Abraham Lincoln

[Many of you have heard me often quote the English writing F.W. Boreham as among many favorites. Here is an edited version of one of his fine essays, penned nearly half a century ago. It is taken from his book A Temple of Topaz.—R.Z.]The massive personality of Abraham Lincoln is like a granite boulder torn from a rugged hillside. Too gigantic to be localized. he bursts all the bounds of nationality and takes his place in history as a huge cosmopolite. As Edward Stanton so finely exclaimed, in announcing that the last breath of the assassinated President had been drawn, “He belongs henceforth to the ages!” He piloted the civilization of the West through the most momentous crisis of its history; and, in so doing, he established principles which will stand as the landmarks of statecraft as long as the world endures.
He was an immense human…. Some men arc far mightier than their achievement. What they do is great; but what they are is infinitely greater. Abraham Lincoln is the outstanding example of the men of this towering and gigantic cast. The world contains millions of people who know little of American history, and who have but the haziest notions as to the issues at stake in the Civil War, yet upon whose ears the name of Abraham Lincoln falls like an encrusted tradition, like a golden legend, like a brave, inspiring song.
In view of this, an analysis of the rise and progress of Lincoln’s faith is particularly alluring. It divides itself into three distinct phases….
THE IRON AGE
Lincoln climbed Mount Sinai with Moses: That was how the Iron Age began. Abraham Lincoln’s young mother died when he was barely nine. Her husband had to nurse her, close her eyes, make her coffin, and dig her grave. Abraham helped him carry that melancholy burden from the desolated cabin to its lonely resting-place in the woods. He never forgot that mother of his. “All that I am,” he used to say, “my angel-mother made me!” And the memory that lingered the longest was the thought of her as she sat in the old log-cabin teaching him the Ten Commandments. Many a time afterwards, when he was asked how he had found the courage to decline some tempting bribe, or to resist some particularly insidious suggestion, he said that, in the critical hour, he heard his mother’s voice repeating once more the old, old words: “I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”
He treasured all through life her last words: “I am going away from you, Abraham, and shall not return. I know that you will be a good boy, and you will be kind to your Father. I want you to live as I have taught you, to love your Heavenly Father and to keep His commandments.”
AGE OF CLAY
Lincoln climbed Mount Carmel with Elijah: That was how the Age of Clay—the plastic age—began. Elijah learned on Mount Carmel that his loneliness in the midst of unscrupulous foes mattered little so long as the God who Answereth by Fire was with him. Lincoln learned identically the same lesson when, in 1860, h.’ left his old home at Springfield and turned his face towards Washington. It was for him the hour of destiny.
President McKinley has told us how, in that fateful hour, Lincoln received a flag from one of his admirals. On its silken folds he read, beautifully worked, the words: “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: For the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses, so shall I be with thee.”
The words inscribed on the flag became the keynote of this second phase of his experience. He regarded himself as a Man with a Mission. Indeed, he had two missions—one immediate and one remote . The immediate mission was the preservation of the Union; the remote mission was the abolition of slavery. On both issues he was in deadly earnest; for either cause he was prepared to die. And he knew perfectly well that death was not improbable. Plots were laid to assassinate him before he could reach Washington. But he never wavered; the words on the flag were constantly in his mind. At every wayside station crowds gathered to greet him. And Dr. Hill points out that, in addressing each of these groups, he declared emphatically that he was going forth in the name of the Living God….
Like Moses he would be clay in the hands of the divine Potter; and, by those Unseen Hands, he would be molded and shaped and fashioned. It is for this reason that I have called this second phase the Age of Clay. It is the plastic, pliable, formative period of Lincoln’s inner life. Yet it is by no means the climax.
THE GOLDEN AGE
Lincoln climbed Mount Calvary with John: That was how the Golden Age began. But before Calvary comes Gethsemane; and certainly Lincoln passed through that Garden of Anguish. Mr. H.C. Whitney says that, during the war, Lincoln’s companions would leave him by the fireside at night and find him still there—elbows on knees and face in hands—when they came down in the morning. “Father,” he would moan again and again, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me!” Late one Sunday night he called on Henry Ward Beechen, looking “so bowed with care, so broken by the sorrows of the nation, that it was difficult even to recognize him. A look of weariness had crept into his sunken eyes. “I think,” he confided to a friend, “I think I shall never be glad again.” Yet, as Dr. Hill points out, it was this discipline of suffering that rendered his faith irresistible and triumphant. But how?
The greatest grief of his life was the death of his son. As the boy lay dying, Lincoln’s reason seemed in peril. Miss Ida Tarbell has told the sad story with great delicacy and judgment. When the dread blow fell, the nurse and the father stood with bowed heads beside the dead boy, and then the nurse, out of her own deep experience of human sorrow and of divine comfort, pointed the weeping President to her Savior.
The work that this private sorrow began, the public sorrow completed. Lincoln had long yearned for a fuller, sweeter, more satisfying faith. “I have been reading the Beatitudes,” he tells a friend, “and can at least claim the blessing that is pronounced upon those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” He was to hunger no longer. A few days before his death he told of the way in which the peace of heaven stole into his heart. “When I left Springfield,” he said, not without a thought of the flag and its inscription, “I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian. When I buried my son—the severest trial of my life—I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg, and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.” From that moment, Dr. Hill says, the habitual attitude of his mind was expressed in the words: “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” With tears in his eyes he told his friends that he had found the faith that he had longed for. He realized, he said, that his heart was changed, and that he loved the Savior. The President was at the Cross!
Happily, he lived to see the sunshine that followed the storm. He lived to see Peace and Union and Emancipation triumphant. His last hours were spent amidst services of thanksgiving and festivals of rejoicing. One of these celebrations was being held in Ford’s Theater at Washington. The President was there, and attracted as much attention as the actors. But his mind was not on the play. Indeed, it was nearly over when he arrived. He leaned forward, talking, under his breath, to Mrs. Lincoln. Now that the war was over, he said, he would like to take her for a tour of the East. They would visit Palestine—would see Gethsemane and Calvary—would walk together the streets of Jeru___!
But before the word was finished, a pistol shot – “the maddest pistol – shot in the history of the ages” – rang through the theater. And he who had climbed Mount Sinai with Moses, Mount Carmel with Elijah, and Mount Calvary with John, had turned his pilgrim feet towards the holiest heights of all.

