New Testament Proofs Archives - Bible Authenticity

When, and By Whom, Was the Gospel of John Written?

August 9, 2024 BibleAuthenticity Comments 11 comments

John and the Synoptic Gospels (Differences)

Today, critics often assert that the Gospel of John was written in the 100’s CE, not by the apostle John, but by someone, or even multiple writers, who weren’t even born until long after Jesus’ death. These critics, of course, deny the inspiration by God’s holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), “as they do also the rest of the scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16 NKJV). Although the Gospel of John was written anonymously, it is important for us to know when, and by whom, was the gospel of John written, if possible. Every extant manuscript that includes the beginning of the book names John as the writer. Was this “John” someone other than the apostle John? This article investigates and analyzes the facts.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WAS WRITTEN MUCH LATER THAN THE OTHER GOSPELS

The writer of John apparently had the other three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before him as he wrote, and he tried to fill in some of the gaps, because about 92% of the book of John contains unique material. Clement of Alexandria, who lived in the late 100’s to early 200’s, reported that John wrote to supplement the accounts found in the other Gospels. “Last of all, John, perceiving that the external facts had been made plain [in the other canonical gospels] . . . composed a spiritual gospel” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 6.14.7). This, of course, means that the Gospel of John was written after Matthew, Mark, and Luke. read more

Gallio Inscription & the Bema Confirm Historical Accuracy of Acts

May 11, 2024 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Is the Bible reliable? — The historical accuracy of Acts has been confirmed

The historical accuracy of Acts has been questioned, and asserted to be inaccurate. Many discoveries have confirmed the historical accuracy of Acts, two of which are the Gallio Inscription and the Bema in ancient Corinth.

“Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment”—Acts 18:11,12 NIV

The Gallio Inscription, consists of nine fragments found near the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece, in 1908, mentions “Lucius Junius Gallio, my friend, and the proconsul of Achaia.” It is a copy of a letter from Roman Emperor Claudius and indicates that Gallio was the proconsul of Achaia at the time. The inscription further states that Claudius was confirmed Emperor for the 26th time, which dates it to late April/early May of the year 52 CE. read more

Did an Eclipse Cause Three Hour Darkness at Jesus’ Execution?

April 6, 2024 BibleAuthenticity Comments 1 comment

Did a Total Eclipse cause the three hour darkness at Jesus’ execution?

There was a mysterious three hour darkness during the time when Jesus was being executed. What caused this three hour darkness?

“It was now about noon and darkness came over the land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun”—Luke 23:44,45 NAB

The way the New American Bible (NAB) renders it,as above, one would think that the cause of the three hour midday total darkness was “an eclipse of the sun.” If the possibility of the supernatural is excluded, an eclipse would naturally be the only possibility. Could this have been an actual eclipse? Let’s examine the gospels very carefully regarding this d event: read more

Do Gospels Contradict About the Earthquake & the Stone Moved?

March 16, 2024 BibleAuthenticity Comments 34 comments

Is there any evidence for the resurrection? — Do the gospels contradict about when the earthquake occurred and the stone was moved at the resurrection of Jesus?

Critics claim that the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John contradict about the time when the earthquake occurred and the stone was moved at the time of Jesus’ resurrection.

“I am struck by a certain consistency among otherwise independent witnesses in placing Mary Magdalene both at the cross and at the tomb on the third day. If this is not a historical datum but something that a Christian storyteller made up and then passed along to others, how is it that this specific bit of information has found its way into accounts that otherwise did not make use of one another? . . . all of our early gospels–not just John and Mark (with Matthew and Luke as well) but also the Gospel of Peter, which appears to be independent of all of them–indicate that it was Mary Magdalen who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb. How did all of these independent accounts happen to name exactly the same person in this role? It seems hard to believe that this just happened by way of a fluke of storytelling. It seems much more likely that, at least with the traditions involving the empty tomb, we are dealing with something actually rooted in history”—Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene, p 226, by Bart Ehrman read more

Using Multiple Translations – Better Than Knowing Biblical Greek?

December 13, 2023 BibleAuthenticity Comments 1 comment

NT canon — Greek manuscript of the New Testament. Is using multiple Bible translations better than knowing Biblical Greek?

