External Evidence for the Bible

Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand, to subdue nations before him.

–Isaiah 45:1

The Bible itself testifies that it is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. But a discerning mind would say, “That’s circular reasoning. Is there any evidence outside the Bible that it is God-breathed and without error?” Let me share four external pieces of evidence for the trustworthiness of the Bible.

1. The dates of the New Testament books. Even the most liberal critics now concede that most of the New Testament was written between AD 40 and 65. That means when the books were first being circulated, there were still people around who were alive during those events. If the New Testament books were fictional, they would have been discredited immediately; instead, they were accepted as Scripture.
2. Early acceptance of the message. Most of the early Christian converts were Jews. Almost overnight, they gave up the sacrificial system and exchanged circumcision for baptism. These seismic changes demonstrate that the New Testament Christians believed what they were proclaiming–and some even died for those beliefs. Nobody intentionally gives their life for what they know to be a lie. The disciples were willing to endure imprisonment, torture, and death rather than recant their testimony that they had seen the risen Christ.
3. Fulfilled prophecies. The Bible accurately foretold historical events. For example, in 700 BC, the prophet Isaiah recorded that Babylon would one day conquer Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel (Isaiah 39:5–6). When Isaiah made that prophecy, Babylon was not yet a major world player. Isaiah also prophesied that Babylon would be overthrown by Persia (21:9) and that a Persian king named Cyrus would allow the Jews to go back to their homeland (45:1, 13). Those specific events happened just as Isaiah had prophesied. How do you explain that? The fulfillment of prophecy is another reason we trust the Bible.
4. Archeological discoveries. Archaeologists have uncovered inscriptions that refer to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; the Hittites, who were thought to be a mythical people; King David; Ashpenaz, the court official in Daniel 1; Pontius Pilate; and more. Can archaeology prove everything in the Bible? No, but archaeological finds have never disproved anything in the Bible–they’ve only confirmed what the Bible says, giving us even greater confidence that the Bible is true and trustworthy.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Bible” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.