Contents



The Authenticity of Scripture

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Can we trust the Bible?

Introductory Remarks

Why is The Bible Special?

Ten Reasons to Consider the Authenticity of the Bible

I. Historical Reason

A. Preservation of Documents

B. Geography

C. People

II. Prophetic Reason

III. Archeological Reason

IV. Time Factor Reason

V. Endurance Reason

VI. Natural Science Reason

VII. Witness and Testimonial Reason

VIII. Harmony Reason

IX. Personal Experience Reason

X. God Inspired Reason

Conclusion

Footnotes

Bibliography

Copyrighted 2012 Amardeus Canada Inc.

Written by Ike Amorin

Introductory Remarks

We live in a world of growing skepticism and unbelief toward the Christian faith. Today we have more and more people questioning the reliability of the Scriptures. Some see it as a book full of contradictions. Some accept portions of the Bible to be true but not the whole. Others have doubts as to whether it is truly from God or divinely inspired. Yet some take the Bible for granted and couldn’t be bothered about it – which shows lack of appreciation.

Do the above express your feelings and thoughts about the Bible? It is my hope that this brief study on “The Authenticity of the Scriptures” may deepen your appreciation for the Bible. I also have written this for the purpose of strengthening people’s faith and to help those who have doubts about the Christian faith.

Why is the Bible Special?

Many Christians believe that the Bible is the revealed Word of God. Though it was written by certain people yet the ultimate author was God who inspired the writers. The Bible makes this claim for itself. For instance we read, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2Timothy 3:16). “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). There are over 2,000 phrases and clauses in the Scriptures that say, “And God spoke”, “the word of God came”, “God said”, etc. From the above we can see that the Scriptures internally declare that it is the word of God and that it is a divinely inspired revelation from God.

10 Reasons to Consider Why the Bible is an Authentic Book

The following are reasons which support Scripture to be an authentic and a remarkable book and one to be read and studied.

Authenticity: means genuine, reliable, trustworthy, authoritative, true and proven by authentic evidence.

I. Historical Reason

A. Preservation of Documents

In 1947 the Dead See Scrolls were found. They contain most of the Old Testament books dated around 100 B.C. to 70 A.D. They were well preserved for about 1940 years in a cave near Qumran by the Dead Sea. It is said to be the greatest archeological discovery of our time. The scrolls have shown that the version of the Old Testament which we have today are exact true copies of the old manuscripts used around 100 B.C. to 70 A.D.

Another significant factor is that no other group of documents from antiquity can even come close to matching the Biblical manuscripts. The Jews of that time were meticulous in their copying and preservation of scrolls as is attested by the Isaiah manuscript that was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls almost in its entirety. That copy of Isaiah from the first century revealed no significant differences from what is contained in our modern day Bibles.

We now have abundant manuscript evidence on the Bible. There are more than 24,000 manuscript texts alone on the New Testament that have been preserved through time. The second largest number of ancient manuscripts is the Iliad by Homer which is 643 texts. Equally amazing is the fact that if all these New Testament manuscripts were to disappear tomorrow, we could put together nearly all of the New Testament from sources older than the manuscripts. That’s because the writings of the Church Fathers before 300 A.D. contain 36,289 quotes from the New Testament – including all but 11 verses. The Bible has the greatest manuscript resources than any other book, or historical document ever put together.

The Copyists

The Old Testament copyists throughout the centuries were ever so careful to copy Scripture word for word. If they made a slight copy error they would destroy all the work they had done and start from the very beginning. They were diligent in producing an exact copy from the original without errors.

Laird Harris in his book How Reliable is the Old Testament writes, “We can now be sure that copyists worked with great care and accuracy on the Old Testament, even back to 225 B.C. At that there were two or three types of texts available for copying. These types differed among themselves so little, however, we can infer that still earlier copyists had also faithfully and carefully transmitted the Old Testament text. Indeed, it would be rash skepticism that would now deny that we have our Old Testament in a form very close to that used by Ezra when he taught the Law to those who had returned from Babylonian captivity.”1

Also the Bible was passed on by the scribes, the teachers of the law, the priests, the prophets, and by the early Church Fathers. This is how the Scriptures were meticulously preserved throughout history.

Scriptures Preserved Through Teaching and Memorizing

Scripture was passed down through many generations. In Deuteronomy 6:5-9 we read: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Also Paul reminds Timothy of how he learned Scripture from his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5), But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from which you learned it, and how from your infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).

