Can the Bible Stand the Test - Part 3 - The Critics vs. The Bible

Well good evening everybody.

So what is the deal with all of this. I mean, what about all these fantastic stories in the Bible about Joan. I am the great fish about all the sun standing still about Noah's flood. I mean, cannot tonight get up here and answer all the questions that we just saw the video cannot prove to you that all these things really happen the way the Bible said absolutely not. These are statements of the Bible that are supernatural in their character and is no way to prove then we either accept them the way the Bible narrates the Moreno and oh by the way, where did Mrs. Kane come from well I don't know the Bible doesn't tell us, and I can answer that question we disabled and therefore the Bible is historically is inaccurate is undependable. It's on trustworthy will wait a minute. Nobody was a critic of the Bible can prove these things didn't happen so let's go to one area where we can actually compare notes.

Let's talk about an area where we can submit the Bible to a rigorous examination on the basis of the critics criticizing it and let's see if the Bible can stand the test and here's my logic, if we can take places where the Bible can be submitted to a rigorous examination and if we can show that the Bible can stand up under that rigorous examination that it certainly seems reasonable to to extrapolate to those places where the Bible cannot be checked out and say they are to be given the benefit of the doubt. So that's kinda what I want to do this evening.

I wanted to let the critics attacked the Bible into areas where we can check it out.

Historical accuracy is the Bible. Historically reliable and number two is the Bible a book that has a supernatural character and if we can prove those two things that I think the weight of the evidence would certainly indicate we gotta give the Bible the benefit of the doubt on Cain's wife and some of these other things. So that's all I want to talk about tonight when the middle of a series called in the Bible stand the test in the first two parts. We looked at the scientists approach to the Bible we look at the evolutionary theory of how the world came into being in the evolutionary theory of how human life came into being, and no I'm not going to go back and review all that. But if you miss those two messages. I urge you to get the CD in the bookstore. I urge you to go on the Internet and download those messages because what we saw is that the Bible actually stands up to the test of science much better than you been led to believe by your high school biology teacher or your college physics or chemistry teacher. You need to check that out what we want to do tonight is finish up by letting the critics go with the Bible's historical accuracy. Let's let the critics go after Bible supernatural character and let's see what we come out what he say now John Murray. Let's start with historical accuracy. John Murray you say sounds familiar. We know Madeline Murray O'Hare. This is her son. He's the president of the American atheists, and here's what he said and I quote he said the Bible is a fictional non-historical book.

It is a myth that is good for business now is that really what the Bible is the Bible nonhistorical is it fictional, but is there nothing in the Bible that is really historically accurate and reliable. Well, let's check it out and see. And so I got 10 or 12 of these attacks that have been leveled against the Bible and what I want to do is bring archaeology to bear on every single one of these and let's say you know the Bible writer is the Bible unreliable number one. Critics of the Bible used to say that Moses could never have written the first five books of the Bible because in 1500 BC when the Bible says Moses live people couldn't write well, now we know from archaeology that actually people could write all the way back to 3000 BC. We have hundreds and thousands of documents that have been on earth.

Everything from law codes to legal documents to sales agreement, you know, Don Zeus Elsner doom three pigs for two cows, stuff them back. Let me show you a picture. This is actually a clay tablet from 1900 BC called Gilgamesh epic, and what this is about. It's a Babylonian account of a great then wiped out every body on the earth, except for one man, a fellow named Gilgamesh sound familiar at all and you know the interesting thing is in this account. The reason that the Gilgamesh epic gives for why the God and Leo wiped out the earth with a flood, is because human beings were making so much noise that he couldn't get any sleep. So we would like to sell well, if that were to honor white my teenagers how years ago. But anyway the point is, this comes from 1900 BC 400 years before Moses was ever born, and people could write very well, thank you well. Critics of the Bible. Second of all say that you know Abraham never existed it already did exist. What the Bible says about his day in his time is completely inaccurate and and also what about this. Did Abraham really live in or are the what the Bible says about him. Does it really reflect what that what what the with the culture of that time was, well, let's check that out for the Chaldees, for example. This was the city that Abraham came from and his hometown and people said that city never even really existed or if it did exist, it was like a little Unocal. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Well friends in 1922. Leonard Woolley dug it up and what Leonard Woolley found is that it was a large prosperous city exactly the way the Bible says you know the saying critics said well you know the story of Abraham tells us about Sodom and Gomorrah, and that this whole Jordan Valley was all green and full of of cities and well and yet you know right now it's desolate.

