The Bible Versus Other Alleged Holy Books
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, July 31, 2025 (Donate)
When I tell people the Bible is true, I often get questions that sound like this:
“But how do you know the Bible is
the right one to pick when there are so many holy books like the Upanishads,
Confucius’s writings, Book of Mormon, Vedas, Studies in the Scriptures (Charles
Russell), the Talmud, and the Qur’an?”
It sounds like a buffet where you pick what you want,
doesn’t it? Many mistakenly think that people just line the holy books up and
make your best guess. In other words, you pick based on what you think is the truth. But this is not
the case at all.
If YOU are the authority on the truthfulness of a religious
book, then God (or a god or a set of gods) CANNOT be. Let me state this
differently. If one argues that God is the absolute authority by appealing to
their own opinions as the ultimate authority, then that person refutes
themselves. It sounds complicated but it is that either man is the authority or
God is.
Image from Presentation Library
So let’s look at this issue in more detail.
What Is The Bible Really Up Against?
Some “Holy Books” Do Not Claim To Be The Word Of God
This might surprise you, but many “holy books” aren’t holy,
and they admit it! In other words, they do not claim to be the Word of God. They
are like any other writing.
For instance, take the writings by ancient Hindus sages. The
Vedas, Upanishads, or even the Bhagavad Gita are not the revealed word of their
god, Brahman (other gods in Hinduism are considered manifestations of Brahman).
Brahman is not a personal god, so revelation (i.e., communication) from Brahman
would not be a possibility since communication is a personal attribute.
These alleged holy writings are merely various opinions of
their ancient sages on the subject. The alleged holy books of Hinduism are
nothing more than errant books of man, nothing that should be confused as the
inerrant (without error) Word of God like the Bible. Any writing of an alleged impersonal god (e.g., New Age, Scientology,
Taoism, etc.) is in the same camp.
Obviously, any book about religions that have no god (e.g.,
secular religions or many moralistic religions) cannot be a book that could be
confused as the Word of God either. So there goes any Buddhist, Confucianist,
Epicurean, Stoic, and atheistic writing. Believe it or not, this eliminates
Satanism’s writings, too (LaVey’s The
Satanic Bible and The Devil’s
Notebook for example). LaVey was actually an atheist arguing for atheism in
the books!
Multi-god systems like Germanic or Greek mythologies,
Shinto, and so forth are little more than ancestor worship where people were
elevated to a god-like status. Oden and Thor are listed in ancient genealogies and
were real people who later had god-like attributes attached to them.[1]
Again, it would merely be the arbitrary and fallible opinions of man anyway you
look at them. Nothing like a revealed Word of God that the Bible is.
Pagan religions like witchcraft, voodoo, and animism do not
have a supreme god who reveals his or her will. This explains why there are
such varied beliefs among pagans. It comes down to the mind of mankind anyway.
There are no unified, absolute scriptures for paganism.
A deistic god, by the very definition, generally remains
distant from his creation, so there is no need for this alleged god to
communicate with beings within his creation. So, by the story of most deists,
there should be no Word of God in their reckoning!
Stop for a moment and realize what we just discussed. Most
world religions have already forfeited their alleged holy books as failures
that have no basis for revealed truth within their own religions!
Other “Holy Books” Agree The Bible Is True!
But usually, when the “rubber hits the road” in the subject
of alleged holy books that compete with the Bible, people don’t appeal to Hindu
writings or atheistic writings. Instead they appeal to books that come from religions
that look or act like Christianity—Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and so
on.
However, what you are probably not told is that these other
alleged holy books or prophets often agree the Bible is true. More often
than not, they want to add their “new Scriptures” to the Bible.
In the 1800s, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Charles Taze Russell
(their founder and supposed prophet) affirmed that the Bible is true. Russell
just opted to add his works to it.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) has continued in
the same trend as Russell.
Also in the 1800s, alleged prophet Joseph Smith (founder of
the Mormons) and subsequent Mormon leadership also agree that the Bible is true
(insofar as it is accurately translated). Although, Smith attempted to add the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of
Great Price, and the Doctrines and Covenants as Scripture.
Alleged prophetess Ellen White agreed the Bible is true
though her writings were seen by many early Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) as
inerrant—an addition to Scripture.
Encouragingly, we see many SDA today who no longer hold Ellen White in such
high esteem and now see the Bible as the
sole source of doctrine.
