Let's assume that you do not believe the Bible is God's divinely inspired message to mankind. If it is, what would be the nature of such a book? Let us consider some points made by Jim McGuggian who wrote on this subject.

• It would have to be understandable.
• It would have to be consistent-not self-contradictory.
• It would have to be consistent with known facts in various fields of learning, such as archaeology, science, and reason.
• It would have to be consistent with its claim to supernatural revelation. That is, it would have to show indisputable marks (such as prophecy) of its origin.
• It would have to be adaptable to man's spiritual and religious needs.
• It would have to be able to survive the most energetic and sustained attacks on its accuracy, its existence, and the integrity of its text.
• It would have to promote a high code of ethics.
• It would undoubtedly attain a supreme position among literary products.
• It would claim universal authority among all nations.
  
  

Is there a book that meets these criteria? Over time, only one book has survived, with no need for changing, revamping, or updating. It is the only book that will meet the needs of God's creation, at all times, for as long as man exists. It has been translated into every known language, and for the past 150 years, has been the world's top-selling book. There's a good reason-it is God's word!

Let's examine the four process-chain links--Inspiration, Canonization, Transmission, and Translation--between God and mankind.

• The first link-Inspiration--means "God-breathed." God gave His message to the prophets and writers, and they recorded it. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
• The second link-Canonization--deals with the recognition and collection of the prophetic writings. The objective was met when the 66 books of the Bible were written, and then recognized by their original readers as authentic.
• In order for following generations to also benefit, the revelation had to be copied, translated, recopied, and retranslated into many different languages. This would provide the book, not only for future readers, but also for other nations. This is the Transmission link.
• Now, 2000 years later, we are revisiting the Translation process. Skeptics are asking:
  
  
  • How much did the Bible suffer during the process?
  • Is the twenty-first-century Bible translation an accurate reproduction of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament?
    
    
  These are valid questions, which deserve truthful answers. Surely, we can see that God's providence had a hand in this process.
  
  

There are questions concerning the accuracy of what we have today? Do the facts of modern science harmonize with the Holy Scriptures? Does the Bible contradict any known scientific facts? Is the Bible historically accurate? Did the things prophesied occur as foretold? Have any archaeological artifacts disproved one Bible fact? Can people in all walks of life understand this book? These articles will endeavor to answer the skeptics' questions. The Bible has nothing to fear from open examination.

One might ask why God chose written language to convey His word to mankind. He had, in the past, used other methods. "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds." {Hebrews 1:1-2} Let's look at some of the other methods God used in the past:

• Angels. Please read Genesis 18 and Exodus 3. In these instances, angels were God's messengers. However, this method did not lend itself to permanence.
• Visions and dreams. See Genesis 41 and Daniel 7. One drawback of visions and dreams is that they tend to be subjective and personal, rather than objective and universal.
• Urim and Thummin. Please read Exodus 28:30 and Proverbs 16:33. This method was limited in the scope of what could be conveyed. Questions asked of God could be answered, but this was not a practical method for giving detailed instructions.
• Creation and Moral Law. Please read Romans 2:5; Psalms 19:1 and Romans 1:18-20. Most assuredly, God has, through His creation, revealed Himself. But God's creation does not convey the truth concerning other aspects of His person.
• Audible voice and direct miracles. Please read 1 Samuel 3:1-10 and Judges 6:40. These methods were also limited. God spoke, to one person, for a specific purpose, on one occasion. Would it be feasible for Him to repeat the performance for the entire world? Surely there was a better way.

Yes, there was a better way. God chose to immortalize His message in a permanent, written record of the truth He revealed to His creation. Why is this a better method?

• Precision-Common experiences become more precise when they are expressed in words. The accurate use of words enables a more precise understanding by the reader. It also allows for rechecking and study. Please read Ephesians 3:3-5.
• Propagation-It is possible to make many copies of the written word. This hasn't always been true of the spoken word. Writing is a more reliable method of getting the message to many more people. Please read John 21:23.
• Preservation-Memory fades with the passage of time. God made sure that truth would be available for all people, for all time. A written record can also be memorized, studied, and ultimately, stored in the reader's heart. Please read John 16:13; 1 Peter 1:11.

God revealed His word in languages that were particularly suited to translation, languages where words and their meanings did not, over time, undergo drastic change.

The Language of the Old Testament. Although the majority of the Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language, a few parts were written in Aramaic:

• Following the captivity, the language of Palestine was Aramaic. (2 Kings 18:26-30; Nehemiah 8:8; Jeremiah 10:11)
• Six chapters in Daniel (2:4-7:28).
• Several chapters in Ezra (4:8-6:18; 7:12-26).

Hebrew is a "picturesque" language. It uses vivid, bold metaphors that challenge the reader's mind and bring the stories to life. Pictures represent the events. Hebrew is also a "personal" language. It addresses itself to the reader's heart and emotion, as well as to his mind and reason. Please read Malachi 3:1-2. In writing the Old Testament, the prophets used words that convey vivid pictures and images, i.e., "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water." {Jeremiah 2:13} God depicted Israel as people who tried to store water in broken cisterns that were unable to hold it. She had turned to things that could not possibly help her.

The Language of the New Testament. Although Jesus spoke Aramaic, due to God's providence, the New Testament books were written in Greek. Since the gospel was to go to the entire world (Mark 16:15), the New Testament writers used a universal language with which everyone was familiar. Greek in the first century, as English is today, was the known language of the world. (Until the 19^th century, it was thought of as a special "Holy Ghost" language, because it was not specifically identifiable with any of the four periods, and the vocabulary was somewhat different. But, when some of the first-century letters were found among documents in Egypt, they showed Greek to be the language of the day.)

