EVIDENCE FOR BIBLICAL RELIABILITY
(See, at the end of this article, links to several web articles on evidences)
The Bible gives us many guidelines on how we ought to live, but can the Bible be trusted as a relevant guide to today’s times? Is there evidence to support the truth of the Bible? The following article, compiled from several sources, will show evidences for the truth of the Bible, show how Bible teachings are relevant to today’s times and encourage faith in God and His Word. See listed web sites, web articles and books for more information.
Those who argue that the Bible cannot be trusted, speak largely on the basis of unjustified assumptions, bias, and/or simple ignorance of the facts. For those who are open-minded, the evidence is more than sufficient to establish belief. Many of the best legal minds throughout history have concluded that the evidence for the historic truthfulness of Scripture is beyond reasonable doubt. They have accepted the New Testament as factual history on the grounds of strict legal evidence alone.
Years of intense study has taught me that all original scripture in the Bible was inspired by God and the Bible has been shown to be trustworthy. Claims of divine inspiration are stated over 3000 times, in various ways, in the Bible. To my knowledge, other than for a few copying and translation errors from the original version, no real mistake has ever been demonstrated in the Bible: in science, in history, or in any other subject. Also to my knowledge, other than for a few copying and translation errors from the original version, not one statement in the Bible has ever been disproved by any real facts of science or history. True science and history have always confirmed the Bible.
To shape your acceptance of the Bible, study the SHAPES of Biblical Reliability which are: Science, History, Archaeology, Prophecy, Epistles/Manuscript preservation and Structure & Statistics. I have researched several web sites and found some of the best and most concise articles which demonstrate how reliable the Bible truly is. Some are brief while others are much more detailed. Use these articles to see how Christianity is very unique and the most logical religion, and that the Holy Bible is by far the most reliable religious book. Once you read these articles, you will realize that there is no excuse for not believing in the existence of God, the truth of Jesus Christ, and the reliability of the Bible.
EVIDENCE FROM SCIENCE
The bible is the only ancient book with documented medical prevision and scientific foreknowledge. Although Moses was well educated in Egyptian science, he did not record in the Bible any of the "Now-known Dangerous" ancient Egyptian medical practices. Moses recorded only sound medical practices which were not understood until recently. Several places in the Bible we find scientifically accurate ideas about the physical universe which scientists did not discover until recent times.
Modern scientific evidence supports the creation account in the Bible. All life, even a single cell, is so complex, so organized and so well designed that it is obvious life had to have been created instead of just have happened by chance. Evidence indicates that all organisms suddenly appeared completely formed and reproduced only after their own kind. Evidence does not support any organism evolving from a different kind of organism. There are many large complicated systems in nature and several very unique creatures which could not function at all if they were not complete. Therefore these systems and creatures had to be complete from the very beginning instead of having slowly evolved, piece by piece, by trial and error over long periods of time. To many people the special design of all organisms demonstrates the awesome intelligence, power and creativity of God. The Human Genome Project indicates that all people descended from one common male and one common female a few thousand years ago. Also a worldwide flood is the best explanation for massive deposition of rock layers and fossils all around the world.
Accurate, confirmable information, written in simplistic terms so most common people can understand, is found throughout the Bible on topics as genealogy, archaeology, geology, anatomy, epidemiology, biology, and many others. From our studies concerning the fossil record, embryology, comparative anatomy, and the indescribable complexity and organization of living creatures, we see that each one testifies to the creative genius of God that passes all understanding. The Bible tells us (in Romans 1:20) that no one has an excuse for not believing that God is the Master and Creator of all things, because from the things that God has created, we can easily see evidence of His existence, of His divine power, of His infinite intelligence, and of His divinity.
