The Christian Bible holds the Guinness world record as the best-selling book of all time, stating, “…research conducted by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2021 suggests that the total number probably lies between 5 and 7 billion copies.” They go on to say there are an estimated 80 million copies printed each year. That equates to ~219,000 copies printed around the globe every day. The Bible is indisputably the most popular book in human history, but that fact does not mean the Bible is of divine origin. Let’s briefly examine a few indicators that the Bible is in fact the word of God.

1. Internal Claims – the Bible itself claims to be the inspired word of God (2 Tim. 3:16), meaning it claims to have been “God-breathed” (theopneustos). This self-ascribed description is the first item to consider regarding the origin of the Bible.
2. Unity of Message – we think of the Bible as a single book, however in reality it is a library containing 66 books written by ~40 authors in 3 languages from various geographical locations on 3 continents composed over a span of ~1,500 years covering historical events that span ~4,000 years, yet there are no contradictions nor departures from the single, unified, consistent theme found throughout.
3. Historical Accuracy – from the accounts found in Genesis through the historical records provided by Luke in the book of Acts in the New Testament the Bible has provided an accurate depiction of historical events as verified by secular history. For example, Luke mentions 32 countries, 54 cities, 9 Mediterranean islands, and 95 different people in his record of Acts, and secular history concludes that Luke is accurate in all his claims. Stan Mitchell of www.forthright.net describes skeptic and historian Sir William Ramsay as stating, “The book of Acts, he declared, was full of errors, and to prove this contention, he traveled to Asia Minor to demonstrate Luke’s unreliability.” Mitchell goes on to state, “Ramsay the skeptic returned to Great Britain a believer. Every one of Luke’s facts checked out.” While historical accuracy does not directly indicate divine inspiration, a divinely inspired book must be historically accurate.
4. Scientific Accuracy and Foreknowledge – unbiased science is not the enemy of true religion, and God Himself proves this in His inspired word. From the time God told man to subdue and have dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28) man has been examining the glory of God throughout His creation (Rom. 1:20; Psa. 19). The Bible avoids errors in the fields of astrology, medicine, witchcraft, geography, and the like, which contemporary cultures contained at the time of its writing.
5. Predictive Prophecy – there are numerous verifiable prophecies regarding historical events that have been fulfilled. One such prophecy was made by Ezekiel in the year 597 BC regarding the fall of the city of Tyre. He predicted that Babylon would conquer the city, and he even went so far as to describe the way it would fall. Secular history verifies this historical event took place in 330 BC in the exact manner in which it was prophesied.

Space does not allow for a more detailed description of the divine properties contained within the pages of the Bible, but it is evident that the Bible contains features that prove it to be of supernatural origin. As Christians, we may take comfort in the fact that God has proven Himself in His word. For more detailed explanations of specific instances of predictive prophecy and scientific foreknowledge I would recommend examining material from Apologetics Press and World Video Bible School.

In the fifth chapter of Daniel, the Babylonian king Belshazzar made a great feast and used the vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem to drink wine from; in his debauchery, he desecrated vessels that had been sanctified for worship of the one, true God. God gave a message to Belshazzar of four words written by a hand on the wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin (Dan. 5:25). Mene meant that his kingdom had been numbered and finished (Dan. 5:26).  Tekel meant he had been weighed on the scales and found wanting (Dan. 5:27). Parsin meant that his kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians (Dan. 5:28). That night, just as God said, Belshazzar was slain, and his kingdom was given to Darius the Mede (Dan. 5:30-31).

God’s word, the Bible, is accurate. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, skeptics claimed for years that the existence of king Belshazzar was pure invention, that the Bible was mistaken and Nabonidus was in fact the last king of Babylon; however, archeological discoveries of cuneiform tablets, housed in the British Museum, contain references that Belshazzar was co-regent with his father Nabonidus.[1] Belshazzar’s promise to make Daniel “third ruler in the kingdom” (Dan. 5:16, 29) fits with this truth, since Nabonidus and Belshazzar would be the first and second rulers in the kingdom. Belshazzar was ruling when Babylon fell to the Medo-Persian empire, a significant event in world history. Chapters 50 and 51 of Jeremiah describe the fall in detail. A century before Babylon’s fall, the prophet showed how a coalition of nations including the Medes would come from the north to take Babylon, that though Babylon had well-supplied storehouses and lofty fortifications her sea, the Euphrates river, would be dried up suddenly during a feast. Diverting the river that flowed under the city’s walls was evidently how Babylon was taken.

