Seven Compelling Evidences Confirm The Bible Is True
Seven Compelling Evidences Confirm the Bible Is True
With all the knowledge and resources readily available today, God's children have no excuse for not being prepared to "Give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15).
First and foremost, we can know what the Bible says about itself ("internal evidences"), and then we can learn the most compelling corroborating evidences that confirm its claims ("external evidences").
1. God's Character
If we turn to the Bible as our highest authority in every area (including how we defend the Bible itself!), we will discover that we can appeal to no greater authority than God Himself. If we had to appeal to another authority to prove what God said, then God wouldn't be our ultimate authority.
How can we help people believe that the Bible is true? The answer may be surprising to many. It is not by scientific, archaeological, or historical evidences, important though these may be in their proper place. It is not even by fulfilled prophecy! It is by sharing with others-based on our own knowledge of Scripture-the matchless character of the God who ultimately wrote the Bible.
Peter, the chief of the apostles, put it this way: "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts . . . [and by this means you will] always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience" 1 Peter 3:15ÔÇô16
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. ("Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts) And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way.[a] Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.To "sanctify the Lord God," as the nation of Israel had been taught for centuries, was to set Him apart from all other "gods." It meant to honor Him supremely, to think and act in the light of His glory. This is profoundly significant in providing an effective witness. After all, none of us can pressure or manipulate a human heart to believe in the God of the Bible.
Only the Holy Spirit can convict sinners and change hearts
John 16:8
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
Jeremiah 17:9ÔÇô10
9 "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives.I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve."
We "sanctify" God by relying on His own Word and His Spirit to convince people about His unsurpassable qualities, including His holiness, wisdom, love, and truthfulness.
By This Shall All Men Know . . .
What does this have to do with knowing that the Bible is true?
Our main role is to honor the Author of the Bible by our own lives and words. You may not have heard of this as "evidence" before, but it is extremely important for Christians to realize. Through our Bible-enriched words and our changed lives, we give evidence of the truth of the One who inspired the Bible and says it is "alive and powerful" Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
. If our individual lives do not exhibit Jesus' transforming power, why should anyone believe that His words had the power to create the universe?
Not just God's truthfulness but the whole range of His qualities convinces sinners about the truth of His Word. In fact, one of the most profound character traits of the Author of the Bible-love-is critical when we can testify about Him.
God's unique self-sacrificial love (agape in the original Greek) is unlike any love we experience in normal life. This love comes from God, and He wants sinners to see it in His followers, as part of our effective witness.
1 John 4:7ÔÇô8
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
WHENEVER GOD'S LOVE IS REFLECTED THROUGH A BELIEVER'S LIFE AND WORDS, UNBELIEVERS WILL RECOGNIZE SOMETHING GENUINELY DIVINE.
They will sense that the God of Scripture is real, and they will be convicted about the truth and power of His Word. Here is the way our Lord explained it: John 13:34ÔÇô35
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
How does this work in practice? When unsaved people living in spiritual darkness observe God's special self-sacrificial love at work, they will be deeply affected by seeing something they have never experienced.
A powerful example is a loving relationship between a Christian man and his wife, and between Christian parents and their children.
Another example is the deep love displayed within a local church
Ephesians 4:15ÔÇô16
15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
This love cannot be explained or experienced apart from the true and living God, who created every human being with a mind, a soul, and a conscience that can know Him and see Him in His Word.
God's love compels us to go out and share the truth about salvation
2 Corinthians 5:14
14 Either way, Christ's love controls us.( Or urges us on.) Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.
( Greek Since one died for all, then all died.)
As we "sanctify the Lord in our hearts," the Holy Spirit will then use our lives and words-spoken "with meekness and fear"-to convince sinners about the truth of His Word.
The bottom line:
God Himself vindicates His Word as people see Him honored in His Word and in the lives of His children.
2. Claims of Divine Authorship
Not just the Bible's authors but Jesus Christ Himself claimed that the Bible was God's Word.
Jesus tied His own life and reputation to that claim. So either He is God and His Word is flawless or both Christ and His Word are false.
