The Authenticity of Scripture

Isaiah 40:6-8

Intro
Increasingly, today's young people know little or nothing about the Bible.
This was demonstrated by Tonight Show host Jay Leno. Leno frequently does "man-on-the street"
interviews, and one night he cornered some young people to ask them questions about the Bible. "Can
you name one of the Ten Commandments?" he asked two college-age women. One replied, "Freedom
of speech?" Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: Let he who is without sin..." Her
response was, "have a good time?" Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according
to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?" The confident answer was, "Pinocchio."

It seems the Bible is becoming more and more a forgotten book. We live in a world of growing
skepticism and unbelief toward the Christian faith. Today we have more and more people questioning
the reliability of the Scriptures. Some see it as a book full of contradictions. Some accept portions of
the Bible to be true but not the whole. Others have doubts as to whether it is truly from God or divinely
inspired. Yet some take the Bible for granted and couldn’t be bothered about it – which shows lack of
interest and appreciation.

Today I want to continue to talk about the Authenticity of Scripture. Authenticity means: genuine,
reliable, trustworthy, authoritative, true and proven by authentic evidence.

A few Sundays ago I spoke about 4 reasons why the Bible is reliable:
 The Endurance of Scripture
 How the Scriptures were Preserved
 Archeological Proof
 Fulfilled Prophecy

Today I would like to talk about 4 other reasons why the Bible is reliable and authentic.

1. Time Factor
Two Sundays ago we looked at how the Scriptures were preserved through the ages by the copyists,
the scribes (class of learned men who made systematic study of God’s law), the prophets, and the early
Church fathers. Now, the New Testament was written within 70 years, the lifetime of the apostles and
Christ’s contemporaries.

Josh McDowell, in his book The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, offers a number of evidences
regarding the reliability of the Bible. Among these evidences is a chart where we see a comparison of
historical writings compared to that of the New Testament. Among the works listed are some works by
ancient historians, such as Julius Caesar, Tacitus, Thucydides, Seutonius, etc. It is from the writings of
these people that much of what we know about ancient history has been recorded. Yet, in terms of
actual evidence regarding the accuracy and reliability of their texts there is very little manuscript
evidence.

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 Works of Antiquity & The New Testament
AUTHOR WHEN EARLIEST TIME NUMBER OF
WRITTEN COPY SPAN COPIES

Caesar 100-44 B.C. 900 A.D. 950 yrs. 10

Plato (Tetralogies) 427-347 B.C. 900 A.D. 1200 yrs. 7

Tacitus (Annals) 100 A.D. 1000 A.D. 900 yrs. 20

Thucydides 460-400 B.C. 900 A.D. 1300 yrs. 8

Seutonius 75-160 A.D. 950 A.D. 800 yrs. 8

Herodotus (History) 480-425 B.C. 900 A.D. 1300 yrs. 8

Homer 750 B.C. 400 B.C. 350 yrs. 643

New Testament 40-100 A.D. 100 A.D. 0 yrs. 24,000+

In the case of Caesar we see that only 20 manuscripts have been preserved, the earliest of which dates
to 900 A.D. leaving a 950 year gap between the time the work was actually written and the earliest
copy we have. Even in the case of Homer, one of the most widely read authors of the ancient world,
while some 643 copies of his work the Iliad have survived; there is a 350 year gap between the time
the original text was written and the date of the earliest copy.

The interval between the historical events and the written evidence is far better for the New Testament
than any other ancient manuscripts.
For example, the first account of Buddha’s life was written 700 years after his death.
The earliest available copy of Plato’s works is dated 1,200 years after the original. Yet we do not
question the reliability of these works!

There is some question as to the reliability of the secular manuscripts because of the great period of
time between the actual occurrence and the time they were recorded. Whereas the New Testament was
written at a time when it was fresh in the minds of Christ’s contemporaries. Obviously this would
not allow much room for inaccuracies or any distortions of the facts.

2. Nature Science Factor

Within the last century science and medicine has come across many discoveries. Some of these
discoveries have shown the Bible to be a truly remarkable book.

