Apparent contradictions
Is the Word of God infallible, or does it contain discrepancies, contradictions and untruths? You may have heard someone say, "The Bible is full of contradictions!" or "You can prove anything by the Bible!" But are there any real errors in the Word of God?
Let us examine some so-called biblical contradictions to prove the veracity of God's Word.
One of the most striking examples of a copyist's error is found in II Chronicles 22:2, where we are told that Ahaziah was 42 years old when he began to rule. II Kings 8:26 says he was 22. Which is correct?
None of the "original" documents extant solves the difficulty for us. Obviously a copyist's error was made thousands of years ago, and has been perpetuated to this day.
How did this mistake come about? It is clear what happened. Though the Jewish copyists were extremely meticulous and copied previous manuscripts letter for letter, human error crept in.
The Jews used letters to express numbers, and the ancient Hebrew letter for 40 was quite similar to that for 20 — so that one might easily be mistaken for the other.
But God has left us in no doubt as to which is the correct reading. Ahaziah was only 22, as mentioned in II Kings 8:26. The age given in II Chronicles 22:2 is incorrect. If Ahaziah was 42, he would have been two years older than his father, Jehoram, who was only 40 when he died (II Kings 8:17).
God - makes the truth plain for those who want to know it. But those who want to stumble or scoff certainly may.
Notice another example: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver . . . And gave them for the potter's field" (Matt. 27:9-10).
A thorough study of the book of Jeremiah reveals no such prophecy. The prophet Zechariah did, however, write such a prophecy: "And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was priced at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord" (Zech. 11:13).
Which of these prophets really gave this prophecy?
Clearly, Zechariah wrote such a prophecy, but the Bible says it "was spoken by Jeremy the prophet." There is no contradiction here. Jeremy had spoken this prophecy, and Zechariah later wrote it down.
Some think that the four accounts of what was written on Jesus' cross contradict. What was actually written on Christ's cross?
Matthew's account says, "This is Jesus the king of the Jews" (Matt. 27:37):
Mark: "The king of the Jews" (Mark 15:26).
Luke: "This is the king of the Jews" (Luke 23:38).
John: "Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews" (John 19:19).
The Bible shows that "Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross . . . and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin" (John 19:19-20). The Bible does not say that any one of the four titles was the only title written on the cross.
Obviously, the answer to this supposed contradiction lies in the fact that the title on the cross was written in three languages. Each Gospel writer quoted from one of these, or else each combined portions of what was written in two of the three languages. There is no discrepancy.
Scientifically accurate
The Bible is not a science textbook. Nonetheless, whatever the Scriptures mention is always scientific.
Notice these accurate Bible statements:
"It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers" (Isa. 40:22). This verse clearly reveals that the earth is round, even though man did not "discover" this fact by himself until centuries after this was written.
"He [God] . . . hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7). The earth is held in orbit around the sun by the law of gravity. But it is not fastened to anything material.
Notice the truth in this biblical statement: "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen [the physical universe] were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3).
In plain language, this verse says that God created the physical, material, tangible world that we see out of invisible, intangible, nonphysical essence — out of spirit or spirit essence.
Most scientists, steeped in evolution, are unwilling to admit the possibility that an intelligent, all-powerful Designer of the universe exists. But they are forced to agree that, as the Bible says, the physical universe came into existence from that which does not now appear (spirit).
The British weekly newsmagazine The Economist offers scientific arguments that support the biblical account of special creation:
"According to modern physics, the universe began with a big bang, in which space and matter made a sudden explosive appearance — from literally nothing. There was a moment when all the material eventually used to create every star and galaxy could have been in the palm of an infinitely small hand" (The Economist, April 12, 1980).
It is hard for humans to realize that, just as the Bible says, "In the beginning God created [brought into existence] the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).
"Thus you can envisage how scientists see the big bang as the sudden, explosive appearance of both space and matter from literally nothing" (ibid):
Of course, God most certainly did not use a "big bang" to create the universe. But the more research scientists perform, the more they are forced to admit that what the Bible says is true.
The Bible is true not only scientifically, but historically. Again, though the Bible is not a history book, whatever is mentioned as history in the Bible is always true.
For example, a few decades ago, skeptics doubted the very existence of ancient cities such as Nineveh and Sodom. But archaeologists have uncovered abundant testimony to prove that those ancient cities actually existed, just as the Bible said thousands of years ago.
Bible infallible?
Is the Word of God infallible? It certainly is.
Christ said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35).
Through the centuries, many have tried — unsuccessfully — to discredit or destroy the Bible, "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever" (I Pet. 1:25).
Just how important is the Word of God — the Bible — in God's eyes?
We know that God is very concerned about magnifying and protecting His name: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7).
But God is even more jealous concerning His Word than He is His own name! "For thou [God] hast magnified thy word above all thy name" (Ps. 138:2).
Of what real value is this Word of God? Why has God given it to men?
David said, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119:105). Without that brilliant lamp, this world would be in total darkness. It is only through the light of God's infallible Word that man can ever come to know who he is, where he came from, what is his ultimate destiny .and how he is to attain that incredible potential.
Let us all thank the great God for the precious gift of His infallible Word!