Living Water
Community Church
Being Lights in a Dark World III
Giving an Answer

Answering the attacks against the Bible
 1Pe
3:13 Who is there to harm you if you prove
zealous for what is good?
 1Pe 3:14 But even if you should suffer for the sake
of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT
FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE
TROUBLED,
 1Pe 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your
hearts, always being ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you to give
an account for the hope that is in you, yet
with gentleness and reverence;
Who do you rely on – God or
Man?


Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light
to my path.
(Psa 143:10) Teach me to do Your will, For You are my
God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

(Luk 12:12) for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very
hour what you ought to say."

(Joh 14:26) "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Why do we need the Bible?
The Authority of Scripture
A Spirit-Inspired Revelation from God
Applied to Us by the Spirit – It is our sole source of faith and practice!
The Necessity of Scripture
Our Finiteness – The finite cannot comprehend the infinite
Our Sinfulness – Pride, self will, attachment to our own truth
We need a source of absolute Truth outside of our own
thinking
The Sufficiency of Scripture
For Faith – God’s Word is proven to be that source of Truth
For Life - If you live in obedience to God’s Word, you will have abundant life
The Clarity of Scripture
Misunderstanding Scripture
If the Bible is given to be
understood, why is there so much
confusion as to it’s meaning?
Why are there so many
Denominations and beliefs?





Mat 18:3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are
converted and become like children, you will not enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Children love unconditionally.
Children are teachable. They tend to see the
simple truth and tell the truth – without regard
to pride or appearances.
Children have complete faith in parents, so we
should trust God. And trust His Word!





(1Ti 2:4) God desires all men to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth.
(2Ti 2:25) with gentleness correcting those who are in
opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance
leading to the knowledge of the truth,
(2Ti 3:7) Holding to a Form of Godliness, denying the
power…always learning and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
(Tit 1:1) Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the
knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
(Heb 10:26) For if we go on sinning willfully after
receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins,
Is the Biblical Record Accurate?
Now we are going to examine some of the
proofs for the Bible.
 Archaeology has always proven the
Biblical record…always.
 The Bible is God’s Word!


Over the years there have been many criticisms
leveled against the Bible concerning its historical
reliability. These criticisms are usually based on
a lack of evidence from outside sources to
confirm the Biblical record. Since the Bible is a
religious book, many scholars take the position
that it is biased and cannot be trusted unless we
have corroborating evidence from extra-Biblical
sources. In other words, the Bible is guilty until
proven innocent, and a lack of outside evidence
places the Biblical account in doubt.

This standard is far different
from that applied to other
ancient documents, even
though many, if not most, have
a religious element. They are
considered to be accurate,
unless there is evidence to
show that they are not.
Although it is not possible to
verify every incident in the
Bible, the discoveries of
archaeology since the mid
1800s have demonstrated the
reliability and plausibility of the
Bible narrative.


The history of written
language began
almost 6,000 years
ago in the small
villages of
Mesopotamia. This
first written language
was called Cuneiform.
Most of history at
this time was handed
down orally.
Archeological proof for the Bible
We will now take a look at the evidence
that helps establish the reliability of the
Bible and it’s record.
 It is reliable – historically and Doctrinally!

Classical Authors and Date of Copies
Authors
Written
Earliest
Copy
1,100 A.D.
Time Span
1400 years
No. of
Copies
49
Aristotle
345-322
B.C.
Caesar
100-44 B.C.
900 A.D.
1000 years
10
Plato
427-347
B.C.
1,100 A.D.
1400 years
20
Tacitus
100 A.D.
1,100 A.D.
1,000 years
20
Thucydides
460-400
B.C.
900 A.D.
1,300 years
8
Suetonius
75-160 A.D.
950 A.D.
800 years
8
New Test.
35–100
A.D.
Frags. 35
A.D. 250
A.D.
1-150 years
Thousands
Greek Manuscripts of the New
Testament
Sources
1881
1965
1976
1998
Papyri
0
78
88
99
Uncials
19
224
267
306
Cursives
950
2,650
2,764
2,856
Lectionarie
s
TOTALS
400
2,000
2,143
2,403
1,369
4,952
5,262
5,664
1998 Figures from Bruce Metzger via Case For Christ. p. 60 - 63
A Reporters Conclusion
Archaeology (N.T.)
“In extraordinary ways, modern archeology has
affirmed the historical core of the Old and New
Testaments--corroborating key portions of the
stories of Israel’s patriarchs, the Exodus, the
Davidic monarchy, the life and times of Jesus.”
Jeffrey Shelter, Is the Bible True?
US News and World Report, Oct. 25, 1999, P. 52

