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Three Heaven and Earth Moving Statements from God’s Mouth Settle the Question Whether His Words Are Preserved

Timothy Tow

Our Lord Jesus Christ declared three times in Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33 the same words, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” This settles the question whether His Words are preserved or not. Scholars who miss this statement but argue from other angles are missing the woods for the trees. If Jesus guarantees that His Words will remain longer than heaven and earth which He has created, its preservation will last longer than the creation.

Two instances in the Bible will illustrate our point. After God had written the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone, Moses broke them in anger when he came down from the Mount and saw the children of Israel worshipping instead a golden calf they had made. Then God said to Moses, “Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest” (Exod 34:1).

The second instance is recorded in Jeremiah Chapter 36. God told Jeremiah to write in a book words that He had spoken to him against Israel and Judah and all nations. Then Jeremiah called Baruch, his secretary, to write in a book Jeremiah’s words from the Lord and read them to King Jehoiakim and all in the LORD’s house. When the king heard it, he cut up the book with a pen knife and burnt it. But God’s Words came to Jeremiah after all the words that were in the first roll had been burnt by King Jehoiakim. Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah “all the former words that were in the first roll,” which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had burned in the fire; and there were added besides unto them many like words. God’s Words cannot be broken (John 10:35) but only be preserved.

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