This week’s class presentation will continue our focus on seeing Jesus in the Old Testament. Then, for the apologetics portion of the class, we will look at the evidence of canonization concerning both the Old and New Testaments as a part of the manuscript evidence for the reliability and historicity of the Bible. We will conclude with our Bible study in the book of Judges chapters 6 through 8. The website will post basic answers for the Bible study the week following the class for your review.

As Christians, it is more important than ever to know what we believe, and why we believe it, and then apply that to who we are on a consistent basis, and this can only be done effectively if we know what God’s Word teaches, especially the big picture that always points to Jesus! All class sessions include a time for prayer and reflection, an “apologetics” presentation, and a Bible study section.

You will find the presentation notes and the Bible study survey format here, and basic answers to the Bible study will be posted during the week following each class for your review and as a leader’s guide.

Watch this week’s class presentation:

2025 A Case for the Bible, The Story Continues

Presentation Notes

Review and Discuss

Prayer Cards: Do you have anyone that you are hoping to share what you are learning with? Write that person(s) name down on your prayer card along with any other prayer request you might have (exchange with your table group at the end of the evening).

1.  Where is Jesus in the Old Testament (Give the main tag line for the first eight books: Jesus is…)?

2.  Recite the Memory Verses:

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”  Genesis 3:15 (NASB)

From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.  John 13:19 (NASB)

“The blood [of the lamb] shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:13 (NASB)

“The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  John 1:29 (NASB)

SEEING JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Every book of the Bible points to Jesus! He is The Word

Jesus in the Old Testament…

Book	Jesus is…
TORAH Genesis	The Creator of life; the Seed of the woman; and the Covenant Blessing from the Tribe of Judah of whom the Scepter will never depart
Exodus	The Passover Lamb; Our Lawgiver and Tabernacle among us
Leviticus	Our Day of Atonement and Our Great High Priest
Numbers	Our Pillar of Cloud by Day and Fire by Night; Saving Bronze Serpent on the Pole
Deuteronomy	The Promised Prophet like unto Moses
HISTORY BOOKS Joshua	Captain of our Salvation; Ultimate Military Leader and LORD of Heaven’s Army
Judges	Our Judge and Deliverer
Ruth	Our Kinsman Redeemer
1 & 2 Samuel	Our Trusted Prophet; Good Shepherd and Anointed Eternal King
1 & 2 Kings	Our Wise King and Miracle Worker
1 & 2 Chronicles	Reigning King; Son of David and Eternal Temple Where We Can Dwell Forever
Ezra & Nehemiah	The Rebuilder of the Broken and Renewer of our Faith
Esther	The Providence of God and Protector of Israel
WISDOM BOOKS Job	Our Long-Suffering Redeemer, Mediator and Restorer of Life
Psalms	The LORD of Glory, Our Shepherd and the One Whom We Can Cry Out To
Proverbs	The Wisdom of God and Way to Life
Ecclesiastes	The Answer to Life’s Ultimate Questions
Song of Solomon	Our Loving Bridegroom
MAJOR PROPHETS Isaiah	The Suffering Servant; Prince of Peace; Coming Messiah and Immanuel
Jeremiah	The New Covenant and Our Righteous Branch of David
Lamentations	The Weeping Prophet and Our Source of Hope
Ezekiel	The Mediator of the New Covenant; Caring Shepherd; Giver of the Holy Spirit
Daniel	The Son of Man; Prophesied Messiah and Fourth Man in the Fiery Furnace
MINOR PROPHETS Hosea	The Faithful Husband Who Loves Unconditionally
Joel	The Baptizer of the Holy Spirit Poured Out on Believers
Amos	The Restorer of All Nations that Bear His Name
Obadiah	The King of Righteousness, Justice and Restoration
Jonah	Our Resurrection and the Savior of All
Micah	The Ruler Born in Bethlehem Who Brings Peace and Restoration
Nahum	Our Refuge; Avenger of God’s Land and Bringer of Justice, Peace and Safety
Habakkuk	The One Who Brings Hope to Those Who Live by Faith; The Final Answer to Evil
Zephaniah	The King Who Saves and Rejoices Over His People
Haggai	The Glory of the New Temple and the Desire of All Nations
Zechariah	The Humble King and the One Who Would Be Pierced for Our Transgressions
Malachi	The Messenger of the Covenant Who Is the Savior of The World

