There is more manuscript evidence to support the accuracy of the Bible’s origins than any other document in history. According to the Institute for Creation Research, “[t]here are some 25,000 early manuscripts in existence, almost 6,000 of which (many being only recognizable fragments) are Greek texts and the others being early translations of the Greek New Testament.”

The early Christian community, which we now know as the Church, took abundant precautions when it came to copying the exact words of Scripture into future manuscripts. As the Gospel spread around the world, there was some risk of manuscript variations from community to community. Thankfully, God raised different people throughout history to verify and preserve the accuracy of Scripture through different language translations.

The Masorite community faithfully compiled one of the largest collections of early manuscripts around the sixth century AD to recreate the entire Old and New Testament from the earliest written documents. The Masorite text accurately reflected previously completed manuscripts of the Samaritan Pentateuch (400 B.C.), the Septuagint Greek (280 B.C.), the Dead Sea Scrolls (circa 0 A.D.), and the Latin Vulgate (400 A.D.)

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves around Qumran by a nomadic shepherd community in 1947. These are arguably the greatest evidence of fully intact manuscripts dating back to around 0 A.D. A copy of the full book of Isaiah was discovered inside the Dead Sea Scrolls, along with 980 other scrolls or manuscripts in the Qumran caves. The accuracy between the Dead Sea Scrolls and our copy of the Scriptures today is impressive.

The Bible contains around 2,500 different prophecies that predict future events or situations, and as many as 2,000 of those prophecies are already fulfilled without error. We can trace prophecies throughout Scripture, even as far back as the ninth century BC, to their exact fulfillment with amazing accuracy. The likelihood of those already fulfilled prophecies, “Bible scholars estimate that more than 350 Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (Thomas Nelson Publishers)

When we recognize a fulfilled prophecy in Scripture, it further cements the Bible’s reliability as an accurate source of truth. The odds that 2,000 distinct prophecies were fulfilled without any errors are less than one in 10 to the 2,000th power (2,000 zeroes written after the 10!)

The remaining prophecies are directly tied to the end times and focus on specific geographies, such as the temple mount and situations involving Christ’s ultimate rule and reign here on earth.

Many can ignore the manuscript’s existence or archaeological evidence. Many more are even quick to dismiss prophetic fulfillment as ‘a lucky guess’, which is staggering with how highly improbable 2,000 prophecies could be fulfilled without error. What is still undeniable is what the message of Jesus in the Gospel continues to do in our lives.

If the stories of Scripture aren’t true, then how have millions upon millions of people radically changed because of Jesus? There’s no denying that the Gospel changes lives, but ultimately, it comes down to one question: who do you believe Jesus is? And what does the Bible tell you about what it means to follow Jesus? These are the greatest questions you will ever ask and answer. If you’re not sure how to answer those questions, we would love to start a conversation with you.