Created Nov. 5, 2001 - Updated Apr. 9, 2002

John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

(RSV) Romans 3:1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews are entrusted with the oracles of God.

Paul says there was an advantage or honor that belonged to the Jews. They had been entrusted with the oracles of God. They had been the keeper of those oracles. And what are oracles? It was a Greek word. Greeks used it to apply to the prophets of their gods or the words of the gods. They called them oracles. Paul used this word to convey the meaning "words of God," of which the Jews were the keepers of, by means of the temple and priesthood.

From Strong's Dictionary of Greek Terms
3051. logion log'-ee-on; neuter of 3052; an utterance (of God):-- oracle.

From Thayer's Greek Lexicon of Bible Terms
3051 logion log'-ee-on
from 3052; TDNT - 4:137,505; n n
appearances in KJV as - oracle 4; 4

1) a brief utterance, a divine oracle (doubtless because oracles were generally brief)
1a) in the NT, the words or utterances of God
1b) of the contents of the Mosaic law

This is an account, primarily, of how we came to have the Bible and what it takes to get something into the Bible. To have something accepted as part of the Bible requires the author to be authorized by God. How is that done? And why in writing?

Well, as we all know, memories can fade with time. And things can get changed or told wrong when passed from one person to the next. Maybe you played the game of gossip when you were a kid. You know how the story can change. Many ancient rulers had their laws and decisions recorded in clay tablets or carved in stone. Courts it the USA record everything in writing. When preserved, there is nothing else quite as reliable in preserving testimony and facts, as long as everyone agrees to what is being recorded.

So God's reason for choosing writing as His preferred method of passing down His statutes and laws and accounts of the history of His people is rather obvious. How He did it is perhaps more remarkable. As we know, paper only lasts so long. Even in Egypt, engravings in some sorts of stone can wear away. Baked clay can get broken or wear away, too. Earthquakes can topple and bury monuments. So how do we preserve what is written down?

God Creates a Nation
Back to top

God's way was to create a nation with a bureaucracy that would record all sorts of things. The affairs of government and kings, of wars, and most especially, the words of God's laws and His prophets, His written agreements with Israel and individuals, and His acts in behalf of Israel and of those He blesses and of those whom He curses as well.

Deuteronomy 28:58 "If you will not take heed to do all the words of this law written in this book, to fear this glorious and fearful Name, Jehovah your God, 59 then Jehovah will make your plagues remarkable, and the plagues of your children shall be great and persistent plagues with evil and long lasting sicknesses . . ."

Deuteronomy 30:10 "For you shall listen to the voice of Jehovah your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in the book of this law. For you shall turn back toward Jehovah your God, with all your heart and with all your soul."

Joshua 8:34 "And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that was written in the book of the law."

Numbers 21:14 "therefore, it is said in the Book of the Wars of Jehovah: Waheb in Suphah, the torrents of Arnon"

2 Samuel 1:18 "and he said to teach the sons of Judah The Song of the Bow. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar"

1 Kings11:41 "And the rest of the matters of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?"

1 Kings 14:19 "And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel."

1 Kings 14:29 "And the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah?"

There are over 20 references to the books of the kings of Judah and Israel in the books of 1 & 2 Kings as well as mentions in the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 29:29 "And the acts of David the king, the first and the last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer"

The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah are also referred to in other books.

The priesthood, set up by Moses, was given the duty of preserving God's laws given through Moses and it would be they who would care for the various scrolls given to them by prophets and scribes to keep and preserve. The book of Leviticus, which contains the name Levi in it, since Moses and Aaron were descendants of the tribe of Levi, is the primary book setting up the priesthood. Levi was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. This book of Leviticus contained the instructions for setting up the temple priesthood and the bureaucracy that would grow and develop and the population and the temple grew. Numbers and Deuteronomy also add some details to the creation of the priesthood and how the nation was to conduct itself.

A Prophet's Qualifications
Back to top

If someone claimed to be a prophet and had written something down, the priests would take that scroll and keep it in their collection. In the event that prophet's words came true, he would be recognized as a prophet. We know that most prophets were killed for their words. But still the priests saved their words and it would be later recognized that a prophet had spoken and written those scrolls. Prophets were never recognized or appreciated in their own time.

