THE PERFECT STANDARD

THE WORD “CANONICITY” IS DERIVED from the Greek word κανών (kanon), which originally meant a rod or a ruler, hence—a measuring stick or norm (Gal. 6:16; Phil. 3:16). This is exactly what the Bible is—a norm or standard—the divine and absolute standard. Technically, the canon of Scripture is a collection of many books into one book, our Bible.

    The Bible is the only reliable source of information with regard to eternal salvation and the alternative—eternal condemnation (John 3:36). While eternal salvation is as simple as “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31), the study and absorption of its many aspects and ramifications can become very complex. Most important, the Bible is the revealed “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16), and as such, contains vital information for the believer in time.

    It is my purpose to demonstrate how we acquired this most vital document, from its very origin to the printed page, and to present its relationship to history and its effects upon mankind. This study should give you a deeper appreciation and respect for the Word of God as your most priceless possession.

PETER’S LEGACY

Yea, I think it meet [fitting], as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. (2 Pet. 1:13)1

    Peter was a dying man; yet as long as he had breath left, he considered it imperative to keep on stirring up believers by going over and over doctrines until they could not be forgotten. With time running out, Peter’s style was elliptical, down to earth, and tough. He wanted no sympathy. He was saying in effect, “I am about to die—so what? Don’t weep for me. My objective is to leave behind doctrine in your souls, and I’m going to keep on teaching until the end. So keep on having doctrine in your right lobes.”

    Do you see the important point here? Peter was greatly loved. There had been a tendency to lean on Peter, but soon he would not be there to lean on. Peter insisted that they must never use him as a crutch; instead they must learn to lean on the Word of God and the doctrines it teaches. Peter’s departure from the scene should make no difference—Bible teachers come and go—it’s not the man but the message that counts. Don’t get your eyes on man; get your eyes on the Word of God and keep them there.

    Doctrine had sustained Peter through many trials and persecutions. Before he died, he wanted to leave believers a legacy that no one could take from them—the reality of the Bible.

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Pet. 1:16)

    What greater way of substantiating the truth than to say, “We saw it with our own eyes and we heard it with our own ears.” The eye gate and the ear gate are the most essential areas for perception in the system of empiricism. What can be more real than seeing and hearing? I’ll tell you what should be—the Word of God!

    In 2 Peter 1, Peter documents an experience he had shared with James and John—the Transfiguration (Matt. 16:28; 17:1-8). They had seen Jesus Christ as He would appear at the Second Advent; they had even heard the Father’s voice. Yet Peter wrote with utmost conviction:

We have also [in the written Word] a more sure word of prophecy [the biblical account of the Second Advent is more reliable than their empirical observation of the Transfiguration]; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed. (2 Pet. 1:19a)

    Peter ends his dissertation by pointing believers toward the origin of Scripture (2 Pet. 1:20-21). So, God vindicates His Word, be it in the Scriptures (Ps. 138:2) or in the believer’s soul. Man comes and goes, “but the word of the Lord endureth for ever” (1 Pet. 1:25a).

THE ORIGIN OF THE SCRIPTURES

    The Bible is the most precious and most important record this world has ever known or will ever know. In order to understand how we got our Bible, it is necessary that we consider the factor that makes this book what it claims to be—the written Word of God!

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Pet. 1:20-21)

    In verse 20, we have the negative origin of the Bible; in verse 21, we have the positive origin of the Bible. A superficial reading of verse 20 suggests that this verse speaks of interpretation. In the original language (Greek), the issue is not interpretation but origin. The origin of Scripture is one of the first things every believer should understand in regard to the Word of God. So let me give you a corrected translation of these two verses:

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture originates from one’s own disclosure. For prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

    This means that God the Holy Spirit so directed the writers of Scripture that without changing their personality, vocabulary, frame of reference, or emotional pattern, God’s complete and connected thought toward man was recorded in their own language and vernacular. As a result, we actually have in Scripture the mind of Christ—the Word of God—the divine viewpoint as it is expressed in human terms under the principle of inspiration. The doctrine of inspiration applies only to the original languages of Scripture and guarantees their accuracy.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16)

    “All scripture” includes both the Old and the New Testaments. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” says literally in the Greek, “All scripture is God-breathed.” The true concept of inspiration is this: God’s thoughts, His doctrines, His plan, His promises, and everything that God wanted us to know was communicated to the human authors of Scripture. Then, in the power of the Spirit, they recorded this revelation in writing.

    Second Timothy 3:16 lists four categories of benefits from the Scriptures:

“Doctrine.” Doctrine is the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). Doctrine is the sum total of the divine viewpoint of life (Isa. 55:8-9) and should, therefore, become the basis of our modus operandi in time and our confidence for the future.

“Reproof.” When you study the Bible and hear it taught, you are often reproved. An analysis of Scripture usually discloses the areas of weakness where we have failed. The principle is simply that the Word of God does rebuke us, and rightly so. It shows us where we are wrong as well as where we are right.

“Correction.” Reproof should always lead to correction. Biblical correction results in the utilization of unlimited operating assets by which we can have perfect happiness, peace, and stability.

“Instruction in righteousness.” This involves the entire scope of the Gospel and demonstrates how God can take a sinner and make him righteous through the work of Christ.2

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3:17)

    “That” introduces a purpose clause, which sets before us the intent of the profit of the Scriptures. This purpose is that the believer may become mature and completely equipped unto all good works. In the Greek ἐξαρτίζω (exartizo), “completely equipped,” is in the perfect tense, meaning “equipped in the past with the result that he keeps on being equipped.” Thus we see that the divinely inspired Scriptures contain all the information that is necessary for the production of divine good.3

THE DOCTRINE OF INSPIRATION

The Principle of Inspiration

    The Greek noun, θεόπνευστος (theopneustos), or “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16), entails the principle of inspiration and involves both inhale and exhale. In the inhale, the Holy Spirit communicated to human authors, like Paul, God’s complete and coherent message (2 Sam. 23:2-3; Isa. 59:21; Jer. 1:9; Matt. 22:42-44; Mark 12:36; Acts 4:24-25; 28:25). In the exhale, the human writers of Scripture so wrote that without waiving their human intelligence, their vocabulary, their personal feelings, their literary style, their personality or individuality, God’s complete message to man was permanently recorded with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture.

