Dear friends:

Below is Part 2 of my series, "The Authority of the Bible," taken from my recent book, "The Top Ten Mysteries of the Bible (PublishAmerica, 2006), available at http://www.choicesforliving.com/mysteries.htm

Jim
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The Bible claims itself to be divinely inspired

A major and unique aspect of the Bible is its own consistent claim to be divinely inspired.  The Bible claims itself to be “the Word of God.”  But more than claiming divine inspiration, in the Bible God even speaks in the first person!  Expressions such as “And God said…” followed by a quote from God appear about 3,800 times in the Old Testament alone.
 
These claims and characteristics are in a book which espouses truth, morality, and all that is good.  It is illogical that it would be a hoax, and a conspiracy is impossible because of the vast differences in time and place of the writers and events.  Also, of the large number of people involved, someone would have surely exposed such a hoax, a victim of the good conscience he preached.  But beyond this convincing logic, there are more objective reasons that argue for the divine inspiration of the Bible.
 

Prophecy confirms the Bible’s truth

Prophecy, or the prediction of future events, gives the Bible an internal authenticity.  This is one of the great marvels of the Bible, one that distinguishes it from all other writings.  Prophets spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about future events, especially concerning Israel, the nations, the Messiah, and the church.  The events have occurred without fail as they were predicted. 
 
Unlike modern-day psychics whose track record on predictions is usually no more than chance would provide, the ancient Hebrew prophets could not make a mistake.  They were 100 percent accurate, the only such group in the history of the world.  This confirms the divine origin of their information.  Through them, God revealed His plans, from early history to the end of time, and they wrote it as they were inspired.
 
For example, about 600 years before Christ, the prophet Ezekiel predicted details about the destruction of the city of Tyre.  Its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar came just a few years later.  History has shown the prophecy's amazing details to have happened: Tyre became a “bare rock” where fishermen spread their nets, and the city was never rebuilt.  There were many other prophecies and fulfillments concerning various locations and people, such as Sidon, Samaria, Edom, and Nineveh.  Many prophecies foretold the historical plight of the Hebrew people, their first dispersion in 586 B.C. and return under Ezra, and their later dispersion by the Romans and worldwide persecution foretold by Christ that occurred in A.D. 70.  It was also foretold that they would someday return to their land from all over the earth.  Seeing this, the prophet Isaiah had written: 

Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?

Now, almost 2,000 years after the Jewish dispersion, the United Nations, in an unprecedented action, mandated the reestablishment of the nation of Israel.  Born “in one day,” May 14, 1948, modern Israel is a stunning fulfillment of Bible prophecy in modern times. 
 
It seems incomprehensible, but many people, including many clergy, assign no importance to Bible prophecy and know little about it, even though it comprises an extremely large percentage of Scripture.  Someone has counted that the Bible contains 1,817 individual predictions concerning 737 separate subjects found in 8,352 verses. These numerous predictions comprise a full 27 percent of the 31,124 verses in the entire Bible. Multitudes of biblical scholars over the last 2000 years have explored many of these prophecies and their detailed fulfillments, as proven by ample historical evidence.  How can any serious student or teacher of the Bible ignore 27 percent of the book?
 
The most profound and intriguing prophecies concern the Messiah.  Scholars count nearly 300 prophetic passages in the Old Testament (Jewish Bible) that refer to Jesus’ first coming, such as His virgin birth, His birthplace, the actual time of His coming, His miracles, His suffering and resurrection, and many others.  This will be discussed in the next chapters.
 

Archaeology confirms the Bible’s truth

The relatively new science of archaeology is confirming the utmost accuracy of the Scriptures as previously unknown records and artifacts are uncovered. 
 
For centuries, some people doubted certain details of the Bible, such as the existence of certain ancient peoples and places that seemed in conflict with available knowledge.  But by faith alone, the devoted would always cling to the Bible’s truth because they were convinced that it was “inspired.”  Now, just in our generation, doubts have been put aside one-by-one by researchers combing and digging over ancient sites. 
 
For example, the Old Testament refers to a city that was built from solid rock.  Skeptics would scoff about the reality of this unknown city, but Petra has been discovered and is now a major tourist stop in Jordan. 
 
In the New Testament, in Acts 13:7, Luke speaks of a “proconsul” who was the governor of Cyprus.  For years many scholars thought that Luke had made a mistake in terminology because the Roman government was thought to have used the title “proprietor” instead.  Recently, however, archaeology has determined that Rome did, in fact, use the title as mentioned by Luke.  The scoffing critics were found to be in error as they have time after time.
 
The late scholar, Dr. W. A. Criswell, pointed out that about 200 years ago a group of French scholars listed 82 alleged “errors” in the Bible that would eventually destroy Christianity.  Since then, however, archaeology and the increased understanding of the ancient languages and cultural contexts have resolved each item, while those same “scholars” have passed on into eternity, facing the very reality they rejected.
 
Bible historicity.  In ignorance and pride, detractors often scoff at the accuracy of the historic details given in the Bible, even including the account in the Gospels about the life of Jesus Christ.  They produce their own fictitious accounts, such as The Da Vinci Code book and movie, the book, The Jesus Papers, and the spurious Gospel of Judas, to purposely undermine and discredit God’s truths.  But, in fact, the Bible contains impeccably accurate history.  One can only guess what the motivations of these detractors might be, other than making money, but the Bible contains the most reliable and accurate history in the world.  It would be wise to believe it.

 
Christ Himself confirms the Bible’s truth

The testimony of Jesus Christ Himself confirms the Bible.  Even His detractors extol His saintliness and wisdom, incapable of deception and misrepresentation.  Christ believed and taught the infallibility and reliability of the Scriptures, even rebuking those who did not believe!  He repeatedly said such things as: “It is written… Search the Scriptures… Have you read?... Scripture cannot be broken.” 
 
He spoke confidently and unashamedly of Old Testament events and people, such as Noah and the ark, Jonah and the whale, Abraham, and Moses.  He also said that the story of His own life and purpose were prophetically and symbolically woven through all these actual events hundreds of years before. 
 
Jesus did not teach that just the principles or basic message of the Scriptures were inspired, or even just the words.  He spoke of the accuracy of even the “jot” and “tittle,” the smallest characters of the Hebrew alphabet.
 
And it wasn’t just in His human life that Jesus believed and taught the infallibility of the Scriptures.  He did so even after the resurrection when He rebuked the disciples as “slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”  (Not some, but all!)
 
Of course, in Jesus’ day there was no New Testament.  There was only what we call the Old Testament, the Jewish Bible.  But Jesus knew the New Testament was forthcoming, and He placed His stamp of authority on it by anticipation when He told His disciples:

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

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To be continued.  Next: "Scientific proof."