WHY WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD.
As Christians, we believe the Bible is the infallible, absolute, authoritative, Word of God. But why do we believe this? Better yet, why should we believe this? What evidence do we have that the Bible is God’s Holy scriptures over other religious books such as the Quran, the Vedas, or the Book of Mormon, etc.?
Ultimate Authority
To many, the Bible’s authority is something that should not be questioned. The authority of the Bible must be believed because scripture says so. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Provers 30:5-6 says “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”
Christians are to believe that the Bible is the word of God period, some will say. Any other “evidence” to prove the Bible as the word of God puts the “evidence” above God’s word; because the evidence is ultimately what you are relying upon as your proof, not the scripture. Others say, however, using the Bible to state its authority is circular reasoning. It is using the source itself, to prove the truth of the source. We at NEO Church believe the authority of the Bible because God states so in His word, but I also want to share some other truths that point to the Bible as the word of God, accurate, and reliable.
Why So Many Translations?
But before I do, first, why does the Bible have so many different translations? The Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). Therefore, if you do not speak those languages, in order to read the Bible, it must be translated. The Bible has been translated into approximately 2,000 different languages and is the most purchased and read book in the history of the world! When translating, word for word—literal translations, may not always be the best method. Certain sentences, idioms or expressions of speech may not make sense into the new language one is translating into. There is no such thing as a perfect translation by definition; and whether you prefer to read more literal translations of the Bible such as the NASB or more functional translations (which try and preserve the meaning and thought behind the original) such as the NIV, it is important to realize that the Holy Spirit can use different translations to bring people to God.
Despite the many different translations of the Bible, the differences between them do not affect any basic Christian doctrine such as grace by faith, the Trinity, the depravity of man, etc. Where they disagree is on a translation of a word or sequence of words, not on who the person of Jesus Christ was or how we gain salvation.
Scientific Evidence
The Bible has been accused of being an outdated book filled with superstition, written by people who didn’t understand science or the way the world really works. This accusation is false. Not only does the Bible not contain any errors or contradictions, but it also contains scientific truths that were discovered thousands of years after they were recorded in the Bible.
Blood is the life of a creature — Leviticus 17:14 states “…the life of every creature is its blood.” While this is now common knowledge and a known scientific fact, it was not discovered until 1620 by physician William Harvey. However, the book of Leviticus was written some 1,450 years before Christ. Blood being the source of life for a creature, was recorded in the Bible 3,000 years before scientists discovered it!
Sanitation — It is believed that the book of Deuteronomy was written around the year 1407 B.C. In it, it states this: “Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement.” –Deuteronomy 23:12-13.
In the mid 1800’s, there was a global cholera pandemic. Approximately 23,000 were killed in Great Britain alone and it is known to have spread in London from a public water pump that was delivering water from sewage polluted sections of the River Thames. Unfortunately, proper hygiene was not being practiced as recently as 170 years ago and the results were dire, despite instructions for how to handle this in the Bible. In Leviticus 15:13, the Bible also talks about cleansing oneself in running water to become clean after experiencing illness. The Bible gives sanitation instructions 1,400 years before Christ and before science discovered its benefits.
Engineering — The SS Great Britain was a former passenger steamship which from 1845 to 1854 was easily the largest passenger ship in the world. It was designed by Isambard Brunel for transatlantic service of passengers and cargo between Bristol, England and New York City. It set a standard for ship and vessel building for the next several decades. It had a dimensions of 322 ft. length X 50.5 ft. width X 32.5 ft. height. This represents a ratio of approximately 30 X 5 X 3 which interestingly, is the same ratio that God instructed Noah to build the Ark in Genesis 6:15, “This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.” The dimensions for successfully building a large boat that could float on water and hold a lot of weight were laid out in the Bible thousands of years before Royal Caribbean and Carnival ever existed. The largest ships today, still contain a similar ratio to that of the dimensions of Noah’s Ark.
Germ Theory — I do not like to get sick. I’m sure you don’t either. The Bible contains scientific/medical advice for how to handle illness. Quarantining and covering one’s nose and mouth when ill is in the Bible. Leviticus 13:45-46 says, “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkept, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.” Thousands of years before scientists discovered germs, viruses or bacteria that could be spread by human contact, the Bible instructed what we could do to protect ourselves.
