What is Paul's encouragement to Timothy regarding the Scripture? 2Ti 3:16-17

All Scripture is inspired by God

What is the meaning of "all" (pas)?
All of its parts
(In (Mt 5:18 Jesus said even every "jot [iota; Isbe] or tittle [keraia; Isbe)
Click "plenary" in the last column

How does the Psalmist support this interpretation in Ps119:160?

Every single word is truth from the beginning. The totality of God's written revelation is not just true - it is Truth! There is not a speck of untruth in Scripture. It is everlasting.

The whole body of revelation is truth. “Thy Word is nothing but truth” [Luther].

Daniel Webster (1782-1852) emphasized the importance of THE TRUTH: "If truth be not diffused, error will be. If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy. If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will. If the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land...corruption and darkness will reign."

What does Peter teach us about the nature of the Scriptures in 1Peter 1:10-11?

The Spirit gave prophecies to the writers who wrote them down, read them, and tried to figure out what they meant. They recorded what they were told, but they didn’t fully understand what they were writing. God didn’t give them thoughts that they then expressed in their own words. God gave them the words.

What does Peter record about the reliability of the Scripture 2Peter 1:19 (what does he compare the reliability to?)

A more sure prophetic Word than even the experience of the Transfiguration of Christ and the audible voice he heard out of heaven (see note on 2P2:19)

What do some teach based on a misinterpretation of 2Peter 1:20?
Some teach that only the “spiritual leaders” may interpret Scripture

What is Peter really referring to when he states "no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation"? (clue: check the context)

The New Living Translation although clearly a paraphrase is correct in stating that "you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves". The point is that Peter was not referring to interpretation of Scripture but the origin of Scripture. It was not a man's own idea.

How does the context support the preceding interpretation (and the NLT rendering)?

Peter begins verse 21 with "for" indicating he is explaining the previous verse, and in so doing he states that no prophecy originated in the will of man.

How does Scripture originate according to 2Peter 1:21?

The Holy Spirit moved men to speak words from God.

The same verb for "borne along" is used by Luke in Acts 27:15 "and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along. Here literally the wind but in 2 Peter the picture of the Spirit like "wind" filling the "sails" of His prophets and moving them along.

What does Moses record that helps us understand the "inspiration" of Scripture? Ex 4:10-12

God told Moses that He had made His mouth and that He would be His mouth and teach him what to say. Note in this passage that God didn’t inspire thoughts. He inspired words. That is why forty years later Moses was so insistent on giving verbatim instructions to the people of Israel: “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Dt 4:2).

Note how Moses completely missed the deeper meaning of God's Name "I Am" (remember His Names always speak of His character, His attributes, etc). Moses failed to see Him as "I Am all that you will every need for any and every trial or circumstance in life. What was Moses' problem? He looked to himself to be eloquent rather than fixing his eyes on the great "I Am". Are we not all a bit like Moses when confronted with a test or challenge we think we are inadequate to fulfill? God will not ask us to do something that He does not enable us to complete or fulfill.

What does Jehovah's response to Jeremiah's feeling of being an inadequate speaker teach us about inspiration of Scripture (v6-9) and what does He promise in v12?

Jehovah touched Jeremiah's mouth and put His words in the prophet's mouth (most of this book is Jeremiah speaking). In v12 God promises that His Word will be fulfilled.

How did God communicate His Word in Ex 31:18?

Two tablets of the testimony of stone were written by the finger of God

What fact does Ex 32:16 emphasize?

The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets.

Note that Moses had nothing whatsoever to do with originating the stone tablets. The Lord not only delivered the thoughts, but He did so by writing the words Himself upon the stones

How did God communicate to Belshazzar King of Babylon in Da 5:5? What was the message and what transpired that same night? Da 5:24-30

Hand of a man wrote on the wall and Daniel interpreted the message that Babylon was numbered by God, the king was weighed and found deficient and Babylon would be divided. (Babylon was divided between the Medes and Persians) Belshazzar was slain that very night speedily fulfilling prophecy proving the Word was a true and sure supernatural message.

Note the fulfillment of God's sure word: "One ancient account alleged that Persia’s General Ugbaru had troops dig a trench to divert and thus lower the waters of the Euphrates River. Since the river flowed through the city of Babylon, the lowered water enabled besiegers to unexpectedly invade via the waterway under the thick walls and reach the palace before the city was aware. The end then came quickly, as guards, Belshazzar, and others were slain on Oct. 16, 539BC" (MacArthur MacArthur Study = MSB)

How did God communicate in Mt 3:17 at the baptism of Jesus and in Mt 17:5 at the transfiguration of Jesus?