This is how the Scriptures were carried on and preserved through the ages. The Jewish household would instruct and teach the Word of God to their children and so on throughout every generation, by reciting and memorizing Scripture. This practice still continues to this very day.

B. Geography

The Bible does not deal with fictitious or imaginary places but with real geographical towns, countries, bodies of water, and localities whose names still exist today. For example: Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Jerusalem, Mt. of Olives, Jericho, the Dead Sea and many more.

Archaeologically, places have been found and proven to be accurate according to the biblical text. For instance Biblical archeology covering ancient kings of Israel and culture received a huge lift in 1994 when archeologists discovered a stone inscription at the ancient city of Dan, which refers to the “House of David.” The House of David inscription (Tel Dan inscription) is important because it’s the first ancient reference to King David outside the Bible.

More will be said about archeology when we get to the third reason, further down in this study.

C. People

Again, Scripture does not deal with fictional people but with real characters and individuals who have made their mark in history. Other historical documents besides the Bible (i.e. the works of Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, and the ancient Roman historians) have mentioned the names and occupations of Biblical characters, such as the Egyptian Pharaohs, the kings and rulers of the Middle East, etc.

R.D. Wilson who wrote A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament pointed out that the names of 29 Kings from ten nations (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and other nations) are mentioned not only in the Bible but are also found on monuments of their own time. Every single name is transliterated in the Old Testament exactly as it appears on the archeological artifact – syllable for syllable, consonant for consonant. The chronological biblical order of the kings is correct.

The Religious Jewish People

The existence of the Jewish people is evidence that the Scriptures deal with real people and a non-fictional nation. The Jewish people have suffered much and have been dispersed all over the world. They have been persecuted from every side.

“Through all this (persecution and dispersion), the nation neither perished nor lost its national identity. History has demonstrated that any people who leave their homeland will, after about five generations, lose their national identity by being absorbed into the new culture, but Jews remain a distinct entity.”2

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Historicity of Jesus

Finally let’s look at Jesus. What evidence do we have that he existed?

Josephus’s works contain the most citied piece of non-Christian testimony to the life and works of Jesus. Also the Roman historian Tacitus writing between 115–117 A.D. had this to say:

“They got their name from Christ, who was executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. That checked the pernicious superstition for a short time, but it broke out afresh-not only in Judea, where the plague first arose, but in Rome itself, where all the horrible and shameful things in the world collect and find a home.” (From his Annals, xv. 44)

Here is a non-Christian historian, hostile to Christianity, who had access to records about what happened to Jesus Christ. Mention of Jesus can also be found in Jewish Rabbinical writings from what is known as the Tannaitic period, between 70 – 200 A.D. In Sanhedrin 43a it says:

“Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve. Forty days previously the herald had cried, ‘He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed then into apostasy. Whoever has anything to say in his defense, let him come and declare it.’ As nothing was brought forward in his defense, he was hanged on (the cross) Passover Eve.”

There is plenty of historical proof in ancient documents that the Bible is accurate. In fact, it is one of the most accurate books known concerning the history of the ancient nations and peoples.

II. Prophetic Reason

One of the most unique aspects of Scripture is that no other religious literature can compare with the accuracy of the prophetic writings found in the Bible. Many predictions recorded hundreds of years before their occurrence have been and are being fulfilled.

In the Old Testament the Hebrews had very stringent requirements for their prophets, “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true that is a word which the Lord has not spoken.” (Deut. 18:20-22)

Failure to pass the test of a true prophet was severe – death. They had to be absolutely accurate and anything less would doom the prophet by stoning, which was the method of capital punishment in those days. Of course, the prophets not only gave long-range predictions but also short-range predictions. If those short-range prophecies didn’t come true then the prophet would not survive and only the true prophets lived.

About 70% of Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled and about 30% is yet to be fulfilled within the course of future history. Approximately 2,500 prophecies are found in Scripture, about 2,000 of which already have been fulfilled. There are various prophecies in Scripture that deal with the Messiah (Christ), with historical events and others with nations.

About 500 more or less look into the future and may be seen unfolding as days go by. Dr. Hugh Ross (astronomer) calculates, “Since the probability for any one of these prophecies having been fulfilled by chance averages less than one in ten (figured very conservatively) and since the prophecies are for the most part independent of one another, the odds for all these prophecies having been fulfilled by chance without error is less than one in 10 to 2,000 (that is 1 in 2,000 zeros written after it)!3

Four Examples:

1) Prophecies concerning Christ:

The Bible contains about 500 specific prophecies concerning the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – some of which were made well over hundreds and even two thousand years prior to His coming.

