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Evidence for the Divine Origin of the Bible |
Archeology. Prophecy. Ancient History. Modern History. Re-birth of Israel. The “Empty Tomb”
Introduction
The books of the Bible were written over a
1600 year time span, with the last book being written almost 2000 years
ago. How can we be sure that these
books really are the word of the eternal and all powerful God?
In this session we will examine some of the factual evidence that provides powerful reasons to believe that indeed the Bible is God’s message to mankind. In particular, we will look at Archaeological discoveries, historical records and present day world events, which corroborate the Bible record of miraculous events and astounding prophecies
Archaeology
In the past 150 years there have been a vast number of archaeological
excavations carried out in West Asian countries which are detailed in the Bible
(such as Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Turkey). Many of the discoveries
at these sites have provided independent endorsement of amazing Bible events
and historic places which had previously been called into question by Bible
critics. Some examples are covered in today’s session.
document seals
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Seals of Kings and other charachters referred to in the Bible |
When official letters and documents were sent in ancient times, they were sealed with a wax or clay seal bearing the writer’s imprint. This normally had the writer’s name and title along with their emblem. Some of these clay seals (pictured left) have been discovered intact after thousands of years, (although the documents to which they were once attached have long since crumbled away). These seals were found to belong to the following Israelite officials, and have been dated at around 600 BC, confirming what the Bible record says about these people (as per the quotes over-page) |
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Quotes 1, 2 & 3
Jeremiah 36:1-4
1 During the fourth year
that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the LORD said to me,
"Jeremiah,
2 since the time Josiah
was king, I have been speaking to you about Israel, Judah, and the other nations.
Now, get a scroll and write down everything I have told you,
3 then read it to the
people of Judah. Maybe they will stop sinning when they hear what terrible
things I plan for them. And if they turn to me, I will forgive them."
4 I sent for Baruch son of Neriah and asked him to help me. I
repeated everything the LORD had told me, and Baruch wrote it all down on a
scroll.
1 Chronicles
6:13
13 and Shallum fathered
Hilkiah; and Hilkiah fathered Azariah;
2 Kings 22:1-5
1 Josiah was 8 years old when
he began to rule, and he was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother was
Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath.
2 Josiah did what the LORD
considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped.
3 In Josiah's eighteenth
year as king of Judah, he sent the scribe Shaphan, son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, to the LORD'S temple with these
instructions:
4 "Go to the chief
priest Hilkiah. Have him count the money that has been brought into the LORD'S
temple, the money that the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
5 Give some of it to the
foremen who are in charge of the LORD'S temple. They should give it to the
workmen who are making repairs on the LORD'S temple.
ancient babylon
The Bible records much about the conquests and kings of the
ancient Babylonian empire. One hundred
years before Babylon reached even the height of its power and glory, the
prophet Isaiah foretold its overthrow and destruction in very specific terms.
Indeed, this once great city was totally destroyed and lay for centuries as a
pile of rubble in southern Iraq. But in the 19th Century
archaeologists started excavating and uncovered the ruins of the cities great
walls, mighty temples and gates, immense statues and inscriptions. These findings finally confirmed many of the
historic details in the Bible about Babylon and it’s great King Nebuchadnezzar.
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Nebuchadnezzar’s inscriptions |
Many bricks have been found in the ruins of Babylon bearing the
following inscription:
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(Esagila and Ezida were temples in Babylon.) Until these bricks
were found early this century, the name Nebuchadnezzar was unknown outside the
Bible.
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Babylonian chronicle |
The Babylonian chronicle was also found and provides a
description of Babylon’s attack on Jerusalem in 598–597 BC which agrees
exactly with the biblical description in 2 Kings 24:10–17.
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Quote 4
2 Kings
24:10-17
10 At that time the
officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem. (The city was
blockaded.)
11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon arrived while his officers were blockading
the city.
12 King Jehoiakin of
Judah, his mother, officials, generals, and eunuchs surrendered to the king of
Babylon. In the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon captured
Jehoiakin.
