Canon of Scripture
How do we know which books are inspired?
Canon is defined as: “a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine.”
The Biblical Canon that most Bibles accept are either 66 books, or 73 books
The Disciple Canon has 42 books, which is Genesis to the 3rd Gospel, [Traditionally called ‘Luke’. The name “Luke” does not appear in True scripture]. For a quick example of the problems with the added texts, go here Is the Gospel of John from God?
Run down of the books and why they are in the Canon:
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
ABOUT: These 5 books were actually 1 book, the “Book of Moses”. Also called the “Torah”, or “The Law”.
There are two forms of verification that make this book/ these books True Scripture or Canonical.
i. The people who lived back then witnessed the miracles and knew first hand this writing was from a man chosen and sent by God.
ii. Within the text God tells us/Israel how to know who is a true prophet, and who isn’t. The way we know a True Prophet is when a person (1.) Claimed to be sent by Yahweh. (2.) Tells the future accurately.
iii. When Jesus, or another verified Prophet, quotes them and/or refers to them as a historical person.
Moses did this. One of the Prophecies that we can see that came true long after Moses lived was Israel backsliding, their destruction by a foreign army from the North [They are likened unto an Eagle. The Eagle was also the symbol of Rome], their removal from the land they inhabited, and their eventual return to Israel.
The Prophets very clearly prophesied about the destruction of Israel that is to come, their restoration back to the land, a suffering Messiah [ Place of Birth, Method of Execution, Purpose of Execution, Time of Death, Etc], and a Messiah King who will rule the world.
There are poetical books like Psalms and Proverbs that were written by prophets and kings. Included in these were prophecies. Proverbs is purely Wisdom.
Joshua, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles are historical accounts of the early days of the nation of Israel. They also have prophecy and wisdom, but are mostly accounts of historical events.
And Jesus is the center piece of everything. The prophets verified Jesus long before He came, and Jesus proved himself by miracles and prophecies back then. Including the destruction of the temple, his resurrection, persecution of Disciples, etc. We can look at Jesus’ prophecy that his words will be read all over the world. He says this a few times. To this day, no other human being has been more read and talked about than Jesus the Christ.
Prophecies that prove Yahweh’s inspiration:
Moses:
Moses prophecies about Israel’s backsliding and Yahweh’s punishment.
Deuteronomy 28:25, 36-37, 47-51 :
“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before
them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. … 36 “The LORD will bring you and the king whom you
set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods–wood and stone.
37 “And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you.
… 47 “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything,
48 “therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 “The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 “a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 “And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.
Jesus’ Prophecies:
Universality of the Gospel:
Matthew 24:14 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 26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, [there] shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Destruction of the Temple 68AD: Matthew 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Isaiah & Jeremiah:
Wrote that Babylon would be destroyed and that no one will live there after. No one has lived there. Saddam Husein wanted to build on the old ruins, but the Iraq war began. American troops further demolished the ruins further by placing helicopter pads on top.
Isaiah 13:19-20
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
Jeremiah 51:29
And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
David
Psalm 22 is a prophecy of the death of Jesus. David who wrote it, is considered a prophet because his prophecies came true.
When Jesus said “My God! My God! Why have you Forsaken me!”
For a word study of the word “Forsaken”, go HERE
This sentence has confused many, “Why would The Father ‘forsake’ [KJV] His Son?”
To understand, the sentence is also found in Psalms 22. By reading this Psalm, you can see what else Jesus was thinking. The Psalm is obviously a prophecy of the death of Jesus the Messiah.
The Psalm begins:
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” – Psalms 22.1
Jesus cried out these very words from the cross, (Matthew 27.46; Mark 15.34 ). Likewise, the Psalmist explains:
“All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, ‘Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him,’” Psalms 22.7-8
The Gospels say:
Luke 23:35-36 “And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided [him], saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Messiah, The Elect (I.e. Chosen) of God.’ And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar” -Luke 23.35-36 see also Matthew 27.39-43 and Mark 15-29-32
The Psalmist continues:
Psalm 22:18 “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” Psalm 22.17-18
During the execution of Jesus, we are told:
Mark 15:24 “And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. Mark 15.24 see also Matthew 27.35,Luke23.34
The author of the Psalm exclaims:
Psalm 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. – Psalm 22.16.
Surrounded by hostile gentiles (“dogs” and “wicked”), Jesus is nailed to the cross through His hands and feet.
