These and other questions have been suggested by many through the ages, but as we will see, the Bible is a reliable ancient document which has stood every test it has been given.

We will also discover that the Bible is the divine Word of God, just as it claims to be.

Usually, those who affirm this position

• Have never read the document,
• Have misconceptions about its origin and reliability, or
• Have a misguided view of the nature and existence of God and how He acts in History.

To determine whether or not the Bible is the inspired word of God, we must first establish the authenticity and reliability of Scripture as compared to other Ancient manuscripts.

Because we do not have the "originals" of a book of the Bible, our discussion must be restricted to the manuscript copies.

QUANTITY of Biblical Manuscripts:

Old Testament

• Only a small number of Hebrew manuscripts exist, due to the ceremonial burying of imperfect or worn-out copies. (1)
• The Hebrew text was standardized in the 6th century A.D. by the Masoretic Jews, all other manuscripts were eliminated.(1)
• The authenticity of the existing copies are supplemented by: the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Targans, and the Talmud. (1)

• There are approximately 5,000 Greek manuscripts of all or part of the New Testament in existence today. (2)
• There are about 8,000 Latin manuscripts and about 1,000 written in other languages.(1)
• The existing manuscripts of other authors (Plato, Aristotle, Ceasar, etc.) range from one to twenty, compared to 14,000 of the New Testament.(2)
• The writings of early Christians and the Church Fathers, contain more than 86,000 citations of the Biblical text. (3)

Old Testament

•  The Hebrew manuscripts surpass all others.  This is due to the reverence and extreme care in which the scribes took to minimize the possibility of error. (4)
• The scribal method included: counting the number of letters, words, and lines on each page.  They also determined the middle letter of the entire Bible.  If one mistake was found the entire manuscript was destroyed.(4)
• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls proved to be a positive check of the Masoretic text. (4)

• It is of better quality than most ancient manuscripts.(3)
• There is some variant readings among the manuscripts, these do not affect doctrine.
• The accuracy of the thousands of New Testament manuscripts is about 99.5% compared to 95% and less among other ancient documents.(4)

Old Testament

• The earliest Masoretic manuscript of the Old Testament if A.D. 895.(5)
• The Dead Sea Scrolls which contain portions of the Old Testament is from 200 B.C. to A.D. 68, thus making the span at about 200 - 400 years from the originals.(5)

• The New Testament was written between A.D. 50 and A.D. 90.(3)
• The earliest fragment found is the John Rylands Fragment of the gospel of John dated between A.D. 117 and A.D. 138.(5)
• Fifty other fragments are dated within 150 to 200 years of the time they were written.(3)
• The Codex Viticanus (A.D. 325) and the Codex Sinaiticus (A.D.) 350 are complete copies dated within 250 years of the originals.(3)
• By comparison the time span between the original and the first copy of secular ancient manuscripts is about 1,000 or more.  Examples include:

Because the Bible is a collection of books written at various times by various authors acting without collaberation, we can in good faith use one book of the Bible to verify another, orUse the Bible to prove itself.

The Nature of the AUTHORS

In most cases in the Bible the individual who received and recorded the truths of God were eyewitnesses to the events.  Thus, to deny the truthfulness and reliability of the writings you must also deny the truthfulness and reliability of the author, as well as those who later used their writings as the reliable and authentic word of God.

Old Testament

• Some writers were the same ones who claimed to receive and verbalize the Word of God.(Ecc. 1:1, Jere. 1:1-4, Ezekiel 1:1-3).
• In other cases the recorders of the words either were eyewitnesses to the events or heard and recorded the message.

Most of the recorders of the events in the New Testament were eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus.  Each book was written independently of the other.

• John 19:35  "And he who h as seen has born witness and his witness is true. . ."
• 1 John 1:1-3  "What was from the beginning we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have beheld and our hands have handled concerning the word of Life . . .  what we have seen and heard we proclaim."
• 2 Peter 1:16  "For we do not follow cleverly devised tales when we make known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty."
• Luke 1:1, 3  " . . . just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses . . . having handed them down to us, it seemed fitting for me as well . . . to write."

