The Authority of the Bible

Proof One | Proof Two | Proof Three | Proof Four

Proof One - Fulfilled Prophecy
Here is a challenge to the unbeliever and the sceptic! God says He can and does foretell the future.  The Bible is about one-third prophecy. If the Bible is truly the inspired Word of God, every one of those prophecies must have come to pass just as predicted or must now be awaiting accurate fulfilment.

Three of the most remarkable Bible prophecies concern two ancient leaders of world empires and a Middle Eastern king. All three instances are well documented in the historical record. These three examples are representative of the absolutely sure word that is Bible prophecy.

Cyrus, ruler of Persia
The first example is that of Cyrus the Persian, the first ruler of the Persian empire, who lived in the sixth century B.C. The stories of Cyrus' birth and youth as recorded in the histories of the time are so remarkable that they seem almost like children's stories. Herodotus, the Greek historian of the fifth century B.C., recounts one of these stories, here summarized.

Astyages, the son of Cyaxeres, king of the Medes, had a daughter, Mandane. He became fearful because he dreamed that this daughter would bear a child who would rule in his place, not only his kingdom but all of Asia. He wanted to prevent this at all cost.
When Mandane had her first child, a son, Astyages instructed one of his trusted servants, Harpagus, to have the child killed.  Harpagus, not wanting to do such a horrible thing, entrusted the terrible responsibility to Mitradates, a herdsman.  Mitradates, on finding that his own child had just been stillborn, took and reared Mandane's son as his own.  When the boy was about 10 years old his true identity became known.   His' grandfather, Astyages the king, now accepted him and in due time this boy, Cyrus, ascended the throne in about 558 B.C.  By about 549 B.C. Cyrus had become king over all Media, and by about 548 B.C. he ruled all Persia.  He conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. and the Persian empire succeeded the Babylonian empire.

This story would not be so remarkable by itself, but predictions about Cyrus are included in Bible prophecy. You will find these predictions in the last verses of Isaiah 44 and the first part of Isaiah 45. "Thus says Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shall be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid" (Isaiah 44:28).

Isaiah gave this prophecy almost two centuries before Cyrus made his proclamation about rebuilding God's Temple in Jerusalem!

"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" (Ezra 1:2). Not only did God name Cyrus long before he was born, He saw to it that Satan did not succeed in having him put to death by his grandfather! He also saw that Cyrus issued the proclamation to rebuild the Temple, as God said he would! But there is more.

The two-leaved gates
"Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I shall take hold of, to subdue nations before him; and 1 will loose the Joins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut" (Isaiah. 45:1).  
Isaiah prophesied that God would make it possible for Cyrus to conquer the many kingdoms that ultimately made up his empire. Also, the "two leaved gates" would not be shut or locked. This refers to the remarkable way in which Cyrus was able to capture the city (and consequently the empire) of Babylon.

The large city of Babylon, with its massive high walls, appeared impregnable from the outside. When Cyrus' armies encamped around the city, the Babylonians only laughed!  They could survive a siege of years!   
Unbeknownst to the Babylonians, however, Cyrus' men were able to divert most of the Euphrates River, which normally flowed through massive gates into the city. Cyrus also had gotten a spy into the city, who on the appropriate night had the inner gates along the river unlocked. With the lowered river level, the army was able to invade the city by way of the river route and through these gates, taking the Babylonians by complete surprise. Part of the remarkable fulfilment of the prophecy about the "two leaved gates" is described in Daniel 5, the rest in various secular histories.

Alexander's conquest
The second prophetic personality we will consider is Alexander of Macedon, also known as Alexander the Great. He was the first king of the Graeco- Macedonian empire. Upon the death of his father Philip in 336 B.C., he ascended the Greek throne, being only about 20 years old.   Two years later he entered Asia with about 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. He put to flight superior Persian forces at the battle of Granicus and then in October, 333 B.C., he faced Darius the 3rd , the Persian king, who had an army 10 times greater than his own. This battle of Issus won him an overwhelming victory.  Alexander later won a conclusive victory over Persia at the Battle of Arbela on Oct. 1, 331 B.C., even though Darius the 3rd fielded an army of more than one million men.