Four Examples:
1/ Modern medicine has discovered that, in male circumcision, after cutting off the foreskin,
prevention of bleeding requires two important elements to be present. They are vitamin K, and
prothrombin. In 1935, Professor H. Dam proposed the name “Vitamin K” for the factor in foods that
helped prevent hemorrhaging. We now know that Vitamin K is responsible for the production of
prothrombin by the liver. If Vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombin deficiency and
hemorrhaging may occur, since both Vitamin K and prothrombin are necessary for proper blood
clotting.
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Oddly enough, it is only on the fifth through the seventh days of the newborn male’s life that Vitamin
K begins to be produced (usually produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract). “Careful investigations
of the available prothrombin are charted by McMillen and show that in the third day of a baby’s life
the available prothrombin is only 30%, whereas on the eighth day it is 110%, after which it levels off
to 100%. In other words there is more prothrombin available for clotting the blood on the eighth day of
life than at any other time in the whole life of the individual.”7 It is only on the eighth day that the
percentage of prothrombin climbs above 100%!

The only day in the life of the newborn that the blood-clotting element prothrombin is above 110% is
on the eighth day. Therefore, the best day for circumcision is the eighth day! Did Abraham have access
to modern-day medical knowledge? This is why God instructed Abraham to circumcise every male
child on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12).

2/ In three places the Bible affirms that the earth is wearing out. Isaiah 51:6, Psalm 102:26 and
Hebrews 1:11 all say that “…earth will wear out like a garment.” This is precisely what the Second
Law of Thermodynamics says: everything is running down, wearing out; energy is becoming less and
less available for use; entropy (a measure of randomness, disorderliness, lack of structure) is
increasing! That, of course, means the universe eventually will “wear out.” The Bible writers knew it,
and stated it clearly. We did not discover it until the twentieth century. How did the Bible writers
know?

3/ In ancient times people believed the world was flat. In Isaiah we read, “It is he [God] who sits upon
the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). The Hebrew word Isaiah used for “circle” means literally
something with “roundness” or “spherical.” Of course, the people of Isaiah’s time and for many
generations up to Columbus’ time thought the earth was flat, not spherical. Another lucky guess?

4/ Job says that God, “spreads out the northern skies over the empty space, and suspends the earth over
nothing” (Job 26:7). That of course, is a well-known fact today. The earth is literally “suspended over
nothing.” But we must remember that this was not the concept of Job’s day. People in Job’s time felt
the earth was possibly suspended on the backs of four elephants, which stood on the back of a giant
turtle! Others felt that the earth was suspended upon the shoulders of a supernaturally strong man,
Atlas. There were many weird concepts about the condition of the earth, but none stated the matter in
the clear and correct manner as does Job. Another lucky guess – when everyone else was wrong?

There are many more discoveries showing how remarkable the Bible is in light of science and
scientific discoveries. But due to time constraints I have limited the examples. It is truly remarkable
how unique and awesome the Bible is. Only the Creator of the universe could reveal such knowledge
to people of ancient times.

3. Witnesses and Testimonial Factor

The Bible has countless witnesses who testify of a personal living God. Men and women like Noah,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Debra, Ruth, Gideon, Samuel, David, the prophets, the apostles, and
followers of Christ who throughout hundreds of years, had intimate experiences with a personal God.

About 40 writers were guided by the Spirit of God to record the Scriptures. These writers came from a
diversity of cultural backgrounds and from every walk of life. The Scriptures were not written in one
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generation but over 37 generations (40 years being one generation). They wrote in three different
continents and in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek). Here are a few examples:
 Moses, a political leader trained in the universities of Egypt
 Joshua, a military general
 Nehemiah, a cupbearer to the king of Persia
 Solomon, a philosopher king
 Daniel, a prime minister in the courts of Babylon
 Amos, a herdsman
 Luke, a physician
 Matthew, a tax collector
 Peter, a fisherman
 Paul, a rabbi and tentmaker

What are the odds of 40 writers over a span of 1,500 years from different professions and countries
write about the same God and similar spiritual experiences. It would be next to impossible. Josh
McDowell and Don Stewart in their book, Answers to Tough Questions give a challenge, “Lest anyone
think this isn’t something marvelous, we’d like to give you a challenge. Find ten people from your
local area having similar backgrounds, who speak the same language, and all are from basically the
same culture. Then separate them and ask them to write their opinion on only one controversial
subject, such as the meaning of life. When they have finished, compare the conclusions of these ten
writers. Do they agree with each other? Of course not. But the Bible did not consist of merely ten
authors, but forty.”

4/ Harmony Factor
Although the Bible can be viewed as an anthology of individual authors written over a period of
several thousand years by Jews and early Christians, it is also a unified work in its entirety. It depicts
the relationship of God and humanity from Creation through to the first century A.D. and projects that
relationship ahead to the end of time.