For example, it was not only prophesied that Christ would be a descendant of Abraham, (Genesis 12:1-3), but that He would be from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and from the house of David (Psalm 110:1); that He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:1-4); betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12f.), and also that His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16). It is noteworthy that this prediction was made long before crucifixion was invented as a form of capital punishment by the Persians and a thousand years before it was made common by Romans.

It was also prophesied that Christ would be crucified with sinners (Isaiah 53:9, 12), that none of His bones would be broken (Exodus 12:46; Psalm 34:20), and that He would cry out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). Moreover, Christ’s resurrection (Psalm 16:8-11), His ascension (Psalm 68:1-8), and hundreds of other details were predicted in accurate detail.

These prophecies do not deal with vague generalities (as is so often the case with psychics); they are specific and verifiable. Each was literally fulfilled down to the smallest detail in the person of Jesus Christ.

|Event |Prophecy (BC Years) |Fulfilled |

| | | |

|(a) Place of Christ’s birth |Micah 5:2 (700 BC) |Matt. 2:1-5 |

|(b) Forerunner of Christ |Isaiah 40:3-5 (712) |Matt.3:3; 11:10-11 |

| |Malachi 3:1 cf. (397) | |

|(c) Silence of Christ |Isaiah 42:1-3 cf. (712) |Matt. 12:15-21 |

|(d) Triumphant Entry |Zechariah 9:9 cf. (500) |Matt. 21:4-5 |

|(e) Betrayal of Christ |Zechariah 11:12-13 (487) |Matt. 26:15-16; 27:3-10 |

|(f) The wounded body |Zechariah 12:10, 13, 6 (487) |Matt. 26:28, Acts 1:9-11 |

|(g) Garments of Christ |Psalm 22:18 cf. |John 19:23-24 |

|(h) Sufferings of Christ |Psalm 22:14 cf. |Gospel Records |

|(i) Burial in rich man’s tomb |Isaiah 53:9 cf. (712) |John 19:38-42 |

|(j) Christ’s Resurrection |Psalm 16:8-10 cf. |Acts 2:23-31 |

|(k) Christ’s Ascension |Psalm 68:18, 110:1 |Matt. 22:41-46 |

The Bible also contains nearly 2,000 prophecies concerning numerous nations within a thousand miles of Jerusalem. Here are a few more examples.

2) Isaiah prophesied that a certain king named Cyrus would allow the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple and give release to those who wished to do this work to return to their land (Isaiah 44:28-45:4) About 200 years later a Persian king named Cyrus granted permission to the Jewish captives to go and rebuild their city (fulfilled in Ezra 1:1-11, 200 years after Isaiah’s time).

3) Daniel’s prophecy concerning world powers in Daniel 2, 7 and 11 is quite impressive. Around 690 B.C. Daniel was given specific prophecy concerning four great world powers. Between 600 B.C. and the birth of Christ these world powers came into existence and were removed in the order indicated in Daniel. The four empires were Babylon, Medio-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

4) Babylon was the supposedly indestructible city of 196 square miles, and was enclosed not only by a moat, but also by a double wall 330 feet high, each part 90 feet thick. It was said by unanimous popular opinion to be indestructible, yet two Bible prophets declared its doom. These prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, further claimed that the ruins would be avoided by travelers, and that the city would never again be inhabited (Isaiah 13:17-22 & Jeremiah 51:26, 43), as is the case to this day.

One could go on and on with many prophesies that have been fulfilled and even are being fulfilled in our time. The above examples we have just covered, affirms to us that God means what He says and says what He means. Who could write about the future with such detail except God who knows the future and revealed it to his prophets.

III. Archeological Reason

Some scholars and scientists have a way of giving the general public the impression that they already have all the facts, but this is not the case. They are often very protective of their theories and don’t like to have them questioned. But recent discoveries show that there are still a lot of facts left to dig up – literally! Every year, since the archeological digs in Israel began new facts overwhelmingly confirm the validity and the authenticity of the Scriptures.

Biblical archeology became a science when Sir Flinders Petrie excavated a tel (mound) in Israel around 1890. Later, during the period between World Wars I & II, major steps were taken in the science of archeology. One was by William Albright when he developed a way to use pottery artifacts as a means for dating. When Israel became a nation in 1948, there was a burst of archeological activity within the Holy Land. So you see archeology in Israel is not that old. In the last century much has been discovered and has proven the reliability of the Scriptures and there is still more to be unearthed.

