Then, perhaps, the fabricators of the hoax may have attempted to persuade the people that the documents had somehow been lost for many years and thus their instructions forgotten until they were recently rediscovered. Although some may have been persuaded in this manner, surely many of the more skeptical and hardheaded Israelites, naturally reluctant to accept the expensive and demanding priestly rule and restrictions commanded in these spurious documents, would have demanded firm proof that they were genuine works of Moses before they would have even accepted them. The kings and rulers especially would have resisted them, since they described a theocracy, rather than a monarchy, as the governmental structure of the nation.
In fact, the readers would no doubt have responded indignantly by pointing out that, if indeed the documents and practices had been lost for so long, it was the priests and scribes themselves who were guilty, since the very documents they were using said they had been made responsible to maintain the religious institutions of Israel and they had, therefore, failed miserably and were thus hardly to be entrusted again with all this power.
The writings, of course, not only described the Passover, but also the establishment of other institutions, such as the tabernacle, the perpetual offerings, the annual feasts and other observances, and even the Levitical priesthood itself. It is inconceivable that all of these things could now suddenly be inaugurated simply on the basis of a purported "rediscovery" of ancient documents establishing them, without absolutely firm proof that the documents were genuine works of Moses.
Could it have been possible, on the other hand, that all of these institutions had somehow sprung up on their own, with no guidance from Moses, and that now, at this late date, one of them — the priesthood — decided to crystallize all of them by the development of a set of "Scriptures" describing them? Normally, in real life, effects require causes. It is far easier to believe that Moses himself originally set up all these things than to believe that, somehow, they all just happened. All of them are intimately tied to the deliverance from Egypt and wilderness wanderings commemorating them in one way or another. Could all this elaborate history and the corresponding rituals simply have been invented either by priests or anyone else, with no basis in fact? Since all of them are intimate reflections, in one way or another, of the great events associated with the nation's beginning, they must have had their start immediately after that time.
If the histories really took place, however, and if Moses actually was the great leader and lawgiver which the traditions indicated, then the documents describing the establishment of the Passover and other institutions could never have been accepted by the people unless they corresponded fully with what they already knew about the institutions and unless they gave every evidence of being genuine works of Moses.
The only other possibility is that the real writers and editors of the documents were the most unscrupulous and yet the most brilliant forgers and charlatans the world has ever encountered. They somehow contrived a marvelous story of creation and earth history, the moving narratives of the lives of the patriarchs, the thrilling tales of Israel's deliverance from Egypt and wanderings in the wilderness. Most amazing of all, these scheming liars devised the Ten Commandments and the greatest moral and ethical code in all history, and convinced everyone for three thousand years that all of it had come from God through Moses!
Now, however, thanks to the brilliant sleuthing of our modern higher critics, this ancient scheme has finally been exposed! Or perhaps it is only the higher critics themselves who have been exposed. Can men who would reason in such devious ways as this really be honest and intelligent men?
The Old Testament Scriptures still stand. The testimony of the Passover, the unanimous acceptance by the early Christians and their Jewish contemporaries, the careful linguistic studies of dedicated and highly skilled conservative Bible scholars, the penetrating discoveries of archaeology, the impact of the Old Testament on all subsequent world history, and the full confirmation by the Lord Jesus Christ of its historic and divine trustworthiness, all unite in certain assurance that the Book is true.
Selected books for further study:
Aalders, G. Charles. 1948. The Problem of the Book of Jonah. London: Tyndale. 30 p.
Adams, J. McKee. 1946. Ancient Records and the Bible. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press. 397 p.
Allis, Oswald T. 1949. Five Books of Moses. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed. 355 p.
Allis, Oswald T. 1972. The Old Testament: Its Claims and Critics. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed. 509 p.
Allis, Oswald T. The Unity of Isaiah. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed.
Anderson, Sir Robert. Daniel in the Critics' Den. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publishing House. 186 p.
Bruce, F. F. 1988. The Canon of Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. 349 p.
Free, Joseph P., and Howard F. Vos. 1992. Archaeology and Bible History. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 314 p.
McDowell, Josh. 1975. More Evidence That Demands a Verdict. San Bernardino, CA: Here's Life Publishers. 365 p.
Morris, Henry M. 1976. The Genesis Record. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. 716 p.
Thiele, Edwin R. 1977. A Chronology of the Hebrew Kings. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publ. House. 93 p.
Unger, Merrill F. 1954. Archaeology and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publ. House. 339 p.
Whitcomb, John C. 1959. Darius the Mede. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 84 p.
Wilson, Robert Dick. 1959. A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament. Chicago, IL: Moody Press. 194 p.
Wilson, Robert Dick. 1925. Studies in the Book of Daniel, 2 vol. New York, NY: Revell. 850 p.
Wiseman, P.J. 1946. New Discoveries in Babylonia about Genesis. London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott. 143 p.
Young, Edward J.
An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 432 p.
Chapter V
The Unique Birth of Christ
The Person of Christ
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is, of course, the greatest proof of His deity and, therefore, of the truth of the Christian faith. However, there are many other aspects of His person and work which also warrant treatment in a study of Christian evidences. As already noted, Christianity is unique in that it is based upon its founder rather than upon its founder's teachings. "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11). Therefore, it is essential that the believer understand thoroughly the nature of Jesus Christ and the basis for our certainty that Christ indeed is God himself.
In studying this subject, it is assumed that the New Testament portrait of the deeds and words of Christ is authentic and reliable. This assumption is not blind faith, as demonstrated in chapter 3, but rather is based on overwhelming evidence. Entirely apart from the question of the divine inspiration of the Bible, which will be considered later, we can be absolutely confident that the New Testament gives an accurate record of the important events and teachings in the life of Christ, as well as the beliefs concerning Him held by the first Christians. Therefore, we can base our discussion henceforth on relevant biblical statements without further digression to establish their authority.
The Pre-Incarnate Christ
Unlike all other men, the Lord Jesus Christ, according to His own claims, did not begin His life at the time He was born of a human mother. "For I came down from heaven," He said, "not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38).
He is shown in Scripture as the second person of the triune godhead, and thus