Proving The Bible

To “prove” that the Bible is the Word of God we need evidence, and the Bible stands alone because it presents verifiable, historical, testable evidence, especially in the form of perfectly fulfilled prophecy and the many infallible proofs of Jesus Christ as stated in Acts 1:3.

Acts 1:3 is the apostle Peter speaking about Jesus Christ and Who He was and how He rose from the dead, proving through irrefutable evidence that He was God. Peter says,

To whom (that’s to the apostles and others), To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:  

 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most powerful evidence, that Jesus Christ is Who He said He is, God in the flesh. God’s the only One Who can perform resurrection from the dead.

And, since He is God, and since His birth, death, burial and resurrection was so minutely detailed in the Bible we have today, that’s the highest  evidence by which we can prove the Bible is, in fact, God’s Word to mankind.

The Bible — unlike any other religious book on earth — does not ask us to “just believe.”

It presents evidence.  It invites, even commands, examination and it welcomes testing.

It challenges the world to check the facts.  The Bible’s not afraid of investigation, it’s built on it.

Most religions say, “Just have faith.” but the Bible says something very different.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:21 it says to “Prove all things”

Isaiah 1:18 invites to “Come now, let us reason together”.

Jesus said in John 5:39 to “Search the scriptures” in relation to evidence of who He was.

In 2 Peter 1:16 the apostle Peter states, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables”.

The Bible invites the same kind of testing you’d use in a courtroom.

It presents:

– eyewitness testimony

– written records

– historical details

– names, dates, and places

– fulfilled prophecy

– archaeological confirmation

– and above all, the resurrection of Jesus Christ

No book, religious or otherwise does this and none even tries.

What is the foundation of Christian evidence?

As we’ve already pointed out, Acts 1:3 says,

To whom (that’s the 12 apostles) also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

 

This is one of the most important verses in the Bible.

It tells us that Christianity is not built on blind faith. It’s built on proof gained by evidence — and not just proof, but many infallible proofs.

What makes these proofs infallible? Evidence!

“Infallible” means:

– undeniable

– certain

– unbreakable

– cannot be overturned

Luke, the writer of Acts, was a medical doctor, a historian, and one of the most careful writers of the ancient world and he says Jesus gave many such proofs.

What were these proofs?

– He appeared alive to His disciples

– He appeared to over 500 people at once as 1 Corinthians 15:6 states

– He ate food with them

– They touched Him

– They talked with Him

– They saw Him ascend into heaven

– They preached His resurrection in the very city where He was killed

If the body of Jesus were still in the tomb, Christianity would have died in Jerusalem very quickly.  But the tomb was empty — and nobody, not even His enemies, could deny it.

The resurrection is the central evidence of the Christian faith, proving that what the Bible says about Jesus Christ being God in the flesh, the son of God, God with us, was true.

But it’s not the only evidence.

The strongest evidence for the Bible — outside the resurrection — is fulfilled prophecy. Fulfilled prophecy is God’s signature of proof.

Prophecy is God telling the future in advance, with details, and with perfect accuracy. And not only that but providing many past evidences of prophecy being given and fulfilled.

No other religious book contains prophecy like this.

Not the Quran.

Not the Hindu writings.

Not the Buddhist texts.

Not the Book of Mormon.

Not the writings of Confucius.

Not the sayings of philosophers.

Only the Bible.

Why?

Because prophecy requires supernatural knowledge. Knowledge outside and above natural, human knowledge.

It requires the one making the prophecy to be able to see the future as clearly as He sees the present or the past.

And this is not by some crazy human hit and miss medium or crystal or palm reading. The fulfilled prophecy of the bible can only be by the One making the prophecy existing outside our dimensions of energy, matter, time and space.

God, Who made those prophecies, is eternal, which means He’s not a being with a lot of time, it means He exists outside our time dimension altogether.

Only God knows the future.  So when God tells the future in advance — and it happens exactly as He said — that’s evidence. It’s evidence that proves not only the reality and existence of God, but the authenticity of His Word that He gave to man, the Bible.

God states this about Himself in Isaiah 46:9-10,

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

 

God says, “I will prove Myself by telling you the future before it happens.”

And He does.

He spoke prophesies about Jesus centuries before His birth.

The Old Testament contains over 300 clear prophecies about the Messiah and countless shadows and types of Him.

These were written hundreds, and in some case thousands of years before Jesus was born.

Here’s just a few:

1. Born in Bethlehem. Prophesied in Micah 5:2 – written 700 years before Christ. Fulfilled in Matthew 2:1
2. Born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14 – written 700 years before Christ. Fulfilled in Matthew 1:23
3. He would come from the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10 — written 1400 years before Christ and fulfilled in Luke 3:33
4. A descendant of David Prophesied in 2 Samuel 7:12–13 — written 1000 years before Christ and fulfilled in Luke 1:32
5. Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Written in Zechariah 11:12–13 — written 500 years before Christ and fulfilled in Matthew 26:15
6. Hands and feet pierced. Psalm 22:16 — written 1000 years before Christ and fulfilled in John 20:25–27
7. Crucified with criminals. Isaiah 53:12, 700 years before Christ and fulfilled in Luke 23:32
8. Buried in a rich man’s tomb. Isaiah 53:9 , again 700 years before the event. Fulfilled in Matthew 27:57–60
9. Risen from the dead. Psalm 16:10 100 years before and fulfilled in Matthew 28
10. The exact timing of His death. Daniel 9:24–26 — written 500 years before Christ and predicts the exact year the Messiah would die. Fulfilled in the crucifixion

These’re not vague predictions.