Even Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, agreed the Bible is
true and this appears several times in Qur’an (e.g., Surah 2:40–42, 126, 136,
285; 3:3, 71, 93; 4:47, 136; 5:47–51, 69, 71–72; 6:91; 10:37, 94; 21:7; 29:45–46;
35:31; 46:11–12). But the Qur’an was seen as the true revelation to be added to
Scripture for Islam. If you ever meet a Muslim (follower of Muhammad) and they have
not read the Bible or refuse to do so, then kindly point out that they are subtly
mocking Muhammad and the Koran (Qur’an) when they do this.
Within Roman Catholicism, they agree the Bible is true and
have the correct nature of Christ, but then in the 1500s added the Apocryphal books as full canon Scripture[2]
(and Papal/Ecumenical authority which is a response called an “infallible
pronouncement” on faith and moral issues if they are called into question). The
Jews agreed on much of the Scripture (Old Testament) but then add the Talmud, Mishna, etc. (oral
traditions put to writing beginning about AD 200) while rejecting the New
Testament.
This list could continue, but the point is that many who
have professed additional writings from God still agree that the Bible is true.
So, the issue with them is not the Bible. It is their alleged additions that
need to be judged and tested by the Bible (previous Scripture). There is little
dispute on the Bible.
|
|
Bible is true? |
But wants to add… |
|
Mormons |
Yes |
Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the
Doctrines and Covenants |
|
Jehovah’s Witnesses |
Yes |
Studies in the Scripture, Watchtower, and Awake |
|
Islam |
Yes |
Qur’an and Hadith |
|
Seventh Day Adventist |
Yes |
Ellen White’s writings |
|
Roman Catholicism |
Yes |
Apocrypha and Papal authority |
|
Judaism |
Most (OT) |
Talmud (Traditions) |
|
Orthodoxy |
Yes |
Some Apocrypha and Patriarchal authority |
|
Syncretism |
Yes |
Humanistic Origins (various degrees of evolution) |
|
Bah’ai |
Yes |
Qur’an and Bahaullah’s writings and his sons, modern
prophets and the House of Justice |
|
Biblical Christianity |
Yes |
Nothing |
There is no reason to be exhaustive here. The point is that
the Bible has very little competition when you actually look at the issue. It
is by no means a buffet line from which to pick and choose. The questions are,
“Does the competition even come close?” and “Is the Bible true?” Let’s begin
with the latter question.
The Authority Of Scripture
The God of the Bible is absolute by His very nature. He is
the ultimate authority on all things—by extension; His Word is the ultimate
authority on all things.
God, being the ultimate and final authority, can only reveal
Himself by final and absolute authority. In other words, there is no other
authority to “prove” God and His Word as all other authorities are lesser than God.
This is why I, a mere
man, am not in a position to prove God and His Word. If I appealed to my
arbitrary opinions on God or His Word, I would be a lesser authority than
God—being a fallible and imperfect man.
Can I use logic to
try to prove God? Even logic is dependent upon God and His being as the
ultimate authority. Logic and reasoning are tools that we use to “think God’s
thoughts after Him.” But even our use of logic is a lesser authority than God.
All things (man, logic, angels, governments, etc.) are lesser than God, and
thus lesser in authority than God and His Word. Keep in mind that logic is
predicated on the Bible being true and a logical, all-knowing God existing and
that He created and sustains things in a logical fashion.
This means that only God is left in the position to prove
Himself and His Word.[3]
God alone is in the spot to reveal to us His absolute existence and His
absolute Word. And He does this by final and absolute authority. And He did it
with the first few words of Genesis.
In the beginning God… (Genesis 1:1)
This initial phrase is the foundation of the rest of Genesis
1:1. Genesis 1:1 is the foundation for the rest of Genesis 1. Genesis 1 is the
foundation for the rest of the book of Genesis, and Genesis is foundational to
the rest of the Bible.
The Bible, from start to finish, is equal in authority and
is our absolute starting point for all matters.[4]
The Bible, the 66 books of Scripture, is the authority in all things—even the
existence of God. Any objector would be a lesser authority and, therefore, not
in a position to usurp the authority of God.
When God reveals that He exists, then that is the final
authority on the matter and no one is in a position of higher authority to
object to God. That would be a faulty appeal to authority fallacy at the
onset of their opposition to God’s existence and hence fallacious. Simply put,
by authority of the highest authority in existence, the God of the Bible
exists.
Man Vs. God?
Secularists (humanists) like atheists, agnostics, Epicureans,
Nazis, communists, and post-modernism merely appeal to their own authority.
Mankind is seen as the absolute authority in their religious convictions. They
have no God to which they can appeal. So whether people appeal to Darwin,
Hitler, Stalin, or the like, it is always a person or group of people.
People do not have absolute authority. They are arbitrary
and lesser authorities. Any argument they try to present to attack God and His
Word are flawed from the onset because they are not a sufficient authority on
the issue.
“But The Bible Was Written By Mere Men!”
Secularists and others who hold to a “no god” position want
to demote God’s Word to be like their arbitrary writings. They want to argue
that God was not involved in the Bible (since they suppress His existence) and
that it is merely a human document. They present a case that the Bible is no
different from Darwin’s book The Descent
of Man or Plato’s book Critias.
They rebut, “The Bible was just written by men!”
When it comes to the authorship of the Bible, of course men
were involved—Christians would be the first to point this out. Paul wrote
letters to early churches and these became Scripture. David wrote many of the
Psalms, Moses wrote the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), and so
on. In fact, it is estimated that over 40 different human authors were
involved.[5]
But this is not the real issue. The real issue is whether
God had any involvement in the authorship of the Bible.
Let’s think about this for a moment. When someone claims
that the Bible was written by men, they really mean to say it was written by
men without God’s involvement.
This is an absolute statement that reveals something
extraordinary. It reveals that the person saying this is claiming to be…transcendent.
For a person to validate the claim that God did not inspire the human authors
of the Bible means he must be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent to know
this is the case!
1
Omniscient: This person is claiming to be
an all-knowing authority on the subject of God’s inspiration in order to refute
God’s claim that Scripture was inspired by Him (2 Timothy 3:16).
2
Omnipresent: This person is claiming that
he was present, both spiritually and physically, to observe that God had no
part in aiding any of the biblical authors as they penned Scripture.
3
Omnipotent: This person is claiming that,
had God tried to inspire the biblical authors, they had the power to stop such
an action.
So, the person making the claim that the Bible was merely
written by men alone is claiming to be God since these three attributes belong
to God alone. This is a religious issue of humanism versus Christianity. People
who make such claims (perhaps unwittingly) are claiming that they are
the ultimate authority over God and are trying to convince others that God is subservient
to them. Please don’t fall for this deception.
When responding, I prefer to address this claim with a
question that reveals the real issue—and there are several ways to do this. For
example, referring to omnipresence, I can ask, “Do you really believe that you
are omnipresent? The only way for you to make your point that God had no
involvement would be if you were omnipresent.” Then I can point out that this
person is claiming to be God when he or she makes the statement that God had no
involvement in the Bible.
Or, in regard to omnipotence, perhaps I can ask, “How is it
that you are powerful enough to stop God from inspiring the authors?” Or I
could direct the question to the rest of the listeners by simply asking, “Since
the only way to refute the fact that God inspired the Bible is to use
attributes of God such as omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience, do the
rest of you think this person is God?” Naturally, I may have to explain it
further from this point so the listeners will better understand.
I could also ask, “How do you know that God was not
involved?” Other responses include undercutting the entire position by pointing
out that any type of reasoning apart from the Bible is merely arbitrary.
Thus, the person trying to make a logical argument against
the claims of the Bible (i.e., that God inspired the authors) is doing so only
because he or she is assuming (though unintentionally) the Bible is true and
that logic and truth exist! It is good to point out these types of
presuppositions and inconsistencies.[6]
Someone may respond and say, “What if I claim that
Shakespeare was inspired by God—then you would have to be omniscient,
omnipresent, and omnipotent to refute it.”
Actually, it is irrelevant for me to be omniscient,
omnipresent, and omnipotent to refute such a claim. God, who is omniscient,
omnipresent, and omnipotent, refutes this claim from what He has already stated
in the Bible. Nowhere has God authenticated Shakespeare’s writings as Scripture,
unlike Christ the Creator God’s (John 1; Colossians 1; Hebrews 1) approval of
the Old Testament prophetic works and the New Testament apostolic works—the cap
of the canon is already sealed.[7]
A Presuppositional Authority
God exists and that His Word, the Bible, is the truth. This
is the starting point.
God simply opens the Bible with a statement of His existence
and continues by saying His Word is flawless (Genesis 1:1; Proverbs 30:5). The
Bible bluntly claims to be the truth (Psalm 119:160), and Christ repeated this
claim (John 17:17).