Does a person need to know Biblical Greek to understand the New Testament, or is using multiple Bible translations, just as good, or better?

“Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding”—Proverbs 4:7 NIV

“By studying Biblical Greek, you can gain a deeper understanding of the original text and the cultural context in which it was written”—Quora, February 6, 2023

Some Bible teachers and preachers are big on the idea that knowing Biblical Greek (Koine’) is important, even vital, in getting the best understanding of the Bible. While this may have a lot to do with their ego, we must grant that some are very sincere in holding and promoting this belief. It is certainly fine for anyone who has the inclination, the time, the resources, and the opportunity, to do so, that is, to learn Biblical Greek. It is a good thing that some have become scholars in Biblical Greek, and have been active in Bible translation and have written Biblical commentaries. But it takes many years of intensive study to become proficient in Biblical Greek. read more

Do We Have Eyewitness Testimony in the Gospels?

July 4, 2023 BibleAuthenticity Comments 5 comments

Titles of the Gospels — Did Matthew, Mark, Luke and John really use any eyewitness testimony when they wrote the Gospels? Were any of these four gospel writers eyewitnesses themselves?

Do we have eyewitness testimony in the gospels?

“Even though we might desperately want to know the identities of the authors of the earliest Gospels, we simply don’t have sufficient evidence. The books were written anonymously and evidently not by eyewitnesses”—Bart D. Ehrman

The Gospels were not written by eyewitnesses, nor did they include any eyewitness testimony, so says the popular agnostic Bible scholar, who has quite a following. While such claims were rare prior to the 1800’s, they have been increasing, and ever more so in recent times. read more

JESUS’ BURIAL BY JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA

June 17, 2023 BibleAuthenticity Comments 48 comments

Although all four Biblical gospels report Jesus’ burial by Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42:47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42), there are some skeptics and critics, such as the currently prominent agnostic Biblical “scholar” Bart Ehrman, who deny this fact. Experts point out that the more independent witnesses reports of an event that are available, the more likely the complete, composite report is true. Matthew and John were disciples of Jesus at the time of his execution, and its aftermath. So was Peter, who used Mark as his writer of the second Biblical gospel. Luke was familiar with “eyewitness reports circulating . . . from the early disciples,” and says, “having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also decided to write an accurate account” (Luke 1:1-3 NLT). So Luke’s gospel was based on accurate eyewitness accounts. read more

PONTIUS PILATE AUTHENTICATED

June 15, 2023 BibleAuthenticity Comments 3 comments

“In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar–when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea”—Luke 3:1 NIV

Pontius Pilate is mentioned in all four the the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and in Acts and 1 Timothy, as the Roman governor before whom Jesus was brought to trial, and who, under pressure, passed the death death sentence upon Jesus (Matthew 27:1-26; Mark 15:1-15; Luke 22:66-23:25; John 18:28-19:16; Acts 4:27; 13:28; 1 Timothy 6:13). Pilate was “governor of Judea” from 26 CE to 36 CE, and is mentioned by the writer Tacitus. read more

Thessalonian Politarch Inscription Confirms Bible Accuracy

October 16, 2022 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

What is a “politarch”?

“But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials [Greek, politarches], shouting: ‘These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.’ When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials [Greek, politarches] were thrown into turmoil”—Acts 17:6-8 NIV read more

Who Wrote Hebrews? Did Paul?

October 7, 2019 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Who wrote Hebrews? In thirteen New Testament letters, or epistles, Paul introduces himself as the writer. However, the writer of Hebrews is anonymous. Throughout most of Christian history, the apostle Paul was viewed as the writer of Hebrews. However, in the last couple of hundred years, this view has been dismissed by many of the “experts.” What are the facts? Did Paul write Hebrews?

“As early as the end of the second century the church of Alexandria in Egypt accepted Hebrews as a letter of Paul, and that became the commonly held view in the East. Pauline authorship was contested in the West in the fourth century, but then accepted. In the sixteenth century, doubts about that position were again raised, and the modern consensus is that the letter was not written by Paul. There is, however, no widespread agreement on any of the other suggested authors, e. g., Barnabus, Apollos, or Priscilla and Aquila. The document itself has no statement about its author”—Introduction to The Letter To The Hebrews, New American Bible (NAB) read more