Deuteronomy 13:1 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams rises among you, and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder which he foretold to you occurs, saying, Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them, 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams. For Jehovah your God is testing you, to know if you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

Deuteronomy 18:22 "When a prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah, if the thing does not happen or come about, that is the thing which Jehovah has not spoken; that prophet has spoken it proudly; you shall not be afraid of him." (GLT)

Usually, God would not send a prophet unless people or the king were not living up to the agreement God had made with their ancestors with Moses and that was binding upon their descendants as well. When they left that God ordained agreement and ignored His laws, then He warned them to stop ignoring His laws or there would be consequences. Often, He would bring consequences upon them when they would not listen to Him and His prophets, which they usually did not.

Matthew 13:57 And they were offended in Him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own homeland, and in his own house.

Matthew 23:29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous. 30 And you say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 So you witness to yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 And you fill up the measure of your fathers.

Matthew 23:33 Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How shall you escape the judgment of Hell? 34 Because of this, behold, I send to you prophets and wise ones and scribes. And some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will persecute from city to city; 35 so that should come on you all the righteous blood poured out on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah whom you murdered between the Holy Place and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, All these things will come on this generation.

Matthew 23:37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those sent to her. How often I desired to gather your children in the way a bird gathers her chicks under her wings! And you did not desire it. 38 Behold, "your house is left to you desolate."

Because they hated God's message and rules, they would kill the prophets who delivered that message. We often see the same thing in politics. Those who deliver warning messages, that are not popular and that conflict with the current rulers, will often be imprisoned, assassinated, or executed. Corrupt leaders do not like being exposed or made to look bad in the eyes of the people and will react swiftly and decisively. Nor do people like to be told they are wrong. They will also tell you to buzz off or employ a little bit of mob violence or some nasty activism at the least.

But after many years have passed, it is much easier to recognize the sins of the past and see that a prophet was right. So priests needed to have a deep respect for anyone who claimed to speak in the name of their God, Jehovah. Whether that man and his message was liked or not, his words and scrolls were preserved so that as time passed, the prophet would be shown to be either true or false.

What follows is an account of where the prophets Jeremiah and Baruch were given prophecies to be read before the king. Knowing what sort of man the king was, evidently, the men of the king's court replied as follows when the scrolls of the prophets are presented to them:

Jeremiah 36:19 "And the rulers said to Baruch, Go, hide yourselves, you and Jeremiah; and do not let any man know where you are.

20 And they went in to the king, into the court. But they laid up the roll in the room of Elishama the scribe. And they told all the words in the ear of the king. 21 And the king sent Jehudi to take the roll. And he took it out of the room of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the king's ears, and in the ears of all the rulers who stood beside the king.

22 And the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, and with the burning fire pan before him. 23 And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the scribe's knife and threw it into the fire in the fire-pan, until all the roll was burned up in the fire that was in the fire-pan 24 Yet the king and all his servants who heard these words were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments.

25 But Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah had pleaded with the king that he should not burn the roll, but he would not listen to them."

You will notice that some of the men of the king's (Jehoiakim's) court in verse 25 were very distressed over the burning of the scrolls of men who claimed to be prophets. No matter how bad the words of the prophets were, it was never recorded in the Bible that a king burned the scrolls as this king did. But God had Jeremiah and Baruch write them again. But the disrespect was not well received, even among some of those who were favorable to the king. That was the attitude of people of Judah and Israel towards anyone who spoke in the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel. They might not like or agree with the message but they would never dream of destroying the prophet's words/scrolls unless their name was Jehoiakim.

God's Chosen Place of Worship
Back to top

What this also means is that one could not be recognized as a prophet if he did not preach in Israel so as to be heard and received by the temple priests. God only dealt with Israel, His chosen people to administer His law and His worship at the temple. And His temple worship was administered by His priests who were ordained by Him in the laws of Moses. Jehovah could only be worshipped in Jerusalem. That is where He directed that His festivals be held. That is where He directed sacrifices to be made. That is where the scrolls were to be deposited and cared for.

Deuteronomy 12:5 "But you shall seek to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all your tribes; for you shall seek His dwelling, to put His name there. And you shall go there."

Deuteronomy 12:11 "And it shall be the place which Jehovah your God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I am commanding you, your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice freewill offerings which you vow to Jehovah."

Deuteronomy 12:14 "but in the place which Jehovah shall choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command."

Deuteronomy 12:18 "But you shall eat it before Jehovah your God in the place which Jehovah your God shall choose, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates. And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God in all that you put your hand to."