In fact, if God had tried to prove that He existed or that
His Word was flawless by any other means (i.e., a lesser means), then any
evidence or proof would be greater than God and His Word—which would be
contradictory to God’s nature. However, all other things are lesser than God.
God knows that nothing is greater than He (e.g., Hebrews
6:13) and by extension, His Word, and therefore He doesn’t stoop to our carnal
desires for such proofs—instead God offers proof by the impossibility of the
contrary (more on this in a moment).
The Bible also teaches us to have faith that God exists and
that having faith pleases Him (Hebrews 11:6). Accordingly, we are on the right
track if we start with God’s Word. God’s Word is presupposed as the truth and
our starting point and this is what makes all knowledge, all logic, all
argumentation, all intellectual endeavors, etc. possible.
How Do We Know The Bible Is True?
Allow me to dive in
a little deeper here by starting with God and His Word as the absolute
authority. The Bible is true because any alternative would make knowledge,
logic, and truth impossible. The Bible is the only book that has the preconditions
for knowledge/logic/truth (i.e., intelligibility). Stated otherwise, the Bible
must be predicated as true to make reasoning, truth, and intelligence a
possibility.
All other
worldviews must borrow from the Bible for the world to make sense. Science,
morality, and logic all stem from the Bible being true. If the Bible were not
true, then knowledge would be impossible. In other words, if the Bible were not
true, nothing would make sense—good or bad…everything would be meaningless and
pointless.
This doesn’t mean
someone has to believe the Bible to be true, but that the Bible is true
regardless. Consider someone who says he doesn’t believe air exists. He makes
convincing verbal arguments and openly says he doesn’t believe in air…all the
while using air to breath and speak his argument. It is like this with the
critics of the Bible, they argue the Bible is not true and that they have
knowledge to say so; all the while borrowing from the Bible, which accounts for
truth and knowledge.
Think of it this
way: Unless the Bible is true, which
accounts for (1) knowledge and (2) truth existing and (3) that we are made in
the image of an all-knowing, logical, God of truth (so we can seek to
understand the answer), then no one and no worldview can even proceed to even
answer the question “How do we know the Bible is true?” unless they borrow these
attributes from God’s Word.
This is called the “impossibility of the contrary” that proves the
Bible to be true by God’s own Word. By starting with God and His Word as the
absolute authority, no other possibility can exist to make knowledge possible.
Additional Or Competitive “Holy Books”?
Scripture (God’s Word) comes from God, and God cannot contradict Himself. If God were to contradict Himself, then nothing can be trustworthy or known. All knowledge would be arbitrary and nothing could ever really be known. Thus, when God reveals Himself, it will not be in contradiction.
Previous Scripture Is The Judge Of Latter Scripture
Furthermore, when God revealed more about Himself in
subsequent Scripture, it was consistent with the previous revelation. New
revelation builds on previous Scripture as the previous judges the latter (newer Scripture). The Holy Spirit
revealed this through Moses (e.g., Deuteronomy 13, Acts 1:16).
This is why the New Testament is built on a defense using
the Old Testament to prove the New Testament (e.g., Acts 17:10–11). We saw
Jesus (e.g., “it is written”), the Apostles, and others in the New Testament
using and quoting the Old Testament witness as their proof of Jesus as the
Messiah, for example. The Old Testament judged the New Testament. The New
Testament was not contradictory to the Old Testament, but instead fulfilled
what the Old Testament was looking toward and built upon its foundation.
A red flag should go up when you hear someone say that
previous Scripture (e.g., the Old or New Testament) should be judged based on
their alleged “new Scripture.” They have it backward. In fact, it would be too
convenient if the new were to judge the old instead of the old judging the new
because anyone could make that claim and put themselves into a position of
authority greater than God! And many have tried to do just that.
It is all-too-convenient when the new revelation is seen as
authoritative and then the Bible is demoted. Yet this is a trademark for those
who pay lip service to the Bible. For example, Mormons say the Book of Mormon
and other Mormon writings are the authority and the Bible is secondary based on
the interpretation and translation of the Bible according to Mormon teaching.
They place the latter Mormon writings in a superior position to the previous
(Bible).
The Jehovah’s Witnesses do the same thing. The Bible is
secondary to their writings and subject to the Watchtower Organization and
Charles Russell’s view of the Scripture. They have the latter in a superior
position to the previous. Islam fairs the same with the Qur’an in a higher
position than the Bible. Again, this is back to front.