Millar Burrows (a scholar at Yale and an archeologist) states, “On the whole, however archeological work has unquestionably strengthened confidence in the reliability of the Scriptural record. More than one archeologist has found his support for the Bible increased by the experience of excavation in Israel.” He also stated, “Archeology has in many cases refuted the views of modern critics. It has shown in a number of instances, that these views rest on false assumptions and unreal, artificial schemes of historical development. This is a real contribution and not to be minimized.”4

Also Nelson Glueck (a Jewish archeologist) says, “No archeologist discovery has ever controverted (denied) a Biblical reference.”5

Three Examples:

1) The pool of Siloam (sometimes called Shelah in Nehemiah 3:15) in the temple area where the blind man received his sight has been clearly identified by archeologists (John 9:7-11).

2) In Luke 3:1 reference is made of a tetrarch named Lysanias of Abilene who lived at the time of John the Baptist’s ministry in 27 A.D. For some time this reference to Lysanias has been regarded as a mistake because only one ruler of that name was King Lysanias, whom Anthony killed around 36 B.C. But now a Greek inscription from Abila (a place 18 miles west-northwest of Damascus) has been found and records a dedication to one, “freeman of Lysanias, the tetrarch”. It’s dated around 14-29 A.D., precisely at the time Luke indicated.6

3) Historical references to Pontius Pilate have only been made through Scripture and secondary sources. But in 1961 archeologists excavated the Mediterranean port city of Caesarea and uncovered two-by-three-foot stone inscription in Greek. The Italian archeologist, Antonio Frova, was able to reconstruct the inscription. It read: “Pontius Pilate, Perfect of Judea, has presented the Tiberium to the Caesareans.” To Frova’s surprise this was the first archeological discovery of a historical reference to the existence of Pilate.

IV. Time Factor Reason

We have already discussed, in the “Historical Reason” section that the Scriptures were carried down through the ages by the copyists, the Jewish household, the scribes (class of learned men who made systematic study of God’s law), the priests, the prophets, and the early Church fathers. This is how the Scriptures were preserved through time. The New Testament was written within 70 years, the lifetime of the apostles and Christ’s contemporaries.

Josh McDowell, in his book Evidence that Demands a Verdict, offers a number of evidences regarding the reliability of the Bible. Among these evidences is a chart similar to one the below. In this chart we see a comparison of historical writings to that of the New Testament. Among the works listed are some works by ancient historians, such as Julius Caesar, Tacitus, Thucydides, Seutonius, etc. It is from the writings of these men that much of what we know about ancient history has been drawn. Yet, in terms of actual evidence regarding the accuracy and reliability of their texts there is very little manuscript evidence.

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In the case of Caesar we see that only 20 manuscripts have been preserved, the earliest of which dates to 900 A.D. leaving a 950 year gap between the time the work was actually written and the earliest copy we have. Even in the case of Homer, one of the most widely read authors of the ancient world, while some 643 copies of his work the Iliad have survived; there is a 350 year gap between the time the original text was written and the date of the earliest copy.

The interval between the historical events and the written evidence is far better for the New Testament than any other ancient manuscripts. For example, the first account of Buddha’s life was written 700 years after his death. The earliest available copy of Plato’s works is dated 1,200 years after the original. Yet we do not question the reliability of these works!

Even more impressive is the degree of textual variance in existing copies of the secular works of antiquity. Consider the enormous number of ancient New Testament manuscripts, there are only nominal differences in the various copies. The data for the New Testament is impressive. Only 40 lines or one fifth of one percent are in question. This compares to large textual variances in other ancient writings. For example, the New Testament is 25 times more accurate than Homer’s Iliad, which was also considered “sacred” and is viewed as one of the best copied works of antiquity.

There is some question as to the reliability of the above secular manuscripts because of the great period of time between the actual occurrence and the time they were recorded. Whereas the New Testament was written at a time when it was fresh in the minds of Christ’s contemporaries. Obviously this would not allow much room for inaccuracies or any distortions of the facts.

V. Endurance Reason

Throughout history the Bible has been persecuted like no other book. Many have tried to destroy it but they have never succeeded.

Four Examples:

1) Around 70 A.D. a group of Jews called Essenes who lived around Qumran (N.W. corner of the Dead Sea), put leather scrolls of the Old Testament in jars and hid them in caves because they feared the Roman invasion and destruction of their community. In 1947 they were discovered by an Arabic Bedouin shepherd boy. It is said to be one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the twentieth century. There were about 100 Biblical manuscripts on most books of the Old Testament.

