[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Can We Trust the Bible?

2017 marks the 500thanniversary of Martin Luther’s famous Ninety-Five Theses and the start of the Protestant Reformation. Luther taught that Christians should look to the Bible, not to the traditions of fallible human beings, to find the true teachings of Christianity.  How important is the Bible to you?

The Guinness Book of World Records estimates that five billion Bibles have been printed since the first Gutenberg Bible was printed in 1452. This book has stood the test of time. The Bible consists of 66 books in two major sections: The Old Testament and the New Testament. The original language of the Old Testament was primarily Hebrew. The original New Testament was written in the Greek language. It is a complete book from Genesis to Revelation! The Bible or parts of the Bible have been translated into more than 2,000 languages. 

On today’s program, we’ll be offering an amazing free study guide that will prove the inspiration of the Bible. It’s titled: The Bible: Fact or Fiction? This inspiring free booklet will give facts and information that will strengthen your faith.

In recent years, atheists and agnostics have increased their attack on God and the Bible. Millions of people have accepted these attacks without ever investigating for themselves. Is this book just a compilation of nomadic stories and myths? Or is this book the revelation of a Creator God who loves you and all human beings on earth? Is there a message in this book from outer space that reveals the future of all nations and your ultimate purpose and destiny? Can you TRUST the Bible to guide your life, and the life of your family? Can you prove that the Bible was inspired by God? Yes, you can! 

Stay tuned!

The Bible Was And Is Accurate

Warm greetings to all our friends around the world!

The Holy Bible has stood the test of time. Billions of professing Christians over the centuries revere the Bible as divinely inspired. They believe the Bible reveals the way to eternal life through Jesus Christ, and instructs us in the way to live peacefully and abundantly. On Tomorrow’s World programs, we’ve shared with you startling Bible prophecies such as Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; the end-time prophecies of Jesus; and the mysteries of Revelation including the woman riding the beast, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and the battle of Armageddon. Dozens if not hundreds of Web sites describe the unity of the Bible as one Book, written by more than 40 authors in three languages, including 66 books or letters, over a period of 1,500 years. 

The Bible itself claims divine inspiration. If God did indeed inspire this book for our benefit as His revelation to all human beings and to all nations on earth, then we need to pay attention to its teachings. On today’s program we’ll answer those questions. And we’ll be offering you an inspiring free booklet that will help you prove the authority of the Bible: The Bible: Fact or Fiction? Be sure to write down the phone number on your screen. You can also order this booklet on our Web site at TomorrowsWorld.org.

What does the Bible mean to people today? In April 2017, the Pew Research Forum reported: “Christians, who make up a majority of U.S. adults (71%), are divided over how to interpret the Bible. While about four-in-ten Christians (39%) say the Bible’s text is the word of God and should be taken literally, 36% say it should not be interpreted literally or express another or no opinion. A separate 18% of Christians view the Bible as a book written by men, not God.” (SOURCE: “5 facts on how Americans view the Bible and other religious texts")

My friends, you probably own one or more Bibles. When was the last time you read from your own Bible? The Bible itself challenges us to test all things, to prove what is true. If you have your Bible, turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:21. If you don’t have your Bible, be sure to find it and read from it. Have it available when you listen to Tomorrow’s World program, and read the scriptures we give you in your own Bible! 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” Or as the authorized, King James Version states it, “Prove all things.”

Has the Bible proven that it is historically accurate? Yes, it has. Let’s briefly discuss three examples:

1. The critics stated that the Bible’s references to an Assyrian Empire were untrue.
2. The critics questioned whether ancient Israel even existed.
3. The critics stated that ancient King David was a legend, invented by scribes around 500 BC, shortly after the Babylonian captivity.