13 He also took away all
the treasures in the LORD'S temple and the royal palace. As the LORD had
predicted, Nebuchadnezzar stripped the gold off all the furnishings that King
Solomon of Israel had made for the LORD'S temple.
14 He captured all
Jerusalem, all the generals, all the soldiers (10,000 prisoners), and all the
craftsmen and smiths. Only the poorest people of the land were left.
15 He took Jehoiakin to
Babylon as a captive. He also took the king's mother, wives, eunuchs, and the
leading citizens of the land from Jerusalem as captives to Babylon.
16 The king of Babylon
brought all 7,000 of the prominent landowners, 1,000 craftsmen and smiths, and
all the men who could fight in war as captives to Babylon.
17 The king of Babylon
made King Jehoiakin's Uncle Mattaniah king in his place and changed Mattaniah's
name to Zedekiah.
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Question 1 |
What do these archaelogical finds tell you about the
Bible? |
hezekiah’s tunnel
Below is a passage from the bible about King Hezekiah of
Judah. It is followed by an archeological
report. Compare the two and make your own conclusions.
Quote 5
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At one time, critics of the Bible said openly that it was
impossible to build the tunnel
mentioned in these passages, because of the great difficulty of the project:
this was another example, they said, of the way in which Bible accounts had
become exaggerated and then wrongly recorded as historical fact |
2 Chronicles 32:1-7 1 After everything
Hezekiah had done so faithfully, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to invade
Judah. He set up camp to attack the fortified cities. He intended to conquer
them himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that
Sennacherib had come to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he, his officers, and
his military staff made plans to stop
the water from flowing out of the springs outside the city. They helped
him do it. 4 A large crowd gathered
as they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land.
They said, "Why should the kings of Assyria find plenty of water?" 5 Hezekiah worked hard.
He rebuilt all the broken sections of the wall, made the towers taller, built
another wall outside the city wall, strengthened the Millo in the City of
David, and made plenty of weapons and shields. 6 He appointed military
commanders over the troops and gathered the commanders in the square by the
city gate. He spoke these words of encouragement: 7 "Be strong and courageous. Don't be frightened or terrified by the king of Assyria or the crowd with him. Someone greater is on our side. 2 Chronicles 32:30 30 Hezekiah was the one
who stopped the water from flowing from the upper outlet of Gihon. He channeled the water directly
underground to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded in
everything he did. And also in 2 Kings 20:20 20 Isn't everything else about Hezekiah, all his heroic acts and how he made the pool and tunnel to bring water into the city, written in the official records of the kings of Judah? |
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Archaeological
Findings
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A tourist seen walking through
the tunnel |
In 1880, an inscription was discovered
by an Arab boy who was bathing in the Gihon Spring. Carved in the rock at the
end of the tunnel, it described the meeting of the two groups of workers who
had started from opposite ends of the tunnel. Translated, it read "The
tunneling was completed... While the hewers wielded the ax, each man toward
his fellow... there was heard a man's voice calling to his fellow... the
hewers hacked each toward the other, ax against ax, and the water flowed from
the spring to the pool, a distance of 1,200 cubits..." The inscription
is now in the Istanbul Museum. |
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Question 2 |
Approximately how old would Hezekiah’s inscription
have been when discovered by the Arab boy? See Answer |
Bible Prophecy
The Bible contains many ancient prophecies about what would happen to Israel
and the surrounding nations. Some of these prophecies were fulfilled almost
immediately, some were fulfilled hundreds of years later, some are still being
fulfilled in the nations today, and some are yet to be fulfilled. The
miraculous fulfillment of Bible prophecies provides us with powerful evidence
that the Bible was indeed inspired by God. Who else could have foretold so accurately
what the future held?
There are many remarkable
examples of fulfilled prophecy. In this
session we will look at just two of these:
o Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic vision of World Empires.
o The re-birth of the Jewish nation foretold.
Before looking at these specific
examples, we will take a look at what the Bible says about prophets and
prophecy.
QUOTEs 6 & 7
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Bible Prophecy |
2 Peter 1:20-21 20 First, you must
understand this: No prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one's own
interpretation. 21 No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God's direction. |
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Prophecy = God’s warning, an opportunity to change |
Amos 3:6-7 6 If a ram's horn sounds
an alarm in a city, won't the people be alarmed?
