When Jesus was on earth about 2000 years ago, the people who heard him teach wondered if his teaching was truly from God. Jesus answered them saying: “…My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from myself.” (John 7:16-17)
Some people claim that simply hearing Jesus’ teaching would never be enough. Some say they would have to see miracles before they could believe Jesus to be from God. Jesus went further to challenge his hearers to believe he was from God because of the miracles he had performed (John 14:11). Unfortunately, not everyone believed in Jesus when they saw these undeniable miracles? Even when Jesus provided miraculous proof, many remained unbelieving. Jesus said the reason is because those who truly want to do God’s will shall know the truthfulness of Christ’s message.
(John 7:17).
Actually, the Bible itself is sufficient proof for all who want to know if it’s from God. The Bible is self-authenticating. There is no need for additional proofs or miracles to establish the authority of God’s Word because it stands on its own. Within the Bible is the character and marks of being the Word of God.
To prove something is a supreme authority, we’d have to appeal to that supreme authority alone. This principle of authority is stated in Hebrews when God made a promise to Abraham, “…since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.” (Hebrews 6:13)
The statement: All Scripture is God-breathed (inspired of God) and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) is powerful. It says that the Word is inspired by God. So while God used men to write down what He caused them to know, whether by visions, dreams or even audible sound, the contents and message are still from God. It’s like an executive having an assistant type his words via dictation. While the assistant transcribed what the executive said, it’s not the assistant’s message, but the executives’. God dictated His Word to 40 men over a course of many centuries. It’s interesting that almost all of these men didn’t know each other and lived many centuries apart; yet the Bible is consistent throughout. There is just no way a composite book could have been written by so many men who wrote the same message, oftentimes repeating each other. History teaches us about many events prophesied (predicted) in the Bible hundreds and even thousands of years in advance which actually came true.
A prophecy is when someone tells us what will happen in the future. In the Bible it means that at the time the verse was written, God was telling people what would happen in the future; and the Bible contains around 1,817 prophecies.
Prophecies are very important to pay attention to because if someone claims to know the future but ends up being wrong, then they are liars and should not be trusted. So, if we want to know if we can trust the God of the Bible we have to know if His prophecies came true or not. Prophecies are also important because when they do come true, they give us proof that God is who He says He is. And it proves undeniably that the Bible is the Word of God. What’s interesting about the prophecies in the Bible is that they have all either come true already, just as God said they would, or the time has not yet come for them to be fulfilled. But don’t take my word for it, look into this for yourself. When you study the prophecies for yourself it will help your own faith in God to grow.
Evidence God Exists and Indisputable Proof the Bible is True
Christians are convinced the Bible is true, because it will either be true or not and we will either be right or wrong. Since we’re asked to believe in a God who is invisible to us, it’s not too much to ask for a little proof that He really exists and that the Bible is true? Thankfully, God has provided indisputable proof He exists; that He knows what will happen in the future, and can control events taking place on earth. The evidence is found in the numerous predictions recorded in the Scriptures by the biblical prophets.
We don’t need to have our every question answered before we can believe in God. A jury doesn’t need every question answered before it can reach a verdict. Most members of a jury don’t get to see a video recording of the accused person committing the crime. They can just examine the evidence (such as the defendant’s fingerprints taken from the crime scene, or testimony from an eyewitness) to convince them beyond a reasonable doubt of guilt or innocence. Even though the jury wasn’t there to witness the crime, they can determine if the accused was there or not because of the indisputable evidence.
The Old Testament prophets, who wrote certain books of the Bible, prophesied about specific events that would take place hundreds of years in the future. How is it possible for anyone to predict the future when it hasn’t yet occurred? The prophets claimed that they received their information directly from God, who told them what would happen.
Jesus prophesied to His disciples about His own crucifixion and resurrection so they would believe after it happened. He said, “I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He” (John 13:19;14:29). God made prophecies and brought them to pass to give us evidence so the righteous would believe in Him. The prophets died long before most of their predictions occurred and have been proven to be correct. Today, thanks to the meticulous work of scribes who carefully copied and preserved their predictions, we can look back on history and see that God’s prophecies were fulfilled exactly as they were proclaimed by the prophets.
Let’s consider just a few prophecies which are confirmed by historical evidence:
- The Flood of Noah’s Day: When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and so they married all whom they chose. So Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not continue with man forever, for he is mortal, his days shall be 120 years”. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and afterward as well, when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown. Then Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. And Yahweh regretted that he had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So Yahweh said, “ I will wipe out man, whom I have created from the face of the earth — every man and beast and crawling creature that moves along the ground and the birds of the air — for I regret that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:1-7)
There is archaeological proof that a flood of global proportions occurred. This can be seen in how the Grand Canyon was formed and in the layers of fossils found all over the world. In many parts of the world coal has formed from the deep layers of green vegetation all over the earth. Archeologists have found that these deep layers of vegetation could have only been formed by a global catastrophe (flood) which pushed trees and plants together in one place and over time produced massive amounts of coal.
- The prophet Daniel prophesied of the Seventy Weeks (Daniel 9:24–27). He prophesied both the first and second coming of Christ. He also predicted that four world empires would successively arise over the span of hundreds of years— Babylon, then Medo-Persia, followed by Greece, and finally Rome (Daniel 2:31–45; 7:1–28). In Daniel 11:29–31, he predicted a king would arise and desecrate the temple in Jerusalem. This was fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes slaughtered a pig on the altar of the Jewish temple and erected an altar to the god Zeus in 168 BC.
- The prophet Micah lived over 700 years before Christ. God communicated a specific future event to this prophet, which was recorded in the Hebrew Bible: “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). Out of all the cities in the world, Micah predicted that Bethlehem would be the location where the Messiah would be born. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy.
- The prophet Zechariah predicted the Messiah would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, which was fulfilled when Judas betrayed Jesus. The prophet accurately described the exact number of pieces, thirty not twenty-nine, and that the money would be silver, not gold. He foretold that the money would be thrown in the sanctuary (not somewhere else), and used to buy a potter’s field (Zech. 11:12–13; Matt. 27:3–7). He also prophesied that He would be pierced with a spear in his side, which was fulfilled when the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear (Zech. 12:10; John 19:34).
- The prophet Isaiah, writing 700 years before Christ, predicted the Messiah would be scourged (severely beaten with whips) (Isaiah 53:5; John 19:1) and buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9; Matt. 27:60).
- In Psalm 22, 1,000 years before Christ was born, King David described the crucifixion of Jesus, saying that His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16; Luke 24:39), including the fact that they would cast lots for his garments, which was fulfilled when the soldiers cast lots for His outer garments and tunic (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23–24). David also predicted that the Messiah would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9; John 13:18), that not one of his bones would be broken (Psalm 34:20; John 19:36), and that the Messiah would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31–32).
This could not have happened by mere chance. Only a supernatural God could have inspired and fulfilled the prophecies in the Bible. The evidence is so compelling that it should convince us beyond a reasonable doubt. God has left His fingerprints on these prophecies so that you could know beyond a doubt the Bible is true.
Loving Yahweh with Heart, Soul and Strength 