This young man went on to extend his empire to the Indus River.  He died of fever when he was less than 34 years of age, after a reign of only about 13 years.  The prophecies about this man are found in Daniel, chapters 8 and 11.  Part of this prophecy states: "And as I was considering, behold an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and  touched not the ground: and this goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power" (Dan. 8:5-6).  The "notable horn" represented Alexander (the first king of Grecia, verse 2 1 ) who conquered the "ram" (the king of Persia, verse 20). Alexander is also referred to in Daniel 11:34.
This prophecy was given by Daniel in the sixth century B.C., but its fulfilment by Alexander did not occur until about two centuries later, in the fourth century B.C.!

An abomination in God's Temple
The last event we will consider relates to Antiochus Epiphanes, who was king of Syria during the second century B.C.

After Alexander's death his empire was divided into four kingdoms (Dan. 7:6, 8:8, 22, 11:4). One of these four kingdoms was that of Syria. Here is what Daniel says about Antiochus:
"And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered" (Dan. 8:9-12).  
This prophecy was fulfilled in a terrible way. Antiochus took over Jerusalem and the Temple. He stopped the daily sacrifices, burned copies of the Hebrew Bible and forced pagan religion on the Jews.

This time has rarely, if ever, been equalled in the history of Israel or Judah. Not only were the people butchered, even fried in huge pans, but Antiochus personally entered into the Holy of Holies in God's Temple and took away the gold vessels in the Temple. He erected a "Greek altar on the site of the old one on 25 December 167" (The New Bible Dictionary, article "Antiochus").

Finally Judas Maccabaeus, his brothers and the Jews were able to recapture Jerusalem three years later, cleanse the sanctuary (Temple) and reinstitute the worship of God.  It should be noted here, however, that this prophecy of Daniel 8:9-12 is dual. Antiochus fulfilled it in type, but it is even now awaiting a much more terrible fulfilment in this end time!

Part Two - Is the Bible Infallible?
The Bible is the world's best seller. It is the most widely distributed and read book on this planet. But it is also the most misunderstood and most maligned book ever written.  Why?

Millions of people believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God; to them, the Scriptures are inerrant. But to others, the Bible is merely a collection of ancient, uninspired writings that may have some historical, poetic and inspirational value.  Is this venerable Book, referred to by U.S. President John Adams as "the Volume of Inspiration," really the unquestionable, authoritative Word of the living God?    Bruce Barton once wrote a book about the Bible, entitled The Book Nobody Knows. Truly, many of those who believe in the Bible don't really believe it - because they don't believe what it says.

Opposing views
The professed agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899) wrote: "The real oppressor, enslaver and corrupter of the people is the Bible. That Book is the chain that binds, the dungeon that holds the clergy. That Book spreads the pall of superstition over the colleges and schools. That Book puts out the eyes of science and makes honest investigation a crime. That Book fills the world with bigotry, hypocrisy and fear" (Some Mistakes of Moses).  Mr. Ingersoll also asserted: "God made a great number of promises to Abraham, but few of them were ever kept. He agreed to make him the father of a great nation, but He did not. He solemnly promised to give him a great country, including all the land between the river of Egypt and the Euphrates, but He did not.... Their [Israel's] God was quick-tempered, unreasonable, cruel, revengeful and dishonest. He was always promising, but never performed."

What about these claims? Many of the world's great men have been readers of the Bible and confessed that some of their beliefs and wisdom came from that Book. President Abraham Lincoln, for instance, often read the Bible and regularly quoted from it.

Sir Winston Churchill was also familiar with many of the teachings of God's Word. He said:  "We reject with scorn all these learned and laboured myths that Moses was but a legendary figure. We believe that the most scientific view, the most up-to-date and rationalistic conception, will find its fullest satisfaction in taking the Bible story literally.... We may be sure that all these things [mentioned in the Bible] happened just as they are set out according to Holy Writ; we may believe that they happened to people not so very different from ourselves, and that the impressions these people received were faithfully recorded, and have been transmitted across the centuries with far more accuracy than many of the telegraphed accounts we read of the goings-on of today."   Mr. Churchill went on to make this challenge:  "Let the men of science and of learning expand their knowledge and probe with their researches every detail of the records which have been preserved to us from these dim ages. All they will do is to fortify the grand simplicity and essential accuracy of the recorded truths which have lighted so far the pilgrimage of man"  (Thoughts and Adventures).