If there is a disaster in a city, hasn't the LORD done it? 7 Certainly, the Almighty LORD doesn't do anything
unless he first reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. |
QUOTEs 8 & 9
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Recognizing God’s prophet Promise of a great prophet |
Deuteronomy 18:18-22 18 So I will send them a prophet, an Israelite
like you. I will put my words in
his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 Whoever refuses to
listen to the words that prophet speaks in my name will answer to me. 20 But any prophet who
dares to say something in my name that I didn't command him to say or who
speaks in the name of other gods must die." 21 You may be wondering,
"How can we recognize that the
LORD didn't speak this message?" 22 If a prophet speaks
in the LORD'S name and what he says doesn't happen or come true, then it
didn't come from the LORD. That prophet has spoken on his own authority.
Never be afraid of him. John 1:45 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the man whom Moses wrote about in his teachings and whom the prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, son of Joseph, from the city of Nazareth." |
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Question 3 |
Why does God foretell the future through his prophets? See Answer
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Question 4 |
Moses prophecies about the coming of a greater prophet than himself (Quote 8). Who was this prophet and what do we learn about him from these quotes? See Answer |
A Prophetic Vision of World Empires
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One night, around 600 BC,
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, had a dream. The dream seemed unusually
vivid and it troubled him. Daniel, a Jewish exile who had been recruited into
the Kings court was able to do something that none of the Kings astrologers,
wizards or wise men could do.
Miraculously he was able to tell the King precisely what he had dreamt
(see Daniel 2:31–35) and also what the dream meant (see Daniel 2:36–45). |
QUOTE 10
Daniel 2:1-48
1 During the second year
of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he had some
dreams. He was troubled, but he stayed asleep.
2 The king sent for the magicians,
psychics, sorcerers, and astrologers so that they could tell him what he had
dreamed. So they came to the king.
….
10 The astrologers
answered the king, "No one on earth can tell the king what he asks. No
other king, no matter how great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of
any magician, psychic, or astrologer.
11 What you ask is
difficult, Your Majesty. No one can tell what you dreamed except the gods, and
they don't live with humans."
12 This made the king so
angry and furious that he gave an order to destroy all the wise advisers in
Babylon.
13 So a decree was issued
that the wise advisers were to be killed, and some men were sent to find Daniel
and his friends and kill them.
..
17 Then Daniel went home
and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about this matter.
18 He told them to ask the God of heaven to be merciful and to explain
this secret to them so that they would not be destroyed with the rest of the
wise advisers in Babylon.
19 The secret was revealed
to Daniel in a vision during the night. So Daniel praised the God of heaven.
20 He said, "Praise God's name from everlasting to
everlasting because he is wise and powerful.
21 He changes times and periods of history. He removes kings and
establishes them. He gives wisdom to those who are wise and knowledge to
those who have insight.
22 He reveals deeply hidden things. He knows what is in the dark, and
light lives with him.
..
29 Your Majesty, while you
were lying in bed, thoughts about what
would happen in the future came to you. The one who reveals secrets told
you what is going to happen.
30 This secret wasn't
revealed to me because I'm wiser than anyone else. It was revealed so that you
could be told the meaning and so that you would know your innermost thoughts.
31 "Your Majesty, you
had a vision. You saw a large statue. This statue was very bright. It stood in
front of you, and it looked terrifying.
32 The head of this statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver.
Its stomach and hips were made of bronze.
33 Its legs were made of iron. Its feet were made
partly of iron and partly of clay.
34 While you were
watching, a stone was cut out, but not
by humans. It struck the statue's iron-and-clay feet and smashed them.
35 Then all at once, the
iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were smashed. They became like husks on a
threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them
could be found. But the stone that
struck the statue became a large mountain which filled the whole world.
36 This is the dream. Now
we'll tell you its meaning.
37 "Your Majesty, you
are the greatest king. The God of heaven has given you a kingdom. He has given
you power, strength, and honor.
