Archaeology and the Historical Reliability of the New Testament

Establishing the historical reliability of both the Old and New Testaments.

This is only a partial example, and these examples have been seriously altered to make it possible to include in this comment, but references are given for your further study.

As we go through the Bible we will take a closer look at many of these points of reference.

Archaeology and the Historical Reliability of the New Testament

Peter S. Williams

Peter S. Williams examines the historical reliability of the New Testament in the light of the findings of archaeology.

“On the whole … archaeological work has unquestionably strengthened confidence in the reliability of the Scriptural record. More than one archaeologist has found his respect for the Bible increased by the experience of excavation in Palestine. Archaeology has in many cases refuted the views of modern critics. ” — Millar Burrows, Professor of Archaeology, Yale University.

Charlotte Allen observes that “Archaeology, which was then a young science, was by and large ignored by the academic biblical scholars of the [nineteenth] century. For the great German exegeses of the era … a voyage to Palestine was beside the point; as the life of the historical Jesus was for them solely a matter of interpreting texts. “[Today, scholars know that archaeological data can be a valuable aid to interpreting texts, as well as providing independent adjudication of a text’s historical veracity.

As Nelson Glueck states, “It may be staled categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference “, whereas on the other “Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. “

Archaeologist William F.

Albright observes:

The excessive skepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth-and-nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which will appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history. Likewise, Joseph Free confirms “Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which had been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contrary to known facts.

“Theologian Craig L. Blomberg

notes how: Archaeology can demonstrate that the places mentioned in the Gospels really existed and that customs, living conditions, topography, household and workplace furniture and tools, roads, coins, buildings and numerous other ‘stage props’ correspond.”‘ the Gospels describe them.

It can show that the names of certain characters in the Gospels are accurate, when we find inscriptional references to them elsewhere. Events and teachings ascribed to Jesus become intelligible and therefore plausible when read against everything we know about life in Palestine in the first third of the first century.

Archaeologist Jonathan L. Reed

Reed observes that “The many archaeological discoveries relating to people, places, or titles mentioned in Acts do lend credence to its historicity at one level; many of the specific details in Acts are factual. “ And as Lee Strobel observes:

In trying to determine if a witness is being truthful, journalists and lawyers will test all the elements of his or her testimony that can be tested. If this investigation reveals that the person was wrong in those details, this casts considerable doubt on the veracity of his or her entire story. However, if the minutiae check out, this is some indication — not conclusive proof but some evidence — that maybe the witness is being reliable in his or her overall account.

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a rare clay seal mark and a 2,600-year-old stone stamp bearing Biblical names amid the ruins of a building destroyed by the ancient Babylonians.

The amazing finds, which date to the First Temple period, were made in Jerusalem’s famous City of David. The artifacts were discovered in the remains of a structure razed in the 6th century B.C., likely during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., according to experts.

In a statement, Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, which oversaw the dig, said charred pottery shards were found in the building, indicating that the seal mark and stamp survived a major fire.

Both artifacts feature ancient Hebrew script.

In ancient times, a seal stamp, or bulla, was used to authenticate documents or items.

The Nathan-Melech/Eved Hamelech seal stamp found in the City of David. (Photo Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

The tiny 1 cm seal stamp has been dated to sometime from the middle of the seventh century to the start of the sixth century B.C. Deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem, the stamp features the words: “(Belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King.” In the second book of Kings 23:11 “Nathan-Melech” is described as an official in the court of King Josiah. The seal is described as the first archaeological evidence of the Biblical name.

“Although it is not possible to determine with complete certainty that the Nathan-Melech who is mentioned in the Bible was in fact the owner of the stamp, it is impossible to ignore some of the details that link them together,” said Mendel-Geberovich, in the statement.

A 1 cm stamp-seal made of bluish agate stone was also found in the ruins. The stamp is engraved with the name: “(Belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu.” The name “Matanyahu” appears in the Bible and on other stamps and seal marks, but the name “Ikar” has not been seen before.

The Ikar Ben Matanyahu seal found in the City of David. (Photo Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

Mendel-Geberovich believes that “Ikar,” which can be translated as “farmer,” likely refers to a private individual, as opposed to a description of the person’s occupation.

Stamp seals, which were often used to sign documents, where often set in their owners’ signet rings. It is unclear who “Ikar” was.

“These artifacts attest to the highly developed system of administration in the Kingdom of Judah and add considerable information to our understanding of the economic status of Jerusalem and its administrative system during the First Temple period, as well as personal information about the king’s closest officials and administrators who lived and worked in the city,” said Prof. Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in the statement.

The excavation took place at the Givati Parking Lot in Jerusalem’s City of David.

Israel continues to reveal fresh details of its incredible history. Archaeologists in the City of David, for example, recently discovered an unusual clay jar fragment depicting a ‘grotesque’ ancient deity for scaring away evil spirits. Experts also recently uncovered the estate of a wealthy ancient Samaritan at Zur Natan in central Israel.

In another project, researchers have been shedding new light on the history of a Biblical site linked to the Ark of the Covenant.

Engravings of ships were also recently found on an ancient water cistern discovered in a city in the Negev desert.

Givati Parking Lot Excavations in the City of David, where the discoveries were made.

Elsewhere, archaeologists confirmed the first full spelling of “Jerusalem” on an ancient stone inscription excavated in the area of Jerusalem’s International Convention Center, known as Binyanei Ha’Uma.

In separate excavations, experts discovered a site that may offer fresh insight into the ancient biblical kingdom of David and Solomon, and a trove of bronze coins, the last remnants of an ancient Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire, near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

In February 2018, archaeologists announced the discovery of a clay seal mark that may bear the signature of the biblical Prophet Isaiah.

The Nathan-Melech/Eved Hamelech seal found in the City of David.

Other recent finds in recent years include the skeleton of a pregnant woman, dating back 3,200 years, in Israel’s Timna Valley, at a place once called King Solomon’s Mines.

At the site of an ancient city on the West Bank, archaeologists are also hunting for evidence of the tabernacle that once housed the Ark of the Covenant.

Some experts also believe they have found the lost Roman city of Julias, formerly the village of Bethsaida, which was the home of Jesus’ apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

We will review archaeological evidence under the following three categories:

Culture — Beliefs and Practices
Places — Urban centers and individual buildings
People — Titles, Names and Relationships

Culture

Here is a selection of finds relating to cultural practices mentioned in the New Testament.

Crucifixion Victim

In 1968 an ancient burial site was uncovered containing about 35 bodies. One named Yohanan Ben Ha’galgol had a 7 inch nail driven through both feet. Yohanan’s legs were crushed by a blow consistent with the common use of Roman ‘crucifragium’ John 19:31-32 . This find proves that a victim of crucifixion (like Jesus) could receive a proper Jewish burial.

Leprosy in the First Century

Some have suggested that there was no ‘leprosy’ (i.e. Mycobacterium Leprae or Hansen’s Disease) in the Middle East in Jesus day:

However, thanks to archaeology there is now dramatic evidence of ifs existence in the early first century. Scientific testing of the burial shroud in the so-called ‘Shroud Tomb ‘ has confirmed [he presence of leprosy… Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radio carbon dating confirmed the first-century date of both shroud and skeletal remains. DNA testing confirmed that the man rapped in the shroud was related to other members whose skeletal remains were recovered in the tomb. This DNA testing also revealed that the man has suffered from leprosy.

First-Century Fishing Boat

In the 1980s, drought exposed a well-preserved first-century fishing boat (measuring 26.5 feet long, 7.5 feet wide and 4.5 feet high) in the mud of the Sea of Galilee:

Under the direction of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, archaeologists began a race against time to carefully extract the boat from the mud before the waters returned… Eventually it was placed in a climate-controlled environment to protect it from aging… Pots and lamps found inside the boat dated it to the first century. Carbon-14 testing further confirmed the dating. The design of the boat was typical of fishing boats used during that period on the Sea of Galilee. In the back of the boat was a raised section like the one where Jesus could have been sleeping, as indicated in the Gospel accounts. The boat could accommodate 15 people including crew. This archaeological discovery confirms the description given in the Bible.

The Politarch Inscription Pompeii Palindromes

Excavated at Pompeii, the Roman city engulfed in liquid mud when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, were two palindromic inscriptions of:

the famous SATOR or ROTAS square, one scratched on the wall of a private house, the other on a pillar in a public exercise yard. This palindrome appears at sites across the Roman Empire in later centuries… All sorts of ingenious explanations have been offered for this remarkable square. On the principle that the simplest explanation is the best; unraveling it as a Christian text gains first place. With the N at the center, the other letters can be re-arranged in a cross shape to read PATERNOSTER [‘Our Father’] horizontally and vertically, with A [alpha] and O (omega) at each end. If this is correct; there were people in Pompeii “who knew at least the first words of the Lord’s prayer in Latin before 79.

