Episode 202: The Bible is Historically Reliable, You Can Trust It!

The Bible is Historically Reliable, You Can Trust It!

January 15, 2023

Pastor: Paul Knight

The Most Popular Book… Can You Trust It? Main Scripture Reference(s): Isaiah 40:8 NIV, 2 Timothy 3:14-17 NIV, Luke 19:37-40 NIV Isaiah 40:8 (NIV) The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NIV) But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God* may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Luke 19:37-40 (NIV) When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"* "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
1. The Discovered Places confirm the trustworthiness of the Bible Scriptures referenced: Genesis 14:9-12, Genesis 19:23-26 A. Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 14:9-12 (NIV) Against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar--four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. 11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. Genesis 19:23-26 (NIV) By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. B. Megiddo and Solomon's Stables Scriptures referenced: 2 Chronicles 9:25-28 2 Chronicles 9:25-28 (NIV) Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses,* which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries. Nelson Glueck “Don’t walk away at the first sign of a contradiction or a problem. Sometimes scientific study needs to play catch up with the Bible. C. The Pool of Bethsaida John 5:1-9 (NIV) Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda* and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.* 4 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" 7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
2. The identified people confirm the trustworthiness of the Bible. A. Balaam Scriptures referenced: Numbers 22:4-6, umbers 22:22-40 Number 22:4-6 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed." Numbers 22:22-40 (NIV) But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned