Saturday, November 12, 2011

External Evidences For The Inspiration of the Bible

Thomas Bart Warren
February 2, 2011

There can be no question that the religion of Christianity is based upon
the Bible. Christians use the Bible as their guide to moral and virtuous
living, church organization, worship, and as their guide to heaven. Thus
it is indeed crucial that this book rise above and beyond mere human
production. It must be the very words of God.

The Bible makes very bold claims for itself as it does in fact profess to be from the mind of the
One True and Living God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; Jeremiah 1:9; Malachi 1:1; et. al.).
But simply to claim inspiration does not make it so. Skeptics such as Voltaire and Ingersoll have
for centuries attacked the validity and genuineness of the book. The charge is often levied that
the Bible believer uses unsound and circular reasoning in their attempts to explain why they
adhere to the tenants and commands contained therein. As Geisler and Nix wrote:
The internal evidence of inspiration is mostly subjective in nature. It relates to what the
believer sees or senses in his experience with the Bible. With the possible exception of
the evidence from the unity of the Bible, the internal evidences are available only inside
Christianity…This is where the external evidence plays a crucial role. It provides
signposts indicating where the “inside” really is. It is public witness to something very
unusual, which serves to draw attention to the voice of God in Scripture. (195)

J. P. Moreland acknowledges that there is a three-fold test to determine whether or not a
document is historically reliable (134). First, the bibliographical test seeks to determine how
many manuscript copies we have of the document and how far removed they are in time from the
originals. The New Testament has a staggering quantity of manuscript attestation (135). Second,
the internal test asks whether the document itself claims to be actual history written by
eyewitnesses. The Bible certainly claims this (Luke 1:1-4). Third, the external test asks whether
material external to the document (i.e. archaeology or the writings of early church fathers, etc.)
confirms the reliability of the document (134-35). Thus it must be shown that belief in the Bible
as the infallible and inerrant Word of God is a rational concept and can be demonstrated via
evidence and proof outside of the Bible. The idea of being rational and logically defending one’s
faith is itself a biblical idea (1 Peter 3:15; Acts 17:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1; et. al.).
The thesis of this paper is that one can prove that the Bible is the inspired Word of God by
examining and testing what is known as external evidences. The general argument formulated by
Thomas B. Warren will here be used to defend the claim of this paper:

1. If it is the case that the Bible possesses property A, property B, property C…
property Z (where the total situation involved in having such properties makes it
clear that the Bible is beyond mere human production) then the Bible is the word
of God.

2. It is the case that the Bible possesses property A, property B, property C…
property Z.

3. Therefore, the Bible is the word of God. (qtd. in West 17-18)

In dealing with these external evidences of inspiration, the scope of this paper will be limited to
what is commonly referred to as scientific foreknowledge and the relationship between
predictive prophecy and archeology. Each of these traits are recognized as being sufficient to
prove that the Bible is, as it claims, the word of God.

While it is conceded that the Bible is not a science textbook, it is maintained that any and all
references that are scientific in nature are completely accurate. In fact, this must be the case as
our contention is that the Bible is the inspired word of God and it makes the claim that God can
not lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). Concerning this topic, James Jauncey stated that, “the science
of the Bible is mostly in embryonic form. It was not the purpose of the writers to talk about
science as such, but only to elaborate to the extent to which it involved any questions on hand.
What they did say was accurate” (30). In fact, Jauncey boldly stated, “it can be said here that
there is nothing in science which is intrinsically opposed to even the most conservative view of
Biblical interpretation” (25).

What makes scientific foreknowledge such a powerful argument for the supernatural origin of
the Bible is the fact that mere mortals drawing upon the most advanced science of their ancient
times could not have produced such a book as this. Thus the specific argument advanced by
Shelly will here be used:

1. If the particular characteristics of the Bible’s treatment of science transcend mere
human invention, then the Bible is of divine origin.

2. The particular characteristics of the Bible’s treatment of science do transcend
mere human invention.

3. Therefore, the Bible is of divine origin. (What? 41)

When examining these cases of science in the Bible, if one were to isolate one or two by
themselves, the event and explanation may appear to be mere coincidence. But upon examination
of the whole body of evidence, there can be no other conclusion than that the information
contained therein is the result of supernatural direction.