The Bible also speaks of how each one of us will be subject to the judgment of God (Acts 17:30-31; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 20:11-15). We will be weighed; our lives will be put on one side of the scale and God’s holy word will be put on the other side. Certainly, extremely wicked people will not measure up (Rev. 21:8). Yet, even good people that do a lot of great things will not be able to balance the scales by their goodness (Lk. 17:10). Our words and actions will condemn us in light of a perfectly holy God (Hab. 1:13) who has a perfect standard (Ecc. 7:20; Mt. 12:36; Rom. 2:12; 3:23; Gal. 3:10-12). Successful people according to the world’s standards will meet a similar end as Belshazzar: their days are numbered, their own accomplishments will find them lacking when weighed on God’s balance, and they will die and leave their possessions to be divided by those who shall come after them. However, with Christ there is hope (Rom. 5:1-2). By God’s grace, the blood of Jesus provides the means by which the scales are tipped and one can stand justified before God (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Heb. 9:12-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Rev. 1:5; 12:11). Are you washed in the blood and ready to stand before God (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-7)?

[1] Raymond Philip Dougherty. Nabonidus and Belshazzar: A Study of the Closing Events of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1929), 13.

Jesus clearly predicted His death and resurrection multiple times to the disciples (Mark 8:31; 9:12, 30-32; 10:32-34). His language was clear, but the disciples had trouble wrapping their minds around what He was saying. Jesus said, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again” (Mark 10:33-34). This is very clear. At the first prediction, Peter understood enough to resist what Jesus had said; he tried to rebuke his master, but was rebuked by his master (Mark 8:32-33). With additional clear predictions, the disciples were to grasp that Jesus going up to Jerusalem to die was the plan of God. Yet, Peter was ready to fight to the death to prevent the arrest of Jesus (John 18:10-11) and the disciples in Luke 24:19-21 were troubled after these things took place. Even by Acts 1:6, the disciples still seem to have some expectation of Jesus restoring an earthly, political kingdom. The Messiah dying was not on their radar. When we today read the predictions Jesus gave of His death, we have the benefit of a scope that encompasses the entire plan God revealed in the New Testament and can readily see what Jesus was saying. We often find what we are looking for, but are blind to that which goes against our preconceptions. If this blindness could happen to the first disciples, it can happen to us today.

As disciples of Jesus today, we might miss what the first disciples grasped. The period of these predictions forced one to count the cost of following Jesus. Take the events of Mark 10, for example. The rich, young ruler met Jesus while He was going out on the road that led to Jerusalem (Mark 10:17). Following Jesus on that journey would require forsaking all his possessions, and he sorrowfully was not willing to make the sacrifice (Mark 10:21-23). The disciples had left all to follow the Lord on this road up to Jerusalem; they knew they were to receive new family in fellow disciples, but also persecutions, and ultimately eternal life (Mark 10:28-30). They were getting a sense that their lives and futures were bound up in the life of their Lord who came to serve and give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Around this same time, the disciples recognized going up to Judea, the region in which Jerusalem was located, was a deadly prospect since many there were seeking to kill Jesus; thus, to follow Him there was to go die with Him (John 11:7-16). How did these first disciples view dying with the Lord in baptism to be raised to a new life (Rom. 6:3-10; Col. 2:12-13; 3:3)? Certainly their view would be far from that of popular religion in our time that twists Christianity into convenience and focuses on achieving all your aspirations in this life.

Peter, who at first fiercely resisted Jesus dying and cowardly denied Him three times to save his own life, came to embrace the fact that he too would die in following in the footsteps of His Lord (2 Pet. 1:13-15; cf. John 21:17-19). Death is no great ruin to the Christian. Jesus died and was buried; however, he was raised on the third day (1 Cor. 15:4). He has been raised and still lives. The disciple who shares in His death is also bound with Him in eternal life. Far better than any accomplishment in this life is to go beyond this life to be with Jesus eternally (Phil. 1:23).