Facts and Faith

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Facts and Faith

 

STUDIES FOUR

 

F.E. MITCHELL

 

Christadelphian Postal Course About The Bible

 

STUDY ONE

 

THE ROSE-RED CITY

 

To the southeast of the Dead Sea, in the territory now belonging to Jordan, is a strip of country known in Biblical times as the land of Edom. Its history is one more example of the accuracy of the Old Testament prophecy. The Edomites and the Israelites belonged to the same stock, the one people being descended from Esau, the son of Isaac, and the other from Jacob, Esau’s younger brother. It will be remembered that there was strife between Esau and Jacob, because Jacob by means of a trick, gained the blessing which their father Isaac intended for Esau.

 

When the Israelites had escaped from Egypt and were moving towards Canaan, they ignored the ancient quarrel and courteously asked permission to pass through Edom, promising to do no damage. Their request was angrily refused and the Edomite army prepared to attack the travelers. The Israelites did not press their request and, avoiding the territory of Edom, prevented an armed conflict (Numbers 20:14-20).

 

From that time forward, especially after the Israelites had conquered the land of Canaan and occupied it, the Edomites were always thorns in their flesh. Whenever Israel was weak, Edom seized the chance to attack them. In the words of the Jewish prophet, Amos, Edom “did pursue his brother with the sword and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever” (Amos 1:11).

 

Edom was sometimes called Idumea. On its eastern side was the mighty range of Mount Seir, like a great wall, and this name is also used to describe the country. Its most important city was Sela, a rock fortress of great strength. This was later known as Petra “the rose red city, half as old as time”. It stood in the bed of a rocky gorge and many of its buildings were hewn from the rocks, which are rose-colored. Caravans came from the east and south from Egypt, Palestine and Syria, and en­riched the country. Another important city was Bozrah.

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PROPHECY

 

Several Jewish prophets made predictions of the fate of Edom. The prophet Jeremiah, in part of a long discourse wrote, “Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord ... For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste and a curse, and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes ... O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord, and Edom shall become a desolation” (Jeremiah 49:1-22).

 

The prophet Obadiah said, “The house of Esau (the Edomites) shall be for stubble and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it” (Obadiah 18). The prophet Ezekiel wrote, “Thus saith the Lord, Behold O mount Seir, I am against thee and I will stretch out mine hand against thee and I will make thee most desolate and I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity ... I will cut off from it (mount Seir) him that passeth through and him that returneth, and I will fill his mountains with his slain” (Ezekiel 35).

 

In another prophecy he said, “Thus saith the Lord God, ‘Because Edom hath dealt with the house of Judah by taking vengeance, I will stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and I will make it desolate from Teman’” (Ezekiel 25:12-14).

 

These prophecies pronounce three definite dooms upon Edom. First, its commerce was to be destroyed. None were to pass through or return. Second, the race of Edomites was to pass away; “There shall be none remaining of the house of Esau.” Finally, the country was to be wasted; “I will lay thy cities waste and thou shalt be desolate.”

 

How has time dealt with these predictions?

 

FULFILLMENT

 

For a long period, things continued much as they had been. Even in the time of Jesus, an Edomite, Herod, was on the throne of Israel, and for some 600 years after that time, Edom and Petra were prosperous. But in A.D. 636, Mohammed conquered the country and, though it appears in history for a brief time about A.D. 1300, after that all is silence. It vanishes from history.

 

The prophecies have been completely fulfilled. Commerce long ago departed from Edom. The nation is extinct, and no descendants of the Edomites can now be identified. Petra is now “an abandoned city of stone, an inhuman deadness of nature, a ghostly waste.” God spoke through His prophets and He has made good His word.

 

There is one most remarkable fulfilment of prophecy: Through the prophet Ezekiel, God said, “I will make it (Edom) desolate from Teman.” One town in Edom has escaped general desolation. This is Maan, on its east side. It has some springs and is the route taken by Mohammedan pilgrims when going to Mecca. Maan is the ancient Teman and from there and beyond all is waste.

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STUDY TWO

 

DAVID AND GOLIATH

 

One of the greatest stories in the world is how a shepherd boy com­paratively unarmed, was able to defeat and kill a fully-armed giant. In ancient times it sometimes happened that battles were largely decided by a single fight between a champion from either side. In such cases the side whose champion was killed so lost heart that they were easy victims for their enemies.

 

An event of this kind is described in the Bible. The Israelites were at war with the Philistines and a critical battle was about to be fought. The armies were assembled on two facing hillsides, with a valley called the valley of Elah between them. Before, however, the fight began a Philistine champion appeared. The Bible describes him, “There went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span (about 9 ft.) and he had an helmet of brass upon his head and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was four thousand shekels of brass and he had greaves of brass upon his legs and a target, or javelin of brass (slung) between his shoulders, and the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron” (1 Samuel 17:4-7). This fearsome figure threw out a challenge to the Israelites, “Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and kill me, then will we be your servants, but if I prevail against him and kill him, then ye shall be our servants.”

