Book (PDF): Are There Contradictions In The Bible?

[Victoria]

Are There Contradictions In
THE BIBLE?

Questions & Answers About Dispensationalism


​

Introduction

What should the believer do with those passages in the Bible
that seem to contradict? For example, consider the following
verses:

Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb
bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree,
in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be
for meat.
Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you;
even as the green herb have I given you all things.
Leviticus 11:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are
the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the
earth.

These verses teach different doctrine. Genesis 1:29 instructs
man to follow a vegetarian diet. Genesis 9:3 allows man to
eat anything that moves in addition to plants. Leviticus 11:2
teaches that only certain animals may be eaten. Which of these
instructions should be observed? All three? None? Just one of
them? If so, which one? Why? These questions and other similar
questions will be answered in this book.


Table of Contents:

1. What is rightly dividing the word of truth? (1)
2. What is a dispensation? (3)
3. Is there an easier word than dispensation? (5)
4. What is dispensationalism? (7)
5. What is a dispensationalist? (9)
6. What is progressive revelation? (11)
7. Why is it important to know the different dispensations? (15)
8. Why can we not just obey the whole Bible? (17)
9. How can these obviously different commands issued by the Lord Jesus Christ
be reconciled with the fact that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
and to day, and for ever? (19)
10. Has the Holy Spirit operated in the exact same manner throughout history? (21)
11. If we are going to make divisions in the Bible, what principle should we use to make divisions? (23)
12. What exactly is the old testament? (25)
13. When did the old testament start? (27)
14. Does the new testament start at the book of Matthew? (29)
15. Are the new testament and the new covenant the same thing? (31)
16. If the new testament could not have begun until after the cross,
then under what dispensation did Jesus Christ live? (33)
17. Is there more than one gospel in the Bible? (35)
18. Is it true that everyone throughout history has been saved the same way that we are today? (37)
19. Did saints in the past know everything that we know today? (41)
20. Did Peter and Paul have different messages? (45)
21. Are there differences between Peter’s gospel of the circumcision and
Paul’s gospel of the uncircumcision? (47)
22. In what sense are we under the law today? (51)
23. If we do not need to keep the law today to be saved, then what is the use of the law today? (53)
24. If we are not bound by the law today, does that mean that we have a license to sin? (55)
25. If we are no longer motivated by the law, then what is our motivation to do right? (57)
26. During what dispensation do we live? (59)
27. Did Paul receive new revelation from the Lord? (61)
28. Did anyone know about this information before it was given to Paul? (63)
29. What part of the Bible applies specifically today? (65)
30. What indicates that the books after Philemon are not written to us? (67)
31. When did the dispensation of grace begin? (69)
32. If dispensationalism is true, why is there so much disagreement as to exactly when
this dispensation began? (71)
33. Does dispensationalism magnify the person of Paul? (73)
34. Does dispensationalism follow Paul instead of the Lord? (75)
35. How can dispensationalism be true since it was not invented until the late 1800’s? (77)
36. Why should I believe what you are telling me is true? (79)
37. How can dispensationalism be true since hardly anyone believes it? (81)


By: David W. Reid

Are There Contradictions In THE BIBLE?

 

[atpollard]

Are There Contradictions In THE BIBLE?

Sure ... but not as many as some claim or as serious as others think.
Yet to claim (or believe) that there are none, is to set yourself up for a crisis.

• Matthew 28: 2, 5 [NIV]- “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.”
  “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.”
• Luke 24: 4 [NIV] - “While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.”

One angel or two?


Ezra 1:9-10 the temple vessels that King Cyrus of Persia returned to the Jews for their use in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. provides a detailed inventory:

• 1,000 silver cymbals
• 29 knives (the exact meaning of the term is debated)
• 30 golden cups
• 410 silver cups
• 1,000 other devices
• (total = 2,469 items)

Ezra 1:11 states that the total number of vessels returned was 5,400.

So, how many items?

Are these CRITICAL? (Not hardly.)
Are they in the text? (Yup.)

 

[Victoria]

So, how many items?

Are these CRITICAL? (Not hardly.)
Are they in the text? (Yup.)

