QUESTION: How can I know for sure that the Bible is the Word of God?

ANSWER: (Continued from last issue.) In the last issue we began to answer this question by presenting two ways to know for sure that the Bible is the Word of God:

A. Reading it carefully and prayerfully
B. Studying the uniqueness of the Bible

We started to look at some of the facts which show that the Bible is unique or different from any other book. The first fact we looked at was that it has passed the test of time. (Not too many books are being printed today that were finished 2,000 years ago). This brings us to our second fact.

Although the Bible is considered an old book, we find that it is:

2. Accurate and reliable. If you were to read science and history books that were thirty to fifty years old you would find that they are outdated. Some of the facts they reported would have to be revised to reflect man's latest discoveries. WHAT ABOUT THE BIBLE? Although its references to historical and scientific data have often been challenged and disputed, none of them have needed revision. Instead of revisions, recent findings are continually verifying the truths of the Bible. I will refer to only one example among many which could be cited. For years, critics of the Bible have pointed out the fact that Daniel mentioned a Babylonian king named Belshazzar of whom history had no record. New archaeological findings have revealed the name of Belshazzar on clay tablets along with the names of his secretaries and sisters. We can trust what the Bible says.

This accuracy includes the prophecies of the Bible because:

3. Its prophecies have a 100% accuracy record. This becomes even more impressive when we consider that one fourth of the Bible was predictive when it was written. There are hundreds of prophecies made in the Bible which have been accurately fulfilled. Let's look at three that have been fulfilled:

a. The prophet Micah predicted about 700 B.C. that the Lord Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2). This was recorded in Matt. 2:1.
b. Over one hundred years before Nineveh would become "empty, and void, and waste." Today, this would be like predicting that Chicago will become a wasteland. (Remember, in Nahum's day there were no nuclear bombs.) Nineveh, just as it was prophesied, became empty and void and waste.
c. About 600 B.C. Daniel accurately predicted the succession of three great world empires: the Persian (530 B.C.), the Grecian (331 B.C.) and the Roman Empire (about 68 B.C.). See Dan. chapters 2, 7, 8.

Only God can declare the end from the beginning (Isaiah 47:10).

THE BIBLE GIVES US TOMORROW'S NEWS TODAY!

—John D. McNeil