Basic overview of introductory apologetics: (1) Can we prove God's existence? (2) Is the Bible reliable? (3) Was Jesus God or a good guy? [additional references found in "notes" section of each slide]
3. /noun/: [1] systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as
of a doctrine)
/noun/: [2] a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the
divine origin and authority of Christianity
4. 1. Can you prove God’s
existence?
2. Is the Bible reliable?
3. Is Jesus God or just a good
guy?
APOLOGETICS
5. 1. Why doesn’t God “just reveal” himself?
1. Where are the miracles today?
2. “I don’t need apologetics. I just believe.”
3. Constructing a “ladder of apologetics.”
1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
6. 5 We destroy arguments and
every lofty opinion raised
against the knowledge of
God, and take every thought
captive to obey Christ,
2 Corinthians 10.5 (ESV)
7.
8. • Teleological Argument
• Cosmological Argument
• Moral Argument
1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Theistic Proofs
9. • Also known as the argument from design
• Looks at purpose, complexity, and
intentionality
• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy
1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Teleological
Argument
10.
11. 16 for through him God created
everything in the heavenly realms
and on earth. He made the things
we can see and the things we
can’t see— such as thrones,
kingdoms, rulers, and authorities
in the unseen world. Everything
was created through him and for
him. 17 He existed before anything
else, and he holds all creation
together.
Colossians 1:16–17 (NLT)
12. 1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Teleological
Argument
Strengths Weaknesses
Easiest to explain and
understand
Doesn’t necessarily point to
the God of the Bible
Abundant Scriptural
support:
Doesn’t explain evil and
disorder
Psalm 19.1; Job 38-39; Eph
1.11; Col 1.16-17
13. • Teleological Argument
• Cosmological Argument
• Moral Argument
1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Theistic Proofs
14. • The argument of cause & effect
• Every physical thing we observe is an effect
• (it was caused by something else)
• There cannot exist an infinite amount of
causes
• The universe had a beginning
• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Cosmological
Argument
15.
16. Until the Big Bang Theory,
astrologers believed the
universe did not have an
origin.
17. 1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Cosmological
Argument
Strengths Weaknesses
Based on common sense Doesn’t prove a first cause
Easy to illustrate Doesn’t explain evil and
disorder
In continuity with science
18. • Teleological Argument
• Cosmological Argument
• Moral Argument
1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Theistic Proofs
19. • The argument of right from wrong
• All humans have a universal moral law
written on their hearts
• That moral law had to come from a
transcendent lawgiver
1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Moral
Argument
20.
21.
22. 1. Can you prove
God’s existence?
Moral
Argument
Strengths Weaknesses
Most people will concede
the basic idea of morality
Doesn’t explain the origin of
evil
Most closely points to the
God of Christianity
23.
24. 1. Can you prove God’s
existence?
2. Is the Bible reliable?
3. Is Jesus God or just a good
guy?
APOLOGETICS
25. • Christianity stands on the Bible
• The Bible claims:
• God-inspired (2 Tim 3.16)
• Able to predict the future (Gal 3.8)
• Powerful and active (Heb 4.12)
• To offer salvation (Luke 11.28)
2. Is the Bible
reliable?
IF the Bible is true, then all other religions are
false when/where they contradict Christianity.
26. 12 There is salvation in no one
else! God has given no other
name under heaven by which we
must be saved.”
Acts 4:12 (NLT)
27. • Written over a 1500-yr time span
• Covers over 40 generations
• Written in different places
• Wilderness, dungeon, prison, palace,
island
• Written by over 40 authors:
• Kings, peasants, philosophers,
fishermen, poets, etc.
2. Is the Bible
reliable?
Fun Bible
Facts
28. • Written on 3 different continents
• Asia, Africa, Europe
• Written in 3 different languages
• Hebrew (2 Kings 18.26)
• Aramaic (common language of Near East)
• Greek (International language in 1st
Century)
• Composed of different genres:
• History, poetry, prophecy, personal
correspondence
2. Is the Bible
reliable?
Fun Bible
Facts
29.
30. • How were the books “chosen,” and by what
criteria?
• Internal Consistency
• Fulfilled Prophecy
• Archaeological Confirmation
• Historical Accuracy
2. Is the Bible
reliable?