EVIDENCE FROM HISTORY
The worldwide flood is a fact of the past as revealed by archaeology, geology, and the Bible. Archaeologists have found flood stories in the form of inscriptions made on monuments and tablets. Today nearly all cultures of different people groups around the world have similar historical stories of an all-destroying flood with only a few people saved on a floating vessel. Such common historical accounts suggest a single common society before its later dispersion as recorded in Genesis. The presence of fossils and sedimentary rock layers around the world are consistent with the effects of a worldwide flood. Every ancient civilization seems to have appeared suddenly (most beginning in an advanced state), approximately 5,000 years ago, about the same time the Bible states that the worldwide flood ended and people were spread around the world. These are indications of true history recorded in the Bible.
As for historic accuracy, names of individuals, families, peoples, and tribes listed in the Table of Nations in Chapters 10 & 11 of Genesis have been found to be accurate. The Bible’s genealogical record traces the names of real people from Adam to Jesus Christ giving a continuous historical record from the first man to the present era to show that the stories of Genesis are true and not just symbolic made-up stories. There are several secular genealogical records from Europe which can trace their lineage back to Noah and his sons. The life spans of many of the early patriarchs are also recorded in the Bible to record how long it has been since the creation of Adam. Many of the events, people, places, and customs in the New Testament are confirmed by secular historians who were almost contemporaries with New Testament writers. In the late 1800's, Sir William Ramsay - a scholar and skeptic of the authenticity of the Book of Acts (written by Luke - a non-Jewish doctor in the 1st century), found through archaeological research that every single reference which could be verified was totally accurate. Also early A.D. secular, non-Christian sources confirm the life of Jesus, His miracles, and His death by crucifixion. Jesus was a true person in real history.
EVIDENCE FROM ARCHAEOLOGY
After over a century of detailed, scientific archaeological excavations, no discovery has ever disproved a Biblical reference. Many archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail thousands of historical statements in the Bible, as specific places, persons and events. In general, Biblical history, from the time of Abraham onward, has been adequately supported by archaeological study. It has been said that every alleged error or contradiction in Scripture has been proven a truthful statement once sufficient archaeological or other information has been discovered.
EVIDENCE FROM PROPHECY
There are also remarkable evidences of hundreds of Bible prophecies having been fulfilled, specifically and meticulously, often long after the prophetic writer has passed away. The Bible records predictions of events that could not be known or predicted by chance or common sense. Psalm 22, written about 1000 BC, is an amazing prophecy that describes the crucifixion of Christ. It describes in graphic detail the sufferings of Christ long before death by crucifixion was even known or practiced by the Romans or Jews.
Approximately 27% of the entire Bible contains prophetic material (1817 total predictions). The recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls, written more than a century before Jesus was born, contain hundreds of predictions of Jesus’ birth, life and death which all came true. Totally accurate prediction of the future is the domain of the Bible exclusively. The Bible is like no other book in prophecy fulfillment. Through fulfilled prophecy, God has given sufficient evidence of His existence and of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures.
EVIDENCE FROM EPISTLE / MANUSCRIPT PRESERVATION
As for epistle/manuscript preservation, the Bible text is far more accurately preserved than any other text of ancient history. Although we do not have any original text, manuscript copies of the Bible are far more numerous, far more accurate, and written far closer to the original manuscripts than any other comparable writings from the ancient world. The Jews preserved Scripture as no other manuscript has ever been preserved. They meticuluosly kept track of every letter, syllable, word, sentence, and paragraph by counting each separate division, on every page, and comparing all of the tallies with the original before allowing the page to be put into use. Variations between manuscripts have occurred but most are spelling and word order changes or relationships between nouns and definite articles. No essential Christian belief is affected by any variation in the Bible manuscripts.
The 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrated unequivocally the fact that the Jews were faithful in their transcription of Biblical manuscripts. God gives us overwhelming evidence (which archaeology continues to verify) that Scripture has been accurately maintained, reproduced, and passed down through the ages. Only the Bible can make this claim.
EVIDENCE FROM STRUCTURE & STATISTICS
The Bible is unparalleled in its structure. The Bible is uniquely compiled of 66 different books which compliment each other as one cohesive book. Despite being written by more than 40 authors from over 19 different lifestyles from three different continents (Africa, Asia and Europe) in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) over 1500+ years, throughout the 66 books of the Bible it is consistent on its teachings on many important issues and controversial subjects. The scriptures, when properly understood, will not contradict themselves. Usually books written by men in ancient times only recorded positive attributes of their leaders and battles they won, but not the Bible. God showed absolute honesty by recording the flaws and failures of the leaders and heros of the faith (see Hebrews Chapter 11).