The same worn-out case is found with Ellen White’s writings. Her writings take the forefront and the Bible takes a secondary role, being interpreted based upon her view of the Bible—again, I’m glad to see many modern SDA reverse this and put God’s Word as supreme.
At the very least, if these alleged prophets viewed their
works to be equal to the Bible, then they should have held to the position that
their works were equal to but not greater than the previous! Instead, like
clockwork, they elevate their own alleged revelations to supersede the Bible. That
should be a red flag to anyone.
Sadly, this method of taking the new as authoritative and
neglecting the old in light of it is nothing new. Did you realize Jesus had to
deal with this? The Jews had been walking away from the Old Testament. They had
held to the traditions of the elders (later written down and called the Talmud)
as superior to Moses and the Old Testament prophets. They reinterpreted
meanings in the Old Testament that destroyed the meanings of passages all for
the traditions of man and made useless the commands of God.
The New Testament did not do that. The New Testament
apostles consistently argued their case,
based upon the Old Testament and gave equal authority to their New
Testament Scripture as a fulfillment to the Old Testament. The New Testament
books were not seen as superior documents to the Old Testament that now need
reinterpreting.
The same occurred throughout the Old Testament. When Old Testament
prophets came forth with the Word of God, they did not say their books were
superior and that Moses now needs to be seen as secondary or reinterpreted
based on their new book. By no means. Their prophetic works were seen as
building on the foundation of Moses.
Previous Scripture is to be used to judge latter Scripture. When
an alleged new prophet claims the opposite, they stand in contradiction to
Bible and thus are false prophets.
God Will Not Contradict Himself
Another way to
know that other religious writings are not from God has to do with
contradictions. They contradict God’s already stated Word, the Bible.
In the Bible, we read that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2;
Hebrews 6:18). This is significant because it means that God’s Word will never
contradict itself. Though skeptics have alleged that there are contradictions
in the Bible, every such claim has been refuted.[8]
This is what we would expect if God’s Word were perfect.[9]
Yet the world is filled with other “religious writings” that
claim divine origin or that have been treated as equal to or higher than the
Bible on matters of truth or guidelines for living. In other words, these
writings are treated as a final authority over the Bible.
Any religious writing that claims divine inspiration or
authority equal to the Bible can’t be from God if it has any contradictions:
contradictions with the Bible, contradictions within itself, or contradictions
with reality.
Examples Of Contradictions In Religious Writings
A religious writing can be tested by comparing what it says
to the Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:21). God will never disagree with Himself
because God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). When the Bible was being written and
Paul was preaching to the Bereans (Acts 17:11), he commended them for checking
his words against the Scriptures that were already written. If someone claims
that a book is of divine origin, then we need to be like the Bereans and test
it to confirm whether it agrees with the 66 books of the Bible. Paul’s
writings, of course, were Scripture (2 Peter 3:16).
Religious books, such as Islam’s Koran (Qur’an), Mormonism’s
Book of Mormon, and Hinduism’s Vedas, contradict the Bible, so they cannot be
Scripture. For example, the Koran in two chapters (Surah 4:171 and 23:91) says
God had no son, but the Bible is clear that Jesus is the only begotten Son of
God (Matthew 26:63–64).
The Book of Mormon says in Moroni 8:8 that children are not
sinners, but the Bible teaches that children are sinful, even from birth (Psalm
51:5). The Book of Mormon, prior to the 1981 change, says that Native Americans
will turn white when they convert to Mormonism (2 Nephi 30:6).
Few would dispute that the Vedas and other writings in
Hinduism are starkly different (thus contradictory) from the Bible as
previously discussed.
Also, such religious writings contain contradictions within
themselves that are unanswerable without gymnastics of logic. In the Koran, one
passage says Jesus will be with God in paradise (Surah 3:45) and another states
that He will be in hell for being worshiped by Christians (Surah 21:98).
None of the apocryphal books of Romanism or Orthodoxy claim
inspiration from God. One apocryphal book, Maccabees (1 Maccabees 9:27, 4:46,
and 14:41) points out that no prophets were in the land and hadn’t been for
some time. Since prophets were the mouthpieces of God, how can these books,
written during this time that prophets weren’t present in Israel, be the Word
of God?
The Talmud, which is “the traditions of the elders,
tradition of the fathers,” “law of the fathers,” or “tradition of men,” was
strictly opposed by Jesus and the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 15:2–6; Mark 7:3–13;
Acts 22:3; Galatians 1:13–14; 1 Peter 1:17–19). They are obviously incompatible
with the Bible.