The Origin of Scripture

    The Scriptures are not human viewpoint, but rather the Holy Spirit’s use of human agencies and language (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

    The Bible is the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). Therefore, it is the absolute criterion for believers (Ps. 138:2).

    The Bible existed in eternity past. As the mind of Christ, the Bible existed prior to the time it was reduced to written form (Prov. 8:22-31).

    Precanon revelation from God occurred through the Holy Spirit (2 Sam. 23:2; Ezek. 2:2; 8:3; 11:1, 24; Micah 3:8; Heb. 3:7). There was no written Scripture until the time of Moses. Prior to that time, God the Holy Spirit revealed doctrine to members of the human race.

    There were four categories of revelation given to Old Testament prophets and others before the existence of Scripture. God revealed Himself and His plan through the spoken Word (Isa. 6:8-10), dreams (Gen. 15:12; 31:10-13, 24; Num. 12:6; Dan. 10:9), visions (1 Kings 22:19; Isa. 1:1; 6:1), and angelic teaching (Deut. 33:2; Ps. 68:17; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19).

The Extent of Inspiration

Unknown Past

    The Bible portrays historical statements and details unknown to man and unconfirmed by human records (Gen. 1:11). Inspiration guarantees the accuracy of these events. For example, in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, we have two accounts of the fall of Satan.4 Satan existed long before man; yet we have in writing, with perfect accuracy, all that God wants us to know about Satan’s fall. There are several accounts of the creation of the universe.5 These are found throughout the Scriptures from Genesis to Isaiah, to Colossians 1. Man would have no way of knowing these events were it not for the fact that God Himself provided the information through inspiration so that we might know about eternity past.

Ancient History

    Although the Bible is not a history textbook, it contains many historical citations. All of these are necessary and accurate, and form the basis and background for the communication of doctrine (isagogics). As late as the mid-twentieth century, many scholars of history teamed up with certain archaeologists and said that the Bible was in error with regard to certain parts of its history. Since there were no records to substantiate the historical authenticity of certain passages, they claimed those events never occurred. Since then, however, there have been numerous discoveries from the ancient world, including the translation of Ugaritic (pagan Canaanite literature) and the excavation of Troy. These historical records bear out and actually demonstrate the perfect accuracy of the Scriptures.

Objective-Type Law

    In certain portions of the Word you will find laws governing various phases of individual and national life. For instance, there is the Law of the Individual, which is the first of the four divine institutions.6 Man has a free will, and he is free to operate under his volition. He may decide to depend upon God or to act independently of God. We also find the Laws of Marriage, Family, and National Entity. It is to man’s benefit that they be followed and executed.

    In addition to the divine institutions, there are many more laws found in Scripture. For example, the Mosaic Law describes in detail laws necessary for freedom, privacy, and protection of property.7 Inspiration of Scripture guarantees that these are divine laws. They perfectly express the essence of God and His will for the people to whom they were given. The repetition of these laws in Scripture demonstrates their application to every generation.

Dictation And Prophecy

    Some portions of the Bible contain direct quotations from God. On occasion, God made known future events that man had no way of foreseeing or understanding at the time of their revelation. When God dictated to the prophets of old concerning the conquest of the Edomites (Ezek. 25:12-14), everyone scoffed. Why, the powerful Edomites could never be beaten! Yet their land became an area of desolation just as God had said it would.

    Another example of dictation is the prophecy of the downfall of Tyre, which had been an impregnable fortress for centuries. The people sneered at the prediction of troops marching overland. Ridiculous as it seemed, the prophecy was accurate: Alexander the Great built a causeway from the mainland to the island city. Tyre fell into his hands exactly as prophesied.

    The most significant area of accuracy in the Old Testament prophecies are those which deal with the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, Psalm 22 describes in detail the events of the cross, yet at the time of these prophecies, crucifixion was unknown to the Jews.

    Even as history was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the past, so will the prophecies of the Tribulation, the Second Advent of Christ, and the Millennium be fulfilled.

Devotional Literature

    Psalms, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and Job are classified as devotional literature. God uses the problems, the pressures, the prosperity and successes, as well as the failures of certain believers, to reveal His plan and principles of grace.

Recording Of Falsehoods

    The record of human or Satanic lies in the text of Scripture does not imply that falsehood is truth, but inspiration guarantees the accuracy of the lie. For example, we have the devil’s conversation with the woman in the Garden (Gen. 3:1-5). While this is exactly what the devil said, it was not all truth. The Book of Ecclesiastes lists many erroneous concepts. These did not have the approval of God, but were the precise thoughts of Solomon when he was out of fellowship.

    You might think that such vital communication from God as man had received down through the years would be carefully laid up for posterity in a place of safety. Far from it; portions of the Word as it then existed were lost or destroyed. Although some were recovered as early as the reign of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:8), it would take centuries to find, decipher, and piece together the completed canon of Scripture. Many tedious years of hard work lay ahead.

THE ART OF WRITING

    There are many avenues of approach to our study of canonicity. Let’s begin with the one that was absolutely necessary for man to record and thus preserve God’s thoughts and words for all future generations—the subject of writing.

The History of Writing

    Writing did not come into existence by one stroke of the pen of a genius—it has a history in which there are many factors and stages. The first factor is the symbol of the alphabet; second, the word; third, the sentence. The symbols of the alphabet represent sounds; the word is a representation of an idea, and the sentence represents a thought.

    The first stage of writing was the pictograph—man’s earliest attempt to register and communicate his thoughts in written form. He used pictures to depict objects. For example, in the Hebrew language the letter א (aleph) is the sign of an ox; ב (bet) represents a house; ג (gimmel) stands for camel; ד (dalet) for door; and so on. Originally, these and other letters of the Hebrew alphabet stood for pictographic concepts.

