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Bible Proven Authentic
Is the Bible Proven Authentic? This is a question many people, both Christians and unbelievers, ask. It is a valid question. I ask myself this same question early in my faith walk.
God was real to me, even in my earliest years. I felt His presence and love long before I was exposed to sound Bible teaching. However, feelings, regardless of how strong, should always be backed by God’s Word.
Let’s say that again, “feelings, regardless of how strong, should always be backed by God’s Word.”
You may not have had the same experience I had. God designed you and me to question everything in life. Even though He planted in our hearts an understanding of what is right and wrong. Our basic understanding is only our starting point in understanding what God wants of each of us.
Listen to what Paul says in Romans 1:20-21 NKJV, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
God has implanted knowledge of Him into each of our hearts and minds, but He did not stop there. He gave us a written word that can be proved physically.
He does not expect you to believe in Him or what He has done without proof. Accepting Him by faith is still required, but He made sure that there was massive proof for you to study.
Today, we will examine six areas to support our faith.
There are massive amounts of Textual proof, Historical proof, the proof of Internal consistency, archaeology, external evidence and finally, the evidence of Experience.
First, let’s consider the Bible’s Textual Reliability.
Part of our confidence in the Bible comes from solid physical evidence. Is the text we read today the same as the Holy Spirit gave the authors thousands of years ago? This is a very valid question and one that can be answered with a resounding YES.
Our Bible today carries the same doctrinal message as the original text, even though translated into today’s language. As of 2020, the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages. The New Testament has been translated into 1,551 languages according to Biblica.com.
The Old Testament was hand-copied over the centuries on many different materials that simply wore out with age and usage. Even though the scribes were very careful, you would expect some changes. However, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947-1956, they were consistent with today’s translations.
The manuscripts dated from 250 BC to 135 AD and included nearly all the Hebrew Bible. Normally, you would expect small changes through time. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, they were used to check the more recent manuscripts. They authenticated the later copies.
Key Note: No other manuscripts in history are as well documented. The textual integrity of the Bible we enjoy today reads the same as it did when first written. Only the language has changed to enable people all over the world to read God’s Holy Word with confidence.
Some simple facts to note are that we have over 5,000 manuscripts in Greek and about 10,000 in Latin, as well as thousands in other ancient languages to compare.
Second, Is The Bible Historically Accurate?
As a believer in God’s Holy Scripture, historical facts may have little effect on your faith, but they may help you witness to someone who has doubts. You may be witnessing to a person who believes the Bible is just another book.
Paul admonishes Timothy to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV Knowledge can help you and your ability to witness.
One way scholars authenticate the Bible is by checking to make sure that what it says aligns with other historical records of the age. Record-keeping has been important from very ancient times, and because of that, we can compare recorded events.
We don’t know exactly how long records have been written down. The oldest we have discovered so far is about 5,500 years ago in Mesopotamia, according to Zmescience.com. This item was a small clay slab tablet, written in soft clay, allowed to harden or bake so it would last. It did, and can be read today!
Archaeologists have used the Bible to locate ancient cities way beyond the Holy Land. Writings that are simular are found in some countries around Israel that can be used to verify what is found in the Jewish Scriptures.
Third, is the Old Testament supported by archaeology?
Archaeologically, we have discoveries related to the House of David, written about 900 BC and about 840 BC, referring to the Moabite rebellion in 2 Kings 3. These are just a few examples of the many we can use to verify Biblical facts.
Cultural accuracy is also an important point to consider. Bible Scholars can study many cultural similarities shown in the Bible. They can study the way the Hittite treaties compare with practices seen in Deuteronomy. If you are willing to invest the time, there is so much more information available to build your faith in the accuracy of the Bible.
Finally, there is the fulfillment of prophecy. The Old Testament is full of prophecies that God gives through His Prophets. They tell about how God builds up nations, such as Israel. We are also told how God builds up nations to punish Israel for rejecting Him and His ways. It may be much harder to believe that God would allow a nation to grow in power to punish another nation. However, we see this in Bible history many times.
Remember, God is still at work today. What is happening around the world has a purpose. At times, it is hard to see God’s hand in current events.
Fourth, is there external Evidence supporting the New Testament?
Yes, in fact, many external sources are supporting the events in the New Testament. Josephus in ‘Antiquities of the Jews, ‘ written around 93 AD, tells of many of the events in Scripture. He was a Jew working for Rome and recorded many events that happened in Jesus’ life and the lives of the early Christians.
Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny, all between 93 and 112 CE, confirm Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and the growth of the early Christian followers. Tacitus relates Nero persecuting the Christians and blaming them for the fire in Rome in 64 CE.
Many scholars date the Gospels as written between 60 and 100 CE, or in other words, within the lifetime of the eyewitnesses. This time frame reduces the chance that one of the authors might embellish what they saw or participated in.
Listen to what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 NKJV. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
Fifth, is the Bible internally Consistent?
Yes, the Bible is internally consistent. It is a unified work guided by the Holy Spirit.
Think about it! The Bible was written by at least 40 authors over about 1,500 years, and, yet maintains a consistent message.
This message displays a Divine Unity even though presented as law, poetry, prophecy, and letters of the Apostles. It tells of God’s work in creation, in the fall of man, and in redemption and restoration. It is consistent from Genesis 3:15’s promise of a coming Redeemer to Jesus’ fulfillment in the New Testament.
The New Testament cites the Old Testament throughout, explaining how Jesus fulfilled these prophecies.
We see throughout the Bible one constant. Though written over at least 1500 years, God is shown as never changing. This is what Paul says in Hebrews 13:8 NKJV: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Sixth, Our Personal Experience
If you are a Christian, your experience with God in your life is one of the strongest proofs.
Although we come from many different backgrounds, all of us have one thing in common. We are sinners. Some are worse than others, maybe, but all guilty of not living without sin.
Though only Jesus can save, our salvation depends on others witnessing to us. Now God calls each of us to serve in His Great Army. What has He called you to do?
We can use philosophical or theological arguments to show the Bible is Divinely Inspired, but it is our changed lives that are the most powerful testimony.
Conclusion: The Bible is authentic
The greatest evidence is how the Bible has shaped civilizations throughout the ages. It gave us a moral system that changes lives and cultures everywhere it is introduced.
It is the very foundation of Western law and ethics.
Yes, we have many proofs, things like Ezekiel 26 forecasting Tyre’s destruction and Daniel 9 predicting the Messiah’s birth. These and hundreds of other fulfilled prophecies.
However, Jesus’ ability to change your life is perhaps the most powerful one to prove the Bible is from God.