God’s Providence and The Preservation of Scripture (Pt. IV)

(Part IV and Conclusion)

We Enjoy Empirical Evidence That God Has Successfully Preserved

His Word—The Dead Sea Scrolls

            I visited the Israel museum in recent years. It has an impressive display called, “The Shrine of the Book,” which is a study of the Dead Sea Scrolls with some fragments for viewing. From their website we get a concise understanding of the scrolls’ significance:

The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century B.C.E. to the first century C.E. Most of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, with a smaller number in Aramaic or Greek. Most of them were written on parchment, with the exception of a few written-on papyrus. The vast majority of the scrolls survived as fragments—only a handful were found intact. Nevertheless, scholars have managed to reconstruct from these fragments approximately 950 different manuscripts of various lengths.

            The manuscripts fall into three major categories: biblical, apocryphal, and sectarian. The biblical manuscripts comprise some two hundred copies of books of the Hebrew Bible, representing the earliest evidence for the biblical text in the world… All the books of the Hebrew Bible, except for Nehemiah and Esther, were discovered at Qumran. In some cases, several copies of the same book were found (for instance, there were thirty copies of Deuteronomy), while in others, only one copy came to light (e.g., Ezra).

            Sometimes the text is almost identical to the Masoretic text, which received its final form about one thousand years later in medieval codices; and sometimes it resembles other versions of the Bible (such as the Samaritan Pentateuch or the Greek translation (Exodus, Leviticus) and an Aramaic translation (Leviticus, Job) have survived as well.

            The most outstanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls is undoubtedly the Isaiah Scroll (Manuscript A)—the only biblical scroll from Qumran that has been preserved in its entirety (it is 734 cm long). This scroll is also one the oldest to have been preserved; scholars estimate that it was written around 100 B.C.E. In addition, among the scrolls are some twenty additional copies of Isaiah.

            Before we leave the discussion of the Dead Sea Scrolls, let us make one more observation.

God’s Preservation Sometimes Relied on Unrighteous People

            Recently I was discussing the Scriptures with Cliff Goodwin when he made this observation: “There were times in history when unlikely men played a role in preservation.” Most Bible students believe the Dead Sea Scrolls were produced by the Essenes, and ancient Jewish sect. They were a strange lot. Some believe John the Baptist was an Essene because of his unique dress. We are grateful to the Essenes for the Scrolls, but Scripture came from the Spirit of God (2 Pet. 1:21).

            Similarly, many credit the Catholic Church with giving the biblical canon that we have now. This assertion is an exaggeration, at best. God placed in Scripture the inherent qualities that define words and paragraphs as Scripture. Catholics merely acknowledged God’s preservation.

Without God’s Faithful Preservation of His Holy Scriptures,

the Miracle of Prophecy Fails

The miracle of prophecy is useful as a tool of God, as with other miracles, to confirm his word (Heb. 2:3-4; 1 Cor. 12:4-11), but remember, the gift of prophecy and their fulfillment were recorded and reliable. Prophecy and fulfillment are both reliable and thus demonstrate that God has protected the accuracy of his word. This can be proven over and again.

“What Is Written” Will Be the Basis of Our Judgment

            I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books (Rev. 20:12).

            Scripture indicates that the opened books will be these: the book of deeds (2 Cor. 5:10); the book of life, the list of people who are saved (Rev. 20:15); and the Bible.

            “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (Jn. 12:48).

            Take these words to heart and know that God will always preserve his holy word.

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The Spiritual Sword

By Glenn Colley