Bible Question:

Could the people who wrote the Bible have made a mistake?

Bible Answer:

You have asked the most important question next to the one, “Who is God?” This was the question I asked myself years ago when I started searching for truth. My question was, “Which of the sacred books, if in fact any, are true?” I found the Bible was the only sacred book that contained prophecies, historical information, and scientific data. I found the Bible claimed to be the words of God. Therefore, it is called the Word of God. Now I like to call the Bible the Word of Truth. The Bible says there is a simple test we can use to determine truth. It is so obvious I call it the common sense test for truth. If the sacred book always tells the truth, then we should be able to believe it when it talks about religious issues – when it talks about God.

Not These Tests

There are two tests we should not use to determine if the Bible speaks truth. They are the tests of science and history. Some have accused the Bible of making mistakes about science or history. Unfortunately, they have assumed they are correct and that may not be true since no one really knows if our world’s scientific theories are completely correct or if our modern historians always have their “facts” correct. In fact, in a recent article by Forbes magazine, a secular magazine, listed many scientific theories that have been proven to be in error. Once scientists believed these theories were true, but these “facts” have been proven to be wrong. Science is an evolving set of theories which, unfortunately, is being taught as fact and not as theory. Forbes magazine, a financial magazine, simply showed that science is not completely trustworthy. The scientific theories change with time. That includes evolution. If the theories are not completely trustworthy, they cannot be a measure of the Bible’s truthfulness. Every statement the Bible has made about science has been “proven” correct.

Historical facts are usually verified by archeological discoveries. Again, the Bible is being shown to be correct with every archeological finding. Archeology has identified some Biblical statements waiting to be proven to be correct.

This Test

There is only one real test that proves the Bible is the Word of God. It is found in the Old Testament. Here is the test.

But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And you may say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (NASB) Deut. 18:20-22

It is prophecy. The prophecies either come true or they do not. Prophets in the Old Testament made many prophecies about the future – prophecies about nations, countries, and Israel. The Bible has not made a mistake yet. There are several books you can purchase which present some of these prophecies in wonderful detail. The best one is Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. It is great. The book of Daniel in the Old Testament has some of the most unbelievable prophetic statements. In the book of Daniel, we find a prediction that Babylon would be conquered by the empire of Media-Persia, which would be defeated by the empire of Greece, which would be defeated by the Roman Empire. The prophecies were made around 600 B.C. and the last fulfillment occurred when Rome defeated Greece in 146 B.C. The prophecy came true. Read Prophecy of the Future for more information.

Conclusion:

Could the people who wrote the Bible have made a mistake? Yes, ordinary men do make mistakes. But the Bible does not contain mistakes. This is proven by its many prophetic statements. Prophecies are the test of truthfulness. God recognized that and said so in Deuteronomy 18:20-22. The most significant prophecies in Scripture are prophecies about Jesus. There are hundreds of prophecies about Jesus. Here are some prophecies about Jesus. One of the most amazing predicts the week Jesus would die. The prophecy said that Jesus would already be alive and die that week. He did! No one who would be born later could be the Messiah. This prophecy was accurate to the week. Jesus made prophecies too!. He predicted that Chorazin and Capernanum would be destroyed (Luke 10:13-15) and they were. Eusebius, an early church father, says Chorazin was destroyed and Capernanum cannot be found. There are very important historical quotes about Christ that Jesus really did exist. Historians say that He did miracles! So we can believe the Bible when it says that Jesus was God in human flesh.

The Bible was not written by men only. God controlled what these human authors wrote by His Holy Spirit.

. . . no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (NASB) 2 Peter 1:21

The Bible was not written by a man’s decision, but by God. The proof of the Bible’s truthfulness and the proof that Jesus was Messiah is in prophecy.