#4: The Authenticity and Reliability of the Bible

I have recently received several questions regarding the authenticity of the origin and reliability of the preservation of the Bible. THIS SUBJECT IS OF HUGE IMPORTANCE!!! So, I think we need to address these questions before we go any further. Although the focus of this blog is Revelation 13, I don't know how we can continue this study, with any sense of commitment, if we don't really know we can trust what the Bible has to say.

If the authenticity and reliability of the Bible is honestly a concern of yours and not just an excuse to remain ambivalent, PLEASE take the time and effort to do your OWN research. I will include a few links to online information but don't just take my word for it. I can quote all kinds of facts, but by praying and doing your own research you will be able to come to your own conclusions. PLEASE keep an open mind, pray and take the time to do the research on your own.

The questions I've received so far seem to fall into two main categories:

1. Authenticity of Bible Content. Questions like: "What if the Bible writers just made all this stuff up?"

2. Reliability of Bible Content. Questions like: "What if the words of the original writers have been changed?"

We're not expected to have "blind" faith in the Bible without any evidence. So, let's look at the evidence. Have the original manuscripts been messed with over time? Why wouldn't power hungry religious leaders try to change the documents to fit their own agendas? What about "The Lost Books of the Bible"? What about the scripture that says that the authors of the individual books of the Bible were "carried along by the Holy Spirit"(2 Peter 1:21) while they were writing down direct revelation from God? "Divine Inspiration" sounds too sketchy for most of us to believe!

And I totally agree. It is difficult to believe the Bible is a divinely inspired work and that it contains the same words the original authors wrote so many centuries ago without proof. In some cases, hundreds of years passed between the original writing of the "revelation" and the earliest surviving copy of the author's work. And what about all the cross translations from one language to another?

With all that said, here are a few reasons I have come to believe in the authenticity and reliability of the Bible and hopefully, these reasons will get you started on your own search.

Let's look at evidence for the authenticity and reliability of the Old Testament first:

1. If you question the translation of the Christian version of the Old Testament, then check out an English translation of the Jewish Bible or Tanakh at any library or bookstore. Here is an online version:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=tanakh+online&aq=6&oq=tanak&aqi=g10

The Tanakh came many centuries before the Christian version of the Old Testament. It doesn't take a Bible scholar to figure out the Jews would never purposely translate any of their manuscripts to match those of Christian translators. We are talking about two distinctly different religious groups here. It's also important to point out that the Jewish scribes followed painstaking rituals to make sure their holy scrolls were copied perfectly. Here is a link to the history:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0018_0_17895.html

2. The fulfillment of Bible prophesies throughout history have been a major factor in the growth of my belief in the authenticity of the Bible. Here is an interesting link:
http://www.biblesearch.com/answers/bible/biboripres1.htm

3. The historical and archaeological evidence confirming facts stated in the Bible.
http://www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/

4. The major discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947-1959 provided an amazing chance to "check" the accuracy of the existing OT texts.
http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/intro.html

http://www.ou.edu/faculty/organizations/ouchrfas/reed6.htm

5. For me, as a Christian, the most important validation of the authenticity and reliability of the Old Testament scriptures is Jesus Christ-Yeshua Ha'Mashiach obviously believed the first century OT manuscripts were trustworthy records of original, divine inspiration. Jesus studied, read and quoted OT scriptures.

This leads us to the next question: How do we know the New Testament and the words of Christ have been accurately preserved in the Bible we have today?

We will cover this in our next blog.

Until then-
May God bless each one of you,
Kim