OceanSide church of Christ
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THE
INSPIRATION-TRANSMISSION-TRANSLATION
of the
Word of God
Writing Materials (1)
Lesson 3
Victor M. Eskew
I. TWO WORDS
II. GOD HAD TO SPEAK
III. MEN SPOKE THE WORD OF GOD
IV. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE PROCESS
V. JESUS WAS INVOVLED INSPIRATION
A. God speaks today by His Son (Heb. 1:2).
B. John 17:8
For I have given them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them…
C. The Holy Spirit was to bring all things that Jesus said to the remembrance of the apostles (John 14:26).
D. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 8:6).
E. Paul refers to his message as “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12).
F. The Book of Revelation
1. A message from Jesus Christ
a. The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1)
b. A testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:2)
c. And from Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5).
2. A message from John
a. …and signified it by his angel unto his servant John (Rev. 1:1)
b. John unto the seven churches which are in Asia (Rev. 1:4)
c. Write the things which thou hast seen (Rev. 1:19)
3. A message from the Holy Spirit
a. …and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne (Rev. 1:4)
b. Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches (Rev. 2:7).
c. Yea, saith the Spirit (Rev. 14:13)
4. A message from God
a. Who bear record of the word of God (Rev. 1:2)
b. The book with the seals was found in the hands of Him that sits upon the throne and it was given unto the Lamb of God (Rev. 5:1, 6-7).
CONCLUSION
1. “…inspiration is the process by which Spirit-moved writers recorded God-breathed writings” (GBI, p. 27).
2. “Inspiration is that mysterious process by which divine causality worked through human prophets without destroying their individual personalities and styles, to produce divinely authorized writings” (GBI, p. 29).
He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.
THE
INSPIRATION – TRASMISSION – TRANLATION
OF THE
WORD OF GOD
Writing Materials
Lesson #3
Victor M. Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A. Several times the inspired men of the Bible were commanded to write down the things that were revealed to them.
1. Moses (Exo. 17:14; 34:27)
And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
2. Isaiah (Isa. 30:8)
Now go, write it down before thee in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.
3. Jeremiah (36:2a)
Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee…
4. Habakkuk (Hab. 2:2)
And the Lord commanded me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon the tables, that he may run that readeth it.
5. John (Rev. 1:11a)
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what thou seest write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia…
B. To obey these instructions, these men had to use writing tools and writing materials.
C. These things are the topic of our discussion in this lesson.
1. The Bible mentions some of these things.
2. Remember: Those who wrote these things were inspired of God. They were writing the very words that God wanted them to write (See Rev. 14:13).
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.
I. WRITING MATERIALS
A. The Bible mentions many things that were written upon.
1. Tables of stone (Exo. 24:12).
The Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me in the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.
2. Tile (clay) (Ezek. 4:1)
Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem.
3. Stones (Exo. 28:9)
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel.
4. Plates of gold (Exo. 28:3b)
And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
5. Paper (II John 12)
Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink…
B. Three major types of writing materials
1. Papyrus
a. Two references to this in the scriptures
1) The word is translated “bulrushes” in Isaiah 18:2.
2) The word is translated “paper” in II John 12.
b. The process:
1) Made from the stalks of the reed plant.
2) The reed was split into thin strips.
3) The strips were arranged at right angles and then pressed together and polished to form a smooth surface.
4) They only wrote on one side of the papyrus.
5) The sheets were glued together to make a long strand.
a) In Egypt the sheets could be as long as 100 feet long.
b) The Greeks limited their sheets to 30 feet in length.
6) The ends of the sheets were wrapped around cylindrical shafts of bone or wood to form scrolls (e.g., roll of a book, Jer. 36:3, 4, 32).
2. Codex
a. The pages of the papyrus were stacked on top of each other.
b. They were fastened together with twine or leather thongs inserted into holes bored along one side of the papyrus.
3. Leather skins
a. Two types:
1) Vellum: calf skin
2) Parchment: bulls and goats (of lesser quality)
b. II Timothy 4:13
The cloke that I left in Troas with Carpas, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
1) Books (biblion): scroll
2) Parchments (membrana): sheep skin
c. Preparation
1) Soaked in lime water
2) Scraped clean of all hair
3) Dried
4) Rubbed smooth with pumas stone