The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence: Can we Trust our Bible?

66 separate books or letters…Written over 1500 years…

By about 40 different men...From different backgrounds…

In different places…In different languages.

What is our Bible?

The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence: Can we Trust our Bible?

What is our Bible?A collection of separate writings – we can trace the “canon” of the Bible back to the 3rd or 4th century.

The oldest surviving complete text of the New Testament is the Codex Sinaiticus (mid-4th century). The oldest fragments…

The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence: Can we Trust our Bible?

What is our Bible?Manuscript Contents Original Date MSS

DateTime Span

p52

(John Rylands) John 18:31-33,37-38 96 A.D. 125A.D. 29 yrs

P46 (Chester Beatty)

Rom. 5:17-6:3,5-14; 8:15-25, 27-35; 10:1-11,22,24-33,35; 16:1-23, 25-27; Heb.; 1 & 2 Cor., Eph., Gal., Phil., Col.; 1 Thess. 1:1,9-10; 2:1-3; 5:5-9,

23-28

50's-70's 200A.D.

Approx.150 yrs

P66 (Bodmer)

John 1:1-6:11,35-14:26; fragment of 14:29-21:9 70's 200

A.D.Approx.130 yrs

P67 Matt. 3:9,15; 5:20-22, 25-28 200A.D.

Approx.130 yrs

The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence: Can we Trust our Bible?

What is our Bible?• 5686 Greek manu. for the N.T.• Better preserved, more numerous than any other

ancient writing.• 99.5% textually pure• 19000 copies in Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Aramaic• Over 24000 mss. for the N.T.• Original N.T. documents finished in 70 years (w/in

the 1st Century)

The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence: Can we Trust our Bible?

What is our Bible?Author Orig. Date Mss Date Time Span # Copies AccuracyPliny 61-113 A.D. 850 A.D. 750 yrs 7 ----Plato 427-347 B.C. 900 A.D. 1200 yrs 7 ----

Demosthenes 4th Cent. B.C. 1100 A.D. 800 yrs 8 ----Herodotus 480-425 B.C. 900 A.D. 1300 yrs 8 ----Suetonius 75-160 A.D. 950 A.D. 800 yrs 8 ----

Thucydides 460-400 B.C. 900 A.D. 1300 yrs 8 ----Euripides 480-406 B.C. 1100 A.D. 1300 yrs 9 ----

Aristophanes 450-385 B.C. 900 A.D. 1200 10 ----Caesar 100-44 B.C. 900 A.D. 1000 10 ----

Livy 59 BC-AD 17 ---- ??? 20 ----Tacitus circa 100 A.D. 1100 A.D. 1000 yrs 20 ----

Aristotle 384-322 B.C. 1100 A.D. 1400 49 ----Sophocles 496-406 B.C. 1000 A.D. 1400 yrs 193 ----

Homer (Iliad) 900 B.C. 400 B.C. 500 yrs 643 95%

The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence: Can we Trust our Bible?

What is our Bible?Author Orig. Date Mss Date Time Span # Copies Accuracy

8-9 NewTestament

Writers

1st Cent. A.D. (50-100 A.D.)

2nd – 3rd Cent. A.D.

less than 100 years 5600 99.5%

The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence: Can we Trust our Bible?

What is our Bible?Author Orig. Date Mss Date Time Span # Copies Accuracy

Canterbury Tales

Late 14th Cent. A.D.

Late 15th – Early 16th Cent. A.D.

~100 years 83

• No complete version

• major & minor variations

• no def. order

• no idea if completed

The Bible is the Word of God: Internal Evidence

Can we depend on the Bible:1. To prove itself from its “nature”?2. To support its own conclusions?

This is not cyclical reasoning, but a matter of consistency. If the Bible is from God, it must always be consistent all the time!