BIBLE CONTRADICTIONS: MISCELLANEOUS

The earth is never to be destroyed. (Psalm 104:5; Ecclesiastes 1:4)

The earth is to be destroyed. (II Peter 3:10; Hebrews 1:11; Revelation 20:11)

A simple answer to this one is to say that the NT authors had a further revelation which the OT writers did not, but that is not the whole story. Let us take these references one at a time. Psalm 104 is a hymn to the greatness of God as evidenced in the Creation. Jacobson translates verse 5 as “Establishing earth upon its foundations—it shall not slip forever and ever.” Other translations generally use the verb “be shaken.” Note that this says nothing regarding the destruction of the earth. Ecclesiastes 1:4 expresses the thought of a world-weary author who complains that nothing new ever happens on earth if only an earthly perspective is taken on things (i.e., things “under the sun”). This is precisely the sort of cynical attitude that Peter specifically condemns in II Peter 3:4-9, verses which our Islamic critic conveniently ignores. Similarly left out are the verses following v. 10 in which it is explained that although our present earth will be destroyed, it will be immediately replaced with a New Heaven and New Earth, the main thrust of Revelation 20-21.

The most interesting verse listed above is Hebrews 1:11 since it is in the NT but is actually a quotation from the OT, specifically Psalm 102:25-27. In that passage, the Psalmist clearly states that eventually the earth and heavens will “perish.” This clearly shows that the comment two psalms later is not a blanket statement regarding the permanence of the creation, but only refers to any accidental slippages or shaking in the earth's foundation.

Evil happens to the godly. (Hebrews 12:6; Job 2:3,7)

No evil happens to the godly. (Proverbs 12:21; I Peter 3:13)

Hebrews 12:6 is actually a quotation from Proverbs, and it states that God sometimes disciplines his children to keep them on the right path just as we parents do to our children. To call that doing evil is beyond comprehension. Next, one of the prime reasons for the Book of Job in the Bible was to shoot down the extreme view exemplified by Job's friends who had taken the conventional wisdom expressed in Proverbs 12:21 as a general rule of thumb and refused to see that there might be many specific exceptions to this rule. That leaves I Peter 3:13, which expresses a more nuanced and complete story if one also considers the passage to consist of more than just the first part of that verse. Peter says that ultimately nothing can harm you if you do what is good. However, he immediately follows this statement by saying that the godly may in fact suffer harm even if they are blessed spiritually for it. Only severe editing by the critic could turn this into a statement that no evil happens to the godly.

The lot of the godly is worldly good and prosperity. (many OT passages)

The lot of the godly is misery and destitution. (many NT passages)

Before considering each of the passages in turn, notice that the OT perspective almost always centers on what happens in this world only. Since there was no fully developed belief in the afterlife, the OT writers, especially in the Psalms and Wisdom literature, could only hope for rewards in the here and now. With the further revelation given in the NT, a more nuanced view is explained whereby the godly may experience more than their share of misery in this world, but will be rewarded in the afterlife.

The first group of scriptures given by our critic includes the following references:

Proverbs 12:21; Psalm 1:1,3; Psalm 37:28-37: It is no accident that the two psalms listed have been characterized by scholars as wisdom psalms. Thus, they join Proverbs 12:21 in expressing conventional wisdom as evidenced by observation, not divine revelations of the truth.

Job 42:12 happens to state that Job was given earthly blessings, but this is a far cry from saying that the lot of the godly is always prosperity on earth. It also totally ignores the fact that before that blessing, Job actually suffered misery and destitution.

On the opposite side of the coin are those scriptures which supposedly teach that the lot of the godly is misery and destitution. The first passage given by the critic is Hebrews 11:37-38, which is the tail end of the catalog of OT saints. Of course, if the first part of that passage had been quoted instead, one would see numerous examples of the faithful who were blessed on earth instead. Both fates may be in store for the godly.

Revelation 7:14 describes the blessed fate of those who undergo the tribulations of the last days along with the rest of the world but remain faithful. This is a very specific time period being referred to when disasters will be suffered by all humanity, not just the godly.

