Out of the Abyss: Can the Number of the Beast Be Solved? 666

By Gary Bowers

The Apostle Paul branded him the man of lawlessness. The Prophet Daniel marked him as a little horn, and a king. John, the author of Revelation, stamped him as a scarlet beast. The Apostle John labeled him Antichrist. Many left behind after the Rapture will be amazed and terrified at his mysterious, yet miraculous reappearance.
Who is this troublesome figure that will pervert all that is good and decent and right? Is it possible to solve the number of the Antichrist before he appears? Does the Bible promote or even permit identification of this man of sin who will personify and epitomize the Mystery of Iniquity? Both believers and non-believers have been perplexed and intrigued with these questions for centuries!
This book will propel you on an unforgettable voyage to the ancient Roman world, to the very origin and lair of the beast, to the 1st century Church, to the Abyss and back again, to the preemptive death and eternal destruction of Antichrist, to the mesmerizing visions of John, Daniel, and Zechariah, and to high level heavenly counsels. Out of the Abyss will expose and declassify that which has been concealed and classified. To wit: the secret of the beast presumed to be confidential until the body of Christ is taken from this earth.
You may not agree with where the journey takes you, i.e. with the conclusions reached. But with all his heart and utmost conviction, the author believes you will enjoy the trip. He proposes that, at the very least, you will be fascinated with the relevance and application of Scripture to some of the most astounding events in human history, both past and future. You will take part in and be enthralled with a partial refitting of the prophetic puzzle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449710378

Gary Bowers

Gary Bowers is the author of O Israel, a gripping novel set just before and during the Tribulation. While writing a sequel to this novel, the Lord provided an amazing disclosure from the Book of Revelation. Immediately the book switched to non-fiction, resulting in an extraordinary refitting of the modern prophetic puzzle.

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 Gary Bowers

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated in the text, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Quotations from the New American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1994. Used by permission of The Lockman Foundation.

Dictionary quotations are taken from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, copyright © 2001 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition principal copyright 1993.

Source of New Testament Greek Lexicon and Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon taken from www.studylight.org.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-[phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-1038-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-1039-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-1037-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010942665

Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/08/2011

Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

Revelation 13:18

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I

Chapter 1 SOME PERSONAL MATTERS

Chapter 2 BIBLICAL PROPHECY IS ALIVE AND WELL!

Chapter 3 TRUE TEST OF A PROPHET

Chapter 4 OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES/ NEW TESTAMENT FULFILLMENTS

Chapter 5 FULLFILED PROPHECIES ARE MIRACLES

Chapter 6 A CHALLENGE TO THE MESSIAH

Chapter 7 BIBLICAL NUMBERS

Chapter 8 COVENANTS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Chapter 9 BLESSINGS OR MIRACLES/ YOU DECIDE

Chapter 10 A THOUSAND YEARS IS BUT ONE DAY

Chapter 11 LET’S SUMMARIZE

PART II

Chapter 12 DO OPPOSITES REALLY ATTRACT?

Chapter 13 AN EYE-OPENER FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION

Chapter 14 MORE BIOGRAPHY OF THE BEAST

Chapter 15 THE POWER OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Chapter 16 HOW MANY KINGS ARE THERE?

Chapter 17 IS IT DOOR NUMBER ONE OR DOOR NUMBER TWO?

Chapter 18 WHO IS AS GREAT AS THE BEAST

PART III

Chapter 19 MORE PROOF TO COME

Chapter 20 WHY IS THE WORLD SO AMAZED?

Chapter 21 MAN OF LAWLESSNESS

Chapter 22 A DISCREPANCY IN THE BIBLE? I DON’T THINK SO!

Chapter 23 SATAN’S AGENDA

Chapter 24 THE BOTTOMLESS PIT

Chapter 25 THE FATAL WOUNDS

Chapter 26 NO RESPECT FOR THE GODS OF HIS ANCESTORS

Chapter 27 A BREATHTAKING LOOK AT HISTORY

Chapter 28 THE EARLY CHURCH AND ANTICHRIST

Chapter 29 DON’T SEAL UP THE BOOK

Author’s Explanation Regarding Cited References, Endnotes, or Footnotes

Acknowledgments

To my Savior: For his precious promises, priceless protection, profound patience, and, most of all, for his powerful presence.

