Of all the books written none has been the subject of more controversy than the book called the Bible. It has for centuries been challenged by the most determined critics. From Voltaire to the critics of today the Bible has withstood the assault like no other book. It stands alone because it was not written by men only, but was inspired by the living God.
The Bible being the inspired word of God means that the men who wrote the Bible were filled with revelation from God and were guided by God to write down the revelation. The Bible makes this claim of inspiration in 2 Tim 3:16 which says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God..." Notice that the writer says that all scripture is inspired. 2 Pet 1:20-21 proclaims, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
The Bible claims when we read scripture it is God speaking to us. This can only be true if the writers were inspired by God. That is why Heb 1:1-2 proclaims, "God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son..." God could speak to men through the prophets because these men "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
The fact that the Bible claims to be the inspired word of God does not prove it to be so. Therefore, let's examine some proof to show that the Bible is inspired.
ARCHAEOLOGY
Critics of the Bible once claimed the Bible was in error because of passages such as Gen 23:10 which spoke of a people called the Hittites. There was no evidence of such a people outside the Bible. Archaeologists in Turkey, however, discovered what the Bible maintained all along, that there was a nation of people called Hittites. In fact, they were a powerful people that survived for at least seven centuries. The spade of the archaeologist proved the Bible true and the critics wrong.
The book of Daniel has often been the target of critics of the Bible. Daniel speaks of the final king of Babylon as Belshazzar, a ruler unknown for many years. Bible critics cited this as an error in scripture. Modern archeology discovered Babylonian inscriptions which not only revealed a king of Babylon named Belshazzar, but also explained a difficult passage in Daniel 5:29. Daniel claimed to be made third in the kingdom next to Belshazzar. The inscriptions explain this because Belshazzar was a co-regent with his father Nabonidus. Being at the right hand of Belshazzar would make Daniel third in the kingdom just as the word of God said.
Critics once argued that Moses could not have written the first five books of the Bible, claiming writing had not been invented yet. The archaeologists once again proved the critics wrong and the Bible right when a black stele in Persia was discovered with writing containing the laws of a Babylonian king named Hammurabi who lived centuries before Moses. Once more, archaeologists vindicated the Bible record.
Many other examples can be given to show how archeology has repeatedly proven the Bible true. When the Bible gives the location of a city, it is found right where it was said to be. Names of rulers and others found in the Bible continue to be discovered. The Bible is never disproved and will always be proven true by archaeology because it is the inspired word of God.
SCIENTIFIC FOREKNOWLEDGE
Despite the claims of many, true science has never disproved the Bible. The false theories and pseudo-science of man may have conflicted with the Bible, but true, provable science has never proven the Bible wrong. Actually, the Bible has been confirmed by true science. The Bible has stated facts that science has later proven to be true.
In the nineteenth century a famous scientist named Herbert Spencer proclaimed the five fundamentals of science to be time, force, action, space, and matter. This was hailed as a great proclamation. It was, in fact, something the Bible had shown millenniums before. Listen to Moses in Gen 1:1, "In the beginning (time) God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth (matter)." Moses knew through inspiration what it took science centuries to discover.
Matthew Fontaine Maury is considered to be the father of modern oceanography. He is thought of as the discoverer of the paths that run through the oceans, and his maps of the shipping lanes are still used. The idea to find these paths came to Maury when his son was reading him Psalms 8:8 which speaks of "the paths of the sea." He only discovered what was already stated in the Bible.
The first law of thermodynamics states that matter is neither created nor destroyed. Moses recognized this fact centuries before modern science made this claim when he said in Gen 2:1 that, "...the heavens and the earth were finished..." God rested from his work and creation ceased. Now science has unknowingly confirmed Moses right.
Similarly, the Bible is also confirmed by the second law of thermodynamics which states that things degenerate over time. Things do not become more complex as evolutionists would have us believe. They degenerate. The Bible states this fact when it says in Psalms 102:25-26 and other places that the earth is "waxing old like a garment." The earth is wearing out, according to the Bible, and this is now recognized by science.