    The next stage in the history of writing was the ideograph. The ideograph is a picture of an idea. The Chinese language, for example, uses thousands of ideographic characters. Let me illustrate: There is one symbol that stands for a “house.” Add to it the symbol that stands for “two women,” and you get the word for “trouble.” This is called an ideograph.

    In the third stage of writing we have the phonogram in which a symbol represents a sound. Actually, there are three kinds of phonogram: a word phonogram, a syllable phonogram, and a letter phonogram. In a word phonogram, a symbol stands for the entire word, and this requires an alphabet of about two or three thousand symbols. In a syllable phonogram, a symbol stands for a syllable. This type of phonogram was used in cuneiform writing. Cuneiform is the wedge-shaped inscription of the ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. A syllable phonogram calls for an alphabet of some four or five hundred syllables, while the third type, the letter phonogram, requires about twenty to thirty letters.

    All of the original languages of the Word of God are constructed on a letter phonogram or, as we would call it, an alphabet. The Hebrew, the Chaldean, the Aramaic, and the Greek languages are alphabetical languages. You may have seen their letters from time to time and perhaps are familiar with them. All these types of writing can be seen in the archaeological materials that have been recovered, many of which date back before 2500 B.C.

The Materials for Writing

    Discoveries to date indicate that the earliest writing materials were stone and chisels. Archaeologists have located and excavated pillars and stones of various types. Among the most famous is the Behistun Rock from western Persia (modern Iran), which gave us the key to cuneiform writing.

    In 1868, the Moabite Stone was discovered east of the River Jordan by a German missionary named Klein. Near Dibon he came across what looked like a black basalt tombstone, half-buried in the sand. He dismounted and curiously examined the engraved inscriptions. They appeared to be older than anything he had ever seen; hurriedly, he scratched away the sand. When he looked up, he was surrounded by a group of local Bedouins. They insisted that this was their stone and that they would not part with it. Klein offered to buy the stone from them, but they named a ridiculous sum far beyond his means. So Klein left for Germany to try to raise the money he needed.

    In the meantime, a French scholar, Clermont-Ganneau, heard of the stone. He rushed to the site and copied the writings. It turned out to be the oldest piece of Hebrew literature ever to be found, and it told the story of Second Kings, chapter 3. The French Government immediately provided the money, and Clermont-Ganneau rushed back to the site. The stone was gone! The Bedouins, in their greed for an even higher price, had smashed the stone into small pieces. The French scholar now had to locate the rock fragments and try to piece them together with the help of the copy he had made on his first trip. Today, the reconstructed stone is in the Louvre.

    Another of these stones, the Rosetta Stone, is a basalt tablet that was discovered by Napoleon’s archaeologists in 1799 near Rosetta, Egypt. That tablet held the key to Egyptian hieroglyphics and is now located in the British Museum. Although Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt produced no territorial gains for France, it certainly was a boost for archaeology.

    The second medium for writing was clay. Several forms of clay tablets were in use—cylinders, octagonal cylinders, and small flat tablets, which could be carried easily from place to place by merchants. These clay tablets were smoothed out perfectly and written on while still wet. A sharpened stick or an ivory stylus was used to make an impression on the clay, and then the clay was baked in the sun. Many of these writings have lasted for over 4,500 years and have been beautifully preserved for us.

    Another writing material, which is even mentioned in the Bible, is lead (Job 19:24). Some ancient writings on lead are still extant. Other metals used, primarily in the times of the Graeco-Roman world, were gold, silver, and bronze. Several of these are also in existence today, as are some ivory tablets that came to us from Africa and Arabia.

    The Romans, the Egyptians, and the Etruscans all did some writing on linen. Here, too, some of these documents are preserved to this day. As far as the Old and the New Testaments are concerned, however, these were written on either papyrus, vellum, or parchment.

    Papyrus, from which we get the word “paper,” was the most expensive of the three. It was handmade from an Egyptian reed called papyrus. The pith of the plant was made into strips that formed a very durable type of writing material. At the time of the writing of the New Testament, papyrus was widely used. Undoubtedly Paul, Peter, James, and the other writers used papyrus for the autograph of the New Testament.

    Vellum is a very fine type of skin, which was used by the writers of antiquity. It was primarily made from the skins of calves and antelopes. Parchment, a less expensive substitute for vellum, originated in the Greek town of Pergamon from which it got its Latin name pergamentum. It was made from goat or sheep skins that had been prepared and then polished with a pumice stone. Like papyrus, both vellum and parchment were written on with pen and ink. These skins were so durable that the writing could be erased and the skins used over and over again. Were it not for a relatively recent discovery of science that permits us to trace the original writings, many an irreplaceable document would have been completely lost to us.

    The inks of the ancient world were manufactured from soot, lamp black, and gum, which had to be diluted with water. They were permanent, and came in five colors: black (the most commonly used), red, green, blue, and yellow. Some of our inked records are over three thousand years old, yet the ink is as good now as it was at the time of writing. I doubt that any of our present-day inks will be as legible three thousand years from now.

    Probably the greatest pen of antiquity was the calamus. Ingeniously designed, it took its name from a hollow reed. This reed was cut long-stemmed and apparently had a little vacuum system through which the ink was pulled. It might well have been the forerunner of our fountain pens. One end of the reed was sharpened to a fine point and was kept sharp for writing by means of a small knife, which every scholar carried with him for that purpose. Incidentally, we get the English word “penknife” from its similar use in mending quill pens.

    In the British Isles, writing on wood or bark became very common. The Anglo-Saxon word for bark is boc. Although Anglo-Saxon and English are not the same language, it is from the Anglo-Saxon word boc that we got our English word “book.” As the art of writing developed, wax tablets were eventually used, especially for the purpose of recording various types of legal transactions.

    Then paper was invented by the Chinese around the second century A.D. It was introduced to Arabia about the eighth century, but was not used in the Western world until the tenth century. At first, paper was not utilized in connection with the Bible. By the thirteenth century a paper mill had been built in Germany and when Gutenberg invented movable type printing in 1450, paper came into its own. It was discovered that by means of the printing press and paper, books could be produced cheaply and in quantity; so paper was here to stay.