A Christian Apologetic Tool
MAPS-S

Manuscript Evidence: Seven strong lines of researchable evidence

1. Exceptional historical and literary support
2. Excellent transmission over time
3. Accurate translations
4. Thorough canonization process – no inspired books are left out
5. Contains multiple eyewitness accounts
6. Authentication by both Christian and non-Christian sources
7. The science of textual criticism eliminates errors in the copies

4.  Thorough canonization process – no inspired books are left out

Old Testament:

• All 39 books were already established as Scripture ( 400 BC) at the end of the time of the prophets.
• These same books appear in the Jewish (Tanakh) and Christian Bible still today.
• Jesus refers to the Scripture as the writings of Moses/Law, the Psalms and the prophets, and He would have been using the “Septuagint” at that period of time.

New Testament:

• All 27 books were in use as soon as they were written in the first century AD, and were used in various forms by the early Church in the second and third centuries AD.
• By the late fourth century these books were confirmed and codified at the council of Laodicea in AD 350-363.
• Specific and detailed standards were used to canonize the Bible.
• A main point of emphasis is that there are over 2800 cross-references between the 66 books of the Christian Bible – they confirm each other!

Summary of when the books were chosen

Initial Acceptance of New Testament:

Before 100 A.D. as the books were written (Col. 4:16; 2 Peter 3:15-17; 1 Tim. 5:18).

By 120 A.D. virtually all of the New Testament was cited.

By 170 A.D. all of the New Testament was recognized by the Church Fathers (leaders and elders).

Eventual Recognition of New Testament by All:

By 400 A.D. all of the New Testament was accepted by the Church Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397).

No inspired books were left out of the Bible

• There are no inspired books that were left out otherwise it would not be Christianity!
• Classic Christianity is based on the teachings of the 66 books of the Christian Bible.
• Other books that skeptics have said were “left out” teach something completely different than what we get in our Bible.

What are some of those other books?

Apocryphal Literature

The Apocrypha: (means hidden or doubtful)

• The Catholic Bible today contains some of these books in their deuterocanonical (secondary canon) section between the Old and New Testament.
• These books do contain some valuable historical information useful in understanding the intertestamental period (c. 250-60 BC), but have never been considered inspired writings.
• They were included in the Latin Vulgate (AD 382) in part to defend some of the teachings of the Catholic Church (such as purgatory).

The Apocryphal writings…

• do not claim to be inspired by God
• were not written by prophets of God (1 Mac. 9:27)
• were not confirmed by supernatural acts of God (Heb. 2:3-4)
• were not accepted by the people of God (Judaism) and they were never included in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh/Old Testament)
• do not always tell the truth of God, for example: On praying for the dead (2 Mac. 12:46); or on working for salvation (Tobit 12:9)
• were not accepted by Jesus the Son of God (Lk. 24:27)
• were not accepted by the Apostles (who never quoted it)
• were not accepted by the early Church and was never part of the Protestant New Testament
• were rejected by the great Catholic translator Jerome
• were not written during period of the prophets of God
• contain some absurdities and inconsistencies with the accepted Biblical Canon

Examples of Apocryphal books

1. The Wisdom of Solomon (C. 30 B.C.)
2. Tobit (c. 200 B.C.)
3. Judith (c. 150 B.C.)
4. 1 and 2 Maccabees (c. 110-70 B.C.)
5. Baruch (c. 150-50 B.C.)—Baruch 1-5
6. Bel and the Dragon (c. 100 B.C.)—Daniel 14
7. *Prayer of Manasseh (c. 200-100 B.C.) *Not in Catholic Bible

Gnostic Literature

Gnosis (means knowledge)

• Gnosticism fosters the conviction that matter is evil and that emancipation (being set free) comes through special knowledge.
• Gnosticism came out of Greek philosophy and held a belief that one could gain “secret knowledge” of God through certain practices.
• Gnostic literature includes ‘secret’ gospels, poems and myths attributing to Jesus’ sayings and beliefs which are very different from the New Testament Gospels.
• There was an attempt to assimilate Gnosticism with early Christianity.
• There are over 300 writings from Gnostic literature in antiquity.

Gnostic gospels

In addition to the same reasons for the Apocrypha, Christians reject these because…

• Gnostic literature, and so-called gospels, were written well into the second through forth centuries AD/CE by authors who were not primary eyewitnesses of the events, and who falsely took the names of many of the apostles and disciples (for example, the gospels of Thomas, Phillip and Mary).
• The early Church leaders unanimously rejected them.
• Gnostic writings have no basis in primary evidence, cross-references to other Scripture, or confirmation from the first and second century Churches.
• ***The dating of the book is the key for recognizing legitimate historical literature, and these are written way too late to be legitimate primary accounts.