“Is the Bible True?” U.S. News & World
Report, October 25, 1999

Mary & Joseph travel to hometown for
census?


Pool of Bethesda with 5 pillars? (John
Chapter 5)


Recently discovered: Roman Empire-wide census
was held every 14 years
Archaeologists recently discovered this pool
Crucifixion? No skeletal remains found…

But in 1968, found a tomb with remains of a 24-28
year old man nailed to the cross, with leg broken
A Skeptics Conclusion
Is the New Testament corroborated by Archaeology?
“I began with a mind unfavorable to it (Acts), for the
ingenuity and apparent completeness of the …
theory. It did not lie then in my line of life to
investigate the subject minutely; but more recently I
found myself often brought in contact with the book
of Acts as an authority for the topography,
antiquities, and society of Asia Minor. It was
gradually borne in upon me that in various details
the narrative showed marvelous truth.”
Sir Wm. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, P. 8
Another Skeptics Conclusion
Archaeology (N.T.)
“As a matter of fact, however, it may be stated
categorically that no archaeological discovery has
ever controverted a biblical reference. Scores of
archaeological findings have been made which
confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical
statements in the Bible.”
Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, P. 31
3. How do we know that the
Bible is not just a myth that
developed over time?
Liberal Dating
Couldn’t the stories about Jesus be a myth
that was invented over a period of time?







I Corinthians
Mark
Matthew
Luke
Jude
Acts
John
Spring 55
45-60 AD
40-60 AD
57-60 AD
61-62 AD
57-62 AD
40-65 AD
John A. T. Robinson
Redating the New Testament, P. 352
Conclusions of a Respected
Archaeologist
Couldn’t the stories about Jesus be a myth
that was invented over a period of time?
“Rephrasing the question, I would answer
that, in my opinion, every book of the New
Testament was written by a baptized Jew
between the forties and the eighties of the
first century A.D. (very probably sometime
between about 50 and 75 A.D.”
Wm.. F. Albright, Toward a More Conservative View
Christianity Today, Jan., 1963, P. 359
An Historian Weighs In

Roman Historian, A.N. Sherwin-White calls the
mythological view of the New Testament
“unbelievable.”

Williams Lane Craig says,
“The tests show that even two generations is too
short to allow legendary tendencies to wipe out the
hard core of historical facts.”
William Lane Craig, The Son Rises, P. 101

Two hundred years ago, scholars doubted whether
Babylon ever existed, and the only record could be
found in the Bible. Higher critics used the story of
Babylon, and what they called its "non-historic
kings", to disseminate Scripture. However in 1898,
Babylon was suddenly discovered and excavations
started.

We know today that it was one of the first cities in
the world, and indeed, founded by Nimrod, greatgrandson of Noah. (Genesis 10:10,11).
Archaeologists have found his name on many
inscriptions and tablets, while a massive head of
Nimrod has been excavated near Calah on the Tigris
River.

Many of the people mentioned in the Bible are confirmed
in sources outside the Bible. In the case of royalty, many
times a likeness of the individual has been recovered.
Over 50 persons named in the Old Testament are known
outside the Bible, and we have likenesses of 12 of them.
Some 27 people named in the New Testament are
known from other records, with six likenesses surviving
(four of them Roman emperors).

Based on current knowledge of Biblical
and Egyptian chronology, the best
candidate for the pharaoh of the Exodus is
Tuthmosis III, who ruled 1504-1450 B.C.
We have many records from his reign, as
well as this statuary of the pharaoh
himself.
The most documented Biblical event is the
world-wide flood described in Genesis 6-9.
A number of Babylonian documents have
been discovered which describe the same
flood.
 We also have flood accounts from other
cultures around the world!


