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God’s Penmen—Who Were They?The Watchtower—1960 | March 15
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used by the prophet Nehemiah so as not to draw attention to himself. All the facts perfectly fit the time of Nehemiah, and yet Malachi is not mentioned by Nehemiah. The zeal of Malachi certainly is comparable to that manifested by Nehemiah.
THE CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES
As far as can be ascertained, Moses began Bible writing about 1513 B.C., and the Hebrew Scriptures were completed with the writing of Nehemiah or Malachi about 442 B.C. For almost five centuries there was no inspired writing by any penman of God. Why? Doubtless because events during that time were without prophetic significance. But when the Son of God came to the nation of Israel as their promised Messiah, such was no longer true. Now events of the greatest importance were happening and there were new revelations of God’s will for his servants upon earth. This resulted in the adding of twenty-seven books to the Word of God, the Christian Greek Scriptures, misnamed “New Testament,” even as the Hebrew Scriptures are misnamed “Old Testament.”
Who were the penmen of the books of the Christian Greek Scriptures? Ancient papyrus manuscripts and the testimony of the early Christians invariably help to answer that question. They credit the four Gospels to the ones whose names they bear. Luke’s reference to his own Gospel in the book of Acts, as well as his use of the first person in telling of some of his travels with Paul, proves that he did indeed write both books. While some have insisted that it was not the apostle John that wrote the Gospel by his name, they are proved wrong by an archaeological find of a fragment of his Gospel, written between the years 100 and 150 and which was found down in Egypt. For a fragment to get down to Egypt by that date shows that John’s Gospel must have been written in his lifetime and not some fifty years later as the higher critics claim.
As for the next fourteen letters, written by Paul, all but the last one identify him as the writer. That he also wrote the letter to the Hebrews is made clear from the following facts: Early Christians name Paul as the writer; an early list of all his letters includes Hebrews; the style of writing, the use of logic and the marshaling of Scriptural testimony are all in the best Pauline manner. As for the remaining writings of the Christian Greek Scriptures, these all name their own penmen: James, Peter (two letters), John (three letters and Revelation) and Jude.
Thus we have some thirty-five penmen, beginning with Moses and ending with the apostle John, covering a period of some 1,600 years and being used to pen the sixty-six books of the Bible. The facts and the circumstantial evidence combine to prove that the writers of these books actually lived in the time they claimed to have lived and to have written. Such information is not only a matter of interest but also very strengthening to our faith. Further, it enables us to answer attacks made upon the authenticity of the Word of God, which endures in spite of all the efforts of its enemies to destroy it.—1 Pet. 1:25.
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Faith and ConductThe Watchtower—1960 | March 15
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Faith and Conduct
In connection with an article on church gambling The Christian Century observed: “Catholicism demands perfection of faith but not perfection of conduct; Protestantism puts conduct ahead of faith.” The Bible requires both—faith and proper conduct.—Jas. 2:26; Heb. 11:6.
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