38 He has given you
control over people, wild animals, and birds, wherever they live. He has made
you ruler of them all. You are the head of gold.
39 Another kingdom,
inferior to yours, will rise to power after you. Then there will be a third
kingdom, a kingdom of bronze, that will rule the whole world.
40 There will also be a
fourth kingdom. It will be as strong as iron. (Iron smashes and shatters
everything.) As iron crushes things, this fourth kingdom will smash and crush
all the other kingdoms.
41 You also saw the feet
and toes. They were partly potters' clay and partly iron. This means that there
will be a divided kingdom which has some of the firmness of iron. As you saw,
iron was mixed with clay.
42 The toes were partly
iron and partly clay. Part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle.
43 As you saw, iron was
mixed with clay. So the two parts of the kingdom will mix by intermarrying, but
they will not hold together any more than iron can mix with clay.
44 "At the time of those kings, the God of heaven
will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed. No other people will be
permitted to rule it. It will smash all the other kingdoms and put an end to
them. But it will be established forever.
45 This is the stone that
you saw cut out from a mountain, but not by humans. It smashed the iron,
bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The
great God has told you what will happen in the future, Your Majesty. The
dream is true, and you can trust that this is its meaning."
46 King Nebuchadnezzar immediately bowed down on
the ground in front of Daniel. He ordered that gifts and offerings be given
to Daniel.
47 The king said to
Daniel, "Your God is truly the
greatest of gods, the Lord over kings. He can reveal secrets because you were
able to reveal this secret."
48 Then the king promoted
Daniel and gave him many wonderful gifts. Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel governor
of the whole province of Babylon and head of all Babylon's wise advisers.
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Question 5 |
Why was this powerful
King convinced that the vision and it’s interpretation came from the all
powerful God? See Answer |
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Question 6 |
Did the vision
promise Nebuchadnezzar a bright future?
Explain your answer. See Answer |
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Question 7 |
What were the
characteristics of each of the Kingdoms in the vision? See Answer |
The history of Israel has followed the pattern of this
prophecy in detail. From the time of
Daniel, there were four empires that subdued Israel:
Medo-Persia (539-330 BC)
Greeks (330-63 BC)
Rome (from 63 BC)
The Roman Empire was the fourth, which not
only ruled the Jews in Israel and then exiled them, but also dominated the
European continent in various guises for another 1700 years where the key
section of the Jewish diaspora was located. Shortly after the Holy Roman Empire
was extinguished, the modern state of Israel was created and no power has
ruled, or will subdue, the Jews up to the return of Jesus Christ.
Each of the metals in the statue had a profound reflection in the
empires that followed.
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Question 8 |
What part of
Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic vision has not yet been fulfilled ? (v44,45) See Answer |
Prophecies about
Israel’s exile and restoration
Israel
is the subject of more prophecies than any other nation, because the Jews are
God’s special people and are given as a sign to other nations. In fact the
future of Israel was foretold by God even before it was a nation. Some of the most graphic prophecies about
Israel have been fulfilled in the 20th century. For example, the re-birth of
the Jewish nation, after nearly 2000 years of exile, is widely acclaimed as a
miracle. Some would credit this to the
spirit and will of the Jewish people.
But ancient Bible prophecies clearly demonstrate that God’s will and
power was behind the re-birth of this tiny nation.
In
the early stages of God’s revelation to mankind, he laid out to the people of
Israel two clear choices. He told them that their choice would result in them receiving either great blessing
or great cursing. Indeed the nation of
Israel has suffered both extremes, in accordance with their actions and
faithfulness towards God.
In
particular, numerous prophets warned of Israel’s defeat and exile if they
ignored God.. History details the striking and tragic fulfillment of the
prophecies about exile at the hands of the Babylonians and later the
Romans. But the prophets also foretold
that Israel would once day be restored and that its people would be regathered
from the ends of the earth. This
prophecy was dramatically fulfilled in 1948 and continues to be fulfilled as
more and more jews return to their ancient homeland.
QUOTEs 11
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The Jews have been scattered and
re-gathered twice in history. The first time this happened was before Christ
and the second time was after Christ. The reason for their scattering and
re-gathering is explained in these prophetic verses. |
Deuteronomy 28:1-6 1 Carefully obey the LORD your God, and faithfully follow all his
commands that I'm giving you today. If
you do, the LORD your God will place you high above all the other nations
in the world. 2 These are all the blessings that will come to
you and stay close to you because you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in
the city and blessed in the country. 4 You will be blessed.
You will have children. Your land will have crops. Your animals will have
offspring. Your cattle will have calves, and your flocks will have lambs and
kids. 5 The grain you harvest
and the bread you bake will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed
when you come and blessed when you go. . . 10 Then all the people in the world will see that you are the LORD'S
people, and they will be afraid of you. 11 The LORD will give
you plenty of blessings: You will have many children. Your animals will have
many offspring. Your soil will produce many crops in the land the LORD will
give you, as he swore to your ancestors. 12 The LORD will open
the heavens, his rich storehouse, for you. He will send rain on your land at
the right time and bless everything you do. You will be able to make loans to
many nations but won't need to borrow from any. 15 Obey the LORD your
God, and faithfully follow all his commands and laws that I am giving you
today. If you don't, all
these curses will come to you and stay
close to you: 16 You will be cursed in
the city and cursed in the country. 17 The grain you harvest
and the bread you bake will be cursed. 18 You will be cursed.
You will have few children. Your land will have few crops. Your cattle will
be cursed with few calves, and your flocks will have few lambs and kids. . 32 You will watch with
your own eyes as your sons and
daughters are given to another nation. You will strain your eyes looking
for them all day long, but there will be nothing you can do. . 36 The LORD will lead you and the king you choose to a nation that
you and your ancestors never knew. There you will worship gods made of wood
and stone. 37 You will become a
thing of horror. All the nations where
the LORD will send you will make an example of you and ridicule you. . 49 The LORD will bring against you a nation from far
away, from the ends of the earth. The nation will swoop down on you like an
eagle. It will be a nation whose language you won't understand. 50 Its people will be fierce-looking.
They will show no respect for the old and no pity for the young. . 63 At one time the LORD
was more than glad to make you prosperous and numerous. Now the LORD will be
more than glad to destroy you and wipe you out. You will be torn out of the
land you're about to enter and take possession of. 64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all the people of the world,
from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve gods made of
wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors ever knew. 65 Among those nations
you will find no peace, no place to call your own. There the LORD will give
you an unsettled mind, failing eyesight, and despair. 66 Your life will always
be hanging by a thread. You will live
in terror day and night. You will never feel sure of your life. 67 In the morning you'll say, "If only it were evening!" And in the evening you'll say, "If only it were morning!" You'll talk this way because of the things that will terrify you and because of the things you'll see. |
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Blessings and Cursing
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Question 9 |
In Deuteronomy God lays choices before the people of Israel. On what conditions did God offer blessings? See Answer |
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Question 10 |
List five curses that God said he would send on them
if they did not obey him? Why do
you think God gave this prophecy? See Answer |
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Question 11 |
Some parts of India like Cochin have had long-time Jewish settlements. Is there any corelation between these Jewish communities and the prophecy in Quote 11? See Answer |
QUOTEs 12 & 13
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The
scattering of the Jewish nation was foretold by Old Testament prophets as
well as Jesus in the New testament. |
Luke 21:20-24 20 When you see Jerusalem surrounded by soldiers, you
will know that it will soon be destroyed. 21 If you are living in
Judea at that time, run to the mountains. If you are in the city, leave it.
And if you are out in the country, don't go back into the city. 22 This time of punishment is what is written about in the Scriptures. 23 It will be an awful time
for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children! Everywhere in
the land people will suffer
horribly and be punished. 24 Some of them will be killed by swords. Others will be carried off to foreign
countries. Jerusalem will be overrun by foreign nations until their time comes to an end. |
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The prophecy of the re-gathering of the Jews was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. |
Jeremiah 29:14 14 I will let you find
me, declares the LORD. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations
and places where I've scattered you, declares the LORD. I will bring you
back from the place where you are being held captive. Jeremiah 30:10-11 10 "Don't be
afraid, my servant Jacob," declares the LORD. Don't be terrified,
Israel. I'm going to rescue you from a faraway place. I'm going to rescue your descendants from where they are captives.
