In our Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs, the Living Church of God explains: “The Bible is the inspired revelation from God to mankind. It is the true basis of all Church doctrine (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16). We believe the Bible is inerrant in its original manuscripts and is the authoritative foundation for all true knowledge (John 17:17).”
Scholars define biblical inerrancy as “the view that when all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical or life sciences” (Elwell, Walter A., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, p. 156).
What do the facts reveal about the recording, preservation and canonization of Scripture? Does fulfilled prophecy provide powerful evidence of the Bible’s divine inspiration? What is the relevance of the different translations and ancient texts? And what does the Bible assert about its own trustworthiness and divine inspiration? The answers to these questions are vital to our lives as Christians.
Prophecy Fulfilled!
Of all books, the Bible is unique not only in its prophetic claims, but also in the fulfillment of those prophecies (Isaiah 41:23–24; 46:9– 10). As Dr. Douglas Winnail referenced in The Bible: Fact or Fiction?, “‘Other books claim divine inspiration, such as the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and parts of the [Hindu] Veda. But none of these books contains predictive prophecy. As a result, fulfilled prophecy is a strong indication of the unique, divine authority of the Bible’ (The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, McDowell, p. 13).”
There are numerous Old Testament prophecies about the first and second comings of Christ, as well as about other events that either have happened or will happen.
Old Testament promises of the Messiah’s coming were known from the Garden of Eden (the Seed in Genesis 3:15), the time of Noah (from Shem in Genesis 9:27) and the time of Moses (“The Prophet” in Deuteronomy 18:15– 18). Messianic prophecies continued to be recorded up through the 6th and 5th centuries bc by prophets such as Ezekiel, Zechariah and Malachi.
Additional examples of fulfilled Messianic prophecies include:
- Born of a virgin and named Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)
- A descendant of David (2 Samuel 7:16–17; Psalm 89:3–4; Matthew 1:1; 22:42–45)
- Betrayed at a price of 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12–13; Matthew 26:15; 27:9–10)
- Crucified and would have His side pierced (Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37)
- Lots cast for His garments (Psalm 22:18; Matthew 27:35)
- Died with criminals and was buried in the tomb of a rich man (Isaiah 53:9, 12; Mark 15:43–46)
- Resurrected after three full days and nights (72 hours) in the tomb, according to the “sign of Jonah” (Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40)
In addition to Messianic prophecies, numerous Old Testament historic prophecies have already been fulfilled. When coupled with an understanding of the precise and well-documented preservation of Scripture, these fulfilled prophecies are a very compelling argument for the divine inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. Here are five out of the many such fulfilled historic prophecies:
Isaiah wrote ca. 700bc, yet he prophesied very specifically about a future king and a future conquest of the city of Babylon. Written more than a century before the birth of Cyrus, Isaiah identifies “Cyrus” by name (Isaiah 44:28) and prophesies that his armies would enter Babylon by the “double doors” (Isaiah 45:1–3). This very specific prediction was indeed fulfilled in 539bc when Cyrus’ armies diverted the Euphrates River so they could enter Babylon under its double gates. The ancient historian Herodotus gives an account confirming the fulfillment of this prophecy in The Histories, written ca. 440bc (Book 1, 191).
In Isaiah 13, the prophet foretells another attack on the city of Babylon and prophesies that it will be destroyed by the Medo-Persians (Isaiah 13:17– 19). This prophecy was fulfilled about two centuries after Isaiah’s time when Xerxes conquered Babylon and destroyed the city in 478bc.
About a century later, Ezekiel prophesied (ca. 590bc) about the great ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon. By the 15th century bc, Tyre had already become an important, fortified Phoenician city (Joshua 19:29). Ancient Egyptian texts likewise referred to Tyre as a prominent city (John A. Wilson, “An Egyptian Letter,” Papyrus Anastasi I, ANET, p. 477). However, Ezekiel prophesied that Tyre would be destroyed and never rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:3–14). Today, the ancient island-city of Tyre remains desolate, and only subsistence fishing happens where the great city stood long ago. It is now “a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea” (Ezekiel 26:5) exactly as Ezekiel prophesied. While Tyre was destroyed, Sidon was prophesied to be devastated by war, but to survive as a city (Ezekiel 28:22–23), and it does to this day.
In Ezekiel 4:4–9, we see demonstrated the “day for a year” principle (applying one year for a Biblical “day”). God explains to Ezekiel that He has “laid on [him] a day for each year” of Israel’s iniquity and subsequent captivity and correction.