    Writing has come a long way since the days of the early pictographs, and it has been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. This is indeed true where the written Word of God is concerned.

For the word of God is quick [alive], and powerful [in its operating energy], and sharper [more cutting] than any twoedged sword. (Heb. 4:12a)

FOUR TYPES OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS

    Ancient manuscripts are classified into four groups. The oldest of these are the uncial manuscripts on vellum or parchment. They are written in all capital letters with no punctuation or spaces between words or sentences, or even paragraphs. The syntax (sentence structure) alone is the basis of all punctuation. An Anglicized version of an uncial manuscript would look like this: FORGODSOLOVEDTHEWORLDTHATHEGAVE, etc.

    The second type of manuscript is called the minuscule. It dates back to the tenth century A.D. You can always tell a minuscule manuscript by its semi-uncial script. This script was developed by monks during the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries and consisted of lowercase cursive letters, which now form the basis of our modern small Roman or Greek letters.

    Third, we have the lectionaries. They are so named because of the Bible passages they contain and the purpose they served. For example, suppose a pastor in one of the early churches wanted to read Romans 5:1-12. He would copy that portion of the Word from either the original text, from a Latin copy, or some other ancient language. He would then insert this passage in his order of service. Maybe in the middle of his message he wanted to cover Hebrews 4:1-3; he would have copied that down, too. Perhaps he wished to close with still another verse, so that verse also went into his lesson. The grouping of such Bible passages appointed for reading in worship services became known as lectionaries. Since many of these lectionaries are by far more ancient than the manuscripts presently available to us, they are of great help in determining the text of the original wording of Scripture.

    The fourth type of manuscript was simply called the papyri. This very delicate paper was too brittle to be folded but could be rolled into scrolls. Fortunately, little deterioration occurred when this material was stored in very hot and dry climates; well-preserved papyri has been found that dates prior to A.D. 200.

CODEX SINAITICUS

    We owe much of our knowledge of the Scriptures to a brilliant nineteenth-century German scholar, who spent his life piecing together the original New Testament. At the age of nineteen, young Count Konstantin von Tischendorf amazed his professors with his fluent knowledge of the classical languages and dialects of antiquity. Seven years later, he was appointed lecturer at the University of Leipzig. The following year, he published a new edition of the Greek New Testament.

    In the spring of 1844, Tischendorf took a trip to the Near East. In the course of his travels, he journeyed to the Sinaitic Peninsula in search of an old monastery that had been hewn from the rock on the side of Mount Sinai. Since there were no hotels or motels in those days, travelers often spent the night in monasteries. When Tischendorf arrived at the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine’s, he was welcomed warmly by the Russian monks.

    After a pleasant meal and a visit with the prior, Tischendorf presented his letter of introduction. He was then given a grand tour of the grounds and buildings and taken to the library. Tischendorf was disappointed by what he saw, but he kept on digging through piles of dusty parchments. Then in a small room near the library he saw a large wastebasket filled to the rim with what looked like ancient vellum. The contents of the wastebasket had been consigned to the fireplace—some of which would contribute to the warmth of his room for that night. Tischendorf was aghast at the thought. Here, if his eyes did not deceive him, was something of real value. Quickly he started going through the papers. Was there more of this kind of material around? If so, would they bring it to him that he might examine it? This is how Tischendorf discovered the 129 pages of what is today known as the Codex Sinaiticus, or the Codex Aleph.

    Unhappily, Tischendorf did not ‘play poker’ well. His face lit up in such a way that the monks knew he had found something priceless in those wastebaskets. So he had to tell them of his discovery of a manuscript that possibly dated back to the second century. Would they let him have it? Immediately the attitude of the monks changed; the answer was no. Tischendorf could not take the papers with him, but he would be permitted to stay on and take some notes. Tischendorf did more than that; he copied the manuscript. In the end, after prolonged bargaining, he was allowed to take 43 of the 129 pages he had found.

    Almost fourteen years would pass before all the negotiations for the transfer of this and other priceless ancient documents—among them the Epistle of Barnabas—were concluded. England’s interest in the manuscripts was made known. The monks were shocked. What, sell their precious papers to English heretics? They would rather give them to Russia—on loan, of course. Triumphantly, and with the full backing of Russia, Tischendorf carried off his prize for further study. He published his findings in 1862. Codex Sinaiticus is still one of the finest and most accurate texts available to us today, and it became the basis of many revisions and corrections of earlier editions of the Bible.

    Years passed. Then in 1933, the Russian Communists decided they had no need of Bibles, old or new, so they sold Codex Sinaiticus to Great Britain for 100,000 pounds sterling. The crumpled pages were restored and bound in two volumes and placed in the British Museum. Later they were photostatically reproduced and the copies sent to libraries throughout the world.

CODEX VATICANUS

    With Tischendorf’s findings made available to the scholars of the world, a new interest in ancient manuscripts was kindled. Someone remembered his history and wondered what had become of the old manuscripts that Napoleon’s scholars had discovered in the Vatican library when the Pope had been captured.

    Actually, Codex Vaticanus, also known as Codex B, was known to be some fifteen years older than Codex Sinaiticus (Codex Aleph). Vaticanus dated back to A.D. 325 or 350, and had probably been brought from the East by Pope Nicholas in 1448. Until the Napoleonic Wars, the manuscript had been hidden from the outside world. In 1809, when Napoleon exiled the Pope to Avignon (later to Savona), it took about fifty wagons to transport the Pope’s library. With the fall of Napoleon in 1815, the papers were returned to the Vatican before anyone had a chance to examine them carefully. Once more in the Vatican library, they were jealously guarded by the Roman Catholics.

    Tregelles, another great scholar and friend of Tischendorf’s, decided to investigate the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican library. He applied to the Pope for permission to examine the manuscript and was promptly refused. When he explained that he was a professor of New Testament literature at Leipzig University, the Pope gave permission for Tregelles to study the manuscript for six hours only. That was in the year 1843. Twenty years later, Tischendorf was permitted to examine the manuscript for some days, six hours at a time. Of course, he had to submit to stringent security measures. He was searched on his way in and on his way out. He could bring no writing materials and could take no notes. The manuscript was laid out on a large table and he could read it for no longer than the time specified. Furthermore, there would be guards watching him all the time he was reading.