In 2 Samuel 7, God speaks to Nathan the prophet in the night to instruct David that his son (Solomon) would be the one to build a house/temple of God in Jerusalem. David begins by obtaining land and materials that Solomon can later use. In 1 Kings 6, in the 4th year of Solomon, he begins the construction of the temple in Jerusalem which would become the place to worship God under the care of the Levite priesthood.

When Jesus encountered the woman at the well in John 4, even she understood at that time, roughly 900 years later, that Jerusalem was the necessary place to worship God.

John 4:20 "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship." (GLT)

This ordained priesthood was an appointed and cultivated bureaucracy that would continue to copy and preserve the writings and testimony of God's appointed servants. This would benefit all God's people, the future descendants of Israel and of all the nations of mankind who would benefit from the labor of this bureaucratic priesthood that would preserve God's word for all to hear and benefit from.

The Priesthood's Product - The Bible
Back to top

The word of God gives examples of warning to us as a way to show us how to avoid making the same mistakes.

1 Corinthians 10: "11 Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come."

It gives us rules and instructions to live by.

2 Timothy 3: "16 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

It lets us know what is going to happen in the future so we can prepare and be ready.

Amos 3: 7 For the Lord Jehovah will do nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

It tells us about God and tells us some history, too. With it we can be fully informed and fully equipped for any and every good work and deed.

But Only To Israel!
Back to top

When Jesus arrived, he went only to the house of Israel. That was all God had ever done up to that point. Jesus continued to do the same.

Matthew 15: "24 But answering, He said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Luke 1: "16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God."

Luke 1: "54 He helped His servant Israel in order to remember mercy,"

Luke 1: "68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He visited and worked redemption for His people."

It had been the decision of the father (Jehovah) that it would be left to Jesus' Apostles to take the message and open up salvation to the other nations. It was the Apostle Peter who received the vision to offer the kingdom of the heavens to the nations.

Matthew 28: "19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."

Acts 11: "17 Then if God gave the same gift to them as also to us, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I, who was I to be able to prevent God? 18 And hearing these things, they kept silent and glorified God, saying, Then God also has granted to the nations repentance unto life.
19 Then, indeed, they who were scattered by the oppression taking place over Stephen passed through to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the Word to no one except only to Jews.
20 But some men from them, Cypriots and Cyrenians, who had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, announcing the gospel of the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believing, they turned to the Lord. 22 And the Word was heard in the ears of the church in Jerusalem concerning them. And they sent out Barnabas to go through as far as Antioch;"

Acts 15: ""12 And all the multitude kept silent and were hearing Barnabas and Paul recounting what things God did through them among the nations, even the signs and wonders. 17 so as the rest of men may seek the Lord, "even all the nations on whom My name has been called, says the Lord, who is doing all these things.""" [he quoted Amos 9:11, 12]
"19 For this reason I judge not to trouble those from the nations turning to God"

John 14: "12 Indeed, I tell you truly, He that believes in Me, the works which I do, that one shall do also, and greater than these he will do, because I go to My Father."

Acts 1: "8 but you will receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you will be witnesses of Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The Kingdom of the Heavens
Back to top

Jesus did begin to preach and offer the opportunity of being in heaven as angels who would serve as kings and priests over the earth with Jesus and the father to those who would accept the message of Jesus and become obedient to him as God had required and declared long ago in the law of Moses. But only to the house of Israel.

Mathew 11: " 11 Truly I say to you, Among the sons of women there has not been a greater than John the Baptist: but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist till now, the kingdom of heaven is forcing its way in, and men of force take it. 13 For all the prophets and the law were in force till John. " [Bible in Basic English]

Luke 16: "16 The Law and the Prophets were until John; from then the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is pressing into it." [GLT]

The Nations Are Welcomed
Back to top

Then the Apostles took over after Jesus' execution and resurrection, and opened up the way for the foreign nations to also become priests and kings with Jesus in heaven. The Apostles would be given the task of spreading the word to much of the known world. It is possible that the degree of that message being spread might have a wider scope than we might have first imagined. But it would be spread by the Apostles and those whom they taught and authorized.

It would not have been spread before the coming of Jesus for God had not appointed it to be done at that time. It was not even for Jesus to do. God's will was that it would be done by the Apostles. Jesus himself said that the Apostles would do works even greater than his. Of course, he was referring to the territory that would be preached to and the numbers of people preached to and won over, and perhaps, the number of works performed as a collective whole. Only Jesus could give himself as a sacrifice for mankind. No one else could qualify for that and that would have to be considered the greatest work done for all mankind, that I can tell.