The Reliability of the Recorders of the Bible

Many of the writers of the Bible spoke of its truth:

• John 21:24, 25  "this is the disciple who bears witness . . . and wrote these things; and we know that his witness is true."
• Luke 1: 2-4  "it seemed fitting . . . having investigated everything carefully from the beginning to write it out in consecutive order . . . so that you might know the exact truth about these things."

ARCHEOLOGICAL Evidence

From early Roman, Greek, and Jewish documents

• Josephus - a 1st century A.D. historian in his Antiquities of the Jews speaks of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and James.  He also refers to the priests, and the Roman emporors mentioned in the gospels and Luke.(6)
• Mara Bar - Serapion - an imprisoned Syrian in his letter to his son dated A.D. 73, compares the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and Christ with complete accuracy to scripture.(6)
• Other secular and religious authors from the 1st and 2nd century A.D. make mention of the person of Jesus Christ:

Each new archeological find confirms the evidence of Scripture rather than denying it.  The Biblical references to battles, kings, nations, cities, mountains, customs, buildings, political leaders, dates, etc., are open to archeological scrutiny.

Archeological evidence in itself can not prove the authority of Scripture, but it can verify the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible and its writers.

Obviously, the chief evidence of the inspiration of the Bible originates from the author God's Holy Spirit.  In approaching the inspiration of Scripture we will discover five proofs of its Divine origin.

•  In 2 Timothy 3:16 the Bible states that "all scripture is inspired by God . . . "  The literal Gk. translation for "inspired", is God-breathed."
• In 2 Peter 1:21 the Bible states, "Know first of all that no prophecy of Scripture is of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke of God."  This does not suggest direct dictation, but that in their speaking and recording the words of God, they are without error.
• Both of these passages referred to the Old Testament and prophetic utterances, but the truthfulness and the university of these statements "all scripture", and "no Prophecy" relate to the New Testament documents as well.

•  Matthew 4:1-11  He appealed to the book of Deuteronomy as the authoritative word of God.(Deut. 8:3, 6:16)
• Luke 20:27-40  He answered the question about marriage and the resurrection by quoting Exodus 3:6 as authoritative.
• John 10:35,  Matthew 5:18  He taught that scripture could not be broken.

•  Luke 4:18-19  He quotes Isaiah 61:1,2 as referring to Himself.
• Luke 24:25-27  He interpreted the things in all of scripture which were concerning Him.
• John 5:39  He states the scriptures bear witness of Him.

• Number of Authors:  more than 40 from all walks of life.
• Time it took to write it:  It was written over a time span of about 1,500 years.
• The different Literary Forms:  They include: narrative history, drama, biography, letters, poetry, parables, wisdom literature, and narrative stories.

•  Born of a Woman: Gen. 3:15; Gal.4:4
• Born of a Virgin:  Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-24
• Descendent of Abraham:  Gen. 12:1-3; Matt. 1:1
• Born in Bethlehem:  Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7
• Spoke in Parables:  Ps 78:2-4; Matt. 13:34, 35
• Preaching Ministry: Isa. 61:1-3; Luke 4:17-21
• Healing Ministry:  Isa. 35:3-5; Matt. 9:35
• Triumphal Entry: Zech. 9:9; John 12:12-16
• Betrayal Price:  Zech. 11:12,13; Matt. 26:15
• Silence:  Isa. 53:7; Matt. 27:12-14
• Mocked:  Ps. 22:7,8; Luke 23:35
• Crucified With Robbers: Isa. 53:12; Mk. 15:27
• No Bones Broken: Ps. 22:1; John 19:23,24Pierced In His Side:  Zech. 12:40; John 19:34ff
• Buried With The Rich:  Isa. 53:9; John 27:57ff
• Resurrection:  Ps. 16:10; Isa. 52:13; Acts 2:27
• Ascension Into Heaven: Ps. 68:18; Acts 1:9

The accuracy of Biblical prophecies can be observed by examining the archeological evidence verifying the historical destruction of various cities.  Some include: Tyre (Ezek. 26),
Nineveh (Nahum 1-3), and Babylon (Isa. 13-14, Jer. 51)

Most who deny that the Bible is the Word of God have never seriously examined the pages of Scripture.  If they were to read them carefully they would discover that they testify of Jesus Christ and His ability and availability to change even the life of the worst man and woman.

This apologetic approach was adapted from the one in the book, I'm Glad You Asked.