It's like a complete desert.

The Bible is totally wrong. That is until Nelson greet the archaeologist did some work there and found 70 cities in the Jordan Valley right were Sodom and Gomorrah are and found that at the time of Abraham.

They were overrun with wealth just like the Bible says let's go on 1/3 thing. The Bible says critics of the Bible said that the customs of Abraham as described in the book of Genesis things Abraham did that though they may.

Those are absolutely foreign to the ancient near East at the time, 2000 BC when the Bible says Abraham live will is that true. What we didn't know until a few years ago when a little when the city in northwest Iraq was on earth: newsy and UCI and we found thousands of clay tablets from newsy dating back to the time when the Bible says Abraham live talking about the everyday affairs of life. For example, in newsy if your wife could not have a child you were allowed to take her handmaiden and have surrogate children by her handmade that sound familiar and in newsy if your wife then got pregnant and she wanted to handmaiden her children.

Al you could throw them out, and it was not illegal to do so. Does that sound familiar, Hagar and Ishmael remember them in newsy we find out that your the blessing of a father always went to the old this on and it was sacrosanct.

It couldn't be sold.

It couldn't be traded. It could be stolen. Does that sound familiar, and however even though the blessing was sacrosanct.

The birthright that is the inheritance rights could actually be sold to other members of the family. If you wanted to sell it like Esau did to Jacob, and on and on and on. We find all of these customs that the Bible records Abraham practice, so much so that William F.

Albright, probably the greatest American archaeologist ever to live, and oh by the way, not a believer, said this and I quote it is now becoming increasingly clear that the traditions of the patriarchal age that is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob preserved in the book of Genesis reflect with remarkable accuracy. The actual conditions of the ancient nares in the middle Bronze Age that is in the time when Abraham actually live. They are interested write number four. Critics of the Bible once said, you know, the Hittites, you know there's all kinds of tights and their you know there's a parasite in the Gibeonites and the interrogators lights in the Hittites and the termites demeanor all in there you anyway that they Hittites that they never even existed.

They think that we never found any reference to these guys anywhere except in the Bible doesn't do is, until Hugh Winkler in a German expedition found in central Turkey the gospel or the capital of the great Hittite Empire. Let's show you this is actually a slide of the entrance to the city of the gospel whereby we don't read German that says the atrial Hittite main gate right there and that's what this city is all about and it's exactly there of this huge empire exactly the way the Bible says to critics of the Bible once said, you know all that gold that the Bible says Moses and the Israelites brought out in Egypt. You don't of gold that they did built this huge tabernacle and everything there was never that much gold in all of Egypt. A really well.

We never knew for sure how much gold was there because you know every single tomb of every single Pharaoh has been rated by grave robbers and so even the great pyramids is nothing left.

We don't really know how much gold was very least, we didn't until 1922 when Howard Carter found the tomb of King took on Amman we calling today. King taught that the same God and Carter. When he looked in. This was a tomb at the grave robbers myth. There was so much gold in that tomb that he had to sit down and pull himself together before he could even go when he was so overwhelmed.

Here's a great mask of King taught solid gold. By the way, in joules and is a matter fact in that to we found the inner coffin of King taught it was solid gold and it weighs 243 pounds of solid gold. And you know what King taught. He was a small potatoes Pharaoh. He only ruled eight years if there was much gold in his tomb and he's a small potatoes Pharaoh. Just think how much gold the big potato Pharaoh's like you Brenner must I have those godmother had unbelievable amount was there that much gold there for Moses to bring out you bet there was just like the Bible says hey critics of the Bible said that you know it says in the Bible that David captured Jerusalem by sending Joab's general up to this watershed have to get into the city secretly and unlock the gate. There's no such watershed and that's a ridiculous story. Wait a minute. That was until Charles wore in the great archaeologist discovered the shale so your picture of it. Here it is in long-distance. Let's show you another one close up and down in the middle of it. That's plenty big enough for a human being to go through and that's the exact chapter Joab climbed up just the way the Bible says can actually open the gate from the inside, letting David in critics of the Bible once said that we don't even know David existed.

