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Last week we, we considered the inspiration of the Scriptures; the Bible clearly claims to be a message sent to mankind from the Lord.  The next question in that line of thinking is, “What proof is there that the Bible’s claim is true?”  That’s a good question.

It is important to note that the Bible claims to be God’s message, but that claim alone doesn’t prove itself.  If we don’t delve further into the topic, we wind up in a circular argument as follows:

1.       The Bible is God’s Message

2.       God says so in the Bible

Since the Bible is used in both points of this circular claim, nothing concrete is ever offered to stand as a second witness.  The Bible, along with its claim to be God’s word, clearly states that nothing can be proved without two or three witnesses.  In other words, circular arguments aren’t good enough.  Is there a second witness?  Can the Bible’s claim to inspiration be proved?  Yes, yes it can.

A common test throughout time for supernatural power is the ability to predict the future (cf. Deuteronomy 18.21-22).  Can a prophet tell me something that will come to pass at a later time which no one else could have foreseen or known?  This question hinges upon the following basic premise: does the prophet speak with the knowledge and power of God behind their words?

This is a fair test.  If the Bible contains a message from God for mankind, then we should be able to verify its ability to predict future events.  If it never does this, then it lacks this supernatural ability and is likely not the product of a divine being. 

To be absolutely certain that we are being fair in this test, we’re going to look at a prophet from the Bible, Jesus, and examine a claim he made about the future.  We will look at an event whose fulfillment took place after all of the writing of the New Testament was completed and then let secular history judge as to whether his words came to pass.  History will stand as our second witness. 

Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21.5-38

In these passages, Jesus makes some bold claims that can easily be tested against the historical record:

1.       The temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed.

2.       There would be false Christs and prophets.

3.       There would be rumors of and actual rebellion.

4.       Persecutions against the disciples would arise.

5.       Armies would surround Jerusalem

6.       The gospel would be widely preached

7.       There would be famines.

Jesus claimed the temple would be destroyed. 
In 70 AD, the Roman General Titus Flavius Vespasianus took possession of the city of Jerusalem, burned it and utterly destroyed the temple.  A Muslim mosque stands today where the temple once was.

Jesus said there would be false Christs.  And there were.  Theudas, James, Simon, Manahem ben  Judah, Menahem ben Hezekiah– just to name a few – were all people who claimed to be the Anointed of God.  They all gained considerable followings and were all consequently killed.  Jesus not only warned about these men but also that they would bring trouble to those who followed them.  He was right in both cases.

Jesus claimed there would be rumors of wars and actual rebellion.  And there were, many times over.  There were numerous small conflicts between the Zealots and the Roman military from 50-66AD.  This eventually turned into a full blown civil war that would ultimately lead to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD. 

Jesus said the disciples would be persecuted before the temple was destroyed.  The disciples stood before Roman tribunals and the Jewish courts.  In 41 AD, Agrippa I intensified the persecution that began with the stoning of Stephen.  Annas II, high priest after the death of Festus (62 AD), redoubled the efforts against the Christians and had James executed in Jerusalem.  Nero began the first documented, imperially backed Roman persecution in 64 AD.  Tacitus and Suetonius (famous Roman historians) both record the variety of punishment levied against those accused of practicing the “new and malefic superstition” called Christianity.

Jesus predicted that armies would surround Jerusalem.  And they did.  The Roman war machine was efficient and deadly. Well trained in combat and siege tactics, Titus conceived a plan which called Roman legions from several locations to completely surround the city of Jerusalem.  In March of 70 AD, a wooden picket was placed all the way around the city to prevent people from leaving or entering.  It was the intention of the Roman army to punish the people for rebellion and to starve them into submission.  Those who were pregnant or nursing during this siege (just as Jesus predicted) suffered incredibly at the hands of the starving Jewish-Zealot rebels.

Jesus predicted famine would plague the land before the temple was destroyed.  In c. 46 AD, during the reign of Claudius, there was a famine that spread throughout the region of Judea.  The effects of this famine were made worse by the Zealots who continually raided Jerusalem and stole from the food stores of the people and the Roman garrison. 

Jesus predicted that the gospel would be preached as a testimony to all nations.  To put this in modern terms, the gospel would be preached to both Jews and non-Jews. When the disciples were dispersed in Acts 8, they took the gospel with them everywhere.  In Acts, 10 the gospel is preached to Gentiles.  Paul would spend a great deal of his time preaching the gospel to Greeks, and he would ultimately make the claim that the gospel had been preached to the whole creation under heaven (Colossians 1.23). 

Everything that Jesus predicted came to pass, exactly as he said it would.  Jesus passes the prophet test; the claims that he made can be verified historically as coming to pass, exactly as he said they would, years after he first predicted them.  These weren’t lucky guesses, they were accurate predictions made by someone speaking with the power and authority that comes from God.

When we carefully examine the Scriptures, we can see that the Bible is full of other predictions that can also be tested.  There are over 300 predictions concerning the Messiah alone, and it can be verified by multiple witnesses that Jesus fulfills every one of them.  There are prophecies about the Lord’s church, the Lord’s word, the nation of Israel, Abraham’s family, Ishmael and a variety of other people and topics.  In every instance where the Bible speaks about something, the Bible can be verified as accurate in its predictions.  When the Bible is critically examined, there is no other logical conclusion to reach: the Bible is the word of the Lord.  Praise God for his wonderful gift in giving us the Scriptures!