Click For Audio Version
Old Testament Proven Authentic
Is the Bible Proven Authentic? This is a question many people, both Christians and unbelievers, ask. It is a valid question that I will answer in two segments, this one for the Old Testament, and a follow-up, New Testament Proven Authentic.
In my early years, I had questions about biblical accuracy. I believed the Bible was inspired by God; however, I had questions that needed to be answered. If men copied it over thousands of years, was our present Bible the same as the original?
Please understand that I have 100% confidence in our present translation of the Bible. I accepted Jesus as the Son of God and my Savior from personal experience. However, to have complete faith in the Bible as God’s unchangeable Word required me to research the history that documented the Bible.
God gives us evidence!
It is amazing how much evidence God gave us. But it does take time and effort to study the vast amount of proof available to us. Most followers of Jesus are ignorant of what the Bible says about most subjects. This is sad on many levels. God gives us a complete blueprint for living a righteous life and enjoying all of God’s blessings.
You do not need to become an in-depth Bible scholar, but you should do research into how the Bible we use today came to you. It is truly one of the miracles of God. Studying the Bible and its history will also protect you from false prophets in and outside of our churches.
The desire for evidence is a gift of God. He wants us to stand on our faith in Jesus, but He also wants us to carefully look at the vast amount of evidence as to its truth.
Why do we need the Bible?
God has always been 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.
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.
Our feelings often lead us into mistakes in life, and can lead us away from the truth found in God’s Word. The Gospel Message is pure and simple. Paul says in Romans 1:16 NKJV, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
You may not have thought about the existence of God before, or you may have always been aware of His presence. We are all unique. God designed you and me to question everything in life. Our Lord has given each of us an understanding of what is right and wrong. This is our starting point and should go further.
God gave us the Bible because He knew that we would need it to remember and follow His commands. The Bible, as we know it, did not just happen.
Man has always known that God was.
The Apostle Paul tells us, 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. Romans 1:20-21 NKJV
God has implanted knowledge of Him into each of our hearts and minds, but He did not stop there. He gave us a written agreement that if we followed His commands, He would adopt us into His family.
Faith is the only way to God.
The only way you can come to God is by faith. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
However, He has not left us without written and historical evidence of the truth of His Word. Regardless of how much evidence we have, God still requires us to come to Him by FAITH.
Most believers never look outside of their own experience for evidence of God. This is a shame. There is so much to learn about God in His Holy Word, the Bible.
I want you to notice that Christianity did not spread across the known world due to the mountain of evidence. It spread because Christians shared what Jesus did in their lives.
We will talk more about this in the New Testament portion of this study.
Today, let’s look at evidence that we may use in our witnessing.
There is massive Textual proof, Historical proof, proof of Internal consistency, and finally the evidence of Experience.
First, the Bible’s Textual Reliability.
Part of our confidence in the Bible comes from solid physical evidence. We ask ourselves, is the text we read the same as the Holy Spirit gave the authors thousands of years ago?
The answer to this valid question is a resounding YES.
Our Bible carries the same doctrinal message as the original text, even though translated into today’s languages. As of 2020, the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages. According to Biblica.com, the New Testament has been translated into 1,551 languages.
Translating from one language to another is never easy. It can not be done word-for-word because many languages do not have words for everything. However, each translation is checked by many different scholars to verify doctrinal accuracy.
Remember, there were no printing presses.
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 or mistakes. However, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947-1956, they were consistent with more recent translations.
The Dead Sea manuscripts dated from 250 BC to 135 AD and included nearly all the Hebrew Bible. Scholars used them to compare with the new copies and found them to be almost identical. 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?
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. With a little knowledge, you can show them the difference.
One way scholars authenticate the Bible is by checking to make sure that what it says aligns with other historical records from the same historical period. Record keeping has been important from very ancient times.
We don’t know exactly how long, but 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!
Archaeologists use the Bible to locate ancient cities way beyond the Holy Lands. Likewise, writings found in the kingdoms surrounding Israel verify events found in the Jewish or Hebrew Bible.
Evidence supporting the Old Testament
Archaeologically, we have discoveries related to the House of David, like the Tel Dan Stele written about 900 BC or the Mesha Stele about 840 BC, referring to the Moabite rebellion in 2 Kings 3. These are just a few of the many that we can use to verify Biblical facts.
The Hebrew manuscripts are used at times to date other historical discoveries. Archaeology is an exact science.
Cultural accuracy is also an important point to consider. Bible Scholars study many cultural similarities shown in the Bible. They can study the way the Hittite treaties compare with practices seen in Deuteronomy. There is so much more that you can study 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 raises nations to punish Israel when they reject Him and His ways.
There are 456 prophecies related to Jesus in the Old Testament, and of those, Jesus has already fulfilled 351. Take some time and research this further by going to newtestamentchristians.com. Clicking this link will give you a complete list of each prophecy and its fulfillment. You will be amazed at the evidence God gives us.
We will look at fulfilled prophecies in the Bible, Proven Authentic – NT.
How can anyone doubt the Bible or its account of God?
The truth is that anyone who takes the time to do the research will accept it. Doubt is overcome by the great amount of evidence. No other book, religious or otherwise, even comes close to the documentation we find for God’s Word.
However, knowing that the Bible is the inspired Word of God will not save you!
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, your job is to share God’s Plan of salvation.
It is simple, you must repent of your sins. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God. You must believe that God sent Jesus to die on the cross for your sins, and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day.
Luke tells us in Acts 4:12 NKJV, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
In conclusion
My friend, the amount of evidence that the Bible is both authentic and accurate down to the smallest detail is overwhelming. Although many thousands of men have copied and recopied the words down through history, today’s copy is almost identical to what was first written.
This could only happen by God’s divine providence. Over thousands of years, men would have made mistakes. Only God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Hebrew record we call the Old Testament could not have remained unchanged without God’s Hand on it.
When we look at the history of the New Testament, we will see how God fulfilled the hundreds of prophecies of the Old Testament in the New.
I don’t know about you, but I love to read about God fulfilling His promises. My prayer for you and everyone reading this is that they will get as excited as I am.
Many of those prophecies apply to you and me!
God always does what He says He will do. You can see hundreds of examples of this truth as you read and study the Bible.
And, YES, there are also end-time prophecies that we may see fulfilled. Let us watch and see what God does.
I encourage you to follow this article up by reading or listening to New Testament Proven Authentic.