The Alexamenos Graffito

This piece of graffiti, from near the Palatine Hill in Rome and rather roughly dated to late in the second-century AD, was apparently drawn by one Roman soldier to mock the faith of a fellow soldier who was a Christian. It shows a man standing by a crucifixion victim with the head of a donkey. The Greek caption reads: “Alexamenos worships [his] God”.

Christian Church at Megiddo, c. 230 AD

John Dickson reports that: “Megiddo is the site of the earliest church building yet found. This strategic trade city contains the remains of a Christian prayer hall dating to the third century. It contains three mosaic inscriptions pointing to its Christian use. “One Greek inscription, which refers to the table in the center of the hall that was probably used for communion, states: “The God-loving Akeplous has offered (he table to the God Jesus Christ”. The fish that adorn the center of one of four mosaics in the hall are a Christian symbol — the word ichthys (Greek for fish): “is an anagram of the words lesous Christos Theou Yios Soter: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour” (for video of this find cf. http://youtu.be/a21cDvAMzQ8).

Places

Here is a selection of finds relating to places mentioned in the New Testament.

Bethlehem

In May 2012 the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a bulla (a small clay seal) that mentions Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus (cf. links to a photo and video of the bulla):

Nazareth

Theologian R.T. France describes Nazareth as:

so insignificant that its name occurs nowhere in Jewish literature until long after the time of Jesus. It was a small village, largely devoted to agriculture, bypassed by the main roads which ran to the near-by Hellenistic city of Sepphoris, The capital of Galilee… it’s population has been estimated at between 500 and 2, 000, and The remains of its buildings show no sign of wealth in the relevant period.

Lee Strobel notes that “Skeptics have been asserting for a long time that Nazareth never existed during the time when the New Testament says Jesus spent his childhood there. However, Paul Barnett reports that “in 1961 a mosaic dated from the third century in which Nazareth appears was unearthed in Caesarea Maritima. Nazareth … is not mentioned in the Old Testament, nor in Josephus ‘s work. Questions as to its genuineness were resolved by this discovery

The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life the time of Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period.

Capernaum

There are sixteen references to Capernaum (Caper = ‘village’ of Nahum), by the Sea of Galilee, in the gospels: R. T. France notes that:

The houses excavated at Capernaum were one-story buildings, with an outside staircase giving access to the flat roof. The roof was not of stone, but of wooden beams or branches thatched with rush and daubed with mud This explains Mark’s description of how four men carried a potential patient onto the roof and, literally, ‘uncovered the roof and dug it out ‘ so as to let the man down in front of Jesus (Mark 2:1-4), and [he size of the rooms in such houses (never more than five meters across, and often much smaller) shows how quite a modest crowd could make this the only means of access.

The Synagogue in Capernaum

Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum according to Mark 1 :21-22 and Luke 4:31-36. Luke 7:1-10 records how Jesus healed the slave of a Roman centurion posted locally.

The Roman Presence in Capernaum

Randall Price notes that “Recently the Roman presence was confirmed through the excavation at Capernaun of a number of Roman-style buildings, including a Roman bathhouse. ” As Ian Wilson reports: “In this regard, archaeologists have found evidence of Roman military presence in Capernaum in the form of a long bathhouse, of positively non-Jewish design, that almost certainly belonged to the garrison commanded by Jesus ‘s centurion.

Peter’s House in Capernaum

It was pointed out to early pilgrims such as Egeria, the mother of emperor Constantine, who recorded c. AD 380 that: “In Capernaum the house of the prince of the apostles has been made into a church with its original walls still standing. It is where the Lord cured the paralytic. ” Peter Walker affirms “graffiti that referred to Jesus as Lord and Messiah .

provides strong evidence that the room was used as a place of Christian worship — almost certainly because it was believed to be the room used by Jesus, perhaps the home of Simon Peter (Luke 4:38) … Given that The early tradition goes back to the first century, this is almost certainly the very place where Jesus stayed— the home of his chief apostle, Peter.

Jerusalem and The Pool of Bethesda

John 5:1-15 describes a pool in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, called Bethesda, surrounded by five covered colonnades. Until the 19^thcentury, there was no evidence outside of John for the existence of this pool and John’s unusual description “caused bible scholars to doubt the reliability of John ‘s account, but (he pool was duly uncovered in the 1930s — with four colonnades around its edges and one across its middle. Ian Wilson reports: “Exhaustive excavations by Israeli archaeologist Professor Joachim Jeremias have brought to light precisely such a building, still including two huge, deep-cut cisterns, in the environs of Jerusalem ‘s Crusader Church of St Anne.

Jerusalem and The Pool of Siloam

In the 400s AD, a church was built above a pool attached to Hezekiah’s water tunnel to commemorate the healing of a blind man reported in John 9:1-7. Until recently, this was considered to be the Pool of Siloam from the time of Christ. However, during sewerage works in June 2004 engineers stumbled upon a first century ritual pool when they uncovered some ancient steps during pipe maintenance near the mouth of Hezekiah’s tunnel. By the summer of 2005, archaeologists had revealed what was “without doubt the missing pool of Siloam. Mark D. Roberts reports that: “In the plaster of this pool were found coins that establish the date of the pool to the years before and after Jesus. There is little question that this is in fact the pool of Siloam, to which Jesus sent the blind man in John 9.

Bethany and The Tomb of Lazarus

Peter Walker writes: “There is no doubting the general location of Bethany. The Arabic village of El-Azarieh preserves in its name the way the Byzantines referred to it — as the ‘Lazarium ‘, that is, ‘the place of Lazarus’. Until recently this was a tiny village… There is a strong likelihood that Lazarus ‘ tomb has been correctly identified and preserved.

People

Here is a selection of finds relating to people mentioned in the New Testament.

Herod the Great

We have a bronze coin minted by Herod the Great. On the obverse side (i.e. the bottom) is a tripod and ceremonial bowl with the inscription ‘Herod king’ and the year the coin was struck,

Erastus, Treasurer of Corinth

John McRay reports that:

Before AD 50, an area 62 feet square was paved with stone at the northeast corner of the theater in Corinth, Greece. Excavations there revealed part of a Latin inscription carved into the pavement which reads, ‘Erastus in return for his aedilship laid [the pavement] at his own expense. ‘ The Erastus of this inscription is identified in the excavation publication as the Eraslus mentioned by Paul in Romans, a letter written from Corinth, in which Erastus is referred to as ‘the city treasurer’ [Romans 16:23/ …

Gallio, Proconsul of Achaea

“This designation in Acts 18:12-17 M’as thought to be impossible. But an inscription at Delphi notes this exact title for the man, and it dates him to the time Paul leas in Corinth

Multiple Historical Figures Named in Luke 3: 1-2

In Luke 3:1-2 we see references to eight historical figures:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar — when [2] Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch [a governor of a quarter of a province] of Galilee, his brother

Philip tetrarch of lturea and Traconitis [cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.106-108], and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene — during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. (Luke 3:1-2 [cf Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18:5.2]

The historicity of all eight figures is assured, and archaeological evidence plays its role here, as the following examples demonstrate:

[l] Tiberius Caesar

The Denarius coin, 14-37 AD, is commonly referred to as the ‘Tribute Penny’ from the Bible. The coin shows a portrait of Tiberius Caesar. Craig L. Blomberg comments: “Jesus ‘famous saying about giving to Caesar what was his and to God what his (Mark 12:17 and parallels) makes even more sense when one discovers that most of the Roman coins in use at’ the time had images of Caesar on them.

[2] Pontius Pilate

“In 1961, in Caesarea Maritima, where Pontius Pilate lived, an inscription was found which, among other things, confirms not only the rule of Pilate in Judea but also his preference for the title ‘Prefect’. The inscription isn’t complete anymore, but there ‘s little question about what it once said. In Latin the inscription reads:

TIBERIEUM

IUS PILATUS

ECTUS IUDA

The original wording was thus:

TIBERIEUM

[PONT]IUS PILATUS

[PRAEF]ECTUS IDUA [EA]

Translated, this reads: “To Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.

[5] Lysanias, Tetrach of Abilene

Scholars used to say that Luke didn’t know what he was talking about, because everybody knew that Lysanias was the ruler of Chalcis, who was killed in 36 BC. But then an inscription was found at Albia near Damascus from the time of Tiberius (AD 14-37) which names Lysanias as Tetrarch just as Luke had written. It turned out there had been two government officials named Lysanias!

Caiaphas the High Priest

In a tomb located to the south of Jerusalem discovered several ossuaries, one of which contains what many scholars believe to be the bones of the former high priest Caiaphas and his family. On the side and back of the ossuary is the inscription: “Yosefbar [son of] Caifa

John the Baptist

On July 28th 2010 a team of Bulgarian archaeologists excavated a small alabaster box containing several pieces of bone from under the altar of the fourth century AD St. Ivan the Forerunner Church on Sveti Ivan, a Black Sea island off Sozopol on the Bulgarian coast: “We knew we would find a reliquary there and our expectations came true “, lead archaeologist Professor Kazimir Popkonstantinov wrote in an e-mail to CNN: seems rather logical to suggest the founders of the monastery did their best to bring relics of its patron saint. That saint was John the Baptist, after whom the Island of Svetti Ivan (St, John) and St, Ivan (John) the Forerunner Church were named.