Biblical
Reliability
32. After you have read this
letter, pass it on to the
church at Laodicea so they
can read it, too. And you
should read the letter I wrote
to them.
Colossians 4.16 (NLT)
33. • Jesus’ arrival was predicted hundreds of
years before he was born
• Isaiah (681 BC)
• Daniel (530 BC)
2. Is the Bible
reliable?
Biblical
Reliability
34. 14 All right then, the Lord himself
will give you the sign. Look! The
virgin will conceive a child! She
will give birth to a son and will
call him Immanuel (which means
‘God is with us’).
Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)
35. 2 But you, O Bethlehem
Ephrathah, who are too little to
be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of
old, from ancient days.
Micah 5:2 (ESV)
36.
37. 2. Is the Bible
reliable?
Extant Ancient
Documents
Author Written Earliest
Copy
Time Span No. of
Copies
Pliny the
Younger
AD 61-113 AD 850 750 years 7
Aristotle 384-322 BC AD 1100 1400 years 5
Caesar 100-44 BC AD 900 1000 years 10
The Bible AD 40-80 AD 125/330 80-250 years 5300
38. 1. Was Jesus a real person?
2. How has he been viewed?
3. What does the Bible say about
his identity?
4. Basic Intro to Christology
WHO IS JESUS?
39. “I am an historian, I am not a
believer, but I must confess as
a historian that this penniless
preacher from Nazareth is
irrevocably the very center of
history. Jesus Christ is easily
the most dominant figure in all
history.”
-H.G. Wells
40. “As the centuries pass, the evidence is
accumulating that, measured by His effect on
history, Jesus is the most influential life ever
lived on this planet.”
-Historian Kenneth Scott Latourette
41.
42. “Nero fastened the guilt on a
class hated for their
abominations, called Christians
by the populace. Christus, from
whom the name had its origin,
suffered the extreme penalty
during the reign of Tiberius at
the hands of Pontius Pilatus,
and a most mischievous
superstition, thus checked for
the moment, again broke out
not only in Judaea, the first
source of the evil, but even in
Rome…”
1. Was Jesus a
Real Person?
Tacitus, AD 56-117
Non-Biblical Historical Sources
43. “They were in the habit of meeting
on a certain fixed day before it
was light, when they sang in
alternate verses a hymn to Christ,
as to a god, and bound themselves
by a solemn oath, not to any
wicked deeds, but never to commit
any fraud, theft or adultery, never
to falsify their word, nor deny a
trust when they should be called
upon to deliver it up; after which it
was their custom to separate,
and then reassemble to partake of
food–but food of an ordinary and
innocent kind.”
1. Was Jesus a
Real Person?
Pliny the Younger,
AD 61-112
Non-Biblical Historical Sources
44. “About this time there lived
Jesus, a wise man, if indeed
one ought to call him a man.
For he wrought surprising
feats. He was the Christ.
When Pilate condemned him
to be crucified, those who
had come to love him did not
give up their affection for
him. On the third day he
appeared restored to life.
And the tribe of Christians
has not disappeared.”
1. Was Jesus a
Real Person?
Josephus, AD 37-
100
Non-Biblical Historical Sources
45. The Christians worship a man
to this day–the distinguished
personage who introduced
their novel rites, and was
crucified on that account.
[It] was impressed on them
by their original lawgiver
that they are all brothers,
from the moment that they
are converted, and deny the
gods of Greece, and worship
the crucified sage, and live
after his laws.”
1. Was Jesus a
Real Person?
Lucian, AD 125-
180
Non-Biblical Historical Sources
46.
47. “There is more physical and
documented proof that the
historical Jesus lived 2000
years ago than there exists
proof of Alexander the
Great.”
-Josh McDowell, author,
researcher
1. Was Jesus a
Real Person?
48. 2. How has he
been viewed?
Who Do You Say That I Am?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erK28tenDnA
49. 3. What Does the
Bible Say?
How Would You Defend the
Deity of Christ?
