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ŅĶĒ ∞§、。§§¿ ĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪİ ºtez Ț ÏïĪīİ ihÈ || ！！！！！！！！！! ĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪĪ [[]]}{[]]IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ...*…*..*..*..* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ē ! Im. [[# º Wiśī iſſ ği #: Illſº ºr-tº-y ¿ſ. Ïï iſſ { t; OUR BIBLE G 2 I WHERE DID WE GET IT? By Rev. Charles Leach, D.D. I I TEN REASONs WHY I BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD By R. A. Torrey Chicago: * The Bible Institute Colportage Association 25o La Salle Avenue Tº S E - C . A-3 Copyrighted 1898, by Fleming H. Revell Company *: g PREFACE. HAVE written this book for my own pleasure and profit; and now publish it, hoping to give pleasure and profit to others. In its preparation I have made use of such material as I thought suitable, wherever I found it, and I desire to acknowl- edge most fully my indebtedness to a large number of able writers whose works I have been able to con- sult. Among them I desire to mention Dr. Westcott, Dr. R. W. Dale, Dr. Newth, Dr. J. P. Smyth, Thomas Cooper, Dr. Tischendorf, “Smith's Bible Dictionary,” and many others. Should any of the multitude of busy people who love the Bible obtain help from the following pages, no one will rejoice more than the busy man who has written them. CHARLES LEACH. Manchester, 1897. § t\, *, CONTENTS. PART I. —THE NEW TESTAMENT. gEIAP. PAGE I, INTRODUCTION tº tº tº º tº tº {º gº tº e 9 II. CHRIST BEFORE THE GOSPELS .. tº º tº tº 14 III. THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD . . 19 IV. THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WoRLD, CoNTINUED tº º tº gº © tº tº ſº tº º 27 V. THE ANCIENT FATHERS OF THE CHURCH tº ºn 35 VI. THE APOSTOLIC FATHERs .. * Gº tº e tº º 41 VII. POLYCARP tº sº. gº º tº gº & ſº we tº tº gº 47 VIII. Papias . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 54 IX. ANCIENT VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES C º 59 PART II. —THE OLD TESTAMENT. X. OUR LORD's BIBLE ... • * tº wº tº # tº o 66 XI. THE PEOPLE's BIBLE BEFORE CHRIST .. tº gº 71 XII. THE FOUNTAIN=HEAD tº º tº e tº e tº ſº 76 PART III. —OUR ENGLISH BIBLE. XIII. THE FIRST VERSIONS tº ºr tº gº tº e ... 80 XIV. THE SCRIPTURES IN ANGLO-SAxon .. © 86 XV. JOHN WYCLIFFE 2 ſº tº º tº e tº º 90 XVI. WILLIAM TYNDALE gº tº * - tº º tº a 95 XVII. AUTHORIZED VERSIONS tº is tº º c is 102 XVIII. THE REVISED VERSION gº & tº º ... 108 TEN REASONs WHY I BELIEVE THE BIBLE Is THE WORD OF GOD, By R. A. To RREY ... 114 Is My Bible True? Where did we get it? PART I.--THE NEW TESTAMENT. I. INTRODUCTION. ONCE said to a Christian lady, “Is the Bible really true?” Without a moment's hesitation she answered, “Of course it is true.” But when I asked her how she would proceed . to prove it to be true, she could not answer me. Could you? If I were to ask you where the Bible came from, who wrote it, and when and where, you might not be able to tell me readily. And yet these questions can be answered by those who have had time to study the subjects which they raise. There are thousands of people all over the world * 9 IO INTRODUCTION who love the Bible as the best of all books. It is. their daily companion and friend. They accept it as the inspired Word of God. They come to it for comfort when they are sad, for guidance when per- plexed, and for instruction in those matters of the soul and God which they cannot obtain elsewhere. It has quickened them into new life, and been to them one of God’s agents in kindling on the altar of their hearts those flames of immortal glory which reach beyond the bounds of time. It inspires many of them to deeds of love and sacrifice, which make the world richer and better. The poor among them read it, and learn to sing songs of joy and gladness in their poverty. The rich among them read it, and many of them discover that they are stewards 3. for God, and that the gold and silver which they hold belong to Him. The tempted and the tried find it a source of new strength and hope. THE MASSES LOVE THE BIBLE, Among these people are many of the excellent of the earth. Thousands of them would suffer any loss rather than part with the Bible. In the first centuries of the Christian era many were cast into prison rather than give up their Scriptures to those who were engaged upon the impossible task of exter- minating the Bible. Numbers of them suffered death itself rather than dishonor the Word of the living • THE MASSES LOVE THE BIBLE 11 God. Among the masses of the people to-day there are multitudes who have the same loyal love for the inspired Book, and if occasion demanded it, would endure death rather than dishonor it. And yet many of them could not answer my ques- tions. It is to help such as these that I write these pages. I want them to know that the Bible which we have is substantially the same as that possessed by our Lord and His Apostles and the Christians in the first century. There is one thing of which we are all sure—the Bible is here. Wherever it came from, whoever made it—we possess it. True or false, good or bad, of men or of God, inspired or uninspired, it is among us. Our fathers had it before us. Their copies of the Scriptures are in our possession, not a few of them marked and made precious with the tears, they shed upon the pages, hallowed with the breath of their prayers. Their fathers had it, too. Where did they get it? In order to discover its truth, we will - TRACE IT BACK TO ITS SOURCE. The River Thames flows through London. It bears on its bosom the ships of all nations, which carry the merchandise of the world. Below London it flows into the ocean, and puts the nation in touch with all parts of the globe. It is interesting to follow it backward, and see it as it flows through quiet 12 INTRODUCTION valleys, past ancient cities and many a mile of peace- ful scenery. Londoners do not like their old river any the less when they discover that it has its source as a small stream among the distant hills, and grows to be the noble river it is as it passes London after many other rivers and streams have flowed into it. In like manner, we shall love our Bible no less, but more, when we know how it came into the world and grew to be the noble book it is. I shall have to take you on journeys to different cities and distant lands. We shall have to visit many libraries, examine old books and parchments, consult ancient records, and peep into some churches venerable with age. We shall have to visit ancient monasteries, and sit beside some of the old monks who are now safe in the better land. We want to know, as far as we can learn, how to answer the following questions: I. Is the Bible really true? II. Where did our Bible come from? III. Is our Bible the same which the ancient Christians read daily? IV. Were the contents of our New Testament in our hands, in the hands of the Apostles and their friends and followers before the first century had closed? W.—Is the Old Testament which we peruse the same which our Lord had? QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED 13 We shall deal first with the New Testament, and then with the Old, and then we shall trace the his- tory of our English Bible. May the spirit of God who inspired the holy Apostles help us and guide us in the way of all truth! II. CHRIST BEFORE THE GOSPELS. UR Lord lived and taught and died before the Gospels we possess were written at all. After His ascension into heaven, almost a generation passed before the earliest Gospel was written. We do not know that He wrote a line, except with His finger on the floor of the Temple when the Pharisees brought a fallen woman into his presence. He came down from heaven, published the good news of salvation, called and trained His disciples, breathed upon them the Holy Ghost, and went back to heaven without leaving behind Him any written Gospel at all. The legacy He left to the world was not an organized Church, nor a proud priesthood, nor a set of written documents, but the small band of disciples whom He had Himself prepared to carry on the work He came to start. In the fierce controversies of the present age it may help us to remember this. Christ lived and His salvation was proclaimed before any part of the New Testament was put into writing. 