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Authority Inspiration The Bible

Using the Bible to Prove the Bible: Evidence from Prophecy

How can we know the Bible is of supernatural origin, and what makes it different from any other holy book that people claim to be from God?  To answer this question, many focus on evidence we find outside of the Bible: archaeological studies, historical documentation, and advanced scientific knowledge – all of which can be very helpful to answer skepticism.  These lines of argument are built on knowledge found outside the Bible, but there is one line of evidence that relies mainly on scripture itself: the fulfillment of prophecy.

First, let me briefly address the common argument that using the Bible to prove the Bible is circular reasoning.  The Bible is not just one book.  It is a collection of 66 books by 40 different authors.  If it were one work by one author (like many other “holy” books), it would be circular reasoning.  This article shows the predictions of prophets whose fulfillment is witnessed by someone else in another time period.  In many cases, this witness is recorded in scripture; in a few cases it is mentioned elsewhere in history.  This represents multiple, independent lines of corroborating evidence – not circular reasoning.

Divine Origin

Only a being which exists outside the constraints of time can give a detailed description of what will happen in the future with one-hundred percent accuracy.  (In general, I have found those who claim a biblical prophecy has failed to be fulfilled are referring to end-times predictions they have mis-categorized.) This is a characteristic which sets it apart from the Qur’an and many other “holy” books which have no prophecies whatsoever or the Book of Mormon which is filled with false predictions.

Here I’ll describe just a few prophecies which I believe prove the Bible’s supernatural origin.  See 100prophecies.orgCARM, or our Google Custom Search to find many, many more mind-blowing examples of God’s prophetic words given to his people who compiled them in what we know as the Bible.

Daniel’s 69 Weeks

 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

– Daniel 9:25

This prophecy is part of larger discourse in Daniel 9:24-27 detailing the “seventy weeks” revealed to the prophet Daniel by the angel Gabriel.  In verse 25, he indicates that the Messiah will come 7 weeks plus 62 weeks (69 weeks total) from the time a decree to restore Jerusalem was issued to the time the Messiah would arrive.  Each “week” would have generally been understood by Jewish readers as representing a period of 7 years, each year being 360 days according to the Jewish calendar.  This would make the time period 483 years (173,880 days) from the decree to the Messiah’s coming.

The decree came when Nehemiah met with Artaxerxes in 445 B.C. (Neh 2:4-8). That would place Messiah’s coming in 32 A.D. for the prophecy to be exact.  The day of his coming was the Triumphal Entry recorded in Luke 19:28-48 (and parallel accounts in other gospels).  Prior to that, he kept telling his disciples “mine hour has not yet come.” Chuck Missler argues that Luke 19:44 is in fact a rebuke for not knowing the “hour of they visitation” because the prophecy was so precise they should have been waiting for him that day.  For a fuller explanation of this prophecy, other remarkable aspects of the “seventy weeks”, and discussion of the authenticity of this text, see Dr. Missler’s article.

Daniel’s Vision of the Four Great Beasts

Statue from Daniel's Vision
Statue from Daniel Chapter 2.

The vision given by the Angel Gabriel in Daniel 7-8 is parallel to the vision of the statue in Daniel 2 (the photo on the right).  I have chosen the former because of its specificity.  Daniel records not only the symbolism but the interpretation of it which lines up perfectly with the history of the nations listed.

Daniel 8:20 names the kings of “Media and Persia” symbolized by a ram with great power. This matches the Medo-Persian empire as recorded by many historians.  Daniel 8:21 names the king of “Grecia” symbolized by a goat which overtakes the ram from the west.  Here again, the names and geography match the record of the Greek Empire and the conquest of Alexander the Great.  Finally, he says four kingdoms will arise when the Greek Empire falls.  Though he did not name these kings, they were: Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus.

Far more could be said about the sequence of events, specific symbolism, and other details which Daniel would not be able to manipulate to show he was a true prophet.  See this article by Kyle Butt for a more thorough analysis and defense of this prophecy.

