Worthy contenders

A few months ago, I ordered an unfamiliar piece of sensitive measuring equipment. After carefully examining it on arrival, I put it back in its box and read the manual – it cost too much to risk being carelessly broken. After using it repeatedly, verifying its results, and realising how robustly it was built, I no longer treated it as a fragile instrument that would break if I pressed it too hard.

The Bible has similarities to that sensitive equipment. It measures the progress of those who want to know. Those who may keep it in its ‘box’ – unread. Those who were misled by others about its contents may treat it with a mixture of fear and contempt and mislead others in the same way they were misled.

Revealing and exposing

The Bible includes:
(i) the words of Jesus, who will judge all humans at the end of the age;
(ii) words God gave to His prophets to guide people;
(iii) narrated, detailed historical accounts (names, dates, venues, and events) spanning 4,000 years and multiple empires;
(iv) dated genealogies of families;
(v) proverbs;
(vi) songs; and
(vii) predictions of future events.

It was written by different men over thousands of years. Men are not perfect, but the resulting Bible is a stand-alone, unequalled classic.

The Bible is an authenticated historical document by accepted standards of authentication. The existence of Jesus and His crucifixion under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate is an established fact by historical standards. Archaeological findings consistently verify biblical historical accounts.

There is no good reason not to read the Bible. Reading it for the first time provides knowledge of what it contains. We grow with time and know more today than yesterday. Reading the Bible continually helps us make sense of our yesterdays and encourages us today to endure and enjoy tomorrow.

Secret codes

Some try to find secret codes in the Bible to predict future events. One method is to look for patterns of numbers. Those who wish to be convinced or sceptical may do so. I remain sceptical.

However, there is one number I find interesting only because it is not secret. Instead, it was stated several times in one verse in the Gospel according to Matthew. It is that number which prompted this difficult conversation.
After giving the genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham, Matthew made the following observation, which he decided was important enough to record:
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:17)

Fourteen-Generation Pattern

Measuring a generation by individuals, as Matthew did, does give fourteen generations. However, measuring it by years, the fourteen-generation pattern would include Moses — another transformative figure.

If fourteen generations is significant, then what similarly transformative person or event occurred fourteen generations after Jesus, the Messiah of all mankind? An examination of the historical record would suggest Mohammed as the likely person.

Fourteen generations later

Mohammed was also a descendant of Abraham, but through the line of his first son, Ishmael. By the time of Mohammed, the Ishmaelites had become a polytheistic people. Mohammed preached that:
(i) there was only one God, the God of the Jews and Christians [1];
(ii) Jesus was the Messiah [2]; and
(iii) the Bible was to be read, believed, and distributed [3].

For thirteen years, he preached a message similar to that of Jesus and the biblical prophets. Then he went to war, and his teachings changed accordingly.

Over the next fourteen generations, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders prioritised their traditions over the explicit teachings of the Bible, misleading their adherents into unnecessary conflicts both within and between each other, doing humanity a grave disservice.

Identifying the transformative person who came fourteen generations after Mohammed is a more difficult conversation, as is identifying the person who came fourteen generations after that, but there are several worthy contenders.

Grenville Phillips II is a Doctor of Engineering and Chartered Structural Engineer. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com.