Most of the foundational ideas upon which most societies are built find their beginnings in Genesis - the first book in the Bible. Genesis gives the beginnings of the universe, life, man, plant and animal "kinds", Sabbath (the 7 day week), death, marriage, family, language, cities, literature, art, sin, redemption, and sacrifice. Also Biblical history, beginning with the creation week, coincides very nicely with evidences, not speculations, of our world’s ancient history when viewed from a Biblical prospective.
The Bible is an accurate account of our earliest history, God’s laws and instructions for us to live by, God’s expectations of us, and His promises for us. The Bible teaches about Jesus’s life, His sacrifice and death on the cross for our sins, His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven and His promise to return for His believers.
The Bible is God’s instruction manual giving us Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth such as accurate and ageless guidelines on how to live healthy, joyful, successful lives. It wisely teaches us how to handle many problems we regularly face in our lives such as financial, health, family, social, emotional, and relationship problems. The Bible provides God’s detailed instructions for how we are to deal successfully with the practical affairs of everyday life and teaches skillful living in the multiple aspect of everyday life. It touches upon every facet of human relationships such as our relationships with God, parents, children, neighbors, and government and teaches how to prevent and correct ungodly lifestyles.
EVIDENCE FOR CHRISTIANITY
In many ways the Bible shows how unique and reliable is the Christian faith versus all other Religions. Other religions are subjective religions based on feelings, and ethical and religious opinions of men rather than historical facts. But Christianity is a historical faith based on objective facts and historical records which are subject to examination by the ordinary criteria of objective investigation. The Bible is a reliable history book unlike writings from other world religions which make no historical references or make up their history and even have contradictory historical accounts. The Bible has a unique and reasonable solution to the origins problem - "In the beginning, God created ...". Other religious books reveal ignorance on the account of the creation of all things from nothing. Christians worship a "living" Lord. All other religious founders or leaders are dead. Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead was the final and greatest proof of His absolute uniqueness and is documented in both Biblical and secular history with strong evidence to support its truth.
EVIDENCE FOR SUFFERING
The Bible even teaches much on the subject of suffering, especially in the book of Job. Many people in the Bible endure pain, grief, loss, hardship, death of loved ones, etc. The Bible teaches that sin is the ultimate cause of suffering and death. God’s original creation was as God intended life to be for us, without any suffering, but mankind chose to disobey God and the result was a curse on all of God’s creation. We have all had to suffer from this curse, some much more than others. The Bible also teaches that there is hope for those who follow Christ. Although we will suffer in this present life, there will be no more suffering or death in God’s final kingdom.
EVIDENCE FROM CHANGED LIVES
When Jesus died His disciples, confused and afraid for their lives, went into hiding. But Christ’s resurrection from the dead convinced them Christ was who He claimed to be and their lives were instantly and wholly transformed. They became bold in their doubtless faith and they dedicated the rest of their lives to proclaiming the truth of Jesus, His resurrection, and His Kingdom. They consequently suffered severe persecution and later willingly died for Jesus, their resurrected Lord.(see the book of Acts in the Bible). Multitudes of people, past and present, have found from personal experience that the Bible’s promises are true, its counsel is sound, its commands and restrictions are wise, and its wonderful message of salvation meets every need for both time and eternity. Most true Christians can testify to the changes God has made in their life and His answers to their prayers and their wonderful personal relationship with their Lord - Jesus.
We all have "free will" to decide what we want to believe. Noone can force anyone to truly believe anything. We all have to decide whether we want to believe in God and the Bible or not. If you still do not believe or you have doubts about the truth of the Bible or God or Jesus or scientific and historic evidence which support the Bible, I challenge you to research for yourself.
