Written over a period of approximately 1500 years by 40 different authors, the Bible remains the greatest book ever written. It was written in three different languages across three continents by people who came from a variety of backgrounds including priests, prophets, fishermen, kings, scribes, lawyers, shepherds, and a physician. It is the most translated book in the world and is the sole authority for the world’s largest religion. The Bible itself is a collaboration of 66 smaller books, starting with Genesis and ending with the Revelation.
The Bible paints the picture of a world, created perfect by the Word of God, becoming corrupted by sin. We see God carrying out His redemption plan to restore fallen humanity to harmony with heaven by giving up His own Son to die in our place, giving us a second chance at eternal life. The final outcome portrayed is the restoration of the world, along with those who accept God's offer of salvation, to God's original perfect design. Humanity will again resemble the image of God, while those who reject this gift will perish when God creates a new heaven and a new earth.
As I was growing up, I often came across the idea that the Bible was nothing more than a book of fairy stories written by some guys sitting in a cave with nothing better to do. Over time it was said that this book took on some mystical qualities and people started to follow what it taught until it developed a significant following. I recall contemplating this, and other similar ideas, and wondering whether it could be true. Now that I’m a little older I tend to find myself dismissive of such suggestions. Why? Because despite the long time periods between the first and last author, and the fact that at least 40 different people (most of which had never met), contributed to this compilation of books, it is remarkably sound and consistent. Surely this book could only be so consistent if there were a force guiding its construction. It isn’t until you delve into the Bible that you can start to truly appreciate how remarkable it is. A mere surface reading does not unravel the deeper and more wonderful spiritual truths that are so perfectly interwoven to create a beautiful picture of a wise and loving God who is yearning for us to follow Him so that He can save us from a world of sin.
There are many reasons why the Bible is worth our consideration: its ability to predict the future, its health and scientific insights that were thousands of years ahead of its time, its internal consistency despite the long ages and lack of interaction between most of its authors, and its historical accuracy.
For me, the most convincing of these is the Bible's prophetic accuracy. There are hundreds of predictions in the Bible, some big and some small, some that came to pass soon after the prediction was made, others that happened thousands of years later. Jesus said that He reveals things to us before they happen so that when they come to pass we might believe (John 14:29).
Essentially, Jesus is asking us to test the validity of His word through assessing its prophetic ability. Some of the most significant prophecies in the Bible are found in Daniel chapters 2, 7 and 8. Here is laid out the rise and fall of four major world kingdoms that would rule before ultimately breaking down into a divided Europe that would never be ruled over by a single power again (despite many trying). This prophecy starts with ancient Babylon in 603 B.C. and ends with Jesus' second coming. This is better explained in another article (click here), but if you have read the tract 'The Final Crisis' you will have touched on this already. Other significant prophecies include: Cyrus being identified as the man who would capture Babylon (Isaiah 45:1-3); Babylon's never being re-inhabited after its destruction (Isaiah 13:19, 20 Jeremiah 51:37); Egypt collapsing from the height of its power to become an insignificant world power until the end of time (Ezekiel 29:14, 15) (this was a big claim to make while it stood as the most magnificent kingdom of the ancient world); and that natural calamities and political and civil unrest would increase as we near the end of the world (Matthew 24). For the first time ever we have a global climate emergency and are being told that we are facing a mass extinction if we don't change. At the same time crime, wars, riots, economic uncertainty, and general wickedness are more prevalent than ever. These are all tell-tale signs that Jesus is coming very soon.
There are over 125 prophecies about Jesus that were made in the Old Testament (written before Jesus) that Jesus' birth, life and death fulfilled. Everything from His birth in Bethlehem, the timing of His baptism (27 A.D) and crucifixion (31 A.D.), )the miracles He performed, His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, casting lots for His clothes, and His death on a cross, among many others, were all laid out for us in the Old Testament.
Dr Peter Stoner from Pasadena College in California calculated the likelihood that a single person would fulfil just eight of these prophecies and he came up with a probability of 1: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. The probability that Jesus would fulfil over 125 prophecies is off the charts!
These are but a few small snapshots into the predictive ability of the Bible but there are far more impressive prophecies if you take the time to study them through.
The Bible contains some remarkable scientific insights. For example, the Bible confirmed that the air has weight (Job 28:25), a concept which was not understood until thousands of years later when scientists discovered that the air is comprised of atoms that can be weighed. You will also find in the Bible that the Earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7) and that the Earth is round (Isaiah 40:22), both of which were only confirmed and widely accepted in the past few hundred years. I'd like to point out that the first two points mentioned here are found in the book of Job, the oldest book in the Bible, which was written around 1400 B.C. The Bible was well and truly ahead of its time in this regard.
The health laws contained in Scripture are close to my heart. As a doctor, I find it remarkable that the solution to the vast majority of diseases affecting the developed world could be avoided if the lifestyle principles laid out in the Bible were followed. In the beginning, God created mankind and placed them in a garden. Here their diet was based on whole plant foods, they exercised daily in their upkeep of the garden, fresh air was in abundance, sunshine was plenteous, freshwater was in constant supply, all was peaceful, and they had a healthy and trusting relationship with God (Genesis 1 and 2). If people were to follow such simple health principles they would likely add an additional decade to their life while avoiding a lot of disease and suffering along the way. The Bible also maintains that it is advantageous to avoid alcohol (Proverbs 23:29–32), a simple instruction that would reduce the violence, crime, mood disorders and ruin ruling people's lives.
Other hygiene principles such as covering body waste (Deuteronomy 23:12, 13) and quarantining those who were sick or had come into contact with the dead (Numbers 5:1-4) were very advantageous to the Israelites who followed these instructions. We can only speculate, but it's likely many lives would have been spared during the middle ages if they maintained these hygiene principles. Even today with a COVID-19 pandemic we follow these same instructions to prevent unnecessary death.
Finally, the Bible is a historically accurate book. On many occasions, people have tried to discredit the Bible's historical credibility claiming that people such as Kings Belshazzar and Sargon never existed, that nations such as the Hittites weren't real, and that Sodom and Nineveh were not literal cities. Today, however, archaeology has confirmed all of these people and places as true elements of history. Sceptics at one time also argued that it was not possible for writing and wheels to exist at the time Moses wrote about them in Exodus 24:4 and Exodus 14:25 respectively. However, today this has also been confirmed. Many times people have attacked the historical reliability of the Bible, only to later be shown that the Bible's account is an accurate record of history. If we can accept that it is trustworthy regarding people and places, then why should we doubt the more marvellous miracles that God performed on behalf of those who followed Him?
There are many ways in which the Bible shows us that it is a book worth listening to. Every day lives are transformed when they follow this book: the drunk become sober, the violent gentle, addicts find freedom from addiction, and the immoral become pure. It is not an archaic manuscript of fairy stories, but the living word of God that endures forever. Through it, we can understand the 'whys' of life and the purposes and plans that God has for each one of us. The Bible is full of practical wisdom and the spiritual guidance we need to become the children of God.
"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:8