I mean other than the Bible. David is never mentioned anywhere in any secular tax of any kind will women that is until 1993 when an archaeological team digging up north that day, until Dan in the north of Israel found this sauce. This inscription will show it to you and right here. You have to take my word on this unless you can read ancient Hebrew, but right here on this inscription is the reference to David the actual name of David, because this is a victory monument set up by King Haas IL of Syria boasting about. He had just had a victory over the house of David and so of course David Lippincott refers to him in this monument just like the Bible said hey critics of the Bible once said, you know, Pontius Pilate. You know the guy the New Testament to wash his hands. It is not my problem that God we sound like he lives in Washington but that guy they say never even existed. We never found his name in any Roman record anywhere and all by the way, Caiaphas the high priest who supposedly condemned Jesus will have his name anywhere either. He probably probably made both of these names are will women 1961 doing excavations in the city of Caesarea. All of a sudden one day they hit the stone that show it to you and this is called the Pontius Pilate stove.

Guess why because right here in this line is the name of Pontius Pilate. Here's the end of ponchos here is PI LAT US gift with that's bills that's bills pilot in in in Latin and here's a stone with this guy's name because life on it that they dig out of the ground and speaking of Caiaphas (the high priest several years ago they were digging a foundation to put up an apartment building. It was 1990 and they crashed into this tomb that they didn't know was there inside they found this ossuary sale officer worry what in the world is that once a bone boxy what they did back then is when you die, they put you in the ground for year-long your flesh melted off your bones. Then they dug you back up to your bones. That's all that was left any put your little box like this so that way they could reuse the ground to do this to somebody else about toolset but that's what they did so anyway this is his bone box and right on the side. Here is the bigger than life. The letters Joseph. Caiaphas and so I think this is ironic as can be. Jesus we condemned the death throes from the dens in heaven and this guy we got his bones. I think that's comical but anyway this: of course he existed exactly the way the Bible said you know the Bible said there was about a tremendous synagogue in the city of Capernaum. Let's show you we found it there.

It is because like you know the Bible says that Hezekiah second Chronicles 32 built a tunnel under Jerusalem to bring water in and guess what Garrett is. We found it and actually in here we act we found in inscription. Let's show it to you that tells the story of how they started digging at one end with pics at with action pics and how they started drinking digging from the other end with pickaxes and how they heard themselves coming towards the middle until they finally met through solid rock sound like a golden spike sort of deal that's, what it is exactly the way the Bible says hey. The Bible tells us that on Paul's first missionary journey.

He went to pop off the capital of Cyprus and he led the God of Christ there named Sergius Paulus who was the Roman proconsul of the island where we didn't have much of the record of this guy until a few years ago they dug the stone out of the ground that show it to you and right here on the stone is the name of Sergius Paulus and it even calls him the proconsul hey you know what the Bible tells us in second to teens chapter 10 that there was a guy named Jane who was the King of the northern kingdom and that he became a vassal of King's inaccurate about the Syria. So what we found. We found the black obelisk. It looks a little bit like the Washington Monument. This was a black obelisk made by King Salmon. These are the same guy the Bible talks about and on one of the plates of the black obelisk. Let me show you this up close.

Here is King's inaccurate standing here and guess who this is what you could read Akkadian across the bottom you find out it's King James who son of Omri King of Israel. This is the only picture we have anywhere in the world of what an actual king of Israel look like.

And here he is bowing down or presenting tribute to King's inaccurate why because he's a vassal of King's inaccurate exactly the way the Bible said just couple more for you. Critics of the Bible once said that the nation of Israel never even existed as a coagulated political nation until 500 BC know this idea of Joshua lead the men and taken over the country and capturing Jericho Gillis. They weren't even a country. They were even a nation for another five or 800 years after that. Well then we found this wonderful victory monument by a Pharaoh name Marinette what was Marinette. Just trust me on that and Marinette Brothers.

Probably a Pharaoh invaded Palestine Canaan in the year 1208 and he set up his victory stealer and right here. This little dark square that we magnify for you in this dark square. He records 1208 BC these words, Israel is laying waste his seed is not confirming that the nation of Israel, the people of Israel were political entity in the land of Canaan in 1208 BC when he invaded exactly the way the Bible says they should be last of all, I got a million, but will just give you one more. A lot of the critics of the Bible say you know Jesus never even existed as a real historical character Albert Schweitzer. Some of you know this great God Nobel Prize winner and everything he said he wrote a book called quest for the historical Jesus and said there was no historical Jesus never existed. Our good friend John Murray. You know, the American atheist guy said and I quote there was no such person in the history of the world as Jesus Christ. There was no historical living, breathing human being by that name ever. Well John, we got a problem and let me show you what it is. It's another one of those bone boxes and this one was just found a month ago. Some of you read about in the Wall Street Journal.