For more information, read the specific web articles & books below or visit web sites as:
www.allaboutgod.com/ , www.bible.ca/, http://www.answersingenesis.org/ http://www.apologeticspress.org/ , http://www.icr.org/ , http://www.christiananswers.net/ , http://www.gnmagazine.org/ , http://www.creationresearch.org/ , http://www.creationevidence.org/ , http://www.evolution-facts.org/ , http://www.family.org/, and http://www.bibleuniverse.com./
WEB ARTICLES & BOOKS
SEVERAL TOPICS
www.allabouttruth.org/is-the-bible-true-c.htm (2 pages)
www.allabouttruth.org/is-the-bible-true-video.htm (5min/18sec)
http://www.bible.ca/b-bible-timeline-religeous-history.htm (2 pages)
http://www.bible.ca/b-bible-timeline-religeous-history.htm (5min./18sec)
www.bible.ca/b-bible-timeline-religeous-history.htm (19 pages) All quick review tables & lists
www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t003.html "How do we Know the Bible is True?" (3 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/ Select: "Is the Bible True?" - Select chapters from column on the left (About 30 pages)
www.lwf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=for _AskLWF - Go to "Biblical Issues" Select "What evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God’s Word?" & "Is there historical evidence of Jesus’s life?" (1 page each)
http://www.creationevidence.org/ - Under "Main Menu" select "Does God Exist" then "Ten Reasons To Believe The Bible" (scroll down to the lower right column - about 2 pages)
SCIENCE
www.allaboutcreation.org/proof-of-god-video.htm (6min/32sec)www.allaboutcreation.org/dragon-history.htm (5 pages)http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/is-there-really-a-god (6min/32sec)http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/is-there-really-a-god (5 pages)www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/is-there-really-a-god for "Is There Really A God? How Would You Answer?" (7 pages)
www.answersingenesis.org/articles/1999/11/05/dinosaurs-and -the-bible for "Dinosaurs and the Bible" (6 pages)
www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3647 "What Happened to the Dinosaurs?" (6 pages)
www.apologeticspress.org/articles/15 "Walking Amidst the Dinosaurs" (15 pages)
www.bibleuniverse.com/articles/creation-evolution.aspx - 20 articles (2 pages each)
http://www.creationscience.com/ - the entire book: In the Beginning - Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood (continually updated online - 430+ pages)
http://www.creationevidence.org/ - Under "Main Menu" select "Scientific Evidence for Creation" then "Evidence For Creation - 10 brief reasons" & "Scientific Allusions in Scripture" & "Our Created Earth: Uniquely Designed for Life" (1page each)
www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/reprints.htm - Select "Comparing Creation and Evolution" (22 Points compared - 4 pages)
http://www.creationmoments.com/ Go to "Resources" then"Article Library" then "Bible" then "Biblical Accuracy" for "25 Reasons to Doubt the Theory of Evolution"(2 pages) & "The Amazing Scientific Accuracy of the Bible"(7 pages)
www.drdino.com/article-categories.php Select "Radiometric Dating" then "Evolution Is Based On Modern Myths" (1 page) by Dave Nutting
www.drdino.com/media-categories.php for about 20 hours of Creation Science Video Presentations. Select "Creation in Common Sense" or "Debates" or "Creation Seminars" (2 ½ min to 2 ½ hours each)
http://www.equip.org/search.phpsearch.php - In "Search for" enter the article # then "Submit". See "CP0103: Evidence for Creation" & "CP0119: Teleological Argument" & "CP0120: The Cosmological Argument" (1 page each)
http://www.evolution-facts.org/ Select: "3 Vol. Encyclopedia" - an entire detailed book on Scientific Facts Against Evolution
http://www.evolution-facts.org/ Select: "3 Vol. Encyclopedia" then "6 The Age of the Earth" - (59 evidences that the earth is only a few thousand years old - about 20 pages)
www.icr.org/article/1842/ for "Evidence For a Young World" (14 natural phenomena evidences that the universe is only a few thousand years old - 5 pages)
HISTORY
www.apologeticspress.org/apreprints/ Select: "The Antiquity of Human History" & "Biblical Genealogies and Human History" & "The Bible Always Pass The Test" (all 1 page each)