Many other examples can be given where the Bible has been proven to be scientifically sound. Isa 40:22 describes the earth as being round, hundreds of years before Christ. Job 26:7 gives a picture of the earth suspended in space much like is seen from rocket ships and satellites today. The Bible also speaks of recesses of the deep, springs in the seas, and of all the oceans lying in one bed. All these facts have been proven true. True science has never, and will never, disprove the Bible.
UNIFORMITY OF THE BIBLE
The Bible is, actually, not one book but a collection of books. It is often thought of as a single book because of its uniformity. The Bible was written by some forty different authors over about a 1500 year period, and yet, its unity exceeds any one book written by a single author. The Bible was written by kings, peasants, fishermen, poets, shepherds, and men from all walks of life. It was penned from wildernesses, king's palaces, and even from prisons. It was written in three distinct languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) in three separate continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa). The Bible covers hundreds of controversial and philosophical questions. It deals with morality, creation, eschatology, and hundreds of other difficult themes. Through the Bible all its books agree and harmonize like no other book.
It would be impossible to find any two men from the same country, living at the same time, from the same neighborhood, and even raised the same way to agree on various subjects like the different writers of the Bible do. The Bible only has one theme, the fall and redemption of man, and it masterfully reveals this theme through the ages of time. Geisler and Nix write, "The 'paradise lost' of Genesis becomes the 'paradise regained' of Revelation. Whereas the gate to the tree of life is closed in Genesis, it is opened forevermore in Revelation." The Bible reveals to man redemption through the blood of Christ and is inspired by the author of that plan, God.
FULFILLED PROPHECY
The Bible shows itself to be the word of God because of its numerous fulfilled prophecy. The Bible was written years, and even centuries, before events that it described took place. The Bible reveals things that no man could know unless it was revealed to him by God.
Cyrus the Great, for example, is mentioned by name as the liberator and restorer of the Jews and Jerusalem in Isa 44:28. This prophesy is given more than two hundred years before he conquered Babylon and fulfilled this prophecy. No man could have known the name of a king who had not yet been born, who would liberate a people that were not captives yet, and would let them rebuild their city which had not been destroyed yet, unless God revealed it to him.
Isaiah predicts the destruction of Babylon in Isa 12-13 over 150 years before the event. Daniel details the eventual history of four empires, before two of them were even created in Daniel 2. Moses gives the entire history of the Jewish nation in Deut 28. He gives a complete and accurate outline of their history before it takes place!
In 1 Kings 13:2 the writer here mentions king Josiah by name and tells about his life three hundred years before the king ruled. It mentions him by name despite the fact that he was centuries away from even being born. No person could have known the name and character of an unborn king unless God inspired him to write it down.
The greatest prophecies of all are those concerning Jesus Christ. The life of Christ is given in incredible detail hundreds of years before He was born. The old testament states that he would be born in Bethlehem. No person can choose where they will be born, so this is not something Christ could have chosen to fulfill were He not the Son of God. It was also foretold that He would heal many, teach great things, die on a cross between thieves, not have a bone broken, be buried in a rich man's tomb, be resurrected, and enter heaven. All this and many other things Jesus did to fulfill prophecy. This is why He was able to declare on the cross, "it is finished." He fulfilled the numerous prophecies down to the very last detail. Only men inspired of God could have told of His life in such detail, hundreds of years before he was born.
POWER OF THE WORD
More than anything else, it is the power of the word of God which convinces me that the Bible is the inspired word. The Bible is not a dead book. It lives in the hearts and minds of those who read it. It influences the lives of men like no other book ever written. The Bible can turn a murderer into a preacher, and a drunkard into a respectable citizen and family man. It has impacted more lives than all other books put together. It can influence the soul and direction of a nation. It is the foundation upon which moral principles are based. Its teachings do more to help mankind than any book or philosophy.
The Bible inspires men to give and be charitable. It has influenced the building of more hospitals than any medical book or journal. It has helped more people with emotional problems than all the psychology books ever written. It is the greatest book ever written, and it tells the greatest story ever told.
It has changed my life and given me a purpose and reason to live. It is the power of the word which tells me beyond any doubt that this is no ordinary book. It is a book authored by the living God and it can change your life too. The Bible is the inspired word of God.