    Tischendorf agreed to the Pope’s ground rules. He was searched as he went in and out; no scrap of paper or writing tool was ever found on him. Tischendorf memorized a portion of the text each day, not only in the Greek but also in Hebrew and Aramaic! Since he was a genius in all three languages, this presented no problem. When he returned home, he would sit down and write out that part of Scripture he had memorized. The next day he would go back to the Vatican to master the next portion of the Word. This went on for the summer holidays, and in three months Tischendorf had memorized the entire text of Codex Vaticanus. This was one of the greatest memory feats of all time!

    Upon his return to Leipzig, Tischendorf published the results of his finding. So close was his text to the original, that Pope Pius IX ordered the Vatican manuscript photographed in 1859. In that way it became public property for the world at large. Codex Vaticanus is still one of our most valuable manuscripts of the Word of God.

CODEX ALEXANDRINUS

    A third very interesting manuscript, which very few people knew about, is the Codex Alexandrinus. This Greek language manuscript had been written about A.D. 450 in Alexandria, Egypt. Apparently no one paid any attention to it in the years that followed. In 1621, when Cyril Lucar became the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, he transferred the manuscript to Constantinople.

    Lucar had succumbed to the influence of Calvinistic teaching, and was corresponding with leading churchmen in the Western world. That’s how he learned of England’s keen interest in ancient biblical manuscripts. So, when the British ambassador, Thomas Roe, was scheduled to return home, Lucar sent with him the manuscript as a gift to King Charles I. The beautiful document, Codex Alexandrinus, was presented at court in 1627, just fifteen years after the King James Version of the Bible had been completed. What a pity that it had come so late, because this very ancient manuscript would have helped immensely in the correct rendition of the English text.

EPHRAEMI RESCRIPTUS

    It is fascinating to learn what happened to some of the great libraries of the past and to trace their disposition throughout history. For example, we know that Cleopatra was very fond of reading and that Marc Antony was extraordinarily fond of Cleopatra. When he heard of her love for books, Marc Antony took his army to one of the great libraries of Asia Minor. There he ‘liberated’ 400,000 volumes of literature and took them down to Egypt as a gift for Cleopatra. An act like this would be tantamount to the Library of Congress being stolen and moved to another country. Many of the great libraries of the ancient world have disappeared, and we know of their existence only because history has recorded it for us.

    It is equally interesting to discover that some ancient manuscripts, thought to be lost, were eventually recovered. One of these is known to us as the Ephraemi Rescriptus, or Codex C. This recovery in the sixteenth century involved Catherine de Medici, who was as ambitious as she was clever. Catherine was a member of the colorful Italian family that had risen from obscurity to immense wealth and fame. Over a period of nearly three hundred years, the Medicis had made a name for themselves, which ran the gamut from popes to poisoners to patrons of the arts. They had affiliated themselves with the great houses of Europe through marriage, and Catherine had become the wife of King Henry II of France. She bore him four sons who eventually, through her constant manipulations, became kings.

    Catherine de Medici was an avid, if somewhat superficial reader, who treasured her books and took them wherever she went. Among her favorites were the sermons of a Syrian theologian, Father Ephraem. When Catherine died, her books went to the French National Library in Paris. They were stacked away and ignored for a long time—245 years to be exact.

    In 1834, a student of theology decided to write a thesis on the sermons of Father Ephraem. He went to the French National Library and asked permission to check out some of the Medici books. He was told that they could not be removed from the premises, since the collection had great historic value; however, he was permitted to examine the books. While he was reading, the light fell on the page in such a way that indentations in the vellum were visible. What appeared to the student as so many indentations were, in fact, inscriptions made prior to those of Father Ephraem. What actually had happened was that in 1553, when Father Ephraem wanted to record his sermons, paper was very scarce and hard to obtain. He found some used vellum in an ancient Syrian monastery and simply erased the writing. True, the indentations were still there, but his own sermons could be written over them. Without realizing it, Father Ephraem had erased one of the finest of all Bible manuscripts in order to write his own sermons!

    Immediately, the alert student became far more interested in what Father Ephraem had erased than in what he had written. Through the use of chemicals, the original manuscript was restored. We call this type of manuscript a palimpsest, meaning it was erased and written over. This particular one became known as Ephraemi Rescriptus; in other words, Ephraem wrote over it. Since its discovery, the manuscript has been removed from the Medici stacks of literature and placed where it belongs—in the Bible stacks at the library in Paris.

THE PAPYRI

The Oxyrhynchos Manuscripts

    Archaeological findings have provided us with additional priceless manuscripts of the past. About 1900, Oxford University professors, Dr. Grenfell and Dr. Hunt, went to Oxyrhynchos in Upper Egypt, west of the Nile. They were searching for ancient treasures and trinkets of silver and gold that lay buried in the tombs. During the course of their excavations of the one-time provincial capital, they came upon a tremendous hall filled with stuffed, mummified crocodiles. They were baffled and disappointed; they had expected to find priceless art treasures and jewels in the great chamber, not two thousand stuffed crocodiles! Possibly on the other side of the chamber they would find what they were looking for—and indeed they did. They recovered many valuable artifacts which are still in British museums today, estimated to be worth millions of dollars. This find can scarcely be compared, however, to their discovery of far greater riches—a discovery that came about quite by accident.

    To reach the other side of the great chamber, the crocodiles had to be moved out of the way. It was a tedious job, but it paid off handsomely. When one of the native workers stumbled and fell, the crocodile he was carrying hit a sharp rock and broke open. Dr. Grenfell’s eyes widened in amazement at what he saw: Inside that crocodile were papyri! Upon investigation, they found inside the crocodile mummies an entire library of the ancient world—not just one, but many different kinds of manuscripts. These included some biblical manuscripts from the second century—practically the same time of the autograph of the New Testament Scriptures. Here also were grammar and etymology books that led to further discoveries of principles involved in the syntax and grammar of the koine Greek,8 which we still use today. The Oxyrhynchos Papyri can be seen in museums in both Egypt and Britain. However, all the studies concerned with those papyri have never really been completed.

