Is The Bible Really True?

 

How can we prove that the Bible is really true? The first thing that we must do is to prove that the Bible that we have today is the same Bible that the believers had two thousand years ago in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles. In the time of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles the New Testament which we have today did not exist, the Old Testament was the only portion of the Bible in existence at that time. The New Testament was written between AD 45 and AD 96 approximately. It was from the Old Testament that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke and taught during His three years of ministry upon this earth. It was through His teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ verified and identified many of the books of the Old Testament as the true and perfect word of God. So the first thing that we are going to do is to take a look at some examples of the Lord Jesus Christ quoting directly from the Old Testament.

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, You are gods? John 10:34.  In this verse the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking of the Mosaic law, the first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses, [Genesis – Exodus – Leviticus – Numbers – Deuteronomy]

Then He [Jesus] said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. Luke 24:44.

In Luke 24:44 the Lord Jesus Christ Identifies many of the books of the Old Testament,                                                                                                                     

[The Law of Moses. Genesis – Exodus – Leviticus – Numbers – Deuteronomy] 

[The minor prophets. Hosea – Amos – Micah – Joel – Obadiah – Jonah – Nahum – Habakkuk – Zephaniah – Haggai – Zechariah – Malachi]

[The major prophets. Isaiah – Jeremiah – Ezekiel]

[The Psalms. The book of Psalms.]    

He answered and said to them,Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites,as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. Mark 7:6-7.

Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. Matthew 15:7-9.

In Mark 7:6-7 and Matthew 15:7-9. The Lord Jesus Christ identifies the book of Isaiah, and also that Isaiah was a prophet.

In Luke 11:49-51 and Matthew 23:34-36. In these verses the Lord Jesus Christ identifies the book of Genesis and the book of  Zechariah when He speaks of the blood of righteous Abel, to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah.

Able was the first martyr [Genesis 4:8] and  Zechariah was the last martyr to be named in the Hebrew Old Testament order. 2Chronicles 24:21. Genesis was the first book in the Hebrew canon and Chronicles the last. So the Lord Jesus basically said from Genesis to Chronicles or according to our order of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi.

The following list are just some examples of  the Lord Jesus Christ quoting from the Old Testament.

In Matthew 4:4 & Luke 4:4, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Deuteronomy 8:3.  

In Matthew 4:10 & Luke 4:8,The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Deuteronomy 16:13.

In Luke 4:17-19, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Isaiah 61: 1-2.

In Matthew 5:21, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Exodus 20:13.

In Matthew 5:27,  The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Exodus 20:14.

In Matthew 9:13, 12:7,  The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Hosea 6:6.

In Matthew10:35-36 & Luke 12:52-53, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Micah 7:6.

In Matthew 10:10 & Luke, 7:27, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Malachi 3:1.

In Mark 7:6-7,  The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Isaiah 29:13.

In Matthew 21:16, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Psalms 8:2.

In Mark 12:26-27, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Exodus 3:6.

In Luke 13:35, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Psalms 118:26.

In Matthew 27:46, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Psalms 22:1.

In John 6:45, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Isaiah 54:13.

In John 13:18, The Lord Jesus Christ quotes from, Psalm 41:9.

These are just a few examples from the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of quotations from the Old Testament by the Lord Jesus Christ.              There are many many more that are not in this list, there are also a vast number of quotations from all of the other books of the New Testament. There is an incredible amount of internal evidence within the Holy Scriptures themselves that prove beyond any doubt to any reasonable minded person that the Old Testament that we have today is the same Old Testament that was used by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Apostles. It is the same Old Testament that was written by Moses and the Old Testament prophets of God.