Applying the principle of “one day for one year” yields the exact duration from Israel’s captivity (721bc) to Alexander’s defeat of the Medes and the Persians in (331bc). With Alexander’s conquest of the Persian Empire, Israel resumed migrating (or “sifting”) through the nations. This was exactly 390 years from Israel’s initial captivity (Ezekiel 4:9)! This national migration (“sifting”) was the beginning of what the prophet Amos had foretold hundreds of years before Ezekiel (Amos 9:9).
A fifth Old Testament prophecy is of unique interest, in that at the time of its recording, it would have three yet-future fulfillments. By Jesus’ time, one of these fulfillments had occurred and two remained unfulfilled. By our time, two fulfillments have occurred and one remains yet unfulfilled.
In the “Olivet Prophecy,” Jesus cited Daniel’s prophecy about “the abomination that maketh desolate” (Daniel 11:31, KJV). He revealed that there would be a future fulfillment of this prophecy. But, by Jesus’ time, there had already been one historic fulfillment— an actual, physical, desecration of the altar—which occurred in 167bc when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed swine on the altar and set up a pagan idol in the sanctuary (1 Maccabees 1:7–54).
Daniel and Jesus both point to a yet future time of sacrilege immediately before Christ’s return, which the Jews of Jesus’ day recognized, as scholar Gordon McConville acknowledges: “The Jewish writer Josephus (in the first century ad) made a comparison between the sufferings of the Jews under Antiochus IV and under Rome: ‘In the very same manner; Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them’ (Jewish Antiquities x.276). In the same way, for the earliest Christian readers, the assurances initially made in connection with the Antiochene persecution could readily be extended into the establishment of the kingdom of God through Christ. The reception of Daniel in the New Testament witnesses to this development. Mark 13:26–27 shows how the ‘son of man’ language and imagery was adapted to refer to Christ. And the same chapter anticipates ‘desolating sacrilege’ still to be set up ‘where it ought not be’ (that is, in the temple, referring to the Roman destruction of the temple in AD 70, and the rededication of the site to Roman worship); Mark 13:14. And the Book of Revelation re-uses motifs from the visions to depict the conflicts that must be endured in the time of the church before the final victory of Christ” (Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Prophets, p. 131).
The desecration and abomination under Antiochus in 167bc was a terrible and tragic episode in Jewish history. The desecration and abomination under the Roman Emperor Titus in 70ad was even more tragic—not only recalling the terrible events of 167bc, but also putting an end to temple worship and relegating the Jews to decades of persecution, hiding, and guerilla warfare—leading rapidly to the destruction of the Jewish nation as a national and political identity. The Jews’ identity as a political nation would be lost until the founding of the modern nation of Israel in 1948 (Thomas D. Lea, The New Testament: Its Background and Message, 2nd ed., p. 26).
With the events of 70ad, temple worship ceased, and has not been resumed to this day. But the third and final fulfillment of this prophecy is yet to come (Daniel 11:31; 12:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4; Revelation 13:11–14).
Recorded and Preserved
How did these prophecies come to be preserved? Moses (ca. 1400bc) was the first Israelite to record Scripture in written form (Exodus 24:4, 7). Moses was followed shortly thereafter by Joshua (Joshua 24:26). The recording and preservation of what became known as “the Law” or “the Pentateuch,” was not considered mere human effort. On the contrary, what became the Pentateuch was considered sacred and divine revelation from God Himself (Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 31:24; Joshua 1:8). From the very earliest times, Scripture was recorded with awe and with great reverence.
The ancient Jewish scribes are famous for their meticulous care in preserving the ancient Law, Prophets and Writings that comprise the Old Testament. “In Judaism, a succession of scholars was charged with standardizing and preserving the biblical text” during a period extending from about 500bc to about 1000ad (McDowell, Josh., New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, pp. 73–77).
Many scholars believe that the Old Testament text (including the writings of the latter prophets such as Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (ca. fifth century bc) was fixed by as early as 150bc, but that the Pentateuch had been codified much earlier (H.H. Rowley. “The Old Testament and the Archaeology of Palestine,” in the Journal The Old Testament and Modern Study, p. 24). However, other evidence supports an even earlier date of codification—that “the Old Testament was completed in the days of Ezra the Priest and Governor Nehemiah, about 420bc” (“How Did We Get the Bible?”, Tomorrow’s World, Jan–Feb 2002, p. 26).