Alexander of Cyrene

When Jesus was on the way to be crucified, the Roman soldiers forced a man called Simon from Cyrene to carry his cross-beam (cf. Matthew 27:32• Luke 23:26). Simon had sons called Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21; Romans 16:13). In 1941, Israeli archaeologist Eleazar Sukenik discovered a tomb in the Kidron valley in eastern Jerusalem. the chance that the Simon on the ossuary refers to the Simon of Cyrene mentioned in the Gospels seems very likely.

The Barsabbas Family

Modem archaeological findings cast light upon these references to Joseph and Judas Barsabbas. As reported by Jerusalem Christian Review (December 2000 online edition), Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a 1st century tomb in the mountainside off the Kidron Valley, containing ossuaries bearing signs of the cross. The inscriptions identify the cave as the tomb of the Barsabbas family. Historian Ory N. Mazar states that “at least some members of this family were among the very first disciples of Christ. ” The ossuaries included:

Simon Bar-Saba, the Hebrew version of ‘Simon Barsabbas’
Mary, daughter of Simon maybe one of the several Marys in the NT (eg. Matthew 28: 1 )
Joseph Barsabbas
The other candidate from Acts, Matthias, may have belonged to the same family, as one of the other coffins in the same cave carries the name M’T’I’, Hebrew for ‘Matthias’ • Another Son of Saba was Judah (the Hebrew form of the Greek Judas) Barsabbas

Professor Mazar comments:

the impact of these fascinating discoveries is multiplied when we consider the additional evidence found in the tomb such as coins and artifacts, that clearly show the tomb was hermetically sealed less than a decade after the crucifixion of Christ. This is years before any part of the New Testament was written, proving that the Scriptures are consistent with the archaeological evidence.

The Tomb of St. Phillip the Apostle

A July 29th 2011 Biblical Archaeological Society Press Release announced that: “During the course of excavating a Byzantine-era church in the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis (in modern southwest Turkey), Professor Francesco D ‘Andria and his archaeological team have discovered the tomb of St. Philip, one of the twelve apostles

The ‘James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus’ Ossuary

James, the brother of Jesus, was martyred in AD 62. A mid-1st century AD chalk ossuary discovered in 2002 bears the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” ( ‘Ya’akov bar Yosefakhui di Yeshua’).

The Empty Shroud

The intensively studied ‘Shroud of Turin’ — which bears a superficial, photographically negative image of a flogged and crucified man (an image that also contains three dimensional information) — was formerly dismissed by many on the basis of 1988 carbon dating tests giving the Shroud a medieval date. However, recent peer-reviewed scientific findings show that this carbon dating is unreliable because the dated samples were taken from a medieval patch, On the other hand, a mass of historical and forensic evidence points towards an earlier and even first-century date for the Shroud

A statistical comparison between data from the Shroud and the New Testament’s description of various irregular details of Jesus’ punishment establishes that if the Shroud is a genuine 1 ^stcentury artifact then it probably was Jesus’ actual burial cloth.

Conclusion

Archaeology adds to the cumulative case for the historical reliability of the New Testament by empirically verifying references to specific cultural practices, beliefs, places and people. As Paul

Barnett concludes:

archaeology neither proves nor disproves the New Testament. It does, however, endorse the narratives at many points, especially in the case of inscriptions, which by their nature are specific. Here we meet characters secondary to the main story — the Herods, [he high priest and several Roman governors. Moreover, through archaeology we are able to fill in background details that enhance the narratives in both the Gospels and in the book of Acts. Archaeological findings have confirmed that [he texts of the New Testament are from first to last historical and geographical in character.

A few “old testament” evidences

Archaeological finds that contradict the contentions of biblical minimalists and other revisionists have been listed above. There are many more, however, that corroborate biblical evidence, and the following list provides only the most significant discoveries:

A Common Flood Story. Not just the Hebrews (Gen. 6—8), but Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Greeks all report a flood in primordial times. A Sumerian king list from c. 2100 BC divides itself into two categories: those kings who ruled before a great flood and those who ruled after it. One of the earliest examples of Sumero-Akkadian-Babylonian literature, the Gilgamesh Epic, describes a great flood sent as punishment by the gods, with humanity saved only when the pious Utnapishtim (AKA, “the Mesopotamian Noah”) builds a ship and saves the animal world thereon. A later Greek counterpart, the story of Deucalion and Phyrra, tells of a couple who survived a great flood sent by an angry Zeus. Taking refuge atop Mount Parnassus (AKA, “the Greek Ararat’), they supposedly repopulated the earth by heaving stones behind them that sprang into human beings.

The Code of Hammurabi. This seven-foot black diorite stele, discovered at Susa and presently located in the Louvre museum, contains 282 engraved laws of Babylonian King Hammurabi (fl. 1750 BC). The common basis for this law code is the lex talionis (“the law of the tooth”), showing that there was a common Semitic law of retribution in the ancient Near East, which is clearly reflected in the Pentateuch. Exodus 21 for example, reads: “But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot…” (niv).

The Nuzi Tablets. The some 20,000 cuneiform clay tablets discovered at the ruins of Nuzi, east of the Tigris River and date-able to c. 1500 BC, reveal institutions, practices, and customs remarkably congruent to those found in Genesis. These tablets include treaties, marriage arrangements, rules regarding inheritance, adoption, and the like.

The Existence of Hittites. Genesis 23 reports that Abraham buried Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, which he purchased from Ephron the Hittite. Second Samuel 1 1 tells of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. A century ago the Hittites were unknown outside of the Old Testament, and critics claimed that they were a figment of biblical imagination. In 1906, however, archaeologists digging east of Ankara, Turkey, discovered the ruins of Hattusas, the ancient Hittite capital at what is today called Boghazkoy, as well as its vast collection of Hittite historical records, which showed an empire flourishing in the mid-second millennium BC. This critical challenge, among many others, was immediately proved worthless — a pattern that would often be repeated in the decades to come.

The Merneptah Stele. A seven-foot slab engraved with hieroglyphics, also called the Israel Stele, boasts of the Egyptian pharaoh’s conquest of Libyans and peoples in Palestine, including the Israelite’s: “Israel — his seed is not.” This is the earliest reference to Israel in non biblical sources and demonstrates that, as of c. 1230 BC, the Hebrews were already living in the Promised Land.

Biblical Cities Attested Archaeologically. In addition to Jericho, places such as Haran, Hazor, Dan, Megiddo, Shechem, Samaria, Shiloh, Gezer, Gibeah, Beth Shemesh, Beth Shean, Beersheba, Lachish, and many other urban sites have been excavated, quite apart from such larger and obvious locations as Jerusalem or Babylon. Such geographical markers are extremely significant in demonstrating that fact, not fantasy, is intended in the Old Testament historical narratives; otherwise, the specificity regarding these urban sites would have been replaced by “Once upon a time” narratives with only hazy geographical parameters, if any.

Israel’s enemies in the Hebrew Bible likewise are not contrived but solidly historical. Among the most dangerous of these were the Philistines, the people after whom Palestine itself would be named. Their earliest depiction is on the Temple of Rameses Ill at Thebes, c. 1150 BC, as “peoples of the sea” who invaded the Delta area and later the coastal plain of Canaan. The Pentapolis (five cities) they established — namely Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gaza, Gath, and Ekron — have all been excavated, at least in part, and some remain cities to this day. Such precise urban evidence measures favorably when compared with the geographical sites claimed in the holy books of other religious systems, which often have no basis whatever in reality.

Shishak’s Invasion of Judah. First Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 12 tell of Pharaoh Shishak’s conquest of Judah in the fifth year of the reign of King Rehoboam, the brainless son of Solomon, and how Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem was robbed of its treasures on that occasion. This victory is also commemorated in hieroglyphic wall carvings on the Temple of Amon at Thebes.

The Moabite Stone. Second Kings 3 reports that Mesha, the king of Moab, rebelled against the king of Israel following the death of Ahab. A three-foot stone slab, also called the Mesha Stele, confirms the revolt by claiming triumph over Ahab’s family, c. 850 BC, and that Israel had “perished forever.” Obelisk of Shalmaneser Ill. In 2 Kings 9—10, Jehu is mentioned as King of Israel (841—814 BC). That the growing power of Assyria was already encroaching on the northern kings prior to their ultimate conquest in 722 BC is demonstrated by a six-and-a-half-foot black obelisk discovered in the ruins of the palace at Nimrud in 1846. On it, Jehu is shown kneeling before Shalmaneser Il! and offering tribute to the Assyrian king, the only relief we have to date of a Hebrew monarch. Burial Plaque of King Uzziah. Down in Judah, King Uzziah ruled from 792 to 740 BC, a contemporary of Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah. Like Solomon, he began well and ended badly. In 2

Chronicles 26 his sin is recorded, which resulted in his being struck with leprosy later in life. When Uzziah died, he was interred in a “field of burial that belonged to the kings.” His stone burial plaque has been discovered on the Mount of Olives, and it reads: “Here, the bones of Uzziah, King of Judah, were brought. Do not open.”

