THE PENTECOST ISSUE 111 SEPTEMBER 2017

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THE PENTECOST

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Front Cover: Abbotsford, BC Above photo: Jasper, AB

Welcome to another year of the Pentecost magazine. Our plans for publishing are a little different this year than to other years. We are putting out four issues of the Pentecost this year followed by four issues of our other magazine, “The Megaphone”. I hope that they are a blessing to you. In this issue we are looking at the history of the Bible as a book. We will explore its history from the time of its composition and then look at its transmission through time up until the Protestant Reformation. Be blessed as we delve into this most interesting topic.

Shawn Stevens

Most of us have the privilege of reading the Bible from off of our bookshelf or night stand. But have you ever wondered how it came to be that we could read the inspired Word of God? Well this issue is a look back in history of the creation of the best book ever written, The Bible. God bless you.

Ramona Stevens

God’s Word Through History

‘Thank God, I have a Bible!’ were the words of apoor, elderly woman in London. ‘What should Ido without my Bible? It was the guide of myyouth, and it is the staff of my age. It woundedme, and it healed me; it condemned me, and itacquitted me. It showed me I was a sinner, and itled me to the Saviour. It has given me comfort inlife, and I trust it will give me hope in death.’ 1

The Bible has been a faithful guide and staff,comfort and hope for multitudes throughouthistory. How did this great Book begin? To ourknowledge, God’s first communication withman, which was written down, was called theDecologue or Ten Words, which we know as theTen Commandments. These were given to Moseson his first mountain encounter with God. Mosesthen went up the mountain a second time andwas given more instructions from God. This timeMoses wrote down the words of the Covenant.This was the beginning of the sacred writings. 2Those sacred writings were followed byadditional sacred writings, compiled and passeddown to us, all of them, in time becoming knownas the Holy Bible.The word “Bible” comes from the Greek wordBiblos, which was the outer coat of a papyrusreed used in Egypt during the 11th century B.C.The plural form of this word is Biblia and it wasused by Christians to describe their sacredwritings as early as the 2nd century. This wordwas carried over into Latin and the Englishtranslation became Bible. 3The Bible is divided into two testaments, whichis another word for covenants. Its first half iscalled the Old Testament and its second half iscalled the New Testament. The Old Testamentconsists of inspired Jewish writings whichpredate Christ’s incarnation. Probably the earliestdivision of this material was called The Law AndThe Prophets. 4 The Old Testament is acomposition of historical, poetical andprophetical writings.

Why did all of this historical, poetical andprophetical material need to be written down?

God had been communicating with man longbefore Moses’ life. However, the problem withoral and other forms of communication is thatthey are not preserved as accurately as awritten tradition. God wanted His Wordaccurately recorded in written form and, atleast by the time of Moses’ life, this wasbegun. We read in the Old Testament that“And Moses wrote down all the words of theLORD. ….” (Exodus 24.4). Moses wasfollowed by other prophets who continued torecord the Word of God.

The Bible teaches that God spoke through theprophets. Some titles that are given in theBible for prophets are “the man of God” (See1 Kings 12.22), “His servant” (see 1 Kings14.18), “MY MESSENGER” (see Matthew11.10) 4.5 , “a watchman” (see Ezekiel 3.17)and “the seers” (see Isaiah 30.10). The Biblesays; “for no prophecy was ever made by anact of human will, but men moved by the HolySpirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1.21). Again,we read that “God, after He spoke long ago tothe fathers in the prophets in many portionsand in many ways,” (Hebrews 1.1). The Bibleclaims this in many places. Also, the TenCommandments, recorded by Moses, areprefaced with these words; “Then God spokeall these words, saying,” (Exodus 20.1). Godspoke to His prophets directly, telling themwhat they were to say. For example, He toldthe prophet Ezekiel that “But you shall speakMy words to them whether they listen or not,for they are rebellious.” (Ezekiel 2.7). TheBible emphatically states that “All Scripture isinspired by God … ” (2 Timothy 3.16). Theword “inspiration” means “God-breathed.”The Bible says that the Jews were advantagedbecause “… that they were entrusted with theoracles of God.” (Romans 3.2). The phrase“thus sayeth the LORD” and similarexpressions are found in the Old Testament3,808 times. The Prophet Isaiah, in the firstchapter of his Book declares; “Listen, Oheavens, and hear, O earth; for the LORDspeaks, …” (Isaiah 1.2). Similarly, the ProphetJeremiah says in his Book; “The word of theLORD came to me saying, … ” (Jeremiah

1.11). Because of these scriptures, and others,Evangelicals use interchangeably the word“Bible” and the phrase “Word of God.”

