Since the Bible Can Not Contradict Itself, How Do We Reconcile Parallel Account Discrepancies or Clear Numerical Discrepancies?
1) Direct Answer
There are no contradictions in God’s Word. What people call “discrepancies” are differences of perspective, emphasis, time-reckoning, rounding of numbers, or transmission issues in copies and translations. When you take all the witnesses together, the record harmonizes.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- The Bible says all Scripture is inspired and cannot be broken (2 Timothy 3:16; John 10:35). God does not contradict Himself.
- God established truth by “two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15). The Gospels give multiple witnesses. Different details are not denial; they are completion.
Samples of harmony:
- One or two? Demoniacs and blind men: Matthew mentions two (Matthew 8:28; 20:30). Mark and Luke highlight one (Mark 5:2; 10:46; Luke 8:27). Does any verse say “only one”? No. Then two were there; one was emphasized.
- Angels at the tomb: Luke records two (Luke 24:4), Matthew and Mark focus on one who spoke (Matthew 28:2-5; Mark 16:5). Does any verse say there was not a second? No. Then both are true—two present, one speaking.
- Judas’ death: He hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). His body later fell and burst (Acts 1:18). Do these exclude each other? No. They are two stages of one tragedy.
- Hours of the crucifixion: Mark uses Jewish daytime reckoning (third hour ≈ 9 a.m., Mark 15:25). John uses Roman civil time (sixth hour ≈ about 6 a.m. before the final sentence, John 19:14). Different clocks, same day.
- Genealogies: Matthew gives the royal/legal line through Joseph (Matthew 1). Luke traces the bloodline from Mary going back through David’s son Nathan (Luke 3). Two lines, one fulfillment—Jesus is truly David’s Son.
- Census or numerical variations (e.g., 2 Samuel 24:9; 1 Chronicles 21:5): writers may count different categories (men of war vs. valiant men), round numbers, or report at different points in the process. Where numerals in copies vary, that is in the hand of man, not a flaw in God’s revelation; no doctrine is touched.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Silence is not contradiction. If one account mentions one person and another mentions two, the one is not denying the second; it is focusing.
- Different vantage points tell the same truth. Four witnesses around one event will not repeat every detail with the same wording.
- Time can be reckoned differently (Jewish sunrise day vs. Roman civil day). That explains hour differences without any conflict.
- Inclusive counting and round figures were common in Scripture. “Three days” can mean part of day one, all of day two, part of day three, as the Jews counted.
- God inspired the Word; men copied and translated it. If a digit looks different in a later copy, the Spirit still preserves the doctrine, the story line, and the prophetic harmony. The message stands perfect.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, when you ask the simple questions—Does any verse deny what the other affirms?—the supposed contradictions fall away. The Scripture is one voice. Read it with the Author’s Spirit, compare Scripture with Scripture, and the harmony appears every time.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
The Kinsman Redeemer
60-1002 §20
..., after the death of Joshua. And to find a very beautiful picture of this, read about the first five or six chapters of I Samuel, and you will get the real story of it. But we're going to jump along now to get the main context out of this, which, sometime ago I started on this book of Ruth, and was for three or four weeks getting through it. Started on the book of Revelation once, and took all year, about, to go through it. Just every little scripture ties one with the other entirely through the Bible. And it's bea...
Wisdom versus Faith
62-0401 §93
It's supposed to believe it the way God said it. And it does not contradict itself. If it does, you come show me. It don't contradict itself, not at all. Satan might contradict it to you, be he can't to the Word 'cause the Word won't stand that. No, sir! That's the aged old thing that's been thought of, but it's never been proven yet. Let's follow these two sources, or what you might call atmospheres, and see what they create. Let's follow them for a few minutes.
The Godhead explained
61-0425B §65
And some of them said, "Well, I take what Jesus said, not what Peter said." If they were contrary one to another, what are we going to do? If it all ain't God, what part of the Bible is right? It's all got to coincide and come together. And only the revelation of God... Our schools will never teach it. It's a revelation, that you must see it. Then, if them two men were contrary one to another, then what kind of a Bible are we reading? How do I know whether John 14 is right or not? How do I know whether John 3 is ri...
Faith without works is dead
50-0822 §18
Now, in Saint James the 3rd chap--the 2nd chapter and the 21st verse. This would almost look like a contradiction in the Scriptures. But there is no contradictions in the Scripture. You know, the... You heard people say that Scripture contradicts Itself. It does not. For ten years, there was a challenge laid on my plat--on my pulpit, to any person who could show a contradiction in God's Word that could not be straightened by the Word of God. It's not so. All the Scripture is mingled up. That's right. It's all broke...
The Queen of Sheba
60-0401E §1
...him, it is so wonderful that he can read directly from the original script the very words that Jesus and the disciples spoke and wrote. He felt that these translations that we have are not always correct and true. And that's where the criticism comes in, because he criticizes the King James version, and some people think that St. Paul preached from the King James version. They almost worship it, it's so wonderful. I think all translations might leave something to be desired. So I'm not going to vouch for any transl...