What is the truth? Is there any accuracy in either of these widely divergent views?

The Bible speaks
Now let us look at the Bible, to see what it says about itself.

David said, "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times- (Ps. 116).   Jesus Christ gave ample testimony to the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures. He referred to them as being the very Word of God: "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he [Christ] expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).
"And he said unto them, These are the words which I speak unto you ... that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (verses 44-45).

The apostle Paul, writing in the middle of the first century, said:  "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (11 Tim. 3:16-17).   Humans visit museums and other repositories of historic documents such as Britain's Magna Carta and America's Declaration of Independence and stand in awe at the sight of those documents. How much more should we stand in awe of the very Word of the living God?

Like a puzzle
Through the prophet Isaiah God revealed that He inspired the Bible in such a way that it can be misunderstood by those who disobey it.  Isaiah asked: "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? ... For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:9-11).  The Word of God is written so that its various pieces must be put together like a picture puzzle. All the scriptures on any one subject must be viewed together to get the entire picture. But why?
Isaiah answers, "That they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken" (verse 13).

When Jesus was asked why He spoke to the multitudes in parables, He said:  "Unto you [His disciples] it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them" (Mark 4:11-12).  Few in the world realize that this is not the only day of salvation. It is merely  "a day of salvation" (Isaiah 49:8). God is not calling the masses today. He is only calling out of this world His Church (the Greek word for "church," ekklesia, means  "the called-out ones". Speaking of true Christians, God says, "For the time is come that judgment must begin (right now, today] at the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17). God is now judging us - His Church.

But what about the rest of this world's 6 billion inhabitants? They are not being judged now. Their time will come later. In the meantime, Satan holds full sway over their minds and hearts (Rom.11:8).     God has given the vast majority of mankind over to Satan to let him blind them at this time: "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them"  (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

How does Satan deceive the masses - the whole world (Rev. 12:9)?  He does it primarily through false religious organizations and false clergymen:  "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (1 Cor. 11:13-15).   Just as Satan often quotes scripture (e.g., Matt. 4:6), so do his ministers, but they always either quote it out of context or put clever but perverted twist on it "For we are not as many," wrote Paul, "which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity" (2  Cor. 2:17).

Yes, God deliberately inspire the writing of the Bible in such way that the worldly wise and the disobedient will misunderstand and stumble over it.

The apostle Peter admitted that some of Paul's writings were not easy to understand. He said that "our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given tour him has written unto you; as in all his epistles ... in which  some things hard to be understoood which they that are unlearned a unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Pet. 3:15-16). 
How, then, are we, the elect, understand God's Word?  Isaiah informs us of the attitude required -  "But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word" (Isaiah. 66:2).

If we wish to truly understand the Bible, we must "Search the scriptures" (John 5:39) as did the open-minded Bereans (Acts 17:11)One must be careful about how he handles or expounds the Word of God. Paul told Timothy, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth"
 (2 Tim. 2:15). Many, instead of "rightly dividing the word of truth," corrupt God's Word and, as Peter said, wrest it to their own destruction.

How inspired?
Just how was the Word of God inspired?

Peter tells us: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy ..Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy [in the scripture] came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:19-21).  On some occasions when Old Testament prophets were inspired with a message, they themselves didn't even understand it.   The prophet Daniel said: ""And1 heard, but I understood not: then said I, 0 my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end" (Dan. 12:8-9).

Scientifically accurate
The Bible is not a science textbook. Nonetheless, whatever the Scriptures mention is always scientific.

Notice these accurate Bible statements:

"It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers" (Isaiah. 40:22). This verse clearly reveals that the earth is round, even though man did not "discover" this fact by himself until centuries after this was written.

"He [God] hangs the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7). The earth is held in orbit around the sun by the law of gravity. But it is not fastened to anything material.

Notice the truth in this biblical statement:  "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen [the physical universe] were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3).