The descendants of Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will
frighten them. 11 I am with you, and I will rescue you," declares the LORD. "I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will correct you with justice. I won't let you go entirely unpunished. |
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Question 12 |
What did Jesus foretell
about Jerusalem in Quote 12? From the Parable of the Unjust tenants explain why
the Israelites were going to suffer this terrible fate. See Answer |
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Question 13 |
What good thing does
God promise to do for Israel despite their disobedience? See Answer |
A BRIEF TIME-LINE OF JEWISH HISTORY
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2000 BC: |
Abraham,
chosen by God to be the founder of the Jewish nation |
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1400
BC: |
Israel
invades and conquers Canaan and is established as a nation. |
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1000 BC: |
King
David rules in Israel. |
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605 BC: |
The
Jews are taken captive by the Babylonians |
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538 BC: |
Jews
return from captivity and rebuild the city of Jerusalem |
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AD 30: |
Jesus
is crucified on a Roman Cross |
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AD
70: |
Romans
crush the Jewish rebellion, capture Jerusalem. Surviving Jews are scattered throughout the world. |
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AD 1882: |
First
wave of Jews immigrate to Palestine as a result of Russian pogroms. |
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AD
1897: |
Zionist
movement is born, with the dream of restoration to their ancient
homeland. |
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AD 1900: |
A
handful of Jews living in Palestine; Turks in charge. |
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AD
1904: |
Second
wave of Jewish immigration as a result of European persecution. |
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AD 1917: |
British
capture Palestine; Jews begin to move there. |
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AD 1945–1948: |
Jewish
survivors of Nazi concentration camps migrate to Palestine despite fierce
opposition from the Arab inhabitants. |
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AD 1948: |
The
State of Israel proclaimed - Independence |
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AD
1948:– |
Many
wars with Arabs; Israel maintains independence; Jews migrate in large
numbers. |
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AD
1994:– |
Attempted
peace settlements with surrounding Arab nations. |
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Question 14 |
Highlight three details from the Bible prophecies that have been fulfilled in the history of Israel. See Answer |
Modern
History of Israel
In 1897 at the first Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland, a Jew
named Theodore Herzl proposed a Jewish homeland in the land known at that time
as Palestine. It was under the control of Turkey and formed part of the Ottoman
Empire. At that time, there was only a handful of Jews living in Palestine.
With the Turks in control, Jews weren’t welcome.
Just 20 years later, at the end of World-War I, the British
evicted the Turks from Palestine and liberated Jerusalem. For the next 20
years, Britain clung to the mandate over Palestine given it by the League of
Nations (the forerunner to the United Nations). Slowly, Jews began to move back
to the land of their ancestors. The pace of immigration increased rapidly after
World War II and the atrocities of Nazi Germany, and many surviving Jews
returned to Palestine. The enormity of Jewish suffering in what was to become
known as “the Holocaust”, and the concern and guilt of many nations, led to the
establishment of the State of Israel, proclaimed on 15 May 1948. This new State
of Israel was established nearly 1900 years after the Jews had been exiled by
the Romans.
The nation has survived against incredible odds with its hostile
neighbours seeking to destroy it on numerous occasions. The most notable of
these wars occurred in 1967 when an extraordinary event took place. The city of
Jerusalem, divided since partition of Palestine in 1948, and out of Jewish
control for nearly 1900 years, was once again united and brought under
sovereign Jewish control.
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Question 15 |
Imagine your family left India and settled in Australia for the next 2000 years. |
MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION is given on these and other prophecies
in the booklet “Bible Prophecy:
Convincing proof that God exists”.
The Empty Tomb: Evidence of
Jesus’ resurrection
Perhaps the most amazing claim in the whole Bible is that Jesus
rose from the dead. If the Bible is inspired by God, then this claim must be
true. On the other hand, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Bible cannot
be the word of God. All of God’s promises to mankind hang on the resurrection.