Universal Gravitation and the Earth’s Shape — It is believed that the book of Job was written some 1500 – 2000 years before Christ. Job 26:7 states “he suspends the earth over nothing.” However, ancient theories about the earth were that it was supported by various mythical creatures, pillars, or an endless ocean. Greek mythology taught that Atlas, the Greek Titan/god held the heaven (sky) and earth apart from one another. Nevertheless, it was not until 1687 that science caught up with the Bible. Isaac Newton then discovered the earth hangs upon nothing and is suspended in space due to gravity when he published his three laws of motion. In addition, many in science debated the shape of the earth up until the late 1400’s. Had scientists read the Bible, they would have seen that it describes the shape of the Earth in Isaiah 40:22, “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.”
Dinosaurs — Wait, what, dinosaurs in the Bible? Well, it’s hard to be dogmatic about it, but look at these verses in the book of Job, the oldest book written in the Bible. “Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly! Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron. It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.” – Job 40:15-19
Again, I can’t be dogmatic and say this is where the Bible mentions dinosaurs, but it is very possible that this large land animal could be describing just that. Some commentators say that this was possibly an elephant or hippopotamus. But that would not fit the description of a tail that “sways like a cedar.” The translation of “behemoth” makes sense, because the word dinosaur wasn’t coined until 1841. Also, most dinosaurs are believed to have been herbivores. Lastly, this explains the dinosaurs’ extinction; God, their maker “can approach it with his sword.” And that is exactly what happened.
Archeological Evidence
Each year, hundreds of discoveries are made in archaeology in the lands of the Bible. Many of these archeological finds relate directly to the Bible; others shed light on different periods in Biblical history. These finds have consistently demonstrated the historical reliability of scripture and not one of them has ever contradicted a Biblical event or reference. Below are some of the top Biblical archeological finds and a brief description of what they are and their significance to the Bible.
The Cyrus Cylinder – The Cyrus Cylinder is a baked clay cylinder-shaped artifact that was discovered in 1879 in Iraq (ancient Babylon) during a British Museum excavation. Its inscriptions record Cyrus the Great’s conquest of Babylon in 539 B.C. and some of his great achievements which included a decree that people who had been displaced under the Babylonian regime could go back to the homes that they came from and worship their God’s. This was not a common form of governing in the ancient world. This is consistent with and confirms the Bible’s record of this event in Ezra 1:1-4.
The Merneptah Stele – Dedicated to Merneptah, the Egyptian Pharaoh, the Mernepta Stele is a victory or triumph stele commemorating victory over foreign peoples. It was discovered in 1896 and now sits in the Cairo Museum. One of those foreign empires that the stele mentions is Israel. It states “Israel has been shorn, its seed no longer exists.” While the Egyptians boasted incorrectly in saying that they completely destroyed the Israelites, it corroborates the Biblical account that the Egyptians at one time subjugated the Jewish people (Exodus).
Hezekiah’s Tunnel – In 2 Kings 20:20, 2 Chronicles 32:2-4 and Isaiah 22:11, these verses mention the Siloam Tunnel or what is commonly referred to as Hezekiah’s Tunnel. It is a tunnel that was rediscovered in 1837 and exists today in eastern Jerusalem. The tunnel diverted water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam to prevent Assyrian invaders from finding fresh water outside of the city walls.
Pool of Siloam – In 2004 a sewage pipe exploded in Jerusalem. While repairing the sewage pipe, the construction crew inadvertently uncovered a series of ancient stone steps which led to the Pool of Siloam. This freshwater reservoir was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages (2 Kings 20:20, Isaiah 8:6, Isaiah 22:9 and Nehemiah 3:15) to the city and the site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth (John 9:1-11). The pool was constructed in the 8th century BC by King Hezekiah, who foresaw the forthcoming Assyrian attack of Jerusalem and knew that a safe water supply would be required to survive it.
The Ketef Hinnom Scrolls – Two small silver scrolls were found in 1979 in Jerusalem in an old tomb. Once unrolled, preserved, and analyzed, these artifacts contain the oldest portion of scripture ever found dating to the 7th Century BC (700 BC – 601 BC). On the scrolls are the Priestly Blessing from Numbers 6:24-26. The inscriptions, therefore, prove that the Bible (At a minimum, the book of Numbers) was written hundreds of years before Christ and the prophecies and events in them were not written down later and claimed to be from an earlier period.