God spoke - His message in both was "This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well pleased" In Mt17:5 He added "Listen to Him!"

Note that God's declaration was actually a combination of prophecies in Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1, both of which would have been recognized by the Jewish listeners as prophecies of the Messiah.

Why should men listen to Jesus according to Jn 12:49-50?

Jesus spoke message given to Him by God the Father

Note The words Jesus spoke were themselves a fulfillment of the prophecy in Dt 18:18 where God said "I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him."

What 2 ways did God speak according to Hebrews 1:1-2?

To the fathers in the prophets and in the last days has spoken to us in His Son. Jesus is the final revelation.

How serious is God about the integrity and inerrancy of His Word in Rev 22:18-19?

Add to them and he add the plagues of the book
Take away from them and God would take away their part in the Tree of Life.

Jesus also warns “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:19). God doesn’t want anyone tampering with His words.

Note: Morris in the Defender's Study Bible (DSB) has a very intriguing interpretation of this passage: "Note the importance of the words. The conveyance of precise thoughts requires the use of precise words. Only the doctrine of verbal inerrancy adequately expresses the true nature of Biblical inspiration. This warning at the end of the book of Revelation (in fact, the end of the Bible) stresses the necessity of literal interpretation. Actually, a literal interpretation is not an interpretation at all, for it takes the words at face value, assuming that the Holy Spirit (using the thoughts and abilities of the human writer whose words He inspired) was able to say exactly what He meant to say. Any kind of allegorical or figurative interpretation of those words (unless directly indicated in the context) assumes that the interpreter knows better than the Holy Spirit what He should be saying, and such an attitude is presumptuous, if not blasphemous."

The doctrine of inspiration, the truth that the Scripture is indeed God's word to mankind, is critically important, and not surprisingly is one of the first points of attack of Satan.

What were his first words to Eve?

Ge 3:1b "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

Click for discussion of several "tests" used to assess reliability of the Scriptures...

1) Bibliographical test
2) Internal test
3) External test
4) Changed lives: Who would
    die for a lie? click

What does God testify about Himself in Isaiah 46:9-10? (Note Isaiah 46 contrasts futility & powerlessness of Babylonian idols with God)

God states that only He He ("no other", "no one like Me") can tell what is going to happen before it happens

Note: Morris writes that "Only God can correctly predict the future, for He controls it. The Bible is unique among all other books as a book of fulfilled prophecies" (DSB) Vine adds that "It is good for the believer to call to mind the former things, to remember the way the Lord has led and helped and delivered. It stirs the soul to renewed praise, and stimulates faith and hope as to the future." (Collected writings of W. E. Vine) Spurgeon on Is 46:10 says "World events are not tangled, confused, or perplexing to God... Courage, dear friend. The Lord, the ever-merciful, has appointed every moment of sorrow and every pang of suffering. If He ordains the number ten, it can never rise to eleven, nor should you desire that it shrink to nine.
The Lord’s time is best. The span of your life is measured to a hair’s width. Restless soul, God ordains all, so let the Lord have His way. (click full devotional)

It is worth noting that arguments from prophecy have become less popular in an age characterized by critical biblical scholarship, which in many cases claims that apparently fulfilled prophecies were written after the events prophesied occurred.

What is God's challenge to the idols of the people in Isaiah 41:21-23?

To prove their power by means of a test of prophecy accurately fulfilled  which of course they cannot do.

Note: God alone knows the future, declaring both the beginning and end of His creation, confirming that Scripture is His inspired revelation to mankind.

What does God say about Himself and His Word in Isaiah 42:8-9?

After declaring "I Am Jehovah" He states that everything He has prophesied heretofore has come true. Then He adds that He will tell them the future before it happens.

Note: Vine comments "That His Name is the guarantee of the fulfillment of His word, is the clear intimation here in Isaiah 42:8. How sure and steadfast is His word! What an incentive it provides for faith to lay hold of His promises, even in the darkest hour and amidst the most perplexing and distressing circumstances! (Collected writings of W. E. Vine) Morris adds that "Only God, who created time and is therefore independent of time, can predict future events with certainty. The Bible is unique in all literature, with hundreds of fulfilled prophecies given hundreds and thousands of years before their fulfillment. This is a certain mark of divine inspiration." (DSB)

PROOF THAT ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY FULFILLED

How many prophecies are found in Scripture?
It has been estimated that there are 2500 prophecies in the Bible & about 2000 have been fulfilled to the letter (Ref)

Click for illustration of a literal fulfillment of the Lord God's prophecy in Ezekiel 26 against the powerful city of Tyre.