Without it, there is no hope of salvation or hope for the future. So it is important
to consider the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.
Eyewitnesses
The Bible records that when Jesus was killed his disciples
fled. It tells that they were fearful
of what would happen to them, and also confounded as to how God’s son could be
killed. But soon afterwards, these
disciples re-grouped and started preaching Jesus as saviour with great
confidence and courage in the face of great persecution. What transformed the minds of these people
from fear and confusion to courage and conviction?
The message of Christianity spread quickly through the Roman world
because of the powerful witness of the large number of people who claimed to
have seen Jesus alive, in bodily form, after his death.
If disciples had not seen Jesus risen from the dead, they would
almost certainly have lost hope in his promises and simply moved on with their
normal lives.
Persecution
The Jewish and Roman leaders gave the disciples of Jesus every
reason to abandon their cause. By
acknowledging their faith in the resurrection, they too became the subject of
fierce persecution and faced the prospect of imprisonment or even
crucifixion. They must have been
absolutely convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead because anybody with
doubts would not have willingly suffered as they did. Less than three months
after Jesus’ crucifixion, they were all willing to stand up in public and
proclaim the resurrection. They even rejoiced when they were persecuted.
Simon Greenleaf, Royall Professor of Law at Harvard University,
has written
“They had every possible motive to review carefully the grounds
of their faith, and the evidences of the great facts and truths
which they asserted . . . It was therefore impossible that they
could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated,
had not Jesus actually risen from the dead”.
The missing
body
Perhaps more than any other reason, the missing body provides
ample evidence for the resurrection. The Jews desperately wanted to stop the
young Christian movement. They could have done so easily by producing the body
as evidence against his resurrection. In his first public speech in Jerusalem,
Peter spoke about Christ’s resurrection. But no one came forward to contradict
Peter’s claim.
After all, the tomb had been under guard. Because of the guard,
the body could not have been taken by anyone other than the Jews or Romans, and
apparently neither knew where it was. Therefore Jesus must have been raised.
The stone
A very large stone was placed across the entrance to the tomb.
Such tombs were very common in Israel at that time and many have been studied
by archaeologists.
They have concluded that the stone probably weighed between one
and two tonnes and that the stone stood on a ramp which was gently inclined
toward the tomb. So to seal the tomb, the stone was pushed down the slope. But
to open the tomb was very difficult and required several strong men.
The Roman
Guards
The Jewish leaders asked Pontius Pilate (the Roman procurator) for
military guards to be posted at the tomb so Jesus’ body could not be stolen. It
is estimated that a
Roman guard unit consisted of between 4 to 16 soldiers. Once the
guards were posted, no human would dare attempt to remove the stone covering
the entrance.
QUOTEs 14
|
The empty Tomb |
Matthew 27:57-66 57 In the evening a rich
man named Joseph arrived. He was from the city of Arimathea and had become a
disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and
asked for the body of Jesus.
Pilate ordered that it be given to him.
59 Joseph took the body and
wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 Then he laid it in
his own new tomb, which had been cut in a rock. After rolling a large stone
against the door of the tomb, he went away. 61 Mary from Magdala and
the other Mary were sitting there, facing the tomb. 62 The next day, which
was the day of worship, the chief
priests and Pharisees gathered together and went to Pilate. 63 They said, "Sir, we remember how that
deceiver said while he was still alive, 'After
three days I will be brought back to life.' 64 Therefore, give the order to make the tomb secure until the
third day. Otherwise, his disciples
may steal him and say to the people, 'He has been brought back to life.' Then the last deception will be worse
than the first." 65 Pilate told them,
"You have the soldiers you
want for guard duty. Go and make the
tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went to
secure the tomb. They placed a seal on the stone and posted the soldiers on
guard duty. Matthew 28:1-13 1 After the day of
worship, as the sun rose Sunday morning, Mary from Magdala and the other Mary
went to look at the tomb. 2 Suddenly, there was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the
Lord had come down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it.