The Chester Beatty Papyri

    There was increasing excitement over the discovery of papyri and everyone began searching for them. Countless small hills and sand dunes were dug up, and many turned out to be only rubbish heaps of the past, which contained bits of slates, vases, broken pottery—reminders of a life long ago. The Arabs, not to be outdone, began their own treasure hunt. They carried off many valuable treasures and peddled these to any and all buyers. So, here and there, fragments of biblical writings turned up. Among these was an ancient Jewish temple library of the seventh century B.C., discovered at Elephantine, Egypt, during the years 1906 to 1908.

    Another great discovery came on November 19, 1931, when the Chester Beatty Papyri were found. Chester Beatty was a millionaire from Philadelphia who made a tour of Palestine and Egypt. He had heard that some Old Testament papyri in Greek were being offered for sale. Even though the price was exorbitant, Beatty paid it immediately. He then turned the entire collection of documents over to two scholars, F. G. Kenyon and H. A. Sanders. A detailed study of these second and third-century papyri revealed some of the missing papers of the Codex Sinaiticus, portions of Paul’s Epistles and the four Gospels. The ‘haul’ was well worth the price he had paid. This collection is now housed at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Work of Deissmann

    The ever-increasing supply of newly recovered papyri furnished abundant material for research and evaluation by knowledgeable philologists. We owe much to a group of very famous German scholars who, under the leadership of Adolph Deissmann, shed new light on the language of the New Testament. His studies clarified the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of the koine Greek.9 Light from the Ancient East, translated from the German, is a fascinating book on this subject and contains some of Deissmann’s findings.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

    In 1947, a fifteen-year-old Bedouin boy followed a goat that had strayed. When he casually threw a pebble into the cleft of a rock, he was startled at the sound of breaking pottery. Later he returned with a friend to explore the cave. Here they stumbled upon several earthenware jars that contained dirty, musty-smelling parchment. What seemed like an accidental find turned out to be biblical manuscripts antedating the oldest known Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament by one thousand years. This included the complete book of Isaiah. It would take many years and a small fortune to acquire these scrolls from the Arab black market, and even more patience to piece them together and to decipher. There could be no doubt, however, the scrolls were genuine. In the following years, many additional caches were located, including the main library of the Essenes, a Jewish sect. The Dead Sea Scrolls were named after the area in which they had been found.

    What do these discoveries prove to us? That God provided for the preservation and the recovery of His written message, the canon of Scripture.

THE NEED FOR THE CANON

    Why does the believer need a canon of Scripture? Why were the various portions of the divinely inspired Word of God collected and bound into a book called the Holy Bible? Let’s consider four reasons why there was a very definite need for the Canon.

    First, so that believers in every generation might have complete revelation from God. They need to understand the predesigned plan of God,10 the dispensation11 in which they live, their relationship to the angelic conflict,12 as well as many other principles of doctrine. To operate in the devil’s world, believers must have a norm or standard of absolute authority.

    When it comes to absolutes, no ordinary human being can speak with authority—no matter what title or office you may give him. Every human being has some area of limitation because he possesses a sin nature.13 No matter how capable he may be or how excellent his judgment, there cannot be absolute authority vested in any individual. Absolute authority is a divine prerogative.

    There has been only one member of the human race to whom absolute authority was given—the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18). Because He is absent from the earth and at the right hand of the Father, He must leave behind a standard which carries the same authority with which He spoke during His incarnation. That absolute standard of authority is found only in the Word of God (1 Cor. 2:16).

    The entire Bible is the Word of God! Just remember that our Lord said to His disciples,

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. (John 16:12-13a)

So rest assured that the New Testament Epistles carry the same weight as those words which the Lord spoke in person. They are addressed to you and to me.

    Second, a Canon was necessary so that people might have God’s Word in writing. Whether you realize it or not, you happen to be one of the generations of believers who has in your possession the greatest treasure of all time—the completed canon of Scripture! There is nothing more rewarding and profitable than to go ‘prospecting’ in the Word of God. In addition to Bible doctrine, the Word contains thousands of promises to which God has put His signature. All are guaranteed by the very essence of God, and you and I have them in writing.

    This has not always been the case, since revelation from God in the past dispensations came to man in other ways. Since the completion of the canon of Scripture in A.D. 96, all extrabiblical revelation has ceased. Today, if anyone claims that God speaks to him in a dream or trance, he is out of line; God speaks to us only through His Word. Therefore, in order to learn, understand, and apply God’s Word, Bible doctrine must be taught exegetically, categorically, and isagogically. God made every provision necessary for our assimilation of the content of the divine textbook.14 Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, that Book should become your manual for living. So you see, there should be no such thing as a drab, depressing, miserable existence for any believer. Life should have meaning, purpose, and definition; God has a special plan for you. Everything that you will ever need in life for inner peace and happiness, for blessing and strength and stability is found in the completed canon of Scripture. There is no substitute for Bible doctrine or for positive volition toward it on your part.

    Third, there was a need for the preservation and circulation of the sacred writings. For example, in A.D. 320, the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered the destruction of all sacred books of the Christians. Although Diocletian was not aware of it, his persecutions acted as a catalyst to precipitate the necessary settlement of a grave dispute. Theologians had been arguing over the inclusion of James, Hebrews, and Second and Third John into the Canon; but now that controversy had to be resolved in a hurry. The Roman soldiers were on their way to carry out the order, so Christians attempted to determine what was sacred and what was not.

    Fourth, there had to be some norm or criteria for canonicity so that people might know which writings were canonical. The inspired writings had to be protected from the infiltration of non-canonical books. A tremendous mass of literature had appeared in the first three or four centuries, all of which claimed to be authoritative and inspired. Much of this literature was promoted by various cults in an attempt to prove their false theology or heretical ideas. They even went so far as to maintain that some of these were Paul’s lost messages. Something had to be done to determine which books were canonical and which were not canonical.