As is often the case in scientific research, some test cases are stronger than are others. One of
the most often cited examples comes from Isaiah 40:22 which states, “It is He that sits above the
circle of the earth. . . .” Some will claim that Isaiah “made two points: (1) God is sovereign and ;
(2) the Earth is a sphere (khug). How could Isaiah have known either, unless God had revealed
them both?” (Thompson 229). This would be impressive indeed as Isaiah’s contemporaries
contended that the earth was flat and it was not until the fifteenth century that the earth was held
to be spherical on a wide or popular level. Yet others claim that there is no scientific
foreknowledge to be found in this verse. Commenting on Isaiah 40:22, Jack W. Sears stated that
“it is unwise, to put it mildly, to attempt to read into the Scriptures things not intended, just to
make them conform to some ‘fact’ or theory of science” (qtd. in West 192). Thus this verse from
the prophet, while intriguing, would not appear to be one about which to be dogmatic, though the
position grows stronger when further evidence is considered.

Later in Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 31, we read, “But those who wait on the LORD shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.” The obvious import and spiritual truth imparted by the
passage is that strength and aid would be provided to those who fear and follow God. But why is
there an illustration about eagles included here? How does such a statement have application in
this context? Edward F. Blick suggests:

In addition to the obvious spiritual truth, this Scripture implies a unique quality in the
eagle’s wings of being able to fly without becoming weary. That is exactly what we
discovered in the wind tunnels of the University of Oklahoma while conducting
aerodynamic research on birds during the spring of 1971. The eagle has six slotted
feathers at the tip of each wing which curve upward in gliding flight. Our wind tunnel
measurements indicated these upward-curved slotted-tip feathers reduce the size of the
vortex emanating from each wing tip. This in turn reduces the drag on the wings, thus
allowing the eagle to soar large distances in air currents without the need of beating his
wings. Thus 2,700 years after the Scripture in Isaiah was written, science has stumbled
onto the same truth. (2-3)

Dr. Blick also sheds some scientific light upon Genesis 17:12 where God is recorded saying to
Abraham, “He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your
generations. . . .” It is only within the last one hundred years that medical science has discovered
three important factors. One, circumcision greatly reduces the occurrence of penile cancer in
males and cancer of the cervix in their female counterparts. Two, it is now known that vitamin K
is a vital blood-clotting element. Further, we now know that this vitamin is not manufactured in
the baby’s intestinal tract until sometime between the fifth to seventh day after birth. Third, we
know that the element prothrombin is also vital to clotting of the blood. When a baby is born, the
amount of prothrombin in his blood is much lower than normal and even dips lower by day three.
But by day eight, the prothrombin levels skyrocket to a level ten percent above normal, only to
level off by day nine (4). Thus one observes from the concentration of vitamin K and
prothrombin that the perfect day to perform a circumcision is the eighth day. This was a fact not
widely recognized by the medical community until the 1940s, but was recorded in the Bible
nearly four thousand years ago.

God promised Israel, “. . .If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what
is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of
these diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals
you” (Exodus 15:26). Thus, if they would follow His directives and ordinances they would not
fall victim to the plagues and sicknesses that afflicted the ancient Egyptians. Following is a small
sample of some of the commands they were given that greatly exceeded the scientific and
medical knowledge of the day. First, ancient people had no idea that invisible and deadly
microscopic germs could exist on eating and cooking utensils. In light of this, God commanded,
“But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it
shall be both scoured and rinsed in water” (Leviticus 6:28). Thus all broken pottery was to be
discarded because the cracks could contain harmful germs and metal pots should be disinfected
by being scoured and rinsed in water. According to Grant Jeffery, “these instructions certainly
saved hundreds of thousands of Jews from infections over the centuries at a time when the rest of
the world didn’t even know that germs existed. How could Moses have known of the dangers of
infectious germs in cooking and eating utensils thousands of years ago unless God actually
inspired him to write these words?” (144).

Second, in passages like Numbers 19:14-17 and Leviticus 15:13, God provided the Israelites
with wise and beneficial laws to protect their health including advanced sanitation laws to
prevent the spread of infections. It was actually during the twentieth century that doctors finally
realized the immense value of sterilization and cleaning with running water. Before this, either
no washing of hands or instruments was done, or at best a bowl of water (which would obviously
only trap the germs) was used (Jeffrey 145-47).

Third, in Deuteronomy 23:12-14, Moses instructed the Israelites to bury human waste outside
of the camp. Today this seems like an obvious choice, but the common course of action in the
time of Moses was to dump waste products in any convenient place. This disturbing and
disgusting practice carried on for centuries. During the Middle Ages, on two different occasions,
Europe had a plague ravage the continent and kill more than thirteen million people total. This
was the result of Europeans routinely dumping waste products of all kinds out their windows and
into the public streets. As decomposition began to take place, a variety of harmful
microorganisms began to flourish (Thompson 237).

