The Bible continues to be the all-time best seller in the world. It is not surprising that this is so, considering that the Creator is the author of its fundamentals, even though He used ghost writers like Moses, David, Luke, Paul and others. In spite of its constant popularity, the Bible still has many detractors. These include those who deny the whole creation story, the divinity of Christ and the promises made to Abraham and his descendants. In addition, the miracles cited in the Old and New Testaments tend to confound the skeptics.
I am impressed by the many miracles in that some are based on simple chemistry while others require a faith to believe in the power of God. A good example of the former is the miracle which occurred at Lake Mara (Exodus 15:25) where God commanded Moses to cast a tree into the waters to make the waters sweet. What really happened is that the log had lain in the sun, and the cellulose was oxidized to form an ion exchange resin that sequestered the magnesium and calcium ions, making the bitter water sweet. (Moses was the first Culligan man!)
While this has a logical explanation, it was God who set Moses up to carry out this miracle. Other miracles are more difficult to explain: raising Lazarus, the widow’s son and feeding the 5,000 must be taken on faith. Other troubles for Bible detractors are the numerous prophecies which defy reason, yet in due time become reality. A number of examples will suffice:
Isaiah predicted that a virgin would conceive and bear a child (Isaiah 7:14). This is an obvious contradiction to human nature, but nevertheless did occur as predicted. Micah (5:2) predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem; and though Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth, He was indeed born in Bethlehem. So, regardless of how impossible a prophecy may appear, it does surely come to pass as written.
An interesting and somewhat troublesome prophecy is that due to Zechariah (Zech 14:4) in which the prophet writes that His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and the mountains will be divided from the East to the West. Such an image would require that Jesus would be a few thousand feet tall! Surely, the prophet is mistaken…? However, considering all the other impossibles in the Bible, perhaps the prophet is correct. Our view of God and Christ is limited by our own narrow dimensions, yet God can hold the universe in His hand.
In a recently published book, “A Book of Angels,” by Sophey Burnham, she describes an event that might make the above more plausible. Three Soviet astronauts had been in their space station for a long time, when they suddenly saw a bright orange light outside their spacecraft. On looking, they saw seven giant figures with wings and halos. They appeared to be several hundred feet tall, and their wings were as large as those on a jetliner. The band of angels followed the spacecraft for about ten minutes, and then vanished.
Twelve days later, the seven angels reappeared and were seen by three more scientists who reported that they were “smiling as though they shared a glorious secret.”
The Soviets quashed the report, but word leaked out about this encounter in 1985. This could well explain the feasibility of Zechariah’s prophecy.
Considering the prophecies of Zechariah and the current turmoil in the Middle East and the world situation, we must soon realize that no man can put the world back in order but Christ Himself. Surely, in the Lord’s Prayer, we say “Thy Kingdom Come,” and we certainly must pray that it is soon and that we may see this prophecy fulfilled in our time.