    After the Roman emperor Constantine became a Christian, he was so eager for doctrine that he ordered fifty copies of the Scriptures for the churches of his new capitol—Constantinople. Again the question: What is Scripture and what is not? This had to be settled once and for all. The scribes began their mammoth task of writing out by hand the fifty copies that the emperor had ordered. The job was completed before Constantine’s death in 337.

THE CRITERIA FOR OLD TESTAMENT CANONICITY

    With the awareness of the need for a Canon, five criteria were agreed upon. On this basis, the inclusion or exclusion of certain books into the Canon was eventually determined.

The Question of Inspiration

    Was the book of divine origin (2 Pet. 1:21)? Every extant book of an acknowledged messenger of God, commissioned by God to make known His will, was immediately accepted as the Word of God.

The Principle of Internal Evidence

    Was its claim to inspiration adequately sustained by the awareness of the writers that this was indeed sacred Scripture? There are certain passages of Scripture that explain this principle of canonicity. For example: Deuteronomy 31:24-26; Joshua 1:8; Judges 3:4; Jeremiah 36.

    Nehemiah 8:1-8 is a critical passage, which presents the facts that the people were taught the Word of God. When Daniel went into captivity, he took with him a copy of the Old Testament as it then existed. By reading the prophecies of Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10, he discovered that Israel had a future. This is brought out by Daniel 9:2, 5-6. Another passage which is especially clear on the first two criteria for canonicity is Zechariah 7:12.

Yes, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

Documentation by Quotation

    The New Testament contains quotations from the Old Testament made by Jesus Christ and others who declared it to be the Word of God. We have many such passages, among them Matthew 22:29, and John 5:39 and 10:35.

The Law of Public Official Action

    This is a historical law that required that public action be taken immediately to solemnly declare a portion of Scripture to be the Word of God. We have an illustration of this in Nehemiah 8:5.

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

    When liberalism, socialism, religiosity, and legalism gain a foothold in a nation, that national entity invariably declines. This pattern of apostasy was followed by the Jews many times, with resultant discipline from God (Lev. 26:14-39). Often military defeat (Deut. 28:25) served to awaken the Jews to a realization of their spiritual status and an awareness of their need for Bible doctrine. The prophets or priests would publicly read and teach the Word of God. To do so, they had to know which books to read on such occasions.

The Law of Cause and Effect

    The cause is the existence of the Canon, and the effect is the recognition of the Canon. The Old Testament books are not canonical because Israel recognized them as such but because they were of divine origin. Inspiration was the mechanics by which they had come into existence, and that is what made certain books canonical. So we might say that canonicity is a recognition of what God has done in the field of communication. Passages like 2 Kings 22—23:2 and Nehemiah 8 are not historical accounts of the ratification of the Canon but the result of the existence of the Canon. In other words, the Canon existed; therefore, it was recognized.

The Principle of External Evidence

    There are also some extrabiblical evidences that led to the completion of the Canon. The year 586 B.C. saw God’s administration of the fifth cycle of discipline to Judah. Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed, and the Jews had gone into the Babylonian captivity (2 Chron. 36:11-21). During their captivity (586-516 B.C.) the Jews realized why they had disintegrated as a nation. This led to a resurgence of the study of Bible doctrine. At last the Jews became aware of the importance of the written Word as a part of their spiritual heritage—so much so, that we have extrabiblical evidence with regard to their consciousness of the Canon as it then existed. There were men like Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who kept reminding the people of the importance of the Scriptures. There were other outstanding leaders like Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel, who led the advance column out of captivity back to Jerusalem. They all recognized that they had the Canon. By the year 425 B.C. all the Old Testament books had been written, and the Old Testament Canon was collected and closed.

    More than that, apparently these same Jewish leaders invented a marvelous system for the preservation of the Canon. They counted every letter in every book. They knew the middle letter of the Canon. Now whenever copies were made of the Scriptures and a scribe arrived at the midpoint of the text, they would check his work by counting the exact number of letters. The same was done upon the completion of the text. As a result, we are assured that the Old Testament we have today is precisely the same as at the time of its original writing.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON

    In content, the Hebrew Old Testament Canon is exactly the same as our Old Testament in the English, but the number of books and their arrangement in the Hebrew Canon is different. We have, first of all, a threefold division of the Canon: the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.

    We’ve already seen that every writer of the Old Testament had the gift of prophecy. Moses, for example, was the unique prophet—the greatest prophet who ever lived—until the coming of Jesus Christ. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. They are called the Torah, or the Pentateuch, and consist of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

    The second group of books in the Old Testament Canon are the Nabhiim, or the Prophets. All of these men had the gift of prophecy, but some were called the former prophets and others the latter prophets. The former prophets preached before the Babylonian Captivity, and the latter prophets preached after the Babylonian Captivity. In the Hebrew Canon, there are eight prophetical books, four in each category. Among the former prophets we have Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. There was no breakdown into First and Second Samuel or First and Second Kings as we have it in the English Bible. Joshua is the human author of the last chapter of Deuteronomy and of the Book of Joshua (with the exception of the last five verses). Samuel wrote Judges and First and Second Samuel. The human author of Kings is anybody’s guess. What matters is the principle of inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16).

    The latter prophets are commonly known as the major and the minor prophets. They are not major or minor in content or importance, but only in length. The three major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Isaiah wrote in classical Hebrew; Jeremiah wrote in everyday Hebrew; and Ezekiel struck a happy medium between the two; yet each one wrote under the principle of inspiration (2 Pet. 1:21).

    The minor prophets, which we divide into twelve separate books, are all one book in the Hebrew Bible, called the Twelve. Apart from the Book of Daniel, the Twelve include everything from Hosea to Malachi.