www.bible.ca/indexBible.htm - see "Bible Chronology" for 7 articles on Biblical vs World-view time lines, Manuscript reliability, Early Civilizations, Noah to Abraham genealogy (with several tables)
www.bible.ca/b-bible-chronology-genesis-5-world-events.htm - 12 pages but mostly quick-read tables
www.drdino.com/article-categories.php Select "Doctrine/Religions" then "History Validates the Resurrection" & "That’s One Body That Will Never Be Found" (1 page each) by Bruce Malone
http://www.rae.org/ the entire book: After The Flood by Bill Cooper, is online. Evidence showing European genealogies from Noah through Japheth; Ancient Chronologies and Records of Dinosaur/dragon legends
www.bible.ca/indexBible.htm - see "Bible Chronology" for 7 articles on Biblical vs World-view time lines, Manuscript reliability, Early Civilizations, Noah to Abraham genealogy (with several tables)
www.bible.ca/b-bible-chronology-genesis-5-world-events.htm - 12 pages but mostly quick-read tables
www.drdino.com/article-categories.php Select "Doctrine/Religions" then "History Validates the Resurrection" & "That’s One Body That Will Never Be Found" (1 page each) by Bruce Malone
http://www.rae.org/ the entire book: After The Flood by Bill Cooper, is online. Evidence showing European genealogies from Noah through Japheth; Ancient Chronologies and Records of Dinosaur/dragon legends
ARCHAEOLOGY
www.bible.ca/b-archeolgy.htm "Archaeologists are digging up Bible stories!!!" (1 page)
www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/home.htm - 39 Questions with Links to other articles for many answers (5 pages)
http://www.equip.org/search.php In "Search for:" enter the article # then "Submit". See"CP1009: Archaeology and Bible"(1 page)
www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/home.htm - 39 Questions with Links to other articles for many answers (5 pages)
http://www.equip.org/search.php In "Search for:" enter the article # then "Submit". See"CP1009: Archaeology and Bible"(1 page)
www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/ Select: "Bible and Archaeology - sections 1-12 and sections 13-24" - Select chapters from the column on the left (about 30 pages)
PROPHECY
www.bible.ca/b-prophecy-60.htm "Genuine Divine Bible Prophecy" (2 pages - Mostly a table)
www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/ Select: "You Can Understand Bible Prophecy"- Select chapters from column on the left (About 30 pages)
EPISTLE / MANUSCRIPT PRESERVATION
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http://www.equip.org/search.php/search.php In "Search for:" enter the article # then "Submit". See "DB011: M-A-P-S To Guide You Through Biblical Reliability"& "DJ028:Eyewitness to Jesus: Amazing New Manuscript Evidence about the Origin of the Gospels"(2 pages each)
http://www.equip.org/search.php In "Search for:" enter the article # then "Submit". See"CP1000: The Reliability of the Bible" & "CP1001: The Reliability of the Bible Manuscripts" (each 1 page)
www.bible.ca/b-bible-timeline-religious-history.htm See I.The Bible A.Existing copies of ancient work.(Table <>
STRUCTURE & STATISTICS
www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn53/ (in Archives) - Select "Can You Prove the Bible is True?" (5 pages) & "Has the Bible Been Preserved Accurately?" (3 pages)
www.creationevidence.org. Select "Does God Exist" under the Main Menu, then scroll down to the lower right column and read "Ten Reasons To Believe The Bible")
www.creationevidence.org. Select "Does God Exist" under the Main Menu, then scroll down to the lower right column and read "Ten Reasons To Believe The Bible")
WHY CHRISTIANITY ?
http://www.equip.org/search.php (1/2 page)
http://www.equip.org/search.php In "Search for:" enter the article # then "Submit". See "CP0206: Don’t All Religions Lead To God?" & "CP0211: The Uniqueness of Christianity" & "CP0213: Christianity and Eastern Religions" (1 page each) & "DC850: Is Jesus the Only Way?" & "JAR250: Are All Religions the Same at Their Core?" (3 pages each)
www.worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-4813/ "The Validity of the Resurrection: Proclaimed"
WHY SUFFERING?
