How do Bible writers know that, when God communicated to them, it wasn't just a dream?

The Bible says that God communicated to man, who then wrote the Bible, hence ';All Scripture is God-breathed.'; How did those people back then know that it wasn't just a dream or illusion? I mean, there are hundreds of people today who claim that they are messengers, prophets, etc. who received ';messages from God'; and clearly they are disillusioned and have been mentally afflicted. For example, the Jehovah Witnesses said that Christ would return in 1873. But when it failed of course, they changed it to 1874.





I'm really stuck with this question and it would be wonderful if you guys (just anyone with views) could help me. ThanxHow do Bible writers know that, when God communicated to them, it wasn't just a dream?
When God tells you something, you have absolutely no doubt about it being God. When you think you may have heard from God, you didnt, you will be sure.God saw to it that His word was recorded and complete and true, then He protected it from being destroyed. There is no doubt that the bible is the word of God and true.How do Bible writers know that, when God communicated to them, it wasn't just a dream?
The answer is best shown by time. From the first Genesis. God spoke to Moses in person


so there is Genesis thru Deuteronomy next from


There through the new testament was hundreds


of years ( and no librarys) and the number of writers from different times and locations all


flow together and agree with each other, the New Testament is mostly written by people who


walked with and were taught by Jesus who told


them that when returned to His Father God


would send the Holy spirit (teacher) so that they


would know all that was taught to them and so that they could pass the Good New on to others.


The Bible has been the most studied book ever


writen and no errors have been found factually or historically, It has been used by more archelogists and found to be the most correct


in its contents and facts. Remember too all the


prophets were spoken to by God. America


is 230 years old and our history has been


rewritten over the past 50 years so much that


what was written if it does not pleast the mind set of ';scholars'; today they simply change it.


People today present the books of Judas and


Thomas as factual. But study shows they were written 300 years after Christ by Agnostics


who to this day do not believe Jesus to be the


Son of God.
they eat alot of nutmeg
Firstly exuse my user name... Alot of people want to who want to be messengers etc but at the end it comes to your own faith and what you believe, in your letter you said WHEN and OF COURSE so maybe you have answered your question yourself!
I have had my share of vivid dreams. And I have seen my share of Pink Elephants... never did the drug business but downed enough booze to float a heard of them elehants... Seen lots of crazy stuff could'nt explain...





But God has spoken 10 words to me in my life... believe me when I say, that When it is God you KNOW it is God... Note: God will never, NEVER, tell anyone to do any thing contradictory to That which he has preserved and passed to us through His Son.





If you would like, you may read my testimony where I tell of the two times God has spoken to me.... And no... he did not tell me to paint myself purple and stand on the roof naked and wait for the ship to pick me up





http://pages.zdnet.com/mikevanauken/mike…
The Bible writers were INSPIRED by means of God's Holy Spirit, or active force. It was only years after the writing of each bible book that it became clear that it had been inspired and was an authentic part of the bible canon because of its consistency with the theme of the bible (God's Kingdom).





It would be a mistake to compare any other writings or teachings with those of the Holy Scriptures. While the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God, the same cannot be true of anything else.








Incidentally, Jehovah's Witnesses have worked hard to teach that message about reliance on the Scriptures rather than human wisdom. While faithful and discreet servants of God have performed much good in the century-plus since Jehovah's Witnesses began publishing and teaching, they have never once claimed to be either infallible or divinely inspired.





Clearly, true worshippers should be far more concerned with the Word of God than with even the best of bible study aids. As an illustration, consider that a stylish pair of precision eyeglasses are still no comparison with the miracle of the beautiful human eye!





The larger issue of God's Kingdom has always been of primary concern to modern Jehovah's Witnesses. The Kingdom preaching work today is not distracted by worries over long-past mistakes of Moses, King David, Apostle Peter, or magazine writers a hundred years ago.





Perhaps it should be noted that Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT trying to preach themselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord.


(2 Corinthians 4:4-6) For we are preaching, not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.





Jehovah's Witnesses remain unaware of any infallible earthly group who also is performing a global preaching campaign in obedience to Christ Jesus himself:


(Matthew 28:19,20) Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.





Read for yourself the clarity and wisdom in the publications of Jehovah's Witnesses:


http://watchtower.org
The Bible writers themselves aren't really the ones who decide they were inspired. That happened over centuries as Christians spread the texts that consensus suggested were inspired.
Father in the Name of Jesus...





I ask that You reveal Yourself through Your Son Jesus to this person. I ask Father that through Your Holy Spirit You renew this person's mind and give them Your heart of Flesh for the heart of stone that this person covets.