First, let’s see if the critics were right. Were the Bible’s references to Assyria and Ninevah invented by ancient writers? Back in the 18th century, critics even questioned the existence of the Assyrian Empire, and the existence of the ancient city-state of Ninevah mentioned in the Bible. Here is one author’s description. “In the Old and New Testaments Nineveh is mentioned twenty times, and in the Old Testament there are 132 references to Assyria…An increasing number of skeptics, however, their religious faith diluted by the spectacular scientific breakthrough accompanying the first stirring of the Industrial Revolution, sneered at tales about Nineveh and treated it as a legend that belonged to an age of fables. For them, there had never been a Nineveh any more than there had ever been a Troy.” [SOURCE: The Luck of Nineveh, Arnold Brackman, pp. 12-13]

The archaeologist Austen Henry Layard eventually discovered the ancient site of Nineveh, and the artifacts in the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris, the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago, and other locales, give overwhelming evidence to the historical accuracy of this ancient empire described in the Bible.

The critics were proved wrong. The Bible was and is accurate in its references to Ninevah and Assyria. The second criticism we mentioned was that ancient Israel did not even exist! Archaeology has confirmed its ancient history. The Israel Stele, a stone slab discovered in 1896 at Thebes in Egypt, is the oldest evidence of ancient Israel outside of the Bible. The stone monument, which I’ve seen in the Cairo Museum, records the military triumph of Pharaoh Merenptah of the 13th century B.C. It states, “Israel is devastated, having no seed, Syria is widowed because of Egypt.” [Treasures From Bible Times, by Alan Millard, 1985, p. 100]

Again the critics have been proved wrong. A third allegation by critics was that ancient King David was a legend invented around 500 BC by Hebrew scribes. U.S. News & World Report Magazine  featured a cover article entitled, “Is the Bible True? – Extraordinary insights from archaeology and history.” A team of archaeologists were digging in the ancient ruins of the city of Dan in upper Galilee. Avraham Biran led the team. They discovered a basalt stone monument from the 9th century B.C. The stele, or monument, commemorated “a military victory of the king of Damascus over two ancient enemies. One foe the fragment identified as the ‘king of Israel.’ The other was ‘the House of David.’” [October 25, 1999, pp. 12-13]

Now why should this be so significant? Note the next sentence. “The reference to David was a historical bombshell.” For those who have already proved to themselves the accuracy and veracity of the Bible, this was not a “bombshell,” but just additional evidence to what they had already proved!

Can we really trust that the whole Bible has been transmitted to us accurately? We’ll discuss that in the next part of our program. But firstI’d like to offer you this inspiring free booklet titled: The Bible: Fact or Fiction? This booklet presents impressive evidence that the Bible is indeed fact, and NOT fiction. The author, Dr. Douglas Winnail, comments on archaeological discoveries supporting the Bible’s historical accuracy. He writes on page 24, “There have been dozens of other remarkable discoveries. The Merneptah Stela describes an Egyptian pharaoh conquering Israel (ca. 1200bc). The Black Obelisk from Nimrud pictures Israelite king Jehu bowing before Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. An inscription near Jerusalem refers to ‘Joseph, son of Caiaphas’ (Caiaphas was the high priest in Jerusalem at the time of Christ’s crucifixion; see Matthew 26:57). An inscribed stone from first century Caesarea reads, ‘Pontius Pilate, the Prefect of Judea’ (Pilate was the Roman governor at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion; see Matthew 27:2). Such evidence, carved in stone, supports the conclusion that the Bible writers were recording facts and not fiction.” This inspiring booklet covers much more information than we have time for on this program. It will help YOU to help your family, friends, and skeptics to prove the Bible’s integrity, inspiration, and accuracy. So, pick up the telephone right now, and request your free copy. Just ask for the booklet on the Bible. You can also order this free booklet on our Web site at TomorrowsWorld.org. Call now! 

Proof of the Bible

In the first part of our program, we saw that archaeology has demonstrated the historical accuracy of the Bible. The Bible itself promises that its words, the words of God and the revelation of God, will be faithfully preserved. If you have you Bible, turn to LUKE 21:33. Jesus stated in LUKE 21:33, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” 

The Bible’s claim is verified by the historical record. Listen to these comments by famous archaeologists as quoted in the booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction?: “The manner in which archaeology has verified the historical accuracy of the Bible has been nothing short of remarkable!As noted archaeologist Nelson Glueck has written, ‘it may be clearly stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible’ (Rivers in the Desert, Glueck, p. 136). Glueck’s comments echo the words of another prominent archaeologist, William F. Albright, who stated, ‘There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of Old Testament tradition… The excessive skepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries… has been progressively discredited’” That’s from the booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction? pages 24-25.