In plain language, this verse says that God created the physical, material, tangible world that we see out of invisible, intangible, non-physical essence - out of spirit or spirit essence.  Most scientists, steeped in evolution, are unable to admit the possibility of an intelligent, all-powerful Designer of the universe. But they are forced to agree that, as the Bible says, the physical universe came into existence from that which does not now appear (spirit).   The British weekly newsmagazine The Economist offers scientific arguments that support the biblical account of special creation: "According to modern physics, the universe began with a big bang, in which space and matter made a sudden explosive appearance from literally nothing. There was a moment when all the material eventually used to create every star and galaxy could have been in the palm of an infinitely small hand" (The Economist, April 12, 1980).

The Bible is true not only scientifically, but historically. Again, though the Bible is not a history book, whatever is mentioned as history in the Bible is always true.  For example, a few decades ago, skeptics doubted the very existence of ancient cities such as Nineveh and Sodom. But archaeologists have uncovered abundant testimony to prove that those ancient cities actually existed, just as the Bible said thousands of years ago.

Bible infallible?
Is the Word of God infallible? It certainly is. Christ said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35).  Through the centuries, many have tried - unsuccessfully - to discredit or destroy the Bible, "But the word of the Lord endures for ever" (1 Pet. 1:25).

Just how important is the Word of God - the Bible - in God's eyes?

We know that God is very concerned about magnifying and protecting His name: "Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7).   But God is even more jealous concerning His Word than He is His own name! "For thou [God] hast magnified thy word above all thy name" (Ps. 138:2).

Of what real value is this Word of God? Why has God given it to men?

David said, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119:105). Without that brilliant lamp, this world would be in total darkness. It is only through the light of God's infallible Word that man can ever come to know who he is, where he came from, what is his ultimate destiny and how he is to attain that incredible potential.  Let us all thank the great God for the precious gift of His infallible Word!

Part Three - Has the Bible Been Preserved Accurately?
Scripture itself speaks of a systematic organized preservation of the law, prophets and writings. Literate, proficient scholars functioned even through the chaotic Judges period (Judges. 5:14, 1 Sam. 1:3, 9). Under Samuel and David and Solomon, during Israel's Golden Age, inspired writers laid the basis for the historical narratives in Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. David revered the sacred writings (Ps. 119:97), and he and Solomon contributed and collected many psalms and proverbs.

These writings formed the basis for successive national revivals and reforms (2 Chronicles17:7-9, 2 Kings 22-8). Later on Isaiah and Hezekiah updated the text (Proverbs. 25-1, Isaiah. 8:16). In this way "holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21). The writings of the prophets were accepted - often after the death of the prophet - because of God's evident approval and inspiration, shown through dramatic fulfilments (Isaiah. 38-4:7).   Even during the Babylonian captivity Daniel had access to the Scriptures (Dan. 9:2), and the return to Jerusalem was greatly influenced by Ezra, a "ready scribe" and guardian of the text (Ezra 7:6, 10). According to Jewish tradition, Ezra officially updated and clarified the text in certain places (e.g., Deut. 34:5). Shortly after his time, the book of Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, was written.

Ancient computers
How responsible was the transmission of the text? We can get a good insight by surveying two periods of transcription: from the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 to about A.D. 500, and from A.D. 500 to A.D. 916.  In the first five centuries a group known as the Talmudists guarded and copied the text. A supreme effort to safeguard the Old Testament accompanied the scattering of the Jewish people after A.D. 70.

Notice some of the demanding discipline of the transcribers who worked from A.D. 70 to A.D. 500:

"A synagogue roll must be written on the skins of clean animals, the length of each column must not extend less than 48 or more than 80 lines; the breadth must consist of 30 letters. No word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory.... Between every consonant the space of a hair or thread must intervene, between every book three lines, Besides this the copyist must sit in full Jewish dress, wash his whole body" (Davidson, Hebrew Text of the Old Testament, p. 89).   Transcription was letter by letter, word by word, or phrase by phrase! Diligence. Veneration. Professionalism. The hallmarks of the Talmudist tradition!

The Masoretes safeguarded the text from about A.D. 500 to A.D. 916. These dedicated scholars based in Tiberias produced the Masoretic texts used today; they are the basis for our English Old Testament of 1611. "The Massorah is called 'a fence to the scriptures' because it locked all words and letters in their places. It records the number of times the several letters occur in the Bible; the number of words and the middle word; the number of verses and the middle verses, etc., for the set purpose of preventing the loss or misplacement of a single letter or word" (Bullinger, Companion Bible, Appendix 30).   Designating the middle letter of the Pentateuch and the middle letter and verse of each book as well as of the entire Old Testament was not enough for these technicians. Phrases were counted, enumerated, distinguished. -"House of Israel" was computed separately from "sons of Israel" and the number of times each occurred was well noted. The expression "sins of Jeroboam" is noted separately from the phrase "the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat."  Thus the Jewish zeal for God was turned to good use (Rom. 10:2).