Consider this. Jesus had a tremendous effect on Israel and Judah because of the many amazing miracles he performed. But to have won over the Roman empire, including all around the Mediterranean and up into Europe, it is likely that the Apostles and those who were appointed by them performed even more works to win over the empire so that only a little over 200 years later, Christianity would become the dominant religion of the empire and would eradicate the pagan Roman religion to near extinction. It was obviously impressive even though the focus of the scriptures was on the teachings of the Apostles rather than their miraculous works.

Some claim that God spoke to prophets in the Americas before Jesus. That could not be for God had not elected to bring the word to anyone outside of Israel. That does not mean that Jews or other Israelites could not come to America to live but they would not be given prophecies to pass on to future generations as this was only done through God's chosen nation and place of worship in Jerusalem. If you were not recognized there, you would never be recognized. Nor would it be possible that God would do something contrary to what He already ordained.

Putting the Bible Together
Back to top

Now when it came the Apostles' turn to spread the word and do marvelous works of miracles so as to give their message credibility and believability, they also added letters of instruction and prophecy to the Bible. As those directly appointed by Christ and the holy spirit and blessed with special powers of healing, resurrection, and the laying on of the hands, the Apostles were very qualified to add to the Bible which had first been started by the priests of Israel in the days of Moses.

In addition, 2 of Jesus' fleshly brothers, sons of Joseph and Mary, also added brief letters to the Bible. They were James and Jude. These Apostles and older men of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, all of whom were personal witnesses of Jesus when he was alive on earth and all of whom were Jews, would be the only ones to add to the Bible. The Apostle John would be the last one to add any books or letters to the Bible. And it was he who warns us in Revelation that any who add to what he and the other Apostles and brothers of Jesus had written or took away from what they had written would be cursed and their names removed from the book of life.

Revelation 22: "18 For I testify together with everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this Book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add upon him the plagues having been written in this Book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and of the things having been written in this Book."

This would be the figurative seal that would be placed on the Bible so that nothing more could be added or written. The Bible would now be complete. And due to its completion and due to the wonderful way the word spread and took hold because of all the miracles performed by the Apostles, the need for more miracles would diminish to nothing. Now that the Bible was complete, one could be persuaded and convinced of the word of God due to prophecy rather than miracles. Since only the Apostles were capable of resurrections, resurrections would cease as would the laying on of the hands which was only a gift of the Apostles.

For a discussion of the powers of the Apostles, check out my article on Acts and the Christian Congregation. which I also link to at the end of this article.

Josephus tells us that there were 32 books/scrolls in the Hebrew Canon/Collection in his time. There came to be 28 books recognized by early Christians as being authored by qualified people, the Apostles and brothers of the Lord. This is how we came to have in our possession the Bible of today. Now some people also kept other books and scrolls as well. But these were not universally recognized or accepted. Some disputed books known as the Apocrypha.

Bible Qualifications
Back to top

I will give more detail into how we finally got the version we have today in an update to this article in the future. The books of the Bible are those that seem to be universally recognized and accepted by nearly everyone everywhere. It is these that inspire the most faith and trust and seem to maintain harmony between each other. The ultimate test of any book has been if it matches the following criteria.

First, it must promote the true worship of God.

Second, if there is any prophecy uttered, it must be in God's name and it must come true.

Third, it must help fulfill God's purpose or be related to His purpose and will.

Fourth, it must be in agreement and harmony with the rest of what has been accepted to that point.

Fifth, it must have been authored within the time frame and location of God's outworking and on-going will and purpose.

The Bible collection of today is seen to meet those criteria. I would say that the book of Ester is quite questionable and perhaps the Song of Solomon just slightly questionable. But beyond that, it does seem to be harmonious and meets the other requirements. The book of Mormon, on the other hand, does not fulfill these requirements. It was not in Israel and was given before God's time to give it in that location, and by the right and properly authorized authors. And it does not remain fully harmonious with the rest of the scriptures. And it was actually revealed to people far after John sealed the book of Revelation, near to our time, about 1700 years too late.

Now as for those who claim that their beliefs also derive from the authority of their church or religion, or leader/s, there is no succession allowed after the Apostles. This is covered in another article entitled "Church Beginnings," linked below. This deals with the creation of the Christian religion/church/congregation and from where the authority of it derives. It sort of picks up where this leaves off. I hope you check it out.

Back to Home/Index/Main Page/Directory/Truth 1 - The best site on the internet!

Back to Top