Over 3,000 times, in some form or another, the Bible's authors claimed to be speaking for God.
With phrases like "the word of God" and the "word of the Lord" they indicated that they believed their words were of divine origin.
The Bible claims to be God's Word and absolutely true, like its divine author.
Numbers 23:19
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind.Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
This claim forces every human on the planet to make a choice.
There is no neutral ground. Will people believe God's words or reject them?
If we faithfully share the claims of His Word, the Holy Spirit will use His Word to convict the world of sin and rebellion against God
John 16:8
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
God knew that false prophets would also claim to speak for Him, so He placed a death penalty if their words did not come true
Deuteronomy 13:5
5 The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the Lord your God, who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. Since they try to lead you astray from the way the Lord your God commanded you to live, you must put them to death. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.
For a prophet to stand up and claim that he was delivering a message from the Lord was foolish unless he was convinced that what he spoke was truly from God.
Yet we find over and over the authors of Scripture claiming that their words were of divine origin.
David, for example, said,
2 Samuel 23:2
2 "The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue.
The Bible's forty authors were of proven sincerity and sanity. And they were willing to go to their deaths if their words proved to be false.
We also find many authors of Scripture verifying each other's writings as God's Word.
Shortly after Jeremiah wrote his book, for example, Daniel recognized what Jeremiah wrote was the "word of the Lord"
Daniel 9:2
2 During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.( Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.)
Later in the New Testament, the apostle Paul quoted the Gospel of Luke as "Scripture," on par with the inspired writings of Moses
1 Timothy 5:18
18 For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain." And in another place, "Those who work deserve their pay!"
citing both
Deuteronomy 25:4
4 "You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.
and
Luke 10:7
7 Don't move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
The apostle Peter claimed inspiration for the entire Old Testament
2 Peter 1:21
21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
He also equated Paul's epistles with "other parts of Scripture."
2 Peter 3:16ÔÇô17
16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.Peter's Final Words17 You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.
The most powerful evidence of the Bible being divinely given comes from Jesus Christ's own life and statements about the Bible.
Referring to King David in
Mark 12:36, for example, Jesus said,
36 For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said,'The Lord said to my Lord,Sit in the place of honour at my right handuntil I humble your enemies beneath your feet.'and then Jesus quotedPsalm 110:1A psalm of David.1 The Lord said to my Lord,"Sit in the place of honor at my right handuntil I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet."
Christ quoted the Old Testament repeatedly, including its accounts of dozens of miracles and historical events.
He considered all its history to be true, including:
NoahLuke 17:27
27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Moses
John 5:46
46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.
Jonah
Matthew 12:40
40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
and all the other prophets from Abel to Zechariah
Luke 11:49ÔÇô51
49 This is what God in his wisdom said about you:[a] 'I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.'50 "As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God's prophets from the creation of the world- 51 from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.
When He spoke of the Scriptures being true "to the smallest detail"
Matthew 5:18
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
Jesus put His person and character on the line.
In fact, Jesus said that all He did was done to fulfill the Scriptures. He lived and died by them, as the perfect expression of His Father's will.
Matthew 4:4
4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'(Deut 8:3.)
We think of the Gospels as a record of what Jesus did and said, but from Jesus' view His life and ministry fulfilled what the Scriptures said!
There can be no stronger statement than for Jesus to claim that the Bible was God-inspired.
Claiming to be God Himself, He said the Scriptures were given to show and verify who He is.
The Bible thus confirms Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ confirms the Bible. You can appeal to no higher authority than Him.
The authors of the Holy Bible claim it is from a holy God; so we can-we must-trust that it is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true (Psalm 19).
Its origin is divine.
Jesus Submitted to the Bible's Authority
Jesus Christ not only believed the Bible, He lived His entire life- and went to the Cross-in obedience to it.
He said,
Matthew 5:17
17 "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
Jesus obeyed the Bible, not as the fallible word and will of man but as the word-and express will-of God His Father
John 5:30
30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
He relied on the Bible (and no other book) as His authority for life.
