To discover whether the Bible is reliable,
you need
M.A.P.S.
Manuscripts
• Archaeology
• Prophecy
• Statistics
•
How do you know if the New Testament
we have today is the same as the
original?
Manuscript Evidence
3 Tests: B.E.E.
 Bibliographical
 External evidence
 Eyewitnesses (Internal evidence)
B.E.E. Tests of Manuscript Evidence
Bibliographical
External evidence
Eyewitnesses
Bibliographical Test
It examines how well the handwritten copies
are transmitted to us.
1.
The number of copies of the original

2.
The time gap between the original and the
existing copies

3.
25,000 separate manuscripts of New Testament
Only 1 generation for some books, 3-7
generations for the whole New Testament
The degree of accuracy of the copies

98.33% of the NT is beyond question
B.E.E. Tests of Manuscript Evidence
Bibliographical
External evidence
Eyewitnesses
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 Pilate
 Suetonius (120 A.D.): Christ was the
reason for Jews being kicked out of Rome
 Thallus (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
B.E.E. Tests of Manuscript Evidence
Bibliographical
External evidence
Eyewitnesses
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 resolved
How 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)
To discover whether the Bible is reliable,
you need
M.A.P.S.
Manuscripts
• Archaeology
• Prophecy
• Statistics
•
The Testimony of the Stones
No
archaeologic
al evidence
has ever
refuted the
Bible.
2. Thousands of
archaeologic
al finds
support the
Bible.
1.
Archaeological Discoveries:

Pharaoh Shishak’s attack on Israel (1 Ki 14:2526) 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)
To discover whether the Bible is reliable,
you need
M.A.P.S.
Manuscripts
• Archaeology
• Prophecy
• Statistics
•
Predictions of the Coming of Jesus the
Messiah
191 Prophecies that were literally
fulfilled in the life, death, and
resurrection of Christ:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Place of birth (Mic. 5:2)
Time of birth (Dan. 9:25)
Manner of birth (Is. 7:14)
Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12)
Manner of death (Ps. 22:16)
People’s reactions (mocking, spitting, staring, etc.)
(Ps. 22:7,8, 17)
His side pierced (Zech. 12:10)
Burial in a rich man’s tomb (Is 53:9)
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.
To discover whether the Bible is reliable,
you need
M.A.P.S.
Manuscripts
• Archaeology
• Prophecy
• Statistics
•
8 Prophecies regarding the life, death,
and resurrection of Christ:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Place of birth (Mic. 5:2)
Time of birth (Dan. 9:25)
Manner of birth (Is. 7:14)
Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12)
Manner of death (Ps. 22:16)
People’s reactions (mocking, spitting, staring, etc.)
(Ps. 22:7,8, 17)
His side pierced (Zech. 12:10)
Burial in a rich man’s tomb (Is 53:9)
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?
17
 I in 10
 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?



157
I X 10
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 lifetransforming 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