To my sister, Marge: For her encouragement and skillful editing of the book, based upon her experience of having read a thousand books or more.

To my children and grandchildren for their love and support, even when I let them down.

Is there anything too hard for the Lord?

Genesis 18:14

Introduction

The apostle Paul branded him the man of lawlessness. The prophet Daniel marked him as a little horn, a ruler, and a king. John, the author of Revelation, stamped him as a scarlet beast. The apostle John labeled him Antichrist.

Many left behind after the Rapture will be amazed at his mysterious, yet miraculous appearance. Not once, but twice, this son of destruction explodes on the scene of history blaspheming the true and living God and Messiah. He deceives those who follow him, and he devours those who oppose him.

Who is this troublesome figure that will pervert all that is good and decent and right? Is it possible to solve the number of the Antichrist before he appears? Does the Bible promote or even permit identification of this man of sin who will personify and epitomize the Mystery of Iniquity? Both believers and non-believers have been perplexed and intrigued with these questions for centuries!

In this book I will share with you some remarkable discoveries concerning the legacy of this depraved human being. In fact, the adjective remarkable may not do justice to the breakthrough. Stunning would be a better description! As a huge beacon slams into the darkest night, and directs the groping ship to safe harbor, I was shocked with what lit up my mind and heart.

I do not believe this insight came to me intuitively. Rather it was discernment given to me by the Holy Spirit, the mighty third person of the Trinity promised to every one who believes in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God. More importantly, these disclosures came directly from Scripture.

I deliberately used the words insight, discernment, and disclosure. I will say it now and repeat later in this book: I am not a prophet. But with deferment to Webster’s Dictionary, I do consider myself a Bible scholar, particularly in the area of prophecy. One of Webster’s definitions of scholar is: one who has done advanced study in a special field.

The Canon of Scripture is closed. Jesus Christ is the subject and sum of all meaningful prophetic events. This passage in the New Testament helps us understand the distinct interaction of God and Jesus Christ throughout the history of time, as well as the future. Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven (Hebrews 1:1 – 3).

There really is no need for more predictions. This passage in Hebrews and other Bible passages tell us that God’s predictive prophecies began with the prophets, and concluded with revelations through Jesus Christ culminating in Revelation, the last book of the Bible. However, there is the need to rightly divide the Word of God, and to study history—Biblical and secular. Only then can we find the best possible fit between Scripture and historical or future events. If we ask God to give us wisdom regarding a particular subject, then we must desire this wisdom more than the air we breathe. If we hunger and thirst for the things of God, he will satisfy our hunger and quench our thirst.

If we are passionately inquisitive about such things, God will open the sealed prophecies of Daniel. He will remove the mask that covers the face of the man of lawlessness, and decode the number of the beast. He will show us once again that the true Messiah has already triumphed over his antithesis, the Antichrist. That Jesus will come again is only a question of time, and the time is very short. Our great God will execute his perfect plan to the dismay of all who reject Jesus, but to the eternal joy of all who have put their trust in him.

Jesus wanted believers and non-believers alike to recognize the signals that will catapult and then engulf the world into what Scripture describes as the Great Tribulation. Listen to the words of Christ: For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones (Matthew 24:21 – 22).

Then in verse 25, Jesus states, See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

After depicting spellbinding signs of the end times, Jesus summarized with a startling statement. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear (Matthew 24:33 – 35).

Are we part of that generation? Most Bible scholars, pastors, teachers, and evangelists believe we are living in the last of the final days. Many books have been written, countless sermons preached, numerous television programs and interviews aired, and a wealth of commentaries published. Why then, another book? Why this book? I’m convinced that the book itself will answer these questions. For now, I will say with much humility: the thematic premise found in this book coupled with the ensuing development and authentication of that premise will stir your enthusiasm for prophecy and shake your prophetic senses perhaps like never before.

Part I of this book will prepare the way with a fresh examination of some captivating concepts found in Scripture. We will look at the profoundly accurate laws of probability, the insidious theory of evolution contrasted with Divine design, Biblical numbers, some extraordinary blessings and miracles, God’s time versus man’s time, the authenticity and reliability of Scripture, and the precise New Covenant fulfillments of Old Covenant prophecies including the miraculous rebirth of Israel. Above all we will lift up and honor Jesus the Christ, whose name in Hebrew is Yeshua ha Mashiach.