www.apologeticspress.org/articles/101 "The Problem of Suffering" (6 pages)
www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1609 "Human Suffering" (2 pages)
www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1788 "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" (1 page)
www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t023.html "Why does God allow innocent people to suffer?" (2 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/ Select: "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" - Select chapters from the column on the left (About 30 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn72/ "God’s Plan to End Evil and Suffering" (5 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn61/ "Is God Indifferent to Human Suffering? (About natural disasters - 6 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn37/ "Where was God?" ( After 9-11-2001 - 5 pages)
www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1609 "Human Suffering" (2 pages)
www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1788 "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" (1 page)
www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t023.html "Why does God allow innocent people to suffer?" (2 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/ Select: "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" - Select chapters from the column on the left (About 30 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn72/ "God’s Plan to End Evil and Suffering" (5 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn61/ "Is God Indifferent to Human Suffering? (About natural disasters - 6 pages)
www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn37/ "Where was God?" ( After 9-11-2001 - 5 pages)
MORE WEB SITES
http://www.creationism.org/ - Provides multiple links to creation groups around the world. Also find Newsletters, Articles, Magazines, Journals, Pictures and Graphs, Cartoons, Online books and MP3 downloads, Museums and Creation Centers.
http://www.tccsa.tc/ - Twin Cities Creation Science Association - Under "Resources" see "Creation Links" for >75 creation and related web sites and organizations.
BOOKS
Revised and Expanded The Bible Has the Answer, by Henry M. Morris & Martin E. Clark from Answers In Genesis. (about $12 ) Answers 155 questions on topics as God, Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, non-Christian believers, the Bible & science, creation & evolution, the ancient world, earth history, doctrines, spiritual problems, spiritual world, occultism, current social problems, & the future.
Answers to Tough Questions skeptics ask about the Christian faith, by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart. (about $6 ) Answers 65 questions on God, Jesus, Bible, Christianity, Bible difficulties, Cain’s wife, Jonah & the whale, Bible and evolution?, Bible at variance with science?, Dinosaurs & extinct animals biblical?, Genesis days, & animals on the ark
Many Infallible Proofs - Evidences for the Christian Faith, by Henry M. Morris with Henry M. Morris III from Answers In Genesis ( about $13 ) One of the most comprehensive presentations of the practical evidences of the infallibility of the Bible and the truth of Christianity. Topics on the deity of Christ, fulfilled prophecy, existence of God, the uniqueness of Christianity, the authenticity of the New & Old Testaments, the birth, life, death & resurrection of Christ, the Bible & science, Scientific fallacies of evolution, Creation and the flood, the Bible & ancient history, etc.
The Bible Answer Book, by Hank Hanegraaff - the Bible Answer Man. ( about $15 ) Answers 81 key Biblical questions on credibility of Christ, non-Christian religions, and limits of God, who made God?, what is Truth?, what distinguishes Christianity from other religions?, how do we know that the Bible is divine?, is Evolution a Myth?, explanations for the existence of our universe, Archaeopteryx, is Evolution racist?, and Theistic Evolution.
A Closer Look at the Evidence, by Richard L. & Christina E. Kleiss from Search for the Truth Publications. (about $12 ) This book offers awesome, easy to read and understand, evidence, primarily scientific, for the existence of a Creator, for the reliability of the Holy Bible, and for the trustworthiness of Christianity. It contains 408 pages of unique and fascinating evidence from 26 subject areas researched from over 70 expert sources. Read 366 daily devotional style Evidence articles on topics as Anatomy, Anthropology, Archaeology, Astronomy, Biblical Accuracy, Biblical Uniqueness, Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Creation Foundation, Earth’s Ecology, Fossil Record, Genetics, Geology, History, Language, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics, Prophecy, Psychology, & Worldwide Flood.