In this area of scientific foreknowledge, many more items could be investigated at length, but
just a few more shall be noted. Even though the water cycle (rain, collection, evaporation) was
not fully understood until the sixteenth century, the Bible seems to teach just that in passages like
Ecclesiastes 1:7; 11:3 and Amos 9:6 (Boyd 58-62). God told Noah to build an ark that measured
300 cubits in length, 50 cubits in width, and 30 cubits in height (Genesis 6:15). This ratio of 30
to 5 to 3 is the perfect set of dimensions for a huge boat built for seaworthiness. The same ratio
continues to be used today as it can not be improved upon (Thompson 232-33). The Bible is even
in harmony with the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics. The First Law states that
neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. Genesis 2.1 states that “the heavens and
the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” The Second Law states that as time progresses,
things become more disorderly and everything is becoming less available for work. This seems
to harmonize with the biblical teaching that the Earth is wearing out in passages such as Hebrews
1:11; Isaiah 51:6; and Psalm 102:26 (Blick 11-16).

From the evidence that has been examined, the premise that “the particular characteristics of
the Bible’s treatment of science do transcend mere human invention” has been proven to be true.
Therefore our conclusion follows that the Bible is of divine origin.

The second and final part of the study is dedicated to predictive prophecy as found in the Bible
and its ability to be confirmed via archeology and history. Similar to that which was stated
above, a skeptic would claim that it would be circular and unsound reasoning to claim belief in
fulfilled prophecies simply because the same book notes both the prediction and the fulfillment.
Thus one must turn to outside sources, or external evidences, to confirm that the prophecies of
the Bible have been legitimately fulfilled.

The Bible itself has placed great emphasis on predictive prophecy as proof of the truthfulness
of the things revealed therein. Note the challenge issued to the false prophets and gods of
Babylon, “Let them bring them forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former
things, what they were, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare
to us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you
are gods . . .” (Isaiah 41:22-23). The clear implication is this: only God can accurately predict the
future.

According to Shelly, true prophecy must be evaluated in light of three definite criteria. First,
the prophecy must deal with nations, people and events that are remote enough in time as to be
incapable of guesswork or logical deduction. Second, the prophecy can not be a matter of vague
generalizations but must involve minutely detailed predictions. Third, the fulfillment of the
prophecy must be clear and unequivocal (“Biblical Prophecy” 30). In other words, for the
predictive prophecy to be legitimate there must be sufficient time lapse between prediction and
fulfillment, the prediction must be specific, and there must be one hundred percent accurate
fulfillment with the impossibility of fraud.

A second specific argument advanced by Shelly will here be used:

1. All predictive prophecies which can be explained solely on the basis of
supernatural influence and which were clearly made known before their
corresponding fulfillments are evidences (proofs) which verify the claims of the
religion involved.

2. All predictive prophecies recorded in the Bible are predictive prophecies which
can be explained solely on the basis of supernatural influence and which were
made known before their corresponding fulfillments.

3. Therefore, all predictive prophecies recorded in the Bible are evidences (proofs)
which verify the claims of the religion involved. (What? 20)

One of the most famous biblical prophecies that can be checked against archeology and history
is that of the fall of the city of Tyre. This was a Phoenician city located on the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea about one hundred miles from Jerusalem and about thirty miles from the Sea
of Galilee. It had two superior harbors: one on the mainland, where the major portion of the city
was built, and a second on an island located less than one mile from the coast (Petrillo 389).
Trevor Major lists seven precise predictive prophecies that were made in Ezekiel 26 and the
corresponding archeological and historical evidence that proves fulfillment:

1. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon shall destroy the mainland portion of Tyre (Ezekiel
26:7-8). Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege to Tyre for thirteen years beginning in 585-
6 BC.

2. Other nations are to participate in the fulfillment of the prophecy (Ezekiel 26:3).
Alexander the Great besieged and captured the port in 332 BC, and Ptolemies,
Seleucids, Romans, and Muslim Arabs all had their turn at rule.

3. The city is to be flattened, like the top of a rock (Ezekiel 26:4, 14). Alexander
used the building materials of the mainland city, and any other rocks and soil in
the immediate vicinity, to build a causeway to the island.