51. Explicit Affirmations of
Deity
John 1:1, John 1:18, John 20:28, Acts 20:28
Romans 9:5, Titus 1:13, Hebrews 1:8, 2 Peter 1:1
1 John 5:20
OT Applied to Jesus Matthew 3:3 (Is 40:3), Hebrews 1:10-12 (Ps
102:25-27), 1 Cor 8:6 (Deut 6:4)
Object of Worship Matthew 2:2*, 2:8, 2:11*, 8:2, 9:18, 14:33*,
15:25, 20:20, 28:9*, 28:17* Revelation 4:5*, 7:9-
12, 22:3*, 22:8-9*
Divine Actions Mark 2:5-12, 4:35-41 (Ps 107:23-31), 6:47-52
(Job 9:8)
Divine Roles Psalm 3:8 (Jonah 2:9), Matthew 1:21-23,
Revelation 7:10, John 10:11-15, Ezekiel 34:11-
16, Acts 2:16-18 (Joel 2:28-32), Acts 2:33, John
16:7
Divine Titles Mark 10:45, Daniel 7, Psalm 8, Psalm 2:7-9,
Romans 1:1-4, John 1:49, John 5:25-27
52. 4. Intro to
Christology
THE CHALCEDONIAN CREED
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the
same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood;
truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father
according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things
like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead,
and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of
God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be
acknowledged in two natures, unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the
distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of
each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted
or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the
Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning Him, and the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down
to us.
53.
54. “A man who was merely a man and said
the sort of things Jesus said would not be
a great moral teacher. He would either
be a lunatic – on a level with the man
who says he is a poached egg – or else he
would be the Devil of Hell. You must
make your choice. Either this man was,
and is, the Son of God; or else a madman
or something worse. You can shut Him up
for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill
him as a demon; or you can fall at His
feet and call Him Lord and God. But let
us not come with any patronizing
nonsense about His being a great human
teacher. He has not left that open to us.
He did not intend to.”
-C.S. Lewis
1. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb 11.6)
1.1 A miracle is when God temporarily suspends a natural law of the universe, revealing himself to substantiate a specific revelation
2. Being able to clearly explain/defend Christianity can help others grow in faith (cf. 2 Cor 10.5)
3. A ladder of apologetics shortens the “leap of faith” required to believe in God.
3 of the most popular arguments for the existence of God
The Teleological Argument goes like this:
1. Every design had a designer.
2. The universe has highly complex design.
3. Therefore, the universe had a Designer.
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 95.
If you were to spell out all of the A, T, C, and G in the “unjustly called ‘primitive’ amoeba” (as Dawkins describes it), the letters would fill 1,000 complete sets of an encyclopedia!
Now, we must emphasize that these 1,000 encyclopedias do not consist of random letters but of letters in a very specific order—just like real encyclopedias.
The complexity of DNA is not the only problem for Darwinists. Its origin is also a problem. A difficult chicken-egg dilemma exists because DNA relies on proteins for its production but proteins rely on DNA for their production. So which came first, proteins or DNA? One must already be in existence for the other to be made.
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 116.
2nd Law of Thermodynamics: the universe has a finite (fixed, limited) amount of energy. If the universe had no beginning (IOW: extended eternally into the past), it would have run out of energy by now.
“Astronomers now find they have painted themselves into a corner because they have proven, by their own methods, that the world began abruptly in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in this cosmos and on the earth. And they have found that all this happened as a product of forces they cannot hope to discover.… That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact.”
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 84–85.
Each boxcar is moved (effect) by the car in front of it (cause) until the front of the train reveals a locomotive (first cause/God).
Robert Jastrow suggested this when he ended his book God and the Astronomers with this classic line: “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 94.
Regardless of whether we agree on the specifics of what is universally wrong or right, ALL humans have a sense of “ought” (aka: conscience) internally persuading us to choose good over evil.
The ability to reason morally is what separates mankind from the rest of the animal kingdom (cf. Gen 1.27)
“But you will find inside you, in addition to these two impulses, a third thing which tells you that you ought to follow the impulse to help, and suppress the impulse to run away. Now this thing that judges between two instincts, that decides which should be encouraged, cannot itself be either of them. You might as well say the sheet of music which tells you, at a given moment, to play one note on the piano and not another, is itself one of the notes on the keyboard. The Moral Law tells us the tune we have to play: our instincts are merely the keys.” (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, pg. 22)
There is no explanation for “evil” within Darwinian natural selection: everything that exists (including our behavior) is the result of chemical/material composition.