3 He was as bright as lightning, and
his clothes were as white as snow. 4 The guards were so deathly afraid of him
that they shook. 5 The angel said
to the women, "Don't be afraid! I know you're looking for Jesus, who was
crucified. 6 He's not here. He has been brought back to life as he
said. Come, see the place where he was lying. 7 Then go quickly, and
tell his disciples that he has been brought back to life. He's going ahead of
them into Galilee. There they will see him. Take note that I have told
you." 8 They hurried away from
the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly, Jesus met them and greeted them.
They went up to him, bowed down to worship him, and took hold of his feet.
10 Then Jesus said to them,
"Don't be afraid! Go, tell my followers to go to Galilee. There they
will see me." 11 While the women were
on their way, some of the guards went into the city. They told the chief
priests everything that had happened. 12
The chief priests gathered
together with the leaders and agreed on a plan. They gave the soldiers a
large amount of money 13 and told
them to say that Jesus' disciples had come at night and had stolen his body
while they were sleeping. |
QUOTEs 15
|
Christ’s resurrection is the centre of Christianity |
1 Corinthians 15:14-24 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is
worthless, and your faith is also worthless. 15 And we are also found
to be false witnesses of God,
because we testified of God that He raised Christ; whom He did not raise if
the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are
not raised, then Christ is not raised. 17 And if Christ is not
raised, your faith is foolish; you are yet in your sins. 18 Then also those that
fell asleep in Christ were lost. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable. 20 But now Christ has risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruit
of those who slept. 21 For since death is
through man, the resurrection of the dead also is through a Man. 22 For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruit, and afterward they
who are Christ's at His coming; 24 then is the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He makes to cease all rule and all authority and power. |
QUOTEs 16, 17
|
Witness
to his resurrection. |
Acts 1:3 3 After his death Jesus
showed the apostles a lot of
convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them
and talked with them about the kingdom of God. Acts 13:31 31 and for many days he
appeared to those who had come with him to Jerusalem from Galilee. These people are now witnesses and
are testifying to the Jewish people about him. |
QUOTEs 18
|
Many
lost their lives because they preached Jesus. There was No personal gain to
believe a lie |
Acts 5:28-42 28 He said, "We gave you strict orders not to mention
Jesus' name when you teach. Yet, you've filled Jerusalem with your teachings.
You want to take revenge on us for putting that man to death." 29
Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God
rather than people. 30 You murdered Jesus by hanging him on a
cross. But the God of our ancestors
brought him back to life. 31 God
used his power to give Jesus the highest position as leader and savior. He
did this to lead the people of Israel to him, to change the way they think
and act, and to forgive their sins. 32
We are witnesses to these
things, and so is the Holy Spirit,
whom God has given to those who obey
him." 33 When the men on the
council heard this, they became
furious and wanted to execute the apostles. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up. He was a highly
respected expert in Moses' Teachings. He ordered that the apostles should be
taken outside for a little while. 35 Then he said to the council, "Men of Israel, consider
carefully what you do with these men. 36
Some time ago Theudas appeared.
He claimed that he was important, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were
scattered. The whole movement was a failure. 37 "After that man, at the time of the census, Judas from Galilee appeared and led
people in a revolt. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered.
38 "We should keep away from
these men for now. We should leave them alone. I can guarantee that if the plan they put into action is of human
origin, it will fail. 39 However, if it's from God, you won't be
able to stop them. You may even discover that you're fighting against God." 40 The council took his advice. They called the apostles, beat them, ordered them not to speak about the one named Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the council room. They were happy to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for speaking about Jesus. 42 Every day in the temple courtyard and from house to house, they refused to stop teaching and telling the Good News that Jesus is the Messiah. |
|
Question 16 |
What actions did the
Jewish leaders take to prevent the spread of Christianity? (list 3 or more) See Answer |
|
Question 17 |
What motivated the
disciples of Jesus to tell others about his resurrection at risk to their own
lives? See Answer |
|
Question 18 |
How does the resurrection
of Christ impact the future of others? (Refer Quote 15) See Answer |