RZIM Resources RZIM.org

WHY I BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD

(divine rather than merely human in origin)

Intro:

Christians believe is the 66 books that make up the Holy Bible are the words of God, not because we have blind faith, but rather because we have faith in evidence. In other words, we can demonstrate this to be the case.4 So the Christian faith is never irrational. It’s based on revelation, but it’s not irrational. We say not that there is a victory of reason in Christianity, but rather a victory of revelation which informs reason.

If all you have is reason, you’re like a man with perfect 20/20 eyesight sitting in a dark room. Your eyesight is laser sharp, but if you’re in a room pervaded by darkness, no matter how good your eyesight is, you can’t see. Revelation informs reason and God has given us revelation not only through nature but also through sixty-six books of knowledge. In others words the Bible, the first of which is the book of Genesis.

Here is one helpful hint among many that will help you as you read the Bible.  If you start with the wrong presupposition instead of that God is condescending to speak to us in language that we can attain to, you might very well get the wrong impression. Why would God say to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” If God knows everything, He would know where they are. Now if you don’t understand that the language of the Bible condescends to our corrupt fallen nature and speaks to us in language that we can attain to, then you’re going to get the wrong impression of what Genesis is communicating.  Other examples: God covers us with his wings and God walked with Adam in the Garden and God hears our prayers.  These are metaphors for we know God does not have wings, feet or ears.  Many literary forms are used by God to reveal truth to mankind – after all God created language just as He created everything else.  The Bible also uses hyperbole (extreme exaggeration) such as ‘Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus.’ Obviously no one actually believes every last single human being went out to meet him.  Or when it says ‘And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.’  No one actually believes God wants us to mutilate our bodies.  God just intends that we know how serious he is about sin.  He is deadly serious.  Also when the Bible says "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple.”  God is not telling us we must actually hate our families.  He is using hyperbole to stress emphatically that He must come first in our lives and we must love him with all our mind, strength, soul, and spirit.  God is the only source of eternal life and we must not take that lightly.  People who don’t understand these principles of language and literature will logically find contradictions in scripture where none exist in reality.  Critics will say ‘should I read the Bible literally or symbolically?’  The question is in error. The answer is yes to both.  You are to interpret all literature which includes the Bible literally the way it was intended whether its poetry, song, historical narrative, parable, symbolic, apocalyptic, etc.  Symbolic language has a literal meaning.  And the reader knows from the context of each form how to interpret it.  All forms are to be taken literally within its context.  So the question should I read it literally or symbolically is in error. We are to read historical narrative literally and symbolic narrative literally and interpret both as intended by the author.   To properly interpret symbolic language you sometimes need to do further research and study to understand what the author is trying to communicate. And when you find out the meaning you take it literally whatever the meaning is.  We all know Jesus is called the Lamb of God which is symbolic term used not to mean Jesus is an actual lamb, but that Jesus sacrificed himself and shed his blood to pay for our sins once and for all time (past present and future).  So you see the literal meaning of the symbolic term ‘Lamb of God’ is literally what I just delineated to you.  Once you understand the literal meaning of the symbol the explanation is not necessary except to those who have never heard or children.  Without the prior knowledge or someone explaining it to you it’s understandable that you’d see contradictions and foolishness in the Holy Bible as you read it.  Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.  1 Corinthians 2:14  The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.  1 Corinthians 1:18  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  1 Corinthians 1:23  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,…  Mark 4: 21He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”  24“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”  If you think that sounds harsh I agree but if you think about it, it’s fair not to mention good business.   It represent the separation of the righteous and sinners at the final judgment spoken of in many ways throughout the Bible as a warning call to all.  As for good business, say for example a business owner has 5 factories in the land and 4 are prosperous and 1 is not.  The owner tries many ways to bring that factory around but to no avail.  He eventually sells the land and redistributes the remaining assets to the other 4 profitable units.  It’s a perfect picture of what will happen to everyone unless they repent of their sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ the one and only mediator between God and man  (1 Timothy 2:5).

One Shot, One Book, One God

SYNOPSIS
Christians are often asked, How do you know that the Bible is the Word of God? One succinct answer we can give is that the Bible bears God’s fingerprint: order. Order involves a multiplicity of objects or parts that are unified according to a definite plan. The existence of order, or design, implies that an intelligent designer has been at work. Order is observable in the realms of science and ethics and points to the fact that an intelligent, personal, creative, powerful God exists. Order is also evident in the Bible. It is a multiplicity of books, written by many authors, over many years, in many literary styles, that contain many stories about many people, places, things, and events. It also displays an intricate, multilayered unity. It is one story, about one God, who is administering one plan of salvation, that is centered around one person (Christ), who is attested to by one body of signs, and who is worshiped by one people, according to one worldview. Like a spiral galaxy or a hummingbird’s wing or a strand of DNA, the order found in the Bible could not have been created by a mere mortal, but only by God.

Sometimes you have only one shot. If so, you have to make it count.

This was the case with me once, following a history lecture I attended at our local senior center. During discussion time, I had mentioned that modern archeology has repeatedly demonstrated the amazing historical accuracy of the Bible. I thought that nothing further would come of the comment, but I was wrong. Immediately after the lecture ended, an agitated man made his way straight for me. Before we could even exchange pleasantries, his question burst forth: “How can you possibly believe that the Bible is the Word of God?” He wanted an answer and, with some difficulty, was waiting for it. Leaning on the Lord, I gave him my best shot:

Sir, there is one piece of evidence above all others that persuades me that the Bible is God’s Word. It’s called the unity of Scripture. The Bible is actually a collection of books — 66 of them, written by more than 40 authors, over the course of some 1,500 years; yet it is one unified book. It tells one story, about one God, who sends one Savior — Jesus Christ — into the world. The more you study it, the more you see Christ — not just in the New Testament, but also in the Old Testament. Have you read Isaiah53? It predicts details of Christ’s death more than 600 years before it happened. Have you heard of the Passover Lamb? It pointed to Christ, the Lamb of God, 1,500 years before He came into world! The Christ-centered unity of the Bible is so intricate and so beautiful that no mere mortal could possibly have produced it. It has to be the product of a single divine Mind working through the different authors. It is this amazing unity that persuades me that the Bible is the Word of God.

With that, the man turned and walked away.

 

ORDER, ORDER, EVERYWHERE!