When Satan tempted Christ to act contrary to God's Word, He rebuked Satan and exalted the Scriptures as God's words:
Matthew 4:4
4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'(Deut 8:3.)Here are four other key statements that Christ made about the Scriptures and the folly of not believing all it says:"God's word is truth"John 17:1717 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. "The scripture cannot be broken" John 10:3535 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God's message were called 'gods,'
"God's law can not be overturned"Luke 16:1717 But that doesn't mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God's law to be overturned.
"You are foolish if you don't believe"
Luke 24:25
25 Then Jesus said to them, "You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.
If Christ submitted to Scripture and lived His life under its authority, then we are faced with a stark choice. Either we believe Christ and embrace the entire Bible as our own absolute authority, or we reject both Christ and the Bible as imposters. The authority of one is inextricably bound up with the other.
So Christ's claims about the Scripture are the most potent evidence of its truth. A denial of the Bible is a direct challenge to His integrity and truthfulness.
3. Unity of the Bible
The Bible is unlike any other religious book. Despite forty authors writing from three continents over nearly two thousand years, it maintains a perfect consistency of message.
Its words point accurately to Christ, whose work on the cross was ordained by God-the true author of the Bible-before the world began.
Among all the books ever written, the Bible is absolutely unique.
Actually, it is not just a book-it's 66 books. And one of its most remarkable qualities is the complete unity of the overall message despite having so many different authors writing over many centuries on hundreds of controversial subjects.
Natural explanations fail to account for the supernatural character and origin of Scripture.
The Bible was written over a period of roughly 2,000 years by 40 different authors from three continents, who wrote in three different languages.
These facts alone make the Bible one of a kind, but there are many more amazing details that defy natural explanation.
Shepherds, kings, scholars, fishermen, prophets, a military general, a cupbearer, and a priest all penned portions of Scripture.
They had different immediate purposes for writing, whether recording history, giving spiritual and moral instruction, or pronouncing judgment.
They composed their works from palaces, prisons, the wilderness, and places of exile while writing history, laws, poetry, prophecy, and proverbs.
In the process they laid bare their personal emotions, expressing anger, frustration, joy, and love.
Yet despite this marvelous array of topics and goals, the Bible displays a flawless internal consistency.
It never contradicts itself or its common theme.
From Genesis to Revelation, we see man's repeated rebellion against his holy Creator.
God made a perfect world, but mankind has continually rejected His authority and sought to decide truth for himself.
Nevertheless, God promised to extend His love, grace, and mercy to unworthy people who deserved to be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.
Early in Genesis after Adam and Eve sinned, God made known His plan of redemption, which He repeatedly promised and expanded upon throughout the Old Testament.
The promises were fulfilled in a surprising but predicted wayby the Savior's sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection, as recorded in the New Testament.
The Bible then announced the future culmination of the Savior's redemptive work in Revelation.
Both the Bible and history weave together in seamless harmony, as though the Creator ordained this plan and recorded it in Scripture even before it unfolded in history.
And that's exactly what the Bible claims took place! God says that He alone can declare the future
Isaiah 42:9
9 Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again.I will tell you the future before it happens."
and hundreds of His prophetic predictions have been fulfilled with absolute precision, while others await fulfillment.
The unity of Scripture demonstrates its supernatural inspiration.
Only the one true, holy God could provide us with such a flawless Bible that reveals such a matchless message: the Lord's staggering love for His creation.
66 Books . . . 1 Message
Despite writing in radically different times and contexts, the Bible's many authors all told the same message about God's eternal plan, from Creation and the Flood to Christ's work on the Cross and the consummation of God's plan. You can find the same truths stated by Moses and the Old Testament prophets, Christ Himself, and Christ's apostles.
