Proof Of The Bible: Confirmation Through History, Science, And Archaeology

PROOF OF THE BIBLE:

CONFIRMATION THROUGH HISTORY, SCIENCE, and ARCHAEOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. A mother was teaching her 3-year-old the Lord's prayer. For several evenings at bedtime she repeated it after her mother. One night she said she was ready to solo.

2. The mother listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer. "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us from E-mail, Amen."

B. THESIS AND TITLE

1. Archaeologists once boasted that the Bible was full of errors because no independent, historic evidence had been found to confirm the Bible’s claims.

2. But a slew of astounding discoveries has stopped their mouths.

Information about nations, customs, wars, locations, kings, commerce, etc., have been completely verified by archeology.

3. Bible critics have often been embarrassed by discoveries that they had previously declared to be myths, such as Sodom & Gomorrah, the Tower of Babel, evidence of the Exodus, the falling outward of the Walls of Jericho, the Hittites, King David, and Pontius Pilate, just to name a few.

4. Archeologist Nelson Glueck summed it up very well: “It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted [disagreed with] a single biblical reference.”

I. PROOF THE BIBLE IS A DIVINE DOCUMENT

Today in schools, atheists commonly declare that the Bible is primitive, full of contradictions and errors, etc. The truth is the Bible is the Word of God -- Divine, inerrant, eternal, unequalled, and is God’s Word to humanity. How do we know?

I. THE ACCURACY OF BIBLE DOCUMENTS

1. The Dead Sea Scrolls, found in 1947, verified the accuracy of transmission of the Old Testament. These manuscripts dated as far back as 400 BC, and were virtually identical to the Masoretic Text dating to around 1000 AD.

2. The evidence for the New Testament is far stronger than authors like Plato, Aristotle, or Socrates, yet no one dreams of questioning their authenticity.

3. We have more than 25,000 ancient mss of the N.T., some dated to within 10 years of the authors! The accuracy & integrity of the N.T. is unparalleled.

II. ARCHAEOLOGICALLY ACCURATE

1. Most ancient historians (Librarian of Alexandria, Ptolemy, and Herodotus) frequently give wrong or misspelled names. No so the Bible.

2. Bible people, places, etc. previously declared to be myths such as Sodom & Gomorrah, the Tower of Babel, evidence of the Exodus, the ‘falling outward’ Walls of Jericho, the Hittites, King David, and Pontius Pilate all verified as accurate.

3. Archaeologist Sir Wm. Ramsey, an atheist archeologist, of atheist parents, went to Asia minor to disprove the Book of Acts. He discovered and verified the names and locations of 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands, exactly as the Bible stated. Convinced of the Bible’s truthfulness, he became an outstanding Christian.

4. Archaeologist Nelson Glueck says: “It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference.”

III. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

1. Ancient Egyptians believed that the earth was supported by 5 marble pillars. Greeks believed it rested on the shoulders of the god Atlas. Hindus believed earth rested on the backs of elephants, which stood on the back of a huge tortoise, which was on top of a coiled serpent in the midst of a cosmic sea!

2. The Bible says, “He stretches out the north over the empty space, and hangs the earth upon nothing” Job 26:7. (It should be noted that just last century scientists believed space consisted of a hypothetical substance called Ether.)

3. When medieval people thought the world was flat, the Bible had long before said, "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth...” Isaiah 40:22. This Hebrew word "circle" means “spherical,” not flat or square.

4. Before the invention of the telescope in 1608, scientists taught that the total number of stars was under 3,000, but the Bible has always taught they are innumerable; “As the host of heaven (stars) cannot be numbered” Jer. 33:22; Gen 15:5; Heb. 11:12.

5. Correctly portrays the 1st & 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics: Heb 1:3; Isa 51:6.

6. THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE. "For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds…pour abundantly on man” Job 36:27-28.

7. OCEAN CURRENTS. Matthew Maury, the father of oceanography, used the Bible’s description of "paths of the seas" in Psalm 8:8 as his inspiration to discover the warm and cold continental currents.

8. MAN FROM DUST. NASA's Ames Research Center confirmed that every element in man can be found in the soil, prompting one of the scientists to say "...the biblical scenario for the creation of life turns out to be not far off the mark.”

9. OPTIMUM SHIP DIMENSIONS. The dimensions of Noah's Ark are ideal for stability and virtually impossible to capsize! By the year 1900, every ship on the high seas had the proportions of the Ark.