In taking my best shot, I pointed this troubled man to one of the great supernatural realities in the world today — what I call “the biblical order.” In the paragraphs ahead, I want to examine this order in some depth. Let’s begin with a few remarks about a common but richly significant phenomenon: order.

Webster’s Dictionary defines order as an arrangement of different objects integrated into a system according to a definite plan.¹ This definition highlights the main elements of any order. First, there is multiplicity — a finite number of different objects or parts. Second, there is unity — a perceivable oneness, integrity, or systematic quality that characterizes the multiplicity. This unity is created by the third element: arrangement — the way the component parts are put together. Note carefully, however, that just any arrangement will not do; for order to exist, the arrangement must be according to a definite plan. In other words, it must display the fourth element of order: design, or rationality.
            This last element is significant; for when we come upon a multiplicity of objects that have been arranged into an intricate and beautiful design, we immediately experience an inescapable awareness that an intelligent person with a purpose — a designer — has been on the scene. Order implies and reveals design and design implies and reveals a designer. They are a little trinity; the first cannot exist without the other two. Order always bears upon itself a fingerprint of personal intelligence, purpose, and power at work.
            The concept of order is a vital partner in the apologetic task. In order to fully appreciate the order or unity of Scripture we must look for a moment at two other areas in which order is found: in nature and in ethics.

The Natural Order
Nature is the totality of all physical objects — the cosmos. We observe that order pervades the parts and the whole. It is present in the tiniest building blocks of nature — the atomic elements; in the largest objects in nature, such as stars, galaxies, and galactic clusters; and in all the objects in between, including crystals, clouds, conches, crickets, cuckoos, crocodiles, and chemists. It is seen in the structure of things, the motions of things, the relationships of things, and the beauty of things. It is also strikingly seen in the fantastic complexity of certain things, such as a strand of DNA, a living cell, an asparagus fern, a hummingbird’s wing, or a human brain or eye. The more we look at nature, the more we see that the things we call “things” are actually orders — unities of component parts arranged according to a rational plan.
            In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained that order in nature reveals to all humans the existence and attributes of its divine creator. When we see order in nature, we cannot help but see design. Seeing design, we cannot help but see a designer — a person with a purpose. Seeing that person, we cannot help but see that he is divine; for what other kind of person could fashion an order such as this? Order in nature reveals that a divine, personal creator exists and that he is infinitely intelligent, artistic, powerful, and good (Rom. 1:18–32).

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Do you like what you’re reading?

This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 27, number 5 (2004). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org – You’ll be glad you did both for yourself and your family. 

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The Moral Order

The moral order is spiritual rather than physical. It is different from the natural order, yet it is no less real. Paul also discussed this moral order, affirming that all humans innately know its several elements (Rom. 2:1–16). The first of these elements is the moral law — a fixed code of moral absolutes, planted like solemn sentinels deep within each human heart. Next, there is moral obligation — an objective spiritual reality perceived by the faculty we call conscience. Conscience, together with moral obligation, urges us to align ourselves with the moral law and to reconcile ourselves to it when we break it. Finally, there is moral cause and effect. Our innate awareness of this moral law assures us that good will triumph over evil and that human deeds will bring reward or retribution, if not in this life, then surely in the next.

The moral order is no less pervasive, complex, beautiful, or influential than the natural order. It, too, manifests design and points to a designer — a person with a purpose. It, too, reveals that this person is divine; for what other kind of person could create and sustain an order such as this? This order, however, also reveals that the divine person is a holy sovereign and a righteous judge, and that he would have us live according to the moral order he has created.

A Revelatory Order?

Suppose you are a seeker. Pondering the natural and moral orders, you come to the conclusion that there must be a divine person — an “unknown god” — behind them both; but no matter how hard you look at these orders, you cannot figure out his name (if he has a name), his plans for the world, why his good creation is riddled with so much evil and suffering or what (if anything) he plans to do about it. The orders have awakened you to the existence of an unknown god, but they supply frustratingly little in the way of answers to life’s ultimate questions.

Then it hits you: “If there really is a god, he surely has the answers to all these questions. Maybe he has sent us a teacher or a group of teachers to reveal them. Maybe they have written a book that contains the answers. Maybe I’m supposed to start looking for such a book. How do I know that it even exists? If it does exist, how will I recognize it among all the other holy books?”

I would say to you, “Friend, I have good news: there is such book, and you already have the tools to identify it. You know, based on your experience with nature and conscience, that the unknown god reveals himself in orders. He shows his intelligence and artistry by arranging multiplicities of different objects into intricate and beautiful unities. Order is his signature, his trademark. Doesn’t it make sense, then, that if he gave us a holy book that reveals the answers to the questions of life, that he would put his signature upon it? Like nature, wouldn’t it, too, be an intricate and beautiful order — a ‘revelatory order’?

Christians have been claiming for centuries that the Bible is the revelatory order for which the God of the natural and moral order has prepared the human heart. What exactly is it about the Bible that persuades them that He has indeed put His signature upon it? It is now time to find out.

THE MULTIPLICITY OF THE BIBLE

We cannot appreciate the Bible’s order and unity unless we see them against the backdrop of its great multiplicity. The Bible contains a multiplicity of books — 66 of them. It was written over a multiplicity of years — about 1,500 of them. It was written in a multiplicity of places — on three separate continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), in city and country, in palace and prison, at home and abroad. It was written in a multiplicity of languages — Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

It was written in a multiplicity of literary genres—at least eight of them, including historical narrative, law, poetry, drama, proverb, prophecy, epistle, and apocalyptic vision. The historical narrative alone is epic in scope, containing a great multiplicity of stories that reference thousands of persons, places, things, and events.

It was written by a multiplicity of authors — about 40 of them. These authors were not just priests or theologians, but men from many different walks of life — kings, peasants, fishermen, poets, statesmen, a herdsman, a military general, a cupbearer, a doctor, and even a tax collector! Many of them were opposed by the spiritual leaders of their day, and some were even regarded as heretics. The Bible, clearly, is not the handiwork of a closely knit religious cult.

These historical facts concerning the origin and literary character of the Bible reveal that this striking, multilayered unity is neither the product of one man, nor of the collusion of many. If it is not from either of these, however, then from whom is it?

THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE

The unity of the Bible is indeed striking, multilayered and, I would argue, patently divine. I will now try to make that case by expanding on the following thesis statement: The Bible is one story, about one God, who is administering one plan of salvation, that is centered around one person (Christ), who is attested to by one body of signs, and who is worshiped by one people, according to one (eminently satisfying) worldview.

One Story

The Bible tells a single story. This story has a beginning, middle, and end. In essence, it tells of the creation of humans (Gen. 1:27) and the cosmos, their wounding by the sin of the first human (Rom. 5:12), and their glorious restoration through the righteousness of Christ. This story has many characters, including divine, angelic, and human. It has many themes, including the love of the Father for the Son; the love of the Son for the Father; the love of God for humans and nature; and the triumph of good over evil, truth over lies, and humility over pride. It has a plot and many subplots. There is rising action, developing conflict, apparent defeat, and sudden, unexpected deliverance and final victory. There is romance, mystery, comedy, and tragedy. Finally, for everyone who plays his part in the story well, there is a happy ending.

In short, the Bible displays an outstanding literary unity that reveals the hand of a single divine Author. Note carefully, however, that the Bible resists being categorized as mere story (i.e., myth or legend), but because of certain characteristics forcibly presents itself as the kind of story we call history. Indeed, believers see it as the story par excellence — the true cosmic history from which all lesser stories, be they history or fiction, derive whatever beauty and truth they may contain. If this is so, it would explain mankind’s perennial fascination with the Bible. Many people sense that their lives have significance and meaning. They are like Sam Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings, who said, “What a tale we have been in, Mr.Frodo, haven’t we?” Many people know they’re in a tale and they long to find the book in which the whole tale, including their own appointed part, is told. The literary unity of the Bible will often draw them to it.

One God

In the Bible’s one story, a single character towers above all others: God. Part of the drama of the story is that as it unfolds it reveals more about God, including His names, attributes, purposes, plans, prerogatives, mighty works, and mysterious ways. Then, as the story nears its climax, something of extraordinary interest is unveiled: the one God is actually a Trinity of persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The details progressively unfold, yet the message of the Bible remains the same: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4 NASB). “There is no other besides Him” (Deut. 4:35 NASB). In other words, the Bible, unlike the ancient pagan scriptures with their elaborate theogonies and vast pantheons of gods, displays a consistent theological unity. This is consistent with the fact that all humans intuitively know that there is, and can be, only one God. It is hardly surprising, then, that His book reveals that part of His mission in history is to expose and dethrone every other so-called god, so that “in that day there will be one Lord, and His name [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] the only name” (Zech.14:9 NIV; cf. John4:22–24; Phil.2:8–11).

 

One Plan of Salvation

The Bible is fundamentally a history book — the history of God’s redemptive acts, past, present, and future. This “salvation history,” especially the part called the New Testament, reveals that God is always acting according to a plan. The Bible, therefore, may best be understood as a history of the administration of a single divine plan for the redemption of the cosmos. The biblical timeline outlined below provides a glimpse of that plan.²

The Eternal Covenant of Grace. This is the heart of salvation history. The New Testament reveals that even before the creation of the world, God foreknew Adam’s sin and its terrible consequences for humans and nature; but He also had a plan to redeem them. The writer to the Hebrews called this plan “the eternal covenant” (Heb.13:20). Scripture reveals that this covenant is an agreement involving two parties: God and humankind; a promise to all who willingly enter into it: forgiveness of sins and eternal life in fellowship with God; a penalty for all who spurn it: eternal punishment away from the presence of God; a provision by which God can justly offer eternal life to humankind: God’s incarnate Son, living and dying in behalf of His people; and a proviso, or demand: simple faith in the person and work of Christ. God determined that for many years the elements of this covenant would remain hidden in Him; only at the time He appointed — at the appearing of His Son — would He reveal to all nations the great mystery of this covenant.

Creation, Probation, and Fall. The sin of the first Adam, the head of all humankind, alienated the human race from God, forfeited the tree of (eternal) life, and plunged the whole world into bondage to a host of evils, including sin, suffering, Satan, death, and the peril of hell. There was only one hope: another, better, “Adam” must come to recover what the first Adam had lost and to undo what the first Adam had done.

The Era of Promise and Preparation. God began to administer the eternal covenant to sinful men and women during the lengthy Old Testament era, urging and expecting them to respond. He revealed the eternal covenant, but in a veiled manner. God accomplished this by using types — historical persons, places, things, events, and institutions that symbolized the covenant realities that were yet to come (see table1). Types are a shadow of which Christ and the covenant elements are the body (Col.2:17).

Consider the following example from the events of the fall: When God administered the covenant to Adam and Eve, He killed an animal so that they might be covered by its skin and not be ashamed before Him. In this respect, Adam and Eve were a type of God’s people. The innocent animal that was killed in their place by God Himself was a type of Christ. The animal skin typified Christ’s righteousness and the merits of His sacrifice that cover sin. The guilty pair’s willingness to receive the covering and so meet the condition for entering the covenant with God typified faith toward Christ. Despite their sin, God was again their God and they His covenant people.

God increasingly gave previews of the covenant realities as the Old Testament era progressed, thus awakening hope in His people. He did so by means of prophecy. In essence, Old Testament prophecy consisted of promises that the provision of the covenant (Christ, the Messiah) would come, and that through faith in Him, God’s people would receive the covenant blessings. Isaiah, for example, cast the Messianic era as a day of pardon (53, 55), spiritual renewal (44:3), holiness (35:8), healing (61:1–3), the banishment of Satan (27:1), victory over death (25:6–8), a restored cosmos (65:17), and the manifestation of the glory of God (40:5). The eternal covenant to come, therefore, is the hidden theme that mystically unites all Old Testament history and prophecy.

The Era of Fulfillment. In this era, the covenant blessings are unveiled at last. During its first stage — the period of proclamation between Christ’s incarnation (birth as God-man) and His second coming — the saints experience the covenant blessings in part and behold them by faith. During the second stage — the eternal period of consummation (i.e., completion) that begins at Christ’s return (second coming) — they will experience them in fullness and behold them by sight. This is gospel — “good news”! The Redeemer has come and the mysteries of the eternal covenant are now an “open secret” to the people of God (Rom.16:25–27).

Here, then, in too few strokes, is something of the Bible’s complex soteriological unity (i.e., unity regarding God’s plan of salvation). The myriad stories of the two Testaments unite like tiles in a mosaic to show us a single God, administering a single plan, for the salvation of a single beloved people. No one on earth could devise and carry out such a plan — or such a book to tell us about it.

