01 - Can We Trust The Bible 2012

As we look at the trustworthiness of the Bible, I want to acknowledge Charlie Campbell, the director of “The Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry” for his excellent notes on this.

And as always, my favorite commentator John Phillips for his always outstanding comments on all things Biblical.

The Bible is the best-selling, most quoted, most published, most circulated, most translated, most influential book in the history of mankind. There is no close second.

But why should anyone believe that the Bible is actually true?

Might not the Bible be a fraud?

Might not it be an ancient book of mythology, filled with the fanciful, yet deceitful writings of men?

What about other books, like the Qur'an? or the Book of Mormon? What makes the Bible any different than those books?

Those are questions that intelligent, critical thinking people are asking today. Those are the questions I have asked from time to time about the Bible. We need to, as Christians, be able to answer these questions (1 Peter 3:15).

So I’d like to share with you some of the evidence that demonstrates the Bible is indeed what it claims to be—the inspired, trustworthy Word of God.

The first evidence for the Bible’s trustworthiness is...

1. FULFILLED PROPHECY

Fulfilled prophecy is something that sets the Bible apart from every other religious book. There are 26 other religious books that people of faith believe are divinely inspired—

The Vedas for the Hindus, the Bhagavadgita for the Hare Krishnas, the Qur'an of the Muslims, the Book of Mormon, the Tripitaka for the Buddhists, and so on.

Of these twenty-six books, none of them, not a single one, contains any specific, fulfilled prophecies!

The Bible, however, is filled with hundreds of specific, detailed prophecies that were written hundreds of years before their fulfillment!

In fact, an amazing 27% of the Bible (more than 1 out of every 4 verses) contains what was predictive prophecy at the time that it was written.

And the authors of the Bible did not just predict some vague things like Nostradamus or Jeanne Dixon—who by the way, have proven to be wrong over and over again. The scriptures were and are very specific.

Consider some of the more than 100 different and very specific prophecies made concerning the Messiah, who the Old Testament prophesied would come.

The Old Testament foretold, hundreds of years in advance, very specific details about: the Messiah's ancestry, that He’d be born of the seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3, 22:18), of the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10), of the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12f), etc.

The city in which He would be born (Micah 5:2), that He’d come while the temple was still standing (Malachi 3:1), that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), that He would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6)…

…that He’d be rejected by His own people (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:7), the precise time in history when He would die (Daniel 9:24-26); 483 years after the declaration to reconstruct the city of Jerusalem in 444 B.C. This was fulfilled to the very year!

The Bible also predicted how He would die (Psalm 22:16-18, Isaiah 53; Zech 12:10), and that He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27-32). These are just a few of the prophecies related to the coming of the Messiah. There are many other prophecies about the rise and fall of nations, the re-gathering of the Jewish people back into their homeland (something that's being fulfilled right now).

The fact that these prophecies and hundreds of others have been fulfilled, even though they were spoken hundreds and even thousands of years before their fulfillment is strong evidence that a God who is all-knowing and all-powerful orchestrated the Bible's completion.

No other religious writing is able to substantiate its claims with this kind of supernatural evidence.

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

Archaeology could never prove that the Bible is divinely inspired, but it can help build a case for the historical reliability of the Bible. And it certainly has.

For the past 150 years archaeologists have been verifying the exact truthfulness of the Bible's detailed records of various events, customs, persons, cities, nations, and geographical locations.

In every instance where the Bible can be, or has been checked out archaeologically, it has been found to be 100% accurate. The Bible has proven so accurate that archaeologists often refer to it as a reliable guide when they go to dig in new areas.Nelson Glueck, who appeared on the cover of Time magazine and who is considered one of the greatest archaeologists ever, wrote:

“No archeological discovery has ever overturned a Biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries.”

These are the words of a man who has who has been credited with uncovering more than fifteen hundred ancient sites in the Middle East!

There have been more than 25,000 discoveries within the region known as the "Bible Lands” that have confirmed the truthfulness of the Bible.

Archaeology has not proven so helpful for other religious writings. Consider the Book of Mormon. Dave Hunt writes, “Not one piece of evidence has ever been found to support the Book of Mormon -- not a trace of the large cities it names, no ruins, no coins, no letters or documents or monuments, nothing in writing.

Not even one of the rivers or mountains or any of the topography it mentions has ever been identified.”

Nothing which demonstrates that the Book of Mormon is anything other than an early nineteenth century piece of American fiction, invented by Joseph Smith has ever been found.

3. THE BIBLE’S INTERNAL CONSISTENCY

What do we mean when we speak of the Bible’s internal consistency? We are talking about the Bible’s internal harmony. From the first book of the Bible, Genesis, to the last book, Revelation, the Bible is absolutely consistent.

The skeptic says: “Why is that an evidence of divine origin? There are plenty of books that are internally consistent.” I agree, but let’s look at several factors that make the consistency of the Bible an amazing evidence of its divine origin.

A.)From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible consistently addresses life’s most controversial questions. How did the universe come into existence? Does God exist?

And if so, what is He like? Why does man exist? What is our purpose for being here? Why is there evil and suffering in the world? What happens to me after I die?

B.) The Bible is a collection of 66 different documents. It might be easy to have harmony of thought in a single book, like the Qur’an, that contains the teachings of a single man.

But the Bible is not a single book. It is a compilation of books; a library between two covers: 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.

And it was written by approximately 40 different authors who all agree, though they never compared notes or worked together.

C.) Many of the Bible’s authors came from different educational and cultural backgrounds. Peter was a fisherman. Paul was a scholar. Daniel was a prime minister. Asaph was a musician. Matthew was a tax collector.

