The Bible
Revealed Truths
The Bible is God's word.
The Bible is truth.
The Bible testifies about Jesus.
Bibliographic factors confirm the Bible's veracity.
Archaeological discoveries confirm the Bible's veracity.
Historical events confirm the Bible's veracity.
Scientific findings confirm the Bible's veracity.
Fulfilled prophecies confirm the Bible's veracity.
Statements of Jesus give us confidence in the Bible's veracity.
Some key verses:
1Th 2:13, Nu 23:19, Am 3:7, Mt 5:17,18, Jn 5:39,46, Jn 17:17, 1Jn 1:1-3
Exposed Falsehoods
It is false to think that the Bible is merely a compilation of human writings.
It is false to think that the Bible contains myths and errors.
It is false to think that the Bible can be studied apart from its central focus on Jesus.
It is false to think that the Bible is old fashioned or out of date.
It is false to think that the Bible lacks power to change lives.
It is false to think that we do not need the Bible.
Some key verses:
Rev 19:13, Ps 12:6,7, 1Pe 1:23, Isa 55:9-11, Heb 4:12, Eph 6:17, Ps 119:105, Mt 4:4
The Bible is God's Written, Authoritative Truth
The Bible is God's word. (1Th 2:13, 2Ti 3:15-17, 2Pe 1:20,21)
The Bible is truth. (Nu 23:19, Jn 17:17 compare Jn 8:32)
The Bible testifies about Jesus. (Lk 24:27, Jn 5:39,46, Rev 19:13)
The Bible is pure. (Ps 119:140, Pr 30:5)
The Bible is powerful/effective. (Isa 55:9-11, Eph 6:17, Heb 4:12, Heb 11:3)
The Bible is our spiritual food. (Mt 4:4)
The Bible is our spiritual defense. (Ps 17:4, Ps 119:11) ("It is written" - Mt 4:4,7,10)
The Bible is a light for our path. (Ps 119:105)
The Bible is complete. (Dt 4:2, Pr 30:6, Rev 22:18,19)
Many people corrupt the Bible (false doctrines, apostate translations). (2Co 2:17, 2Pe 3:16) (compare 2Ti 2:15)
God promised He would preserve the Bible. (Ps 12:6,7, Ps 119:89, Isa 40:8, Mt 24:35, 1Pe 1:23)
God promised He would magnify the Bible to a preeminent position. (Ps 138:2)
Bibliographic Confirmations
Bibliographics factors that rule out anything but a divine origin:
Written over a 1,500 year time span. 66 books. Over 40 authors from every walk of life.
Written in different times, places, situations, literary types, and languages.
Includes hundreds of controversial subjects.
Exhibits consistency, continuity, and unity.
Appears as one book, one story, one source.
Old Testament bibliography is confirmed by the accurate copying methods of the Jewish scribes.
Validation against expected counts for each character of the alphabet
Effectiveness confirmed over a 1000 year sample period: Dead Sea scroll Isaiah text (125 BC) vs. Massoretic text of Isaiah (916 AD).
New Testament bibliography is conformed by cross examination of multiple copies.
There are more than 24,000 New Testament manuscripts copies.
Special authorship bibliographic factors:
Written by eyewitnesses (Moses, Matthew, John). (1Jn 1:1-3)
Written by those who related the accounts of eyewitnesses. (e.g., Mark (for Peter), Luke (for Paul)).
Written by those who were persecuted and/or martyred for their beliefs. (e.g., Matthew, Luke, John, Paul)
Archaeological Confirmations
Archaeological discoveries continually confirm and have never disproved Biblical references.
Examples:
Clay tablets verify existence of Hittites, which are mentioned many times in the Bible. (Ex 3:7,8)
Cyrus Cylinder verifies Cyrus allowed captives to return to their countries and rebuild their temples. (Ezr 1:1-4)
Cuneiform tablet verifies that Nebuchadnezzar once suffered some type of mental disorder (Da 4:33)
Cuneiform tablets verify that Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and that he served as acting king of Babylon while his father was away (Da 5:1,30)
The Ebla tablets mention the "cities of the plain" (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar). (Ge 14:8)
Historical Confirmations
The enemies of Christ were unable to positively refute His resurrection.
The explosive rise of the early church in the face of extreme persecutions.
Scientific Confirmations
The earth is round. (Isa 40:22)
The earth is suspended in a vacuum. (Job 26:7)
Evidence for creation. (Ge 1:1, Col 1:16)
Complex systems (eye, ear, reproductive, brain) - Useless until fully developed
Bilateral symmetry (eyes, ears, lungs, kidneys, arms, legs, fingers, toes) - Not by chance
Male and female - Going from mitosis (splitting in two) to genders (combining of two) - Not by chance
No transitional forms - Kind produces its kind, no "missing links"
Design patterns point to Master Designer - Cross-species structures and subsystems
Amazing creations (Archer Fish, bees, birds, Bombardier Beetle, Camouflage fish, Salmon, etc.) - Not by chance
Divine Confirmations
Fulfilled prophecies (Am 3:7)
Over 60 major messianic prophecies fulfilled in life of Jesus Christ
Local prophecies - Tyre, Sidon, Samaria, Gaza-Ashkelon, Moab-Ammon, Petra-Edom, Thebes-Memphis, Nineveh, Babylon, Chorazin-Bethsaida-Capernaum, Jerusalem's enlargement, Palestine. (See Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell, Volume I, Chapter 11)
World powers - Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, Europe
Confirmation by Jesus
Abel (Mt 23:35)
Noah and the flood (Mt 24:38)
Sodom and Gomorrah (Mt 10:15)
Moses and all the prophets (Lk 24:27)
Jonah and the whale (Mt 12:40)
Not one jot or tittle will change. (Mt 5:17,18)
A jot is equivalent to the smallest letter.
A tittle is equivalent to the dot on the letters "i" or "j".