The Greek alphabet derived from the Phoencians. Greek was commonly known as a "dead language," meaning it does not change. The Greek language, correctly referred to as "Koine Greek," also had an "evangelistic suitability." It was an "intellectual language." Greek was the most useful medium for expressing the prepositional truths contained in the New Testament. Greek possessed a technical precision not found in the Hebrew language.

How were ancient books written? How old is the Bible? Is it the oldest book in existence?

• The earliest known writing, dating back as far as 4000 to 5000 B.C., was found in ancient Egypt.
• Babylonian inscriptions, dating from the time of King Sargon I, or around 2350 B.C., have been found.
• Letters dated as early as 1500 B.C. have been found in Palestine, the Bible land.

These documents are important because they silence Bible skeptics who say there was no writing during the time of Moses, who lived about 1500 B.C. If this is so, how could Moses have written the first five Old Testament books, the Pentateuch? Please read Joshua 8:31; Judges 3:4; Malachi 4:4; Luke 24:44; John 7:19.

What types of writings materials did the ancient writers use?

• Stone-Early writings were etched in stone, which has a long survival rate. Stone was used in Egypt, Palestine, and Mesopotamia. Stone tablets, such as the Moabite Stone, have been found in Palestine. The law and the Ten Commandments were written on stone (Exodus 31:18; Joshua 8:31,32).
  
  
• Clay-Clay was the predominate material used for recording both Babylonian and Assyrian events. Some of the prophets used clay (Jeremiah 17:13; Ezekiel 4:1). Writing took place while the clay was soft and damp. It was dried in the sun, or baked in a kiln, to create a permanent record. Some digs of ancient cities have uncovered very large libraries, containing thousands of clay tablets.
  
  
• Wood-Some ancients, in one way or another, used wood to record events. Though available, wood was not very durable. In Greece, wooden tablets provided the most common writing surface. Some scholars believe the tablets of Isaiah 30:8 and Habakkuk 2:2 were made of wood.
  
  
• Leather-For centuries, animal skins (calf, antelope, sheep, or goat) played an important role in recording writing, especially in Palestine. The use of leather is strongly implied, since the Jewish Talmud, a code of international Jewish regulations, was written on specially prepared animal skins and was to be copied onto the same type of material.
  
  
• Papyrus-In the period during which the New Testament was written, papyrus was the primary writing material. It was so widely used that the New Testament autographs and original letters were almost certainly written on this type of material.
  
  Papyrus was prolific along the Nile River. As far back as 3500 B.C., it was used in Egypt as writing material. It became the universal medium for Greek and Roman books. Two layers of split papyrus reeds were pressed and glued together to form a sheet. A second layer was laid over the first, with moisture, and pressure was applied. The sheet was then dried and polished until it became a fine writing material. Sometimes, these sheets were formed into rolls, the "scrolls" of the ancient world. Average papyrus rolls were 30 feet long and 9 to 10 inches high. The writing was usually arranged in columns, with average widths of 3 to 4 inches. When John penned 2 John 1:12, he was speaking of papyrus.
  
  Sometime during the second century, papyrus rolls began to be replaced by papyrus codex. Codex was more like the books we know, with leaves joined side by side and stacked together. This made it much easier to transport the documents. The codex, or book form, had distinct advantages over the old rolled form. It could contain more written matter than the average-size roll and be carried around for quick and easy reference.
  
  
• Vellum or parchment-Vellum is a parchment that, due to the efforts of King Eumenes II of Pergamum, came into prominence as a writing material 197-158 B.C. This king wished to have a world-class library, but the Egyptian king cut him short by cutting off his supply of papyrus. At that point, King Eumenes decided to manufacture his own writing material. Using a special method of processing and treating animal skins, they created a material known as vellum or parchment.
  
  Originally, the word vellum was used to refer to calf and antelope skins; while parchment referred to sheep and goat skins. Now, these terms are used interchangeably to refer to all kinds of animal skins used for writing. Vellum was a very important writing material, since thousands of copies of the New Testament scriptures were transmitted by way of Vellum manuscripts, which are beautiful in appearance. Two of the most valuable New Testaments in existence today are written on vellum. From the fourth century through the Middle Ages, vellum was the principal material on which God's word was recorded.
  
  
• Paper-Paper, believe it or not, also reaches back to the ancient world. As early as the second century, the Chinese people produced paper from some sort of fibrous matter. Not until much later did the rest of the world learn about paper and its value. In the middle of the eighth century, after the Arabs captured some of the Chinese, their knowledge of paper use began to spread. By the thirteenth century, paper was being used in much of Europe. Some of the Biblical manuscripts that originated in the East are copied on paper.

It is evident that the process of transferring God's word onto writing material was indeed a lengthy venture. Yet, even after all these centuries, we can be confident that what we read and study today is God's authentic and true word-just as it was at the time it was given to the inspired writers. Materials that have been found over the years (to be discussed later) have supplied overwhelming evidence--external evidence outside the Bible itself--that the Bible reveals to mankind, the genuine mind of God. The skeptics endeavor to use the thousands of years that have passed since God guided the writers to write His revelation to support their theories that somehow, over time, it has been flawed by the copy process. This is little more than wishful thinking on the part of the skeptics. When we examine ALL the evidence-both external and internal-there can be but one honest conclusion: the Bible is the ONLY INSPIRED DIVINE message that God has given to mankind.