Manuscripts Archaeology Prophecy Statistics To discover whether the Bible is reliable, you need M.A.P.S.

• Manuscripts• Archaeology • Prophecy• Statistics

To discover whether the Bible is reliable,

you need M.A.P.S.

Manuscript Evidence

3 Tests: B.E.E. Bibliographical External evidence Eyewitnesses (Internal evidence)

How do you know if the New Testament we have today is the same as the original?

B.E.E. Tests of Manuscript Evidence

BibliographicalExternal evidenceEyewitnesses

Bibliographical Test

1. The number of copies of the original 25,000 separate manuscripts of New Testament

2. The time gap between the original and the existing copies Only 1 generation for some books, 3-7

generations for the whole New Testament

3. The degree of accuracy of the copies 98.33% of the NT is beyond question

It examines how well the handwritten copies are transmitted to us.



External Evidence Test

Do other writings confirm or deny what the New Testament says? We have quotes of New Testament scriptures

from early Christians in the first 3 centuries. How many? Over 36,000!

How much of the New Testament was quoted by them? All but 20 of the total 8,000 verses of the NT!

External Evidence Test How about non-Christian writers? Do any

of them write about the New Testament and its events? Yes! For example,Tacitus (112 A.D.): Death of Jesus at the

hands of PilateSuetonius (120 A.D.): Christ was the

reason for Jews being kicked out of RomeThallus (52 A.D.): Reported the darkness

(eclipse of the sun) at Christ’s death

Roman Source: Josephus (66 A.D.)Josephus says,

“At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly He was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.”

Conclusion:New Testament Documents have been

Reliably translated/copied and

can be regarded as Authentic



Assuming that the translation/copying is accurate, how do we know if the writers did not make up the stories?

1. Do the witnesses contradict each other?

2. Are there a sufficient number of witnesses?

3. Were the witnesses truthful?4. Were they unbiased?

1. Do the witnesses contradict each other?No.Minor discrepancies can be resolvedHow many angels were at the tomb of Jesus?

Matt. 28:5 mentions one, John 20:12 mentions two There was at least one, and in both cases, the message was “Jesus rose from the dead.”

How did Judas die? Matthew 27:5: He hanged himself, Acts (1:18): In the

field he fell headlong, his body burst open, and his intestines spilled out.“

Sometime after hanging himself, his body was discovered, the rope cut, and the body fell on sharp rocks and burst open

2. Are there a sufficient number of witnesses?

9 different people wrote the N.T.: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, Jude, James, the writer of Hebrews

All of them were eyewitnesses or had connections to eyewitnesses to the events they recorded. All of these books bear witness to the miracle of the Resurrection.

In 1 Corinthians 15:6, Paul mentions there were 500 people at one time who saw Jesus after the Resurrection.

3. Were the witnesses truthful?All of them were persecuted (arrested, imprisoned, beaten)Most of them even died for what they taught about Christ

Paul: 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Peter: 2 Peter 1:14

The authorities tried to kill John by boiling him in oil, but he didn’t die. So they exiled him to the isle of Patmos (Revelation 1:9)Who would lie if he knew he would suffer for it?

4. Were they unbiased?

Jesus not only appeared to believers; He also appeared to unbelievers like James. (John 7:5;1 Cor. 15:7) He appeared to the greatest unbeliever of the day—a Jewish Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus. (Acts 9:5)The witnesses to the resurrection had nothing to gain personally.They were persecuted and threatened with death for their stand. (cf. Acts 4, 5, 8)

4. Were they unbiased? More…

The witnesses wrote things that didn’t reflect favorably on themselves or their cause:

The disciples argued about positions of honor in heaven (Mark 10:37)Peter wouldn’t eat with those who were not Jews (Galatians 2:11-13)Women found the tomb empty first (Luke 24:1-6)Jesus called Peter “Satan” (Matthew 16:23)



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The Testimony of the Stones 1. No

archaeological evidence has ever refuted the Bible.

2. Thousands of archaeological finds support the Bible.

Archaeological Discoveries:

Pharaoh Shishak’s attack on Israel (1 Ki 14:25-26) confirmed by the walls of the Temple of Amun

Archaeological Discoveries: Moab’s revolt against

Israel (2 Ki 3:4-27) confirmed by the Mesha Inscription.

Archaeological Discoveries: In the 19th C, the Bible was accused of being fictitious

because no non-Biblical texts have been written about the Hittites. In 1906, digs at Hattushash proved that it was the capital city of the Hittites, silencing the sceptical scholars and archaeologists.

“Pontius Pilate Prefect of Judea” 26-37 AD (Discovered 1961)



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Predictions of the Coming of Jesus the Messiah

1. Place of birth (Mic. 5:2)2. Time of birth (Dan. 9:25)3. Manner of birth (Is. 7:14)4. Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12)5. Manner of death (Ps. 22:16)6. People’s reactions (mocking, spitting, staring, etc.)

(Ps. 22:7,8, 17)7. His side pierced (Zech. 12:10)8. Burial in a rich man’s tomb (Is 53:9)

191 Prophecies that were literally fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ:

The Amazing Story of Tyre: Ezekiel 26

Isaiah names a king: the story of Cyrus

Isaiah 44:28-45:1 – Cyrus is the name of the king who will let Jerusalem be rebuilt Isaiah wrote this around 690 B.C.Cyrus was not even born until 599

B.C.Cyrus was not ruler until 559 Cyrus makes his decree in 538 B.C.



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1. Place of birth (Mic. 5:2)2. Time of birth (Dan. 9:25)3. Manner of birth (Is. 7:14)4. Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12)5. Manner of death (Ps. 22:16)6. People’s reactions (mocking, spitting, staring, etc.)

(Ps. 22:7,8, 17)7. His side pierced (Zech. 12:10)8. Burial in a rich man’s tomb (Is 53:9)

8 Prophecies regarding the life, death, and resurrection of Christ:

What are the chances that 8 prophecies would be fulfilled in the life of Jesus?

For even 8 of these prophecies to be fulfilled in the life of Christ?

I in 1017

That’s 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 One quintillion

What are the chances that 48 prophecies would be fulfilled in the life of Jesus?

48 Prophecies? I X 10157

That’s 10 followed by 157 zeroes That’s also more atoms than there are in the

Universe

66 Books in the Bible: Why those 66?The people of God in the Old Testament and in the

New Testament days asked five questions about each book

1. Is the book authoritative - does it claim to be of God?

2. Is it prophetic- was it written by a servant of God? 3. Is it authentic-does it tell the truth about God, man,

etc.? 4. Is the book dynamic-does it possess the life-

transforming power of God? 5. Is this book received or accepted by the people of

God for whom it was originally written - is it recognized as being from God?

For Those Who Are Still Not Convinced!

“Why don’t you believe that the Bible is as reliable as as some of the historical books written around the same time period, like Josephus, or Tacitus, or Homer’s Iliad?”

“After all no one has heard of the Trojan Cow, right?

Why? Because we know from history that Homer wrote about a Trojan horse not a cow. But Homer wrote the Illiad about 800 B.C. and the earliest copy of the Iliad we have is 400 years later!”

We can

trust our

Bible