The Tel Dan Stele – Discovered in 1993, the Tel Dan Stele is archeological evidence that King David lived. Prior to this find, the only mention of King David was in the Bible; and some thought that King David was a mythological figure. Dating to the 9th century B.C., the Tel Dan Stele is a victory stele by an Aramaean King celebrating the death and defeat of both a king of Israel and king of Judah. Line 6 reads “I killed/defeated Jehoram, son of Ahab, king of Israel” and line 7 reads “I killed Ahaziah, son of J’oram, king of the House of David.” Jehoram is mentioned in 2 Kings 8:16 and Ahaziah is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 22:1.
The Dead Sea Scrolls – In 1946, two shepherd boys stumbled upon some caves near the Dead Sea. Inside those caves were old earthenware jars and inside them were scrolls written on animal skin, papyrus and metal, now known today as the Dead Sea Scrolls. What we’ve found to date are 980 manuscripts written in Hebrew and Aramaic–of which 230 are Biblical manuscripts. These manuscripts contain some of oldest recordings of scripture including the Great Isaiah Scroll (a nearly complete scroll of the Book of Isaiah) and The Great Psalms Scroll. In fact, to date, archaeologists have found part of every book of the Old Testament except Esther in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been dated to the last three centuries B.C. to the 1st century AD. When we can compare those 2,000-year-old manuscripts with a copy of our modern Bible, we find that except for minor variations such as synonyms or word order, the Dead Sea Scrolls are virtually identical to the Old Testament that we have today. This gives us a lot of confidence that the scriptures have been accurately past down from ancient times to modern day. Furthermore, the Great Isaiah Scroll is dated to 250BC – 100BC. Therefore, the key Messianic prophecies written in Isaiah 52 and 53 about the Messiah suffering, are proven to be written before the time Jesus walked the earth. Some skeptics have tried to argue that Isiah’s prophecies were written after the time of Jesus to help people believe he was the Messiah. The Dead Sea Scrolls, however, prove that nothing was made up after the fact by New Testament writers. These scrolls put that speculation to bed.
Ossuary of Caiaphas – An ossuary is a limestone box that the ancient Jews used to hold the bones of important people. In 1990, an ossuary was found in Jerusalem and on the side of it is an inscription identifying the name “Joseph called Caiaphas.” The discovery is of a 60-year-old man and his family. It is believed to be the remains of Caiaphas, the High Priest who sentenced Jesus to die (Matthew 26:57, John 11:49-50).
Temple Warning Inscription – The Temple Warning Inscription is an inscription on a tablet from the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem. It was discovered in 1871. It is currently in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. It was an inscription that hung along the outside of the sanctuary of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem warning pagan visitors not to proceed further. It reads “No Stranger is to enter within the balustrade round the temple and the enclosure. Whoever is caught will be himself responsible for his ensuing death.” This archeological discovery proves evidence of the Temple itself which is mentioned frequently in the Gospels. And in Acts 21:27-29, the Jews thought that Paul brought an Ephesian (Greek) man named Trophimus into the temple past this sign.
The Nazareth Inscription – The Nazareth Inscription is a stone that was found in Nazareth in 1878. It is dated to the mid-1st Century AD and on it is an imperial decree of Caesar against disturbing graves or tombs under penalty of death. It says in part, “if anyone legally charges another person who has destroyed or in any manner extracted those who have been buried or has moved with wicked intent those who have been buried to another place or has moved sepulcher sealing stones, I wish that violator to suffer capital punishment under the title of tomb breaker.” This is important because the alternative explanation to Jesus’ empty tomb was that the disciples stole his body (Matthew 28:11-15). So as this inscription proves, word spread that the disciples had stolen away Jesus’ body and the Nazareth Inscription is direct archeological evidence that skeptics were wrestling with the fact of an empty tomb. What’s interesting about this Inscription is that tomb robbing has gone on for centuries in the form of looting jewelry, family possessions and other artifacts, but digging up graves and stealing dead bodies is not something that is or was common. Thus, for the leader of Rome to make this decree, Jesus’ empty tomb had to be a well-known and recognized event at the time.
The Gallio Inscription (The Delphi Inscription) – The Gallio Inscription is fragments discovered at Delphi at the Temple of Apollo in 1905. It’s a letter from the Emperor Claudius to the city of Delphi. In these fragments, it mentions Gallio as the Proconsul of Achaia. The inscription is dated early in 52 AD. Acts 18:12-17 mentions Gallio as proconsul of Achaia when Paul was brought before the tribunal in Corinth.