The Sumerian King List
(pictured here), for example,
lists kings who reigned for long
periods of time. Then a great
flood came. Following the
flood, Sumerian kings ruled for
much shorter periods of time.
This is the same pattern found
in the Bible. Men had long life
spans before the flood and
shorter life spans after the
flood.
The 11th tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic
speaks of an ark, animals taken on the
ark, birds sent out during the course of the
flood, the ark landing on a mountain, and a
sacrifice offered after the ark landed.
 The Story of Adapa tells of a test for
immortality involving food, similar to the
story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of
Eden.


Sumerian tablets record the confusion of
language as we have in the Biblical account of
the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). There was
a golden age when all mankind spoke the same
language. Speech was then confused by the
god Enki, lord of wisdom. The Babylonians had
a similar account in which the gods destroyed a
temple tower and "scattered them abroad and
made strange their speech."

Campaign into Israel by Pharaoh Shishak
(1 Kings 14:25-26), recorded on the walls
of the Temple of Amun in Thebes, Egypt.

A number of remarkable clay tablets, discovered at
Tell-el-Amarna in Upper Egypt. They confirm the
historical statements of the Book of Joshua, and
prove the antiquity of civilization in Syria and
Palestine. As the clay in different parts of Palestine
differs, it has been found possible by the clay alone
to decide where the tablets come from when the
name of the writer is lost. The inscriptions are
cuneiform, and in the Aramaic language,
resembling Assyrian. The writers are Phoenicians,
Amorites, and Philistines, but in no instance
Hittites, though Hittites are mentioned. The tablets
consist of official dispatches and letters, dating
from B.C. 1480, addressed to the two Pharaohs,
Amenophis III. and IV., the last of this dynasty,
from the kings and governors of Phoenicia and
Palestine. There occur the names of three kings
killed by Joshua, Adoni-zedec, king of Jerusalem,
Japhia, king of Lachish (Josh. 10:3), and Jabin,
king of Hazor (11:1); also the Hebrews (Abiri) are
said to have come from the desert.

Revolt of Moab against Israel (2 Kings 1:1;
3:4-27), recorded on the Mesha
Inscription.
1.
2.
Hebrew: id, a king of Moab, the son of Chemosh-Gad, a man of great
wealth in flocks and herds (2 Kings 3:4). After the death of Ahab at
Ramoth-Gilead, Mesha shook off the yoke of Israel; but on the ascension
of Jehoram to the throne of Israel, that king sought the help of
Jehoshaphat in an attempt to reduce the Moabites again to their former
condition. The united armies of the two kings came unexpectedly on the
army of the Moabites, and gained over them an easy victory. The whole
land was devastated by the conquering armies, and Mesha sought refuge
in his last stronghold, Kir-harasheth (q.v.). Reduced to despair, he
ascended the wall of the city, and there, in the sight of the allied armies,
offered his first-born son a sacrifice to Chemosh, the fire-god of the
Moabites. This fearful spectacle filled the beholders with horror, and they
retired from before the besieged city, and recrossed the Jordan laden
with spoil (2 Kings 3:25-27).
The exploits of Mesha are recorded in the Phoenician inscription on a
block of black basalt found at Dibon, in Moab, usually called the "Moabite
stone" (q.v.).

Fall of Samaria (2 Kings 17:3-6, 24; 18:911) to Sargon II, king of Assyria, as
recorded on his palace walls.

Campaign of the
Assyrian king
Sennacherib against
Judah (2 Kings 18:1316), as recorded on
the Taylor Prism.



Siege of Lachish by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:14, 17), as
recorded on the Lachish reliefs.
It was assaulted and probably taken by Sennacherib (2
Kings 18:14,17; 19:8; Isa. 36:2). An account of this siege
is given on some slabs found in the chambers of the
palace of Koyunjik, and now in the British Museum. The
inscription has been deciphered as follows:
"Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of
Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment before the city
of Lachish: I gave permission for its slaughter."