Minor variations between ancient Hebrew manuscripts do exist, but these variations are inconsequential. Furthermore, minor variations between the Greek Septuagint and the latter Hebrew Masoretic texts are likewise typically insignificant and do not generally impact meaning. Where there are variations between the Masoretic and the Septuagint texts there is general scholarly agreement that the Hebrew Masoretic text is truer to the original. The Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered between 1947 and 1956 in the Qumran area, and dating to the first century bc) have powerfully validated this consensus.
By New Testament times, it is evident from Jesus’ statement in Luke 24:44 that this entire corpus (the “Law, Prophets, and Writings”) was established, known, and codified. Jesus defends the understanding preserved by the Jews (John 4:22). Paul echoes that the Jews were responsible for preserving scripture (Romans 3:2). As we read in Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: “This remarkable expression, denoting ‘divine communications’ in general, is transferred to the Scriptures to express their oracular, divine, authoritative character” (p. 1144). In addition to the numerous New Testament quotations of Old Testament Scripture (e.g., Luke 20:42–43; John 1:23; Romans 10:15–21; 1 Peter 2:6–7), Jesus proclaimed the authority of all Scripture (Matthew 5:17– 20; John 10:34–35).
There is strong evidence that the New Testament canon was seen as the inspired, authoritative word of God during, and immediately after, the lives of the Apostles. History records that within just 50 years of the death of the Apostle John, various writers such as Polycarp, Ignatius and Justin Martyr were all quoting from New Testament books! Furthermore, only decades later, the scholar Melito of Sardis journeyed to Palestine for the purpose of determining “both the order and number of books in the Hebrew Bible.” Melito’s list was created about 170ad, and his order and content correspond with modern versions of the Old Testament (Elwell, p. 155).
Melito’s credentials are highly attested. He was a Quartodecimian (he kept Passover on Nisan 14, in the tradition of Jesus and the Apostles), and an advocate for the divinity of Christ (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book V, Chapter 28, Verse 5). He was also an associate and an ally of Polycrates of Ephesus, who was a disciple of the Apostle John’s disciple Polycarp (Eusebius, Book V, Chapter 24, Verse 5). Melito was eventually martyred during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
The proclamation of the New Testament canon is again documented in 397ad, when the council of Carthage mandated that “nothing should be read in the church under the name of the divine Scriptures except the canonical writings.” The counsel was very precise in what they were referring to: “The twenty-seven books of the NT were then listed as the canonical writings” (Elwell, p. 156). Similarly, in the fourth century Augustine of Hippo proclaimed the inerrancy of canonized Scripture: “I have learned to yield this respect and honor only to the canonical books of Scripture: of these alone do I most firmly believe that the authors were completely free from error” (Elwell, p. 158).
Translations and Ancient Texts
Scholarly consensus is that Scripture has been recorded, copied and preserved with great diligence and accuracy. Consequently, as one scholar writes, “we must reaffirm that the copies and the translations are also the Word of God, to the degree that they preserve the original message” (Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, p. 265). But, what about variations in modern translations?
The Church of God has long preferred the New King James Version or the King James Version as being more generally trustworthy. However, other translations such as the Moffatt, RSV, NIV, etc. can also be helpful, and occasionally are more accurate. It is important to understand that whether modern or ancient, Bible translations are just that—translations. And even the ancient manuscripts are copies of earlier works. However, it is equally important to understand that these translations have been preserved with the utmost diligence.
The esteemed Authorized King James Version and the New King James Version are primarily based on the ancient Masoretic Text and Textus Receptus, though they do at times draw on other relevant manuscripts such as the Septuagint and the Vulgate. The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew text of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings (what we call the “Old Testament”), and was compiled by scribes between the seventh and tenth centuries ad. The Textus Receptus is the New Testament as it was preserved in Greek by Byzantine scribes.
The NKJV, a KJV update first released less than 40 years ago, also benefits from the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and is more “readable” to a modern audience. For example, the NKJV uses modern pronouns (e.g., you instead of thee or thou) and discards obsolete verb endings (e.g., -eth and -est).
