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Larry Ray Hafley
Included in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address are the words, "The world
will little note, nor long remember, what we say here." Yet, his 272 word speech
is acclaimed by men of literature as one of the greatest works ever produced.
Lincoln was wrong. The world, indeed, has greatly noted, and will forever
remember, his words.
On August 23, 1864, less than three months before his re-election, Lincoln
wrote, "This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that
this Administration will not be re-elected." Again, so wise a man as Lincoln was
wrong.
So, what is the point? History is full of the words and writings of men that
have proved to be in error. However, it is not true of the Bible! Can you find
any such mistakes in judgment, or in predicting the course of the future, in the
Bible? If the Bible is the product of uninspired men, as the brilliant works of
Shakespeare, or Lincoln, we should expect to find an abundance of such errors
and misjudgments, but we do not. Why?
Shepherds, servants, statesmen, fishermen, physicians, and tax collectors are
some of the authors of the Bible. Written by such a diverse collection of men
over a period of 1,500 years, we should not be surprised to find many
miscalculations of men and history within its pages, but we do not. Why?
Where did Paul or Peter ever make a seemingly innocent judgment, such as
Lincoln did, that history has proven untrue? Where did Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nahum,
Amos, or Obadiah ever refer to the future of certain nations and miss the mark
entirely? When Egypt was threatened with destruction, it occurred. When Nineveh
and Tyre and Sidon were told of their overthrow, it happened (See the prophets
above). When Paul and Peter spoke of a future apostasy, it transpired in the
manner they said it would (1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Thess. 2:1-10; 2 Pet. 2 & 3).
Could all of these men, in widely scattered locations and points of time,
have been so infallibly wise, in and of themselves? Where is a little,
incidental mistake in their writings such as Lincoln made, when he said, "The
world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here"? There is none!
Why? How do you account for their absolute, precise correctness? Could it be
that the Bible is the word of God?!
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