The Source of Truth: The Bible

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the Sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.

The Bible is the only written source that actually claims within itself to be the word of God, and in which those claims were made with consistency by many different men, over a period of over 1,500 years. In the Old Testament alone, the Bible asserts over 2,000 times that God spoke what was written. In the Isaiah 55:10-11 passage quoted above, it is clear from the context of the rest of Isaiah 55 that the prophet Isaiah was speaking for God. In the New Testament, the phrase “word of God” appears over 40 times, including the Hebrews 4:12 passage quoted above.

The Bible consists of God’s revelations to 40 different writers over the course of 1,500 years. There is consistency and continuity in these revelations. These are not simply opinions or theories postulated by various people; the writers received revelations from God and were told to write or proclaim what God told them. The Bible is called “sacred” (2 Timothy 3:15) and “holy” (Romans 1:2). Psalm 119:89-90 states: “forever, Oh Lord, your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations.” This means God’s word as recorded in the Bible is eternally true. These are only a few of the many examples that show the Bible is unique compared to any other religious instruction in human history.

Each of us must decide how we should live; what we believe are facts and what principles we should live by. Many people base their attitude about life on wishful thinking, or the fanciful ideas they have contrived in their own minds. This is a mistake. The Bible claims to be God’s revelation to mankind, and everyone should carefully consider that claim. We believe that the Bible is factually true, that it is God’s revelation to mankind, and that it should be the basis for one’s life, for three reasons:

1. There are facts we can observe that are explained in the Bible. For example, the Bible explains why we all eventually die, and it explains the condition of the world.

2. The Bible contains many prophecies concerning the first coming into the world of Jesus Christ, and they were fulfilled with 100% accuracy.

3. The Bible is validated by history. The actions of the disciples of Jesus Christ are historically documented, and their motivations can only be explained by the Bible. Also, events reported in the Bible concerning the life and death of Jesus Christ are corroborated by historical records.

A careful study of history and of the Bible itself will reveal these assertions to be true.

How did we get the Bible, and on what basis is it accepted as true?

The Bible began with the creation account written by Moses in about 1405 B.C., and extends to the eternity future account of Revelation written by the Apostle John about A.D. 95. During this time, God progressively revealed Himself and His purposes in the inspired Scriptures. But we must ask, “How do we know what supposed sacred writings were to be accepted as true, and which ones were to be rejected?” Over the centuries, 3 widely recognized principles were used to validate those writings which came as a result of divine revelation. First, the writing had to have a recognized prophet or apostle as its author (or one associated with them, as in the case of Mark, Luke, Hebrews, James or Jude). Second, the writing could not disagree with or contradict previous Scripture. Third, the writing had to have general consensus by the church as an inspired book.

With regard to the Old Testament, by the time of Christ all of the Old Testament had been written and accepted in the Jewish community. Not only does the Old Testament canon of Christ’s day conform to the Old Testament which has been used throughout the centuries, but it does not contain the spurious Apocrypha, that group of 14 rogue writings which were written after Malachi and attached to the Old Testament about 200-150 B.C. in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament called the Septuagint. Some versions of the Bible contain these writings even to this day, but not one passage from the Apocrypha is cited by any New Testament writer, nor did Jesus affirm any of it as He recognized the Old Testament canon of His era (cf. Lk 24:27, 44). So, by the time of Christ, the Old Testament canon was regarded as complete, with the prophetic book of Malachi having been completed in about 430 B.C., with no new revelation for about 400 years. Then, in accordance with prophecy contained in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ appeared on the scene. The history of His life was preserved by the apostolic writers, guided by the Holy Spirit. Since about A.D. 350-400, the 27 books of the New Testament have been universally accepted by the church as inspired, true and complete.

How do we know the Bible has not been changed from its original meaning?

Since the Bible has been translated into many languages and distributed throughout the world, how can we be sure that error has not crept in, even if it was unintentional? Through the centuries, the practitioners of textual criticism, a precise science, have discovered, preserved, catalogued, evaluated and published an amazing array of biblical manuscripts from both the Old and New Testaments. The number of existing biblical manuscripts dramatically outdistances the existing fragments of any other ancient literature. By comparing text with text, the textual critic can confidently determine what the original prophetic/apostolic inspired writing contained.

Regarding the Old Testament: First, the tenth century A.D. Hebrew Old Testament can be compared to the Greek translation called the Septuagint (written about 200-150 B.C.; the oldest manuscripts date to ca. A.D. 325). There is amazing consistency between the two, which speaks of the accuracy in copying the Hebrew text for centuries. Second, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947-1956 (manuscripts that are dated ca. 200-100 B.C.) proved to be monumentally important. After comparing the earlier Hebrew text with the later ones, only a few slight variants were discovered, none of which changed the meaning of any passage. Although the Old Testament had been translated and copied for centuries, the latest version was essentially the same as the earlier ones.

The New Testament findings are even more decisive because a much larger amount of material is available for study; there are over 5,000 Greek New Testament manuscripts that range from the whole testament to scraps of papyri. There are fragments that date back to within 25-50 years of the original writing. New Testament textual scholars have generally concluded that 99.99 percent of the original writings have been reclaimed, and of the remaining one hundredth of one percent, there are no variants substantially affecting any Christian doctrine.

How do we know that God will not amend our current Bible with another inspired book? The most compelling text on the closed canon is the Scripture to which nothing has been added for over 1,900 years, Revelation 22:18-19, which states that no one should add to or take away from this prophecy. The book of Revelation is unique in that it describes with unparalleled detail the end-time events which precede eternity future. As Genesis began Scripture by bridging the gap from eternity past into our time/space existence with the only detailed creation account, so Revelation transitions out of time/space back into eternity future. Genesis and Revelation, by their contents, are perfectly matched bookends of Scripture. Also, just as there was prophetic silence after Malachi completed the Old Testament canon, so there was a parallel silence after the Apostle John delivered Revelation. This leads to the conclusion that the New Testament canon was then closed. Additionally, since there have not been, nor now are, any authorized prophets or apostles in either the Old Testament or New Testament sense, there are not any potential authors of future inspired, canonical writings. Finally, the early church, those closest in time to the apostles, believed that Revelation concluded God’s inspired writings, the Scriptures.

In conclusion, the Bible is the only written source of information we have about God and eternal truth that is reliable. We should study it carefully, understand its teachings fully, and believe in its truth. It is the inspired Word of God.