The Bible, in comparison to the religious writings of other ancient civilizations and cultures

Sometimes people raise the point that the writings of the other ancient civilizations and cultures of the world have much knowledge regarding various things e.g. astronomy, astrology, health and medical sciences, supernatural and metaphysical activities etc. so how does the Bible compare to them and the knowledge found in them? The Bible is not silent about these things and does mention God’s point-of-view regarding the aforementioned things in the ancient writings of other people or cultures or civilizations of any place of the world. The Bible does mention the Sun, Moon, and stars and constellations for seasons, God’s set purposes and to declare the glory of God (Genesis 1:14-18; Job 9:9; Job 38:31; Psalms 19:1-2; Psalms 104:19), and the use of stars to navigate (Matthew 2:2);  but it expressly forbids ascribing any divinity to or worshiping of the heavenly bodies (Deuteronomy 4:19; 2 Kings 23:4-5). The Bible speaks of quarantining and preventive measures for health and safety (Leviticus 7:19; Leviticus 11:24-39; Leviticus 13; Numbers 19:11-16); and denounces the practice of witchcraft, sorcery, indulging with spirits, divination and soothsaying (Leviticus 19:26, 31; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). But just because The Bible does not go into any great details, discourses or explanations about them and other such things, therefore this should not be construed as reason and evidence of those other writings being superior to The Bible.

This is because the theme of The Bible is entirely different and unique – it never was meant to be a book of knowledge regarding the temporal universe, which will one day perish and come to an end. Rather, the Bible is about reconciling mankind with God through coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, since mankind is separated from God because of their sins – and no extent of any temporal knowledge of any kind can deliver any person from the eternal and disastrous consequences of their sins. Give it a thought, despite having all the knowledge that they had about so many different things, could any of the ancient civilizations of any place in the world and their knowledgeable people ever deliver themselves or their people from the problem of sin and its disastrous consequences; could they provide the way to be delivered form sins and of salvation? No matter how much one may pride and glory in the status of knowledge – past or present, the stark sad fact remains that no temporal knowledge of any kind can deliver any one from their sins and its consequences; and the eternal future of any one dying in sin is very bleak, since they are destined to be in hell for all eternity, no matter what the state of their knowledge on earth may be. The knowledge of those ancient civilizations and cultures about temporal and worldly things can confuse a person through imaginary doctrines related to life, after-life, and death, but can never provide any lasting, practical, and provable solution to the problem of personal sin of a person.

The theme and content of the Bible, from the beginning to the end is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the deliverance from sins and the salvation that only He provides, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This theme, i.e. the Lord Jesus, His life, His character and characteristics, His works and ministry, His salvation etc. are all indicated, taught, and exemplified through the various teachings, laws, events, happenings, lives and writings of certain historical people, God’s dealings with men in various circumstances, etc.  and have been recorded centuries before the birth of the Lord Jesus on earth in the Old Testament section of the Bible. The Lord Jesus Himself and other writers of The Bible testified of this repeatedly, as is apparent from some related references from the Bible, given below:

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

John 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.

John 12:41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

Hebrews 10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- In the volume of the book it is written of Me-- To do Your will, O God.'

The New Testament section of the Bible begins with four accounts of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus, and how He prepared and provided the way of salvation for the entire mankind, for the whole world. This salvation that He has made freely available is to be accepted voluntarily and made applicable in their lives personally by everyone, free of any cost, without any works or rituals: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:1-9), and thereby the person is reconciled with God through the forgiveness of sins made available by the Lord Jesus: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." ”; “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 10:9-11; Romans 5:10). The New Testament, after the biographical records of the Lord Jesus then goes on to provide the history, events, growth, practices and responsibilities of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, that collectively form His Church – the group of the called out ones, through the writings of some of the disciples of the Lord Jesus. And finally the Bible and New Testament culminate with the Book of Revelation – which is a prophetically given record, of the end of the world, of the end times – the times we are presently living in, as is evident from the various end-times prophecies being fulfilled before our eyes (Read an account in Matthew chpt. 24). The book of Revelation details the coming inevitable judgment of the whole world and of every person ever to inhabit it, and the eternal life to follow – with God in heaven, or without God in hell – as per the choice every person made while living on the earth, the decision they made when brought to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus and the salvation He freely offers to all, and lived with for their entire life on earth, despite all opportunities provided to them to correct their decision: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And 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. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

Once their life on earth comes to an end, their individual decisions for their eternity immediately come in to effect and they now are irrevocable. Those who have accepted the Lord Jesus and His offer of forgiveness of sins, and accordingly have repented of their sins, having asked forgiveness of their sins from Him, have submitted their lives to Him, to live in obedience to Him and His Word – the Bible “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:37-42), they will, as the children of God “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13), go to be with their Father God in His abode – Heaven (please read Romans chpt. 5). Those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and His offer of eternal life with Him in heaven, will, as per their choice and decision made on earth, be sent away for all eternity, from the presence of God into hell – the place of the devil and his angels: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 – see verses 31 to 46).

There is no escaping the fact that, as it claims to be, The Bible is the one and only Word of God, that has irrefutable ancient textual, even from non-Christian texts and records, historical accounts and archeological proofs to back its claims. The Bible too states this for itself:

2 Samuel 23:1-2 Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 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.

2 Peter 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.

The Bible is the one and only inerrant, infallible, eternal, irrevocable, absolute, Word of God, “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalms 119:160) that is settled in heaven for all times, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven” (Psalms 119:89) – therefore it can never ever be altered or destroyed by any one, through any means, no matter what any one might say or claim. The Bible is the written revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the theme and content of the Bible and therefore the Bible is also known as the ‘Living Word’: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). Lord Jesus is the one and only God who made Himself of no reputation and came to earth in the flesh, lived and suffered as any other common man of earth, all for the salvation of the whole of mankind: “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8); “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:12-14); “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 14-16). Since God can never change, never in any way be altered by any one, nor be falsified or made a liar, nor be destroyed, therefore neither can His written revelation the Bible ever be changed, be altered, falsified or made hypocritical, or be destroyed by anyone.

The Bible is unique, is different and incomparable in any manner to any religious writings of any people, anywhere in the world, ever; since it is not a book to be read for knowledge, rather it is the Living Word of God that reads and lays bare the life of the reader, through and through. It is not a book of religion, but of repentance from sins and faith in the Lord Jesus, of accepting and believing that He has provided once and for all the only possible way to eternal salvation. The Bible is not about the activities and behavior of a myriad of personalities to whom though divinity has been ascribed, but yet it is stated that they go around mutually having ego related and emotional issues, seeking and plotting superiority and power over each other, vying with each other for receiving human worship, being involved in the use of intoxicating and inebriating substances and drinks, and in lustful activities – i.e. all the things that human beings are asked not to be involved in so that they can be righteous and good, are found in them. And despite all the religious works, rites, rituals, penances etc. prescribed for humans by these divine personalities to attain holiness, they are not in the least ready to see that any human ever attains to their level and stature. If perchance anyone through their efforts comes anywhere near reaching near to them, conspiracies are hatched and executed to ensure their downfall into sin and mortal existence. Rather, The Bible is about the one true and perfectly Holy God that cannot even see evil “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:13), let alone live with it or compromise with it. But He loves the fallen humanity so much that He wants to redeem them and restore them into His image, the image that He had created them in, “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."” (Genesis 1:26-28); “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”; 2 Corinthians 3:18), and has provided the way for this to be done. It is the book that exhorts to go out into the whole world to spread the good news for the benefit of mankind at every place, rather than being possessive, secretive and exploitative about things beneficial for mankind.

The Bible is also incomparable to any other text or writing anywhere in the world since it not about:

·         the temporal and perishing gains that man accrues for himself, but about the eternal life and heavenly blessings that God in His love and grace has freely offered to mankind.

·         dividing and keeping the people apart by segregating them into classes and castes, but it is about uniting all people as one, as the equal, saved and Born Again children of God into God’s family.

·         establishing worldly kingdoms and dominating others, but about the heavenly kingdom of God and reaching out to help and serve others in humility and love like the Lord Jesus.

·         winning strifes and wars, but about winning hearts and establishing God’s throne in the hearts of people.

·         gaining and excelling in knowledge about temporal things, but about receiving salvation – being saved by the love and grace of God once and for all from sin and its consequences for all eternity;

·         the created things, but about the very Creator Lord God who became man to save mankind;

·         destroying the sinners, but about loving and saving them for eternity once and for all.

So, looking down upon the Bible through trying to compare it to any other writings of the world is like taking up a highly acclaimed textbook on Rocket Science and then rejecting it, putting it away, simply because it says nothing about learning the alphabets and nursery rhymes – there simply are no grounds, none whatsoever, for any such analysis, comparisons or for drawing any such conclusions related to the Bible.

No knowledge, no writing of earth can ever attain to it, since The Bible is the one and only Book of Heaven, given for the deliverance of people of the earth.