4. It is to become a place for the spreading of nets (Ezekiel 26:5, 14). The waters
around Tyre were renowned in ancient times for their fishing. This was all the
fame the city could claim after its complete decimation by Alexander.

5. Its stones and timbers are to be laid in the sea (Ezekiel 26:12). As noted in
number 3 above, the building of the causeway came from the remains of the
mainland city.

6. Other cities are to fear greatly at the fall of Tyre (Ezekiel 26:15-18). Many
fortified cities in the region capitulated to Alexander after they saw the genius and
relative ease with which he captured Tyre.

7. The city will not be inhabited or rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:20-21). Alexander sold
almost all of Tyre’s inhabitants into slavery, and the city forever lost its
importance on the world stage. (95)

Peter Stoner and Robert Newman calculated the mathematical probabilities for these seven
predictions. The chance that all seven would prove to be correct is 1 in 75,000,000 (79).
Considering the divine judgment upon Tyre and the accuracy of Ezekiel’s prophecy, this is a
historical event that can be explained solely on the basis of supernatural influence.
Other examples will here only be quickly mentioned. At the time that Babylon was considered
to be the world’s richest and greatest city, Isaiah prophesied that it would become desolate
(Isaiah 13:17-22). As predicted, the Medes under the leadership of Cyrus conquered the city in
539 BC (Free 203). Further, Isaiah predicted more than one hundred and fifty years before his
birth that Cyrus would be the king of Persia (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1). Approximately one fifty years
after the preaching of Jonah, Zephaniah 2:13-15 records the prediction that Nineveh will be
destroyed for their great wickedness. As predicted, the combined forces of the Babylonians and
the Medes came against Nineveh in 612 BC and completely destroyed it (Free 187).
The remaining focus will be centered upon Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is replete with
what is known as messianic prophecies and the New Testament appears to record their
fulfillment. For example, it was said that the Messiah would be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15;
Galatians 4:4), of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 22:18; Luke 3.34), of the tribe of Judah
(Genesis 49:10; Hebrews 7:14), of the royal lineage of David (2 Samuel 7:12; Luke 1.32), in
Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2.1), to the virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22). We
further see from study of the Bible that the Messiah would have a forerunner to announce His
arrival (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:1-3), that He would appear during the days of Roman rule
(Daniel 2:44; Luke 2:41), while Judah still possessed her own king (Genesis 49:10; Matthew
2:22). All of this is simply the tip of the proverbial iceberg as some Bible scholars estimate that
there are well over three hundred prophecies in the Old Testament about Christ (McCord 332).
But how much of this information can be verified via archeology and history? There have been
many who have questioned whether or not the man Jesus ever actually existed (Barnett 16). This
is a most vital question and concept because if Christ was not real, then all Christians are wasting
their time and actually should be pitied by other men (1 Corinthians 15:19).

There are many ancient sources that confirm the existence of the man Jesus Christ. For
example, an individual by the name of Tacitus (AD 55-120) who was considered to be a fine
historian wrote of the events surrounding the AD 64 fire in Rome. According to Gary Habermas,
we learn several important facts from the record of Tacitus. One, Christians were named for their
founder, Christus (from the Latin). Two, this Christus was put to death by the Roman procurator
Pontius Pilatus. Three, these events took place during the reign of emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37).
Four, the death of Christus ended the “superstition” for a short time. Five, the “superstition”
broke out once again, especially in Judaea, where the teaching had its origin. Six, the followers
of Christus took his doctrine to Rome. Seven, when the fire destroyed a large part of the city,
Nero (54-68) placed the blame on the Christians who lived in Rome. Eight, this group was hated
for their abominations. Nine, they were arrested and convicted for “hatred of mankind.” Ten, the
Christians were also mocked, tortured, nailed to crosses, and burned to death. Eleven, because of
the cruel treatment they received, many had compassion on the Christians which led Tacitus to
conclude that such punishments were not for the public good but were simply to “glut one man’s
cruelty” (189). Thus from this one historian, we have the Gospel accounts of Jesus being
confirmed as well as the beginning of the New Testament church as recorded in the book of
Acts.

