About the Bible: Its Message

One of the great themes of the Bible is the salvation of mankind from sin and death.  The earliest pages of Genesis explain why man suffers - because of his sin, his self-will and rebellion against God.  But they also contain the promise of a saviour, a very special man who would die on behalf of his friends.

The third chapter of Genesis predicts that this special descendant of Eve would deal sin a mortal blow.  This promise is repeated in various forms and at different times throughout the Old Testament.

• Abraham was promised a special descendant who would bring blessings to all nations "...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 12:3)
• The miraculous birth of Abraham's son Isaac, and his figurative sacrifice and restoration to life, looked forward to the life of this future redeemer.
• 1000 years before Christ, his role as a king was described to King David, and his suffering and death pictured in the Psalms and the prophets.

The New Testament writers explain all these Old Testament references to Jesus.  They show that his death on the cross was in fact a life-giving sacrifice, and his resurrection was the demonstration that God was willing to reverse the punishment of death for his son and all who followed him.  The very last pages of the New Testament look forward to the wonderful time when all present human suffering will be ended.

The message of this book is one of life, of hope - yet many have died because of it.  Some died for writing it, some died to prevent its destruction, others died bringing its message to mankind.  All of them believed it held the key to life.

Today this amazing book is sadly neglected, overwhelmed by a rising tide of materialism, ignorance, scepticism and sensual indulgence.  Yet the evidence for its claims its historical accuracy, its authenticity, the fulfilment of its remarkable prophecies is stronger than ever.

A detailed study of this evidence will be found in the evidence section (when we get round to it...!)