There is an Islamic street outreach ministry that has garnered a lot of attention on Tik-Tok on social media platforms lately, called the “One True Message Foundation” based in the United Kingdom, and one particular video (that was also uploaded to YouTube) has received well over 2.5 million views since the July of this year.
The caption in the video reads “No Christian can explain this.” The video depicts two Muslims doing some street ‘evangelism’ and they ask one bystander to answer a purported contradiction in the Bible. The Muslim asks this man to explain the supposed contradiction between 2 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2, which are as follows:
Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
2 Kings 8:26
Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
2 Chronicles 22:2
The bystander was not sure how to reconcile these two passages, and then the video abruptly cut away.
Moreover, an individual who also follows The WinePress, who has identified themself as a Muslim, submitted this question to The WP recently. Therefore, I thought I’d answer this.
The “contradiction” in 2 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2 is certainly nothing new and is brought up every once in a while by a Muslim, atheist, or Bible corrector who has a vendetta against the King James Bible.
In truth, there is no contradiction here, and the answer is actually quite simple, but in people’s haste to try and somehow thwart God and discredit his word, whilst making themselves smarter than the Almighty in their minds, they have made a glaring oversight.
Before I give the answer, I want to demonstrate how not to answer this question.
An apologetical channel on YouTube called “Testify” answered the question by indirectly acknowledging that this is a contradiction, and simply conceded that this was a “copiest error,” ran to the Hebrew to explain away and reaffirm the contradictions in those different editions of it, claimed that Ahaziah could not have been 42, and then vilified this Muslim in the typical airheaded response all Bible correctors and haters have in common.
Aside from a few fringe groups, Christians typically don’t believe that the Bible was verbatim dictated by God or by the angel Gabriel.
This [contradiction] is probably the result of a copiest error […]Says “Testify”
Well, I must be in one of these “fringe groups” according to this high-minded airhead, which is fine by me. But you see, Muslims, atheists, New Agers, and all other onlookers alike adore these types of answers. Simply put: if the “Christian” readily says his holy book essentially has typist errors and misprints on every page, then should they be taken seriously on any point, and why should such a book even be allowed to exist and revered? These airheads are the same people who fill the church buildings of today – whose website’s doctrinal statements claim and cite scripture to claim they believe “the word of God is inspired, “God-breathed.”‘ These people make me sick. Frankly, I am far more irritated with this bungler than the Muslim! But I digress.
[7] The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. [28] The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.Proverbs 15:7, 28
Unlike this airheaded loser and his covert and neo-atheism he calls “Christianity,” I will actually provide an answer from the scriptures and the scriptures alone.
Without further ado, here’s the answer: Ahaziah was ANNOINTED king at 22, but did not ascend to the throne UNTIL he was 42.
There is the short way of answering this, and then there is the long and technical way of answering this via detailed cross-examination of the Kings and Chronicles and the genealogies, and the different king’s political moves; but both will net you the same answer.
Lest anyone think that the reasoning between this supposed discrepancy is a copout, then observe these two passages:
1 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. [12] And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. [13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
1 Chronicles 11:1 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. [2] And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel. [3] Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel. [4] And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. [5] And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.
Notice that: David was anointed king by the prophet Samuel when he was seventeen years of age, but did not ascend to the throne until he was in his early thirties after Saul and his son Johnathan died in battle!
Or, an even better example, was when a “certain someone” rode into Jerusalem on a pair of donkeys and the people “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13) – to only then be beaten and crucified, and resurrected from the dead. Did the King of kings and Lord of lords ascend to his rightful throne then? No, but he will soon enough.
Therefore, is it not possible for Ahaziah to be anointed king at 22, but did not take the throne until 42?
This is the simple way of answering this discrepancy.
Now, if you want the finer and more technical answer, Peter S. Ruckman goes into much greater detail into answering this supposed contradiction in his book, “The “Errors” in the King James Bible.” You can listen to the answer below:
So now, Mr. Tik-Tok Muslim, I answered your question that you claim “no Christian can answer.” So, what’s my prize? Or to this arrogant airhead who think’s he’s so smart he can outdo God, what say you, and what does this say of your “education?”
[20] He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. [21] The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. [22] Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly. [23] The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. [24] Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:20-24
[19] For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. [20] Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? [21] For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.1 Corinthians 1:19-21
In closing I will say this to the believer out there: if you are ever in a situation where you cannot answer a question, don’t panic, and honestly answer that you do not know the answer. There is no shame in that, especially if it is an “obscure” argument some Muslim, atheist, and scribe spent a lifetime looking to find, to damn his conscience and reject any and all final authority and accountable. Simply “shake the dust off your feet” sort of speak, go home, go to God in prayer, ask for an answer and help to the question, and search the scriptures.
