Have you ever bothered to look into the history of the Bible? Have you seriously thought about it? Did the Catholic Church give us the Bible? I am preparing a series of articles on this, since there is so much information about it.
Did you know Southern Adventist University opened a Bible history exhibit on January 15? This program, “From Script to Scripture: The History of the Bible,” explores the history of the Bible through archaeology.
Not many people, even Adventists, take time to learn the history of the Bible. Few even care to know. It is sad to see that many of us don’t know how to defend the Bible, or how we got the canonical books, etc. Let us examine some facts, beginning with Jesus’ ministry.
Good News!
Two thousand years ago, the life of a Jewish carpenter, Jesus, changed the world. He was condemned for heresy for claiming to be the Messiah. He was crucified, then came back to life. His apostles then spread the good news of salvation, and many hearers were “pricked in their heart,” (Acts 2:37). The good news spread to the Jews and Gentiles alike.
The Apostle Paul made his appearance as persecutor, then as preacher. He then spread the gospel and fathered many churches. The world was turned upside down (Acts 17:6). The testimony of Jesus Christ was recorded in the four Gospels.
Prophetic Timelines and Warnings
The prophecies were expounded upon by Christian believers and Bible writers. “Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,” (2 Peter 1:21). The Old Testament scriptures foretold the first coming of Christ into the world, and pointed beyond it to the Second Coming.
Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come,” (Matthew 24:15). He also warned of the dangers in the near future, to prepare the church for trials of faith. Paul gave a similar warning as well, not only for false prophets but “many, which corrupt the Word of God,” (2 Corinthians. 2:17), while Peter warned of damnable heresies (2 Peter 2:1-2).
Jesus also foretold of the coming persecution toward the early Christian church, saying, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake,” (Matthew 24:9).
The Apostle Paul said, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” (2 Timothy 3:12). Christians were hunted and persecuted for ages, beginning with Nero in the first century, and ending with Diocletian of the fourth century.
Constantine's “Christianity”
In 313 A.D., the face of Christianity experienced a dramatic transformation when Emperor Constantine the Great won his battle on Milvian Bridge. This victory made him the sole emperor of Rome. Before he won, he received a vision of a cross emblazoned by the sun and heard a voice telling him, “In this sign, conquer.”
Soon after this he signed the Edict of Milan, a document granting tolerance and protection to Christians. Christianity eventually became the state religion. But if he was a Christian why would he turn and persecute other Christians? Researchers believe it was because his faith was conflicted.
Evangelical author Dave Hunt, whom I don’t entirely agree with, says, “As head of the pagan priesthood he was the Pontifex Maximus and needed a similar title as head of the Christian church. The Christians honored him as ‘Bishop of Bishops’ while Constantine called himself 'Vicarius Christi,' Vicar of Christ.”
Consequently, the pagan customs were combined with the “universal” or Catholic church. But many Christians saw in this system a contradiction between the world and the Christian faith. After Constantine’s edict against heretics, it may be said that more Christians died during his rule than before. Soon the bishops of Rome took the place of the emperor of Rome.
Thomas Hobbs wrote, “If a man consider the original of this great ecclesiastical dominion, he will easily perceive that the papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof,” (Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, published in 1691).
The Dark Ages
Historians consider Constantine’s conversion as the real beginning of the dark ages Jesus had warned of: “Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them,” (John 16:2-4).
The reason why the Dark Ages were so called, was because the Bible was forbidden. The Psalmist describes the Bible: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” (Psalm 119:105).
Rome made an extra effort in the 13th century to keep that light from shining, beginning with Dominic Guzman, Castilian priest and founder of the Dominican Order, along with Pope Innocent III. The Inquisition was born; it began because of Bible-believing Christians, such as the Waldenses and the Albigenses. The latter often debated with the Roman Catholics.
Dominic Guzman said, “It is not by power and pomp...or by gorgeous apparel that the heretics win proselytes. It is by zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity, by seeming, it is true, but by seeming holiness.”
“Saint” Dominic suggested that the humbleness of the Albigenses was counterfeit. The Albigenses in turn made a confession saying that “the Church of Rome was not the spouse of Christ but the Church of confusion drunk with the blood of the martyrs. That the Church of Rome was neither good nor holy nor established by Jesus Christ,” (Rome and the Bible, by David W. Cloud, page 9).
At the Colloquy of Montreal, in 1207 A.D., the final theological debate took place between the Roman Catholic Church and the Albigenses. Dominic was no match for the Albigenses' Bible knowledge, it was recorded.
“Guzman was humiliated by his failure. Speaking on behalf of Christ, Guzman promised slavery and death,” (Who’s Who in the Cathar War: Dominic Guzman by James McDonald, www.cathar.info).
The Preserved Word of God
The Albigenses were not the only ones who stood for the faith and also had a Bible. The Waldenses of Northern Italy possessed and copied the Bible before the Reformation. They also kept the Sabbath. There are currently only two Waldensian Bibles known and preserved in our modern times. However, further research shows there were more copies both before and during the Reformation. One of those Bibles was the Olivetan Bible which actually converted John Calvin (Olivetan's cousin) from Catholicism to Protestantism.
Throughout history, men of God have stood on the Word of God. Not all Christians submitted to the Church of Rome. God has preserved his Word for His people. As we review the history of the Bible, let us be encouraged to have the same faith those in times past did. Let us not waver with the postmodern trends we see today. We may be persecuted and made fun of. But in the end, God's truth will conquer.
Carlos attended public schools most of his life, before completing high school at Jefferson Christian Academy. He then canvassed with Ouachita Hills College for one summer. He is a graduate of the SALT Program, operated by It Is Written and Southern Adventist University.