Summary:
The words written in the Bible is inspired by God; it doesn’t come from the thoughts of men. It has withstood the questionings of men and the test of time, even though political leaders tried to destroy it. God is not only ready to preserve His word, He is ready to perform it. This is evidenced by the many prophecies that have been fulfilled, especially by Jesus. The last prophecy about the Lord Jesus is that He’s going to come again. Will we be ready?

The theme of the Spiritual Meeting is ‘Loving the Bible’.

There is a book that talks about a professor who spent 42 years studying all the religious classics/texts. He compared the religious classics with the Bible. According to him, all the religious classics can be placed on the left side, and the Bible can be placed on the right side. There must be a space left between them. This is to show there’s a vast difference between the religious classics and the Bible. The Bible is not just a book that surpasses all other books, it is a book that is completely different from all other books and is unparalleled.

An article said:
When the UN was laying the foundation of its building, there was a ceremony where they placed the Bible in a bottle and buried it. This was to show the Bible is the foundation of world peace.

When the European kings and presidents take their office, they have to take their oath with their hands on the Bible. This is to show they will serve the people in accordance to the Bible. Those who bear testimony in the courts also have to put their hands on the Bible and swear what they speak is the truth and nothing but the truth.

All this tells us the Bible is a very special book, because the words of the Bible are not the words of men. It’s the word of God.

1 Thess 2:13
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

The people at that time had their own religious and philosophical beliefs. But some were willing to forgo the beliefs they had and pursue the faith Paul preached. This was because they realised what Paul preached wasn’t the words of men but of God. What Paul preached wasn’t the words of men but words inspired by God! There are many great men in the world that speak of the things they think of or have seen. When they see how the universe works, they discover there must be a law that keeps the universe functioning. For example, Newton wondered why an apple dropped to the ground instead of floating up. After thinking about it, he realised there must be the law of gravity. When people saw various illnesses in men, they made discoveries and invented ways to heal men. When they saw that people’s mental state caused them to behave abnormally, psychiatric medicine/practice was invented to heal men’s mental state. When people observed that men are born, age and die (of disease), they came up with religious concepts to explain this occurrence. When they saw the ill effects of sin, they started to think about the ways to overcome/take away sin so they could have peace in their hearts. Yet, whatever the Bible says is not what men can observe and think up. It is God who inspired and instructed men to write all His words down. In the Bible, we often read God saying, “My people, you ought to listen.” Or when we read the book of the prophets, we often read the prophets saying, “The Lord says you ought to act in this and that way.” One example is what God said to Moses.

Exo 34:27-28
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

God instructed Moses to ascend mount Sinai. In the 40 days and nights, God spoke to Moses. God instructed Moses to write down whatever he heard so he could teach the people. This shows the word of God is not the result of men’s thinking and processing; it’s from God Himself. Hence although the word of God is written by men, the words are from God Himself.

2 Tim 3:15-16
and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul tells us all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. In the original Greek text, the word for ‘inspiration’ is ‘God-breathed’. The writers of the Bible all have their own writing style but their thought process is God-breathed. God blew His will into their thought process, so whatever they thought about and put in writing became the word of God.

2 Pet 1:21
for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

In the original Greek text, the word ‘moved’ has the meaning of being ‘led’ or ‘motivated’. The writers of the Bible had the spirit of God leading or motivating them. Their thoughts were like the sails of the boat pushed and led by the wind. They hence wrote in accordance to the will of God. We thus believe the Bible is from God. It is the spirit of God who moved them to write all these words down.

Why did God inspire His servants to write the Bible? The most amazing message Paul talks about is: through believing in the Scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ, we have wisdom for salvation. He then encourages us to read the Scripture because we would then be able to come to know Jesus Christ and about salvation.