They’re specific, detailed, historical, and verifiable.

The odds of one man fulfilling even eight of these prophecies by chance is 1 in 10^17 — a number so large it’s considered in many scientific fields as “effectively impossible”, but Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies and they’re just the obvious ones. There’s a shadow or type of Christ on almost every page of the bible.

This doesn’t even begin to take into account prophecy relating to Israel and it’s earthly kingdom.

So the 1 in 10^17 chance of this happening randomly is one chance out of 1 with 17 zeros after it or a 1 in 100 quadrillion chance.

To compare the chances of that, being struck by lightning in your lifetime is a 1 in 15,000 chance. Winning a major lottery jackpot is a 1 in 300 million chance. Finding a specific grain of sand on all the beaches on earth is still much more likely than 1 in 10^17.

That’s not chance. That’s evidence. Of course a person can have every possible morsal of evidence put before them and still reject that proof if they will themselves not to see it.

The resurrection is the central proof of all history with the greatest evidence in all of history.

Why?

Because if Jesus rose from the dead, then:

– He is who He said He is

– His words are true

– His claims are true

– His promises are true

– His warnings are true

– His gospel is true

– The Bible is true

If Jesus rose from the dead, everything else falls into place.

And the resurrection is supported by:

– eyewitness testimony

– written records

– hostile witnesses

– the empty tomb

– transformed disciples

– the explosion of the early church

– the conversion of Paul

– the conversion of James

– the survival of Christianity under persecution

– the inability of enemies to produce a body

This is why Acts 1:3 says Jesus showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs.

Christianity’s not built on blind faith.  It’s built on historical evidence where archaeology has confirmed the Bible again and again.

Just a few of thousands of examples are:

– The Hittites — once thought mythical — were discovered exactly where the Bible said.

– The pool of Bethesda — once mocked — was found with five porches, exactly as John described.

– The city of Jericho — long doubted — was found with walls fallen outward, exactly as Joshua said.

– King David — once called a legend — is now confirmed by multiple inscriptions.

– Pontius Pilate — once denied — is now confirmed by stone inscription.

Every time archaeology digs, the Bible’s proven right.

Not once has archaeology disproved the Bible.

Of course those of us who’ve already long ago accepted the evidence and therefore have proved the bible’s authenticity for ourselves, look at the archaeological evidence a little differently. We say the bible proves the archaeology not the other way round.

The Bible was written:

– over 1500 years

– by 40 different authors

– on three continents

– in three languages

– in different cultures

– by kings, fishermen, shepherds, prophets, soldiers, and doctors

And yet it tells one story, with one message, pointing to one Savior.

And, despite what sceptics have claimed over thousands of years, there are no contradictions, no corrections and no revisions.

This is impossible unless the Bible has one Author behind the human writers — God Himself.

Evidence is not only historical.  It’s also personal.

The Bible changes lives:

– drunkards become sober

– addicts become free

– broken homes are restored

– sinners are forgiven

– the guilty find peace

– the hopeless find purpose

– the dead in sin find life

No other book, no other message and no other religion does this.

Romans 1:16 declares that the gospel, God’s Word, is the power of God.

The Bible’s preservation is further evidence.

For thousands of years, kings, governments, empires, and atheists have tried to destroy the Bible.

They burned it, they banned it, they outlawed it, they mocked it and relentlessly attacked it.

Yet still the Bible stands, secure in what it’s always said, unchanged.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:35:

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

 

And they haven’t.

The Bible is the most printed, most translated, most read, most attacked, and most proven book in history.

The Bible stands on evidence and when we put all that evidence together:

– fulfilled prophecy

– historical accuracy

– archaeological confirmation

– eyewitness testimony

– the resurrection

– internal unity

– transformed lives

– supernatural preservation

We’re left with the conclusion that the Bible is true.  Jesus is Lord, God and the gospel is real.

And God Himself has proven it.

Christianity is not a leap in the dark.

It’s a step into the light — the light of evidence, the light of truth, the light of the many infallible proofs of Jesus Christ.

When we study the Bible to understand a doctrine, we have to look at the whole picture—not just one verse here or there.

If we pull a single verse out of its setting, we can easily misunderstand and misrepresent what God meant.

The Bible is one united book with one integrated message, so we need to pay attention to the verses around the verse we’re studying, and in particular, who it was written to, and why it was written. That’s how we find solid evidence for what we believe.

It also helps to look at the Bible through the different dispensations, the different periods in God’s plan where He dealt with people in specific, but different ways.

Each dispensation shows how God worked with humanity at that time in history and that changes. God Himself, His character and Who He is never changes but the way He deals with humanity has and does change.

This helps us understand why certain commands, promises, or prophecies were given, and who they were meant for.

When we recognise these differences, the Bible becomes much clearer, and we avoid mixing things together that don’t belong together. We avoid taking an instruction meant for someone other than us today. For example reading an instruction that was given to the nation of Israel in the dispensation of Moses’s law and trying to fit it into the church age that we live in today in the dispensation of grace.

When we put these two things together—studying the context and understanding the dispensations—we get a fuller, more accurate understanding of Scripture.

This approach gives strong proof, not only for our doctrines but adds to all the other evidences of the whole Bible