If these writings were truly from God, such discrepancies
couldn’t exist.
Chart of
contradictions with some popular alleged new Scripture and the Bible
|
|
Bible |
New Scripture Claims |
|
Koran (Qur’an) |
Jesus is God who became a man as well (Colossians 2:9) |
Jesus is not God (Surah 5:17, 5:75) |
|
Koran (Qur’an) |
Jesus was crucified (1 Peter 2:24) |
Jesus was not crucified (Surah 4:157) |
|
Koran Qur’an) |
The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 3:15-17) |
The Holy Spirit is the created angel Gabriel (Surah 2:97,
16:102) |
|
Book of Mormon |
Salvation is by faith through grace apart from works
(Ephesians 2:8–9) |
Salvation is by grace and works (2 Nephi 25:23) |
|
Book of Mormon |
One God exists (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Chronicles 17:20; 1
Timothy 2:5) |
Multiple gods exist (Doctrine and Covenants, Section
121:32, 132:18–20) |
|
Jehovah’s Witnesses |
Jesus is the Creator God (John 1:1–3; Hebrews 1:1–9;
Colossians 1:15–19 and distinguished from angels (Hebrews 1:4–8) |
Jesus is the created angel, Michael[10] |
|
Jehovah’s Witnesses |
Hell is a place of eternal torment for sinners who do not
receive Christ (e.g., Daniel 12:2; John :28–29; Matthew 25:41–46; Mark 9:43–48;
John 3:36; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 14:9–11,) |
Hell is not a place of eternal torment[11] |
|
Jehovah’s Witnesses |
God created in 6, 24-hour days as defined by an evening
and a morning in Genesis 1 and rested on the seventh day (Genesis 1:1–2:3;
Exodus 20:11; Exodus 31:15–17) |
God created in 49,000 years with each day being 7,000
years in duration (Charles Russell, Studies in the Scripture,
Volume 6, p. 19) |
False Prophecy
False prophecy is an obvious hallmark of false prophets. A
prophet is one who claims to speak for God, often foretelling events. The Holy
Spirit, speaking through Moses, writes,
But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name,
which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other
gods, that prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, “How shall we know
the word which the LORD has not spoken?” — when a prophet speaks in the name of
the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which
the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall
not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:20–22)
Matthew 7:15–20 reiterates a warning against false prophets.
How have the alleged prophets since the Bible fared?
Islam
In the Hadith tradition of Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 37 Number
4281–4283, Muhammad claimed that the Antichrist (Dajjal) was supposed to come forth 6 months after the conquest of
Constantinople by the Muslims. At the same time, Medina (Yathrib) would be left
in ruins.
The Muslim conquest was much later than Muhammad’s day,
finally occurring in May of AD 1453. But no Antichrist ascended in November of
1453 and Medina was not left in ruins.
Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
The Mormons have not fared any better.
Yea, the word of the Lord concerning his church,
established in the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has
spoken by the mouth of his prophets, and for the gathering of his saints to
stand upon Mount Zion, in which shall be the city of New Jerusalem. Which city
shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger
of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated
by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased.
Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built
by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the
temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this
generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord,
and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the
Lord, which shall fill the house. (Doctrine and Covenants 84:2–5)
Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses for the
sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and
sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in
this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed. (Doctrine and
Covenants 84:31)
The Mormon’s New Jerusalem and temple was not built in
Missouri and definitely not in that generation, which came and went many years
ago.
The Mormons have an extensive seven volume set of the History of the Church which was
originally History of Joseph Smith.
It includes Smith's writings and subsequent comments by Smith's secretaries and
scribes (those close to him). Then it picks up with Mormon historians once
Joseph Smith died. In volume 2, we read:
President Smith then stated that
the meeting had been called, because God had commanded it; and it was made
known to him by vision and by the Holy Spirit. He then gave a relation of some
of the circumstances attending us while journeying to Zion—our trials,
sufferings; and said God had not designed all this for nothing, but He had it
in remembrance yet; and it was the will of God that those who went to Zion,
with a determination to lay down their lives, if necessary, should be ordained
to the ministry, and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, for the
coming of the Lord, which was nigh—even fifty-six years should wind up the
scene. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 2., p.