So confident were the Talmudists and Masoretes that older documents were discarded. In the words of Sir Frederick Kenyon, late curator of the British Museum, "Age gave no advantage to a manuscript."  Understanding the precision and skill of the Jewish scribes explains why. Who has ever counted the letters of Shakespeare, the words of Herodotus, the phrases of Homer?

The Dead Sea Scrolls
What external evidence exists for checking the Masoretic texts of A.D. 916? A.D. 916 is 1,300 years from the last Old Testament writing, Malachi, in the fifth century B.C. Should this gap alarm us?

"It is nothing to that which parts most of the great classical authors from their earliest manuscripts. We believe that we have the seven plays of Sophocles; yet the earliest substantial manuscript upon which it is based was written more than 1,400 years after the poet's death" (Kenyon, Handbook to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, p. 4). In other words, our Old Testament text is closer to its time of original composition than the major classical works of antiquity.

Traditionally, the major sources for cross-checking the Masoretic texts were the fifth century B.C. Samaritan Pentateuch, the Targums - oral paraphrases from the sixth century B.C., the Mishnah - scriptural quotes and commentary from A.D. 200 and the Midras (100 B.C.-A.D. 300) - rabbinic studies on doctrine. The net result of these literary cross-references  was the strengthening of the authenticity of the Masoretic texts

Then came 1947. One of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls found was a complete Isaiah manuscript. Its date? Approximately 125 B.C.  This is a thousand years earlier, than the Masoretic texts. How did it compare? Norman L. Geist and William E. Nix report::  "In one chapter of 166 words, (Isaiah. 53) there is only one word, (three letters) in question after thousand years of transmission and this word does not significant change the meaning of the passage" (General Introduction to the Bible, p. 263).  In the words of Mr. Geisler and Mr. Nix, "the King James Bible 98.33 percent pure" when compared with the Dead Sea Scrolls.   Yet, as the accuracy of the Talmudists and Masoretes should demonstrate, the Dead Sea Scrools  need to be evaluated by the official  Masoretic texts, not vice versa.

The New Testament documents
How reliable are the New Testament books we possess, and can we cross-check them for accuracy?   How much manuscript evidence is there to support and verify the 27 New Testament books?   "There are some 8,000 manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate and at least 1,000 for other early versions. Add over 4,000 Greek manuscripts (some say 5,000), and we have 13,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament" (Robertson, Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, p. 29).  
Thirteen thousand New Testament manuscripts compared to 10 good copies for Caesar's Gallic Wars! The verification of the 27 New Testament books is easier than for any other piece of classical writing. The overwhelming manuscript data makes it much simpler to reconstruct the original reading for disputed or unclear passages. 

How close are these manuscripts to the time when the New Testament writings were completed? Near-contemporary support material is often used as a crucial test of authenticity.

John Rylands Library in Manchester, England, owns a papyrus fragment of John 18:31-33, which they date to about A.D. 130. This is within 40 years of John's autograph. The Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin, Ireland, holds papyrus copies of the gospels, Acts, Paul's epistles. The date? Around A.D. 200. The Bodmer Papyrus (A.D. 150-200) contains most of John's gospel.

No other ancient writing has such sterling verification from near-contemporary sources.

There are the great codices such as Codex Sinaiticus (composed about A.D. 350 and Codex Alexandrinus (composed about A.D. 325-350) and the Codex Vaticanus (A.D. 325350) in the Vatican Library.

Numerous theologians like Iraeneus, Tertullian and Augustine argued their doctrines by quoting the extant writings and/or copies of the New Testament books. The gospels, Acts, epistles and Revelation were appealed to as the final authority.

Sir David Dalrymple thus reconstructed our entire New Testament except for 11 verses from the writings of those prolific theologians. This is an amazing corroboration and verification of our New Testament, for if every Bible were to disappear overnight, we could virtually reconstruct it from other sources!