Hezekiah’s Siloam Tunnel Inscription. King Hezekiah of Judah ruled from 721 to 686 BC. Fearing a siege by the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, Hezekiah preserved Jerusalem’s water supply by cutting a tunnel through 1,750 feet of solid rock from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the city walls (2 Kings 20; 2 Chron. 32). At the Siloam end of the tunnel, an inscription, presently in the archaeological museum at Istanbul, Turkey, celebrates this remarkable accomplishment. The tunnel is probably the only biblical site that has not changed its appearance in 2,700 years.

The Sennacherib Prism. After having conquered the 10 northern tribes of Israel, the Assyrians moved southward to do the same to Judah (2 Kings 18—19). The prophet Isaiah, however, told

Hezekiah that God would protect Judah and Jerusalem against Sennacherib (2 Chron. 32; Isa. 36— 37). Assyrian records virtually confirm this. The cuneiform on a hexagonal, 1 5-inch baked clay prism found at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh describes Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah in 701 BC in which it claims that the Assyrian king shut Hezekiah inside Jerusalem “like a caged bird.” Like the biblical record, however, it does not state that he conquered Jerusalem, which the prism certainly would have done had this been the case. The Assyrians, in fact, bypassed Jerusalem on their way to Egypt, and the city would not fall until the time of Nebuchadnezzar and the Neo-Babylonians in 586 BC. Sennacherib himself returned to Nineveh where his own sons murdered him.

New International Version Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture (Zondervan, 2005)

Paul Barnett, ts The New Testament Reliable?, second edition (IVP, 2003)

Craig A. Evans, Jesus and His World; The Archaeological Evidence (London: SPCK, 2012)

Jack Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament; The Life ofJesus and the Beginning of the Early Church, revised edition (Princeton University Press, 1992)

Gary R. Habermas, The Secret of the Ta[piot Tomb: Unravel!ing the Mystery of the Jesus Family Tomb (Holman Reference, 2007)

John C. lannone, The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence (St Pauts, 1998)

John McRay, Archaeology & the New Testament (Baker Academic, 1991)

John McRay, ‘Archaeologica: Evidence for the New Testament* in John Ashton & Michael Westacott (eds.), The Big Argument: Does God Exist? (Master Books, 2006)

Alan Millard, Discoveries From The Time Of Jesus (Lion, 1990)

Randall price, The Stones Cry Out: What Archaeology Reveals About the Truth of the Bible (Harvest House, 1997)

Charles L Quarles,-Buried Hope or Risen Savior? The Search for the Jesus Tomb (B&h Academic, 2008)

Hershel Shanks & Ben Witherington, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family (Continuum, 2003)

Jeffery Sheler, Is The Bible True? How Modern Debates & Discoveries Affirm The Essence Of The Scriptures (HarperCollins, 2000)

Kenneth E. Stevenson, Image of the Risen Christ: Remarkable New Evidence About The Shroud (Frontier Research, 1999)

Carsten Peter Thiede, The Emmaus Mystery (Continuum, 2005)

Peter Walker, The Weekend that Changed the World: The Mystery of Jerusalem’s Empty Tomb (Marsha!! Pickering, 1_999)

Peter Walker, In The Footsteps of Jesus: An Illustrated Guide to the Places of the Holy Land (Lion, 2009)

Referring to the Tulmud in which every mention of Christ is in a negative sense is use simply to verify that Jesus Christ was a real person, and that He was crucified, being considered a false teacher, and a worker of magic tricks (miract^r—^d•

Specific references

Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of a sorcerer named Jesus (Yeshu in Hebrew) and his five disciples. The sorcerer is stoned and hanged on the Eve of Passover.

Sanhedrin 107 tells of a Jesus (“Yeshu”) “offended his teacher by paying too much attention to the innkeeper’s wife. Jesus wished to be forgiven, but [his rabbi] was too slow to forgive him, and Jesus in despair went away and put up a brick (idol] and worshipped it.”

In Gittin 56b, 57a a story is mentioned in which Onkelos summons up the spirit of a Yeshu who sought to harm Israel. He describes his punishment in the afterEife as boiling in excrement.

Some scholars claim that the Hebrew name Yeshu is not a short form of the name Yeshua, but rather an acrostic for the Hebrew phrase “may his name and memory be blotted out” created by taking the first letter of the Hebrew words.

In addition, at the 1240 Disputation of Paris, Donin presented the allegation that the Talmud was blasphemous towards Mary, the mother of Jesus (Miriam in Hebrew), and this criticism has been repeated by many Christian sources. The texts cited by critics include Sanhedrin 67a, Sanhedrin 106a, and Shabbath 104b. However, the references to Mary are not specific, and some assert that they do not refer to Jesus’ mother, or perhaps refer to Mary Magdalen.Scholars have identified the following references in the Talmud that some conclude refer to Jesus:

Jesus as a sorcerer with disciples (b Sanh 43a-b)
Healing in the name of Jesus (Hui 2:22f; AZ 2:22/12; y Shab 124:4/13; QohR 1:8; b AZ 27b)
As a Torah teacher (b AZ 17a; Hul 2:24; QohR 1:8)
As a son or disciple that turned out badly (Sanh 103a/b; Ber 17b)
As a frivolous disciple who practiced magic and turned to idolatry (Sanh 107b; Sot 47a)
Jesus’ punishment in afterlife (b Git 56b, 57a)
Jesus’ execution (b Sanh 43a-b)
Jesus as the son of Mary (Shab 104b, Sanh 67a)
As a sorcerer with disciples

Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of Jesus and his five disciples. Here, Jesus is a sorcerer who has enticed other Jews to apostasy.

Healing in the name of Jesus

Scholars have identified passages in the Talmud and associated Talmudic texts that involve invoking Jesus^rname, as the messiah of Christianity, in order to perform magical healing:
Tosefta Hullin 2:22f— “Jacob … came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pantera ^llsection exists in variant spellings of Jesus: mi-shem Yeshu ben Pantera (principal edition), mishem Yeshu ben Pandera (London MS), mi-shem Yeshua ben Pantera (Vienna

Abodah Zarah 2:2/12 — “Jacob … came to heal him. He said to him: we will speak to you in the name of Jesus son of Pandera” (Editions or MS: Venice)

Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/13 — “Jacob … came in the name of Jesus Pandera to heal him” (Editions or MS: Venice)
Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) — “Jacob came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ^l‘

(Editions or MSS: Vatican 291, Oxford 164, Pesaro 1519)

Babylonian Abodah Zarah 27b — “Jacob … came to heal him” (Editions or MSS: New York 15, Pearo, Vilna)
Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/7 — “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera” (Editions or MS: Venice)
Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/8 — “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ‘l (Editions or MS: Venice)

Torah teacher

Scholars have identified passages that mention Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, in the context of a Torah teacher:

Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a — “One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me” (Editions or Mss: Munich 95, Paris 1377, New York 15)
Tosefta Hullin 2:24— ^ltHe told me of a word of heresy in the name of Jesus son of Pantiri”
Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) — “He told me a word in the name of Jesus son of Pandera” (Editions or MSS: Oxford 164, Vatican 291, Pesaro 1519)
Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a — “Thus I was taught by Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MSS: Munich 95, Paris 1337)

The son or disciple who turned out badly

Sanhedrin 103a and Berachot 17b talk about a Yeshu ha-Nosri (Jesus of Nazareth) who “burns his food in public”, possibly a reference to pagan sacrifices or a metaphor for apostasy. The passages identified by scholars in this context are:

Babylonian Sanhedrin 103a — “that you will not have a son or disciple … like Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MSS: Firenze 11.1.8—9, Barco, Munich 95)
Babylonian Berakoth 17b — “that we will not have a son or disciple … like Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MS: Oxford 23)

As a sinful student who practiced magic and turned to idolatry

Passages in Sanhedrin 107b and Sotah 47a refer to an individual (Yeshu) that some scholars conclude is a reference to Jesus, regarded as the messiah of ChristianitySome passages that have been identified by scholars as mentioning Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, in this context incJude:

Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b — “not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away” (Editions or MSS: Barco, Vilna)
Babylonian Sotah 47a — “not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away” (Editions or MSS: Vatican 110, Vilna, Munich 95)
Babyonian Sanhedrin 107b — ^ltJesus said to him: Rabbi, her eyes are narrow” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1)
Babylonian Sotah 47a — “Jesus the Nazarene said to him: Rabbi, her eyes are narrow” (Editions or MS: Oxford 20)
Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b — “The master said: Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic (Editions or MSS: Firenze 11.18—9, Barco )
Babylonian Sotah 47a — “The master said: Jesus the Nazarene because he practiced magic” (Editions or MS: Munich 95)

Punishment in the afterlife

In Gittin 56b-57a a story is recorded in which Onkefos, a nephew of the Roman emperor Titus who destroyed the Second Temple, intent on converting to Judaism, summons up the spirits of Yeshu and others to help make up his mind. Each describes his punishment in the afterlife.

— Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 56b-57a

Execution

Scholars have identified passages that mention Jesus in the context of his execution:

Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b -“on the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Karlsruhe 2)
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b — “Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned” (Editions or MSs: Herzog 1, Firenze 11.1.8—9, Karlsruhe 2)
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b — “Do you suppose Jesus the Nazarene was one for whom a defense could be made?” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Firenze 11.1.8—9, Karlsruhe 2)
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b — ‘tWith Jesus the Nazarene it was different” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Firenze 11.1.8—9, Karlsruhe 2)
In the Florence manuscript of the Talmud (1177 CE) an addition is made to Sanhedrin 438 saying that Yeshu was hanged on the eve of the Sabbath.

Mother and father

Tombstone of Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera, a soldier who has been claimed to be the “Pantera” named by Talmud.

Some Talmudic sources include passages which identify a “son of Pandera ^ll(ben Pandera in Hebrew), and some scholars conclude that these are references to the messiah of Christianity.

The Talmud, and other talmudic texts, contain several references to the “son of Pandera ^ll. A few of the references explicitly name Jesus (“Yeshu”) as the “son of Pandera^lt: these explicit connections are found in the Tosefta, the Qohelet Rabbah, and the Jerusalem Talmud, but not in the Babylonian Talmud. The explicit connections found in the Jerusalem Talmud are debated because the name “Jesus” (“Yeshu ^tl) is found only in a marginal gloss in some manuscripts, but other scholars conclude that it was in the original versions of the Jerusalem Talmud.

The texts include several spellings for the father’s name (Pandera, Panthera, Pandira, Pantirj, or Pantera) and some scholars conclude that these are all references to the same individual, [95] but other scholars suggest that they may be unrelated references.[96] [n some of the texts, the father produced a son with a woman named Mary. Several of the texts indicate that the mother was not married to Pandera, and was committing adultery and — by implication —Jesus was a bastard child. Some of the texts indicate that Mary^ls husband’s name was Stada.

Some Talmudic sources include passages which identify a ‘Ison of Stada” or “son of Stara” (ben Stada or ben Stara in Hebrew), and some scholars conclude that these are references to the messiah of Christianity.

Son of Pantera / Pandera in a healing context

Two talmudic-era texts that explicitly associate Jesus as the son of Pantera/Pandera are:

Tosefta Hullin 2:22f “Jacob … came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pantera ^ll
Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) “Jacob … came to heat him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ^tl

Both of the above passages describe situations where Jesus’ name is invoked to perform magical healing. In addition, some editions of the Jerusalem Talmud explicitly identify Jesus as the son of Pandera:

Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/7 “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Panderal’
Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/8 “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera”
Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/12 “Jacob … came to heal him. He said to him: we will speak to you in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ‘t
Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/13 “Jacob … came in the name of Jesus Pandera to heal him”

However, some editions of the Jerusalem Talmud do not contain the name Jesus in these passages, so the association in this case is disputed, The parallel passages in the Babylonian Talmud do not contain the name Jesus.

Son of Pantiri / Pandera in a teaching context

Other Talmudic narratives describe Jesus as the son of a Pantiri or Pandera, in a teaching context:

Tosefta Huffin 2:24 “He told me of a word of heresy in the name of Jesus son of Pantiri ^ll
Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) “He told me a word in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ‘t

However, the parallel accounts in the Babylonian Talmud mention Jesus but do not mention the father’s name:

Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a “One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me ^t‘

Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a “Thus I was taught by Jesus the Nazarene”

Pandera and alleged adultery by Mary

The Babylonian talmud contains narratives that discuss an anonymous person who brought witchcraft out of Egypt, and the person is identified as “son of Pandera” or “son of Stada”. The Talmud discusses whether the individual (the name Jesus is not present in these passages) is the son of Stada, or Pandera, and a suggestion is made that the mother Mary committed adultery.

Babylonian Shabbat 104b “Was he the son of Stara (and not) the son of Pandera? ‘t (Editions or MSs: Oxford 23, Soncino)
Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “Was he the son of Stara (and not) the son of Pandera?” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Karlsruhe 2, … )
Babylonian Shabbat 104b “husband Stada, lover Pandera” (Editions or MSS: Vatican 108, Munich 95, Vilna )
Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “husband Stara, lover Pandera” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Barco)
Babylonian Shabbat 104b “husband Pappos, mother Stada ^il(Editions or MSS: Vilna, Munich 95 )
Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “husband Pappos, mother Stada ‘l (Editions or MSS: Vilna, Munich 95)
Babylonian Shabbat 104b “his mother Miriam who let grow (her) women’s hair^l‘ (Editions or MSS: Vilna, Oxford 23, Soncino)
Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “his mother Miriam who let grow (her) women’s hair” (Editions or MSs: Karlsruhe 2, Munich 95)

Mary as the mother

There is no Talmudic text that directly associates Jesus with Mary (Miriam), instead the association is indirect: Jesus is associated with a father (“son of Pandera”), and in other passages, Pandera is associated with Mary (as her lover).

Christians

Typically both Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds use the generic minim for heretics. Aside from mentions of the five disciples of “Yeshu ha Notzri,” the plural Notzrim, “Christians,” are only clearly mentioned once in the Babylonian Talmud, (where it is amended to Netzarim, people of the watch) in B.Ta ^fanit 27b with a late parallel in Masekhet Soferim 17:4. And then “The day of the Notzri according to Rabbi Ishmael is forbidden for ever” in some texts of B.Avodah Zarah 6a.

Relation to the Toledot Yeshu

The Toledot Yeshu (History of Jesus) is a Jewish anti-Christian polemic that purports to be a biography of Jesus. Some scholars conclude that the Toledot Yeshu is an expansion and elaboration on anti-Christian themes in the Talmud. Stephen Gero suggests that an early version of the To!edot Yeshu narrative preceded the Talmud, and that the Talmud drew upon the Toledot Yeshu, but Rubenstein and Schäfer discount that possibility, because they date the origin of the Toiedot Yeshu in the early Middle Ages or Late Antiquity.

Related narrative from Celsus[edit]

The Platonistjc philosopher Celsus, writing circa 150 to 200 CE, wrote a narrative describing a Jew who discounts the story of the Virgin Birth of Jesus. Scholars have remarked on the parallels (adultery, father’s name “Panthera”, return from Egypt, magical powers) between Celsus ^laccount and the Talmudic narratives. In Celsus! account, the Jew says:

. .[Jesus] came from a Jewish village and from a poor country woman who earned her living by spinning. He says that she was driven out by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, as she was convicted of adultery. Then he says that after she had been driven out by her husband and while she was wandering about in a disgraceful way she secretly gave birth to Jesus. He states that because he [Jesus] was poor he hired himself out as a workman in Egypt, and there tried his hand at certain magical powers on which the Egyptians pride themselves; he returned full of conceit, because of these powers, and on account of them gave himself the title of God . . . the mother of Jesus is described as having been turned out by the carpenter who was betrothed to her, as she had been convicted of adultery and had a child by a certain soldier named Panthera.^ll

Is the Bible Reliable for Accurate and Truthful Information?

The Bible

As we begin our apologetic tour through the bible beginning in Genesis it occurred to me maybe we should first defend the legitimacy of the scripture and describe what it is first.

THEORIES OF CRITICAL SCHOLARS ABOUT BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