Examples of Gnostic books

1. Gospel of Thomas
2. Gospel of Peter
3. Gospel of Mary
4. Protoevangelium of James
5. Gospel of the Egyptians
6. Gospel of Philip
7. Gospel of the Ebionites

            And some 300 more…

Bible Study

Each week we will have Bible study following the presentation. There will be questions presented here on the weekend, and basic answers will be posted during the week for your review. This can also be used to make a leader’s guide for your own small group and future studies!

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

Discuss anything in the presentation that you would like to address with comments, questions or concerns, then go over your homework from last week…

Read Judges chapters 6 through 8, then do one or more of the following:

Note: There are several ways to study a book of the Bible, you can choose the level you’re most comfortable with:

• Basic: Read the chapter, then write down a title for each chapter (you could include more than one depending on topics in that chapter or what your study Bible might have).
• Going Deeper: Take notes to summarize the chapter (no more than three to five sentences). However, you can add to your summaries if you glean something important from your study partners each week (leave some room).
• Advanced: Look for these things to put in your summary notes:
  • Look for Covenants: Abrahamic (unconditional promise of a Nation, Land and Blessing) or Mosaic (Conditional promise of protection for obedience; loss of protection for disobedience)
  • Look for Jesus? Is there anything in this chapter that foreshadows or pictures Jesus; or is there any prophecyin the chapter (Messianic or other types)?
  • The Shelf: Note any questions or a-ha’s you have about the chapter.
  • Answer the attached chapter questions to go along with your summaries.

Chapter 6:

1.  What happened to Israel this time when they did evil in the sight of the LORD? Research: Who were these oppressors, and what can we know about them historically?

2.  What did the prophet of God have to say to them, and how does this relate to the Mosaic Covenant?

3.  Who was Gideon, and what did the LORD have him do? How did the people of the city react to what Gideon did, and why?

4.  Discuss: What was Joash’s reaction to the people; and what does his declaration say about him?

5.  Going Deeper: Who was the Angel of the LORD and how can we know from the text?

Chapter 7:

1.  What did God do to shrink the size of Gideon’s army, and why?

2.  What did God do to help Gideon gain confidence, and to strengthen him to go forward in battle?

3.  How did Gideon and his 300 men defeat the large company of men that the Midianites had?

4.  Going Deeper: What other tribes did Gideon call on after this; and why do you think it was it only these tribes and not the others?

Chapter 8:

1.  Why were the leaders of Ephraim upset, and what did Gideon say to appease them?

2.  What happened when Gideon and his men were denied food (bread); and then what happened to the deniers? What happened to the enemy leaders of Midian (why is Gideon’s son mentioned)?

3.  Gideon provided forty years of peace for Israel, but what did he do that lead them in the wrong direction at the end of the story?

4.  What did Gideon say in verse 23 that is the solution to all of Israel’s problems, and why?

HOMEWORK:

Choose from the above (basic, going deeper or advanced) to read and study Judges chapters 9 through chapter 12. Here are the guiding questions for a more advanced study in the chapters:

Chapter 9:

1.  Who was Abimelech, what was his family history and what did he end up doing?

2.  What was Jotham’s curse and how did it come to pass?

3.  Going Deeper: What do we know about Shechem from Biblical history up to this point in time? (See the books of Genesis and Joshua)

Chapter 10:

1.  Who were Tola and Jair, and what can we know about them?

2.  Going Deeper: Who were Israel’s oppressors this time, and what can we know about these two groups from Biblical history?

3.  Discuss: Why do you think Israel keep going back to God at their lowest points, instead of the pagan gods they were worshipping?

Chapter 11:

1.  Who was Jephthah, and what can we know about him from this narrative?

2.  Why did Jephthah make such a rash vow and then follow through with it? (Note: You can discuss Scholar’s thoughts on what might have taken place here, though the Scripture is pretty clear)

3.  Going Deeper: How can we know that God did not command or condone this type of behavior and sacrifice? Site Scripture references.

Chapter 12:

1.  What happened between Gilead and Ephraim, and why?

2.  Who succeeded Jephthah and what can we know about them?

3.  Going Deeper: What is the backstory of Gilead (who are they in relation to the nation of Israel)?

Continue to Practice your memorization of …