2) In the year 303 A.D. the Roman emperor Diocletian thought he had destroyed every Bible because he hated it so much. After many tireless years of ruthless slaughter and destruction, he erected a column of victory over the embers of burned Bible manuscripts, and the title of the column read, “Extinct is the Name of Christian.”

Twenty years afterward the Emperor Constantine offered a reward for any Bibles remaining in the kingdom; and within twenty-four hours no fewer than fifty copies had been brought out of hiding and presented to the king.

3) Voltaire, the famous French atheist said, “Another century and there will not be a Bible on the earth.” That century has long gone, and the Bible has continued with greater circulation than ever before. After Voltaire died, his old printing press was purchased by the Geneva Bible Society. In the very house where he lived, they printed Bibles and made it a centre for the distribution of the Scriptures.

4) Thomas Paine said, “I have gone through the Bible as a man would go through a forest with an ax to fell trees. I have cut down tree after tree. Here they lie, and they will never grow again.” Paine thought he had demolished the Bible. But when he died in the year 1809, he was placed in a drunkard’s grave, and in the years that followed, the Bible became the most printed and distributed book in the world.

These are examples of how God keeps and protects His word. No one has been successful in destroying the Scriptures. Why? Read Matthew 24:35 and Luke 16:17.

VI. Natural Science Reason

Within the last century science and medicine has come across many discoveries. Some of these discoveries have shown the Bible to be a truly remarkable book.

Six Examples:

1) Modern medicine has discovered that, in male circumcision, after cutting off the foreskin, prevention of bleeding requires two important elements to be present. They are vitamin K, and prothrombin. In 1935, Professor H. Dam proposed the name “Vitamin K” for the factor in foods that helped prevent hemorrhaging. We now know that Vitamin K is responsible for the production of prothrombin by the liver. If Vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombin deficiency and hemorrhaging may occur, since both Vitamin K and prothrombin are necessary for proper blood clotting.

Oddly enough, it is only on the fifth through the seventh days of the newborn male’s life that Vitamin K begins to be produced (usually produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract). “Careful investigations of the available prothrombin are charted by McMillen and show that in the third day of a baby’s life the available prothrombin is only 30%, whereas on the eighth day it is 110%, after which it levels off to 100%. In other words there is more prothrombin available for clotting the blood on the eighth day of life than at any other time in the whole life of the individual.”7 It is only on the eighth day that the percentage of prothrombin climbs above 100%!

The only day in the life of the newborn that the blood-clotting element prothrombin is above 110% is on the eighth day. Therefore, the best day for circumcision is the eighth day! Did Abraham have access to modern-day medical knowledge? This is why God instructed Abraham to circumcise every male child on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12).

2) In three places the Bible affirms that the earth is wearing out. Isaiah 51:6, Psalm 102:26 and Hebrews 1:11 all say that “…earth will wear out like a garment.” This is precisely what the Second Law of Thermodynamics says: everything is running down, wearing out; energy is becoming less and less available for use; entropy (a measure of randomness, disorderliness, lack of structure) is increasing! That, of course, means the universe eventually will “wear out.” The Bible writers state it clearly. We did not discover it until the twentieth century. How did the Bible writers know?

3) In Isaiah we read, “It is he [God] who sits upon the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). The Hebrew word Isaiah used for “circle” means literally something with “roundness” or “spherical.” Of course, the people of Isaiah’s time and for many generations up to Columbus’ time thought the earth was flat, not spherical. Another lucky guess?

4) Job says that God, “spreads out the northern skies over the empty space, and suspends the earth over nothing” (Job 26:7). That of course, is a well-known fact today. The earth is literally “suspended over nothing.” But we must remember that this was not the concept of Job’s day. People in Job’s time felt the earth was possibly suspended on the backs of four elephants, which stood on the back of a giant turtle! Others felt that the earth was suspended upon the shoulders of a supernaturally strong man, Atlas. There were many weird concepts about the condition of the earth, but none stated the matter in the clear and correct manner as does Job. Another lucky guess – when everyone else was wrong?

5) Today many astrophysicists believe in Intelligent Design or in a Creator. They say that the Creator of the universe must exist outside of time. Nothing in the universe can go back before the creation event, but the Creator must, if he started the process. This Creator has to be timeless and boundless or simply exist out of time and space. The God of the Bible fits perfectly this Creator. He declared Himself as a non-created Being and a causeless existence: “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). He is the necessary One who owes His existence to no one and nothing else. He is timeless and infinite. He has no beginning – He just purely exists, absolutely independent of the universe.