14 THE DISCIPLES L5 Men found rest and peace, and salvation in Jesus Christ, before there was a Christian Church, a Chris- tian ministry, or Christian Scriptures. If the New Testament should suddenly be lost, and the organized Christian Church be destroyed, men would still find salvation; for the Spirit of God is in the world and moves upon the hearts of men and guides them into the way of peace. THE APOSTLES’, PREACHING. On the day of Pentecost the disciples received their full equipment as witnesses for Jesus and preachers of the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God. Begin- ning at Jerusalem, they went forth to many lands to publish the good tidings of great joy which God had made known for all men. With their own lips, and not out of books, they told the story of their Lord’s life; of His death; and His glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven. Out of their own experience and knowledge they spake the things concerning their Lord. They declared what they had seen, and heard and felt of the love of God. Men believed the gospel which they heard. In many places they came together for worship and being of one heart and mind formed Christian church- es for mutual help, long before the Gospels and Epis- tles were written. What need had the disciples and their companions 16 CHRIST BEFORE THE GOSPELS of written documents at all? Had not they been the companions, the pupils, and friends of the Master? Three of them had seen His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. Some were present when He called Lazarus from the grave. Many saw Him on the cross. Had they not also seen Him alive after His resurrection and witnessed His ascension to heaven? THE APOSTLES LIVING WITNESSES. The living witness was better than any written testi- mony. Writing could not describe the looks, the ten- derness, the pathos, the sympathy, the patience, the mercy, the pity, and the deep love of our Lord, as could the witnesses which He Himself had chosen and fitted for this work. But as time went on great changes came. The lit- tle company of the Apostles, the original witnesses, be- gan to decrease. Some were killed, and others were growing old. So long as they remained, and could have access to the churches, all went well. But as Christianity spread, and the churches grew up far apart from each other, and the Apostolic band diminished, it was only natural that the converts should be anxious to have the precious words they had heard put into permanent form, so that they might hand them on to all who should follow them. A PERMANIENT RECORD, And the disciples themselves would be anxious to +- A PERMAMENT RECORD 17 have the story put into writing that it might endure. They came to know that the Gospel they had to preach was for all men of all time. When the Holy Spirit led them to see this it naturally followed that they would desire the continu- ance of the story of their Master, which it had been the business of their life to tell. These were, doubtless, the circumstances which led many, as Luke tells us, to take in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which were most surely believed among them, as those who were ministers of the Word, and eye-witnesses from the first, had declared them. Thus the Gospels Sprang up. THE WRITING OF THE EPISTLES. Then, too, many of the churches which the Apostles had planted in different places called for special com- munications from their founders. Disturbances in some of the churches, unfaithfulness in others, the generosity of others, and the needs of many, caused the despatch of letters, all more or less em- bodying the teaching of Jesus, and containing statements concerning the mind and will of God, and filled with precepts and principles governing the duty of Christian men and women. All these writings were highly prized, and would doubtless be kept as treasures by the churches to which they were sent. 18 CHRIST BEFORE THE GOSPELS Though printing was then unknown, writing was common. It is quite likely that many copies of the Gospels were written at the request and at the expense of the various churches, while many of them would doubtless procure copies of the letters sent to the different churches. All these writings would be regarded as precious treasures by the various bodies which held them, and be deposited in safe keeping together with their copies of the Old Testament, and all con- sidered and treated as sacred books. It is certain that at a very early period some churches had possessed themselves not only of copies of the Gospels, but also of most of the Apostolic Epistles. It is the story of some of these precious documents that we have to tell, so that we may know from whence our New Testament came. We shall have to go back step by step right to the fountain-head. We will begin by looking at three of the oldest Bibles in the world; then we will notice some of the ancient fathers of the church; then we will go back a generation and learn something of the Apostolic Fathers; and lastly, we will glance at some ancient versions of the Scriptures: we desire to see what they have to say to us as to our ques- tion—Where did our Bible come from? III. THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD. sº jº WANT to take you now to see three ſº ſº of the oldest Bibles in the world, §§§ º }} ºft jº | They are all written in Greek and ºğ ſº are very ancient. The names by which they are known are “The Aleaxandrian.” MS., “The Vat- ican " MS., and “Sinaitic” MS. These three faded old books are very precious indeed, and are very carefully treasured by the nations who possess them. It is rather remarkable that they now belong to the three great branches of the Christian Church,--the Greek, the Roman Cath- olic, and the Protestant Churches. One of them, the Sinaitic (known as Codea. Aleph) is in the library at St. Petersburg, and the Greek Church greatly prizes it. Another, the Vatican (known as Codea. B) is the valued treasure of the Roman Catholic Church and is in the Vatican library at Rome. And another the Alexandrian (known as Codex A) is in the Brit- ish Museum, London, and is, of course, very greatly prized. I shall have a story to tell about 19 20 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD each of these books when we go to inspect them; but I want first to state something about their age and how it is determined. THE AGE OF THESE OLD MANUSCRIPTS. It is not very easy to fix with certainty the exact date at which they were written, but we may feel sure that we are near the mark if we say they belong to the fourth and fifth centuries. If this be so, we may date them as from about the year 301 to 450 A. D. But some readers may ask: How do we know the age of these manuscripts if they have no dates upon them? There are several ways of getting to know this, which I may explain in a few sentences. The form of the letters in which a manuscript is written; the way in which the words are joined together; and the plainness or ornamentation of the initial letters —each is a guide in fixing the date of a Greek docu- ment. If you ever look at a Greek manuscript and find that all the writing is in capital letters and that the words in one line are all joined together without any division, you may conclude that it is of a very great age. It will be written thus, only in Greek charac- ters:— * GODSOLOWEDTHEWORLDTHATHEGAVEHISONLYBEGOTTEN SONTHATWHOSOEVERBELIEVETHINHIMSHOULDNOTPERIS The documents written in this way are called THE WATICAN MANUSCRIPT 21 wncial manuscripts, and are always ancient. Those which are modern are written in a running or flowing hand, and are called cursive. All these three old Bibles are uncial manuscripts. If we could visit the British Museum we would see many copies