Interesting Historical Facts About the Bible

Writings of say 1000 years before Christ are now virtually non-existent EXCEPT the Bible. Pagan mythologies and their written word, if any ever existed, are now all recognized as just mythology except the Bible. Some skeptics try to claim the Bible is also a compilation of folklore and mythologies but without conviction. The whole scientific and historical world recognizes mythology, while among the men of the Bible, men with faith in the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ, are found historians, authorities in their field, some of the greatest scientists, like Newton, and many of the statesmen, like Washington, Lincoln and nearly all of the greater presidents.

Nineveh was destroyed and its pagan literature and beliefs died with it. Jerusalem was destroyed as prophesied and foretold punishment for her backslidings, about 600 years B>C>, but its book was NOT lost. Between Malachi and John the Baptist there were nearly 400 years without a prophet, but His book of His previous prophets was not lost.

In the fist century A.D. there was a remarkable invention. They began putting pages together, forming books, rather than writing on scrolls as formerly. The new invention facilitated study, references and exhortation, whereas the former scrolls tended to produce reading in order. The new invention came just in time for study and exhortation on the books of the New Testament.

What meaneth A.D.? It means Anno Domini. The whole base for reckoning time and calendar reforms are based on Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord, or B.C., before Christ.

A Jewish historian, Wilson, in trying to analyze causes for significant historical changes gave Christianity a most important place. His fellow atheists and skeptics accused him of turning Christian, saying there was very little historical writings about Christ besides the New Testament. He replied, "Yes, but something, SOMETHING very dynamic and powerful began just about then and has moved dynamically through the civilized world ever since.

During the medieval centuries, the noble and the educated made efforts to keep the books written only in Latin and Greek in order to maintain their prestige and reputations. A few writers and translators made some efforts to get things into the vernacular of the common people, but without success, UNTIL the Christians with missionary fervor did so and kept at it to spread the Word of God, the Bible. They also worked at teaching their ordinary neighbors to learn to read, in order to be able to study the Word for themselves.

Then the medieval Catholic Church began to fight against such efforts, which not only cut away the power of the Latin priests but also taught so clearly new doctrines contrary to Roman religion and practice. Tens or thousands Bible people died at the stake for owning a Bible, or for helping to translate one into the vernacular, or for selling them to others. The more the souls martyred, the more turned to Christ and the Book.

Then came another invention, one of the great historical fulcrums of all time, the printing press. Ah, strange coincidences, just in time to help the wave of Bibles in the vernacular going to hungry-hearted readers all over over Europe. For years Gutenberg dedicated his press to just that, the Bible. Why did not Rome forcibly shut him down? There had just been a political reformation in Germany, and that also protected Luther although the Reformation was not primarily religious. BUT, there it is, another of those miraculous timely waves. It had arisen just in time.

Germany was then, as were most European countries, divided into many sections, kingdoms and duchies, each with its own dialect, usually so local it could not be understood by its neighbors. Luther chose one vernacular, translated the Bible into it, the Bible flooded the Germanic lands, that dialect became the official High German, which then, united in one language, made possible the unity in political fact, and Germany became from that Biblical foundation a great nation, prosperous, healthy and a leading nation in scientific work.

A few years later, England had a similar work when Wycliff translated the Bible into the English vernacular. In England the separate dialects all over the country were so different they were often not mutually understandable. The country was often at war, one petty king or duke against another. When Wycliff had his translation printed on the German presses and taken to England the work began both a spiritual, and a language unifying work and then a national political effect. At first the priests fought against the Bible even more strongly than in Germany, and tens of thousands in England were burnt at the stake or put on the rack for having or promoting the Bible, and their Bibles were collected and burnt publicly also.

Wycliff had a problem over which he kept praying. His first translation while wonderful still needed some urgent corrections. Should he sell the old editions in order to have money for the new? Just at that time a Roman bishop finding that threats of death did not stop the Bible flood, tried offering money for copies and then for burning them. Wycliff let his old copies go, took the money and returned the next year with a beautiful version that moved literary emotions as well as spiritual.

Let us prize our rich heritage of an open Bible and freedom of worship. Once many martyrs gave their blood and lives for their faith, their Lord Jesus, and His Word.

The political figures like Henry VIII did not start the English Reformation, but after many years of suffering on the part of salvation Bible people, God used the political situation to protect His servants and bring in religious freedom.

Some interesting notes on the King James edition: committees were set up in various parts of England to translate anew and improve on Wycliff's work, then they got together to unify the overall work and literary styles. A historian has said it was another miracle their results were so divinely directed and so literarily beautiful. Never in history had committees been able to accomplish anything, and here they had produced a masterpiece of all time, yet had not even one outstanding literary authority among them.

A priest who had been fighting to suppress the spread of the Bible wailed that the language flows like beautiful silver bells from the tongue. It beguiles the minds of the people with its beauty. That translation must have been inspired of the devil.

It is often asked, "Are the versions and translations inspired?" God has used them for the salvation of virtually all those who are saved. Scholars study the original Greek but people are saved by hearing and reading these versions, especially those early first versions into each language by dedicated, godly men. Later modern versions may be used by God in a lesser degree, but some versions are definitely produced by unbelievers or some sect just to bolster their own errors. Let us remember this. There are no original manuscripts. All that we have contain errors. God evidently did not preserve originals for a purpose. He does not want us to have a legalistic attitude, or undue accent on laws, rules, forms and details. It is the message that is truly inspired. Only the Spirit can lead us into all truth. You have noted that some self-appointed scholar claims he can prove his every detail by the Bible, and then hear another with exactly opposite doctrine claim the same. We can rely on the Spirit.