Those who wrote the Bible–the Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles–constantly included references that confirmed God as the voice behind their words. God made sure that His spokesmen gave Him the credit for His revelations, prophecies, dreams, and visions.
To be more specific, as proof that they were only speaking God's word, many of the Old Testament prophets began or ended their teachings, prophecies and statements with declarations like the following:
* The LORD spoke …
* The LORD said …
* Hear the word of the LORD …
* The LORD has spoken …
* Thus says the LORD or This is what the Lord says …
* The word of the LORD came to me …
* Says the LORD of hosts …
Those above proclamations or other similar statements of God’s authority are seen hundreds of times by many writers of the Old Testament. For example:
Books of Moses (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)–over 200 times.
Isaiah–over 130 times.
Jeremiah–over 380 times.
Ezekiel–over 280 times.
Hosea–over 10 times.
Amos–about 50 times.
Micah–about 7 times
Zephaniah–about 10 times.
Haggai–about 25 times.
Zechariah–about 60 times.
Malachi–about 25 times.
Furthermore, the prophets and apostles included many other types of confirmations in their speeches and scripture that draw the hearer’s attention to God as the Revelator of their words, dreams, and visions.
Moses.
And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. …So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. – Exodus 33:9-11, NKJV
After God gave Moses the ten commandments written in stone (Exodus 34:19-35), Moses confirmed to Israel that the rules came direct from God. "These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do:" (Exodus 35:1, NKJV)
David. When King David–who wrote the majority of the books of Psalms–was on his death bed, he said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.” (II Samuel 23:1,2, NKJV)
Jeremiah. After many years as a mouthpiece for God to the tribe of Judah, Jeremiah reminded them, "For twenty-three years, …the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened.” (Jeremiah 25:3, ESV)
Daniel. When Daniel and three fellow Israelites were in bondage to Babylon, God gave them a good reputation in the eyes of king Nebuchadnezzar. The king gave them positions of leadership because “God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” (Daniel 1:17, NKJV)
Paul. As I said before in a previous article on the appointment of apostles, Paul may have been the most influential spokesman for God in the New Testament. But he always left proof that God was the Source of his teachings.
For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. – Galatians 1:11,12, ESV
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. – II Timothy 3:16,17, NKJV
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. – I Thessalonians 2:13, ESV
Peter. He is of course one of Christ’s first twelve disciples. He showed weakness just like any of us do. But God’s power came upon him in a mighty way after the Holy Spirit was poured out on humanity, and he began to preach the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He gave proof on behalf of all God’s spokesmen “…that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:20,21) KJV.
So far, it’s pretty clear that the Bible speaks well in it’s own defense. We don't need scientific proof. We just need faith (Hebrews 11:6) The prophets and apostles saturated Scripture with statements that confirm God as the Source of all that is contained in it’s pages.
So what does the Bible say about how God's spokesmen recorded scripture? We'll explore that next. Why believe the Bible V, The recording of scripture.
If you just jumped in to this series, you can start it from the beginning: Why believe the Bible, Introduction
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