Have mercy and extend Your Love to this lost one and show Your True Love and Kindness so that the words someday will be spoken from this person's mouth...';what must I do to be saved?';





We pray these things in Your Precious Son's Name...Jesus Christ the Nazerene! Selah!!





Be Blessed. Peace Out.
I think true prophets are given the common sense to know the difference between schizophrenia related hallucinations, dreams or real prophecy. Most telling I suppose is the fact that many of these prophecies have happened exactly as foretold by the prophets, which basically shows us they weren't just eating the wrong mushrooms. Mushroom induced hallucinations wouldn't have shown the Messiah being born of a virgin for example, or that the Messiah would end up crucified, etc..





And yes, Jehovah Witnesses are notorious for their constantly changing end time predictions, hence the fact that they fit exactly the term ';false prophet';. According to the bible, a prophet from God will NEVER be wrong. One wrong prophecy, and he/she is no prophet.
A) The original authors of Scripture weren't as hung up about inspiration as today's Christians. After all, they weren't stuck with Martin Luther's Sola Scritura dictum.





B) They were interested in affirming their faith in the existence of God, of their belief in what KIND of a God God is and in assisting others to come to and live by that faith.





C) It is only much later, that scholars; first Jewish, then Christian, started looking at these books through the eyes of faith and went, ';Well, I'll be! Ya know what, Herschel? This stuff looks like God wrote it just fer l'il ol' us. Now that's what I call inspired! And damn decent of Him too, doncha think?'; And Herschel said, ';Yep.'; And they decided to put it all together and call it Holy.





Later, the bishops of the Catholic Church sat down and did pretty much the same thing for the New Testament. They thought about going through the Old Testament and reworking it, but decided that it was too much trouble and besides, the Jewish scholars who'd put it all there in the first place probably knew what they were doing, so they let the Old Testament stand. Until Luther had a ';better'; idea. But that's another story.





If you want a test to go by, try the one Jesus told us to use. If it does NOT contradict either Testament, AND if it DOES enlighten us on unclear aspects of either Testament, AND if it does NOT go against what Christ himself taught concerning morals and ethics, AND if it DOES agree with His law of love, then give it lebensraum. Otherwise, shun it.
Today, if someone said Christ told me so in a dream...where would they be? Mental Hospital maybe?





Why should we believe that Christ spoke to those few men 2,000 years ago yet he doesn't speak to anyone today?
How do they know it wasn't Satan?





How do people today know that the bible wasn't inspired by Satan? Especially those who are told that sin is okay, just give your soul to a ';God'; and he'll make it all better.
the bible is a composite of parobels and interpretations,trying to explain the events of the times. much of the writings have been ';withheld'; by the powers that be, due to the severity of the messages implied. in other words yes even the bible is a victim of censorship
you just do. when God speaks to you through the Holly Spirit YOU JUST KNOW IT.





it's like the little voice that tells you ';nope dont do that dont do that and you feel scared ...'; thats when God talks to people through the HOlly Spirit. But bcareful for Satan also does that too.





God breathed means that God sent his msg as a veil of air A SPIRITUAL VEIL OF AIR IF YOU CAN SEE it THA way.. that was put in to and through your mind and soul to knw , grasp and pass to humankind.


like when a child is born and he takes his first breathe


that's what they mean by God Breathed, he put life into us through his breathe


he can put knowledge into you through his breathe





the matter most used was through dreams and very very few had direct contact...MOSES. Moses body was never found, God had promised him to deliver His people out of bondage and He would be taken directly into the kingdom of God. With God. Moses died and his body was never ever found. It is said that he rose as Christ resurrwected into Heaven and went to God . What an honor!








the Holly Spirit brought a very special gift to the particular prophet and infiltrated the answer or statement or warning etc into the dream so that such man /prophet would undertand it and get the msg out for the world to b saved.
A prophetic dream is more vivid and intense than a normal dream, more like ';real-life';, colors, sounds, objects, people in dream are clearer.


The dreamer can tell the difference.