One Person

In the same way that Christ is the focal point of the eternal covenant — the one Mediator between God and man — so, too, He is the focal point of the Scriptures; like planets around the sun, the Scriptures revolve around Him. Jesus Himself said, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (John5:39NIV). He told His disciples, “All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke24:44 KJV).

This, the christological unity (i.e., unity regarding Christ) of the Bible, reflects the Father’s purpose that all people should honor the Son (Christ) just as they honor Him (John5:23). In the New Testament, therefore, Christ is at the center, or “in the midst.” The New Testament places Him historically in the midst of the disciples, the religious leaders, the crowds, Moses and Elijah, the 7 lampstands, the 24 elders, and the very throne of God. It places Him doctrinally in the midst of creation, providence, redemption, and the triune Godhead itself. He is in the midst of the Old Testament, likewise, by means of christophany (i.e.,temporary appearances of Christ in physical form), type, and prophecy. If the Bible may be called the body of truth, then its skeleton is the history of God’s administration of the plan of salvation, its sinews are the 66 books, and its heart — burning in the midst of all — is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 

One Body of Signs

The Father purposes to draw a people to His Son, so that they may enter His covenant and experience its blessings (John6:44). He does this by means of a body of signs — extraordinary, supernatural phenomena that cause men and women to marvel and therefore inquire about Christ and the gospel (John5:20,31–36). God has posted such signs all along the highway of salvation history.

In the New Testament, God shines a spotlight on Christ by means of His virgin birth, angelic visitations, theophanies (i.e., temporary appearances of God in physical form), mighty miracles, and most importantly, His resurrection from the dead. God’s people are also a sign, and have been right up to our own day (Acts1:4–8).

The Old Testament signs are especially important. There are two principal kinds: messianic types and prophecies. The Old Testament types and their New Testament fulfillments are astounding for their abundance, intricacy, and beauty; so, too, are the prophecies. How can it be that long before He was born, the Old Testament prophets predicted the entire course of Christ’s earthly and heavenly life? How could they speak of His divine nature and preexistence (Ps.110), His virgin birth (Isa.7), His birthplace (Mic.5), His miraculous ministry to the poor (Isa.61), the minute details of His atoning death (Isa.53), His resurrection (Ps.16), His heavenly reign (Ps.2,110), and His second coming in power and glory to judge, redeem, and usher in the Kingdom of God (Dan.7; Isa.66)? These signs naturally evoke wonder and curiosity and move seekers to inquire about the One who fulfills them.

The one body of messianic signs contributes substantially to the evidential unity of the Bible and is vital equipment for the apologetic task (defending our faith). It is God’s chosen vehicle for directing lost sinners to His Son, for persuading them that the Old and New Testaments constitute a single, Christ-centered book that is, indeed, the very Word of God.

One People

The Bible reveals a divine Father who gathers a single people to worship His Son, just as it reveals a divine Son who gathers the same people to worship His Father. This group of people is a multiplicity of Jew and Gentile, male and female, (a few) rich and (many) poor, slave and free, good and (formerly) evil; yet, because of their God-given love for Christ, they are one. The Bible highlights this unity by many striking images: they are a seed, a people, a nation, a race, a priesthood, a congregation, a bride, a body, a temple, a flock, and a new man (1Pet.2:9–10). Jesus named this people His church — those who are divinely called out of Adam’s doomed world-system and called into God’s marvelous family, where they worship Him in spirit, truth, gratitude, and joy.³

One Worldview

The purpose of the signs is to draw these people not only to Christ, but to the biblical worldview. Therein can be found fascinating answers to all of life’s great questions: What is the ultimate reality? What is the origin of the universe, life, and man? Why is there evil and suffering in the world? What, if anything, can be done about it? What is the meaning or purpose of life? How shall we live? What happens when we die? Where is history heading? How can we find spiritual truth?

The biblical worldview offers answers that are intuitive, reasonable, hopeful, and ethically sound — far more so than those offered by any other world religion or philosophy. The Bible also speaks to humanity’s existential anxieties; for example, it not only identifies the ultimate reality (God), but explains how alienated sinners may be united with it. It not only tells about an afterlife in either heaven or hell, but it reveals the grounds on which anyone may be sure that they are going to one and not the other.

Finally, the Bible’s answers coalesce into a unified worldview — a view of all things: things past, present, and future; things above, upon, and beneath; things without and within; things human, angelic, and divine. Reality can be seen and understood as a whole through the biblical worldview. The entirety of this philosophical unity will require a lifetime — perhaps an eternity — to take in.

The natural and moral orders point to a personal God and His spiritual truth. The biblical order is evidence that the same God has put His truth in this one Book. If, then, you are not yet a Christian, please consider carefully the amazing unity of the Bible; perhaps for you it will become a bridge to the Christ it celebrates. If you are already a Christian, please keep that bridge in mind, for in a tight witnessing situation, with only seconds to explain why you believe the Bible is God’s Word, it may be your only shot — and your best.

Notes
1. Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, college ed., s.v. “order.”

2. This timeline reflects the view of traditional covenant (i.e., Reformed) theology, which sees salvation history as the outworking of an eternal covenant of grace between God and humanity. Traditional dispensational theology would draw the timeline somewhat differently. In this view, types in the Old Testament era foreshadow certain New Testament realities, but God maintains His purpose to fulfill His promises to Israel literally. All would agree, however, in representing salvation history as the administration of a single Christ-centered plan in two basic eras: one of promise, the other of fulfillment.

3. Dispensational theology holds that although Jews and Gentiles are spiritually united in Christ as the people of God, the nation Israel maintains an identity that is distinct from the church in God’s plan.