The Bible has 66 books written over a period of 1,500 years by about 40 writers and yet the message is
the same throughout and so clear that the 66 books are actually one book. It is also a marvelously
diverse book. Yet, in spite of its remarkable diversity, the Bible is still a single book with a single
theme woven throughout. While the Bible contains many stories, essentially it is about one story – the
story of Messiah, Jesus Christ redeeming the world.

In Scripture there is perfect harmony. The Bible agrees with itself from beginning to end. And why
shouldn’t it? After all, despite the fact that forty humans actually wrote the words down, the Bible in
reality has one author. It only stands to reason that if it were God – a single being – that inspired and
revealed the Word; thus the Word that is recorded would come together with perfect continuity and
harmony.

Consider the subject of Bible Prophecy. There are many prophecies foretold in the Old Testament that
were fulfilled later on in the New Testament. Yet the Old and New Testaments were written by
different people, separated by hundreds of years of time. The writers were writing what they saw and
experienced. They saw the events with spiritual eyes and were inspirationally guided by a power
greater than them.
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In each Old Testament book we can trace the history of Israel right down through the ages. The New
Testament completes and fulfills the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17, 18). The Old Testament is quoted
over 800 times in the New Testament.

Cross-references
It has been said that, “Scripture is its own best interpreter.” Martin Luther expressed this principle with
the words, Scripture sui ipsius interpres (“Scripture is its own expositor), and it was summed up by the
authors of the Westminster Confession: “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the
Scripture itself and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture
…it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.”
There are many verses and passages that correlate or are related to each other. As a matter of fact the
Bible is the most cross-referenced book of all time.

Conclusion
Can I say that people have tried to undermine the authenticity of Scripture through the ages but they
can’t deny the fact that it is a book that has deeply changed people’s lives and it continues to do so.

William Law in his book, Christian Perfection said this, “Alas, so many intelligent people become
preoccupied with dates and linguistic problems concerning the Bible that they have not time to
seriously consider the Bible's main theme, God's love for us and our loving response to him. They
seem so concerned for truth, yet neglect the real purpose of truth, which is to bring us closer to the God
of truth.” (Source: William Law in Christian Perfection. Abridged and paraphrased by Marvin D. Hinten. Christianity
Today)

The Bible is truly a remarkable book. It is the single most important book ever written. It is an
eyewitness account of historical events of such magnitude that they have literally shaped the world in
which we live. But most importantly it has transformed lives all over the world. It has transformed my
life.

Bibliography used in this series

Apostolic Fathers. Early Christian Writings. Penguin Classics.
Bruce. F.F. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove. IL. 1985.
Barrett, C. K. The New Testament Background. Harper & Row. New York. 1956.
Burrows, Millar. The Dead Sea Scrolls. The Viking Press, New York. 1956.
Collins, Francis S. The Language of God. Gale Learning, New York, 2006.
Flavius Josephus, The Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids.
Geisler, Norman L. The Historical Reliability of the New Testament in Christian Apologetics. Baker Book House Publishing, Grad Rapids, MI. 1976.
Heeren, Fred. Show Me God. Searchlight Publications. Wheeling, IL. 1995.
Jones, Timothy Paul. Misquoting Truth. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove. 2007.
Keeft, Peter and Ronald K. Tacelli. The Bible: Myth or History in Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove. IL. 1994.
Lindsey, Hal. The Late Great Planet Earth. Grand Rapids Zondervan Publishing House, 1970.
Little, Paul. Know Why You Believe. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1976.
McDowell, Josh. A Ready Defense. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. 1993.
McDowell, Josh, Are the Biblical Records Reliable in More Than a Carpenter. Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. 1977.
McDowell, Josh. More Evidence that Demands a Verdict. San Bernadino:Campus Crusade for Christ, 1975.
McDowell, Josh and Stewart, Don. Answers to tough Questions. San Bernadino: Here’s Life Publishers, 1980.
MacKendrick, Paul and Howe, Herbert - editors. The Classics in Translation. University of Wisconsin Press. 1952.
Mullins, E.Y. Why Is Christianity True? Chicago: Christian Culture Press.
Nash, Ronald. Christianity & the Hellenistic World. Zondervan, Dallas,1984.
Ramm, Bernard. Protestant Christian Evidences. Chicago Moody Press.
Rehwinkel, Alfred M. The Wonders of Creation. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 197.4
Ross, Hugh. The Creator And The Cosmos. NavPress Publishing Group. Colorado, 1995.

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Sproul, R.C. Reasons to Believe. Lamplighter Books. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1982.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for the Real Jesus. Zondervan, Grand Rapids. 2007.
Tenney, Merril C., gen ed. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975.