The First Creation
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." -Moses
"By God were all things made." -the apostle John
"At the beginning God made them male and female." -Jesus Christ
Noah's Flood
"Noah went into the ark, and the waters increased greatly, and all flesh died that moved upon the earth." -Moses
"The world that was then, being overflowed with water, perished." -the apostle Peter
"Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and took them all away." -Jesus Christ
Resurrection of Christ
"You will not leave my soul in the grave; neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption." -King David
"Christ was buried and rose again the third day." -the apostle Paul
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." -Jesus Christ
The New Creation
"I will make a new heavens and a new earth, says the Lord." -the prophet Isaiah
"I saw a new heaven and a new earth." -the apostle John
"I go to prepare a place for you." -Jesus Christ
4. Fulfilled Prophecy
Among the many amazing evidences that confirm the Bible's divine origin, surely the wealth of fulfilled prophecies is near the top. Just a few examples should suffice to dumbfound all but the most hardened critics.
Accurate predictions of future events that have virtually no probability of occurring by coincidence are spectacular, precisely because they seem so superhuman. Popular prognosticators (to predict or foretell future events like) Nostradamus have entertained generations with their elaborate fortune-telling, despite their pitiful track records of inaccuracy.
But biblical prophecy is different from all other predictions.
WITH INCREDIBLE DETAIL, FORTHRIGHT CLARITY, AND WITH IMPECCABLE ACCURACY, THE BIBLE HAS CONSISTENTLY UNVEILED THE FUTURE FOR CENTURIES.
Critics of the Bible, for instance, have squirmed over the prophetic insights of Daniel, the sixth-century BC Jewish prophet in Babylon.
With eye-opening precision, Daniel interpreted two sets of dreams, one by a pagan ruler (chapter 2) and the other by the prophet himself (chapter 7), thereby forecasting the entire course of Middle East history over the next five centuries.
Daniel describes the exact ebb and flow of four empires from Babylon to Medo-Persia to Greece to Rome. He even foresaw the meteoric rise to power of the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great, as well as the final division of his Greek empire by four of his surviving generals (Daniel 7:6, 8:5ÔÇô8, 11:2ÔÇô4).
Desperate to counter the implications of this prophetic phenomenon, nineteenth-century skeptics concocted dating schemes that placed the time of Daniel's writing after the events.
Careful research by modern textual scholars, however, has validated the early origin of this prophecy, establishing Daniel as the authentic author.
Daniel's prophecy is a genuine "Wow," which clearly gives evidence of the Bible's divine nature.(Josh McDowell, Daniel in the Critics' Den (Orlando, Florida: Here's Life Publishers, Campus Crusade for Christ, 1979)
Historical Prophecies
Yet the Bible is filled with other amazing, supernatural predictions, just like Daniel's, that can be verified by historical records. Historical prophecies that spoke about the future at the time of writing but later came true are particularly effective as an evidence of Scripture's trustworthiness.
Messianic Prophecies
Just as effective are Messianic prophecies that were validated in the New Testament. Even though the fulfillment of these predictions hundreds of years later is documented within the Bible itself rather than secular history, the impact is still impressive.
Sharing details about any one example should suffice to make your point. Consider Micah, the seventh-century BC prophet who foretold that Christ would be born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2
2 [a]But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah.Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past,will come from you on my behalf.
Christ's parents, Mary and Joseph, lived in Nazareth, which was nowhere near Bethlehem.
So God used a Roman census for taxation to send Jesus' earthly parents south on a difficult journey to the little town of His birth.
Yet Micah accurately predicted this event over six hundred years before it occurred.
Jesus could not have manipulated these events, nor could Luke, the historian who recorded its fulfillment. More than sixty fulfilled Messianic prophecies like this validate the Bible as the Word of God.
As you familiarize yourself with these categories of amazing biblical predictions, you will certainly be equipped to give amazing evidences that the Bible is God's impeccable truth for mankind.
Perhaps it will even add to your own excitement about your faith.
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The Old Testament is filled with dozens of specific messianic prophecies that were miraculously fulfilled. Every believer should memorize the most obvious and memorable of these prophecies.
They include specific PROPHECIES ABOUT HIS LIFE:
Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18),
Born in the small town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1),
Healer of the blind and needy (Isaiah 35:5ÔÇô6; Matthew 11:5).