How many OT prophecies speak about the Messiah?
333 OT prophecies are fulfilled in the Messiah (Click for odds that even 8 prophecies could have happened by chance)

Click chart of Messianic Prophecies

What did Jesus say about the Scriptures?

Mt 5:17-18 He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (i.e., to fulfill the moral law by keeping it perfectly and also fulfilled prophecies about Himself written hundreds of years earlier)  The "jot" and "tittle" refer to the smallest letter and a mark which distinguished two letters in the Hebrew words of the Old Testament. Not only the words, but even the letters of Scripture are divinely inspired. The Lord's point is that every letter of every word of the OT is vital and will be fulfilled.

In English a jot would correspond to the dot above the letter “i” (and look like an apostrophe), and a tittle would be seen in the difference between a “P” and an “R”. The small angled line that completes the “R” is like a tittle. These things are important because letters make up words and even a slight change in a letter might change the meaning of a word. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

Note that in Mt 5:18 Jesus introduces His declaration with a "truly" (NAS) which corresponds to the Hebrew "Amen". Baker's NT Commentary has an interesting comment: "Whether “truly” (RSV., NAS.) conveys that same fulness of meaning or whether, through association with such phrases as “yours truly,” it has lost some of the strength or solemnity usually associated with “verily,” is a matter with respect to which opinions differ. In every case—let the reader examine this for himself with the use of a Concordance—in which this word occurs in the New Testament it introduces a statement which not only expresses a truth or fact—as, for example, 2x2=4 would be a fact—but an important, a solemn fact, one that in many cases is at variance with popular opinion or expectation or at least causes some surprise. It is for that reason that I personally prefer the translation “I solemnly declare” to “Truly I say.” (Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. p 290)

 It is easier for the entire universe to fold up than for the smallest mark in the Bible to be altered. God’s Word is eternal!

Note: MacArthur: Here Christ was emphasizing both the inspiration and the enduring authority of all Scripture. He was specifically affirming the utter inerrancy and absolute authority of the OT as the Word of God—down to the least jot and tittle... this suggests that the NT should not be seen as supplanting and abrogating the OT, but as fulfilling and explicating it. For example, all the ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic law were fulfilled in Christ and are no longer to be observed by Christians (Col. 2:16, 17). Yet not one jot or tittle is thereby erased; the underlying truths of those Scriptures remain—and in fact the mysteries behind them are now revealed in the brighter light of the gospel. They have not passed from the law is the sense Jesus means here. one jot or one tittle. (MSB)

Mt 24:35 Jesus' Words will not pass away - it is inerrant and absolutely trustworthy! (cf Isa 40:8) Every prophecy and every promise will be fulfilled perfectly and completely.

Morris: The only physical entity in this physical universe which is not subject to the law of disintegration is the written Word of God. This affirmation by Christ is a tremendous assurance of its infallible and permanent authority. (DSB)

Luke 24:25-27 Called the 2 on the road to Emmaus "foolish" for not believing all the prophets had spoken because all the Scriptures spoke about the Messiah (Moses [Pentateuch] and prophets). Jesus clearly affirmed the validity of using Messianic prophecy.

Baker NT Commentary on Luke observes that "The trouble with the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day was that, on the whole, in reading the OT they saw only the glory & victory of the Messiah, not the fact that the path to these blessings was one of suffering. At times they would even go so far as to apply to the Messiah the references (in Isa. 52:13-53:12) to the Servant’s glory, but to apply to Israel the references to the Servant’s suffering."

Although there are 66 books, written by 40 authors (most of whom had no interpersonal contact) over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, these diverse Scriptures are internally consistent, lending strong support to "One" Author. And so we see unity of message, despite diversity of human authors. This harmony is more apparent the more one studies the Bible! This harmony cannot be explained by coincidence or collusion and thus the unity of Scripture is a strong argument for its Divine inspiration. And more than 3000 yrs of criticism have failed to find even a single irreconcilable contradiction in the Word.

Jesus believed in the OT Creation, the flood and Jonah are often points of objection for skeptics?

What did Jesus say about...

Creation...

He quoted from Genesis chapter 1 in Mk 10:6 declaring that "from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.

The worldwide flood...

He warned in Lu 17:26-27 that His second coming would be like the days of Noah...  "they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all."
 

Jonah...