No other religious books tell of a deity who fits the picture of a timeless God as well as the Scriptures (Psalm 90:2). The religions during the Old Testament times were worshipping anthropomorphic and animistic deities like the harvest gods, war gods, sun gods, moon gods and fertility gods and goddesses. But the God of the Bible is not limited to the harvest, the sun, the moon or whatever that is within the universe. He is not limited to what exists in the universe – he is beyond it. Even some present day religions do not view time as such a relative thing. Most of them have gods who are restricted to place as well as time; tribal deities who could help their people on the hills but not on the plains.

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Archeologist John Romer pointed out that the God of the Hebrews was unique among all other gods because He had the ability to move through time and space, transcending them and leading his people over geographical distances and over many generations. Sir Fred Hoyle (British astronomer) too recognizes “the Judeo-Christian idea of a deity outside the Universe as a unique concept among the world’s early religions.” Solomon admitted that the temple he had built was incapable of holding God, that even heaven and the heaven of heavens could not contain him (1 Kings 8:27).

6) In 1967 at the Mount of Olives, “…an oil company doing seismic studies of this area in quest of oil discovered a gigantic fault line running east and west, precisely through the centre of the Mount of Olives. The fault is so severe that it could split at any time.”8 In Zechariah 14:4 we read, “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.” This verse speaks of what will happen to the Mount of Olives when Christ returns. How did Zechariah know this could happen?

There are many more discoveries showing how remarkable the Bible is in light of science and scientific discoveries. But due to this short study I have limited the examples. It is truly incredible how unique and awesome the Bible is. Only the Creator of the universe could reveal such knowledge to people of ancient times.

VII. Witness and Testimonial Reason

The Bible has countless witnesses who testify of a true personal living God. Men and women like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Debra, Ruth, Gideon, Samuel, David, the prophets, the apostles, and followers of Christ who throughout hundreds of years, had intimate experiences with a personal God.

About 40 writers were guided by the Spirit of God to record the Scriptures. These writers came from a diversity of cultural backgrounds and from every walk of life. The Scriptures were not written in one generation but over 37 generations (40 years being one generation). They wrote in three different continents and in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek). Here are a few examples:

• Moses, a political leader trained in the universities of Egypt

• Joshua, a military general

• Nehemiah, a cupbearer to the king of Persia

• Solomon, a philosopher king

• Daniel, a prime minister in the courts of Babylon

• Amos, a herdsman

• Luke, a physician

• Matthew, a tax collector

• Peter, a fisherman

• Paul, a rabbi and tentmaker

What are the odds of 40 writers over a span of 1,500 years from different professions and countries write about the same God and similar spiritual experiences. It would be next to impossible. Josh McDowell and Don Stewart in their book, Answers to Tough Questions give a challenge, “Lest anyone think this isn’t something marvelous, we’d like to give you a challenge. Find ten people from your local area having similar backgrounds, who speak the same language, and all are from basically the same culture. Then separate them and ask them to write their opinion on only one controversial subject, such as the meaning of life. When they have finished, compare the conclusions of these ten writers. Do they agree with each other? Of course not. But the Bible did not consist of merely ten authors, but forty.”9

The Bible has a majority of witnesses and inspired writers in contrast to the Koran (the Islamic bible) which was written by one individual’s experience, Mohammed. Also, the book of Mormon was the work and accomplishment of one person, Joseph Smith. In light of these works the Bible is an outstanding book of many witnesses who bear witness of a real personal God.

VIII. Harmony Reason

Although the Bible can be viewed as an anthology of individual authors written over a period of several thousand years by Jews and early Christians, it is also a unified work in its entirety. It depicts the relationship of God and humanity from Creation through to the first century A.D. and projects that relationship ahead to the end of time.

The Bible has 66 books written over a period of 1,500 years by about 40 writers and yet the message is the same throughout and so clear that the 66 books are actually one book. It is also a marvelously diverse book. Yet, in spite of its remarkable diversity, the Bible is still a single book with a single theme woven throughout. While the Bible contains many stories, essentially it is about one story – the story of Messiah, Jesus Christ redeeming the world.

There is an old adage that says if you get 5 different theologians in the same room and have each of them comment on something, you will get six different opinions. In other words, some would even disagree with themselves. In Scripture there is perfect harmony. The Bible agrees with itself from beginning to end. And why shouldn’t it? After all, despite the fact that forty humans actually wrote the words down, the Bible in reality has one author. It only stands to reason that if it were God – a single being – that inspired and revealed the Word; thus the Word that is recorded would come together with perfect continuity and harmony.