Some of you read about in time magazine.

Some of you saw it on CNN it was just found a month ago and this bone box. Let me tell you what it says these are the letters now. We've taken him and made him bigger for you because are actually inscribed right here on the side and you can see, and that will and here's what it said it says Jane Jaco, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus say why you say that in Kokomo yeah I'm telling you the truth, this is James the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus, and you know on these stories.

It's very strange to have a brother referred to very often they'll say my name is so-and-so and I'm the son of so-and-so, but as as a general rule, you never record anything beyond that. So why would James the son of Joseph actually write his brother's name on here unless his brother was so well-known that everybody in town wouldn't know who his brother was any salon, now this is got to be a hoax. I mean you know somebody is no way that could be a reference to Jesus like of Nazareth will listen. This was sent to Dr. Andre Lemaire one of the greatest experts in ancient inscriptions anywhere in the world and he published an article in Biblical archaeology review and here's what he said and I quote is that I have studied the Jane this James ossuary you know bone box that you know that now you guys like archaeologists know this.

James ossuary from every possible angle and consulted with eminent scholars regarding various aspects of it. We have even studied it with an SEM that is a scanning electron microscope and within EDS that's electron dispersion specs for the spectroscopy and I'm pleased to report that in my judgment, it is genuinely ancient and not of faith is got not a believer now it seems very probable that this is the ossuary of James in the New Testament and that will fit. We have the first epic graphic that is written mention outside the Bible from around 63 A.D. Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus of Nazareth didn't exist sure you do is names on his bone box 63 A.D.

Of course he existed and we can go on and on and on like the Energizer Bunny Bonnie buddy buddy Bunny, whatever. But the point is the point is friends that got a wonderful quote to share with the it says that the more we dig out of the ground the more the Bible proves to be right Indiana Jones and say that I said that okay now. Now you say okay okay okay time I get okay matter-of-factly to promote Israel with me I'll take you to the Israeli Museum because we go there and I'll let you see these things. You see, the Pontius Pilate, so you can see the cosmos ossuary human touch of the guards not looking for.

You can talk to you know but things are real and not kidney or you can go see these things now you say Milan alright alright alright I give you know a little bit overload here, but I give, but none of this. None of this proves that the Bible is a supernatural book.

Okay maybe, maybe you're right maybe as it is historically accurate but proved to me it really has the supernatural character that God claims that it has well let me tell you how I believe we can do that is through this thing called fulfilled prophecy. Isaiah 46 verse 10 God says I am God and there is none other. And I declaring the Bible from ancient times, things that have not happened yet.

You understand what God is saying here he saying in order to prove the people that I really exist in order to prove to people that the Bible really is a book of supernatural origin on them to tell you things in the Bible hundreds of years before they happen. So when they happen, you know I'm real and you know the Bible for me. We say what are some of the things he did that well I mean I could go on but Isaiah chapter 13 the Bible predicted the fall of Babylon in great detail.

200 years before it happened and it happened just like Isaiah 13 said in Daniel chapter 2 in chapter 11/500 years of the political fortunes of the ancient near East are predicted. The Babylonian empire the Persian Empire.

The median Empire.

The Greek empire. Alexander the great dividing up in four different directions with four different generals. After the death of Alexander and in fact, it's so precise in its predictions. The only way its critics can handle the book of Daniel is to declare that the book of Daniel is a forgery that wasn't written until the time of Christ. We know that can't be true because we got copies of the book of Daniel from almost 200 years before the time of Christ, that we discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls and how about all predictions in the Old Testament about Jesus, over 30 of you say like what will like the Bible predicts the virgin birth. Isaiah 7 predicts that the that Jesus would be a descendent of David. Isaiah 11 to predicts that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Micah chapter 5 he predicts John the Baptist to predicts that Galilee would be Jesus's headquarters.

Isaiah 9 to predicts the betrayal of Judas for 30 pieces of silver that would be thrown into a potters field.

Zechariah 12 and 13 to predicts that that there would be a crucifixion.