A conscience persuading us to reason morally (and therefore choose what we “ought” to do) is not explainable within a Darwinian (macro-evolution) worldview. Per “survival of the fittest” (aka: natural selection) methodology, everything that exists is material—owing its existence merely to chemical composition. With that line of reasoning, it is not possible to judge between Hitler and Mother Teresa.
Darwinism asserts that only materials exist, but materials don’t have morality. How much does hate weigh? Is there an atom for love? What’s the chemical composition of the murder molecule? These questions are meaningless because physical particles are not responsible for morality. If materials are solely responsible for morality, then Hitler had no real moral responsibility for what he did—he just had bad molecules.
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Dont Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 187.
The moral argument gets us closer to the God of the Bible (a benevolent, moral lawgiver) than any of the other arguments.
This is not to say other religions do not possess any truth whatsoever. They certainly do. However, all western religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) make exclusive claims limiting their compatibility with one another.
See also: John 14.6, Mark 16.16, etc.
Earlier in life, President Lincoln made anti-theism comments as well.
…the decisions of church councils in the fourth and fifth centuries did not determine the canon, nor did they even first discover or recognize it. In no sense was the authority of the canonical books contingent upon the later church councils. All those councils did was to give later, broader, and final recognition to what was already a fact, namely, that God had inspired them and that the people of God had accepted them in the first century
…the first centuries of the church (prior to a.d. 313) were times of great persecution that did not provide the resources nor allow for research, reflection, and recognition concerning the first-century situation. As soon as that was made possible (after a.d. 325), it was only a short time before there was general recognition of all the canonical books. That was accomplished by the councils of Hippo (a.d. 393) and Carthage (397).
Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, Rev. and expanded. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 231.
There is ample evidence in Scripture that books were immediately accepted into the canon by contemporaries of the writers. For example, when Moses wrote, his books were immediately placed by the Ark (Deut. 31:26). Joshua’s writing was accepted in like manner (Josh. 24:26). Following him there were books by Samuel and others (1 Sam. 10:25). Daniel even had a copy of Moses and the Prophets (Dan. 9:2, 10–11) which included the book of his contemporary Jeremiah (Dan. 9:2). Likewise, in the New Testament Paul quoted the gospel of Luke as Scripture (1 Tim. 5:18) and Peter had a collection of Paul’s letters” (2 Peter 3:16). Indeed, the apostles exhorted that their letters be read and circulated among the churches (1 Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16; Rev. 1:3).
Canonizing the NT was merely recognizing what was already in practice for nearly two centuries.
Though a list was clearly necessary to fulfill Constantine's commission in 331 of fifty copies of the Bible for the Church at Constantinople, no concrete evidence exists to indicate that it was considered to be a formal canon. In the absence of a canonical list, the resolution of questions would normally have been directed through the see of Constantinople, in consultation with Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (who was given the commission), and perhaps other bishops who were available locally.
In his Easter letter of 367, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, gave a list of exactly the same books that would formally become the New Testament canon,[6] and he used the word "canonized" (kanonizomena) in regard to them.[7] The first council that accepted the present Catholic canon (the Canon of Trent) may have been the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa (393); the acts of this council, however, are lost.
Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament
(PROPHECY
O.T. REFERENCES
N.T. FULFILLMENT)
Seed of the woman
Gen. 3:15
Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:14
Through Noah’s sons
Gen. 9:27
Luke 6:36
Seed of Abraham
Gen. 12:3
Matt. 1:1; Gal. 3:8, 16
Seed of Isaac
Gen. 17:19
Rom. 9:7; Heb. 11:18
Blessing to nations
Gen. 18:18
Gal. 3:8
Seed of Isaac
Gen. 21:12
Rom. 9:7; Heb. 11:18
Blessing to Gentiles
Gen. 22:18
Gal. 3:8, 16; Heb. 6:14
Blessing to Gentiles
Gen. 26:4
Gal. 3:8, 16; Heb. 6:14
Blessing through Abraham
Gen. 28:14
Gal. 3:8, 16; Heb. 6:14
Of the tribe of Judah
Gen. 49:10
Rev. 5:5
No bone broken
Ex. 12:46
John 19:36
Blessing to firstborn son
Ex. 13:2
Luke 2:23
No bone broken
Num. 9:12
John 19:36
Serpent in wilderness
Num. 21:8–9
John 3:14–15
A star out of Jacob
Num. 24:17–19
Matt. 2:2; Luke 1:33, 78; Rev. 22:16
As a prophet
Deut. 18:15, 18–19
John 6:14; 7:40; Acts 3:22–23
Cursed on the tree
Deut. 21:23
Gal. 3:13
The throne of David established forever
2 Sam. 7:12–13, 16, 25–26
1 Chron. 17:11–14, 23–27
2 Chron. 21:7
Matt. 19:28; 21:4; 25:31; Mark 12:37;
Luke 1:32; John 7:4; Acts 2:30; 13:23
Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8
Heb. 1:5, 8; 8:1; 12:2; Rev. 22:1
A promised Redeemer
Job 19:25–27
John 5:28–29; Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:7, 11, 14
Declared to be the Son of God
Ps. 2:1–12
Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Acts 4:25–26; 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Rev. 2:26–27; 19:15–16
His resurrection
Ps. 16:8–10
Acts 2:27; 13:35; 26:23
Hands and feet pierced
Ps. 22:1–31
Matt. 27:31, 35–36
Mocked and insulted
Ps. 22:7–8
Matt. 27:39–43, 45–49
Soldiers cast lots for coat
Ps. 22:18
Mark 15:20, 24–25, 34; Luke 19:24; 23:35; John 19:15–18, 23–24, 34; Acts 2:23–24
Accused by false witnesses
Ps. 27:12
Matt. 26:60–61
He commits his spirit
Ps. 31:5
Luke 23:46
No bone broken
Ps. 34:20
John 19:36
Accused by false witnesses
Ps. 35:11
Matt. 26:59–61; Mark 14:57–58
Hated without reason
Ps. 35:19
John 15:24–25
Friends stand afar off
Ps. 38:11
Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:49
“I come to do Thy will”
Ps. 40:6–8
Heb. 10:5–9
Betrayed by a friend
Ps. 41:9
Matt. 26:14–16, 47, 50; Mark 14:17–21; Luke 22:19–23; John 13:18–19
Known for righteousness
Ps. 45:2, 6–7
Heb. 1:8–9
His resurrection
Ps. 49:15
Mark 16:6
Betrayed by a friend
Ps. 55:12–14
John 13:18
His ascension
Ps. 68:18
Eph. 4:8
Hated without reason
Ps. 69:4
John 15:25
Stung by reproaches
Ps. 69:9
John 2:17; Rom. 15:3
Given gall and vinegar
Ps. 69:21
Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23; Luke 23:36; John 19:29
Exalted by God
Ps. 72:1–19
Matt. 2:2; Phil. 2:9–11; Heb. 1–8
He speaks in parables
Ps. 78:2
Matt. 13:34–25:34
Seed of David exalted
Ps. 89:3–4, 19, 27–29, 35–37
Luke 1:32; Acts 2:30; 13:23; Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8
Son of Man comes in glory
Ps. 102:16
Luke 21:24, 27; Rev. 12:5–10
“Thou remainest”
Ps. 102:24–27
Heb. 1:10–12
Prays for his enemies
Ps. 109:4