The Pilate Stone – The Gospels mention that Jesus was judged under Pontius Pilate. Historians Josephus and Philo of Alexandrea both mention Pontius Pilate as a ruler of Judea and a Prefect as well. Up until the finding of the Pontius Pilate Stone, however, we never had physical archaeological evidence that Pilate lived. The Pilate Stone confirms that Pontius Pilate was Prefect of Judea. It was found in 1961 and reads “Pontius Pilate, the Prefect of Judea erected a building dedicated to the Emperor.” This is material evidence that Pontius Pilate existed.
The John Rylands Library Papyrus (P52) – Discovered in 1934, P52 is a fragment of a manuscript no bigger than the palm of one’s hand. On it is written John 18:31-33 on one side and John 18:37-38 on the other. This is important because some had believed that John’s Gospel was written around 160AD to 170AD, much later than the other Gospels. If that were true, there would be no eyewitness testimony to back it up. Photos of P52 were sent to 4 leading dating scholars and each of them wrote back saying the manuscript cannot be dated later than 150AD and should be dated closer to 100AD. One said it should be dated in the 90s AD. Manuscripts are obviously copies and not the original, therefore, P52 tells us that John’s Gospel would have been written towards the end of the 1st Century AD and we see that John’s Gospel has historic reliability because it would have been tested by eyewitness testimony for credibility.
Fulfilled Prophecy
Another reason we believe the Bible is true and is the word of God is through the fulfillment of prophecy. Approximately 2,500 prophecies appear in the Bible, of which, about 2,000 already have been fulfilled. The remaining relate to Jesus’ second coming. Below are just a few prophecies in the Bible that have been fulfilled and thus, prove the authenticity of scripture.
Fall of Tyre – Tyre was an ancient Phoenician city located along the eastern part of Mediterranean Sea north of Israel in modern day Lebanon. In Ezekiel 26, Ezekiel outlines the fall of the great city of Tyre. In it, he explains: that the city would be completely destroyed, lay bare, never be rebuilt, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would destroy the mainland city, debris of the city would be throw into the water, and that many nations would come against it.
This is exactly what history tells us happened. In 573 BC, Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar, weakened and almost destroyed the mainland city of Tyre after a 13-year siege. Upon entering the city, he discovered that most of the inhabitants had fled to the island city about a half mile off the coast by ship. However, after Tyre agreed to pay tribute, Nebuchadnezzar removed his army and the island city continued. However, the island city of Tyre was attacked in 332 BC by the Greeks led by Alexander the Great. The Greeks demolished the old coastal city on the mainland and used its destruction debris and stones to construct a causeway to the island. All of the prophecies about Tyre came true even including the fact that the city’s debris would be thrown into the water. What’s left of the city of Tyre continues to be a peninsula rather than an island to this day.
Fall of Babylon – Isaiah 13:17-20 (740 BC) and Jeremiah 50:9 and 51:37-39 (around 626 BC) prophecy about the destruction of the great empire of Babylon (539 BC). At the time of their predictions, Babylon was one of the largest and most important empires of its time. Some believe its city walls were 56 miles long, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high, making the city almost impenetrable. However, King Cyrus the Great of the Medes and Persians, diverted the Euphrates River which flowed under the city’s walls and marched under the city walls and invaded the Babylonians while they were engaged in a drunken feast. Due to this, the Babylonians didn’t even realize the enemy was inside of their walls and they were taken over. Decades before this event took place, Jeremiah 51:39 records “’But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter—then sleep forever and not awake,’ declares the LORD.” Secular history records this event. Herodotus, known as the father of History, says “they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and reveling until they learnt the capture” (Ibid., I.191)
Reign of Cyrus – Isaiah 13:17-22 and Isaiah 45:1 record that a Mede King will be the one to overthrow Babylon and that king’s name will be Cyrus. Isaiah wrote this 150 years before Cyrus lived. At that time, around 700 BC, the Jerusalem temple was standing, Israel was prosperous and there was no Cyrus. However, in 586 B.C., the Babylonians conquered Israel and destroyed the temple. Then in 539 BC, Cyrus the Great, king of the Medes and Persians, conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and called for the temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt.
Fall of Jerusalem – In Matthew 24:1-2, Jesus tells of the complete destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’” In 66 AD, the Jews revolted against Roman rule and took control of Jerusalem and setup a Judean provisional government. Then, beginning in April of 70 AD, under the future Emperor Titus, the Romans decided to take back Jerusalem. Josephus, the historian, records that some 1.1 million Jews were killed. During the destruction, the Temple was burned and completely destroyed, as was much of the city. Nothing exists today of the temple except for the Western Wall, a retaining wall on which the Temple was built. When Titus returned to Rome in 71 AD, during his victory parade, he reportedly refused to accept a wreath of victory, saying that there is “no merit in vanquishing people forsaken by their own God.”
