The Manuscript Evidence

Sunday, March 12, 2023

People claim the Bible isn't trustworthy. The argument is that it has been changed and copied over. It was written centuries after the events, so it simply cannot be accurate. Let's consider how the accuracy of an ancient manuscript is determined. It is based on: 1) the number of manuscripts that exist. 2) the time period between the original event and the first recorded manuscript. For example, the number 2 book in all of history is the "The Iliad" written by Homer. It has 643 manuscripts with a 400 year gap. What is the number 1 book in manuscript authority? The New Testament. It significantly trumps the #2 book. It has 24,970 manuscripts compared to The Iliad's 643. The entire New Testament has only about a 250 year gap. In fact, there are New Testament books with only about a 100 year difference from the original. The truth is that there is no ancient writing more attested to than the New Testament. The words written down are real. Believe it. Receive it. Trust in it. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever.

From Message #1257 - The Da Vinci Uncode