of the Bible and other sacred books with most beautifully illuminated headings and ini- tial letters. We would generally find that these are comparatively modern works. But the very ancient Greek manuscripts, of which there are many beside the three under notice, are usually very plain, and always in the uncial style. I. THE WATICAN MANUSCRIPT. Come with me to the ancient city of Rome, that city which has played such a remarkable part in the religious and civil history of the world. If we have time it would be interesting while we are at Rome to visit the palace of the Caesars, and the house of Nero. We might see the Coliseum, the building into which Christians were flung to the wild beasts rather than part with their sacred books or dishonor their Lórd and Savior. But we must go at once to the Vatican library. •º The Vatican manuscript (Codea, B) is kept here. This library was founded by Nicholas W. about A. D. 1448, and this M.S. appears in the first catalogue, compiled in the year 1475. Nothing is known of its 22 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD sº. z fire 25, Sºfoss-roºfrº. Tse F gº ºs i-royer, Tºcº/Seº. ºn a reºrºjic-rom £ºº, tº eff Kºroriºus ºr was kyfor s.Ac, neºcr:#f cdº scº ***ty retºr's Tº sas, *e Aºra 6-rººkmaats rfar-rºot. Aerºr -rº Aºwere 18 tº a $ºrcrºsſ cºi is ºf ogee's Kºsas x < * * ~c. As a TH colºgy as cºurt c 6-tº-ºp to croºris * * o * ſº ic-rºciºs c + 3 + Neºn ºrg gºe soºn is ca 15-rºupon iss" et àe for cº-ºrties Tº for a six #1-rise ºri &Y tº ratiºn & Kºrān:ée?'-r º º 4tºms rººf &gºrºš *śrºy Me-º-'roºrºsiºn & Rºe G1 crºss is percºº rººt & Nºrts foºt Ağı tº A2x4s ºw"T àtice ºnst tº-TS-ricſ A 4 Noºr:res A RE 3 kaºs." sts' ef orca, Aºi M'éºo! §x is &ºts-r&Y crº-c 3 k or g º N.s ºr eºſºs" $ºr-rq; 61é Nºrd-Tărnº • § 3r㺠No 1 c-rói º ºxfºrºs, rijp c-Fe ºn tº Neº feig -röj e ſ 3rd-rp-rky Tosº., ero-fc AA H Mºst KATA* c', riºre cé SpºkºzYeo! —rti, ºr, ºrf icſ. NTR clotra, CODEX VATICANUS. (1 Esdras ii. 1–8)—Fourth century. (l{ome, Vatican Library.) The Bible in Greek, written in uncial Jetters, probably in the fourth century. The text is arranged in three columns to a page, except in the poetical books of the Öià Testament, which are written in double column. Apparently in the tenth century, the writing was carefully, but quite unnecessarily, retraced in darker ink. The same hand added the breathings and accents. The MS. was already in the Vatican Library in Rome in the fifteenth century, but nothing is known of its previous history previous history but its present custodians have guarded it with the most jealous care, and access to it was oft- en difficult to obtain. But thirty years ago, Pius IX was the occu- pant of Peter's chair, and a photographic facsimile was issued. We notice that it is in book form, hav- ing more than 700 leaves about 12 in- ches square. Each page contains three columns, except the poetical books of the Old Testament, which double col- umn; and the writ- are in ing is all in capital letters. It is almost a complete copy of the Bible. It has lost Genesis, chapters i. to xlvi., Psalms cy. THE SINAITIC MANUSCRIPT 23 to cxxxvii., and all that follows Hebrews ix., 14. THE OLDEST BIBLE KNOWN. As we look at this book we may conclude that we gaze at the oldest Greek Bible known to the world. I say known to the world, because there may be other precious treasures older even than this hid away among the rubbish of some of the convents and other places, some day to be brought to light, as was the Sinaitic manuscript about which I am to tell you the story directly. But this is the oldest at present known. It carries us back probably to the beginning of the fourth century. For more than 1500 years this manuscript has been in the world; and it is a standing proof that if our Bible is an invention, it must have been forged before the fourth century, when this manuscript was written. II. THE SINAITIC MANUSCRIPT. From Rome, in Italy, let us go to St. Petersburg in Russia. As we travel from the west to the east, from the center of the Latin to the headquarters of the Greek Church, I may say that we are going to see the famous Sinaitic manuscript (Codea. Aleph). This is also in book form; each page contains four columns, except the poetical books of the Old Testa- ment, which are arranged as in Codea, B. It is believed to be almost, if not quite, as ancient as the Vatican 24 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD KN i AO 9 - Tú y C M IP *4 A R A HAC) 1 ſº HG J J S M &A1A ſº NPT YN10 H ANAPECH T(1) & Asº 3NE! RACT NeºfcG! A Nº. TI Acrº Nºrtº Ni H. PEC6 TCU & Act Kei Torºrº. rvi Ak Aleri () HCe OYTºoc KAI A ºver CDryocº+w FCYYAA cceruco"Y CU) ſul TH. Ti OA6 I-KA) & N O KAAAYTOD M b. C. × N., O COTOY, Jºr POYTUYCe Meel oy. vºrrºe I CA1 cºrers – º C & 6 N IANA &J' C.H. KJ Al YM AACl) *TOC 63: " I HA M'HN) H x M A NCI) Ten Cen NAko YXYAONC) c tyr k NCI NeYo." KA RYA it) Nockx 1 - Nº ‘ſon 1 Joi i Nicepe riſ Heyl ATHEANAſ N N & M K.A. A tº NSPCYY * 1 MTI's cºrTOYıçx! roo N () tº AAYTHc ece, if e NAe Tº M & TAAA A3AJ AY TH cro-ſcrotus ic. ene Aey Ce NAYTHº: EAY-Tüuel cry N. ai º" *As tº AJ H NTOKOPA clo NJ KAAHTRD & IA’ſº tº An OTE H K CYC6H §§ ToTo"rg Act AéCLYc º: TAJºA KCYNH xe-CANºrri Nric, Ni Nirrr oxe patrºf. CODEX. SlNAITICUS. (Esther ii. 8-8)—Fourth or Fifth Century. (Leipzig. Royal Library.) The Bible in Greek, written in uncial letters, probably in the fourth or fifth century. The text is arranged in four columns to a page, except in the poetical books of the Old Testament, which are written in double column. In the year 1844 he MS. But its story is most remarkable. For genera- tions, perhaps even for cen- turies, it lay beneath the books and rubbish of a con- vent, and was only discov- ered, as we say, by an ac- cident. There was a famous Ger- man scholar, named Dr. Tischendorf, who devoted nearly the whole of his life to searching for and study- ing ancient manuscripts of the Bible. All who love the Bible are placed under lasting obligations to him for his discoveries and in- vestigations. It seems that he traveled through many parts of the East, search- ing all the old libraries in- to which he could obtain àCCéSS. MANUSCRIPT USED FOR LIGHTING FIRES. was paying a visit to St. - A FORTUNA TE DISCOVERY 25 Catherine's convent at the foot of Mt. Sinai, when he made a fortunate discovery. In the hall of the con- vent there stood a basket filled with parchments ready for the fire, and he was told two similar basket- fuls had been burned. On examining the contents of the basket he was surprised to find parchment leaves of the Greek Old Testament, the most ancient he had ever seen. He was unable to conceal his joy, and was allowed to take away one-third or about forty-three sheets. Though the lot was destined for the fire, his joy at his discovery roused the suspicions of the monks, and led them to think that perhaps the manuscripts were valuable, and so they would not give him any more. Tischendorf deposited the portion in the Royal Library, at Leipzig, to which he gave the name of “Codea. Frederick Augustus * in acknowledgment of the patronage given to him by the King of Saxony. SUCCESSFUL AT LAST. But in the year 1859, or about fifteen years after his dip into the basket, he was again at the convent, armed with a commission from the Russian Emperor. His second visit promised to be a failure, and he was about to depart without having made any fresh discovery, but on the evening before he had ar- ranged to leave, he was walking in the grounds with the steward of the convent, who asked him - - 26 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD into his cell to take some refreshment. As they con- versed, the monk produced a bundle wrapped in red cloth. To his great delight Tischendorf found not only some of the fragments which he had seen before, but other parts of the Old Testament, and the New Testament complete, and some other writings besides. After a while, through the influence of the Emperor, the manuscript was obtained from the convent and brought to the Imperial Library at St. Petersburg, in which we now see it, and it has become the most precious treasure in the possession of the Greek Church." A facsimile of this valuable manuscript is to be seen in the British Museum. If the contents of that one basket have so enriched us, what a treasure we might have had if the contents of those two other baskets had been saved from the fire! What other priceless documents are yet to be brought to light we cannot tell. * See “How we got our Bible,” by Dr. J. P. Smyth; and “Smith's Bible Dictionary,” for some of the suggestions of this chapter, IV. THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD.—Continued. III.--THE ALEXANDRIAN MANUSCRIPT. £º ET us now return to England and §: X? º sº § ſº visit the British Museum in Lon- § 5%W º $) º ޺: .# ſº i: §§ Yº £ºeºsº § don. Passing in at the main en- trance and turning to the right we } shall soon find ourselves in the Manuscript Room. There are many cases full of all sorts of ancient books, written on parchment of different kinds and ages. Quite a number of them are copies of the Bible. Some are lives of saints and others are on various subjects. You cannot but notice the labor and skill and de- votion with which many of them have been prepared. Pages of beautiful illustrations, numbers of elabo- rately decorated initials can be seen, looking as fresh as if recently done, though many of them are hun- dreds of years old. ENGLAND'S MOST TREASURED MANUSCRIPT. Our concern now, however, is not with any of these. We are going to see the Alexandrian Manu- script, so called from having once formed part of 27 28 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD the library at Alexandria. This is the third oldest Bible in the world. It belongs to England, and is not likely to be lightly parted with. It is in four volumes, one of which you will find at the far end . of the MS. room in a case marked F. If you speak to the Curator, he will tell you that large numbers of visitors come to see this famous old Bible. You will notice that it also is the uncial form of letters, and has two columns on a page. In the same case will also be found photographs of one of the pages of each the Sinaitic and Vatican manu- scripts. You will remember that the Vatican Bible has three columns on a page, and the Sinaitic Bible four columns on a page. This manuscript was probably written about the middle of the fifth century. It is written on very thin vellum, and has been in the possession of England since it was presented to King Charles I. in 1628 by Cyril, Patri- arch of Constantinople. It will thus be seen that it is the youngest of the three old Bibles we have noticed. It contains both the Old and New Testaments, though it is not quite perfect. It is marvelous to find a written document of such great age so perfect as this is. The New Testament seems to have suffered more than the Old. Only TEN LEAVES ARE MISSING from the Old Testament; but the new has lost more. THE ALEXANDRIAN MANUSCRIPT 29 &” Cxeters Nc isºtocox-oscore i-AP-1 TC2 ºde dº e Ar-s ºn A tº A's 'e AAAJYtes A’ſ 1 CDX Y.C. ºn Öl 1 º'eºré e CADC޺ſe ſuc, ra, or to rºw spoce; face- An acsire, fº 6¢TA 1 O ºr "K-12C to All or ºs & Sºo-nus ºrrrº eo tºrs x < 1 et é; OT = me a y-coax." ecº- tº-1 r ºr Nerºx 1 vs rose frºx. "rºcyºn Tocca ring rººt tº cº-, scº caurey ©YNº OYC LA-XT&AOjº. 1 ºut Arc I ra; ‘nº ºth e i < x. 1 ft 5 tº:I'ovºivºrº-rruax OYAC) tº 1 ºn ×26’re "ri Ae nº sºn sche — , , ºr “L” tº ovº is F tº eneroxy lºades" ** Clºë ºf Yºrºsiorºrºrº whº sovo-PYet, 2-p2 or sº-Are rººfrº. Cat-KAMA-OcCP 12-ca Arts, exas Azgas ** 12-yºu-CY-ºvº I-Trorensaracºpº * Seºtocºxº ! { |P (Tº ſº." Jº-J Q1 & º's ::::::::::::::: iºr, nºncºrrpa. §§§ saxºsen Nº. *** **:AerºCuyº ov'Nº ºneześysic & 14:e 16ere ecljön"OY tº Arrºgcc. - Fºro Nuxerrºwer-ºxiraxcunc, º Tāl ºf.º.º.º.º. #. sºcia? lºst roasſºrſºrrex Aotuteczºrus Tre Pºrtk? Nº Maſſàncu ºr ſcryºgºro • ****, rcººch'ocerº.txers were ****** OYC tº bºwsºn capre-scaszºnky is rºoe icon cerrret-savºrouc., ^º ºccurs on son rººroºne, *** *fºra sorrsa racrurarr;-actors ****A*. Ovccrerºots-ro-on-res, *Y*M*xrrºw's C tº Cauct reovºx exena, Yºº Jº A*Ae-º-sºvº rºscºw-a-rºop-scre Te TN’s ºrcCCLycavrºv arcs, suaeness Prº ejace ºs O 5 . Jºrg'UA)* 3. GQſ>CYC Ghº we CG Norraºyºroccº, * C : ACLXN” is A 1 Arrerº, ces ºnces COL) EX ALEXANDRINUS (St. Luke xii. 54-xiii. 4)—Fifth century. (British Museum, Royal MS. T. D. v.-viii.) The Bible in Greek, written in uncial letters in the fifth century. The text is arranged in two columns to a page. It once belonged to the Patriarchal Chamber of Alexandria (whºnge its name), and was probably carried away by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Alexandria, who became Patri- arch of Constantinople in 1621. Cyril sent it as a present to King Charles the First in 1628. It came into the pos- session of the British Museum with the rest of the Royal 30 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD Twenty-five leaves have gone from the Gospel by Matthew, two from the Gospel by John, and three from Corinthians. - We have now seen these three remarkable manu- scripts all written, say 1500 years ago. It is not possible to estimate their value to Bible students. They carry us back at once to remote ages, and help very considerably in showing us where our Bible came from. As we look at them we are at once put in touch with men who lived at the beginning of the fourth century. Though in our study of ancient versions of the Scriptures we shall get much nearer to the Apostles and to our Lord than these three old Greek munuscripts carry us, we still have in them a rich boon. They link us with the Christian fathers of the early centuries, and clearly show that their Scriptures and own’s are the same. THESE MSS. INACCESSIBLE TO KING JAMES' TRANSLATORS. It is quite worthy of note that the scholarly men who in the reign of King James made our Authorized English Bible, had no access to these three valuable old documents. The Vatican manuscript was at Rome, and the Pope of that day was not the man to let Protestants have the use of this book. The Sinaitic manuscript was buried in the convent at Sinai, and its existence was not known to the Com- pany of Revisers. And the Alexandrian manuscript A LINK WITH THE EARLY CHRISTIANs 31 was received in England about seventeen years after the authorized revisers had done their work. The scholars who have prepared our excellent Revised Bible were fortunate. All these three old manu- Scripts were at their disposal. CODEX EPHRAEM. If this chapter is not already tedious let us exam- ine at least one other ancient manuscript, which is in the Library at Paris. It is called the Codea of Eph- raem. It is believed to be nearly as old as the Alex- andrian manuscript, if not a little older. It was brought from the East to Florence in the sixteenth century, and in the middle of that same century reached Paris. At first sight it does not seem to be of much val- ue, for its writing is in the cursive style and is comparatively modern. But as we will look at it a lit. tle more carefully we will see that under the modern codex EPHRAEM (PORTION OF I. TIM., iii. 16), writing there are traces of writing in the umcial or 32 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD ancient style. The parchment is doubly written upon. This kind of manuscript is called a Palimpsest, which means written twice. There are many documents of this kind. It would seem, in Order to save cost of parchment, the writers would rub out as well as they could the first writing, and then use the sheets for writing other matter upon. It will at once be obvious that the ancient rubbed-out writing must in many cases have been far more valu- able than the second or more modern writing. This was particularly so with the Codea of Ephraem, as the next few lines will show. EIOW THE OLDER WEITING WAS DECIPFHERED, The story of this precious manuscript is briefly this. It seems that about the twelfth century some one took this parchment and scraped and rubbed it to clear out the old