1. Why does man need a standard of authority for his conduct? 2. How do the Scriptures meet the criteria for that standard?

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1 #4 HOLDING FAST OUR CONFIDENCE IN THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES (Heb 3:6, 14 10:35) In this study we have addressed two questions: 1. Why does man need a standard of authority for his conduct? 2. How do the Scriptures meet the criteria for that standard? In answer to the second question we have noted: 1. Internal evidence to prove that the Bible, Old & New Testament, is from God, evidence (testimony) given by Jesus, the apostles. 2. External historical evidences for Bible Inspiration. 3. Scientific accuracy & the uniqueness of the Bible. In this final lesson, we want to note even more internal evidence to support the claim & the fact that the Bible is in fact the Holy Word of God. IV. INTERNAL EVIDENCES FOR BIBLE INSPIRATION A. Predictive prophecy is the highest evidence & the most impressive proof that the Bible is from God. 1. There is one thing man cannot do, he cannot know & report future events in the absence of circumstances that suggest those events. 2. Predictive prophecy involves three criteria: (1) Proper timing; (2) Specific details; (3) Exact fulfillment. 1 a. Bible prophecies meet all three of these criteria (Deut 18:22; Isa 41:22-23; John 14:29).

2 Predictive prophecy regarding nations As Gods plan of redemption was unfolding, numerous prophesies were given about the rise, decline & fall of various nations. 1. Israel s history is vividly portrayed in this statement by Moses (Deut 28:47-68). Deut 28:47-50 Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy & gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, & in need of everything; & He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 2. When Israel became involved in idolatry, Isaiah foretold that the Lord would raise up the Assyrians, as the rod of his anger to punish them (Isa 10:5-6). Isa 10:5-6 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger & the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, & against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, to seize the spoil, to take the prey, & to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 3. After that was accomplished, the Lord announced that the Assyrians themselves would be destroyed (10:12, 24-25). Isa 10:12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion & on Jerusalem, that He will say, I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, & the glory of his haughty looks. 4. Biblical & secular history reveals that this is exactly what happened (2 Kgs 17:24; 18:13). 2

3 2 Kgs 17:24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, & from Sepharvaim, & placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; & they took possession of Samaria & dwelt in its cities (2 Kgs 18:13). 5. Likewise for Judah, when the southern kingdom lapsed into a state of spiritual decay, the prophets of God announced that Babylon would arise as God s instrument of punishment & carry the nation away captive for seventy years (Jer 25:9-12; Hab 1:5ff). Jer 25:9-12 Behold, I will send & take all the families of the north, says the LORD, & Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, & will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, & against these nations all around, & will utterly destroy them, & make them an astonishment, a hissing, & perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth & the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom & the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones & the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation & an astonishment, & these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.12 Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon & that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the LORD; and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 6. The history of those events is also recorded in Biblical as well as secular history for anyone to read (2 Kgs 24-25; 2 Chron 36:21). 7. Even the mighty nation of Babylon, the glory of Kingdoms, would be destroyed & replaced by the Medes & Persians (Isa 13), & that is exactly what happened (Dan 5:28). Dan 5:22-28 But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, & you & your lords, your wives & your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver & gold, bronze & iron, wood & stone, which do not see or hear or know; & the God who holds your breath in His hand & owns all your ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, & this writing was written. 25 And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, & finished it; 27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, & found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, & given to the Medes & Persians. 3

4 More Specifics 1. Sennacherib s invasion of Judah is recorded, yet the Lord said that he would be unable to take Jerusalem (2 Kgs 18:13; 19:32-35). 2 Kgs 18:13 And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah & took them. 2 Kgs 19:32-35 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; & he shall not come into this city, says the LORD. 34 For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake & for My servant David s sake. 35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, & killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred & eighty-five thousand; & when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpsesall dead. a. His death prophesied & recorded (2 Kgs 19:7; Isa 37:37-38). 2 Kgs 19:7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, & he shall hear a rumor & return to his own land; & I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. Isa 37:37-38 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed & went away, returned home, & remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech & Sharezer struck him down with the sword; & they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. 2. Good king Josiah s work foretold 300 years before it occurred, & he was called by name (1 Kgs 13:2; 2 Kgs 23:15-16). 1 Kgs 13:2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, & said, O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; & on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, & men s bones shall be burned on you. 4