Indeed, no other body of literature can be so well attested by such a wealth of documentary evidence.   The accuracy of Scripture, it infallible transmission through the centuries, is verifiable by its internal thrust alone. The great truth of the human potential - the purpose of human life, that the Bible shouts from its pages - bespeak inspiration!

Part Four - Does the Bible Contain Errors?
Skepties assert that the Bible can't be completely trusted and that it is full of errors, especially in areas such as history and science. Because of these "errors," skeptics cannot accept the Bible as being the inspired, infallible Word of God.   What is the truth about these so-called errors? Let's look at some examples critics use to support their doubts.

The two genealogies
Matthew 1 and Luke 3 both give genealogies of Christ, but they appear to contradict. Actually they complement each other. Matthew's genealogy is clearly that of Joseph. Matthew recorded it for legal purposes; he was writing to prove to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, and the Jews' custom in keeping records was to trace descent through the father. Legally, the Jews of Jesus' day looked on Jesus as a son of Joseph (John 6:42). Also, Joseph's lineage was given to emphasize the fact that Jesus had to be born of a virgin. He could never sit upon the throne of David if Joseph were His real father, since Jechonias (or Jeconiah) was one of his ancestors (Matt. 1:11-12).

Jeconiah, called Coniah in Jeremiah 22:24-30, was so evil God cursed him and his descendants and said-"no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah" (verse 30).  Jeconiah did have children (1 Chron. 3:17) but was childless as far as having any descendants on the throne. Joseph's children could not, therefore, ever sit on David's throne.

How, then, could Christ be a descendant of David and qualify to sit on the throne? Enter the genealogy in Luke 3.  Luke's genealogy is actually Mary's. According to Jewish usage, Mary's genealogy was given in her husband's name. The original Greek merely says Joseph was "ofHeli" (Luke 3:23). In fact, Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, since his father was Jacob (Matt. 1:16).

Unlike in Joseph's lineage, there was no block to the throne of David in Jesus' actual blood genealogy through Mary. Her ancestor was David's other son, Nathan (Luke 3:31). To fulfil His promise to establish David's throne forever, God honoured Nathan by making him the ancestor of the promised King who would sit on David's throne through eternity (Luke 1:31-33). 
But how could Mary transmit David's royal inheritance - the right to the throne - to her son, since all inheritances had to pass through male descendants? According to Israel's law, when a daughter was the only heir, she could inherit her father's possessions and rights if she married within her own tribe (Num. 27:17, 36:6-7).

Apparently, Mary had no brothers who could be her father's heirs. Joseph became Heli's heir by marriage to Mary, and thus inherited the right to rule on David's throne. This right then passed on to Christ.    Both genealogies had to be recorded to establish Christ's right to rule on David's throne. Joseph's genealogy shows Christ was a descendant of Jeconiah and thus could not sit on the throne by inheriting the right through Joseph. It further proves the virgin birth: The curse on Jeconiah's line would have passed on to Christ if He were Joseph's real son, but He wasn't He was begotten by the Holy Spirit and was the Son of God.

But Christ was Mary's son through Nathan and can inherit the throne legally because of her marriage to Joseph, whose genealogy shows he was of the tribe of Judah.

Matthew's "mistakes"
Matthew 27:1-9 presents three difficulties, according to skeptics. The first concerns the death of Judas. Matthew says Judas died by hanging himself. But in Acts 1:18, Peter says Judas fell.
Contradiction? No. The hanging must have been improperly carried out, since it resulted in Judas falling from the noose and bursting asunder on the ground below.

We don't have sufficient details to know whether Judas was dead before the fall. He may have been hanging dead for some time, and his body decomposed and fell, or he may have slipped from the noose.  Matthew's and Peter's accounts also differ as to how the 30 pieces of silver were used. Matthew says the chief priests bought the potter's field, while Peter indicates Judas bought the field.  
When the two accounts are put together we can conclude that Judas had made arrangements to buy the field. But when Judas saw Jesus condemned to death, he felt remorse over his treachery. He returned the 30 pieces of silver to the priests and then committed suicide in a potter's field. The chief priests used the money to buy this field in Judas' name to bury aliens in.