Every religion teaches men what to do to receive salvation. Every religion teaches different methods. But what’s common about these methods is that they’re all thought by men. But the method of salvation based on the Bible is not thought by men but inspired by God. God inspired men: Death comes from sin. After death, men will have to meet with judgement for their sins to be condemned. God inspired men: The only way for our sins to be forgiven is through the blood of Jesus Christ that washes them. Only then can we be saved into everlasting life and not suffer everlasting death. Jesus has the authority to forgive men of sins; to give everlasting life to men. This is because He is God who has come in the flesh. This is a really amazing message! This is really the amazing grace of salvation! Hence, when Paul discusses the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, he breaks out in joy and says, “Great is the mystery of godliness that God comes in the flesh!” This is where Christianity differs completely from other religions. This is why the Holy Bible is different from other religious classics and texts, and is unparalleled. Christianity is established through the inspiration of God. It’s not like other religions established by religious leaders that thought about how to do it.

We say the Bible is from God. But some other religions also say their religious books are inspired by God. But all the texts they have were unable to withstand the questioning of men and were unable to withstand the test of time. They were gradually eliminated through history. The Bible we have has also gone through the questionings of men and the test of time. Even people with political strength have tried to eradicate the Bible. This happened in both the East and West; in time past and now! Yet the Bible remains up to today and has not been eliminated.

An article talked about the cultural revolution during the time of Mao Zedong in China. Opposers of the Bible who wanted to eliminate it made the bold proclamation, “Soon, you won’t be able to see the Bible anymore! The printings of the writings of Mao Zedong will surpass the Bible!” Mao Zedong died in 1976. In 1978, they announced that they wouldn’t print his books anymore. It was just 2 years after he died that they cut the production of his writings!

Today the Bible has the most number of copies being sold. The Bible has also been translated into thousands of different languages all over the world. Pause and think about it. How many books in history are like the Bible that has so many translations and such a great distribution around the world? Yes, at a particular sliver of history there may be some books that exceed the distribution of the Bible at that point in time. Harry Potter books had a greater distribution than the Bible at one point in time. But that only happened at that particular sliver of time. But if we take an expansive view of history, how many books are like the Bible, having so many copies distributed? More importantly, how many books actually survive after going through opposition, even political opposition, and still exist today? History testifies that the Bible will never be eliminated, because the Bible is the book of God. It is God who preserves His book.

Jer 1:11-12
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

Jeremiah saw a branch of an almond tree. God said, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.” What’s the connection between Jeremiah seeing the branch of the almond tree and God saying this? The root word of “branch of an almond tree” means ‘high alert’ or ‘vigilant’. God says He’s like the branch of almond tree - vigilant and watchful to keep to His word.

Hence, many people tried to eliminate the word of God in history but were unsuccessful. The power they had on their side was a power no Christian was able to withstand. Indeed, many Bibles were destroyed such as during the time of the cultural revolution in China. Yet, God miraculously preserved His word so that it will never be eliminated!

Not only is God ready to preserve His word, He is also ready to perform it.

The Bible is a book full of prophecies. From Genesis to Revelation, there are many prophecies. Some prophecies concern individuals, some concern kingdoms, some concern the entire nation. But what’s more important are the Messianic prophecies about Jesus Christ. All the prophecies in the Bible have been gradually fulfilled in time, especially the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ. How He’s going to be born. Where He’s going to be born. Where He will grow up. The work He’s doing. Where He is going to die. The circumstances around His death. Many prophecies of Jesus Christ were of very fine details and they have all been fulfilled. When Jesus resurrected, His disciples were astonished because they thought their faith had suffered shipwreck; because Jesus had been nailed to the cross and had already died and was buried. Would their faith still exist? When the Lord Jesus resurrected, they didn’t dare to believe it was real! Jesus told them, “From Moses to the prophets, all the things written about the Messiah have been fulfilled upon Me.” (Luke 24:44) When they searched the Scripture and compared it to what happened upon the Lord Jesus, they could see this was clearly the salvation of God. The Messiah God prophesied of had come. He had truly established the Kingdom of God. He would truly be able to lead men into everlasting life into the Kingdom of God.

Jesus hence said to His disciples that heaven and earth would pass away but His words would by no means pass away (Matt 24:35). All His word will be fulfilled. All the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ have been fulfilled. The last prophecy about the Lord Jesus is that He’s going to come again.

If we believe in the word of God, we must hasten today and get ready for His coming again. We must be very zealous in praying for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We must be diligent in reading the word of God, because only the word of God refreshes our soul. May our souls be preserved until the day He comes again.