The Reign of Cyrus

Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; (emphasis mine)

-Isaiah 45:1

Here Isaiah names a king who did indeed gain great power without much resistance.  It was written at least 100 years before Cyrus was even born, let alone had risen to power.  This is yet another prophecy which could not have been fulfilled by a group of people wishing to validate what they foretold.  Chuck Missler has a good article on the authenticity of Isaiah and the reign of Cyrus.

Destruction of the Temple

Jesus explained that the temple in Jerusalem would be torn down all the way to its foundations in Matthew 24:1-2 (Also see the prophecy in Daniel 9:26 and parallel accounts in Mark 13:1-2 and Luke 21:5-6.):

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Josephus, a historian who was also a Jewish Priest (i.e. did not view Jesus as the promised Messiah), recorded the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.  The lack of any mention of this in the Gospels is further evidence of their authenticity and early writing.  If Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were tossing in mentions of fulfilled prophecies to support their stories, why would they all leave out such an important event?  Surely this would have lent more weight to Jesus’ words and given them reason to make up this evidence as well.  The more likely explanation is that in fact the Gospels were written beforehand and the truth of Jesus’ words were recorded by others at a later date.  Read more about this event here.

Jesus Christ

In addition to Daniel’s vision listed above, over 300 prophecies about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were made in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament (see a complete list here).  Some are more open to interpretation than others, but the sheer volume of messianic predictions is undeniable.  Like the things mentioned above, there are details about place names and sequences of events which shut out vague interpretations and would also be out of Jesus’ control if he were just a man.  These include his ancestry, birthplace, the national reaction to him, the amount of silver exchanged for his life…it is simply overwhelming.  Rather than deal with specific prophecies in this category and the possible objections one-by-one, I will address them more generally and again point to our search tool for further research.

Common Objections to Prophecy

Many who are skeptical of prophecy in general would argue that the wording or symbolism is loose enough that it can simply be re-interpreted to fit history.  Consider this prophecy from Nostradamus which supposedly predicted the 9/11 attacks in New York City:

Earthshaking fire from the center of the Earth
Will cause tremors around the New City.
Two great rocks will war for a long time,
Then Arethusa will redden a new river.

I could see how this might fit the World Trade Center attacks, but it could match any number of other events as well.  What sets apart prophecies like this from the biblical ones is that the latter includes very specific details which cannot be interpreted multiple ways.  The sheer volume of messianic prophecies further narrow the range of possibilities so that not just any old “Messiah” would be able to claim he fulfilled biblical requirements.

Others would say the text was manipulated over time to support a religious agenda.  This accusation fails for a number of reasons.  First, we have copies of the Old Testament, prophecies and all, that date back hundreds of years before Jesus was born (see the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls).  This means if anyone altered the passages about him, it happened in the New Testament.

But, does that work?  The people who were still around in the years following Jesus’ ministry would certainly have refuted not accepted utter fabrications of events they would have known something about.  Paul, before he was an evangelist, was a Pharisee of Pharisees.  He had deep knowledge of said prophecies and a hatred for all who followed Jesus.  He would not only have reason but also the influence to expose such a fraud.  Instead, he repented and accepted the “Gospel Truth.”  The video below is a good discussion with Lee Strobel talking about how he viewed these issues when he was an atheist and after he became a Christian.

Further objections and theories about how the Gospel writers must have invented this intricate story quickly become self-contradictory and sound more like an ancient Jewish conspiracy theory than a reasonable, objective look at the evidence.

How Will You Respond?

This is more than an academic exercise.  God didn’t just make (and keep) the promises he gave about people and nations that died long ago.  He also makes promises about things yet to come which matter to you and I.  There will be a day when Jesus returns to fulfill the “end-times” prophecies, and when that day comes we better know where we stand.  Those who repent of their sins, seek forgiveness through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, and receive the Holy Spirit will be with him in Heaven.  Those who run from his truth will choose a worse fate – an eternity in Hell.