Because the Bible is the inspired Word of God,some might assume that the whole of it would bewritten down in the same form. This is not true.One of the characteristics of the Bible is howGod has used a variety of forms and a variety ofpersonalities in communicating His Holy Word.Although all of the Bible’s books are inspired,one notices a difference between reading theApostle Paul’s epistles and King David’s psalms.Similarly, one notices a difference betweenMoses’ historical books, such as 1 Chronicles,and John’s apocalyptic book, Revelation.

The sacred prophetical writings of the OldTestament were passed on from generation togeneration. However, in 586 B.C., theBabylonians conquered the Jews and attemptedto burn everything in the temple. The Jews wereunder Babylonian captivity for seventy yearsand, at the end of this period, many returned torebuild the city of Jerusalem. In God’sprovidence, not all copies of the sacredScriptures were destroyed. Synagogues beganspringing up everywhere and they needed copiesof the Scriptures. This need led to the creation ofa new institution and profession, that of thescribes. Scribes zealously and meticulously wentabout the task of duplicating the Scriptureswhich were then used in the synagogues.

Another significant development of this periodwas the rise of Alexander the Great and hisconquering of the then-known world. By thetime of his death, in 323 B.C., much of the worldwas bilingual, with Greek as its second language.Around 285 B.C., Demetrius Phalereus, the headof the library in Alexandria, inquired of the kingof Egypt whether a Greek translation of theJewish Law could be made for the library. Theking consented and requested from the Jews sixscholars from each of the twelve tribes of Israelto work on the translation. In seventy-two daysthe translation was finished and this translation isknown as the Septuagint. 5 This seems to be thefavorite translation of the early Christians.

The early Christians soon had another collection

of inspired writings in addition to the OldTestament. These were the Gospels, Epistlesand Apocalypse of the New Testament. WithJesus Christ, the Son of God, coming to Earththe world was again infused with divineprophecy and teaching. The Bible says that“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers inthe prophets in many portions and in manyways,” (Hebrews 1.1). Jesus said on oneoccasion; “Do you not believe that I am in theFather, and the Father is in Me? The wordsthat I say to you I do not speak on My owninitiative, but the Father abiding in Me doesHis works.” (John 14.10). His words camewith the full authority of His Heavenly Father.This is because, as He said; “ … the wordwhich you hear is not Mine, but the Father’swho sent Me.” (John 14.24). In a prayer to HisHeavenly Father, Jesus said; “ for the wordswhich You gave Me I have given to them; …”(John 17.8). He had given His disciples theWord of God.

Although Jesus gave His disciples the Word ofGod, He did not personally write down Hisdivine teachings but, instead, this work wasgiven to some of His disciples and certainothers. At the Last Supper, He told Hisdisciples; “ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,whom the Father will send in My name, Hewill teach you all things, and bring to yourremembrance all that I said to you.” (John14.26). Here, Jesus is saying that the HolySpirit will do two things. The Holy Spirit willbring to their memory all that Jesus has said tothem and He will teach them all things. TheApostle Paul, operating under this sameinspiration, wrote many epistles. He knew thathis message came from God. He said to theThessalonians; “For this reason we alsoconstantly thank God that when you receivedthe word of God which you heard from us, youaccepted it not as the word of men, but forwhat it really is, the word of God, … ” (1Thessalonians 2.13). Concerning his gospel, hesaid to the Galatian Church; “For I would haveyou know, brethren, that the gospel which waspreached by me is not according to man. For Ineither received it from man, nor was I taught

it, but I received it through a revelation of JesusChrist.” (Galatians 1.11,12). To the Corinthians,he said; “For I received from the Lord that whichI also delivered to you, …” (1 Corinthians11.23). To the Thessalonian Church, he said;“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord,…” (1 Thessalonians 4.15). With these inspiredrecords of the apostles, and certain others, thetwenty-seven books of the New Testament wereformed.