 

TRUSTING IN GOD

 

This defiance spread alarm among the Israelites, since no one felt able to meet it. It so happened, however, that a young shepherd named David was bringing provisions to his brothers who were in the army. During his visit the giant’s challenge was repeated. David heard it and was astonished that a people who professed to be the people of God should be so terrified. In spite of all protests, mostly in view of his youth, he insisted on accepting the challenge. Refusing all armor, he went out with only a sling and stones. Goliath ridiculed this apparently feeble opposition; but David trusting entirely in God, let loose a stone which hit the giant between the eyes, and felled him. When he was stunned, David rushed forward, drew the Philistine’s own sword and killed him. The Philistines, aghast at what had happened, fled in confusion and the Israelites were victorious.

 

For the purpose of our demonstration of Bible truth, one apparently unimportant fact emerges from the Bible account. Goliath was an inhab­itant of the Philistine city of Gath.

 

Many years before, the Israelites, having escaped from captivity in Egypt, went through the wilderness in the region of Mount Sinai and came to the border of the land of Canaan, or Palestine, proposing to invade and conquer it. Before attempting the task, however, they thought it wise to send out spies to ascertain the strength of the enemy. Twelve were sent, but they came back with a mixed report. They were all agreed that the country was well worth conquering, but ten of them said that the opposing forces were too strong. They said, “The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof (i.e., they destroy each other in fighting) and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:32,33)

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COWED BY THE GIANTS

 

The remaining two agreed as to the strength of the foe, but said that if they had confidence in God they could conquer the land, giants or no giants. Unfortunately, the majority opinion prevailed and the planned invasion was abandoned. For their lack of faith, the Israelites were con­demned by God to wander in the desert for forty years until the cowardly generation had died out, with the exception of the two who had not been afraid.

 

Forty years later, one of the two, Joshua, was able to undertake the invasion, with successful results. The victory is thus described in the Bible, “And at that time came Joshua and cut off the Anakims (giants) from Hebron, from Debir, from Anak and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel Joshua destroyed them with their cities. There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath and in Ashdod did some remain. And Joshua took the whole land.” (Joshua 11:21-24 Revised Version)

 

One of the only three cities in which the giants survived was Gath and when, at a later date, the Philistine giant, Goliath, went in his vain attempt to “defy the armies of the living God” he came from that city. Here is an incidental indication of the accuracy of the Bible.

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STUDY THREE

 

MANY THOUSANDS FED

 

One of the most remarkable miracles of Jesus was the feeding of five thousand men, besides women and children, possibly ten thousand in all, from five loaves and two fishes. All the writers of the four Gospels describe the events. The Gospels were all written separately at different times and in different places, and it is most interesting to see when putting the four accounts together how they explain and confirm each other.

 

Jesus was so pressed by the crowds that followed him and his disciples that they could scarcely find time to eat, and so he suggested to his friends that they should go into a desert place to find peace. The crowd, however, was not to be put off and they followed him in great numbers. Jesus was not angry but began to teach the people about the Kingdom of God, and healed many sick people (Luke 9:11). This seems to have gone on for a long time, until the crowd began to get hungry. The disciples wanted Jesus to send them away so that they might buy food, but the Lord had feeling for them and proposed to feed them himself. Only five loaves and two small fishes could be found, but Jesus miraculously used these to feed all present and even after this had been done twelve baskets full of left­overs were taken up.

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COLLECTING THE FACTS

 

Now let us collect the information given by the four writers. Three of them, Matthew, Mark and Luke, say that the miracle took place in a desert place. Mark says there were many coming and going but does not explain why (Mark 6:31). John, however, explains in his account that at that time, “the passover, a feast of the Jews was nigh” (John 6:4). The feast was attended by Jews from all over the world and on one occasion it was attended by nearly 2,600,000 people. So there would be great crowds moving about. The place where Jesus was before he sought refuge from the crowds was in the neighborhood of Capernaum through which the high road from the north to Jerusalem passed and so, large numbers of people would be traveling down it at Passover time. The desert place, to which Jesus and his disciples went was some distance from Capernaum and it would be an effort for the crowds to follow him. Nevertheless, follow him they did.

 

Luke tells us (Luke 9:10) that the desert place was near the city of Bethsaida and this fact enables us to make another link with what was written by John. When Jesus had decided to feed the multitude, he turned to one of his disciples named Philip and said, “Whence can we buy bread that they may eat?” (John 6:5) Jesus knew what he was going to do and only asked Philip “to prove him,” that is, to see what he would say. Philip was astonished, and all he could say was, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little.” The disciple Andrew, however, had seen a boy with the loaves and fishes in the crowd and his watchfulness provided the basis for the miracle. Apart from the desire of Jesus to prove Philip, there was another reason why the Lord asked him the question. We have already noticed that the desert place was near Bethsaida and we learn from an earlier statement of John (1:44) that Philip was a native of Bethsaida and would be likely to know the places in the neighborhood where bread could be bought.

 

Matthew, Mark and John all state that the crowds sat down on the grass when they were eating what Jesus had provided. Mark says that the grass was green (Mark 6:39), while John says that there was much grass (John 6:10). These statements are in agreement with the statement that the miracle took place at Passover time when the grass would be plenty and green.