Claim: Deliberate Deception: The Old Testament prophets, Jesus and the apostles deliberately lied when they claimed their messages were from GOD.
1. Comment: Imposters and liars are not willing to die for their faith
Claim: Self-Deluded Sincerity: These men sincerely believed their message was from GOD, but were self-deluded.
1. Comment: Self-deluded men are unable to predict accurately future history 100’s of years before it occurs.
Claim: Evolution of Thought: The Bible records man’s continued development of thought from each preceding generation rather than God’s gradual revelation to man.
1. Comment: Paul claimed that his knowledge of Christ did not come from any man, but by a direct revelation of Christ himself (Galatians 1:12).
Claim: Existential Inspiration: The Bible is a record of differing experiences of men of GOD who interpreted their experiences and God’s will in different ways.
1. Comment: The Bible teaches that GOD had different laws and covenants with man throughout past ages Jeremiah 31:31 predicted a new and better covenant, which Jesus, the Messiah fulfilled with His New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-12). Jude 3 says this covenant represents not different faiths, but “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
Claim: Genius Inspiration: Like Shakespeare, talented men wrote the Bible.
1. Comment: Uneducated shepherds, Galileans and fishermen joined their books with educated men like Moses, Isaiah, and Paul.
Claim: Gradual Illumination: The Bible represents the gradual illumination of truth that occurs in the lives of all religious people.
1. Comment: Since the first century A.D. no Jew or Christian has written or received any illumination that is superior to the teaching found in the Bible.
Claim: Partial Inspiration: The Penmen of the Bible were sometimes inspired with Divine ideas and at other times wrote errors that were not inspired by God. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7:10, “not I, but the Lord” and in 7:12, “I, not the Lord” are cited in favor of the theory of Partial Inspiration.
1. Comment: Jesus said in John 16:12-13 that He taught only part of His will to the apostles during His earthly ministry and the Holy Spirit would reveal additional teachings and guide them into “all the truth.”
2. Comment: Paul’s statement, Not I, but the Lord,” refers to what Jesus taught on earth (1 Corinthians 7:10-11) and his statement, “I, not the Lord,” refers to additional revelation of the Holy Spirit which Jesus did not teach on earth.
3. Comment: Paul said all he taught was from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-14) and all his commands were “the Lord’s commands” (1 Corinthians 14:17).
Claim: Embellished Truth: The core of history was embellished by alleged miracles, which are really myths.
1. Comment: These scholars are evolutionists and do not believe in the miracle of creation or in any other miracle and consider all the Bible’s miracles as myth.
Claim: Thought Inspiration, But Not Verbal Inspiration: GOD inspired the thoughts, but the writers often made errors in attempting to express these thoughts into words.
1. Comment: These scholars are honest enough to admit that the Bible does contain remarkable ideas and predictions that could only come from God.
2. Comment: 1 Corinthians 2:13 says; Paul’s words, not just his thoughts, were inspired.
Claim: Dictation Inspiration: Some ultra-conservative scholars believe that every single word was dictated by the Holy Spirit into the mind of the prophets as they wrote.
1. Comment: At times revelation and inspiration occurred simultaneously in the form of dictation, as Jesus said in Matthew 10: 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
2. Comment: In most cases GOD allows the author to do his own research, as Luke did (Luke 1: 1-4), and to express the ideas in his own unique style (Dr. Luke used the language of a physician), but guided the writing to guarantee its truth (John 16:13).
Claim: Plenary Inspiration: Plenary means “complete.” Conservative Bible scholars believed the Bible is completely inspired without errors.
1. Comment: The rest of the lesson is devoted to what the Bible actually says about its own inspiration as being indeed complete, adequate and without error.

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN REVELATION AND INSPIRATION

Different Word Meanings

Revelation means “uncovering” or “revelation” in both Hebrew (galah) and Greek (apocalupsis).

Inspiration of GOD means: breathed into by GOD in both Hebrew (ruwach Shaddai) and Greek (theopneustos).

Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is GOD -breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD GOD formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

GOD breathed into Scripture and it became the living word of GOD Hebrews 4:12 “The word of GOD is living and active.”

Examples of Revelation

Visions and Dreams: Numbers 12:6 he said, “Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.

Face to Face speaking. numbers 12:7-8 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Taught directly by Christ: Galatians 1:11-12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Angels: Revelation 1:1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which GOD gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

How Inspiration Relates to Revelation

When Moses wrote down the revelation GOD spoke, the Holy Spirit inspired him to remember and write accurately what GOD had said. Thus, Exodus 24:4 says, “Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.”

Jesus promised in John 14:26 But the Advocate, 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.

When Paul preached or wrote, the Holy Spirit inspired him to remember precisely what Jesus directly revealed to him, 1 Corinthians 2:13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

When John wrote his gospel, the Holy Spirit reminded John of what he had heard Jesus say and what he had seen Jesus do, just as Jesus promised (14:26 But the Advocate, 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.)

When John wrote the book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit reminded John of what the angel had said and shown to him (The revelation from Jesus Christ, which GOD gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,)

GOD INSPIRES ALL SCRIPTURE, NOT PART OF THEM

All Scripture is “GOD -breathed…is Inspired by GOD.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is GOD -breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of GOD may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

All Scripture Includes Old Testament Scripture. When Paul said, all Scripture is inspired, he specifically noted the Old Testament Scriptures.

All Scripture Includes the New Testament Scripture

Paul believed New Testament writing also is inspired Scripture, because Paul quoted Luke 10:7 as “Scripture” in 1 Timothy 5:18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” The first verse is from Deuteronomy 25:4 and the 2nd verse contain the exact Greek words of Luke 10:7. Thus, Paul called both the Old Testament and the New Testament “Scripture.”

GOD -breathed Scripture Includes Both Old and New Testament Writings.

THE INSPIRED BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE GOD’S WORDS, NOT MAN’S

The Old Testament Claims 3,800 Times to Be God’s Word

David in 2 Samuel 23:2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.

“This is what the Lord says” (Isiah 66:1).

“The word of the Lord came to me saying” (Jeremiah 1:4).

Ezekiel 1:1 “I saw visions of GOD,” 2:1 and 3:1 “And He said to me”

“There is a GOD in heaven who reveals mysteries (Daniel 2:28).

New Testament Scripture Claims to Be God’s Word

Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. John 7:16

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:24

If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 1 Corinthians 14:37

And we also thank GOD continually because, when you received the word of GOD, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of GOD, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of GOD. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 peter 1:23-25

Peter quotes Isaiah 40: 6-8 as God’s word and then claims that his own writing is the same Word of GOD that Isiah taught.

In 2 Peter 1: 20-21, Peter denied that Scripture is of Human Origin.

THE BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE UNERRING TRUTH (without errors)

The Bible claims to Speak Only the Truth

GOD is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19

Yet you are near, LORD, and all your commands are true. Psalm 119:151

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

Jesus Claimed All Old Testament History to Be True (Matthew 23:35) that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Abel is in Genesis, the first Old Testament book and Zechariah is in 2 Chronicles, the last Old Testament book in the Hebrew Bible.

Jesus Claimed the Old Testament Predictions as God’s Inspired Word.

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:25-27

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24:44-45

Jesus Claimed Old Testament Miracles Were God’s Inspired Truth.

Creation of the universe (Mark 10:29; 13:19).
Creation of all living creatures (Matthew 10:29-30)
Creation of man (male and female) in His own image (Matthew 19: 4-6)
The Flood, Noah, and the Ark (Matthew 24: 37-39; Luke 17:26-27).
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning Sulphur (Luke 17: 28-30).
Lot’s wife turning to salt (Luke 17:32).
GOD speaking to Moses out of the burning bush (Luke 20:37).
God’s provision of manna from heaven (John 6:49-51).
Elijah’s miraculous support of the widow in Zarephath (Luke 4:24-26)
Elisha’s miraculous cleansing of the leprosy of Naaman (Luke 4:27).
Jonah’s deliverance from the belly of the big fish (Matthew 12:40).
Jesus Said, “Scripture Cannot Be Broken” (John 10: 34-35).

THE BIBLE CLAIMS COMPLETE AND ALL SUFFICIENT TRUTH

The Bible Claims to Reveal ALL the Truth That GOD Wants Man to Have

Old Testament Covenant

“The secret things belong to the Lord our GOD, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29
and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32: 46-47
Isaiah predicted a coming King who would make a new covenant with a people of GOD who would include the Gentiles (non-Jewish nations). Luke 4:18 Jesus quotes Isaiah 42 and refers this promise to Himself (Isaiah 42: 1-7).
Jeremiah predicted that GOD would one day make a new covenant with His people, that would be different than Moses’ Law (Jeremiah 31:31).
The Hebrew writer explains that this covenant is the New Testament of Jesus.

New Testament Covenant

Jesus Christ charged His apostles to teach all of His truth to the whole world (Matthew 28: 18-20).
Jesus has all authority as Lord and King.
God’s people are to include all nations.
The apostles were to teach “everything” Christ commanded.
The Holy Spirit would remind the apostles of all He taught (John 14:26)
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:12-13
Toward the end of Paul’s life, he told the Ephesian elders, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of GOD. Acts 20:26-27
as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 2 Peter 1:3
Jude 3 urges Christians to contend for “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints”
All Scripture is given by inspiration of GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of GOD may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17
There is not truth GOD wants us to teach or believe that is not revealed in Scripture.
There is no work or act of worship that GOD commands us to perform that is not recorded and authorized in Scripture.
Through the knowledge of Scripture, the man of GOD can be completely adequate to serve, obey, and please GOD.

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE INALTERABLE TRUTH (cannot be changed)

Old Testament Commands Could Not Be Deleted or Changed
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your GOD which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2
Jesus condemned the Jews who followed religious tradition rather than God’s word in the Old Testament, He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of GOD because of your tradition? Matthew 15:3
Jesus considered religious tradition as a dangerous addition to God’s word.

