March 26, 2017 - How do you know the Bible is not made up?

March 26, 2017

How do you know the Bible is not made up?

This is a question I have heard before, and I confess, it can be difficult to answer.  I recently read an article by Tim Chaffey on the Answers in Genesis website, answersingenesis.org.  What I am writing below is completely the idea of Tim Chaffey, with my paraphrase and a bit, here and there added.

First, the Bible is unique in its contents.  Forty different writers wrote the Bible, spanning a period of 1,500 years, and on three continents.  Unlike other religions, the Bible shows the mistakes of its heroes.  Adam was the first sinner.  Moses committed murder.  David was not only an adulterer, but he covered up his sin with murder and lies.  Other religions make their heroes to be super human, perfect human beings.  The Bible shows a clear purpose.  It shows that all men are sinners and incapable of doing something to appease God.  The other works of other religions, show the things man must do to please God.  The Bible shows what God did to solve our problem; he sent Jesus to take our punishment.

Second, the Bible is confirmed by archaeology.  To date, not one archaeological find has contradicted what is written in the Bible.  Here are just a few recent finds:

·       The Tel Dan Stele found in Israel is dated to the 9^th century BC.  It mentions the “House of David,” proving David was not a mythological person.

·       The Mesha Stele mentions Moab’s subjection under Omri, the King of Israel.  It also references Yahweh, the name of the God of Israel, and possibly the House of David.  The last part is debated because of unreadable letters.

·       The name of Pilate, Prefect of Judea, has been found governing Judea at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.  He is not a made-up person, as some have believed.

Nelson Glueck, of the Hebrew Union College, says that the accuracy of the scriptures has led to the discovery of 1,500 archaeological sites that “confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible.”  Archaeologist Dr. William F. Albright further adds that “the narratives of the Patriarchs, of Moses and the Exodus, of the Conquest of Canaan, of the Judges, of the Monarchy, Exile, and Restoration, have all been confirmed” through archaeology.

Recent archaeological evidence has confirmed the book of Acts to an amazing degree.  There are dozens of terms and places in the book of Acts, written by Luke, that are not evident in other works during the period of the Roman Empire, but archaeology has confirmed them.  For example:

·       The existence of Amphipolis and Apollonia – Acts 17:1

·       A synagogue in Thessalonica – Acts 17:1

·       The title “politarch” used in Thessalonica – Acts 17:6

·       Sea travel the best means of getting from Thessalonica to Athens in the summer – Acts 17:14

·       Abundant presence of images in Athens – Acts 17:6

·       A synagogue in Athens – Acts 17:17

·       Philosophical debate in the agora – Acts 17:17

·       The term “spermologos,” translated as “babbler” in the NIV.  This was a term unique to Athens at the time – Acts 17:18

·       The characterization of what Athenians spent their day doing – Acts 17:21

·       An altar to an unknown god – Acts 17:23

·       The reaction of the Greeks to the idea of resurrection of the body – Acts 17:23

And all of that is just in one chapter of Acts!  I have read from other sources dozens more.  Luke knew the places he was writing about.  He had been there and he saw it.  Acts is one of the most archaeologically confirmed manuscripts of the ancient world, if not the most confirmed!  That is just Acts.  The list goes on and on for other books of the Bible.

Don’t other major religions have similar sets of archaeological evidence?  The Mormon religion is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today.  Yet in the Book of Mormon, it says that the Native Americans are Jews who fled from Jerusalem.  DNA studies have proven this to be completely false.  The book also says that the early Native Americans rode horses and elephants and wielded scimitars.  That is uncorroborated by archaeology.

I decided to do a little research while writing on this about the historical evidence of Buddha and Muhammed.  For both of these founders of their respective religions, the only historical evidence that they ever existed is from the holy books of their religions.  There is not one other piece of archaeological evidence that either man existed.  Kind of shaky ground if you ask me.

Third, is God’s challenge to other gods.  Wait, you might be asking, did God challenge other gods?  Yes, He did!  It is found in Isaiah 41:21-23:

“Present your case, says the Lord.  “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.  “Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen.  Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome.  Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods.”

It is amazing, but not one of the founders of other religions made predictions of the future.  If they have, their predictions did not come true.  Nostradamus and Cayce do not meet the biblical standard of 100% accuracy (Deuteronomy 18:22).  The Bible does!

In the Sunday school class I used to teach at Bristol Baptist Church, we studied the End Times for about a year.  One of the first lessons we had was the accuracy of biblical prophecy, so we would not doubt that the future prophesies would also be accurate.  We listed 40 prophecies about Jesus and where they are fulfilled in the New Testament (I actually whittled that 40 down from about 75 so we could fit it into one lesson.  That lesson took us about 4 Sundays to complete).  Here are just 5:

·       Isaiah 7:14 prophesies Christ would be born of a virgin and that is confirmed in Matthew 1:25.

·       Micah 5:2 prophesies that Christ would be born in Bethlehem and is confirmed in Matthew 2:1 and 6.

·       Zechariah 11:12 says Christ would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.  In Matthew 26:15 and 49 we see that he was.

·       Psalm 22:18 predicts that Christ’s clothes would be divided at the Cross.  In John 19:24 we see that it happened.

·       Psalm 16:10 prophesies that Jesus would rise from the dead and it happened according to Luke 24:6.

Some have claimed that Jesus set out to fulfill these prophecies during his lifetime, but how could he plan where he was born?  Others counter that they were written after the fact, but archaeology refutes that.  All the prophecies of Jesus were written at least 400 years before his birth; some might dispute the date of these writings, but all are confirmed to have been written long before his birth.  All the books of prophecy are contained in the Septuagint, which was translated from Hebrew to Greek and completed in 132 BC.   

In conclusion, based on its unique content, its archaeologically proven historicity, and its proof through prophecy, the Bible is not made up.  If the things that the Bible says are true, based on the above proof, might its message of salvation also be true?  I say that it is. 

Beginning in the summer, I am going to write a series of blogs on this in more depth.  I am a firm believer that God is real and has proven so throughout history. 

“3 Evidences That Confirm the Bible is Not Made up,” by Tim Chaffey, Answers in Genesis, www.answersingenesis.org, February 22, 2017.