PROPHECIES ABOUT HIS SACRIFICIAL DEATH: Beaten and spat upon (Isaiah 50:6; Mark 14:65),
crucified with sinners (Isaiah 53:12; Mark 14:65),
buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57ÔÇô60).
PROPHECIES ABOUT HIS VICTORY OVER DEATH: His resurrection from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Mark 16:6),
His ascension into heaven (Psalm 68:18; Mark 16:19),
His exaltation at God's right hand (Psalm 110:1; 1 Peter 3:22).
Answers' apologetics toolkit has provided you with a handy reference chart, free to download, showing the key "."
5. Scientific Accuracy
The Bible is clearly unlike any other document in history. Every claim it makes about science is not only true but crucial for filling in the blanks of our understanding about the origin of the universe, the earth, fossils, life, and human beings.
The more we study and learn about the world, the more we come to appreciate the Bible's flawless, supernatural character.
The Bible never claims to be a science textbook.
Nevertheless, the Bible claims to be "true from the beginning"
Psalm 119:160
160 The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.
so every specific reference about science must be accurate.
Indeed, this is one way the Bible's authenticity can be tested. Christ Himself, the Word of God who is the author of all Scripture, asserted that we should be able to believe everything He says about earthly things
John 3:12
12 But if you don't believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
Over the centuries the Bible has been rigorously tested for scientific accuracy, and it has never failed. Not only is God's Word always true; it has proven to be the key to understanding God's world today!
Scientists have run into all sorts of interesting questions about the physical and biological processes that produced the world we see today, but they are limited to observing, testing, and experimenting with present processes and creatures.
They can only guess about the past based on fragmentary evidence and biased assumptions, which they cannot scientifically prove or disprove because they were not present to observe what happened in the distant past.
In other words, they must rely on their preconceived beliefs about the past. Science is a useful tool but limited because humans are fallible and limited observers.
On the other hand, God, our eternal Creator who has all knowledge, was present when He created the universe. He has revealed to us in an eyewitness account, the Bible, what happened in the past to produce what we see in the world today.
The Bible explains when God intervened supernaturally at key points in history in ways that affect what astronomers, geologists, biologists, and anthropologists study.
Without this record, we would be in the dark about these events, but with it we can understand the world we see today. ( "Planet Earth" issue, OctoberÔÇôDecember 2008).
For example:
ASTRONOMY: The Bible claims the universe had a beginning. Philosophers and scientists rejected that claim for over two thousand years, but now astronomers believe the universe had a beginning, the so-called big bang (though with a very different time frame).
ANTHROPOLOGY: The Bible claims that all humans are "one blood" descended from one man and one woman
Acts 17:26
26 From one man[a] he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
1 Corinthians 15:45
45 The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person."[a] But the last Adam-that is, Christ-is a life-giving Spirit.
Genesis 3:20Paradise Lost: God's Judgment
20 Then the man-Adam-named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.(Eve sounds like a Hebrew term that means "to give life.")
Some nineteenth-century biologists argued that different races descended from lower animals, but today genetics has verified that there is only one human race.
BIOLOGY: The Bible claims that God created animals "after their kind." Nineteenth-century biologists argued that animals evolved from other, very different animals, but today biology confirms that creatures reproduce within their own kind.
GEOLOGY: The Bible claims that God destroyed the earth and the creatures inhabiting it in the worldwide Flood.
Nineteenth-century geologists argued that rock layers and the fossils found in them were formed as sediments were deposited slowly, but today geology confirms that many rock layers were deposited catastrophically, burying fossils within only minutes or hours.
So if the Bible wins hands down in every earthly thing we can test, why don't people trust what it says? The issue is not the truth of Scripture, but vain reasoning and "willful ignorance"
Romans 1:21
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
2 Peter 3:5
5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.
Science in the Bible
The Bible offers many specific examples of amazingly accurate science, and science has uncovered many amazing evidences that the universe and earth are young, as the Bible describes.