In II Timothy 3:12, Paul teaches that the godly may be persecuted for their beliefs, but in the previous verse (omitted by the critic), he also says that God rescued him from all of the persecutions. The exact same message is found in Luke 21:17-19 (only the first verse is given by the critic as scriptural proof). Jesus says in verse 18 that not a hair of one's head will perish. This probably refers to eternal annihilation since verse 19 specifically mentions the gaining of one's “soul.”

Worldly prosperity is a reward for righteousness. (Mark 10:29-30 and many OT passages)

Worldly prosperity is a bar to future reward. (Many NT passages)

This “contradiction” is closely related to the previous one, but brings in additional scriptural passages.Mark 10:29-30 does promise believers blessings in this world as well as the world to come. But the nature of the blessings really has to do with the large community of believing brothers and sisters that the godly will gain. And it pointedly closes with the phrase “with persecutions.”

The remainder of the passages (Psalm 112:1,3; Proverbs 15:6; Job 22:23-24) are taken from the Wisdom Literature, and so the comments above regarding the generalized perspective of this kind of teaching apply here also. The Job reference is a strange one to use in order to prove that worldly prosperity is a reward for righteousness. In the first place, it is Eliphaz who is speaking, and we know from the end of the book that he cannot always be trusted in his words. But assuming that he speaks the truth in this passage (continuing it through v. 26), Eliphaz merely says that if Job treats his worldly wealth as nothing compared to the worth of knowing the Lord, then he will be spiritually blessed. This happens to be the general thrust of the NT passages that teach worldly prosperity may be a barrier to future reward.

The NT passages quoted to demonstrate the pitfalls of worldly wealth are Matthew 6:19,21; 19:24; Luke 6:20,24; 16:22. In these cases, the wealthy are not automatically excluded from heaven, but the consistent message is that money should be used to help the poor and should not take the place of God as an object of worship. That is summed up in I Timothy 6:10, pointedly not quoted by the critic: “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

Prophecy is sure. (II Peter 1:19)-This reference should continue on through verse 21.

Prophecy is not sure. (Jeremiah 18:7-10)

But the prophetic message that Peter says is sure or reliable also includes the message in Jeremiah 18, which explains that there may be unstated, but implied, stipulations regarding the prophetic messages. There are several times in the OT where God basically says, “I promised such-and-such, but you refused to mend your evil ways, and so you will not get what was promised.” One example was when some of the Jews were led back to Egypt into captivity. And the reverse happens also; witness the story of Nineveh in the Book of Jonah. This is why I have a big problem with health-and-prosperity teachers who attempt to hold God hostage to His promises by “naming and claiming” them.

Miracles are a proof of divine mission. (Matthew 11:2-5; John 3:2; Exodus 14:31)

They are not a proof of divine mission. (Exodus 7:10-12; Deuteronomy 13:1-3; Luke 11:19)

The short answer to this one is that miracles are a proof to those willing to accept them while those with closed minds and hearts will never be satisfied with them. Thus, the audience for the miracles in the first grouping above is, respectively, John the Baptist, the believing Pharisee Nicodemus, and the Israelites who had just witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army. By contrast, the audience in the second group of scriptures was Pharaoh whose heart was hardened in Exodus 7:10-12 and the unbelieving Jews in Luke 11:19 who made up an illogical reason why the miracle couldn't be from God. Jesus promptly shows them the ridiculous nature of their objection.

That leaves Deuteronomy 13:1-3 to explain. It is part of a speech given by Moses to all the people before they leave him behind and journey into Canaan where they will be interacting with many pagan people for the first time. He therefore tells them that they may encounter false prophets who tell you that something will come true, and then it happens as they predicted. Note that this does not at all speak to the issue of miracles since we know that by mere chance or an educated guess even we can sometimes tell what is going to happen in the future. This sort of weak “sign” is not to be taken as proof of anything, especially when these false prophets then try to use it to mislead believers into false religions.