Some information in the Bible is spiritual.  For example, God is love.  There is a devil.  Spiritual information is not something that can be proved.  For example, without using the Bible, how could you prove that God is love?  You can’t.  Such knowledge is revealed.  However, there are parts of the Bible can be verified. 

Evidence for the truth of the Bible can be divided into archaeological and fulfilled prophecy.  The first part of this article will look at some examples of archaeological discoveries which confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible.  The second part will look at some examples of fulfilled prophecy.  Fulfilled prophecy is the real proof of that the Bible is God’s word.  No one but God can proclaim what the future will hold and then have the power to bring to pass.

PART 1: ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS WHICH CONFIRM THE HISTORICAL ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE

Let’s look at some archaeological discoveries which confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible

Nuzi Tablets

In the book of Genesis, we find the account of Abraham fathering a child for his wife Sarah by her handmaiden, Hagar.  Such a thing seems strange to us, yet the Nuzi tablets demonstrate that such practices were commonplace in the time of Abraham.  The Nuzi tablets were found at a place called Nuzi in Assyria and date back to the time of Abraham. The tablets pertain to matters such as inheritance, property rights, slavery, and adoption.

Another example of the accuracy of the Bible is the price given for a slave.  Genesis 37 tells us that Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave for 20 shekels of silver. Clay tablets (like the ones pictured here) discovered in the region dating to the time in which Joseph lived, show that the going price for slaves at the time was indeed 20 shekels.  By later centuries, however, the price of slaves had increased greatly. In the eighth century B.C., it had risen to 50 to 60 shekels. By the fifth to fourth centuries B.C., the price was 90 to 120 shekels.

If someone had just invented these accounts in Genesis, they would have got details such as these wrong.  The Nuzi tablets confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible.

The Israel Stele

The Israel Stele was discovered in 1896. It contains the earliest known mention of Israel. This black granite stele contains boastful inscriptions commissioned by Pharaoh Merenptah about his victorious battles and refers to Israel being “laid waste.” The stele dates from 1200 B.C. 

In the early history of Israel, the Bible mentions many towns and cities. Two of these cities have been found in Egyptian records.  One is Dibon which is mentioned in Numbers 33 as one of the stopping places of Israel after they departed from Egypt.  The other is Hebron which Joshua fought against.

The Israel Stele and the Egyptian records of Dibon and Hebron confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible.

Assyria: Siege of Lachish

Assyria was a powerful ancient nation.  God used Assyria to punish Israel.  Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom (the house of Israel) and took the Israelites captive. 

2Ki 17:5  Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years.
2Ki 17:6  In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, …

Assyria also invaded the southern kingdom, the house of Judah, conquered some of its cities and besieged Jerusalem.

Isa 36:1  Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.  

Scholars in the 1800’s used to dispute the existence of ancient Assyria.  The only historical source at that time regarding Assyria was the Bible.  Then in the mid 1800’s, archaeologists discovered in northern Iraq the ancient remains of three Assyrian cities [including Nineveh] and evidence of the military machine that had crushed their enemies.  The excavations at these cities yielded an immense amount of data regarding the Assyrians.

Lachish was one of the chief cities of the kingdom of Judah and is mentioned in the Bible.  In about 700 BC it was captured by the Assyrian King Sennacherib.  The slide shows a relief of the capture of Lachish.  Once again, we see the archaeological findings confirm the accuracy of the Bible.

Tel Dan Stela: House of David

Scholars used to claim that Israel and Judah were insignificant and disputed that there had ever been a united monarchy under King David.  Then in 1993 a team of archaeologists digging in northern Galilee found a remarkable inscription from the ninth century B.C. that refers both to the ‘House of David’ and to the ‘King of Israel’.  The inscription shows that Israel and Judah were important kingdoms in the ninth century B.C.  So we have archaeological evidence for King David.

Hittites

The book of Genesis mentions a nation called the Hittites.  Their existence was doubted by scholars until 1906 when archaeologists discovered thousands of clay tablets in a site in modern day Turkey which proved their existence.

Pilate

The Bible mentions that the governor of Judea at the time of Christ was a man called Pontius Pilate.  Pontius Pilate is also mentioned as governor of Judea by historians: Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, Tacitus.  In 1961 an inscription known as the Pilate Stone, was found which mentions his name and title – exactly as described in the Bible.

Biblical Figures in Archaeological Records

Here is a list of biblical figures whose existence has been confirmed by archaeology and ancient records.  Quite impressive!

Part 1 Conclusion

These are just a small collection of examples, but they demonstrate the historical accuracy of the Bible.