Nahum
Nahum 3:4-7 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts,
that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. 5 Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the LORD of hosts;
and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. 7 And it shall come to pass,
[that] all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Problems with the current Canon
Let’s be Clear & Honest:
Almost all people who call on God have accepted blindly the popular Biblical Canon of either 66 or 73 books.
We inherit the beliefs of our proximity:
- Our Parent’s Belief
- The First Church we attend
- The nearest Church
- The most popular Church in our country or area
Almost all of us accept what we are told, and then for the rest of our days we promote these teachings. Some of us may change slightly, but we stay within the scope of accepted ‘Orthodox’ teachings.
This is especially True when we come to the Canon of Scripture. We accept what we are given and rarely dare, or think, to question the Canon that men long ago decided was God’s Word.
For those of us who question the Canon, we are told that the Church ‘Fathers’ [ “Call no man Father” – Jesus ] Chose this Canon and therefore we must accept their Canon because after all they were much holier than us and often died from martyrdom. Martyrdom doesn’t prove a teaching.
The New Testament took 300 years after Jesus rose again to be accepted as it is. Hebrews, 2nd Peter, Revelation, Galatians were some of the late entries. How did they come to be accepted? By the sword. This enforcement was enforced in some form from around 350AD up until the 19th century. If you were in John Calvin’s Geneva, and claimed the Bible ends at Luke, you’d likely find yourself burnt alive.
The council of Nicaea included 100s of bishops and the Emperor of Rome himself. Emperor Costantine’s main goal was to unite the Church which was divided over several key doctrines. He took the majority position on doctrines, and he accepted all the books that were presented. His goal was not Truth, but unity. After the Council of Nicaea, people were no longer free to question various doctrines, or whether certain books should be in the Canon. If you did so you were considered a ‘Heretic’ and killed.
The Scriptures end at the 3rd Gospel
After the 3rd Gospel, 100s of books were written in an attempt to influence the Church. Examples include:
- The Acts of Peter
- The Acts of Thomas
- The Acts of Luke
- Paul’s letters
- Revelation of Peter
- The Gospel of Thomas
- Gospel of John
Recent examples are:
- The Book of Mormon, which is actually many books.
- The Quran
- The Gospel of Judas [ Recently discovered, but very old]
The purpose of all these writings were/are to steer the masses toward the direction that the author wanted them/us to go in. In short, they wanted to make men in their image…in their deceitful image. These men were likely Atheists because what person who fears God would add to His word? The authors viewed the Torah [ First five books of the Bible. Genesis to Deuteronomy] as a fiction that people wanted to believe. They saw the utility/usefulness of the Torah at making people better than savages. But for whatever reason, they thought there needed to be a change. For Joseph Smith it seemed he wanted to unify the 100s of denominations under Mormonism. For Paul, it seems he wanted non-Jews to believe in God. Paul had a problem in that non-Jews did not want to be circumcised. So he declared, along with the author of Acts, that you did not have to practice the law or get circumcised. This teaching is a contradiction to everything Yahweh/God has said in the true scriptures. If there was any doubt, Jesus makes it crystal clear that the whole law stands until Heaven and Earth pass away:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven”. – Jesus , Matthew 5.17 – 20
Disciples of Jesus, refuted anything after Luke. Why? Jesus said only he is our teacher:
“But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.” – Matthew 23.8-10
During Jesus’ ministry he confronted Israelis traditions not found in Torah. They added laws, and made others “of none effect” – Jesus.
Jesus knew when he left people would do the same with his message. They would add things, and take things away.
1. Disciples of Jesus are only taught by Jesus.
2. Matthew , Mark, and Luke are the true inspired scriptures.
3. The Gospel attributed to John could not be from John as i. The Jesus in it is completely different than the Jesus in the synoptic Gospels. ii. The contradictions in John compared to the true Gospels cannot be reconciled.
– In John Jesus died on the Passover. In the Synoptics he dies the day before.
– In John, John the Baptist is not Elijah. In the Synoptics Jesus clearly says he is.
– In John Jesus had a 3 year ministry. In the Synoptics he had a one year ministry.
– In John Jesus tells his followers to drink his blood. God’s law says not to consume blood ever.
– In John, believing alone saves you. In Matthew, believing without works won’t save you.
– In John we see a Greek concept of the “LOGOS/WORD became flesh”.
– In John Jesus says “I am”. In the Synoptics Jesus warned us of false Messiahs: Mark 13:6 “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am…”
[ We will post more examples of these eventually. In the mean time the reader can look these up on a search engine, or send us a message. Thanks.]