Yes, my friends, the skeptics and the critics have been “progressively discredited.” Thank God, that you CAN prove the Bible, you can prove its inspiration and accuracy. If you have your Bible, turn to 2 Timothy 3. The Apostle Paul was writing to the evangelist Timothy. Notice, at the time, the New Testament had not been completed. Paul was telling him that the scriptures, the Old Testament that Timothy had studied, were able to reveal God’s truth and salvation. 2 Timothy 3:14, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

The Hebrew Scriptures were called “holy.” Combined with the new revelation of the Messiah, they assured the way to salvation. But notice the next verse and the inspiring claim of the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Yes, God inspired all Scripture. The Greek word translated “inspiration of God” is theopneustos, which means “God-breathed.” In fact, the New International Version translates the verse this way: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

My friends, you can trust your Bible. In the next part of our program, we’ll see two more examples demonstrating the Bible’s accurate preservation. But first I’d like to offer you inspiring free booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction? It will give you the historic, archaeological, and spiritual proof you need. And it will give you more exciting examples of fulfilled prophecy. The author, Dr. Douglas Winnail, writes: “The Bible contains more than 1,500 prophecies that foretell in remarkable detail the future of prominent cities, kings and kingdoms. Fulfilled prophecies about the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre stand as a sobering testimony to the power and accuracy of Bible prophecy.”This informative free booklet will help you in your study of the Bible and give you evidence to prove the Bible, its inspiration and accuracy. My friends, you and your family need this inspiring free booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction? So, pick up the telephone right now and request your free copy. Just ask for the booklet on the Bible. You can also order this free booklet on our Web site at Tomorrowsworld.org.

Evidence the Bible Has Been Preserved

Let’s look at more evidence that the Bible has been preserved faithfully. In 1947, as a part of the Dead Sea scrolls, two copies of the book of Isaiah were discovered in Qumran Cave #1. These were dated to a thousand years earlier than any existing manuscripts of Isaiah. Had the words of Isaiah been preserved faithfully? Here is what one textbook reports, “…they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The 5 percent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling… [these variations] do not affect the message of revelation in the slightest.” [A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, by Gleason L. Archer, 1974, p. 25] Of course, the Qumran sect that preserved the Dead Sea scrolls was not even recognized by the Jewish community to officially approve such texts—which makes the coherence of such textual accuracy even more remarkable.

According to the Apostle Paul, God gave the JEWISH community the responsibility of preserving the Old Testament scriptures. Speaking of the Jews, Paul writes in Romans 3:2, “to them were committed the oracles of God.” Or as the NIV translates it, “they have been entrusted with the very words of God.” Indeed, history shows that scribes called Masoretes have faithfully handwritten the scriptures. The official Hebrew text is called the Masoretic text. These scribes were so meticulous, they counted all of the letters and all of the words in a given book to make sure there were no variations, even in the letters of the text. 

The text of the New Testament, written in the Greek language, was preserved in the Greek speaking world. The King James Version of 1611 was primarily translated from the Hebrew Masoretic text and the Greek Received Text known as the Textus Receptus. Thousands of manuscripts testify to the accuracy of the New Testament. Again, as in the case of the Isaiah scroll, variations in the Greek manuscripts are minor and they do not affect the message of revelation or the fundamental teaching. Do errors creep into the translations? Yes, some errors, such as the late addition of I John 5:7, are easily identified in the Latin or English translations. But with so many manuscripts to cross check possible problems, we can have absolute confidence in the claims of the Bible.

