Where does the Bible come from?

Can we trust the Bible? Why should we believe that it’s true? These are questions that are often put to Christians, and for which Christians should have a ready answer.

One of the ideas out there today is that a group of church officials at the Council of Nicea (AD 325) arbitrarily chose the books they wanted to put in the Bible, and in the process invented the religion of Christianity. This is the view presented in the Da Vinci Code book and movie. But despite the fact that this book admits to being fictional, many people have accepted it as a fact. So is this what really happened?  Not even close. So what did happen? Where do we get our Bibles from?

The Book of Joel and the Valley of Jehoshaphat

Here’s a video of a recent sermon on the Book of Joel.  Continue below to see the video.

Belshazzar and the Writing on the Wall (Dan. 5)

“He should have seen the writing on the wall!” This expression means there was clear evidence—evidence that was ignored—of a bad or dramatic event about to happen.  The connection with writing on a wall traces all the way back to the Bible. It refers to a miraculous event in the life of Daniel the prophet, an event that preceded one of the most dramatic moments in all of history:  the night the Babylonian Empire was destroyed. This event is recorded not only in the Bible, but in other ancient writings as well.  By putting all these sources together, we get unparalleled insight into one of the greatest turning points in history.  

To understand how important and dramatic this moment was, we need to set the stage with a bit of background.  This took place when the Jewish people were in exile in Babylon, one of the lowest moments in their history.  As it says in the opening verse of Psalm 137:  “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion” (Psa. 137:1).  Their exile meant the end of Israel’s existence as a kingdom, the end of their national sovereignty.   It looked very much like the final chapter in God’s special relationship with the Jewish people.