182)
So Smith marked the date of being no later than 56 years for
the Second Coming of Christ Jesus. By the context it should be over well before
that. This was stated in 1835before his death in 1844, but 1891, 56 years
later, came and went.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
The Watchtower Society or Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have
claimed Charles Taze Russell as the continuous prophet, have had the most failed
prophecies in modern times.
1889 True, it is expecting great
things to claim, as we do, that within the coming twenty-six years, all present
governments will be overthrown and dissolved.[12]
1889 Remember that the forty years' Jewish Harvest ended
October, A.D. 69, and was followed by the complete overthrow of that nation;
and that likewise the forty years of the Gospel age harvest will end October,
1914, and that likewise the overthrow of “Christendom,” so-called, must be expected
to immediately follow.[13]
For just one sample of the Watchtower Society’s failed
prophecies surrounding the year 1925, consider:
·
In 1918, they write, “…and since other
Scriptures definitely fix the fact that there will be a resurrection of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful ones of old, and that these will have
the first favor, we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men
of Israel from the condition of death, being resurrected and fully restored to
perfect humanity and made the visible, legal representatives of the new order
of things on earth. … Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark
the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old,
particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter 11, to the condition
of human perfection.” (Millions Now Living Will Never Die,
1920, p. 88–90)
·
In 1923 they write, “Our thought is, that 1925
is definitely settled by the Scriptures.” (Watchtower, April
1, 1923, p. 106)
Jehovah’s Witnesses have successfully failed to predict the
end of the world on many occasions including 1908, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1941, and
1975. Their prophecies continue to fail.
Other False Prophets
In the previous section we have focused on three major
groups in our culture, but there are plenty of other false prophets. Some are
specific and wrong.[14]
Others, like Nostradamus, are so vague that they become meaningless. Here are
just a few in our modern times (including some secular predictions):
·
Harold Camping falsely prophesied that the end of
the age would be in 1994 in his book 1994?.
That didn’t happen. Then Camping revised his date and it would occur on May 21,
2011. The date came and went. He changed it to October of the same year. That
came and went.
·
Charles Darwin predicted the Caucasians would
exterminate all other races within the not very distant future (measured by
centuries at the most).[15]
Now we know there is only one race—the human race. This is known from the Bible
all along and now confirmed by DNA. This prediction by Darwin never happened
and, based on his warped understanding of the human family, never will.
·
Clarence Larkin believed the Second Coming would
commence no later than AD 2000 with a rapture occurring (7 years before).[16]
·
Edgar Whisenant’s book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988 also failed.
·
Pat Robertson falsely predicted that Mitt Romney
would be elected the President of the United States in 2012, have two terms,
and the economy would turn around under his presidency. He attributed this
directly to the Lord. Instead, Romney, a Mormon, lost the election.
·
William Miller (father of Millerites and
Adventism), predicted that Christ would return on March 21, 1844 and then later
said October 22, 1844. Clearly, this didn’t transpire.
·
Al Gore (evolutionist) predicted in January of
2006 that the global warming point of no return for a true planetary emergency
would occur in just 10 years. It came and went.[17]
This is a failed prophecy.
·
Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse
Tyson, and others have predicted we will find aliens. I’ll let you ponder these
prophecies!
·
Nigel Barber claimed the world would be won as
atheism is predicted to defeat religion by the year 2038.[18]
Of course, atheism is a religion so
that would be impossible. But I hope readers will take note of this and test it
when the time comes.
This is but a taste of the false prophets who have been.
Even in the New Testament they dealt with false prophets (e.g., Bar-Jesus in
Acts 13:6). We’ve seen false prophets; the early church had to deal with false
prophets (e.g., Marcionism)[19]
and right up to the current times.
The point of this exercise is that if you can’t trust
alleged prophet or prophecies from someone when they speak, why trust their
other proclamations? Jesus wisely said to Nicodemus:
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:12, NKJV)
Conclusion
Since such alleged holy books and prophets are not from the
perfect God, who are they from? They are from deceived, imperfect mankind. They
may also be based on deceiving spirits and demons as the Bible reveals:
Now the Spirit expressly says that
in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own
conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry[20],
and commanding to abstain from foods[21]
which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and
know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:1–3, NKJV)
Even the doctrines of demons come through the mind of man in
their manifestations. Mankind’s fallible reason is not the absolute authority.
God and His Word are. Other books may have value, such as historical insight;
but they are not the infallible Word of God.
The Bible warns that false philosophies will be used to turn
people from the Bible (Colossians 2:8). Thus, people need to stand firm on the
Bible and not be swayed (1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Thessalonians 2:15).