5 2 Kgs 23:15-16 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, & the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar & the high place he broke down; & he burned the high place & crushed it to powder, & burned the wooden image.16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mountain. And he sent & took the bones out of the tombs & burned them on the altar, & defiled it according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 3. Who could forget the prophecy of king Cyrus of Persia (also called by name) more than 150 years before his birth & the service he rendered to Israel (Isa 44:28; 45:1). Isa 44:28 Who says of Cyrus, He is My shepherd, & he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built, & to the temple, Your foundation shall be laid. Isa 45:1 Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held - to subdue nations before him & loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: [Finally we come to the prophecies of chief importance, i.e., the ones concerning the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus, the Lord of all, the Son of God.] His lineage 1. Born of a woman (not of woman & man) Gen 3:15; Gal 4:4 2. of the seed of Abraham Gen 22:18; Luke 3:34 3. of the tribe of Judah Gen 49:10; Heb 7:14 4. of the royal lineage of David 2 Sam 7:12; Luke 1:32 5. of a virgin named Mary Isa 7:14; Matt 1:22 His time of coming 1. During the days of Roman rule Dan 2:44; Luke 2:1 2. While Judah possessed her own king Gen 49:10; Matt 2:22 5

6 3. He would be killed 490 years after restoring Jerusalem following Babylonian captivity Dan 9:24ff His nature 1. Both human & divine (eternal) Mic 5:2; John 1:1, Gentle & compassionate Isa 42:1-4; Matt 12: Submissive & obedient to His heavenly Father Psa 40:8; Isa 53:11; John 8:29; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:22 His betrayal, death & resurrection 1. Betrayed by a friend Psa 41:9 2. Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver Zech 11:12; Jn 13:18; Matt 26:15 3. Spit upon & beaten Isa 50:6; Hands & feet pierced Psa 22:16; Matt 27:30; Luke 24:39 5. Killed & buried yet His flesh would not decay because He would be resurrected from the dead Psa 16:10; Acts 2:27 6. And by this, declared to the Son of God with power to judge the living & the dead at His appearing Rom 1:4; Acts 17:31; 2 Tim 4:1 [These are just a sampling of the more than 300 prophecies relating to the Lord Jesus Christ. Prophecies are not like links in a chain so that when one breaks, the whole chain is destroyed; but rather like strands of a cable. One prophecy fulfilled does not represent inspiration, but when all prophecies are fulfilled, it proves inspiration beyond a shadow of doubt. And THIS is why we can hold fast our confidence in the authority of the Scriptures! ] CLOSING Like the blacksmith s anvil, which wears out many hammers but it remains unaffected the Bible wears out the skeptic s meaningless charges, all the while remaining unscathed. 6

7 From an unknown poet: Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith s door, And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime; Then looking, I saw upon the floor, Old hammers, worn with beating years of time. How many anvils have you had, said I, To wear & batter all these hammers so? Just one, said he, & then with twinkling eye; The anvil wears the hammers out, ye know. And so, thought I, the anvil of God s Word, For ages skeptic blows have beat upon; Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard, The anvil is unharmed the hammers gone. This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book Governments come & go. Nations rise & fall. People live & die. Congregations of saints flourish & diminish, but Jesus warned that heaven & earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away (Matt 24:35). Isaiah wrote by inspiration of God The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isa 40:7-8). Peter quoted that passage from Isaiah & then said, this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you (1 Pet 1:25). Paul said the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:17), & you can purify your soul by obeying the truth through the Spirit (1 Pet 1:22-23). 7