Luke 23:34
Another to succeed Judas
Ps. 109:7–8
Acts 1:16–20
A priest like Melchizedek
Ps. 110:1–7
Matt. 22:41–45; 26:64; Mark 12:35–37; 16:19; Acts 7:56; Eph. 1:20; Col. 1:20; Heb. 1:13; 2:8; 5:6; 6:20; 7:21; 8:1; 10:11–13; 12:2
The chief corner stone
Ps. 118:22–23
Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17; John 1:11; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:4
The King comes in the name of the Lord
Ps. 118:26
Matt. 21:9; 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 12:13
David’s seed to reign
Ps. 132:11 cf. 2 Sam. 7:12–13, 16, 25–26, 29
Matt. 1:1
Declared to be the Son of God
Prov. 30:4
Matt. 3:17; Mark 14:61–62; Luke 1:35; John 3:13; 9:35–38; 11:21; Rom. 1:2–4; 10:6–9; 2 Pet. 1:17
Repentance for the nations
Isa. 2:2–4
Luke 24:47
Hearts are hardened
Isa. 6:9–10
Matt. 13:14, 15; John 12:39, 40; Acts 28:25–27
Born of a virgin
Isa. 7:14
Matt. 1:22, 23
A rock of offense
Isa. 8:14, 15
Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:8
Light out of darkness
Isa. 9:1, 2
Matt. 4:14–16; Luke 2:32
God with us
Isa. 9:6, 7
Matt. 1:21, 23; Luke 1:32, 33; John 8:58; 10:30; 14:19; 2 Cor. 5:19; Col. 2:9
Full of wisdom and power
Isa. 11:1–10
Matt. 3:16; John 3:34; Rom. 15:12; Heb. 1:9
Reigning in mercy
Isa. 16:4–5
Luke 1:31–33
Peg in a sure place
Isa. 22:21–25
Rev. 3:7
Death swallowed up in victory
Isa. 25:6–12
1 Cor. 15:54
A stone in Zion
Isa. 28:16
Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6
The deaf hear, the blind see
Isa. 29:18–19
Matt. 5:3; 11:5; John 9:39
King of kings, Lord of lords
Isa. 32:1–4
Rev. 19:16; 20:6
Son of the Highest
Isa. 33:22
Luke 1:32; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15
Healing for the needy
Isa. 35:4–10
Matt. 9:30; 11:5; 12:22; 20:34; 21:14; Mark 7:30; John 5:9
Make ready the way of the Lord
Isa. 40:3–5
Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4–5; John 1:23
The Shepherd dies for his sheep
Isa. 40:10–11
John 10:11; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:24–25
The meek Servant
Isa. 42:1–16
Matt. 12:17–21; Luke 2:32
A light to the Gentiles
Isa. 49:6–12
Acts 13:47; 2 Cor. 6:2
Scourged and spat upon
Isa. 50:6
Matt. 26:67; 27:26, 30; Mark 14:65; 15:15, 19; Luke 22:63–65; John 19:1
Rejected by his people
Isa. 52:13–53:12
Matt. 8:17; 27:1–2, 12–14, 38
Suffered vicariously
Isa. 53:4–5
Mark 15:3–4, 27–28; Luke 23:1–25, 32–34
Silent when accused
Isa. 53:7
John 1:29; 11:49–52
Crucified with transgressors
Isa. 53:12
John 12:37–38; Acts 8:28–35
Buried with the rich
Isa. 53:9
Acts 10:43; 13:38–39; 1 Cor. 15:3; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 2:21–25; 1 John 1:7, 9
Calling of those not a people
Isa. 55:4, 5
John 18:37; Rom. 9:25–26; Rev. 1:5
Deliver out of Zion
Isa. 59:16–20
Rom. 11:26–2
Nations walk in the light
Isa. 60:1–3
Luke 2:32
Anointed to preach liberty
Isa. 60:1–2
Luke 4:17–19; Acts 10:38
Called by a new name
Isa. 62:11
Luke 2:32; Rev. 3:12
The King cometh
Isa. 62:11
Matt. 21:5
A vesture dipped in blood
Isa. 63:1–3
Rev. 19:13
Afflicted with the afflicted.