There are other Roman sources as well as Jewish sources that can be consulted to confirm the
existence of Christ and thus His fulfillment of prophecy. Among them are Pliney who wrote his
letters from Bithynia around AD 112, Suetonius who wrote from Rome around AD 49, the
Jewish prayer known as the Benediction Twelve, Rabbi Eliezer, and Josephus (Barnett 17-28;
Strobel 73-109). All of these writings preserved in history confirm the story of Jesus and His
loyal followers. In reference to biblical prophecy and those who lived before the fulfillment of
the predictions, Henry Morris wrote, “From our perspective today, we can see them more clearly
since they have already been fulfilled, providing strong evidence of the divine inspiration of the
Bible. We today, therefore, have less excuse for ignoring God’s Word than they did and so must
be judged more severely if we do so” (52).

It is clear from our investigation that the Bible contains certain properties where the total
situation involved in having such properties makes it clear that the Bible is beyond mere human
production. Specifically it has been demonstrated that the particular characteristics of the Bible’s
treatment of science do transcend mere human invention and all predictive prophecies recorded
in the Bible are predictive prophecies which can be explained solely on the basis of supernatural
influence and which were made known before their corresponding fulfillments. Therefore, the
Bible must be what it claims to be, which is the inspired word of God.

Works Cited:
Barnett, Paul. Is the New Testament Reliable? Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1986.
Blick, Edward F. Correlation of the Bible and Science. Hollywood: Haven of Rest, 1976.
Boyd, Robert T. Boyd’s Handbook of Practical Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1997.
Bromling, Brad T. “Prophetic Precision.” Reason & Revelation. 14.12 (1994): 96.
Bruce, F.F. Are the New Testament Documents Reliable? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1954.
Burrows, Millar. What Mean These Stones? New Haven: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1941.
Charlesworth, James H. and Walter P. Weaver. What has Archaeology to do with Faith? Philadelphia: Trinity,
1992.
Free, Joseph P. and Howard F. Vos. Archeology and Bible History. rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Geisler, Norman L. and William E. Nix. A General Introduction to the Bible. rev. ed. Chicago: Moody, 1986.
Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996.
www.warrenapologeticscenter.org 7
Jauncey, James H. Science Returns to God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1961.
Jeffrey, Grant R. The Signature of God. Toronto: Frontier Research, 1996.
Lewis, Jack P. Archaeology and the Bible. Abilene: Biblical Research, 1975.
Major, Trevor. “The Fall of Tyre.” Reason & Revelation. 16.12 (1996): 93-95.
Manly Jr., Basil. The Bible Doctrine of Inspiration. rev. ed. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995.
McCord, Hugo. “Internal Evidences of the Bible’s Inspiration.” The Holy Scriptures: 1979 Ft. Worth Lectures. ed.
William Winkler. Ft. Worth: Winkler, 1979.
McGarvey, J.W. Evidences of Christianity. Cincinnati: Standard, 1886.
Moreland, J. P. Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.
Morris, Henry. Defending the Faith. Green Forest: Master, 1999.
Muncaster, Ralph O. Can Archaeology Prove the New Testament? Eugene: Harvest House, 2000.
Petrillo, Dennis. Ezekiel: Truth for Today Commentary. Searcy: Resource, 2004.
Rice, John R. Our God-Breathed Book – The Bible. Murfreesboro: Sword of the Lord, 1969.
Shelly, Rubel. “Biblical Prophecy as an Evidence of Inspiration.” The Spiritual Sword. 1.2 (1970): 29-32.
- - -. What Shall We Do With The Bible? Jonesboro: National Christian Press, 1975.
Smith, Gerald B. “Testing the Doctrine of Inspiration.” The Biblical World. 36.3 (1910): 152-65.
Smith, J.M. Powis. “Why I Believe in the Bible.” The Biblical World. 54.6 (1920): 568-70.
Stoner, Peter W. and Robert C. Newman. Science Speaks. Chicago: Moody, 1976.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.
Tacitus. The Annals. 109 <http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.11.xv.html>
Thompson, Bert. Rock-Solid Faith: How to Build It. Montgomery: Apologetics Press, 2000.
Varghese, Roy Abraham. ed. The Intellectuals Speak Out About God. Chicago: Gateway, 1984.
- - -. The Wonder of the World. Fountain Hills: Tyr, 2003.
West, W. B., Bill Flatt and Thomas B. Warren. eds. The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible: 1971 Bible
Lectureship of Harding Graduate School of Religion. Nashville: Gospel Advocate, 1971.
Witmer, John A. “The Biblical Evidence for the Verbal-Plenary Inspiration of the Bible.” Bibliotheca sacra. 121
(1954): 243-52.
www.warrenapologeticscenter.org 8

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