Consider the subject of Bible Prophecy. There are many prophecies foretold in the Old Testament that were fulfilled later on in the New Testament. Yet the Old and New Testaments were written by different people, separated by hundreds of years of time. The writers were writing what they saw and experienced. They saw the events with physical and spiritual eyes and were inspirationally guided by a power greater than them.

In each Old Testament book we can trace the history of Israel right down through the ages. The New Testament completes and fulfills the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17, 18). The Old Testament is quoted over 800 times in the New Testament.

Cross-references

It has been said that, “Scripture is its own best interpreter.” Martin Luther expressed this principle with the words, Scripture sui ipsius interpres (“Scripture is its own expositor), and it was summed up by the authors of the Westminster Confession: “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture …it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.”

For this reason the most important feature of any edition of the Bible (aside from the quantity of the translation itself) is the system of cross-references provided in the margins of many Bibles, which helps the reader find out the meaning to any difficult verse or passage.

The most cross-referenced work is the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge which provides over a half a million cross-references, with most verses of the Bible having more than a dozen references each.

There are many verses and passages that correlate or are related to each other. As a matter of fact the Bible is the most cross-referenced book of all time. For example read Isaiah 59:2 along with Jeremiah 5:25. Also read Proverbs 4:23 along with Luke 6:45.

IX. Personal Experience Reason

Throughout the history of Christianity and even to this day countless numbers of people confessing Christ all share that Christ satisfies the deepest spiritual needs. People of different ages, races, and nationalities all testify of a life changing experience and of the powerful effect that the Scriptures have made in their lives. The Bible has profoundly affected many lives and continues to do so because it is a living and active book (Hebrews 4:12). The Spirit of God works in and through the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16).

Bernard Ramm said it well, “We Christians feel that we have had the same essential experiences…We not only say similar things, but we feel the same way about them, and we value them the same way. It is Spirit bearing witness to spirit. The underlying reason is that we have been saved by the same God, through the same Saviour, and by the same Gospel.”10

Also E.Y. Mullins shares, “I have, for me at least, irrefutable evidence of the objective existence of the Person so moving me. When to this personal experience I add tens of thousands of living Christians, and an unbroken line of them back to Christ, and when I find in the New Testament a manifold record of like experiences, together with a clear account of the origin and cause of them all, my certainty becomes absolute. One of the most urgent of all duties resting upon modern Christians is to assert with clearness and vigor the certainties of Christian experience.”11

Christians can bear witness of the truthfulness and the power of the Scriptures for it has deeply touched their lives. What God promises in his Word he fulfills it in the life of the believer – those who are truly regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Culture too has been affected by the Scriptures in such areas as art, music, literature, and lifestyle. It is still the top selling book in the world and one which has been translated in hundreds and hundreds of languages. No other book can measure up to its translation, circulation and availability.

X. God Inspired Reason

There are people who see the Bible only as a human literary work and not divine in its origin. Others believe it is partially inspired because the Word of God can be found in the Bible but it is not the Word of God in its entirety. The Scriptures make it quite clear that it is not merely inspiring literature or a fallible record of God speaking but that it is the true Word of God. The following two verses actually speak to this matter:

“All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16)

“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

God spoke to people by his Spirit (2 Samuel 23:2, Acts 3:18). Paul Little in his book, Know Why You Believe, puts it this way,

“God worked through the instrumentality of human personality but so guided and controlled men that what they wrote is what He wanted written.”12

Prophets were so conscious of God’s presence that the phrase: “The Word of the Lord came to me” frequently recurs in the Old Testament. A good example is found in Jeremiah 20:9 where Jeremiah laments his trials and says, “But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” then his word is in my heart like a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it.” Jeremiah had a strong conviction that he had to speak the word of God because God put His words in him (Jeremiah 1:9). Not only Jeremiah felt this deep conviction but many others, who were moved by the Spirit of God, proclaimed and wrote the word they received from God.

The ultimate reason that Scripture is reliable and trustworthy rests upon the fact that it comes from God. He is the source of its authorship. He is the one who inspired it and willed it into existence. Of all the reasons we have discussed so far throughout this study this one should affirm most of all that Scripture is true and authentic because of its divine origin. “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).