Do not make that choice before honestly examining your heart to know whether you reject the sure word of prophecy because it “doesn’t hold water” or if it is because you are looking for any reason at all to deny the God who sees all things from beginning to end.  Do not be deceived by yourself or by false teachers, for you know not the day nor the hour when it will be too late to turn back.

Categories
Alleged Errors Authority Evangelism False Religions Salvation Teachings The Bible The Christian The Savior The World Theology

10 Apologetics Videos That Get Straight to the Point (and Right to the Heart)

After absorbing over 50 hours of apologetics lectures and debates on topics as simple as an overview of Genesis and as minute as cave formation in New Mexico, my friend and I had an idea.  We seriously considered condensing the information in our vast, overpriced DVD library into a series of short video clips to deliver the key points in a way that would be more engaging to our generation and easy to share online.

We never got past the first script, but I am happy to report that several ministries with superior skills and funding have had the same idea in recent years.  Answers in Genesis now has Check This OutThe Institute for Creation Research produces That’s a Fact, and Creation Today has my personal favorite: Creation Minute.  These video series focus on foundational issues surrounding science and the Bible, but what about the other important questions of life?

Now, Mark Spence of Living Waters teaches on these broader topics in a series of apologetics videos taken from the Way of the Master TV Show.  I was blown away by the quality of not only the teaching but also the production that goes with it.  Unlike those old lectures, these videos get right to the heart of some of the most-asked questions about Christianity or religious beliefs in general.  Everyone has time to watch three minutes (or less) of non-stop, hard-hitting apologetics on the questions that matter most.

You can watch all 10 videos below or click a link to jump to a specific clip.

  1. Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
  2. Does Christianity Cause Wars?
  3. Is It Wrong to Judge?
  4. Can We Trust the Bible?
  5. Is Reincarnation True?
  6. Why Would a God of LOVE Send Someone to Hell?
  7. Is Sin God’s Fault?
  8. Which Jesus do you Follow?
  9. What is Truth?
  10. Why is There Evil in the World?

Categories
Authority The Bible Translation

Multiversions Onlyism

It’s easy to think that the “King James Only” movement is limited to the English-speaking Western world. A Principal at Far Eastern Bible College in Singapore explains why it goes beyond that, and how the mainline trend can be characterized as “multiversions-onlyism.”

Far Eastern Bible College | MULTIVERSIONS ONLYISM.

Categories
Authority Preservation The Bible

Grady on Ruckman

According to his detractors, Peter Ruckman is guilty of: plural marriages, being mean-spirited, stealing money from gullible followers, racism, Nazism, and an attempted assassination plot. Whatever the personal sins of this man, his true crime in the eyes of the world is that he openly professes to believe the King James Bible word-for-word. Watch how one Christian man responds to this topic in a fresh way.

Categories
Alleged Errors Authority Inspiration Prophecy The Bible The Last Days

Can we trust the Bible?

This high-quality, visually engaging presentation by Mark Spence, the Dean of the School of Biblical Evangelism, gives clear reasons why the Bible can be trusted as inerrant, inspired, and infallible.

Categories
Authority The Bible The Father The Holy Spirit The Savior Theology

How Do You Prove God Exists?

In this first of a 4-part series, Eric Hovind interviews a presuppositional apologist about a most unique tool to avoid the meaningless arguing, and cut to the heart of the matter. Must Christians argue about God and His creation without using the Bible? No! The Bible is our sword, and we must not lay it down. The unbeliever certainly won’t lay his weapon down.

Categories
Authority Preservation The Bible Translation

Why Your Bible Version Matters

Christian denominations generally differentiate themselves according to their varying ways of interpreting the Bible. Now we are faced with a very different argument over whether the words themselves belong as part of the canon of scripture. Translation committees toil over which words may have been in the “originals” and which they believe were added later. Today’s theological conservative would proclaim that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God, but we must face the question of which “Bible” actually meets this qualification. Is it only the originals that qualify, or does this perfect Bible still exist today?

