Transcript CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES PART 2 Classical Histories New Testament 5. 3. 1. The Histories Caesar’s History Gallic of Tacitus of Wars (100 Thucydides (58- -50B.C.) A.D.)9 or –2 400 10 good manuscripts. B.C. manuscripts. 8 manuscripts. Oldest Oldest manuscript Oldest manuscript manuscript 9th century800 A.D. 800 yearyear gap gap year from from gaporiginal original from original. 4. 2.

CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES PART 2
Classical Histories
New Testament
5.
3.
1. The
Histories
Caesar’s
History
Gallic
of Tacitus
of Wars
(100
Thucydides
(58- -50
115
B.C.)
A.D.)
460
9 or
–2 400
10 good
manuscripts.
B.C.
manuscripts.
8 manuscripts.
Oldest
Oldest
manuscript
Oldest
manuscript
manuscript
9th century
900
800
A.D.
800 year
1300
year gap
gap
year
from
from
gaporiginal
original
from
original.
4.
2. The
The Annals
Romanof
History
Tacitus
of
(100
Livy (59
A.D.)
B.C.)
12 35
manuscripts,
manuscripts. Oldest
Oldest
manuscript
manuscript 11th
4th century
century
900
300 year
year gap
gap from
from original
original
Written approximately
between 45 – 96 A.D.
It has around 5,000
manuscripts in whole or in
part. This does not include
the fragments or
numerous quotes of these
documents from early
Christian writers. The
oldest manuscripts are
dated at 350 A.D. with
only about a 250 year gap
from the original.
Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand
to set in order a narrative of those things which
have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who
from the beginning were eyewitnesses and
ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it
seemed good to me also, having had perfect
understanding of all things from the very first, to
write to you an orderly account, most excellent
Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of
those things in which you were instructed.
P.W. Sonter and R.C. Newman selected 8 specific
prophecies and then calculated the probability of
one man fulfilling only those 8. Their conclusion
was that 1 man being able to accomplish this
would be 10 to 17th power.
No mere man could ever fulfill all 300 +
prophecies.
THE FOUR KINGDOMS
The head of fine Gold –
The Babylonian Empire
The breast and arms of
silver – Medo-Persian
Empire
The belly of brass – The
Grecian Empire
The legs of iron and feet
part of iron and part of clay
– The Roman Empire
Daniel 2:44 "And in the days of these kings the
God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people; it shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever.
Roman Empire (63 BC – 476AD)
Isaiah 2: 1-3 speaks of the kingdom being setup
in the last days and starting in Jerusalem.
Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from
Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh (rest giver) comes; And to Him shall
be the obedience of the people.
Jesus had to come before the Jews lost their
ability to carry out executions.
John 18: 31 Then Pilate said to them, "You take
Him and judge Him according to your law."
Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful
for us to put anyone to death," 32 that the saying
of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke,
signifying by what death He would die.
Rome replaced Archelaus with Coponius in 6 A.D
and he was their first governor or procurator who
was given complete power over the Jews and had
the power to execute people. (Solomon and
Josephus “War of the Jews’ Book 2 chapter 18
section),
The NT is in perfect harmony with Daniel and
Isaiah.
• The kingdom was proclaimed as coming before
Pentecost
• Peter proclaimed at the day of Pentecost that
the latter days or last days were being fulfilled as
mentioned by Joel.
• From Pentecost forward the kingdom is always
spoken of as a present reality.
Proving that Jesus was raised from the dead
Matthew 27:62 On the next day, which followed
the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and
Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying,
"Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how
that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'
64 "Therefore command that the tomb be made
secure until the third day, lest His disciples come
by night and steal Him away, and say to the
people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last
deception will be worse than the first." 65 Pilate
said to them, "You have a guard; go your way,
make it as secure as you know how." 66 So they
went and made the tomb secure, sealing the
stone and setting the guard.
John 20:9 For as yet they did not know the
Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
Mark 16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary
Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and
Salome bought spices, that they might come and
anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the
first day of the week, they came to the tomb
when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among
themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from
the door of the tomb for us?"