Part II and Part III will propel us on an unforgettable voyage to the ancient Roman world, to the very origin and lair of the beast, to the 1st century Church, to the Abyss and back again, to the preemptive death and eternal destruction of Antichrist, to the mesmerizing visions of John, Daniel, and Zechariah, to high level heavenly counsels, and to appealing etymologies of oft over-looked or misapplied Biblical words and phrases. We will scrutinize the Apostle Paul’s phenomenal present-tense description of lawlessness and the lawless one. We will expose and declassify that which has been concealed and classified. To wit: the secret of the beast presumed to be confidential until the body of Christ is taken from this earth.

You may not agree with where the journey takes you—with the conclusions reached. But with all my heart and utmost conviction, I believe you will enjoy the trip. I propose that, at the very least, you will be fascinated with the relevance and application of Scripture to some of the most astounding events in human history, both past and future. You will take part in and be enthralled with a partial refitting of the prophetic puzzle.

Above all, we will exalt he who is called …Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Open our hearts and minds Lord Jesus. Give us wisdom and understanding.

PART I

1

SOME PERSONAL MATTERS

I’d like to tell you a little more about me, for one purpose only: why this book was written. I am not one to promote myself, yet the more you know of the events in my life leading to my novel O Israel and now to this book, the more likely you will understand that God has directed each step of this difficult, yet exhilarating journey.

Let’s begin with a television documentary—some thirty-five, hour long episodes—first aired in the late 1970s. At the time, I was in my early thirties. Historian Stephen Ambrose and Actor Sir Laurence Olivier narrated these programs under the title: The World at War. The programs included a ton of World War II film footage never shown before. The programs were well written, skillfully narrated, and exceptionally revealing. But it was the last six segments that captivated me … six hour-long programs with gut wrenching film of the round up, internment, torture, and death of Jews in sadistic Nazi concentration camps. These images were powerfully and indelibly imprinted on my mind and heart.

I was a Christian at the time; in fact, I accepted Christ as my Savior at the tender age of eight. During most of my adolescent years and into my mid-twenties, I walked with the Lord and grew in his knowledge and grace; even began my college years at a Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri. Half way through Bible College I switched to the University of Missouri in Kansas City (UMKC). From there … well let’s just say that I lost my way.

For years I swerved on and off the road that God wanted me to travel. That’s a euphemism for going my own way most of the time. God was patient, up to a point. Finally, in 1994, he saw to it that I lost my job as a middle level manager in the claims department of an insurance company. Before that I had been divorced and remarried. I have no doubt whatsoever that losing my job was God’s discipline in my life. I wasn’t fired; rather, the company eliminated my position in that particular office. But if I would have been fired, then so be it.

God’s grace and mercy is inexhaustible. It took another seven months or so, but I finally poured out my heart to him. I vividly remember sitting, then lying prostrate on the living room floor of a new house in Chandler, Arizona, confessing my sin of adultery, and pleading for God’s forgiveness. This scene took place some seven years after I had been unfaithful to my first wife. Seven years of separation from the Lord, seven years of pretending that what I had done was either justified or of no consequence. After all, my first wife and I had marital problems. Seven years of rationalization, because I married the woman involved in the adultery; thereby thinking that the consequences of the sin and the sin itself could be, at least partially, excused.

Now then, let me say this: Christians do sin. Duh, you say! No, wait a minute, let me explain, because most non-Christians don’t understand or acknowledge this apparent contradiction. And some Christians believe that unless sins are confessed, they can lose their salvation. In other words, these Christians do not believe in what is commonly called eternal security.

I will say it again, but in a different way. At age eight, I was born again. Oh no, not that term! It’s a designation that most non-believers despise and ridicule. Why? Two reasons: One: they want nothing to do with God or with the Son of God, whether he died for the sins of the world or not. Two: whether they are half-way interested in their eternal destiny or in redemption (forgiveness of their sins); they sometimes point to sinful Christians as a reason not to get saved, or born-again.

