Many people believe the Bible is a good book, full of interesting stories and old wisdom. But is it the work of God, capable
of imparting information that will affect one's eternal destiny? Unfortunately, some people answer "No." After all, how could
any book be handed down for that many centuries reliably? Is the Bible the genuine document of historical facts that it claims
to be?
In this article we want to break these questions into two parts. First, has the Bible been accurately transmitted to us today?
Second, if the Bible is in its original form, is it the work of God?
Let us begin by establishing the reliability of the documents known as the New Testament. Today, more manuscripts of the
New Testament exist than any other work of ancient literature. Over 5000 of these manuscripts are written in the original
Greek, and some of these are only a few decades away from the actual original works of the New Testament writers. The
number of early versions and translations of the New Testament added to the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament
equals over 13,000 copies of portions of the New Testament. The director of the British Museum, Sir Frederic G. Kenyon,
stated, "The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant [now in existence]
evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have
been handed down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the
general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established"'
The reliability of the Old Testament is equally certain. The great care that the scribes took in copying it (literally word for
word) assures this. These men took unbelievable precautions when copying the Scriptures. They would actually count the
middle letter of a book, and if their copy did not have the same middle letter the copy was destroyed! Numbers of similarly
detailed calculations were run on every copy of the Old Testament they produced, which resulted in reproductions of the
Scriptures that are incredibly accurate. Furthermore, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in
1948 has provided further evidence of the Old Testament's integrity. The Dead Sea Scrolls are copies of the Old Testament that
are more than a thousand years older than any manuscripts previously in existence. Careful analysis of the Scrolls has only
reinforced the belief that the Old Testament has been accurately transmitted to us today.
We might also note the enormous value the archaeologist's spade has had in confirming the Bible. The Old Testament is
filled with accounts of battles, cities, empires, kings, and other verifiable points of history. The New Testament also refers
to reigning rulers of the day
(see Luke 3:1-2)
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
(see Luke 3:1-2)
and geographical points that can be checked and verified. If the Bible is a
fraud then archaeologists would be the first to point out discrepancies as they uncover plain facts that contradict the Bible
records. But instead we see that, "there can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial history
of the Old Testament tradition. " Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist, wrote that "It may be stated
categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference. Even TIME magazine
was forced to admit "Time and again, archaeological finds have validated scriptural references.The Bible has
been established as a genuine and accurate record of ancient history".
So, we see that the documents that compose the Bible have been carefully preserved through the ages of time. But, just
because we are confi dent that we have an accurate transmission of the original documents does not mean that the Bible
was written by God. How can we be certain that the Bible is not just a good book but is actually inspired of Deity?
First, one must consider the magnificent harmony of the Bible. Though it was composed by some forty different authors,
who were writing over 1,500 years, its unity and continuity defy explanation. All of these dissimilar people writing at
different times and places, yet the Bible is a perfect whole, develops the same theme, and speaks effectively to people's
minds and hearts for over a thousand years! No person, or group of people, could compose such a work over such
time. Furthermore, the various writers never contradict one another. For certain, there have been those who have
claimed to find Bible contradictions, but all of these so-called errors can easily be explained by close examination of
the context, theme, and structure of the verse in question. Simply put, if one does not want to believe in the Bible,
there will be plenty of opportunities to dismiss it as a myth. However, a fair-minded and honest hearing of the evidence
quickly shows that no human author or authors could have written the Bible.
Secondly, we note the many references to scientific principles and facts in the Bible. Although these things were
completely unknown at the time of writing, they have all proven to be absolutely true. For example, Job 26:7
states that the earth is suspended on nothing, which was in direct contradiction to the teaching of the day that the
world sat on a man's shoulders, or was held up by elephants, etc. How could Job have known this?
Leviticus 17:11-14 teaches that life is in the blood. This principle is recognized today, but it took centuries before
people stopped the horrid practice of "bleeding" the sick. The Word of God has always stated that the stars and
heavenly bodies were too numerous to measure or count
(see Genesis 15:5; Jeremiah 33:22),
Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
(Genesis 15:5)
As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.
(Jeremiah 33:22)
but scientists
continued to attempt to number the heavens until 1932. The Bible had been right all of the time! This is just a
sampling of a few facts that Bible writers could not possibly have been able to research scientifically. Yet, these
writers flew directly in the face of conventional wisdom and wrote the truth anyway! How could this be possible,
unless an all-wise Creator directed the writing of the Bible?
Finally, we turn our attention to the prophecies of the Bible. While anyone can make vague random guesses
about the future, getting some correct while missing others, the prophets of the Bible predicted events hundreds of
years into the future and never missed once! Prophecies were made against great empires such as Babylon
(see Jeremiah 51:58) and Assyria (see Zephaniah 2:13) while they were in their height of power and prestige.
Nonetheless, the word of God came to pass, and those mighty kingdoms were destroyed. Tyre was a powerful
walled city in the days of Ezekiel. Who could have known that someday it
would be utterly destroyed, literally scraped off the earth? God knew, and so said in Ezekiel 26:4-5. Several hundred years
later, Alexander the Great captured Tyre and then, needing building material for a causeway, had the entire city leveled
and thrown into the sea! Amazingly, the Bible even predicted the religious confusion and apostasy that exists today
(see 2 Peter 3:3-4 and 2 Timothy 3:7; 4:4).
The most striking prophecies in the Bible concern the Messiah and the events of His life. Note carefully that
many of these things were beyond the control of Jesus Christ. Among the specific details of the crucifixion
which are accurately predicted are the piercing of His side (Zechariah 12:10), the darkness (Psalm 22:2), the
vinegar (Psalm 69:21), the mocking (Psalm 22:68), the nakedness (Psalm 22:17), the gambling for His clothes
(Psalm 22:18), the unbroken bones (Psalm 34:20), the great cry from the cross (Psalm 22:1), and the broken
heart (Psalm 22:14). His resurrection was forecast in Psalm 16:10; Hosea 6:2; Psalm 30:3,9; Isaiah 53:10;
Psalm 40:1-2, and other places. These kinds of specifically fulfilled prophecies indicate that the Bible could
not possibly be the work of humans but must be from God.
As you examine all three of these proofs, we believe that an overwhelming weight of evidence shows the Bible
is an inspired book from God. We must urge you therefore, to study and obey this book which will determine
the eternal destiny of your soul.
Endnotes
- Frederic G. Kenyon, The Bible and Archaeology (New York: Harper and Row, 1940) p. 288.
- William F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religions of Israel (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1956) p. 176.
- Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert; History of Neteg (Philadelphia: Jewish Publications Society of America, 1969) p. 31.
- John Elson, "The New Testament's Unsolved Mysteries," Time, December 18, 1995, p. 70.
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