There are many ancient literary works such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Herodotus’ Histories, and Virgil’s Aeneid to name a few. These are foundational works of western composition which are accepted and used extensively by experts to understand history, cultures, philosophy and the human condition. One of the greatest ancient literary gifts we have is the Bible. In this article we will look at some reasons why textual critics agree that the Bible is exceptional, has stood the test of time, and is a true masterpiece.
The Bible is absolutely unique in its design, authorship, and message. The 66 books of the Bible were written over a period of 1,500 years by over 40 different people. The authors included soldiers, shepherds, farmers, kings, fishermen, doctors, tax collectors, prisoners, prophets, and priests, most of whom did not know one another. The Bible was written from various locations in Africa, Asia, and Europe in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). All the above could be reasons for a work of literature to be a disaster....disjointed, full of errors and inconsistencies, lacking a cohesive theme. However, what we find in the Bible is just the opposite: historical accuracy, agreement between authors, and a singular message. Scientific facts presented in the Bible, such as the earth being round, the existence of ocean and wind currents, gravity, and many more have consistently proven to be factual. Every single archeological discovery has only confirmed what the Bible records.
There are over 25,000 ancient manuscripts of the Bible. While it is significant that we have all these copies before the age of the printing press, the point really isn’t the sheer number of these manuscripts, but rather the fact that they are substantially all the same. This is important when you are trying to have a fact-based faith.
We were blessed with the King James (KJV) translation of the Bible in 1611. The translators used an Old Testament manuscript that was only 600 years old at the time (10th century Masoretic text). These men were working with a copy that was written 2,500 years after Moses originally penned the first 5 books. Amazingly, when the Dead Sea Scrolls came to light in the 1940’s, the Old Testament texts which were discovered matched the Masoretic Text perfectly. To put it simply, people discovered manuscripts that were 1200 years OLDER than their Bibles, and no changes were needed…they read the same. This is God’s hand at work, preserving the text of the Bible.
In addition, whole ancient copies of the Bible which perfectly match what the translators used, have since come to light. The Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus are complete Bibles which contain both Old and New Testaments and they predate the KJV translation by nearly 1300 years. For these to match so accurately can only be from God.
What is written in the text is really the most important thing, and what we find there can increase our faith even more about it. From beginning to the end, the central theme of the Bible is how to save mankind from sin, and that this is accomplished through Jesus Christ. There are thousands of prophecies in the Bible, and over 300 of them are about the Messiah. So, what does this have to do with the accuracy of the Bible? Simply that Jesus Christ fulfills ALL the prophecies about the Messiah. For example, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and He was crucified (this prophecy predated the practice of crucifixion by 500 years!), and the list goes on and on. Why is this important? Scientist Peter Stoner, a college professor and acknowledged expert on probability, published a book to explain it called Science Speaks. It is online, easy to understand, peer reviewed, and free.
Caution: I am a numbers nerd, but stick with me for the next section. If it get’s to be too much, just skip to the “The point is”!
In his book, Professor Stoner calculated the probability of one person fulfilling even 8 of the prophesies of the Messiah to be 10 to the 17th power (this means 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000). He then calculated the chance of 16 Messianic prophecies being fulfilled as 1 in 10 to the 45th power. Finally, he calculated the chance of 48 of those prophesies being fulfilled as 1 in 10 to the 157th power. Does your brain hurt yet? These numbers are so large that we cannot grasp them properly. To put these numbers in perspective, at last check the Texas Lottery and the chances for winning the $139 million jackpot was 1 in 290,000,000 … and people buy tickets. That’s only 7 zeros, and we are talking about 157 zeros. The point is this: the probability that a person would successfully fulfill all of these prophesies is mind-boggling, but Jesus Christ did it. This proves beyond any doubt that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied from God, and also shows the certainty that the Bible which contains all these prophecies is from God as well.
While those figures are astounding, it's not just the prophecies in the Bible. It’s the genealogies, verified historical facts, confirmed science, the lack of contradictions within the text, and the teachings which improve lives immediately and save souls eternally. The more you look for proof, the more you will find it. God has provided His will to us in the form of the Bible, and is telling us in every possible way that it contains the path to holiness and is literally truth. As Jesus Himself said, “Sanctify them by the truth, Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
If you have a question regarding anything in this article, have any Biblical questions, or would just like to study, please contact me. I have some open time slots on my Zoom calendar.
God bless,
Jeff Mullen
Blanco Hills Church
830-554-0701
blancohillschurch@gmail.com