Christians didn’t invent this appellation, born-again. None other than Jesus Christ first used this expression. But it was not meant to be a label or tag. Rather, Jesus used the phrase because it is, by far, the best way to describe what happens when a person exercises child-like faith, and says yes to the salvation offered by Christ. Make no mistake; everyone must make a decision for or against Christ. Scripture is clear on this subject: concerning the claims of Christ, neutrality is not an option.

There are dozens of verses that eliminate any neutrality, but one verse sums it up as well as any other. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment (John 3:36).

The Bible is both exclusive and inclusive. Biblical salvation is exclusive because the only way of redemption is by and through Jesus Christ; inclusive because anyone who believes and receives Christ will be forgiven and given everlasting life.

Jesus clearly explained to Nicodemus that being born again came from above, a spiritual rebirth. But he used this striking metaphor to compare it to the physical birth. Why? The spiritual birth is that final, that permanent, and that comprehensive—total forgiveness of sins, past, present, and future. Biblical salvation freely gives us undeserved, but absolute position in the spiritual Kingdom of God now—Christ and the Holy Spirit living in us and bearing witness with our spirit that we are a child of God—and the future physical Kingdom of God to be established when Christ returns to the earth. Nothing or no one can take this awesome adoption away from one who is born again. That is how it is explained in the New Testament, i.e. sons and daughters of God, adopted into his family, joint-heirs with Christ himself and all the wonderful privileges that Christ possesses and imparts as the Son of God and God the Son.

Once you are born physically to a mother and father, nothing can take that away from you. Whether you ever knew your mother or father, or whether they may disown you because of your insolence or bad behavior, you are still their child, physically. That fact is ineradicable.

For the Christian, confession of sin is the means of returning to fellowship with the Lord, a fellowship that is broken (but not lost) when we sin. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness (I John 1:9).

The analogy is identical to a child telling mom or dad that she is sorry for what she did. The parent forgives the child and all is well again. Salvation is rooted in the finished work of Christ, in his grace and mercy, not in our performance, before or after our rebirth. Certainly, however, as Christians we do not want to sin, or misuse the liberating grace of God as an excuse to sin. To quote or at least paraphrase my Pastor: As Christians, we are not sinless. But as we grow in Christ, we sin less.

So, please; if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, stop worrying about whether you will make it to heaven or not if you do something wrong or fail to confess a sin. Your God-given position is permanent in Christ. Your practice (walking with the Lord) is an on-going process of becoming more like Jesus.

And, if you’re not a Christian, you might not want to use any real or perceived hypocrisy in Christians as an excuse to reject God’s offer of pardon. There’s absolutely no evidence in Scripture that God will, on judgment day, allow anyone to point a finger of blame at anyone else.

As born again believers we take immense comfort in this absolute truth of Scripture: So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Pardon me for digressing, but I wanted to take this opportunity to explain my salvation and God’s method of bringing his children back when they are disobedient.

MY PASSION FOR ISRAEL

Both astonished and distressed at the sheer magnitude of the Holocaust, I wondered how something like this could happen. How could one nation (Germany) inflict such brutality and horror on a people for no other reason than they were Jews? Pure and simple, it was genocide.

I had to know. From that time forward I decided to learn more about Israel, the Jews, and prophecy. In particular, I began to study the Old Testament as never before. Something occurred to me that I’m sure others had already recognized: as horrible as the Holocaust had been, would Israel otherwise have been restored as a nation? Would millions of Jews have returned to their homeland? Would the ancient Hebrew language have ever been revitalized as the spoken language of this newborn nation?

In this vein, permit me to quote an excerpt from pages 57 & 58 of my novel O Israel as seen through the eyes of the character Avram Levitt.

I am a Jew. Does that make me better than someone who is not Jewish? Absolutely not! Am I saying that only Jews have suffered through the ages? Not at all. But any reasonable and objective person would have a difficult time defending a position that Jews have not been seriously persecuted in the course of human events.

What about the Romans’ ruthless slaughter and expulsion of Jews from Israel, for example? Out of spite, the Romans changed the name of Israel to Palestine, a word that resembled Philistia or Philistine, the ancient mortal enemy of Israel.

Who can explain the pogroms in Russia? Or the holocaust in Germany?

What about the murder of Jews by the Crusaders who used the name of Christ to accomplish their agenda?