The second proof that we have that the Old Testament that we have today is the same Old Testament that was written by Moses and the prophets is the,            Dead Sea Scrolls, So, what are the Dead Sea Scrolls I hear you ask. Well, the Dead Sea Scrolls are beyond doubt one of the greatest proofs in existence, that the Old Testament that we have today is absolutely genuine, and leaves no room for doubt in this matter.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in eleven caves along the Northwest shore of the Dead Sea between 1946 and 1956. The first cave was discovered by a young Bedouin shepherd boy named Muhammad, who was tending his goats and sheep near the ancient settlement of Qumran in 1946 which is located on the Northwest shore of the Dead Sea some thirteen miles east of Jerusalem, today it is known as the West Bank. He tossed a rock into an opening on the side of a cliff and was surprised to hear a shattering sound. He entered the cave and found a collection of large clay jars, seven of which contained leather and papyrus scrolls. In the next ten years ten more caves were to be discovered. In these eleven caves nine hundred and seventy-two scrolls were to be found, some as scrolls and some as fragmented scrolls. A fragmented scroll, is a scroll that was not in one piece, but in many pieces. The mostly fragmented texts, are numbered according to the cave that they came out of. When the scrolls were carbon dated it showed that the scrolls were written between  one hundred and three hundred years before The Lord Jesus Christ was born. They have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. Either fragments or complete copies of every book of the Old Testament were found with the exception of the book of Esther, and when they were compared with the Old Testament text that we have today, they proved to be an exact copy. This proves without any doubt to any reasonable minded person that the Old Testament that we have today is in fact the same Old Testament that was written by Moses and the Old Testament prophets. There is also a great deal of evidence that proves beyond any doubt that the New Testament is the true and perfect word of God. In fact the evidence for the New Testament is stunning. In nineteen eighty there was five thousand three hundred and sixty six separate Greek manuscripts available. Some of these are called Uncials. Uncials are manuscripts which use all capital letters and are written on parchment or vellum, which is a smoother writing surface than papyrus, and allows for curved letters. The Uncial manuscripts were written between the 3rd and 8th centuries and were often bound as pages in a book, or a codex, rather than a scroll. A few of these ancient codices have survived intact, giving us a solid view of the Bible used by the ancient church. Then you have a great number of other manuscripts as well, such as the Codex Sinaiticus which is a very large manuscript with four hundred pages, it is comprised of about half of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament. It is dated to the early part of the fourth century. Next you have the Codex Vaticanus, which was found in the Vatican library. It is comprised of 759 pages or leaves and has almost all of the Old and New Testament. Then you have the Codex Alexandrinus which contains the whole Old Testament and a nearly complete New Testament and dates from the late 4th Century to the early 5th Century. There is also the Chester Beatty Papyri which contains most of the New Testament and is dated mid-3rd Century. I have just mentioned a few of the manuscripts here for reference, but simply put when all of the manuscripts were examined, of which there are more than five thousand, by the greatest scholars in the world today. The conclusion that they all came to was unanimous, that not only did all of the ancient manuscripts completely agree with each other in all things, but that they were an exact copy of the New Testament that we have today. This must surely prove to any reasonable minded person that the New Testament is indeed the true and perfect word of God.

Now there is also a vast amount of non-Biblical evidence that proves that the Bible we have today is indeed the same Bible that the early believers had two thousand years ago. Many of the early Church fathers quoted Scriptures in their own writing's and many of them died for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Men such as Papias of Hiprapolis who was a disciple of the Apostle John, Polycarp who was martyred for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of eighty-six in 156 AD who was also a disciple of the Apostle John, Polycarp wrote the following,

So firm is the ground upon which the Gospels rest, that the very heretics themselves bear witness to them”. Irenaeus is another first century historian and a Christian who wrote about the four Gospels and said of them,” For as there are four quarters of the world in which we live, and four universal winds, and as the Church is dispersed over all the earth, and the Gospel is the pillar and base of the Church and the breath of life, so it is natural that it should have four pillars, breathing immortality from every quarter and kindling the life of men anew. Whence it is manifest that the Word, the architect of all things, Who sits upon the cherubim and holds all things together, having been manifested to men, has given us the Gospel in fourfold form, but held together by one Spirit.

Ignatius of Antioch was martyred for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He new all of the Apostles and was a disciple of Polycarp. Ignatius said,  

I would rather die for Christ than to rule the whole earth. Leave me to the beasts that I may by them be partaker of God.  

There are many more examples from the early believers, many of whom were martyred for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The point being when all of these writings were compared with scripture, they have also proven to be one hundred percent accurate with the New Testament that we have today.

There is also a vast amount of historical proof available from first and second century historians, Such as Roman Historian Tacitus Born 56 AD Died 120 AD, Pliny the Younger born 61 AD died 113 AD. Lucian of Samosata born Approximately 125 AD  time of death unknown, and The famous first century historian Flavius Josephus who was born in 37AD and died in 100AD, Flavius Josephus wrote the following in his book The Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3. 

Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. 

This is just one quote but as I am sure you can imagine there are hundreds more from many different authors, but this one is enough to make the point.

There is also a great deal of archaeological evidence available today that will prove to any reasonable minded person that the Bible is the True and perfect word of God.

When the truth of Scripture is challenged by sceptics, and make no mistake there have been many such sceptics, usually those who hold very prominent positions in society, such as world leaders and world renowned scholars and scientists. When such people were casting doubts upon the validity and accuracy of the scriptures being handed down through the centuries, God used a little shepherd boy and directed him to the cave where the dead sea scrolls were hidden. When they were translated the dead sea scrolls proved beyond any doubt the validity and accuracy of the scriptures, this of course made the world leaders and world-renowned scholars and scientists, and the so called wise men of our time look very foolish indeed. Because there was no longer any reason to doubt the validity and accuracy of the scriptures. When this avenue was closed to the world leaders and world-renowned scholars and scientists, and the so-called wise men of our time they turned their attention to another area of scripture. They now began to claim that the people, places, and events of the Bible were not accurate. So then God set the greatest archaeologists of our time to work.

Nelson Glueck the renowned Jewish archaeologist stated,  

It may be categorically stated that no archaeological discovery has ever contradicted a single biblical reference.

William F. Albright, known for his reputation as one of the greatest archaeologists of all time states, 

There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial history of the Old Testament. 

Albright also stated,

The excessive scepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, certain phases of which still appear periodically, have been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery have established the accuracy of innumerable details, and have brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible.

Merrill Unger states,

Old Testament archaeology has rediscovered whole nations, resurrected important peoples, and in a most astonishing manner filled in historical gaps, adding immeasurably to the knowledge of biblical backgrounds. 

During the excavations of Jericho archaeologist John Garstang was so astonished at what he and his team had found, that he thought it of the utmost importance that a statement of what he and his team had found should be written down and signed by them so that there would be three independent witnesses of the startling discovery that they had made. In reference to these findings John Garstang stated,

As to the main fact: then, there remains no doubt: the walls fell outwards so completely that the attackers were able to clamber up and over their ruins into the city. Why so unusual? Because the walls of cities do not fall outwards, they fall inwards. And yet in the book of Joshua Ch 6:20 we read”

So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:20.

So archaeology proves beyond any doubt that the biblical account of how the city of Jericho was taken is one hundred percent correct. In light of all the evidence that we have, the question must be asked. Can there be even be the tiniest, or the remotest possibility that the Bible is not the true and perfect word of God? The answer of course is absolutely not, there can be no doubt that the Bible is the true and perfect word of God.

The next proof that we are going to look at is prophecy, beyond doubt prophecy is the most compelling proof that the Bible is the true and perfect word of God. So, what is prophesy?  Prophecy is the foretelling of future events by the direct inspiration from God. A true prophecy can come only from God, and a true prophecy is always fulfilled exactly as it is given. Not nearly, not almost, but exactly, and is the highest proof of the divine origin of the Bible. There are 1,239 prophecies in the Old Testament and 578 prophecies in the New Testament which is a total of 1,817 prophecies in the whole Bible. Now I am sure you will agree that is a very impressive number of prophecies, and what is even more impressive is that most of the 1,817 prophecies that are in the Bible have been fulfilled, not nearly, not almost, but exactly as they were given, down to the smallest detail. 

The following Scriptures are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then I said, "Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. Psalms 40:7.

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:27.

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the  Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. Luke 24:44. 

For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words. John 5:46 -47. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. Acts 10:43.     

Genesis 3:15 is the first reference to the Lord Jesus Christ in Scripture, so it is of vital importance to understand this Scripture correctly. 

And I will put enmity {Hostility or Conflict} Between you {Satan} and the woman, And between your {Satan's} seed and her Seed {Jesus}; He {Jesus} shall bruise your head, And you {Satan} shall bruise His {Jesus} heel. Genesis 3:15. 

This Scripture has three major points that must be clearly understood.

Firstly, the enmity or the conflict between Satan's seed and the woman's seed, is the spiritual conflict between the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and the followers of Satan. Believers and unbelievers. 

