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In the book of Joel chapters 2 and 3

[The predictions of a locust plague and drought are hardly extraordinary given the fact that such occurrences have been common in the Middle East for countless centuries. Joel’s exhortations to the Israelites to repent and the promise of blessings from God are merely an echo of many voices who came before him.]

In chapter 3 verse 10, Joel repeats (with slightly different words) the words of Isaiah 2:4.

In chapter 2 verse 31, it reads “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood:before the great and dreadful day of the Lord doth come.” [Obviously, we still await that day.]

In chapter 3 verses 17-18, Joel predicted that after Israel repents “… the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk …” [We can only conclude that either Israel never repented, or God did not fulfill the promise.]

[Some of the text in the book of Joel was rewritten, and used in the New Testament. Joel 2:28-32 was rewritten in Acts 2:17-21, and Joel 2:32 was rewritten in Romans 10:13. No mention was made in the rewritten text that the text of Joel was used. That plagiarism is deceptive, and negates the idea of “inspired” writings.]

 

In the book of Amos chapter 5

In chapters 1 to 5, God rebuked the Israelites for their evil, and threatened “… to visit upon you all your iniquities.” In chapter 5 verse 1, God said “The house of Israel is fallen, and it shall rise no more.” God said in 5:21-22 “I hate and have rejected your festivities: and I will not receive the odor of your assemblies. And if you offer me holocausts, and your gifts, I will not receive them …” In chapter 7 , Amos is able to dissuade God from His intentions, and in 7:6, it reads “The Lord had pity upon this. Yea this also shall not be, said the Lord God.”

BUT

[In Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; Psalms 33:11, 102:25-27; Ezekiel 24:14; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17, it reads that God does not change.]

The plagues in chapter four, were supposed to be seen as acts of discipline that turned Israel back to God. However, the people did not interpret the acts this way, and the discipline turned into judgment for the people's disobedience. In the second set of visions (7:7-9) there was no intercession by Amos, and God said that he "… will never pass by them again." The plight of Israel has became hopeless. God will not hold back judgment because Israel refuses to listen to the prophets and even tried to silence them (2:12, 3:8, 7:10-17). [The behavior of the Israelites showed that any “covenant” that might have existed was unimportant to them. Again, God’s threats did not happen.]

 

In the book of Jonas

Suffice it to say that the story is merely a means to convey the ideas to obey God, and deliver His messages. [The entire story of Jonas is beyond any credibility, and its veracity was challenged by none other than Saint Augustine of Hippo, who, in the year 409AD, wrote to Deogratias “The thing is utterly improbable and incredible, that a man swallowed with his clothes on should have existed inside of a fish. If, however, the story is figurative, be pleased to explain it.” Given the need to suspend all bodily functions for both Jonas and the animal that swallowed him, support for this story requires a constant series of miracles. Even if the story is accepted, it is impossible to explain the contradictory actions done by God.]

 

In the book of Aggeus chapter 1 ( NIV = Haggai 1 )

In verse 11, it reads “And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn …” [A contradiction of God’s promise to Noah in Genesis 8:22]

 

In the book of Zachariah chapter 4

In verse 10, it reads “These are the seven eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth.” [God is a spirit, and has no eyes, much less seven of them. This passage cannot be literally true.]

[Chapter 11 is remarkably like Jeremiah chapter 22, and appears to be a rewrite of those verses.]

 

In the book of Zacharias chapter 12

In 12 verse 9, it reads “And it shall come to pass … that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” [We still await that day.]

[The Old Testament closes with the four books of Machabees. The Jews recognize these books as historical, but not inspired. The Catholic Church claims the first two books are inspired, and the second two are apocryphal. The Protestant Churches claim all four books are apocryphal.]

No statement in any of the texts of the Old Testament declares that the Mosaic Laws were replaced or would be replaced by any other set of laws. As a result, all of the Mosaic Law, including the numerous sins for which death is the punishment, were still in effect at the onset of the New Testament.

 

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The four gospels represent the core of the New Testament. They were followed by the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and finally the Apocalypse. The four gospels tell of the life of Jesus Christ, and the four accounts often differ in the reported information. None of the books of the New Testament were written during Christ’s life, and there is considerable doubt about three of the authors of the four gospels, who were most likely men other than the apostles. Only Luke, who was neither an apostle nor a disciple, is clearly identified.

Although written in modern Bibles as if they were eye witness accounts, all of the stories about Jesus were heresay, since none of the authors knew Jesus. In the same way, none of the conversations were records of actual quotations; all of them were heresay. All of the conversations between Roman and Jewish officials were written as if they were recorded quotations, but, in fact, all of them were fabrications.

 

The Lineage of Jesus

The Gospels declare that Jesus was begotten, not by Joseph, but by the power of the Holy Spirit while Mary was still a virgin, in fulfillment of prophecy. Thus, in mainstream Christianity and Islam, Jesus is regarded as being literally the “only begotten son” of God, while Joseph is regarded as his foster father. Matthew follows the genealogy of Jesus with 1:18 “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.“ (NIV)

Luke wrote “How will this be,’Mary asked the angel,’ since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (NIV) [All of the “quotes” in the gospel of Luke were actually heresay.]

[Why do both Gospels trace the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, when they deny that he is his biological father? Since there is no biblical record of Mary’s ancestry, no valid argument can be made linking any lineage to the house of David. The idea, proposed by some, that Joseph adopted Jesus thus providing a legal lineage is pure conjecture since there is no biblical record. Lastly, the two biblical genealogies agree on the ancestry of David, but they differ significantly on the lineage from David to Jesus.]

The book of Matthew

In reference to this gospel, we note that:

1. Given the reference in 22:7 to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, which occurred in 70AD, it is clear that the gospel was written after that year by which time Christ had been dead over 37 years.

2. The gospel was written as a narrative, and does not contain the type of wording that an eye witness would use. See 9:9  as an example.

3. The lineage of Christ is surprisingly incomplete, and unexpected from a tax collector, a person who would have been in the habit of attending to details.

The genealogy of Jesus was described in 1:1-17. It reads in verses 3-4 that Hezron was the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab. But, four centuries separated Hezron (Gen. 46:12) and Amminadab (Num. 1:7). In verses 5-6, it reads that Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. But, two centuries separated the generations of Rahab (Josh. 2) and Boaz (Ruth 2-4). In verse 8, it reads that Jehoram was the father of Uzziah. But, three generations were omitted. Between Jehoram and Uzziah lived Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah (2 Chron. 21:4, 26:23). In verse 11, it reads that Josiah was the father of Jeconiah, but Jehoiakim lived between Josiah and Jechonia (2 Chron. 36:1-9).

The book of Mark

In reference to this gospel, we note that: