Almost everything that is known about the Germans of antiquity in ancient writings comes from "The
Conquest of Gaul", by Julius Caesar; and, "The Germania", by Tacitus. Both books are considered by
historians to be reliable and valid ancient historical sources. Each book is one story, told by one man, who
was either an eyewitness to the events (Caesar), or someone who interviewed eyewitnesses (Tacitus). The
earliest known copies are from the Ninth Century AD; there are only about twenty or thirty copies, and
those copies are copies of copies of copies. Nevertheless, they are considered to be reliable and valid.
Consider the New Testament
Now, lets compare "The Conquest of Gaul" & "Germania" to the four Gospels in the "New Testament" of
the Bible - Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John.
There are thousands of ancient copies of the Gospels. The Gospels were written by four men, telling the
same story, who either were eyewitnesses to the events, or people who interviewed eyewitnesses to the
events. The earliest copies date back to only a few years after the author himself died in the First Century
AD. Furthermore, the writers of the Gospels became martyrs, who were willing to die for what they saw,
not just for what they believed.
People die for what they believe all the time, but their willingness to die doesn't prove the correctness of
what they believe. The Gospel writers died for what they saw; it's a big difference. Furthermore, people
will lie to live, but they will not lie to die; especially if they are not wealthy and have nothing to gain. Both
Caesar & Tacitus were wealthy.
The Fact Speaks for Itself
These facts prove that the "New Testament" of the Bible is more reliable than "The Conquest of Gaul" or
"Germania" using the exact same standards for evaluating the credibility of ancient historical documents.
Therefore, if the writings of Caesar and Tacitus are valid, then the contents of Gospels are at least as valid.
Consequently, the contents of the Gospels should be considered to be true even by secular standards.
In
addition, the "Old Testament" of the Bible is also more reliable than the writings of Caesar and Tacitus, and
the Old Testament is corroborated by the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are documents that were found in a cave
in 1947 and not the copies of anything.
Making a Valid Conclusion from the Evidence
So, what can we conclude from this concerning our ancestors?
We can conclude that the Creation Story of
the Bible is the correct account of our beginnings, and every other account of our beginnings from any
other source is not correct if it does not use the Bible as its Basis of Authority for historical fact.
The basis of authority for the
Bible is the Word of God, and God is the Creator.
The basis of authority for any secular view is the opinion
of a man or a set of men - the created creatures.
Therefore, which basis of authority is greater? - God or
man.
Creation & Our First Ancestors
What does the Gospel say concerning Creation, anyway? It says that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. He is the Word of
God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come
into being. God created the heavens and the earth.
The Danger of a Personal Opinion
How dangerous is it to have your own opinion about that? It has eternal consequences.
"I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from
the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book".
Revelation 22:18-19
Our First Family
Since the history recorded in the Bible is the truth and its facts are accurate, and nothing is to be added or
subtracted from it - then the first known ancestors of anybody with the surname of Christman as well as
everybody else in history, is Adam and Eve.
Tacitus and a German Legend
One of the interesting things that happened as the Romans got to know the Germans was recorded by the
Roman historian, Tacitus. It seems the Germans had a very interesting legend about the founders of the
earth.
"In their traditional songs which form their only record of the past
the Germans celebrate an earth-born god called Tuisto.
His son Mannus is supposed to be the fountainhead of their race
and himself to have begotten three sons..."
- The Germania; Tacitus
Now, let me ask you. How might someone say the words Adam, his son Noah, and his Three Sons, in an
ancient German Indo-European language after living in isolation for 2500 hundred years? Well, you just
heard it.
Tacitus didn't care about the significance. He didn't even know there was any significance. Tacitus was
a pagan.
But it’s clear evidence that the Bible's account of history is true.
The River of Humanity and What it Means
Adam and Eve represent the headwater of the river of humanity through the ages. And that leads me to the
pull that you feel with your ancestors. - If the headwater of a river is poisoned before it begins to flow, then
the whole river is poisoned as it flows. The water in the river can do nothing in its own effort to unpoison
itself.
Furthermore, as the human river rages forward like a flood, it gets dirtier and dirtier by degrees over
time and can not escape its boundaries or go back. That is the track record of history.
And the poison
always begins like this: A thought becomes a consideration, the consideration is developed into an attitude,
an action is taken because of the attitude, the action becomes a habit, the habit becomes a stronghold - and
the strongholds enslave us.
No mater who we are, or how powerful we are - It goes by degrees... It is Sin.
Jesus Christ provided for us the only escape from death in sin if we exchange our sin lives in Adam for
eternal life in Christ.
And that new life in Christ also goes by degrees; degrees of trust in Him by faith.
Just like a wild horse being broken. Once broken, the horse trusts the rider by degrees for its provision and its
destination.
The rider loves his horse; the rider is not obligated to tell the horse where they are going; the
horse can only see to the next bend, and that horse is you.
