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.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 3:E-101
Notice the exact way the record of God sets forth the account of the births of Cain, Abel and Seth. Genesis 4:1, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel." Genesis 4:25, "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth..." There are THREE sons born from TWO acts of carnal knowledge by Adam. Since the Bible is the exact and perfect Word of God, this is no mistake but a record for our illu...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 4:E-2
Introduction In order to refresh your minds I want to point out again how we arrive at finding the names of the messengers to the various ages. God in His sovereign will has seen to it that the history of the New Testament church was not lost, even as He saw to it that the history of Israel would not be lost by placing it in the Bible and corroborating it today from multitudes of scrolls, earthen vessels and other artifacts that archaeologists have discovered and interpreted. We actually have a running commentary o...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 7:E-85
We now face the question as to why they should be given eternal life at the judgment since the Epistles seem to conclusively point out that one must possess the Spirit of Christ or perish. Though it seems thus, we must not discredit the words of Jesus Who most pointedly sets forth that there are some found in the Book of Life who will either receive eternal life before the general resurrection or after it. Paul does not evade this truth for he most clearly says in Philippians 3:11, "If by any means I might attain t...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 5:E-81
Since the Bible does not deal in the histories of other nations in detail, it will be necessary to search the ancient profane records to find our answer as to how Pergamos became the seat of the Satanic religion of Babylon. The major sources of information will be in records of Egyptian and Grecian culture. The reason for this is that Egypt received her science and mathematics from the Chaldeans and in turn Greece received them from Egypt. Now since the priests were in charge of teaching these sciences, and since t...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-78
"You are blind and naked." Now this is really desperate. How can anyone be blind and naked and not know it? Yet it says that they are blind and naked and can't perceive it. The answer is, they are spiritually blind, and spiritually naked. Do you remember when Elisha and Gehazi were surrounded by the army of the Syrians? You recall that Elisha smote them blind by the power of God. Yet their eyes were wide open and they could see where they were going. The blindness was peculiar in that they could see certain things,...