The Spanish inquisition tortured Jews into renouncing their faith and heritage. If the Jews didn’t convert, they were killed by those who misused and abused true Christianity.

History is replete with examples of people whose malevolent ideas have been blindly accepted by the majority. No matter the unimaginable consequences of acting out those ideas, no matter the suffering, deprivation, pain, and the death of millions.

Look at Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler. Each was a tyrant with complete control over two opposite systems: Stalin with his left-wing communism and Hitler with his right-wing fascism. However, they had two things in common. One: they hated the Jews. Two: their people trusted and revered them as gods. Their followers displayed blind loyalty and shameless sacrifice for them.

These nations had no rational reason for persecuting the Jews. Yet they tormented, oppressed, harassed, deprived, and killed them. Their contempt has spanned many generations, though their abhorrence defies any sensible explanation.

When the Jews returned to the land of Israel, geographical lines were not the real issue. To the world at large, the Jewish people did not deserve to exist as a nation. Whether they claimed one square mile or a thousand did not matter. For hundreds of years Jews had been scattered throughout the earth, living with those who would tolerate them. Having a nation of their own seemed unnecessary, irrelevant, unthinkable.

I began to read books, magazines, periodicals, and newsletters on prophecy. I have watched countless documentaries and programs on television, both secular and faith based. I have heard numerous sermons preached on the end times, particularly from my pastor, Mark Martin of Calvary Community Church in Phoenix, Arizona. I am not alone in my opinion: Mark is a supremely gifted teacher. In the past seven years or so, all this exposure had intensified to the point where I simply could not hold it in any longer. Thus, I wrote my first book O Israel.

In October, 2008 I began a second book. I had intended for this book to be a fictional sequel to O Israel, the setting of which is just before and a year or so after the Rapture. In fact, I had written a few chapters by mid-November. So, what happened? Why is this book non-fictional? For now, let me give you the short version.

While reading the book of Revelation, an astonishing insight came to me. Let me say this in a better way: it was given to me by, …his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets (I Corinthians 2:10). And I would venture to say: you will be as stunned as I, when the Lord rearranged part of the prophetic tapestry on which the perception of Antichrist had been woven. Indeed, the best way to metaphorically describe this disclosure would be that of replacing a piece of the prophetic puzzle that doesn’t really fit, with a piece that fits so much better in the context of several passages of Scripture pertaining to the Antichrist.

Using another metaphor: before we design, develop, and erect these ground-breaking building blocks of who and what the Antichrist really is, we need to first pour a foundation built on the true Messiah. As summarized in the Introduction, we will examine some topics in Part I that will illuminate our journey, such as the total authenticity and reliability of God’s Word as most vividly conveyed and confirmed by Biblical prophecy and other remarkable truths of Scripture.

Disconcerting is the fact that many Christians don’t always know how to defend the divinity of the Scriptures or otherwise explain that our faith is not just blind faith, void of historical or empirical evidence. Rather, our trust in and reliance on God’s Word is predicated upon many rock-solid pillars, not the least of which is fulfilled prophecy.

2

BIBLICAL PROPHECY IS ALIVE AND WELL!

In the last seventy years or so, we’ve experienced a resurgent fascination with Biblical prophecy without equal since the first century Christian Church. The majority of serious Bible scholars attribute this phenomenon primarily to the State of Israel, reestablished in 1948. After the Six-Day War of 1967 and the recapture of Jerusalem by the Israeli army, the dynamic appeal of prophecy exploded with kaleidoscope intensity. Many students of the Bible deem the rebirth of Israel a miracle, not just a natural culmination of events beginning with World War II and the Holocaust. I fully agree that modern Israel is a miracle.

Most people consider a miracle to be something that supersedes or even defies any logical, plausible, or natural explanation. Webster’s Dictionary defines a miracle as: an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment; an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. Or, a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law. Indeed, there are numerous spiritual laws found in the Bible, all centered around the author, God himself, and His creation.

There are several concepts and related definitions of law. Again, referring to Webster’s Dictionary, we find this: a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority. Also law: implies imposition by a sovereign authority and the obligation of obedience on the part of all subject to that authority.

