THE BIBLE IS RIGHT AFTER ALL final authority in faith

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THE BIBLE IS RIGHT AFTER ALL

5/26/2019

In this series we have been looking at facts pertaining to the Bible being the final authority in faith and practice. Today we once again accept the challenge to prove that after everything is said and done, The Bible Is Right After All.

I. Archaeology and History affirm the Bible.

A. Critics allege that there was a long time between the New Testament occurrence and the actual time of writing. B. Critics do not use the same standard on other historical writings.

1. The writings of Aristotle took place between 384 and 322 B.C. a. The earliest copy of this work dates back to A.D. 1100.

b. The gap between the original writing and the earliest copy is 1400 years. c. There are only 49 copies known to exist today.

2. The writings of Plato date back to 427-347 B.C. a. The earliest copy of his work dates back to A.D. 900.

b. There is a gap of 1200 years between the original writing and the earliest copy. c. There are only 7 copies known to still exist.

C. What about the New Testament from the time of happening to recording?

1. Jesus said about the Holy Spirit; "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance. 2. Just a few years elapsed between the time of Christ and the first writings.

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3. The oldest manuscripts dates back to the first centuries.

4. From the eerily centuries we have at least 5400 manuscripts available today. 5. There is no great time period between the events of the New Testament and the writings of the New Testament.

D. Critics charge there are no ancient writings about Jesus outside the New Testament. 1. The truths is there are many writings confirming the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Christ. 2. Flavius Josephus (AD 93) wrote about Jesus 3. Pliny the Younger's letter to the Emperor Trajan (Approx. A. D. 100) II. Modern Archaeology confirms the Bible.

A. Even Readers Digest in June 2000 confirmed the accuracy of the Bible; "In extraordinary ways, modern archeology is affirming the historical core of the Old and New Testaments, supporting key portion of crucial biblical stories." B. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls confirms the reliability of Scriptures.

1. The ancient texts were found hidden in pots in cliff top caves in Qumran in the West Band in Israel in 1949. 2. The complete Old Testament Book of Isaiah was contained in the Scroll. 3. Thousands of fragments representing every Old Testament book except Esther was found in the caves.

4. These texts have become an important witness for the divine origins of the Bible 5. These texts speak loudly that the Books of Daniel and Isaiah were in reality proven texts of the trustworthiness of the Scriptures.

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6. According to Carbon dating the Isaiah scroll is set around 100 B C. C. Dr Joseph P. Free has stated about the old texts of Scripture; "Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to know facts. Yet archaeological discoveries have shown that these critical charges are wrong and that the Bible is trustworthy in the very statements which have been set aside as untrustworthy. We do not know of any cases where the Bible has been proved wrong."

D. Dr. Nelson Glueck has stated; "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical description has often led to amazing discoveries."

E. Archaeological Data Corroborates the Bible.

1. In Israel in 1993 a stone was found containing the inscriptions; "House of David." And "King of Israel." 2. Time magazine stated, "This writing dated to the 9th century B. C. only a century after David's reign—described a victory by a neighboring king over the Israelites...The skeptics claim that David never existed is now hard to defend." F. Again a Readers digest article dated June 2000 proves the historical backdrop of the Gospels; "In 1968 for example the skeletal remains of a crucified man were found in a burial cave in northern Jerusalem...There was evidence that his wrists may have been pierced with nails. The knees had been doubled up and turned sideways and an iron nail (still lodged in the heel bone of one foot) driven through both heels. The shinbones appeared to have been broken, perhaps corroborating the Gospel of John." G. The Bible and the Hittite Empire:

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1. The Scriptures makes more than 40 references to the great Hittite Empires. 2. Until one hundred years ago there was no archaeological evidence to substantiate the biblical claim that Hittites existed. 3. Skeptics declared that the Bible was in error, until their mouths were suddenly stopped.

4. In 1906 Hugo Winckler uncovered a hugh library of 10,000 clay tablets, which completely documented the lost Hittite Empire. 5. We now know that at its height, the Hittite civilization rivaled Egypt and Asssyria in its glory and power.

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Excavations confirm the Bible

1. A hidden burial chamber dating to the first century was discovered in 1990 two miles from the Temple Mount. 2. One bore the bones of a man in his sixties, with the inscription meaning in English; "Joseph, son of Caiaphas."

3. Experts believe this was Caiaphas, the high priest of Jerusalem, who was involved in the arrest of Jesus, interrogated him, and handed Him over to Pontius Pilate for execution.

4. Excavations at Caesarea in the ancient seat of Roman government in Judea, uncovered a stone slab whose complete inscription read; "Pontius Pilate, the prefect of Judea, has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honor of Tiberius." a. The discovery in truly significant, establishing that the man depicted in the Gospel as Judea's Roman governor had the authority ascribed to him by the Gospel writers.

b. Although people try to dispel Scriptures as not trustworthy the spade eventually catches up with the Word of God.