Wrested Scriptures (Part 10 of 0)

Wrested Scriptures – Part ten

We have good news to report concerning the book Wrested Scriptures. The printer has promised to deliver the finished product in mid-December. This means that many who have paid orders already in will actually have their copy before the first of the year, God willing.

We want to thank you for your pa­tience and urge you to place your order for your book if you haven’t already done so. The cost is $4.00 for the hard cover and $3.00 for the soft.

Apparent Contradictions

Some have attempted to discredit the Bible by pointing out what appears to be a contradiction. Here are some examples of these along with the explanation. These serve to illustrate how valuable the book W rested Scriptures will be to own.

Matt. 17:1 “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart.”

Mark 9:2 This is the same as Matthew’s account.

Luke 9:28 “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.”

Problem: If the Bible is indeed an inspired revelation of God to man, then why the discrepancy between the num­bers of days in Matthew, Mark, and Luke?

Solution:

  1. Notice that Luke says ‘about’ —an ap­proximation.
  2. There are several ways of accounting for the difference in the number of days. The most probable one is that Luke uses the Jewish method of counting in which case he would count the remaining part of the day on which Jesus spoke (see vs. 27) as one day, as well as the early part of the day before they went up into the mountain. These two days, plus the intervening six of Matthew and Mark’s record, account for the eight days.

2 Kings 24:6 “So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers . . . “1

2 Chron. 36:6 “Against him came tip Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.”

Jer. 22:18,19 “He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”

Jer. 36:30 ” . . . and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.”

Ezek. 19:9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.” 2

Problem: It is argued that these passages are apparently contradictory since Je­hoiakim is said to be carried off to Babylon and yet cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

Solution:

The passages are capable of being har­monized. Consider the following:

  1. Jehoiakim was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Nebuchadnezzar’s headquarters near Jerusalem, (but not to Babylon).
  2. Jehoiakim was put in a cage and bound in fetters to be carried to Babylon. (None of the passages asserts that he was actually taken to Babylon.)
  3. Jehoiakim died before leaving for Babylon3 so his body was dumped outside the walls of Jerusalem.4
  1. In Scripture, he slept with his fathers.” means he died-. See, for example: 2 Kings 15:9,13: 14:16; 15:7,18.
  2. Although Jehoiakim is not specifically mentioned it is almost certain that he is the one-to whom Ezekiel refers.
  3. Perhaps he died from exposure while awaiting transportation to Babylon. It has been suggested that the A.V. of 2 Chron. 36:8 “Now the rest of the arts of Jehoiakini. and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him” he read literally, that which was found upon him”, The abomination upon him might refer to extraordinary tattooing which would explain why he would he put into a rage and transported as a museum piece to Babylon.
  4. This would serve as a further humiliation to the Jews.