Psalm 22, that the guards would actually cast lots for Jesus's coat there at the cross. Psalm 22. In fact, even some of the exact words that Jesus is enemies said are predicted in the Old Testament, along with the resurrection over 30 of these. In fact, I got a letter from Richard Park. One of the members of our staff and he said this law during this past week I was talking with the research scientist and mathematician formerly employed at the Pentagon who researched 30 of the clearest Old Testament prophecies referring to Jesus, and she calculated that the probability of one and the same person fulfilling all 30 prophecies was one chance times 10 with one hundred zeros after it." The friends I'm not a professional mathematician and I can't confirm those numbers.

But even if she is right, and it's only 50 zeros even if she's 1/4 right and it's only 25 zero after.

Would you like to go to Las Vegas would like that on your side, you'd be a rich lady a rich man.

Hey let me tell you something. The reason God gave us all of these prophecies and then fulfilled them exactly was to do what he said in Isaiah 46 to show us that he's real and to prove to us that the Bible is a supernatural book from a supernatural God giving a supernatural truth about a supernatural Messiah, who died on the cross to give us a supernatural relationship with God so we can live a supernatural life that has a supernatural destination in heaven when were done.

This is what the Bible is and you know tonight if you're here and you came with an open mind and an open heart.

I've given you enough evidence to make it reasonable for you to believe the Bible is what it claims to be cannot prove it beyond any shadow of a doubt, no cannot prove no was flawed or the Jonah got swallowed by fish. We already said I can't do that but what I can do is prove to you that the Bible is historically accurate to a fault and what I can do is prove to you the Bible is a book with a supernatural character that defies explanation. Except that a supernatural God wrote I was in Israel. Several years ago we were going through security and I had a young lady on Army officer who was asking me some questions because on the tour leader and that's, how they do it so she said, to be sure what contour is this and I said well at Salem Christian toward and she said really shed my passports looked at it.

She goes Psalm Psalm I said yeah just think that's a strange name and I said one Jewish, she said your Jewish and your priest well one worth the trouble to try to explain the nuances and so I said yeah that's close enough. She said how can you be Jewish and be embraced. I fit well because I'm a Jewish person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah and she looked at me and said what evidence could there be to believe something is not an expert and I said would you believe 10 with 100 zeros after it.

She said what are you talking about always got there we had a wonderful conversation for about 10 minutes and then she said look look look I got ago but she said hey what just before I go.

She said answer me one question she said don't you ever wonder if you're wrong and I still imitate something when I got 10 with 100 zeros after it. No, no, I never wonder that I'm wrong, and folks that you're here and some biology teacher shook your faith in the Bible. If you're here and some smart talking college professor shook your faith in the Bible.

If you're here and some friends pseudo-intellectual friends have undermined your confidence in the Bible.

I'm here to tell you don't pay any attention to the Bible stands the test.

We spent three weeks saying the Bible stands the test. I can't prove it to you like I can. 2+2 is four, but I've given you enough evidence to make leaving the Bible believing it is a reliable document.

Historically a reliable document supernaturally and a reliable document. Scientifically I've given you enough evidence to make that a reasonable and logical position and let me just tell you what Jesus said. He said heaven and earth will pass away, but my word, my words will never pass away.

If you want to go into eternity safe, secure, and all locked down tight. Let me tell you how to go into eternity friends going to eternity holding onto the word of God going to eternity believing the word of God going to eternity, basing your entire eternal destiny on the promises of the word of God.

And I promise you when the smoke clears, you will be just fine that you're here tonight and you never trusted Jesus in a real and personal way.

One of the things at home you up for years is all of this conflict that you been hearing about. I hope you listen to these three messages maybe listen to them over and over digest all the information because of a lot of information in, and I hope the result of that will be that you will give serious consideration to who Jesus says is because I'm telling you the document that tells us about him is a reliable document that can stand the test spring more. Thank you for talking to us these last three weeks about the Bible and whether it really can stand the test of a thorough examination scientifically historically and supernaturally.

Now, Lord, word is that really leave us well. It leaves us with awful strong evidence that the Bible is what it claims to be. If that's true then that means that we are called upon by you to surrender our lives to the Lord Jesus to trust what he did for us on the cross and go into eternity holding on to that is our confidence to face the living God and the wonderful good news is that when we go into eternity holding on to the truth of the Bible, we have nothing to fear because as Jesus said heaven and earth might pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Forgive us iconic confidence in the word of God encourage our faith and grant that we might be willing to listen to you when you talk to us from Scripture because we accepted an attribute to it. Trustworthiness, veracity and integrity, thanks for talking to us through this series change our lives because we were here and learn these things and we pray this in Jesus name, amen