New Testament Proofs Archives - Page 5 of 6

Is the New Testament Based on Eyewitness Testimony?

April 4, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Is the New Testament based on eyewitness testimony? Let’s examine the Bible to find out.

Is the NT based on eyewitness testimony?

“Draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses.” (Luke 1:1,2 NIV) The Bible writer Luke based his accounts on eyewitness testimony.

“You are eyewitnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:48 NIV) Jesus told his disciples they were eyewitnesses.

“This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.” (John 19:35 NLT) – Spoken by the Apostle John. read more

Is the Bible Reliable? — Bible Authenticity

March 24, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 1 comment

Is the Bible reliable? Does it contain myths, or are the stories true? Did the writers simply write down stories they had heard from other people, or did they experience the things firsthand that they wrote about?

The Bible is not made up of cleverly devised fables or myths. “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:16 NAB). Many of the Bible writers were actually eyewitnesses of their written accounts. “But we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16 NAB; see also 1 Peter 5:1) Eyewitnesses also handed down their accounts to others who carefully researched these things. (Luke 1:1-3) Still others studied and pondered. (Ecclesiastes 12:9-10) But none came from human will. (2 Peter 1:21) read more

Jesus’ Resurrection – Scriptural Evidence

March 21, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Is there any evidence for the resurrection? — Is there any evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus?

What scriptural evidence do we have about the resurrection of Jesus? What did people living in the first century think about reports of Jesus’ death and resurrection? Are there clues in the Bible as to whether the story is true or not? Let’s examine some Bible verses to find out.

Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:54-60; John 19:38-42– Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, prominent members of the Jewish ruling council, would have been well known in Jerusalem, as well as to Pilate. This could not be fiction, since this could easily be refuted, if false. read more

Jesus’ Resurrection – Four Lines of Evidence

March 15, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Is there any evidence of Jesus’ resurrection?

“We have confirmation of the words of the prophets”—2 Peter 1:19 NJB

Is the story of Jesus’ resurrection true? If so, how can we be sure? Let’s begin by examining four lines of evidence: that Jesus was really dead, his tomb was found empty, he then appeared to many witnesses, and finally, eyewitness accounts of encounters with the resurrected Jesus.

1. Jesus was really dead.

a. Publicly executed before A large crowd. (Matthew 27:39-44; Matthew 27:54-56; Mark 15:29-32; Mark 15:40-41; Lk 23:26-32; Luke 23:35-38; Luke 23:47-49; John 19:19-26) read more

Divergent Details of Jesus’ Trial and Execution – Contradictions?

February 24, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Titles of the Gospels — Are the divergent details in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John regarding Jesus’ trial and execution contradictions, or evidence of authenticity?

All of the gospels tell the same basic story of Jesus’ trial, execution and resurrection, but with divergent details. Are these divergent details contradictions? No. These divergent details give strong evidence the gospel writers are telling the truth, rather than copying from a single fictional account, or writing new fiction, in which the details are harmonized, or smoothed out

Below are some of the divergent, but true, details about the crucifixion of Jesus:

Barrabas

Was described as:

· Matthew 27:16 – notorious read more

Jude said apostles’ writings were authoritative

February 26, 2016 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Some Christians today believe only the actual spoken words of Jesus to be divinely inspired and to be taken as the authoritative word of God, and other Bible writings to be merely the words of man. This is not the way the early Christians viewed things. For example, Jude viewed the Apostles’ teachings and writings as authoritative Scripture, the word of God:

“But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, ‘In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.'” (Jude 17-18) read more

The Resurrection of Jesus Is a Historical Event

June 11, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

In recent years, studies of Jesus’ resurrection have taken surprisingly positive directions. This does not mean that contemporary critical scholars now accept exactly what Scripture states. However, there is a newfound respect for some of the New Testament (NT) reports. We will mention key areas leading to these developments and address their significance.

Early Traditions of Jesus’ Resurrection Embedded in the New Testament Writings

Arguably the most exciting development in recent decades is the almost unanimous recognition of scholars that the NT contains many items that predate the book in which they appear. This means the NT authors frequently made use of earlier sources–traditions, creeds, or confessions that they had gathered or received from others. Examples include a reliable statement received from others (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 15:3ff), repeating the words of what was likely an early Christian hymn (Philippians 2:6-11) and summarizing an early sermon (such as Acts 1:21-22; 2:22-36; 3:13-16). These sources had different applications, such as keeping a reliable record, passing on doctrine, or serving liturgical functions like worship. read more

Who Wrote 1 Peter and 2 Peter?

March 7, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Who wrote 1 and 2 Peter, two letters of the 27 books of the New Testament? Many critics say that they written by a pseudonymous writer, or writers, falsely claiming to be the apostle Peter, and especially is this said about 2 Peter.

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ . . . ” (1 Peter 1:1). ” . . . as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 5:1 NAB). The writer of 1 Peter clearly identifies himself by name as “Peter”, and also “an apostle of Jesus Christ” that is, one of Christ’s original 11 faithful apostles, and “as a fellow presbyter”, that is, an older, mature Christian man, having the position in the church of “elder” (1 Peter 5:1 most translations), and as a “witness to the sufferings of Christ”, meaning he was actually there in person alongside Christ when Jesus was on earth. These descriptions fit the apostle Peter. read more

The Greek Septuagint Use in the New Testament

March 6, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 3 comments

Christian readers are sometimes puzzled when they read a quotation from the Old Testament in the New Testament, and then, in looking up the quoted Old Testament text in their Bible, they discover that it is somewhat different from the cited quotation in the New Testament. Often, this difference is based on the fact that the Old Testament has been translated from Hebrew Scripture Master Texts which are primarily based the manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible from the Masoretic text of the 6th to 10th centuries C.E., whereas the New Testament is citing the same passage as it appears in the early Greek translation of the Old Testament, known as the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX). read more

What is Textual Criticism? Has the Bible Been Changed?

February 23, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

NT canon — Textual Criticism collates and compares the many ancient extant Bible manuscripts for the various Biblical texts to determine the original reading for each scripture?

Is Textual Criticism something that is critical of the Bible’s text, something that shows the Biblical text is unreliable? Or, is Textual Criticism something positive, or, favorable, toward authenticating the Bible’s text as being genuine, reliable, and trustworthy?

It is popularly believed today that the Bible has been copied and re-copied so many times over the centuries that is text is unreliable, and no one can be sure of what was in the originals. Is there any truth to this? read more