The typical statement defining inerrancy proclaims that God inspired the writers of the original documents and that these manuscripts are infallible – perfect in every way. But the defense usually stops there. Few today will stand up for any translation or copy. What we must remember is that skeptics are attacking the validity of the Bible we read and study today, not writings in a forgotten language penned centuries ago. It is the one we have, not the one we had that must be preached as if it were spoken directly from our Creator. We can do so while standing on God’s promise in Psalm 12:7: “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (emphasis mine)

What use is it for Christians to trust in a manuscript that perished not long after the writers themselves? No one can visit a museum and gaze upon these original documents to study them, learn from them, teach from them. The only thing we have are copies, translations, and indeed revisions of the words God first spoke through holy men in days past. In effect, by holding only to inerrancy in the originals and not to any available translation or copy, Christians unwittingly bend to the skeptic’s claim that no Bible currently exists that is totally error-free.

This would seem to be a minor point to those who believe there are no major differences among most popular English Bible versions or that newer translations have remained true to the first editions. Naturally, if each translation is simply a more readable or understandable presentation of the very same words, then we may be straining at gnats. Let me assure you that aside from the doctrine of inerrancy, there are several other teachings which are affected by divergent wording of modern Bibles.

Before there were such disagreements over the content of the originals, the English-Speaking world knew only one Bible: the Authorized Version of 1611 (AV 1611), also called the King James Version (KJV). Sure, there were other English versions available, but none came anywhere close to the wide distribution of the KJV and all used the same trusted manuscripts to derive their work. It was only later with the advent of of textual criticism that these sources began to fall into disfavor by scholars. They now prefer to use older, fragmented, incomplete manuscripts to “correct” the Textus Receptus (TR) used by Christian translators during the Reformation period. As this article shows, manuscripts not associated with the TR are extremely untrustworthy. Each new translation which deviates from the TR based on wording in these older copies can more correctly be called a revisionof God’s pure, holy words. The result is a watering-down or confusion of doctrines such as believer’s baptism, the Holy Trinity, and aspects of spiritual warfare.

Acts 8:37 is the clearest scriptural passage teaching that baptism is for those who believe the Gospel, not for those who have never heard it, such as infants. Philip preached about Jesus by explaining prophecies from Isaiah to a eunuch. The eunuch then asks “what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Most Bible versions then skip to his baptism. The King James Bible answers his question: “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Philip said if you believe Jesus is the Son of God, you may be baptized. Logically this also means that without this profession, Phillip would not have baptized him. If your Bible skips from Acts 8:36 straight to Acts 8:38, you would come away with this question unanswered. You may find yourself confused.

Without a KJV, you would also miss this definitive statement on the trinity: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” You could find other evidence of the triune Godhead, but none have the clarity of 1 John 5:7. This stands in wonderful parallel with the next verse explaining the witnesses of God in the earth.

If you are seeking to learn about casting out demons, where would you go in the Bible? Naturally, there are many passages which would encourage you to pray. In most cases this is the best anyone can do. Yet in some cases it would require not only prayer but fasting as well. In Matthew 17 we see the story of a child who was “lunatick.” The disciples, who already had some experience casting out demons, were unsuccessful in doing so with this boy. Jesus gives two reasons: their unbelief (Matt 17:20) and because this kind of demon must be cast out through prayer and fasting (Matt 17:21). Yet the latter explanation is relegated to the footnotes or else vanquished altogether from today’s bible revisions.

While all these omissions (plus many more listed here and here) do not constitute a complete removal of the doctrines I’ve discussed, they do reduce the clarity that children of God so desperately seek. It should be no surprise when we discover to increasing degrees the lack of conviction among our leaders. Let us stand with boldness on the living, powerful, sharp-edged words given by God Almighty. The Bible is alive today in the most commonly spoken language of our time. It is the King James Bible. Open it up and let it come alive in your heart as it has for me.