Some claim that Jesus simply passed out and
then woke up and made his escape.
• Jesus was scourged Jn 19:1
• It’s unlikely that these professional killers
would misjudge when someone was dead.
John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw
that He was already dead, they did not break His
legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side
with a spear, and immediately blood and water
came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified,
and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is
telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For
these things were done that the Scripture should
be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be
broken." 37 And again another Scripture says,
"They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
• The fact that blood and water flowed out
indicates that His heart had stopped pumping and
that His blood had settled into His chest
John 19:39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to
Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of
myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40
Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in
strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of
the Jews is to bury.
John 11:43 Now when He had said these things,
He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"
44 And he who had died came out bound hand
and foot with graveclothes, and his face was
wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose
him, and let him go."
Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit
John 14:26, 16:12-13
It was conditional
John 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is
to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I
depart, I will send Him to you.
We must observe the apostles behavior before
and after Pentecost.
Before:
• They thought the Kingdom was physical Acts 1:6
• They argued about who was the greatest Luke
22:24 ff
• They didn’t understand Jesus’ teachings many times
• They were in a state of fear after Jesus’ crucifixion
John 20:19
What happens to the apostles in Acts 2?
Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven,
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the
whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then
there appeared to them divided tongues, as of
fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.
On and after Pentecost:
• No more hiding in fear
• Boldly proclaiming Jesus death, burial and
resurrection
• United in in teaching and purpose
• No longer afraid to proclaim the truth
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of
Peter and John, and perceived that they were
uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.
And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:18 And they called them and commanded
them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of
Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said
to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to
listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20
"For we cannot but speak the things which we
have seen and heard."
How could these men have a sudden change and
accomplish what they did in such a short time?
Was it by some natural process of learning?
No! There wasn’t enough time for that to happen.
The only thing that makes sense is that they
received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost
and He made the change in these apostles just as
Jesus had promised.
Saul’s conversion provides proof:
• Paul was a fanatic and he persecuted the church
beyond measure. He advanced in the Jewish
religion beyond those of his own age. Gal 1:13-14
• He consented to Stephens death Acts 7:58 –8:1
• He drug men and women to prison Acts 8:1-3
• He went outside of Jerusalem to take down
Christianity Acts 9:1-2
• He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews and a Pharisee
Philp. 3:5
He recounts his rage against Christianity to King
Agrippa:
Acts 26:9 "Indeed, I myself thought I must do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus of
Nazareth. 10 "This I also did in Jerusalem, and
many of the saints I shut up in prison, having
received authority from the chief priests; and
when they were put to death, I cast my vote
against them. 11 "And I punished them often in
every synagogue and compelled them to
blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged
against them, I persecuted them even to foreign
cities.
Who could of possibly converted Saul to
Christianity?
Could it have been some of his fellow men? No
Could it have been another Christian? No
Did Paul have an ulterior motive for converting to
Christianity?
He didn’t convert for wealth Acts 20: 33-34, 1Cor.
4:11-12
It certainly wasn’t for a better reputation or more
power
Only Jesus could have changed a man like this
just as the Bible records for us in Acts 9, 22, 26
Galatians 1:11 But I make known to you,
brethren, that the gospel which was preached by
me is not according to man. 12 For I neither
received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it
came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ claims about Himself:
• He claimed no one could take His life and He
had the power to lay it down. John 10:17-18
• He knew that He would be scourged and die by
crucifixion Matthew 20:18-19
• Herod tried to kill Him as a baby Mt. 2:13-21
• His own people tried to push Him off a cliff at
Nazareth Lk. 4:16-30
• Officers were sent to arrest Him but after they
heard Him they did not Jn. 7:32, 45-46
• Several tried to stone Him Jn . 8:59 10:31, 39
• He was threatened to be killed throughout His
ministry Jn. 5:18, 7:1
• He was right about how He would die Mat. 27,
Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19