Astronomy
Stars are innumerable (Genesis 22:17; Jeremiah 33:22)
Stars differ in glory (1 Corinthians 15:41)
Stars follow a predictable pattern (Jeremiah 31:35)
Earth is round, not flat (Isaiah 40:22; Psalm 103:12)
Earth hangs on nothing (not built on pillars) (Job 26:7)
Scientific evidence of a young universe:1) Spiral galaxies2) "Missing" supernova remnants3) Short-lived comets 4) Moon moving away from Earth
Geology
Water cycle (Ecclesiastes 1:7; Isaiah 55:10)
Sea currents (Psalm 8:8)
"Fountains of the deep broken up" (Genesis 7:11)
Scientific evidence of a young earth:1) Continents erode too fast2) Too much mud on the sea floor3) Too much sodium in the ocean4) Too rapid decay of earth's magnetic field
Biology
Blood circulation (Leviticus 17:11)
Scientific evidence of a recent creation:1) DNA programming for irreducibly complex protein sequences2) Lack of missing links in the fossil record3) Dinosaur blood vessels in fossils
6. Archaeological Finds
Archaeologists once boasted that the Bible was full of errors because no independent, historic evidence had been found to confirm the Bible's claims. But a slew of astounding discoveries has put a damper on their boasting.
Archaeology provides us with fascinating and amazing affirmations of Scripture's accuracy and trustworthiness. Indeed, it is one of the most effective ways to open a conversation with your friends about the Bible.
After two hundred years of archaeological excavation and discovery, we have a powerful arsenal of important finds that will leave the most adamant sceptics of the Bible pondering!
As you talk to people about these discoveries, help them to clear away their doubts and the lies they have heard-and maybe even come to believe-about the Bible.
Here are a series of astounding discoveries that can be shared with those who question the Bible's reliability.
This list covers approximately one thousand years of biblical history from the time of King David down to the time of Jesus. As we read this list, note how the accounts of so many key events and people of the Bible are confirmed by these amazing archaeological finds. It would be well worth to study and memorize these important findings.
The Tel Dan Stele (900ÔÇô850 BC)
A stele is an upright stone that is inscribed and used as a monument of an important event or achievement. Rulers and peoples from Egypt, Israel, and across Mesopotamia used these steles to commemorate great victories and accomplishments.
This particular stele is extraordinary because carved on its stone face is the expression, "House of David." This stele affirms that the United Monarchy under King David existed in history and flatly contradicts the long-held opinions of sceptics who denied that David ever existed.
Ôö¼┬«2011 Zev Radovan, www.BibleLandPictures.comThe Meesha Stele (846 BC)
Popularly known as the Moabite Stone, it records the revolt of Meesha, King of Moab, against Israel.
This incredible stele mentions Omri, King of Israel, and David of the United Monarchy. It even refers to Yahweh, the unique name of the God of Israel! Together with the testimony from the Tel Dan Stele, we have a powerful external witness that the Bible records the true history of the kings of Israel and their interactions with foreign kings.
BiblePlaces.com/MusÔö£┬«e du Louvre, Paris, FranceTheNabonidus Cylinder (550 BC)
King Nabonidus of Babylonia left a magnificent cuneiform cylinder (wedge-shaped letters inscribed on a clay cylinder) mentioning his elder son, Belshazzar by name. Critics of the Bible had claimed for many years that the account in the book of Daniel was wrong; they said Belshazzar was never a king in Babylon and that Nabonidus was not his father. The discovery of this cylinder clearly showed that these scholars were dead wrong. Indeed, we can now understand the meaning of Daniel 5:16 more precisely where it says, "16 I am told that you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read these words and tell me their meaning, you will be clothed in purple robes of royal honour, and you will have a gold chain placed around your neck. You will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom." (italics added for emphasis).
This text now makes perfect sense because Nabonidus was in a co regency with his son Belshazzar, who was the crown prince of Babylon.
So that would make Daniel the "third ruler in the kingdom."