Lachish has been identified with Tell-el-Hesy, where
a cuneiform tablet has been found, containing a letter
supposed to be from Amenophis at Amarna in reply
to one of the Amarna tablets sent by Zimrida from
Lachish. This letter is from the chief of Atim (=Etam,
1 Chr. 4:32) to the chief of Lachish, in which the
writer expresses great alarm at the approach of
marauders from the Hebron hills. "They have entered
the land," he says, "to lay waste...strong is he who
has come down. He lays waste." This letter shows
that "the communication by tablets in cuneiform script
was not only usual in writing to Egypt, but in the
internal correspondence of the country. The letter,
though not so important in some ways as the Moabite
stone and the Siloam text, is one of the most
valuable discoveries ever made in Palestine"
(Conder's Tell Amarna Tablets, p. 134).
Among other discoveries is that of an iron blastfurnace, with slag and ashes, which is supposed to
have existed B.C. 1500. If the theories of experts are
correct, the use of the hot-air blast instead of cold air
(an improvement in iron manufacture patented by
Neilson in 1828) was known fifteen hundred years
before Christ.

Assassination of Sennacherib by his own
sons (2 Kings 19:37), as recorded in the
annals of his son Esarhaddon.
Moabite Stone

It was 3 1/2 feet high and 2 in breadth
and in thickness, rounded at the top. It
consisted of thirty-four lines, written in
Hebrew-Phoenician characters. It was
set up by Mesha as a record and
memorial of his victories. It records (1)
Mesha's wars with Omri, (2) his public
buildings, and (3) his wars against
Horonaim. This inscription in a
remarkable degree supplements and
corroborates the history of King Mesha
recorded in 2 Kings 3:4-27.

Fall of Nineveh as predicted by the
prophets Nahum and Zephaniah (2:13-15),
recorded on the Tablet of Nabopolasar.

Fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon (2 Kings 24:10-14), as
recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.

Captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in
Babylon (2 Kings 24:15-16), as recorded
on the Babylonian Ration Records.

Fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians
(Daniel 5:30-31), as recorded on the Cyrus
Cylinder.



Freeing of captives in Babylon by Cyrus the
Great (Ezra 1:1-4; 6:3-4), as recorded on the
Cyrus Cylinder.
The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of
Jerusalem marked a great epoch in the history
of the Jewish people (2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:14; 4:3; 5:13-17; 6:3-5).
This decree was discovered "at Achmetha [R.V.
marg., "Ecbatana"], in the palace that is in the
province of the Medes" (Ezra 6:2).

The discovery of the Ebla archive in northern
Syria in the 1970s has shown the Biblical
writings concerning the Patriarchs to be viable.
Documents written on clay tablets from around
2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place
names in the Patriarchal accounts are genuine.
The name "Canaan" was in use in Ebla, a name
critics once said was not used at that time and
was used incorrectly in the early chapters of the
Bible.

The word "tehom"
("the deep") in
Genesis 1:2 was said
to be a late word
demonstrating the late
writing of the creation
story. "Tehom" was
part of the vocabulary
at Ebla, in use some
800 years before
Moses.

The Hittites were once thought to be a
Biblical legend, until their capital and
records were discovered at Bogazkoy,
Turkey. Many thought the Biblical
references to Solomon's wealth were
greatly exaggerated. Recovered records
from the past show that wealth in antiquity
was concentrated with the king and
Solomon's prosperity was entirely feasible.

It was once claimed there was
no Assyrian king named Sargon
as recorded in Isaiah 20:1,
because this name was not
known in any other record. Then,
Sargon's palace was discovered
in Khorsabad, Iraq. The very
event mentioned in Isaiah 20, his
capture of Ashdod, was recorded
on the palace walls. What is
more, fragments of a stela
memorializing the victory were
found at Ashdod itself.


Another king who was in doubt was Belshazzar,
king of Babylon, named in Daniel 5. The last
king of Babylon was Nabonidus according to
recorded history. Tablets were found showing
that Belshazzar was Nabonidus' son who served
as coregent in Babylon. Thus, Belshazzar could
offer to make Daniel "third highest ruler in the
kingdom" (Dan. 5:16) for reading the handwriting
on the wall, the highest available position.
He was “Co-Regent” – Nabonidus became sick
and left the rule to his son.