4. Has God Spoken?: Proof of the Bible’s Divine Inspiration Hardcover by Hank Hanegraaff 

Table 1  -   TYPES OF CHRIST AND THE COVENANT

Old Testament Torah or Pentateuch REFERENCE	TYPE of Christ	ANTI-TYPE (Fulfillment)	New Testament REFERENCE
PEOPLE
Gen. 3	Adam	Christ, head and progenitor of God’s heavenly people	Rom.5:14; 1Cor.15:45
Gen. 14:18–20	Melchizedek	Christ, eternal king-priest without predecessor	Heb.5:8–10;7:1–17
Num. 12:7; Deut.18:15	Moses	Christ, faithful prophet and servant of God, mediator of the eternal covenant	Acts3:20–22; Heb.3:2–6
OBJECTS
Num. 21:9	Bronze snake	Christ, elevated for dying people to look to for salvation	John3:14–15
Exod. 16:11–15	Manna	Christ, bread of life for God’s pilgrim people in the world	John6:32–35
Exod. 12:3–6, 46; Num. 9:12; Ps. 34:20	Passover Lamb	Christ, slain to spare God’s people from judgment	John19:36; 1Cor.5:7; Heb.10:4–10
PLACES
Exod. 1–15	Egypt	The world, a place of bondage to sin	Acts7; 1Cor.10; Rev.11:8
Num.	Sinai Wilderness	The world, a place of hardship and testing	Matt.4:1–11
Num. 14	Canaan	The new heaven and earth, future inheritance of God’s people	Rom.4; Heb.11
EVENTS
Gen. 6–9	The Flood	The judgment of God, through which Christ the ark of God delivers the people of God	Luke17:20–37;1Pet.3:18–22
Gen. 22, 24	Sacrifice of Isaac	The sacrifice of God’s only Son by the Father, offered on wood and received back from the dead	John3:16; Heb.11:17–19
Exod.; Num.; Deut.	Exodus	The deliverance of God’s people from bondage to sin by a Redeemer who leads them through hardship to a new heaven and earth	Matt.2:14–15;1Cor.10:1–11;Heb.3:7–19; 4:1–11;11:23–40; Jude1:4–5

See Walter A. Elwell, ed., Topical Analysis of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991),72–78.

 

 

YOUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION & YOUR ONLY TRUE OPTION

True born again believers in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead on the 3rd day.  God in flesh who shed His blood to pay my sin debt that I could never pay.  Repent of sin & believe -- Faith alone in Christ alone.  Complete surrender, trust, belief of the finished work of Christ by faith (not blind faith) but faith in what Jesus actually did for us historically and practically and spiritually.  (Spiritual life)	→ → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → →	Eternity in  the new Heaven & new Earth Paradise with God & angels & other believers  Luke 16:26b: ...between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
↑ Spiritually dead We are all born into This status by no choice of our own. Our own sin separates us from God – our level of sin determines our level of punishment in Hell Jesus is the only cure (hope) to avoid this destiny – the one who paid our sin debt and not only that but simultaneously makes our spirits alive again and we are sealed by His Holy Spirit until the Great Ressurection of all dead or as it’s also called -- Jesus 2nd coming	→ → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → →	no one can cross this line   2nd death Hell (Lake of Fire) Eternal separation from God’s presence

 

The four quadrants above  indicate true spiritual positions & destiny of all mankind and arrows indicate one-way directions that man may move only once.  The middle horizontal line denotes that mankind has no power or method of passing over that line by himself. The one arrow pointing upward denotes Jesus Christ as the one and only way to salvation.
Hebrews 2: 1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; 3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by them that heard him;
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 
1John5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 
John 14:19 …Because I live, you also will live….

John 5:24 "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

 

The middle arrows denote Hebrews 9:27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

 

1. For babies, small children and mentally ill people who die before they can make a clear decision to follow Christ we must trust in an infinitely good and just God to take care of them.  We dare not shout where the scriptures are silent, but it is implied in the old Testament that David would see his baby (who died) in heaven.  
2. But what of those who are of age, yet live and die never having heard the gospel of Jesus Christ?   

Though the scriptures say more than the previous note about babies we still dare not shout on this issue.  We know God is infinitely just and good so it follows he must care about these people and it’s clear He died for them -- we must do all we can do to get the gospel to a lost world.  If you are truly saved yourself the Spirit of God compels you to share the gospel with others and to help &  give to missionaries and groups who take that message across the globe.  After all that was Jesus’ last words to go unto all the world and preach the gospel… --  then he ascended to the right hand of power. 

Concerning this point Romans 1 says: 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Here is a quote that helped me: 

‘Here is another thing that used to puzzle me. Is it not frightfully unfair that this new life should be confined to people who have heard of Christ and been able to believe in Him? But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are. We do know that no man can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him. But in the meantime, if you are worried about the people outside, the most unreasonable thing you can do is remain outside yourself. Christians are Christ's body, the organism through which he works. Every addition to that body enables Him to do more. If you want to help those outside you must add your own little cell to the body of Christ who alone can help them. Cutting off a man's fingers would be an odd way of getting him to do more work.'

 C.S. Lewis 'Mere Christianity' page 65

Psalm 19:1 …The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Jeremiah 5:21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:

1 Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

Psalm 53:1 …The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."…

 

For those who truly repent and come to true belief in Christ the note above about only being able to pass through any line with an arrow ONCE only is very comforting. 

 

But for those who reject the gospel message it should be terrifying but is not.  Why?

 

Ironically but understandably we know this is true.  Those on that road are blind to it.

 

C.S. Lewis explains it best:

‘When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not while you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both bad and evil: bad people do not know about either.'

C.S. Lewis 'Mere Christianity' page 88 

“I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of "Admin." The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
[From the Preface]” ― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

 

I'll close with this portion of scripture that shows that works don't save us but works are the result of being saved and are proof we really did accept Christ truly:  (we don't work FOR our salvation, but we do work FROM our salvation)

Ephesians 2: 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh^a and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Oh! and don't forget -- we're born to reproduce.  Don't keep this good news to yourself - share it, shout it.  If they reject it and some will at least you obeyed Christ.  What greater thing can we do in this life than obey the master.  People may say I just want to be happy so stop trying to brainwash me with all this religious stuff.  Tell them ultimate happiness is with God & you don't want to miss it and as for this religious stuff it happens to be the only truth you may ever hear. Have you ever heard the truth hurts.  Proverbs 27: 5Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7The full soul loathes an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. …

Top 100 Most Influential People of All Time

# 1 - Jesus Christ 6 BC - 30 AD
Founder of Christianity, Space time-continuum, & Creator of all things both seen and unseen (physical and spiritual worlds) (Son of God)(God-Man)(Son of man)(Lion of Judah)(Messiah)
King of Kings & Lord of Lords - he Great I AM - the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Quote from Jesus - "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me."  Strong words that demand a verdict by all human beings to accept it or reject it - and that decision decides each person's destiny for all time.