[78] Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts. [79] Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies. [80] Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.Psalms 119:78-80
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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Great article brother Jacob.
Such a typical way to try and “disprove” the King James Bible… That Muslim is nothing but an idol worshipper speaking evil of the things he understands not.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
2 Peter 2:12 (KJV) But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
Good one. The lost will always find excuses to undermine the King James bible. If they would only listen to their conscience, if they haven’t killed it yet, they will be doing themselves a whole lot of good to take heed quickly to salvation and the King James bible, before they start dying off, soon enough, unless God preserves them long enough to make the choice to get saved, with everything that is beginning to come upon us.
Mind you I have not read the entire bible but have read a lot and I yet to see anything about a blood sucking angel on Jupiter. It’s one of the things that really confuses me about Ruckman.
Where did he get this wild idea or is there real scripture to back it up?
Where did he say that? That’s really peculiar.
Some people have a real hard time either growing up sufficiently, or humbling themselves, to chew the meat & spit out the bones. All or nothing dialectic, and man worshipping attitudes blind them to receiving truth from another corruptible man, I guess believing that they themselves….or some other special….or already sinlessly perfected & transformed as the resurrected to Christ’s likeness.
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I’m thankful Ruckman answered that correctly despite his errors & whatever he picked up on philosophy & such through his education, etymology & the historical teaching on the god Jupiter & that worship amongst the peoples; or to the ‘gods’, sons of God, the stars & so forth with regard to scripture. His military background & high-ranking elders may have contributed to his being purposely misled about by the covert agencies & military, too. Like the 2013 documentary The Mirage Men discussed. (Still pc and relativist, no-sure-answer in the end….but what they DID to people is real, and the King James Bible prayerfully & humbly appealed to is still how we prove all things)
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Will Kinney also answered this exhaustively, though we reject his Calvinism which is actually a karmic philosophy out & up from Augustine of Hippo, and affecting the pagan idolatrous Dedanites & Idumeans, Hagarites etc from whom Mohammed drew his views & ideas, then ‘consciously evolved’ into a bloody, forced conformity, fornication & thieving merchandising cult ‘monotheism’ & Mohammedanism/Muslim/Islamic teaching . See brandplucked dot webs dot com and how old was ahaziah. You can get to it quickly on the main page by doing a control ‘f’ (find) search for ‘Ahaziah’. There are also other ‘gotcha’ Muslim and other assorted canards addressed there that routinely make the rounds every few years.
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Their antichrist religion is one demanding unthinking conformity & utter ‘submission’ to the imams …very like Rome to whom they are subservient through concordat and antichrist ‘evolution’. They ‘evolve’ their religion by the imams and their hadiths, just like Rome by her popes and little christs & their growing body of ‘traditions’ , official Church Doctrine & Catechism and so forth….then impose it by the sword & Craft. Pagan terror. (Another erring man who got some facts straight: Bastiat, quoted the pagan philosophies on where Rome and the Jesuits and the bloody French ‘revolutionaries’ and filthy ‘philosophes’ got their doctrine on the ‘usefulness of terror’ to governance and maintaining order, in his book ‘The Law’. The development of ‘natural Christian law’ which means natural man CATHOLIC-influenced & corrupted….but still useful to know to understand the world around us without confusion, especially as they use biblical…and even King James, language to confuse, take captive and so forth. The Catholic ‘Right to Life’ and right/conservative evangelical corrupting and captivating manipulations examples of that.)
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People should consult the work of Steve Van Nattan of Balaam’s Ass Speaks, now blessed quietness dot com and see his documented work on the history of the Islamic religion and Allah, as well as his dealings with Muslims as individuals & men needing to hear the Gospel & truth as the Lord leads, and the history of these agitators with their ‘gotcha’ questions, including African King James Bible believers refuting them & giving answer in video form more amenable to idolatry & error, as well as in written & biblical, literate Christian form. Before it ‘disappears’. Controlled publishing and big universalist, just-the-common-ground, and no-doctrinal-distinctives religion of the world & its antichrist spirit wouldn’t touch it. Their way of ‘handling’ truth they have no answer for is by repeating lies & refusing to engage in real communication, censoring & slandering, ‘disappearing/canceling’ those capable of answering their nonsense & lies.