    It is important that you have some understanding of the arrangement of the books of the Hebrew Canon for this reason: Occasionally Jesus would quote a passage from the Old Testament. He might then say, “As Jeremiah said,” when in reality He was quoting Zechariah. Had Jesus made a mistake? No! Jesus knew what He was saying. He was quoting on the basis of a system that the Jews used for locating a passage. Remember that modern books did not exist in those days; they used scrolls instead. Often a scroll contained more than one book, but the entire scroll was identified by the name of the first book. In our example, it would be called the “Jeremiah Scroll.”

    The third section of the Hebrew Old Testament is called the Kethubim or the Writings. Its writers had only the gift of prophecy but did not hold the office of Prophet. The Writings were divided into three sections: the Poetical Books, the Five Rolls (also called the Megilloth), and the Historical Books.

    There are three books of poetry: Psalms, Proverbs, and Job. The Five Rolls or Megilloth are five separate books, each of which is read at a different feast. The first of these five books is Song of Solomon, always read on the Passover. The Book of Ruth is read on the day of Pentecost. After Ruth came Ecclesiastes, which is read at the Feast of the Tabernacles. Then Esther is read at the Feast of Purim because it contains the origin of that holiday. The last of the Megilloth is Lamentations, also known as The Five Rules. Jeremiah wrote Lamentations in the form of a funeral dirge, on the occasion of the destruction of Jerusalem by the besieging armies of Nebuchadnezzar. As one might expect, Lamentations is read annually on the anniversary of that sad day.

    The three Historical Books are found at the end of the Hebrew Canon: Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah (one book), and Chronicles. As is the case with Samuel and Kings, there is no division of Chronicles into two books in the Hebrew. When we add the number of books in the Hebrew Old Testament, we have only twenty-four books compared to our thirty-nine. Their arrangement of the Canon is better than ours in every way.

THE TESTIMONY OF JOSEPHUS

    The generally accepted date for the completion of the Old Testament Canon is the year 425 or 424 B.C. The fact of its existence was recognized by the Jews but blatantly denied by a bombastic character by the name of Apion. He flatly declared that there was no such thing as the sacred Scriptures. I don’t know what believers of his time did about this attack on the Word of God, but I do know what one unbeliever did—he came to the defense of Scripture promptly and in no uncertain terms.

    Flavius Josephus was an unbeliever. By race he was a Jew; by mannerism, adoption, and citizenship he was a Roman; and by profession he was an outstanding soldier and eminent historian. From the time that Josephus had been promoted to the rank of a Roman general, he was pro-Roman all the way. Yet for all this, he simply could not let this scurrilous accusation against the validity of the Canon go without a formal objection. He sat down and refuted Apion’s claim, point by point, in a book called Contra Apion.

    Keep in mind that Josephus was an unbeliever; he was not emotionally involved and therefore could write clearly, objectively, and concisely on this matter. He had one passion in life—accurate presentation of history. He once said that a historian should record the facts of history without interpreting the facts. He must report accurately what was said, what was done, what was expressed. So, while Josephus had little or no love for his own people, the Jews, he could not let Apion get away with historical inaccuracy.

    In Contra Apion, Josephus describes the sacred books of the Jews. He states that the time during which these books were written extended from Moses to Artaxerxes I, who reigned from 465 to 424 B.C. Furthermore, he demonstrates that there never was a time that the Jews did not accept this text as the Word of God. Canonicity was, in fact, a definite part of Jewish history. He further states that nothing was ever added to the Canon after the death of Artaxerxes in 424 B.C.; the line of prophets had ceased to exist, and no one dared make any addition, subtraction, or alteration to the canon of Scripture.

    But make no mistake. Josephus was not personally interested in defending the Canon, but only in proving historically the existence of the Canon. And so, quite unintentionally, an unbeliever provided us with reliable extrabiblical documentation of how the Canon was completed and recognized—hence, of its existence.

THE DEMAND FOR THE SEPTUAGINT

    In the centuries following the Babylonian captivity, many changes took place for the Jews. The Persian Empire, which had been favorably inclined toward the Jews, collapsed. Alexander the Great extended his conquests. He, too, was pro-Semitic, and the Jews prospered during his reign and under his successors, the Ptolemies.

    At that time the largest group of Jews in the world had settled at Alexandria in Egypt. The city had been founded by Alexander the Great, and the Ptolemies had made it their capital. They loved books and collected them. During their dynasty, they had built one of the finest universities of the ancient world in Alexandria, the Museion, which contained an immense library. Alexandria was the home of many brilliant Greek philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, and writers. No wonder the city became a great center of learning and culture. It was here that the first translation of the Hebrew Canon was made.

    By the year 280 B.C., the large Jewish community at Alexandria had been influenced by Greek culture to such an extent that its citizens had adopted the Hellenistic Greek of Alexander the Great as their own language. They could no longer read the Scriptures in the original Hebrew. (Hellenistic Greek was the transitional Greek between the classical Attic Greek and the koine Greek of the New Testament.) True, they still tried to adhere to the legal code and observe their holy days, but now they clamored for a translation of the Holy Scriptures into Greek.

    This required real experts. By traditional account, seventy-two Alexandrian Hebrew scholars gathered together and produced an amazingly accurate translation from the manuscripts in their possession. It was named in their honor and memory the Septuagint, or the Seventy, after the number of translators. The Septuagint was then circulated among the Greek-speaking Jews. It was also widely used in Palestine during the incarnation of Jesus and in the time of the apostles. So the existence and acceptance of the Septuagint in the year 280 B.C. gives us yet another historical proof of canonicity.

CANONICITY-CONSCIOUSNESS

The Talmud

    The Talmud is not part of the Bible. Completed before the end of the seventh century A.D., the Talmud is a written collection of civil and religious laws of the Jews alongside diverse opinions, commentary, and interpretations put forth by leading rabbis. The word “Talmud” comes from the Hebrew word, לָמַד (lamad), meaning “to teach.” Picture it as a quarterly magazine with hundreds of rabbis as contributors. Many of these rabbis were unbelievers, but they agreed on one thing—the extent of the Canon. Throughout the Talmud there was always canonicity-consciousness. The rabbis of the Talmud recognized the Hebrew Canon. They identified (though not always accurately) the human writers of each book as follows: