When speaking of the “Word,” I am speaking of what we commonly call the “Bible.” The Bible is composed of 66 books, written by 40 different authors. In reality, it is one book, and over 1,500 years God used 40 different authors to write down His Word for our benefit. Specifically, the Bible is the Word of Jesus Christ and Jesus is the Word of God. (See John 1:1-5)
“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.” (Revelation 19:13)
The entire Bible is the Word of Jesus Christ and not just the red letters by the way.
I would like to provide some interesting information I obtained from the Internet concerning the Bible.
• More than 2,100 languages have at least one book of the Bible in that language.
• There are more than 168,000 Bibles sold or given to others in the United States every day.
• There are 20 million Bibles sold each year in the United States.
• The Gideon’s International distributed 59,460,000 Bibles worldwide last year. That’s more than 100 Bibles per minute.
• Zondervan, a leading Bible publisher, has more than 350 different versions of the Bible that are in print right now.
• 92% of Americans own at least one Bible, whether it was given to them or purchased.
• There are 1,300 translations of the Bible in new languages.
• 100 million Bibles are printed every year.
• In the world today, more than 80,000 different versions of the Bible generate at least one sale annually.
• YouVersion, a top downloaded Bible app for mobile devices, has over 100 million total downloads and counting. (I have this app myself.)
• More than 66,000 people are using a Bible app at any given second.
• Three people share a Bible verse on their social network every second.
• Isaiah 53:5 is the most shared Bible verse on the internet today.
• 77% of people say that they read the Bible more frequently because they have it available on a mobile device.
• In 2005, Thomas Nelson, a leading publisher, published 60 different editions.
• There are 900 different versions of the Bible just in English.
Now this is interesting.
• A Gallup survey found that less than 50% of Americans can name the first book of the Bible.
• Only 1 in 3 Bible owners know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Billy Graham is a more popular answer than the correct answer.
• 12% of Christians believe that Noah was married to Joan of Arc.
Nearly everyone has a Bible in their language, especially in this country. Will anyone really have an excuse when they are judged by God? Actually, they will have no excuse even if they do not have a Bible. (See Romans 1:18-32.)
Jesus and His Word are being maligned today in ways I never thought I would see in my days upon this earth. As we have seen, the Bible is very plentiful but ignored by most. It is not only ignored. It is mocked, purposely mistranslated to promote evil, and rejected as an outdated book of fairy tales.
Jesus, the 2nd person of the Trinity came to earth and gave His life then rose again and returned to Heaven. He made the impossible possible. He provided one way for anyone to be saved if they will believe in Him by simple child-like faith. However, many today use His name as a curse word, mock His Word the Bible and hate all Jesus stands for.
When Jesus returns to earth, and He will, He won’t return as a lamb, but as a lion. After the Church is removed, He will unleash judgement upon this world beyond what we can imagine. He has warned us and revealed all this in His Word – the Bible!
In the book of Revelation we see Him in His brilliance and His Word will be like a double-edged sword coming from His mouth.
“In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Revelation 1:16)
“Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15)
“The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.” (Revelation 19:21)
If you recall, supposedly Isaiah 53:5 is the most shared verse on the Internet today. That surprised me. I thought it would be John 3:16, but regardless, notice what this Scripture passage states.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
If folks are reading this verse (or John 3:16 for that matter) and still ignoring Jesus, they are rejecting the only lifeline they have for a Heavenly eternity.
I’ll share one final verse with you and it is the most frightening of all.
“There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.” (John 12:48)
All who mock, hate, misrepresent, ignore and reject the Word of God today, will be judged by it – by that very book! Notice that Jesus says in John 12:48, “the very words I have spoken.” This is past tense for our benefit. He is speaking of the very Word that we call the Bible.
The very Word of God that is being trashed by folks today will be their judge. They will be judged by the very book they had no regard for today.
Don’t allow Satan to make a fool of you. Recognize that the Bible is God’s Word. Its words can lead us to salvation in Jesus Christ or be heard to condemn us.
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html