School of the Foundations of the Christian Faith “The Creator and His Creation.” Lesson 9. The Reliability of the Bible’s Text. The school consists of 22 lessons. The school’s founder is the Christian Bible Institute.
No book in the world can compare with the Bible in accuracy and truthfulness, because behind the text of the Bible stands the perfect, all-knowing, and almighty God.
- The Bible consists of 66 books.
- The books of the Bible were written over a period of 1,500 years.
- It was written by more than 40 authors who lived at different times and in different places.
- The authors of the Bible also came from different walks of life: some were rich and some were poor, some were educated and some were uneducated, some were kings and some were slaves.
- They included people of different nationalities.
- They were written in different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek).
At the same time:
- The Bible is remarkably unified (none of its books contradicts another).
- God’s plan of salvation is presented consistently throughout the Bible.
- God’s plan of salvation is presented in a very harmonious and complete way.
- The human condition is difficult enough to understand, yet the authors of Scripture never contradict one another.
- God’s plan of salvation harmoniously includes Israel’s role and position.
- The various authors of Scripture presented the overall picture of God’s work in their books with remarkable harmony and unity (while remembering that some of them never read what the other authors had written).
1. Preservation of the Biblical Text
When the Bible was written, there was no paper. Books were written on scrolls (rolled up into a cylinder) made of papyrus, parchment, or leather. All of these materials could easily deteriorate and were vulnerable to destruction. Despite this, we have a biblical text that has been preserved better than the works of any ancient writers and philosophers.
A. God Himself Watches Over the Preservation of His Word
Jeremiah 1:12 – “You have seen correctly,” the Lord said to me, “for I am watching over My word to fulfill it.”
Psalm 119:89 Your word, Lord, is established in heaven forever.
Through the Word, God tells us about Himself and His plan of salvation for lost people. It is the most effective means through which God visibly works on earth today. Therefore, the Word of God is unchanging.
B. Jesus Christ Was Confident in the Reliability of the Bible
Matthew 5:18 I tell you the truth: until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke, will disappear from the Law; everything will be fulfilled.
John 10:35… Scripture cannot be set aside,
2. The Text of the Old Testament Is Absolutely Reliable
Until 1947, the earliest Old Testament manuscripts dated back to the tenth century AD (that is, they had been copied by someone in the tenth century), so atheists claimed that the Old Testament had been written under the influence of the New Testament. For example, the Book of the Prophet Isaiah describes events related to the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ with remarkable accuracy (Isaiah 53:2–12). Opponents of the Bible claimed that it was impossible to describe events so accurately 750 years before they occurred.
However, in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Among them was the text of every book of the Old Testament except Esther. These manuscripts date from 200–250 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The manuscripts found in the Qumran caves correspond exactly to the text of Old Testament manuscripts dating from the tenth century AD.
3. The Manuscripts of the New Testament Are Absolutely Reliable
The text of the New Testament has been preserved with remarkable accuracy. Today, more than 5,000 surviving ancient New Testament manuscripts exist. In contrast, the works of ancient Greek writers have survived in only a handful of copies. For example, the works of the Greek poet Homer have survived in only five copies dating from around the tenth century AD.
4. The Formation of the Canon of Holy Scripture
The word “canon” means “standard” when translated into Russian.
- The canon was determined by God, not by people.
- The Church did not make the books canonical. It merely recognized an already existing fact. Authority belongs to God, not to the Church.
- The recognition of the canonicity of the books took place on an objective basis.
Principles for determining the canonicity of the books of the New Testament:
A. Apostolic authorship.
B. Universal acceptance by Christians of the early centuries.
C. Harmonious consistency of the content with the rest of the Bible.
D. The ability to withstand various attacks directed against the Bible.
- In AD 303, Emperor Diocletian launched a special campaign to destroy Christians and all their sacred books, but he was unable to destroy the Bible because God Himself cares for its preservation.
- For many centuries, the Catholic Church did not allow people to read the Bible, but even it was unable to take the Bible away from the people.
- The atheism and rationalism of the Enlightenment attacked the Bible with all their might. The famous French rationalist philosopher Voltaire, who died in 1778, predicted that in a hundred years the Bible would be found only in an antique shop. Yet within fifty years of Voltaire’s death, the Geneva Bible Society used his house and printing press to print Bibles! However, try buying a work by Voltaire—it is far from an easy task.
D. Influence on the thinking and morality of individuals and society.
Outwardly, the Bible resembles any other book, but it alone contains an inexplicably wonderful and mighty power that brings complete transformation into people's lives.
No other literary work in the world, however truthful and brilliant its writing, accomplishes anything like this. Wherever the Bible goes, it brings life-giving power capable of changing and transforming human character, giving strength to the weak, courage to the oppressed, and hope to the dying.
Review questions:
- What evidence is there for the reliability of the Old Testament text?
- What evidence is there for the reliability of the New Testament text?
- What Is the Canon?
- How Was the Biblical Canon Determined?
- Why Were People Unable to Destroy the Bible?
- What Effect Does the Bible Have on People?
Source: Christian Bible Institute
