Friday, October 28, 2011

The F.A.C.T.S. Evidence That Proves The Bible To Be True

*FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. The first proof that the Bible is true is found in prophecy. Man has always tried to supernaturally predict future events. However, man has failed miserably in this area. The Bible however has been, and continues to be 100% accurate in its predictions proving it was not just written by man, but God wrote it through man. Bible prophecy is specifically detailed and predicts events hundreds, and even thousands of years in advance.
*We know through archeological proof that the Old Testament was written long before Jesus was born. In the Old Testament there are over 300 specific predictions about the 1st coming of the Savior. It predicted when He would come, where He would come, how He would come, how He would die, the things He would do, and how the world would respond to Him. These predictions were written in such detail, that no one could have just arranged to fulfill them and then claim to be the Savior of God. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled all of the prophecies that concerned the first coming of the Savior. No person in history has ever fulfilled any of these predictions.
Here are just a few prophecies regarding the Savior:

Isaiah 53 - Predicted the Savior would be rejected and killed for our sins.
Psalm 22 - Predicted the crucifixion hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented
Zechariah 12:10 - Predicted that God Himself would be pierced
Zechariah 13:6 - Predicted the Savior would be wounded by His own people
Daniel 9:25-26 - Predicted the exact day the Savior would present Himself as King of the Jews and that He would be killed right after. Scholars have discovered that this prophecy predicted that the Savior would be executed in April of 32 AD, the exact time Jesus was crucified.
Genesis 22:1-19 - A predictive model of how God would sacrifice His son on that same mountain
Genesis 5 - The Gospel message is spelled out in the meanings of the names of this geneaology. Adam =Man/ Seth= Appointed/ Enosh=Mortal/ Kenan=Sorrow/ Mahalalel=The Blessed God/ Jared=Shall come down/ Enoch=Teaching/ Methuselah=His death shall bring/ Lamech=The despairing/ Noah= Rest and comfort.This geneaology spells out this phrase: Man is appointed mortal sorrow, the blessed God shall come down teaching that His death shall bring the despairing, rest and comfort. This is the Gospel message.
Psalm 41:9 - Predicted the Savior would be betrayed by a friend
Isaiah 22:21-25 - A predictive model of how the Savior would be crucified for our sins.
Zechariah 11:12 - Predicted exactly how much money the Savior would be betrayed for.
Psalm 16:10 - The Ressurection of Jesus from the dead
Here are some prophecies that are being fulfilled in our time:
Isaiah 11:10-12 - Predicted the re-establishment of Israel as a nation. This happened in 1948
Zechariah 12:1-3 - Predicted that Israel would be the center of conflict for the entire world. 9/11 and all Islamic terrorism is a result of the conflict that surrounds the land of Israel.
Daniel 2 - Predicted that the Roman Empire would break into pieces and then reform in the end times. The European Union is the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Matthew 24:7 - Predicted that there would be a major increase in occurrence and severity of natural disasters in the world. We see this happening right before our eyes.
Revelation 13:16-18 - Predicted the mark of the beast. Microchip technology is already being used, and would solve many of the worlds security problems if implemented. Soon it will replace money and credit cards just as the prophecy describes. This microchip is being placed under the skin and will then be scanned to retrieve the identity information needed.
2nd Peter 3:3-7 - Predicted that many would mock and persecute Christians. In other nations like Iran, North Korea, China, and others, Christians are persecuted today more than ever.
Matthew 24:4-5 - Predicted that many false religions would use the name of Jesus Christ in order to deceive people. Today every religion has their own version of who Jesus Christ was.

ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE. We know all these prophecies were written before Jesus came because of discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls. These were a collection of ancient scrolls containing Old Testament books and other biblical commentaries. When these scrolls were scientifically dated, they were found to have been written 200 to 300 years before Jesus was born. These writings also match the scriptures we translate our Bible from today. This proves that the Old Testament has not been changed over the last 2200 years. Man made religions like Islam base their entire purpose on the false premise that the Bible has been changed. However the Dead Sea Scrolls prove that God has kept His word in tact.
*He has done the same with the New Testament as well. The New Testament is by far the most copied and documented book in all history. We have found fragments of copies dating back to the first century. We also have the writings and teachings of the early church fathers. In these 1st and 2nd century writings they quote New Testament scriptures and list what New Testament books were accepted as scripture. This proves that the entire New Testament was written well within the 1st century. In fact most of the New Testament has been proven to have been written within 30 years of the crucifixion of Jesus. Critics often challenge when the New Testament was written, yet have no evidence to back up their claims. Critics also like to challenge how much the New Testament has been changed. Again the writings we have today match the writings we have that date back to the 1st century. The grammar and language of the Bible has changed, but the message has not changed.There have been countless archeological discoveries that date back to Biblical times, and these discoveries have only confirmed the Bible to be true. No discovery has ever successfully disputed what has been written in the scriptures.