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Conclusion

There is so much to be said and much more to be added to the ten reasons we have just covered, but I wanted to make this study brief and to the point. The testimony of the Holy Spirit is what finally convinces a person to believe that the Bible is the Word of God. In order for one to fully understand and appreciate Scripture one needs the Spirit of God within his or her life. The things of God are spiritually discerned.

We read in 1 Corinthians 2:11-16. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment. “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Let it be said that the Bible is not primarily a book of history or literature but a revelation from God, the Creator of all things, who has not left humanity in the dark to grope about for the meaning of life. The Creator God has not left us alone but has communicated clearly through his spoken word to tell us who he is and of the marvelous story of how we can live life more abundantly and eternally. In Scripture God has revealed all that we need to know about life and the plan of eternal life. This is the primary purpose of the Scriptures.

Do you know Him? Do you know His plan for your life? I hope and pray that you will open your heart to God’s Word and allow his Spirit to lead and direct your life (Psalm 119:105). But most important do you know His Son Jesus Christ, who is the only way to God (John 14:6) and who revealed to us who the true Creator is. Christ stands at the door of your life and he is knocking (Revelation 3:20). Will you let him in?

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Footnotes

1 R. Laird Harris. “How Reliable is the Old Testament?” Can I Trust Mt Bible? Pg. 124 Chicago Moody Press, 1963.

2 Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Answers to Tough Questions. San Bernadino: Here’s Life Publishers, 1980, pg. 32.

3 Hugh Ross Article: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible. Pasadena Reasons to Believe, 1975.

4 Millar Burrows, What Mean These Stones? pg.1. New Heaven: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1941.

5 Nelson Glueck, Rivers of the Desert, pg. 31.

6 Paul Little, Know Why You Believe, Wheaton Victor Books, 1976, pg. 87.

7 P.E. Adolph. “Healing and Health”, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. Merril C. Tenny. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975, Volume 3, pg. 57, 58.

8 Hal Lindsay. “The Late Great Planet Earth”, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975, Volume 3, pg. 57, 58.

9 Josh McDowell and Don /Stewart, “Answers To Tough Questions” Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1980.

10 Bernard Ramm. Prodestant Christian Evidences. Chicago Moody Press, 1953.

11 E.Y. Mullins. Why is Christianity True? Chicago: Christian Culture Press.

12 Paul Little. Know Why You Believe: Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Inc. 1967.

Bibliography

Apostolic Fathers. Early Christian Writings. Penguin Classics.

Bruce. F.F. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove. IL. 1985.

Barrett, C. K. The New Testament Background. Harper & Row. New York. 1956.

Burrows, Millar. The Dead Sea Scrolls. The Viking Press, New York. 1956.

Collins, Francis S. The Language of God. Gale Learning, New York, 2006.

Flavius Josephus, The Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids.

Geisler, Norman L. The Historical Reliability of the New Testament in Christian Apologetics. Baker Book House Publishing, Grad Rapids, MI. 1976.

Heeren, Fred. Show Me God. Searchlight Publications. Wheeling, IL. 1995.

Jones, Timothy Paul. Misquoting Truth. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove. 2007.

Keeft, Peter and Ronald K. Tacelli. The Bible: Myth or History in Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove. IL. 1994.

Lindsey, Hal. The Late Great Planet Earth. Grand Rapids Zondervan Publishing House, 1970.

Little, Paul. Know Why You Believe. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1976.

McDowell, Josh. A Ready Defense. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. 1993.

McDowell, Josh, Are the Biblical Records Reliable in More Than a Carpenter. Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. 1977.

McDowell, Josh. More Evidence that Demands a Verdict. San Bernadino:Campus Crusade for Christ, 1975.

McDowell, Josh and Stewart, Don. Answers to tough Questions. San Bernadino: Here’s Life Publishers, 1980.

MacKendrick, Paul and Howe, Herbert - editors. The Classics in Translation. University of Wisconsin Press. 1952.

Mullins, E.Y. Why Is Christianity True? Chicago: Christian Culture Press.

Nash, Ronald. Christianity & the Hellenistic World. Zondervan, Dallas,1984.

Ramm, Bernard. Protestant Christian Evidences. Chicago Moody Press.

Rehwinkel, Alfred M. The Wonders of Creation. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 197.4

Ross, Hugh. The Creator And The Cosmos. NavPress Publishing Group. Colorado, 1995.

Sproul, R.C. Reasons to Believe. Lamplighter Books. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1982.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for the Real Jesus. Zondervan, Grand Rapids. 2007.

Tenney, Merril C., gen ed. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975.

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THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES

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