Now let’s examine another specific prophecy in the Bible. As we’ve pointed out in previous programs, the prophecies of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 harmonize with Revelation 13 and 17. Bible prophecy refers to the final world-ruling empire, before the return of Jesus Christ, as a symbolic beast with ten horns. The Apostle John sees in vision a woman dressed like a harlot riding the beast. She is called MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. God reveals the meaning of this vision in Revelation 17:11, “And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

History and the book of Revelation reveal that there remains another revival of the last empire in Daniel’s prophecy. The Roman Empire has experienced six revivals, which we’ve documented in previous programs and in our publications. The final revival will unify ten kings or kingdoms that will ultimately fight against the returning King of kings, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

Bible prophecy and history revealed that the territory once occupied by the Roman Empire would once again fall under her control. More than 50 years ago, when it looked as if the Iron Curtain would solidify the Soviet Union’s control for ages to come, one of God’s ministers, Herbert W. Armstrong, wrote that Russia “will be forced to relinquish her control over Hungary, Czechoslovakia and parts of Austria” (Good News, April 1952, p. 16). In 1956, after Russia’s invasion of Hungary, Mr. Armstrong wrote: “The way is being prepared for a colossal third force in world politics—a European Federation of Nations more powerful than either Russia or the United States!… We have shown years in advance what would happen to Russia’s ill-fated Empire in Eastern Europe” (Plain Truth, December 1956, p. 3).

Yes, God’s minister was able to show from Bible prophecy more than 30 years in advance, what would ultimately happen in Eastern Europe. My friends, about 25% of your Bible is prophecy. God has all power in the universe, and He WILL bring to pass the end-time prophecies revealed in your Bible. ISAIAH 46:9, “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.’”

My friends, you can trust your Bible. There are many more proofs for the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Our inspiring free booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction? will give the historic, archaeological, and spiritual proof you need. And it will give you more exciting examples of fulfilled prophecy. Listen to these chapter headings: “Prophecy: The Bible’s Unique Dimension,” “Has the Bible Been Preserved Accurately?” and “Real Answers to Life’s Big Questions.” A chart titled “The Symmetry of Scripture” presents the original inspired order of the books of the Bible. This informative free booklet will help you in your study of the Bible and give you evidence to prove the Bible, its inspiration and accuracy. My friends, you and your family need this inspiring free booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction? So, pick up the telephone right now and request your free copy. Just ask for the booklet on the Bible. You can also order this free booklet on our Web site at Tomorrowsworld.org. 

God's Word Is Truth

On today’s program, we’ve seen several proofs that the Bible is true. But there is another way you can test the Bible, and that is by practicing its principles and precepts. If you have your Bible, turn to Matthew 4. Jesus said in MATTHEW 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Jesus quoted this statement from the Old Testament in Deuteronomy the 8th chapter. God was allowing the ancient Israelites on their Exodus from Egypt to learn a deeper spiritual lesson. Moses spoke to the Israelites in DEUTERONOMY 8:3, “So He [God] humbled you, allowed you to hunger…that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”

Once you begin to practice the principles of the Bible, you’ll begin to have understanding you never had before. As it tells us in PSALM 111:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.” 

My friends, genuine Christianity is not just a one-day-a-week religion. It is a WAY of LIFE. The early Christians were referred to it the book of Acts as “the Way.” As you read through the book of Acts you will find several references to “the Way,” Acts 24:14, for example.

My friends, that Way of life includes daily prayer. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to His Father in heaven. In His prayer for His disciples, He emphasized the source of truth. JOHN 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

Yes, my friends, God’s word, the Bible, is truth. You need to read and study it daily! The Bible reveals the way to life beyond death. The Bible reveals the real meaning and purpose of life. The Bible teaches us how to improve relationships and to get along with people in a godly way. The Bible teaches principles for true success, fulfillment, and happiness. And the Bible reveals the future and how we can prepare for it! 

My friends, can you trust the Bible? Yes, you can! And it can change your life! The Bible is God’s instruction book to all humanity. And it gives us hope for the future. Be sure to request our inspiring free booklet The Bible: Fact or Fiction? It will give the evidence you need to prove the Bible and its inspiration. And may God bless you as you seek its instruction, revelation, and truth.

We invite you to join us every week on Tomorrow’s World, or watch us on-line at any time. As our world continues to unravel and decline, you need the encouragement, faith, and truth that come from your Bible. Gerald Weston, Wallace Smith, and I, as well as our guest-presenter Rod McNair, will continue to share with you the inspiring teachings of Jesus Christ, the encouraging good news of the coming Kingdom of God, and the exciting end-time prophecies and their meaning. So, be sure to join us again next week, right here, at this same time!