Secondly, He {Jesus} shall bruise your head. This is a death blow that the Lord Jesus Christ delivers to Satan. This is a prophecy that will be fulfilled at the final judgement when Satan and his followers will be cast into Hell, there to suffer the torments and suffering's of Hell for all eternity.

Thirdly, And you {Satan} shall bruise His {Jesus} heel. This is a prophecy that would take place four thousand years in the future in the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is described as a bruise to the heel of the Lord Jesus Christ, because death could not hold Him. The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and was victorious over death, and in so doing won the victory for all who would believe in Him. That victory is eternal life in the presence and kingdom of God.

The are approximately 365 prophecies which were fulfilled in the life of, and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The list that follows contains just 43 of those fulfilled prophecies which were fulfilled in the person of, and the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, so please study it carefully.      

 

Prophecies About Jesus.   

1. Messiah would be born of a woman. 

2. Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.                                         

3. Messiah would be born of a virgin.   

4. Messiah would come from the line of Abraham.                             

5. Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac.                                     

6. Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob.                                 

7. Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah.                                 

8. Messiah would be heir to King David's throne.                   

9. Messiahs throne will be anointed and eternal.                         

10. Messiah would be called Immanuel.                             

11. Messiah would spend a season in Egypt.                     

12. A massacre of children would happen at Messiahs  birthplace.

13. A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah. 

14. Messiah would be rejected by his own people. 

15. Messiah would be a prophet.

16. Messiah would be preceded by Elijah. 

17. Messiah would be declared the Son of God. 

18. Messiah would bring light to Galilee.                     

19. Messiah would speak in parables.

20. Messiah would be sent to heal the broken hearted.

21. Messiah a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

22. Messiah would be called King.

23. Messiah would be praised by little children. 

24. Messiah would be betrayed.

25. Messiahs price money would be used to buy a potter's field.

26. Messiah would be falsely accused.

27. Messiah would be silent before his accusers.

28. Messiah would be spat upon and struck.

29. Messiah would be hated without cause.                                 

30. Messiah would be Crucified with criminals. 

31. Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. 

32. Messiahs hands and feet would be pierced. 

33. Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed. 

34. Soldiers would gamble for Messiahs garments.

35. Messiahs bones would not be broken.

36. Messiah would be forsaken by God.

37. Messiah would pray for his enemies. 

38. Soldiers would pierce Messiahs side. 

39. Messiah would be buried with the rich.  

40. Messiah would resurrected from the dead. 

41. Messiah would ascend to heaven. 

42. Messiah would be seated at God's right hand. 

43. Messiah would be a Sacrifice for sin.     

All 43 prophecies can be found in 

the following Old Testament 

Scriptures.     

1.Genesis 3:15. 

2. Micah 5:2. 

3. Isaiah 7:14.

4. Genesis 12:1-3. Genesis 22:1-19. 

5. Genesis 17:19. Genesis 21:12.

6. Numbers 24:16-17. 

7. Genesis 49:10.                                 

8.  2 Samuel 7:10-17. Isaiah 9:1-7.

9. Psalm 45:1-7. Daniel 2:44. 

10. Isaiah 7:14. 

11. Hosea11:1. 

12. Jeremiah 31:15. 

13. Isaiah 40:3-5. Malachi 3:1. 

14. Psalm 69:8. Isaiah 53:1-12. 

15. Deuteronomy 18:15-20. 

16. Malachi 4:5-6. 

17. Psalm 2:7. 

18. Isaiah 9:1-2. 

19. Isaiah 6:9-10. 

20. Isaiah 61:1-2. 

21. Psalm 110:4. 

22. Psalm 2:6. Zechariah 9:9. 

23. Psalm 8:2. 

24. Psalm 41:9. 

25. Zechariah 11:12-13.

26. Psalm 35:11.

27. Isaiah 53:7. 

28. Isaiah 50:6. 

29. Psalm 35:19. Psalm 69:4.

30. Isaiah 53:12.

31. Psalm 69:21.

32. Psalm22:16. Zechariah12:10. 

33. Psalm 22:7-8. 

34. Psalm 22:18.

35. Psalm 34:20. 

36. Psalm 22:1. 

37. Psalm 109:4. 

38. Zechariah 12:10. 

39. Isaiah 53:9.           

40. Psalm 16:9-11. Psalm 49:15. 

41. Psalm 24:1-10. 

42. Psalm 110:1.

43. Isaiah 53:5-12.