Unique

Is the Bible unique? Is it reliable and trustworthy?

We don't approach the Bible as we have to prove to others it's true, it's not up to us. You are probably not going to change anyone's mind if you think it all falls on you. The Scripture defends itself. We don't prop Scripture up, it defends us. You don't have to fight people about it. It's the Living Word and God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Time will take care of the fight.

What is so remarkable about the Bible?

1. The unity of the story.

• Unlike other sacred writings that are usually written by one person, the Bible was written by 40 different authors over 1600 years. It is comprised of 66 books in 3 languages, but from the beginning to the end you get the symmetry of one powerful story, the story of Jesus and how He is creating and restoring all things that lead back to the Father. Most of the authors never knew each other and lived in different parts of the world, yet they are telling the same story. From a literary perspective, that's remarkable.

2. The overwhelming nature of the early manuscript evidence.

• All the ancient original texts were written by hand on parchment or papyrus. None of the originals of any work in antiquity survived because the material disintegrates. Yet, we have early manuscripts of all of these works.

• Early manuscripts comparison

• Homer wrote The Iliad in 800 BC, the earliest manuscript we have is from 100 AD, so there are 900 years in between the original writing and the first copy we have. and we have 643 copies. Yet no one questions the veracity of The Iliad saying that it was added to, altered, or had things removed. It's regarded as a literary masterpiece.

• Julius Caesar wrote The Gallic War in 50 BC with the earliest manuscript from 900 AD, 950 years later. We have 10 ancient manuscript copies.

• Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote Antiquities of the Jews in 950 AD. The earliest manuscript we have is from 1050 AD and there are less than 30 copies. There are 1000 years in between, but we stake historical claims on the work of Josephus.

• The New Testament was written between 50-95 AD with the earliest manuscript from 125 AD, about 50 years after the original, so the same people are still alive and can vouch for it. We have 5000 Greek copies, that's not counting the thousands of Latin copies.

• What do we make of this? The Bible is constantly questioned and other works are not. With so many exponentially more copies, God wanted to ensure that the Breath on a page called the Living Word of God had an overwhelming amount of manuscript evidence so you could know as a follower of Jesus that you are not in the minority lane, you are in the majority lane. You can rest your confidence in the hope of the Living God.

• P52 was the fragment found in 125 AD. It was found in a collection in Egypt in the early 1900s. It was copied shortly after the original and was circulated among believers in northern Africa. The fragment is John 18, Jesus' words.

3. The mathematical probability of its internal evidence.

• The Bible is predicated on a setup and a payoff. The first section is a promise, it's prophetic. The second section is the payoff, the fulfillment of all that God had promised His people. Jesus fulfilled over 400 prophecies. The mathematical probability of Him doing that is astounding. If just eight of the 400 prophecies told 100s of years earlier were fulfilled by one person, the odds are 1 in 10 to the 17th power. That's incredible!

4. The archeological durability of the Scripture.

• As years go by, discoveries actually prove the veracity of the Scriptures via archeology. Governors, cities, islands, etc have all been found and proved the Scripture is true. We keep digging up things that prove all of it to be true. Jesus isn't just a great spiritual idea, He's a person that lived and walked on this planet.

5. The one-of-a-kind message on its pages.

• Every other sacred book talks about how mankind make their way up to a higher place. Only the Bible is about how God made His way down to mankind. Only one book, the Bible, recognizes that there is something else beyond us, but it's not a path or a place; it's a person. People say all roads lead to the same place, but if you actually read all the considered sacred books, you'll discover they don't all lead to the same place.

• We weren't created for a place or a path, we were created for the person who has stamped on us a longing for Him. The joy of Heaven isn't where you are, it's who you are with; you're with Jesus.

Grace is written on every page of this one book. Mercy calls out from beginning to end, "Look what God has done for the people!" The internal witness of the Holy Spirit who wrote it. He illuminates Jesus and revelation happens.