writing, in order to make it fit for use again. When this was done the skins were used to write on them some discourses of Ephraem, a Syrian father of the fourth century, not one-thousandth part as valuable as the writing which had first been on the parchment. The old writing had not been completely rubbed out. Attention was drawn to it a long time ago, and efforts were made to read the faint writing. About sixty years ago chemicals were ap- plied to the manuscript. The effect of this appli- cation was twofold; it much stained and spoiled THE WRITING RESTORED 33 #ºr ºtºn Tysºſtºmſ, HEBREW MS. (Exod. xx. 1–5)—Written eariler than A. D. 916. (British Museum, Add. MS. 4445.) Tortions of the Pentateuch... The text is arranged in two columns to the page, and is accompanied by the Massorah Magna and Parva. the vellum, but it re- vived a good part of the old uncial writings, and it was found to contain considerable portions of the Old Testament, and fragments of each book of the New Testament. NUMEROUS OTHER MSS. IN EXISTENCE. Though we have only examined four of these ancient manuscripts, there are large numbers of others beside. It is stated that in the umcial style there are 127 and in the cursivestyle 1,463. As time goes on greater attention will be paid to many of these, and no doubt we shall get much additional light upon the Bible as the result of their study. ' The conclusion to which we are brought by the ex- 1 See “Smith's Bible Dictionary.” 34 THE THREE OLDEST BIBLES IN THE WORLD amination of these old Bibles is, that our Bible was in existence when these books were written. Our New Testament, therefore, must have come from some earlier source. Let us take our next step. 'V. THE ANCIENT FATHERS OF THE CHURCH. Wºº ANY years ago, says Thomas Cooper, a party of scholarly men met at a dinner-party. During the conver- sation, some one in the party put a question which no one present was able to answer. The ques- tion was this:— Suppose that the New Testament had been de- stroyed, and every copy of it lost by the end of the third century, could it have been collected together again from the writings of the Fathers of the second and third centuries? The question startled the company; but all were silent. Two months afterwards one of the company called upon Sir David Dalrymple, who had been pres- ent at the dinner. Pointing to a table covered with books, Sir David said: “Look at those books. You remember the question about the New Testament and the Fathers? That question roused my curiosity, and as I possessed all the existing works of the Fathers of the second and third centuries, I commenced to 35 36 THE ANCIENT FATHERS OF THE CHURCH search, and up to this time I have found the entire New Testament, except eleven verses. It must be quite clear to every person that when these Ancient Fathers lived and wrote their books, OUR NEW TESTAMENT WAS IN EXISTENCE, or they could not have made such copious extracts from it as they did. Many of the books they wrote have been lost in the passing of the ages, and only a comparative few have reached us But if the entire New Testament is to be found in such writings as have come down to us, we must conclude that the sacred Scriptures were not only known among them, but were their constant companion, their meat and drink, their precious treasure of the Word of Life— as is the case with us to-day. In further illustration of this I may mention just one fact in connection with one of the ancient Fathers named Origen. This man was a most active scholar, and occupied an important place in the Church. He was born in the year 185, A. D. He wrote many books, only a few of which have survived the ravages of time. But we are told that in a few of his works which have come down to us, two-thirds of the New Testament can be found. This is a most note- worthy fact. It would make these chapters very long if I were to give some account of all the Fathers of the first three". TERTULLIAN 37 centuries which are known to us. I must leave those who desire fuller information to pursue their studies through the usual channels, and will content myself by selecting and naming only a few. Those whom I shall introduce will be men each of whom lived in the second and third centuries. Among them were some who lived when men were alive who had heard and seen the writers of our sacred books, and conversed with them about some of the august facts concerning our Lord's life and works, and some of them even the friends of the Apostles themselves. THREE EARLY FATHERS. In the year 175, three very eminent Fathers were alive. They are known as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria. I want to give you a very short account of each of these three; and it is impor- tant to note the valuable testimony which they bear to the existence, in their day, of the New Testament— our New Testament, observe. They lived in different parts of the world, moved among different circum- stances, but all bear most valued testimony to the place and authority of the Gospels and Epistles in their day. TERTULLIAN. Tertullian was born at Carthage, in Africa, about the year 150, A. D. His father was a Roman centurion, and Tertullian was blessed with a 38 THE ANCIENT FATHERS OF THE CHURCH sound education in the religion of his heathen parents. Philosophy, history, and law were subjects in which he took much delight. He grew up to manhood before his conversion to Christianity, and was probably forty years of age before that important event took place. He was a man of profound mind, ardent and deep feeling, and a voluminous writer. This scholarly lawyer made great use of the New Testament. He ascribes the four Gospels to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. His works which are known to us have been care- fully examined, and it is found that he makes 2,500 references to the New Testament. Of these 700 are references to the Gospels, and of these, again, 200 are to the Gospel by St. John. He quotes from every chapter in Matthew, Luke and John. He was the first to introduce the phrase “New Testament,” and the first of the fathers who wrote in Latin, IRENAEU.S. Irenaeus was another type of man who lived in another part of the world and had entirely different surroundings. He was probably born in the year 130, A. D., and was a native of Asia Minor. He had the unspeakable advantage of being a disciple of Papias and Polycarp, the disciples and friends of the Apostle John. It is not quite clear how or when he came to leave his birthplace, but we know him chiefly CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA 89 for his connection with the Christian church at Lyons He was presbyter of the church there dur- ing the time of a fierce persecution under Marcus Aurelius the Roman Emperor. The aged bishop of the church, named Ponthinus, died in prison in the year 177, and Irenaeus succeeded him. In his writings he used the New Testament with great freedom indeed. He attributes the four Gospels to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. He argues that there were four and could be no more than four Gos- pels. In his known works he makes twelve hundred references to the New Testament. Of this number four hundred are to the Gospels; he makes eighty references to the Gospel of St. John alone. