Is the Bible Reliable? Exploring the Evidence
In our post-truth world, many people wonder: Is the Bible still the infallible word of God? How do we know the Bible is true? What evidence suggests that Scripture’s claims about Jesus are accurate? Was Jesus just a historical figure, or is He truly the Son of God?
A foundational aspect of Christian faith is believing that the Bible is God’s Word—His divinely inspired message to followers of Jesus. Written by more than 40 different authors spanning over 1,500 years, is the Bible merely a collection of writings and stories, or is it truly the Word of God? Most importantly, if the Bible isn’t reliable, what does that tell us about the Gospel and who Jesus is?
The good news is that we don’t have to rely on hearsay or blind faith to know the Bible is trustworthy. The Bible is uniquely positioned to defend its own reliability through both internal and external evidence.
The truth of the Bible can be verified with three key components that create the acronym MAP: Manuscripts, Archaeology, and Prophecies. Let’s explore these three factors that confirm the Bible is the most reliable ancient document in history. Even more, we’ll see how the Bible truly is the word of God that can actively guide our faith today and into the future.
Manuscripts
There is more manuscript evidence supporting the Bible’s accuracy than any other document in history. According to the Institute for Creation Research, “There are some 25,000 early manuscripts in existence, almost 6,000 of which (many being only recognizable fragments) are Greek texts and the others being early translations of the Greek New Testament.”
The early Christian community, which we now know as the Church, took extensive precautions when copying the exact words of Scripture into future manuscripts. As the Gospel spread worldwide, there was some risk of manuscript variations from community to community. Thankfully, God raised up different people throughout history to verify and preserve Scripture’s accuracy through various language translations.
The Masorite community faithfully compiled one of the largest collections of early manuscripts around the sixth century AD to recreate the entire Old and New Testament from the earliest written documents. The Masoretic text accurately reflected previous completed manuscripts of the Samaritan Pentateuch (400 BC), the Septuagint Greek (280 BC), the Dead Sea Scrolls (circa 0 AD), and the Latin Vulgate (400 AD).
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in caves around Qumran by shepherds in 1947, provide perhaps the greatest evidence of fully intact manuscripts dating back to around 0 AD. A complete copy of the book of Isaiah was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, along with 980 other scrolls or manuscripts in the Qumran caves. The accuracy between the Dead Sea Scrolls and our modern copies of Scripture is remarkable.
Archaeology
Numerous discoveries through biblical archaeology confirm the Bible’s truth and reliability. These include the Tel Dan inscription that confirms the Assyrian army’s invasion of the kingdom of Israel around 722 BC. This artifact references the house of David and the ancient city of Bethlehem.
Gabriel Barkay, a highly regarded Israeli archaeologist, discovered two silver scrolls now known as the Ketef Hinnom inside a burial cave southwest of Jerusalem. Barkay and his team carefully unrolled the scrolls to find inscriptions of the priestly benediction from Numbers 6. The Ketef Hinnom scrolls are the earliest known records of the ancient text of Numbers 6.
These are just two of thousands of instances where archaeological discoveries confirm Scripture’s words. As more evidence surfaces with each new excavation, we can confidently conclude that the stories of Scripture are rooted in history, not fantasy. This is especially evident in Israel. If you’re planning to visit the Holy Land, one excellent resource that details archaeological findings and brings the Bible to life is “Prepare for Israel” by Josh Weidmann. You’ll enjoy in-depth analysis of famous and lesser-known places around ancient Israel and their direct connections to Scripture.
Prophecies
The Bible contains approximately 2,500 different prophecies predicting future events or situations, and remarkably, as many as 2,000 of those prophecies have already been fulfilled without error. We can trace prophecies throughout Scripture even as far back as the ninth century BC to their exact fulfillment with astonishing accuracy. Bible scholars estimate that more than 350 Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone (Thomas Nelson Publishers).
When we recognize a fulfilled prophecy in Scripture, it further confirms the Bible’s reliability as an accurate source of truth. The odds that 2,000 distinct prophecies were fulfilled without any errors is less than one in 10 to the 2,000th power (that’s a 10 followed by 2,000 zeros!).
The remaining prophecies are directly tied to the end times and focus on specific geography, such as the temple mount, and situations involving Christ’s ultimate rule and reign on earth.
What Does Your Experience Tell You About the Bible?
Some may ignore manuscript evidence or archaeological findings. Others might dismiss prophetic fulfillment as “lucky guesses,” which is staggering given how highly improbable it is that 2,000 prophecies could be fulfilled without error. What remains undeniable is the continued impact of Jesus’ message in the Gospel on people’s lives.
If the stories of Scripture aren’t true, how have millions upon millions of people been radically changed because of Jesus? There’s no denying that the Gospel transforms lives, but ultimately, it comes down to one question: Who do you believe Jesus is? And what does the Bible tell you about what it means to follow Him? These are the greatest questions you will ever ask and answer. If you’re not sure how to respond to these questions, we would love to start a conversation with you.