DEAD SEA SCROLLS EXHIBIT

Today a group of us went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at Azuza Pacific University. We saw some of the fragments of these ancient scrolls of scripture. How the Lord kept these preserved over the years is so amazing. Afterward we went out to the mall area for lunch and had a nice time of fellowship together.

The exhibit especially emphasized how the Bible was preserved on down the years and into the English language through the efforts and sacrifices of others. Now we can really appreciate our Bibles and not take our own personal copy for granted!

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If you would like to see this exhibit keep in mind that it will only be on one more week at A.P.U.

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SHEPHERD TO SHEEP

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

(Luke 21:33) "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

A bedouin shepherd boy was herding his flock in the Dead Sea area of Israel when one of his goats went astray into a cave area. He threw a rock to prompt the creature out and heard the sound of shattering pottery. When he went to investigate he found many jars of clay containing scrolls that were wrapped in linen. Archeologists took over from there and found 900 documents in eleven different caves as they explored from 1947 to 1956. The discovery shook the world and is still speaking volumes today. Why was this discovery so significant?

Before the year 1947 the oldest copy of the Hebrew Old Testament was about A.D. 900. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, the Isaiah Scroll dated back to about 200 B.C. There was found no major changes between these copies! That’s over 1,000 years!!

The Dead Sea Scrolls substantiate that from the ninth centuries A.D., the Jewish scribal copying of the Old Testament Scriptures was performed with remarkably few errors. With the exception of minute and sparse copying errors, the Dead Sea documents reveal nearly identical readings to the copies of the ninth century. They proved that the doubts expressed by many scholars concerning the accuracy of the Hebrew text of the Bible were speculative and groundless.

For those skeptics who doubted and still doubt the veracity of the Scriptures we would like echo the apostle Paul: (Rom 3:4) … let God be true but every man a liar…!

Can God’s Word be trusted? The Dead Sea Scrolls speak and so does the Bible:

• (Psa 119:160) The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

• (Prov 30:5) Every word of God is pure…

• (2 Tim 3:16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…

• (John 17:17) Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Yes, we can trust the Bible…every word of it. It is inspired, inerrant and infallible. It’s promises are true and trustworthy. We can stand upon the Word of God for every aspect of life. When the cynics pass off the scene God’s Word will still be standing…forever!

• (2 Cor 1:20) For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen…

I feel like reading my Bible!

Louie

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