Have you read the book?

It's about not rightly dividing God's Word (2 Timothy 2:15).

 

[atpollard]

Have you read the book?

No. I prefer the Bible over commentaries about the Bible.
[and ‘Dispensationalism’ is not a topic of particular interest to me.]

It's about not rightly dividing God's Word (2 Timothy 2:15).

I am skeptical that is what it is about. From the table of context it seems to be focused on “Dispensationalism” which is a tiny part of what scripture has to say and hardly the center of most “Bible contradictions”.

On the subject, I think Scofield and the “end times timelines” advocates press the issue of dispensations too far and those that completely deny all dispensations have ignored a reality.

 

[Victoria]

No. I prefer the Bible over commentaries about the Bible.
[and ‘Dispensationalism’ is not a topic of particular interest to me.]

You'd then be in opposition of the ministry God gave Paul.

I am skeptical that is what it is about. From the table of context it seems to be focused on “Dispensationalism” which is a tiny part of what scripture has to say and hardly the center of most “Bible contradictions”.

Dispensationalism would surely clear up a lot of confusion within Christiandom. Prophecy & the revelation of the mystery are mutually exclusive. Once mixed, you'll then end up w/ contradictions.

On the subject, I think Scofield and the “end times timelines” advocates press the issue of dispensations too far and those that completely deny all dispensations have ignored a reality.

God is the dispenser, not Scofield, Darby, or any other man.

Like w/ any theological/eschatological positions, advocates can & do take things too far. God instructs us to compare what's been taught to us w/ the Word of God, comparing spiritual things w/ spiritual...

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:.. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." 1 Corinthians 2:7; 13

Paul indeed had new revelation given him by Jesus Christ, which explains a lot on why God has been silent the past 2,000 years. Those ignorant of the mystery end up doing what Peter warns of below...

"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:15-16

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." Romans 11:25

 

[atpollard]

You'd then be in opposition of the ministry God gave Paul.

God did NOT give Paul the ministry of Dispensationalism.
If you mean COMMENTARY, then Paul was inspired by God as an Apostle to write Scripture, not to write commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John so we could understand what Matthew and John “really meant” without trusting the actual gospels of Matthew and John themselves.

Dispensationalism would surely clear up a lot of confusion within Christiandom. Prophecy & the revelation of the mystery are mutually exclusive. Once mixed, you'll then end up w/ contradictions.

I offered a specific example from Ezra:

Ezra 1:9-10 the temple vessels that King Cyrus of Persia returned to the Jews for their use in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. provides a detailed inventory:

• 1,000 silver cymbals
• 29 knives (the exact meaning of the term is debated)
• 30 golden cups
• 410 silver cups
• 1,000 other devices
• (total = 2,469 items)

Ezra 1:11 states that the total number of vessels returned was 5,400.

How does “Dispensationalism” clarify the 2,496 items in Ezra 1:9-10 with the 5,400 total in Ezra 1:11?
That is a real contradiction.

 

[Victoria]

God did NOT give Paul the ministry of Dispensationalism.
If you mean COMMENTARY, then Paul was inspired by God as an Apostle to write Scripture, not to write commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John so we could understand what Matthew and John “really meant” without trusting the actual gospels of Matthew and John themselves.

God gave the BoC the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).

I offered a specific example from Ezra:

Ezra 1:9-10 the temple vessels that King Cyrus of Persia returned to the Jews for their use in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. provides a detailed inventory:

• 1,000 silver cymbals
• 29 knives (the exact meaning of the term is debated)
• 30 golden cups
• 410 silver cups
• 1,000 other devices
• (total = 2,469 items)

Ezra 1:11 states that the total number of vessels returned was 5,400.

How does “Dispensationalism” clarify the 2,496 items in Ezra 1:9-10 with the 5,400 total in Ezra 1:11?
That is a real contradiction.

You're speaking of translation errors here, not Dispensationalism.

Dispensationalism examples:

Nation or body?
Law or grace?
Earthly or heavenly inheritance?
The twelve to the scattered tribes or Paul to the Gentiles?

If we place ourselves in the wrong audience, that's where the contradictions happen.