When Israeli archaeologists
cleared the area around the
southern portion of the
Western Wall (above), they
ran into the inscription you
see here. Although not a
verbatim copy, it comes
reasonably close to a vision
found in the last chapter of
the Book of Isaiah: "When
you see this, your bones will
become like shoots of green
grass."

The existence of Jesus Christ as recorded
by Josephus, Suetonius, Thallus, Pliny the
Younger, the Talmud, and Lucian.
Historian : Josephus
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.”
As cited in Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Page 85
(Arabic text, 10th Cent.)
The Significance of Josephus
The significance of this passage by Josephus






Makes reference to Jesus’ claim to be the Christ
Speak of His miracles
Points out that people perceived Jesus’ teachings
as the truth
Indicates the historicity of Pilate and the event of
the cross.
Records the claim by His disciples that Jesus
was resurrected.
Documents that Jesus had many converts
Jewish Source: The Talmud
“On the eve of Passover Yeshua was hanged.
For forty days before the execution took place,
a herald went forth and cried, ‘he is going to be
stoned because he has practiced sorcery and
enticed Israel to apostasy. Any one who can
say anything in his favor, let him come forward
and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing
was brought forward in his favor he was
hanged on the eve of the Passover.”
The Talmud, Sanhedrin, 43a
(cf. John 11:8, 16)
The Significance of the Talmud
The Significance of Jewish writings about Jesus




It confirms the historicity of Jesus’ life.
It confirms His death by the method of
crucifixion (The Jewish method of
execution would have been stoning)
It indicates that Jesus did do miraculous
things but attributed his power to the devil
(similar to Mark 3:22; Matt. 9:34; 12:24)
It indicated that Jesus gathered many
converts from the Jewish community
Accuracy Established
Conclusion from bibliographical and
external evidence test
“The interval then between the dates of the original
composition and the earliest extant evidence
becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and
the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures
have come down to us substantially as they were
written has now now been removed. Both the
authenticity and the general integrity of the books
of the New Testament may be regarded as finally
established.”
Sir Frederic Kenyon
The Bible and Archaeology, P. 288
Summary
The fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon
(2 Kings 24:10-14) is recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.

The captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in Babylon
(2 Kings 24:15-16) is recorded on the Babylonian Ration Records.
The fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians
(Daniel 5:30-31) is recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder.
The freeing of captives in Babylon by Cyrus the Great
(Ezra 1:1-4; 6:3-4) is recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder.
The campaign of the Assyrian king Sennacherib against Judah
(2 Kings 18:13-16) is recorded on the Taylor Prism.
The siege of Lachish by Sennacherib
(2 Kings 18:14, 17) is recorded on the Lachish reliefs.
The assassination of Sennacherib by his own sons
(2 Kings 19:37) is recorded in the annals of his son Esarhaddon.
The fall of Nineveh as predicted by the prophets Nahum and Zephaniah
(2:13-15) is recorded on the Tablet of Nabopolasar.
The campaign into Israel by Pharaoh Shishak
(1 Kings 14:25-26) is recorded on the walls of the Temple of Amun in Thebes, Egypt.
The revolt of Moab against Israel
(2 Kings 1:1; 3:4-27) is recorded on the Mesha Inscription.
The fall of Samaria
(2 Kings 17:3-6, 24; 18:9-11) to Sargon II, king of Assyria, is recorded on his palace walls.
The defeat of Ashdod by Sargon II
(Isaiah 20:1) is recorded on his palace walls.
Is the Bible reliable?
Yes!
 In addition to all of this, there are many other
examples of extra-Biblical confirmation of Biblical
events.

For years, critics of the Biblical historical account
have doubted its reliability not because there
existed archeological evidence that DISPROVED its
claims, but simply because there was no discovered
archeological evidence found yet to
SUBSTANTIATE its claims.
 Now, in light of recent archeology, many
are beginning to believe!