The writing of these twenty-seven books, and theacceptance of them as inspired Scripture, is aninteresting chapter in Christian history. From theperiod of 33 A.D. to 50 A.D., emphasis was notput on a written record. This is probably becauseChristians believed that Christ was coming backimminently. However, by 50 A.D., Christian faithwas spreading very rapidly and it was necessaryfor written copies of apostolic instruction to besupplied to the churches which were springingup everywhere. 6 Even though emphasis was noton a written record in the first half of the firstcentury, there was a sorting of gospel material.Luke, the author of one of the four Gospels,dedicates his Gospel to a man named Theophilus.He opens with these words:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compilean account of the things accomplished among us,just as they were handed down to us by thosewho from the beginning were eyewitnesses andservants of the word, it seemed fitting for me aswell, having investigated everything carefullyfrom the beginning, to write it out for you inconsecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; sothat you may know the exact truth about thethings you have been taught.

(Luke 1.1-4).

Here, we see Luke setting about the work ofwriting a narrative of Christ’s life and ministry.

While some, like Luke, wrote gospels, apostles,such as Peter and Paul, wrote epistles (letters).The Apostle John wrote down the propheticBook of Revelation. During this New Testamentperiod, one of Peter’s epistles refers to Paul’sepistles, giving additional credence to them (see

2 Peter 3.15-16). Apostolic epistles werecirculated (see example of Colossians 4.16)and read to congregations (see example of 1Thessalonians 5.27).

By the first half of the 2nd century, theapostles’ writings were more generally knowand had circulated more widely. By the secondhalf of the 2nd century, New Testament bookswere even more widely recognized asScripture. These books were organized into asingle catalogue of recognized books anddistinguished from other Christian literature. 7

In the period of time in which the NewTestament was written, and for a couplehundred years afterwards, the ChristianChurch suffered terrible persecution. ManyChristians lived in catacombs and caves. Theywere sometimes hunted down and many oftheir writings were burned. Under God’sprovidence, the Scriptures were protectedthrough this turbulent time. This was amysterious period of time. The Church wasyoung and much of what we know about itsleaders is from some writings which survivedfrom this period. Church leaders, prior to theCouncil of Nicea in 325 A.D., are referred toas the Anti-Nicean Fathers. It would be wrongto assume that they were unanimous in theirunderstanding of exactly what was, and whatwas not, holy Scripture. However, it isinteresting to hear what they have to say aboutScripture itself.

Many Anti-Nicean fathers did refer to NewTestament Scripture and in many instanceswrote down their views on Scripture. LikePaul, Clement of Rome (1st century) wrote anepistle to the Corinthians. In it, he quotesscriptures from the Gospels, such as Matthew9.13, Mark 2.17 and Luke 5.32. He refers tothem as Scripture. In the same quote, he citesMark 9.42 after the introductory words “Godsaieth.” In this same work, he quotes Hebrews1.3-7. 8 Polycarp (1st and 2nd century), adisciple of the Apostle John, refers to the NewTestament in his epistle to the Philippians. Hequotes Ephesians 4.26 and introduces thisverse with the words “the Scripture saieth.” 9

Justin Martyr (early 2nd century), in his firstapology, written between 150 and 155 A.D.,refers to the Gospels as “Voice of God.”10Irenaeus (late 2nd and early 3rd century), in hiswork, “Against Heresies,” also refers to theGospels. He says; “For the Lord of all gave thepower of the Gospel to His apostles throughwhom we have come to know the truth, that isthe teaching of the Son of God … This Gospelthey first preached. Afterwards, by the will ofGod, they handed it down to us in the Scriptures,to be the pillar and ground.” 11 Clement ofAlexandria (late 2nd and early 3rd century) says;“There is no discord between the Law and theGospel, but harmony, for they both proceed fromthe same Author.” 12 Hippolytus (late 2nd andearly 3rd century) commented on both the Oldand New Testament. On the Old Testament andits writers, he said:

The Law and the Prophets were from God, whoin giving them compelled his messenger to speakby the Holy Spirit, that receiving the inspirationof the Father’s power they may announce theFather’s counsel and will. In these men thereforethe Word found a fitting abode and spoke ofHimself; for even then He came as His ownherald, shewing the Word who was about toappear in the world. … 13

Concerning New Testament writers, he said:

These blessed men … having been perfected bythe Spirit of Prophecy, and worthily honored bythe Word Himself, were brought to an innerharmony like instruments, and having the Wordwithin them, as it were to strike the notes, byHim they were moved, and announced thatwhich God wished. For they did not speak oftheir own power (be well assured), nor proclaimthat which they wished themselves, but first theywere rightly endowed with wisdom by the Word,and afterwards well foretaught of the future byvisions, and then, when thus assured, they spakethat which was [revealed] to them alone by God.