The great archaeologist William F. Albright wrote concerning the Bible, “Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history”.

Archaeologist Nelson Glueck wrote: “It may be stated categorically [without exception] that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted [disagreed with] a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible.”

PART 2: FULFILLED PROPHECY

Let’s look now at some fulfilled prophecies of the Bible.

Unlike any other book, the Bible offers its own test as to whether it is divinely inspired. That test is prophecy.  The Bible contains many specific predictions that have been fulfilled.

What does God say about the future and whether or not He has the power to bring things to pass?

Isa 44:6  “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
Isa 44:7  And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, [God challenges anyone to declare the future.] Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them.
Isa 44:8  Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’ “

Isa 46:9  Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning [foretelling the future], And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

God declares and determines what the future holds.  Only God can do that.  The Bible contains fulfilled prophecies which were written many years before they were fulfilled.  That shows that God wrote those prophecies.  The fulfilled prophecies in the Bible are the real proof the Bible is God’s word.

Dead Sea Scrolls

The sceptic might argue that Bible prophecies were written down after they happened.  However, ancient manuscripts have been found which show how ancient the Old Testament prophecies are.  These manuscripts are the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts found in some caves in Israel in the 1950’s.  They include fragments of every book of the Bible except the book of Esther.  Some date as far back as 250 BC.  It was a significant discovery because the oldest Hebrew full text of the Old Testament in existence dates back to about 1000 AD.  The Dead Sea Scrolls agree with it.

Nineveh – ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire

Nahum chapter 3 predicts the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire.  History records that in BC 612, the Babylonians allied with the Medes and Persians destroyed Nineveh.

Tyre – before the siege by Nebuchadnezzar

Tyre was an ancient prosperous coastal city.  Part of it was on the mainland and part on an island.  Ezekiel chapter 26 contains a detailed prophecy about her fate.

Eze 26:1  And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, [585 BC] that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 26:2  “Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’
Eze 26:3  “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations [not just one but many] to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. [Wave after wave of invaders.]
Eze 26:4  And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
Eze 26:5  It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations.
Eze 26:6  Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’
Eze 26:7  “For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people.

History records that Nebuchadnezzar demolished mainland Tyre; but he didn’t destroy the island Tyre.

Tyre – during the siege by Alexander the Great

Remember verse 3 said that many nations would come up against Tyre.

Eze 26:12  They [other nations] will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water.
Eze 26:13  I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.
Eze 26:14  I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD.

Old Tyre on the slide shows the ruins left by Nebuchadnezzar.  New Tyre is the new city on the island.  The thing looking like a bridge is the causeway Alexander the Great built.  Alexander broke down the walls of New Tyre and destroyed it. Its ruins are still visible under the shallow Mediterranean waters.

Tyre –after the Romans

Eze 26:19  “For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you,

Today, the ruins of ancient Tyre are submerged under the Mediterranean Sea.  There are some Roman ruins near where Tyre used to be, but they didn’t rebuild Tyre.

Ancient Tyre –today

Here is a photograph, showing the ruins of ancient Tyre submerged under the Mediterranean Sea.

Eze 26:14  you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, …
Eze 26:19  when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you,  …

Egypt

What did God have to say concerning the nation of Egypt?

Eze 29:2  “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt.

Eze 29:15  It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.

Eze 29:18  “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.
Eze 29:19  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army.
Eze 29:20  I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord GOD.

History records that after Nebuchadnezzar demolished mainland Tyre he went on to conquer Egypt.

Eze 30:10  ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
Eze 30:11  He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations, Shall be brought to destroy the land; They shall draw their swords against Egypt, And fill the land with the slain.
Eze 30:12  I will make the rivers dry, And sell the land into the hand of the wicked; I will make the land waste, and all that is in it, By the hand of aliens. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Egypt was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar.  Then the Persians dominated Egypt, followed by the Greeks and later the Romans.

Cyrus Cylinder

Isaiah prophesied that a king named Cyrus would one day decree that the temple should be rebuilt.  Isa 1:1 says Isaiah gave this prophecy, “in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah”.  Yet in the days of these kings, Solomon’s temple was still standing.  In fact, it wasn’t until about 100 years later that Solomon’s temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  So here is a prophecy so ahead of its time that only future generations in Jerusalem would witness the city’s destruction and then its rebuilding. 

In Isaiah 44, God reveals to Isaiah the actual name of the coming conqueror who would allow Jerusalem to be rebuilt—Cyrus, known in history as Cyrus the Great.