Variations between the Masoretic and Septuagint texts are largely limited to either “sound errors” or “sight-errors” that occur when the consonantal text is vowelized and punctuated (the transposition of a y and w, for example). There are also occasional differences in the forms of abbreviations used. Other instances of difference are where idiomatic expressions did not translate meaningfully from the Hebrew to the Greek. Psalm 47:9 is an example. The Hebrew Masoretic text reads: “The shields of the earth belong to God.” This idiomatic expression would have not translated meaningfully for a Greek audience and was altered in the Septuagint to read: “To God are the mighty ones of the earth.” The original meaning is retained, but the “shield” metaphor is replaced with a more meaningful expression for the Greek audience. Understanding these minor variations, there is no instance where a proper reading of either the NKJV or the KJV contradicts established doctrine.
Scholarly consensus concludes that, “Textual criticism is a sufficiently developed science that the number of passages in the Bible where the reading is in doubt is relatively small…” (Erickson, p. 265).
What Does the Bible Say?
The Bible itself proclaims its historic, doctrinal and prophetic divine inspiration in many ways. Referring to all of God’s word, including Old Testament Scripture, Jesus calls God’s word “truth” (John 17:17). He affirms that it “cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus promised that those who would become the original Apostles would be divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, “taught” what is to come and directed in what to “testify.” Jesus explicitly promises that this entire process would be based on truth and that His disciples would be guided into all truth (John 14:26; 15:26–27; 16:12–14). This is a very profound promise!
Years later, Peter echoes Christ’s bold promise that Scripture was indeed the product of “holy men” being inspired by God through His Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21)! Peter even affirms that Paul’s epistles are also “Scripture” (2 Peter 3:16). Consequently, based on the authority of Christ, the Bible asserts that the original Apostles and Paul would record inspired Scripture and that that inspired Scripture would be truth.
In doing so, they would be inspired by the same Holy Spirit that had “long ago” inspired the ancient writers (Acts 1:16). Jesus Christ affirmed that ancient King David also spoke by the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36). In addition to Moses, the Old Testament prophets also spoke and wrote under God’s inspired divine direction (Acts 3:18; 1 Peter 1:11). Yes, both the Old and New Testaments can be trusted as divinely inspired and inerrant in history, doctrine and prophecy.
Archaeology Agrees!
Alongside the Bible’s own proclamations of divine inspiration, archaeology also continues to verify the historic accuracy of the Bible. Mr. Richard Ames notes a few examples of archaeology confirming ancient Biblical testimony in his article titled, “Prove the Bible.” One such example relates to the account of the city of Nineveh and the ancient Assyrian Empire. “Back in the 18th century, critics even questioned the existence of the Assyrian Empire and the existence of the ancient city-state of Nineveh mentioned in the Bible.” Yet, not long afterward, archaeologists found “overwhelming evidence of the historicity of this ancient empire as described in the Bible” (May– June 2010 Tomorrow’s World).
From the Israel Stele (discovered in 1896) describing the military triumph of Pharaoh Merneptah over Israel and Syria, to the Tel Dan Stele (discovered in fragments between 1993–1994) providing incontrovertible extra-biblical evidence of King David and the House of David, archaeology continues to align with the truth the Bible has preserved for thousands of years!
Trust God’s Word!
The Bible is indeed unique. It was meticulously preserved. It speaks powerfully of its own divine authority. It contains verifiable fulfilled prophecy. From providing insight about pre-creation (John 1:1–3) to revealing the most eschatological of truths (Isaiah 9:7; Revelation 21:22– 27), there is always truth and unity. There is never contradiction. No other books can make the same claims. With the Bible, “There is the potential, as we survey the whole of God’s truth, of grasping its artistic nature. There is a beauty to the great compass and the interrelatedness of the doctrines” (Erickson, p. 1252).
While the supporting evidence is overwhelming, ultimately answering these questions is a matter of faith. And faith remains “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the invisible God (Hebrews 11:3). By faith we overcome the world (1 John 5:4) and produce good works (James 2:26). In and by faith we labor together in the gospel (Philippians 1:27), enduring the trials of life through which we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). And by faith, we understand and hold that Scripture is indeed God’s preserved word, that God’s word is truth, and that by His word we are called to be firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18).
It is helpful for us to understand at least a little about how the Bible was preserved and what the Bible says about its authority and divine inspiration. But more importantly, through earnest prayer and Bible study we must ask God to increase our faith (Luke 17:5; Romans 10:17) as we continue to grow within the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–13). We can all do this. And, by doing this, we will develop the most powerful and most perfect faith possible; the faith and confidence of Jesus Christ living in us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; Galatians 2:20).