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. From Gaul we pass to Alexandria, that we may get a short notice of Clement, of that city. The early history of the church in Alexandria is not very certain. Tradition has said that Mark was the founder of it. Be that as it may, we know that Alexandria early became an important center— noted for its scholars, its library, and its university. It was the meeting= place of men of all nations. Christianity early took root in this city, and famous Christian schools were established. Clement was probably born about the year 165, A. D. Like Tertullian, he grew to manhood be- 40 THE ANCIENT FATHERS OF THE CHURCH fore he became a Christian. He was a great scholar, and presided over a most famous school of thought at this center of active life and culture. He was a man of wide intelligence, and broad sympathies. Within one hundred years of the death of the Apostles of our Lord, he was working and teaching, and accepted as genuine and authentic,the Gospels as we accept them. He mentions Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John by name, and places them in the order here last named. He makes three hundred and twenty references to the New Testament in his works which we have. This is the testimony which these three ancient Fathers bear to our sacred Book. Living in different centres of life and thought, they yet all had our New Testament. They used it not simply as a private book, but as the recognized Scripture of the churches with which they each lived and worked. It must be quite clear that our Bible came from men who lived before they did; and as one of these men was a scholar at the feet of Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, we need but to go back one step more and we are with the Apostles. We want but one more link, and our chain of evidence, reaching from the Bible lying on my desk as I write, to the hands of the in- spired men who wrote the New Testament portion of it, is complete. We will try to supply that one link in our next chapter, and thus clasp hands with the Apostles. VI. THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. &Tº ROM the Early Fathers we step sº back to the Apostolic Fathers. By the Apostolic Fathers I here mean men wilo were alive before the last of the apostles had passed away. They were the friends of the friends of Our Lord; men who had heard the story of our Lord’s life from the lips of His own disciples them- selves, and from many of the intimate and close friends of these. CLEMENT OF ROME, POLYCARP, AND PAPIAS. Here again I select three: Clement of Rome, Polycarp, and Papias. In the last chapter we were considering the writings of about the year 175, A. D. Now let us go a hundred years farther back still, and fix in our minds the year 75, A. D. All these three men were born before this date. Polycarp may have been about five years of age, Papias perhaps fifteen years of age, and Clement a man, but of what age I am unable to say. In this year, 75, A. D., it is important to remember that one of the Lord's disciples was still alive, and 41 42 THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS perhaps others. St. John was bishop of the church at Ephesus. His friend Andrew who went with him to Asia Minor, and also Philip who settled at Hier. apolis, may also have been alive at this time. Jerusalem had been destroyed five years previous- ly. The Apostle Paul had written his Epistles some years before this date on which we fix, and had now for some years been in the enjoyment of that “Crown of Life’’ which he tells us the Lord has laid up for the faithful in heaven. All the New Testament, with the exception of the later writings of John, was in the possession of the churches. CLEMENT OF ROME. When the Apostle Paul was a prisoner at Rome, he was very poor and in needy circumstances. One of the churches which he had planted—that at Philippi—made a collection for him, and sent it to him with good wishes and prayers. Their kindness to him at such a time touched his heart, and drew from him many kind words. He wrote them an af- fectionate letter which has been preserved and has a place in our New Testament as the Epistle to the Philippians. It stands among his many letters as one of the most tender, gentle, loying, and peaceful of them all. In the fourth chapter and the third verse he mentions a fellow-laborer whose name is Clement. John is thought by some to be identical with Clement of Rome. CLEMENT OF ROME - 43 – We have no reliable history to inform us of . . . the early life of Clement, just as we have but little to tell us of the early life of our Lord's disciples, and of the Lord Himself. In all probability he was a Jewish convert to Christianity, as were Paul and many of the leaders of the Christian Church in the first century. But though we know so little of his - origin, we are not left in doubt as to his manhood and later life. He was an immediate disciple of the disciples of our Lord. . He was the friend of several of them, knew them, was acquainted with their writ- ings, and occupied a most important and influential position in the church. - PossIBLY THE AUTHOR OF THE HEBREws. Many have thought that Clement was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and some have said that he wrote the Acts of the Apostles. It is certain that many other works were ascribed to him; so great and influential was his place and name. He was third Bishop of Rome and such has been the respect in which his name and memory have been held, that almost a score of the Bishops or Popes of Rome have taken and used his name. At what exact date he died it is not easy to say. Euseb- ius, a learned man, who was born in the year 260, A. D., and died about the year 340, A. D., tells a little about Clement. This man, Eusebius, was the most famous of scholarly men in the church in his day. He wrote 44 THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS a history of the church from the Apostolic times to his own. In this chronicle he places the death of Clement in the year 95, A. D. If this be correct, Clement was the Bishop of Rome at the same time that John was Bishop at Ephesus. How many of the disciples he knew we cannot say; but it is certain that he was the friend of several. He would thus be in a most favored position for knowing what was the teaching of the Apostles re- specting our Lord’s life and death, the account of which we have in our Gospels. And he would know of the other parts of the New Testament if they were then in existence. Have we any evidence that he did know of the New Testament? Let us see. - CLEMENT'S EPISTLE STILL EXISTS. Clement wrote an Epistle to the Corinthians, which fortunately is preserved to us to this day. We have examined the precious old Bible called the Alexan- drian Manuscript, the famous Codea, A., which is in the British Museum, and which was writ- ten about the middle of the fifth century. Bound up with the New Testament volume of that priceless treasure is to be found with other inspired writings the Epistle to the Corinthians which Clem- ent wrote. It has been translated into English and is now published together with the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. CLEMENT'S EPISTLE TO THE CORIN THIANS 45 If you get it and read it through you will find that it is saturated with the language of the New Testa- ment. In its doctrine, the style in which it is written, and its general thought, it is unquestionably based upon the New Testament. A copy of it lies before me and I have just been reading it again, and say without hesitation that it could never have been written by any man who did not know the New Testament as it was spoken and written by the disciples and Apostles of our Lord. It contains the words of Peter, James, John, and Luke. It has passages based upon the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, Thessalonians, Ephesians, Timothy, Titus, of James, of Peter, to the Hebrews, and the Acts of the Apostles. * i Here, then, is another and most valuable link in the chain of evidence which shows that our New Testament came from the disciples and Apostles of our Lord. It confirms me in the faith that my New Testament is the same in substance which the church in the first century possessed. For if the disciples had not spoken and written the contents of the New Testament in those years of the first century, Clement could not possibly have written in their language. It is almost impossible to overestimate the importance of the writings of these ancient saints and fathers. The testimony which they bear to the existence of our Gospels and Epistles is such that, 46 THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS whether we believe them or disbelieve them, we are forced to admit that the Gospels and Epistles