BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS FOR JWs

[Guest Kurt]

Bible Authenticity

Inspired message

How did God exactly inspire the Bible? It may be hard to visualize, but if we think about how humans are able to receive messages from space, then it is easy to accept. For example, the astronauts in the International Space Station can send videos, audio, and pictures to their relatives on Earth. In fact, if you drive to the kingdom hall using your GPS you are also receiving messages from space via a satellite. That's possible because of our understanding of the laws of physics. If humans have accomplished that much, why should we doubt that the Creator of the brain, gravity, sound waves, and, if for that matter, the whole universe has any difficulties inspiring the message of his Word?

Rusty old scalpel

Sometimes, people say that they like to use their own Bible which uses archaic language, mainly because they are more familiar with it and they do not think it is necessary to use a modern translation. You can use an illustration: Imagine that you are entering the operating room. The surgeons are going to remove a tumor. You notice the room is equipped with the latest electronic equipment and gadgets. You feel very confident that the doctors will use these tools and their best skills to benefit you. However, just as you are going under anesthesia, you see the chief surgeon draws out a rusty old scalpel from his back pocket, and he exclaims: 'I think I will use this trusty weapon; after all, I am more familiar with it. I have used it for many years. Now, you just lie there and do not worry about a thing...' How confident would you be after that? Is it not true that we need the best Bible translation to overturn strongly entrenched things?

Anvil

A man passed beside a blacksmith's door and heard the anvil ring the evening chime. Looking in, he saw on the floor old hammers, worn with beating years of time. 'How many anvils did it take to batter all these worn hammers?', he asked. 'Just one,' said the blacksmith, and then added with twinkling eye, 'The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.' Likewise, for ages opposers have beat their blows upon the anvil of God's Word. Though the noise of falling blows was heard, the anvil is unharmed, but the hammer's gone! See a visual aid here.

Attacks on the Bible

The Bible has faced two kinds of attacks. It can be compared with a glass of pure water. How can we ruin it? We could just smash it with a hammer or we could add some poison or make the water dirty. Either way, the goal is to make the water undrinkable. The same tactics have been tried on the Bible. During the dark ages, the Bible was subjected to fierce attack from powerful people and governments that tried to eradicate it. That was coupled with attempts to tamper its contents making it spurious. Either way, the purpose was to tamper the purity of God's word. However, these demonic tactics have failed badly. Indeed, the Word of God endures forever.—1 Peter 1:25

Doubts about certain accounts

Some people feel they can't find satisfying answers to certain obscure accounts that create doubts in them. However, sometimes the problem is that they don't have enough information to see the whole picture. It can be compared with piecing a jigsaw puzzle. If the puzzle contains many pieces and we have only pieced a few together, there is no way we can see how each piece fits into the whole picture. But after we have put together a good number of pieces then a picture starts to emerge allowing us to visualize a distinct image which in turn reveals where each piece fits in. Likewise, our deep study of the Bible will give us the pieces we need to bring to closure the doubts that may be puzzling us.

Relevant information

Just like a journalist, although not able to include every single angle of a story, still picks the most relevant details to develop the news, so Jehovah has chosen with much discretion the information that makes up his Word of truth. A journalist may develop a good reputation from being truthful, objective and unbiased, which may inspire trust even when he is not able to spell out all details about his sources or other particulars in his stories. The Bible doesn't always spell out all details about every single account. An example of this is in John 21:25. However, the information that we do have enables us to get to know Jehovah's qualities, giving us a glimpse of why he acted the way he did in certain accounts in which we don't have all the details and context.

Not just word of mouth

If we were to transmit a message to a long line of people, telling it to the first one and then relayed from one person to the other one by one down the line, the message would change so much that it will be unrecognizable by the time it gets to the last person. Did something similar happen to the Bible? Not at all! Bible writers didn't depend on word of mouth alone. God inspired them and even commanded them to put it in writing, enabling generations in the future to have access to the original message.

Secretary

Just like a businessman uses his secretary to write a letter containing the thoughts and ideas of the businessman, so it is with the Bible. This letter, the Bible, is not a book of men, it is not the secretary's letter. Its source is its own author, God. (See the video 'How can we be sure the Bible is true' at tv.jw.org)

This collection of over 1,000 Bible illustrations for Jehovah's Witnesses can enhance your teaching skills making your abilities more like our Master, Jesus. Check the illustration of the week, the Images section, and navigate through the different topics we have. Surely you will find some fitting illustrations!

 

BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS FOR JWs<<<click  a website listing 1000+ illustrations for use in talks