Ôö¼┬«2011 The British Museum
Caiaphas Ossuary
An ossuary was a box constructed to hold the bones of the dead after decomposition. In 1990 a startling discovery was made that shook biblical scholars and archaeologists alike. In the Peace Forest section of Jerusalem was discovered a burial cave containing twelve ossuaries, one of them being none other than that of Caiaphas, the high priest who presided at the trial of Jesus. This amazing discovery provides us with a powerful historical connection to the events described in the Gospels.
Ôö¼┬«2011 Zev Radovan, www.BibleLandPictures.com
Pilate Dedication Stone
In June 1961 an inscription on a limestone block, found at a Roman amphitheatre in Caesarea Maritima, rocked the scholarly world. The block, which was once used as a dedication stone of a nearby temple and now reused for seating at the local amphitheater, had an extraordinary inscription. It read: "Tiberieum, (Pon)tius Pilatus, (Praef)ectusIuda(eae)." Those scholars who questioned Pilate's existence (and the gospel accounts generally) were silenced with this amazing discovery!
Ôö¼┬«2011 Zev Radovan, www.BibleLandPictures.com
Many more archaeological discoveries wait to be uncovered.If someone raises a question about some biblical claim that has not been independently verified, these examples show that "silence" is not evidence against Scripture.
Archaeology is a powerful tool in contending for the Word of God and the faith that has been entrusted to us!
7. Life-Changing Power
Even if you don't yet know any other compelling evidences that the Bible is true, you should know the experience of your own life. Like the blind man who received his sight from Jesus and was then interrogated by the Pharisees, you can say, John 9:2525 "I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!"
Someone has well said that the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. That common saying illustrates one of Scripture's most profound truths: its power to transform the lives of those who trust in Christ as Saviour.
Everyone can experience that power personally, and then share his or her experience with others.
The apostle Paul stated this remarkable truth when he wrote that if any person is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away and all things have become new 2 Corinthians 5:1717 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!Previously he himself had been a blasphemer and persecutor, but the grace of God had so changed his life that he became a minister of Jesus Christ, preaching the very truths that before he had sought to destroy 1 Timothy 1:12ÔÇô1512 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"-and I am the worst of them all.
The change in our own hearts is one of the most compelling evidences we can give of the Bible's truth. Sharing true stories of transformed lives has been a church staple since Christ sent the demoniac of Gadara back home to "tell what great things God has done for you" Luke 8:3939 "No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you." So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
History is full of memorable conversion stories, and it would be good to learn a few of them, along with some powerful modern testimonies. One of my own personal favourites is John Bunyan, the seventeenth-century Baptist preacher and author of the bestseller The Pilgrim's Progress.His autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners has been called one of the greatest autobiographies ever written.
Grace Abounding is Bunyan's personal testimony. His unfailing honesty grips the reader as he describes his life before conversion. Bunyan is unsparing on himself, writing that he was such a horrid blasphemer that even notoriously wicked people were fearful to associate with him. He recalls his wretched terror while ringing the church bell fearing that it would fall and crush him because of his wickedness.
However, the title of the book relates its message. While Bunyan's sin was great, God's grace in Christ was greater. Although we must examine the details to grasp fully the transforming power of God's grace in any person's life, a brief illustration or two often suffices to make the point.In a moving paragraph, we encounter these arresting words from one who previously had been a blasphemer against Christ: "And now I found . . . that I loved Christ dearly: O! Methought my soul cleaved unto Him, my affections cleaved unto Him; I felt love to Him as hot as fire."Or the following: "Those scriptures that I saw nothing in before . . . shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never more real . . . than now; here I have seen and felt Him indeed."Not only did God transform the life of Bunyan, He called him to minister the Word of God. What was the character of his ministry? He longed to see others born again through Christ.He professed, "In my preaching I have really been in pain, and have, as it were, travailed to bring forth children to God; neither could I be satisfied unless some fruits did appear in my work."Like millions before and after him, John Bunyan experienced the lifechanging power of God's Word personally. No wonder he entitled his autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. Bunyan, like the apostle Paul, never lost the wonder of God's transforming grace.All that is required for any of us to experience that wonder Psalm 34:99 Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.(Psalm 34:9), and nobody who has done so has ever been disappointed.