were in existence, or these Fathers could not have quoted them in the language in which they are written as they have done. This will be more apparent and convincing when we have added the testimony of Polycarp and Papias to that of Clement. VII. POLYCARP THE DISCIPLE OF JOHN. sº OLYCARPS name does not occur * : in the New Testament, but there are few of us who have not heard the story of his famous rejoinder to his persecutors. Brought before the Roman pro-Consul at Smyrna, he was given an opportunity of recanting while the fire was being prepared which was to consume his body. Urged by his judge, who was moved by Poly- carp's extreme age, to curse Christ and so spare his life, he nobly answered: “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any wrong: how can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” Polycarp was born about the year 70, A. D. He had the advantage of Christian training, and was instructed in the Christian faith from childhood. He became Bishop of Smyrna. The Church at Smyrna was one of the seven named in the Book of Revelation, and of which it was foretold that “some should be cast into prison.” He was put to death as a martyr about the year 156, A. D., being burned alive for his faithfulness to Jesus Christ. 47 48 POLYCARP THE DISCIPLE OF JOHN’ Polycarp was a disciple of John, and was, some say, made bishop and set over the Church at Smyrna by the Apostle himself. If this be so, he must have early distinguished himself for his piety and devotion to religion. Smyrna was not far from Ephesus. The Apostle Paul made a long stay at Ephesus, and only left it a few years before Polycarp was born. About the date of his birth the Apostle John and several other dis- ciples settled in Asia Minor, John becoming the Bishop of the Church at Ephesus. Though Paul was dead at the birth of Polycarp, the memory of the great Apostle would linger long in the district of" Ephesus among the churches which he planted, and with which he was so closely associated. In Polycarp, then, we have another MOST VALUABLE LINK IN OUR CHAIN. If the books of the New Testament were in existence he would certainly have known of it. And if we find that he did know then we may accept his testimony as important and undeniable: It seems that Polycarp wrote several Epistles to neighboring churches and some to private individuals; but with One exception all these have perished, and we now scarcely know their names. The one exception is a valuable letter which he sent to the church at Philippi, and which opens THE PHILIPPIAN LETTER 49 with the following sentence;—“ Polycarp and the presbyters that are with him, to the Church of God at Philippi: Mercy unto you, and peace, from God Almighty, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, be multiplied.” We are very thankful that this letter has escaped the ravages of time, and exists to-day as standing evidence that when Polycarp lived our New Testa- ment was in existence, and was known to him. This letter of his shows clearly that the New Testament, even thus early, was so popular that it entered into the common life and language of the people. His letter to the Philippians is shaped in the language of our Scriptures, and it is evident even to a careless reader that it could not have been written at all except |by a man who knew his New Testament. It is a very short epistle, covering only a few pages, as it is printed in an English translation. Its length will be better understood when I say that I have read it through, timing myself, in ten minutes." Yet short as this epistle is, it is long enough for our purpose. CHARACTER OF POLYCARP’s EPISTLE. We learn from it that Polycarp was a devout and * “Apostolic Fathers,” Part II., price 40 cts. The vol. also contains “The Epistles of St. Ignatius,” “The Teaching of the Twelve,” “The Epistle to Diognetus,” &c., &c. 50 , POLYCARP THE DISCIPLE OF JOHN pious man. We have already said that he had the advantage of Christian training, which was not lost upon him. From childhood he had listened to the great leaders and founders of the Church of Christ. He had sat at the feet of the saintly John, and from the lips of many who knew our Lord Himself; he had heard the story of our Lord’s life, death, resurrec- tion, and ‘glorious ascension. He had heard them tell of the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pen- tecost, and of the rapid spread of Christ's teaching, and of the faithfulness of followers and their con- verts in times of trial and difficulty. All this had so filled his soul that he lived in close communion with God, and was deeply anxious for the welfare of the Church of God. In his letter he urges the Philippians to be consis. tent in their conduct, steadfast in their faith, and to manifest brotherly love; while at the same time he warns them against falsehood, covetousness, and evil doing. Tiet us examine a few passages from this all- important letter. “Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, serve the Lord with fear, and in truth; laying aside all empty and vain speech, and the error of many, believing in Him that raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and hath given Him glory. But He that raised up Christ from the dead shall DIVINE PRECEPTS 51 also raise up us in like manner, if we do His will, and walk according to His commandments, and love those things which He loved; abstaining from all unright- eousness, inordinate affection, and love of money; from evil speaking, false witness; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, or striking for striking, or cursing for cursing; but remembering what the Lord has taught us, saying, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.’” “Let us therefore serve Him in fear, and with all reverence, as both Himself has commanded, and as the Apostles who have preached the Gospel unto us, and the prophets who have foretold the Coming of our Lord have taught us; being zealous of what is good; abstaining from all offence and from false brethren, and from those who bear the name of Christ in hypocrisy, who deceive vain men. For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, he is Antichrist: and whoever does not confess his suf- ferings upon the cross is from the devil; and whoso- ever perverts the Oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there shall neither be any resurrection nor judgment, he is the firstborn of Satan. Where- fore, leaving the vaunts of many, and their false doc- trines, let us return to the word that was delivered to us from the beginning: “Watching unto prayer,” and persevering in fasting: with supplication beseeching 52 POLYCARP THE DISCIPLE OF JOHN the all-seeing God ‘not to lead us into temptation,” as the Lord hath said, ‘The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.’” PROOFS THAT THE GOSPELS WERE THEN WELL KNOWN. These short quotations will be sufficient to show the nature of the whole Epistle, and also to show how it abounds with the language of the New Testament. In these few lines we notice—(1) He states the fact of Our Lord's resurrection and ascension to glory. (2) He refers to the teaching of our Lord and His Apostles. (3) He refers to the oracles of our Lord, which was the word for the written Gospels. (4) He quotes the language of Peter, of Paul, of Matthew, and of John. In the whole Epistle, which occupies but ten min- utes to read, we find the language of Matthew, Luke, John, and the Acts of the Apostles; of the Epistle of Peter; and of Paul’s Epistles to the Romans, Corin- thians, Galatians, Thessalonians, Ephesians, Philip- pians, Colossians, Timothy, and Titus. Here, then, we get a link in our chain which con- nects us to the actual writers of the New Testament, and assures us, beyond all possibility of doubt, that the contents of our New Testament were in the hands of the men who lived before the last of the Apostles were dead. Could anything be more decisive? Does not this most clearly answer the question, Where did our Bible come from? I do not know of anything A LINK IN THE