Page 79 - Doctrine and History of the Preservation of the Bible revised

covenant with thee and with Israel” (Exodus 34:27). “Now therefore write ye this song for you and teach
it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children
of Israel” (Deuteronomy 31:19). God commanded Isaiah to write down the prophecies given to him.
Study Isaiah 30:8. This verse proves that God intended Isaiah to be read and understood far into the
future. God also commanded Jeremiah to write down his message into a book (Jeremiah 30:1-2; 36:1-3).
The verses in Jeremiah 36 also show that God has a message for all nations today.

The second rule looks into internal evidence within a book. Some books assert that they themselves or
other books are Scripture. The book of Joshua confirms the first five books of the law are Scripture in
Joshua 1:8. The book of Judges, written by the Prophet Samuel, also confirms Moses’s books as
Scripture in Judges 3:1-4. Daniel confirmed that Moses’s and Jeremiah’s books were Scripture (Daniel
9:2, 11, 13). Peter confirmed that Paul’s writings were Scripture (2 Peter 3:16).

The third rule takes into account public action or recognition of the canonization of a book. In Israel and
Judah, the priests publicly read and instructed out of the Bible. It was Moses who began the tradition.
He commanded the Levites to read the Scriptures to the people. “And Moses wrote this law and
delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all
the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the
solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the
Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates,
that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words
of this law” (Deuteronomy 31:9-12). This public reading certified the books as Scripture.

Centuries after Moses, Ezra continued this same tradition by dutifully reading the books of the law at
the Feast of Trumpets. “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the
people) and when he opened it, all the people stood up” (Nehemiah 8:5). The public reading of the
Scriptures has been a tradition for millennia. Certainly, it was the case in Christ’s day. In fact, He
personally participated in the custom. “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and,
as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read” (Luke
4:16). You should also study scriptures such as Acts 13:15 and Acts 15:21. The Jews were passionate for
their traditions. Paul and the other apostles carried on such customs into the true Church of God. The
point here is that the people knew the Scriptures so well that it would have been nearly impossible to
read a non-canonized book in a public service.

The fourth rule demands consistency and accuracy in doctrine within the books. The one truly amazing
fact about the Bible is there is not one inconsistency or conflict in doctrine. There is one homogeneous
doctrinal thread that runs throughout the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. This fact alone
demonstrates that one divine mind orchestrated the writing of the Bible.

Many of the non-canonical books were obvious at odds with those that were chosen at canonical. Some
of the books even contained inconsistencies within their text. So, for those who were looking to
evaluate the books to be considered part of Scripture, most of these books failed the test of
canonization.

Started with Moses
Canonization began with Moses and ended with the Apostle John. Others have also played a significant
role in canonizing the Scriptures. It is accepted that several of the prophets collected and compiled

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