Seeking the Truth: Isn’t the Bible inaccurate and out of date? GOEC Apologetics Series

200BC: earliest manuscripts of the Bible 21 st century Birth of Jesus

Commonly asked questions How do you know that the Bible is true and accurate? How do you know that it isn't just full of myths and fabricated stories? Is it really the Word of God?

Sermon outline 1)Records: history of the Bible 2)Reliability: why we believe the Bible is true 3)Relevance: why the Bible is still useful today

Early Modern EnglishPsalm 27 (AD1611)

Old English Genesis 22:1-19 (Late 900s AD)

Middle EnglishJohn 1 (AD 1385)

The Holy Bible 40 different authors Written over years 3 languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek

The Latin Vulgate Bible

John Wycliffe (c )

“Those Heretics who pretend that the laity need not know God’s law but that the knowledge which priests have had imparted to them by word of mouth is sufficient, do not deserve to be listened to. For Holy Scriptures is the faith of the Church, and the more widely its true meaning becomes known the better it will be. Therefore since the laity should know the faith, it should be taught in whatever language is most easily comprehended … Christ and His apostles taught the people in the language best known to them.”

Oxford, 1408

William Tyndale ( )

: translated the Bible from original languages into English 1535: kidnapped and imprisoned 1536: found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake

Tyndale’s influence 80-90% of the KJV is taken from Tyndale’s translations First translation to use phrases: ▫Let there be light ▫Salt of the earth ▫Ye of little faith

1) Records: history of the Bible The Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and written by people. ▫2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Gal 1:11-12 It used to be a crime to translate the Bible into English, the punishment for which was death. John Wycliffe and William Tyndale were the first people to translate the Bible into English, with Tyndale paying the ultimate price. SUMMARY

Can you answer these? How do I know that the Bible is true? How do I know that the events and stories weren’t just made up?

Authentic means… Valid and genuine Telling the truth, not fabricated

Authenticity

Before 1947… Oldest Old Testament manuscript – AD895 Oldest complete Bible – 10 th century AD Masoretic texts, written from AD500 to 1000

Dead Sea Scrolls, Qumran

Written in the 8 th and 7 th centuries BC Coming salvation of the Messiah Prophecies Written in the 8 th and 7 th centuries BC Coming salvation of the Messiah Prophecies

ISAIAH’S PROPHECYFULFILLED BY JESUS A throne will be established from the house of King David (16:5) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32).

ISAIAH’S PROPHECYFULFILLED BY JESUS A throne will be established from the house of King David (16:5) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). The Messiah will be considered ‘punished by God’ (53:4) In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!” (Matthew 27:41-42a.)

ISAIAH’S PROPHECYFULFILLED BY JESUS A throne will be established from the house of King David (16:5) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). The Messiah will be considered ‘punished by God’ (53:4) In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!” (Matthew 27:41-42a.) The Messiah’s crucifixion will bring us peace (53:5) …by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:20b).

ISAIAH’S PROPHECYFULFILLED BY JESUS A throne will be established from the house of King David (16:5) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). The Messiah will be considered ‘punished by God’ (53:4) In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!” (Matthew 27:41-42a.) The Messiah’s crucifixion will bring us peace (53:5) …by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:20b). The Messiah will be silent before His accusers (53:7) When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders…Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge (Matthew 27:12, 14a).

Want to take a closer look? Search for ‘Isaiah 53 fulfilled’

Flavius Josephus (AD30-100)

Josephus “About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats … He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him, did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvellous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.” --Antiquities, XVIII. 3. 3

Josephus

“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man … For he was one who wrought surprising feats … He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him, did not give up their affection for him … for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvellous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.” --Antiquities, XVIII. 3. 3

Publius Cornelius Tacitus (AD56-c.117)

Tacitus “…Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of…Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome... [Christians] perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired…” -- Annals 15.44

Tacitus

Additional resources Equip.org  search for ‘Biblical Archaeology’

2) Reliability: why we believe the Bible is true Dead Sea Scrolls confirm validity of existing manuscripts. Isaiah’s prophesies about Jesus were fulfilled. Secular historians from 1 st century AD reference Jesus as an influential leader who was martyred. SUMMARY

The Golden Rule

How to behave: A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth (11:16) How to speak: Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing (12:18) How to support others: A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need (17:17)

‘Energeo’ – to be at work; to put forth power

Reflection from a Year 7 student Coming from a science background, this made me rethink my theories about God’s existence. The evidence supporting this is so thorough, I was blown away. In Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah predicted the exact same words as Jesus in Luke 4:17! It is truly amazing. Knowing what I have learnt about God and truth, I think it may change the way I think about God and how I live my life.

Additional resources Voices of the Martyrs:

Sermon outline 1)Records: history of the Bible 2)Reliability: why we believe the Bible is true 3)Relevance: why the Bible is still useful today SUMMARY

God's Word God speaking Truth Transformation