 

Finally, Mark, Luke and John state that 5,000 men were fed, leaving the position open as regards women and children. Matthew gives full information, saying that women and children were also present.

 

All these details, small in themselves, given by men writing in­dependently of each other, show clearly that the Bible record is true.

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WHO SMOTE THEE?

 

When Jesus was arrested by his enemies, he was roughly handled. One of these outrages is recorded by Matthew. He writes, “Then did they spit in his face and buffeted him, and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?” (Matthew 26:67)

 

At first sight the request to Jesus seems a foolish one. He may not have known the names of the men who struck him, but he could easily have indicated who they were.

 

Luke, however, writing of the same incident, gives further information which makes the position quite clear. He writes, “And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?”

 

Matthew does not trouble to say that Jesus was blindfolded, but when we have Luke’s fuller account, we realize why it was sensible for the question to be put to the Lord.

 

The two incidents described in this letter indicate how true is the Bible record. The facts given by all the independent writers harmonize completely when the accounts are considered together.

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STUDY FOUR

 

CREATOR OR NO CREATOR

 

Until fairly recent times, the very great majority of Christians, and indeed many non-Christians, believed that the world and the human race was created by God. For the Christian the description of the creation is contained in the first and second chapters of the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. There had always been a few people who did not believe this, but thought that the world had come into existence without any action by God. Some of them did not believe that there is a God at all.

 

The views of the non-believer commenced to become popular towards the middle of the last century, when an English scientist, Charles Darwin, as a result of certain things which he saw when he went on a voyage to some islands off the coast of South America, published a book which described what came to be known as the Theory of Evolution. This theory had to do with the origins of the world and the origin of the various kinds of life, animal and vegetable, which exist on the earth. It stated that many millions of years ago lifeless matter existing on the earth, in a way which has never been proved or even satisfactorily explained, became living as a very very simple form of life. Over the ages this simple form developed or evolved or changed by most gradual states into forms which became more and more complicated. There were small creatures of the sea; then fishes; then reptiles; then birds; then animals and creeping things in­cluding the apes, and finally men. It is said that all this is proved by the discovery of fossils, or remains turned into stone by the passage of time, of the various forms of life dug up from the earth.

 

By a similar form of reasoning largely based upon the rock formations of the earth, it is said that the world was probably originally part of the sun and was cast off into space. It gradually cooled and passed through many stages until it was able to produce vegetation and support life.

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THEORIES VS. GOD’S WORD

 

The first thing to say about these theories is to point out that they rule out any idea of God, and the world and human life are seen to have come into existence not by Divine commandment, but by accident. It is impossible to make the theories agree with the Bible which states that God brought the universe into being by a definite plan and that man and all the other living creatures were created by Him.

 

The theory of evolution is put forward with so much confidence that those who have not studied the matter might think that every stage of development from the simple original form of life to the highly developed forms of life of the present day has been discovered from the remains of the past. This is not so. There are very many wide gaps in the order of descent. A great deal used to be said about the “missing link” between apes and men. All attempts to find the link have failed. One famous American scientist wrote: “The story (of the descent of man) leaves him (the link) stranded and forgotten.”

 

Pictures in books and magazines frequently represent so-called ances­tors of man, but it is not generally realized that these are not representa­tions of full-sized discoveries, but are imaginary figures based on the finding of a tooth or a piece of skull. Imagination plays a great part in them and the reality was probably very different from what is imagined. One imagined figure was based upon a tooth discovered in Nebraska. Later it was found that the tooth once belonged to a kind of pig which had died out.

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OPPOSITION TO EVOLUTION THEORY

 

Although many scientists are believers in the theory of evolution there is a considerable body of experts who do not accept it. Here are some examples: “I am more and more convinced that the Darwin theory of the ascent of man cannot be supported any longer” (Professor W. Wester-hofer). “The entire monkey-ape theory of human descent is a fiction which has been entirely set aside by modern anatomical research” (Professor H. F. Osborn). Anatomy is the study of the human body and its parts. “The conclusion to which we are driven, then, is that the theory of Evolution has not been able to give a scientific ... account. There are gaps ... over which no words ... have been able to build a bridge ... The theory affords a certain plausible explanation of some effects, but when tested at crucial points, it completely fails” (Sir Ambrose Fleming).

 

Even more revealing is the statement of the late D. M. S. Watson of London University. He said, “Evolution itself is accepted ... not because it has been observed to occur, or is supported by logical arguments ... but because no other explanation is credible.” Professor L. T. More of Cin­cinnati University wrote, “Our faith in the idea of evolution depends upon our reluctance to accept the ... doctrine of special creation.”

 

In other words, evolution is true in the opinion of these writers, because creation can’t be true. This is an exceedingly poor attitude for men claim­ing to be scientists.

 

Clearly there is no reason why, because of an unproved theory with many gaps, the believer in God and the Bible should change his faith. Much of the present world-wide violence stems from the Evolution theory. When men believe in God there is some restraint on the things they will do. When they cease to believe in God, as Evolution enables them to do, they feel no moral restraint and seek only their own selfish ends, often by brute force.

 

The words of the Bible state, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “And the Lord made man.”

 

—FEM

 

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