Many years ago God spoke to man. Man wrote down what God said. These men were called prophets. The prophets wrote down what God said to them. After many years people gathered together and put what the prophets wrote into one big book and called it the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection of books and letters written by God through men. Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God.
God spoke to Moses
Moses is one of the prophets. The Bible talks about Moses. Here is what it says:
“Then Moses carefully wrote down all the LORD’s instructions” – Exodus 24:4.
Moses wrote a large section of the Old Testament in the Bible. We read that it was God who told Moses what to write down and that Moses was very careful and wrote down exactly what God told Him write. And God protected what Moses wrote down and we have it today translated in man languages.
In another part of the Bible we read:
“So Moses wrote this entire body of instruction in a book and gave it to the priests, who carried the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, and to the elders of Israel” – Deuteronomy 31:9.
Again we see that Moses did not write down the words of man. Moses wrote down the Words of God.
God told Moses what to write. It says in the Bible:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel” – Exodus 34:27.
God showed prophets visions of what would happen in the future
Sometimes God would show His prophets dreams and visions about what would happen in the future. Then the prophets would write these things down. And God would explain the dreams and the visions to them.
Take for example Daniel. God showed the prophet Daniel many visions and explained them to him.
The Bible says that Daniel praises and thanks God for the secrets that God revealed to Him:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king” – Daniel 2:20-23.
Ezekiel had visions from God
Ezekiel is another prophet in the Old Testament. He also wrote down the visions that God showed him. These visions are hard to understand.
Ezekiel says in the Bible:
“In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God” – Ezekiel 1:1.
Yes, “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets” – Hebrews 1:1.
This should come as no surprise.
God spoke to Jeremiah
Jeremiah is another prophets to whom God spoke. We read in the Book of Jeremiah 1:4-5:
“The LORD gave me this message:
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
God would give His prophets specific messages and tell them where to go to deliver these messages:
“The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go to the entrance of the LORD’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Judah, listen to this message from the LORD! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says” – Jeremiah 7:1-3.
Sometimes God would tell His prophets to go to a certain king or place and give the people a message. And sometimes God would tell His prophets to write down the messages God had. God wanted these messages to be recorded so that people in the future would be able to read what it was that God was saying to mankind.
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah” – Jeremiah 30:2.
God is serious about protecting His messages
God gave messages to His prophets for many years and God wanted these messages protected. We read in the Book of Revelation how serious God is about protecting His Word, the Bible:
“And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book” – Revelation 22:18-19.
God is very serious about protecting every Word given to mankind through His prophets. So serious that if God catches anyone changing what He has written in the Bible, God will personally remove that person’s name from the tree of life. God will not allow anyone to change His Word, and if they try, then God will deal with them very seriously.
No one can change the Word of God
God’s Word is eternal. No one can change God’s Word. No human being or evil spirit has the power to erase or remove God’s Book, the Holy Bible, from the earth. The Word of God will always be with us. The Word of God will always have its enemies. But no one will be able to overcome God and destroy His Word.
Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear” – Mark 24:25.