CHURCH HISTORY. It is an established fact that has been proven historically and archaeologically that the early church grew by the thousands and within the first 20 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. It is also a fact that people were becoming Christians all over the Roman empire and into Asia within these first 20 years.How did this happen so fast? They did not have email or television back then so how did all these people hear about Jesus? The hundreds of disciples and the 12 apostles who witnessed the resurrected Jesus Christ gave up their careers and their homes and traveled throughout the known world speaking to people. In doing this, these disciples were putting their lives on the line daily. Many were imprisoned, tortured and put to death for spreading the Gospel message. These were the same people who ran away when Jesus was arrested. Many of them denied even knowing Jesus for fear of their lives. However after the tomb of Jesus was found empty and these people saw the risen Christ, they gave up everything to declare to the world that Jesus is the savior.
*Some will say that many people have given up their lives for their religion. It happens everyday in the Muslim world. Well the people who are blowing themselves up today have obviously been deceived into believing an evil lie. The first disciples of Jesus and his apostles witnessed with their own eyes Jesus crucified. Three days later they witnessed Jesus risen from the dead. They even touched him and ate with him proving he was not a ghost. If this was a lie, the apostles and disciples would have known because they were there. If it was a lie, why would they then give up everything and be put to death? They had nothing to gain. The money they received was used to feed the poor. None of them got rich off of the money people were giving them. What would be the point? They all knew they would eventually be put to death for spreading this strange message we call the Gospel. However, by comparison people like Mohammed (The creator of Islam) spread their religion with force. If you did not convert to Islam, he would have you killed. Mohammed gained riches and great power through the spreading of his religion. Jesus and his followers gained no power or wealth but were killed for spreading a message of faith, hope, and love.
*Some will say that the church came centuries later. However through archeological discoveries, we know the church was very widespread within the 1st century. Something had to have caused the church to be born. The only possibility that explains the rapid and widespread growth of the Church throughout the world and throughout the centuries, is the fact that Jesus did rise from the dead and the Holy Spirit has called all people to salvation through Jesus Christ.
Without a risen Jesus Christ there would be no church.

TRUTH. There are literally thousands of religions in the world that all claim to know the truth. However, they all contradict each other in some way, so they cannot all be true. Truthfully either all the religions of the world are false, or all are false and one is true. Logic demands that they cannot all be true. Neither can there be more than one that is true. By its definition, truth is narrow. All the religions of the world have similarities, but they all have significant differences. So how can we possibly know what is true? Well when it comes to Christianity, it's very easy. Christianity depends entirely upon the life and claims of this man Jesus of Nazareth.If we prove or disprove the claims of Jesus, we will arrive at the truth regarding this faith. When it comes to Jesus, we know he existed. There are countless proofs by religious and non religious historians that testify to a man named Jesus who led this Christian sect. So our question is, who was he? Was he just a man, or was he God in the flesh? We only have 3 options when faced with this question. He was either a liar, a lunatic, or he was indeed Lord of heaven and earth.
*Was he a liar? He made several claims to being God in the flesh. We have to ask why would he lie. When people lie, they are either trying to gain something for themselves or they are protecting themselves or someone else. Was Jesus trying to gain something? No, in fact he knew that by him making these claims, he would be rejected and killed. Jesus did not have any possessions, so he gained nothing except for his own crucifixion. Was he trying to protect himself or anyone else? No, in fact the claims he made put himself and his disciples in great danger. So we know Jesus was not a liar.
*Was he a lunatic? Jesus spoke with absolute clarity and insight. He never contradicted himself, and he debated and silenced the most brilliant men of that day. There have been many lunatics who have come along and convinced people to follow them. However when hearing these people speak, it is easy to find contradictory speech, and no insight into our human nature. These lunatics also gathered their followers and isolated them from the world, so the brainwashing process would not be interfered with. Jesus spoke openly and in public and called his disciples to preach openly and in public. Jesus also performed many miracles, of which thousands witnessed. No lunatic could have achieved all this.
*The only option left is that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man can come to God except through me." This disqualifies all other religions. Jesus is the truth.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE- There have been many scientific discoveries over the past few centuries. These discoveries were actually written about in the Bible thousands of years ago! Here are a few examples:
Dinosaurs - Job 40:15-24 What animal has a tail like a cedar tree?Dinosaurs were not discovered until the 1800's. The book of Job was written over 3000 years before this discovery.
Earth revolves around the sun- Isaiah 40:22 ("Circle" in the original Hebrew language and context means "Circuit," which speaks of the Earth's path around the sun) Isaiah was written around 2000 years before men like Copernicus and Galileo proved this fact.
The Universe is expanding -Psalm 104:2 This was only discovered in the last century. The book of Psalms was written 3000 years ago.
Micro-organisms - Hebrews 11:3 Hebrews was written in the first century, yet this scientific truth did not become known until the 19th century.
The effects of a nuclear explosion - 2nd Peter 3:10 In the 1st century AD, Peter describes a tragic event that will happen on earth which sounds exactly like a nuclear explosion. This of course was written long before nuclear weapons were invented.
The water cycle - Ecclesiastes 1:6-7 and Job 26:8
Our DNA, disproves evolution - Genesis 1:20-28 The theory of evolution has been proven faulty with the recent discoveries associated with our DNA and how fossils are dated.
The Big Bang Theory demands a creator - Genesis 1:1 Only a creative personal God could have created the universe and life from nothing. God has always existed and never had a beginning. Scientists have proven that the universe did have a beginning. God caused that beginning. Scientific theories change everyday, but the Bible has never changed, only proven right

These are the FACTS. Now make your decision. Are you going to believe God's proven word, the Bible, and repent of your sins? Just Ask Him to come into your life and He will.