CS Lewis put it best - “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened. ”

What of the mentally ill, children who die young or due to abortion, or those who simply never hear the gospel such as those born in isolated and or nomadic tribes around the world AGAIN I think CS Lewis put it best: 

“We do know that no person can be saved except through Christ. We do not know that only those who know Him can be saved by Him.”    ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 

Gospel of Luke Chapter 16 - Jesus tells the story of  The Rich Man and Lazarus

19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 9“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

 

This story by Jesus seems to contradict the first quote by CS Lewis above about those who go to hell are there by their own choice, but analyzed closely, it does not.  It jells very well because even though he obviously is in torment & doesn't want to be separated from God, he realizes it was his choice by the way he lived, and he deserves it.  He wants to warn his brothers to avoid this place of torment, but as you see, Abraham says if they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.  And you reading these words know it's true.  Regardless of the truth, you do what you want, when you want & how you want - damn the consequences.  Ironically that is not freedom!  Repenting of your sin & totally surrendering your life and all you have to God through faith alone, in Christ alone is the only way to be really free of all chains and bondage spiritually. 

Hebrews 9:27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment...

 

# 2 - St. Paul of Tarsus - Jesus witnessed to him personally as light and voice from heaven on road to Damascus (Acts 9)# 

# 3 King Solomon - wisest man who ever lived according to God and son of 2nd King of Israel - King David - authored 3 books of Bible Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon & Proverbs as inspired by Holy Spirit
# 4 Apostle John - the beloved - wrote book of Revelation, Gospel of John & 3 epistles as inspired by Holy Spirit
# 5 - Apostle Peter (considered first Pope) 4th person & 1st man to enter empty tomb of Jesus on resurrection morning (Gospel of Mark indicates 3 women were actually first to enter the tomb and then went to tell the disciples.  John was first disciple at the tomb but he did not enter, just looked in, but once Peter arrived & entered then John followed behind him.
6 All other prophets of God in Holy Bible including figures like Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel
Moses c 1500BC - Got 10 commandments from God on Mt Sinai; Abraham of Bible father of Isaac and Jewish & Arab nations & in line of Christ
7  - Muhammad 570-632 Founder of Islam
8 -  Buddha 563-483BC &  Confucius551-479BC
9  Isaac Newton1642-1727 scientist
10 Johann Gutenberg 1400-68 - printing press &  Ts'ai Lun - invented paper c 105 - instrumental in change entire world culture from primarily ORAL/Memorization style of learning to Written word and Reference type learning
11 Leonardo da Vinci - Father of Science (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519, Old Style) was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer.
12 Pasteur 1822-1895 Vaccinations, Germ Theory, Pasteurization
13 Galileo  1564-1642
14 Aristotle 384-322 BC
15 Euclid  c300BC
16 Columbus 1451-1506
17 Darwin 1809-82 origin of species & father of evolutionary theory
18 Augustus Caesar 63BC -14 & Shih Huang Ti 259-210BC Chinese Emperor
19 Copernicus 1473-1543
20 Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743-1794 Scientist Chemistry
21 Constantine the Great c280-337
22 James Watt 1736-1819  steam engine (Industrial Revolution)
23 Michael Farday 1791-1867 electric motor
24 James Clerk Maxwell 1831 - 1879 laws of  electricity and magnetism
25 Martin Luther 1483-1546
26 George Washington 1732-1799 1st President of USA General US Revolutionary War
27 William Tyndale - greatly responsible for printing Bible in English language
28 Orville & Wilbur Wright - 1871-1948; 1867-1912 first airplane
29 Genghis Khan c 1162-1227 ruled largest empire all time
30 Adam Smith  1723-1790 economic theory
31 Edward de Vere (William Shakespeare) 1550-1604 playwright/poet
32 John Dalton 1766-1844 intro of atomic hypothesis in mainstream science
33 Alexander the Great 356-323BC Conquerer brought Greek & MiddleEast
civilizations together resulting in cultural diffusion
34 Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821 Military Leader (authorized sale of Louisiana Purchase to USA)
35 Thomas Edison 1847 - 1931 phonograph & light bulb
36 Antony van Leeuwenhoek 1632-1723 discovered microbes
37 William T. G. Mortin 1819-1868 Dentist introduced use of anesthesia in surgery
38 Guglielmo Marconi 1874-1937 Radio inventor
39 Plato 427-347BC considered father of western thought - Philosopher
40 Adolf Hitler 1889-1945 Leader of Nazi party of Germany during WWII (Holocaust)
41 Oliver Comwell 1599-1658 most responsible for parliamentary government of England
42 Alexander Graham Bell 1847-1922 Telephone
43 Alexander Fleming 1881-1955 Penicillin discovery
44 John Locke 1632-1704 First to write coherent form basis idea of constitutional republic
45 Ludwig Van Beethoven 1770-1827 Composer 9 symphonies & so much more
46 Werner Heisenberg 1901-1976 quantum mechanics
47 Louis Daguerre 1787-1851 first practical method of photography
48 Simon Bolivar 1783-1830 The Liberator who led 5 South American countries to independence from Spain
49 Rene Descartes 1596-1650 inventor of Analytic Geometry
50 Michelangelo 1475-1564  Artist
His work (paintings, statues, drawings, etc.) profoundly influenced the development of European painting and sculpture
51 Pope Urban II 1042-1099 Gave the order to start the First Christian Crusades
52 ‘Umar ibn al-Kattab c. 586-644 Religious leader; After Muhammad, Umar was principle figure in the spread of Islam
53 Asoka c. 300BC-c. 232BC Political leader
Third ruler of the Mauryan dynasty and considered the most important monarch in the history of India
54 St. Augustine 354-430 Theologian; writings profoundly influenced Christian doctrines & attitudes throughout the Middle Ages
55 William Harvey 1578-1657 Physician Discovered the circulation of blood and the function of the heart
56 Ernest Rutherford 1871-1937 Physicist Originated the study of nuclear physics
57 John Calvin 1509-1564 Theologian Influential Protestant leader who developed Calvinism (importance of the Bible, dedication to hard work, etc.)
58 Gregor Mendel 1822-1884 Monk and teacher Discovered the basic principles of heredity
59 Max Planck 1858-1947 Physicist Generally considered the father of quantum mechanics (developed Planck’s theory)
60 Joseph Lister 1827-1912 Surgeon  Introduced the use of antiseptic measures in surgery
61 Nikolaus August Otto 1832-1891 Inventor Built the first four-stroke internal combustion engine
62 Fransisco Pizarro c. 1475-1541 Adventurer and conqueror Conquered the Inca Empire of Peru
63 Hernando Cortes 1485-1547 Adventurer and conqueror Conquered the Aztec Empire of Mexico
64 Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826 Political leader 3rd president of United States; Author of Declaration of Independence
65  Queen Isabella I 1451-1504 Political ruler Financed Columbus’s voyage; Instituted the Spanish Inquisition
66 Joseph Stalin 1879-1953 Political leader Ruthless dictator of the Soviet Union
67 Julius Caesar 100BC-44Bc Military and political leader - Played a significant role in the downfall of the Roman Republic; Under his leadership, Roman troops conquered Gaul which provided security for the Roman Empire
68 William the Conqueror c. 1027-1087 Monarch
Led the Norman conquest of England which resulted in the blend of the French and Anglo-Saxon cultures
69 Sigmund Freud 1856-1939 Psychologist Originator of psychoanalysis
70 Edward Jenner 1749-1823 Physician Developed and popularized the technique of vaccination as a preventive measure against smallpox
71 William Conrad Rontgen 1845-1923 Scientist Developed the use of X-rays
72 Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750 Composer
Considered to be one of the two or three composers of all time; First man to successfully combine the differing national styles of music which existed in Western Europe
73 LaoTzu 4th c. BC Author Wrote Tao Te Ching; This book is the basis for Taoism
74 Voltaire 1694-1778 Historian and philosopher Wrote numerous books – most famous, Candide; Influenced political thought which ultimately resulted in the French Revolution
75 Johannes Kepler 1571-1630 Astronomer Discovered the laws of planetary motion
76 Enrico Fermi 1901-1954 Scientist Designed the first nuclear reactor
77 Leonhard Euler 1707-1783 Mathematician and physicist - One of the most brilliant and prolific scientists of all time; Wrote 32 full length books concerning practical applications of laws of mechanics
78 Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712-1778 Philosopher - Major influence on educational theory; Important factor in the rise of Romanticism in literature
79 Niccolo Machiavelli 1469-1527 Political philosopher Wrote the Prince; book often called the “handbook for dictators”
80 Thomas Mahus 1766-1834 Parson (member of the clergy) and professor of history and political economy
First person to stress the overwhelming importance of the problem of overpopulation and to bring this problem to the attention of the intellectual world
81 John F. Kennedy 1917-1963 Political leader - President of the United States; The person who was primarily responsible for instituting the Apollo Space Program
82 Gregory Pincus 1903-1967 Biologist Led the way in the development of the oral contraceptive pill
83 Lenin 1870-1924 Political leader Leader principally responsible for the establishment of Communism in Russia
85 Sui Wen Ti 541-604 Emperor Reunified China after it had been badly divided for hundreds of years; As a result, China continues on the path of a powerful nation
86 Vasco de Gama c. 1460-1524 Explorer Discovered the direct sea route from Europe to India by sailing around Africa
87 Cyrus the Great c. 590BC-529BC Military and political leader; Founder of the Persian Empire (united most of the ancient Middle East into a single state stretching from India to the Mediterranean Sea)
88 Peter the Great 1672-1725 Political leader
Generally acknowledged to be the most outstanding of the Russian czars (emperor); His policy of westernization was a major factor in the transformation of Russia into a great power
89 Mao Zedong 1893-1976 Political leader
Led the Communist party in China; Vastly transformed China politically, economically, socially, and culturally
90 Francis Bacon 1561-1626 Politician and philosopher
The first great philosopher to realize that science and technology could transform the world, and an effective advocate of scientific investigation
91 Henry Ford 1863-1947 Industrialist Introduced the theory of mass production into modern industry
92 Mencius c. 371BC-c. 289BC Philosopher Wrote, Book of Mencius; Immensely influential writer in China
93 Zoroaster c. 628BC-c. 551BC Prophet Founder of Zoroastrianism, a religion that has endured for over 2,500 years and still has followers today
94 Queen Elizabeth I 1533-1603 Monarch Her 45 year reign marked by economic prosperity, a great literary flowering, and the rise of England to first rank among the world’s naval powers
95 Mikhail Gorbachev Born 1931 Political leader Soviet who led decline and fall of old Soviet regime & democratization of the new Russia
96 Menes c. 3100 BC Monarch Original king of the first Egyptian dynasty; First ruler to unite Egypt
97 Charlemagne 742-814 Medieval emperor was king of Franks, conqueror of Saxony, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, and one of the foremost rulers in European history
98 Homer 8th c. BC? Author Wrote the Iliad and Odyssey; Influenced Greek poets and playwrights
99 Justinian I 483-565 Emperor renowned for the great codification of Roman law that was carried out during his reign; Later formed the basis for the development of the law in many European countries
100 Marcus Aurelius April 26, 121 – March 17, 180, (16th Emperor of Rome 161-180)