In Luke 11:29-30 Jesus declared that..."This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation...32 The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." Jesus explains the sign in (Mt 12:40) stating that

Click discussion of why we can accept Jesus' Word on the authority of the Word

What is the context of 2 Timothy 3:16-17?

v1-4 Paul warned Timothy that in the last days difficult times would come (Be aware that the lifestyle of many will be opposed that taught in God's Word)

v5-9 Men holding to a form of godliness and yet denying its power would captivate weak women - these men opposed the truth (Be aware men will oppose God's Word)

v10-11 Timothy followed Paul's teaching, conduct, etc (Dear beloved "Timothy" follow God's word just as Paul did so you are a vessel of honor like Paul)

v12 Those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus would be persecuted (Stand fast on God's Word so you are not shaken)

v13 Evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse - deceiving (Know God's Word so you are not deceived)

v14-15 Your best protection will be to continue in the things learned and the sacred writings (they gave you the wisdom that led to salvation and continue to save you - sanctification)

Profitable for Teaching
(what is right)

Profitable for Reproof
(what is wrong)

Profitable for Correction
(how to get it right)

Profitable for Training in righteousness
(how to live right)

Scripture has the potential to make us adequate, equipped 2Tim 3:17

FOR EVERY (ALL) GOOD WORK.
 

Scripture is complete and is all that we need to have a right relationship with God. We don’t need a vision. We don’t need a new revelation or a voice from heaven.

CANON
OF
SCRIPTURE

What does the "canon of Scripture" mean? Could you explain to another person in simple terms how we got our Bible?

Click discussion of "canon of Scripture"

EVIDENCE FOR
A SURE FOUNDATION
OF GOD'S WORD

Click for discussion of 3 tests (bibliographic, internal and external) that undergird the reliability of the Holy Scriptures.

PLENARY
VERBAL
INSPIRATION

What does plenary verbal inspiration mean?

Plenary = complete in all parts, nothing is missing

Verbal = word.

E.g., in Gal 3:16 Paul based his entire argument on the single word "Seed" as found in used in Ge 22:18 "And in your seed (masculine, singular) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." writing that "the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ."

Inspiration =  God-breathed

What logically follows from this definition?

The Bible is infallible. It speaks only the truth. If God wrote it, it has to be true. God used fallible people to receive and record his infallible Word so that it would reach us correct and without error. Human beings, though they often err, need not err in all particular instances.

In addition to being perfect, the Bible is also inerrant in the original manuscripts. The Bible has no mistakes.

"Do not add to His words; lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar” (Pr 30:6)

The Word of God is also authoritative. When it speaks, we had better respond.

The Bible is sufficient. Nothing is missing. Because the Word of God is the breath of God, we don’t need anything more. If a person says you need this or that spiritual or mystical experience don’t believe them! The Spirit of God acting through the Word of God is sufficient to make you fully mature in Christ, adequate and equipped for every good work.

The Bible is also effective (see Heb 4:12) (hold pointer over Scripture)

International Council on Biblical Inerrancy says that: Infallible signifies the quality of neither misleading nor being misled and so safeguards in categorical terms the truth that Holy Scripture is a sure, safe, and reliable rule and guide in all matters. Similarly, inerrant signifies the quality of being free from all falsehood or mistake and so safeguards the truth that Holy Scripture is entirely true and trustworthy in all its assertions.

Note: Revelation and Inspiration are not the same. Revelation is the message, and inspiration was the primary method of delivering that message to mankind. (Illumination of Scripture is enlightenment by the Holy Spirit Who gives understanding of the Scripture) Inspiration is the act of the Holy Spirit in revealing to human writers the message that God intended to comprise the Old and New Testaments... Some people say that the Bible is inspired in the same way that those great works of literature were inspired... The problem with that view is it is saying that God didn’t write the Bible—smart men did. Would smart men write a book that condemns men to hell? Would smart men write a book that provides no human means of salvation apart from the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ? No! Man writes books that exalt himself. He doesn’t write books to damn himself... Second, inspiration is not only in the thoughts of the writers. Some say that instead of giving the writers specific words, God supplied the writers only general ideas, while the choice of vocabulary was theirs. That view doesn’t square with what the Bible teaches (1 Cor2:13)... Some 3,808 times in the Old Testament, expressions such as “Thus says the Lord,” “The Word of the Lord,” and “The Word of God” appear. These hardly express wordless concepts. God does communicate in words... Inspiration is not mechanical dictation. The Bible writers were not robots, writing in a semi comatose state, cranking it out without using their minds. (MacArthur, J., How to Get the Most from God's Word)

Our Lord tells us that “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (John 8:47).

