6

14. V. ONE THEME
The Bible is a history of redemption. It is about Jesus: Who Was
, Who Is and Who Is to Come. Redemption is the crimson thread
that runs throughout the Scriptures. The story begins in Genesis
3: 15. It is elaborated through typology, the sanctified system the
tabernacle, prophetic teaching and finally He is here ( the Gospels).
And the Epistles become the ultimate elaboration of His life and all
that it means. The people in the Old Testament were saved by
looking forward to the cross and people in the New Testament look
back at the finished work of redemption.

15. VI. CULTURAL POWER
Wherever the Scripture has gone and has an impact, it changes lives,
upgrades cultures and elevates the status of women. Compare the
cultures of the United States and China, England and India. John
Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, evangelized those islands
bringing savages to civilizations. It is stated that when American
servicemen landed in these islands during the World War II, they
found the natives with Bibles. Some of the natives were ridiculed.
One old tribesman said, “if it were not for those Bibles, we would
have you in the the pot.”

16. VII. COMFORT
The Bible is the only book that can encourage, comfort, strengthen
a believer in times of great trouble. Psalms 34:19. The Bible is not
only the best book to live by, it is the only book to die by, 2
Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 2:21. When men are about to die, it is
unlikely they would call for the reading of Shakespeare or Poe. But
the Bible takes away the fear of death like no other book.