There are two options: place our faith in the perfect,
all-knowing God who has always been there, or trust in imperfect, fallible
mankind and his philosophies. The Bible, God’s Holy Word, is superior to all
other alleged holy books. God will never be wrong or contradict Himself. So,
start with the Bible and build your faith on its teachings so that you please
Him.
Is there a need for new revelation after the Bible? Consider
the biblical book of Jude which says:
Beloved, while I was very diligent
to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write
to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered
to the saints. (Jude 1:3, NKJV)
[1]
Woden/Oden and Thor/Tror are even in my own genealogy that extends back to Noah
and Adam. See here.
[2] At
the Council of Trent as opposed to its previous nature of being deuterocanonical
or second canon—that is, useful in the church but not Scripture. After
this, they viewed apocryphal books as equal to the 66 books of Scripture which
was in opposition traditional Catholic views, especially as outlined by Jermone
and other councils.
[3]
Some might object and appeal to logic that this is a circular argument, thus
fallacious. However, circular arguments are valid
logically. What makes a circular argument fallacious is when it is an arbitrary circle (called a vicious
circle). God, being absolute and final, is non-arbitrary (called a virtuous
circle). Thus, it is valid and sound, so one cannot appeal to this being a fallacious
argument.
[4]
This is called the Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God (TAG). It
is not an argument per se, but is the foundation that makes all argumentation
possible.
[5] Josh
McDowell, A Ready Defense (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1993), p. 27.
[6] Jason
Lisle, “Put the Bible Down,” Answers in Genesis, December 5, 2008,
www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/12/05/feedback-put-the-bible-down.
[7] Bodie
Hodge, “A Look at the Canon” Answers in Genesis, January 23, 2008,
www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v3/n1/look-at-the-canon.
[8]
There are websites and books dedicated to this subject. To get started, I
suggest Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions, Volume 1 and 2, (Green
Forest, AR: Master Books, 2010 and 2012).
[9]
Keep in mind a crucial point here. If the
Bible were not true and not from God, then contradictions are acceptable! It is
from a biblical perspective that contradictions are a bad thing. If a secular
worldview were correct (no God and no Word of God), why not contradict
yourself?
[10] “Who
Is Michael the Archangel,” JW.org, accessed August 30, 2016, https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel-jesus/.
[11] “What
Is Hell? Is It a Place of Eternal Torment?” JW.org, accessed August 30, 2016, https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-hell/.
[12]
Charles Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2,
1889, p. 98–99.
[13]
Charles Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, 1889, p. 245.
[14]
E.g., (1) Herbert Armstrong (too many to list), (2) Ellen White (claimed to
have a vision of heaven in Early Writings,
p. 32 ,where she saw the Temple in the Holy City, but the Bible says there is
no Temple in heaven in Revelation 21:22), and (3) Jim Jones (who murdered his
flock).
[15] Charles
Darwin, The Descent of Man (New York: A.L.
Burt, 1874, 2nd ed.), p. 178.
[16]
Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, Rev. Clarence Larkin Est. Publisher,
Philadelphia, PA, 1918, p. 16.
[17]
For more false prophecies regarding Al Gore see: Larry Tomczak, “10 Ways Al
Gore Was Wrong About Global Warming,” Charisma News, February 16, 2016, http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/heres-the-deal/55185-10-ways-al-gore-was-wrong-about-global-warming.
[18]
Nigel Barber, “Atheism to Defeat Religion by 2038,” Huffington Post Science,
June 5, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nigel-barber/atheism-to-defeat-religion-by-2038_b_1565108.html.
[19] A
cult in the second century that taught the heretic Marcion of Sinope should be
trusted. Essentially, Marcion wanted the Old Testament to be thrown out as
Scripture. He also threw out most of the New Testament with the exception of 10
of Paul’s letters.
[20]
Many secularists today forbid and oppose marriage and attack this doctrine. We
see these various forms as perversional
or adulterous humanism pervades this
culture since the “sexual revolution” that began blooming in the 1960s and is
now in full flower.
[21]
This is the case with alleged prophetess Ellen White. We see this with others
too (e.g., Messianic Judaism) which is Peterism. B. Hodge, “Peterism—a False Doctrine
that Still Tries to Invade the Church,” Biblical Authority Ministries, February
11, 2016, https://biblicalauthorityministries.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/peterism-a-false-doctrine-that-still-tries-to-invade-the-church.