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Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, a 3rd centurymartyr, referred to Scripture as “DivineScripture,”15 “Divine commands,”15 “SacredScriptures,”15 “Scriptures from heaven,”15“precepts of the Divine Law,”15 “wells ofdivine fullness”15 and “voices of the Lord.”15 These references show us how EarlyChurch fathers viewed the Scriptures asinspired of God.

These writings may have been inspired byGod, but would they survive the efforts madeto destroy them? The Roman EmperorDiocletion had ordered the destruction of theChristian’s sacred writings but, in God’sprovidence, not all of the copies weredestroyed. In the reign of EmperorConstantine, the Roman government reversedits position and became friendly withChristians. Constantine even requested thatEusebius would arrange for copies of theScriptures to be provided for the Empire’shead in the East, Constantinople. 16 17 18Eusebius did so, and had fifty copies preparedfor this use. This created a further need for thesacred Scriptures to be organized into a singlebook. The Early Church needed a canon. Theword “canon” is believed to have comeoriginally from the Greek word kanon, whichmeant a rod, measuring rod, staff or ruler. Thelast usage, ruler, was expanded to include arule or standard for anything. Early Christiansused it to refer to a “rule of faith, normativewritings, or authoritative Scripture.” SomeEarly Church fathers from the time of Irenaeusreferred to Christian teaching as “The Kanonof the Church,” “The Kanon of the Truth,” and“The Kanon of Faith.” However, the first clearuse of the word was by Athanasius. 19 In 367A.D., he wrote a letter in which he lists thetwenty-seven books of the New Testament.This was the first time in recorded history thatwe had such a list. In 397 A.D., the Council ofCarthage endorsed these twenty-seven books.20

The next major event in the history of the

Bible, as a book, was the creating of the LatinVulgate Version. The pope desired to have astandard translation of the Bible which would beaccepted as authoritive by the whole Church. Theskills of Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymus (340-420 A.D.), better known as St. Jerome, wereemployed for this large work. Jerome was bornin Stridon, Dalmatia, and at twelve years of agehe went to Rome where he studied Latin, Greekand pagan authors for the next eight years. Atage nineteen, he became a Christian. He waslater baptized by the pope of Rome and hecommitted himself to the service of God. Formany years he lived a semi-aesthetic life. Hetraveled east where he learned Hebrew from aRabbi and he was ordained to be a presbyter inthe city of Antioch. He conducted more studiesin Constantinople and, in 382 A.D., the popecalled him to be his secretary. That same year, hewas commissioned to begin the work that he isnow famous for, a revision of the LatinScriptures. He began working on the OldTestament and continued on to work on the NewTestament. Soon after Jerome had revised theLatin Gospels, the pope died. Much of Jerome’swork was done in Bethlehem where he also spenttime improving his Hebrew. Although Jerome’swork began as a revision of an older Latin text,in the end his translation of the Old Testamentwas translated into Latin from Hebrewmanuscripts. His complete work was finished in405 A.D. 21

What was the reaction to Jerome’s translation?Some did not like him using Hebrew as a basisfor his Old Testament work. They felt that theGreek Septuagint was superior. Even Augustine(354-430) was outspokenly against Jerome’s OldTestament work. It is also significant thatJerome’s New Testament work was rushed andwas simply a minor revision of an older Latintranslation. It was not done directly from Greekmanuscripts. Opposition to the Vulgate Biblewas offset by the pope’s support for it. Beforelong, the Vulgate was generally accepted by theChurch but there would be more revisions andeditions of it. Interestingly, the Vulgate was notofficially declared the standard text of the Biblefor the Roman Catholic Church until the Council

of Trent (1546-1563). 22 23

What was the long-term effect of the Vulgate’sgeneral acceptance throughout the Dark andMiddle Ages? By insisting on reading theBible in Latin, the leadership of the CatholicChurch essentially separated the Bible fromthe common population of Europe. Mostpeople in the Dark and Middle Ages could notread, let alone read in the foreign language ofLatin. Neither could they understand theScriptures that were read to them in Latin. TheBible became isolated behind the closed doorsof the monasteries. For centuries, it wasfiguratively “chained up” from being used bycommon men and women. These chains wouldbe broken by the great reformers of theChurch.