One way to tell a saved person from an unsaved one is that one listens to the Word of God and the other doesn’t. Are you listening?

Excellent Resources
 

Can I Really Trust the Bible?
 

MESSIANIC PROPHECIES
FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." ("the gospel" - compare Gal 3:8 in next column)

FIRST ADVENT

Matthew 21:5 Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. 6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the clot, and laid n them their garments, on which He sat. 8 And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road. 9 And the multitudes going before Him and those who followed after were crying out, saying, "Hosanna ("Save us we pray") to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" 10 And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" 11 And the multitudes were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."

SECOND ADVENT:

(Not directly quoted so fulfillment is seen in several passages)

Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."
 

Zech 11:12 (Zechariah carried out the drama - see previous verses - by symbolically picturing Messiah asking those He came to shepherd what they felt He was worth to them) And I said to them, "If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!" So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages (In a mocking response, the leaders offered 30 silver pieces which was the amount of compensation paid for a slave gored by an ox - see Ex 21:32 below). 13 Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I (THE MESSIAH) was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. (Note)

Matthew 26:14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests,15 and said, "What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?" And they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.

Matthew 27:3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!" 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. 6 And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood." 7 And they counseled together and with the money bought the Potter's Field as a burial place for strangers.

John 19:24 They said therefore to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be"; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS."

Daniel's Seventieth Week

Related Resources

Daniel 9:24-27: Introductory Comments

Brief  "Prophecy Primer" why interpret Daniel 9:24-27 and other prophecy literally?

Why Daniel 9:24-27 Is One of Most Significant Passages in Scripture

Daniel Commentaries grouped by interpretative approach to Daniel 9:24-27

Anecdotal Stories & Da 9:24-27

Evidence Supporting Unit of Time in Daniel 9:24-27 as Years

Daniel Commentaries from a literal, usually futuristic perspective

Da 9:24-27:Notes on Da 9:24-25

Da 9:24-27: Pt 2: Notes on Da 9:26-27

Daniel's Seventieth Week Charted in parallel with Daniel's other prophecies

See lectures by Kay Arthur on Daniel 9:24-27: Lec14, Lec15, Lec16

An illustration of a fulfilled prophecy about the city of Tyre in Ezekiel 26:

Tyre was a great Phoenician city and world capital for some 2,000 years, deriving its rule from domination of the seas. Ezekiel 26 predicted Tyre's violent future and destruction at a time when it was still a dominant power.

Ezekiel predicted that many nations would come up against Tyre (Ezekiel 26:3), that Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar would be the first to attack it (Ezekiel 26:7), that Tyre’s walls and towers would be broken down (Ezekiel 26:4,9); that the stones, timbers, and debris of that great city would be thrown into the sea (Ezekiel 26:12); that its location would become a bare rock and a place for the drying of fishermen's nets (Ezekiel 26:4-5,14) and finally, that the city of Tyre would never be rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:14, 21). Note that seven times in Ezekiel 26 it is clearly stated that the words spoken are from the Lord God.

History testifies that all this is precisely what happened. Many nations did come up against Tyre including the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, and Crusaders. In 586BC, three years after Ezekiel's prophecy, Nebuchadnezzar was the first of these invaders, who, after a 13 year siege, broke down the walls and towers of mainland Tyre, thus fulfilling the first of Ezekiel’s prophecies against Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar massacred all of Tyre’s inhabitants except for those who escaped to an island fortress a half mile out in the Mediterranean Sea. It is notable that it was Tyre's abundance of fresh water (see note below) that allowed the city to hold out against Nebuchadnezzar for so many years. In the years after Nebuchadnezzar's crushing defeat, the people of the city transferred the wealth of the former mainland city of Tyre to an adjacent island and there the new city of Tyre prospered protected by the sea and walls extending out into the sea to protect the port.

Some 241 years after Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the old city of Tyre, Alexander the Great began his conquest of the ancient world, as he sought to capture Persia. But before he went to Persia, he headed south to conquer Tyre, fearing that while his troops were in the East engaged in war, and that the Phoenician navy might therefore seek to invade Greece. Alexander approached Tyre and demanded that the city surrender but they refused. After Alexander's first attempt failed, he took the ruble of the old city of Tyre left by Nebuchadnezzar and built a causeway out to the island.  The city was completely destroyed by Alexander as a warning to other cities that might seek to defy his demands of surrender. After hearing of Tyre's fall, many cities opened their gates in fear to avoid being destroyed.

THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST

When it comes to determining whether or