The New Testament Covenant: Complete and Adequate

Paul said that he was a minister of the New Testament, not the old Testament (2 Corinthians 3:6-18)
Paul said that Christian Jews die to the Old Law when they are baptized into Christ and come under the Covenant of Christ (Romans 7:1-6).
Paul prohibited Christians from practicing or teaching anything that went beyond the teaching of the Scriptures: Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 1 Corinthians 4:6
In the context, the Corinthians were calling themselves by the names of men, not by the name of Christ (1 Corinthians 1-4)
Paul had taught that Christians should do everything in the name of Christ, not the name of man (Colossians 3:17).
Paul commanded them not to go beyond Scripture by exalting men in the place of Christ.
Thus, Paul prohibited the church from appointing any man in the place of Jesus Christ.
Paul condemned any modification of the gospel of Christ: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1: 8-9).
Paul the apostle did not have the right to change the gospel.
An angel does not have the right to change the gospel. Neither does the Pope!
Man, cannot change the gospel without incurring the condemnation of eternal damnation.
The last book of the New Testament gives a solemn warning not to add or take away from Scripture (Revelation 22: 18-19)

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE COMPLETELY PRESERVED TRUTH

The Old Testament is Preserved. Jesus taught that every word and letter of the Old Testament would be preserved until every prophecy is fulfilled (Matthew 5: 17-20).
The Bible Endures. Isaiah 40: 6-8 said that God’s word (Old Testament) endures forever.
Jesus said, “My words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
Peter said the Word of GOD he taught would “endure forever” (1 Peter 1:22-25).

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE PRECIOUS AND PRACTICAL TRUTH

What Men of God Think about this Book
Book of Wisdom (Deuteronomy 4:6; Ephesians 3: 3-5).
Book of Life (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).
Book of eternity (John 6:68; Ephesians 3:9-11).
Book of Love (1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:9).
Book of light (Proverbs 6:23; John 8:12; Psalms 119:1-5).
Book of strength and power (Psalms 119:50; Acts 20:32).
Book of Hope (Romans 15:4; Psalms 119:81).
Book of God’s word and God’s truth (Psalms 119:142; 160; John 8:32).
Above all, it is a book of God’s Son and God’s people (John 20:30-31).
What Modern Man’s Attitude Should Be Toward this Book.
Study it and mediate on it as God’s Word (Psalm 1:2).
Believe it as God’s Word (Mark 16: 15-16).
Obey it is as God’s Word (Acts 2:36-39).
Share it as God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 2:8).
Defend it as God’s Word (1 Peter 3:15).

SUMMARY: The Bible clearly claims to be God’s Inspired and Inerrant Word. Since Jesus and the apostles believed the Bible is God’s Inspired and Inerrant Word, how can any true Christian believe less? Do we know more than Jesus?

The Bible is a Historical Book

Christianity comes from historical eyewitness testimony. We know that things happened in the past because it is recorded in reliable historical documents.
If the New Testament is a reliable historical document:
Then there was a Nazarene named Jesus and He claimed to be the Son of God
Then when it says Jesus walked on water, He did!
When it says that He fed 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread, He did!
When it says that He raised the dead and was raised from the dead, He did and He was!

NOTE: there are records from the past, which we have every reason to believe, are true since both archaeology and contemporary documents from the same time zone have confirmed their general reliability. Whether we believe the Bible is the word of God or not, one thing is for sure. If is is a history book, then these things are true.

An Example of Historical Context, Luke 1: 1 – 4

Written to Theophilus an official in the imperial network of the Roman empire. “Most excellent Theophilus.”
Three times in the book of Acts (also written by Luke) the phrase “most excellent” is used of Roman governors.
This man had access to the police files.
He had access to records.
He would be able to check things out to know whether or not they were so.
He had been instructed in the way of Christ. Luke opens his account to Theophilus by assuring him that the material he was about to read had been carefully researched, secured from eyewitnesses, that the material was accurate, and that the events were to be presented “in order” of their occurrence. Then he states the reason for such precision of research and accuracy of writing: “that thou mightiest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed” (Luke 1:4)

NOTE: What Luke claims then is that his book is reliable historical testimony, that it contains the facts as they literally and really happened.

Your New Testament records the events that eyewitnesses like Matthew and John and Peter and Paul and careful researchers like Luke and others, the authors, the writers of the New Testament were able to record.

The ground of our faith is the testimony of eyewitnesses.

“He that hath seen hath born witness and his witness is true and he knoweth that he saith true that you may believe. “ John 19:35 John said”
“What I am writing is what I saw.”
“I was a participant in what I saw.”
“I know it is true, and I am writing that you might believe.”
The testimony of Thomas the apostle, John 20: 24 – 29. “My Lord and my God.”

NOTE: Why do we believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead? Not because of a feeling or an existential experience. We believe because of men like Thomas and Matthew and john and Peter and others who saw and recorded their eyewitness testimony.

The Propositional Statement and Methodology of Study

Propositional Statement (The thing to be proven):

“There is abundant evidence from historical sources which is adequate to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and the Bible is the word of God.”
The Methodology (How to prove the proposition): A Two-fold methodology.
“To establish the historical reliability of the New Testament documents – to prove to you that the New Testament is a history book.”
“To reason those historical evidence which the New Testament contains, and by a systematic argumentation of those facts to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Bible is the word of God.”

CONCLUSION:

Here is the beginning place for an investigation into the genuineness of Christianity. It must begin with a real historic space-time Jesus for apart from his own historical existence neither redemption nor resurrection could amount to any more that pie-i-the-sky-by-and-by.

Belief is the result of an honest evaluation of reliable, convincing evidence. An unwavering faith in God, Christ as the Son of God and the Bible as God’s Word must be grounded on actual documented evidence rather than being inherited from our family or derived from our feelings. The case for belief is not to be found in either science or philosophy.

Christian Evidences seek to confirm the Deity of Christ and the inspiration of the Bible by presenting various evidences to substantiate this. The historical approach of Christian Evidences seeks to confirm that the Christian faith rests upon a reliable foundation of historical facts. These facts of history from the basis of the evidences for belief. It is this kind of evidence, its historical reliability and its weight in relation to the Biblical claim, which we shall investigate during the course.

REMARKABLE SCIENTIFIC FOREKNOWLEDGE

Recent Scientific Truths
1. The Scriptures reveal extraordinary scientific truths that were not discovered or confirmed by scientists until the 15^ththrough the 20^thD.
2. Astronomical Truth
3. The numberless stars, “I will make the descendants of David my servant…as countless as the stars of the sky” (Jeremiah 33:22)
4. Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. (NKJV)
5. Isaiah 40:22 (c.700B.C.) wrote, “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.” Discovered 2,300 years later
6. Jesus said in Luke 17: 31-36 that people will be working in the fields during the day and sleeping during the night when He returned. Jesus knew that day and night occurred simultaneously over the earth 1,350 years before Galileo discovered it.
  1. Luke 17: 31-37 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord? “So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
  2. Laws of Physics and Geology
  3. Hebrews 11: 3 says by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Discover that matter is composed of invisible molecules in 1920 A.D.
  4. Job 38: 16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? The ocean/ seas are very deep, and in almost complete darkness, and the pressure there is enormous, it would have been impossible for Job to explore the bottom of the ocean. Springs in the Ocean were discovered by Oceanographers in the 1970’s using deep diving research submarines built to withstand 6,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.
  5. Oceanographers also discovered the trenches at the bottom of the sea mentioned in Job 38:16
  6. Psalm 8:8 (C. 1000 B.C.) The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas Paths, or streams through the oceans were discovered in 1854
  7. Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. The water cycle was not recognized as scientific fact until the 17^th
  8. Biological and Medical Truths
  9. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmityBetween you and the woman,And between your seed and her Seed;He shall bruise your head,And you shall bruise His heel.” Scientist used to think that only the man had “seed” until the 17^thcentury when they discovered that the woman also has “seed” that combines with man’s “seed” when a strand of DNA (discovered in the 19^th century and identified in the 20^th century) from the women combines with a strand from man
  10. Leviticus 13 gives instructions for quarantine for diseases to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of the camp. Discovered in the 19^thcentury, 3,240 years after Moses’ time.
  11. Leviticus 17:10 forbids Israelites to drink or eat blood of animals. In the 19^thcentury scientists realized that diseases of animals can infect humans of their blood is eaten or drunk.
  12. Leviticus 15: 5-13 instructs the washing of hands and clothes to prevent infection after touching a diseased or dead person.[i].
  13. Genesis 17:12 commands Abraham and his descendants to circumcise their male children on the 8^thday after birth. In the 20^thcentury medical scientists discovered that vitamin K causes blood to clot and does not enter the body significantly until the 8^th day after birth.[ii]
7. NOTE:Such remarkable scientific foreknowledge can be explained only by an omniscient Scientist who revealed these truths to His prophets.