Isa. 63:8–9
Matt. 25:34–40
The elect shall inherit
Isa. 65:9
Rom. 11:5, 7; Heb. 7:14; Rev. 5:5
New heavens and a new earth
Isa. 65:17–25
2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1
The Lord our righteousness
Jer. 23:5, 6
John 2:19–21; Rom. 1:3–4; Eph. 2:20–21; 1 Pet. 2:5
Born a King
Jer. 30:9
John 18:37; Rev. 1:5
Massacre of infants
Jer. 31:15
Matt. 2:17–18
Conceived by the Holy Spirit
Jer. 31:22
Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35
A New Covenant
Jer. 31:31–34
Matt. 26:27–29; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:15–20; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 8:8–12; 10:15–17; 12:24; 13:20
A spiritual house
Jer. 33:15–17
John 2:19–21; Eph. 2:20–21; 1 Pet. 2:5
A tree planted by God
Ezek. 17:22–24
Matt. 13:31–32
The humble exalted
Ezek. 21:26–27
Luke 1:52
The good Shepherd
Ezek. 34:23–24
John 10:11
Stone cut without hands
Dan. 2:34–35
Acts 4:10–12
His kingdom triumphant
Dan. 2:44–45
Luke 1:33; 1 Cor. 15:24; Rev. 11:15
An everlasting dominion
Dan. 7:13–14
Matt. 24:30; 25:31; 26:64; Mark 14:61, 62; Acts 1:9–11; Rev. 1:7
Kingdom for the saints
Dan. 7:27
Luke 1:33; 1 Cor. 15:24; Rev. 11:15
Time of His birth
Dan. 9:24–27
Matt. 24:15–21; Luke 3:1
Israel restored
Hos. 3:5
John 18:37; Rom. 11:25–27
Flight into Egypt
Hos. 11:1
Matt. 2:15
Promise of the Spirit
Joel 2:28–32
Acts 2:17–21; Rom. 15:13
The sun darkened
Amos 8:9
Matt. 24:29; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12
Restoration of tabernacle
Amos 9:11–12
Acts 15:16–18
Israel regathered
Mic. 2:12–13
John 10:14, 26
The Kingdom established
Mic. 4:1–8
Luke 1:33
Born in Bethlehem
Mic. 5:1–5
Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4, 10–11
Earth filled with knowledge of the glory of the Lord
Hab. 2:14
Rom. 11:26; Rev. 21:23–26
The Lamb on the throne
Zech. 2:10–13
Rev. 5:13; 6:9; 21:24; 22:1–5
A holy priesthood
Zech. 3:8
John 2:19–21; Eph. 2:20–21; 1 Pet. 2:5
A heavenly High Priest
Zech. 6:12–13
Heb. 4:4; 8:1–2
Triumphal entry
Zech. 9:9–10
Matt. 21:4–5; Mark 11:9–10; Luke 20:38; John 12:13–15
Sold for pieces of silver
Zech. 11:12–13
Matt. 26:14–15
Money buys potter’s field
Zech. 11:12–13
Matt. 27:9
Piercing of his body
Zech. 12:10
John 19:34, 37
Shepherd smitten—sheep scattered
Zech. 13:1, 6–7
Matt. 26:31; John 16:32
Preceded by Forerunner
Mal. 3:1
Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27
Our sins purged
Mal. 3:3
Heb. 1:3
The light of the world
Mal. 4:2–3
Luke 1:78; John 1:9; 12:46; 2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 2:28; 19:11–16; 22:16
The coming of Elijah
Mal. 4:5–6
Matt. 11:14; 17:10–12
Ralph P. Martin, “Messiah,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1112–1115.
Dead Sea Scrolls.
Collection of biblical and extrabiblical manuscripts from Qumran, an ancient Jewish religious community near the Dead Sea. The discovery of the scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947 is considered by many scholars to be the most important manuscript discovery of modern times.
Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Importance for OT Studies. Before the Qumran discoveries the oldest existing Hebrew manuscripts of the OT dated from about a.d. 900. The oldest complete manuscript was the Firkowitsch Codex from a.d. 1010. The greatest importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, therefore, lies in the discovery of biblical manuscripts dating back to only about 300 years after the close of the OT canon. That makes them 1,000 years earlier than the oldest manuscripts previously known to biblical scholars. The most frequently represented OT books are Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Isaiah. The oldest text is a fragment of Exodus dating from about 250 b.c. The Isaiah Scroll from Cave I dates from about 100 b.c.
The Dead Sea Scrolls show that the OT text has been handed down along three main lines of transmission. The first is the Masoretic text, which was preserved in the oldest Hebrew manuscripts known before the Qumran discoveries. The Masoretes, whose scholarly school flourished between a.d. 500 and 1000 at the city of Tiberias, standardized the traditional consonantal text by adding vowels and marginal notes (the ancient Hebrew alphabet had no vowels). Some scholars dated the origin of the consonantal Masoretic text to the editorial activities of Rabbi Akiba and his colleagues in the second century a.d. The discoveries at Qumran, however, proved them wrong, by showing that the Masoretic text went back several more centuries into antiquity and had been accurately copied and transmitted. Although there are some differences in spelling and grammar between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic text, the differences have not warranted any major changes in the substance of the OT. Yet they have helped biblical scholars gain a clearer understanding of the text.