The prophetic dream contains a specific message, this is the theme of the dream.
By their fruits ye shall know them. What kind of life do they lead. Is exemplary? or is it sinful? If they DO ANYTHING that is sinful then they are not of God!!!!!!!
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament, such as Nebuchadnezzars dream which Daniel interpreted, in which the rise and fall of nations far beyond their time was going to occur and they did.
They had no way of knowing as they believe that dreams were real. Check out ';God part of the Brain'; by Matthew Alper; ';Why God won't go away'; by Andrew Newberg.
lol..i'm sure they pitched and slapped themselves many times to make sure it wasn't just them.
Because everything God spoke came to pass. Everything hasn't is still in the making, and was confirmed. For example, no prophet (anyone for that matter) can prophesy something to you that God hasn't already spoken to you first. He confirms what he speaks through others, dreams, events, circumstances, etc., whatever he deems necessary to confirm what was spoken.
when many of those revelations came true is one way but another is because we can actually communicate with god on a spiritual level to know wether or not things are true. you actually have that ability, when you ask god wether or not something is true and you have faith that you will recieve an answer you will. it is how I went from being an atheist to being a christian.
The Bible is the true and undisputed word of God. The first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses, recount the creation of the Earth, everything in it, and the creation of Mankind. It records how we fell short of God's desires for us, and as a result for our sinful ways, death would be our punishment. God’s original plan for us was that we would live forever. Remember, we were created in His image… an exact likeness of Himself, but because we had sinned, we could no longer live forever in a sinful body. These books were not the accounts of one man's delusions, they were recordings of events that happened and were witnessed by thousands, even millions of people. They are a recording of history that actually happened.





The books that followed Deuteronomy as the children of Israel were about to go into the Promised Land, records how we continued to disobey God’s laws. They record the trials and tribulations we suffered as a result for our disobedience. When you read the Old Testament, it reads like a great novel. God told Great Prophets of things that were going to happen, and these prophecies were recorded. And all through the Old Testament, each book reveals the fulfillment of the old Prophets as they all lead up to the birth of the son of God, Jesus Christ. All the books of the Old Testament were careful to keep track of the genealogy. It began with Adam, down through Noah, on to Abraham-Isaac-Jacob, through King David, which lead up to the birth of Christ. All the books of the Old Testament prophesize about the coming of the Messiah, and the New Testament record the fulfillment of these great prophesies. They all support each other.





In old days, if a prophet made a mistake and his prophecy didn’t come true, he was put to death. A true prophet of God is right 100% of the time. It’s important to understand, there are no more new books of the Bible. Any writings of today by so called prophets, if they deviate from the true word of God, are his prophesies and his alone… Jesus said, “It is finished,” and I believe Him. Jesus was born, He was crucified, and He rose from the dead. He said He would return again and that’s what I am living and looking for. From the beginning to the end of the Bible, it’s all about the fulfillment of prophecy.





I hope this helps a little.
Hello, dear,


Nice to meet U, better could find your question here,otherwise just too boring,nearly want to off-line now!


Well,come back to your question! I am a medium for a few months, and just yesterday,newly become a channeler,myself,so I would like to share U with what I understand and feel,but now is my outstanding result, after get them through!


There are stages in life,differ from each psychic person,some a inborn,and never dim,some are learnt after,their trace it through by conscious and subconsious,that they long for their goal as key issue of life life.


Some, like me, there is hard to say I am with much ,too interested in, nearly go to the stage of scare,but direct and be re-direct to its sources,how many times in my life, I don't know wealther its my Karma or my unreadilessness.Quit and runaway by seriously hurt myself on all kinds.


I contact Chirstianility when I was 4 to 5, sang real , listened to those stories in the Bible,of all kinds.Tossed into my mind my -intitateive,with hope, love %26amp; peace,when I was 15, I viewefd bible in a much more detached format,and come out so many questions that,seems by our human mind that doesn't made sense,I asked the prists of all schools,that I could reach,and after I was closed to my 17, I started dating and quit God with a GOODBYE KISS!that said,';If thy is really exist, please let me know U all once available, if I render my service to U, for my duty,in honest!


Never serach,and times and again,when I get in touch with the other religion , at the very beginning, I told myself that,if quit a job or boss,I dare not to serve their competitors,so at least apply same attitiude ,if GOD is a/or one of those ,as a boss.So, as I don't deeply believe,but still pray to GOD,each night before got sleep!Until.....


I got along with crystals and get in touch with Buddhism, and most of my friends and sisters asked about:';Clara, what a shame for U, quit GOD and get in touch with Demon!'; I was so scare !


However , my inner sound and those phychic did come to me,without I deeply asked for,for example, I could hear people from their heart,but not wording. I could see some universial colors, I just feel comfortable and easy to recharge myself. I could get back to my positive self ,after shortly sometimes get into the negative stage.I could stay away from those worse situations of all kinds ,get back to better offering,but I was not totally on his own around 50 to 70% faith in between,and the worst down to 30%.....


Well,if U intersted in those , i would like to tell all of U bit by bit, once available,as I should earn my living by myself! GOD never paid me for my effort,never!


Sure,sometime I still hate him,before I get more faith on HIMSELF, I am OK,but seems get more in touch with him ,disaster come to me, one by one, or more than can affort.


I quit GOD for why treat me like that?Cannot answer myself,especially when my ex-husband dead in 2003.06.13.I lost about 3 millions Hong Kong Dollars,when I do the Crystal Business!