Prophecies About Jesus
Below are some of the fulfilled prophecies about the person of Jesus Christ. There are approximately 100 fulfilled prophecies relating to the person of Jesus Christ. The probability of one man fulfilling just ten of these prophecies is 1 in 1,642,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That’s 1 in 16,425 with 47 zeros behind it!
Genesis 49:10 says the Messiah would be from the Tribe of Judah; fulfilled in Luke 3:33
Isaiah 9:7 says the Messiah would be from the line of David; fulfilled in Luke 1:32.
Micah 5:2 says the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; fulfilled in Mathew 2:1
Isaiah 7:14 says the Messiah would be born of a virgin; fulfilled in Matthew 1:18
Isaiah 7:14 says the Messiah would be called Emmanuel “God with us”; fulfilled in Matthew 1:23
Malachi 4:5-6 says the Messiah will have a messenger go before him in the Spirit of Elijah; fulfilled in Luke 1:17
Hosea 11:1 says the Messiah will be called out of Egypt; fulfilled in Matthew 2:14-15
Jeremiah 31:15 says there will be slaughter of children; fulfilled in Mathew 2:16-18
Isaiah 29:18 says the Messiah will heal the blind and def; fulfilled in Matthew 11:4-6
Psalm 78:2 says the Messiah will speak in parables and utter hidden things; fulfilled in Matthew 13
Isaiah 61:1 says the Messiah would preach to the poor, broken, and captives; fulfilled in Luke 4:16-21 and Mark 2:17
Psalm 118:22 says the Messiah will be rejected by his own; fulfilled in Mathew 21:42, 1 Peter 2:7
Zechariah 9:9 says the Messiah would come riding on a donkey; fulfilled in Matthew 21:1-8
Psalm 41:9 says the Messiah would be betrayed by a friend; fulfilled in Luke 22:1-6
Zechariah 11:12 says the Messiah would be sold for 30 pieces of silver; fulfilled in Luke 22:1-6
Isaiah 53:7 says the Messiah would be silent before his accusers; fulfilled in John 19:8-10
Zechariah 13:7 says the Messiah will be forsaken by his disciples; fulfilled Matthew 26:56
Isaiah 53:4 says the Messiah would bear our sicknesses; fulfilled in Matthew 8:16-17
Psalm 22:18 says people would gamble for His garments; fulfilled in Matthew 27:35
Isaiah 50:6 and 53:5 says the Messiah will be spat upon, scourged, mocked, beaten; fulfilled in Matthew 27:26-31
Isaiah 53:5 says the Messiah was pierced for our transgressions; fulfilled in John 1:29 where John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God and in 2 Corinthians 5:21 where it says he became sin for us
Isaiah 53:12 says the Messiah would be put to death with criminals; fulfilled in Matthew 27:38
Zechariah 12:10 and Psalm 22:16 says the Messiah’s body would be pierced, however, not a bone will broken (Psalm 34:20); fulfilled in John 19:31-37
Isaiah 53:9 says the Messiah would be buried in a rich man’s tomb; fulfilled in John 19:38-42
Psalm 16:10 says the Messiah will rise from the dead; fulfilled in Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20
Consistency
Although the Bible is made up of 66 books and was written by some 35 authors over approximately 1,400 years, it has amazing consistency:
Jesus quoted from 13 Old Testament books.
He directly quoted the Old Testament some 78 times in the Gospels.
The New Testament contains approximately 300 direct quotes from the Old.
Of the 27 New Testament books, 21 of them quote the Old.
30 of the 39 Old Testament books are quoted in the New Testament. In realty, however, due to combining some longer books in the Old Testament, (Samuel, Kings and Chronicles once were one long book) only 5 Old Testament books are not quoted in the New Testament.
Lastly, it’s hard to get an accurate count on this, but the Bible cross references itself more than 63,000 times.
The Bible’s constant theme of man’s depravity and his need for a savior, is consistent throughout the Bible—from Genesis to Revelation. No book written over 1,400 years by 35 different men could have that type of consistency and uniformity if it were not authored by a single higher power.
Here at NEO Church, we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is perfect and contains no errors. In addition to the Bible’s self-authentication as such, there is much evidence to support it in science, archeological finds, fulfilled prophecy, and amazing consistency.