DECODING THE DA VINCI CODE

By: Roger Rush, Via 6^th & Washington Bulletin, 11/28/04

The Left Behind Series by Jenkins and LaHaye has been extremely popular. The series purports to chronicle the events surrounding the second coming of Christ from a premillennial perspective. What is often forgotten or ignored is the fact that the series is fiction, not fact!

Now, another book has come on the scene. It, too, is a novel! Yet, it is embraced by some as serious history. The book is The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Among the false premises contained in the book is the idea that there were more than eighty gospels, and that men long after Christianity took root arbitrarily determined which ones would be included in the New Testament. The fact is that the four gospels were recognized as canonical (sacred Scripture) early in the history of the church. There are good reasons why the other “so-called gospels” were never considered inspired. They were late in origin and for the most part sensational and rooted in Gnostic philosophy. Those familiar with them now this to be the case.

It is suggested that Jesus was not recognized as the Son of God until centuries after his death, but that his contemporaries saw Him only as a political revolutionary. Clearly the deity of Jesus Christ was acknowledged early in His ministry. The apostle Peter spoke for the twelve when he said to Him, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). John the Baptist said of Him, “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). The evidence supports the assertion that He was the Son of God (John 5:30-39). He had no political ambitions, although the disciples were slow in comprehending this. His was a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36).

It is claimed that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, and that they raised a family, and their descendants still reside in France. There is absolutely no historical basis for this assertion. There is nothing in the New Testament even hinting that Jesus and Mary were husband and wife. Further, there is no doubt that Jesus died at the hands of the Romans on a cross outside Jerusalem sometime early in the fourth decade of the first century. Historians are in complete agreement on this matter.

People would not be so easily swayed by such nonsense if they knew the Bible better. God’s Word has nothing to fear from careful examination. Truth will triumph in spite of efforts to destroy or pervert it.

BACK