David was a shepherd then a king. Luke was a historian and medical doctor. Yet they all agree! The Bible’s consistency gets even more amazing when you also consider that…

D.) The Bible was written over a period of approximately 1500+ years, covering some 60+ generations. Not only were the authors separated from each other by hundreds of years in time, but...

E.) Many of the authors were separated by hundreds of miles geographically. Many people don’t realize this, but the Bible was written in a variety of places on three different continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Paul wrote four letters imprisoned in Rome, located in Italy. The apostle John wrote while a prisoner banished to the Isle of Patmos in the Mediterranean Sea.

The prophet Ezekiel wrote his work while held captive in Babylon. Jeremiah was in a dungeon. Luke wrote while traveling. Daniel wrote from a hillside and in a palace. Yet they all consistently agree without any collaboration!

F.) The Bible was written in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). In spite of all of these different factors we find the Bible to be a consistent, harmonious, perfectly unified account of how God is seeking to reconcile sinners back to Himself through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

4. EXTERNAL VERIFICATION

Many people don’t know this but there are dozens of writings outside of the Bible that verify the historical accuracy of many of the names of people, places, and events mentioned in the Bible.

In fact, external sources verify that at least 80 persons were actual historical figures, 50 people from the Old Testament and 30 people from the New Testament. Because of things like engravings and statues, we even know what 18 (12 from the OT and 6 from the NT) of them looked like!

Today the existence of Jesus is hardly even debated within informed scholarly circles. The reason why? There are over 39 sources outside of the Bible that attest to more than 100 facts regarding Jesus’ life, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection.

One of those external sources was the 1st century Roman historian Flavius Josephus. In his writings Josephus verifies that Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, John the Baptist, James “the brother of Jesus,” Felix, Festus, and even Jesus, were all historical figures.

Listen to one of Josephus’ statements about Jesus of Nazareth. Josephus wrote: “At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and (He) was known to be virtuous.”

“And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned Him to be crucified to die. And those who had become his disciples…reported that He had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that He was alive."

These are not the words of the Bible or a Christian, but a Roman historian writing outside of the pages of Scripture.

5. THE BIBLE’S AMAZING SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY AND FORESIGHT

Even though the Bible was completed 2,000 years ago, long before the invention of the microscope, the telescope, satellites, etc. it does not contain any scientific errors.

This might be considered a miracle in itself. Why? Without exception, every ancient religious writing has certain unscientific views of astronomy, medicine, hygiene, and so on.

The Qur’an says in Surah 18:86 that the Sun sets in a muddy spring. Qur’an 18:86 says "when he reached the setting-place of the Sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring.”

Not only is the Bible free from scientific errors, it miraculously makes known numerous, accurate scientific facts about the universe thousands of years before modern scientists caught up. There are lots of them. For time’s sake let’s look at a few quick examples.

A. The Sun

In contrast to the Qur’an, the Bible teaches that the Sun is actually on a circuit through space. Writing of the Sun in Psalm 19:6, David said, “Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end.”

For many years critics scoffed at this verse, claiming that it taught that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Scientists at that time thought the Sun was stationary. However, it has been discovered in recent years that the Sun is in fact on a circuit through space, just like the Bible says.

B. The Shape of the Earth

When the rest of the world believed the Earth was flat, Isaiah declared that the world was round. Isaiah 40:22 says, “It is He [God] who sits above the circle of the Earth."

When did Isaiah write these words? Between 740 and 680 B.C. That was at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested in his book On the Heavens, that the Earth might be a sphere.

More than 2,000 years later some people still believed that Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was going to sail off the edge of a flat planet in 1492!

Another verse that speaks of the shape of the Earth is Job 26:10, where it teaches that God has “inscribed” a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness. This boundary between light and darkness is where evening and morning occur. The boundary is a circle since the Earth is round.

C. The Suspension of the Earth

Before Isaac Newton discovered gravity, Hindus believed that the Earth rested on the back of an elephant who stood on the back of a turtle that was swimming in a great endless sea. The Greeks believed that the mythical god Atlas carried the Earth on his shoulders.

What did the Bible say? In one of the oldest books in the Bible, Job said in Job 26:7, “He [God] hangs the Earth on nothing.” Scientists did not discover that the Earth hangs on nothing until 1650.

D. The Stars

Before the telescope was invented, man was able to number the stars. The Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus (190-120 B.C.) said there were exactly 1,026 stars.

The astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy said there were 1,056 stars. The German astronomer, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), counted 1,006.

The whole thought of the stars being uncountable was contrary to modern science until the invention of the telescope. When Galileo first pointed his telescope to the heavens in 1608, we discovered there were a lot more stars than anybody had ever imagined.

But the Bible claimed this all along. Jeremiah said: “The host of heaven [a reference to the stars] cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured” (Jeremiah 33:22).

Today, with the help of powerful telescopes and modern satellite photographs, scientists estimate the universe contains approximately 100 billion galaxies containing approximately 200 billion stars each.

Carl Sagan (1934-1996), the world famous astronomer, said, “The total number of stars in the universe is greater than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth.”

That is enough stars for every person alive on planet Earth to personally own approximately 2 trillion stars each. Dr. Mark Eastman says, “Counting at a rate of ten stars per second it would take over 100 trillion years. Surely the host of heaven cannot be numbered!”

How did the authors of the Bible know that the stars were uncountable, that the Earth was round and hangs on nothing? Were they taking lucky guesses? No!

Their flawless accuracy rules that out. The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:21 that "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” God, who knows all there is to know about the universe He created, superintended the writing of the Bible to make sure that what He wanted written, was written.

You can remember these first five evidences with the acronym F.A.C.E.S.

FULFILLED prophecy

ARCHAEOLOGY

CONSISTENCY

EXTERNAL verification

SCIENCE