ANSWERING SKEPTICS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE
In our series about how to answer skeptics, we have progressed how we know Go has revealed Himself to man. Starting with the acceptance that there is a God, it is then reasonable that God would reveal Himself to man. God has revealed important characteristics about Himself in creation such as His sovereignty, love, and justice. But that doesn’t give us enough information to know Him. For man to really know God it is necessary for God to reveal Himself to man, for man could never find God without God making the first move. If God has truth to reveal, if man is accountable and if God wants a relationship with man then that must start from God’s side. Not only is this necessary, it is also possible for God to reveal Himself to man. Were He really God it would be totally within His ability to communicate truth to us and keep it accurate down to our day. That would not be too hard for Him at all. Thus, we know that a revelation from God to man is both necessary and possible. But is the Bible that revelation? The evidence shows it is.
There are many ways to show the Bible is inspired. It is a book only God could and would write. To me, fulfilled prophecy is one of the strongest proofs. The Bible is filled with hundreds of specific prophecies which have come true in the past. There is no way man could have guessed at these things with any kind of accuracy. For example:
For example, Ezekiel 26, which was written in 587 B.C., predicted the destruction of Tyre, a city made up of two parts: a mainland port city, and an island city half a mile off shore. Ezekiel prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would destroy the city, many nations would fight against her, the debris of the city would be thrown into the ocean, the city would never be found again, and fishermen would come there to lay their nets. In 573 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the mainland city of Tyre. Many of the refugees of the city sailed to the island, and the island city of Tyre remained a powerful city. In 333 B.C., however, Alexander the Great laid siege to the island city of Tyre. Using the rubble of mainland Tyre, he built a causeway to the island city. He then captured and completely destroyed the city. Today, Tyre is a small fishing town where fishing boats come to rest and fisherman spread their nets. The great ancient city of Tyre to this day lies buried in ruins exactly as prophesied. If we were to calculate the odds of this event happening by chance, the figures would be astronomical (1 in 7.5 x 107). No, it was not by coincidence. (“Evidence that Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell)
There are nearly one hundred prophecies made about Jesus in the Old Testament, prophecies such as His place of birth, His life, His rejection by the nation of Israel, how he would die and so on. Mathematician Peter Stoner calculated the impossibility of one person accomplishing only 48 of the predictions about Jesus as one in 10 followed by 157 zeroes. Yet Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies regarding His birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection. The only predictions left about Christ are those that refer to His second appearance.
All these prophecies were made hundreds of years before Jesus ever came to earth. Because of the accuracy of the prophecies, many skeptics have believed that they must have been written after A.D. 70—after the birth and death of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem, thereby trying to deny that they are even prophecies. However, in 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. These scrolls contained the book of Isaiah and other prophetic books. When dated, they were found to be copies made from 120 to 100 B.C., well before Jesus was born. Some say these prophecies were fulfilled by chance, but the odds against this would be exceptionally large. It would take a greater leap of faith to believe in them happening by chance than in the fact that Jesus is God and these prophecies are divinely inspired.
What difference would it make in your life if the Bible w not true and inspired?
What, to you, is the strongest argument that the Bible is God’s Word?
Pray now and ask God to bring someone into your life this week that you can talk to about the truth of the Bible.
The next blog in this series is about other religious books that claim inspiration. For more proof that the Bible is God’s Word email me at jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org or download it at https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/our-ministries/india/articles/ You can also access my book “Why We Believe” at https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/download/india/Books/english_translations/Why-We-Believe.pdf
SPIRITUAL WARFARE HANDBOOK covers all the basic information you need to know in order to have victory in your spiritual battles. If you don’t have a copy of this free book, you can download it at https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/our-ministries/spiritual-warfare/learning-more/ Or you can email me at jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org. If you have questions or I can help you please email me. Forward to the book to those who would benefit, or send me their email address and I’ll send them a copy.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling)
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