Proof Archives - Page 11 of 14 - Bible Authenticity

Eyewitnesses of Jesus’ Death, Burial, and Resurrection

May 8, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Critics of the Bible claim there are no eyewitnesses of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. This article takes an objective look at the facts.

“[The Gospels] were written down thirty-five to sixty-five years after Jesus’ death . . . not by people who were eyewitnesses, but by people living later”—Jesus, Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millenneum, 2005, pages 44-45, by Bart Ehrman

“There is not a sentence concerning Jesus in the entire New Testament by anyone who had ever met the unwilling King of the Jews”—Jesus and Yahweh, 2005, page 19, by H. Bloom read more

The Spiritual Use of “Israel” in the Bible

May 4, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Spiritual descendants — Spiritual, not fleshly, descendants of Abraham are the real Israel that counts with God

Who was God talking about when he made the promise to Abraham about his seed? Was the promise only referring to his physical offspring? Or, is there such a thing as “Spiritual Israel?”

“Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, ‘Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,’ though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.” (Romans 9:6-8 NLT) read more

Is the Temple Cleansing in John Accurate?

April 14, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Jesus' Temple Cleansing — Does the temple cleansing in John contradict the Synoptic Gospels?

Critics claim that the temple cleansing in the Gospel of John is either the same temple cleansing reported by the three Synoptics, Matthew, Mark and Luke, or is out of place, therefore, constituting a “contradiction” in the Gospels.

Below are listed a number of reasons why the temple cleansing in John is accurate and was performed by Jesus around the time of the first Passover after his baptism, which was probably about six months earlier. John clearly states in John 20:31 and John 21:25 that he was highly selective in his reporting on the events of Jesus’ life. read more

Gospel of Mark – Peter’s Eyewitness Gospel

April 14, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The early church is unanimous that the Gospel according to Mark was written by John Mark. (Acts 12:12; Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5; Acts 13:13; Acts 15:37; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24)

Papias – c. 140 quotes an earlier source saying:

Mark was a close associate of Peter, from whom he received his information. (1 Peter 5:13) Peter regards Mark with such warmth and affection that he calls him his son.
This information didn’t come to Mark as a finished, sequential account of the life of Jesus, but as the preaching of Peter – preaching directed to the needs of Christian communities. Mark accurately preserved this material and arranged and shaped it.

The title “According to Mark” appears in all the ancient canonical lists and many ancient manuscripts, and is thought to have been added very early in the history of the text.

Early church fathers all affirm Mark wrote the Gospel:

Papias (140)
Justin Martyr (150)
Iranaeus (185)
Origen
Tertullian
Clement of Alexandria (195)
Eusebius (326) – quotes Papias saying “elder” (John) attributed to Mark

Second and third century books falsely claimed apostles as authors rather than secondary figures such as Mark. read more

Matthew the Tax Collector – A Proven Eyewitness

April 11, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Many “Bible scholars” claim that Matthew relied on Mark’s gospel as the primary source to write his gospel. Why would Matthew the tax collector, one of Jesus’ twelve apostles, rely so much on Mark’s account? The answer? He didn’t. He was an eyewitness of much of what he wrote, so there was no need for him rely on Mark, who was not an eyewitness, but a recorder of the apostle Peter’s memories (1 Peter 5:13). Both Matthew and Mark wrote their gospels “inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16). read more

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?

“Many writers have undertaken to draw up an account of the events that have taken place among us, following the traditions handed down by the original eyewitnesses and servants of the gospel. So I in my turn, as one who has investigated the whole course of these events in detail have decided to write an orderly account” (Luke 1:1-2 NIV) The Bible writer Luke based his accounts on eyewitness testimony. 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, “well-known” (NIV) read more