Importance for NT Studies. Continuing investigations around the Qumran area have become increasingly important for NT studies. Because Qumran was a Jewish, not a Christian community, scholars were not expecting to find NT documents there. The 1955 discovery of Cave VII (7Q), therefore, caused some surprise.
The contents of Cave VII, not made known until 1962, were unique in that they yielded only Greek fragments, whereas most of the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written in Hebrew. Of the 19 papyrus fragments found in Cave VII, only two—one from the Book of Exodus and the other from an apocryphal book known as the Letter of Jeremiah—had been deciphered and identified by 1962. The remaining 17 unidentified fragments were assumed to belong to the OT. In 1972, however, José O’Callahan, a Spanish Jesuit scholar and papyrologist from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, suggested that certain fragments found among the scrolls should be identified with various NT writings. Using the science of paleography he deciphered nine NT fragments, including four from Mark’s Gospel and one each from Acts, Romans, 1 Timothy, James, and 2 Peter. The dates assigned to those fragments are in the range a.d. 50–100. O’Callahan’s report has shaken the scholarly world. If true, it means that the fragments are the oldest NT documents so far discovered. (The earliest, before that announcement, was the John Rylands fragment of the Gospel of John, dating from about a.d. 130.)
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 601.
1. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb 11.6)
1.1 A miracle is when God temporarily suspends a natural law of the universe, revealing himself to substantiate a specific revelation
2. Being able to clearly explain/defend Christianity can help others grow in faith (cf. 2 Cor 10.5)
3. A ladder of apologetics shortens the “leap of faith” required to believe in God.
Historian Edwin Yamauchi calls calls this “the most important reference to Jesus outside the New Testament.” Reporting on Emperor Nero’s decision to blame the Christians for the fire that had destroyed Rome in A.D. 64, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote:
Pliny was the Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor. In one of his letters, dated around A.D. 112, he asks Trajan’s advice about the appropriate way to conduct legal proceedings against those accused of being Christians. Pliny says that he needed to consult the emperor about this issue because a great multitude of every age, class, and sex stood accused of Christianity.
Pliny, Letters, transl. by William Melmoth, rev. by W.M.L. Hutchinson
(Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1935), vol. II, X:96, cited in Habermas, The
Historical Jesus, 199.
Perhaps the most remarkable reference to Jesus outside the Bible can be found
in the writings of Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. On two
occasions, in his Jewish Antiquities, he mentions Jesus.
Josephus, Antiquities 18.63-64, cited in Yamauchi, “Jesus Outside the New
Testament”, 212.
Lucian of Samosata was a second century Greek satirist. In one of his works, he wrote of the early Christians as follows:
Historians date Alexamenos’ graffiti to approximately 200 A.D., making it the earliest surviving depiction of Jesus upon the cross. Yet this is not a religious icon meant to elicit awe or worship. This graffiti is a mockery of Alexamenos, an ancient Christian, and a mockery of a God who would die the shameful death of a criminal.
Lucian of Samosata was a second century Greek satirist. In one of his works, he wrote of the early Christians as follows:
Lucian, The Death of Peregrine, 11-13, in The Works of Lucian of
Samosata, transl. by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler, 4 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon,
1949), vol. 4., cited in Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 206.
3 of the most popular arguments for the existence of God
3 of the most popular arguments for the existence of God
This creed was adopted at the Fourth Ecumenical Council held at Chalcedon–located in what is now Turkey–in 451 as a response to certain heretical views concerning the nature of Christ. It established the orthodox view that Christ has two natures (human and divine) that are unified in one person.
This creed builds some very important parameters around the person of Christ and the Trinity. To best explain the contribution of this creed I have borrowed a very helpful diagram that seeks to do just that. The diagram below is called the Chalcedonian Box. It captures the boundary markers for thinking about the person of Christ. Orthodox Christology falls within these parameters.