AMAZING PREDICTIONS OF FUTURE PEOPLE, NATIONS, AND EVENTS

The Accuracy of Biblical Prophecy

God told Isaiah, “write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness” (Isaiah 30:8)

God predicted the Future of Babylon
Isaiah chapters 13-14, 44-45, written about 700 B.C.
1. Medes will conquer Babylon (Isaiah 13:17). Fulfilled 539 B.C.
2. “Cyrus” (predicted by name) will free the Jews from Babylonian Captivity and permit them to return to Judea and rebuild Jerusalem (Isiah 44:28; 45:1). Fulfilled 539 B.C.
3. Babylon to be desolate and uninhabited, like Sodom and Gomorrah, forever (Isiah 13: 19-22. Fulfilled c. 363 A.D.
4. Babylon to be covered by swamps of water (Isaiah 14:23) – “The great part of the country below ancient Babylon has now been for centuries a great swamp”[iii] (Over 1,000 years after Isiah predicted it).
5. Name survivors and offspring of Babylon to be cut off forever (Isiah 14:22). The name of Babylon ceased to exist more than 1,000 years after Isiah predicted it.
Prophecies Concerning Egypt. Ezekiel 29: 15-16 predicted that the great and might country of Egypt would become, and remain forever a lowly kingdom. He further predicted that Egypt would not become extinct as Babylon was.
1. Date of Ezekiel’s prophecy: between 592 and 586 B.C
2. Egypt remains “a lowly” and impoverished nation, thus continuing the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy for the last 2,580 years.

Rome and the Kingdom of Christ
1. Daniel predicted in 604 B.C. the coming of four world empires.
  1. Babylon the first empire (Daniel 2:38)
  2. Medo-Persia the second (Daniel 2:39; 5:28-31; 6:8)
  3. Greece the third world empire (Daniel 2:39; 8:20-21).
  4. Daniel describes in detail the fourth world empire (Daniel 2:40-43; 7:17-27).
  5. History and the Bible (Luke 2:1) identify the fourth kingdom as the Roman Empire.
2. Daniel 2:44 predicted that the Kingdom of God would be set up during the days of the fourth world empire (Rome).
3. Daniel 7 also predicted that the Messiah’s Kingdom would outlast the Roman empire.
4. Jesus Christ, who began to preach about 26 A.D. , it the 15^th year of Tiberius, Emperor of Rome (Luke 3:1) said, “The time has come,” and “The Kingdom of God is near.”
5. Two years later Jesus told His apostles that the Kingdom would be established during their lifetime (Mark 9:1)
6. After His resurrection, Christ claimed to have all authority and He commanded His apostles to expand His kingdom to all the world (Matthew 28:18-20)
7. Jesus’s apostles taught that His kingdom was established in the 1^st century during the Roman Empire (Colossians 1:13 and Revelation 1:5,6,9)
8. Rome fell in the 4^th century – Christ’s Kingdom continues to exist to this day.
9. Daniel prophecies c. 604 B.C., 600 years before Christ was born and 900 years before Rome fell. A Hebrew manuscript of Daniel was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls with a carbon 14 date of c.150 B.C. 150 years before Christ was born and 450 years before the Roman Empire fell.
10. Daniel’s amazing predictions could not have been made without Divine foreknowledge, proving the Bible is the Work of God.

MESSIANIC PREDITIONS FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST

Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell lists 332 Old Testament predictions of Jesus Christ
Six Old Testament Prophecies of Christ’s Dual Nature as Both God and Man are Fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
Six of the 80 Prophecies Predict Christ’s Genealogy
Luke 3 traces Jesus genealogy all the way back to Adam and Eve
Three Prophecies of Christ’s Youth and Three Prophecies Concerning His Forerunner, John the Baptist (See Table-8A)
Ten Different Roles of the Future Messiah. As Prophet, Priest, King, Shepherd, Servant, Son of Man, Sacrifice, Counselor, Judge, and Redeemer.
Ten Different Aspects of the Messiah’s Life and Ministry
His miracles, preaching in Galilee to the poor and sinful, speaking in parables, making a covenant with the Gentiles, and living a sinless life.
Thirteen Different Ideas About Christ’s Betrayal by Judas
His rejection by the Jews and humiliation before Pilate. The Messiah’s entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, His betrayal by a friend for 30 pieces of silver.

The Death of Christ

Eight are listed:

1. Pierced hands and feet,
2. Pierced side
3. Garments Divided
4. One garment taken by lot,
5. Gall and vinegar for drink,
6. Forsaken by God,
7. Vicarious death for others and,
8. A death that justifies others.
Christ’s Resurrection from the Dead
His ascension to heaven, His reign over all nations while seated at God’s right hand and His final victory over death in the final resurrection at His second doming.
Odds of Varied Numbers of Prophesies Being Fulfilled in One Person’s life.[iv]
1. Eight prophecies: 1 to 10 with 17 zeros. This number will cover Texas with silver dollars by 2 feet deep.
2. Forty-eight prophecies: 1 to 10 with 157 zeros
3. Eighty prophecies 1 to 10 with abut 260 zeroes
4. To illustrate the odds of the 332 prophcies of Christ that McDowell lists, Batsell Barrett Baxter pictured 40 archers and placed them from 1,400 to 400 yards away from a hidden target, to represent the prophecies that were made about Christ from 1,400 to 400 years before He was born. Each of the archers shoots his allotted arrows into the sky toward the hidden target. Imagine 332 arrows flying through the sky toward a hidden target, and all of them hitting the bull’s eyes.
5. Jesus alone fulfills all 332 prophecies.
6. One of the principal methods used by the apostles to convert unbelievers was to prove to them that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament predictions of the Messiah (Acts 2: 14-36; 3:17-26; 8:32-35; 13:16-41, 17: 2-4; 10 – 12; 18: 4-6)

THE SUPERIOR CONTENTS OF BIBLICAL TEACHING

The Wisdom of Solomon
No one in history has succeeded in expressing greater wisdom more concisely than Solomon (except for Jesus). Read this wisdom in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
The Patience of Job
Job is a masterpiece of philosophical, scientific, and religious concepts in real life situations. Yet it was written more than 3,500 years ago.
The Devotion of David
The Psalms contain the highest spiritual concepts and the deepest yearnings of the soul to praise and glorify God.
The Superior Morality of the Bible
1. The Ten Commandments and other moral laws found in the Old Testament are superior to the moral standards of other nations when Moses wrote.
2. The morality of Jesus’ Sermon on the mount sets the highest moral standard ever taught in human history (Matthew 5 – 7)
The Impartiality of the Bible
1. Most ancient histories glorify their heroes and kings and fail to record their weaknesses and their defeats.
2. The bible impartially presents the strengths and weaknesses of its most important characters.
  1. Noah’s drunkenness (Genesis 9:21).
  2. Sarah’s lie (Genesis 18: 15-16)
  3. Jacob’s deceit (Genesis 27)
  4. The envy and jealousy of Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 37)
  5. Judah’s fornication with Tamar (Genesis 38).
  6. Moses’ killing of an Egyptian (Exodus 2: 11 – 16).
  7. Israel’s sin and exile in the wilderness as punishment.
  8. King Saul’s witchcraft (1 Chronicles 10: 13-14)
  9. David’s adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11).
  10. Solomon’s multiplied wives and idolatry (1 Kings 11).
3. The Bible points out Israel’s defeats as well as its victories
  1. Saul’s defeat at the hands of the Philistines and his suicide (1 Samuel 31)
  2. Absalom’s rebellion against his father, David (2 Samuel 15).
  3. Pharaoh Shishak’s sacking of Solomon’s treasures (1 Kings 14:25-28)
  4. Assyrian destruction of the Kingdom of northern Israel (2 Kings 24-25)
  5. Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and Judah (2 Kings 24-25)
  6. Slaves in Babylon for 70 years (2 Chronicles 36: 20-23).
4. Unified and Consistent Truth
  1. Unity of thought in diversity of culture.
    1. About 40 authors wrote the 66 books of the Bible over 1500 years.
    2. The authors had varied cultural backgrounds, different religious teachings, and different educational backgrounds and professions.
    3. The promise of the coming Messiah links together the entirety of the Old and New Testaments
  2. While God’s covenants are different for each age, the same God is recognized as the Omnipotent, Omniscient Creator and Father in each covenant.
  3. Jeremiah 31:31 specifically predicted the coming of Christ’s new covenant, and Hebrews 8-10 shows that the Old Testament prepared for and foreshadowed Christ’s New Testament.
5. The Wisdom, Love, and Purity of Jesus Christ
  1. Jesus’ analysis of “the two greatest laws” in the Old Testament demonstrates His divine wisdom (Mark 12: 30-32)
    1. Jesus said the first and most important law is “love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
    2. The second most important law is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
    3. The Golden Rule of Jesus is the best expression of the two greatest laws; “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
  2. Jesus’ new and superior law of love for neighbor.
    1. “Anew command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34-35).
    2. Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
    3. Jesus demonstrated that icredible love by dying on the cross for not only His friends, but also for His enemies (Romans 5:6-8)
  3. His teaching to “Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) was demonstrated by His perfect life, the only man to attain a sinless life (John 8:46; 1 Peter 2:21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
6. The Power of the Gospel to Transform Lives
  1. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11
  2. The power of the gospel has changed more lives than the teaching of human philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology in all of history.