THE HIGHER LAWS OF GOD

For example, we see the immutability of God: I am the Lord, and I do not change…. (Malachi 3:6). This immutability also applies to God’s Son. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And, another reference to our God who does not change: But you are always the same; you will live forever (Psalms 102:27).

There is the omnipotence of God profoundly expressed in the rhetorical question of Genesis 18:14. Is anything too hard for the Lord? This same spiritual law or eternal truth is also presented as an outright declaration. For nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

We find the edict concerning the fallen condition of mankind in Romans 3:23. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. In Romans 6:23 we are told that there is a penalty for this condition: For the wages of sin is death….

We look at the text surrounding these decrees and discover that God has established a law (the Law of Grace) that deals effectively and decisively with the sin problem. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…. (Romans 3:24 – 25) Then we have the second part of Romans 6:23, …but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

We’re beginning to see a clear pattern and principle here: Indeed, all of what God declares in his Word, the Bible, consists of spiritual laws that are tantamount to unchangeable truth. We’ve all heard the expression, a higher law, or something similar. The reference could be to a federal law that displaces state or city laws. For you golfers out there it might mean a local course rule that takes precedence over the USGA rules of golf. Or, it could mean a husband deferring the ultimate decision of buying that new car to his wife!

With respect to God, our Creator, his law is the higher law; in fact, it is the highest law. Hundreds of times in the Old Testament, we find the words, Thus, says the Lord. Or, the Lord gave the following instructions. Or, this is what the Lord has commanded. Or, this is what the sovereign Lord says. And one of my favorites: I the Lord have spoken! as found in Jeremiah 23:4, and other passages.

In the New Testament, this law is succinctly summed up in II Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is inspired by God…. In the original Greek, inspired means God-breathed. That is why the final revelation of Jesus Christ is found in the last book of the Bible, and why it is just that … final.

Any subsequent so-called direct revelations that have been the foundation of extra-Biblical movements, cults, or latter day religions are in direct opposition to and confrontation with the last book of the Bible. And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book (Revelation 22:18 – 19).

And to quote again Hebrews 1:1 – 2: Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son….

THE UNIQUENESS OF THE BIBLE

There are many things that separate the Bible from all other religious texts, not the least of which is the salvation or redemption of mankind. Basically all religions except Christianity require good works to achieve some measure of acceptance with the god or gods of that religion; or with Buddhism’s goal of reaching a higher spiritual state. Only Christianity tells us that there’s nothing we can do. Neither through our efforts or any intrinsic worth that we may think we possess, can we remove the sin that separates us from God. On the contrary, God, through his Son, did it for us.

Our worth comes from the very fact that God created us, loves us, and wants us to spend eternity with him. But concerning the misguided notion that, outside of the righteousness imputed to us by God when we accept his Son, God will overlook our faults and find something in us that he likes, or at least tolerates, try Isaiah 64:6 on for size: We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags….

I certainly don’t want to gross anyone out, but in the original Hebrew, filthy rags means menstrual cloths. This is a graphic depiction of how God views our attempts to impress him with our goodness or merit. Despite the stain of our sin(s) and powerlessness to circumvent the penalty of that sin, there is a solution. There is hope. In stark contrast, we find that a right standing before God is possible. That hope is in a person.

Read with me Jeremiah 23:5 – 6. For the time is coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: ‘The Lord is Our Righteousness….’ What a fantastic prophecy and promise, one of hundreds that Yeshua ha Mashiach or in English, Jesus the Christ fulfilled. Jesus, in fact, came from King David’s lineage, the tribe of Judah.

Let’s read one of the many New Testament passages that explain the source of righteousness so desperately needed for forgiveness of sins and right standing with God. For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ (II Corinthians 5:21).

In keeping with the main emphasis of this book, another profound distinction between the Bible and other religious writings and beliefs is that of prophecy. Here I am referring to prophecy in the traditional meaning of the concept—foretelling the future. As a composite, historical book, the Bible is amazingly accurate in its detailed record of people, places, times, and events, including specific fulfillment of prophetic predictions. Conversely, other religious writings are virtually void of predictive prophecy. Why? Could it be that there is only one true and living God, the God of the Bible?

So-called higher critics of Scripture have tried to refute the authenticity of the Bible primarily by means of disputing the historicity of individual books of