Isa 44:28  Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”‘

Isa 45:1  “Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held; To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:

Isa 45:13  I have raised him [Cyrus] up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,” Says the LORD of hosts.

The book of Daniel describes the Persian conquest of the Babylonians.  The book of Ezra in the Bible records the decree of king Cyrus of Persia that the Jewish exiles, who were taken captive by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 B.C., return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple.

The Cyrus cylinder is dated to 538 B.C. It records Cyrus’s conquest of Babylon and his policy of tolerance and even patronage of native religions, which is exactly what the Bible records.

Babylonian Empire

What did God have to say concerning the Babylonian empire?  Babylon would fall to the Medes and Persians.

Dan 2:39  But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

Dan 5:30  That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.
Dan 5:31  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

History records that the Persians defeated the Babylonians.

Ruins of ancient Babylonian

Jer 25:12  ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.

Isa 13:19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
Isa 13:20  It will never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation to generation; Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.

God said that ancient Babylon would never be inhabited.  Here you see the ruins of ancient Babylon.  Saddam Hussein started on a rebuilding project, but didn’t get very far.

Medo-Persian Empire

What did God have to say concerning the empire of the Medes and Persians?  Daniel foretold its destruction.

Dan 2:39  But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

Alexander the Great – Daniel 8

Daniel chapter 8 describes a male goat (Alexander the Great) attacking a ram with two horns (the Medo-Persian Empire).  It is well known that Alexander the Great defeated the Persian King Darius III and conquered the Persian Empire in 331 BC.

Dan 8:5  And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
Dan 8:6  Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

Grecian Empire

What did God have to say concerning the Grecian empire?  Daniel foretold its destruction.

Dan 2:40  And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.

It is well known that when Alexander the Great died, he left no son to succeed him.  Instead four of his generals divided it between themselves.

Dan 11:3  Then a mighty king shall arise [Alexander the Great], who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
Dan 11:4  And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven [his four generals], but not among his posterity [his offspring] nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.

Roman Empire

What did God have to say concerning the Roman Empire?  The existence Roman Empire was foretold in Daniel.

Kings of the North and South – Daniel 11

Daniel chapter 11 contains an incredibly detailed prophecy of ongoing battles between the king of the North and the king of the South. It covers the period from Alexander the Great through to Antiochus Epiphanes 168 B.C. in incredible detail.  The king of the North was the Seleucid empire in the region of Syria, and the king of the South was the Ptolemic empire in the region of Egypt.  I encourage you to read about it in the church’s booklet “The Middle East in Bible Prophecy”.  No man could have written such a detailed prophecy that came to pass.  It must have been written by God.

Running To and Fro

The book of Daniel foretells two remarkable things at the end of the age: mass transportation and increase of knowledge.

Dan 12:4  “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

By all accounts, with the invention of the motor cars, trains, planes, mankind has been running to and fro like nothing before it.

Knowledge shall increase

Of course knowledge has been increasing at a phenomenal rate.  No one could know these things – except God.

Instant Mass Communication

The Bible also foretells of instant mass communication.  Everyone will see the dead bodies of the two witnesses.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Rev 11:9  Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.

Population Explosion

The Bible also foretells of a vast world population at the time of the end.

Rev 9:16  Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

This is a massive army of 200 million.  A massive army requires an even more massive population.  This prophecy was written 2000 years ago when the world population was about 300 million.

Antiochus Epiphanes

The Bible foretells of a modern Jewish state in the Holy Land

Mat 24:15  “Therefore when you see the ‘ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”  (whoever reads, let him understand),
Mat 24:16  “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

The Abomination of Desolation in Daniel says that the sanctuary would be defiled and the daily sacrifices stopped.  It happened in 168 B.C., when Antiochus Epiphanes entered Jerusalem and desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig to the Greek god Zeus, and stopping the daily sacrifices. 

Jesus said it would happen again.  For it to happen again, obviously a Jewish state is required.  So Jesus predicted the existence of a Jewish state at the time of the end.  The Jewish state at the time of Jesus was destroyed by the Romans in 79 A.D..  It didn’t come into existence again until 1948.

Part 2 Conclusion

These are just some of the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible.  No one except God could foretell and bring them to pass.

HOLY BIBLE

The Bible is historically accurate.  No archaeological discovery has ever disagreed with a Biblical reference.  However, scores of archaeological discoveries confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible.

There are numerous fulfilled prophecies in the Bible.  No one except God has the power to do this.  The fulfilled prophecies confirm the Bible is indeed the Word of God.