OTHERS:
 Karl Marx 1818-1883 - writings form basis of Communism
Erik Thorvaldsson  950 – c. 1003), known as Erik the Red is remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland
Leif Ericson c. 970 – c. 1020) was a Norse^[4] explorer regarded as the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland), nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.
Mahavira c. 599BC-c. 527BC Religious leader Founder of Jainism
Einstein 1879-1955 Archimedes Winston Churchill Marie Curie Benjamin Franklin  Abraham Lincoln
Wolfgang Mozart Blaise Pascal Ivan Pavlov Harry S. Truman , Walt Disney, Mark Twain, Cleopatra, Houdini, Clint Eastwood, Charles Dickens, Helen Keller, Chuck Colsen, Ravi Zacharias, Hank Hannegraaf, Paul Harvey, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Andy Griffith, Jane Austen, CS Lewis, Edgar Allen Poe, Billy Graham, DL Moody, David Livingston, King James, Gene Roddenberry, Stan Lee, Mel Blanc, Benny Goodman, Elvis Presley,  Charles Hadden Spurgeon; Josh McDowell; Charles Dickens; Jane Austin

Please note that each person is significant to God and has a purpose and meaning that God gives and no one can take away.  Even though no one reaches our full potential God still desires all people to give their lives to Him and allow Jesus to live His life through them to glorify God and build the Kingdom of God or in other words win souls for Jesus.