Biblical passages add to each other's meaning; they do not detract from or contradict other scriptures.

The third "difficulty" is that Matthew 27:9 purports to be a quotation from Jeremiah. But you can search the 52 chapters of Jeremiah's book and you will not find it. So the critics say Matthew made a mistake. Instead a similar quotation is found in Zechariah 11: 12-13; although Zechariah mentions 30 pieces of silver and a potter, there is nothing about a potter's field.  But notice carefully Matthew's  words again:  "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet"  This prophecy was spoken by Jeremiah and for some reason was not recorded in his book. Matthew obviously had access to it, though, through other records.

"Historical errors" disproved
What some consider classic examples of errors in the Bible's historical sections can also be explained.

Some think the apostle Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 10:8 contradicts Numbers 25:9. Did 23,000 or 24,000 die in the plague? When we read both accounts carefully, we see that the Old Testament version gives the total number of people who died in the plague. Paul relates that most of them, or 23,000, died in one day. The remaining thousand died later.

Another possible explanation is that round numbers were used by both writers. If the actual number was around 23,500 it would be correct to round it off to either 23,000 or 24,000. 
Time and again the Bible's accuracy has been vindicated by archaeologists. One example is Daniel's statement that Belshazzar was the last king of Babylon (Dan. 5:3031). For centuries historians said Daniel was wrong - according to them Nabonidus was the last king.

But the critics were silenced when archaeologists dug up some Babylonian documents that stated Nabonidus named his son "Belsarusus" - a variation of Beishazzar. According to a document now called the Nabonidus Chronicle, Nabonidus "entrusted the army and the kingship" to Belshazzar while he campaigned in central Arabia.   Belshazzar was therefore the second ruler of Babylon who reigned in his father's absence. This explains why Belshazzar wanted to make Daniel the "third ruler" in the kingdom (Dan, 5:16).

Critics also once attacked the historical accuracy of the account in 11 Kings 18. It describes the struggle between King Sennachcrib of Assyria and King Hezekiah of Judah. For the sake of peace, Hezekiah offered whatever tribute would satisfy the Assyrian ruler.  Sennacherib asked for 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold (verse 14).

A problem developed with this account when archaeologists found Sennacherib's official records, which described the settlement as being 800 talents of silver and 30 of gold. This was 500 more talents of silver than what the Bible said.   But more recent discoveries revealed that Assyria and Judah used different standards for calculating silver, just as countries today have different standards for currency. It turned out that 800 Assyrian talents of silver equalled 300 Jewish talents of silver. The Bible account stood vindicated.

Measurement of time
Many supposed contradictions in the Bible are related to time and measurement.

Israel used both a civil and sacred calendar. The civil year started in the autumn with the month Tishri. The sacred year began in the spring with the month Nisan or Abib. If two writers disagree on the month and day of an event, we must see which calendar they use for reckoning.   John 19:14 appears to disagree with Matthew 27:45. John describes events before the crucifixion and says they took place about the "sixth hour." Matthew agrees with Mark 15:33 and Luke 23:44 when he says darkness covered the land after the crucifixion from the sixth to the ninth hours. Is there disagreement as to when the crucifixion occurred?

The Jewish state was then under Roman control. John used the Roman reckoning of time - counting from midnight. To John, the "sixth hour" was six o'clock in the morning. But according to the Jews' reckoning of time, which the other Gospel writers used, this was the first hour of the day. The sixth hour, to them, was noon, Roman time. The crucifixion occurred between these times. The four versions do not contradict; they add to each other.

There are, in the Bible, discrepancies that might at first appear to be errors. Under examination they prove not to be errors. On occasion what appears to be an error is caused by a faulty translation, of which there are several among the many different versions of the Bible. If a seeming contradiction cannot be immediately solved, we don't need to be overly concerned.   Jesus Christ said, "The scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). There is a solution to all the so called discrepancies. The Scriptures are unified in teaching the truth - not error. All Scripture is profitable (11 Tim. 3:16) - error isn't.

"The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).

The Bible is the inspired Word of God and we can rely on its trustworthiness. It is a sure foundation for our faith.

For Further Study - Bible Fact or Fiction? | Bible Prophecy | Is Bible Reliable? | Evolution and the Spiders Web

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