CHAIN 58 ancient for which there is fuller and clearer evidence of authenticity than that our New Testament came from the disciples and their friends in that First Century of the Christian era. We can strengthen this last link still more by a short notice of Papias, another of the three fathers who was alive in the year 75, A. D. * - VIII. PAPIAS. tioned in the New Testament, but he knew many of the men and the friends of the men who are named in it. In St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians (iv. 13,) you will find that he mentions Hierapolis. This place, now in ruins, lay only the short distance of a few miles from Laodicea, and was about one hundred miles on the east of Ephesus. A Christian Church was early planted there, and the Apostle Philip is said to have settled at that place. Papias was the Bishop of Hierapolis. He was the friend of Polycarp, from whom he received much instruction; and some have said that he was a disciple of the Apostle John, Papias wrote a work, called “Interpretation of the Sayings of the Lord.” The work seems to have been a large one; but, unfortu- nately, it is lost. Whether it has perished out of sight, or is hid away among the dust and lumber of some library or monastery, no one knows. The last trace of the book seems to be about the year 1218, A. D. Fortu- mately, quotations from the work are preserved in the 54 A FRIEND OF THE APOSTLE JOHN 55 writings of Irenaeus and Eusebius; and though these portions thus preserved are not nearly so numerous as we would like, they are most valuable indeed. We know how the Sinaitic MS. was discovered when it had been thrown into a basket to be carried to the fire. It is not many years since other precious works of the early Christian times have been dis- covered; and if some day the work of Papias should be found, it would add one more priceless treasure to our ancient documents, and throw light upon our New Testament. HIS CAREFUL COLLECTING OF FACTS. Papias was well acquainted with the daughters of Philip, and would, doubtless, often hear from their lips the story which their father had told them of the chief events in the life of Our Lord. It is said that Andrew settled in Asia Minor with the Apostle John, and that Papias knew both these Apostles; and many of the intimate friends of the Apostles were known to him. It will be interesting to look at a few lines from his work, which Eusebius has preserved for us:– “On any occasion when any person came [in my way] who had been a follower of the Elders, I would enquire about the discourses of the Elders—what was said by Andrew, or by Peter, or by Philip, or by Thomas or James, or by John or Matthew or any other of the Lord's disciples, and what Aristian and 56 PAPIAS the Elder John, the disciples of the Lord, say. For I did not think that I could get so much profit from the contents of books as from the utterances of a liv- ing and abiding voice.” HIS EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. If we look carefully at this passage we will see how important it is. It shows us at once in what a favored position Papias was in regard to ascertain- ing the facts of the history contained in our New Testament. Notice carefully the following which is known concerning him: 1. He knew two men who were disciples of the Lord. 2. He knew the daughters of the Apostle Philip. 3. He had met men who knew many of our Lord’s disciples. 4. That he had conversation with them respecting the teaching of the disciples. 5. That he preserved “books '' which contained these accounts. 6. That he added to the teaching of the books all he could learn from living men.' It is very evident that any word which this man speaks on the question of the New Testament will possess the greatest value. His testimony will be second only in importance to the New Testament itself. A man occupying his position, and taking the trouble to get the true account of Our Lord’s work on * Dr. Dale’s “Living Church and the Fowr Gospels.” AN ANCIENT TESTIMONY * 57 earth, will be sure to leave a record worthy of atten- tion. g He tells us that Mark was a companion of Peter, and that Mark wrote a Gospel. He also tells us that Matthew wrote a Gospel in Hebrew. He appears to have been acquainted with the Gospel of John, and he quotes from the early Epistle of John, and one of the Epistles of Peter. He knew the Book of Revelation, and maintained that it was a divinely- inspired book. -- Though his testimony is not so full as that of Polycarp and Clement, it is only because we know less of him. If we had his whole work I have no doubt it would give greater testimony than either of the other Apostolic Fathers we have classed with him. He amply confirms what the others have said; and altogether they give such testimony as should make us all confident that our New Testament is not an invention but that it came direct from the Apos- tles of Jesus Christ. I conclude this chapter, believing that it should make any person who reads it feel sure that his New Testament is not an invention. However unlettered a person may be who reads and loves his New Testa- ment, he may continue to treasure and reverence it as the Word of Life, the Lamp of God, which "has come to us from the holy Apostles themselves. Surely he may say, “I now know of a truth that 58 PAPIAS this blessed Book has come down the ages, for I have seen that holy men in the Church of God have possessed it ever since the first century of the Chris- tian era. I know for myself, and shall be able to tell others ‘where our Bible came from.” IX. ANCIENT VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES. > HE books of the New Testament ºr J. tº º 㺠were originally written in the Greek language. At a very early date Some of these books were translated and copied into the languages spoken by the men and women converted to Christianity who did not know Greek. The early versions of the Scriptures thus grew out of the necessities of the case. After our Lord's ascen- sion to heaven, Christianity rapidly spread and took root in many lands. Within thirty years of the day of Pentecost there existed Christian churches, with their regular services and officers, in places far removed from each other. They were to be found in Europe and in Asia Minor, and Syria; also at Jerusalem, Caesarea, Antioch, and in Rome. They existed in Asia Minor, and in the cities along the coast. Churches 59 60 ANCIENT VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES were found in Philippi, Thessalonica, and at Corinth. Had the people in all these various places spoken the Greek language, their needs would have been met by multiplying copies of the original Greek books of the New Testament. But this was not so. It was necessary that the churches in these places should have records of the revelation which the Lord and His Apostles had made, in such language as they could understand. To meet their needs we know that translations were made. It is not easy to estimate the high value of these ancient versions of the Bible, bringing us back, as they do, to a date long before the oldest of our known manuscripts. They connect us with the Apostles, and form a most valuable chapter in the history of the Bible. If we can show that versions of the inspired books existed in the second century, we shall, of course, by that fact also show that the Scriptures themselves were in eacistence before that time, or they could not have been translated into those languages. Out of the multitude of ancient versions I select two for special examination. These two versions are called the Peshito, used in the Syrian churches, and the Old Latin produced for the North African Chris- tians. They were, so far as we know, the first ver- sions of the Scriptures made. It is thought by some that parts of these two versions were made within the Apostolic age, and that shortly afterwards the transla- THE SYRIAC VERSION 61 tions of the separate parts were collected, and, after ©ox wºsas S “savºc. *º <ºsvº- $º sºn sewº *ś, - *): series sº sºvº-an Rºº-º-º-º-, so ~