I don't know why at the very beginning ,just after met my current icq lover, I totally understood.


And in between , I go to Buddhism,that Karma is good for answering to those who believed themselves in minor,if sin,that go to life miseries,an excuse,otherwise,mightly easy either commit sucide or get seriious disease by anger! I do medicitation and Reiki myself, crys without feeling, I believed that is the best offer from GOD that if karma did exist,for those angels might exeperienced,as they ,like us signed with a contract in ';Bungee Jump';, once on the jounary,cannot stop until finished the programme,no matter how scare we are,like life before get through,back to the source of the resturviours.


The differnce between Medium with Channeler is,like .......


Medium could get attunned to either spiritual guides or higher entities, like in a Alterd States, somewhat in a state like nearly get into the ';dream states';,if positive might tune into those higer frequency,or vice versa. If ,by my understanding,of my path, when oneself is correct one after one by their mistake of most on intention they know is incorrect,thus,did all correctiona and recorrection,and passed all test, some even, on its best, never noticed being tested, means easy and simplest to get through,, with clear mind, righteous, energentic,met those same frequency good beinmg sof its kind,like magnets of same polars , stay away by rebels the force,being protectioned,and at last get more and more time peace of mind,even without hardly understress %26amp; could know many knowledge, THEY will proven to YOU,just after U get all intuition of those already now by the top of the top , the specialist of our interested field,for rendering one service. GOD will let U know,just after U are so concentrade and toss into your heart and mind, when totally done,so interesting,for example,just open a book, som ejust by intuition borrowed from the nearly by liberairy,some shoped by my daughter,who is 10 years old,some by my son that ,what he could know,and tell me,he feel strange but seems his bad habbit just don't know why but quited so easy and naturally, some i bought the book over13 years never know the words and cannot understand and feel so boring,but just wake up,in the morning, just carelessnessly opened,seeing those related words,one like huntches and links thewm up like dream intrepetation,the free association, will like those hyberlinks,browse here and there, and kick and by intuition,will get the answer,and just open a book ,just name it some in here and some over another area will get the answer.


At the very beeginning, I scare, not scare the answer,but why? who? But other people just concern yes or lie. I from the very beginning was asking about,where my power came from?


want to find answer of Science support! And sometimes worry about will the spy put me to a lab and cut me into pieces,like the bidggest Diamond ever found in 9 pieces.


Anyway, I would like to tell U,a channeler is much ,so good that, only those messsage from GOD could pass through, as been choosen,like those Intrepeter in the Councial od the Government,we have government and governor,that will be soon recongise d by those of our ';FAMILIES';, like those mothers could share a new pregnecy woman with their own exepenience,as truth never dim,only truth is truth, forever, no scare and peace and with time oogoes by, more and more,,,,,,added......and go on........until our duty finished,get back to HIS source, like a drop of water, passes throught uprising,every 100 metres ,miner 0.6 degree C,and ......see all this as in the earth a dream wake up, no matter good or not, wake up.....


And as a chaneller ,like a intrepeter, like me as a Chinese, now ,I am tri-langugoed, Cantonese as for myself and my small retail shop business, Mandarin as for some very ';Macro Parties';, I proof reader of themselves, as GOD ,by him a acteron his moive a directer hHIMSELF, and like a acting manager, only sign my signature, with the';CHIEF ACCOUNTANTS';FOR ';THEIR CHECKOUT!';


AND MOST IMPORTANT IS TRUE IS TRUTH, THAT THE GODOWNED FAMILIES WILL GET INFORMED EARLIER THAN MYSELF ,BY GOD,TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME ,AND GUIDE US IN A HARMONY WAY%26gt;....
it was a dream with good public relations and a wicked ad campaign
First to straighten your misinformation, Jehovah's Witnesses thought Jesus was coming in 1975 and when nothing happened that year many were dissappointed and left that religion. At that point in time there wasn't a clear understanding of what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 verse 36, ';concerning that day and hour, nobody knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the son, but only the Father.'; Here Jesus was saying that his Father was the only one who knew the appointed time of the end of the system of things. You are right. 1Tim 3:16 says, ';all scripture is inspired of God and beneficial';. To answer your question, Galatians 4:6 explains how a person knows he's annointed with God's holy spirit and has a special relationship with him. Also, in the book of 1st Corinthians chapter 13, Paul explains that after the writing of the Bible was complete, gifts of prophesying would be done away with. 1Cor 13:8-10 For more detailed information please don't be afraid to contact Jehovah's Witnesses. They will help you find the answers to your questions according to the scriptures. Call your local Kingdom Hall. They are listed in your local phone book under ';churches.';